The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-02-15
MY COUNTRY
IT'S OF THEE
By s. J. FULLWOOD
TERRITORY OF ALASKA

tic ocean; on the east by Canada
on the south by the North Pacific
ocean; and on the west by the
Arctic and Boring seas. The
topography Of the territory Is
mountainous and high plateaus for
the most part. The Arctic coast
is tundra region OF swampS and
messy moors. A vast plains area
lies in the interior of Alaska which
is large enough to hold several of
the states of our country.
When we consider the fact that
the area of Alaska consists Of
586,4O square miles, we get some
conception of the vastness Of the
territory. Alaska is drained for
the most part by the Yukon river,
which is one of the great rivers
of the world, which gathers the
waters of northwestern British
America and sweeps westward IN
a flood to Bering sea. Six hun
dred miles above its mouth, 1T IS a
mile in width. For most of the
year it is ice bound, but in the
summer it is navigated by some 40
steamboats,, trading with mining
camps on its upper waters.
From Kadiac eastward to Mount
st. Elias the coast grows more and
more mountainous. The great an
gle of the Pacific coast is one of
the scenic wonders Of the world.
There are mountains twice as high
as the Alps, and glaciers beside
which those of Switzerland are
mere driblets. Mr.. Logan rises to
height of 1850 feet above sea
level and is the highest peak, with
the exception of Mt. Mckinley,
which is 20,460 feet high.
The climate on the Alaskan
coast of the Pacific is mild; hard
as this may seem to anyone who
thinks of Alaska lying in the
north, far north. This, however,
is due to the Japan current which
swings down along this coast. Fur
Their, it is noted that the 1000
mile stretch between the tip of the
Aleutian Islands southwest to Dix
on's Inlet is in the same latitude
as the British Isles.
The territory of Alaska has a
seal. The seal measures two and
one-half inches in diameter; is per-
fectly circular in shape. The ex-
amples of the seal, presented to
us by the executive department of
Alaska, are in black and white.
Between the inner and outer rims
is inscribed (reading from left to
right: ."The Seal of the Terri
tory" and, at the bottom, "Of
Alaska" Just inside the inner rim
at the top, a few clouds are show
ing, reflecting the rays Of the rls-
ing sun coming up over the high
snow-peaked mountains. In the
central foreground is seen the sea,
with a steamer headings towards
the port which is seen on the left
side of the central picture. A
smelling plant is seen on the side
of the hill, just above the dock,
on the left side of the picture. In
the lower left side of this picture
is seen a growth of timber; and
in the foreground Of the sea, a
sailing vessel. At the bottom OF
the picture, on the shore, is shown
a team of horses drawing a pillow,
with a farmer driving.
The blue forget-me-not is the
official territorial flower for Al
aska. There is no motto for the
territory, nor any territorial bird,
or nickname. However, Alaska
has a song, entitled, ALASKA, My
Alaska" sung to the tune OF
Maryland, My Maryland" 1t was
written by M. A. Snow.
Alaska has a territorial flag.
We are indebted to the Territory
of Alaska Session Laws of 1927
for the following on the Alaskan
Territorial flag:
"That the design of the official
flag is eight gold stars in held
of blue, so selected for its SIM
plicity, it's originality and its SYM
bolism. The blue, one Of our ma
tional colors,. typifies the evening
sky, the blue Of the sea and OF
mountain lakes, and of wild flow
ers that grow in Alaskan soil, the
gold being significant of the
wealth that lies hidden in Alaska's
hills and streams.
1.-THE stars, seven Of which form
the constellation UrSa major, the
Great Bar, the most conspicuous
constellation in the northern sky,
contains the stars which form the
'dipper,' including the pointers,
which point toward the eighth star
in the flag, Polaria, the North Star
the ever constant star for the
mariner, the hunter, trappcr, ex-
plorer, prospector, woodsman, and
the surveyor. For Alaska is the
northernmost star in the galaxy OF
stars which at some future time
will take it's place as the forty
ninth star in our national en-
blem."
Due to the extremely short Al
askan summer season, agriculture
is not a very important form of
occupation. The United States
government is trying to further
interest in farming in Alaska and
has four experiment stations To-
Gated in the territory. Vegetables
are grown in increasing quanti-
ties. All the harder types of crops
can be grown in Alaska, except
corn. This cannot be grown there
due to the shortness of the season,
as mentioned above. There are
of available farm lands in
which are unoccupied. If,
and when, the public becomes edu-
Gated to the eating of reindeer
meat. this market will be on the
upward trend, for enough acreage