Douglas Island news., 1907-10-16
Recent Surveys in Alaska

When Secretary of State Seward, in 1867, bought Alaska from Russia for about ST,OOO,OOO, the transaction was generally regarded with disfayor in the United States, says Mines and Miner als. It was considered a foolish waste of American money, and the only eX' cuse or explanation then offered was that the payment of this amount for that frozen region was mode of com pensation to Russia for friendliness manifested and services rendered to the United States during the Civil War.
 The native name Alaska meant rgreat land" it was said, and the land was without doubt impressively great in area; but no one attached any value to that half million square miles of supposed barrenuess and snow and ice presumably uninhabitable by civilized men and far removed from civilized lands. l. bad been only burden to Russia, and the Czar and his men of state were glad to be rid of it. The seals and fisheries had been a source of some revenue, but not enough to defray the cost of administration Yet 4OyearS later, in 1906, small fraction of that "great land" had produced in gold the sum of SIO3,3lS,7OO, more than four teen times the amount of the purchase money. Within the last ten years Sew ard Peninsula alone has produced over 37OOOOOO, about 57,5O0000 of which is credited to the year 19O6-more than enough to pay the bill for the territory.
 At first all of the gold mining was done in the gravels of the creeks, but during recent years the pan and the sluice box of the placer miner have Tn some places given way to the ore mill of the lode miner, who has kept pace with the geologisC in his search tOr the original sources of the golden sands and nuggets of the plaCers. The search still continues, as may be learned from the United States Geological Surveys report on the progress of investigations of the mineral resources of Alaska in 1906, just published. This volume, which may be obtained on application to the Director of the Survey at Wash ington, D. C., contains a general ac- count of the progress of surveys and the conditions of the mining industry, by A. H. Brooks, geologists in charge of mineral investigations in Alaska, and a number of detailed reports on various portions of the territory by other members of the force.
 Investigations were made in South eastern Alaska, in the Iakutat Alsek region. about Controller Bay and Cook Inlet. on Seward Peninsula, and in the Yukon district. These investigations did not relate solely to gold, but com prised examinations of deposits of cop per, tin, and other metals, as we'll as beds of coal, seepages of petroleum, available supplies of building stone and gypsum, and water resources for placer mining.
 Less than fourth of the area of the territory has been mapped and less than one-sixth has been surveyed geo. logically. It is worthy of note that al though nearly half million dollars has been spent on Alaskan surveys and investigations, this is less than one-half of I per cent. of the value of the gold output during the period covered by the surveys.
 Transportation problems are still in the forefrJ at throughout Alaska; steam boat service, both on tbs rivers and on the sea and its iulets, is being rapidly improved, but except on few short railways overland transportation is still very primitive. The Alaskan Road Commission is doing much to help the mining interests in various parts of the territory by highway and trail con- struCtiOn. Year by year the demand for railway connection of the inland region with open water becomes more imperative, and until such roads are built the interior of the territory can be but slightly developed.-Mines and Minerals.
 Irnirersal Coffee Percolator. makes