The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-05-19
NEWS FROM ALASKA.
Arrival Of the Bear From an
Extreme Trip.
LIFE IN FAR AWAY ISLANDS.
Searching for witnesses In = Murder
Case in Remote Nooks-Incidents
OF the Journey.


The United States revenue cutter Bear
arrived In port yesterday direct from
Alaska, and she comes laden with great
deal of interesting northern news. On
board are fifteen shipwrecked sailors of
the unfortunate schooner Premier, which
went to pieces April 80 on the rocks at
Cape st. John, Western Alaska, and she
also brought down distinguished we'd
ding party. Hon. Louis II. Tarpley,
formerly of Salem, Or, and now United
States commissioner at Unalaska, was
ordered by the department of justice to
take the cruise for the purpose of taking
testimony of witnesses in the murder cases
to be heard at Sitka. He left Seattle with
the Bear and made the trip to Bering sea.
When the cutter returned to Sitka he was
married to Miss Bessie E. Bugby, daughter
OF Hon. John S. Bugby, of San Francisco,
now United States district judge for the
district of Alaska, a very accomplished
lady. The wedding was a very brilliant
affair for the far-of territory. Mr.. and
Mrs. Tarpley came to Seattle on their we'd
ding tour and will be taken to Unalaska,
or the far-of Aleutian islands.
A PosT-INTELLIGENcER reporter called
on Captain Healy, of the Bear, last even
ing, but the captain had turned in," and
Second Lieutenant d. H. Jarvis gave an
account of the Bears cruise. Lieutenant
Jarvis, though a young man, has had
much experience, and is a very pleasant
conversationalist. 1t is not his first cruise
in northern waters as an officer and he is
well posted on all matters pertaining to
Alaska.
1--WE left Seattle April 0, and thus have
been just thirty-nine days out. During
that time we have travelled 5000 miles and
have dropped anchor fifteen times. Our
regular cruise is to Boring sea and the
Pribilof and Aleutian islands, but the
cruise just ended was a preliminary one,
made for the department of justice for
Western Alaska.
s.There have been a number of murders
in Western Alaska during the past year
and the only court is at Sitka. The MUIR
ders all happened in the section of the
country of which Unalaska is the metrop-
oils, and that place is 1900 miles from
Sitka. There are no regular means of
communication between those two points.
News and information from Unalaska goes
to San Francisco first and then to Sitka.
Last year a murderer was arrested at
Unalaska and brought to Sitka for trial.
He wanted ten witnesses subpenaed, and
they all lived in Western Alaska from !, 300
to /, 400 miles away. The man was en-
titled to them according to law, and to
serve the subpenes and bring the wit
nesses to Sitka and allow the witnesses for
fees and mileage would entail a cost to the
k<,cf l.
was concluded that it would be cheaper to
detail a revenue cutter for the purpose of
bringing in the desired witnesses.
1--WE were in San Francisco when we
got orders to go north. We stopped here
for coal and sailed again on April 8. Four
days later we arrived at Sitka and took
aboard Governor Knapp, United States
District Attorney G. l.. Johnston
| and Deputy United States Marshal
George Kosterometeroff. They accom-
panied us to Unalaska. 1t was the
first time the governor had ever
been in Western Alaska. At
Unalaska we put ashore lot of coal that
we had taken aboard at Seattle for mis-
sions and refuge stations along the Arctic
shores. We will take it aboard again on
our next cruise north.
"From Unalaska we went to Seal or
| Pribilof Islands, 200 miles away. There
we delivered mails and received reports on
the condition of the islands,
tsWhat was the condition of the islands ?"
"When we were there they were covered
with snow and ice. Both the islands, st.
Paul and st. George, looked like two big
icebergs. 1t was very hard winter. 1t
was showing every day not only on the
islands but in Western Alaska during the
whole of April. All that portion of the
country was covered with snow. AS you
know, the two islands are small, one
eleven miles long and the other nine, by
about six or eight miles wide. There is
no vegetation of any kind there in winter
but there is in summer.
s'The rookeries were deserted. Not one
seal was in sight. That is nothing I'M
usual, however, for they do not come until
later in the season. First the bulls ap-
pear. They stake out place for them
selves and then the cows come. They
gather gradually and it is not until along
in the middle of July that all the seals
arrive.
THE people on the islands did not suffer
much, though the winter was severe, and
they reported but few deaths. The popu-
lation on both the islands numbers about
500 persons, nearly all of whom are ma
tives-Russians. There are several Ameri-
cans there, physician and school teachers
and the COVE nment agent. The doctor on
St. Paul island is accompanied by his wife.
The ice was very heavy about and around
the islands. 1t presses close down to them,
and while we were there floating arctic
ice could be seen.
"The Bear left the islands April %
and returned to Unalaska, where we
stopped only for a few hours. From there
we went to the Shumagin islands, which
lie 300 miles south of the Alaska peninsula,
and dropped anchor at Unga, where the
Hemingway murder was committed last
August. We took on board six witnesses
at that place and sailed around to three
other places on the islands and got several
more There are many small islands in
the neighborhood. and many OF the islands
have only single inhabitant.
Leaving the Shumagin islands We
sailed to Pirate Cave and it was there we
picked up the ship-wreeked crew OF the
schooner Premier. The schooner went on
the rocks at Cape st. John, April 8, dur
ing a snowstorm, and went to pieces.
Captain Paulson, with crew of fifteen
men, was on board but they all escaped.