Evening star., 1916-04-02
IN of Alaska Claims the Right to Govern Itself

five years ago, and was named after
Baron Wrangell. Russian official, who
did much to keep the Hudson's Bay
Company out of Alaska. That COM
pany tried to establish a trading sta
tion, and when Wrangell drove its men
off, it brought in a claim against the
Russians for damages of 100000
Wrangell fought this claim in the
courts and won it, with the result that
the Hudson's Bay Company was forced
to keep away>from the Russian domin-
ions, and to pay rent of 1000 otter
skins every year for certain territory
it was then occupying. The Wrangell
of today has stores, hotels, saw mills
and canneries. 1t has three churches.
a public school and an electric light
plant Its chief industries are fishing,
numbering. mining and fur trading.
l have already written of Sitka. Its
latitude is a little north of that of
Petersburg, but it is situated sixty or
eighty miles to the eastward on Bara-
nof Island. facing the open Pacific ocean.
but guarded therefrom by its harbor
and islands. 1t has some fishing estab-
lishments, and is one of the centers
from which prospectors go out every
season.
Juneau. the capital of Alaska. is situ-
ated on the mainland near the mouth
of the Lynn canal, wide ford that
runs far into the interior. ending at
Skagway, the chief port for Dawson
and the mines of the Klondike. 1t is
more than a hundred miles almost di-
rectly north of Sitka, the two great
islands of Baranof and Admiralty lying
between. 1t is the largest city in
Alaska, and is also one of the chief
mining centers. A great part of the
trade of the territory passes through
it, and it does much of the banking and
financing. 1t is live, up-to-date little
city, and it will continue to grow for
many years to come.
At Skagway begins the White Pass
railway. which leads over the mountain
to White Horse. at the head of navi-
cation on the Yukon. 1t is the end of
the usual tourist route through Alaska,
but it is really only the stopping off
place on the edge of the territory prop
er. Travellers come from Puget sound
and back, without knowing anything
of the main body of our great posses
sions of the far north. They see only
a small part of southeastern Alaska,
and from this they judge the whole.
Skagway now feeds on the tourists.
At the time of the gold excitement in
the klondike- it was the main entrance
to the mining regions there. and it had
then about $4,000 population. 1t has
not now more than 500.
Haines, which lies on Lynn canal just
below Skagway, is still smaller. 1t has
d little HsHlhs' d lie" stores' pupic
school and a Presbyterian mission. 1t
has also the only army post in south
Alaska. This Is Fort Seward.
lying west of the town. The post has a
beautiful site, its buildings being sit
uated on low hill with a hundred
acres or more of lawn running from
them down to the water. There are
thirty or forty buildings, including the
barracks and the homes of the officers.
The most has about $50 men.
The greater part of southeastern
Alaska Is practically unknown. How
many of you have heard of Prince of
Wales Islandc 1t is 140 miles long and
40 miles wide. 1t is almost half as big
Rs the state of Massachusetts,, and it