El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-02-12


and hoist the stars and Stripes. They next
had speeches by Fl. r. Dawson, the United
States commissioner Of education. and by
Father Duncan, and later on divine service
consisting Of song and praise in the Thimp-
sean language
Build New Homes
The next day sawmil was unloaded, and
the people began at once to clear the for
ests and erect the buildings for their new
/ homes. They built cannery and year by
year added TO their structures until they
had town hall great church. a school
/ house, a store public library and the other
buildings necessary to an intelligent Chris
tan and civilized community. They put up
comfortable homes with gardens Of vege-
tables and flowers. and. in short. established
the most advanced native community in the
western part Of the North American CONT
nent
The settlement was called the New Metla-
kahtla and since then the indians have been
known as the Metakahtlans. In 1891, An
nette Island was set aside by congress as
reservation. for them and II provided
that 1t should be used by them in common
under such rules and regulations as might
! be prescribed by the secretary Of the in
terror
Annette island Is one Of the most beautiful
parts Of southeastern Alaska. II is Is miles
long and ten miles wide and Is formed by
a long mountain on the backbone OF which
are number Of beautiful lakes. The noun
tain is wooded and 1t assumes purple tinge
under the cloudy sky. About Port Chester
the land slopes gently down to the sea
Here the trees have been cut away and
few hundred acres have been cleared and
divided up into town lots for the buildings.
At the left as you come into the harbor you
see a silvery cascade tumbling down the
slope OF the mountain. It comes from Lake
Chester short distance inland and at an
elevation Of $50 feet above the sea.
Have Largest Church in Alaska.
The most conspicuous building in the town
is great white frame structure with two
towers. This is the Westminster Abbey Of
Metlakahtla. It is Father Duncans church
and built by the indians at a cost OF
Slz, 600 1t Is the largest church in Alaska.
and viii comfortably seat 500 people.
On the left Of the church is the govern
ment school recently erected by the United
States, and still farther away is Father
Duncan's guest house. his office. his school
and the great store which he built to supply
the needs Of the people.
Right at the dock Is a salmon cannery
which has at times been very profitable
undertaking. giving work to all the people
and bringing in great deal to the colony.
Its capacity is about a million cans Of sal
mon per annum. and connected with It is a
box making establishment where are made
the 90 600 cases OF boxes used for shipping
the fish. At times as many as 10 900 sal
mon have been handled in a single day, and
altogether a great many million cans have
been shipped to the markets.
One Of the striking buildings OF the new
Metalakahtla is the library and jail This
is painted in the colors Of the American flag.
The first story is bright red; Il is the jail
The second story is snow white; it is the
library. The cupOla on the top Is bright
blue.
Are Comfortably Housed.
Close to the beach and running back from
It toward these public buildings are the
homes Of the people They are several hun
dred in number, and they were all built by
the indians and with money which they have
earned in connection with Father Duncan
The houses are cottages Of one and two
stories They have glass windows, porches
and comfortable surroundings Each has
lot about so feet front and 30 feet deep and
each faces upon one Of the wide boardwalks
that form the highways and streets OF the
settlement Each house has It's garden
Some have patches OF potatoes. others have
flowers Of various ColOrs. Wherever there
is an uncuItfvated spot saIrnonberry and
eIderberry bushes and fire weed have grown
TO the height Of your waist The whole
country about is clad in perennial green
Father Duncan's Modest Home
Landing. 7 walked from the wharf over
the long boardwalk to the offices OF Father
Duncan He has one building which is his
combined study and home. It is one Of the
small in comparison with the - room guest
house nearby. which he has put up for those
who come to see MIN ana MS HocH-
knocked on the door, and a moment later
Father Duncan stood before me.
had expected to meet a giant with a
figure and face that might have recalled
Abraham or Moses. Instead I saw short.
stocky roughly clad little old man Father
Duncan is Of less than medium height. and
he weighs not more than $50 pounds He
has a large head. a bit bald at the crown.
but beyond that thatohed with silvery white
hair. His face is as rosy as THAT OF baby
when exposed to the winds OF the WINTER.
and his eyes are as blue as the skies that
cover his island He has a heavy white
beard and his face is a benediction- His
eyes radiate kindliness. and was i'm
pressed with his sincerity and his honesty
As I looked at him I could not realize that
he was 81 years OF age. and when he spoke
his voice was like that Of man IN his
Found Indians Eating n Boy.
Our first talk was about the indians as
he found them when he came to British Co
lumbia. The old mans eyes flashed as he
told OF his fights with the officers OF the
Hudson Bay company, and they grew SAD
as he spoke Of the savages. I asked him
whether the indians were really cannibals
when he found them. and whether he had |
actually seen them eating each other He
replied that he had seen a woman killed /
and had seen the savages eating a boy who I
had died on the beach. That was almost so I
wears ago He tells me that many OF the |
tribes along the coast Of British Columbia !
at that time were cannibals. and that there |
were other cannibals north and south OF the
Tsimpseans among whom he worked Some
Of the tribes were more addicted to the eat
ing Of human flesh than others. Cannibalism |
was a part OF their religion. and was con-
uected with the rites OF their medicine men
Tells OF Early Dangers.
At another point in the conversation I |
tempts made to kill him. He described !
them most graphically. and he talked
could that he was again living over the
past He rose to his feet and acted the !
story. his ewes flashing and his arms waving !
gestures He told me how Of the chiefs /
tried to close his school being melted as /
Father Duncan thought. by the officers OF !
the Hudson's Bay company. who wanted TO |
get rid Of him In one such case chief de- |
handed that Father Duncan close the school !
because his beautiful daughter just /
about to drop down from the moon to he |
married The chief said that she had gone !
away and would come back in great state
she would drop from the moon into the I
sea and would rise out OF the water with I
bearskn over her shoulders and thus ap- /
near to the people At this time there |
would be many ceremonies that would pre- !
vent the school being held.
Said Father Duncan: ct refused to stop !
the school The indians threatened to kill !
me- hut I kept the school open. Then they /
begged me to give up the school just one /
week prior to the young girls drop from /
the moon I told them she might fall but |
that the school would 60 on. They then
wanted me to stop for a day. but 7 refused !
NJ vvou1d make no cOmprOmfsc with their