The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-03-22
STORIES OF ALASKA.
Gov. Sheakley Talks About His
Wide Domain.
HOW AMERICA ACQUIRED IT.
He Was Invefxied Into Lecsuring on
It-How Greeley Regarded It
Indian Sales OF Eurs-


left for the north yesterday morning.
While In the East The governor delivered
several lectures on Alaska at the reQues.
os friends. his eight yes-rT residence IN
that northern territory rdertng him
thoroughly familiar with = history. re-
The other evening al the Northern hotel
the governor grew reminiscent while talk
Ing TO some fr.ey.ds and said.
One evening while az the MOTEL IN
Washington City some one told SIS ladies'
1 was from alaska and. OF course. they
wanted to know all about IL. tois, them
good many stories about the cary his
tory OF the territory. the Indians and the
mines and thssy appeared interested. One
or the women. who / Afterwards learned
was an ardent member OF the Episcopal
church. didn'r say much but could see
she was taking IL all In. No@ she was \
scheEner. Do You know what she did,
She got lot OF dodgers printed. read
ing:
ALASKA, alaska
Gov. James Sheakley. of Alaska. will
lecture On the far northern territory at
the - Episcopal church. - evening.
Admission. s."
Then she got 10. OF tickets printed
and everything went lovely. but ! didn't
know anything about IL until a few morn
ings later. when read the announcement
that | was to give the lecture. You see,
she had gone TO the trouble 10 put adver-
tisenents I'm the papers. The next day
she came around to see me. and told me
what she had done and said she wanted
me TO be on hand. Just told her / was
not going 10 do II; that / had made no
preparation for a lecture and did not pro-
pose 10 speak any way But she said
was. just the same. and 50. by lingo. L
said would. There was big house and
i started in and told them how the lady
had bunkoed me. The story broke the Ice
and made Us all good-natured and I told
them as much about the country as
could In an hour . talk OF course. could
talk a whole day about Alaska when once
started; there is much that is inter-
esting; so much that these superficial
fellows who make summer trip north
ana then write a history, know nothing
about.
"At another time attended gathering
and the men began to howl for me and
clap their hands. didn't know what TO
do and didn't want to make a speech. and
so Kept my seat and paid no attention TO
the noise. charming young lady. whom
l had known from childhood. sat with me,
and she whispered:
Get up. governor. and talk to them
II told her / didn't know what to say.
and then she said:
Oh. just get up and tell them all you
know; It will only take five minutes'
We'll. that pleased me. SO / got up and
told them what the young lady had said
TO me. OF course, they all laughed and
II made me feel easy and went on with
my little speech. and got out OF 1t all
right"
The governor Is full OF general au-
thentic Information about the country,
from the time of It's discovery to the
present time. Said he:
You know the country was discovered
by Vitus Boring, the Swedish navigator.
who was commissioned by Peter the
Great to ascertain whether the continents
OF America and Asia were one or were d.
vfded by water. Boring made his way
across the country from Eastern Russia
TO kamchatka. where he built ship and
sailed north. He was gone several years,
cruising up the coast, discovering Bering
sea. Boring straits aud going into the
Arctic far above Point Barrow. Upon his
return he found that Peter the Great had
died Then he sailed from KamchaIxa
again. going east, and though he sailed
parallel with the Aleutian islands and the
Alaska peninsula he was too far at sea
TO see land and che first land he saw was
the snow-coyered peak of Mount St Elias
1t was first seen on ST. Elias day accord
ing TO the Greek church and Boring thus
gave the mountain its name. Going west
again, he discovered the Aleutian islands
and was shipwrecked on one of them and
drowned.
THE history OF the sale of Alaska to
the United Staes Is interesting and many
people are not familiar with thedetails At
the time of the Crimean war Russia was
afraid England would zaize the territory
and the Russian minister at Washington
City offered the territory for s. 90 600 but
Texas had just been annexed and Prcsi-
dent James X. Polk said that one war at
time would be enough. and would no,
consider the proposition. Again during
rfN mn IN yaff nS{ rfYrt Do
this time the price being s7.20.o00. Lin
coin was assassinated and Johnson became
president. Seward wanted 10 buy the
country. and right here is a nice little bit
OF unwrItten history which I learned
while In Washington City from a friend
whose father was at that time employed
by the Russian government TO negotiate
the sale at Washington City. Under Polk
his father was member OF the general
government and advised the purchase, so
when il came UP again Russia. knowing
he was familiar with all the details err
rloyei him as en- attorney 10 put the
thing through.
The newspapers were very much op-
posed TO the purchase and said there was
nothing up there anyway bu. ice. polar
bears and Arctic foxes. Horace Greeley
opened MP and gave the scheme fits: he
was much opposed 20 the purchase But
the attorney. who was a warm friend OF
Greeley. sent his son 20 the editor OF the
Tribune one day and asked him TO cease
his hostile attitude. Greeley said 10 the
young fellow:
:" SO your old man wants Alaska. does
her'
Yes; he wants II bad replied the
young man.
Well. what In b. does he want with
that id ice box. anyway roared
Greeley. for, though the journalist has
been held up as saint. he was proficient
at swearing. lie could swear in several
difTerea, languages.
THE young man. quick as a fash, re-
piled:
Father wants tina. ice box to Keep
such men as you cool"
Greeley was pleased with The reply and
said:
If your father wants &, I gu1s. he'll
get r. He always gess everything ha
wants and Il won't Go me any good 10 op-
rpase ST.
so the Tribune frorn thss tina on IA
vored the proposition ard the deal was
corsgTgurnatef. and Alaska became Ause~i-
can territory. Seven million dollars was
paid Ire Russian government ard The
sss1 Gss3 went 70 the Hudson Bay Cagnparv
for KS buildings ST si' ka ard other rsacss
You s@e sor1s years before Russia had
/ leased all os Southeastern Alaska to the
far company for 2aeo land otter skins Ger
annarn. equal 70 about sIeo TIE skins
being worth S each in London. Ara
when the deal was made hy which The
raites States purchased Alaska ire fu~
romnsny's lease expired and the officers
demanded s@a.aao for their buildings ard
they gas IL.
II have seen ani talked with a ros.s
many Indians sIp there who we'll rerr,.-r7-