, 1890-12-18


t'lty alone: then the population
dwjndled down till there were n.
more thnn s. 600 In the whole terri
tory, But | believe IL will be IA yrea.
state, the richest IN the Union;
| like the climate there Detter tha,
yours. Here IL Is too damp Tor me-
Commissioners Fred Gasch hau
Just stepped into the auditors once
yesterday evening, says the Seattle
Post In telligencer, when he WAS
confronted bynn aged, withered old
woman, who walked laboriously
with stick. abe you MIR. Gasch"
inquired the old woman. After be-
ing satisfied that he was, she said;
"My name Is Mrs. Anna Curtis, Tn
rs years old and me only daughter
has turned her back on her poor old
mother and has showed her out In
the cold"
Mrs. Curtis wanted to go to the
poor farm. and Mr.. Gasch made ar'
rangements to take her there to-
day. 1t was learned that Mrs. Cur
tis' daughter was Mrs. McGee, who,
with household of five children,
lives IN II humble house on Univer-
sity and Eight streets. Mr.. Gasch
has II knowledge OF the family.
Hardships have been encountered
by the mother, with her childron to
take care for, and she is said to have
turned her heart against her aged,
complaining mother, and yesterday
morning at daylight she drove her
from the house.
The commissioner made prepara-
tions for "a place for the old woman
to stay until to-day and was turn
ing away when she called him back.
The tears yelling from her eyes, she
said
"Mr. Gasch, have not had bite
to eat, not a piece of bread all day,
and I'm feared I'm hungry" 1t
Is needless to say the kind-hearted
commissioner started with Mrs.
Curtis for the nearest restaurant,
where hunger was appeased.
On Monday evening, says the
Missoulian, La.la-ce, one of the In
dams sentenced to be hanged on the
10th inst, made very startling
offer to Sheriff Houston to induce
him not to hang the quartette Of
murderers now under sentence of
death. La-la-ce stated that Chiefs
Joseph, Louie, Michel and Patrick
had sent him word that If they (the
condemned Indians) were given
their lives, aud returned to the res
ervation, the sheriff could have as
many acres of the Flathead Indian
reservation as he desired, and could
select the land between any two
creeks. He said the chiefs in
structed him to be liberal In his
offer, and grant the sheriff as much
land as he wanted. Houston thinks,
Notwithstanding the liberal offer,
there will be four very good Indians
about noontime week from Friday
next.
Mr.. George Wallace, of Tacoma,
returned recently from Sitka,
Alaska Mr.. Wallace tells the
News some very interesting expert
ences among the seal hunters in
Behring sea. He says that the
United States seal commissioners
only went as far north as Sitka, and
he does not think that they pursued
their Investigations as far north as
the Seal islands
81 do not think, from my observa-
tions," he continued, "that there il
such a scarcity of fur seals as has
been reported. 1 believe that the
stories about the rapid extermlna-
ton of the fur seals are greatly ex-
aggerated. There seemed to me to
be an unusually large number of
seals In the Northern waters this
season."
"The dispatch sent out from
Washington yesterday by Rev. Shell
don jackson, on the sealing question
makes me think that Mr.. jackson
knows rs much about the question
as he did about Alaska when he
wrote his book. u remarked IA former
custom house official recently to
Seattle Press reporter.
81 don't think that story was ever
published" he continued, "and it
might interest the readers of the
Press.
"On September 4, 1881, the
steamer Los Angeles left Port Town
send for Alaska. Aboard the steamer
as passengers were the Rev. Sheldon
Jackson, making his first trip To the
territory; Major William Gouv.
erneur Morris, going to Sitka to rs.
sumo charge of the Office of collector
of customs; Colonel j. 5. Oakford,
going to Wrangel us deputy col.
lector; Captain Tom Wright, the
pioneer steamboat man, aud my
self, going as special deputy collector
of the district of Alaska.
after leaving Port Townsend we
stopped at Nanaimo to load coal.
Proceeding, we made no stops until
Fort Wrangel was reached. We
stopped there four hours and sailed
from there directly to Sitka, arriv-
ing at that place September 8. The
boat remained there twelve hours
and then came Immediately back to
the Sound, making no stops. Mr..
Jackson returned on her.
ION his return to the East he
published u book of 400 pages on
Alaska, with large number OF illus
trations.
"The book was largely sold and
has often been quoted as an author
ity on Alaska,