Evening star., 1917-01-14


ST MICHAEL.
~N this little island of st. Mi
n " chael. situated in Bering sea-
II " several thousand miles from
~ Seattle. sixty miles from the
mouth of the Yukon rive-, ! write or
the army of Alaska st. Michael is one
of Uncle Sans military reservations
The whole island has been set aside as
a military outpost, and it's chief build
ings are those of the soldiers. 1t has
large barracks. a hospital, canteen
and a drillroom. 1t has several cot
tages, the homes of the officers; and,
apart from these, down on the haToor
are a hotel, a few stores and some
houses occupied by the traders who buy
and sell furs and live off the soldiers
and trappers A par of the population
is Eskimo. but, al told. it does not num-
ber more than two or three hundred,
and these people live here year in and
year out. The island is especially
dreary in winter. when for six months
or more it is locked up in snow and
ice. and when it has practically no
communication with the outside world.
1t is different in summer. Just now
the country is as green as any part OF
the United States. AS we approached
the shores in our steamer. st. Michael
rose like a green mound out of the
water and. with its American flags n.y.
ing, it seemed a fortifica ton guarding
the ice-locked golden caves OF the
north. Our boat came into the bay
and docked at the wharf. ST. Michael
has the only good harbor near the
mouth of the Yukon. and number OF
river steamers were lying at anchor
All the ships that steam down the ~
kon end their voyage at st. M1chaei.
and to this port come the steamers
Leaving the ship. 1 strolled through
the settlement. 1t has hotel OF fair
ly good size. three or four stores
post Office and some warehouses. IheIe
is also blockhouse that was built py
the Russians, who used this place 10
support their claims to the mighty
territory drained by the Yukon Ine
blockhouse is now deserted. but INSIDE
it may still be seen half dozen can
non which were left by the Russians.
Some of the guns even now look out OF
the portfolios commanding the harpor:
The military force at Fort st Michael
consists of about ffty-six soldiers. It's
commander is Lieut.. w F. c. Jepson.
who came to Alaska two year, ago. at
the close of his service in the Philip
pine Islands. Lieut.. Jepson has his
wife with him, and it was at his home.
a pretty little six-room cottage, that l
talked with him about St Michael and
his live here. He tells me the climate
is not at all bad. although in the sum
mer the winds are sometimes so strong
that they almost blow the flowers out
of the ground. The island is treeless.
and this is probably due to the wind.
The lieutenant tells me that the winter
is the pleasantest part of the year. He
gives vivid pictures of life in the Arc
tic when the thermometer falls far be-
low zero and the glare of the sun on
the snow is almost binding. During
that season he takes long trips with
his dogs to visit the various stations.
Last year he made one of 200 miles, In
dog sled to Old Woman mountain.
He had to sleep out in the snow, but
he did not suffer as much from the cold
as when stationed a Fort Lincoln. near
Bismarck. in North Dakota.
| was interested in Mrs. Jepson's de-
scription of her housekeeping arrange
ments. She says that most of their
supplies are canned goods from the out
side. but they have also wild fowl and
reindeer from St. Michael The rein
deer meat IS as sweet and as juicy as
a tenderloin steak. They have plenty
of fish, and the Eskimes bring Ash and
berries to the house for sale. One of
the chief troubles of the housekeeper
is the servants. The day / called Mrs.
Jepson had expected an Eskimo woman
to do her washing. The arrangements
had been made the day previous. but
10 o'clock came and no washwoman ap-
peared. She was sent for. She came
and worked from II o'clock until 3.
The washing was then half done. but
the girl said she had to leave, and
that she could not come back on the
morrow. as she had to pick berries. 1
am told that the Eskimos do not care