The Ordway new era., 1919-11-14


worth about 200 of our days. So that they are
enabled to grow crops suitable to take care of
large population and take care of the stock that
they may produce The crops are wheat, oats,
rye barley, hay, and they have produced an alfalfa
which makes good crop Its vast forests OF uh-
ber suitable for paper pulp are awniting a ready
market while its fisheries are the greatest on this
continent.
Mr.. Miller of Washington.-I have been over
nearly all of Alaska. 1 have gone into the hills
with my pack my back. 1 have teamed what
few provisions 1 had 200 300 miles with dog
team out to my diggins. The greatest copper
mines on the face of the earth within the
territory of Alaska. You know how searched
the word.for metals during the We have 80
per cent of them In Alaska. They are there await
Ing the hand that will develop them.
Something has been said here of the reindeer
situation. There is no prettier sight in the world
than to thousand head of reindeer grazing
on mountain side. The Aleutian islands full
of them. There 100000 10000 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 % or 30 reindeer, but
he herds them as careful husbandInan 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 are In
Alaska, the future development of the reindeer
as substantial 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 10
dry. and with the temperature % degrees below
you ordinary hat all day long
and your ears will not get cold When you 20 out
to the coast you get the moisture. Going awsy
from the coast into the Yukon valley YOU 90
a mountain chain some 1000 feet high and
when you get over that chain you are in the preat
arctic slope. 1 have come out of that valley with
the thermometer AZ degrees below zero where 1
could stay out doors nll day without discomfort
and have dropped over that mountain chain only
30 miles and come out to the coast where the
thermometer was degrees below zero and have
nearly perished with the cold The interior is n
cold, dry climate. Animals forage all winter
In the Interior country
1t would surprise some of you to know that I'm
that country the ground is eternally frozen No
one has dug through the frost and tbev bay.
been down thousand feet.
The fields of barley and rye and wheat ars
grown the top of ground that is frozen for n
thousand feet beneath 1t thaws on the surface
in the summer time. 1t gets very warm There
is daylight 10, 1S and "a hours In the day and
crops mature quickly They come right up over.
night. OF course In the winter the nights are long
and dark and cold. but the summer seasons are do.
lghtful The thermometer goes up to so 90 md
90 in summer. but in the winter 1t becomes exceed
ingly cold. The coolest weather 1 ever saw in tho
Yukon valley was 6S degrees below zero Tbot 10
cold weather. and It is dangerous weather: bnt no
you go down the Yukon river, and perhaps h00
miles from the mouth there is Catholic mission
the Holy Cross mission. There is one of the most
beautiful apple orchards have ever seen perhaps
80 acres of the most beautiful young apple trees
Just coming into bearing. And grazing over broad
acres of clover of the finest herds of Jer
sey cattle have seen. All that in n land that
is frozen. 1t is queer country. Every rule of the
geologists is reversed when you get to Alaska
And tell you gentlemen. just as sure as God
the future will unfold for Alaska and the Ameri-