From the collection of the
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ALASKA TODAY
Juneau, the capital of Alaska, is situated on narrow Gas-
tineau Channel. Here is the Alaska Historical Library and
Museum, with its many interesting exhibits, and the great
Alaska Juneau gold mine. The bridge leads to Douglas.
(Courtesy Alaska Steamship Co.)
Alaska Today
by B. W. Dentson
AND ASSOCIATES
The CAXTON PRINTERS, Ltd.
CALDWELL, IDAHO
1949
Foreword
THIS is a book for persons who believe that life in a new
environment may offer more opportunity than their present one.
Alaska unquestionably is a land of opportunity for people of
initiative and energy for the simple reason that in Alaska the pro-
portion of area and resources to population is greater than in any
other division of the United States.
Proof of this is found in these pages. Specific illustrations of suc-
cessful careers are given in Chapter 24, "Who's Who in Alaska."
In studying these biographical sketches, the reader will readily per-
ceive that so-called pioneer life in America's last frontier is merely
active participation in recognized pursuits common to any indus-
trial, agricultural, or urban community in the States.
Evidence of a new and stronger economy in Alaska is indicated
by the initiative and activity of its residents in many phases of
economic life, such as ground and air transportation, enlarged
tourist facilities, and the lumber industry. These are all favorable
signs, pointing to the day when Alaska's economy will be controlled
by its permanent residents with lessening control by "outside"
interests and capital.
Alaska is a good place, a country of opportunity for anyone
willing to work wholeheartedly for the development of the land
of his choice.
E. L. Bartlett
Congressional Delegate for Alaska
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENT v
FOREWORD vii
1 THE LIVING LAND i
2 COME AND GET IT! 7
3 DIVIDED LIKE GAUL 15
4 PEOPLE AND PASTIMES 24
5 THE COST OF LIVING *3
6 THE ALASKA HIGHWAY 39
7 A COUNTRY ON WINGS 57
8 FARMING 69
9 GREEN PASTURES 89
10 CASH CROP NO. i 9<$
1 1 WILDLIFE by Frank Dufresne 1 3 2
12 FUR FARMS 149
13 THE SILVER MILLIONS by Ward T. Bower 159
14 A COLOSSAL INDUSTRY 168
15 THE FOREST PRIMEVAL 177
1 6 MINING 190
1 7 MEAT FOR THE WOLVES 203
1 8 THE HOME OF MILADY'S SEAL COAT
by Edward C. Johnston 2 1 4
19 ALASKA'S ROADS 226
20 RAILROADS AND RIVERS 240
21 A HOME FOR THE ASKING 248
22 THE NATIVE 256
23 ALASKA'S SCHOOLS 275
24 WHO'S WHO IN ALASKA 290
25 SOURDOUGH SECURITY 316
26 GOVERNMENT AND TAXES 323
27 THE DISCOVERY AND HISTORY OF ALASKA
by William H. Haas 336
INDEX 357
List of Illustrations and Maps
PAGE
Juneau, the capital city of Alaska Frontispiece
Klahini River, Tongass National Forest 3
Part of the herd of Alaska's buffalo 5
Alaska's ubiquitous porcupine 9
Glacier Highway, leading out of Juneau 1 1
Forest ranger scaling a raft of spruce logs . 1 3
Alaska, transposed on a map of the United States 16
Pastoral scene of river flats near Juneau 18
Taku, one of Alaska's largest glaciers 20
A typical beach garden in southeastern Alaska 2 1
Eskimo skin jumping; a favorite sport 25
The Douglas ski bowl, near Juneau 27
A typical Alaska dog team 30
Owner of Salmon Creek farm, dressing broilers 34
Women showing rabbits raised for meat market 37
Scale map of the Alaska Highway 40
Robert Service, poet of the Yukon, in front of cabin 43
Whitehorse, prosperous center of gold rush days 45
Temporary bridge across Peace River, Alaska Highway 47
Temporary bridge made permanent on highway 48
Army engineers rescue ditched truck 52
Novel system of loading truck on the highway 54
Map of Alaska aviation fields 58
Shipping ton of butter clams by aeroplane 6 1
Navy Seabees' plane landed at oil reserve 64
Seabees leveling ground on Adak Island 66
Large strawberry vines near Juneau 70
Native Indian boy displaying huge rutabagas 73
Map of main agricultural regions 75
xi
XU LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
PAGE
The "Butte" district, Matanuska Valley 77
Farm view, taken near Fairbanks 79
Experimental farm at the University of Alaska 8 1
Tenth anniversary celebration, Matanuska farm colony 83
Typical cabin, built at opening of Matanuska colony 85
Garden patch at Auke Bay ranch, near Juneau 87
Alaskan sheep; photo by Mr. Anderson, Farm Security
Administration 90
Dairy cattle grazing on flats near Mendenhall Glacier 91
Butchering Aleutian sheep by band saw 93
U. S. Navy men on Adak Island, Aleutians 94
Alaska Steamship Co. boat in the Wrangell Narrows 97
Ketchikan, known as Alaska's "first city" 99
Totem poles, rejuvenated by U. S. Forest Service 101
Rainbow trout caught in Ketchikan area 102
Petersburg, one of the principal fishing towns 103
Map of Ketchikan recreation area 105
Baranof Hotel at Juneau 108
