The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-10-05
MURDERED BY NATIVES.
Missionary Thornton Slain in
Alaska.
HIS LETTER HOME INDICATED
HE WAS in PERIL.

Intoxicated Natives Have Often Threat.
ened Him and His Wife-The Latter
Was From Auburn and Is On Her Way
Home-Mr. Thornton Was the Son-in-
Law of Conductor Pratt of the Grand
Trunk.
Auburn, Me-, Oct. A telegram has
been received by John s. Pratt Of this
city, conductor on the Grand Trunk
railway, announcing the murder of Har-
rison r. Thornton, Mr.. Pratt's son-in-
law, missionary at Cape Prince of
Wales, 1900 miles from Sitka, the near
est telegraph station.
The dispatch is from Judge Thornton
of San Francisco, uncle of missionary
Thornton, and states that the latter was
shot by the natives Aug. 20, and that
Mrs. Thornton is on her way home.
Mr.. and Mrs. Pratt expect their daugh-
ter home in about week.
Mr.. Thornton was in the employ of the
American board of the Congregational
missionary society and had been in Alas
ka nearly three years.
After the first year he returned to
New York city and took medical
course, Here ne met Miss Media Pratt of
Auburn, Me-. who was engaged in home
mission work, and he married her in
April, 1892.
They left at once for the mission fields
in Alaska.
In his last letter home, missionary
Thornton wrote that the natives were
peaceable when not under the influence
of liquor. When Intoxicated they were
dangerous and many of the murders Of
missionaries in that section were tracea-
BILE to this.
Natives threatened to shoot himself
and wife only few days before the last
letter was sent, pointing firearms at
them.
Mr.. Thornton's s age was 36 years. He
was native of Virginia, and was pro-
fessor in the State university there when
called to mission work.
The last report from the Alasks Mis-
sion reads as follows:
We are rejoiced to lay before our read
ers a full account of our Alaska mission
up to June5. We are gratified to find
that the health of our missionaries has
been excellent, that their work has pros
pered and that they look forward hope
fully to the future. According to previ-
Gus arrangements, MI and Mrs. Loop
will enter the service of the Government,
having charge of reindeer station at
Port Clarence. Nh. and Mrs. Thornton
are thus left alone, but from the letter
published and from other advices we are
assured that they are not cast down nor
discouraged at the prospect OF being
thus alone.
We are glad to learn from our mission
aries as well as from DR.. Sheldon Jack
son, who has just returned, that the
reindeer experiment has thus far proved
success, and promises ultimately to
give to those needy Eskimos an adequate
food supply and competent facilities for
transportation.
In report sent to the association by
Messrs. Thornton and Loop, they speak
Of the gratifying progress in the general
work and of their other protection from
seen and unseen dangers They wrote en-
couragingly of the growth among the
Eskimos toward civilization, intelligence
and cleanliness.
The work in that country has been di-
vided among the four missionary work
ers as follows, In the school year Mr..
and Mrs. loop have held a session of
school in the morning and Mr.. and Mrs.
Thornton another in the evening and
late afternoon. The subjects taught
were reading, writing, spelling, arithme-
tic, geography, singing and drawing.
In addition to securing school-books, the
New Testament and gospel hymns were
read and explained. The exercises were
always opened with prayer and the sing
ing of hymns. .:f