Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1903-08-28
FUTURE OF ALASKA.
Prospect of Its Becoming a Great
Farming District.
II II Believed the Country Will Ne
Capable OF Supporting 10000
600 Persons In Something
Like Coafort.

Some idea Of the future Of Alaska
and its almost bOundlcss resources is
given by Harrington Emerson i'll the
Engineering Magazine. Mr.. Emerson
believes that Alaska can support n
population of iO,0CO, 900 persons in COM
fort, and that at no distant day 1t
will be one of the worlds richest min
ing and farming districts. The ideas
of this explorer are expressed in part
as follows:
THE Yukon, the fourth largest river
in the world, navigable for more than
1000 miles above its mouth and run
ming in great scmi-circle from south
eastern To northwestern Alaska, forms
natural highway. All this was
known long ago; but il was not known
that the interior contained 100000
square miles of farming lands and al
most limitless areas of the richest
mineral lands in the world. It is in
this unsubdued country that thou
sands of miles Of railroad must be
built, that great areas will open for
settlement, absorbing and keeping
busy 2O00,00O workers as fast rs they
choose to go.
1T is. however. not the agricultural
resources that will Immediately at
tract the largest influx of population
and capital. About 40 miles from
Valdez in the Chittynn valley are very
great copper deposits, which during
the last season have been visited by
many experts. Some of the ores run
IS per cent. copper, and there nre many
thousand tons in sight assaying 16 per
cent.
~ great mountain slide has occurred
In this region revealing. il is claimed,
rs much MS 4O,OOO,OO0 tons of high
grade copper ores. Valdez bay md the
low pass north Of il are the American
gateways to the Yukon valley. and al
ready railroad has hcen .urveyed and
partly graded to til" interior. for the
sopper. though it can he qu1rri,d like
the iron ores Of Lake Superior With
out railroad will rcmair VI. rrh;rss.
The railroad itself is assu"r.i TN un-
limited tonnage. Il is shortest
line to Dawson and the - - valley.
and what is Of more =, .. .':rcr. IL
can cnrry supplies deli, ..,+ nt VAL
deZ from sailing vessels - Cv,p draft
ocean steamers in all E, '--.n.hs Of
the year. with only one h"cak cf bulk
at Valdez. and also reach the deem
nnvigablc Yukon and the Koyukuk n
month earlier than by The Yukon
mouth, which is closed by BehrinR
sea Ice until July /.
AS shown in the history of the
White Pass railroad. the irguine traf-
hc would in itself he sufficient 10 war
rant n railroad, but from DAVIS on the
only export is gold. about 20 tons n
year, while this ronG will not ONLY car.
ry nll the United States government
troops md supplies. for which many
hundred thousand dollars nrc spent.
but it will have the unlimited out
bound tonnage Of high. grade copper
ores, which. with n freigh; rate of two
dollars ton from Valdez 10 the smell
ters of Puget sound will scarcely bo
trented In the interior.
1T 10 not too much to expect TINT
Improvement in transportation fnciIi.
ties alone will convert central Alaska
into ms closely n populated and pros.
porous region ms Colorado. Ms the
BLACK Hills, of South Dakota, ms The
rich mining region of British Colum.
bia."