Map, Glacier Highway recreation area in
Skagway, famous seaport on the Lynn Canal 1 1 3
Cordova, a city visited by many tourists 1 1 5
Valdez, coastal terminus of the Richardson Highway 1 1 8
Wrangell, important town in southeastern Alaska 1 19
Seward, coast terminus of the Alaska Railroad 1 20
Map, Cook Inlet, Anchorage and Chugach Mountains 1 2 2
Map of Kenai Peninsula and Gulf of Alaska 1 2 3
Anchorage, Alaska's largest and leading city 1 2 5
View of Mt. McKinley across Wonder Lake 1 26
Pacific kittiwakes photographed at Walrus Island 133
Observatory built for safe view of bears 136
Alaska's famed wild Dall sheep 1 37
Band of caribou swimming across the Yukon River 1 39
Muskox, once common animal in Alaska 141
Short-tailed albatross, photographed in Aleutians 142
California murres, summer nester in western Alaska 143
Tufted puffin, strange bird found in Aleutians 1 44
The rock ptarmigan, valuable food source in Alaska 145
Avaricious bald eagle, not liked very well in Alaska 147
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS Xlll
PAGE
Feeding blue foxes on an island ranch 1 5 1
Typical fur farm in Tongass National Forest 152
Prize male mink, product of Yukon Fur Farms 155
Salmon leaping over falls en route to spawning ground 160
Fishing for salmon with a purse sein 162
Unloading salmon from scow at Ketchikan 1 64
Boys repairing fishing nets at cannery, Annette Island 166
Vincent Creed, displaying giant king crab 171
Herring purse sein boats at Crab Bay, Alaska 175
Native spruce trees, Bond Bay, Tongass National Forest 179
Aerial view of main camp of Alaska Spruce Log Program 1 80
Sitka spruce logs en route to Puget Sound mills 182
Floating camp used by Alaskan lumbermen 1 8 3
Typical mountain lake, revealing Alaska's waterpower sites 1 84
Map of southeastern Alaska, showing principal timber areas 187
Dredge working for platinum ore 191
Map of mining areas in the Alaska Railroad belt 192
Alaska Juneau gold mine, one of the world's largest 195
Sourdough panning for gold in a mountain stream 197
Thawing frozen gravel beds by means of pipes 199
Huge drill rig used by Seabees on oil reserve . 201
J. Sidney Rood, long time reindeer supervisor in Alaska 204
Hornless reindeer; head held by two Eskimos 206
Reindeer grouped in large range corral 207
Herding reindeer to chutes by use of long blankets 210
Wolves killed from an airplane to protect reindeer 2 1 2
Part of huge fur-seal herd on St. Paul beach 2 1 5
Six "wives," in a typical seal harem 221
Aleut workers removing seal blubber, St. Paul Island 224
Map of principal Alaska road system 228
Hazardous work on the Richardson Highway 230
Looking west on Glenn Highway; Matanuska River at left 233
Grading on the Glenn Highway, near Palmer 234
Clearing ice in Thompson Pass, Richardson Highway 235
Stretch of rolling road on Haines cut-off (highway) 237
Loading freight on the dock at Whittier 242
Diesel engines speeding supplies to interior of Alaska 245
Steamer fleet operated by the Alaska Railroad 246
XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
PAGE
Native baseball team on St. Paul Island, Pribilofs 258
Women making sea-grass baskets, Attu Island 261
George Aden Ahgupuk, Alaskan artist, and son 264
Carved ivory paper weight made by King Island Eskimos 265
Eskimo girls kissing in native style 269
Aleut boys treated on their return to Unalaska 272
Juneau grade school; homes in background 276
Indian day school, Douglas, Alaska 279
Students preparing salmon for use in Eklutna school 282
Indian boys carving miniature totem poles 284
Aerial view of the University of Alaska at College 286
Nellie Neal La wing and Harriet S. Pullen 293
Governor Ernest Gruening and Earl N. Ohmer 297
B. Frank Heintzleman and Judge Anthony J. Dimond 300
Col. O. F. Ohlson and Frank Dufresne 303
Cap Austin E. Lathrop and Dr. Charles E. Bunnell 306
Edward L. Bartlett and Kenneth E. O'Harra 309
Noel Wien, early day aviator of Alaska, and his plane 3 1 2
Lew M. Williams, Secretary of Alaska 3 1 3
The Pioneers' Home at Sitka 3 17
Sitka, the former capital under Russian rule 338
Old Russian log fortress at Sitka 341
William Henry Seward who negotiated for purchase of
Alaska 342
Miners returning to Seattle with "a ton of gold" 344
The steamer Excelsior starting for the Klondike 347
Front page of Klondike News, published at Dawson in 1898 349
Old-time steamer towing miners' scows up Yukon River 352
Facsimile of poster advertising route to gold fields 354
o ~
CHAPTER I
The Living Land
THE END of World War II saw Alaska "standing at the
opening verse of the opening page of the chapter of endless pos-
sibilities." By the grim magic of war, the erstwhile Cinderella of
Empire had been transformed into a princess, tendering her favors
her wealth of resources to a battle-scarred but ambitious post-
war world.
