From the first moment I laid eyes on Sitka—rising like a vision between green forest and snowy peaks—she claimed a permanent place in my heart. Each return only deepened the enchantment. With her white church gleaming at the end of the main street and the ancient Russian storehouse guarding the wharf, Sitka is a town where history and heartache blend with humor and reverence. The Russian Orthodox church, crowned with its green dome, holds priceless ikons and relics once cast ashore after shipwrecks, including the sacred image of Archangel Michael. Inside, you’ll find no pews—only the golden hush of incense and silver-covered saints watching over the standing faithful. But Sitka’s magic is not confined to sanctity alone. Along the shadowy passage of the storehouse squat rows of Indian women, wrapped in vibrant blankets, their wares at their feet and mischief in their eyes. One sold me a "historic" dish, encrusted with what seemed centuries of use. Their laughter at my purchase still echoes in my mind—and in the teasing smiles of every fellow passenger thereafter. From sacred ikons to carved spoons and sarcastic squaws, Sitka is where the sublime meets the ridiculous, and where memory becomes legend.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter seventeen. Since Sica first dawned upon my sight on
a June day, in her setting of vivid green and
glistening white, she has been one of my dearest memories
four times, and all have the green islands drifted apart
to let her rise from the blue sea before my
enchanted eyes. And with each visit she has grown more
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dear and her memory more tormenting. Something gives Sica a
different look and atmosphere from any other town. It may
be her whiteness glistening against the rich green background of
forest and hill, with the whiteness of the mountains shining
in the higher lights. Or it may be the severely
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white and plain Greek church rising in the center of
the main street, not more than a block from the water,
that gives Sica her chaste and immaculate appearance. No buildings
obstruct the view of the church from the water. There
it is in the form of a Greek cross, with
its green roof, steeple, and bulbous dome. This church is
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generally supposed to be the one that Baronoff built at
the beginning of the century, but this is not true.
Bearonov did build a small chapel but it was in
eighteen forty eight that the foundation of the present church
was laid, almost thirty years after the death of baronof
It was under the special protection of the Czar, who
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with other members of the imperial family sent many costly
furnishings and ornaments. Viniemenov, who was later made archpriest and
still later the Archbishop of Kamchatka, and during the last
years of his noble life, the Metropolitan of Moscow, sent
many of the rich vestments, paintings and furnishings. The chime
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of silvery bells was also sent from Moscow. Upon landing
at Sika, one is confronted by the old log storehouse
of the Russians. This is an immense building barricading the
wharf from the town. A narrow, dark, gloomy passage way
or alley leads through the center of this building. It
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seems as long as an ordinary city square to the
bewildered stranger groping through its shadows in front of this
building and inside both ends of the passage, as far
as the light reaches, squat squaws, young and old, pretty
and hideous, starry eyed and no eyed, saucy and kind
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arrogant and humble, taciturn and voluble, vivacious, end weary faced.
Surely no known variety of squaw may be asked for
and not found in this long line that reaches from
the wharf to the green roofed church. There is no
night so wild and tempestuous, and no hour of any
night so late, or of any morning so early, that
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the passenger hastening ashore is not this long line of
dark faced women. They sit like so many patient, noiseless statues,
with their tempting wares clustered around the flat, todent feet
of each. Not only is this true of Sitka, but
of every landing place on the whole coast where dwells
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an Indian or an alleyu that has something to sell.
Long before the boat lands, their gay shawls by day
or their dusky outlines by night are discovered from the
deck of the steamer. How they manage it, no ship's
officer can tell, for the whistle is frequently not blown
until the boat is within a few yards of the shore.
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Yet there they are waiting. Sometimes at night they appear
simultaneously fluttering down into there places, swiftly and noiselessly, like
a flock of birds settling down to res fray moment
in their flight. Some of these women men are dressed
in skirts and waists, but the majority are wrapped in
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the everlasting gay blankets. No lip or nose ornaments are seen,
even in the most aged. Two or three men are
scattered down the line to guard the women from being cheated.
These tall and lordly creatures strut noiselessly and superciliously about,
clucking out guttural advice to the squaws as well as
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to all appearances the frankest criticism of the persons examining
their wares with a view tou purchasing. The women are
very droll and apparently have a keen sense of humor,
and one is sure to have considerable fun poked at
one going down the line. Mild tempered people do not
take umbrage at this ridicule. In fact, they rather enjoy
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it being one of them. I lost my temper only once.
A young squaw offered me a wooden dish, explaining in
broken English that it was an old eating dish. It
had a flat handle with a hole in it, and
as cooking and eating utensils are never washed, it had
the horrors of ages encrusted within it to the depth
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of an inch or more. This, of course, only added
to its value. I paid her a dollar for it,
and had just taken it up gingerly and shudderingly with
the tips of my fingers, when, to my amazement and confusion,
the girl who had sold it to me, two older
women who were squatting near, and a tall man leaning
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against the wall, all burst simultaneously into jeering and uncontrollable laughter.
As I gazed at them suspiciously and with reddening face.
The young woman pointed a brown and unclean finger at me,
while as for the chorus of chuckles and duckings that
assailed my ears, I hope I may never hear their
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like again. To add to my embarrassment, some passengers at
that moment approached hello. Sally said one, what's the matter?
Laughing too heartily to reply. She pointed at the wooden dish,
which I was vainly trying to hide. They all looked,
saw and laughed with the Indians. For a week afterward,
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they smiled every time they looked at me, And I
do believe that every man, woman and child on the
steamer came smiling to my cabin to see my by.
But the ridicule of my kind was as nothing compared
to that of the Indians themselves, to be taken in
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by the descendant of a collotion and then jeered at
to one's very face. The only possession of an Alaskan
Indian that may not be purchased is a rosary. An
attempted by one is met with glances of aversion. It
has been blessed, one woman said, almost in a whisper.
