ASTOR'S TRADING POST.

The Thrifty Town That Has Grown Out of
It-Toilers of the Sea-Dangers of the
Fishing Grounds.

Astoria rests on the left bank of the Columbia river, twelve miles from its mouth. Originally a trading post founded by John Jacob Astor in 1811, it has grown to be one of the most important of Oregon towns. It now ranks next to Portland as a commercial center and contains a population numbering about 5,000.

Astoria is a curious city. With the exception of the Custom House, the Court House and jail, the Catholic church and some private residences, it is a city perched upon piles.

Great structures rests on piles. Rows and blocks are reared upon piles. The streets are planked and the planks rest on piles—it is a city of innumerable piles. Seen from the deck of an approaching vessel it suggests the idea of an abnormally grown silurian, with its countless legs dangling in the water.

Standing as it does above the sea, resting upon a great wooden platform, the city knows nothing of curbs and crossings, sinks and cesspools, water-mains and manholes, or the strife and cost of greedy contractors. The surging sea beneath provides a sewer system with which no human agency can compete. All the costly underground jobs of other cities must be, in Astoria, up and above board.

The town contains four distinct sections: Upper town, middle town, lower town and a slum town. Many of the great canneries are situated in upper town while the

of an unwarrantable and causeless outrage upon Rev. Sheldon Jackson, the educational agent for the national government in that territory.

At the May term of court in Alaska, U. S. District Attorney Haskett, to show his malice against missions, by means of a subservient grand jury, a number of whom could not understand English, secured four indictments against Rev. Sheldon Jackson, who has been superintendent of the Indian training school at Sitka. The alleged offence was that, in building fences and other improvements on the school property, he had obstructed a so-called public highway. The school buildings are upon government land, for the land laws of the country have not been extended to Alaska. But the land was specially reserved for the school by an act of Congress. The four indictments were for different stages of one and the same offense, and the question has often been asked, why a separate indictment had not been secured against each post in the fence. If the alleged acts had been really committed, the penalty is a fine of from $25 to $500. The bail was placed at the extreme limit,—$500 for each case, —and accepted by the judge, and the trial set for the November term of the court.

Dr. Jackson is now the United States general agent for education in Alaska. Receiving instructions at Washington to establish certain public schools, and have the fall term commence early in September, he went aboard the August mail steamer with school furniture, charts, books, etc., to make the round of southeastern Alaska, and set the schools in operation. Just as the gang-plank was to be drawn in and the steamer leave, he was arrested, and, with unnecessary rudeness on the part of Deputy Marshall Sullivan, hustled off the steamer. The warrant was issued at 9.00 o'clock in the morning for Dr. Jackson to appear before the judge and increase the amount of his bonds. The serving of the warrant was intentionally delayed six hours, until the steamer was leaving. The judge is supposed to be a party to the conspiracy, for, instead of having the warrant made out as usual by the clerk of the court, it was privately made out by the judge and district attorney; and, when the attention of the judge was called to the delay in serving the warrant, he made no earnest effort to probe the matter. The warrant called upon the marshall to bring Dr. Jackson immediately before the judge. Instead of being taken to the court, where his bonds could have been fixed up in ten minutes, Dr. Jackson was locked up in a cell and refused even an empty box to sit upon. After the steamer left, and was safely out of reach, he was taken before the judge, arrangements made for increasing his bonds, and he was set free. But, as there is only one steamer a month, the purpose of Judge McAllister and District Attorney Haskett was accomplished; Dr. Jackson was compelled to remain at Sitka for a month, until the next steamer. By this detention, four government schools that were to commence at the usual time are obstructed and will not be able to commence until October, and possibly not until November. The feeling of indignation on the part of the citizens is intense. All classes

THE first report of the new Governor of Alaska contains many facts of interest respecting our most distant Territory. He estimates the population at 1,900 whites and 7,000 natives, who have some elementary education, and are members of Greek, Catholic, and Presbyterian churches. They are anxious for the establishment of English schools for their children, who show an aptitude for study. His impressions of the natural advantages and resources of the country are more favorable than those of other Government agents, and we judge that if he is sustained by the Government he will encourage the development of the physical resources and the enforcement of measures for the moral welfare of the people which have been overruled by the former authorities. That there is reason for a change in the administration of affairs has been recently made unmistakable in the scandalous treatment by Government officials of Dr. Sheldon Jackson, the United States General Agent of Education in Alaska. He has been very active in establishing schools for the instruction of the children and the promotion of habits of industry and morality. This has made him the object of the malicious hatred of white men who for gain and lust pandered to the vices of the natives. Unfortunately representatives of the Government were of this class, and basely used their official position to injure him and obstruct the school work. As he was leaving Sitka on the monthly steamer in August to make arrangements for opening several Government schools in September, he was rudely arrested on a frivolous charge on a warrant issued by the Judge and District-Attorney, who had shown great hostility to the educational and mission work. The

conviction and repentance of
sins, and the faithful preaching of the pure
simple, unadulterated Word of God now, dis
paraged as it is by modern reformers and
freethinkers, is mighty to the pulling down of
the strongholds of sin that menace our great
cities.

A Sabbath Home in Mexico.

