The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-02-11

one ~ Cur Acquired DoaoAias IN the EAr
Northwest.


Alaska. where - rams almost without
stopping the whole wear round The
average annual rainfall totals up 70 100
inches Think Of it. No fear u ones
suffering nom thirst or the land suffer
ing nom heavy dronghtS And as l
looked oas az the fog this morning is
struck me that II this country Is ever
Atnic6ed by that blessing. native TO
mAnciSt. he'll surely be unable 20 get IN
any thrilling literary touches portray
ing vast deserts Of sand. frightfcl sun
scorches or great cracking arid plains.
He Won = harrow our souls BY the use
Of these moss covered, eeWhiskered hit
erayy props The moisture Of this big
Land viii a5ecs his imagination
October and November are the worst
months Of all-thas Is. il any Of the
months can az al lay claim 20 this dis
tincEon IL rains from 20 20 81 days in
each Of them from September 60 May
and from IS 20 % days from June 20
August An umbrella would be the ap-
prOpriate national emblem whereWith
20 sdcrn the dag Of this wept upon land
N the event Of its people ever taking il
into their heads 60 discard the stars and
stripes
Alaska was discovered and explored
BY a Russian expedition under Behring
n IT4L In 1899 the territory was
granted 60 a RusSo-American fur COM
pany BY Emperor Paul VI The United
States government bought it from Rus
STA II 1867 for q payment In cash Of
81, 200, 600. Evidently the willy Russians
knew enough 60 come IN ont OF the rain
But witha1 it Is a fine, grand looking
ccunEy-thas Is, when the mist lifts It.
self and gives one chance 60 see IL It
Is full OF mountains, great rivers and
lakes. In the interior there are immense
plains, but is goes without saying that
they are neither arid nor sun scorched
And Sitka Is beautiful place. surround
ed by seas and islands.
Sitka-thAs Is. the town-has about
7. 200 inhabitants Only about 800 Of
them are white, the rest OF them being
Indians, together with q few Chinese.
These last pursue their favorite toll Of
washing clothes; also they placer mine
for gold IN a calm, primitive way along
the beds Of creeks But they don't pan
out wei as miners, as they 90 about
things after an unenergetic and oriental
fashion
To say that life goes slow In Sitka Is
70 put IL IN the mildest way possible.
To state the exact truth, there isn't the
shadow Of 90 IN anything here at all
You feel that you are living On the
fringe Of nowhere; that you are coming
into contact with nothing and nobody.
The only thing that Is at al exciting Is
when il stops raining for few mo-
mensz Then every one commences 20
wonder, but they wonder in q sleepy,
hazy way. However, they don { have TO
wonder long And again all Is restful
peace
In the old days, before the Russians
came IN out OF the wet, Sitka rejoiced
under the name Of New ArchangeL 1t
was and indeed Is still the residence Of
a Greek bishop. Fortifcations were
built, and also an observatory, though
how people could see stars in such
= misGful country unless something
struck them very hard Is a puzzle TO
me But wonderful are the ways Of as
ronomerz
It takes three days and half for the
steamer 20 20 from Vancouver, 3. C,
y
out into the open ocean, but threads her
way between the mainland and the
small islands, which lie all the way up
TO the strait Of Bering. There ar times
when the scenery is glorious When the
sun does come out, it shines with that
pale, searching sofness which belongs
20 its shinings IN the far north Isle,
air, sea and great mountain are clarified
with softened brilliance-
The islands are covered with dense
woods, for the incessant rains cause an
almost tropical luxuriance Of vegetation
Everything il green
Sitza is built IN the shadow Of great
lone mountains At its base Is a sea.
Afar out is the mighty rolling Pacific, the
lonely Pacific Grand though its setting
is, one has feeling Of desoIation on sp-
preaching it. One is nearing the last
sentinel Of civilization-the outmost
outpost A. l. Q.