The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, May 30, 1936, Page 7

SENATOR KNOTTS-- THAT OLD CRACK- POT WAS HERE AGAIN--- I TOLD HIM You WERE OUT OF e Ty - APRI-2Z. This is a story of Metlakatla, piec-| ed together from The Encyclopedia | Brittannica of 1875, from a 50-year- old copy of the Sitka *“Alaskan” from an old biogtaphy of Father William Duncan, from Alaska his- tories of 40 years ago and from the| records and documents of the Te ‘-‘ ritorial Legislature, the Te 3 , Museum and the United States Bu- | £ reau of Inflian Affairs. Said -the Encyclopedia Britafi- nica: “At Columbia, on the coast of the Pacific, a practical mis- sionary genius, named William Dun- can, has succeeded in civilizing body of Indians, degraded by nibalism, and at his' Metlal Mission, stands at the head of a community of some thousand per- | sons, which has a larger church | * than is to be found between there| and San Francisco. | “Testimony to the value of the re-| sults was borne in 1876, by Lord Duf <'ferin, then Governor-General of| Canada, who declared that he could hardly find words to express his | astonishment at what he witnessed.' No Cannibalism | af This question was used without || comment as the introduction to a lengthy article in the Sitka “Alas- kan 1889. But it should be here stated that the cannibal- | ism mentioned above and also in .the following extracts from the old Sitka paper has not been substan- tiated. Father A. P .Kashevaroff, s that this episode of the Met- lakatla Missionary's adventures is discredited even by Father Dun- biographer, John W. Arctan- der It is Father Kasheyaroff’s opinion that Father Duncan, dazed by the shrieks and contortions of the Indians in their dances, made the same mistake as other early exploters and investigators, and | jumped to the conclusion that such savages must be cannibals. “Sir George Simpson, who visit- ed Sitka in the '40’s during the ad- ministration of Etolin made the same statement,” said the local Museum director. “In writing his report, Simpson stated that any people that could perform such or- gies must be cannibals. Father Duncan's story was based on some- thing he admittedly saw from a distance, as he was behifd the walls of the Fort, observing the Inaians outside.” Cannot Be Substantiated Father Kashevaroft ‘added that every research undertaken by his- | torians who have come to Alaska | to investigate reports of cannibal- ! ism has failed to substantiate a| single instance of the practice. The extracts from the Sitka paper arc interesting reading after the lapse | ¢ of more than half a centu " “In 1856, the English Missionary éoc:eiy of London, having learnea _Mr. Duncan had volunteered to go as a missionary among the Indian tribes of British Columbia, accepted | ¢ his offer. “He left a lucrative pus:-! tion in England to accept the muni- , ficent salary’ of $500 per year. “He arrived in Victoria, via Cape { Horn, and decided to work among s the tribes near Fort Simpson, a * {rading ' post of the’ Hudson's Bay # Gompany abdut six hundred ‘miles % north from Victoria. ) b “Sir James Douglas, ‘then Gov- i ernor of British Columbia, endeav- ¥ ored by the strongest arguments to 4 dissuade him, declaring that Father § Duncan would fall a sacrifice, swift § and ghastly ,to murderous instincts % of those barbarous hordes; but Mr. Duncan, trusting in a Higher Pow- J €r. kept his resolution and went. “When he arrived he soon learned i to what jeopardy he had exposed ¢ himself. Their ferocity had com- 4 pelled the company o take extreme measure for safety. The' fort was | strongly fortified, and with few ex- { ceptions, no Indians were allowed 4vmhin its walls. Swry of Metm‘i‘mtvlfla Rivalé Colorful Tales of Pitcairn Island; Early History Told EXCELLENT--M(SS TIMMONS - REMIND ME To RAISE YOUR----- OHOH ---OF ALL --- MR WILKINS -- AHEM- AHEM N , (XK 1e6 ') RILM FOLLOWING 1 ARE PLUMB WORE QUT, SON- WORE OUT COMPLETE -~ ( THREE MINUTES PAUSE ) WHEN ARE YE AN' MARCELLY CONTRIVIN' TER GIT MERRIED , SEN'TER 22 RAHT SOON, T HOPE !/ SON-TELL THET GOOD- f FER-NOTHIN' HIRED GAL \ THOUGHT 0' YOR'N TER FOTCH IN I HAVE AN (MPORTANT ENGAGEMENT JUST Now, MR. WILKINS- YOU'LL HAVE TO EXCUSE ONDE a=B=F lnc, Great Brgin rights reserved the principles of equity and order, \grew to be industrious, and seemed ed with their changed mode | Built Town ‘ “For more than twenty years this {continued, until a generation arose {who knew no other manner of [living. They built a sawmill, better | homes, laid sewers, made roads and sidewalks, erected a church build- ing at an expense of $10,000, built a fine school house and two houses for the entertainment of other In- dians who came to trade. They es- brought profits to the stockholders —a great surprise to them. They !built a