There is a pleasure in the pathless woods，

There is a rapture on the lonely shore，

There is a society where none intrudes，

By the deep sea， and music in its roar;

I love not Man the less， but Nature more.

——George Gordon Byron

This is the opening line of the movie "Into The Wild", which expresses the yearning for nature and the supreme freedom, and the last person escapes modern life and chooses the deserted Alaska.

Indeed, pristine beauty, man and nature, wild, lonely, lonely, these words are particularly suitable to describe Alaska, especially Alaska in winter, and it is no wonder that Alaska is called "the last frontier" by Americans, worthy of the name "the last wilderness of the world"!

Arras is rich in gas and is one of the famous rich fishing grounds, with some world-class fishing ports, and is rich in forestry and mineral resources. Alaska is such a big baby, why did Russia sell it to the United States for a mere $7.2 million that year? I guess now that I think about it, my intestines are all repentant.

At that time, since the rise of Tsarist Russia, it has not looked good, and it has always had a bad image in the international community of being untrustworthy and forcibly buying and selling. Few countries are willing to do business with them. In addition, Alaska at that time was a piece of permafrost, who would want to buy such a wasteland if it was not a pure fighting nation?

At that time, the political elites of the world were not interested in Alaska, for the same reason that the tsar disliked it - it was a frozen soil, there was nothing left, and few people could stand the cold here, so what did they want to do in such a place?

When the Civil War broke out in the United States in 1861, the Western European powers intended to take the opportunity to support the South in order to dismember the nascent United States. President Lincoln decided that the United States alone could not be sustained, so he turned to Tsarist Russia, the enemy of the Western European powers.

The Tsar also wanted to avenge the Crimean War (if you are interested, you can learn about it), so he sent a fleet to sail into New York Harbor to stand up for the federal government in the north. With this support, the Northern Army was given a precious respite and eventually won the war, avoiding a split.

Russia had not fired a single shot in the war, but it would have cost a huge amount of money to get the fleet around the United States. Tsarist Russia, which had exhausted its people's finances, became even more austere and unsustainable. The issue of the sale of Alaska territory was once again on the agenda, and the buyer was locked in the United States.

Since the federal government received help from Russia during the war, it had no choice but to take over Alaska. And in order to show the strength of the new United States, they also gave very favorable conditions. Seward, then US Secretary of State, offered a price that the Tsar was very pleased with: $7.2 million. In 1867, the Star-Spangled Banner was raised for the first time on Alaskan territory.

In terms of the purchasing power of the dollar against gold, this amount is equivalent to $460 million today. For Russians who consider Alaska worthless, the price is quite acceptable. But on the contrary, Seward was scolded in the United States for making such a deal.

However, the secretary of state was not dissuaded by the public skepticism, and in a speech he stated: "Now that I buy it, it may not really be of much use." But maybe in a few years, our children and grandchildren will benefit from buying this land. "Later on, Seward proved to be really prescient.

Beginning in 1897, gold was discovered in Alaska, followed by abundant oil. The worthless permafrost has become a hot land of resources that everyone envies. It was only then that the Russians realized how worthless the deal was and cried out.

Xing'er recalled this history and lamented how important the foresight of a country's leaders is, many people are so short-sighted, willing to only look at immediate interests, and never think about the country from a far-sighted perspective. Not to mention the abundance of resources, even from a strategic point of view, Alaska is an important fortress. What's more, with such a large land area, it is not a loss-making deal.

At this time, because it is winter, the bear is already hibernating. Otherwise, Xing'er's goal will definitely be to hunt another bear.

At the end of the day, the most exciting part of hunting is the hunting of large prey, and in Alaska, hunting is not a pleasure if you just chase herbivores like reindeer and moose.

In most countries and regions in the world, all kinds of wild bears are listed as protected animals and are not allowed to be hunted, and in addition to polar bears in the United States, general black bears and brown bears in northern states and giant brown bears in Alaska (the second largest bear in the world) can be hunted openly under strict management.

"When spring blooms, let's go bear hunting again when we have the chance." Xing'er whispered as she walked.

Leon couldn't tell who she was talking to for a moment, but he naturally hummed.

As he was walking, in the distance in the snow, he saw a white jumping figure.

"Arctic fox!" Xing'er shouted in a low voice. In Alaska, hunters like Reed make a living by selling their prey. The source of income includes several sources, and a significant proportion of it is, of course, the fur of these animals.

The price at which the fur is sold depends most importantly on the skill of the hunter. If a shot is shot in the stomach, it will definitely destroy the integrity of the fur, and the price of such a skin will be much lower.

Compared with wolf skin, pure white arctic fox skin is very cost-effective, because it is lightweight, not as big and bulky as wolves.

So Xing'er's soft call had already caught Reed's attention, and he raised his shotgun and signaled Xing'er to keep them silent, because foxes do not actively attack people, they have an extremely keen sense of smell, and once they smell the scent of humans, they will immediately run away.

Xing'er and Leon held their breath, and it took less than ten seconds for Reed to aim and position, and a shot was fired, hitting the head and sending the Arctic Fox to the ground. At the same time, the frightened birds in the woods scattered in all directions. In the distance, several reindeer were also frightened by the gunfire and ran aimlessly.

Reed put away his shotgun and slowly walked towards his prey. I seem to have had a lot of luck today, and I'm sure the rest will be very smooth.

This is a very large arctic fox, male, which means that the selling price tends to be higher. In the animal kingdom, the fur of animals that have always been male is higher and more shiny.

Reed dealt with it briefly, picked up the white fox and put it on his back, and the three of them continued to walk forward.