The San Francisco call., 1913-08-29
ALASKA IS A VAST WONDERLAND
Summer Playground Where
June Days Are "a Hours
in Length

than the average summer resort place
in the east and equal those of Cali
fornia; the hardships that the pioneers
experienced are so softened or en-
tirely absent that by the time one
gets to Fairbanks, on the Tanana,
one Is ready to stay there and not go
farther. Floating down past Anvil,
Mountain View, Holy Cross and other
missions and camps. where strange
names, such as Iditarod, Kuskowim,
Mushag-I think that's spelled right
tickle the imagination with what must
lie up those creeks, whose outlets
are abruptly turned into the unknown.
Then one comes to st. Michael, then
Nome. Rex Beach's town as surely as
Mary Johnson has Virginia.
On you can go, past Cape Prince of
Wales, through the passageway be-
tween the Big and Little Diomedes.
ride triumphant over the Bering sea
to the Pribilof islands Here climate
may fail. or. rather, fogs may fool:
but there's chance In all things. A
visit there is worth taking a chance
on.
VOLCANOES AND vOLAPUK
Many go to Italy to see a volcano.
Few want to be covered with ash,
but sneaking hope that they will see
a. soiodiio III cfuplioH uuuces tHem 10
go, nevertheless. It's like watching
an airship. We don't want to ses
man killed by fall. but we go,
nevertheless, to watch the flight. Now
no one has to go to a foreign coun-
try and need Volapuk to be able to
speak all the languages he encoun-
ters abroad. Made in America can
be used as a label on bottled vol
canic ash. II any enterprising chap
wants to bottle up ash Perhaps It
might be better for Uncle Sam to bot
tie up ash than A1aska--what? Poor
Alaska! The blighting effects OF
Mount Katmais recent eruption,
where all vegetation was killed for
many, many miles distant by the
shower of hot ashes, was not more
apparent than the whitening effect OF
unwise legislation, or lack Of wise
legislation, seen in every town, ham
let, mining camp and seaport from
ketchikan and back again A Nor
wegfan tramp steamer unloading Aus
tralian coal within 100 miles of the
greatest coal deposits In the world
was hardly offset by the Maryland
preparing to bring out Alaskan coal
for the navy.
TOTEM POLES AND INDIANS
Totem poles are a curious, crude
genealogy of one tribe of Indians
living around the inland passage. IN
dians make wonderful baskets, Eski-
mos use strange boats and eat very
uninviting food. Aleutians also have
their tribal characteristics: but the
sooner Alaskans discourage the pro-
noting of these forms Of native life
In so far as giving out the impression
that they are Alaskan, the better.
A at a he
interesting sights alongside OF and on
Alaskan sea, river and lake waters
and the totem poles would occupy but
small part
To see an orange sun set so slowly
on the shallow curve 1t makes before
1t begins another day Is to have lived.
Life can never be the same even to
the most material mind. To see no
moon or stars for weeks because the
sky never darkens enough to allow
them to show is an experience worth
having. 1t Is grand. The only trou-
BILE is you don't know enough to go
to bed and you get so sleepy you
are fain to sleep between lunch and
dinner because daytime Is common!
Oh, the wonders of those northern
skies, No words, no camera, no art
ist can even approximate their
glories.
REINDEER AND WALRUS
California has some things Alaska
hasn't. But Alaska doesn't finch
not a bit. 1t comes right back and
says: Have you reindeer? Have you
walrus? Have you whale schools
nay, even academies of whales? Have
you glaciers until they get to be so
common they are like fre sale on
New York's East Side? Have you
$4,000 fur seals? Have you a Wrangell
narrows and volcanoes and Dis
enchantment bay and Sitka and a
Five Finger rapids and Nome, and
wonderful Russian churches with
priceless paintings all covered with
chased silver, and Skagway where
q 800 house was brought and set
up again Just as 1t was when designed
by Stanford White and built for a
gambler
Alaska gets breathless here and ad-
mits California has had its Poker
Flat and several other star attrac-
tions, yet stoutly maintains its as
sertions to consideration.
Besides" 1t concludes triumph
antly, people know all about you.
dear western sister, but they don't
know so much about me--only about
my gold and coal and troubles. Won't
you tell 'em how nice I really am
and ask 'em to come to visit me after
they have visited your"
And matronly California, serene and
secure in the hearts of all, answers,
as to a younger sister:
"Yes, dear. I surely will
Polo at Del Monte-Spend your
weekend and Labor Day there.--Ad-
yertfSement-