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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1903)
33 ii 1 1 ill ml mm UMiTf ultf' Tc FA-RMS AND "RAIL-ROADS IN ALASKA Fitz-Mac Gives a Lot of Information and, W It, Some Seasonable Advice. TffB SUM3AY OBEUONIi, POETLATO, FOVEIIBEB 22, JHJDS. PJLRiUNG In Alaska! tho ber Idea of ltl ' "Well, that Is because you don't understand the climate of Alaska. Tou -wouldn't be so much astonished If Tour head were not crammed "with false notions about the climate. Alaska could make $100,000,000 a year Just raising: red raspberries. If It could ship them by -wireless telegraph and the outside world could consume such a Quantity but that story Is only to sug gest to your Imagination how some things (Including rod raspberries) grow In Alaska not everything, but only some things. Alaska has an area, in round numbers, of C00.000 square miles. That Is equal to 2Si.O00.O00 acres. About 10,000,000 acres of that (mostly In the Sitka Archipelago) is good timber land densely forested trlth pine, spruco, fir, hezoiock and red and white cedar. From what I have seen of the country there are, I should estimate, about 1,000,- 000 acres on which an industrious and thrifty population could make a frugal but comfortable living by straight farm ing. But In addition to this, there are probably not less than 5,000,000 acres on 'which stock could bo subsisted about as "jrell as in Minnesota with about the pamo Winter care. In almost every part of the country up there, stock can be quickly fattened, dur ing tho brief Summer season from the middle of June to tho middle of Septem ber on tho amazing growth of luscious forage grasses and plants that cover the earth. If you have got a littlo money laid up and are possessed by a romantic notion that you would like to go to Alaska and start a little farm, and raise berries and vegetables for market, and chickens and eggs and such truck, and grow up with the country, my cordial and friendly ad vice to you Is DON'T. Your little money would bo gone and your heart broken before you would probably make a suc cess of It. There Is, indeed, a chance that you might succeed about one chance in c hundred, Tho berries and vegetables will grow all right in many places, after you get the ground cleared and "hu znanlscd," which takes three years, and the chlckonB and ducks and the cows will thrive, but there is nobody in the country to furnish a regular market for your truck. But you could, of course, sell a llttio of it at an astonishingly high price, occasionally, when some one chanced along who wanted It and happened to have the money in his clothes. Don't let anyone with a romantic and unconscionable pen bamboozle you with a fairy story about a sweet little home and a profitable truck farm anywhere at all In Alaska. It can be done; it has been done. I havo myself seen beautiful gardens up thdre. But don't you try it unless tho pioneer spirit is so strong in 3 j that you can't bo happy anywhere else. If you will write the Secretary of Agri culture, "Washington, D. C, he will send ou tho reports of the Government agrl Cuttural experiment farms at Sitka, at lucnai, at Kodlak and way up north in tho Yukon Valley. They- are very inter esting and they aim to tell tho exact truth do toll it, I havo no doubt, but not tho -whole truth can't; nobody can; life is too short. Nothing will reveal the whole haggard truth to you but going and seeing tor jourselL And if tho pioneer maggot Is in your brain, then go, and God prosper your luck. But never let anybody's fairy etorles beguile you into going to Alaska to grow up with tho country without money In your sock to put ou back home if you don't like it. You may liko It. It Is a beautiful coun try, a most interesting coiitry to visit, a country rich beyond words to tell in a xwodlgol opulence of scenery; rich also in n generous endowment of natural re oources coal, Iron, gold, tin (a world of tin lately discovered up on Seward Penin sula, near Nome), silver, copper, timber (millions of acres of red and white cedar that is almost as precious as mahogany), fur-bearing game, ilsh (such fish volumes wouldn't tell the whole story pf Alaska's wealth of fish), and a climate that is healthful and invigorating everywhere and surprisingly mild in winter, for such high latitudes, all around that part swept by tho warm Japan current. Tho "Winter climato at Sitka is much warmer than that of "Washington City. "Water but rarely freezes at Sitka. But that is only the beguiling half of the truth. The Summers aro cool not frosty, but Just delightfully cooL It is the sweetest place that I know of In all the world for peoplo to go who want to escape from the heat. But heat happens to be one of the things that most crops need and most of them need a lot of it. "Wheat, oats, barley and such things will grew and mature a crop in Sitka, but you are liable to have to do your harvesting under on umbrella, and you are in luck If you don't een have to wear a cork life preserver tho rainfall Is about 100 inches a. j ear at that point; but that is about the