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Among the Indians of Alaska. 




CHARLKS AND MAY RKPLOGLK. 



the Indians 
of Alaska* 



BY 
CHARLES REPLOGLE. 



With Eight Illustrations. 



LONDON : 

HEADLEY BROTHERS, 
14, BISHOPSGATE STREET WITHOUT, E.G. 

1904. 



^ 



HEADLET BROTHERS, 

PRINTERS, 
LONDON; ANDASHFOKD, KENT. 



INTRODUCTION. 



DURING the recent visit of Charles Replogle and 
his wife to this country, it was a pleasure to 
us to have them make their home with us, when they 
were not visiting in other parts, and we very much 
enjoyed their genial company. During these times 
we came to know a good deal of their work and 
prospects in Alaska. 

From the interesting accounts given, I encouraged 
Charles Reptogle in a desire he had had on his 
mind for some time, to write a book on their experi- 
ences. 

As they were spending the last Christmas holidays 
with us we thought this might be accomplished 
then ; and, with the aid of a stenographer, Charles 
Replogle compiled this volume. 

As will be seen in the perusal of these pages, he 
has very much at heart the welfare of the Indians, 
among whom he has been working ; and his great 
desire is to help them through the development of the 

lA 



vi. Introduction. 

natural industrial resources of the country, to better 
their condition. From his accounts he evidently 
has great influence with the tribe, among whom he 
has been working, and, although he has not made a 
point of this in his book, he has been adopted into 
the tribe, and chosen as their Chief. Consequently 
he has absolute control of the Indians, as the Chief 
has the making of their laws, and his decision as a 
judge, in all cases when appealed to, is final. The 
tribe " The Eagles " of which he has been chosen 
Chief, numbers, I believe, about 2,000 ; and Charles 
Replogle thinks that a very profitable business might 
be carried on by the tribe, in starting a cannery for 
the preserving of salmon, etc. His idea is, that a 
small company should be formed, with sufficient 
capital for exploiting this ; but from whom the 
Indians could purchase shares in the undertaking, 
as they were able by their industry to accumulate 
funds for this purpose, and so redeem what money 
might have been expended in it. In the meantime, 
whatever money would be advanced by any, would 
immediately the work could be started, bear a good 
percentage of profit, until such time as it could be re- 
deemed. The canning business has proved very 
profitable to many concerns, not having the same 
advantages as these Indians would have, and who 
have to employ more expensive labour without 
the same facilities. 



Introduction. vii. 

Charles Replogle has obtained a grant from the 
United States Goverment of a tract of land, with sea 
frontage of six miles and depth of six miles, embrac- 
ing one of the best hunting and fishing districts on 
the coast, with several rivers and creeks abounding 
in salmon. His idea is, that this tract of land should 
be used for settlements for the exclusive use of his 
tribe of Indians. 

Whatever profits may arise from the sale of this 
book he is intending to devote to the equipment of 
the "Cannery," or other industrial arrangements 
for them. 

GEORGE S. BAKER. 

" Frontenac," 

Willesden, London, N.W. 

May loth, 1904. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. How THE CALL CAME - i 

II. FIRST IMPRESSIONS 10 

III. FRIENDS' MISSION ON DOUGLAS 

ISLAND - 19 

IV. THE INDIANS AND THEIR CUSTOMS 25 
V. MORE ABOUT INDIAN CUSTOMS- 40 

VII. THE STORY OF JIM. INDIAN 

FASHIONS - - 53 

VIII. ABOUT SALMON FISHING AND CURING 66 
IX. "THE HAPPY HUNTING GROUND," 

EVIL SPIRITS, ETC. - 74 
X. OUR MISSION HOME - 81 
XI. TRAINING THE CHILDREN - 88 
XII. FISHING EXPEDITIONS. THE MIS- 
SIONARY AS A MAN OF ALL WORK 98 

XIII. INDIAN HOSPITALITY - no 

XIV. THE INDIANS AT MEETING 117 
XV. GROWTH OF THE MISSION - - 133 

XVI. THE WORK OF EDUCATION - 139 

XVII. " DICK SMITH," A STUDY FROM LIFE 144 
XVIII. THE STORY OF ANNA. ADVENTURE 

WITH A CINNAMON BEAR - 159 

XIX. REAPING TIME - - - 175 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

CHARLES AND MAY REPLOGLE - Frontispiece 
DOUGLAS, WITH MISSION HOUSES IN FORE- 
GROUND - 14 
THE MISSION HOME AND OLD MEETING 

HOUSE - 22 

INDIAN IN NATIVE HOLIDAY DRESS 40 

GROUP OF INDIAN CHILDREN AT MISSION HOME 81 

CHRISTIAN INDIANS 116 

GROUP OF INDIAN FRIENDS - - 158 

NEW MEETING HOUSE ... 176 



CHAPTER I. 

HOW THE CALL CAME. 



I WAS born in Wayne Co., Indiana, U.S.A. My 
father and mother were not avowed Christians, 
but were moral, honest people. Their ancestry on 
both sides as far back as we can remember were Ger- 
man Baptists or Dunkards. According to the faith 
of their ancestors they were brought up after the 
very straitest order, wearing the plain dress 
something after the manner of Friends, broad- 
brimmed hats, and coats without collars. These 
German Baptists were very spiritually-minded 
people, but closely bound to the outward forms and 
ordinances. In order to be a good Dunkard, one 
should be baptised in water three times under, 
forwards ; no other way would do. One must 
observe the " Feast of Charity " and take the 
Communion. The " holy kiss " is put upon all. 
The women wear, apart from plain bonnets, an 
under cap made of thin, white material. These 
restrictions seemed to have been in the way of my 
parents ever uniting with the Dunkards, but it was 
in such surroundings, we boys three of us in 
number grew to manhood Our father taught us 



2 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

the best he knew, how to be honest, upright 
citizens, but beyond being a citizen, it had not 
entered into his mind to teach us ; and as time 
passed by, we began to see that in order to be 
good citizens, we must be citizens of the highest 
order, and we could not be true to one country 
and untrue to another, for a man who is not true to 
one cannot be true to another ; therefore a man 
cannot be true to man and not be true to God, and 
it began to dawn upon me, at about sixteen years of 
age, that there was something beyond, for which to 
live. 

Previous to this time, I had read infidel books of 
all descriptions, and I was especially pleased with 
Tom Paine's " Age of Reason." I thought that it 
contained the germ of brotherhood. Later I found 
that the real brotherhood rested in Jesus Christ. 
Tom Paine philosophised ; Jesus Christ wrought ; 
Tom Paine theorised. Jesus Christ came as a 
living personality into men's lives. As this idea 
opened up in my mind, all the dusky shadows of 
the past vanished away, and as I began to look out 
into the world to come, the boundaries of our own 
country were too narrow ; all mankind became a 
brotherhood, and to me a good thing was good to 
all men alike. Thus the seed of an early desire for 
Mission work came into my heart. 

At twenty-one I married, but the zeal for souls 
was burning like a flame within me. My wife, a 
dear, earnest Christian woman, shared with me 
my burning desire for the salvation of others. My ex- 
periences were many from the time I first knew 



How the Call came. 3 

Christ until I knew Him more abundantly. Many 
a night, after the wife and babies were sound asleep, 
I spent searching the Word of God in prayer, 
because I realised in it "the power of God unto 
salvation." Then a few hours' rest, and to the 
day's work again. Thus year after year for five 
years the windows of Heaven gradually opened 
to me wider and wider. 

Two little children had come to bless our home. 
A little girl, now nearly four years old, and the 
baby, just past a year. We were busily engaged in 
work. Babies and wife always went to meeting. 
We had a mile to walk to the Meeting- House, but 
we never missed. It was the set rule of our life to 
be " on time," and never did the meeting gather 
when our places were found vacant, for sickness had 
not troubled our family up to that time. 

I feel that it would be well if I were to give some 
little account of how the Lord called me out. I 
was yet at school, when He spoke to me. My 
heart answered to the call. It was during a meeting 
held by a Campbellite preacher, Christians they 
call themselves, but are better known to us as 
Campbellites. Whilst sitting in meeting that 
Saturday evening, the Word of God was logically 
laid before us. I could not deny it ! I went home 
fearfully disturbed ; desolation seemed to reign 
supreme in my whole soul. I realised that without 
God I was nothing, and in this realisation I sought 
Him. I remember as well now as though it were 
but yesterday, the little dark room, in which there 
was no window, only just large enough for my bed 



4 Among tlie Indians of Alaska. 

and myself, and I had to climb into bed and close 
the door afterwards. There in utter desperation 
I poured out my soul to God. There was no 
relief, and finally, weary and tired, I opened my 
mouth, and said, " Lord, I have done all I can do ; 
if I am to be saved, Thou must do it ! " At that 
moment it was done ! It may not be real, but I 
saw it as though it were real. The whole room 
seemed to be lighted up full of glory. A peace 
came into my soul that I had never before under- 
stood, and from that moment it has been ever 
made plainer and plainer. Not that there have 
been no dark periods, but always beyond there is 
brighter glory. 

Years after this, as I was sitting alone one even- 
ing in our drawing room, with one child asleep in 
my arms and the other in the cradle near by, I was 
glancing over " The Christian Worker," the paper of 
the Society of Friends in America at that time, and 
I noticed a little account in the paper which stated 
that there was a Matron wanted in the Mission 
Home at Douglas Island, Alaska. It seemed to burn 
into my soul like fire, but what was that to me ? 
Had not I determined to go with God anywhere, 
and had I not also felt that it was India where I 
must go ? Why should this burn in my heart like 
this ? Nevertheless it was there. I laid the paper 
aside, and in prayer laid the matter before God. 
The children were restless and disturbed me, every 
now and then my -attention having to be given to 
them, but all the while there was that thing burning 
in my soul. It had been like a far-away dream 



How the Call came. 5 

that some time, in some distant future, I might 
perhaps be permitted by the grace of God to see 
India, or it might possibly be the interior of Africa, 
for I had a sort of consciousness that there were 
many workers who were willing to go to easy 
places, but to the hard places, the out-of-the-way 
places, where men's lives were in danger, where no 
one else would go, would be my field ! and there I 
was willing to go ! And what could be harder than 
the heart of India or darkest Africa? 

These were some of the thoughts that were passing 
through my mind at this time. They had been rooted 
in me from the beginning as a sort of sacrifice, 
unworthy it might be, yet it would be willingly 
rendered to Him Who had given Himself for me. 
I would be glad at any cost to yield up all I had, or 
ever expected to be, for Him, and now there was 
before me just a short note, a few words, a notice, 
" We want a Matron. Our Mission is in need. 
Correspond with the Secretary." 

But what would that all mean to me ? My wife and 
myself were both young, and what should we do with 
our children ? The wife was not at home. We had 
Church work at home to do. For several years we 
had tried to preach the Gospel simply and earnestly, 
as we knew how. We had seen much result from 
our little service at our home, and now this seemed 
to burn into that service, to consume it utterly. 
What could we do ? We could not go to the 
Mission Field, and besides that, had we not a 
beautiful home ? Was it not our own ? Had we 
not laboured and toiled for it ? Had we not spent 



6 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

sleepless nights to get it ? And had not the Lord 
blessed it with these children, dear little blue-eyed 
girls, with golden curls hanging down over their 
shoulders ? Could we take them into a far-off 
field amongst savages ? Would it be right to go 
without them ? No ! God had given them to us ; 
He meant us to have them. And now, why should 
we be called ? Were there not many who had no 
children, who had really no home ? Could they 
not go ? W T hy must we give up our well-appointed 
home, and take our little children at the risk of 
their lives away to some distant land ? 

And thus the night wore on ! Thoughts upon 
thoughts piled themselves into my brain. Weary 
with thinking, I tried to sleep, but sleep would not 
come. The Almighty had thrust a dart into my 
soul, and it would remain. There was no help for 
it ! And oh, how I longed that He might call 
someone else ! This was surely not the call for me 
now ? This could not mean me ? For did not the 
notice say a Matron, and I was not a matron. But 
somehow He seemed to whisper to me, " It is you I 
want ! " and in the perplexity and fogginess of my 
vision, I resolved that I would sit down and write a 
letter to the Secretary and tell him what I felt about 
the matter, and ask him what was wanted, and for 
more information in general. And so I wrote. In 
three days an answer came to my letter. It stated 
that the Secretaries had been changed, but our 
letter had been forwarded on. Next day an answer 
came from the then Secretary, asking us questions 
and giving us further information, which we 



How the Call came. 7 

considered and answered as best we could. In the 
meantime, the Spirit of the Mighty God was at 
work. My wife was anxious to go. She little 
dreamed that she ever would be so, but now the 
real time had come, and instead of darkest India, 
or blackest Africa, it was the snow-capped peaks of 
Alaska that held view before our eyes. 

We became more anxious to know the ultimate 
end of this matter. Our souls were burning within 
us to do something for God. Has it not burned 
also in the heart of every Christian, as God was 
appointing him to his field of work, this same 
longing for fallen humanity ? Just to tell the glad 
tidings of good news, to tell the words that would 
save men from sorrow, and from trial, and that would 
give them peace and joy and everlasting glory ? 

How beautiful it seemed to me in the years after 
when I found how He had led me. As I sat on the 
snow-clad shores of the islands of the sea in far- 
away Alaska, I saw an illustration of what God had 
done to me ! I saw an eagle as she soared round 
and round, above tree tops, with her heart intent 
upon the little nestlings in the nest. She had built 
her nest on one of the topmost boughs of a high 
spruce tree. There she had reared her young. 
They were now almost full-fledged, and would soon 
be ready to fly ; but they were eagles just the same. 
Their mother would teach them to fly. As I sat 
upon a large stone and watched, hours passed by, 
while the lesson was being driven into my heart. 

A young eaglet stood upon the rim of the nest. 
His mother coaxed and apparently begged in order 



8 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

to get him out. He would not come. She would 
stand by the side of him, and swoop suddenly down 
from the nest. I can see her yet. But the eaglet 
stayed in his place. Once or twice I saw him dip 
his head, as though he were going to try, but no, 
his courage failed him. Again came the mother 
back to the nest, and again she plucked at him, but 
no, he would not try. Fear was his conqueror. 
And again she sailed high above, shrieking and 
calling. He, though seeming wonderfully disturbed, 
could not move from his perch. Suddenly I saw 
her literally swoop down upon him and lift him up 
by the back, and carry him out from the nest ; 
away over the sea she took him, and there suddenly 
let him go. Flapping his wings as best he could, 
he circled round, sailed about ; then becoming 
frightened, he 'turned over and over and over again, 
and then gathering himself together, he sailed away on 
a smooth, sweet wing ; but he then evidently lost his 
head, and down, down, he came, head first, then 
over on his back, and was all but in the water when 
beneath him smoothly glided the parent bird. He 
rested on her back ; away to the nest she flew ; 
leaving him safely in his home, she sat down upon 
a bough near by, and shrieked and screamed as 
though she had performed a wonderful feat. She 
then took another from the nest, and began teach- 
ing him to fly. I watched her, and after a while, at 
the second attempt, each was able to return to the 
nest in safety unaided. 

Thus had not God also taken us ? Was He not 
now pleading with us, and shaking us out of our 



How the Call came. 9 

feathery nest, declaring that He was able to keep us 
at all times, and would watch over us in case we 
fell ? and would He not keep our feet from stum- 
bling, and bear us up in His Hand, and would He 
not care for us to the end ? Thus it was, and we 
have proved Him faithful. How well we know it ! 
We are now far more ready to venture since we 
have proved Him and found Him true. 



CHAPTER II. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 



THE long journey to Alaska was not without its 
difficulties and dangers, and our faith was 
sorely tried. We had not long started from our 
home when our eldest little girl was taken ill with 
diphtheria, and died within a few hours. Our 
bereaved hearts longed to return to our friends and 
relatives ; but the Lord's voice still said " Go for- 
ward," and we could not but obey. 

My dear wife, the baby and myself, all took the 
complaint later on, but we felt compelled to hurry 
forward, and the Lord graciously preserved our 
lives, and provided us with friends and the neces- 
saries to meet the emergencies of the case. At one 
stage on our journey we were forced to stay longer 
than we expected, and our funds gave out. We 
knew not what to do, save to go to the Lord in 
prayer. I felt constrained to take a walk, and 
whilst thus engaged I was accosted by a gentleman, 
an entire stranger, who, after conversing with me 
for a while, said that the Lord had laid it upon his 
heart that morning to go out to the wharf, and give 
to a gentleman that he should meet there a ten 
dollar note, he believed me to be that man. 



First Impressions. n 

Upon my relating the circumstances of my case, 
we both felt assured that it was the Lord's doing, 
and praised Him for His wonderful guidance, and 
providing care. 

I shall never forget the beauty of the scenery 
through which we passed, in the long narrow 
channels of the Alaskan route. The way from 
Seattle to Alaska is continuously skirted by small 
islands, leaving the narrow channels of still water 
between them. Through these we wended our way 
slowly but surely northward. The great towering 
mountains rising directly from the sea-shore, with 
their ibillow-lashed bases and snow-capped peaks, 
stood in bold relief against the blue sky. The 
waters still as a river lay calmly between ; only the 
ripple caused by the motion of a vessel marred the 
face of the placid waters. You could stand on the 
bow of the ship and see your own reflection in the 
water beneath you. Everlasting green at the foot of 
all the mountains only enhanced the picture, and 
made it more grand, more glorious as you beheld 
he varied colours from the blue sea to the white 
above. 

In and out through these passages, scaring 
into flight the millions of ducks and various 
water-fowl, chasing now and then the herd of 
porpoise which played around the vessel, we glided 
out into Queen Charlotte Sound. There, for the 
first time, we saw the sun dipping his head into the 
watery grave of the Pacific Ocean. We stood on 
the deck as long as we could, but rolling waves are 
not always compatible with one's feelings. Many 



12 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

of the passengers had already retired to their rooms. 
We also felt constrained to go. The weather was 
fair, and bright. Such lovely colouring, to be 
deserted because of the rebellious sea. Four hours 
and it is all over. Calm reigns again. No more 
rough sea, and one bright morning we could see in 
the distance the smoke crawling up from great chim- 
neys. It was " The mines"; we had been looking 
for them for days. They were not an unwelcome 
sight to us though we had never seen them before. 
This was the end of our journey, here was to be our 
home and our work, for five years at least. We had 
heard such dreadful stories of a fearful takou in 
which the storms spend their fury ; we were near- 
ing the place now, our fears were considerably 
raised, as now and again they would tell us they did 
not know how it would be, but we might find it all 
right, or it might be rough. We dreamed of ship- 
wrecks and a watery grave, of all kinds of horrors. 
Now 7 the place was actually in sight. It was about 
eight miles only from shore to shore, a place where 
five ways met, big watery ways they were, and the 
tides came in from all directions. They went out 
in the same way as they came, often causing tide rips, 
and in times of heavy wind they became very 
dangerous. The Unseen had drawn back the 
curtains of Heaven and the sun shone out brightly, 
and we could see clearly in the distance the city for 
which we were bound. We were now at the end of 
Douglas Island, on which it stood. It is not very 
large, but upon it stands towering far into the 
heavens the central peak known as Jumbo ; its 



First Impressions. 13 

rugged heights and snow-covered top make it look 
like a hoary giant. The city lies just at its feet, 
against the North side. The stone in that vicinity is 
filled with the yellow metal that turns men's heads 
and makes brute beasts out of that which once was 
in the likeness of God. Here in great prosperity 
stood the world-renowned mines, worked by the 
Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Company. It is not 
an old plant, but exceeding large. It had begun 
with a very small beginning, and was now worth 
many millions. At one time the locator of these 
mines sold them for twenty-five dollars. The rock 
does not contain any great amount of gold, only 
averaging about a dollar and eighty-five to ninety 
cents a ton, which necessitates the handling of great 
quantities of rock, requiring much machinery and 
many men. Here are congregated about two 
thousand whites and some six hundred Indians, all 
for the purpose of working in the mines. 

The country round about is very mountainous ; 
the island lies just about one and a half miles from 
the mainland, a narrow channel separating it at most 
times ; for at one end of the island there is a bar of 
sand which has been left by a receding glacier, and 
when the tide is low this sand is dry and one can 
walk to the mainland. In the neighbouring islands 
there is much wild game, such as deer, bear, porcu- 
pine, ground hogs, and grouse. Wild geese and 
ducks frequent every bay and inlet on the coast. 
As you stand on the shore at Douglas City and look 
toward the mainland, the mountains tower high 
above you, and the green on the side makes one feel 



14 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

as though some rising cloud was just about to 
drench the earth in another flood ; but on lifting 
the eyes higher, the clear blue sky is in evidence. 

Of all countries on the face of the earth, this one 
appears to be a paradise ; not in climate, but in 
beauty and grandeur. The azure blue is pierced by 
towering, snow-capped peaks ; ponderous glaciers 
fill the hollows of the mountains. There, in rocky 
canyons, where the dashing, tortured water tumbles 
down, for hundreds of feet, you may catch the rain- 
bow in the spray. There the water ousel stoops to 
drink, and bathes itself in the rushing torrent ; the 
alder raises its leafy bough and shoots forth buds 
for the ptarmigans' food ; and there the clumsy 
bear, in his sleepy solitude, rests undisturbed through 
the long winter night. One can stand in the valley 
and look for thousands of feet directly up the rocky 
steeps. Almost sheer walls, with here and there a 
little ledge protruding upon which a tree has obtained 
,a roothold, and stands against the ravages of time. 
Fascinating indeed ! A land of midnight glory, 
where the summer sun seems to vie with the aurora 
of the cold winter nights. The forests full of wild- 
ness, where the native once abode in undisturbed 
heathenism. 

As we entered the country, our hearts were full of 
fears. We did not know how wild these untamed 
men of the forests might be, and more than that, 
we were led to believe that the whites who had gone 
there to work the mines, were even worse than the 
Indians. From the Indians we might not receive 
injury, yet these miners might be our destruction. 



First Impressions. 15 

Among them were said to be men who did not care 
for law and had no respect for Christianity ; that it 
would be very dangerous for anyone to enter in 
among them. We went trembling and fearful. 
Some very questionable things had happened in that 
country. 

Our first reception took away our fears, for we 
were met at the steamer, and our trunks were 
actually taken upon the trains belonging to the Min- 
ing Company and placed almost at the entrance of 
our home. I shall never forget the advice that was 
given me on one occasion by a dear old friend of 
ours who was the stay of our meeting at home, when 
others were fearful and fretting because we were 
going among these miners. He said in his wise 
way, " Remember one thing, Friend Charles, if thou 
wilt behave thyself as a man, thou wilt find the man 
in others ! " I have not forgotten it, and in this far 
off land it has proved true. 

Our home in Alaska was at the town called 
Douglas, which is on Douglas Island, about 900 
miles north of Seattle, Washington. 

Douglas Island is about twenty miles long, and 
about eight miles wide. The mines lie about half- 
way down the northern side. A sort of railway is 
laid along the mountain near the shore, on 
which they run small engines, hauling back and 
forth such things as are needed by the works. The 
mills are mostly propelled by water, though they 
have engines to take the place of water when it is 
scarce, or when the frost comes. To secure the 
water necessary, they have made an aqueduct, some 



T 6 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

seventeen miles long, around the mountain far 
up from the shore. They gather water from all along 
the north side of this island, and from the aqueduct 
to the mills there is a fall of six hundred feet, 
which yields enormous power to propel the mighty 
machinery that crushes the stone. 

These mills are fed with the quartz quarried 
out of the mountain side. The ledge of rock 
is about four hundred feet deep, running 
almost parallel with the coast line. The full 
length of it has never been discovered. This 

o 

quartz is taken up out of the mines and broken by 
heavy machinery, called crushers ; after that it is 
taken and run through under large heavy steel 
shafts, which weigh over a ton, and are lifted about 
fourteen inches, and let fall upon the rock, crushing 
it to powder. In this rock and all through it are 
very fine particles of gold. It also carries many 
sulphurets. These are caught upon rubber belts, 
while the sand is washed away into the sea. This 
sulphur in turn is roasted with fire and then is put 
through a chemical process in which the gold is 
dissolved and the rest likewise cast into the sea. 
Anyone looking at this rock and not knowing what 
real gold is, would naturally think it was full of gold, 
it looks so like it. 

I distinctly remember a story which illustrates the 
proverb, "All is not gold that glitters." Alaska 
being so very beautiful a country, many tourists are 
found visiting its different places of interest through- 
out the summer season. On one occasion which I 
have in mind, the steamer Queen had come in from 



First Impressions. 17 

Seattle with about 200 tourists, and the Treadwell 
Mines were always one of the places visited by 
them. Most of them had already gone to see the 
Mines, when 1 noticed an elderly woman, who 
was lingering behind the general crowd with a 
young man who seemed to be a relation. There 
were many pieces of this quartz scattered about, 
some as large as a person's head, some smaller. 
On this particular occasion there was one fine large 
piece lying on the wharf. Perhaps it might have 
weighed 25 Ibs. Although full of sulphurets, it was 
a very beautiful looking specimen, and to an inexperi- 
enced eye might be thought to be nearly all gold. 

I was standing talking with some Indians, when I 
noticed the woman get between me and that piece of 
rock. She seemed to linger about it, and to be look- 
ing it over. The young man also turned it over. 
The woman wore a large shawl folded. She stooped 
down and the shawl seemed to cover the rock. I 
saw what she meant to do. She wanted that for 
herself, but how to get it without being seen was the 
question. She was in plain view of everybody. She 
then came over and talked to the Indians awhile, 
and then lingered around the rock again, until 
finally the young man went off to the mines and 
left her alone with her rock. I was determined 
to see how it would end. I turned away for a 
moment ; she seized the opportunity, and the rock 
was gone ; I saw her going for the steamer. She 
walked rather awkwardly, stooping somewhat, but I 
could see from my position, as she went up the 
gang-way that she had that rock rolled in her 



1 8 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

shawl. She took it and carefully tucked it away I 
suppose, for she did not make her appearance again 
until the steamer was gone. Had she asked for it 
she would have been given as much as she liked of 
the stone ; for within a reasonable guess she might 
perhaps have succeeded in getting a half cent's 
worth of gold out of the whole stone, if she got 
every bit that was in it. No doubt in her fondest 
dreams, she considered herself exceedingly wealthy. 
But the worst of it all was, that she gave a very 
bad impression to the natives who were also watch- 
ing her movements ; and afterwards employed 
somewhat the same method to obtain the object 
of their desires, and they also felt that all white 
people were like this one. But culture is not 
honesty, for however nice one may appear at home, 
and however honest he may be under law, it does 
not prove he is not a thief. The real self is only 
visible when all restraint is taken away. Really, a 
man is no better than what he is at his weakest 
moments. 



CHAPTER III. 
FRIENDS' MISSION ON DOUGLAS ISLAND. 



AS before stated, among the people living in 
Douglas, there are about 600 Indians. These 
are not of any special tribe, but representatives of 
all tribes from all parts of the country. They have 
been drawn thither by work ; they have brought 
their families with them, and for their benefit a 
Mission has been established to educate their child- 
ren, and to teach these poor dusky men of the 
forest the way of eternal life. 

Over this mission my wife and I were appointed, 
she as matron and myself as superintendent. 
The matron was to mother a house full of Indian 
children (numbering twenty-six), who were to be 
taught English and house-keeping, and every- 
thing necessary to a well regulated family. The 
superintendent was the preacher, the doctor, the 
mechanic, and whatever else was required at the 
Home. Originally it was simply a station for the 
preaching of the gospel ; it was established in 1886 
by a direct call of God to E. W. Wiesner, of Kansas 
Yearly Meeting of Friends, and William Francis 
Bangham, of Wilmington Yearly Meeting who 
going to Alaska, decided upon this place as the one 

19 



20 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

for their future work. It is true that in the General 
Conference of Mission Boards, held in New York 
after the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, 
the different denominations had been allotted certain 
portions of Alaska, in which they were expected to 
do their special work. This south-eastern portion 
had been allotted to the Presbyterian Home Mission 
Board. Friends had not been represented at this 
conference. These friends in particular did not 
know of this special allotment, they felt directly 
called, and led of the Spirit to this place ; which 
was not really occupied ; here they settled and 
began a school. The beginning was slow ; but 
gradually, the warmth of unconquerable love began 
to be manifest. Their home was built of logs cut 
from trees on the ground where the buildings were 
erected; but these were soon consumed and not 
even a tree left for fuel nearer than one-half to three- 
quarters of a mile away. As the mission grew the 
lumber for building the larger buildings had to be 
carried upon men's backs for long distances ; this 
being the only way it could be delivered. There were 
so many orphan children that needed to be cared for, 
fathers and mothers having died, leaving them in 
destitution, suffering and filth. No one seemed to 
care for them, and often they had to find their food 
with the dogs of the village. The hearts of the 
missionaries were stirred to their depths. There 
must be room found in the Mission Home, for some 
of them at least. Thus a home for children was 
established, which soon grew to greater pro- 
portions. Our dear friends, Wiesner and Bang- 



Friends' Mission on Douglas Island. 21 

ham, soon gave up their work into the hands of 
Silas and Anna Moon, though Elwood Wiesner 
continued with them for some time after this. 
Charles Edwards was sent in 1889, and for two years 
was superintendent with Anna and Silas Moon. He 
then took the Government school at Kaak village, 
some no miles south, of which I shall have more 
to say later on. After him, Dr. James E. Connett 
was appointed as superintendent, and for two years 
occupied this position immediately preceding our 
appointment. 

