The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-01-18
JUDGE JOHN H. PERRY TALKS ON
 ALASKAN DOMAIN
GIVES GRAPHIC VIEW OF GREAT EXTENT OF TERRITORY AND ITS WONDERFUL MINERAL WEALTH.

WEALTH.
 There was an unusually large gather ing last evening at the residence or Charles Smith, Stratford, of the Men Club, to listen to an address on Alaska by Judge Perry of Southport. He prefaced his remarks with a bon mot about explorers, by saying that the latest thing of this kind is to the effect that Cook is a gentleman and llar' and Peary is neither!"
 < If he had anticipated featuring on Alaska, when he visited that territory last summer, he would have seen more and gone further. When Seward bought Alaska in 1867 he was the sub- feet of ridicule all over the country, and Alaska was called stewards bear garden, ssthe United States ice house" s'the seal zoo", etc. It is not little corner of the United States, a back yard-it contains 377000 square miles of territory, and is eight and one-half times as large as all New England and New York.
 It is an enormous territory, and thus far we have but scratched it. We haven't got half way across the United States until we get to Alaska; the ls- land of Vancouver is the half way point if we reckon from the eastern portion of Maine to the western ex- tremity of the Aluetian islands. There Is as great variety of production and climate there as in any part of the world of the same size. The country was discovered by Behring in TAI. As a rule tourists see but the little tail like appendage of Alaska, which ex- tends south along the Pacific coast. Judge Perry likened the country to a buffalo hide, with it's small tail, and said that we know the appendix at the southeastern corner. but have not ac- compIished the hide! No one has ex- plored Alaska to any serious extent.
 Capt. Cook rediscovered the country in 1748, on the lower southern side where is the copper and coal. We paid for Alaska the sum of $7,20O,OO0, which was then thought to be an immense sum. Since then the taxes on seal fisheries alone has yielded this sum. by the Russian government. We have obtained from Alaska $161, 100000 in gold. and $7,000,000 in other metals. This, with the lumber, coal and fish. has yielded $375, 100000 It is known that there exists in Alaska 100 square miles of coal. The seams can be seen cropping out of the sides of the hills and mountains, thicker than the height of a man. This coal is worth four times as much as all the gold. In the copper country veins of pure cop per can be seen sticking out of the mountains. where the rock has been washed away, a foot thick. A nugget of pure copper, 2 feet long and weigh S ing tons, has been found lying on ths ground This copper has been cap tured by capitalists and could be mined with steam shovel, but Judge Perry was of the opinion it will not be utilized for long time to come since to mine it so easily would ruin by competition the mines now operated in the States. The annual value oi the salmon is s10, 100000, and 10000 per- sons are employed in catching and canning this fish. The best payine railroad in the United States is in Alaska, running to White Horse Rap ids And Alaska is not so very fan off. When the new Canadian railroad is built to Rupert, one can go from Boston to Alaska in five days, anc that promises to be the coming route for pleasure tourists.
 Giving an account of his journey Judge Perry said he went from Seat tie to Spokane in a comfortably ap- pointed steamer, with as good meals served and as intelligent travelling companions from all parts of the world as Judge Curtis would find on one o1 his trips to England He started fol Alaska on the 18th of last July, go ing by the inland passage, past the islands. and some of them. as Van couver, are very large. and it took one and a half days to sail past the island of Vancouver He made a stoI at 'Methlitka, which is a missionary station, where some 800 Indians have been civilized and Christianized and educated, and where he went to the Indian church, and heard a choir of Indians sing the Messiah and the Hal lelujah chorus. It was wonderful Stopped at place called Katchecan a short town. mostly built on piles driven into the water, since the land is too steep and rocky to be utilized for building sites. The streets are made of blanks. It is a raw place with some 1,500 inhabitants. Yet he found in that town a we'll stocked li- brary,. totem pole. ladies who paint ed beautifully in water colors. and he walked out to a mountain stream as clear as crystal, and saw the salmon Jumping up out of the water
 He sailed for 2,800 miles along the coast, all covered with heavy timber,- Alaska spruce and yellow cedar. There is not much climate in Alaska, but a great deal of weather. It rains all the time owing to the moisture from the Pacific striking the snow clad noun tains and condensing. He had but two clear days while in that country. The irba 1,itonf do not mind the rain hl1f