El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-04-22

- Kenai peninsula and the short
valleys just north Of it, through which
Uncle sam is now building the first
section Of the railroad from Seward 10
Fairbanks. / am writing at Sunrise,
on the northern end Of the peninsula,
on the shore Of Turnagain Arm. am
within a few miles Of the end Of the
Alaska Northern railway, which Uncle
Sam bought Of the builders, and. as
the crow flies. within 20 or 80 miles
Of Anchorage, the present headquart-
ers Of the railroad construction.
have come here from Seward, across
country, as described in my last letter,
and am now waiting for a motor boat
OF some kind to take me out Of Turn
again Arm into Cook inlet and on up
I1nilS Arm to Anchorage.
The Department Of Agriculture mas
just completed a soil survey OF tne
country TWO Of its experts, Hugh H.
Bennett and Thomas d. Rice, have re
Gently Travelled oyer it to estimate its
farming possibilities. and their work
will be accessible TO the public through
the department at Washington.
First Country Opened by Railway.
AID now let US take b look f,s at ,- the
eminent railroad II viii be the
Keuai peninsula and the Matanuska
and Susitna valleys Just north Of It
Within a year from now there VIII be
regular trains running across the PEN
insula from Seward TO Anchorage, and
the road should be completed from the
latter town up the Matanuska valley
to the coal fields.
The distance from Seward 10 An
choraEe is less than one hundred
miles, and the tracks or the Alaska
Northern railroad already reach more
than three-fOurths Of the way. Ihey
20 almost directly northward from
Seward on Resurrection bay, crossing
many beautiful valleys, 10 Turnagain
see Har nHnHr .ffTr0
miles, and the twenty odd miles from
there is Knik Arm or Anchorage can
easily be constructed.
SO far the government has done
practically nothing to repair the
tracks Of the Alaska Northern and to
put f. into condition. But there is q
gasoline car which runs northWard
from Seward daily for n distance OF
As miles. and this is being operated
for the government The rates OF pas
sage are about cents mile, and
HOmesteads Being Taken Up.
A large number Of hOmesteads nave
already been taken up along the line
OF the railroad although no cultivation
or clearing OF any great extent has
been done Northward from Anchor
age in the Matanuska and Susitna val
levs homesteads are now being taken
up and about two hundred farms have
already been registered along knlk
Arm. There are several thousand peo-
pie living at Anchorage, several hun
dred at Knik, and others are preparing
10 cut farms out OF the woods OF the
AIutauuska valley and along the Susit-
ma. Many are planning to get farms
near the coal lands.
Many Mining Camps.
On the Kenai peninsula the only
large center OF population Is Seward. |
The other settlements are mining
camps or little collections Of log cab
ms occupied 10y prospectors who are |
travelling over the peninsula looking
FOR gold. There are two such camps !
on TurnaEain Arm. One is at sun
rise. where I am now writing, and an /
other is at Hope, a few miles to the
westward. Both camps have alto
gether not over two hundred inhabi-
Jants.
Is,a Log Cabin Camp.
Sunrise has perhaps 20 log cabins.
I'm one Is a general store, kept by an
ola German. and another is Arno Lieb-
ischer's roadhOuse, where am living. ,
Adjoining the rOadhOuse is a shack |
about as big as a hall bedroom with
the words ~. s. Post Office" over the
door. Many Of the other cabins are
empty. They were built when Sunrise
was the center Of a mining excitement
and one thOusand-odd prospectors were
washing the sands of SiX-Mile river and
the other creeks about here for gold.
Today a dredge made in Seattle is
turning up the bed OF the river but the @
profits are little, because the dredge
buckets which hold only two cubic
Ieet are too small. Farther IN the
river is Duncan Stewards mining
camp. whore they are dredging at a
profit and where are quartz mines said
TO be good.
Other towns are Renal, Kasilof. Sell
dovia and Port Graham. on Cook inlet
kenai has population Of $50, and Sell
dovia, at the southwestern end OF the
peninsula, has less than 200. Both
have fish canneries and so have Cash
lOf and Port Graham. It Is not far
from kenai, where the first gold in
Alaska was found. II was discovered
las na.rfH CHI HnHmH Of
me kenai river in 1850, seventeen =
years before the territory came into
our hands Since then small quantities
have been found here and there in
many parts Of the peninsula. and the
prospects Tor quartz mining and placer ,
mining are comparatively good. This
IS the story ] get from the miners.
Coal Mined by Russians.
Coal SIS known to exist in the west
ern part OF the peninsula, and IL was
mined there, by the Russians. who
miners from Germany with view TO
Developing the territory Later one OF
the American steamship companies
took some Of the coal 10 San Francisco,
put II was found Of too low a grade
to be valuable. It is Ignite varying
In color from black to brown. and ii I
cracks upon drying. There are great 7
quantities Of IL north OF Kachernalc bav
and the entire Kenai lowland NAV be !
coal bearing. This coal will furnish
-uel Tor the farmers, and run through
gas producers IL might be used Tor
purposes. !
Has Future in Farming ,
The great future Of the Kenaf ,nenfn-
iula lies its farms The Agricultural
department. experts who went over the 7
country year or so ago have estf-
mated that there are on the peninsula !
ma in the Matanuaka and Susitna val.
eys. where the railroad is now build :
ngs something like four million acres 7
II fairly good land. This part Of the
COUNTRY Is low and Il has an equable
climate Some Of the region is covered u
Flth swamp and muskeg which will :
ICED draining, but at least one-third Z :
" II VIII require clearing only to be 1
made ready for crops. The land OF the I
after character is enough to make
more than eight thousand farms OF a :
uarter Of a section each. or four thou \
ana farms OF 320 acres. which is The -
mount OF land now allowed for a q
homestead in Alaska q
The total area of the lowlande which y
re suitable for farming is about three u
ourths the size Of the state OF Massa- =
husetts. and the best of the lands p
hose which do not have to be drained. n
re about twice as large as Rhode Is
ma. or the latter, one-haif lies In tho u
usitna and Matanuska valleys. and the ~
ther half is on the western Side OF the y
enai peninsula. -
Many Evidences of Fertility. .,
III weeds, grass and bushes are anv ~
~