The mission had grown from a little log building, 
loft, by 1 2ft., to the large two storied T shaped 
building ; the main part being 2oft. by 4oft, the 
other part i6ft. by 20 ft., in which the native 
children lived. 

The mission seemed to have been beset with 
difficulties from the very beginning. It was no 
sooner established than a prospector, an English- 
man by birth, insisted that it was located upon his 
mining claim, and for many years he menaced 
the rising mission, but afterwards he became con- 
verted and has now gone home to glory. The 
townspeople stood by the missionaries and saved 
them from being thrust off the ground ; and many 
times and in many ways the miners have manifested 
their sympathy in a substantial manner. 

The mission, also, had internal difficulties. The 
workers, otherwise true and honest at heart, could 
not always see things alike ; which led to much fric- 
tion and sometimes hard feelings. Troubled waters 
are not apt to be conducive to smooth sailing. 



22 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

The natives, ever ready to take advantage, used 
every opportunity to get all that they could out of 
the mission. They seemed to have the idea that 
the mission was for the purpose of giving them 
everything that they wanted, that as the gospel 
was free, so also was the money and everything 
connected with the mission work ; their 
children were to be educated free, which, of 
course, they thought was splendid, and they them- 
selves could come and board at the mission as much 
as they liked ; frequently they would appear in time 
for a six o'clock breakfast, and then in turn abuse 
the missionaries with everything their tongue could 
say. They had learned to expect everything and 
return nothing. Their gratitude had not been 
cultivated ; they did not in fact know what gratitude 
meant ; they put their children in the Mission 
Home until they could learn to speak English 
for financial reasons, being relieved of the burden 
of their support they could make better bargains for 
their girls. It made the girls more marketable and 
their boys more expert in cunning and craftiness. 

It was not the fault of the missionary, that he 
could not foresee all these things. Like many other 
things, it was but an experiment, and we entered 
into the work to make the best of it if possible. 

The children were taken in for a term, of 
some two, some four, some six years. At the 
expiration of their term they were allowed to 
return to their people. The hope of the missionary 
was that during this time there might have been 
implanted and instilled into these young hearts some 



Friends' Mission on Douglas Island. 23 

of the everlasting truths of the gospel. The fondest 
hope that had been realised so far, was that some 
day this seed, thus planted, would bear fruit in the 
salvation of their souls. 

Thus we found it. As we entered into the Home 
we were greeted with the smiling brown faces of the 
little Indian children, ranging from five to four- 
teen years of age. They were governed on the old 
plan of strap and ferule, which was thought to be 
required on the least provocation. On our first day 
at the Mission Home, the biggest girl in the mission 
who was fourteen years old, was whipped with a 
strap, carried in the pocket of one of the officers of 
the Mission for that purpose. 

All the doors were under lock and key ; the 
superintendent and matron each had a bunch 
of keys at their belt or in their pocket ; the for- 
bidden places were all locked. This made the 
children crafty and deceitful, but submissive. I 
found them very kind to one another, very true to 
each other, for if one was in mischief all the children 
knew it, and yet you would not find it out. Every 
Indian child deemed it his honour to keep the secrets 
of the rest, and try how you would, you could not 
get one to tell on another. 

We studied the question considerably. It was a 
hard problem. What should we do ? Our duty 
was to take these children and train them for 
God ; to bring them up so that they would be 
honest, straightforward citizens, true to God and 
true to humanity, but what could we do with 
this sneaking, thievish set of children that we 



24 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

had before us ? We had not only the children to 
deal with but the parents as well. We must also 
provide food and clothing, and in addition provide 
fuel, which was a very great need in that country. 
The only fuel that we had was the soft pine wood 
trees of the forest, growing on the mountain sides. 
This had to be cut, and carried on our backs for 
long distances in summer ; but in winter we could 
make a trail in the snow, and by driving an iron 
pin into one end of the log and fastening a rope to 
this, passing the other end of the rope over our 
shoulders, so as to pull with all the strength we had, 
we were enabled to drag the peeled logs down the 
mountain side. It is surprising what a beast of 
burden a man can be if only he has the proper 
training. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE INDIANS AND THEIR CUSTOMS. 



OUR work lay very plainly before us. We could 
not neglect the white people, although our 
primary object was with the Indian. 

Scattered all about throughout the country are little 
groups of miners working away at some new prospect. 
They needed to be visited ; the Word of Everlasting 
Life must be given to them also. They were a people 
of our own race and colour ; many of them had come 
from the same country. There were men gathered 
here from every country under the sun. Many of 
them could speak our language only brokenly, still 
they needed the Gospel ; and to reach these often 
required the crossing of long stretches of rough 
sea, and a steep, hard climb through the mountains. 
On one occasion in particular, we went about five 
miles across the water to a camp on the mainland, 
to a group of mines known as the " Glacier Mines." 
Located about 2,000 feet above the beautiful valley 
of Sheep Creek Basin, where the only way to reach 
them Was a sheer climb up the mountain side, by a 
zigzag mountain pathway, over which the avalanches 
tumble in their wild rush for the valley beneath. Up 
this difficult path, had been carried, on men's backs, 
the lumber and timbers for the mines ; enough 



26 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

wood also to build a boarding house for the miners, 
in which they lived : up this same way came all the 
iron and steel used in mining ; even the wheel 
barrows, were all carried up this smooth, worn path. 

It was comparatively easy to ascend with no load. 
Our party consisted of my wife, myself, and a few 
friends. After two hours of hard climbing we 
reached the top. We had some service with the 
miners, and left them some books. Our party was 
very tired, it had been a long, hard climb. The 
people at the boarding house gave us a good meal, 
and after an hour and a half we started down again. 

I really believe it is easier to climb up hill than to 
go down, it seems to try every muscle to its utmost 
to keep from going too fast. And this trip we shall 
ever remember ; before this we had scarcely known 
sickness, but from that time, the dear faithful 
wife has not known what it is to be really 
strong. 

We were crossing one of the numerous rock 
slides, over which our path led, when, my wife, plac- 
ing her shoe heel into the loose stones to check 
herself, the stones gave way, and she, losing her 
balance, fell down. This loosened a great avalanche 
of stones which carried her before it on and on 
toward the precipice just beneath. I ran across the 
slide to try to save her but was too late, and closed my 
eyes expecting the worst, only daring to lift up a 
feeble prayer, when to my surprise, not six feet 
from the edge of the chasm, she succeeded in 
stopping herself, while tons of loose stones rolled 
over into the chasm below. * 



The Indians and their Customs. 27 

Like dangers face the miner every day, and 
many lose their lives in such places. And again 
they must blast away the rocks with dynamite or 
giant powder, which is used in sticks, and comes 
frozen ; before they can use it they must thaw it. 
They usually carry it some distance away to thaw 
it out, then carry it back thawed and ready for 
use. 

At the Treadwell Mine, about a mile from our 
home, they had such a thawing place far up on the 
hillside above everything else. It had something 
like a ton of giant powder in it ; there was but one 
man about the place ; at that time one man thawed 
powder through the day, and one man through the 
night. 

When they were ready to use the powder in 
the mine, they sent a man up to the house after it. 
It so happened that about two o'clock one night, the 
man had gone for powder, and had returned but 
twenty minutes when it seemed that the whole island 
shook. People who were in their beds were almost 
turned out. Bottles and canned fruit upon the 
shelves of the stores a mile away were thrown in one 
mass on to the floor. Windows fell out, broken into 
thousands of pieces. A terrific roar told the tale. 
Mountains echoed back from one to the other, as if 
they said, " I told you so ! " The windows in the city 
three miles across the water were broken out, so 
terrific was the explosion. How it happened no one 
knows, or ever will know. A great hole in the rocks 
indicated the place where the powder house stood. 
The logs of which the house was built were nothing 



28 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

but fuzz hanging on the limbs of distant trees ; and 
of the man, after two days search, there was not 
enough found to fill a common baking powder box ! 

The miners are not protected as they should be. 
There is no mine inspector. There is no one to 
say what the company shall do for these men. 
Therefore they work constantly seven days in the 
week, there being only two Sundays observed here 
during the year, one the 4th July and the other 
Christmas. The mines are working seven days in 
the week, night and day, constantly. 

Neither are men protected from the accursed 
drink traffic. There was a law prohibiting the sale 
of any intoxicating liquor, but it was not observed, 
for there were open saloons everywhere. 

The keeper of these saloons was taken up about 
once a year as a usual thing, and fined 100 dollars, 
and then went back to his business again. He 
usually pleaded guilty and paid his fine without 
trial. But it was a difficult matter to get his liquor 
to sell, for there were Customs officers at every town. 
No whiskey could be unloaded without great 
possibility of being captured, therefore smuggling 
became a business of itself. Many went over into 
British Columbia, and bought the liquor, smuggled 
it through in small boats, through the various 
channels among the small islands, evading the 
Customs officers and finally getting it to its destin- 
ation by night. This required great exposure and 
often danger to life. It was taken at great risks, and 
some became desperate, until they were dangerous 
to anyone that would interfere with their traffic. 



The Indians and their Customs. 29 

After a while the Government was persuaded to 
repeal the prohibition laws, and instead, give us a 
law of high licence, which in an ordinary town, 
required the saloon keeper to pay a thousand dollars 
a year for the privilege of damning men's souls. 
This was thought to be better, for there were not so 
many law breakers. The saloon keeper became 
a respectable citizen ; before, he could not hold 
a public office. Now he became one of the first 
men of the town. We saw more drunkenness the 
first day after the high licence system was inaug- 
urated than had been seen in the five years previous 
to this in Alaska. Men now paid dearly to make a 
drunkard and they must make so many more, in 
order to get their money back. The sign of their 
business was to be seen in every street. Walking 
samples, all about the place, that should have 
been men and women, for almost every one of these 
places not only sold liquor, but imported that 
worse thing, degraded womanhood, and these like 
leeches sucked the blood and hard-earned cash of 
the weary toiler. 

There were ample laws to meet these cases, but 
not sufficient public opinion to enforce them. 

There was another condition which needs men- 
tion, viz.: the laws concerning the Indians. The 
Indian had no rights as a citizen, for was he not a 
vassal of the Government ? He had been purchased 
from Russia with the rest of the country, and now 
he was but a native and not a citizen, and in that 
case any improvement or any mining location for 
him could not be maintained in court. It was some 



30 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

years before this was remedied, but now it can be 
thankfully said to be better. It sometimes happened 
that a mining claim would be located for no other 
purpose than to hold the surface rights on which to 
build a town. If the Indians occupied the land, 
their rights were ignored and the company would 
claim all the rights to the surface grounds ; have a 
patent issued, declaring the ground unoccupied, and 
then maliciously force the Indians to pay rent or 
tear down their poor cabins and move elsewhere. 
This so happened in our very town. We will not 
discuss the rights or the details of the case, but it is 
sufficient to say that the company respects but 
little the rights of the Indians ; although the courts 
generally regard equality and justice, when the 
Indian has sufficient money to go to law. We had 
fair-minded judges ; and on the whole we had very 
fair men, from most of whom the native received a 
coarse justice. 

The origin of the native is shrouded in the misty 
veil of the traditions of their past. There is much 
reason to believe they originally came from the 
Continent of Asia. They have a well defined story 
of the Flood ; they can tell you, each tribe can 
point out the place, the high mountain on which 
the remnant of the tribe was saved at the time the 
world was overflowed with water, and they have a 
very vivid characteristic story in which they tell how 
the last man and his family was driven to the top 
of the highest peak, and there escaped the water, 
and afterwards were unable to get down until 
they should make a rope twisted of grass, and 




The Indians and their Customs. 31 

bot by foot lengthen it till they could finally 
ch the shore beneath. Some of their words 
are corruptions of the old Hebrew language. 
They have a story of the Tower of Babel, changed 
somewhat from the Bible story, but yet recognisable. 
One would readily see the likeness between the two. 
Also a story of the beginning of the world, but in it 
we could scarcely recognise any of the history 
according to Scripture. There is another peculiarity 
about these Klingit Indians, there being just 
twelve tribes of them speaking the same language. 
They are distinctly different from any others. They 
have the eyes of a Japanese or very much the same, 
the colour of their skin also resembles the Jap. 
They are a low, rather strongly built people, the 
men in particular ; perhaps averaging five feet six 
inches. They might be taller but for their bow legs. 
Their constant travelling in canoes has caused this. 
Their women are spare, until they reach the age of 
perhaps thirty-five, when generally speaking, as they 
grow older, they grow heavier ; until some of them 
will weigh as much as 350 Ibs. Their language 
is not written, neither do they have characters to 
represent it, and in order to learn it, one must get 
it only by ear. It seems to be a mixture of many 
languages : it is very guttural. With our alphabet 
many of the words cannot be spelt. There have 
been several attempts made to reduce it to writing, 
but it would hardly be worth while, as there are not 
more than about 3,000 of this tribe at present, and 
the Government has established schools among 
them in which English is taught. 



22 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

As a people, they have their own laws and regula- 
tions : nothing is written : everything is handed 
down from father to son. It is the duty of the old 
men of the tribe to sit down and repeat to the 
young men the history and the laws by which they 
are governed. 

They have in the midst of them a headman or 
chief. Also a miserable thievish individual known 
as an Indian doctor. This man is thought to be 
in league with the evil spirits, and has control over 
them, and can discern witches and disease. He 
very often exercises more authority in the tribe 
than the chief, though he is looked upon with 
dread, and no one particularly loves him ; and in 
turn they all fear him, for who knows that he 
will not say a man has been bewitched by you ? He 
is constantly kept at bay with fees and sacrifices. 
He has nothing to do or say in the administration 
of the law, he deals in Spirits. In case of a murder, it 
is " an eye for an eye," and " a tooth for a tooth," 
but "the eye for an eye'' is rather peculiarly en- 
forced. If an old man and a young man should 
get into a quarrel, and the old man should kill 
the young man (they being of different tribes) 
instead of the opposite tribe taking and killing the 
old man in return, they will choose a relative of this 
old man about the age of the young man that he 
killed, of the same standing, physically and socially, 
and take his life instead of that of the old man. 

A man, having taken his two wives (for they are 
polygamists), and gone out hunting, manufactured a 
sort of intoxicating liquor, they call it Hoochinoo, 



The Indians and their Customs. 33 

and drank sufficient to make him utterly insane (for 
Indians get as crazy as white men when they get 
too much whiskey). In this drunken spree the 
man murdered both his wives ; coming into the 
village he gave himself up to the authorities and was 
put in jail. He belonged to one tribe, his wives to 
another. The tribe to which his wives belonged 
demanded that he should be given up. His own 
people tried to deliver him up, but could not, he 
being in jail. Then the opposite tribe chose two 
women, high in authority, from his tribe, and 
demanded their lives in return for those killed. 
These were refused, on the ground that they were 
willing the man should die for his own sin ; but 
neither tribe could get at him. This led to long 
disputings, and finally to manifestation of war. They 
all had practically become Christianised, but like 
many of the Christians among our white brethren, 
they had not learned that it was wrong to fight ; many 
of them deemed it honourable to go to war, and 
now they thirsted for revenge. Though it was 
against the law to sell them rifles, yet each Indian 
carried a Winchester and was anxiously waiting 
for the fray. Their passions were rising con- 
tinually : they were taunting one another. One was 
demanding the prisoner or two women in his stead ; 
the others refusing the women and telling them to 
go and get the prisoner ; this they could not do. 
The one side was full of threatenings, the other was 
declaring its purpose to stand it out. They drew 
up in line of battle. The head man of each village 
was present on his own side : now and again there 






34 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

were exchange of rifle shots over each others' heads, 
rather as a temptation to draw the other on to be 
the first aggressor ; this continued all the after- 
noon. 

We went to see them and tried to persuade them 

that it was not Christianlike, neither was it right for 

them to be acting like this. They were angrily 

walking to and fro, like infuriated beasts. Scarcely 

any words were being said between them. Shots 

were becoming more frequent. The balls were 

whistling a little closer to our heads. It was 

evident some one a little more careless than the 

others or, perhaps, a little less conscious of the 

results, would shoot too low, and thus precipitate a 

general bloody fray. As oftentimes you see two 

young men, one daring the other to strike the first 

blow, so these likewise were apparently daring each 

other to be the aggressor. We walked to and fro 

between them, their ranks being some yards apart. 

There was an angry scowl over their faces : a 

missionary had tried to quell them before, but they 

would not hear him. They said white people had 

counted it honourable to fight with Spain to cause 

her to stop her murders in Cuba, and now they had 

a right to fight on the same principle. As we 

walked from one end of the lines to the other, the 

whizz of the rifle balls came very near our heads. 

Still on and on we went, talking when we could and 

telling them of the peace on earth and goodwill to 

men ; how that as Christians they should not do 

these things. 

At first they only became more angry, and threat- 



The Indians and their Customs. 35 

ened to shoot us if we still persisted in talking to 
them. But we could not feel it right to go. We 
thought it best that if the worst must come, we had 
better go down with them. At the end of two of the 
longest and most trying hours one of the chiefs stepped 
forward, declaring himself to be a Christian and in 
favour of peace. He threw down his gun with such 
force that it broke the stock. Immediately, the 
chief from the opposite side stepped forward and 
piled his gun on the top. They shook hands and 
each chief in turn made a long speech to his people, 
telling them that they were Christians, that it was 
wrong to fight, and that they could believe this 
man who had been talking to them for two hours, 
for he had always said that it was wrong to go to 
war, but they could not believe those who told 
them before that war was honourable. They 
did not care for that kind of religion. They wanted 
that which taught them to love their brethren, and as 
they talked, the stack of arms grew higher, until there 
were fifty rifles piled up between the two ranks. As 
night stole on there was, instead of war, a blaz- 
ing fire and a kettle over it full of soup for 
*a general feast ; shaking of hands and goodwill. 
The prisoner was left for the law to take its course. 
When the wife dies the husband retains all her 
possessions except the children. It is their law that 
in case the husband dies, everything the widow has 
left, is taken from her by her husband's brothers, 
and the children are left for her to support, alone 
and empty handed. There are cases where they 
have taken the last dress the woman had, leaving her 



36 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

none to wear, she only having a blanket to wrap 
herself in, and perhaps a large family of children : 
being thus left in destitution and poverty, with no 
means by which she can support so large a family. 
It becomes the duty, according to their law, for the 
husband's brother to marry the widow. In cases 
where all of the brothers are already married, and do 
not want such large families, this widow is left to 
support her family alone ; how can she do it ? 
There is no way by which she can make a living for 
them. She tries fishing, and washing, and basket- 
making, which are all very meagre in their returns, 
and then as a last resource sells her integrity for the 
sake of enough to fill the mouths of her children, 
and having once gone down, she does not care. 

While there are twelve tribes, there are only two 
families, known as the ravens and eagles. It is 
supposed that these ravens are the offspring of the 
Creator of the earth, and that the eagles have con- 
quered the earth. According to their history the 
raven created the world ; this raven (or yilk as they 
call him) also represents the evil spirit. Although 
they believe there is a good spirit, yet the evil spirit 
is in supreme power to-day. The father must be 
either a raven and the mother an eagle, or vice versa; 
all eagles are brothers and sisters, all ravens are 
brothers and sisters ; therefore an eagle must marry 
a raven and a raven an eagle. If the mother be a 
raven, the children are ravens : if she be an eagle, 
the children are eagles. They have long stories of 
the history and progress of the world's kingdoms 
even until now. These are in the form of traditions 



The Indians and their Customs. 37 

told and repeated to each other in the evenings of 
their feasts and of their common gatherings. 

Their history is very well kept. Their "totem 
poles " are simply historical records set up in front 
of their dwellings to record the principal events of 
that particular household. It has been said that 
they worship these, because upon them are carved 
the figures of bears and wolves and fish, and other 
characters representative of their tribes, and at the 
bottom of these poles they put the ashes of their 
dead, after the body has been burnt. This pole is 
made from the tree of the forest, cunningly carved, 
characteristic of the native of the country. 

To those who have said that the Indian worships 
these things, we might in turn say, that the white 
man also has his totem pole. As we ride along 
through the country, and come to a nice little hill- 
side green, dotted all over with tall, white, polished 
marble stones : we call them tombstones. The 
Indian in travelling through this country, would in 
turn declare that we worship these things. Others 
have said these Indians are ancestor worshippers. 
He likewise would retort aye, yes, same as you. 
They have an aptitude of being real in their life, 
and expect as much of you. If you profess to 
believe the Bible, they expect you to live like it, 
and do what it commands. For several years 
we had believed that the Scripture meant exactly 
what it said, especially when it said : " He that 
asketh of thee, turn him not away again empty.'' 
Having literally adopted it as our rule and custom, it 
was now to be put to the test. On walking into a 



38 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

store one day, I wore a coat which had some very 
pretty buttons on it. There were a number of 
Indians in the store. One of them came up to me 
and was talking away in his own language. I could 
not understand him, for I had only been there a 
short time. After the Indian had talked and smiled 
and pointed to the button on my coat, and looked 
me in the face, and smiled and smiled again, the 
storekeeper said : 

" Do you know what he wants ? " 

I said " No, I don't understand it." 

He said " He wants that button on your coat : 
he wants you to give it to him." 

" Oh," said I, " is that what he wants ? " 

"Yes, he's been trying to make you under- 
stand that he wants that button : he thinks it is 
a very pretty one." 

I said, " He shall have it," and quietly reached 
in my pocket, took out my knife, cut the button off 
and handed it to the Indian. He smiled and bowed 
and shook hands, and seemed so very thankful. I 
could not imagine what he wanted with the button, 
but it was not my business to inquire. He had 
asked, and according to the Word of the Lord I 
must give to him. 

The storekeeper protested. "Why," he said, 
"man, you will give everything you have away. 
What did you give him the button for ? These 
men are the greatest beggars you ever saw." 

I told him of my faith in the Scripture. He thought 
it was rather astonishing that anyone should think 
as I did, but as time went on, that button became 



The Indians and their Customs. 39 

the key to the Indian's soul. He said to me after- 
ward that he had never met a man that would do 
that way, and if that was Christianity, he wanted 
it, and he became a powerful minister for Christ, 
influenced many of his brethren for good, and I 
have no doubt but that it all started from the time 
when he asked for the button and received it. Had 
I refused it, I doubt not he would have put me down 
with the rest, covetous and not a Christian. 

It also led to our being adopted into the tribe and 
giving us much more control over the affairs of the 
people. I was made an Eagle, and to be an Indian 
I was given an Indian mother who is now nearing 
the end of a century of life. She always calls me 
her son. When she accepted the position as my 
mother, she thought it would be necessary for her to 
learn to read and write. So she became very faithful 
at the day school struggling with her A.B.C. The 
last time I saw her she said, " My son, I shall never 
see you again on earth, but I shall meet you in 
heaven ; " then added, " Now you must be a good 
boy wherever you go, and the Lord will bless you." 

They named me Dah-is-kah, and my wife Wak-is- 
teen, and our little boy Dis-ke-a-kah. 



CHAPTER V. 

MORE ABOUT INDIAN CUSTOMS. 



AS far back as the oldest story dates, the 
Alaska native lived and died in his skin or 
bark-covered hut, and dressed himself in the 
skins of the animal he killed for his food. 
But when the Hudson Bay Fur Trading Com- 
pany pushed its way into the far North-West, 
the English " King George " became the prevailing 
dress suit. This gradually replaced the skin dress, 
and skins were exchanged for blankets ; besides, 
furs became more valuable, in fact too valuable for 
an Indian to wear. Then being deprived of fur he 
built his house of logs, and chinked it with moss ; his 
outing tent was made of the bark of trees, and of 
boughs cut from the spruce ; this was finally replaced 
by the regular canvas tent, and the blanket gave way 
to the ordinary clothing of a citizen of America. 

These Indians are a people of very affectionate 
nature, but most pathetically whimsical. A betrothal 
among them is very strange. A young man, per- 
haps passing along the way, sees a girl or a young 
woman, and falls in love with her. He does not 
consider the young woman as much as he does 
her parents. If she has good parents, and wealthy, 
he thinks the more of her, and he proceeds imme- 




ALASKA INDIAN IN DANCING COSTUME. 



More about Indian Customs. 41 

diately to woo her ; but she is usually very shy. 
They never shake hands when they meet, not even 
father and son, even when they have been absent 
for years. But when they come together, they sim- 
ply sit down and look at each other, or at the 
ground, for a long time ; then finally, the silence is 
broken and language flows freely, and others join. 
So in courtship, the young man does not speak to 
the young lady. He passes her by. He looks her 
way, but she does not see him. He goes a little 
way and returns. This time he passes a little closer 
to her, but she still does not -see him; he looks 
and hesitates, and passes on. It may be in a few 
days he passes her again : she is expecting him 
now. She sits out at this same place, but she does 
not look up when he comes, and so he passes by ; 
but when he is gone, if he will look behind him, he 
will see her eyes following him closely. She under- 
stands what is coming, and as he passes her again 
he speaks to her, but she does not look up. He 
goes to her mother, and he tells her that he loves 
that girl, and he proves his love to the mother by 
giving her a present : it may be some beautiful 
coloured handkerchief, or it may be a little piece of 
tobacco, or it may be a seal's tooth, or almost any- 
thing that Indians would value. In a few weeks 
the courtship becomes so animated that the mother 
gets beautiful dresses, and the girl begins to get 
little trinkets, while the father falls in for his share, 
and by the time the man has made all arrangements 
to secure his bride, it has cost him from 50 to 
300 dollars, according to his ability to pay ; 



42 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

and the cupidity of the parents. But in some cases, 
the girl is not willing ; she may be only ten or 
twelve years of age, her suitor may be fifty or sixty- 
five. She does not want him. He has a wife, but 
she is too old to cook for him any more. She can- 
not take care of him as he likes : he wants a young 
wife ; he wants a girl to wait upon him, but the girl 
resents it : her heart has been looking to some 
young man but the old man is wealthy ; he may 
be a sub-chief, or in some official position. 

Here is a story from life. The little girl's name was 
Mary the old man was about sixty-five. He wanted 
a young woman. Mary's father was a good Chris- 
tian man, and her mother was an earnest woman. 
The old man thought Mary would be obedient : he 
did not reckon upon the strength of her character. 
He did not know that it took good material to 
make a good man and a good woman among 
Indians. It took good material to keep them from 
yielding to the sins of their people. This girl was 
made of the same material as her parents. Still the 
truest are sometimes overpowered. 

The old man came and made his application to 
the parents for the girl. Mary knew nothing about 
it. The parents refused in utter disdain : but the 
Indians are crafty ; so the old man went away as 
though it was a joke. The next day he returned : 
he had a beautiful present for Mary's mother, and 
he gave Mary's father a dollar in silver, and they 
said, " No, look here, you need not think you are 
going to get Mary by all these presents. We know 
what you are after." 



More about Indian Customs. 43 

" Oh," the old man said, " I don't want Mary ; 
that is all right, of course, if you don't want me to 
have her." So he went away smiling, and as 
pleasant as could be. 

It was three days before they saw him again, and 
this time he had a gold bracelet for Mary's 
mother (such things are worth forty dollars), and he 
came in and said, " Now, I just want to make you 
a present of this" ; and Mary's mother did not 
like to take it, but he insisted upon it as a kindness 
to him, until she accepted it just as a present from 
him, and he said, " You know I love you all 
because you are faithful and earnest, and because 
you would not sell your daughter ; and I do this 
just because I want to be a true Christian like you 
are." Upon these terms the bracelet was accepted, 
and the old man went away. 

Two weeks had nearly passed when he returned 
again. This time he brought with him a beautiful 
black bearskin. It was nicely tanned : it would be 
worth something like 25 dollars. This was a 
present again for the mother. It is interesting to 
listen to the conversation now. 

