The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-25

| among the thousands of people living under
/ the flag of the United States. He said that
| infanticide, witchcraft, polygamy, tina muir
! der of parents, and other practices of be-
| nighted and degraded paganism prevailed
| to a terrible extent among three or four
! native races. Mothers kill their own babies.
One OF the DOCTORS interpreters, a young
| girl was a typical example. When born
| her mother threw her out of the hut to be
| eaten by the village hogs. An elder sister
rescued her, but after several weeks
| wearied of her care and threw her out a
| second time A plying neighbor rescued
! and reared her, but finally sold her to be-
come q slave wife. When she escaped TO a
mission it was at the risk of her life. She
now has command of six native dialects, as
well as English, making useful inter
prefer.
DR.. Jackson found that in some tribes it
was the practice OF children 70 XII Ialler
and mother when they got old. This Gus
tom had become so firmly established as to
| be inevitable. The grip swept the coast OF
Alaska and carried off many natives They
attributed the disease to witches. Dr.
Jackson declares scores of persons were
burned or buried alive on suspicion OF De
ing witches.
He says the Alaskans are not a ferocious
people, and described them as mild ana do-
cile, yielding readily to moral influences ana
only needing enlightenment Or. JACKSON
insited that Alaska was we'll worth gov
ernmental care for its extensive hSn, coal,
iron, timber and mining resources: he de-
clared on the authority of government eA-
perts who had made an investigation thdt
the Yukon river valley was the richest gold
placer
world The canned salmon industry
amounted to 100000 last year. He argued
that with such resources popuiauon WIS 6d9
bound to come, and he estimated that lV,VV9
white men would flock to the Yukon gold
fields this season. The mercury III the 1u-
kon valley he said, drops as low as 81 de-
grees below zero in winter ana rises as
high as 100 degrees above in summer
He spoke briefly on the propagation OF the
reindeer, by which a large population might
be sustained He imported sixteen reindeer
from Siberia in 1891 and the government
has since added about six hundred IneSe
have increased to 1,100 DR.. Jackson import
ed seven Laplanders and their families ana
dogs to herd the deer and train the natlVeS
to care for them There are n now o+ tm nfenS
ed to turn the deer loose 10 De killed lluls-
criminately. ,...
ian missions had 2.00G to 1000 children IN
their Sunday schools. The PresDyteranS
have the northernmost mission IN the world
at Point Barrow, on the north, coast OIL
Alaska and the congregation applauueu the
statement 1t is twenty miles nearer the
pole than North Cape in Norway ana mas
a night of three months.
There are four races in Alaska. The Pres
byterians are working chiefly among the
KlingitS in the southeast The Eplscopa-
lians have their missions among the Attn
bascan Indian tribes of the Yukon Valley.
The Methodists are at work IN the AleuIaIl
islands where the Greek Church mas peen
established for a hundred years ana par
TALLY civilized the natives. The LutheranS.
Moravians and others are .strlVll-S WIN the
FskimoS who skirt the northern, western
and southwestern coasts of Alaska This
division of territory was made by agree
ment among the mission boards, but the
Prebyterians went to Point Barrow and to
St Lawrence island, near the Siberian
coast, because no other denomination
seemed disposed to do so.
Dr. Jackson said it was shame for the
people of the United States to permit such
pagan cruelties as he described to continue
under the stars and stripes and made a
short appeal for more support for the
Alaskan missions. He said Presbyterlans
had special reason for pride and zeal. be-
cause they had blazed the way in that field:
DIR. jackson himself was the pioneer, and
has worked in Alaska for twenty years, put
he carefully avoided any allusion to his own
laborS and successes.