USA > Alaska > Alaska, the great country > Part 15
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 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38
This custom might be followed with beneficial results to- day, a bachelor being always honored, until, in sheer self- defence, many a young man would prefer to pay for his own wedding to constantly paying for the wedding of some other man. It is more polite than the proposed tax on bachelors.
At this wedding the beauty and fashion of Sitka were assembled. The ladies were showily attired in muslin dresses, white satin shoes, silk stockings, and kid gloves ; they wore flowers and carried white fans.
The ball was opened by the bride and the highest officer present; and quadrille followed waltz in rapid succession until daylight.
The music was excellent ; and the unfortunate host and paymaster of the ceremonies carried out his part like a prince. Tea, coffee, chocolate, and champagne were served generously, varied with delicate foods, "petnatchit coplas " of strong liquors, and expensive cigars.
According to the law of the church, the bridesmaids and bridesmen were prohibited from marrying each other ; but, owing to the limitations in Sitka, a special dis- pensation had been granted, permitting such marriages.
199
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
From the old Russian cemetery on the hill, a panoramic view is obtained of the town, the harbor, the blue water- ways winding among the green islands to the ocean, and the snow mountains floating above the pearly clouds on all sides. In a quiet corner of the cemetery rests the first Princess Matsukoff, an Englishwoman, who graced the "Castle on the Rock " ere she died, in the middle sixties. Her successor was young, beautiful, and gay ; and her reign was as brilliant as it was brief. She it was who, through bitter and passionate tears, dimly beheld the Russian flag lowered from its proud place on the castle's lofty flagstaff and the flag of the United States sweeping up in its stead. But the first proud Princess Matsukoff slept on in her quiet resting-place beside the blue and alien sea, and grieved not.
From all parts of the harbor and the town is seen the kekoor, the "rocky promontory," from which Baranoff and Lisiansky drove the Koloshians after the massacre, and upon which Baranoff's castle later stood.
It rises abruptly to a height of about eighty feet, and is ascended by a long flight of wooden steps.
The first castle was burned ; another was erected, and was destroyed by earthquake ; was rebuilt, and was again destroyed - the second time by fire. The emi- nence is now occupied by the home of Professor George- son, who conducts the government agricultural experi- mental work in Alaska.
The old log trading house which is on the right side of the street leading to the church is wearing out at last. On some of the old buildings patches of modern weather- boarding mingle with the massive and ancient logs, pro- ducing an effect that is almost grotesque.
In the old hotel Lady Franklin once rested with an uneasy heart, during the famous search for her husband.
The barracks and custom-house front on a vivid green
200
ALASKA : THIE GREAT COUNTRY
parade ground that slopes to the water. Slender gravelled roads lead across this well-kept green to the quarters and to the building formerly occupied by Governor Brady as the Executive Offices. His residence is farther on, around the bay, in the direction of the Indian village.
There are fine fur and curio stores on the main street.
The homes of Sitka are neat and attractive. The window boxes and carefully tended gardens are brilliant with bloom in summer.
Passing through the town, one soon reaches the hard, white road that leads along the curving shingle to Indian River. The road curves with the beach and goes glim- mering on ahead, until it disappears in the green mist of the forest.
Surely no place on this fair earth could less deserve the offensive name of "park " than the strip of land border- ing Indian River, -five hundred feet wide on one bank, and two hundred and fifty feet on the other, between the falls and the low plain where it pours into the sea, -which in 1890 was set aside for this purpose.
It has been kept undefiled. There is not a sign, nor a painted seat, nor a little stiff flower bed in it. There is not a striped paper bag, nor a peanut shell, nor the peel of an orange anywhere.
It must be that only those people who live on beauty, instead of food, haunt this beautiful spot.
The spruce, the cedar, and the pine grow gracefully and luxuriantly, their lacy branches spreading out flat and motionless upon the still air, tapering from the ground to a fine point. The hard road, velvet-napped with the spicy needles of centuries, winds through them and under them, the branches often touching the wayfarer's bared head.
The devil's-club grows tall and large ; there are thickets of salmon-berry and thimbleberry; there are banks of
201
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
velvety green, and others blue with violets ; there are hedges of wild roses, the bloom looking in the distance like an amethyst cloud floating upon the green.
