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  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  

  customed 
  to 
  the 
  great 
  crowds 
  that 
  gath- 
  

   ered 
  to 
  meet 
  us 
  that 
  we 
  took 
  it 
  as 
  a 
  matter 
  

   of 
  course. 
  The 
  very 
  evident 
  amazement 
  

   of 
  the 
  old 
  "sour-dough" 
  settlers 
  of 
  Fair- 
  

   banks, 
  however, 
  persuaded 
  us 
  that 
  avia- 
  

   tion 
  would 
  have 
  some 
  backers 
  in 
  the 
  fu- 
  

   ture, 
  once 
  they 
  had 
  fully 
  grasped 
  its 
  

   meaning. 
  

  

  They 
  could 
  not 
  believe 
  that 
  we 
  had 
  cov- 
  

   ered 
  the 
  distance 
  from 
  New 
  York 
  in 
  50 
  

   hours, 
  when 
  they 
  had 
  spent 
  18 
  or 
  20 
  

   months 
  reaching 
  there 
  by 
  way 
  of 
  the 
  

   Yukon, 
  in 
  the 
  gold-rush 
  days. 
  Letters 
  

   we 
  bore 
  to 
  them 
  from 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  the 
  

   East 
  they 
  declared 
  they 
  would 
  keep 
  al- 
  

   ways 
  as 
  souvenirs 
  of 
  our 
  visit. 
  

  

  Fairbanks 
  and 
  the 
  Tanana 
  Valley 
  were 
  

   surprising 
  to 
  us 
  by 
  reason 
  of 
  the 
  green 
  

   verdure, 
  the 
  abundant 
  crops, 
  and 
  beauti- 
  

   ful 
  flower 
  gardens 
  that 
  bloomed 
  luxu- 
  

   riantly 
  in 
  contrast 
  with 
  the 
  bleak 
  and 
  for- 
  

   bidding 
  country 
  over 
  which 
  we 
  had 
  so 
  

   recently 
  flown. 
  Here 
  enterprising 
  farmers 
  

   took 
  every 
  advantage 
  of 
  the 
  few 
  weeks 
  of 
  

   sunlight 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  and 
  their 
  crops 
  

   grew 
  with 
  great 
  rapidity. 
  Every 
  house 
  

   boasted 
  a 
  well-kept 
  garden. 
  

  

  Unlimited 
  resources 
  remain 
  undisturbed 
  

   here 
  in 
  interior 
  Alaska. 
  Not 
  gold 
  alone, 
  

   but 
  copper, 
  silver, 
  lead, 
  coal, 
  and 
  tin 
  are 
  

   found 
  in 
  seeming 
  abundance. 
  Cinnabar, 
  

   too, 
  has 
  recently 
  been 
  discovered 
  in 
  this 
  

   region. 
  

  

  As 
  we 
  flew 
  up 
  the 
  Tanana 
  toward 
  the 
  

   Yukon, 
  two 
  days 
  later, 
  we 
  saw 
  much 
  of 
  

   this 
  interesting 
  country 
  from 
  a 
  low 
  alti- 
  

   tude. 
  Though 
  few 
  landing 
  places 
  were 
  

   available, 
  we 
  felt 
  a 
  nonchalant 
  disregard 
  

   for 
  the 
  precautions 
  that 
  had 
  worried 
  us 
  

   so 
  much 
  in 
  the 
  Canadian 
  Rockies. 
  Sand- 
  

   bars 
  in 
  the 
  river 
  appeared 
  now 
  and 
  then. 
  

  

  Our 
  maps, 
  which 
  were 
  Geological 
  Sur- 
  

   vey 
  maps 
  of 
  the 
  Tanana 
  and 
  Yukon 
  val- 
  

   leys, 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  accurate. 
  

  

  We 
  flew 
  through 
  light 
  rains 
  until 
  Har- 
  

   pers 
  I 
  'end 
  was 
  reached, 
  south 
  of 
  Fort 
  

   Gibbon, 
  on 
  the 
  Tanana 
  River, 
  and 
  then 
  

   we 
  entered 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Yukon. 
  

  

  We 
  overtook 
  a 
  river-boat 
  on 
  the 
  Yu- 
  

   kon 
  and 
  were 
  tempted 
  to 
  fly 
  down 
  close 
  

   enough 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  passengers. 
  

   The 
  contrast 
  between 
  this 
  method 
  of 
  

   transportation 
  and 
  our 
  own 
  was 
  striking, 
  

   for 
  the 
  boat 
  was 
  pushing 
  three 
  barges 
  

   against 
  the 
  current 
  and 
  was 
  not 
  making 
  

   more 
  than 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  miles 
  an 
  hour. 
  

  

  