The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-03
CHAPTER Y.


After eighty years of contention with
England our boundary line On the north
mad been fixed in 1872 by arbitration
Within quarter of a century the tw,,
nations were again Contending for terri
tory in the north. Alaska with it's Won
dertul resources and possibilities, was tho
cause of this new difference Of opinion.
rms territory had been discovered and
occupied by Russia, and her title to the
coast above 81 degrees and 40 minutes
mad been recognized by both England
the the United States But she had gain
ed little advantage from its possession
ana regarded it as a possible source OF
weakness in the event of war Conss-
quenty she gladly scld it to the United
States in 1867 for $7,20O,090. The amount
Of territory thus acquired is more than
500G09 square miles,
The reasons why this country desired
Alaska were set forth to best advant-
age by Charles Sumner He dwelt upon
the increase of trade which would accrue
to the Pacific states. He predicted that
the present treaty is a visible step in
the occupation of the whole North Amer
lean continent. AS such it will be rec
og1ized by the word, and accepted by the
American people. But the treaty in
wolves something more. We dismiss one
other monarch from the continent. One
by one they have retired-first France,
then Spain, France again, and now Rus
STA; all giving way to the absorbing
unity declared in the national motto,
e Pluribus Unum.' In conclusion
Summer describes the varied resources
of Alaska. But back of all these reasons
Whlch initiated the movement to acquire
Alaska was the hostility felt on the Pa,
cific slope toward the Hudson Bay com,
Pany. Russia had granted exclusive
rights to trade in Alaska to the Russian
American company. The latter leased its
rights to the Hudson Bay company.
American competitors were determined
to take away this lucrative possession
from the English fur traders.
Profitable Investment.
Alaska has been a most profitable in
VeStment from pecuniary standpoint.
but has involved us constantly in diplo
matte contests with England. Seal skins
form one of the most valuable commodi-
ties in our new territory BY our pllr-
chase we acquired the small islands of
the coast on which most of the seals are
Killed. From this source the government
mas received large revenue and some
OF our citizens have grown wealthy But
in order to protect the herd from exter-
mination, the government has been in
yolved in constant struggle to stop the
1ndiscriminate slaughter of seals on the
high seas.
An American company has the exclu-
sive right to take the seals on the isl
ands where they breed, and only males
are killed. Furthermore, the number is
strictly limited by the secretary of the
treasury, who has charge of the whole
matter. But the Canadians shut out from
this lucrative trade, have resorted to
sealing on the ocean, and have killed
males and females without discrimina-
ton. According to the affidavits of Lon
don traders, over so per cent Of all seals
killed by Canadians have been females
For this reason the determination of the
seals has been positive danger. The
question of right was a complicated one,
as 1t was hard to prove property in
wild animal on the sea. But both gov
ernments desired to preserve the herds
OF seals from entire destruction, and aft
er long discussion an agreement was
reached This difficulty. however, cannot
be regarded as settled
Salmon Fisheries.
Another great source of profit from
Alaska has been in the salmon fisheries |
This industry began in 1873, with two !
small canning factories in operation. Ten
years later there were seventeen can
neries and all of these made large prof
its. This led to rapid extension of the
industry, and in 1897 there were twenty
nine, and the annual output was worth
S3,000,00O The market value of the whole
product in the twenty years has been
over $32, 100000, or more than four times
the price paid for Alaska
The reindeer industry is as yet in its
infancy, but bids fair to be most profit
able in the future. In 1890, when the
agent of the commissioner Of education
visited arctic Alaska for the purpose of
establishing schools, he found 1.-The Eski
mo population slowly dying off with star
walton Their food in the past had been
derived from the whales, walruses and
seals. Almost all of these had been driven
off or slaughtered by the whalers The
fish, which had been so plentiful in the
rivers, was now being shipped to the
American market, millions of pounds
each year. The natives seemed doomed
to slow starvation.
Tame Renders introduced.
To avert this doom the experiment of
introducing tame RENDERS from Siberia
was tried. Tt has proved most success
full and the reindeer may become the sup
port Of a large and prosperous popula- |
ton. It is estimated that there are in
Alaska at least 100000 square miles unfit |
for agriculture or the raising of cattle |
But the whole region is believed to be |
supplied with the long, fibrous, white |
moss the natural food Of the reindeer. In !
fact, wild reindeer were plenty in the I
past. Taking Lapland as basis of cal
culation, this would support over 5000, O00 I