The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1909-09-10

day and many wore sea-sick again
The rass Of tho homeward trip was .,
smooth - could Be, the weather heinz
perfect. Ordinarily there il rain anG
fog, bat fate was kind and held then
hack. Although il was , little ont d
tho course, Annette Islaod was visited
Here N Independents lay missionary
Father Duncan, who has been among
them for moro than nifty years, has or
ganized several hundred Indians into Z
cooperative society and they have
built the town Of Metlakatla. which hal
. nne church, . good harbor, dock, sal.
mon cannery, saw mill and industrial
shops, Ill owned and conducted by the
natives The Houses are built accord
ing to the white mans plan and are
very neat inside. This il . unique
community. The presence Of white
men is not sought, and few come except
to see and go.
Cordova and Juneau were also re-vis-
tied on the way down and Seattle
reached in time to take train for home
Friday, Aug. IS.
A COUNTRY OF GREAT RESOURCES.
We are convinced that Alaska has
great resources. Besides the gold, the
great fisheries and the furs, some Of the
worlds greatest coal fields await trans
p~ortation facilities for development.
There is copper in unlimited AMOUNT
and the ore is SO rich that some Of it is
hard to work. Lumber, especially
spruce, is everywhere in evidence on
the coast. Some grains and many veg
etables a be produced, enough cer-
tainly to maintain a population much
greater than the present. The salmon
berry and other berries grow in pro-
fusion. as do native flowers. At both
Valdez and Seward dne vegetable gar
dens we're seen md a few little farms.
1t is said that as far north as the Fair
banks region there is q place of hot
springs where q wide range Of products
Is raised. The heavy winter 10Y
melt there, and moose and caribou come
down for food, a1ording an easy supply
Of meat for the white man.
The Guggenheims are buying much
the mining property and ]. P. Morgan
& Co. have large Investments. This is
the ownership and putting
development on a solid basis. Their
engineers have reported vast wealth
waiting to be dug out of the ground
and they will reap the lions share Of
tho profit. But many others will make
in Alaska for many years to
and many people will go there to
live and be contented.
Meanwhile none have seen this coun-
try, who have not made at least a su-
p%erficial coast trip Of this great terri
tory, which is about a third as large in
area the states in the Union. When
government builds the light houses
which it should, more vessels will be
there. The present travel is in
,reasipg their number and no one re-
disappointed or unastonished.
LEAVING ALASKA.
Before leaving the steamer "North-
western" at Seattle, the following ap-
oropriate lines, written by Mr.. W. II.
a member of our party, were
'ead at an Experiences" or "thanksgiv-
ng" meeting held by the N. e. A.:
We've sailed thy placid, inland seas,
We people from the South,
We've breathed thy ~balm-scented
breeze
AS We passed the Dixon's mouth;
The mountains of thy channels crowned
With everlas ting now
like escorts ranged along our path
To point the way to go.
Hurrah, hurrah, ALASKA was our goal,
Hurrah, hurrah, the people with a soul.
Veil sound thy warmest praises
from Panama to the pole
As we sail away from Alaska.
from Ketchikan to Treadwell's mills,
From Treadwell to Juneau,
from juneau to Cordova's hills
They kept US on the go.
Where Valdez camps upon her trail,
Where Stewards pine trees grow
We've met thy people, Alaska.
Hurrah, hurrah, the land of many
showers,
Hurrah. hurrah, the land of sweetest
flowers,
Thy memory will stay with us
Is we journey to our homes,
Respectfully leaving Alaska.
We've see thy mighty rivers flow
As we hunted TOR thy gold,
We've climbed thy copper mountains,
And we've faced thy glaciers cold.
seen thy salmon humping
Their way up rocky streams,
thy totem poles will haunt us
AS we lie down to our dreams.
Hurrah, hurrah, we'll sound thy
praises meet,
Hurrab, hurrah, we leave with men,
cries sweet.
going to homes nee more,
We're on our sad retreat,
To dream Of thee, Alaska"
NJ -~oh - Ill -.:- - LA