The Oskaloosa herald., 1905-09-14

United States Hnd IN Iowa there
are no taillngs after the annual
cleanup, but II remains as good as
new for the next year.
III is dificult for the resident OF
a purely agricultural region like
Iowa to FULLY comprehend and appre-
ciate a lana like yours. II can be
only fully understood by being seen.
Timber, furs, fisheries and mines
are your assured sources OF wealth,
and there are agricultural POSSIBLE
tiles worthy OF much consideration.
"The size Of Alaska also has its
disadvantages. To consider the re-
sources of a country reaching from
st. Augustine, Florida, to Boise City,
Idaho, would involve the knowledge
of a great variety OF conditions, and
such variety may be found between
Ketchikan and Kougarok. These
distances are immense, but modern
methods Of transportation have an
initiated space.
Washington City would have been
long since abandoned as the capital
of the nation IL the means Of transit
had remained as in Jackson's day,
1t then took nearly three days to go
from New York to Philadelphia, only
a hundred miles. II was like a trip
today from Nome to Council City.
MY recent trip to opnir Creek
game me an interesting experience.
in your methods of transportation In
Alaska. ! have just returned from a
journey to that land OF gold. 1t is
only 80 miles across, as the crow
flies, or would fly, II you had crows
In this part o. Alaska. But 1t Is a
round trip of nearly $50 miles. /
took the ship Corwin for Golovin pay
and after a stormy passage the Ari-
IONA lighter came out to meet us and
took us to the village OF Chinik, then
the Arctic Bird, a stern wheeler,
took us up the bay and up Fish river
to White Mountain. Mkt day a fat
boat pulled by horse on the shore,
towed us to Council City, then the lit
tie jirkwater railway, the Wild Goose
r. r., took us out to No. Is on Ophir
creek. After visiting the various
claims on the creek for q couple Of
days / started on my return by the
Solomon river route.
First l went IN horseback to the
mouth o. Opnir creek, then in peter.
borough canoe to Council City, then
by what the stage man, Bob Ford, by.
courtesy called o. road, to East Fork.
81 miles. There Is no road, except
the creek bottoms, of Holyoke, Bear,
Fox and East ForR to the end Of the
Solomon river railroad. The stage
crosses the tundra from creek TO
creek, and we walked the nine miles
across the tundra, as the empty stage
was quite enough for the horses 70
pull. The creeks are shallow and
their grayelly bottoms make q passa.
BILE highway. From East Fork 20
Solomon there Is an 1S-mile railway Of
standard g%auge-the only n of that
gauge in 1l.asKa. From Solomon we
returned to Nome on the Flyer. Anu
so this journey OF nearly 250 miles
gave a taste of all the different meth
DDS of transportation in this county.
1t was in striking contrast with the
luxury of the passage Of the vast ais
tances on the great Yukon. But dis
lance is disappearing In Alaska. !
came from Dawson to Nome in seven
days and stopped by Che way forty
hours. When / arrived at Skagway I
was still $500 miles from Nome and
all that distance was to be Travelled
in Alaska, except that British terri.
tory which cuts into and a%pproprlates
the Klondike and a part Of the great
Yukon. ...
Alaska is progressing; children are
being born here-and such children!
rosy and healthy they are, and with
cheeks as red and az hard as apples.
at is said that the lack of uniform.
ity In conditions In the various parts
of Alaska render 1t hard to present
its cause TO the nation, and that 1t
will take three delegates in congress
to do the work, and that no n man
could properly represent II. I can
not but regard this dificulty as largely
imaginary.
'You have practically four great re-
glons in Alaska-the Juneau country,
the Valdez country, the Fairbanks
country, and the Nome country.
"Three OF these regions are already
connected by the great highway Of
the Yukon. And in the near future
the Valdez region will be united by
one or two lines Of railway reaching
the Tanana and Yukon.
Michigan has the great mining
peninsula. She has her mines and
her timber, her farms and her COM.
merce. These diverse interests only
strengthen each other. They are not
hostile.
South Dakota has the great Black
Hills mining country on the one hand.
and the fertile farms OF the James
river on the OTHER. They get along to
gether as a Happy family. The differ.
ent parts Of Alaska can also work in
full harmony.
"The scenic wondere ~ ..tuI