The Alaskan thimbleberry is the most delicious berry that grows. Large, scarlet, velvety, yet evanescent, it scarcely touches the tongue ere its ravishing flavor has be- come a memory.
The vegetation is all of tropical luxuriance, and, owing to its constant dew and mist baths, it is of an intense and vivid green that is fairly dazzling where the sun touches it. One of the chief charms of the wooded reserve is its stillness - broken only by the musical rush of waters and the lyrical notes of birds. A kind of lavender twi- light abides beneath the trees, and, with the narrow, spruce-aisled vistas that open at every turn, gives one a sensation as of being in some dim and scented cathedral.
Enticing paths lead away from the main road to the river, where the voices of rapids and cataracts call; but at last one comes to an open space, so closely walled round on all sides by the forest that it may easily be passed without being seen - and to which one makes his way with difficulty, pushing aside branches of trees and tall ferns as he proceeds.
Here, producing an effect that is positively uncanny, are several great totems, shining out brilliantly from their dark green setting.
One experiences that solemn feeling which every one has known, as of standing among the dead ; the shades of Baranoff, Behring, Lisiansky, Veniaminoff, Chirikoff, -all the unknown murdered ones, too, -go drifting noiselessly, with reproachful faces, through the dim wood.
It was on the beach near this grove of totems that Lisiansky's men were murdered by Koloshians in 1804, while obtaining water for the ship.
202
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
The Sitka Industrial Training School was founded nearly thirty years ago by ex-Governor Brady, who was then a missionary to the Indians of Alaska.
It was first attended by about one hundred natives, ranging from the very young to the very old. This school was continued, with varied success, by different people - including Captain Glass, of the Jamestown- until Dr. Sheldon Jackson became interested, and, with Mr. Brady and Mr. Austin, sought and obtained aid from the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church.
A building was erected for a Boys' Home, and this was followed, a year later, by a Girls' Home.
The girls were taught to speak the English language, cook, wash, iron, sew, mend, and to become cleanly, cheerful, honest, honorable women.
The boys were taught to speak the English language ; the trades of shoemaking, coopering, boat-building, car- pentry, engineering, rope-making, and all kinds of agricul- tural work. The rudiments of bricklaying, painting, and paper-hanging are also taught.
During the year 1907 a Bible Training Department was added for those among the older boys and girls who desired to obtain knowledge along such lines, or who as- pired to take up missionary work among their people.
Twelve pupils took up the work, and six continued it throughout the year. The work in this department is, of course, voluntary on the part of the student.
The Sitka Training School is not, at present, a govern- ment school. During the early nineties it received aid from the government, under the government's method of subsidizing denominational schools, where they were al- ready established, instead of incurring the extra expense of establishing new government schools in the same locali- ties.
When the government ceased granting such subsidies,
203
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
the Sitka School -as well as many other denominational schools - lost .this assistance.
The property of the school has always belonged to the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions.
For many years it was customary to keep pupils at the schools from their entrance until their education was finished.
In the summer of 1905 the experiment was tried of per- mitting a few pupils to go to their homes during vacation. All returned in September cheerfully and willingly; and now, each summer, more than seventy boys and girls re- turn to their homes to spend the time of vacation with their families.
In former years, it would have been too injurious to the child to be subjected to the influence of its parents, who were but slightly removed from savagery. To-day, al- though many of the old heathenish rites and customs still exist, they have not so deep a hold upon the natives; and it is hoped, and expected, that the influence of the students for good upon their people will far exceed that of their people for ill upon them.
During the past year ninety boys and seventy-four girls were enrolled - or as many as can be accommodated at the schools. They represent the three peoples into which the Indians of southeastern Alaska are now roughly divided - the Thlinkits, the Haidahs, and the Tsimpsians. They come from Katalla, Yakutat, Skagway, Klukwan, Haines, Douglas, Juneau, Kasaan, Howkan, Metlakahtla, Hoonah - and, indeed, from almost every point in south- eastern Alaska where a handful of Indians are gathered together.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE many people who innocently believe that there are no birds in Alaska may be surprised to learn that there are, at least, fifty different species in the southeastern part of that country.
