Fort Wrangel.—Plenty of Wild Game.—Natives do not care for Soldiers, but have a Wholesome Fear of Gunboats.—Mode of Trading.—Girls’ School and Home.—A Deadly Tragedy.—Native Jewelry and Carving.—No Totem-Poles for Sale.—Missionary Enterprises.—Progress in Educating Natives.—Various Denominations Engaged in the Missionary Work.

We prefer to think it was to see the sun rise that we got up so early on arriving at Fort Wrangel, and not because of the torturing fact that our berth was too short at both ends, and kept us in a chronic state of wakefulness and cramp. The distance passed over in coming hither from Victoria was about eight hundred miles. The place, having about five hundred inhabitants, is advantageously situated on an island at the mouth of the Stickeen River, which rises in British Columbia and has a length of nearly two hundred and fifty miles. There is here an excellent and capacious harbor, surrounded by grand mountains, while lofty snow-crowned summits more inland break the sky-line in nearly all directions,—mountain towering above mountain, until the view is lost among far-away peaks, blue and indistinct. This elevated district contains wild goats, with now and then a grizzly bear, fiercest of his tribe, while in its ravines and valleys the little mule-deer, the brown bear, the fox, the land-otter, the mink, and various other animals abound. As to the small streams and river courses which thread the territory, they are, as all over this country, crowded with fish, the salmon prevailing. The inland haunts within twenty leagues of the coast are little disturbed by the natives. The abundance of halibut, cod, and salmon at their very doors, as it were, is quite sufficient to satisfy the demands of nature, and it is only when tempted by the white man’s gold that the aborigines will leave the coast to go inland in search of pelts and meat, in the form of venison, goat, or bear flesh.

The town, consisting of a hundred houses and more, is spread along the shore at the base of a thickly wooded hill, flanked on either side by a long line of low, square, rough-hewn native cabins. A peep into the interior of these was by no means reassuring. Dirt, degradation, and abundance were combined. The few domestic utensils seen appeared never to have been washed, being thick with grease, while the stench that saluted the olfactories was sickening. There were no chairs, stools, or benches, the men and women sitting upon their haunches, a position which would be a severe trial to a white and afford no rest whatever, but which is the universal mode of sitting adopted by savage races in all parts of the world. The place was named after Baron Wrangel, governor of Russian America at the time when it was first settled, in 1834, being then merely a stockade post. After the United States came into possession of the country it was for a short time occupied by our soldiers, but ere long ceased to be held as a military post, the soldiers being withdrawn altogether from the Territory. It was soon discovered that the natives cared nothing for the soldiers; they could always get away from them in any exigency by means of their canoes; but they had, and still have, a wholesome fear of a revenue cutter or a gunboat, which can destroy one of their villages, if necessary, in a few minutes.

A steamer can always move very rapidly from place to place among the islands, making her presence felt without delay, when and where it is most needed. At the outset of our taking possession of Alaska, an example of decision and power was necessary to put the natives in proper awe of the government, and it followed quickly upon an unprovoked outrage committed by the aborigines. One of their villages, not far from Sitka, was promptly shelled and destroyed in half an hour. Since then there has been no trouble of consequence with any of the tribes, who have profound respect for the strong arm, and to speak plainly, like most savage races, for nothing else.

Fort Wrangel has two or three large stores for the sale of goods to the natives, and for the purchase of furs, Indian curiosities, and the like. It is also the headquarters of the gold miners, who gather here when the season is no longer fit for out-of-door work at the placers.

Seeing the natives crowding the stores, it was natural to suppose the traders were driving a good business, but a proprietor explained that these people were slow buyers, making him many calls before purchasing. They look an article over three or four different times before concluding they want it; then its cost is to be considered. The native’s squaw comes and approves or disapproves; the article is discussed with the men’s neighbors, and, finally, his resolution having culminated, he goes away to earn the money with which to make the purchase! “Such customers are very trying to our patience,” remarked the trader, “but after you once understand their peculiarities it is easy enough to get along with them.”

A truly charitable enterprise has been established here; we refer to the Indian Girls’ School and Home, supported by the American Board of Missions, where the pupils are taught industrial duties appertaining to the domestic associations of their sex, as well as the ordinary branches of a common school education. No effort, we were told, is made to enforce any special tenets of faith, but these girls are taught morality, which is practical religion. The example is much needed here, both among these native people and the whites.

To show what strict adherents these Alaskans are to tribal conventionalities, we can do no better than relate a singular occurrence, for the truth of which Dr. Jackson is our authority.

“Near the Hoonah Mission, a short time ago, a deadly tragedy took place. A stalwart native came into the village and imbibed too freely of hoochinoo. Walking along the street he saw a young married girl with whom he was greatly infatuated. The girl was afraid to meet him and turning ran to her house. The man gave pursuit and gained entrance to the house. All the inmates escaped in terror. The desperado boldly continued his hunt for the woman, and the husband of the woman with a few friends took refuge in his own house again. The ravishing fiend returned, and demanding admittance battered in the door with an axe, and as he entered was shot and instantly killed. The friends of the dead man met in council, and according to their custom demanded a life for his life. The husband and protector of his wife’s virtue gave himself into the custody of his enemies and was unceremoniously killed!”

