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ALASKA 

ITS  Neglected  Past 
Its  Brilliant  Future 


Works  by  the  same  Author 


American  Resorts  and  Climates 
Alaskana — Alaska's  Legends. 
Echoes  of  Battle 
Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in  America 


Icy  Mountains. 


Hlaska 

ITS    NEGLECTED    PAST 
ITS    BRILLIANT    FUTURE 


BusHROD  Washington  James 

Member  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution ,  Pennsylvania  ;  Historical  Society  oj 
Pennsylvania;  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science; 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science;  Amer- 
ica n  Public  Health  A  ssociaiioti ;  A  cademy  of  the  Natu- 
ral Sciences,  Philadelphia  ;   The  Franklin  Insti- 
tute;   Historical   and   Ethnological 
Society,  Sitka,  Alaska, 
Etc. 


* 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE  SUNSHINK  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1897 


Copyrighted,  1897, 
By  Bushrod  Washington  James. 


Copyrighted  in  Great  Britain,  1897, 
By  Bushrod  Washington  James. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


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Map  No, 


I. 


Map  No.  I — Territf 


in  the  Arctic   Circle. 


MAP  No.  I. 

The  Arctic  Circle. 

THE  Arctic  Ocean  Map,  which  we  have  had  drawn  to 
show  the  proximity  of  nations  occupying  possessions 
witliin  the  Arctic  Circle,  is  one  of  great  interest  to  Americans. 
It  shows  the  great  importance  of  adjacent  lands  to  the  country 
that  discovers  the  North  Pole,  and  plants  its  discovery  banner 
thereon,  provided,  there  is  land  at  that  point.  In  this  event, 
this  will  be  the  pivot  for  this  region,  because  Russia,  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  all  hold  a  large  amount  of  Arctic 
Territory. 

One  will  be  struck  with  the  ease  of  access  from  Stockholm, 
Christiana,  Copenhagen,  St.  Petersburg,  as  well  as  London, 
Havre,  Paris,  Bremen,  Berlin,  and  other  Oriental  cities  and 
countries,  and  the  United  States,  provided  the  ice-barriers,  now 
existing  shall  some  day  be  overcome  or  quite  generally  removed 
or  be  melted  away,  as  they  most  certainly  will  be  in  the  cen- 
turies to  come. 

Observe  the  vast  Arctic  Territory  owned  by  Russia  and 
the  extensive  possessions  of  England,  while  the  United  States 
holds  the  key  along  with  Russia  to  the  western  entrance  to 
these  Polar  waters. 


PREFACE. 

THE   object   ill    issuing  this    work   is    mainly   to 
supply  a  present  need  for  a  finely  illustrated, 
thoughtfully    prepared,    descriptive    book    on 
Alaska,  including  such  reliable  information  as  is  now 
obtainable  in  reference  tO'  the  more  recent  discoveries 
of  gold  in  British  Columbia  and  Eastern  Alaska. 

It  is  offered  in  a  style  suitable  for  the  library  and  the 
general  reader. 

It  will  be  a  companion  to  those  visiting  this  land  of 
wonders  and  wealth,  as  well  as  to  all  who  take  an  in- 
terest in  our  vast  province  of  the  Great  North-West. 

It  is  presented  in  a  more  interesting  readable  form 
than  guide  books  are,  and  at  the  most  reasonable  cost 
that  such  a  work  can  be  issued. 

The  writer  is  aware  of  the  legislative  inactivity  re- 
garding the  recognition  of  Alaska  as  an  important 
Territory  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  opposition 
upon  the  part  of  some  to  devoting  either  money  or 
talent  to  its  advancement.  Yet  he  has  decided  to  risk 
the  publication  of  this  work,  a  portion  of  which  ap- 
peared from  time  to  time  under  the  non-de-plume  of 
"Bushrod,"  in  articles  written  at  intervals  when  the 
crying  need  of  the  country  and  its  people  impelled  him 
to  write  or  to  speak. 

3 


4  ■  PREFACE. 

The  descriptive  parts  were  mostly  written  on  the 
spot  during  a  visit  amongst  the  majestic  and  charming 
scenery  of  this  beautiful  country  several  years  ago, 
while  the  loveliness  and  grandeur  were  actually  spread 
before  the  author's  eyes  in  a  glorious  panorama. 

The  knowledge  then  obtained  by  constant  study 
and  observation,  together  with  subsequent  reading  of 
all  the  information  attainable  concerning  the  District, 
led  to  the  writing  out  of  the  legends,  of  which  he  had 
heard  and  read,  in  his  book  called  "Alaskana,"  now  in 
the  third  edition.  Also  of  the  several  articles  that  were 
permitted  to  appear  in  the  current  journals  of  the 
day  since  that  time,  as  well  as  the  pamphlets  and 
books  he  has  since  issued. 

The  author  does  not  profess  to  superior  powers 
of  far-seeing,  but  while  the  interests  of  both  Govern- 
ment and  people  have  been  confined  to  other  chan- 
nels he  has  been  keenly  watching  the  growth  and 
development  of  Alaska  with  eyes  jealous  for  the  real 
interests  of  the  country  at  large  as  represented  by 
the  noble  resources  contained  in  that  neglected  North- 
Western  possession. 

Serious  neglect  has  been  allowed  regarding 
the  proper  legislation  for  the  protection  of  this 
distant  Territory  as  well  as  that  which  has  been 
made  concerning  the  Bering  Sea  Arbitration  and 
the  Eastern  Boundary  Line.  But  at  last,  the  time 
has  come,  that  active  and  prompt  attention  must  be 


PREFACE.  5 

given  to  the  matter.  That  the  pubHc  may  have  some 
idea  of  the  grave  responsibility  of  the  Government 
and  the  great  importance  and  value  of  this  property, 
the  author  has  concluded  to  send  this  work  forth  hop- 
ing that  it  may  engage  the  attention  of  some  of  those 
who  are  sufficiently  powerful  in  political  circles  to 
make  their  influence  felt  toward  the  prompt  and  care- 
ful ratification  of  the  Boundary  Lines,  as  stated  in 
the  Treaty  of  Cession  executed  by  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment, likewise  to  the  definite  marking  of  the  exact 
line  by  permanent  landmarks  placed  so  closely  as  to 
make  future  contentions  impossible;  and  then  to  the 
creation  of  wise  and  efficient  laws  for  the  govern- 
ment and  safety  of  the  present  inhabitants,  as  well 
as  for  the  newcomers  into  Alaska  and  its  adjacent 
Islands,  included  in  the  purchase  made  in   1867. 

The  Author. 


Map  No.  2. 


Map  No.  2 — Bering  (or  Heliring)   Sea  and  Strait  and  Norton  Sound,  tin 


on  River  and  part  of  Alaska,  Siberia,  Wrangell  Island  and  Lawrence  Island. 


^ 


MAP  No.  2. 

Arctic  Ocean,  Siberia,  Bering  Sea  and  Straits, 
St.    Michaels,    The   Yukon   River,    and 

Northwestern  Alaska. 

MAP  number  2  is  a  sketch  taken  of  the  principal  points  of 
interest  drawn  from  the  general  chart,  issued  in  June, 
1 897,  under  the  superintendence  of  W.  W.  Duffield,  and  verified 
by  O.  H.  Tittman  and  E.  D.  Taussig,  compiled  from  the  United 
States  and  Russian  authorities,  and  shows  the  Siberian  and 
Alaskan  Territories  as  they  approach  each  other  in  the  Arctic 
Ocean  and  at  the  Bering  Strait  with  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  at 
the  western  end  of  our  mainland  territory  on  the  Strait  and  the 
East  Cape,  the  western  extremity  of  the  Siberian  coast  line. 
The  islands  that  lie  in  Bering  Strait  are  not  shown,  but  St. 
Lawrence,  opposite  Norton  Sound,  and  St.  Matthew,  which  is 
farther  south,  are  on  the  American  side  of  the  boundary  line. 

The  Yukon  being  the  great  outlet  of  the  northern  district 
of  Alaska  and  British  Columbia,  will  in  all  probability  be  the 
commercial  highway  from  the  United  States,  and  then  it  will 
likely  extend  across  Bering  Sea  to  the  outjutting  point  of  land 
below  the  Gulf  of  Anadir.  This  would  make  a  longer  water 
transportation  than  at  Bering  Strait,  but  commerce  will  probably 
reach  the  oriental  and  occidental  populations  at  a  lower  degree 
of  latitude  than  at  Bering  Strait,  and  in  all  probability  just 
above  the  sixty-second  degree.  This  would  be  nearer  of  access 
to  the  present  Hues  of  Alaskan  travel,  which  would  probably 
then  be  from  Cape  Navarin  or  Archangel  Gabriel  Bay  directly 
across  to  the  lower  mouth  of  the  Yukon  or  whichever  mouth 
proves  on  thorough  survey  to  have  the  deepest  and  most  navi- 
gable channel  for  sea-going  vessels. 

On  the  south  shore  of  the  Yukon,  above  the  confluence  of 
its  mouths,  we  would  locate  a  city  as  an  Alaskan  distributing 
centre. 


\ 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Ic}'  Mountains Frontispiece. 

PAGE. 

Sitka  Harbor 19 

Mountain  and  Channel 25 

Alaskans  at  Home — An  Alaskan  Interior — Chief's  House   .  33 

Life  in  a  Mining  Camp 49 

An  Alaskan  Bay 65 

Totem  Poles,  Fort  Wrangel 81 

Fine  Chilkat  Blanket  and  Worked  Totems 97 

A  View  on  Glacier  Bay 103 

Sitka— Creek  Church  in  Centre 113 

A  Seal  Rookery,  St.  Paul's  Island,  Bering  Sea 129 

Group  of  Native  Alaskan  Women 145 

Wrangel  Narrows 161 

Section  of  Muir  Glacier ....  177 

Sitka,  Alaska,  and  Mount  Edgecumbe  ....       193 

Placer  Mining 209 

Alaskan  Landscape  and  Water  Way 225 

Alaska  Hunting  Implements  and  other  Curios 241 

Fine  Totem  Worked  Chilkat  Coat 257 

Interior  of  Stamp  MiU,  Douglas  Island 273 

Alaskan  Snow  Shoes  and  Utensils 289 

Gastineau  Channel  near  Juneau 305 

In  front  of  Muir  Glacier,  Alaska 321 

Main  Street,  Sitka 329 

Juneau,  Alaska 337 

New  Icebergs 353 

Alaskan  Block  House     ....            363 

Placer  Mining  Sluice 369 

Auk  Glacier 385 

Alaskan  Burial  Place 391 

Davidson's  Glacier 401 

Icy  Bay 421 

Totem  Poles,  Fort  Wrangel 433 

7 


LIST  OF  MAPS. 

No.    I.     Arctic  Circle. 
"      2.     Bering  (or  Behring)  Sea. 
"      3.     Upper  Yukon  River,  the   Klondyke  and   the    Stewart 

Rivers,  North-western  British  Cokimbia  and  Alaskan 

Areas. 
"      4.     Entrance  to  the  Inland  Passage  to  Alaska  from  Puget 

Sound  and  Gulf  of  Georgia  ;  from  Cape  Mudge  to 

Port  Alexander,  through  Discovery  Passage,  John- 
stone   Strait,  Broughton    Strait,   Queen  Charlotte 

Sound,  Christie  Passage  and  New  Channel. 
"      5.     Seymour  Narrows  and  vicinity. 
"      6.     Port    Alexander    to    Point    Walker,    through    vSouth 

Passage  and  Fitzhugh  Sound. 
"      7.     Point     Walker     to     Swanson    Bay,     through      Lama 

Passage,   Seaforth   Channel,  Milbank    Sound   and 

Finlayson  Channel. 
"      8.     Swanson    Bay    to    Chatham    Sound,    through    Fraser 

Reach,  McKay   Reach,  Wright   Sound,    Grenville 
Channel  and  Malacca  Passage. 
"      9.     Dixon  Entrance,  through  Chatham  Sound,  Oriflamme 

Passage     and    Revillagigedo    Channel — Old    Fort 

Tongas. 
"    10.     Portland  Canal  and  Observatory  Inlet,  Southern   Limit 

and  Boundary  Line  of  Alaska. 
"  II.  Behm  Canal  and  Clarence  Strait. 
"    12.     From  Cape  Northumberland  to  Point  Agassiz,  through 

Clarence  Strait,  Stikine  Strait,  Sumner  Strait  and 

Wrangel  Strait— Old  Fort  Wrangel. 
"    13.     From   Point    Agassiz   to  Point    Craven,   through    Dry 

Strait,  Frederick  Sound  and  Chatham  Strait. 
"    14.     From    Point    Craven   to   Sitka,   through   Peril  Strait, 

Neva  and  Olga  Straits. 
"    15.     From  Point  Craven  to  Lynn   Canal,  through  Chatham 

Strait,  Juneau  and  Douglas  Island. 
"    16.     Lynn  Canal,  Chilkoot  and    Chilcat  Inlets,  Dyea  and 

Skaguay — Starting     Points    for   the  Trails  to  the 

Upper  Yukon  Gold  Fields. 


Map  No.  3. 


Map  No.  3 — Thf  Upper  Yukon,  the  Klondike  and  other  Gold  I 


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between  the  Gulf  of  Alaska  and  North  western  British  Columbia. 


MAP  No.  3. 


The  Upper  Yukon, The  Klondyke  and  Stewart  Rivers, 
and  other  gold  bearing  streams. 

THIS  Sketch-Map  is  drawn  after  the  official  United  States 
Government  map,  and  includes  the  region  from  the 
Gulf  of  Alaska,  directly  through  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  in 
British  Columbia. 

The  Kenai  Peninsula  is  shown  at  the  left-hand  lower 
corner  of  the  map,  and  the  situation  of  the  Copper  River, 
Mount  St.  Elias  and  its  coast  range  of  mountains,  extending 
northwestwardly  to  the  above  river  and  southeastwardly  through 
the  Thirty-Mile  Purchase  Strip.  At  the  right  hand  will  be  seen 
the  Alexander  Archipelago  extending  to  Dixon  Entrance  and 
Hecate  Strait,  showing  the  location  of  the  Naas  River. 

Portland  Canal  being  that  stretch  of  waterway  extending 
towards  the  northeast,  north  of  this  river.  The  Canal  is  the 
southern  boundary  line  of  Alaska. 

Baranoff  Island,  on  which  Sitka  is  situated,  will  be  seen  on 
the  margin  of  the  Gulf;  while  Lynn  Canal  is  seen  extending 
from  Admiralty  Island  in  a  northeasterly  direction  and  termin- 
ating in  two  important  inlets,  the  one  to  the  left  being  the 
Chilkat  from  the  upper  end  of  which  the  Dalton  Trail  begins. 

The  inlet  extending  to  the  right  or  to  the  northeast  is  the 
celebrated  Chilkoot  Inlet,  from  which  the  Taiya  or  Dyea  Inlet 
extends,  and  on  which  the  station  or  town  of  Dyea  is  located. 

Skaguay  is  another  point  at  the  head  of  navigation,  about 
six  miles  from  Dyea,  on  the  White  Pass  trail. 

The  Hootalinqua,  Big  Salmon,  Little  Salmon,  Lewis  River, 
and  the  Pelly  River  where  it  joins  with  the  Lewis,  and  the 
Yukon,  into  which  the  White  River,  Stewart  River,  Sixty  Mile 
Creek,  the  Klondyke  River,  Forty  Mile  Creek  and  Seventy  Mile 
Creek  and  other  streams  run,  are  shown. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Preface 3 

List  of  Ili^ustrations 7 

List  of  Maps 8 

CHAPTER  I. 

ALASKA'S  ATTRACTIONS. 
Area  and  Resources  of  Alaska 19 

CHAPTER  II. 

NEEDS   OF   ALASKA. 

Government's  Duty  to  Alaska — Extent  of  Alaska 25 

CHAPTER  HI. 

HOW  TO  REACH  ALASKA  AND  ITS  GOLD  FIELDS. 
Routes  :  The  Inland  Passage — Chilkoot  Pass — Chilkat  Pass 
— White,  or  Skaguay  River  Pass — Taku  Inlet — Canadian 
Pacific  Railroad  to  Lake  Tesliu,  Slave  and  Mackenzie 
Rivers.  Water  Routes  :  San  Francisco  to  Bering  Sea 
and  Yukon  River — Klondike,  Klondyke,  or  Clondike 
River — Cost  of  trip  to  Klondyke — Gold  Fields    ....     30 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A  FEW  IMPROVEMENTS  FOR  ALASKA. 

Railroad  and  Telegraphic  Communication  Demanded — -John 
Jacob  Astor — Astoria — Alaska  Fur  Trading  Company 
Hiiman  Pack  Carriers — Superintendent  of  Education — 
Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson  — Reindeer — Burros  for  Alaska — 
T-^mperature  of  Alaska 38 

CHAPTER  V. 

GOLD   MINING   IN   ALASKA. 

Gold  Discovered  by  the  Russians — Forbidden  to  Make  the 
Eiscovery  Public,  under  Penalty  of  severe  Punishment 
by  Count  Baranoff — Mines  about  Juneau  Discovered  in 
i'8o — Gold  Found  on  Douglas  Island  —  The  Mining 
Camp  "Shuck"  Abandoned 43 

9 


lo  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI.  PAGE. 

THE  STORY  OF  ALASKA. 

Vitus,  or  Veit  Bering — Vessels  with  which  he  sailed — 
Bering  Strait — Discovery  of  the  Aleutian  Islands — Dis- 
covery of  the  Pribylov  Islands — Russian  Sway — Pur- 
chase of  Alaska — Treaty  of  Cession — Patrol  of  Bering 
Sea— Fortifying  Alaska— City  of  Tacoma 51 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A  JOURNEY   TO   OUR  NORTHWESTERN   FRONTIER. 

Itinerary  from  Eastern  States  to  Alaska 59 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

A   VOYAGE  THAT  SHOULD   SATISFY  THE   MOST   ROMANTIC. 

Itinerary  of  the  Inland  Passage 67 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PECULIAR  SIGHTS  IN   INDIAN  VILLAGES. 

Dixon  Entrance — Alaska,  Alakshan,  Great  Country — Fort 
Tongas — Totem  Poles — Government  Buildings — Tongas 
to  Fort  Wrangel 73 

" CHAPTER  X. 

VOYAGING   ON   THE   LOVELY   WATERS. 

Clarence  Strait — Stikine  Strait — Fort  Wrangel — Curios  at 

Fort  Wrangel 79 

CHAPTER  XI. 

A   TRIP   FROM   FORT  WRANGEL  TO  JUNEAU. 
Wrangel  Straits — Dry  Strait — Patterson  Glacier — Frede;ick 
Sound — Stevens'  Passage — Admiralty  Island — Stockade 
Point — Grave  Point— Taku   Inlet— Gastineau  Channel 
— Juneau .     84 

CHAPTER  XII. 

AMONG  THE   GOLD  MINES— JUNEAU  AND  DOUGLAS  ISLANDS. 

Juneau  in  the  Morning — Gold  Creek — Treadwell  Mines — 
Douglas  Island — Output  of  Gold — Bear's  Nest  Vein — 
Ivoreua  Mine 90 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

LYNN   CANAL   AND   CHILKOOT  BAY. 

American  Alpine  Scenery —Chilkoot  Bay — Eagle  Glacier — 

Dyea  or  Tayia — Chilkat 94 


COXTENTS.  II 

CHAPTER  XIV.  PAGE. 

OVER  MUIR  GLACIER — A  BIRTHPLACE  OF  ICEBERGS. 

Glacier  Bay— Icy  Strait — Muir  Glacier,  a  Crystal  Citadel — 

Deep  Crevasses — Moraines — Grottoes— Icebergs    ...     99 

CHAPTER  XV. 

AMONG  THE  ISL.A^NDS  FROM   MUIR  GLACIER  TO  SITKA. 

Glacial  Magnificence  Surpassed  only  in  Greenland — Swiss 
Alpine  Scenery  less  Grand— Taking  an  Iceberg  on 
Board— Often  done  by  Vessels  in  the  Pacific — Chatham 
Sound  —  Peril  Strait  —  Why  so  Named — ^  Beautiful 
Seen erjf— Sitka  Sound — Mount  Edgecombe — Baranoff 
Castle — Count  Baranoff— Sitka  Training  School — Greek 
Church — Beauty  of  Sound  and  Islands 106 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

SITKA   AND   ITS   LOVELY  EXCURSION   GROUNDS. 

First  View  of  Sitka  and  its  Euvirons^Inhabitants  of  Sitka, 
Natives,  Creoles,  Russians — Houses  in  Sitka — Sitka 
Harbor — Stars  and  Stripes  in  Sitka — Alaskan  Society 
of  Natural  History  and  Ethnology — Sight-seeing — 
Vostovia,  Edgecombe — Indian  River,  Bridges,  Walks, 
etc 113 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

FROM  BERING  SEA   TO  THE  SEAL,    OR  PRIBYLOV   ISLANDS, 

Ocean  Voyage — ^Sounds  from  Seal  Islands — Seal  Rookeries 
or  Hauling  Grounds — Touching  Island  of  St.  Paul — 
Landing  on  the  Island — Pribylov  Islands — Aleuts — 
Customs — Greek  Crosses 119 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   FUR  SEALS  OF   PRIBYLOV  ISLANDS,    BERING  SEA. 

A  Visit  to  the  Rookery — Aleuts'  Delight— A  Foggy  Day- 
Mingled  Voices  of  Seals — Appearance  of  the  Seals — 
Herding  the  Seals — Killing  the  Seals— Preparation  of 
Skins  for  Fur — Importance  of  Seal  Fisheries — People 
of  the  Islands 1 26 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIX.  PAGE. 

THE  REAIv  FAR  WEST — THE  AI^EUTIAN  CHAIN 
OF  ISLANDS. 

Tempestuous  Sea — Cloud-dimmed  Islands — Attoo,  Attn — All 
Aleutians  Pleasant  and  Contented — Otter  Skins — Blue 
Fox  Fur — Attoo,  or  Attu,  Western  Limit  of  the  United 
States — Boundary  Line  Passes  Between  Attoo  Island  of 
United  States  and  Copper  Island  of  Russia — Alaskan 
Archipelago — Natives  of  all  those  Islands  have  Partic- 
ular Love  for  Home — Mountains  and  Extinct  Volcanoes 
— Oonalaska,  Large  Town— Myriads  of  Islands — Foxes 
and  Sea  Birds — Kodiak  or  Kadiak — Its  Importance — Its 
People— Commerce  — Scene  of  Greatest  Battle  Ever 
Fought  in  Alaska — San  Francisco  Ice  Company — First 
Church  and  School  in  Alaska,  Established  by  Sheillikov 
— Cows  Raised  on  the  Island — Timber  Line  of  Alaska — 
Salmon,  Halibut,  Cod— Cook's  Inlet  on  the  North  .    .    .   133 

CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  YUKON  RIVER,  THE  MIGHTY  STREAM,  NEARI^Y 
THREE  THOUSAND  MII.ES  I,ONG. 

Deltas  of  the  Yukon — Dreary  loneliness  of  the  Country, 
Low,  Flat,  Swampy — Trading  Posts — St.  Michaels, 
great  centre  of  traffic — Gold  and  Silver  in  the  Yukon 
Region — Furs,  Water-fowl  and  Fish  in  abundance — 
New  Mining  Camps  of  the  Yukon  and  Its  Tributaries — 
Richness  of  Some  Valleys  on  the  Yukon — Grandeur  of 
Interior  Region  Along  the  Great  River 140 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  NEW  METLAKAHTIvA  MISSION  AND  SETTI^EMENT  ON 

ANNETTE  ISLAND. 

Old  Metlakahtla,  British  Columbia  —  William  Duncan, 
Missionary  and  Governor  of  the  Mission — Trials  of  the 
Leader  of  His  People — Interference  by  Church  of 
England — Departure  of  Mr.  Duncan — Successor  Ap- 
pointed— Sorrow  of  the  People — Mr.  Duncan's  Return 
—Gift  of  Annette  Island — Departure  of  the  Missionary 
and  His  Followers  to  the  United  States  Territory — 
Senator  Piatt  Recommended  Immigrating  Icelanders 
to  Populate  the  Cold  Regions  of  Alaska — Victoria, 
Vancouver  Island — Steamer  for  San  Francisco— Puget 
Sound — Into  the  Golden  Gate — California — Home   .    .   146 


CONTENTS.  13 

CHAPTER  XXII.  PAGE. 

THE  BERING  SEA   CONTROVERSY — ITS   PRINCIPAL  POINTS. 

Pribylov  Islands  not  Public  Property — Bering  Sea  held  by 
Russia  for  Ages — Russell  Duane  on  Seal  Question — 
Extermination  of  the  Seals  Imminent  if  Pelagic  Sealing 
Continues— Death  of  the  vSeals — Professor  Elliott's  As- 
sertion— London  Companies  the  L,osers — Only  Present 
Aggrandizement — Retaliation  not  to  be  Thought  of  in 
the  Matter— Right  is  Might  in  the  United  States — Arbi- 
tration not  Just — Treaty — Ask  Russia  What  Property 
She  Sold  and  Settle  all  Disputes— Revenue  from  Seals 
Large — United  States  vStrong  in  Yoiith  and  Justice — 
Calmness  of  United  States  not  a  Sign  of  Pusillanimity 
— Triple  Alliance  in  Europe — Alliance  of  United  States, 
Russia,  Japan  and  China  Proposed — Protect  Rights 
with  Dignity — Japan  has  Seal  Islands  to  Guard  as  Well 
as  Russia  and  United  States 153 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

OUR  ALASKAN  INTERESTS. 
Preparation  for  War  in  Time  of  Peace  Insures  Peace — 
England  Fortifying  Points  Along  the  Yukon  Questioned 
— Gold  in  Upper  Yukon  — Unwise  for  United  States  to 
Permit  such  Forts  as  Tongas  and  Wrangel  to  fall  into 
Decay — Reason  for  England  Desiring  a  New  Boundary 
Line — United  States  must  watch  well  Her  Commercial 
Interests  on  the  Pacific — Siberian  Railroad  will  open 
Immense  Trade  Between  United  States  and  the  Orient 
— Build  Forts  Equal  in  Strength  to  Esquimault,  the 
British  Fortification  on  Vancouver  —  United  States 
Should  Not  Arbitrate  the  Eastern  Boundary — Russia 
Never  Run  a  Boundary  Line  Through  Uncertain  Islands 
—  Calmness  of  United  States  not  Cowardice — The  Past 
Disproves  that  Possibility 160 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

OUR   .ALASKAN   PROPERTY. 

The  Question  of  Alaska  Territory  vShould  Be  Continually  Ad- 
vanced Until  it  is  Settled  Indisputably— Wealth  of  Alaska 
Cannot  be  Computed— Effect  of  the  Gold  Excitement  on 
the  Russian  Continental  Railroad — Important  Changes 
in  Alaska — United  States  Should  Have  Uninterrupted 
Communication  with  Powers  of  the  Orient — It  would 
Lead  to  Better  Understanding — Neglect  of  Alaska  not 


14  CONTENTS. 

PAGi:, 
Intended  by  Government — Towns  Should  be  Built  for 
Miners — Money  for  Alaskan  Improvements  Would  be 
Well  Spent — Need  of  Armed  Cruisers  in  the  Pacific  as 
Well  as  in  the  Atlantic — Never  Break  Friendship  Be- 
tween Russia  and  the  United  States 165 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

CURB   THE   WAR   SPIRIT. 

Present  Agitation  Need  not  Lead  to  Warfare — United  States 
Must  Lend  an  Extent  of  Sympathy  to  Those  Who  Are 
Struggling .  for  Freedom — Foolish  to  Goad  the  Public 
to  an  Idea  of  War  With  Any  Nation  -  United  States 
Never  Fought  Simply  for  Territory — Conscious  in 
Integrity  She  Will  Hold  Her  Own,  Leading  to  Peace 
and  Prosperity ...    172 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

OUR  GREAT  NORTHWESTERN  TERRITORY  AND 
ITS  NATURAL  RESOURCES. 
Value  of  Alaska  Assert!  ng  Itself—Governor  Sheakl  ey  's  Report 
Very  Favorable — Alaska  Will  One  Day  be  as  Important 
as  Norway,  Sweden  or  Finland— Russia  Valued  the  Land 
and  Sold  It — United  States  Bought  It — Boundary  was 
not  Questioned  until  Gold  Was  Found — A  System  of 
Railroads  Should  at  Once  be  Planned  for  Alaska — Com- 
munication Must  be  Held  Between  It  and  Great  North- 
western Cities — Commence  Improvements  and  the 
Land  Will  Prosper  at  Once — There  Must  be  Homes, 
Schools,  Churches,  Plenty  of  Food,  Making  Interstate 
Commerce  a  Necessity — No  Reason  for  the  Territory  to 
Remain  Unpopulated — Coal,  Petroleum,  Fish,  Canned 
Goods  and  Timber  Will  Soon  Make  Vast  Changes  in 
Population — Oil  Stoves  for  Cooking  Until  Coal  is  At- 
tainable— Permit  No  Squatting — Land  Reserved  for 
Government  Disposal-  Educate  the  People — Value  the 
Land,  Legislate  Carefully,  and  Alaska  Will  Soon  be 
Worthy  of  a  Place  Among  the  States  . 176 

^^  CHAPTER  XXVII. 

^      THE   FUTURE   OF   ALASKA. 

Impossible  to  Check  Immigration  to  the  Territ(5fy — Tourists 
Praise  It — No  Wonder  Men  Out  of  Work  Turn  to  Its 
Gold  Fields— Duty  of  the  Government  to  Care  for  the 
Men  Who  go  to  the  Territory— The  Trial  Must  be  Made 
to  Prove  Whether  Mining  is  Possible  -  Give  Strong, 
Willing  Men  Work  and  Let  Them  Colonize  Alaska   .    . 


CONTENTS.  1 5 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.  page. 

THE   RESOURCES   OF   AI^ASKA. 

In  Spite  of  Procrastination  Alaska  is  Pushing  to  the  Front 
— Prediction  of  a  Rush  to  the  Territory  Comes  True 
After  vSeveral  Years  of  Waiting — Education  is  Already- 
Aiding  Development — Governor  Swineford  Told  of  the 
Riches  of  Alaska,  and  Returned  to  the  Country  to  Prove 
it — Dr.  Jackson's  Imported  Reindeer  Thrive — Gold,  Sil- 
ver, Copper,  Coal,  Oil,  Furs,  Fish  and  Marble — Money 
and  Talent  Must  Lead  Labor— Work,  the  Password  to 
Fortune — Brawny  Frames,  Strong  Hearts,  and  Perse- 
verance Necessary — All  Joined  With  Industry  Will 
Make  Wonderful  Changes  in  a  Few  Years 189 

CHAPTER  XXIX, 

BERING    SEA   AND    ITS    SEAI^S — QUESTIONS  WHICH   HAVE 
TO  BE  SETTLED  FOR  THE  FUTURE  AS 
WELL  AS  PRESENT. 
The  Question  of  Bering  Sea  Will  Continue  to  Assert  Itself 
Until  it  is  Settled  Once  For  All— The  Seal  Not  the  Main 
Object — Modus  Vivendi  a  Mistake — England's   Diplo- 
macy  Transparent — Bering   Strait   May   One   Day   be 
Compassed  so  as  to  Make  Land  Communication  With 
Siberia    Possible — Chinese    Exclusion    Approved     by 
England — Why — Indemnity  Paid  by  United  States  an 
Act  of  Justice,  Nothing  Else — Arbitration,  to  be  Just. 
Will    Ratify   the   United    States   Claim— Broad   Inter- 
national Policy  Best — Number  of  Seals  Taken  by  the 
Government   of  the   United   States    and    the   Pelagic 
Sealers 195 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

ALASKA  FUR  SEAL  PROTECTION. 
Pelagic  Sealing  Should  Be  Stopped — Cruelty  of  Such  Seal- 
ing— Young  Die  of  Starvation — Unborn  Seals  De- 
stroyed— Proposition  Made  to  Kill  Off  the  Seals  if  Such 
Cruelty  Continues-  Poaching  Works  Its  Own  Destruc- 
tion in  the  Depletion  of  the  Herds — In  Legitimate  Seal- 
ing Only  Proper  Furs  Are  Obtained,  and  the  Killing  is 
Instantaneous — Extermination  Will  Not  Result  if  only 
Legitimate  Means  Are  Used,  and  Proper  Animals  Se- 
lected— Pelts  Thus  Obtained  Alwaj'S  Marketable  and 
Beautiful — Until  Boundaries  Are  Well  Surveyed  and 
Located  No  Arbitration  Could  Be  Executed — Why  Not 
Select  At  Least  One  Republic  in  Arbitrating  Any  Point 
Concerning  This  Republic's  Interests 200 


1 6  CO  ATE  NTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXI,  page. 

RECENT  ROUTES  TO  THE  GOI<D  FIELDS  OF  THE  YUKON  RIVER, 
AFTER   REACHING   ALASKAN  PORTS. 

The  North  Canadian  Route  — Over  the  Chilkoot  Pass — 
The  Chilkat  Route — The  White  Pass,  or  Skaguay  Route 
—Lake  Teslin  Route— The  Taku  Route— A  Canoe  Route 
from  Dease  Lake 206 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

INTERNATIONAL    LAW   AS  AFFECTING  ALASKA. 

Justly  Unselfish  Legislation — Countries  Should  Respect 
Each  Other's  Claims — Russell  Duane  on  International 
Law 224 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

CLIMATE    OF    ALASKA — ITS    HEALTHFULNESS. 

Moist  and  Temperate  Climate  of  the  Coast — Rigorous,  Pure 
Climate  of  the  Interior — Possibilities  of  Vegetable  Cul- 
ture— Plan  for  Propagation 236 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

MISSIONS. 

Summary  of  Missions  and  Mission  Work — Greek  the  First 
Church  in  Alaska — Mission  Schools — Teachers  and 
Employees  in  Church  Misson  Schools  in  1896 242 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

EDUCATION    IN     ALASKA. 

Education,  as  Carried  on  in  the  Past — Progress  and  Plans 
for  the  Future — Schools  Under  Government  Super- 
vision     248 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

CANADIAN    LEGISLATION. 

Mr.  W.  Ogilvie,  Land  Surveyor  for  Canada,  and  Chief  of  Gov- 
ernment Explorers — Klondyke  Protected  by  Mounted 
Police  Under  Major  Walsh— Laws  Governing  Yukon 
and  Klondyke  Districts— Taxations — Penalties — Duties 
— Claims — River,  Creek  and  Bar  Claims — Canadian 
Mining  Regulations 255 


CONTENTS.  17 

CHAPTER  XXXVII.  page 

AI^ASKAN   LEGISLATION. 

The  Alaskan  Purchase — Summary  of  all  Laws  Relating  to 
Alaska— Extracts  from  United  States  Statutes  :  Lands, 
Surveys,  Mineral  Lands,  etc. — Seal  Islands  made  a 
Reservation— Reservations  in  Alaska  :  Lands,  Forest 
and  Fish— Salmon  Protection  and  Revenue-Cutter 
Service — Education  in  Alaska — Traveling  Expenses  — 
Revenue  Service — Customs,  Commercial  and  Naviga- 
tion Laws — Enactment  Concerning  Alaska  Statistics — 
The  Boundary  Line — Boundary  Line  Commission — 
Award  of  Arbitration  Tribunal,  Paris,  on  Fur  Seals — 
Killing  of  Fur-Bearing  Animals — List  of  Statutes  Con- 
cerning Alaska       260 

CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Summary  of  Topics  of  Other  Chapters — Temperature  of 
Different  Parts  of  Alaska — Kuro  Siwo — Japan  Current — 
No  extreme  cold  in  Sitka  and  Like  Places  on  Coast  of 
Alaska — Beauty  of  Scenery — Military  Rule  Questioned 
— Canadian  Police— AlaskansWhen  Civilized  Are  Honest 
and  Faithful— British  to  Carry  Supplies  Across  the  Ter- 
ritory'Without  Duty  Right  if  Reciprocal  Prerogatives  Are 
Given — British  Plan  of  Holding  Part  of  Lands  as  Reserve 
Consistent  With  Plan  Suggested  for  all  States  of  the 
Republic — Miners  Will  be  Caught  by  the  Winter 
Weather — Suggestions  for  Their  Safety — Road  Over 
White  Pass  Begun — Horses  for  Draught  Not  Advisable 
— Burros  Better — Reindeer  Bestof  All— Food  Important 
Freight  in  Former  Cases— Reindeer  Forage  for  Them- 
selves— Dogs  Must  Also  be  Fed,  and  They  Are  Trouble- 
some— Reindeer  Stations  Yet  Limited — Increase  of 
Herds  Promising — These  Deer  Are  Good  for  Food  and 
Clothing  as  Well  as  for  Hauling — Swift,  Docile,  Faithful 
— Care  of  the  Reindeer — Siberian  Lapps  and  Dogs 
Brought  From  Russia  for  Herders — Number  of  Deer 
Distributed  at  Stations — Names  of  Stations  Teller 
Station  Named  for  Hon.  Henry  M.  Teller,  of  Colorado 
— Port  Clarence — Success  With  Reindeer  Assured  .    .    .  328 


1 8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXIX.  page. 

SUPPr,E;MENTARY    DATA. 

Important  and  Recent  Data  Relating  to  Alaska  in  General 
— Klondyke — Yukon  —  Dawson  —  Circle  City — Arctic 
Region — The  Passes — The  Frozen  Zone—  General  Data 
— Officials   of  Alaska,   1897 349 

CHAPTER  XL. 

DISTANCES — APPROXIMATE. 

Between  East,  West  and   Alaska — Fare,  Freight,  Personal 

and  Probable  Expenses  for  Outfit,  Food,  Clothing,  etc.  398 

CHAPTER   XLI. 

POINTS  OF  INTEREST. 

From  Puget  Sound  to  Chilkoot  Pass  and  Sitka 402 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

BIBWOGRAPHY    OF    AI^ASKA. 
Summary  of  All  Books  Relating  to  Alaska 420 


CHAPTER  I. 

Alaska's  Attractions. 

IN    a    geography    of   comparatively   recent    date    I 
find  :    "  Alaska  is  a  cold  country,  and  is  valuable 
only  for    its  furs  and  fisheries.     Most  of  its  in- 
habitants are  Indians." 

Such  is  the  description  of  a  land  whose  aggregate 
area  is  five  thousand  one  hundred  and  seven  square 
miles;  whose  extreme  width,  from  east  to  west,  is  two 
thousand  two  hundred  miles,  in  an  air  line;  whose 
breadth,  from  north  to  south,  is  one  thousand  four 
hundred  miles;  whose  coast,  if  extended  in  a  straight 
line,  would  belt  the  globe,  and  whose  great  river, 
the  Yukon,  running  away  into  Canadian  ter- 
ritory, is  computed  to  be  not  less  than  three 
thousand  miles  long,  two  thousand  of  which  is  navi- 
gable, while  its  width  ranges  from  one  to  five  miles 
for  fully  one  thousand  miles  of  its  course.  Its  five 
mouths  and  intervening  deltas  exceed  seventy  miles 
in  extent.  The  size  of  this  great  river  should  be 
sufficient  for  national  pride  alone  in  its  possession, 
but  that  is  not  all.  Its  shores,  or  at  least  the  country 
traversed  by  it,  is  teeming  with  virgin  mines  of  gold, 
silver  and  copper.  The  Indians  find  in  its  neighbor- 
hood beautiful  furs  which  they  carry  many  miles  in 

19 


2o  ALASKA. 

their  canoes  to  the  trading  posts.  The  supply  would 
naturally  be  much  greater  if  there  were  less  laborious 
modes  of  conveyance.  Prospectors  tell  us  that  there 
are  almost  inexhaustible  mines  of  coal  of  excellent 
quality,  actually  jutting  out  before  those  who  have 
explored  the  islands  and  more  inland  places. 

The  trip  to  Alaska  is  safe  and  comfortable  by  the 
inland  passage.  Fine  passenger  and  safe  freight 
steamers  sail  periodically  along  the  sounds,  straits 
and  bays  protected  by  the  islands  of  tbe  Brit- 
ish Columbian  and  the  Alaskan  coasts,  giv- 
ing the  excursionists  the  opportunity  of  gaining  the 
full  benefit  of  a  sea  water  voyage  without  the  accom- 
panying nausea,  such  as  results  upon  the  broad  roll- 
ing ocean,  while  the  tourist  is  constantly  feasting  his 
eyes  upon  one  picture  after  another  of  the  exquisite 
beauty  or  sublimity. 

Think  of  steaming  up  to  the  very  base  of  a  glacier 
whose  grand  extent  and  beauty  puts  to  shame  the 
glaciers  in  Switzerland,  which  tourists  are  quite  will- 
ing to  make  trips  across  the  Atlantic  to  s'^isit.  And 
the  ocean  trip  thither  is  not  all.  Count  the  miles  of 
railroad  travel,  the  weary  hours  of  climbing,  and  the 
comparatively  few  persons  who  can  accomplish  the 
feat  and  really  behold  the  glacier  fields  in  their  quiet 
grandeur.  While,  upon  the  Muir  Glacier  of  Alaska, 
the  largest  accessible  one  in  the  world,  women 
and     even     children     may     safely     accompany     the 


ALASKA ' S  A  TTRA  CTIONS.  21 

stronger  excursionists,  roam  over  the  vast  moraines 
and  among  the  gHttering  ice  fields  and  even  up  upon 
the  pinnacles  of  ice  and  hear  the  thunder  of  the  im- 
mense blocks  and  crumbling  cliffs  and  crags  of  solidi- 
fied water  as  they  break  away  and  plunge  deep  into  the 
bay  below.  One  can,  on  a  clear  summer's  day,  watch 
them  as  they  leap  into  the  clear  waters,  and  then  dip 
and  dive  as  if  enjoying  their  bath  before  reappearing, 
when  they  shoot  up  their  crystal  peaks  in  beauti- 
ful azure  majesty,  assuming  the  name  and  preroga- 
tive of  icebergs  and  bidding  defiance  to  approaching 
vessels  and  cautioning  them  to  beware  of  their  pres- 
ence. In  Icy  Bay  the  waters  are  so  deep,  however, 
that  vessels  may  with  safety  sail  between  and  among 
these  iridescent  and  rock-like  dangers. 

Alaska  is  "a  cold  country"  in  some  of  its  more 
northern  parts,  but  in  others  it  has  a  summer  burst- 
ing forth  in  green  and  almost  inaccessible  jungles  of 
luxuriant  undergrowth  topped  by  magnificent  trees 
of  valuable  commercial  wood,  with  wonderful  facili- 
ties for  its  transportation.  Birds,  beasts  and  fishes 
can  here  attract  the  ambitious  camping  sportsman, 
with  no  venomous  tropical  snakes  to  mar  the  hope  of 
a  good  night's  rest  after  a  day  of  successful  hunting. 

One  pessimistic  tourist  writes:  "I  could  not  stay 
here,  for  it  is  nearly  always  night.  There  is  no  use 
in  any  one  trying  to  make  a  living  in  such  a  place 
where  there  is  no  light  to  work  by."     He  did  not 


22  ALASKA. 

stay  long  enough  to  see  the  "land  of  the  midnight 
sun"  in  all  its  glory.  He  did  not  think  of  the  miners 
in  our  own  State,  who  scarcely  ever  see  the  light  of 
day,  nor  did  he  give  a  thought  to  the  many  thousands 
of  mechanics  and  tradesmen  who  are  compelled  to 
work  by  artificial  light  a  considerable  portion  of  each 
day  during  the  winter. 

Even  considering  all  its  disadvantages,  the  wealth 
contained  in  the  bosom  of  that  large  Territory  should 
be  suflficient  cause  for  the  Government  to  take  a  deep 
and  permanent  interest  in  it,  and  to  survey  and  claim 
and  amply  mark  its  full  and  proper  boundary  lines. 
Think  of  the  possibility  of  the  truth  of  a  statement 
made  by  travelers,  that  the  British  Dominion  actually 
has  government  buildings  and  officers  in  active  em- 
ployment many  miles  outside  of  the  legal  limits  of  its 
jurisdiction.  That  is,  taking  Fort  Tongas,  for  instance, 
as  the  pivot  upon  which  the  boundary  line  should  rest, 
instead  of  the  thirty-mile  claim  east  of  that  pivot 
along  the  line  being  left  as  the  property  of  the  United 
States,  according  to  the  treaty,  the  land  was  encroached 
upon  at  one  time  many  miles  beyond  that  point  by  am- 
bitious Canadian  map  makers,  who  can  see  in  the 
"barren  waste"  sufficient  facilities  for  money-making 
to  render  it  possible  to  face  all  the  objectionable 
points  that  are  harped  upon  by  those  who  reckon 
without  the  host  of  mines,  stamp-mills,  saw  mills,  and 
fur  trading  posts  that  would  be  erected,  and  of  the 


ALASKA'S  ATTRACTIONS.  23 

hundreds  of  workingmen  that  would  be  willing  to 
face  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  settlement,  if  the 
boundaries  were  an  actual  undisputed  existing  fact, 
and  capitalists  and  others  found  themselves  fully 
guarded  by  a  protecting  government  force.  The  valu- 
able placer  gold  mines  discovered  on  theKlondyke  and 
other  tributaries  of  the  Upper  Yukon  will  compel  Con- 
gress to  definitely  act  in  the  matter. 

If  our  sister  country  takes  such  an  interest  in  the 
border  between  our  province  and  hers,  it  is  really  time 
to  discover  what  are  the  objects  for  which  she  is  will- 
ing to  work  so  faithfully  and  enlist  our  attention  more 
deeply  and  fully  therein.  While  we  are  holding  the 
"cold  country"  as  a  kind  of  disdainful  possession, 
bought  in  a  moment,  as  some  thought,  of  rash  extrav- 
agance, but  really  in  thankfulness  to  Russia  for  her 
friendliness  during  the  great  rebellion,  we  are  quietly 
letting  starve  to  death  the  valuable  "goose"  that 
would  willingly  supply  us  with  the  * '  golden  eggs  ' ' 
which  might  go  far  towards  helping  fill  Alaska's  and 
the  nation's  coffers. 

The  inhabitants  are  mostly  Indians  in  type.  It  is 
still  a  question  from  whom  most  of  these  people  are  de- 
scended, and  it  would  only  give  rise  to  controversy  to 
attempt  to  speak  definitely  upon  the  subject.  But 
their  carvings  in  stone,  metal,  bone  and  ivory  display 
wonderful  talent,  and  the  blankets  of  the  Chilkats 
are  surely  but  slowly  gaining  world-wide  reputation. 


24  ALASKA. 

not  only  on  account  of  their  texture  but  by  reason 
of  the  beautiful  colorings  and  designs  in  which  they 
are  wrought  by  the  native  women.  So  much  is 
thought  of  these  blankets  that  a  Chilkat's  wealth  is 
gauged  by  the  number  in  his  possession.  Here,  too, 
would  be  a  considerable  source  of  revenue,  for  trade 
would  not  only  increase  the  production,  but  many 
a  cunning  chief  or  medicine  man  would  be  tempted 
by  the  glittering  silver  and  gold  coins  of  our  treasury 
to  sell  his  store  of  wealth,  and  put  into  the  market 
what  would,  for  a  while  at  least,  become  a  fashion- 
able decoration  for  many  a  foreign-decked  boudoir. 
In  fact,  my  description  would  become  tediously  lengthy 
if  I  should  try  to  make  even  passing  mention  of  the 
many  reasons  why  our  boundary  should  be  a  fixed, 
unalterable  line;  why  our  half-scorned  Territory 
should  have  a  government  of  its  own,  and  why  the 
natives  should  have  at  least  more  notice  taken  of  the 
rights  that  were  intended  to  be  secured  to  them  by  the 
terms  of  the  purchase  of  Alaska  and  why  its  commerce 
should  not  rapidly  increase. 


CHAPTER   II. 

The   Needs   of  Alaska. 

IT  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  those  who  have  seen 
Alaska,  who  have  a  kindly  feeling  toward  that 
distant  portion  of  our  countr}^  and  who  are 
deeply  anxious  for  its  welfare,  to  know  whether  the 
United  States  is  intending  to  give  this  tract  of  land  a 
territorial  form  of  government  that  will  protect  its  set- 
tlers, as  well  as  the  savage  or  native  portion  of  its  pop- 
ulation. They  surely  have  the  rights  of  citizens  as  to 
claim,  and  should  receive  the  protection  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  which  they  belong. 

As  it  is,  there  seems  to  be  no  thorough  safeguards 
for  any  enterprise,  excepting  that  secured  by  patents 
for  mining  claims,  so  that  practically,  in  the  mining 
regions  are  to  be  found  the  only  inducements  so  far 
offered  to  settlers.  A  bill  for  the  formation  of  a  terri- 
torial form  of  government  was  introduced  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  some  time  ago,  but  no  de- 
finite arrangement  concerning  it  seems  to  be  near 
completion  yet.     It  certainly  needs  representation. 

I  have  looked  in  vain  for  years  in  each  President's 
message  for  any  mention  of  the  neglected  land,  except 
as  regards  the  legal  boundary  between  it  and  the  Brit- 
ish possessions.  It  would  certainly  be  well  to  have  that 

25 


26  ALASKA. 

matter  settled  once  for  all.  At  the  same  time  it 
would  be  well  for  our  government  to  take  the  steps 
that  would  stamp  Alaska  as  one  of  its  Territories, 
and  thus  provide  proper  laws  for  its  government,  and 
then  furnish  a  sufficient  number  of  officers,  civil  and 
protective,  and  troops,  and  an  ample  naval  equipment 
to  guard  the  coasts  and  rivers  and  see  to  their  en- 
forcement.    It  is  not  read}^  for  subdivision  yet. 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  there  would  be  need 
for  some  difference  in  ruling  a  people  so  diverse  from 
ourselves  in  language,  customs  and  methods  of  liv- 
ing. But  legal  arrangements,  should  be  made  to 
show  them  the  authority  under  which  they  live;  let- 
ting them  see  that  the  law  must  not  only  be  obeyed, 
but  that  the  same  government  that  will  punish 
an  offender  against  its  majesty  will  also  vigorously 
protect  him  from  interference  from  outsiders,  and 
secure  the  rights  that  no  one  ma}^  dispute.  As  it  is 
now,  the  interior  natives  are  to  a  great  extent  as  much 
"a  law  unto  themselves"  as  before,  and  in  all  these 
years  there  has  been  but  a  limited  improvement  among 
the  more  civilized  natives. 

Some  advocate  that  the  Territory  be  left  in  the 
hands  of  missionaries  for  some  time  to  come,  that 
their  teachings  may  fit  the  people  to  become  citizens. 
So  far,  it  is  well ;  but  do  not  the  missionaries  need  pro- 
tection and  assistance?  Will  their  work  be  any  the 
less  effective  if  they  have  the  strong  arm  of  a  present 


THE  NEEDS  OF  ALASKA.  27 

power  to  lean  upon?  Argue  that  God  has  promised 
to  be  with  those  that  do  His  work.  But  He  made 
laws  Himself  for  the  government  and  protection  of 
His  people. 

When  the  Alaskans — notwithstanding  many  are 
wild  and  cruel,  yet  all  are  human — find  that  the  land 
is  under  one  power,  irrespective  of  position,  tribe,  or 
color;  when  they  know  whether  it  is  a  white  man  or 
a  native  who  commits  a  crime,  he  will  be  equally  pun- 
ished; when  they  are  made  confident  that  each  one 
who  holds  property  by  right  will  be  protected  in  its 
possession  by  common  law  for  all,  mission  work  will 
be  wonderfully  aided.  How  often  has  it  been  that 
the  poorly  remunerated,  overworked  teacher  has  to 
neglect  the  spiritual  education  of  one  while  settling 
some  dispute  among  others,  whereas,  if  the  proper 
civil  authorities  were  there,  he  could  send  the  dispu- 
tants to  them  and  have  more  time  to  devote  to  his 
own  calling. 

So  far  the  Government  has  been  perhaps  uncon- 
sciously requiring  double  duty  of  that  noble  band  of 
missionaries  and  teachers  in  Alaska.  Now  let  it 
rise  and  give  them  the  support  of  their  own  laws,  with 
enough  officials  for  their  fulfilment,  and  it  will  be  re- 
warded by  a  far  greater  progress  in  civilization  in  the 
next  decade  than  has  been  shown  in  all  the  previous 
years  since  the  purchase. 

Think  of  a  country  whose  area  equals  one-sixth 
the  extent  of  the   remaining  portion  of  the  United 


28  AL.lSk:i. 

States,  being  under  a  sort  of  law  of  origin,  and  even 
that  liable  to  individual  demands  at  any  time.  For 
instance,  a  prospector  observes  an  apparent  barren 
waste  or  forest,  but  he  also  sees  facilities  for  its  great 
improvement.  There  is  no  visible  owner.  He  hews 
his  logs,  builds  his  house  and  in  time  makes  a  pleas- 
ant home  for  himself,  and  the  spot  grows  under  his 
care  to  be  a  credit  to  any  country.  A  dark-faced  sav- 
age comes  along,  by  whose  advice  we  cannot  say,  and 
demands  possession,  or  perhaps  takes  it  without  any 
question,  and  with  it  the  settler's  hard  earned  im- 
provements, for  under  the  purchase  the  natives  have 
a  prior  claim  to  lands  they  have  occupied. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  such  laxity  is  ruining  instead 
of  making  the  country  prosperous?  Is  it  strange 
that  some  parts,  which  years  ago  gave  promise  of  be- 
coming places  of  importance,  have  fallen  ofif  in  popu- 
lation, leaving  as  monuments  to  promised  industries 
the  deserted  buildings?  It  is  not  like  American  en- 
terprise so  to  act,  nor  will  it  be  so  when  the  proper 
protection  is  ofifered  to  individual  projects.  By  many 
the  blame  is  attached  to  the  climate.  Investigation 
will  prove  that  we  have  greater  variations  in  the 
climate,  in  our  part  of  the  country,  than  there  are  in 
many  parts  of  Alaska.  To  be  sure  there  are  glaciers 
and  icebergs  in  some  places  in  the  northern  posses- 
sions, but  so  are  there  waving  trees  and  luxuriant  vel- 
vet-like grasses  in  other  parts. 


THE  NEEDS  OF  ALASKA.  29 

In  the  future  there  will  be  many  who  will  prefer 
Alaska  or  Dakota  to  Florida,  and  vice  versa. 
As  far  as  my  own  experience  led  me  to  ob- 
serve it  was  lovely  and  healthful.  I  can  see 
no  reason  why  a  tract  of  land  teeming  with  wealth 
should  be  neglected  by  government  and  people  alike. 

From  the  mines  of  silver,  gold  and  coal,  from  the 
mighty  forests  of  cedar  and  pine,  from  the  beautiful 
furs  of  seal  and  otter,  from  the  great  fisheries  of  seal, 
whale,  salmon  and  cod,  from  the  enormous,  inex- 
haustible supply  of  pure  ice,  comes  the  one  voice: 
"Give  us  the  protection  of  an  interested  Government 
and  we  will  not  only  support  ourselves,  but  will  re- 
turn to  the  United  States  a  revenue,  many  times  mul- 
tiplying the  amount  of  her  investment  by  the  pur- 
chase of  the  district  of  Alaska." 


CHAPTER  III. 

How  TO   Reach   Alaska    and    Its  Gold   Fields. 

TOURISTS  visiting  Alaska  have  such  a  choice 
of  routes  that  each  individual  may  consult 
his  own  taste  until  he  arrives  at  Tacoma  or 
Seattle,  on  Puget  Sound,  but  after  that  he  will  find 
but  one  route,  by  the  inland  passage,  to  the  Territory, 
— of  which  so  much  has  been  recently  written — by 
steamer  to  Port  Townsend,  and  thence  to  Juneau,  Fort 
Tongas,  Fort  Wrangel  and  Sitka.  Commodious, 
well  equipped  steamers  ply  between  Tacoma, 
Seattle  and  Port  Townsend,  and  freight  steam- 
ers make  stoppages  at  small  towns  and  sal- 
mon canneries  on  their  way,  as  well  as  at  the 
principal  towns.  Sitka  is,  and  has  always  been,  the 
capital,  but  Juneau  is  the  principal  commercial  city 
and  business  centre,  because  it  is  adjacent  to  Douglas 
Island,  the  location  of  the  large  Treadwell  Gold 
Mine.  Fort  Wrangel  is  also  a  stopping  place, 
though  it  was  long  since  abandoned  as  a  fort,  and  is 
now  only  noticeable  for  its  curious  native  houses  and 
their  peculiar  totems.  Fort  Tongas,  at  the  lower 
border  of  the  Territory,  is  also  now  quite  forsaken, 
though  it  was  once  quite  important. 

The  pleasure  seeker  will  find  enough  of  beauty  and 
grandeur  even  this  far  to  repay  many  times  over  the 
30 


HOW  TO   REACH  ALASKA.  31 

expense  of  the  trip,  while  inconvenience  is  almost  a 
thing  of  the  past,  except  when  it  is  calculated  with 
regard  to  the  gold  hunters,  who  must  pass  beyond  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  steamers  and  for  whom  railroads 
have  not  yet  been  constructed. 

The  accompanying  map  will  give  a  slight  idea  of 
the  direct  course  from  Juneau  to  the  Klondyke  River, 
but  onl}^  experience  can  fully  describe  the  journey. 

The  distance  from  Juneau  to  this  river  is  about  700 
miles.  There  is  steamboat  passage  from  Juneau  to 
a  place  called  Dyea,  possibly  a  perversion  of  the  na- 
tive name,  as  Klondyke  certainly  is.  From  this  point 
goods  are  borne  by  carriers,  horses  or  burros,  until 
the  limit  of  Chilkoot  Pass  and  the  adjacent  level  land 
is  reached,  when  they  are  again  placed  in  boats  and 
taken  through  a  chain  of  lakes,  varying  in  size,  on 
to  the  Lewis  River,  through  which  they  reach  the 
Yukon  River;  after  that  they  have  comparatively 
easy  boating  down  the  stream  until  they  enter  the  gold 
district.  A  portion  of  this  route  is  accomplished  by 
shooting  rapids,  one  of  which  leads  through  a  narrow 
canyon,  the  passage  being  accompanied  by  a  few  min- 
utes of  terrible  danger.  But  the  saving  of  many  hours 
in  making  a  detour  to  avoid  it  is  considered  sufficient 
compensation  to  the  men  who  are  eager  to  get  to  their 
destination.  The  dangers,  inconveniences  and  diffi- 
culties of  this  trip  are  supplemented  by  the  impossi- 
bility of  being  able  to  carry  sufficient  provisions  and 


32  ALASKA. 

tools  to  last  any  great  length  of  time.  The  conse- 
quent deprivation,  failure  and  loss  of  life  will,  for  a 
time,  have  a  depressing  effect  upon  the  enterprise. 
At  the  same  time  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  these 
adverse  conditions  cannot  be  obviated  if  active  meas- 
ures are  immediately  instituted  to  improve  the  road 
and  make  it  more  easily  passable.  In  fact,  we  hear 
that  this  improvement  has  already  begun.  There  is  not 
a  doubt  that  the  time  is  not  distant  when  this  part  of 
the  Territory  will  be  as  accessible  as  are  the  Mission 
fields  of  the  Yukon,  or  Point  Barrow,  the  extreme 
northern  limit  of  the  North-West.  This  way  is  the  in- 
land route  to  the  Gold  Regions.  The  San  Francisco 
route  is  made  by  steamer  up  the  Pacific  Ocean  into 
Bering  Sea,  viaUnalashka,  thence  up  the  Yukon  River 
to  St.  Michaels,  the  only  town  of  any  importance  so  far 
interior  at  which  the  regular  Yukon  steamers,  plying 
between  the  upper  country  and  St.  Michaels,  can  be 
taken  for  the  mining  towns.  The  greatest  objection  to 
this  route  is  that  it  is  available  only  about  two,  or  at  the 
most,  three  months  in  the  year.  The  great  river  begins 
freezing  in  September  and  from  that  time  until  the 
warm  days  in  May  or  June  it  lies  completely  locked 
in  its  icy  vestment.  Its  tributaries  share  the  same 
fate,  so  that  the  route  cannot  be  very  popular  for 
those  who  start  out  to  seek  fortunes  with  empty 
pockets. 

A  third  route  is  by  way  of  Taku  Inlet.    An  entrance 
is  made  to  the  bay  thirty  miles  south  of  Juneau,  and  it 


Alaskans   at    Home. 


An  Alaskan  Intkrior. — Chief's  House. 


HO IV  TO   REACH  ALASKA.  33 

is  the  course  proposed  by  Schwatka  on  his  way  to  explore 
the  great  Yukon  River.  It  leads  through  a  flat,  com- 
paratively level  country  to  the  Lewis  river,  thence 
over  that  stream  to  the  Yukon  and  down  the  Yukon 
to  Dawson  City  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  the  Klon- 
dyke.  The  Dyea  or  according  to  Schwatka,  Dayay 
River  route  leads  across  the  mountains  from  Chilkoot 
Inlet  to  Lake  Teslin.  Here  flat  boats  for  freight,  and 
light  canoes  for  passengers,  ply  over  a  good  waterway 
direct  to  Dawson  City.  Except  by  the  San  Francisco 
route  it  is  impossible  to  reach  the  Gold  Region  without 
passing  through  British  domain.  A  fourth  route  is 
made  quite  desirable  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
road, which  carries  the  traveler  and  his  belongings 
over  the  high  plateau  to  the  Teslin  Lake  and  River, 
whence  the  journey  is  the  same  as  the  route  pre- 
viously mentioned. 

Other  routes  are  now  being  planned.  The  bal- 
loon project  is  rather  visionary  as  yet. 

Klondyke,  or  Clondike,  is  a  perversion  of  the  na- 
tive name  claimed  by  one  authority  to  be  Thron- 
duick,  or  river  with  plenty  of  fish.  This  seems  prob- 
able because  of  the  abundance  of  salmon  found  therein 
at  the  fishing  season.  By  another  it  is  said  to  be 
Clan-dack,  or  Rein-deer  River.  The  latter  is  more 
doubtful  as  the  reindeer  has  not  been  known  in  that 
region  within  the  memory  of  man.  However,  Klon- 
dyke it  is  called,  and  that  name  rings  around  the 
3 


34  ALASKA. 

world  to-day  tempting  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor, 
with  its  golden  melody. 

To  such  a  pitch  has  the  excitement  reached  that 
many  a  poor,  deluded  man  has  started  forth  to  push 
his  fortune  with  very  little  money  and  very  scant  pro- 
vision for  the  trip,  and  literally  without  even  know- 
ing in  what  manner  he  shall  find  his  way  to  the  tempt- 
ing gold  fields.  In  imagination,  wealth  in  shining 
nuggets  and  yellow  dust  await  his  coming.  But 
he  will  find  no  room  for  such  hopes  as  he  steps  upon 
the  crowded  steamer;  no  food  for  him  who  has  not 
plenty  of  cash  with  which  to  pay  exorbitantly  for 
every  creature  comfort,  however  rude ;  no  room  for  his 
provisions  and  outfit  unless  ample  compensation  is 
forthcoming.  It  follows  then  that  a  man  must  weigh 
well  all  the  requirements  for  the  journey,  and  calculate 
to  a  nicety  all  the  expenses  before  deciding  upon  enter- 
ing the  race  for  the  Alaskan,  or  Klondyke  Gold 
Fields.  One  should  await  the  spring  weather  and 
better  conveyance. 

Health,  strength,  untiring  energy,  endless  patience 
and  considerable  money  are  the  only  possible  guides 
to  success;  while  a  prolonged  absence  from  all  the 
refinements  of  cultivated  society  must  also  be  duly 
considered.  The  very  sight  of  a  linen  shirt  would 
be  greeted  with  derision,  and  any  of  the  delicate  ac- 
cessories of  the  toilet  would  call  down  an  avalanche 
of  cutting  sarcasm.     By  this  he  must  know  that  flan- 


NOW  TO  REACH  ALASKA.  35 

nel  shirts — not  dainty  Ceylon  flannel, — tough  suits, 
heavy  boots,  snow  shoes,  mud  moccasins — really  long 
boots  of  beaver  or  seal  skin  with  the  fur  inside  and 
costing  all  the  way  from  ten  to  twenty-two  dollars, — 
close  fitting  caps  with  ear  covers,  plenty  of  good 
warm  stockings,  numerous  gloves,  and  fur  outer  gar- 
ments are  all  absolutely  necessary.  Food  in  abund- 
ance must  be  taken  for  fear  of  famine.  To  pro- 
cure such  an  outfit  it  will  require  at  least  six  hun- 
dred dollars.  Dogs  and  sleds  must  be  had  to  accom- 
plish the  overland  transportation,  for  which  five  hun- 
dred dollars  more  is  requisite.  Then  fare  and  boat 
hire  must  be  computed.  $67.75  will  land  you  by  rail 
at  Seattle,  on  Puget  Sound,  from  any  of  the  sea  board 
cities  of  the  East.  From  Seattle  $75.00  will  give  you 
every  comfort  on  the  steamer  until  you  reach  Juneau. 
From  Juneau  a  small  boat  is  taken  to  Dyea. 
After  that  comes  the  use  of  the  sleds,  or  the  pack 
carriers  if  you  prefer  their  services  to  purchasing 
dogs  and  sleds;  then  the  services  of  the  boats  on  the 
lakes  and  rapids  and  the  wages  of  assistants  in  caring 
for  the  goods.  This  latter  is  a  most  important  ser- 
vice, because  there  is  danger  of  losing  every  thing 
while  shooting  the  rapids  of  the  Portage  and  Lake 
Lebarge.  These  latter  expenses  are  not  computed 
for  us,  but  they  must  amount  to  quite  a  little  sum. 
After  all  difficulties  and  dangers  are  successfully  sur- 
mounted and  Klondyke,  or  Dawson  City  dawns  upon 


36  ALASKA. 

the  eyes,  the  first  consideration  must  be  some  kind 
of  residence,  for  the  building-  of  which  you  will  re- 
quire lumber,  procurable  at  the  modest  sum  of  $750 
per  thousand  feet.  These  facts  are  somewhat  dis- 
couraging, but  we  are  assured  that  they  are  true. 
If  so,  poor  men  must  stay  at  home,  unless  capitalists 
undertake  to  fit  out  and  send  colonies  to  the 
mines.  When  they  do,  there  will  be  a  great  demand 
for  strong,  able-bodied,  willing  men.  Others  must 
stay  among  the  more  civilized  communities,  and  be 
content  to  let  the  dazzling  pictures  of  instantaneous 
fortune  pass  before  them  without  losing  their  mental 
equilibrium  in  the  contemplation.  "Grub-stake"  min- 
ers are  men  employed  by  others  for  a  consideration  to 
prospect  or  work  and  thus  make  a  division  of  their 
finds. 

Many  fortune  seekers  may,  however,  find  it  con- 
venient to  content  themselves  in  South-Eastern Alaska, 
where  the  climate  is  much  like  that  of  Boston  and 
possibly  of  cities  a  little  further  south.  This  tempera- 
ture is  owing  to  the  warm  Japan  current,  called  the 
Ivuro  Siwo,  which  sweeps  northward  like  the  Gulf 
Stream  of  the  East,  washing  tine  shores  of  the  myriad 
Western  Islands  and  modifying  the  temperature  for  a 
considerable  distance  inland.  This  warm  stream,  flow- 
ing from  the  mild  coasts  of  Asia,  curves  around  the 
bleak  Aleutian  Islands  and  tempers  with  its  gentle 
breath  the  whole  southern  region.     There  is  a  great 


HOW  TO  REACH  ALASKA.  37 

deal  of  good  mining  in  this  neighborhood,  now  aban- 
doned by  miners  for  the  more  promising  fields  further 
north  and  east.  Just  here  the  belated  miner  may  find 
some  balm  for  his  disappointed  hopes,  and  doubtless 
the  day  is  near  when  thousands  of  men  and  women 
will  find  comfortable  homes  and  a  good  living  as  the 
country  becO'm,es  more  settled,  which  is  now  certain  to 
happen  in  a  short  time.  Miners  will  go  so  far,  find  it 
impossible  to  get  north,  and  in  desperation  take  work 
in  the  mines  in  which  such  hands  are  now  in  great 
demand,  or  find  other  more  profitable  occupations. 
The  consequence  will  be  that  they  will  find  the  climate 
agreeable,  the  work  lucrative,  and  they  will 
soon  gather  their  families  around  them.  Thus  the 
wildly  boiling  fever  for  Klondyke  gold  will  become 
the  calmer  desire  for  home  and  competence,  and  the 
benefit  accruing  to  one  part  of  the  Territory  will  be 
a  steady  advancement  to  the  honor  and  dignity  of 
both  commercial  and  financial  importance  in  Alaska, 
while  the  natives  will  at  last  be  brought  into  com- 
munion with  the  true  and  honorable  type  of  citizenship 
and  of  our  home-like  life. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

A  Few    Improvements  for  Alaska. 

AT  LAST  there  comes  a  crj^  from  Alaska  for  the 
^  railroads  and  telegraphic  communications  that 
the  writer  has  been  earnestly  advocating  as 
absolute  requirements  for  its  development  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  The  folly  of  claiming  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  build  railroads  in  places  where  men  can  carry 
loads  like  pack  horses  is  distinctly  evidenced  by  the 
magnificent  engineering  on  the  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  Railroad  and  the  railway  over  Marshall  Pass 
and  other  parts  of  the  mountains  of  Colorado,  while 
the  single  example  of  the  Cog  Wheel  Road  to  the  top 
of  Pike's  Peak,  as  well  as  similar  wonderful  enterprises, 
is  sufficient  demonstration  of  what  may  here  be  done 
if  the  demand  for  it  was  authoritatively  pronounced. 
Civil  engineering  can  surmount  all  the  difficulties, 
the  only  question  now  is  when  shall  capital  be  thus 
directed.  Allowance  must  at  this  time  be  made  for 
the  exaggerations  in  reports  regarding  the  extensive 
finds  of  coal,  oil,  and  especially  gold,  in  the  Territory. 
At  the  same  time  such  evidences  have  been  given 
that  no  one  can  doubt  that  the  products  are  truly 
there  and  in  large  quantities.  And  now  the  disastrous 
results  of  procrastination  are  beginning  to  fall  upon 
-,8 


A  FEW  IMPROVEMENTS  FOR  ALASKA.        39 

the  hundreds  to  whom  the  prospect  of  riches,  held 
towards  them  in  such  glowing  colors,  has  completely 
eclipsed  the  gloom  of  certain  hardships  and  possible 
disappointment,  if  not  starvation  and  death  next 
winter. 

To-day  the  Government  itself  would  be  powerless 
to  stay  the  human  tide  that  is  even  now  swelling  on- 
ward toward  the  wonderful  El  Dorado  in  the  Klon- 
dyke  Region,  but  it  certainly  could  have  prevented 
the  bold  announcement  that  is  setting  the  New  World 
almost  insane,  if  measures  had  been  started  to  open 
the  way  before  the  on-rush  came,  for  it  was  authenti- 
cated reports  of  valuable  gold  fields  along  the  Upper 
Yukon  that  set  the  wheel  in  motion  that  should  have 
been  kept  in  check  until  good  roads  and  proper 
means  of  transit  had  been  provided.  The  success 
of  every  enterprise  undertaken  on  the  Pacific  Coast  has 
been  assured,  but  it  was  through  the  stubborn  perse- 
verance of  the  Russian,  the  acute,  farseeing  deter- 
mination of  John  Jacob  Astor,  and  the  men  selected 
by  his  keen  knowledge  of  requirements;  and  the  ex- 
traordinary business  tact  of  the  men  working  under 
the  Alaska  Fur  Trading  Company,  that  combined  in 
a  chain  of  mighty  links  to  make  each  enterprise  a 
surety.  Mr.  Astor  in  particular  was  never  prodigal 
of  human  life.  He  always  warned  those  to  whom 
he  entrusted  the  work  of  all  the  hardships  and  priva- 
tions attending  their  duties.     He  equipped  them  lux- 


40  ALASKA. 

uriously,  he  paid  them  well,  and  he  selected  careful, 
competent  and  experienced  men  to  pioneer  the  way. 
The  consequence  was  that  many  of  them  were  willing 
to  risk  their  lives  in  his  service,  while  one  or  two 
held  on  to  the  enterprise  against  such  odds  as  seldom 
were  met  by  men  who  lived  to  tell  the  story.  The 
work  so  well  begun  and  of  late  advancing  with  less  dil- 
atory pace  could  have  been  continued  until  a  proper 
number  of  boats  had  been  prepared  for  the  carriage 
of  men  and  provisions,  and  some  other  plan  could 
have  been  devised  for  the  transportation  of  freight 
over  Chilkoot  Pass,  other  than  human  carriers.  If 
the  little  burros,  or  donkeys,  who  have  done  so 
nobly  at  mountain  climbing  in  other  parts  of  the 
United  States  and  Mexico  had  been  taken  to  that 
point,  at  the  proper  season,  it  is  more  than  probable, 
that  they  would  have  been  found  as  faithful  aids  as 
they  have  ever  been  elsewhere.  But  the  greatest  of 
all  considerations  must  hinge  upon  that  season.  All 
preparations  should  be  made  toward  it.  Boats  made 
ready  and  provisioned,  tools  laded,  burros  trained  to 
the  Pass  and  guides — faithful  native  guides — secured. 
Then  when  open  weather  arrives  there  would  be 
no  loss  of  time  in  preparation.  Upon  the  arrival  of 
the  men,  there  should  be  companies  appointed  to 
take  turns  in  preparing  and  provisioning  tenements 
for  the  rugged  winter,  so  that  the  miners  may  re- 
main to  be  ready  for  the  work  in  the  summer,  instead 


A  FEW  IMPROVEMENTS  FOR  ALASKA.        41 

of  attempting  to  make  the  dangerous  journey  in 
winter. 

A  cursory  glance  will  show  that  every  private  prop- 
erly organized  plan  for  the  improvement  of  the  Terri- 
tory has  also  been  successful.  Missionary  work  pro- 
gresses favorably  at  every  point.  Steamers  have 
made  successful  touring  trips  for  years.  The  Fur 
Trade  has  had  phenomenal  success.  The  fisheries  are 
among  the  finest  in  the  world.  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson 
has  proved  the  benefit  of  introducing  reindeer  into 
the  bleak  and  barren  North-West.  The  Treadwell 
Mine  and  Stamp  Mill  on  Douglas  Island  are  ranked 
among  the  most  advantageous  enterprises  of  the  kind 
ever  organized  in  this  region,  or  even  in  the 
world.  Therefore  the  fever  for  gold  should  be 
calmed  down  to  a  reasonable  realization  of  the 
ways  and  means  of  reaching  the  spot  first; 
afterward  the  manner  of  obtaining  the  metal  should 
be  systematically  considered,  and  men  wiho  have  not 
capital  may  hope  to  obtain  work  that  will  insure  a 
living  until  such  times  as  they  too  may  be  able  to 
strike  rich  claims. 

While  advocating  this  the  author  does  not  lose 
sight  for  an  instant,  of  the  plan,  that  in  his  view 
should  be  adopted  by  the  Government — that  is  to 
take  possession  of  all  new  gold  regions,  holding  them 
as  vast  banks  for  the  benefit  of  its  Treasury,  and  pay- 
ing men  fair  prices  for  their  claims,  at  the  same  time 


42  ALASKA. 

developing  the  mines  through  the  aid  of  properly 
remunerated  workmen. 

To  the  men  who  are  won  by  the  glaring  stories  of 
fortune  awaiting  them,  we  would  say,  better  take  ad- 
vice, and  make  a  smaller  profit  by  staying  nearer  the 
bounds  of  civilization  along  the  coast  line  of  Southern 
Alaska,  than  to  risk  both  health  and  life  in  an  unsuit- 
able climate,  where  the  thermometer  often  runs 
down  to  60  or  70  degrees  below  zero,  and  where 
pneumonia,  or  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  a  heed- 
less, reckless  life  among  a  very  lawless  population, 
may  end  in  your  bones  being  laid  beneath  the  pitiless 
snows  of  some  frigid  valley. 

Alaska  is  one-sixth  the  size  of  the  whole  of  the  re- 
maining portion  of  the  United  States,  so  there  is 
room  for  all  who  desire  to  go,  only  lay  your  plans  de- 
liberately and  carefully,  equip  yourself  with  every  con- 
venience and  wait  until  the  next  season  opens,  when 
ample  provision  will  be  made  for  you  as  to  transporta- 
tion, as  well  as  for  your  support  and  comfort. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Gold  Mining  in  Alaska. 

THE  sudden  and  uncontrollable  excitement  in 
connection  with  the  discovery  of  rich  placer  gold 
mines  on  the  Klondyke  River,  a  branch  of  the 
Upper  Yukon,  that  extends  eastward  into  British  Co- 
lumbia Territory,  by  no  means  demonstrates  the  first 
finding  of  gold  in  and  adjacent  to  Alaska.  There 
have  been  localities  all  along  the  coast  from  which 
gold  and  silver  in  paying  quantities  and  of  more  or 
less  purity,  have  been  obtained  for  many  years.  It  is 
almost  a  matter  of  wonder  that  the  traders,  who  trav- 
ersed both  the  water  and  land  of  this  neighborhood 
for  over  a  century,  did  not  become  enthusiastic  in  its 
search,  for  evidently  they  must  have  known  some- 
thing of  its  presence.  Possibly  they  thought  it  better 
policy  to  ignore  the  knowledge,  than  to  arouse  the 
antagonism  of  the  owners  of  the  soil,  for  it  has  been 
said,  that  an  individual  told  the  Russian  representa- 
tive. Count  BaranofT,  of  finding  gold  and  showed  him 
a  portion  of  it,  when  the  tyrannical  old  ruler  threat- 
ened him  with  severe  punishment  if  he  either  delved 
for  more  or  told  of  his  discovery.  This  may  be  only 
a  legendary  fragment  touching  upon  the  despotism  of 
the  blustering  Governor,  but  it  is  undoubtedly  true 

43 


44  ALASKA. 

that  so  far  as  the  development  of  mining  in  the  Terri- 
tory is  concerned,  there  was  no  attempt  made  in  that 
direction,  while  it  was  under  Russian  government. 
But  when  we  take  into  consideration  the  enormous 
wealth  in  furs,  both  from  amphibious  and  forest 
animals  and  the  comparative  ease  with  which  the  pelts 
were  obtained,  together  with  the  impossibility  of 
working  for  metal  without  tools  we  can  comprehend 
the  reasons  for  the  apparent  indifiference.  Not  only 
were  the  beautiful  furs  plentiful,  but  they  were  in  de- 
mand, and  when  the  voyageurs  loaded  their  canoes 
to  their  fullest  capacity  they  were  certain  of  their 
profitable  sale.  Perhaps  even  to-day  if  there  were 
the  old  time  millions  of  seal,  otter,  fox  and  other  fur 
bearing  mammals,  the  great  enthusiasm  concerning 
gold  would  not  reach  to  such  a  height  as  at  present. 
Let  the  reason  have  been  what  it  might,  certainly 
the  first  real  discovery  of  gold  in  quantity  was  made 
after  the  Territory  had  been  in  the  possession  of  the 
United  States  for  several  years,  for  it  was  in  1872,  that 
two  soldiers,  named  Nicholas  Haley  and  Edward 
Doyle  found  treasures  on  the  shores  of  Silver  Bay, 
where  it  cleaves  its  beautiful  way  through  the  moun- 
tains near  Sitka.  Doyle  never  succeeded  in  making 
a  fortune  but  Haley,  who  in  fact  was  the  first  to  at- 
tempt blasting  the  rocks  of  the  Alaskan  mountains 
for  gold,  continued  for  many  years  a  faithful  miner 
and    one    who  expressed  peculiar  characteristics  for 


GOLD  MINING  IN  ALASKA.  45 

one  of  his  class.  He  remained  in  the  neighborhood  of 
his  discovery  and  increased  his  claims  as  his  toil  was 
rewarded  with  success  sufficient  to  insure  the  further 
expense  of  developing  the  ledges.  Doyle  has  been 
dead  for  a  number  of  years,  but  his  companion  be- 
came one  of  the  reliable  citzens  of  Sitka,  whose  stories 
of  perils  and  successes  have  interested  many  an  em- 
bryo miner   and   hunter. 

It  was  not  until  October,  1880,  that  the  mines  about 
Juneau  were  discovered,  and  they  were  actually  lo- 
cated by  Indians,  who  found  the  metal  in  the  sands 
of  the  creek  near  Auk  Glacier.  Richard  Harris  and 
Joseph  Juneau  were  authorized  by  a  business  man  of 
Sitka,  namied  Fuller,  to  examine  into  the  prospect  of 
the  find.  The  men  made  such  a  satisfactory  investi- 
gation that  they  concluded  to  go  into  business  at  once. 
So  the  two  held  a  meeting,  organized  a  corporation 
called  the  Harris  Mining  District  of  Alaska.  The 
company  consisted  of  these  two,  Harris  being  elected 
Recorder  of  the  District.  Juneau  was  the  location  of 
the  mining  camp.  It  was  named  for  Harris  at  first, 
but  it  gradually  became  settled  as  Juneau,  and  its  pro- 
pinquity to  the  mines  insured  its  growth,  which  has 
raised  it  to  the  importance  of  a  trade  centre  for  the 
gold  output  of  Alaska,  as  well  as  a  starting  point  at 
which  provisions,  dog  teams  and  general  out-fits  can 
be  secured,  if  one  has  taken  a  sudden  resolve  to  go  to 
the  mines,  though  he  must  consider  that  the  prices 


46  ALASKA. 

at  Juneau  are  so  exorbitant  that  it  would  be  better  to 
have  obtained  them  at  Tacoma  or  Seattle,  if  not  at  the 
principal  market,  San  Francisco.  For  years  the 
basins,  gulches  and  creeks  around  Juneau  and  in  the 
close  neighborhood  of  Taku  Inlet  were  worked  with 
rich  results,  but  the  lawlessness  of  the  ungoverned, 
therefore  unprotected,  district  was  the  scene  of  many 
a  crime  of  murder,  debauchery  and  rascality.  This  con- 
tinued until  a  Governor  was  appointed  for  Alaska  and 
a  certain  shadow  of  law  made  itself  known,  and  pros- 
pectors found  that  they  could  have  some  hope  of  con- 
trolling their  claims  against  the  odds  of  daring  en- 
croachers,  or  the  threats  of  native  gold  hunters. 
Placer  mining  was,  except  in  a  few  places,  the  only  mode 
resorted  to  in  obtaining  the  dust  and  possible  nuggets. 
When  the  rocks  were  washed  off  clean  and  there  were 
no  more  glittering  grains  in  the  sandy  bottoms,  the 
men  left  the  diggings  and  moved  on  to  new  fields. 
Such  in  fact  has  been  the  dependence  in  placer  mining 
that  the  solid  beds  of  rock  have  been  forsaken,  when 
the  small  seams  of  gold  were  actually  in  sight.  The 
reason  is  readily  explained.  Very  few  had  tools.  It 
was  easy  to  go  from  point  to  point  with  basins,  or 
rockers,  picks  and  shovels,  but  shafts,  engines  and 
stamps,  being  neither  cheap  nor  readily  transportable, 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  march  on  through 
mountain  gullies  and  beside  running  streams,  each 
hunter  gleaning  as  much  as  his  rapid  movements  and 
his  patient  endurance  could  obtain. 


GOLD  MINING  IN  ALASKA.  47 

Later  gold  was  found  on  Douglas  Island,  a  spot 
of  land  lying  in  the  channel  apparently  only  a  fair  ad- 
junct to  this  prettily  situated  town.  It  was  prospected 
by  some  late  comers  who  turned  in  its  direction  when 
they  found  the  points  around  Juneau  fully  occupied. 
Disheartened  at  their  late  arrival  it  was  probably 
merely  a  half  desperate  chance  that  led  them  to  strike 
the  Island.  Their  discovery  amounted  to  the  taking 
up  of  some  placer  claims.  So  little  was  thought  of  the 
rich  quartz  lode  that  the  claim  established  as  the 
"Bean  and  Matthews  Claim"  became  the  property  of 
John  Treadwell,  who  had  loaned  the  men  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars.  Treadwell  was  a  builder, 
whose  business  laid  mostly  in  San  Francisco.  He 
scarcely  knew  what  to  do  with  the  claim  w^hen 
it  came  to  him  instead  of  the  money.  Evidently 
he  either  could  not  dispose  of  it,  or  he  resolved 
to  risk  his  fate  in  mining,  for  he  soon  after  bought 
the  claim  which  ran  into  the  seam  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  a  small  stream  from  his  property.  He 
paid  three  hundred  dollars  for  it,  thus  becoming  pos- 
sessed of  the  right  on  Douglas  Island  for  the  sum  of 
four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  He  soon  proved  that 
it  was  a  business  man  who  had  taken  hold  of  these 
claims,  for  in  a  short  time  he  had  so  far  discovered 
their  possibilities  that  he,  Senator  J.  P.  Jones  of  Ne- 
vada, and  three  others,  of  San  Francisco,  obtained  a 
title  from  the  Government   and   then   invested   eight 


48  ALASKA. 

hundred  thousand  dollars  in  the  preparation  for  devel- 
oping the  mine.  Success  was  assured  from  the  first, 
though  the  gold  is  not  as  plentiful  as  in  many  other 
places,  but  as  it  is  proportionately  easy  to  obtain  it  the 
enterprise  has  been  extremely  lucrative.  The  output 
is  called  low  grade  ore,  but  two  hundred  and  forty 
stamps  work  night  and  day  grinding  the  unwilling 
rock.  The  copper  discs,  with  their  quick-silver  cover- 
ing, greedily  seize  and  hold  the  precious  dust  which  is 
amalgamated  from  the  imprisoned  quick-silver,  and 
then  separated  afterwards,  realizing  on  an  aver- 
age from  sixty  to  seventy  thousand  dollars  or  more 
per  month.  The  grade  of  the  mine  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  tunnel,  and  drifts,  and  shafts  are  run, 
make  the  work  a  matter  of  gravitation,  after  the  rock 
is  blasted.  It  is  stoped  down,  descends  to  the  cars 
through  chutes,  from  the  cars  it  runs  to  the  mill 
and  here  into  the  hoppers;  it  is  then  crushed  and  pow- 
dered by  the  ever  going  stamps,  and  from  the  stamps 
to  the  plates  or  amalgamators  and  riffles,  and  by  a  con- 
tinuous process  it  is  gathered  and  passes  from  the 
mines  to  be  sold  or  sent  to  the  smelters,  where  it  is 
separated  and  made  into  bars  of  yellow  gold'.  From 
the  "finds"  of  a  few.  discouraged  gold  seekers  has  ema- 
nated a  harvest  of  wealth  to  the  men  who  grasped  the 
situation  with  systematic  energy,  and  doubtless  many 
another  such  source  of  revenue  is  lying  within  easy 
distance  of  properly  regulated  labor  and  management. 


GOLD  MINING  IN  ALASKA.  49 

In  direct  contrast  to  the  Treadwell  success  is  the 
Bear's  Nest  faihire,  or  apparent  failure.  Possibly  it 
will  one  day  prove  equally  valuable,  when  the  right 
hands  turn  to  work  and  bring  its  hidden  treasures  to 
light.  Within  a  few  miles  of  Juneau  and  Douglas  Is- 
land there  are  several  mills  patiently  grinding  out  the 
precious  deposit,  unmindful  of  the  half-crazed  rush 
hither  and  thither  by  uninitiated  gold  hunters  who 
leave  one  spot  in  the  wild  hope  of  doing  better  at 
others.  So  hundreds  of  them  start  out  as  pros- 
pectors, while  the  mines  of  Berner's  Bay,  Taku  Inlet, 
the  region  about  Sitka,  Cook's  Inlet  and  its  surround- 
ing country,  and  the  rich  promises  from  the  Yukon 
River  and  other  districts,  show  that  there  are  spots  to 
which  they  could  go  where  they  can  locate  and  from 
which  they  will  certainly  obtain  rich  results  if  they  are 
gifted  with  endurance  and  perseverance,  and  use 
proper  tools  and  machinery. 

The  fate  of  "Shuck,"  a  mming  camp  situated  about 
seventy  miles  south  of  Juneau,  will  prove  the  uncer- 
tain stability  of  character  of  a  great  number  of 
gold  seekers.  It  was  the  first  scene  of  actual  placer 
mining  in  the  Territory.  Work  was  begun  there  in 
1876,  when  there  was  quite  an  extensive  camp  includ- 
ing between  thirty  and  forty  miners.  The  returns  were 
very  satisfactory,  and  all  went  well  for  Shuck's  mines, 
until  the  noise  of  richer  prospects  further  on  left  its 
cabins  forsaken,  and  its  work  in  the  hands  of  the  few, 
4 


50  ALASKA. 

who  chose  to  remain.  There  is  gold  there  still,  but 
the  boom  of  another  region  makes  the  place  dull  al- 
most to  lifclessness.  More  perseverance,  a  greater 
outlay  of  money,  and  the  ore  might  pan  out  more 
richly,  with  transportation  convenient  and  no  fear  of 
perishing  with  cold  and  starvation.  Why  will  Ameri- 
can citizens  risk  their  lives  and  their  all,  in  prospecting 
the  Klondyke  and  other  streams  on  British  territory, 
when  those  waters  are  really  only  branches  of  the 
grand  trunk  that  belongs  within  entirely  undisputed 
United  States  property?  Like  children  trampling 
beauteous  blossoms  underfoot,  while  reaching  for 
others  beyond,  so  are  the  miners  of  the  United 
States,  when  they  clamber  over  the  mountains  and 
row  through  the  waters  of  their  own  land  to  reach  that 
of  another  nation,  when  if  the  country  through  which 
they  travel  was  searched  and  prospected  as  eagerly  as 
they  intend  to  investigate  the  Klondyke  region,  they 
will  surely  find  sufficient  riches  to  pay  them  for  stop- 
ping under  the  flag  whose  protection  is  theirs  by  right, 
and  no  international  entanglements  or  suits  for  mining 
claims  would  be  likely  to  ensue. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Story   of   Alaska. 

THE  spirit  of  adventure,  that  has  been  so  often 
the  incentive  to  achievements,  surprising  even 
to  those  who  have  accompHshed  them,  led 
Vitus,  or  Veit  Bering  to  turn  his  attention  toward 
the  West,  in  which  direction  geographers  of  the  Old 
World  began  to  look  for  the  authentication  of  the 
theory  of  the  earth's  completely  rounded  form.  He 
set  forth  with  the  determination  to  prove  the  exist- 
ence of  another  continent,  with  two  vessels,  named 
respectively  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  each  manned  with 
sturdy  sailors  ready  to  meet  every  hardship.  He 
commanded  the  St.  Peter  in  person,  while  his  Lieu- 
tenant, Tschericov,  controlled  the  St.  Paul.  The 
hardships  and  sorrows  of  those  fated  sailors  give  a 
color  of  sadness  to  the  story  of  the  discovery  of 
Alaska,  though  none  of  the  sailing  party  ever  landed 
upon  its  shores.  The  vessels  were  swept  apart  dur- 
ing a  fierce  storm  and  nothing  more  was  ever  heard 
of  the  St.  Paul  or  its  crew.  But  the  St.  Peter,  after 
actually  touching  either  the  coast  of  the  mainland, 
or  of  one  of  the  larger  islands,  was  cast  out  to  sea 
again,  landing  at  last,  after  days  of  frightful  storm 
and  privation  on  one  of  the  Kommander  Islands,  a 

51 


52  ALASKA. 

small  group  off  the  coast  to  which  the  eyes  of  the 
Discoverer  turned  so  longingly.  After  all  his  suffer- 
ings and  hardships  he  never  accomplished  his  heart's 
desire,  to  reach  and  explore  a  new  continent,  but  it 
will  ever  remain  in  history  that  he,  Vitus  Bering,  dis- 
covered in  1 741  the  inland  sea  that  separates  the  Old 
World  from  the  New,  and  some  of  its  now 
important  islands.  It  was  named  the  Sea  of 
Kamtcliatka,  but  afterward,  in  his  honor,  received  his 
name.  This  he  never  knew,  for  heart-broken  and 
discouraged  at  his  supposed  failure  he  pined  and  died, 
leaving  his  weary  body  to  rest  for  all  time  upon 
the  desolate  land,  against  which  his  storm-tossed 
ship  was  cast  in  its  extremity — for  a  few  more  hours 
of  wind  and  surf  and  it  too  would  have  gone  down 
forever.  By  the  strange  contrariety  of  circumstances 
that  some  call  fate,  some  of  the  crew  survived  to  ac- 
complish the  discovery  of  the  proof  for  which  their 
Commander  had  staked  his  life,  and  in  a  few  months 
they  returned  to  Russia  laden  with  furs  and  other 
valuable  samples  of  the  riches  of  the  new  country, 
sufficient  to  induce  their  Government  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  islands  and  the  coast. 

Vitus  Bering  was  a  Russian  subject,  sailing  under 
the  Russian  flag.  From  the  date  of  that  discovery 
until  the  purchase  of  Alaska  in  1867  Russia  held  un- 
disputed sway  over  the  sea. 

In  1745  the  Aleutian  Islands  were  discovered,  and 
in  1768,  the  interest  of  the  Russians  becoming  more 


THE  STORY  OF  ALASKA.  53 

fully  awakened,  the  sea,  its  islands  and  coast,  were 
explored  by  order  of  Queen  Catharine. 

In  1790  the  Pribylov  Islands  were  found.  They 
were  desolate  and  uninhabited,  but  the  Government, 
finding  them  to  be  the  great  assembly  ground  of  the 
fur  seals,  transferred  Aleuts  from  their  native  homes 
to  these  islands.  After  a  time  they  became  contented, 
and  finally  settled  on  the  fog-dimmed  Pribylovs.  After- 
wards nothing  could  induce  them  to  forsake  their 
adopted    home. 

Having  found  otter,  seal  and  other  valuable  ani- 
mals within  the  limits  of  its  territory,  Russian  pro- 
tection was  extended,  and  as  early  as  the  year  1764 
the  right  to  trade  with  the  islands  was  granted  to 
merchants  by  Russia,  the  Government  always  requir- 
ing a  percentage  of  the  gains.  From  1725  to  1867, 
a  period  of  142  years,  Russian  monarchs  held  as  ab- 
solute a  sway  over  Bering  Sea  as  over  any  other  part 
of  their  domain.  If  individual  or  company  desired 
to  trade  within  its  boundary,  the  permission  came 
from  the  Czar,  with  rules  and  stipulations  to  which 
they  were  compelled  to  adhere. 

In  the  Treaty  of  Cession  to  the  United  States,  the 
western  limit  of  Russian  America,  or  Alaska,  is  as 
positively  stated  as  that  of  the  eastern  limit,  viz: 
"The  western  limit  within  which  the  territories  and 
dominions  conveyed  are  contained,  passes  through 
a  point  in  Bering  Straits  on  the  parallel  of  sixty-five 


54  ALASk'A. 

degrees  thirty  minutes  north  hititiidc,  at  its  inter- 
section by  the  meridian  which  passes  midway  between 
the  island  of  Krusenstern  or  Ingalook,  and  the  island 
of  Ratmanoff,  or  Noonarbook,  and  proceeds  due 
north  without  limitation  into  the  same  frozen  ocean. 
The  same  western  limit,  beginning  at  the  same  initial 
point,  proceeds  thence  in  a  course  nearly  southwest, 
through  Bering  Strait  and  Bering  Sea  so  as  to  pass 
midway  between  the  northwest  point  of  the  island  of 
St.  Lawrence  and  the  southeast  point  of  Cape  Chou- 
kotski,  to  the  meridian  of  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
two  west  longitude,  thence  from  the  intersection  of 
that  meridian  in  a  southeasterly  direction  so  as  to 
pass  midway  between  the  island  of  Attou  and 
the  Copper  Island  of  the  Kormandorsky  couplet 
or  group  in  the  North  Pacific  ocean,  to  the  meridian 
of  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  degrees  west  longi- 
tude, so  as  to  include  in  the  territory  conveyed  the 
whole  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  east  of  the  meridian." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Bering  Sea  is  recognized 
as  a  part  of  the  territory  divided  between  Russia  and 
the  United  States.  No  other  country  has  claimed 
islands  or  other  possessions  within  its  limits,  nor 
can  they  now,  and  its  topography  makes  it  impossible 
that  it  should  be  claimed  as  an  open  highway.  Ber- 
ing Strait  is  a  passage  between  Siberia  and  Alaska, 
and  beyond  that  is  the  Arctic  ocean  and  unexplored 
regions.       It  is   therefore  practically   an   inland   sea 


THE  srORY  OF  ALASKA.  55 

subject  to  the  dominion  of  the  nations  bordering 
upon  its  waters.  And  here  the  question  strikes  one 
rather  forcibly,  if  the  United  States  side  of  the  sea 
is  free  foraging  ground,  why  is  not  the  Russian  por- 
tion equally  free? 

If  the  sea  was  Russia's  to  give,  then  the  portion 
sold  is  as  truly  the  property  of  the  purchaser  as  it 
was  her  own  previous  to  the  negotiation.  If  the 
Alaska  side  was  not  legally  hers,  neither  is  the  re- 
mainder, and  therefore  poachers  have  the  same  right 
in  all  parts,  they  are  no  longer  poachers,  and  are 
amenable  to  no  law  for  taking  public  property.  But 
Russia  is  ready  to  protect  her  rights;  and  no  nation 
has  the  temerity  to  dispute  them.  The  United 
States  has  been  so  sure  of  a  just  appreciation  of  her 
claims  that  she  has  made  no  provision  for  their  in- 
fringement. W^e  are  beginning  to  feel  that  it  might 
be  as  well  to  be  a  little  self-asserting.  We  saw  some- 
thing in  the  harbor  of  Sitka  some  years  ago  that  was 
more  amusing  than  dignified,  when  we  looked  at  it  in 
a  nautical  light, — we  saw  the  poachers  brought  into 
the  harbor  by  the  "patrol  of  Bering  Sea,"  and  by 
comparison  with  the  British  vessels  plying  the  seas 
to  protect  their  nation's  rights,  our  vessels  put  us 
very  much  in  mind  of  toy  boats  made  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  Government. 