Her own wounds had not healed. Per capita, Alaska lost more
sons in the air, on the sea, in the jungles of Guadalcanal, and in
the foxholes of the Aleutians than did any other part of the United
States. At Okinawa she lost her greatest defender, Lieut. Gen.
Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., who previously had left his native Ken-
tucky in favor of the "Great Land."
Alaska did not complain about her sacrifices. Instead, year after
year, she exceeded her quota for war bonds by a higher mark than
most sections of the American empire. Emerging from a static
prewar condition, Alaska gave evidence that she is inhabited by
a virile people who were determined to follow through on war-
time development of the country. Washington politicos took cog-
nizance of that determination. Congressional committees and de-
partment heads toured the Territory, discovering potentialities that
the sourdoughs, for seventy-five years, had been heralding and
struggling to develop.
Not all of Alaska's influential visitors conceded that she is ready
for statehood; sparse permanent population and lack of territorial
revenue were cited as reasons for withholding the recommenda-
tion that would set in motion machinery leading to statehood.
But it is the consensus of the highest national authorities that Alaska
has demonstrated her ability to become one of the most useful par-
ticipants in the Union.
I
2 ALASKA TODAY
Regardless of dissenters, the day is not far off, as time is measured
by men of vision, when that part of the continent north of 54 40'
will rank high in agriculture and manufacture of essential indus-
trial products as well as in fishing, mining, forestry, and furs. It is
even possible that there is more wealth of natural resources in
Alaska than in all the land south of the old Mason and Dixon's line.
Alaska may be producing coal when Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and
Illinois are scraping the bottom of the bin. The hidden mineral
wealth of the Northland is an enigma as yet unsolved but, on the
basis of what has already been disclosed, the speculative balance is
on its side.
In only a few years, Alaska has proved that she can yield ores
found nowhere else in North America. Some minerals recently
discovered have been known heretofore only in remote corners of
the Old World. Virtually all the platinum mined under the Amer-
ican flag comes from one little sector of northwestern Alaska.
Jade, formerly considered indigenous only to China, is being taken
out of the valley of the Kobuk River in great quantities.
In the bare stretches of the Arctic are small lakes of pure seepage
oil. Although seepage oil does not always indicate deep subsurface
oil, experts declare there is plenty to be found. The United States
Navy owns 35,000 square miles of land of which these potential
oil fields are a part and has controlled the reserve for twenty-two
years. Recent drilling for oil has received encouraging reports.
Alaska is without steel mills but there is no reason to doubt that
she will have them. Near the point where the Alaska Highway
leaves Canada for United States territory, according to Father Ber-
nard R. Hubbard, the "glacier priest" who for twenty-six years
has explored all parts of Alaska, there is a mountain on the Alaska
side which contains heavy deposits of manganese ore.
This intrepid Jesuit priest, whose knowledge of Alaska neither
scientists nor old-time sourdoughs question, is definitely enthu-
siastic about many of its phases. He has done as much to publicize,
at his expense, the vast possibilities of Alaska as has its press and
its development board. To millions of Americans in the last six
months of the war, Father Hubbard pictured, in brilliant techni-
color, the Territory's outstanding possibilities and achievements.
In his latest film, he showed farm scenes that would stir the heart
of any agriculturist: cabbages so big that an eight-year-old child
A solid mass of trees on either side of the mouch of the
Klahini River, Burroughs Bay, Tongass National Forest.
