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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



ing increasing appropriations for the con- 

 struction of roads, appropriations to date 

 amounting to $1,000,000. The most im- 

 portant road constructed follows the 

 U. S. Signal Corps telegraph line from 

 Valdez, which is open to shipping 

 throughout the entire year, to Fairbanks, 

 at the head of navigation on the Tanana 

 River. General Greely states that prac- 

 tically the entire route of 385 miles "is 

 settled, though sparsely, and road houses 

 are situated at intervals of ten to twenty 

 miles where most comfortable accommo- 

 dations are found. Many of these enter- 

 prising proprietors have made homestead 

 entries, are keeping stock, growing grain 

 fodder, and raising vegetables, which are 

 often abundant and excellent." Heavy 

 freight can pass over the road in winter 

 only, but in summer buckboard or light- 

 wheeled vehicles can travel three-quarters 

 of the distance. 



The author gives an interesting descrip- 

 tion of the flagging of 500 miles of 

 winter trails in the bleak and treeless 

 tundra country of Seward Peninsula. 

 Slight sticks, provided with red flannel 

 flags, planted in the snow from fifty to 

 one hundred yards apart, prevent the be- 

 wildered traveler from wandering from 

 the trail and perishing in the winter bliz- 

 zards. 



Chapter VIII will be a revelation to 

 those who think that the only vegetables 

 found in Alaska are canned. "While 

 the Seward Peninsula and the Arctic 

 coast have no agricultural possibilities, 

 yet considerable parts of the Yukon 

 Basin are suitable for gardening to a de- 

 gree astonishing to one uninformed. The 

 best known instance of successful farm- 

 ing is that at the Holy Cross Mission on 

 the Yukon, in 62 0 N. Here cattle have 

 been raised for ten years or more and the 

 products of the 40 acres of land under 

 cultivation excite surprise in every vis- 

 itor. At Cold foot, within the Arctic Cir- 

 cle, potatoes, cabbages, turnips, rhubarb, 

 etc., are grown of large size and good 

 flavor. Truck gardening and hay farm- 

 ing are flourishing industries in the lower 

 Tanana Valley, where it is claimed that 

 30,000 acres of land have been home- 

 steaded." As the farmer gets $80 to 



$100 a ton for baled hay and potatoes 

 bring from six to eight cents a pound, 

 the successful Alaskan gardener makes 

 more money than the miner. 



In a chapter on mining the statement 

 is made that the mineral output of the 

 territory from 1880 to 1908 has been 

 $148,000,000, of which $142,000,000 were 

 in gold. Not far from 11,000 men are 

 engaged in gold mining and prospecting. 

 The coal deposits are extensive and of 

 great value, covering a known area of 

 12,600 square miles. These coal lands 

 were withdrawn from location by Presi- 

 dent Roosevelt in 1907 to prevent mo- 

 nopoly, and entries can now be made 

 only in limited quantities. Realistic de- 

 scriptions are given of the prosperous 

 communities of Nome, Fairbanks, etc., 

 and the assertion is made that the gold 

 production of the Tanana Valley is far 

 from having reached its maximum. 



Equally instructive chapters describe 

 the fisheries, the mountains, the inhabit- 

 ants, the glaciers, and the game of 

 Alaska. The salmon and cod fisheries 

 alone have contributed harvests worth 

 $92,000,000. Speaking of the introduc- 

 tion of reindeer into Alaska to prevent 

 the extermination of the natives by star- 

 vation, General Greely says : "This ac- 

 tion, inspired by Dr. Sheldon Jackson, 

 promises in its results to be the most im- 

 portant benefit ever accorded the natives 

 by the United States." Many of the big 

 game are already nearly extinct. In 

 1907 only nineteen walrus hides were 

 shipped out of Alaska, whereas ten 

 years ago at least ten thousand walrus 

 were annually killed in its waters. The 

 game laws for Alaska, passed by Con- 

 gress in 1908, it is believed, will afford 

 some protection to game. 



General Greely concludes the volume 

 with useful tables, giving dates of his- 

 torical interest, the mean temperature of 

 various centers, the gold production by 

 districts, the fur seal skins obtained from 

 all waters of Alaska, the names of the 

 glaciers, of the principal mountains and 

 volcanoes, the value of the output of the 

 salmon and cod fisheries, and the total 

 products of Alaska classified from 1868 

 to 1908. G. H. G. 



