ALASKA AS IT WAS AND IS. 
147 
these have been started, and the multitudinous islands offer 
opportunities for many more; but the business is hazardous, 
since there is no protection against poachers, and a very ill- 
judged attempt has been made by the Treasury, I am in¬ 
formed, to impose, in addition to the annual sum for which 
the island is leased, a “ tax ” of $5 on each fox killed over 
twenty from each “ farm.” It is doubtful if the Treasury is 
entitled to tax anybody without the explicit authority of 
Congress, and a tax of 50 per cent, on the gross value of the 
product not only is oppressive and exorbitant, but will put 
a stop to a business which should be encouraged. 
The timber of Alaska, though by no means,insignificant, 
is not likely to be much sought for, except for local purposes, 
for many years. I may point out, however, that there are 
millions of acres here densely covered with the spruce best 
suited for wood pulp, and plenty of water power for pulp- 
mills, so that this resource is not without a future. 
A forthcoming report of the United States Geological 
Survey will treat of the existing and prospective mining 
industries. 
To sum up, it may be said that the whaling and sealing 
industries of Alaska are practically exhausted, the fur trade 
is in its decadence, the salmon canning in the full tide of 
prosperity, but conducted in a wasteful and destructive man¬ 
ner which cannot long be continued with impunity. The 
cod and herring fisheries are imperfectly developed, but 
have a substantial future with proper treatment. Mineral 
resources and timber have hardly been touched. No busi¬ 
ness-like experiment with sheep or cattle on the islands has 
been tried by competent hands, while the introduction of 
reindeer, though promising well, is still in the experimental 
stage. Socially, the territory is in a transition state, the 
industries of the unexploited wilderness are passing away, 
while the time of steady, business-like development of the 
more latent resources has not yet arrived. The magnificent 
scenery, glaciers, and volcanoes make it certain that Alaska 
will in the future be to the rest of the United States what Nor- 
21 -Bull. Phil. Soc. Wash., Vol. 13. 
