The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-01-25
ALASKAN
! RIVER opened ; ! I
T'['l|00M|NE..R|C'E|
Practicable NayigabIe Channel
From Boring Sea to Meath
OF kuskaNim Found

WASH1NGToN.D G. 4 Jam Is
Secretary Of Commerce Redfield
made the following announcement
today that a practical navigableH
channel from the BeFing Sea into
the mouth Of the. Kuskowimsriyer had
been discovered by Captain Lukens
ofathe Coast: and GeodeticS survcsyi. !,
The Kuskowim river la the ssecond1
greatest river in "A laska 1T nife1
miles wide at Its mout and nayigas
BILE for over g 90 miles Inland The.
great submerged Oats OF the delta of
this river extend 100 miles out to
sea, and 1t was through this Siiii
chartered delta that the surveying
.steamars lssYilxc e made the SdiEe COW
cry of the channel which means \ 81
much to the commerce Of; that section
of Alaska. e. ( Z, Y Z e. Is
ne kuskowim 1 some of the three
great Alaskan rivers emptying into
lhe Rering Sea which has
been opened to commerce as asresillt
Of the chartings operations III ItheI
coast and Geodetic Survey The
mouth of'tthe Yukon was surveyed
~ 1898 and in a few years that. river
became one of the greatest COM
mercial arteries of Alaska. In 1908
and 1910 Nushagak BaX,wass chart
go, and now the Kuskokw im. by far
the most dreaded end unknown of
these sriyers, Will no longer be a
menace or a mystery to the nayiga-
tor who has one of the new charts
OF Its entrance about to be issued by
the Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Some Difficulties Of Survey.
The survey Of the Bering sea I'M
the vicinity OF the Kuskokwim was
started in 1911 and continued tho
following summers of 1912 and,
1913. But it was not until the last
field season that a Surveying vessel
succeeded in surveying and charting1
channels through the great area OIL
the submerged mud fats which make
up the delta OF thes Kusko kwim.
slns making the survey Captain Lu-
ikens reports he took 4 1886. sound.
ings covering an. area q foyer 100
miles. This in itself is quite am
achievement when considered In con.
nection with the customary badlI
weather in Alaska, and the fact that
In some instances It was necessary
to locate soundings by, observati tons
on mountain peaks more than sixty
miles distant. The whole. wortSingl
season was confined to eightylthreea
days and in July alone twenty-ninel
and one-half Of these days were lost
on account Of the weather being
either bad ornotsufii citntlS ! clear stol
either being bad or mot sufiiciently1
clear to see the distant surveying
marks.
Commercial Resources.
When the new Coast and GeodeticI
covered channel is issued, 1t will be |
possible for steamship companies tol
send vessels to the Kuskowim and
thus initiate the velopment Of the
latent mining, fishing and agricul-l
turaf resources of that region.
~ The Kuskokwiln valley; covers
many thousands Of square miles, and |
no one can predict with certainty
what this practically virgin terri /
iory will develop when 1t Isl
thoroughly prospected, but 1t Is notl
to suppose that theE
near future will see the Kuskokwfml
river of commercial Importance COM
parable with that Of the Yukon river
II has been known for some time
that there were large areas OF min
eral lands along; the KusEowim with
prospects OF mercury
bearing cinnabar, gold bearing
quartz, placer grounds and coal
lands, whose successful development
only waited q reliable means lof \
trn n snnrfafinn such ap ia .Y1n1ty sSrnn,.l
Used by the newly discovered chan
mel.
Raising Reindeer.
Contiguous to the Kuskokwiml
Valley there are many thousands Of
square miles suitable for reindeerE
grazing. Captain Lukens reports
that already the small initial governs
ment herd has grown until there are
now 900 reindeer IN this vicinity.
He says that the cost ofraising feinsl
deer Is very small. Three men cam
take care of The animals
slbsist ON the country the year