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XX, No. 7 aa THE ECONOMIC EVOLUTION OF ALASKA WASHINGTON GEOGRAPHIC MAGA ZIINIE, JULY, 1909 ial By Major Genera A. W. Greety, U.S. Army AUTHOR OF ‘‘ HANDBOOK OF ALASKA,’’ ETC. HE, fact that Alaska is of econom- ] ical importance to the rest of - the United States is an opinion born of late years, which even yet is not widely disseminated. Indeed, the tenor of public knowledge on this subject was strikingly illustrated by a foot-note to an aiiicle by one of the best informed and highly esteemed of foreign writers on American subjects, whose reference to the Territory was printed, without ac- companying comment, in one of the most influential and progressive periodicals of this country. The writer, referring to Alaska in 1905, said: “This vast region is inhabited by a few savages, and is not likely ever to support a population large enough to make its government a matter of practical consequence.’ Undoubtedly this statement represented the general opinion of intelligent men eastward of the Rocky Mountains. It is, however, but one of the many in- stances in which leaders of American thought or opinion, illy informed as to Alaska, have indirectly characterized it as a land of gilded rainbows and unfulfilled promises, whose golden bonanzas are un- substantial foundations for permanent communities, and that to there obtain a dollar in gold necessitates the expendi- ture of two others. The writer holds no brief for Alaska, and makes no recommendations as to im- migration or investments. In his Hand- book of Alaska he has treated briefly such subjects of commercial interest as “Mining,” “Fisheries,” “Agriculture,” “Forestry,” “Trade and Transportation.’’ He now yields somewhat reluctantly to the request of the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Macaztne to consider the lines along which commercial progress in Alaska has proceeded, with pertinent comments on its interruption, diversion, and develop- ment. The great Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo- sition is doing useful work in bringing the resources and possibilities of this val- uable Territory to public notice, and many visitors will be brought to the reali- zation that Alaska contributes its full. share to the glory and support of the nation. In considering the commercial aspects of this remote region, it is apparent that the products of Alaska, upon which all trade depends, have hitherto been drawn from three widely divergent sources— furs, fish, and gold—which will be sepa- rately considered. WEALTH FROM FURS Land and aquatic furs were the pri- mary—indeed, the only—source of eco- nomical wealth in Alaska during its gov- Pe Si qie SS, ( Nov 5 1981 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE VMSVIV “AOTIGINd “ANVISI HOVOUD INIVS NO AYAMOON TVAS-ANns SUOS S,19UqIINS sapieVyg Aq ‘6061 4ysithdop “Ajaa14) “WW “VY Aq ,,“BISELY FO YOoqpueypy,, wow THE ECONOMIC EVOLUTION OF ALASKA ernment by the Russians. Following the cession of the Territory, Congress fol- lowed the wise standing policy of Russia in adopting methods for the conservation of its extremely valuable aquatic furs. It made the Pribilof Islands, on which were situated the breeding grounds of the otary, or fur-seal, a closed reservation. As is well known, this reservation is leased for fixed periods of ten years each to the highest public bidder. The lessees are restricted as to the number and meth- ods of taking the fur-seal, and are, more- over, bound to provide for the education and general welfare of the resident na- tives. This policy protected effectually the fur-seal until it faced practical de- struction through pelagic sealing. Trade in other aquatic fur-bearing ani- mals, such as the beaver, muskrat, and otter, as well as the land fur-bearing mammals—the bear, marten, and foxes— was most fortunately controlled by a large and far-seeing corporation, the Alaska Commercial Company, which was free from an insatiate desire to exploit mercilessly the entire game of the coun- try. In consequence the company insti- tuted a reasonable trade policy, which looked to permanent and profitable rela- tions with the native hunters through the years of the far future. The entire fur trade, land and aquatic, under these fortunate conditions, began with a value of slightly over two millions of dollars, which continued until 1879, when, through the increase in the fur-seal values, it attained its maximum, averag- ing annually slightly over three millions of dollars for the three years from 1879 to 1881, inclusive. The average for ten years, 1879 to 1888, approximated two and three-quarters millions. Thence- forward there was a rapid decline, due almost entirely to pelagic sealing, so that in the past three years, despite a great increase in the value of furs, the entire annual catch has scarcely reached a mil- lion of dollars. Under this judicious legislation of Congress the fur-seal was long conserved, with the prospect that it would be for centuries a permanent resource of the United States. For thirty years it 587 yielded over one hundred thousand fur- seal skins annually,and for the five years ending with 1888, when pelagic sealing began systematically, the average was one hundred and five thousand. It is unnecessary to dwell on the eco- nomic evils of pelagic or open-sea hunt- ing, whereby the females are slaughtered, the young starve, and the herd perishes. The interests of the nation, of commerce, and of the individual suffer alike, while the resident natives are reduced to hope- less beggary and ultimate starvation. Canada observes certain regulations as to season and limits, which somewhat alleviate the evils. The Japanese sealers, however, recognize no restrictions, and frequently go to extremes, invading American territory, slaughtering the fur- seal and plundering the rookeries—in short, imitating in a small way the pirati- cal forays of the corsairs of the Middle Ages. Under such unfriendly, as well as un- wise, treatment, the American fur-seal herd has been practically annihilated, it having decreased 86 per cent, from an average catch of 105,000 to less than 15,000, during the past five years. Thus vanish, through unwise and un- friendly alien exploitation, resources which for twenty years, from 1871 to 1890, produced fur-seal skins of an an- nual average value of one and a half millions of dollars. Under stimulus of competition and invasion, the otter, land and sea, fell off from an average of 7,514 from 1881 to 1890 to 16 sea otter and 1,393 land otter in 1907, while the beaver similarly dropped from 6,094 annually to 1,159. Fortunately the extent and physical features of interior Alaska afford better protection for the land animals than is possible for those of the sea. Neverthe- less large immigration and improved methods of travel have affected seriously the fur-bearing mammals of the land, whose catch has fallen off 65 per cent, from an average of 106,214 from 1881 to 1890 to 46,320 during the past eight years. Fortunately Alaska was becoming in a way independent of the fur trade as a THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 588. I9UIM Ul pollu JoAvis usazoay 10 ‘dump oy} dn suryse A, SMNVEUIVA YVAN ‘MAHHAO WALSH NO ONINIW WAOV'Id SUOS S.1OUGIIOS sapeyD Aq ‘6061 ‘yystiAdoy “Ajaa15g “MM “Y Aq ,,‘PYSE[Y JO YOoqpueyy,, wo THE ECONOMIC EVOLUTION OF ALASKA sole means of livelihood. Those who forecast commercial decay with the pass- ing of the fur-seal were unfamiliar with the possibilities of the Territory. The seal merely gave way to the salmon. FISHERIES In 1868 America promptly entered the rich field of Alaskan fisheries, which in the first three years attained an average value approximating $300,000. The lim- ited market made such a catch unadvisa- ble, and the average fell to about $166,000 during the decade of 1871 to 1880. A little later the market broadened in extent, and while there was a general de- velopment of the cod and halibut fish- eries, there sprang into existence an in- dustry of extraordinary importance—the canning of the salmon. From an insig- nificant value of $43,000 in 1881, the value of the salmon catch rose to $2,216,- 000 in 1889. In