The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-07

whole twenty-four- Mrs. Alger threaded
a needle and did some fine sewing on the
deck OF the boat at y o'clock at night with no
other light than that furnished by the
heavens. That would be great cOua try
Tor couTtlng-a young man could sit II out
all night. Not drop of rain fell during
the twelve and a half days that we were
out from Tao )ma. The captain said that
that was his 1O9th trip, and the first one
without rain.
"A remarkable feature of the country is
that I ere is scarcely au acre of land that is
lnhabltable. Alaska is a great pipe, and
Sltka, the seat of government, is situated
about the center Of the stem. OF the vast
interior little is known, but the stem, ex-
tending southwark along the coast is little
more than mass of islands, rocky and
barren except for dense growth Of cedars.
1t is impossible in all that great country for
person to secure title to an acre of lasd or
a stick of timber. 1t all belongs exclusive
ly TO the government. OF course, in due
time that viii be recCfied, as it should be
rightly away.
''Alaska's mineral resources are immense,
and nave no doubt will, in the future, be
extensively developed. We VISITED the
famous Tread well nina on Douglass Island
opposite Juno, and $50 miles from Sltka.
This mine is owned and operated by Senator
Jones, d. o. Mills and an English syndi-
cate. They are working 24O S00-pOund
stamps and turning out 81, 400 in gold every
day. There are great many placer mines
that are paying well, and coal has lately
been discovered. The fishing industry has the
lead at present, and the company having a
monopoly of that business has alrea iy paid
to the United States government six-Sev-
euths of the original purchase price of the
territory.
''Sitka has a population of about 500, in
GLIDING the governor and United States
officers, and four-ffths of this population
are Indians. They are an isolated class of
people, with nothing to do or to do with
Their only means of communication with
the outside world is by the steamer that ar
rives once week with the mail What
they need is a system of cables, and this
ought to be furnished at once by the gov
eminent, as no private enterprise can af-
ford it. There should also be a government
steamer at Sitka, and as soon as possible a
line of steamers plying between San Fran
cisco and Tacoma aud Sltka. A wagon
road or railroad through such country is
utterly out of the question.
81 learned at Sitka that Alaska has a
total population Of 81, 900, of which 5000
are Esquimsux, 10, 600 indians and 5000 or
1900 white persons. In the int
rior the country Is not inhabitable on
account of the mosquitoes, which often
drive bears ard other wild beasts to the
coast during the summer months, It's only
value to the government is its mineral re-
| sources and its fisheries"
Gen. Alger found at Stka Presbyterian
chapel aud mission school, the latter having
$50 native pupils, representing 20 different
Indian tribes. There was also Greek
church, established when the territory was
under Russian control. He saw no evidences
| of tha immortality that asserted from
some sources, exists among the inhabitants
of these coast towns and mining camps. II
was formerly the custom of Indian parents
to sell their female otfsprings to the highest
bidder, but this practice has been elfectual
| " stopped