The Daily Alaska empire., 1951-07-31

| ing the Westward Miaii 60 years ago this month on a new route that gave half. a dozen villages scattered along Alaska's rugged western coast the first regular mail service they had ever had.
 Although Southeastern Alaska had been receiving mail from San Francisco, Portland or Port Town send with reasonable regularity almost from the day the Ameri- can flag was hoisted at Sitka. the western villages had not and IS a result they were isolated from the world to an extent that is hard to realize in this day Of ra- dio and the airplane.
 Such mail as they did get came to them on the steamers and sailing vessels of the Alaska Commercial Company. It was car ried free of charge by the com pany. but at becH it was irregular and uncertain. In 1890 the resi- dents of one village complained to Governor Lyman E. Knapp that they had been without mail for as long as a year at a time. | The first contract for carrying the Westward Mail was let by the Postoffice Department on May | tho North An1prlPQn n Commercial Company This was a newly organized concern and 1t had outbid the old Alaska Com mercial Company for the sealing lease on the Pribilof Islands.
 The three-year mail contract starting on July l, called for monthly trips in April through October, sailing from Sitka with stops at Yakutat, Nuchek, Kodiak Unga, Sand Point, Belkofsky and Unalaska, with the option of mak- ing other stops where business offered.
 The population of Western AL aska was small in 189l-there was no Cordova, no Valdez, no Seward and no Anchorage but 1t was increasing. There were government schools at Kodiak, Afognak, kar- lux and Unalaska, while Kodiak Sand Point and Unalaska had postoffices. Mission schools had been established by the Metho- dists at Unga, the Baptlsts at Woody Island and the Swedish Evangelists at Yakutat.
 Industrial Development was con- ing along, too. Salmon cannerles were operating at Orca and Odlak on Prince William Sound, at Ke- mai and Kasilof on Cook Inlet, on Afognak Island, at Karluk, Uyak and Alitak on Kodiak Island, and at Chignik and Thin Point on the south side of the Alaska Penln- sllla as well as in BritSol Bay And in those years a salmon can nery operated for season last ing four or five. months.
 Unga, Sand Point and Pirate Cove in the Shumagin Islands had codfish salteries that worked nearly the year around, and or Unga Island the Apollo Gold Min ling Company was opening the property where it was soon to bt operating 40 stamps and employ ing 200 men.
 Gold miners worked the beacf placers from Lituya Bay to Cape Sucking, too, and there was little coal mining on Cook Inlet at Chignik and on Unga Island.
 Whaling vessels cruised during the summer months on the Fair weather Ground or to the south ward of Kodiak Island, and a biz fleet of sealing schooners moved I'D along the coast each spring land on into Boring Sea in the summer. Sea otter hunters combec |the rocks and reefs from Kodiak Island westward to Attu.
 Fish and furs were the man nroducts of Western Alaska, with minerals trailing along in third place. when the steamer Elsie started on the mail route in July 1891.
 I If the people along her route were pleased by the new service, they were somewhat disappointed when they got their first look at the Elsie.
 She was only IT feet long, meas uring 65 tons gross. She was, Tn fact, nothing but a cannery ten ter and had been used Tn that service at Karluk.
 The mail in those years con- sisted of letters and newspapers there was no such thing as par eel post-and the Elsie had room enough for the mail and for some freight. But although she some times carried from eight to do- zen passengers, in addition to her regular crew of nine, she had next to no accommodations for them.
 The company promised to put larger vessel on the run as soon as possible, and it did so a couple of years later
 On each round trip the Elsie