The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-11-27

people with money 10 back them get
/ what the average citizen does not.
/ Those that know say there is $4,000
miles Of dredging ground in Alaska
and great fields of anthracite and
other coal. AS for agriculture,
though the season for crops is short,
the many hours Of sunshine each day
make fair returns. Hay, potatoes,
Melons. squash. tomatoes, sweet corn
are raised. while cranberries. straw
berries and other fruits grow wild in
certain parts. where the climate is
modified by the Japan current
This wonderful region, large as all
the United States east of the Aissis-
sippi and north of Alabama, Georgia
and North Carolina has vast
stretches of cedar, pine and other
forests, all waiting for the AK There
are elk, deer, moose and caribou and
beautiful white mountain goats on
the majestic mountains. The Indians
have long held Mount Mckinley sa-
cred and call it the Home of the
Great Chief" But this is only one
of a group like Mount St. Elias and
Mount Fairweather. all averaging
over $1,000 feet. The white goats
can be seen on these mountains in
bands of a dozen or more, and thou
sands of caribou are in the valleys.
1t is to be hoped they will remain
undisurbed. When this country was
purchased Secretary Seward was
laughed at and derided, but now peo-
pie are gradually cOmprehending that
the Seal islands alone have turned
into our revenue much more than
the sum paid to Russia for the entire
country.
At the time of this purchase the
immense valley of the Yukon, which
empties thirteen times more water
than the Mississippi and is in some
places twenty miles wide, was inhab-
tied by Men of the Yukon" tribe of
Indians. Today it is peOpled by brave
pioneers, who are building towns and
settling valleys. They have started
many cities. large and small, as the
direct result of the working of mines
The Alaskan waterways are used ex-
tensively in summer for passenger
and freight service. and provisions
are shipped not alone for the short
summer but for the longer winter
also. 1t is probable these waterways
Will never be abandoned, but rail-
roads will help in reaching places not
touched by the big rivers and their
tributaries.
Dawson proudly calls itself the
metropolis of the Upper Yukon, and
II IS stirring town, but its pOpula-
ton has decreased since the sur
rounding mines have been worked
out Fairbanks is the large town of
the middle valley 1t is surprisingly
cosmopolitan, has nearly 1000 peo-
pie, three banks, hotels, a three-story
office building, three churches, two
newspapers, hospital, telephones, |
Hv.sn nHrvHaM
Nome is larger than either of these
towns. It's population is about TO-
600. It is on Boring sea and more
easy Of access. and from 1900 has
held its own as a sort of capital of
the coast Of Alaska. The entire pop
ulation OF Alaska is composed Of !
whites, natives, Chinese. japanese !
and a few negroes. The whites pre- |
dominate and rule, and are scattered |
along the coast and interior What /
an immense district lies ready for Oc-
cupancy can be realized when il is /
known it Is 1000 miles from Skaguay 1
on the coast to the Yukon gold field, /
and that 1t takes twelve days to go /
from Seattle to Nome by steamer.
The Yukon country is reached by /
boat from Seattle to Skaguay, thence
by rail where was once a wagon road,
pector in the early days lost his pack
and horses. From the railroad sta
ton at White Horse a steamer con-
meets with the Yukon river, and a
good share of this journey is along a
coast and through a country whose
scenic gradeur is incompatible in a
combination of ocean, snow-clad
and stupendous walled
channels
The real truth is that Alaska is an
empire and it wants a larger popuIa-
ion. If il were doomed half as
much as Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Dther Canadian provinces it would
nave one. The farmers from the
states who are going to these districts
never think of going TO Alaska. part
Y because its resources have not
been called TO their attention. Every
American citizen should know the
ruth about Alaska and stop thinking
IF il as a barren, inaccessible coun-
ny. II is true il is our last frontier
hat the summers are short and the
winters are cold. but 1T is a coldness
hat is considered wonderful in its
health giving properties. There is
)ne hot springs with hotel builf IF