The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-01-02
THE alaska PENINSULA
ITS WEALTH IN MINERALS AND
FISHERIES.
Fox Raising is Carried on and May be
Made Prohtable-Range for Thou
sands of Cattle.

of the richest sections of the North, in .
the opinion of DR. Robert Lyall, of Un- /
ga, He speaks highly of its mineral ,
resources, including gold, copper ana .
coal its fisheries, which he believes Will I
ultimately supply the markets of the /
world its fox raising industry and the /
possibilities of stock raising in the val !
leys of the peninsula. Prospectors have !
also found very satisfactory indications |
of petroleum Until however the pres |
ent difficulties encountered in reaching /
the interior are overcome, the country 8
development will be somewhat retard |
ed
DR. Lyall is well known on the Sound
and in Alaska. He formerly made his
home i'm Port Townsend, and later was
connected with the revenue cutter serv-
ice -Four and one-half years ago he
left the service to become the physician
of the Apollo Consolidated Mining Com
pany at Unga. During the past three
years he has kept a party of men in the
field investigating the mineral and fish
resources of the peninsula. Last spring
ne purchased the fast San Francisco
yacht, Volunteer, and after converting
her into a schooner, made an extended
trip of inspection along the coast of the
peninsula during the summer months
Prior to the arrival of the yacht he eX-
amined the coast between False pass
and Unga. He boarded the Volunteer at
Sandy point and sailed eastward along
the coast to Kadiak island, investigat-
ing the conditions at the different places
of interest
THAT part of Alaska" said Dr. Lyall
has been prospected very little until
this year. but the results obtained have
been satisfactory. 1t is no eXaggera-
tion to say that it will prove one of the
richest districts of the North. In adj
dition to it's mineral wealth, it has
great fishing banks, strong indications
Of oil resources, has it's fox raising in
dustry, and possibilities as cattle
country. al
my trip was one of observation, am
satisfied that between False pass and
Unga vast mineral deposits exist, in
Guiding gold and copper.
Il left Sandy point in June on the
schooner and went first to the Shuma-
gin group and thence to Chignik, At
the former place there are Goldfish banks
and at Chignik salmon canneries. l
believe from my inspection that no
other place can boast of such valuable
Goldfish banks as Shumagin. The sup
ply is practically unlimited. AS COM
pared with the resources the industry
is in its infancy. 1t has, however,
great future, and in the course of time
these banks will supply the markets Of
the world.
cat Chignik, in addition to the can
neries, the largest deposits of coal dis
covered on the Coast have been found.
The Alaska Packers Association is
working one small vein for it's local con-
sumption. 1t is a fine quality of steam,
ing coal, but some veins are also good
for cooking These coal resources when
developed will aid greatly in the de-
velopment of all that part of Alaska.
Because of the vast extent and width
of the tundra and the lack of transport
tatiOn that section of the peninsula has
not yet been opened up. 1t is hard to
get into the mountains. Gold has been
discovered in paying quantities, how
ever.
From Chignik we went to Agripin
bay and White bay. This district is of
a peculiar geological formation COM
posed of granite with sandstone over
lying 1t carries with it the sedimen-
tary formation, showing that once the
peninsula lay beneath the ocean. AS
result of the atmospheric action, the
scenery among the mountains is fantas-
tic, wild and rugged. The granite con-
tains quartz veins carrying considerable
copper which seems to be the predo-
minant there No placers have been
discovered on this side of the peninsula
but / believe that along the northern
coast large placer deposits will be
found. We then continued on to Ka-
diak island, where my Investigations
ended.
"A curious fact about the peninsula
is its formation. One place will be
granite, the next of porphry and the
third of something else.
The leading industry so far Of this
division of Alaska has been fox raising
Some have been successful in this line
nt y
that will be profitable in the future,
when the number of foxes on the farms
has increased to a sufficient extent. The
animals are rapidly decreasing on the
mainland and this win make the in
dustry still more profitable Some of
the fox companies which have been es-
tablished for the past ten years or so
are on good paying basis now. 1t is
not business for a poor man. 1t re-
quires capital.
The peninsula contains many villa
ges where the richest kind of grass
grows in profusion, as high as a mans
head Many thousands Of cattle could
be raised in these valleys. No obstacles
are in the way of this industry, and i'll
should be a profitable one. The climate
is too damp for sheep. All sorts of
garden truck can also be raised easily.
ION the voyage we had cold weather
otherwise 1t would have been like
pleasure outing Sunken rocks which
are still uncharted lent a spice of dan
ger to the cruise When the wind Is
blowing from the northwest great care
has to be eXecised when you enter a
bay. You may be sailing along under
a summer breeze, but when you come
to the entrance Of a bay, you are almost
sure to run into a tempestuous gale.
The scenery of the peninsula is sub |
lime in its ruggedness, and well worthy
Of an artists study. Active volcanoes
and glaciers Of great extent are numer-
GUS"
DR. Lyall will spend the winter at his
old home in Port Townsend. He viii
return to the North next string
Seattle Post-Intelligencer.