, 1886-09-30
ALASKA'S CHIEF CITY.
ihsF DESCRIPTION OF THE AIRED
AT fractions OF JUNEAU

A Rush in Search of CurIos-rL>
Hainfaii-Indian Bellies q Annual
Arts Of tho Toilette '"e'
Faces with SCOT and o e''"s i"'''
Sitkp, the capital
when she is awat Of Alaska, sleeps save
by the arrival .ened for a day or two
ists. Torsv Jf a load OF tour
spring Of .,rdn cell, the premature Off
tie e> q go d rumor, Is desL Juneau,
sho- -fropolis, Is the only settlement that
, IS any signs OF vigor, and she may
.ope to live IA not over-lively village lifs
so long RS the mines on Douflas island,
across the narrow straits, continue 10 pay,
and no longer. There were sea birds
sklrnming the water as we threaded the
labyrinthine channels that surround
Juneau.
Tbs settlement has seen a good deal of
experience for a young one. 1t was fir.t
known as Pilsbury; then some humorist
dubbed il Fllptown. 1t was afterward
called Rockwell, and Harrisburg, a I'd
finally juneau, the name 1t still bears
with more or less dignity. Tie customary
Indian village han 70 upon che borders OF
the town; In fact. the two wings OF the
settlement are aboriginal; but the cop
per-skin seems not particularly interested
in its progress of clviliz ltion further thar
the occasional chance 1t affords him Of
turning IN honest penny In the dispo-ol
or his wares. No sooner was the gang
plank out than We all made II rush for the
trading stores in search of curios. The
faculty OF acquisltiveness grows with
what 1t feeds on, and before the Alaska
tour Is over 1t almost amounts to a mania
among the excursionist4. You SHOULD
have seen us, men, women and children
hurrying along the beach to tho heart OF
Juneau. where we saw flags flying from
the slaves that stood by the trading stores.
IL was no easy task 10 distance a Compel
tor In those t~horouhfures.
JuNEAU's ANNUAL
juneau has an annual raintai, Of nine
feet; the streets are guttered; indeed the
streets are CUTTERS In some cases. l know
OF nj least one little bridge that carries
the pedestrian from one side walk to an
other, over the muddy road below. was
headed OIL on my way to the N. w. I.
Co.'S warehouse and sat me down on a
stump 10 write till the rush Oh bric-a- brac
was over. Meanwhile | noticed the shake
saanties and the pioneers who hung about
them, with their long. slim legs crooked
under rush chairs la the diminutiye YER
Rndus.
Indian bells were out in full feather.
They added up and down the lanes Of
the town, squatted at the street corners
or my IN heaps among the wares which
were displayed upon the strips OF narrow
Many of them hi 1 wild berries
ior safe or were eating handfuls of them
at intervals to encourage the appetite of
the indifferent customer. Some of these
Indian maiden had their + tcss covered
with a thick coating of SCOT and oil, the
rims of the eyelids, the tip of thu nose
and the inner portions OF the lips show
ing in striking contra It's to the hideou.
mask, which they are said to wear in or
der to pre>erye their complexion. They
look Tor the most part lik. b ack- faced
monkeys, and appear in this guise a great
portion or the time in order to dazzle the
town, after n scruubln9. with skins ~
fair and sleek as soft soap. Even some
OF the sterner sex are constrained to resort
TO art in tbs hop, of Tightening their
manly beauty, but these are, OF course.
Alaska dudes, and as such are doubtless
pardonable.
There is u bathhouse In Juneau and a
barber shop. They did a big bu siness on
our arrival There are many billiard
halls, where prohibited drink, are TO be
more or less surroptitiously obtained. A
dance hall stands uninvitin xly open in
the street. At tine doorway, as we pass
it, was posted a hand-lettere | placard an
nouncing that the ludies OF Juneau would
on the evening in question give a gran
ball In honor of the psssen t-rs OF the
Ancon. Tickets, so cents.-Cor. San Fran
CISCO Chronicle.