SITKA UNDER UNITED STATES RULE
Then came the day when the Russian was to withdraw from his colonies,
and the United States was to occupy them as Alaska. An area as broad as
an empire, equal in extent to Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark
combined, was to be handed over from the Imperial Ruler of all the
Russias to the Republic of the United States, and Sitka, the Capital of
the Colonies, was to be the scene of the actual transfer. The
statesmanship of Secretary Seward, aided by the eloquence of Sumner, had
secured for our country a domain one sixth as large as the whole United
States.
October 18th, 1867, Alexei Pestchouroff, the Commissioner of the Tsar,
appeared in front of the Baranof castle, and beside him stood Lovell H.
Rousseau, the Commissioner for the United States, who was to receive the
Territory.
The Russian soldiery were drawn up along the terrace which ran around
the Baranof Hill, and next to them were the men of the United States
Infantry.[22] The ensign of Russia was lowered, the flag of the United
States raised to the accompaniment of the salutes from the batteries and
of the guns of the ships in the harbor.[23] The few words of the
ceremony of transfer were spoken, and Alaska became a possession of the
United States.
Most of the Russian residents went back to their native land as soon as
they were able to do so, but some remained to cast their lot in the land
that had so long been their home.[24] Among those who remained are the
Kashavaroffs, the Kostromitinoffs, the Bolshanins, the Shutzoffs, and
others, whose descendants now live in Alaska.
The commanding officer of the American troops, Gen. Jefferson C. Davis,
made his headquarters in the building on the hill that had been so long
the residence of the Russian officers. The American soldiers were
quartered in the barracks of the Siberian Battalion, and the sentries of
the United States walked the beats of the Russian guards. Sitka gradually
adjusted itself to the new conditions, to the crowds of adventurers who
thronged its streets seeking a profit in speculations in lands and furs.
They were doomed to disappointment, for the titles to lands were
withheld and the fur trade was overdone, so most of the newly arrived
drifted away as they came. Distinguished visitors came and were
entertained in the old castle where the Commandant dispensed
hospitality. Lady Franklin, the widow of the famous Arctic explorer, was
once a guest at the mansion on the kekoor, and Secretary Seward was
entertained there in 1869 when he visited the land he added to the
possessions of the United States.
While the military garrison were content with their conditions and were
not troubled with the affairs of the world at large, the civil
population wished for the law and authority of other communities, and
set themselves to remedy the omission of the Government in far-off
Washington so far as was possible to do, for there was no provision for
an organization of civil government in the community. They organized a
municipal association, drafted ordinances, elected councilmen, collected
revenue for improving the Governor's Walk, changed the name to Lincoln
Street, and in December opened a school. After five years the civil
population declined until the revenue was insufficient to maintain the
expense, the organization was abandoned, with it passed the school, and
the first attempt at self-government closed.
Then followed dark days for Sitka.[25] Military rules for the garrison
and no law or protection for the people. Soldiers from the fort are said
to have robbed the church of its ornaments, tearing the covers from the
richly bound Bible of the Cathedral. The offenders were apprehended, but
there being no civil law all the punishment meted out was to be drummed
out of the service and sent to the States on an army transport. The
stolen property was hidden under the old hospital building and was
discovered by some boys and nearly all was restored to the church.
On New Year's Day, 1869, Colcheka, a noted chief of the Chilkats who was
visiting Sitka, was entertained by General Davis at the castle on the
hill. The liquid refreshments served to him by the General raised his
spirits and his pride of race. After it was over he descended the long
flight of steps leading from the Commandant's quarters and strode across
the parade ground with the dignity becoming to the hereditary chief of
the Chilkats, the proudest kwan of the Thlingits. For some reason he
crossed the part reserved for officers, was challenged by the sentry,
and, not heeding, when he reached the stockade gate was kicked by the
sentry stationed there. He was furious.
"Me, Colcheka, Chief of the Chilkats, kicked!"
He turned in a rage, seized the musket of the sentry, wrenched it from
his hands, then carried it to his house in the Ranche.
The guard was turned out for his arrest and a skirmish ensued in which
the guard was worsted and retreated to the barracks. The Sitkas were
neutral. The Chilkats were too few in number to fight the troops, so
next day Colcheka surrendered, was kept in the guardhouse for a few days
and then released.
Meantime orders that no Indians be permitted to leave the Ranche were
issued which were revoked upon Colcheka's surrender. Through some
mistake in revoking the orders the sentries were not notified. A canoe
load of Indians left the Ranche to get wood. The sentries fired on the
canoe and killed two of the occupants, a Chilkat and a Kake. It was an
unfortunate mistake. Those shots rang from Lynn Canal to Kuiu Island and
the echoes vibrated for more than twenty years. By listening intently
one might yet hear the vibrations. Two white men died and three Indian
villages burned directly as a result, but it happened in places distant
from Sitka, and, as they say, it is another story.
