“ The walrus is almost the sole dependence of the Eskimos at and beyond Bering Strait, and is steadily diminishing, because it is also hunted by white men for the sake of its ivory. Fossil elephant ivory is also collected extensively by the Eskimos. The white whale and the great arctic whales are also of prime importance to the Arctic Alaskans, and these animals attract annually a considerable whaling fleet, which endeavors to leave the Arctic Ocean before the straits are obstructed by ice; vessels often fail to do so, however, and must pass the winter in the ice along the north shore of Alaska. ”

“ The industry is of little service to the territory, however, as nearly all the labor and the material used are extraneous, comparatively none of the wages earned is paid or spent in Alaska, and the fisheries are being conducted in a recklessly wasteful manner.
Agriculture. Alaska is too far north to be of any importance as an agricultural country, yet the southern coast, the Kenai Peninsula, and the Aleutian Islands possess possibilities of a limited agricultural development. The soil is very fertile, but the expense of preparing it for cultivation is enormous. ”

“ The Pacific glacier descends from the Fairweather Range west of the bay, and, like the Muir, discharges daily an enormous number of icebergs, sometimes of huge size. Wherever the mountain channel down which the ice flows opens at a distance back from the shore it spreads out like a fan or delta, and the confluence of groups of such glaciers forms the mighty ice-walls that border the coast westward, of which the Malaspina Glacier in Yakutat Bay is most conspicuous. ”

“ All Alaska north of the Yukon and west of the mountains along the Porcupine River, near the Canadian boundary, is swampy tundra, bearing only small bushes and some dwarf willows and spruce. The hills of the northwestern coast are barren, and those of the Kuskokwim Valley only lightly wooded, except toward its head, where spruce forests clothe the bases of the mountains, separated by grassy valleys, exhibiting a wide diversity of tall flowering herbage and low shrubs. The Aleutian Islands are entirely without trees, except a few scrub willows ”

“ A territory of the United States, comprising the extreme northwestern part of the North American continent, together with all the islands near its coast and the whole of the Aleutian Archipelago, excepting Bering's and Copper islands, lying off the coast of Kamtchatka. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the Yukon District of Canada and by British Columbia, on the south by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and the Arctic Ocean. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Reptiles and amphibians are of course few, but insects present a wide variety, diminishing toward the north; among these mosquitoes are painfully conspicuous, swarming in summer on the central and northern plains in such dense masses as to make life in the lowlands almost impossible for either men or animals. The neighboring seas are peculiarly rich in small marine creatures (see Arctic Region) ; hence fishes abound, and these support numerous marine carnivores, such as seals, etc., to be spoken of later. The larger land animals include the moose, south of the Yukon ”

“ The mountains of the southeastern interior and along the Canadian border consist of an ancient granitic axis overlaid by schists, quartzites, and other stratified rocks, which have been uplifted and greatly disturbed and altered by dikes and other igneous intrusions and overflows, and are substantially a part of the northern, mineral-bearing Rocky Mountain system traceable southward into central British Columbia. ”

“ Hot medicinal springs are numerous, and might be of great hygienic importance to the skin-diseased natives if they could be induced to utilize the waters. The line of volcanic upheaval and activity along the south coast is as long as the distance from Florida to Nova Scotia, and the whole of Alaska and the Bering Sea basin are steadily rising. ”

“ This coast district is bounded on the north by the watershed between it and the Tananá and Kuskokwim rivers, consisting of a line of very lofty elevations called the Alaskan Mountains, which continue the Coast ranges behind the St. Elias Alps and around westward to the Kenai and Aliaskan peninsulas. It is studded with lofty peaks, increasing in height toward the west, where the uplift culminates, about 100 miles north of Cook's Inlet, in Mount McKinley, 20,404 feet in altitude, which is the highest peak in all North America. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Sitka is one of the oldest settlements on the northwest coast, and was the Russian headquarters. (See Sitka.) It is now the judicial and official centre of the territory; but owing to its distance from important mines, fisheries, etc., had a population in 1900 of only 1396. Larger and more active is the gold mining town of Juneau, at the entrance of Taku Inlet, which is the centre of a fairly permanent population of about 3000, At the head of Taku Inlet is Skagway, the seaport of the White Pass Railway, with a population of about 1500. ”

“ Circle City, near the Arctic Circle, is the river-port for the gold diggings in Birch Creek and in the central Tananá Valley, and has a fluctuating population of from 500 to 1500. There is a military post (Fort Liscomb) at the mouth of the Tananá. Sunrise City, at the extreme head of Cook's Inlet, is the supplying point for a group of placer diggings on the Kenai Peninsula, and contains from 1000 to 2000 people. Settlements are found on Kadiak Island (St. Paul's or Kodiak) and on Unga. ”

“ Grasses of highly nourishing qualities grow luxuriantly, furnishing excellent grazing facilities. The climate does not admit of the ripening of oats or the curing of hay, but grass can be stored in silos for winter. ”

“ It has been impossible to anticipate the emergencies which have arisen from the sudden addition to the population, and oftentimes civil order has been disrespected and legal justice has been extremely tardy. ”

“ Without these hordes of river fish no Indian could long exist in the more northern portions of the territory, and the natives catch and preserve vast quantities for winter use. The salmon have long been the object of extensive civilized industries along the southern coast, and for years the output of salmon has exceeded 600,000 cases, and in 1898 reached almost 1,000,000 cases. In 1899 the canners employed 1298 white men, 830 natives, and 1859 Chinese. ”

“ The Presbyterians maintain, moreover, an industrial training school at Sitka. Almost the whole native population has been brought under the influence of Christian teaching.
History. In July, 1740, the Danish navigator Bering, who was in the Russian service, discovered a number of islands, among them that bearing his name. Russian explorers and traders gradually pushed further eastward and came into conflict with the natives, whom they cruelly maltreated. The coast of Alaska was visited by Captain Cook in 1778, and by the Spaniards at about the same time. ”

“ Seventy-eight settlements altogether were reported in the census of 1900.
Government. Alaska is an unorganized Territory, there being no general legislative body. Alaska is controlled by laws passed by the United States Congress, and its administrative and judicial officers—governor (residing at Sitka) , surveyor-general, attorneys, judges, and others—are appointed by the President of the United States. Towns of a certain size are allowed to incorporate and elect governing bodies. Legislation in 1900 divided Alaska into a judicial district, with three courts, at Juneau, St. ”

“ They are used as draught animals mainly, and have been of great service in carrying mails in winter, and in transporting provisions, rescuing lost or starving parties of miners and soldiers, and in various other ways. ”