Fort Wrangel news., 1898-06-08
INDIAN MISSION WORK.
Six Years Labor in Fort Wfangei and What h Has Accomplished. An interview With
 Dr, ThWing,

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 1 Christ's command to his disciples to '.go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creatnre,n has been car ried out by the Christian churches and there is no denomination which has l failed in this respect. Occasionally we 1 find memb bers who are not wholly in accord with the extension of foreign missionary work, but the churches as body are forging steadily on toward ChristianiZing the heathen and the h. dians of the earth. The churches of the Gnited States in addition to the ac- complishment of great amount of for eign missionary work, have for the past century conducted an aggressive move ment toward Christianizing the Indians of the United States and of recent years, the territory comprising Alaska. Out side of the church papers, we hear but little concerning the progress of the missionary work among the Indians and for the purpose of giving the read CTS of the News some information con corning this subject and also such other matters that will interest them. re- porter for the News called on Dr. Clar- ence Thwing few days ago and re- quested an interview upon the subject. i The Doctor kindly consented to aid us in the search for information on the subject named and in answer to ques- ;. tion as to when he came to Alaska and the time devoted to the missionary work among the Indians, said:
 ''l was sent to Sitka by the Presbyte- rian board of home missions, from New York as medical missionary ill 1890 and was there for two years in the mis- sion hospital, which is in connection lo nd ;a1 .nhonl a+ haE E,,la remained there until the fall of 1892, at which time was appointed to this place. l wae ordained as minister by the Presbytery of Portland in Septem- Der, 1892, and upon my return from Portland in October following. l began the missionary work here as pastor of the native Presbyterian church and medical missionary
 What can you say concerning the progress of the missionary work among the Indians, or natives as they are gen orally called, in Fort Wrangel?n
 1t was about ten years after Russia ceded Alaska to the United States be- fore the missionary work was com menced in this territory. Mrs. A. R. McFarlan came to Fort Wrangel in August, 1877, and was the first mission ary and only white woman in the place. She found native here from Port Simpson who was holding religious services at the time of her arrival. Mrs. McFarlan organized a school for the natives of all ages, and a year later a church organization was established by Rev. s. Hall Young, who remained here for ten years as pastor Of the church. He was followed by Rev. Allan MacKay who served as missionary until 1892, when l succeeded him. found a church of about fifty members which since then has been increased to over hundred. Much improvement has been made among the natives since mission ary work was commenced among them. They all are living in houses, they build sidewalks, use cook stoves, have adopted our habits of dress and eat off of tables. During this time a day school has been maintained by the government which, coupled with the l influence of the white merchants, has no doubt been great aid in the prog ress of the improvement among the na- l tives."
 How do you find the natives as christians, and what comparison would you draw between them and the whites with reference to their constancy and devotion to the cause?'
 ..They are quite willing to receive re- i ligious instruction and ready to adopt the christian belief They have no re- i ligion of their own, which is an excep- ] tion to the rule among heathen. Being mentally undeyeloped, they are yacil- lating and easily influenced for evil as well as for good. For this reason we do not see as much permanent result of the work among them as we would like
 Dr. you said the natives here had no religious belief of their own. Does not the carving on the totem poles rep resent some crude religious ideas?o asked the News man.
 Il believe the totem poles never have represented any religion or object of worship. They do indicate that the nation had mythology. if not relig ion. They are, in fact, erected as mon uments to the dead and also in part mark of distinction to those who erect them. There are two general divisions of the people, one adopting the raven totem or crest, the other the bear or wolf. Each family of high rank in these divisions has it's own totemic symbols, which include various figures of men, animals and other objects in nature. These emblems always suggest some story, tradition or legend. These 1 legends have been handed down from ] generation to generation
 ] The Doctors lack of time prevented l his giving further statement for this issue, but so mucj remains unalluded to upon the subject that we have con clnded to. continue the matter iu some