Travels in Alaska 



he now hoped the light of a better day was beginning 

 to break. Hereafter he would gladly do whatever the 

 white teachers told him to do and would have no will 

 of his own. This under the whiskey circumstances 

 seemed too good to be quite true. He thanked us over 

 and over again for coming so far to see him, and com- 

 plained that Port Simpson Indians, sent out on a 

 missionary tour by Mr. Crosby, after making a good- 

 luck board for him and nailing it over his door, now 

 wanted to take it away. Mr. Young promised to 

 make him a new one, should this threat be executed, 

 and remarked that since he had offered to do his bid- 

 ding he hoped he would make no more whiskey. To 

 this the chief replied with fresh complaints concerning 

 the threatened loss of his precious board, saying that 

 he thought the Port Simpson Indians were very mean 

 in seeking to take it away, but that now he would tell 

 them to take it as soon as they liked for he was going 

 to get a better one at Wrangell. But no effort of the 

 missionary could bring him to notice or discuss the 

 whiskey business. The luck board nailed over the 

 door was about two feet long and had the following in- 

 scription: "The Lord will bless those who do his will. 

 When you rise in the morning, and when you retire at 

 night, give him thanks. Heccla Hockla Popla." 



This chief promised to pray like a white man every 

 morning, and to bury the dead as the whites do. " I 

 often wondered," he said, "where the dead went to. 

 Now I am glad to know"; and at last acknowledged 

 the whiskey, saying he was sorry to have been caught 

 making the bad stuff. The behavior of all, even the 



\ 162 1 



