St. Landry democrat., 1890-08-02
To the Land Of the Midnight Sun.

The name Alaska comes from Al-ay
elk ga, the name given by the natives, and
signifies great country" It is about one
fifth as large as the country known pre-
vious to the purchase of Alaska as the
United States of America. 1t Is larger
than New York, Pennsy lvania, Ohio,
Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska,
Arkansas, Colorado, New Mex CO and
Texas thrown in for good count. If line
were drawn straight west from Boston,
Mass. 10 the most western point of Uncle
Sans poss essons in Alaska, ard thence
from a poin. mid way dua south, this line
would run several hundred miles wet OF
San Francisco, Cal In Other words, the
center of our possessions, east and west, is
away out in the Pacific ocean. Let the
young reader get good map and measure
from Boston to Point Barrow, following
the rest of our suggestion, and see how
this comes out. 1t is nearly 1000 miles
from the longitude of the most western OF
the Aleutian islands directly east to Port
land, Oregon, while it is not more than
$500 miles from Portland to Boston.
On Saturday, July ID, 1889, the follow
ing appeared In the Daily Oreoonsn1, pub
lished at Portland: viii Sail for
Alaska-Rev c. E. Cline, pastor of s..
Paul's M. E. Church, this city, will sail
next Monday for Alaska on the steamer
Corona Mr.. Cline goes as a naturalist il
behalf of the Central Christian AdUocate,
at ST. Louis. and the Western ChrlstlGn
Adu0cGte, Cincinnati. Charles Francis
Adams and other distinguished parties
from the East will be in the company"
WHAT WE TOOK ALONG.
A rubber coat, pair of heavy boots
with spikes in the heels, warm, coarse
clothing in good supply-no swallow-tail
coat, no silk hat, no kid gloves long,
strong walking stick with spike in the
end Ratchet and rope, one Winchester
rifle with good supply of cartridges,
double barrelled Parker shot gun with an
abundance of ammunition, split bamboo
icinted fish rod with reel attached, one
silk trout line sixty fest long, and several
dozen trout hooks; one oiled silk halibut
or cod line seveuty-fve feet long, and
strong enough TO hitch horse, with a
supply of steel hooks to match a b Bile, a
reliable gold watch, one field glass. first
quality, microscope, conpass-the best 1
could buy-tve pounds of arsenic to cure
skins. full kit OF taxidermy tools, two
heavy blankets good conscience and a
determination to see Alaska; no whisky,
no tobacco and no medicine of any kind.
At Portland we took the Northern Paci-
fc railroad for Tacoma, passing through
Washington Territory from South to
North. At Tacoma-on Puget Sound-we
met an old friend in Southern Illinois,
Rev. Thomas J. Massey, now financial
sgent for the Methodist university build
ing at Tacoma, destined to exert mig hty
influence ON generations unborn, for in
this Northwest they breed men and wo-
men of brains
ON SHIP BOARD.
O, the joy that thrilled our whole being
as we walked across the wharf and
through the slip on board the good steel
ship Corona, If the Pacific Steamship
Company, and was assigned a splendid
berth in the passengers cabin. Dear
reader, wish you might experience the
exquisite delight of that hour.
Alaska Loring, Fort Wrangle, juneau,
Douglas Islands, Glacier Bay, Killisnoo,
Sitka, aud on, farther and still farther to-
ward Asia Glaciers mountains, rivers
islands, bays; fish, sea ntters, seals, see
lions, walrus and whales; Aleuts, kay
acks, furs, elder ducks, swans, silver fox
polar bear, reindeer, musk ox-some Of
viii ID We never ssw st all. ran through our
minds as we arranged matters in the state
room for the voyage.-T9 II. Cline, in Gen.
trail Christian AduOcp