Standing  by  that  beautiful  harbor,  or  sailing  its 
charming  waters  and  looking  out  over  the  islands  that 


56  ALASKA. 

dot  its  placid  bosom  without  intcrfcriiif^  with  its  safety 
as  a  port,  we  thought  how  fine  it  would  be 
to  see  instead  a  fleet  of  noble  war  ships,  not 
ready  to  fight,  but  to  show  the  power  that 
might  be  called  into  play  if  anything  required  their 
interference.  How  grandly  they  would  ride  in  the 
blue  w^aters  of  the  Sound,  or  how  magnificently  they 
could  breast  the  rolling  surges  of  the  North  Pacific, 
their  presence  asserting  more  than  all  the  words  in 
the  vocabulary. 

It  is  absurd  to  hear  the  comments  of'  some  pessi- 
mists when  a  cruiser  is  mentioned,  and  a  standing 
navy  seems  to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  peace- 
loving  citizens.  Do  the  guns  at  Fortress  Monroe  or 
Sandy  Hook  or  Fort  Delaware  or  the  garrison  on 
the  Western  frontiers  mean  "war?"  No.  They 
mean  protection.  And  if  they  were  not  ready  for 
action,  or  rather,  if  they  were  not  in  such  condition 
as  to  answer  at  the  call  of  the  Government,  there 
would  be  a  worse  state  of  national  affairs  than  there 
has  been,  and  they  have  been  disastrous  enough,  as 
many  a  brave  heart  could  tell. 

If  England,  or  any  other  monarchy,  had  control 
of  such  a  boundary  as  the  United  States  includes 
within  her  limits,  there  would  be  the  noblest  navy 
in  the  world  guarding  it  on  either  side.  There  would 
be  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  navies,  and  all  other 
nations    would    look   on    in    respect    and    admiration. 


THE  STORY  OF  ALASKA.  57 

Bering  Sea  and  her  precious  seals  would  be  no  object 
of  wrangling  then.  The  absurdity  of  it  would  be  ap- 
parent to  the  most  obtuse.  And  why  can  we  not 
have  a  finer  navy — a  nobler  navy,  rightly  managed,  a 
pride  to  the  nation  and  a  terror  to  lawless  inva4,ers? 
For  that  object  we  would  require  wood, iron, steel,  cop- 
per and  good  workmen,  with  capable  builders  to  direct 
the  enterprise.  We  have  all  these,  and  with  the  sup- 
ply ready  to  increase  inexhaustibly  when  required. 

We  saw  in  Tacoma,  vVashington,  one  of  the  finest 
saw  mills  in  the  world  turning  out  logs  of  almost 
incredible  size  and  of  excellent  quality,  and  they  were 
to  be  shipped  to  other  countries  for  ship  building  pur- 
poses. We  wondered  if  there  would  be  such  logs  to 
be  had  when  we  should  need  them  for  our  own  vessels 
at  some  early  day.  We  have  noble  forests,  magnifi- 
cent trees,  straight  and  tall,  whose  very  form  seems  to 
tell  of  that  for  which  they  grew.  Energetic  men  for- 
age until  they  find  a  suitable  stopping  place  near  their 
noble  trunks.  They  fell  them,  prepare  them  for  mar- 
ket, then  announce  them  for  sale,  and  they  are  bought 
by  foreign  powers.  We  should  retain  and  use  these 
choice  products  from  our  own  soil,  and  forest  reserva- 
tions of  all  good  timber  lands  should  be  ever  retained. 

But  when  a  larger  navy  is  proposed  a  cry  goes 
up  about  the  expense  it  would  involve.  An  ex- 
pense it  would  be  truly,  but  no  institution  of  any 
kind    is    supported     without    adequate    expenditure. 


58  ALASKA. 

Yet  glance  at  the  thousands  of  able-bodied  men 
who  throng  our  cites,  whose  constant  anxiety  is 
lack  of  work.  Any  business  once  started  gives  an 
impetus  to  contingent  industries — wood  workers  re- 
quire steel  tools,  they  must  come  through  the  man- 
ufacture of  iron,  and  from  one  to  another  the  labor 
passes,  down  to  the  miners  who  delve  for  the  raw  ma- 
terials or  the  money  to  pay  for  them.  And  all  material, 
from  the  growing  trees  to  the  gold  and  silver  to  pay 
for  perfect  vessels,  is  abundantly  found  within  the 
limits  of  the  Union. 

And  so  it  might  be  that  work  being  supplied  to  the 
thousands,  more  money  would  circulate,  the  munici- 
pal governments  would  be  rid  of  many  a  prospective 
pauper,  the  Republic  would  be  honored  on  sea  as  well 
as  on  land,  our  own  vessels  would  carry  our  own  mer- 
chandise to  other  ports,  and  the  commerce  of  the 
country  would  flourish  prosperously. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  Journey  to  Our  Northwestern  Frontier. 

THERE  is  nothing  like  personal  acquaintance- 
ship. All  we  hear  of  the  good  qualities  of  an 
individual  will  make  but  slight  impression  in 
comparison  with  one  day's  social  conversation  with 
him.  So  it  is  with  a  new  country.  It  is  delightful  to 
read  of  the  beauties  or  grandeur  of  certain  localities, 
but  the  pictures  presented  to  the  mind,  and  the  de- 
scriptions, however  vividly  portrayed,  cannot  possess 
the  power  to  arouse  admiration  or  enthusiasm  as  do 
the  living,  rippling  waters,  the  bounding  cataracts,  the 
lofty  mountains  and  the  verdure  covered  hills.  So 
should  you  like  to  have  an  idea  of  the  extent,  the 
beauty  and  the  usefulness  of  that  side-shoot  of  our 
republic,  Alaska,  it  would  be  the  better  plan  for  you 
to  take  a  trip  thither  and  see  for  yourselves.  As  cir- 
cumstances may  prevent  most  of  our  readers  from 
such  a  delightful  tour  there  need  be  no  limit  to  the 
number  who  may  accompany  us  on  this  descriptive 
excursion. 

As  we  will  be  compelled  to  make  the  greater  por- 
tion of  our  coast-line  tour  to  points  of  interest  in 
Alaska  by  water,  suppose  we  make  the  initial  part  on 
rail.     By  that  means  we  will  gain  a  broader  idea  of 

59 


6o  .u..isa:i. 

our  great  Republic  and  her  capabilities.  We  will 
leave  one  of  our  largest  cities  in  a  comfortable  train, 
furnished  in  such  a  gorgeous  manner  as  our  ancestors 
would  have  thought  it  madness  to  propose.  We  en- 
ter and  enjoy  a  delightful  ride  in  a  handsomely  fur- 
nished drawing  room  or  sleeping  car.  We  partake  of 
our  meals  in  a  fine  dining  room  car  with  polite  wait- 
ers to  anticipate  our  wishes.  We  may  sleep  through 
the  long  night  with  no  knowledge  of  the  many  miles 
of  country  through  which  we  are  flitting,  while 
we  rest  almost  as  comfortably  as  upon  our  couch  at 
home. 

Off,  we  go!  through  a  country  of  small,  richly  tilled 
farms  with  fine  horses  and  choice  cattle,  making  pic- 
tures of  pastoral  beauty,  some  old  homesteads 
clinging  to  the  hillsides,  the  houses  and  bams  seem- 
ing to  hang  like  swallows'  nests  as  we  pass  them  by. 

What  are  those  strange  white  walls  that  look  like 
roughly  builded  tombs?  They  are  the  limekilns, 
one  of  the  first  industries  that  one  will  meet  outside 
of  some  of  our  Eastern  towns,  in  limestone  districts, 
and  a  strong  contrast  to  what  will  break  upon 
our  view  as  we  pass  the  coal  mines,  or  the 
iron  foundries  and  smelting  furnaces,  which  from 
their  black  mouths  belch  forth  in  fiery  streams  a  great 
part  of  the  wealth  of  our  large  cities. 

Hills  and  mountains  rise  and  slowly  disappear  as 
though  sinking  into  the  valleys. 


OUR  NORTHWESTERN  FRONTIER.  6i 

Westward  and  northward  we  fly,  through  great 
cities  and  beautiful  towns  and  villages;  here  a  group 
of  children  shout  and  wave  their  hats  as  we  plunge 
along;  there  men  and  women  stand  and  gaze  in  wonder 
as  the  train  speeds  swiftly  by.  On !  on !  in  the  heated 
summer  sunlight  as  the  radiant  beams  illuminate  the 
great  wheat  fields,  as  they  wave  silently  in  the  gentle 
breeze  like  golden-tinted  lakes  rippling  and  curving 
in  the  distance.  Rivers  flasih  before  us  or  beneath  us 
and  are  gone.  Snow-capped  mountains  defy  us,  but 
we  talk,  and  smile,  and  gaze  on  the  wonderful  scenery 
as  we  ascend  their  rugged  almost  inaccessible  sum- 
mits, or  glide  along  the  lonely  passes  where  the  en- 
gine's loud  screech  or  the  rumble  of  the  train  alone 
breaks  the  stillness  or  disturbs  the  solitude.  Onward 
toward  the  sunset  of  the  wonderful  North-West  and 
Northland.  The  wheat  fields  no  longer  greet  us  like 
golden  lakes,  but  like  great,  gleaming  inland  seas, bear- 
ing upon  their  waters  food  more  than  abundant  for 
the  hungry  mills  that  wait  to  change  the  grain  to 
feathery  flakes  of  snowy  whiteness,  containing 
strength  and  nutriment  for  millions  of  our  people, 
and  enough  to  share  with  the  great  sister  countries 
of  the  world. 

Pines  and  cedars  bid  us  welcome,  and  oddly  remind 
us  of  the  warm,  sunny  South  from  which  we  have 
departed. 

Long,  sweeping  plains  lead  abruptly  to  mountain 


62  ALASKA. 

sides  or  to  rustling  rivers  whose  voices  can  often  be 
heard  before  they  are  seen  in  their  valley  homes. 

Still  onward  we  sweep  through  crooks  and  turns 
and  tunnels  and  mountain  passes,  and  over  placid 
streams  and  turbulent  rivers,  startling  wild  birds  as 
we  pass,  causing  the  antelope  to  scamper  or  the  wild 
deer  to  raise  his  stately  head  and  watch  us  as  we  rush 
along  with  swiftness  far  beyond  his  rapid  bound. 

Northward,  Westward,  still  we  pursue  our  jour- 
ney to  the  great  wonderland  of  this  continent, 
and  these  thousands  of  miles  of  rapid  travel  through 
the  grandest,  fairest  country  on  the  globe  is  only  the 
initiative  step,  only  the  doorway  to  a  rare  new  pleas- 
ure. 

At  last  there  stands  Tacoma,  one  of  the  great  North- 
western mountain  giants!  Proudly  he  raises  his  great, 
broad,  dazzling,  lofty,  snow-clad  head  towards  the  sky, 
the  while  holding  his  spotless  robes  around  him,  his  un- 
tarnished beauty  awing  the  most  careless  traveler,  his 
towering  crest  rivaled  but  by  few  other  peaks  on  this 
continent.  There  he  stands,  the  mighty  guardian 
of  this  portal  of  the  West,  a  grand  reminder  of  others 
that  we  hope  to  see. 

We  will  also  indulge  the  longing  to  see  Astoria, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  the  town  so  old, 
so  important  years  ago,  so  historically  sacred  that 
it  should  ever  remain  a  monument  to  American  enter- 
prise, even  if  it  has  not  a  brilliant  destiny  before  it 


OUR  NORTHWESTERN  FRONTIER.  63 

to-day.  Planned,  built  and  fitted  up  as  a  trading 
post  by  John  Jacob  Astor,  for  whom  it  was  named, 
it  was  intended  not  only  as  a  point  of  trade  for  per- 
sonal aggrandizement,  but  it  was  the  darling  idea  of 
the  great  merchant  to  secure  for  his  adopted  country 
an  outlet  upon  the  Pacific  coast  as  well  as  the  control 
of  a  part  at  least  of  the  immense  trade  with  China, 
where  the  dealers  found  the  most  generous  buyers  of 
the  beautiful  furs  which  were  then  gathered  here  in 
apparently  inexhaustible  numbers. 

Virtually  protected  by  the  Government  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  original  post,  and  being  at  the  head  of  a 
company  whose  charter  gave  it  full  power  to  trade 
in  the  furs  found  in  the  vast  North-West,  how  soon 
would  the  whole  enterprise  have  been  a  thing  of  the 
past  and  the  business  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
individual  sharpers,  had  it  not  been  for  the  personal 
care  it  received  and  the  money  that  was  spent  on  it 
by  Mr.  Astor,  who  strongly  held  the  prophetic  idea  of 
the  coming  importance  of  his  little  settlement,  Astoria, 
founded  on  the  great  and  beautiful  Columbia  River, 
that  meandered  through  mineral-ladened  forests,  and 
jungles  filled  with  fur-bearing  animals. 

Think  of  the  vicissitudes  through  which  the  men 
passed  into  whose  hands  Astor  had  intrusted  the  post; 
how  they  clung  faithfully  to  his  service,  despite  dangers 
and  starvation;  how  one,  discouraged  and  dishonest, 
sold  it  for  a  pittance  to  a  foreign  company  that  was  jeal- 


64  ALASKA. 

ously  watching  its  every  action;  how  the  American 
flag  was  lowered  and  the  British  flag  raised  over  the 
fort!  Knowing  as  Astor  did  the  importance  that 
would  one  day  be  attached  to  it,  w^hat  was  his  bitter 
grief  at  its  seeming  failure,  and  what  his  exuberant 
joy  when  the  town  was  ceded  back  to  the  United 
States  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  with  As- 
toria, likewise  the  command  of  the  whole  northwest- 
ern coast,  and  thus  was  thrown  into  the  hands  of  our 
Government  an  extensive  tract  now  so  valuable 
and  important  to  us,  embracing  the  entire  coast  terri- 
tory which  Astor's  expedition  gave  to  the  United 
States  by  priority  of  settlement.  So  vividly  has 
Washington  Irving  told  of  the  events  connected  with 
it  in  his  "Astoria,"  that  one  may  almost  live  over 
again  with  the  men,  their  times  of  danger,  their  dis- 
tress and  suffering  and  the  tardy  success  of  the  en- 
terprise. 

The  trading  post  town  was  saved  to  us  to  become 
for  a  while  the  centre  of  the  fur  trade,  which  was 
afterwards  diverted  from  it  further  up  the  Columbia 
River. 

Born  to  live,  Astoria  and  the  Columbia  River  settle- 
ments have  become  the  centres  of  the  fish-canning 
business  of  Oregon,  whose  salmon  are  world-renowned. 
She  waits  now  only  for  the  advance  of  railroads  to 
become  a  great  metropolis  in  the  North-West  and  a 
monument  to  her  German  projector,  not  only  in  name 


OUR  NORTHWESTERN  ERONTIER.  65 

but  in  the  sturdy  Dutch  piles  upon  which  the  greater 
part  of  the  town  was  built.  It  was  only  her  British 
seizure  and  possession  that  gained  for  her  the 
name  of  the  "first  British  settlement  in  the  North- 
West."  American  citizens,  'however,  "have  made  her 
what  she  now  is,  and  only  bide  their  time  to  show 
what  she  will  some  day  become. 

At  the  city  of  Tacoma,  the  terminus  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railroad,  we  find  the  vessel  that  is  to  take 
us  to  Alaska,  but  as  it  is  not  quite  ready  for  depar- 
ture, and  as  we  may  be  better  prepared  for  our  voyage 
if  we  take  some  exercise  after  our  trans-continental 
ride,  we  will  stroll  about  and  look  aroimd  the  town. 
It  bids  fair  to  become  a  great  seaport  in  the  near  fu- 
ture, and  already  its  docks  are  strong,  its  harbor  safe, 
with  a  large  lumber,  coal  and  grain  trade  firmly  estab- 
lished as  a  support,  its  location  being  at  the  southern 
end  of  that  great  and  important  bay,  Puget  Sound. 

Our  steamer  is  ready! 

In  the  morning  we  behold  the  oldest  American 
city  on  Puget  Sound,  Seattle,  her  terraced  streets  and 
thrifty  warehouses  reflected  in  the  waters  of  Elliott 
Bay.  With  a  rapidly  increasing  commerce  and  popu- 
lation, she  is  already  the  rival  of  Tacoma. 

A  three  hours'  steaming  on  the  Sound,  with  Mount 

Tacoma  and  Baker's  Peaks  looming  up  above  us  and 

the  fir  lined  forest-clad  shore,  resting  our  eyes  from 

the   dazzling   whiteness   as   we   steam   alongside    the 

5 


66  ALASKA. 

wharf  of  the  Gate  City  of  Puget  Sound,  a  little  wait  for 
transportation  business,  and  then  proceeding  across 
the  Strait  of  San  Juan,  we  reach  the  attractive  capital 
of  Vancouver's  Island,  Victoria,  which  we  pause  to  ad- 
mire for  its  beauty  and  wonderful  growth,  and  the 
great  British  port  and  harbor  of  Esquimalt,  which 
England  held  in  the  "54,  40  or  fight"  before  its  cession 
by  the  United  States. 

We  sail  on  through  an  archipelago,  picturesque  and 
beautiful,  a  faint  foreshadowing  of  the  waters,  the 
islands,  the  wonder-crowned  shores,,  vdiich  we  will  ob- 
serve on  our  healthful  and  delightful  voyage.  Here 
is  the  Island  of  San  Juan,  our  first  possession  in  this 
great  watery  region.  And  now  we  enter  the  inland 
passage  leading  to  Alaska,  so  smoothly,  so  quietly, 
with  no  shock  to  tell  us  that  we  are  nearing  this 
lovely  land,  that  one  forgets  the  many  landscape  en- 
joyments in  crossing  the  continent  for  the  additional 
joys  and  rapture  of  vision  that  present  themselves. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

A  Voyage  that  Should  Satisfy  the  Most  Romantic. 

WE  have  passed  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  and 
viewed  Taxada  Island,  a  large  tract  of  land 
which  has  drawn  several  companies  to  its 
borders  on  account  of  its  rich  deposits  of  valuable 
iron  ore.  Now  we  sail  through  a  broad  expanse  of 
water,  seemingly  almost  limitless,  and  find  ourselves 
watching  with  surprise  as  we  approach  the  shore  and 
turn  into  a  narrow  passage  around  a  point  near  Cape 
Mudge.  This  cape  is  an  oddly  formed  headland,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  with  a  fiat  summit,  and 
densely  wooded. 

For  miles  we  sail  along  the  watery  defile  Discov- 
ery Passage,  between  mountain  ranges  rising  one 
above  the  other,  as  they  are  lost  in  the  distance,  either 
coast  seeming  to  vie  with  the  other  in  the  beauty  of 
its  scenery. 

Another  broad  sheet  of  water  then  opens  to  our 
view.  This  is  Mensie's  Bay.  We  pass  it  and  enter  Sey- 
mour Narrows,  a  beautiful  gorge  through  which  the 
tide  rushes,  rocking  and  tossing  our  boat  in  a  most 
trying  manner.  The  captain's  remark  that  it  is  "only 
two  miles  long,"  being  rather  dubious  comfort,  when 
we  feel  the  possibility  of  our  boat  being  overwhelmed 

67 


68  ALASKA. 

at  any  moment.  Safe  at  last!  We  enter  Johnstone 
Strait,  which  in  some  parts  closely  resembles  Discov- 
ery Passage,  in  others  it  widens  into  grand  propor- 
tions, probably  seeming  wider  than  they  really  are 
to  our  unpracticed  eyes.  But  we  forget  the  water 
as  we  gaze  upon  the  ranges  of  mountains  on  Van- 
couver's Island.  It  is  the  Prince  ol  Wales  range 
and  the  xA.lbert  Edward  peak  that  rises  so  grandly 
upon  our  left,  the  latter  reaching  nearly  seven  thous- 
and feet  in  the  air,  bearing  his  crest  of  snow  proudly 
as  a  monarch,  though  his  feet  are  solidly  planted  in 
the  tide  below. 

The  long  coast  line  of  Thurlow  Island  bids  us 
imagine  that  we  are  in  sight  of  the  mainland  until 
Chancellor  Channel  intervenes  and  Hardwicke  Island 
comes  into  view.  Another  channel  stretches  out  be- 
fore us  and  then  we  reach  the  shores  of  British  Co- 
lumbia. Islands  large  and  small,  some  of  them  only 
great  barren  rocks,  others  verdure  clad  to  the  water's 
edge;  bays,  inlets,  channels,  mountains,  snow-crowned 
and  pictured  with  flakes  of  whiteness,  dotting  them  as 
though  flocks  of  sheep  were  wandering  down  their 
rugged  sides;  great  hills  covered  with  dense  forests 
of  shaded  pines  or  sombre  cedars,  tiny  hillocks  like 
emerald  gems  studding  the  rolling  valleys,  and  every- 
wihere  reflecting  beauties  in  the  glistening  waters. 
And  this  foreign  domain  is  British  Columbia!  From 
the  other  side  Mount  Palmerston,  Vancouver's  senti- 


SHOULD  SATISFY  THE  MOST  ROMANTIC.     69 

nel,  looks  up  across  the  water  way,  and  we  sail  under 
his  shadow  and  into  the  clear  sunshine  again,  dharmed 
with  the  lovely  view,  but  longing  impatiently  to  pass 
more  swiftly  onward. 

Steaming  through  an  archipelago  of  many  beauti- 
ful islands,  we  enter  Broughton  Strait,  pass  Alert 
Bay,  with  its  salmon  cannery,  its  strange  Indian  vil- 
lage and  modest  mission  buildings,  while  now  and 
then  we  look  at  Holdsworth  Peak,  a  lofty  cone  upon 
Vancouver's  Island,  which  asserts  itself  distinctly  for 
many  miles. 

On  we  sail  through  Broughton  Strait,  gazing  land- 
ward on  either  side,  longing  for  the  power  to  see  all 
the  scenic  glories,  until,  with  a  sigh,  we  conclude, 
partly  from  weariness  and  partly  from  despair,  that 
it  is  impossible  to  gain  more  than  a  bird's-eye  view, 
and  that  no  one  could,  in  a  single  trip,  retain  in  mem- 
ory all  the  beautiful  points  of  interest  that  crowd 
upon  the  sight,  when  suddenly  we  find  ourselves 
steaming  through  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  and 
the  broad  sea-like  expansion  of  water  comes  as 
an  actual  relief,  the  scenery  being  so  mellowed 
by  the  distance  that  it  cannot  tempt  too  great 
an  effort  of  either  mind  or  vision.  We  know 
that  we  cannot  gain  any  but  the  soft,  hazy  view,  and 
we  gaze  in  gentle,  restful  enjoyment,  scarce  question- 
ing what  this  or  that  more  conspicuous  point  may 
be.      Should     western     gales     disturb     the     Pacific 


70  ALASKA. 

waters  and  huge  ocean  swells  come  rolling  in,  some 
signs  of  sea  sickness  may  appear,  but  they  will  not 
last,  for  we  soon  enter  calm  waters  again. 

Fort  Rupert  gains  a  little  notice,  it  being  one  of 
the  trading  points  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  of 
which  we  have  heard,  and,  in  connection  with  the 
early  history  of  our  country,  read  so  much.  Its  In- 
dian village  calls  attention  for  a  while,  but  soon  we  will 
see  our  own  Alaskan  Indians  in  their  native  huts  and 
homes  and  witness  their  peculiarities. 

Galetas  Channel  bears  our  ship  along  beside  its 
hundreds  of  islands  and  between  beautiful  mountains 
until  at  last  we  pass  Cape  Commerell,  leaving  Van- 
couver while  turning  to  take  a  farewell  look  at  the 
grand  Island  and  to  watch  Mt.  Lemon  slowly  recede 
from  view.  Looking  westward,  behold  the  great, 
surging  bosom  of  the  Pacific!  We  feel  the  swell 
that  seems  to  make  retirement  and  lemon  juice  im- 
perative, but  a  little  patience,  a  little  nerve  force  for  a 
short  time  and  the  vessel  turns  into  the  safe  and  quiet 
waters  of  Fitzhugh  Sound.  Beautiful  views  greet  us 
on  ever}^  side.  Here  Mt.  Buxton  lifts  its  spirelike 
peak  toward  the  bending  sky.  As  we  proceed  the 
mountains  become  higher  and  the  landscape  grander. 
The  hills  close  by  are  covered  with  cone  shaped  trees 
to  their  very  tops,  while  between  can  be  seen  the  dis- 
tant mountains,  their  summits  crowned  with  perpetual 
snow. 


SHOULD  SATISFY  THE  MOST  ROMANTIC.     71 

On  through  Lama  Passage,  close  by  the  village  of 
Bella-Bella,  on  Campbell's  Island,  we  get  our  first 
view  of  the  "totem  poles,"  the  subject  of  wonder,  con- 
jecture, scientific  research  and  perpetual  questioning, 
and  still  remaining  "totem  poles,"  and  nothing  else. 
Even  at  a  little  distance  we  can  see  a  carved  bear,  an 
eagle  or  w^olf  uplifted  many  feet  and  staring  with 
great  open  inanimate  eyes  upon  the  passers  by. 

Now,  as  we  sail  through  an  extremely  narrow,  but 
not  perilous  pass,  into  Seaforth  Channel,  we  behold 
mountains  seemingly  piled  upon  mountains,  with  ex- 
quisite views  of  distant  ranges,  and  if  it  be  our  good 
fortune  to  get  the  view  toward  evening  it  will  be  hal- 
lowed with  the  most  gorgeous  covering  of  purple, 
crimson  and  gold,  softening  into  more  exquisite  tints, 
so  delicate  that  an  author  cannot  describe  nor  an  art- 
ist reproduce  them.  The  pure,  azure  sky  holds  itself 
a  most  befitting  background  for  the  myriads  of  shades 
through  which  the  sun-kissed  clouds  are  passing  be- 
fore the  dilatory  darkness  creeps  on  to  obscure  their 
loveliness. 

A  sudden  turn  brings  us  into  Milbank  Sound,  from 
whose  entrance  we  once  more  behold  the  broad  open 
sea.  Islands  and  mountains  seem  almost  to  chase 
each  other  as  we  sail  along,  and  now  we  catch  our 
earliest  glimpses  of  glacier  paths  in  the  mountain 
passes  and  along  their  roughened  sides. 

Stripe  Mountain  calls  for  attention  with  its  strangely 
marked    declivity    telling    its    name    most    plainly. 


72  ALASKA. 

Through  the  narrow  waters  of  Finlayson  Channel  we 
steam  northwest,  for  many  miles  noting  its  shores 
densely  wooded  to  the  very  water's  edge,  with  here 
and  there  a  mountain  more  lofty  than  another,  bear- 
ing upon  its  brow,  and  sometimes  upon  its  slopes 
also,  great  patches  of  snow,  making  sharp  contrast 
with  the  shades  around. 

On  through  Graham  Reach,  Frazier's  Reach,  close 
by  Princess  Royal  Island,  through  M'Kay  Reach  we 
sail  into  Wright's  Sound.  Beauty  everywhere. 
Mountains,  valleys,  and  lovely  waterfalls,  whose 
music  we  can  almost  hear  as  we  watch  their  crystal 
waters,  trembling,  rushing,  sweeping  over  ledges, 
through  crevasses,  ever  plunging  downward  to  the 
great  waters  below,  that  receive  them  in  answer- 
ing, bounding  joyou^ness.  Into  Grenville  Channel 
we  glide  through  a  narrow  strait  into  Arthur  Pas- 
sage, still  forward  into  Chatham  Sound,  guarded  by 
great  lofty  mountains  we  view  Chim-sy-an,  a  peninsula, 
as  we  pass  northward,  still  between  islands  and  snow- 
capped mountains  until  at  last  we  cross  the  line  at 
latitude  fifty-four  degrees,  which  separates  British 
Columbia  from  our  own  Alaska. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Peculiar  Sights  in  Indian  Villages. 

HAVING  crossed  the  boundary  line  between 
the  British  possessions  and  that  of  our  own 
country,  our  hearts  swell  with  a  strange,  new 
feeling,  though  the  waters  of  Dixon  Entrance  are 
exactly  like  those  we  have  been  sailing  under 
different  names.  On  from  the  far,  frigid  North  they 
come,  though  we  have  not  yet  seen  any  messengers 
from  the  Polar  seas,  nor  even  from  the  glaciers  whiclh 
we  hope  soon  to  behold  in  all  their  cold,  stately 
grandeur. 

Every  town,  every  village,  every  tiny  inlet  awakens 
active  interest  now.  We  could  pass  others  calmly, 
admiring  their  beauty,  exclaiming  at  the  wonders,  but 
not  with  the  proud  impression  that  amounts  to  a  sort 
of  proprietorship  in  the  strange,  new  country  now 
spread  before  us.  We  tell  each  otlher,  as  fellow  tour- 
ists, how  we  should  like  those  who  named  this  coun- 
try "The  District"  to  be  here  and  see  even  the  be- 
ginning of  it.  It  comes  to  our  mind  that  we  have 
been  some  time  ago  told  that  Alaska,  or  "Alakshan," 
means  "great  country,"  and  we  realize  more  and  more 
as  we  proceed  on  our  voyage  how  it  deserves  the 
title.  But  the  good  ship  has  brought  us  to  a  strange 
looking  place. 

73 


74  ALASKA. 

It  seems  to  be  a  village  of  low  wooden  houses  built 
in  the  midst  of  a  ckimp  of  trees,  a  few  of  which,  by 
some  means  or  other,  have  been  blighted,  leaving 
only  the  upright  trunks.  Farther  along  we  see  an- 
other larger  village  situated  in  exactly  the  same  man- 
ner. There  is  a  weirdly  dismal  look  about  this  place 
as  though  some  magic  art  had  laid  these  trees  bare 
by  fire,  each  trunk  being  preserved  intact,  and  the 
houses  being  left  entirely  untouched  by  the  flames. 
The  effect  is  indescribable  as  we  gaze  upon  the  vil- 
lages, not  realizing  that  we  are  looking  upon  objects 
that  we  have  tried  to  picture  in  our  imagination  many 
times  since  we  proposed  to  come  on  this  tour. 

This  is  Fort  Tongas  and  those  dismal  shafts  are  the 
totem  poles.  Yes,  on  approaching  we  can  see  the 
great  carved  figures  of  animals,  such  as  birds,  beasts, 
fishes  and  men!  Some  with  large  staring  eyes, 
which  we  can  distinctly  note.  Some  of  the  figures 
are  very  large  and  the  poles  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high, 
others  being  less  pretentious  both  in  height  and  size 
of  the  figures.  They  are  variously  painted  in  black, 
red  and  white,  except  where  the  weather  has  removed 
the  colors,  and  they  are  carved  from  bottom  to  top 
in  the  most  incongruous  fashion,  bearing  upon  them 
such  characters  as  a  screaming  eagle,  a  croaking 
raven,  or  a  crouching  bear  or  wolf,  an  immense  whale, 
oir,  perhaps,  a  solemn  old  owl.  Each  animal  or  bird 
is  represented  in  some  characteristic  attitude. 


PECULIAR  SIGHTS  IN  INDIAN  VILLAGES.     75 

Upon  some  of  the  poles  the  carving  may  be  said 
to  be  quite  well  executed,  and  on  others  it  is  rather 
primitive  and  rough,  no  doubt  showing  the  different 
grades  of  talent  possessed  by  the  carvers.  But  no 
shaft  is  there  without  its  emblem,  and  no  emblem  is 
present  without  its  full  right  to  hold  the  position. 

Among  the  animals  often  occur  human  shapes  and 
faces,  probably  those  of  some  great  chiefs  or  of  medi- 
cine men  of  more  than  usual  renown.  Here,  too,  are 
often  repeated  the  masks,  hideously  ugly,  that  have 
been  used  by  some  great  shaman  of  his  tribe. 

These  totem  poles  are  erected  beside  or  in  front  of 
the  doors  of  the  houses,  and  they  are  often  used  in 
burial  places  in  the  same  manner  that  we  do 
our  marble  monuments.  It  has  ever  been  an  unan- 
swerable question  as  to  what  has  been  the  origin  of 
these  totem  poles.  The  natives  either  do  not  know 
or  they  will  not  tell.  There  are  several  theories  ad- 
vanced and  conjectures  indulged  in,  but  about  all 
that  we  have  ascertained  in  reality  is  the  presence 
of  the  "sticks"  or  poles  or  totems  in  nearly  all  of  the 
Indian  villages  of  Alaska,  and  the  knowledge  that 
they  are  somewhat  like  family  crests,  each  family 
having  its  own  crest  or  ensign,  to  which  is  added, 
time  after  time,  those  of  families  connected  by  mar- 
riage, and  that  the  queer  arrangement  of  the  figures 
is  caused  by  each  additional  sign  being  placed  or 
carved  next  to  the  one  previous,  irrespective  of  shape 


76  ALASKA. 

or  size,  or  the  agreement  of  forms.  So  we  find  a 
bear  holding  upon  his  head  a  man,  the  man  in  turn 
upholding  a  wolf,  the  wolf  supporting  an  eagle  or  a 
raven,  and  perhaps  all  overtopped  by  a  huge  figure 
of  a  whale,  whose  formidable  teethi  and  prominent 
eyes  haunt  the  memory  of  the  visitor  after  other  pic- 
tures have  faded.  People  of  the  same  totems  are 
considered  more  nearly  connected  than  even  family 
ties  can  make  them;  and  under  no  consideration  are 
members  of  the  same  totem  permitted  to  marry,  while 
they  cling  to  each  other  more  closely  than  brothers. 

Their  signs  are  carved  upon  spoons,  dishes,  and  in- 
struments used  in  their  different  callings,  and  they  are 
also  woven  in  their  blankets.  In  fact  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  see  one  of  the  native  Alaskans  without 
finding  his  totem  on  his  clothing,  spear  or  fish  hook. 

But  we  are  leaving  the  fort  without  taking  a  look 
at  the  long,  lonely,  forsaken  Government  Buildings 
that  were  once  active  with  ofBcial  life,  but  have  now 
fallen  into  disuse.  Fort  Tongas  threatens  once 
more  to  become  a  wild,  unnoticed  tract,  in  which  the 
Indian  may  again  turn  without  interruption  to  his 
strange  and  godless  practices. 

Sailing  into  Dixon's  Entrance,  again  we  look  far  to 
the  west  over  the  great  open  sea,  and  feel  the  surging 
waves  in  the  rolling  vessel,  then  turn  into  Clarence 
Strait  and  through  it  into  Alexander  Archipelago.  Here 
are  islands,  large  and  small,  straits,  passages  and  in- 


PECULIAR  SIGHTS  /A  INDIA  A    VILLAGES.     77 

lets,  rocks  and  danger  points.  These  we  think  of 
but  for  a  moment;  then  we  devote  our  energies  in 
trying  to  count  and  view  the  eleven  hundred  or  more 
islands  that  are  included  in  this  great  Archipelago. 

There  a  large  island,  densely  wooded  to  its  very 
verge,  throws  a  protecting  shadow  over  two  or  three 
inlets  having  shrubs  and  trees  in  miniature  upon  their 
breasts,  with  a  rock  or  two  peeping  above  the  water, 
as  though  viewing  the  prospect  before  asserting 
themselves  as  islets,  and  rising  still  further  above 
their  watery  bed.  Hills  rise  abruptly,  clothed  in  ver- 
dure, from  the  base  to  the  rounded  summit.  Moun- 
tains hold  their  feet  in  the  rushing  tide  while  they 
rear  their  heads  upwards  till  the  clouds  crown  them 
with  wreaths  of  tinted  vapor,  or  snOw  caps  them  with 
perpetual  purity. 

To  the  left  we  have  the  land  of  the  Hydah  Indians, 
Prince  of  Wales  Island.  If  these  Indians  have  a  love 
for  home,  and  a  due  appreciation  of  the  beauties 
around  them,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  account  for  their 
wonderful  talent  for  beautiful  carving  without  our 
trying  to  prove  that  there  are  unmistakable  signs  of 
their  being  descended  from  some  great  Asiatic  pro- 
genitors. 

The  mountains  do  not  frown  upon  us  here.  They 
rear  their  noble  heads  toward  the  sky  and  peer  at  us 
through  soft  purple  hazes,  here  tipped  with  black 
from  the  densely  wooded  ravines  and  there  touched 


78  ALASKA. 

with  gold  whei-e  the  sun  shines  brightest.  Some- 
times the  purple  veil  lifts  and  waves  aside  to  let  us 
view  the  great  rifts  that  ages  ago  the  grinding  glaciers 
made  in  their  slow  movements  towards  the  ocean. 
Again  it  falls,  hiding  the  scars  as  though  loth  to  ex- 
pose them  to  human  eyes. 

On  the  right,  Gravina  Islands  hold  towards  the 
tinted  sky  mountains  covered  with  lofty  pines,  while 
beyond  is  a  range  crested  with  patches  of  snow.  Re- 
villagigedo  has  her  pine-shaded  hills,  and  her  moun- 
tains in  the  distance  standing  like  the  ghosts  of  what 
they  are,  so  still  and  white  and  lofty. 

Wlhite,  green  and  gray,  purple,  blue  and  gold,  and 
all  around  the  rippling,  caressing  waters  which  bear 
us  on  to  new  beauties,  to  new  curiosities  and  forward 
to  Fort  Wrangel. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Voyaging  on  the  Lovely  Waters. 

ON  we  glide  through  the  beautiful  waters  of 
Clarence  Strait,  which  here  and  there  widens 
into  lovely  crystal  bays  studded  with  islets 
that  seem  to  rise  timidly  from  the  water,  covering 
their  heads  with  a  veil  of  tender,  fragile  beauty. 
Narrowing  again,  by  reason  of  islands  that  loom  up 
before  us  bold  and  silent  and  covered  with  a  thick 
growth  of  foliage  rising  from  tangled  masses  of  trees, 
shrubs,  vines  and  mosses.  To  our  gaze  the  luxuriant 
mosses  appear  velvet  colored  with  dark  or  light 
green  tints,  as  they  cluster  beside  streamlets, 
cling  to  trees  and  rocks,  or  as  they  extend  along  the 
rich  earth  as  if  anxious  to  soften  all  ruggedness  that 
might  mar  the  face  of  nature. 

In  the  distance  the  mountains  seem  to  frown  upon 
us,  so  gloomy  are  the  pines  that  clothe  their  slopes. 
Farther  away  a  range  looks  spotless  as  sculptured 
marble,  while  peering  between  great  crevices  in  the 
rugged  peaks  are  purple  hills  almost  lost  in  a  bewil- 
dering haze.  Up  on  a  lofty  precipice,  that  almost 
threatens  to  fall  upon  our  steamer,  we  see  tiny  white 
spots,  they  are  mountain  goats  feeding  where  no  foot 
of  man  can  reach  them.     That  speck  upon  the  water 

79 


8o  ALASKA. 

in  the  distance  is  a  native  canoe.  The  occupant  is 
fishing,  and  were  it  possible,  we  might  see  him  catch 
and  land  a  weighty  salmon  almost  as  coolly  and 
easily  as  one  of  our  Eastern  anglers  would  lift  out 
a  brook  trout.  Look  at  that  dismal  bluff  closely,  and 
from  a  fissure  in  its  side  we  will  see  purest  water  rush- 
ing, gurgling  and  finally  plunging  in  a  smooth,  trans- 
lucent stream  over  a  wall  a  hundred  feet  or  more 
in  height,  breaking  into  a  million  atoms  before  it  loses 
itself  in  the  current  beneatk 

From  Clarence  into  Stikine  Strait  we  glide  with  no 
unusual  or  special  object  to  note,  except  pos- 
sibly to  the  practical  eye  of  captain  or  seaman.  On- 
ward and  upward  toward  the  east,  and  what  is  this  we 
behold?  A  town?  A  sign  of  civilization  in  these  wild 
forests?  Aye,  it  is  Fort  Wrangel!  This  town  was 
named  for  Baron  Wrangel,  who  established  a  trading 
post  there  over  one  hundred  years  ago.  The  United 
States  built  a  stockade  for  the  protection  of  its  peo- 
ple against  the  aggressive  tribes  soon  after  the  pur- 
chase, but  it  was  afterwards  sold  to  private  parties. 
The  town  nestles  at  the  foot  of  great  cone-like  hills,  and 
rests  upon  a  shadow-ridden  harbor  dotted  with  isles 
and  islets,  some  but  single  rocks  forever  washed  by  the 
waters,  which  with  a  sort  of  slow,  calm  dignity,  scorn 
the  bustle  of  our  steamer  and  the  ringing  of  voices  that 
exclaim  at  their  loneliness.  Great  frowning  clififs  and 
sharply  defined  crags  surround  the  place  and  multiply 


Totem  Poles,  Fort  Wkangel. 


VO  YA  GING  ON  THE  LO  VEL  Y  WA  TERS.        8i 

themselves  in  the  waters  that  our  vessel  gently  ruffles. 
High  promontories  stand  as  sentinels  around  it,  at  the 
rear  range  after  range  of  volcanic  peaks  separate  the 
dark  little  town  from  the  lofty  lines  of  mountains  cov- 
ered with  everlasting  snow. 

The  dark  green  foliage  of  the  pines,  that  are  to  be 
seen  on  every  side,  gives  the  place  a  sadly  weird  ap- 
pearance, which  is  intensified  by  numbers  of  fallen 
trees,  some  dead,  some  dying,  others  clinging  tena- 
ciously to  life,  sending  out  their  tender  shoots  upward 
from  the  prostrate  trunks,  and  in  the  efifort  producing 
a  more  sombre  effect.  But  the  power  of  the  moun- 
tains, the  silence  of  the  waters,  the  sadness  of  the 
pines,  are  only  the  gloomy  background  for  the  spec- 
tres that  stand  in  front  of  some  of  the  low  wooden 
houses  close  to  the  water's  edge,  while  the  light 
canoes,  which  just  now  aire  skimming  along  with 
scarce  a  ripple  in  their  wake,  seem  to  be  floating  over 
and  among  these  ghostly  totem  poles,  for  such  they 
are — sacred  signs  of  family  station,  dearer  to  the 
heart  of  the  Alaskan  Siwash  than  royal  crown. 

Here  we  find  two  or  three  graves  in  particular  that 
artists  have  so  perfectly  presented,  that  we  know  them 
at  once,  and  we  cannot  repress  a  smile  which  greets 
a  massive  whale  that  boasts  a  head  at  each  end  of  its 
body,  two  sets  of  even,  white  teeth  and  widely  staring 
eyes,  resting  upon  the  head  of  a  human  figure,  which 
is  sitting  and  clasping  its  knees  as  if  to  steady  the 
burden, 
6 


82  ALASKA. 

Here  is  another  totem  surmounted  by  a  huge  bear 
who  has  evidently  left  his  foot-prints  as  he  climbed 
the  lofty  pole.  And  here  a  grave  built  like  a  small 
log  cabin,  overtopj^ed  by  a  snarling  wolf.  The  size 
demonstrates  that  considerable  strength  and  ingenu- 
ity must  have  been  required  to  mount  these  figures 
to  their  high  positions. 

The  fort  is  forsaken,  as  is  the  one  at  Tongas,  and 
with  it  seems  to  have  gone  all  interest  in  improving 
the  town,  except  what  the  natives  choose  to  do  in  their 
own  peculiar  manner.  But  our  own  people  from  the 
steamer  are  hurrying  from  house  to  house  and  hut  to 
hut,  trying  to  purchase  some  of  the  odd  and  fantastic 
carvings,  or  they  are  securing  one  or  more  of  the  soft, 
well  worked  and  valuable  blankets  for  which  the 
tribes  that  inhabit  this  locality,  as  well  as  the  ones  at 
Chilkat  Inlet,  further  to  the  North,  are  noted.  It  will 
give  an  insight  into  human  nature  that  evidently  be- 
longs to  the  entire  hiunan  race  if  we  watch  the  dark- 
faced  T'linkets  striking  bargains,  which  undoubtedly, 
so  far  as  their  limited  knowledge  goes,  will  make 
them  more  wealthy  after  our  visit.  But  the  purchaser 
need  not  be  sorry,  for  the  really  fine  carvings  and  the 
more  perfectly  woven  blankets  are  becoming  things 
of  the  past,  as  the  natives  seeing  the  demand  grow- 
ing greater  forthwith  proceed  to  supply  it  at  the  saori- 
fice  of  beauty  and  finisib. 

But  look,  the  sun  is  disappearing  in  a  mist,  and  its 
particles  gleam  like  tiny  prisms.     Now  we  hie  away 


VOYAGING  ON  THE  LOVELY  WATERS.        83 

to  the  vessel,  and  then  look  back.  The  pines  grow 
downy,  their  tops  seem  to  meet  closer  as  the  mist 
falls  upon  them  lightly;  the  houses  become  smooth  and 
gray;  the  great  poles  lose  their  sharpness  and  take 
about  them  drapery  that  makes  them  more  ghost- 
like, but  less  hideous;  the  water  is  almost  black  as  the 
diaphanous  skirts  of  the  fog  float  across  it,  here  and 
there  dipping  to  its  surface  and  then  drifting  ofif  in 
waving  curves  toward  the  distant  hills. 

Good-bye  Fort  Wrangel.  With  all  your  gloom, 
your  frowning  mountain  surroundings  and  your 
ghosts.  We  will  never  forget  you,  but  will  long 
once  more  to  see  you  when  we  are  sitting  at  our  cozjr 
Eastern  fireside.  We  must  leave,  not  even  lingering 
at  the  mission  house,  which  is  struggling  to  accom- 
plish a  great  work  of  reform  and  education  among 
the  gifted  T'linkets.  W^e  must  be  gone,  or  our  kind- 
hearted  captain  will  become  impatient,  for  he  has  al- 
ready given  us  the  best  part  of  the  day  for  our  wan- 
derings in  and  about  the  town  and  native  village 
along  the  shore,  and  abundant  time  to  see  these 
strange  people  in  their  equally  peculiar  homes,  and 
also  to  purchase  to  our  hearts'  content  the  "curios" 
that  thev  hold  for  sale. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

A  Tkii^  From   Fort  Wrangel  to  Junkau. 

UP  through  the  Wrangel  Straits  we  steam,  watch- 
ing the  purple  mists  fall  in  curling  waves  all  the 
way  along  on  either  shore;  now  hiding  the  lines 
of  stunted  but  richly  verdant  trees  and  bushes,  which 
are  bound  together  in  impenetrable  jungles  by  grasp- 
ing stems  of  brier,  or  long  floating  bands  of  living 
moss;  then, lifting,  giving  us  clear,  but  only  momentary 
views  of  rolling  hills  and  distant  mountain  peaks, 
whose  snowy  crowns  gleam  like  burnished  silver 
against  the  deep,  cloudless  blue. 

Here,  as  everywhere  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
the  shores  are  precipitous.  There  are  no  gentle 
slopes  nor  silvery  beaches.  The  land  seems  to  have 
taken  a  headlong  leap  into  the  black  waters,  leaving 
a  portion  exposed  to  light  and  air,  while  the  other 
is  washed  forever  by  the  restless  waves,  whose  ebbs 
give  glimpses  of  the  steep  and  rocky  sides  of  the  sub- 
merged portion. 

And  now  we  enter  Dry  Strait.  A  curious  name 
for  a  body  of  water  much  wider  than  the  one  through 
which  we  have  just  passed.  There  are  rocks,  deso- 
lately bare,  tiny  islets,  upon  which  the  water-birds  sit, 
warming  their  beautiful  eggs  into  soft,  downy  life; 
84 


FROM  FORT  WRANGEL   TO  JUNEAb.  85 

shoals,  which  our  helmsman's  knitted  brows  and  earn- 
est eyes  tell  us  are  to  be  guarded  against  for  our  ves- 
sel's safety,  and  larger  islands  overrun  with  herbage 
that  reaches  down  to  the  water's  edge,  dipping 
its  slender  leaves  as  tlhfe  waves  ride  in  and  waving 
a  gay  good-bye  as  they  recede.  But  look,  there 
are  great  cakes  of  ice  dancing  towards  us!  We 
would  call  them  bergs,  but  we  must  reserve  that  name 
for  those  that  we  will  meet  in  Icy  Bay. 

We  are  approaching  that  which  we  have  never  seen, 
but  of  which  we  have  dreamed  and  thought  many 
times.  The  floes  of  ice  grow  thicker.  The  air  is 
chill,  telling  of  their  presence,  even  if  we  had  not  seen 
them.  And  now  behold  Patterson  Glacier!  A  great 
wall  of  ice  towering  above  us,  making  our  ship  seem 
as  nothing,  ourselves  as  atoms  before  its  gleaming 
majesty. 

In  some  places  where  the  ice  is  decaying  it  looks 
like  dirty,  porous  snow;  in  others  it  is  deeply  blue, 
while  here  and  there  great  turrets  reach  heavenward 
in  gleaming  crystal  points.  Hills  and  valleys,  all  of 
ice,  throw  out  exquisite  prismatic  colors  where  the 
sunlight  touches,  and  even  above  the  wash  of  the 
"waves  against  the  sides  of  our  ship  we  can  hear  the 
music  of  many  trickling  streams  that  have  worn  chan- 
nels for  themselves  in  the  solid  ice,  and  are  now 
rejoicing  in  their  freedom.  How  they  ripple  and 
glide    and    plunge,  making  mimic  cascades  as  they 


86  ALASKA. 

throw  themselves  into  the  eager  waters  of  the  Strait. 
We  fain  would  linger  and  drink  in  the  delightful  view 
a  longer  time.  The  moments  have  flown  so  swiftly. 
But  the  captain's  quiet  command  turns  us  away  from 
this  glacier,  to  continue  our  Alaskan  tour.  We  look 
back  as  long  as  we  can  see  a  vestige  of  the  cold,  sil- 
ent monarch  of  the  Strait,  and  perhaps  in  our  inmost 
hearts  doubt  the  possibility  of  anything  being  more 
sublimely  beautiful. 

By  making  a  detour  of  several  miles,  as  we  have 
done,  we  get  this  line  view  of  Patterson  Glacier, 
the  first  one  to  be  met  on  our  trip  northward,  but  in  a 
short  time  we  will  behold  a  whole  series  of  glaciers 
in  Glacier  Bay. 

Out  into  the  broader,  wind-rippled  waves  of  Fred- 
erick Sound  we  glide,  where  each  sharp-edged  wavelet 
is  crested  with  a  cap  of  foam,  not  snowy  white,  but 
formed  of  tiny  bubbles,  glistening  and  flashing  as  our 
vessel  sends  them  far  to  either  side  of  her  saucy  prow. 
With  no  change  that  we  can  note,  and  while  we  still 
are  exclaiming  at  the  beauty  of  the  Sound,  our  captain 
informs  us  that  we  are  in  Stevens'  Passage.  As  it 
grows  narrower  the  mountains  and  towering  hills 
seem  near  or  far  as  the  clouds  pass  between  us  and 
them. 

The  glinting  white  of  the  snow  patches  against  the 
green,  which  is  darkened  with  pine  and  cedar,  the 
gray  and  yellow  of  the  sphagnum  and  the  rosy  flecks 


FROM  FORT  WRANGEL   TO  JUNEAU.  87 

of  lichen,  make  us  long  for  some  magic  power  that 
would  enable  us  to  hold  the  picture  in  substance  for- 
ever. There  is  none  of  our  party  who  are  at  all 
anxious  to  visit  Admiralty  Island,  whose  shores  we 
gaze  upon  with  as  much  curiosity  as  admiration,  for 
it  is  said  that  the  Island  swarms  with  bears,  and  while 
we  have  no  objection  to  seeing  five  hundred  of  them 
roaming  about,  we  feel  safe  knowing  that  they  are  not 
in  the  habit  of  attacking  steamers,  and  especially  at  re- 
spectful distances  from  their  territory.  They  evidently 
do  not  swarm  to  the  water's  edge,  for  we  did  not  get  a 
glimpse  of  a  single  one  of  this  prowling  tribe  of  ani- 
mals. Northward  still  we  go,  passing  Stockade 
Point,  an  old  trading  post  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, w^hich  built  the  block-house  and  stockade,  now 
crumbling  quietly  into  decay,  making  a  striking  con- 
trast with-  the  everlasting  snow-capped  mountains 
which  rise  from  the  rather  low  peninsula,  seeming 
to  draw  the  land  toward  them  as  they  tower  above  the 
shore. 

Nearly  opposite  is  Grave  Point,  a  native  burial 
ground,  weird,  silent  and  lonely  beyond  all  descrip- 
tion— a  dismal  spot  among  the  landscape  pictures 
as  a  black  cloud  upon  a  fair,  sunset  sky.  The  grass 
grows  rank  and  tall.  Last  year's  seed-stalks,  still 
overtopping  the  young  growth,  rustle  a  sad  warning 
to  the  joyous  blossom  buds  that  are  bursting  into  Hfe. 
The  small  evergreens  look  darker  and  more  solemn 


88  ALASKA. 

than  their  companions  of  the  neig-hboring  slopes,  be- 
cause of  their  nearness  to  the  odd  grave-boxes  that 
are  standing  here  and  there  on  their  stilt-Hke  posts; 
some  marked  only  on  their  sides,  others  overtopped 
with  totem  poles  varying  in  height  and  design,  ac- 
cording to  the  honor  of  the  family  to  which  the  quiet 
sleeper  belongs,  and  all  turning  their  startling  fea- 
tures toward  the  lapping  waters,  whose  swish  and 
nunrmur  in  the  solemn  stillness,  sound  as  mournful  as 
any  dirge  that  ever  sighed  its  minoir  notes  above  an 
honored  grave. 

Our  captain  has  at  our  request,  let  us  pause  awhile 
to  gaze  upon  the  scene,  but  a  sigh  emanates  from 
more  than  one  heart  as  we  leave  the  place. 

We  look  with  longing  eyes  at  Taku  Inlet  as  we 
pass,  wishing  to  take  a  boat  and  sail  over  its  lovely 
waters,  visit  its  glacier,  or,  roam  about  its  many  beau- 
tiful islets  and  watch  the  silvery  fish  leaping  through 
its  limpid  water  currents.  The  head  of  this  Inlet  is 
destined  to  be  the  starting  point  of  a  route  to  the 
Klondyke  gold  field  region  and  the  Yukon,  in  the  com- 
ing season.  But  we  must  leave  it  as  we  turn  to  the 
right  and  enter  Gastineau  Channel. 

Beautiful,  picturesque  Gastineau  Channel,  narrow 
in  some  places,  only  navigable  for  small  boats,  but  so 
lovely !  So  rich  and  fair  its  valleys,  so  pure  its  waters, 
so  lofty  the  mountains,  with  snowy  seams  down  their 
rugged  sides,  and  vivid  green  in  strong  relief  against 


FROM  FORT  WRANGEL   TO  JUNEAb.  89 

the  moss-covered  rocks.  Turn  which  way  you  will,  in 
the  evening  Hght,  there  is  nothing  but  beauty  in  the 
little  city  that  nestles  between  the  mountains.  This  is 
Juneau !  We  will  leave  it  now,  for  night  is  falling,  and 
we  cannot  see  clearly  its  special  features  until  morn- 
ing dawns. 


CHAPTER  Xll. 

Among  the  Gold  Mines— Juneau  and  Douglas  Islands. 

WJl  have  risen  betimes  this  fair,  clear  morning  to 
get  a  glimpse  of  the  city  of  Juneau  in  the  glow 
of  sunrise.  It  is  a  small  town,  and  indeed  at 
home  we  should  call  it  a  village,  but  in  this  sparsely 
settled  country,  it  deserves  the  dignity  settled  upon  it. 

The  sun  is  tinting  the  snow-draped  mountains  at  the 
base  of  whiclh  it  nestles  with  rose  and  yellow,  mingling 
the  colors  in  streaks  and  dashes  and  making  their 
rugged  sides  rival  the  glowing  sky.  Juneau  still  lies 
in  shadow,  but  we  can  see  that  it  is  built  upon  a  slight 
slope  that  seems  to  have  slipped  from  the  mountain 
which  towers  above  so  protectingly.  The  houses  look 
cool  and  cozy  in  the  pallid  light  that  falls  upon  them. 

And  now  the  sun  looms  suddenly  above  the  moun- 
tain tops  and  pours  a  flood  of  dazzling  glory  over  the 
small  white  houses,  and  the  skeletons  of  those  being 
erected,  as  well  as  upon  the  few  native  huts  of  the 
Alaskans  near  by.  There  is  nothing  remarkably 
beautiful  about  the  town  in  the  plain  day  light  except 
its  location  between  two  lofty  mountains  on  the  shore 
of  a  lovely  channel.  But  it  is  destined  to  be  a  great 
city  ere  many  years  have  rolled  by,  because  it  holds  an 
important  position  in  the  rich  gold  and  silver  mining 
districts,  and  is  already  the  nucleus  of  a  commercial 
90 


AMONG   THE  GOLD  MINES.  91 

centre.  It  was  the  discovery  of  gold  by  two  prospec- 
tors, after  one  of  whom  the  settlement  was  named,  that 
led  to  its  rise,  and  it  will  be  this  search  for  the  precious 
metals  that  will  lead  to  its  future  great  success. 

It  is  now  a  thriving  town,  having  stores,  a  post- 
office,  and  a  port  at  which  all  the  steamers  stop. 
More  than  this,  it  is  the  place  from  which  issues  forth 
weekly  papers,  with  their  budget  of  home  news,  notes 
from  distant  sister  cities,  special  gossip,  and  comments 
upon  the  present  value  and  future  prospects,  not  only 
of  its  own,  but  of  neighboring  places. 

There  is  gold  in  the  valley  of  the  Yukon  river,  gold 
in  the  mountains,  gold  in  the  islands.  Gold  Creek 
carries  gold  dust  in  the  sediment  which  it  brings  and 
deposits  in  the  channels.  Across  the  channel  is 
Douglas  Island,  said  to  contain  enough  of  the  pre- 
cious metals  in  its  bosom  to  pay  ofY  the  whole  of  the 
United  States  debt. 

Think  of  a  small  island  in  our  far  away  and  too 
often  despised  Territory  having  the  largest  gold 
stamping  mill  in  the  world.  The  Treadwell  Mining 
Company  runs  the  mill  which  contains  over  two  hun- 
dred stamps,  and  is  gradually  completing  an  additional 
power  that  will  eventually  double  the  present  capacity. 
The  company  has  refused  fifteen  million  dollars  for  the 
mines,  because  they  believe  that  even  such  an  im- 
mense power  as  it  employs  cannot  exhaust  the  supply 
of  gold  in  a  lifetime  or  even  in  a  century.     Doubting 


92  ALASk'A. 

persons  might  call  this  "moonshine,"  but  positive 
proof  is  there  for  those  who  choose  to  visit  the  mine 
from  which  the  out-put  in  one  year  was  nearly  $800,- 
000  worth  of  metal.  We  find  accommodating  mana- 
gers who  are  perfectly  willing  that  any  one  should  see 
t'hie  whole  process,  from  the  hard  rocks  that  must  be 
blasted  in  order  to  work  them,  to  the  pure  metal  from 
the  dross.  The  stamps  are  running  with  a  deafening 
roar  day  and  night  the  entire  year.  The  large  hoppers 
are  kept  full  on  the  upper  floor  by  tramway  cars,  that 
are  loaded  in  the  mine,  in  the  hillside,  from  the  quartz 
vein,  by  means  of  stoping  platforms,  and  they  are  run 
back  and  forth,  as  ore  is  needed  in  the  mill,  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill.  Much  water  is  needed  to  clear  the  pow- 
dered quartz  of  the  soil,  but  the  company  owns  the 
water  supply  of  the  entire  island  for  their  own  use. 

And  we  can  explore  the  island  at  our  pleasure,  losing 
sight  of  the  scenery  around  us  in  our  eager  quest  for 
the  signs  that  miners  know  so  well.  Think  of  a  gold- 
bearing  quartz  vein  four  hundred  feet  wide,  as  this 
one  is,  the  Bear's  Nest  vein,  which  is  probably  one 
hundred  feet  wider;  or  one  600  feet  wide,  as  the 
Lorena  mine  ledge  on  Admiralty  Island!  There  is 
a  feeling  akin  to  the  pride  of  proprietorship  in  the 
hearts  of  all  true-born  Americans  when  we  are 
told  that  there  is  sufficient  gold  in  sight  to  pay 
the  price  of  thie  Territory  two  or  three  times 
over.       As  we  traverse  the  Island  or  look  across  at 


AMONG   THE  GOLD  MINES.  93 

Juneau,  and  know  of  the  valleys  beyond  its  abrupt 
hills  which  are  teeming  with  a  golden  harvest,  await- 
ing only  hardy  hands  to  come  and  gather,  we  are 
convinced  that  at  some  not  very  distant  day  there 
must  be  a  great  centre  for  the  vast  business  interests 
that  are  necessary  to  carry  on  the  work  of  development. 

And  what  place  better  than  Juneau!  Already  set- 
tled, already  possessing  a  passable  port,  and  even  now 
mentioned  as  one  of  the  cities  of  the  United  States. 
Business  and  pleasure  do  not  often  combine  so  beau- 
tifully. Here  are  the  ores,  the  workmen,  the  tools; 
and  the  natives  make  excellent  miners.  Here  the 
vessels  can  come  to  carry  away  the  fruits  of  the 
miners'  and  stampers'  toil.  And  here  nature  revels 
in  wild  mountain  grandeur,  in  calm  valley  peaceful- 
ness  and  in  rus)hiing  water  music;  while  now  and 
again  messengers  from  the  great  glacial  fields  come 
sailing  down  through  Gastineau  Channel  and  Taku 
Inlet,  jostling  against  the  grass-draped  islands  and 
brushing  the  long,   feathery   ferns  as   they  pass. 

But  we  must  leave  Douglas  Island,  excusing  its 
stunted  flora  when  we  remember  the  soil  from  which 
it  springs.  We  must  leave  promising  little  Juneau 
and  the  Gastineau  Channel,  whose  waters,  fed  with 
gold  and  debris  from  glaciers  and  gulches  above,  are 
choked  by  thie  accumulation  into  shoals,  and  refuse  to 
let  us  go  onward.  We  must  retrace  our  path  to  the 
entrance  of  the  strait  before  we  can  proceed  north- 
ward to  scenery  more  charming  and  wonderful. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Lynn    Canai.    and   Chilkoot    Hay. 

LEAVING  Gastineau  Channel,  and  taking  a  last 
longing  look  at  Taku  Inlet,  wc  steam  toward 
Lynn  Canal,  in  which  great  and  wonderful 
beauty  awaits  us.  Those  who  have  been  there  tell  us 
of  its  scenery,  and  in  anticipation  our  imagination  be- 
gins picture  making,  which,  as  we  glide  along,  be- 
comes at  first  eclipsed  and  finally  effaced  by  w'hat  we 
behold  in  bright  reality. 

Lynn  Canal  is  but  the  entrance  to  our  lofty  Ameri- 
can Alpine  scenery,  but  even  here  no  land  can  boast 
rarer  and  more  startling  and  contrasting  loveliness! 
Great  frowning  mountain  peaks,  bleak  as  night  in 
some  places,  in  others  white  with  the  snow  of  ages,  bear 
on  their  sides  mimic  glaciers — rugged  icy  masses — 
rich  in  emerald  and  azure  tints,  and  capped  with  clear- 
est silver  or  purest  fleecy  white,  shaded  down  to  azure 
and  brown  where  the  earth  and  water  mingle  at  their 
foundations.  Surprises  greet  the  eye  at  every  turn. 
Low,  dark  evergreens  throw  their  shadows  across  the 
gleaming  ice  and  draw  their  needed  moisture  from 
the  streams  that  steal  their  way  through  gilded  passes. 
Cascades  break  upon  the  view  suddenly,  as  they  leap 
from  great  rocky  heights  and  plunge  with  scarcely 
94 


LYNN  CANAL  AND  CHILKOOT  BAY.  95 

a  sound  into  the  dark  waters,  which  foam  for  a  little 
space  and  bubble  as  they  open  to  receive  them.  Rivu- 
lets ripple  and  glide  and  glisten  on  their  way  and 
trickle  so  gently  into  the  black  canal  that  their  advent 
is  hardly  noticed  by  the  ceaseless  waves. 

Everywhere  ice  and  snow,  water,  earth,  and  sparse 
but  hardy  vegetation  meet  the  eye,  no  two  places  hav- 
ing exactly  the  same  formation  or  combination,  yet 
all  to  be  described  by  the  same  defective  or  defi- 
cient adjectives. 

Here  we  are  in  Chilkoot  Bay  and  pressing  forward 
to  its  terminus,  reach  by  a  mile  or  two  the  highest 
point  yet  passed  in  former  voyages  of  the  steamer, 
and  the  most  northerly  of  our  trip  in  this  direction.  On 
our  right  six  or  eight  small  w^aterfalls,  keeping  company 
with  one  of  great  power  and  beauty,  welcome  us  to  the 
country  of  the  T'linkets.  The  shores  are  siharp, 
abrupt  and  rocky.  The  snow-covered  mountains 
towering  above  us  on  either  side  show  great  seams 
of  mineral-stained  quartz,  which  outcrop  from  dark, 
slate-like  formations  from  the  water's  edge  up  to- 
ward the  dazzling  snow  line.  Streams  of  greenish- 
vellow  water  trickle  through  the  lines  of  yellow 
quartz  and  mingle  their  colors  with  the  bay's  darkly 
blue  waters.  In  some  places  the  outcrop  is  white 
and  smooth  as  marble,  in  others  it  is  rugged  and 
tinged  brown,  green  and  yellow,  making  an  appear- 
ance something  like  the  lichen  covered  rocks  in  the 
more  southern  districts. 


96  ALASKA. 

Eagle  Glacier  glows  and  frowns  upon  us  from  one 
side  to  be  eclipsed  in  magnitude  by  Davidson's  bolder 
and  more  massive  majesty  as  we  enter  Chilkoot 
Inlet.  We  fain  would  linger  near  either  and  feast 
our  eyes  upon  the  cold,  wonderful  beauty,  but  soon 
we  will  see  the  peerless  Muir  Glacier  and  gain  far 
greater  pleasure  in  exploring  its  vast  moraines  and 
peering  into  its  nooks  and  dazzling  corridors.  Chil- 
koot Inlet  bears  our  good  vessel  through  more  of  the 
same  wondronsly  tinted  beauty;  between  lofty  moun- 
tain ranges  that  shut  out  all  but  their  own  stately, 
haughty  grandeur,  then  open  for  a  space,  showing 
ranges,  hills  and  glacier  streams  in  the  distance  until 
the  very  head  aches  with  the  brain's  effort  to  take 
and  hold  forever  tthe  beautiful  and  impressive  pic- 
tures. 

Dyea,  Dyay  or  Dayea,  the  starting  point  for  the  new 
gold  fields  of  the  Upper  Yukon  River,  is  situated  at  the 
head  of  this  Inlet  on  its  eastern  side.  This  route  leads 
over  the  Chilkoot  Mountain  Pass,  thence  to  the  series 
of  lakes  that  ofifer  a  water-carriage  by  canoe  or  boat 
to  the  Yukon. 

In  this  region  the  summer  sun  hardly  takes  time 
to  rest  from  his  round  of  brilliant  duties.  As  he 
retires  he  sinks  so  slowly,  so  regretfully,  that  the  last 
tender  tints  of  one  day  are  hardly  buried  in  pallid 
twilight  till  the  new  morning's  pageant  appears  and 
decks  the  sky  in  colors  rivalling  his  late  departure. 


Fine  Chilkat  Blanket  and  Worked  Totems. 


LYNN  CANAL  AND  CHILKOOT  BAY.  97 

Beautiful  flowers  in  gold  and  pink  and  purest  white 
smile  from  valley  and  hillside.  Tall  grasses  wave  and 
ripple  in  the  gentle  wind.  Cedars,  vines  and  willows 
spread  their  verdure-clad  branches  to  catch  the  warmth 
and  brightness  of  the  friendly  sun.  In  the  woods  the 
moss  makes  a  carpet,  velvety,  soft  and  deep  enough 
for  the  feet  to  sink  some  distance  sponge-like,  before 
touching  ground,  making  locomotion  and  transporta- 
tion difficult  and  irksome.  Briars  and  wood  tangle, 
with  trailing  tree  moss,  lash  the  trunks  together  in 
an  impenetrable  jungle  of  living  beauty.  Waters  clear 
as  crystal,  and  cool  and  fresh,  trickle  on  their  way  from 
the  glaciers  to  the  smiling,  sun-kissed  inlet,  where 
countless  fishes  flash  like  jewels  as  they  dart  about 
from  shore  to  channel.  Immense  strong  stemmed 
ferns  bend  toward  the  water  beside  tender,  fairly-like 
companions,  which  dip  into  the  stream  and  lift  upon 
their  feathery  leaves  bright  gem-drops,  in  which  the 
sun  may  find  his  beams  reflected.  And  this  is  the  land 
of  the  Chilkats,  among  the  bravest,  most  warlike  and 
surely  the  richest  of  Alaska's  natives. 

Here  the  wool  of  the  mountain  goat  is  made  into 
the  famous  Chilkat  dancing  blankets.  The  snowy 
wool  is  interwoven  in  the  most  grotesque  designs  by 
the  women,  while  the  men  carve  spoons,  cups,  spears, 
fishing-hooks  and  many  other  articles,  useful  or  orna- 
mental, from  the  jet  black  horns  of  the  same  animal. 
Some  of  the  carving  is  exquisite  in  design  and  finish, 
7 


98  ALASKA. 

displaying  artistic  talent  of  no  mean  order.  These 
T'linkets  have  long  held  the  position  of  "middle  men" 
between  the  traders,  and  they  have  fully  profited 
by  their  power  and  cunning,  for  their  wealth  is  pro- 
verbial among  the  northern  nations. 

But  we  have  lingered  long  enough  with  the  na- 
tives. Our  ship  courses  on  toward  Icy  Bay,  the 
home  of  icebergs,  the  dwelling  of  glaciers  whose 
steady,  resistless  but  imperceptible  advance  toward 
the  sea  fills  our  souls  with  wonder  and  admiration. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Over  IMuir  Glacier — A  Birth-Place  of  Icebergs. 

THERE  is  no  cause  for  complaint  in  being  com- 
pelled to  retrace  our  course  through  Lynn 
Canal,  even  should  it  require  many  hours  to  do 
so,  for  new  scenes  open  before  us  at  every  turn.  Islets 
appear  that  we  did  not  notice  as  we  passed,  or  it  may 
be  that  approaching  them  from  an  opposite  direction 
makes  them  entirely  new  to  us ;  clear,  babbling  stream- 
lets hurrying  to  their  sure  engulfment  in  the  greedy 
waters  below;  snowy  cascades  rolling  and  tumbling 
over  rugged  rocks  and  polislhed  pebbles;  mountains 
whose  frowning  contours  stand  sharply  against  the 
tender  azure  of  the  sky,  and  here  and  there  fair,  fleecy 
clouds  reproducing  themselves  in  the  tinted  bosom  of 
the  Canal,  all  tend  to  make  the  return  as  lovely  as 
any  part  of  the  trip. 

Now  we  pass  through  Icy  Strait,  the  doorway  to 
Glacier  Bay.  Icebergs  bow  a  chilling  welcome  to  us 
and  the  air  becomes  decidedly  bracing,  with  a  prom- 
ise for  the  near  necessity  for  warmer  clothing. 

And  now  our  vessel  steams  on  in  among  real  ice- 
bergs almost  as  tall  as  her  slender  masts,  and 
some  far  more  broad  than  her  graceful  hull.  Great 
moving  masses  of  crystal,  tinted  with  all  the  shades 

99 


loo  ALASKA. 

of  blue  imaginable,  from  palest  peaxl  to  deepest  in- 
digo, with  here  and  there  rich  rainbows  gleam- 
ing on  the  splintered  edges.  On  we  move,  jost- 
ling mimic  icebergs  out  of  our  path,  tossing  them 
aside  with  every  pulse  of  the  iron  heart  that  propels 
us  along  safely  and  smoothly.  Far  ahead  there  seems 
to  be  a  dense  white  mist,  a  few  moments  it  rolls  and 
curves,  but  soon  it  has  cleared  away  and  all  is  still. 
The  captain  answers  our  query  with  a  smile  and  tells 
us  that  we  are  in  Glacier  Bay. 

Night  has  fallen  and  we  must  retire,  each  with  a 
silent  resolve  that  he  will  be  first  to  see  what  further 
wonders  are  awaiting  us  in  the  breaking  day.  In  the 
morning  sunlight  behold  the  mighty  giant  Glacier,  in 
front  of  whose  splendor  and  beneath  whose  threatening 
brow  our  puny  ship  stands,  audaciously  puffing  her 
smoke  and  steam  right  into  the  face  of  so  much  majesty 
that  we  are  compelled  to  fear  that  punishment  must 
follow.  Muir  Glacier  rises  before  us,  not  a  great,  tall 
rock  of  ice,  but  a  crystal  citadel,  with  towers,  turrets, 
crested  minarets  and  lance-like  spires,  all  of  glittering 
ice,  clear  and  transparent,  shading  through  all  the  tints 
and  tones  of  blue;  capped  in  some  places  with  pur- 
est silver,  in  others  with  fleece-like  snow.  Later  in 
the  morning  we  land  and  climb  to  its  summit  and 
roam  over  its  crystal  landscape.  Deep  crevasses 
show  shimmering  lights  far  down  their  shattered  sides 
when  the  sun  touches  the  ragged  edges  of  the  waving 


OVER  MUIR  GLACIER.  loi 

curves  of  broken  ice.  Strange  sounds  come  up 
from  the  uncertain  depths — murmurs,  gurgles  and 
long  broken  sighs,  as  the  prisoned  water  forces  its 
way  along,  now  and  then  interrupted  in  the  course 
by  rocks  and  stones,  and  sometimes  aided  in  its  sad- 
toned  music  by  sharp  gusts  of  wind  that  sweep  down 
into  the  icy  gorges.  Great  solid  blocks  stand  be- 
tween these  crevices,  so  clear  and  pure  that  one  can 
imagine  that  the  eye  penetrates  to  an  impossible  dis- 
tance into  the  heart  of  the  Glacier. 

Deep,  chilly  caverns  yawn  almost  at  the  feet  of  the 
daring  explorer,  and  ever  and  anon  loud  thunder 
tones  and  frightful  crashing  sounds  reverberate  from 
neighboring  crevasses  as  great  ice  masses  fall  into  the 
depths  and  startle  one  for  an  instant,  so  calm  and 
quiet  is  the  solitude  around.  Beautiful  grottoes,  with 
clear  blue  flooring  and  shimmering  iridescent  walls 
greet  the  beholder  in  most  surprising  localities. 
Long,  irregular  depressions  starting  from  the  far 
away  heights  of  the  ice  mountains  and  running  quite 
to  the  turrets  near  its  verge  make  courses  for  the 
constant  drip  from  the  hills  beyond  our  view,  as  the 
rivulets  trickle  and  rush  onward  down  to  the  sub- 
glacial  river,  or  as  the  superficial  streamlets  discharge 
their  freight  into  the  Bay  by  the  glacier  stream  near 
the  mountain  side.  Some  rivulets  are  clear  and  lim- 
pid, some  appear  like  streams  of  milk,  others  like 
amber,  while  more  are  turbid  and  swollen  in  the  mid- 


TJNTVERSITY  OF  CAT  TFORNTA 
SANTA  BAEBARA  COLLEGE  LIBRA 


I02  ALASKA. 

day  sun,  carrying  with  tbem  mud  and  stones,  making 
rough,  grating  sounds  as  they  take  their  final  leaps 
into  the  water. 

Here  and  there  moraines  give  safe  footing  for  the 
most  timid  to  explore  the  Glacier.  Debris,  polished  . 
stones,  pieces  oi  rock,  scratched  and  ground  into  all 
imaginable  shapes,  dark  earth  and  tiny  rivulets,  com- 
pose these  great  moraines,  whose  sub-strata  is  solid 
ice.  Once  in  a  while  old  tree  trunks  meet  us  as  we 
scramble  over  the  rugged  surface,  and  now  and  then 
a  lovely  flower  peeps  at  us  from  some  sheltered  spot 
near  the  hill  side. 

Go  into  one  of  the  lovely  grottoes. 

Its  dazzling  beauty  makes  the  heart  swell  with  ad- 
miration, powerless  for  words  to  express.  The  tink- 
ling song  of  the  melting  ice,  as  it  drips  down  the  chis- 
eled walls,  makes  infant  echoes  in  small  offsetting 
chambers  that  no  foot  dare  enter,  while  the  flecks  of 
light  falling  upon  the  pellucid  water,  gleam  like  living 
eyes,  which  seem  to  blink  as  the  tiny  streams  run 
smoothly  or  vary  in  their  onward  motion.  But,  alas! 
amid  all  this  glittering  loveliness  there  is  a  chill  as  of 
the  tomb !  The  feet  become  numb,  the  ears  tingle  and 
at  last  frail  nature  compels  us  to^  leave  and  return  to  the 
welcome  warmth  of  the  sun. 

We  may  wander  on  and  upward  for  miles,  seeing 
at  every  turn  new  features  of  the  mammoth  Glacier 
whose  birth-place  we  cannot  reach.     Explorers  have 


OVER  MUIR  GLACIER.  103 

traveled  over  its  expansive  surface  for  at  least  eighty 
miles,  and  its  full  extent  is  supposed  to  be  nearly  four 
hundred  miles;  its  width  varies  according  to  the  prox- 
imity of  the  great  mountain  chains  and  peaks  to 
whose  presence  it  has  accommodated  itself  most  won- 
derfully, notwithstanding  it  has  torn  and  bruised  them 
as  it  passed.  Wearied,  cold  and  hungry,  we  return 
to  the  ship,  which  rides  in  the  rippling  waters  or 
tosses  as  some  sudden  motion  rolls  and  rocks  it. 
Here  from  the  deck,  or  even  from  our  stateroom 
window,  we  may  gaze  until  we  tire,  for  our  captain 
kindly  promises  to  stay  all  day  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood. 

Bang!  Crash!  Roar!  Again  and  again  that  clatter- 
ing cannonade.  Again  and  again  the  water,  turned 
to  misty  foam,  leaps  high  and  tosses,  for  a  distance,  its 
glistening  particles!  And  now,  not  very  far  from 
where  we  ride,  we  hear  the  loud  report  of  its  sudden 
cleavage,  and  watch  an  immense  berg  break  from  the 
parental  bosom,  and  plunge  down,  down  into  the  deep 
waters  of  Glacier  Bay  that  welcomes  it  with  engulf- 
ing waves,  and  throws  around  it  a  very  Niagara  of 
spray.  Down  it  plunges  deep  into  the  yawning  gulf, 
lost  and  entombed. 

Then  it  bounds  up  suddenly  into  a  massive,  glisten- 
ing, silver-clad  tower,  dashing  huge  waves  across  the 
bay,  and  dancing  up  and  down,  each  time  showing 
more  of  its  glinting,  dark   blue  surface,    each    time 


I04  ALASKA. 

seeming  to  endeavor  to  bring  itself  into  a  more  secure 
and  dignified  position.  At  last  it  settles  and  then 
starts  out  upon  its  journey  to  the  sea — a  glorious, 
new-fledged  iceberg,  out  to  the  wilting  waters  of  the 
briny  sea — to  the  golden  sunshine,  which,  while  lend- 
ing new  beauty  to  the  Arctic  stranger,  will  steal  part 
of  its  life  away  with  every  slender  ray  that  touches  it. 

So  section  after  section  of  the  mighty  glacier  se- 
cedes and  starts  upon  its  independent  journey.  So 
heaven's  grand  artillery  notes  each  iceberg's 
birth,  and  so  ever  the  waters  baptize  the  beautiful 
majestic  voyagers,  as  they  start  forth  on  their  fateful 
journey. 

Look  long  upon  the  wonderful  creation.  Here 
rides  our  tiny  ship  close  beneath  its  gleaming  crest. 
Here  we  stand,  atoms,  whom  the  boulders  could  crush 
into  shapeless  clay.  And  yet  we  gaze  and  calmly  talk 
of  the  grandeur  and  the  beauty. 

Can  it  be  that  the  huge  glacial  ice  mountain,  miles 
and  miles  in  extent,  is  surely,  positively  coming  to- 
ward us?  Can  it  be  that  each  of  those  deafening  sal- 
vos prove  that  its  progress  is  tending  in  our  direc- 
tion? Yet  we  wait  and  watch.  Yes,  some  of  us 
would  like  to  see  with  our  own  eyes  the  onward  move- 
ment, so  slowly  and  imperceptibly  is  the  glacier  mo- 
tion. We  would  dare  to  hold  our  position  until  we 
could  have  the  proof  in  our  own  knowledge  that  the 
great  ice  river,  the  mammoth  frozen  cataract,  is  really 


OVER  MUIR  GLACIER.  105 

moving  onward  ever  and  ever  toward  its  own  de- 
struction. 

Will  we  ever  forget  this  city  of  spires  and  turrets, 
this  home  of  caverns  and  grottoes,  this  birthplace  of 
the  huge,  beautiful  icebergs  that  gleam  down  upon 
us  from  every  side?  Will  our  ears  ever  fail  to  hear 
those  ringing,  rattling  charges  of  nature's  artillery? 

In  years  to  come  the  picture  will  doubtless  be  as 
vivid  as  the  first  impression,  for  time  can  scarcely 
efface  such  stupendous  grandeur  from  the  mind  that 
has  received  it. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

Among  the  Islands — From  Muik  Glacier  to  Sitka. 

LEAVING  the  magnificent,  beautiful  and  won- 
derful Muir,  what  wonder  is  it  that  we 
turn  and  gaze  from  the  upper  deck  of  our 
steamer  as  long  as  the  tinted  towers  and  gleam- 
ing front  of  the  Glacier  can  be  seen  in  the  in- 
creasing distance  ?  With  a  long  sigh  of  regret 
and  lonesomeness  we  glide  away,  perhaps  never 
to  behold  the  like  again.  There  is  but  one  place  that 
we  may  visit  to  find  the  Glacier's  rival,  and  that 
is  Greenland,  but  tourists  are  not  yet  daring  enough 
to  encounter  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  such  a 
voyage.  From  this  time,  Swiss  Alpine  Glaciers, 
grand  as  they  are,  will  lose  much  of  their  attractive- 
ness to  us. 

Sailing  onward  we  can  see  nothing  of  the  Glacier  but 
the  great  beautiful  fragments  that  come  floating  down 
in  front,  to  the  rear  and  alongside  of  the  ship.  As  we 
will  need  ice  for  our  return  trip,  our  daring  sailors 
throw  great  grappling  hooks  into  the  clearest  floe 
that  they  dare  approach,  and  our  vessel  steams  saucily 
along  towing  in  her  wake  an  iceberg,  from  which  the 
men  are  industriously  breaking  convenient  blocks 
and  stowing  them  away  in  the  huge  ice  chest.  Some- 
times the  men  will  go  off  for  a  supply  while  the  steamer 
io6 


AMONG  THE  ISLANDS.  107 

is  anchored  and  bring  in  a  life  boat  load  from  bergs 
near  the  glacier's  face.  Sometimes  tall  icebergs  can 
be  approached  so  closely  that  a  supply  can  be  cut  off 
from  above  and  dropped  down  upon  the  deck  of  the 
ship.  When  shall  we  ever  drink  of  water  from  such 
pure,  limpid,  rainbow-tinted  ice  as  this  after  the  store 
is  exhausted  and  we  cannot  reach  Icy  Bay  to  replen- 
ish it? 

Slowly  but  surely  we  are  leaving  the  cold,  barren, 
beautiful  North.  Down  through  Icy  Strait  small  ice- 
bergs dance  against  our  vessel,  and  then  turning  away 
dart  about  in  a  comical  manner  as  they  encounter 
the  rolling  waves  in  the  wake  of  the  vessel.  They 
grow  smaller,  and  at  last  almost  entirely  disappear  as 
we  make  headway  through  Chatham  Sound,  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  wonderful  of  Alaska's  charming 
waterways.  Its  many  islands,  islets  and  kelp-covered 
rocks  are  always  making  changing  scenes  as  we 
wind  carefully  around  to  avoid  shoals  and  hidden 
rocks.  Great  sweeping  branches  of  kelp  turn  about 
like  long  brown  serpents  as  the  movements  of  the 
ship  agitates  the  water.  Reeds  grow  tall  and  strong 
in  bunches  here  and  there,  and  ferns,  and  mosses  min- 
gle to  grace  the  islets  that  we  can  almost  touch  as 
we  glide  along  into  Peril  Straits. 

The  name  is  enougib  to  make  the  heart  a  little  anx- 
ious about  the  safety  of  this  part  of  the  tour,  but  we 
are  assured  that  it  is  no  worse  than  other  portions  un- 


io8  ALASKA. 

less  we  should  be  foolish  enough  to  partake  of  the 
poisonous  mussels  of  the  neighborhood.  It  was  the 
death  of  a  large  number  of  Aleuts  ^^'iho  had  eaten  of 
them  at  this  place  that  gave  the  name  of  the  Straits. 
For  quite  a  distance  the  stream  is  wide,  but  it  gradu- 
ally narrows,  and  with  Neva  and  Olga  Straits  forms 
a  number  of  most  beautiful  channels,  graced  with  lit- 
tle islands  completely  covered  with  verdure.  Oh!  the 
welcome,  restful  green,  shading  to  many  tones,  as  the 
growth  is  young  or  old!  Oh,  the  sweet,  healthful 
perfume  of  the  feathery  pines! 

The  graceful  bending  of  the  branches  as  the  breezes 
touch  them!  What  after  all  is  the  frozen,  silent 
beauty  of  the  North  in  comparison  to  this  living,  per- 
fumed loveliness?  But  night  has  fallen.  We  will 
rest  now  and  see  how  far  we  will  be  on  our  journey 
when  the  morning  gong  awakes  us.  The  quietness 
of  the  ship  as  it  lies  at  anchor  arouses  us,  for  the 
monotonous  jar  of  the  machinery  has  long  ago  be- 
come our  lullaby.  It  may  be  time  to-  rise  or  not,  but 
it  will  do  no  harm  to  take  a  peep  and  get  some  idea 
of  our  whereabouts!  Ah!  where  are  we?  What  lovely 
surroundings!  Rise  and  see  more  fully!  This  is 
Sitka  Sound.  Here  are  the  bright  gleaming  waters 
of  the  bay  all  decked  with  rocky,  moss-covered  islands 
clad  with  verdure  to  their  very  rims,  and  bearing 
stunted  firs  and  slender  spruce  trees  whose  tips  quiver 
with  the  slightest  breath  of  wind. 


AMONG   THE  ISLANDS.  109 

Briars  and  long  creeping  vines  form  tiny  jungles 
among  the  tree-trunks  as  though  to  defy  invasion 
upon  the  lovely  precincts.  The  waters  lap  and  ripple 
in  and  out,  now  showing  the  rocky  bases  of  the  islets, 
now  leaving  the  ferns  and  mosses  high  upon  their 
mimic  shores.  Look  up  over  the  bow !  There  is  Mount 
Edgecombe,  with  an  almost  perfect  cone,  its 
top  cut  off  so  smoothly  as  to  appear  like  a  table,  but 
a  crater  2,000  feet  across  and  several  hundred  feet 
deep  is  known  to  be  reposing  there.  Once  it  illum- 
inated the  Sound  with  its  lurid  light,  but  it  has  long 
since  become  dark  and  silent.  In  the  morning  glow 
the  peak  is  strangely  beautiful.  At  its  feet  small  trees 
and  vines  cluster  closely,  growing  more  scarce  to- 
ward the  top,  until  they  disappear  altogther,  leaving 
the  rugged  red  of  the  lava  and  stones  in  strong  con- 
trast with  the  clear  waves  of  the  bay,  or  perchance 
the  gliding  water  of  numerous  cascades,  or  seams  of 
snow  so  protected  that  they  remain  in  the  fissures  in 
the  mountain  side  from  one  winter's  storm  until  an- 
other cold  season  comes  to  replenish  them.  On  the 
other  side,  near  at  hand,  lies  Sitka,  with  its  cluster  of 
plain,  old-fashioned  houses  and  native  dwellings. 
From  their  midst  Baranoff  Castle  once  arose,  which 
has  since  been  burned  down.  It  was  not  a  grand, 
imposing  castle,  ivy-grown,  bastioned  and  turreted, 
but  a  square  substantial  structure  of  frame,  painted 
light  or  yellow  and   surmounted  by  a  small  tower, 


no  ALyiSKA. 

from  whose  window  it  is  said  the  ghost  of  a  beautiful 
lady  watched  across  the  bay  when  the  nights  were  dark 
and  stormy. 

We  know  that  it  was  used  by  both  the  Russians 
and  our  own  Government  as  a  point  from  which  to 
take  obser\'-ations  of  the  locality,  but  maybe  while  the 
officials  slept  the  ghost  occupied  the  window  with  a 
lantern. 

How  still  it  was  the  morning  I  wandered  over  it 
and  gazed  curiously  upon  it.  That  old  castle  that 
once  echoed  with  the  voice  of  its  lordly,  self-indul- 
gent, indomitable  tyrant  and  master,  Count  Baranofif, 
whose  ihall  once  sounded  back  the  clamor  of  invited 
guests,  or  the  ripple  of  sweet  laughter  from  fair  ladies' 
lips.  How  those  lordly  rooms  once  rung  with  the 
sounds  of  rout  and  revelry! 

These  lonesome  streets  were  once  graced  with  Rus- 
sian soldiery  in  brilliant  uniforms.  And  long  ago 
thousands  lived  where  now  the  inhabitants  are  so 
scattered  and  so  few!  Then  the  population  was  nearly 
all  thrifty  whites;  now  it  is  composed  of  Creoles,  Indi- 
ans and  but  a  very  few  whites,  a  small  number  of 
whom  live  a  sort  of  dejected,  indolent  life,  which 
shows  itself  not  only  in  their  faces,  but  in  the  dilapi- 
dated, fast-decaying  abodes  which  they  occupy.  Only 
one  good  thing  has  come  to  the  capital's  occupation  by 
our  soldiers,  and  that  is  cleanliness.  With  all  the  Rus- 
sian grandeur  and  pomp  the  town  was  in  many  places 


AMONG   THE  ISLANDS.  in 

dirty  and  slimy.  Now  it  is  passable  and  quite  pleas- 
ing in  every  direction,  and  the  present  government 
officials  and  thie  business  people  are  improving  its 
condition. 

The  training  school  for  native  Alaskans  is  a  model 
of  industr}^,  thrift  and  neatness,  and  it  is  doing  a 
good  educational  work  among  the  Indian  children. 

Look!  the  sun  is  touching  the  dome  of  the  old 
Greek  Church,  and  stealing  in  at  the  windows  to  kin- 
dle new  light  about  the  richly  gilded  pictures,  the 
altar  and  its  gaily  ornamented  surroundings.  It 
touches  the  sweet,  pure  faces  of  the  Madonna  and 
child,  it  glorifies  the  saints  who  guard  the  altar  place. 
But 'look  beyond!  The  mountains  around  are  touched 
here  and  there,  and  the  sunlight  gildings  look  like 
great  flecks  and  patches  of  gold. 

The  grass,  the  trees,  the  waters  smile  to  greet  the 
sweet  morning.  The  birds,  oh,  the  strange  and  beau- 
tiful birds  that  we  have  not  heard  for  so  long,  are 
singing  a  loud  and  joyous  jubilee!  Why  is  Sitka 
to-day  not  more  fully  occupied?  Why  is  all  this 
loveliness  wasted?  Pearly,  shimmering  beauty  in  the 
waters;  waving,  tempting,  refreshing  and  charm- 
ing glimpses  among  the  trees,  the  grasses  and 
the  brightly  blooming  flowers!  A  climate  never 
too  hot,  seldom  too  cold.  Is  it  the  drizzling,  super- 
abundant rain  or  mist?  Even  that  does  not  last  all  the 
time,  and  it  is  no  worse  now  than  when  the  town  was 


112  ALASKA. 

occupied  by  thousands  of  Russian  inihabitants.  It 
is  the  greed  for  gold  and  new  fields  that  has  caused  the 
beautiful  capital  to  be  forsaken  for  the  more  distant, 
flourishing  mining  towns  that  are  springing  up  else- 
where. 

Probably  it  is  the  uncertainty  or  insecurity  of 
landed  investments  that  hinders  its  prosperity  and 
even  depopulates  this  lovely  place.  If  so  it  will  con- 
tinue until  the  United  States  gives  a  territorial  gov- 
ernment to  this  deserving  section  of  the  country, 
and  furnishes  adequate  official  support  and  jur- 
isdiction with  a  naval  force  and  outfit  to  maintain  the 
laws  when  given.  Alaska  has  food-fish  enough  to 
supply  the  entire  country,  and  immiense  gold  mines 
and  other  resources,  so  that  one  day  Sitka,  her  capi- 
tal, may  become  a  great  metropolis. 


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CHAPTER  XVI. 

Sitka  and  Its  Lovely  Excursion  Grounds. 

A  HASTY  breakfast  and  we  are  all  eager  to 
land  and  take  a  near  view  of  Sitka  and 
its  environs.  The  lethargic  little  capital 
wakens  at  our  coming.  The  Governor,  the  Marshal 
and  the  other  government  officials  show  us  all  the 
honors  that  the  city  can  offer.  The  Rev.  Sheldon 
Jackson,  the  superintendent  of  education,  and  Rev. 
A.  E.  Austin,  the  mission  leader,  and  their  associates, 
call  our  attention  to  the  efforts  they  have  made  and 
tell  of  their  determination  to  continue  their  most  ex- 
cellent work,  while  they  most  sadly  lament  the  in- 
adequacy of  the  help  they  receive  from  the  Govern- 
ment, which  made  such  promising  efforts  at  first 
w/hen  the  Territory  passed  into  its  hands. 

The  Greek  Church,  despite  all  care,  shows  the 
ravages  of  time;  and  many  houses  which  look  as 
if  a  little  labor  and  paint  would  redeem  them  from 
their  rustiness,  are  sinking,  as  though  infected 
with  the  apathy  of  the  spiritless  aboriginal  inhabitants. 
An  incongruous  party  they  are,  as  we  see  them. 

Among  the  inhabitants  we  find  a  few  Americans, 
whose    faces    seem    famiHar,  bright  and  active  and 
cheerful,  making  us  have  a  warm  friendship,  or  a  sort 
S  113 


114  .IL.ISA'.I. 

of  family  regard  for  them,  it  seems  so  long  since  we 
have  seen  any  one  outside  of  the  ship  that  at  all  re- 
sembles our  OAvn  people;  a  great  mmiber  of  Russians, 
many  of  them  much  like  Germans  in  complexion,  with 
a  stolid,  quiet  expression ;  a  good  many  Creoles,  some 
showing  in  color  and  features  their  white  admixture, 
others  'holding  closely  to  their  darker  progenitors; 
and  a  superabundance  of  pure  Alaskan  natives,  dusky, 
bright-eyed,  with  medium-sized  physical  forms,  and 
more  intelligent  in  appearance  than  most  of  the  Amer- 
ican Indians. 

Here  in  this  quiet  harbor,  where  our  own  ship  is 
the  only  craft  except  the  native  boats  and  several 
visiting  vessels,  a  Russian  fleet  used  to  ride  at  anchor, 
making  gay  contrast  by  theiri  slender  masts  and  float- 
ing flags  with  the  surrounding  lofty  mountain  peaks 
and  tall,  sombre  pines. 

The  Stars  and  Stripes  have,  given  greater  promise. 
It  has  already  been  proven  how  well  worth  those  few 
millions  of  dollars  this  vast  Territory  has  become. 

There  are  stores  in  which  we  may  purchase  many 
works  of  savage  art  that  surprise  us,  as  we  look  from 
one  to  another,  more  gracefully  fashioned  or  more 
artistically  carved.  Here,  too,  as  at  Juneau,  we  find 
Chilkat  blankets  wonderful  in  texture  and  ornamenta- 
tion. The  Alaska  Society  of  Natural  History  and 
Ethnology,  which  makes  its  headquarters  at  Sitka,  is 
endeavoring  to  keep  up  an  interest  in  the  native  art  by 


SITKA  AND  ITS  EXCURSION  GROUNDS.      115 

collecting  all  obtainable  specimens  of  their  handicraft, 
particularly  those  which  were  made  before  the  demand 
for  curios  tempted  the  production  of  more  hastily  ac- 
complished, and,  therefore,  imperfect  work.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  there  will  be  retained  a  sufihcient  number 
of  perfect  objects  to  show  future  ages  what  sort  of 
artistic  talent  and  manufacturing  abilities  the  wild 
Alaskans  possessed. 

Notwithstanding  the  historic  objects  and  the  curi- 
osities to  be  seen  in  the  town,  it  requires  but  a  day  or 
two  to  accomplish  the  round  of  sightseeing,  but  there 
is  one  advantage  it  possesses  to  summer  tourists, 
and  that  is  they  can  make  it  a  centre,  a  sort  of  home, 
from  which  to  make  excursions  to  gold  mines  and 
many  points  of  interest.  Take  advantage  of  tbe  hotel 
accommodations  offered  and  begin  your  round  of  won- 
der-seeking. 

Indian  River  has  been  spoken  of  so  admiringly  that 
we  concluded  to  see  for  ourselves  its  beauty.  As  it  is 
not  distant  we  will  try  at  once  to  see  if  it  arouses  en- 
thusiasm in  ourselves,  as  it  has  in  others. 

But  wait,  here  is  the  Alaskan  office  (a  cozy  place,  with 
busy  people  within,  Whiich  we  discovered  in  wandering 
up  the  main  street),  a  paper,  a  real,  live  weekly  news- 
paper published  in  this  little  city  and  containing  news 
interesting,  instructive  and  spicy.  Papers  are  always 
welcome,  but  this  one  specially  so  because  it  is  really 
good  in  style,  and  it  often  contains  in  a  nutshell  that 


ii6  ALASKA. 

which  would  require  quite  a  length  of  time  to  hunt  up 
and  learn.  For  instance,  the  Governor's  letter  upon 
the  resources  and  capabilities  of  dififerent  localities,  the 
value  of  the  mining  districts,  the  advantages  of  the 
waterways,  the  fortunes  still  to  be  made  in  its  seal 
fisheries,  if  properly  protected  and  conducted,  and 
other  items  that  cannot  help  but  interest  one  who  is 
just  upon  the  ground,  and  who  has  a  desire  to  learn  all 
that  is  possible  of  a  land  from  which  he  is  making  ob- 
servations with  so  much  pleasure. 