(Courtesy Pulp and Paper Industry Magazine US Forest
Service.)
could scarcely lift them; strawberry plants as high as the child's
waist; potatoes in fields that yield 15 to 20 tons an acre!
West Coast farmers consider these "spuds" the best obtainable
anywhere as seed potatoes. They have bought the entire output
of the experiment station at the University of Alaska and two po-
tato specialists have sent scouts among Alaskan farmers to buy up
all available stock.
These are not myths. The camera does not lie. Nor does per-
sonal investigation of Alaska's increasing agricultural ventures and
its growing markets coincide with reports of the hardships and
difficulties that beset the Alaskan farmer. Understatement of the
Territory's agricultural potentialities as well as overstatements con-
cerning the hazards of marketing produce have deterred farm set-
tlement in Alaska. Improvement in roads and airplane transporta-
tion and particularly the rapid development of cold storage facili-
ties have had insufficient publicity.
Nature molded Alaska to be one of the greatest of fur-producing
countries. Early Russian explorers spurned the Territory's gold;
mining was forbidden because it was believed to interfere with
3
4 ALASKA TODAY
the fur industry. Prior to the war, there were 300 licensed fur
farmers in Alaska, 12,000 in Norway and Sweden. But the Scan-
dinavian countries, including Finland, are not so large as Alaska,
nor do they produce fur of as good a quality. Just before World
War II, Alaskan mink pelts sold in London for a fourth more than
did those from Scandinavia or Greenland. Land for fur ranches in
Alaska can be obtained for very little money. Some is free. Fish,
the chief food of -pen-raised mink and foxes, is more plentiful here
than anywhere else. Marketing of pelts and breeding stock has
been simplified by expansion of air transport and by reduction in
air express rates.
Alaska's forests, of spruce, hemlock, and cedar, covering 30,000
square miles of virgin territory, can supply, in perpetuity, one-
fourth the pulp needed for newsprint in all the United States. At
present the United States is buying one-half its newsprint from
Canada. Because in the past it has been considered less costly to
cut and process timber in Canada than in Alaska, the conclusion
does not follow that such a condition will always prevail. In-
creased permanent population in Alaska should make labor a re-
liable factor, more plentiful, and possibly cheaper than labor im-
ported from the States. Lumbering has never progressed in Alaska,
partly because of the high cost of transporting labof.
So far as the relative location of forests and water transporta-
tion is concerned, and the abundant natural forces for power-
swift streams and falls Alaska is conceded to be favored. In two
of the war years it was demonstrated that moving spruce timber
from Alaska to Puget Sound for use in the manufacture of air-
planes was practicable and profitable, as well as necessary. For cer-
tain purposes, Alaska's Sitka spruce is better timber than almost
any found in Canada east of the Rockies. There are large quanti-
ties of the cheaper kinds of wood used for pulp and there seems
little doubt that the industry will soon find a way to make the
handling of it feasible.
The broad picture of Alaska is one that can be viewed only
through the eyes of prophets men of vision and faith. The North-
land is the personification of power. Down its mountains rush
streams that will eventually turn the wheels of great industries
at low cost. The earth's surface, its subsoil, its natural channels for
transportation and the airways above are a challenge to man's
THE LIVING LAND
. oi'O- ^ U - '.
5
Part of the herd of buffalo that have increased from 23 to
more than 400 on Alaska's luxuriant grass. (Courtesy Fish
and Wildlife Service.)
ingenuity. His petty triumph over nature is still in an embryonic
stage. As his knowledge and enterprise advance, he will have to go
far to find a more fertile field for them than the Great Land.
Many scientists envision the Northland as "the Living Land."
Inherently, disease of both man and mammal seems less prevalent
in colder climates than in warmer ones. In fact, many of the ail-
ments of the northern natives were brought from warmer zones
by white men. The virgin North today is beckoning to man, in-
viting him to face its challenge and seize the opportunities it offers.
And it is not a defiant challenge. Life in Alaska is not one long
battle against a hostile wilderness, as it frequently has been painted.
There are vast stretches of earth whose surface has scarcely been
scratched by humans. This is an appealing feature to some; to
others it is not. For those who want some civilization mingled with
their pioneering efforts, Alaska's towns offer as much inducement
6 ALASKA TODAY
as similar towns in the United States. Robert Service's old dogma
that one must be a superman to thrive in the North has long been
discounted. "That surely the Weak shall perish, and only the Fit
survive" might just as well have been written of New York or any
other place as of the Yukon. Under the impetus of the struggle
to preserve mankind and to maintain a friendly world, the real
Alaska has finally become known to the world. As a result, the
population will probably increase from thousands to millions.
