Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/328

ALASKA. quartz veins of varying richness. The first one of importance was on Douglas Island, where a “camp” of miners soon gathered to work the placers. Soon afterward ledges of quartz ore were discovered, and bought by John Treadwell, who organized a company to develop the mines. Works were erected, the town of Juneau arose on the neighboring mainland, and these mines are now one of the richest gold-producing properties in the world. The ore is easily crushed, can be rolled down into the stamp-mills by gravity-tramways, and all machinery (including electric hoists, etc.) is operated by water power. This cheapness enables a low grade of ore to be worked at a large profit, and about 1500 stamps are kept in continuous and almost automatic operation, while Douglas Island and the space under Gastineau Channel and the neighboring shore are being completely honeycombed with tunnels and slopes. Many other good mines have been opened in the neighborhood; and workings have been developed satisfactorily on Baranov Island near Sitka, on Sumdum Bay, at the head of Lynn Canal, and elsewhere in the Alexander Archipelago and on the mainland. The beach sands and river gravels have yielded profitable gold about Yakutat Bay, at Turnagain Arm at the head of Cook's Inlet, and on the shores of Kadiak and Unga islands. The discovery of rich gold placers in the Yukon district in 1897 led to vigorous prospecting of the whole Yukon Valley and its tributaries within the mountains, and auriferous deposits, often of great richness, were found along the river course at and near the Canadian boundary and especially along the Tananá. (See .) This led to an exploration of the coast hills, and resulted in several “finds” about Norton Sound, of which the most remarkable was that at Cape Nome, where the sands of the beach yielded extraordinary richness, and where later extensive placers were disclosed along neighboring streams. The output of the whole territory increased from $2,700,000, in 1897, to $7,531,000 in 1900. The output in 1900 surpassed that of the preceding year by $2,406,000, the Nome district being responsible for the greater part of this amount. Circle City, Jack Wade, Munock, and Kyokuk districts in the interior of Alaska produced altogether about $1,000,000.

. The southern coast of Alaska has numerous excellent harbors, which are accessible the year round, as far north as Sitka and Juneau. The bays of the farther coast (except Valdez) become filled with bergs from glaciers and pack-ice in winter, thus closing the head of Cook's Inlet and compelling the people of Sunrise City to travel to Resurrection Harbor, on the south side of Kenai Peninsula, in order to take ship most of the year. It would seem as though these people might easily pass from Turnagain Arm across the narrow isthmus to Prince William Sound, and so effect a great saving of distance; but Morey learned in 1899 that the crags and glaciers which constitute that neck of land were practically uncrossable, except on sledges or snow-shoes in winter, when the adjacent harbors are useless. The harbors of the Aleutian Islands are open all winter, but drifting ice packs and freezes along the shores of the shallow Bering Sea closing the bays early in November; after which St. Michael's Island, Nome, and all other ports of that coast are closed until the ice comes out

of the Yukon and dissolves in the sea. This rarely happens before June 15, after which that river is navigable for about three months, September 15 being the latest date when it is considered safe to leave Eagle City for the last outward trip. (See .) There are few safe harbors along this coast, where the water is exceedingly shallow for a long distance from shore, and the deltoid river-mouths are obstructed by bars; and at St. Michaels, Anvik, Nome, and other settlements vessels must anchor in the offing and load and unload by means of lighters, with constant readiness to steam away from storms, so that expensive delays are likely.

All the traffic of the Yukon River is by way of the island and port of St. Michaels, some 60 miles from the Yukon mouth, long ago established as a fur-trading station. Here ocean steamers land and receive passengers and cargoes during the open season, which are there transferred to and from the river-boats. These are flat-bottomed, stern-wheeled steamboats, the largest of which may draw four feet of water; the distance to the eastern boundary of Alaska (Eagle City) is about 1500 miles, and sufficient boats are in service to fill the needs of traffic, and afford a regular and constant means of transportation between the upper river and the coast, where regularly sailing steamers ply between Nome or St. Michaels and Victoria, B. C., or Seattle or San Francisco. There is also more irregular, but frequent communication between Sitka and all the places of call along the south coast and the Aleutian archipelago. Steamer communication between Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, or Fort Wrangel, and either Vancouver or Victoria, B. C., or the ports of Puget Sound or California, is almost daily in summer and at frequent intervals in winter. From Skagway a railroad crosses White Pass to Whitehorse Rapids, where passengers and freight are transferred to the steamboats of the upper Yukon lines, by which the journey is continued to Dawson. Thus, in summer regular and comfortable means of access are open to all parts of the Yukon Valley. The White Pass Railroad is operated as continuously through the winter as the weather permits, and travel and the carriage of mails continue more or less regularly by means of public stages and private dog-sledges. Several other railway routes have been sketched out, and a wagon road has been built from Port Valdez to the Copper River.

.—The Canadian Government has constructed a telegraph line from the summit of White Pass, continuing a line from Skagway, down the Yukon Valley to the boundary, where it connects with an American telegraph line from that point (Eagle City) to Valdez. A telegraph cable is in operation between St. Michaels and Nome, and an overland line is building from Nome, via Eaton (reindeer station), Nulato, and other landings along the Yukon, to Eagle City.

The foreign trade of Alaska has been steadily increasing. There arc no statistics of the commerce between Alaska and the ports of the United States, inasmuch as it is administered as a customs district. The foreign commerce for the year ending June 30, 1901, shows that the imports of merchandise for that year amounted to $558,000, and the exports of merchandise to $2,534,000, of which $2,018,000 was domestic merchandise. The imports of gold amounted to $15,816,000, of which a large part was the