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But they have most beautiful long strings of big, evenly
cut sapphire blue beads. They call them Russian beads, and
point out certain ones which were once used as money
among the Indians. Their wears consist chiefly of baskets, but
there are also immense spoons carved artistically out of the
horns of mountain sheep, richly beaded moccasins of many different materials,
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carved and gayly painted. Canoes and paddles of the fragrant
Alaska cedar or sitcapine totem poles carved out of dark
gray slate, stone, lamps carved out of wood and inlaid
with a fine pearl like shell. These are formed like
animals with the backs hollowed to hold oil. There are
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silver spoons, rings, bracelets and chains, all delicately traced with
totemic designs. Knives, virgin charms, chilcred blankets, and now and
then a genuine old spear or bow and arrow that
proves the dearest treasure of all copyright by dabs no
Maskimo lad in Parka and Mucklucks copyright by dabs no
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Eskimo lad in Parka and Mucklucks. Old wooden or bone
gambling sticks, finely carved, polished to a satin finish, and
sometimes in lath with fragments of shell or burnt with
tatemic designs, are also greatly to be desired. The main
features of interest in Sica are the Greek Russian church
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and the walk along the beach to Indian River Park.
A small admission fee is charged at the church door.
This goes to the poor fund of the parish. It
is the only church in Alaska that charges a regular fee,
but in all the others there are contribution boxes. When
one has, with burning cheeks seen his fellow Americans drop
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dimes and nickels into the boxes of these churches, which
have been specially opened at much inconvenience for there accommodation.
He is glad to see the fifty cent fee at
the door charged. There are no seats in the church.
The congregation stands or niels during the entire service. There
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are three sanctuaries and as many altars. The chief sanctuary
is the one in the middle, and it is dedicated
to the Orchestrateigos Michael. The sanctuary is separated from the
body of the church by a screen which has a
shaky look by the way, adorned with twelve kons or
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images in costly silver and gold casings artistically chased. The
middle door leading into the sanctuary is called the Royal
Gates because through it the Holy Sacrament or Eucharist is
carried out to the faithful. It is most beautifully carved
and decorated. Above it is a magnificent icon representing the
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Last Supper. The heavy silver case is of great value.
The casings alone of the twelve icons on the screen
cost many thousands of dollars. An interesting story is attached
to the one of the patron saint of the church,
the Archangel Michael. The ship Neva, on her way to Sika,
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was wrecked at the base of Mount Edgecombe. A large
and valuable cargo was lost, but the icon was miraculously
cast upon the beach uninjured. Many of the icons and
other adornments of the church were presented by the survivors
of wrecked vessels, others by illustrious friends in Russia. One
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that had paled and grown dim was restored by Missus Emmons,
the wife of Lieutenant Emmons, whose work in Alaska was
of great value. When the royal gates are open, the
entire sanctuary or Holy of Holies, in which no woman
is permitted to set foot lest it be defiled, may
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be to one who does not understand the significance of
the various objects the sanctuary proves a disappointment until the
splendid old vestments of cloth of gold and silver are
brought out. These were the personal gifts of the Great Bear.
Enough they are exceedingly rich and sumptuous, as is the
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bishop stole, made of cloth woven of heavy silver threads.
The left hand chapel is consecrated to Our Lady of Kazan.
It is adorned with several icons, one of which the
Mother of God is at once the most beautiful and
the most valuable object in the church. An offer of
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fifteen thousand dollars was refuse for it. The large, dark
eyes of the Madonna are so filled with sorrowful, tenderness
and passion that they cannot be forgotten. They follow one
about the chapel, and after he has gone out into
the fresh air and the unlike, he still feels them
upon him. Those mournful eyes hold a message that hansta
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one who has once tried to read it. The appeal
which the unknown Russian artist has painted into them produces
an effect that is enduring. But most precious of all
to me were those objects of whatsoever value which were
presented by Inocentious, the Metropolitan of Moscow, the noble and
the devoted. If ever a man went forth in search
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of the Holy Grail, it was he, And if ever
a man came near finding the Holy Grail, it was
likewise he. From Sitka to Aunalaska and up the Yukon,
so far as the Russian influence goes, his name is
still murmured with a veneration that is almost adoration. Historians
know him and praise him without a dissenting voice, as
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Father Viniemenov. For it was under this simple and unassuming
title that the pure, ernest and devout young Russian came
to the colonies in eighteen twenty three, carrying the high
white light of his faith to the wretched natives among
whom his life work was to be. From that time on,
almost to the end, no man has ever done as
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much for the natives of Alaska as he, not even
mister Duncan. His heart being all love and his nature
all tenderness, he grew to love the gentle, illusions and sickens,
and so won their love and trust in return. In
the Sika Church is a very costly and splendid vessel
used for the Eucharist, which was once stolen, but afterward returned.
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There are sensors of pure silver and chase design which
tinkle musically as they swing. A visit to the building
of the Russian Orthodox Mission is also interesting. There will
be found some of the personal belongings of Father Viniemenov.
His clock, a writing desk which was made by his
own own hands of massive and enduring workmanship, and several
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articles of furniture. Also the icon which once adorned his cell,
a gift of Princess Potemkin, Sir George Simpson describes an
Easter festival at Sitka in eighteen forty two. He found
all the people decked in festal attire upon his arrival
at nine o'clock in the morning. They were also men
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and women quite tipsy. Upon arriving at Governor Ethelyn's residence,
he was ushered into the Great Banqueting room, where a
large party was rising from breakfast. This party was composed
of the bishop and priests, the Lutheran clergyman, the naval officers,
the secretaries, business men and masters, and mates of vessels,
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numbering in all about seventy all arrayed in uniforms or
at the least in elegant dress. From morning till night,
Sir George was compelled to run a gauntlet kisses. When
two persons met, one said christ is risen, and this
was a signal for prolonged kissing. Some of them, as
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Sir George naively, were certainly pleasant enough, but many, even
when the performers were of the fair sex, were perhaps
too highly flavored for perfect comfort. He was likewise compelled
to accept many hard boiled gilded eggs as souvenirs. During
the whole week. Every bell in the chimes of the
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church rang incessantly from morning to night, from night to morning,
and poor Sir George found thee jangling of these confounded
bells harder to endure than the eggs or the kisses.
