THE STORY OF SITKA

THE HISTORIC OUTPOST OF THE NORTHWEST COAST
THE CHIEF FACTORY OF THE RUSSIAN AMERICAN COMPANY

Contributed by Joy Fisher
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THE STORY OF SITKA

THE HISTORIC OUTPOST OF THE NORTHWEST COAST
THE CHIEF FACTORY OF THE RUSSIAN AMERICAN COMPANY

By C. L. ANDREWS

Seattle, Washington

PRESS OF
Lowman & Hanford Co.
SEATTLE.


TO MY MOTHER
THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED
THE AUTHOR
Copyright 1922
By C. L. ANDREWS
Seattle. Wash.


CHAPTER VII

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Sitka, under the Muscovite, existed because of the fur
trade, and every energy and interest centered on the
gathering of peltries from every available quarter.
Sailing ships moved in and out of the harbor, taken to
their moorings or out to sea by the harbor tug; some
from Michaelovsk with the beaver and martin from the
Yukon, others en route to California or to the
Sandwich Islands; the supply ships from Kronstadt
around Cape Horn or returning via Canton and the Cape
of Good Hope laden with furs; still others bound for
the Kuril Islands or Okhotsk. The steamer "Nikolai"
plied along the passages of the Alexander Archipelago,
exploring the inlets, surveying the bays and rivers,
gathering furs, always furs, for that was the reason
for their living on this distant shore.*

* Between 1821 and 1862 there were shipped by the
Russian American Company, from Alaska, 51,315 sea-
otter, 831,396 fur-seal. 319,514 beaver, 291,655 fox.
Fur-Seal Arbitration, Vol. 2, p. 127 (Washington,
Government Printing Office).

Near the entrance to the Kolosh village was the market
where the natives were permitted to trade. There they
brought their game and fish, their furs and baskets,
to trade for calico and heads, blankets and
ammunition.* This market was closed by a portcullised
door which permitted entrance through the stockaded
wall, and was enclosed by a railed yard. Armed guards
stood on duty, and at the least dispute in the market,
down came the door and they proceeded to punish the
delinquents.

* "For the largest deer, which weighs about four
poods, five sazhens of calico are paid: for a duck, a
quid of tobacco; for a goose, two quids; fish priced
according to size all according to price list
established by the commander of the post of New
Archangel." Russkie na Vostcchnom Okean (Russians on
the Eastern Ocean), by A. Markof, St. Petersburg,
1856.

The warehouses were stored with thousands on thousands
of the richest furs of the Northland; sea-otter, worth
today from $800 to $1,000 per skin, and not to be had
at any price, were numbered by thousands in the
earlier years; sealskins by shiploads, some killed off
the harbor, but mainly from the Seal Islands; of land
otter, the Hudson's Bay Company paid them two thousand
skins each year for the lease of the territory from
Portland Canal to Cape Spencer. The martin, the
American sable, with its fluffy pelage. Foxes, blue,
white, black, silver gray, red and cross, were there
by thousands, brought from the Arctic, from the
Aleutian Islands, from the Valley of the Yukon; mink,
ermine, musk-rat, beaver, land otter, pile on pile.
Tons of ivory from the walrus herds of Morzhovia and
bearskins and wolfskins from Cook Inlet and the Copper
River. The right to the fur trade belonged exclusively
to the Company by Royal ukaze, and any employe who was
found attempting to infringe on their rights was
arrested and sent to Russia for punishment.*

*  Hunters who disposed of their furs to an English
shipmaster were arrested and sent to Siberia. Russian
American Archives. Corr. Vol. I, p. 275. In January of
1820 Muravief was ordered to watch certain officers of
a ship who were suspected of trading for furs on their
own account. Id. Vol. 2, p. 38.

From the top of the Castle, over 100 feet above the
sea, a light burned as a beacon to mariners entering
the harbor, and this was the first light-house to
throw its beams over the waters of this northern
ocean. In the cupola which rose from the roof were
four little square cups into which seal oil was poured
and wicks burned in grooves rising from them, while
back of the flame was a reflector that threw the light
far out to sea among the islands.

The stock of goods in the magazines was large and
varied. It covered almost every article carried in the
general European trade as a necessity, and many of the
luxuries— sugar and sealing wax, tobacco, both
Virginia and Kirghis, silk and broadcloth, calico and
Flemish linen, ravens duck and frieze, arshins of
blankets and poods of yarn; vedras of rum, cognac and
gin; butter from the Yakut, from California and from
Kodiak; salt beef from Ross Colony, from England and
from Kodiak; beaver hats and cotton socks.

In the arsenal were kept about a thousand muskets,
three hundred pistols, two hundred rifles, as well as
sabres, cutlasses, etc., while four fire engines
provided against loss by conflagration. Some rare
weapons were also found there. A saber set with gems
valued at 560 rubles; a Persian carbine of a value of
450 rubles; two Persian yataghans, silver mounted; a
Damascus saber, and two Persian pistols, silver
mounted.

The soldiers' guns were for a great part of French or
English workmanship; rockets and false-fire for
signalling ships were made each year.

Tallow for candles was brought from California,
moulded at the port and distributed so many candles to
each employe according to their presumed needs each
month.

Liquors, generally rum, were served by the Company, a
drink twice a week, extra allowance being made on
difficult work and also for holidays. All kinds of
devices were resorted to by individuals in order to
get rum, and one author says that a pair of boots for
which the makers would demand ten rubles might be
secured in barter for a bottle of rum worth three
rubles.

The soldiers stationed at the fort when not on duty
were employed by the Company and given a special
compensation for their labor. Some of the soldiers and
hunters by their industry and thrift accumulated
considerable money which the Company held to their
account and either paid to them on their discharge or
sent home to Russia for them. Others spent their
earnings, were continually in debt to the Company, and
as their contract provided that they were not to be
discharged while in arrears of debt, some of them
served the remainder of their lives with no hope of
return to Russia.

