ALASKA. 



11 



vegetables, for which there is an active demand 

 and ready market in the large towns and mining- 

 camps. The chief product in point of value was 

 turnips, returning $1,399; then followed potatoes, 

 -$1,371; lettuce, $790; carrots, $850; radishes, 

 $708; beets, $205; cabbage, $141; celery, $80; 

 onions, $10; peas, $8; and rhubarb, $3. There 

 was very little of what could properly be called 

 hay. Very little tame grass was grown; and the 

 4 silos, with a capacity of 130 tons, were chiefly 

 filled with beach and other native grasses, which 

 grow in great abundance. From the 13 cows re- 

 ported, $292 were realized from dairy products 

 and $310 from the sales of veal calves. 



From the standpoint of income upon capital in- 

 vested, poultry-raising in 1899 was relatively the 

 most profitable branch of Alaskan agriculture. 

 The stock on hand, June 1, 1900, consists of 176 

 fowls, valued at $166. The total income was $539 

 in 1899. Of this sum, $360 were derived from eggs 

 and $179 from the sale of chickens. Eggs found 

 a ready market at an average price of 43 cents 

 per dozen, while the average amount received for 

 fowls was $1.01 each. 



It is to be regretted that the special agents 

 failed to secure reports concerning the farming 

 operations of the Indians. The Thlingits, inhab- 

 iting the southern coast, and the Aleuts, on the 

 Alaskan peninsula and neighboring islands, have 

 made substantial beginnings in agriculture. 

 Nearly every village of the natives on the south- 

 ern coast has its community garden, and several 

 individual gardens are found. Potatoes, cabbage, 

 turnips, carrots, lettuce, radishes, and other vege- 

 tables of the hardier varieties are cultivated, 

 potatoes being the principal crop. At Tyonek, in 

 a recent favorable year, over 300 bushels of pota- 

 toes were raised. Some barley was grown on 

 Kadiak island from seed furnished by the agri- 

 cultural experiment stations. With that excep- 

 tion, no cereals have been successfully grown. 

 Enough hay is usually gathered to feed the do- 

 mestic animals through the winter. The wild 

 grass is cut with sickles and hung on trees or 

 poles to cure. The Indians understand the im- 

 portance of fertilizing, and gather large quantities 

 of kelp and seaweed for the purpose. Stock-rais- 

 ing is a very limited industry, although the num- 

 ber of domestic animals owned by the natives 

 is greater than that reported for the farms. At 

 Nenilchik they own over 30 head of neat cattle, 

 each family having at least one cow. The cows 

 are of hardy Russian stock, are small, and give 

 but little milk. Near some villages contact with 

 white men has taught the natives the use of im- 

 proved farm utensils, but in other localities they 

 till the land with staves and other crude imple- 

 ments. The missionaries are introducing modern 

 tools among the Indians, and are instructing them 

 in improved methods of agriculture. The estab- 

 lishment of agricultural experiment stations has 

 been very beneficial, and gives promise of accom- 

 plishing 'still greater results. 



Education. The educational work of Alaska 

 is under the direct supervision of the Rev. Sheldon 

 Jackson, D. D., the United States general agent of 

 education for Alaska. He is assisted by Wil- 

 liam Hamilton, the assistant agent of education 

 for Alaska, and William A. Kelly, superintendent 

 of schools for the southeastern district of Alaska. 

 According to Dr. Jackson's report for the fiscal 

 year ending June 30, 1900. 25 public schools were 

 maintained, with 27 teachers and an enrolment 

 of 1,753 pupils. In addition the department con- 

 tinued to pay the salaries of 5 teachers in the 

 Sitka Industrial School, giving instruction in the 

 branches of carpentering, domestic science, paint- 



ing, tinsmithing, net-making, boat-building, and 

 in the common English branches, the total num- 

 ber of pupils under instruction being 151. The fol- 

 lowing table shows the location of the public 

 schools, the race under instruction, and the total 

 enrolment and average monthly attendance for 

 the school year extending from September, 1899 

 to May, 1900: 



The congressional appropriations for education 

 in Alaska have been as follow: First grant to 

 establish schools, 1884, $25,000; in 1886-'87, $15,- 

 000; in 1887-'88, $25,000; in 1888-'89, $40,000; in 

 1889-'90, $50,000; in 1890-'91, $50,000; in 1891-'92, 

 $50,000; in 1892-'93. $40,000; in 1893-'94, $30,000; 

 in 1894-'95, $30,000; in 1895-'96, $30,000; in 1896- 

 '97, $30,000; in 1897-'98, $30,000; in 1898-'99, $30,- 

 000; in 1899-1900, $30,000. The appropriation for 

 1899-1900 was disbursed as follows: Salaries, $22,- 

 921.13; supplies, $3,203.76; fuel arid lighting, 

 $1,246.96; repairs, $816.42; rent, $413.40; travel- 

 ing expenses, $372.50; freight, $299.91; balance, 

 $725.92. The expense per capita of enrolment 

 was $17.45. The nature of the teaching in the 

 native schools, aside from the industrial branches, 

 upon which great stress is laid, and the ability 

 and progress of the pupils, are perhaps best illus- 

 trated by notes from the field. S. R. Spriggs, the 

 teacher at Port Barrow, says : 



" The pupils could best be managed when 

 grouped in three divisions, viz., primary, interme- 

 diate, and advanced. The primary department en- 

 rolled 27 males, 17 females; total, 44; the in- 

 termediate enrolled 13 males, 9 females; total, 22; 

 while the advanced class enrolled 12 males, 4 fe- 

 males, 2 of the 12 males being adults. 



" English was the fundamental course through- 

 out the year, more time being given to it than to 

 the other studies because, being the basis of teach- 

 ing in all the other subjects, its importance was 

 continually seen and felt. The advanced section 

 used readers. The intermediate was drilled in 

 words, sentences, also in spelling and reading, and 

 the primary section was inducted in part into 

 the alphabet and names of familiar objects, this 

 to be used as a basis of future work in the teach- 

 ing of English. Writing (copy-books) was en- 

 joyed by nearly all the members of the two upper 

 departments. 



" Next in importance to English comes arith- 



