The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1896-04-23
NO PLHGE FOR FARMERS.
Rev. Henry Beer Says that Only a
Poor Grade of Potatoes
Grow There.
Prices for a Gould Income on All
the Actual Necessities
of Life.

resident in Alaska for more than two
weeks, and in fulfillment of prom
ise made to many of my friends, I
send you few of my impressions
on this new land, that they may learn
what kind of a country this is, and
what are the prospects of making a
good living by those who may attempt
to make their home here. Times have
been very hard all over. the country,
and numbers would be only too glad to
come to this territory and start in
anew, while the place is young and
opportunities supposed to be plenty.
Knowing then that my letters will
have some influence with many of
your readers, I am resolved to be very
careful to state matters as they ap-
pear to me, without any high coloring
or drawing on my imagination. I will
try to state things just as they are,
and if further experience shows me
that was mistaken I shall not hesi-
tate to change my story without the
slightest thought of inconsistency.
The first thing 1 am sure I may
say, without fear of being wrong, is
that this is no country for any kind of
farming. There is little land suitable
for agriculture, and the climate is
quite unfavorable to such an occupa-
ton. 1 am told some sorts of veget-
ables are raised, as cabbage and some
roots, but we cannot even raise good
potatoes. A poor kind is raised in
some favored localities. No farm
crops are raised at all, except little
wild hay. The hay needed for the
horses at Juneau is brought up on the
boats and at present costs twenty
three dollars ton. All grains are i'm
ported, everything of that kind comes
from the outside.
AS to other business, l must speak
with considerable dihidence, because
1 really am not long enough here to
be we'll posted, but l can say that you
can buy everything you need in Ju-
neau. We have three or four general
stores. Decker's establishment and
one or two others would not do dis
credit to city. Their stock is special
ly adapted to fitting out ''Gold seek
ers" on the Yukon. This is the last
opportunity to buy goods for those
going into the Yukon country, and
you can buy your outfit here as cheap
as in Seattle, considering the freight
on the boat.
We have two bakeries, and several
restaurants; also the Occidental and
Circle City Hotels, as we'll as smaller
places half saloon and half hotel. l
fancy we have plenty of lawyers and
there are three or four doctors and
two drug stores.
l have not noticed blacksmith
shop, but am told that the various
mines keep their own blacksmith, ,and
as there are only a few horses in Ju-
neau, all used for draying purposes I
should think blacksmith would not
get much to do. As I get better ac-
quainted 1 may be able to give little
more precise information about this
and other business. We have only
two plastered houses in Alaska, I am
told, and one of these is at Juneau
and the other is at Sitka. \
It is expected that the population
will increase very much this summer,
and hope it may. But should it do
so, it will be very hard to get lots to
build on. Juneau has no real town
site. It is built on the slope of noun
tains $500 feet high. These mountains
are so near the shore that there is very
little land that can be built on. AL
ready the houses are some of them so
far up the sides of the mountain that
they are in really dangerous posi-