Now  for  a  walk  to  Indian  River,  past  the  Russian 
part  of  the  town  and  the  training  school  for  natives 
to  the  stream  containing  the  purest,  sweetest  and 
most  delicious  drinking  water  in  the  near  neighbor- 
hood. But  what  place  can  boast  of  water  clearer  or 
more  abundant  than  this?  It  comes,  rippling,  dash- 
ing, singing  and  dancing  over  smooth  stones,  around 
which  long  weeds  clasp  their  slender  stems  as  it  car- 
ries them  along  around  the  great  moss  covered  boul- 
ders whose  obstruction  causes  the  waves  and  eddies 
to  murmur  sweet,  tinkling  music.  On,  on,  it  runs 
and  leaps  in  joyous  abandon,  and  pours  its  bounti- 
ful store  into  pails,  demijohns,  kettles;  anything  that 
one  may  bring,  it  fills  with  the  same  crystal,  spark- 
ling welcome.  On  either  side  tall  hemlocks  spread 
their  beautiful,  airy  branches ;  great  pines  make  deeper 
shades  where  dainty  trout  may  sport  unharmed; 
graceful   spruces  lift   their  shaded   spires  toward  the 


SITKA  AND  ITS  EXCURSION  GROUNDS.      117 

blue,  clear  heavenh-  archway,  whose  perfect  colorings 
rival  even  sunny  Italy's  world  renowned,  song-praised 
skies. 

Briers  and  wood  tangle  make  impenetrable  jungles 
that  feast  the  eye  with  their  wonderful  luxuriance,  while 
they  defy  the  most  daring  feet  to  defile  their  sacred  pre- 
cincts. Mosses  grow  rich  and  tall  enough  to  hold  po- 
sition among  the  lovely  ferns  that  bend  and  sway 
beneath  the  slightest  breath  of  wind.  Everywhere  is 
wild,  rich  beauty,  so  restful,  so  lovely,  that  one  turns 
with  regret  from  each  bridge  or  footpath,  feeling  that 
no  where  can  there  be  equally  beautiful  scenes  and 
tempting  vistas.  Beware  how  you  promise  yourself 
or  others  to  spend  a  day  in  this  most  beautiful 
spot,  for  during  the  summer  the  twilight  does  not 
sink  into  deeper  darkness,  but  it  slowly  melts  into 
the  rosy  brightness  of  morning.  The  daylight  lin- 
gers as  if  its  tender  care  were  needed  to  watch  over 
such  perfect  loveliness!  Only  the  greater  stars  and 
planets  are  permitted  to  throw  their  reflections  into 
the  swift  flowing  little  river  or  upon  the  channel's 
more  placid  bosom.  Vostovia  and  Edgecombe,  with 
mountain  and  hill,  and  hill  and  mountain,  cast  their 
sombre  protecting  shadows  over  and  around  the  tiny 
town  as  it  nestles  confidingly  between  them,  fearing 
no  water  famine  while  its  beautiful  river  near  by 
glides  on  forever;  dreading  no  greater  isolation  than 
now,    while    it    possesses    such   a   safe   and   beauti- 


ii8  Af.ASk'A. 

fill  harbor;  trnstinj;"  that  the  tardy  C'uiig^ress  will 
not  forget  that  its  dignity,  as  a  capital  of  so  vast  an 
area  of  country,  requires  finer  buildings,  and  more 
attention  than  it  has  received  in  the  past  twenty  years. 
Let  the  mining  towns  of  Juneau,  Douglas  Island,  Cir- 
cle City  and  Forty-mile  Run  flourish  more  rapidly  and 
grandly  as  they  will,  let  other  cities  and  towns  arise  and 
become  famous  as  they  may,  but  restore  the  beautiful 
historic  Sitka  to  its  own  place  in  the  world's  history. 

We  have  seen  Indian  River!  More  than  likely  we 
will  view  it  again  before  we  leave  the  town,  but  our 
next  trip  must  be  more  distant  and  more  difficult 
to  accomplish.  As  it  is  just  the  season  for  the  fur 
seal  catch,  we  will  hope  to  next  take  you  to  the  Priby- 
lov  Islands  and  discuss  the  seals,  beautiful  and  plenti- 
ful in  their  northern  home  away  out  on  the  secluded 
islands  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George,  far  away  in  Ber- 
ing Sea. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

From  Bering  Sea  to  the  Seal,  or  Pribylov  Islands. 

FOR  those  who  are  brave  enough  to  face  a  Pa- 
cific Ocean  voyage  of  twenty-five  hundred 
miles  or  more,  there  are  sometimes  berths  of- 
fered in  a  trim,  seaworthy  sailing  vessel  or  steamer, 
bound  for  Unalaska,  and  on  to  the  Pribylov,  or 
Great  Seal  Islands,  which  lie  fourteen  hundred 
miles  west,  north-west  from  Sitka.  The  proper  mode 
of  reaching  these  islands  is  by  one  of  the  Alaska  Com- 
mercial Company's  vessels,  or  other  steamers,  direct 
from  San  Francisco  or  Sitka,  as  trips  from  there  are  an- 
nounced from  time  to  time.  The  temptation  is  great, 
just  now  is  the  season  to  see  the  islands  swa.rming  with 
the  wonderful  fur-bearing  animals.  The  danger  of 
shipwreck  is  comparatively  light,  for  nowhere  can  be 
found  more  careful  sailors  than  those  who  traverse 
the  waters  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  Bering  Sea. 

And  now  the  few  who  are  going  are  escorted  by 
their  friends  to  the  ship.  Good-byes  are  spoken,  thie 
more  impressive  because  of  a  weird,  indistinct  dread 
of  the  outcome  of  this  undertaking.  After  all 
why  not  leave  such  voyages  entirely  to  skilled  navi- 
gators, who  are  used  to  dangerous  trips,  or  to  exploring 
scientists,  who  are  always  ready  to  risk  life  and  limb 

119 


I20  ALASKA. 

for  their  beloved  calling?  All  necessary  e(juipments 
are  provided  and  tiie  voyage  is  not  as  long  as  that  to 
Europe. 

The  wind  swells  our  winglike  sails,  the  ship  glides 
out  from  its  quiet  moorings  away  from  the  pretty 
little  town,  away  from  the  few  but  firm  friends  who 
stand  upon  Sitka's  tumble-down  wharf  and  wave 
adieu  as  long  as  we  can  see  them  ;  away  from  the  si- 
lent, swarthy,  native  on-lookers,  who  see  nothing 
in  the  start  about  which  to  make  an  ado.  Out  from  the 
lovely  verdant  islands  of  the  harbor,  farther  out  into 
the  ocean,  and  farther  from  land  until  at  last  we  see 
only  here  and  there  an  island  of  the  Aleutian  group, 
wave-washed  and  barren  except  for  the  strips  of  kelp 
or  seaweed  that  cling  to  it  tenaciously  as  the  waves 
ebb  and  flow.  Across  the  tinted  waters  of  the  noble 
Pacific,  away  in  the  distance,  we  behold  land;  in  fact, 
many  lands,  for  we  are  still  skirting  tlhe  great  Aleu- 
tian chain. 

Our  captain  will  not  now  permit  us  to  visit  Kadiak, 
or  Kodiak,  Oonamak,or  evenOonalaska,  or  Unalaska, 
as  they  are  variously  called.  Passing  through  a  very 
narrow  strait,  studded  with  cold,  cheerless  islets,  whose 
only  sign  of  life,  visible  to  the  eager  vision,  is  a 
vast  colony  of  sea  birds,  we  sail  into  Bering  Sea,  whose 
waters  we  must  plow  for  many  hundred  miles  before 
we  reach  our  destination. 

It  is  evening,  and  though  it  is  only  twilight,  yet  the 
ship  is  anchored  for  the  night,  much  to  our  surprise, 


BERING  SEA   TO   THE  SEAL  ISLANDS.       121 

for  there  seems  nothing  unusual  in  the  appearance  of 
the  sea  or  sky,  except  fog-banks,  to  make  precaution 
necessary.  By  full  daylight  the  sails  begin  to  flut- 
ter, the  cordage  to  saw,  the  timbers  creak,  and  we 
are  olT  again.  In  due  time  we  near  the  harbor 
and  the  little  port;  the  sea  roughens,  the  wind  moans 
and  growls  ominously.  Are  we  going  to  have  a 
storm?  What  is  that  strange  sound?  It  is  a  combi- 
nation of  sounds,  wild,  novel,  indescribable  in  its 
never-changing,  perpetual  rise  and  fall.  The  nearer 
we  approach  the  more  constant  it  becomes,  and 
whether  we  are  staying  a  short  or  a  long  time 
we  will  become  so  thoroughly  used  to  it  that  when 
we  leave  the  neighborhood  its  absence  will  be  as 
noteworthy  as  is  now  the  first  experience. 

We  are  close  upon  St.  Paul  Island,  and  the  noise 
comes  from  the  seal  rookeries,  where  the  angry  roair 
of  the  old  bulls,  the  peculiar  cry  of  the  mother  seals, 
and  the  bleating  of  the  pups  ceases  neither  day  nor 
night,  from  the  first  arrival  on  their  breeding  grounds 
in  the  spring,  till  later  in  the  season,  when  they  leave 
for  other  and  more  congenial  quarters.  Our  ship 
nears  the  land  again  only  to  be  tossed  back  by  the 
waves  that  seem  determined  to  hold  sacred  from 
stranger  eyes  the  fog-draped  islands.  At  last  the 
hawsers  are  thrown  and  secured  and  the  feat  of  land- 
ing begins.  You  who  have  never  before  tried  landing 
in  a  surf  boat  with  a  restless  sea  running  will  laugh  at 


122  ALASKA. 

the  scrambling,  the  frantically  oiitstretcihed  arms  and 
trembling  knees,  the  footing  almost  lost,  the  more 
than  breathless  thankfulness  when  terra  firma  is 
reached. 

Try  it,  and  see  how  much  better  you  will  do  with 
the  little  boat  or  even,  perhaps,  with  a  landing  plank, 
one  moment  tilted  toward  the  clouds  and  the  next 
toward  the  seething  waters,  and  always  in  the  direc- 
tion contrary  to  the  way  in  which  you  would  fain 
have  it  toss  you,  giving  a  graphic  example  of  pro- 
gressing "one  step  forward  and  two  steps  backward." 

But  we  are  safely  landed  at  last,  all  counted,  to  be 
sure  that  none  has  lost  his  equilibrium,  and  all 
ready  to  explore  the  wonderful  wind-swept,  fog-dark- 
ened island. 

The  principal  islands  in  the  group  are  St.  Paul,  St. 
George,  Otter  and  Walrus.  The  latter  two  are  so 
named  from  their  being  the  favorite  resort  of  those 
animals,  and  in  times  gone  by  multitudes  of  them 
visited  the  islands.  Now  otters  are  very  scarce,  a 
catch  of  ninety-three  in  one  season  being  worthy  of  re- 
mark, and  the  great  price  paid  for  them,  $50  or  more 
per  skin,  in  the  rough,  making  their  rarity  and  beauty 
more  desirable  for  the  wealthy.  Walruses,  too,  are 
yearly  becoming  less  plentiful,  a  fearful  prospect  for 
the  Aleuts  or  natives,  a  tall,  hardy  race,  of  Russian 
origin  no  doubt,  if  civilization  were  not  already  teach- 
ing them  that  there  are  other  articles  of  diet  equally 


BERING  SEA    TO   THE  SEAL  ISLANDS.       123 

nutritious  and  palatable  as   the  rank,  greasy,  strong- 
smelling  flesh  of  their  favorite  game. 

A  few  seals  visit  these  smaller  islands  annually,  but 
other  better  beaches  attract  the  animals  in  great  abund- 
ance, as  well  as  the  people  whose  business  it  is  to  cap- 
ture them  and  secure  the  skins  for. the  Commercial 
Company,  to  whom  by  a  lease  from  the  United  States 
Government  they  temporarily  belong.  The  first  lease 
expired  in  1890,  and  the  tribulation  suffered  by  the 
seals  since  then  will  long  be  remembered. 

All  these  islands  are  of  volcanic  formation,  and 
bear  unmistakable  signs  of  eruption.  One,  Otter 
island,  presenting  the  dharacteristics  of  a  crater, 
shows  marks  that  it  must  have  been  in  activity  but  a 
short  time  ago. 

The  general  contour  of  all  these  islands  is  rugged 
and  rocky,  with  smooth  cone-like  hills,  here  and  there 
enlivened  by  flats  covered  in  summer  with  richly  ver- 
dant grass,  gaily  colored  lichens  and  lovely  crinkled 
mosses.  Here  and  there  are  found  tiny  lakes  full  of 
pure  sparkling  water,  and  from  the  lofty  side  of  St. 
George's  Island  there  drops  a  beautiful  crystal  water- 
fall four  hundred  feet  high  from  its  crest  to  its  final 
plunge  into  the  sea.  Birds  by  the  million  swarm 
upon  the  island,  joining  with  seals  in  making  a  din 
whiclh  quite  rivals  the  wind  and  sea.  Strange  to  say, 
there  is  an  annual  visitation  of  flocks  of  sparrows, 
which  are  eagerly  gathered  for  food.  During  their 
stay  the  natives  do  scarcely  anything  but  catch  and 


124  ALASk-.i. 

eat  of  the  dainty  morsels,  as  thougli  they  would  fain 
take  sufificient  of  such  food  to  last  until  their  coming 
in  the  next  season.  And  who  can  blame  them? 
For  even  much  of  the  food  fish  are  denied  them,  the 
seals  frightening  from  the  coast  those  they  do  not 
devour.  The  constant  diet  of  seal  meat  nmst  pall 
even  upon  the  appetites  of  the  lovers  of  this  queer, 
fishy,  game-flavored  material.  The  people  are  permitted 
to  kill  enough  for  food  in  addition  to  100,000,  now 
temporarily  limited  to  a  much  smaller  number,  allowed 
for  skins.  Their  annual  allowance  of  6,000  seals  to 
about  400  inhabitants  may  give  an  idea  how  much 
depends  upon  this  staple,  but  we  cannot  but  wonder 
how  it  is  possible  for  any  human  creature  to  be  satis- 
fied with  almost  entirely  one  article  of  animal  diet. 
How  quickly  they  prove  that  tihe  whole  of  humanity 
is  kindred  when  butter,  flour  and  sugar  are  more 
abundantly  introduced  into  their  cuisine  by  the  ar- 
rival of  supply  vessels!  And  how,  too,  they  show 
their  savage  improvidence  when  they  will  devour  bis- 
cuits and  sugar  enough  at  one  time  to  last  an  ordi- 
nary mortal  two  or  three  days,  speaking  in  all  bounds. 
We  now  approach  tIhe  slippery,  sandy  shallows 
which  the  seals  choose  as  their  "hauling  grounds." 
Watch  that  huge  seal-bull  making  his  way  along  to 
his  future  field  of  conflict,  for  just  as  surely  as  he 
stations  himself  at  a  given  point,  so  truly  will  he  have 
to  figtht,  tooth  and  nail,  to  hold  it. 


BERING  SEA   TO   THE  SEAL  ISLANDS.       125 

See  hini  as  he  rears  his  head,  and  gazes  around, 
then  bending  forward  plants  his  forward  flipper,  and 
drags  or  hauls  himself  toward  it;  then  holding  firmly 
the  position  gained,  he  reaches  the  other  flipper  for- 
ward as  far  as  possible  and  hauls  towards  it,  so  alter- 
nating until  he  brings  his  dripping,  shining  body  out 
of  the  water.  The  process  looks  tedious,  even  pain- 
ful, and  it  must  be  to  an  extent  tiresome,  for  the 
animal  rests  often  during  the  operation.  This  por- 
tion of  the  island  is  most  desolate  and  lonely,  ex- 
cept when  the  seals  are  present.  It  is  flat,  low  and 
slippery,  and  even  at  the  best  of  times,  offensively 
odorous. 

Other  parts  are  rugged  to  grandeur,  fair  with  grass 
and  moss  or  brightened  with  rippling  lakes.  And 
everywhere,  erected  by  the  Russians  many  years  ago, 
are  now  seen  Greek  crosses  in  different  stages  of 
decay,  according  to  their  exposure  to  wind  and  rain, 
or  their  being  guarded  from  the  elements. 

In  summer  all  sheltered  spots  are  blooming  with 
flowers  that  remind  one  tenderly  of  home.  The 
colors,  the  shapes,  even  the  less  distinct  perfume, 
speak  of  many  miles  and  miles  away  across  sea  and 
mountain  and  many  a  lovely  landscape  view. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Fur  Skai.s  of  Priisvlov  Isi.an'ds,  15i:ring  Sea. 

A  PROPITIOUS  day  dawns  for  a  visit  to  the  rook- 
eries of  St.  Paul  Island.  The  sun  has  kindly 
hidden  behind  a  silver  mist,  that  will  grad- 
ually grow  more  and  more  dense,  until  it  becomes 
the  Aleut's  delight,  a  heavy  fog.  The  natives  smile 
as  they  watch  the  preparation  of  visitors  for  ex- 
plorations over  the  island.  They  cannot  realize 
that  light  rubber  overgarments  are  more  comfort- 
able than  their  own  heavy  storm  coats,  and  that 
they  are  just  as  effective,  against  the  constant  ooze 
of  the  fog  banks,  as  more  cumbrous  dress.  Besides, 
they  see  no  need  for  preparation.  This  royal  mist  is 
more  welcome-  than  the  brighest  sunshine.  In  fact, 
the  few  sunny  days  that  come  to  their  islands  seem 
somewhat  distressing  to  them,  as  well  as  to  the  seals. 
The  sound  froni  the  voices  of  seals  is  as  of  a  roar- 
ing waterfall.  It  is  said  by  those  who  have  made 
careful  observations  that  the  activity  of  the  seal  colo- 
nies never  ceases  day  or  night.  It  is  most  certain 
that  they  all  have  special  seasons  of  rest,  but  at 
no  certain  time,  and  so  few  are  indulging  in  cat  naps 
at  one  time  that  their  voices  cannot  be  missed  from 
the  perpetual  din.  As  the  rookeries  are  approached, 
126 


THE  FUR  SEALS  OF  PRIBYLOV  ISLANDS.    127 

the  sounds  dissolve  themselves,  and  when  one  is  quite 
close  all  the  romance  of  the  roar  of  Niagara  is  lost 
in  the  loud  howling  of  the  bulls,  the  angry  growl  of 
some,  which  are  disturbed,  the  fierce  notes,  like  puff- 
ing steam  of  the  approaching  combatants,  the  shrill 
whistling  call  of  others,  or  the  sheep-like  bleating  of 
the  cows  and  pups.  A  very  pandemonium  of  noises, 
among  which  one's  feeble  calls  are  quite  lost  even  to 
his  own  auditors. 

But  look  at  this  living,  moving  mass!  A  swarm 
of  bees  would  be  quite  an  imperfect  simile!  Great 
seals,  some  weighing  quite  as  much  as  five  or 
six  hundred  pounds,  surrounded  by  their  families 
large  or  small,  females  which  are  smaller  and  in 
greater  numbers,  and  tiny  pups,  just  able  to  tiounder 
about  to  join  their  voices  to  the  general  sound,  and 
all  so  much  alike  that  a  description  of  one  of  either 
sex  may  serve  for  all.  The  males  are  a  deep,  dull 
brown,  inclining  to  black,  except  in  the  older  males, 
whosie  coats  assume  the  proper  shade  for  age,  a  sort 
of  grizzly  gray.  Tlie  females  are  a  beautiful  steel 
gray,  blending  to  spotless  white  on  the  chest  and 
the  under  part  of  the  body,  while  the  pups  are  at  birth 
and  some  months  afterwards,  jet  black  with  the  ex- 
ception of  two  tiny  white  spots  near  the  shoulders. 

The  bulls  are  majestic  in  apppearance  as  they  rear 
their  heads  and  shoulders  far  above  their  smaller 
companions,    ever    watchful    that   no    marauder    shall 


128  ALASKA. 

interfere  in  the  slightest  degree  with  their  numerous 
adopted  companions  and  tlicir  Httle  ones.  But  how 
frightful  are  the  battles  that  are  almost  momentarily 
fought  between  these  bulky  animals.  Some  late 
comer  may  suppose  that  he  may  slyly  take  posses- 
sion of  at  least  one  cow  from  a  family  of  forty,  [n 
an  instant  'he  is  challenged  to  combat,  and  the  possi- 
bility is  that  he  may  push  off  badly  whipped  or  pay 
the  penalty  of  such  temerity  with  his  life.  These  bat- 
tles are  fierce  and  bloody  beyond  description,  and 
there  is  scarcely  a  moment  through  the  season  that 
one  or  more  is  not  in  progress.  The  pretty,  gentle, 
dark-eyed  females  never  join  in  any  contest.  They 
are  mild,  as  their  beautiful  heads  and  tender  eyes  de- 
note, and  though  not  outwardly  affectionate,  they 
never  neglect  their  young.  Imagine  a  million  or 
more  of  these  creatures  gathered  in  one  comparatively 
small  spot  on  an  almost  desolate  island.  When  the 
heat  at  noon  makes  them  restless,  there  is  nothing 
in  our  ordinary  language  that  can  adequately  de- 
scribe the  grotesquely  wonderful  appearance  'of  a 
million  or  two  of  animals  industriously  fanning  them- 
selves with  their  hind  flippers,  or  of  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  glossy  black  pups  sporting  among  them- 
selves as  playful  as  kittens. 

But  it  is  not  from  among  the  breeding  seals  that 
the  animals  are  taken  that  furnish  the  valuable  furs 
of  commerce.     There  is  a  class  seemingly  set  aside 


THE  FUR  SEALS  OB  PRIBYLOV  ISLANDS.    129 

for  the  benefit  of  the  traders.  They  are  called  by 
the  inhabitants  holluschickie,  or  bachelors.  They 
are  never  allowed,  if  possible,  by  the  older  seals  to 
put  as  much  as  their  flippers  upon  the  rookeries,  but 
are  compelled  to  herd  with  the  yearlings  and  pups 
at  a  respectful  distance,  and  their  lives  seem  to  be  one 
continual  round  of  play,  from  their  coming  until  the 
time  arrives  for  their  being  driven  to  slaughter. 

When  that  time  comes  men  appointed  for  that  part 
of  the  work  go  in  among  the  thousands  of  beautiful 
creatures,  choose  from  them  those  whose  perfection 
of  fur  promises  greatest  profit,  and  by  skillful  ma- 
noeuvring, get  them  into  something  like  marching 
order,  when  with  numerous  assistants,  each  armed 
with  a  club,  they  are  slowly  driven  from  among  their 
more  fortunate  companions  to  the  killing  grounds. 
Here  they  are  divided  into  companies  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  and  quickly  despatched,  with  clubs 
manufactured  for  the  purpose  by  a  New  England  firm. 

In  a  very  short  time  after  the  first  blow  is  struck 
they  are  skinned,  the  skins  are  salted  and  packed  for 
pickling  previous  to  their  being  shipped  to  the  deal- 
ers in  San  Francisco  and  elsewhere,  who  in  turn  pass 
them  on  to  the  dyers,  in  London,  England,  no  other 
firm  being  able  to  dye  and  polish  them  to  such  per- 
fection and  salable  condition.  The  appearance  of 
these  hides  or  furs  before  being  plucked  of  the 
coarse  hair  and  dyed  is  not  such  as  to  tempt  the  eyes 
9 


I30  ALASKA. 

of  fashionable  ladies  who  are  inclined  to  boast  of  their 
beautiful  sacks  and  mufTs  as  "pure  London  dyed." 
llie  long-  hair  must  all  be  removed,  which  is  adroitly 
done  by  shaving  thinly  the  under  side  of  the  skin  so 
that  the  roots  or  bulbs  of  these  bristle-like  hairs  are 
cut  off,  they  are  then  pulled  ont,  leaving  the  fine,  soft 
fur  on  the  skin,  which  is  thus  made  valuable  ;  and 
the  dye  and  polish  perfect  their  excellence. 

The  lovely  silver  gray  of  life  becomes  somewhat 
rusty  after  its  salting  and  rough  usage,  and  it  is  not 
until  after  it  is  properly  dressed  and  colored  that  it 
appears  in  all  its  exquisite  glossy  beauty.  Then  with 
all  the  harsher  hair  removed  the  dainty,  fluffy  fur 
waves  and  glistens  with  every  motion  of  the  wearer. 
Softer  than  down,  closer  and  finer  than  wool,  it 
will  always  hold  its  place  whatever  fancy  may  for  a 
moment  or  season  crop  up  in  rivalry. 

Bering  Sea  and  the  Aleutian  Islands  and  indeed 
the  whole  of  our  Alaska  property  is  valuable.  The 
fur  seal  islands,  the  salmon,  cod  and  halibut  fisheries, 
the  mineral  lands,  the  vast  timber  forests,  are  all  unde- 
veloped treasures,  but  sufficiently  visible  to  the  ob- 
serving mind.  It  is  strange  that  a  foreign  power  has 
let  her  imaginary  rights  pass  unnoticed  until  thirty 
years  have  flown,  and  that  she  should  just  now  awake 
to  the  importance  of  asserting  them.  All  nations  with- 
out a  protest  acknowledged  the  justice  of  the  Ameri- 
can purchase  and  its  lines'of  demarkation. 


THE  FUR  SEALS  OF  PRIBYLOV  ISLANDS.    131 

Our  Government  knows  the  value  of  the  seal  fish- 
eries; it  knows  the  enormous  revenues  yielded  by 
that  one  industry  alone,  which  of  itself  makes  Alaska 
a  great  and  valuable  acquisition  to  our  country,  and 
it  will  be  strange,  indeed,  if  a  few  thousand  miles  of 
distance  between  it  and  the  seat  of  our  National  Gov- 
ernment will  prevent  proper  authority  from  being 
supplied  for  the  protection  of  our  interests  and  pos- 
sessions as  well  as  the  few  hundred  inhabitants  of 
those  storm -swept,  treasure  islands.  American  rights 
in  Bering  Sea,  or  in  any  other  part  of  our  posses- 
sions in  the  great  North  and  North-West  will  no  doubt 
be  well  cared  for  in  the  near  future. 

The  inhabitants  of  these  seal  islands  naturally  gain 
their  livelihood  by  the  seal  catching  interests,  there- 
fore their  time  is  wholly  unoccupied  a  greater  part 
of  the  year,  for  the  seals  are  gone  entirely  before  the 
long,  dreary,  dark  winter  sets  in.  Thanks  to  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company  in  its  interest  for  their 
welfare  and  to  rapid  civilization,  they  have  in 
a  general  way,  more  to  occupy  their  time  than 
their  less  favored  progenitors  could  boast.  The 
Aleuts  approadli/  as  near  as  possible  in  the  matter  of 
dress  to  our  American  costume  and  do  not  adhere  to 
the  Indian  styles.  They  glory  in  kitchen  utensils,  kero- 
sene lamps,  chairs,  tables  and  even  a  collection  of 
modern  dishes.       They  arc  fond  of  such  food  as  is 


132  ALASKA. 

supplied  them  from  our  own  stores,  particularly  rel- 
ishing sweetmeats. 

Many  of  them  can  read  and  write,  numbers  of  the 
women  sew  beautifully,  and  with  ordinary  goods  and 
fashion  plates  for  guides  they  make  fair  progress  to- 
ward being  "in  the  fashion."  The  men  may  smile 
and  jeer,  but  they  only  too  cheerfully  take  to  what- 
ever innovations  appear  among  them.  They  are  re- 
ligious beyond  question,  attending  church  faithfully 
and  keeping  the  prescribed  feasts  and  fast  of  their 
forefathers,  which  were  first  handed  down  to  them  in 
the  teachings  of  the  Russian  Greek  Church,  whose 
sign  (the  Greek  cross)  meets  you  at  almost  every 
turn. 

The  people  are  buoyant,  kind  and  faithful.  With 
proper  protection  from  the  encroachment  of  ene- 
mies, and  with  just  remuneration  for  their  work, 
the  Government,  or  the  firm  employing  them  and  of- 
fering proper  protection,  can  pretty  firmly  depend 
upon  their  earnest  co-operation  in  protecting  the  seal 
interests  and  fisheries  on  their  own  islands  from  all 
outside  authorities.  Unfortunately  since  the  writing 
of  this  article  pelagic  sealing  has  reduced  the  num- 
ber of  the  seals  and  defied  the  power  of  those  who 
would  have  protected  them. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Real  Far-West — The  Aleutian  Chain 
OF  Islands. 

THE  roaring,  churning  surf  of  Bering  Sea 
would  seem  to  spend  most  of  its  force 
upon  the  shores  of  the  Pribylov  Islands, 
so  madly  does  it  howl  and  scream  in  unison 
with  the  angry  wind.  Each  element  seems  to  rival 
the  other  in  the  contest  of  sound  and  strength,  and 
from  the  force  with  which  the  wind  hurls  the  spray 
of  the  foaming  billows  high  and  far  across  the  dreary 
islands,  it  would  seem  to  show  its  power  over  the 
waters.  But  with  equal  or  even  fiercer  power  the 
wind  and  waves  rage  along  the  great  Aleutian  chain 
as  if  determined  to  demolish  the  narrow  barrier  be- 
tween the  ambitious  sea  and  the  wider,  nobler  ocean. 
Far  to  the  south  and  west  of  the  Seal  Islands  lies 
Attoo,  or  Attn,  the  very  western  limit  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere,  and  the  farthest  point  upon  which  our 
vast  Republic  can  build  a  city.  It  was  the  first  point 
reached  by  the  Russians,  who  found  the  natives  pros- 
perous and  happy.  The  great  reduction  in  the  num- 
bers of  the  sea  otter,  upon  which  their  w^ealth  depended, 
has  gradually  reduced  the  people  to  poverty,  and 
yet  tlliey  seem  light-hearted,  having  sufficient  food 
supplied  to  them  by  nature  and  being  quite  contented 

^33 


134  ALASKA. 

with  the  primitive  homes  and  styles  of  dress  pecuhar 
to  their  forefathers.  And,  in  contrast  to  the  more 
civiHzed  be  it  spoken,  their  lives  are  purer,  their  com- 
plexions clearer,  and  their  bodies  far  less  subject  to 
disease  than  those  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  mainland 
or  those  of  islands  nearer  the  coast.  Such  are  the 
characteristics  of  all  the  natives  of  the  chain  who  have 
not  been  intimately  associated  with  unscrupulous 
traders,  who,  by  introducing  rum  and  debauchery 
among  the  simple  Aleuts,  have  thus  managed  to 
effect  more  advantageous  bargains  in  their  dealings 
with  them. 

The  supply  of  otter  skins  having  become  exceed- 
ingly scarce,  some  of  the  islanders  have  found  quite 
a  source  of  revenue  in  the  skin  of  blue  foxes,  the  fur 
of  which,  when  pure,  is  beautiful  and  valuable,  though 
very  far  below  the  costliness  of  that  of  the  otter. 

In  Juneau  I  saw  a  fine  pair  of  otter  skins,  ready 
for  use,  sell  for  five  hundred  dollars  for  the  pair. 

Upon  the  comparatively  small  island  of  Attoo  is 
the  village  of  the  same  name,  important  because  of  its 
being  tihe  most  western  town  in  the  territory  con- 
trolled by  the  United  States,  being  in  a  degree  of 
longitude  almost  three  thousand  miles  west  of  San 
Francisco,  the  Golden  Gate  of  California,  which  is 
in  turn  almost  equally  distant  from  the  longitude  of 
Calais,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Maine.  It  brings  us, 
too,  into  close  sisterhood  with  Russia,  whose  islands 


THE  REAL  FAR-WEST.  135 

are  but  two  or  three  hundred  miles  away  from  our 
possessions,  while  the  nearest  inhabited  isle  on  that 
side  is  Atkha,  about  four  hundred  miles  distant, 
whose  inhabitants  are  considered  the  finest  sea  otter 
hunters  in  the  world.  They  make  long  trips  to  the 
haunts  of  the  otter,  that  are  upon  the  islands  which 
form  an  intermediate  line  between  their  own  island 
and  isolated  Attoo.  Upon  those  rocky,  desolate  isles 
there  are  no  human  dwellers  except  those  who  visit 
them  for  the  sole  purpose  of  hunting-  this  sly  animal. 
While  on  their  expeditions,  which  onh'  the  hardiest 
dare  undertake,  they  subsist  upon  such  stray  seals  as 
they  can  capture,  and  upon  the  eggs  and  flesh  of  sea 
birds,  which  occupy  by  millions  some  of  the  sea  coasts. 
Can  anyone  imagine  the  feeling  of  these  hunters  when 
the  vessels  land  them  upon  the  bleak  islands  and 
leave  them  for  a  time  entirely  alone  and  at  the  mercy 
of  the  elements?  Or  is  it  possible  for  ordinary 
mortals  to  realize  with  what  satisfaction  they  arrive 
at  the  end  of  their  hunting  season,  gather  in  the  valu- 
able cargoes,  and  board  the  ships  which  have  re- 
turned to  bear  them  homeward?  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  nowhere  is  there  greater  love  of  home  than 
among  the  natives  of  these  wild,  bleak  islands  of  the 
Alaskan  archipelago.  In  illustration  of  this  there 
might  be  told  many  stories  that  would  seem  incred- 
ible of  how  some  have  been  taken  to  beautiful,  sunny 
lands,  and  given  all  that  would  make  ordinary  mortals 


136  ALASKA. 

happy;  how  they  have  pined  unto  death  for  their 
bleak,  fog-enveloped,  barren  homes,  their  fish,  seal 
and  blubber.  With  this  love  for  home  is  combined 
a  pious  veneration  for  ancestry  and  for  the  priesthood 
of  the  Church.  The  islands  of  this  vast  chain  are 
composed  mostly  of  volcanic  matter,  while  some  dis- 
play peak  upon  peak  of  cone-shaped,  sullenly 
silent  volcanoes.  Others,  such  as  Shishaldin,  Bog- 
aslov,  and  the  Island  of  Goreloi  are  nothing  but  im- 
mense frowning,  silent  volcanoes,  the  latter  of  which 
is  eighteen  miles  in  circumference.  There  they  stand 
against  the  might  of  storm  and  sea,  bearing  great 
wreaths  of  mist  upon  their  lofty  foreheads,  immovable, 
though  forever  beaten  by  the  mighty  sea  whose  foam 
and  spray  arrays  them  in  garments  as  white  as  snow. 
In  this  very  chain  are  greater  islands  clothed  with 
beautiful  but  treacherous  green,  whose  tempting  love- 
liness yields  to  the  pressure  of  the  feet  and  proves 
to  be  a  quivering  pitfall.  Many  hot  springs  are  found 
in  Oonimak,  Oonalashka  and  Oomnak,  three  of 
these  larger  islands.  Oonalashka,  on  the  island  of 
that  name,  is  a  town  by  no  means  to  be  despised.  It 
is  the  metropolis  of  the  district,  and  every  day  it  is 
becoming  more  like  towns  of  the  East.  The  styles 
of  dress,  modes  of  living  and  furnishing,  even  the  ac- 
complishments, are  becoming  more  and  more  com- 
mon among  the  inhabitants,  until  now  it  is  rare  tO'  see 
either  man  or  woman  clothed  in  native  garb.  Music, 
particularly,  is  the  Aleut's  delight.     Fancy  amid  the 


THE  REAL  FAR- WEST.  137 

roar  of  the  sea,  with  the  fitful  dayhght  caught  through 
dense  mists,  hearing  the  strains  of  "Pinafore"  or 
"Annie  Laurie"  floating  upon  the  air.  Only  "Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  would  be  necessary  to  make  an  East- 
ern heart  swell  almost  to  breaking,  if  its  owner  were 
compelled  to  remain  there  between  two  mighty  seas 
upon  a  wind-swept  isle.  Space  will  not  allow  even 
the  mention  of  the  myriad  of  islands  that  compose  the 
links  of  this  wonderful  chain.  It  is  astonishing  how 
they  stand  so  firmly  between  the  restless  seas.  But 
firmly  they  do  stand,  guarding  the  way  to  the  vast 
peninsula,  whose  surface  is  crested  by  thousands  of 
volcanic  peaks  and  lofty  snow-crowned  mountains. 
Countless  foxes  and  myriads  of  sea  birds  make  the 
echoes  ring  with  howls  and  screams  and  many  a 
hardy  hunter  dares  the  dangers  of  the  wildest  coast  in 
search  of  food  and  fur. 

Ofif  from  the  shores  of  the  peninsula  lies  the  largest 
Island  of  the  chain — Kodiak  or  Kadiak.  It  is  the 
great  centre,  commercially  and  geographically,  of 
this  interesting  part  of  Alaska.  Here  was  the  first 
great  trading  depot  of  the  Russian  Trading  Company. 
Here  was  fought  one  of  the  greatest  battles  of  the 
natives  against  the  strong  intruders,  who  thought  of 
neither  justice  nor  n.ercy,  but  whose  whole  object  was 
enormous  gains  at  whatever  cost  of  bloodshed  and 
robbery.  Here  the  San  Francisco  Ice  Company  se- 
cured its  stores  of  beautifully  clear  and  solid  ice  which 


138  ALASKA. 

called  forth  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  those  who 
failed  to  find  whence  it  came,  no  matter  how  persist- 
ently they  plied  their  curious  questions.  On  this 
island  the  first  church  and  school  were  established  by 
Shellikov,  a  Russian,  who,  with  noble  heart  and 
sturdy  purpose,  fought  for  justice  to  a  downtrodden 
and  abused  race. 

This  Island,  being  the  great  trading  centre  between 
the  peninsula,  the  adjacent  islands  and  San  Francisco, 
is  and  has  been  for  years  a  rendezvous  for  fishing  ves- 
sels as  well  as  for  fur  traders  and  natives  in  their 
canoes.  Its  harbors  are  always  bristling  with  masts, 
and  it  even  boasts  a  shipyard.  Here  also  is  the 
only  road  fit  for  horses  to  travel,  and  consequently 
here  can  be  seen  the  only  horses  in  the  x\leutian  Is- 
lands, except  at  Douglas  Island  and  other  transporting 
or  mining  places.  A  few  cows,  too,  are  raised,  and 
once  sheep  were  brought,  but  their  rearing  was  a  fail- 
ure, either  from  the  unpropitious  climate  or  from  the 
lack  of  knowledge  of  the  herding  business. 

At  Kodiak  the  timber  belt  of  Alaska  is  sharpl}^  de- 
fined. With  one  step  you  may  leave  the  jungle  of 
spruce  forests,  with  interlacing  of  vine,  moss  and  briar, 
and  walk  upon  the  flat,  grassy  tundra  of  the  moor. 
From  forest  to  heather  almost  at  one  step.  There  seems 
as  a  rule  to  be  no  encroachment  of  one  upon  the  other, 
no  straggling  heather  among  the  shadows  of  spruce, 
no  single  trees  darkening  the  smooth  face  of  the 
moor. 


THE  REAL  FAR-WEST.  139 

The  general  surface  of  the  island  is  rugged  and 
mountainous,  with  here  and  there  valleys  of  lovely 
grass  and  blooming  flowers.  The  soil  invites  cultiva- 
tion and  produces  pretty  fair  crops  in  some  places, 
but  there,  as  everywhere  in  this  wonderful  land,  the 
season  is  scarcely  long  enough  to  secure  luxuriant  or 
first-class  results. 

The  waters,  however,  all  around,  abound  in  the 
most  delicious  food  fish  in  the  world.  Salmon  fairly 
swarms  in  its  season,  the  rich,  beautiful  tint  of  whose 
flesh  alone  makes  it  marketable  when  canned.  Cod, 
halibut  and  many  other  desirable  varieties  of  fish  are 
ready  at  any  moment  for  net  or  spear,  and  the  clear, 
swift-flowing  streams,  which  bound  toward  the  resist- 
less ocean,  are  as  full  of  living  beauty  as  their  banks  are 
of  a  lovely,  luxuriant  growth  of  green  and  gray,  of 
grass,  moss  and  lichen. 

To  the  north  of  the  island  is  Cook's  Inlet,  and  even 
yet  the  natives  tell  the  story  of  the  failure  of  the  first 
foreigner  who  dared  to  land  upon  the  shores.  Fur- 
ther to  the  north  flows  the  mightv  Yukon  River. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Yukon  River,  the  Mighty  Stream  Nkaki.y   Three 
Thousand  Miles  Long. 

IT  is  impossible  to  form  an  unbiased  opinion  of 
the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  Yukon ,  with  its 
deltas  and  outlets,  Alaska's  great  rival  of  the 
Mississippi,  should  one  attempt  an  exploration  from 
its  principal  mouth.  There  the  immense  tracts 
of  oozy,  slimy  swamp  lands  all  a-tangle  with  flag 
roots  and  long,  wiry  water  weeds  often  present  an 
impenetrable  barrier  to  even  the  small  crafts  of  the  na- 
tives. A  vessel  losing  its  course  into  the  channel  at 
the  main  entrance  could  not  well  gain  much  headway 
toward  the  broad  waters  that  rush  into  the  wild,  repul- 
sive waste,  the  home  of  mammoth  mosquitoes,  of  sol- 
emn-eyed water  birds,  and  damp,  cheerless  solitude. 
Loneliness  becomes  more  unbearable,  home  seems 
far  more  distant,  the  possibilities  of  sad,  unexpected 
changes  almost  certain  if  one  lingers  long  amid  such 
dreariness.  The  idea  that  a  few  miles  further  on 
there  are  mountains,  glaciers,  trees  and  flowers  seems 
incredible,  for  this  seems  to  be  the  beginning  of 
interminable  flatness,  dampness  and  malarial  swamps 
and  shallows.  But  think  of  the  hundreds  of  miles 
that  these  \ery  waters  travel.  Tliink  of  the  stories 
of  hardships  that  they  coijld  tell.  Of  the  songs  they 
140 


THE  YUKON  RIVER.  141 

have  sung  as  they  rippled  between  tiny,  moss-covered 
islets.  Of  how^  the  waves  have  palpitated  with  the 
sturdy  stroke  of  the  steamer's  paddles,  and  of  how 
they  have  been  dyed  with  the  blood  of  moose  and 
caribou. 

Further  on  there  are  trading  posts  of  no  small  im- 
portance. St.  Michaels,  near  its  mouth,  is  at  present 
the  great  centre  of  Yukon  traffic,  and  it  looks  more 
like  a  town  by  the  sea  than  an  inland  river's  ad- 
junct. It  is  a  busy  mart  in  the  midst  of  a  vast, 
unexplored  region  of  untold  wealth.  Timber!  Mil- 
lions of  feet  of  the  finest  and  most  imperishable 
grow  on  the  mighty  river's  bank  and  along  the  bor- 
ders of  its  lakes  and  tributaries.  Moss,  an  article 
whose  qualities  upholsterers  have  appreciated  for  a 
long  time,  grows  in  luxuriant  abundance  and  of  vel- 
vety softness,  and  wastes  there  by  thousands  of  tons. 

Gold  and  silver,  and  other  valuable  minerals,  hide 
themselves  away  in  the  shy  earth's  bosom,  and  so  easy 
of  access  along  the  stream,  that  transportation,  one 
of  the  bugbears  of  many  a  mining  district,  is  rendered 
easy  and  rapid.  The  labor  necessar\'  for  the  reaping 
of  the  wonderful  harvest  is  ready  in  the  forms  of  the 
sturdy  and  industrious  natives,  who  are  willing  to 
work  faithfully  if  they  are  properly  treated,  and  if  their 
lives  and  homes  are  protected.  The  hostile  natives 
usually  live  in  the[  interior, °aw^ay' from  the  coast  and 
river  shores,  and,  as  they  are  known,  but  little  fear 


142  ALASKA. 

need  be  entertained  by  explorers,  unless  a  reckless 
exploit  be  made  among  them. 

Often  their  curiosity  so  far  overcomes  their  lios- 
tility  that  the  exhibition  of  some  civilized  mode  of  ac- 
complishing- an  object  completely  disarms  them,  and 
their  desire  to  learn  the  use  of  an  object  overcomes 
an  unlawful  wish  to  possess  it.  Among  the  savages 
of  the  Yukon  villages,  as  with  nearly  all  Indians,  firm- 
ness and  kindness,  combined  withi  an  ail"  of  conscious 
power,  manliness  and  fearlessness,  goes  very  far  to- 
ward winning  friendliness. 

This  vast  river  is  so  wide  in  many  places  as  to  be- 
come an  inland  sea,  and  it  teems  with  wealth  of  various 
kinds.  Small  fur  animals  abound  along  its  borders  and 
the  natives  are  adepts  in  obtaining  the  pelts  or  fvirs  un- 
injured. The  skins  of  bears  and  foxes  attain  full  and 
beautiful  perfection  near  its  banks.  Along  the  shores 
fair  specimens  of  ivory  are  gathered,  and  if  some  sci- 
entists are  not  mistaken,  great  quantities  may  yet  be 
taken,  because  the  half-hidden  carcasses  of  elephants 
are  found  abundant  andf remarkably  well  preser^'ed. 
Moose  are  plenty,  and  are  eagerly  hunted,  their  flesh 
used  as  food,  their  hides  as  clothing,  and  their  horns  as 
handles  for  knives,  for  many  of  the  carved  hooks  and 
pins  used  in  fishing  and  hunting,  and  for  other  imple- 
ments. Water  fowls  are  numberless,  their  eggs  partic- 
ularly making  an  agreeable  variety  to  a  monotonous 
diet.     And  fish!  Who  can  tell  of  the  variety,  richness 


THE  YUKON  RIVER  143 

and  abundance  of  this  staple  of  our  great  northwestern 
possessions. 

There  the  beautiful  and  delicious  food  fish  swarm  in 
myriads,  but  until  recently  have  been  unappreciated. 
The  locating  of  canneries  began  a  few  years  ago  and 
they  yield  profit  in  man)' places.  In  fact  these  salmon 
seem  to  be  of  a  better  quality  than  the  Columbia  river 
fish  and  their  canning  interests  now  outrival  the  latter 
locality.  They  give  employment  to  many  natives 
whose  natural  aptitude  for  treating  fish  soon  lead 
them  to  become  first-class  salmon  catchers,  dryers  and 
packers,  and  the  increase  of  the  staple  upon  the  market 
may  with  advantage  to  the  consumer  decrease  the  price 
a  little,  and  yet  it  would  by  its  increased  sale  make  an 
immense  profit  for  investors  in  the  salmon-fishing  in- 
terests. Other  fish  are  found  in  abundance,  too,  the 
mention  of  the  names  of  which  would  make  an  epi- 
cure long  to  be  there.  Valuable  birds  are  also  found. 
Many  feather  beds  and  downy  pillows  could  be  made 
from  the  breasts  of  the  millions  of  water  birds,  whose 
abundance  would  not  diminish  for  years,  b}^  a  large  an- 
nual catch,  from  this  slight  thinning  out  of  their  num- 
ber. Thousands  of  eggs  that  now  go  to  waste  because 
there  is  not  room  in  the  breeding  places  to  properly 
warm  and  care  for  them,  could  then  be  hatched.  Gold 
is  not  scarce  and  is  worth  the  labor  of  obtaining  it.  It 
is  impossible  to  imagine  the  labor  in  this  district 
to   be    much    greater,    except    in    winter,    than    that 


144  ALASKA. 

of  the  mountains  and  rocky  regions  in  the  interior 
of  our  continent.  And  even  counting-  the  quantity, 
of  much  smaller  value  in  proportion,  there  are  those 
who  may  be  found  willing  to  get  rich  slowly, 
thankful  if  their  project  reached  even  a  little  under 
two  and  three  hundred  per  cent. 

Apart  from  the  teeming  richness  of  this  vast  val- 
ley of  the  Yukon,  its  wonderful  scenery  during  the 
summer  is  worth  a  painstaking  journey  to  behold. 
For  miles  the  river  and  its  broad  surface  is  dotted 
with  fairy  islands;  time  and  again  along  its  tortuous 
way  the  water  swells  out  and  forms  lovely  verdure 
skirted  bays,  whose  ripples  reflect  exquisite  shades  of 
green  from  indented  shoals,  tender  hues  from  shining 
skies,  and  indescribable  tints  from  skimming  clouds, 
while  the  dainty,  beautiful  fish,  that  rise  to  the  sur- 
face in  schools,  in  many  places,  help  to  make  pictures 
never  to  be  forgotten.  Through  vistas,  here  and 
there,  glimpses  of  great  glacier  fields  may  be  had,  and 
the  mountain  chains  grow  to  huge  proportions  and 
then  recede  towards  the  water,  in  slopes,  gentle 
as  southern  vales  and  robed  in  softest  waving  grass. 
Here  the  daring  glacier  flood  creeps  into  the  flowing 
river,  there  it  plunges  fiercely,  troubling  tlhe  waters 
far  and  near,  and  again  the  bold  mountains  raise  their 
shoulders  against  the  chilling  torrent,  and  compel 
the  turbulent  floods  to  calm  themselves  into  quiet,  rip- 
pling streams  before  they  enter  the  Yukon  current. 


THE  YUKOA  RIVER.  145 

Herds  of  moose  and  deer  come  down  to  slake  their 
thirst,  and  many  a  sportsman's  heart  would  swell 
with  anticipation  if  he  could  see  the  huge, 
antlered  heads  that  bend  towards  the  river  when  they 
come  to  drink  at  evening.  So,  too,  the  whirr  of 
grouse,  and  the  call  of  wild  ducks  would  tempt  his 
feet  to  follow.  But  enough!  Should  you  spend  your 
summer  in  Alaska,  and  then  return  to  your  native 
fields  and  pastures,  it  will  be  with  pleasant  remem- 
brances of  the  grandeur,  magnificence  and  beauty  in- 
delibly stamped  upon  your  memory. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  New  Metlakahtla  Mission  and  Settlement 
ON  Annette  Island. 

STORIES  have  been  written  whose  fictitious 
extravagance  has  been  severely  censured, 
which,  if  placed  in  contrast  with  the  true  history 
of  this  missioii  town,  would  pale  into^  ordinary  insig- 
nificance. 

In  comparison  with  most  mission  establishments, 
Metlakahtla  stands  to-day  a  dual  monument  to  one 
man's  most  indomitable  and  wonderful  courage 
and  strength  of  will  for  good,  and  to  another's 
undue  influence  for  discord.  William  Duncan,  out- 
wardly an  ordinary  layman,  but  inwardly  one  of 
religion's  most  faithful  members,  impelled  by  a  true 
love  for  mission  work,  visited  the  shores  of  British 
Columbia  and  found  a  vicious,  wicked  class  of  sav- 
ages, with  that  most  horrible  propensity,  cannibalism. 

His  heart  longed  to  bring  these  fellow  creatures 
out  of  such  darkness,  and  he  conceived  the  idea  of 
becoming  a  missionary,  and  one  such  as  the  world 
has  seldom  seen.  He  studied  the  language  of  the 
natives,  brought  himself  to^  understand  their  manners 
and  customs,  and  by  permitting  them  to  retain,  to  a 
certain  extent,  their  own  mode  of  living  for  a  time, 
he  won  their  confidence.  Through  many  tribula- 
146 


THE  NEW  METLAKAHTLA  MISSION.         147 

tions,  threats  of  death,  destruction  of  his  plans,  trials 
sufficient  to  make  a  strong  heart  fail,  sickness  and 
anxiety,  he  persevered  until  a  Christian  settlement, 
worthy  of  the  name  of  a  town,  even  in  this  part  of 
the  world,  arose  in  this  distant  region  of  the  great 
Northwest.  Church,  school,  store,  cannery,  carpen- 
ter and  blacksmith  shops  and  other  places  of  industry 
arose  before  his  steady  and  persevering  training. 
The  fearful  practices  of  the  fathers  were  scarcely 
heard  of  by  the  children,  who,  after  becoming  Chris- 
tianized and  civilized,  had  no  inclination  to  return  to 
them.  All  prospered  in  spite  of  the  evil  influences  of 
sister  tribes  and  unscrupulous  traders,  who  again 
and  again  introduced  whiskey  into  the  settlement, 
which  for  a  time  tempted  many  with  its  fiery  fascina- 
tion. Mr.  Duncan  made  a  set  of  laws  to  which  he 
required  all  his  followers  to  adhere,  and  dealt  the  pre- 
scribed punishment  if  these  laws  were  broken.  What 
wonder  that  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  father  by  those 
whom  he  had  raised  to  such  a  height  of  civilization. 

Homes  sprang  up  and  families  learned  to  live  with 
the  sanctity  and  privacy  that  the  native  Alaskan  lacks 
most  sadly.  After  a  time  Mr.  Duncan  raised  from  his 
own  shoulders  a  part  of  the  great  burden  by  appointing 
native  officials  to  carry  out  the  laws.  He  taught 
them  not  only  the  laws  of  God,  but  those  of  man,  aid- 
ing them  not  only  to  become  Christians  but  citizens 
of  their  common  country;  and  Metlakahtla  was  the 


148  ALASKA. 

synonym  of  perfect  missionary  work,  a  town  well 
worthy  of  emulation.  Then  when  the  patient  work- 
man had  toiled  in  the  vineyard  until  he  might  well 
expect  to  rest  a  little  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  many 
honest  years  of  labor,  it  was  discovered  by  the  govern- 
ment that  Mr.  Duncan  had  been  working  without 
credentials. 

He  had  been  doing  a  minister's  work  without  the 
sign  manual  (and  with  a  mere  modicum  of  its  pay). 
He  had  encroached  upon  Established  Church  rights 
of  the  lands  of  their  fathers  as  if  it  were  their  own. 
He  had  allowed  native-born  men  to  occupy  a  portion 
and  there  must  be  restitution.  The  happy  town  be- 
came convulsed  when  Mr.  Duncan  failed,  after  faith- 
fully trying  to  set  things  right  with  the  legal  officials 
and  the  outraged  Episcopal  bishops,  who  were  shocked 
at  the  layman's  audacity  and  sent  a  properly  ordained 
minister  to  the  spot.  The  converted  Indians  as  a 
body  did  not  come  into  the  newly  established  church. 
A  few,  however,  did  unite  therewith,  but  discord  was 
set  up  by  this  act  of  the  Church.  Mr.  Duncan  left  the 
town  and  all  his  loving  followers,  thinking  by  his 
absence  to  increase  their  chances  for  renewed  peace 
and  happiness. 

But  a  cry  went  up  from  the  hearts  of  a  confiding 
people,  who  loved  their  leader  and  the  God  whom 
they  worshipped  in  the  simple  way  taught  by  him, 
and    he    at    last   returned  to  them  weary  and  disap- 


7 HE  NEW  METLAkAHTLA  MISSION.         149 

pointed.  Eventually,  after  years  of  contention  and 
injudicious  criticism  by  Church  authorities,  these  peo- 
ple and  their  instructor  and  leader  bethought  them- 
selves of  a  free  land,  where  they  could  worship  as  they 
willed.  They  knew  Annette  Island,  in  Alaskan  waters, 
only  90  miles  away,  but  beyond  the  jurisdiction  and 
control  of  their  new  ecclesiastical  rulers,  and  they 
deputed  Mr.  Duncan  to  apply  to  the  proper  authori- 
ties for  permission  to  settle  in  Alaska  unrler  the 
United  States  Government.  It  was  granted,  and  can 
any  one  imagine  the  feelings  of  those  dark-skinned 
Christians  when  they  found  they  could  settle  and 
be  unmolested  in  another  country,  even  if  they  had  to 
work  and  erect  new  houses  and  dedicate  new  homes 
for  themselves  and  their  families. 

We  saw  the  pioneers  bid  farewell  to  their  joy- 
ous old  homestead,  forsaking  their  wealth,  real 
estate  and  beautiful  little  town  entirely.  With 
their  personal  belongings,  their  wives  and  children, 
neatly  arranged  in  long  canoes,  they  started  on  a 
dreary  voyage  of  ninety  miles  across  a  trackless 
waste  of  water,  weary  in  heart,  but  determined 
and  dauntless  in  spirit.  About  a  dozen  large  canoes 
thus  freighted  pulled  off  from  the  shore  and  pad- 
dled away  to  the  northward,  and  deep  was  our 
interest  in  them  as  their  frail  barks  appeared  smaller 
and  smaller  until  they  were  lost  to  view.  Several 
hundred  more  soon  packed  up  and  went  to  Annette, 


1 50  ALASJ^A, 

still  led  by  their  beloved  guide,  and  thus  departed 
about  one  thousand  out  of  the  original  twelve  hun- 
dred converts.  Now  the  island,  which  has  been  re- 
named New  Metlakahtla,  bids  fair  to  rival  old 
Metlakahtla  in  its  swift  progress  toward  a  thriving  in- 
dustrial and  Christian  American  settlement. 

A  few  Indians  still  remain,  carrying  on  a  little  trad- 
ing and  business,  and  a  few  still  attend  the  new  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church  erected  there,  but,  generally 
speaking,  the  town  is  quite  dead.  There  is  now  no 
busy  hum  in  the  shops,  and  the  well-built  wooden 
houses  are  settling  into  decay.  The  homes  that  Dun- 
can labored  so  hard  to  perfect  bid  fair  to  fade  away 
unless  some  tribe  can  be  induced  to  alter  their  wild 
mode  of  living  and  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Chris- 
tianized natives  of  the  place. 

Too  late,  bishop  and  ofificials  saw  what  they  had 
done  and  what  they  would  now  fain  undo.  They 
would  willingly  bring  back  the  town's  inhabit- 
ants. They  would  like  to  see  it  again  in  its  remark- 
able beauty.  They  would  aid  in  its  industries  and 
would  even  be  willing  to  treat  the  natives  as  if 
they  were  men  and  citizens,  but  it  was  too  late.  Met- 
lakahtla must  be  renewed  entirely.  Other  hands 
must  be  trained,  other  ministers  appointed,  and  it  all 
must  be  done  quickly,  or  the  place  might  fall  as  Tongas 
did,  leaving  only  the  name  and  a  few  dilapidated 
houses  to  tell  of  its  past  prosperity. 


THE  NEW  METLAKAHTLA  MISSION.         151 

In  the  meantime  the  emigrants,  with  their  aged  but 
dearly  loved  leader  at  their  head,  quickly  and  thrift- 
ily built  the  new  Metlakahtla  to  rival  the  old.  The 
United  States  became  possessed  of  almost  a  thousand 
good  citizens.  Should  Senator  Piatt's  plan  of  emigrat- 
ing the  hardy  Icelanders  to  Alaska  become  a  success, 
our  new  Alaskan  possessions  will  be  the  gainer  and 
much  improved  thereby. 

Will  not  our  Government  soon  make  laws  that  will 
protect  them  and  the  people  in  all  other  parts  of  this 
great  and  wonderful  territory,  so  that  the  inhabitants 
may  find  the  peace,  prosperity  and  perfect  protection 
which  they  covet  and  deserve? 

Leaving  Metlakahtla,  we  board  the  steamer  once 
more.  The  scenery  upon  which  we  gazed  so 
rapturously  before,  awakens  new  enthusiasm  as 
we  approach  from  the  opposite  direction.  Capes 
and  promontories  jut  out  more  daringly,  or 
seem  to  have  stepped  backward  since  we  left  them 
behind  a  short  time  ago.  Verdure  clad  hills  and  snow- 
capped peaks  gleam  gloriously  in  the  sunshine  that 
holds  sway  most  royally  after  its  long,  misty  hohday. 
As  we  reach  the  southern  shore  of  Vancouver  Island 
the  ship's  engine  ceases  to  pulsate,  the  vessel  floats 
gently  and  now  listlessly,  and  we  hear  only  the  soft 
splash  of  the  water  against  the  sides,  and  its  gentle 
swish  against  the  shores. 

Victoria,    in    British    Columbia,    looms    upon    our 


152  ALASKA. 

6iraining  eyes.  Landing  at  Ksquimault,  the  rendez- 
vous of  the  Enghsh  Pacific  squadron,  a  carriage  drive 
brings  us  to  this  enterprising  and  flourishing  city, 
truly  Enghsh  in  its  construction,  its  business  methods 
and  customs.  To  us  now  the  shores  of  our  great  Re- 
pubHc  are  home,  and  we  take  steamer  here  for  San 
Francisco.  From  Puget  Sound  out  through  the  Strait 
of  San  Juan  de  Fuca  into  the  broad  Pacific  Ocean,  a 
two  days'  voyage  steams  us  through  the  "Golden  Gate" 
into  the  spacious  and  magnificent  Bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

We  pass  its  portals  joyfully,  but  subsequently  pass 
out  on  a  trip  to  all  the  towns  and  cities  along  the 
coast  to  the  Mexican  border.  Then  homeward 
bound,  returning  from  San  Diego,  California,  to  Ta- 
coma,  in  Washington  Territory  by  rail,  we  cross  the 
Cascade  Mountains,  forever  carrying  the  remembrance 
of  one  of  the  grandest  excursions  we  ever  made,  and 
imprinting  on  our  memory  the  most  wonderful  scenery, 
fully  equalling  our  views  of  the  Alps  or  Sierras,  and  en- 
joying climates  varying  from  tropical  luxury  to  frigid 
barrenness. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Bering  Sea  Controversy — Its  Principal  Points. 

BERING  sea,  with  its  valuable  occupants,  lias 
been  causing  considerable  controversy  for  some 
years  past;  but  we  can  never  see  why  the  seals 
of  the  Pribylov  Islands  should  be  considered  public 
property. 

While  Russia  owned  Russian  America,  Bering  Sea 
was  held  as  part  of  the  province,  and  by  right  of  pos- 
session all  that  pertained  to  this  province  was  owned 
by  that  Government.  Therefore,  when  the  United 
States  obtained  the  territory  it  was  natural  to  sup- 
pose that  all  that  was  included  therein  belonged  to 
her  Government.  Notwithstanding  this,  not  only 
sealers  from  another  nation  but  even  some  of  our 
own  people  have  been  carrying  on  wholesale  poach- 
ing; and  they  commenced  with  such  indiscriminate 
slaughter  (as  though  they  were  trying  to  grasp  the 
greatest  number  possible  before  being  caught)  that 
if  allowed  to  continue,  the  extermination  of  the 
animals  would  be  but  a  matter  of  very  short  time. 

The  word  "extermination"  seems  to  strike  absurdly 
on  some  ears  when  we  know  that  the  seals  are,  or  have 
been,  counted  by  the  millions,  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  mother  seal  gives  birth  to  but  one  pup 

153 


154  ALASKA. 

in  the  season,  and  that  the  season  comes  but  once  a 
year.  If  the  mother  is  killed  even  after  the  pup  is 
born  it  costs  the  life  of  both,  for  according  to  Professor 
Elliott,  no  female  seal  will  care  for  any  but  her  own 
little  one,  and  it  would  be  impossible  for  it  to  live  with- 
out nourishment.  It  is  well  known,  too,  that  a  certain 
percentage  of  young  die,  or  are  killed  by  their 
awkward  companions;  therefore,  if  there  is  unlimited 
seizures  of  them  without  regard  to  set  times,  the  pro- 
portion to  those  destroyed  cannot  but  exceed  the 
yearly  addition  to  their  number. 

It  is  said  there  is  a  strange  perversity  in  fate,  and 
so  it  threatens  to  prove  with  regard  to  this  fur.  We 
are  all  cognizant  of  the  fact  that  the  preparation  of 
the  skins  for  the  markets  is  almost  a  monopoly  with 
the  I-ondon  companies.  We  know  that  "London 
dye"  is  the  "open  sesame"  to  the  purses  of  those  who 
know  a  valuable  article.  And  yet  it  does  not  seem 
to  enter  into  the  consideration  of  Great  Britain  that 
by  a  cruel  destruction  of  the  seal,  one  of  her  secure 
sources  of  revenue  will  be  completely  cut  off.  That 
nearly  all  of  the  skins  taken  are  shipped  to  I^ondon  for 
dyeing  and  otherwise  preparing  them  for  market, 
should  be  enough  to  make  her  people  willing  to  let 
their  peaceful  sister  country  alone  in  her  rights. 

The  poachers  do  not  seem  to  think  that  it  is  only 
for  the  present  that  they  can  hope  to  make  a  great 
profit  out  of  their  undertaking.   When  the  dealers  who 


THE  BERING  SEA   CONTROVERSY.  155 

obtain  their  goods  have  found  that  the  very  old  seals, 
the  young  and  the  mother  seals  who  have  not  been  de- 
livered of  their  young,  or  animals  who  have  been  in- 
jured in  fighting  or  by  accident,  will  not  furnish  good 
furs,  and  when  they  unpack  their  casks  and  find  the 
skins  mutilated  by  spear  or  bullet,  there  will  be  another 
cry;  or  there  will  be  a  lot  of  imperfect,  patched  up 
goods  sent  out  that  will  cheapen  the  article;  and  by 
and  by  fashion,  stubborn  as  it  has  always  been  about 
the  beautiful  fur,  will  turn  away  disgusted  with  the 
world-wide  favorite  and  resort  to  some  other  article  as 
a  standard  of  beauty  and  elegance.  It  is  plainly  ap- 
parent that  through  these  two  causes,  the  many  im- 
perfect skins  and  the  unsystematic  slaughter  of  the 
seals,  without  regard  to  their  condition,  will  chase 
the  furs  from  the  markets  of  fashion  and  the  beautiful 
creatures  from,  their  favorite  island  homes.  By  these 
means  England  will  ultimately  lose  far  more  than  she 
will  gain,  and  human  beings  in  Alaska  who  depend 
solely  upon  the  seals  for  sustenance  will  be  left  in  a 
sad  condition  indeed. 

Some  of  our  leaders  in  politics  speak  of  "retalia- 
tion." That  is  too  minOr  a  word  to  enter  into  such  a 
controversy.  It  is  not  honorable  among  individuals — 
how  can  it  be  between  nations?  Besides,  "retalia- 
tion" may  have  a  meaning  or  two  that  does  not  seem 
to  enter  into  the  consideration  of  those  who  mention 
it  as  a  possible  outcome    of    this    difference.      One 


1 56  ALASJCA. 

who  undertakes  to  speak  for  a  nation  should  be  as 
careful  to  think  twice  before  he  speaks  as  if  the  mat- 
ter was  one  of  personal  and  vital  importance  to  him- 
self. In  this  case  "retaliation"  may  become  "revenge," 
and  that  is  too  primitive  a  mode  of  procedure  to  have 
any  consideration  between  two  Christian  nations  upon 
such  a  subject. 

The  United  States  has  always  reversed  the  old  pro- 
verb that  "right"  was  "might,"  and  not  that  "might" 
was  "right,"  and  in  this  case  she  is  not  likely 
to  alter  her  creed.  When  our  own  vessels 
were  caught  poaching  they  were  summarily  pun- 
ished. Of  those  other  poachers  we  hear  reports 
that  do  not  point  to  equal  justice  upon  the  part  of 
their  Government.  In  "right"  justice  is  generally 
supposed  to  take  a  prominent  part. 

Others  say  "arbitration."  And  what  need  is  there 
for  arbitration,  when  a  country  is  only  trying  to  pro- 
tect its  rights  upon  its  own  possessions?  The  posses- 
sions into  which  it  came  through  honorable  negotia- 
lion,  peacefully  made  with  another  Government;  a 
negotiation,  by  the  way,  upon  which  England  smiled, 
and  thought  the  Republic  was  making  a  youthful  mis- 
take, and  paying  dearly  for  its  bargain.  But  for  all 
that,  she  has  fought  the  boundary  on  one  side,  and 
now  on  the  other.  If  Canada  is  so  dependent  upon 
that  region,  why  did  not  her  Government  secure  it 
for    her    as    ours    did  for  us — buy  it?    We  believe 


THE  BERING  SEA   CONTROVERSY.  157 

had  she  this  charter  of  cession  to  display,  she  would  be 
more  ready  to  demand  that  her  province  should  be  left 
unmolested  than  the  United  States  is  to  require  equal 
respect  to  her  possession  of  the  Territory. 

But  here  is  a  question  that  has  not  been  advanced 
strongly,  if  at  all — why  do  we  not,  through  the  Rus- 
sian Minister,  ask  the  present  "Emperor  of  all  the 
Russias  ' '  to  show  how  far  into  Bering  Sea  the  boun- 
daries of  the  province  extended  while  his  Government 
was  left  in  undisputed  possession  for  ages? 

If  this  question  was  duly  propounded  to  the  Rus- 
sian Government,  we  have  no  doubt  that  an  answer 
would  be  forthcoming  in  a  very  short  time,  and  that 
answer  should  surely  end  all  dispute.  At  the  same 
time,  if  it  happens  that  Russia  had  failed  to  make 
a  vitally  important  dividing  line  it  can  scarcely  cause 
much  wonder,  when  we  remember  that  the  little  sea 
was  for  centuries  allowed  a  very  humble  position  in 
the  world's  importance.  In  fact,  if  the  Republic  had 
only  let  Alaska  stand,  and  had  shown  no  great  inter- 
est in  it,  its  people  or  its  products,  the  sea  would  have 
remained  a  mere  vacant  space  upon  the  maps,  and 
the  land  would  still  be  regarded  as  a  cold,  barren, 
heathen  ridden  province  of  very  little  importance 
whatever. 

It  is  to  Russia's  interest  that  there  should  be  a  full 
understanding  before  all  nations  as  well  as  to  our 
own.       For  if  this  promiscuous  poaching  is  allowed 


158  ALASKA. 

to  continue,  when  the  seals  have  been  exterminated 
from  the  Pribylov  Islands,  their  successful  slay- 
ers will  follow  them  to  the  Russian  side,  and 
then  many  years  cannot  pass  before  the  seals  are 
either  destroyed  or  driven  from  the  sea  which  has 
been  their  home  so  long.  Where  they  will  go  no 
one  can  determine.  Natural  instinct  will  lead  them 
to  seek  safer  quarters,  and  their  going  may  then  be 
as  mysterious  as  their  coming  has  always  been. 

Of  course,  the  revenue  from  the  seal  fisheries  is  a 
matter  of  moment  to  the  exchequer  of  the  Republic, 
but  their  destruction  would  cause  little  more  loss  to 
it  than  to  England  and  Russia,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  the  other  recources  of  Alaska  are  developing  so 
that  American  energy  could  soon  make  them  counter- 
balance the  deficiency. 

With  this  comparatively  young  nation,  possessing 
strong  men  with  indomitable  wills  and  unlimited  cour- 
age and  energy,  learned  scientists  to  direct  their  pow- 
ers, and  untold  wealth  waiting  to  be  taken  from  the 
earth  in  all  directions,  it  will  not  be  long  until  this  dis- 
pute will  become  a  thing  of  the  past.  But  in-  right  and 
justice  the  boundaries  ought  to  be  settled  once  for  all, 
and  thus  prevent  forever  after  such  undignified  wrang- 
ling. Poaching  is  no  more  legal  on  water  than  on 
land,  and  if  the  seals  are  ours  they  have  a  right  to 
be  secured  in  safety,  and  legal  sealers  should  be  made 
to  feel  secure  in  their  calling. 


THE  BERING  SEA   CONTROVERSY.  159 

It  seems  that  sometimes  the  nations  looking-  on 
mistake  the  calm  indifference  of  our  Government  for 
either  weakness  or  cowardice.  Past  history  hardly 
supports  that  theory.  We,  as  a  nation,  know  that  it 
is  perfect  self-confidence  that  rests  so  quietly  while 
others  get  into  a  state  of  excitement,  as  if  they  feared 
the  downfall  of  the  Union  on  account  of  this  "bone 
of  contention."  We  have  made  more  rapid  strides 
toward  perfect  independence  than  any  other  nation 
in  the  world  ever  did,  and  we  do  not  doubt  that  when 
we  know  we  are  right  we  will  as  triumphantly  go 
ahead  in  this  dispute  as  we  have  done  in  others. 

Let  us  look  at  the  affair  in  a  statesmanlike  and  in- 
ternational manner.  There  is  already  a  triple  alliance 
in  Europe  and  an  alliance  between  France  and  Rus- 
sia. We  contend  that  there  slhould  be  an  alliance  be- 
tween Russia,  Japan,  China  and  the  United  States, 
as  to  Pacific  Ocean  international  rights.  Russia, 
as  we  have  shown,  having  equal  interests  over  the  sea 
and  its  seals  with  Japan,  who  also  owns  seal  islands, 
and  our  Republic,  all  should  join  to  protect  their  rights 
and  property  from  other  nations,  and  should  jointly  re- 
sist all  marauders  of  whatsoever  nationality. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

Our    Alaskan    Interests. 

THE  opinion  of  a  great  number  of  the  most  in- 
telligent and  patriotic  citizens,  of  this  and  other 
countries,  is  that  consistent,  extensive  and  well 
developed  preparations  for  war  are  very  powerful  ele- 
ments toward  securing  and  maintaining  peace.  In 
other  words,  if  a  nation  takes  every  precaution  for  the 
protection  of  her  rights  she  will  be  more  liable  to  retain 
them  intact  without  difficulty.  But  there  are  cases 
in  which  certain  operations  are  made  to  present  a 
peculiar  aspect  and  cause  questions  to  arise  which 
should  receive  immediate  attention.  One  of  these 
interrogations  should  pertain  to  England's  intention 
in  fortifying  the  Yukon  River,  near  Alaska,  and  other 
places  along  her  boundary  claim  in  a  substantial 
manner.  But  the  gold  fever,  owing  to  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  such  a  large  abundance  in  Upper  Yukon,  will 
attract  such  a  large  population  to  this  region  that  the 
United  States  Government  to  protect  the  rights  of  her 
people  there,  will  now  have  to  fortify  and  protect  our 
side  of  the  line. 

In  the  first  place  it  must  always  be  remembered 
that  Great  Britain  does  not  resort  to  such  plans  with- 
out some  well  digested  object,  and  combining  these 
1 60 


o 
< 

u 
o 

< 


OUR  ALASKAN  INTERESTS.  i6i 

fortifications  with  the  boundary  Hne  dispute,  it  would 
be  very  unwise  to  allow  her  action  to  pass  unnoticed. 
Were  there  garrisoned  strongholds  opposite,  on  the 
side  of  the  United  States  possessions,  we  could  then 
account,  to  a  certain  extent,  for  those  warlike  prepara- 
tions; but  as  matters  now  stand  we  can  look  upon 
them  as  but  little  less  than  a  menace  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Territory,  and  through  it  to  the  United 
States. 

Entirely  at  amity  with  all  nations,  the  United  States 
Government,  very  unwisely,  permitted  Forts  Tongas 
and  Wrangel  to  fall  into  decay,  thus  withdrawing 
protection  entirely  from  the  coast,  except  at  Sitka. 
This,  too,  was  allowed  to  become  a  thoroughly  inert 
little  town,  which  now  would  very  much  prefer  the 
presence  of  the  active  military  life  of  a  garrison, 
though  it  might  never  fire  a  gun.  The  consequence 
is  that  the  rapidly  developing  interests  of  the  mining 
districts  of  the  Yukon,  Copper,  Forty  Mile  and  other 
streams,  added  to  the  richness  of  the  mines  of  Doug- 
las Islands  and  the  mountains  back  of  the  busy  city 
of  Juneau,  have  opened  the  eyes  of  England  to  the 
value  of  our  Territory  and  their  own.  Therefore  that 
boundary  line,  which  has  remained  unchanged  for 
thirty  years,  and  quietly  in  the  possession  of  the  pur- 
chaser of  the  district  once  called  Russian  America, 
and  as  it  did  for  a  very  much  longer  time  before  the 
transaction,  becomes  a  matter   of  doubt  to   the   En- 


i62  .i/..i:a:i. 

glish  mind.  Not  to  iiiind.s  of  either  Russia  or  America, 
however.  Acknowledging  the  idea  as  plausible  that 
her  demar.ds  upon  the  eastern  frontier  of  Alaska,  are 
simply  to  secure  a  passageway  from  British  Columbia 
on  the  continent,  to  the  Pacific,  in  this  northern  region 
near  the  mouth  of  the  great  Alaskan  river,  so  as  to  ex- 
tend her  commercial  facilities  through  Canada,  it  is 
not  possible  that  any  one  will  suppose  that  this  nation 
will  sacrifice  one  ell  of  her  property  for  the  sake  of 
another's  aggrandizement. 

We  may  suppose  that  if  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment should  form  an  alliance  with  any  other  nation, 
it  would  preferably  do  so  with  Russia,  whose  interests 
in  the  gold  belt  of  Siberia  and  in  the  north  Pacific 
are  co-existent  wdth  her  own,  particularly  as  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Siberian  Railway  will  one  day  enhance 
the  commercial  capacities  of  both  countries  utterly 
beyond  the  present  powers  of  calculation,  because  of 
the  advancement  of  civilization  among  Eastern  na- 
tions. When  that  great  gateway,  from  the  empire  of 
the  Czar  to  the  Republic  of  the  United  States,  is 
opened,  as  it  surely  will  be,  there  is  not  a  single  doubt 
but  that  the  strained  relations  between  all  of  the  most 
deeply  interested  countries  will  be  swept  away.  China 
will  come  to  the  realization  of  the  only  real  difficulty 
which  exists  between  herself  and  Christian  nations, 
and  we  do  not  doubt  that  a  more  perfect  peace  and 
friendliness  will  exist  between  herself  and  our  Repub- 
lic than  has  ever  been  known  heretofore. 


OUR  ALASKAN  INTERESTS.  163 

Now  that  England  has  taken  the  initiative,  would  it 
not  be  well  to  thoroughly  and  efficiently  fortify  the 
old  forts  which  Russia  deemed  advisable  to  establish, 
and  to  build  more  according-  to  the  vastly  increasing 
valuation  of  Alaska?  It  must  be  a  very  lukewarm 
citizen  who  will  doubt  the  true  boundary  established 
by  Russia  upon  the  discovery  of  the  land  so  long 
bearing  the  name  of  Russian  America,  and  he  would 
be  unjustifiably  weak  who  would  allow  any  portion 
of  so  important  a  country  to  fall  from  our  hands. 
If  England  requires  an  Esquimault  to  maintain 
and  preserve  her  Canadian  territory,  neither  she 
nor  any  other  Power  can  object  to  the  United  States 
building  and  garrisoning  forts,  thus  giving  an 
equal  protection  to  her  citizens  and  property. 
Eor  the  time  only  the  more  aggressive  interests  of  the 
Powers  of  the  earth  are  showing  the  importance  of  that 
great  Siberian  enterprise;  but  we  have  a  hope  that 
some  day,  and  probably  very  soon,  the  shining  rails 
will  beckon  across  from  the  border  city  of  Kamt- 
schatka  to  the  unborn  city  on  the  most  western  point 
of  Alaska  which  rests  on  the  Bering  Strait, 
when  the  present  young  Czar  of  the  Russias  will 
announce  the  Russian  side  of  the  boundary  line  ques- 
tion, from  which  decision  there  can  be  no  possi- 
ble argument  admissible.  It  is  well  for  patriots  to 
announce  their  willingness  to  fight  against  aggression, 
but  we  can  see  no  cause  whatever  that  we  should  re- 
sort to  arms. 


i64  ALASKA. 

More  impossible  is  it  that  our  government  should 
consider  for  an  instant  the  advisability  of  resorting 
to  contention.  There  is  a  reasonable,  just  and  al- 
together honorable  and  feasible  way  out  of  the  whole 
difficulty,  a  way  so  simple  that  every  one  seems  to 
have  looked  beyond  it  for  something  more  formidable. 
It  is,  to  appoint  the  proper  authorities  to  wait  upon  the 
Russian  Government  and  request  a  concise  statement 
of  the  amount  of  land  embraced  in  its  transaction  with 
our  government.  The  preposterous  idea  of  suppos- 
ing that  Russia,  or  any  other  nation,  would  run  a 
boundary  line  of  such  importance  through  a  line  of 
irregularly  defined  islands  is  not  to  be  entertained 
under  any  condition,  but  before  adopting  any  strenu- 
ous measures  against  aggression,  let  us  take  the  wiser 
plan  proposed  above.  No  one,  either  nation  or  in- 
dividual, can  adjudge  this  cowardice  in  a  country  who 
has  more  than  once  supported  its  grand  prerogative 
against  bitter  and  almost  invincible  antagonism. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Our   Alaskan   Property. 

THE  probability  of  the  public  in  general 
becoming  weary  of  the  often-broached  subject 
of  the  United  States  boundary  in  Alaska  should 
not  deter  intelligent  discussion  of  the  question  until 
it  is  finally  and  irrevokably  settled. 

The  development  of  the  natural  mineral  resources 
of  the  Territory  is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  the  promise  of  its  prospective 
wealth  has  been  accepted  in  a  very  undemonstrative 
manner,  beside  w^hich  the  enthusiasm,  which  the  dis- 
coveries of  gold,  silver,  copper  and  other  mineral  de- 
posits in  California,  Colorado,  Montana  and  other  lo- 
calities aroused,  once  made  a  very  conspicuous  con- 
trast, until  the  present  Klondyke  boom  manifested 
itself. 

Very  limited  acquaintance  with  the  climate  and 
with  the  characteristics  of  the  natives  is  principally 
accountable  for  this,  and  the  Government  must  bear 
the  reproach  of  a  prolonged  neglect,  which  very  de- 
cidedly aided  in  establishing  this  apathetic  ignorance. 
At  the  same  time,  if  those  wealthier  states  had  not 
displayed  their  treasures,  there  can  be  but  little  doubt 
that    the    discovery  of  rich  mineral  areas  in  Alaska 

165 


i66  ALASKA. 

would  have  been  received  with  wild  exultation, and  that 
miners  would  have  flocked  to  its  promisint;-  localities, 
even  at  the  risk  of  native  opposition  and  Arctic  cli- 
mate. Looking  back  upon  the  history  of  those  days, 
when  the  "gold  fever"  prevailed  in  California,  we 
question  if  even  in  the  wilds  of  Alaska  there  could 
have  been  greater  disappointment,  suffering  and  de- 
spair than  were  experienced  in  those  times. 

Now  arises  a  peculiar  complication,  which,  having 
brought  the  Territory  into  prominence,  must  give  it 
a  status  in  the  future. 

The  Russian  Trans-Continental  Railroad  turns  at- 
tention in  that  direction,  possibly  giving  its  affairs  a 
momentum  which  it  might  not  have  attained  for  an- 
other decade  or  two.  And  we  must  deplore  the 
failure  of  the  proposed  telegraphic  communication 
with  Russia  across  Bering  Sea,  which  should  have 
been  established  if  the  true  American  spirit,  which 
determines  to  persevere  and  conquer  all  difficulties, 
had  undertaken  the  enterprise.  We  doubt  if  its  con- 
summation would  have  been  much  more  arduous  than 
the  construction  of  communication  by  rail  and  tele- 
graph across  this  great  Continent,  with  the  vast  bul- 
warks of  the  Rocky  Mountains  held  defiantly  between 
the  East  and  West. 

Why  should  the  United  States  not  have  independ- 
ent intercourse  with  the  great  Powers  of  the  Orient 
instead  of  submitting  to  news  at  second  hand?     Why 


OUR  ALASKAN  PROPERTY.  167 

should  she  not  have  a  railroad  traversing  her  territo- 
rial possessions,  and  eventually  connecting,  the  two 
vast  countries  by  ferry  across  Bering  Strait,  as  we 
suggested  years  ago?  It  is  true  that  thirty  or  forty 
miles  or  so  of  ferry  sounds  rather  formidable  in  con- 
trast with  the  bustling  transit  across  the  Delaware, 
the  Hudson,  or  the  East  River;  but  thus  far  semi- 
annual mail  and  freights  have  been  the  full  extent 
of  intercourse  between  a  great  part  of  northern  and 
northwestern  Alaska  and  the  outside  world.  If,  then, 
the  communication  through  the  railroad  should  in- 
crease this  to  many  hundreds  of  times  a  year,  it  must 
lead  to  a  better  understandmg  between  Alaska  and  its 
companion  States  and  Territories. 

The  Government  has  not  purposely  intended  to 
ignore  Alaska,  but  a  strange  admixture  of  circum- 
stances has  diverted  the  proper  legislation  for  these 
peculiar  people  to  matters  of  more  apparent  impor- 
tance. Besides,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  resident 
officials  heretofore  have  been  somewhat  meagre  in 
their  reports.  Now  the  liquor  traffic,  which  has 
been  allowed  in  that  prohibition  Territory  to  pass 
without  due  attention,  has  been  taken  up  by  new 
officers,  w^ho  are  unwilling  to  be  blinded  to  its  evil 
influence  upon  the  natives,  among  whom  its  fatal 
enticements  have  been  making  serious  havoc.  It 
seems  that  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  gold 
has  been  the  watchword  that  has  attracted  the  fore- 


1 68  ALASKA. 

most  Powers  of  two  Continents  toward  the  weird 
northwest,  and  both  have  been  thoroughly  awakened, 
the  one  to  endeavor  to  gain  possession  of  a  goodly 
part  of  the  rich  mining  region,  the  other  to  ascertain 
at  this  late  day  that,  if  she  desires  to  hold  unmolested 
her  purchase  property,  there  must  be  some  means 
of  protection  provided.  We  see  now  how  absurd  it 
has  been  to  permit  the  mines  on  the  Yukon  River 
and  Forty  Mile  Creek  to  remain  entirely  without  legal 
jurisdiction,  to  permit  the  miners  to  be  so  entirely  iso- 
lated that  they  actually  have  resided  in  Canada  while 
working  in  the  United  States,  because  they  have  had  no 
American  home  near  the  mines,  except  at  Circle  City. 
So  we  have  blindly  left  both  mines  and  men  under  the 
colonial  protectorate  of  a  foreign  Power.  We  are 
led  to  see  a  slight  excuse  for  England's  being  tempted 
to  take  property  in  which  no  one  except  a  few  miners 
seem  to  have  taken  much  interest.  The  eastern, 
western  and  middle  centres  of  our  population  should 
awaken  to  the  needs  of  Alaska. 

Money  seems  to  be  the  hinge  upon  which  this, 
as  well  as  other  matters  of  importance,  appear  to  rest. 
Yet  the  Treasury^  refuses  the  output,  and  even  the 
desire  for  improvement  in  some  quarters  stagnates, 
but  let  appropriations  now  be  made  and  honest  men 
set  to  work,  and  quickly  we  will  have  ready,  war  ves- 
sels, fortifications  and  men  for  this  object. 

A  comparatively  reasonable  appropriation   for  the 


OUR  ALASKAN  PROPERTY.  169 

benefit  of  Alaska  would  meet  with  ready  returns,  for 
the  natives,  who  are  far  more  intelligent  than  one 
would  suppose,  would  join  very  heartily  in  securing 
prosperity  for  themselves  and  their  adopted  kinsmen. 

With  all  the  disadvantages  under  which  the  Terri- 
tory has  suffered,  there  is  a  chord  in  the  hearts  of 
hundreds  of  Christianized  Alaskans  which  vibrates  to 
the  toudh  of  kindness  from  the  hands  of  the  Govern- 
ment at  Washington.  The  progress  of  education, 
which  is  nearly  all  carried  on  through  various  de- 
nominational missions,  is  wonderful  w^hen  the  length 
of  time,  the  lack  of  money  and  the  isolation  from  the 
proper  protection  is  considered.  And  the  time  has 
already  come  wdien  natives  and  Ihalf-breeds  alike  are 
praying  for  closer  recognition  and  a  nearer  tie  to 
the  country  of  which  they  are,  or  should  be,  citizens. 

Thus  we  find  humanity,  commerce  and  Territory 
demand  recognition  and  speedy  and  vigorous  legisla- 
tion. 

There  should  be  no  legal  question  about  the  bound- 
ary lines  which  were  accepted  by  every  nation  on  the 
globe,  if  not  by  treaty  or  public  acknowledgment, 
then  by  silent  acquiescence,  wlhich,  having  remained 
uninterrupted  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
must  hold  good  to-day.  All  that  is  actually  needed  is 
for  the  United  States  to  pronounce  with  judicial 
dignity  that  "These  lines  are  the  limit  of  our  legal 
possessions.     No  power  should  be  permitted  to  step 


xyo  .IL.ISk'A. 

across  to  claim  an  iota."  W^e  should  provide  dwell- 
ing places  for  men  and  families,  until  they  can  provide 
them  for  themselves.  There  should  be  laid  out  town 
sites,  however  small.  L^orts  should  be  erected,  and 
manned  with  efficient  and  entirely  trustworth}''  officers, 
and  men.  There  is,  as  justly  should  be,  forbidden  the 
traffic,  in  any  manner,  of  whiskey  or  any  other  in- 
toxicant, and  of  personal  concealed  deadly  weap- 
ons. Let  those  who  are  born  citizens  and  those  who 
may  become  suclhi,  feel  and  know  that  the  arm  of  a 
just  and  powerful  government  is  stretched  out  to  suc- 
cor and  protect  all,  both  dark  and  white,  and  it  is 
demonstrated  more  decidedly  every  year  that  Alaska 
will  soon  become  far  from  the  least  valuable  part  of 
the  United  States.  Remember,  while  legislating  for 
armed  cruisers,  warships,  protected  commerce  car- 
riers and  torpedo  boats  that  the  Pacific  coast  needs 
their  presence  as  well  as  the  Atlantic. 

At  this  time  particularly  the  United  States  needs, 
and  should  have,  constant  and  uninterrupted  commu- 
nication witih  Russia,  China  and  Japan  without  the 
mtervention  of  any  other  Power  whatever,  no  matter 
how  friendly.  Not  so  much  that  the  Republic  desires 
to  have  controlling  power,  as  that  her  communica- 
tions with  those  governments  should  be  truthfully 
obtained  at  first  hand,  and  not  to  be  misunder- 
stood, with  no  chance  whatever  for  unintelligible 
or  doubtful  interpretation  based  upon  unreliable  news 


OUR  ALASKAN  PROPERTY.  171 

fabrications  as  at  present.  Russia  and  the  United 
States  have  always  been  friendly,  and  to  hold  that 
condition  intact  they  should  have  no  go-between  of 
any  description,  telegraphic  or  otherwise,  because  a 
slight  misinterpretation  might  be  the  nucleus  which 
enemies  of  either  nation  could  cause  to  grow  into  a 
portentous  cloud,  and  probably  generate  unkindly  feel- 
ings and  serious  results. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Curb   the   War   Spirit. 

As  the  sea  [is  agitated  b}^  a  coming  storm,  so,  for 

/~\    months,  have  the  great  Powers  of  the  earth  Ijeen 

fermented  with  threatening  war  clouds,  but  in 

our  opinion,  the  universaHty  of  brooding  disaster  will 

prevent  much  actual  contention  and  bloodshed. 

As  individuals,  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
must  naturally  sympathize  with  the  people  whose  ob- 
ject of  warfare  is  independence  from  unjust  oppres- 
sion. As  free  men,  our  hearts  go  forth  in  hearty  good 
will  to  those  who  desire  liberty.  But  at  the  same 
time  one  would  do  well  to  ponder  carefully  before 
giving  expression  to  language  which  could  be  inter- 
preted to  lead  to  universal  commotion. 

Thus  far  the  United  States  is  not  so  deeply  involved 
in  international  difficulties  as  to  require  the  adop- 
tion of  any  policy  having  war  as  its  ultimatum;  and 
her  own  boundary  question  is  as  yet  very  much  in- 
side the  pale  in  which  peace  holds  her  divine  preroga- 
tive. It  is  therefore  enthusiastic  folly  for  the  public 
to  begin  agitating  the  liabilities  of  armed  contention, 
at  least  until  matters  have  developed  a  more  distinct 
embodiment.  The  very  knowledge  of  the  freedom 
of  speech  that  is  enjoyed  by  the  press,  as  well  as  by 
172 


CURB   THE   WAR   SPIRIT.  173 

citizens,  should  lead  each  one  to  use  that  right  in  a 
judicious  manner.  Some  most  deplorable  disputa- 
tions have  been  caused  by  rash  utterances,  as  tides 
of  calamity  have  swept  numbers  of  human  beings 
to  terrible  and  sudden  death  tlhrough  one  incautious 
cry  of  fire.  Therefore,  patience,  caution  and  fore- 
thought should  certainly  guide  the  speech  of  all  men, 
particularly  during  any  contentious  times. 

The  policy  of  all  citizens,  as  much  as  the  Govern- 
ment of  our  Republic  itself,  should  be  that  of  an  hon- 
est, earnest  and  peaceable  commimity,  watching  with 
unimpassioned  intellect  and  unbiased  mental  vision, 
for  the  outcome  of  any  political  or  international  com- 
motion— waiting  to  allow  all  other  nations  an  unin- 
terrupted opportunity  to  settle  misunderstandings  or 
disagreements  without  unrequired  interference. 

The  age  of  conquests  for  territory,  or  great  usurpa- 
tion for  aggrandizement,  has  passed  away  long  ago,  and 
all  good  governments,  who  are  true  to  honest  princi- 
ples, will  hold  themselves  ready  to  interfere  only  when 
the  greater  Powers  are  unjustly  overpowering  the 
weaker,  and  when  conquerors  ill  treat  those  already 
down-trodden  by  superior  numbers. 

The  claims  of  each  and  every  nation,  whether  the 
proud  dynasty  of  centuries  or  the  struggling  embryo 
of  a  future  Republic,  should  receive  due  respect,  and 
their  justice  be  wisely  supported  by  those  Powers  who 
can  give  them  full  and  entirely  disinterested  consid- 


174  A/..lSk\L 

eration.  Every  claim  should  be  wcii^lied  in  a  riii^id 
balance  of  right,  with  neither  high-handed  monopoly 
nor  petty  selfishness  within  touching  distance  of 
the  delicate  scales  of  Justice. 

Long  past,  too,  is  the  time  when  one  nation  may 
stand  alert  to  fall  upon  another,  when  it  is  so  engaged 
elsewhere  as  to  be  unable  to  cope  with  additional  ene- 
mies. Only  just  warfare  and  honorable  accumulation 
of  territory  can  be  countenanced  in  this  age  of  en- 
lightenment. A  nation,  however  ancient  its  lineage, 
or  however  superior  its  station,  must  fall  very  far  be- 
neath the  limit  of  true  greatness,  that  will  seek  to 
crush  or  destroy  another  nation  or  to  monopolize 
any  of  its  property. 

The  number  of  devices  by  which  countries  may 
attain  honorable  prominence  must  make  the  inhuman 
one  of  warfare  for  either  w^ealth  or  wider  boundary 
fall  into  desuetude  among  any  but  the  less  civilized 
Powers  of  the  earth  in  a  very  short  time,  if,  indeed, 
we  may  not  hope  that  even  now  such  a  golden  era 
is  approaching. 

That  there  will  not  be  wars  and  bloodshed  in  the 
future  it  would  be  intensely  optimistic  to  hope,  nor 
do  we  question  the  justice  and  legality  of  systematic 
preparation  for  battle,  and  good,  hard,  patriotic  fight- 
ing for  country  and  principles  when  they  are  assailed ; 
but  we  do  not  believe  in  lying  in  wait  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  display  pugnacious  tendencies. 


CURn  THE   WAR  SfURll.  175 

We  believe,  while  human  nature  retains  its  emi- 
nence over  the  earth  and  sea,  that  there  w^ill  be  oppres- 
sion, injustice,  aggression,  greed  and  cruelty.  We 
believe  nation  will  rise  against  nation,  and  that  there 
will  be  battle,  victory  and  defeat.  But  we  feel  that 
the  United  States  should  never  interfere  in  any  com- 
motion until  the  golden  laws  of  right  and  justice  re- 
quire her  aid.  And  we  are  convinced  that  while  pro- 
viding for  every  emergency  in  a  numerous  and  per- 
fectly equipped  navy,  and  in  a  series  of  fortifications 
that  will  protect  her  vast  territory  upon  every  side,  she 
should  calmly  hold  herself  aloof  from  all  contention 
until  necessity  requires  action. 

In  conscious  strength,  in  unassailable  honor,  in 
gracious  dignity,  let  our  noble  Republic  stand  forever 
with  the  words  of  her  immortal  Washington  as  the 
quenchless  beacon  guiding  to  continued  and  uninter- 
rupted peace  and  prosperity. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Ol'r  Gkicat  Northwestkrn  Territory  anu  its 
Natural  Resocrces. 

BY  slow  degrees  the  value  of  the  Territory 
of  Alaska  has  been  presenting  itself  for  consid- 
eration, not,  only  abroad,  but  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  more  significant  still, 
the  Territory  is  now  waking  up  to  its  own  importance. 
In  Governor  Sheakley's  reports  we  have  read  very 
reasonable  statements  of  the  progress  of  business,  of 
education,  of  mission  work  and  of  the  increasing 
power  of  the  few  laws  which  have  been  thus  far 
adopted  for  the  government  of  the  strangely  incon- 
gruous mixture  comprising  the  population.  The  ap- 
propriations for  which  we  asked  in  the  year  1896  are  so 
modest  that  the  only  danger  seems  to  be  that  they  may 
always  be  thought  too  unimportant  to  be  considered 
among  the  greater  demands  which  present  supporters 
are  able  to  advance.  The  Government  does  not  seek 
to  "boom"  any  part  of  the  country,  doubtless  feeling 
confident  that  the  time  is  not  far  off  that  will  see  it 
take  a  place  in  this  hemisphere,  as  Norway,  Sweden, 
Finland  and  even  Siberia  have  ages  ago  asserted  for 
themselves   in   Europe. 

Russia  did  not  give  the  land  away,  but  made  a  valu- 
ation ;  the  L'uited  States  did  not  take  it  by  force,  but 
176 


OUR  GREAT  NORTHWESTERN  TERRITORY.  177 

willingly  paid  for  it,  both  countries  thus  proving  that 
even  at  that  time  it  was  well  worth  seven  millions,  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars. 

