Amador ledger., 1905-05-26
Letter from Alaska.
Rampant, Alaska. April 5, 1905
Amador Ledger


Que of the destinations uf Arctic
life is the emphatic change in light
and temperature in different seasons
Here the days in December are less
than four hours long, while in June
there is absolutely no night. a soft
twilight bright enough to make fine
print legible, connecting sunset with
sunrise. Years ago the writer was
within few degrees of the equator
where day and night are equal the
whole year, twilight noticeable, and
the air sultry and moist like that of
a greenhouse. The natives were what
the climate made them, indolent and
sity. and the Iuxuriance of vegeta-
ton, could hardly be improved by
cultivation as cocoanuts, bsuanas,
and plantains grew wild iu such pro-
fusion that no thought Tor the NOR
row need be taken In this region
the natives are hardly more eIei getic
uhoh oo tHc IOS
chinked with moss, and scanty sup
ply of fish or game. being enough to
satisfy the wants of an Indian; any
excess being freely traded for " his
key, under the averted face of the
officials. 1t is only in the temper
ate zone that full development of
nd nf II
This will leave Rampant, April
10th, which will be the last date this
season tor mail to go out over the ice
with dog teams. 1t will roach Dawson
in three weeks. The last winter mail
will arrive i'll Rampant. April 28th.
Then we shall be shut off from the
outside world until June.
Supplies are plenty in this camp,
aud most of the creeks are thickly
dotted with huge "dumps'' Of pay
dirt, which will be washed when the
sun meIts the snow. All winter min
ers have worked, cutting wood for
thawing the ground, picking and
shoveling the dirt into bnckels and
hoisting 1t to the surface. Some
have steam plants for thawing and
hosting. Frequent panning is ueres-
sary to keep in the pay streak. If
the pans average five cents it is pay
ing ground. /" Ten cent dirt is av-
erage here. Last month one man
obtained $500 from three pans; an
other S4S. % from one pan. The best
pan ever found in this district was
$3.50. Tne gold is all coarse. l have
not seen any quicksilver used in this
camp.
Alaskans feel much disappointed be-
cause congress not only failed to do
Justice to her needs, but has also in
timated that it never intends to do SC.
This region Is just as much misuuder-
stood as was California some fifty
years ago, when Daniel Webster de-
clared it to be a desert, that would
never be of any practical benefit to
the country. ALASKA has millions of
acres of fine farming land, where the
climate is miIder than that of New
England; and millions more no worse
than that of Montana or South Dak-
ota. The total area OF Alaska is more
than three hundred and fifty million
acres 1850, 900, 000>. Much OF this will
attract large immigration as soon as
the truth becomes generally known.
And probably in time the tyrannical
misrule under which We have so long
suffered will be thing of the past.
But it will not look we'll in history to
read that our pretended free govern
ment eXacted tax from Alaskans
more oppressive than king George
ever tried to wiring fFoM the colonies.
1t amounts to more than thirteen hun
dred dollars for every day in the year.
Inflicted carpet bag government on
the district. There is only one U. S.
official in all Alaska who resided here
when appointed, and residents cannot
even vote for justice of the peace.
When the senate committee, who had
been here and investigated the needs
of the region, introduced bill pro-
viding among other things for dele
gate from Alaska, senator Platt OF
Connecticut offered an amendment,
declaring that nothing in the act
should be construed to indicate hat
Alaska should ever be allowed to be-
come a state. This amendment was
offered March 10th, 1904, and is on
page $3.50 of the Congressional Record.
The bill was killed. Alaska has no
delegate, is not allowed to be organ
lied into territory, although she has
more than fifty Thousand white people.
Washington was made a territory when
it had less than three thousand. Mon
tana was the only territory organized
with larger population than Alaska.
Hawaii has delegate. The kanakas
seem to be pets. Uncle Sam spent
more than million dollars for the
Filipino exhibi at st. Louis fair, and
Just fifty thousand for Alaska.
The reasons for this unfair discrim-
ination seem to be that Alaskans are
generally too busy with their private
affairs to spend much time in kick
ing. Also that they haye put faith in
the promises for reform that every
junketing congressional committee
has On raadiIV made MOraovar tha at