short, the fisheries, principally of the salmon, showed in the decade of 1881 to 1890 an average annual increase of over $700,000 as compared with the catch of the previous decade. While the pe- lagic sealing most materially reduced the annual products of Alaska in five years to an amount of $1,800,000 annually, the steadily increasing values of the salmon fisheries saved the commercial situation. The salmon became second only to gold in value, financially and commercially, the catch reaching the astounding value of $10,185,783 in 1908. GOLD While gold is the most important of Alaskan minerals, yet copper, coal, and tin, in the order named, are destined to be factors of great economical impor- tance in the near future. At present the dominant interest in Alaska is that of gold mining. This in- dustry began in 1880 in southeastern Alaska, where there has been conducted for thirty years the only very successful lode mining in the Territory. The most important of these operations is the well- 589 known Treadwell mines, which is one of the largest, most productive, and best managed properties in the world. ‘The output of this and adjacent mines now averages about $3,500,000 yearly. ‘The entire mineral yields of Alaska from 1868 to 1908, approximate $150,000,000, of which about 30 per cent is from the Pacific coast belt (most largely from Treadwell mines, with about $34,000,000 to date) ; 3 per cent from Copper River and Cook Inlet region; 32 per cent from the Yukon Basin (principally from the Fairbanks district), and 35 per cent from the Seward Peninsula (Nome). From an insignificant output of $20,000 in 1881, the gold yield had reached $2,500,000 in 1897, prior to the Klon- dike discoveries. It rose to $8,000,000 in 1900 and remained almost unchanged for several years, being followed by rap- idly increasing amounts as follows: 1904, nine millions; 1905, sixteen millions; 1906, twenty-two millions ; 1907, nineteen millions; and 1908, twenty millions. While estimates as to future gold pro- ductivity are most uncertain, it appears that the possible output of Seward Penin- sula alone may reach in values three hun- dred millions. The possible yields of the Tanana watershed, as now operated, have been estimated to be at least $100,000,- 000. Other known fields may bring the possible yields of existing mining districts up to the enormous sum of $500,000,000. These expert opinions clearly indicate the permanency of Alaska and the great im- portance that gold will play therein for many years. It should be borne in mind that not a tenth of Alaska has been “pros- pected,” and that only high-grade placers are worked under existing conditions. TOTAL PRODUCTS OF ALASKA, 1868 ‘'0 1908 The following table, compiled from the most accurate sources, presents, in defi- nite and concise form, the values of what may be called Alaska’s contributions to the wealth of the world, it being confined entirely to export shipments from Alaska: JATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE WEI, 590 go6r ‘vy ATAL NO ‘AMTIVA VNVNVL ‘NMOL SHNVAUIVA SUOG S,AOUqIIIG sapreyD Aq “6061 4ysirskdoQ “ATaaIK) “MM “VY Aq ,,'PYSeTY JO YOoqpueyy,, wor eds Sy A ans ne 38931 ie THE ECONOMIC EVOLUTION OF ALASKA Year. | Furs. Fisheries. | Minerals. | Totals. 1868-1870... $2,904,064 $908,320 None. $3,812,384 1871-1880.....| 20,918,041 1,864,298 $20,000 | 22,802,339 1881-1890.....| 25,765,320 | 10,006,736 | 4,666,714 | 40,438,770 1891-1900... 11,730,696 | 30,989,932 | 28,798,742 | 71,519,370 1901-1908.....! 9,110,708 | 65,380,380 | 114,587,245 |189,078,323 Aggregate.) 70,428,829 |109,149,666 |148,072,701 |327,651,196 This table illustrates the general trend of Alaskan products, and the consequent development of special industries associ- ated therewith. In the total values of $328,000,000 furs have contributed 21 per cent; fish, 34 per cent, and minerals 45 per cent. As indicative of the importance of the fisheries, it is pointed out that it was not until 1899 that their values became sub- ordinate to those of the minerals. COPPER The great copper resources of Alaska have been barely touched, the output to date scarcely exceeding $2,500,000. Up to 1908 there had been mined about 105 short tons of copper, of which 60 per cent came from Prince of Wales Island and the balance from Prince William Sound. About 1,000,000 short tons are said to be now in sight, and with promising pros- pects elsewhere it is certain that the cop- per yield of Alaska will enormously in- crease in the near future. The con- tiguity of copper and coal in the water- shed of the lower Copper River offers unusual advantages for economical pro- duction. COAL The known coal-bearing areas exceed 100 square miles, but it is estimated that there are over 1,000 square miles in the Territory. Large areas near Controller Bay and in the Matanuska Valley are cov- ered by high-grade anthracite and semi- anthracite coals, which must ultimately be of very great value to the entire Pacific Coast region. The entire coal tonnage of Alaska is estimated at fifteen thousand millions of short tons; of this sixteen hundred millions are anthracite and five hundred millions of short tons semi- anthracite. While questions of title and transporta- 591 tion are at present unfavorable to early exploitation, there is no doubt that there will be a material coal output at an early day. MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS Among other products of lesser com- mercial importance, under existing con- ditions, may be mentioned petroleum, tin, lead, silver, gypsum, marble, iron, antimony, quicksilver, graphite, and min- eral waters. ‘Timber is exceedingly valu- able for local purposes, but its exploita- tion for export is not at all probable; indeed, its shipment out of the Territory is forbidden by law. While the widely distributed lignitic and high-grade coals make peat of no present value, yet it will some day be a valuable asset, it being generally present in great quantities. On the Alaska Pe- ninsula it has been found a valuable fuel in places, owing to its being saturated with petroleum residue. The four known petroleum fields have to the present been of local value only. The abundance and consequent low price of Californian petroleum makes competi- tion for foreign markets impracticable for Alaskan producers. On Prince of Wales Island there are large bodies of magnetite iron, estimated as aggregating about three millions of tons. Silver, lead, and zinc are generally incidental to gold mining. As separate ore bodies they have not yet been com- mercially successful, though galena de- posits are considered valuable today. Marble is now quarried in large and steadily increasing quantities. It must not be thought that the furs, fish, and minerals of Alaska are its only resources or products. ‘There have been built and installed by Alaskan hands and from Alaskan materials eleven incorpo- rated cities, which are modern in their equipment and permanent in their con- struction. The taxable values, which are thought by many to be about one-half the true values, aggregated in 1907 $10,000,- 000, and the value of property in the un- incorporated settlements reaches at least five millions more. The 350 miles of \PHIC MAGAZINE THE NATIONAL GEOGR SVITX LNIVS INOOW Uv SUOG S,1dUqIIOG sapjivyD Aq ‘6061 ‘yyst1Adoy “Ajaa15) IN “MHIOVID VNIdSVIVIN NO LSHNOT ONIMOND “MV Aq .P1SeTy JO yooqpueyy,, wos THE ECONOMIC EVOLUTION OF ALASKA 593 constructed railways, on the low basis of $50,000 per mile, have cost about $17,500,000, and the cost of steamships, telephones, telegraphs (omitting the $2,000,000 plant of the United States), stage equipment and stock doubtless carries the values for transportation serv- ices alone up to $25,000,000. Ditches have already cost about $6,000,000. The output of timber and game for local pur- poses can scarcely be less than $2,000,009 annually, while the wood and coal locally used is not less valuable. Doubtless the agricultural products of Alaska, includ- ing dairy, stock, and fodder, reach in value between one and two millions yearly. The commercial importance of a num- ber of towns, such as Ketchikan, Juneau, - Nome, and Fairbanks, is far beyond the usual ideas