Around the hill ran a parapet and sentries walked
their beat night and day. On the stockade which
enclosed the town from the beach at the edge of the
"Ranche" to the shore beyond the sawmill, making with
the shore line an irregular rectangle, also walked the
sentinels on their vigil, for the Thlingit at the
gates was at all times an enemy to be feared. Strict
military discipline was maintained at all times. At
the foot of the hill were clustered barracks,
storehouses, bakeries, warehouses, etc., for the use
of the garrison and workmen. The old structure which
was used as a bakery, and for shops, was later known
as the Sitka Trading Company's building, and has
recently been removed. The barracks are at present the
jail, and the Russian counting house is today the
postoffice of the United States. The fur warehouse
stood to the west of the hill and was torn down in
1897-8, while the landing warehouse on the wharf was
burned in 1916. These were all built about the time of
the incumbency of Etolin, and that time might be
termed the Golden Age of the Colony. Ships were being
built, the fur trade was still prosperous, new
explorations were being made into the interior of the
country, trade was being extended into the Yukon
Valley and there was an active interest in all the
industries of the settlement. There were men of many
trades, engineers, cabinet makers, jewelers, tailors,
builders, etc., and an efficient machine shop
constructed engines to equip the vessels constructed
in the shipyard. Plowshares and spades for the Spanish
farmers in California were forged and bells for the
Franciscan missions were cast here. The first steam
vessel to be built on the shore of the North Pacific
Ocean was constructed at Sitka, for, before 1840 the
whole of the machinery for a tug of seven horsepower,
as well as of two pleasure boats had been constructed
here. The steamer "Nikolai" of 70 horsepower was built
and equipped with the exception of the boilers which
were brought from New York. The ship ways at Sitka was
the repairing place for many a vessel in the days of
the gold seekers in the valleys of California.

Two sawmills, one near the site of the present mill,
the other on Kirenski River, now called Sawmill
Creek,* cut the lumber for the settlement and for
export. Two flouring mills, one in Sitka, the other at
the Ozerskoe Redoubt on Globokoe + (Deep) Lake, ground
the breadstuffs. A tannery furnished the leather for
shoes, made from California hides, and also prepared
the lavtaks for the bidarkas for the seal and sea-
otter hunters. The burrs for the Sitka mill were of
the finest French stone but those at the Redoubt were
cut from the granite found on the lake shore. **

* The mill on Sawmill Creek was located in the gorge
below where the dam is situated which provides the
power for the present light plant of the town. The
timbers of the old mill were removed in 1916 to make
war for the building of the present improvement.

+ Golobokoe Lake was sounded to a depth of 190 fathoms
by the Russians. Materialui, Pt. 3, p. 48.

** Obzor Russkikh Colonii iv Syevernoe-Amerika. Survey
of the Russian Colonies in North America, by Captain-
Lieutenant P. N. Golovin, pp. 72-73.

A hospital of forty beds provided for the comfort of
the sick, of which Governor Simpson said: "The
institution in question would do no disgrace to
England."

Brickyards were maintained, ice was cut on the lakes
and at times shipped to California. The ice-houses
were near the outlet of Swan Lake and were of a
capacity of 3,000 tons.

One day in the spring of 1852 the American ship
"Bacchus" came into Sitka to purchase a cargo of ice.
All the ice for San Francisco had to this time been
brought in the hold of sailing ships around Cape Horn
from Boston and the idea of getting the supply from
Sitka was conceived. From the Company's icehouses was
laden on the ship 250 tons, and this was the beginning
of a trade during the year of not less than 1800 tons
at an average price of about $25.00 per ton. A Company
was organized in San Francisco for carrying on the
trade and it was known as "the Ice Company." The ice
on the lake was not of sufficient thickness owing to
the fact that four degrees below zero is the coldest
record ever made in Sitka during a hundred years,
consequently the Ice Company later transferred their
chief place of operation to Wood Island, near Kodiak.

Cows were kept for milk, and the hay for their
provender was cut on the KatleansM Plains on
Squashanski Bay.

Sir George Simpson, Governor-in-Chief of the
Honourable, the Hudson's Bay Company, visited Sitka in
1841 and in 1842. He describes the settlement, the
natives, and the fur trade, and was entertained at the
Castle by Chief Manager Etolin. During his stay he
indulged in a Russian steam bath. His humorous
description of the details ends with a promise never
again to undergo such a castigation. The account of
his stay at the Hot Springs is enlivened by a story of
how a rosy cheeked Russian damsel, each time she
passed his chair, made a profound obeisance, which he
attributed to his personal attraction until he
discovered her doing the same when the chair was
empty, and then saw that a saintly ikon occupied a
place on the wall directly over it, which dispelled
the illusion. Thirteen ships were in the harbor, and
he remarks that the bustle was sufficient to have done
credit to a third rate port in the civilized world.
Sir George sailed for Okhotsk on the Russian ship
"Alexander," then crossed Siberia overland on his
return to England from a journey round the earth.

There were eighty cannon mounted in the batteries
which commanded the bay or which looked down on the
Kolosh village. These cannon were of different make,
some being cast in Sitka, others purchased of English
or Americans, which were purchased on the ships on
which they were mounted, as on the "Juno" and the
"Brutus;" and other ordnance was brought from
Kronstadt, Russia, as in 1804 on the "Neva," and in
1820 on the "Borodino."

Teahouses were situated on the little knoll in the
center of the town where the puhlic Gardens were
located; the museum, and the library offered
instruction to the workers who occupied this lonely
post halfway round the world from the Russian
Fatherland.

There were fourteen chief managers who directed the
affairs of the Company at Sitka between the date of
the founding in 1804 and the surrender to the United
States in 1867.*

* Their names and dates of holding office are as
follows: 

Alexander Andreevich Baranof, 1790 to January 11,
1818. Leonti Andreanvich Hagemeister, Jan. 11, 1818.
to Oct. 24, 1818. Semen Ivanovich Yanovski, Oct. 24,
1818, to Sept. 15, 1820. Matvei Ivanovich Muravief,
Sept. 15, 1820, to Oct. 14, 1825. Peter Egorovich
Chistiakof, Oct, 14, 1825, to June 1st, 3830. Baron
Ferdinand Von Wrangel, June 1st, 1830, to Oct. 29,
1835. Ivan Antonovich Kupreanof, Oct. 29, 1835, to May
25, 1840. Adolf Karlovich Etolin, May 25, 1840, to
July 9, 1845. Michael Dmitrevich Tebenkof, July 9,
1845, to Oct. 14, 1850. Nikolai Yakovlevich Rosenberg,
Oct. 14, 1850, to March 31, 1853. Alexander Illch
Rudakof, March 31, 1853, to April 22, 1854. Stephen
Vasili Voevodski, April 22, 1854, to June 22, 1859.
Ivan Vasilivich Furnhelm, June 22, 1859, to Dec. 2,
1863. Prince Dmitri Maksoutof, Dec. 2, 1863, to Oct.
18, 1867.

