(i 6) 
An interesting feature connected with the Coast range is the oc¬ 
casional presence of glaciers in the mountain gorges. Generally 
they are not of great magnitude, but an exception occurs in the 
vicinity of Mt. Crillon where may be seen a glacier apparently 
several miles in breadth and many hundred feet in thickness. 
From the sea it is an unusually interesting sight. 
For convenience of description the Territory is divided into 
three districts—the Yukon, Aleutian and Sitka districts. 1 The 
Yukon district is that large portion of the Territory north of the 
Alaskan Mountains, west of the boundary line, south of the 
Arctic Ocean and east of Behring Sea and Strait. 
The Aleutian district includes the Alaskan Mountains and the 
peninsula with its numerous islands extending south and west. 
The Sitka district is the remaining portion of the Territory ex¬ 
tending south and east. 
The object of greatest interest in Alaska proper is the Yukon 
River, whose magnitude has invariably increased with the report 
of each successive explorer. It is now believed to be the third or 
fourth great river of the world. It has its origin in lakes and 
tributaries in British America north of the Sitka district, from 
which point it can be entered and descended to its mouth in Nor¬ 
ton Sound. 
Other large rivers are the Stikine, Chilkat, Copper, Sushitna, 
Nushagak, Colville, Porcupine, Pelly and Kuskokwim, the last 
being next in size to the Yukon. 
The following public announcement by one of our most distin¬ 
guished citizens may with probability be regarded as expressing 
the sentiment of a majority of our people : u The Territory of 
Alaska is the most worthless of our possessions and has served 
no other purpose than to satisfy an unreasonable desire for empire. ” 
Let us glance at such information respecting our much neglected 
territorial extension as we possess and can be embraced in a paper 
of this length, before accepting as altogether just the above severe 
and emphatic denunciation. If the Territory of Alaska is pre¬ 
judged, and our impressions change with contact and develop¬ 
ment, it will not be the first instance in the history of this and 
other countries. That deception of this character has occurred, it 
is only necessary to recall that it is recorded as a statement in 
