204 DALL 



to the discovery of gold have forced attention to the 

 needs of the region, and the future is not, as the past 

 seemed to be, without hope for better government. It 

 will be a perpetual testimony to the character of the early 

 American settlers in Alaska, that under the circumstances 

 in which they found themselves they bore themselves so 

 well. 



It would require a row of stately volumes to contain an 

 adequate account of the explorations and surveys made 

 since the transfer by the Coast Survey, the Geological 

 Survey, and officers of the Navy, the Revenue Marine, 

 and the Army. The amount done is marvelous, yet 

 hardly known to the public. To one conversant with the 

 facts, one of the most amusing things in current litera- 

 ture is the placid innocence of many a casual traveler 

 or gold hunter, who pours out his tale of experiences in 

 the confident belief that nothing of the kind is on record. 

 A bibliography, far from complete, yet with fully 4,000 

 titles, does not cover the publications in books and serials 

 upon the Territory and its adjacent regions. 



It is true that of satisfactory and reliable books on the 

 general subject there is an obvious dearth. This, how- 

 ever, cannot long be the case. That all the virgin terri- 

 tory has been reached is far from true, and there still re- 

 mains a good opportunity in many parts of Alaska for the 

 work of the careful and energetic anthropologist or geog- 

 rapher. 



The work of the Harriman Expedition, in spite of the 

 extremely limited time available at any one locality, shows 

 how large a field there is as yet untilled. While the 

 sublime scenery of the southern coast will long be the 

 goal of tourists, we may confidently anticipate for years to 

 come a rich harvest for the scientific explorers and natu- 

 ralists whose good fortune may lead them to the fascinat- 

 ing study of the virgin North. 