Among these are the song sparrow, the rufous humming- bird, the western robin, of unfailing cheeriness, the russet- backed thrush, the barn swallow, the golden-crowned kinglet, the Oregon Junco, the winter wren, and the bird that, in liquid clearness and poignant sweetness of note, is second only to the western meadow-lark - the poetic hermit thrush.
He that has heard the impassioned notes of this shy bird rising from the woods of Sitka will smile at the assertion that there are no birds in Alaska.
On the way to Indian River is the museum, whose in- teresting and valuable contents were gathered chiefly by Sheldon Jackson, and which still bears his name.
Dr. Jackson has been the general Agent of Education in Alaska since 1885, and the Superintendent of Presby- terian Missions since 1877. His work in Alaska in early years was, undoubtedly, of great value.
The museum stands in an evergreen grove, not far from the road. Here may be found curios and relics of great value. It is to be regretted, however, that many of the articles are labelled with the names of collectors instead of those of the real donors - at least, this is the information voluntarily given me by some of the donors.
204
205
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
In the collection is an interesting war bonnet, which was donated by Chief Kath-le-an, who planned and carried out the siege of 1878.
It was owned by one of Kath-le-an's ancestors. It is made of wood, carved into a raven's head. It has been worked and polished until the shell is more like velvet than wood, and is dyed black.
It was many years ago a polite custom of the Thlinkits to paint and oil the face of a visitor, as a matter of hospi- tality and an indication of friendly feeling and respect.
A visitor from another tribe to Sitka fell ill and died, shortly after having been so oiled and honored, and his people claimed that the oil was rancid, - or that some evil spell had been oiled into him, - and a war arose.
The Sitka tribe began the preparation of the raven war bonnet and worked upon it all summer, while actual hostilities were delayed.
As winter came on, Kath-le-an's ancestor one day addressed his young men, telling them that the new war bonnet on his head would serve as a talisman to carry them to a glorious victory over their enemies.
Through the battle that followed, the war bonnet was everywhere to be seen in the centre of the most furious fighting. Only once did it go down, and then only for a moment, when the chief struggled to his feet; and as his young men saw the symbol of victory rising from the dust, the thrill of renewed hope that went through them im- pelled them forward in one splendid, simultaneous move- ment that won the day.
In 1804 Kath-le-an himself wore the hat when his people were besieged for many days by the Russians.
On this occasion the spell of the war bonnet ivas broken; and upon his utter defeat, Kath-le-an, feeling that it had lost its charm for good luck, buried the unfortunate symbol in the woods.
206
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
Many years afterward Kath-le-an exhumed the hat and presented it to the museum.
" We will hereafter dwell in peace with the white people," he said; "so my young men will never again need the war bonnet."
Kath-le-an has to this day kept his word. . He is still alive, but is nearly ninety years old.
Interesting stories and myths are connected with a large number of the relics in the museum - to which the small admission fee of fifty cents is asked.
One of the early picturesque block-houses built by the Russians still stands in a good state of preservation on a slight eminence above the town, on the way to the old cemetery.
The story of the lowering of the Russian flag, and the hoisting of the American colors at Sitka, is fraught with significance to the superstitious.
The steamship John L. Stevens, carrying United States troops from San Francisco, arrived in Sitka Harbor on the morning of October 9, 1867. The gunboats Jamestown and Resaca had already arrived and were lying at anchor. The Ossipee did not enter the harbor until the morning of the eighteenth.
At three o'clock of the same day the command of Gen- eral Jefferson C. Davis, about two hundred and fifty strong, in full uniform, armed and handsomely equipped, were landed, and marched to the heights where the famous Governor's Castle stood. Here they were met by a com- pany of Russian soldiers who took their place upon the left of the flagstaff.
The command of General Davis formed on the right. The United' States flag, which was to float for the first time in possession of Sitka, was in the care of a color guard - a lieutenant, a sergeant, and ten men.
Besides the officers and troops, there were present the
207
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
Prince and Princess Matsukoff, many Russian and Ameri- can residents, and some interested Indians.
It was arranged by Captain Pestchouroff and General Lovell N. Rosseau, Commissioner for the United States, that the United States should lead in firing the first salute, but that there should be alternate guns from the American and Russian batteries - thus giving the flag of each nation a double national salute.
The ceremony was begun by the lowering of the Russian flag - which caused the princess to burst into passionate weeping, while all the Russians gazed upon their colors with the deepest sorrow and regret marked upon their faces.
