THERE are two authorities on beauty. There is the man who
says that beauty exists because he sees something which ap
peals to him through his emotions, and there is the man who
says that beauty exists because he knows through repeated in
:$ tercourse the reason for the appeal. Of those who have seen, the gen
•x eral consensus of opinion is that for grandeur of primitive nature and
:*:• for variety of pure landscape, the Copper River Valley is “par excel
lence,” unsurpassed.
We speak as one who knows through intercourse, and when it
$: comes to appreciating beauty as it is revealed to us, we take our own
:•? place as second to none. A message is positively delivered if one pos
•x sesses it, whether through silver tongue or a birch bark megaphone.
j:j: We have entered Cordova Bay. The beauty has spread itself from
|x the length of the coast, and is concentrated upon this emerald island
dotted mirror leading to Cordova. Boarding the train for the Interior,
we come to Eyak Lake, bound by high mountains bearing on their
•x mossy and pine-covered shoulders innumerable sparkling glaciers. It
x- is doubtful whether the north arm of the lake is excelled for mountain
j:j: scenery. Leaving the lake, we cross the Copper River flats, largely
j>: the delta from the innumerable glacier streams from our first spec
tacular glacier, named Sheridan.
Space does not permit doing justice to the many interesting points
:j:j between the quaint log cabins, relics of the Russian trading post at
*x Alaganic, and Miles and Childs Glaciers, between which our train will
miraculously make its way over the famous steel bridge. Childs
*:•: Glacier, on our left, towering over the river’s edge three hundred feet,
x* with a face three miles wide, and showering with thunderous report upon
the river’s surface its icebergs, is an inspiring and awful sight, verily
competing with Niagara in its majesty. We now enter Abercrombie
X; Canyon. Skirting the grade with tremendous velocity, the mighty
Copper bounds over the great rocks which in vain would dam it.
Treacherous whirlpools and boulders make the river unnavigable for
some miles. Fishermen with their long dip nets add a picturesque
feature to the turmoil from which they dip the silver horde. Above
the rapids, where the river widens, we pass the Abercrombie Packing
Company’s cannery, reflected in the quiet waters. It would be difficult
for Scotland to display a more entrancing lake scene than the spread
of the river at Abercrombie.
Glaciers on all sides, unnamed mountain peaks penetrating the
clouds, distant views and glimpses of ribbons of silver and gold water
falls pouring down the richly-coated range, leave one spellbound.
Passing numerous Indian camps, we come to the junction of the
Copper, the Chitina and the Ivotsina Rivers, at Mile 131. From this
great basin-like amphitheater we behold three of the greatest moun
• tains of the North—Mount Drum, Mount Wrangell and -Mount Black
burn.
All of these wonders are within a day’s travel from Cordova,
x Luxurious trains, equipped with a first-class dining service, make a
trip which is hard to beat anywhere in the world. It is 196 miles to
Kennecott, the terminus. The round trip can be made in three days,
with first-class accommodations.
“Alaska and Cordova have no cathedrals made by man to attract
the traveler and the tourist, but the immensity and grandeur of the
handiwork of God can nowhere be seen so plainly as in the Copper
River Valiev.’’
MANY big game hunters from all over the world make yearly
pilgrimages to Alaska and spend their vacation in the In
terior, hunting.
To the hunter desiring to kill bear, mountain sheep, goat,
moose or caribou, Cordova offers the best point of departure. All
along the Copper River and its tributaries may be found huge brown,
black and grizzly bears, while in the upper Copper Valley and Plateau
sections moose and caribou are found. Bighorn sheep are abundant
in the Alaska and Wrangell ranges of mountains, and the mountain
goat is found within a few miles of Cordova.
A license for hunting is necessary for non-residents, and is se
cured at Juneau from the Governor's office.
One may land at Cordova, secure any supplies in the way of food,
clothing, bedding, ammunition or guns, take the train for Chitina or
Cape St. Elias
I
McCarthy, there secure pack horses and guides, and within a day’s
ride be in a good game country.
Nothing can be more ideal than a trip of this kind. The rugged
and snow-capped mountains, where feed the bighorn sheep and wild
mountain goat, surround you on every side. The plateau country,
sloping away from the base of these mountains, and dotted here and
£: there with numerous lakes, is the home of the moose and caribou,
I
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while the rivers and streams that ,gre cutting their way through this
vast plateau, with their banks covered with wild berries of all kinds
and their waters filled with grayling, trout and salmon, make an ideal
resort for all species of bear. Some of the largest brown bear in the
world have been killed in this section.
The lakes and rivers in the immediate vicinity of Cordova are the
breeding grounds for geese, ducks and other water fowl. Ptarmigan
and grouse are plentiful, and several local hunting clubs maintain
lodges on the Copper River flats, where visiting sportsmen are always
welcome.
Eyak Lake, Adjoining Cordova
Banking Facilities
Cordova has two banks, The First Bank of Cordova and a branch
of the Bank of Alaska.
Both have modern equipments with up to the minute systems to
insure accuracy and efficient service to their customers. Commercial,
Savings, Bond and Safe Deposit Departments are maintained together
with facilities to transfer money to any part of the world by mail
Bank of Alaska
or telegraph, in fact every banking service, rendered by banks in the
States, is available to the people of Cordova.
