00

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
DISCOVERY AND
SETTLEMENT OF
WESTERN
NORTH AMERICA
^^
COLLECTION OF
WILLIAM
ROBERTSON COE

i  mm

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 of
Pennsylvania; American Academy of Political and Social Science;
American Association for the Advancement of Science; Amer
ican Public Health Association ; Academy of the Natu
ral Sciences, Philadelphia; The Franklin Insti
tute; Historical and Ethnological
Society, Sitka, Alaska,
Etc.

*

PHILADELPHIA
THE SUNSHINE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1897

Copyrighted, 1897,
By Bushrod Washington James.

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

All Rights Reserved.
^35

Map No. i.

Map No. I— Territory ^

yithin 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
within 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 in 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 toi 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
onying 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 public 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-
Hi r-.+Jfi<<otion of the Boundary Lines, as stated in
the j of Cession executed by the Russian Gov-
er. .xneut, likewise - 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 Beliring) Sea and Strait and Norton Sound the

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» Yukon 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,
1897, 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 lines of Alaskan travel, which vyould 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.
Icy 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 Mill, 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 Bearing) Sea.
" 3- Upper Yukon River, the Klondyke and the Stewart
Rivers, Northwestern British Columbia 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 South
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.
" 11. 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 — The Upper Yukon, the Klondike and other Gold Field* I

ields between the Gulf of Alaska and Northwestern 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 Illustrations  .... 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 III.
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 Teslin, 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
Human Pack Carriers — Superintendent of Education —
Dr. Sheldon Jackson— Reindeer — Burros for Alaska —
Temperature of Alaska  38
CHAPTER V.
GOLD MINING IN ALASKA.
Gold Discovered by the Russians — Forbidden to Make the
Discovery Public, under Penalty of severe Punishment
by Count Baranoff — Mines about Juneau Discovered in
1880 — Gold Found on Douglas Island — The Mining
Camp "Shuck" Abandoned  43
9

10 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 TRD? FROM FORT WRANGEL TO JUNEAU.
Wrangel Straits — Dry Strait — Patterson Glacier — Frederick
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 —
Lorena Mine  .  90
CHAPTER XIII.
LYNN CANAL AND CHILKOOT BAY.
American Alpine Scenery— Chilkoot Bay — Eagle Glacier —
Dyea or Tayia — Chilkat  94

CONTENTS. 1 1
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 ISLANDS 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
Scenery — 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 Environs — 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 .  ] 26

12 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIX. page.
THE REAL FAR WEST — THE ALEUTIAN CHAIN
OF ISLANDS.
Tempestuous Sea — Cloud-dimmed Islands — Attoo, Attu — 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, NEARLY
THREE THOUSAND MILES LONG.
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 METLAKAHTLA MISSION AND SETTLEMENT 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 Seals — Professor Elliott's As
sertion — London Companies the Losers — 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 Strong in Youth 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 Should 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

H CONTENTS.
PAGE.
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 Extant 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 Asserting Itself— Governor Sheakley '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 Territory — 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 . 184

CONTENTS. 15
CHAPTER XXVIII. PAGE.
THE RESOURCES OF ALASKA.
In Spite of Procrastination Alaska is Pushing to the Front
— Prediction of a Rush to the Territory Comes True
After Several 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 SEALS — 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 Always 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 CONTENTS. §m
CHAPTER XXXI. page.
RECENT ROUTES TO THE GOLD 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
ALASKAN 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— Alaskans When 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 Best of 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY 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 XLL
POINTS OF INTEREST.
From Puget Sound to Chilkoot Pass and Sitka ... . 402
CHAPTER XLII.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALASKA.
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

20 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 the 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 «sit. 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

A LA SKA ' S A TTRA CTIONS. 2 1
stronger excursionists, roam over the vast moraines
and among the glittering 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 sufficient 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 A TTRA CTIONS. 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 the Klondyke 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.

Mountain and Channel.

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 country, 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 ready 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 may 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 ALASKA.
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 off 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 offered 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
3°

HOW TO REACH ALASKA. 31
expense oi 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 only 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 Interior. — Chief's House.

HOW 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-

HO W TO REA CH 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 wm lan<3 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 $75°
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 inSouth-EasternAlaska,
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
Kuro SiwO', which sweeps northward like the Gulf
Stream of the East, washing the 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 becomes 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 cry from Alaska for the
L 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
3«

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 road's 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 binge 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 fori 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 who 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 belowi 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 Baranoff, 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 indifference. 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, named 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 when
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.

Life in a Mining Camp.

GOLD MINING IN ALASKA. 49
In direct contrast to the Treadwell success is the
Bear's Nest failure, 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 mining 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 hand's of the few,
4

So ALASKA.
who chose to remain. There is gold there still, but
the boom of another region makes the place dull al
most to lifelessness. 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 \#ill 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 accomplished 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 island's, was cast out to sea
again, landing at last, after days of frightful storm
and privation on one of the Kommander Islands, a
5i

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 74 1 the inland sea that separates the Old
World from the New, and some of its now
important islands. It was named the Sea of
Kamtchatka, 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 ALASKA.
degrees thirty minutes north latitude, 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 STORY 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. We 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 interfering 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 waters 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 invaders?
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, Washington, 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

60 ALASKA.
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 barns 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. 61
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 flash 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 thousand's 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, what 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 Aster'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

An Alaskan Bay.

OUR NORTHWESTERN FRONTIER. 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 around 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-orowned shores,, which 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 flat 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 of Wales range
and the Albert 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
where 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, charmed
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
hundred's 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 every 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 wolf 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 joyousness. 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 which
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 other, 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 clump 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,
or, 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 teeth 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 official 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 where 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.
White, 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

80 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 beneath.
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 cliffs and
sharply defined crags surround the place and multiply

Totem Poles, Fort Wrangel.

VO YA GING ON THE L O VEL Y WA TERS. 8 1
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 effort 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 are 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, overtopped 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 human 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 sacri
fice of beauty and finish.
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 off 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 cozy
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. We 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 they hold for sale.

CHAPTER XI.
A Trip From Fort Wrangel to Juneau.
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 JUNEAU 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 the 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 fine 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, which 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 life.
The small evergreens look darker and more solemn

88 ALASKA.
than their companions of the neighboring slopes, be
cause of their nearness to the odd grave-boxes that
are standing here and there on their stilt-like 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
murmur in the solemn stillness, sound as mournful as
any dirge that ever sighed its minor 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 JUNEAL. 89
the moss-covered rocks. Turn which way you will, in
the evening light, 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 XII.
Among the Gold Mines— Juneau and Douglas Islands.
WE 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 which 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 off 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 poweri as it employs cannot exhaust the supply
of gold in a lifetime or even in a century. Doubting

92 ALASKA.
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
the 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 the 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 rushing 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 the 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 Canal and Chilkoot Bay.
LEAVING Gastineau Channel, and taking a last
longing look at Taku Inlet, we 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 what 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 waterfalls, keeping company
with one of great power and beauty, welcome us to the
country of the T'linkets. The shores are sharp,
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-
yellow 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 wondrously 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 the 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 offer 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 briglhtness 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 Muir 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 polished 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 _.j

ioo ALASKA.
of blue imaginable, from palest pearl 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. 101
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-

102 ALASKA.
day sun, carrying with them 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 of 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

:^;^tS>:il#^-^

A View on Glacier Bay.

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

104 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 males in extent, is surely, positively corning 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 Muir 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
1 06

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 enough 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 tin-

108 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 who 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,

1 10 ALASKA.
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 observations 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 Baranoff,
whose (ha.ll 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
thousand's 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 the business people are improving its
condition. The training school for native Alaskans is a model
of industry, 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 inhabitants. 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 immense gold mines
and other resources, so that one day Sitka, her capi
tal, may become a great metropolis.

Sitka — Greek Church in Centre.

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
when 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 familiar, bright and active and
cheerful, making us have a warm friendship, or a sort
8 113

114 ALASKA.
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 own people; a great number 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 their 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 sufficient 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 to1 gold mines and
many points of interest. Take advantage of the 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, Which 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

n6 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 different 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 heavenly 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 daylighj: 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-

n8 ALASKA.
ful harbor; trusting that the tardy Congress 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
islarjds 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 swarming 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, the
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

120 ALASKA.
for their beloved calling? All necessary equipments
are provided and the 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 firnn 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 the 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 off 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 roar
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 outstretdhed 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
whidh 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 ALASKA.
eat of the dainty morsels, as though they would fain
take sufficient 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 must 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 the 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 the 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 fight, tooth and nail, to hold it.

