were ordered to "be shot. Here were killed David Crockett and Col. James Bowie, from whom the bowie knife was named. Because of this heroic defense Alamo is called the "Thermopylae of America." "Remember the Alamo!" became the cry of the Texans in their struggle for independence.
Al'aric, whose name means "all ruler," was a chief and king of the Visigoths. We first find him in 394 A. D., as a commander in the army of the conquered Goths, under the Roman Emperor Theodosius. When Theodosius died, the Goths rebelled, attacked Athens and plundered it of its treasures. A Roman army was now sent against him, under General Stilicho, which drove him to a stronghold in Elis and besieged him there. Managing to escape with his army, the new emperor, Arcadius, decided to make him prefect or governor of the Roman province of Illyricum. This kept Alaric quiet for five years. But about 400 A. D. he set out to invade the empire of the west. It took him two years to reach Milan, where the Emperor Honorius was. He drove him to a fortress and besieged it, but was defeated here, and afterward at Verona, by Stilicho. Still it was thought safest to give Alaric his old place as prefect of Illyricum and a large amount of gold. When the emperor foolishly killed Stilicho, his best general, Alaric marched at once on Rome and laid siege to it. When the people attempted to buy him off, his price was so exorbitant that they said they could not pay it. Alaric's well-known reply was, "The closer hay is pressed, the easier it is mown." He was at last bought off with a great treasure of gold and silver. Honorius, however, broke the treaty, and a second time Alaric attacked Rome. This time the people opened the gates and asked him to name a new emperor. When Honorius became emperor again, he sent, treacherously, a savage chief to attack the camp of the Goths. Alaric marched again on Rome and pillaged it for six days, and then overran all Italy with his troops. He died in 410.
Alas'ka, a territory of the United States, situated in the extreme northwestern part of the continent. In a political sense Alaska is not a territory but a district, with no territorial organization. It is governed directly by Congress at Washington, and is locally administered by a governor appointed by the President. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean; on the east by British Columbia and the northwest (Yukon) territories of Canada; on the south by the Gulf of Alaska and the North Pacific; and on the west by Bering Strait and the North Pacific Ocean. It comprises an area of 590,884 square miles, equal to one-sixth of the United States or one-seventh of Europe. Much of the coast line is very irregular, deeply indented and having many islands, the chief of which are the Aleutian, Prince of Wales, Chichagoff, Kadiak, Baranoff, Admiralty, Unimak, St. Lawrence, Kupreanof and Pribyloff Islands.
Surface. The coast line is followed by mountain ranges, which are a continuation of the Rocky Mountains, and spread apart in this peninsula. The main range bends westward along the coast to the end of the Alaskan peninsula. The other takes a northwest direction at Prince William Sound, and a second turn gives it a southwest-northeast direction, and it is known as the Alaskan Range. This is the loftiest elevation in North America. Its noted peaks are Mt. McKinley (20,464 feet), Mt. Logan (19,539 feet), Mt. St. Elias (18,024 feet) and Mt. Wrangell (17,500 feet).
Moving down through the valleys of this chain of mountains are the great ice rivers, known as glaciers. Many of these reach to the sea, and one of them, Muir Glacier, not far from Sitka, is wonderfully beautiful.
Alaska's interior, west of the Porcupine Hills, is a vast swampy moor which stretches to interminable wastes of tundra that reach to the Arctic Ocean.
Climate. The entire coast section and the insular districts are influenced by the Japanese current and the mountains. The latter are a protection against the Arctic winds, while the former fills the air with warm vapors. Condensation takes place when these come in contact with the mountains and causes almost perpetual fog and rain. For these reasons the temperature is less extreme than in districts east of the Rockies. Inside the mountains, where the warm currents and vapors are absent, Arctic weather prevails—long intense winters and short warm summers.
Drainage. The main river is the Yukon, over 2,000 miles long, which may be traveled from end to end four months out of the year without seeing snow. Other rivers are the Stickeen, Copper, Sushitna, Musha-gak and the Kuskowim, and the tributaries of the Yukon, which are the Porcupine and the Tanana. The Sushitna is navigable for 110 miles and the Yeutna for 100 miles.
Minerals. The all important mineral product so far is gold, of which the product in 1908 was $19,858,800. In 1909 the amount produced was $20,339,000, but in 1910 there was a decrease in gold production, the total shipment being $15,173,008. Coal is found in several places, the best grade in Copper River Valley. The main coast range contains extensive copper deposits, while silver, tin and petroleum have been found, and on Prince of Wales Island large quarries of marble.
Forests. The forest wealth of Alaska is also large, chiefly white pine, cedar and
