lowland, which is clear of underbrush and trees. Among the annual productions of the colony, in the official report of the Committee on the Colonies to the Emperor of Russia (St. Petersburg, 1863) are enumerated 108,000 pounds of salted meat, 170 casks of potatoes, 150 of turnips, and 180 casks of berries. Dr. Kellogg says of Kadiák: "Various herbs and grasses clothe the mountains to their summits. The summer climate here, unlike that of Sitka, is sufficiently fine for haying. We saw many mown valleys, from which a good supply of hay from the native grasses had been secured. The cattle were fat, and milk was abundant. The butter was yellow and appeared remarkably rich, though of a disagreeable flavor, which might be owing to the manner of making." The potatoes were better than at Sitka, but do not attain. a very large size. It has already been mentioned that the cattle distributed to the natives by the Russian American Company did very well in Cook's Inlet. The Inlet freezes in winter as far west as the mouth of Chugáchik Bay.

The great agricultural staple of the southern Sitkan district is timber. I enumerate the forest trees in the order of their value. Yellow Cedar (C. Nutkatensis, Spach.). — This is the most valuable wood on the Pacific coast. It combines a fine, close texture with considerable hardness, extreme durability, and pleasant fragrance. "For boat-building it is unsurpassed, from its lightness, toughness, ease of workmanship, and great durability." (Kellogg).

The forests of Puget Sound, which have been mentioned as more accessible than the Alaskan timber, are rapidly falling under the axe of the woodsman. Most of the more adjacent timber is already cut, and logs have now to be hauled some distance to the mills. The Puget Sound timber, as ship-building material, is far inferior to the yellow cedar. The latter is peculiar to Alaska, and the only good ship-timber on the Pacific coast. The high rates and short terms of insurance, on vessels built of Oregon pine, show its inferiority better than any amount of argument. The cedar somewhat resembles boxwood in texture and color, and has an agreeable odor. It is familiar to many, under the name of "camphor wood," in the shape of Chinese boxes.

"After ascending for some distance the mountain-side of the island of Sitka," says Mertens, the botanist, in a letter to a friend

at St. Petersburg, "the wood, which appears in increased denseness before us, consists particularly of a noble cedar. This is the timber most valued here. It occurs farther down, where the more predominant spruce-trees conceal it from view; but here it constitutes almost the entire timber." From its agreeable perfume, it is known to the Russians as "dúshnik," or scent-wood. This is the wood formerly exported to China, and returned to us famous for excluding moths, &c. In repairing old Fort Simpson, a stick of this cedar,* among the spruce timbers used for underpinning, was found to be the only sound log, after twenty-one years' trial. A wreck on the beach at Sitka, originally constructed of this timber, thirty-two years after is as sound as the day it was built; even the iron bolts are not corroded. A piece of this wreck is now in the office of the United States Coast Survey, at Washing

ton.

Sitka Spruce or White Pine (Abies Sitkensis, Bong.).— This tree is well known in the lumber trade of the coast, attains a large size, and is noteworthy from its straight and tapering trunk. The wood is not so durable as the last-named, but is available for many purposes. It is found near the water's edge in great profusion throughout the Alexander Archipelago.

Hemlock (Abies Mertensiana, Bong.). The timber of this species is often confounded with that of the preceding and more durable spruce, by lumber dealers, who style them both "Sitka pine." It is much larger in its growth than the next species, but has been considered a variety by some botanists.

Balsam Fir (Abies Canadensis, Michx.).—The timber of this tree is almost valueless, but the bark, with that of the lastnamed, is used in tanning, and the balsam in medicine and the

arts.

Scrub Pine (Pinus contorta, Dougl.). This pine seldom grows more than forty feet clear trunk, and eighteen inches in diameter. It passes north in the interior only to the junction of the Lewis or Táhco and the Pelly Rivers.

Other trees, such as the juniper, wild pear, and the like, may be of some use, but from their small size or scarcity are of little economical value.

This cedar sometimes reaches a diameter of eight feet, but a common size is three to five feet.

