Evening star., 1898-10-29

educated in agriculture. The fact that sea
! otter hunting is rapidly the decline, and
that few natives are being employed in the
canneries, where Chinese are preferred,
| leads Dr. Evans to believe that there is no
avenue open to the Alaskans except agri-
culture. That these natives are susceptible
10 civilization and elevation by contact
with the superior races, he says, is shown
by improvements which are taking place in
their clothing and houses They take read
lily to tools in the training schools.
Agricultural Resources
DIR. Evans believes that much of the
agricultural activity of Norway, Sweden,
Finland. Scotland, Iceland and the Orkney
Islands may be successfully reproduced in
portions of Alaska. The climates soils
topography, etc, of all the regions named
are similar. The southwestern portion will
offer good facilities for stock raising. The
tnly drawback viii be the providing of
winter forage. In summer there are vast
areas here of grass nearly as high as a
n ans head. In the interior the winters
are colder and the summers hotter. In the
lower Yukon region many gardens have
already been established, especially hy
missionaries. The commercial companies
have raised good vegetables along the
ukon further east than Circle city and
near the Canadian boundary. Two years
ago 3"mt pounds of turnips were raised bv
i woCdman near Circle City. A large vege-
table garden has been established opposite
Dawson. in the Klondike region
ihe white AlaSkanS now live mostly on
potatoes, turnips, cabbages lettuce, pease,
Tadlshes and rutabagas. as far as vegeta-
Dles are concerned. The natives raise lit
tie else than potatoes, rutabagas. turnips
ana sometimes onions. They gather sal
monberries, huckleberries cranberries cur
rants and raspbarries and preserve them
IN seal oil. The Thlinkets cultivate n p1ant
Which they call 'koo.' dry its underground
md GRIN,
ing a sort of cake. They also eat the roots
OF the wild parsnip weed and drink a sort
of tea made from the leaves of another
Wlld plant. They also relish skunk cab
page, among other weeds, as a pot herb.
The leaf stocks of the plant ''heracleum
iahatum are peeled and chewed at irregu-
lar intervals, taking the place of our pea
nuts or FOODS eaten more for pleasure than
nutrition. Unless this luxury is well peel-
ed the mouth becomes very sore from the
mars which the doctor says cover the en-
tire stem very popular food of the ma
tlNtS is known as "thlakusk" 1t is made
iioih marine alga which grows on kelp.
AFTER storms or very high tides large GUAM
tlties are collected and preserved 1t is
hShiy esteemed for stomach disorders and
IS similar to the ''sloke," .-slokan'' or
IdIer used In the north of Ireland The
root OF skunk cabbage also has a high rem
utatlon as a domes tic medicine as well as
the buckbean. DR.. Evans believes that the
use OF native plants by the Alaskans has
greatly diminished since the advent OF
the whites. The flour, sugar and other
prepared food materials of the latter now
mostly supplement the native diet of fish
sea- OIL and meat. San Francisco OF
course. is the great market for all Alas
hahS, who have not been educated to nm
derstand that seed taken from n warm eli
mate TO a cold gives bad results. because
the period OF vegetation is greatly DroIong-
co. Yet people continue to buy it in this
way and become discouraged because il
IA troI
Alaska, the doctor says. is sufficient to SUD-
ply the territory for all time to come if
properly managed The native grasses are
especially valuable.
tnucr Cultivation.
Dr. Evans found the areas already nm
der cultivation Confired mostly to Kitchen
SafGens raising the earlier and tardier vee,-
etanles. Lettuce, radishes rarsnips. car
lots, potatoes, onions, peas, snap-beans
ce'ery, turnips, cauli1ower cabbage rim
b&rt ana horseradish were seen flourishinp
1he supply of potatoes, however. is seldom
enough to satisfy the demand and il is a
question whether they ever mature in Alas
Nd. IN COOK Inlet and on Kadish Island
the natives are growing a small round no
'd'o sald 10 be the same now as u hundred
years ago. During the Russian occupa tion
oats rye barley and buckWheat were
grown to q cOnSidera BILE extent but thera
are now no traces of them in the fields
OF the present inhabitants. Yet in several
preliminary experimental gardens oats bar
icy ana iaX We're grown this summer DR..
Evans brought specimens of these home
with him. The barley is especially exec
lent 1t was grown, with the others men
TONED, near Sitka. The Alaskans now pur-
sue the same methods of agriculture
throughout the whole territory The gar
dens everywhere appear neglected. Those
81 the whites are often no better than those
OF the atives. A crop once planted with
great pains is allowed to care for itself
he result is usually large and luxuriant
cop uf weeds. When Russia owned Alas
ka live stock was introduC ed in some parts
The small cattle of the kenni peninsula
where one of the experimental farms will
be located, are called Russian or Siberian
cattle. n small island of the Chernabura
group was well stocked with pigs but in
1877 they were all engulfed by d tidal wave
following Il volcanic eruption on Unimak
Island Stock raising is row limited al
me II 10 mich cows. Yet at nearly every
village some pigs and poultry are seen.
Horses are kept in some places I-pon the
small islands about kadiak and Prince VIII
lam Sound there Is springing UP a prom
iS-nG animal industry Blue foxes are be
ing brought there and propdgatcd for their
iurS. Persons wishing to enter this indus
try may rent al island from the Treasury
Department. The leasing costs 500 a year
On each island must be placed keeper
and food to last over winter. During the
dCmcsticatiUn the foxes eat dried fish and
corn meal. They burrow beneath the rocks
and trees and need no housing. Extensive
buildings on each island, however are re-
quired for storing food and curing hides.
German carp will probably be introduced
in the fresh water lakes Of this region 70
furnish food for the foxes The other ma
tive animals are fast decreasing. These
are the white-tailed deer, moose, mountain
sheep and bears. About the lakes behind
the coast are the breeding grounds of vast
hCcKs of ducks and geese.
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS, JR
Carved His Epitnph and Died.
From the CoIrier-Journal