The tundra moss-covered regions, suitable for reindeer grazing, prevail throughout the whole western coast country, and, in the interior, for many miles, nutritious grass and moss are everywhere found in abundance.

CHAPTER IV

THE

MINERAL AND TIMBER

HE first discovery of gold in South-east Alaska was near Sitka, in the year 1873. It excited much interest in the small settlements throughout the southeastern coast, and prospecting soon commenced in earnest. Miners from the old Cassiar region in British Columbia, and North-west Territory, began to push forward into Alaska, and, in the summer of 1880, gold was discovered in the vicinity of Juneau. From this date may be reckoned the developments that have reached such large proportions and drawn the attention of the whole mining interests in America to our Alaska possessions.

The little Indian settlement at the head of Gastineau Channel, which had rarely seen a white man, was soon enlivened by the tents and rude huts of the miners, which were scattered along the coast for many miles; and back into the interior went prospectors, singly, and in parties of three or more, in search of gold, as very strong indications led them to believe it lay somewhere in this vicinity.

Joseph Juneau was the first man to demonstrate the existence of gold in this district in any considerable quantities. During the early days of the settlement