cannery, an assembly hall, carpenters’ and blacksmiths' shops |and several practiced the shoe- J'makr s trade. They were taught to make soap and how to eave cloth. “Mr. Duncan himself had first to be educated in the trades which he established. He went to Eng- | lland, and there like Peter the Great | jof Russia, took lessons in the var- | \lous manufactories.” Referring to the manner in !which Mr. Duncan gradually chang- the people, the e ed the habits of article continues: “At first he established each family in a separate cottage, but the Indians, having been accus- |tomed to herd together, were lone- ome. Hence, back of each two houses and coupling both, he built 18 general assembly room for the two families. This arrangement an- |swered Mr. Duncan’s idea of fam- y privacy, and their ideas of so- 1 privileges. Adopt White Man’s Customs “Again, he insisted upon th¥ir taking one meal each day as civ- ilized peoplé sitting at the table jand using knives and forks, and left them free to take their other .. |meals, both in kind and manner, and bedecked cannibals tore, limb las they chose. They soon adopted from limb, the body of a woman the white man’s customs at every who had just been foully murdered |repast. by a Chief, each struggling for a | “At length, he had the gratifica- morsel of the human flesh which tion of seeing as the fruit of his they ‘devoured, accompanying their labors, a community of 1200 happy, fiendish orgies with howls and |thirfty, educated, well-dressed, well- wierd beat of their medicine |behaved, civilized, Christianized na- drums.” |tives—a marvel in the history of (In this regard, Father Kashe- missions on this continent. varoff said that Franz Boaz in-| «Lord Dufferin gave his estimate vestigations revealed that the Tsim- |of the value of Mr. Duncan’s labors shain Indians in their ogles would|in a speech before the Provincial bite into the bodies of their vic-|parljament of British Columbia in tims, but did not eat the flesh.) 1576, in these words: ‘I have visited Continuing, the Sitka paper's ar- My Duncan’s wonderful settlement ticle read: ‘“Such was his mm)»lm Metlakatla and have thus been duction to the Tsimpshean Indians gple to realize what scenes of in October, 1857. For eight months | primitive peace and innocence, of he kal within the fortification, °b'{idy]lic beauty and material com- serving their conduct as best he fort can be présented by the stal- could from the walls, and studving |wart men and comely maidens of and reducing to writing ‘their lan- |, Indian community, under the guage under the tutorship of alyise gaministration of a judicious friendly Indian. Then he ventured 5y devoted Christian minister. out, and to their astonishment be- “But after 25 years of prosperity gan to talk to them in thelr oWn ,n4 sunshine, élouds began to hov- FATHER WM. DUNCAN ( Gradually they became educated in | Christians quarreled thus, they were |no better than savages. blished a co-operative store that Hazardous Trading 1 “All' goods to and from the post » Jwere conveyed under a strong es- cort and trading was carried on { through a small window; and even this was marked on its casings { with numeroftis bullets. : “These savages were cannibals. !"They 'held captives as slaves, and i butchered and ate them as well. ! They believed in witcheraft, in the ercery of the Shamans, and in . ¢! devils and evil spirits which they | propitiated by sickening orgies. bt ler over the little community. Mr. Duncan was a layman, and when tirged to take orders from higher church officials, he' thought 'he could do more good for the com- munity than could the ordained ministers. Trusted Him “In his interviews with thém, he endeavored to win their confidence, first by giving cheap ornaments to the children, then by taking an interest in their affairs, by counsel- ing them, at the same time telling | them about God, their Creator, and | persuading them to Love Him. ! “Final contrary to the custom ! of the white men they had known, | he began to trust them, and that| he says was the secret of his suc-| cess. They they trusted him, list-| éned to him and believed him. | “After a time Mr. Duncan open- ed a school at the house of one of | the Chiefs, and it was attended by | both children and adults. Finding the Indians responsive, with the/| assistance of zealous followers, he erected a log school house and soon | had an attendance of 200. But in| all his efforts he had to contend against the opposition of fur trad- ers, whiskey dealers, soldiers and bad Indians. Start of Metlakatla “Hence, after he had gathered a church of about fifty converts,| no one would be admitted as a| resident who did not subscribe to| certain rules, the substance of which were: Rupture “Clergymen from Victoria and other places