wettest point In Alaska and there is a great deal of fog. But don't go and get the notion into your head that folks never have any fun or fine weather at Sitka, for when the sun does shlno there it just seems to fondle the earth, and that is true of the whole coast region of Alaska. Of course all grasses will grow to break your heart in such a cool, moist climate as that. The trouble is not in raising fodder but In curing it. Yet of course it can be preserved all right in silos. I ought to be ashamed to say a word against the weather at Sitka, for I was there twice this Summer, and the weather was out in its Sunday clothes both times and oh, such a dream of mellowed, pen sive sweetness and freshness and pleas ant warmth makes mo lonesome to re call it You wouldn't wonder tho people up there love and extol the climate of Alaska if you saw it when it is on its good behavior; you never saw a climato so sweet and fresh and fondling. "What I say of the climate of Sitka ap plies fairly well to the whole Pacific Ocean coast region but it doesn't apply to the interior not at all. There the ex tremes of heat and cold are very great from 75 below to 100 degrees above freez ing point. The thing to get into your head once and for all is that tables of average or extremes of temperatures aro a delusion and a snare to any but scientific weather students. They tell tho exact truth, of course, but a thermometer, though it may not lie, can never tell more than a part of the truth. The average temperature for tho whole year at Sitka, for instance, is almost exactly the samo as that of the City of "Washington, but you'd have .to hunt around quite a spell to find climates more unlike. That of "Washington is fre quently intolerable, while the worst that can be said of tho climate of Sitka is that It is monotonous. Now, what I have said in the way of warning to people of small means and a romantic turn of mind who might think It "Just lovely" to throw a few things Into a pillowslip and st off to make a sweet little home on a fruit and truck patch in Alaska doesn't apply at all to peoplo of large means who might be fascinated by the idea of going into special lines of farming or stockralslng up there. To all such I say, go and see. The country is full of possible chances of fortune for such, and If they don't find the chanco they are looking for they will get tho worth of their money in the trip. There are not only Government experi ment stations at Sitka, on the Kenal Pen insula, on Kodlak Island and in the Yukon and Copper River Valleys, but there are old mission stations of the Greek, Catho lic andProtestant churches at many points where largo gardens havo long been cul tivated and some attempt made at farm ing and stockralslng, and the record of their experience is a valuable help to the pioneer investigator. You can get all that Information by writing for tho annual re ports of the Alaska experimental farms to tho Secretary of Agriculture at "Wash ington. They aro as interesting as a novel to those whom they would interest at all. But I would only bore the average reader by going Into the matter beyond the merest impressions! mention. way up in the Cook Inlet country I saw exceedingly thrifty gardens of potatoes,T"Sure to be finished some time, aid or no cabbages, turnips, radishes and such truck. Even way up at Nome, in latltudo 05, they make very thrifty and. In a small way, profitable gardens of lettuce, rad ishes and the different sorts of greens. The great farming country of Alaska, however, must be (after the Cook Inlet country) in the Yukon Valley, If any where. There, away from the coast, the climato is dry, and, though the "Winters are very severe and long, the Summers are hot surprisingly hot and the Summer days are so long (22 hours at Eagle City, on tho upper Yukon) that a considerable variety of crops do surprisingly well about as well as in Dakota. I have a lot of most interesting photographs of farm and garden products up there, but they cannot be reproduced well on the rapid press of a daily newspaper. I believe stockralslng may prove very successful in some parts of Alaska, In Summer it certainly is the finest place in the world to fatten cattle on the native grasses, and very much of the beef now slaughtered in Nome and Valdes is taken up there in the Spring and turned out to fatten on the luscious wild grasses that cover tho tundra. The tundra is simply a northern rolling prairie, but everywhere more or less boggy. Cattle will "Winter without feeding in any country where split-foot game, such as deer, moose and elk, can "Winder, though, of course, not being able to mi grate as rapidly in case of unusual snow falls, they would bo more exposed to dan ger, and at the best they would rapidly degenerate Into spindle-legged, long horned breeds. But there Is great profit shipping feeders up there In the Spring to fatten. Finally, tho conclusions of my personal Judgment on tho general subject are, that Alaska can, when developed, easily pro duce nil the meat, grains, potatoes and other vegetables necessary to sustain a population of 