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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1878)
June. the officer, went ashore with me to the Indian village, which we found regularly laid out in streets, and each . uy Baiucn pawner lencea in and the ink n d r great regularity. Across each bed were strips of cedar bark stretched from fence to fence to keep oft the crows and ravens, These gardens were all planted with potatoes and tur nips, and I was informed at Sitka that these Indians raise large quantities of most excellent potatoes of large size. This village is near the entrance of a large bay, or lagoon, where the whales resort to have their young. We saw large numbers of whales in Chatham Strait, near the entrance of the lagoon, and Capt. Scammon, who is an exper ienced whaler, gave it as his opinion that a good business could be done in the lagoon in oil. At the head of this lagoon, which is about 25 miles long, there is an extensive deposit of coal, and at its entrance in Chatham strait, halibut and cod abound, which we proved by the quantities the sailors caught during the short time we re mained at the place. At this village, a discharged soldier from Sitka, com menced the illicit distillation of rum from molasses, using tin cans tor stills, and condensing the steam by kelp stems, coiled in a tub of cold water. This most villainous compound, which obtained the name of I lootchnoo whis key, was smuggled by him into Sitka, and soon became the source of great disorder among the soldiers as well as natives; nor was this all, for the Indians soon learned the art, and now make Hootchnoo whiskey from anything that will ferment, not only molasses, but flour, sugar, wheat, rice, berries, pota toes, lily roots, etc. In fact, the re sources of those savages for producing intoxicating drinks seems inexhaust ible, and all attempts of the military to stop the traffic have proved abortive. I have heard it suggested by philan thropic persons who know the passion of these Indians for intoxicating bever ages, whether, in a sanitary point of view, it would not be better to let them have a pure article of liquor rather than the vile compounds they make themselves, or the vile trash sold them by degraded whites, composed of alco hoi, coal oil, red pepper, tobacco and water. This matter, however, is not for me to decide, but rather comes un der the philanthropic consideration of Mr, Bergh, of New York, the presi dent of the society for the suppression of cruelty to animals. At noon we got under way and ran down Chatham Strait, till 2:30, when we passed the Indian village ot Niltou skan, opposite which, on Itarauoff Is land, we saw a large glacier, and about a mile further south was a tine water fall. We passed several places where the scenery was very attractive, and came to anchor for the night in a snug harbor on the north end of Kew Island, near the entrance of Prince Frederick Sound. At this place we found a village of Lie Kake Indians, a tribe who are con sidered as outlaws and pirates. It was a party of these Indians who, some years since, murdered Col. Ebey, a for mer collector of customs for Puget Sound, who resided on Whldby's Is land, and, after committing other mur ders and robberies, finally had their village burned to the ground tw the I . j o'clock, when the weather becoming the Saranac was wrecked, which, S. war steamer, "Saginaw-," soon after thick and rainy, we anchored in a small although submerged, made the water the acquisition of Alaska. The pilot harbor which Capt. Scammon named boil like a huge cauldron. It wa a of the "Woleott," Mr. J. W. Keen, ! Woleott Cove. As soon as the weather most fearful sight, rendered more ap was the pilot of the " Saginaw " at the cleared on the following morning, July palling by the recollection that within tianc the village was destroyed, and some of the Kakes, who came on board, eyed him with unfavorable looks, and were urgent in their invitations for him THE WEST SHORE. to go ashore with them, but he did not accept their profifered hospitalities, Information having been received by uen. Howard that the remains ot pav- master Walker, U. S. A., had been dis covered by some Indians, he made a requisition on Collector Berry, at Sitka, who had instructed Captain Scammon to be on the lookout for information, and after leaving Kake village, at three a. m., June 25th, we ran down Chatham Strait, and crossed Christian Sound, with a heavy, rolling sea and strong S. K. wind, till 5:20 p.m. when we anchored in Shigan passage, where we procured information of the remains of Paymaster Walker, and, taking on board an Indian pilot, we Lett 011 the 28th, passing be twen Cape Polo and Warren Island, throughTukh-hark passage mtoWhale man's Bay, where we saw and boarded two vessels, the bark "Onward" of Hon olulu, and