He said, " I thought I'd run over to-day and bring 
this to you. I oftentimes think of you and wish I 
could be as you are. I desire to be good very much : 
I want you to teach me how to be good." The 
father and mother were completely thrown off their 
guard ; for hours they sat and talked to him about 
how to be a Christian, to his entire satisfaction. In 
the meantime Mary sat back in a corner trembling, 
for something somewhere within her, seemed to tell 



44 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

her what it all meant. He finally took his depart- 
ure, declaring he would try to be a Christian. 

When he was gone the father and mother sat 
long together, and they talked it all over and over 
again. The father said, " He seems to be such a 
nice man " ; the mother said, he is exceedingly kind," 
and so the conversation went until he was declared 
to be the ideal of their minds. Some of their 
neighbours came in. They told of the wonderful 
goodness of this sub-Chief. They failed to men- 
tion the presents, but they told how kind he was. 

The next day they met him again. He told them 
how he had struggled to be a Christian all that 
night : he -believed he was all right now, and that 
he hoped sometime if they considered him good 
enough that he might have Mary. Their fears 
had all been overcome. They were now ready to 
listen, and he pleaded his case. They could see no 
objections to it. He urged his suit with the father 
and mother by a further present of ten dollars. 
He had sold some bearskins lately, and had obtained 
some money. The faint shadows of objections 
which had lingered in their minds, now took their 
everlasting flight. It would be quite a nice thing, 
only he must wait for Mary ; she was too young 
yet. 

Of course he agreed ; and now presents began to 
come for Mary little things first, but she flung 
them in the corner : she'd have nothing to do with 
such bargaining ; she knew that it meant the life 
of a slave as the wife of this old man ; beside 
that, it was taking from her heart the ideal of her 



More about Indian Customs. 45 

life, in the form of a certain young man. The old 
man frequently appeared at the home : the parents 
talked one with another and with their relatives ; 
they were all of one mind about it finally they 
approached Mary about it. She fairly stamped at 
the idea : she would not think of it. They 
brought their relatives all in. Mary must be 
taught to understand her position, and they all sat 
down and with one voice began to recount the 
wonderful deeds, the charity, the love of this old 
man, how he cared for them, and how he cared 
"for Mary. The relatives all chimed in, each with 
his eulogy of the old man's character. Mary must 
listen to it all. They hoped to overcome her 
prejudices, but Mary was firm. Finally seeing 
that they could not prevail in this way, her father and 
mother set her by the fire, and told her that she 
did not love them ; if she did, she would marry 
that old man that they might not have to work any 
more ; for her husband would then keep them, and 
that because she did not love her parents she 
refused. 

Still Mary was firm ; finally they stamped their 
feet and said, " Mary must do it." 

While they thus pleaded and scolded betimes, the 
long winter nights had come. Snow was two feet 
deep on the ground, when who should appear but 
the old man ; and now he joined in to plead with 
Mary, but she, thrusting her fingers in her ears, in 
utter desperation rushed from the house. Like the 
wild roe she ran to the woods, far up the mountain 
side ; her parents thought she would soon come 



46 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

back, but morning came and Mary had not returned. 
Finally, after a search of three days, her lifeless body 
was found lying by a stone. Rather than sacrifice 
her rights, her virtue and her religion, she would 
meet death, and bravely she did so. 

This story is only one of many, which may not 
end quite in the same way perhaps, as more often the 
girl is over-persuaded, and finally marries the man 
only to quarrel and leave him again. 

Furthermore, the mother at any time that she 
desires, especially if the husband does not give her 
presents enough, can take her daughter away from her 
husband and compel her to go home with her until 
her husband pays the required amount ; or should 
he not do so, she can sell her daughter to another 
man who is willing to pay. 

The women are responsible for the children being 
true to the tribe. The man is subject to her every 
particular whim. Any time she desires she may 
leave him. She can invent almost any sort of story 
of his cruelty, and on these grounds compel him to 
pay to her parents almost any sum. Besides, if he 
does not treat his wife just as she thinks he ought 
to do, there are plenty of other husbands who will 
be more likely to do so, so she finds another one, 
always with the consent, of her mother or her aunt. 
The customs of the people are in some instances 
very hard upon the women ; for example, it is the 
rule of the tribe that no child shall be born in the 
house, if it is there will be evil upon that house. 
The mother must move out for a month ; and so 
when the baby is expected, they make a booth of 



More about Indian Customs. 47 

spruce boughs, outside the house, or somewhere 
in a sheltered place, often out in their camps. 
There the expecting mother is left alone, food is 
placed within her reach, sometimes water, oftentimes 
if it is longer than they expected, everyone leaves 
her. Now and then an old woman, a sort of doctor 
among them, will remain with her, but generally 
not. There she is left to suffer. No one dares 
to touch her ; and many a poor woman has died 
with no one by in this most trying time. 

Again the woman's work is sometimes very heavy. 
She must always have her children with her ; she 
carries her baby on her back. She goes to the 
forest, and gathers a piece of hemlock bark from 
the side of a green tree. The natural shape of the 
bark makes a good bed. In the curved side of this 
she lays a great deal of dry moss ; over this moss 
she puts a covering of cloth, some sort of light can- 
vas. She takes the little one and wraps it in a piece 
of blanket, folds this cloth over its body, stretches 
its little feet out straight, puts its hands down by its 
side, and buttons all down tight. The child cannot 
strike, it cannot kick, and by reason of this it does 
not cry. This arrangement is very convenient as 
well ; she can now take the cradle and baby together, 
hang it over her shoulder or lay it up against the 
side of a rock when she goes to pick berries ; or lay 
it in the bottom of a canoe when she goes away 
fishing ; or better still, when she comes to meeting 
she can just shove the little fellow under the bench 
in front of her, and there he can lie and blink at the 
bottom of the bench until he goes to sleep. She 



48 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

also very often has to carry her own wood : every day 
the women can be seen with great bundles of wood 
on their backs coming down the mountain side. It 
is also their duty to gather all the berries. And, in 
conjuction with the old men and children, make 
the seal grease and fish grease for winter use. 

When anyone in the house dies, the women are hired 
to cry; they paint their faces black with charcoal made 
from the bark of the hemlock ; then they sit down by 
the grave and begin to cry, the first tear runs straight 
down over their cheek, taking away the black as it 
goes. They turn their heads at an angle, and the 
next tear makes a new mark and so on. They 
are paid by the number of marks they can show on 
their faces. Some receive one, some four blankets, 
owing to how much sorrow they can manifest for 
the dead. In justice to them, it should be said, that 
this custom is dying out. 

Once while visiting around among the Indians, 
I came into a home where there was a sick 
boy, about four years old. The fever was 
raging in his little body. The family were stricken 
with fear ; and one of the relatives, who had been 
to the school for some time and could talk good 
English, interpreted for me. She told me how 
sorry they were that they had lost so many child- 
ren, and now this one must go. It was a sad case. 
In prayer to the Almighty God, it became evident to 
me that the boy could be relieved, and perhaps get 
well again. Having obtained a great deal of 
information in medicine from the former superin- 
tendent (to whom I am greatly indebted), I said, 



More about Indian Customs. 49 

" I think that boy can be cured, if you will give the 
medicine according to my directions." 

They promised faithfully they would do so, and all 
kneeled down in prayer. They told the Lord that 
someone was sent who could make their boy well. 
This was putting me in rather a close place, but I 
believed in the Lord, and went to my duty. Going 
home, I took a little boy with me, and sent the medi- 
cine by him, with full directions, telling them I 
would follow in a few hours, which I did. When I 
arrived I found that only one dose of the medicine 
had been given to the child ; he was still delirious, and 
upon inquiry, I found that an Indian doctor had been 
there. This one dose had not made the child well, 
and they had called in their Indian doctor, who 
refused to give any more medicine, and in the mean- 
time had determined that the child would die ; saying 
he was bewitched, and that he thought he knew who 
the witch was, having selected a poor reckless, 
thoughtless girl, who had defied his power ; and by 
his instructions, the parents had gone to the store, 
purchased sufficient food for a feast, and were pre- 
paring the shroud for the child's burial. 

This was more than I could stand. I determined 
to stay by the boy, and prove that what I said was 
true ; that he would get well. I gave him his 
medicine until well on into the night : finally he 
opened his eyes, looked intelligent and dropped off 
into a sound sleep. I sat by him till morning ; he 
awoke ; I still continued to give the medicine, and he 
continued to evidence improvement. 

The next morning, as I was sitting by his bedside, 



50 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

the door flew open, and in came the Indian doctor. 
Such a hideous sight ! bears' teeth, seals' teeth, rattles 
of every description, all over his body and head, and a 
drum in his hand ! He had had a conference with 
the spirits, he said, and had come now to drive the 
evil spirit out of this child, and he thought he would 
get well yet. If he could not get well the witch 
would have to die. He began his pow-wowing ; 
beating his drum and rattling the teeth he was 
decorated with. 

The child was frightened, and sat up in bed ; and, 
alarmed, I ordered the Indian doctor to stop, but he 
appeared not to hear me, and on my telling him the 
second time with no better result, I took him by main 
force and threw him out of the door, and told him 
to stay out, and he was rather glad to do it, for he 
was not accustomed to such rough handling (the 
Indians were all afraid to put their hands on him). 

He went about among the people telling them that 
I would soon die, that there was a spirit that had 
taken hold of me, and would kill me ; but, as I did 
not die he lost his power and influence, and after- 
wards was converted, and is now a very good man, I 
have reason to believe. The child made a complete 
recovery. 

Soon after this I was away to California for about six 
weeks. When I returned I visited the people to see 
how the little boy was doing. He was out playing. I 
asked them how he was ; they would not speak to me. 
I thought there was something wrong somewhere in 
the family. I met them many times afterwards, but 
they would not speak. They seemed angry with 



More about Indian Customs. 51 

me. Desiring to know the reason for this, I sought 
the young woman who could talk English. I said 
to her, "Alice, how is it that your people won't 
speak to me ?" For I never charged them anything 
for the medical attendance. She hung her head ; I 
said, " Tell me the truth, I want to know what it is." 

" Well," she said, " I will tell you. You know 
when the baby was sick, and you cured him." 

"Yes," I said, "I know." " 

" Well," she said, " did you know that the Indian 
doctor had decided he would die, and ordered 
them to prepare a feast." 

" No," I said, " I did not know that he had done 
that." 

" Well," she said, " he did, and when they had 
bought all their things ready for the feast, the little 
boy got well and they could not have it, and when 
they went to the storekeeper to get him to take 
the things back again that they had bought, he 
refused, and they felt like it was just that money 
wasted. They felt very bad about it, because they 
did not have very much money to spare, and they 
blamed you because you did not let the little boy 
die, and so they could not have their feast." 

This was the key to it all. I had deprived them 
of using their feast money. The little boy lived to 
be ten years old, but when he took sick again they 
took good care that I should not know of it, and 
sure enough he died : they wrapped up his little feet 
in woollen socks, put on his woollen mittens, 
wrapped him in three or four blankets, so that he 
would not get cold on his journey to the city of the 



c 2 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

dead, placed all of his play-things in his coffin, 
and buried him with a jar of water and a dish of food 
upon the grave that he might not go hungry. 

The people themselves are rather comical, and 
have an amusing side to their nature. They are 
not as stolid as one would think from their expres- 
sionless faces. They have many amusements and 
laugh heartily. Their dance is a sort of an amuse- 
ment. Their best dancer is the one that can most 
nearly imitate the animal which he represents. 
Each man and woman dances alone, keeping time 
all the while to the tom-tom of their drums, and 
mimicking both in gesture and in noise some 
animal or bird. 

I have never seen one of their dances, for I did 
not lend my countenance, where I could not give my 
support. I think it is a mistake for Missionaries to 
attend these heathenish rites and ceremonies, which 
in the pulpit and in everyday life they discounten- 
ance ; therefore I never went to see one, for I stood 
stolidly against them. They had many feasts, all 
of which were interspersed with dancing. They 
would eat and dance and dance and eat. Some 
have eaten enormous quantities at one time. One 
man is said to have consumed five gallons of seal 
grease in one evening om a wager. There are 
feasts for the dead as mentioned before, there are 
peace feasts, and there are ordinary feasts for those 
who had been made ashamed as they say. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE STORY OF JIM. INDIAN FASHIONS. 



IN the early history of Alaska the Hudson Bay Fur 
Trading Company figure largely in the life and 
language of the Indians, from the Gulf of Califor- 
nia to the Arctic Ocean. They not only traded 
but taught the people as well. A common language 
was almost a necessity, and to meet the needs of 
trade they invented such, and called it the " Chinook 
words." It consisted of 100 words at first, but could 
be added to as need required by white or native. 
There is a feast among the natives known as a 
" Potlatch." This feast consists of food to eat, 
articles of wearing apparel to give away, blankets 
and calico to be torn up, and money to be distrib- 
uted. The man who can give the biggest " Pot- 
latch " and give away the most goods, is the highest 
in the tribe. When some one has excelled all 
the others, he is chief of that tribe, and so each 
vies with the other to give the greatest " Pot- 
latch." Ofttimes a chief will call together hundreds 
of people and feast them for a week or two weeks 
at a time, and present them with various tokens. 
Whatever can be cut or torn up is so treated. The 
pieces are given to the various attenders. A blanket 

53 



54 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

is torn into strips perhaps a foot long and five or 
six inches wide ; these pieces are either thrown out 
into the company for whoever can get them ; or the 
giver names 'someone to whom they are to be given. 
Apiece of calico is likewise torn up, perhaps into 
somewhat larger pieces. These are collected by those 
present as they are given out, and taken home, fre- 
quently to be made into a shirt or a coat for some little 
boy ; which an industrious mother sews together ; 
making a coat of many colours. 

Every now and then some one would call the 
name of a departed brave he may have been dead 
200 years and then, each one present would throw 
something into the fire, a piece of blanket, some 
food, or even a whole dish of food, which was sup- 
posed to appease his spirit. 

After the finish of the feast, there is a general round 
of smoking (for they all used tobacco, from the oldest 
to the youngest) ; then a final dance and parting. 

The economy in the use of tobacco by a family 
is very striking. They will go to the store and 
get the biggest plug of tobacco they can procure 
for ten cents. They do not go in for quality, but 
for quantity. It is taken home, wrapped in a 
handkerchief. The first thing in the morning, the 
father gets the plug of tobacco out and takes a 
chew. He chews it till he is tired of it. It is then 
passed to his wife, and she in turn chews it till 
she is tired of it. After that, it is passed on to the 
children, and they all in turn chew it, and woe 
to the little urchin who loses the "chew" before 
it is returned to the father again ! 



The Story of Jim. 55 

In many valleys a sort of weed grows wild, the 
leaves of which the natives originally gathered, and 
dried for smoking and snuff. But since tobacco 
has been introduced into Alaska by the white man, 
the native never prepares his own. 

On our first going to Alaska the native would 
chew, and spit all over the floor (he thought it was 
gentlemanly), and it was rather a difficult problem to 
know what to do about it. But as soon as they 
became converted they no longer used the filthy 
stuff. 

When we first settled in Alaska in 1893 we found 
the people very honest ; particularly with one 
another. One could leave anything out of doors 
without fear of its being taken ; neither Indians 
nor whites would steal ; but when gold was dis- 
covered in the Yukon, at the Klondyke, and 
various other places, it brought many question- 
able characters to the country. The Indians soon 
felt that to hold their own they must steal, and lie, 
and cheat. They were expert at deception in any 
case, and now they used it to good account, and so 
often had they been taken advantage of in trade 
and otherwise, that it soon became impossible to 
beat them. 

They feel it to be sort of a religion to imitate 
the white man. But to appeal to their sense of 
honour is usually sufficient to ensure their acting 
uprightly. Honour is above everything else to 
them. 

The following story illustrates this : There was 
an Indian boy about seventeen years of age. We 



56 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

knew him as "Jim," though, of course, he had an 
Indian name, for they all have their own particular 
names ; but in the influx of whites they had been 
given English names as well. It so happened 
that a relative of Jim's had murdered a young man of 
another tribe. There must be restitution ; either 
there must be blankets given and feasts made to 
atone for the death ; or else some one must die 
instead. Jim's friends were poor ; they could not 
pay the stipulated four hundred blankets. Jim came 
down to the mines about three hundred miles from 
his home to work. He was trying to make 
money enough to pay this debt ; for when one 
man of a tribe is in trouble they are all bound to 
help him, for the enemy reckons not with the man 
but with the tribe. So they were all trying to 
gather enough together to jointly pay the debt, and 
as the murderer was an old man they could not tell 
who would be chosen to be put to death in his 
stead. 

Their enemies were restless and demanded 
payment. It could not be made : finally after 
council, their enemies selected Jim to be the one 
to forfeit his life in payment for the life his uncle 
had taken. 

The time fixed for Jim to be shot was the 
next autumn. It was now the breaking of 
spring. The April sun was slowly but surely 
driving the snow from the shores toward the 
mountains. The birds had begun to come from 
the south. All nature seemed to be smiling again ; 
even the thrifty buttercup began to look appeal- 



The Story of Jim. 57 

ingly into the face of every passer by ; but Jim's 
people were gloomy, the most gloomy of them all 
was his uncle. Jim seemed to care but little. He 
gathered his few belongings together, tied them up in 
his blanket with a rope, swung it on his shoulder, 
and off he went three hundred miles to the mines to 
work. We learned his story while he worked 
there. 

He came to our meetings regularly : from time 
to time he gave many earnest testimonies of the 
work of grace in his heart. The happy days of 
summer had passed, autumn was come ; the leaves 
were turning yellow from the biting frost that 
appeared night after night ; the time was near 
when Jim must return to his home. We begged 
him not to return, telling him perhaps the Lord 
had given him this privilege to gain his freedom. 
He looked incredulously at us the idea that we 
should for a moment have thought that he had it 
in his heart to run away ! 

He sat by my side, and said to me, " If I go away, 
my brother will have to die in my place : I cannot 
do it. Beside that, I am ready to die ; my brother 
is not. Not one of my people are ready. They do 
not know the Lord ; I do, I am quite ready and 
willing to go." 

He came again to meeting, when we had another 
talk with him and said, " Now, Jim, can't we do 
something to interfere in this matter ? " 

He answered, "No, I think not." 

I said, " Will they kill you ? " 

"Yes, they will." 



5 8 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

" Why should you return ? Why not let them 
come for you ?" 

" My people are poor," he said ; " it will cost 
them too much to come and fetch me. I must 
return." 

I said to him, " Were they not afraid to let you 
come down here so far, for fear you would run 
away ? " 

He stood up straight, threw his shoulders 
back, and said, " We are honest people." The 
depth of his feeling was manifest. It was the same 
as if he had been called a traitor. His honour was 
at stake ! 

I said to him, "Jim, when will you be going ?" 

" I must go next Thursday," he answered. 

"And when will this thing be settled ?" 

" It is to be settled two weeks after I get home." 

We took him by the hand and warmly shook it. 

I finally said to him, " I believe you are right : 
you are a brave boy ; God will certainly reward 
you ; but, remember, I shall pray for you that your 
faith shall not fail ; " then added, " Do you fear 
this?" 

He answered, " I don't like to be shot, but I 
must do it to save my people. And remember I 
am not afraid to die. The Lord will help me." 

On the appointed day he took his departure. 
What follows is from an eye-witness. 

Jim arrived home safely. His father and mother 
met him and welcomed him to their house. His 
uncle was very depressed, for he saw what would 
be the result of his fit of madness. It was taking from 



The Story of Jim. 59 

them the brightest light they had, and more than that, 
the uncle became a practical slave of the tribe; for 
another man was to be made to suffer in his stead. 
Even the little boys could now " boss " the old man 
about : the women could "jaw" him as much as they 
pleased and he dared not retaliate. He became like 
the cur that lay at his feet ; but Jim was the hero of the 
tribe I He sat by the fireside day after day, whilst 
the negotiations were going on, talked to his father 
and mother and his uncle about their souls, about 
heaven, and about Christ. He told them of the hope 
of the resurrection, of the joy in service, and how 
willing he was to die for their sakes, and glad that 
he was able to tell them of what Jesus had done for 
him. 

They listened with aching hearts as he said to 
them, " This is my dying message ; I shall soon be 
gone : I do not fear to die ; for, I shall be at home 
with Jesus." Tears were falling fast, but there was 
no going back ; their enemies had gathered in 
various tents just across the way. The day was 
approaching : they were thirsting for settlement. 
They would have life or blankets, and the latter 
could not be obtained. 

The fatal day arrived. The morning sun shone 
out bright and clear ; the cold crisp air of winter 
had thrown a damask of frost on all the landscape. 
In the little village of Jim's people only sorrow and 
sadness reigned ; the only bright face among 
them was Jim's ; the only one who could smile 
was he. Their enemies had become so affected as 
they sat with Jim, and saw his fearlessness, that 



60 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

they dreaded the moment to come when they, 
according to orders, must kill him ; and still it 
must be done, for they had passed their word. 
And an Indian keeps his word ! 

The sun climbed on towards the zenith ; it was 
now noon : the shade of the stake driven in the 
centre of the street pointed to the mark, designating 
that the time of execution had come. A low 
murmur arose from among the enemy ! A little line 
of four was seen to stand out in front of their 
tents, each with a loaded Winchester rifle in his 
hand. They waited ! Will he come ? It was 
not long before a solitary boy walked out of the 
house. It was Jim. He was just advancing to the 
place designated, when, there was a shriek, and the 
frantic face and flying hair of his mother appeared 
in the doorway. She rushed out and gathered him 
around the neck, and dragged him back into the 
house, saying " You shall not, you cannot die ! " The 
mother's heart was all but broken ! Jim with his 
labour-stained hands wiped his mother's tears, 
kissed her upon the cheek, and said, " Mother, 
don't weep for me, but rather weep because you do 
not know the Lord. Rather," he said, "weep and 
pray for these our enemies, that they may see, and 
believe, and be saved." 

Then, gently loosening her arms from his neck, 
he walked slowly and deliberately to the place of 
execution. The enemy stood awestruck ! They 
could not fire : so Jim walked a little further on 
and stopped again, and this time to speak to them, 
saying " I forgive you in the name of Jesus : I 



The Story of Jim. 61 

know you don't know Him, but you must know 
Him before you come to be where I am going 
promise me you will." There was no sound, only 
the quivering of the tense muscles in the face of 
the enemy, when, out upon the air rang four shots 
which paid the debt. Jim had gone to be with 
his God so sweetly, so peacefully, that the enemy 
went and kneeled beside him and there asked God 
for forgiveness. 

I cannot say what you will think of such a 
procedure, but in their darkened minds it was 
the greatest sacrifice they had ever made, and 
perhaps meant more to them than you and I 
will ever realise. Suffice it to say that through 
Jim's death could be traced the conversion of the 
entire tribe. They have solemnly promised before 
God that never again will they exact so terrible 
a price. 

Who will blame Jim ? It is strange, his cour- 
age, is it not ? Yet He Who had the strength of 
courage to die for us, in turn will also give us the 
courage to die for others. I often think it is easier 
to die for Christ than to live for Him. It is indeed 
blessed to yield up life for His sake, but it is far 
more blessed to live in obedience to His will. 

Among these people can now be heard the voice 
of song instead of anger ; they are especially 
clever at singing. Perhaps you and I would never 
call it so. To us it would seem more of a howl, but, 
to them it is music. They have no teachers but 
Nature : in other words they are practically chil- 
dren of Nature, and when one of them desires to 



62 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

become a singer, it is not uncommon to find him for 
weeks at a time, sitting, half-starved, by the side of a 
bubbling brook, listening to the sounds of the water 
as it tumbles over the rocks. This is his training. 
It usually takes him thirty days, sometimes double 
that time ; but it seems to have the desired effect, for 
he comes back a singer. Then his services are quite 
in demand at all their dances and feasts, and even 
in the evenings you can hear him with his howl 
and his drum. He loves music, and once hearing 
a tune will sing it himself, and he has a very sweet, 
mild voice ; the voice as you hear it seems as if 
you were laying your fingers on the softest of vel- 
vet, and yet it has that firmness and volume about 
it that fills your room. Their natural love of 
music being taken advantage of, we often reach 
them with the Gospel in song. 

The Indians are also expert imitators. Their 
doctors frequently imitate many sleight-of-hand 
performances, doing it admirably. They love to 
imitate the whites, especially in the manner of 
dress. In one case a young woman named Emma, 
whose capacity for imitating the white woman was 
very great, caused us no little amusement at a 
morning meeting. It had so happened that one 
of the tourist steamers, had, a day or two before 
arrived at the Treadwell Mines, and some women 
on board the steamer were invited to dine with the 
superintendent. In order to do so they must 
necessarily change costumes, from travelling cos- 
tume to that of a drawing-room. They must walk 
from the steamer across the dock to the superin- 



Indian Fashions. 63 

tendent's house. As is usual at these times when 
the tourists arrive, the Indian women who sell a 
a great many wares of their own manufacture, 
such as baskets, hats and stockings, also canes and 
totem poles, manufactured by their husbands or 
brothers, had, on this occasion ranged themselves 
along the wharf displaying their different articles 
of merchandise. 

As the strangers passed, one lady in particular 
was scrutinised by the native women. She wore a 
skirt which had a train to it about two yards long. 
As she was carrying it nicely, to keep it out of the 
dirt, the Indian women took note of that as well. 
This was on Friday. On Sunday morning Emma 
came with the other Indians to meeting, carrying 
something very carefully. She was doing just like 
she had seen that English woman do two days 
before. When she got to the door, she just let it 
go, and lo and behold a train swept some tw"o yards 
behind her, and she swept up the aisle and sat down 
as gracefully as though she had worn such things 
all her life. But it took no expert eye to see that 
it was hardly in order. She could not afford to 
buy a new dress, but had gone to the store and 
purchased new material sufficient for the train ; 
and sewed it on to the back end of an old skirt. Of 
course, it was not just like the old dress even, but 
it was the best she could do. At any rate it answered 
the purpose. It is only a matter of taste whether 
the stuff should be the same or not, for even if 
it is of a different character, it sweeps just as 
well and gets just as gloriously dirty ! 



64 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

The Indians especially have a love for display. 
It is not uncommon to find them with four or five 
different colours upon their person. 

Once at a public wedding, the bride was dressed 
in white swiss muslin with a purple ribbon bow on 
her breast ; a yellow bow of ribbonlon each shoulder ; 
a bright red ribbon in her hair ; a green sash 
round her waist, and wore black kid gloves. 

In their native state they love to wear feathers 
in their hair ; rings in their ears, sometimes as 
many as four or five in one ear. They also 
wear rings on all of their fingers and a large 
ring in the nose. These rings are all manufac- 
tured by the native himself from bullion or coin, 
as he is able to obtain it. They are gold and sil- 
ver, sometimes alloyed with copper. 

On our going to Alaska my dear wife was very 
fond of jewellery, and I thought it was quite be- 
coming. I wore a ring upon my little finger. She 
had rings on her fingers and had had rings in her 
ears. She also put feathers in her hat ostrich 
plumes suited best. When we got among the 
Indians we told them they ought not to wear 
feathers in their hair, that was heathenish. We 
told them it was heathenish to put so many rings 
on their fingers, and to put rings in their ears and 
in their nose, and to wear so many bracelets ; for 
indeed their bracelets covered their arm completely 
from the wrist to the elbow, and dear wife especially 
waxed warm in her instructions against heathenism. 

One day, our native elder stepped up to her, and 
took hold of her ear ; it had no ring in it any 



Indian Fashions. 65 

more, but the marks were there. He said, " Mrs. 
Charley " (for that is what they always called her : 
they call me " Mission Charley " for they could not 
use our last name, and I do not blame them !), 
" what makes those holes in your ears ? " 

My wife was puzzled. She did not know what to 
answer ; . had she not been saying it was heathenish 
to wear rings in your ears, and now she must tell 
on herself. He showed her his ears. There were 
the tell-tale holes. She thought for some time, 
and finally she said, "Well, Dick, I'll tell you 
what. I expect I had those rings put in my ears 
when I was a heathen like you were." It seemed 
to satisfy him ! 

At another time a young woman came up to my 
wife, and she said, as she laid her hand upon her 
shoulder, " You told us it was not right to wear 
feathers in our hair." 

" Yes, so I did," she said. 

" But, how is it that you wear feathers in your 
hat ? We cannot see the difference. We just 
wear them in our hair." 

The argument was so convincing that my wife 
has never worn feathers since. She wears no 
rings : none in her ears, nor on her fingers ; my 
ring has disappeared, for, is not the wearing of 
rings but a mark of heathenism from which we 
came, which we still keep with us ? 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ABOUT SALMON FISHING AND CURING. 



