June.
THE ; ("WEST ., SHORE.
3
Some thirty scholars attend, and the
branches taught are the elements of a
common English school education. Be
sides, the Russian priests maintain a
school. When the Russians wefc own
ers they had several efficient schools at
this place, as the population then num
bered about a thousand persons, and
children from other parts of Alaska
were sent here to be educated.
Just now the residents do not have
their purses, only their patience taxed,
the former is too limp and slender to'
stand it; the latter perforce elastic.
Some time ago, nearly all of the present
Russian and Creole population made a
petition to their former government to
be removed from Alaska since they, are
leading an undesirable and unprofitable
existence in the country with its want
of enterprise and administration of jus
tice. Rumor now has" it that vessel
will be chartered by the Consul at San
Francisco, to convey those of their for
mer subjects who may wish it from
Alaska to Kamschatka or Siberia, where
assistance will be furnished them to
found new homes. This event is looked
forward to with joyful anticipation by
the dissatisfied Russians at Sitka, many
of whom ore not only destitute, but also
claim that they have received maltreat
ment from the present authority.
In the upper part of the Town House
is located the Masonic Lodge room.
The mystic brothers have long since
departed, and the billy goat on which,
I presume, the candidates for admission
were exercised, now roam the streets at
large, butting unwary Indian boys.
Another notable edifice is the
II Doubledccker," a two-story log house,
tottering on its base, windows all broken,
grimy, slimy, and dilapidated, in which
nearly a hundred of the most wretched
half-breeds of both sexes congregate
making night hideous by their bawls,
and day disgusting by their appearance,
and both disagreeable by divers un
qualified smells, emanating from the
unclean muss of filth in and about the
house. It is the Five Points " of the
northern metropolis. ' -
A waterpowcr sawmill, owned by
the Russian-American (Ice) Company,
turns out lumber, but as no competi
tion encroaches on their field of labor,
they charge $20 per thousand, though
Government formerly had lumber here
furnished at (9 30, currency.
After, you have taken a stroll through
the streets, which to the credit of the
town, are pretty clean, partly provided
with plank sidewalk, turn back and
mount up to the Castle. It stands high
on a bold rock projecting in the bay,
where nearly eighty ytars ago the in
trenched Indian gave successful battle
to the assailing Russian and Aleut.
This Castle, when built, was considered
and doubtless was a very " knobby "
edifice, inside splendidly equipped, the
view from the crowning light-house
tower maguificcnt, extending fur out to
the extinct volcano, Mount Edgccumlic,
and beyond on the vast ocean, and over
the town, the Indian village, the beauti
ful Silver Bay, with all the grandly tim
bered mountains surrounding town and
bay.; The governor of the Colony
here used to hold high court, and the
building was kept in fine trim, with
surrounding terrace gardcus. But the
martial owners now, partly from the
want of funds, and as is their preroga
tive, restricting and destroying rather
than building up and encouraging, let
the structure slowly decay.
Come ' down hence; we will go to
the one local restaurant and inquire
what the country affords. No beef
steaks, no veal, nor any mutton; none
of that to be had. But venison, fish
and fowl in abundance. A large deer
if you very hungry, for a dollar and a
half, a brace of ducks or geese for a
few cents, fish scarcely of any value,
the largest salmon during the season
selling for ten cents. Of vegetables,
potatoes, cabbage, cauliflowers, turnips,
onions and parsnips are raised and pros
per; and this is about the sum total of
agriculture resources, unless we add hay
and berries. Cereals will not ripen
oftencr than once in three years, neither
will peas; beans are out of the question;
and though an enterprising resident, a
Mr. Schmieg, has planted, experiment
ally , a few apple trees, and some tobacco,
the success is not yet manifest.
Dinner over, the fragrant weed dis
appearing in curly wreathes of vapor;
and being well fatigued after your voy
age, retire. No bed bugs look over
the hotel register for the number of
your room, still they will find you all
the same. It is too early in the season
for mosquitos, and flees do not abide
here. So sweetly slumber.
Hark! What now?
Aroused by a continuation of terrible
yells, you wonder are the Indians ex
cited to hostility and already sacking
the town, slaying the invading pale
face 1 Fear naught!
