Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 220, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 September 1910 — Page 2

THE FORESTS OF ALASKA By R.S. KELLOGG, ASSISTANT U.S. FORESTER

By R.S. KELLOGG,

, Apt, HE ordinary resident of the United States has no M | conception of what Alaska! ,1. ka really Is. He has heard of the "Klondike” for the last 14 years, and he J®|T; * roa *'y thinks It is in Alaska. He has heard of * great glaciers and high mountains, and that somewhere the thermometer occasionally registers 80 degrees below zero. Beyond this his knowledge is likely to be even more fragmentary and unreliable. In reality, Alaska is on continental dimensions, and one can no more state briefly what its characteristics are than he can similarly describe those of the entire United States; yet a few words concerning its most salient features will not be amiss. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 for $7,200,000. The value of all its products since that date has. been nearly $350,000,000. It has an area of 586,000 square miles, or 375,000,000 .acres, or more than ten times

that of the Btate of Illinois. From southeastern Alaska to the end of the Aleutian islands is as far as from Savannah. Ga., to Los Angeles, Cal. Its northernmost and soutbera“tnost points are as widely separated as Canada and Mexico. Its range Of temperature is greater than that between Florida and Maine. More than one-third of this immense territory is yet but little explored. despite the many years that it has been in the possession of the United States, and despite the-actlve efforts of prospectors, of traders and

of representatives of various branches of the national government The permanent' population at the present time is estimated at some 40,000 whites and 25,000 natives; about half of the latter are Eskimo in the region adjacent to Bering sea and the Arctic ocean. The most Important product is gold, of which the output Jn 1908 was valued at more than $19,000,000. Fisheries rank second, and the salmon packed in 1908 had a value in excess of $10,000,000. Most of the internal improvements of Alaska have been made by the war department The telegraph system is constructed and operated by the signal corps, with offices at all important points. Transmission depends not only upon cable and land lines, but on high-power wireless stations as well Roads are built chiefly by the corps of engineers of the war department Railroads, except for short lines running out to a few mining camps, are utterly lacking, and the total railway mileage does not exceed 350. Transportation in summer* Is by steamboats on the larger streams and by poling boats on the smaller ones; in winter, by stages where the roads are good enough, and more generally by dog teams. Alaska has 4,000 miles of navigable rivers; without them most of the present development Would have been impossible. Alaska does not have even a territorial form of government, though during the past few years it has had a delegate in congress. Called a territory by courtesy, Its anomalous standing for years was that of a customs district. It has executive and Judicial officers appointed by the president and the senate, but no legislature; all legislation is by congress. The United States geological survey recognizes four main divisions of the surface of Alaska. These are: (1) The Pacific mountain system, which, in southeastern Alaska, is a continuation of the mountains of British Columbia, extends northwest to the Mount McKinley range, and then swings sharply to the southwest, with a prolongation far Into the Pacific ocean, represented by the Aleutian islands. (2) The central plateau region, which included most of the Yukon and Kuskokwim basins. (3) The Rocky Mountain system, which bounds the central plateau region on the north and northeast ~ (4) The Arctic slope to the northward of the Rocky mountain system. The Pacific mountain region is characterized on the coast by innumerable fiords and inlets, by deep inland passages and mountains up from tide water. In the interior it culminates in Mount McKinley, the highest point on the North American continent There is very little level land in this region, especially In the southeastern part The mountains are great masses of rock and the upper parts of them are covered with perpetual snow and ice. On the coast many glaciers reach tide water, bus in the interior thtey are confined to higher altitudes. The central plateau region Is not so much a plateau as it is a rolling hill and low mountain country with wide stream valleys. Its area nearly as great as -that of the other ~ three combined. The'raising of this region ■

