The Seward gateway., 1922-11-22

Now comes FranK ferTy, HlnIHS
 engineer, with a story of tropical
 valley in the heart of the frozen North
 near the Yukon boundary, where boil
 ing rivers so heat the surrounding
 country that rose bushes grow to the
 height of trees while veins of precious
 metals run side by side to mountains
 of coal and fierce bubbling springs of oil.
 For seventeen years, with only two pack dogs to carry his equipment, the lone prospect0i explored the sub-Arc- Itic regions, until he by chance came upon this vast paradise in the midst
 of snow covered mountains, according
 10 the Dawson News.
 The area of the country explored
 is roughly 700 miles north and south,
 and 300 miles wide; it lies between 1 the coastal range and the Laird and
 Fort Nelson rivers and contains fac
 tors hitherto unknown to Canadians.
 Crossing a range one winter and
 reaching the crest. Perry prepared to ICescend into the next valley when he
 was surprised to find it was covered
 with a heavy fog. This valley was ap-
 proximately 200 miles long and about
 40 wide. Rivers of hot water ran
 through it, fed by hundreds of hot
 springs which bubbled out of the
 earth in all directions, the steam be-
 ing condensed on rising and forming
 the fog he had first seen from tn ? Irange crest.
 1 Perry remained in the valley and it's ncghborLood for year and never before in all his experiences in a game country had he seen so many wild animals which congregated there | for the Iuxuriant vegetation that was made possible by the heat generated by the springs. In the valley were hundreds of mountain sheep and goat, caribou and moose. with bears and all other fur bearing animals.
 Due to the exceptionally good graz ling in the valley, Perry states that | the moose and deer looked like the pictures of the old Norman horse-al- mos square from fat-and they were so tame that he has been able to walk among them and could almost touch them as they fed.
 The country is never visited by the Indians, due to the fact that the i'm prints of huge three-toed animals are found in the sandstones and shaies; the Indians believing these monster , s;i;' loam the country, and although they know it to be a hunters para disc they give the valley wide berth and will not go around it. In addition to the hot springs, which break from the ground at boiling temperature. there are mineral springs of vario< descriptions.
 The black soil is of depth which Perry estimated at between sixty seven and seventy feet, on clay sub soil, while the tree growth was ab' normal. The ordinary wild rose bush as a mans forearm. and so dense It were like trees, with stems as thick was impossible to force a wa' thru them while the willows grew to a tree size, and it was possible to walk along the branches. Some of the trunks of the latter were fully 2 loot and half through, vines grew to a length of about sixty feet and nettles and ferns were of an unusual size. During the winter there was no frost in the valley, and for 25 miles along it there was open land suitable for ranching, the width of the bottom being estimated at four miles. In oth- CT sections it is mixed park-like dis trict which would need cleai-ng of birch and willow, but there are con- siderable areas open in patches. Per ry states that in addition to the mar ivels of vegetation the minerals in this unknown terrain are quite equal to the other phenomena. In different formations, but close together, gold, silver and copper Were found, some of the samples brought out by Perry be- | ing very rich. Tn particular, he found three veins which were extra good. These were about forty feet vii ' hundred and fifty feet long, but there are thousands of others, says
 the engineer. Coal there is, too, with
 iron in proximity; of the first named
 what practically amounts to a whole
 mountain was found, one seam meas