Sir George extalled the virtues of the Bishop Viniemenov. His
appearance impressed the governor in chief, with all his talents
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and attainments, seemed worthy of his already exalted station, while
the gentleness which characterized his every word indeed insensibly molded
reverence into love. Wimper visited Sitka in eighteen sixty five
and found Russian hospitality under the administration of Matsukov almost
as lavish as during Baronof's famous reign. Copyright by E. A.
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Hegg Juno Scales and Summit of Chilcoop Pass in eighteen
ninety eight. Copyright by E. A. Hegg Juno Scales and
Summit of Chilcoop Pass in eighteen ninety eight. Russian hospitality
is proverbial remarks Whimper, and we all somewhat suffered therefrom
The first phrase of their language acquired by US was
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pennitt coppla fifteen drops. This innocently sounding phrase really meant
a good half tumbler of some undiluted liquor, ranging from
kooniak to raw vodka, which was pressed upon the visitors
upon every available occasion. A refuse to drink ment and
insult to their hosts, and they were often sorely put
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to it to carry gracefully the burden of entertainment which
they dared not decline. The big brass samovar was in
every household, and they were compelled to drink strong Russian
tea served by the tumblerful balls. Banquets and fates in
the gardens of the social clubs were given in their honor,
while their fleet of four vessels in the harbor was
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daily visited by large numbers of Russian ladies and gentlemen
from the town. At all seasons of the year, the
tables of the higher classes were supplied with game, chickens, pork, vegetables, berries,
and every luxury obtainable, while the food of the common
laborers was in summer fresh fish and in winter salt fish.
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Sir George Simpson attended a colotionan funeral at Sitka or
New Archangel in eighteen forty two. The body of the deceased,
arrayed in the gayest of apparel, lay in state four
two or three days, during which time the relatives fasted
and bewailed their loss. At the end of this period,
the body was placed on a funeral pyre, round which
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the relatives gathered, their faces painted black and their hair
covered with eagles down. The pipe was passed around several times,
and then, in obedience day secret sign, the fire was
kindled in several places at once. Wailings and loud lamentations
accompanied by ceaseless strumming, continued until the pyre was entirely consumed.
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The ashes were at last collected into an ornamental box,
which was elevated on a scaffold. Many of these monuments
were seen on the side of a neighboring hill. A
wedding witnessed at about the same time was quite as
interesting as the funeral, presenting several unique features. A good
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look king Creole girl named Our commanded Toofra, married the
mate of a vessel lying in port, Attended by their
friends and the more important residence of Sitka. The couple
proceeded at six o'clock in the evening to the church,
where a tiresome service lasting an hour and a half,
was solemnized by a priest. The bridegroom then led his
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bride to the ballroom. The most startling feature of this
wedding was of Russian rather than Savage origin. The person
compelled to bear all the expense of the wedding was
chosen to give the bride away, and no men upon
whom this honor was conferred ever declined it. This custom
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might be followed with beneficial results today, a bachelor being
always honored, until in sheer self defense, many a young
man would prefer to pay for his own wedding to
constantly paying for the wedding of some other man. It
is more polite than the proposed tax on. At this wedding,
the beauty and fashion of sitka were assembled. The ladies
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were showy, attired in muslin dresses, white satin shoes, silk
stockings and kid gloves. They wore flowers and carried white fans.
The ball was opened by the bride and the highest
officer present, and quadrille followed waltz in rapid succession until daylight.
The music was excellent, and the unfortunate host and paymaster
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of the ceremonies carried out his part like a prince. Tea, coffee, chocolate,
and champagne were served generously, varied with delicate foods, petnicht kop,
loss of strong liquors and expensive cigars. According to the
law of the Church, the bridesmaids and bride's men were
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prohibited from marrying each other, but owing to the limitations
in Sitka, a special dispensation had been granted permitting such marriages.
From the old Russian cemetery on the hill, a panoramic
view is obtained of the town, the harbor, the blue
waterways winding among the green islands to the ocean, and
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the snow mountains floating above the pearly clouds on all sides.
In a quiet corner of the cemetery rests the first
Princess Matsakov, an englishwoman who graced the castle on the
Rock ere She died in the middle sixties. Her successor
was young, beautiful and gay, and her reign was as
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brilliant as it was brief. Shia was who, through bitter
and passionate tears, dimly beheld the Russian flag lowered from
its proud place on the castle's lofty flagstaff and the
flag of the United States sweeping up in its stead.
But the first proud Princess Matzakov slept on in her
quiet resting place beside the Blue and Aliens Sea, and
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grieved not From all parts of the harbor and the
town is seen the Kikoer, the rocky promontory from which
Baronaff and Lizinski drove the collotions after the massacre, and
upon which Baronoff's castle later stood. It rises abruptly to
a height of about eighty feet and is ascended by
a long flight of wooden steps. The first castle was burned,
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another was erected and was destroyed by earthquake, was rebuilt,
and was again destroyed, the second time by fire. The
eminence is now occupied by the home of Professor Georgeson,
who conducts the government agricultural experimental work in Alaska. The
old log trading house, which is on the right side
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of the street leading to the church, is wearing out
at last. On Some of the old building's patches of
modern weather boarding mingle with the massive and ancient logs,
producing an effect that is almost grotesque. In the old hotel,
Lady Franklin once rested with an uneasy heart during the
famous search for her husband. The barracks and custom house
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front on a vivid green parade ground that slopes to
the water. Slender graveled roads led across this well kept
green to the quarters and to the building formerly occupied
by Governor Brady as the executive offices. His residence is
farther on around the bay, in the direction of the
Indian village. There are fine fur and curios stores on
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the main street. The homes of Sitka are neat and attractive.