ASSISTANT U«3. FORESTER^

above an earlier level has resulted in streamcutting, which obscures Its original plateau character. It Is In the extensive valleys and on the adjacent slopes of the Yukon, Tanana and, Kuskokwim rivers and their tributaries that the Interior forests reach their best development. The Rocky mountain region is a comparatively narrow elongation of the Rocky mountain system of North America, and stretches across northern Alaska nearly from east to west The mountains of this region reach a considerable though in no case a noteworthy height On their southern slope head many streams which empty into the Yukon; those on the northern slope empty into the Arctic ocean. The Arctic slope region, lying north of the Rocky mountain region, is composed of rolling tundras, in which truly Arctic conditions preyaiL It has been less explored than any othdr portion of Alaska. In giany places In the interior the postglacial silts and sands form an excellent soil, and upon them whatever future agriculture there may be in Alaska will chiefly be developed. The climate of the southern and southeastern coast region of Alaska is mild and wet The annual precipitation at Juneau and Sitka is from 80 to 90 inches. At these points the precipitation is chiefly in the form of rain, and only during a short time in the middle of the summer are there likely to be days when rain does not falL In the mountains immediately above tide water, however, the snowfall Is very great This Increases to the northward, and at Valdez a winter's snowfall of nearly* sixty feet has been recorded. The lowest temperature on record at Sitka Is 4 degrees F. below zero, and the highest 87 degrees. At Juneau the lowest record is 10 degrees below zero, and the highest 88 degrees. The Sitka temperature Is hut little cooler than that of the northern part of Puget sound or of Scotland. Sharply contrasted with the climate of southeastern and southern Alaska is that of the central plateau regions of the interior.. The Pacific mountain system cuts off the warm, moisture-laden ocean winds so that the Interior has a seml-arid continental climate subject to sudden changes and great extremes. Satisfactory records are lacking, but such as are available indicate an annual precipitation in the Yukon valley of about fifteen inches, including melted snow. As low as 80 degrees F, below zero has been registered in winter, and in the summer as high as 93 degrees. The summers are short and comparatively hot;" the winters long and intensely cold. Despite the low temperatures and long winters of the Yukon valley, there is ordinarily a good growing season of at least three months. During much of this time daylight is almost continual, and growth is rapid. This compensates in a marked degree for the shortness of the season; and since the evaporation is not great the vegetation is by no means of an arid character, notwithstanding the small precipitation. The frozen subsoil is practically impervious to water, which accumulates in poorly drained areas and causes the many swamps an,d “muskegs.” The differentiations between forest types

mountain barrier to the southern coast. On the coast of southeastern Alaska trees grow to large size; in the interior the timber is much smaller. The higher mountain ai’eas are completely above timber line. Climatic conditions in the region adjacent to Bering sea and on the Arctic slope make forest growth altogether Impossible, so there are great Btretches of tundra whose vegetation consists chiefly of moss, sedges and a few small shrubs. Moss may be said to be the garment of Alaska, and layers of it 12 to 18 Inches thick are not at all uncommon either on the coast or in the interior. It Is estimated that the total forest and woodland area of Alaska Is approximately 100,000,000 acres, or about 27 per cent, of the land surface of the territory. Of these, about 20,000,000 _ acres may constantly bear timber of sufficient siz# and density to be considered forest In the sense that much of It can be used for saw timber, while the balance, or 80,000,000 acres, Is woodland which bears some saw timber, but on which the forest Is of a smaller and more scattered character and valuable chiefly for fuel. There is not sufficient information upon which to base any satisfactory estimate of the total stand of timber In Alaska. It has been estimated, for instance that the coast forests contain 75,000,000,000 feet of merchantable saw timber, but this estimate might be much exceeded were both the 'spruce and hemlock closely utilized. More than twenty cords per acre have been cut In good stands of birch and aspen In the interior, but, on the other hand, there are large areas of black spruce that is too small to use for any purpose; so that it is still impossible to give a satisfactory estimate of the total stand. The coast forests of southeastern and southern Alaska are nearly all Included in the Tongass and Chugach National forests, which comprise 26,761,626 acres; and a large proportion of this area is forested. The species are chiefly western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), western red cedar (Thuja plicata), and yellow cedar (Chamaecynootkatensis). On the coast the timber line is low. On deer mountain at Ketchikan, for Instance, spruce saw Umber stops at about 1,500 feet, and the peak, with an elevaUon of 3,000 feet, bears only stunted black hemlock. In the coast region the stand is generally dense, and as much as 25,000 feet per acre has been estimated for considerable tracts. Sitka spruce probably averages 20 per cent of the stand, and western hemlock about 76 per cent The spruce reaches a large size, and occasionally attains diameters of more than six feet and heights of 150 feet Diameters of three to four feet are attained by western red cedar. While by far the most abundant species, Western hemlock, does not produce as large individual trees as the spruce or the cedar. " Practically the entire forest of the coast region is overmature. It has been accumulating for ages uninjured by fire or cutting. Shallow, rocky soil, steep mountain slopes, or poor drainage often prevent thrifty growth, and on such sites “stagheadedness” and decay are common. In favorable situations the rate of growth of the coast trees is fairly rapid. The following are typical; ' A western red cedar stump In good soil on