of mining camps. Take Fair- banks: Steam heated from a central plant, with water-pressure fire system, electric appliances of all kinds, with ma- chine-set newspapers, hospitals, schools, churches, with a municipal budget of about $100,000 annually, and without debt. It should be remembered that in these data and discussions there have not been taken into consideration the sub- sistence and other materials involved in the life of the 27,000 natives, whom no well-informed individual can call either savage or vicious. TRADE The extent, value, and scope of Alas- kan trade astonishes every person who becomes acquainted with its details. As indicative of the somewhat harassing conditions under which petty trade is done, it may be stated that it is impera- tively required that the trader shall have a federal license. For such licenses the people of Alaska paid in 1907 no less than $384,395. The shipping manifests show that in 1903 the import trade of Alaska amounted to nearly ten millions of dol- lars. Four years later it aggregated twenty millions, slightly more than double the amount of 1903. In 1907 the purely American shipments to Alaska ex- ceeded those to Hawaii by four millions of dollars, and those to the Philippines by thirteen millions. These facts conclusively indicate the commercial value of Alaska, which prom- ises to steadily advance in its population, its trade, and in all phases of a higher and better civilization. MARKING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY By Tuomas RicGGs, JR. CHIEF OF Party, U. S. ALASKAN BOUNDARY SURVEY With Photographs by Boundary Survey Parties HERE had been some dispute as to what constituted the boundary of thecountry bought from Russia by the United States in 1867, but until the real value of the territory was known, no one cared. The miners of the early days managed very well with an approximate boundary. They held miners’ meetings and any decision reached by them consti- tuted the law. For the opening up of Alaska we are indebted to the panic of 1893. Through- out the West the hardier spirits pre- ferred to brave the dangers of that almost unknown region than to accept the starvation wages then offered. ‘They knew that grubstakes and independence were to be found on the bars of the Forty Mile, the Stewart, and at Circle City. With the increase of population came \ZINE, AL GEOGRAPHIC MAG ATION N THE, oY} Ul opeul MoUs OY} UO [IeI} 94} 2JO0N yusose ‘jeoz SZ jnoge Jo apis 1oy10 9y} UO doip Joays B I9AO sao} sIy UO doURIeq 0} “af ‘S88ny Aq onoyg ISVOO HHL YVAN LNIOd NOMVINONVINL V ,{dI, MOVId,, WOU ONIAMASAO prey IoAdAIns dy I, MARKING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY the representatives of the American and Canadian governments, custom-houses were established and court decisions took the place of the rude justice dispensed by miners’ meetings. With the new order of things came also the necessity of a de- termined line between the two countries. The United States claimed, under the old Russian treaty, a line running up Portland Canal to the 56th parallel of north latitude, thence to follow the sum- mit of the coast range to its intersection with the 141st meridian. In the absence of a definite mountain range near the coast, the line was to be not more than ten marine leagues distant from tide water. Canada claimed that the line should follow the coast range paralleling the general contour of the coast, and cutting across all inlets and fiords. There were other contentions of minor importance, but the real trouble was that Canada thought she was entitled to a seaport which would allow of shipments through Canadian territory to the now valuable Klondike. As to the 141st meridian being the rest of the boundary, there was no dispute. This line starts at a ridge of Mount Saint Elias and runs through to Demar- cation Point on the Arctic Ocean. Maps showing a strip of land along the coast were made, archives were rum- maged, every available bits of history and tradition were searched, and the whole mass submitted as evidence to a tribunal of three Americans, two Cana- dians, and one Englishman, which met in London in 1903.* The sifting of the evidence required months. The opposing counsel helped by the geographic experts put forth their best arguments, a vote was taken, and the result showed four to two for the United States, the Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Alver- stone, casting his vote with the Ameri- cans. *For an account of this famous boundary dispute see “The Alaskan Boundary,” by John W. Foster, formerly Secretary of State, No- vember, 1899, Nat. Geroc. Mac., and “The Alaskan Boundary Tribunal,’ by John W. Foster, January, 1904, Nat. Groc. Mac. Ou ido} Ou Photo by T. Riggs, Jr. TRIPOD OBSERVING PLATFORM AND TRIANGULATION SIGNAL Black Sand Island, near Yakutat Bay. A station elevated so as to look over near-by timber. The instrument tripod is separate from the observing platform, so that there shall be no jar. Built from drift wood. The barrel was picked up on the beach, Naturally the Canadian representatives felt greatly disappointed, but the evi- dence was too conclusive to allow of any other outcome. Then came the question of what mountains constituted the coast range. In places a compromise was effected de- parting slightly from the claims of the United States. it was decided that certain well-defined peaks on the mountains fringing the coast should constitute the main points on the boundary. Lord Alverstone, wielding a 596 blue pencil, marked on the maps what appeared to the tribunal to be the proper mountains. ‘The members of the tribunal were all eminent jurists, but this did not make them proficient in the intricacies of contour maps, and the advice of the ex- perts was constantly requested. The location of the boundary was left to two commissioners, Mr O. H. Titt- mann, Superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, for the United States, and Dr W. F. King, Chief Dominion Astronomer, for Canada. Wherever the blue-pencil mark ap- pears on the map, this point without any recourse is a boundary point, even though a higher and better point may be but a short distance away. To follow the sinuousities of the mountain ranges in this country would be hopeless, so the commissioners will probably decide that a straight line con- necting the various blue-penciled points shall constitute the boundary. The actual demarcation of the bound- ary, to be satisfactory to both -govern- ments, must be done jointly. .By this it is not meant that there is a division of labor in every party. There are American parties and Canadian parties, and with each locating party, or party which decides on the line, go representa- tives of the other government. There are line-cutting parties, leveling parties, topographic parties, triangulation par- ties, and monumenting parties, which work separately, their work being such that joint representation is not always necessary, as the line will be subject to inspection at some later date. These parties report yearly to the commissioner of their respective governments. The commissioners meet sometimes in Wash- ington and sometimes in Ottawa, and either accept or reject the work done by the field parties. Their decision is final. A LINE 1,200 MILES LONG MUST BE MARKED The magnitude of the task is little understood except by those closely con- nected with the work. There are 600 miles of boundary from Portland Canal up the coast to Mount THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Saint Elias, where it hooks around on ~ to the 141st meridian and shoots for another 600 miles straight north to the Arctic Ocean. All the land lying along the boundary must be mapped on an accurate scale, and a strip of topography four miles wide must be run the entire length of the 141st meridian; peaks which cannot be climbed, or rather those which would take too long and would be too expen- sive to scale, must be determined geo- detically ; vistas 20 feet in width must be cut through the timbered valleys, and monuments must be set up on the routes of travel and wherever a possible need for them may occur. The field season is short, lasting only from June to the latter