As the battery of the Ossipee led off in the salute and the deep peals crashed upon Mount Verstovi and rever- berated across the bay, an accident occurred which has ever been considered an omen of misfortune.
The Russian flag became entangled about the ropes, owing to a high wind, and refused to be lowered.
The staff was a native pine, about ninety feet in height. Russian soldiers, who were sailors as well, at once set out to climb the pole. It was so far to the flag, however, that their strength failed ere they reached it.
A " boatswain's chair " was hastily rigged of rope, and another Russian soldier was hoisted to the flag. On reaching it, he untangled it and then made the mistake of dropping it to the ground, not understanding Captain Pestchouroff's energetic commands to the contrary.
It fell upon the bayonets of the Russian soldiers - which was considered an ill omen for Russia.
The United States flag was then slowly hoisted by George Lovell Rosseau, and the salutes were fired as be- fore, the Russian water battery leading this time.
The hoisting of the flag was so timed that at the exact instant of its reaching its place, the report of the last big gun of the Ossipee roared out its final salute.
208
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
Upon the completion of the salutes, Captain Pestchou- roff approached the commissioner and said : ---
" General Rosseau, by authority of his Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, I transfer to the United States the Territory of Alaska."
The transfer was simply accepted, and the ceremony was at an end.
No one understanding the American spirit can seriously condemn the Americans present for the three cheers which burst spontaneously forth ; yet there are occasions upon which an exhibition of good taste, repression, and con- sideration for the people of other nationalities present is more admirable and commendable than a spread-eagle burst of patriotism.
The last trouble caused by the Sitkan Indians was in 1878. The sealing schooner San Diego carried among its crew seven men of the Kake-sat-tee clan. The schooner was wrecked and six of the Kake-sat-tees were drowned. Chief Kath-le-an demanded of Colonel M. D. Ball, collector of customs and, at that time, the only representative of the government in Sitka, one thousand blankets for the life of each man drowned.
Colonel Ball, appreciating the gravity of the situation, and desiring time to prepare for the attack which he knew would be made upon the town, promised to write to the company in San Francisco and to the government in Washington.
After a long delay a reply to his letter arrived from the company, which refused, as he had expected, to allow the claim, and stated that no wages, even, were due the men who were drowned.
The government - which at that time had a vague idea that Alaska was a great iceberg floating between America and Siberia - paid no attention to the plea for assistance.
209
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
When Chief Kath-le-an learned that payment in blankets would not be made, he demanded the lives of six white men. This, also, being refused, he withdrew to prepare for battle.
Then hasty preparations were made in the settlement to meet the hourly expected attack. All the firearms were made ready for action, and a guard kept watch day and night. The Russian women and children were quartered in the home of Father Nicolai Metropolsky ; the Americans in the custom-house.
The Indians held their war feast many miles from Sitka. On their way to attack the village they passed the White Sulphur Hot Springs, on the eastern shore of Baranoff Island, and murdered the man in charge.
They then demanded the lives of five white men, and when their demand was again refused, they marched stealthily upon the settlement.
However, Sitka possessed a warm and faithful friend in the person of Anna-Hoots, Chief of the Kak-wan-tans. He and his men met the hostile party and, while attempt- ing to turn them aside from their murderous purpose, a general fight among the two clans was precipitated.
Before the Kake-sat-tees could again advance, a mail- boat arrived, and the war passion simmered.
When the boat sailed, a petition was sent to the British authorities at Esquimault, asking, for humanity's sake, that assistance be sent to Sitka.
Kath-le-an had retreated for reenforcement ; and on the eve of his return to make a second attack, H.M.S. Osprey arrived in the harbor.
The appeal to another nation for aid, and the bitter newspaper criticism of its own indifference, had at last aroused the United States government to a realization of its responsibilities. The revenue cutter Wolcott dropped anchor in the Sitka Harbor a few days after the Osprey ;
P
210
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
and from that time on Sitka was not left without protection.
Along the curving road to Indian River stands the soft gray Episcopal Church, St. Peter's-by-the-Sea. Built of rough gray stone and shingles, it is an immediate pleasure and rest to the eye.
