The Stroller's weekly and Douglas Island news., 1921-11-05
FULL NELSON
 ON GOTWALS
That Is What the Lure of the North Has on Engnieer of Alaska
 Road Commission

lNI' NNNN N"NNN NNNW. NAl NNN NINN
 "Tho vastne@ where silence holds
 loase" have filed on Major J. c. Got-
 walls. engineer of Che Alaska Road
 Commission. and garnered him as
 their own. n homcly parianco Che
 country "has got" him. Tho major
 but recently returned to his head-
 quarters in Juneau from a four and
 half months continuous "muah"
 through Che interior of Alaska and
 i'm conversation with a reporter for The sroller's Weekly answered Che question. What holds the pioneer in Alaska" as follows
 "Tho qustion often arises as Co
 Che attraction which holds Che pio- ncor. particularly in tho interior. iu his lie which seems harsh enough My extensive travels in Che interior have given a moro or less satIsiac- tory answer Go this question.
 "Frst of au. Che lifo is not near ly as harsh as one might picture it Alaska. as it is SO widely advertised
 has a cold long winter but failure is made to indicate that Che winter months Of February March and April in thc interior are a most plcas- ant time of Che year. favorable for travel and with a s.ngularly brac.ng climate. The long days of Che late wintm and early spring take a great deal from Che bitterness Of Che short days of December and January Then again a great deal is heard of Che mosquitoes and gnats or 'No-sco-cma as Che Indians call them. One for- gets that mosquitoes are found and survive elsewhere and Che mosquitoes of our gull coast Of Che United States are terrors compared with those of Alaska. Again Che mosquito season is short.
 "Thon again. in summer travel it is not an fighting ones way across nieeer-hads and tundra areas. Ofton- times. and In fact most Of Che time Che going can be easy and Che scene cry improsslyoly beautiful Aa for Instance. following che ridges south of Eagle in Che Foriymile Che view of Che nearby hills and tho far-on Alaska Ranges are most remarkable. Again. on any part Of Che north slope Of thc Mckinley Range Che go-
 ing is excellent and Che fine climate with Che towering magnidccncc of the great mountains deeply impress every traveller.
 "Finally one must recognize that Che pioneer instinct urging IudIvid- ual cnort is deeply developed iu Amcdcans. Alaska opens a wide field for Che development of thc pee culiar capacity Of our people. One often hears Che question asked. 'How can a man give mp go much Go ace cpt the hard life Of Che interior of Alaskan But of course Che burden of proof quite changes tho other way and Che interior man can ask what has Inc given up and can emphasize how much he has gained. The yast yistas of Alaska. the great percentage Of braciug wcathor/ with Che varieties of wild life. g.V a reward to Che pioneer that only heJ can appreciate. a Above an. Che mosY eereeious error is that which a3 mmes Che pioneer to be queer 2 'frcakish' He is nothing Of th sof You win find in a small cabin cxg lent literature a wide range Of ' odicals. an Of which are ready dleestod with a resulting know of general world conditions yerY among city people.
 GA brief description Of some ofl most remote pioneers homes is interest in bringing out Che pol ! wish Co make that Che pioneer '. a perfectly normal. upstanding man who has built his home and sustain ed it and with individual enort in vast country which hc feels is his own. For instance. there is Dick Mitchcll's cabin. Dick has a nnc cabin on thc Mosquito Fork Of Che Fortymilo with splendid gardens and surrounded with one thousand acres of thc finest grass one could desire. Dick has two fine. fat horses who share his grass with thc numerous herds Of caribou found on Che Mos- quito Fork. Within reach of h.s cabin are Che Kctchumstuk Hiiis' tho Buckshn Hills and the Alaska Range just across Che Panama river. Moose. caribou brown and black hear and moutain sheep and an Che lesser game arc around in abund- anco. The latest magazines are re- cclvcd and read by Dick and he says' rather broezily. q am a little hard up. but its great to have all these books written explaining why ] am. ] enjoy reading them.
 "Thon there Is Ed Kamisgaards cabin on Lake Minchumina. This building is located near Che outlet Of Lake Minchumina and looking south across Che beautiful sheet of water one sees tho entire Alaska Range