are as sharp as those between the topographic and climatic, and, of course, depend upon them. The coast forests of southern Alaska are the northernmost extension of the coast type of -Washington and British Columbia The interior forests are an extension of the Interior Canadian forests. The forests of the Susitna and Copper river basins are somewhat intermediate in character, Bince these rivers rise in the Interior and break through the

the south slope of a gorge above Ketchikan showed 235 rings. The diameter of tills stump outside the bark was 88 inchep. A 40-inch Sitka spruce stump in the same locality had 230 rings. This tree “’had been 125 feet high. Near Wrangell three Sitka spruce logs averaged 32 Inches in diameter at the butt inside the bark, with 262 annual rings. Two examples of extreme age in Sitka spruce were noted in Pqrtage bay between Petersburg and Juneau. A section of a log 54 Inches In diameter taken 25 feet above the ground had 600 rings; -another log 54 inches In"diameter 8 feet above the ground had 525 rings. Both were entirely sound. Logging in southeastern Alaska employs the crudest of methods. It Is now carried on entirely by hand, though logging machinery was used in a few earlier operations. Only the best spruce trees at the edge of tide water are cut The logs are frequently made the entire length of the tree, and are jacked, up and rolled into the water, where they are tied into rafts and towed to the sawmill by tugs. The annual lumber cut In the coast forests of Alaska Is about 27,000,000 hoard feet This consists almost entirely of spruce, since hemlock Is but little used. There are about 25 sawmills on the coast at Cordova, Douglas. Juneau, Katalla, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Seward, Sitka, Valdez, Wrangell, and other points, most of them rather crude in character and of small capacity. A large proportion of the output probably more than one-third, is used for salmon cases, and much a the best lumber goes into them. The southern and southeastern coast of Alaska has a much greater timber supply than there Is any reason to think will be needed locally for a long time to come. The permanent Industries of the region are fishing and mining. The mountainous character of the country will forever prevent agricultural operations of any magnitude. The total stumpage Is large, much of it overmature, and the proportion of hemlock too great. The

timber should be cut and utilized as soon as possible and the spruce, which is more valuable than the hemlock, should be given an opportunity to Increase. Under present conditions, with the well-known ability of the hemlock to reproduce under shade and upon decaying logs and debris, It has the advantage of the spruce. Since the Alaska coast forests do not contain timber of either as high quality or as great variety as grows In Oregon and Washington, there is little likelihood that lumber from them will compete largely In the general market with lumber from those states. In fact, some lumber used in southeastern Alaska Is Imported from thb Pacific coast states, but good management on the part of the Alaska mills should enable them to supply the home demand for common kinds of lumber. While Alaska may eventually export considerable material of this sort, it must continue to import timber like Douglas fir for heavy construction work. Utilization for other purpose® than for lumber should, be encouraged. The most promising of these is for pulp. Both the spruce and hemlock are undoubtedly good pulp woods, and, taken together, they comprise almost the entire forest. The cutting which has so far taken place on the coast of Alaska has had small effect upon the forest The bulk of it is yet untouched. Clearly, utilization should be encouraged as much as possible. With respect to the coast forests, there Is little in the statement sometimes made, tliat the timber isl Alaska should be held for the sole use of Alas kans. It should be manufactured into the most suitable forms and sold wherever it best can be marketed. Natural barriers, so far unsurmounted, prevent it from being of benefit to the interior, where the need is greatest and the price highest. Moreover, the coast forests are not capable of producing a great deal of the structural material that will be needed in the Interior when the latter region Is more fully developed and made Accessible by railroads. The annual growth of the coast forests is far in excess of the local needs, and unless methods of utilization are developed which will result in the export of forest products these forests cannot be handled rightly. The forests of interior Alaska are practically all included within the drainage basin of the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. They are chiefly of the woodland type, and are estimated to cover approximately 80,000,000 acres, but probably not more than 40,000,000 acres bear timber of sufficient size and density to make it especially valuable for" either cord, wood or saw logs. Several times as much timber is used each year in the interior of Alaska for fuel as is used for lumber. The interior of Alaska depends entirely upon wood for heat, light and power. Obviously all the forests of Alaska, whetb' er on the coast or in the interior, should be protected and made of the utmost permanent use. The coast forests, which include mort „ of the saw timber of the territory and by faF the heaviest stands, are nearly all protected by national forests. They have not been damaged by fire and are but slightly reduced by cutting. They are overmature. Carefully planned cutting should take place as soon as possible. Every effort should be made to have them utilized lor lumber, and especially for pulp. They should be so managed as to increase the stand of spruce and decrease that of hemlock. In the interior forests, situated entirely upon public lands, unregulated cutting . and devastating fires are going on. The coast forests were reserved before they were impaired. Those of the interior have already been seriously damaged. Their protection can not begin too soon. While the products of tbs coast forests need a foreign market, the inf rior forests with the best of treatment are nH likely to supply more than a part of the home demand. If protected they will continue to furnish logs for cabins, low-grade lumber and fuel indefinitely. Higher grade lumber required by the interior must always be import id.

