The evening times., 1899-11-23

The annual report OF Hon. John G. Brady,
Governor of Alaska has been submitted tC
the Secretary of the Interior. 1t shows the
! wonderful resources of the country in gold.
silver, platinum. copper, coal. fish, fur,
potatoes, and grass for cattle raising. 1t
also deals minutely with the subjects Of
population, schools. laws. missions, mill
tary affairs, railways. postal facilities,
public buildings, and steamship and other
transportation.
| The production Of gold in Alaska, says
the report. has already been largely writ
ten about, but the discoveries of other
minerals have not been SO fully exploited.
Concerning platinum, Governor Brady
says:
| "A discovery Of this metal was made this
season in Disenchantment Bay, which is
! not far from Yakutat- The metal Is found
in quartz, though not in placer. The mi
/ ners were crushing and working IL, and
one miner said that he had cleaned up
| two pounds when they were overtaken by
| the earthquake and tidal wave on the 18th
| of September. and they lost everything
they had. camp outfit, clothing and all
| They think that they have made a very
| important discovery. and will find the ore.
| II they succeed In demonstrating this, IL
will be q very interesting discovery In the
history Of mining"
The mining Of copper promises to become
one OF the leading Industries Of Alaska.
The report says:
Although Alaska is not sending any cop
per to market, We believe that in the near
future il is destined to become one OF the
large producers OF this metal. From time
try,r has in
the natives. and has always been tracked
back to the region north of Mount St. Elias
Last year some prospecting parties brought
out considerable amount Of native copper
near the head of White River. This year
Healy. of the North American Trading and
Transportation Company. obtained slab
of native copper. 142 pounds liz weight,
from somewhere near the sources OF the
Tanana. This he has sent TO John Cudahy
as an ornament for his ofice in Chicago.
Masses of ore have been found upon
the shores OF Prince William Sound and
upon some of the islands therein, which
carry large percentage of copper. These
are accessible and like the ore upon
Douglass Island, could be worked at
small prof: per ton. One company has
been spending a good deal of money this
year in doing development work. and il
this comes up to expectations ample works
will be erected.
Quite recently large quantities Of ore
have been discovered on Prince of Wales
Island. near the head of Kasaan Bay and
at other points. The assays of this ore
show ii 10 be rich in copper number of
discoveries have been made on branches of
Copper River and upon Tanana but little
will be done probably with the ore in these
regions until such time when a railroad
shall have been built TO connect the waters
of Prince William Sound with the Yukon
River
Cinabar has also been discovered but its
production has not yet attained CONNER
ciaf proportions. Concerning the coal of
Alaska. Governor Brady says:
THE Alaska Commercial Company and
the North American Trading and Trans
portation Company have been mining coal
and using il this past season upon their
steamers on the Yukon River. They get
much better results from steaming with
coal than from cord wood.
THE Chignik Bay Coal and Fish Com
pany have mined enough to supply the
have taken out a number Of tons on the
lagoon. Admiralty Island. A company has
been at work upon the coal measures at
Anchor Point. Kachemak Bay. Cooks In
let. and there are many other places where
coal has been discovered. The laws for
the purchase Of coal lands have not been
extended to Alaska by Congress, but should
be at the earliest opportunity"
The native population of Alaska consist
ing of the Indians and descendants Of the
Russians rs neither increasing nor de-
creasing. the figures being given as 31,c64.
The report gives the white population
as "a 900. and says that $4,000 more is
needed for schools. More school build
ings and teachers are needed because of
the increase in pupils. Concerning the
missions. the governor says:
ANY observing and minded man
who passes through Alaska cannot help
but notice and be favorably impressed with
the work which the missionaries have al
ready accomplished for the natives wher-
ever they have taken up their stations
among them.
Considering the time that they have Ia
bored and the means with which they have
wrought. their works have been fruitful.
Many of these people obtain no salaries.
and are supplied by their societies with
the barest necessities only. None feel
more deeply than the missionaries how
far short they come OF accomplishing that
ought to be done. but they toll on through
evil and good report From a pecuniary
point of view these missionaries save the
Government many thousands of dollars
in keeping down lawlessness, which would
cost very much to punish, either by our
military force or by our single court, il