Many of the officers resided long in the colonies and
their record would establish their right to be
denominated as "Sourdoughs." Baranof was manager 28
years; Zarembo was rewarded in 1844 for 25 years'
service; Krukof, the manager at Unalaska, was rewarded
in 1821 for 40 years' service; Banner remained at
Kodiak for at least ten years, and he and his wife
both died there; while Kuskof came with Baranof in
1790 and returned to Russia in 1821.

CHAPTER VIII

SITKA UNDER UNITED STATES RULE

Then came the day when the Russian was to withdraw
from his colonies, and the United States was to occupy
them as Alaska. An area as broad as an empire, equal
in extent to Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark
combined, was to be handed over from the Imperial
Ruler of all the Russians to the Republic of the
United States, and Sitka, the Capital of the Colonies,
was to be the scene of the actual transfer. The
statesmanship of Secretary Seward, aided by the
eloquence of Sumner, had secured for our country a
domain one sixth as large as the whole United States.

October 18th, 1867, Alexei Pestchouroff, the
Commissioner of the Tsar, appeared in front of the
Baranof castle, and beside him stood Lovell H.
Eousseau, the Commissioner for the United States, who
was to receive the Territory.

The Russian soldiery were drawn up along the terrace
which ran around the Baranof Hill, and next to them
were the men of the United States Infantry.* The
ensign of Russia was lowered, the flag of the United
States raised to the accompaniment of the salutes from
the batteries and of the guns of the ships in the
harbor. + The few words of the ceremony of transfer
were spoken, and Alaska became a possession of the
United States.

* The Russian soldiery were dressed in a dark uniform,
trimmed with red, with glazed caps. The United States
troops appeared in the usual full dress.

Of American ladies, six were present: the wives of
General Davis, Colonel Weeks, Capt. Wood, and Eev. Mr.
Rainier, of the "John L. Stevens," the wife of Mr.
Dodge, Collector of the Port, and the wife of Captain
MacDougall, of the "Jamestown." Six Russian ladies
were also present: the Princess Maksoatoff, the wife
and daughter of Vice-Governor Gardsishoff, and three
who names I do not know. H. Ex. Doc. No. 177, 40th
Cong. 2nd Sess., p. 72.

+ On the lowering of the Russian ensign it caught in
the halyards and a sailor was sent aloft to release it
He tore it loose and flung it down on the bayonets of
the Russian soldiery.

Most of the Russian residents went back to their
native land as soon as they were able to do so, but
some remained to cast their lot in the land that had
so long been their home.** Among those who remained
are the Kashavaroffs, the Kostromitinoffs, the
Bolshanins, the Shutzoffs, and others, whose
descendants now live in Alaska.

** On December 14, 1867, the Russian ship "Czaritza,"
sailed for Russia, via London, with 168 passengers.
January 1, 1868, the Russian ship "Cyane" cleared for
Novgorod, Asia, with 69 soldiers of the garrison on
board. November 30, 1868, the Russian ship "Winged
Arrow," went to Kronstadt, but there is no record of
the passengers. April 24th, 1868, the American steamer
"Alexander" took special clearance for Nikolofski,
Asia, to touch at all the posts along the Alaskan
coasts to close up the business of the Russian
American Company. Customs Records of Alaska, Record of
Clearances.

The ship "Winged Arrow" sailed on December 8th, 1868,
for St. Petersburg, taking over 300 persons. Seattle
Intelligencer, January 11, 1869. This is the same
voyage as the one above under the clearance of
November 30th.

The commanding officer of the American troops, Gen.
Jeff C. Davis, made his headquarters in the building
on the hill that had been so long the residence of the
Russian officers. The American soldiers were quartered
in the barracks of the Siberian Battalion, and the
sentries of the United States walked the beats of the
Russian guards. Sitka gradually adjusted itself to the
new conditions, to the crowds of adventurers who
thronged its streets seeking a profit in speculations
in lands and furs. They were doomed to disappointment,
for the titles to lands were withheld and the fur
trade was overdone, so most of the newly arrived
drifted away as they came. Distinguished visitors came
and were entertained in the old castle where the
Commandant dispensed hospitality. Lady Franklin, the
widow of the famous Arctic explorer, was once a guest
at the mansion on the kekoor, and Secretary Seward was
entertained there in 1869 when he visited the land he
added to the possessions of the United States.

While the military garrison were content with their
conditions and were not troubled with the affairs of
the world at large, the civil population wished for
the law and authority of other communities, and set
themselves to remedy the omission of the Government in
far-off Washington so far as was possible to do, for
there was no provision for an organization of civil
government in the community. They organized a
municipal association, drafted ordinances, elected
coun-cilmen, collected revenue for improving the
Governor's Walk, changed the name to Lincoln Street,
and in December opened a school. After five years the
civil population declined until the revenue was
insufficient to maintain the expense, the organization
was abandoned, with it passed the school, and the
first attempt at self-government closed.

Then followed dark days for Sitka.* Military rules for
the garrison and no law or protection for the people.
Soldiers from the fort are said to have robbed the
church of its ornaments, tearing the covers from the
richly bound Bible of the Cathedral. The offenders
were apprehended, but there being no civil law all the
punishment meted out was to be drummed out of the
service and sent to the States on an army transport.
The stolen property was hidden under the old hospital
building and was discovered by some boys and nearly
all was restored to the church.

* If we may believe the current reports of the time,
the military occupation of Sitka was anything but a
happy time for the civil inhabitants, especially the
Russians who remained. See Colyer's Report, Ex. Doc.
H. R. 41st Cong. 2nd Ses., p. 1030; Seattle
Intelligencer, December 14th. 1868; The Victoria
Colonist, et al.