THE food of the native must necessarily be pro- 
cured from the natural products of the country. 
This is supplied partly by the abundance of game, 
which is found in the mountains throughout the 
entire region of the North West. The common 
black-tailed deer are very plentiful. Innumerable 
bears of two distinct species, the black and the 
brown, or cinnamon bear, which attain sometimes 
to great size, are also used as food, and their skins 
form one of the revenues of the country. Then 
there is the ground hog and porcupine, the grouse 
and the ptarmigan. A sure article of diet is also 
obtained from the seal. Fish can be had in 
quantities at any time. There are numbers of 
different kinds of salmon, both red and white, 
also halibut and various other varieties of 
fish ; the salmon and halibut being those chiefly in 
use. 

In the summer season, beginning about the 
second week in June, the salmon make their 
appearance in every little stream that tumbles 
down from the mountain side to the sea, seeking a 

66 



About Salmon Fishing and Curing. 67 

place to propagate their young. These shallow 
streamlets form a splendid place to catch them. 
They often crowd each other to such a degree that 
some are pushed on to the bank and are unable to 
get back to the water, and can be had just for the 
picking up. 

Eagles frequent these streams and catch their 
prey. The shaggy bear waddles down along 
the shore and stands with uplifted paw till 
the luckless salmon swims close by, and, 
with a motion quick as the wink of an 
eye, he throws his salmon on to the shore and 
leisurely sits down and eats it. He is an expert 
fisher, equal almost to his half-brother the 
native. 

There are also large quantities of herrings in the 
water at almost all seasons. These are boiled and 
the oil extracted. To perform this work the 
Indians usually go away from their ordinary 
homes, build a rude tent or bark hut, where they 
prepare to make the oil. They have previously 
provided themselves with a common goods box 
which they have made water-tight by means of 
cloth or moss, driven into the cracks. In this box 
they put some fresh water. They have a roaring 
fire built near by, for heating pieces of rock. The 
fish are caught with a long pole like a rake, about 
twelve feet in length, sharpened about four feet at 
one end on both edges, being about three inches 
wide, and as thick as one's finger in the middle. 
On one edge of this nails are driven about one 
and a half inches apart, protruding about the 



68 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

same distance from the wood ; the ends of these 
nails are filed sharp. The Indian sits in the 
end of his canoe, thrusts his long rake down as far 
into the water as he can, just in the midst of the 
school of herring, then, rapidly lifting it with the 
nails upward, the poor herrings stick on to these 
sharp nails, a dozen at a time. Thus he fills his 
canoe. 

They are now ready to boil. He brings them on 
shore. His wife and children take charge, and 
without washing or any other preparation they take 
them from the canoe, put them in the box with the 
water until the box is full ; then with two sticks 
they take the hot rock out of the fire, and pile it 
in among the herrings. Another rock follows this 
one ; and so on until the boiling process is fin- 
ished. Out go the rocks ! Then they take the 
herrings from the box, placing them in a sort of 
plaited basket which the women make, fill the 
basket almost full with herrings, fold the top down, 
and then lay it on two sticks across a tin can which 
has been used for coal oil. This can holds about 
five gallons. They then lay some of the rocks 
upon the herrings in the basket, and press out all 
the water and oil that they can. When the rocks 
are no longer sufficiently heavy, the woman herself 
with her bare feet tumbles the rocks off and climbs 
up on the fish. Her avoirdupois being considerably 
more than any of the rocks which she could lift, 
gives the last squeeze to take out the oil. 

The oil naturally oozes up between her toes, and 
then with the rest runs down into the can. This 



Salmon Fishing and Curing. 69 

pressed oil is then boiled 'until the water has all 
been evaporated, leaving the grease. 

I chanced one day to be on a religious visit to 
one of these camps. As I came in they were just 
sitting down to supper. I had seen them pressing 
out the grease, and the women without having 
washed their hands sat down to eat. Their supper 
was fish grease and dried salmon. Being invited to 
eat, with the best appetite possible I sat down. 
Such things do not trouble the missionary. I had 
long before passed beyond that stage. I enjoyed 
a good meal and went home refreshed. 

The most abundant supply of grease is however 
obtained from the seal or sea lion. 

This grease is used in the autumn as a sort of 
preservative for berries which the Indians have 
gathered. Alaska abounds in berries. There were 
thirty-seven kinds growing within easy reach of our 
home, the blueberry being the chief ; but there 
were currants, gooseberries, strawberries and cran- 
berries, with many other kinds, all used for food. 
These were gathered in their season, mixed with 
the grease, and kept for winter use. The salmon 
also is dried during the summer, and stored away 
in a great bundle for winter use. The Indians 
gather in the summer season a sort of rice, but 
this is the root of the plant and not the grain. 
When cooked it resembles and tastes much like the 
common rice. There is also a sort of celery, 
growing wild, which they use. This grows in 
abundance almost everywhere ; it is welcomed 
with delight by young and old when the snows 



70 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

are sufficiently melted to give it a chance to 
grow. 

It is most interesting to go out fishing with the 
Indians. The fish, which are very large and plenti- 
ful, are caught with a net at the mouth of the 
streams. On one occasion we went out and in one 
hour's time had twenty-six red salmon, the smallest 
one weighing forty-five pounds ! 

There are many "canneries " in these parts, where 
the salmon is put up for the market. The natives 
are employed in catching them. Of course the 
head is not used, for the heads cannot be canned ; 
the Indians being very economical, know how 
to use the heads, in fact the head is in their 
opinion the best part of the fish. So they frequent 
the canneries, and when the heads are thrown away 
fill their canoes with them. These they take 
to their camp, dig holes in the gravel along 
the sea shore holes perhaps three feet deep they 
place in each hole a layer of the leaves of the 
skunk cabbage, then they fill up nearly full with 
salmon heads. They are not careful to wash 
them, neither do they take out the gills nor the 
eyes. Then they cover the heads all over with 
skunk cabbage leaves, and finally with earth to the 
depth of eighteen inches or more, leaving the 
heads for some ten days to two weeks buried, 
until they get real nice and juicy ! They are then 
dug up and placed out as delicacies, and eaten as 
they are. 

These people eat many roots and the bark of 
various trees ; also a sort of edible seaweed which 



Indian Cookery. 71 

they prepare for food. When they eat, they do not 
have many articles of diet at one meal, usually, 
one or two at the most, and they prepare enough 
of it for the entire family, and the whole family 
take this meal together. 

A family usually consists of the father and 
mother (or two mothers sometimes) and often as 
many as a dozen or fourteen children, from one to 
eight dogs, and a few cats. They all live together 
in the same house, which is probably twelve by 
fourteen feet square, with a fire in the centre. 

Cooking is done in one large pot over the fire. 
After the food is cooked, it is poured into a bowl 
about as large as those which we use in our bedrooms 
for washing. The family surrounds the bowl ; some- 
times they have one spoon, sometimes two or three 
for the family. This spoon is made of goat's horn 
and will hold about three parts of a pint. The 
father eats one spoonful and passes the spoon to 
the mother, and she in turn to the children, each 
one taking his turn out of the spoon ; but the 
four-footed part of the family are not fortunate 
enough to obtain the use of the spoon, so naturally 
help themselves between times, slipping in between 
the children, and feeding from the same bowl. 

Once when on a visit to one of our children from 
the Mission, and while she sat with her parents 
eating, the dogs of the household ate out of the 
same dish, and turned and took a drink out of the 
only bucket of water there was in the house ; 
afterwards we were offered a drink from the same 
bucket, but politely excused ourselves, saying we 



72 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

were not thirsty, and Who would be ! under such 
circumstances ? 

But when one is hungry enough he will scarcely 
question the diet or how it is prepared. 

Two natives and myself were once out in a small 
boat, and no small storm was upon us. We were 
very tired and hungry, but dare not eat the mussels 
which grew in abundance along the sea-shore, for 
ofttimes they are poisonous ; the only thing we had, 
was a little bark from some of the spruce pines, 
which we cut from the trees with sharp stones. 
After toiling hard every day we were becoming 
very weak. At the end of the third day we came to 
an Indian camp, weary, and wet, and worn. The 
natives took us in gladly. They gave us a small 
piece of dried salmon to eat. Strange to say we 
were not hungry, but with the first taste of food our 
appetite came back voraciously. I could have eaten 
anything, but they were wise, and said one small 
piece was enough to begin with. I had never been 
able to eat seal grease before, but I thought it a deli- 
cacy that day. 

Then we lay down and slept for a few hours, and 
awoke and ate again. This time they allowed us 
more, but still not enough ! we must have some 
more sleep, they said, and so we slept again. After 
that, we were allowed to eat as much as we liked. 

At another time I remember, being out, I met 
with a fisherman, who had a five gallon tin can 
full of venison tallow. It was beautiful white-look- 
ing stuff and I was very hungry. He offered to 
share his meal with me. He gave me a piece as 



Queer Meals. 73 

large as a cocoa-nut. I began to eat it, and lo, I 
found that the can had not been washed before the 
tallow had been put into it. It tasted like coal oil. 
But it was all we had and we were thankful, 
knowing that many a poor family had not half so 
good a meal. That day we laid by the price of steak 
and luxuries to give to the less fortunate. 



CHAPTER IX. 

" THE HAPPY HUNTING GROUND." EVIL 
SPIRITS, ETC. 



'""pHE Alaskan Indian is naturally a worshipping 
JL being. He lives for an unseen future. His 
ideas are divided between two Spirits. He believes 
there is a Good Spirit and an Evil one. He loves to 
meditate on the kindness and joy to be obtained 
sometime, somehow. In his life there is no real joy. 
He believes there is a city, somewhere, far away in 
the mountains, high above all the troubles and trials 
of life ; overlooking all the world, but very hard of 
access ; a city, in which the people are no longer 
subject to the caprice of the evil one. They tell 
us that in this city there are many, many houses. 
Some are in a good street and some are far back in 
the dark corners ; in some of these is a fire to 
warm by. These houses are for the spirits of the 
dead. In this place the Good Spirit reigns supreme, 
not as a Chief over a tribe but as a servant of all 
those who have come there. His great desire is to 
make them happy. 

This is the Alaskan Indian's " Happy hunting 
ground " ; not that he expects to hunt, but he 
expects, there, to be free from care and sorrow. The 



74 



"The Happy Hunting Ground." 75 

way to this city is long, and very difficult ; the road 
sometimes is straight, sometimes very narrow ; at 
places overgrown with brush and thorns and briars 
of every kind. In some places it leads along the 
steep cliffs of the mountain side ; in other places 
through the broad green valleys by the side of the 
running brooks. The good Indian is the one who 
has appeased the devil ; the one who gets safely 
and quickly through this long journey is he who 
has succeeded by his sacrifices in keeping the evil 
spirits at a distance ; but the " don't care " man 
is beguiled and beset until he falls down the preci- 
pice, or gets tangled in the briars, or loses his way 
in the mazes of the forest. 

To enable the man to get through safely to the 
other side, the Indian doctor is called into requisi- 
tion. He has power over the Evil Spirit ; he is the 
only man that dares frequent the city of the dead ; 
because, there the devil holds supreme sway. No 
one else dare touch the bones of a dead man. 
Many and varied are the incantations, which the 
doctor uses to drive away and control the legions 
of Spirits that infest the neighbourhood. He 
necessarily grows wealthy, for his services are 
valuable, and the superstition of his people causes 
them to pay any price for liberation from the evil 
spirits, which, they think he can discern and control. 

This Chief of evil spirits, or devil, is symbolised 
in the common bird known as the raven, whose 
actions are in striking resemblance to the 
works of the evil one. He is a thievish fellow, 
tricky, very shrewd, and is able to imitate almost 



y6 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

any bird, and worse than all, he will carry off and 
hide everything he can. No fitter bird could be 
found, as a type of this miserable spirit, which is 
the terror of the ignorant native. They sometimes 
sacrifice their children by throwing them over- 
board, thinking the devil has stirred up the water 
until they are all about to be lost. The hunter 
cannot return home, without leaving a piece of the 
bear on the waters to feed the raven, for his family 
might prove untrue or the spirits drive them to 
madness. They are certain that this raven has 
made the world. It has been told them for genera- 
tions. And they put much confidence in their 
traditions. 

A short time after we went to Alaska I was 
preaching in the meeting about the creation of the 
world. I was telling them that God had made the 
world and everything that was in it, and that 
in turn we should worship God for His goodness to 
us. I was trying to prove to them, and get them to 
understand, that God so loved us that He sent His 
only begotten Son to be the propitiation for our 
sins. I was just in the midst of my discourse, 
when a chief arose about the middle of the meet- 
ing. Standing erect he said in his own tongue, 
" Minister, you lie." I said to the interpreter at my 
side, " What is that he says ? " The interpreter 
did not want to tell me. I said " Tell it out, what 
did he say ? " Finally, with downcast eyes, the 
interpreter said, "He tells you that you lie." 

Of course, the interpreter did not know what 
might happen if he told me such things as that, 



Facing a Difficulty. 77 

and all the people looked frightened ; but, I saw in 
the old chief an honesty of purpose. He was just 
as honest as I was. Why should I be angry with 
him ? He needed to be taught. No man was ever 
taught anything in anger. It is love that 
teaches. Anger provokes anger, love begets love. 
So I said to the old chief, through the interpreter, 
"Come now, if I have not talked true, wherein 
have I lied ? I want to hear." 

The congregation looked astonished. Some of 
the old chief's friends were ashamed of him. 
Some were fearful that I might say something that 
would cause trouble, and all waited in breathless 
silence. The old chief continued, " Minister, you 
told us God made the world. Now, we know 
better. We know the devil made it," (using the 
phrase they use for devil or raven.) 

I said, " How can you tell that ?" 

"Now," he said, "look here; if God made the 
world, why is it there is so much sickness in the 
world ? Why do we have these great high moun- 
tains that we have to climb to get anywhere ? Why 
do we have it so cold in winter ? Why are the woods 
all full of briars to stick into our hands and feet. 
Everything shows us that God did not make the 
world ! W T hy is it that men are always fighting 
each other, if God made them ? I have heard them 
stand in this meeting-house and say that when they 
wanted to do right they could not, for the devil 
would not let them, and we know that the devil is 
stronger than God and made every thing and every 
body ! " 



y 8 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

As he sat down, the congregation drew a long 
breath ! It was now my time What could I say 
to him or to the others ? His argument seemed to 
be conclusive. On looking around, people are 
found to be cross with each other ; even the Chris- 
tians cannot agree. When looking at the world, 
everything seemed on the outside to be contrary to 
the happiness of humankind. What could be said 
to him ? 

The responsibility of the occasion was very great. 
So we reasoned with him, telling him that God 
made all things good, that there was not anything 
made but what was good, He so declared it to be ; but 
that there was a subtle enemy that came into the 
world and overcame because the people allowed 
him. We reasoned with him to show him that 
man is responsible for the evil in the world, that 
before the Fall it was not so ; and that it is now our 
duty to accept the remedy, which is in Jesus 
Christ, and all things will be put right through 
Him, and He alone has power to conquer the Devil, 
that God can destroy all these evil things, but He does 
not wish to do so unless we are willing. That it is 
the purpose of the Father to give us power 
through the Son to overcome the evil in the 
world. 

This giving us power appealed to him and he 
rose again, saying, " Friends, the minister has 
shown us the truth. I believe he is right, but 
there is one thing I am sure of, that if God did 
make the world, the devil has made it over again." 
And who can say the old chief was wrong ? But do 



Indians' Belief in Evil Spirits. 79 

we not hope in Jesus for better things ? In prayer 
we wait for it. 

Their idea of evil spirits naturally leads the Indians 
to the old English belief in witches. Consequently, 
some persons are supposed to be possessed of 
evil and to be able thereby to cause endless sorrow 
to others. We need only to read the record of the 
past, in our own beloved country, to understand 
all the horrors of such a fearful superstition. They 
frequently burned the poor witch at the stake. 
Other times they drowned her, by tying her where 
the tide would come in. These witches were supposed 
to be the cause of all disease and to be in league with 
the devil. To rid the earth of them was most 
necessary. Horrible tortures were sometimes insti- 
gated to obtain a confession from the poor victim. 
Sometimes they were tied to a tree, and there left 
to the mercy of every savage beast among 
them, who cut them with knives, whipped them, 
or burnt them with flaming faggots. Finally the 
poor victim, to end the torture, would confess she 
was a witch, which meant her death I 

The attainment of the beautiful city did not alto- 
gether lie in the Indians' own hands, for if their rela- 
tives failed to do their part after their death, the 
deceased one, they believed, would linger long, and 
sometimes become utterly lost, in the mazes through 
which he had to go, and therefore it became necessary 
for him to have food prepared for his spirit. He must 
also have his blankets in the coffin and his feet and 
hands well wrapped up, especially if it was winter, 
for they knew how cold the body becomes, and 



8p Among the Indians of Alaska. 

they must therefore keep it warm. Also at their 
feast, they must burn some things in the fire which 
being consumed were transmitted to the spirit of 
the departed. Their custom of burning the body was 
with the object of keeping it warm; and the remaining 
relatives must not forget the absent ones until they 
were through to the Eternal city in safety. 

Originally the Indians held slaves, and, at the 
master's death he required also the death of all his 
slaves. A great pile of logs would be built, and the 
body laid in state upon the top. His gun, his best 
dogs, his slaves, his blankets, much food, and such 
articles as they thought he would need in the other 
country, were placed with him and all consumed in 
the funeral pyre. This they thought went imme- 
diately with his spirit to the city somewhere in the 
mountains. If he was not burnt, they thought he 
would not sit by the council fire in the other city, 
and, to prove that this was true, a very prominent 
woman amongst them had a vision one day. She 
saw her son, whom the missionaries had induced 
her to bury instead of burn. She saw him in the 
city, but he had to sit outside, without fire, and he 
was so cold ! When she appeared in the city he 
recognised her, and came to her and begged her to 
take his body up and have it burned so that he could 
be permitted to sit inside the house by the fire, for 
it was cold in that country. For a long time it was 
hard to induce them to bury their dead, but it is 
now the prevailing custom, this idea having gone 
with many of their other superstitions. 



CHAPTER X. 

OUR MISSION HOME. 



LIVING with us in the same house, were at one 
time, twenty-six Indian children, from three 
years to seventeen years of age. They had been taken 
in for periods, ranging from two to six years. Our 
part was to educate, clothe, and train them. It was 
an advantage to the parents to have them in this 
home ; apart from being relieved of the burden of their 
support, it prepared their children for better service 
afterwards, and especially the girls, who would 
command higher prices and bring more presents 
when they married. Some of these children were 
orphans ; others had one or both parents living ; but 
it mattered not whether the parents were living or 
not, the aunts or uncles had control over them ; for an 
aunt could come at any time and take the children 
from the mother, which was very often done. 

At one time there was a little girl living quietly with 
her mother and she was becoming a very promising 
child, but her aunt, who was the elder sister, became 
angry with the mother, and for spite came and took 
the little girl away ; for by their law there was 
sufficient reason given by the aunt to warrant it. 
The poor mother was in desperation. She could 



82 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

not appeal to the rest of the people to bring her 
daughter back. She could only bear it in patience 
until the anger of the sister could be appeased. This 
was slow in coming. Finally the mother could 
wait no longer. She went to search for her little 
daughter. Two years had passed by, and learning that 
her child was in a certain village she went to it, 
expecting to find the child, but her search seemed 
fruitless. The aunt, after having taken the little girl 
away, finding that she wept a great deal for her 
home, put her under punishment. She built a little 
log house away back at the skirts of the village ; the 
house was just high enough for the girl to sit 
upright in the middle. It was made tight, the roof 
was weighted down. The child was fed very 
scantily through the roof. 

The mother after having searched for some time 
was passing this way and heard a child crying. She 
went out to search the place, and there found her 
daughter, but evil eyes were also near, and when she 
would take her child home the aunt objected. The 
mother was compelled to return home in sorrow, 
and years passed before she saw her daughter again. 
The mother's heart was almost broken, in sorrow 
she mourned for her child as one that was dead. 

Many winters silvered the mother's hair, the child 
grew up and married, the aunt obtaining all the 
marriage money. One day as the old mother was 
out fishing in their canoe a storm came suddenly on 
them. They were far out from land, and the water 
became fearfully rough. There was another canoe 
not far away, in which was a woman and a little boy. 



Our Mission Home. 83 

This canoe had sprung a leak, and was rapidly 
filling. The older woman, seeing the danger, went 
as near as possible to the rescue, and only just in 
time, for the old broken canoe split in two pieces 
leaving the woman and boy in the water. They 
were picked up and taken to shore. Imagine the 
surprise of that poor old mother when she found 
that this was her long lost daughter. 

It is only one of the many incidents that commonly 
occur among a people whose laws and customs are so 
heartless. Seeing the suffering to which children were 
so often put, our Mission Home was established for 
their good. When once within our hands such 
things could not occur, and the children became so 
thankful for a hope of better things. 

I remember one boy that was taken into the Home 
upon request of his mother. We called him Silas. 
After he had been with us some time and was able 
to work and to talk English well, his mother came 
over and pretended she wanted him to visit her. My 
wife granted the petition as I was not at home. The 
mother promised the boy should be back in the even- 
ing, but he did not come. The next day my wife was 
after him, but the mother had found that the boy was 
old enough to begin to trade with, and had determined 
to keep him, for he was under contract for some years 
yet. It is sufficient to say we got him back again, 
but the mother was very angry, she having planned to 
escape with him. Silas had cried all night, for he 
did not want to stay with his mother, and besides, 
she had abused him for wanting to return to his 
Mission Home. 



84 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

In the course of time this mother was comforted. 
She came to our house one day, and said to me, " I 
am going away now for my last feast. After this one 
I shall make no more. I shall never go to another, 
but if I should die while I am gone, I want you to 
promise to take my boy as your own child." I told 
her I would, and she went away. In about two weeks 
the news came that in a drunken row this mother 
had been killed. Silas being with us, his aunts and 
his uncles tried to take him away, but I had the 
mother's word, and would not let him go. He is 
now in Oregon, at school, a bright promising 
boy. 

A little girl, whom we had taken and named 
Ruth, was a very striking case. She was about 
nine years old when she came to us. Her father and 
mother were dead, and her brother who was keeping 
her was very cruel to her. The only bed she had 
was a blanket on the floor, which served for mattress 
and a cover. Her brother was in the habit, in order 
to make her strong, of compelling her, each morning, 
to stand in the salt water for as long as possible ; 
sometimes for an hour. If she cried, or grew cold, 
she was whipped till she was warm. She had not 
had her hair combed for months. Owing to the 
cruel way she was treated, she ran away from her 
brother and begged our protection. She was taken 
into the Home and given a good bath, her hair 
combed, and her head cleaned. She looked like a 
new girl. It was not long before her brother was 
after her. She would not go ; she reminded him of 
his treatment of her, and decided to remain with 



Our Mission Home. 85 

us ; and is now in a school in Oregon, a very 
promising young lady. 

There is another pathetic case that came under 
our hands. A young girl ran away from her home ; 
her father and mother were living, but she came to 
us and asked protection from them. She had been 
sold to an old man by her father and mother, 
although she was only ten years old. She was to be 
his second, or young wife. In her ignorance she 
went to live with this man, but when she realised 
what it meant, she ran away from him and went 
home. He had now come for her, or the money 
that he had paid to her parents. He was not 
particular which, but they refused to pay the money 
back ; then he demanded his wife. She refused to 
go, they whipped her, but she still refused, and 
finally she rushed out of the house and came to 
us. She knew she would be safe, and when we had 
ascertained the facts we admitted her into the 
Home. 

She was with us seven years, and afterwards 
married a bright young man, who had been educated 
in our Mission. 

Once we had ever such a strange little fellow. A 
little boy about six years of age. He was such a tiny 
little orphan ; there was not much to be expected 
from him. His uncle had taken him, but the little 
fellow did not grow very rapidly. After a while, on 
this account, his uncle grew tired of him. He did 
not care what became of the child, so he took him 
quite away from the village and deliberately left 
him on a little desolate island. He was left alone 



86 Among the Indians of Alaska. $ 

with no food and no water. The child cried, and 
cried, until he grew hoarse. Night came ; but no 
friendly hand came with it. The next morning a 
canoe was passing by that way, and there was heard 
a moaning, something that sounded more like an 
animal than anything else. They being superstitious, 
were afraid to go on the island and look. But in 
another canoe which passed that way shortly after, 
there was a young man who had been in school. 
He had lost some faith in these superstitious notions. 
He heard the same sound, and ventured on the 
island. Here he found instead of an animal, the 
little boy, who could only now and then get an audible 
sound from his throat, so hoarse was he from crying. 
He was nearly famished, and was quite unconscious. 
He was taken into the canoe and brought to us. 
With much care he became a good strong boy, and 
is now a promising young man finishing his educa- 
tion in a school in Oregon. Nearly all of our 
children came to our home because of ill-treatment. 

The original purpose of the Home was to take 
these children and educate them, that they might go 
out again among their people, as living witnesses of 
what we were trying to teach them to be. The 
children were taught to work, and with the surround- 
ings of a Christian home it was hoped that somehow 
or sometime the Gospel would take root in their 
hearts and they would be saved. They were to be 
educated and trained as citizens of the country. 

For three years we worked at this plan, but we 
found the influence of fathers and mothers, and 
aunts and uncles, in fact, of the whole tribe, was so 



Our Mission Home. 87 

strong towards the old customs, that the young 
people could not stand against it ; besides, every 
child is obedient to its parents and relatives so long 
as they live, and to educate them only made them 
more skilful in wrong-doing ; when once they fell, it 
was not many steps to go until they began to go 
rapidly. Seeing these things, we concluded it were 
better to take the whole of the tribe and teach them 
the Gospel and discontinue the Mission Home, 
providing, only for those children, whom we had 
already contracted for. We found this a great 
advantage. The older people began to realise that 
we meant to help them as well as the younger 
people, and that the Mission was not intended only 
for one class, but for all ; many times afterwards 
we expelled scholars from our day school until 
they should understand enough of religion to know 
how to use their education. 

The world to-day needs more Christianity. It 
has intellect enough, but does not know how to 
use it. 



CHAPTER XL 

TRAINING THE CHILDREN. 



THE management in the Mission Home was 
intended to be as nearly as possible like a well- 
regulated family. It was a place where the children 
and the workers might be as brothers and sisters, 
with father and mother as the head. It was not 
intended they should be as beasts or animals driven 
to their task and trained under the lash, but that 
their intellect and love should be drawn out, so that 
they would live a Christian life, because they loved 
it best. 

In connection with this we experienced many 
incidents of much interest. Every day's work lay 
heavy upon us ; the great burden of the cooking 
must be done, and in that cold country the making 
of bread was especially difficult, because it was hard 
to keep it warm while it should rise. From fifty to 
one hundred loaves of bread had to be made twice 
a week, and in the meantime the children taught 
how they might do it. The older girls did the 
washing. 

All the children attended the day school, but 
those who did the washing remained out for one 
day, having four days in the week at school. Every 



Training the Children. 89 

two weeks the employment of the children was entire- 
ly changed. The bedroom girls, kitchen girls, and 
washroom girls exchanged places. The boys as 
well ; some of them were detailed for preparing the 
kindling, others for splitting the wood, others for 
carrying the wood in, and still others for keeping 
the fires going. There were seven stoves altogether 
to keep hot. 

The wood for these fires was the one great diffi- 
culty and burden of the Mission. There was plenty 
of wood in the country, but being so near a town, 
all that was near us was burned away, until it was 
necessary, in order to get good wood, to go a distance 
of half a mile to a mile from the house. In summer 
it must be brought through the bogs of the moun- 
tain side where one would often sink in, over one's 
knees, into the soft moss and water ; or else, it must 
be brought for a longer distance over the mountain, 
where it could be tumbled down the side and then 
picked up to be carried on our backs the rest of the 
way. In winter sometimes we could put it upon a 
sledge known as a Yukon sled. The sled is eight feet 
or ten feet long, and about fourteen inches between 
the runners. It is so strong that almost a cord of 
wood can be taken at one time. Often the snow 
would be, either too soft, or else there would be none 
at all, which made it necessary to carry the wood 
most of the year. The climate was very disagree- 
able, in fact, it either rained or snowed, on an 
average, three hundred days in the year. 