BERING SEA TO THE SEAL ISLANDS. 125
See him 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 Seals of Pribylov Islands, Bering 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 from 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 flounder
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,
whose coats assume the proper shade for age, a sort
of grizzly gray. The 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 their little 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. In
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 areatures 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 appearance1 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

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

THE FUR SEALS OF 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 seem1 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-
nceuvring, get them into something like marching
order, when with numerous assistants, each armed
with a club, they are slowly diiven 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

130 ALASKA.
of fashionable ladies who are inclined to boast of their
beautiful sacks and muffs as "pure London dyed."
The 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 livelihood1 by the seal catdbing 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 approadb 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 are 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 Attu, 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 wealth depended,
has gradually reduced the people to poverty, and
yet they seem light-hearted, having sufficient food
supplied to them by nature and being quite contented 133

134 ALASKA.
with the primitive homes and styles of dress peculiar
to their forefathers. And, in contrast to the more
civilized 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 the 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 inlhabited 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 only 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 daylight 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.
Off 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 mercy, 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 Aleutian Is
land's, 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 sharply 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 mighty Yukon River.

CHAPTER XX.
Yukon River, the Mighty Stream Nearly 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 very waters travel. Think of the stories
of hardships that they could 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 necessary 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, 'away fromthe 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 hos
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 with an air 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 furs 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 and remarkably well preserved.
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 many 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, by 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 the 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.

-j.w;»  !-; —  pi  r"

Group of Native Alaskan Women.

THE YUKON 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 mission 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 under 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,

15° ALASKA.
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 officials 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. 1 5 1
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 holiday.
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.
straining eyes. Landing at Esquimault, the rendez
vous of the English Pacific squadron, a carriage drive
brings us to this enterprising and flourishing city,
truly English in its construction, its business methods
and customs. To us now the shores of our great. Re
public 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, has
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 sudh 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
iS3

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 London 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 London 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

156 ALASKA.
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
tion, 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 BERLNG 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-
— halance 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 BERLNG 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 should 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
160

Wrangel Narrows.

OUR ALASKAN INTERESTS. 161
fortifications with the boundary line 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-

1 62 ALASKA.
glish mind. Not to minds of either Russia or America,
however. Acknowledging the idea as plausible that
her demands 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 with 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 cat) object to the United States
building and garrisoning forts, thus giving an
equal protection to her citizens and property.
For 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.

1 64 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 which 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

166 ALASKA.
would have been received with wild exultation, and that
miners would have flocked to its promising 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 andl 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 understanding 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, who 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-

168 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 Greek 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 touch 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 when the length
of time, the lack of money and the isolation from the
proper protection is considered. And the time has
already come when natives and half-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, Which, 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

170 ALASKA.
across to claim an iota." We should provide dwell
ing places for men and families, until they can provide
them for themselves. There sihould be laid out town
sites, however small. Forts should be erected, and
manned with efficient and entirely trustworthy 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 suclh, 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 with Russia, China and Japan without the
intervention 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 eitlier 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 by a coming storm, so, for
J~\ months, have the great Powers of the earth been
fermented with threatening war clouds, but in
our opinion, the universality 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 through 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 community, 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 ALASKA.
eration. Every claim should be weighed in a rigid
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 wealth 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.

CURB THE WAR SPIRIT. 175
We believe, while human nature retains its emi
nence over the earth and sea, that there will 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.
Our Great Northwestern Territory and its
Natural Resources.
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 1 896 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 United States did not take it by force, but
176

Section of Muir Glacier.

O UR GREA T NOR THWESTERN TERRITOR Y. 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.
fering which no other country would ever have per
mitted; we have seen our Government pay millions 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 by 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-bound 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 suffi
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 Railway 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 GREAT NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 179
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, toe,
would the material for houses, and for schools and
dhurches, follow the trend of advancing industry!
No community need freeze when houses can be sent

180 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

0 UR GREA TNOR THWESTERN TERRITOR K i 8 i
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

182 ALASKA.
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.

0 UR GREA T NOR THWESTERN TERRITOR 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 upon 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

1 86 ALASKA.
if its plans are not soon matured for the 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
munication can and will be made between Russia and
America by building seaport towns at convenient
points on either coast, and establishing 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. Why 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,

188 ALASKA.
and the development of Alaska will be another phe
nomenal demonstration of American pluck and enter
prise, because that which the Government 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

190 ALASKA.
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, Which 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 darkness
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

Sitka, Alaska, and Mount Edgecumbe.

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 which
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 country, backed by
the coal, iron and large manufacturing interests of the
city and the state. v
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-bound 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 fjord's, whose majes
tic beauty or peaceful loveliness are unrivalled by any
scenery in the whole bright world.
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 buffalo 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-
i95

196 ALASKA.
tries of the North-West, that 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 lint
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- Western
possessions. NUMBER OF SEALS TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
UNITED STATES AND THE PELAGIC SEALERS.

TAKEN ON

THE

PRIBILOFF ISLANDS

PELAGIC CATCH

1890

21,234

51,655

1891

12,071

68,000

1892

7,500

73,394

1893

7,5°0

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 Fur Seal Protection.
WHIEE 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,
ffip 2°°

ALASKA FUR SEAL PROTECTION. 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 thousand's 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
lish 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 he
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 study of the topography of the
country each side of the boundary line 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 vegetable 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

208 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, established 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 peroetual day-

Placer Mining.

RECENT ROUTES TO GOLD FIELDS. 209
light during the first summer months. 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 and
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-office at Circle
City, to which point letters are taken from Juneau
every two weeks and return 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
off 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 Hootalinqua, 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 Tanana 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 Pelly 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$28o 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

216 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

21 8 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 must 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 run 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 ifh-
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 might
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.

222 ALASKA.
Still another proposed route, and one destined to be
quite 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 by 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.

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 decisonmust 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, "It 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 question,
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 Fundy 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 hold's the lead as a fashion
able article of commerce, could have been the true and
only cause for such a grandly 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

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 right 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 by 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 different
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 multiplied 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 which 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-

INTERNATIONAL LAW 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 ALASKA.
rogatives as compared with those of her opponent in
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
she 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 for 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-

234 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,
whereby 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 agricultural, atmospheric, cli
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 01 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 sufficient 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 climb 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, within 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-

Alaskan Hunting Implements and Other Curios.

THE CLIMATE OF ALASKA. 241
tain background greatly protects it from extremes.
Inland, where the region of winter extends through
more than half the year, there are no less desirable
locations for, a grand city, or cities. The land upon
which St. Petersburg is situated in frosty Russia, and
the trades upon which the natives of Russia and Si
beria flourish would be equally 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 endurance, 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. Suffice 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 establish
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 returned with a carefully 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
times 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.
Episcopalians.
Point Hope. — J. 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 Island.— Rev. A. J. Campbell.
Sitka. — Bishop Peter Trimble Rowe.
Congregational.
Cape Prince of Wales. — Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Lopp, Rev. and
Mrs. Thomas Hanna. Swedish Evangelical.
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.
Yakutat. — 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. F. Monroe, S. J., and
Brother Giordano, S. J.
Shageluk. — Rev. William Judge, S. J.
Urhhamute, Kuskokwim 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).
Tulaksagamute. — 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).
Carmel. — Rev. and Mrs. John Schoechert, Rev. S. H. Rock,
Misses Mary and Emma Huber, Miss P. C. King.

MISSIONS. 247
Methodist Episcopal.
Unalaska. — Miss Agnes S. Sowles, Miss Sarah J. Rinch.
Friends.
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).
Hoonah. — 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.
Buxton. — 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
sufficiently 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 difficulties. 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 offered 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 different schools. They are not only ca
pable of building, but of protecting the precious

ED UCA 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 was 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 ALASKA.
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
an atmosphere far less pure than the snow-swept
mountain passes through which they come.

ED UCA TION IN ALASKA . 253
A single trait among the real natives, 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

254 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 XXXVI.
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 ALASKA.
diminished in price, as the commercial companies in
terested in the region have a large amount of all kinds
of needed supplies ready for shipment direct to the
towns and mines of the gold regions.
The latest summary of the Canadian, Yukon, and
Klondyke regions has been issued by the Toronto
Newspaper Union, in the August, 1897, number, of its
Illustrated Gazetteer as follows: —
"Miners must enter their claims. Entry can only
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 public auction or in such manner
as may be decided 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-Worked Chilkat Coat.