On New Year's Day, 1869, Colcheka, a noted chief of
the Chilkats who was visiting Sitka, was entertained
by General Davis at the castle on the hill. The liquid
refreshments serve to him by the General raised his
spirits and his pride of race. After it was over he
descended the long flight of steps leading from the
Commandant's quarters and strode across the parade
ground with the dignity becoming to the hereditary
chief of the Chilkats, the proudest kwan of the
Thlingits. For some reason he crossed the part
reserved for officers, was challenged by the sentry,
and, not heeding, when he reached the stockade gate
was kicked by the sentry stationed there. He was
furious.

"Me, Colcheka, Chief of the Chilkats, kicked!"

He turned in a rage, seized the musket of the sentry,
wrenched it from his hands, then carried it to his
house in the Ranche.

The guard was turned out for his arrest and a skirmish
ensued in which the guard was worsted and retreated to
the barracks. The Sitkas were neutral. The Chilkats
were too few in number to fight the troops, so next
day Colcheka surrendered, was kept in the guardhouse
for a few days and then released.

Meantime orders that no Indians be permitted to leave
the Ranehe were issued which were revoked upon
Colcheka's surrender. Through some mistake in revoking
the orders the sentries were not notified. A canoe
load of Indians left the Ranche to get wood. The
sentries fired on the canoe and killed two of the
occupants, a Chilkat and a Kake. It was an unfortunate
mistake. Those shots rang from Lynn Canal to Kuiu
Island and the echoes vibrated for more than twenty
years. By listening intently one might yet hear the
vibrations. Two white men died and three Indian
villages burned directly as a result, but it happened
in places distant from Sitka, and, as they say, it is
another story.

On a June day of 1877 the troops of the United States
army embarked on a ship for the States and sailed away
from Sitka. The buildings and property were left in
charge of the Collector of Customs, who, with the
Postmaster, constituted the only officials in the
Territory. The presence of the military had guaranteed
safety from attack by the Indians to the people of the
town, and the officers had been a pleasant addition to
the social life; with their departure both were lost.

The animosity of the Thlingits had been kindled by
many wrongs, some real and others fancied. They saw in
the new order of things an opportunity to recompense
themselves for past grievances. All the old stories of
the killing of their countrymen by the troops, the
burning of old Kake and other villages, the loss of
five Keeksitties, in the Schooner "San Diego" in
Bering Strait and other tales were rehearsed and were
used to stir the lust for vengeance. The Keeksittis,
under the leadership of Katlean, openly advocated
sacking the town, killing the men and making slaves of
the women.

"The government does not care for the country. They
have abandoned it. It belongs to us, anyway; why not
take the town and do as we wish with it?" said
Katlean.

The Kokwantons, under Annahootz, their chief, opposed
the outrage. For months there was danger of an
outbreak. Insult after insult was placed upon the
citizens. The stockade was cut down and carried away
by the Indians. Every male inhabitant was armed and
expecting a call to battle at any time. A man was
killed at the Hot Springs by a Keeksitty. The murderer
was arrested through the assistance of the Kokwantons
under Annahootz.* The Keeksitties assembled to rescue
the criminal, but the citizens of the town rallied for
defense, the Kokwantons joined them and the- murderer
was safely placed on board the Steamer "California"
and taken to Portland for trial where he was afterward
hanged.

* Annahootz, the friend of the whites, married his
13th wife. Afterward becoming blind and decrepit he
starved himself to death. See Sitka Alaskan, February
6, 1890.

Katlean still lives at Sitka and may often be seen on
the streets of the town.

On the same boat went an appeal for assistance,
directed to the United States Government, but it fell
on deaf ears. Another petition was sent to Victoria,
B. C., and was heeded. Captain A. Holmes A'Court, of
H. M. S. "Osprey," at once set out for Sitka, arrived
on March 1st, 1879, anchored opposite the Ranche and
trained his guns for immediate use. The danger was
averted. Captain A'Court remained until the arrival of
the U. S. S. "Alaska," on April 3rd, then departed for
Esquimault with the blessings of the grateful people
of Sitka.

On June 14th into the harbor came the U. S. S.
"Jamestown." Her Commander, Captain L. A. Beardslee,
assumed control of affairs in the community and
administered them in a manner which brought credit on
his name. He found everything at the lowest ebb; every
woman and child who could leave, had gone to escape
the danger of Indian massacre ; witchcraft prevailed
among the natives and anarchy among the whites. He
took a census* upon his arrival, and the result was
325 people, exclusive of the Creole population. He
appointed an Indian police; established more sanitary
conditions in the "Ranche," numbered the houses, and
compelled the attendance of the Indian children at the
Mission School.

* The population of Sitka in 1818 was: Russian, 190:
Creoles, 72: Aleuts, 173 of males, and female 185: of
Russian and Creole, total, 620. Materialui, pt. 3, p.
20.

January 1, 1825, there were: Russians, 309: Creoles,
58: Aleuts. 33. Total, 400, Ib. p. 52.

In April, 1880, citizens by birth, 92; citizens by
naturalization, 123; citizens by treaty, 229. Total,
444. Beardslee's Report, 47th Cong. Sen. Ex. Doc. No.
71, p. 34. In this census are many names well known in
Alaska by the "Old Timers." as: A. T. Whitford, John
G. Brady, N. A. Fuller, M, Travis, Edward DeGroff. S.
Sessions, R. Willoughby, M. P. Berry. A. Cohen. Miss
P. Cohen, Miss H. Cohen, Ed. Bean, D. Ackerman. A.
Milletich, P. T. Corcoran, L. Caplin, Pierre Erussard,
Ed. Doyle. George E. Pilz. Nicholas Haley, John
McKenna, Reub Albertson, John Olds and others.