In Kadiák, Dr. Kellogg found the growth of timber (A. Sitkensis) confined to the eastern valleys and slopes of the island. The largest seen were three feet in diameter and ninety to one hundred feet high. In the governor's yard were masts and spars over one hundred feet in length scarcely tapering two inches in thirty or forty feet; these were from Kadiák, but many are brought in rafts from Spruce Island, ten or fifteen miles. off. The wooded district comprises the whole Alexander Archipelago and the mainland north to Lituya Bay; from this point to Prince William Sound little is known of the character or quantity of the timber, but in the latter locality, Cook's Inlet, and the entire interior, timber abounds, extending westward on to the peninsula of Aliáska and Kadiák and other islands of the Kadiák Archipelago.

General Summary. While in the Yukon Territory we cannot look for self-supporting agricultural districts, nor reasonably expect any one to obtain a subsistence by farming alone; still, the settler called there to develop the resources of the country, be they lumber, fish, or furs, may have milk in his tea, and fresh vegetables on his table, if he possess the energy and knowledge to make the most of his opportunities. It will not be necessary for him to rely on the products of the chase alone, if he will but take the necessary care to provide shelter for his cattle, and to cut and gather for their winter fodder the perennial grasses which cover the prairies and lowlands.

In the Aleutian District is situated the larger proportion of the arable land of the territory of Alaska. In this and in the northern part of the Sitkan District the climatic conditions are the most favorable for agriculture in the territory. Their resemblance to the conditions which prevail in Northwestern Scotland and its islands has been already demonstrated at length; and the capability of this district for agriculture may therefore be reasonably inferred. Oats and barley, possibly wheat and rye, may succeed on these islands. Their abundant capacity for producing root crops of good quality, except perhaps potatoes, may be considered as settled. That cattle will do well there, there is no doubt, and the Pacific slope may yet derive its best butter and cheese from the Aleutian and northern Sitkan districts. Sheep, goats, and swine have not been thoroughly tried as yet, but the

inference is that they also would succeed. Most of the berries found in the Yukon Territory are also common to the Aleutian District, and the climate, unless from its moisture, presents no obstacles to the success of some kinds of fruit-trees. It is to be hoped, at least, that some one will try the experiment.

These islands, Kadiák, and Cook's Inlet are unquestionably the best agricultural country in our new possessions.

The resources of the southern Sitkan District lie apparently entirely in its timber. This is unquestionably needed on the Pacific coast, and a most valuable acquisition. No better lumbering district can be imagined, with water transportation everywhere, and mountain-sides so steep that a slide- easily made, of the least valuable timber-will conduct the logs directly to the water-side. Some vegetables, in the future as in the past, will be raised, and some stock kept in this part of Alaska, but probably never to any great extent.

Many reports may be found in circulation, even in official documents, in regard to Alaska, having very little foundation. While Massachusetts, since her settlement, has never exported any products of her soil except granite and ice, we may look in less than two hundred and fifty years to receive from Alaska supplies of ship-timber, butter, cheese, wool, mutton, and beef; and perhaps more palatable fruits may take the place of the well-flavored cranberries which have already found their way to San Francisco markets.

UNTIL

CHAPTER V.

Geology and Mineral Resources.

NTIL a very recent date all the known facts in regard to the geology and mineralogy of Alaska were presented in the admirable work of Grewingk, and were due to the researches of the naturalists connected with the various exploring expeditions, or to the collections of Doróshin, Wossnéssensky, and others employed by the Russian authorities. Owing to the recent investigations of Whitney, Newberry, Heer, Kennicott, and the Scientific Corps of the Telegraph Expedition, our knowledge has been much increased, though a wide field still remains open for further investigation.

Much light has been, and doubtless will continue to be, thrown on the geology of the extreme northwest, from explorations in more southern latitudes, as a considerable parallelism must exist if we assume the coeval elevation of the northern and the southern portions of the different ranges.

Most geologists agree in referring the elevation of the Rocky Mountains to the Triassic period. There seems to be no reason why the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges should not be included in this generalization.

On the banks of the Porcupine River, near the boundary line, Robert Kennicott and the Rev. W. W. Kirkby obtained fossil corals and molluscan remains, referred by Mr. F. B. Meek to the Devonian age (Hamilton group). On the Arctic coast the summit of Cape Lisburne afforded Tubiporites and Encrinites, referred to the Carboniferous age by Buckland. Cape Thompson, on the same authority, contained madrepores and other corals, polyzoa, Productus, and other molluscan remains. The Carboniferous limestone from this locality, according to Grewingk, is almost entirely composed of the encrinites. At Cape Beaufort a vein of true Carboniferous coal was discovered near the shore. In