CANADIAN 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 of
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 Territories, established
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 hereby 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.

CANADIAN 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 otherwise 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 by the Congresses since 1867, 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 —
"1st. 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 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'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 southwesterly direction,

264 ALASKA.
so as to pass mid'way between the island of Attou
and the Copper Island of the Kormandorski 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, which 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 uncivilized 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, by any associated companies, whether
corporate or incorporate, Russian or any other, or by
any parties except merely private 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

ALASKAN LEGISLATION. 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 j

William H Seward,
Edouard DeStoeckl.

United States Statutes at large, page 539-543, vol
ume 15, 1869, by G. and P Sanger, by authority of
Congress. And whereas the said Treaty has been duly ratified
on both parts, 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 Extraordinary 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, 1 889-1 891, 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 corrected; 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 of 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. 11. 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 have been made the Secretary
of the Interior shall provide by 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 eighty-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
Lwenty-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 occupying 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 to1 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

Interior of Stamp Mill, Douglas Island.

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
United 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 United States which shall contain coal or the
precious metals, or any town site, or which shall be
occupied by the United 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

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 LEGISLA TION. 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 hundred 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 in
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 States
by the Emperor of Russia by treaty concluded at
Washington on the 30th day of March, 1867, so far as
the same may be applicable 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 LEGISLATION. 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-

280 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
27, 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 land's 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 LEGISLA TION. 28 1
Territory of Alaska, reserved for public purposes, shall
not be subject to occupation and sale.
And whereas, the public lands in the Territory of
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 preserved 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 Island's, 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
dary 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 toi 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 LEGISIA TION. 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, page 939 and 944.
For the expense 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 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 ALASKA.
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 official duties, one
thousand dollars.
Rent and Incidental Expenses, Office 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 LEGISLA TION. 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 LEGISLATION. 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 herein.
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 officers, 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 United 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 LEGISLA TLON. 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 LEGISLA TION. 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
the 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 offence, on conviction, be fined in any
sum not less than two hundred dollars nor moire 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 for
feited :
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 to the marshal of some one
of the 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 maimer and with the like
effect 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
abilities accruing in certain cases therein mentioned.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the Sec
retary of the Treasury may prescribe all needful rules
and regulations to carry into effect 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 ALASKA.
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 TION . 30 1
States and Her Majesty's possessions in North
America in respect to such portions of said boundary
line 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 Q. Gres-
ham, Secretary of State of the United States, and Her
Majesty the 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.
W. Q. Gresham,
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

| Seal j

ALASKAN LEGISLA TION. 303
caused the said Supplemental Convention to be made
public, 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 Q. 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 island's 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
duty 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
United 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 :

Gastineau Channel. — Near Juneau.

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

306 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
carry 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, d'uring 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 sufficient 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 affect 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.

308 ALASKA.
Article IX.
The concurrent regulations hereby determined 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 five years to a new examination, so as to en
able both interested Governments 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)
around 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 inclusive, 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 person
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.

310 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 official 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 TION. 3 1 1
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. 11. That it shall be the duty of the President
to cause a sufficient 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, offending against the prohibitions of this Act,
or the regulations thereunder, 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 affixed.
Done at the City of Washington this 9th day of
April in the year of our Lord one
_^_ thousand eight hundred and nine-
| Seal I ty-four, and of the Independence
<~~' of the United States the one hun
dred and eighteenth. Grover Cleveland.
By the President,
W. Q. 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 LEGISLA 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 offense
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 hlis proclamation
and cause the same to be published for one month

316 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

318 ALASKA.
Vol. 16. 1869—1871. rage
Alaska, Act to prevent the extermination of fur-bearing
animals in  .... 180, 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 LEGISLA TION. 3 1 9
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 1, 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 officer
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 . 1100
Seal Islands, etc., reserved ; salmon fishing regulations, 1 100
Reservation of Annette Islands for certain Indians (Met
lakahtla) ... . . . .  1101
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 survey, 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, 384
Deficiencies in ... .  8, 385

In Front of Muir Glacier, Alaska.

ALASKAN LEGISLA TION. 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.
Laws of United States extended over . . . 1954
Provisions common to all territories (See Terri
tories) .... . 1839, 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

322 ALASKA.
Page
District attorney  24
Marshal, deputy marshals ... • • 24
Commissioners  • 24
Sitka made the seat of goverment, 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
Salaries, government in .
Contingent expenses
Traveling expenses . . .
Rent, etc., marshal's office
Expenses ; judge, marshal and attorney
Support, etc., of Indian pupils - .
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

243,

529

191:

614

191.

614

252

252

54o

45

1 465

ALASKAN LEGISLA TION. 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 Mary 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 . 1 100
Payment for land purchased . . . . 1100
Surveys . . 11 00
Approval of surveys ; charges; patents . . 1100
Lands reserved from sale . . 1 100
Rights of natives, etc.; fish culture, etc.; reserves 1100
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 . 3^5> 5°°
Protection of salmon fisheries • 3^6
Education 3°6> 59°
Food, etc., natives of . 372, 596
Seal islands 59°
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. 441
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 .... . . ¦ • 9°4
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 killing
fur-bearing animals in, etc. . . 878
Reserving lands to Greco-Russia Church  883

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Miscellaneous.
THE preceding chapters may have a rather de
sultory 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 affairs 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 way to our
New Province. Certainly the temperature lowers as
328

Main Street, Sitka.

MISCELLANEOUS. 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
liness 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

33° 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

MISCELLANEOUS. 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 affair 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 officials,
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 Alaskan 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 are 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, tbey 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

MISCELLANEO US.

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 very 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,

Juneau, 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 100
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 marshy hollows. The Lapps 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

MISCELLANEOUS. 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-

MISCELLANEOUS. 341
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 differ
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 ALASKA.
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
quantity 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 afford 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 Amazon of South
America and the Mississippi with which we are 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, Last 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
form 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 California, 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

35° 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-

SUPPLEMENTAR Y 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 difference 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 growth, 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

New Icebergs.

SUPPLEMENTA RY DATA. 353
matter to get a supply. Using this to bind the earth
together there could be small bed's 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 difficulties 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, by 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 Y 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 lately 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.

SLPPLEMENTAR Y 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.

360 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.
$1,300,000 of that amount was from the Birch Creek
district on the Yukon and the place was not boomed!
Miners work under great difficulties; 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. 361
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 Y DATA. 363
Juneau and proceed to Dyea, unloading there and
passing over that narrow part of country between the
port and British Columbia, 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 DA TA. 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.
' ' Discover}* ' ' was the first claim located on Bonanza
Creek and recognized 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, which is the minimum for a good one, and it
takes from seven to eleven to make a team, one
might think twice before risking his cash in so much
canine flesh, but sleding transport requires them.

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA. 367
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 two 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 Mining Sluice.

SUPPLEMENTARY 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

37° ALASKA.
A step in the right 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

SUPPLEMENTAR Y 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
likely 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. 375
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 far 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

SUPPLEMENTAR 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. Elias.
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 Y DATA. 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.

380 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 iooo 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

SUPPLEMENTAR Y DATA. 38 1
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 twenty 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

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA. 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 mostof 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.

MO<
O

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. Elias, 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,

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA. 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 Attu, 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 efforts 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 Upper Yukon district
was 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 Y DATA. 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 being 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

Alaskan Burial Place.

SUPPLEMENTAR Y DATA. 39 1
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. Elliot, of D. c. July 26, 1897.
Surveyor-General at Sitka,
William L. Distin, of Illinois. August 7, 1897.
Register of Land Office at Sitka,
John W. Dudley, of D. C. July 27, 1897.
Receiver of Public Moneys at Sitka,
RoswiCLL Shelly, of Oregon. July 27, 1897.
United States District Judge of Alaska,
C. S. Johnson. Residence, Sitka.

SUPPLEMENTAR Y 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 Internal 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 Afloat,
J. S. Slater,

Deputy Collector at Skaguay,
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— Lycurgus R. Woodward, of California. April 24,
1894.
Juneau — 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— Lenox B. Shepherd, of Alaska. July 26, 1897.
Unga — Charles H. Isham, of Maryland. July 22, 1897.

