The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-30
AFTER THE YUKON GOLD MINES.
England Trying to Secure Territory and
a Port in Alaska.

England Trying to Secure Territory and
Port in Alaska.
That the British Government is fully
alive to the importance of the Alaska
boundary question and is preparing care
fully to assert ner claims when the joint
commission meets to locate it is shown by
the statements of G. A Carpenter, editor
of the Alaska News of Juneau, in an inter
view with a Seattle Post-Intelligencer re-
porter. Mr.. Carpenter told of the situation
about as follows
'"There is considerable excitement in
Alaska over the boundary question, and
the people scarcely discuss anything else.
The Canadian Government claims that
Forty-mile Creek is in British Colum bia,
and to- make the claim good has sent
thither two gold commissioners with
power to make a report in relation to the
gold discoveries and also as to the SNUG
Cling of liquors into that region.
1.-THE general opinion OF miners coming
out of the Yukon River region is that
Forty-mile Creek is in British Columbia.
1t is fact that it is very near the line. If
the claim set up by the British is correct
there is prospect that Juneau will come
within the limits of the territory claimed
by the British under their Interpretation
of the description of the boundary. The
American idea is that the line shall follow
the meanderings of the bays and inlets.
The Dominion Government is now anxious
to find out the mineral wealth of the
Yukon Valley in order to construct good
wagon road, or a narrow gauge railway,
from salt water on the coast to the head
waters of the Yukon River.
'"The American citizens, while they feel
1t will be an outrage to allow England to
steal so valuable a territory from the
United States, still think that this country,
in view of the past conduct of Congress in
not listening to the appeals of the residents
for internal improvements and remedial
legislation, is not deserving of the SYM
pathy of the residents if the loss is sus-
tanned. Among all classes of people in
Alaska it is the universal opinion that if
England succeeds in getting this strip of
territory from the United States Govern
ment, it will be a steal pure and simple,
and another victory for the aggressive
policy pursued by the British.
The people of Alaska feel that the Ameri-
can boundary surveyiparties have been care
less and negligent in their operations in
determining the boundary line by reason of
failure to send surveying parties into the
interior from the coast for distance of ten
marine leagues, thus securing exact notes
and descriptions of the coast range in the
vicinity of the boundary line. Their OBJ
servations have been confined to the use of
field glasses from the quarterdecks of the
United States survey steamers Patterson
and Hassler. The three Canadian boundary
survey parties scaled the high coast range
to the very SUBMITS of the mountains, in
many cases subjecting the men to i'm
ninent danger to life and limb. in order to
secure exact data relating to the highest of
the mountain peaks, the nature of the topo-
graphy and photographs of the important
points which would naturally make and
mark boundary line.