Our rising hour was five o'clock ; breakfast at six, 
then be off to the woods to cut wood until eight, then 



90 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

after bringing a load of wood to the Mission, the boys 
would go to school until four. In the meantime, I 
myself would keep carrying wood or cutting it, all 
day long alone. Many a day have I stood at one end 
of the crosscut saw, alone in the woods, in order to 
have wood enough for the boys to carry when they 
came out from school at four o'clock. In the 
coldest weather we were kept carrying until eleven 
at night. 

I remember an instance in particular of how, one 
Saturday, we were all carrying wood. The eldest 
boy that we had, was then twelve years old, the 
other three were younger, but they each did what 
they could. We had been carrying wood nearly all 
day. I was alone, using the crosscut saw, and the 
four boys were together, carrying wood. Willie, 
being the oldest, was naturally delegated as a sort of 
overseer of the rest. Simpson, a ten year old boy, 
was headstrong ; he did not like to be bossed by 
Willie, it was enough for him to submit to me. 
They got on very well most of the day. Finally, 
late in the afternoon, Willie came struggling through 
the bushes, his eye was all bruised and blue. 

I said to him, " Willie, what is the matter ? Did 
you fall and hurt yourself." 

He said, " No, I didn't. It was Simpson." 
" Why," I said, " Simpson, but how is that ? Did 
Simpson hurt you some way ? " 

He said, " Yes, he hit me with a club." 
" Why ? Have you been quarrelling ? " 
Willie said, " No, we were just carrying wood, 
and he hit me." 



Training the Children. 91 

(A native way for laying all the blame on some-one 
else.) 

Just at this point Simpson's face was seen in the 
bushes, and he cried out (having heard Willie's last 
expression) and said, " He pushed me down first." 

Upon careful inquiry I found that they were both 
to blame. I finally got Willie to say that he had 
tried to get Simpson to carry the wood, and Simpson 
was lazy. I knew him to be so, and the other boys 
had made one more trip already than Simpson, and 
Willie undertook to punish him, and Simpson 
resented it. I further learned that Willie had been 
rather abusive before, but I could not tell which boy 
to punish. Willie had before this professed a change 
of heart. I had reason to believe it was genuine. 

" Now," I said to Willie, " I do not really know 
which one of you boys is the most to blame, but I 
had better punish you both ; but I will leave it now, 
Willie, to you ; I see you have a black eye, and 
Simpson is not hurt. I will make a proposition to 
you, and you may think over it and let me know 
what is your decision. I will either punish you both 
and do it now, or else I'll just leave it to the Lord. 
The Lord knows which one of you is to blame, and 
He will punish the right boy ; He will make no 
mistake, but if I do it the Lord will not need to do 
it." 

Willie studied over it for some time. Simpson 
knew that if I said I would punish them, it was sure 
to come, but he did not know about the Lord quite 
so well. So he readily consented, rather with a 
smile. He thought he was getting out of it very easily. 



92 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

Willie looked grave. I further pressed it upon 
Willie, " Now if we leave it to the Lord I shall not 
do it at all, we will leave it altogether to Him." 
Simpson evidently was studying whether he would 
not get some of it as well, if it was left to the Lord. I 
further told him that if the Lord did it, He would do 
it right, He would give each boy according to what 
he needed. Finally Willie looked up and said, 
" We'll leave it to the Lord." 

I was a little fearful, for I did not know exactly 
how it would come off, and reverently, together we 
bowed our heads in the wood, telling the Lord this 
matter was left to Him to settle, asking Him to settle 
it according to His own pleasure. The boys cheer- 
fully went back to their work. 

It was just about evening, dusk was coming on. 
We were going down home each with his last load 
of wood. It was the last load for the evening, and 
the last for the week. Simpson was behind as 
usual. He had been grinning all day long, for he had 
escaped a punishment easily, but he did not reckon 
with Him that oversees all things. We had all 
reached home and dropped our loads, and were 
watching Simpson come down the hill. The crooked 
stony path, with a root here and there crossing over 
it, wound down to the wood shed. About ten rods 
up the hill was Simpson, he had a large block of wood 
perched at the back of his neck and shoulders, hold- 
ing it with his hands to keep it from falling off, when 
suddenly to our consternation down came Simpson ; 
block of wood and all ! He had caught his toe 
under a root, and strange to say, in trying to save 



Training the Children. 93 

himself he threw his hand on a large rock, just where 
the block would catch his finger. It took the nail 
clean from his finger. Simpson gathered himself up 
slowly. He never uttered a word. He took his 
finger in his other hand and began to kick his block 
down the hill. We saw he was hurt and the other 
boys pitied him ; so they went up and carried his block 
down for him, and when they were trying to console 
him in his pain, he said to them, " DonH be pitying 
me ; this is my punishment, the Lord has done it." 
And then he confessed that he was to blame, told all 
about the day's operations, how evil he had been. 
It was a strange thing to us, and yet we cannot but 
say that it seems very evident the Lord must have 
had some hand in it. Ever after that if a child was 
naughty, they would urge that we should do the 
punishment ourselves, for they could see a possibility 
of deceiving us, yet it had the effect of getting them 
to realise the personal presence of the Lord in com- 
mon every-day life. 

Every evening we assembled before retiring, with 
all the children in the girl's playroom ; there, we 
read the Bible, and prayed and sang hymns and told 
Bible stories, and talked of Christ and of salvation to 
all the children and the workers, some thirty of us 
together. Some very blessed times we had in this 
meeting. On one evening little Johnny, of whom I 
have told you before, was particularly out of sorts. 
He had been very ill-natured all day, and now 
he would neither pray nor sing, was sulky and 
looked cross, for that is the way of the Indians. The 
sulk is the meanest disposition to be found among 



94 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

children. We only spoke to him and left it as 
before, the Lord would attend to him. Away long 
in the small hours of night, we were wakened by a 
most unearthly shrieking. We were very much 
startled, and soon after there came, stealing 
through the silent night, a faint cry from the boys' 
dormitory. Evidently one of them was sick and was 
crying. We went up to see what the trouble was. 
Upon our arrival at the door we found it was 
Johnny. 

" Well, Johnny, what is the matter ? Are you 
sick ? " 

" No," he said, sobbing, " I am not sick, but I 
thought Gabriel's horn had blowed, and I was left, 
and all the rest of you was taken " for, that night in 
the collection, we had been reading to them about 
the second coming of Christ ; how that with the 
trump of God and with the shout of the Archangel 
He would appear in the heaven, with power and 
great glory, and that those who were alive would 
be caught up in the twinkling of an eye to meet 
Him in the air, and those who were not prepared 
would be left ; for Jesus had said there should be 
two men in one bed, and one should be taken and 
the other left. And so, little Johnny, was sure in 
his own mind that he was not prepared ; for had 
he not been naughty all day, and had not repented ? 
" But now," he said, " I will never be naughty 
again ; I am so glad you are here yet, and Jesus 
has not come." We comforted him the best we 
could and finally left him asleep. The next morn- 
ing we found the noise to have come from the 



Training the Children. 95 

whistle of the Government gun-boat Concord, which 
was afterwards with Dewey at the battle of Manilla. 
In order, that the children might the more 
rapidly acquire the English language, they were 
expected to speak nothing but English in the home. 
Of course, this was hard for many of them who 
only knew two or three words, knowing none at 
all when they came, and naturally they would 
among themselves talk Indian. This made their 
pronunciation of English very bad, and interfered 
with their construction of sentences ; so we 
required them to speak nothing but English except 
by permission ; but they often would get into the 
washroom or in the wood shed, and having set a 
watch, they would indulge in a good Indian talk. 
A few cases of this kind, and we applied a heroic 
remedy to stop it. We obtained a bottle of myrrh 
and capsicum : myrrh is bitter as gall and capsi- 
cum hot like fire. We prepared a little sponge ; 
saturated it with this solution, and everyone that 
talked Indian had his mouth washed to take away 
the taint of the Indian language ! One application 
usually was sufficient ; but one or two cases had to 
receive a second application. From that time, on, 
progress in their studies was almost doubly rapid, 
for they dared not talk their own language, and 
talking English, helped them the better, to com- 
prehend the language ; but like all children, they 
were not always good in everything else. When 
we first arrived at the Mission the canned milk 
was continually disappearing, a can or two at a 
time no one knew anything about it. Though 



c)6 A mong the Indians of A laska. 

everything seemed to be locked ; yet it would 
get away, and we knew the children were taking it 1 
Locks and keys make more thieves than any other 
thing in the world. The natural prying disposition 
of humanity is intensified by seclusion, and to 
forbid, is to create the desire for the forbidden. 
And so with the milk ; they liked it and they took 
it. A council was called, but no one knew any- 
thing about it. 

After carefully studying their countenances for 
awhile, I said, " Charlie Hicks, you are the man 
that is taking this milk. Now," I said, " You need 
not deny it to me." 

He said, " No, sir, I have not taken it." 

I said to him, "Charlie Hicks, if you don't stop 
lying, I will punish you for stealing the milk." 

Charlie's head went down. He said, "Yes, sir^ 
I took it, but Tom made me." 

Tom was an older boy. Tom acknowledged 
that he made him do it ; he would thrash him if 
he did not get it. 

Now, Charlie was kitchen boy and kept the fire 
for the girls, so that, when they could get into the 
storehouse he could get in with them, and they all 
knew all about it, but no one dare tell. 

Heretofore the children were impressed with the 
idea that they were Indians, and they felt their 
inferiority. We thought it better to teach them that 
they were our equals, if they behaved as well, and 
that we did not mistrust them by locking the doors. 
We told them our wishes, and let them under- 
stand that we expected them to be honourable 



Training the Children. 97 

enough to obey. They soon began to see that we 
were their friends and had confidence in them, and 
their love began to grow toward us. We had no 
more stealing. Confidence always begets confi- 
dence. Love begets love. You doubt a child or a 
man, and you make him a doubter ; you confide in 
him and you make him honest, true and noble. 



CHAPTER XII. 

FISHING EXPEDITIONS. THE MISSIONARY 
AS MAN OF ALL WORK. 



IT was necessary to provide food for the children, 
at the Mission. We would go in a boat to various 
creeks and catch fish, and either salt them for the 
winter use, or bring them home to use while fresh. 
One time in particular, we, with four or five of the 
older children had gone to " Fish Creek.'' It was 
a little too early in the season, the salmon had not 
yet come ; they were expected any day. But, we 
had taken no meat with us, for we expected to 
have had plenty of salmon. We pitched our tent 
and made our beds in it. It was a fine afternoon, 
but in the evening it began to rain. We did not 
know what we should do for meat ; we would not 
have provisions enough, if there were no fish, but 
the children suggested that we should pray. I told 
them they might pray and I fish, so we agreed that I 
with the boys would fish, and they pray. We had 
no fish lines ; nothing but a long pole with a great 
hook of steel at the end of it. With this we 
expected to catch the salmon. But there were no 
salmon ! So, we went out with this pole, holding 



Fishing Expeditions. 99 

4 

it down into the water, while the boys pulled the 
boat. We jerked it up and down, in case there 
might be some stray fish that might be hooked 
with it. 

As we worked along slowly, something touched 
the pole ! I thought to myself, we are getting into 
the grass, for, when the tide was out, this place was 
a field of long grass. Giving a quick jerk upwards, 
the hook struck and then went through. We had a 
fish ! We drew it up to the top of the water, and 
behold ! it was a halibut weighing about fifty pounds. 
We drew it into the boat, but it was so violent that 
it got under a seat where we could not hit it on the 
head, and in trying to get it out it flapped one of the 
boys overboard, and so we had to fish him out of 
the water. However, we brought him out without 
any serious damage, and had plenty of meat for 
supper. 

Although the salmon did not come, the rain con- 
tinued relentlessly. We finally went to bed, but, 
long before morning, we found, that our tent had 
been set in a hollow and our beds were lying in 
water. The women were the first to notice it, for 
we boys sleep too sound; accustomed to being wet, 
we did not notice a little thing like that. Our friend 
who had come with us was wet from the back of her 
neck to her heels, having lain in about two inches 
of water. But small things of that kind do not 
disconcert missionaries ! 

On another occasion, when we went after salmon 
there were too many of us to go in one boat, so we 
borrowed a canoe. Hannah E. Sharpless, the 



ioo Among the Indians of Alaska. 

secretary of the mission board then visiting us was 
with us on this trip. When we got to the creek where 
the salmon were, the Indians were of a different 
tribe, and did not like us to fish there. In the 
night time while we remained, our boat was cut 

O 

adrift. We did not know what to do. We only 
had a small canoe, and it would not hold all of us ; 
but just in the midst of our predicament, two Indians 
pulled into the village, and sure enough they had a 
boat of ours, which had been stolen (we thought it 
had been lost), some two or three months before. 
They claimed they had found it, but we have 
reasons to believe they stole it, for, stealing was not 
uncommon among them, after the Klondyke was 
discovered ; so we took the boat, although it was 
not so large as the other, yet it would carry all of us. 
W T e paid them something for their trouble and left 
them. 

We went to hunt for our other boat that had 
drifted away in the night. Some fifteen miles 
further on we found it washed ashore on a small 
island, but in going to it, a storm overtook us and 
we were all but drowned. The breakers were 
running so high when we landed that I jumped out 
of the boat on to the ground, and the next incoming 
breaker took me round the waist. It took the boat 
and all, and set us higher up on the beach. There 
was no water on this island to drink, nor any 
shelter, but, with the help of our larger boat, we were 
able to get over the rough channel to shelter on the 
main land. 

I had been gone something like an hour, when 



The Glaciers. 101 

I noticed some young eagles flying overhead 
and screaming. I found there was one, down 
on the ground, lying on his back, and a large 
black bear sitting by, watching the chance to grab 
him. (An eagle always fights on his back.) I 
watched the duel for a time, and as the bear had 
two or three good scratches on his nose, and two 
cubs not far away, I knew the safest plan was to get 
away, so I left the bear and the eagle to have it 
out. 

That evening the wind calmed, and by rowing all 
night, we arrived home at four o'clock the next 
morning, tired, with a few fish, an extra boat, and 
some valuable experience. 

At another time I, with two boys, and a white 
man and an Indian, went about forty miles from our 
home to the Takou glaciers. These glaciers begin 
between two high peaks known as the " Devil's 
Thumbs," and wind their snake-like course down to 
the salt water, where they suddenly break off and 
float away as icebergs. Here, we met a man, who 
was unacquainted with the ways of these rivers of 
ice. He was very weary and tired, had been up 
along a glacier for a long way, and was now 
coming down. He was somewhere near a mile 
from the front when it grew dark. He could not 
go any further that night, so as he knew that glaciers 
moved, he thought to himself he would just spread 
his bed on the glacier, and the next morning he 
would be nearly down to the beach. In his dreams, 
he thought, that he was nearing the front of the 
glacier and the ice was breaking off. He awoke 



IO2 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

with a start to find the sun looking him in the face, 
for it was morning. He was at the same place 
where he was when he went to sleep ! He could not 
understand it. He thought glaciers moved ! and so 
they do ; that one had moved one eighth of an inch 
in the night ! and it moves quite rapidly. 

This glacier is about three-eighths of a mile 
across, and sometimes the whole front will break 
off at once and come down into the water, making 
a great commotion. This particular time, that we 
were going there, the whole bay for one and a half 
miles wide was literally filled with icebergs, floating 
everywhere. The water was smooth as a mirror, 
when suddenly the whole face of the glacier, which 
was a mile away from us, broke off into the sea. 
Some five minutes afterwards a great rising swell, 
that was caused by the falling ice, came threateningly 
toward us. We were nearly a quarter of a mile 
from the shore, and in shallow water over a sand 
bar. It was probably ten feet deep where we were. 
As these swells run into shallow water they only 
rise the higher. This one caught our boat, raised it 
high upon the crest, and rolled us in toward the 
shore. We were well loaded with camp outfit, and 
when the swell let us down, we sat solidly in the 
sand. The water receded, no more swells came, 
and, to our surprise, we were some fifteen yards from 
the edge of the water, having been carried more 
than a quarter of a mile on the crest of this wave ! 
All we needed to do was to unload our boat, drag it 
through the heavy sand, back to deep water and 
reload and go on again. We got our fish, and we 



Ice Floes and Glaciers. 103 

were returning, when we found the bay was com- 
pletely blocked with ice. To get through we had to 
push the icebergs apart with our oars. All shades 
of colours were represented in this ice, from the 
most delicate hues of green and blue, to the deep, 
pure colour of clear ice. 

In the midst of this scene of beauty a seal put his 
head up. I up with my rifle and shot him ! We got 
the seal with great difficulty, for the concussion of 
the gun caused an iceberg, just behind us, to turn 
over, and only with the utmost difficulty we were able 
to keep our we boat from being crushed. 

At another time, we took all the children, 
and a few of the white friends, and went off 
to a place where an old glacier had receded 
and left a level area in the pathway. We expected 
to have a little rest from the toils of every day life. 
But the mosquitoes were so thick and so hungry 
that it seemed almost as if they would devour us 1 

During this trip, a very amusing incident occurred. 
Indians and prospectors alike, who had been in 
these parts, had a very strange and awful story of a 
monstrous bear, of an iron grey colour. They said he 
was savage in the extreme, and the Indians asserted 
that he had killed many of them. We knew that he 
had chased many miners. He was larger than any 
grisly. There are such bears, known as glacier 
bears. So the stories were quite possible, and while 
hunting in the forest, we were not slow to keep 
an eye for the bear. 

Mr. Churchill, an old hunter, had gone with me fai 
up the river. He was standing on the bank of the river 



104 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

watching for salmon, when suddenly he became 
aware, that there was another pair of eyes watching 
for salmon also ! No sooner did he see a bear stand- 
ing in the water, than, this monstrous bear loomed 
up in his vision. He did not wait for any introduc- 
tion in order to see how big he was, but, his hat 
rising almost off his head, he came pell-mell through 
the bushes. He said, " I have seen him, he is up 
there in the river ! " His fright was contagious. We 
both went, and Mr. Bear, hearing us go, went also, 
but he went the other way ! We felt we were quite 
out of sight, so, waited to know, what he would do. 
We could hear him splash, splash, splash, through 
the water. Soon the bushes creaked. We waited 
nervously. The bear went out on the other side. We 
drew a long breath as we saw him going up the moun- 
tain side. It was only a half-grown black bear instead 
of the monstrous grisly, but to frightened eyes he 
was as big as a horse. When we felt safe we could 
more accurately measure his size. 

One day I had been over to Juneau, in a small 
boat, and there came up quite a wind ; instead of 
rowing back against the wind, I took a ferry, tying 
my boat on to it. The ferry boat had a large 
freight boat behind it, loaded heavy with freight. 
The tow line was some hundred feet long. My boat 
was tied up close behind the ferry. When we passed 
just opposite our own home, about half-way across 
the channel, I got into my own boat, loosened my 
rope and was just ready to drop away, when an 
Indian came out to watch me. There was no one 
in the freight boat to steer it, and in going forwards it 



A Winter Bath. 105 

would sometimes turn to one side and run away out 
of its course, then the tow line would tighten, and it 
would turn the head of the boat, when it would go 
away out on the other side of the course and then 
return. I was prepared to drop away when it went 
out the other way. Just as I let go my rope, the 
freight boat turned towards me. The Indian, seeing 
my rope was loose, put his feet on it, thinking I 
would be hurt. I motioned to him to let go, which 
he did just in time to let the freight boat run me 
down ! It struck me amidships, and turned my 
little boat upside down ! Into the midst of the bay 
I went sprawling. It was winter, and nearly Christ- 
mas, I had a heavy overcoat on, a large knitted scarf 
about my neck, and heavy Arctic over-shoes. I was 
not prepared to swim, but I did my best. I had no 
one to encourage me, for the Indian no sooner saw 
me go over, than he went into the ferry boat, and 
sat down and said nothing. He was afraid he would 
be blamed, and so the ferry boat went on, no one 
knew what had happened. The freight boat passed 
me. I made a desperate effort to get it, but failed, 
but to my joy, trailing behind it was some forty feet 
of line. I was able to reach that. I clung to it for 
very life, worked my way to the boat, and finally 
round it, then along the tow line, worked my way 
up to the stern of the ferry and called to the engineer. 
He immediately stopped the engines and they took 
me in, landed me safe at the wharf, half-a-mile from 
home. I had not gone far from the wharf when my 
clothing was all frozen stiff, except where needful to 
bend in walking. But my boat was gone. A week 



106 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

or two after an Indian picked it up, far out at sea 
and returned it safely. A few days after, we found 
some of the children playing that they were capsized 
and they had poured water on a little boy to make 
him look as I did, when I came home that time. 

Our children were very comical in many of their 
expressions, and rather amusing in their play. I 
remember distinctly how they used to illustrate the 
Bible stories which they had heard. One day they 
were seen down by the little brook near our house : 
one, as a man, dressed very roughly, represented by 
one of the children, and another boy and girl, dressed 
as a king and queen. They appeared to be looking 
for someone. Soon after, another one, dressed as a 
raven, brought some biscuits and fed the man at the 
stream. It evidently was Elijah. The others were 
Ahab and Jezebel, and after a while, Elijah was found, 
and there were two altars built. There were two 
groups of people. Elijah was by one altar and the 
others by the other. There was a sacrifice placed on 
each altar. The larger group prostrated themselves 
time and again, but nothing happened. Finally Elijah 
kneeled down, with his hands to heaven, and a little 
fellow lying behind the altar set fire to the whole 
business with a match. The scene ended with the 
prophets of Baal fleeing in every direction, and 
Elijah's sacrifice was consumed ! 

These children loved toboganning, of which we 
had much, the snow being very deep, and sometimes 
for weeks, with hard crust on the top. 

We very often had heavy and hard trials to under- 
go in this work. The parents would sell their 



Indian Girls. 107 

daughters and then try every means available to 
obtain them from the Mission when a bargain was 
forthcoming. The daughters are naturally taught to 
obey their parents. I have seen a mother eighty-five 
years old and her daughter seventy, and the daughter 
was implicitly obedient to her mother, and would be 
so long as her mother lived. These children never 
dared, except the bravest of them, to disobey the 
most distant relative. On one occasion, the 
mother of Lydia (a fifteen year old girl) came to the 
Mission in my absence, took Lydia and her clothing, 
bundled them up and started off. Lydia and her 
mother were both bigger women than my wife, but 
my wife saw her going, ran after her, laid her hands 
upon her shoulder, and said, " Lydia, you're coming 
back 1 " 

I cannot tell what it was, whether it was her eye 
or general manner, but both Lydia and her mother 
were quiet and Lydia came back, but the mother 
also followed, scolding all the time as hard as she 
could but to no avail. My wife stopped her at the 
gate, told her to stay outside, which she did. Con- 
stantly they tried to steal their girls away, to barter 
them to some debased man, because he had given 
them so much money. 

At another time, when I was away from home, 
two other girls ran away together. 

The missionary must be a man of all work. 
Specialists have no business in the Mission field. A 
man should be a preacher, a doctor, a lawyer, a 
mechanic, a sexton, an undertaker, in fact he must 
be all and everything. They thought the mission- 



io8 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

aries' power had no limit. We tried to induce 
them to do their own sewing, introducing these 
hand-sewing machines, and this I almost regretted 
sometimes. I remember distinctly one night I had 
just gone to bed at 10.30. There was a rap at the 
door. On getting up, a boy was waiting outside, 
saying, that his mother wanted me to come down 
and fix her sewing machine which would not sew. 
I tried to put him off, but no ; she was making a 
burial robe, and it had to be done to-night. So I 
dressed, and went with him. It was a mile down 
there. The snow was about six feet deep, the night 
was dark, and the wind was blowing hard, and the 
thermometer was about zero, the trails were all 
blown shut, and if we missed the solid path it meant 
going up to your hips in snow. I found the house, 
examined the sewing machine, there was nothing 
wrong except that the shuttle needed threading ! so 
I threaded the shuttle, said good-night, and struggled 
home. 

I had gone to bed and had slept a little while 
when a loud rap came at the door. Again I got up, 
inquired who it was. I heard in coarse English a 
name. I knew the name and I knew the party so I 
begged a moment's delay and dressed myself. I 
opened the door and behold there stood two white 
men and two Indian women. It was 12.45. I 
invited them in, stirred up the fire, and we chatted 
for nearly an hour. I finally asked them what they 
wanted. One of them, rather red in the face, said, 
" We come to be married ! " I inquired of them why 
they came so late. 



A Strange Wedding. 109 

One man informed me, saying, " Susie here, kind 
o' thought she wanted another fellow," calling him 
by name, " and I gave her her choice to take him or 
me, and she decided for me just a little while ago, 
and I thought before she'd change her mind we'd 
have it settled, and as we had to have witnesses my 
friend here and his woman have come to act, and if 
it is all-right to you, they might as well have their 
arrangements settled at the same time I " 

Another three quarters of an hour and they were 
gone. It was now nearly morning. Hardly had I 
got to bed when I was called out again. I was 
cold and sleepy. This time another mile to the 
beach and another sewing machine to fix. I found 
the bobbin was empty ; I filled the bobbin, and 
went home in time to build the fires for the children 
to get up. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

INDIAN HOSPITALITY. 



1 A HE generosity of the Indian knows no bounds, 
except when he thinks that he will receive 
nothing in return. It is a custom among them to be 
continually giving presents. On a visit among them, 
at one time, a woman came into the house and threw 
a bundle into the man's lap. The woman was a 
stranger to all of us, excepting in name. He unrolled 
the bundle and found in it a new coloured shirt ; 
according to the custom, he immediately arose, 
pulled his overshirt off, and put the new one on in 
presence of us all. In a little while the same woman 
returned, but he had on the new shirt and she was 
pleased. If they make you a present, they expect 
you to use it. You show your appreciation by hav- 
ing it in view. 

Upon inquiry we found that this woman was ex- 
pecting to borrow some money of this man, and this 
was the first token that she intended to pay it back, 
the man must receive the full value of what he loans 
and these extra presents besides. If an Indian 
says that he will pay you back double for what he 
gets, you may know for a certainty he intends to 
pay you nothing ; but if he promises to return only 



Indian Hospitality. in 

what he gets, you may take it for granted that he will 
give you presents enough to amount to the interest. 
They are not stingy and are very hospitable, in fact 
giving you the best they have, which is not very 
much sometimes. 

A young medical student was visiting us in 
Alaska, and we walked about ten miles out to an 
Indian camp. We were very tired when we got 
there, and we were going to stay all night with them. 
He had never visited Indians before. When night 
came on, our beds were prepared. Indians always 
kill a great many wild fowl, and take their feathers 
for pillows. Of course they are not washed or 
dressed, but they make a very good pillow. They 
take a sack in which they have bought flour, fill it 
full of feathers, the sack is not always washed 
previously. But after a while the flour gets pretty 
much knocked out of it. 

On this occasion the Indians were very kind 
to us, each one giving us his pillow and making 
our bed a long straight row of pillows. We 
could lie on them by lying on our side, but if we 
turned over we would roll off, but rolling off was a 
more difficult matter than one might imagine, for in 
the little tent we were packed in something after the 
fashion of sardines in a box. 

In going to bed our host lay down next to me, and 
his wife lay down next to him and his children around 
the other way, enough of them to come just to the 
door ; our feet all towards the centre, the young 
medical student lay on the other side of me, and some 
other Indians next to him ; the tent \vas small, there 



H2 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

was just room enough for us all, and if we wanted to 
turn over it would be necessary to use our elbow to 
make room. The pillows on which we lay made it 
more comfortable for us, for it raised us a little above 
the general level, and we slept very soundly. It is 
needless to say that we smelt like feathers the next 
morning. 

On another occasion, visiting among the Indians 
alone, the missionary was invited to dine with the 
chief. Of course he must accept the invitation. 
We had seal feet for dinner. There is no muscle in 
these feet ; it is nearly all fat. One foot makes quite 
a large piece of meat. The old chief had one and 
he gave the missionary the other. We sat on the 
ground facing each other. The fat of the seal is not 
very palatable to our educated tastes, but it must be 
eaten. He had invited us, and it would shame the 
host if we did not eat. So taking my seal foot 
in both hands (for we had no knife and fork), 
I tried to imitate as near as possible the example 
set by the chief, excepting in this one thing, 
that I wanted to get rid of mine as soon as possible. 