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

395

Summary of Alaska, British Columbia and Klondyke
Gold Mines.

Names

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

Where Situated

Berner's Bay

40
(Adding more)

Berner's Bay

20

Berner's Bay

Berner's Bay

Berner's Bay
Berner's Bay
Berner's Bay
Berner's Bay
Berner's Bay
Berner's Bay
300
Douglas Island
(Others be
ing added)
Douglas Island
Douglas Island
Douglas Island
Douglas Island
Douglas Island
Douglas Island
Douglas Island
Forty-Mile district
Forty -Mile district
Funter Bay, Admiral tylsland
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 Columbia and Klondyke
Gold Mines — Continued.

Names

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
SitkaSitkaNear Sitka
Near Sitka
Yukon district
Yukon 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA. 397
Copper and Silver Mines.
Rich silver and copper ores are found on the west coast of
Chichagoff 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 golena 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 $16.00.

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 oneyear,
$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 

Miles.

3200

65. >

2500
Nearly

96
27 or 286

30 1,

503*30

187

I 95

Days.

f $32.00 Cabin.
\ 17.00 Steerage.

36 to 40

16
35 or 40

>to6

About $667.00

$250.00 180.00
Varies.

Total Direct Distance from Dyea to Dawson City, 603.

* 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.
398

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 5o
32 50
17 00
32 00
30 00
15 00

Sitka and Unalaska Mail Route.

Sitka to or from Yakutat., Nutchik .

Freightper ton

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 

$ 6 50
9 50
10 00
12 00
17 5o
19 50
20 00
10 00
5 °°
5 00
2 00
5 50
5 00
10 00

Single Round
Trip. Trip.

$14 00
27 50
35 00
39 50
53 50
54 50
70 00
35 00
13 50
13 00
4 50
14 00
1 00
16 50

$25 00
49 50
60 00
71 00
96 50
98 00
120 00
60 00
24 50
23 50
8 00
26 00
2 00
30 00

Steerage Pas.

Single

Round

Trip.

Trip.

$ 9 5<>

$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 00

8 5°

15 50

3 o°

5 00

9 5°

17 00

50

1 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, 25lbs 
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, 5 lbs 
Soap (Laundry), 10 lbs  : 
Soap (Toilet), 10 cakes 
Soda, 3 lbs 
Condensed Soup, 3 doz 
Pepper, 1 lb 
Mustard, 2 lbs 
Condensed Milk, 2 doz  per can
Extract of Beef, 2 doz  per jar
Ducks  each
Tin Plates, y2 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, 1 
Whetstone, 1 
Coffee Pot, 1 
Small Tea Pot, 1  ,
Pick, 1 
Handles (3)  each
Sled, Dog and Outfit  

Upper
YukonWinter Price.

Per lb.
$1 20
40 75
50

50
50
40 0050
2 0030
30 00

40
20 to 30
$1 0065
I 00

75
1 00

1 00
2 00
20 00

15 00
1 00
150 00

May get wet or sour.

May Sour.

Get most reliable brand.

Get good brand.
Get a reliable article.

Vary with size.

Davidson's Glacier.

SUPPLIES— APPROXIMA 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

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 quality.
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 $10; 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 cost $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. See 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 I
centre of this cove lies a small but 1
rather high island called the Grouse
Island. We next come to

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. J.
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 oue
402

See Map No. 5.
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

Map No. 4-Entrance to the Inland Passage to Alaska from Puget Sound and Gulf of Georgia, through
Passage, Johnstone Strait, Broughton Strait, Queen Charlotte Sound, Christie Passage
and New Channel. From Cape Mudge to Port Alexander.

Discovery

VALDES I.

VANCOUVER I

Map No. 5 — Seymour Narrows and Vicinity.

POINTS OF INTEREST

403

mile long and a third of a mile wide ;
its northwestern end is known as
Vigilant Point, a short distance from
which we have

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 Island, and then we
reach Nodales Channel which divides
this island from the Thurlow Islands.
Valdes 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. The entrance to the 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, offof which are heavy
tide rips in windy 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. Some distance 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 rips
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
Havannah 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 many
islets in this port called the Mist
Islands. Farther on lies the
Escape 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 the 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
erly direction and emptying into a
shallow bay. On its northern bank
near the entrance is the old village of
Cheslakee, now in ruins. About six
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 PulteneyPointlies
Su-quash Anchorage, which is shel
tered from the westerly 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.
Malcolm 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 Coni-
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 Dae
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 comes
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 Van-
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. Suwanee was lost in July, 1869.
In the northern part of the passage
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

406

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,
we then pass a 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 Cranstowu 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 by Van
couver in 1792) on the east, passing
Kiwash Island, which is directly
opposite Narau 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 Loo 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. TheHanna
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. About 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 iu
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 Siarfish 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 1786. 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.

o Point Walker, through South

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 Fitzhugh
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
Campbell 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 milewide 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 Dcsdulus, who was murdered
in the Sandwich Islands in 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. J.
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 Lama 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 Fitzhugh 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

408

ALASKA.

which separates Lady and Dowager
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 Port Blak-
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 Royal Islands on the west.
The shores are densely 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 1869. 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 many
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
1787, and published maps and an
account of his voyage. The southern
extremity of Roderick is calledParker
Point, near which are two islets
called the Sisters. 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
corner of Roderick Island are
Goat Cove and Kid Bay, the north
ern point of this cove is called Fawn

bell Island and gets quite narrow at
its head. On the west is Whitestone
Rock, a large bare rock, and where
the land rises to about 200 feet is
called Shelf Point. 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 1788, 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 1280 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 extremity 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 poisonons 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 Finlayson 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 Swanson 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
See 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 pasi 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
southwai d. 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 Thorn Point, and
on the opposite side extending from
the mainland is Camp Point, and a
short distance from Thorn Point is
Observation Point. Next comes
Harbor Rock, on both sides of which

unites with the former channel.
then pass

See Map 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 Princess 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
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
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. Eight miles
from Tom Islet, which is just south of
James Point, is Evening 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-
bannah Bay extends into the main
land 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
ing Reefs, several large rocks, also lie
about here. Bare Islet, which is really
a part of Leading Island , in Klewn ug-
git Inlet, is the landmark in keeping
away from this foul ground. Another
landmark 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 afford
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. Its extreme
northern point is Turtle _ Point.
Northward from this point is Yolk
Point, which extends from the east
ern side of Farrant Island and from
here on for a distance of 45 miles,
without turning, is Grenville 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
close to the shore on both sides of
Grenville Channel, 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
and separates the entrance of Gren
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 metamorphicrocks|
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

Map No. S — Swanson Bay to Chatham Sound, through Fraser Reach, McKay Reach,
Wright Sound, Grenville Channel and Malacca Passage.

Map No. 9— Dixon Entrance. Through Chath

am Sound, Oriflamme Passage and Revillagigedo Channel.

POINTS OF INTEREST

411

See Map No. Q.
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
Kenuedy Island is the White Cliff
Island, on which marble has been
quarried. Here the Malacca Passage
starts and extends west for about six
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 asand-
bar. The northern point of this island
is Point Dawes and the northwestern,
Point Chopman. 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 Metlakatla Bay.
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 Finlayson

See Map No. g.
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 pass
through Malacca 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
Eyde 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 lastly, is the broad opening of
the sound where the waters j oin 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
extremity 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 and 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 Maskelyne 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. 10.
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 forms the southeastern bound
ary between the British and Ameri
can possessions. The canal extends
northward, having mountain ranges
on both sides.

See Map No. g.
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 and 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 land
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 and Behm
Canal, which forms almost a com-

See Map No. it.
But, as we are not going that way,
will not stop to give any details, far
ther than that we pass Hassler Island
and go almost 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, and
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 Entrance 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
rates the Prince of Wales Archi
pelago from the mainland and the
Gravina, Etolin and Zarembo Islands.
Passing 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. 10 — Portland Canal and Observatory Inlet.

Map No. n — Behm Canal and Clarence Strait.

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, andjust above it
extending from the Annette Island
is Point Davison. The Annette Island
is the one on which the Metlakatla In -
dians and civilized Episcopal 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 extremity 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 Woronkoffski 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 these 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 Grindall, 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 1882, 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. 12.
Ratz Harbor, a basin two miles long
and one mile wide2 but very narrow
at the entrance and it is obstructed by
an islet. Then we continue for some
distance to a group of islands called
the Kashevaroff Islands. Blashke, Shrub
by and Bushy Islands are three of this
group. Then extending from the
southern part of Zarembo Island is

414

ALASKA.

