Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-02-27
Copyright 1916, by Frank c. Carpenter)


WI NJ IN 1879, at about the time that
~ o-N) George Washington as
EG&S4 dying at Mount Vernon,
and it was thriving manu-
featuring center, building ships and making
bells, plows, picks and spades when the In
dams were still hunting deer on the site OF
Chicago. For more than 100 years it was
the capital of Alaska, and the center of its
commerce, exploration and modern dcvel-
Aopments Situated here in the panhandle
about as far north Of Seattle as Minneapolis
is north of New Orleans, it was selected by
the Russians as the seat Of their govern
Inent and as the chief home of the officials
and traders sent out by the car to What was
then Russian America. Stka WAS the capt.
tai of Alaska when we bought Tie territory,
and it was here that the country was for
maly transferred to the United States At
ter that it remained the capital for almost
40 years, and it was not until about ten
years ago that the seat of government was
transferred to Juneau, where it is now.
Looking at Sitka as it is today. one does
not wonder that the Russians chose it as
their chief place of residence. The town has
a climate as mild as that of Baltimore or
Richmond, and its surroundings are SO beau
tful that it will some time be place OF per-
manent residence for retired capitalists, and
a summer resort. 1t is situated on Baranof
island, within a short distance of the open
Pacific. 1t lies on little bay at the mouth
OF fast-fowing river, in the arena of an
amphitheater of snoW-clad mountains. The
waters i'll front of it have scores OF small
wooded islands and all about it the hills rise
TO the clouds. One OF the mountains is
known as the Holy Cross from figure OF
the cross in perpetual SNOW which shows out
near its summit. This is Mount Nerstovil.
1t has d mantle of white throughout the
winter, but in the summer the snow disap-
Hpears, with the exception OF this gigantic
cross painted by the finger OF God upon
background OF green. Another mountain is
Edgccombe. on the island of Kruzof, over
the wav. Mount Edgecombe is an extinct
volcano as regular and as beautiful in its
outline as Fuiyama. Japan. II was one col
the first OF the landmarks discovered by Cap
tain Cook when he sailed through these
waters in l77O.
Sitka lies on a cove in the hills. The
crescent shore is rocky and the cove is roll
hing, but everything is covered with green.
Vt one side OF the town are grass-clad hills
(which rise almost straight up from the
water. That was the site OF the Baranof
castle, where the Russian governor lived
and there today is the hcadqua rters OF the
agricultural experiment station, of which
Professor Georgeson is the chief. To the
left of the cliffs as you enter the harbor are
the wharves, with the main business street,
named after President Lincoln, running
back from them, and farther down the cove
is a long row of two and three story houses,
with many flagstaffs rising above them.
That is the Indian settlement. The town
has altogether something like 1000 Indians,
and we shall see Indians everywhere as we
move through the streets. 1t has also about
500 whites Their houses arc along the
main street and back from it on both sides,
covering the greater part OF the cove
The houses OF Sitka are old and new.
f<G'here are residences that would not be out
of place in any American city of three times
its size, and there are log buildings 100 years
old, which were built in the days Of the Rus
slams There is one great warehouse OF logs
so carefully fitted together that you could
not put knife blade between them. The
logs are each two or three feet in diameter.
They are almost dove-tailed as it were.
That building was a warehouse at the time
we took over the territory. and in the days
| Of Russian prosperity it frequently had 1