News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1896-08-13

Fquaws If sac Last of the Line Carry 1t
TO the PaiefAce.


to the Paief4oe.
Nearly everybody in ard out of Alaska
has heard cf Dick Willcuchby and his
Silent City. says a Jaueau (Alaslla) let
ter to the Chicago Record. | have
vague recollection Of photograph that
gives dim outlines Of castles and other
ehadowy architecture-a city without
any beginning or ending, but with faint
suggestions Of spIendor that recall the
glories of the 'Arabian Nights. F" Dick
WIloughby says he took the photograph,
and l would be glad to believe it, but
the story that gees with the picture is
even more elastic, vague and shadowy
than the picture itself. The only tangi-
BILE thing'relaling to the Silent City is
Dick WillCugLby himself.
The shelves, crannies and corners in
his shack arc filed with the ?ccumula
tion of third Of Il century Of rowing,
from the Mackenzie river to Bering
sea- He is prospeCtor above everything
else, and consequently ores predominant
gold bearing quartz ard many speci-
mems of unidentified minerals-but he
has also rare collection Of Indian Gu
rios. He has sealslin Of rare species,
which is said to have been owned by the
chiefs of a tribe of Hoonah Indians for
100 years. In 1879 Mr.. Willoughby
made an expedition to the copper is
lands, where the Indians come down
from the interior to take sea otter. A
son Of the chief was i'll with consump-
ton, and it came i'll Mr.. WillOughby's
way to give him some medicine which
may have prolonged his life for awhile.
At all events, it won him the friendship
of the tribe. The young man died, how
ever, before the spring came. During
the funeral rites Mr.. Willoughby no.
ticed that the body was wrapped i'll a
fur robe Of singular markings, and be-
fore the cremation of the body, accord
ing to the custom of these Indians, a
squaw took the skin and, folding it
carefully, laid it away. 1t had two large
oval spots Of reddish brown color, one
on each side, on a white field. Willough-
by calls it the skin of the extinct sea
COW Of northern waters, but it is more
probably the pelt of Il rare or extinct
variety of hair seal. The nearest ap-
proach to it in Alaska is said to be the
harp seal Of the western and northern
coast, which has black markings of cres-
cent shape on its sides. WilIoughby APP.
preached the old chief with an offer to
buy it.
81 cannot sell that" answered the
Indian. every Hoonah chief as far
back as we know-my father, and his
father, and his grandfather - was
wrapped i'll that robe when he died. And
so, likewise, was my son, and so will
be when | die, and then-well, 1 dom
know" So Willoughby relinquished
the idea and thought no more about it.
At that time the Sitka Indians had
arrogated to themselves the rights Of
middlemen in all negotiations between
the interior tribes and the white men.
They had been able to maintain this po-
sition for mary years by threats and
Misrepresentation. When spring came,
the old chief had experienced good luck
i'll taking furs and he was very DESTROYS
of visiting and trading with white men
at Sitka.
$50 with me, E" said Willoughby.
"But the Sitka Indians will kill us. u
"Not if you go with me- My father
has big war vessel in harbor there,
and the Sitkas will not dare to harm
you.
Before the Indians started On theil
return trip the chief said to Willough
by:
81 am the last of my line When
die, if you want it, will have the SEE
COW skin brought to you. "
Two years later, when Willoughby
had a trading post at Port Frederick
four Indian women came and tarriet
around, as klootches do, waiting to b.
addressed. They had to wait Ions
time, as the trader was busy, but afteI
while he noticed that they were tn,
squaws of the Hoonah chief. They un
rolled bundle which proved to be tn,
funeral robe of the Hoonahs. The ole
chief was dead and his squaws had pad
died a canoe through so miles of open
perilous sea to carry out his last wish.