The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-01
The Plans of Mice and Men.

In signed article Professor Dyche o
Lawrence summed up his expedition Il
Alaska with more attention to detail thai
is his wont. He writes:
| Alaska derives its name from the In
dian wcrd Al-ay-ek-sa. meaning a grea
| country and the name hits it on exact
ly. 1t is one fthe greatest possessions o.
the United States, and the most interesting
and wonderful. But It is only half made
1t Is tumbled into volcanoes that belch va
pors almost constantly, glaciers that Gu
paths across II, and it is the greenest spo
on earth, where vegetation grows rankly
and grass in the swamps and on the Is
lands is six feet high, and berries, the mos
delicious ever ate, may be picked by tht
ton. It is rich in timber, in gold. in fisf
and in furs. II presents wonderful posi-
bilites in the way of cultivating fur-bearins
animals, which I am inclined TO believe car
be made a paying industry. The tides IL
Cooks Inlet rise to height of thirty feet
making it one of the most dangerous bodies
of navieable water in the country Thi:
season twenty-five men lost their lives in
1t, and probably hundreds more before
| them.
The sands Of Alaska carry gold richly
In the Yukon country are vast coal beds
| so soft that they can be whitfield with a
| knife. The country is so big and the ex-
| tent of ii to the westward so great that II
| one draws a line exactly midway between
| the coast OF Maine and Attu, the most
| westerly of the Aleutian Islands. 1t would
strike out in the ocean 500 miles west OF
| San Francisco. 1t IS a possession worthy
| of better government, and should receive
| the earnest attention Of congress"
/ AS previously narrated in dispatches.
| Professor Dyche met Princess Tom, an ex-
ceedngly fat. ugly, squaw woman whose
| photograph bellies her title. OF her Profess
sor Dyche writes in part:
ITO an Alaskan Indian a blanket 1t a
| tangible token of wealth as pony is to
| prairie Indian. Warmth and food is the
| successful existence to the fat Alaskan.
| hence a blanket means something to him.
| Passage over the great stretches of unwalk-
able prairies is necessary to the Indian
farther east and to him wealth is best rep
resented by pony. A blanket and a pony;
| blanket and kyak. skin canoe. is the
acme of wealth to both types. Princess
/ Tom has enough kayaks and blankets for an
Alaskan kings ransom, If there were such
q person. Some of the Alaskan blankets
are very beautiful, and Princess Tom owns
only the choicest which she keeps in piles
in her treasure-room.
1.-THE Yakutat Indians Of Alaska are the
most expert basket-makers of the north.
They weave them of grasses and tender
willow wood split into long silky strips.
Their decorative methods, when they for
sake totems, are very similar to those OF
the Yaqui and other southern Indians.
Some of their baskets are so closely woven
that they will hold water. Princess Tom,
A@f Wi 60. 1a-l lad
and is the owner of some of the finest
specimens it has been my fortune to see.
The mark of the totem is over all of Prin-
cess Toms treasures, whether blankets,
baskets, furs, chests or ships that go down
to the sea-"
princess Tom was young woman when
she began to trade. The trading instinct
was as strong in her as ever it was in Jay
Gould or in Russell Sage. She began by
peddling the furs taken by her husband.
and finding that she was skilled in trade
she also made deals for the husbands of her
friends and neighbors. Then she saw
good chance to make trades for herself and
bought furs from the other Indians and
took them to the trading post. Meantime,
she became a collector of blankets, copper
kettles and that sort Of thing. In the course
of Indian wealth, but learned that white
mans wealth was better.
$50, as soon as possible, she sold her In
dian stuff for silver money. Later ii came
TO her knowledge that gold was better than
silver, and she traded her silver for gold,
of which she now owns about $1,000 worth,
in so pieces. Besides these she has in
Vulnerable bangles, bracelets, necklaces
and other ornaments made from the shin
ing yellow superior coin of the United
States. Some Of her bracelets have as
many as fifteen so gold pieces in them and
when Princess Tom decks herself out In
her golden coin jewelry she is a person OF
weight. Her golden treasures are hidden
away in variety of places. and, as she
never spends any of IT, it is getting to be a
burden. especially as she cannot look at 1t |
very often for fear of attracting covetous |
eyes to its resting places"
Princess Toms mail Is something enor- |
nous. considering all things Impecunious |
persons who have heard of her and rely |
upon her being a simple Indian maiden |
with let of money she does not know how |
to spend. write begging letters. Miss Camp |
bell reads these to her whenever a suffic- |
lent number have accumulated TO make 1t |
worth while. After the fashion OF writers |
OF begging letters. most of these begin by |
stating that the person who writes has |
heard OF the good and beneficient Princess |
Tom. and admires her for her ability and |
wealth. This sort of thing the Princess
enjoys, because she really believes in HUI
man nature. but as soon as the reader |
comes TO that portion of the letter which |
begs or demands money the Princess flies |
into a rage and viii hear no more of ii,
for the old lady loves her wealth exceed
in gly.
las the employer of large number OF
traders. hunters, boatmen and agents and
the owner OF a number of virtual slaves,
Princess Tom is kept reasonably busy look
ing after her affairs. Her husbands OF |
which there are five. are graded in her esti-
nation. The Oldest one does no work. those
Of the middle-aged men who possess saf-
dcient intelligence assist her IN MANAGING
her affairs. The youngest and latest is
being raised pet" and he seems 10
realize that he has a good position, espec-
ally as the young Indian girls of his ac-
luaintance Ike him all the better for II,
while the young men. when not jocular, are
wildly envious."