In  looking  at  the  money  transaction,  it  possibly 
appears  unimportant  when  compared  with  the  for- 
tunes of  the  great  millionaire  citizens  of  our  Republic; 
but  even  looking  back  thirty  years  we  will  discover 
that  such  fortunes,  as  those  which  to-day  are  subjects 
for  no  wonderment,  were  then  quite  remarkable. 
There  were  then  no  such  stupendous  railroad  schemes 
and  other  operations  from  which  to  garner  harvests 
of  greater  bulk  than  were  ever  before  conceived,  ex- 
cept possibly  in  "air  castles,"  and  the  Government  was 
more  than  once  censured  for  having  invested  such  a 
large  sum  in  so  useless  a  tract. 

We  are  led  to  believe  that  the  trite  old  saying,  "You 
don't  know  what  a  thing  is  worth  till  you  lose  it," 
contains  a  great  truth  attachable  to  state  as  well  as 
personal  affairs,  when  we  think  that  the  seal  interests 
on  one  side  and  the  boundary  on  the  other  had  to  be 
ominously  threatened  before  any  but  a  few  enterpris- 
ing men  (excepting  of  course  the  missionaries,  who 
have  been  faithful  laborers  for  many  years)  could  see 
in  what  manner  Alaska  could  benefit  the  country  to 
which  it  belongs. 

We  have  mentioned  the  forts  that  were  allowed  to 
fall  into  decay;  we  have  seen  the  defenceless  coast 
near  which  marauders  could  carry  on  a  course  of  pil- 


178  ALASKA. 

fcring  which  no  other  country  would  ever  have  per- 
mitted; we  have  seen  our  Government  pay  milHons  of 
dollars  indemnity  for  bait  taken  from  the  eastern  coast 
of  Canada,  when  now,  forsooth,  she  is  arbitrated  to 
pay  thousands  of  dollars  more  to  the  same  Power  for 
the  seals,  which  b\  all  just  laws  were  her  own,  and 
which  she  justly  at  this  time  refused  to  permit  the 
Canadian  fishermen  to  take. 

We  find  that  so  long  as  the  boundary  seemed  to 
separate  only  one  barren,  ice-boimd  district  from  an- 
other it  was  allowed  to  remain  unmolested,  but  as 
soon  as  American  enterprise,  howbeit  in  the  shape 
of  a  few  miners,  find  gold  along  near  the  line  and 
in  American  territory,  the  boundary  line  is  so  out- 
lined by  map  that  it  is  made  to  inclose  those  gold 
mines  within  British  jurisdiction,  and  again  the  right 
of  the  United  States  to  the  purchase  is  questioned. 
Fortifications  and  proper  garrisons  are  now  already 
needed  for  the  protection  of  interests  on  the  eastern 
boundary  line,  and  a  cry  against  such  warlike  prepara- 
tions was  aroused  immediately  when  we  wrote  in  this 
vein  months  ago.  Proper  coast  defence  and  a  suf^- 
cient  and  competent  fleet  of  armed  cruisers  for  the 
protection  of,  not  the  seal  interests  particularly,  but  for 
all  fisheries  and  commercial  interests  in  general,  is  now 
an  evident  need.  But  the  Siberian  Railwa}'  is  surely 
winding  its  way  across  the  frozen  north  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  and  it  as  surely  will  find  an  outlet  on  the  Pacific 


OUR  ORE  A  T  NOR  TH  WESTERN  TERR  I  TOR  V.  1 79 

coast  somewhere.  We  propose  a  nucleus  for  a  com- 
mercial centre  in  a  place  as  close  as  possible  to  the 
Russian  border,  and  we  see  in  the  future  the  vast  com- 
mercial communication  by  rail  that  will  obviate  the 
present  protracted  voyages  by  water,  and  that  could 
bring  Russia,  China,  Japan  and  the  United  States  in 
closer  commercial  and  international  relations  than 
ever  were  known  between  such  Powers,  even  if  we  are 
accused  of  dreams  such  as  made  Aladdin  revel  in  gold 
and  jewels. 

We  persistently  contend  that  it  would  be  no  more 
difficult  to  build  a  railroad  through  Alaska  than 
through  Siberia.  In  fact,  it  could  be  done  far  more 
rapidly  and  readily  because  of  the  convenience  of  the 
coast  communications  with  San  Francisco,  Portland, 
Tacoma,  Seattle,  Port  Townsend  and  other  points  of 
importance,  by  which  the  necessary  American  material 
could  be  delivered  at  different  stations  along  the 
shore.  Begin  the  enterprise,  and  see  whether  there 
will  not  be  thousands  of  hardy  men  willing  to  under- 
take the  work,  toilsome  as  it  may  be.  How  quickly 
would  the  iron  industries  of  the  North  and  South  fur- 
nish the  rails  of  steel  and  iron!  How  quickly  would  the 
millions  of  railroad  ties  turn  out  from  the  overloaded 
forests  of  the  great  North- West!  And  how  fast,  too, 
would  the  material  for  houses,  and  for  schools  anc", 
churches,  follow  the  trend  of  advancing  industry! 
No  community  need  freeze  when  houses  can  be  sent 


i8o  ALASKA. 

to  them  all  ready  to  be  set  together  for  occupation 
in  an  almost  incredibly  short  time.  Neither  need 
they  starve  in  this  age,  when  canned  milk,  meats, 
fruits  and  vegetables  are  not  only  very  good,  but  rea- 
sonably cheap;  when  flour  and  meal  can  be  sealed 
from  injury  during  transportation;  when  preparations 
of  yeast  and  pure  baking  powders  are  made  to  keep 
for  indefinite  periods;  and  in  a  land  in  which  fish  and 
game  are  found  to  be  inexhaustibly  plentiful. 

There  is  no  more  reason  for  Alaska  to  remain  with- 
out population,  than  for  any  far  northern  district  in 
other  countries,  to  become  depopulated.  That  the 
Esquimaux  have  lived  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  thrived 
in  the  truly  frozen  North,  proves  that  others  may  do 
so  too  if  comfort  is  provided.  They  have  existed, 
not  from  choice,  but  from  extreme  necessity,  upon 
uncooked  dried  fish  and  flesh;  they  have  dwelt  in  ice- 
formed  houses  or  in  underground  huts,  because  other 
means  were  beyond  their  knowledge,  as  well  as  far 
from  their  reach.  But  note  how  willingly  they  follow 
the  lead  of  civilized  men ;  how  they  admire  and  wonder 
at  every  device  presented  to  their  consideration;  how 
they  become  fond  of  properly  prepared  food,  warmth 
by  artificial  means,  and  the  more  convenient  cloth- 
ing of  enlightened  fashion.  Fuel  has  been  the  most 
prominent  subject  of  objection  to  colonizing  Alaska, 
but  with  the  discovery  of  excellent  coal  in  several  re- 
gions, and  with  the  possibility  of  still  greater  areas 


O  UR  GREA  TNOR  THWESTERN  TERRITOR  F.  1 8 1 

awaiting-  the  prospectors,  we  think  that  question  is 
pretty  nearly  laid  at  rest.  Those  who  really  long  for 
work  should  think  of  this  region  as  a  new  home  in 
the  years  to  come.  But  even  if  the  quantities  of  that 
commodity  should  be  over-rated  or  insufficient,  we 
can  see  no  reason  why  the  use  of  coal  oil,  now  discov- 
ered in  vast  quantities  there,  may  not  become  pop- 
ular where  blubber  and  fish  have  been  for  ages 
the  generators  of  both  heat  and  light.  The  de- 
mand for  petroleum  would  doubtless  develop  the  in- 
dustry to  a  much  greater  extent  than  at  present  in 
our  own  country,  and  it  would  form  a  very  lucrative 
object  of  commerce  between  Russia  and  western 
America.  We  have  long  since  become  accustomed 
to  the  use  of  coal  oil  for  lighting  our  houses,  many 
people  preferring  its  clear,  steady,  brilliant  radiance  to 
the  doubtfully  pure  gas  which  so  often  flickers,  fails 
and  flares,  to  the  great  inconvenience,  if  not  to  the 
great  detriment  of  sight.  Oil  stoves  for  heating  and 
cooking  purposes  have  been  in  vogue  for  many  years, 
and  they  are  offered  in  numerous  forms  and  at  va- 
rious prices,  while  they  have  been  constructed  so 
scientifically  as  to  render  accident  very  rare  in  oc- 
currence. 

Why,  then,  should  this  Territory  remain  without 
settlers  when  conveniences  are  attainable,  and  when 
the  increase  of  population  would  not  only  make  the 
country  more  valuable  every  year,  but  would  lead  to 


1 82  ALASi^A. 

peculiar  benefits  through  inter-State  commerce,  which 
is  a  very  important  item,  even  should  the  trade  keep 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States.  The  recent 
discovery  of  an  immense  quantity  of  petroleum  has  an- 
swered the  question  of  light  and  fuel. 

Legislation  for  the  government  of  Alaska  has  been 
necessarily  slow  and  unsatisfactory,  and  we  do  not 
believe  that  it  deserves  quite  the  amount  of  censure 
that  it  receives.  It  requires  very  careful  thought  to 
plan  a  set  of  laws  which  will  embrace  its  heteroge- 
neous population,  some  of  which  are  intelligent  and 
law-abiding,  some  ignorant  and  indifferent  to  restraint, 
and  still  others,  perhaps  the  greater  number,  little 
less  than  heathenish  in  their  ideas  and  inclinations, 
made  so  by  ages  of  tribal  tyranny.  Then  again,  a 
new  mixed  population  is  certain  to  gravitate  here 
within  the  next  few  years. 

The  first  step  toward  proper  legislation  then  would 
be  to  value  every  portion  of  the  country,  allowing 
tribes  and  individuals  to  hold  possession  of  the  land 
upon  which  they  dwell  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  and 
giving  them  deeds  or  clear  titles  forever,  with  the 
lands  to  prospectors,  as  in  all  other  States  and  Terri- 
tories. Value  even  remote  and  apparently  useless 
reservations  ;  then  let  the  Government  sell  such  tracts 
at  proper  price.  Permit  no  settling,  but  grant  tracts, 
as  other  nations  do,  even  in  the  wildest  parts  of  the 
world  by  purchase  or  concession. 


O  UR  GREA  T  NOR  TH  WESTERN  TERR /TOR  Y.  1 83 

But  we  must  not  follow  the  policy  of  those  coun- 
tries by  keeping  native  populations  in  ignorance,  but 
rather  they  must  all  be  educated,  and  very  quickly,  too, 
so  that  they  may  become,  entirely  self-sustaining.  We 
have  no  vast  amount  of  opium  for  disposal  among 
hosts  of  people  who,  by  its  use,  live  a  life  of  semi- 
consciousness; we  need  all  residents  of  our  coun- 
try to  be  clear  of  brain,  alert  and  industrious.  There- 
fore, education  is  the  first  great  object  towards 
which  the  Government  must  give  its  prompt  aid. 
Education  will  bring  intelligence,  intelligence  will 
arouse  genius,  and  the  natives  who  know  and  love 
the  land  will  one  day,  in  the  near  future,  become  the 
workmen  who  will  cultivate  every  natural  resource  of 
their  beloved  country. 

Land  valued  and  people  educated,  the  next  step 
must  be  to  place  a  proper  estimate  iipon  every  com- 
modity indigenous  to  the  country,  whether  it  be  furs, 
metal,  minerals  or  timber,  fish  or  meats ;  encourage 
every  industry  on  sea  or  land,  and  the  next  century 
will  look  back  upon  the  neglect  of  the  years  gone  by 
with  surprise,  while  rejoicing  that  justice  and  energy, 
though  tardy,  paved  the  way  to  Alaska  becoming  a 
bright  star  among  the  splendid  galaxy  which  repre- 
sents the  United  States  of  America. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

The    Future   of   Alaska. 

THE  impetus  has  been  given,  and  now  nothing 
short  of  an  armed  force  could  prevent  im- 
migration to  Alaska.  It  is  too  late  to  warn  the 
ambitious  miners,  or  those  who  intend  becoming  pio- 
neers, against  cold  weather,  loneliness,  difficulties,  dis- 
asters, disappointments.  They  think  they  have  fully 
counted  the  cost,  and  with  determined  energy  they  go 
to  face  all  impediments  to  fame  or  fortune. 

Year  after  year  summer  tourists  are  increasing  in 
numbers  since  the  comfort,  safety  and  pleasures  of  the 
grand  northwestern  trip  in  commodious  steamers  has 
been  verified,  not  only  by  stalwart  men,  but  by  deli- 
cately reared  women,  and  even  children,  who  have  all 
returned  overjoyed  by  the  glorious  beauty  of  Alaskan 
scenery — forests,  water  ways  and  glaciers. 

The  enchanting  descriptions,  oft  repeated,  have 
found  echoes  in  hundreds  of  hearts  which  have  so 
longed  to  behold  new  attractions  and  to  change  from 
the  beaten  track  of  travel,  that  they  were  exceedingly 
delighted  to  turn  toward  the  frost-crowned  North,  ap- 
proaching its  particular  characteristics  of  country  and 
people  with  unusual  combinations  of  fear  and  pleasure 
in  their  anticipations. 
184 


THE  FUTURE  OF  ALASKA.  185 

It  is  not  surprising,  that  men  who  have  probably 
been  without  work,  and  who  have  grown  discouraged 
with  anxious  waiting  for  better  times,  should  resolve 
to  try  their  fortunes  in  the  virgin  gold  fields  of  whose 
existence  they  are  continually  assured.  Their  hope  of 
success  cannot  be  regarded  as  altogether  foundation- 
less,  for  they  hear  of  missionaries  of  both  sexes  who 
have  been  able  to  live  even  in  the  bitterly  cold  and 
altogether  unsettled  districts,  and  who  are  eager  to 
return  to  the  scenes  of  their  labors,  after  a  visit  to 
their  seemingly  much  more  congenial  homes. 

Doubtless  quite  a  number  of  these  adventurers,  who 
expect  to  face  the  rigors  of  climate  and  the  dangers 
and  privations  of  pioneer  life,  will  return  totally  dis- 
heartened and  broken  in  health,  but  many  will  stub- 
bornly hold  out  against  every  difficulty,  pride  or  pov- 
erty supplying  the  magnetism  which  will  bind  them 
fast  to  the  inhospitable  soil.  It  requires  no  gift  of 
prophecy  to  foretell  that  some  of  these  men  will 
turn  toward  the  British  settlements,  which  thus  far 
are  the  only  well-boomed  ones  of  the  gold  regions  of 
the  Upper  Yukon  River,  and  the  Territory  will  in 
this  manner  lose  temporarily  a  few  of  its  citizens.  Te- 
nacity of  purpose  and  power  of  endurance  are  the  very 
important  elements  which  are  requisite  for  the  building 
up  of  the  population  that  will  one  day  develop  the  vast 
mining  industries  of  Alaska. 

The  duty  of  the  Government  is  plainly  outlined,  and 


i86  A/.ASk'A. 

if  its  plans  are  not  soon  matured  for  tlic  protection  of 
its  citizens,  as  well  as  for  its  pecuniary  interest,  there 
will  be  a  time  of  useless  regret  and  a  serious  complica- 
tion of  international  difficulties  that  will  require  able 
statesmanship  to  unravel. 

We  repeat  that  it  is  the  first  duty  to  lay  out  and  con- 
struct forts  or  small  towns  in  close  proximity  to  the 
point  toward  which  the  tide  of  immigration  is  tending, 
thus  rendering  it  possible  for  the  men  to  remain  upon 
the  ground  all  the  year  round  in  order  to  protect  their 
claims.  The  second  is  to  acknowledge  the  value  of 
the  mines  in  some  reasonable  amount,  and  to  legislate 
for  the  interest  of  the  government  as  well  as  the  indi- 
vidual, and  to  guard  these  two  with  consistently  legal 
measures,  and  property  rights  and  titles. 

Certainly  some  time  must  pass  before  the  quartz 
mines  can  be  worked  with  great  success,  but  the  pos- 
sibilities can  no  more  be  determined  now  than  were 
those  of  California  and  Colorado  less  than  fifty  years 
ago.  The  experiences  of  those  times  and  localities 
should  supply  food  for  very  careful  consideration  be- 
fore the  Alaskan  gold,  copper  and  coal  mines  are 
shelved  as  unattainable  or  altogether  mythical. 

But  allowing  the  probability  that  climate  and  other 
insurmountable  objections  may  deter  the  lucrative 
working  of  the  mineral  deposits  of  the  Territory,  still 
there  is  employment  in  the  near  future  for  those  men 
whose  enterprising  spirits  are  guiding  them  north- 


THE  FUTURE  OF  ALASKA.  187 

ward,  for  the  day  is  coming  when  an  Alaskan  rail- 
way will  become  a  necessity,  when  the  commercial 
interests  of  the  Orient  and  the  Occident  will  be  brought 
into  closer  touch. 

Setting  aside  for  a  time  the  possibility  of  a  con- 
tinuous railway  to  Bering  Strait,  still,  close  com- 
numication  can  and  will  be  made  between  Russia  and 
America  by  building  seaport  towns  at  convenient 
points  on  either  coast,  and  estabhshing  a  fast  steam- 
ship line  between  them,  thus  shortening  the  voyage 
by  many  days,  and  enabling  a  more  advantageous 
commercial  intercourse  to  be  assured  to  the  interests 
of  both  vast  countries. 

How  much  better  and  cheaper  it  would  be  to  give 
strong  men  employment  now,  than  some  day  be 
compelled  to  give  support  to  disabled  and  uninten- 
tional paupers.  Even  to-day  railroad  connections  be- 
tween Juneau  and  the  several  points,  at  which  gold 
and  coal  are  known  to  be  procurable,  would  increase 
the  value  of  those  districts  and  the  populations  of 
both  that  city  and  the  mining  camps.  Wh}^  not, 
therefore,  begin  these  lines  of  railroad,  and  give  work 
to  men  who  are  eagerly  longing  for  something  to  do? 
Many  will  be  found  as  willing  to  labor  at  hewing  lum- 
ber, cutting  ties  and  laying  tracks  as  they  are  now 
to  work  with  pick  and  shovel  in  prospective  mines. 
They  will  work,  they  will  build  cabins  for  themselves, 
and  in  time  their  wives  and  families  will  follow  them, 


i8R  yir.ASKA. 

and  the  development  (if  Alaska  will  be  another  phe- 
nomenal demonstration  of  American  pluck  and  enter- 
prise, because  that  which  the  Governmen'L  has  de- 
ferred doing  for  Alaska  is  apparently  upon  the  eve  of 
being  accomplished  by  these  men,  who  will  so  far 
succeed  as  to  soon  be  able  to  demand  both  internal 
and  naval  protection  for  themselves,  their  families  and 
their  property,  until  some  day  the  Territory  will  be- 
come a  self-defending  State,  and  thus  the  serious  prob- 
lems of  what  to  do  with  Alaska  will  be  solved. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The    Resources    of    Alaska. 

PROOF  after  proof  makes  it  constantly  ap- 
parent that  Alaska  will  in  time  not  only  be 
thoroughly  self-supporting,  but  that  its  numer- 
ous sources  of  revenue  will  become  quite  important  to 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States. 

Despite  contradiction,  ridicule  and  neglect,  the 
gold  mines  are  becoming  the  object  of  greater  inter- 
est year  after  year,  until  it  has  already  attained  such 
proportions  that  even  a  trifling  success,  like  the  Klon- 
dyke  discoveries,  will  cause  a  continued  rush  to  the 
gold  fields,  such  as  invaded  the  other  gold-yielding 
States  years  ago. 

This  prediction  was  stated  in  our  published  articles 
many  months  before  the  present  great  rush  to  the 
Klondyke  began. 

The  gold  mining  that  has  actually  become  estab- 
lished in  some  parts  of  Alaska  seems  to  have  stepped 
forward  into  the  place  once  entirely  usurped  by  the 
fur,  whale  and  seal-oil  business,  which  was  re- 
cently considered  the  only  valuable  part  of  the  pur- 
chase, and  its  decadence  augured  sad  adversity  for  the 
struggling  Territory.  It  was  once  strictly  true  that 
the  fur  and  oil  trade  was  the  only  livelihood  of  the 

189 


190  ALASK.4. 

natives,  and  that  they  depended  upon  the  seals,  whales, 
walruses  and  fish  for  every  necessity  of  life;  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  civilization  has  advanced  with 
persistent  energy,  until  the  mode  of  living,  wdiich  was 
universal  but  a  little  while  ago,  has  changed,  and 
many  of  the  natives  have  joyfully  accepted  Christian 
food  and  clothing,  as  well  as  religion. 

The  result  of  education  not  only  evidences  itself 
in  moral  development,  but  in  the  awakening  of  intel- 
ligence that  must  have  lain  dormant  forever  but  for 
the  instruction  and  faithfulness  of  missionaries,  who, 
finding  most  barbarous  opposition,  became  still  more 
determined  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  benighted 
people  and  rescue  them  from  the  midnight  darl<ness 
which  has  enveloped  them  for  ages. 

They  never  knew  the  value  of  gold  or  copper,  coal 
or  marble,  timber,  or  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  But 
they  were  compelled  to  cultivate  muscular  power, 
while  harpooning  the  huge  prey  whose  uncertain 
coming  made  them  wary,  as  well  as  sure-handed  and 
strong. 

They  were  compelled  to  exert  a  certain  amount  of 
genius  in  the  preparation  of  their  subterranean  homes, 
so  that  they  might  live  through  the  long,  dismal  cold 
of  their  arctic  winters,  or  in  the  construction  of  their 
summer  nests  on  the  shores  of  the  boisterous  seas. 
And  now  this  natural  bent  will  enable  them  to  build 
for  themselves,  and  the  miners,  who  will  join  them, 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  ALASKA.  191 

such  residences  as  will  make  it  possible  to  develop 
the  mines  even  of  the  bitterly  cold  and  lonely  regions 
of  the  Upper  Yukon  River. 

There  can  be  no  more  absurd  idea  than  that  the 
splendid  possibilities  of  Alaska  must  be  left  undemon- 
strated  because  of  the  climate,  for  if  the  natives  have 
been  able  to  exist  without  the  aid  of  the  comforts  of 
civilization,  how  much  better  can  they  live  and  work 
when  they  receive  the  needful  creature  benefits. 
Heretofore  they  have  been  forced  to  semi-hibernation 
more  than  half  of  the  year,  while  the  other  half,  from 
dire  necessity,  has  been  a  season  of  hard  toil  during 
the  fishing  or  hunting  season,  and  of  gormandizing 
and  wildest  revelry  when  swarming  fish  or  gigantic 
mammals  of  the  sea  filled  their  empty  caches  and  made 
them  forget  for  the  time  that  such  harvests  were  very 
evanescent,  depending  entirely  upon  the  instincts  of 
the  lower  animals,  which  made  them  pile  in  countless 
numbers  within  reach  of  their  spears  and  nets  or  bas- 
kets. 

Those  who  have  learned  to  live  like  Christians, 
rarely,  if  ever,  return  to  the  dismal,  smoky  underground 
dens  that  were  once  their  homes.  Possibly  not  one 
who  has  tasted  the  daily  food  of  the  white  people  would 
turn  again  with  relish  to  the  saltless  fish  and  blubber, 
which  was  the  daily  food  they  used.  And  just  as 
surely  as  that  they  have  accepted  thus  far,  will  they 
seek  to  learn  still  farther  from  their  enlightened  teach- 
ers. 


192  ALASKA. 

Doubtless  they  have  learned  evil  as  well  as  good, 
but  the  good  will  predominate,  and  they  will  take 
pride  in  the  development  of  their  country  as  soon  as 
they  understand  its  importance. 

The  diversity  of  employment  awaiting  them  is 
enough  to  overwhelm  them  for  a  time,  but  miners, 
quarrymen,  and  probably  agriculturists  and  herds- 
men for  the  valleys,  will  be  found  when  the  light 
breaks  in  fully  upon  the  work  expected  of  them. 

Ex-Governor  Swineford  told  of  the  mining  pros- 
pects and  was  ridiculed  unmercifully  by  the  press  and 
the  people.  But  a  few  years  passed,  and  he  re- 
turned to  the  territory  armed  with  all  things  necessary 
for  the  development  of  his  valuable  mines. 

Governor  Sheakley  told  of  the  richness  of  the  na- 
tural resources  of  the  land,  and  he,  too,  received  little 
thanks  for  his  information  but  the  prospects  brighten 
nevertheless.  One  party  boasts  of  his  profitable  little 
farm,  from  which  he  has  abundantly  reaped  satisfactory 
harvests.  Dr.  Jackson  gives  proof  of  the  certainty  of 
success  in  the  rearing  of  reindeer,  which  answers  the 
question  of  transportation  of  men  and  supplies,  as  well 
as  gives  promise  of  immunity  from  starvation.  An- 
other calls  attention  to  the  coal  fields  which  await 
the  sturdy  hand  with  pick  and  shovel,  while  still 
another  and  another  repeat  the  presence  of  marble, 
fine  and  pure  as  the  statuary  marble  of  Italy. 

True  it  is  that  money,  talent  and  toil  are  absolutely 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  ALASKA.  193 

necessary  to  the  attainment  of  any  of  these  treasures, 
but  we  fail  to  know  of  any  place  or  country  in  whicli 
nuggets  of  gold  or  slabs  of  marble  are  lying  about 
awaiting  transportation. 

"Work"  is  the  password  to  fortune!  Can  there  be 
harder  toil  or  greater  privation  than  were  the  step- 
ping-stones to  the  world-famous  millions  of  the  As- 
tors?  Have  we  not  seen  the  great  railroad  magnates 
of  our  own  day  rise  round  after  round  upon  the  ladder 
of  fame  and  fortune,  with  unremitting  toil  marking 
every  step  in  the  upward  course? 

Only  a  few  decades  ago  a  great  part  of  Philadel- 
phia was  thought  to  be  an  "irreclaimable"  swamp. 
To-day  great  warehouses  and  noble  residences  cover 
these  apparently  once  hopeless  wastes.  But  a  year 
or  two  since,  formidable  obstructions  interfered  with 
navigation  in  the  Delaware;  to-day,  we  watch  them 
disappearing  before  the  stroke  of  Governmental  aid, 
making  of  this  city  one  of  the  finest  seaports  and 
fresh  water  naval  stations  of  the  countr}',  backed  by 
the  coal,  iron  and  large  manufacturing  interests  of  the 
city  and  the  state. 

Not  more  impossible  is  the  rich  development  of 
Alaska's  grand  and  almost  illimitable  sources  of 
wealth  and  prosperity  than  was  the  civilization  and 
expansion  of  New  England,  for  it  is  doubtful  if  even 
the  barren,  wave-swept  coast  of  our  distant  province 
can  present  a  more  thoroughly  forlorn  and  uninviting 
13 


194  ALASKA. 

aspect  than  did  the  wild,  rock-boiind  coast  of  Massa- 
chusetts to  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

If  men  are  discouraged  from  attempting  to  find  any 
prosperity  in  the  far  North- West;  let  them  think  of 
Norway,  Sweden,  Finland  and  other  Northern 
climes,  whose  inhabitants,  brave,  industrious  and  in- 
telligent, could  never  be  persuaded  to  see  any  land 
so  beautiful  or  good  as  their  own.  The  day  is  com- 
ing when  the  progeny  of  those  who  dare  to  make 
Alaska  their  dwelling-place  and  the  promoter  of  their 
fortunes  will  glory  in  the  snow-clad  peaks,  the  mighty 
grinding  glaciers,  the  smiling,  dancing  crystal  water- 
courses and  mountain-environed  fjords,  whose  majes- 
tic beauty  or  peaceful  loveliness  are  unrivalled  by  any 
scenery  in  the  whole  bright  wodd. 

It  would  certainly  be  preposterous  for  people  who 
have  been  reared  in  luxury  and  busy  idleness  to  think 
of  going  to  Alaska  except  as  summer  tourists;  such 
a  class  is  not  yet  needed  in  any  part  of  the  territory. 
Neither  need  clerks  and  salesmen  or  book  agents,  or 
even  traveling  salesmen,  hope  to  find  work  in  the 
sparsely-settled  country.  But  brawny  frames,  strong 
hands,  brave,  willing  hearts  and  courageous,  long-en- 
during active  brains  will  find  plenty  to  do,  and  abun- 
dant reward  for  their  labor.  Let  such  pioneer  the 
way,  and  the  cultivation  and  refinement  of  higher 
education  will  most  certainly  follow  when  prosperity 
supervenes,  as  it  must  do  in  the  near  future. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Bering  Sea  and  its  Seals — Questions   Which    Have  to 
BE  Settled  for  the  Future  as  Well  as  Present. 

LIKE  all  unsettled  questions,  the  matter  of  the 
right  of  possession  in  Bering  Sea  rises  to  the 
surface,  even  while  other  subjects  come  to  view 
which  seem  to  be  sufficiently  important  to  set  it  aside 
for  the  time. 

Our  average  Congressmen  do  not  appear  to  grasp 
the  Alaskan  question  in  its  vast  importance  to  the 
future  of  the  United  States.  The  statesmanship  at 
present  exercised  seems  to  see  only  the  surface  mat- 
ter of  the  right  to  pelagic  fishing  for  the  seal,  whose 
home  is  certainly  upon  the  islands  belonging  to  the 
United  States. 

It  requires  no  powerful  horoscope  to  see  in  the  near 
future  the  extermination  of  the  fur  seal  unless  pro- 
tected, as  we  of  the  present  generation  have  beheld  the 
destruction  of  the  great  herds  of  bufTalo  that  once 
roamed  over  the  vast  sea  of  prairie  land  in  the  West. 

The  revenue  from  seal  skins  has  truly  been  of  great 
moment,  if  only  that  it  has  helped  to  refund,  with  in- 
terest, the  millions  paid  for  Alaska  ;  but  even  at  this 
time  the  cry  is  coming  from  the  greater  fishing  indus- 

195 


196  ALASKA. 

tries  of  the  North-West,  tliat  the  luxurious  fur  is  not 
fraught  with  such  vital  consequence  as  to  lead  to  the 
neglect  of  other  affairs;  while,  like  all  subjects  of  con- 
tinual contentions,  this  deferred  settlement  tends  to- 
ward a  degree  of  carelessness,  in  the  American  public 
mind,  almost  amounting  to  willingness  to  give  up  in 
disgust  the  bone  of  contention,  which  the  Government 
and  the  better  informed  citizens  will  never  allow. 

But  let  us  pause  and  note  an  underlying  current, 
the  consequence  of  which  must  leave  a  lasting  impres- 
sion upon  the  commercial  interests  of  the  United 
States;  and  here  let  us  say,  it  looks  like  a  peculiar  act 
of  diplomacy  to  ask  the  contesting  party  to  aid  us 
in  the  protection  of  our  own  property.  The  "modus 
Vivendi,"  as  most  readers  see  it,  seems  to  place  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  upon  equal  footing; 
indeed,  it  rather  appears  that  the  taking  of  the  seals 
for  the  food  of  some  of  our  own  citizens  is  looked  upon 
as  an  injury  to  Canadians.  Perhaps  there  may  be  a 
more  dignified  side  to  the  question,  but  as  it  stands 
now  to  the  public  eye  it  lacks  the  noble  self  assertion 
of  an  independent  nation. 

If  the  arbitration,  to  which  our  national  authorities 
have  submitted  the  question  of  their  country's  right 
over  a  former  inland  sea,  has  been  decided  against 
our  Government,  it  opens  Bering  Sea  to  a  nation 
that  would  have  held  and  planted  its  flag  upon  every 
one  of  its  rocky  islands  and  would  have  brought  a 


BERING  SEA  AND  ITS  SEALS.  197 

noble  armament  of  vessels  into  its  waters  and  defied 
this,  or  any  other  Government,  to  touch  any  of  the 
coveted  amphibians. 

England  has  studied  diplomacy  too  long  not  to  have 
an  eye  to  the  distant  future,  toward  which  our  states- 
men appear  to  have  forgotten  to  look.  It  cannot  be 
many  years  before  Asia  and  America  will  be  commer- 
cially connected  in  the  far  North.  The  bed  of  Bering 
Strait  is  rising,  scientists  tell  us,  and  the  intellects  that 
have  planned  the  most  wonderful  and  surprising  feats 
of  intricate  engineering  in  the  world,  would  be  able 
either  to  tunnel  or  bridge  this  strait  so  that  there- 
could  in  time  and  doubtless  will,  be  a  continuous  line 
of  communication  between  the  commercial  centres  of 
Asia  and  the  United  States. 

The  exclusion  of  the  Chinese  from  the  ports  of  this 
Republic,  meets  with  grave  approval  from  the  English 
Government,  because  it  sees  in  the  future  the  com- 
merce of  China  and  Japan  reaching  the  western  and 
eastern  ports  of  America  without  the  long  sea  voyage 
to  which  it  has  been  confined  in  the  past.  Already 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad  is  largely  reaping  the 
benefit  of  this  English  project  and  wise  investment. 

This  semi-friendly  contention  of  to-day  is  very  im- 
portant to  the  interests  of  our  Government,  for  a  na- 
tional policy  that  is  apparently  based  on  international 
law  may  have  far  reaching,  unfavorable  and  insidious 
aims  toward  a  sister  nation,  that  in  future  years  may 


198  ALASKA. 

prove  injurious  to  us  and  result  in  great  national  com- 
mercial disaster. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  millions  of  our  citizens 
would  rise  to  defend  the  sacred  rights  of  their  coun- 
try if  they  were  openly  threatened.  Will  not  the  na- 
tion's strength  of  intellect  and  forethought  at  least 
try  to  equal  in  patriotism  those  who  would  give  their 
life-blood  for  the  Stars  and  Stripes?  Let  personal 
interest  for  a  time  be  vested  in  the  everlasting  good 
of  the  country.  Let  every  noble  intellect  strive  to 
make  a  glorious  victory  in  this  bloodless  war.  Let 
us  show  Great  Britain  that  the  indemnity  of  five  mil- 
lion dollars  that  was  paid  by  this  Government  for  her 
fishers  poaching  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  British 
provinces  was  not  paid  in  cowardice,  but  as  a  noble 
country's  acknowledgment  of  justice  and  restitution. 

If  the  arbitration  acts  justly,  and  secures  to  the 
United  States  her  own  property,  Russia,  Japan  and 
China  will  be  drawn  into  closer  commercial  fellow- 
ship with  us  every  year.  Why,  then,  should  an  act 
of  legislation  make  the  first  breach  between  the  latter 
nation  and  the  Empire  whose  commerce  is  so  valuable 
to  the  world?  Why  must  a  Christian  country  be  the 
first  to  break  the  friendly  peace  of  ages? 

We  will  need  the  commerce  and  the  friendliness  of 
China,  as  well  as  that  of  Russia  and  Japan  some  day, 
and  why  be  so  harsh  now?  The  good  will  of  all 
three  will  be  of  great  advantage  to  our  Government 


BERING  SEA  AND  ITS  SEALS. 


199 


in  developing  the  territory  of  Alaska,  and  a  personal 
feeling  against  the  original  coolies  that  were  brought 
here  by  money-making  schemers  and  companies 
should  not  allow  us  to  thwart  a  broad  international 
policy  in  regard  to  our  Western  and  North-Westem 
possessions. 

NUMBER  OF  SEALS  TAKEN  BY  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  AND  THE  PELAGIC  SEALERS. 


YEAR 

TAKEN   ON 

PRIBILOFF   ISLANDS 

THE 

PELAGIC   CATCH 

1890 

,    21,234 

51.655 

I89I 

12,071 

68,000 

1892 

7.500 

73.394 

1893 

7.500 

80,000 

1894 

12,500 

60,000 

1895 

15,000 

82,000 

75.805 

415.049 

The  total  pelagic  seal  catch  of  the  54  British  vessels  in 
Bering  Sea  during  the  last  year  was  17,805,  while  that  of  the 
12  American  vessels  was  2907  seals. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Alaska    ¥vk  Seal  Protection. 

WHILE  reading  of  the  wholesale  slaughter  of 
the  fur  seals  in  Bering  Sea,  and  the  apparent, 
or  rather  the  consistent  unwillingness  of  Great 
Britain  to  aid  in  their  protection,  the  absurdity 
of  the  situation  flashes  upon  one  with  great  vivid- 
ness. The  United  States  could  have  protected 
them  by  all  the  laws  of  rightful  ownership  if  she 
had  not  been  led  into  the  net,  from  courtesy 
called  "Arbitration."  Too  late,  the  warning  given 
in  the  daily  journals  a  few  years  ago  has  been 
heeded,  and  Russia  and  Japan  are,  as  they  would  then 
have  been,  ready  to  do  their  part  towards  saving  the 
seals,  in  which  these  three  countries  alone  are  inter- 
ested as  possessors.  But  "arbitration"  brought  in 
another  party  who  is  unwilling  under  any  circum- 
stances to  lose  its  hold.  The  future  of  the  question 
is  plainly  mapped.  A  year  or  two  for  this  point,  an- 
other year  or  two  for  that,  while  pelagic  sealing  in  the 
meantime  continues,  and  by  the  time  the  settlement  is 
reached,  the  seals  are  gone  and  have  faded  away  un- 
protected. 

But  one  Senator  proposes  the  annihilation  of  the 
fur  seal  by  the   United   States   authorities,   the   pro- 
ceeds of  the  furs  to  be  spent  upon  the  native  Aleuts, 
Wr  200 


ALASKA  FUR  SEAL  PROTECTLON.  201 

who  in  all  honor  and  justice  are  the  true  owners  and 
the  people  first  to  be  considered.  The  proposition  is 
met  with  a  cry  against  its  cruelty,  and  the  hand  of  the 
Government  is  stayed.  But  let  us  pause  and  examine 
the  question  of  cruelty  in  all  its  phases.  If  the  Gov- 
ernment should  adopt  the  plan  of  consistent  extermi- 
nation, it  will  require  the  death  of  all  seals  in  all 
stages.  A  force  of  natives  and  practiced  sealers 
would  watch  for  the  incoming  of  the  herds,  and  as 
they  landed  each  animal  would  be  dispatched  with  the 
usual  merciful  blow  so  well  known  by  the  natives,  a 
swift  blow  at  the  base  of  the  brain,  always  successful.  A 
pitiful  sight  no  doubt  would  be  presented  by  so  many 
slaughtered,  motionless  seals;  the  objects  of  the  skin- 
ning, fat  rendering  and  drying  or  packing  of  the  meat 
would  not  be  beautiful  to  look  upon,  but  there  would 
be  no  sounds  of  distress  from  the  inanimate  creatures. 
This  is  the  cruelty  against  which  those  who  side  with 
Great  Britain  cry  out  in  anxious  protest. 

There  is  another  side  of  the  question:  With  a  few 
exceptional  cases  it  is  the  female  seals  that  are  killed 
by  pelagic  sealers.  By  positive  statements  from 
those  who  have  made  careful  study  of  the  animals,  the 
adult  males  do  not  leave  the  rookeries  at  all  during 
their  stay  on  the  Pribylov  Islands,  and  the  young 
seals  remain  either  on  land  or  very  close  to  shore. 
The  reason  is  easily  explained.  When  they  come  to 
their  home  they  are  all  fat  and  contented,  but  the  fe- 


202  ALASKA. 

males,  who  go  out  to  sea,  are  nursing  mothers — not 
only  nursing  but  brooding  mothers — for  the  seal  car- 
ries its  young  a  year.  Each  pup,  or  infant  seal,  be- 
longs exclusively  to  its  own  mother,  notwithstanding 
the  peculiar  sameness  in  appearance,  and  no  mother 
will  nurse  other  than  her  own  offspring.  These 
nursing  mothers  require  food  for  the  support  of  them- 
selves and  their  young,  and  that  is  why  they  leave 
the  rookeries  for  a  season;  they  simply  go  in  search 
of  food.  Consequently  when  they  are  killed  the  pups 
unborn  die  also,  making  a  ratio  of  three  lives  taken 
for  one  skin  obtained.  Let  those  who  speak  of  cruelty 
carry  their  minds  and  sympathies  to  the  spot  and  hear 
the  bleating  of  the  hundreds  or  thousands  of  little 
seals  that  must  linger  in  the  tortures  of  hunger  before 
death  ends  their  misery.  They  bleat  like  lambs  or 
young  calves.  Can  the  imagination  picture  the  help- 
less little  creatures  writhing  and  crying  for  hours  be- 
fore succumbing  to  death?  Can  it  paint  the  loss  as 
well  as  the  torturing  inhumantiy  as  the  myriads  of 
little  bodies  are  tossed  in  by  the  incoming  breakers, 
or  left  to  decompose  on  the  sandy  beaches?  Which 
cruelty  is  the  worst,  to  destroy  them  all  at  once,  or 
continue  to  have  so  many  suffer  innocently  by  these 
marauders?  The  mode  in  use  and  defended  now  will 
certainly  lead  to  the  end  proposed  by  the  Senator  at 
last,  and  when  the  sentiment  turns  upon  "cruelty" 
the  whole  community  may  demand  the  swift,  organ- 


ALASKA  FUR  SEAL  PROTECTION.  203 

ized  annihilation,  rather  than  the  high  road  of  slow, 
torturing  destruction  by  literal  starvation.  But  we 
believe  in  actual  positive  protection  of  our  seal  prop- 
erty. In  this  we  have  not  discussed  the  compara- 
tively valueless  pelt  of  the  adult  female  seal.  By  and 
by  the  purchasers  of  seal  skin  garments  will  discover 
that  the  fur  is  neither  so  beautiful,  soft  nor  durable, 
as  that  obtained  by  legitimate  sealing,  wherein  only 
the  two  or  three  years  old  bachelors  are  killed  and 
the  perfection  of  pelts  obtained  without  the  least  dan- 
ger of  either  exterminating  the  species  or  causing  the 
untimely  and  painful  destruction  of  the  tiny  seals. 

In  referring  to  the  great  question  of  the  arbitration 
treaty,  and  for  the  correct  boundary  lines  which  have 
agitated  the  country,  acting,  as  it  were,  as  counter- 
irritants  to  its  deplorable  financial  condition,  we  think 
it  would  be  wise  to  call  public  attention  to  the  literal 
meaning  of  the  word  which  has  been  echoing  from 
every  direction  for  months.  Arbitration  means  the 
act  of  settling  a  doubtful  question. 

Now  there  is  no  shadow  of  doubt  about  the  pur- 
chase of  Alaska,  nor  has  there  been  at  any  time. 
Therefore,  there  can  be  no  possible  question  of  right 
to  its  possession  by  the  United  States.  The  real  dif- 
ficulty is  the  exact  marking  of  the  location  of  the 
boundary  lines.  As  Russia  mentioned  the  limit  in  its 
treaty  of  cession,  the  question  is  not  for  arbitration, 
but  for  an  honest  survey  under  the  literal  interpreta- 


204  ALASKA. 

tion  of  the  treaty.  Why  such  an  undertaking  should 
require  so  much  disputation  is  hard  to  comprehend. 
And  why  the  United  States  Government  and  its  Eng- 
Hsh  aid  in  competent  surveyors,  do  not  equip  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  reliable  men  under  proper  pay,  to 
settle  the  line  definitely,  according  to  the  purchase, 
cannot  be  satisfactorily  explained.  Economy  is  com- 
mendable as  a  general  thing,  but  in  a  case  of  this 
kind,  which  to  a  very  great  extent  involves  our  Na- 
tion's honor,  the  idea  of  a  limitation  in  the  direction 
of  expense  is  not  to  be  considered  at  all.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  for  many  years  the  line  now  claimed 
by  the  United  States,  was  acknowledged  by  England, 
and  her  subjects  paid  annual  rental  to  Russia  for  that 
which  now  figures  upon  a  recent  Canadian  map  as 
British  property.  No  arbitration  in  the  world  can  ad- 
just that  without  the  owners  have  their  proper 
geographical  measurements  ready  for  inspection. 

Conceded  then,  that  this,  as  a  peace-loving  nation, 
deems  it  wisdom  to  submit  to  arbitration,  why  must 
this  question  between  two  great  nations  be  adjusted 
by  a  third  party  who  has  not  studied  the  boundary. 
Why  not  refer  our  claim  to  Russia,  as  a  power,  and 
fully  familiar  with  all  the  facts?  Or  why  may  not  France, 
our  sister  Republic,  have  the  power  to  decide,  if  arbitra- 
tion is  deemed  the  best  mode,  with  a  third  power  for 
decision?  How  can  a  vast  country  under  whose  ad- 
vanced government  each  citizen  is  a  sovereign,  bind 


ALASKA  FUR  SEAL  PROTECTION.  205 

itself  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  one  man,  though  lie 
be  a  chief  sovereign  of  another  country,  when  the 
real  trouble  is  not  one  of  geographic  position,  but  the 
presence  of  a  precious  metal  whose  value  has  aroused 
the  farseeing  interests  of  other  nations  that  are  in- 
volved ! 

The  arbitration  for  boundaries  if  needed,  and  special 
arbitrations  for  individual  cases  that  may  arise,  is  far 
preferable  for  both  England  and  America,  than  an 
arbitration  treaty  that  is  certain  to  be  mis-interpreted 
and  misunderstood  by  other  nations.  And  in  this 
case  the  matter  can  readily  be  laid  over  until  the 
proper  survey  is  made. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

Recent    Routes    to    the    Gold    Fields    of  the   Yukon 
River,  After    Reaching   Alaskan    Ports. 

AFTER  careful  studj^   of  the   topography  of  the 
country  each  side  of  the  boundary  Hne  between 
Alaska  and  British  Columbia,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  thus  far  the  easiest  and  best  summer 
route,  for  Americans  at  least,  is  by  water  up  the  Yukon 
River. 

This  means  that  the  traveler  having  reached  Puget 
Sound  by  whatever  train  or  waterway  he  may  have 
found  most  convenient,  will  take  the  steamer,  which 
fits  out  at  Seattle.  He  will  find  the  vessel  all  that  can 
be  desired  for  comfort,  but  not  a  palatial  craft.  The 
first  part  of  his  voyage  might  as  well  be  one  of  un- 
interrupted pleasure,  unless  he  is  subject  to  qualms 
of  nausea  attendant  upon  a  sea  voyage,  for  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean  is  oftentimes  very  boisterous.  From 
Seattle  the  vessel  steams  through  Puget  Sound,  pass- 
ing on  the  south.  Port  Townsend,  (an  important  Amer- 
ican city  near  the  exit  of  the  Sound),  and  on  the 
north,  Victoria,  the  beautiful  Canadian  capital  city  of 
Vancouver  Island.  Through  the  Straits  of  Juan  de 
Fuca  it  reaches  the  Pacific  Ocean.  After  leaving  the 
Straits  the  course  is  northwesterly  toward  the  Aleutian 
206 


RECENT  ROUTES  TO  GOLD  FIELDS.        207 

Islands,  whose  snow-capped  peaks  and  extinct  volca- 
noes uplift  themselves  from  the  treeless  land,  whose 
only  vegetal)le  products  are  a  sort  of  rank  grass, 
hardy  poppies  and  a  few  other  wild  flowers,  rich 
carpets  of  vivid  green,  or  pale  gray  moss,  and 
creeping  lichen.  Rounding  the  islands,  the  first 
stopping  place  is  Dutch  Harbor,  a  coaling  and 
supply  station  for  all  ocean  steamers  of  the  North- 
West,  as  well  as  for  the  sealing  and  whaling  fleets  of 
Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Leaving  Dutch 
Harbor  or  Unalaska,  sometimes  spelled  Oonalashka, 
with  its  line  of  houses  painted  white,  possibly  to  make 
them  more  conspicuous  in  the  fog  that  so  often  nearly 
obscures  the  land  from  view,  the  course  is  about  due 
north  until  St.  Michaels  is  reached,  passing  within  view 
of  the  Pribylov,  or  Seal  Islands,  St.  Paul  and  St. 
George,  of  which  so  much  has  been  said  in  recent 
years.  The  sailing  is  then  to  Cape  Mohican,  on 
the  west  coast  of  Nunivak  Island.  St.  Matthew  and 
Hall  Island  are  passed  far  to  the  westward.  Then 
to  Cape  Romanzof  on  through  Norton  Sound  until 
the  ship  stops  at  Fort  Get  There,  on  the  Island 
of  St.  Michaels,  or  passes  on  to  old  Fort  St.  Mich- 
aels. This  island  was  once  a  strong  Russian  fortifica- 
tion, but  now  it  is  a  central  point  for  freight  and  pas- 
sengers going  to  and  from  the  gold  fields  and 
the  missionary  and  business  settlements  of  the  Yukon 
River.     At  this  point  all  goods  and  passengers  are 


2o8  ALASKA. 

transferred  to  large,  light-draft  steamers,  which  ply 
the  waters  of  the  mighty  river  from  the  first  opening 
of  the  ice  during  May,  till  the  waters  are  locked  in  solid 
ice  in  September.  There  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company  and  the  North  American  Transportation  and 
Trading  Company  are  engaged  in  the  traffic  of  the 
middle  and  lower  Yukon.  During  the  short  season  of 
navigation  these  companies  carry  on  an  extensive  bus- 
iness, making  three  and  four  round  trips  to  different 
trading  posts  and  mining  towns.  Here  also  is  a  mis- 
sion station  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
Other  missions  have  been  established  along  the 
coast  of  Alaska  at  different  points  by  other  denomi- 
nations as  spoken  of  elsewhere. 

While  it  is  open  to  navigation  the  ships  have  a  clear 
course  of  2,300  miles:  but  business  is  all  hurried  at 
breathless  speed  in  order  to  get  as  much  as  possible 
attended  to  before  the  frost  settles  down  to  its  winter 
work.  The  Yukon  and  its  tributaries  abound  in  fish, 
salmon  being  exceptionally  fine.  The  first  point  at 
which  the  vessel  touches  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  river  is  Fort  Yukon,  an  old  station  which 
was  established  by  Robert  Bell,  who,  mistaking 
its  locality  for  Canadian  ground,  estabhshed  a  trading 
post  for  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  In  point  of  fact, 
it  was  never  a  fort  at  all,  but  so  named  as  are  several 
other  trading  stations  in  the  North.  It  is  in  the  lati- 
tude of  this  place  that  one  sees  almost  pernKual  day- 


Placer  Mining. 


RECENT  ROUTES  TO  GOLD  FIELDS.         209 

light  during  the  liist  suniincr  montlis.  The  light  of 
one  day  dissolves  into  the  effulgence  of  the  next  with 
no  darkness,  except  a  luminous  twilight  between,  in 
which  only  the  great  planets  can  be  distinguished. 
The  next  stop  is  Circle  City,  a  considerable  town  of 
about  2,000  inhabitants,  when  they  are  at  home,  but 
subject  to  variation  of  population.  Many  fine  placer 
mines  surround  this  really  important  city,  but  the  rage 
for  the  Klondyke  gold  fields  has,  for  the  time,  almost 
depopulated  the  comfortable  log  houses  of  which  the 
town  is  built.  Next  comes  Fort  Cudahy,  across  the 
boundary  line,  at  the  mouth  of  Forty  Mile  Creek,  a 
town  already  important  as  a  centre  of  supplies  for  the 
miners  in  the  whole  section  of  country,  included  in 
the  Forty  Mile  district,  which  has  turned  out  a  great 
quantity  of  gold.  At  Fort  Cudahy  the  steamer  takes 
on  passengers  and  freight  for  the  return  trip,  the 
way  up  the  Yukon  to  Klondyke,  Frazer,  Pelly  ami 
other  rivers  being  made  in  small  crafts,  native  canoes, 
etc.  The  loneliness  of  the  miners  has  been  slightly 
relieved  by  the  establishment  of  a  post-ofhce  at  Circle 
City,  to  which  point  letters  are  taken  from  Juneau 
every  two  weeks  and  retvirn  mail  matter  is  delivered 
in  the  same  length  of  time,  by  experienced  carriers, 
who  are  now  recognized  by  the  Government  and  re- 
ceive about  $500  for  the  round  trip.  For  safety,  ease 
and  comfort  this  Yukon  River  route  is  undoubtedly 
the  best,  except  when  the  shortness  of  the  season  is 
considered. 
14 


210  ALASKA. 

Small  places  and  landings  are  found  all  along  the 
river.  After  going  about  two  or  three  hundred  miles 
through  a  low,  flat  country  the  mountains  are  reached. 
Here  you  have  a  constant  change  of  magnificent  coun- 
try, far  beyond  description.  Thus  the  boat  proceeds  to 
Ft.  Yukon,  where  during  the  months  of  June  and  July 
the  sun  shines  for  twenty-four  hours  without  a  break, 
in  fact,  all  along  the  river  during  these  months,  it  is 
continuous  daylight  and  you  can  read  easily  at  night 
without  a  lamp.  Then  comes  Fort  Reliance  and  a 
little  farther  on  is  Dawson  City,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Klondyke  River.  But  this  river  is  sixty-five  miles  this 
side  of  the  Klondyke  placer  mines,  which  lay  away  over 
the  hills.  Some  distance  farther  up  beyond  the  sup- 
posed rich  gold  fields  of  the  Stewart  River  is  Fort 
Selkirk. 

The  Stewart  and  the  old  Rein-deer  Rivers,  the  latter 
now  called  the  Klondyke,  extend  eastward  to  their 
heads  and  are  located  entirely  within  British  Co- 
lumbia. 

Beginning  at  the  Yukon's  mouth  the  following 
places  are  passed  on  the  way  up,  and,  for  convenience 
of  reference,  I  have  noted  them  from  the  north  or 
south  side  of  the  Yukon.  First  on  the  north  side 
comes  Andreafski,  then  the  Holy  Cross  Mission,  the 
city  of  Anvik  and  a  river  of  the  same  name,  Hamil- 
ton's Landing,  Naplatoo;  the  Kuyukuk  River  comes 
in  at  the  northward  bending  of  the  Yukon,  then  comes 


RECENT  ROUTES  TO  GOLD  FIELDS.         211 

the  Melozikakat  River;  a  little  farther  on  past  the  Gold 
Mountains  come  the  towns  of  Nowikakat  and  Weare. 
Here  the  Nowikakat  River  flows  in .  Shamans  Village 
is  still  farther  up  on  a  small  stream  called  the  Outt 
River,  then  comes  Fort  Hamlin  and  Fort  Yukon  on 
the  Porcupine  River,  which  flows  in  at  another  angle 
of  the  Yukon  and  extends  into  British  Columbia  away 
ofif  toward  the  Mackenzie  River  that  empties  into  the 
Arctic  Ocean.  A  little  farther  on  flows  in  the  Big 
Black  River  and  several  other  small  rivers;  then  come 
the  townsites  of  Forty  Mile  and  Sixty  Mile,  the  Chan- 
dindu  River,  Fort  Reliance  and  Dawson  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Klondyke  and  Yukon  Rivers  and  just 
below  these  is  the  town  of  Ogilvie;  next  comes  the 
Stewart  River.  A  short  distance  above  this  the  Lewis 
and  Pelly  Rivers  join  and  form  the  Yukon.  The  Pelly 
River  with  its  branches,  McMillan,  Orchay  and  Ross 
Rivers  run  northeast,  but  at  present  the  Lewis  River 
and  its  tributaries  are  the  most  important,  as  they  run 
through  the  gold  regions.  Its  branches  are  Little  Sal- 
mon, Big  Salmon,  Teslin  or  Hootahnqua,  Little  and 
Mendenhall  Rivers. 

On  the  south  side  the  Kashunuk  River  flows  in  an 
easterly  direction;  then  the  Yukon  turns  northward 
and  here  we  have  the  towns  of  Koserefski  and  Shage- 
luk ;  then  come  the  Innoko,  Kaiyah,  Soonkakat  and 
Nowikakat  Rivers.  From  the  same  direction,  right  at 
the  Arctic  Circle,  come  the  Xanana  River  and  Beaver 


212  ALASKA. 

Creek,  and  a  little  farther  up  Birch  Creek.  Here  the 
river  makes  another  bend  and  quite  a  distance  south 
we  have  Circle  City,  which  lies  to  the  west  of  the  dis- 
puted boundary  line.  Then  come  the  North  Fork, 
Birch  Creek  and  Forty  Mile  Creek,  the  latter  with  its 
numerous  gulches  and  creeks,  empties  into  the  Yukon 
at  Fort  Cudahy,  said  to  be  in  Canadian  Territory.  A 
little  farther  down  comes  the  Sixty  Mile  Creek  with 
its  tributaries.  Gold,  Glacier,  Miller  and  Red  Rock 
Creeks,  and  the  White  River  with  its  tributaries,  Kat- 
rina,  Nisling,  Kluantu  Rivers,  and  others  following 
in  between  the  mountains;  then  we  have  the  Selwyn 
River  a  short  distance  from  the  confluence  of  the 
Lewis  and  Felly  Rivers. 

The    North    Canadian    Route. 

The  next  easiest,  but  not  yet  much  used,  as  those 
who  have  had  experience  assert,  is  the  North  Canadian 
route,  an  old,  well-worn  established  roadway  to  the  Por- 
cupine River,  and  then  to  the  Yukon  ;  but  a  land  jour- 
ney between  the  first  two  rivers  is  required,  and  also 
from  Edmonton  to  Athabasca  Landing.  It  is  in  reality 
the  old  Hudson  Bay  Company's  line  of  march  into  the 
districts  through  which  their  trading  posts  were  dis- 
tributed. It  starts  from  the  town  of  Calgary,  on  the 
Canadian  Pacific.  Ninety  miles  of  railroad  lands  the 
traveler  at  Edmonton,  a  town  of  some  importance  in 
that  neighborhood.     From  this  the  trip  is  made  over 


RECENT  ROUTES  TO  GOLD  FIELDS.         213 

a  good  road  about  nine  miles  long  which  leads  to 
Athabasca  Landing,  named  for  the  Athabasca  River, 
where  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  Steamer,  engages  to 
take  passengers  and  freight  to  Grand  Rapids,  a  dis- 
tance of  over  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles. 

At  Grand  Rapids  there  is  a  change  made  to  a  larger 
steamer,  which  stops  at  a  fort  belonging  to  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company,  called  Fort  Chipewgue.  From 
that  point  it  runs  to  the  head  of  a  great  rapid  in 
Slave  River,  passing  over  the  Jake  River  on  the  way. 
Instead  of  shooting  these  rapids  the  company  transfers 
goods  and  people  to  a  horse-car  railway  about  six- 
teen miles  in  length,  ending  at  Fort  Smith,  at  which 
place  another  large  steamer  takes  up  the  cargo, 
human  and  otherwise,  and  bears  it  through  an  unin- 
terrupted water  course  of  fifteen  hundred  miles  to  its 
mouth,  stopping  at  the  larger  forts  on  the  way,  such  as 
Forts  Resolution,  Providence,  Simpson,  Wrigley, 
Norman  and  Good  Hope,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
posts  of  a  half  a  century  ago.  Near  Fort  Pherson, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  comes  in  the 
Pearl  River.  It  is  navigable  for  small  boats  nearly 
all  the  way.  From  this  point  a  few  miles  further  on 
is  the  Porcupine  River,  down  which  all  goods  can  be 
safely  transported  to  Fort  Yukon.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  one  point,  the  rapids  above  mentioned,  this 
route  is  by  water,  and  having  been  in  use  for  two- 
thirds  of  a  century,  stands  to  reason  that  it  must  be 


214  ALASKA. 

as  safe  and  sure  as  any  other.  The  windings  of 
the  rivers  make  the  distance  greater,  but  the 
cost  is  less  and  the  route  very  advantageous  for 
comfort  and  safety,  though  it  is  also  limited  to 
the  open  season,  beginning  as  soon  as  the  ice 
melts  in  the  spring  and  ceasing  when  winter  ap- 
pears. One  great  advantage  is  the  forts  on  the  way, 
whose  established  stores  would  prevent  the  terrible 
danger  of  starvation  to  belated  prospectors.  The 
route  being  entirely  Canadian  may  not  become  as 
popular  to  Americans  as  their  own,  notwithstanding  its 
superior  accommodations.  The  miners  reside  mostly 
in  the  western  part  of  the  country,  so  that  the  Alaskan 
routes  are  the  most  accessible.  The  Yukon  Route  ex- 
tends over  at  least  thirty  days  from  Chicago,  embrac- 
ing four  days  from  that  city  to  Seattle,  sixteen  from  the 
latter  city  to  St.  Michaels,  and  thence  ten  to  Dawson 
City,  making  a  distance  of  six  thousand  miles,  at  a 
cost  for  fare  alone  of  about $280  at  the  least  calculation. 
The  very  minimum  of  cash  required  for  the  trip  and 
outfit  would  be  $600.00.  For  the  Canadian  Route, 
distance  and  price  have  not  yet  been  made  public,  nor 
will  it  likely  be  known  until  the  proposed  trip  to  be 
made  by  a  Philadelphia  party  has  been  accomplished 
and  the  difficulties  and  expenses  calculated. 

The  Overland  Routes  are  all  by  way  of  Juneau, 
Dyea,  Fort  Wrangel,  Skaguay,  Chilkat  Inlet,  or  Taku 
Inlet.     A  new  one  is  projected  by  the  Stikine  River. 


RECENT  ROUTES  TO  GOLD  FIELDS.         215 

Juneau,  is  the  most  important  city  of  Alaska  to- 
day, and  its  extent  and  enterprise  is  bound  to  ad- 
vance surprisingly,  whether  the  new  gold  fields  prove 
extremely  rich  or  not.  The  city  can  be  reached  by 
elegant  steamers  from  Tacoma,  Seattle,  Port  Town- 
send,  Victoria,  or  Vancouver  City,  taking  about  four 
days  and  covering  nearly  nine  hundred  miles.  By  either 
inland  way  the  trip  to  the  Yukon  must  be  made 
by  boat  to  Dyea,  a  small  port  about  ninety-six  miles 
from  Juneau,  and  one-half  that  distance  if  it  were  pos- 
sible to  reach  it  by  direct  line. 

Landing  at  Dyea  or  Skaguay,  a  few  miles  from  there, 
the  route  for  reaching  the  Yukon  River  commences. 
There  being  no  stage  road,  rail  nor  even  turnpike,  the 
only  thing  to  be  done  is  to  carry  goods,  provisions  and 
tools  over  the  mountain  trail  to  the  Lake  Linderman 
Valley. 

Over   the  Chilkoot  Pass. 

This  is  the  oldest  and  shortest  in  actual  geograph- 
ical measurement,  but  its  altitude,  in  crossing  the  Chil- 
koot Mountains  being  at  least  one  thousand  feet 
greater  than  the  White  Mountain  pass,  makes  its  pas- 
sage extremely  arduous.  It  begins  at  the  Dyea  Inlet, 
the  station  of  Dyea  or  Taiya  being  the  supply  point, 
and  follows  the  river  of  the  same  name  until  it  reaches 
Chilkoot  Canyon,  about  six  miles  from  the  inlet.  It 
crosses  the  timber  line  at  Sheep  Camp,  and  for  seven 
miles    to    this  point  it  continues  through  a  desolate 


2i6  ALASKA. 

stretch  of  mountain  land,  with  neither  tree  nor  mark 
of  civilization  in  sight.  Across  this  pass  all  goods 
must  be  carried  in  packs,  for  which  native  packers 
have  been  employed,  at  least  for  the  heaviest  articles, 
for  which  they  will  charge  all  the  way  from  twenty  or 
thirty  cents  to  thirty-five  or  even  fifty  cents  per  pound. 
The  trail  covers  twenty-four  miles.  Combine  with 
this,  blinding  snow,  blustering  winds  and  small  gla- 
ciers, up  which  to  climb  and  down  which  to  slip 
and  slide,  and  you  have  a  picture  of  the  hard- 
ships of  a  would-be  miner  with  a  pack  of  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  pounds  weight  fastened  upon 
his  shoulders.  If  he  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  have 
refused  to  pay  the  pack  carriers,  he  must  take 
from  six  to  eight  trips,  to  the  top  or  across  the 
pass  if  he  wishes  to  take  the  eight  hundred  pounds 
conceded  to  be  necessary  for  a  proper  outfit.  Canoes 
can  be  used  about  six  miles  up  the  Dyea  River,  then 
the  trail,  steep  and  precipitous,  leads  up  the  canyon 
to  the  summit,  three  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above 
tide  water.  From  this  summit  to  a  descent  of  five  hun- 
dred feet  and  then  to  the  shore  of  Crater  Lake,  thirty 
miles  distant,  he  can  sled  his  goods.  The  ice  cap  is 
steep  at  the  top  for  half  a  mile,  and  then  the  mountain 
tapers  off  gradually  to  the  valley.  The  water  has  cut  a 
small  canyon  down  the  mountain  side,  which  should  be 
followed  to  Lake  Linderman.  Here  there  is  a  saw  mill, 
where  he  can  procure  a  boat  for  $75.00.     If  he  thinks 


RECENT  ROUTES  TO  GOLD  FIELDS.         217 

that  is  too  much,  he  can  purchase  the  lumber  at 
the  rate  of  $50.00  for  five  hundred  feet,  which  is 
about  sufficient  for  the  building  of  a  suitable  small 
transport  craft.  Counting  the  time  and  labor,  there 
are  few  that  will  grudge  the  additional  $25.00  for 
a  stormworthy  boat.  A  short  portage  of  three-fourths 
of  a  mile  (the  fall  being  about  twenty  feet), 
leads  to  Lake  Bennett.  The  stream  connecting  the 
two  lakes  is  crooked  and  rocky,  making  it  unsafe  for 
a  boat.  Lake  Linderman  is  about  six  miles  long, 
and  opens  up  from  May  fifteenth  to  June  tenth.  After 
reaching  Lake  Bennett,  which  is  some  twenty-six  miles 
long,  and  on  whose  shores  good  boat  timber  may  be 
found,  the  journey  may  be  continued  by  raft  or  by 
ascending  a  small  river,  which  enters  the  head  of  the 
lake  from  the  west,  a  distance  of  one  mile.  The  only 
timber  used  in  the  construction  of  boats  is  spruce  or 
Norway  pine.  Caribou  Crossing  leads  to  Tagish 
Lake.  Navigation  on  these  two  lakes  is  some- 
times interrupted  by  the  high  winds.  A  wide,  slug- 
gish river  leads  to  Lake  Marsh,  which  is  twenty  miles 
long.  The  river  from  here  to  the  next  canyon  has 
about  a  three-mile  current,  and  quantities  of  salmon 
are  found.  The  gorge  proper  is  five-eighths  of  a  mile 
in  length,  but  the  distance  to  portage  is  about  a  mile, 
and  that  run  by  boat  is  three-fourths  of  a  mile.  The 
average  width  of  this  outlet  is  one  hundred  feet,  and 
the  water  is  very  deep,  but  there  is  little  danger  in 


2i8  ALASKA. 

passing  through  it,  if  the  helmsman  does  not  lose  his 
presence  of  mind.  The  water  in  the  centre  is  four  feet 
higher  than  at  the  sides,  and  if  the  boat  is  kept 
under  control,  it  will  remain  on  this  crest,  and  avoid 
striking  the  walls.  The  boat  should  be  strong  and 
the  cargo  well  protected  from  the  water.  It  takes 
two  minutes  and  twenty  seconds  to  pass  through  this 
rapid.  Two  miles  below.  White  Horse  Rapids  are 
reached,  the  shooting  of  which  is  dangerous  and  often 
disastrous,  owing  to  the  swirl  of  waters  at  the  lower 
part.  It  is  practically  impossible  to  safely  pass 
these,  and  portage  nmst  be  resorted  to.  This  part  of 
the  river  can  never  be  made  navigable  for  steamers, 
but  a  tramway  could  easily  be  built  and  operated  by 
the  power  from  the  falls.  About  fifteen  miles  from 
here  the  Tahkeena  and  Lewis  Rivers  join.  This  is  the 
inland  waterway  used  in  connection  with  the  Chil- 
kat  pass,  which  is  long  and  less  used  by  miners  or 
Indians.  The  Tahkeena  is  easily  navigated,  a  steamer 
could  ascend  it  perhaps  seventy  miles.  Lake  Le- 
barge,  twelve  miles  below,  is  thirty-one  miles  long, 
and  is  often  very  rough.  After  leaving  it  the  current 
of  the  river  increases  to  five  or  six  miles  an  hour.  The 
course  is  very  crooked  and  the  bed  is  filled  with  bould- 
ers, which  make  it  dangerous  for  river  steamers,  es- 
pecially on  the  down  trip.  The  Hootalinqua, 
Big  Salmon  and  Little  Salmon  Rivers  enter  the 
Lewis     within     the    next    hundred    miles,    the    first 


RECENT  ROUTES  TO  GOLD  FIELDS.         219 

two  showing  signs  of  gold.  Fifty-three  miles  be- 
low the  Little  Salmon  is  the  Five  Fingers  Rapids, 
which  can  be  rim  with  a  good  boat  with  comparative 
ease.  Four  buttes  are  here  seen  and  the  river  divides 
into  five  water  ways.  The  right  hand  is  the  only 
safe  one,  and  the  boatman  must  keep  the  centre  of  the 
rapids  in  passing  through.  Rink  Rapids  are 
six  miles  below  Five  Fingers,  and  the  east  shore  should 
be  followed  closely.  Old  Fort  Selkirk,  once  an  im- 
portant trading  post,  is  fifty-five  miles  from  Five  Fin- 
gers, and  just  below  the  confluence  of  the  Pelly  and 
Lewis  Rivers.  Here  the  Yukon  begins  and  broadens 
to  a  mile  in  width.  Ninety-six  miles  below,  the  White 
River,  a  large  stream,  extremely  muddy,  enters  from 
the  west.  It  probably  flows  over  volcanic  deposits. 
Eighty  miles  farther  on  is  the  mouth  of  Sixty  Mile 
Creek,  where  there  is  a  trading  post  and  sawmill, 
and  where  a  number  of  miners  annually  winter. 
Indian  Creek  enters  the  Yukon  thirty  miles  be- 
low, and  twenty  miles  from  Indian  Creek,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Klondyke,  is  Dawson  City.  Farther 
on,  about  twenty  miles,  is  the  mouth  of  Forty  Mile 
Creek.  There  is  a  trading  post  at  its  outlet.  Circle 
City  is  140  miles  from  Forty  Mile  Post  and  Dawson 
City  is  676  miles  from  Juneau. 

The   Chilcat   Route. 

This  pass  is  the  old  Indian  road  or  trail.     It  be- 
gins at  Chilkat  Inlet  and  passes  over  a  mountainous 


220  ALASKA. 

way  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  long  to  its 
opening  upon  the  shore  of  the  Tahkeena  River, 
down  which  you  proceed  by  raft  or  boat  to  the  Lewis 
River,  and  thence  to  the  Yukon.  The  objection  to 
this  route  is  the  long  march  from  river  to  river,  the 
difficulty  of  getting  pack  carriers  to  go  so  far  and  the 
enormous  cost  if  they  do,  although  it  has  been  said 
that  it  has  less  laborious  climbing  than  either  of  the 
other  highways,  but  recently  returned  miners  say  many 
obstructions  and  streams  are  met  with. 

The  White   Pass  or   Skaguay   Route 

has  more  recently  been  considered  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant ways  by  which  to  reach  the  Yukon,  when  re- 
deemed from  its  almost  impassable  condition,  there  be- 
ing no  good  trail.  The  miners  have  turned  in,  in  a 
body,  and  constructed  a  road  over  the  pass,  so  that 
hundreds  of  horses,  already  there,  can  be  hired  for 
transport,  but  it  is  as  yet  closed.  The  greatest  altitude 
in  White  Pass  is  about  twenty-six  hundred  feet,  while 
it  has  not  the  perilous  grade  of  either  the  Chilkoot  or 
Chilcat.  The  distance  across  this  pass  could  be  made 
in  about  thirty-five  hours,  while  from  it  three  distinct 
waterways  lead  to  the  Yukon,  by  way  of  Lake  Bennett, 
Windy  Arm  of  the  Tagish,  or  the  Tuchi  Lake.  They  are 
all  within  twenty  miles  of  the  crest  of  the  Pass,  and  the 
descent  is  not  dangerously  abrupt.  Through  any  of 
these  waters  a  way  could  be  safely  made  to  the  great 


RECENT  ROUTES  TO  GOLD  FIELDS.         221 

river.  An  advantage  to  be  considered  in  this  route 
is  the  protection  afforded  in  the  canyon  by  the  moun- 
tains on  either  side.  Then,  too,  there  are  timber  lands 
nearly  all  along  the  route.  It  was  said  that  if  a  road 
was  made  through  the  Skaguay  Pass  that  mails  miglit 
be  carried  all  through  the  year,  and  this  seems  now 
nearly  accomplished.  It  has  been  the  wagon  road, 
which,  with  the  present  improvements  completed,  will 
make  it  possible  to  reach  Victoria,  on  Vancouver  Is- 
land, or  Seattle  and  Tacoma,  in  fourteen  or  fifteen 
days;  a  most  desirable  arrangement  to  all  concerned. 

Lake   Teslin   Route 

will  some  day  become  as  popular  as  any  road  to  the 
gold  regions.  It  starts  at  Fort  Wrangel,  through 
Telegraph  Creek.  There  is  one  hundred  miles  of  clear 
boating  in  the  creek,  after  which  the  trail  traverses  one 
hundred  and  seventy  miles  over  a  smooth  prairie  land, 
until  it  reaches  Lake  Teslin.  Through  this  lake  you 
enter  Hatalinqua  or  Hootalinqua  River,  which  empties 
into  the  Lewis  River,  and  thence  to  the  Yukon.  The 
greatest  obstacle  to  be  encountered  by  any  route  that 
leads  through  the  Lewis  River  is  the  Five  Fingers 
Rapids,  in  which  care  is  required  that  nothing  may 
be  lost  in  shooting  them,  which  is  the  only  thing  to  be 
done,  if  you  do  not  wish  to  make  a  laborious  journey 
around  them.  This  would  embrace  hauling  cargo  and 
boat  for  a  considerable  distance. 


22  2  ALASKA. 

Still  another  proposed  route,  and  one  destined  to  be 
(|iiite  favored  by  the  people  from  British  Columbia,  is 

The  Taku   Route, 
which    leads    through   Canadian   Territory   and   over 
more  level  country  than  the  others  from  Alaska.     It 
has  been  proposed,  but  not  yet  adopted. 

The  route  pursued  by  Lieut.  Frederick  Schwatka, 
in  the  expedition  of  1883,  was  the  same  as  that  fol- 
lowed b)^  travelers  now  going  over  the  Chilkoot  Pass. 
In  all  paths  it  must  be  remembered  that  there  are 
dangers  entirely  beyond  the  ken  of  men  and  women 
who  live  in  the  East.  Cold,  hunger  and  illness  are 
almost  certain  companions,  while  the  vast  extent  of 
territory  covered,  embraces  climates  diverse  and  dan- 
gerous to  persons  nurtured  in  city  homes  or  in  Eastern 
mild  regions. 

A  Schwatka  exploring  party  of  seven  started  from 
Portland,  Oregon,  in  May,  1883,  going  by  the  inland 
passage  to  Chilkoot  Inlet,  or  the  present  route  by  way 
of  Dyea.  After  crossing  the  glacier-clad  mountains 
and  reaching  the  lakes  or  head  waters,  they  constructed 
a  raft  and  on  it  passed  down  to  the  Lewis  River,  then 
down  the  Yukon  all  the  way  to  its  mouth,  in  Bering 
Sea,  returning  by  the  Aleutian  Islands. 

A   Canoe   Route   from    Dease   Lake. 

From  Edmonton  you  can  go  north  on  the  Peace 
River,   through   400  miles  of   unknown   territory   to 


RECENT  ROUTES  TO  GOLD  FIELDS.         223 

Liard,  then  through  Dease  Lake  to  the  Pelly  River, 
which  joins  the  Lewis  River  near  Fort  Selkirk  and 
forms  the  Yukon.  It  is  700  miles  above  Dawson  City, 
and  about  100  miles  above  the  Stewart  River. 

This  will  very  likely  become  the  cattle  trail  of  the 
future,  although  it  will  be  impossible  to  make  the  drive 
through  in  one  season.  A  stop  will  have  to  be  made 
about  half  way,  and  the  cattle  wintered;  fortunately 
there  is  plenty  of  food  to  be  found  en  route. 

Surveys  for  American  and  Canadian  railroads  are  in 
contemplation  and  will  soon  be  completed  no  doubt  to 
the  Yukon.  Several  other  new  routes  are  under  con- 
sideration likewise.  t 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

International    Law   as   Affecting   Alaska. 

THE  decision  of  the  learned  tribunal,  who  were 
called  upon  to  settle  the  question  of  the  United 
States'  right  to  Bering  Sea,  has  passed  into  a 
position  as  one  against  which  there  can  be  no  appeal. 
Therefore  all  that  can  be  done  is  to  take  it  in  its  rela- 
tion to  all  bodies  of  water  of  the  same  description.  The 
question  being  legally  decided  by  an  international  com- 
mission, it  naturally  follows  that  the  decison  must  bear 
the  same  weight  in  other  countries  as  in  this,  and  all  such 
bodies  of  water  are  forever  open  to  every  nation  with 
out  reserve,  provided  the  three  mile  limit  is  rigidly 
respected. 

That  the  honorable  Commissioners  held  no  other 
points,  under  advisement  than  the  Republic's  right,  so 
far  as  controlling  the  seal  fisheries  in  the  Sea,  must  be 
understood,  because  had  they  considered  the  breadth 
over  which  their  conclusion  would  reach  they  would 
possibly  have  made  different  provision  respecting  the 
possession  of  those  animals.  In  reading  the  article 
upon  this  subject  written  by  Russell  Duane,  Esq.,  and 
published  in  the  "American  Law  Register  and  Re- 
view," I  find  the  position,  I  originally  took  regarding 
the  matter,  most  ably  and  consistently  upborne.  He 
says,  'Tt  is,  perhaps,  not  too  much  to  say  that  no 
224 


Alaskan  Landscape  and  Water  Way, 


INTERNATIONAL  LAW  FOR   ALASKA.       225 

court  of  greater  dignity  has  ever  sat  to  administer 
justice  at  any  period  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
Hence  when  such  a  tribunal  decides  a  legal  cjuestion, 
or  enumerates  a  proposition  of  international  law,  rules 
and  principles  so  laid  down  must  be  regarded  thence- 
forth as  altogether  removed  from  the  sphere  of  con- 
troversy." 

When  England  so  forced  the  matter  as  to  practi- 
cally compel  the  United  States  to  submit  to  arbitra- 
tion, neither  she,  nor  the  other  nations  involved  in  the 
controversy,  seem  to  have  noted  that  their  own  pre- 
rogatives were  also  being  weighed  and  that  the  same 
justice  that  opened  Bering  Sea  to  the  world,  also  un- 
locked the  British  Channel,  the  North  Sea,  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  the  Bay  of  Fvmdy  and  all  other  such  branches 
of  the  great  oceans.  For  no  more  are  those  waters 
inclosed  than  are  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea,  with  the 
Aleutian  Chain  of  Islands  holding  it  in  between  Rus- 
sia and  America. 

No  one  can  suppose  that  the  seals,  whose  fur  is 
valuable  only  so  long  as  it  holds  the  lead  as  a  fashion- 
able article  of  commerce,  could  have  been  the  true  and 
only  cause  for  such  a  graridly  organized  discussion! 

Tf  so,  of  what  value  would  the  law  become,  when 
fashion  changed  in  her  usual  fickle  manner? 

The  seals  so  released  from  persecution  might  multi- 
ply until  their  numbers  became  a  nuisance,  while  some 
other  animal,  or  production  would  possibly  come  to 
15 


226  ALASKA. 

demand  equal  importance  as  a  commercial  object. 

Here,  too,  I  am  supported  by  Mr.  Duane,  the  de- 
cision, though  legally  against  the  United  States  as  to 
possession  of  the  Sea,  acts  entirely  in  her  favor,  as 
to  the  seals,  giving  her  the  riglit  over  them  so  long 
as  the  fur  is  financially  valuable,  for  when  the  close 
season  opens  and  the  animals  claimed  to  become  pub- 
lic property,  they  are  in  such  condition  as  to  render 
them  comparatively  valueless. 

Great  Britain  knew  this,  and  questionably  used 
the  seal  arbitration  as  a  key  b)'  which  the  right  to  Ber- 
ing Sea  should  be  open  to  the  nations  of  the  world  in 
general,  and  herself  in  particular. 

The  right  has  been  gained  beyond  doubt — now  it 
must  one  day  act  in  reflex  fashion,  and  the  powers 
be  either  compelled  to  accept_[the  prescribed  limit  in 
the  cases  of  all  other  except  truly  inland  seas,  or  else 
a  counter-arbitration  must  be  convened  and  the  rights 
to  such  waters  be  re-established.  In  which  event 
Russia  and  the  United  States  would  again  be  the  legal- 
ized owners  of  Bering  Sea  and  its  contents.  It  is  true 
that  all  such  water-ways  as  Bering  Sea,  the  North  Sea, 
etc.,  were  once  considered  State  property,  as  we  again 
quote  from  Mr.  Duane's  article — "Proprietory  rights 
over  these  seas  were  not  only  asserted  by  the  difTerent 
nations,  but  they  were  conceded  in  practice,  and  in 
many  instances  they  were  sanctioned  by  treaties." 
The  Bering  Sea  arbitration  has  adjudicated  the  matter 


INTERNATIONAL  LAW  FOR  ALASKA.       227 

once  for  all  and  the  great  international  law  which 
opened  Bering  Sea  extends  its  justice  around  the 
globe.  The  three  mile  limit,  really  so  mentioned  be- 
cause it  was  a  descriptive  clause  to  the  expression 
"a  cannon  shot,"  has  at  last,  after  hundreds  of  years 
of  tacit  legality,  become  a  fixed  line  of  demarkation, 
inside  of  which  each  nation  has  a  right  to  protect  its 
property  and  to  demand  indemnity  for  the  infringe- 
ment of  its  prerogative  over  everything  contained 
therein.  Did  the  Commission  lose  sight  of  the  fact 
that  a  modern  cannon  shot  has  multiphed  the  distance 
from  shore  to  twice  or  thrice  three  miles  ?  Can  it  be 
possible  that  in  war  an  attacking  vessel  may  not  be 
bombarded  from  the  coast  until  she  has  reached  the 
three  mile  line?  If  so  what  country  may  not  have 
her  sea  board  devastated,  her  ports  laid  in  ruins,  her 
coast  towns  swept  from  existence?  Surely  the  so- 
called  Bering  Sea  decision  has  opened  the  way  to 
other  discussion  in  comparison  with  which  sealing  is 
trivial.  Under  the  three  mile  limit,  a  coast  city  is 
helpless  after  the  blockading  squadron  has  stationed 
itself  in  front.  At  any  provocation  the  vessels'  guns 
could  soon  devastate  the  city,  while  modern  cannon, 
which  should,  by  right  of  ancient  custom,  have  marked 
the  line  from  shore,  would  send  missiles  far  beyond  the 
blockading  fleet,  leaving  it  to  carry  on  the  destruction 
almost  unmolested.  In  such  light  it  must  be  conceded 
that  there  must  be  some  grand  international  contro- 


228  ALASKA. 

versy  toward  ratifying  a  limit  compatible  with  the 
progressive  science  of  this  later  century.  Conceded 
that  the  United  States  practically  gained  the  point 
concerning  the  live  property  in  Bering  Sea,  still  her 
dignity  as  a  nation  has  been  impugned  in  that  she 
claimed  that  to  which  she  was  not  entitled  according 
to  the  Commission  on  Arbitration. 

Now  it  is  her  prerogative  to  bring  every  point  into 
view  upon  ^\'hich  she  based  that  claim.  Did  she  not  pay 
indemnity  to  Canada  for  the  bait  taken  by  her  fisher- 
men within  three  miles  of  the  Canadian  coast?  Does 
she  not  know  that  England  has  controlled,  without 
molestation,  the  seas  and  channels  upon  which  her 
group  of  islands  lie?  Did  not  Venice  dominate  the 
Adriatic,  France  the  Bay  of  Biscay?  England  has 
forced  the  Hollanders  to  accede  to  her  demand  con- 
cerning the  North  Sea,  in  support  of  which  the  sea 
line  was  extended  almost  ad  libitum. 

Having  obtained  the  courteous  permission  of  Rus- 
sell Duane,  Esq.,  to  quote  from  his  article  bearing 
upon  the  subject  in  question,  I  find  it  peculiarly  inter- 
esting. 

This  point  is  well  explained  in  his  article  on  the 
"Sayward  Case."  as  follows:  "History  shows  that 
large  portions  of  the  high  seas  were  treated  as  lying 
within  the  territorial  domains  of  different  States,  and 
that  these  restrictions  have  been  but  partially  re- 
moved.    As  recently  as  the  seventeenth  century,  pro- 


fNTE/^X.l  TrONAL  LA  IV  FOR   ALASKA.        229 

prietary  rights  were  both  claimed  and  exercised  by 
Venice  over  the  Adriatic,  by  France  over  the  Bay 
of  Biscay,  by  England  over  the  British  Channel  and 
North  Sea,  and  by  Denmark  over  the  broad  stretch 
of  ocean  which  lies  between  Iceland  and  the  coast  of 
Norway.  Hall's  International  Law,  page  126.  These 
rights  were  not  only  conceded  in  practice,  but  in  many 
instances  they  were  sanctioned  by  treaty." 

In  fact,  from  certain  uncontrovertible  data  cited  by 
the  same  authority,  a  nation's  jurisdiction  has  been, 
according  to  various  circumstances,  contracted  to 
three  miles,  or  elongated  to  "five,  six,  nine,  twelve,  fif- 
teen, sixty,  ninety  or  one  hundred  miles.  It  has  been 
measured  by  common  range,  and  by  two  days'  sail- 
ing," by  the  distance  from  shore  touched  by  the  line 
of  the  horizon,  and  by  the  soundings,  which  upon 
some  coasts  are  subjected  to  annual  changes  from 
storms  and  tides. 

Taking  the  quoted  authority,  as  late  as  1890,  the 
legal  regulations,  regarding  the  pearl  fisheries  of  Cey- 
lon, extend  from  six  to  twenty  miles  out  to  sea. 
Italy  controls  the  sea  in  which  the  coral  fisheries  are 
located,  as  far  out  as  fifteen  miles  from  Sardinia, 
twenty-one  and  thirty-two  miles  from  the  southwest 
coast  of  Sicily.  South  America  governs  thirty  miles 
from  Panama,  the  French  seven  miles  from  the  coast 
of  Algiers  and  Mexico  concedes  six  miles  in  its  grants 
regarding  pearl  fisheries  near  Lower  California,  while 


230  ALASKA. 

Great  Britain  regulates  the  oyster  fisheries  off  the 
coast  of  Ireland  for  twenty  miles  from  land  and  the 
Scotch  herring  fisheries,  thirty  miles  from  the  shore. 

Norway  dominates  thirty-two  miles  for  her  whaling 
interests  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  Russia  claims  for 
the  hair  sail  industry  a  line  of  fifty-three  miles  from 
the  shore  in  the  White  Sea. 

This  able  international  lawyer  shows  that  the  United 
States  put  forth  all  of  these  as  support  to  her  claim 
in  the  Bering  Sea,  yet  in  pursuance  of  all  such  proven 
facts,  her  plea  was  pronounced  of  no  avail,  and  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Sea  was  withdrawn  from  her  au- 
thority, consequently  from  that  of  Russia  also,  for  it 
cannot  be  that  one  nation  can  hold  possession  of  one- 
half  of  the  body  of  water  while  the  other  goes  free. 
The  prescribed  limit  of  sixty  miles  from  the  Pribylov 
Islands  can  never  be  cited  as  a  case  in  point  touching 
other  questions  of  water  territory,  for  the  season  in 
which  she  may  hold  that  power  is  limited,  and  the 
vast  area  outside  of  the  islands,  though  washing 
around  these  Alaskan  Islands  and  along  the  north- 
western coast  of  Alaska  has  been  pronounced  free 
outside  the  three  miles  limit  to  all  nations,  except  as  a 
feeding  area  for  mother  seals,  for  sixty  miles. 

Suppose  that  a  ranchman  owning  a  great  number 
of  cattle,  should  allow  them  to  wander  over  vast  areas 
of  unclaimed  territory  during  certain  seasons,  could 
any  one  legally  take  possession  of  them?     Would  they 


INTERNATIONAL  LAW  FOR  ALASKA.       231 

not  be  his  as  truly  as  when  they  are  in  their  own  stock 
yards  ? 

The  Pacific  in  this  case  is  equivalent  to  the  prairie, 
the  seals  to  cattle,  and  the  United  States  must  natur- 
ally be  allowed  equal  rights  of  possession. 

It  follows  then  that  without  any  further  disputa- 
tion, United  States  vessels  have  a  right  to  trade  just 
outside  of  three  miles  from  any  coast  without  inter- 
vention. She  paid  thousands  of  dollars  of  indemnity 
once  as  a  requirement,  and  she  made  such  a  sacrifice 
of  money  in  extenuation  of  her  honor  as  jeopardized 
by  a  few  fishermen.  The  seals  are  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  protected,  if  England  holds  to  her  side  of 
the  arrangement.  If  not,  the  industry  is  once  more 
endangered  and  the  United  States  crippled  by  the 
limitation  of  her  jurisdiction  over  them.  Looking 
forward,  as  the  matter  now  stands,  sooner  or  later 
the  animals  are  doomed. 

So  far  as  the  limit  concerns  other  seas,  the  United 
States  is  not  at  all  likely  to  become  aggressive,  even 
though  supported  as  she  is  by  the  new  international 
law.  Her  vessels  will  not  fish  off  the  Irish  or  Scotch 
coasts,  nor  interfere  with  the  old  time  jurisdiction  over 
the  pearl  and  coral  beds.  She  simply  stands  corrected 
with  regard  to  Bering  Sea  without  any  idea  of  retali- 
ation or  disputation.  But  the  lesson  has  sunk  into  the 
very  core  of  the  national  heart,  there  to  be  held  as  a 
reminder  of  the  verdict  pronounced  against  her  pre- 


232  ,I/..ISA-.I. 

rogatives  as  compared  with  those  of  her  opponent  ii: 
the  legal  strife,  and  a  mentor  against  giving  voice 
to  any  such  question  again.  With  the  utmost  respect 
to  every  individual  and  nation  represented  in  the  Com 
mission,  the  United  States  would  not  have  submitted 
the  matter  to  any  party,  however  noble  and  true,  had 
s'he  not  felt  entirely  satisfied  that  her  claim  would  be 
supported.  In  pursuance  of  every  dignified  argument 
she  was  thwarted  and  left  without  the  slightest  sup- 
port to  her  platforms,  as  regards  possession  of  the 
former  Russian  Sea.  She  is,  however,  now  showing 
earnestly  and  consistently  how  her  rights  in  the  seal 
herds  should  be  upheld. 

And  before  very  long  a  Pacific  fleet  of  modern  ves- 
sels, equipped  for  protection  will  doubtless  patrol  the 
ocean  so  far  beyond  the  international  limitation  as  to 
guard  the  coast  and  our  islands.  These  guardians 
must  extend  their  course  up  into  the  Sea,  even  to 
Bering  Strait,  the  slender  water  way  between  Siberia 
and  Alaska.  For  to-day  the  reindeer  has  become  a 
most  important  object  of  commerce  between  two  na- 
tions, and  this  must  be  most  carefully  guarded  for  the 
sake  of  the  natives  of  both  from  whom  the  whale 
and  walrus  have  been  taken  without  any  proper 
return.  As  the  coast  natives  of  the  far  north  were 
almost  entirely  dependent  upon  those  animals,  not 
only  foir  personal  sustenance,  but  for  traffic  with  the 
interior  tribes,  so  must  both  parties  now  depend  upon 


INTERNATIONAL  LAW  FOR   ALASKA.       233 

something  else,  and  this  demand  seems  undoubtedly 
to  have  been  met  in  the  reindeer.  Therefore,  we  are 
ably  supported  in  claiming  that  the  growing  indus- 
try, in  the  direction  of  these  deers,  should  be  very 
quickly  and  carefully  protected  by  sound,  properly 
manned  and  equipped  vessels,  whose  presence  alone 
will  secure  safety. 

A  warlike  nation  the  United  States  will  never  prob- 
ably become,  but  a  greater  commercial  power  she 
must  of  necessity  be,  because  of  her  increasing  popu- 
lation and  the  demand  made  upon  her  industries  for 
their  support.  With  this  eud  in  view,  all  adulteration 
in  the  manufacture  of  any  article  whatsoever,  should 
be  legislated  against  and  made  punishable  by  United 
States  authority.  Let  every  material,  every  manufac- 
tured article,  whether  wool  or  cotton,  iron  or  steel, 
liquid  or  produce,  be  what  they  are  represented,  thus 
the  country  must  be  honored  and  the  commerce  aug- 
mented. When  native  wines  are  always  found  pure 
beyond  question,  even  Italy  and  France  will  pur- 
chase. When  canned  goods  are  found  to  contain 
nothing  but  the  best  fruit  and  vegetables  and  other 
articles  the  demand  from  other  countries  will  test 
the  production,  and  very  little  will  be  left  to  sell 
cheaper  at  the  end  of  the  season. 

By  so  dealing  in  nothing  but  the  very  best  products, 
this  country  will  one  day  be  able  to  require  interna- 
tional  legislation   regarding    return    articles   of   com- 


2  34  ALASKA. 

merce,  and  the  whole  world  will  be  the  better  by  fol- 
lowing the  same  method.     We  will  then  have  pure 
goods    for   food   and   drink,    first-class    manufactures 
and  no  flaws  in  the  important  products  used  in  the 
numerous  industries  upon  which  the  millions  depend 
for  a  livelihood.     Let   no   imperfect   productions   go 
from  any  part  of  the  Union  unless  they  are  so  marked 
and  the  value    set    accordingly.        Let    no    spurious 
imitation    of    a    good     article     be    placed    on    sale, 
unless     its     condition     is     acknowledged     and     its 
price    made    consistent    with    its    worth.       Aim   at 
manufacturing     such     classes     of    every    commercial 
item  that  the  name  alone  shall  be  the  watch  word  of 
its  success.     To  attain  this  end  every  firm  and  every 
workman  must  take  the  motto — Make  nothing  but 
the  best — and  the  day  will  come  when  every  country 
— even  distant  India  and  exclusive  China — will  turn 
to  this  country  perfectly  willing  to  make  interchange 
of  their  best  commercial  productions  for  those  made 
under  the  supervision   of  the   United   States,   whose 
name  alone  will  be  the  guarantee  of  their  value.     So 
long  as  the  fur  seals  exist,  the  United  States  will  be  en- 
titled to  her  share  of  them.     So  by  abiding  by  the  legal 
practice  of  taking  only  the  young  males,  the  trade  in 
furs  must  far  surpass  in  value  that  engaged  in  by  those 
who  obtain  the  skins  by  pelagic  sealing,  and  in  such 
case  the  true  owners  will  have  the  credit  of  the  super- 
ior article.     Thus  even  in  that  matter  the  best  will  be 


INTERNATIONAL  LAW  FOR  ALASKA.       235 

the  standard,  and  the  poorer  furs  will  be  practically 
forced  from  the  market. 

Having  firmly  established  a  true  value  status  for 
all  out-going  articles,  the  reasonableness  of  a  request 
for  an  international  law  regarding  all  commercial 
wares  would  be  accepted  and  the  interchange  of  noth- 
ing but  standard  goods  permitted,  while  all  adultera- 
tions, imitations  and  faulty  articles  would  be  retained 
in  its  producing  country,  thus  carrying  out  in  the 
commerce  of  the  world  a  consistent  quarantine  against 
spurious  goods  or  those  of  less  value  than  their  trade 
mark  insured,  just  as  we  long  ago  advocated  regard- 
ing international  quarantine  of  contagious  diseases, 
whereb}'  the  countries  in  which  they  emanate  will  re- 
tain them  upon  their  own  ground  as  strenuously  as  the 
nations  of  the  earth  will  close  their  doors  against  their 
advent.  So  if  each  nation  will  send  out  none  but  the 
best  goods  for  the  value,  and  retain  at  home  all  others, 
and  at  the  same  time  place  a  safe  guard  upon  the 
health  of  the  nations  with  which  it  holds  communica- 
tion, by  holding  back  contagion,  the  question  of  peace, 
plenty  and  national  unity  for  right,  will  be  answered 
to  the  honor  and  interest  of  all  concerned. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

The  Climate  of  Alaska — Its  Healthfulness. 

THE  apparent  contradictions  shown   by  different 
writers  upon  the  agricidtural,  atmospheric,  ch- 
matic,    and    topographic  conditions  of  Alaska 
may  be  readily  explained  by  taking  a  panoramic  view 
of  the  country,  whose  vastness  alone  is  greatly  the 
cause  of  seeming  incongruities. 