To say it was a savoury piece would not be true, 
to say it was greasy is but saying it lightly, the 
grease ran down between my fingers and dripped off 
on to the ground. I ate as rapidly as I could, and 
very soon had it half consumed. The old chief 
went more leisurely at his, for Indians never hurry. 
I had eaten so rapidly that I felt that I wanted to 
rest. I laid my piece on a smooth stone near by to 
try and get some of the grease off my fingers. All 
the while the chief was chatting away in his own 



"Christian Dinners." 113 

language. It suddenly occurred to him that he had 
the biggest piece. I had noticed how dirty his 
hands were, and how occasionally he would take 
one greasy hand and wipe his long hair back from 
off his forehead, and now with that same hand he 
reaches over and takes my piece of meat, and in 
exchange gives me his. Of course he meant it well 
and I dared not protest, but meekly took it up, and 
this time I was careful not to lay it down again 
until it was all gone. It is often far better " to make 
haste slowly," especially among the Indians 1 

After they are converted, instead of having their 
former feasts for the dead and so forth, the Indians 
make what they call " Christian dinners," a sort of 
social meal. The bill of fare consists of soup made 
from venison, potatoes, onions, carrots, and such like, 
all boiled together, a really palatable dish. As 
many of the boys and girls after having been in the 
Missions were good cooks, and could bake cake and 
pie and such things as well as any baker, a supply 
of such eatables was usually provided ; they also 
bought butter and jam of various sorts ; and some 
of these dinners were splendid to look at, but far 
better to eat. We were nearly always included 
in the invitations when a dinner was coming off. A 
man would purpose in his mind to make a dinner 
sometime, he did not know just when, for he did 
not know how long it would take him to make the 
money to provide the necessary food. He would 
consult with his friends and his family and they 
would send out invitations to all those they wanted 
at the dinner. They often included the lame, the 



ii4 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

halt, the blind, and the old people with their friends ; 
as they understood the teaching of the Gospel. 

"Their invitation would be something like this : 
" We are going to make a dinner. Will you come ? " 
If we asked them when, they would say, " We 
do not know yet, but we will let you know." It 
might be months and we would hear no more of 

O 

the dinner, until some day when we were busiest 
there would be a messenger stand at the door saying, 
" Come now ! So and so has dinner ready," and we 
must drop everything and go, there must be no delay 
now. They have set just so many plates, one for 
each of those invited. If anyone fails to go he 
generally receives his portion of the feast just the 
same, sent to him on his plate ; but sometimes it is 
given to the poor. 

One day about noon a messenger stood before our 
door, saying, " Come now, everything is ready." 
We had been called a month before, but were not 
quite ready to go just at the moment. The 
messenger urged us saying, " Dinner's ready." We 
hastened as fast as we could, but it takes us so much 
longer to dress than it does an Indian, and upon 
our arrival we found they had given us up and 
thought we were not coming, for they were not quite 
sure that we would accept the invitation, but, how- 
ever, we were there. The host and his family had 
seated themselves at our places. They had eaten 
about half of their plates of soup, and left the other 
half when we came. They immediately arose and 
gave us our places. They did not change the soup 
nor plates, nor wash the spoons. We sat down and 



Indian Hospitality. 115 

waited, expecting them to at least change the plates, 
but they made no move towards it, so I ate the soup 
that was left for me, but my wife was not quite pre- 
pared for such things. It was a little more than she 
was accustomed to. I soon found her nudging me 
with her elbow, and then she exchanged plates. I now 
had her half plate of soup to eat, for if we refused 
to eat this soup the Indians would immediately 
say we were proud, and would then have no more 
to do with us, so to save our reputation I ate 
her soup, but our assistant matron sitting at the 
other side of my wife was in a like predicament with 
her. She did not feel disposed to eat what was 
before her, so when I had finished the second dish 
my wife very cleverly exchanged dishes again, this 
time the assistant matron's soup came my way. I 
had nearly soup enough, but like an Indian I had 
acquired the habit of eating when I had it, and when 
I did not have it, of doing without. I had it this 
time and so I devoured the last. Now the women 
could get fresh soup, and they did nobly by it. 

After the dinner is over the custom formerly was 
to tell stories of Indian bravery and such like, but 
now it is to tell stories of the Christ and of the good 
things of the Gospel. While they are telling these 
stories, the host having bought great quantities of 
food, more than can be eaten, continues to dis- 
tribute the plates according to his own whim ; the 
remaining food, naturally in some cases a great pile, 
is found around the plate, three or four loaves of 
bread, a dozen apples, oranges, candy, and sometimes 
handkerchiefs are provided according to the notion 



u6 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

of the giver of the dinner. In the meantime story 
telling is indulged in. 

I remember one story told by an Indian, how that 
a certain man had made a feast and it was before 
they were Christians. He especially emphasised 
that ; and that when they were cooking the soup on 
the fire and were talking and laughing, the host went 
to get some pepper to put in the soup, and got the 
snuff box from its place instead and peppered the 
soup with snuff, afterwards, not knowing the differ- 
ence, set it before his guests ; of course they must 
say nothing about it, and in courtesy they must eat 
it, after which some of them became sick. He 
especially emphasised that as Christians they had no 
snuff box, there was no danger now. After this 
story, many others followed, then there was a song 
and several offered prayer. Then the provision 
around each plate was safely deposited in a bag 
which had been brought for the occasion, and taken 
home as a sweet savour of the feast. 




CHRISTIAN' INDIAN'S. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE INDIANS AT MEETING. 



WE must now relate something of the meetings 
that were conducted among these people. 
The native is naturally of a stolid, undemonstrative 
character. He will listen as long as you want to 
talk, then you in turn must listen while he talks. 
You must let him finish as he did you. Among 
them are many very earnest preachers, but above 
most stood the saintly Aaron Koohk-now-woo. He 
was not an attractive man, for, in fact, his face was 
much disfigured his cheeks were scarred and his 
nose was gone. This is how it happened. He was 
next to the chief in rank, his family were high in 
culture, as Indians go. Coming in contact with 
some Peniel Mission workers he became convinced 
and converted. No longer would Aaron drink and 
carouse as he used to do. No more old fashioned 
feasts for him. He was now a Jesus man ; but his 
parents (though he was forty-five years of age) pro- 
tested. His mother declared that he should not be 
a Christian, and they did everything they could to 
discourage him. All their former efforts failing they 
finally got up a big feast at their own home. They 
went through all the old customs and ceremonies, 

117 



n8 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

but Aaron would not participate. This angered his 
mother and his father so that they determined to 
make him do something that would be wrong. 
They secured two of his brothers and the four of 
them procured a bottle of whiskey ; they took poor 
Aaron and tied his hands and his feet together and 
then poured the whiskey down his throat. Needless 
to say Aaron was drunk. When he became sober 
they told him " Now, you are no Jesus man, you 
were drunk." Aaron prayed, and asked God to 
forgive him, and promised in vocal prayer to leave 
his father and mother as they had become his worst 
foes. This so surprised and angered them that they 
resorted to another bottle of whiskey. Aaron 
struggled but being half stupefied could do but 
little. In the scuffle he was dragged out of the 
house and left in the snow for dead. 

It was nearly morning when he awoke, all night 
he had lain out and was stiff with cold ; his face was 
one mass of blood. A friendly Indian came to help 
him into the house, and upon washing his face it was 
discovered that his nose was gone. His mother on 
being questioned declared she had done it, saying 
he did not need to think he was going to go to 
heaven and break the family, for they were all going 
to hell, and if they were all there he had to go too, 
and now the Lord would not want him with his 
nose gone. 

Aaron left home and remained until his death a 
faithful, follower of the Lord Jesus, going about 
holding meetings everywhere ; a sweeter, kinder 
spirit is seldom known. 



An Attentive Audience. 119 

Our work among these people often obliged us 
to make long journeys to visit them in their camps. 
The only way we could get from place to place was 
by an open boat, and as it rained incessantly in the 
summer, our blankets were often wet, our clothes 
were wet, and often the food was wet. Many a time 
have we wrung the water out of our blankets and 
slept in them all night, while our wet clothes were 
drying over the fire, then had to rise early the next 
morning and go through the rain for hours and 
hours to the next camp. 

Our elder, Dick Smith, and myself were out 
one day and came to a little camp of twenty 
Indians. These Indians had never heard the Gospel 
before. We had a little to eat and then called a 
meeting. I could not yet speak the language, and 
Dick did not understand English very well, so in 
half English and half Chonook I told the story of 
the Bible from first to last. As we sat around the 
fire in a small log house, we talked and they listened 
till midnight. When we offered to stop they signi- 
fied they wanted us to go on. Finally daylight 
came and I begged leave to stop, saying, " We'll 
finish another time." 

Dick said " No, if you stop, I will go on, they 
want to hear." 

I felt ashamed, and we went on all day, and for 
thirty-six hours without food or sleep we told the 
story of the Love of God, told it the best we could. 
These Indians sat through it all, none slept except 
the children, none ate until it was finished. When 
it was over we waited in silence, perhaps five 



I2O Among the Indians of Alaska. 

minutes, when the eldest one in the house slowly 
and with well chosen words declared his intention 
of accepting the Gospel and believing in Jesus ; 
likewise one after another, until seventeen declared 
themselves Christians. So far as we know they have 
remained firm to the present time. 

If Christians were willing to pay the price they 
would see the fruits of their labour. It costs some- 
thing, but it is worth more than it costs. 

On the Mission premises was a good strong 
building which was called the schoolhouse. It was 
used for school and also for meeting purposes. 
For several years we had no other place for 
worship. 

Some very amusing things are associated with our 
gatherings in this little house for meetings. Here is 
a description of a meeting. 

At the appointed hour we saw the Indians come 
streaming up the side-walk from their homes'a mile 
away. There is one thing peculiar about the native, 
the whole family goes to meeting, it is disrespectful 
for anyone to be left at home, and this is how they 
come : the father first, followed by the mother, and 
then the children, intermingled with the dogs and 
cats. They all come ! Thus they filed up into the 
school-house for meeting. The men and women sat 
in the seats, the children on the top of them, and the 
dogs underneath. Ordinary dogs might have been 
tolerated, but these were not ordinary. They look 
more like wolves. Their hair is about two to three 
inches long, and stands straight out from the skin. 
Their little pointed ears also stand straight up, a long 



Kindness to Animals. 121 

slender nose, small sharp eyes, and the broad head 
indicating their wild origin, yet they seem very docile. 
Some of them hopped on three feet looking hungry 
and lean. They were frightful to look at. 

It is a very good trait in the Indian character that 
he will not kill a poor faithful animal simply because 
it becomes unprofitable ; it goes with the family as 
long as it can go ; of course, when it cannot go any 
more, it is left behind, what else could they 
do ? And on this occasion they filed into the 
meeting house all together until it was crowded, 
and the door was shut. Many of the Indians had 
been eating dried fish, some of them prepared salmon 
heads, the odour of which was not very pleasant, 
with the dogs mixed in, it was almost unbearable. 
But we were not there to criticise, we were there to 
preach the Gospel. We opened the windows, but 
that did not suffice, although it was better. 

The time came for us to preach. My heart 
sank within me. What could I say to them ? It 
seemed almost impossible to find a text to suit the 
case. I wanted to get rid of those dogs, I did not 
want them in the house, the Indians were enough. 
In my perplexity an inspiration came in the 
form of a text in Revelation which would 
meet the present need. The text read, " For without 
.are dogs." I know there is some more of it, but that 
was all that was needed then. 

I arose to my feet, and through an interpreter 
spoke to the people. I spoke for nearly a half- 
hour, trying to explain to them what this text meant ; 
.that characters like dogs were outside, and finally 



122 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

leading up to the one principal point that dogs them- 
selves belonged outside, not in. I think I never was 
so hopeless in all my life. As we talked, I looked for 
some expression in their faces, but if their features 
had been chiselled in marble they would have 
changed just as little. I could not say that they 
stared at me vacantly, for they seemed to under- 
stand everything that we said. I did not know 
whether they meant to unite and tear me to pieces, 
or whether they intended simply to entirely ignore 
all that was said. I was thinking it was about time 
to stop when I saw an old man sitting on the end of 
the bench about halfway back to the door, reach 
under the bench slowly, and deliberately take his 
dog by the back of the neck, pull him out from 
under the seat, and start for the door. Those in 
the aisle made way for him. The dog resented the 
action ; he did not want to go, and talked about it 
rather loudly ; a neighbour's dog under the other 
bench seemed to think it meant him, and he came 
out, apparently to put a stop to it. It was not 
polite to be making a noise in meeting anyway. 
But it was not long before the two were vicing with 
each other as to which one could make the most 
noise, and they were tumbling about and biting at a 
fearful rate. Now a third one came on the scene, 
and the three of them, with the old man hanging to 
the neck of one, were doing their best to settle the 
matter. The old man never looked around, but 
simply held to his dog and got him to the door and 
pitched him out ; then shut the door and slowly 
and deliberately made his way to his seat and sat 



Dogs at Meeting. 123 

down. No sooner had he taken his seat than a 
woman across the way, proceeded in the same way. 
Her dog did not want to go either, and resented 
it likewise, but there was no sympathising friend 
this time, the others seemed to have taken the 
hint, they remained quietly under the benches 
until she put her dog out and took her seat. No 
one seemed disturbed, everyone looked steadily at 
me, no one smiled and there was no excitement, 
save among the dogs, and that had now cooled 
down. I thought it was over, but one by one each 
fellow took his dog and put him out, until the last 
one was outside. Then we went on and finished 
the sermon, and the dogs outside settled the matter 
satisfactorily, for we could hear them at it. From 
that day to this we have had no more trouble with 
dogs at the meeting-house. They came with the 
people for a few times after, but finally ceased alto- 
gether to attend. 

In a few years the little school-house was too 
small to accommodate the meeting, so the people 
came an hour before the time in order to get 
a seat inside ; oftentimes women with babies 
being too late to get in, would stand outside the 
windows and bargain with those inside for a seat. 
They would raise the windows in the coldest 
weather, then pile wood on the outside till they could 
stand up and look in. On one occasion a woman 
with a baby was too late, but got a place near a 
window, when seeing an acquaintance inside she 
offered him a quarter for his place, which he accepted, 
and climbed out through the open window and the 



124 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

woman with her baby climbed in and occupied the 
purchased place. 

The Indians often have meetings in their own 
homes. I have seen them in a little room, about 
10 by 12 feet, where they would crowd in as long 
as they could stand inside ; no ventilation, no 
fire, but in the midst of this crowding, souls would 
cry out to God. They could not even kneel 
down to pray, but borne up one of another would 
pray to God in any position until the Gospel became 
of such power in our place that for a year there was 
not a meeting in which there were fewer than five 
converted. So enthusiastic did they become that if 
a man came into the village he either had to repent 
or leave the town. They would not let him rest, he 
could neither eat, nor sleep, for some one would be 
after him about his soul, persuading him and telling 
of what the Lord had done. One man literally 
gathered up his tent, loaded his goods, and left the 
town, for he would not repent. They meant him no 
harm but were only anxious for his soul. 

At our watch-night meeting we began at seven in 
the evening, and continued till past twelve (though 
this was nothing uncommon, for very often our 
meetings continued till two in the morning), but 
this meeting seemed a time of special blessing, the 
very thought of the dying old year brought death 
before them ; and the breaking of the dawn of the 
new, brought the resurrection. Many a stubborn 
heart was brought to Christ at these times. After 
having been converted he went immediately to his 
home ; sometimes many hundreds of miles, and 



"Daniel's Band." 125 

there spread the news of the Gospel of salvation. 
Others went out to the camps and told the story. 
Many believed, but needed teaching ; this required 
us to visit them and strengthen their hands in the 
good work. There were many we could not visit, 
but we could not refuse them all. 

Often the way was long and dangerous. Once 
when going a hundred miles to visit the Indians at 
a place where they had been pleading for help, a 
strong north wind was blowing in our face, and it 
was so cold that the waves as they rolled over the 
steamer froze to the deck. Men were lashed to 
the side for twenty minutes at a time, chopping the 
ice as it got thick enough to block off, else we 
should have turned over on one side. The wind 
was so strong we only made about one mile an hour 
against it for twenty-four hours. The steam from 
the boilers could not even be utilised to heat our 
rooms, every bit of power was being used to propel 
the boat. After much difficulty we reached our 
destination, and had a very warm welcome from the 
waiting people. 

There being other denominations at work among 
the people we found it necessary to organise them 
into a sort of " Daniel's Band," as we called it, that 
they might work with those of other denominations 
in harmony, and that they might understand that 
there were no divisions among Christians. In fact 
the sect line was almost obliterated amongst us. 
We knew no denomination. 

Among these Indians were some very promising 
young men, one of whom was Robert Harris. 



126 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

Unfortunately, like many of his race, he had 
indications of tuberculosis. He was a powerful 
preacher of the Word, but after having preached the 
gospel with great power for about three years, he, 
like many a white man, felt he needed more educa- 
tion, and laid down his commission to go to school. 
This proved disastrous. The confinement fostered 
his consumption. He returned to his gospel 
work and grew better and back he went to 
school. He was soon down again, this time never 
to recover. 

To give you some idea of what we had to deal 
with, here is an incident which illustrates the 
character of the work. In the meeting, one Sunday 
morning, there was a man from the interior, who 
had been invited to come. He was a stranger to us, 
and to grace. More than that, he had two wives ; 
he was a man perhaps seventy-five years old and one 
wife was older than he, having been his brother's wife 
before this. His other wife was a young girl about 
seventeen years of age. She was rather a comely 
Indian maiden, above the average in intelligence. 
None of them had ever heard the gospel. They 
were all inveterate users of tobacco. 

One morning they came to meeting. We preached 
to them of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus, His 
love for all, even for the poor Indian. It seemed to 
touch their hearts. They longed for freedom from 
the bondage of the devil, and in Christ they saw 
hope ; and after the meeting they came together 
into the inquiry room. We had much conversation 
with all three of them and with others ; they all 



A Domestic Question. 127 

claimed to have accepted Christ. We were hopeful, 
but had learned not to be too hopeful at first. 

In the evening they returned to the meeting again ; 
they listened respectfully, and went home much 
pleased. Their faces seemed to shine with a new 
light. We had said nothing to them, nor had anyone 
else, about polygamy or the use of tobacco, for we 
never think it wise to say anything about such 
things, but rather left it to them and to God. 

The next forenoon I was busy writing. The mail 
had come from the States. It only came once in 
two weeks, and we had to hasten to get the replies 
written and ready for the out-going mail. While 
thus occupied, there was a knock at the door. I 
looked up and could see that it was the old man of 
yesterday's meeting. I invited him in and quickly 
asked him what he wanted. He told me he had 
come to talk about being a Christian. I told him I 
was glad of it, though all the time I was wanting to 
get on with my writing, but I had to wait till he 
was ready to talk. Finally he said " You know I 
told you I wanted to be a Christian." 

" Yes, I remember." 

" Well," he continued, " I still want to be one." 

I told him 1 was glad, I hoped he would always 
want to. He replied that he always did want to, 
but he wanted to ask me one question. I told him 
to go ahead, I would answer it if I could. 

" Well, you know, I have two wives." 

" Yes, I know." 

" Now, I want to be a Christian, and I will be 
one, if you will let me keep both wives." 



128 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

I said to him, " Why, my good man, that I have 
nothing to do with, that is between you and God. 
If He will let you keep them, then you can keep 
them. I shall say nothing." 

" Look here, Minister, did you not tell us that the 
Lord had sent you here ? " 

" Yes, I believe He did send me " for there 
was nothing ever plainer in my life than that God 
had called me to this field. 

Then he said, " If the Lord has sent you here, He 
would not have sent you and not told you what He 
wanted us to do." 

I now saw he had me. I either must say I was 
not sent, or I must declare that the Lord had not 
told me anything, which would mean I had no 
message of any kind ; or else I must tell him what 
he must do. These thoughts passed quickly through 
my mind. I felt the responsibility of a messenger 
of the King as never before. I felt now that the 
Lord had put me in His place and had spoken to me, 
and now I must impart it to others. And quicker 
than it takes you to read it, I plainly told him, 
" You must put away one of your wives." I did 
not say any more, for I wanted to get out of it as 
easily as I could. 

He grabbed his hat off the floor and put it on his 
head hard, and he said, " I thought you was a good 
man. I thought you was a Christian, and I wanted 
to be a Christian, and you have only made me sorry. 
I do not intend to be a Christian." 

I said to him, " I am sorry for that, I hope that 
you will think it over." 



A Selfish Solution. 129 

He said, " What I have said, I have said," and left 
the house in a terrible rage. 

I think I was too busy with my writing to grieve 
much over it, I was rather glad he had gone, but I 
was sorry for his decision. I went back to my 
writing. I was getting on well. It was three 
o'clock in the afternoon, when behold he made his 
appearance at the door again. He came this time 
rather meekly and humbly. When he knocked at 
the door, without turning I told him to come in. He 
came in and sat down. I went on writing. I knew 
it would take him some time to make up his mind 
to talk. After a while I turned around to him. 

He said, " Now, minister, I have come back to tell 
you that I was wrong this morning." (My heart beat 
within me, I thought after all he was coming 
right). He continued, " I really want to be a 
Christian, and I have come back to ask if you will 
let me keep my young wife, the old woman is no 
good any more, and I will promise sure to be a 
Christian if you will let me keep the young one." 

I told him " No, the old woman was his wife, the 
young woman was only recently taken, it was the 
old woman or none." 

He flew into a rage and left the house forthwith, 
and I was glad to get rid of him. 

I finished my writing as best I could that evening. 

I was just preparing the next morning for a trip, 
and I was writing down the last instructions that I 
had to leave, when Behold here comes the man back. 
I saw who it was ; he knocked at the door. I did 
not answer him, for I was busy. He finally opened 

10 



130 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

the door without being asked, and meekly slipped 
in. I went on with my work. It was nearly half 
an hour before I had finished, and I turned round 
to find him standing in the middle of the floor, his 
hat in his hand, and his face downcast. 

He said, " Minister, I have come back to see you 
this morning." 

I said, " Yes, you did that twice before. You are 
like the wind, you come back very calm, and then 
you howl before you go away." 

" No," he said, " I am very happy this morning." 

" I am very glad of that," I said, " tell me about 
it?" 

" You know I got angry with you yesterday." 

" Yes," I said, " I know it all too well. Are you 
sure you wont do it again to-day ? " 

He said " No, I am not going to be angry to-day. 
Last night when I went home from here, my young 
woman was gone ; she had run away, and I have 
hunted for her all night, and have not found her yet 
this morning, and I have come back to tell you I 
believe the Lord has done it, that He has made her 
run away, and now I will keep the old woman, and 
we will die together." Then he added " If the young 
woman comes back, she need not come to me. She 
is free." 

So the old man left ; he has remained a faithful 
Christian ever since. It is needless to say that the 
young woman returned in a few days, and some 
months afterwards was married to a nice young man. 
They have now a family of sweet children, and so 
far as I know are all living good Christian lives. 



Christianity versus Tobacco. 131 

Upon one occasion a woman after hearing the 
Word of God arose in the meeting, and declared in 
public her determination to be a Christian. All the 
while she was speaking she kept rummaging in a 
long pocket of her dress skirt ; and down in the 
bottom of it underneath a great many handkerchiefs 
and such things as belong to women, she at last 
found and pulled out a great plug of tobacco. It 
was nearly a foot in length. She held it up before 
us all and said, " Here, Mission Charlie, I want to 
give this to Jesus." We all laughed. The idea of 
Jesus wanting such a thing as that. I told her that 
He did not use the stuff, it was only intended for 
mountain goats to eat. So she deliberately walked 
to the stove, and put it in the fire. 

To the credit of the Indian, to become a Christian 
meant to do away with tobacco. There were no 
dirty, filthy mouths among the Christian Indians. 

There was one half-hearted man who came up to 
see me at the Mission. He had been much among 
the whites, could speak some English, and had 
learned some of the white man's ways. He was a 
professed Christian. I was going to meet him, but 
he did not notice me. As I came nearer to him I 
thought he was smoking. I was not quite sure, but 
I had no time to satisfy my curiosity. Upon seeing 
me he put both his hands in his coat pockets and 
came smilingly towards me. I noticed by his breath 
that he had been smoking. He did not know 
sufficient English to explain himself so he demon- 
strated with his hands ; this took them out of 
his pockets, and while we were talking I noticed a 



132 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

little smoke rising out of his coat pocket. The tell- 
tale cigar had burnt a hole in his new coat. I told 
him his pocket was on fire. He jammed his hand 
into it, only to get it burned. It was not long before 
the cigar had to come out of his pocket. Together 
we succeeded in putting out the fire but his coat was 
ruined. He -afterward hung his coat in his own 
room as a witness between him and God that he 
would never smoke again. I have reason to believe 
he has not done so. 



CHAPTER XV. 

GROWTH OF THE MISSION. 



WERE we to speak of the natives only, we should 
scarcely tell half of the great work that the 
Lord had laid upon us. Were not the white people 
whom He had called into that country as much His 
children as the natives ? though it is true they came 
in search of gold, and would be gone as soon as pos- 
sible, yet He Who has the riches of everlasting life 
also had His messengers in that distant land. 

Scarcely two years had passed away when a 
number sufficient to organise a monthly meeting 
had been gathered into the Church. In fair justice 
to all, it should be said the Mission force did not con- 
sist only of those sent by Kansas Yearly Meeting, but 
in the early part of our trials some whites, whose 
hearts the Lord had opened, lent a helping hand. 
Among the first to come to us were Edward and Ora 
Churchill. The former was the son of a Baptist 
Minister, and originally probably was no better than 
the proverbial " preacher's boy." He had wandered 
over much of the world before coming to Alaska. His 
wife was well educated and a very capable woman. 

After being converted they joined the Friends. 
She is now an elder and he an overseer. We cannot 



133 



134 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

speak too highly of their services. Through all the 
discouragements, through all the difficulties, they 
stood nobly by our side. There was no task too 
hard, there was no service they could render but what 
was readily granted ; they did not join with the 
majority of white people in belittling the native, they 
saw his limitations, they knew his weakness, but lent 
a hand to help him. 

From this nucleus the meetings grew in numbers ; 
the white people from the mines continually came. 
They would sit with the natives, and listen to the 
English, and think it over while the interpreter told 
it to the natives. Finally the house became too 
small, it would not accommodate the growing congre- 
gations. We felt it needful to notify the whites that 
as we were sent directly to the natives, they should 
not, must not, expect us to preach to them. The 
natives had begun to feel a little out of place, there 
were too many white people they thought. To meet 
the growing need we organised a meeting especially for 
whites, in which the natives were welcome but only 
English was spoken, except when a native desired to 
give testimony, which often happened. The miners 
often came and went away impressed with the 
sincerity of the natives. 

A man named Harvey had attended our meeting 
once or twice and then had gone from our place to 
the Yukon Territory. From there he went back to 
the States, married a young woman, and returned to 
Alaska. One Sunday morning we saw them coming 
through about six feet of snow to attend the meeting. 
The trail was very narrow, and his wife not being 



Fellow- Workers. 135 

used to the snow often stepped aside, and to step 
aside from the trail in that country meant to go clear 
to the ground. Several times she was utterly covered 
with snow. They made their way to the school- 
house on the hill. In course of time they were con- 
verted and became Members of the Society. He is 
now in business in the State of Washington and is 
a faithful Minister of the Gospel. 

Of all the noble helpers who came to the work I 
cannot now tell, but will mention Chas. and Gertie 
Bodwell, who are at present missionaries in Central 
America. And John Lundquist, who at the call of 
the Lord, left his wife and children and met us in 
London, and went as interpreter for us through 
Norway ; also James Campbell, who in obedience to 
the Spirit, lived a life of faith for the sake of the 
natives. Then of those faithful women, who against 
odds and much discouragement, counted it as 
nothing that they might be of service to their 
Lord. 

For seven years we had a S.S. Teachers' meeting 
which never missed a session until it became a Bible 
reading which was attended by whites from far and 
near. We organised a Christian Endeavour Society, 
having forty-two active members at one time, and a 
Junior Society which is still in existence. There 
was a Women's Missionary Society, all these among 
the whites. 

At one time we had a Rescue Work very efficiently 
provided for. Many are the experiences some of 
those dear women have had in their efforts to save 
their friends. 



136 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

On a Wednesday evening, with the wind blowing 
from off the top of the mountains across the bay, we 
began a series of meetings. It was blowing a 
hurricane and fearfully cold. The old school-house 
was very open, and we had to sit near the stove to 
keep warm. It was such a gale that it was almost 
impossible to go outside. There were only two souls 
who ventured to come. One was an Indian and the 
other a white man. The white man in coming to 
the meeting had lost his hat, the wind having taken 
it far into the mountains, no one knows where ; but 
he came on to the meeting. His ears were nearly 
frozen. The three of us sat about the stove, Dick 
Smith and I on one side, and Tom Nelson on the 
other. Tom was not a particularly attractive man, 
having lost one eye in an accident years before, but 
the peculiarity about him was that he had run away 
from a meeting in San Francisco and now he had 
got into another. He thought they had no business 
to tell him he was a sinner and here they told him 
the same. We talked awhile and prayed. I talked in 
English, Dick Smith (for that was the Indian's name) 
talked in Chonook, and together we managed to get 
Tom to understand something about Jesus. When 
the time came to go home, Tom had no hat. Dick 
took the scarf off his neck, and he gave it to Tom to 
wrap round his head, and together they went home. 
That night the Lord met with Tom, and he yielded up 
his heart to God. In a month or two after this he 
went to the Yukon, there I understand he did 
well, preaching the Gospel to those who worked for 
him. 






