The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1919-12-18
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great length of the days. that growing season Is
worth about 200 of days. SO that they are
enabled to grow crops suitable to take care of a
large population and take care of the stock that
they may prodNe. Tie crops wheat, oats.
rye, barley, hay and they have produced an alfalfa
which makes EOod CROP. Its vast forests of tint
Der suitable for paper pulp are awaiting ready
market, while its' fisheries the greatest on this
continent.
Mr.. Miller Of Washington.-I have been over
nearly all of AiS-Ha. ! have gone into the hills
with my pack ON u,y back l have teamed what
few provisions l bad 200 or 300 miles with dog
team out to my diggins. The greatest copper
mines the face of the earth are within the
territory of Alaska You know how we searched
the world for metals during the war. We have 80
per cent of them In Alaska. They are there await.
Ing the hand that will develop them.
Something has been saia here of the reindeer
situation. There is no prettier sight In the world
than to see thousand head of reindeer grazing
on mountain side. The Aleutan islands are full
of them. There are 10000 or 100000 reindeer In
Alaska. They are godsend to the natives. They
go out with their little herds. An Indian or an
Eskimo may not have over 25 or 80 reindeer but
he herds them Us a careful husbandman takes care
of his little flock Of sheep. Incidentally they are
cleaning out the wolves and lynxes and the other
predatory animals that infest the country. The
reindeer support the natives. And truly believe
that with the great grazing lands that there are in
Alaska. the future development of the reindeer
substantial source of meat supply for our
country Is one of the most promising that we have
before
Now, the climate there is not bad. Over In the
interior, In the Yukon valley. the atmosphere ia
dry. and with the temperature 25 degrees below
zero you can wear an ordinary hat all day long
and your ears will not get cold. When You 90 ont
to the coast you get the moisture. Going awav
from the coast into the Yukon valley Won 90
over mountain chain some 1000 feet high and
when you get over that chain you are I'm the great
arctic slope. have come out of that valley with
the thermometer AZ degrees below zero who're 7
could stay out doors all day without discomfort
and have dropped over that mountain chain onIv
80 miles and come out to the coast where the
thermometer was degrees below zero and have
nearly perished with the cold. The interior "a
cold. dry climate. Animals forage all winter
in the interior country
II would surprise some of you to Know tbat n,
that country the ground is eternally frozen No
one has ever dug through the frost. and they have
been down a thousand feet.
The fields of barley and rye and wbeot mr..
grown on the top of ground that is frozen for n
thousand feet beneath 1t thaws on the surface
In the summer time. II gets very warm There
is daylight 1G, IS and "a hours In the dov ana
crops mature quickly. They come right mn over
night. OF course in the winter the nights are Ion
and dark and cold, but the summer seasons ors da
lightful. The thermometer goes up TO 80 on .,a
80 In summer. but in the winter II becomes excaad
ingly cold. The coldest weather ever saw IN Tho
Yukon valley was 6S degrees below zero Thar 10
cold weather, and II is dangerous weather but 40
you go down the Yukon river, and perhaps 6O.l
miles from the mouth, there is Catholic mission
the Holy Cross mission. There is one of the most
beautiful apple orchards have ever seen perbans
50 acres of the most beautiful young apple trees
just coming into bearing. And grazing over broad
acres of clover of the fiEest herds of Ter
scy cattle have ever seen. All that In land that
Is frozen II 10 queer country. Every rule OF the
geologsts is reversed when you get to Alaska
And tell you. gentlemen, Just as sure as God
the future viii unfold for Alaska and the Ameri.