As  we  have  taken  occasion  to  mention  in  a  previous 
chapter,  the  temperature  of  the  southeastern  coast 
and  the  adjacent  islands  is  largely  influenced  by  the 
Japan  current — Kura  siwo.  Its  warmth  acts  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  force  vegetation  rapidly  upon  the  is- 
lands, particularly  upon  their  shores  on  the  southern 
and  western  sides,  and  in  like  manner  the  southeastern 
margin  of  the  mainland.  Take  Sitka  as  an  example. 
The  little  city  is  situated  on  a  fertile  island,  surrounded 
by  a  beautiful  bay  or  sound.  In  Sitka  there  is  no  ex- 
treme of  cold  in  winter,  and  though  the  snow  falls 
heavily  at  times,  it  only  lodges  deeply  on  the  over- 
looking peaks,  where  it  remains  in  rifts  and  patches 
nearly  all  the  year,  but  when  it  reaches  the  earth  in  the 
warm  valleys  it  begins  to  melt  almost  immediately. 
Such  places  as  that  upon  which  the  capital  is  built  are 
therefore  perennially  green.  For  this  reason  it  has 
236 


THE  CLIMATE  Oh  ALASKA.  237 

been  predicted  that  the  grass  grown  plains,  which 
slope  down  from  the  peaks  and  promontories,  will  one 
day  produce  the  best  grass  and  dairy  cattle  in  the  far 
North-West.  the  wild  grasses  grow  in  such  luxuriance 
and  profusion.  Truth  leads  us  to  the  pleasant  task  of 
repeating  again  and  again  that  the  islands  and  contig- 
uous mainlands  of  the  archipelago  are  most  exqui- 
sitely beautiful  while  the  summer  days  of  June, 
July  and  August  make  their  loveliness  fairly  radiant, 
and  at  that  time  the  climate  is  almost  ideal,  for  those 
who  are  inclined  to  summer  weather;  but  after  that 
the  perpetual  humidity  is  quite  objectionable,  and  very 
unsuitable  for  those  whose  health  requires  rather  the 
dry,  healing  atmosphere  of  higher  altitudes,  or  those 
more  distant  from  the  sea.  At  the  same  time  that 
class  of  sufferers  from  pulmonary  diseases,  to  whom 
the  moist  climate  of  the  Gulf  States  would  be  ex- 
tremely benign,  but  for  the  danger  from  the  malarious 
air  and  the  extreme  heat,  would  most  probably  find  the 
surroundings  of  this  portion  of  Alaska  quite  suitable 
to  their  condition.  A  great  feature  in  favor  of  the 
several  distinct  climates  of  the  Territory  is  the  extraor- 
dinary purity  of  the  atmosphere,  from  which  the  winds 
and  snows  of  the  mountains  and  glacier  portions,  and 
the  rains  of  the  coast  country,  wash  out  the  par- 
ticles of  dust  and  possible  germs  of  most  diseases. 
The  consequence  is  that  the  days  which  are  blest  with 
sunshine  are  more  wonderfully  clear  and  radiant  than 


238  ALASKA. 

in  Italy  itself.  There  being  no  dust,  the  blue  of  the 
sky  and  the  colors  of  sunrise  and  sunset  are  prismat- 
ically  pure  and  brilliant,  giving  not  only  to  the  eyes, 
but  to  the  inmost  soul  a  glimpse  of  loveliness. 

It  has  been  truthfully  asserted  that  pulmonary  and 
scrofulous  diseases  prevail  among  the  natives  but  the 
country  cannot  be  justly  held  accountable  for  these 
conditions.  In  the  first  place  morality  was  at  a  very 
low  ebb  previous  to  the  work  of  the  missions  and 
schools,  and  it  still  continues  to  be  so  except  where 
their  influence  has  made  rapid  progress  toward  a  bet- 
ter state  of  affairs.  In  the  second,  their  universally 
miserable  manner  of  living — feasting  one  time,  and 
almost  starving  the  remainder  of  the  year — greatly 
aided  the  development  of  imported,  and  probably  in- 
nate disease.  But  the  proof  is  to  be  seen  that  as  they 
accept  civilization  with  all  of  its  improvements,  clean- 
liness not  the  least  important  in  the  calendar,  the  gen- 
eral health  is  also  benefited.  Therefore,  it  is  unjust  to 
attribute  to  the  climate  those  evils  that  in  great  part 
belong  to  the  above  mentioned  causes. 

With  enlightenment  comes  to  them  the  kind  of  food 
which  will  produce  heat  and  development.  With  that 
there  will  develop  more  activity,  and  the  esquimaux 
men,  women  and  children  once  congregated  in  under- 
ground huts,  with  perpetually  burning  blubber,  clog- 
ging their  lungs  and  intellect,  with  only  sufificient  air 
to  support  life,  will  find  themselves  able  to  face  the 


THE  CLIMATE  OF  ALASKA.  239 

weather   long    enough    at    least,  to  take  in  sufficient 
ozone  to  energize  and  raise  them  a  little  above  their 
former  state.     It  must  not  be  blamed  upon  the  cold 
climate,  that  they  have  acquired  and  cultivated  to  an 
alarming  fatality  the  disease  germs  that  this  very  at- 
mosphere would  destroy  if  permitted.     Instead  of  the 
race  being  delicate,  we  should  count  it  very  hardy, 
having  existed  for  ages    under    such  adverse  condi- 
tions.    We  believe  that  if  these  people  are  given  warm 
houses  in  which  to  live,  and  proper  food  and  fuel  that 
their  progeny  will  yet  prove  a  great  factor  in  the  fu- 
ture prosperity  of  the  country.     That  men  and  women 
can  go  from  our  Eastern  and  Middle  States  and  not 
only  exist,  but  prosper  and  grow  fond  of  their  sta- 
tions, even  so  far  as  the  cold  of  the  Arctic  Circle,  de- 
monstrates to  what  the  natives  may  come,  when  their 
surroundings   are   made   conducive    to    real     human 
health  and  comfort.     Properly  protected,  cold  weather 
is  not  at  all  opposed  to  health.     It  rather  braces  and 
invigorates,  when  extremes  of  exposure  and  hardship 
are  avoided,  and  met  with  careful  regard  to  food  and 
rest.     The  race  for  wealth  must  not  drive  humanity 
beyond  its  strength,  which  if  husbanded  would  grow 
more  enduring   in   this   unvitiated    atmosphere   upon 
which   neither   smoke,   impure  dust,  nor   disease   has 
as  yet  left  a  taint. 

If  men  and  women  will  inform  themselves  of  their 
natural  tendencies,  with  regard  to  lung,  heart  or  other 


240  ALASKA, 

weaknesses,  and  by  these  be  guided  either  to  remain 
in  the  vernal,  humid  coast  districts,  or  to  cHmb  into 
the  rarified  atmosphere  of  the  snow  capped  mountains 
and  glacier  swept  hills  and  mesas,  there  will  be  no 
higher  death  rate  in  Alaska  than  in  any  other  coun- 
try with  like  topographic  and  atmospheric  conditions. 
Man  has  received  the  gift  of  intelligence  and  with 
its  educated  use  he  need  not  suffer  inconvenience 
or  illness  in  that  naturally  disease-proof  land,  whose 
very  riches  prove  that  it  was  not  intended  by  its  All- 
Wise  Creator  to  remain  forever  an  uncultivated  waste. 
Why  should  it  be  so  when  even  on  the  glacial  "mo- 
raines, wherever  a  patch  of  earth  is  visible,  some 
flower  or  perhaps  a  berry  bearing  vine  appears  to 
grace  the  spot?  Every  traveler  of  note  has  remarked 
upon  the  luxuriant  growth  of  flowers,  grass  and  tim- 
ber, wnthin  the  beautiful  land,  upon  the  one  side,  as 
they  grow  enthusiastic  over  its  mountain  grandeur  on 
the  other.  Taking  an  impartial  view  of  the  climates 
of  the  several  districts,  or  we  say  latitudes,  of  Alaska, 
to  people  who  can  dwell  comfortably  all  the  year 
round  on  the  wind-swept,  wave-washed,  rain-drenched 
coast  of  Scotland,  or  on  the  wild  coasts  of  our  own 
Eastern  States,  Alaska,  on  its  Pacific  side,  would  be 
quite  accommodating  both  as  to  temperature  and 
barometer.  Those  who  delight  in  swift  changes  would 
find  them  exquisitely  suitable  at  Sitka,  while  Juneau 
being  cooler  is  less  humid.     Besides  its  solid  moun- 


THE  CIJMATE  OF  ALASKA.  241 

tain  background  gi'eatly  protects  it  from  extremes. 
Inland,  where  the  region  of  winter  extends  througii 
more  than  haU'  the  year,  there  are  no  less  desirable 
locations  for,  a  grand  oil)-,  or  cities.  The  land  upon 
which  St.  Petersburg  is  situated  in  frosty  Russia,  and 
the  trades  u])on  which  the  natives  of  Russia  and  Si- 
beria flourish  would  be  e(|ually  prosperous  here.  In 
fine,  if  mankind  will  make  wise  selections  with  regard 
to  health  and  business  location,  being  careful  to  make 
no  overestimate  of  his  powers  of  endiu'ance,  there  will 
soon  be  loud  necessity  for  municipalities,  instead  of 
small,  ill  constructed  villages.  Let  suitable  homes 
and  surroundings  be  provided  before  the  magic  greed 
of  gold  has  stolen  the  energies  and  overtaxed  both 
brain  and  heart  and  there  will  soon  be  progress  and 
refinement,  as  well  as  wealth  in  the  coming  cities  of 
Alaska,  while  her  rich  pastures  and  evanescent,  but 
fruitful  summer,  assisted  by  her  immense  fishing  inter- 
ests and  augmented  commerce,  will  provide  abun- 
dantly for  her  increasing  population. 


16 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

Missions. 

FROM  the  starting  point  at  St.  Michaels  we 
find  mission  stations  all  along  the  route;  even- 
up  to  the  gold  fields  of  the  creeks  in  the 
source  of  the  Great  Yukon  and  all  along  its  shores. 
Eighty  miles  north  of  the  upper  mouth,  in  Bering  Sea, 
at  St.  Michaels,  is  one  of  the  oldest  missions,  a  Greek 
Catholic  Church,  established  by  the  Russians. 

A  Greek  Mission  was  formed  at  Kadiak  in  1799, 
though  a  mission  school  was  established  in  1792.  In 
1823,  Innocentius  Veniaminoff  took  charge  of  a  sta- 
tion, and  to  this  day  his  name  is  revered  among  the 
people  of  the  Greek  Church.  In  1869  the  Russians 
claimed  seven  mission  stations  in  the  Territory  with 
a  membership  of  12,140  members. 

In  1877,  Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson  began  a  mis- 
sion at  Fort  Wrangel  in  the  name  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  indefatigable  work  of  this  man,  for  the 
benefit  of  Alaska,  cannot  be  easily  computed.  Sufifice  it 
to  say  that  there  are  now  ten  Presbyterian  Stations, 
namely:  Wrangel,  Killisnoo,  Juneau,  Haines,  Hoo- 
nah,  Sitka,  Klawok,  Jackson,  Point  Barrow  and  Met- 
lakahtla.  This  denomination  has  recently  sent  two 
missionaries  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Yukon,  from 
242 


MISSIONS.  243 

there  to  drift  to  the  mining  camps  and  estabhsh 
churches  as  they  may  deem  advisable  in  that  field  of 
labor.  The  Rev.  S.  Hall  Young  was  the  first  chosen, 
the  second  was  the  Rev.  Geo.  McEwen,  both  young, 
vigorous  men  having  had  much  experience  among 
the  Alaskans  and  their  modes  of  living.  Both  have 
also  been  engaged  in  missionary  work  at  Atlantic 
Coast  Missionary  Stations. 

The  Government  receives  annually  a  full  report  of 
all  mission  stations  in  Alaska  and  their  status  at  the 
time  the  report  is  made. 

There  are  eight  Greek  Catholic  Stations — Killisnoo, 
Juneau,  Sitka,  St.  Michaels,  Unalaska,  Belkofski, 
Ikogmut,  and  Oogavagamute.  Five  Roman  Catholic 
— Koserefski,  Okagamute,  Cape  Vancouver,  Nulato 
and  Kusilvak.  One  Congregational  at  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales.  One  Quaker  at  Douglas  Island.  Two  Meth- 
odist— Unalaska  and  Onga.  Four  Moravian — Ooga- 
vagamute, Bethel,  Quinehaha  and  Carmel.  Three 
Swedish  Evangelical — Golovin  Bay,  Unalaklik  and 
Yakutat.  One  Baptist,  Kadiak.  :  Four  Episcopal, 
— Anvik,  Point  Hope,  Fort  Adams,  and  St.  James 
Mission,  making  at  least  Forty-one  and  possibly 
more  missions  at  active  work  among  the  natives  and 
aliens  of  Alaska. 

At  Nuklaket,  on  the  Yukon  River,  is  situated  the 
most  distant  and  most  lonely  mission  in  Alaska.  It  is 
an  Episcopal  Mission  named  St.  James,  and  conducted 


244  ALASKA. 

by  Rev.  Jules  L.  Prevost,  who  having-  established  it, 
came  East  on  a  visit  and  retnrncd  with  a  carefullv  se- 
lected outfit  for  a  house,  a  hospital  and  a  chapel.  He 
was  accompanied  by  his  bride,  who  bravely  went  out 
by  his  side,  to  face  the  dangers  and  adversities  of  his 
calling  in  the  Arctic  country. 

The  cold  may  be  partly  realized  when  it  is  told  that 
Mr.  Prevost  had  a  thermometer  specially  made  that 
could  register  90  degrees  below  zero  F. ;  anything 
much  above  that  being  practically  quite  useless  at 
limes  in  the  winter  climate  of  that  district. 

The  census  of  1890  gave  the  Territory  a  population 
of  30,329,  of  whom  4,416  were  white.  It  is  probable 
that  the  white  population  has  more  than  doubled  in 
the  intervening  years.  Prosperity  has  unquestion- 
ably marked  every  undertaking.  The  press,  the 
steamers  and  the  missions  have  brought  the  once  un- 
known land  into  fair  communication  with  the  great 
outside  world.  Such  a  thing  as  going  back  to  pris- 
tine obscurity  is  utterly  impossible,  so  it  remains  that 
Government,  business  men  and  people  shall  all  unite 
in  the  determination  to  uphold  the  good,  out-general 
the  bad  and  make  of  Alaska  a  wonderfully  law  abiding 
and  progressive  State  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
wealthy  districts  in  the  world.  Not  only  in  gold,  but 
in  coal,  copper,  oil.  furs,  and  last,  but  none  the  less 
important  and  lucrative,  fish,  which  abounds  in  count- 
less numbers  and  various  qualities  and  kinds,  but  all 


MISSIONS.  245 

good  and  most  desirable  as  food  for  millions  of  in- 
habitants of  the  United  States. 

Unite  with  all  of  this  a  native  population  disposed 
to  perfect  friendliness,  with  such  isolated  cases  to 
the  contrary  that  they  are  not  worth  recording,  and 
the  men  and  women  who  wish  to  colonize  Alaska, 
may  find  both  homes  and  lucrative  employment, 
though  they  never  reach  the  El  Dorado  or  Klondyke 
section,  that  has  made  the  Territory  so  popular  to-day. 

Teachers   and  Employees   in   Church  Mission  Schools 

IN   1896. 

EpiscopaUans. 

Point  Hope.— ].  B.  Driggs,  M.D.,  Rev.  H.  E.  Edson. 

Anvik.  —  Rev.    and   Mrs.   J.   W.    Chapman,    Miss   Bertha  W. 
Sabine. 

Fort  Adams. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  Jules  L.  Prevost,  Mary  V.  Glen- 
ton,  M.D. 

Juneau — Rev.  Henry  Beer. 

Douglas  Is /and. —'Rev.  A.  J.  Campbell. 

Sitka. — Bishop  Peter  Trimble  Rowe. 

Congrega  tiona  I. 
Cape  Prince  of  Wales. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  T.  Lopp,  Rev.  and 

Mrs.  Thomas  Hanna. 

Swi  -dish  E7uxngelical. 
Kotzebue  Sound. — Rev.    David  Johnson,   and  Rock,   a  native 

assistant. 
Golovin  Bay. — Rev.   August  Anderson,  Rev.  and   Mrs.  N.  O. 

Hultberg,  and  Dora,  a  native  assistant. 
Unalaklik. — Rev.     and    Mrs.  A.    E.    Karlson,    Miss    Malvina 

Johnson. 


246  ALASKA. 

Kangekosook. — Stephan  Ivanoff. 

Koyuk. — Mr.  Frank  Kameroff. 

Yakiitat. — Rev.    and   Mrs.    Albin  Johnsen,   Rev.    K.   J.    Hen- 
dricksen,  Miss  Selma  Peterson,  Miss  Hulda  C.  Peterson. 
Roman  Catholic. 

Kosyrevsky. — Rev.  Paschal  Tosi,  S.J.,  prefect  apostolic  of 
Alaska  ;  Rev.  R.  Crimont,  S.  J.;  and  Brothers  Rosati,  S.  J.; 
Marchesio,  S.J.;  Cunningham,  S.  J.;  Sisters  M.  Stephen, 
M.  Joseph,  M.  Winfred,  M.  Anguilbert,  M.  Helvise,  and 
M.  Damascene. 

Nulato. — Rev.  A.  Ragaru,  S.  J.;  Rev.  Y .  Monroe,  S.  J.,  and 
Brother  Giordano,  S.  J. 

Shagcluk. — Rev.  William  Judge,  S.  J. 

Ur/i/uriiiitfi',  Ki/skokwiin  River. — Rev.  A.  Robant,  S.  K. 

St.  Josephs,  Yukon  Delta. — Rev.  J.  Treca,  S.  J.;  Rev.  A.  Parodi, 
S.  J.;  Rev.  F.  Barnum,  S.  J.;  Brothers  Twohigg,  S.  J.;  and 
Negro,  S.  J.,  and  Sisters  M.  Zypherine,  M.  Benedict,  M. 
Prudence,  and  M.  Pauline. 

Juneau. — Rev.  J.  B.  Rene  and  Sisters  Mary  Zeno,  M.  Peter, 
and  M.  Bousecour. 

Moravians. 

Bethel. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  John  H.  Kilbuck,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ben- 
jamin Helmick,  Miss  Mary  Mack,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Romig,  M.D. 

Quiegaluk. — Mr.  Ivan  Harrison  (Eskimo). 

Tulaksaga))iutc. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Skuviuk  (Eskimos). 

Kalchkachagamute. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Nukachluk  (Es- 
kimos). 

Akaigamiut. — Mr.  Neck  (Eskimo). 

Ugavig. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  Ernst  L.  Webber. 

Quinehaha. — Mr.  L.  Kawagleg  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harvey 
Suruka  (Eskimos). 

Cannel. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  John  Schoechert,  Rev.  S.  H.  Rock, 
Misses  Mary  and  Emma  Huber,  Miss  P.  C.    King. 


MISSIONS.  247 

Methodist  Episcopal. 
Una/aska. — Miss  Agnes  S.  Sowles,  Miss  Sarah  J.  Rinch. 

Friettds. 
Douglas  City. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  N.  Reploge.      (No  report.) 
Kake. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  R.  Moon.     (No  report.) 

Baptists. 
Wood  Island. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  Curtis  P.  Coe,  Miss  Lulu  Good- 
child,  and  Miss  Hattie  Snow. 

Presbyterian . 
Point  Barrow. — L.  M.  Stevenson. 
St.  Lawrence  Island. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  V.  C.   Gambell. 
Haines. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  W.  Warne,  Miss  Anna  M.  Sheets, 

Miss  Fannie  H.  Willard  (native). 
Hoojtah. — Rev.    and    Mrs.    Alvin    C.   Austin,    Mrs.    John   W. 

McFarland,  and  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Howell. 
Juneau. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  James    H.    Condit,    Rev.    and    Mrs. 

L.  F.  Jones,  Miss  Sue  Davis,  Miss  M.  E.   Gould,  Mr.  and 

Mrs.  Frederick  Moore  (natives). 
Sitka. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  Alonzo  E.  Austin,   Mr.  and  Mrs.  U.  P. 

Shull,  Dr.  B.  K.  Wilbur,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Heizer,   Mrs.   M.  A. 

Saxman,  Mrs.  A.  Carter,  Mrs.  L.  S.   Wallace,   Miss   A.  J. 

Manning,  Mrs.  T.  K.  Paul  (native),  Mr.  P.  Solberg. 
Fort  Wrangel. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  Clarence  Thwing. 
Jackson. — Rev.    and  Mrs.    J.    Loomis   Gould,     Mrs.     A.     R. 

McFarland. 

Church    of  England. 
Bii.vton. — Bishop  and  Mrs.    Bompas,   Rev.  Frederick    F.  Fle- 

welling,  Miss  MacDonald,  Mr.  R.  J.  Bowen. 
Fort  Selkirk. — Rev.  and  Mrs.  B.  Totty. 
Rampart  House. — Rev.  and  Mrs.   H.    A.    Naylor,   Rev.   and 

Mrs.  T.  H.  Canham. 


From  Rev.    Sheldon  Jackson's  annual   report  as    Educa- 
tional Superintendent  in  Alaska. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

Education  in  Alaska. 

TO  the  missionaries  of  the  Greek  Church,  as  the 
pioneer  religion  of  Russian  America,  and  after- 
ward to  other  religious  denominations,  of  which 
the  Presbyterian  undoubtedly  took  the  lead,  the  pres- 
ent progress  of  education  in  Alaska  is  unquestionably 
due.  But  religious  enterprises,  unaided,  were  not 
sufhciently  strong  to  cope  with  the  ignorance  that 
embraced  the  whole  vast  Territory.  That  the  very 
people  who  should  have  aided  the  churches  in  their 
task  should  have  worked  directly  against  them  is 
very  greatly  blamable  for  their  dif-ficulties.  The 
natives  could  not  comprehend  how  men,  coming 
from  the  same  countries,  speaking  the  same  language 
and  in  all  outward  figure  resembling  the  good  men 
who  worked  for  their  salvation,  should  give  to  them 
vices  worse  than  those  to  which  their  unregenerate 
natures  were  accustomed.  It  did  not  reach  their  intelli- 
gence until  debauchery  and  drunkenness  had  seized 
and  wound  around  them  with  all  their  unwholesome 
fascinations.  Thus  the  contentions  with  the  evils  that 
were,  and  those  that  were  transported  by  unconscion- 
able traders  made  the  task  so  arduous  that  many  a 
good  man  yielded  up  the  struggle,  sometimes  only 
248 


ED UCA  TION  IN  ALASKA.  249 

with  his  life.  The  Russian  Government  gave  full  sup- 
port to  the  Greek  Church  in  its  every  effort  for  the 
conversion  of  the  people,  and,  toiling  against  fearful 
odds,  the  most  of  their  mission  stations  still  remain. 
Jn  1792  the  first  school  was  formed  by  Gregory  Sheli- 
koff.  who  rightly  conjectured  that  secular  education 
would  aid  mission  work.  This  school  was  established 
on  Kadiak  Island,  which  was  for  years  the  capital  of 
Alaska.  Later  another  school  was  started  in  a  small 
way  at  St.  Paul's  Harbor,  and  was  continued  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Alaska  Trading  Company,  while 
it  held  sway  over  the  fur-seal  industry.  Since  then 
it  has  been  in  the  care  of  the  Government,  under  Dr. 
Sheldon  Jackson,  who  is  the  Chief  Superintendent  of 
Education  in  Alaska.  There  are  now  fourteen  schools 
in  the  Territory  all  under  Government  supervision. 
These  are  irrespective  of  the  numerous  missions  before 
mentioned.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these  is 
the  Sitka  Industrial  School,  to  which  Captain  Henry 
Glass,  of  the  United  States  Steamer  Jamestown,  gave 
such  an  impetus  in  1881.  He  took  upon  himself  to 
look  into  matters  with  the  determination  of  finding 
the  causes  of  the  inconsistent  manner  in  which  the  na- 
tives received  the  benefits  ofifered  by  the  school.  He 
found  rum  one  of  the  chief  objects  against  education. 
Children  were  sent  to  school  a  while,  and  then  re- 
moved, girls  particularly  being  derelict.  He  soon  dis- 
covered that  the  children  were  being  sold,  debauched 


250  ALASKA. 

or  married  for  the  sake  of  gain  to  obtain  the  liquor. 
With  no  delay  he  abolished  the  sale  of  molasses,  with 
which  the  natives  had  soon  learned  to  make  fire-water 
— hoo-chinoo,  a  despicable  intoxicant.  He  would  not 
permit  whiskey  to  enter  the  port  however  labelled;  and 
he  introduced  a  system  of  marking,  or  labelling  the 
houses,  having  the  children  of  each  designated  by  a 
corresponding  tablet,  made  of  tin,  and  fastened  by  a 
string  around  the  child's  neck.  At  the  opening  of 
school  each  '  child  was  registered,  the  delinquents 
looked  after,  and  if  no  good  reason  for  absence  was 
given  there  was  a  small  fine  collected.  He  also  organ- 
ized a  native  police  force,  marking  them  with  James- 
town in  bright  letters  on  their  caps  and  silver  stars 
on  their  breasts.  This  discipline  gave  an  impetus  to 
the  work  so  long  ago  begun  by  the  missionaries,  and 
education  started  in  earnest  in  Sitka. 

Now  in  this  school,  and  in  the  one  at  Haines,  in  fact, 
in  nearly  all,  a  system  of  training  is  carried  on,  with  the 
ordinary  lessons  of  the  day  schools.  Excellent  teach- 
ers are  in  the  lead,  and  girls  are  taught  all  kinds  of 
domestic  employment,  while  the  boys  stand  back  with 
pride  in  the  brown  and  smiling  faces  as  the  carpenter- 
ing, smithing,  building  and  improving  is  credited  to 
their  toil.  It  is  really  true  that  a  greater  part  of  the 
work  on  additional  buildings  is  the  handiwork  of  the 
boys  of  the  diiiferent  schools.  They  are  not  only  ca- 
pable  of   building,    but    of    protecting    the    precious 


EDUCA  TION  IN  ALASKA.  251 

wooden  structures,  and  the  fire  brigades  are  among 
the  most  admired  adjuncts  of  the  schools. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  among  the  Aleuts,  or  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  which  of  course  includes 
Unalashka  the  "Boston  of  Western  Alaska" — that  cul- 
tivation v/as  pretty  well  commenced  before  the  Terri- 
tory came  into  our  possession,  Veniaminoff  having 
compiled  an  Aleutian  alphabet  and  grammar  taught 
the  natives  to  read  and  write  quite  correctly.  It  is 
surprising  with  what  alacrity  the  inhabitants  through- 
out Alaska  learn  the  English  language,  it  being  con- 
sidered by  many  foreigners  the  most  difficult  of  all 
languages. 

There  are  several  fine  schools  having  departments 
particularly  devoted  to  training  girls  in  the  common 
school  branches,  house-keeping,  dress-making,  plain 
sewing,  and  especially  in  morality,  the  latter  being 
expressly  necessary  because  of  the  dreadful  depravity 
to  which  the  sex  had  been  consigned  for  ages. 

In  contrast  with  the  manner  of  many  other  people 
upon  whom  enlightenment  is  forced, the  Alaskans,  with 
very  few  exceptions,  are  teachable,  intelligent  and  eager 
to  learn.  They  grasp  quickly,  and  remember  tena- 
ciously, being  willing  to  give  up  family,  home  and  al- 
most life  itself  for  the  sake  of  learning.  When  girls 
are  taken  from  the  schools,  which  happens  sometimes, 
they  go  against  their  will,  being  not  only  opposed  to 
the  life  once  absolutely  their  lot,  but  conscientiously 


252  .  I /..ISA'.  I 

unwilling    to    sin,  as  well   as  devotedly  attached    to 
teachers,  school  and  the  duties  required  of  them. 

In  Alaska  there  is  not  the  general  wild  rush  for  free- 
dom so  universally  characteristic  of  children  used  to 
civilization.  The  world  of  wonders,  open  to  the  Indian 
children  and  even  adult  scholars,  is  so  fascinating  that 
the  hour  for  leaving  them  is  received  without  any  de- 
monstration of  delight.  To  them  the  search  for 
knowledge  opens  a  beautiful  vista  of  intellectual  pleas- 
ure. The  minds  of  both  youth  and  more  advanced 
age  have  lain  fallow,  like  the  soil  of  their  own  val- 
leys, and  like  it  they  are  ready  to  take  in  and  nourish 
the  seeds  planted  by  their  cultivated  and  honest  teach- 
ers. Immediate  growth  begins.  If  tares  are  planted 
it  is  not  the  fault  of  the  soil  which  springs  to  nourish 
them  no  more  willingly  than  it  would  have  given  vigor 
to  wheat.  So  were  the  benighted  people  not  blam- 
able  when  they  fell  a  prey  to  the  vices  imported  by 
wicked  men.  The  task  of  uprooting  the  evil  is  far 
more  difficult  than  that  of  implanting  the  good,  but  pa- 
tient perseverance  is  coming  to  its  reward.  The  sup- 
port and  protection  of  the  National  Government  is 
doing  a  great  deal  toward  the  much  desired  end. 
Many  more  schools  and  missions  are  needed,  how- 
ever, especially  in  the  towns  to  which  the  populations 
are  wildly  rushing.  Here  it  is  specially  desirable  that 
morality  be  taught  to  the  young,  who  must  grow  up  in 
nn  atmosphere  far  less  pure  than  the  snow-swept 
mountain  passes  through  which  they  come. 


ED  UCA  TION  IN  A  LA  SKA  253 

A  single  trait  among"  the  real  native?,  is  their  entire 
devotion  to  the  laws  and  traditions  of  their  ancestors,  and 
augurs  well  for  their  future  respect  for  wholesome  laws, 
when  they  have  been  taught  and  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  their  necessity  to  their  welfare.  In  fact, 
even  now  the  majority  of  law  breakers  in  Alaska  are 
not  natives  at  all,  for  it  is  a  marked  characteristic  of 
nearly  all  savage  and  uncivilized  people  to  respect  the 
laws  which  govern  them,  and  to  submit  to  the  punish- 
ment of  any  infringement  without  a  murmur. 

The  principal  centres  of  education  thus  far  are 
the  Sitka  Industrial  School,  and  the  Haines'  Training 
School  at  Chilcat.  There  are  other  schools  also  under 
Government  supervision  at  Juneau,  Kadiak,  Una- 
lashka,  Jackson,  St.  Paul's  and  St.  George.  There  is  an 
Indian  Girls'  Training  School  at  Wrangel,  in  which 
domestic  duties  are  wisely  taught,  as  well  as  the  usual 
every  day  education.  The  call  is  not  for  better  schools 
nor  more  faithful  teachers,  but  for  more  of  them.  There 
should  be  excellent  schools  established  at  every  prin- 
cipal point  in  the  Territory,  so  that  the  rising  gener- 
ation, whose  admixture  will  require  it,  shall  receive 
rigorous  discipline  and  more  careful  teaching  than  are 
necessary  to  the  education  of  the  purely  native  ele- 
ment. Therefore  with  mining  machinery  and  tools 
for  building,  let  school  supplies  be  forthcom- 
ing, together  with  the  facilities  for  teaching  prop- 
erly,    so     that     there     may    be    no    half    Christian 


2  54  ALASKA. 

natives  to  redeem  from  vice.  Educate  all  as  they  are 
old  enough  to  learn.  Attend  to  that  duty  as  carefully 
as  it  is  fostered  in  the  States,  and  then  a  hardy,  intelli- 
gent and  industrious  race  will  populate  and  cultivate 
Alaska. 


CHAPTER  XXXVl. 

Canadian   Legislation. 

MR.  W.  OGILVIE,  the  Dominion  Land  Sur- 
veyor, who  is  also  officially  Chief  of  the  Can- 
adian Government's  Corps  of  Explorers,  has 
made  full  surveys  and  reported  to  his  government  the 
richness  of  the  gold  mines  on  the  Klondyke  River, 
and  his  observations  as  surveyor  and  explorer  are 
considered  authentic  and  accurate  by  Canadian  au- 
thorities, who  regard  him  a  capable  and  conscientious 
officer,  and  one  that  would  not  make  any  false  state- 
ment, or  take  any  financial  advantage  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

The  Canadian  Government  urges  no  one  to  attempt 
the  journey  to  Klondyke  after  the  middle  of  Septem- 
ber. 

Major  Walsh  has  been  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Klondyke  gold  regions,  with  a  force  of  one  hundred 
Mounted  Policemen  and  the  officials  state  that  no  dis- 
crimination will  be  made  between  men  of  different 
nationalties  in  the  district,  and  that  the  regulations 
will  not  be  oppressive  and  that  life  will  be  as  safe  as  in 
large  eastern  cities. 

While  provisions  and  outfits  are  at  present  quite 
high,  no  doubt  next  summer  goods  will  be  greatly 

255 


256  .ILASk'A. 

diminished  in  price,  as  tlie  commercial  companies  in- 
terested in  the  re<;"ion  liave  a  large  amount  of  all  kinds 
of  needed  supi)lies  ready  for  shipment  direct  to  the 
tOAvns  and  mines  of  the  gold  regions. 

The  latest  summary  of  the  Canadian,  ^'uk()n,  and 
Klondyke  regions  has  1)een  issued  by  the  Toronto 
Newspaper  Union,  in  the  August.  18(^7.  number,  of  its 
Illustrated  Gazetteer  as  follows: — 

"Miners  must  enter  their  claims.  Entry  can  onlv 
be  granted  for  alternate  claims,  known  as  creek  claims, 
bench  claims,  bar  diggings  and  dry  diggings,  and  that 
the  other  alternate  claims  be  reserved  for  the  Crown 
to  be  disposed  of  by  ])ublic  auction  or  in  such  manner 
as  may  be  fiecided  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

"The  penalty  for  trespassing  upon  a  claim  re- 
served for  the  Crown  will  be  the  immediate  cancella- 
tion of  any  entry  or  entries  which  the  person  trespass- 
ing has  obtained,  whether  by  original,  or  entry,  or  pur- 
chase, for  a  mining  claim,  and  the  refusal  by  the  Gold 
Commissioner  of  any  application  which  the  trespasser 
may  make  at  any  time  for  claims,  and  that  the 
Mounted  Police,  upon  requisition  from  the  Gold'  Com- 
missioner, shall  expel  the  offender  from  Canadian  soil. 

' '  Upon  all  gold  mined  on  the  claim  referred  to  in  the 
regulation  for  the  government  of  placer  mining  along 
the  Yukon  River  and  its  tributaries,  a  royalty  of  10 
per  cent,  shall  be  levied  and  collected  by  officers,  to 
be    appointed    for    the    purpose,     provided   that   the 


Fine  Totem-Wokked  Chilkat  Coat. 


CANADIAA  LEGISLATION.  257 

amount  mined  and  taken  from  a  single  claim  does  not 
exceed  $500  per  week,  and  in  this  case  there  shall  be 
levied  and  collected  a  royalty  of  10  per  cent,  upon  the 
amount  so  taken  out,  up  to  $500,  and  upon  the  excess 
or  amount  taken  from  any  single  claim  over  $500  per 
week,  there  shall  be  levied  and  collected  a  royalty  ot 
20  per  cent. ;  such  royalty  to  form  part  of  the  consoli- 
dated revenue,  and  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  officers 
who  collect  the  same  in  due  course. 

"That  the  time  and  manner  in  which  such  royalty 
shall  be  collected  and  the  persons  who  shall  collect  the 
same,  shall  be  provided  for  by  regulations  to  be  made 
by  the  Gold  Commissioner,  and  that  the  Gold  Com- 
missioner be  and  is  hereby  given  authority  to  make 
such  regulations  and  rules  accordingly. 

"Default  of  payment  of  the  royalties  for  ten  days, 
shall  entail  cancellation  of  the  claim.  Any  attempt  to 
defraud  the  Crown  by  withholding  any  part  of  the 
revenue  thus  provided  for,  by  making  false  statements 
of  the  amount  taken  out  may  be  punished  by  cancella- 
tion of  the  claim,  in  respect  of  which  fraud  or  false 
statements  have  been  committed  or  made;  and  that 
in  respect  of  facts  as  to  such  fraud  or  false  statement 
or  non-payment  of  royalty,  the  decision  of  the  Gold 
Commissioner  shall  be  final." 

Another  order  in  Council  reads  as  follows: 

"Whereas  clause  7  of  the  regulations  governing  the 
disposal  of  placer  mines  on  the  Yukon  river  and  its 
17 


258  ALASKA. 

tributaries  in  the  North-West  n\rritories.  cstablislicd 
by  order  in  Council  of  the  21st  of  May,  1897,  pro- 
vides that  if  any  person  shall  discover  a  new  mine,  and 
such  discovery  shall  be  established  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  Gold  Commissioner,  a  claim  for  'bar  diggings'  750 
feet  in  length  may  be  granted ;  and,  whereas,  the  inten- 
tion was  to  grant  a  claim  of  750  feet  in  length  to  the 
discoverer  of  the  new  mine  upon  a  creek  or  river,  and 
not  to  grant  a  claim  of  that  length  for  'bar  diggings,' 
His  Excellency,  by  and  with  the  advice  of  the  Queen's 
Privy  Council  for  Canada,  is  pleased  to  order  that 
clause  7  of  the  said  regulations  governing  the  dis- 
posal of  placer  mines  on  the  Yukon  River  and  its  trib- 
utaries shall  be  and  the  same  is  hereb}-  amended,  so 
that  the  above  grant  to  a  discoverer  may  apply  to 
creek  and  river  claims  instead  of  to  'bar  diggings.'  " 

Canadian  Mining  Regulations. 

If  a  claim  is  located  within  10  miles  of  the  Gold 
Commissioner's  Office,  it  must  be  recorded  within 
three  days,  but  a  day  extra  will  be  allowed  for  an  addi- 
tion ten  miles  or  more.  The  entry  fee  is  $15  for  the 
first  year  and  after  that  $10  a  year. 

Entry  must  be  made  in  the  name  of  the  applicant 
who  has  staked  the  claim. 

No  post  must  be  removed  by  the  holder  or  any  one 
interested  after  it  has  been  recorded. 

A  grant,  for  placer  mining,  must  be  renewed  every 
year  and  the  entry  fee  paid  annually. 


CANADIAA  LEGISLATION.  259 

No  miner  can  receive  a  grant  for  more  than  one 
claim  in  the  same  locality  unless  it  is  purchased. 

A  number  of  miners  can  make  arrangements  to 
work  their  claims  together,  but  they  must  register  at 
the  Gold  Commissioner's  Office  and  pay  a  fee  of  $5 
each. 

A  miner  may  sell,  mortgage  or  dispose  of  his  claim 
and  a  certificate  of  title  will  be  given  him  by  the  Gold 
Commissioner  on  registering  and  paying  a  fee  of  $5. 

A  miner,  holding  a  grant,  has  the  exclusive  right  of 
entry  on  his  claim  for  working  purposes  and  the  con- 
struction of  his  home  and  to  all  the  proceeds  obtained, 
but  no  surface  rights  are  granted  him. 

As  much  water  running  through  or  past  a  claim 
as  the  Gold  Commissioner  thinks  necessary  can  be 
used  by  the  miner  if  not  othen\'ise  lawfully  appro- 
priated.    He  can  drain  his  own  claim  free  of  charge. 

Unless  sickness,  permission  for  absence  or  some 
other  cause  prevents  the  grantee,  or  some  one  ordered 
by  him,  from  working  on  working  days  for  72  hours, 
the  claim  shall  be  considered  abandoned  and  open 
for  any  person  to  enter  and  occupy. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Alaskan    Legislation. 

IN  going  over  the  volumes  containing  the  various  acts 
in  reference  to  Alaska  and  its  government  and  the 
appropriation  for  carrying  out  the  provisions  of 
these  laws  passed  b}'  the  Congresses  since  1 867 ,  I  find 
they  would  make  a  large  volume  of  themselves. 

Therefore  I  will  make  only  such  selections  as  are 
deemed  of  special  interest  to  the  readers  in  connection 
with  the  scope  of  this  work. 

Even  the  making  of  the  appended  list  of  the  laws 
passed  and  where  they  may  be  found  for  reference  has 
been  an  arduous  task,  but  the  aim  has  been  accuracy 
throughout. 

The  Alaskan   Purchase. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  accurately  understand 
the  terms  of  the  Alaska  purchase  I  have  had  a  copy 
made  of  the  original  document  from  the  Government's 
revised  statutes.  Other  enactments  by  Congress,  as 
far  as  we  think  they  will  interest  the  reader  upon  this 
subject,  have  been  obtained  and  inserted,  from  ex- 
tracts bearing  upon  the  subject  named. 

Cession  of  the  Russian  possessions  in  North 
America,  by  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias 
to  the  United  States  of  America;  concluded  March 
260 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  261 

30,  1867;  ratified  by  the  United  States  May  28,  1867; 
exchanged  June  20,  1867;  proclaimed  by  the  United 
States  June  20,  1867. 

A  proclamation  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States ; 

Whereas,  a  treaty  between  the  United  States  of 
America  and  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Rus- 
sias  was  concluded  and  signed  by  their  respective 
Plenipotentiaries  at  the  city  of  Washington,  on  the 
thirtieth  day  of  March,  last,  which  treaty,  being  in  the 
English  and  French  languages,  is,  word  for  word  as 
follows : 

The  United  States  of  America  and  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  all  the  Russias, being  desirous  of  strength- 
ening, if  possible,  the  good  understanding  which  ex- 
ists between  them,  have,  for  that  purpose,  appointed 
as  their  Plenipotentiaries,  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State;  and 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  the  Privy 
Councillor  Edward  de  Stoeckl,  his  Envoy  Extraordi- 
nary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States, 

And  the  said  Plenipotentiaries,  having  exchanged 
their  full  powers,  which  were  found  to  be  in  due  form, 
have  agreed  upon  and  signed  the  following  articles: 

Article  I. 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias  agrees 
to  cede  to  the  United  States,  by  this  convention,  im- 
mediately upon    the    exchange    of    the   ratifications 


262  ALASKA. 

thereof,  all  the  territory  and  dominion  now  possessed 
by  his  said  Majesty  on  the  continent  of  America  and 
in  the  adjacent  islands,  the  same  being  contained 
within  the  geographical  limits  herein  set  forth,  to  wit: 
The  eastern  limit  is  the  line  of  demarkation  between 
the  Russian  and  the  British  possessions  in  North 
America,  as  established  by  the  convention  between 
Russia  and  Great  Britain,  of  February  28-16,  1825. 
and  described  in  Articles  III  and  IV  of  said  conven- 
tion, in  the  following  terms: 

''Commencing  from  the  southernmost  point  of  the 
island  called  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  which  point  lies 
in  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes  north  latitude, 
and  between  the  131st  and  the  133d  degree  of  west 
longitude,  (meridian  of  Greenwich,)  the  said  line  shall 
ascend  to  the  north  along  the  channel  called  Portland 
Channel,  as  far  as  the  point  of  the  continent  where  it 
strikes  the  56th  degree  of  north  latitude;  from  this 
last-mentioned  point,  the  line  of  demarkation  shall  fol- 
low^ the  summit  of  the  mountains  situated  parallel  to 
the  coast,  as  far  as  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  141st 
degree  of  west  longitude,  (of  the  same  meridian)  and 
finally  from  the  said  point  of  141  degrees,  in  its  pro^ 
longation  as  far  as  the  Frozen  Ocean. 

"IV.  With  reference  to  the  line  of  demarkation 
laid  down  in  the  preceding  article,  it  is  understood — 

"ist.  That  the  island  called  Prince  of  Wales  Is- 
land shall  belong  wholly  to  Russia,"  (now,  by  this 
cession  to  the  United  States.) 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  263 

"2nd.  That  whenever  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tains which  extend  in  a  direction  parallel  to  the  coast 
from  the  56th  degree  of  north  latitude  to  the  point  of 
intersection  of  the  141st  degree  of  west  longitude 
shall  prove  to  be  at  the  distance  of  more  than  ten  ma- 
rine leagues  from  the  ocean,  the  limit  between  the 
British  possessions  and  the  line  of  coast  which  is  to 
belong  to  Russia  as  above  mentioned,  (that  is  to  say, 
the  limit  to  the  possessions  ceded  by  this  convention,) 
shall  be  formed  by  a  line  parallel  to  the  winding  of 
the  coast,  and  which  shall  never  exceed  the  distance 
of  ten  marine  leagues  therefrom." 

The  western  limit  within  which  the  territories  and 
dominion  conveyed  are  contained  passes  through  a 
point  in  Bering's  Straits  on  the  parallel  of  sixty-five 
degrees  thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  at  its  intersec- 
tion by  the  meridian  which  passes  midway  between 
the  islands  of  Krusenstern  or  Ignalook,  and  the  is- 
land of  Ratmanofif,  or  Noonarbook,  and  proceeds 
due  north  without  limitation,  into  the  same  Frozen 
Ocean.  The  same  western  limit,  beginning  at  the 
same  initial  point,  proceeds  thence  in  a  course  nearly 
southwest  through  Bering's  Straits  and  Bering's  Sea, 
so  as  to  pass  midway  between  the  northwest  point  of 
the  island  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  southeast  point  of 
Cape  Choukotski,  to  the  meridian  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy-two  west  longitude;  thence,  from  the  inter- 
section of  that  meridian,  in  a  southwesterlv  direction. 


264  ALASKA. 

so  as  to  pass  midway  between  the  island  of  Attou 
and  the  Copper  Island  of  the  Komiandorski  couplet 
or  group,  in  the  North  Pacific  Ocean,  to  the  meridian 
of  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  degrees  west  longi- 
tude, so  as  to  include  in  the  territory  conveyed  the 
whole  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  east  of  that  meridian. 

Article  II. 
In  the  cession  of  territory  and  dominion  made  by 
the  preceding  article  are  included  the  right  of  prop- 
erty in  all  public  lots  and  squares,  vacant  lands,  and 
all  public  buildings,  fortifications,  barracks,  and  other 
edifices  which  are  not  private  individual  property. 
It  is,  however,  understood  and  agreed,  that  the 
churches,  M^iich  have  been  built  in  the  ceded  territory 
by  the  Russian  Government,  shall  remain  the  prop- 
erty of  such  members  of  the  Greek  Oriental  Church 
resident  in  the  territory  as  may  choose  to  worship 
therein.  Any  Government  archives,  papers,  and  doc- 
uments relative  to  the  territory  and  dominion  afore- 
said, which  maybe  now  existing  there,  will  be  left  in 
the  possession  of  the  agent  of  the  United  States;  but 
an  authenticated  copy  of  such  of  them  as  may  be  re- 
quired, will  be,  at  all  times,  given  by  the  United  States 
to  the  Russian  Government,  or  to  such  Russian  offi- 
cers or  subjects  as  they  may  apply  for. 

Article  III. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory,  according  to 
their  choice  reserving  their  natural  allegiance,  may 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  265 

return  to  Russia  within  three  years ;  but  if  they  should 
prefer  to  remain  in  the  ceded  territory,  they,  with  the 
exception  of  unciviHzed  native  tribes,  shall  be  admit- 
ted to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights,  advantages  and 
immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  shall 
be  maintained  and  protected  in  the  free  enjoyment 
of  their  liberty,  property,  and  religion.  The  uncivil- 
ized tribes  will  be  subject  to  such  laws  and  regulations 
as  the  United  States  may,  from  time  to  time,  adopt 
in  regard  to  aboriginal  tribes  of  that  country. 

Article  IV. 
His  Majesty,  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias  shall 
appoint,  with  convenient  dispatch,  an  agent  or  agents 
for  the  purpose  of  formally  delivering  to  a  similar 
agent  or  agents,  appointed  on  behalf  of  the  United 
States,  the  territory,  dominion,  property,  dependen- 
cies, and  appurtenances  which  are  ceded  as  above, 
and  for  doing  any  other  act  which  may  be  necessary 
in  regard  thereto.  But  the  cession,  with  the  right  of 
immediate  possession,  is  nevertheless  to  be  deemed 
complete  and  absolute  on  the  exchange  of  ratifica- 
tions, without  waiting  for  such  formal  delivery. 

Article  V. 

Immediately  after  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications 

of  this  convention,  any  fortifications  or  military  posts 

which  may  be  in  the  ceded  territory  shall  be  delivered 

to  the  agent  of  the  United  States,  and  any  Russian 


266  ALASKA. 

troops  which  may  be  in  the  territory  shall  be  with- 
drawn as  soon  as  may  be  reasonably  and  conven- 
iently practicable. 

Article  VI. 
In  consideration  of  the  cession  aforesaid,  the 
United  States  agree  to  pay  at  the  Treasury  in  Wash- 
ington, within  ten  months  after  the  exchange  of  the 
ratifications  of  this  convention,  to  the  diplomatic  rep- 
resentative or  other  agent  of  His  Majesty  the  Em- 
peror of  all  the  Russias,  duly  authorized  to  receive 
the  same,  seven  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars 
in  gold.  The  cession  of  territory  and  dominion  herein 
made  is  hereby  declared  to  be  free  and  unincumbered 
by  any  reservations,  privileges,  franchises,  grants  or 
possessions,  b\'  any  associated  companies,  whether 
corporate  or  incorporate,  Russian  or  any  other,  or  by 
any  parties  except  merely  j)rivate  individual  prop- 
erty-holders; and  the  cession  hereby  made  conveys 
all  the  rights,  franchises,  and  privileges  now  belong- 
ing to  Russia  in  the  said  territory  or  dominion,  and 
appurtenances  thereto. 

Article  VII. 
When  this  convention  shall  have  been  duly  ratified 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  on  the  one  part, 
and,  on  the  other,  by  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of 
all  the   Russias   the  ratifications   shall   be   exchanged 


A  LA  SKA  jV  leg /slat/on.  267 

at  Washington  within  three  months  from  the  date 
hereof,  or  sooner  if  possible. 

In  faith  whereof  the  respective  Plenipotentiaries 
have  signed  this  convention,  and  thereto  affixed  the 
seals  of  their  arms. 

Done  at  Washington  the  thirtieth  day  of  March, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-seven. 


]    Seal    [ 


William  H    Seward, 
Edouard  DeStoeckl. 


United  States  Statutes  at  large,  page  539-543,  vol- 
ume 15,  i86g,  by  G.  and  P  Sanger,  by  authority  of 
Congress. 

And  whereas  the  said  Treaty  has  been  duly  ratified 
on  both  ]:)arts,  and  the  respective  ratifications  of  the 
same  were  exchanged  at  Washington  on  this  twentieth 
day  of  June,  by  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Privy  Counsellor 
Edward  de  Stoeckl,  the  Envoy  Extraordinan^  of  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias  on  the  part 
of  their  respective  governments. 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  known  that  I,  Andrew  John- 
son, President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  have 
caused  the  said  Treaty  to  be  made  public,  to  the  end 
that  the  same  and  every  clause  and  article  thereof,  may 
be  observed  and  fulfilled  with  good  faith  by  the  United 
States  and  the  citizens  thereof. 


268  ALASKA. 

Extracts  from  U.  S.  Statutes.     Lands,  Surveys, 
Mineral  Lands.  Etc. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1889-1891,  volume 
26,  page  1098.     Law  Extracts. 

Sec.  7.  That  whenever  it  shall  appear  to  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  General  Land  Office  that  a  clerical 
error  has  been  committed  in  the  entry  of  any  of  the 
public  lands  such  entry  may  be  suspended,  upon  the 
proper  notification  to  the  claimant,  through  the  local 
land  office,  until  the  error  has  been  coirrected;  and  ail 
entries  made  under  the  pre-emption,  homestead,  desert 
land,  or  timber-culture  laws,  in  which  final  proof  and 
payment  may  have  been  made  and  certificates  issued, 
and  to  which  there  are  no  adverse  claims  originating 
prior  to  final  entry  and  which  have  been  sold  or  in- 
cumbered prior  to  the  first  day  of  March,  eighteen 
hundred  and  eighty-eight,  and  after  final  entry,  to 
bona  fide  purchasers  or  incumbrances,  for  a  valuable 
consideration,  shall  unless  upon  an  investigation  by 
a  Government  Agent,  fraud  on  the  part  of  the  pur- 
chaser has  been  found,  be  confirmed  and  patented 
upon  presentation  of  satisfactory  proof  to  the  Land 
Department  of  such   sale  or  incumbrance; 

Provided,  That  after  the  lapse  of  two  years  from 
the  date  of  the  issuance  of  the  receiver's  receipt  upon 
the  final  entry  of  any  tract  of  land  under  the  home- 
stead, timber-culture,  desert-land,  or  pre-emption 
laws,  or  under  this  act,  and  when  there  shall  be  no 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  269 

pending  contest  or  protest  against  the  validity  o.f  such 
entry,  the  entryman  shall  be  entitled  to  a  patent  con- 
veying the  land  by  him  entered,  and  the  same  shall  be 
issued  to  him;  but  this  proviso  shall  not  be  con- 
strued to  require  the  delay  of  two  years  from  the  date 
of  said  entry  before  the  issuing  of  a  patent  therefor. 

Sec.  8.  That  suits  by  the  United  States  to  vacate 
and  annul  any  patent  heretofore  issued  shall  only  be 
brought  within  five  years  from  the  passage  of  this  act, 
and  suits  to  vacate  and  annul  patents  hereafter  issued 
shall  only  be  brought  within  six  years  after  the  date 
of  the  issuance  of  such  patents ;  and  in  the  States  of 
Colorado,  Montana,  Idaho,  North  Dakota  and  South 
Dakota,  Wyoming,  and  in  the  District  of  Alaska  and 
the  gold  and  silver  regions  of  Nevada,  and  the  Terri- 
tory of  Utah,  in  any  criminal  prosecution  or  civil  ac- 
tion by  the  United  States  for  a  trespass  on  such  pub- 
lic timber  lands  or  to  recover  timber  or  lumber  cut 
thereon,  it  shall  be  a  defense  if  the  defendant  shall 
show  that  the  said  timber  was  so  cut  or  removed  from 
the  timber  lands  for  use  in  such  State  or  Territory 
by  a  resident  thereof  for  agricultural,  mining,  manu- 
facturing, or  domestic  purposes,  and  has  not  been 
transported  out  of  the  same;  but  nothing  herein  con- 
tained shall  apply  to  operate  to  enlarge  the  rights  of 
any  railway  company  to  cut  timber  on  the  public  do- 
main; 

Provided,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may 


270  ALASKA. 

make  suitable  rules  and  regulations  to  carry  out  the 
provisions  of  this  section. 

Sec.  9.  That  hereafter  no  public  lands  of  the 
United  States,  except  abandoned  military  or  other 
reservations,  isolated  and  disconnected  fractional 
tracts  authorized  to  be  sold  by  section  twenty-four 
hundred  and  fifty-five  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  and 
mineral  and  other  lands,  the  sale  of  which  at  public 
auction  has  been  authorized  by  acts  of  Congress  of 
a  special  nature  having-  local  application,  shall  be  sold 
at  public  sale. 

Sec.  10.  That  nothing  in  this  act  shall  change,  re- 
peal, or  modify  any  agreements  or  treaties  made  with 
any  Indian  tribes  for  the  disposal  of  their  lands,  or 
of  land  ceded  to  the  United  States  to  be  disposed  of 
for  the  benefit  of  such  tribes,  and  the  proceeds  thereof 
to  be  placed  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States ;  and 
the  disposition  of  such  lands  shall  continue  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  such  treaties  or  agree- 
ments, except  as  provided  in  section  5  of  this  act. 

Sec.  II.  That  until  otherwise  ordered  by  Congress 
lands  in  Alaska  may  be  entered  for  town-site  pur- 
poses, for  the  several  use  and  benefit  of  the  occupants 
of  such  town  sites,  by  such  trustee  or  trustees  as 
may  be  named  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  for 
that  purpose,  such  entries  to  be  made  under  the  pro- 
visions of  section  twenty-three  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  of  the  Revised  Statutes  as  near  as  may  be;  and 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  271 

when  such  entries  shall  nave  been  made  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  shall  ])r<)\ide  b)'  regulation  for  the 
proper  execution  of  the  trust  in  favor  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  town  site,  including  the  survey  of  the 
lands  into  lots,  according  to  the  spirit  and  intent  of 
said  section  twenty-three  hundred  and  eight3^-seven 
of  the  Revised  Statutes,  whereby  the  same  results 
would  be  reached  as  though  the  entry  had  been  made 
by  a  county  judge  and  the  disposal  of  the  lots  in  such 
town  site  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  thereof  had  been 
prescribed  by  the  legislative  authority  of  a  State  or 
Territory ; 

Provided,  That  no  more  than  six  hundred  and  forty 
acres  shall  be  embraced  in  one  townsite  entry. 

Sec.  12.  That  any  citizen  of  the  United  States 
Iwenty-one  years  of  age,  and  any  association  of  such 
citizens,  and  any  corporation,  incorporated  under  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  State  or  Territory 
of  the  United  States  now  authorized  by  law  to  hold 
lands  in  the  Territories  now  or  hereafter  in  possession 
of  and  oecupying  public  lands  in  Alaska  for  the  pur- 
pose of  trade  or  manufacture,  may  purchase  not  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  to  be  taken  as 
near  as  practicable  in  a  square  form  of  such  land  at 
two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  acre; 

Provided,  That  in  case  more  than  one  person,  as- 
sociation or  corporation  shall  claim  the  same  tract  of 
land    the    person,  association   or  corporation  having 


272  ALASKA. 

the  prior  claim  by  reason  of  possession  and  continued 
occupation  shall  be  entitled  to  purchase  the  same;  but 
the  entry  of  no  person,  association  or  corporation 
shall  include  improvements  made  by  or  in  possession 
of  another  prior  to  the  passage  of  this  act. 

Sec.  13.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  any  person, 
association,  or  corporation  entitled  to  purchase  land 
under  this  act  to  make  an  application  to  the  United 
States  Marshal,  ex  officio  Surveyor-General  of  Alaska, 
for  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  making  a  survey  of  the 
lands  occupied  by  such  person,  association,  or  corpo- 
ration, and  the  cost  of  the  clerical  work  necessary 
to  be  done  in  the  office  of  the  said  United  States  Mar- 
shal, ex  officio  Surveyor-General;  and  on  the  re- 
ceipt of  such  estimate  from  the  United  States  Mar- 
shal, ex  officio  Surveyor-General,  the  said  person,  as- 
sociation, or  corporation  shall  deposit  the  amount  in 
a  United  States  depository,  as  is  required  by  section 
numbered  twenty-four  hundred  and  one.  Revised  Stat- 
utes, relating  to  desposits  for  surveys. 

That  on  the  receipt  of  the  United  States  Marshal, 
ex  officio  Surveyor-General,  of  the  said  certificates 
of  deposit,  he  shall  employ  a  competent  person  to 
make  such  survey,  under  such  rules  and  regulations 
as  may  be  adopted  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
who  shall  make  his  return  of  his  field  notes  and  maps 
to  the  officer  of  the  said  United  States  Marshal,  ex- 
officio  Surveyor-General;  and  the  said  United  States 


-1 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  273 

Marshal,  ex-officio  Surveyor-General,  shall  cause  the 
said  field  notes  and  plats  of  such  surveys  to  be  ex- 
amined, and.  if  correct,  approve  the  same,  and  shall 
transmit  certified  copies  of  such  maps  and  plats  to 
the  office  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office. 

That  when  the  said  field  notes  and  plats  of  said  sur- 
vey shall  have  been  approved  by  the  said  Commis- 
sioner of  the  General  Land  Office,  he  shall  notify  such 
person,  association,  or  corporation,  who  shall  then 
within  six  months  after  such  notice,  pay  to  the  said 
LTnited  States  Marshal,  ex-officio  Surveyor- General, 
for  such  land,  and  patent  shall  issue  for  the  same. 

Sec.  14.  That  none  of  the  provisions  of  the  last 
two  preceding  sections  of  this  act  shall  be  so  con- 
strued as  to  warrant  the  sale  of  any  lands  belonging 
to  the  L'nited  States  which  shall  contain  coal  or  the 
precious  metals,  or  any  town  site,  or  which  shall  be 
occupied  by  the  L'nited  States  for  public  purposes,  or 
which  shall  be  reserved  for  such  purposes,  or  to  which 
the  natives  of  Alaska  have  prior  rights  by  virtue  of 
actual  occupation,  or  which  shall  be  selected  by  the 
United  States  Commisssion  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  on 
the  islands  of  Kodiak  and  Afognak  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  fish-culture  stations.  And  all  tracts 
of  land  not  exceeding  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
in  any  one  tract  now  occupied  as  missionary  stations 
in  said  district  of  Alaska  are  hereby  excepted  from 
18 


274  ALASKA. 

the  operation  of  the  last  three  preceding  sections  of 
this  act.  No  portion  of  the  islands  of  the  Pribylov 
Group  or  the  Seal  Islands  of  Alaska  shall  be  subject 
to  sale  under  this  act;  and  the  United  States  reserves, 
and  there  shall  be  reserved  in  all  patents  issued  under 
the  provisions  of  the  last  two  preceding  sections  the 
right  of  the  United  States  to  regulate  the  taking  of 
salmon  and  to  do  all  things  necessary  to  protect  and 
prevent  the  destruction  of  salmon  in  all  the  waters 
of  the  lands  granted  frequented  by  salmon. 

Sec.  15.  That  until  otherwise  provided  by  law  the 
body  of  lands  known  as  Annette  Islands,  situated  in 
Alexander  Archipelago  in  South-eastern  Alaska,  on 
the  north  side  of  Dixon's  entrance,  be,  and  the  same 
is  hereby,  set  apart  as  a  reservation  for  the  use  of  the 
Metlakahtla  Indians,  and  those  people  known  as  Met- 
lakahtlans  who  have  recently  emigrated  from  British 
Columbia  to  Alaska,  and  such  other  Alaskan  natives 
as  may  join  them,  to  be  held  and  used  by  them  in 
common,  under  such  rules  and  regulations,  and  sub- 
ject to  such  restrictions,  as  may  be  prescribed  from 
time  to  time  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Sec.  16.  That  town  site  entries  may  be  made  by 
incorporated  towns  and  cities  on  the  mineral  lands  of 
the  United  States,  but  no  title  shall  be  acquired  by 
such  towns  or  cities  to  any  vein  of  gold,  silver,  cinna- 
bar, copper,  or  lead,  or  to  any  valid  mining  claim  or 
possession  held  under  existing  law.     When  mineral 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  275 

veins  are  possessed  within  the  limits  of  an  incorpo- 
rated town  or  city,  and  such  possession  is  recognized 
by  local  authority  or  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 
the  title  to  town  lots  shall  be  subject  to  such  recog- 
nized possession  and  the  necessary  use  thereof  and 
when  entry  has  been  made  or  patent  issued  for  such 
town  sites  to  such  incorporated  town  or  city,  the  pos- 
sessor of  such  mineral  vein  may  enter  and  receive 
patent  for  such  mineral  vein,  and  the  surface  ground 
appertaining  thereto; 

Provided,  That  no  entry  shall  be  made  by  such 
mineral-vein  claimant  for  surface  ground  where  the 
owner  or  occupier  of  the  surface  ground  shall  have 
had  possession  of  the  same  before  the  inception  of  the 
title  of  the  mineral-vein  applicant. 

Sec.  17.  That  reservoir  sites  located  or  selected 
and  to  be  located  and  selected  under  the  provisions 
of  "An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  ex- 
penses of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  thirtieth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-nine," 
and  for  other  purposes  and  amendments  thereto,  shall 
be  restricted  to  and  shall  contain  only  so  much  land 
as  is  actually  necessary  for  the  construction  and  main- 
tenance of  reservoirs;  excluding  so  far  as  practicable 
lands  occupied  by  actual  settlers  at  the  date  of  the 
location  of  said  reservoirs  and  that  the  provision  of 
"An  Act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  ex- 
penses of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 


276  ALASKA. 

June  thirtieth,  eighteen  lumdrcd  and  ninety-one,  and 
for  other  purposes,"  which  reads  as  follows,  viz: 
"No  person  who  shall  after  the  passage  of  this  act 
enter  upon  any  of  the  public  lands  with  a  view  to  oc- 
cupation, entry,  or  settlement  under  any  of  the  land 
laws  shall  be  permitted  to  acquire  title  to  more  than 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  the  aggregate 
under  all  said  laws,"  shall  be  construed  to  include  m 
the  maximum  amount  of  lands  the  title  to  which  is 
permitted'  to  be  acquired  by  one  person,  only  agricul- 
tural lands  and  not  to  include  lands  entered  or  sought 
to  be  entered  under  mineral  land  laws. 

Sec.  1 8.  That  the  right  of  way  through  the  public 
lands  and  reservations  of  the  United  States  is  hereby 
granted  to  any  canal  or  ditch  company  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  irrigation  and  duly  organized  under 
the  laws  of  any  State  or  Territory,  which  shall  have 
filed,  or  may  hereafter  file,  with  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  a  copy  of  its  articles  of  incorporation,  and 
due  proofs  of  its  organization  under  the  same,  to  the 
extent  of  the  ground  occupied  by  the  water  of  the 
reservoir  and  of  the  canal  and  its  laterals,  and  fifty 
feet  on  each  side  of  the  marginal  limits  thereof;  also 
the  right  to  take,  from  the  public  lands  adjacent  to  the 
line  of  the  canal  or  ditch,  material,  earth,  and  stone 
necessary  for  the  construction  of  such  canal  or  ditch; 

Provided,  That  no  such  right  of  way  shall  be  so 
located  as  to  interfere  with  the  proper  occupation  by 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  277 

the  Government  of  any  such  reservation,  and  all 
maps  of  location  shall  be  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  Department  of  the  Government  having  jurisdic- 
tion of  such  reservation,  and  the  privilege  herein 
granted  shall  not  be  construed  to  interfere  with  the 
control  of  water  for  irrigation  and  other  purposes 
under  authority  of  the  respective  States  or  Territories. 

Sec.  21.  That  nothing  in  this  act  shall  authorize 
such  canal  or  ditch  company  to  occupy  such  right 
of  way  except  for  the.  purpose  of  said  canal  or  ditch, 
and  then  only  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  con- 
struction, maintenance,  and  care  of  said  canal  or  ditch. 

Sec.  24.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States 
may,  from  time  to  time,  set  apart  and  reserve,  in  any 
State  or  Territory  having  public  land  bearing  forests, 
in  any  part  of  the  public  lands  wholly  or  in  part  cov- 
ered with  timber  or  undergrowth,  whether  of  com- 
mercial value  or  not,  as  public  reservations,  and  the 
President  shall,  by  public  proclamation,  declare  the 
establishment  of  such  reservations  and  the  limits 
thereof. 

Approved,  March  3,   1891. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1885- 1887,  volume 
24,  page  243. 

In  1886,  Congress  appropriated  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  for  children  of  school  age  without  regard  to 
race. 


278  ALASKA. 

Page  529. 

In  1887  a  like  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
for  same  purpose. 

Page  45. 

Also  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  Indian  pupils  of 
both  sexes  at  the  Industrial  School  at  Alaska. 

Likewise  in  1887  a  similar  amount. 

Alaska,  1871-1873,  page  530.  Amendment  to  the 
law  of  1867,  approved  1873. 

Laws  of  the  United  States  relating  to  Customs, 
Commerce  and  Navigation  extended  to  and  over  all 
the  territory,  mainland,  islands  and  waterways  ceded 
by  Russia. 

Approved  March  30,  1873.  The  amendment  reads 
"That  the  laws  of  the  United  States  relating  to  cus- 
toms, commerce  and  navigation,  and  sections  20  and 
21  of  An  Act  to  regulate  trade  and  intercourse  with 
Indian  tribes  and  to  preserve  peace  on  the  frontiers." 

Approved  June  30th,  1834,  be  and  the  same  are 
hereby  extended  to  and  over  all  the  mainland,  islands 
and  waters  of  the  territory  ceded  to  the  United  vStates 
by  the  Emperor  of  Russia  by  treaty  concluded  at 
Washington  on  the  30th  day  of  March,  1867,  so  far  as 
the  same  may  be  apphcable  thereto." 

The  Province  of  Louisiana  ceded  by  France  in  1803 
ran  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  west  of  this  line  to  the 
Texas  border  and  thence  northwest  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean  to  the  present  line  between  Canada  and  the 
United  States  as  far  as  the  Straits  of  Georgia. 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  279 

England  claimed  and  held  the  lower  end  of  Van- 
couver Island,  it  being  a  very  strong  strategic  point, 
as  it  commanded  the  straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  and 
the  present  inland  passage  to  Alaska. 

In  1845,  Texas  was  annexed  to  the  United  States, 
taking  in  also  a  portion  of  what  is  now  New  Mexico 
and  the  eastern  portion  of  Colorado. 

In  1848,  Mexico  ceded  a  large  tract  to  the  United 
States,  taking  in  almost  all  the  territory  west  of  this 
Texan  annexation  line,  leaving  the  line  run  from  the 
ocean  at  Lower  California,  irregularly  nearly  at  the 
lower  line  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

In  1853,  the  Gadsden  purchase  included  the  strip 
of  land  below  that  line  to  another  line  in  Mexico  from 
the  Colorado  River  to  El  Paso  on  the  Rio  Grande  del 
Norte. 

In  1867,  the  territory  of  Alaska  now  under  consid- 
eration was  ceded  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia  to  the 
United  States,  completing  our  present  possessions. 
Seal  Islands  Made  a  Reservation. 
United  States  Statute  at  Large,  1867- 1869,  volume 
15,  page  348. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  as- 
sembled. That  the  islands  of  Saint  Paul  and  Saint 
George  in  Alaska  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  declared  a 
special  reservation  for  Government  purposes;  and 
that  until  otherwise  provided  by  law,  it  shall  be  unlaw- 


28o  ALASKA. 

ful  for  any  person  to  band  or  remain  on  either  of  said 
islands,  except  by  authority  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury;  and  any  person  found  on  either  of  said 
islands,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  resolution 
shall  be  summarily  removed;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  Secretary  of  War  to  carry-  this  resolution  im- 
mediately into  effect. 

Approved,  March  3,  1869. 

Reservations  in  Alaska — Land,  Forest  and  Fish. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1 891 -1893,  volume 
2^,  No.  39,  page  1052. 

A  Proclamation  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  December  24,  1892. 

Whereas,  it  is  provided  by  Section  24,  of  the  Act 
of  Congress,  approved  March  third,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  ninety-one,  entitled,  "An  Act  to  repeal  tim- 
ber-culture laws,  and  for  other  purposes;"  that  The 
President  of  the  United  States  may  from  time  to  time 
set  apart  and  reserve,  in  any  State  or  Territory  having 
public  lands  bearing  forests,  in  any  part  of  the  public 
lands  wholly,  or  in  part  covered  with  timber  or  under- 
growth, whether  of  commercial  value  or  not,  as  public 
reservations;  and  the  President  shall,  by  public  pro- 
clamation, declare  the  establishment  of  such  reserva- 
tion, and  the  limits  thereof. 

And  whereas,  it  is  provided  by  section  14  of  said 
above  mentioned  Act,  that    the    public  lands  in  the 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  281 

Territory  of  Alaska,  reserved  for  public  purposes,  shall 
not  be  subject  to  occupation  and  sale. 

And  whereas,  the  public  lands  in  the  Territory  ol 
Alaska,  known  as  Afognak  Island,  are  in  part  covered 
with  timber,  and  are  required  for  public  purposes,  in 
order  that  salmon  fisheries  in  the  waters  of  the  Island, 
and  salmon  and  other  fish  and  sea  animals,  and  other 
animals  and  birds,  and  the  timber,  undergrowth, 
grass,  moss  and  other  growth  in,  on,  and  about  said 
Island  may  be  protected  and  preselrved  unimpaired, 
and  it  appears  that  the  public  good  would  be  pro- 
moted by  setting  apart  and  reserving  said  lands  as  a 
public  reservation. 

And  whereas,  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Fish  and  Fisheries  has  selected  Afognak  Bay,  River 
and  Lake,  with  their  tributary  streams,  and  the 
sources  thereof,  and  the  lands  including  the  same  on 
said  Afognak  Islands,  and  within  one  mile  from  the 
shores  thereof,  as  a  reserve  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing fish  culture  stations,  and  the  use  of  the  United 
States  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  the  boun- 
dar>^  lines  of  which  include  the  head  springs  of  the 
tributaries  above  mentioned,  and  the  lands,  the  drain- 
age of  which  is  into  the  same. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Benjamin  Harrison,  President 
ot  the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me 
vested  by  sections  24  and  14,  of  the  aforesaid  Act 
of  Congress,  and  by  other  laws  of  the  United  States 


282  ALASKA. 

do  reserve  and  do  hereby  make  known  and  proclaim 
that  there  is  hereby  reserved  from  occupation  and 
sale,  and  set  apart  as  a  Public  Reservation,  including 
use  for  fish-culture  stations,  said  Afognak  Island, 
Alaska  and  its  adjacent  bays  and  rocks  and  territorial 
waters,  including  among  others  the  Sea  Lion  Rocks, 
and  Sea  Otter  Island; 

Provided,  That  this  proclamation  shall  not  be  so 
constructed  as  to  deprive  any  bona  fide  inhabitant  of 
said  Island  of  any  valid  right  he  may  possess  under 
the  treaty  for  the  cession  of  the  Russian  possessions 
in  North  America  to  the  United  States,  concluded  at 
Washington,  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  March,  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-seven. 

Warning  is  hereby  expressly  given  to  all  persons 
not  to  enter  upon,  or  to  occupy,  the  tract  or  tracts 
of  land  or  waters  reserved  by  this  proclamation,  or  to 
fish  in,  or  use  any  of  the  waters  herein  described  or 
mentioned,  and  that  all  persons  or  corporations  now 
occupying  said  Island,  or  any  of  said  premises,  except 
under  said  Treaty,  shall  depart  therefrom. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand, 
and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

(Seal:) 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington  this  twenty-fourth 
day  of  December,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand, eight  hundred  and  ninety-two,  and  of  the  Inde- 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  283 

pendence  of  the  United  States,  the  one  hundred  and 
sixteenth.  Benjamin  Harrison. 

By  the  President, 

John  W.   Foster,  Secretary  of  State. 

Salmon  Protection  and  Revenue-Cutter  Service. 

March  2,  1889,  pag-e  939  and  944. 

For  the  expense  of  the  Revenue-Cutter  Service: 
For  pay  of  captains,  Heutenants,  engineers,  cadets, 
and  pilots  employed,  and  for  rations  for  the  same; 
for  pay  of  petty  officers,  seamen,  cooks,  stewards, 
boys,  coal-passers,  and  firemen,  and  for  rations  for 
the  same;  for  fuel  for  vessels,  and  repairs  and  outfits 
for  the  same;  shipchandlery  and  engineers'  stores  for 
the  same;  traveling  expenses  and  officers  traveling  on 
duty  under  orders  from  the  Treasury  Department; 
instruction  of  cadets;  commutation  of  quarters;  for 
protection  of  the  seal  fisheries  in  Bering  Sea  and  the 
other  waters  of  Alaska  and  the  interest  of  the  Gov- 
ernment on  the  Seal  Islands  and  the  sea-otter  hunting 
grounds,  and  the  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  law 
in  Alaska,  contingent  expenses,  including'  wharfage, 
towage,  dockage,  freight,  advertising,  surveys,  labor 
and  miscellaneous  expenses  which  cannot  be  included 
under  special  heads,  nine  hundred  and  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars. 

For  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  a  refuge- 
station  at  or  near  Point  Barrow,  Alaska,  on  the  Arc- 
tic Ocean,  fifteen  thousand  dollars. 


284  ALASK.L 

February  26,  1889,  page  705  and  726.  Alaska,  Pay 
of  Governor,  etc. 

Territory  of  Alaska :  For  salary  of  Governor,  three 
thousand  dollars;  judge,  three  thousand  dollars;  at- 
torney, marshal,  and  clerk,  two  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  each;  four  commissioners,  one  thousand  dol- 
lars each;  four  deputy  marshals,  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  each;  in  all,  twenty  thousand  five  hun- 
dred dollars. 

For  incidental  and  contingent  expenses  of  the  terri- 
tory, stationery,  lights,  and  fuel,  to  be  expended  under 
the  direction  of  the  Governor,  two  thousand  dollars. 

Education  in  Alaska. 

March  2,  1889,  page  939  and  962. 

For  the  industrial  and  primary  education  of  the 
children  of  school  age  in  the  Territory  of  Alaska,  with- 
out reference  to  race,  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

Traveling  Expenses. 

March  2,  1889,  page  939  and  977. 

Territory  of  Alaska:  For  the  actual  and  necessary 
expenses  of  the  judge,  marshal,  and  attorney  when 
traveling  in  the  discharge  of  their  ofificial  duties,  one 
thousand  dolla/rs. 

Rent  and  Incidental  Fxpenses,  Ofifice  of  Marshal, 
Territory  of  Alaska:  For  rent  of  offices  for  the  mar- 
shal, district  attorney,  and  commissioners,  furniture, 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  285 

fuel,  books,  stationery,  and  other  incidental  expenses, 
five  hundred  dollars. 

March  2,  1889,  page  905  and  921. 

Education  of  Children  in  Alaska:  To  pay  the  sal- 
ary of  John  H.  Carr,  teacher  in  Government  School 
at  Unga,  Alaska,  for  March,  eighteen  hundred  and 
eighty-seven,  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

March  2,  1889,  page  1008  and  1009. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Con- 
gress assembled.  That  the  erection  of  dams,  barricades, 
or  other  obstructions  in  any  of  the  rivers  of  Alaska, 
with  the  purpose  or  result  of  preventing  or  impeding 
the  ascent  of  salmon  or  other  anadromous  species 
to  their  spawning  grounds,  is  hereby  declared  to  be 
unlawful,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  here- 
by authorized  and  directed  to  establish  such  regu- 
lations and  surveillance  as  may  be  necessary  to  insure 
that  this  prohibition  is  strictly  enforced  and  to  other- 
wise protect  the  salmon  fisheries  of  Alaska;  and  every 
person  who  shall  be  found  guilty  of  a  violation  of 
the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  fined  not  less 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  each  day  of  the 
continuance  of  such  obstruction. 

Sec.  2.  That  the  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fish- 
eries is  hereby  empowered  and  directed  to  institute 
an  investigation  into  the  habits,  abundance,  and  dis- 
tribution of  the  salmon  of  Alaska,  as  well  as  the  pres- 


286  ALASKA. 

ent  conditions  and  methods  of  the  fisheries,  with  a 
view  of  recommending  to  Congress  such  additional 
legislation  as  may  be  necessary  to  prevent  the  impair- 
ment or  exhaustion  of  these  valuable  fisheries,  and 
placing  them  under  regular  and  permanent  conditions 
of  production. 

Sec.  3.  That  section  nineteen  hundred  and  fifty-six 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  is  here- 
by declared  to  include  and  apply  to  all  the  dominion 
of  the  United  States  in  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea;  and 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President,  at  a  timely  season 
in  each  year,  to  issue  his  proclamation  and  cause  the 
same  to  be  published  for  one  month  in  at  least  one 
newspaper  if  any  such  there  be  published  at  each 
United  States  port  of  entry  on  the  Pacific  coast,  warn- 
ing all  persons  against  entering  said  waters  for  the 
purpose  of  violating  the  provisions  of  said  section; 
and  he  shall  alsO'  cause  one  or  more  vessels  of  the 
United  States  to  diligently  cruise  said  waters  and 
arrest  all  persons,  and  seize  all  vessels  found  to  be,  or 
to  have  been,  engaged  in  any  violation  of  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  therein. 

March  2,  1889,  page  939  and  949. 

Alaska  Boundary  Survey:  For  expenses  in  carry- 
ing on  a  preliminary  survey  of  the  frontier  line  be- 
tween Alaska  and  British  Columbia,  in  accordance 
with  plans  or  projects  approved  by  the  Secretary  of 
State,  including  expenses  of  drawing  and  publication 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  287 

of  map  or  maps,  twenty  thousand  dollars,  said  sum 
to  continue  available  for  expenditure  until  the  same  is 
exhausted. 

Chapter  10.  Bounty  Lands,  U.  S.,  page  442,  1878 
Revised  Statutes  of  United  States,  second  edition. 

Salmon  Fisheries  and  Protection  of  the  Fish. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1895- 1897,  volume 
29,  page  316. 

An  Act  To  amend  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  pro- 
vide for  the  protection  of  the  salmon  fisheries  of 
Alaska." 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Con- 
gress, assembled,  That  the  Act  approved  March  second, 
eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-nine,  and  entitled  "An 
Act  to  provide  for  the  protection  of  the  salmon  fish- 
eries of  Alaska"  is  hereby  amended  and  re-enacted 
as  follows: 

That  the  erection  of  dams,  barricades,  fish-wheels, 
fences,  or  any  such  fixed  or  stationary  obstructions 
in  any  part  of  the  rivers  or  streams  of  Alaska,  or 
to  fish  for  or  catch  salmon  or  salmon  trout  in  any 
manner  or  by  any  means  with  the  purpose  or  result 
of  preventing  or  impeding  the  ascent  of  salmon  to 
their  spawning  grounds,  is  declared  to  be  unlawful, 
and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  hereby  author- 
ized and  directed  to  remove  such  obstructions  and  to 
establish  and  enforce  such   regulations  and   surveil- 


288  ALASKA. 

lance  as  may  be  necessary  to  insure  that  this  prohibi- 
tion and  all  other  provisions  of  law  relating  to  the 
salmon  fisheries  of  Alaska  are  strictly  complied  with. 
Sec.  2.  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  to  fish,  catch,  or 
kill  any  salmon  of  any  variety,  except  with  rod  or 
spear,  above  the  tide  waters  of  any  of  the  creeks  or 
rivers  of  less  than  five  hundred  feet  in  width  in  the  Terri- 
tory of  Alaska,  except  only  for  purposes  of  propaga- 
tion, or  to  lay  or  set  any  drift  net,  set  net,  trap,  pound 
net,  or  seine  for  any  purpose  across  the  tide  waters  of 
any  river  or  stream  for  a  distance  of  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  width  of  such  river,  stream,  or  channel, 
or  lay  or  set  any  seine  or  net  within  one  hundred  yards 
of  any  other  net  or  seine  which  is  being  laid  or  set 
in  said  stream  or  channel,  or  to  take,  kill,  or  fish  for 
salmon  in  any  manner  or  by  any  means  in  any  of  the 
waters  of  the  Territory  of  Alaska,  either  in  the  streams 
or  tide  waters,  except  Cook's  Inlet,  Prince  William 
Sound,  Bering  Sea,  and  the  waters  tributary  thereto 
from  mid-night  on  Friday  of  each  week  until  six 
o'clock  ante-meridian  of  the  Sunday  following;  or  to 
fish  for  or  catch  or  kill  in  any  manner  or  by  any  appli- 
ances except  by  rod  or  spear,  any  salmon  in  any 
stream  of  less  than  one  hundred  yards  in  width  in  the 
said  Territory  of  Alaska  between  the  hours  of  six 
o'clock  in  the  evening  and  six  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  following  day  of  each  and  every  day  of  the 
week. 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATIOh.  289 

Sec.  3.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may, 
at  his  discretion  set  aside  any  streams  as  spawning 
grounds,  in  which  no  fishing  will  be  permitted;  and 
when,  in  his  judgment,  the  results  of  fishing  opera- 
tions on  any  stream  indicate  that  the  number  of  sal- 
mon taken  is  larger  than  the  capacity  of  the  stream 
to  produce,  he  is  authorized  to  establish  weekly  close 
seasons,  to  limit  the  duration  of  the  fishing  season, 
or  to  prohibit  fishing  entirely  for  one  year  or  more; 
so  as  to  permit  salmon  to  increase; 

Provided,  however.  That  such  power  shall  be  exer- 
cised only  after  all  persons  interested  shall  have  been 
given  a  hearing,  of  which  hearing  due  notice  must  be 
given  by  publication; 

And  provided  further.  That  it  shall  have  been  ascer- 
tained that  the  persons  engaged  in  catching  salmon 
do  not  maintain  fish  hatcheries  of  sufficient  magni- 
tude to  keep  such  streams  fully  stocked. 

Sec.  4.  That  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  law  here- 
in, and  such  regulations  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury may  establish  in  pursuance  thereof,  he  is  author- 
ized and  directed  to  appoint  one  inspector  of  fisheries 
at  a  salary  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  dollars  per 
annum,  and  two  assistant  inspectors,  at  a  salary  of 
one  thousand  six  hundred  dollars  each  per  annum, 
and  he  will  annually  submit  to  Congress  estimates 
to  cover  the  salaries  and  actual  traveling  expenses  of 
the  officers  hereby  authorized  and  for  such  other  ex- 
19 


290  ALASKA. 

penditures  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  out  the  pro- 
visions of  the  law  lierein. 

Sec.  5.  That  any  person  violating  the  provisions 
of  this  act  or  the  regulations  established  in  pursuance 
thereof,  shall  upon  conviction  thereof,  be  punished  by 
a  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars  or  imprison- 
ment at  hard  labor  for  a  term  of  ninety  days,  or  both 
such  fine  and  imprisonment,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
court;  and,  further,  in  case  of  the  violation  of  any  of 
the  provisions  of  section  one  of  this  Act  and  convic- 
tion thereof,  a  further  fine  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  per  diem  will  be  imposed  for  each  day  that  the 
obstruction  or  obstructions  therein  are  maintained. 

Approved,  June  9,  1896. 

Revenue  Service. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1895- 1897,  volume 
29,  page  420.     Revenue  Cutter  Service. 

For  expenses  of  the  Revenue  Cutter  Service:  For 
pay  of  captains,  lieutenants,  engineers,  cadets,  and 
pilots  employed,  and  for  rations  for  the  same;  for  pay 
of  petty  ofificers,  seamen,  firemen,  coal  passers,  stew- 
ards, cooks,  and  boys,  and  for  rations  for  the  same; 
for  fuel  for  vessels,  and  repairs  and  outfits  for  the 
same;  ship  chandlery  and  engineers'  stores  for  the 
same;  traveling  expenses  of  officers  traveling  on 
duty  under  orders  from  the  Treasury  Department; 
commutations  of  quarters;  protection  of  the  seal 
fisheries    in    Bering    Sea    and    the    other    waters    of 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  29 1 

Alaska  and  in  interest  of  the  Government  on 
Seal  Islands  and  the  sea-otter  hunting  grounds, 
and  the  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  law  in 
Alaska;  for  enforcing  the  provisions  of  the  Acts 
relating  to  the  anchorage  of  vessels  in  the  ports  of 
New  York  and  Chicago,  approved  May  sixteenth, 
eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-eight,  and  February 
sixth,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three;  contingent 
expenses  including  wharfage,  towage,  dockage, 
freight  advertising,  surveys,  labor,  and  miscellaneous 
expenses  which  cannot  be  included  under  special 
heads,  nine  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  dollars; 

Provided,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be, 
and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  permit  officers  and 
others  of  the  Revenue-Cutter  Service  to  make  allot- 
ments from  their  pay,  under  such  regulations  as  he 
may  prescribe,  for  the  support  of  their  families  or 
relatives,  for  their  own  savings,  or  for  other  proper 
purposes,  during  such  time  as  they  may  be  absent  at 
sea,  on  distant  duty,  or  under  other  circumstances 
warranting  such  action. 

For  completing  a  revenue  steamer  of  the  first  class, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
for  service  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 

For  constructing  two  revenue  steamers  of  the  first- 
class,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  for  services  on  the  Great  Lakes  two  hun- 


292  ALASKA. 

dred  thousand  dollars;  and  the  total  cost  of  said 
revenue  steamers,  under  a  contract  which  is  hereby 
authorized  therefor,  shall  not  exceed  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  each. 

Customs,  Commercial  and  Navigation  Laws. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1867- 1869,  volume 
15,    page  240. 

An  Act  to  extend  the  Laws  of  the  United  States 
relating  to  Customs,  Commerce  and  Navigation  over 
the  territory  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Russia, 
to  establish  a  Collection  District  therein,  and  for 
other  Purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  LTnited  States  of  America  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  That  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
relating  to  customs,  commerce,  and  navigation  be,  and 
the  same  are  hereby,  extended  to  and  over  all  the 
mainland,  islands,  and  waters  of  the  territory  ceded  to 
the  United  States  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia  by  treaty 
concluded  at  Washington  on  the  thirtieth  day  of 
March,  Anno  Domini  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven,  so  far  as  the  same  may  be  applicable  thereto. 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  of  the 
said  territory,  with  its  ports,  harbors,  bays,  rivers,  and 
waters,  shall  constitute  a  customs  collection  district, 
to  be  called  the  district  of  Alaska  for  which  said  dis- 
trict a  port  of  entry  shall  be  established  at  some  con- 


ALASKAN  LEG/SLA  TION.  293 

venient  point  to  be  designated  by  the  President,  at  or 
near  the  town  of  Sitka  or  New  Archangel,  and  a  col- 
lector of  customs  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate, 
who  shall  reside  at  the  said  port  of  entry,  and  who 
shall  receive  an  annual  salary  of  two  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars,  in  addition  to  the  usual  legal  fees  and 
emoluments  of  the  office.  But  his  entire  compen- 
sation shall  not  exceed  four  thousand  dollars  per  an- 
num, or  a  proportionate  sum  for  a  less  period  of  time. 
Sec.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  be  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized 
to  make  and  prescribe  such  regulations  as  he  may 
deem  expedient  for  the  nationalization  of  all  vessels 
owned  by  actual  residents  of  said  territory  on  and 
since  the  20th  day  of  June,^Anno  Domini  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-seven,  and  which  shall  continue 
to  have  been  so  owned  up  to  the  date  of  such  nation- 
alization, and  that  from  any  deputy  collector  of  cus- 
toms upon  whom  there  has  been,  or  shall  hereafter 
be,  conferred  any  of  the  powers  of  a  collector  under 
and  by  virtue  of  the  twenty-ninth  section  of  the  "Act 
further  to  prevent  smuggling,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses," approved  July  eighteenth,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-six,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall 
have  power  to  require  bonds  in  favor  of  the  United 
States  in  such  amount  as  the  said  Secretary  shall  pre- 
scribe for  the  faithful  discharge  of  official  duties  by 
such  deputy. 


294  ALASKA. 

Sec.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Presi- 
dent shall  have  power  to  restrict  and  regulate  or  to 
prohibit  the  importation  and  use  of  fire  arms,  ammu- 
nition, and  distilled  spirits  into  and  within  the  said 
territory.  And  the  exportation  of  the  same  from  any 
other  port  or  place  in  the  United  States  when  destined 
to  any  port  or  place  in  the  said  territory,  and  all  such 
arms,  ammunition,  and  distilled  spirits,  exported  or 
attempted  to  be  exported  from  any  port  or  place  in 
the  United  States  and  destined  for  such  territory,  in 
violation  of  any  regulations  that  may  be  prescribed 
under  this  section;  and  all  such  arms,  ammunition, 
and  distilled  spirits,  landed  or  attempted  to  be  landed 
or  used  at  any  part  or  place  in  said  territory,  in  viola- 
tion of  said  regulations,  shall  be  forfeited;  and  if  the 
value  of  the  same  shall  exceed  four  hundred  dollars, 
the  vessel  upon  which  the  same  shall  be  found,  or 
from  which  they  shall  have  been  landed  together  with 
her  tackle,  apparel  and  furniture,  and  cargo,  shall  be 
forfeited ;  and  any  person  wilfully  violating  such  regu- 
lations shall,  on  conviction,  be  fined  in  any  sum  not 
exceeding  five  hundred  dollars,  or  imprisoned  not 
more  than  six  months.  And  bonds  may  be  required 
for  a  faithful  observance  of  such  regulations  from  the 
master  or  owners  of  any  vessel  departing  from  any 
port  in  the  United  States  having  on  board  fire-arms, 
ammunition  or  distilled  spirits,  when  such  vessel  is 
destined  to  any  place  in  said  territory,  or   if    not  so 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  295 

destined,  when  there  shall  be  reasonable  ground  of 
suspicion  that  such  articles  are  intended  to  be  landed 
therein  in  violation  of  law;  and  similar  bonds  may 
also  be  required  on  the  landing  of  any  such  articles  in 
tlie  said  territory  from  the  person  to  whom  the  same 
may  be  consigned. 

Sec.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  coast- 
ing trade  between  the  said  territory  and  any  other 
portion  of  the  United  States  shall  be  regulated  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  provisions  of  law  applicable  to 
such  trade  between  any  two  great  districts. 

Sec.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall 
be  unlawful  for  any  person  or  persons  to  kill  any 
otter,  mink,  marten,  sable,  or  fur  seal,  or  other  fur- 
bearing  animal,  within  the  limits  of  said  territory,  or 
in  the  waters  thereof;  and  any  person  guilty  thereof 
shall,  for  each  oflfence,  on  conviction,  be  fined  in  any 
sum  not  less  than  two  hundred  dollars  nor  more  than 
one  thousand,  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  six 
months  or  both  at  the  discretion  of  the  court,  and 
all  vessels,  their  tackle,  apparel,  furniture,  and  cargo, 
found  engaged  in  violation  of  this  act,  shall  be  foir- 
f  eited : 

Provided,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall 
have  power  to  authorize  the  killing  of  any  such  mink, 
marten,  sable,  or  other  fur-bearing  animal,  except 
fur  seals  under  such  regulations  as  he  may  prescribe ; 
and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  Secretary  to  pre- 


296  ALASKA. 

vent  the  killing  of  any  fur  seal,  and  to  provide  for  the 
execution  of  the  provisions  of  this  section  until  it 
shall  be  otherwise  provided  by  law; 

Provided,  That  no  special  privilege  shall  be  granted 
under  this  act. 

Sec.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  until  other- 
wise provided  by  law,  all  violations  of  this  act,  and  of 
the  several  laws  hereby  extended  to  the  said  terri- 
tory and  the  waters  thereof,  committed  within  the 
limits  of  the  same  shall  be  prosecuted  in  any  district 
court  of  the  United  States  in  California  or  Oregon 
or  in  the  district  court  of  Washington,  and  the  col- 
lector and  deputy  collectors  appointed  by  virtue  of 
this  act,  and  any  person  authorized  in  writing  by 
either  of  them,  or  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
shall  have  power  to  arrest  persons  and  seize  vessels 
and  merchandise  liable  to  fines,  penalties,  or  forfeit- 
ures under  this  and  the  said  other  laws,  and  to  keep 
and  deliver  over  the  same  toi  the  marshal  of  some  one 
oithe  said  courts;  and  said  courts  shall  have  original 
jurisdiction,  and  may  take  cognizance  of  all  cases  aris- 
ing under  this  act  and  the  several  laws  hereby  extended 
over  the  territory  so  ceded  to  the  United  States  by 
the  Emperor  of  Russia,  as  aforesaid,  and  shall  pro- 
ceed therein  in  the  same  manner  and  with  the  like 
efit'ect  as  if  such  cases  had  arisen  within  the  district 
or  territory  where  the  proceedings  shall  be  brought. 

Sec.  8.     Gives  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  power 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  297 

to  mitigate  or  remit  the  forfeitures,  penalties,  and  dis- 
.nbilities  accruing  in  certain  cases  therein  mentioned. 
Sec.  9.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  may  prescribe  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  to  carry  into  elTect  all  parts  of  this 
act,  except  those  especially  intrusted  to  the  President 
alone;  and  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  is  hereby 
appropriated. 

Enactment  Concerning  Alaska  Statistics. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  volume  18,  part  3, 
page  33,  1873-1875. 

An  act  to  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to 
gather  authentic  information  as  to  the  condition  and 
importance  of  the  fur  trade  in  the  Territory  of  Alaska. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  appoint  some  per- 
son qualified  by  experience  and  education  a  special 
agent  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  various  trading 
stations  and  Indian  villages  in  the  Territory  of  Alaska, 
the  Seal  Islands,  and  the  large  islands  to  the  north 
of  them,  in  Bering  Sea,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
and  reporting  to  him  all  possible  authentic  informa- 
tion upon  the  present  condition  of  the  seal  fisheries  of 
Alaska;  the  haunts  and  habits  of  the  seal,  and  the 
preservation  and  extension  of  the  fisheries  as  a  source 


298  ALASKA. 

of  revenue  to  the  United  States ;  together  with  like  in- 
formation respecting  the  fur-bearing  animals  of 
Alaska;  generally,  the  statistics  of  the  fur  trade,  and 
the  condition  of  the  people  or  natives,  especially  those 
upon  whom  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  fisheries 
and  fur  trade  is  dependent ;  such  agent  to  receive  as 
compensation  eight  dollars  per  day  while  actually 
thus  employed,  with  all  actual  and  necessary  traveling 
expenses  incurred  therein; 

Provided,  That  the  appointment  made  under  this 
act  shall  not  continue  longer  than  two  years.  That 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  au- 
thorized to  detail  an  officer  of  the  navy  to  go  in  con- 
nection with  the  person  above  mentioned,  who  shall 
be  charged  with  the  same  duties  and  shall  make  a  like 
report  upon  all  subjects  therein  named;  and  shall  also 
require  and  report  whether  the  contracts  as  to  the 
seal  fisheries  have  been  complied  with  by  the  persons 
or  company  now  in  possession ;  and  whether  said  con- 
tracts can  be  safely  extended. 

Approved,  April  22,  1874. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  volume  18,  part  3, 
page  24,  1873-1875. 

An  act  to  amend  the  act  entitled  "An  act  to  prevent 
the  extermination  of  fur-bearing  animals  in  Alaska," 
approved  July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Con- 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  299 

gress  assembled,  That  the  act  entitled  "An  act  to  pre- 
vent the  extermination  of  fur-bearing  animals  in 
Alaska,"  approved  July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy,  is  hereby  amended  so  as  to  authorize  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  he  is  hereby  author- 
ized, to  designate  the  months  in  which  fur-seals  may 
be  taken  for  their  skins  on  the  islands  of  Saint  Paul 
and  Saint  George,  in  Alaska  and  in  the  waters  ad- 
jacent thereto,  and  the  number  to  be  taken  on  or 
about  each  island  respectively. 
Approved,  March  24,  1874. 

The  Boundary  Line. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1895-1897,  volume 
29,  page  464. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  as- 
sembled. That  in  view  of  the  expediency  of  forthwith 
negotiating  a  convention  with  Great  Britain  for  mark- 
ing convenient  points  upon  the  one  hundred  and  forty- 
first  meridian  of  west  longitude  where  it  forms,  under 
existing  treaty  provisions,  the  boundary  line  between 
the  Territory  of  Alaska  and  the  British  North  Ameri- 
can Territory,  and  to  enable  the  President  to  execute 
the  provisions  of  such  convention  without  delay  when 
concluded,  the  sum  of  seventy-five  thousand  dollars, 
or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  be  and  the 
same  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  moneys  in  the 


300  A  L.  I  SKA. 

Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  be  immedi- 
ately available,  under  the  direction  of  the  President,  to 
defray  the  share  of  the  United  States  in  the  joint  ex- 
pense of  locating  said  meridian  and  marking  said 
boundary  by  an  international  commission. 
Approved,  February  20,  1896. 

Boundary  Line  Commission. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  volume  28,  1893- 
1895,  page  1200. 

