The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-10-12
MINNEAPOLIS DID
NOT WANT JACKSON.
FAMOUS PRESBYTERIAN MISSION
AIRY TELLS EARLY EXPERIENCE.
Early st. Anthony Church, Seventeen
Strong, Refused to Accept as a Pas
tor Young Man Just Out of Semi
nary, So He Became a Great Home
Missioner, .f

It was not in a self-appreciative way
Journal reporter today that a Min
neapolis church turned down his
application for the passionate forty
seven years ago. He "jes' laffed,"
however, in a reminiscent way, when he
recalled how he first attended a meet
ing Of the presbytery in St. Anthony
in 1857. He came as candidate before
ganization of seventeen souls. After
looking him over, the church considered
that the newly graduated Princeton
theolog was not heavy enough. :'tE
With this rebuff DR.. jackson was
turned into the home missionary work,
and while he was giving T h e 10 u r
n al his interview, young clergymen
from three different parts Of the
United States greeted him as the foun-
der of the first churches which they
had served. '4fr ~.
Life on Frontier. -.
For five years DR.. jackson labored at
La Crescent, Mimi, until 1864. Anoth-
er five years he preached at Rochester
and then went to Iowa to take charge
Of all the Presbyterian work west Of
the Missouri, covering western Iowa,
Nebraska, ,Wyoming,. Colorado, New
Mexico, Arizona, Utah, western Neva-,
da, southern Idaho and Montana. It
will be easily seen that as superintend-
ent of Presbyterian home missions his
northwestern work naturally carried
him into Alaska, where he went in
1877. It is in the government work at
Alaska that DR.. Jackson is best known.
To reach Alaska DR.. jackson staged
across the country to Portland from
Utah and then took boat north. AL
tho the territory had been under the
flag for ten years, DR.. Jackson found
no regular government organization. He
therefore returned to Washington and
lobbied a bill thru congress for tenn
porary form of government. The same
bill also provided for school system.
The government placed DR.. Jackson i'll
charge and he has retained the posi-,
tion. In 1890 his burdens were reduced
by the formation Of white school sys-
tenn.
Children in Schools.
Dr.. Jackson has under. his charge
fifty native schools with from 5000 to
1000 native children learning English
from American teachers sent from the
states. ~ = :. -
It was in connection with the indus
trial side of the school work that Dr..
Jackson turned his attention to the
reindeer. This year, 5000 fawns have
been born, while there is pasturage in
Alaska for 100000 on the basis Of the
Norway regulation Of SO. many rein
deer to the square mile.
Introduces Reindeer
IT. r.,This is a most successful undertake
ing. notwith standing the newspaper re-
ports,, said DR., Jackson today : In
stead"sof teaching the boys = to build
houses where there is - no timber we
teach them to raise the reindeer cows
for milk, and the steers to bear burdens,
and for transportation. Under favora-
BILE conditions reindeer will carry a
man 100 miles day and get it's own
food at night. With the dog train
it is necessary to carry food for the
dogs. The reindeer is about the only
animal which will live in tempera-
ture of rs degrees below zero, expert
enced in parts of Alaska, and then go
out and forage for itself. The rein
deer gives only a tea cup of milk at a
milking, but the milk is rich, Its flesh
| is fine venison meat