ALASKA. 37 



mouths and obtain tlie nuiil for the Territory, \vln(;]i the reve- 

 iiae-ciitter JstatioiUMl on l'u<;('t Sound slionld be detailed to 

 bring' at preeoneerted intervals oC two or three months, and, by 

 SO doing, give the Territory a mail-system. 



4. The abolition of the present subsidized mail-steamer 

 whieh runs between Tortlandand Sitka. The handful of white 

 citizens there, only two of them citizens of the United States, 

 have no more right to claim the privilege of a mail-steamer, 

 which now runs for their benefit cxclmiveUj^ than have the in- 

 habitants of Kodiak, Oumdashka, or Saint Michael's, or half a 

 dozen other villages of greater population or of more impor- 

 tance in this Territory. 



o. The appointment of an agent, a man of character and edu- 

 cation, who will have an opportunity to keep the Government 

 ^vell informed of the exact condition of the people in the Terri- 

 tory and its resources, by reason of the facilities for travel 

 aflbrded by the revenue- steamer. 



G. The extension of the jurisdiction of the courts of Oregon 

 or Washington Territory over this Territory, so that when per- 

 sons belonging to the Territory, guilty of murder, arson, &c., 

 are arrested and sent down for trial, they can be punished, 

 and not permitted to escape, as they have been in more than 

 one case already, for want of this jurisdiction. 



7. The laws relating to our mining-lands might be so ex- 

 tended as to include the Territory of Alaska. Gold and silvta-, 

 copper, iron, and coal exist here, and there is no predicting 

 what the future may bring forth, for prospectors are constantly 

 at work. 



By placing matters in the Territory on such a footing as I 

 have described, at least some delinite approach to a system of 

 law and order would be initiated. There would be a steady 

 and prompt means of communication between all the stations 

 where life and property exist. No whisky-smuggling or op- 

 pression of the natives could be carried on without its si)eedy 

 apprehension and suppression, and the petty crimes which are 

 so aggravating and demoralizing at present throughout the 

 Territory would quickly cease. The annual revenue now 

 derived from the Territory is more than sutlicient to support 

 the whole system recommended. 



Beyond the adoption of this plan, in my judgment, on 

 the part of the Government, nothing more is required by the 

 Territory and its people. Any sL*heme of est-ablishiug Indian 