Whereas,  a  Supplemental  Convention  between  the 
United  States  of  America  and  Great  Britain,  extend- 
ing, until  December  31,  1895,  the  provisions  of  Article 
I  of  the  Convention  of  July  22,  1892,  relative  to  British 
possessions  in  North  America,  was  concluded  and 
signed  by  their  respective  plenipotentiaries  at  the  city 
of  Washington,  on  the  third  day  of  February,  in  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-four 
which  Supplemental  Convention  is  word  for  word  as 
follows : 

The  Governments  of  the  United  States  of  America 
and  of  her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  being  credibly  advised 
that  the  labors  of  the  Commission  organized  pur- 
suant to  the  Convention  which  was  concluded  be- 
tween the  High  Contracting  Parties  at  Washing- 
ton, July  22,  1892,  providing  for  the  delimita- 
tion   of    the    existing  boundary  between  the  United 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TIOA .  30 1 

States  and  Her  Majesty's  possessions  in  North 
America  in  respect  to  such  portions  of  said  boundary 
Hne  as  may  not  in  fact  have  been  permanently  marked 
in  virtue  of  treaties  heretofore  concluded,  cannot  be 
accomplished  within  the  period  of  two  years  from  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Commission  as  fixed  by  that  Con- 
vention, have  deemed  it  expedient  to  conclude  a  sup- 
plementary convention  extending  the  term  for  a 
further  period  and  for  this  purpose  have  named  as 
their  respective  plenipotentiaries: 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  Walter  O.  Gres- 
ham.  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  and  Her 
Majesty  thie  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  His  Excellency  Sir  Julian  Paunce- 
fote,  G.  C.  B.,  G.  C.  M.  G.,  Ambassador  Extraordinary 
and  Plenipotentiary  of  Great  Britain; 

Who,  after  having  communicated  to  each  other 
their  respective  full  powers  which  were  found  to  be  in 
due  and  proper  form,  have  agreed  upon  the  following 
articles : 

Article   I. 

The  third  paragraph  of  Article  I  of  the  convention 
of  July  22,  1892,  states  that  the  respective  Commis- 
sioners shall  complete  the  survey  and  submit  their 
final  reports  thereof  within  two  years  from  the  date 
of  their  first  meeting.  The  joint  Commissioners  held 
their  first  meeting  November  28,  1892;  hence  the  time 


302  ALASKA. 

allowed  by  that  Convention  expires  November  28, 
1894.  Believing  it  impossible  to  complete  the  re- 
quired work  within  the  specified  period  the  two  Gov- 
ernments hereby  mutually  agree  to  extend  the  time 
to  December  31,  1895. 

Article   II. 

The  present  Convention  shall  be  duly  ratified  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate  thereof, 
and  by  Her  Britannic  Majesty;  and  the  ratifications 
shall  be  exchanged  at  Washington  at  the  earliest  prac- 
tical date. 

In  faith  whereof  we,  the  respective  plenipotentia- 
ries, have  signed  this  Convention  and  have  hereunto 
affixed  our  seals. 

Done  in  duplicate  at  Washington,  the  3rd  day  of 
February,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety- 
four. 

f  ' — ' — -^  ^  W.  O.  Gresham, 

1  ._  j  •  Julian  Pauncefote. 

And  whereas  the  said  Supplemental  Convention  has 
been  duly  ratified  on  both  parts,  and  the  ratifications 
of  the  two  Governments  were  exchanged  in  the  city 
of  Washington  on  the  28th  day  of  March,  one  thous- 
and eight  hundred  and  ninety-four: 

Now,  therefore  be  it  known  that  I,  Grover  Cleve- 
land, President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  have 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  303 

caused  the  said  Supplemental  Convention  to  be  made 
jjublic,  to  the  end  that  the  same  and  every  article 
and  clause  thereof  may  be  observed  and  fulfilled  with 
good  faith  by  the  United  States  and  the  citizens 
thereof. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  twenty-eighth 
day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  ninety-four,  and  of  the  Independ- 
ence of  the  United  States  the  one  hundred  and  eigh- 
teenth. 

(Seal)  Grover  Cleveland. 

By  the  President, 

Walter  O.  Gresham,  Secretary  of  State. 

Seal  Islands  Made  a  Reservation. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1867- 1869,  volume 
15,  page  348. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress 
assembled.  That  the  islands  of  Saint  Paul  and  Saint 
George  in  Alaska  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  declared 
a  special  reservation  for  government  purposes;  and 
that  until  otherwise  provided  by  law,  it  shall  be  un- 
lawful for  any  person  to  land  or  remain  on  either  of 
said  islands,  except  by  the  authority  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury;  and  any  person  found  on  either  of 
said  islands,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  resolu- 


304  ALASKA. 

tion  shall  be  summarily  removed  and  it  shall  be  the 
dutv  of  the  Secretary  of  War  to  carry  this  resolution 
immediately  into  effect. 
Approved,  March  3,  1869. 

Award  of  Arbitration  Tribunal,  Paris,  on  Fur-Seals. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1893-1895,  volume 
28,  page  1245. 

Proclamation  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
ot  America. 

Whereas  an  Act  of  Congress  entitled  "An  Act  to 
give  effect  to  the  Award  rendered  by  the  Tribunal  of 
Arbitration  at  Paris,  under  the  Treaty  between  the 
Uniited  States  and  Great  Britain,  concluded  at  Wash- 
ington, February  29,  1892,  for  the  purpose  of  submit- 
ting to  arbitration  certain  questions  concerning  the 
preservation  of  the  fur-seals,"  was  approved  April  6, 
1894,  and  reads  as  follows: 

Whereas  the  following  articles  of  the  award  of  the 
Tribunal  of  Arbitration  constituted  under  the  treaty 
concluded  at  Washington  the  twenty-ninth  of  Febru- 
ary, eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-two,  between  the 
United  States  of  America  and  Her  Majesty  the  Queen 
of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
were  delivered  to  the  Agents  of  the  respective  Gov- 
ernments on  the  fifteenth  day  of  August  eighteen 
hundred  and  ninety  three: 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.         _  305 

Article   I, 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  shall  forbid  their  citizens  and  subjects  re- 
spectively to  kill,  capture,  or  pursue  at  any  time,  and 
in  any  manner  whatever,  the  animals  commonly  called 
fur-seals,  within  a  zone  of  sixty  miles  around  the  Pri- 
bylov  Islands,  inclusive  of  the  territorial  waters. 

The  miles  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph 
are  geographical  miles,  of  sixty  to  a  degree  of  latitude. 

Article  II. 
The  two  Governments  shall  forbid  their  citizens  and 
subjects  respectively  to  kill,  capture  or  pursue,  in  any 
manner  whatever,  during  the  season  extending,  each 
year,  from  the  first  of  May  to  the  thirty-first  of  July, 
both  inclusive,  the  fur-seals  on  the  high  sea,  in  the 
part  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  inclusive  of  the  Bering  Sea, 
which  is  situated  to  the  north  of  the  thirty-fifth  degree 
of  north  latitude,  and  eastward  of  the  one  hundred 
and  eightieth  degree  of  longitude  from  Greenwich  till 
it  strikes  the  water  boundary  described  in  Article  I 
of  the  Treaty  of  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Russia,  and  following 
that  line  up  to  Bering  Straits. 

Article   III. 
During  the  period   of  time  and  in  the   waters   in 
which  the  fur-seal  fishing  is  allowed,  only  sailing  ves- 
sels shall  be  permitted  to  carry  on  or  take  part  in 


3o6  ALASKA. 

fur-seal  fishing  operations.  They  will,  however,  be 
at  liberty  to  avail  themselves  of  the  use  of  such  canoes 
or  undecked  boats,  propelled  by  paddles,  oars,  or 
sails,  as  are  in  common  use  as  fishing  boats. 

Article  IV. 

Each  sailing  vessel  authorized  to  fish  for  fur-seals 
must  be  provided  with  a  special  license  issued  for  that 
purpose  by  its  Government,  and  shall  be  required  to 
carrj^  a  distinctive  flag  to  be  prescribed  by  its  Gov- 
ernment. 

Article  V. 

The  masters  of  the  vessels  engaged  in  fur-seal  fish- 
ing shall  enter  accurately  in  their  official  log  book  the 
date  and  place  of  each  fur-seal  fishing  operation,  and 
also  the  number  and  sex  of  the  seals  captured  upon 
each  day.  These  entries  shall  be  communicated  by 
each  of  the  two  Governments  to  the  other  at  the  end 
of  each  fishing  season. 

Article  VI, 

The  use  of  nets,  firearms  and  explosives  shall  be 
forbidden  in  the  fur-seal  fishing.  This  restriction 
shall  not  apply  to  shot  guns  when  such  fishing  takes 
place  outside  of  Bering  Sea,  during  the  season  when 
it  may  be  lawfully  carried  on. 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  307 

Article  VII. 
The  two  Governments  shall  take  measures  to  con- 
trol the  fitness  of  the  men  authorized  to  engage  in  fur- 
seal  fishing;  these  men  shall  have  been  proved  fit  to 
handle  with  suflficient  skill  the  weapons  by  means  of 
which  this  fishing  may  be  carried  on. 

Article  VIII. 

The  regulations  contained  in  the  preceding  articles 
shall  not  apply  to  Indians  dwelling  on  the  coast  of  the 
territory  of  the  United  States  or  of  Great  Britain  and 
carrying  on  fur-seal  fishing  in  canoes  or  undecked 
boats  not  transported  by  or  used  in  connection  with 
other  vessels  and  propelled  wholly  by  paddles,  oars, 
or  sails  and  manned  by  not  more  than  five  persons 
each  in  the  way  hitherto  practiced  by  the  Indians, 
provided  such  Indians  are  not  in  the  employment  of 
other  persons  and  provided  that,  when  so  hunting  in 
canoes  or  undecked  boats,  they  shall  not  hunt  fur- 
seals  outside  of  territorial  waters  under  contract  for 
the  delivery  of  the  skins  to  any  person. 

This  exemption  shall  not  be  construed  to  afifect  the 
municipal  law  of  either  country,  nor  shall  it  extend 
to  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea  or  the  waters  of  the  Aleu- 
tian Passes. 

Nothing  herein  contained  is  intended  to  interfere 
with  the  employment  of  Indians  as  hunters  or  other- 
wise in  connection  with  fur  sealing  vessels  as  hereto- 
fore. 


3o8  ALASKA. 

Article  IX. 

The  concurrent  regulations  hereby  deterniined  with 
a  view  to  the  protection  and  preservation  of  the  fur- 
seals,  shall  remain  in  force  until  they  have  been,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  abolished  or  modified  by  common 
agreement  between  the  Governments  of  the  United 
States  and  of  Great  Britain. 

The  said  concurrent  regulations  shall  be  submitted 
every  live  years  to  a  new  examination,  so  as  to  en- 
able both  interested  Govemmients  to  consider  whether, 
in  the  light  of  past  experience,  there  is  occasion  for 
any  modification  thereof. 

Now  therefore  be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  in  Congress  assembled,  That  no  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  or  person  owing  the  duty  of  obe- 
dience to  the  laws  or  the  treaties  of  the  United 
States,  nor  any  person  belonging  to  or  on  board  of  a 
vessel  of  the  United  States,  shall  kill,  capture  or  pur- 
sue, at  any  time,  or  in  any  manner  whatever,  out- 
side of  the  territorial  waters,  any  fur-seal  in  the  waters 
surrounding  the  Pribilov  Islands,  within  a  zone  of 
sixty  geographical  miles  (sixty  to  a  degree  of  latitude) 
aromid  said  islands,  exclusive  of  the  territorial  waters. 

Sec.  2.  That  no  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or 
person  above  described  in  Section  i  of  this  Act,  nor 
any  person  belonging  to  or  on  board  of  a  vessel  of 
the  United  States,  shall  kill,  capture,  or  pursue,   in 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  309 

any  manner  whatever,  during  the  season  extending 
from  the  first  day  of  May  to  the  thirty-first  day  of 
July,  both  inchisive,  in  each  year,  any  fur-seals,  on  the 
high  seas  outside  of  the  zone  mentioned  in  section 
one,  and  in  that  part  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  including 
Bering  Sea,  which  is  situated  to  the  north  of  the 
thirty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude  and  to  the  east  of 
the  one  hundred  and  eightieth  degree  of  longitude 
from  Greenwich  till  it  strikes  the  water  boundary  de- 
scribed in  article  one  of  the  treaty  of  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  sixty-seven,  between  the  United  States  and 
Russia,  and  following  that  line  up  to  Bering  Straits. 

Sec.  3.  No  citizen  of  the  United  States  or  pefrson 
above  described,  in  the  first  section  of  this  Act,  shall 
during  the  period  and  in  the  waters  in  which  by  sec- 
tion two  of  this  Act  the  killing  of  fur-seals  is  not  pro- 
hibited, use  or  employ  any  vessel,  nor  shall  any  ves- 
sel of  the  United  States  be  used  or  employed,  in  carry- 
ing on  or  taking  part  in  fur-seal  fishing  operations, 
other  than  a  sailing  vessel  propelled  by  sails  exclu- 
sively, and  such  canoe  or  undecked  boats,  propelled 
by  paddles,  oars,  or  sails  as  may  belong  to,  and  be 
used  in  connection  with  such  sailing  vessels;  nor  shall 
any  sailing  vessel  carry  on  or  take  part  in  such  opera- 
tions without  a  special  license  obtained  from  the  Gov- 
ernment for  that  purpose,  and  without  carrying  a  dis- 
tinctive flag  prescribed  by  the  Government  for  the 
same  purpose. 


3IO  ALASKA. 

Sec.  4.  That  every  master  of  a  vessel  licensed 
under  this  act  to  engage  in  fur-seal  fishing  operations 
shall  accurately  enter  in  his  ofBcial  log  book  the  date 
and  place  of  every  such  operation,  and  also  the  num- 
ber and  sex  of  the  seal  captured  each  day;  and  on 
coming  into  port  and  before  landing  cargo,  the  mas- 
ter shall  verify,  on  oath,  such  official  log  book  as  con- 
taining a  full  and  true  statement  of  the  number  and 
character  of  his  fur-seal  fishing  operations,  including 
the  number  and  sex  of  seals  captured;  and  for  any 
false  statement  wilfully  made  by  a  person  so  licensed 
by  the  United  States  in  this  behalf  he  shall  be  subject 
to  the  penalties  of  perjury;  and  any  seal  skins  found 
in  excess  of  the  statement  in  the  official  log  book 
shall  be  forfeited  to  the  United  States. 

Sec.  5.  That  no  person  or  vessel  engaging  in  fur- 
seal  fishing  operations  under  this  Act  shall  use  or  em- 
ploy in  such  operations  any  net,  firearm,  air-gun,  or 
explosive: 

Provided  however,  That  this  prohibition  shall  not 
apply  to  the  use  of  short  guns  in  such  operations  out- 
side of  Bering  Sea  during  the  season  when  the  killing 
of  fur-seals  is  not  there  prohibited  by  this  Act. 

Sec.  6.  That  the  foregoing  sections  of  this  Act 
shall  not  apply  to  Indians  dwelling  on  the  coast  of  the 
United  States,  and  taking  fur-seals  in  canoes  or  un- 
decked boats  propelled  wholly  by  paddles,  oars,  or 
sails,  and  not  transported  by  or  used  in  connection 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TIOA .  311 

with  other  vessels,  or  manned  by  more  than  five  per- 
sons, in  the  manner  heretofore  practiced  by  the  said 
Indians; 

Provided,  however,  That  the  exception  made  in 
this  section  shall  not  apply  to  Indians  in  the  employ- 
ment of  other  persons,  or  who  shall  kill,  capture,  or 
pursue  fur-seals  outside  of  territorial  waters  under 
contract  to  deliver  the  skins  to  other  persons,  nor  to 
the  waters  of  Bering  Sea  or  of  the  passes  between 
the  Aleutian  Islands. 

Sec.  7.  That  the  President  shall  have  power  to 
make  regulations  respecting  the  special  license  and 
the  distinctive  flag  mentioned  in  this  Act  and  regula- 
tions otherwise  suitable  to  secure  the  due  execution 
of  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  from  time  to  time 
to  add  to,  modify,  amend,  or  revoke  such  regulations 
as  in  his  judgment  may  seem  expedient. 

Sec.  8.  That  except  in  the  case  of  a  master  making 
a  false  statement  under  oath  in  violation  of  the  pro- 
visions of  the  fourth  section  of  this  Act,  every  per- 
son guilty  of  a  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act, 
or  of  the  regulations  made  thereunder,  shall  for  each 
offense  be  fined  not  less  than  two  hundred  dollars, 
or  imprisoned  not  more  than  six  months,  or  both ;  and 
all  vessels,  their  tackle,  apparel,  furniture,  and  cargo, 
at  any  time  used  or  employed  in  violation  of  this  Act, 
or  of  the  regulations  made  thereunder,  shall  be  for- 
feited to  the  United  States. 


312  ALASKA. 

Sec.  9.  That  any  violation  of  this  Act,  or  of  the 
regulations  made  thereunder,  may  be  prosecuted 
either  in  the  district  court  of  Alaska  or  in  any  dis- 
trict court  of  the  United  States  in  California,  Oregon, 
or  Washington. 

Sec.  10.  That  if  any  unlicensed  vessel  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  found  within  the  waters  to 
which  this  Act  applies,  and  at  a  time  when  the  kill- 
ing of  fur-seals  is  by  this  Act  there  prohibited,  hav- 
ing on  board  seal  skins  or  bodies  of  seals,  or  appa- 
ratus or  implements  suitable  for  killing  or  taking 
seals;  or  if  any  licensed  vessel  shall  be  found  in  the 
waters  to  which  this  Act  applies,  having  on  board  ap- 
paratus or  implements  suitable  for  taking  seals,  but 
forbidden  then  and  there  to  be  used,  it  shall  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  vessel  in  the  one  case  and  the  appara- 
tus or  implements  in  the  other  was  or  were  used  in 
violation  of  this  Act  until  it  is  otherwise  sufficiently 
proved. 

Sec.  II.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President 
to  cause  a  sufifioient  naval  force  to  cruise  in  the  waters 
to  which  this  Act  is  applicable  to  enforce  its  provi- 
sions, and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  commanding 
officer  of  any  vessel  belonging  to  the  naval  or  revenue 
service  of  the  United  States,  when  so  instructed  by  the 
President,  to  seize  and  arrest  all  vessels  of  the  United 
States  found  by  him  to  be  engaged,  used,  or  em- 
ployed in  the  waters  last  aforesaid  in  violation  of  any 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  3 1 3 

of  the  prohibitions  of  this  Act,  or  of  any  regulations 
made  thereunder,  and  to  take  the  same,  with  all  per- 
sons on  board  thereof,  to  the  most  convenient  port  in 
any  district  of  the  United  States,  mentioned  in  this 
Act,  there  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  law. 

Sec.  12.  That  any  vessel  or  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  or  person  described  in  the  first  section  of  this 
Act,  ofifending  against  the  prohibitions  of  this  Act, 
or  the  regulations  thereimder,  may  be  seized  and  de- 
tained by  the  naval  or  other  duly  commissioned  offi- 
cers of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain,  but 
when  so  seized  and  detained  they  shall  be  delivered 
as  soon  as  practicable,  with  any  witnesses  and  proofs 
on  board,  to  any  naval  or  revenue  officer  or  other 
authorities  of  the  United  States,  whose  courts  alone 
shall  have  jurisdiction  to  try  the  offense  and  impose 
the  penalties  for  the  same; 

Provided,  however,  That  British  officers  shall  ar- 
rest and  detain  vessels  and  persons  as  in  this  section 
specified  only  after,  by  appropriate  legislation,  Great 
Britain  shall  have  authorized  officers  of  the  United 
States  duly  commissioned  and  instructed  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  that  end  to  arrest,  detain,  and  deliver  to  the 
authorities  of  Great  Britain  vessels  and  subjects  of 
that  Government  offending  against  any  statutes  or 
regulations  of  Great  Britain  enacted  or  made  to  en- 
force the  award  of  the  treaty  mentioned  in  the  title  of 
this  Act. 


314  ALASKA. 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  known  that  I,  Grover  Cleve- 
land, President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  have 
caused  the  said  Act  specially  to  be  proclaimed  to  the 
end  that  its  provisions  may  be  known  and  observed; 
and  I  hereby  proclaim  that  every  person  guilty  of  a 
violation  of  the  provisions  of  said  Act  will  be  arrested 
and  punished  as  therein  provided;  and  all  vessels  so 
employed,  their  tackle,  apparel,  furniture  and  cargo 
will  be  seized  and  forfeited. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 

and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  afifixed. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington  this  9th  day  of 

April  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 

^  thousand  eight  hundred  and  nine- 

■j    Seal    i  ty-four,  and  of  the  Independence 

''~~^^~~'  of  the  United  States  the  one  hun- 

:hteenth. 
Grover  Cleveland. 


dred  and  eighteenth 


By  the  President, 

W.  O.  Gresham,  Secretary  of  State. 

Killing  of  Fur-Bearing   Animals. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1893- 1895,  volume 
28,  page  1258. 

Proclamation  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  provisions  of  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  are  hereby  published  for  the  information  of  all 
concerned. 

Section  1956,  Revised  Statutes,  Chapter  3,  Title 
XXIII,  enacts  that: 


ALASKAN  LEG /SLA  TION.  3 1 5 

No  person  shall  kill  any  otter,  mink,  marten,  sable, 
or  fur-seal,  or  other  fur-bearing  animal  within  the 
limits  of  Alaska  Territory,  or  in  the  waters  thereof; 
and  every  person  guilty  thereof  shall  for  each  ofifense 
be  fined  not  less  than  two  hundred  nor  more  than 
one  thousand  dollars,  or  imprisoned  not  more  than 
six  months,  or  both;  and  all  vessels,  their  tackle,  ap- 
parel, furniture  and  cargo,  found  engaged  in  viola- 
tion of  this  section  shall  be  forfeited;  but  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  shall  have  power  to  authorize 
the  killing  of  any  such  mink,  marten,  sable,  or  other 
fur-bearing  animal,  except  fur-seal,  under  such  reg- 
ulations as  he  may  prescribe;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  Secretary  to  prevent  the  killing  of  any  fur- 
seal,  and  to  provide  for  the  execution  of  the  provis- 
ions of  this  section  until  it  is  otherwise  provided  by 
law;  nor  shall  he  grant  any  special  privileges  under 
this  section. 

Section  3  of  the  act  entitled  "An  Act  to  provide  for 
the  protection  of  the  salmon  fisheries  of  Alaska,"  ap- 
proved March  2,  1889,  provides: 

Sec.  3.  That  section  nineteen  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  is 
hereby  declared  to  include  and  apply  to  all  the  do- 
minion of  the  United  States  in  the  waters  of  Bering 
Sea;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President,  at  a 
timely  season  in  each  year,  to  issue  hiis  proclamation 
and  cause  the  same  to  be  published  for  one  month 


3i6  ALASKA. 

in  at  least  one  newspaper  if  any  such  there  be  pub- 
lished at  each  United  States  port  of  entry  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  warning  all  persons  against  entering 
said  waters  for  the  purpose  of  violating  the  provis- 
ions of  said  section;  and  he  shall  also  cause  one  or 
more  vessels  of  the  United  States  to  diligently  cruise 
said  waters  and  arrest  all  persons,  and  seize  all  ves- 
sels found  to  be,  or  to  have  been,  engaged  in  any 
violation  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  therein. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Grover  Cleveland,  President  of 
the  United  States,  hereby  warn  all  persons  against 
entering  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea  within  the  dominion 
of  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  violating  the 
provisions  of  said  section  1956  of  the  Revised  Stat- 
utes; and  I  hereby  proclaim  that  all  persons  found  to 
be,  or  to  have  been  engaged  in  any  violation  of  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  in  said  waters,  will  be  ar- 
rested, and  punished  as  above  provided. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington  this  eighteenth  day 
of  February  in  the  year  of  Our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  ninety-five  and  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  the  one  hundred  and  nineteenth. 

(Seal)  Grover  Cleveland. 

By  the  President, 

W.  Q.  Gresham,  Secretary  of  State, 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  3 1 7 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  1893- 1895,  volume 
28,  page  378. 

For  maintenance  of  a  refuge  station  at  or  near  Point 
Barrow,  Alaska,  on  the  Arctic  Ocean,  four  thousand 
dollars. 

Also  one  in  1895. 


Alaska  Legislation — List  of  Statutes  Concerning 

Alaska,  from  the  Revised  Supplemental  Laws 

OF  THE  United  States,    and   the  United 

States   Statutes   at    Large. 


Vol.  15.    1867-1869.  Page 

Alaska,  territory  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Russia  to 

constitute  the  collection  district  of 240 

Port  of  entry  to  be  where 240 

Collector  and  salary 240 

Regulations  for  the  nationalization  of  vessels  owned  by 

residents  of  the  ceded  territory       240 

Importation  into,  and  use  in,  of  firearms  and  distilled 

spirits  may  be  prohibited 241 

And  exportation  of,  from  other  ports  if  destined  to 

ports  in  this  territory 241 

Penalty  for  landing  or  attempting  to  land  such  arti- 
cles           241 

Coasting  trade  of  territory,  how  regulated 241 

Killing  of  fur-bearing  animals  prohibited  may  be  au- 
thorized by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury    ...  241 
What  courts  to  have  jurisdiction  of  offenses  under  this 

Act,  etc ...  241 

Who  may  make  arrests  of  persons  or  vessels 241 

Remission  of  fines,  penalties  and  forfeitures  incurred  in,  242 

Secretary  of  Treasury  may  prescribe  certain  regulations,  241 

Appropriation               241 

Construction  of  steam  revenue  cutter  for 302 

Act  to  protect  the  fur  seal  in 348 


3i8  ALASKA. 

Vol.  16.    1869-1871.  p.ge 

Alaska,  Act  to   prevent  the   extermination  of  fur-bearing 

animals  in i8o,  182 

The  killing  of,  upon  the  islands  of  St.  Paul  and 
St.  George,  or  in  adjacent  waters 180 

Except  in  certain  months,  declared  unlawful  and  at 
anytime  with  firearms 180 

Certain  privileges  of  killing  allowed  to  natives  .    .    .    180 

The  killing  of  any  female  seal  or  any  seal  less  than  a 
year  old,  except,  etc.,  or  any  seal  in  certain  places 
declared  unlawful 180 

Penalty  therefor  180 

Limit  to  number  of  fur-seals  that  may  be  killed  in 
any  year  for  their  skins,  upon  the  islands  of  St. 
Paul  and  St.  George 180 

Further  limit 180 

Penalty 180 

Right  to  take  fur-seals  on  the  islands  of  St.  Paul  and 
St.  George  and  to  send  vessels,  etc.,  may  be  leased 
for  twenty  years 180,  181 

Lease,  bond,  etc 181 

Lessees  to  furnish  copy  of  lease  to  masters  of  their 
vessels  as  authority,  etc 181 

Other  leases  may  be  made  upon  expiration,  etc.,  of 
first  lease 181 

American  citizens  only  to  have  lease,  etc,  and  no 
foreign  vessel  to  be  used 181 

Secretary  of  State  may  terminate  any  lease  at  any- 
time and  for  what  causes 182 

Covenants  in  lease  not  to  sell  distilled  spirits,  etc.,  to 
natives 181 

Any  distilled  spirits  or  spirituous  liquors  found  upon 
the  islands  to  be  destroyed 181 

Annual  rental  received  by  lease 181 

How  to  be  secured 181 

Tax  of  two  dollars  upon  each  fur  seal-skin  ....    181 
Rules,  etc.,  for  collection  of  same 181,182 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  319 

Page 
Fur  seal-skins  now  stored  on  the  islands   may   be 

delivered  to  owners  upon  payment,  etc 182 

Penalty  for  killing  any  fur  seal  without  authority  .    .     181 

For  molesting  lessees 181 

Vessels  to  be  forfeited 181 

Upon  lessees  for  killing  fur  seals  in  excess  of  number 

authorized 181 

Any  district  court  in  California,  Oregon,  or  Washington 
to  have  jurisdiction  of  offenses  under  this  Act  .    .    182 
Approved  July  i,  1870. 

Vol.  17.    1871. 

Agent  and  assistants,  to  manage  the  seal  fisheries  in  .   .  35 

Their  pay  and  traveling  expenses 35 

Not  to  be  interested  in  right  to  take  seals    ....  35 

Dwelling  houses  for 35 

May  administer  certain  oaths  and  take  testimony    .  35 

Laws  of  the  United  States  relating  to  customs,  com- 
merce, and  navigation,  extended  to 530 

Vol.  18.    1873—1875. 

Appropriation  for  collecting  information  respecting  the 

fur  trade  in 210 

Salaries   and   traveling   expenses   of  agents   at   seal 

fisheries 375 

Secretary  of  Treasury  to  designate  months   when   fur 
seals  may  be  taken  on  islands  of  St.  Paul  and  St. 

George 24 

And  number  which  may  be  taken  from  each  island  .      24 
Appointment  of  special  agent  and  detail  of  naval  ofiicer 
to  visit  and  report  on  condition  of  seal  fisheries,  etc.,  33,  34 

Revised  Statutes.    First  Edition.    1874  to  1891. 

Alaska,  Agents  of  seal  fisheries  in,  how  paid 73 

Two  assistants  discontinued 115 

Laws  of  Oregon  adopted 433 

Land  districts  in 433 


320  ALASKA. 

Page 
General  land  laws  of  the  United  States  not  to  apply  to,  433 

Town  sites  in,  how  entered,  etc 944 

Survey  of  town  sites 944 

Survey  of  town  sites  not  to  include  mining  rights  .    .    945 

Purchase  of  land  for  trade  and  manufacture 944 

Prior  rights  of  surface  owners  protected 945 

What  lands  are  reserved 945 

Ports  of  delivery  in 937 

Entry  of  town  sites;  trustees;  maximum iioo 

Seal  Islands,  etc.,  reserved  ;  salmon  fishing  regulations,  iioo 
Reservation  of  Annette  Islands  for  certain  Indians  (Met- 

lakahtla) iioi 

Extra  allowance  for  census  agents 670 

Ports  of  delivery  established  in 1087 

Customs  officers 1087 

Proclamation   against  unlawful   killing   of  fur-bearing 

animals  in  waters  of 1543.  1558,  1565 

Special  agent  authorized  to  investigate  seal  fisheries, 

sea  otter,  etc,  industries  in 46 

Appropriation  for  Alaskan  boundary  svirvey, 960 

Alaskan  Seal  Fisheries  : 

Appropriation  for  expenses  of  agents,  etc 387,  969 

Publishing  President's  proclamation 969 

Deficiency  appropriation  for  agents'  salaries,  etc.     .    541 
Publishing  President's  proclamation 867 

Statutes  at  Large,  Vol.  19.    1875—1877. 
Appropriation  for  salaries  of  agents  at  seal  fisheries  in,  118 

Steam  revenue  vessel  in 357 

To  supply  deficiency  in  appropriation  for  salaries  of 
agents  at  seal  fisheries  in 363 

Vol.  20.    1877-1879. 
Appropriation  for  salaries,  etc.,  of  agents  at  seal  fish- 
eries in  218,  3S4 

Deficiencies  in 8,  385 


< 


s^^> 


M.mKmmtn. 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  321 

Page 

Protection  of  interest  of  government  in 386 

Oatb  of  customs  officers  in,  before  whom  taken    .    .      47 
Mails  to   be  carried  by  revenue  steamer 212 

Second  Edition  Revised  Statute.    1878. 

L,aws  of  United  States  extended  over 1954 

Provisions    common    to    all   territories    (See   Terri- 
tories)    1S39,  1895 

Regulation  of  trade  in  arms,  ammunition  and  spirits     1955 
Collection  district,  port  of  entry  and  what  to  comprise 

of 2591,  2592 

Coasting  trade  with 4140 

Regulation  of  coasting  trade  with 4358 

Power  of  Secretary  of  Treasury  to  remit  fines,  etc.,  in 
certain  cases  in  collection  district  of 5293 

1880-1881. 

Appropriation   for   repair  and  preservation    of  public 

buildings  in 436 

Alaskan  Seal  Fisheries  : 

Appropriation  for  expenses  of  protecting,  etc  ....    441 
Agents  at,  appropriation  for  salaries,  etc.,  of        ...    441 

1881—1882. 

Alaska,  post  routes  established  in .    351 

Appropriation  for  salaries  and  expenses  of  agents  at 

seal  fisheries 314 

Deficiency  for 277 

1882—1883. 

Appropriation  for  salaries,  etc.,  of  agents  at  seal  fish- 
eries in 612 

Protection  of  seal  fisheries  in 612 

1883—1884. 
Act  making  provision  for  a  civil  government  for    .        .      24 
Appointment    of    governor,    etc.;     residence,    duties, 

powers 24 

Clerk 24 

21 


322  ALASKA. 

Page 

District  attorney 24 

Marshal,  deputy  marshals 24 

Commissioners 24 

Sitka  made  the  seat  of  govertnent,  etc 24 

Salaries  of  officers,  etc 26 

Appropriations  for  expenses  of  the  government  of  .    .  179 

Seal  fisheries  in 206 

Compilation  of  laws  applicable  to  duties  of  governor, 

attorney,  judges,  etc.,  in 223 

Support  of  Indian  schools 91 

Postal  service  in,  Postmaster  General  may  contract,  etc., 

for 157 

Vol.  24.    1885—1887. 

Appropriation  for  education  of  children  in   ...    .  243,  529 

Salaries,  government  in 191,  614 

Contingent  expenses 191,  614 

Traveling  expenses 252 

Rent,  etc.,  marshal's  office 252 

Expenses ;  judge,  marshal  and  attorney  ...  540 

Support,  etc.,  of  Indian  pupils ,       45,  465 

Alaskan  Seal  Fisheries  : 

Appropriation  for  expenses 237,  524 

Vol.  25.    1887—1889. 

Alaska,  Appropriation  for  salaries,  government  in  .    .    .  276,  726 

Contingent  Expenses 276,  726 

Protection  of  seal  islands 510,  945 

Expense  of  agents,  seal  fisheries 521,  957 

Survey  of  coast  of 515,  946 

Boundary  survey 515,  949 

Education 528,  962 

Traveling  expenses,  court  in 544,  977 

Expenses,  marshal's  office 544,  977 

Deficiency,  education 921 

Erection  of  obstructions  in  rivers  to  ascent  of  salmon, 

etc.,  unlawful ;  penalty 1009 


ALASKAN  LEGISLATION.  323 

Page 

Special  census,  inquiries  relating  to 765 

Alaska  boundary  survey,  appropriation  for   .    .    .    -515,  949 
Alaskan  Seal  Fisheries : 

Appropriation  for  expenses  of  agents 521,  957 

Vol.  26.    1889—1891. 
Alaska,  Appropriation  for  salaries,  government  in  .    .    .  249,  929 

Contingent  expenses 249,  929 

Preliminary  boundary  survey      380 

Education  in 393,  970 

Traveling  expenses  of  officers 409,  986 

Court  expenses 409,  986 

Jurors  and  witnesses 410,  987 

Naval  Magazine 801 

Building  at  Marj-  Island  and  Sand  Point  ......  1087 

Deficiency   appropriation,    protecting   salmon,    etc., 

fisheries 509 

Expenses,  sealing  lease 510 

Coal  to  navy  in 520 

Purchase;  price;  prior  occupants iioo 

Payment  for  land  purchased iioo 

Surveys iioo 

Approval  of  surveys  ;  charges ;  patents 1 100 

Lands  reserved  from  sale 1 100 

Rights  of  natives,  etc.;  fish  culture,  etc.;  reserves    .  iioo 

Salary,  Lafayette  Dawson 527 

Court  expenses      541 

Expenses,  marshal 883,  891 

Transportation  of  witnesses,  etc 883 

Salaries 547 

Expenses,  President's  Proclamation 867 

Vol.  27.    1891—1893. 
Appropriation  for  salaries,  government  in     ....  205,  696 

Contingent  expenses 205,  696 

Buildings  continued,  available 350 

Protecting  seal  fisheries 355,  577 


324  ALASKA. 

Page 

Refuge  station,  Point  Barrow 355,  577 

Boundary  survey 357,  579 

Seal  fisheries'  expenses 365,  500 

Protection  of  salmon  fisheries 366 

Education  366,  590 

Food,  etc.,  natives  of 372,  596 

Seal  islands 590 

Court  expenses 385,  608 

Inspection  of  Indian  schools,  1890 614 

Deficiency,  preliminary  boundary  survey 35 

Joint  survey  of  territory  adjacent  to  boundary  line,     35 

Supplies  to  natives  of  seal  islands 285 

Education  in      293 

Rent,  etc. ,  judicial  officers 299,660 

Agents,  seal  fisheries 311 

Repairs,  island  of  St.  George 651 

Protecting  salmon  fisheries 669 

Investigation  of  seal-life  by  Fish  Commissioners  .    585 
Convention  with  Great  Britain  concerning  Bering 

Sea 947 

A  long  proclamation  from  pages  947  to  954.  Proclaimed 
May  9,  1892,  by  President  Harrison  and  Secretary  of 
State,  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine. 

Survey  of  boundary  line 955 

Renewing  modus  vivendi  in  Bering  Sea 952 

Proclamation  against  unlawful  killing  of  fur-bearing 

animals,  waters  of 1008,  1070 

Announcing  modus  vivendi  with  Great  Britain  con- 
cerning seal  fisheries 980 

Setting  apart  Afognak  Island  as  forest  and  fish-culture 

reservation 1052 

Boundary  survey,  appropriation  for 357,  579 

Alaskan  Seal  Fisheries : 

Appropriation  for  agents,  salaries  and  expenses  .    .  365,  590 
Publishing  of  proclamation  against  unlawful  sealing, 
etc 366,  590 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  325 

Page 

Food,  etc.,  to  native  islanders 366,  590 

Fulfilling  treaties  with   Great  Britain   (Bering   Sea 

arbitration) 28 

Deficiency,    fulfilling    treaties    with   Great   Britain 

(Bering  Sea  arbitration) 647 

Inquiry  by  Treasury  agent  repealed 366 

"  Albatross,"  Fish  Commission  steamer,  deficiency  ap- 
propriation for  expenses  in  Bering  Sea  seal  fisheries,    35 

1892-1895. 

Alaska,  Extracts  of  laws  relating  to  fur  seals  in,  extended 

to  North  Pacific  Ocean 89 

Commissioner  at  Kadiak 128,211,416 

Seizure  of  vessels^  when,  and  by  whom 177 

Commissioners,  residence  and  salary        211 

Price  of  fox  skins  at  St.  Paul  Island 254 

Vol.  28.    1893-1895. 

For  printing,  etc.,  decisions  of  district  court 414 

Deficiency  appropriation  for  marshal,  court  in   ...    .    440 

Traveling  expenses 441 

Rent,  etc 44i 

Court  expenses 483 

Convention  extending  time  to  complete  boundary  sur- 
vey between  British  North  America  and 1200 

Proclamation  of  fur-seal  regulations 1245 

Forbidding  killing  of  fur-bearing  animals  in  waters 
of 1258 

Regulations  for  killing  fur  seals 53 

Commercial    Company,    deficiency   appropriation    for 
coal 427 

Accounts  to  be  examined  by  auditor  for  Treasury  De- 
partment      206 

1894-1895. 

Appropriation  for  salaries,  government  in 786 

Contingent  expenses 786 


326  ALASKA. 

Page 

Education  of  Indians 904 

Point  Barrow  refuge  station 920 

Expenses,  seal  and  salmon  fisheries 932 

Report  on  wanton  destruction  of  game,  etc    .    .  932 

Investigating  gold  and  coal  resources               ....  939 

Education  in 941 

Reindeer 941 

Expenses  court  officials .  956 

Rent,  etc. ,  courts .    .  956 

Alaskan  Seal  Fisheries : 

Appropriation  for  protection  of 919 

Expenses  of  agents 932 

Food,  etc.,  to  natives 932 

Publishing  President's  proclamation 932 

Expenses,  vessels'  log  books 932 

1895-1896. 

Appropriations  for  salaries,  government  in 160 

Contingent  expenses 160 

Reconstructing  government  wharf,  charges   ....  413 

Protecting  seal  fisheries,  etc 420 

Coast  surveys,  etc 422 

Protecting  salmon  fisheries 431 

Expenses,  seal  fisheries 431 

Investigating  mineral  resources 435 

Education   in 437 

Reindeer  station 437 

Traveling  expenses,  court  officials 449 

Rent,  etc.,  court  officials 449 

Repairs  to  buildings 449 

Locating  boundary  between  British  North  America 

and,  on  one  hundred  and  forty-first  meridian    .    .  464 

Deficiency,  expenses,  court  officers 24,  295 

Rent,  etc 24 

Supplies  for  natives 269 

Expenses,  salmon  fisheries 271 


ALASKAN  LEGISLA  TION.  327 

Page 

Contingent  expenses 277 

Indian  school,  Circle  City 292 

Allowance  for  clerk  hire 277 

Customs  district  reorganized 60 

New  legislation  as  to  attorneys  and  marshals  not  appli- 
cable to 186 

Regulation  of  salmon  fisheries 316 

Alaskan  Seal  Fisheries  : 

Appropriations  for  expenses  of  agents 431 

Food,  etc.,  to  natives 431 

Publishing  President's  proclamation,  etc 431 

Expenses  of  log  books,  etc 431 

1896—1897. 
Alaska,  appropriation  for  salaries,  government  in     ....    560 
Contingent  expenses 560 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  Vol.  29.    1895—1897. 

Appropriation  for  salaries,  government  in    ...    .  160,  560 

Contingent  expenses 160,  560 

Reconstructing  government  wharf,  charges     .    .    .    .    413 

Protecting  seal  fisheries,  etc ...    420 

Coast  surveys,  etc 422 

Protecting  salmon  fisheries 431 

Expenses,  seal  fisheries 431 

Investigating  mineral  resources 435 

Education  in 437 

Reindeer  station 437 

Traveling  expenses,  court  officials 449 

Rent,  etc.,  court  officials 449 

Repairs  to  buildings 449 

Proclamation  declaring  in  effect  laws  prohibiting  kDling 
fur-bearing  animals  in,  etc 878 

Reserving  lands  to  Greco-Russia  Church 883 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Miscellaneous. 

THE  preceding  chapters  may  have  a  rather  de- 
sultor>'-  and  disconnected  appearance,  an  effect 
that  could  not  be  avoided,  as  the  writer  desires, 
before  any  other  object,  to  show  in  what  manner  he 
has  traced  the  progress  of  afifairs  in  Alaska.  In  his 
visit  to  the  country  he  noted  the  possibilities  which 
would  have  appeared  to  any  one  who  evinced  an 
equal  interest  in  the  place.  Its  scenic  beauties 
charmed  him,  at  the  same  time  he  was  watching  for 
every  sign  that  would  be  a  good  foundation  for  the 
hope  that  one  day  Alaska  should  take  the  place  upon 
this  Continent  that  Sweden,  Norway  and  Siberia  now 
hold  in  Northern  Europe  and  Asia. 

Comparing  those  countries  in  the  Eastern  Hemis- 
phere with  the  territory  in  question,  there  is  a  ten- 
dency to  regulate  its  temperature  by  their  rigor- 
ous climate.  This  is  right  only  in  part,  for,  as 
mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  Southeast- 
ern part  of  Alaska  is  held  under  the  influence  of 
the  Kuro  Siwo,  or  Japan  Current,  which  flows  in  a 
broad  curve  from  the  warm  shores  of  Asia,  and 
carries  a  part  of  its  torrid  heat  all  the  w^ay  to  our 
New  Province.  Certainly  the  temperature  lowers  as 
328 


MISCELLANEO  US.  329 

it  proceeds  along  the  Aleutian  Islands  in  the  cove- 
like curve,  on  its  way,  but  it  is  sufficiently  temperate 
to  insure  a  mild  climate  on  the  coasts  touched  by  it, 
and  for  a  considerable  distance  inland,  very  much 
like  that  of  a  coast  strip  on  the  Eastern  side  of  our 
country  that  may  be  said  to  include  Boston,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  Washington.  This 
may  be  accepted  to  be  the  average  all-the-year  tem- 
perature. At  Sitka,  for  instance,  extreme  cold  is 
not  known,  the  temperature  being  about  like  that  of 
Philadelphia  or  Washington,  D.  C,  a  mean  of  32.5 
degrees  Fahr.  We  are  informed  by  observers  who 
live  there,  that  in  some  winters  ice  forms  only  in  thin 
sheets,  which  may  easily  be  broken,  that  the  temper- 
ature seldom  reaches  zero,  while  the  summer  is  pro- 
portionately warm,  but  very  short.  The  luxuriant 
growth  of  trees  and  plants  is  most  wonderful  and  their 
thickness  of  foliage  remarkable.  But  there  is  an  ob- 
jection, such  as  is  characteristic  of  the  climate  of  the 
British  Islands,  in  an  over-abundance  of  moisture,  the 
total  rainfall  amounting  to  ninety  or  one  hundred 
inches  annually.  The  sunshiny  days  are  in  the  minor- 
ity, but  when  they  do  appear  their  exquisite  love- 
limess  can  never  be  forgotten.  The  author  will  ever 
remember  one  of  these  days,  followed  by  a  lovely  sun- 
set and  a  long,  glorious  twilight,  which  occurred 
when  sailing  to  that  country.  The  steamer  entered 
one  of  the  bay-like  stretches  of  Lynn  Canal  from  a 


330  ALASKA. 

cliff-bound  narrow  strait,  at  sunset,  and  the  passen- 
gers, in  groups,  enjoyed  the  glorious  scene.  The 
vessel  seemed  to  be  sailing  in  a  smooth  sea  of  gold, 
the  reflections  were  perfect,  the  very  air  was  laden 
with  the  wonderful  changing  colors,  while  the  shores 
of  the  bay  and  the  mountains  beyond  were  painted 
in  all  the  tender  tones  of  yellow,  crimson,  purple, 
pink  and  amethyst.  The  peculiar  silence  which  set- 
tled over  the  observers  and  accompanied  the  pic- 
ture, made  it  more  weirdly,  I  might  say  more  sacredly, 
beautiful.  Repeated  quiet  expressions  escaped  from 
nearly  every  fascinated  beholder,  when  the  evening 
shades  began  faintly  and  slowly  to  fall  in  sombre 
gray  about  us,  the  engine  pulsated  more  frequently, 
and  the  vessel  bore  us  onward  more  rapidly  toward 
our  destination.  Our  observations  on  the  climate  as- 
sured us  that  some  day  the  South-Eastern  part  of 
Alaska  will  be  a  great  resort  for  invalids  to  whom  a 
moist  climate  with  no  sudden  changes  of  temperature 
is  beneficial,  and  it  will  be  occupied  by  large  com- 
mercial and  mercantile  cities  through  which  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  more  rigorous  interior  and  the  mining 
towns  will  find  their  markets  interchangeable,  from 
thence  to  be  dispersed  by  a  line  of  Pacific  steamers 
to  the  Orient  and  possibly  by  still  nobler  railways 
than  now  exist,  to  our  own  Eastern  markets. 

The  protection  long  advocated  is  now  loudly  de- 
manded, and  the  call  must  be  obeyed,  although  the 


MISCELLA  NEOUS.  331 

propriety  and  feasibility  of  military  rule  may  well  be 
held  under  very  careful  advisement  at  the  present. 
If  Circle  City,  and  every  other  point  in  the  United 
States  Territory,  had  been  already  garrisoned  with 
well  disciplined  troops,  it  would  have  been  all  right, 
but  at  this  time  of  wild  gold  excitement,  the 
establishment  of  fortifications  would  possibly  only 
lead  to  contention,  and  likely  to  bloodshed.  There 
are  so  many  complications  surrounding  the  afifair  that 
only  those  with  the  calmest  and  keenest  judgment 
should  undertake  to  act,  even  though  the  delay  may 
seem  undiplomatic.  Unquestionably  the  miners  of 
the  Republican  side  of  the  boundary  should  be 
guarded  as  ably  as  are  those  in  the  Canadian  district, 
and  it  should  be  attended  to  promptly  before  the 
early  winter  prevents  the  landing  of  proper  of^cials, 
who  at  this  time  must  be  strictly  unmilitary  in  all  but 
faithfulness  and  discipline.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
there  are  numbers  of  natives  who  could  be  appointed 
to  police  duty  under  experienced  officers;  so  that  the 
few  drilled  policemen  that  could  be  detailed  now 
might  have  their  force  greatly  increased  by  them  at 
short  notice.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  this  because 
resident  business  men  as  well  as  missionaries  certify 
to  the  intelligence  and  honesty  of  the  greater  number 
of  the  civilized  Alaskans.  Amicable  friendliness  and 
relationships  and  reciprocal  concessions  for  the  gen- 
eral good  should  at  all  times  exist  between  Canada 


332  ALASKA. 

and  the  United  States,  and  now  is  the  time  to  be  fra- 
ternal. At  present  the  temporary  indignation  of  the 
few,  over  the  action  of  the  Canadian  Government  with 
regard  to  the  new  mining  laws  and  the  gold  taxation 
it  requires  from  American  miners,  is  rather  intense, 
and  will  not  admit  of  military  or  any  other  interference. 
The  appearance  of  the  well-known  uniform  would 
lately  have  acted  like  a  fuse  to  a  powder  magazine, 
particularly  among  the  less  intelligent  of  the  commu- 
nity of  miners.  Those  of  the  Canadian  police  who  are 
there  can  doubtless  maintain  order  for  a  time,  but  no 
man  should  cross  the  line  who  is  not  going  to  obey 
the  laws  of  Canada  strictly  and  well. 

Had  troops  been  sent  as  at  first  proposed,  Canadian 
citizens  would  quickly  have  formed  the  idea  of  in- 
tended hostilities  upon  the  part  of  the  United  States 
that  neither  reason  nor  assurance  could  soon  dispel; 
while  the  people  of  Alaska  might  feel  that  they  could 
demand  of  the  troops  a  wider  exercise  of  authority 
than  they  would  be  permitted  to  exercise. 

A  reasonable  deliberation  should  certainly  be  taken 
before  the  slightest  attempt  at  retaliation  is  thought  of 
or  made,  such  action  being  very  unwise  unless  sub- 
sequent inimical  action,  which  is  not  now  likely  to 
occur,  demands  swift  and  decided  measures.  At  the 
same  time,  we  believe  that  our  Government  should 
study  well  the  interests  of  her  inhabitants  before  con- 
ceding sweeping  rights  to  foreigners.     If  the  right  to 


MISCELLANEOUS.  333 

carry  supplies  through  x\laskan  waters  to  the  Ameri- 
can port  of  entry  at  Dyea  is  given  to  British  vessels, 
to  the  detriment  of  American  ship-owners,  who  have 
the  right  to  expect  a  trade  for  their  vessels,  and  the 
employment  of  their  men,  it  seems  to  them  that  the 
license  now  obtained  by  this  act  to  British  vessels 
ought  to  be  taken  into  just  consideration;  and  if  the 
Canadian  passes,  trails  or  roadways  and  water- 
ways aire  equally  open  to  the  men,  teams  and  boats  of 
Alaska,  we  can  see  no  cause  for  complaint,  on  fairly 
reciprocal  grounds. 

The  proposition  made  by  the  British  Government 
to  reserve  a  portion  of  the  newly  discovered  mining 
lands  for  revenue  is  the  very  idea  expressed  time  and 
again  by  the  writer,  with  regard  to  valuable  mining 
or  fertile  lands  in  the  United  States,  and  we  surmise 
that  no  reasonable  thinker  will  deny  its  feasibility.  In- 
creasing population,  continual  necessities  for  building, 
bridging  and  improving,  make  ever  augmenting  de- 
mands upon  the  Treasuries  of  the  various  States  as 
well  as  upon  the  United  States  Treasury,  and  there 
must  be  some  mode  by  which  to  keep  them  filled.  A 
cry  goes  up  against  further  taxation;  so  there  must 
be  another  plan  adopted.  What  better  one  can  there 
be  than  that  of  devoting  a  portion  of  the  natural  re- 
sources of  the  country  to  that  purpose!  Individuals 
should  not  attain  riches  without  making  any  return 
to  the    State   or   Territory   in   which   the    wealth    is 


334  ALASKA. 

found.  Another  phase  which  should  meet  the  careful 
attention  of  individuals  is,  that  under  the  exist- 
ing state  of  affairs,  only  a  few  make  fortunes, 
not  many  more  make  a  competence,  and  the  ma- 
jority turn  away  disheartened  and  poorer  than  when 
they  commenced  their  toil  for  wealth;  while  under 
Government  management  a  number  would  still  obtain 
the  greater  amount,  yet  there  would  be  paying  work  for 
all,  flourishing  towns  would  be  established,  where  pos- 
sibly here,  under  operation,  and  there,  forsaken,  now 
are  only  roughly  constructed  mining  camps,  simply 
because  gold  cannot  be  found  in  vast  quantities. 

It  is  said,  most  truly,  that  hundreds  of  miners  will 
be  caught  in  the  interior  barren  regions  on  their  way 
to  the  Klondyke  mines  or  Dawson  City,  by  the  early 
storms  of  winter,  or  along  the  Yukon  River  in  the 
ice,  while  trying  to  reach  Circle  City.  Such  being  the 
case,  leading  spirits  should  come  forward  and  direct 
them  in  the  construction  of  stopping  places  for  them- 
selves and  other  belated  traders.  Instead  of  pushing 
through  the  rapidly  filling  passes,  against  blinding 
snow  and  clogging  ice,  they  should  choose  camp- 
ing grounds,  put  their  ingenuity  to  work  at  construct- 
ing houses,  using  the  wood  that  is  procurable  and  fin- 
ishing with  the  snow  that  everyone  knows  will  pack 
into  masses  almost  as  imperishable  and  impervious  as 
marble,  while  the  winter  lasts.  How  much  better  it 
would  be  to  stop  and  store  the  goods  they  possess  than 


MISCELLANEOUS.  335 

to  press  onward  to  almost  certain  death  and  the  de- 
struction of  their  valuable  freight.  Then  when  the  first 
open  weather  arrived,  the  men  would  be  on  hand,  and 
having  a  part  of  their  journey  accomplished,  they 
would  feel  rested  and  ready  to  face  the  remainder,  ar- 
riving at  their  destination  before  the  approach  of 
the  great  spring  on-rush  from  the  East  which 
is  sure  to  set  in.  By  this  arrangement,  the  serious 
work  of  packing  a  great  amount  of  winter  provi- 
sions across  the  mighty  canyons  and  through  the 
boisterous  rapids  would  be  avoided,  as  would  the 
danger  of  losing  all  in  the  waters  or  under  the 
snow. 

A  large  force  of  men  at  this  writing  are  working  on 
the  construction  of  a  good  road  over  White  Pass. 
Unquestionably  it  will  be  well  to  be  on  hand,  for  as 
surely  as  there  is  gold  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the 
depths  of  an  unexplored  region,  there  will  be  facilities 
provided  to  take  the  eager  crowds  and  requisite  freight 
to  the  spot.  A  part  of  the  way  now  must  be  made  by 
the  assistance  of  either  reindeer,  horses,  donkeys, 
dogs,  or  packmen.  Horses  are  seldom  able  to  bear 
the  extreme  hardship  and  fatigue.  Donkeys  are 
gifted  with  wonderful  powers  of  endurance,  but  they 
cannot  live  long  under  the  strain  that  must  be  put 
upon  them  without  proper  food.  Therefore  the  pro- 
vender for  both  horse  and  burro  must  be  carried,  as 
well  as  that  for  the  men,  making  the  labor  ver^'  much 


336  ALASKA. 

greater,  and  the  danger  of  losing  their  help  much  to 
be  feared  if  the  packs  are  swept  away  by  winds  or 
water,  or  lost  in  the  snow.  Horses  and  donkeys, 
then,  are  subjects  for  extreme  anxiety.  Dogs  are 
better,  provided  you  have  a  good  team ;  but  they,  too, 
require  food,  much  of  which  must  be  carried,  unless 
the  road  lies  along  streams  from  which  fish  can 
be  taken  through  the  ice  when  needed.  Then,  too, 
dogs  are  sometimes  quarrelsome,  always  thievish  and 
perpetually  noisy.  These  considerations  lead  to  the 
belief  that  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson  has  opened  the  only 
safe  and  agreeable  road  to  success  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  reindeer.  These  animals  are  faithful,  pa- 
tient, almost  untiring,  and  more  swift  than  either 
horse  or  dog.  Their  feet  are  constructed  to  fit  the 
land  over  which  they  bear  with  safety  immense  bur- 
dens. 

Properly  trained,  they  are  practically  docile  and 
obedient,  and  at  the  journey's  end,  or  at  the  stop- 
ping places,  they  can  forage  for  themselves,  finding 
abundance  of  nourishment  in  the  sweet  moss  for 
which  they  search  with  their  strong  hoofs.  Another 
great  feature  in  the  use  of  the  reindeer  is  that  if  danger 
of  starvation  comes,  or  if  meat  cannot  be  secured,  the 
flesh  of  the  deer  is  in  every  way  suitable  for  food, 
where  using  horses  or  dogs  for  that  purpose  could 
not  be  tolerated  except  in  the  face  of  death. 

As  yet  the  reindeer  is  limited  to  certain  districts. 


JuxEAu,  Alaska 


MISCELLANEOUS.  337 

but  the  Superintendent  of  Education  in  Alaska,  has 
gone  about  the  business  so  systematically  that  the 
near  future  will  see  great  herds  of  the  wonderfully 
useful  animals  feeding  upon  the  tundra  all  through  the 
ice-bound  interior  of  Alaska  and  British  Columbia. 
The  employment  of  Esquimaux,  or  of  Siberian  Lapps, 
as  they  are  called,  was  compulsory,  until  the  Alaskan 
natives  were  initiated  into  the  secret  of  their  training 
to  the  sleds.  When  the  deer  are  trained,  a  strong  ani- 
mal can  drag  a  sled  with  300  pounds  of  freight  on  it  loo 
miles  a  day.  After  which  he  will  scratch  for  moss 
and  make  a  satisfying  meal.  In  summer,  the  animals 
feed  on  the  rank  grass  and  herbage,  being  specially 
fond  of  the  scrubby  willow  shoots  which  abound  on 
the  borders  of  the  marsh}'  hollows.  The  lyapps  are 
the  constant  companions  of  the  herds,  being  solely 
dependent  upon  them  for  both  food  and  clothing, 
as  well  as  for  trade.  The  wealth  of  the  Alaskan 
on  the  coast  is  counted  in  furs  and  blankets,  where 
the  mountain  sheep  and  goats  abound,  and  as 
Oriential  shepherds  for  ages  counted  their  wealth  by 
the  number  of  sheep  or  goats  in  their  flocks,  so  is  the 
wealth  of  the  Lapp  computed  by  the  number  in  his 
herd  of  reindeer.  At  the  same  time,  many  of  them 
who  reside  near  the  borders  or  within  easy  distance 
of  the  trading  stations,  are  quite  wealthy  in  money 
obtained  through  judicious  trading.  As  there  are 
few  things  in  their  mode  of  living  that   require  the 


338  ALASKA. 

use  of  money,  they  have  it  secured  in  the  banks  in 
amounts  often  surprising  to  people  who  do  not 
understand  their  frugality.  It  is  this  class  of  people, 
the  true  reindeer  herders,  to  which  the  managers  of 
the  reindeer  stations  have  been  directing  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Government  for  several  years.  They  suc- 
ceeded in  employing  a  number  who  were  expected 
to  teach  their  art  to  the  Alaskan  natives,  but  except 
in  a  few  cases,  they  seemed  to  be  slightly  opposed 
to  giving  their  knowledge  away,  though  they  received 
ample  remuneration.  Now,  Dr.  Jackson  and  his 
colleagues  are  endeavoring  to  colonize  some  families, 
expecting  through  them  to  reach  the  desired  result. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  when  the  Alas- 
kans find  the  true  benefits  of  the  deer  they  will  learn 
to  use  them  as  beneficially  as  they  use  the  dogs  now. 
With  the  Lapps,  Siberian  dogs  are  brought,  which  are 
necessary  assistants  to  their  masters.  One  competent 
man  and  a  good  dog  can  herd  and  watch  over  five 
hundred  deer.  The  animals  have  to  be  guarded  day 
and  night,  to  keep  them  from  straying  or  fighting, 
to  protect  them  from  bears,  wolves  and  savage  dogs, 
and  to  keep  men  from  stealing  them.  They  are  also 
carefully  watched  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  the 
rapid  increase  of  the  herd.  The  best  deer  for  freight 
drawing  are  the  geldings  but  all  kinds  can  be  trained 
to  bear  their  part  in  the  service  of  their  masters. 
The  Lapp  herders  depend  as  completely  upon  their 


MIS  CELL  A  NEOUS.  339 

deer  for  sustenance,  clothing  and  tents,  as  do  the 
walrus  hunters  of  King's  Island  trust  to  the  walrus 
for  similar  purposes.  The  herds  did  not  increase  in 
the  ratio  hoped  for  by  those  who  brought  them  to 
Alaska,  but  considering  all  difficulties,  they  did  very 
satisfactorily.  It  will  take  some  time  and  expense, 
however,  to  get  the  herds  down  to  the  interior 
from  the  distant  North-West  on  the  Bering  Sea 
coast.  The  first  reindeer  station  was  established  at 
Port  Clarence,  which  is  considered  the  best  American 
harbor  on  Bering  Sea,  north  of  the  Aleutian  Chain. 
It  was  chosen  particularly  because  it  was  but  fifty 
miles  from  Bering  Strait.  The  greatest  difficulty  at- 
tending its  use  is  the  presence  of  the  whaling  fleets 
among  which  whiskey  is  sure  to  find  its  way  to  the 
natives.  The  same  objection  is  met  with  on  the  Si- 
berian side,  where  the  Superintendent  states  that  he 
was  prevented  from  purchasing  hundreds  of  deer  that 
might  have  been  easily  procurable  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  intoxication  of  the  herders. 

The  forwarders  of  the  enterprise,  however,  obtained 
171  deer  and  established  the  station  near  the  point 
chosen  for  the  proposed  Russia-American  telegraph, 
in  1867.  The  new  station  was  named  Teller,  in  honor 
of  Hon.  Henry  M.  Teller,  of  Colorado,  to  whose  ard- 
ent efforts  the  success  of  obtaining  active  Congres- 
sional support  for  the  great  enterprise  was  due. 

Through   all  adversities,   in  June,    1893,   the   herd 


340  ALASKA. 

numbered  222,  including  79  fawns  born  at  the  station. 
In  September  of  the  same  year,  127  more  were  pur- 
chased, 124  being  safely  landed,  making  a  total  of  346 
deer.  During  that  winter,  Mr.  Miner  W.  Bruce, 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Station,  had  10  deer  trained 
and  made  a  trip  60  miles  distant  to  visit  the  mission  at 
Cape  Prince  of  Wales. 

According  to  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson's  report  to  Con- 
gress, every  difficulty  that  was  raised  against  the  habil- 
itation  of  reindeer  in  the  North-West  has  been  en- 
tirely surmounted.  The  Siberians  are  not  only  ready 
to  sell  them,  but  some  are  found  quite  willing  to 
come  over  and  take  care  of  them,  while  the  deer  take 
quite  kindly  to  their  new  home  and  reproduce  their 
kind.  In  December,  1896,  there  were  five  herds  of 
reindeer  in  Alaska,  the  original  herd  belonging  to  the 
Government  at  Teller  Station,  consisting  of  423  deer; 
one  on  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  at  the  Congregational 
Mission,  253  in  number;  one  at  the  Swedish  Evan- 
gelical Mission,  numbering  103;  a  like  number  at  St. 
James  P.  E.  Mission,  the  most  remote  mission  station 
on  the  Yukon  River;  and  one  of  218  at  Cape  Nome; 
making  at  that  time  a  total  of  1,100  deer  domesticated 
in  Alaska.  Increase  by  births  raised  the  number  to 
at  least  1,175  with  no  authentic  reports  from  the  more 
distant  stations .  No  doubt  there  will  be  during  the  cur- 
rent year  more  satisfactory  results.  The  whole 
progress  seems  to  show   that  the   question   of  trans- 


M ISC  ELLA  NEO  US.  34 1 

portation  in  the  most  remote  and  wintry  part  of  the 
Territory  is  nearing  a  very  satisfactory  solution  and 
helps  to  solve  the  problem  of  populating  and  explor- 
ing interior  Alaska  and  Canada. 

Fort  Adams,  the  site  of  the  St.  James  Mission,  is  so 
near  the  gold  section  of  the  Yukon — within  United 
States  jurisdiction — that  it  must  in  a  short  time 
give  most  valuable  aid  to  the  development  of  the 
mines  in  that  region.  Through  the  careful  precau- 
tion of  the  officials  managing  the  affairs  of  the  herds, 
each  mission  had  at  least  two  men  already  well 
taught  in  the  care  of  the  deer  and  many  more  were 
anxiously  learning  the  business  in  the  hope  of  one 
day  becoming  proprietors.  Such  a  prospect  was  made 
possible  by  the  arrangements,  made  with  the  Super- 
intendent, wherein  a  part  of  each  herder's  pay  con- 
sists of  two  or  more  deer,  according  to  his  faithful- 
ness, in  addition  to  a  regular  salary  for  the  year's 
work.  After  the  animals  were  consigned  to  the  dififer- 
ent  points.  Government  responsibility  stopped,  but 
each  station  must  yet  give  an  annual  report  regarding 
all  things  connected  with  the  herds. 

In  this  direction  the  developers  of  mining  interests 
must  look  for  the  carriage  of  stores  and  mining  para- 
phernalia until  the  capitalists  have  found  some  man- 
ner of  constructing  railroads,  or  at  least  stage  roads, 
over  the  mountains.  It  stands  to  reason  that  no  or- 
dinary individual  can  carry  a  pack  weighing  one  hun- 


342  ALASKj^L 

dred  pounds  across  a  lofty  pass,  rising  thirty-five  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  level,  and  be  equal  to  hard  work 
immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  the  gold  fields.  And 
the  mountain  climbing  is  not  all,  you  must  add  canoe- 
ing through  dangerous  shoals,  portaging  over 
marshes,  shooting  rapids  and  tramping  through  gla- 
cial deposits,  all  of  which  must  be  traversed  for  a  dis- 
tance of  not  less  than  seven  hundred  miles.  The  task 
is  most  irksome.  The  reward  very  precarious.  Yet 
thousands  will  go.  The  only  help  is  to  quickly  pre- 
pare a  road  and  then  to  stop  over  at  relay  villages,  if 
they  consist  of  nothing  but  frozen  earth  and  moss 
abodes. 

There  has  been  a  proposition  to  employ  a  party  of 
Italian  women  to  perform  the  task  of  the  Indian  pack 
carriers,  whose  demands  have  become  exorbitant,  but 
it  will  not  do  to  thus  burden  women  or  to  endeavor  to 
supplant  the  natives.  Although  it  is  true  that  there  is 
a  certain  class  of  Italian  women  who  are  strong,  hardy 
and  inured  to  almost  every  hardship.  Doubtless  they 
or  weak  men  would  work  at  lower  prices  for  a  time, 
but  it  stands  to  reason  that  few,  if  any  of  them,  would 
ever  return  for  a  second  load .  And  it  would  be  both  un- 
safe and  unwise  to  gain  the  ill-will  of  the  Indians,  who 
look  upon  the  business  as  a  trade  belonging  to  them- 
selves. 

The  stories  of  success  in  the  mining  country  are 
so  continuously  brilliant  that  men  cannot  resist  the 


MISCELLANEOUS.  343 

temptation  to  go,  however  great  the  risk,  even  if  they 
have  to  pack  their  goods  over  themselves.     But  we  see 
no  reason  why  some  grand  scheme  might  not  spring 
up  to  boom  the  coal  mining  districts,  and  to  direct 
capitalists  and  individuals  toward  that  great  region  so 
lately  discovered.     To  obtain  gold  there  must  be  mo- 
tive power  and  increased  population.     The  whole  sub- 
ject demands  extremely  quick  calculation,  and  there 
is  no  doubt  but  that  some  wise  heads  are  conning  ways 
and  means.       Everything  that  tends  to  develop  the 
Territorial  resources  brings  Alaska  that  much  nearer 
to  an  important  position.     That  Siberia  is  being  im- 
proved, however  little,  by  the  advent  of  the  railroad, 
shows  that  the  dawn  of  a  glorious  era  for  Alaska  is 
coming,  provided  it  is  accepted  promptly,  and  the  nu- 
merous wonderful  gifts  of  Nature  are  properly  appre- 
ciated.    As  if  in  answer  to  the  cry  against  the  severity 
of  the  climate  the  certain    discovery    of    oil    and  a 
greater  vein  of  coal  was  announced.  Mine  the  coal  and 
keep  it  in  the  Territory  for  the  benefit  of  its  enlarg- 
ing population.     Secure  the  oil  and  store  it  also  until 
it  is  found  whether  there  will  be  sufficient  to  offer  to 
outside  parties  for  sale.     It  would  be  little  economy 
to  part  with  the  treasures  until  the  extent  of  their  pro- 
duction can  be  approximated.     Possibly  a  depletion 
would  bring  disaster  in  the  great  prices  that  might 
have  to  be  paid  for  the  transportation  of  those  staples 
from  distant  States.     Therefore,  let  Alaska's  products 


344  ALASKA. 

tend  to    its    own   markets   alone,   until    their   salable 
((uantity  is  assured. 

Another  enormous  source  of  wealth  belongs  to  the 
Territory,  and  it  can  be  disposed  of  in  unlimited  quan- 
tities. That  is  ice,  of  which  we  have  spoken.  With  a 
sufficient  number  of  vessels  the  whole  coast  population 
of  California,  Lower  California  and  even  Mexico, 
could  be  furnished  with  pure,  unadulterated  ice  at 
prices  no  greater  than  is  gladly  paid  for  it  in  the  East- 
ern and  Southern  States.  Refrigerator  cars  could  be 
arranged  to  contain  a  large  number  of  pounds  of  the 
crystal  products.  Salmon  and  other  food  fishes  have 
for  a  long  time  been  frozen  in  solid  ice  blocks  and  dis- 
posed of  to  the  markets  just  as  the  fish  of  the  Great 
Lakes  are  served  to  us  in  a  most  satisfactory  condi- 
tion. It  seems  that  such  a  disposition  might  readily 
be  made  of  all  varieties  of  the  desirable  fish  that 
abound  to  repletion  in  the  cold  north  country.  The 
fish,  however,  is  said  to  lose  much  of  its  fine  flavor  by 
the  process.  If  all  the  bountiful  resources  were  ad- 
vertised as  vociferously  as  is  the  gold,  the  railroads 
and  steamers  could  not  contain  the  emigration  of 
men,  who  have  so  long  suffered  for  want  of  work. 
Gold  is  really  not  for  them;  for  it  requires  great  ex-' 
pense  for  the  outfit.  Six  hundred  dollars  is  said  to  be 
the  minimum,  even  when  counted  that  the  American 
Transportation  Company  deals  quite  generously  with 
its  patrons.     Therefore,  no  one  who  has  had  his  hands 


MISCELLANEOUS.  345 

in  his  empty  pockets  for  a  couple  of  years,  with  no 
work  to  fill  them,  can  possibly  afiford  to  seek  for  Alas- 
kan or  Canadian  gold.  But  some  moving  spirit  might 
organize  a  coal  mining,  petroleum  or  ice  supplying 
colony  for  the  Western  border,  and  the  work  would 
pay  both  capitalist  and  men.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  always,  that  there  are  but  a  few  large  towns  or 
cities  in  the  gold  districts  and  they  are  far  from  being 
like  our  civilized  hamlets.  Every  one  of  the  towns 
or  mining  camps,  between  Forty  Mile  Creek  and  Chil- 
kat  are  on  British  soil,  subject  to  English  rule.  Be- 
yond that  the  towns  are  few  and  far  between.  Daw- 
son City  is  one  of  these,  and  so  are  Fort  Reliance,  Fort 
Selkirk  and  Fort  Cudahy.  Buxton  is  at  the  mouth  of 
Forty  Mile  Creek,  on  the  boundary  claimed  by 
Canada.  And  this  was  the  district  so  anxiously  sought 
for.  But  there  is  gold  in  American  territory, 
though  Circle  City,  notwithstanding  its  size  and  im- 
portance is  for  the  time  actually  forsaken,  yet  with 
less  hardship  its  environments  will  probably  ' '  pan 
out"  as  richly  as  the  other  borders  of  the  Yukon. 

Many  take  interest  in  this  great  river  only  because 
of  the  present  excitement.  But  they  do  not  know 
its  extent  and  importance.  It  bears  noble  compari- 
son with  the  Nile  of  Africa,  the  xA.mazon  of  South 
America  and  the  Mississippi  with  which  we  arc  all 
familiar.  Rising  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  of  British 
Columbia,  and    in  the  Coast  Mountains    of    Alaska, 


346  ALASKA. 

flowing  northwesterly  it  takes  in  the  waters  of  the 
Pelly,  the  Lewis,  the  Stewart,  the  Klondyke,  and  a 
number  of  other  important  rivers  and  creeks  on 
its  eastern  side,  when  curving  into  the  Arctic  Cir- 
cle it  receives  the  icy  waters  of  the  noble  Por- 
cupine River.  From  the  northeast,  also  flow  the 
Koyukuk  and  the  Selawik.  The  Tanana  is  a  grand 
river,  which  enters  the  Yukon  from  the  south,  while 
numerous  other  streams  enter  the  Yukon  from  the 
south  and  west.  As  yet,  some  have  been  named  num- 
erical creeks,  evidently  according  to  the  distance  trav- 
ersed in  their  discovery.  One  authority  states  that 
they  are  numbered  according  to  their  distance 
from  Fort  Reliance.  Thus  there  is  the  White 
River,  a  tributary  of  Sixty"  Mile'^Creek,  which  is  60 
miles  from  Dawson  City,  and  likewise  the  rich  Forty 
Mile  Creek.  Then  Bear  Creek,  L,ast  Chance  Creek, 
Gold  Bottom  Creek,  Bonanza  Creek,  Eldorado  Creek, 
and  a  number  of  others  tell  of  their  naming,  while 
the  enormous  production  of  gold  and  fish  from  them 
is  enough  to  render  men  wild  with  enthusiasm  to  ob- 
tain a  portion  of  the  output. 

The  promise  of  a  greater  number  of  vessels,  proper 
fortifications,  and  careful  legislation  is  doing  more  for 
the  Territory  than  any  transitory  excitement  possibly 
can  do.  The  gold  yielding  rivers  will  be  forsaken  for 
a  time  when  the  placers  have  run  out.  because  of  the 
expense  of  the  machinery  for  carrying  out  the  true 


MISCELLANEOUS.  347 

fcrm  of  mining  by  blasting,  milling  and  stamping. 
But  the  improvements  that  have  followed  the  "boom" 
will  remain  and  the  more  steady  and  advantageous 
development  of  the  country  will  continue, 

A  serious  drawback  to  the  security  of  these  enor- 
mous fortunes  that  are  gathered  in  a  short  time  is  the 
advent  of  the  gambling  fraternity,  whose  open  demor- 
alization has  been  legalized — as  it  has  been  reported  by 
the  current  press — by  receiving  license  on  the  British 
side  of  the  boundary,  and  therefore  on  the  vessels 
governed  by  that  Dominion,  upon  which  many  Amer- 
icans must  sail.  How  many  United  States  citizens 
will  yield  to  the  wiles  of  these  sharpers  and  find  their 
fortunes  diminished,  if  not  entirely  lost,  is  hard  to  say. 
But  we  sincerely  hope  that  our  Government  will  not 
only  refuse  to  license  them,  but  keep  a  lookout  for 
their  detection.  The  laws  of  Alaska  against  intoxi- 
cants and  the  taking  in  of  fire  arms  and  ammunition, 
will  help  the  miners  more  than  they  imagine  although 
the  cry  has  been  against  strict  surveillance.  Without 
spirits,  arms  and  gambling,  Alaskan  mining  camps 
may  become  models  for  those  of  other  states  and 
countries,  as  it  has  been  remarked  that  the  men  who 
are  entering  the  Klondyke  to-day  are  of  the  better 
class,  who  will  not  degenerate  nor  injure  the  reputa- 
tion of  white  people  among  the  swarthy  natives. 

That  the  miners  of  to-day  will  find  mining  in  Alaska 
a  peculiarly  difficult  work,  there  can  be  no  mistake, 


348  ALASKA. 

but  there  is  one  thing  very  greatly  to  their  advantage 
as  contrasted  with  the  pioneers  of  CaHfornia.  Colorado, 
Nevada  and  Montana — in  these  States  tribes  of  hos- 
tile and  viciously  inclined  Indians  were  ready  to  fight 
them  at  every  step — in  Alaska  the  Missionaries  have 
paved  the  way  until  only  peaceful  greeting  is  given 
the  weary  travelers  after  fortune. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

Supplementary  Data. — The  Food  Resources  of  Alaska. 

THE  fact  so  universally  known  that  the  natives  of 
Alaska  have  to  a  very  great  extent  been  de- 
pendent entirely  upon  the  whale,  walrus  and 
seal  for  nearly  every  necessary  comfort,  and  that 
these  and  salmon  have  been  their  exclusive  diet, 
with  the  addition  of  cakes  made  of  salmon-berries,  and 
the  succulent  stalks  of  Angelica  and  one  or  two 
other  herbaceous  plants,  has  caused  a  great  deal 
of  anxiety  regarding  the  future  food  supply,  be- 
cause of  the  near  extermination  of  the  whale  and 
walrus,  and  the  threatened  depletion  of  the  seal 
herds.  Thus  far  the  scarcity  has  caused  little  real 
distress,  but  places  known  to  be  the  hereditary  homes 
of  the  Siwash  have  been  vacated  for  a  greater  part  of 
the  year,  and  sometimes  altogether,  because  of  the 
failure  of  the  great  animals  to  appear.  That  there 
must  either  be  some  other  natural  supply,  or  that 
commerce  must  make  up  the  deficiency  is  more  ap- 
parent as  the  value  of  the  country  becomes  better 
known.  For  the  natives  alone  much  anxiety  need  not 
be  felt,  for  their  natural  condition  has  compelled  them 
to  depend  upon  their  own  exertion,  and  they  have 
patiently  followed  wherever  their  game  and  fish  have 

349 


350  ALASKA. 

led.  A  very  serious  view  has  been  taken  of  the  dimi- 
nution of  the  seals  particularly  as  connected  with  the 
food  and  clothing  supply  of  the  Aleuts.  Now  the 
danger  of  an  equal  falling  off  of  the  salmon,  halibut, 
oolachie,  or  candle  fish,  and  other  important  food 
fish,  upon  which  the  natives  of  the  interior  rivers 
have  been  likewise  dependent,  is  causing  some  alarm. 
The  great  food  and  hide  animals  of  the  Western  In- 
dians are  gone,  still,  trade  and  commerce  flourish, 
the  white  people,  and  even  the  Indians,  do  not  starve, 
the  reason  being  that  immediately  some  other  resource 
is  found,  and  the  passing  away  of  the  buffalo  is  more  a 
matter  of  regret  than  of  real  disaster.  Modern  ap- 
pliances, particularly  modern  vessels,  and  man's  greed 
for  gain,  have  truly  taken  the  huge  water  mammals 
from  Alaska,  as  they  threaten  also  to  remove  the  seal. 
The  rush  for  gold  will  eventually  act  the  same  way 
toward  the  fish  that  yet  swarm  in  the  streams  of  the 
more  inland  country,  and  it  is  plainly  to  be  seen  that 
some  other  source  of  food  must  be  discovered.  Be- 
sides the  class  of  people  who  are  now  rushing  into  the 
Territory  from  all  directions — those,  to  whom,  indeed, 
we  may  look  for  the  future  population  of  the  valuable 
land,  cannot  exist  solely  on  fish.  They  must  have  the 
variety  to  which  they  are  accustomed. 

The  object  of  furnishing  food  alone  must  then  lead 
to  a  greater  and  better  mode  of  transportation.  At 
the  same  time  the  possibilities  of  the  soil  of  the  coun- 


SUPPLEMENTA RY  DATA.  351 

try  might  be  tested.  There  was  a  time  when  Minne- 
sota, Dakota,  Manitoba,  and  other  districts  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  included  in  the  same  geo- 
graphical latitude,  were  written  and  cried  down  as  cold, 
flat,  barren  and  useless.  To-day  we  behold  in  them 
the  vast  granaries  to  which  the  world  turns  in  time  of 
need.  Alaska  may  never  become  a  wonderful  cereal 
raising  country,  but  there  are  large  areas  of  valley 
lands  that  will  produce  the  rapidly  developing  vegeta- 
ble products  upon  which  we  depend  so  much  in  sum- 
mer and  autumn.  A  very  great  advantage  toward 
the  cultivation  of  the  succulent  tubers,  beets,  potatoes, 
carrots  and  parsnips,  for  instance,  will  be  found  in  the 
long  summer  days,  which  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
Territory  do  not  close  in  cool,  dark  nights,  but  continue 
for  weeks  with  only  a  softening  of  one  day's  light  to 
meet  the  brilliant  glory  of  the  next.  Beans  and  hardy 
peas  could  also  be  grown  and  cultivated  to  yield  their 
increase  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabitants.  If  the 
arid  plains  of  Arizona  can  be  persuaded  to  blossom 
into  rich  fruition,  so  may  the  virgin  soil  of  Alaska, 
notwithstanding  the  vast  difiference  in  their  localities. 
Irrigation  has  solved  the  problem  of  the  sections 
once  so  close  to  the  arid  desert  that  they  were  re- 
garded as  utterly  beyond  cultivation.  But  far  beneath 
the  parched  earthy  soil  lies  abundant  moisture.  Irri- 
gation starts  the  seeds  and  tubers  and  keeps  them  alive 
until  they  grow  sufficiently  deep  and  strong  to  reach 


352  ALASKA. 

down  and  draw  increasing  life  and  vigor  from  the  hid- 
den water.  Still  the  artificial  supply  from  the  irri- 
gating ditches  above  assists  the  growth  by  preserving 
the  foilage  in  fresh  verdure,  and  the  leaves  receiving 
the  welcome  moisture  retain  their  freshness. 

The  irrigation  softens  the  baked  soil,  and  the  water 
soaks  into  it  and  not  only  softens  the  surface  earth, 
for  vegetable  grow^th,  but  extends  on  down  to  the 
moisture  laden  strata,  then  the  uprising  moisture  by 
capillary  action  meets  the  former  and  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  intense  heat  the  growth  is  forced  to  pro- 
duce phenomenal  results  in  large  and  luscious  fruitage. 
There  is  no  need,  however,  of  irrigation  for  the  Alaskan 
valleys,  the  glacial  streams  and  melting  snows  sup- 
ply ample  moisture.  But  it  will  be  said  the  summer 
is  too  short  to  admit  of  any  valuable  harvest;  not  until 
a  greater  change  has  visited  the  region  can  grain  or 
any  important  commercial  farm-produce  be  raised. 
But  the  summer,  though  short,  is  very  hot,  and,  unless 
reason  is  greatly  at  fault,  we  see  a  prospect  for  supply- 
ing such  desirable  vegetables  as  we  have  mentioned 
for  the  benefit  of  the  residents  of  the  country.  The 
plan  we  would  suggest  is  for  men  who  understand 
the  business  to  go  to  the  newly  settled  regions  and 
build  green  houses,  or  forcing  houses,  furnishing 
themselves  with  the  best  and  hardiest  seeds  and  tubers. 
There  being  immense  quantities  of  sphagnum  and 
other   mosses    in    the   Territory,    it    will    be    an    easv 


SUPPLEMENTA RY  DATA.  353 

matter  to  get  a  supply.  Using  this  to  bind  the  earth 
together  there  could  be  small  beds  made  for  the  seeds, 
a  tiny  cup  like  receptacle  for  each  seed  or  each  cut- 
ting of  potato.  These  could  be  started  as  the  tender 
plants  are  established  for  our  own  gardens.  Then 
when  the  heat  of  the  Alaskan  summer  permitted,  the 
firmly  rooted  plants  could  be  put  in  the  ground  with- 
out in  the  least  disturbing  their  mossy  nurture-envel- 
opes; the  roots  would  soon  reach  out  to  the  heated 
soil,  and  the  growth  would  be  rapid  in  the  continuous 
warmth  of  Alaska's  long  summer  days.  We  can  see 
nothing  to  then  prevent  an  abundance  of  the  delicious 
vegetables  that  go  far  toward  giving  health  and 
strength  to  the  human  frame.  With  proper  tools  and 
other  appliances,  suitable  conveyances  and  excellent 
legislation,  the  land  tilled  to  its  utmost  capacity  of 
production,  cattle  and  sheep  pastured  on  the  rich 
grass  of  the  plains  in  summer,  to  be  slaughtered  and 
preserved  for  winter  use,  we  can  see  prosperity  and 
happiness  following  swiftly  the  present  difificulties  and 
trials  of  pioneering  into  the  very  heart  of  the  marvel- 
ously  beautiful  and  wealthy  "Land  of  the  Midnight 
Sun." 

Mt.  St.  Elias. 
Many  unsuccessful  attempts  have  been  made  to 
ascend  Mt.  St.  Elias,  since  it  was  first  seen  by  Bering 
on  St.  Elias'  day,  in  1741,  but  at  last  it  has  been  ac- 
complished by  an  Italian  Prince  named  Luigi  and 
his  four  attendants.  Being  the  first  to  reach  the 
23 


354  ALASKA. 

summit  of  this  mountain,  they  have  placed  side  by- 
side  the  standards  of  the  Mediterranean  Kingdom  and 
the  American  Republic. 

Such  mountain  climbers  as  Schwatka,  Topman  and 
Prof.  Russel,  failed  to  make  this  ascent,  and  Prof. 
Bryant,  of  Philadelphia,  who  started  a  short  time  be- 
fore the  Prince,  was  obliged  to  give  up  without  reach- 
ing the  top. 

Its  height  is  now  ascertained  definitely  to  be  18,060 
feet.  This  mountain  has  always  been  considered  to 
be  the  highest  peak  upon  the  American  continent, 
but  from  recent  observations,  Mt.  Logan  and  Mt. 
Wrangel  are  claimed  to  be  a  little  higher. 

The  ascent,  which  was  by  no  means  an  easy  one, 
was  made  without  an  accident  or  even  an  important 
incident  occurring  until  they  reached  the  base  of  an 
ice  cap.  Then  many  hours  were  spent,  cutting  steps 
in  the  almost  perpendicular  side  of  the  ice  cliff,  and 
the  party  had  an  extremely  difficult  experience  climb- 
ing the  last  one  hundred  feet. 

The  Prince  says  that  owing  to  the  favorable 
weather,  the  trip  was  much  easier  than  it  would  other- 
wise have  been,  although  many  times  they  were 
obliged  to  sleep  in  winter  sacks  in  the  snow  and  were 
threatened  with  water  famine,  the  weather  being  so 
cold,  water  froze  almost  as  soon  as  it  was  melted. 

After  unfurling  the  Italian  and  American  banners 
amid  many  hearty  cheers,  the  proud  explorers  made 


SUPPLEMENTAR Y  DATA.  355 

scientific  observations  and  explorations,  remaining  on 
the  summit  about  two  hours.  The  Prince  discovered 
a  new  glacier  there  and  named  it  "Colombo." 

Upon  examination  Mt.  St.  Elias  was  found  not  to 
be  a  volcano,  as  many  have  supposed  it  to  be. 

The  Prince  and  his  party  claim  to  have  seen  the 
mirage  known  as  the  "Silent  City."  This  subject  I  in- 
vestigated years  ago  when  writing  the  "Legends  of 
Alaska,"  now  in  its  third  edition. 

Having  written  to  personal  friends,  one  a  United 
States  officer  at  Sitka,  at  the  time,  to  ascertain  the 
truth  of  this  story  about  the  city  seen  in  the  clouds, 
I  learned,  through  him  and  his  family,  that  it  was  al- 
together mythical,  being  only  a  mirage,  having  been 
vaguely  thought  to  be  somewhat  like  a  city,  with 
towers  and  minarets.  Evidently  some  photographer 
invented  this  combination  effect  as  a  method  of  creat- 
ing notoriety. 

The  slopes  of  the  mountains  near  Mt.  St.  Elias  were 
covered  with  brilliant  flora,  novel  wild  flowers  being 
in  great  abundance,  with  some  shrubbery,  but  no  trees. 

Very  little  bird  life  was  seen,  while  the  mosquitoes 
were  extremely  abundant  near  the  coast. 

A  novelty  that  has  never  before  been  observed  in 
Arctic  explorations,  was  a  black  worm,  about  the 
length  and  size  of  a  match.  It  was  found  in  countless 
numbers  in  the  snow,  accompanied  by  swarms  of 
small  fleas. 


356  ALASKA. 

Other  Data. 

The  Stars  and  Stripes  were  first  raised  in  Alaska 
on  June  21st,  1868,  at  St.  Michaels,  b)^  a  company  of 
American  Traders. 

The  area  covered  by  the  Gold  country  extends 
over  about — as  far  as  can  be  calculated — 50,000  square 
miles,  including  both  Canadian  and  American  terri- 
tory, estimated  to  be  three  hundred  miles  long  and  of 
irregular  width  and  enormously  rich  in  ore.  Siberia 
doubtless  has  a  rich  undiscovered  belt  likewise. 

Gold  was  discovered  in  or  near  Sitka  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century.  Baron,  or  Governor  Baronoff, 
compelled  the  secret  to  be  kept,  under  threats  of  the 
Russian  knout. 

In  1872,  gold  was  discovered  in  a  stream  near  Sitka 
by  two  soldiers  of  the  garrison,  named  Haley  and 
Doyle. 

"Shucks,"  a  mining  camp  seventy  miles  south  of 
Juneau,  was  the  scene  of  the  first  placer  mining  in 
Alaska. 

Gold  has  been  found  in  largely  paying  quantities  on 
the  line  between  Minnesota  and  Ontario.  Canada 
claims  it  for  British  Territory,  but  the  lines  here  should 
be  very  clearly  laid  down  and  known  at  this  late  day. 

Gold  has  been  found  in  largely  paying  quantities  on 
the  American  side  of  the  Upper  Yukon  district. 
Some  of  the  American  miners  will  settle  on  this  side 
and  avoid  the  Canadian  taxation. 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA.  357 

The  stories  concerning  the  gold  around  Cook's  In- 
let are  being  renewed.  It  only  needs  some  one  to 
start  a  boom,  to  divert  much  of  the  rush,  in  this  di- 
rection. 

Gold  is  most  plentifully  found  in  the  middle  of  the 
beds  of  the  shallow  placer  mining  streams  and  their 
tributaries.  The  Stewart  River  has  latelv  been  re- 
ported as  having  rich  placer  mines  along  it. 

The  glaciers  must  certainly  have  been  the  original 
miners,  for  it  is  in  the  streams  in  their  tracks  that 
most  of  the  placer  mining  is  found  so  successful.  The 
real  fissure  gold  quartz  veins,  in  the  mountain  ranges 
from  which  this  gold  is  broken,  are  yet  undiscovered, 
but  prospectors  are  seeking  them  anxiously. 

The  Klondyke  district  has  the  following  officers: 
Major  Walsh,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  police  and  is 
administrator;  Justice  McGuire  and  Register  Aylmore 
are  in  charge  of  the  government  departments. 

A  mining  claim  in  Alaska  must  be  worked  at  least 
to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  dollars  a  year  for  five 
years,  or  five  hundred  dollars  in  one  year,  to  insure  the 
claimant's  right  to  obtain  a  patent  or  title.  (That  is 
the  American  law  regulation.) 

The  miners  make  their  own  laws  for  different  dis- 
tricts. 

There  is  a  doubtful  choice  between  an  Eastern  resi- 
dence and  a  Klondyke  home,  ice  bound,  with  a  severe 
winter  and  the  thermometer  oftentimes  between  20 


358  ALASKA. 

and  60,  and  occasionally  70  degrees  F.  below  zero; 
and  its  summers  of  intense  radiating  heat,  with  a 
phenomenal  quantity  of  mosquitoes  and  gnats  present. 

A  vigilance  committee  of  twenty-five  has  been  or- 
ganized at  Skaguay  to  preserve  order. 

Millions  will  be  lost  as  well  as  millions  gained  by 
this  attack  of  Gold  Fever.  Stock  shares  on  paper 
are  very  uncertain  in  value  at  any  time. 

The  Bonanza  Creek  and  the  Hunter  Creek  are  both 
turning  out  a  considerable  amount  of  gold. 

Senator  Manderson  advocated  from  the  Committee 
on  Military  Affairs  a  bill  to  authorize  the  Secretary 
of  War  to  explore  and  survey  the  interior  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  Alaska.  The  Secretary  of  War  then,  was  the 
Hon.  Redfield  Proctor.  The  bill  passed  the  Senate, 
but  failed  in  the  House. 

The  explorations  into  Alaska  have  been  the  fol- 
lowing: There  was  an  expedition  that  was  sent  out 
by  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  in  1866, 
that  went  up  the  river  as  far  as  Fort  Yukon;  in  1869, 
by  Captain  Raymond,  United  States  Army  to  the  same 
point;  in  1883,  by  Lieutenant  Schwatka,  United 
States  Army,  from  Lake  Linderman  to  the  Yukon's 
mouth;  in  1885,  by  Lieut.  Allen,  United  States  Army, 
who  ascended  the  Copper  River,  descended  the  Tanana 
River,  crossed  from  the  north  of  the  Tanana  River 
to  the  Koyukuk,  which  he  explored  for  some  distance 
to  the  north,  and  returned  thence  to  its  junction  with 
the  Yukon. 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA.  359 

These  exploring  parties  were  obliged  to  keep  to 
the  rivers  and  the  journeys  were  in  great  haste.  The 
nature  of  the  country  was  only  to  be  guessed  at,  and 
its  possibilities  were  practically  unknown. 

A  notable  fact  to  be  considered  in  the  position  lately 
evidenced  by  Great  Britain  regarding  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Alaska,  is  that  in  Volume  I,  of  the  En- 
cyclopedia Britannica,  on  a  map  facing  page  443,  we 
find  the  Territory  of  Alaska  distinctly  defined  by  a 
line  of  demarkation.  This  undoubtedly  is  the  proper 
curve — on  the  mainland — to  Mt.  Fairweather,  thence 
to  the  top  of  Mt.  St.  Elias,  and  from  that  point  continu- 
ing along  the  imaginary  141st  parallel  of  latitude.  As 
in  every  other  case  on  record,  the  islands  are  not  noted 
in  the  line  of  demarkation.  This  undoubtedly  is  the 
proper  line;  the  one  intended  by  Russia,  as  it  was  held 
by  that  Government  from  the  time  of  the  addition  of 
that  territory  to  Russian  possessions,  and  therefore  the 
only  legal  one  limiting  the  purchased  property  of  the 
United  States.  This  public  acknowledgment  made 
by  Great  Britain  in  the  books  accepted  as  a  standard, 
not  only  in  Europe  but  in  this  country,  should  for- 
ever set  at  rest  the  contention  begun  only  when  the 
great  value  of  the  Yukon  District  was  discovered. 

Davis  Creek  Mines  were  discovered  in  the  spring 
of  1888. 

Miller  Creek  whose  entire  length  lies  in  British  pos- 
sessions, and  until  recently  was  the  heaviest  producer 
of  the  Forty  Mile  district,  was  discovered  in  1892. 


36o  ALASKA. 

It  is  said  that  there  has  been  an  attempt  to  use  cen- 
trifugal pumps,  whose  huge  nozzles  are  plunged  into 
the  river  beds  and  draw  up  the  valuable  deposits. 
They  have  not  yet  been  sufficiently  tested  to  prove 
their  success.  Of  course  they  can  only  be  used  in 
placer  mining  in  the  beds  of  the  creeks  and  small 
rivers  when  not  frozen. 

There  are  now  549  stamps  at  work  in  stamp  mills, 
in  Alaska.  455  of  that  number  work  upon  the  quartz 
all  the  year.  There  is  a  prospect  of  the  erection  of 
two  or  three  hundred  more  before  another  year  closes. 

The  first  gold  craze  in  the  North-West  was  in  1883, 
but  there  were  not  thousands  ready  to  rush  to  the  cold 
North  as  there  are  to-day. 

The  annual  average  of  gold  from  Alaska  previous 
to  1890  was  about  $15,000.  Since  then  it  has  reached 
a  standard  of  $2,000,000  or  more. 

In  1896  the  total  output  of  gold  was  $4,670,000. 
$1,300,900  of  that  amount  was  from  the  Birch  Creek 
district  on  the  Yukon  and  the  place  was  not  boomed! 

Miners  work  under  great  difhculties;  in  the  cool 
weather,  at  Klondyke  they  are  compelled  to  keep 
themselves  enveloped  in  cumbersome  wool  and  fur 
clothing;  one  remarking  that  he  kept  his  nose  from 
freezing  by  sticking  a  piece  of  rabbit  skin  upon  it. 
While  in  summer  they  can  hardly  endure  as  much 
as  the  lightest  cheese  cloth  over  the  face,  though  the 
insects  are  extremely  audacious. 


SUPPLEMENTAR Y  DATA.  36 1 

It  should  be  specified  positively  that  until  good 
roads  are  constructed,  or  railroads  built,  the  travel  in 
the  heart  of  the  glacier  district  of  Alaska  is  only  pos- 
sible three,  or  at  most,  four,  months  in  the  year. 

There  is  no  use  trying  to  reach  the  gold  regions 
of  the  Yukon  without  faithful  and  experienced  guides 
or  carriers,  unless  you  group  in  with  a  company  or 
band  of  miners,  bound  for  the  same  destination.  Such 
an  association  of  gold  miners  expect  strict  integrity 
for  they  act  as  judge,  jury  and  executioner  otherwise. 

Never  go  alone  on  a  prospecting  trip  in  the  wilds  of 
the  Alaskan  Mountains.  Be  sure  to  select  carefully 
your  companions. 

One  of  the  best  arrangements  to  make  is  that  offered 
by  the  North  American  Transportation  Company, 
which  gives  passage  on  safe  vessels,  and  outside  of 
steamer  accommodations,  guarantees  to  keep  one  fur- 
nished with  food  for  one  year  for  $400.00. 

