The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-23
NATIVES OF KL0NDIKE
DIR. JACKSON TELLS OF THE PEOPLE
OF alaska.
Great Wealth of the Gold FieIds-Dr.
Ewing Tells of the People of In
dia and Their Habits.

Rev. Sheldon Jackson, who has Just re-
tired as moderator OF the Presbyterian Gen
eral Assembly. now in session at Winona,
and one of the most distinguished men of
that church, was heard at the Tabernacle
Presbyterian Church yesterday morning.
DR.. Jackson has labored so long among the
native Alaskans that he classes himself a
resident of that Territory. For twenty-one
years he has been helping to christianiZe
the people. Yesterday he spoke of the con-
ditions that exist and of the growing pros
poets of extending the cause of Christianity
still farther north and west, even into ST.
IBERIA. DIR. Jackson incidentally spoke of the
gold discoveries. He said that the ordinary
newspaper accounts were not exaggerated,
and that nine-tenths or more of the gold is
in American possessions, not in the British
klondike regions, as commonly supposed.
Still. his advice is to all inquirers not to go.
DR.. Jackson said that he did not want the
blood of gold-seekers on his skirts without
warning them to keep away. The sturdy
PIONEER Of Arctic Christian missionary effort
is firm believer in the annexation of the
Hawaiian islands, which he says have been
Chr,stianized by Americans, and should be
controlled by this government. He regards
them as the outpost for extending the cause
of Christianity into Asia, and believes that
it is the duty of Christians to pray that
Congress may annex them.
81 have been asked to talk to you this
morning about Alaska" said Dr. Jackson.
1t is surprising how few intelligent Amer
lean people have any true conception of this
vast portion of the American Republic. 1t
extends so far to the west that it makes
San Francisco east of the center of the
American territory. Those who argue
against the annexation of the Hawaiian ISL
ands talk about them being so far away.
This displays their ignorance of American
geography. The western point of Alaska is
one thousand miles farther west than these
islands. In passing L cannot but express
the wish that Christian Americans will pray
God to put it into the heart of Congress to
annex those islands. Christianized by Amer
leans. When some sovereign interested in
sugar sugar Tor the sake of few thousands or mil
the American Republic, it seems to me that
1t Is time to pray.
Alaska" continued he Contains one
NTH or the entire area of our country. All
the cruelty of heathenism of Asia or Africa
can be found under the stars and stripes
IN Alaska. Child marriages, female infan-
tcide, witchcraft and every crime in the
Decalogue can be found under the stars and
stripes in Alaska. l have no doubt that
since you met here this morning for wor-
snip, men, women and perhaps helpless chill
dren have been tortured on charge of
witchcraft.
MOTHERS FED TO THE DOGS.
Il have no doubt that since we came to-
gether some stalwart man has taken out
his own mother and knocked her in the
head and fed her body to the household
dogs Aged people are thus disposed Of 1t
is usually with the consent of the aged
1t is the custom. Dressed in their best, as
if going to grandmas birthday party, the
sons and grandsons gather around the old
woman, also dressed in her best. Some
strong man of the household advances,
throws a rope around her neck, and, with a
Stuck thrust through the coils, turns and
tried to buy deer of an old man, but he
would not SELL Next year. when you come
back, my children will sell you all you
want. What does he means? / asked the
interpreter. He means that when you have
returned you shall find him dead, as by
that time his son will have killed him. /
by, when the gray hairs come, my
sons will kill me. It's all right All right!
All right because they are under the power
Yet, with all these dark conditions and
heathenish practices, he said that the people
OF the Arctic region were eager for the gos-
Il have never seen a people so eager for
the gospel said he. Il know of no condi-
tons so hard as in that land. There is no
JOY In nature, no joy in animal life. If
there is any place where the joy of the love
Of Christ is needed, it is there. The first
5a ngS ih ia9 thirty Years ago was
himself understood, he set about studying
the language. After time a great chief
came TO nm. is 1T true he asked the mis-
sionary that you have a letter from the
Great Spirit?'
May we see it?,
Yes And the missionary showed him
his little Bible. Placing his finger upon it
the chief asked: Does it say anything
The missionary replied that it had a great
deal to say about Them that it told of the
low, of the Great Spirit who sent his boy
10 die for them, he loved them so much.
Then the chief wanted to know If he was
not going to read the letter to them He
replied that he had left his family and
reading it to them.
When ! was a boy fisherman told
knew who made it. 1 wished / knew who
made me, wished he would speak to me-
His heart was going out in yearning for
the truth and knowledge Christian people
asked converts when they first began to
love Christ. With wonder in their eyes
Jesus wanted them. There is no skep-
ticism. The only trouble is to get the mes
sage to them. / have known of no place
where with the same amount of effort and
achieved like results. Men and women who
have slain their children. practieed witch
craft and killed their parents grown help
less with age, and who have yielded them
selves to the practice of every known crime
are to-day clothed and in their right minds
In 1880 they began coming to us so rapidly
the missionaries thought it advisable to
check them somewhat, fearing that they did
not understand. did not know what they
wanted. that they had not had sufficient
instructions. that they did not know what
baptism was, but their changed lives showed
that they were indeed born again."
SUCCESS OF THE WORK.
So wonderful was the result of missionary
effort that other Protestant churches were
about to send missionaries to the southern
part of Alaska where Presbyterianism was
planted, but when the secretaries of the
UNCONVENTIONAL boards got together and it
was pointed out to them that it would be
disastrous to bring to these people, but weak
in the faith and struggling for the light,
all the differences of opinion of the
churches, and when a map was spread be-
fore them showing how vast was the field
each church took portion of the territory
Tor It's own EFFORTS; And yet" said he,
there are people who would have to travel
200 to LOCO miles to get to church If they
wanted TO hear the gospel" He told how
Russia used her gunboats to prevent Ameri-
can missionaries from carrying the work
into Siberia, although herself sending not a
priest to them. Now, by the intermarriage
of the ChristianiZed Eskimos Protestant
ism is being pressed forward SO that a work
is being done which all the power of Rus
STA cannot stop.