" Its doors stand open to the sea, The wind goes thro' at will, And bears the scent of brine and blue To the far emerald hill."
Any stranger may enter alone, and passing into any pew, may kneel in silent communion with the God who has created few things on this earth more beautiful than Sitka.
No admission is asked. The church is free to the prince and the pauper, the sinner and the saint; to those of every creed, and to those of no creed at all.
The church has no rector, but is presided over by P. T. Rowe, the Bishop of All Alaska and the Beloved of All Men ; him who carries over land and sea, over ice and everlasting snow, over far tundra wastes and down the lone and mighty Yukon in his solitary canoe or bidarka, by dog team and on foot, to white people and dark, and to whomsoever needs -the simple, sweet, and blessed message of Love.
It was in 1895 that Reverend P. T. Rowe, Rector of St. James' Church, Sault Sainte Marie, was confirmed as Bishop of Alaska. He went at once to that far and un- known land ; and of him and his work there no words are ever heard save those of love and praise. He is bishop, rector, and travelling missionary; he is doctor, apothecary, and nurse; he is the hope and the comfort of the dying and the pall-bearer of the dead. He travels many hun- dreds of miles every year, by lone and perilous ways, over
211
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
the ice and snow, with only an Indian guide and a team of huskies, to carry the word of God into dark places. He is equally at ease in the barabara and in the palace- like homes of the rich when he visits the large cities of the world.
Bishop Rowe is an exceptionally handsome man, of courtly bearing and polished manners. The moment he enters a church his personality impresses itself upon the people assembled to hear him speak.
On a gray August Sunday in Nome - three thousand miles from Sitka - I was surprised to see so many peo- ple on their way to midday service, Alaska not being famed for its church-going qualities.
"Oh, it is the Bishop," said the hotel clerk, smiling. " Bishop Rowe," he added, apparently as an after-thought. "Everybody goes to church when he comes to town."
I had never seen Bishop Rowe, and I had planned to spend the day alone on the beach, for the surf was rolling high and its musical thunder filled the town. Its lonely, melancholy spell was upon me, and its call was loud and insistent ; and my heart told me to go.
But I had heard so much of Bishop Rowe and his self- devoted work in Alaska that I finally turned my back upon temptation and joined the narrow stream of human- ity wending its way to the little church.
When Bishop Rowe came bending his dark head through the low door leading from the vestry, clad in his rich scarlet and purple and gold-embroidered robes, I thought I had never seen so handsome a man.
But his appearance was forgotten the moment he began to speak. He talked to us; but he did not preach. And we, gathered there from so many distant lands - each with his own hopes and sins and passions, his own desires and selfishness - grew closer together and leaned upon the words that were spoken there to us. They were so
212
ALASKA: THE GREAT COUNTRY
simple, and so earnest, and so sweet; they were so seri- ously and so kindly uttered.
And the text -it went with us, out into the sea-sweet, surf-beaten streets of Nome ; and this was it, "Love me ; and tell me so." Like the illustrious Veniaminoff, Bishop Rowe, of a different church and ereed, and working in a later, more commercial age, has yet won his hold upon northern hearts by the sane and simple way of Love. The text of his sermon that gray day in the surf-beaten, tundra-sweet city of Nome is the text that he is patiently and cheerfully working out in his noble life-work.
Mr. Duncan, at Metlakahtla, has given his life to the Indians who have gathered about him ; but Bishop Rowe, of All Alaska, has given his life to dark men and white, wherever they might be. Year after year he has gone out by perilous ways to find them, and to seatter among them his words of love - as softly and as gently as the Indians used to seatter the white down from the breasts of sea- birds, as a message of peace to all men.
The White Sulphur Hot Springs, now frequently called the Sitka Hot Springs, are situated on Hot Springs Bay on the eastern shore of Baranoff Island, almost directly east of Sitka.
The bay is sheltered by many small green islands, with lofty mountains rising behind the sloping shores. It is an ideally beautiful and desirable place to visit, even aside from the eurative qualities of the elear waters which bubble from pools and ereviees among the rocks. These springs have been famous since their discovery by Lisiansky in 1805. Sir George Simpson visited them in 1842; and with every year that has passed their praises have been more enthusiastically sung by the fortunate ones who have voyaged to that dazzlingly green and jewelled region.
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.