The window boxes and carefully tended gardens are brilliant with
bloom in summer. Passing through the town, one soon reaches
the hard white road that leads along the curving shingle
to Indian River. The road curves with the beach and
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goes glimmering on ahead until it disappears in the green
mist of the forest. Surely, no place on this fair
earth could less deserve the offensive name of park than
the strip of land bordering Indian River, five hundred feet
wide on one bank and two hundred fifty feet on
the other, between the falls and the low plain where
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it pours into the sea, which in eighteen ninety was
set aside for this purpose, it has been kept under filed.
There is not a sign, nor a painted seat, nor
a little stiff flower bed in it. There is not
a striped paper bag, nor a peanut shell, nor the
peel of an orange anywhere. It must be that only
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those people who live on beauty instead of food haunt
this beautiful spot. The spruce, the cedar, and the pine
grow gracefully and luxuriantly, their lacy branches spreading out, flat
and motionless upon the still air, tapering from the ground
to a fine point. The hard road velvet napped with
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the spicy needles of centuries, winds through them and under them,
the branches, often touching them wayfarer's bared head. The devil's
club grows tall and large. There are thickets of salmon
berry and thimbleberry. There are banks of velvety green and
others blue with violets. There are hedges of wild roses,
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the bloom looking in the distance, lichen amethysts, cloud floating
upon the green. The Alaskan thimbleberry is the most delicious
berry that grows large, scarlet, velvety, yet evanescent. It scarcely
touches the tongue ere its ravishing flavor has become a memory.
The vegetation is all of tropical luxuriance, and owing to
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its constant dew and mis baths, it is of an
intense and vivid green that is fairly dazzling where the
sun touches it. One of the chief charms of the
wooded reserve is its stillness, broken only by the musical
rush of waters and the lyrical notes of birds. A
kind of lavender twilight abides beneath the trees, and with
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a narrow spruceiled vis does that open at every turn,
gives one a sensation as of being in some dim
and scented cathedral. Enticing paths lead away from the main
road to the river, where the voices of rapids and
cataracts call, But at last one comes to an open
space so closely walled round on all sides by the
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forest that it may easily be passed without being seen,
and to which one makes his way with difficulty, pushing
aside branches of trees and tall ferns as he proceeds. Here,
producing an effect that is positively uncanny, are several great
totems shining out brilliantly from their dark green setting. One
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experiences that solemn feeling which every one has known as
of standing among the dead. The shades of barre enough
bearing Lizenski, Veniamenov, Cherikov, all the unknown murdered ones too,
go drifting noiselessly with reproachful faces through the dim wood.
It was on the beach near this grove of totems
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that Lizenski's men were murdered by Collosians in eighteen o
four while obtaining water for the ship. The Sika Industrial
Training School was founded nearly thirty years ago by ex
Governor Brady, who was then a missionary to the Indians
of Alaska. It was first attended by about one hundred natives,
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ranging from the very young to the very old. This
school was continued with varied success by different people, including
Captain Glass of the Jamestown until doctor Sheldon Jackson became interested,
and with mister Brady and mister Austen, sought and obtained
aid from the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church.
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A building was erected for a boy's home, and this
was followed a year later by a girl's home. The
girls were taught to speak the English language, cook wash
Iron so mend and to become cleanly, cheerful, honest, honorable women.
The boys were taught to speak the English language, the
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trades of shoemaking, coopering, boat building, carpentry, engineering, rope making,
and all kinds of agricultural work. The rudiments of bricklaying, painting,
and paper hanging are also taught. During the year nineteen
o seven, a Bible training department was added for those
among the older boys and girls who desired to obtain
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knowledge along such lines or who aspired to take up
missionary work among their people. Twelve pupils took up the
work and six continued it throughout the year. The work
in this department is, of course, voluntary on the part
of the student. The Sitka Training School is not at
present a government school. During the early nineties had received
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aid from the government under the governments method of subsidizing
denominational schools where they were already established instead of incurring
the extra expense of establishing new government schools in the
same localities. When the government ceased granting such subsidies, the
Sitka School, as well as many other denominational schools, lost
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this assistance. The property of the school has always belonged
to the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. For many years
it was customary to keep pupils at the schools from
there entrance until their education was finished. In the summer
of nineteen oh five, the experiment was tried of permitting
a few pupils to go to their homes during vacation.
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All returned in September cheerfully and willingly, and now each
summer more than seventy boys and girls returned to their
homes to spend the time of vacation with their families.
In former years, it would have been too injurious to
the child to be subjected to the influence of its parents,
who were but slightly removed from savagery. Today, although many
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of the old Heathenish rites and customs still exist, they
have not so deep behold upon the natives, and it
is hoped and expected that the influence of the students
for good upon their people will far exceed that of
their people fill upon them. During the past year, ninety
boys and seventy four girls were enrolled, or as many
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as can be accommodated, at the schools. They represent the
three peoples into which the Indians of southeastern Alaska are
now roughly divided. The Flinkets, the Haidas, and the Simpsons.