Ernest Sound, Clarence Strait, Sum
ner Strait, Blake Channel and East
ern 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 comes
Point Harrington, which extends
from Etolin Island into Stikine
Strait ; this point in summer is
covered with a growth of bright green
bush. Just above, Steamer Bay extends
quite 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 F^tolin 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 Company 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 very 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 I
directly through Sumner Strait, pass- i
ing Point Shekesti, the Five Mile, '
Vank, Sokoloff and Station Islands, j
Sumner Strait was named in honor :
of the lamented statesman to whose I
endeavor is chiefly due the acquisi- J

Nesbitt Point, and from the eastern
side of the same island is
Round Point. We go up some httle
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 from 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
thePoverotni Islands and many islets.
Then taking a southwesterly 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
northwesterly direction passing a
number of points, which are
Pestchain, Nismeni, Rock, Pogib-
shi, Yellow, Middle, Siroi, and- Fish
Points.directlyto the south ofwhich 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-

Map No. 12 — From Cape Northumberland to Point Agassiz, through Clarence Strait, Stikine Strait,
Sumner Strait and Wrangel Strait.

Map No. 13 — From Point Agassiz to Point Craven, through Dry Strait, Frederick
Sound and Chatham Strait.

POINTS OF INTEREST

4'5

tion 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 Agassig
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 Gambier and Point
Hugh, then passing between this
latter point and Point Windham we
enter Stephens Passage, which owing
to the mineral deposits on itsshores,
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 PointCoke, 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, theweather 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 Klokacheff
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 Takhauis Bay extends into the
same island. We next pass

4i6

ALASKA.

Point Anmer and Point Style-
man between which extends Port
Snettisham. Two arms extending
from the northern end of this harbor
makes it the shape of the letter T.
Next comes
Limestone 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. ij.
In the middle of Stephens Passage
is Grand Island and seven miles
farther on is the entrance of Taku
Inlet, which extends for about 18
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 Column
Point and Point Lucan to Port Al-
throp, in theentrance of which are the
Three-Hill and .George Islands.
Granite Cove extends from PortAl-
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 Point
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 HooniahHarbor; 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 bay, the
grandest, and probably the largest,
one in the world is

^

f'fH

1

Map No. 14 — From Point Craven to Sitka, through Peril, Neva
and Olga Straits.

Map No. 15 — From Point Craven to Lynn Canal, through Chatham Strait.

POINTS OP INTEREST

4*7

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 Scull 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. rj.
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 Reet
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, madeasound-
insr 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 j ust beyond East
Point is Freshwater Bay. Farther
on is
Iyoukeen 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 Swanson
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.
Lynn Sisters, a group of three small
islands and a rock, above these are
three more islands called the
Lynn Brothers. Between these two
groups of islands on the western
shore is

4i8

ALASKA.

iron. Towards the northern part of
the canal the water is almost fresh.
We then continue on past
Funter Bay to Point Retreat passing
quite a number of glaciers, the prin
cipal ones being Eagle 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 hall
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 Eldred 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 Hayward
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
Endicott 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 Lynn 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.

Map No. 16 — Lynn Canal.

POINTS OF INTEREST.

419

Fromisla Bay extends into the
southern part of this island and
Kresta Point is at its southwestern
end. Tljen 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 officials.

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. Ulus. 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 (1), 154 pp. Hlus- Plates, Maps, 8vo.
Baedeker, Carl.
Guide Books. The Dominion of Canada with Newfoundland
and an excursion to Alaska.
Leips, 1894, lxii, 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. (123V133 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

BIBLIOGRAPHY 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. V. S. 40th Congress, 2d session. House
Doc, vol. 11, 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, 1st 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. 12a. Illus. 8vo.
Coast and geodetic survey.
Pacific coast pilot, Alaska, pt. 1.

422 ALASKA.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1883, v. Folded Plates,
folded Maps, folio.
Contents, 1. Coast from Dixon Entrance to Yakutet bay, with
the inland passage. Same, 3d ed., 1891, 4to.
Ootteau, Edmond.
Le transcanadien et l'Alaska, 1890. Illus. 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. 1.
Washington, 1877. Folded Maps, 4to.
Contents. — Vol. 1, 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 (1) pp. Illus. Plates,
Map, 8vo.
Fp-> 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 15% in- Folded.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALASKA. 423
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.
Geography, etc. Maps.
The territory of Northwestern America ceded by Russia to
the U. S., 1868. Scale 1.9000000, 17 x 12^ 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. 1, 1869.
Washington, 1869. Illus., large 8vo.
Contents, Pt. 1. 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 1 in.). Submap of Sitka and its approaches.
Folded.
Denis, Jean Ferdinand.
Les Californies. L'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., 8vo.

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, 1st session.
(No. 83 in No. C. 250a, 5, 10.)
Elliott, 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 of fish and fisheries. Special Bulletin, 176, 4to.
Report from a report of the fishery industry of the 10th
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, 10th 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.
Natural history.
» The Seal Islands of Alaska.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1881 (5), 176 pp, 29 Plates, 2
Maps. United States Census Bureau, 10th 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 (1),
9-209 pp. Plates. Folded Map, 8vo.
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 21st 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, 1st session. House Doc, vol. 12,
No. 135.
Jurisdiction of the War Department over the territory ot
Alaska.
United States, 44th Congress, 1st session. Senate Doc, No. 33.
Report in relation to military arrests in Alaska.
Holmberg, Heinrich Johann.
Ethnographische Skizzen uber die Volker des russischen
Amerika. Abth. I.
Helsingfors. Friis, 1855 (1), 141 (1) pp. Map, 4to.
Report on the condition of the inhabitants of Alaska prior to
our acquisition of the territory. 42d Congress, 2d session.
House Doc, vol. 10, Doc. No. 197.
Another, 46th Congress, 2d session Senate Doc, vol. 4, pt.
1, Doc. 132.
Hyatt, Alpheus.
Report on the mesozoic fossils of Alaska. In Dall, W. H.
Report on coal and lignite of Alaska.
Washington, 1896.
Icelandic Committee from Wisconsin.
Report on the character and resources of Alaska.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1875, 6 pp., 8vo.
James, Bushrod Washington.
Alaskan a ; or, Alaska in descriptive and'legendary poems.
Philadelphia, Porter & Coates, 1892, 368 pp., D. 3d Edition.
Jackson, Sheldon.
Education in Alaska. 1889-90, 90-91, 91-92, 92-93, 94-95.
Washington, 1893-6, 4 vols. Doc, 8vo.
From the reports of the Com. of Educ. (U. S. Bureau of
Education.)
Jackson, Sheldon.
Bureau of Education. Memoranda concerning education in
Alaska.
Washington, 1892, 3pp.,8vo.
Report of committee on schools for Indian children in
Alaska. 47th Congress, Press House Reports, vol. 1, No.
236 ; also see House Doc, vol. 19, Doc. 81.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALASKA. 427
Jackson, Sheldon.
Department of Interior.
Report on education in Alaska, with Maps and illus., 1886.
Same, 49th Congress, 1st session. Senate Doc, vol. 6,
No. 81.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1886. 95 pp., 8vo.
Copy of report upon the condition of education in Alaska by
Sheldon Jackson. U. S. Congress, 47th Congress, 1st ses
sion. Senate Doc, vol. 1, No. 30, 1881-2.
Jackson, Sheldon.
Agricultural Department.
Report on introduction of domestic reindeer into Alaska.
Washington, 1893, 39 pp. Plates, Map. (U. S. 52d Congress,
2d session. Mis. Doc, 22.) Doc, 8vo.
Report also of U. S. 53d Congress, 2d session. Senate Doc,
vol. 1, 1893-4.
Jackson, Sheldon.
Report on introduction of domestic reindeer into Alaska,
1895-6.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1896-7, 2 vols. Plates, Map.
Doc, 8vo.
Jackson, Sheldon.
Bureau of Education.
Preliminary report of introduction of reindeer into Alaska.
Washington, 1891, 15 pp., 8vo.
Report on the agricultural resources of Alaska. 40th Con
gress, 3d session. House Doc, vol. 15,1868-9.
Jackson, Sheldon, D. D.
Alaska, and Missions on the North Pacific Coast. Illus.
New York, Dodd, M. & Co. (1880), 327 pp. Map, Portr., i2mo.
Karr, Heywood Walter Seton.
Bear hunting in the White mountains ; or, Alaska and British
Columbia revisited. With illustrations and Map.
London, Chapman & Hall, 1891, vi (i), 156 (1) pp., sm. 8vo.
Karr, H. W. Seton.
Deof. descr., etc.
Shores and Alps of Alaska. With illustrations and two Maps.
London, S. Low, 1887, xiv (1), 248 pp., 8vo.