Aside from the universal tragedy of war, in which she shared
heavily, the Great Land was definitely benefited through war ac-
tivities. The two billion dollars or more which the United States
spent in Alaska had a salutary as well as a protective effect. It
opened new highways and harbors; built bridges, tunnels, airports,
communication channels; made vital improvements on the Alaska
Railroad; trebled agricultural production; utilized the Territory's
vast forests; and developed new enterprises in mining and fisheries.
In short, war set Alaska on her feet economically.
Important alike to Alaskans and newcomers, the Territory's high
cost-of-living specter was gone with the wind. The Office of Price
Administration was partly responsible, but competition between
the States and home industry proved a strong factor in lowering
prices. Almost everything but wages came down in price. Food
and drink were cheaper; rents were equalized; coal and gasoline
costs were reduced. Even liquor prices were set at a sane level.
Airplane transportation rates to the Territory, and within it,
were cut for both freight and passengers. Boats, planes, new stream-
lined buses, and the rejuvenated railroad competed.
Ghost towns were reborn and became thriving villages.
Overnight, Alaska became a good place to live.
Indicative of the interest in Alaska is the fact that the War De-
partment published an educational manual called the G.7. Round-
table. Subjects discussed were: "Should I go to Alaska? Should I
take my family? How do I get there? What kind of climate does
Alaska have? Who built Alaska? How is it governed? How do
Alaskans make a living? Women in Alaska; education and health;
entertainment and amusement; religious and social life; transporta-
tion and communication; Alaska's neighbors; Alaska's future."
It is the aim of this book to answer similar questions now being
asked by thousands of civilians.
CHAPTER 2
Come and Get It!
IF YOU are a pioneer at heart and are willing to work
hard for your just reward of health, happiness, and fortune, come
and get it\
These words, in effect, are the message of the Alaska Develop-
ment Board created by the legislature as the era of postwar progress
approached.
The new group, composed of one representative from each of
Alaska's four judicial divisions with the governor as a fifth mem-
ber and chairman, went into action at once. Its motto is: "Do some-
thing then do something more; let others take care of the plan-
ning." In a prepared statement as. to what awaited newcomers, it
declared, "There is ample opportunity for livelihood and for a suc-
cessful future, provided one is a hustler."
The board emphasized that both old and young were welcome
to Alaska. Apparently age is no handicap, for many untired old
men are at .the helm of important affairs. The future forty-ninth
state has high regard for experience. Its richest man, who made
four or five millions without digging for gold, is eighty. Alaska's
best-known leader in the fishing industry is sixty-three. The man
who ran the Alaska Railroad for eighteen years became a colonel
in World War I. Foremost pioneers in the mining industry are
well advanced in age.
After stating a preference for pioneers with brain and brawn
and the desire to use them, the development board mentioned that
a well-filled wallet might aid in some fields. To such adventurers
Alaska's invitation read, not "Come and get it" but "Come and
bring it!" Prospective settlers were warned that fortunes were not
likely to be made overnight. They were cautioned against an-
other rush like that of 1898, which netted hardship as well as gold.
7
8 ALASKA TODAY
Interested persons were advised to write to acquaintances in Alaska
or, in lieu of that, to correspond with chambers of commerce. Bet-
ter still, they were invited to "come up and look the field over."
Any pioneer venture into the Great Land will be aided by exam-
ining the results of personal investigations, but a summary of the
development board's findings may also be helpful.
The development board foresaw openings "through expansion
of current industry and development of new." Agricultural call-
ingsdairying, truck gardening, poultry and rabbit raising, and
general farming will prove profitable.
The recreational field, in view of the certain rush of postwar
visitors, offers opportunities to those who like to operate resorts,
dude ranches, or cheery roadside inns. Such an inn would have
wide rock fireplaces, over which would hang the heads of moose
or big-horned mountain goats. On the mantelpiece there might be
a stuffed rainbow trout, 30 inches long, while in the stream, only
a few hundred yards away, there would be a thousand like it,
alive and ready to lunge at the fisherman's lure. In the yard, shaded
by towering spruce trees, a cute little bear cub would beg for a
lump of sugar.
. There are ^Iso openings for persons who can conduct sight-
seeing tours to such historic spots as Chief Shakes' house at Wran-
gell, with its blue, red, and yellow ancestral totem poles and war
canoes. The cabin of Dan McGrew and the saloon where he was
shot by a lover of "the lady that's known as Lou" would make
good show places. But that would be stepping out of bounds, for
Dan lived across the border in Canada.
To do a good job, the new Alaskan guide would have to rehearse.