Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1867-12-26


SITKA, ALASKA TERRITORY,
November 5th, 1867
THE LAND OF PROMISE.
This is the land of promise and o
he ars, the cod iisherman's Eldorado
the country of boundless forests, Of
fered as iuring bats to the lumber
men and shipwright. Here thu
hardy miner can secure fortune in
a pan il he will risk his scalp with
poor ''Lo,' and here more tnan else
where is '.Lo'' to be pitied for his
scalping propensity. 1t only re
mains for the great Yankee nation.
with its restless energy, to develop
the untold wealth of the northern
wilds; and one would infer from the
accounts which have from time 10
time appeared in our periodicals,
that for this event they have frozen,
and if possible, thawd for ages. 1t
is stated, too, by our wise sayans
who read travelling stories, and be
lieve, without seeing, that the TEN.
perature of the atmosphere here al
ways averages the same as that of
Washington. and as cause for this
they allege the existence of stream
similar to our gulf stream, which
flows from the equator along the
Asiatic coast, and yields its balmy
influence in a magical degree. Ma
ture, in clothing the denizens of the
sea and forest with coats of fnest
and heaviest fur, does not seem to
confirm the truth of the statement =
1t wont do TO throw cold water on
this land Of nnrealized hopes, lest ii
hampcn the ardor OF the progressive
Yankee, and chill the flower of future
national questions in the land.
ALL THAT IS KNOWN OF THE COUNTRY
The interior of the country is but
little known. 1t is said to be covered
with scraggy growth of fur peculiar
to northern latitndes. The Lumer-
Gus small streams near the coast
abound in salmon, and afford
with the chase, ample support for
the several tribes of Indians. The
bear, beaver, muskrat, fox, mink,
martin, lanet, otter, dear, elk, and
wolf, inhabit the forest, and the sea
otter, fur seal, hair seal, and sea
horse, valuable for its ivory, are
found on the shores. The annual ex-
ports have amounted to twelve thou
sand seal, two thousand sea otter,
ten thousand beaver, two thousand
land otter, fox and martin skins, and
twenty thousand sea horse h
Under the Fur Company's rule. pre-
vious to the ceding of the Territory,
only the males which had attained
full growth have been killed.
ITS PEACEABLE PEOPLE.
This Company had formed agen-
cies along the coast, with superin-
tendents and traders for prosecuting
business with the Indians. Each |
agency transacted its business inside
a stockade armed with guns. These
stockades generally formed nucleus
around which an Indian settlement
gradually grew, and over which the
superintendents had acquired aoso
lutte control. The chief trading post
or rather rendezvous, for their ira
ling vessels, was New Archangel,
now Sitka. on the island of Sitka.
The Company originally establish
ed itself at another point on the Is
land, but was driven off by the In
lians. This place they fortified
with eighteen short 1S-pounders and
forty-two lcrg 9 Founders. With
this formidable armament, a garri-
son of three hundred men inside
5toclade made a successful defense,
about twelve years ago, against
vigorous attack by the savages, who
maintained the siege for three days,
displaying great bravery. Since
this demonstration of power by the
whites, the Indians have remained
quiet; but the Company havo always
carried on :heir business under the
guns Of its vessels.
ITS EXCELLENT HARBoRs.
The inland passage from Puget's
Sound to the Hudson Bay Company's
.rading post, Port Simpson, dis
.ance of five hundred miles, is intri.
cate and dangerous for sailing ves-
sells, there being but few good an
,horages; yet it is resorted to by ex-
perienced pilots, to avoid the gales OF
he ocean.
BIT OF SCENERY.
Winding, as il does, through the
coast range of mountains, it sur
passes the Hudson for the imposing
grandeur of its scenery, though it is
ess varied, with extensive landscape
views. In sailing through these mar
row passages, you are completely
shut in on either side, by land rising
nearly perpendicularly from the
water, until lost in the clouds. Un-
ike the massive granite walls of the
Straits of Magellan, these nights are
covered by fir and evergreen, and
partake more of the picturesque than
,he grand. The numerous cascades,
in foam from their sum-
nits, and looking like ribbons of
silver, stretching to the waters edge.