They have but their nightly recurring
carousal, when their melodious strains
rend the air far and wide. They have
to-night brewed an extra supply of
liquor, and arc more than commonly
w way up," so their exuberance finds an
outlet in many an inspiriting ditty sung
by hundreds of voices, accompanied by
bass drums and something that Bounds
like bones. At once a lull. Listen !
The watchful sentry has raised his
piercing voice. .
"No. I Twelve' o'clock All's
well." No. 2 repeats it. No. 3 echoes
back the sound. Then No. 1 loudly
proclaims: "All's well, all around;"
and now slowly, in measured intervals,
strikes his ponderous bell, twelve distinct
times. The dying refrain is caught up
by the bell of the second sentry, right
over the Indian gate; and again twelve
more strokes reverberate from the one
on the hill at the magazine.
It is the midnight hour, and stillness
now prevails, while the glittering
Northstar high above seems motionless
in wonderment. The Indians are all
dead drunk ; their feast at an end, no
longer will they disturb our repose, till
renewed darkness gives the signal for
another bout. "
So, for this time, good night, " and
pleasant dreams.
CLIMATE AND DISEASES OF
OREGON.
Owing to the physical conformation
of the State, and the action of the ther
mal currents of the Japan sea, the cli
mate of Oregon is siti generis. In
fact it is a variety of climates, and at
least two of the varieties are opposite.
The western division has a mild, humid
atmosphere and an equable temperature,
while the cistern division from its
altitude, and the presence of extensive
ranges of mountains, hits a dry but
pleasant and variable climate. The
first has really only two season, the wet
and the dry ; the latter has the four
seasons of the Atlantic scalward, only
that the winters arc shorter and milder,
and the summers cooler and more
equable. Snow seldom attains a depth
sufficient to check travel even in the
highest portions of Eastern Oregon,
and the proprietors of the Boise Stage
line assert that they have not missed a
trip in several years by its accumulation.
The winter commences late in Decem
ber, and lasts from two to three months,
generally the latter. The nights arc
often quite cold, owing to the dry, rare
atmosphere, but they have not liccn
known to cause any suffering by their
severity. Work is carried on through
the winter in the larger portion of the
mines, and ploughing is often done in
February and generally in March.
Snow frequently falls to a depth of
twelve inches in the valleys, but the
usual amount rarely exceeds one half
this quantity. In the high mountainous
region of Grant County, the snow fall
reaches several feet some winters, but
that is uninhabited except by a few
miners who work there in the summer.
It is no unusual occurrence to have the
snow-full limited to a slight covering,
enough to alter the hue of the landscape,
and very often, that remains on the
ground only a few , hours or days.
There is a current peculiar to this region,
called a Chinook wind, which clears
away a heavy fall of snow in a few
hours, and leaves not a vestige along its
course, seemingly burning it up. This
wind is a portion of the great south
easterly current which finds its way to
the interior, and acts a most important
part in the meteorological economy of
the region. Its warm, moist character
makes it an agreeable visitor, as it tem
pers the rarer and cooler atmosphere of
the plateaus. Ice is formed every win
ter, but it does not attain a thickness ex
ceeding a few inches. On rare occasions
a severe winter is experienced ; snow
fall to a depth of twelve to eighteen
inches, and covering the herbage, causes !
much suffering among cattle, ns their
owners never think of providing for
them even in the coldest weather.
During ordinary winters, cattle roam at
large without any food than such as is
furnished by artcmsia and bunch grass;
and without any shelter than that afford
ed by the lee of a hill or a copse, and
they generally thrive well. The sum
mer is usually dry, but little ruin fall
ing, and a rather limited quantity of
dew. The cause of this is the absorp
tion by the Cascade Range, which
towers up from three to ten thousand
leerj of the aqueous current from the
ocean; which it dissolves into vapor
around its crest, permitting a small por
tion only to spread over the rolling
plateaus beneath. A heavy impene
trable mist may be seen on the slopes
of the Cascades on a fine day in sum
mer, yet not a perceptible vapor. This
absence from any quantity of rain never
causes a drought, so that crops planted
are always . sure. Were the pluvial
fluid a little more abundant it would
however do much. good. The dry,
sunny atmosphere and long summers of
the eastern division, make it well adapt
ed to the growth of maize, melons,
sorghum and kindred products.