Rolling to Sunday School. 137 

Many times in our going to the meetings from our 
home we had great difficulty in getting through the 
snow. We lived on the hillside and must needs go 
about a quarter of a mile out of our way down 
the hill and back again on the other side of the creek 
to the meeting. It so happened one Sunday morn- 
ing, the wind was blowing fearfully again, which it 
often did, in fact the snow was light and it was 
blown everywhere. If one walked through the snow, 
in two minutes every sign of his having been there 
would be obliterated. My wife said at the breakfast 
table, " Children, you cannot go to Sunday School 
this morning, it is too bad." But our children began 
to cry, saying, " We have not missed yet, and we 
want to go ; please let us go." 

After much persuasion I told the children that I 
would take them, and do the best we could. 
Bundled up head and foot we plunged into the 
snow, some six feet deep on the level and very soft- 
I soon saw I could not wade it, so I told the children 
just simply to bundle up and lie down and roll. I 
went first, the little girl after me, and with her our 
little boy, who was born in Alaska. We rolled 
safely down till we got to a beaten trail, where the 
wind had blown it bare. We were safe, and from 
there we went easily to the meeting. 

My wife and the others at the home could scarcely 
be expected to do such feats. But they were made 
of different stuff than we had calculated on. They 
had inventive minds as well as the rest of us. Going 
up into the attic, they found some old shingles, dry 
and brash. They started to make themselves some 



138 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

snow shoes, but in the operation got the grain 
turned the wrong way. They bored holes in the 
shingles with an old pocket knife, tied strings on 
them and tied them upon their feet, and sallied 
bravely forth to glory over us. Lo, the first step 
they made, the shingles split in two, and left them 
floundering in the snow. But they would not 
be beaten. They gathered their skirts about them 
and came down the hill just like we did ; they 
rolled down. They finally reached the beaten 
path, and woman-like, you know, they got up, shook 
themselves, looked all about them to see if anybody 
was looking, and became aware that every door and 
window within sight was filled with heads of children 
and women and men who had been watching the 
sight. Yet our Meeting House was full that morn- 
ing, despite all the difficulties. I have often wondered 
how it would look to see our earnest Christian people 
in this beloved land going to meeting in that fashion. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE WORK OF EDUCATION. 



WE will now come back to the condition of the 
native. He is a shrewd man, highly intel- 
lectual, and a careful reasoner. He does not reason 
about things and come to conclusions in the same 
way that we do. However, he will obtain the same 
conclusions though he reasons in a round-about 
method. We reason directly at it, he, rather, as though 
reasoning behind it, and coming finally to the same 
conclusion. They cannot be said to have had any 
schools, in which they could have learned these 
things, except that we might say the teaching of the 
old to the younger constituted their school. In 
fact, one of the best mental drills that I know of 
anywhere in existence, is practised among them. 

When a young man has attained the age of some 
sixteen or eighteen years, and is old enough to be a 
man, the chiefs or prominent men in the tribe take 
him in charge, and on suitable occasions sit down 
and tell him a story. He must listen and say 
nothing. It may take two or three hours to tell 
this story. The young man, after hearing it, must 
go to some other old man, who also knows the 

139 



140 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

story, and must repeat it word for word. Of 
course he cannot do it right at first, and is severely 
reprimanded at every mistake, but in course of 
time he is able to repeat it perfectly. For this 
reason the Indians are able to repeat everything 
verbally without mistakes. As one of their number, 
I myself have had some very thorough drilling in 
this method. They are acute calculators, seldom 
ever making a mistake ; their numerical calculations 
are in ratios of ten. They are apt pupils at learn- 
ing. 

Upon the purchase of Alaska by the United States 
Government, there were a few schools found in the 
country which had been established by the Russians, 
their main purpose was to teach the Greek religion, 
but our Government early noticed their desire, and, 
in order to benefit the natives established Govern- 
ment Schools. These schools were to be in the hands 
of efficient teachers, who themselves were Christians 
of some one of the various denominations that had 
undertaken mission work in Alaska ; and thus the 
Government school teacher became a missionary as 
well as a school teacher. This soon caused some 
difficulty, as the Mission Boards and the Govern- 
ment requirements sometimes clashed, and the mis- 
sionary found himself in a position where he must 
decide between the two, sometimes severing his con- 
nection with the Mission Board, and at others 
with the Government. 

At the various stations, as fast as means could be 
obtained, these schools sprang up. These mis- 
sionaries ofttimes received part of their remunera- 



A Mixed School. 141 

tion from the Mission Boards and part from the 
Government. A similar compact existed at Douglas. 
The Government school teacher was also the 
missionary in charge. It so happened that the 
teacher recommended by the Friends' Board to the 
Government, could not make satisfactory arrange- 
ments suitable to himself with the Government, and 
they appointed another teacher. This teacher, while 
highly recommended, was not at all suitable to teach 
the natives. This brought plainly to our mind the 
possibilities of what might happen under such con- 
ditions. We therefore notified the Government that 
henceforth our own buildings would be used by our 
own teachers. 

Heretofore we had not been very successful in get- 
ting the beach children to the school. We now 
appointed our own teacher, and set to work inducing 
all the children, grown people, grey-headed fathers 
and mothers, in fact all, to come to school, and the 
result was that we had children in school of all ages 
from six months to ninety-one years. It was really 
interesting to see an old woman bowed with age 
wrestling with her primer, and trying to learn the 
A, B, C. They were stimulated to their task by a 
desire to read the Word of God, for, having aban- 
doned the Mission Home and most of the children 
being provided for elsewhere, we were now free to 
extend our work more freely among all the people. 
Thus many of them, having been converted to God, 
desired a better education. 

So anxious were these people to obtain an educa- 
tion that they would come early, even before day- 



142 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

light, and some would remain as long as we would 
let them, toiling until their heads ached. Women 
brought their babies, and it became necessary for us 
to prepare a place and beds to deposit these little 
tots, while the mothers struggled through their 
primers. Sometimes there were as many as a dozen 
babies in the school at once, and of course, some- 
times babies cry, and when one did occasionally cry 
it seemed more like a common labour strike, for 
every other baby in the house struck up with it, and 
the poor schoolmistress, would be almost distracted, 
but nothing could be done until the babies were 
quieted, and then go on with school again. 

The little fellows were so anxious to learn to write 
that they very often begged a piece of chalk to take 
home with them, and sometimes took the chalk 
without asking and you could see on every rock 
along the beach the effect of the school ; for it was 
C AT, B O Y, in fact it was "A, B, C " in every nook 
and corner. You could tell there was a school in 
the village from the signs around. 

One little girl in particular, whose mother had 
learned to be very neat and clean, and whose house 
floor was always scoured until it was almost as 
white as sand, not having any chalk, found a piece 
of charcoal in her mother's stove, and having no 
better place, used the floor. Her mother, on coming 
home, found the floor literally marked over with all 
the different words the little one had learned during 
the day. It is needless to say that she received a 
full course of instruction, and adopted a different plan 
later. She obtained a piece of chalk at the school, 



Zeal for Learning. 143 

and the next Sunday morning, as the people filed 
into the the Meeting-house, on the back of her 
father's Sunday coat you could read the word 
D O G. She meant nothing, only it indicated her 
desire for knowledge. So great is their anxiety to 
learn to read God's word that the sacrifices they 
undergo are wonderful. 

One poor woman, having been forbidden to come 
to school, did without food for three days until her 
husband relented. A little boy nine years of age, 
being refused the privilege of coming to school, 
lived for two weeks on nothing but berries in the 
mountains, until his uncle relented and he could 
come again. 

Ofttimes the parents and relatives railed at us, 
saying we were making fools of their children, we 
were making them lazy. They had never been to 
school and they did not need to go. Some said it 
made their children think their parents were fools, 
and all these various ideas of human superstition 
had to be overcome, but gradually little by little the 
mist faded away, and the sunlight of knowledge 
began to rise. 



CHAPTER XVII. 
"DICK SMITH": A STUDY FROM LIFE. 



MY readers may be pleased to know something of 
the particular leadings and dealings that bring 
an Indian from his heathenish state to a knowledge 
of Christ, his Saviour. We propose in this chapter to 
give a concise account of the life and conversion of 

o 

Dick Smith. It will be a fair sample of the majority 
of the Indian lives. Dick Smith (as we called him) 
was originally known as " Sitka Dick." His Indian 
name, Dis-ke-kah, when interpreted is " the man in 
the moon." He was far from being the man in the 
moon when first known to the Mission. 

He obtained the name of " Sitka Dick " be- 
cause of his bad character. He was a terror to 
every man in his tribe, and an expert distiller ; he 
could make hoochinoo (an Indian whiskey) to per- 
fection. He could make it so that a pint could keep 
a man crazy for days together. Besides that, he was 
the ringleader of all their dances, feasts, and old 
customs. He had the most unpromising face you 
ever looked upon ; high cheek bones and deep 
sunken keen eyes. 

Dick worked hard and was wealthy. When the 
Indians had their feasts and drunken bouts, Dick 

144 



An Indian Mothcr-in-Law. 145 

was often in demand. If his wits failed him (and it 
took but little of this horrible whisky to deprive him 
of them) his muscle was invaluable. 

After a few natives had found peace in their souls, 
it became their earnest desire to see Dick " saved," 
but none of them dared speak to him about it, for 
they were all afraid of him. So they asked me 
to go and see him, which I did. 

Dick was a firm believer in witches. He had 
oftentimes helped to burn or torture them. Some- 
times they were tied to a stake and whipped or cut 
with knives. Other times they were tied to a tree 
and starved until they confessed. This was part of 
his business as a leader among the people. 

Dick was constantly in trouble with his relatives. 
Like some other people of better reputation, he did 
not always agree with his mother-in-law, and they 
often had differences. These were usually settled 
during a drunken bout. Dick had made some very 
bad " medicine " (as they call it), and was more rude 
than ordinary when his mother-in-law undertook, as 
mothers-in-law do sometimes, to teach him to 
behave himself. Now, with the character of the 
whisky and the man in whom it was, the result was 
disastrous, and when it ended the mother-in-law was 
bleeding to death from a wound from Dick's teeth, 
and a young man had lost a hand, and another was 
dead. 

When Dick got over his " revel " he found that 
his property had all been taken to pay for the deaths 
he had caused, it even took all that his people had in 
addition to his money to pay for the damage ; for that 

11 



146 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

was their way of settling it ; it was paid in blankets 
to the friends of the deceased. He must now repay 
them all that they had paid out for him, and interest 
too, and it is marvellous how they compound interest 
on each other. It meant practically that Dick would 
never be a free man again. He might go on as 
leader, but he was bound to pay this debt to his 
people. He must have some extra good fortune if 
he was ever to be able to pay it, or his children 
either. This made Dick more accessible. 

I approached him in one of the times of his de- 
pression. He was feeling his condition very much. 
He was invited to come to meeting, but he would 
not come. The next time I saw him I invited him 
again, with the same result. The invitations were 
continued for some time. Finally Dick concluded 
to come, he got as far as the door and sat just out- 
side on the steps, he would not come in ; he was too 
proud, he was not sufficiently humbled yet. But the 
next Sunday found him at the Meeting House again, 
this time just inside the door. 

So Sunday by Sunday Dick came, each time 
getting a little closer to the front, till after two 
or three months he stood up boldly and declared his 
conviction of sin, and his determination to follow 
God. For a time he seemed very happy, and 
became quite an earnest helper in the meetings. But 
his people pressed him for their money, and he 
worked hard every day to pay his debt. They told 
him, " You have just turned Christian to keep from 
paying your debts," and they taunted him with 
everything they could. He paid as far as he could, 



An Indian's Remorse. 147 

until he had nothing left for himself. He had eight 
children, and it was hard to keep their mouths 
full, but the Lord was merciful to him and took 
some of them to glory, thus relieving him of the 
sorrow of seeing them go hungry. He was getting 
old and could not work as he had done before, and 
he was often discouraged. 

He came to us one day and said he hardly knew 
what to do, all the time there was before him the 
visions of those witches he had helped to kill, and 
others that had died at his hands. His wickedness 
seemed to be rising -up before him, and in his 
anguish of spirit he wept like a child. 

I told him that Jesus would forgive him for those 
things, and if he had faith it was already done. 

" Yes," he said, " I know Jesus has forgiven me 
my sins, I knowi He has forgiven me for what I did 
in that case, for I did^not know any better. But is 
there not something, somewhere, to help me get rid 
of this miserable torment ? When I pray about it, I 
feel that I am forgiven, but it is before me all the 
time. I feel like David, that ' my sin is ever before 
my face.' " 

I saw his trouble, but how to reach his case I 
knew not. How could he, an Indian, understand the 
deep things of God ? They are but children. 

Now when I went to Alaska I had a theology all 
planned out. I said, " Certainly the Lord can 
forgive these children of nature, although they 
can never receive the ' fulness of the Spirit/ for they 
cannot understand." I had placed the filling of the 
Spirit upon the plane of the mental understanding ; 



148 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

here was a case that seemed to upset my theology. 
Here was a hungry soul, a soul of as low a type as 
I had ever met, and with as homely a face as I had 
ever looked into. But there it was, a heart longing 
for the "fulness of the Spirit." It could be 
nothing else. What must I do ? Break down 
my theology ? It was a pretty piece of logic, and 
kept me above this poor creature, for I had under- 
standing. No, not for one moment could I deprive 
him of a single thing that God had placed within his 
reach. If his soul hungered for the " fulness of the 
Spirit," he should have it. With him I humbly 
petitioned the Lord not only to fill him with the 
Spirit, but to help me to know the will of God. After 
reading the Word of God plainly together, we could 
see that the Word was to all men, even to those that 
were afar off ; and had he not been afar off ? As his 
soul began to comprehend, his face began to shine, 
telling of the brightness that had come into his soul. 
From that day to this he has had peace. He has never 
lost the shine upon his face. He often calls that day 
his birthday. He often explained it to others as 
though he was simply forgiven. As he said, " The 
gate was opened before, and now I have come in." 
A sweeter soul could not be conceived. 

His first care now was for those that professed 
Christianity but were not " filled with the Spirit." 
He was constantly urging the Christians to be " filled 
with the Spirit " as the end of their hope, and assuring 
them that Jesus will give them a home in Heaven. 
" They were not to work for Heaven," he said, " but to 
be ' filled with the Spirit.' "He that is a Christian only 



An Indian's Faith. 149 

that he may get to Heaven is a slave, but he that is a 
Christian will get to Heaven, for he has made Christ 
his friend. He very often quoted the text, " I call you 
no more servants but friends, for the servant knoweth 
not what his master doeth." He now became the 
main force in the meeting, and as the Monthly 
Meeting was organised, he was appointed an elder, 
and a right good one he made. He was ever 
watchful, ever careful, for the flock over whom the 
Lord had placed him. He constantly went from 
place to place urging men in his own quaint way to 
accept the Lord of Glory, and to receive the Holy 
Spirit. 

Once Dick had gone with his son to a distant 
village. They had been holding a series of meetings, 
but the people were not very ready to hear, only a 
few came to the meetings. There were about three 
hundred people in the village, and probably about 
thirty or forty came to meeting. Two weeks they 
toiled, pleading with them to be saved, but the 
majority were not ready to give up their old ways. 
If they could have taken the religion of Jesus and 
attached it on to their own ways and customs, as a boy 
attaches a tail to his kite, they would have done so 
immediately. But Dick was uncompromising. They 
must give up the old life and take the new, or they 
could not have Jesus nor the promise of the Spirit. 

One evening he stood with his hands outstretched, 
telling his little audience that " the time would come 
when the Lord would not only terribly shake the 
earth, but the heavens also," and that Jesus would 
then appear in the clouds of the sky " with power 



150 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

and with great glory," to the consternation of the 
nations ; that then many of the people would " call 
upon the mountains and the rocks to fall on them 
and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon 
the throne." They could readily understand such 
language, for the mountains were towering high 
above their heads just outside the house. Did not 
the rocks sometimes crash down into the valley ? 
Great ones too ! 

They were listening, all was quiet. Dick was 
waiting for his words to sink deep into their 
consciousness, when suddenly there was a roar, and 
a hiss, and a rattling ; houses were tumbling down, 
the whole earth was shaking, heaving up on one side, 
and then up on the other. The building in which they 
were met was being shaken to its very foundations. 
What could it be ? Mingled with the falling of 
houses and the rattling of stones from the mountain 
sides, came the shrieks of women, the cries of 
children, and the groans from the men as they 
rushed about in the darkness seeking somewhere for 
shelter. The only house left standing in the village 
was the one in which the meeting was held. It was an 
earthquake, a very uncommon thing in that country. 
This had been one of extreme severity, it seemed to 
have originated far out at sea, and had cut an island 
in two, sinking half of it until you could just see the 
tree tops above the water. The direction of the earth- 
quake was landward. But in the Indian village, 
twenty miles up in the country, where Dick was 
preaching, the inhabitants soon found this one house 
standing and they all went to meeting. They did 



Results of an Earthquake. 151 

it in a hurry and found a ready welcome. The 
whole village turned to God that night. 

Was it strange that this should have occurred 
just at this time ? Perhaps. However strange it may 
be, it has made a Christian village out of a heathen 
one, for they have proved true to God ever since. 

One day Dick was working in the mines, with six 
Indians. They were using "giant powder" (or 
dynamite), for blasting the stone away. One of the 
young men came up with a quantity, and laid it 
down on the rock until ready to use, when another 
carelessly let an iron bar fall upon it. A fearful 
roar, a cloud of dust and flying rocks told the tale. 
The men were bodily hurled a distance of twenty or 
thirty feet, but none of them were seriously hurt. 
Dick was standing almost over it, and a white man 
who saw it, declared Dick was pitched thirty feet 
straight in the air, and came down where he started 
from. He was not hurt in the least. It was 
marvellous. He said " The Lord was between him 
and danger, and had taken the bruise on Himself, 
rather than that it should hurt him." 

Dick's theology was very simple, but it swayed his 
whole life. He often said that it was no use for any 
man with a stolen bearskin in his house ever to 
come to God and ask forgiveness, he must restore 
it fourfold, for God would not forgive him so long 
as he kept that which was not his own. 

A native once took advantage of his story, for 
when a neighbour who had stolen a bearskin offered 
to return it, the owner demanded four instead of 
one, citing Dick's exposition in meeting. The poor 



152 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

fellow was compelled to get the four, and the 
episode had a very good effect on all ; at that price, 
stealing was too expensive a luxury. 

At another time Dick was speaking to the people 
of the marvellous faith the Apostle Paul possessed. 
He told them of his wonderful deliverance, and of 
the " thorn in the flesh " that beset him at all times. 
What has puzzled theologians of all ages, seemed to 
be clear enough to Dick. He said it was a crooked 
back. That his back was broken at the time he was 
stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead, but 
that the Lord raised him up again, and his crooked 
back was often the cause for people to make fun of 
him. Wherever he got the idea we are unable to tell. 

One day we invited Dick to bring his wife and 
children, and come to have a meal with us. He 
very gladly accepted the invitation, and next morn- 
ing at 6 a.m., as we were eating breakfast, much to 
our surprise, we saw Dick with his wife and four 
children coming along. We had not prepared for 
company so early, but we shared what we had, and 
made the best of it, and they were happy. 

At Christmas time there was always a great deal 
of festivity. The Indians loved to celebrate the 
birth of Christ. Many and many a Christmas 
dinner were we invited to. On Christmas day, we 
had to eat seven Christmas dinners. After eating a 
little at one house, we had to rise from the table, 
and go on to the next house and sit at their table. 
We dared not refuse to go, because if we failed to 
come after having been invited, it made them 
ashamed. We soon learned to begin softly on 



A Christmas Surprise. 153 

Christmas day, and end in a better condition at 
night. 

The following incident happened about Christmas- 
time. One day Dick came up to our house, and 
said to me, " Charlie, if you do not care, I will not 
make you any Christmas present this year." It 
astonished me, I had not been thinking of him as 
making me a Christmas present. 

" Well," I said, " all right, Dick, I do not care, 
you do not need to make me a present." I did not 
:ask him what he was going to do, for that would 
have been too inquisitive. So I simply said I hoped 
he would have a good Christmas. 

He said nothing more, but smiled and went off. 

Truth to tell, I really wanted to know what he 
was about to do, and I determined I would find out 
somehow, but how, I could not conceive. 

Christmas time came on. I had failed thus far to 
find out anything more, although I had cautiously 
asked many neighbours, and I dare not question 
him. I thought I would bide my time and see. 

Christmas Eve came. Always on that evening 
the younger people among the Indians go out 
serenading. Just at midnight, you will hear their 
sweet songs ringing out upon the air, and some of 
the best singing we ever listened to was in those 
times of serenade. The Indians are naturally gifted 
singers, and the inspiration of the hour seems to 
lend enchantment to their voices. Christmas is the 
greatest time in the year for Alaskans. Everyone 
.goes in for enjoyment. The mines all closed down, 
the men can have their holiday. The one plague 



154 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

spot in the community is the drinking saloons, 
which like great ulcers eat into the life of the 
people. 

I had all the evening before me, so I thought I 
would saunter down the village, and see what Dick 
was doing. I put on my coat, muffled my head as 
much as possible, and set out. I came to the beach, 
and was walking along at some distance from the 
buildings, the tide being out, until I should come to 
Dick's house. 

The path was filled with staggering Indians, 
laughing girls, bright-eyed babies, mingled here and 
there with miners, all with jolly, radiant hearts. 

There was Dick's cabin just in view, yes, I saw it 
now plainly, that was his. There was a light 
shining out of the window. I went on till I stood 
directly in front of the window, and there on the 
sash in the middle of the window, stood six lighted 
candles in a row. It was a warm, welcome light 
that shone out of that window. Pasted on the glass 
were some letters ; they were so arranged that they 
spelt the word " Jesus." Now Dick could not read, 
but he knew the word "Jesus," and he had taken 
some newspapers, and searched out the proper letters 
and arranged them on the glass. True enough, they 
were not all the same size, but they were properly 
arranged, while the candles behind made them stand 
out in bold relief for every one that passed. 

I went up and tried to peep in the window, but it 
was too high from the ground. I tiptoed as high as I 
could, but I could not see. I heard a noise in the 
cabin, someone was talking. I listened but I could 



Dick Smith's Christmas. 155 

not understand what was being said. I went round 
to the door, but it was closed. Then someone 
walked, as though intending to come out, and I 
had to go away, so I just stepped behind the cabin. 
It was Dick who came out, and some one was with 
him, but they soon parted. I wondered what he was 
doing. He walked down the beach, and mingled 
with the people. A little while later I saw him take 
hold of a man who was staggering along from 
drinking too much, and lead him into the cabin. 
This time it occurred to me I might hear. I tried at 
the door, but to no avail. So I climbed on the 
roof, the cabin not being very high, and there I 
could hear what was being said. I lay down flat on 
the roof with my ear against the board covers. I 
heard the clink of knives and forks, spoons and 
dishes, and then Dick talking, and the man mum- 
bled something, but Dick never listened, but went 
on talking. He was telling the story of the birth of 
Christ, saying " Christ was born on this night," 
and then on through His life to His death for 
sinners, urged him to try and remember. The man 
kept mumbling something, but all the time the 
plates were rattling. They were in there a long 
time, Dick talking all the while. In course of time 
they came out, the man walked straighter, and in 
the light of the window, I could see him wiping his 
mouth. Dick went on down the beach again, and 
a little while after I saw him return. He had two 
cripples, one on each side of him, and three or four 
others were following him, and one or two were 
going in ahead of them. 



156 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

" Now is my chance, I shall hear this time," I said, 
" because these are not drunk," so lay very quiet 
for fear of detection. Again the same rattling of 
dishes, only louder this time. Dick's voice a little 
higher. I could hear it better. The same old 
story, if anything a little more enthusiastic. It 
seemed like the music of bells upon that wintry air. 
I thought I'd slide down, and see if I could not 
peep in at the door. I imagined it had not been 
tightly shut. The lumber that covered this cabin 
had warped and pulled the nails that held it on, 
leaving them protruding some half an inch. I had 
been lying on some of these, and one fastened hold 
of my coat. When I arose it left a three-cornered 
hole to tell where I had been. But sliding down, 
sure enough the door was open about two inches. 
Everything inside was plainly visible. There stood 
a table, well-filled with all the good things that 
could be purchased. There were ten hungry men 
eating with both hands as fast as they could, and 
beyond, at the head of the table, stood Dick, his 
face all aglow, warmed to the theme he was telling. 
Now and then the listeners would stop to hear, and 
seemed to be satisfied, but they went on eating 
again until they had had enough, but the story was 
not done. Now they, in turn, sat back and listened 
attentively. 

After a while they rose to go. I felt I had no 
business there any more, and I left as quickly as I 
could. Dick's secret was now mine. I never dared 
mention it to him, for that would have told on 
myself, and to this day he has never told me about 



Burying the Hatchet. 157 

it. Whatever he did on Christmas, as far as he is 
concerned, is a secret. I suppose, had I not been so 
inquisitive, he would have afterward told me, but we 
have positive evidence that from the result of that 
Christmas Eve we have fourteen earnest members in 
the Church. Who can say his example is not a 
good one ? 

Here is an incident in Dick's life which reveals 
the depth of of his devotion. Before he was con- 
verted, he was quite a leader in war, and his tribe, 
the Sitkas, were often at war with others, and by 
stratagem at one time succeeded in inducing their 
enemies to come in to their village to accept the 
hospitality of a feast. In the midst of the feast, the 
enemies were all murdered. The tribe had never 
been strong enough, after that, to retaliate, but 
enmity lurked in the hearts of the few. 

One day as Dick was walking down in front of 
his village, the chief of the tribe of these old 
enemies was coming up toward him. They had not 
met for many years. They both professed to be 
Christians now. As they approached each other, 
Dick held out his hand in recognition, desiring him 
to shake hands. The old chief put his hands 
behind his back and stood up perfectly straight, 
which was an insult sufficient to have caused war at 
any other time. Dick only stepped a little closer, 
and offered his hand again, hoping to persuade the 
man to relinquish his spite. The chief only leaned 
back a little further and positively refused. Dick 
urged him, saying, " We're Christians. We have 
put away all of our enmity, let us be friends. 



158 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

Jesus said, we should love one another," and in 
so saying he stepped another step nearer, and a 
third time proffered his hand. This time the old 
chief straightened himself a little more, raised his 
shoulders, threw his head back, then with one quick, 
dexterous move, literally spat a whole mouthful of 
tobacco juice in Dick's face. 

This was adding insult to insult, but Dick 
calmly drew out his red handkerchief from his 
pocket, and slowly and deliberately wiped his face. 
The chief looked for trouble, but it did not come. 
Dick said to him, " At one time you would not dare 
to do this, but now you may do what you will ; I 
am a Christian, and do not hate you. Come, sit 
down here on this log, and let us talk the matter 
over." 

This was so unexpected to the chief, that he 
reluctantly obeyed. What they said cannot be told. 
In a little while they slid off that log together on 
their knees in the open air. After that they arose 
and warmly shook hands, and ever since have been 
fast friends. 

The old chief no longer uses tobacco, declaring 
it to be unchristian. 

Many are the times of blessed service we have had 
with this servant of God : so faithful, so earnest, 
and so devotedly true to the spirit at whatever cost. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE STORY OF ANNA. ADVENTURE WITH A 
CINNAMON BEAR. 



ONE day while making our round of visits on the 
beach, we called at a cabin that was very 
dilapidated in appearance, with a great wood pile just 
outside the door. It was a cold day, the snow 
lay about two feet thick on the ground. There 
was a little girl about nine years of age cutting wood 
with an axe. She was barefooted, had nothing on 
but a thin calico dress, no underskirts, nothing on her 
head ; her feet and hands were blue with cold, her 
hair was flying in every direction as the wind blew it. 
in fact, there was no telling when it was combed 
last, but it was in the common condition among 
these people. But the child was not a common 
child. At first she might be taken to be a white 
child, very fair skin, blue eyes and light hair, 
uncommon for an Indian. Upon our speaking 
English to her, she only smiled. Being spoken to 
in Indian she ran away immediately, and her mother 
soon appeared upon the scene ; a great fat Indian 
woman, weighing perhaps three hundred pounds. 
The child was slim and pale looking. After some 
talk with the mother we went home and thought 
about the matter. 