1,000,000 without crowding the mourners. But I feel so deeply the essential cruelty of getting people of small means, Impelled by romantic notions, to rush in to the country without prepara- Mi? jiowieago or pioneering difficulties. templating the move to send to tho De partment of Agriculture at "Washington for the official reports, and not hold me accountable for mistakes resulting from their own romantic and headlong precip itation. They will find from said reports that I have told herein a very mild tale, but I would rather it should be so than betray worthy people Into unexpected hardships. I believe in the future of Alaska' thor oughly myself. I have seen the evidences of its general mineral wealth, and of Its agricultural possibilities, and I believe tho influx of mining population will soon furnish a big market at big prices for every kind of food the. land can produce, but A "Well, the big market is not there now. Rallroatfs In Alaska. To make any kind of natural resources valuable, there must be a means to get them to market, and the swifter the means of transportation, the better and quicker tho profit? and the quicker the de velopment of the country. "With its 26,000 miles of sea coast and tho great Yukon River (as largo as the Mis sissippi) penetrating the heart of the in terior Alaska already enjoys unusual transportation facilities In Summer, and freight and passenger rates are very rea sonable. But tho distances are very long from Seattle to the mouth of tho Yukon 2300 miles, to "Nome 2500, to Sitka 90, to Valdes 100, and to Cook Inlet 1S00 and the Yukon and the whole coast bordering the Bchrlng Sea Is frozen for eight months In the year. This retards the de velopment of the country and railroads aro needed. The miner needs them to get his ore down to the coast, and the farmer needs them, to get his produce into tho mining camps. Alaska today, if Its Interior were opened by a good railroad system, could easily support a mining population (miners and their families) of 1,000,00$. And that would make a good market for all the garden truck and farm, products that the territory can produce. Alaska can never develop as a farming country till It pos sesses a home market for all it can raise, because there is no possibility of rais ing anything there cheaply enough to com pete outside with the products of the Pa cific Coast states. It is the mining population which fur nishes a home market and thus sustains farming in all our Rocky Mountain States. "Without the mines farming would perish in all of them, and stock would be their only resource. Alaska is a rich mineral country as large and as rich as tho biggest and rich est six mining states in the Rocky Moun tain group. But, like them, it must have railroads in order to develop, and the Gov ernment should aid the building of rail roads thero as it aided in building In the "Western States. That aid was wise. It has proved immensely profitable to the Nation. It will prove equally wise and equally profitable to aid Alaska in the same way. There is b railroad system projected from Nome over Seward Peninsula, which already has a few miles less than 30 I believe constructed, but which is that again I earnestly beg any one con-1 miles away to the eastward. aid, because that peninsula Is a small. compact country (area 20,000 square miles about 13,000,000 acres) immensely rich in gold and tin, and an easy railroad country. But the most pressing present need of a railroad is to connect "the oorts on Prince "Williams Sound with the great Yukon Valley. Tho harbors of that coast never freeze and the Pacific Packing & Transportation Company run3 Its line of bi-monthly steamships all "Winter, carry ing the mails td all the Pacific Coast ports of Alaska clear around to Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. The whole of that coast is as warm in "Winter as the coast of Virginia and Maryland. Cook Inlet is a great and deep arm of the sea GO miles wide and ISO miles long, that penetrates a rich coal and mineral country on both shores clear to the mouth of the Sushltna River, and 500 miles would carry a railroad from the head of that Inlet over very easy grades to the great Yukon Vojley. Such a road is In contemplation. The routo has been re connoltered bylha Government and has been surveyed by an organized company called tho "Alaska Central Railway," at present a feeble company but doing a lit tle doing the best it can no doubt. It Is projected to Btart, however, not from the head of Cook Inlet, but from Ressurrec tion bay, a magnificent protected harbor on the south coast of Kenal peninsula but it will pass tho head of Cook Inlet about 75 miles from its starting point. The real thing, however. In Alaska rail roads, tho thing most likely to be finished first because most urgently needed, is the projected and surveyed Valdes, Copper River & Yukon Railway. The new railroad proposes to utilize that trail, and the line will get an Immense ore traffic at once from big mines in the Cop per River district already opened and waiting to ship. If the Government needs the trail It