THE ECONOMIC EVOLUTION OF ALASKA 



589 



sole means of livelihood. Those who 

 forecast commercial decay with the pass- 

 ing of the fur-seal were unfamiliar with 

 the possibilities of the Territory. The 

 seal merely gave way to the salmon. 



FISHERIES 



In 1868 America promptly entered the 

 rich field of Alaskan fisheries, which in 

 the first three years attained an average 

 value approximating $300,000. The lim- 

 ited market made such a catch unadvisa- 

 ble, and the average fell to about 

 $166,000 during the decade of 1871 to 

 1880. 



A little later the market broadened in 

 extent, and while there was a general de- 

 velopment of the cod and halibut fish- 

 eries, there sprang into existence an in- 

 dustry of extraordinary importance — the 

 canning of the salmon. From an insig- 

 nificant value of $43,000 in 1881, the 

 value of the salmon catch rose to $2,216,- 

 000 in 1889. 



In short, the fisheries, principally of 

 the salmon, showed in the decade of 1881 

 to 1890 an average annual increase of 

 over $700,000 as compared with the catch 

 of the previous decade. While the pe- 

 lagic sealing most materially reduced the 

 annual products of Alaska in five years 

 to an amount of $1,800,000 annually, the 

 steadily increasing values of the salmon 

 fisheries saved the commercial situation. 

 The salmon became second only to gold 

 in value, financially and commercially, 

 the catch reaching the astounding value 

 of $10,185,783 in 1908. 



GOLD 



While gold is the most important of 

 Alaskan minerals, yet copper, coal, and 

 tin, in the order named, are destined to 

 be factors of great economical impor- 

 tance in the near future. 



At present the dominant interest in 

 Alaska is that of gold mining. This in- 

 dustry began in 1880 in southeastern 

 Alaska, where there has been conducted 

 for thirty years the only very successful 

 lode mining in the Territory. The most 

 important of these operations is the well- 



known Treadwell mines, which is one 

 of the largest, most productive, and best 

 managed properties in the world. The 

 output of this and adjacent mines now 

 averages about $3,500,000 yearly. The 

 entire mineral yields of Alaska from 

 1868 to 1908, approximate $150,000,000, 

 of which about 30 per cent is from the 

 Pacific coast belt (most largely from 

 Treadwell mines, with about $34,000,000 

 to date) ; 3 per cent from Copper River 

 and Cook Inlet region ; 32 per cent from 

 the Yukon Basin (principally from the 

 Fairbanks district), and 35 per cent from 

 the Seward Peninsula (Nome). 



From an insignificant output of $20,000 

 in 1881, the gold yield had reached 

 $2,500,000 in 1897, P r i° r t0 the Klon- 

 dike discoveries. It rose to $8,000,000 

 in 1900 and remained almost unchanged 

 for several years, being followed by rap- 

 idly increasing amounts as follows : 1904, 

 nine millions; 1905, sixteen millions; 

 1906, twenty-two millions ; 1907, nineteen 

 millions ; and 1908, twenty millions. 



While estimates as to future gold pro- 

 ductivity are most uncertain, it appears 

 that the possible output of Seward Penin- 

 sula alone may reach in values three hun- 

 dred millions. The possible yields of the 

 Tanana watershed, as now operated, have 

 been estimated to be at least $100,000,- 

 000. Other known fields may bring the 

 possible yields of existing mining districts 

 up to the enormous sum of $500,000,000. 

 These expert opinions clearly indicate the 

 permanency of Alaska and the great im- 

 portance that gold will play therein for 

 many years. It should be borne in mind 

 that not a tenth of Alaska has been "pros- 

 pected," and that only high-grade placers 

 are worked under existing conditions. 



TOTAL PRODUCTS OF ALASKA, 1 868 TO 1908 



The following table, compiled from the 

 most accurate sources, presents, in defi- 

 nite and concise form, the values of what 

 may be called Alaska's contributions to 

 the wealth of the world, it being confined 

 entirely to export shipments from 

 Alaska : 