The banks of Cordova have been important factors in the upbuild
ing of the community.
Wood Pulp Industry
Among the great undeveloped resources of Cordova and vicinity
is the Wood Pulp Industry. With three billion feet of the finest Sitka
Spruce, according to estimates of the Forest Reserve Officials, directly
tributary, with an abundance of water power easily developed and
with water transportation direct from mill to market, the failure of
investors to take advantage of this opportunity is only attributed to
the general lack of knowledge concerning Alaska. The Sitka Spruce
is acknowledged by the laboratory of the University of Wisconsin,
which has made a special examination of different kinds of wood to as
certain the adaptability of each for pulping purposes, to be the equal of
any found on the continent. The shores of Prince William Sound and
the islands of its waters are covered with a dense growth of spruce
and hemlock. This wood can be purchased from the government at
the rate of twenty-five cents a cord with a reduction in case of a large
quantity such as would be required by a paper mill.
Cordova boasts a concrete building 75x100 feet, three stories high
on First street and five stories high on Water street, of fire-proof
construction, which cost $125,000.
V
Distances to Interior |
A DAILY train, with a dining car service, operates between Cor- £:
dova and Chitina, and from the latter the mail and stages are
run the year round to Fairbanks. The following distance tables jij:
will prove handy to those making the trip: *j:j
Cordova to Chitina by Rail
Miles bet. Total Miles bet. Total
Stations Miles Stations Miles ::::
Cordova Wharf. 0.0 0.0 Abercrombie . 60 54 4 £:
Cordova Harbor
C Ave. Station. 0.5 0.5 Moraine . 8.6 63.0
Cordova Station - 0.2 0.7 Baird River . 3.7 66.7
Eyak River . 5.0 5.7 Bremner River .10.8 77 5
Sheridan . 6.8 12.5 Alder Point . 8.8 86^3
Alganik . 9.5 22.0 Cleave Creek . 6.0 92.3
Camp 30 . 4.0 26.0 Tiekel . 8.6 100.9
Katalla Junction .12.3 38.3 Uranatina... 7.3 108.2
Goat Mountain . 2.4 40.7 Clay Wood Canyon....l5.S 126.0
Miles Glacier . 7.7 48.4 Chitina . 5.0 131.0
Chitina to Fairbanks by Stage
Chitina . 0 0 Miller’s .12 171
Nafsted Roadhouse..15 15 Rapids .13 1S4
M’Daniels Roadhousel2 27 Donnelley’s .11 195
Willow Creek.12 39 Gordon’s .16 211
Copper Center .12 51 Sullivan’s .16 227
Tazlina . 8 59 Washburn .A..23 250
Dry Creek . 8 67 Overland .10 260
Gulkana .10 77 Salchaket .10 270
Poplar Grove.12 89 Thirty-Mile House....l2 2S2
Sourdough .10 99 Bylers .10 292
Our Home .16 115 Sixteen-Mile House.. 2 294
Meier’s .10 125 Eight-Mile House .... 8 302
Paxton’s .16 141 Fairbanks . 8 310
Yost’s .18 159
Few Condensed Facts
CORDOVA is 1,236 miles from Seattle by steamer. The first
class fare is $67.00 and the second-class fare is $45.00. Boats
leave Seattle for Cordova ten times a month during eight
months of the year.
The Japan current tempers the climate.
It is the premier copper port of the world.
Cordova is rapidly becoming the fishing center of Alaska.
It has the finest harbor, from a naval standpoint, in Alaska.
Mining machinery of all kinds is manufactured in Cordova.
With Alaska coal available, Cordova will have a smelter.
Nine salmon canneries and two clam plants operate here.
It is the logical outlet for the coal of the Bering River fields.
A reservation has been made near Cordova for a naval base.
Cordova is connected by cable and wireless with the States.
Cordova is the headquarters of the Chugach Forest Reserve.
The bulk of the travel to Interior Alaska goes through Cordova.
Shellfish and salmon abound in the waters tributary to Cordova.
The Childs glacier is 300 feet high and three miles along its face.
Nineteen millions in copper ore was shipped from Cordova in 1919.
Congress has appropriated $100,000 for a public building at Cor
dova.
A Parent-Teachers Association is taking much interest in school
affairs.
Cordova is the gateway to the richest mineralized section ol
Alaska.
Cordova’s average tax rate for the last ten years has not exceeded
ten mills.
Tourists are afforded a side trip to the glaciers when the steamers
reach Cordova.
Th3 thermometer in Cordova has rarely ever been known to reach
as low as zero.
The Cordova Chapter of the American Red Cross is an active body
of good workers.
Cordova is the ocean terminus of the Copper River & North
vvestei n Railway.'
Eyak Lake is the scene of many fishing and motor boat parties
during the summer.
First Bank of Cordova
X*
•V
Cordova has an eight-page daily newspaper, which is a member
> X*
of the Associated Press.
For entertainments and social functions there are two commodious ♦$
halls, with hard-wood floors.
Small game of all kinds, including grouse, ducks and ptarmigan,
are plentiful in this vicinity.
The government maintains an inland high-power wireless station
fourteen miles from Cordova. ^