They come from Katala, Yakitat, Skagway, Klukwan, Haines, Douglas, Juno Cassan,
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how can Metlakava Huna, and indeed from almost every point
in southeastern Alaska, wharey handful of Indians are gathered together
Chapter seventeen. Since Sica first dawned upon my sight on
a June day, in her setting of vivid green and
glistening white, she has been one of my dearest memories
four times, and all have the green islands drifted apart
to let her rise from the blue sea before my
enchanted eyes. And with each visit she has grown more
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dear and her memory more tormenting. Something gives Sica a
different look and atmosphere from any other town. It may
be her whiteness glistening against the rich green background of
forest and hill, with the whiteness of the mountains shining
in the higher lights. Or it may be the severely
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white and plain Greek church rising in the center of
the main street, not more than a block from the water,
that gives Sica her chaste and immaculate appearance. No buildings
obstruct the view of the church from the water. There
it is in the form of a Greek cross, with
its green roof, steeple, and bulbous dome. This church is
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generally supposed to be the one that Baronoff built at
the beginning of the century, but this is not true.
Bearonov did build a small chapel but it was in
eighteen forty eight that the foundation of the present church
was laid, almost thirty years after the death of baronof
It was under the special protection of the Czar, who
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with other members of the imperial family sent many costly
furnishings and ornaments. Viniemenov, who was later made archpriest and
still later the Archbishop of Kamchatka, and during the last
years of his noble life, the Metropolitan of Moscow, sent
many of the rich vestments, paintings and furnishings. The chime
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of silvery bells was also sent from Moscow. Upon landing
at Sika, one is confronted by the old log storehouse
of the Russians. This is an immense building barricading the
wharf from the town. A narrow, dark, gloomy passage way
or alley leads through the center of this building. It
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seems as long as an ordinary city square to the
bewildered stranger groping through its shadows in front of this
building and inside both ends of the passage, as far
as the light reaches, squat squaws, young and old, pretty
and hideous, starry eyed and no eyed, saucy and kind
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arrogant and humble, taciturn and voluble, vivacious, end weary faced.
Surely no known variety of squaw may be asked for
and not found in this long line that reaches from
the wharf to the green roofed church. There is no
night so wild and tempestuous, and no hour of any
night so late, or of any morning so early, that
(02:57):
the passenger hastening ashore is not this long line of
dark faced women. They sit like so many patient, noiseless statues,
with their tempting wares clustered around the flat, todent feet
of each. Not only is this true of Sitka, but
of every landing place on the whole coast where dwells
(03:20):
an Indian or an alleyu that has something to sell.
Long before the boat lands, their gay shawls by day
or their dusky outlines by night are discovered from the
deck of the steamer. How they manage it, no ship's
officer can tell, for the whistle is frequently not blown
until the boat is within a few yards of the shore.
(03:42):
Yet there they are waiting. Sometimes at night they appear
simultaneously fluttering down into there places, swiftly and noiselessly, like
a flock of birds settling down to res fray moment
in their flight. Some of these women men are dressed
in skirts and waists, but the majority are wrapped in
(04:04):
the everlasting gay blankets. No lip or nose ornaments are seen,
even in the most aged. Two or three men are
scattered down the line to guard the women from being cheated.
These tall and lordly creatures strut noiselessly and superciliously about,
clucking out guttural advice to the squaws as well as
(04:26):
to all appearances the frankest criticism of the persons examining
their wares with a view tou purchasing. The women are
very droll and apparently have a keen sense of humor,
and one is sure to have considerable fun poked at
one going down the line. Mild tempered people do not
take umbrage at this ridicule. In fact, they rather enjoy
(04:49):
it being one of them. I lost my temper only once.
A young squaw offered me a wooden dish, explaining in
broken English that it was an old eating dish. It
had a flat handle with a hole in it, and
as cooking and eating utensils are never washed, it had
the horrors of ages encrusted within it to the depth
(05:11):
of an inch or more. This, of course, only added
to its value. I paid her a dollar for it,
and had just taken it up gingerly and shudderingly with
the tips of my fingers, when, to my amazement and confusion,
the girl who had sold it to me, two older
women who were squatting near, and a tall man leaning
(05:34):
against the wall, all burst simultaneously into jeering and uncontrollable laughter.
As I gazed at them suspiciously and with reddening face.
The young woman pointed a brown and unclean finger at me,
while as for the chorus of chuckles and duckings that
assailed my ears, I hope I may never hear their
(05:54):
like again. To add to my embarrassment, some passengers at
that moment approached hello. Sally said one, what's the matter?
Laughing too heartily to reply. She pointed at the wooden dish,
which I was vainly trying to hide. They all looked,
saw and laughed with the Indians. For a week afterward,
(06:17):
they smiled every time they looked at me, And I
do believe that every man, woman and child on the
steamer came smiling to my cabin to see my by.
But the ridicule of my kind was as nothing compared
to that of the Indians themselves, to be taken in
(06:37):
by the descendant of a collotion and then jeered at
to one's very face. The only possession of an Alaskan
Indian that may not be purchased is a rosary. An
attempted by one is met with glances of aversion. It
has been blessed, one woman said, almost in a whisper.
(06:58):
But they have most beautiful long strings of big, evenly
cut sapphire blue beads. They call them Russian beads, and
point out certain ones which were once used as money
among the Indians. Their wears consist chiefly of baskets, but
there are also immense spoons carved artistically out of the
horns of mountain sheep, richly beaded moccasins of many different materials,
(07:23):
carved and gayly painted. Canoes and paddles of the fragrant
Alaska cedar or sitcapine totem poles carved out of dark
gray slate, stone, lamps carved out of wood and inlaid
with a fine pearl like shell. These are formed like
animals with the backs hollowed to hold oil. There are
(07:43):
silver spoons, rings, bracelets and chains, all delicately traced with
totemic designs. Knives, virgin charms, chilcred blankets, and now and
then a genuine old spear or bow and arrow that
proves the dearest treasure of all copyright by dabs no
Maskimo lad in Parka and Mucklucks copyright by dabs no
(08:08):
Eskimo lad in Parka and Mucklucks. Old wooden or bone
gambling sticks, finely carved, polished to a satin finish, and
sometimes in lath with fragments of shell or burnt with
tatemic designs, are also greatly to be desired. The main
features of interest in Sica are the Greek Russian church
(08:28):
and the walk along the beach to Indian River Park.