bark " Mount Wollaston," of New Bedford, both whalers, who had put in for wooil and water. After lcav ing the vessels we passed through a nar row channel, between beautiful islands whose bright, green foliage reaching down to the water's edge, fringed with grass, presented the appearance of a dark, green forest, set in bright emcr- dd green shrubbery, a most delightful scene. At the head ot tins heautilul channel, we came to the village of Klawark, the trading post of Mr. George Hamilton. There is a fresh water stream at Klawark, where great quantities of salmon arc taken. Tin place is secluded, quiet and romantic and the most beautiful of any we hail visited. Here we remained until the 30th, and had a very pleasant time. At three a. m. we left Klawark, crossed Whaleman's Bav, passed through Athka rapids, into Thevack Strait, and arrived at the Indian village of Howkan, where we remained till July 1st, to get the Indian who dis covered the remains of Paymaster Walker, and, having taken him on board, we left at 9: 50 a. m. for Port Bazan, the entrance to which lies in Lat. 5446 N. Long. 133 W., on the S. W. extremity of Prince of Wales' Archipelago, and arrived there at 2:4 i If. Lieut. Kilgoic went ashore with the Indian and a boat's crew, on a small island at the head of the bay where they found the remains, which con sisted of the lower jaw anil a portion of a skeleton enclosed in a remnant of a military coat, with chevrons sleeve, in dark braid, and the remnant of a pair of grav pantaloons ol Oregon cloth. The Indian who had discover ed them produced a bunch of keys, such as are used for trunks and small boxes, and one gold sleeve button with an amethyst stone. The remains were put in a box, and taken on board, and we left for Howkan village, where we remained all night. Next day, July 2nd, we left for Klemmakoan village, on Cordova Bay, where the Indian lived who had been with us to Port Bazan, and after we had been ashore ami examined their huge carvings and massive houses, and had seen ami pur chased some really elegant specimens of bracelet, rings mid ear ornaments, both of gold and silver, made by these natives, we returned on board, aecom - panted by several of the principal men, with their w ives and children, wh) were much interested in examining the cut- ter. The next day we got under way at 4 :io A. m., and ran along until eight th, we left Woleott Cove for Port Tongit-s, where we arrived at five r. M.,and w atered the vessel from a stream ' 0f inferior water, opposite the Port. and left next day for Kazan, at Karta Bay, Prince of Wales' Island, where we went ashore at the trailing post of Baronovitch, and had a nice time visit ing the salmon fishery and enjoying the tine scenery. Prom Kazan we proceeded to Fort Wrangle and anchored there at 6:30 p. m., July 7th. There were not a great many people in the town, as most of them had gone to the mines. There were quite a number of Indians, but they mostly belonged to other tribes, and hail to come to Wrangell to seek employment among the miners. The following morning we delivered the box containlnff the remains to Lieut. Lundeen, the officer in charge, and they, were Identified as those of the late paymaster Walker, who had left Sitka on the ill-fated " Geo. S. Wright," 011 her last voyage. As the distance from Cape Cantim to Port Bazan is over 250 miles, it will show the force of the Inshore northerly cur rent which is known to sweep up the coast of Queen Charlotte's Island, through Hecta Strait, and out of Dix on's Sound. From all the evidence we could col lect, it was the universal opinion of all the officers of the " Woleott " that the "Wright" foundered at sea and so suddenly that no boats could be low ered, and barely time for persons to put on life-preservers. I .lout, Walker's remains and those of ;) child, both with life-preservers attached, were the only ones ever recovered, and the idle and ipocrvphal tales about the captain and crew being murdered bv Indians, has been set down us utterly false, by the thorough investigation of the courts of Victoria. We remained at Wrangell until the 17th of July, and had a very pleas ant time, with the exception of the plague of mosquitoes and great green headed horse files, which filled the ves sel from stem to stein and caused great annoyance. We left Wrangell nt 11 A. m. for Fort Tongass, and arrived there the next morning at 7 o'clock, and, after landing some supplies for the customs' inspector, proceeded to Port Simpson, arriving at 1 1 o'clock a. m. As it was Sunday, the whole population had gone to church, but were dismissed before we got ready t, go njhorOi The congregation, of course, was nearly all Composed ol Indians, who were all well dressed and presented an orderly and respectable appearance. We remained at Port Simpson but a short time, leaving