Alaska

(a-las'kah,) an immense territory of the U. States, extending from Lat. 54° 40′ N. up to the Glacial Ocean, and between 131° and 172° Lon. W., including the greatest part of the Aleutian Islands, formerly known as Ru ian America, and sold in 1868, by Ru ia to the U. States, for $7,500,000. The commercial value of that cold country consists in its fisheries, furs, timber, and minerals. As yet (1879) there has been little increase in the white population, which is not above 5 or 600. Time enough has not elapsed for the acquisition of much information in regard to the industrial resources ofA., and while little is known of its interior, our knowledge of its shores rests on the accounts of some visitors whose observations materially differ. Sitka is the military headquarters of the territory. The total pop., including Ru ians, Aleuts, and Indians, is estimated at 54,000. [s. 16]