A small admission fee is charged at the church door.
This goes to the poor fund of the parish. It
is the only church in Alaska that charges a regular fee,
but in all the others there are contribution boxes. When
one has, with burning cheeks seen his fellow Americans drop
(08:53):
dimes and nickels into the boxes of these churches, which
have been specially opened at much inconvenience for there accommodation.
He is glad to see the fifty cent fee at
the door charged. There are no seats in the church.
The congregation stands or niels during the entire service. There
(09:13):
are three sanctuaries and as many altars. The chief sanctuary
is the one in the middle, and it is dedicated
to the Orchestrateigos Michael. The sanctuary is separated from the
body of the church by a screen which has a
shaky look by the way, adorned with twelve kons or
(09:33):
images in costly silver and gold casings artistically chased. The
middle door leading into the sanctuary is called the Royal
Gates because through it the Holy Sacrament or Eucharist is
carried out to the faithful. It is most beautifully carved
and decorated. Above it is a magnificent icon representing the
(09:57):
Last Supper. The heavy silver case is of great value.
The casings alone of the twelve icons on the screen
cost many thousands of dollars. An interesting story is attached
to the one of the patron saint of the church,
the Archangel Michael. The ship Neva, on her way to Sika,
(10:17):
was wrecked at the base of Mount Edgecombe. A large
and valuable cargo was lost, but the icon was miraculously
cast upon the beach uninjured. Many of the icons and
other adornments of the church were presented by the survivors
of wrecked vessels, others by illustrious friends in Russia. One
(10:39):
that had paled and grown dim was restored by Missus Emmons,
the wife of Lieutenant Emmons, whose work in Alaska was
of great value. When the royal gates are open, the
entire sanctuary or Holy of Holies, in which no woman
is permitted to set foot lest it be defiled, may
(10:59):
be to one who does not understand the significance of
the various objects the sanctuary proves a disappointment until the
splendid old vestments of cloth of gold and silver are
brought out. These were the personal gifts of the Great Bear.
Enough they are exceedingly rich and sumptuous, as is the
(11:20):
bishop stole, made of cloth woven of heavy silver threads.
The left hand chapel is consecrated to Our Lady of Kazan.
It is adorned with several icons, one of which the
Mother of God is at once the most beautiful and
the most valuable object in the church. An offer of
(11:42):
fifteen thousand dollars was refuse for it. The large, dark
eyes of the Madonna are so filled with sorrowful, tenderness
and passion that they cannot be forgotten. They follow one
about the chapel, and after he has gone out into
the fresh air and the unlike, he still feels them
upon him. Those mournful eyes hold a message that hansta
(12:06):
one who has once tried to read it. The appeal
which the unknown Russian artist has painted into them produces
an effect that is enduring. But most precious of all
to me were those objects of whatsoever value which were
presented by Inocentious, the Metropolitan of Moscow, the noble and
the devoted. If ever a man went forth in search
(12:30):
of the Holy Grail, it was he, And if ever
a man came near finding the Holy Grail, it was
likewise he. From Sitka to Aunalaska and up the Yukon,
so far as the Russian influence goes, his name is
still murmured with a veneration that is almost adoration. Historians
know him and praise him without a dissenting voice, as
(12:53):
Father Viniemenov. For it was under this simple and unassuming
title that the pure, ernest and devout young Russian came
to the colonies in eighteen twenty three, carrying the high
white light of his faith to the wretched natives among
whom his life work was to be. From that time on,
almost to the end, no man has ever done as
(13:15):
much for the natives of Alaska as he, not even
mister Duncan. His heart being all love and his nature
all tenderness, he grew to love the gentle, illusions and sickens,
and so won their love and trust in return. In
the Sika Church is a very costly and splendid vessel
used for the Eucharist, which was once stolen, but afterward returned.
(13:40):
There are sensors of pure silver and chase design which
tinkle musically as they swing. A visit to the building
of the Russian Orthodox Mission is also interesting. There will
be found some of the personal belongings of Father Viniemenov.
His clock, a writing desk which was made by his
own own hands of massive and enduring workmanship, and several
(14:04):
articles of furniture. Also the icon which once adorned his cell,
a gift of Princess Potemkin, Sir George Simpson describes an
Easter festival at Sitka in eighteen forty two. He found
all the people decked in festal attire upon his arrival
at nine o'clock in the morning. They were also men
(14:25):
and women quite tipsy. Upon arriving at Governor Ethelyn's residence,
he was ushered into the Great Banqueting room, where a
large party was rising from breakfast. This party was composed
of the bishop and priests, the Lutheran clergyman, the naval officers,
the secretaries, business men and masters, and mates of vessels,
(14:48):
numbering in all about seventy all arrayed in uniforms or
at the least in elegant dress. From morning till night,
Sir George was compelled to run a gauntlet kisses. When
two persons met, one said christ is risen, and this
was a signal for prolonged kissing. Some of them, as
(15:10):
Sir George naively, were certainly pleasant enough, but many, even
when the performers were of the fair sex, were perhaps
too highly flavored for perfect comfort. He was likewise compelled
to accept many hard boiled gilded eggs as souvenirs. During
the whole week. Every bell in the chimes of the
(15:31):
church rang incessantly from morning to night, from night to morning,
and poor Sir George found thee jangling of these confounded
bells harder to endure than the eggs or the kisses.
