Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-04-16

WI Ill | ISM first patch of our big terri
IN 80 yl tory to be opened by the
SGgSz new railway, and it is des-
tined to be one of the thick.
~ settled states of the Alaska of the future
say states. The time will come when Alas
ka will be divided 1t will have its own
states and territories Each district will
have its local industries, its own interests
and its own population | have already
show how southern Alaska, country as bis
as South Carolina, is already discussing the
possibility OF breaking away and managing
its affairs as an independent political entity.
1t wants a governor, a legislature and Off
Gals of its own who shall have nothing to
dc with the rest Of Alaska ] he same will
eventually ,e true of til. Tanana valley, OF
the Gu.:on valley and of tn <uskokwim re-
gion. Seward peninsula will some time be a
territory. and 50 will the Aleutian islands
and the Alaskan peninsula Another great
territory Of the future will be the arctic pro-
vince north Of the Rocky mountains. This
contains 10000 square miles, having an
area OF more than three times that of the
state OF New York But all this is for the
far future. The Kenai peninsula is land
OF the living present
Suppose you had a country one-fifth
again as large as Massachusetts and as wild
and as virgin as Massachusetts was when
the Pilgrims first landed. Suppose it had as
much good land as Massachusetts, that it
had warmer winters and cooler summers
and that the rainfall was sufficient to raise
hardy crops. Suppose the country was one
of surprising beauty; that it had rivers and
lakes and beautiful valleys, with mountains
equal to the Alps in their grandeur and with
glaciers surprising any known to the con-
tinent of Europe Let the country be one
of big game, of moose, bear and deer, of wild
fowl of all kinds and of fish without number.
Suppose that this country was to be cut by
a government railroad running through it
from one end to the other, and was to BE-
connected by fast steamers with some OF the
busiest United States ports Wouldn't you
want to know more about if?
Well, can tell you something, but not a
great deal. | have crossed the peninsula
within the past seven days started at Sc
ward and went as far as Mile 20 on the Alas
ka Northern railway. | there took horses
and crossed the mountains over the Moose
pass. and am now at the little mining camp
of Sunrise, not far from the eastern end OF
the 1urnagaln Arm Much of my Journey
has been on foot. and | have not seen a
dozen people while OH the way The PENN
sula is almost uninhabited The country has
hardly been prospected, and there are parts
OF the interior that have never been trodden
by the foot OF white man. My trip was over
some of the best-Worn trails and the infor-
nation have concerning the rest of the
peninsula comes from the recent explora-
tlons OF OR government scientists from the
miners and prospectors have'me and from
She engineers, biologists and agriculturists
who have been gathering information in
connection with the opening up OF the
peninsula by the new railroad
If you will take your map Of Alaska YOU
will see where the place lies The Kenai
peninsula is in the heart of the soutf-central
coast, great body of land that hangs down,
as it were, from the coast range into the Pa
cific ocean. 1t is bounded on the east by
Prince William sound, and on the west by
Cook inlet from which, at the north, Turn
again Arm extends far into the land. It is
only about 10 miles or SO from the end Of
Turnagain Arm across the country to one
Of the inlets of Prince William. sound, and
the end of that arm is almost directly north
of Resurrection bay, on which Seward is
situated. The Alaska Northern railroad,
which the government has bought, connects