Alaska sentinel., 1907-07-04
CONCERNING THE NoRTHLAND

| who had visited Anvik some months before. It is interesting in that it shows what is possible in the way of gardening and stock-raising;
 "Your 5000 miles of travel to get 800 miles from your starting point is one of those things that will always be told about Alaska, at least so long as 1 live, for it is too good to be suppressed.
 What you say about the railroad from Seward is the most definite news that we have heard yet, and very interesting to us folks who have to wait so long for our winter mails. There is more in Alaska than most people think. Since be- fore the Klondike strike have noticed that it has been steady expansion of traffic, no matter what the reports of new diggings, etc., might be. Development has only begun, This neighborhood has nothing in particular to attract settlers, yet there are now enough steady white settlers to join to- gether in some common occupation, and make a little settlement of their own, and they will have to do it. It is too much trouble and an noyance for men of so much energy and so we'll adapted to work to- gether to live apart from one ano- ther. What can they do?
 We'll, I should imagine from the signs that beef, butter, cheese, eggs, poultry, salt and smoked salmon, and perhaps hay, are going to be very much in demand.
 A new and good strike is reported on the Tanana, or perhaps it is old diggings that are turning out better than heretofore; at any rate, there will be a lot of people, and some more tramp boats. Alaska can furnish these people with a good proportion of their food. Cattle keeping is no longer an experiment. | Chickens are on the same basis. We wintered a COW and a bull this season, and we know the possibili- ties. Four tons of hay will winter a COW. My hay cost less than nine dollars per ton, and l have already had 1 1,75O quarts of milk from the one COW, and am still getting five and a half quarts per day. The yield, so far, is surely worth $175- enough to pay for the purchase and
 transportation of the COW and her keep for year. We fed her liber- ally upon grain, but it gave out a couple of weeks ago, and all she gets now is native hay and little bran, yet her yield has not fallen
 off, and I conclude that the native hay, with turnips, etc., will do, , without the importation of grain. , This is important to settlers. Again , I conclude that beef can be raised at cost of not over 10c. per pound.
 This is also important and ano-
 ther good thing to know is,< that our stock came through an unusu- ally severe winter in capital shape,
 without artificial heat in the stable or even the necessity of using any blankets. I understand that your neighborhood is much better adapt ed to cattle raising than ours, and
 if so, it seems as though there ought to be something in it.
 My great point is, that when all these things are better known, men
 will be more willing to look upon
 Alaska as a place of permanent
 residence. I think that the dem- onstration of the agricultural possi- bilities, etc., has been sufficiently made for this section, notably by
 the Mission at Holy Cross; but the demonstration of how this know
 ledge may be turned to account to support population will probably 1 be made by the half dozen or so of lwhite men in this vicinity who are l legitimately married to native Wo- men, and have children growing