A school was opened in the old Russian barracks
building on April 17, 1878, by Rev. John Or. Brady and
Miss Fannie E. Kellogg, of the Presbyterian Mission,
which was later followed by the present Sheldom
Jackson Mission School. George Kostromitinoff,
afterward known as Father Sergius, was the
interpreter. The opening of the school was a great
event for Sitka and nearly everyone in the town
attended. Annahootz, the friendly Kokwantan war chief,
made a speech. Mr. Cohen, the brewer, hunted up
another interpreter to assist. Hymns were sung and the
events were auspicious. The Indians stole in one at a
time, some with their faces blackened, all in
blankets, but they squatted by the wall and listened
attentively. The school was continued until December,
when it was given up, but in the spring of 1880 Miss
Olinda Austin, from New York City, reopened it on
April 5th, in one of the rooms of the guardhouse, with
an attendance of 103 children. The school thus
established was the beginning of the present Sheldon
Jackson Training School. The support of the naval
officers at the station was such that the missionary
teacher was moved to say: "It is not often that the
Government sends out a missionary, but they have sent
one in this young commander and his lieutenant, Mr. F.
M. Symonds," in referring to Captain Glass, who
succeeded Captain Beardslee.

Some form of local government giving the residents a
right to regulate their civil affairs was favored by
the Commander, who had not even a code under which to
act. A meeting was called, ordinances were drafted, a
magistrate and councilmen elected for a town
government. But all were not agreed upon these acts
and opposition arose against it from the very
inception of the movement. One of the traders of the
town, Caplin, said: "De Captain may go to ____ wid his
tam government; I'll bay no daxes." And from Silver
Bay where he was mining, Geo. E. Pilz sent in a
protest against the proceeding. The dealers who traded
molasses to the Indians, from which the villianous
liquor called "hoochinoo" or "Hooch," was distilled,
objected to the ordinances restricting the trade.
Finally an English miner named Roy was shot by his
partner, "Scotty," and the inability of the self-made
government to try the offender brought a crisis. The
next day a notice appeared stating the organization
had been dissolved, and the second attempt at self-
government by the people in Alaska passed into
oblivion.

Scotty was sent to Oregon for trial and was discharged
because of lack of a law to punish a man for assault
with a dangerous weapon in Alaska.

But the dawn of a better day was at hand, Alaska's
darkest hours were past, and morning was breaking. The
rule of the Navy Department continued until 1884,
then, although the warships still remained in Alaskan
waters, by Act of Congress of May 17th, a form of
civil government was granted, and the official Capital
was placed at Sitka. The terror of the Indian
outbreaks was past; schools were in reach, for the
same act provided for the establishment of a system of
public education, and the Code of Oregon was adopted
as the law of the land.*

* Governors of Alaska who made their residence at
Sitka: John H. Kinkead. of Nevada, appointed July 4,
1884. Alfred P. Swineford, of Michigan, appointed May
8. 1885. Lyman E. Knapp, of Vermont, appointed April
12, 1889. James Sheakley, of Alaska, appointed June
28, 1893. John G. Brady, of Alaska, appointed June 23,
1897.

Then some of the life of the former years returned to
the beautiful village by the sea; there were pleasant
parties among the residents, the Governor held
receptions, the officers of the warships added to the
social life, many a gay ball was celebrated on the top
floor of the court house, and for more than twenty
years it was the Capital of Alaska.+

+ "The United States District Court, established by
the Act of May 17th, 1884, was formerly organized on
the 4th day of November of that year in a room set
apart for the use of the court in the old barracks
building at Sitka, the following officers being
preseot: Ward McAllister, Jr., Judge; Andrew T. Lewis,
Clerk of the Court; Munson C. Hillyer, U. S. Marshal;
Edward W. Haskett, District Attorney.

"On the same day John F. McLean, an officer connected
with the signal service, and Major M. P. Berry, a
veteran of the Civil and Mexican wars, were admitted
to the bar, as well as District Attorney Haskett These
three gentlemen comprised the Alaska Bar of Attorneys
until June 20th, 1885, when Mr. John G. Heid was added
to the roll and in the month of October, 1885,
Willoughby Clark, John P. Maloney, R. D. Crittenden,
and John G. Brady were admitted." Alaska Bar
Association and Sketch of the Judiciary, by Arthur K.
Delaney.

With the influx of the Americans prospecting began,
for in the vast wild mountains of Baranof and Chicagof
Islands there is a wealth of mineral stored in the
ledges.

The Russians had attempted to find the mineral of the
mountains, and in 1848 a Mr. Doroshin, a mining
engineer, had been sent out from St. Petersburg to
search for mineral wealth in the colonies. He was not
successful enough to make it of profit to them,
although he found coal on Cook Inlet, gold on the
Kenai Peninsula, earth promising to bear diamonds near
Kootznahoo, and copper was known to be on the
Myednooskie, or Copper, River.

Discharged soldiers of the garrison were the first to
take to the hills with pick and shovel. Nicholas
Haley, an old-time prospector of Arizona, who came
with the troops to Sitka, was one of the most
energetic and daring of these. Year after year, with
pick and shovel, with rifle and blankets, Nicholas
attacked the rugged mountains. Rich specimens were
brought in and yielded enough when brayed in a mortar
to keep him in a grubstake, but it takes capital to
develop a hard rock mine and capital was wary. So
Nicholas toiled on year after year, keeping up his
assessments and living on hopes until at last he
passed over the Great Divide to a Better Diggings.

Others tried it. In 1878 a mining company was
organized at Sitka, but there was not yet a law under
which a claim could be legally taken. Ledges were
found, small mills were placed on the ground at the
Stewart Mine, the Lucky Chance and elsewhere, and
later great fakes were promoted at the Pande Basin and
elsewhere. But it was years after that when two Indian
boys, hunting on Chicagof Island, lay down to drink at
a stream, and, behold, in the shimmering water was
white rock with yellow, glittering particles dancing
in the clear stream. With the fear it was but fools
gold they took specimens and marked the place where
they were found. When they reached Sitka they
submitted these samples to Judge DeGroff, and to
Professor Kelly of the Sheldon Jackson School. It was
pronounced to be gold, pure shining, yellow gold, and
richer than the most sanguine had hoped for. After
much labor and many disappointments the ledge was
located from which the float came, and today that
mine, the Chicagof it is called, is known as the
richest and best paying mine in the United States in
proportion to the money invested, and more than one
fortune has been taken out of the tunnels in the
mountain.

