The San Francisco call., 1897-07-25

Alaska and the Northwest Territory,
which fills the first page of this issue,
will be welcomed by every man and
woman who is now in the Yukon country,
who expec or wants to be there or who
shares in the general interest in that icy
Ophir.
This chart possesses the greatest degree
of accuracy possible in the present state
of the geoIra phical knowledge of the in
terror OF Alaska 1t is wholly reliable as
TO the details of the much irdve led over
land route, the y ukon River and its chief
tributaries and the gold fields and imme
diately adj cant re ions. Prospectors
may wander far from the paths that man
have trodden before, and if so they must
Ieiy on their bearings, estimates of dis
tances and landmarks. Much of the in
terror rem aims a frozen terra incognito.
The author of this carefully compiled
and drawn chart has far surpassed any
previous essays at Alaska map-making,
and inc distinguished reputation OF Profess
sor George Davidson ana the fact that for
a generation he has had more to do scien-
titically with the geography of Alaska
than any other man, will be sufficient
guarantee OF the merit OF his effort. Re-
garding it and the evolution of Alaskan
geographical knowledge, Professor David
son yesterday made this statement:
"1HE CALL's map of the gold region of
Alaska is founded on the best information
in possession OF the Coast and Geodetlc
Survey at Washington, with additional
data from special explorations and such
as l thought trustworthy from men who
have come down from that country. Its
scale is sach that many details are neces-
sarily omitted. but it is relia BILE in the To-
cation and general direction of all water
courses, in distances and in the location
of the principal landmarks and the
boundary line.
There will be no complete and ac-
curate map OF this great region for good
while. There is an extraordinary lack Of
accurate geogra phical information about
the region, aside from the ukon River
itself. The charts that explorers have
made have been made with distances esti-
mated and without instrumental work.
The charts by Schwatka and others are
unrelia BILE for this reason. McGrath and
Turner. while locating the boundary In
1888-8990, did more than all the others
in fixing points up and down the river by
instrumental OBJ ervations.
1t is hard to estimate DIS ances when
travelling under difficulties in a country
like that. One thinks that he has gone
further than he has. Men who have been
in the country for years come down with
Absurdlv inaccurate ideas as to distances.
Alaska has the vast area OF $4,000
square miles and three-fourths of it is un-
touched by the geographer, except along
the river courses. 1t is thus i'm possible 10
give reliable map OF the areas back of
The main rivers, over which prospectors
will now wander.
"The correct mapping of the country
will proceed slowly. The recent develop
ments should, and probably will, pro mpt
both Governments to put into the field
men especially fitted for this kind of
work. All the early work was necessarily
of the character of a r"conn oissance.
"The men who travel over The country
must travel by the rivers as best they
may. Ii they travel over REGIONS and
mountain ranges they know little or moth
ing about, they may lose their dis