Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-04-23
PRIMITIVE AREA
IN FAR ALASKA
NATIONALPARK
Railroad, Now Building, Will
Bring Mckinley Park
Near Civilization.
WILD GAME PLENTIFUL
BY FREDERIC j. HASKIN.

BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.
WASHINGTON, D. C-The work Of
surveying the boundaries of Mt. McKin-
ley National Park, which is said to be
the most remarkable of all the areas
which the United States Government has
set aside for the PURPOSES of conserva
ton and public pleasure, is to begin this
spring These boundaries will enclose a
great area of primitive wilderness, teem-
Ing with game, in which it will be unlaw-
full to kill that game except for miners
and prospectors who are actually depend
ent upon it for living.
1t is hard at present to arouse popular
interest in a national park In Alaska be-
cause it seems SO far away. Yet the new
Government railroad in Alaska will bring
Mt. Mckinley within three weeks of New
York City, and you can travel all the way,
except the last twenty miles, by boat
and rail. This means that Mount McKin-
ley will be no harder for the tourist to
reach than Is Hawaii, which in recent
years has attained such wide popularity.
1t will soon be possible to go, on
summer vacation of few months, from
the most populous city in the world to
one of its most remote places, where
Wild life exists in the abundance of pre-
Columbian days. This is an opportunity
which the American tourists will not
miss. 1t is said that plans are already
under way for a big hotel there to
accommodate him. 1t is probable, too,
that the National Park Service will In
due course install there the shelters for
travellers which it has in other parks
Here, as in all national parks and for
ests, everything will be open to all. If
you can not afford a hotel, you can
take your own outfit and camp, or build
your own cabin If you want to stay
longer.
1t is the prospect Of this movement
Of tourists to Alaska which has prompted
the Government TO set aside Mount Nc
Kinley as a national park. The prime
purpose In creating the park is to pro-
tect the big game herds within it, and
the reason for this is that game is an
absolute necessity to the development OF
Alaska. The exploring, prospecting, and
surveying which are the necessary pre-
l1minaries Of civilization in such a coun-
try, can not be carried or unless men
can live off the country as they go
along. Our own West could not have
been opened up without the great herds
Of bison and antelope that covered this
abounded in the mountains. No pro-
lection was ever afforded these wild
herds, but they were not finally de-
stroyed until they had served their pur-
pose. The West was so far away from
civilization that it was not menaced by
tourists.
CONDITIONS
IN ALASKA.
The case Of Alaska is different II IL
rapidly being made accessible to the civil
lization which owns It If sportsmen and
tourists are allowed to slaughter the
game, soon there will be none left for the
men who actually need it. The Alaskans
are said fully to realize this and there
fore TO favor the establishment of the
park. By preventing the shipment of
game from it, and the carrying of arms
into it by tourists, the game can with
out much expense be given all the pro-
lection 1t will need for years to come.
The region Will in this way serve as a
reservoir from which game will overflow
in ell directions, keeping the country
stocked.
The northern slope of Mt Mckinley
Is said to be one of the finest game
regions in the world. A great variety of
game and fur bearing animals exist there
In abundance, but the most valuable ones
from the standpoint of food supply are
the mountain sheep, or bighorn, the
moose and the caribou. The mountain
sheep, which IS elsewhere a rare animal,
here exists In great numbers. The carl
bou range in enormous herds that are SO
tame they trot alongside the pack trains
that enter the country, fascinated by the
curious spectacle. Moose are found on
the lower slopes IN great abundance.
There are many bears, and abundant
small game
All Of this is on the northern slope,
for the southern side is almost devoid
Of life. This curious state of affairs is
caused by the fact that the northern
slope of the great mountain is warmed
by winds blowing off the japanese cur
rent. As a result 1t has a warm sum-
mer. In winter the thermometer some
times drops far below zero, but the snow
is not very deep nor the climate difficult
to endure.
We are accustomed to think winter
there is cold" said Charles Selden. who
spent q whole year alone on Mount Nc
Kinley. Winter Is the most delightful
season of the year" He went On to say
that he did not suffer from the cold
even on the coolest days, and that he
wore no more clothing than he would
have In winter in the Adirondack Noun
tains. Winter. he says, is the best time
for travelling over the mountain because
then the ground Is frozen and the footing
is good. In the summer there are many
little boys and marshes.
QUALIFICATIONS
AS PARK SITE.
This northern slope is described as one
of the most beautiful regions in the
world, rich in animal life full of wild
flowers, healthful all the year round. The
southern slope is vast rock slide where
almost nothing can live, covered in win
ter with snow which sometimes reaches
a depth Of sixty feet
Mount Mckinley is said by those who
have seen it to be the most spectacular
peak in the world. 1t rises In a great
dome, crowned with glittering ice and
snow, to an elevation of 1900 feet, and
is hanked by smaller mountains IA 900 to
$4,000 feet high. A few hunters and
few prospectors, most of whom work on
placer gold deposits, are the only human
beings in the vast wilderness. Although
1t Is rich In minerals, it is said that no
mining industries have yet been estab-
lished within the park boundaries. The
of the park will not in
any way interfere with mining and pros
pecting. It will, however, prevent private
from getting hold Of the land
and controlling it. 1t means that this
region will be free to all Americans for
all time
This freedom is perhaps the greatest