Off the shores of the continent, reaching far off to
the westward almost to the shores of Asia are vast
fishing grounds, perhaps the greatest in the world. A
great submarine plateau stretches along shore, past
the Aleutian Islands and into Bering Sea. There are
estimated to be forty thousand square miles of cod and
halibut banks that are known to the surveys. The
fisheries of Gloucester and Cape Cod fade into
insignificance and the famous Newfoundland Banks are
but small in comparison.

Sitka goes back the farthest in historic memory of any
city of the Northwest. When Lewis and Clarke came to
the mouth of the Columbia River she was looking out
over the Pacific from her stockaded walls and Resanof
was sailing to search for locations for new colonies.
When Astoria was founded she was placing her outpost
on the Russian River in California. Before San
Francisco was a city she sent her bidarkas to take the
sea-otter from under the very noses of the Padres in
their missions. Here the civilization of the East met
the progress of the West, the Orient and the Occident
met here and met without bloodshed. Sitka, with her
wealth of fisheries in the waters at her doors, with
her wealth of mineral in the ledges at her back, with
the wealth of forest on the mountain slopes around
her, is in the same latitude as Edinburgh, Scotland.
The time is coming when she will have population, and
wealth; beauty she already has. What more is wanted
for the happiness of her people? Only energy,
perseverance, and thrift, and those will be
forthcoming. [91]

CHAPTER IX

WHAT TO SEE

Approaching Sitka by the usual steamer route from the
north at a distance of six miles the site of Old Sitka
is passed. It lies to the left of the steamer track,
in a small bay, and is marked by a native house which
is visible from the ship. From near this place,
looking to the westward, the first sight of Mount
Edgecumbe is to be had between the islands. On
approaching the town the ship goes through a narrow
channel between Japonski Island at the right and the
townsite at the left, Near the middle of the channel a
rock is marked by a buoy and along the shore is the
native village, or "Ranche," with a sloping beach upon
which in former days the canoes were drawn up. The
paths by which they were brought from the water may be
seen, marked by the rocks being thrown to each side
from the track.

On Japonski Island is the U. S. Naval Coaling Station
and the U. S. wireless telegraph. The magnetic
observatory of the Russians was situated there. The
name means Japan Island and is given because Resanof
designated it as the place to keep captive Japanese
whom he expected to capture through his expedition
against the lower Kuril Islands in 1806.

The dock at which the ship lands is in the same
location as the one used by the Russians, but it has
been extended to deeper water. The timbers of the old
hulk once used by the Russians as a landing stage may
still be seen in the water at low tide. On the dock
was the landing warehouse of the Russians, a log
structure with a passage through the center. It was
burned in 1916. Leaving the wharf and going eastward
along Lincoln Street, at the side are the booths or
tents of the native merchants, kept by the women from
the village, a veritable arcade of little markets, and
each of the vendors is as interested as though she
occupied a seat on the famous Rialto Bridge to sell
the wares of ancient Venice. The picturesque, dark-
skinned Thlingit women sit at the doors of their
little tents hour after hour, offering the strangely
carved totems, the beautiful baskets of spruce roots
woven in mystic designs, the beaded moccasins, etc.,
products of their industry during the long winter when
the tourist boats do not call at the Sitka wharves.
Passing up the street to the east from the landing—at
the right is the U. S. cable office, occupying the
site of the old Russian fur warehouse. Next is the
three-story building used for courthouse and jail,
formerly the Russian Barracks where the Siberian
Battalion was quartered. This is one of the most
prominent of the old buildings which remain. In front
of this is the stairway leading to the top of the hill
on which is situated the building of the Agricultural
Department, on the site of the former residence of the
chief manager of the Russian American Company. Around
this hill were the batteries of the Russians,
commanding the Kolosh village and the harbor. The
former building was often called the Governor's
Mansion, or the Baranof Castle, was built about 1837
and was destroyed by fire in 1894. The hill commands a
fine view of the harbor and the surrounding islands.
The present structure is the headquarters of the
Alaska division of the Agricultural Department.
Opposite the stairway to the hill is the way leading
to the "Ranche;" the open square was the former parade
ground of the Army, and later of the IT. S. Marines
from the Man-of-War which was stationed here. East of
the old barracks building is the former counting house
of the Company, now occupied as the U. S. Postoffice,
and during the time when Sitka was the Capital of the
Territory it was used by the United States for a
Customs office, and by the Governor as an office.
Going east on Lincoln Street, the next large building
at the right was the old bakery and shops of the
Company, later commonly known as the Sitka Trading
Company Building, having been occupied by that company
for many years. Beyond this on the same side of the
street at a short distance is a small building,
standing back from the walk, surmounted by a Greek
cross, which marks the site of the first church built
in Sitka, in 1817. Next to this lot is the one
formerly occupied by the Lutheran Church, built in the
time of Etolin, and in which the first church service
was held by Chaplain Rainier of the U. S. Army, after
the American occupation.

Across the street is the Cathedral of St. Michael, the
headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Church in Alaska.
In the Territory are claimed to be ten thousand
communicants of that faith and from Sitka the
management of affairs is conducted. The church is in
the form of a cross and is surmounted by the Greek
cross. The interior is richly decorated after the
usual custom of the Russian churches. Candlesticks of
massive design stand at either side of the doors of
the inner sanctuary. The building, with its dome, is
distinctive, and is a good example of Russian church
architecture.*

* The first church in Alaska was built at Kodiak
(Paulovski) in 1795, the next at Unalaska soon after,
and the third at Sitka in 1817.

Continuing east along Lincoln Street a short distance
beyond the Cathedral a vacant space on the right marks
the spot formerly occupied by the clubhouse, built by
Etolin for a home for the clerks, navigators, and
other employes of the Company— opposite it was
situated the foundry and machine shops, while a little
farther to the east stood the sawmills, at the mouth
of the outlet to Swan Lake. Along this stream was the
eastern boundary of the stockade of the Russian fort,
with a blockhouse near the point of the lower end of
the lake. East of this stockade were the kitchen
gardens, but all traces of them have long since
vanished. Continuing along the street following the
shore, the Bishop's house is passed on the left, where
the Russian school is taught, and a short distance
beyond is the house of the Episcopal Bishop of the
diocese, Rev. Bishop P. T. Rowe. Still farther to the
east is the Sheldon Jackson School, the Presbyterian
Mission School, consisting of a group of buildings,
the first of which was completed in 1880, under the
superintendence of Rev. Alonzo Austin, and others have
been added from time to time until the present fine
establishment has resulted. An octagonal structure
shelters the Sheldon Jackson Museum, a fine collection
of native work of many kinds, gathered from all parts
of Alaska by the first superintendent of native
schools for the Territory. A small paper is published
by the mission, the Verstovian, and is printed by the
native students of the institution.

