Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1939-09-01

lea In the opinion OF Senator I. ].
Walker of Silver Bow county who,
with Mrs. Walker, has just re-
turned from a months visit to
Alaska. "For the man with stam-
ina, the man with some knowl-
edge of minerals-the type of man
who built Montana-the Alaskan
country offers great possibilities"
Senator Walker said. mature has
been lavish in its gifts to this great
northern land
The. scenery is unsurpassed, the
natural wealth beyond computation,
not the. refrigerator that it has been
pictured. The japanese current has
tempered the climate along the coast
and for many miles inland. When it
is foggy or raining it is chilly, but
when the sun is shining it is really
wonderful"
The airplane is playing a prominent
part in the development of that land,
Senator Walker said. What Alaska
needs are airports and more airports.
Throughout the mountainous region
there are many lakes which can be
and are used as ports for pontoon
equipped planes. But, owing to the fact
that the airplane has been proven a
valuable contribution to exploring
equipment of prospectors, the more
landing fields that Washington may
see fit to give that territory the more
rapidly her mineral resources will be
developed"
Flew ChiIcoot Pass
The senator and Mrs. Walker flew
over Chilcoot pass, that steep declev-
ity which played such an important
part in wrecking the hopes of many
prospectors of 1893. las we flew over
that snow-covered pass" the Butte
man said, I'VE visioned the desperate
struggle that the early day prospectors
put forth to scale that slippery hill
we saw in the mirror of memory, the
shattered hopes of thousands, the
misery, the suffering and the grief
that marked the entry of the gold
hunters-many of them from Butte
into the mining fields of Alaska. The
survivors of that famous rush now
homeland: Every year they hold a
rally to keep alive the memories Of
the days when Alaska mining was in
its infancy"
In the closing days of the last cen
tury-and today also, for that matter
travelling is SLOW, laborious work for
many who are forced to depend on
dog teams and snowshoes, he said. But
the airplane has almost annihllated
time and space in Alaska as elsewhere.
I'VE went to Alaska to close the es-
tate of Mrs. Walkers brother, James
Galen,' Senator Walker said.
Auto On Tracks
Thomas Donahue, the administra-
tor had written us asking us to come.
val, he flew from Cordova to San
Francisco in a Fairchild plane, visited
the exposition, sold his plane and
bought a new one, flew to Washing
ton, D. c.. to New York, where he
took in that fair also. thence to
Seattle and on to Cordova. He arrived
in Cordova two days after we did. He
made that lengthy trip in about a
month. He flew from Seattle to Cor
dova in u hours
There is another method of travel
which interested the Butte man. 1t
is travel on a railway track in Ford
car The Kennicott Mining Co., he
said. built a fine railroad along the
Copper river to its mines which are
about ITO miles beyond Cordova. The
mines closed not because they were
exhausted, but because their operation
was too expensive. With the closing
of the mines the railroad. which had
cost many. many thousands of dollars,
also closed down. Enterprising Alas
Nails llllCu l1ICI VI u Su4o wan
Hanged iron wheels to match the gauge
of the railroad and now make use
of the old tracks for a variety of pur-
poses. Kennicott. it is stated offered
the railroad as a gift to the federal
government, which declined to accept
It.
Ball Game at Midnight
"On the Fourth of July" Senator
Walker said, the championship base
ball game of the district was played
at what in Butte would be the mid
night hour but it was bright sunshine
to them. That's one of the features
of Alaska-days that are "a hours long.
Then there is the fishing-vast hordes
of fish scattered about the, lakes that
have never mirrored fisherman.
"One of the grand sights is the
salmon rush." he said, fishes going
up the river to spawn-and die. The
fish that are spawned feed on the
flesh of their dead parents until they
are old enough to take their chances
way to the ocean. They return after
about four years to the spot where
they were Spawned-to spawn a new
crop, to die and to furnish food for
their offspring as their parent had
done before them"
He told of the animals of the Alas
kan wilds, of brown bears catching
salmon and then playing catch with
the body of the fish before devouring
it. of herds of wild Alaskan goats
the Rocky mountain breed-of a
grizzly bear 10 feet long and 5 feet
high, of carabou and other animals
that are to be met with all through
the backlands.
Rubber Boots Popular
THE old saying: Tt never rains but
it pours applies to Alaska" he said
The costume of the Cape Cod fisher
men-sou'wester oil coat and rubber
boots-are popular features of the
Alaskan wardrobe The roads are i'm
passible for the greater part Of the
year but the airplane is solving the
travel problem
The worlds farthest north radio
station is being installed at Fairbanks
by Captain Lathrop. who in addition
to numerous business interests, is the
publisher and editor of the Fairbanks
newspaper.
ut may be of interest to Butte
people to learn" Senator Walker said.
"that an old Butte man, Charles Book