14 



ALASKA. 



thirty miles below. There are no other settle- 

 ments, either white or Indian, near. On the 

 eastern shore of the inlet, about sixty miles 

 below Kenay, General Thomas examined a 

 coal-deposit, and found in it a fine quality of 

 cannel-coal, in veins of from four to eight feet 

 thick. About twenty miles below this point 

 another deposit was observed ; mining works 

 were established here a few years ago by the 

 Russian- American Fur Company, but were sub- 

 sequently abandoned, because the coal proved 

 to be comparatively worthless. On the 3d of 

 August Kodiak was reached. Near this place, 

 which is garrisoned by a company of artillery, 

 is the establishment of the ice company which 

 supplies San Francisco with ice, and it is the 

 most southern point on the coast where ice 

 can be produced with certainty. General 

 Thomas did not think there was any necessity 

 for the continuance of this post or the one at 

 Kenay, but did not deem it wise to disturb 

 them until regulations should be established to 

 govern intercourse with the natives. On St. 

 Paul's Island he found a post established to 

 secure the enforcement of the law of Congress 

 regulating the killing of seals, to support the 

 revenue officers, and to preserve order on the 

 islands. The revenue officers restrict the kill- 

 ing of seals to the smallest number necessary 

 for the maintenance of the natives. General 

 Thomas was not favorably impressed with the 

 moral condition of the Aleuts : " Though 

 nearly all members of the Greek Church," he 

 says, "they seem to have no control over 

 their passion for ardent spirits, nor have they 

 very correct ideas in regard to chastity; 

 consequently the effects of contact with the 

 stronger-willed Americans are apparent, as 

 venereal diseases and scrofula are quite com- 

 mon, and there are scarcely any, either male 

 or female, who will not get intoxicated if they 

 have the opportunity; almost the first thing 

 they ask for is whiskey." He saw no evidence 

 of dissipation among the people of Kenay and 

 the islands of St. George and St. Paul, but was 

 favorably impressed with their intelligence and 

 honesty, and found many of the men skilled 

 in mechanical arts. 



The fur-bearing seals, he reports, are found 

 only on St. Paul and St. George's Islands, and 

 are killed for their furs and oil. Here, from 

 April to September or October, are seen im- 

 mense numbers of these animals estimated at 

 from five to fifteen millions lying in the rook- 

 eries, and covering hundreds of acres. During 

 the season between fall and spring they are 

 not seen, nor is it known where they pass the 

 winter. He thinks that legislation regulating 

 the hunting and killing of these animals is ne- 

 cessary, to prevent the destruction of the rook- 

 eries; that with such legislation, and with a 

 wholesome superintendence of the Indians and 

 Aleuts, one garrison of two hundred or three 

 hundred men, and a revenue-cutter, will be all 

 the forces needed in Alaska. The fur-trade of 

 the interior, on account of the fatigue and hard- 



ALLEN", CHARLES. 



ship attending it, will never be carried on by 

 white men. He recommends that a mail-route 

 be established between Port Townsend, Wash- 

 ington Territory, and Sitka, touching at San 

 Juan Island, Tongass, and Wrangle, all of which 

 ports are immediately on the route to Sitka. 

 In regard to the settlement of Alaska, General 

 Thomas says: "I see no immediate prospect 

 of the country being settled up. The climate 

 is too rigid ; there is too much rain and too 

 little sun for agricultural purposes. At most 

 of the posts there are gardens, in which are 

 raised radishes, turnips, lettuce, and other wa- 

 tery vegetables, and fair potatoes, though they 

 will not keep any time. The moisture of the 

 climate is so great that these vegetables con- 

 tinue to grow, but do not ripen. The same 

 difficulty has attended all attempts to raise 

 barley, oats, or wheat ; the stalk grows green 

 and rank, but the seed does not come to ma- 

 turity or ripen. There is comparatively little 

 land suitable for agriculture ; the largest tract 

 and best climate known is the plateau on the 

 east side of Cook's Inlet, extending from Kenay 

 to Chogotshaik Bay. The soil is an alluvial 

 sandy loam, very rich and deep, but the sum- 

 mer, though pleasant while it lasts, is not long 

 enough for successful farming. Though the 

 timber is of the finest quality, and in many 

 places conveniently located, still the supply in 

 Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, is 

 equally good and abundant, and much better 

 located for a market. The fishing-banks along 

 the northeastern coast of the Aleutian Penin- 

 sula and islands are very extensive and boun- 

 tiful, and salmon abounds in all the streams. 

 In addition to the coal mentioned as being at 

 Chogotshaik, there are many other known lo- 

 calities of coal." 



Congress has as yet taken no steps for the 

 formation of a Territorial government for Alas- 

 ka, and this outlying possession will probably 

 remain under the control of the military au- 

 thorities of the nation for the present. 



ALLEN", CHARLES, LL. D., an eminent jurist 

 of Massachusetts, born in Worcester, Mass., 

 August 9, 1797 ; died in Worcester, August 6, 

 1869. He was a graduate of Harvard College, 

 studied law in his native town, and was admit- 

 ted to the bar in 1821. In 1829 he was elected 

 to the State Legislature, and again in 1833, 

 1834, 1836, and 1840, and was a member of the 

 State Senate in 1835, 1838, and 1839. He was 

 a commissioner to negotiate the Webster 

 Treaty in 1842, and judge of the Court of Com- 

 mon Pleas from 1842 to 1844. In 1848, he 

 took an active part in the Free-Soil movement, 

 and that year was elected to Congress from 

 the Worcester District, and reflected in 1850. 

 His political views, and his known hostility to 

 slavery, placed him to a considerable extent 

 under the ban in Congress ; but he displayed 

 marked ability in all that he had the opportu- 

 nity of doing. In 1849 he had the editorial 

 charge for some time of the Boston Whig, or, 

 as it was subsequently called, the Boston Be- 



