New Britain herald., 1915-01-25
KUSKOkW|M RIVER T
 OPENED TO COMMERCE
Captan luktAS Discovers kdVig1lt
 Channel from HehTInq Sea-.

Washington, Jan. 25.-oficisl an- nouncement was made today by Secre- tary Rcddeld of the discovery of. practical navieahlc channel from the Behring Sea into the mouth of the Kuskokwim river. thus opening the second greatest river in Alaska to commerce. The discovery was made by Captain l.ukens of the coast and geodetic survey.
 In statement announcing the dis covery, Secretary Redheld says tba{ although it cannot be predicted with certainty what this new region win develop when thoroughly prospected. it is not unreasonable to suppose that the new future will see the Kuskok- vim river of commercial importance compared with that of the Yukon river.
 Nine Miles Wide.
 The Kuskokwim river" says tFe secretary. 'is nine miles wide at its mouth and navigable for over six hun dred miles inland. The great sub merged flats of the delta of this river extend one hundred miles out to sea and it was through this uncharted delta that the surveying steamer Yukon made the discovery Of the channel which means so much to the commerce of that section of Alaska.
 The Kuskokwim is one of the thres great Alaskan rivers emptyins Into the Behring Sea, which has been opened to commerce as result of the charting operations of the coast and geodetic survey The mouth of the Yukon was surveyed in 1898 and in a few years that river became one of the greatest commercial arteries of Alaska In 1909 and 1910 Nushagak river was charted, and now the kus-' kolSwin, by far the most dreaded and unknown Of these rivers, will no longs CT be a menace or a mystery to the navigator who has one of the new charts of it's entrance about to be is- sued by the survey.
 Started in 1911.
 The survey Of the Boring sea in tho vicinity of the Euskokwim was started in 1911 and continued the following summers of 1912 and 1913. But it was not until the past field season that a surveying vessel suc- cceded in tracing and charting chan nels through the great area of the submerged mud flats which make up the delta Of the Kuskokwim.
 In making the survey. Capt. Luk- ems reports he took 14.256 soundings covering an area Of over one hundred square miles. This in itself is quite an achievement when considered in connection with the customary bad weather in Alaska and the fact that in some instances if was necessary 10 locate surroundings by observations on mountain peaks more than sixty miles distant. The whole working sea- son was confined to eighty-thrce days and in July alone twcnty-nino and onc-haf of these days were lost on account of the weather being bad or not sufficiently clear to see the dis tant surveying marks. ...
 When the new chart showing the newly discovered channel is irsued. if will be possible for steamship com panes to send vessels to the Kuskok- vim and thus initiate the development of the latent mining, fishing and agri- cultural resources of that region.
 Areas of Mineral Lands.
 There are large areas of mineral lands along the Kuskokwim with promising prospects of mercury bear ing cinnabar, gold bearing quartz, placer grounds and coal lands, whose successful development only await a relia ble means Of transportation such as is now promised by the newly dis covered channel. Contiguous to the Kusllol,wim valley there arc many tohusands of square miles suitable for reindeer grazing. Captain Lukens re- ports that already the small initial government herd has grown until there arc now about six thousand reindeer