The autumn months arc mellow and
have a softness equal to those of Vir
ginia. The garnering of the crops is a
matter of no concern, for storms of any
kind arc unknown, hence farmers leave
their products in the field until they are
ready to attend to them, and this saves
the building of granaries or storehouses.
Eastern Oregon has a cooler summer,
and a warmer winter than those regions
on the Atlantic coast having a more
southerly location. The heat in sum
mer reaches 98 deg. occasionally, but
owing to the rare atmosphere, it is
never oppressively warm. No person
has ever suffered from sunstroke, and
that is in great contrast to the Atlantic
States, where several deaths occur every
year from its effects. We have no in
formation relative to the rain-fall, but
from the fact that copious showers des
cend in the spring, it may lie safely in
ferred that from fifteen to twenty inches
of rain fall annually. The quantity is
governed by local causes, such as the
presence of forests, mountains and
altitude. The dry, fresh invigorating
mountain air, peculiar to the region, is
deemed the liest on the coast fur those
suffering with consumption and
pneumonia, if the diseases are not
chronic.
Snow falls occasionally, but it is a
very rare occurrence to receive enough
for sleighing. Its tarry is generally
brief, and a few hours or at the utmost
a few days witness itsdeparturc. These
latter remarks are pertinent only to the
Willamette Valley, for we have not
heard of snow fulling to any extent
worth mentioning in the more southern
region. Ice is formed some winters in
the northern part of the Valley so as to
be cut for use, but such has not been the
case since 1870. The mildness of the
'winters is expressed by the number of
snowy days in 1871, which was only
eleven; and the snow-fall, nine inches
in the aggregate. In 1S73, there were
but seven snowy days, and the snow
fall amounted to only two inches and
eight-tenths. The prevalent idea that
rain falls in excessive quantities in this
State is erroneous, as a glance at the
table of meteorology will prove. In
1S7 r, the number of rainy days in the
Willamette Valley, reached one hun
dred and fifty, and the rain-fall to near
ly fifty inches, which would make the
total of both rain and snow, about fifty
nine inches., Iu S71 there were one
hundred and forty-six' rainy days; the
rain-fall was forty-six and a half inches;
the snow f)(ll nearly three inches, which
would nylic an aggregate of forty-nine
inches uiid a fuilf.'l This number in
cludes slujwer days, or days in which
some rain fell. During the winter of
1872, when the greatest suffering was
caused in the Atlantic States by the
rigorous cold, there was not half an
inch of ice formed in Western Oregon,
and p.msics, jasmine and other varieties
of flowers bloomed in the City of
Portland, which is situated in the
northerly and therefore coldest part ot
the Willomette'Villey. 5 ,
Heavy stormsof any kind 4rc un
known. The wind rarely attains a
velocity of twenty miles an hour, in
deed its mean for the duy may be esti
mated at forty hiilcs, or less than two
miles an hour. 1 One cause of this ex
emption Is the mountain ranges which
traverse the State, and break the force
of a storm should it come from the
ocean. The winds which prevail are
confined to two general directions, one
is the heated current of the winter,
which blows from the southeast, and
the other is the summer or northwest
wind. A striking peculiarity of the
climate, is its absence from destructive
storms of hail or thunder.
The climate is deemed by physicians
to be the most healthy in the world.
A glance at the mortality report of the
United States, will prove the correctness
of the generally conceded hcalthfulncKS
of the State. There ore of course
some diseases here as elsewhere, but
they arc as a whole very mild as com
pared to other countries. The only
disease that might be termed indigen
ous, is a species of intermittent fever, (
peculiar to the low bottoms along sonic.
of tlic water courses, in the western
portiun of the State. Some, persons
suffer from rhcumutism, but it is of f .
mild character and limited. For con
sumption physicians assert that the cti-,
mate cannot be excelled. , ,
In its climate, then, Oregon is
peculiarly blessed, for destructive storms,
of hail, rain, snow or wind arc unknown;
droughts arc never experienced; crops
never fail ; the w inters arc warm and (
pleasant; the summers cool and agree-,
able; herbage keeps green throughout
the ycar,'aflording cattle an abundance
of nutritious food; and finally, the State
is the most healthy in , the Union;1
advantage which should be appreciated
by the inhabitants of Oregon. ,
The first numlier of an Arab ncwspar
has just been issued in Paris. It is Intended
for the instruction of the Arabs in Algeria,