15 November 2014

The Alaska Territory: Our First Exploration

Army officer did an Alaska version of Lewis and Clark expedition in 1885 


"It is a very remarkable fact that a region under a civilized government for more than a century should remain so completely unknown as the vast territory drained by the Copper, Tanana and Koyukuk Rivers."

So wrote Henry Allen more than a century ago in a government report on his muscle-powered journey from the mouth of the Copper River to the mouth of the Yukon, from where he returned by steamship to the Lower 48. Pushing on when Native guides wouldn't join him for fear of starvation, Allen and a few tattered comrades traveled from near present-day Cordova up to what is now Bettles.

They then turned around and then beat winter to St. Michael, where they jumped the last boat for San Francisco.


The U.S. Army lieutenant executed the journey from spring equinox to early September in 1885, completing an epic his commanding officer, General Nelson Miles, compared to the Lewis and Clark expedition of 80 years before.

Read the whole story here.

2 comments:

Chickenmom said...

Aha! Found it on Amazon @$1.99 for the Kindle! Thanks Rev. Paul!
http://www.amazon.com/Report-Expedition-Copper-Tanan%C3%A1-K%C3%B3yukuk-ebook/dp/B00LKWMU9Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1416244726&sr=1-1&keywords=henry+allen+-+explorer

Rev. Paul said...

You're welcome. :)