Sir George extalled the virtues of the Bishop Viniemenov. His
appearance impressed the governor in chief, with all his talents
(15:53):
and attainments, seemed worthy of his already exalted station, while
the gentleness which characterized his every word indeed insensibly molded
reverence into love. Wimper visited Sitka in eighteen sixty five
and found Russian hospitality under the administration of Matsukov almost
as lavish as during Baronof's famous reign. Copyright by E. A.
(16:18):
Hegg Juno Scales and Summit of Chilcoop Pass in eighteen
ninety eight. Copyright by E. A. Hegg Juno Scales and
Summit of Chilcoop Pass in eighteen ninety eight. Russian hospitality
is proverbial remarks Whimper, and we all somewhat suffered therefrom
The first phrase of their language acquired by US was
(16:42):
pennitt coppla fifteen drops. This innocently sounding phrase really meant
a good half tumbler of some undiluted liquor, ranging from
kooniak to raw vodka, which was pressed upon the visitors
upon every available occasion. A refuse to drink ment and
insult to their hosts, and they were often sorely put
(17:04):
to it to carry gracefully the burden of entertainment which
they dared not decline. The big brass samovar was in
every household, and they were compelled to drink strong Russian
tea served by the tumblerful balls. Banquets and fates in
the gardens of the social clubs were given in their honor,
while their fleet of four vessels in the harbor was
(17:26):
daily visited by large numbers of Russian ladies and gentlemen
from the town. At all seasons of the year, the
tables of the higher classes were supplied with game, chickens, pork, vegetables, berries,
and every luxury obtainable, while the food of the common
laborers was in summer fresh fish and in winter salt fish.
(17:50):
Sir George Simpson attended a colotionan funeral at Sitka or
New Archangel in eighteen forty two. The body of the deceased,
arrayed in the gayest of apparel, lay in state four
two or three days, during which time the relatives fasted
and bewailed their loss. At the end of this period,
the body was placed on a funeral pyre, round which
(18:12):
the relatives gathered, their faces painted black and their hair
covered with eagles down. The pipe was passed around several times,
and then, in obedience day secret sign, the fire was
kindled in several places at once. Wailings and loud lamentations
accompanied by ceaseless strumming, continued until the pyre was entirely consumed.
(18:39):
The ashes were at last collected into an ornamental box,
which was elevated on a scaffold. Many of these monuments
were seen on the side of a neighboring hill. A
wedding witnessed at about the same time was quite as
interesting as the funeral, presenting several unique features. A good
(18:59):
look king Creole girl named Our commanded Toofra, married the
mate of a vessel lying in port, Attended by their
friends and the more important residence of Sitka. The couple
proceeded at six o'clock in the evening to the church,
where a tiresome service lasting an hour and a half,
was solemnized by a priest. The bridegroom then led his
(19:22):
bride to the ballroom. The most startling feature of this
wedding was of Russian rather than Savage origin. The person
compelled to bear all the expense of the wedding was
chosen to give the bride away, and no men upon
whom this honor was conferred ever declined it. This custom
(19:43):
might be followed with beneficial results today, a bachelor being
always honored, until in sheer self defense, many a young
man would prefer to pay for his own wedding to
constantly paying for the wedding of some other man. It
is more polite than the proposed tax on. At this wedding,
the beauty and fashion of sitka were assembled. The ladies
(20:06):
were showy, attired in muslin dresses, white satin shoes, silk
stockings and kid gloves. They wore flowers and carried white fans.
The ball was opened by the bride and the highest
officer present, and quadrille followed waltz in rapid succession until daylight.
The music was excellent, and the unfortunate host and paymaster
(20:30):
of the ceremonies carried out his part like a prince. Tea, coffee, chocolate,
and champagne were served generously, varied with delicate foods, petnicht kop,
loss of strong liquors and expensive cigars. According to the
law of the Church, the bridesmaids and bride's men were
(20:50):
prohibited from marrying each other, but owing to the limitations
in Sitka, a special dispensation had been granted permitting such marriages.
From the old Russian cemetery on the hill, a panoramic
view is obtained of the town, the harbor, the blue
waterways winding among the green islands to the ocean, and
(21:11):
the snow mountains floating above the pearly clouds on all sides.
In a quiet corner of the cemetery rests the first
Princess Matsakov, an englishwoman who graced the castle on the
Rock ere She died in the middle sixties. Her successor
was young, beautiful and gay, and her reign was as
(21:34):
brilliant as it was brief. Shia was who, through bitter
and passionate tears, dimly beheld the Russian flag lowered from
its proud place on the castle's lofty flagstaff and the
flag of the United States sweeping up in its stead.
But the first proud Princess Matzakov slept on in her
quiet resting place beside the Blue and Aliens Sea, and
(21:58):
grieved not From all parts of the harbor and the
town is seen the Kikoer, the rocky promontory from which
Baronaff and Lizinski drove the collotions after the massacre, and
upon which Baronoff's castle later stood. It rises abruptly to
a height of about eighty feet and is ascended by
a long flight of wooden steps. The first castle was burned,
(22:23):
another was erected and was destroyed by earthquake, was rebuilt,
and was again destroyed, the second time by fire. The
eminence is now occupied by the home of Professor Georgeson,
who conducts the government agricultural experimental work in Alaska. The
old log trading house, which is on the right side
(22:45):
of the street leading to the church, is wearing out
at last. On Some of the old building's patches of
modern weather boarding mingle with the massive and ancient logs,
producing an effect that is almost grotesque. In the old hotel,
Lady Franklin once rested with an uneasy heart during the
famous search for her husband. The barracks and custom house
(23:09):
front on a vivid green parade ground that slopes to
the water. Slender graveled roads led across this well kept
green to the quarters and to the building formerly occupied
by Governor Brady as the executive offices. His residence is
farther on around the bay, in the direction of the
Indian village. There are fine fur and curios stores on
(23:33):
the main street. The homes of Sitka are neat and attractive.
