Evening star., 1916-03-12

for the shine. and told me that in the
interior 1 shall have to pay not less than
a. quarter AS he worked I asked him
if the winter did not chill his African
blood. He replied no. adding that the
winters here are quite as warm as those
of Baltimore, where he was born, and
that most of the time he does not need
even an overcoat. He has lived four
years in Alaska, and has worked as far
north as Anchorage. where they are now
laying out the new town at the end of
our railroad. He complains that Juneau
is a poor place for bootblacks. except in
the summer. The winters have SO much
rain that the people go about in oilskins
am living here at the New Cain
Hotel. This is a concrete five-story
building not far from the courthouse
and the governors residence. 1t has
that runs now and then-usually then.
Like most Of the Alaska hotels it has
no dining room, and one must go out
for his meals. have to walk two or
strangers do likewise. The food is ex-
cellent and comparatively cheap. These
Alaskans have big appetites, and the
caterers make their portions large
chops or steak is sufficient for two. and
a single order Of cracked crab is more
than one man can eat. The crabs
here are as big around as a dinner
Washington city. At some of the res
taurants soup. potatoes and one kind of
dessert Is served with each meat order,
so that a meal really costs less than
a similar one in the states. The menu
Is la carte. and as many of the dishes
are given French names as the vocabu-
larry of the restaurant keeper will per-
init. Among those on the bill of today,
and "beefsteak en- platter" The walters
were good-natured girls imported from
Sweden.
Before / started to Alaska was
warned that the only fruit and vege-
tables I would be able to get were
those that grow out west in cans" AS
a result have brought with me a lot
of digestants of various kinds. includ-
ing remedies for ptomaine poisoning. 1
do not need them. The provision stores
or southeastern Alaska are as good as
those of the states. This afternoon for
instance, I stopped in front of grocery
and made a list of the vegetables on
sale. There were fresh turnips, lettuce,
onions, celery and new potatoes from
fresh caulifiower. green beans and
green peas that had come in by boat
from Seattle. 1 saw ripe red tomatoes,
oleached asparagus. pale green cab
y
green corn on the cob
The store had all sorts of fruit There
were raspberries. salmon berries and
huckleberries. fresh picked from the
Alaska bushes. and Alaska Strawberries
ranging in size from an English wall
nut to the average hens egg. There
were ripe peaches and apricots, cher
ries, red. black and white and plums
and loganberries. There were canta-
loupes and watermelons from Caljfor-
MIA, and also the fruits of the tropics.
Oranges were selling at about the same
price that we pay in Boston, and there
were also fresh ripe figs and even pine
apples. The vegetables were SPRAYED
by fountain which rose in their
midst and they looked as though they
had just come from the garden
Next door to the grocery was
butcher shop where a quarter of red
beef lay on the block. and a white-
aproned. rosy-cheeked butcher was cut
ting on steak two inches thick. In
the window nearby was a great white
halibut from which slices had been cut.
and half dozen fresh salmon with
nesh as red as brick dust. There were
crabs, oysters, large and small
and other shellfish as we'll
The citizens here are enthusiastic
about the food possibilities of the
country. Said Grover c. winn, ore of
the lawyers of Juneau:
Alaska is the hardest of countries
to make a fortune in and the easiest