The daily morning Alaskan., 1901-04-09
vALDtS IS PROSPEROUS
Six or Eight Hundred People are
There Prospe citing

II consider that the port OF Naldes
by reason OF its remarkable geographi-
cal position, harbor. climate etc, is to-
day the gateway into the interior OF
Alaska. and has future that will yet
astonish the world, said Frederic b
Chandler few days ago in Seattle.
He is a New York mining operator
who has Just returned from business
trip to Prince William sound.
What that country now wants is a
better transportation facilities to open
up the numerous mining regions OF the
interior There is the extensive Chsna
placer mining district, located from 200
to $50 miles from Naldes. and the equ-
ally promising copper region about
sixty miles from Naldes. All these are
now inaccessible for any large mining
operations The United States COVER,
ment appears to have been so impress
sed with the location of Naldes as a
natural base and outlet for traffic that it
has now engaged in building a military
wagon road to the Yukon a distance
of about $50 miles, that will tap all
the known mining regions in the inter
ior.
"A wagon road to the Yukon, Eagle
City | presume will do much toward
opening that country, but a railroad is
what is ready wanted from Naldes to
the Yukon. at least as far as the min
ing district, and | have been given to
understand on what | consider reliable
authority, that one OF the present trans
continental lines has alheady secured a
charter for railway to the mining re-
gion in the interior.
when all these transportation iacili-
ties shall have been supplied the all
American route to the Yukon is going
to become exceedingly popular Val
DIES is accessible at all seasons OF the
year by steamer from Seattle, which
can make it in from four to five days.
1t is port where the shipper is not
bothered with custom duties When |
left Valdes the mail had been brought
down fro Eagle City in fifteen days,
time never accomplished before Great
credit for that is due the present eff
cient mail contractors, the Fisher bro
theirs, who have established relay stat
ions along the route and are giving
god service.
Miners and prospectors have been
going out of Vades into the interior
for som time, and already some 500
or 600 men are out in the hills. and
others are rapidly following.
In talkin with some of the orig
inal discoveries about the different
minerals, they expressed great con
fidence in the several districts, and
were willing that competent experts
and engineers should give their prop
critics a rigid examination. My mis-
sion East is to exhibit samples of ores
and endeavor to interest Eastern and
English capitalists to return with me
to NaldeS next May.
when | left Valdes there were be
tween 600 and 900 inhabitants. be
sides those who were out on the trail
and buildings were going up on all
sides. The climate OF Valdes did not
strike me as being so severe as that
OF Boston. Living in Valdes is rea-
Sonable, and much more so than in
Nome, for the reason that the steam,
ers are keeping the place well supplied
with everything
Aside from the work going on in
the interior, the mineral resources
around Prince William sound are also
being developed. The Gladhaugh
mine, located at Virgin bay, is ship
ping copper ore which is rich and
ineXhaustable.
Il know OF no pleasure trip equal
to that of going to Alaska, and pa,
triotci Americans have no futher ex-
cuse for going to Switzerland. because
the scenery in Alaska is far superior
to any on the continent. in vastness
and magnifcence, especially in and
around Valdes bay and Prince Viii
liam sound"