The Alaska daily empire., 1919-07-17

NAKAT, Alaska, July 5.-Editor Empire In the issue of the Alaska Daily Dispatch for June 22, 1919, there is an article on the History of Alaska's Big Katmai Mountain" The article in question has no historical merit as it is not true to history either of the region or the people inhabiting this district. To any one acquainted with this district and Alaska history in general, it is very evident that the writer of this article was not acquainted either with the historical the ethnological or the geographical part of this district. Of the village of Katmai the writer says that it was once a thriving and pros porous settlement, thronged with hundreds of trappers and traders and was the outfitting post for the sea otter hunters and the center for traf flc and travel
 Katmai was never in all it's exist ence a prosperous or thriving set clement. It always was up to the end of it's existence, when destroyed by the volcanic ash in 1912. a small Aleut settlement There might have been at times one or two trappers wintering there, but all the trading that was ever carried on there was done by one or two men sent out there by the trading companies at Kodiak. Shellihoff, it is true, sent out a party to establish a trading post at Katmai in 17S5 which post was sacked by the LobodoffLastoch kin Company from Cook Inlet. After this date there is no mention in the historical data that the place had any signi, i,cance The Alaska Commercial Company from the time of the trans, for maintained a small trading post there in charge of one man. whose duty it was to buy furs All the out fitting for the sea otter hunting par ties was done from the Kodiak of fee The schooners with the supplies came there from Kodiak and after kas aboard went out to sea. At the end of the hunting season these par. ties were brought to Kodiak where the accounts were settled and the party returned to Katma Shellihoff and Baranoff extended their energies toward the opening of the districts lying about the Cook Inlet and the Prince William Sound regions, For that was the locality where the bet ter quality of fur-bearing animals was found and it was much easier to get into communication with the Interior Indians.
 The article goes on to state that the natives of the two villages of Naknek and Ugagug came to Katmai to do their shopping. This is not en tirely true for it is better and easier to visit Nushagak than to make tho overland trip to Katmai My brother was stationed for many years at Nushagak doing missionary work These two villages were in his charge He visited these places in winter us ing sleighs for travel. The writer also states that the natives at Kat mai at long intervals proceeded to Nushagak to visit the Russian priest to whose spiritual care they were assigned. AS matter of fact these natives were never assigned to the care of Nushagak priest. They had church of their own presided by z lay reader This particular locality was assigned to the care of the Ko disk priest and later to the care Of the Afognak priest, whose duty i' was to visit these people once or twice each year It is historica' fact that when the eruption of the Katmai mountain was in progress the Russian priest. Father Alexander Petelin from Afognak. was at Katmai ministering to his charge. It was