The Snowflake herald., 1922-04-07

more to look around In the
Land of the Midnight Sum-
According to the original plans, the presidential
party will go by special train to the Pacific coast,
probably alightng at San Francisco. Seattle will
be port of call Thence the route will be through
the Inner Passage and on to Alaska. Presumably
Juneau, the territorial capital will be visited. Ac
cess to the government railroad practically
completed can be had either at Seward its south
ern terminus at Anchorage on Cook Inlet. The
road runs from Seward straight north to Fair
banks, about 400 miles, Mayfower the presden-
tia yacht is likely to be sent through the Panama
canal to be of service somewhere along the coast.
wonderful vacation trip, worth the while even
OF the President of the United States of America
And the President is known to be a lover of the
beautiful and majestic in nature and loyal friend
of national parks and of such scenic enter
prises the National Park-to-Park highway. In
cidentally effort is being made to get the Pres
dent to visit on this trip or more of the nation
al parks and the proposed Presidents Forest"
on the North Rim of the Grand canyon.
In Alaska-"The Frozen North" we used to
call 1.-THE President will have a chance to see
various things that are far out of the ordinary.
There isn't space here to catalogue them, but here
few that any man would be glad to see:
At Ketchikan a stream plunges through the GEN.
ter of the town. And in the stream is salmOn-run
where millions of salmon to be seen making
Incredible leaps to ascend the rapids.
Juneau is the Alaskan capital. There the Presi-
dent can take automobile and drive II miles
right to the edge of Mendenhal glacier. It'll be
summer weather. He can pick flowers by the
way. He'll see vegetable gardens, strawberry beds
and wheat fields surrounded by giant forests and
OvertOpped by peaks white with everlasting snow
OF course the President will strike somewhere
the YukOn-one of the great rivers of the world
and grandly scenic for the greater part of it's $500
miles.
The President is likely to run across a big herd
of reindeer anywhere from Point Barrow to the
Alaskan peninsula. There now about 225OOO
Of these "Camels of the Frozen North" One of
these days are likely to be eating reindeer meat
instead of beef; several thousand carcasses are
TO be shipped in from Nome this year.
The seal rOOkeries the Prbilof islands should
be worth seeing; there were 552,718 of these curl
GUS animals according to the seal census of 1920,
and they are increasing, although Uncle Sam takes
more than 25,000 skins a year.
It is to be hoped that the President visits the
new Katmai National monument-"The Valley of
Ten Thousand Smokes" Katmai volcano on the
Alaskan peninsula blew its head off during three
days in June of 1912, covering all Alaska with
thick coating of dust. The explosion left crater
$500 feet deep and eight miles around with lake
ut the bottom. Close by Is valley several miles
liOng, from which shooting up thousands of
steam Jets, Of them thousand feet high.
1T is q sample of earth in the making Some day
these steam jets may cool off enough to become
,Eeysers, like those Of the Yellowstone In the
meantime cooking is easy In Katmai.
IL the President travels on the government rail-
road to the gap in the steel he will have glorious
view Of Mount Mckinley, one of the great noun
rtaIns of the world and the central feature of the
z20O square miles of Mount Mckinley National
park. 1t rises 10000 feet above sea level and is
most impressive. 1t Is a wonderful preserve of
alaskan wild game-caribOu bighorn moose deer
and bear-which live and breed there in immense
numbers. At present this park is inaccessible but
the government railroad will touch the new east
boundary line established by recent act of con-
gress. Then there will be rush of tourists-very
few Of whom will reach Mount McKinley's glacier
covered summit
So Alaska has the markings of mighty interest
ing vacation trip for the President and his party
But don't get the idea that the Presidents trip
"a wholly and solely vacation pleasure trip For
the truth is that it is combination of pleasure
and business If it breaks fifty-ffty the pleasure
angle is In luck. For Alaska is one of the admin
tstratiOn's problems" And the President Is re-
ported to think the Alaskan problem important
enough to warrant firsthand information.