Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-02-06
HOME MISSIONS.


IN THE ICk FirLus or ALAskA'
Tne fienshen of the United states-Cur
Possessions in the Northwest SOME
Interesting Facts and Figures.
The PreSby terian church auditorium
was nore than two thirds filled last even
lug i'll response to the general invitation tO
the pubiic to come and hear an address by
Rev. Or. Sheldon Jackson on " Alaska
by way ri introduction to the ccuueil Gu
home missions now hclCIuy in tho Pres
byteran church. this city. After the con-
gregatiou had sung "God Save Our
| Native Land - aud listened to short
| invocation, the lecture began. y map OF
| Alaska aud the surrounding seas and
countries was hung between the pillars
and above the pulpit, to which the lee
turer frequently pointed in illustration OF
his remarks. In introducing the subject
DR.. Jackson observed that it
properly came within the scope
of home missions, because Alaska
is part of tho United States. though
| almost rs unknown to us as Africa and
| the subject of much Misrepresentation,
$50, 1U1 square miles OF area gives little
idea OF its size, but it is of as great ex
| tent as all Of the country east OF the Mis-
slssippi aud above the Carolinas, Alabama
and Mississippi. From it's eastern border
to the western extremity Of the Aleutian
islands is as far as from Lancaster to
California, and from north to south it
covers as many parallels rs from here to
Florida. San Francisco is really the cen
trail city. east and west, OF our national
domain. Alaska abounds in natural
features of wonderful interest. Its Mt.
St. Elias rises 10, 600 feet above the sea
volcanoes dot its islands boiling springs
are the cook stoves Of its people its
glaciers are rivers of ice, some of them
seven miles wide aud a thousand feet
deep its archipelagOes number islands by
the tens OF thousands it's great river is
| 20 miles across at it's mouth, 20 miles
wide 1000 miles up the stream, and in
high water is navigable for !, 0OO miles.
Il Resources of Alaska.
|. Its material resources, which have been
dcr!ded, have at least enabled it to pay
, our government per cent. Oh the invest
meut during the fifteen years We have
held it. Three million dollars have been col
lected from the seal skin trade alone car
ried Oh on two little islands, which supply
all the markets OF the world. 1t abouads
in all the valuable furs of commerce, With
, food fish, cod and salmon, with timber
belts of ineXhauStible extent and iue stima-
there are mountains OF iron ore and rich
deposits of the precious metals. The
!, climate is rigid in the north, but on the
southern coast the winters are as mild as
, in Lancaster. For forty-tivs years the
average temperature at Sitka i'll the
winter has been that of Kentucky often
the ice houses cannot be- filled, and the
boys complain of lack Of shedding.
Tho Inhabitants and Their civilization.
+ In the North there are Is, 900 Esquimaux,
. who have never had any missionary work
extended to them. On the Aleutian
islands and in the West are 5000 or 5000
Leuths, partially civilized people, and to
+ the Southwark the class who come under
+ the generic name of Indians. They have
. permanent villages and houses the latter
great structures. built OF cedar p'anks, 50
+ feet square, and accommodating Is or go
a families, often including three generations
of one relationship. These people are in
. dustrious and frugal and private fortunes
of from $40 900 to So, 900 are not uncOm
mon among them. Believing in the iniiu-
y ence of spirits, trusting to the unfaiIiug
y benefcence OF tho good, and fearing the
=. malignancy 0: the evil, their religion de-
- generates to fetish worship. The medicine
men, marked from childhood, cOnsecrated
. by ghOulish rites, perform horrid incanta-
tions and pricstly sacrifices. Degradation
I. !, is the lot of woman and parricide, infauti =
;. ;. eide, polygamy and atrociois slavery arc
W features of their social economy.
. Our Na,ioDni JurisGict"n.
N With the transfer OF this land and THESE
- people to ouc federal jurisdiction, there
% have been furnished 10 them 10 court, laws
=. nor governor. Life and property are not
under the regulations elsewhere relating
to murder, robbery and tho laws oi des-
cent. Russia taught it's subjects here to
read and write, but 1T the accession It's
st teachers, pric sts and scholars were with
A. drawn. Russia gave Alaska 4 church
e. the United States has not. 1t was left to
81 four Indian boys, trained i'll English mis-
g. sion schools in 1876 to give the first in
l. petus to mission work in Alaska. They
m obtained job of wood chOpping and thcil
le novel refusal to work ON the Sabbath at
T. tracted, first curious attention, then q prayer
" meeting and congregation. Presbyterian
TT enterprise planted a mission work, which
g. at one time was left entirely for ten
'e months in the hands of Mrs. McFarlane.
'e Alone with 800 Indians and a few disso
., lutte white traders living with aborigiual
ic wives, she acted as judge, preacher,
to teacher, physician, lawyer and u:I,isrtaker
ie for that strange community. She first
q. mcnt. A school and church were cstah-
:. lished at Stka. They did great work
rs Boys and girls attended with eagcrness
s. and the old people wanted to come
le scholars learned readily and showed apti
~ tude for education. The school enlarged
l. and capacious edifice was crowded
IN Many interesting incidents were related
a. by the lecturer to show the character Oi
ts the natives. their herOism, earnestncss
Df and capacity for improvement. The
school building burnod down, bu: it has
been replaced and 81 900 are needed t.
refurnish it. The lecturer closed with al
n earnest appeal in behalf of the mission
,e work in Alaska, and after collection,
"a announcements and beuedictiou the audi
$, ence was dismissed
,r DR.. Jackson talks in al easy, cCnvevsa
i tional style. His lecture contained much
l. new and interesting matter aud the entire
9. discourse held his audience i'll fixed atten
tion.
The i.,euerkranZ Eeiref fund.
~ The final reports of tho collectors ol
- contributions for the German sufferers
- who had been appointed by the Lei,ler
% kranz, were handed in Monday evening
10 with the exception OF one collector whs
% resides in the country aud missed tht
~ mail. The result is very satisfactory. Two
~ hundred and thirty three dollars arc
q fifteen cents have been acknowledged here.
tofore in the daily papers. Since thel