, 1886-07-08
tl'e at'eeklp Arsus,
THURSDAY. JULY :. 1886.
Alaska and the Alaskans,

Mr.. Sheldon jackson, the general |
agent. for education in Alaska, has
presented Il report to Secretary |
Lamar, writes Carp" the Washing |
ton correspondent of the Cleveland |
Leader, in which he gives some very
interesting facts relating to that
country and It's inhabitants. He
says that the western part of Alaska
is as far west OF San Francisco as
Maine Is east, so that San Francisco
is the great central city of the terri
tories of the United States. He de
scribes the extent of Alaska better
than it has been done before. 1t Is
as large as all OF the New England
and Middle states, together with Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michi-
gan, Kentucky and Tennessee. 1t is
about one sixth of the area of the
whole United Sta ses, and it has a
coast line twice as long as that of our
Atlantic and Pacific shores. 1t Is as
far from the northern to the southern
point of Alaska as from Maine to
Florida, and an air line drawn from
ono end of Alaska to the other would
be as long as the distance between
Washington and California.
POPULATION.
Still this vast territory has Il pOpu-
lation of 35,SI3. or only about one
sixth of that of the city of Cleveland.
and POOP of these are whites. About
one half of the rest are EXquimaux
and l756 are called creoles, and are
the descendants OF native mothers by
Russian fathers. The population of
Alaska has a few of the characters
ties of the Indians, and they are
race entirely different from the In
dian tribes Cf the United States.
They have better brains and stronger
muscles, and they yield readily to
civilizing influences. They live, Dis a
rule, in permanent, substantial homes
and support themselves. They have
great ambition to become American
lied, and the better class of them
want to build American homes, pos
sess American furniture, dress in
American clothes and be American
citizens.
The Eskimo part of the population
of Alaska is of far different nature
than is generally supposed by Ameri-
cans. They are not small like the
inhabitants of Greenland and Labra
dor, but are tall and muscular, many
of them being over six feet in height
They have small, black eyes, high
cheek bones, large mouth, thick lips
and fresh yellow compilations. Their
hair is of coarse brown, and in
many instances the men have full
boards and mustaches. They are a
good natured set of people, always
smiling when spoken to, and they are
fond of dancing, running, jumping
and all athletic sports. They dress
in the skins of animals, and buy,
whenever they can, American clotn-
ing. The houses they live IN have
the outward appearance of circular
mounds of earth covered with grass,
with a small openiuing at the top
for the escape Of smoke. The en-
trance is small door, and narrow
hallway to the main room, which is
from twelve to twenty feet in diane
ter. These Alaska Eskimos eat
chiefly meat and fish. They do not
like salt, and while they will smack
their lips over decayed fish or putrid
oil, they will turn up their noses at a
mouthful of the finest corned beef.
They all smoke tobacco-men, women
and children, and they have at one
place an annual fair to which they
comefor hundreds of miles to trade.
TIE CREoLEs OF ALASKA
Are mixed up somewhat in their liv-
ing with the Aleuts. There are
about 1000 of these last in Alaska,
and they occupy the Aleutian chain
of islands. These men are smaller
than the Eskimos, and they have
black hair instead of brown They
look greet deal like the Japanese,
and have many civilized instincts.
Their houses consist of two or three
rooms: and they use cooking stoves,
crockery dishes, and have their
feather beds covered with colored
spreads. The wall of their houses
are hung with colored pictures. and
they light them with coal oil in glass
lamps. They are fond of music, and
in nearly every home you will find a
hand organ, accordion or a music box.
They are fast becoming American
lied. They dress In American gar
ments, and their women study the
fashion plates and try to initiate the
latest styles. Many of them can read
and most of them are members o the
Russo Greek church. They ask q
blessing at their meals, and when
they bid good bye to their friends 1t
is with God bless you" These peo
pie live IN the great seal islands of
Alaska.
THE ALASKA COMMERCIAL COMPANY
PAYS the United States government
$4,000 year as an annual rental OF
these islands, and it is allowed to take
100000 seal skins every year, upon
which they pay a royalty of S262, 500.
The revenue of these islands during
the past sixteel years have returned
to the government more than half of
the sum paid to Russia for the W ole
country. Il great many of these
Alaskans have good incomes, and one
village alone has revenue of 500,
600 a year form its sale of otter skins.
This would make 1878 for every man,
woman and child In it. Another vii
lage gets $500 a year per family for
the sale OF sea otters. These Aleuts
and Creoles respect the marriage re-
lation, which is not true of others of
the Alaskan tribes.
The Tinnehs, who are more like
the Indians than any of the other
Alaskans, are polygamists, and they
discard and take wives at pleasure.
They rarely have mere than three
wives, but often more than Que. fhe
Tlnnehs bury their dead in boxes
above the ground. They believe in
wtichcraft, and it is not an uncom-
mon thing for them TO kill their ;e-
male babies.
Another tribe which practices Do
lygamy are the Hydah, who are tall.
weil-formed fellows, noted fer their
bravery and feroclty. They are
known as the bulldogs of the North
Pacific, and they have not hcsitated
TO attack and nlunIar E-,rlf-i - \