The production of native jewelry is a specialty here, and some of the silver ornaments of Indian manufacture are really very fine, exhibiting great skill and originality, if not refined taste. Their carvings in ivory are exceedingly curious, skillful, and attractive, especially upon walrus teeth, whereon they will imitate precisely any pattern that is given to them, with a patient fidelity equaling the Chinese. The native designs are far the most desirable, however, being not only typical of the people and locality, but original and fitting. The time devoted to a piece of work seems to be of no consideration to a native, and forms no criterion as regards the price demanded for it. From the sale of these fancy articles the aborigines receive annually a considerable sum of money. It is indeed surprising how they can get such results without better tools. With some artistic instruction they would be capable of producing designs and combinations of a choice character, and which would command a market among the most fastidious purchasers. Their present somewhat rude ornaments have attracted so much attention that two or three stores in San Francisco keep a variety of them for sale. But it is the charm of having purchased such souvenirs on the spot which forms half their value.

Speaking of these souvenirs, the author was shown some stone carvings at Victoria, on the passage from Puget Sound northward, which were of native manufacture, and thought to be idols. It was afterwards learned that these were the works of the Haidas of Queen Charlotte Island, about seventy or eighty miles north of Vancouver Island. There is here a slate-stone, quite soft when first quarried, which is easily carved into any design or fanciful figure, but which rapidly hardens on exposure to the air. The stone is oiled when the carving is completed, and this gives it the appearance of age, as well as makes it dark and smooth. The natives of this northwest coast do not worship idols, therefore these are not objects of that character, though they are curious and interesting. It is among these Haidas that the practice of tattooing most prevails, and they still cover their bodies with designs of birds, fishes, and animals, some of which are most hideous caricatures. This tribe is said to be the most addicted to gambling of any on the coast, the demoralizing effect of which is to be seen in various forms among them.

Fort Wrangel has several demon-like totem-poles. There is a sort of fascination attached to these awkward objects which leads one carefully to examine and constantly to talk about them. Before some cabins there are two of the weird things, covered with devices representing both the male and female branches of the family which occupies the cabin. It was found that much more importance was attached to these emblems here than had been manifested farther south. An interested excursionist who came up on our steamer, wishing to possess himself of a totem-pole, found one at last of suitable size for transportation, and tried to purchase it, but discovered that no possible sum which he could offer would be considered as an equivalent for it. All of his subsequent efforts in this line proved equally unsuccessful so far as totem-poles were concerned, and yet we remember that they are to be found in many of our public museums throughout the States, and we have seen large ones lying upon the ground moss covered and neglected. It appeared to be only the rich native who indulged in an individual totem-pole. The cost of one, say forty or fifty feet long, carved after the orthodox fashion, with the free feast given at all such raisings, is said to be over a thousand dollars. The more lavish the expenditure on these occasions, the greater the honor achieved by the host.

There is a successful day-school established here besides the Indian Girls’ Home, which is accomplishing much good in educating the rising generation, and in introducing civilized manners and customs. The children evince a fair degree of natural aptitude, learning easily to read and write, but are a little dull, we were told, in arithmetic. Adult, uneducated natives, however, are quick enough at making all necessary calculations in their trades with the whites, either as purchasers of domestic goods, or in selling their peltries. The Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Moravians, Quakers, Baptists, and Roman Catholics all have missionary stations in different parts of the country. Schools have also been established for the general instruction of whites and natives at Juneau, Sitka, Wrangel, Jackson, and other localities under direction of our government officials, and proper teachers have been supplied, the whole system being under the supervision of a competent head. Mrs. J. G. Hyde, who teaches school at Juneau, in her last year’s report, says: “Many of the scholars, who, when the term began last September, could not speak a word of English, can now not only speak, but read and write it. They can also spell correctly and are beginning in the first principles of arithmetic. To the casual observer perhaps nothing seems more absurd than the attempt by any process to enlighten the clouded intellect of this benighted people. Indeed, the most squalid street Arabs might be considered a thousand times more desirable as pupils. But a few days’ work among and for them convinces the teacher that she has not a boisterous, uncontrollable lot of children, but as much the opposite as it is possible to imagine. Children who habitually refrain from playing during intermission that they may learn some lesson or how to do some fancy work are not to be classed with the wild, wayward, or vicious. Boys who, when their regular lessons are done, are continually designing and drawing cannot be said to be entirely devoid of talent worthy of cultivation. While the development must be slow in most cases, there are a few who would compare favorably with white children. Their abnormal development of the faculty of form gives them an inestimable advantage over their more favored pale-face brothers in acquiring the art of writing and drawing. Their mind acts very slowly, but they make up in tenacity of purpose what they lack in aptness.”

At Sitka there is an industrial school which is very successful training native boys and girls in mechanical and domestic occupations, and of which we will speak in detail in a further chapter.