A  slight  drawback  to  the  ambition  to  become  a 
Klondyke  miner  is  the  announcement  that  reliable 
companies  yet  refuse  to  insure  the  lives  of  men  who 
wish  to  go,  facts  being  so  difficult  to  obtain  in  case  of 
death. 

The  men  who  are  belated  and  not  able  to  go  on  to 
Klondyke  should  prospect  for  the  Alaskan  gold  or 
coal  mines  and  sink  oil  wells  in  the  petroleum  region. 
There  will  be  a  great  demand  for  both  of  the  latter  in 
a  few  years. 


362  ALASKA. 

Mount  Rainer,  formerly  called  Mount  Tacoma,  is 
boldly  seen  and  for  a  long  time  in  view  with  its  broad 
white  crest,  if  the  route  is  by  the  way  of  the  Cascade 
range  of  Mountains  direct  to  Tacoma. 

Mount  Hood's  cone-shaped  head  to  the  south  in 
Oregon  and  Mt.  Adams  to  the  north  in  Washington 
nearby,  are  the  tall  peaks  of  the  Cascade  range  that 
greet  the  eye  on  the  Columbia  river  going  to  Port- 
land, Oregon. 

Direct  lines  of  steamers  ply  between  San  Francisco 
and  Victoria  and  Port  Townsend  at  all  favorable  sea- 
sons. Other  lines  run  from  San  Francisco  to  all  ports 
down  the  coast  to  San  Diego.  While  still  others  run 
to  South  American  ports;  other  lines  from  San  Fran- 
cisco run  to  Yokohama,  near  Tokio,  Japan,  to  China 
ports  and  other  Oriental  countries. 

If  you  do  not  get  all  the  way  to  Klondyke,  there 
are  equally  as  hospitable  stopping  places  on  the  way. 
And  if  you  have  not  plenty  of  money,  clothing  and 
provisions  stop  in  Dyea  or  Juneau,  or  even  at  Wran- 
gel  until  the  spring  opens;  then  join  a  company  well 
stocked  with  provisions. 

The  hope  is  expressed  that  there  will  be  sufficient 
traffic  to  require  daily  steamers  between  Seattle  and 
Juneau  in  a  few  months. 

There  has  been  an  agreement  made  with  Canada 
by  which  Dyea  is  made  a  sub-port,  vessels  fitted  out 
to  British  Columbia  Provinces  being  allowed  to  pass 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA .  363 

Juneau  and  proceed  to  Dyea,  unloading  there  and 
passing  over  that  narrow  part  of  country  between  the 
port  and  British  Cokimbia,  without  restriction. 

This  is  not  a  prerogative,  but  a  courtesy  extended  to 
one  nation  by  another  and  should  be  reciprocated.  On 
the  other  hand  American  miners  and  traders  should 
not  enforce  any  exactions  from  our  neighbors,  either 
in  undue  values  or  trade  duties. 

John  Treadwell  became  possessed  of  the  mines  on 
Douglas  Island,  which  now  bear  his  name,  for  the 
sum  of  $450.00,  and  at  first  he  thought  his  money 
ill-spent. 

The  Treadwell  Gold  Mines  are  said  to  yield  from 
$600,000  to  $700,000  per  month.  Money,  energy  and 
perseverance  makes  them.  The  company  is  increasing 
its  plant  of  quartz-stamps  in  its  large  mills  from  two 
hundred  and  forty,  its  present  capacity,  to  over 
three  hundred,  making  the  largest  stamp  mill  in  the 
world.  Seven  millions  of  tons  of  ore  are  said  to  be 
in  sight,  sufficient  to  run  five  hundred  stamps  for 
eleven  years.  It  will  soon  produce  $125,000  per  month, 
at  a  cost  of  $1  per  ton.  The  small  water  supply 
is  the  greatest  drawback  to  the  increase  of  stamps. 

In  South  Africa  there  is  a  stamp  mill  of  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  stamps. 

Silver  Bow  Basin  Mines  could  run  a  thousand- 
stamp  mill  were  it  not  for  the  small  amount  of  water 
supply,  which  must  be  ample  for  each  crusher. 

The    diamond    prospecting   drill  is   used   to  drive 


364  ALASKA. 

through  veins  and  stringers,  to  ascertain  the  value  of 
the  same. 

When  speaking  of  the  timber  of  Alaska  it  must  be 
remembered  that  in  upper  Bering  Sea,  and  in  a  large 
belt  of  the  Arctic  region,  there  is  not  a  trace  to  be  seen, 
only  rank  grass  and  moss  in  summer;  but  there  are 
thousands  of  tons  of  the  kind  of  moss  that  the  reindeer 
feeds  upon. 

The  Klondyke  has  an  advantage  over  other  mining 
districts  in  the  abundance  of  wood  with  which  to  make 
fires  to  thaw  out  the  frozen  ground,  a  first  preparation 
in  the  mining  of  the  placers  after  uncovering  the  gold 
bearing  strata. 

The  greatest  need  in  the  mining  districts  of  the 
Yukon  is  a  plan  for  quickly  softening  the  frozen  earth 
in  winter  in  order  to  reach  the  ground  in  which  the 
gold  is  found.  The  Philadelphia  down  draft  fire  ma- 
chine for  heating  and  repairing  asphalt  pavements 
will  do  it.  It  would  require  vast  forests  to  supply  the 
requisite  amount  of  wood,  to  burn,  as  the  miners  are 
doing  at  the  Klondyke  now.  They  build  fires  over 
certain  areas,  that  must  burn  for  hours  to  gain  a  few 
inches  into  the  solidly  frozen  soil. 

Cape  Flattery  is  the  northwestern  point  of  coast  of 
Washington,  where  vessels  round  to  come  into  the 
straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca. 

Port  Townsend,  where  the  Alaska  steamers  fre- 
quently touch,  is  at  the  northern  end  of  Washington, 


SUPPLEMENTAR Y  DATA.  365 

where  the  straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  merge  into  Puget 
Sound  and  the  Straits  of  Georgia.  Alaska  passengers 
coming  down,  change  here  or  at  Victoria,  if  they  so 
desire,  to  the  steamers  down  the  coast  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

Victoria  is  at  the  southern  end  of  Vancouver  Island, 
in  British  Columbia.  Vancouver,  the  terminus  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railroad,  is  on  an  inlet  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Frazer  River,  where  it  enters  the  Straits  of 
Georgia.  Pacific  Ocean  commerce  enters  through 
the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  The  water  ways  of  the 
Straits  of  Georgia  and  Queen  Charlotte  Sound  are 
bordered  by  British  Columbia  Territory. 

Nanaimo  is  a  Canadian  town  on  the  east  side  of 
Vancouver  Island  and  on  the  west  side  of  the  Straits 
of  Georgia,  which  is  quite  wide  at  this  point.  It  is 
almost  due  west  from  the  town  of  Vancouver,  which 
is  on  the  mainland  to  the  east.  Inland  steamers  often 
put  into  Nanaimo  for  freight  and  passengers  but  the 
through  summer  excursion  vessels  do  not  always  stop 
there,  as  they  invariably  do  at  Victoria  and  at  Port 
Townsend,  especially  if  they  are  chartered  for  a 
through  trip  to  Dyea,  Juneau,  Taku  Inlet,  or  other 
special  destinations. 

If  accounts  received  be  accurate,  Eldorado  and  Bo- 
nanza Creeks  have  authorized  their  names  hand- 
somely. Bonanza  being  indeed  a  great  centre  of 
the  Klondyke  gold  region. 


366  ALASKA. 

' '  Discoverj' ' '  was  the  first  claim  located  on  Bonanza 
Creek  and  recogmzed  by  miners  as  the  centre  of  the 
field,  many  others  being  numbered  each  way  from  it. 
In  the  fifteen  miles  first  taken  there  are  sixty  claims 
above  and  ninety  below  it.  Now  all  the  creek  is  occu- 
pied. 

Dog  Sledges,  Reindeer,  Horses. 

Horses  are  not  possessed  of  the  endurance  of  either 
dogs  or  burros,  therefore  it  is  unwise  to  invest  in  a 
horse  if  you  can  procure  a  tough  burro,  donkey  or 
a  few  good  sledge  dogs.  In  time,  reindeer  will  be 
available,  which  will  be  even  better  for  mountain  and 
winter  work  and  long  distances. 

A  team  of  dogs  and  a  strong  sled  costs  about  five 
or  six  hundred  dollars,  but  the  outlay  will  be  better 
than  risking  all  your  possessions  on  the  back  of  a 
horse  to  which  the  hardships  will  be  very  trying,  while 
he  may  fail  you  in  the  Chilcoot  Mountain  Pass,  un- 
less a  good  road  is  built. 

Time  is  a  most  important  item  in  the  journey  to 
the  Klondyke,  but  speed  is  liable  to  be  disastrous, 
therefore  start  in  time,  wait  until  next  season,  or 
until  a  good  winter  roadway  is  opened. 

Reckoning  the  price  of  a  good  Alaskan  dog  at  $50 
or  $75,  whick  is  the  minimum  for  a  good  one,  and  it 
takes  from  seven  to  eleven  to  make  a  team,  one 
mig'ht  think  twice  before  risking  his  cash  in  so  much 
canine  flesh,  but  sleding  transport  requires  them. 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA.  2,67 

All  dogs  are  not  of  the  same  disposition.  It  re- 
quires experience  to  manage  a  team  of  them. 

Although  the  reindeer,  which  are  being  imported 
into  Alaska,  are  not  at  present  used  as  burden-bearers, 
they  are  expected  to  be  a  great  help  to  miners  travel- 
ing to  the  gold  fields  next  summer. 

There  is  a  thought  of  starting  a  reindeer  express 
along  the  line  of  towns  from  Bering  Strait  to  Kodiak 
Island. 

The  trained  reindeer  cover  tw^o  or  three  times  the 
distance  that  a  dog  team  does  in  a  day. 

As  the  sled-dogs  are  so  valuable  to  their  owners, 
the  first  thought  is  to  provide  sufficient  food  for 
them,  which  consists  mainly  of  fish.  An  ordinary 
dog  eats  about  two  pounds  of  dried  salmon  a  day, 
which  is  the  same  as  seven  pounds  of  fresh  fish. 

Dog  boarding  houses  have  been  opened  along  the 
Yukon,  the  charge  being  from  $6  to  $15  a  month. 

Advantages  of  the  Gold  Craze. 

While  men  at  the  North-West  in  all  kinds  of  em- 
ployment are  leaving  everything  to  go  prospecting 
for  gold,  at  the  new  placer  fields,  the  hundreds  of  men 
who  have  been  without  work  for  so  long  can  well 
push  forward  and  fill  their  places  and  make  new  homes 
and  a  good  living  in  southeastern  Alaska. 

If  the  gold  craze  continues  there  will  be  a  premium 
on  ordinary  work  out  in  Alaska.     Those  who  need  it 


368  ALASKA. 

should  watch  for  the  opportunity  that  will  come.  So 
let  men  and  women  go  West  and  take  up  the  business 
that  others  have  laid  down  in  the  great  rush  to  the 
Klondyke  region. 

Real  rich  mining  often  begins  where  placer  mining 
ceases,  the  grains  and  nuggets  being  the  wash  from 
lodes  or  mineral  streaks  in  the  veins,  loosened  higher 
up  the  gorge  or  mountain  by  glacial  action. 

There  are  no  claims  unstaked  at  the  Klondyke  now. 

The  land  about  the  Klondyke  was  pretty  well  staked 
before  the  Eastern  press  announced  the  finding  of 
large  quantities  of  gold  that  created  the  present  gold 
fever.  Where  one  immense  fortune  will  be  made 
in  the  Klondyke,  there  will  be  a  score  or  more  of  dis- 
couraged seekers  after  wealth. 

Provisions  in  Alaska. 

Prospects  are  bright  now  for  Alaska  as  the  Gov- 
ernment has  undertaken  to  investigate  its  require- 
ments and  resources.  The  establishment  of  a  Land 
Office,  and  the  providing  of  an  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment for  the  development  of  that  line  of  Alaskan  re- 
sources has  also  been  determined  upon.  This  is  an 
important  matter  as  both  vegetables  and  domestic 
animals  can  easily  be  raised  there  in  some  localities 
for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  and  new  comers. 

It  is  next  thing  to  criminal  for  any  one  to  at- 
tempt to  face  the  rigors  of  the  Yukon  climate  without 


Placer    Mixing;    Sluice. 


SUPPLEMENTA RY  DATA.  369 

every  precaution  and  ample  provision.  No  one  has 
any  right  to  start  with  the  hope  that  there  will  be  suffi- 
cient for  all  in  the  bleak,  frost-bound  winter  of  that 
part  of  the  country. 

The  feasibility  of  transporting  live  cattle  to  the  min- 
ing camps  has  been  tested,  and  the  beef  sold  readily 
for  fifty  cents  a  pound.  Sheep  can  also  be  driven 
there  in  the  summer. 

Cattle  and  sheep  might  be  taken  across  the  moun- 
tains to  the  lakes  when  winter  comes,  as  they  can  be 
slaughtered  there  and  their  flesh  frozen,  by  which 
means  it  would  keep  indefinitely  for  transportation  to 
the  gold  fields. 

A  surprising  amount  of  nutritious  food  in  condensed 
or  dry  form  can  be  carried  in  the  numerous  food-tab- 
lets, bottles  and  cans,  but  great  care  should  be  taken 
in  their  selection,  as  to  quality  and  freshness. 

Wisely  catered,  a  man  may  carry  sufficient  nutri- 
ment upon  his  back  to  last  him  for  months,  with 
an  abundance  of  good  drinking  water  at  command, 
but  the  factors  of  heat  and  light  in  winter,  must  like- 
wise be  considered. 

The  cost  of  provisions  in  the  gold  country  to-day 
is  enormous,  the  demand  is  great,  but  phenomenal 
fortunes  may  provide  the  money  to  pay  the  fortunate 
miner.  The  greater  trouble  must  be  for  a  time,  to 
get  sufficient  food  and  clothing  into  the  camps,  where 
winter  mining  is  to  be  done. 
24 


370  ALASKA. 

A  step  in  the  rig^ht  direction  is  made  in  building 
boats,  forming  new  and  reliable  supply  companies 
and  filling  store  houses  in  anticipation  of  the  spring 
exodus  to  the  new  gold  regions. 

Let  American  citizens  always  bear  in  mind  that  the 
Klondyke  is  recognized  at  present  to  be  in  British 
Columbia,  and  aliens  are  subject  to  taxation,  and  that 
mining  and  other  Canadian  laws  differ  from  ours. 

Many  seekers  after  gold  have  been  obliged  to  turn 
back,  owing  to  the  lack  of  additional  capital  required 
to  carry  the  provisions,  necessary  for  a  winter 
in  the  Klondyke  Section,  over  the  Chilkoot  Pass,  the 
packers  having  formed  a  union  and  charging  as  high 
as  25  or  30  cents  per  pound.  The  former  rate  was  15 
cents  per  pound. 

There  is  wealth  in  the  oil  wells  of  Alaska  if  the  tales 
of  oil  discovery  be  even  partially  true.  It  will  serve 
the  people  for  fuel  as  well  as  light. 

The  X-ray  for  use  in  prospecting  for  gold  is  be- 
ing boomed  in  the  papers  and  may  be  of  some  value 
in  the  future,  but  drilling  through  the  veins  or  earth 
is  the  most  certain  method. 

If  reports  be  true,  about  two  miles  from  the  ocean, 
surrounded  by  hills  rich  in  coal  and  asphalt,  a  lake 
of  almost  pure  petroleum  has  been  discovered.  It  is  of 
unknown  depth,  several  miles  wide,  and  five  to  six 
miles  in  length. 

A  company  has  been  formed  in  Seattle,  and  it  is 


SUPPLEMENTA RY  DATA.  371 

its  intention  as  soon  as  the  water  ways  will  permit, 
to  introduce  it  into  the  mines  in  Alaska  for  lighting 
and  heating. 

Dawson  City. 

Dawson  City  the  centre  to  which  the  great  crowd 
is  trending,  is  owned  by  one  man  named  Joseph  La- 
due,  who  patented  the  site  in  1896.  It  is  located  75 
miles  from  the  boundary  line  on  the  Canadian  side; 
and  has  suddenly  grown  to  be  a  city  of  great  impor- 
tance in  that  region.  The  population  at  present  is 
about  four  thousand. 

Since  last  September  there  have  been  at  least  800 
or  more  new  claims  staked  within  a  distance  of  twenty 
miles  of  Dawson  City. 

There  is  no  established  town  on  the  Alaskan  side 
in  close  proximity  to  that  place,  except  Forty  Mile 
and  Circle  City.  Mining  camps  are  forming,  how- 
ever, at  the  mines  for  winter  work. 

Joseph  Ladue,  who  has  a  saw  mill  at  Dawson  City, 
says  lumber  sells  there  at  $130  per  thousand  feet. 

Men  thinking  of  going  to  the  Klondyke  country 
should  know  that  its  climate  is  like  that  of  southern 
Greenland,  and  prepare  for  it  accordingly.  To  in- 
sure success  as  an  Alaskan,  you  must  dress  as  one. 
There  is  not  much  use  for  fashion  plates  at  the  Klon- 
dyke, but  there  is  of  flannels  and  warm  furs  in  winter. 


372  ALASKA. 

Seal  Industry. 

The  seal  industry  alone  has  more  than  paid  with 
interest  the  price  of  Alaska.  The  other  fisheries  have 
produced  a  satisfactory  revenue,  therefore  the  thirty 
millions  of  dollars  in  gold  that  the  territory  has  al- 
ready yielded  may  be  called  clear  profit  on  the  invest- 
ment. 

One  great  cause  for  the  heavy  mortality  among  the 
seal  pups  last  year  was  said  to  be  due  to  a  parasitic 
worm,  which  infested  the  sandy,  rocky  areas  of  the 
breeding  grounds. 

Last  year  there  was  a  shrinkage  of  15  per  cent, 
on  the  breeding  grounds  and  33  per  cent,  on  the  hunt- 
ing grounds.  The  seal  conference  showed  greater  loss 
this  year. 

The  seals  are  considered  to  have  a  very  keen  ap- 
petite, and  when  tamed,  sing  for  their  meals.  They 
are  very  particular  from  whom  they  take  their  meals, 
and  become  very  much  attached  to  the  keeper  in 
charge. 

Disease. 

Scurvy  is  a  disease  to  be  carefully  guarded  against 
in  the  distant  mining  camps.  None  but  the  very  best 
salt  meats  should  be  used  and  that  not  too  bounti- 
fully. Canned  vegetable  foods  can  now  be  had  and 
the  disease  averted. 

Rheumatism,  pulmonary  and  malarial  diseases  are 
likeh^  to  prevail  in  the  damp  weather  of  summer. 


SUPPLEMENTAR  Y  DA  TA.  373 

Assay  Office  at  Seattle. 
The  people  of  the  gold  regions  are  asking  for  an 
Assay  Office,  and  one  is  to  be  established  at  Seattle. 
No  doubt  one  will  have  to  be  established  in  the  North- 
West,  but  it  would  be  better  in  Alaska.  Assayers  will 
do  well  at  the  new  gold  fields. 

Circle  City. 

Circle  City,  a  settlement  on  the  Yukon  in  Alaska, 
formerly  boasted  of  a  mail  once  every  month.  Though 
letters  are  rated  at  one  dollar  and  newspapers  at  two 
dollars,  they  found  a  hearty  welcome  in  the  little  city. 
Increased  postal  facilities  bi-monthly  have  been  estab- 
lished by  the  Government  and  the  service  improved. 

Telegraph. 

A  Russian-American  telegraph  line  was  once  pro- 
jected across  Bering  Sea,  but  the  successful  laying  of 
the  great  Atlantic  cables  caused  its  abandonment. 
There  are  whispers  of  another  attempt  in  that  direc- 
tion in  the  future.  A  line  will  soon  be  run  to  the 
Upper  Yukon  region. 

The  Canadian  Government  has  under  construction 
a  telegraph  line  to  the  Yukon  gold  mining  district, 
from  Lynn  Canal  to  Fort  Selkirk  and  Klondyke, 
and  will  erect  suitable  places  for  shelter  along  the 
line  about  forty  or  fifty  miles  apart,  and  keep  the  route 
open  during  the  winter  by  dog  teams. 


374  ALASKA. 

Fort  Get   There. 

There  is  a  genuine  United  States  Fort  situated  on 
St.  Michaels  Island  near  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon. 
It  was  so  named  because  of  the  difficulties  that  had  to 
be  surmounted  by  the  party  that  reached  there.  They 
have  established  a  ship  yard  at  this  place  where  a  ship 
to  be  named  the  John  Cudahy  is  to  be  built  for  the 
Yukon  trade.  It  is  to  carry  800  tons,  and  to  be  fitted 
out  with  all  modern  appliances,  and  yet  with  light 
enough  draft  for  the  shallow  river,  which  is  only  four 
or  five  feet  deep  at  places.  Two  or  three  Alaskan 
naval  stations  are  needed,  one  at  the  Yukon,  one  at 
Juneau  or  Taku  Inlet,  and  one  at  Sitka. 

Weare. 

Mr.  P.  B.  Weare,  Vice  President  of  the  North 
American  Transportation  and  Trading  Company,  who 
authenticates  the  statement,  says  that  they  are  con- 
structing several  200  ton  barges,  and  a  light  draft 
steamer  to  be  called  the  "Klondyke"  and  they  have 
bought  a  tug  of  great  strength  for  the  purpose  of  tow- 
ing the  laden  barges  up  the  great  river  between  Fort 
Get  There,  St.  Michaels,  and  Weare,  a  town  500  miles 
up  the  stream. 

It  is  the  intention  to  winter  all  of  the  vessels  400 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon,  so  as  to  begin 
operations  in  the  spring  up  in  the  inner  country  while 
waiting  for  the  removal  of  the  annual  stoppage  at  the 


SUPPLEMENTAR  Y  DATA.  37 5 

opening  of  the  usual  channel  into  Bering  Sea,  by  the 
unlocking  of  the  icy  barriers. 

Gambling,  that  curse  of  the  mining  camp,  is  in  full 
sweep,  but  lawlessness  has  not  yet  asserted  itself. 
Thus  fai*  a  miner  caught  cheating  is  quietly  invited 
to  decamp — and  he  does.  Thieves  are  usually  hung 
or  shot  without  great  ceremony. 

Murder  and  drunkenness  are  almost  unknown, 
possibly  because  whiskey  is  not  very  plentiful  at  fifty 
cents  a  drink  and  the  mounted  Canadian  police  are  an 
effective  agency  in  maintaining  order. 

The  penalties  for  crime  are  severe,  being  banish- 
ment from  the  country,  in  some  cases.  Whipping  is 
the  punishment  for  stealing  and  threatening  with 
weapons.  Hanging  is  the  punishment  for  murder, 
though  there  has  been  none  as  yet. 

The  only  way  into  and  out  of  the  Klondyke  in  win- 
ter has  been  by  way  of  the  Chilkoot  Pass  and  Dyea 
Inlet.     A  new  winter  route  out  lays  more  to  the  south. 

The  only  way  to  live  there  is  to  imitate  the  Indians 
in  dress  and  habit. 

It  is  useless  to  wear  leather  or  gum  boots.  Good 
moccasins  are  absolutely  necessary. 

The  colder  it  is  the  better  the  traveling. 

When  it  is  very  cold  there  is  no  wind,  and  the  wind 
storm  is  too  severe  to  withstand. 

In  the  summer  the  sun  rises  early  and  sets  late,  and 


376  ALASKA. 

there  are  only  a  few  hours  when  it  is  not  shining  di- 
rectly on  northern  Alaska, 

The  weather  is  warm  and  tent  life  is  comfortable,  in 
the  valleys. 

The  Chilkoot  Railroad  and  Transportation  Com- 
pany is  building  a  road  from  tide-water  to  the  top  of 
the  Pass  and  thence  an  aerial  tramway  to  Crater 
Lake. 

Stock  can  be  kept  by  using  care  in  providing  it 
abundantly  with  food  by  ensilage  or  curing  natural 
grass  hay  and  by  housing  the  cattle  in  the  winter. 

The  Alaskans,  who  are  numerous,  look  much'  like 
Chinese  or  Japanese.  They  are  peaceable,  industrious 
and  self-supporting. 

The  mercury  sometimes  reaches  as  low  as  80  de- 
grees below  zero  and  at  such  a  time  hot  water  if 
thrown  in  the  air  will  form  icicles. 

Gold  can  be  found  in  the  gravel  on  nearly  any 
Yukon  river,  creek  or  gulch. 

All  business  is  transacted  with  gold  dust,  and  not 
with  currency  or  coin. 

Laws,  made  by  the  miners  themselves,  are  recog- 
nized in  the  distant  camps. 

Mosquitoes  are  said  to  be  as  thick  as  snow  flakes, 
and  are  found  in  every  part  of  the  gold  country. 
They  are  exceedingly  annoying  and  a  mosquito  bar 
is  as  necessary  in  summer  as  an  overcoat  is  in  winter. 

Circle   City  is   practically  deserted  (October),   the 


SVPPLEMENTAR Y  DATA.  377 

people  having  gone  to  Dawson,  or  on  up  to  mining 
camps.  Many  will  return  or  new  comers  will  event- 
ually take  up  a  settlement  here. 

The  Indian  River  and  its  tributaries  will  prove  to 
possess  valuable  diggings  next  winter. 

It  is  stated  that  Vitus  Bering,  who  discovered 
Alaska,  or  Russian  America,  also  named  the  great 
peak  St.  EHas. 

The  gold  brought  down  from  the  Klondyke  region 
this  season,  now  closed,  will  foot  up  two  millions  of 
dollars  or  more. 

A  liquor  used  by  the  native  Alaskans  was  once  an 
innocent  drink  made  of  rye  flour  and  water,  permitted 
to  stand  until  it  fermented  and  grew  clear.  This 
was  called  Quass,  and  was  much  used  by  the  Rus- 
sians. But  they  improved  the  mixture,  by  adding 
sugar  or  molasses,  producing  after  crude  distillation, 
the  ' '  Koochinoo  ' '  which  is  extremely  intoxicating. 

It  is  generally  estimated  that  from  ten  to  twelve 
thousand  Esquimaux  live  in  the  cold,  barren  regions 
of  the  Upper  Yukon,  the  district  in  or  near  the 
Arctic  Circle.  The  manner  of  salute  habitual  with 
these  Esquimaux,  is  the  rubbing  of  noses,  a  fashion 
also  belonging  to  the  Maris  of  New  Zealand.  It  is 
an  unpardonable  offense  to  refuse  the  salutation,  how- 
ever uninviting  the  physiognomy  of  the  one  offering  it. 

The  Yukon  is  said  to  freeze  to  the  depth  of  from 
six  to  eighteen  feet  in  midwinter. 


378  ALASKA. 

Although  the  weather  in  Alaska  is  exceedingly  cold, 
the  air  is  healthful  and  invigorating.  The  climatic 
changes  are  sudden  and  very  severe. 

Since  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  Klondyke  region, 
wages  at  the  Treadwell  Mill  have  advanced  to  $6  per 
day. 

Whisky,  beer  and  all  kinds  of  liquors  have  been 
transported  into  Alaska  and  the  necessities  of  life  ne- 
glected. 

It  rains  copiously,  more  than  half  the  season  on  the 
ocean  side  of  the  mountains  and  mining  hills. 

Hundreds  of  homing  pigeons  have  been  taken  in  on 
the  Klondyke  routes.  One  flew  from  the  top  of  Chil- 
koot  Pass  to  Portland,  Oregon,  a  distance  of  1,200 
miles  in  eight  days. 

In  1866,  Professor  Debendeleben  claimed  to  have 
discovered  in  central  Alaska,  a  mountain,  said  to  be 
full  of  gold.  It  is  thought  to  be  the  highest  peak  in 
that  region.  It  was  called  Mount  Debendeleben,  after 
the  discoverer. 

Under  a  charter  from  the  Canadian  Government, 
two  trading  companies  have  the  monoply  of  supplying 
the  inhabitants  of  Klondyke  with  clothing  and  pro- 
visions. 

The  Salvation  Army  have  established  a  post  and 
planted  their  flag  in  the  Klondyke  district. 

A  large  sawmill  is  to  be  erected  at  Teslin  Lake. 

The   Cassiar   Central   Railroad    Company   has   de- 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA.  379 

cided  to  enter  its  territory  by  way  of  the  Stikine 
River  Route.  It  embraces  about  750,000  acres  of 
mineral  land. 

Although  there  are  plenty  of  salmon  in  the  river, 
good  sized  fish  at  Dawson  City  were  selling  at  $10  each. 

The  Bonanza  Creek  district  has  been  called  Tron- 
dike  instead  of  Klondyke. 

It  is  asserted  that  at  least  seventy  tons  of  gold  could 
be  taken  from  the  Klondyke  alone,  provided  the 
miners  had  proper  nourishment  and  mining  facilities. 

The  largest  nugget  found  in  the  Yukon  was  valued 
at  $583.     It  was  brought  from  the  Klondyke. 

It  once  took  sixty  days  to  carry  the  mails  from  Cir- 
cle City  to  Juneau  over  the  Chilkoot  Pass,  but  if  relay 
stations  and  good  roads  should  be  established,  it 
could  be  accomplished  in  fifteen  days. 

The  gold  in  Alaska  is  really  being  covered  up  in- 
stead of  uncovered,  owing  to  the  rivers  filling  up,  as 
they  have  been  flowing  for  some  time  past. 

It  costs  $25  a  day  to  feed  a  horse  in  Circle  City. 

The  past  season  being  extremely  dry,  the  Yukon  is 
low  and  thus  prevents  quick  navigation  from  St.  Mich- 
aels. 

Until  the  discovery  of  the  Klondyke  field,  the  gold 
finds  in  the  interior  of  Alaska  were  comparatively 
small,  but  very  profitable,  however. 

Before  the  Klondyke  discovery  there  was  only 
known  one  instance,  where  a  man  took  out  $40,000 
at  once  from  his  claim. 


38o  ALASKA. 

The  gold  bearing  district  extends  in  a  northwesterly 
direction  from  the  Hootalinqua  River  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean. 

Each  gulch  or  creek  has  a  Recorder,  appointed  by 
popular  vote,  he  being  the  chief  officer  in  the  Re- 
public of  Miners. 

The  discoverer  of  a  gold  bearing  creek  is  allowed 
a  claim  of  looo  feet  instead  of  500. 

One  claim  only  is  allowed  to  each  man,  and 
crowded  creeks  are  staked  off  at  300  feet  to  a  claim. 

An  effort  is  being  made  in  the  gulches,  not  paying 
well,  to  stake  claims  1320  feet  long. 

The  Copper  River  Transportation  and  Mining 
Company  have  located  at  Port  Townsend  and  will 
operate  a  line  of  schooners  in  passenger  and  freight 
traffic,  between  this  place  and  Cook's  Inlet,  Kadiak, 
the  Prince  William  Sound  country  and  Copper  River 
points. 

Game  is  very  scarce,  although  at  times,  moose,  cari- 
bou and  hare  are  found  in  large  quantities.  Hunters 
for  fur-bearing  animals  have  for  many  years  scoured 
the  Yukon  River  country  for  this  kind  of  game. 

By  international  postal  arrangements  between 
Canada  and  the  United  States,  there  will  be  a  mail 
once  a  month  from  Dyea  to  Dawson  City  conveyed 
by  the  mounted  police. 

A  post-office  is  to  be  established  at  St.  Michaels, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  the  Government  will  soon  see 


SUPPLEMENTA RY  DATA.  381 

the  importance  of  all  the  Alaska  towns  and  establish 
an  office  at  each. 

All  arrangements  have  been  made  for  fitting  up  a 
post-office  at  Tagish  Lake. 

Vegetables  of  the  hardier  sorts  can  be  raised.  Wild 
onions,  rhubarb  and  wild  celery  can  be  found  any- 
where, and  small  berries,  such  as  the  blueberry,  cran- 
berry, salmon  berry,  wild  raspberry  and  currants 
grow  in  abundance  on  some  of  the  islands,  and  on  the 
sides  of  the  mountains.  Fresh  vegetables  used  in  the 
States  are  quite  unknown  as  yet  in  Alaska,  but  in  time 
the  hardier  and  rapidly  growing  ones  will  be  success- 
fully raised  in  the  warmer  regions  of  the  territory. 

A  rapid  fire  Maxim  gun  has  been  placed  on  the 
steamer  Portland,  as  a  protection  to  those  returning 
from  Klondyke  in  case  of  meeting  with  pirates. 

In  the  Klondyke  region  during  midwinter,  daylight 
only  lasts  about  four  hours,  as  the  sun  does  not  rise 
until  about  9.30  or  10  a.  m.,  and  sets  from  2  to  3  p.  m. 

The  climate  of  Alaska  varies,  and  that  part  which 
includes  the  islands  on  the  Pacific  coast,  north  of 
Dixon's  Sound  and  about  twenty  miles  inland,  is 
termed  temperate  Alaska,  winter  not  setting  in  until 
the  1st  of  December,  and  the  temperature  seldom  fall- 
ing to  zero.  By  May  all  the  snow  has  disappeared 
except  on  the  mountains.  The  rainfall  of  this  section 
is  very  peculiar.  It  comes  in  long  continued  rains  and 
drizzles.  There  are  only  about  sixty-six  clear  days  in 
the  year,  the  rest  of  the  time  it  is  cloudy  and  foggy. 


382  ALASKA. 

Hospitals. 

At  Sitka  there  is  a  thoroughly  equipped  hospital, 
which  has  twent}'^  beds  and  all  modern  conveniences, 
at  the  Industrial  School. 

There  is  also  a  hospital  and  doctor  at  Fort  Adams, 
in  connection  with  St.  James  Mission. 

Schools. 

An  enterprising  woman  of  San  Francisco  has  gone 
to  Dawson  City  and  taken  a  school  house  with  her. 
It  is  in  sections,  well  planned  as  to  conveniences. 

She  has  also  taken  a  good  supply  of  books  and 
writing  material. 

There  are  twenty  day  schools  in  Alaska  with  teach- 
ers and  1267  pupils. 

Transportation. 

Men  have  had  to  work  night  and  day  in  order  to 
supply  the  demand  for  launches  and  small  boats. 
One  firm  having  built  fifty  has  been  obliged  to  refuse 
any  more  orders. 

Since  the  exodus  to  the  Klondyke  region  the  car- 
penters have  been  kept  busy,  as  500  sleds  have  thus 
far  been  made  costing  about  $12  apiece. 

The  Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Company  have  formed 
an  Express  Company  to  carry  merchandise,  money, 
bonds,  and  valuables  from  Tacoma  to  Dyea  and  inter- 
mediate points  touched  by  their  steamers. 

The  miners  have  built  a  bridge  about  one  and  a  half 


SUPPLEMENTAR  Y  DA  TA.  383 

miles  from  where  the  Skaguay  trail  was  forded.  It 
is  a  crude  affair  6  feet  wide  and  200  feet  long,  on  four 
trestles  with  one  span  of  66  feet. 

Skaguay,  a  town  which  a  short  time  ago  did 
not  contain  a  dozen  inhabitants,  now  boasts  of  a  pop- 
ulation of  nearly  four  thousand,  with  stores,  saloons, 
and  restaurants,  all  as  yet  under  canvas. 

In  February,  1890,  in  the  northern  districts,  the 
thermometer  was  47  degrees  below  zero  for  five  con- 
secutive days.  It  was  the  longest  cold  spell  that  has 
ever  occurred.  About  the  first  of  March  it  moder- 
ated slightly,  but  still  continued  below  the  freezing 
point. 

The  police  have  orders  not  to  allow  any  miner  to 
enter  the  British  Territory,  unless  provided  with  1,100 
pounds  of  food. 

Miners  are  paid  $10  to  $15  for  a  whole  day  of  eight 
hours,  but  in  winter  when  they  only  work  six  hours 
for  a  day  their  wages  are  reduced  to  $5  or  $8  per  day. 

Nuggety  masses  of  gold  of  $5  weight  are  found  in 
the  Franklin  Gulch  in  the  Forty  Mile  district. 

This  gulch  was  discovered  in  1887  and  the  first  year 
produced  about  $4,000. 

In  the  summer  of  1886,  Birch  Creek  was  in  a  flour- 
ishing condition.  Mines  were  working  on  double 
shifts,  night  and  day,  as  most^of  the  gulches  were  then 
running. 

Forty  Mile  district,  in  the  summer  of  1896,  looked 


384  ALASKA. 

as  though  it  had  seen  its  best  days,  and  unless  new 
creeks  are  discovered,  will  lose  its  old  standing. 

At  Mastodon  Creek,  the  best  producer,  over  300 
miners  are  at  work,  and  they  expect  to  winter  in  the 
gulch. 

Taiya,  or  Dyea  River,  is  a  mountain  torrent  of  no 
extensive  size.  It  empties  into  Lynn  Canal,  about 
one  hundred  miles  north  of  the  city  of  Juneau. 

In  looking  back  from  the  summit  of  Chilkoot  Pass, 
the  Pacific  Ocean  is  sometimes  to  be  seen  like  a 
stretch  of  rolling  clouds  against  the  shore  line. 

Lake  Linderman,  in  which  the  Yukon  River  rises, 
is  but  a  small  sheet  of  water,  one  mile  in  width  and 
six  miles  long. 

Caribou  Crossing  is  a  shallow  stream  connecting 
Lake  Tagish  and  Lake  Bennett.  It  is  so-called  be- 
cause the  Caribou  pass  that  way  in  going  southward. 

Chilkoot  Pass  has  an  altitude  of  three  thousand 
five  hundred  feet,  and  above  it  the  snow-capped  moun- 
tains tower,  from  which  the  drifts  of  snow  are  carried 
into  the  gorge  by  the  winds,  making  almost  perpetual 
snow  storms,  though  the  sky  may  be  cloudless. 

Windy  Arm,  is  so  called  because  the  impetuous 
winds  from  the  White  and  Chilkoot  Passes  rush  to- 
gether at  the  head  of  Lake  Tagish,  into  which  Windy 
Arm  extends.  The  war  of  winds  makes  the  waters  of 
the  Arm  so  tempestuous  that  it  is  generally  more  wise 
to  haul  the  boats  around  by  land  until  a  safer  point  is 
reached. 


SUPPLEMENTAR Y  DATA.  385 

Mt.  Tacoma,  or  Rainier,  holds  no  less  than  fifteen 
glaciers  in  its  keeping. 

Mt.  Fairweather  is  two  hundred  miles  southeast 
from  Mt.  St.  Klias,  and,  in  favorable  weather,  can  be 
seen  at  sea  for  more  than  one  hundred  miles. 

A  species  of  kelp,  or  sea  weed,  is  gathered  by  the 
Alaskan  women  and  pressed  into  cakes  forming  a  nu- 
tritious and  strengthening  article  of  diet. 

A  coarser  kind  is  collected  for  burning,  fuel  being 
scarce  along  the  coasts  of  the  extreme  north. 

Rev.  W.  W.  Kirby,  a  missionary  among  the  Es- 
quimaux of  the  Upper  Yukon,  in  speaking  of  the 
summer  sun  says,  "Frequently  did  I  see  him  (the  sun) 
describe  a  complete  circle  in  the  heavens." 

The  aurora  borealis  is  the  substitute  for  the  sun 
during  the  winter.  The  time  of  its  most  brilliant  ap- 
pearance is  chosen  by  the  natives  for  catching  fish. 

The  Cassiar  gold  mines  are  situated  in  British  Co- 
lumbia. 

Captain  White,  of  the  United  States  Revenue  Ser- 
vice, reported  the  largest  nuggets  of  gold  in  the  Terri- 
tory to  have  been  found  on  the  mountain  near  Wran- 
gel,  one  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level. 

Douglas  Island  was  named  in  honor  of  a  Bishop 
of  Salisbury,  who  was  a  friend  of  Vancouver's. 

Chilkat  blankets,  the  Alaskan's  wealth,  are  manu- 
factured by  women.  One  of  them  requires  six 
months  in  its  creation.  The  colors  are  blue,  black, 
25 


386  ALASKA. 

yellow  and  white;  the  dyes  being  made  by  the  na- 
tives. The  blankets  are  generally  six  feet  long  and 
four  feet  wide,  not  including  the  fringe,  which  is 
usually  rich  and  beautiful.  These  are  valued  at  from 
forty  to  eighty  dollars  a  piece,  and  are  very  dur- 
able. 

Travelers  estimate  that  there  are  five  thousand  gla- 
ciers, great  and  small,  in  the  Alaskan  Territory. 

Gold,  having  been  found  so  abundant  in  Alaska, 
its  other  resources  are  eclipsed;  but  copper,  silver, 
coal,  iron  and  petroleum  are  also  destined  to  supply 
their  part  in  her  resources  of  wealth. 

Agassiz  Glacier,  sloping  down  from  the  southern 
side  of  Mt.  St.  Elias,  is  computed  to  be  twenty  miles 
wide,  fifty  miles  long,  and  to  cover  an  area  of  nearly 
one  thousand  square  miles. 

Mt.  Wrangel  is  the  home  of  some  of  the  largest 
glaciers  in  the  world,  the  extent  of  which  seems  al- 
most fabulous. 

At  certain  stormy  seasons,  Seymour  Narrows,  a 
part  of  the  Inland  Passage,  is  extremely  dangerous 
for  vessels. 

Sitka,  the  capital  of  Alaska,  is  situated  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  from  Kodiak,  or  Kadiak,  the  more 
ancient  capital. 

There  are  more  than  fifty  islands  in  the  Aleutian 
Chain,  not  counting  the  smaller  islets  and  volcanic 
rocks.     Of  these  Unimak,  or  Oonimak,  is  the  largest, 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA.  387 

it  is  twenty  miles  wide  and  upwards  of  seventy  miles 
long.  It  has  a  volcanic  peak  nine  thousand  feet 
high.  Oonalaska  has  one  five  thousand,  seven  hun- 
dred feet  tall,  and  even  little  Attoo,  or  Attn,  boasts  of 
its  mountains,  the  tallest  of  which  is  three  thousand 
feet  in  height.  The  whole  Aleutian  group  is  sup- 
posed to  be  of  volcanic  origin. 

King's  Island  is  the  home  of  cave  dwellers,  who 
have  literally  made  caves  for  their  dwellings  in  winter, 
while  their  summer  homes  hang  like  swallow  nests 
to  the  face  of  the  rocks,  secured  by  whale  and  walrus 
bones  and  covered  with  their  hides. 

These  caves  are  two  hundred  feet  above  the  water. 

The  Aleutian  Islands  contain  a  number  of  hot 
springs,  and  many  extinct  volcanoes. 

In  some  of  the  streams  near  Dawson  City,  from 
500  to  700  pounds  of  salmon  can  be  caught  daily,  dur- 
ing the  summer. 

Typhoid  and  malarial  fevers  are  feared  at  Dawson 
City,  it  being  impossible  to  drain  the  ground  in  the 
warm  season,  owing  to  the  plateau  being  covered  with 
a  dense  spongy  moss  and  tundra. 

Moose  and  reindeer  may  be  killed  all  winter,  but 
bear  can  only  be  found  in  the  fall  and  after  it  leaves 
its  cave  in  March. 

By  next  spring  efiforts  will  be  made  to  try  the  new 
routes  to  the  gold  districts — one  going  from  Sitka  by 
way  of  Yakutat,  Disenchantment  Bay  and  the  White 


388  ALASKA. 

River,  the  trail  distance  being  only  425  miles,  while 
from  Juneau  over  the  present  trail  it  is  700  miles. 

A  general  stampede  is  being  made  for  Munook 
Creek,  since  a  young  prospector  went  there  in  the 
spring  of  1897  and  made  rich  discoveries.  The  gold 
is  coarse  but  purer  than  that  along  the  Upper  Yukon. 

It  is  400  miles  below  Circle  City  and  700  miles 
below  Dawson  City,  and  it  is  reported  that  food  will  be 
plentiful  there  this  winter,  as  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company  is  building  a  store,  and  will  stock  it  well. 

The  rights  of  squatters  who  have  improved  their 
holdings  are  considered  to  be  secure  against  invasion. 

Titles  given  by  the  original  settler  are  valid,  even 
though  the  holders  shall  be  absent  from  the  premises. 

By  actual  count,  2,030  pack  horses  recently  passed 
over  the  Skaguay  trail  in  one  day. 

The  Steamer  Rustler  makes  regular  weekly  trips 
from  Juneau  to  Chilcat  and  Dyea. 

The  first  gold  mining  in  the  U])per  Yukon  district 
vv^as  done  in  1880  by  25  or  30  miners,  who  entered 
by  way  of  Dyea. 

The  first  discovery  of  coarse  gold  on  the  Upper 
Yukon  was  made  by  a  Mr.  Franklin  on  the  Forty 
Mile  Creek  in  1886. 

The  first  discovery  of  gold  in  the  middle  Yukon 
region  was  made  in  1872,  by  Messrs.  Harper  and 
Hart,  who  went  in  over  the  Stikine  River  route. 

In  1881  gold  was  discovered  on  a  stream  between 
the  Yukon  and  the  Tanana  rivers. 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA.  389 

A  Canadian  expert  believes  that  quartz  mining  in 
the  Yukon  country  will  soon  be  more  profitable  than 
washing  gold  from  the  placers. 

49,000  cases  of  salmon  were  shipped  from  Prince 
William  Sound  during  August  and  September. 

The  copper  mines  on  the  Copper  River  are  exten- 
sive and  will  soon  create  excitement. 

Experts  are  bemg  sent  to  Alaska  by  the  United 
States  Government,  in  search  of  mica.  It  is  in  great 
demand  for  electrical  appliances. 

The  quartz  mines  in  Southeastern  Alaska  are  in- 
creasing in  value  as  depth  is  reached  on  the  lodes. 

Owing  to  the  growing  trade  of  the  Portland 
merchants,  the  steamer  George  W.  Elder  will  run 
regularly  and  permanently  from  Portland  to  Alaska. 

619,379  cases  of  salmon  were  caught  and  packed  in 
Alaska  during  the  year  1895. 

There  are  29  canning  establishments  employing 
5,600  men. 

At  Karluk,  last  July,  100,000  salmon  were  caught. 

In  1878  gold  was  discovered  on  the  Lewis  and 
Hootalinqua  Rivers  by  George  Holt,  the  first  white 
man  to  enter  the  Yukon  country  by  the  Chilcoot  Pass 
route. 

In  1875  Edward  Bean  and  a  party  ot  prospectors 
started  from  Juneau  over  the  Chilcoot  Pass  route  to 
the  Yukon  district.  Mrs.  Bean,  the  wife  of  the  trader, 
who  was  married  to  him  in  Chicago,  was  the  first  white 
lady  in  the  Yukon  district. 


390  ALASKA. 

In  1875  they  went  to  their  post,  fifty  miles  up  the 
Tanana  River  and  shortly  after  arriving  there  a  son 
was  born,  it  being  the  first  white  child  born  on  the 
Yukon  or  in  the  interior  of  Alaska. 

In  1878  a  difficulty  arose  between  Mr.  Bean  and 
the  Tanana  Indians,  the  latter  becoming  angry  be- 
cause the  trader  would  not  take  all  the  skins,  good 
or  bad  which  they  brought  him. 

Upon  his  determined  refusal,  three  medicine  men 
determined  to  kill  him,  but  fearing  his  wife,  who  was 
noted  for  her  courage  and  skill  with  a  pistol,  they 
planned  to  kill  both  and  one  day  coming  upon  them 
unawares  shot  and  fatally  wounded  Mrs.  Bean.  The 
husband,  seeing  the  harm  done,  quickly  picked  up 
his  boy  jumped  into  a  canoe  and  escaped,  going 
to  Nulato. 

The  steamer  South  Coast  made  the  trip  down  from. 
St.  Michaels  in  eleven  days. 

Were  it  not  for  the  many  difficulties  in  the  way, 
the  output  from  the  Yukon  placers  would  amount  to 
nearly  $20,000,000. 

The  largest  nugget  found  in  the  Inlet-section  in 
1897  was  on  Bear  Creek.     Its  value  was  $93. 

The  Kensington  lode  will  be  tapped  at  a  depth  of 
1,700  feet.  That  is  the  greatest  depth  that  any  mine 
in  Alaska  has  ever  been  tested. 

Enormous  prices  are  being  asked  for  the  claims 
on  the  bonanza   tributaries    of   the    Klondyke,        It 


IS 

< 

< 
< 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA.  391 

would  be  possible,  however,  to  purchase  some  of 
them  at  prices  from  half  a  million  upwards. 

A  fair  log  cabin,  already  built,  costs  $1,000  and  the 
time  and  labor  in  constructing  a  new  one,  would 
amount  to  almost  the  same. 

Lieut.  G.  M.  Storey  proposes  a  naval  patrol  and 
three  garrisons  for  the  Yukon  River. 

The  majority  of  the  houses  at  Dawson  are  con- 
structed from  poles,  the  largest  of  which  measure 
about  four  inches  in  diameter.  Poles  of  this  size  and 
sufficient  length  for  a  cabin  cost  from  $4  to  $8  a  piece. 

Fully  half  of  the  6,000  people  at  Dawson  were  living 
in  tents.  Lumber  and  logs  having  to  be  handled  or 
floated  15  miles,  command  fabulous  prices. 

Horses  and  mules  at  present  cost  from  $250  to 
$400,  pack  animals  being  a  necessity  in  the  Yukon. 

The  only  collection  made  by  the  Canadian  Govern- 
ment, from  the  miners,  is  the  miner's  license  of  $15, 
and  $100  on  a  claim  in  the  second  year.  On  wood 
there  is  a  tax  of  15  and  25  cents  a  cord,  and  a  set 
of  house  logs  is  levied  $8.  Wood  costs  as  high  as 
$100  a  cord  in  Dawson  City. 

There  are  no  glaciers  in  the  northern  interior  of 
Alaska,  but  instead  a  singular  phenomenon  of  the 
ground — ice  formation,  a  state  of  affairs  in  which 
ice  plays  the  part  of  a  more  or  less  regularly  inter- 
stratified  rock,  above  which  are  the  clays  containing 
remains  of  the  mammoth  and  other  animals,  showing 


392  ALASKA. 

that  they  became  extinct  not  because  of  the  refrigera- 
tion of  the  region,  but  co-incidently  with  the  com- 
ing of  a  warmer  climate. 

On  Wood  Island,  Kadiak  Harbor,  a  twelve-acre  field 
of  oats  is  planted  regularly,  and  although  it  seldom 
ripens,  it  is  used  for  food  for  the  horses,  which  have 
been  kept  for  years  on  this  island. 


ALASKA   OFFICIALS. 

WHENCE   APPOINTED    AND    DATE   OF    APPOINTMENT. 


Governor, 
John  G.  Brady,  of  Alaska.     Tune  23,  1897. 

Clerk  of  Court  at  Sitka, 
Albert  D.  Elwot,  of  D.  C.    July  26,  1897. 

Surveyor-General  at  Sitka, 
William  I^.  DisTin,  of  Illinois.     August  7,  1897. 

Register  0/ Land  Office  at  Sitka, 
John  W.  Dudle;y,  of  D.  C.      July  27,  1897. 

Receiver  of  Public  Moneys  at  Sitka, 
RoswELL  Shelly,  of  Oregon.    July  27,  1897. 

United  States  District  fudge  of  Alaska, 
C.  S.  Johnson.     Residence,  Sitka. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  DATA.  393 

United  States  Attorney  at  Sitka, 
Burton  E-  Bennett. 


Assistant  United  States  Attorney  at  Sitka, 
Alfred  J.  Daly. 

United  States  Marshal  at  Sitka, 
James  M.  Shoup. 

Deputy  Collector  at  Juneau, 
Mr.  Ormand. 

Deputy  Collector  of  Interiial  Revenue, 
W.  C.  Pedlar. 

Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
Webster  Davis. 

Townsite  Commissioner  at  Juneau, 
R.  L.  Lyons, 

Deputy  Collector  at  Juneau, 
C.  S.  Hannum. 

Chief  Deputy  of  Sitka, 
W.  P.  McBride. 

Deputy  at  Wrangel, 
Joseph  Arment. 


394  ALASKA. 

Inspector  Afloal, 
J.  S.  Slater, 


Deputy  Collector  at  Skagiiay, 
James  Floyd, 

Dominion  Land  Surveyor, 
J.  J.  McArThur. 

Three  Assistants, 
Messrs.  Riley,  Heldane  and  Cooper. 

commissioners — old  points. 

Sitka —        Caldwell  W.  Tuttle,  of  Indiana.    June  22,  1897. 

Wrangel —  Kenneth  M.  Jackson,  of  Alaska.    June  6,  1896. 

Unalaska — L,ycurgus  R.  Woodward,  of  California.     April  24, 
1894. 

Jtmeau —    John  Y.  Ostrander,  of  Alaska.    February  19,  1897. 

Kadiak —    Philip  Gallagher,  of  Washington.    June  24,  1897. 

COMMISSIONERS — NEW  POINTS  IN  1897. 

Circle  City —    John  E.  Crane,  of  Illinois.    July  6,  1897. 
Dyea —  John  U.  Smith,  of  Oregon.    July  8,  1897. 

St.  Michaels—  L,enox  B.  Shepherd,  of  Alaska.    July  26,  1897. 
Unga —  Charles  H.  Isham,  of  Maryland.    July  22,  1897, 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA. 


39S 


Summary  of  Alaska,  British  Columbia  and    Klondyke 
Gold  Mines. 


Bear  lode 

Berner's  Bay  Mining  and  Milling 
Company 

Comet  mine 

Eureka  lode 

Ivanhoe  mines 

Jualin  mines 

Kensington  lode 

Northern  Belle  mine 

Portland  and  Alaska  Mining  Com- 
pany   

Thomas  Seward  lode 

Alaska-Treadwell  Gold  Mining  Com- 
pany   

Bear's  Nest  mine .-. 

Grindstone  Creek 

Lorena  mine 

Mexican  mine 

Montana  Creek 

Ready  Bullion 

.Snettishham  mines 

Davis  Creek 

Poker  Creek 

Willoughby  mine 

Cassiar  mines 

Bald  Eagle  mine 

Lynk  mines 

Mills  mines 

Polly  Mining  Company 

Bonanza  mines 

Dominion  Creek 

Eldorado  mines 

Hunker  Creek 

Indian  Creek 


Number 

OF 

Stamps 


40 

(Adding 
more) 


300 
(Others  be- 
ing added) 


Where  Situated 


Berner's  Bay 
Berner's  Bay 

Berner's  Bay 
Berner's  Bay 
Berner's  Baj' 
Berner's  Bay 
Berner's  Bay 
Berner's  Bay 

Berner's  Bay 
Berner's  Bay 

Douglas  Island 

Douglas  Island 

Douglas  Island 

Douglas  Island 

Douglas  Island 

Douglas  Island 

Douglas  Island 

Douglas  Island 

Forty-Mile  district 

Forty-Mile  district 

Funter  Bay,  Admiralty  Island 

Headwaters  of  Deese  River, 

British  Columbia 
Holkham  Bay  (Sumdum) 
Inlet  Section 
Inlet  Section 
Inlet  Section 
Klondyke,  United  States 
Klondyke,  United  States 
Klondyke,  United  States 
Klondyke,  United  States 
Klondyke,  United  States 


396 


ALASKA. 


Summary  of  Alaska,  British   Columiua  and  Klondyke 
Gold  Mines — Continued. 


Munook  Creek 

Sulphur  Creek  mines 

Victoria  Gulch 

Healy  North  American  Transporta- 
tion and  Trading  Company 

Dora  mine 

Gold  Creek 

Humboldt  mine 

North  Star  mines 

Taku  Consolidated  Mining  Com- 
pany   

Silver  Queen  Mining  Company 

Glacier  mines 

Keystone  mine 

Leap  Year  mine 

Norwell  Gold  Mining  Company 

The  Apollo  Gold  and  Silver  Mining 
Company  of  Unga 

Eastern  Alaska  Mill  and  Mining 
Company  

Fuller  First  mine 

Cash  mine 

Haley  and  Miletich  mines 

Lucky  Chance  mine , 

The  Pande  Basin  Placer  mine 

Cleveland  mines 

Porphyry  mines 

Birch  Creek 

Copper  River 

Forty  Mile  Creek 

Hootalinqua  River 

Klondyke  River 

Lewes  River 

Miller  Creek 

Pelly  River 

Stewart  River 


Number 

OF 

Stamps 


Where  Situated 


Klondyke,  United  States 
Klondyke,  United  States 
Klondyke,  United  States 

Near  Dawson 
Near  Juneau 
Near  Juneau 
Near  Juneau 
Near  Juneau 

Near  Juneau 
Sheep  Creek,  Juneau 
Sheep  Creek 
Sheep  Creek 
Sheep  Creek 
Sheep  Creek 

Shumagin  Island 

Silver  Bow  Basin 
Silver  Bow  Basin 
Sitka 
Sitka 
Sitka 
Sitka 

Near  Sitka 
Near  Sitka 
Yukon  district 
Y'ukon  district 
Yukon  district 
Yukon  district 
Yukon  district 
Yukon  district 
Yukon  district 
Yukon  district 
Yukon  district 


Many  other  mines  have  been  opened  recently,  and  new  claims  are  being 
taken  up  and  Klondyke  Gold  Mining  Stock  Companies  are  forming  all  over 
the  country. 


SUPPLEMENTAR  V  DA  TA .  397 

Copper  and  Silver  Mines. 

Rich  silver  and  copper  ores  are  found  on  the  west  coast  of 
Chichagofif  Island  and  near  Sitka. 

Fine  specimens  of  almost  pure  native  copper  ore  have  been 
obtained  from  the  banks  of  the  Copper  River  and  its  tributaries. 

Pure  copper  is  found  on  the  Chittyto  and  Chittna  Rivers. 

The  finest  gol«na  and  gray  copper  ore  in  the  Sheep  Creek 
vicinity  is  found  in  the  Little  Queen,  Little  Queen  Extension 
and  the  Grindstone  Creek  mines. 

Copper  has  recently  been  discovered  in  Prince  William 
Sound. 

These  mines  are  mammoth  ledges  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet 
in  width.  They  are  easy  of  access,  as  ocean  steamers  can  land 
right  at  the  mines. 

Lead. 

Lead  in  small  quantities  is  found  in  Whale  Bay,  south  of 
Sitka,  and  on  Kodiak  Island. 

Coal. 

Coal  is  found  along  the  coast,  but  the  most  valuable  is 
found  in  unlimited  quantities  in  Cook's  Inlet. 

Coal  is  found  in  Disenchantment  Bay  and  Lituya  Bay. 

Coal  that  is  glossy,  semi-bituminous  and  said  to  steam  well 
is  found  on  Admiralty  Island,  near  Killisnoo. 

A  good  quality  of  coal  has  been  discovered  on  Sitkhinak 

Island. 

Large  beds  of  coal  exist  in  the  Yukon  district. 

Petroleum. 

There  are  several  lakes  of  petroleum  in  the  country  be- 
tween Lituya  and  Yukutat  Bays. 

A  lake  of  petroleum  has  been  discovered  near  Prince 
William  Sound  east  of  Cook's  Inlet. 


CHAPTER  XL 


Distances,  Time,  Fares,  Supplies — Approximate.    Trans- 
continental Dining-Car  Meals.    Entire  Trip  ^i6.oo. 


Fare. 


f  Nearly 
\     1900 


New  York  to  Seattle 

Fee  for  Pullman  Sleeper,  $20.50. 

Seattle  to  Juneau  (Steamer) 

Living  in  Juneau  $3.00  per  day. 

Lynn  Canal  to  Dyea  (Steamer) 

New  York  to  Dyea 

Cost  of  complete  outfit  for  overland 
journey,  $150.00. 
New  York  to  Klondyke  (In  summer  by 

Dyea  Route) 

With  cost  of  provisions  for  one  year, 
$200.00  more. 
Juneau  to  Klondyke  Mines 

First  Route. 

San    Francisco    to    Seattle    and    to    St. 

Michaels 

Seattle  to  St.  Michaels  (Steamer) 

St.  Michaels  to  Dawson  City,  Klondyke 
River  (River  Boat) 

150  lbs.  of  baggage,  each  passenger. 

Another  Route. 

Seattle  to  Juneau,  up  Lynn  Canal  and 
Chilkoot  Inlet 

*Juneau  to  Dyea 

Dyea  to  Lake  Linderman 

Across  Lake  Linderman 

Portage,  Linderman  to  Lake  Bennett, 
26  miles  long 

Across  Lake  Bennett  to  Cariboo  Crossing 

Across  Tagish  Lake 

Six-Mile  River  to  Mud  (or  Marsh)  Lake.. 

Across  Mud  (or  Marsh)  Lake 

Fifty-Mile  River  from  Mud  Lake  to  Lake 
Le  Barge 

Across  Lake  Le  Barge 

Thirty-Mile  River  to  Hootalinqua  River 

Down  Hootalinqua  and  Lewis  Rivers  to 
Fort  Selkirk 

Fort  Selkirk  down  the  Yukon  to  Daw- 
son City 

Total  Direct  Distance  from  Dyea  to  Dawson  City,  603. 


$81  50 

f  $32.00  Cabin. 
\    1 7.00  Steerage. 


About  $667.00 


$250.00 


100.00 
Varies. 


2  to  6 


*  There  is  a  local  steamboat  passage  from  Juneau  to  Dyea.  From  that 
point  all  goods  must  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  native  carriers,  horses,  or 
burros,  across  Chilkoot  Mountain  Pass. 


DISTANCES— APPROXIMA  TE, 


399 


Price  of  Excursion  Tickets  to  Alaska  and  Return, 

May  to  September,  Inclusive,  1897,  by  the 

Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Company. 


San  Francisco  via  Victoria  and  Port  Townsend,  re- 
turning same  way 

San  Francisco  via  Victoria,  returning  via  Tacoma, 

Portland  and  Columbia  River 

San  Francisco  via  Portland  and  Tacoma,  returning 

via  Victoria  and  Straits  of  Fuca 

Portland,  Oregon,  via  Tacoma  and  Port  Townsend 

(N.  P.  R.  R.  to  Tacoma 

From  Tacoma 

"      Seattle 

"      Victoria,  B.  C 

"      Port  Townsend 

Tickets  (not  return)  as  follows. 

San  Francisco  to  Juneau  or  Sitka 

"  "  "  Wrangel 

Portland  to  Juneau  or  Sitka 

"  "  Wrangel 

Tacoma    "  "         

"  "  Juneau  or  Sitka 

Seattle       "  Wrangel 

"  "  Juneau  or  Sitka 

Victoria  or  Townsend  to  Juneau  or  Sitka 

"        "  "  "   Wrangel 


$130  00 

140  00 

140  00 

109  00 
100  00 
98  00 
95  00 
95  00 

Cabin. 

$  70  00 
50  00 
60  00 
40  00 
33  00 
53  00 
32  50 
52  50 
50  00 
30  00 


Steerage. 

$  40  00 
25  00 
35  00 
20  00 
17  50 
32  50 
17  00 
32  00 
30  00 
15  00 


Sitka  and  Unalaska  Mail  Route. 


Sitka  to  or  from  Yakutat 

Nutchik 

Kodiak  (St.  Paul). 

Karluk 

Unga 

Sand  Point 

Unalaska 

Kodiak  (St.  Paul)  to  or  from  Una- 
laska  

Yakutat  to  or  from  Nutchik 

Nutchik  "  "  Kodiak  (St.Paul 
Kodiak  (St.  Paul)  to  orfrom  Karluk 

Karluk  to  or  from  Unga 

Unga        "         "       Sand  Point 

Sand  Point  to  or  from  Unalaska  .... 


Freight 
per  ton. 


$  6  50 
9  50 
10  00 
12  00 
17  50 

19  50 

20  00 

10  00 
5  00 
5  00 
2  00 

5  50 
5  00 
10  00 


Cabin  Pas. 


Single    Round 
Trip.       Trip. 


$14  00 
27  50 
35  00 
39  50 

53  50 

54  50 


$25  00 

49  50 
60  00 
71  00 
96  50 
98  00 


Steerage  Pas. 


70  00 

120  00 

35  00 

60  00 

13  50 

24  50 

13  00 

23  50 

4  50 

8  00 

14  00 

26  00 

I  00 

2  00 

16  50 

30  00 

Single 

Round 

Trip. 

Trip. 

$  9  50 

$17  00 

18  50 

33  50 

22  50 

40  50 

25  50 

46  00 

35  00 

63  00 

35  50 

64  00 

45  00 

80  00 

22  50 

40  00 

9  00 

16  CO 

8  50 

15  50 

3  00 

5  00 

9  50 

17  00 

50 

I  00 

II  00 

20  00 

400  ALASKA. 

One  Year's  Supply  for  One  Man. 


Flour,  400  lbs 

Bacon,  150  lbs 

Beans,  100  lbs 

Sugar,  75  lbs 

Dried  Fruits,  75  lbs 

Matches,  60  pks 

Candles,  40  lbs 

Rolled  Oats,  36  lbs 

Fresh  Beef  at  Dawson  will  cost 

Caribou  Hams  will  cost  there,  each  about 

Dried  Beef,  30  lbs 

Eggs  will  cost  there per  doz 

Rice,  25  to  50  lbs 

Moose  Hams 

Dry  Salt  Pork,  25  lbs 

Evaporated  Potatoes,  25  lbs 

Fish 

Coffee,  25  lbs 

Raw  Potatoes 

Corn  Meal,  20  lbs 

Salt,  20  lbs 

Compressed  Soup  Vegetables,  10  lbs 

Mutton  Soup per  can 

Baking  Powder,  10  lbs 

Tea,  10  lbs 

Yeast  Cakes,  6  pks 

Evaporated  Onions,  5lbs 

Soap  (Laundry),  10  lbs , 

Soap  (Toilet),  10  cakes 

Soda,  3  lbs 

Condensed  Soup,  3  doz 

Pepper,  i  lb 

Mustard,  2  lbs 

Condensed  Milk,  2  doz per  can 

Extract  of  Beef,  2  doz per  jar 

Ducks each 

Tin  Plates,  Yz  doz 

Spoons  (3  Tea,  3  Table) 

Jamaica  Ginger  (4  oz.),  2  bottles 

Granite  Buckets,  2 

Gold  Pan,  1 

Stove,  1 

Knives  and  Forks,  2  each 

Cups  and  Saucers,  2  each 

Quaker  Bread  Pan,  i 

Whetstone,  i 

Coffee  Pot,  I 

Small  Tea  Pot,  i 

Pick,  I 

Handles  (3) each 

Sled,  Dog  and  Outfit 


Upper 
Yukon 
Winter 

Remarks. 

Price. 

Per  lb. 

$1  20 

May  get  wet  or  sour. 

40 

75 

50 

35 

50 

May  Sour. 

50 

40  00 

50 

2  00 

30 

30  00 

40 

0  to  30 

$1  00 

65 

I  00 

Get  most  reliable  brand. 

75 

I  00 

1  00 

2  00 

Get  good  brand. 
Get  a  reliable  article. 

20  00 

15  00 

1  00 

150  00 

Vary  with  size. 

SUPPLIES— APPRO XIMA  TE. 


401 


One  Year's  Supply  for  One  Man — Continued. 


Articles. 

Upper 
Yukon 
Winter 

Price. 

Remarks. 

Tack  Hammer  and  Lifter,  or  a  patent 
Combined  Hammer,  Wrench,  Lifter, 

Per  lb. 

15  00 

Hatchet  i  

Shovel   I 

Pins,  Needles,  Buttons,  Pocket  Knives. 

Ink,  Pocket  Pen,  Lead  Pencils,  Envelopes  and  Paper. 

Bolts,  Locks  and  Keys,  Staples,  Yale  or  Padlocks. 

Lumber  on  the  spot  will  cost  from  $150  to  $750  per  thousand  feet  according 
to  qualitv. 

Miners  obtain  $15  per  day  ;  other  workmen  less,  according  to  the  kind  of 
work  employed  at.  Next  season  cooks,  house-working  people,  and  me- 
chanics will  get  less  than  they  do  now,  but  the  wages  will  not  be  low 
while  the  access  to  the  region  is  so  difficult  as  at  present. 

Under-Garments— Pants,  about  Sio  ;  Coats,  $10  to  $50.  Fine  Clothing  varies 
with  what  is  needed  and  the  size. 

Flannels,  Fur  garments  or  wraps  are  absolutely  required  for  general  winter 
wear. 

Rubber  Boots  are  necessary  to  the  miner,  and  will  co.st  $25  per  pair. 

Leather  Boots  are  $10  per  pair. 


26 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

Points  of  Interest  from  Puget  Sound  to  Chilkoot 
Pass  and  Sitka. 


PASSING  up  through  Puget  Sound  to  the  Gulf  of 
Georgia  and  past  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  on  the 
left,  we  enter  Discovery  Passage  with  the  large  Is- 
land of  Vancouver  to  the  west  and  Valdes  Island  to  the 
east.  Now,  if  travelers  will  consult  the  maps  in  rotation 
and  this  list,  which  has  been  specially  prepared  for  their 
benefit,  the  text  and  route  will  explain  quite  thoroughly 
the  entire  inland  passage  route  which  passenger  steam- 
ers usually  take. 

.SV^  Map  No.  4. 


On  the  east  side  will  be  noticed  : 

willow  Point,  a  small  insignificant, 
low,  rocky  point  covered  with  wil- 
lows, and 

Yakulta,  an  Indian  village  ;  farther 
on  is 

Cape  Mudge,  a  peculiar  headland 
about  250  feet  high,  flat  and  wooded 
on  its  summit,  forming  a  rather  ab- 
rupt yellow  clay  cliff,  covered  more 
or  less  with  vegetation  ;  then  comes 

Kwathiaski  Cove,  which  is  two- 
thirds  of  a  mile  long  and  less  than 
half  a  mile  wide,  it  is  bordered  by  a 
sandy  beach  and  only  fit  for  steamers 
or  small  crafts  to  navigate.  In  the 
centre  of  this  cove  lies  a  small  but 
rather  high  island  called  the  Grouse 
Island.    We  next  come  to 


See  I\!ap  No.  3. 

steep  Island,  which  is  very  narrow 
and  less  than  half  a  mile  long.  It  is 
about  100  feet  high  and  has  a  bluff 
shore  on  the  western  side.  This  island 
is  separated  from  the  Valdes  Island 
by  the  Gowland  Harbor  whose  shores 
are  very  irregular.   Here  we  have  the 

Gowland  Island,  which  is  about  one 

402 


On  the  west  will  be  observed  : 

Vancouver  Island,  along  which  will 
be  found 

Campbell  River,  a  large  stream 
navigable  for  some  distance  by  boats 
or  canoes  ;  farther  on  is 

Duncan  Bay,  which  is  easy  of  ac- 
cess.   Then  comes 


See  Map  No.  S- 

Orange  Point,  a  bare  and  round 
indentation  in  the  shore  and  of  a 
reddish  color  ;  next  comes 

Race  Point,  a  high  bluff  promon- 
tory, flat  and  bare  of  trees.  Some  dis- 
tance up  we  have  the 

Menzie  Bay,  which  is  a  mile  and  a 
half  long  and    three-quarters    of  a 


o    2    o 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST. 


403 


mile  long  and  a  third  of  a  mile  wide  ;  ' 
its  northwestern  end    is    known  as  i 
Vigilant  Point,  a  short  distance  from 
which  we  have  I 


Entrance  Bank,  which  is  composed 
of  sand,  partly  dry  at  low  water. 
Then  comes  the 

Yellow  Islet,  which  lies  a  short  dis- 
tance from  Maud  Island,  which  is  300 
feet  high  and  less  than  half  a  mile 
wide,  it  is  near  Nanoose  Harbor. 
Then  you  see 

Plumper  Bay,  which  is  nearly  a 
mile  long  and  half  a  mile  wide. 
Many  a  vessel  surges  heavily  on  her 
chains,  caused  by  the  strong  eddies 
and  tides  in  this  bay. 

Separation  Head,  an  oval  high  pe- 
ninsula extending  from  the  Valdes  Is- 
land here  separates  Plumper  Bay  from 
Deep  Water  Bay,  the  latter  of  which 
is  very  deep  and  about  a  mile  long 
and  over  half  a  mile  wide. 

Between  these  bays  lies  a  low  point 
called  Granite  Point.  It  is  wooded 
on  top  and  bare  at  the  ends.  A 
short  distance  from  here  lies  a  sub- 
merged rock. 

There  are  two  more  deep  inlets 
into  Valdes  I.slaud,  and  then  we 
reach  Nodales  Channel  which  divides 
this  island  from  the  Thurlow  Islands. 
Valdfs  Island  was  named  for  Don 
Cayetano  Valdes,  who  visited  the  Gulf 
of  Georgia  in  1792,  in  the  Spanish 
galiot  Mexicana.  These  islands  may 
be  known  by  being  opposite  Chat- 
ham Point  which  is  on  Vancouver 
Island  and  marks  the  entrance  to 
Johnstone  Strait.  The  Thurlow  Is- 
lands were  formerly  supposed  to 
consist  of  but  one  island.  We  then 
proceed  to 

Knox  Bay,  which  is  two-thirds  of  a 
mile  long  and  wide.  Then  comes 

Eden  Point,  the  extreme  northwest- 
ern end  of  Thurlow  Island  ;  it  is  bold 
and  cliffy. 

Then  Chancellor  Channel  comes  in 
and  divides  these  islands  from  Hard- 
wicke  Island  south  of  which  lie 
the  Helmcken  Island.  It  is  nearly 
200  feet  high  and  has  many  small 
islets  lying  nearby  one  of  which  is 
Speaker  Rock. 

Between  these  islets  are  Current 
and  Race  Passages  ;  both  are  deep, 
but  the  latter  is  generally  used  as  it  is 
free  of  danger.    Then  we  pass 


mile  wide.  Theentrance  tothe  bay  is 
obstructed  by  a  large  triangular  sand 
bank,  which  is  partly  dry  at  low 
water.  Extending  between  this  bay 
and  Seymour  Narrows  we  have 

Wilfred  Point.  The  Seymour  Nar- 
rows are  two  miles  long,  the  shores 
on  both  sides  being  high  and  rugged. 
It  is  very  narrow,  and  the  tide  rushes 
through  rapidly.     Then  we  have 

Otter  Point,  which  has  a  gravel 
beach  bordered  by  a  fringe  of  kelp. 
Next  comes 

Elk  Bay, then 


See  Map  No.  4. 

Otter  Cove,  a  small  but  snug 
anchorage,  south  of  Chatham  Point. 
This  point  is  low  and  fringed  with 
rocks.  It  is  24  miles  from  Cape 
Mudge.  Near  the  entrance  of  this 
cove  is  the  Limestone  or  Lewis 
Island,  a  small  islet  100  feet  high 
and  near  it  is  another  islet  called 
Snag  Rock  Just  north  of  Chatham 
Point  is  Beaver  Rock.  Then  we  enter 

Johnstone  Strait,  which  separates 
Vancouver  Island  from  the  Thurlow 
and  other  islands.  Ella  Point  extends 
from  the  eastern  shore  of  Thurlow 
Island. 

Three  miles  from  Chatham  Point 
lie  the  Pender  Islands  which  are  150 
feet  high  and  are  rugged  and  barren. 
Near  these  is 

Mt.  Eldon,  a  square-topped  hill, 
peculiarly  wooded,  quite  abrupt  and 
isolated.  Farther  on,  on  the  Van- 
couver shore,  we  have 

Ripple  Point,  off  of  which  are  heavy 
tide  rips  in  wind}-  weather.  Nine 
and  three-quarter  miles  from  here 
is  Camp  Point,  which  has  a  rocky 
beach  sloping  gradually  to  the 
sea.  A  short  distance  from  here  is 
Ripple  Shoal,  surrounded  by  water 
and  covered  with  kelp.  Then  we 
reach 

Salmon  Bay,  which  has  no  anchor- 
age, the  bank  at  its  head  being  bold 
to.  A  river  of  the  same  name  flows 
into  it. 

Here  stretches  an  extensive  valley 
in  the  centre  of  which  a  remarkable 
bare  peak  towers  800  feet.  It  is  called 
Valley  Cone.    Somedistance  up  is  the 


404 


ALASKA. 


Earl  Ledge  which  is  on  the  western 
shore  of  Hardwicke  Island  ;  it  is  only 
uncovered  at  low  water.  Near  by  is 
Yorke  Island, a  high  and  round  island 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  wide.  Another 
islet  is  the  Fanny  Reef,  between 
which  and  the  north  shore  of  the 
strait  is  Sunderland  Channel  ;  this 
channel  is  subject  to  heavy  tide  rip.s 
and  separates  Hardwicke  Island  from 
the  mainland.  A  little  farther  on  we 
have 

Blinkinsop  Bay,  which  is  over  a 
mile  deep  and  half  a  mile  wide.  It 
is  easy  of  access  as  it  is  sheltered  and 
its  shores  are  high.  Its  southeast- 
ern headland  is  Tuna  Point,  and 
about  a  half  mile  from  this  bay  is 
Jessie  Island.    Then  comes 

Port  Neville,  which  is  an  inlet 
named  by  Vancouver  in  1792.  It  is 
dangerous  to  enter  owing  to  Channel 
Rock  which  lies  near  the  entrance. 
Another  small  island  near  the  en- 
trance of  Port  Neville  is  the  Milly 
Island,  about  four  miles  from  which 
is  the  Slimpson  Reef,  which  is  a  kelp- 
covered  ledge  of  rocks  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  from  the  shore.  Then 
come  the 

Broken  Islands,  they  are  all 
low,  rugged  and  small.  North  of 
these  we  have  the 

Havanuah  Channel  which  is  about 
four  miles  long  and  connects  Port 
Harvey  with  Call  Creek  Inlet.  The 
southern  headland  of  this  channel 
is  called  Domville  Point,  near  which 
is  the  entrance  to  Port  Harvey.  It 
is  two  miles  long  and  joins  Knight 
Inlet  at  high  water.  There  are  raanj' 
islets  in  this  port  called  the  Mist 
Islands.     Farther  on  lies  the 

liscape  Reef,  which  is  covered  with 
kelp  in  summer  and  is  surrounded  by 
deep  water.     Then  comes 

Forward  Bay,  which  is  a  mile 
and  a  quarter  broad  and  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  deep.  It  is  a  good 
stopping  place.  In  the  southwestern 
part  of  this  bay  lies  the  Bush  Islet, 
and  in  tlie  eastern  side  Green  Islet. 
Then  comes  the 

Cracroft  Island,  which  is  separated 
from  the  Harbledown  Island  and  the 
Hanson  Island  by  the  Blackney  Pass- 
age and  Baronet  Passage.  Farther 
on  is 

Boat  Harbor,  a  small  cove  six 
miles  from  Forward  Bay,  about  three 
miles  from  this  harbor  are  the  Sophia 
Islands.  Between  the  Hanson,  Pearse 


Adams  River,  a  small  stream  on 
the  eastern  side  of  Vancouver  Island. 
Farther  on  is 

Robson  Bight,  a  slight  indentation 
of  the  Vancouver  shore.  Then  we 
have  a  small  islet  known  as 

Blinkhorn  Island,  on  which  the 
timber  is  prostrated,  due  to  a  squall. 
Beyond  this  is 

Bauza  Cove.  There  the  Broughton 
Strait  connects  the  Johnstone  Strait 
and  Queen  Charlotte  Sound.  It  is  15 
miles  long,  .separating  Vancouver 
Island  from  Malcolm  Island.  At  the 
entrance  of  this  strait  is  Beaver  Cove, 
whose  northwestern  headland  is 
called  Lewis  Point.  Three  miles 
from  the  cove,  Mt.  Holdsworth,  a 
conical  peak  rises  to  the  height  of 
3000  feet.     Then  comes  the 

Nimpkish  River,  flowing  in  a  north- 
erlv  direction  and  emptying  into  a 
shallow  bay.  On  its  northern  bank 
near  the  entrance  is  the  old  village  of 
Cheslakee.  now  in  ruins.  About  si.x 
miles  up  this  river  is  Lake  Karmut- 
sen. 

Nearly  a  mile  from  this  river  is 
Green  Islet.    Then  comes 

Port  McNeill,  and  its  northern 
headland  is  called  Ledge  Point  and 
slopes  gradually  to  the  water.  South 
of  this  point  lies  the  Eel  Reef 


Three  miles  from  Pulteney  Point  lies 
Su-quash  Anchorage,  which  is  shel- 
tered from  the  westerlj-  winds  by 
Single  Tree  Point.  Here  a  coal  mine 
was  at  one  time  worked.  Farther  on  is 

False  Head  and  Beaver  Harbor,  the 
latter  of  which  is  formed  by  a  num- 
ber of  islets  lying  between  Thomas 
Point,  the  southeastern  headland  of 
the  harbor,  and  Dillon  Point,  which 
is  the  northwestern  headland.  The 
latter  point  is  much  broken,  wooded 
and  rocky. 

On  the  southern  .shore  of  this  har- 
bor the  Hudson  Bay  Company  estab- 
lished a  post  called  Fort  Rupert,  near 
which  a  garden  has  been  made  in 
which  fruit  and  vegetables  grow 
plentifully.  Here  also  is  a  large  In- 
dian village. 

Not  far  from  Thomas  Point  is  Deer 
Island,  near  which  are  the  Round  and 
Cattle  Islands,  one  of  the  latter  is 
called  Shell  Islet.  It  is  the  astro- 
nomical station. 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST. 


405 


and  Cormorant  Islands  are  the  Wyn- 
ton  and  Race  Passages,  which  are 
considered  dangerous  as  the  tide 
rushes  through  rapidly.  The  north- 
western point  of  Cormorant  Island  is 
called  Leonard  Point.     Then  comes 

Alert  Bay,  which  is  abreast  of 
Green  Islet,  the  southwestern  head- 
land of  this  bay  is  called  Yellow  Bluff 
which  has  a  yellow  cliff  at  its  extreme 
point. 

This  bay  affords  good  anchorage 
and  vessels  can  stop  at  any  time. 
Here  there  is  plenty  of  wood  and 
water  to  be  found.  There  is  also  a 
large  salmon  cannery,  a  mission  and 
an  Indian  village.  A  little  farther 
on  is 

Haddington  Island,  separated  from 
Malcolm  island  by  False  Passage. 

JIalcolm  Island  is  13  and  a  half 
miles  long  and  over  two  miles  wide  ; 
it  has  a  low,  sandy  beach.  On  its 
eastern  side  is  a  high  cliff,  called 
Donegal  Head,  and  seven  miles  from 
here  is  Dickenson  Point,  and  directly 
west  from  this  point  is  Rough    Bay. 

Its  southwestern  point  is  called 
Pulteney  Point.     Then  comes 

Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  which  was 
named  by  Wedgborough  in  August, 
1786.  It  connects  the  inner  channels 
of  Vancouver  Island  with  the  Pacific 
Ocean.     Here  the 

Goletas  Channel  leads  to  Cape  Com- 
merell,  a  distance  of  22  miles.  But 
we  proceed  northward  among  the 
islands  through  which  there  are  seve- 
ral passages  easily  navigated.  This 
Channel  is  separated  from  New  Chan- 
nel by  a  number  of  high  islands 
called  The  Gordon  Group.  The  east- 
ern one  of  which  is  Doyle  Island,  and 
on  it  is  Miles  Cone,  a  wonderful  peak 
380  feet  high.  Just  south  of  the  Gor- 
don Group  is  Duncan  Island,  which 
is  300  feet  high.  About  a  mile  west 
of  Duncan  Island  are  the  Noble  Islets. 
We  then  pass  through 

Christie  Passage  which  separates 
the  Hurst  Island,  one  of  the  Gordon 
Group,  from  Balaklava  Island  and 
connects  New  and  Goletas  Channels 

Then  continuing  through  New 
Channel  for  about  12  and  a  half 
miles  we  have  a  clear  passage  to 
Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  leaving  the 
Walker  Group  far  to  the  east,  passing 
the  Crane  Islets  and  Redfern  Island, 
taking  great  care  to  avoid  Grey  Rock 
which  is  but  slightly  covered. 

Then  we  should  keep  well  east  of 


In  the  northern  part  of  the  harbor 
is  Peel  Island,  which  is  200  feet  high 
and  wooded  ;  near  it  are  the  Charlie 
Islets,  two  small  bare  rocks. 

West  of  the  Peel  Island  is  the  Dse- 
dalus  Passage,  and  a  short  distance 
from  Dillon  Point  lie  a  group  of  high 
wooded  islets  called  the  Masterman 
Islands,  and  just  south  of  these  is 
Hardy  Bay,  the  eastern  point  of  which 
is  called  Duval  Point ;  it  is  on  an 
island.     Then  conies 

Balaklava  Island,  which  is  rugged 
and  irregular.  This  Island  is  sepa- 
rated from  Galiano  Island  by  the 
Browning  Passage  whose  tide  is  very 
weak.  At  the  southern  entrance  is 
Boxer  Point,  which  is  also  the  south- 
ern extreme  of  Port  Alexander,  an 
indentation  of  Galiano  Island,  and  is 
easy  of  access  at  any  time. 

The  Galiano,  which  is  the  largest 
island  north  of  Goletas  Channel  is 
eight  miles  long  and  over  three  miles 
broad.  Mt.  Lemon,  a  strange  conical 
peak,  1200  feet  high,  is  on  this  island, 
as  also  is  the  Maginn  Saddle,  which 
is  two  peaks  between  700  and  800  feet 
high  and  a  third  of  a  mile  apart. 
Then  comes 

Shadwell  Passage,  which  separates 
Galiano  Island  from  Hope  Island  and 
connects  Goletas  Channel  and  Queen 
Charlotte  Sound.  Bates  Passage, 
which  is  the  northeastern  portion  of 
the  Shadwell  Passage,  is  separated 
from  the  main  portion  by  the  Vau- 
sittart  Islands.  At  the  southern  en- 
trance of  Shadwell  Passage  and  close 
to  the  western  side  of  Galiano  Island 
is  Willes  Island,  which  is  200  feet 
high  ;  near  it  is  a  low,  small  islet 
called  Slave  Islet. 

Heath  Point  is  the  western  head- 
land of  this  passage,  and  two  miles 
farther  on  is  Turn  Point,  and  about 
the  same  distance  from  this  point  is 
Cape  James,  a  rocky  bluff  90  feet 
high  ;  in  the  opposite  direction  from 
this  point  are  Center  Island  and  Su- 
wanee  Rock.  On  this  rock  the  U.  S. 
S.  Su'vanee  was  lost  in  July,  i85q. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  pa.ssage 
several  islets  are  located,  two  of 
which  are  the  Nicolas  Islands  and 

One  Tree  Islet,  which  is  small  but 
very  high  ;  it  has  a  single  tree  on  its 
summit  which  has  grown  to  a  great 
height.  Then  entering  South  Passage 
we  pass  the 


4o6 


ALASKA. 


Shadwell  Passage  and  Roller  Bay  un- 
til near  Pine  Island,  then  we  pass 
Blind  Reef  and  Storm  Island. 

See  Map  No.  6. 

Next  we  come  to  South  Passage 
which  connects  Queen  Charlotte  and 
Fitzhugh  Sounds.  Then  going  from 
Cape  Canton  to  Cape  Calvert  we  pass 
Neck  Point  and  Blunder  Bay,  the 
northern  part  of  which  is  Indian  Cove, 
a  place  where  the  Indians  usually  stop 
when  canoeing  between  the  sounds, 
wethenpassa  number  of  small  islands 
and  Smith  Sound,  one  of  the  former 
of  which  is  Egg  Island,  the  principal 
landmark  between  Goletas  Channel 
and  Fitzhugh  Sound.  The  others  are 
Table  Island,  Cluster  Reefs,  White 
Rocks  and  Canoe  Rocks.  Then  on 
past  Cranstown  Point  we  enter 

Fitzhugh  Sound,  which  is  deep 
water  for  about  40  miles.  It  sepa- 
rates Calvert  and  other  islands  from 
the  main  land.  Continuing  up  a  little 
distance  is 

Karslake  Point,  the  southern  end 
of  an  island  at  the  entrance  of 
Schooner  Retreat,  which  is  on  the 
western  side  of  Penrose  Island  and 
is  considered  a  safe  harbor.  The  In- 
dian name  for  it  is  Kapilisk.  We 
then  pass 

Sea  Bluff,  the  Grey  Iron  Islets,  Iron- 
side Island  and  Frigate  Bay — in  which 
there  are  several  small  islets,  one  of 
which  is  Center  Islet.  Between  these 
islets  a  passage  is  formed  towards  the 
southeast,  and  here  the  bay  joins  the 
Rivers  Inlet.  On  the  southeastern  side 
of  Penrose  Island  is  Quoin  Hill,  which 
is  nearly  900  feet  above  the  sea.  We 
then  go  on  past 

Penrose  Island,  which  is  in  Rivers 
Inlet— the  waters  passing  on  both 
sides  of  it.  We  then  continue  leav- 
ing Point  Addenbrook,  Point  Han- 
bury  and  Addenbrook  Island  (the  lat- 
ter of  which  was  named  bj'  Van- 
couver in  1792)  on  the  east,  passing 
Kiwash  Island,  which  is  directly 
opposite  Namu  Harbor  in  which  are 
the  Cliff  and  Plover  Islands.  Har- 
lequin Basin  and  Rock  Creek  are 
both  parts  of  this  harbor,  the  latter 
of  which  has  two  islets  at  its  entrance, 
called  Sunday  and  Clam  Islets,  the 
entrance  between  which  is  Whirlwind 
Bay.  Near  Green  Islet  and  Observa- 
tion Point  in  the  mouth  of  Rock  Creek 
is  IyOo  Rock,  which  is  a  sunken  rock 


See  Map  No.  6. 

Sea  Otter  Group  which  are,  Danger 
Shoal,  Hanna  Rocks,  Virgin  Rocks, 
Channel  Reef,  New  Patch, Pearl  Rocks, 
Watch  Rock,  and  Devil  Rock,  the  lat- 
ter of  which  is  a  dangerous  rock,  the 
sea  seldom  breaking  on  it.  The  Hann  a 
and  Pearl  Rocks  were  discovered  by 
Captain  James  Hanna  who  explored 
this  coast  in  1786.  The  former  rock 
was  named  after  him.  Just  above 
here  is  the 

Mosman  Island,oneof  the  group  of 
Sorrow  Islands,  which  is  separated 
from  Calvert  Island  by  Grief  Bay,  then 
we  approach 

Cape  Calvert,  which  is  the  southern- 
most part  of  Calvert  Island.  It  is  cover- 
ed with  spruce,  pine  and  hemlock 
trees.  This  island  lies  between  Hecate 
Strait  and  Fitzhugh  Sound,  and  in  the 
center  of  it  on  the  eastern  side  is  Safety 
Cove,  which  is  preferred  to  Schooners 
Retreat,  as  it  is  so  handy.  Just  a 
short  distance  from  this  cove  there  is 
a  conical  peak.  Mt.  Buxton  is  also  on 
Calvert  Island.  Ab-^ut  seven  and  a 
half  miles  from  Safety  Cove  is 

Kwakshua,  which  separates  Hecate 
and  Calvert  Island  ;  it  is  supposed  to 
be  part  of  Hecate  Strait.  Farther  on 
we  have 

Goldstream  Harbor,  which  has  a 
narrow  winding  passage,  its  shores 
are  rugged  and  covered  with  kelp. 
There  are  many  islets  and  rocks  in 
this  harbor,  one  of  which  is  Evening 
Rock.     Then  comes 

Hakai  Strait,  which  connects  He- 
cate Strait  and  Fitzhugh  Sound  ;  it 
does  not  appear  navigable  owing  to 
the  numerous  rocks  and  islets,  but 
it  is  possible,  as  Vancouver  passed 
through  on  his  way  to  the  sea  in  1792. 
Some  of  the  islets  in  this  strait  are 
called  the  Starfish  Islets,  and  between 
these  is  Welcome  Harbor. 

North  of  Hakai  Strait  is  the  D'Age- 
let  Island,  named  after  Lepaute 
D'Agelet,  the  astronomer  who  went 
with  LaPerouse  to  explore  this  coast 
in  17S6.  It  is  separated  from  Hunter 
Island  by  the  Nalau  Strait.  The  lat- 
ter island  extends  for  about  12  miles, 
and  in  that  distance  there  are  only 
known  to  be  two  openings,  the  lat- 
ter of  which  is  Kiltik  Creek. 


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Map  No.  6  -Port  Alexander  to  Point  Walker,  through  Soutli 


Map  Xo.  7— Point  Walker  to  Swanson  Bay,  through  Lama  Passage,   Seaforth 
(Jhannel,   Milbank  Sound  and   Pinlaysoii   Channel. 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST. 


407 


covered  with  water  and  surrounded 
by  deep  water.  About  two  miles  from 
Kiwash  Island  are  Point  Edmund 
and  a  number  of  islets,  then  we  pass 
Burke  Canal,  an  arm  of  Fitzhiigh 
Sound  and  reach 


See  Map  No.  7. 

Point  Walker,  which  is  on  a  small 
island  above  which  there  are  many 
rocks  known  as  the  Fog  Rocks,  one 
of  which  is  very  high  and  has  a  cluster 
of  trees  on  it.  We  then  proceed 
northward  to  Start  Point,  and  here 
the  passage  turns  and  we  have  Canoe 
Bight  and  Camp  Island.  Another 
point  from  Denny  Island  is 

Grave  Point,  where  there  are  a 
number  of  Indian  graves,  and  about 
one  mile  from  here  are  the  Bella 
Bella  Islands,  which  were  the  summer 
residence  of  the  Indians  by  that 
name.     Farther  on  we  have  the 

Kliktso-at-li  Harbor,  an  excellent 
shelter  for  all  vessels.     We  then  pass 

Harbor,  Cypress  and  the  Meadow 
Islands,  and  between  these  islands  is 
Wheelock  Pass,  and  above  them  is 
Gunboat  Passage  which  connects 
Seaforth  Channel  with  Fisher  Chan- 
nel. It  is  narrow,  crooked  and  much 
obstructed.  We  then  proceed  through 
Seaforth  Channel  which  separates 
Camjibell  and  the  Wright  group  of 
Islands  from  Denny,  Cunningham, 
Sunday  and  Salmon  Islands  and  a 
part  of  the  mainland,  not  entirely  sur- 
rounded by  water,  called  Don  Pe- 
ninsula. It  is  about  a  mile  wide  and 
extending  from  it  toward  the  north 
are  Deer  Passage,  Return  and  Spiller 
Channels.  These  channels  have  never 
been  explored,  but  the  Hecate  Chan- 
nel which  extends  from  it  towards  the 
south,  separating  Campbell  Island 
from  Hergest  Island,  one  of  the 
Wright  group  is  navigable.  The  Her- 
gest Island  was  named  for  Lieut.  Her- 
gest, commander  of  Vancouver's  sup- 
ply ship  Dcrduliis,  who  was  murdered 
intheSandwich  Islandsiu  1792.  Angle 
Point  is  the  western  extremity  of 
Sunday  Island.  Nearly  a  mile  from 
this  point  are  the  Jumble  and  Dearth 
Islands,  and  near  these  are  the  Hynd- 
man  Reefs,  which  are  a  number  of 
sunken  rocks.     We  then   proceed   to 

Point  Rankin,  which  separates  Sea- 
forth Channel  from  the  entrance  to 
Mathieson     Channel,    the    latter    of 


See  Map  No.  7. 

Then  about  a  mile  and  a  half  above 
this  is  The  Trap,  and  although  it  ap- 
pears navigable,  it  is  dangerous  to  en- 
ter. Just  below  here  about  half  way 
between  the  Fog  Rocks  and  the  en- 
trance to  Lama  Passage  the  tides 
from  the  north  and  south  meet.  Then 
we  have 

Pointer  Islet,  .showing  the  entrance 
to  Lanja  Passage  ;  here  the  Fitzhugh 
Channel  changes  its  name  to  the 
Fisher  Channel  which,  farther  on, 
divides  into  several  arms. 

The  Lama  Passage  separates  Hun- 
ter Island  from  the  Denny  Island 
and  connects  F'itzhugh  Sound  and 
Seaforth  Channel.  Then  it  turns 
and  extends  northward  and  right 
at  the  bend  Plumper  Channel,  which 
separates  Hunter  Island  from  Camp- 
bell Island,  enters  this  passage. 
Having  passed  Cooper  Inlet,  Harbor- 
master and  Westminster,  Charles  and 
Jane  Creek  on  the  south,  we  then  have 

Ship  Point,  the  southeastern  end 
of  Campbell  Island,  next  passing 
Bella  Bella  Village,  the  winter  resi- 
dence of  the  Indians  for  some  dis- 
tance around.  The  Indian  name  is 
Wau-ko-has.  Here  there  are  twenty 
houses,  a  mission  residence  and 
church.  It  was  the  former  settlement 
of  the  Bella  Bella  Indians,  which 
tribe  now  only  numbers  about  fifty. 
Farther  on  is 

McLaughlin  Bay,  where  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  at  one  time  had  a  post. 
A  short  distance  from  this  bay  on 
Campbell  Island  is  Mt.  Hand,  which 
is  4164  feet  high.     Then  we  enter 

Main  Passage,  which  connects  Lama 
Passage  and  Sea  Forth  Channel.  Far- 
ther on  is 

Ormindale  Harbor,  which  forms  a 
triangle  and  is  .sheltered  by  the  Nevay 
and  Thorburne  Islands.  The  safest 
passage  is  around  the  southwestern 
side  of  Grassy  Island,  which  is  the 
landmark  in  the  middle  of  the  Sea- 
forth Channel.  Directly  west  of  this 
harbor  is  Kynumpt  Harbor,  which 
extends   for  half  a  mile   into   Camp 


4o8 


ALASKA. 


which  separates  Lady  and  Dowaper 
Islands  from  the  part  of  the  mainland 
called  Don  Peninsula.  This  channel 
extends  for  about  13  miles. 

