The Elbert County tribune., 1919-11-07
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great length of the-day that growing season is
worth about 200 of 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 wheat. oats.
rye, barley. lay. and they have produced alfalfa
which makes good crop. Its vast forests of TIM
ber suitable for paper pulp are awaiting a ready
mnrket while its fisheries nre the greatest on this
continent.
Mr.. Miller of washington-I have been over
nearly all Of Alaska. have gone into the hills
with my pack my hack | have teamed what
few provisions had 200 or 300 miles with dog
team out to my diggns. The greatest copper
mines on 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 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 see thousand head of reindeer grazing
on a mountain side. The Aeutian Islands are full
of them. There are 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 25 or 30 reindeer but
he herds them 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 beIieve
that with the great grnzing lands that there are In
Alaska. the future development of the reindeer
substantial of meat suppy for our
country is of the most promising that vve boya
before
Now, the climate there is not bad Over in tho
Interior. In the Yukon valley. the atmosphere is
dry. and with the temperature 25 degrees below
zero you can wear an ordinary hat all day long
ana your ears viii not get cold When you 90 out
TO the coast you get the moisture. Going awov
from the coast into the Yukon valley Won 90
mountain chain some 1000 feet high ond
when you get over that chain you are In the great
arctic slope have come out of that valley with
the thermometer AZ degrees below zero whore
could stay doors all day without discomfort
and have dropped that mountain chain on,v
80 miles and out to the coast where tho
thermometer was degrees below zero and have
nearly perished with the cold. The inferior 10 n
cold. dry climate. Animals can forage nil ,y,ntar
in the interior country.
1t would surprise some of you to know thar l.,
that country the ground is eternalIy frozen No
has ever dug through the frost and thev bave
been down thousand feet.
The fields of barley and rye and wbeat mr..
grown 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 Tbar.
is daylight 1G. 1S and "a hours in the DIV ana
crops mature quickly. They come right nm ora
night. OF course in the winter the nights are lon,
and dark and cold. but the summer seasons ara do
ghtful The thermometer goes up to so 90 ,nd
95 in summer. but in the winter 1t becomes excead
ngly cold The coidest weather ever saw In the
Yukon valley was G3 degrees below zero Thai ~
cold weather. and 1t is dangerous weather. but os
you go down the Yukon river and perhaps 5O,
miles from the mouth, there Is Catholic mission
the Holy Cross mission. There is one of the mosr
beautiful apple orchards have ever seen perhaps
50 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 ever seen. All that In land that
is frozen. II is queer country Every rule of the
geooglsts is reversed when you get 10 Alaska
And tell you gentlemen. Just as sure as God.
the future VIII unfold for Alaska and the AmerI-