needs the railroad, and if It needs the railroad it ought to help build it And when it is built this is the truth and don't you forget it the future of Valdes is going to bo just Rosy, as rosy as the smile of dawn on the crystaline pinnacle of great Mount St. Ellas, 150 UMBRELLAS IN PORTLAND One Hundred Thousand of These Useful Articles Arc Sold Here Every Year, One hundred thousand umbrellas were sold in Portland in tho past year. One hundred and fifty thousand will probably Too sold tho present year. To protect the population of Portland from the 50 inches of rain which falls hero each season costs a goodly sum, as the prices paid lor those umbrellas will easily average 5U5. Just what becomes of this great number of umbrellas is a mystery, but that they do disappear is evidenced by the fact that the business never drags, but to tho contrary increases from, season to season. That absend-minded people misplace or lose them, and that many are stolen is not to be doubted, but still they disappear Just like pins and needles and seemingly the demand will never be entirely satisfied. That Portland is essentially an umbrel la town is proved by the fact that it is considered the best market in this line of goods In tho United States, its size taken Into consideration. There are seven manufacturers here who do a big whole Bale business throughout the state in addi tion to a large retail trade in the city. But the retail business is by no means confined to them, for the department stores count the umbrella trade as a big item, and sell thousands of them each sea con. Tho Jewelers do a big business in an expensive line of goods, the milliners eell not a few of high grade, while the glove stores are also prepared to furnish one with anything in this line. The hab erdasher carries a fine line of men's um brella, and even the cigar stores and aews-stands keep a stock on hand to ac commodate their customers In cases of emergency. The umbrella Is a necessary Item In tho Pomander's wardrobe, and if he lones this bosom companion ho immediately hies him to the nearest shop and purchases an other. One dealer states that he has sold as many as three to ono customer in a single day, but after the first loss, whether caused by absent-mindedness or misplaced confidence, tho unfortunate one generally buys a cheap article, "one I can afford to lose, as he generally explains. In the regular umbrella stores the busi ness Is pretty even, the weather not hav ing much effect on sales, but in depart ment stores a storm will Invariably bring a rush of trade in this line. A prominent "Washington-street department store has often averaged as high as COO cheap um brellas on days when the weather was particularly bad, and In buying their stock a purchase of 2000 to sell at ono figure Is not unusual. The cheapest article on the market here is 50c, and "good sellers" run from ?1 to 10. HIgh-grado goods run away up In price, one exclusive dealer on "Washington street carrying beautiful specimens at'tSO and $90. He also has handles alone at $90, which are of hand carved ivory and In tho finest French workmanship. Some of these ore copies of the masterpieces in the Louvre and are of exquisite execution. He has sold sev eral of them to be mounted and used for ornamental purposes in handsome homes. This manufacturer buys his high-grade goods In France, Germany and England, and when selecting Ivories buys nothing but the French, as the carvings are much more graceful and more appropriate sub jects than the Chinese or Japanese. This firm, has a large trade in goods ranging In price from $15 to $35. Jewelers seldom carry anything under the $3 mark, their prices running from this to about $35. Their lines of goods Is generally of the fancy or "dress" kind, and they often have orders to set handles with stones, genuine and otherwise. Styles In umbrellas vary as much as In hats or other articles of clothing. The change Is generally In the handle, as nothing has been found to substitute for the good silk covering. This year thero is a colonial style in handles on the mar ket, which Is considered the correct thing, and some very pretty effects are produced at, fairly moderate prices. Scotch fir and boxwood Is used for the post, and sterling silver horseshoe nails are fastened on with silver buckles. Others have nail heads all over the post, and both are very smart. Gunmetal still finds favor as a trimming for handles, and combined with partridge wood or ebony Is very effective. One new fashion In handles Is an oblong loop, the end of the loop being fastened down with heavy silver bands. This style will prove convenient, as it can easily be carried on the arm while shopping. The pearl and ivory handles, with silver or gold trimmings, will seemingly never go out of favor, for they are selling to day Just as well as they were five years ago. Designs are selected to BUit all sorts and conditions' of mankind, from the quiet dresser, who selects a tasteful hardwood handle, to the flashy Individual, who pre fers something "sporty." There are many pretty colored silk covers to be