El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-01-08

! though the soil has TO be sprinkled
With gold dust to make them
Many Pretty Gardens.
Nevertheless, ketchikan has some
beautiful gardens The most of the
homes are frame cottages, and nearly
] bushes and flowers. Some Of the citi-
zens raise vegeta bles and berries. In
the garden of II. = Strong 1 saw rasp-
| perry bushes as high as my shoulder,
which give him all Of that fruit he can
eat for more than two months during
the summer. The berries are large and
or fine flavor, and they never become
Z nushy when ripe ketchikan also
II has as many beautiful flowers as a
section the same size in Seattle or
Portland II is a wet city. and the
moisture is such that the plants viii
grow on the rocks with no soil t.
I speak of. 1t has been raining steadily
eyer since l arrived, and today durins
a doWnpour 1 asked one OF the ciu-
zens:
Does it never stop raining in Ketehi-
kang'
He replied with laugh: I hardly know.
have lived here only - years
Eleven Feet of Rain Annually.
The city really has rain for more than
two-thirds OF the year. and over II feet Of
water falls in that time It is this that
makes the vegetation SO green. the leaves
Of the trees dripping almost as steadily as
those Of the famous rain forest which Is
sprinklod by the mist Of the zambesi Falls
in Central Africa
Indeed. the southern coast Of Alaska Is
one Of the rainiest parts Of the world.
Juneau the ca pitsl. is much ike Ketchizau,
OF sunshine is a rarity. Here the people go
about regardless OF the rain. They wear
rubber coats or slickers. and II they tramp
up the mountains they put on rubber boots
that reach 10 the waist. They wear oil
skin hats. and some OF the ladies have slick
er suits, consisting Of skirts and Jackets. No
q q
tea account OF the weather, and women
20 visiting clad in oilskins that cover dresses
that would not be out OF place at = party in
New York or Washington.
People Healthy and Satisfied
Others tell me that Ketchikan has many
bright days and that its climate is unsur-
passed by any other part Of our country.
The people are healthy. The children have
bright eyes and rosy cheeks. They play
rain. In the winter they coast down the
board roads. which in places run for more
than a mile up and down. hills. The town
has but little snow at any time Of the year
but in winter the frOsts are so heavy that
there Is splendid shedding until or 10
o'clock in the morning, al which time the
frost the roads can Be sprinkled at night
and they viii be covered with ice in the
Many p,opie Of the United States think
Of all Ala ska as bitterly elod in the winter
Their idea Of the country is embodied in
Bret Hsrts's Arctic Vision"
Where the short-iessed Eskimo
Waddles in the ice and snow.
And the playful polar bear
Nips the hunter unaware.
Ketchikan has no Eskimos polar bears
and there Is little ice and snow in the
winter. The Thermometer seldom falls 10
near zero. and the climate is as mild as that
of Atlanta or Richmond slight differences
in altitude. however. makes great differ
ence, and it is much colder on the tops Of
Has Modern Business Section.
ketchiksn has excellent stores The most
Of them are on the water front. built upon
piles that rest on the rocks. Several con-
crete buildings are now going UP. and there
IS . concrete department store tina. has
stock that would be considered large in any
Ketchikan- The city has jewelry stores.
grocery stores hardware stores. plumbing
establishments and machine shops
The stores have plate glass windows and
the goods are we'll displayed In one win
dow I . full line Of electrical apparatus,
including electric irons coasters and heaters
Another shows a large supply OF tEermos
bottles and baby carriages. The butcher
shops have quarters OF red beef just in from
and Strawberries from Alaska oranges and
figs from California and apples from Oregon
and British Columbia The supply y eat
abies is quite good as that Of the provt-
sion stores in the States. and the prices are
not much higher
find Eetchiksn uptodate. Il has only
3600 inhabitants, but II has daily neEspa-
pers. with kilograms from all parts OF the
world It has a savmim and iron works II
has seven salmon canneries. and Is min
ing center for silver, copper and gold It
has public library. a board OF trade. sew
eral moving picture shows and half dozen
well attended churches. The people look
about the same those you see in the
States. save that there are many indians
and some Chinese and japanese. The m
dams. Chinese and japanese dress ike the
whites and about the only difference is in
the fees, which have the racial features OF
water From the Mountains
Ketchilzza has an excellent water supply
II comes from lake high up in the noun
teins. and is so piped that the town has
all It can use and can still keep its sanitary
drinking fountains made Of porcelain per-
petualiy bubblinE. There are such places
scattered throughout the city. ketchikan
has "A saloons but the man child who
wants a drink OF pure mountain wate- has
only TO fit his mouth over the little china
bowl at any street corner and take In all
In addition to the lake. Retehikan has
rushing stream that flows in cascades and
rapids right through the town In the
salmon season this stream is one mass o.
fish and its color from bank to bank is
ali pink and silver, The fish come by the
thousands and swim M the stream to
spawn toiling their way through the rap
ids and jumping the falls. At that season
any one may have fish FOR the taking. and
vast quantities are saved FOR the calneries-
Cheap Electric Power.
The stream I have referred 20 furnishes
the city its electric power and it runs the
tric heat to some OF the houses. During my
stay I have had dinner with one OF the
leading citizens His home is . beautiful
house Of ten rooms lighted and heated by
electricity He has q hot-water plant. but
the water Is kept hot bv the electric heat
from the central power plant. and the same 3
plant supplies his cook stove lie tells me Z
that his bills FOR lighting and heating even !
in nidwinter are not more than SIS
month