Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1890-09-25
Alaska


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OF the country and people. They wer
stationed for some time at Chilcatt, a hur
dred miles or more above Juneau, occup,
ing large modern built house assiyne
for them by the national government, an,
being the
ONLY WHITE WOMAN IN THE PLACE,
she was an object of marked respect an
curiosity among the natives, who live ii
the rudc>t fashion and know comparative
ly little of the comforts and customs o
more civilized lands. Their habitation
are simply huts of one room each, IN hicl
the whole family. together with whateve
domestic animals they possess, reside
Their clothing is usually of the most mca
ger description. although the facilities af
forded for purchasing OF the white trader
In the past few pears have tended to i'm
piovements in that direction They ar
hardy and ike the ancient SpartanS earl'
submit their children to the most heroi,
treatment to increase their fOrtitude, til,
naked infants, often, being taken to tn,
ocean shore and immersed in an lev bath
Boys and girls 20 barcfootcd over the snOu
to school IN winter, and do not seem Il
mind the cold at all
In regard to the manner of eating one
dish serves for the entire family, nclui
Ing guests, If they chance To have any
aud ladle j. used 70 dip out the food
which j. generally fish oil or some por
lions of the fish. each taking his or hei
turn at manipulating the ladle. The
DISHES AHE NEVER WASHED.
but are set near the fire or in some otheI
place. and when required for use again tht
accumulated dust is simply blown ont Of
them Meat Or fi>h i allowed to become
rotten or frequently maggotv, before it i.
eaten, aud seems to be rcii-hed all the bet.
ter for that. Stlii, the people like cooc
food and enjoy 1t when gwen them by til,
whites, but are too incident to procure i,
Tor themselves, preferring to accept and
nSe what nature more freely supplied
The use of h~h-oil, like the medical cod
i!Hrr MI, especially as q steady diet has a
fat,enIng tendency, whatever its delete
rious effects upon the liver and digestive
organs. A. the opening OF winter the ma.
ives thoroughly oil their skins, and then
PANT themselves with dark substance
which with their naturally o!carinons
condition, makes them wcll-niyh inner.
Fions to the cold. W hen this paint il re-.
moved, on the return Of warm weather
their skins appear as fair and white as al.
most any Caucasians. II l. probable. If
frequent abutions were practiccd. thar the
color line would be nearly oh,itrrated,
and i would BE difncult to distinguish. il
this respect, the so called "white" from
the >o-calie,l 'Indlan"
While at Chicatt the lady Witnessed a
tragedy and its consequences, which Illus
tratts the peculiar code of Justice in vogue
among the natives. \ party of white
miners were at the supply agency prepar-
Ing to start Of on prospecting tour to
the Yukon or some other distant mining
locality Several Indians wanted 10 az
company them, but objection was raised
by Others.
Liquor had been freely drank and bad
blood was in the Ascendant An old chief
much respected hy The whites, excited the
Ire of chief Of another tribe and the lat
ter sought TO vent hs wrath bv striking
the others son, who chtuced 10 be prr..
cnt. The father retaliated by Knocking
tie aggrcssor down. The latter ti+r.uu-
on drew his revolver and fired, the hulle,
penetrating the old mans lungs Know
Ing that the custom OF his countrymen
demanded
LIFE YuR lIFE,
he at once iartcI from the scene of the
ARRAY and iled directly for the house. In
which the white lady was stopping, hop
ing If he could gain an entrance. to be en-
abied TO secure immunity from punish
nent She stood in the doorway as he an
proaChed. but he Was destined never to en-
ter 1t appears that his dlssipated, quar-
rel,ome habit. bad already placed hun In
bad odor with his own tribe and one Of
the Icet-fout"d young men Intercepted
him when almost at the threshold, and with
d terrible cut with a huge knife, almost
severed his body in two.
Now comes the singular part that juS-
lice y had TO take in the affair Instead
of the actual murderer paying the penalty
of the crime, according TO their judicial
code the life Of the old chief. AS the a.
sumed prime cause Of it, was to be for
fcitcd, Notwithstanding he had at iirst act
ed mainly on the defensive, and had al
ready been perforated with the bullet of
his enemy. lie sought protection from
his white friends, but. while they were
heartily IN sympathy with him. thew did
not deem II prudent 70 interfere in tho
natter Seeing no hope in that direction,
BY turned from them with the remark
Me show white man how brave Indian
die. and gave himself up to be shot AZ
ter his wife had adjusted black cap To his
head, dozen or 50 men Of his own tribe
drew themselves up for the execution. but
their hands trcmbled 80, or they 50 dislik-
60 To shoot their beloved chief that N
firing, the bullets that entered h, person
only mangled him, and did not al once
prove fatal. He begged them to Kill him
f,s,r a..
carried to his hut to slowly die from his
wounds. Thus he fingered for nearly two
weeks. suffering the greatest agony. Dur
Ing his suffering, the lady visited him al
most daily, and he seemed very grateful
for her soicitudc. Finally he died and
Justice" was satisfied. 1t was feared that
the occurrence would entail a serious con
tiict between the natives and the whites,
many of the latter being engaged in the
fishery works at Chilcatt and she was car
ried on board a United States man-of- war
then standing of the coast, and conveyed
TO Juneau; but no i'll feeling was manifest
ed toward the white people, with whom
all the natives were on the most friendly
terms.
Juneau, as the new capital of Alaska
instead of the old Russian capital of Sit
ka, is growing rapidly. This growth is
largely due to the close proximity OF
Douglass Island with its famous Tread
well mine, which is said to contain
ORE ENOUGH FOR YIFTY YEARS
operations. The quartz mill is the largest
in the world. The quartz is remarkably
uniform in it. productions of the precious
yellow metal. Alaska is regarded as
one vast mining region, and prospectors
are starting out daily to explore as far a.
possible its frozen interior. The coast on
ly is inhabitable and that owing to the
Japan current. There is fine beach a,
Chilcatt, Astounding in beautiful stones OF
various hues, but Juneau, plateau seem.
cut in the mountain side, which rises into
the sky in the rear, and falls to the great
depths of the ocean Immediately in front
so that vessels can land at almost any
point along the coast. The light of steam
ers from "below," as San Francisco OF
the United States is termed, can be seer
reflected high up on the mountain at night
while they are yet forty or more miles dis
tant. And although none such are known
to exist anywhere in the region therea
bouts, when the wind is right
THE SOUND OF CHURCH BELLS
can sometimes be distinctly heard. Where
the sound comes from no one can tell, but
it is thought to be from some distant land
thousands of miles away. possibly. con
veyed ON the rarefied air of the Japan cur
rent.
Many vegetables grow readily at Juneau
and Chilcatt-such as potatoes. beets
cabbages and some kinds of berries. but
no cucumbers. The thermometer seldom
goes but a few degrees below zero in
winter at the former place,-six degrees