

14 



ALASKA. 



whalebone, and 1.000 pounds of ivorv ; total. *!,- 



: -., -...-::; -..: . . f 



of whalebone, and v 



total *lur of fur* ahf ffMl fr 



tbr ! 



I . . x.,. -.,..*- 



:..-. 





r. 61 which there are ar-. 



Ihnwfbmi 



taat oFlbr Burnishes the native! 



trwMimitkof ftmd.oiLandkin* Their 



TlMir 



and siinilar 



excellent lecher 

 but 



toboofcbtedia* and siinilar fmrfnees. 

 far have not bee* etportcd fn.m Ahwka. 

 Tfe to * now confin. 



lor NUads* in Bering Sea. where they rstort for 



I 'mil and 

 miles in area, raspeo- 



to Mala. The *rab return to St. Paul a 

 George bland* each year ab. their 



young an born soon afterward, and they leave 

 Main in October and November. During the 

 winter they live at sea and journey as far south 

 the coatt of California. 



The IMS! estimates of the seals that visited the 

 awl islands annually between 1871 and 1889 

 place their at 4.ooo.tm Within the 



paet few rears they have great Ir diminished, 

 ' to capture at a bv poacher 



fed in this occupat i< >n. 

 tins were taken. In 

 catch at sea was much 



bland* are a Government reserve, 

 and are leased with the privilege of taking a 

 certain number of male seals over one year old 

 annually. The lease of the islands was held by 

 the Alaskan Commercial Company f 

 1WI. and since ISWit has beenlnthe hand 

 North American Commercial Company. 



.-aniiei ions bas 



Under the terms of the contract with the 

 Commercial Company the lessees were 

 allowed to take 100.000 elans a year: under tbe 

 onlract the number that may be taken 

 hat been reduced. Tbe revenues de- 



1(91 57 vesiels were enp 



__^ i^. ^^i^^i^ miMMi 



' . , '. ,-' : . 



rived by UM United Slates from the leasing of 

 tfce Waods betwfeo 1870 and 1800 wenbetween 



tijooojooo and taooaooa 



~*'^^nr^ ir ' mmawe) ^^*^^nfj%^^* 



Tb* marked tlnnmrn ii 



awl Wanda, 



in the number of 



toa 



and Great Britain, Which was finally set- 

 a tribunal of arbitration that sat in 

 thetammerof 18M. (SeeBnuv 



Tamr*AL_or AuimuTiox in the - Annu 



flhalinr. - ' 



are frrqoetitrd by whalea, and for several years 

 have bean the field of an important whaling in- 

 About 00 va*eb aW engaged in this 



The product* 

 barret of oil, 



!H of ivory were obtained. 

 MlBlnf.-Tbe mining laws of the (i. 

 Government have been ext 



nrmls 



that have IH-.-H fiximl in n 

 oonomio value are g< 



coal; and gold a nl - > now 



mined. rgetl an. I most profitable nun.' 



in operation > DM- Tn-a.lwrll. ..n Douglas island. 

 nearly opposite .1 ><le there worked 



., but is of low grade, 



the yield being $8 to $4 to a ton of ore. In t he 



1804, 240,000 tons of ore 



iren crushed, vieldingfTWy ...... ,wtth anel i-rnfn 



of $440.000. This is the largest quart/ mill in 

 a. anl has 240 stamps. 

 r mines. Intth of gold and 

 ;..-,! in the same regions. Mining on the 

 Yukon river is now confined to wa>tmi<; ^.M 

 from river gravels. In 1890 mn tlnu. 

 miners were engaged in this occupation. Ledges 

 of gold-bearing quartz have been discovered on 

 the Yukon, but as yet no attempt has been made 

 to work them. 



The product of the mines of Alaska for the 

 years 1880 to 1890, Inclusive, as estimated l>y the 

 Director of the United States Mint, was : Gold, 

 $4,604,500; silver, $27,840. 



Large deposits of coal exist at several wi.l.-ly 



separated localities in the Territory : l>ut tip to 



it! time coal mining has not been com- 



mercially successful. Coit-r is alsoknoun to 



exist, both as native r-opper and in various eom- 

 liinntions. Imt has not lin-n successfully mineil. 

 Agrirultiire. -Nothing worthy of the name 

 of agriculture has as yet been derelo] 

 Alaska. One of the chief reasons of this i-. that 



tcntion of the white population has been 

 engrossed by other pursuits. The climate is ex- 

 ceedingly humid on the coast, and the mountain- 

 ous character of the greater part of the land 

 pn-cludes inning. Root crops 



as potatoes and turnips as has been shown by 

 many experiments, produce an abundant har- 

 vest, even as far north as the arc-tic circle. 

 Much of the land is grass-covered and favorable 

 to stock raising. This is true especially of Ka- 

 diuk island and many of the islands westward, 

 including the Aleutian chain. Th<- -umrners in 

 that region are too humid toadmit of the curing 

 of hay. out the preservation "f fodder in a 



n is pni<'tj<-aolc. and. besides, the 

 climate is so mild that cattle and sheep can 

 -t tliroiiirhnut the year. 



ndeer Owing to the efforts of Cni 

 A. II. -a'y. ..f th.- I'nitwl States Revenue Marine, 



and Rev. SbeldOD Ja u-lc. -r ha\- 



intrndiir-otl. at tho expense of the (Jeneral Gov- 

 ernment. into western Alaska, and they are re- 

 portedtobethrii : among 



the natives of central and western Alaska. ..wing 

 marked decrease of large game since the 

 introduction of Hrearms, will be counteracted 

 when t),e natives are taught to raise and care 



vis of domestic rein 



1 \ploratlona and Surreys. Portions of 

 Alaska are rtill unexplored, and only small areas, 

 chiefly on the coast, have been accurately sur- 