part of Septem- ber, and along the coast operations are constantly hindered by rain, snow, and fog. Rivers abounding in rapids and quicksands have to be crossed or as- cended. A man who has never had the loop of a tracking line around his shoul- ders little knows the dead monotony of lining a boat up a swift Alaskan river with nothing to think of but the dull ache in his tired muscles and the sharp digging of the rope into his chafed shoulders. Vast glaciers are to be crossed, with their dangers of hidden crevasses. More than one surveyor has had the snow sink suddenly beneath his feet, and has been saved only by the rope tying him to his comrades. Several have been saved by. throwing their alpine stocks crosswise of the gap, and one, while crossing the Yakutat glacier with a pack on his back, caught only on his extended erms. High mountains must be climbed; if they are not the boundary peaks themselves, they must be high enough to see the boundary peaks over the intervening summits. And these climbs are not the organized expeditions of an Alpine club, with but one mountain to conquer, but daily rou- tine. Heavy theodolites and topographic cameras must be carried, and instead of being able to throw himself down to rest and enjoy the glorious panorama, there is immediate work to be done, and a few clouds hovering over some distant moun- MARKING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY 597 TRACKING UP THE ALSEK RIVER Photos by E. R. Martin The canoe is steered from the shore by means of lines at either end ALSEK (LIVE) GLACIER ON THE ALSEK RIVER These glaciers make river navigation extremely dangerous. A falling cake of ice may swamp a canoe passing too near the face ie, THER NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZIN 598 pureon “7 Aq ojoyg WIAIM AHL JO STANNVHO ANVIN AHL ONIMOHS “XHAIN MHSTY AHL JO VIIa MARKING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY tain, instead of lending beauty to the view, may send the poor sur- veyor behind some sheltering rock to wait, shivering with cold, until morning will allow him to take up his stand by the theodolite and complete his observations. On the r4tst meridian an astro- nomic longitude was determined at a point on the Yukon River. American and Canadian astrono- mers worked together, bringing time over the wires both from Seattle and Vancouver. An azi- muth was then observed and this azimuth is being prolonged in its straight shoot across the penin- sula. This line has been accepted as the 141st meridian and conse- quently the boundary. It has been run into the mountains fringing the Pacific coast. Topography, triangulation, line-cutting, and monumenting are now being car- ried along the located line. For the present the line will not run to Mount Saint Elias. It would be possible, but not practi- cal, to run it across the interven- ing eighty miles of snow and ice and towering mountain ranges. To complete this part of the boundary the use of an airship is contemplated. SWAMPS AND RIVERS TO BE OVERCOME In the interior the difficulties of the work are changed. Long wooded stretches, interrupted by barren ridges, take the place of glaciers and craggy mountains. In place of snow fields there are heart-breaking “nigger-head” swamps to be crossed, where the pack- horse becomes mired and exhausted and the temper of man is tried to the break- ing point. Supplies have to be ferried across the rivers on log rafts, while the horses swim. Clouds of poisonous mos- quitoes and gnats arise from every pool and every clump of moss, driving horses frantic and men to distraction. There is no longer the guiding line of the coast to follow, and the surveyor must rely on his instinct for topography UNLESS PROVISIONS 599 Photo by G. C. Baldwin ARB PUT IN AN ELEVATED CACHE, BEARS AND FOXES SOON STEAL, THE WHOLE SUPPLY and woodcraft to pilot him through an unbroken wilderness. The inconveniences of transportation have to be overcome, and year by year they are becoming worse as the work carries us each year farther from the Yukon with its steamers. For the sea- son of 1909 the American party of thirty men will have to walk 300 miles before they can even start work. Then the topographer with his plane- table and the triangulator with his theo- dolite try to make up for lost time. Reg- ular hours for work are ignored. A day’s work is reckoned as ten hours, if the work can be done in that time; if not— well, in midsummer the days are twenty- four hours long. Holidays and Sundays see the same old routine—even the Fourth of July. It is a saying in camp THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 600 NOSVAS ANV NI HINVD TIS OL GUMOTIV ALY SYOAMAMAS AGNV “SYOLOAdSOUd “SUANIW SLV ND GNV SHOLINOSOW ISNTVOV NOLMLOMLOYd WOM ASAOH-AMOWS V S8A}ejUasetde1 ULIpeueD pue Ueopioury OY} Ae SIOKIAINS OMY ay, 4 NVICINHN LSIVI AHL NO LNIOd ¥ —— ——————— ‘AIOUURD MOUTTRS dttOS wos Aeme pojeoy sey YoryM—yovoq oy} wo dn poxoid—sjorieg iO Ajdure wr punogz sr spooymM JOF 9NYYSGUs W “s|qvorjovsdiut oq PplhHom yooym AseuIpio ue ‘spuvsypmb s0A0 AjaSie] st oyno.s ayy SV ‘SHOATY Shotosueqd pure upy-mysy ary udaMjoq a8vz10d oy uO GNIM MIVA V HO HOVLNVACVY DNIMVL 601 MARKING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY lL Ysoy “Vy (Lae Aq 010Ug oor ‘ 91) quay syvod Aivpunog [[@ oe asoyy, ‘JoNuEgay, yUNOy Jo pus sy} WoT qf TNOOW CNV ‘ (tama S1Z ‘ ST) YHANOONVA IN now ‘ (Lama Cog ‘ €1) MOOD TNNOOIW 602 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE MARKING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY Photo by T. Riggs, Jr. Through wooded stretches the timber is cut out for to feet on each side of the boundary. About 300 miles of forest boundary vista similar to that shown in this picture has been cut by the boundary survey parties. MARKING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY 603 Photo by G. C. Baldwin NEAR THE BOUNDARY CROSSING OF THE WHITE RIVER The straight line shows how the 141st meridian disregards the comforts of the surveyors. Mount Natazhat shown in hazy outline a little to the right of the boundary that “it always storms on Sunday,” but every storm does not bring a Sunday. Camps can be moved in a storm, and the topographer carries a small silk covering shaped like an umbrella to rig over his plane-table for showers, while the observer on triangulation has a small silk “dog” tent into which he may crawl until the rain is over. Pack trains are constantly on the move, carrying their heavy loads of outfit sup- plies, while the picturesque language of the Western packer makes known the physical and psychic shortcomings of each and every animal. Usually bases of supply are established at certain known points before the opening of the season. ‘These are called “caches.” Mistakes in the locating of a cache are sometimes made, and last season one surveyor in consequence of such a mistake was without food for two days, finally reaching another camp in rather disheveled condition. It so happened that this other party was moving south toward the same cache and was on short rations; so nothing remained to do but beat a hurried retreat 60 miles north- ward, arriving at another base with belts pulled in to the last notch. To give some slight idea of the amount of work accomplished in a season, the American and Canadian parties along the 141st meridian, during the season of 1908, located main points on the bound- ary for 85 miles, completed 77 miles of triangulation, a belt of topography 65 miles long, cut 40 miles of vista, ran some 250 miles of levels, and set 17 monu- ments. While getting in to work is quite a problem, getting out is nearly as serious. It may happen that most of the horses have died during a season. A smal! party of packers then drive out the sur- viving animals, while the main party THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 604 SUL IY} IOUSY + poepadst VoUIS SeY YOIYM JoIORpLS ve Aq paddojs sem sso1S01d JOYIANF 9_Y ‘ainjord 9y} ur uMoys jurod oY} poysver oy yun Avg jUOWIURYSUAsIG Ul jl punof prey oy jysnoy}y oy asesseg JSOMUJION IY} 1OF SULIOO] Se vuidsyeyy Udy AA wraysoyy “Ww Aq ojoyg AVd INAWINVHONASIC OINIGNOAOWAS SNIVINOOW ING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY K MARI PuUrljoNn zal &q ojoyg GNNOWOMOVEA AHL }o9f OOE'ST “UONvAd[D + yvad Arepunog ev si Joyywamirey Junoyy NI WIHLVAMUIVA LNOOW HIM MALOV1D MASIV HHL FO AOMVHOSIAG aH THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Photo by W. B. Reaburn TYPE OF ALUMINUM-BRONZE MONUMENT USED ON THE MORE IMPORTANT POINTS ALONG THE BOUNDARY, SUCH AS MAIN CREEK CROSSINGS, WADS, ETC. This monument is 5 feet high and is set in a concrete base weighing about 1,500 pounds MARKING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY must get out as best they may. This is usually done on rafts. Dry logs are cut and pinned or lashed together, a sweep is put on each end, the outfit is secured in the middle, one man takes his place at the bow, another at the stern, the others distribute themselves over the carge, and the voyage com- mences. No one knows the con- dition of the streams to be floated down. Rapids and shallows may exist; a log jam may close up the channel ; overhanging “‘sweep- ers” or low bending trees line the banks and must be avoided. To change the course of a raft, it must be rowed sidewise away from the direction the current is setting it. Sometimes it runs aground, and then all must pile overboard into the icy water and work with pries until it is shoved into the deeper water of another current. While one naturally first speaks of the hardshipsor seeming hard- ships, still camp life has its pleas- ures and compensations for the surveyor. When day by day the work in hand shows another step toward completion, another stream zig zags across the map, another mountain is shown, another sta- tion occupied, something ac- complished; when at night he lounges at ease before the blaz- ing camp fire, watching the sparks snakily flashing against the dark foliage; when he wanders over the mountains and breathes the fresh air and quenches his thirst in some pure and ice-cold spring; when the inhabitants of some virgin stream are lured from their hiding places by the makeshift fly of ptarmi- gan feathers and string; when a juicy venison steak repays a well-directed bul- let—then the small conventions and petty jealousies of civilized life fade away, and his labors are requited, and through his own exertions he is getting the best out of the life assigned to him. On the maps, the boundary is shown all along by nice little dotted lines, but 8 (oP) S ~J A MOSQUITO VEIL Photo by T. Riggs, Jr- When mosquitoes and gnats are particularly bad, every one must wear veils, otherwise life would be unbearable. These veils are made so as to fasten down tightly around the body. from touching the face. The wide-brimmed hat keeps the veil the work of putting this line on the ground is still in progress, and both American and Canadian surveyors are putting forth their best efforts to estab- lish a boundary which will stand the test of time; so that when a hundred years. hence the engineer of the period throws in his equilibrium clutch, turns on the gravity and air current absorber and brings his huge “dirigible’ to a stop above some one of our stations, he may look through his improved surveying in- struments along the vista from the Arctic to Mount Saint Elias and pronounce the line laid out by the old-timers straight and good. CHARTING A GOAST-LINE OF 26,000 MILES HEN in 1867 the United States acquired Alaska from Russia it added to its domain the vast area of 590,884 square miles, two of its dependent islands being larger than Porto Rico. From the point of view of the marine cartographer, the most important feature of Alaska is its great extent of coast-line. Along its general trend it measures 4,700 miles, but as the charts must show the shores of the islands and follow the ins and outs of the curves of the gulfs and bays, the length of coast-line to be sur- veyed reaches the enormous total of 26,376 miles. This is six times the length of the coast of France; fifteen times that of Germany; nearly eleven times that of Italy; over three times the combined length of our Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, and is equal to five- eighths of the entire coast-line of Great-. Britain and her colonies. If a map of Alaska were to be con- structed in one piece, on a scale of 1-80,000, nearly an inch to the nautical mile, and a popular scale for a coast chart, it would be 158 feet long by 105 feet wide. At the time of the transfer of Alaska few people were interested in the terri- tory or anticipated its future value. In fact, a special agent of the Treasury, in his report on its resources in 1869, with- out doubt voiced the popular opinion of the day when he advised abandoning the territory as not worth the trouble and money expended upon it. This lack of interest continued until 1880, and during this period there was no demand for charts and no attempt was made to inaugurate a systematic survey. Compilations from the work of the early Russian and English explorers were made, and explorations were con- tinued under our own auspices. But in T880 Juneau's discovery of gold in Doug- las Island quickly altered this state of affairs, and the great rush to many dif- ferent and widely separated points on the coast began. Immediately the inadequacy of the compiled charts became apparent. Al- though the work of the explorers is worthy of admiration when its amount is considered, as well as the small means with which it was accomplished and the great difficulties overcome, yet, when tested by the needs of actual traffic, the results were found to be far too meager for safe navigation. On this account for certain points vessels could not be en- gaged at all, for others only at exorbitant rates, and for all points the insurance premiums were high. Hence there arose an urgent demand for accurate and de- tailed charts—a demand which is con- tinuous, developing new and larger wants to succeed those already satisfied. The problem to be solved by the Coast and Geodetic Survey has been one where a nice balance had to be established be- ‘tween accuracy on the one hand and the pressing need for large results on the other. Instead of being able to concentrate its field force on one portion of the coast and accomplish a steady advance with uninterrupted sequence season after sea- son, it has been constrained to scatter its parties and follow the erratic movements of the prospector and miner. Owing to Juneau’s discovery and the development of the salmon-canning in- dustry, the Alexander Archipelago first claimed attention. The survey of its 11,000 islands, separated by countless waterways, was in progress when the Klondike strike was made, and Saint Michaels, 1,800 miles away, became a new objective point for ocean freights, thence to be shipped up the Yukon River. From Puget Sound to Saint Michaels the sea route crosses the Aleutian Archi- pelago, where large scale charts of the thoroughfares were needed. It passes by Nunivak and Saint Lawrence islands, and therefore the positions and charac- teristics of their nearest headlands must be laid down. Not only were the ap- proaches to Saint Michaels surveyed, but an exhaustive examination of the delta CHARTING A COAST-LINE of the Yukon was also made in the vain hope of discovering some channel of sufficient depth for ocean steamers, and thus save the light-draft river boats the exposed trip around to Saint Michaels. In chronological order the next mining stampede was to Nome. The field par- ties followed soon after the prospectors, and continued their work until the whole of Norton Sound was completed. Latterly copper and coal interests have developed in Prince William Sound and Cook’s Inlet, and surveying operations are now in progress along that section of the coast. This necessarily irregular and_ hap- hazard program is but one of the factors which serve to retard the charting of Alaska. The prime obstacle to rapid work is the weather. Spreading out as it does over so many degrees of latitude and longitude, it has many differing cli- mates; but in all sections bad weather is the rule and a clear atmosphere the ex- ception. The low fogs bring all opera- tions to a standstill, but the peculiar and most annoying feature of Alaska weather is the prevalence of high fogs, which may