USA > Alaska > Alaska, its neglected past, its brilliant future > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
The inhabitants of these seal islands naturally gain their livelihood by the seal catching interests, there- fore their time is wholly unoccupied a greater part of the year, for the seals are gone entirely before the long, dreary, dark winter sets in. Thanks to the Alaska Commercial Company in its interest for their welfare and to rapid civilization, they have in a general way, more to occupy their time than their less favored progenitors could boast. The Aleuts approach 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 inay 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 enc- 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 min- 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.
T HE 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 nun- 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
I33
1 34
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
135
THE REAL FAR-WEST.
are but two or three hundred miles away from our possessions, while the nearest inhabited isle on that side is Atkha, about four hundred miles distant, whose inhabitants are considered the finest sea otter hunters in the world. They make long trips to the haunts of the otter, that are upon the islands which form an intermediate line between their own island and isolated Attoo. Upon those rocky, desolate isles there are no human dwellers except those who visit them for the sole purpose of hunting this sly animal.
While on their expeditions, which 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 thein 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 remen1- 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 foan 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
137
THE REAL FAR-WEST.
roar of the sea, with the fitful daylight caught through dense miists, 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
I38
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- lands, except at Douglas Island and other transporting or mining places. A few cows, too, are raised, and once sheep were brought, but their rearing was a fail- ure, either from the unpropitious climate or from the lack of knowledge of the herding business.
At Kodiak the timber belt of Alaska is 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.
I39
THE REAL FAR-WEST.
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.
I 'T 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
141
THE YUKON RIVER.
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, from the coast and river shores, and, as they are known, but little fear
142
ALASKA.
need be entertained by explorers, unless a reckless exploit be made among them.
Often their curiosity so far overcomes their hos- tility that the exhibition of some civilized mode of ac- complishing an object completely disarms them, and tlieir 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
143
THE YUKON RIVER
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 salinon 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 nium- 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.
GROUP OF NATIVE ALASKAN WOMEN.
145
THE YUKON RIVER.
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.
IO
CHAPTER XXI.
THE NEW METLAKAHTLA MISSION AND SETTLEMENT ON ANNETTE ISLAND.
S TORIES 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, Metlakalıtla 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 lias 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
147
THE NEW METLAKAHTLA MISSION.
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- inan 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-
149
THE NEW' METLAKAHTLA MISSION.
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,
İ50
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 Metlakalıtla 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.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.