Evening star., 1917-03-25
1917, by Frank G. Carpenter }

Copyright, 1917 by Frank G. Carpenter)
SEWARD, Alaska.
q WRITE today of one of the least
known parts of Uncle Sans do
minions. During the past month
q l have crossed Eering sea and
coasted the shores of the Aleutian
Islands. 1 have travelled along the
Alaska peninsula, great tongue of
land extending from the southwestern
end of the territory as far as from
New York to Cleveland. I have skirted
the coast under the shadow of the
Katmai volcano, which a few years
ago spread a coat of ashes over the
northland. and have seen something of
the Island of Kodiak, the largest in
Alaska. where the government is now
experimenting in dairy and stock farm
ing. The whole of this region is prac-
tically unknown. Let me give you a
few facts concerning some parts of it.
First, take Bering sea, over which 1
steamed in the good ship Victoria
coming from the Seward peninsula to
the Aleutian Islands That body of
water is twice as big as Hudson bay.
1t has greater area than the Gulf of
Mexico. 1t is as long from north to
south as from Chicago to New Or
leans, and its extreme width is greater
IMAM the distance between the mouth
of the Hudson and the Missouri river
at Omaha. The sea is colder than the
Pacific ocean. from which II is shut off
by the Aleutian Islands. and the cli-
matte conditions are such that 1t is
usually shrouded in fog. 1t is noted
for its storms. and during the winter
great part of it is covered with ice.
When we left Nome the water was
tn
of all the way to the Aleutians. The
sky was bright. with fieecy clouds float
ing here and there through it, and a
fog bank or so were now and then
to be seen in the distance. There was
not enough breeze to raise white caps
Here the color of the water was green
A day SO later it changed to a deep
blue. caused by the greater depth or
possibly by the clouds The northern
half of Bering sea is SO shallow that
If you could drop the Washington
Monument down into II the aluminium
tip would reach above the surface of
the waves Further south. along the
Aleutian Islands. the sea is much
deeper. and in places it reaches a depth
of almost two miles. Near the Aleutian
Islands are the great banks, somewhat
like those of Newfoundland, upon
which feed tens of millions of cod and
halibut. They are among the best fish
ing banks of the world and are big
asset in our aquatic wealth.
AS We came south, | talked with the
captain about his annual voyages. He
makes five six round trips from
Seattle to Nome every year. Navigation
IS open early In June and il closes
about the middle of October. The ships
often break their way in through float
ing ice, and they go out chased by
Jack Frost The ice comes to Nome al
most in night. 1t freezes first along
the shore, and the whole sea becomes
mushy. The water looks as though it
was covered with white caps, the caps
being slush- Then a cold spell will
come. and the sea will freeze far out
from the shore. The ice may not be
thick at first and it breaks with the
tide and floats away. II the wind blows
toward the shore. ii is driven on to the
beach and banks up. When the winter
is established there is ice everywhere
near the shore. II sometimes extends
from Nome as far as Nunivak Island,
and ii floats in from the Arctic ocean
through Bering strait
When the ice breaks in the spring
IL goes almost as fast as II comes in
the fall. A channel may form between
the shore and the solid body of ice and
there may be a river of water with
banks of ice on each side Sometimes
the nrst passengers are landed upon
the ice and the ships are frozen in
Later the ice disappears and the land
ing has to be done in great cage that
runs on a trolley from a station near
the ship across tire water to the shore.
I shall not forget my first sight of
the Aleutian Islands. We had passed
no land for two days when we came
to the Island of Unimak. which is at
the end of the Alaska peninsula, and
which forms the beginning of the great
chain of islets that reaches from
Alaska almost to Asia. The isla nds lie
in a great crescent which look like
stepping stones on the face of the sea
They form the arc of great circle
reaching from the western to the east
ern hemisphere. Cnimak lies on our
side of the world and Attu. the last
of our islands, is in the orient 1900
miles distant and not very far from
Kamchatka. We have a coaltng sta
tion on the Island Of Kieka, which Is
IN the eastern hemisphere. and there
the evening twilight has not disap-
peared when the sun ie rising In Maine.
John Bull often boasts that the sun