Opposite the mission, at the edge of the curving
beach, a large, flat-topped rock lies at the side of
the way, called the Blarney Stone. On this it is said
that Baranof often sat, during the last year of his
residence here, and looked out through the vistas
between the island to the broad Pacific. What were the
thoughts of the brave, strong, strange, old man as he
sat here will never be known, but it is sure that
there was much of sadness for him in those days.

Beyond the Mission is the famous Indian River Road, a
continuation of the Governor's Walk of the Russians,
and often called the Lover's Lane. It winds along the
shore of the sea, through the Park, with here and
there an opening in the forest where there are
splendid examples of Hydah carvings in the tall totems
placed in well chosen spots. These totem poles were
taken to the St. Louis Fair in 1904, as a part of the
Alaska Exhibit, and afterward returned to this park.
One of the most interesting is the house totem of
Chief Son-i-hat, of Kasaan, accompanied by the four
supporting columns of the ancient tribal house.

From the rustic bridge on the Indian River there are
enticing paths leading along the stream and toward Mt.
Verstovia, which towers above the bay to the height of
3,216 feet. Along the river, known as the Kolosh
Ryeka, by the Russians, the winding paths are bordered
with huge Sitka spruces and giant cedars, with the
space thickly filled with a dense growth of shrubbery,
among which is prominent the Devil's Club (panax
horridus), with its beautifully palmated leaves and
its cruel spines concealed underneath. This shrub was
formerly used by the natives as an instrument of
torture in their witchcraft. In the depths of the
forest the earth is covered with a carpet of ferns and
mosses, and the trunks of fallen trees of former years
may be seen with other trees of from two to three feet
in diameter growing on their prostrate bodies.

Returning toward the town, at the Mission the Davis
Road turns toward the north. It was built by the Army
during their occupation, in the process of their
securing wood from the forest, and named for General
Jeff C. Davis, the Commander of the post. Following it
the Military Cemetery is reached at the distance of
about three-eighths of a mile. Here are some
interesting monuments, among them being that of
Gouverneur Morris, a descendent of the famous
financier of the Revolution. A stone marks the resting
place of a lieutenant of the U. S. Army, around whose
memory lingers stories of a duel with a brother
officer in a solitary spot along Indian River, over a
Russian beauty of Sitka.

Turning aside from Lincoln Street at the Mission, or
at the street next westward, a walk of a quarter of a
mile leads to the experiment farm of the Agricultural
Department of the United States. There may be seen
many products, including apples and strawberries of an
excellent quality. Of the latter is a variety
originated by Prof. George-son through hybridizing the
cultivated berries with the wild native berry which
grows luxuriantly at many places in Alaska.

On reaching the Cathedral a street turns northward
along which one finds, at the right, op the little
knoll in the town, among the scattered spruce trees,
the spot where formerly stood the tea houses of the
Russians.

They were in the center of the public gardens which
covered the knoll and were approached by beautifully
bordered walks. Farther along, on the left of the
walk, is the remaining Russian blockhouse, the last of
three which formerly stood on the line of the stockade
that protected the town from the Kolosh. A little back
of the blockhouse is the grave of the Princess
Maksoutoff, marked with a marble slab lying on the
raised mound above her resting place. At the end of
the walk is the modern Russian cemetery, with its
forest of Greek crosses, and in the center, at the
highest point, is a platform from which is had an
excellent view of the harbor, islands, Mt. Edgecumbe,
and of the lake and town.

Returning as far as the site of the tea gardens, then
going westward toward the water, at the right is an
enclosure in which there is a small building marking
the site of the Koloshian Church, or the Church of the
Resurrection, as it is called in the church records.
This was the building occupied by the natives in 1855
when they made an attack upon the town. It was on the
line of the stockade which formerly ran from the water
front at the end of the "Ranche," east to the lake,
then back to the water at the sawmill. On the line of
the stockade were three blockhouses, the church being
between the first and second of these. Surrounding the
site of the church are a number of graves, and among
them are some interesting monuments dating back to the
Russian days, for this is the older of the two
cemeteries.

Going down to the entrance to the native town, or
"Ranche," there is choice of two streets, one in front
of the houses along the water front, the other at the
rear. The one at the front is preferable. The houses
are built of lumber and in general are constructed by
the native workmen, who have been instructed at the
mission school, at which there is an excellent manual
training department. The great tribal houses of former
days have long since disappeared. The older houses
were named by the natives much as were the inns of old
England; the Grooch-haet, or wolf house; the Tahn-
haet, or sea-lion house; the Kahse-haet, or cow house,
and others, named for different animals. The Kahse-
haet was named from the head of a cow being brought
there from a wreck off the coast in which the animal
was drowned. Formerly there were many canoes along the
water front—as many as 150 at a time being often seen,
but now their place is occupied by gas boats—generally
built by the owners and the engines installed by them.
The loss in the picturesque is partly compensated by
the gain in utility, but the native canoe was a wonder
of marine architecture, cut from a single log and
shaped with fire and adzed into elegant lines. An
occasional specimen is sometimes yet to be seen on the
beach or carefully covered from the weather in some
sheltered and secluded cove.

There were no great house totem poles in front of the
houses as there are at Wrangell, Kasaan and elsewhere.
There were some mortuary columns near the grave houses
which formerly stood on the ridge back of the village,
but these have long been covered by the dense
undergrowth which sprang up in recent years.

