Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-04-09


H&4 the great ocean port of the
future Its citizens are al
ready comparing it with Stockholm, the cap
tal OF Sweden, which has almost 100000 IN
habitants. They claim its location is SINH
lar, and that it will be the gateway to re-
sources equal to those OF the four Scand-
navan countries They point out that Nor
wav. Finland. Sweden and Denmark, which
are in the same latitude and have much the
same climate. have population OF over -
100000. They SAY that Alaska will some
dav have 2O,O0Oo00, and that Seward will
be its chief port.
TWO wears ago not one man i'll a hundred
could have told where Seward is located,
and | venture that nine-tenths OF those who
are reading this letter will have TO go TO a
map to find out 1t Is on the great Gull OF
Alaska. at about the middle OF the southern
coast OF the territory. It IS at the lower end
ol the Renal peninsula. about as Tar from
ketchikan. where the Seattle steamers first
call. aa,the distance between New York and
Cleveland. and ii is only little farther than
that to the Unimak pass ol the Aleutian ISL
ands, through which the ships go on their
way from Seattle to Nome.
Seward is six days by steamer from the
Puget sound ports. 1t is about as far from
Seattle as from New York to Sioux City or
Omaha and the fare is S45 When the new
railroad is completed it will be less than 500
miles from the terminus at Fairbanks. from
where steamers can go via the Tanana and
Yukon to a great part Of the interior of
Alaska.
The harbor OF Seward is Resurrection
bay magnificent inlet, whose waters are
surrounded by mountains and SO guarded
by islands that here, in the midst of this re-
gion OF terrible storms. the ships lie as quiet
and safe as they do inside the docks OF Ham
burg and Liverpool
But let us take birds-eve view of the
harbor and town. | have come from the
Wharves and tranped through the business
and residence sections TO the foot OF the wall
OF the great mountain that rises straight up
on one side Of Resurrection bay. | have
climbed the wall making my way through,
the moss and pulling myself from one tree
root to another until NOW hang above the
town and Underwriting these notes.
The wall is PERCEPTIONS. 1t rises straight
above Seward to height OF several thou
sand feet, losing itself i'll the great range Of
mountains that bounds the side OF the har-
Dor and runs back into the interior, fading
away into the snoW-capped regions behind.
The first hundred feet is covered with green
trees, some OF which are twice the grth OF
my waist They cling to the rocks and
grow straight up, forming palisades as it
were Among them are bushes making
jungle that reminds one Of the lower slopes
of the Himaayas. From where hang
can see giant ferns, young alder trees and
salmonberry bushes, the whole growing out
OF deep bed OF moss into which my feet
sink as though into feathers. There seems
to be no earth between me and the rocks.
The moss covers the rocks, and.the trees
and bushes are imbedded in il.
AT my left, looking out TIN ougl the green
branches OF spruce. | can see the white gla
cial waters OF Lowell creek, roaring as thev
rush foamng over the rocks down into Res
direction bay, They cut through the upper
part OF the town and pass under Uncle Sans
railroad embankment which runs round the
harbor.
Turning my head. | can sec Resurrection
river, which comes i'll at the end OF the bay,
and looking over the inlet where the bay
ends another mountain wall rises before me.
Its peaks are of black volcanic rock and in
its hollows nestle glaciers of pale green ice
that the sun has turned into emeralds. High
up on the mountain sides are patches of
snow that shine like silver against the black
cliffs and below rising thousand and more