428 ALASKA.
Knapp, Frances — Childe, Rheta Louise.
Indians.The T'linkets of Southeastern Alaska.
Chicago, Stone & K., 1896, 197 pp. Plates, i6mo.
United States 41st Congress, 2d session. Senate Doc, vol. 2,
No. 67, 1869-70.
Report on the late bombardment of the Indian village at
Wrangel.
Knowlton Frank Hall.
Report on the fossil plants collected in Alaska in 1895 as well
as an enumeration of those previously known from the
region.
In Dall, W. H. Report on coal and lignite of Alaska. Pp.
876-897.
Washington, 1896.
Report of Department of Agriculture upon the agricultural
resources of Alaska. 40th Congress, 3d session, vol. 15,
p. 172.
Krause, Arthur— Krause, Aurel.
Die T'linkit-Indianer. Ergebnisse einer Reise nach der Nord-
westkustevonAmerikaundderBeringstrasse, ausgefuhrt im
Auftrage der Bremer geographischen Gesellschaft in den
Jahren 1880-1881 durch Arthur und Aurel Krause, geschildert
von Aurel Krause. Mit 1 Karte, 4 Tafeln und 32 illus-
trationen.
Jena, H. Costenoble, 1885, xvi, 420 pp., 8vo.
Pp. 392-404 contain a Verzeichnis der benutzen Litteratur.
Le Conte, J. L.
Miscellaneous. Smithsonian Institution.
America. Catalogue of publications of societies and of other
periodical works in the library of the Smithsonian Institu
tion, 1858. Foreign works. IV. Synopsis of the described
neuroptera of North America, with a list of the South
American species, by H. Hagen ; Synopsis of the described
lepidoptera of North America :
Part 1. Diurnal and crespuscular lepidoptera, by J. G. Morris,
V. Bibliography of North American conchology previous
to i860. Part 1, by W. G. Binney ; Catalogue of publica
tions of the Smithsonian Institution, corrected to June,
1862 ; List of foreign correspondents of the Smithsonian
Institution, corrected to January, 1862. VI. Monographs

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALASKA. 429
of the diptera of North America, by H. Loew. Parts 1, 2,
edited, with additions, by R. Osten Sacken ; List of the
coleoptera of North America, by J. L. Le Conte. Part 1,
New species of North American coleoptera, by J. L. Le
Conte. VII. Monograph of the bats of North America, by
H. Allen ; Land and fresh-water shells of North America.
Parts 2, 3, by W. G. Binney; Researches upon the hydro-
binas and allied forms, by W. Stimpson ; Monograph of
corbiculadae (recent and fossil), by T. Prime; Check list
of the invertebrate fossils of North America, eocene and
oligocene, by T. A. Conrad ; Same, Miocene, by F. B.
Meek ; Same, Cretaceous and Jurassic, by F. B. Meek ;
Catalogue of minerals with their formulas, etc., by T.
Egleston ; Dictionary of the Chinook jargon or trade lan
guage of Oregon, by C. Gibbs ; Instructions for research
relative to the ethnology and philology of America, by G.
Gibbs ; List of works published by the Institution, January,
1866. VIII. Monographs of the diptera of North America.
Part 4, by R. Osten Sacken ; Catalogue of the orthoptera
of North America, by S. H. Scudder ; Land and fresh-water
shells of North America. Part 1, by W. G. Binney and T.
Bland ; Arrangement of families of birds ; Circular to
officers of the Hudson's Bay Company ; Suggestions rela
tive to objects of scientific interest in Russian America ;
Circular relating to collections in archseology and ethnology;
Circular to entomologist ; Circular relative to collections of
birds from Middle and South America ; Smithsonian Mu
seum miscellany.
Mining Record, Juneau.
Morris, W. G.
Report on public service and resources of Alaska in 45th
Congress, 3d session. Senate Doc, vol. 4, No. 59, 1878-9.
Morris, William G.
Treasury, Department of.
Report upon the customs district, public service and resources
of Alaska Territory.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1879, 163 pp. Illus., Folded
Map, 8vo.
Report upon collection of customs in Alaska by W. G. Morris,
special agent. 41st Congress, 1st Session. Senate Doc, No.
37. 1875-6.
Murdoch, John, of the Smithsonian Inst.
Ethnological results of the Point Barrow expedition. Illus.
Maps.

430 ALASKA.
(Smithsonian Inst. Bureau of Ethnology. 9th annual report,
pp. 3-441. Washington, 1892.)
Bibliography, pp. 21-25.
Report of special agent for Alaska. 41st Congress, 2d session.
Senate Doc, vol 1, Doc. 32 ; 41st Congress, 2d session. House
Doc, vol. 5, No. 225; vol. 6, No. 36 ; No. 139, No. 129;
vol, 7, No. 143. 41st Congress, 3d session. House, Doc. ,
vol. 12, No. 122.
Report of special agent at St. Pauls in relation to leasing the
seal fisheries, also. Report on seal fishery, vol. 10, No.
1108, 1870-1.
Fisheries.
50th Congress, 2d session. House, Reports of committees,
No. 3883.
The fur-seal and other fisheries of Alaska. Investigation of
the fur-seal and other fisheries of Alaska. Report from the
committee on merchant marine and fisheries.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1889 (1), 1415 pp. Plates,
Maps 8vo.
U. S. 44th Congress, 1st session. House Doc, vol. 83. In
formation relating to the seal fisheries in the islands of St.
Paul and St. George. 1875-6. See also 42d Congress, 2d
session. House Doc, vol. 6, No. 20, 1871-2.
Myers, William H.
Through Wonderland to Alaska.
Reading (Pa.), Times ptg , 1895, 271 pp., D.
Nelson, Edward W.
Report upon natural history, collections made in Alaska be
tween the years 1877-81, edited by H. W. Henshaw. Arctic
series of publications issued in connection with the signal
service, U. S. Army, No. 3.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1887, 21 Plates, Q. 49th Con
gress, 1st session. Senate Mis., vol. 8.
Northern Light, The.
Missions.A journal of missions in Alaska. Quarterly. No. 1-16.
Fort Wrangel, Alaska, 1893-7, 1 vol. Illus., i2tno.
North Star, The.
Periodicals. Monthly, vol. 7, No. 10-12 ; vol. 8, No. 1-4.
Sitka, 1896-7, vol. folio.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALASKA. 431
Northern Light, The.
Periodicals.A journal of Missions in Alaska. Quarterly. No. 1-16.
Fort Wrangel, Alaska, 1893-7, vol. 1. Illus., i2mo.
Petroff, Ivan.
Congressional documents, journals, reports, etc.
Population and resources of Alaska. Letter from the Secre
tary of the Interior, transmitting a preliminary report upon
the population, industry and resources of Alaska.
Washington, 1881, 86 pp. Folded Map. 46th Congress, 3d
session, Ex. Doc, No. 40, 8vo. Also see 47th Congress, 2d
session. House Mis., vol. 13, pp. 8., 1882-3.
Petroff, Ivan.
Statistics of population of Alaska 1890, 9 pp.
Washington, 1891, United States Census Bureau, nth census,
Census Bulletin, No. 30, 4to.
Statistics.Population of Alaska.
Washington, 1891, 7 pp., United States Census Bureau, nth
Census Bulletin, 4to.
Petroff, Ivan.
Report on the population, industries and resources of Alaska,
vi, 189 pp. Maps, Plates.
Census Bureau, 10th census.
Washington, 1884. Vol. 8.
Also in 47th Congress, 2d session. House Mis., vol. 13, pt. 8.
Report on population and resources of Alaska in 46th Gon-
gress, 3d session. House Doc, vol. 18, No. 13, 1880-1.
Pierrepont, Edward.
Fifth avenue to Alaska. With (4 folded) Maps by Leonard
Forbes Beckwith.
New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1884, vi, 329 pp., i2mo.
Pike, Warburton
Geography, description, etc.
Through the subartic forest. A record of a canoe journey to
the Pelly lakes and down the Yukon river to the Bering
sea.
London, Arnold, 1896, xiv (1), 295 pp. Plates, 8vo.

