The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1917-10-04

Cd 10 give you line Of figures Of the
enormous wealth that has been takcr
out Of this country in the past q
years, from the mines and fisheries
But won't
Uncle Sam could give every man
woman and child in Alaska ---anc
mind you this includes every Indian
and Eskimo---nine square miles OF
land and yet have some left over.
| said he could give Wrong h,
couldn't. | should have said be coulc
apportion. Nobody would take tn,
land--only in the mining camps anc
near a few favored sections. Nobody
wants It'll, is absolutely without val
ne. IL would be impossible TO live OF
it. A native would starve to death OF
nine square miles.
! can 20 10 one place in Alaska
and | expect TO at the close Of the trip
where | will be as near St. Peters
burg as Cleveland and much closer "a
China than New York. And yet | will
be in the United States. That place is
Cape Prince of Wales--a little north
and west Of Nome,
And just stop minute and con-
slider there are but two entrances TO
this great north land, only two roads
through which il is possible TO enter
the interior Of Alaska--the White
Pass and Yukon railroad from Skag-
way over 10 White Horse, and the
Yukon river up stream from St Mi
chael. These are the only two en-
frances to territory whose boundary
is as great as circle around the
globe, excepting the government trail
from Seward.
"Can't one pack in from any coast
town." tourist asked me, when /
had made this statement.
"Try it," | replied.
If one had a pack pony in summer
or dog team in winter, he could
start, but he would never get through
or come back. He would even have
to carry the feed for his horse, for
there is little more than moss and
brush to eat. If he went with dogs
they would eat him when the provi-
sions ran out. There are no trails, no
road houses, no anything. 1t would
simply be an awful means of suicide.
The government railroad from An
chorage north to Fairbanks will some
day make third gateway to central
Alaska, and cut off the hundreds of
miles that now have to be made
through the Yukon Territory, and it
will also hasten the finish to the al
ready dying towns along that route.
But the road is long way from COM
pletion yet, and whether it can be kept
open ana UlalHldliltu ID liiuttu q Ntiy
big guess. None but Uncle Sam would
have risked SIS 100000 on such a ven
ture. But more of this later.
Alaska is "the wild" 1t is coun-
try of few pleasures and many perils.
1t is a horseless, womanless country.
Over the whole land is brooding 81
lence and mystery. 1t is full of hard
ship, sadness, homesickness. 1t is
land without comforts, land without
laughter. One long night in winter,
One long day in Summer, with perpet-
ual twilight, bright, green and mys-
FERROUS.
Yet men come here and stay here,
become Gypsy followers of the trail,
lured on by the gamblers hope of "a
strike" It's a land where life is re-
duced to elementals, where men "let
go" and raise whiskers and hell. It's
a country of 1.-THE hell-do-we
care" where the bars are let down
and men descend toward the brutal.
From Tananna down the river | had
a state room companion, young fell
low with an old face, scared with the