CHAPTER V 



THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE TRIP 



Perhaps one of the smartest deals ever done by a 

 proverbially smart nation was the purchase of Alaska in 

 1867 by the American Government from Russia for a paltry 

 sum of $7,000,000. In spite of the fact that, at the time of 

 Secretary Seward's scheme for the purchase, a number of 

 Americans were pleased to ridicule what they designated as 

 "Seward's folly" in buying a mass of icebergs, many of 

 those men lived to recall their words, and the Russians to 

 realise that they had "got hold of the dirty end of the stick." 



Regarded as a financial investment it was good, since 

 the country has never yielded less than 5 per cent on the 

 purchase price, and its future possibilities in mineral wealth, 

 etc., are practically unlimited. From a sportsman's point of 

 view the country is still a paradise, for big game of various 

 kinds still abounds ; and owing to the stringent Game Laws 

 passed by the U.S. Government in 1903 it appears to be 

 well protected for many years to come. 



In its present form the Alaska Game Law is certainly, as 

 we have seen, open to some amendments, but viewed as a 

 whole it is a step in the right direction, and opportunely 

 taken. It would be sad to think that the noble moose, 

 caribou, and bears now roaming over the country might be 



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