159 



160 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

It was a pity about that child. Evidently her 
father was a white man, though her mother was an 
Indian, but such occurrences are not rare. We 
made up our minds to get this child, if possible, 
and see what could be made of her. After a great 
deal of parley, we succeeded in getting her guardians 
to let us have her to train in our Home. We could 
have bought her for a small sum as our own, but this 
we would not do. Still we knew it was only a question 
of time until she would be sold, and this made us the 
more anxious to preclude any such arrangement. 
She was to remain with us till she was of legal age, 
eighteen. We found her a light-hearted, good- 
natured child at times, but wonderfully deceptive, a 
persistent thief, and fearfully sullen at other times. 

To teach that child and bring her to see better 
was a terrible task. She had the worst elements of 
both her parents, making her untrue and unfaithful. 
But she had one good quality, she was not lazy. 
She was always willing to do something ; it was for 
us to sit at the helm and steer the course of her life. 

There were no locks or keys in our house. This at 
first was a wonder to her. She was often found 
looking over things where she had no business, 
though never but once did she ever attempt to steal. 
When about twelve years of age, she was able to 
speak English fairly well, and was a good interpreter. 
She was now ready for sale, and her mother wanted 
her. We refused to give her up on the ground of 
our contract. She had also become a proficient 
Sunday School worker, and had a class of white 
children in the Sunday School, which was con- 



Bargain for a Wife. 161 

stantly increasing. She herself looked more like a 
white girl than an Indian. Her mother constantly 
saw her, but contented herself with the thought of 
her increasing value, and began to remind the child 
that she was only an Indian, with the intent to 
keep control that she might command obedience 
when suitable. 

One day there came a reprobate, luckless Indian, 
who could talk English, and seeing Anna, for so we 
had named her, he desired to take her as his wife. 
He had ruined a number of families, several wives 
had left their husbands on his account, and now his 
avaricious nature sought this innocent girl. Indian 
fashion he said nothing to her about it, but spoke to 
her parents. They bargained with him for 250 
dollars as the sale price. The Indian had thirty-five 
dollars cash in hand, and he paid it over. The other 
was to be paid as soon as possible. The mother 
immediately took him in, called him her son, then 
came for Anna. She wanted the girl only to visit 
her in her home. We let her go down to visit her 
people sometimes, and they used these opportunities 
for this young man to press his case. 

Whenever Anna went to them, the whole 
family of relatives, aunts and uncles and cousins 
congregated, and praised the life of this young man 
to her, and the young man professed his love, which 
was too much for the girPs heart. It was the first 
love she had ever had, and one day she consented to 
be his wife. She was but fourteen years of age. 
But the question was how to get her. The parents 
tried to persuade us to let her go, but we had 

12 



1 62 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

learned to know them, and held them to our con- 
tract. Finally they tried to persuade her to run 
away. This she would not do, for we had been 
very kind to her, and she did not like to hurt our 
feelings. But we told her if she desired to go, she 
might. If not, we would keep her. Then she 
decided to stay with us. Her parents laid several 
plots to get her away, but every one failed. They 
finally made an effort to steal one of our children, 
but they failed in that too. After a while they became 
more bold, for 250 dollars was not to be let go. 
They began to come every day threatening all sorts 
of things if Anna did not go with them. They 
reasoned, they argued, they did everything. 

Finally one day, as we were working at the new 
meeting-house, a young Indian was sitting by talk- 
ing to me, he was Anna's uncle, her mother's 
brother. He was very interesting in his conver- 
sation that day, had been talking for a couple of 
hours, when I heard the bell ringing at home. I 
knew immediately what it meant. He had attracted 
my attention and kept me busy, while the parents 
had gone to the Home to secure the girl. It was 
only a block away, but it was across a deep ravine. 
I plunged through the ravine to the house, came 
breathless in at the front door, to see Anna's father 
with one hand on her neck, and the other hand 
holding both of hers, trying to drag her out of the 
house, while her mother was keeping between them 
and my wife. 

I was amazed at the audacity, and commanded 
him in tones he understood to take his hands off the 



Attempt to Kidnap. 163 

child. He refused to do it, but Anna being 
thoroughly frightened, and finding his hold had 
relaxed, wrenched herself loose, and disappeared. 
He scolded and fumed a great deal. He could not 
swear, because Indians have no swear words. He 
did everything else sufficiently, and took his 
departure, vowing vengeance. This was about 
noon. My wife was making bread. 

In a couple of hours, a friendly Indian came 
around by way of the woods from the mountain 
side, and notified us that these people with their 
friends were coming back to take our lives if need 
be, to get that girl. Could we have a little time. 
She was kneading the dough. No, there was no 
time to be lost. This friendly Indian departed as he 
had come. Needless to say that we did not tarry long, 
but my wife, without even washing her hands, threw 
her things on her shoulders, gathered the children, 
and took Anna down into the town. The white 
people there secreted her and the children, while 
I myself went to the beach among the Indians. 
The mob gathered, and made its way to our house, 
but the birds had flown. They all returned to the 
beach except Anna's father, who remained hidden 
under the walk, where it was raised high enough for 
a man to creep under it. I was going back home 
to investigate, when a white man told me of the 
situation, and he, with two or three other white men, 
went up and dragged Charlie out from under the 
walk. 

They sent him about his business, much to his 
own disgust. It was midnight before we all got 



164 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

home. The dough had run all over the pan, on to 
the table, and down on to the floor. But they were 
foiled, and Anna was afraid for her life, and con- 
stantly told us she believed they would kill her if 
they ever got her. So we needed to protect her if 
possible. 

A few days after this, their desperation reached 
its extreme point. They had worked up their 
courage until they were ready for murder. They 
would have that girl at any cost. They had tried 
lawyers and judges, and every conceivable plan, but 
had failed. 

It was getting towards evening. There seemed a 

something stealing over me as though it came from 

the nether atmosphere. I felt something dreadful 

was going to happen. I guessed what it would be. 

They were going to make their last effort. Anna 

was upstairs, in charge of the Assistant Matron. 

My wife and children were put into our own room, 

while I remained alone in the front room, having 

locked all the back doors (something not usually 

done). I left the front door unlocked. If they 

came, they should not get behind me, if they 

killed me, they should do it face to face. I was quite 

ready to die, if need be, for right. Still, I did not 

know they would come, only I felt that they would. 

I took my Bible and read. 

I was sitting in the rocking chair near the middle 
of the room, facing the door. The clock on the 
mantelpiece ticked on to nine and then to ten. It 
was pointing to half past ten, and it was very dark 
outside. I heard someone walking on the side walk, 



Threats to Kill Missionary. 165 

just outside the house. In a short time I heard a 
rumbling noise at the back doors, also muttering 
voices. The next door was tried, it was locked, and 
each door aud window in turn was tried at the back 
of the house, with no avail. Finally through the 
glass in the door the figure of Charlie was seen. He 
took hold of the knob of the door and gave the door 
one fearful push, throwing the whole weight of his 
body against it. It was not locked as he expected, 
and it flew open easily. It almost threw him off his 
feet. He had a belt strapped about him, a large 
hunting knife stuck in the side. He gathered 
himself together like an animal, and stood before 
me. I sat still in the chair. I said to him, " Good 
evening, Charlie," as kindly as I could. He just 
grunted. It seemed to make way for him, and he 
stepped forward and stood directly over me. Still 
I sat and looked at him. He very threateningly 
drew his knife from its sheath, took it in his hand, 
and raised it directly over my head. 

He said, fiercely, " I have come for Anna." 

I said to him, " You know, Charlie, you cannot 
have her." 

He said, " Then I will kill you." 

I said, " All right, you are quite welcome to do 
that. I am not afraid to die. I have made my 
peace with God long ago, but before you kill me I 
want to talk to you a little." 

All the while he stood and held his knife over my 
head. I could see his wife standing outside and 
looking in through the door, which stood open. I 
could see that he was exceedingly agitated, in fact 



1 66 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

he was like an infuriated bear, and evidently meant 
to do what he said. I reasoned with him, told him 
that if he should do such a thing as this, the law 
would hang him. He only trembled and stamped 
his foot, saying he did not care for his life anyway. 
I thought he would strike me then, but he waited. 
Again I assured him that I was quite ready to die, 
and that he might kill me when I had finished, only 
I desired him to listen till that was done. I told 
him that if the white people found it out, they would 
tear him to pieces, limb from limb, they would not 
even kill him decently, but this only angered him the 
more, he did not care for his life, he only wanted 
Anna, and seeing that I would not give her up, he 
wanted my life. But this failing I began to reason 
with him on a different course. I told him that I 
quite well understood that if God wanted me to 
come home to glory now, I was perfectly satisfied, 
but that God would require it at his hands, for He 
was looking down and saw all of this to-night. God 
saw how his heart was not right, and as for how 
I should die, it was but a small matter to me. If I 
was to die by his hands I was quite ready to go that 
way. I further told him that perhaps it may be that 
God would not let him be killed if he should do this 
deed, but rather, that God might protect him 
and save his life, and that he might live on and on 
until he would be old and blind, until he would be 
forsaken by everyone, until he would cry out a 
thousand times for death, but could not die. This 
seemed to touch him. He knew what terrible suffer- 
ings old people had to undergo. Beside that, I told 



The Knife is Sheathed. 167 

him that the Lord, seeing his condition, would let 
this vision of his deed be before him all his life, that 
it would haunt him like a ghost, and he never could 
get away from it. He would be in misery, who 
could tell how long ? It would be hard to tell what 
the Lord would do, but this was one of the things 
He could do and might. 

It seemed to unnerve him. I think I never felt 
more calm and confident in all my life, I was no 
more afraid than if I was sitting in my own parlour 
alone with God, for the man before me was nothing. 
I pitied him, and having finished what I had to say, I 
looked him plainly in the face and said to him calmly, 
" Now Charlie, I have finished, and I am ready." 

Instead of his striking me as I fully expected he 
would, his arm gradually dropped to his side, he put 
his knife back in its sheath, and staggered backward to 
a chair, and fell in it as pale as death. His lips were 
trembling, he was undone, the Lord had vanquished 
him. 

The victory however, was only short-lived. His 
wife seeing him fail came bolting in at the door, 
her great proportions filling it entirely. She had in 
her hand a stick about six feet long and about two 
inches in diameter. Evidently she intended to help 
to finish the work in case of a fight, but when once 
in the room, she seemed dazed, and hesitated and 
stammered, looking around as though she thought 
someone was hidden somewhere. I still sat in my 
chair. She began a regular harangue, telling me all 
sorts of things I was, and things I was not ; all the 
time giving emphasis to her words by regular taps 



i68 Among the Indians oj Alaska. 

with her stick on my knee. It did not hurt me much 
at the time, though I walked lame for two or three 
days from it. 

Having finished her argument, she and her 
husband went out of the door, and left me 
alone, vowing vengeance at some future date. I 
followed them on to the porch outside, and I laid 
my hands upon their shoulders and spoke to them of 
Christ and His love for their souls. They finally 
shook hands with me and went away. 

It was now past midnight and we all retired. I 
was very weary, but slept soundly till morning. 
About ten o'clock the next morning on looking out 
of the window I saw them coming again. They had 
the same stick, but one end of it was on his shoulder, 
and the other on hers, and hanging from the centre 
was a large salmon. I knew what it was meant for ; 
it was a peace offering. They laid it down outside, 
came in at the same door they had entered the night 
before, and upon the same spot where they threatened 
my life they knelt together, asked forgiveness of me 
and of God, and prayed and wept until the carpet was 
wet with their tears. After being assured that they 
were forgiven, they seemed very happy, and from 
that day to this have been faithful and true. It 
costs something for souls, but they are worth it 
when obtained. 

Their daughter was for ever given into our hands, 
we were to do with her as we liked. One thing was 
required, that we should always teach her to remem- 
ber her parents and not deny them. This we had 
been careful to do. 



Room for the Indians. 169 

Anna is now in Kansas in college, doing admir- 
ably well. 

There is a very great need for a tract of country to 
be given to the native for his exclusive use, which 
he can feel is his home and where he can be 
free to enact his own laws, so far as they will agree 
with the constitution of the United States, where he 
can develop himself into a worthy citizen. There 
are ample resources by which he can make his own 
way. The country is full of mines which, had he a 
chance, he might develop, but better still, in every 
stream there are innumerable salmon. Canneries 
are b eing put up at many places, producing a very large 
percentage of profit. The Indian is in his natural 
element at such business. He would be ready and 
able to carry it to a successful issue if he had the 
means to begin. If a suitable place could be secured 
from the Government in which they could be colon- 
ised and industries fostered, they would soon become 
self-supporting. Otherwise it will be the same old 
cry. They will soon need to be supported by the 
Government because the onward push of the greedy 
hand of civilisation can be seen gradually, but 
surely, occupying every foot of valuable space. 

When in Alaska, we often have to take our guns 
and obtain meat for the household. Upon one 
occasion I was going across the channel over into 
the mountains of the mainland to hunt for ptarmigan, 
of which there were usually an abundance. A miner 
with whom we were well acquainted desired to go 
with me. He had leave of absence from work for 
one day, so each taking a shot gun we set out 



170 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

together. Our cartridges were all loaded with very 
fine shot, for these ptarmigan are very tame. 
Oftentimes one can get near enough to hit them with 
a walking stick. For this reasonithe shot must be 
very fine or they will be torn to pieces. 

We crossed the water in a small boat, walked 
'about four miles up the valley to some mines. 
There were a number of minersfat a boarding house 
erected there. We thought perhaps some of them 
would go with us, but none cared to go. They said 
they had seen a large cinnamon bear with two cubs 
that morning in the valley, and advised us not to go. 
We knew cinnamon bears, and when they have cubs, 
they do not give you the road, they rather claim 
the whole country for themselves. But we made 
light of the fears of the boys, shouldered our guns, 
and went on up the valley. 

We had to climb the mountain side to the top to 
get the birds. The forest was very thick ; fallen 
trees, steep precipices, and the like impeded our 
progress, so that we were glad when we found a bear 
trail leading upwards. We began to ascend ; climb- 
ing was easy. We saw fresh bear signs all along 
the trail. There had been a bear there not long 
before. It was not an uncommon thing to see signs 
of bear at any place, and we thought bruin might be 
miles away by that time. 

We climbed on through the bushes, and emerged 
above timber line. We had the open mountain for 
it now. 

Finding no birds here, I wanted to go further 
along the top of the mountain to the head of a 



The Bear Appears. 171 

glacier. My friend, however, was tired, and thought 
he would lie down in the sun and rest awhile. He 
did so, and I went on to the top of the mountain 
and returned. No man could be seen. I shouted 
and shouted and no answer returned. I thought 
perhaps he might have gone home, so I turned to the 
other side of the mountain, where I shot one or two- 
ground hogs which were sitting out in the sun. I 
then went in search of my friend again. I shouted, 
with no result. Finally I became anxious. It was 
time to go home. I stood on the very rock where 
he said he would wait for me and looked all round, 
^nd then I thought I would fire my gun. This I did, 
both barrels in quick succession. As I fired my gun 
something moved just at the base of the rock. I 
looked down some twenty feet and there he sat, the 
firing wakened him. Together we started home 
at a brisk pace. We looked down over the side of 
the mountain, and seeing a gulch that was filled with 
snow we determined to go that way. It was very 
narrow at the top, but it seemed to widen as we 
went down. The snow being solid enough for us to 
walk on we concluded it would be easier to walk 
down that way, and we were some little distance 
below the upper end of it, walking along and talking. 
The snow had widened until it now was lying about 
forty feet wide, and it stretched in a long narrow 
strip far down the mountain side. It looked as 
though it reached to the bottom. 

We were congratulating ourselves upon what 
a nice way we had found, when suddenly there was 
a snort just behind us, intermingled with a growl, 



172 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

and we turned to see, not two rods behind us, a 
monstrous brown bear with two cubs. She did not 
stop to parley, but plunged into the snow after us ; 
but her ponderous body was too heavy for the snow 
to bear her up. She literally went in all over, 
wallowed and growled and finally succeeded in 
clambering back to the place she came in. We did 
not stop to see how long it took her. Our hair 
seemed to be raising the hats off our heads. I know 
I put my hand on the top of my hat to be sure it 
was on. Together we went pell mell down the 
snow, but the bear was not so easily to be got rid 
of. Getting to the edge she dashed through the 
bushes down along it towards us. We uncon- 
sciously angled to the far side ; there were no trees 
large enough to climb, and the only thing to do 
was to run, and this we were doing our best. But 
the most unfortunate^ part of the whole situation 
was the presence of the two cubs. These were the 
most cantankerous creatures I ever saw. They 
would run out on the snow and run after us and 
scream, and then run back to their mother in the 
bushes, and every time they screamed it only 
angered her more, and then she would dash 
down through the bushes again, leaving them 
behind, and, in order to keep up, they would run 
out on the snow again, and naturally would catch 
sight of us. This only brought forth another 
scream from each one of them and back into the 
bushes they would go. Repeatedly doing this 
angered the mother so that she was perfectly fright- 
ful. She began to roar at us. 



The Bear keeps the Hunters in Sight. 173 

The snow fortunately was getting wider and the 
distance she would need to come was farther. 
We were going at full speed. There was a steep 
cliff on her side. She must either come into the 
snow to go round it or make a circuit through the 
woods. She took the circuit. This gave us a little 
time, but the cubs came out on the snow, and they 
seemed to just settle down and howl, and the 
mother began to answer back. Cold chills were 
going up and down my back as we sped on. To 
our dismay the snow seemed to " pinch out " ; it 
gradually narrowing down until it was no more 
than ten feet wide. 

What were we to do ? The bear was making the 
circuit of the cliff. We knew she would be back, 
for there sat those miserable little whelps, yelling ail 
the while. We could tell about where she was from 
her answering. We ran to where it was the 
narrowest. We were horror struck, a precipice 
two hundred feet straight down and a perfect water 
fall descending out from under the snow on which 
we stood. There was no way possible to get over 
it. What should we do ? The bear was coming 
nearer, one plunge and she would cross it. There 
was no escape unless it was over that precipice. 
We had no guns we could defend ourselves with. 
Our fine shot would be useless. We tried one 
other plan. Our decision was made quicker than it 
takes to tell it. I gave my gun into the hands of 
my friend, and gathering hold of some shrubs 
growing on the edge of the ledge at the opposite 
side of the snow, lowered myself down. I knew, 



174 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

if I fell, I would go into the snow two hundred 
feet beneath, but that was better than to fall into the 
paw of a bear. I was pleased to find that I could 
just reach a shelf or rock beneath the ledge. My 
feet once firmly set, I called to my friend : he 
pitched the guns to me and followed. 

From this place we found a zigzag way down the 
rest of the cliff and reached in safety the snow 
beneath. The cubs had ceased to cry. We heard 
no more of the mother. We thought we would 
look up and see what had happened ; and as we 
turned we saw the mother standing just where we 
came over, gazing composedly down at us with one 
cub on each side of her. We were tempted to sting 
her nose a little with the shot we had, but as there 
was five miles between us and salt water, we 
preferred to leave her in peace. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

REAPING TIME. 



THE first two or three years in Alaska seemed 
times rather of sowing than of reaping. It 
was slow uphill work. Discouragements loomed up 
before us at almost every turn, and but for our hope 
and faith in God we should have become utterly 
discouraged. 

As time went on, the seed-sowing having been 
faithfully done, there came the time when the 
reaping began. The Lord sent His angels and 
began to gather in the harvest, and during the first 
two years three of our Indian children passed over 
the river. This was disastrous for us, and the 
people became veryi much afraid to leave their 
children at the Mission for fear they would die. 

After the training home had been abandoned, the 
work began to spring up as if by magic. There was 
accumulated force, gathered during those few years 
of utter darkness. Our little school-house became 
utterly too small for the growing congregations, and 
the Spirit of the Lord seemed to have spoken and 
told us He expected us to have a larger place of 
meeting ; but how to get it, that was the question. 

175 



176 Among ihe Indians of Alaska. 

It takes money to build houses, and money we 
had not. It took all the efforts of our Committee 
to keep the Mission in necessary funds for other 
expenses. When we proposed to build a house, 
they could not see their way clear to do it. Finally 
after some six months of trust in God, it seemed 
laid upon all of us at once, without consul- 
tation together, that it was right to proceed to 
build. Even the plan was revealed definitely, the 
size and all. Every minute detail of the building 
was laid before us, when the plans were drawn out, 
and the estimates were made as to its cost, sub- 
scriptions began to come in from those who knew, 
the Indians in their poverty subscribed as much as 
six hundred dollars. The white people likewise 
gave what assistance they could until we had means 
enough to buy sufficient lumber to begin to build. 
We determined not to purchase anything unless 
we had the money to pay for it, and on these 
conditions we had the frame work all up, when 
official notice was received to go no further until 
further orders. 

In about a month from this time there came one 
of those winds peculiar to that country. It got 
inside those four walls, and one morning we saw 
them torn to the ground, the lumber lay scattered 
and broken. Two white men and some Indians 
came shortly after and found us all but discour- 
aged. It was not so much because of the house, 
but were we, after all, mistaken in our leading ? 
Was it possible God had not told us to do this? 
And these dear Friends who came to see us 



The School House. 177 

about it, especially the white men, were not even 
Christians. But one of them said, " Never mind, 
the house will go up, we'd like to go over and 
gather the lumber together, and pile it up for you." 
They gathered it all up nicely, where it remained 
for two long years. 

During this long time of waiting the work went on 
and we obtained additional funds from various 
sources, carefully putting them aside for further work. 
Sympathising people often came and freely gave 
their gifts. Even some of the saloon keepers said 
to us, " If you will come down to my place of 
business one hundred dollars are waiting for you." 

It is needless to say I never went. One saloon 
keeper in particular offered us fifty dollars which 
we firmly, but politely as we could, refused. He 
inquired why we should refuse. He was plainly 
told that we could not put anything in that building 
that would bind our mouths when preaching in it 
against the pernicious habit of selling drink. He 
seemed to understand and in three months closed 
his business and has not kept a saloon since. 
Finally the needed help and instructions came, and 
three years after we began we moved into a beautiful 
well-built house free from debt. 

We also found our work not only growing at 
home but away from home. As I have already 
mentioned, as soon as an Indian was converted, his 
first desire, like that of Andrew, was to find his 
brother and bring him to Christ. 

Among many others was one, Sam Williams, who 
was untiring in his efforts. We found him first in 



13 



178 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

a little dark cabin, with a small stove and one bed in 
it. Sam was sick ; pneumonia had almost done its 
worst. But as he was yet conscious we pleaded 
with him to give his heart to God before he died ; 
then we felt that he might be better and we told 
him this would not do, God had better things in 
store for him. He laid his hand upon mine, and he 
said, " If God will help me, I will never forsake 
Him." We secured him some medicine, and in a 
short time he was well. He then publicly gave him- 
self to God, and from that day to this he has preached 
the Word faithfully from village to village. 

As the Indians have no regular meeting in their 
fishing camps it often happens that some earnest 
soul will call one and speak to the people who care 
to come together. A woman entirely unable to 
speak English was holding meetings for her people 
in a fishing camp, but the white men of the village 
wanted to come to meeting as well. She therefore 
found a ready interpreter among her people who 
could speak English, and then preached to the 
whites. The result was a white man yielded his 
heart to God, and has become an earnest, zealous 
worker. 

As we became better known throughout Alaska we 
received appeals for help from many other places. 
Shortly after the Mission was opened, the Super- 
intendent having had a call from some Indians no 
miles away, desired to visit them. He found no 
ready means by which he could go. Upon applying 
to the Government, they appointed him as teacher 
and provided him with an interpreter to go among 



A Superintendent Shot. 179 

this people. He had been among them but a few 
months when a sloop came into their little 
harbour with two white men in it, whom the Indians 
alleged were selling whiskey. The teacher in charge 
persuaded them to let the whiskey alone and it 
would let them alone ; but they said no, that while 
they might let it alone themselves, yet there were 
some of their people who would not let it alone. 
They said he was sent there by the Government and 
they looked to him to keep all things straight and 
right, and now if he could not make these white men 
leave, they would have nothing to do with him. 
He could see the sentiment was against him in the 
village unless he did something. He knew that if 
they got whiskey enough and became drunken, that 
his life was of no value whatever. Finally, to clear 
himself of any responsibility, it is supposed that he 
proposed that if some would go with him, they 
should go out to the sloop and take it captive, and 
turn it over to the Government. Eleven men 
volunteered, and they went out in a canoe. They 
boarded the vessel, and took charge of it. After 
binding the owner's hands and feet nine of the 
Indians were sent ashore, two being kept on board 
to navigate the vessel. They were just lifting the 
anchor when one of the white men got a hand loose, 
found a pistol in his boot, and fired a shot through 
the missionary. The details are not very clear, but 
it seems that the two Indians immediately jumped 
overboard. One of them was shot as he was 
swimming away from the sloop and sank. The 
other one, in fear, swam back to the boat and was 



180 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

climbing up on the side when he in turn was shot 
and kicked off into the water. This time they 
thought it best to shoot the missionary again, as the 
first shot had not been sufficient. Still this did not 
prove fatal until they arrived in Sitka some three 
weeks after. He was unconscious but still alive, 
and died in a few days. 

These men gave themselves up to the Court, 
Indians' evidence not being taken, as a rule, in Court, 
they declared they had killed the man in self- 
defence, the case was dismissed, and they were 
free. 

Such was the condition of affairs at the time when 
Silas and Anna Moon, then at work at Douglas, laid 
the matter before the Oregon Yearly Meeting of 
Friends and were appointed to continue the Mission 
so rudely deprived of its worker, and up to the 
present time the Mission has continued with the 
same workers in charge. 

When on a visit to this Mission, we were once 
becalmed, and for eleven days lay helpless upon the 
sea. As I sat on the deck, I thought how the idle 
Christian, the one with no spirit or life in him, is 
like a full-rigged ship, but with no wind to fill the 
sails. 

A peculiar incident occurred on this trip which 
has a lesson in it for us. Having drifted some 
distance, night had come on, and it was quite dark. 
We could see only the forms of the mountains. 
But in time we were carried into a small bay. We 
cast the lead several times. Finally, the water was 
shallow enough to anchor. We hove the anchor 



Anna Hunnicutt's Work. 181 

overboard, let out cable enough as we thought, and 
lay by until morning, and having made all snug, we 
went to sleep. We had slept some hours, when we 
awoke and found our vessel drifting. We could not 
understand what it meant, and as the outlines of the 
mountains and shore came to view, we were not 
twenty feet from the rocks, for instead of having 
anchored, as we thought, we had cast our anchor on 
a beam of logs which lay in the bay. I have thought 
how often we Christians cast the anchor of Hope 
upon some drifting, portable object, and lie by in 
assurance, until the storms of life wreck us on the 
shores of Time. 

A very urgent appeal from the Esquimos of the 
the far north-west lay heavy upon our hearts. There 
was a young lady boarding with us, a member of 
California Yearly Meeting. She had been sent out 
by California Friends, and was teaching school 
while looking for a location in which they could 
begin a Mission of their own. This work among 
the Esquimos appealed to her, but the cold, the 
hardships, and the lack of help seemed almost insur- 
mountable, still her faith was great. As she was not 
able to leave her school at that time, we made a trip 
to California and explained the matter to the Yearly 
Meeting, and asked them to take up the work. On 
the way to California the vessel was wrecked upon a 
rock in a narrow passage between some of the 
islands. No one was hurt, and we reached port 
safely. 

After returning to Douglas, Anna Hunnicutt 
herself journeyed to her home in California. She 



1 82 Among the Indians of Alaska. 

continued to press the work, and by the middle of 
May the Yearly Meeting had procured 2,500 dollars. 

Accompanied by a young Friend minister and his 
wife, she then started for the Arctic regions. Many 
and wonderful have been the conversions ; a Meeting 
has been established, and great good is being done 
in that far away land. 

These were not all the calls. There were some 
that we could not answer. For three successive 
years a call has come from the Takou country, 
begging, pleading for teachers. Another has come 
from the Sumdum country. In fact, from almost 
every direction there are constant appeals for 
help, for teachers, with the promise that they 
themselves will do all they can to help to support the 
man sent to them. They want schools ; they want 
above all the Gospel. 



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