El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-04-28

are 30 or 20 mills in operation in southeast
srn Alaska alone. I saw the msaEing logs
ct Ketchikan, Petersburgh, Wrsngeli. Sitka
and Juneau and other places Father Dun
can has established q saTmill at Metlakstla
and the Haida Indians have a cooperative
mill on Prince OF Wales island. The mills
make building lumber and also boxes for the
salmon canneries. More than 1900, 600 boxes
are annually needed. and so per cent OF the
lumber Of Alaska is used by the fishing in
duStry IN one way OF another
As to the pulp wood. nearly all OF the
trees are fitted for paper The chief varte-
ties in the national forests are the SitkA
spruce and the western hemloci. both OF
which have been tested At the forest ser
vice laboratory at Madison. Wis. There are
also western cedar. lodge pole pine yellow
cedar and other good paper trees on the
reservations 1 saw great deal OF spruce
on the Kenai peninsula and am told THAI
Kodiak island has forests Of hemlock-
These national forests are practically con-
fined to the coast In addition there Is
great deal OF timber in the interior OF the
country. found woods all along the Yukon,
and In going 1900 miles down that stream
was seldom out OF the forests. There are
thick woods along the Tanana and other
tributaries OF the Yukon and also along the
Kuskokvim- Some distance back from the
rivers the timber grows sparser. but there
ars scattering trees in the greater part OF
the Yukon basin The trees cover the val
ieys and 20 up che hills to an altitude q
1000 or 1900 feet above sea level.
One Fourth OF Alaska Wooded.
AltCEetHer lOurfn
fifth OF Alaska Is wooded Some Of the esti-
mates make the whole forest area 10000. Don
acres. about three times as large as the
state Of New York There are no woods
to speak OF north OF the Yukon river. 4
short distance from the Yukon the mount
aims begin. and beyond that are the coastal
plains covered with tundra that slope down
to the Arctic ocean There are similar plains
along Bering sea They all have only low
bushes and a thick vegetation OF moss grow
ing upon thin soil laid upon bed OF per-
Many Of the forests OF interior Alaska are
b@dded upon the prehistoric ice. The soil ex-
tends only foot OF so below the surface.
and the earth under Il, down TO unknown
depths. has been frozen for thousands OF
years The trees send their roots down to
the fee and spread out through the thin
depth OF soil above it. This makes tho
clearing Of land comparatively easy. After
the trees have been cut the stumps die
quickly. and they can easily be pulled out.
Along the river every flood leads to the de-
struction 81 great quantities Of timber. The
water melts the frozen strata under the
trees and they fall. roots and ALL into tho
streams All along the Yukon and Tanan2
such waste may be seen going on. the trees
moving like floating islands on with the
current
Enormous Waste in Alaska.
There is enormous waste going on in the
forests OF Alaska Young trees by the mil
lions are killed by the rabbits These little
animals strip off the bark as the snow
meits. girdling the trees from the ground
next summer the trees die and the whOle
region becomes q brush heap.
There are also many forest fires and. IN
the Fairbanks district. IL Is safe 10 say that
ten times as much timber has been killed by
fire as has been cut for fuel or lumber. The
miners and hunters are careless. and thou
sands OF cords OF wood are destroyed by a
single prairie fire There are such wastes
all along the Yukon and the damage done
has been greater in Canada than in Alaska
All -he way from White Horse TO Dawson
distance OF $50 miles, I was almost al
wsys in sight OF burned forests. and saw
fire killed timber here and there along the
Yukon from the international boundary to
the mouth OF the Tanana- I saw many such
wastes on the Kenai peninsula. open spaces
IN the woods where the thick forest has
been reduced to a brush heap by the match
Of a prospectOr. In such places the trees
fall IN every direction. They tear out the
earth as they fall and the roots extend like
great mill wheels or mighty fans. high
out OF the brush. The dead trees. often
spruce or Pine. change their color from green