The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-11-07
RUSSIAN RELICS AND AN HIS
TORIC RUSSIAN GHOST.
Dizziness and Decay Under American Rule-This
Seasons Army Of Explorers and Scien-
fists in the Alaskan Regions
The Greek Church.


visitors and newcomers American
rule has added nothing Of that kind.
dulness. neglect, misrule aud decay
having been its portion since it be-
came United States territory. The
chief attraction OF the old castle is the
regulation ghost which it claims and
as no one wants to discredit or do
away with the idea that the swish of
ghostly garments can DO heard at mid
night and blood-curdling signs and
shrieks from the floating embodimen MT
Of Lucia di Lammermoor sort OF q
lady. who had an unhappy wedding in
the castle.
The Greek Church is much
more real and tangibly Russian relic,
and under its weather beaten dome
and steeple the handful of Russian
residents gather for their church
services and pray for the Emperor of
holy Russia. Many of the rich vest
ments and altar ornaments of the old
days remain, although at one time
nearly everything of value was taken
down to the San Francisco church and
the Sitka church. seemed to be on the
point of abandonment Its fortunes
have revived of late and the Russ ian
government which supports the Jew
Orthodox Greek churches in America,
has taken . new interest in the
Alaskan churches. The Sitka church
is as much of show place. visited by
even more sightseers than the rich
chapel in the Rue Daru at Paris. A
considerable revenue comes to the
church each day that a tourist steam
er is in port from the fees charged on
week days to those who wish to see
the pictures treasures and vestments
in the sacristy. It is very rarely that
a steamer happens in on Sunday, that
visitors may hear the chanted service,
follow the imposing ritual OF the old
faith, otherwise the stranger must con-
tent himself with the simpler daily
vesper service in the chapel of the
priests house, and carry away with
him photographs of the picturesque
exterior, of the rich bronze chancel
doors. of the many ikons and fine old
lamps in the church.
Appealing less to the Imagination
and ones sense of romance and pic
turesqueness is the establishment of
the Presbyterian Mission Board,
housed in a little colony of buildings
further out on curve of the bay.
Starting as a small mission school a
few years since, the board has seen it
grow into large home and industrial
school for Indian children. By mag
nificent gifts from many private
donors, by government aid and the
boards regular support the institution
has been able to 60 rapidly on with
its work, and with suitable buildings
it has gathered the Indian children
in, taught and trained them and pre-
pared them to be intelligent and use
full citizens. In the classrooms and
the workshops the Indian children
show wonderful aptitude and clev-
erness, and one can believe all that he
hears OF Thlinket superiority and
ability after seeing what few years.
training can do with the young Indian.
A brass band and a baseball club
diversity the more solid branches and
useful accomplishments taught them,
and this particular end of Sitka rings
with the enthusiastic playing and
practising of the musical and athletic
boys. The mission has built for itself
a museum building and it is rapidly
acquiring fine collection of Indian
forest and mine and constituting itself
a repository for all that is historic and
interesting concerning the Territory.
DIR. Sheldon jackson, who is in charge
of the Alaska missions. is agent of the
bureau of education, has been absent
for some weeks on a tour of inspection
in the Aleutian Islands, and Rev. and
Mrs. Austin and Mrs. Kelley, who are
in charge OF the school. with their
staff of teachers admirably do the
honors to the score Of interested
visitors, which each steamer brings.
At the extreme other end of the town
lies the Indian rancherie, which is
now the peaceable. prosaic sort of
place, so clean, SO we'll built and SD
eminently we'll kept and we'll behaved
that there is little of traditional
aborigine flavor and picturesqueness
left it. The houses are large, square
buildings of rough hewn plauks. with
one door leading 20 the interior, which
is usually all one large living room
with a sc.1are fireplace in the center
with +he smoke expected to go out
through hole in the roof overhead.
Usually the smoke fingers and one
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