432 ALASKA.
Pinart, Alph. L.
Antiquities.Catalogue des collections rapportees de I'Amerique russe
(aujourd'hui territoire d'Aliaska).
Paris, Imprimerie de J. Claye, 1872. 30 pp., 8vo. (138,684;
95 ! B.).
Pinart, Alph. L-
Antiquities.La caverne d'Aknanh, ile d'Ounga (archipel Shumagin,
Alaska).
Paris, E. Leroux, 1875. n pp., 7 colored Plates. Illus. 4to.
Ray, Lieutenant P. H.
Signal Office, Arctic series, No. 1.
Report of the International polar expedition to Point Barrow,
Alaska.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1885 (1), 695 pp. Plates, 4to.
Rollins, Alice Wellington.
From palm to glacier. With an interlude. Brazil, Bermuda,
Alaska.
New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1892 (7), 145 pp. Illus., 8vo.
Rosse, Irving C— Muir, John— Nelson, E. W.
Treasury Department.
Cruise of the revenue steamer " Corwin " in Alaska and the
Northwest Arctic Ocean in 1881. Notes and memoranda —
Medical and anthropological, by Irving C. Rosse ; botanical,
by John Muir ; ornithological, by E. W. Nelson.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1883, 120 pp. Plates, illus., 4to.
Same, Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1883, 120 pp. 45th
Congress, 2d session. House Ex., Doc. No. 105, 4to. Also,
47th Congress, 2d session. House Doc, v. 23.
Rosse, I. C.
Cruise of the revenue steamer " Corwin " in 1881. 47th Con
gress, 2d session. House Doc, vol. 23, 1881-2.
Rothrock, J. T.
Sketch of the flora of Alaska. 40th Congress, 2d session.
Senate Mis.
Russell, Israel Cook.
U. S. geological survey, 13th annual report, pt. 2. Second
expedition to Mt. St Elias in 1891. 52c! Congress, 2d ses
sion. House Doc, vol. 16, 1892.

Totem Poles, Fort Wrangel.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALASKA. 433
Schwatka, Frederick.
Along Alaska's great river. A popular account of the travels
of the Alaska exploring expedition of 1883, along the great
Yukon river, in the British northwest territory, and in the
territory of Alaska.
New York, Cassell & Co., 1885, 360 pp. Illus., Plates,
Maps, 8vo.
Schwatka, Frederick.
Report of a military reconnoissance in Alaska made in 1883.
48th Congress, 2d session. Senate Doc, vol 1, 1S84-5.
Schwatka, Frederick— Hyde, John.
Wonderland ; or Alaska and the inland passage by Lieut.
Frederick Schwatka. With a description of the country
traversed by the Northern Pacific railroad, by John Hyde.
Cop., 1886, by C. S. Fee, St. Paul, 96 pp. Illus., colored
Plates, Map on cover, 8vo.
Scidmore, Eliza Ruhamah.
Guide-books.
Appleton's guide-book to Alaska and the northwest coast.
New York, Appleton, 1893, v (2), 156 pp. Plates, Maps,
i2mo.
Scidmore, Eliza Ruhamah.
Alaska ; its southern coast, and the Sitkan archipelago. With
Map and illus.
Boston, D. Lothrop & Co., 1885, viii, 333 pp. (Lothrop's
Historical library. ,Ed. by Arthur Gilman. ) i6mo.
Sessions, Francis C.
From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. Illus.
New York, Welch, Fracker Co., 1890, 186, ix pp. i2mo.
An appendix contains an account of Alaska mission work.
Report of U. S. Naval officers cruising in Alaska waters. 47th
Congress, 1st session. House Doc, vol. 19; Doc. No. 81,
1881-2.
Shepard, Isabel S.
The cruise of the U. S. steamer " Rush " in Bering sea.
San Francisco, Bancroft Co., 1889, 257 pp. Plates, i2mo.
Staehlin, J. von.
Account of the new northern archipelago.
London, 1774, 8vo. See Staehlin, J. von.
28

434 ALASKA.
Report of tour in the Alaska territory by the commanding
general of the Department of Columbia. 44th Congress, 1st
session. Senate Doc, No. 12.
Sumner, Charles.
Speech on the cession of Russian America to the United
States.
Washington, ptd. at the Congress. Globe office. 1867, 48 pp.
Folded Map, 8vo.
Turner, L. M.
Signal office, Arctic series No. 2. Contributions to the natural
history of Alaska. Results of investigations made chiefly
in the Yukon district and the Aleutian islands. Prepared
by L. M. Turner. With 26 plates.
Washington, Govt. ptg. office, 1886, 226 pp., 4to.
United States.
Census Bureau, nth Census.
Report on population and resources of Alaska.
Washington, 1893, xi, ix-xi, 282 pp. Plates, Map, 4to.
United States.
Congressional documents ; Miscellaneous documents ; Russian
America; Message from the President, Andrew Johnson, in
answer to a resolution of the House, transmitting corres
pondence in relation to Russian America.
Washington, 1868. No title page, 361 pp., 8vo.
47th Congress, 2d session. House Doc, vol. 21, No. 75, 1882-3.
Letter relative to violations of internal revenue laws in Alaska.
44th Congress, 2d session. House Reports, vol. 2, Doc. No.
174, 1876-7.
Report on the sale of lands in the territory of Alaska.
42d Congress, 1st session. House Doc, vol. 1, Doc No. 5.
Letter from the Secretary of War in relation to the territory
of Alaska, 1871.
40th Congress, 3d session. Senate Doc, 1868-9.
Information in regard to the territory of Alaska. See index.
Doc. 8, Alaska and the fur interests; Doc. 42, Encroach
ments of Hudson Bay Company ; Doc. 43, Native popula
tion of the islands of St. Paul and St. George ; Doc 53,
Selection of points for lighthouses in Alaska.
44th Congress, 2d session. Senate Doc, vol. 1, Doc. No. 14,
1876-7, and also, 46th Congress, 2d session. House Report
Doc No. 754, 1879-80.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALASKA. 435
Reports on establishment of and on Courts of Justice in
Alaska.
47th Congress, 1st session. Senate Reports, vol. 3, Doc. No. 456.
Report on civil government for Southern Alaska, 1881-2.
47th Congress, 1st session. House Reports, vol. 4, No. 1106.
Report of Committee on civil government for Alaska.
U. S. Coast Survey.
Harbor charts. Washington, 1875.
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
tion is 1875, unless otherwise stated.
704, Alaska and adjoining territory, 1869, scale 30 m. to 1
in., 33x23^.
704 V, Acherk harbor, Jannakh islands, 1875, 1 m. to 1^ in.,
9lA X4.
704 A, Adakh island, 1875, 1 m. to 7.% in., 6 x 8.
Aleutian islands, Kyoka harbor, 1875, 1 m. to 1% in., 12 >£ x 8.
Amchitka island, Constantine harbor, 1 m. to 1^ in., 6x8.
Bay of islands, Adakh islands, 1 m. to 1% in., 6 x 8.
Bering sea, Port Moller, 1875, 1 m. to y% in., 13 x 9^ in.
Pribylof islands, 1875, I2>£ x %%.
Saint George island, 1875, nj^ x 7, 1 m. to 3^ in.
Cape Etolin, Nunivak island, 1875, 9 x 12, 1 m. to 3^ in.
Captain's bay, Unalaska island, 1875, 12 x 17, 1 m. to \~%. in.
Chiachi islands, 1875, 1 m. to 4^ in., 13 x 9.
Chignik bay, 1 m. to 3)4 in., 9^ x 13.
Chichagoff island, 1 m. to 1% in., gj4 x ioy£.
aud lighthouse rocks, 12^ x Sfi.
Constantine harbor, 1 m. to 1% in., 6 x 8.
Eagle harbor, Shumagin islands, 1 m. to % in.
Etoline harbor, Wrangel island, 1869, 1 m. to 4 in., 4 x S%.
Falmouth harbor, Shumagin islands, im. to 1^ in., 6^ x 4^.
Fort Tongas, Passages to, 1S69, 1 m. to 1 in., &y& x 1 in.
Humboldt harbor, 1872, 1 m. to 1 4-5 in., 9 x 11.
I-youk-een cove, 1869, 1 m. to 4^ in., 4^ x (s]/z.
Ilinlimk harbor, Unalaska island, 1 m. to 7^ in., 13 # x &%.

