Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-11-12

tains close behind. There are not more than 800 inhabitable acres there, and upon them was crowded all there ever was of Wrangell in its most prosperous days. On the north side of the village is a higher knoll, and on tkis stand the old defenses of Fort Wrangell A high wooden palisade or stockade sur rounded the area set apart for military pur poses; the stockade is gone, but the buildings all remain in a fair state of preservation The fort proper where were the officers quarters and the barracks for the men stands on tho north side of the quadrangle, and is solid log building boarded over and made impen- etrable to bullets The government house stands on the west side of the square, and is built of the same material.
 This building on the seaside is adapted for defensive purposes. On the east side of the quadrangle is large log and boarded build ing which used in the old Russian days as storehouse, and its outer front was adapted to protective and defensive purposes.
 A PECULIAR STRUCTURE,
 At the southeast corner of this square stands the most peculiar structure of all, and one more suggestive of the necessities of defense than all the rest. It is the block house or baston, and upon its safety and se- curity depended tle safety and security of the entire post It is solidly built of logs, and is about twelve feet square at the ground.
 
 feet, the height of the palisades, where isa sec pnd story of wider dimensions, extending en- 1 tirely over the margin of the first Its walls are not parallel with those of the first, but it is placed diagonally across the first, so that its corners do not conform to the corners of the first. In thus being wider than the first story, and extending over it on all sides, rife men could defend it, not only by aiming out ward, but downward the outside of the | .1l~ lzfz Pennsylvania New York and Ohio 100 years ago, but they are now only historic memo ries, while the Russian block house at Fort Wrangell still exists as a memento of their occupation, and is rapidly going to ruin.
 There are only 0 few Russians left at | Wrangell, not more than a dozen of pure bloods. There are quite a number of the mixed race, Indian and Russian, still there but the bulk of the denizens of the place are natives. These relics of Russian peasantry and the half breeds are rule more worth less than the native or Indian. The houses of the old Russian settlement are rapidly disappearing from lack of care and through the wet climate, which is destructive of tim Der. About 500 Indians have their winter home there. During the canning season they go out long distance up the inlets and take salmon and other fish for the canneries, When that season is over they return to | Wrangell, spending the winter months in hunting the mule deer, sometimes attacking the great brown bear of the adjoining noun tains, but giving over most of their leisure time to gambling There are twelve or flf- teen Americans in the village, some in public employment, some in mission work teaching the Indians, some in saloon keeping, and the rest in traders stores.
 CURIos FOR SALE.
 A remnant of the old Russian town stands below the fort along what was once perhaps street. A relic of rough wooden sidewalk and some boarded up old fashioned, narrow windows suggest traffic. On this broken and dilapidated walk a score or two of old squaws and decrepit men squat on their launches and expose for sale tho curios with which they hope to tempt the tourist, These natives are adopts at construction, and offer for sale nicely formed bracelets and rings manufac- tured from coin silver obtained at the can neries for fish. They also have wooden spoons and bowls for sale, made from the beautiful yellow cedar of this coast, orna- mented with carved griff1ns of curious design. In trading with the Athabascan Indians of the interior in the British dominions, they procure white, coarse wool from a sort of mountain goat or sheep, and this is woven into blankets variously colored, mostly gray and white, and figured over with griffins and
 
 for a thousand miles and more Is only Q strip of coast about 30 miles wide on the mainland. ; The Indians of the interior are never per , mitted by the coast natives to come to tide water. The coast natives have time out of mind constituted themselves the middlemen, and have done all the trading with the h. , dians of the British dominions.
 ) After leaving Fort Wrangell one sees nc white settlements again for many hours Al.-., Io4 A where little glacier river comes with roa1 out of the deep notch in the surrounding mountains one comes upon the few isolated F. buildings of the Loring fish cannery. Four l or five whites are here among a host of na tives, the latter furnishing the fish to the , works. Nothing can be more lonely than the situation of that meager settlement many miles by land and water from any white neighbors or succor of any kind. From here @ long steaming brings us to Berry's cannery It has as few white people and is in as lonely ' a notch in the mountains by the seaside as Loring's. Indians in tents and huts near the works and few whites are all we see. Il takes all night, fast steaming, before wt reach signs of civilization again at Junear City and Douglass Island, the seat of tht g great gold mining industries of Alaska From these points the steamer picks its way up the narrow cannels, fearful of hidder rocks and rapid tide currents, for more thai twelve hours, and then reaches the salmon cannery of Pyramid harbor, in what is callee q the Chilcat country, in Chilcat inlet Her. are half dozen whites managing the fishery and canning establishment, and not on
 white woman to be seen there, This is tn j. highest point in the inlets where steamers g s for commercial purposes.-Sitka Cor. Nev
 York Times.