ALASKA EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 283 



uses, all the well-known physical laws of the seasons and of the germination and 

 development of plants, point unmistakably to the conclusion that Alaska will one 

 day support a large population engaged in tilling the soil and in the care of herds. 

 It may take long to develop, but the immigration induced by gold discoveries will 

 hasten it wonderfully. Meanwhile it is important, and it is just that a true idea of 

 Alaska should be set before the people instead of that which ignorance and super- 

 ficialism have caused to prevail, even among intelligent men. 



REPORT OF ISAAC JONES ON THE RECONNOISSANCE OF THE 

 INTERIOR ALONG THE TRAIL FROM EAGLE TO VALDEZ. 



The following report on that portion of Alaska bordering on the 

 mail and Government trails between Eagle and Valdez is respectfully 

 submitted: 



I started from Eagle on the morning of September 10 in company 

 with Mr. Oscar Eish, the mail contractor, and one of his carriers, Mr. 

 Al. Paxton. The trail, which is simply a more or less well-marked 

 footpath along which pack animals may be taken, leads off in a south- 

 westerly direction from Eagle to the ridge, which on one side is drained 

 by the Fortymile system, and on the other by tributaries of American 

 and Mission creeks. 



The trail here is very good as Alaskan trails are considered. On the 

 lowlands and through the timber the soil is somewhat sandy in char- 

 acter and fairly well drained. Trees that would have interfered in 

 using pack animals have been removed, and it is only where there is a 

 very considerable depth of moss that the trail is wet and at all trying 

 on horses. On the higher ground the trail has very much the appear- 

 ance of the buffalo paths that used to be so common in the prairie 

 States. It is beaten well below the general level, and has the charac- 

 teristic windings where there seems to be no good reason why it should 

 not have continued in a straight course. 



For 25 miles from Eagle the entire country is broken by small creeks, 

 separated from one another by steep ridges. These streams have, as a 

 rule, very narrow valleys. The hillsides are steep, and in nearly all 

 cases the foot of the incline is close to the stream. In places, the 

 higher ground spreads out in a sort of table-land half or three-fourths 

 of a mile wide; but generally the distance across is not nearly so great, 

 and in some places the ridge is sharp and stony. This hill country is 

 said to have an elevation of from 2,000 to 3,000 feet. The soil in 

 places is a clay loam, usually wet, but more often it is made up of dis- 

 integrated granite or slate, and in this section good-sized pieces of the 

 rock are much in evidence. 



This portion of Alaska has little to commend it to the agriculturist 

 except perhaps as a grazing country. In general, there is a heavy 

 coat of moss on the surface, but in some places a native grass (com- 

 monly called redtop) has asserted itself and would furnish consider- 

 able feed for stock. 



