Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-07-16
The Islands TO Become One of the
Greatest Grazing Regions in the
WorId-wiIl support Vast
Herds Of Cattle ana sheep
The Aleut Indians.


The islands. large and small, count
full $780, but only half that number can
be found on the best maps, and of these
a bare, half dozen hold people. few
are large, like Unalaska which is 80
miles long by so wide. A ma jority are lit
tic rocks which give slippery foothold
to the slippery seal. For / 900 miles they
reach out into the Pacific making
broken wall of rock between that ocean
and Behring sea. Mist hung isles Of mys-
terry they are, for all that generations
have passed since first the white man.
the Russian, claimed them for his own
Enshroudcd in eternal fogs the shattered
| leavngs of volcanic unheavals, they rest
peacefully and quietly, n land.
Where the gray sea goes markedly between
the red-hung shelves,
And the little blue fox is bred for his skin
| and the seal they breed for themselves;
And the northern lights come down O.
nights
to dance with the houseless snow.
| Until the last two or three years those
lines of Kiping told the story of the
Aleutians The rendezvous of the seal
hunter. licensed and poacher. the last
stopping place of the whaler on his way
to the Arctic and his first touch of semi
civilization on his way home. they ex-
| listed for most merely as a name which
now and then crept into the newspapers,
usually as the locale Of some grim ira
gedy of the hardy men who visited
them. But at last, the everlasting and
! irresistible impulse of the Anglo-SaXon
to seek for new lands TO settle and colon
lie brought this isolation into his horizon
Alaska, long a land Of mystery, became
a country of gold, Of rich forests and
richer farming lands, and the adventure
group of islands for new sources of
wealth. The result of this is soon to be
seen, for these islands which lie on the
borderland of the arctic zone are to be-
come one of the greatest grazing CEN
tres in the world.
A GREAT PASTURE LAND.
Until the government began to explore
them thoroughly a year or two ago, the
islands were believed to be valuable only
for their fur-bearing animals. The seal
rookeries on St. George and st. Paul had
for years supplied the world. From the
islands also came the blue fox and the
sea otter and it was catching these that
formed the living of the Aleuts, the In
dian inha bitants. In the end 1t was really
the welfare of the Aleuts that directed
the attention Of the government to the
islands They are about the highest class
Of our native tribes A peaceful, indus
trious people, perhaps the most skilled
, hunters in the world, they had suffered
the usual fate of barbarions who submit
to the softcning influences of civilization.
When the Russians came there they mum
bered a fun 80 900. To-day they number
less than 1000. and even these were
? dwindlng when Washington took up their
case. The seals were almost eXtormi-
mated and instead Of yearly catch of
co., con they were limited to 5000 The
blue fox was all but gone and the otter
was rapidly disappearing.
The first thing the government did was
to establish experiment stations for the
breeding Of the blue fox. This was sc
successful that for part at least of the
population "A good living has been assur'
ed During these experiments It was no
ticed that the larger islands were coy
cred with Il growth of most luXurian'
, grasses that grew thick and long ant
made good hay. 1t was discovered also
that contrary to popular belief, the eli
l mate was mild, the thermometer in win
ter rarely reaching as low as ten de
grees This gave the idea of herding cat
tie and sheep and raising them for the
market.
h A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT.
. The first attempt at this was made las
4 season when 1000 sheep were sent t.
one of the islands. The experiment wa
most successful. so much so that th
T. summer 5000 more sheep and 5000 heat
10 Of cattle arc to be sent there to stool
- other islands. The importance of thi
cannot be over estimated. An area of tn
richest pasture lands in the world, equa
e to half of that of New England, has bee
G added to the country, a region whicl
is not cursed by the swift clmati
changes found in our cattle-raisin
II States.
y This settled, the future OF the Aleut
is provided for. Already the effects o
I,I beneficial
u be seen there. Instead Of the novels q
II the Russian days, the natives live i
Ie comfortable frame dwellings. The wome
i have American stoves TO cook with an
American clothes to wear. Several {
= the families are already wealthy throug
n the fur and seal business All are Chris
.. tians. members of the Greek Churci
-, There is in Unalaska a government schoC
9' where over 100 Indians, mostly girls al
r being instructed They are quick (
N learn. industrious and willing and
will soon be the exception to find a
- Indian who cannot read and write Ell
lg elish Several of tho boys and girls haN
IN been sent to the government school
~ Carlisle where they have made enviab
records for themselves.
O. 1t would not he strange II these Isl
no lated islands should turn out to he amor
ID the richest Of our possessions, TT
t., wealth Of their grazing lands has bee
~ settled beyond dispute. 1t is suppose
I'd also that thsre arc large deposits of co
r. on the islands, and it is not unlike
&c that gold also will be found there. II
great difficulty in exploring them h;
IL been the heavy fogs, which seem to
never ending, Two summers ago the A
batross, a fish department steamer whi'
was loaned to the navy, was sent to Il
i'd Islands to chart them out, Practically II
tie or no work was done because in s
nd months there were but three clear day
| ,har Ia
is wealth to be had. With a great teri
tory where cattle can be raised for almo
nothing. with possibilities of coal al
m gold 1t will be but a short time before t
distant Aleutians will he as well know
nc as Alaska.