OUR friend and contributor, Rev. J. Milton Greene, of the Presbyterian Mission in Mexico, calls our attention to the establishment of religious services on Sabbath mornings and Friday evenings, at No. 12 Calle de Letran, in the centre of the city of Mexico, under the auspices of the Union Evangelical Church. This church is organized on the plan of the Church of the Strangers, of which Rev. Dr. Deems is pastor in this city, offering a spiritual home and pastoral services to all without distinction of creed. The members of the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian missions now conduct the services, but it is hoped that some one may be secured able to devote his time to the care of the hundreds of English-speaking people there, not a fifth of whom attend religious worship. The various missions in Mexico have all that they can do to carry on their special Spanish work, and they look to Christians in this country for help in this peculiar and greatly needed work.

Referring to the young men who go to Mex-
ico in search of work, Mr. Greene says:

"On reaching this city they encounter a
strange language and are at once beset by the
fascinations of a social system which knows
nothing of the Bible, the Christian Sabbath, or
spiritual worship. The air is filled with a
spirit of practical atheism, which is only the
more subtle for being concealed under the
mask of an elaborate religious ceremonial.
and so the multiplied feast-days and the well
nigh innumerable prescriptions of the Romish
Church constitute a detailed formalism which
hesitates not to ally itself with theatre-going
and bull-fights and horse-racing and the
transaction of ordinary business on the Lord's
day. The Romish Church in Mexico knows
no Sabbath as a holy rest-day. It is the

James Woolery has returned to Tun-
nel City, to subponte witnesses required
to be here during the next term of
court.

The examination of the four men
charged with selling whisky without a
license, has been postponed until Mon-
day next.

Rev. F. G. Strange, who has been rus-
ticating in Southern Oregon for the
past two weeks, returned home by the
Washington last evening.

A scow, loaded with hay, consigned
to Jones & Hubbell, while being towed
down from White River by the steamer
Brick, salk. The hay arrived here in a
damaged condition.

The steamship Umatilla will com-
mence stirring up the mud on St.
Helen's bar with her propeller today.
The Government steamer Cascades will
act as tender for her.

The steamer Edna, built by Captain
George H. Smith and afterwards sold to
Captain Race, of Port Townsend, came
into port yesterday to have some work
done on her boiler. Otherwise the Edna
is in good condition.

Captain Gove has given J. F. T.
Mitchell a contract to construct a stern
wheel steamer's hull, 16 feet beam and
75 feet long. This fall the hull will be
used as a barge, but next year it will be
converted into a light draught stern
wheel steamer.

The steamer City of Quincy, belong-
ing to the Washington Steamboat Com-
pany, will be hauled out on Mitchell's
ways today, to have her old bottom
torn off and a new one placed under
her. A large force of workmen will be
employed, as the company is anxious to
get the steamer in condition to enter
the grain carrying trade.

For some time past the ravages of the
toredo have rendered the barrel factory
wharf rather shaky, but it was thought
the structure would stand until the fac-
tory would again start up, when fresh
piles could be driven, but time has
proved this not to be the case. The
wharf, during a tittle blow the other
day, went down with a crash, and the
timbers and planking have been washed
upon the beach near by.

COLE'S CIRCUS.

Alive to the requirements of the times,
and with a determined purpose to pre-
sent attractions that have never had a
counterpart in this country, Mr. Cole,
immediately on the close of his season
last November, dispatched a number of
trusty agents to Europe in quest of nov-
elties, giving them *carte blanche* to pay
any price, providing the feature posses-

A CHOICE OF EVILS FOR THE
"SUN."

We have received Lieut. SCHWATKA'S mail reports of the work of THE TIMES Alaska exploring expedition between Icy. Bay and the point, 7,200 feet above the snow line, reached by the party in the attempt to climb to the top of Mount St. Elias. The first instalment of this exceedingly interesting story of exploration and discovery is laid before the readers of THE TIMES this morning. We shall publish Lieut. SCHWATKA'S remaining reports in successive issues of THE TIMES during the week.

In this series of letters Lieut. SCHWATKA will describe with ampler details the course of Jones River, which he announced in his dispatch published in THE TIMES of Sept. 20 that he had discovered and named. It is therefore proper that we should revert to the discussion concerning this stream which was carried on for several days between the New-York Sun and THE TIMES, a discussion which the Sun seems to have been quite willing to drop after our exposure of the errors and misstatements by which it sought to contest Lieut. SCHWATKA'S right to call himself the discoverer of this river and to give it a name.

In connection with the publication of Lieut. SCHWATKA's letters we shall pay some further attention to the Sun's attacks upon THE TIMES expedition, and in particular to its article of Sept. 25, a masterpiece of misstatement concerning the discoveries of LA PÉROUSE and VANCOUVER, in which every material point of the Sun's contention as to Jones River is embodied. But we propose to be rather more than fair with our contemporary, and we therefore offer the editor of the Sun a choice of alternatives, neither of which, we are sorry to say, will be very agreeable, though he must take one. Let him choose.

Will the editor of the Sun retract his misstatements concerning Lieut. SCHWATKA's work and apologize to him and to THE TIMES, or does he prefer, by refusing to take this honorable course, to have these lies crammed down his throat by THE TIMES?