436 Alaska.
Kootono rapids, 1869, 1 m. to 2% in., 7x9.
Kyska harbor, 1869, 1 m. to 2^ in., I2>£ x 8.
Lfndenberg harbor, 1869, 1 m. to \% in., \Y% x 6%.
Lituya bay, x m. to % in., 7^ x 5%.
Entrance, 1 m. to 4^ in., 7% x 6%&.
Middleton island, 1 m. to \y& in., 5% x $}£.
Nagai island, Sanborn harbor, 1872, 1 m. to 1 4-5 in., 9x11.
Eagle harbor, 1 m. to %" in.
Falmouth harbor, 1 m. to 1%, 6^ x 4^.
Nunivak island, Cape Etolin, 1875, 1 m. to 3^ in., 9X 12.
Passages to Fort Tongas, 1869, 1 m. to 1 in., 8^ x 4j^.
Popoff strait, 1872, 1 m. to 1.40000, 9 x n.
Port Mulgrave, Yakuta bay, 1878, 1 m. to 9 in., 9^ x 12^.
Port Moller, 1875, 1 m. to fi in., 13 x 9^.
Pribylof islands, Bering sea, 1875, 12^ x %%.
St. Elias Alpine region, 1875, n^ x 9^.
St. George island, Bering sea, 1875, 1 m. to % in., nj^ x 7.
St. Matthew and adjoining islands, 1 m. to yi. in., 13 x 9^.
St. Paul island, 1875, * m- to 5% in., 11^ x 9%.
Sanborn harbor, Nagai island, 1872, 1 m. to 1.40000, 9 x 11.
Sannakh islands, 1875, 7X x 5.
Acherk harbor, 1875, I m. to 1^ in., 5^ X4.
Semidi islands, 1872, 12X x 8)4-
Shumagin islands, 1875, 10 x nX-
Eagle harbor, 1875, 5^ x % in., 1 m. to % in.
Falmouth harbor, 1 m. to i}& in., 6^f x \y%.
Northeast harbor, 1 m. to y& in., 6^ x $y%.
Northwest and Yukon harbors, 1875, 1 m. to 1^ in.,
7K*4X-
Simonoff harbor, 1875, 1 m. to % in., 5^ x 5^.
Simonoff harbor, Shumagin Island, 1875, 1 m. to }( in.,
5^x^.
Symonds bay, Sitka sound, 1880, 1 m. to 10 in. 13^ x 13^-

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALASKA. 437
Unalashka island, Captains harbor, 1 m. to 1%, 12 x 17.
Itilink harbor, 1875, 1 m. t ° 7^, 13 # x 8%.
Yakutat bay, Port Mulgrave, 1875, 1 m. to 9 m., 9^ x 12^.
Yukon harbor, Shumagin islands, 1875, 1 m. to 1% in.,
7^x4X-
Zachareffskaiabay, 1 m. to % in., \y% x $%. 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 ioined,
41^ x 45 ins. Scale, 1.3000000 (or, 47 ms. to 1 in.). Sub-
map of Alaska, on a scale of 1.9000000 (or, 123 m. to 1 in.)
Folded.
Same. In one sheet. Size, 41^ x 45^ 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,
1st session. Senate Doc, vol. 6, Doc. No. 166. Another.
47th Congress, istsession. HouseDoc, 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., i2tno.
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 (1), 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, 8vo.
Same, New York, Harper, 1869, 353 pp., 8vo.
Whymper, Frederick.
Voyages et aventures dans la Colombie Anglaise, l'ile Van
couver et l'Alaska, 1864-7. Illus.
Paris, 1869, Tour du 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, 230 pp. 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, 8vo.
Woldt, A.
Capitain Jacobsen's Reise an der Nordwestkuste Amerikas,
1881-3, zum Zwecke ethnologischer Sammlungen und Erk-
undigungen nebst Beschreibung personlicherErlebnisse fur
den deutschen Leserkreis bearbeitet. Mit Karten und
Holzschnitten.
Leipzig, 1864, M. Spohr, viii, 431 pp., 8vo.
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. 1794-1870.
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, 8vo.
Wright, Julia McNair.
Among the Alaskans.
Philadelphia, Presbyterian Board of Publication (Cop. 1883),
351 pp. Illus., Maps, i6mo.

GLOSSARY.
Glossary of the Principal Alaskan and British
Columbian Names.

439

Addenbrook— Addenbrooke.
Alaska— Aliaska.
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
H
Hanna — Hannah.
Hiehisk— Hiekish.

Gil— Gill.

K
K aigani — Kygan e — Kaigani —
Caiganee.
Kasa-an — Kazarn — Casaan — Karta.
Keku— Kehou— Kiku — Kake.
Kingstnill— Kingenill.
Klondike — Klondyke— Clondike—
Clondyke.
Kodiak— Kadiak.
Kulichkoff— Koulitchkow.
Kwathiaski — Quathiaski — Quathia-
sky.
Lazarus— Lazaria.
Lemesurier — Mesurier. M
Maskelyne— Maskeylene.
Maud— Maude.
Metlahkatla— Metla-Katla— Metlah-
Catlah— Metlakathla.

Minook— Minute— Munook.
Muzon — Munoz. N
Naas— Nass— Nasse.
Naden — Nadon.
Nahwitti— Nahwhitti.
Napean — Nepean — Nepen— Nepka
Nasoka — Nasoga.

Onslow — Onelow.

Peschanaia — Pestchanay.

Shakhine— Sachine— Schakhin .
Stikine— Stachinski— Stakeen —
Stahkin— Stickeen— Stachin—
Stahkhin— Stahkheeu— Frances.
Shushartie— Shu cartie.
Skaguay— Skagua.
Skitkits— Skidegate.

Tahco— Taku.
Taiya — Dyea — Day ay.
Tikhaia— Tichai.
Tlekhonsite — Tlechopcity — Tayak-
honsite.
Tlevak— Tlevack .
T'lingit— Dlingit— Klinkit.
Tongass -Tongas — Yongas — Tom-
gas. U
Unalaslika— Oonilaska.
Un im ak — O on i m ak .

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. K  113
B
Baker's Peak  65
Baranoff Castle  109
Baranoff, Count  no
Baranoff Island, Sitka  113
Baron Wrangel  So
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
44P

C PAGE
Campbell's Island  71
Canadian Legislation  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
Dawson City  371
Daylight in Alaska  21
Deltas of the Yukon  140
Denver $ Rjq 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
E
Eagle Glacier  96
Edgecombe  109
Elliot Bay  65
England  56
Esquimault  66
Extent of Alaska  27
F
Finlayson Channel  72
Fishes of Alaska  143
Fitzhugh Sound  70
Fort Adams  341
Fortify Alaska  55
Fort Get There  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
G
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 Bay Company  70
Human Pack Carriers  40
Humidity of Coast  237
I
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
Alexander Archipelago, 76
Annette  149
Baranoff.  113
Goreloi  136
Kadiak, or Kodiak-120, 138
Oonalaska, or Unalaska, 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  80
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  90
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

PAGE
Military Rule  331
Miscellaneous  328
Missions  242
Modus Vivendi  196
Moraines  102
Mountains— Bogaslov  136
Buxton  7°
Edgecombe  iog
Fairweather  359
Holdsworth Peak.... 69
Lemon  70
Palmerston  6s
Rainear, or Tacoma 362
Shisaldin  136
St. Elias  353
Tacoma, or Rainear 62
Vostovia,  117
Wrangel  83
Mountain Ranges— Coast  345
Rocky  345
St. Elias  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 of Wales 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
Say ward 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  13S
Sheakley, Governor, of Alaska.. 176
Siberia  260
Siberian Railway  163
Sitka  113
Sitka Harbor  120
Sitka Sound  108
Siwash  81

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
sionary  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

Alaskana — 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 thefr 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 grasped 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

BY

BUSHROD WASHINGTON JAMES, A. M., M. D.,

THIS IS a finely illustrated book containing several poems desci r
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
past." — 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 effective." — Woman'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, New York.

Published by PORTER & COATES,
Now Henry T. Coates & Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
Price in gilt, $2.00.

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