In this village have lived some interesting and strong
characters. Annahootz and Katlean both figured boldly
in the history of the town, and Sitka Jack was noted
for his great potlatch held in 1877, when he gave a
housewarming at which he presented to his visitors
over 500 blankets, not to mention the hoochinoo and
whiskey which flowed liberally for all. He beggared
himself by the feast, but his reputation was
established above reproach for the rest of life.
Princess Tom was another celebrity, whose fame was
founded on her wealth which was estimated at ten
thousand dollars, and which was acquired by skill in
basket making and shrewdness in dealing in native
manufactures on which she was a connoisseur—going out
to the villages in her long canoe to gather the stock
of baskets, bracelets, carved dishes, masks, dance
hats, etc., which she disposed of to advantage upon
her return to Sitka. Chief Tlan Tech was one of the
prominent citizens and frequently might have been seen
on the street in his frock coat, tall hat, with cane
and kid gloves, cutting quite a dash. His English
vocabulary was very limited and he was accustomed for
many years to fly the Russian flag over his canoe when
he went out to a neighboring village for a potlatch.

Some of the silversmiths were skilled workmen. Sitka
Jack, and Kooska, and Hydah Jake, all fashioned
bracelets, spoons, and other articles, carved with
totemic design of delicate beauty and line of
proportion, made from silver coins which they melted
down.

Some of the shamans of the olden time acquired great
influence and made life miserable for their fellow-
citizens by the practice of witchcraft. One of the
most obnoxious of these, called Skondoo, was captured
and his shock of matted hair, which, like that of
Samson, was supposed to be the seat of his power, was
shorn by the commander of the U. S. S. "Pinta," and in
addition he was thoroughly scrubbed with soap and
brush, perhaps for the first time in his existence.

Even to this day there are instances of the weird
belief in the villages at Hootznahoo or at Klukwan.
Not many years ago an Indian girl was rescued by the
whites from a damp hole under a house where she had
been confined to die of cold and starvation by the
order of the shaman, or Ekht, as the Thlingit calls
him.

Among the island and the inlet dented shores
surrounding the town are many interesting places
forming an opportunity for delightful excursions. The
most desirable of these are:

Mount Edgecumbe, 3467 ft.—Taking a launch from Sitka
the trip may be made to Crab Bay, or to the landing
behind the island of St. Lazaria on which is a
populous bird rookery, and the ascent of the mountain
is possible to be made in a day. Perhaps better that
two days be taken to the trip, however. The first to
go to the top was Lisianski in 1804. From the summit
of the mountain an unusually beautiful panorama is to
be had of island-studded bay, and mountain ridges
capped with glaciers on one side, while on the other
spreads the expanse of the broad Pacific.

Old Sitka, and Katlaanski Bay.—By launch the site of
the Russian settlement of 1799-1802 may be reached and
from that point a continuation of the excursion may be
made to the head of Nesquashanski Bay, where the
meadows are situated from which the Russians procured
their provender for the cattle kept at the post. In
the streams entering the bay may be seen, during the
season of the salmon run, the strange spectacle of the
brown bears in the role of fishermen, scooping salmon
from the waters with their paws, if good fort one
attend. This journey may be made in a day.

Silver Bay.—-A veritable Norwegian fjord transplanted
to Alaska—with picturesque waterfalls plunging into
its waters, deep glacial valleys entering at right
angles with Yosemite-like cliffs bordering them, the
Scottish bluebells clinging to the dripping rocks
which beetle overhead, Kalampy's Slide around which
hangs a tale, the Stewart mine, etc.—about ten miles
to the head of the bay, where a fine waterfall plunges
from the mountainside.

The Redoubt and the Globokoe Lake.— Southwest from
Sitka about ten miles was the location of the fishery
of the Russians from which for more than sixty years
they drew their stores of krasnia ruiba, (the red
salmon), which provided so important a part of their
subsistence. Here in the rocky wall which divided
Globokoe, or Deep Lake, from the sea, and over which
the outlet flowed, channels were blasted, forming
reservoirs, and in these channels were placed zapors,
or fences, which made traps into which the salmon swam
and lay in the clear cold pools until they were
removed for use. Here also was one of the Russian
flouring mills, where they ground the wheat brought
from California, or from the farms of the Hudson's Bay
Company at Nisqually or on the Columbia.

The Sitka Hot Springs.—About four miles farther to the
southwest than the Redoubt, is situated the Sitka Hot
Springs, possessing valuable medicinal qualities, and
used for more than a century as a health resort. Here
Dr. Goddard has established a sanitarium in the midst
of a veritable nature lover's paradise, the forest
behind, and the island-studded sea in front, with game
in the deep woods and fish in the sea, all to be had
for the taking.

Many other interesting and beautiful places may be
visited. Lisianski Bay, Deep Bay, Herring Bay with the
gorge of Sawmill Creek and the chain of lakes, Blue
Lake, and others lying adjacent, are among the
important ones.

Mt. Verstovia.—The ascent of this mountain comprises
one of the most interesting excursions about the town.
The trail leaves the shore of Jamestown Bay at the
point where the trough of the watering place of the
"Jamestown," came to the beach. This place may be
reached by boat or on foot through the Park by the
mouth of Indian River. The ascent should be under the
guidance of one familiar with the route, for it is not
plainly marked and none but an experienced woodsman
can find the way alone. It leads through a forest, the
first 800 or 1,000 feet through dense undergrowth
under the trees, the mosses and ferns forming a
veritable carpet; above that the woods are more
open—at about 2,500 feet the forest ceases. It is
called Kosters Trail. The first eminence or shoulder
of the mountain is near the timber line and is often
spoken of as the Mountain of the Cross, while above it
towers the Arrowhead, or the summit of Verstovia,
otherwise called at times Popoff Mountain, or the
Ponce, to a height of 3,216 feet, nearly a Russian
verst, and from this it derives its name. From the top
an expanse of island-studded waters stretch toward the
sea. Eastward crest after crest of glacier-capped
peaks rise for a hundred miles, northward the lofty
summits of Mt. Crillon and Mt. Fairweather may be seen
at an elevation of over 15,000 feet, equal in height
to the highest Alp of Switzerland. Around the base of
the Arrowhead, in July and August, are found a myriad
of wild flowers, carpeting the earth— violets, daises,
cyclamen, and a multitude of others.

These are the nearer points which may be visited, but
more extended journeys full of new and varied
interest, to Sergius Narrows and Peril Straits or to
the Place of Islands and the Chicagof Mine to the
northward, and to Kedfish Bay to the southward, may be
made.