Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1904-11-11
FUTURE OF ALASKA.
p1cepect Of lis Becoming Great
Farming District.
II Is BeIievcd the Country VIII BE
Capable of sNpportin@ 10000
600 Persons la seHethinN
Lake Camfort.

Some idea of the future Of Alaska
mud It's almoet boundless resources is
given by harrington Emerson IN the
Engineering Magazine. MIR Emerson
believes that Alaska can support u
population ofl0.0o0000 personsin COM
fort. and that at no distant day II
will be one If the WORLDS richest min
ing and farming districts. The ideas
OF this explorer are expressed in part
as follows;
"rhe Nukon the fourth largest river
in The world. nevigable for more than
1900 miles above Its mouth aud rum
ming in great aemi-crcle from sohth-
eastern to northwestern Alaska, forms
a natural highway. All this was
. known lcng a@0i but il was not known
that the inip3ior contained l0ooVo
square miles af farming lands and al
most lnatlegs areas OF the richest
mineral lands in the world. II is IN
this unsubGued country thnt thou-
sands of n4ies Of railrnad must be
built, that great areas win open for
eettlemept. absorbing and keeping
busy 1000, $50 workers as fast as they
choose to 60.
"lt is. however not the agricultural
resources that will Immediately Mt
tract the largest inauy Of population
and oaptnl. About lao miles from
Valdez Ia the Chitiyna valley are very
great copper deposits. which during
the last season tave been visited by
many experts Some If the ores run
4 s5 per cent copper and there are many
4 thousand tens in sight assaylng 10 per
cent.
"a great mountain slide has occurred
in this region revealing, 1t is clalmed'
MS much as 4o,o0o.0oo tons of high
i rrade copper ores Naldeahay yaud the
low pass north Of Il are The American
rateways to the Yukon Wiley ard at
ready railroad has heen surveyed and
/ partly graded to the Interior for tha
+ copper, though II can be quafried like
the iron ores OF Lake Superior with
out railroad wilt remain worthless.
4 Tho railroad Itself IS assured an un-
4 limited tonnage. II is 1'ae shortest
lire to lawson and the Yukon valley
and what " az more Importance, -
can carry supplies delivered at. Vat
dcz from sailing vessels or deep draft
ocean stenmers in all the months q
Tie wear. with only one break Of hulh
at Valdez. and also roach the deer
navigable yukon and the Koyuknk
month earlier than by the Yukon
mouth, which Is closed by Behrinq
sea ice until July T.
Gas shown in the history Of tbs
White Pass railroad the ingoing sref
hc would In itself be sufficient 90 war
rant railroad, but from Dawson tn
only export is gold about 10 tons
wear. while this rand VIII not only car
ry an the United states pcyernnen
troops ard supplies for which mar
hundred thousand dollers ere 'pen'
but IL VIII have the unlimited out
bound tonnage Of tiwh grndc coppe
ores, which. with freight rate Of "
dollars ton from Valdez TO the SINE
ters az PUGET sound will scarcely b
: treated in the interior.
at "a net too much TO expect TIN
I improvement in transportation facil
ties aone viii convert central MASK
j into es clcsely aislatea and pre-
!, refeus re- '~u MS Colorado. as II
Black Irils. ~ South Dascia, MS n
!. rich mining cgion Of British Colun
i biu"