occur when all other surveying condi- tions are favorable. They hide from view the tops of the hills and mountains, needed in the triangulation and off-shore hydrography. Field work along the coast during the winter is out of the question in all sec- tions. From May to October is the extent of the season in southeastern Alaska. The period is shortened at both ends farther north and along the Aleu- tian chain of islands by early fall and late spring storms, and in the upper part 609 of Bering Sea, still further shortened by the persistence of the ice floes, which may not disappear until July. Up to the present time the results obtained are shown on nearly a hundred charts, the condensed and selected infor- mation derived from thousands of vol- umes of astronomical, magnetic, sound- ing, and tidal records, and hundreds of topographical sheets. One would say that by far the greater part of the coast- line of Alaska having an economic value had been surveyed, were it not for the teachings of the past, which show how vain are prophecies concerning the fu- ture of any particular part of this coun- try of hidden wealth. Coincident with the coast work the Survey has been engaged on the inter- national boundary, which, owing to the peculiar shape of the territory, is 1,200 miles in length. In 1889 two parties were sent to the interior of the country to de- termine the intersection of the t141Ist meridian with the Yukon and Porcupine rivers—a hazardous undertaking at that time and full of hardships. In addition to the two years’ boundary work, the leader of one expedition made a sledge journey to the Arctic Ocean, and the other a-running survey of the great Yukon River. Owing to the conflicting claims in regard to the boundary along southeast- ern Alaska, a large mass of data had to be collected in the field, digested, and arranged for presentation to the tribunal which finally adjusted the points in dis- pute. The work of locating the bound- ary is described by Mr Riggs on pages 593-608. THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 610 Ao AING [PI130]Oa4) UIAIM VNIMVWI GNV MHHYO VNIHVIIO S ‘Q ‘te0ueds anyjay Aq 004g NaAMIA AOGIY AHI, WOT NYAS SV NIVLNAOIW aTSvo THE MONARCHS OF ALASKA By R. H. Sarcent, U. S. GeotocicaL SuRvVEY F “Seward’s Folly” were justified in no other way than by the purchase of this territory as a preserve of scenic grandeur, our far-sighted Secre- tary of State would be wholly exonerated. After a visit to southeastern Alaska, one author of note has written: “Com- bine-all that is best in the beauties of the Hudson and the Rhine, of Lakes George and Killarney, of the Yosemite and all of Switzerland, and you have a slight conception of the beauties of this green archipelago.” Much of all this grandeur is to be found in Alaska’s mountains. Because of the comparative inaccessi- . bility, except at great cost and much ex- penditure of time, the mountain districts have been visited by only a favored few. But the accounts and descriptions of these, fortified by photographs of the regions, are such as to awaken a keen de- sire in all lovers of nature to see them for themselves. The steamers running to Juneau and Skagway traverse a course which is yearly pronounced by hundreds who take this trip as the most scenic upon the globe. Fora thousand miles the steamer winds its way through tortuous and nar- row passages, the waters of which are as smooth as a mill pond, while snow- capped peaks, ice fields, waterfalls, aad green slopes pass in panoramic view before the eye. The Coast Range of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska is an irregular mass of mountains with no definite crest line. These mountains may be consid- ered a general northern extension of the highlands which parallel the Pacific sea- board of the United States. Along the entire coast from Seattle to Skag- way, the sculpturing and general phys- iographic features of these mountains are such as to make them of particular interest. ‘The broad, smooth-sided, ice- carved valleys, which subsequently were filled with water, due to the sinking of the entire region, make a very irregular coast-line, marked by numberless fiords, many of which extend far inland. An archipelago of numberless islands, the relief of which is nearly equal to that of the mainland, fringes this entire coast- line. The passages between these islands are deep, each being remarkably uniform throughout its entire length. The moun- tains of both the islands and main- land rise, bold and precipitous, from the water’s edge to heights of from 5,000 to 10,000 feet. GLACIAL SCULPTURING Many of the side valleys exhibit to a marked degree that physiographic characteristic of glacial sculpturing—the hanging valley. Often is seen, some hundreds of feet above tidewater, the broad, symmetrically carved U-shaped shelf, which, colored by the evergreens, makes a wonderful frame about the pic- ture formed in the background by the cold gray mountains, with their snow- capped peaks, and in the foreground the stream fed by the melting snow and glaciers of the main range, plunging, roar- ing, often cascading down the precipi- tous face of the mountains for hundreds of feet. SALMON FISHERIES As the steamer glides past the entrance of a fiord, one catches a glimpse of a group of white buildings nestled at the base of the mountains, where the mirror- like waters of the inlet meet the precipi- tous evergreen slopes. An exclamation of amazement at the beauty of the pic- ture is well nigh irrepressible. These buildings are simply one group of which there are scores along the southern coast, making one of the greatest of Alaska’s industries, the canning of salmon. There are approximately 200,000,000 cans of salmon sent from Alaska each season. \ZINE, THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAG MaadO TMIHV avin ‘MIAT WtddOO WO SMNVA AHL WONT NAS SV ‘(LHXd OOZ%‘QI ‘NOILVANTT) GNOANVS LNNOW wo SHaO'1S NUAMINON ‘TLL, ADAMG [eIBoTOIy *G “Fy “Weyuepueyw “Dd “AA Aq ojoyg THE MONARCHS OF ALASKA 613 ROUTE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS Skagway, at the head of salt-water navigation of southeastern Alaska, is the southern terminus of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, which is the connecting link between the Pacific Ocean and the Yukon River, the great artery of central Alaska. This railroad is one of the in- teresting engineering accomplishments of the age. Starting at tidewater, it follows the valley bottom of the Skagway River for about three miles, and then gradually climbs the precipitous sides, winding ‘in and out of the smaller side valleys and canyons, frequently crossing them, until 13 miles in a direct line from the start- ing point it crosses the Coast Range at the White Pass, 2,888 feet above the sea. On the northern side the range slopes gently to the great interior plateau, thus making the grade of the road from the pass to Whitehorse, the northern termi- nus, very slight, the elevation of the latter place being 2,084 feet. A trip to the westward from Skagway may take one either by Sitka or through Icy Strait and Cross Sound. If the former is taken, an opportunity is given for viewing Mount Edgecumbe, the only recognized volcano in south- eastern Alaska. Situated as it is, just off the coast, its dome-shaped summit covered with snow, it adds much to the beauty of the surroundings of Sitka, which is one of the most picturesque spots on the globe. If the more-frequented route through Cross Sound is taken, the progress of the steamer will undoubtedly be greatly hampered by winding its way through the waters thickly strewn with floating cakes of ice. ‘These icebergs are supplied by the large glaciers in the vicinity; the Johns Hopkins, Muir, and Brady gla- ciers and many others, each being large ice-sheets covering hundreds of square miles, discharge into Glacier Bay, which opens to the Sound. SAINT ELIAS MOUNTAINS From Cross Sound westward the mountains increase in height and gran- deur. The Fairweather Mountains rise abruptly from the ocean to heights of over 15,000 feet, while farther to the westward the range increases in eleva- tion until, at Mount Saint Elias and Mount Logan, altitudes of 18,000 