Three  miles  up  this  channel  from 
Point  Rankin,  which  is  on  Mary 
Island,  is  the  entrance  to  I'ort  Hlak- 
eney,  which  separates  that  island 
from  Don  Peninsula.  Having  passed 
Ivory  Island,  White  Rocks  and  Bolder 
Head  we  come  to 

Moss  Passage,  which  connects  Alex- 
andra Passage  and  Mathieson  Chan- 
nel. It  is  about  four  miles  long.  From 
the  southeastern  part  of  it  Morris  Bay 
extends  into  Lady  Island.  About  two 
miles  from  Point  Rankin  is  Point 
Cross  which  is  the  northeastern  ex- 
tremity of  Lady  Island  and  extends 
into  Mathieson  Channel.  We  then 
continue  past 

Low  Point  to  Finlayson  Channel, 
which  extends  between  Dowager  and 
Roderick  Islands  on  the  east  and  the 
Princess  Roj-al  Islands  on  the  west. 
The  shores  are  denselj-  wooded,  and 
in  some  ravines  along  the  way  snow 
is  said  to  be  seen  in  August.  As  we 
pass  along  we  see  the  Stripe  or  Quartz 
Mountain, named  by  the  U.  S.  Survey 
in  iS6g.  It  is  on  Dowager  Island,  and 
northward  from  this  peak  is  Oscar 
Passage  which  connects  Mathieson 
Channel  and  Finlayson  Channel  and 
separates  Dowager  Island  from  Ro- 
derick Island.  Above  Low  Point  is 
Open  Bay  in  which  there  are  man}' 
rocks  and  islets. 

Roderick  Island  is  said  to  consist 
of  several  islands  separated  from  the 
mainland  by  Portlock  Channel.  This 
channel  was  named  for  Captain  Na- 
thaniel Portlock,  who  visited  the  Pa- 
cific Coast  on  a  trading  voyage  in 
17S7,  and  published  maps  and  an 
account  of  his  voyage.  The  southern 
extremit}' of  Roderick  is  called  Parker 
Point,  near  which  are  two  islets 
called  the  Si.sters.  Nowish  Cove, 
which  is  sheltered  by  the  Indian 
Island  exten  3s  into  Susan  Island, 
one  of  the  Roderick  Group.  The 
western  point  is  called  Fell  Point. 
We  then  pass  unexplored  entrances 
to  bays,  inlets,  etc.,  until  we  come  to 
Mary  Cove.      Then  we  pass  on  to 

Watson  Bay  and  Wallace  Bight. 
Extending  into  the  northwestern 
comer  of  Roderick  Island  are 
Goat  Cove  and  Kid  Bay,  the  north- 
ern point  of  this  cove  is  called  Fawn 


bell  I.sland  and  gets  quite  narrow  at 
its  head.  On  the  west  is  Whitestone 
Rock,  a  large  bare  rock,  and  where 
the  land  ri.ses  to  about  200  feet  is 
called  Shelf  I'oint.  On  the  opposite 
side  is  Defeat  Point,  at  whose  south- 
ern extremity  a  small  rocky  islet  is 
connected  by  a  reef,  and  a  .short  dis- 
tance from  it  is  Berry  Point,  an  astro- 
nomical station. 

George  Point  is  the  northeastern 
extremity  of  Hergest  Island,  two 
miles  from  here  is  the  entrance  to 
Dundivan  Inlet,  in  which  there  are  a 
number  of  islets.  It  separates  into 
several  arms.  We  then  pass  Idol  and 
Sound  Point. 

Milbank  Sound  which  was  named 
by  Duncan  in  178S,  separates  the 
Wright  Group  from  the  mainland;  it 
is  over  eight  miles  wide.  On  the  east 
extending  from  the  Wright  Group  is 
Cape  Swaine  of  Vancouver.  From 
the  north  Day  Point  extends  from  the 
Price  Islands.    Next  we  have 

Schooner  Passage  separating  Price 
from  Swindle  Island  ;  on  the  latter  is 
Point  Jorkins  extending  into  the  en- 
trance of  Finlayson  Channel.  About 
seven  miles  from  the  point  is  Cone  Is- 
land, which  derives  its  name  from  Bell 
Peak,  a  conical  peak  about  12S0  feet 
high  which  is  on  this  island.  Cone 
Island  is  separated  from  Swindle 
Island  by  the  Klemtoo  Passage, 
which  extends  for  about  three  and  a 
half  miles  parallel  with  Cone  Island, 
the  southern  extremit}-  of  which  is 
Bare  Point;  and  a  short  distance  from 
this  is  Islet  Point.  Between  this  latter 
point  and  Base  Point,  which  extends 
from  Swindle  Island,  are  a  number 
of  islets,  one  of  which  is  Fish  Island, 
and  above  this.  Needle  Rock  and 
Stockade  Islet  form  a  chain  to 
Star  Island  which  is  separated  from 
a  number  of  rocks  by  Observation 
Islet.     Farther  on  is 

Clothes  Bay.  And  about  a  mile 
from  Base  Point  is  Berry  Point,  which 
is  at  the  entrance  of  Trout  Bay,  and 
still  farther  on  is  Legge  Point  and 
Wedge  Point,  both  extending  from 
Cone  Island.  A  half  mile  from  the 
latter  is  Jane  island.  It  is  separated 
from  Cone  Island  by  South  Passage, 
and  from  Sarah  Island  by  the  North 
Passage.  The  latter  island  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  Princess  Royal  Island 
by  Tolmie  Channel,  which  runs  par- 
allel with  the  former   island   and  re- 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST. 


409 


Point.  Here  Sheep  Passage  separates 
the  island  from  the  mainland  and 
ioins  Portlock;  Channel  at  the  en- 
trance of  Mussel  Inlet. 

One  mile  from  Fawn  Point  is  Carter 
Bay,  which  was  named  by  Vancouver 
for  one  of  his  crew  who  died  from 
eating  poisonous  mussels  and  was 
buried  there,  June  15th,  1793.  On  the 
northwestern  shore  of  this  bay  was 
situated  the  astronomical  station  of 
the  English  observers. 

We  then  proceed  for  about  20 
miles,  this  passage  being  called  by 
English  authority  Graham  Reach. 
Then  Hiehish  Narrows  connects  the 
Reach  with  Fiulayson  Channel,  and 
are  about  five  and  a  half  miles  long. 
A  little  farther  on  is  Green  Inlet,  and 
and  then  we  come  to  a  small  cove 
called 

Swauson  Bay.  Six  miles  from  here 
is  South  Inlet  or  Khutze  and  sepa- 
rated from  it  by  a  peninsula  is 
North  or  Aaltanhash  Inlet  ;  both 
are  unexplored  but  appear  extensive 
and  as  though  good  anchorage 
could  be  had.     Right   in  the  middle 

Ste  Map  No.  8. 

of  the  passage,  which  is  here  very 
much  broader,  is  Warke  Island. 
From  here  the  passage  for  about  ten 
miles  is  called  Fraser  Reach,  at  the 
end  of  which  is  Fisherman  Cove  or 
Ribachi  Creek.  Here  the  Reach 
divides  into  several  arms,  one  called 
the  Ursula  Channel  extends  for  about 
eight  miles  to  the  north  and  then 
takes  an  irregular  course.  The  other 
one,  which  is  McKay  Reach,  extends 
seven  miles  westward  to  Wright 
Sound  and  here  Point  Cumming  ex- 
tending from  Gribbell  Island  is  seen. 
We  then  pa.ss  through  Wright  Sound, 
an  irregular  sheet  of  water  that  sepa- 
rates into  .several  arms,  the  Verney 
Passage  and  Douglas  Channel  ex- 
tending toward  the  north,  the  others 
southwaid.     Then  we  pass 

Promise  Island,  whose  extreme 
southern  point  is  called  Cape  Fare- 
well. This  island  is  separated  from 
the  mainland  by  Coghlan  Anchorage, 
and  extending  into  this  passage  from 
Promise  Island  is  Thom  Point,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  extending  from 
the  mainland  is  Camp  Point,  and  a 
short  distance  from  Thom  Point  is 
Observation  Point      Next  comes 

Harbor  Rock ,  on  both  sides  of  which 


unites  with  the  former  channel, 
then  pass 


See  Jl/ap  No.  S. 

Carroll  Island  and  the  Cascade 
River  to  Red  Cliff  Point,  which 
extends  from  Princess  Royal  Island. 
A  short  distance  above  this  point 
there  is  a  lake,  on  the  shores  of  which 
there  is  a  salmon  fishery  and  an  In- 
dian summer  village,  into  which  a 
bay  extends  called  Klekane.  Quite  a 
a  distance  up  is 

Point  Kingcome,  at  which  point 
Fraser  Reach  becomes  much  broader, 
owing  to  a  lake  and  an  unexplored 
bay  running  into  it. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  Princess 
Royal  Island  from  Point  Kingcome 
is  Nelly  Point,  and  a  short  distance 
from  the  latter,  extending  about  half 
a  mile  into  Prince.ss  Royal  Island  is 
Holmes  Bay.  It  is  part  of  Whale 
Channel,  which  is  one  of  the  arms  of 
Wright  Sound  ;  two  other  arms  also 
extend  southward  and  they  are  Lewis 
and  Cridge  Passages.  The  latter  of 
which  separates  Fin  Island  from  Far- 
rant  Island  and  the  former  with 
Wright  Sound,  Whale  and  Squally 
Channels  and  Lewis  Passage  sur- 
round Gil  Island,  which  was  named 
by  Caamano  in  1792.  It  is  15  miles 
long  and  six  miles  wide,  and  on 
the  northern  end   of  it   is    Mt.   Gil, 


4IO 


ALASKA. 


there  is  a  clear  passage.    Just  beyond  I 
the  anchorage  the  passage  makes  a 
short  turn  and  is  called  Stewart  Nar-  | 
rows.     Then  we  approach 

Lowe  Inlet  on  whose  eastern  .shore 
is  Bare  Hill,  which  is  400  feet  high. 
This  inlet  extends  between  two  points, 
Hepburn  Point  and  James  Point,  both 
extending  from  the  mainland.  Near 
the  entrance  of  this  inlet  is  Whiting  j 
Bank,  on  which  anchorage  may  be 
had. 

David  Point  extending  from  the 
mainland  into  this  inlet  is  just  below 
Nettle  Basin  where  the  inlet  forms  a 
round  harbor,  and  here  waterfalls 
from  the  lakes  enter  it.  Don  Point  also 
enters  it  from  the  east.  Plight  miles 
from  Tom  Islet,  which  is  just  south  of 
James  Point,  is  P^vening  Point,  and 
here  the  tides  meet,  and  there  are  a  ! 
number  of  rocks  and  islets  in  the 
channel,  which  is  very  deep  between 
these  two  last-named  points.  Na-  1 
bannah  Bay  extends  into  the  main 
laud  from  Evening  Point,  but  a 
chain  of  islets  and  rocks  prevent  an 
entrance.  South  from  this  bay  is  a 
magnificient  waterfall  on  Pitt  Island. 

Nearly  half  a  mile  from  Evening 
Point  is  Morning  Point,  in  front  of 
which  there  is  a  large  area  of  foul 
ground  covered  with  kelp  ;  the  Morn- 
iug  Reefs,  several  large  rocks,  also  lie 
about  here.  Bare  Islet,  which  is  really 
a  part  of  Leading  Island,  in  Klewnug- 
git  Inlet,  is  the  landmark  in  keeping 
away  froiu  this  foul  ground .  Another 
landniark  a  half  mile  from  Morning 
Point  is  Camp  Point,  which  extends 
into  Klewnuggit  Inlet.  This  inlet 
divides  into  several  arms,  some  of 
which  have  never  been  explored. 
Exposed  arm  which  extends  south- 
east is  obstructed  by  rocks  and  islets. 

The  channel  then  extends  for  21 
miles  to  Gibsons  Islands,  between 
which  we  only  pass  three  inlets  at 
regular  intervals.  The  first  of  these 
is  East  Inlet,  which  appears  to  aflJbrd 
anchorage.  There  is  a  small  islet  in 
the  entrance  towards  the  west.  The 
other  two  are  Large  Inlet  and  West 
Inlet. 


which  is  3000  feet  high.  lis  extreme 
northern  point  is  Turtle  Point. 
Northward  from  this  point  is  Yolk 
Point,  which  extends  from  the  ea.st- 
ern  side  of  Farrant  Island  and  from 
here  on  for  a  distance  of  45  miles, 
without  turning,  is  Orenville  Chan- 
nel, which  separates  Pitt  Island  from 
the  mainland. 

Farrant  Island  is  unusually  low 
and  is  separated  from  Pitt  Island  by 
the  Union  Passage. 

The  extremely  high  mountains 
clo.se  to  the  shore  on  both  sides  of 
C.renvilleChannel,give  it  the  appear- 
ance of  being  very  narrow.  We  then 
proceed,  passing  numerous  cascades 
and  streams,  which  are  fed  by  lakes 
on  the  mountains  and  the  snow  which 
lasts  nearly  all  the  year  and  can  be 
seen  as  we  continue  our  journey. 
Some  distance  up,  appearing  to  di- 
vide Pitt  Island  in  two,  is 

Baker  Inlet,  which  is  quite  exten- 
sive and  may  join  Petrel  Channel. 
We  next  come  to 

Stuart  or  Stewart  Anchorage,  south- 
east of  which  is  a  small,  rocky 
extent,  called  Bonwick  Point,  near 
which  is  Stag  Rock.  Just  behind  this 
point  is  Shrimp  Cove. 

Five  miles  west  of  Stuart  Anchor- 
age is  Hill  Point,  which  is  wooded 
aud  separates  the  entrance  of  Greu- 
ville  and  Ogden  Channels.  At  this 
point  Grenville  Channel  widens,  in 
the  middle  of  which  are  the  Gibson 
Islands,  a  group  of  low,  wooded  is- 
lands which  we  pass  south  of,  avoid- 
ing Watson  Rock,  and  then  we  have 
a  clear  passage  to  Arthur  Passage. 

Ogden  Channel,  which  separates 
Porcher  and  Pitt  Island,  extends 
southward  to  Hecate  Strait  ;the  open- 
ing where  it  joins  is  Browning  En- 
trance, but  in  1791,  Ingraham  called 
it  Syax  Harbor.  On  the  eastern  side 
of  Porcher  Island  is  a  small,  low, 
wooded  point  called  Peninsula  Point, 
it  is  composed  of  nietamorphic  rocks, 
sandstones  and  shales.  Just  above 
this  point  is  the  Oona  River.  Con- 
tinuing, we  enter 

Arthur  Passage,  which  separates 
Kennedy  Island  from  a  number  of 
small  islands,  and,  between  these  and 
Porcher  Island  is  Kelp  and  Chismore 
Passages.  The  latter  of  which  is 
only  accessible  through  Bloxam  Pas- 
sage, which  leads  into  it  from  Arthur 
Passage  at  its  northwestern  entrance. 


Kjsrj^ 


'i 

X 


^ 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST. 


411 


See  Map  No.  <?. 

We  then  continue  to  the  east  of  the 
Gibson  Islands  passing  Marrack, 
Bedford  and  Kennedy  Islands.  Here 
again  the  channel  separates,  and  one 
of  the  arms,  Telegraph  Passage,  ex- 
tends northward  and  joins  the  en- 
trance to  Skeena  Inlet 

At  the  beginning  ot  this  passage 
and  between  the  Gibson,  Marrack 
and  Bedford  Islands  and  the  main- 
land is  Port  Fleming. 

The  passage  then  for  some  distance 
is  hardly  navigable,  but  an  entrance 
could  be  had  to  Skeena  Inlet  by 
passing  through  North  Skeena 
Passage,  which  is  north  of  Smith  and 
De  Horsey  Islands. 

In  the  Arthur  Passage  northwest  of 
Kennedy  Island  is  the  White  Cliff 
Island,  on  which  marble  has  been 
quarried.  Here  the  Malacca  Passage 
starts  and  extends  west  for  about  si.x 
miles.  We  continue  our  journey 
passing  Genu  Islets,  Bay  and  Smith 
Islands  and  enter  Chatham  Sound 
which  extends  from  Porcher  Island 
for  35  miles,  and  is  between  seven 
and  eight  miles  wide.  It  separates 
Chim-sy-an  Peninsula  from  the 
Dundas  Island.  As  we  continue 
through  this  sound  we  pass  the  Kin- 
nahan  and  Digby  Islands  and  other 
islets.     Farther  on  we  have 

Tugwell Island,  which  is  connected 
with  Chim-sy-an  Peninsula  by  a  sand- 
bar. The  northern  point  of  this  island 
is  Point  Dawes  and  the  northwestern. 
Point  Chopmau.  Directly  east  of 
this  island  we  make  a  stop  at  Metla- 
katla  Bay  where  there  is  the  well- 
known  village  and  Episcopal  mis- 
sion of  the  same  name. 

The  part  of  the  bay  near  the  mis- 
sion is  called  Venn  Creek,  the  latter 
connects  with  the  Oldfield  Basin,  east 
of  Digby  Island. 

Duncan  Bay  lies  north  of  Tugwell 
Island  and  offers  a  better  anchorage 
than  MetlakatlaBay. 

Having  passed  Devastation  and 
Pike  Island,  the  Shrub,  Knight  and 
Carr  Islets  we  continue  past  the 
Hodgson  Reefs  to  Tree  Bluff  on 
which  there  is  some  cultivated 
ground.  Just  beyond  this  is  Big  Bay 
which  is  difficult  to  enter.  A  point 
of  Chim-sy-an  Peninsula  extending 
into  Big  Bay  is  called  Point  Tren- 
ham.     Farther  on  is 

Burnt  Cliff,  One  Tree  and  Pinlavson 


See  ISIap  No.  q. 

Just  south  of  this  is  Chalmers  An- 
chorage, which  is  off  a  bight  at  the 
end  of  Elliot  Island,  near  which  are 
the  Bamfield  Islets  and  Elizabeth 
Island.  Then  leaving  Arthur  Pas- 
sage for  Chatham  Sound  we  pa.ss 
through 

Jlalacca  Passage,  which  separates 
Smith  Island  from  Elizabeth  and 
Porcher  Island.  Extending  from 
the  northern  point  of  the  latter 
island  is  Point  Hunt,  off  of  which 
is  Grace  Islet.  We  then  continue 
past  the  Lawyer  Islet  through 

Chatham  Sound,  which  here  divides 
into  several  arms,  one  of  which  is  the 
p;yde  Passage.  This  passage  extends 
between  Porcher  and  Stephens  Is- 
lands to  Hecate  .Strait.  Another  is 
Brown  Passage,  which  separates  the 
latter  island  from  the  Dundas  Group 
and  la.stly,  is  the  broad  opening  of 
the  sound  where  the  waters  join  those 
of  the  Dixon  Entrance. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  sound 
we  pass  the  Rachel  and  Lucy  Islands 
and  the  Alexandra  Patch.  Farther 
on  are  the 

Dundas  Island  and  a  number  of 
islets,  one  of  which  is  the  Moffat 
Island. 

Deans  Point  extends  from  the  south 
Dundas  Island  and  Whitty  Point  from 
the  north  Dundas  Island.  Then  we 
continue  north  of  the  Gnarled  Islands, 
and  if  a  voyage  is  made  through 
Behm  Canal,  we  here  enter  Revil- 
lagigedo  Channel,  passing  the  East 
Devil  and  Barren  Rocks.  Farther  on 
is 

Duke  Island  on  whose  eastern 
extremit}-  is  Duke  Point,  and  north- 
ern extremity  Grave  Point;  next  we 
come  to  the 

Cat  and  Mary  Islands  Point  Win- 
slow  is  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  latter  island. 


412 


ALASKA. 


Islands,  Sparrowhawk  aud  Connis 
Rocks  and  Harbor  Reefs.  Sparrow- 
hawk  Rock  was  named  for  a  British 
gunboat  which  struck  upon  it.  Here 
we  enter  Main  Passage  to  the  east 
of  which  is  Point  Maskelyue  the 
northern  extremity  of  Chim-sy-an 
Peninsula  and  Point  Wales  the 
southeastern  extremity  of  Wales 
Island.  Between  these  two  points  is 
Portland    Inlet.     Above   this  inlet  is 


See  Map  No.  lO. 

Naas  Bay  into  which  empties  a  river 
of  the  same  name.  It  is  a  great  salmon 
stream.  On  the  shore  of  this  river 
are  the  Naas  villages.  Here  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company's  trading-post  is 
situated.  At  these  villages,  called 
Kit-lak-a-laks,  an  enormous  quantity 
of  fish  are  taken  in  the  spring.  The 
Ulikon  or  candle-fish  is  the  most  im- 
portant species,  and  the  fishery  is  in 
operation  in  March  and  April.  These 
fish  contain  more  fatty  matter  in  pro- 
portion to  their  size  than  any  known 
fish,  and  they  appear  in  incredible 
numbers.  To  the  west  of  this  bay  is 
Point  Ramsden,  which  separates  the 
inlet  into  two  parts,  the  eastern  arm 
being  Observatory  Inlet  and  the  one 
on  the  west  being  Portland  Canal, 
which  f«rms  the  southeastern  bound- 
ary between  the  British  and  Ameri- 
can possessions.  The  canal  extends 
northward,  having  mountain  ranges 
on  both  sides. 


See  MiiJ)  No.  q. 

The  part  west  of  Connis  Rocks  is 
called  Oriflamme  Passage,  it  is  quite 
wide  and  deep.  On  through  this 
passage  we  pass  south  of  the  Lord 
Islands,  Tongass  Pass  aud  Fort  Ton- 
gass.  This  fort  is  now  in  ruins,  but 
it  was  the  most  .southern  fort  of  the 
United  States  in  Alaska  at  the  time 
of  the  purchase  and  for  some  time 
afterwards. 

The  steamer  usually  makes  a  laud- 
ing at  this  point.  It  is  at  the  en- 
trance of  Nakat  Inlet. 

Tongass  Pass  comes  in  from  Main 
Passage  between  Wales  Island  and 
a  number  of  smaller  islands  to  the 
left.  A  vessel  could  go  on  through 
Revillagigedo  Channel  aud  Behm 
Canal,  which   forms    almost  a   com- 


See  Map  No.  it. 

But,  as  we  are  not  going  that  way, 
will  not  stop  to  give  anj'  details,  far- 
ther than  that  we  pass  Hassler  Island 
and  go  almoist  in  a  complete  circle 
around  Revillagigedo  Island  in  Behm 
Canal,  and  then  enter  Clarence  Strait. 
Behm  Canal  which  was  named  by 
Vancouver,  is  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  strange  fiords  on  the  coast ; 
from  it  extend  quite  a  number  of 
bays,  one  of  which  is  Burroughs  Bay, 
which  is  usually  entered  when  going 
around  the  canal  ;  there  are  also  a 
number  of  islands  within  its  waters. 


See  Map  No.  g. 

We  cross  the  Dixon  Entrance,  aud 
as  it  is  best  for  our  purpose,  we 
continue  up  Clarence  Strait,  which  is 
the  most  important  strait,  except 
Chatham  Strait,  in  the  Alexander 
Archipelago.  It  extends  for  about 
107  miles  from  Dixon  Entrauce  to 
Sumner  Strait.  Its  waters  are  deep 
and  free  from  obstructions,  except 
in  the  northern  part  where  there  are 
quite  a  number  of  islands.  It  sepa- 
I  rates  the  Prince  of  Wales  Archi- 
;  pelago  from  the  mainland  and  the 
C.ravina,Etolin  and  Zarembo  Islands. 
I'assing  north  of  West  Devil  and 
Brundige  Rocks,  above  which  Ken- 
drick,  Imgraham,  and  Chichagoff" 
"Bays  extend  into  the  eastern  side  of 
an  island,  of  which  there  is  a  cluster 
right  here.  Between  two  of  these 
islets  is  Moira  Sound,  an  arm  of 
Clarence  Strait.    Farther  on  is 


See  Map  No.  11. 

Wedge  Island,  a  low  island  which 
is  said  to  resemble  a  wedge  ;  we  then 
continue  to 


Map  No.  lo — Portland  Canal  and  Observatory  Inlet. 


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POINTS  OF  INTEREST. 


413 


plete  circle  around  Revillagigedo 
Island.  Going  this  way  we  would 
pass  Boat  Harbor  Point,  Foggy  Point 
and  Bay,  De  Long  Island,  Kah- 
Shakes  Cove  and  the  Snail  and  White 
Reefs,  besides  a  number  of  other 
islands,  points  and  bays  extending 
from  this  canal.  But  our  journey 
continues  through  Clarence  Strait, 
passing  to  the  south  of  Barren  and 
many  sunken  rocks,  and  to  the  west 
of  Duke  Island  which  is  separated 
from  the  Annette  Island,  one  of  the 
Gravina  Group,  by  the  Felice  Strait, 
which  connects  Revillagigedo  Chan- 
nel and  Clarence  Strait.  Felice  Strait 
is  one  of  the  numerous  arms  of  the 
Clarence  Strait.  We  then  pass  a  num- 
ber of  islands  from  one  of  which 
extends  Point  Percy,  and  just  above  it 
extending  from  the  Anuette  Island 
is  Point  Davison.  The  Annette  Island 
is  the  one  on  which  the  Metlakatla  In  - 
dians  and  civilized  Kpiscopal  Alas- 
kans changed  their  home  from  British 
soil  at  Metlakatla  to  American  Terri- 
tory. Then  we  pass  a  number  of  rocks 
and  islets  to  Dall  Head,  which  was 
named  after  Captain  C.  C.  Dall  of  the 
P.  M.  S.  S.  Co's  service.  It  is  a  high 
bluff  on  Gravinia  Island. 

The  northern  extremity  of  this 
island  is  Point  Vallenar.  Then  pass- 
ing Guard  Island  to  Cape  Caamano 
we  pass  on  to  Ship  Island,  back  of 
which  Ship  Point  extends  from  the 
mainland. 

Some  distance  up  is  Point  Leme- 
surier,  which  extending  from  the 
mainland  forms  a  peninsula,  around 
which  there  are  several  bays.  Union 
Bay  being  one  of  them. 

Here  Ernest  Sound  enters  the 
strait,  separating  the  Etolin  Island 
from  the  mainland.  Along  the  coast 
after  passing  the  sound  are  a  number 
of  islands  on  the  largest  of  which  is 
Point  Onslow.     Next  is   Point  Stan- 


See  Map  No.  12. 

hope  the  southern  extremitj'  of  Stan- 
hope Island  ;  then  extending  north- 
ward are  some  rocky  islets  and 
islands.  Near  one  of  these,  called 
Screen  Island,  Vancouver  found 
shelter. 

Here  Stikine  Strait  enters,  separat- 
ing Etolin  and  Woronkofl'ski  Islands 
from  Zarembo  Island.  Vancouver 
called  all  the  islands  lying  between 


Point  Chasina,  and  west  of  this 
point  is  another  arm  of  Clarence 
Strait,  called  Cholmondeley  Sound, 
which  extends  southward  for  about 
13  miles,  its  head  is  near  that  of  Moira 
Sound  and  Tliakaek  Bay,  the  country 
between  the.se  passages  is  called 
Kaigan  Portage. 

On  the  eastern  shore  of  Cholmon- 
deley Sound  is  an  Indian  village, 
called  the  Chasina  Settlement. 

Skin  Island  is  one  of  the  largest  of 
the  cluster  of  islets  which  are 
along  the  coast  for  some  distance, 
which  after  passing  for  about  eight 
miles  we  come  to 

Island  Point,  which  extends  from 
the  Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago  into 
Kasa-an  Bay,  whose  northern  head- 
land is  Point  Griudall,  not  far  from 
which  is  an  island  of  the  same  name, 
and  southwest  of  this  island,  in  the 
entrance  of  the  bay,  is  High  Island 
and  a  number  of  others. 

Kasa-an  Bay  divides  into  several 
arms,  all  extending  toward  the  south- 
west. From  here  on  we  have  a  clear 
passage  to 

Tolstoi  Bay,  which  was  named  by 
Nichols  in  '18S2,  owing  to  its  prox- 
imity to  Tolstoi  Point,  which  extends 
into  Clarence  Strait  to  the  east  of  the 
bay.     Some  distance  up  is 

Narrow  Point,  and  six  miles  far- 
ther on  is 


See  Map  No.  I2. 

Ratz  Harbor,  a  basin  two  miles  long 
and  one  mile  wide,  but  verj-  narrow 
at  the  entrance  and  it  is  obstructed  by 
an  islet.  Then  we  continue  for  some 
distance  to  a  group  of  islands  called 
the 

Kashevarofflslands.  Blashke,Shrub- 
by  and  Bushy  Islands  are  three  of  this 
group.  Then  extending  from  the 
southern  part  of  Zarembo  Island  is 


414 


ALASKA. 


IJrnest  Sound,  Clarence  Strait,  Sum- 
ner Strait,  Blake  Channel  and  Kast- 
eni  Passage,  the  Duke  of  York 
Islands.  They  are  the  Wrangel, 
Zarembo,  Woronkoffski  and  Seward 
Islands. 

The  Stikine  and  Zimovia  Straits, 
the  Eastern  Passage,  Ernest  Sound 
and  Bradfield  Canal  extend  between 
these  islands.    Next  conies 

Point  Harrington,  which  extends 
from  Fvtolin  Island  into  Stikine 
Strait ;  this  point  in  summer  is 
covered  with  a  growth  of  bright  green 
bush. 

Just  above.  Steamer  Bay  extends 
(juite  a  distance  into  Etolin  Island. 
Farther  on  is 

Quiet  Harbor,  and  then  some 
distance  up  Chichagoff  Pass  con- 
nects Stikine  Strait  and  Zimovia 
Strait  and  separates  Etolin  and 
Woronkoffski  Islands  We  then 
reach  Wrangel,  which  is  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  Wrangel  Island,  and  this 
island  is  separated  from  Etolin 
Island  by  the  Zimovia  Strait. 

At  Wrangel  in  1867  the  United 
States  military  post  of  Fort  Wrangel 
was  erected,  but  there  is  no  military 
establishment  there  now,  the  fort 
being  used  for  other  purposes.  A 
deputy  collector  of  customs  is  sta- 
tioned there,  and  there  are  two 
churches  beside  other  missions  and 
over  100  houses  or  shanties. 

The  northern  point  of  Wrangel 
Island  is  called  Point  Highfield,  here 
there  is  an  anchorage  and  the  Hudson 
Bay  Compan3'  traders  frequent  this 
place. 

A  short  distance  from  here  is  the 
Simonoff  Island.  A  very  rapidly 
flowing  stream,  navigable  for  quite 
a  long  distance,  comes  in  at  this 
point,  called  the  Stikine  River.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  important  rivers  in 
the  eastern  side  of  this  passage. 

The  country  is  verj'  mountainous 
and  the  ride  up  the  river  is  very 
picturesque.  Glaciers  can  be  seen  on 
the  way,  one  well  up  the  stream  is 
called  Great  Glacier.  The  northern 
point  of  the  Woronkoffski  Island  is 
called  Point  Woronkoffski. 

Having  stopped  at  Wrangel,  we  go 
directly  through  Sumner  Strait,  pass- 
ing Point  Shekesti,  the  Five  Mile, 
Vank,  Sokoloff  and  Station  Islands. 
Sumner  Strait  was  named  in  honor 
of  the  lamented  statesman  to  whose 
endeavor   is  chiefly  due  the  acquisi- 


Nesbitt  Point,  and  from  the  eastern 
side  of  the  same  island  is 

Round  Point.  We  go  up  some  little 
distance,  then  turning  to  the  right 
stop  at 

Wrangel  ;  then  proceed  directly  to- 
ward the  left,  passing  on  the  north 
side  of  Zarembo  Island,  from  which 
Point  Craig  extends,  and  near  this 
point  is 

Baht  Harbor,  then  going  on  a  short 
distance  we  turn  directly  to  the  north 
and  enter  the  Wrangel  Strait  which 
separates  the  Mitkoff  Island  from  the 
Woewodski  Island  and  Lindenberg 
Peninsula. 

Hood  Point  extends  into  Wrangel 
Strait  froiTi  this  peninsula,  as  also 
does  Prolewy  Point,  which  is  some 
distance  up      Farther  on  is 


See  Map  No.  13. 

Cape  of  The  Straits  and  Portage 
Islands,  near  which  is 

Portage  Bay ,  and  it  extends  for  some 
distance  southward  into  the  Kupre- 
anoff  Islands.  We  then  go  on  in  an 
northeasterly  direction  to 

Frederick  Sound,  keeping  north  of 
the  Poverotni  Islands  and  many  islets. 
Then  taking  a  southwesterh-  course 
we  pass  Cape  Bendel  and  Point  Ma- 
cartney, which  extend  from  the  Ku- 
preanoff  Islands  into  the  sound. 
After  reaching 

Yasha  Island  to  which  we  keep  to 
the  north,  we  again  turn  and  go 
northwest  for  some  distance,  passing 

Kelp  Bay,  Lull  and  Thatcher  Points, 
Midway  Reef,  and  Traders  and  Fair- 
way Islands,  keeping  to  the  north  of 


See  Map  No.  14. 

the  latter  island,  we  proceed  in  a 
noii;hwe.sterly  direction  passing  a 
number  of  points,  which  are 

Pestchain,  Nismeni,  Rock,  Pogib- 
shi,  Yellow,  Middle,  Siroi,  and  Fish 
Points, directly  to  the  south  of  which  is 

Fish  Bay,  on  whose  southern  shore 
is  Haley  Anchorage.  Below  this  bay  is 

Point  Kakul  Here  we  change  our 
course  and  proceed  in  a  southeasterly 
direction  to 

Sitka.  After  leaving  Point  Kakul  we 
pass  Kane  Island,  which  is  at  the  en- 
trance of  St.  John  Baptist  Bay,  then 
comes  Point  Zeal,  after  which  we  en- 


pIkUoff  /sifl' 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST. 


415 


tiou  of  this  territory  by  the  United 
States. 

Then  we  reach  Point  Howe  and 
Point  Alexander  where  we  turn  and 
go  northward  through  Wrangel 
Strait,  one  of  the  arms  of  the  Sum- 
ner Strait.  Passing  Battery  Island 
we  reach  the  part  of  the  strait  called 
Wrangel  Narrows. 

Above  this  Blind  Passage  enters 
the  strait,  and  farther  on  we  have 
Blunt    Point.      Then    entering   Dry 

See  Map  No.  13. 

Strait  we  pass  west  of  the  Soukhoi 
Islands  above  which  Point  Aga.ssig 
extends  into  Carlile  Bay.  On  the 
mainland  east  of  this  bay  is  the  Pat- 
terson Glacier.  Going  on  some  dis- 
tance we  pass 

Point  Vandeput,  Bay  Point,  Point 
Highland  and  Cape  Fanshaw.  Or 
we  could  take  a  northerly  direc- 
tion past  Cape  Fanshaw  between  a 
number  of  islands,  the  largest  of 
which  are  Five  Fingers,  Brothers, 
Ship,  The  Twins  and  Sunset  Islands. 
Passing  Port  Houghton,  Point 
Hobart,  Point  Gambler  and  Point 
Hugh,  then  passing  between  this 
latter  point  and  Point  Windham  we 
enter  Stephens  Passage,  which  owing 
to  the  mineral  deposits  on  its  shores, 
makes  it  one  of  the  most  important 
channels  of  navigation  in  the  terri- 
tory. About  two  miles  north  of 
Point  Windham  is  Point  League  and 
a  short  distance  farther  on  is  Point 
Lookout. 

East  of  these  points  is  Mount 
Windham  which  is  2000  feet  high. 
Some  distance  on  is 

Point  Astley,  which  extends  into 
Stephens  Passage,  forming  the  south- 
ern shore  of  Holkham  Bay.  Quite  a 
number  of  islands  lie  within  this 
bay,  the  larger  ones  being  Harbor 
Island,  and  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  from  it  Sand  Island,  Round 
Islet,  Soundon  or  Sumdum  Island 
and  Bushy  Islet. 

It  is  said  that  a  native  village  exists 
on  Soundon  Island.  On  the  northeast 
shore  of  this  bay  glaciers  can  be 
seen.  After  passing  these  islands  we 
reach 

Point  Coke,  to  the  west  of  which  are 
the  Midway  Islands.  Then  after 
going  some  distance  passing  a  re- 
markable cascade  to  the  east,  we 
reach 


ter  Neva  Strait  and  a  short  distance 
farther  on  is 

Neva  Point.  Here  the  Nakwasina 
Passage,  which,  with  the  Olga  Strait, 
forms  a  circle  around  Halleck  Island, 
from  whose  southern  extremity  ex- 
tends Point  Krugloi.  Then  passing 
Lisianski  Point,  which  extends  from 
the  Baranoff  Island,  we  pass  the 
Katliana  Bay,  Bay  of  Starri-Gavan, 
and  Harbor  Point,  which,  after  leav- 
ing, we  pass  among  a  number  of 
islets  and  Japonski  Island,  and  arrive 
at  .Sitka,  in  a  beautiful  harbor  con- 
taining a  number  of  islets. 

The  return  route,  the  weather  being 
favorable,  is  generally  down  through 
Sitka  Sound  into  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
then  entering  Sumner  Strait  we  pass 
through  it  to  Clarence  Strait,  from 
which  the  return  route  is  the  same  as 
heretofore  described. 


See  Map  No.  14. 

After  passing  Point  Kaku  we  keep 
to  the  north  of  the  Samoiloff  Islets 
and  Sinitsin  Island,  and  enter 

Salisbury  Sound,  then  we  reach 
Klokacheff  Island  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  which  is  called  Klokachefl 
Point.  Separating  this  island  from 
the  Chichagoff  Island  is  Fortuna 
.Strait.     Then  comes 

Khaz  Bay  into  which  several 
streams  of  fresh  water  fall.  We 
then  go  on  for  some  distance  past 
Point  Hiesman  to 


See  Map  No.  IJ. 

Cape  Edward,  which  extends  from 
the  Chichagoff  Islands ;  west  from 
this  cape  are  a  number  of  islets,  and 
some  distance  farther  on  is 

Portlock  Harbor,  a  large  body  of 
water  in  which  are  the  Hogan  and 
Hill  Islands.  Then  after  passing  Hot 
Springs  we  reach 

Bahia  de  las  Istas,  which  is  three 
miles  long,  and  in  which  are  numer- 
ous islets.  Its  northern  shore  is 
formed  by  Point  Urey,  which  point  ex- 
tends between  Bahia  de  las  Islas  and 
Lisianski  Strait,  the  latter  separating 
Yakobi  Island  from  the  Chichagoff 
Group. 

The  southern  extremity  of  Yakobi 
Island  is  called  Point  Theodor,  above 
which  Takhani";  Bay  extends  into  the 
same  island.    We  next  pass 


4i6 


ALASKA. 


Point  Anmer  and  Point  Style- 
man  between  which  extends  Port 
Snettishara.  Two  arms  extending^ 
from  the  northern  end  of  this  harbor 
makes  it  the  shape  of  the  letter  T. 
Next  conies 

Ijmestone  Inlet  and  Taku  Harbor, 
and  extending  between  these  comes 
Stockade  Point.    Farther  on  is 

Grave  Point  on  which  the  land  rises 
rapidly  to  peaked  and  often  snow- 
capped mountains.  There  is  an 
Indian  village  and  graves  of  Indians 
can  be  seen  on  this  Point. 

The  Hudson  Bay  Company  built  a 
block-house  and  stockade  for  defense 
on  Stockade  Point,  but  they  are  now 
in  ruins. 

Taku  Harbor  is  one  of  the  best 
and  snuggest  in  Alaska.  Here  in 
1840  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  es- 
tablished a  trading  post,  and  seven 
tribes  of  Indians  brought  deer,  sheep- 
skins and  other  furs  which  they 
sold.  There  are  a  large  quantity  of 
big-horn  sheep  and  mountain  goats 
in  this  neighborhood. 

To  the  east  a  large  peak  is  notice- 
and  is  called  Taku  ^Mountain. 


See  Map  No.  13. 

In  the  middle  of  Stephens  Passage 
is  Grand  Island  and  seven  miles 
farther  on  is  the  entrance  of  Taku 
Inlet,  which  extends  for  about  iS 
miles;  at  its  head  is  a  large  bason,  into 
which  the  Taku  River  empties.  At 
the  mouth  of  which  is  the  River 
Islet.  Turning  here  towards  the 
west  we  pass  the 

Taku  Village,  Bishop  Point,  Point 
Arden  and  Point  Salisbury.  Here 
the  Douglas  Island,  on  which  are 
the  great  Treadwell  Mills,  divides 
Stephens  Passage  in  two.  This  island 
is  about  20  miles  long  and  tapers  to 
a  point  on  each  end,  the  eastern 
extremity  being  Tantallon  Point,  and 
between  the  point  and  Point  Salis- 
bury is  Marmion  Islet,  and  from 
here  on,  the  channel  separating 
Douglas  Island  from  the  mainland 
is  called  Gastineau  Channel.  This 
channel  filled  with  floating  ice  was 
impassable  until  1880.  Then  the 
mineral  veins  were  discovered  on  the 
island  and  mainland.  In  1881  the 
mining  camps  were  established  at 
Juneau.  West  of  Point  Arden  a  large 
stream  flows  into  the  channel.  South 


Cape  Cross,  which  was  so  called  as 
it  was  discovered  on  Holy  Cross 
Day  (May  3d),  on  which  are  many 
large,  white  rocks.  About  three 
miles  northward  is  Surge  Bay,  which 
extends  into  Yakobi  Island  for  some 
distance.  The  northwestern  point  of 
this  island  is  called 

Point  Bingham  and  the  northern 
extremity  Soapstone  Point.  Here 
we  enter 

Cross  Sound,  passing  Colnmn 
Point  and  Point  Lucan  to  Port  Al- 
throp,  in  theentranceof  which  are  the 

Three-Hill  and  George  Islands. 
Granite  Cove  extends  from  Port  Al- 
throp  into  the  latter  island.  Then 
continuing  past 

East,  Inian,  Northwest  and  South- 
west Islands,  we  reach 

Point  Wimbledon  and  Point  Dun- 
das,  between  which  extends  Dundas 
Bay,  then  continuing  past 

Lemesurier  Island,  in  the  south- 
western part  of  which  is  Willoughby 
Cove,  we  enter 

Icy  Strait.  Or  if  entering  this 
strait  on  a  homeward  trip,  after  leav- 
ing Lynn  Canal,  we  would  pass  Poi  ' 
Couverden,  and  go  in  a  northwesterly 
direction,  passing  Swanson  Harbor 
and  Spaskaia  Harbor  ;  near  the  latter 
harbor  is  an  island  of  the  same 
name.     Farther  on  is 

Point  Sophia,  just  above  which  is 
Port  Frederick,  a  very  important 
inlet.  Along  its  eastern  shore  is  a 
large  village  of  Indians,  which  the 
United  States  Navy  named  after  them 
the  Hoouiah  Harbor;  they  also  named 
Pitt  Island,  which  lies  near  the  en- 
trance of  Port  Frederick.  Then  go- 
ing around  Point  Adolphus  and  pass- 
ing the  Porpoise  and  Pleasant  Islands 
we  continue  through  Icy  Strait,  pass- 
ing 

Point  Gustavus  and  Bartlett  Bay  on 
the  east,  and  Point  Carolus  on  the 
west.  Between  these  points  is  the 
entrance  to 

Glacier  Bay,  in  which  are  the 
Beardslee  Islands  ;  there  are  over  100 
in  the  group.  The  shores  of  the 
Glacier  Bay  are  covered  with  stumps 
of  trees.  On  past  the  Beardslee  Is- 
lands are  the 

Willoughby  and  Marble  Islands, 
and  to  the  east  of  the  latter  island  is 

Muir  Inlet.  Several  beautiful  gla- 
ciers are  seen  along  this  baj-,  the 
grandest,  and  probably  the  largest, 
one  in  the  world  is 


Map  No.  14 — From  Point  Craven  to  Sitka,  through  Peril,  Neva 
and  Olga  Straits. 


r> 


POINTS  Oh  INTEREST. 


417 


of  Douglas  Island,  extending  from 
the  Admiralty  Island, is  Point  Young, 
south  of  which  is  Auke  Bay  on 
whose  shore  is  a  small  village,  the 
home  of  the  Auke  Indians.  North 
of  this  point  is  ScuU  Island,  which  is 
at  the  head  of  Young  Bay.  Going  on 
for  some  distance  to  Fritz  Cove, 
east  of  which  are  Spuhn  Point,  Point 
Louisa,  Point  Lena  and  Point 
Stephens  we  enter 

Favorite  Channel  and  on  to  Lynn 
Canal.  After  passing  Fritz  Cove, 
Barlow  Point  and  Cove  we  enter  Sagi- 
naw Channel,  which  extends  between 
Shelter  Island  and  Admiralty  Island, 
and  continue  from  Point  Retreat  up 
the  Lynn  Canal. 


See  Map  No.  13. 

Then  taking  a  southwesterly  direc- 
tion through  Frederick  Sound  we  pass 

Point  Napean  and  Point  Town- 
shend  which  extend  from  the 
Admiralty  Island  into  the  sound. 
Herring  Bay,  Murder  Cove  and  Sur- 
prise Harbor,  all  parts  of  this  sound 
extend  into  the  island.  We  then 
reach  Point  Gardner  and  take  a 
northwesterly  direction,  keeping  far 
to  the  west  of  Point  Caution,  Russian 
Reef,  Whitewater  Bay, Woody,  Rocky, 
Village,  Distant  and  Samuel  Points. 
Just  above  the  latter  point  we  turn 
passing  to  the  south  of  the  Morris 
Reef 

Here  Point  Hayes  and  Point 
Craven  on  either  side  of  Sitkoh  Bay 
extend  from  the  Chichagoff  Islands. 


See  Map  No.  TS. 

Then  continuing  through  Chatham 
Strait  we  pass 

Point  Parker,  Marble  Bluffs,  Fishery 
Point,  Point  Hepburn  and  Cube  Point, 
near  the  latter  is  Square  Cove  and  far- 
ther on  is  Point  Marsden,  Game  Cove 
and  Hawk  Inlet. 


See  Map  No.  ib. 

Then  passing  around  Hanus  Reel 
we  enter  Lynn  Canal,  which  extends 
for  about  60  miles  almost  clear  of 
any  obstructions.  Its  shores  are  in 
many  places  covered  with  large  ever- 
green trees  and  large  quantities  of 

27 


Muir  Glacier,  which  is  described  in 
the  text  and  of  which  several  illus- 
trations are  .shown.  This  bay  was 
discovered  and  named  by  the  United 
States  Navy.  It  is  quite  large  and 
vast  quantities  of  broken  ice  and 
icebergs  are  floating  in  all  directions. 
Upon  a  sunny  day  their  varied  shapes 
and  hues  of  color,  with  a  predomin- 
ance of  blue  tints  shining  with 
brilliancy  and  ever-changing  loveli- 
ness is  a  scene  never  to  be  forgotten. 

This  glacier  was  first  seen  by 
Willoughby  and  subsequently  by 
Rev.  S.  R.  Young  and  Prof.  John 
Muir,  and  more  recently  by  Lieu. 
G.  C.  Hanus  of  the  United  States 
Navy. 

It  was  named  after  Prof.  John  Muir 
and  is  supposed  to  extend  with  many 
minor  glacial  branches,  over  200 
miles  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Captain  George,  who  named  the 
Marble  Islands,  which  lie  northeast 
of  Willoughby  Island,  made  a  sound- 
ine  directly  in  front  of  the  perpen- 
dicular wall  and  found  it  to  be  75 
fathoms.     Or,  we  could  go  through 

Chatham  Sound  to  Lynn  Canal, 
passing  on  our  way  South  Passage 
and  East  Point,  between  which  ex- 
tends Tenakee  Passage,  an  arm  of 
Chatham  Strait,  and  just  beyond  East 
Point  is  Freshwater  Bay.  Farther 
on  is 

I\oukeeu  Cove  and  False  Bay, 
above  which  Point  Augusta  extends 
from  the  Chichagoff  Islands  into  Chat- 
ham Strait.  We  then  continue  for 
some  distance  to 

Point  Couverden,  which  extends 
from  an  island  of  the  same  name. 
This  island  is  the  summer  residence 
of  the  T'linkit  Indians,  who  are  very 
warlike  and  untrustworthy.  Here 
also  a  great  quantity  of  wood  is  cut 
for  steamers. 

Couverden  Island  is  in  Swansou 
Harbor,  and  in  entering  we  should 
pass  to  the  south  of  it,  as  there  are 
also  a  number  of  islets  and  rocks  in 
the  entrance.  We  then  go  on  up  the 
canal  for  some  distance,  reaching  the 

See  Map  No.  16. 

I^ynn  Sisters,  a  groupof  three  small 
islands  and  a  rock,  above  these  are 
three  more  islands  called  the 

Lynn  Brothers.  Between  these  two 
groups  of  islands  on  the  we.stern 
shore  is 


4i8 


ALASKA. 


iron.  Towards  the  northern  part  of 
the  canal  the  water  is  almost  fresh. 
We  then  continue  on  past 

I-'unter  Bay  to  Point  Retreat  passing 
quite  a  number  of  j^laciers,  the  prin- 
cipal ones  being  Kaglc  Glacier  on 
the  east  and  Davidson  Glacier  on  the 
west.  Two  miles  from  Point  Retreat 
is  a  long,  narrow  island,  called  Lin- 
coln Island,  it  is  about  six  and  a  halt 
miles  long. 

About  a  mile  from  the  centre  of 
this  island  is  Hump  Island,  and  some 
distance  farther  on  are  the  Ralston 
and  Little  Islands.  Then  passing 
around  Vanderbilt  Reef  we  see  Point 
Bridget,  which  extends  into  Lynn 
Canal  at  the  entrance  of  Berners 
Bay.  This  bay  extends  into  the  main 
land  for  about  nine  miles.  Its  north- 
ern shore  is  formed  by  Point  St. 
Mary's,  on  which  the  mountains  rise 
to  quite  a  height  and  are  covered 
with  snow. 

Five  miles  from  this  point  is  Point 
Sherman,  then  continuing  for  some 
distance  past  E;idred  Rock  and  Se- 
duction Island,  we  see  on  the  east 
the  Chilkat  Mountains,  and  on  this 
shore  is  the  Chilkat  Mission.  Many 
beautiful  glaciers  are  passed  and  we 
reach  the  Chilkat  Islands,  a  group  of 
four  or  five  islands  extending  for 
about  two  miles.  Above  these  the 
Lynn  Canal  divides  into  two  arms, 
separated  by  (Seduction  Point.  The 
arms  are  the 

Chilkat  Inlet  and  the  Chilkoot  In- 
let. From  the  latter  of  which  the 
Taiya  or  Dyea  Inlet  extends  and  on 
which  the  station  or  town  of  Dyea  is 
located. 

See  Map  No.  14. 

A  short  distance  from  Point  Craven 
is  the  Lindenberg  Harbor  which  we 
pass  and  continue  on  to 

Poperechai  Island,  below  which  we 
turn  and  pass  between  the  Spruce, 
Krugli  and  Otstoia  Islands.  Then 
going  south  we  pass  Rapids  and  Su- 
loia  Points  and  Deep  Bay  in  which  is 
Big  Island.  Part  of  this  bay  is  called 
Suloia  Bay. 

Then  turning  towards  the  southeast 
we  see  the  Samoiloff  Islet  and  pass 
to  the  east  of  Partoffs-chikoff  Island 
whose  eastern  extremity  is  Hay  ward 
Point,  then  on  through  Neva  Strait 
passing  Krestoff  Island  whose  north- 
ern extremity  is  Point  Olga. 


Dome  Peak.  Above  this  projecting 
from  the  same  shore  is 

Point  Whidbey,  and  some  distance 
above  is 

William  Henry  Bay,  which  is  well 
protected  and  has  a  good  anchorage. 
There  is  a  good  supply  of  fresh  water, 
but  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get 
wood.  Beardslee  River  enters  the  bay 
at  its  head,  and,  four  miles  farther  on 
is  the 

FIndicott  River,  which  is  filled  with 
sand-bars.     Then  comes  the 

Sullivan  Island,  and  it  extends  for 
about  five  miles  ;  near  this  island  is 
Sullivan  Rock. 

The  White  Mountains  are  on  the 
western  shore  of  I,ynn  Canal,  here 
we  have  the  Davidson  Glacier,  and 
between  it  and  the  canal  is 

Glacier  Point,  which  extends  into 
the  entrance  of  Chilkat  Inlet,  from 
the  upper  end  of  which  the  Dalton 
trail  to  the  Yukon  begins. 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST. 


419 


Fromisla  Bay  extends  into  the 
southern  part  of  this  island  and 
Kresta  Point  is  at  its  southwestern 
end.  Then  passing  the  Gavanski  and 
Apple  Islands  we  arrive  among  many 
islets  in  the  harbor  of  Sitka.  The 
town  consists  of  nearly  3000  people, 
about  1000  Indians,  the  others  being 
Russians  and  Americans.  It  is  the 
Capital  and  is  the  residence  of  Gov- 
ernor Brady,  the  present  appointee 
and  of  other  government  ofiBcials. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

Bibliography    of   Alaska. 


Aldrich,  Herbert  L. 

Arctic  Alaska  and  Siberia,  or,  eight  months  with  the  Arctic 

whalemen. 
Chicago,  Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  1889,  234  pp.     lUus.     Folded 

Map,   i2mo. 

Allen,  Willis  Boyd. 

The  Red  Mountain  of  Alaska. 

Boston,  Estes  &  Lauriat,  1889,  348  pp.     Illus.    8vo. 
Badlam,  Alexander. 

The  wonders  of  Alaska,  3d  ed. 

San  Francisco,  1891,  vii  (i),  154  pp.     Ulus.  Plates,  Maps,  8vo. 

Baedeker,  Carl. 

Guide  Books.     The  Dominion  of  Canada  with  Newfoundland 

and  an  excursion  to  Alaska. 
Leips,  1894,  Ixii,  254  pp.     Maps,  Plans,  i6mo. 

Baker,  Marcus. 

The  Alaskan  boundary. 

(Washington?     1896?).     16  pp.  Doc,  8vo. 
Baker,  Marcus. 

Boundaries. 

Boundary  line  between  Alaska  and  Siberia.  Extracted  from 
the  Bulletin  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Washington , 
vol.  4. 

Washington,  Judd  &  Detweiler,  prs.,  1882.  (i23)-i33  pp. 
Folded  Map. 

Same.  (In  the  Bulletin  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Wash- 
ington, vol.  4,  123-133  pp.) 

Ballou,  Maturin  Murray. 

Ballou's  Alaska.     The  New  Eldorado.     A  summer  journey  to 

Alaska.    Tourist's  edition  with  Maps. 
Boston,  Houghton,    Mifflin  &   Co.,  1891,  xxi,  335  pP-)  i6mo. 
Another  edition  with  the  title  The  New  Eldorado  is  on  4365. 
100  and  4467,  109. 
420 


BIBLIO GRA PHY  OF  ALASKA .  421 

Ballou,  Maturin  Murray. 
The  New  Eldorado.     A  summer  journey  to  Alaska. 
Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  1889,  xi,  352  pp.,8vo. 

Bancroft,  Hubert  Howe. 

History  of  the  Pacific  States,  vol.  28,  1730-1885. 
San  Francisco,  1886,  xxviii,  775  pp.,  Map.,8vo. 

Bancroft,  Hubert  Howe. 

Works,  vol.  33.  San  Francisco,  A.  L.  Bancroft,  1884,  37  vols., 
8vo. 

Banks,  Nathaniel  Prentiss. 

Purchase  of  Alaska.  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
June  30,  1868. 

Washington,  F.  &J.  Rives, and  G.  A.  Bailey,  1868,  16  pp.,  8vo. 

Minnesota,  Legislature  of.  Resolutions  relative  to  the  pur- 
chase of  Alaska.  U.  S.  40th  Congress,  2d  session.  Senate 
Mis.,  Doc.  68,  1867-8.  U.  S.  40th  Congress,  2d  session.  House 
Doc,  vol.  II,  Doc.  125.  Transfer  of  territory  from  Russia 
to  the  U.  S.     Message  from  President,  1867-8. 

Beardslee,  L.  A. 

Report  relative  to  affairs  in  Alaska.  47th  Congress,  ist  ses- 
sion.    Senate  Doc,  vol.  4  ;  Doc.  No.  71,  1881-2. 

Another.  46th  Congress,  2d  session.  Senate  Doc,  vol.  4. 
Doc.  No.  105  ;  also  vol.  5.     Doc.  No.  192. 

Blake,  William  Phipps. 

Geographical    notes  upon  Russian  America  and   the   Stikine 

River  ;  being  a  report  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 
Washington,  Govt.  ptg.  office,  1868,  19  pp.     Illus.     Map,  8vo. 

Broke,  George. 

With  sack  and  stock  in  Alaska. 

London,  Longman,  Green  &  Co.,  1891,  xi,  158  pp.,  2  Maps. 
Sm.  8vo. 

Bruce,  Miner  W. 

Alaska,    its   history   and   resources,    gold    fields,   routes   and 

scenery. 
Seattle,  Lowman  &  Hanford,  1895,  pp.  120.     Illus.    8vo. 
Coast  and  geodetic  survey. 
Pacific  coast  pilot,  Alaska,  pt.  i. 


422  ALASKA. 

Washington,  Govt.     ptg.    office,    1883,    v.      Folded    Plates, 

folded  Maps,  folio. 
Contents,  i.  Coast  from  Dixon  Entrance  to  Yakutetbay,  with 

the  inland  passage.     Same,  3d  ed.,  1891,  4to. 

Ootteau,  Edmond. 

L,e  transcanadien  et  I'Alaska,  1890.     lUus.     Plates,  Map. 

(Tour  du  monde.     Vol.  62,  pp.  1-32.     Paris,  1891.) 
Collis,  Septima  M. 

A  woman's  trip  to   Alaska  ;    being  an   account   of  a  voyage 
through  the  inland  seas  of  the  Sitkan  Archipelago  in  1890. 

New  York,  Cassell  Pub.  Co.,  1890.  8vo. 

Dall,  W.  H.— Gibbs,  George. 

Department   of   the   Interior,    geographical    and   geological 

survey  of  the   Rocky  Mountains,  J.  W.  Powell  in  charge. 

Contributions  to  North  American  ethnology,  vol.  i. 
Washington,  1877.     Folded  Maps,  4to. 

Contents. — Vol.  i.  Tribes  of  the  Extreme  Northwest.    By  W. 
H.  Dall. 

Tribes  of  Western  Washington  and  Northwestern  Oregon.  By 
George  Gibbs.     Appendix  to  part  2,  Linguistics. 
Dall,  William  Healey. 

Miscellaneous. 

Harbors  of  Alaska,  and  the  tides  and  currents  in  their  vicinity. 

Washington,   1872,  36  pp.     Folded  Map,  8vo.     Appendix  to 
No.  10  to  United  States  Coast  Survey  report. 

47th  Congress,  2d  Session.    House  Doc,  vol.  21,  No.  75. 

Dall,  William  Healey. 
Alaska  and  its  resources. 

Boston,  Lee   &    S.,    1870,   xii,  627    (i)    pp.     lUus.     Plates, 
Map,  8vo. 

Pp. ,  595-609,  list  of  works. 
Dall,  William  Healey. 

Report  on  coal  and  lignite  of  Alaska. 

Washington,  Govt.  ptg.  office,  1896,  763-908  pp.  Plates,  Maps, 
large  8vo. 

From  United  States  Geological  survey,  17th  annual  report. 
Dall,  William  Healey. 

Alaska  and  adjoining  territory.     Map. 
New  York,  1869,  22  x  1534^  in.     Folded. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  ALASKA.  423 

Dall,  William  Healey — Baker,  Marcus. 

Partial  list  of  charts,  maps  and  publications  relating  to  Alaska 
and  tlie  adjacent  region. 

Washington,  1880,  n.  t.  p.,  168-375  pp.  4to. 

Geography,  etc.     Maps. 

The  territory  of  Northwestern  America  ceded  by  Russia  to 
the  U.  S.,  186S.  Scale  1.9000000,  17  x  la'a  in.  Submap 
to  territory  of  the  U.  S.  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific 
ocean,  1865-8.     (War  Dept.  Corps  of  Engineers. )     Folded. 

Dall,  William  Healey — Baker,  Marcus. 

Partial   list   of   charts,    maps   and    publications   relating    to 

Alaska  and  the  adjacent  region. 
Washington,  1880,  n.  t.  p.,  168-375  pp.,  4to. 

Davidoff,  G.  I. 

Reise  diersh  Siberien  nach  Amerika,  1802-4. 
Berlin,  1816,  i6mo.     See  Davidoff,  G.  I. 

Davidson,  G. 

Department  of  the  Treasury,  Coast  Survey. 

Coast  pilot  of  Alaska,  pt.  i,  1869. 

Washington,  1869.     Illus.,  large  8vo. 

Contents,  Pt.  i.     From  Southern  boundary  to  Cook's  inlet. 

Maps.  Coast  Survey. 

Northwestern  America,  showing  the  territory  ceded  by  Russia 

to   the  United   States.      Compiled  for   the  Department  of 

State.     2d  ed. 
Washington,  1867.    Size,  21)^  x  36  in.    Scale,  1. 15000000  (or, 

78  m.    to  I  in.).        Submap   of  Sitka  and  its  approaches. 

Folded. 

Denis,  Jean  Ferdinand. 

L,es    Californies.      Iv'Oregon,    et    les    possessions    russes  en 

Amerique.     Les  iles  Noutka  et  de   la  Reine  Charlotte,  iv, 

108  pp. 
(L'Univers,  Histoire  des  Antilles     .     .     .     par  E.  Regnault. 

Paris,  1849.) 

Elliott,  Henry  W. 

Our  Arctic  Province  ;    Alaska   and  the   Seal   Islands.     Illus- 

trated  by  many  drawings  from  nature  and  Maps. 
New  York,  C.  Scribner's  Sons,  1886,  xv,  455  pp.,  Svo. 


424  ALASKA. 

Elliott,  Henry  W. 

A  report  (to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury)  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  affairs  in  the  territory  of  Alaska. 

Washington,  Govt.  ptg.  office,  1875,  227  pp.  8vo. 

This  report  can  be  found  appended  to  a  letter  from  the  Secre- 
tary' of  Treasury  (B.  H.  Bristow)  on  the  seal  fisheries  of 
Alaska,  January  17,  1876,  forming  Exec.  Doc,  No.  83,  of  the 
Congressional  documents  of  the  44th  Congress,  ist  session. 
(No.  83  in  No.  C.  250a,  5,  10.) 

ElUott,  H.  W. 
Census  Bureau. 
History  and  present  condition  of  the  fishery  industries.     The 

Seal  Islands  of  Alaska   (Pribylov  group). 
Washington,  1881,     Illus.,  Maps,  4to. 

Elliott,  H.  w. 

Seal  Islands  of  Alaska.  47th  Congress,  2d  session.  House 
Mis.,  vol.  13,  pt.  8,  1882-3.     Plates,  Maps. 

Elliott,  Henry  W. 

Monograph  of  the  Seal  Islands  of  Alaska. 

Washington,  1882  (3),  176  pp.  Illus.  Maps,  Plates.  U.  S. 
Commission  offish  and  fisheries.  Special  Bulletin,  176,  4to. 

Report  from  a  report  of  the  fishery  industry  of  the  loth 
census  with  a  slightly  varying  title. 

Information  in  relation  to  the  fisheries  in  Alaska.  40th  Con- 
gress, 2d  session.     Senate  Doc,  vol.  2,  Doc.  50,  1867-8. 

Food  fisheries  of  Alaska,  41st  Congress,  3d  session.  House 
Doc,  vol.  13,  1870-1. 

Elliott,  Henry  W. 
Natural  history. 
Report  on   the   Seal  Islands   of  Alaska,  188  pp.     Illus.     In 

United  States  Census  Bureau,  loth  census. 
Washington,  1884,  vol.  8. 
Identical   with   "The   Seal  Islands  of  Alaska "    except   that 

added  to  this  edition  there  is  an  index  of  twelve  pages. 

Elliott,  Henry  W. 
Natiiral  history. 
The  Seal  Islands  of  Alaska. 

Washington,  Govt.  ptg.  office,  1881    (5),  176  pp,  29  Plates,  2 
Maps.     United  States  Census  Bureau,  loth  census,  vol.  8,  4to. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  ALASKA.  425 

Fast,  Edward  G. 

Catalogue  of  antiquities  and  curiosities  collected  in   Alaska. 
New  York,  (1869),  32  pp.     Plates.     8vo. 

Field,  Henry  Martyn. 

Our  Western  Archipelago. 

New  York,  Scribners,  1895,  250  pp.     Plates,  Map,  8vo. 

Finck,  Henry  T. 

The   Pacific  coast   scene  tour,   from  Southern   Californiu  to 

Alaska,  the  Canadian  Pacific  railway,  Yellowstone  Park  and 

the  Grand  Canyon. 
New  York,  Scribners,   1890,  309  pp.,  8vo. 

Findlay,  A.  G. 

Bureau   of  Navigation,   publications   No.  20. 

Directory  for  Bering's  sea  and  coast  of  Alaska,  arranged  from 

the  directory  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Washington,  1869,  193  pp.,  8vo 
Census  bureau,  nth  census. 
Report  on  population  and  resources  of  Alaska. 
Washington,  1893,  xi,  ix-xi,  282  pp.     Plates,  Map.  4to. 

Governor. 

Report  for  the  fiscal  year  1891-2. 

Washington,  Govt.  ptg.  office,  1891-2,  2  vols.     Doc,  8vo. 

Hallock,  Charles. 

Our  new  Alaska  ;  or,  the  Seward  purchase  vindicated.  Illus- 
trated from  sketches  by  T.  J.  Richardson. 

New  York,  Forest  and  Stream  iPub.  Co.,  1886  (3),  viii  (i), 
9-209  pp.     Plates.     Folded  Map,  Svo, 

Henriques,  John  A. 

Alaska.     Facts  about  the  new  Northwest. 
N.  p.  (1872),  23  pp.,  8vo. 

Henry,  Joseph,  LL.D. 

Suggestions  relative  to  objects  of  scientific   investigation   in 

Russian  America.     10  pp. 
(Smithsonian  Inst.     Mis.  coll.,  vol.  8,  Washington,  1869.) 

Higby,  William. 
Miscellaneous. 

Alaska.  Speech  delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
the  2ist  of  March,  1868,  on  the  treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Russian  government  for  the  transfer  of  Alaska. 


426  ALASKA. 

Washington,  1867,  Turner,  ptr.,  16  pp.,  8vo. 

United  States,  44th  Congress,  ist  session.    House  Doc,  vol.  12, 

No.  135. 
Jurisdiction  of    the   War  Department   over   the   territory  ot 

Alaska. 
United  States,  44th  Congress,  ist  session.  Senate  Doc,  No.  33. 
Report  in  relation  to  militar)'  arrests  in  Alaska. 

Holmberg,  Heinrichjohann. 

Ethnographische  Skizzen   uber   die    Volker   des    russischen 

Amerika.     Abth.  I. 
Helsingfors.     Friis,  1855  (i),  141  (i)  pp.     Map,  4to. 
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430  ALASKA. 

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.     »,     iK?.r«-.   m 


Totem  Poles,  Fort  Wrangel. 


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Schwatka,  Frederick. 

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Schwatka,  Frederick — Hyde,  John. 

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Appleton's  guide-book  to  Alaska  and  the  northwest  coast. 
New   York,    Appleton,    1893,  v    (2),  156  pp.     Plates,  Maps, 
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Scidmore,  Eliza  Ruhamah. 
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Map  and  illus. 
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Sessions,  Francis  C. 

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New  York,  Welch,  Fracker  Co.,  1890,  186,  ix  pp.   i2mo. 

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Sumner,  Charles. 
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States. 
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Washington,  186S.     No  title  page,  361  pp.,  Svo. 

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Selection  of  points  for  lighthouses  in  Alaska. 

44th  Congress,  2d  session.  Senate  Doc,  vol.  i.  Doc.  No.  14, 
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For  the  list  of  these  charts  see  following  cards.  In  applying 
for  these  charts  write  "  Coast  Survey  Maps  "  on  the  charg- 
ing slip,  with  the  number  of  the  map  wanted. 

Harbor  Charts,  etc.,  of  Alaska. 

The  scale  is  given  for  nautical  miles.  The  date  of  publica- 
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704  A,  Adakh  island,  1875,  i  m.  to  1%  in.,  6  x  8. 

Aleutian  islands,  Kyoka  harbor,  1875,  i  m.  to  iy^  in.,  12^  x  8. 

Amchitka  island,  Constantine harbor,  i  m.  to  i^  in.,  6  x  8. 

Bay  of  islands,  Adakh  islands,  i  m.  to  1%  in.,  6  x  8. 

Bering  sea.  Port  MoUer,  1875,  i  m.  to  ^  in.,  13  x  <)%  in. 
Prib3'lof  islands,  1875,  I2>^  x  8|^. 
Saint  George  island,  1875,  Iij4  x  7,  i  m.  to  ^  in. 

Cape  Etolin,  Nunivak  island,  1875,  9  x  12,  i  m.  to  3^  in. 

Captain's  bay,  Unalaska  island,  1875,  12  x  17,  i  m.  to  i^  in. 

Chiachi  islands,  1875,  i  m-  to  4>^  in.,  13  x  9. 

Chignik  bay,  i  m.  to  3^  in.,  9^4^  x  13. 

Chichagoflf  island,  i  m   to  i^^;'  in.,  9>^  x    lo^^. 
and  lighthouse  rocks,  \7.%  x  S/^. 

Constantine  harbor,  i  m.  to  i^4f  in.,  6x8. 

Eagle  harbor,  Shumagin  islands,  i  m.  to  ^  in. 

Etoline  harbor,  Wrangel  island,  1869,  i  m.  to  4  in.,  4  x  8^. 

Falmouth  harbor,  Shumagin  islands,  i  m.  to  i^  in.,  6%  x  4^. 

Fort  Tongas,  Passages  to,  1869,  i  m.  to  i  in.,  8^  x  i  in. 

Humboldt  harbor,  1872,  i  m.  to  i  4-5  in.,  9  x  11. 

I-youk-een  cove,  1869,  i  m.  to  \%  in.,  \yi,  x  6^. 

Ilinlimk  harbor,  Unalaska  island,  i  m.  to  7^  in.,  I3'4  xS^- 


436  ALASKA. 

Kootono  rapids,  1S69,  i  m.  to  2^  in.,  7x9. 
Kyska  harbor,  1869,  i  m.  to  2^  in.,  12^  x  8. 
lyindenberg  harbor,  1869,  i  m.  to  /^%  in.,  ^y%  x  6^. 
lyituya  bay,  X  m.  to  ^  in.,  7^  x  sVi- 

Entrance,  i  m.  to 4^  in.,  ^Ji  x  6^. 
Middleton  island,  i  m.  to  i^  in.,  5^  x  5^. 
Nagai  island,  Sanborn  harbor,  1872,  i  m.  to  i  4-5  in.,  9X  11. 

Eagle  harbor,  i  m.  to  X  in- 

Falmouth  harbor,  i  m.  to  i>^,  6^  x  4X- 
Nunivak  island.  Cape  Etolin,  1875,  i  ni.  to  33^  in.,  9X  12. 
Passages  to  Fort  Tongas,  1869,  i  m.  to  i  in.,  8^  x  4|^. 
Popoff  strait,  1872,  i  m.  to  1.40000,  9x11. 
Port  Mulgrave,  Yakuta  bay,  1878,  i  m.  to  9  in.,  9>^  x  12^. 
Port  MoUer,  1875,  i  m.  to  ^  in.,  13  x  ^%. 
Pribylof  islands,  Bering  sea,  1875,  I2>^  x  8^. 
St.  Elias  Alpine  region,  1875,  ii^  x  9^^. 
St.  George  island,  Bering  sea,  1875,  i  m.  to  j{  in.,  11^  x  7. 
St.  Matthew  and  adjoining  islands,  i  m.  to  ^  in.,  13  x  9^. 
St.  Paul  island,  1875,  i  m.  to  5  "^  in.,  iii{  x  9><. 
Sanborn  harbor,  Nagai  island,  1872,  i  tn.  to  1.40000,  9  x  11. 

Sannakh  islands,  1875,  7X  ^  5- 

Acherk  harbor,  1875,  i  tn.  to  i '^  in.,  5)^  X4. 
Semidi  islands,  1872,  12%  x  8>^. 
Shumagin  islands,  1875,  10  x  iiX- 

Eagle  harbor,  1875,  5^  x  ^  in.,  i  m.  to  ^  in. 

Falmouth  harbor,  i  m.  to  1)/%  in.,  6^  x  1%. 

Northeast  harbor,  i  m.  to  )i  in.,  6^  x  5^^. 

Northwest  and  Yukon   harbors,    1875,   i    m.  to  i'4^  in., 

Simonoff  harbor,  1875,  i  m.  to  3^^  in.,  5^  x  5^. 
SimonofiF  harbor,   Shumagin  Island,  1875,   i  m.  to  ^  in., 

Symonds  bay,  Sitka  sound,  1880,  i  m.  to  10  in.  13^  x  13^. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  ALASKA.  437 

Unalashka  island,  Captains  harbor,  i  m.  to  \]i,  12  x  17. 

Itilink  harbor,  1875,  i  m.  t°  7^,  \-i>%  x  SX- 
Yakutat  bay,  Port  Mulgrave,  1875,  i  m.   to  gin.,  9^  x  12^. 
Yukon  harbor,    Shumagin    islands,    1875,    i    m.  to   i^  in., 

7J^x4X. 
ZacharefFskaia  bay,  i  m.  to  s^f  in.,  \y%  x  4X.  Coal  harbor,  1872. 

Warren,  Lieutenant  G.  K.— Bien,  J. 

Maps.     Engineer  Department. 

Territory  of  the  United  States  from  the  Mississippi  river  to 
the  Pacific  ocean,  originally  prepared  (for)  the  Reports  of 
the  explorations  for  a  Pacific  railroad  route  ;  compiled  from 
authorized  explorations  and  other  reliable  data  by  Lieut. 
G.  K.  Warren.  And  partly  recompiled  and  redrawn  under 
the  directon  of  the  Headquarters  of  corps  of  engineers, 
1865-8.     Engr.  and  printed  by  J.  Bien. 

New  York,  1868.  In  three  sheets.  Size,  when  joined, 
41}^  x  45  ins.  Scale,  1.3000000  (or,  47  ms.  to  i  in.).  Sub- 
map  of  Alaska,  on  a  scale  of  1.9000000  (or,  123  m.  to  i  in.) 
Folded. 

Same.     In  one  sheet.     Size,  41  j4  x  45X  ins-     Folded. 

Department  of  State.     Northwestern  America.     Map. 

Washington,  1867. 

Map  of  Alaska,  n.  p.,  1868,  22>^  x  21^  in. 

See  U.  S.  Dept.  of  War,  Bureau  of  Engineers. 

Geology.    See  also  Glacier  bay. 

Report  on  the  geological  survey  of  Alaska.  47th  Congress, 
ist  session.  Senate  Doc,  vol.  6,  Doc.  No.  166.  Another. 
47th  Congress,  istsession.     House  Doc,  vol.  20.     Doc.  194. 

Survey  of  Alaska  and  the  Aleutian  islands.  41st  Congress, 
2d  session.     House  Doc,  vol.  vii. 

Wardman,  George. 
A  trip  to  Alaska. 
Boston,  Lee  &  Shepard,  1884,  (4).    237  pp.,  lamo. 

Webb,  William  Seward. 

California  and  Alaska  and  over  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway, 

2d  edition.     Popular  edition.     Illustrated. 
New  York,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  1891,  xiv   (i),  268  pp.,  Svo. 


438  ALASKA. 

Whymper,  Frederick. 
General  works. 
Travel  and  adventure  in  the  territory  of  Alaska,  and  in  other 

parts  of  the  North  Pacific. 
London,  Murray,  1868,  xviii,  331  pp.    Illus.    Plates,  Map,  Svo. 

Same,  New  York,  Harper,  1869,  353  pp.,  Svo. 
Whymper,   Frederick. 

Voyages  et  aventures  dans  la  Colombia  Anglaise,  I'ile  Van- 
couver et  I'Alaska,  1864-7.     Illus. 
Paris,  1S69,  Tour  dti  monde  1869,  semestre  2,  pp.  225-272. 
Wiley,  William  Halsted  and  Sara  King. 

The  Yosemite,  Alaska,  and  the  Yellowstone. 

London,  Office  of  "Engineering,"  1893,  xix,  230pp.     Illus. 

Portraits,  Plates,  Maps,  4to. 
Wilson,  V. 

Geological,  descriptive,  etc. 
Guide  to  the  Yukon  gold  fields. 

Seattle,  Calvert  Co.,  1895,  72  pp.     Plates,  Folded  Maps,  Svo. 
Woldt,  A. 
Capitain  Jacobsen's  Reise  an  der  Nordwestkuste  Amerikas, 

1881-3,  zum  Zwecke  ethnologischer  Sammlungen  und  Erk- 

undigungen  nebst  Beschreibung  personlicher  Erlebnisse  fur 

den   deutschen   Leserkreis   bearbeitet.      Mit   Karten    und 

Holzschnitten. 
Leipzig,  1864,  M.  Spohr,  viii,  431  pp.,  Svo. 
Woodman,  Abby  Johnson. 

Picturesque  Alaska.     A  journal  of  a  tour  from  San  Francisco 

to  Sitka. 
Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  1889,  212  pp.    Illus.,  Folded 

Map,  i6mo. 
Wrangel,  Ferdinand,  Baron  von.     1 794-1 870. 

1830-35.  Statische  und  ethnographische  Nachrichten  uber  die 

russischen  Besitzungen  an  der  Nordwestkuste  von  America. 

Gesammelt   von   Contre-Admiral    v.    Wrangel.       Mit   den 

Berechungen  aus  Wrangell's  Witterungsbeobachtungen  und 

andern  Zusatzen  verm,  von  K.  E.  v.  Baer. 
St.    Petersburg,     1839.,    K.    K.    Akad.    der   Wissenschaften, 

xxxvii,  332  pp.     Folded  sheet,  Svo. 
Wright,  Julia  McNair. 
Among  the  Alaskans. 
Philadelphia,  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  (Cop.  1883), 

351  pp.     Illus.,  Maps,  i6mo. 


GLOSSARY. 


439 


Glossary  of  the  Principal  Alaskan  and  British 
Columbian   Names. 


Addenbrook — Addenbrooke. 
Al  aska — Ali  aska . 
Attu— Attoo. 

B 
Betton — Beaton . 
Blashke— Bloshke. 
Buccleugh— Bucclugh. 


Chasina — Chasen— Tchaseni. 
Cheslakee — Oheslakee. 
Chichagoff— Tchitchagoff. 
Chim-sy-an — Chimsain' — Tsimpse- 

an'. 
Chirikoff— Tschirikow — Chichagov. 
Connis— Conis. 
Cummashawaa — Cumshewa. 


Dushnaia— Doushnai. 

E 
Edgecumbe — Edgecombe. 

G 

Gil— Gill. 

H 
Hanna — Hannah. 
Hiehisk— Hiekish. 

K 

Kaigani — Kygane— Kaigani — 

Caiganee. 
Kasa-an — Kazarn — Casaan— Karta. 
Keku— Kehou— Kiku — Kake. 
Kingsmill — Kingenill. 
Klondike — Klondyke — Clondike— 

Clondyke. 
Kodiak — Kadiak . 
Kulichkoff— Koulitchkow. 
Kwathiaski — Quathiaski — Quathia- 

sky. 

L 

Lazarus— Lazaria. 
Lemesurier — Mesurier. 

M 

Maskelyne — Maskeyleue. 
Maud — Maude. 

Metlahkatla— Metla-Katla— Metlah- 
Catlah— Metlakathla. 


Minook— Minute — Munook. 
Muzon — Munoz. 

N 

Naas — Nass— Nasse. 

Naden — Nadon. 

Nahwitti— Nahwhitti. 

Napean — Nepean — Nepen — Nepkan. 

Na.soka — Nasoga. 


Onslow — Onelow. 


Peschanaia— Pestchanay. 


Shakhine — Sachine — Schakhin. 

Stikine— Stachinski— Stakeen  — 
Stahkin— Stickeen — Stachin— 
Stahkhin — Stahkheen — Frances. 

Shushartie— Shucartie. 

Skaguay — Skagua. 

Skitkits— Skidegate. 


Tahco— Taku. 

Taiya— Dyea — Dayay. 

Tikhaia— Tichai. 

Tlekhonsite — Tlechopcity— Tayak- 
honsite. 

Tlevak— Tlevack. 

T'lingit— Dlingit— Klinkit. 

Tongass  -Tongas— Yongas — Tom- 
gas. 

u 

Unalashka— Oonilaska. 
Unimak — Oonimak. 


Valdes — Valdez. 

W 

Wilfred— Wilford. 
Woe  wodski — Voevodskago . 
Woronkoffski — Voronkowsky. 
Wrangel — Wrangell . 
Wyanda — Wayanda  . 


Yakulta— Yaculta. 

Yucon — Yukon — Kwichpak. 


NDEX. 


A  PAGE 

Admiralty  Island „ 87 

Alaska  Fur  Trading  Company...    39 

Alaska,  or  Alakshan 73 

Alaskan  Archipelago 135 

Alaskan  Society  of  Natural  His- 
tory and  Ethnology 114 

Alaska  Commercial  Company...  208 

Alert  Bay 69 

Aleutian  Islands 207 

Aleuts 251 

Alexander  Archipelago 76 

Alpine  Scenery 106 

Annette  Island 149 

Arbitration 156 

Arctic  Strangers 104 

Arthur  Passage 72 

Astor,  John  Jacob 63 

Astoria 62 

Attoo,  or  Attu,  Island  and  City...  133 
Austin,  Rev.  A.  E 113 

B 

Baker's  Peak 65 

Baranoff  Castle 109 

Baranoff,  Count no 

Baranoff  Island,  Sitka 113 

Baron  Wrangel 80 

Bar  Diggings 258 

Bear's  Nest  Mine 49 

Bella  Bella 71 

Bering  Sea  Controversy 153 

Bering  Sea  Patrol 55 

Bering  Strait 54 

Bering,  Vitus  or  Veit 51 

Bibliography 420 

Blue  Fox 134 

Bogaslov  Mountain 136 

Broughton  Strait 69 

Burros  for  Alaska 40 

440 


C  PAGE 

Campbell's  Island 71 

Canadian  t,egisIation 255 

Canneries 143 

Cape  Commerell 70 

Cape  Mudge 67 

Chancellor  Channel 68 

Chatham  Strait 107 

Chilkat  Bay 95 

Chilkat  Blankets 97 

Chilkat  Inlet  and  Pass 82,  95 

Chilkats 97 

Chilkat  Village 97 

Chilkoot  Inlet  and  Pass 96 

China 198 

Chinsay 72 

Circle  City 209 

Claims 256 

Climate 236 

Clarence  Strait 79 

Clondike.or  Klondyke 33 

Cod  and  Other  Fish 143 

Colonize  Alaska 187 

Columbia  River 62,  64 

Commerce 65,  169 

Commercial 149,  208 

Cook's  Inlet 139 

Copper  Island 54 

Copper  River 161 

Count  Baranoff. no 

Creoles 114 

Crystal  Citadel,  Muir  Glacier 100 

Cudahy,  Fort 209 

D 

DavFson  City  .. 371 

Daylight  in  Alaska 21 

Deltas  of  the  Yukon 140 

Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Railroad..    38 


INDEX. 


441 


PAGE 

Depletion  of  Seal  Herds 200 

Discovery  of  Alaska 52 

Discovery  of  Aleutian  Islands...     52 
Discovery  of  Pribylov  Islands...    53 

Discovery  Passage 67 

Dixon  Entrance 73 

Dogs  in  Alaska 366 

Douglas  Island , 91 

Duane,    Russell,    International 

Legal  Authority 224 

Dry  Strait 84 

Dyea^Dyay — Taiya 96 


Eagle  Glacier 96 

Edgecombe 109 

Elliot  Bay 65 

England 56 

Esquimault 66 

Extent  of  Alaska 27 


Finlayson  Channel 72 

Fishes  of  Alaska 143 

Fitzhugh  Sound 70 

Fort  Adams 341 

Fortify  Alaska 55 

Fort  Get  Theie 374 

Fort  Norman 213 

Fort  Rupert 70 

Fort  Tongas 74 

Fort  Wrangel 80 

Forty  Mile  Creek 345 

Forty  Mile  Settlement 346 

Frazer's  Reach 72 

Frederick  Sound 86 

From  Eastern  States  to  Alaska..    59 
Fur  Trading  Companies 39 


Galetas  Channel 70 

Gastineau  Channel 88 

Gate  City  of  Puget  Sound 66 

Glacier  Bay 100 

Glaciers 85,  96 


PAGE 

Glossary 439 

Gold  Creek,  Alaska 91 

Gold  in  Alaska 356 

Goreloi,  Island  and  Volcano 136 

Graham  Reach 72 

Grave  Point, 87 

Gravina 78 

Greek  Churches 243 

Greek  Church,  Sitka 113 

Greenville  Channel 72 

Grottos,  Muir  Glacier 100 

H 

Halibut 143 

Harbor  at  Sitka 120 

Harbor,  Dutch 207 

Hardwick  Island 68 

Hauling  Grounds  of  the  Seals...  124 

Holdsworth  Peak 69 

Hootalinqua,      or     Hutalingka 

River 218 

Hudson  Baj-  Company 70 

Human  Pack  Carriers 40 

Humidity  of  Coast 237 

Icebergs 63 

Icy  Bay 21 

Icy  Strait 99 

Immigration  to  Alaska 116 

Indian  River 115 

Inland  Passage 67 

Inland  Routes 68 

International  Law 224 

Interstate  Commerce 181 

Islands— Aleutian 133 

AlexanderArchipelago,    76 

Annette 149 

Baranoff. 113 

Goreloi 136 

Kadiak.or  Kodiak..i2o,  138 
Oonalaska,orUnalaska,  119 
Oonimak,  or  Unimak...  120 

Oomnak,  or  Umnak 136 

Otter 122 

Prince  ofWales 68 


442 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Islands — Princess  Royal 72 

Revilla  Gegido 78 

St.  George 122 

St.  Paul's 122 

Walrus 122 

Wrangel So 

J 

Jackson,  Rev.  Sheldon 242 

Jackson  Mission  Station 243 

Japan  159 

Japan  Current 36 

John  Jacob  Astor 63 

Johnston  Strait 68 

Juan  de  Fuca  Strait 66 

Judicious  Management 160 

Juneau go 

Justice  for  Alaska 153 

K 

Kadiak,  or  Kodiak 137 

Kiack,  or  Kyack,  or  Canoe 33 

Killing  Grounds 128 

Killing  Seals 129 

Killisnovo 243 

Klondyke,   Klondike  or  Clon- 

dike 33 

Kuro  Siwo — Japan  Current 36 

L 

Lama  Passage 71 

Lapps 33 

Laws  for  Alaska 260 

Legality  of  United  States  Claim,  156 

Legislation,  Canadian 255 

Legislation  Concerning  Alaska..  182 

Lewis  River 211 

Lorena  Mine 92 

Lynn  Canal 94 

M 

Marshall  Pass  Railroad 38 

Mensies  Bay 67 

Metlakahtla,  Old  and  New 146 

McKay  Reach 72 

Milbank  Sound 71 

Military  Posts 160 


PAOE 

Military  Rule 331 

Miscellaneous 328 

Missions 242 

Modus  Vivendi ig6 

Moraines 102 

Mountains— Bogaslov 136 

Buxton 70 

Edgecombe 109 

Fairweather 359 

Holdsworth  Peak....    69 

Lemon 70 

Palmerston 63 

Rainear,  or  Tacoma  362 

Shisaldin 136 

St.  Elias 353 

Tacoma,  or  Rainear    62 

Vostovia 117 

Wrangel 83 

Mountain  Ranges— Coast 345 

Rocky 345 

St.  Flias 261 

N 

Nanaimo 365 

Norton  Sound 207 

o 

Ogilvie,  W.  Canadian  Surveyor..  255 

Oomnak,  or  Umnak 136 

Oonalaska,  or  Unalaska 136 

Oonimak,  or  Unimak 120 

Otter  Island 123 

P 

Pacific  Ocean 119 

Patrol  of  Bering  Sea 55 

Patterson  Glacier 85 

Pelagic  Sealing 195 

Peril  Strait 107 

Petroleum 181 

Poaching  on  Seal  Reservations...  195 

Port  Clarence 339 

Portland,  Oregon 179 

Port  Townsend 364 

Pribylov  Islands 53 


INDEX. 


443 


PAGE 

Princess  Royal  Island 92 

Prince  of  Wales  Island 97 

Prince  ofWales  Range 68 

Professor  Elliot  on  Seal  Poach- 
ing   154 

Puget  Sound 206 

Purchase  of  Alaska 260 

Q 

Queen  Charlotte  Island 69 

Queen  Charlotte  Sound 69 

R 

Railroads  for  Alaska 38 

Reindeer 336 

Religion  in  Alaska 245 

Retaliation 155 

Revenue  from  Seals,  Fisheries, 

Mining,  Furs 176 

Revilla  Gegido 78 

Routes 30 

Russian  Sway 53 

Russo-Greek  Churches 242 

s 

Salmon 344 

Salmon  Canneries 30 

Salmon  Fisheries 1S9 

San  Francisco  Route 206 

Sayward  Case,  Russell  Duane....  228 

Schools 253 

Seaforth  Channel 71 

Seal  Fisheries 124 

Seal  Islands 122 

Seal  Rookeries 127 

Seattle 66 

Seymour  Narrows 67 

Shelikov,  Missionary  of  Greek 

Church 138 

Sheakley,  Governor,  of  Alaska..  176 

Siberia 260 

Siberian  Railway 163 

Sitka 113 

Sitka  Harbor 120 

Sitka  Sound 108 

Siwash Si 


PAGE 

Skaguay,  or  White  Pass 220 

Stevens  Passage 86 

Stewart  River 211 

Stikine  River 80 

Stikine  Strait 80 

Stockade  Point 87 

Stockade,  Ft.  Wrangel 82 

Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca 66 

Stripe  Mountain 71 

St.  George  Island 123 

St.  Michael's 207 

St.  Paul's  Island 126 

St.  Peter — Vessel 51 

St.  Paul— Vessel 51 

Swineford,  Governor,  of  Alaska.  192 

T 

Tacoma,  City  and  Mountain .65 

Taku  Inlet 32 

Taku  Pass  and  Route 222 

Taxada  Island 402 

Telegraph  for  Alaska 38 

Teller  Station,  Reindeer 339 

Temperature  of  Alaska 329 

Teslin  Lake  Route 221 

The  Story  of  Alaska 54 

Thurlow  Island 68 

Timber  in  Alaska 137 

Timber  Line  of  Alaska 137 

T'linkits 83 

Totem  Poles 74 

Treadwell  Gold  Mine 363 

Treadwell  Stamp  Mills 41,  92 

Treaty  of  Cession 53 

Triple  Alliance 159 

u 

Unalaska,  or  Oonalaska 207 

Unimak,  or  Oonamak 120 

Umnak,  or  Oomnak 136 

Upper  Yukon  River 160 

V 

Vancouver  Island 66 

Vegetation  in  Alaska 352 

Vegetable  Growth 353 


444 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Veniaminoff,  Innocentius — Mis- 

sicmary 242 

Victoria  City,  of  Vancouver 66 

Volcanic  Islands 136 

Volcanos 136 

Vostovia  Mountain 117 

Voyage  of  Discovery 51 


W 

Walsh,    Major,   Commander    of 
Mounted  Police  at  Klondyke..  255 

Walrus 122 

Water  Fowls 142 

Waterways 211 

Western  Coast 36 

White,  or  Skaguay  Pass 220 


PAGE 

Wrangel,  Baron 80 

Wrangel,  Fort 80 

Wrangel  Narrows 85 

Wrangel  Strait 84 

Wright's  Sound 72 

Y 

Yukatat., 243 

Yukon  District 256 

Yukon  Fort 208 

Yukon  Glaciers 100 

Yukon  Gold  Fields 50 

Yukon  Region 206 

Yukon  River 140 

Yukon  Settlements 141 

Yukon  Tributaries 209 

Yukon  Valleys 144 


Alaskan  a — Alaska's   Legends 

OR 

Alaska  in  Descriptive  and 
Legendary  Poems  .*.  .*.  .*. 

BY 

BUSHROD  WASHINGTON  JAMES,  A.  M.,  M.  D. 


CONTAINS  the  Legends  of  Alaska  in  pleasing  and  enter- 
taining Finnish  verse,  which  lends  itself  to  the  task 
most  agreeably.  The  descriptive  portion  of  the  work  has  not 
only  beauty  but  authenticity  to  recommend  it  to  the  reader. 

Much  commendation  has  been  given  to  this  beautiful  work 
by  men  of  letters  as  well  as  by  the  universal  public  press.  It 
is  now  in  its  third  edition,  each  issue  having  been  augmented 
by  the  addition  of  later  legends.  The  word  painting  of  the 
work  is  assisted  by  exquisite  half-tone  engravings  taken  from 
photographs  of  places  and  people.  In  typography  and  bind- 
ing the  publishers  have  left  nothing  to  be  desired  in  this  very 
elegant  work. 

Published  by  PORTER  &  COATES, 

Now  HENRY  T.  COATES  &  CO.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Price,  $2.00.     Gilt  binding. 


American  Resorts  and 
Climates 

BY 

BUSHROD  WASHINGTON  JAMES,  A.  M.,  M.  D. 


IN  THIS  work  the  author  has  classified  and  noted  the 
merits  of  the  numerous  Health  Resorts  of  America.  It  is 
undergoing  careful  revision,  and  later  places  of  interest  are 
to  be  added,  bringing  it  up  to  date  and  making  a  reliable 
text-book  and  also  one  valuable  for  both  invalids  and  pleasure 
seekers.  In  this  work  the  writer  shows  the  relative  values  of 
foreign  and  native  climates,  telling  his  conclusions  in  clear, 
moderate  diction,  giving  desired  information  untrammelled  by 
professional  verbosity.  A  perusal  will  show  that  the  object  of 
the  book  is  to  give  authentic  and  useful  information  to  those 
needing  to  be  guided  in  the  selection  of  a  climate  suitable  for 
constitutional  characteristics  as  well  as  for  impaired  health. 
The  author  enjoys  a  national  reputation  for  opinions  upon  cli- 
mates for  invalids,  he  having  traveled  extensively  and  made 
many  personal  observations. 

F.  A.  DAVIS  &  CO.,  Publishers, 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

1889. 

First  Edition.     Net  price,  $1.00.     Cloth. 


Dawn  of  a  New  Era  in 
America 

BY 

BUSHROD  WASHINGTON  JAMES,  A.  M.,  M.  D. 


WAS  WRITTEN  during  the  gloom  and  depression  of 
those  days,  not  long  past,  when  financial  depression 
tended  to  panic  in  business  circles  and  consequent  distress 
among  the  classes  who  depend  upon  manufacture  or  com- 
merce for  their  maintenance.  When  Congress  sat  for  long, 
wearisome  weeks  considering  means  by  which  to  relieve  the 
country  of  its  weight  of  anxiety  and  to  secure  revenue  sufficient 
to  start  the  wheel  of  progress  toward  the  betterment  of  govern- 
ment and  people,  these  thoughts  were  penned. 

The  author's  thoughtful  mind  giasped  the  situation,  and 
the  result  was  this  work  which  contains  advanced  views  upon 
political,  educational,  and  general  questions  of  the  day,  ex- 
pressed in  language  concise,  but  withal  in  such  pleasantly 
readable  form  as  to  make  the  book  an  interesting  and  useful 
production. 

1894. 

Published  by  PORTER  &  COATES, 

Now  Henry  T.  Coates  &  Co.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Net  price,  50  cents. 


Echoes  of  Battle 


BUSHROD  WASHINGTON  JAMES,  A.  M.,  M.  D., 


THIS  IS  a  finely  illustrated  book  containing  several  poems  descrip- 
tive of  battles  of  the  Revolution,  of  the  late  Civil  War,  and 
of  other  events  of-  similar  import.  It  contains  also  much  prose  matter 
vividly  illustrative  of  the  War  for  Independence ;  and  particularly 
thrilling  are  the  vivid  picturings  of  a  young  surgeon's  experience  on 
the  Battlefields  of  Antietam  and  Gettysburg,  after  the  toils  of  war  had 
given  place  to  the  anxious  duty  of  relieving  the  sufferings  of  wounded 
and  dying  men,  who,  foes  and  brothers,  lay  side  by  side  in  helpless 
confusion.  The  illustrations  of  this  book  are  not  only  beautiful  but 
valuable  as  faithful  representations  of  the  localities  in  which  the  most 
momentous  battles  of  either  Revolution  or  Rebellion  were  fought.  In 
binding  also  this  work  is  exceedingly  attractive. 

The  esteem  in  which  this  work  is  held  is  evidenced  in  the  criticisms 
of  the  press,  a  few  clippings  of  which  will  show  their  general  tenor. 

"  The  author's  work  is  all  spirited,  and  shows  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  loftiest 
thought  inspired  by  these  events.  It  is  a  book  to  kindle  anew  the  spirit  of  the 
^3L3t."— Christian  Standard,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

"  An  attractive  and  instructive  book." — News  and  Courier,  Charleston,  S.  C. 

"  The  poems  are  vigorous  and  stirring." — Boston  Literary  World. 

"  It  should  find  its  way  into  every  patriotic  home." — Maine  Bugle. 

"The  lesson  of  patriotism  cannot  fail  to  be  eSscl\ye."—lVoman's  Tribune, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

"In  reading  these  poems  one  is  reminded  of  '  Horatius  at  the  Bridge,'  or  the 
Battle  '  Shout  of  Ivey.'  " — Home  Journal,  Ne7v  York. 


Published  by  PORTER  &  COATES, 

Now  Henry  T.  Coates  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Price  in  gilt,  $2.00. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

University  of  California 
--,  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

\  ^  305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •  Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library  from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


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