FOREWORD


The desert of this story is that semi-arid region east of the upper
Columbia. It is cut off from the moisture laden winds of the Pacific by
the lofty summits of the Cascade Mountains which form its western rim, and
for many miles the great river crowds the barrier, winding, breaking in
rapids, seeking a way through. To one approaching this rim from the dense
forests of the westward slopes, the sage grown levels seem to stretch
limitless into the far horizon, but they are broken by hidden coulees; in
propitious seasons reclaimed areas have yielded phenominal crops of wheat,
and under irrigation the valley of one of the two tributaries from the
west, wherein lies Hesperides Vale, has become a garden spot of the world.

To the initiated I wish to say if in the chapters touching on the Alaska
coal cases I have followed too literally the statements of prominent men,
it was not in an effort to portray them but merely to represent as clearly
as possible the Alaska situation.

ADA WOODRUFF ANDERSON.




CONTENTS


CHAPTER