The Daily Alaska empire., 1936-05-30

Christians quarreled thus, they were no better than savages.
 At length the Mission Society felt called upon to sustain the Bishop, and consequently to dis miss MT. Duncan. The Society also claimed the land on which the little community had erected their public buildings, and the Govern ment confirmed that claim by de- claring that all public lands be- .ong to the Queen; although Lord Dufferin, Governor General of the Dominion, had assured the Indians that they had a prescriptive right to their lands and that they should not be deprived of them without compensation.
 "Consternation seized the poor Indians, and they began to con- cert plans for rebellion. The Min ister of the Intreior wrote: If there has not been an Indian war, it was not because there has not been an injustice
 MT Duncan suppressed attempts to do violence, and went to Ot- tawa and England seeking relief. He obtained promises. but relief never came. Then he resigned his position as president of the village council, and prepared to leave the colony, thinking that by his ab- sence the breach might be healed; but the Indians, in full assembly, unanimously recalled him to the leadership, promising to stand by him at all hazards"
 Goes to Washington
 The next chapter is fitting se- quel to the chain of amazing events in the history of Metlakatla:
 ITO abandon the place seemed
 the only alternative; and finally they resolved to seek refuge beyond the domain of ecclesiastical tyran- ny. Annette Island in Alaska, un-
 inhabited, and only ninety miles distant, seemed to be favorable To- cation.
 MT. Duncan was deputized by the Indians to go to Washington and
 obtain, if possible, the permission
 to settle on that Island, and such exemptions from duties as could legally be granted to them. He bore | with him a remarkable document, part of which is here copied:
 Victoria, B. C., Nov 16, 1866
 "'To the Lovers of Civil and Re- ligious Liberty in America:
 "'The bearer, MT. William Dun- can, for thirty years devoted mis- sionary of religion and civilization in North British America, is Oh his way to Washington, deputed by he native Christian brethren ot Metlakatla to confer with United States authorities on matters af- fecting their interests and desires. Like the Pilgrim fathers of old, his afflicted but prosperous and
 thrifty flock seek a refuge from grie- vous wrongs, and hope to find it under the American flag. 9s 3-'
 They prefer abandoning the home of their fathers, and the prec- ious fruits of their industry, to sub- hitting to the violent seizure of 6heir lands end the intolerable stings of religious greed and inter ference
 This document was signed by Bishop Cridge, B. w. Pearse, Sur veyor General, Senator Macdonald
 fl the Dominion Parliament and by several other prominent citizens of Victoria.
 "TreasOnable Document"
 'The Royalists- of the province call this a reasonable document
 Tt is sharp arraignment for il- iberality and intolerance, but it
 ,annot be gainsaid.
 The Secretary of the Treasury at Washington remitted the duties on their effects, and the authori- ties gave the Indians pledge that when the general land laws of the United States are extended to AL aska, ample provision will be made for all law abiding inhabitants Relying on these promises, the little colony with sad hearts began in the summer of 1887, to remove like the Pilgrims, to their Plymouth Rock, New Metlakatla. Then came the question of how much property could they take. When they were told they could claim nothing of ] all the monuments of their labor, save their personal effects, they appealed to the charitable and benevolent of the United States to obtain means for the transfer, and wherever MT. Duncan told the story of their wrongs, the people res- bonded generously.
 Now most of the buildings of the
 old Mission are unoccupied, the shops and the manufactories are
 ldle-it is deserted village A few gather for worship in the great church that once was crowded. and
 the Bishop keeps up show of acti-
 vity, but the heart of the colony Is gone"
 | The conclusion of the Story ot lMetlakatla will be told in next