Amador ledger., 1906-01-19
Travels in
Alaska.
By DR.. e. H. Gibbon.

| OOoo1 give mOSL 0rrOu6OuS lQ6a OF
Alaska as whole. Ihe thousand
miles of Natures choicest handwork,
that charms the traveller all the way
from Puget sound to Skagway, gives
no hint of the vast region inland,
where myriads of comfortable homes
are destined to be made. And the
same is true of the coast line to the
westward: Until the 141st meridian
is passed, very little land fiC for
cultivation being in sight from the
steamers deck. A great mountain
chain skirts the coast this entire
distance, its elevation increasing with
great regularity from the bluffs of
Tacoma and Seattle to the peaks 5000
feet high around Lynn canal. Along
the coast of the open ocean from
Sitka to cape st. Elias. believe one
views the climax of scenic glories.
For hundreds of miles our northwest
course was just far enough from shore
to give due conception of the i'm
mensity of these crowning wonders.
Was delighted to find little or no
i'll effects from the ships motion.
The line of II, 900 feet peaks, clothed
with snow and laced with glaciers,
all of dazzling whiteness, seemed cut
from purest marble by the chisel of
omn1potence. The trees that fringed
the first few hundred feet of their
bases were the only signs of plant life
along this region of "white silence. !"
or animal life there seemed no trace.
The evening after leaving Sitka we
entered Yakutat bay, which Is shaped
like cows horn, at the tip CT which
we landed, and found lively town.
The wharf was just begun when [ was
here two years ago. Now railroad
runs twelve miles into the forest, and
brings lumber to supply the fast in.
creasing demand elong the coast.
Before dark we were out of the bay
and teasting our eyes ON the $4,000
feet of magnlficence of Mt. st. Elias,
which marks the 141st meridian, and
beginning of the thirty mile panhandle
that runs down to 81 deg 40 min,
which was the northern limit of
United States domain until we weakly
gave up to British diplomacy almost
400 miles of frontage on the Pacific.
1t was this which encouraged the
Canadians IN 1893 to try to break
through this strip and get port in
the north. They failed to get the
port, but did crowd us out of about
1000 square miles of territory, ceded
to US by Russia, after which our
solons claimed a victory.
Pardon the depression, but these
things are maddening to American
born citizens who understand the
facts.
Malaspina glacier, with its area OF
1900 square miles, reaches from Mt.
st. Elias to the sea, spreading out
like great apron, spotless and
white. The following morning we
passed cape Yaktag, where several
hundred miners are washing golo
from the beach sands. We had or
board large quantity of supplies fol
them, but the sea was rough an6
there is no haI Dor, so they had the
fun of seeing us sail by, and hoping
for better weather on the return trip.
At dark we rounded the pinnacle oi
rock at the end of cape st. Elias, and
anchored Oft Kayak, small island
fourteen miles from CatelIa on the
main land. 1 was here two years ago,
during he oil excitement. The whole
country is full of oil seeps. A inch
we'll had been sunk 365 feet, when oil
was struck, which spouted 80 feet in
the air. An analysis showed 1t to be OF
the finest grade and with a paraffine
base so that less than Us deg. was
wasted. A rush of new comers
ensued, a town was laid out and
application made to have the harbol
surveyed so that ships might come
close to the shore instead of landing
at kayok. But just as things begin to
boom, agents of great oil syndicate
appeared and the companies, who had
began to develop the oil fields, found
it to their interest to quit. The gov
ernment survey of the harbor has been
held up, and the only result of the
work is lake of crude petroleum in a
depression just below the capped we'll,
filled from the seeps that come up
outside the casing and furnishing free
kindIing material for the settlers.
Will the people ever open their eyes
and stop such tyranny?
Leaving kayok, short run brought
us to Prince William sound. We
stopped at the fishing and mining
towns of Orca and Ellamar, the mill
tary post at Fort Laitcum, and the
port of Valdez (Valdeez) whence the
U. S. telegraph and mail trail goes to
the interior, via the Copper river val
ley. This town was started in 1899,
and was claimed to be the starting
point of the best aIl-Amerlcan route
to the interior. About dozen rail
roads have been started, on paper, and
grading begun on several OF them, but
as yet none have passed out of the
hands of the promoters. Valdez has