Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1906-01-28
WONDERFUL ALASKA.
An Interesting Letter From a Forme"
Carsonte.
On the Yucon, Dec. 2Sth

To the Editor of the Appeal:
| am wondering how the people
of Nevada would like to hear some
thing of the wonderful growth and
some of the peculiarities of Alaska.
ALASKA is a great empire, Of the
enormous size of which few people
have any just conception. It's mote
than $50 times as large as the State |
of Rhode Island and nearly equals
in area all the States Of the Union
east of the Mississippi River. 1t has |
the grandest scenery in the world,
and resources sufficient comfortably |
to support ten millions of people.
Through the heart Of the vast terri !,
tory flows the mighty Yukon River,
the largest in North America, larger |
and longer than the Mississippi. On .
this great river one may ride for
more than 1000 miles with as much |
comfort as upon the Hudson.
The valley of the Yukon has been
pronounced richer than the valley Gf
the Missouri. and it will undoubted1T
some day support an immense pop1-
lation.
People in Pennsylvania are ve~y
much interested in coal, and know
what a source of wealth is. | be-
lieve that there is more coal in Alaska
than in Pennsylvania.
Coal is but one of Alaska's May
mineral resources. The enormous de-
posts of copper in the Copper Rive"
REGION are now attracting great at
tentiOn. 1t has even been predict91
by Capt. Healy, who was a resident
of Montana for twenty-four years AMI
Alaska seventeen years, that Alaska
will in the next thirty years produce
more mineral wealth than the whole
United States has produced in the
thirty years just ended.
The Russians made enormous fO"t-
unes in furs. and millions more have
been made by Americans since the
purchase by the United States. Alas
ka has the richest fisheries of the
world. Competent authorities de-
clare its fisheries greater than those
Of Newfoundland and the North Sea
combined.
There are vast forests of timber in
Alaska which remain practically I'M
touched
Alaska is certain to become a
great agricultural country. 1t will some
day produce more grain and of be-
ter quality than any State in the
Union 1t has been within my life
time that the cultivation of wheat
was begun in Manitoba. Dakota and
Minnesota, and, as a rule the further
nor the better the quality of the grair
grown.
The fact that thousands upon thous
ands of acres of the finest grasses
cover the river valleys from four t.
six feet high, is evidence Of the grea
opportunities for stock-raising. Cattle
can be wintered in southern AlasKc
with far less difficulty and expense
than in Montana and in many place!
cattle will look out for themselvef
and keep fat all winter. l believ,
that Alaska is certain to become on
of the greatest stock-raising region
of the world
The United States Government has
for several years past, had experts a
work carefully investigating it's re
courooc op1 possibilities ond offo,
these years of pains taking invest
CATION, makes public it's estimate tina
there are at least 100000 square mile
of territory in Alaska admirably q
dapted to agriculture. Prof C. c.
Georgeson Of the United States d.
partment of Agriculture says:
There could never be create
misconception in regard to a get
graphical fact than the popular ide
that Alaska is snowcovered waste
AS a matter of fact, one can trav,
from one end of the Yukon to til
other in summer and never see SNOW
On the contrary, one will see tang
Of luxuriant vegetation, large fores,
and such delicacies as wild raspbs
ries, red currants, buckle berries an
cranberries in profusi0n.,. In place
the grass grows as high as a man
shoulders"
The finest vegetables l have ev'
eaten we're grown on the Yukon ar
served on the river steamers. Pro
Moo0un ~ tho Canadian Noyorxr,o,
Botanical Department explains tn
fact by saying that the vegetable
are finer than grown elsewhere !
the world, because the twenty-fo,
hours of sun in summer PUSHES II
growth so that they have no tin
to harden or grow tough. and a.
sweet and delicious and almost mf