The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Page 84

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84

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

filled with salmon. -Since we own Alaska, our
Government has spent, including the purchase
price, the sum of $35,816,674 for various kinds of
improvements. On the other hand, Alaska has
produced during this period, in minerals, fish, and
furs, more than $500,000,000.

A Land of Surprises.

Alaska has scenery which in grandeur and ma-
jesty surpasses that of any other part of the world.
Its glaciers are taller than the Capitol at Washing-
ton and gleam and glitter in the brilliant sunlight
like vast surfaces of glass. Its mountains are said
to surpass the Alps in rugged beauty. Its trees are
taller than the giant redwoods of California.
Alaska has weather so cold that you cannot imagine
it possible to be colder, but in some parts its tem-
perature is balmy and even tropical at certain sea-
sons of the year. Landscapes which in winter are
covered with snow four and five feet thick are in
summer transformed into luscious, gay-colored
berry-fields. Soil frozen to a depth of many feet in
winter will yield seventeen tons of potatoes to the
acre in summer. Alaska’s agricultural resources
can easily be increased so as to support a rural
population of 10,000,000. Its fisheries employ
21,000 people and annually yield no less than
$20,000,000. The annual output of gold in Alaska
is about $16,000,000, and the yearly production of
copper even reaches about $27,000,000. It also has
valuable deposits of coal, in fact, the richest in the
world, richer even than the fields of Virginia and
Kentucky. A government railroad will open these
rich’ coal-fields in the near future. The railroads
will make Alaska a great commercial factor and
will increase its sales, which now already exceed
$50,000,000 a year, to unthought-of figures.

Who Lives in Alaska?

Though Alaska is almost as large as the United
States east of the Mississippi, its population totals
only about 55,000, of whom a little over half are
whites, while the rest are Iéskimos and Indians.
The Eskimos live in the northern part of Alaska:
the Aleutian Islands and the adjoining mainland
are inhabited by the Aleuts, who are supposed to
have descended from the Asiatics and much re-
semble the Japanese; in the interior of the penin-
sula, which is a vast plateau, live the Athabascan
Indians; while the Panhandle District — Southern
Alaska — is the home of the Thlingets, also an In-
dian tribe. The Indians of Alaska all look more
like Chinese and Japanese than like the Indians of

our country. Their complexion is yellowish and
light brown, their eyes are somewhat slanting, and
their cheek bones are very high. This resemblance
to the Japanese and Chinese leads many to think
that their original home was in the eastern part of
Asia. It is also claimed that certain customs obtain
among the Alaskan natives which were observed in
Japan before the coming of Western civilization.

’ The Thlingets and the smaller Hydah tribe are
famous for their totem-poles. These were put up
before their houses and over the graves of their
chiefs and heads of families. The totem-poles are
tribal coats of arms, each family having its special
emblems and signs. The Indian can read these
signs with ease. The totem in front of a house tells
him who lives there and gives him also the story of
the owner’s family. Tribal and family crests are
also used on moccasins, baskets, and other articles.
Generally the totems are carved out of wood, but
the memorial totems on graves are often carved out
of marble and other stone.

Woman’s High Place among Alaskan Indians.

Woman occupies a high position among the In-
dians of Alaska. In fact, she rules the family and
has the purse in her hands. She is consulted before
any bargain is made, any journey is undertaken, or
any other thing of importance is done. The family
sign of the wife occupies the highest position on the
totem-pole, and the crest of the husband’s family is
lower down. Most of the families among these In-
dians were founded by women, if the legends of the
tribes are to be believed. An Indian can tell by the
totem-pole the family of the mother that rules the
house, and if he belongs to the same family, he
knows that he will be welcome; but if he does not,
he may decide not to stop.

Religious Legends.

Thesé Indians have legends concerning the
creation of man and the origin of the sun, the
moon, and the stars that indicate that they are per-
versions of the true story of the creation. So also
their story of the Flood has in it remnants that
show that their ancestors in the remote past knew
the true story. In the Thlinget story of the Flood
the raven plays a very prominent part.

Results of Missions among the Indians of Alaska.

Cannibalism was common in the southern part
of Alaska when the missionaries first came there.
When Alaska became an American possession, in
1867, slavery was existing among the Thlingets.