The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-08-25
FUTURE OF ALASKA
Prospect Of. Its Becoming a Great
Farming District
II is Believed the Country VIII ne
Capable eff Supporting 1o.000y-
90 PersOns In ssme<hIng
Like Comfort

Some idea Of the future Of Alaska
and its almost boundIeSs resources IS
given BY Harrington Emerson in the
Engineering Magazine Mr. Emerson
believes that Alaska can support q
population Of 10, 900. 900 persons in COM
fort, and that at no distant day It
VIII be one Of the worlds richest min
ing and farming districts The ideas
Of this explorer are expressed II part
as follows.
The Yukon, the fourth largest river
IN the world. nzvigable for more than
1000 miles above is mouth and run
ming IN great semi-circle from south
eastern to northwestern Alaska. forms
natural highway All this was
known long ago; but it was not knossn
that the interior contained 100 Co
square miles Of farming lands and al
most limitIeSs areas Of the richest
mineral lands in the world 1t Is IN
this unsubdued country that thou
sands Of miles of railroad must be
built that great areas viii open for
settlement. absorbing and keeping
busy 2.O0O.00O workers al fast as they
choose to GO
1T Is however not the agricultural
resources that viii Immediately at
tract the largest influx Of population
and capital. About 10 miles from
Valdez in the Chittyna valley are very
great copper deposits. which during
the last season have been visited BY
many experts Some Of the ores run
- per cent copper. and there are many
thousand tens in sight azsaying 10 per
cent
great mountain slide has occurred
IN this region revealing. II Is claimed,
as much as 100000 tons Of high
grade copper ores Valdez bsy and the
low pass north Of II are the American
gateways TO the Yukon valley and al
I ready railroad has been surveyed and
E partly graded TO the interior. for the
copper though it can be quarr5ed ike
the iron ores Of Lake Superior. with
cut a railroad viii remain worthless.
The railroad itself Is assured an un-
I limited tonnage T. IS sSe shortest
line 10 Dawson and the Yukon valley
E and what Is Of more Importance. Il
i can carry supplies delivered at VAL
/ Gez from sailing vessels OF deep draft
ocean steamers IN al the months Of
the year. with only one break CT bulk
al Valdez. and also reach the deep
navigable Yukon and the KOyukuk a
month earlier than by the Yukon
mouth. which Is closed By Behring
sea ice until july l.
As shown IN the history of the
White Pass railroad. the ingoTrg trzf-
fie would IN itself be sufficient TO war
rant a railroad. but from Dawson the
only export Is gold about 20 tons a
rear while this road VIII not only car
~ all the United States government
troops and supplies. for which mzuy
hundred thousand dollars are spent,
but it VIII have the unlimited cut
bound tonnage Of kigh-grads copper
ores. which. with freight rate OF TWO
dollars a ton from Valdez 70 the smell
tiers Of Puget sound VIII scarcely be
treated in the interior
IT IS not too much TO expect tha,
improvement IN transportation facIli-
ties alone viii convert central Alaska
into as closely a populated and pres
porous region as Colorado. as the
Black Hills. Of South Dakota. as The
rich mining region Of British Colum-
bia.-