Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-07-30
ALASKA.
Interesting Extracts from the Report
of the First Grand Jury.

id inrv of Alaska to Judge Wade Nc All
,ster OF the United States district
M court, which Was submitted at the
recent May term. contains the follow.
ing paragraphs of interest:
III "The rapid development of GU
81 territory, the recent discoveries of So
ID much rich mineral, and the num.r>
q GUS industries that are being brought
"a TO the attention OF capitalists fierce US
81 10 the conclusion that the judicial
II system as now established is made
Il ouate to the demands of our people
II and of such limited character that
q in some of the most important sec
tons of the territory the settlement
Of difficulties by courts and iufies is
practically unattaInable, and that by
ALI means regular terms of courts with
q all the jurisdiction of your honorable
\ court, should be established at juneau,
II Kodiak and Ounalaska, and that our
governor should appoint justices of
the peace and constables at all the
n principal fishing stations and else>
\ where whenever he may thiAk they
4 are needed. Records are now being
4 made Involving the titles of mineral
lands valued al several millions of
4 dollars. Officers having the custody
of these records should be provided
with suitable vaults and receptacles to
protect the same against loss by fire
or otherwise. The Dominion parlia~
ment has already taken the prelm-
mary steps by which the boundary
between Alaska and the British poss.
essions can be ascertained and deter
mined, and we especially urge the
necessity for the Uaited States gov.
eminent to comply with the request
made by the Dominion parliament
that commission be appointed to
settle the question. Valuable miner
al lands are oelng prospected, and
our miners at this time have no means
of knowing whether said mines
should be located under the United
States mining laws or those OF Brit
ish Columbia.
"In view of the fact that Alaska
territory pays a greater revenue to the
general government, in proportion TO
the population, than any other ter
ritory now or heretofore IN existence
in the United States, we deem it as
matter of justice to our citizens that
appropriations should be made for the
following purposes, to wit: For the
repairs of wharves now belonging to
the government; for the construction,
erection, and improvement of others
at the principal points in Alaska
waters and for the erection and main
tenance of light houses for the safety
OF life and property of our people.
"0ur officers should be supplied
with some convenient means of trans
portution under the control of said
officers, without which it is impossible
for them 10 perform their respective
duties with such promptness and dis
patch as officers IN other territories in
the United States are able to do. This
we suggest for the reason that the
only mode OF conveyance is by Joat.
Tt are no roads, and the people
are obliged to travel by water exclus
lively. We recommend the appropria
ton of sufficient money to survey and
build good trail from the head of
Duryea inlet, Chilcat county, to the
boundary line, a distance of about
twenty-five miles, TO insure the safe
transit of miners. explorers and sup
plies destined for the Yakon river and
tributaries, thus furnishing an access
sible route to the mineral fields of
wealth and importance.
"The fishes found in the waters of
Alaska territory are the principal food
fishes of the world-viz salmon, her
ring, Goldfish, and halibut. In con-
sideration of the fact that the fishing
industry stands next to the mining in
dustry in this territory, and that
Alaska will probably be called upon
to supply the United States with cheap
food fishes in the near future, it is
important that an examination of the
extent of the fisheries should be made
and to that end liberal appropriation
with the necessary transportation
should be provided.
1--WE recognize the long established
policy of our government to eneour'
age schools and educational facilities,
and would say that our Russian citi-
zens are, as a class, poor, and unac-
quaiEted with the rights and privll-
eyes of American citizens, and that
non sectarian schools by fair, honest,
and upright persons, not prejudiced
IN favor of any sect or creed, should
be established for the benefit of the
white children of Alaska territory.
While we are somewhat i'll doubt
IN regard to our duties in regard to
Indians, nevertheless we have taken
them with the broad meaning of our
Instructions and as their future in
this territory is so interviewer with
settlers therein we take the response
bility, and present them as we know
them. These Indians are enterprise
ing and industrious, and fully under
stand and appreciate our system of
government. They are not by any
means the untutored savage of gush
ing travellers and romance writers,
but are Independent, self supporting,
aud willing laborers, and we should
deem it most disastrous to the ad-
vancement and prosperity of this
territory should they be confined on
reservations.
The distance of our territory from
fha co,,4,.o1 and tho