274 REPOET OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



the nearest point on the river from which the gold fields on the tribi 

 taries of the Tanana can be reached. The absence of timber giv( 

 the place a somewhat desolate appearance, but it is a thrift}^ entei 

 prising town and is constantly growing in population. Probably 

 large percentage of the vast expanse of level country in that neigl 

 borhood can be used for agricultural purposes. 



Fort Yukon is located a few miles inside the Arctic Circle, at th< 

 mouth of the Porcupine. It is about 85 miles northwest of Circle 

 City. This is an old settlement, having been a trading post of the 

 Hudson Bay Company many years ago, but it has never become an 

 important post. The permanent white population probably does not 

 exceed one dozen persons, and the Indians in the place are not numer- 

 ous. A reservation for an experiment station was made there in 1900, 

 but the available funds have been too limited to do any work there. 



Rampart is a thriving town, some 200 miles below Fort Yukon. 

 There are several hundred log cabins in this place and a few quite 

 good houses. It takes its importance from the proximity of the 

 placer mines on Minook Creek and its tributaries. The country in 

 the immediate vicinity is rolling, but there is considerable agricul- 

 tural land in the valleys. The vegetation is luxuriant wherever the 

 ground has been cleared. PL XV, fig. 2, gives an illustration of the 

 height of the grass in the valley of Minook Creek. The photograph 

 from which this reproduction was made was taken by Mr. Erastus 

 Brainerd. 



Tanana, the next settlement of importance, is located about 80 miles 

 below Rampart; it is at the mouth of Tanana River. The post-office is 

 named Tanana. The settlement was originally called Weare, and the 

 trading post of the North American Transportation and Trading Com- 

 pany still bears this name. Fort Gibbon is located here. It was built 

 in 1900 and has a garrison of approximately two hundred men. 



The next settlement of importance is Nulato, located about 225 

 miles below Tanana. Nulato is an Indian settlement of considerable 

 size. There are also a couple of stores and a Roman Catholic mission. 

 The surrounding country is sufficiently level for cultivation. PI. XVI, 

 fig. 1, is of interest because it illustrates the leading industry of the 

 Indians during the summer months, namely, the catching and dry 

 ing of fish. Large quantities of salmon are annually caught at various 

 points on the Yukon; the fish are cleaned, cut in halves, and dried on 

 poles, as shown in the illustration. 



Anvik is the next important settlement. It is about 190 miles below 

 Nulato. The population is chiefly Indians, but there are also a num- 

 ber of white people and an Episcopal mission. A portion of the town 

 is illustrated in PL XVI, fig. 2. Froin Anvik to Hoiy Cross is a dis- 

 tance of about 30 miles. This settlement has already been referred 

 to in detail. Some 80 miles below Holy Cross is a little settlement 



