Douglas Island news., 1903-06-03

The constructor or CWeuCy 'S miles of the Alaska Central railway during the present season is practically assured. George w. Dickenson, presl- dent of the company, returned recent ,ly from Chicago, after closing a con tract with construction company for the work of building these twenty five miles, work to be begun without delay. The building of the road for 400 miles across Alaska into the Tanana valley will soon be hurried as soon as the first section is complete, The road will start from Resurrection bay, about 15O miles west of Valdez, and at an elevation of but geo feet pass through the Coast Range.
 Mir. and Mrs. L. c. Crayson, an ec- centric couple from Illinois, are mak- ing tour of the world in what might be called peculiar fashion. Now that they have arrived on the Pacific Coast, they will not follow the usual lines of travel to Asia and Europe, but will proceed by way of Alaska and the 4u- kon river, and expect by the time they will reach St. Michael this summer that regular communication will have been established from ther9 with the Siberian coast, and that in this way they will be able to reach the Siberian railway without patronizing the trans-Pacifc liners.
 Roland Gamwell, of Fairhaven, Wash, has secured the contract for all the lumber and large share of hard ware supplies for the Western Alaska Construction company at Nome and Salmon river The lumber will be used in the construction of railroad from Nome to Salmon river. There is 3,OOOOOO feet of lumber in the contract, all of which will be shipped direct from this port. The Northwest Hardwar company of Whatcom has secured the contract for large share of the hard ware to be used and 100 carloads of supplies are now on the way from the East.
 4 tremendous loss in work has been caused by floods on Bonanza creek, says the Dawson News. A majority of the big claims on the creek below it's junction with Eldorado were open for summer operations. The water has en- tirely undone the work of the miners. The damage wrought reaches tre- mendous magnitude already and worse is yet to come. Miners are battling with the destruction bearing waters, in an almost hopeless effort to save the fruit of winters hard work. The late season with the consequent sudden melting of the snow on the hillsides and the gusher ice are responsible for the devastation which has fallen on the lower creek.
 'sI anu speaking in the gateway to AL aska," said Pres. Roosevelt in speech at Seattle. "All our people, even those from the locality whence I came, are beginning to appreciate little of AL aska's future. (Applause.) The men of my own age whom I am addressing, will not be old men before we shall see Alaska one of the rich, mighty and pop ulous states of the Union. (Applause.) am glad to notice that our national legislature now seems desirous of pro- viding at once for the needs of that great territory. I predict that Alaska will, within the next century, support as large population as does the entire Scandinavian peninsula of Europe these countries from which have sprung as wonderful race as ever imprinted it's characteristics upon the history of civilization. Exactly as the Scandina- vian regions have left their mark upon the entire history of Europe, so. we shall see Alaska, with it's mines, its lumber, it's fisheries, with it's agricul- ture and stock-raising, with it's possibil- ities of commercial command, with the tremendous development that is going on within it even now, produce as hardy and vigorous people as any portion of North America.