On a June day of 1877 the troops of the United States army embarked on a
ship for the States and sailed away from Sitka. The buildings and
property were left in charge of the Collector of Customs, who, with the
Postmaster, constituted the only officials in the Territory. The
presence of the military had guaranteed safety from attack by the
Indians to the people of the town, and the officers had been a pleasant
addition to the social life; with their departure both were lost.
The animosity of the Thlingits had been kindled by many wrongs, some
real and others fancied. They saw in the new order of things an
opportunity to recompense themselves for past grievances. All the old
stories of the killing of their countrymen by the troops, the burning of
old Kake and other villages, the loss of five Keeksitties, in the
Schooner "San Diego" in Bering Sea and other tales were rehearsed and
were used to stir the lust for vengeance. The Keeksittis, under the
leadership of Katlean, openly advocated sacking the town, killing the
men and making slaves of the women.
"The government does not care for the country. They have abandoned it.
It belongs to us, anyway; why not take the town and do as we wish with
it?" said Katlean.
The Kokwantons, under Annahootz, their chief, opposed the outrage. For
months there was danger of an outbreak. Insult after insult was placed
upon the citizens. The stockade was cut down and carried away by the
Indians. Every male inhabitant was armed and expecting a call to battle
at any time. A man was killed at the Hot Springs by a Keeksitty. The
murderer was arrested through the assistance of the Kokwantons under
Annahootz.[26] The Keeksitties assembled to rescue the criminal, but the
citizens of the town rallied for defense, the Kokwantons joined them and
the murderer was safely placed on board the Steamer "California" and
taken to Portland for trial where he was afterward hanged.
On the same boat went an appeal for assistance, directed to the United
States Government, but it fell on deaf ears. Another petition was sent
to Victoria, B. C., and was heeded. Captain A. Holmes A'Court, of
H. M. S. "Osprey," at once set out for Sitka, arrived on March 1st, 1879,
anchored opposite the Ranche and trained his guns for immediate use. The
danger was averted. Captain A'Court remained until the arrival of the U.
S. S. "Alaska," on April 3rd, then departed for Esquimault with the
blessings of the grateful people of Sitka.
On June 14th into the harbor came the U. S. S. "Jamestown." Her
Commander, Captain L. A. Beardslee, assumed control of affairs in the
community and administered them in a manner which brought credit on his
name. He found everything at the lowest ebb; every woman and child who
could leave, had gone to escape the danger of Indian massacre;
witchcraft prevailed among the natives and anarchy among the whites. He
took a census[27] upon his arrival, and the result was 325 people,
exclusive of the Creole population. He appointed an Indian police;
established more sanitary conditions in the "Ranche," numbered the
houses, and compelled the attendance of the Indian children at the
Mission School.
A school was opened in the old Russian barracks building on April 17,
1878, by Rev. John G. Brady and Miss Fannie E. Kellogg, of the
Presbyterian Mission, which was later followed by the present Sheldon
Jackson Mission School. George Kostromitinoff, afterward known as Father
Sergius, was the interpreter. The opening of the school was a great
event for Sitka and nearly everyone in the town attended. Annahootz, the
friendly Kokwantan war chief, made a speech. Mr. Cohen, the brewer,
hunted up another interpreter to assist. Hymns were sung and the events
were auspicious. The Indians stole in one at a time, some with their
faces blackened, all in blankets, but they squatted by the wall and
listened attentively. The school was continued until December, when it
was given up, but in the spring of 1880 Miss Olinda Austin, from New
York City, reopened it on April 5th, in one of the rooms of the
guardhouse, with an attendance of 103 children. The school thus
established was the beginning of the present Sheldon Jackson Training
School. The support of the naval officers at the station was such that
the missionary teacher was moved to say: "It is not often that the
Government sends out a missionary, but they have sent one in this young
commander and his lieutenant, Mr. F. M. Symonds," in referring to
Captain Glass, who succeeded Captain Beardslee.
Some form of local government giving the residents a right to regulate
their civil affairs was favored by the Commander, who had not even a
code under which to act. A meeting was called, ordinances were drafted,
a magistrate and councilmen elected for a town government. But all were
not agreed upon these acts and opposition arose against it from the very
inception of the movement. One of the traders of the town, Caplin, said:
"De Captain may go to ---- wid his tam government; I'll bay no daxes."