had, but the percentage of sales in this line Is very small. Dealers hear many funny stories of cus tomers losses, and there are all sorts of woeful tales about having them stolen, "changed" on them, borrowed, turned la side out by the wind and broken. But yesterday a visiting drummer became so Interested In watching a faro game that he was unconscious of tho fact that some one next to him In the crowd took his handsome silk umbrella out of bis hand and substituted a cheap cotton one In its place. He- says he would have sworn that his own never left his hand, but when he went to move away, he was firmly grasp ing the cotton one, and he poured forth his disgust In great torrents when he reached the first umbrella store. A. prom inent city official was carelessly handling a very handsome umbrella one day lately, when its long-lost owner happened to lay eyes on it But Mr. Official refused to give up, even after the owner had shown him his private mark under the flap in the top. "You know," he said, "an um brella is the only thing a man can steal In Oregon without breaking tho law." The umbrella had Its origin In ancient Egypt and Nineveh, where it was first used as a protection from the sun, and was a symbol of royalty. It still has this" sig nificance In Asia. The Mabratta princes of India had a title of "Lord of the Um brella." Among the Greeks and Romans It was used only by women, being con sidered too effeminate for men. It was first used as a protection from rain by the English, early in the 17th century, when the canopy was made of oiled silk or cotton gingham, and tho handle was long and clumsy. The ribs were general ly made of whalebone, and tho stretchers of cane, but as the workmanship was very imperfect, there was never much practical use derived from them until the paragon steel frame was Invented. - MORRIS CHAIRS FOR HOLIDAY PRESENTS Now is the time to select a Morris Chair for some-one's Christmas present We have just got in a car of handsome new designs in golden oak, weath ered oak and mahogany. You can see them on our first floor. They are all well built and finely finished, with the best quality of detachable cush ions. If you don't like the cushions we can make any sort to order. You can buy a chair now and we'll keep it and deliver it in tiimvf or. Christinas. Don't wait until the-one3 you want are gone. Gomesiaw jjg "r AS LOW AS $9.00 LEATHER COUCHES These cold, rainy days make you anticipate long, comfort able evenings at home. And how much more comfort you can look forward to if you have a restful couch in your den or living room. We have the sort you want. Big springy ones, covered with soft, pliable leather. The longer you use one, the better it is. ,A11 guaranteed steel con struction, with elastic steel springs and leather covers that wear for years. AS LOW AS $31.00 if ' "11 BEDDING DEPARTMENT We have opened our new Bedding Department on the second floor, near, the elevator. Tomorrow we shall there exhibit a very complete and value giving stock of all sorts of bedding stuffs. As usual, we offer only the very best of material at very reasonable prices. It is our aim to make this one of our most popular departments, and we shall make it so by selling goods that satisfy. We have everything for the bed. BLANKETS, PILLOWS, COMFORTS, RUGS BED LINENS OF ALL SORTS DRAPERY DEPARTMENT In our Drapery Department on the second floor there is a profusion of beautiful hangings and drapery fabrics of all sorts. .An endless assort ment of dainty Lace Curtains and a gorgeous array of domestic and im ported Portieres. Especially beautiful is our collection of Oriental Draperies and Table Covers, all these having been imported direct by us. We make a specialty of fine drapery work and artistic decorating and are prepared to furnish designs and estimates on all classes of this work. We carry a wide stock of window shades and make all sizes and c V3rs to order A LOT OF BEAUTIFUL SOFA PILLOWS JUST THE THING FOR CHRISTMAS im- 4wll )L III ri i1 CP v1 'iK tffy "l CARPETS AND RUGS There are two things to be considered when buying Carpets and Rugs quality and wtfar. And that's where we satisfy. Our Carpets are woven from the very best materials and laid in a way that insures every ounce of wear there ia in them. Carpet3 that fit wear much longer than-tho3e that are poorly laid. Thatf s worth remembering. Pine Tapestry Carpets, per yard. . .7..;.T.-.!.1 85d to $1.10 " -Body Brussels, new designs, per yard. .. .$1.50 to $1.65 Axminsters, extra quality, per yard. .. . . .$1.35 to $2.00 Handsome Wilton Velvets, per yard. .....r. .$1.35 to $1.85 Theso- prices sewed, laid-and lined. And rememberIT IS NOT NECESSARY TO PAY CASH. We are always ready to extend you credit upon the easiest terms eveoffered. We have the largest ,and most up-to-date stock of furniture and housefurnishings in the city. The variety is so great you are bound to find what you want. And when you have found it, have it sent home and pay for it at your own convenience- CREDIT IS GOOD TULL &GBBS MORRISON AND SECOND STREETS MAKE TERMS iv - .JL. II ) M i ? m i n i : A