The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1907-09-17
ALASKA
INDIANS RESPOND TO
MODERNITY.
Curious MingIing of Old
and New Life.

utiu wow G'IOs
lIdoae IF MaryiaOe Are
Sometimes aS Bad as
Those of White People
in PittSburg and New
t,.
York.
4
Seattle, Wash' sept IT, = Grea
changes have come over the natives o'
Alaska. within a few years. You lis
tau ~ fba ta,ae toid bv those who
.
MY "sHtA 'vs 'nSt
many years, ahdfhen take noteof the
contrastfnow presented, and you re-
attze there has been marked and en-
conragins success In the attempts
made to- teach the Indians the white
mans ciyilhation. You read the rec
ords OF earlier explorers like Dali and
Schnatka, and today In contrast you
may see some OF the very same In
dams attendiffg church and working
day by day In the shop and at the
mill. You find the Thlingits OF Sitka
and many other places acting more or
less like, their white brothers and
learning continually to adopt their
ways. You see them living in comfor-
table homes. which they have built
with their own hands. In front OF
each and every Thlingit house in Sit
ka is always a hagpole, from which.
at every possible occasion. or excuse,
floats the national emblem.
At the Sitlsa- mission you see men
and boys saving logs, making boats,
putting up hor0es, handing tools with
dexterity that proves them expert
workmen. While looking over the
United states agricultural experiment
station, found most OF the farm
hands were natives. and superintend-
ent Georgeson, who has general
charge Of all these Alaskan govern
ment farms. told me that with proper
supervision the Indians furnish the
most faithful help he can obtain. |
called at the home OF Naase. Thing
II, who spent his early days at Met
lahkatlah under Mr.. Duncan's train
ing ON his feet we're good shoes,
the product OF his own handiwork'
Back or his house In shed, was
SDlpnlil steam launch. which NAa9p
was, building to order, entirely by
=, OLD AND NEW MIXED.
But on the other hand. with all
TINS tangible evidence OF improve
ment ana advance, there Is often
strange ana palmetto mixture OF the
old life and the new. There are con-
tinual out-cropplhss OF prlmluVe lh-
'tincts ana habits' sometimes iudic'
'ous TO the extreme ana sometimes
.raglc' Although many OF the Thiing-
US OF Sitka nave homes more comior-
able than many OF the whites. none
d them can forget entirely the linger-
ng instincts OF the migratory camp
Ire,
While the natives respond readily
o Bible teaching ana they VIII tell
'ou IL Is this when Is lltting them
'ut OF the mud, what they need Is
more manual and farm training, Ey-
N the best workmen at the bench
With an important JoD ahead. VIII al
ow their attention to be distracted
o minor things. Although the men
md boys will work for hours at the
'ars. without murmur or complaint
covering many miles and long dis
anees, yet the most constant over
light Is necessary to keep them at the
iqerent kinds OF work necessary In
'ioneer country, Our Indian boys
Who work about the house and barn
viii track the wandering cows Tor
niles along the beach and into the
woods, but whenever the steamer nap
'ens into the harbor about milking
line, we all know we VIII have to
urn out ourselves and track the cows
nd milk them for the boys are no.
'here to be found. When such things
appen at the very time the bishop
nd the captain OF the post are ex-
ected to dinner and you have to
ONE In late. with your feet wet and
our best clothes covered with mud.
nire and barn-odors, you VIII pos
ess a knowledge OF INDIAN ways
Nah ma lrn NrnI u1C -