And from Silver Bay where he was mining, Geo. E. Pilz sent in a protest
against the proceeding. The dealers who traded molasses to the Indians,
from which the villainous liquor called "hoochinoo" or "Hooch," was
distilled, objected to the ordinances restricting the trade. Finally an
English miner named Roy was shot by his partner, "Scotty," and the
inability of the self-made government to try the offender brought a
crisis. The next day a notice appeared stating the organization had been
dissolved, and the second attempt at self-government by the people in
Alaska passed into oblivion.
Scotty was sent to Oregon for trial and was discharged because of lack
of a law to punish a man for assault with a dangerous weapon in Alaska.
But the dawn of a better day was at hand, Alaska's darkest hours were
past, and morning was breaking. The rule of the Navy Department
continued until 1884, then, although the warships still remained in
Alaskan waters, by Act of Congress of May 17th, a form of civil
government was granted, and the official Capital was placed at Sitka.
The terror of the Indian outbreaks was past; schools were in reach, for
the same act provided for the establishment of a system of public
education, and the Code of Oregon was adopted as the law of the
land.[28]
Then some of the life of the former years returned to the beautiful
village by the sea; there were pleasant parties among the residents, the
Governor held receptions, the officers of the warships added to the
social life, many a gay ball was celebrated on the top floor of the
court house, and for more than twenty years it was the Capital of
Alaska.[29]
With the influx of the Americans prospecting began, for in the vast wild
mountains of Baranof and Chicagof Islands there is a wealth of mineral
stored in the ledges.
The Russians had attempted to find the mineral of the mountains, and in
1848 a Mr. Doroshin, a mining engineer, had been sent out from St.
Petersburg to search for mineral wealth in the colonies. He was not
successful enough to make it of profit to them, although he found coal
on Cook Inlet, gold on the Kenai Peninsula, earth promising to bear
diamonds near Kootznahoo, and copper was known to be on the Myednooskie,
or Copper, River.
Discharged soldiers of the garrison were the first to take to the hills
with pick and shovel. Nicholas Haley, an old-time prospector of Arizona,
who came with the troops to Sitka, was one of the most energetic and
daring of these. Year after year, with pick and shovel, with rifle and
blankets, Nicholas attacked the rugged mountains. Rich specimens were
brought in and yielded enough when brayed in a mortar to keep him in a
grubstake, but it takes capital to develop a hard rock mine and capital
was wary. So Nicholas toiled on year after year, keeping up his
assessments and living on hopes until at last he passed over the Great
Divide to a Better Diggings.
Others tried it. In 1878 a mining company was organized at Sitka, but
there was not yet a law under which a claim could be legally taken.
Ledges were found, small mills were placed on the ground at the Stewart
Mine, the Lucky Chance and elsewhere, and later great fakes were
promoted at the Pande Basin and elsewhere. But it was years after that
when two Indian boys, hunting on Chicagof Island, lay down to drink at a
stream, and, behold, in the shimmering water was white rock with yellow,
glittering particles dancing in the clear stream. With the fear it was
but fools gold they took specimens and marked the place where they were
found. When they reached Sitka they submitted these samples to Judge
DeGroff, and to Professor Kelly of the Sheldon Jackson School. It was
pronounced to be gold, pure shining, yellow gold, and richer than the
most sanguine had hoped for. After much labor and many disappointments
the ledge was located from which the float came, and today that mine,
the Chicagof it is called, is known as the richest and best paying mine
in the United States in proportion to the money invested, and more than
one fortune has been taken out of the tunnels in the mountain.
Off the shores of the continent, reaching far off to the westward almost
to the shores of Asia are vast fishing grounds, perhaps the greatest in
the world. A great submarine plateau stretches along shore, past the
Aleutian Islands and into Bering Sea. There are estimated to be forty
thousand square miles of cod and halibut banks that are known to the
surveys. The fisheries of Gloucester and Cape Cod fade into
insignificance and the famous Newfoundland Banks are but small in
comparison.
Sitka goes back the farthest in historic memory of any city of the
Northwest. When Lewis and Clarke came to the mouth of the Columbia River
she was looking out over the Pacific from her stockaded walls and
Resanof was sailing to search for locations for new colonies. When
Astoria was founded she was placing her outpost on the Russian River in
California. Before San Francisco was a city she sent her bidarkas to
take the sea-otter from under the very noses of the Padres in their
missions. Here the civilization of the East met the progress of the
West, the Orient and the Occident met here and met without bloodshed.
Sitka, with her wealth of fisheries in the waters at her doors, with her
wealth of mineral in the ledges at her back, with the wealth of forest
on the mountain slopes around her, is in the same latitude as Edinburgh,
Scotland. The time is coming when she will have population, and wealth;
beauty she already has. What more is wanted for the happiness of her
people? Only energy, perseverance, and thrift, and those will be
forthcoming.