, 1890-09-11
SPOKANE FALLS REVIEW: THURSDAY SEPTEMBER II

tives for material for their carved
wood work, for II was perfectly
sound. Another large tree lay prone
mt great length. a fir over three
feet In diameter was sitting astrlCle
IL, sending it's roots down to the
/ ground on either side. A trail
running across II made 1t necessary
to cut down into the old tree,
Its wood being perfectly sound,
Again | saw large tree perciied
some feet up upon an old stump,
its roots having found the ground
down In its hollow. The majority
of the large trees OH the flats have
grotesque trunks several feet from
the ground, showing thus that they
had been distorted by old trunks, In
whose moss covered sides the seed
from which they sprang had ger1li-
mated. The air Is so full of moisture
that moss soon covers a fallen tree
and furnishes the best bed for
sproutlng the delicate seed of con-
iiere. The cost of clearing such
land rs might be fitted for cultiva-
ton will retnrd for u long time any
agricultural pursuits in Alaska. "A
well.posted man assured me IL would
cost $500 per acre. Live stock would
thrive here If lands could be opened.
Grasses are rich and luxuriant, and
the few horses and cows seen were
sleek and fat. But do not think
from what we saw and heard that
either as an agricultural or n graz
ing country Alaska ever will or can
be n success. Cauliflowers, lettuce,
/ do,
vegetables looked well at Sitka and
Fort Wrangel, but in n small way.
a few beds of poppies and daisies
were very fine, and several other
flowers were brightly yellow in the
little gardens.
'Thers She Blows"
We have hau charming weather.
the captain says the best trip of the
season. Several of our passengers
give your correspondent credit for
being the mascot Of the party-a
compliment very complacently ac-
copied. The good, sunny days have
not only enabled us to enjoy hugely
the beautiful and often sublime
scenery, but have given us many
opportunities for studying some Of
the mannerisms of the leviathans of
tho deep. We have seen many
whales, several times ten to twenty
ut once, and at close range. They
rolled themselves In grand dignity
up out of the water few hundred
yards from us, and, slowly bending,
threw their fiukes several feet into
the air. Then they would spurt
great geysers many feet into the air,
making noise not unlike that
made by elephants when blowing
dust over themselves, but far louder.
Indeed, when some blew 100 yards
away from us 1t sounded like q
somewhat continuous emission from
II large steam stack. To-day several
fine fellows were very near US, and
one small one apparently threw
himself several feet entirely into the
air. He seemed from fifteen to
twenty feet long. The passengers
thought it baby whale sporting
for the amusement of its dam. But
glass happening to catch him on
the fly 1t was discovered that he had
u decided snout. Some of us then
decided it to be u Greenland shark,
which has an underjaw provided
with very sharp, rather protruding,
teeth, with which 1t scoops out of II
whale great chunks of blu ubber.
Close 10y where it leaped large
whale lifted its fluke almost perpen-
dicularly out OF the water and
thrashed it into foam. This was
kept up for several hundred yards
till we got too far away to see 1t we'll.
| This Is sometimes done In u kind O
wanton sport, but i suspect in this
instance the monster was trying to
defend itself from one of its invet-
crate enemies. AT any rate our pas
sengers were afforded very un-
usual sight.
THE NATIVE ALASKANs.
OF the animated nature, however,
exhibited for our amusement and
study the native Alaskans were the
most interesting part. They are
very improperly called Indians, be-
ing of a distinct race from the Amer
lean red men. l went into several
shacks or native houses. These are
built by themselves, and under no
Outside advice or architectural in
reference. | saw the manner of ar
rangenlent of their little furniture.
saw them preparing their food and
eating their meals; heard them talk
and watched the play of their fea-
lures when trading and when hav-
ing some sport. thought 1 saw
cropping out everywhere decided
Japanese characteristics. 1t Is diff
cult to name or enumerate the
points of resemblance. But they
exist, aud are to me far more
marked than any resemblance be-
tween the Japanese and the Chinese,
who are supposed by most ethnolo-
gists to be cognate families. These
people are to me degraded descend
ants of the land of the rising sun,
who entered America through the
Aleutian Isles.
They have rather a yellow tinge
i'm their complexion; than RED have
large heads and huge faces, long
bodies, short, ill-shaped legs, and
ungainly gaits. The habit of squat
ting when at rest and when pro-
pelling their canoes and fishing has
developed unduly the upper body at
the great expense of the lower limbs.
They obtain their livelihood from
the sea, and spend much more than
half of their waking hours In their
dugouts. They do not look bright,
but are skilled in all things they un-
| dertake, aud learn with great rapid
ity, not by imitation, as the Chinese
do, but from Unborn aptitude, like
that of the japanese. Their blan-