The Alaska daily empire., 1916-05-11
RELIC WILL BE PLACED IN VIEW
 POINT OF JUNEAU

Built at sitka in 1868, entirely of yellow cedar hand hewn pianking fastened together with hand wrought copper and iron spikes. with her boil CTS of solid copper, tho old ship 1 Politkofsky. flagship O fthe Russian North American Company's fleet, af- l ter having served the needs of man for over 53 years lies rotting In the mud Of the Yukon Flats at St. Mich ael.
 The only relics or the old cleaner In Juneau at the present time are hand wrought spike, small piece of her yellow cedar keel, and the old cannon which arrived from Seattle the other day and which is to be- mounted In the yard of the Cover nor's office In the near future.
 The old cannon was cast in Sitka in 1850 in the large foundry which the Russians maintained there. It was mounted on the deck of the Pol itlzofslyy, where it did duty for many years in warning off the attacks Of unfrlendly Indian tribes When the old steamer was finally dismantled at Port Blakeley Washington. the old gun was taken from her and placed In storage there. It arrived fin Juneau on the Alameda, having been sent north by the Port Blakely Mil Company as present to the Alaska Historical Museum and Li- brary.
 An Interesting History
 The PolItkofsky has an interesting history and one which is bound close ly with the early settlement of the Alaskan coast Many articles have been printed about the old boat. but they were mostly noted for their in- accuracies. The following facts have been taken from the original regis trauons of the vessels in the local customs house of the United States and from bills of sale filed in the same place
 The Politkofsky was built at Sitka in 1S6S,. entirely of material hewn from the virgin forests near sItka. or taken from the ground of Alaska. with the exceptions of the boilers and engines. which were built at Baltimore, Maryland, and Boston. Massachusetts. and brought around the Horn to Sitka, where they were installed in the ship. She was a side wheel steamer 129.5 feet long, 21.s feet wide. S.9 feet deep, 255.44 gross tons. 174.S9 net tons and with S52 horse power.
 Sold For s4,ooo
 In March 1867, Prince Dimitri Max. santof chief administrator of the Russian American company sold the steamer to Hayward M Hutchinson and Abraham Hirsh, of Sitka, for S4.OOO. The new owners then sold her in 1868 to the Hutchinson Kohl Company for S1O,OOO. This sale was on the 18th of January She was Ga. ken south by Captain Kohl and ar- rived at Victoria, B. c. on April 22nd. 1869 and was still later in the same year taken to San Francisco were she was altered and rebuilt. Here also the famous copper boilers were removed from the Polly" as she was called. and after others had been installed she sailed back to Puget Sound. In 1872 she was sold to- the Dexter Horton Company for for S5.g00 and later she wns trans ferred to the Port Blakley Mill Com pany She did duty as tug boat for the mill company until 1897 and did trojan duty bringing large tows of the monster logs of ;he Pu- get Sound section to the mill
 Starts for St. Michael.
 In 1897 the Polly" was disman- tied and in company with the Eliza Anderson departed for st. Michael in tow of the tug Richard Holyoke This was the last voyage of the Pol lly." She was nearly lost in storm while enroute. but for seven long days and nights the tug held to the tow. At Dutch harbor the Eliza An- derson was entirely abandoned, but the Polly" was brought safely to port She was later again sold by the owners and was used for years as lighter at st. Michael
 Breaks Loose In Storm l Durino storm In 1908. the "POlly" broke lose and drifted on the beach near the army post Although some of her staunch old cedar timbers are stnl defying the elements, she is almost unrecognizable as the re- mains of the old and staunch Polly
 The Victoria Colonist, of April 20, 1868. printed the following about the Polly" on her arrival there from the North:
 "Sitka may be well proud of her marine architecture. The steamer Politkofslxy is one of the most mag nificent specimens Of homemade marine architecture we have yet be- held. She looks as if she had been thrown together after dark by an Iu- dian ship carpenter with stone tools. Her engines are good and were for merly in a Russian fur company's 8 steamer which was wrecked near Sitza some years ago. Her boiler is of copper. three quarters of an inch thick and alone is worth thep rice Captain Kohl paid for the whole concern. We hear she is to be re- built. She needs t. To be apprec. Hated she must be seen"
 History Of Boat Building
 In connection with the history of the Politkofslsy. the story of the