The window boxes and carefully tended gardens are brilliant with
bloom in summer. Passing through the town, one soon reaches
the hard white road that leads along the curving shingle
to Indian River. The road curves with the beach and
(23:53):
goes glimmering on ahead until it disappears in the green
mist of the forest. Surely, no place on this fair
earth could less deserve the offensive name of park than
the strip of land bordering Indian River, five hundred feet
wide on one bank and two hundred fifty feet on
the other, between the falls and the low plain where
(24:15):
it pours into the sea, which in eighteen ninety was
set aside for this purpose, it has been kept under filed.
There is not a sign, nor a painted seat, nor
a little stiff flower bed in it. There is not
a striped paper bag, nor a peanut shell, nor the
peel of an orange anywhere. It must be that only
(24:38):
those people who live on beauty instead of food haunt
this beautiful spot. The spruce, the cedar, and the pine
grow gracefully and luxuriantly, their lacy branches spreading out, flat
and motionless upon the still air, tapering from the ground
to a fine point. The hard road velvet napped with
(24:58):
the spicy needles of centuries, winds through them and under them,
the branches, often touching them wayfarer's bared head. The devil's
club grows tall and large. There are thickets of salmon
berry and thimbleberry. There are banks of velvety green and
others blue with violets. There are hedges of wild roses,
(25:20):
the bloom looking in the distance, lichen amethysts, cloud floating
upon the green. The Alaskan thimbleberry is the most delicious
berry that grows large, scarlet, velvety, yet evanescent. It scarcely
touches the tongue ere its ravishing flavor has become a memory.
The vegetation is all of tropical luxuriance, and owing to
(25:43):
its constant dew and mis baths, it is of an
intense and vivid green that is fairly dazzling where the
sun touches it. One of the chief charms of the
wooded reserve is its stillness, broken only by the musical
rush of waters and the lyrical notes of birds. A
kind of lavender twilight abides beneath the trees, and with
(26:06):
a narrow spruceiled vis does that open at every turn,
gives one a sensation as of being in some dim
and scented cathedral. Enticing paths lead away from the main
road to the river, where the voices of rapids and
cataracts call, But at last one comes to an open
space so closely walled round on all sides by the
(26:28):
forest that it may easily be passed without being seen,
and to which one makes his way with difficulty, pushing
aside branches of trees and tall ferns as he proceeds. Here,
producing an effect that is positively uncanny, are several great
totems shining out brilliantly from their dark green setting. One
(26:49):
experiences that solemn feeling which every one has known as
of standing among the dead. The shades of barre enough
bearing Lizenski, Veniamenov, Cherikov, all the unknown murdered ones too,
go drifting noiselessly with reproachful faces through the dim wood.
It was on the beach near this grove of totems
(27:11):
that Lizenski's men were murdered by Collosians in eighteen o
four while obtaining water for the ship. The Sika Industrial
Training School was founded nearly thirty years ago by ex
Governor Brady, who was then a missionary to the Indians
of Alaska. It was first attended by about one hundred natives,
(27:31):
ranging from the very young to the very old. This
school was continued with varied success by different people, including
Captain Glass of the Jamestown until doctor Sheldon Jackson became interested,
and with mister Brady and mister Austen, sought and obtained
aid from the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church.
(27:55):
A building was erected for a boy's home, and this
was followed a year later by a girl's home. The
girls were taught to speak the English language, cook wash
Iron so mend and to become cleanly, cheerful, honest, honorable women.
The boys were taught to speak the English language, the
(28:15):
trades of shoemaking, coopering, boat building, carpentry, engineering, rope making,
and all kinds of agricultural work. The rudiments of bricklaying, painting,
and paper hanging are also taught. During the year nineteen
o seven, a Bible training department was added for those
among the older boys and girls who desired to obtain
(28:38):
knowledge along such lines or who aspired to take up
missionary work among their people. Twelve pupils took up the
work and six continued it throughout the year. The work
in this department is, of course, voluntary on the part
of the student. The Sitka Training School is not at
present a government school. During the early nineties had received
(29:03):
aid from the government under the governments method of subsidizing
denominational schools where they were already established instead of incurring
the extra expense of establishing new government schools in the
same localities. When the government ceased granting such subsidies, the
Sitka School, as well as many other denominational schools, lost
(29:27):
this assistance. The property of the school has always belonged
to the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. For many years
it was customary to keep pupils at the schools from
there entrance until their education was finished. In the summer
of nineteen oh five, the experiment was tried of permitting
a few pupils to go to their homes during vacation.
(29:50):
All returned in September cheerfully and willingly, and now each
summer more than seventy boys and girls returned to their
homes to spend the time of vacation with their families.
In former years, it would have been too injurious to
the child to be subjected to the influence of its parents,
who were but slightly removed from savagery. Today, although many
(30:14):
of the old Heathenish rites and customs still exist, they
have not so deep behold upon the natives, and it
is hoped and expected that the influence of the students
for good upon their people will far exceed that of
their people fill upon them. During the past year, ninety
boys and seventy four girls were enrolled, or as many
(30:36):
as can be accommodated, at the schools. They represent the
three peoples into which the Indians of southeastern Alaska are
now roughly divided. The Flinkets, the Haidas, and the Simpsons.
They come from Katala, Yakitat, Skagway, Klukwan, Haines, Douglas, Juno Cassan,
(30:57):
how can Metlakava Huna, and indeed from almost every point
in southeastern Alaska, wharey handful of Indians are gathered together
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