Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-09-24

II It is only christened Klondlke, or
Yukon, or Alaska. The Klondike
craze is in fun and gorgeous bloom.
From every direction deluges of in
quiries are pouring in, as TO the new
found Ell Dorado where it Is and what
II is, what its advantages and disad-
vantages are, how to reach II, what
equipment is needed, and what the
probable expenses are. To answer these
questions briefly and reliably is the
object of this hurriedly prepared cir
cular, which will soon be followed by
n more extended and elaborate state
ment.
WHAT AND WHERE 1T Is.
The Klondike is one-and small
one at that-of hundreds of tributaries
of the great Yukon river of Alaska.
This vast territory, then known as
Russian America. was bought from
Russia by the United States In 1867,
for $7,2O0,000 Its name of Alaska
meaning. in the Indian tongue, Great
Country"-was suggested by Charles
Sumner, and is eminently nppropri-
ate. Including it's outlying islands, 1t
has area of Gl7I0 square miles, or
395,329,920 acres--nearly equal to all the
United States from the Atlantic ocean
to the Mississippi river. and from the
st. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico.
Since Its purchase by the government,
ii has yielded : In furs, S53,OOOOOO;
canned salmon, $4,000. 900; whalebone,
$lO,000,000: gold. about Sl0.000.0O0; whale
OIL S3,000,0000; goldfish, $1,600,00O, and
walrus ivory, $500 grand total OF
SSS, $50 900, or more than twelve times
the price paid for It, and its produce
tiveness seems just beginning. Accord
Ing 10 emi-oiiicial estimates, its gold
mines alone yielded last year I,6100 600
of which the famous Treadwell mine,
originally bought for $500 produced
100000, paying a clear profit of about
100000.
The Yukon, the great river of Alas
ka, is second only to the Amazon
among the rivers of the new world. 1t
is naVigable, as one unbroken flood.
2,0i0 miles from its mouth to where the
Lewis and Pclly rivers unite to form
1t, and navigable for light draft boats
hundreds of miles further up each Of
these first arms. At its mouth 1t Is
about GO miles wide; and, 1900 miles
above, 1t IL from eight to ten miles in
width 1t drains an empire of nearly
100000 square miles, and discharges
one-thtrd more water into Behring'S
sea than the Mississippi does into the
Gulf of Mexico. Scores of mighty trib-
utaries, like the Innoko, koyulSuk.
Tanana, Porcupine, Birch, Stewart
and White rivers, pour their waters
into its majestic channel. Many OF
Alitli bit lliNlEhblt EAltdllh. Abpul
1880 miles above its mouth. the Klon-
dixie. clear, shallow river. perhaps
200 miles long and swarmlng with fish,
empties into 1t. Along the bed and
banks of this comparatively insignih-
cant stream have recently been dis
covered the gold placers that have
aroused the world. Their amazing
richness cannot be exaggerated. The
truth in regard to them surpasses all
fiction. And they are but the begin
ming. Gold has been found ON every
river and creek that flows into the
Yukon. The great quartz lodges, from
which all this placer gold comes, are
yet to be discovered. Scarcely 1000
square miles out Of over coo, 900 have
been prospected. The worlds greatest
gold mines are probably yet to be
found. The Klondike is but one small
creek in over 1900 miles of gold-bear-
ing waterways.
THE CLIMATE.
Much has been said about the rigor-
GUS climate of Alaska, and all sorts of
terrible weather yarns are published
The truth Is that there are two wholly
different climates in Alaska. The mean
temperature for the winter, in the
coast regions, according to the chief
Of the United States weather bureau, is
$40 degrees, or almost exactly the same
as that OF Washington City. The sum
mer is warm, and the sun shines about
twenty hours every day. All ordinary
varieties of grains, grasses, fruits and
vegetables grow in profusion, and
flowers bloom everywhere. In the in
terror, the Winter climate is severe but
scarcely more so than in Dakota or
Manitoba. The official reports of the
government weather office show the
mean temperatures from October to
April, in the upper Yukon region, to
have been: For October. 80 degrees;
ATsaaH N.t.ala -