AROUND CAMP THE FIRE

fOLD OF LEE’S SURRENDER Characteristic Btory of Confederate Soldier of Scenes in Army on * Historical Day. The following story of how a member of a North Carolina regiment of cavalry felt at Lee's surrender was told to me some time ago. I will try and place it before my readers in as near the narrator's own words as I can, writes G. B. Sutherland, in an exchange. He says: “After I had enlisted In the army, the first battle we had almost scared me to death, but I gradually took courage and soon was doing some of my best shooting. We

I Thought l Had Been Shot.

were in a skirt of woods, and we would lie flat on our backs and load our guns, then rise up, fire, and drop on our backs again. It was not long before my comrade next me was lying dead; shot through the head. I became more alarmed than I had previously -been, and stretched myself flat on the ground and was trying to stick my head under the sod, when a shell cut some bark off a tree- near me, and it flew and struck me on the back and I gave an awful groan, thinking my time had come, for I thought I had been shot in the shoulder, but greatly relieved was I when I discovered I was not hurt. I passed through the latter part of the war withouft being hurt badly, and I never was scared any more as badly as I was at the first battle I engaged in. “Thus the war passed, with much Buffering from myself and comrades, until the ninth day of April, 1865, when we were engaged in- battle at Appomattox. We saw the flag of truce, and heard the command to cease firing, then we awaited with bated breath for long hours. All at once we caught sight of a man riding along the line, white flag In hand, and the - cry was echoed, *Lee has surrendered!’ The shout was taken up and passed along the lines, ‘Lee has surrendered! Lee has surrendered!’ Never before was seen such a waving of hats, such shouting and hallooing as was seen upon the field of Lee’s surrender on that historical day. "} s9P’t know how my comrades felt, but as for inyseif T fell as if I had nothing to live for If Lee surrendered. I was not sOrry that the wax was at a close, but I was thinking of Grant, the man who had us in his power, and I felt sure we would all be lodged in prison for the rest of our lives. You can imagine my feelings of horror at the thought of being shut up in a dreary prison for life.

But we were ordered, to stack anna and march to the courthouse, and there, when the treaty of peace was signed, that noble man, General Grant, gave each of us a pass, told us to take our horses, and go home to our, families. ‘‘l felt then, as I do now, that there, never was a more kind and generouß man ever lived than General Grant. “We took our passes and reached! home without much difficulty, subsisting sometimes on corn, parched, that, we dug from out the frozen ground where our horses had been fed- On our way home we came to an old mill where a small boy was grinding his last bushel of com for his old parents, but we took half of it, in spite of his supplications to the contrary, ground it into hominy, and poured war tor In it, and baked It on a flat rock; but I thought I never before pr since tasted anything so delicious. “If I live to be as old as Methuselah, I will never forget the day, and how I felt at Lee’s surrender, and I also can never forget the kindness and generosity of General Grant to the poor soldiers who had caused him so much trouble.”

Force of a Twelve-inch Gun.

The projectile of the 12-inch gun rcnetrates 22 inches of armor plate, apd has pierced n 20-foot concrete wall heavily reinforced with steel beams.