The west shore., May 01, 1884, Page 140, Image 16

THE WEST SHORE.
140
.V.(NN)i.i..l J 2 tax iiix.ii each will taken, not enough to j owing chiefly to the extreme humidity -of the atmosphere.
tmy in the twenty years tli purchase price, though the In his report, made in 1882, Captain L. A. Beardslee, U.
.J.ipany has realize,! that hum nmny times over. The S. N., says: "Even during the period of occupation by
Northwest Trading Company has stations nt various our troops gardening was discouraging work, and I have
pni.it.. where am collected furs of all kinds, and where been informed by officers who were stationed at Sitka
they are largely engaged in prinking fish and iimnufaetur- j that their efforts were rewarded by worthless potatoes,
, i, Mwvij
.... ..! . i 1 T 1 T i II . . -
The resources of Alaska may be Haul to ho entirely beets, turnips and raaisnes. uut tnis state of affairs
uiid-velciiM.il, ho insignificant in proportion to her capa- does not now exist; whether it is due to change of
bilities am the indiistneH now established. Alio vast i climate, tnrougn ine Clearing away ot many acres of
r.r.ij riui'iur fi-Min flm pnimt, and covnrini? tlin mountains
.i-ri-, i ixiii i - - n
to n height of 2.0(M) feet, consist of ft very durable yellow
cedar, spruce, larch, n gigantic fir, cypress and hemlock.
Hero is a vast reserve of timber upon which we can fall
back when our forests are exhausted, as they will surely
Ihi ere long, if the present destruction by lumbermen,
Hcttlers and lire continues. One great source of wealth
is the fur-bearing nnimals that
nlxmnd, such iih the wolf, fox,
ln'iiver, erinino, marten, otter,
squirrel ami War. These, and
the iinuilN'rless multitude of
fur seals that swarm about
the rocks and islands of the
ooiwt, furnish nn annual Hiipply
of fur that is exceedingly valu
able. Seal wishing is, as him
been staUxl, iiionojHilized by
tlin Alaska Commercial Com
pany, whose contract doe not
expire until 181)0. It was
nt first feared that the de
traction of 100,000 seals
nniiually would result in
their practical exterinina
tii m.but ol mervnt ion proves
the contrary to lo the casa
Thin industry, pnierly Iwin
illed.will lw a lucrative one for
generations; an.l it is to lie hopod
una hi mo cx.iration of fa ft,.
tract with this company the fl.iv.
eminent will ho nmnag,, it U (Wive a Rmit(,r monm
forest, or to improved methods, I cannot sav: but fnr
several years vegetables, such as potatoes, cabbages, etc.,
have been raised yearly in the vicinity of Sitka and
Wrangell. In the neighborhood of Sitka there are a large
number of plots under cultivation. Within a distance of
twenty miles from Sitka are three or four thousand aem
of fair agricultural land, if properly drained. On the
w1 -m v
s
iff
()
o
: I)
QTTir 1 1 T a n.r
Mxaik, AUIOAA.
l-iulwl uH,n tl.er phuvs for tlmir ...... l.i 1 . rw,,ea ftmi managed by Indians, and devoted principally
WW they' plail R I; ' ' y I' ? turniP8 ttnd cabbages; this farm covers
where f,.r w thirty years they raiJl ,,r.wl,,t f'"' V " f . forty Bcres' and on JPonsky and several of the
ts in spiL ,f th, , '7 tlHHr ,irgT iHWl8 in Sitk and bay are flourishing gar
"K -nt them by the S L WT" this ifwouldseem that Alaska can depend
m mat dm- upon herself for mn t r.
4 . 1 . 1 nw"'iion
irncusl uriiviii.Mk 'pi 1 .
c. . ') vompany, or rather the 1W
tl ! ' , VUmr of SiuTuinnto Valley Al
thw wottltl have lMI uIIIHWsiir ,, , . " , AU
It ban Iww... - .. Vs h'WOUr Rw Pleiitifullr.
. rM,.nM lmi y
uixm herself for many things which the Russians for-
"'""J' purciiasea abroad.
Until the past few years it was supposed that coal and
iron formed the only mineral wealth of the country, and
even the extent
' , AUl!10r 18 14 now- But goW has been discovered, and the
ire hcoii 1 i.m. ml . . ...
M'wiuis prospector has invaded the cold and bleaK
mterior with ln'a r;i, i. . n .-i.-vt innor
ijf 11 1 . . " r1 suovei. uonsiuerauiu
off'tiihlw would not thriv I iv, 6n done rt Harrisburg, a mining camp on
' 1 Uie luko". mny miles into the interior, where the miti-