The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-11-07

to has been little understood
Icebergs. snow-capped noun
tains and frozen streams
- and a sense of shivers, con-
stitute the current opinion Of this
valuable northern possession. Some OF
the most beautiful scenery in the
world has been lost sight Of; wooded
islands, timbered valleys, and luxurl-
ant vegetation Is pleasant sur
prise to the tourist The sun scarcely
sets on Alaska in summer, and vege-
tation, like most industries, works
overtime with amazing results. Ma
ture not only smiles in summer but
laughs aloud, writes J. H. Romig in
The Christian Herald.
AS it would not be fair to describe
all the whites in Alaska as English,
neither would it be fair to call all
the natives Indians, though they may
be cousins, or be in customs and Ian
guage kindred. The fact is, they are
all alike unable to hold the land, to
develop it's resources and to compete
with the white race. They are, for
the most part, now but poor. dis
eased, under-fed and under-clad spec
tators of what is happening in this
northland. Filled with awe and won
der at the doings of the white race,
they can but look on with sorrow, as
their fish streams are taken, their
game destroyed. and their future
made blank to them.
Education Of No Value.
Besides the good work OF the
churches, the government is doing
what it can to educate the native;
but that Is not much of an exchange
for his resources. He cannot eat OF
keep warm on education. The
whites do not need educated natives
It Is all wonderful, but not of value
to him. One native said: II will
teach my children to catch fish, fox
bear and birds, and when old they
will keep me; but the one taken to
school left me. He cannot work. He
cannot hunt The white man says:
He no savvy white man work and he
no savvy native kind any more
There is more than one crude native
that does not send his child to school
because he sees no gain by doing SO
and he does see the separation of the
child from him.
Fewer and fewer are the chances
for the tribes or villages and small
er and smaller the opportunity to de
velop the resources of the land, be-
cause no. provision is being made to
keep any for the thirty thousand ma
tives now living. The government is
long in considering Alaska's needs
and too long in reserving few areas
where people can perform some work
that will bring them living; where
they can be an asset and not q bur.
den.
AS an Illustration take the Aleut
tribe. The Aleuts occupy the island
peninsula Of Alaska. and number
about one thousand Three hundred
Of them are well cared for at the seal
islands; but the balance have moth.
ing left but fish, few fox, and the
basket industry. These people occupy
the most western portion of the coun'
try, being in 172 degrees east longi-
tude, and from thence eastward to
Unimak Pass, a distance OF about
eight hundred miles making less
than one person to mile The time
was when they were employed to kill
seal; also their tribe supplied the
men that manned the sea otter boats
and killed that most valuable Of furs.
These furs are practically a thing OF
the past, and the government has
prohibited both the whites and the
natives from killing any Of them.
This is not adding greatly to their
troubles, for these fur animals OF the
sea are now so scarce as to be Of lit
tie benefit to the Aleuts any more.
The basket industry Is now their
chief support Their baskets, though
the finest in any market, bring them
less than one-fourth the retail price,
and provisions sell to them at about
three times the cost. A woman will
work two weeks to make a basket,
and then get two dollars for it, pay
seventy-hve cents for a pound Of tea.
twenty cents for pound OF sugar,
and seven cents pound for hour,
and what for clothing? The father
can get q few fish to dry. gather q
few drift sticks as thrown up BY the
sea, as no timber Is found on the
islands. In winter he catches = very
lew blue fox. perhaps four or flve q
six dollars each. Curio seekers pay
fabulous prices for an Aleut baslse'