came to officiate at the more importaht ordinances of the church. Mr. Duncan’s sugges- tions were disregarded, and right here began the rupture that has brought religion into ‘disgrace and ruined the once united, happy and prosperous colony. The Missionary Society, yielding to ecclesiastical pressure, sent them a Bishop. “From the letters and voluminous reports we have read and from the verbal accounts we have list- ened to, we are forced to the con- clusion that ‘this’ particular: Bishop was the wrong man for the place —that he was dictatorial ‘and bigoted. “Being a high churchman, he sharply criticised” what he termed Mr. Duncan’s loose forms and cere- fie determined to seek another lo- |monies. He introduced so much of cation remote from these evil in- fluences, and he selected a place called Metlakatla, a site of one of the ancient Tsimpshean villages, | about twenty miles from Fort Simp- | son. To this place he resolved that | ipomp and color and ceremony in |his ministrations that the people (turned in astonishment to = thelr leader for an explanation. “The Bishop claimed to be head of the Mission. He demanded the |accounts of the colony, and when these were produced, hé 'charged Mr. Duncan with misappropriating |funds and claimed that all” the “At length the Mission Society felt called upon to sustain the Bishop, and conseqiently to dis- miss Mr. Duncan. The Society also claimed the lahd on which the little community had erected their public buildings, ment confirmed that claim by de- claring that ‘all public lands be- long to the Queen'; although Lord Dufferin, Governor General of the Dominion, had assured the Indians that ‘they had a prescriptive right to their lands’ and that they should not be deprived of them without | compensation “Consternation seized the poor Indians, and they began to con- {cert plans for rebellion. The Min- ister of the Intreior wrote: ‘If there has not been an Indian war, it was not because there has not been an injustice.’ “Mr. Duncan suppressed attempts to do violence, and went to Ot- tawa and England seeking relief. He obtained promises, but relief never came. Then he resigned his position as president of the village council, and prepared to leave the colony, thinking that by his ab- sence the breach might be healed; but the Indians, in full assembly, ananimously recalled him to the leadership, promising to stand by him at all hazards.” Goes to Washington The next chapter is a fitting se- quel to the chain of amazing events in the history of Metlakatla: “To abandon the place seemed the only alternative; and finally they resolved to seek refuge beyond the domain of ecclesiastical tyran- ny. Annette Island in Alaska, un- inhabited, and only ninety miles distant, seemed to be favorable lo- cation. “Mr. Duncan was deputized by the Indians to go to Washington and obtain, if possible, the permission to settle on that Tsland, and such exemptions from duties as could legally be granted to them. He bore with him a remarkable document, a part of which is here copied: “‘Victoria, B. C., Nov. 16, 1866. “‘To the Lovers of Civil and Re- ligious Liberty in America: “‘The bearer, Mr: William Dun- can, for thirty years a devoted mis- sionary of religion and civilization n North British America, is of| nis way to Washington, deputed by he native Christian brethren ot Metlakatla to confer with United States authorities on matters af- fecting their interests and desires. * ‘Like the Pilgrim fathers of old, his afflicted but prosperous and chrifty flock seek a refuge from grie- vous wrongs, and hope to find it under the Ametican flag. “‘They prefer abandoning the home of their fathers, and the prec- ious fruits of their industry, to sub- mitting to the violent seizure of their lands ©nd the intolerable stings of religious greed and inter- ference.’ “This document was signed by Bishop Cridge, B. 'W. Pearse, Sur- veyor General, Senator Macdonald »f the Dominion Parliament and by several other prominent citizens of Victoria. “Treasonable Document” “The Royalist§“ of the province call this a ‘treasonable document “It i$ a sharp arraignment for il- iberality and intolerance, but it :annot be gainsaid. “The Secretary of the Treasury at Washington remitted the duties on their effects, and the authori- ties gave the Indians a pledge that when the’general land laws of the United States are extended to Al- aska, ample provision will be made for all law abiding inhabitants.’ “Relying on these promises, the little colony with sad hearts began in’ the summer of 1887, to remove like the Pilgrims, to their Plymouth Rock, New Metlakatla. Then came the question of how much property could they take. When they were told they could claim nothing of all the monuments of their labor, save théir personal effects, they appealed to the charitable and benevolent’ of the United States to obtain means for the transfer, and ‘wherevér Mr. Duncan told the story of their wrongs, the people res- ponded gererously. “Now most of the buildings of the old * Mission &re ' unoccupied, the shops and the manufactories are idle—it is a ‘deserted village. few gather for worship in the great and the Govern-| Al TR Pafher Duncan must have tackled the problems can only be surmised, but after fifty years we are today | privileged to know the answers to these things the aging missionary must have thought about—how | weuki the United States treat the | colonists? How would the culture |and peacefulness of the rtives | fare in contact with the loose habits of pioneering Alaska? Would the community maintain its integrity or fall prey to the influences that | have weakened or | many native settlements after the | influx of outside commerce and cul- | ture? | What is Metlakatla today? KAJ LOURING VISITS TOWN Reports Business Fa r Ahead of Same Period Last Year in Southeast Alaska Kaj Louring, Alaska Sales Mana- ger of the Pacific Bottlers Supply Company, is a passenger on the Al- slgn for Skagway and will return to Juneau to call on the trade by the same steamer. Louring reports his business in | Ketchikan and other Southeast Al- aska ports as very good and far ahedd of the same period last year. He'was advised here by radio that his second carload of Corby’'s Cana- dian Whiskey arrived in Seattle on May 25 and that the entire car- load is already sold or' contracted for. Louring 'stated that the tourist season is starting early and the Alaska carries 75;round trippers who have been greatly, thrilled: on the | trip wy the very fine ‘wedther and wohtierful” scedery. © * 7Y -s PLANE FROM INTERIOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON The PAA plane from Fairbanks is due at the PAA airport tomor- row afternoon at 3 o'clock accord- ing to advices today from the In- terion, —ee— AT ST. ANN'S John Cain was admitted to St. Ann's Hospital Thursday evening for medical treatment. SHOP IN JUNEA<. destroyed o | MAH BOOTS--SHE'LL FIND 'EM LAYIN' IN TH' CORNER MAH HAT ---- KENDLERTO BUILD EIGHT ROOM HOUSE Modern Residence to Be Erected — Plans Are Now Being Drawn Plans and specifications being prepared by N. Lester Troast and Associates calling for the im- mediate erection of a fully modern cighttroom house on the Glucieli | Highway for Joe Kendler, owner of the Alaska Dairy. Tt i§ expected that | | plans ' and specifications will be |available Monday and that bids for the furnishing of materials and construction will be asked for. - KNIGHT IN JUNEAU ENROUTE TO INTERIOR Dewey L. Knight, Division Direct- tor, U, S. Immigration and Natur- alization Service, is enroute from his headquarters in Ketchikan to Skagway on the Alaska. Mr. Knight will spend a few days in Skagway; Eagle and Fairbanks on business connected with his department, and will revisit Juneau in about five weeks for a stay of a few days be- fore returning to metchikan. [ PHONE 35 For very prompt LIQUOR DELIVERY "GARBAGE HAULED | Reasonable Momuay Rates | E.O.DAVIS TELBPHONE §84 Phone 4753 MOTOR-DRIVEN BRUSH TYPE ; “Flrs‘t'l’?‘cxyment || Inmediate Delivery |moneys sent by individuals to Mr. church that once was crowded, and | “To give up Ahlied, or devil- worship, to cease to call medicine |Duncan personally, were the prop- the Bishop keéps up a show of acti- ! $4 a Month §¥ | They were polyzamists, and sold . ' their daughters for immoral pur- | |poses to tradérs and whisky deal- ers. Shortly after his arrival, Mr. Puncan witnessed, from the wall of { the fort, a scene which almost dis- couraged him. ‘A party of painted men when ill, to stop gambling, |erty of the society. These moneys painting their faces, use of intoxi- | all been invested in public cating liquors, to rest on the Sab- |improvements, and Mr. Duncan bath, to ‘attend to religious instruc- |believed they belonged to the col- tion, to send their children to|OnY. : school, to be clean, lndustrious,l pedceful, honest in trade, to build| “Two factions arose. awout sixty neat houses and pay village tax.’ |gave adherence to the Bishop, a “Mr. Duncan organized a village 'thousand remained loyal to their council of twelve, three of whom leader, and 'somé went back to were Chiefs, and a police force.their old ways, declaring that since Factions Arose vity, but the heart of the colony is gone.” | The conclusion of the Story of| Metlakatla will be told in next| Tuesday's Territorial Section of The Empire. The transplanting of this people to 3 new land and the future that was destined to be theirs is & history rivaling the colonization of Pitcairn Island, With what fears JUNEAU. 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