The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-03-22
ALASKA THIRTY YEARSAG0
MN. ". ~. DALL's DESCRIPTION or
THE TERRITORY THEN AND vow.

Look-The Yuk on Region In It- PrimI
tive 5tsts-Itabits OF tho Aieuts-Grsr
Changes IN Alaska within = Gsneratioi
The we'll. known familiarity OF Mr.. wirliat
Healey Dali with Alaska gives much Interes
and authority to the review OF the last thtrt
years Of the history Of that Territory which h
recently made In an address delivered before ia
Philosophical Society ~ Washington. III
hrst acquaintance with Russian America wa
made under the leadership Of Robert Kenni
colt. q young and enthusiastic naturalist -
Chicago, who went thithcr 10 ascertain tn,
practicability of n cable route to the Old WOrlt
by way OF Bohrlng strait. At that tiino Ia,
success OF the Atlantic cable project was still
matter of doubt, and a company was formed t.
consider the Russian route.
Kennicott had already visited Fort Yukon,
the most remote Of the Hudson bay Company's
posts, after months OF arduous travel on snow
shoes. sledRes, and bnteaux. When lac reached
tnat point he was hundreds Of miles from the
nearest known native settlement. As he stood
on the steep blum and saw the yellow food OF
the great river below disappearing westward,
the midnight sun lighted up the snowy peaks
Of the Romanzof Mountains. whose further
slope. IL WAS believed, gave on the Polar sea
but no one knew where the Yukon met tho
ocean. On most maps n river called the COL
Vile, found by Simpson on the Arctic coast as
he Journeyed toward Point BARROW, was indi-
Gated as the outlet OF the Yukon watershed.
South Of the Romanzoff Mountains "for an I'M
kno vi distance vast tundras. scantily wooded
with larch and spruce. the breeding grounds of
multitudes of waterfowl. intersccted by many
streams. hut level ma N proiric. evtendal IN tbo
west, An epidenic az scarlet royar had N
few years earlier, swept ont of existence the
scanty population Of that region, until, accord.
Ing to Mr.. Dali, not one was left.
Returning to the United States, Kennicott
found in the desire of n telegraph company to
explore Alaska for its purposes an opportunity
10 resume his scientific researches, and ar
ranged that he should select a party of six per-
sons. of whom Mr.. Dali was one. to accom-
pany him. In July. 1855. this little expedition
entered the Bay of Sitka, then II stockaded
town of about 1000 inhabitants. with a viii
lage Of 1 800 Indians outside tho walls:
The settlement contained a Greek church. A Lu.
theran chapel, shipyards, warehouses;, barracks, a
club house for the officers, q sawmill, n foundry
where brass, copper. and iron castings OF moderate
size were made, besides numerous dwellings. All
we buildings were log structures. their outer walls
"asne" w'h SeioW ochre' 'h' roots' chieny or
"e'at' paih'ed 'eu' h'eh above ,he rest on an eie-
sa o' - d "so u"u,ns, IN "n'n Ut
ou..,,. - ~. 80 ..,v 'nl 'a
row n, largo indian house. Love ana ,,Io r,,an,
windows. buul NJ immense pIapks no,nruI,v ho,n
out of single logs with stone ndzts wbose marie
could still be distinctly seen. They were entered by
small, low doors, rounded above, so that he who
came In must bend TO an attitude III suited to do.
fence. The front Of each house was painted with
totemic omblems I'm red ochre. Their dimensions
were sometimes as much as 30 by 90 feet, and the
area WITHIN Formed one large room
In these hou SEES sometimes dwelt a hundred
people. the families separated on raised plat
forms. The people sometimes varied their
native dress with n Ru ,sian kerchief or
woollen sink. but as n rule were '.barefooted.
stolid, uncompromising savages," whose de-
fiancs of the whites was Slightly tenn
pered by fear and the desire to trade" Sitka
itself was a lively manufacturing town. "a
bit of old Russia, with the manners, vices. and
sturdy qualities of sailor, peasant. and cour-
tier fully exempliied within its Narrow
It's little batteries were cared for
and the Indians we're carefully watched. There
were a few other settlements or trading nosts.
of which Fort wrangell and Fort TarCass alone
could be regarded as approximately permanent
Temporary unions of the Russian companv,s
servants with native women were freouent
ahu ING chilureh constituted a class whlch the
Russians called creoles; and some rose to emf
=. 80. os Hs. pe'n y II coiohies'
IL Is aid that after we purchased Alaska.
many OF Jne huSSlan fathers chose to remain
in the country with their famil,e. tba roc,,Io,
do. -" '"' 81"
Eio Vi marriage pelhH theh performed.
When Mr.. Dali and his associates visited the
countrv In 1ses ITO bus;,oss M. ,.,,.,a.r.
~ ~ pe' ""' pf"o''oailS
iii IN the iur trade' ana that was not very pro-
ductive. Agriculture and fishing were prose-
cuted for local supnlies of food rho ra,,yos
-o~o 49,. ll - lovu ~ natives
were disposed to trade with the Hudson Bay
Company or Illicit traders rather than with the
par,Iy hacarsa tbav could a.. 49,
800" p"u' '"u ~ 'ouiu Eet letter
prices from them ana partly because they could
got liquor In exchange. Dry skins of the fur
seal were sold Mt tho companv,s yo rohorso o..
~ 'oi' az .no COMPANY . Warehouse ior
i-N o-h'e "pn'e' IL Ihouerh ugelhg ana pluck
ing OF the fur invented by Raymond of AL
hanv mt having ba.n an narfao,a1 ,hou
- ~. % oetn Oh U 'heh rs 10
attract the fashionable world. Some general
supplies were brouubt from U.mhrrr nn,
"'"sH' ioih iaih"urRs anu
hour from California;, with certain goods from
Aim and other ports of the ObkotsL So,. M
- 800 N"'' sea- u
In 1919 TINS latter trade had nearly come to "A
In mineral resources almost moth
inc was dono ond ,La rrs, no., sahno ""yn
mig was uone, ana tle nrst COD fishermen WIS.,
tied the Shumarin Islands In 1SH1