there at two t. m,, passing the Skeena river at seven I'. u,, reaching Bella Bella village the follow ing afternoon at seven o'clock, and re mained till eight o'clock, kept on alt night, passed Cape Calvert in the morning and crossed Queen Charlotte's Sound, entering Shad Well 1'asn nt seven a. m,, and ran all day w ith fait wind and tide till 9:30 '' x,- when we entered Seymour Narrows, mid the un believers of its dangers bad opportu nity to change their view. We found the tide against us, and running so ' strongly that with all the steam we J could get 011, aided by all her sail and ja strong and fair wind which was blow ing, the cutter could scarcely hold i her own and at times went astern, j The wind acting against the tide made a fearful sea which roared and rolled ; about, dashing over the rocks where two cable lengths of us a fine man-of- war steamer had bet n totally lost only j a short time previous. VVs managed, 1 however, by keeping close in towanU 14J the eastern side of the narrows, to hold our own, till the strength of the tide slackened, when we soon steamed through and continued our course tv Port Townsend where we arriv ed on the 20th of July, at 9:30 a. m. It is impossible in this communica tion to give an account of the many interesting scenes we witnessed among the Indians. Of a grand wedtling.it Port Simpson; a funeral at Fort Ton gass; a cremation at one place, and a corpse lying in state at another; off canoe races, ami dances; of huge carv mfT i grotesque images ; hsfirliH shawls from wool of mountain shep; of jewelry of gold and silver, and other manufactures of the natives,, all of which are of interest, and an account of them can be better Understood after the description of our cruise has been read. Post Towkiexd, May as, 1S7S. KAlsiNd MONEY FOR CHURCHE& M Gov,," our Vancouver contributoi , sends the following: It is a lamentable fad that in spite of the boasted "advancement of the 10th century," we are undoubtedly drifting away from habits that wcrV salutary in their Influence, and aro lloating on a current of customs wttottt. destination is decidedly not desiraiilc. Prominent among the pernicious prac tices of the present age, are flu methods of raising money for religious and charitable purposes. To say noth ing of the fairs, festivals, sociables ami polite gambling under different guises, there is a species of auctioneering that cannot be too strongly denounced or too strenuously opposed It is done thus in some churches: At the conclu sion of the service, the minister states a sum to be raised, and requests t he- brothers to bid. Pompous, purse proud Bro. A leads oil' by saying Ac will give so much. BrO. B, not to be beaten, gives a little more. The object for which the money is intended i soon forgotten in this evil emulation. Bin, 0, though poor, is asluimcd U give less than his more affluent neigh, bur, but is constrained by this cavad 1 eomnctition. If the bidding languishes the Rev auctioneer stirs up Hie ftnsiti tains of benevolence by an appvorlriiitli harangue; "Only fifty dollars moro!V "Who'll give another ten fr Hun good work?" "The Lord In vet h a cheer ful giver!""Ah! thank you, Itm. fortes; the good Lord will reward 01. "On ly forty dollars now?" Bio. Smith can't you give a tena five then?" The amount is secured and termed a volun tary contribution! This desecration ot the Sabbath, and ofhoujes dedicated to God, Would pet haps be more patent it the practice were less prevalent. But wlio will pretend to say that any end, however laudable, justifies such menus of raising funds? Who can calculate the evil elVect of such sacrilegious scenes upon the impressionable mind of youth ? Something similar may be seen in many of our Otherwise praiseworthy attempts to relieve the distressed. Atf public meetings ;ind at lodges the loft of ostentatious almsgiving calls into play baser passions that deprive the giver of the good that ought to accrue from well doing. "Pin a poor man but I'll give six dollars," seems like sound ing a trumpet to herald a generous deed. and la surely at variance with the in junction, "When thou iloest jalm lt not thy left hand know what thy rihr hand (teeth1 Such a system enge furfur envy, provi pin lr, stilles true liber- alitv, and is destitute of jmhmI moral effect. Our chronic growlers about fares and freight charges on the Columbia river, may, perhaps, derive tome crumb ol comfort, by reading the following schedule of rates now in force on the Colorado river : From Yuma to Castle Dome, 35 miles, $ cabin, $3 deck; from Yum to P.hrcnhcrg, 1 miles, $1 5 cabin, fie deck; from Yuma to Aubrey, 220 rralus $2$ cabin, S j S deck; from Yum to Camp Mohave, 300 miles, fJ5 cabin, $2 deck; from XUtlM to llardyville, ill miles, u cabin, deck; from S'uma to Kl Dorado Cm) on, 36 miles, t 1 5 cabin, $35 deck.