The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1899-08-12
. K LoNDIKE A SNARE
A. r.. RYAN SAYS RUSH SHOULD
HAVE BEEN PREVENTED.
Never Enough Gold There to War
rant Such an Influx of People.
Engaged i'm Land Fur Trade-Sal-
mon Fisheries He Declares. Will
BE q Permanent and Valuable
Industry for the Territory. -,

has Just arrived in Duluth to pay short
visit to his brother, NJ. "A. Ryan, of the
Northwestern Steam Boiler works.
This is the first time that Mr.. Ryan has
been back to the states since he went to
Alaska a dozen years ago. While in. the
great territory that the United States OBJ
tanned from Russia, Mr.. Ryan has been
employed in the fur trade, and has been
engaged with the North American Com
mercial company, the Alaska Commercial
company ana the Pacific Steam Whaling
company. The latter company has been
engaged in Cooks inlet for some thing less
than three years. and Mr.. Ryan acted as
pilot for the company when. it first es-
tablished posts there. The headquarters
of the North Commercial company is at
Wood island, and that Of the Alaska Com
mercial company at st. Paul harbor IN
the same group. There are nine trading
posts at various points in Cooks inlet,
and from 5000 to $4,000 is invested at each
post The trade in which Mr.. Ryan has
been engaged is land furs. He has not
been in the seal trade.
It is 1900 miles from San Francisco to
Cape Elizabeth, the southern point at
Cooks inlet. The principal industry there,
says Mr.. Ryan, and the industry that will
last and be permanent thing is the can
ming of salmon. He says it is the great
est salmon country in the world. 1t Is
nothing at all to take up a trap that con-
tains from 10000 to 1900 salmon. and he
says that salmon that weighs 40 pounds,
and brings about cents a pound in the
more southern waters can be bought in
oyx- Fon re h oofo 1ioh nj
there one year recently packed u01 900 cases
Of salmon, ana theindustry, he says, has
not yet attracted the attention of pack
ers to any great extent. . u
The fur trade, he says, has not been
what it might have been during the past
year or two.: Since the outbreak Of the,
fever to get in to the gold regions of Alas:
ka the natives have engaged in packing
for miners and prospectors, and in doing.
other. work for the prospectors, and have
neglected almost every thing in the fur
line. A great many furs are taken out
Of Alaska, says MI. Ryan, when the catch
is good. The land furs taken are black
and brown, or cinnamon bear, silver gray
fox, black fox, although black fox seems
almost extinct, mink; lynx, martin, anad'
other furs Of less value. The traders de-
pend on the natives for furs, None OF
them do any hunting themselves for furs:
There is more Cor less gold at various
points about Cook s Inlet Mr.. Ryan says,
but there are only q. fey places where It is
found in paying quantities. It is all pla-;
Ger, no quartz having yet been found
there. Mr.. Ryan says that 1t is pitiful
the way meh had to suffer and die In the.
1ock rftSto
to time on board his vessel men that were
suffering from scurvy, and who subse-
quently died. He adds that the finds in
Alaska were never sufficient to warrant
the rush that was made for the territory
and he says that the government should
have done something to prevent the great
rush that was made, when 1t might have
expected sad ending Of many lives as a
direct result. 2e,'%i =
The largest town on Cooks inlet is Sum
rise, which contains population Of about
700, 800 of which is floating. Six miles
from Sunrise is the little town Of Hope.
The language of the Inhabitants of the
coast Is Russian. Even the indians along
the coast can talk Russian sufficiently
well to do their trading. 1t took Mr.. Ryan
about three years to master Russian, and
he knew enough of it in two years to
transact business. Their religion is that
Of the Greek church. They are gradually
decreasing In population. Mr.. Ryan says
1t few years ago q kind Of grip
broke out among them and fully one
third of them were swept away in one
winter. The disease seemed to be some
thing like consumption. They bled from
the lungs and gradually wasted away. The
natives claim that before the whites came
there in any numbers, and when they
were left to live as they did formerly, be-
fore the coming of the whites. they were
healthy enough. Some 50 or 60 years ago,
Mr.. Ryan says. it must be. as nearly as he
can make 1t out, smallpox broke out
among the natives and took many of them
away; otherwise they had been healthy
until recent years.
Mr.. Ryan adds that it Is quite probable
that tntermarriage has weakened the ma
tives more or less and has tended to run
them out, although this Is forbidden by the
Russian church. It is nevertheless prac-
ticed to q degree much greater than IS
generally admitted, and doubtless. thinks
Mr.. Ryan, has its influence on thus re-
ducing the native population.
Mr.. Ryan expects to leave on his return
to Alaska early next week.
a vnv1wrr1v,