nds more than half-way around the world. These ports are
destined to become the chief American ports in the Asian trade.

=Alaska.=--The most productive industry of the insular part of the
territory is the fisheries. For many years the Pribilof Islands produced
practically all the seal-pelts used in the manufacture of seal-fur
garments. So many seals were killed, however, that the species seemed
likely to become extinct, and seal-catching has been forbidden for a
term of years.

[Illustration: PUGET SOUND]

The discovery of gold along the Klondike River and in the beach-sands of
Cape Nome was followed by the development of surface mines that produced
a large amount of gold. For the better transportation of products, a
railway has been completed from _Skagway_ across White Pass to _White
Horse_, the head of navigation of the Yukon. About twenty steamboats are
engaged in the commerce of the river. _Skagway_ and _Dyea_ are
collecting points for the commerce of the Klondike mines. _Juneau_ has
probably the largest quartz-mill in the world.

=Porto Rico.=--Porto Rico, formerly a Spanish colony, is now a possession
of the United States. The island is about the size of Connecticut and
has a population somewhat greater. The industries are almost wholly
agricultural, and nearly the whole surface is under cultivation. Sugar,
coffee, and tobacco are grown for export, and these constitute the chief
source of income. The coffee-crop, about sixty million pounds yearly, is
the most valuable product and commands a high price on account of its
superior quality. It is sold very largely to European coffee-merchants,
and is marketed as a "Mocha." Exports of fruit to the United States are
increasing. In 1900 the exports to United States markets, mainly sugar
and cattle products, were about six million dollars. The imports from
the United States were chiefly of cotton-prints and rice, to the amount
of nearly nine million dollars. The total export and import trade that
year was about twenty million dollars.

The facilities for the transportation of products are not good. The
railway lines have a total mileage of about one hundred and fifty miles.
An excellent wagon-road, built by the Spanish Government from San Juan
to Ponce, has been supplemented by several hundred miles of roads built
under the direction of the military authorities. _San Juan_ and _Ponce_
are the leading seaports and centres of trade.

=Hawaiian Islands.=--These islan