feet and 19,500 feet, respectively, are reached. Mount Saint Elias, however, has fig- ured in Alaskan exploration from the earliest accounts. In fact, it is the first point of the territory which was sighted by Bering in 1741. He discovered it on Saint Elias’ day, and accordingly gave it the name. Singularly, it is a cornerstone of the International Boundary, since it lies practically in longitude 141° and is on the crest of the range. Here the boundary, which follows the 141st me- ridian, bends abruptly to the east, follow- ing the crest of the mountains. Saint Elias, while not the highest in the group, has become the most widely known because of the numerous attempts to climb it. I. C. Russell, of the United States Geological Survey, made two at- tempts to reach the top. One of the ex- peditions of which he was the leader was financed by the National Geographic Society. His narrative of one of these expeditions was printed in the magazine in May, 1891. The harrowing experi- ence is related of two days alone on the snow-clad sides of the mountain at an elevation of 14,0co feet, while a fierce blizzard raged and many feet of new snow were added to the old. Russell was unsuccessful in his at- tempts to reach the summit, but his sug- gestions as to the advisable route in an ascent gave such accurate and valuable information to those who followed that the Duke of the Abruzzi, accompanied by guides, profiting by his advice, suc- ceeded in reaching the summit in 1897. While but 18,000 feet in height, Mount Saint Elias, as well as McKinley and many other Alaskan mountains, presents difficulties to the mountaineer not usually encountered. Unlike the majority of difficult peaks which have been con- quered, where the first few thousand feet of altitude are traversed over roads or trails, the entire 18,000 feet demand ex- 614 treme exertion and present many obsta- cles to be overcome. The journey throughout its entire length being over glaciers, the unique problem of combin- ing arctic exploration with mountain climbing is experienced. GLACIERS AND SNOW FIELDS The eastern part, especially the coastal slope of the Saint Elias and Fairweather ranges, is the only portion of Alaska which bears out the popular belief that the territory is covered with ice and snow. Here in the high mountains there are many Alpine glaciers and snow fields, but the Malaspina Glacier is the largest single ice field and, indeed, the most extensive on the North American con- tinent. This great piedmont glacier spreads out over the coastal plain, pre- senting a front of 85 miles to the sea, and, including the névé fields which feed it, covers an area of 5,000 square miles. This ice field is most vividly described by Russell,* who viewed it from the upper slopes of Mount Saint Elias, as “a vast, snow-covered region, limitless in expanse, through which hundreds and probably thousands of barren, angular peaks project. There was not a stream, not a lake, not a vestige of vegetation in sight. A more desolate or more utterly lifeless land one never beheld.” The view of this ice field and the adjacent mountains as seen from the ocean is superb in the extreme. This southern chain of mountains con- tinues to the westward, where it is known as the Chugach Mountains, pass- ing around the head of Prince William Sound and terminating in the Kenai Peninsula, where it forms little more than highlands. Just north of Prince William Sound the range is a mass of snow-clad peaks, in the valleys of which are hundreds of square miles of ice, al- most entirely unexplored. ALASKA'S HIGHEST VOLCANOES About 150 miles to the northwest of Mount Saint Elias are the wonderfully impressive peaks of the Wrangell group, *NatIoNAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, May, 180. THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE which owe their existence largely to vul- canism. There are many peaks in this group, but four, because of excessive altitude, grandeur, or activity, demand special attention. Mount Sanford, the highest, reaches an elevation of 16,200 feet, while Black- burn is a close second at 16,140 feet. Both of these mountains are extinct yol- canoes. Mount Wrangell is a great flat dome 14,000 feet high and about 25 miles in diameter at its base. It is the only active volcano of inland Alaska. Its summit is snow-covered, but sur- rounding the vent is a coating of ash renewed intermittently by rolling clouds of smoke and vapor which are sent up from the crater. Mount Drum, also a volcanic cone, but now deeply dissected, though but 12,000 feet high, is the most impressive one of the group. Situated as it is, well out in the Copper River plain, with nothing to detract from its grandeur, its isolation commands the ob- server's undivided attention. Much of the Wrangell range is covered with ice and perennial snow, forming long, finger-like Alpine glaciers, which extend in every direction. On the north, west, and south sides of the group the melting snow and ice of the glaciers form the tributaries of the Copper River, which flows southward through the Copper River basin, and breaks through the Chugach Mountains at about longitude 145°, for the most part in a narrow canyon. Though the Copper River in stretches is very swift and dangerous, it serves as a route of approach to the inland gold and copper fields. The canyons and rapids of the lower river, though serious obstacles to navigation, have not prevented the use of this route. THE ADVENT OF RAILWAYS The onward march of civilization and development, which has opened up our Western States so wonderfully, is steadily at work in Alaska. Already the screech of the locomotive has broken the silence of the mountain fastnesses, startling the mountain goats and sheep from their 615 A K ALAS NARCHS OF THE MO AoA ING [BO1sO;Oax) S SIN AODOV A ‘Tesshy 9 TSHITAVA AHL WOU T Aq 04a SNOILVYOTAXA NVMSVIV NI GHYNSI SVH SVITa irae x INI WS NOOW THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE WAIOVID VNOMVO JO LOOd MHL WOW HONVA ADAING [BIIBOTOdD -S “— ‘“|Jeyuapuayy “oD “\\ Aq ojoyg VYMSVIV HHL FO NOWMMOd NYALISVA AHL OLNI MIA V 617 THE MONARCHS OF ALASKA SUMAIN VNISVMVIM GNV VNIGVN NUAMIAG AOGIN AHL JO ISHYD AHL WOU AIAING [BIBoTOa *S “—) ‘[[eyUaepuay -D “AA Aq OO ‘HOIH Laaa OOO'SI ‘IVNUA LNAOIW THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 618 SHUIdS FO SUAISNID ONTIAWHSHA NALAO “IavaTWYoOd aNv Aaaing [Ro1800a5 SA ‘Teyuepuayy DM Aq ojoyg AV INONV ‘qa990N “MVAd SAIAINS THE MONARCHS OF ALASKA haunts among the jagged spurs along the canyons. The Copper River Rail- road is being steadily advanced against the most difficult of engineering obsta- cles. It follows the valley of the river, crossing it twice to the present point of its construction, and another crossing will be made. If the present rate of progress continues, the road will soon reach the base of the Wrangell Moun- tains and thus make it possible to develop the copper deposits of that field. About two hundred miles to the west of the Copper River from Resurrection Bay northward through a low pass in the Kenai Mountains, the Alaska Central Railroad Company has commenced to build a line to the coal fields of the Mata- nuska Valley, and is contemplating an extension up the valley of the Susitna across a low pass in the Alaska Range to Fairbanks, on the Tanana River, and the center of a large placer district. ALASKA'S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN The Alaska Range stretches from a lit- tle-explored region in the vicinity of Lake Clark, west of Cook Inlet, northward for one hundred miles or more, then trends gradually eastward, increasing in altitude until in Mount McKinley it attains the remarkable height of 20,300 feet. It is broken by gaps 2,400 feet and 3,000 feet above sea-level at the head of the Yentna River, and by one at the head of the Susitna River, 1,500 feet above sea-level. The eastern end of the range rises again until at Mount Hayes an elevation of 13,800 feet is reached. Words fail to express one’s impression of the Alaska Range when viewed under favorable circumstances. In 1906, while making a trip through the Talkeetna Mountains, the writer had such an oppor- tunity as is rarely experienced. His view was from an elevation of about 2,500 feet on the foothills on the western slope of the Talkeetna group. The day was per- fect; not a cloud could be seen in the heavens. Below lay the broad, level val- ley of the Susitna River, beautifully carpeted in the deep green of the conif- ere, while here and there a shining patch 619 of light, outlining a lake, broke the monotony, and through the center of it all the Susitna wound like a silver trail. Across the valley, 50 miles away, the foothills of the Alaska Range rose, rugged, angular, and formidable, their cold, gray, serrated peaks often resem- bling clusters of spires; while back of them, dwarfing to the height of mere foothills in comparison, Mount Dall, Mount Russell, and Mount Foraker stood like white-clad guardians to their chief, Mount McKinley, towering grand, su- perb, indescribable, 20,300 feet above the sea. A sweep of the horizon from the south to the northeast, where the view was cut off by the adjacent mountains, gave the grandest panorama imaginable. Far away in the distance could be seen the volcanoes Iliamna and Redoubt, on the western shore of Cook Inlet, while at the other extremity Mount Hayes towered high above everything about it. Between these two extremes the waving crest-line of the range was now painted in the green of a river valley, now cold, steel gray, as it outlined the lower peaks, gradually becoming whitened as. it reached its crest, and then on through the same transition until lost to view—a. memory which can never be taken from me. Under favorable conditions, Mount McKinley can be seen for a distance of 150 miles, a huge sugar-loaf mass, tower- ing high above everything about it. To the Russians it was known as “Bulshaia,” while the natives of Cook Inlet called it “Traleika,” both meaning “big moun- tain.” The present name was given it by W. A. Dickey, who in 1897 ascended the Susitna River for a short distance, and was the first to call attention to the great height and the location of this magnificent peak. He made a bold guess at its altitude, which was confirmed three years later by Robert Muldrow, of the United States Geological Survey. Just south of McKinley is Mouth Diss- ton, a triple peak, following it a close second in height. Farther south along the range are Mount Foraker, 17,000 feet, Mount Russell, 11,300 feet, and INE THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGA 620 dQ INAS Hav YOdVA GNV AMOWS FO SGNOID DNITION ATINALLINUALNI 3 TIHONVYM SSA.NG [POISOTOI *S “FQ ‘[TeyYUapuay “Dd “\\ Aq oJ04q LN NOW NOILNYLLVY GHqlAIgNo SMHAMASIO AHL SANVWYA NOILV'IOSI SLI :WaANd LINAC No) AQAING [BI1B0pOay “Ss ‘py ‘[[eyuapusyy ‘Dd “AA Aq ooYg SA THE MONARCHS OF ALASI THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 622 ( weYysioyor\\ sowel o8pnf Aq ojoyg (619 Hovd HAS) NIVINONOW IsHHorH S.VMSWIV ‘AQINIST OW LNaorw GIANTS OF ALASKA Mount Dall, 9,000 feet; while farther yet to the south, across the valley of the Skwentna, is Mount Spurr, 10,500 feet high. Above 9,000 feet the mountains are perpetually covered with snow and ice, and at their bases, on either side of the range, long tongues of ice shoot out, filling the valleys in the neighborhood of Mount McKinley in some instances for a distance of 25 miles. Nothing was known of the region ad- jacent to Mount McKinley until in 1902 Alfred H. Brooks, accompanied by L. M. Prindle and D. L. Reaburn, all of the United States Geological Survey, were the first white men to reach its western slope. In 1906 Dr Cook succeeded in reaching the top, making the ascent from the east. Mount McKinley is the only one of the many snow-covered peaks of the Alaska Range which has _ been climbed. Indeed, even of the immedi- ate locality of the others very little is known. THE COASTAL VOLCANOES The chain of volcanoes, active and ex- tinct, which follows the Pacific coast from Cape Horn, north through South America, Mexico, the United States, and Canada, has it representatives along the Pacific coast of Alaska also, even to the extremity of the Aleutian Islands. Men- tion has already been made of Mount Edgecumbe, in southeastern Alaska, and those of the Copper River region. The largest zone of volcanic activity in Alaska is from the west shore of Cook Inlet, at Redoubt Mountain, southwest- ward throughout the entire length of the Aleutian range. Practically the entire range is composed of volcanic ejecta. There are many beautifully shaped cones es - WEEN "SNOII-VasS Aq SUIJULE, ‘d ide) * (Cre We) VMSVIV “GNVISI MVIGVM :WVIMMHIN TIMOGNUGGIN Sosun “Aviat MvIava UOT podxy eYSeY ULUILIIePT oyL,, Wory “ZYsSIUy, -yY sopreyD Aq Suynured ve wosg { =) KA THE BIG GAME OF ALASK 636 The front claws are thicker, shorter, and more abruptly curved than in grizzlies. Owing to their great size, the brown bears are doubtless more powerful than the grizzlies, but they have the reputa- tion of being more peaceable. As a rule, like other wild animals, they give man a wide berth, but in close quarters or under unusual circumstances they have been known to seriously injure or kill human beings. Like most other bears, these huge beasts avail themselves of everything the country affords in the way of food, including fish, flesh, fruit, roots, and grass—a variety of diet scarcely exceeded by that of the natives when under aboriginal conditions. On coming out from hibernation in the spring they eat young grass, herbage, and roots, and, if near the coast, a little kelp. Later they capture mice and ground squirrels, and when midsummer and the salmon come they make fishing their chief business. In the fall they fatten on berries. The brown bears of Alaska will doubt- less become very rare or extinct at no very distant date. Already they have be- come scarce on Kadiak Island, where formerly very abundant, and on the Alaska Peninsula, though still fairly numerous, they are being killed at a rate probably greatly in excess of their in- crease. The grizzly bears of Alaska belong to at least two varieties, one (Ursus horri- bilis pheonyx) of the interior, the other (Ursus kenaiensis) of the Kenai Penin- ‘sula and adjacent coast region. Their habits are similar to those of the well- ‘known grizzlies formerly so common in the western United States. In summer they are frequently found above and near timber-line, but they roam widely. At present they are perhaps most numer- NENA 74740 Oe S ROSE *be seen. THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE ous in the Endicott Mountains and the Nutzotin and Alaskan Mountains, in- cluding the region of Mount McKinley. Black bears are fairly common throughout all Alaska south and east of the treeless tundra. They are among the shyest of animals, and many doubtless slip away without allowing themselves to Thus in many districts where fairly common they are supposed to be scarce. The cinnamon variety is com- mon in the interior, but rare or almost unknown on the coast. Belonging with the black-bear group is the rare and interesting glacier bear (Ursus emmonsi), inhabiting the south- ern slopes of the Saint Elias Range and near-by mountains, at least from Cross Sound to the vicinity of Cape Saint Elias. It is supposed to live near the numerous glaciers of this region, but its habits are practically unknown and scarcely a dozen specimens, mostly im- perfect, are contained in the museums of the world. The glacier bear is similar in size and general characters to the black bear, differing mainly in its color, which is silvery gray slightly mixed with black, the nose being brown and the feet black- ish. In certain conditions of pelage the color has a somewhat slaty or bluish gray effect, from which the animal is some- times called the “blue bear.” The well-known polar bear, which is no less common near the northern coast of Alaska than elsewhere in similar lati- tudes, completes the list of Alaska’s bears. Owing to the remoteness of its habitat, it is seldom seen except by whal- ing or exploring parties. Almost em- blematic of the territory under the false ideas at one time prevailing, this bear is now, in any consideration of Alaska’s large animals, the one least to be thought of as characteristic of the country. UR SNORE oe PRBS Dy