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GHarlcs J. gcgh era. %-l. •ly.pj3i«^p ef i?«,^„^, Isl«i)ip. e. « SKETCH OF THE ALASKA MISSION. Wiirn-KN AiiifST, 1887. Archbishop Seghers liad asked several times Missionaries for Alask?. from various religious Orders, but could not obtain any. Finally the Jteverend Father Superior of the Kocky Mountain Mission, S. J., having received some young religious ot his Order from Europe, an- swered the Archbishop's earnest and repeated request, by sending him two Fathers of the said Society, who should go with him to ex- I)lore that country before opening there a JSLission. These were ^'athers Tosi and Kobaut, to whom were given, as companion, a cer- tain Mr. Fuller, who had offered himself for this purpose. This Fuller had been known to the Fathers for several years, liaving for some time acted as helper at Industrial Schools, but he was neither a Brother nor a postulant to become sucii. The place where the first Mission was to have been founded was in that part of Alaska where the Stuart river flows into the Yucon, about 250 miles from its source, in the eastern part of Alaska, and about 2,500 miles from its month in the west. The Yucon river has a length of 2,800 miles, and seems to be larger and deeper than the Columbia; it flows through the heart of Alaska, and is the largest river as yet known of that country, many tributaries emptying into it. In winter there is no other way of exploring that country than by traveling over the fro7.en surface of rivers and lakes. In summer tiie Yucon is navigable, and people travel up and down it in boats or on rafts. The Indians are mostly found on the banks of the rivers or on th sea coast. Tlie Archbishop first iti tended to leave San Francisco in the spring of 1886, by one of the steamers that go to the western part of Alaska; these steamers enter the Yucon and pursue their course east- ward, very far into the interior. According to this })lan the Mis- sionaries would have reached the place >f their intended explorations without any trouble or ditHcuiiy. I>ut something happened that obliged them to change their plans. The Archbishop had to wait till he should receive the Pallium from the Arch])ishop of Oregon, and it was not till summer that this solenniity could take place. It being too late then to take one of the steamers tiiat go up the Yucon, 183iJ6 A rcli bishop Sen^hers and his coini had eitlier to wait till th painoim iiaci eitner to wait tm tiie following spring, or to change their plans, that is, to travel from east to west instead of traveling i'roin west to east, as was at tint intended; and after reacliing the headwaters of the Yncon follow the river to the intended place. This plan they finally adopted. This road did not present any extraordinary difRculties till they reached a spot about 35 miles from the Yucon, where swamps and lakes abound. As soon as they reached this part of the country they were obliged to travel on foot across streams, rocks and glaciers. For help they had Indians, who carried the baggage on their backs. With these Indians one must have great patience and pay them well for their services. Thc^ are experienced packers and good guides, knowing the country well, as they are employed for that by the miiiers that go to that country. Having reached the headwaters of the Yucon the Indians left the Missionaries and returned to their homes. There our travelers put themselves to the building of a very solid raft, because when any party comes to this spot and are unable to secure a raft from others returning they are obliged to build their own, if tliev want to continue their jouri ^y. On such rafts explorers row over lakes, shallow places and rapids, till they reach, on the Yucon, the terminus of their journey. It is needless to say that such a way of traveling is full of Imrdships, fatigues, want and unforeseen accidents; yet there is no danger for the lives of the travelers, otherwise the Archbishop would not have risked those of his companions. The greatest difficulty, says F. Tosi, is to make a good raft to go down the river. In this way, on a raft, the Archbisliop and his companions penetrated into the interior of Alaska, and reached the mouth of the Stuart river after many accidents, which are described in two letters, one written by the Archbishop, and the other by F. Robaut. When the Missionaries had reached the junction of the Stuart river it would seem that they had come to the end of their journey for that year, and that they should make there their winter quarters, as there is no communication in winter, except between places that are very near to one another. But the zeal of the Archbishop was pushing him on further, lie thought that three Missionaries in one and the same place were too many, seeing the want of the whole country; besides, he feared that the numerous bands of Indians near the banks of the Yucon would be lost to the Churcli by any delay. For these reasons the Archbishop resolved to leave the two Fathers and travel 900 miles further uld return with the Archhishop to San Francisco; the Su- perior of the Mission, on l)eing informed as to what C(tuld he done there would then refer nnitters to the Very Keverened Father General of the Society of Jesus, for the estahlishment of the Alaska Mission. In accordance with this agreement the Fathers went down the river some tiine in May, in the expectation of meeting the ArchI)ishop full of life and crowned with success. It is difHcult to imagine what was their disa])jK)intment, sorrow and consternation at the news ot tlie awful trigedy of the Archhishop's death. At first they could not believe the terrible news, hut they had to submit themselves to the disposition of Divine Providence, when they came to the evidence of the hicts. They were told that the Archbishop had been shot dead by Fidler, and that his body was at St. Michael's in a Russian Church. rilK DKTAILS OF TUK MUKDEK And of the murder's mind are as follows: During the voyage from Portland to the southwestern coast of Alaska, Fuller's conduct was often so extravagant that F. Tosi twice counseled the Archbishop to send him (Fuller') l)ack with the same steamer, which would return from Alaska to Portland, tor it seemed dangerous to F. Tosi to con- tinue traveling such a long distance with a man of this kind. Hut the Archbishop, jt'dging his services necessary, both during the voy- age and during the winter in that most difficult country, took him along, in hopes that the extravagances of Fuller, which arose from a fear that the whites wanted to take his life;, would subside as soon as he would l)e far away froju them, and though Fuller's extravagances continued, yet the Archbishop, in his zeal, separated himself from the Fathers, and traveled down the liver alone in company with Fid- ler. F. F. Tosi and Uobaut, when near St. Michael's learned the following factvs: "Nearly f*. month had passed since the Archbishop had reached the end of his trip of 900 miles, when he took the reso- I'ltion to make a third and shorter journey to visit some other tribe of Indians. He took with him Fidler and two Indians as companions. The Archbislutp traveled with them for seveml days until he reached a place about one day's distance from a camp of the Indians he intended to visit. It being late in the afternoon iind Fuller tired, he proposed to the Archbishop to camp there for the night and not to go any further that day. The Archbishop having asked the advice of the Indians thought better to go on, which they did, and reached an empty Indian house in tlie evening. According to the Indians who accompanied the Archhi«lK)|), Fuller was very mucii displeased that his advice liad not heen followed, and he comjmiined bitterly, because, lie said, the advice of Indians had been preferred to that of a white man. They say, also, tliat Fuller was very niucli excited (Inriniij the night, and seemed not to have slept. At daybreak they saw liim get nj) and go about as if he would start the fire, but did not (h) it. AH at once he called the Archbishop, telling I'.im to get up. The Arch- bishop arose to a sitting posture, and on seeing Fuller with liis gun levelled, folded liis arms on liis breast and inclined his hea»l, when the man shot him. The bullet passed tiirough his forehead near his left eye and came out from the upper ])arr of the neck. The Ai^chbishop died instantly. Tlie Indians witnessintj; the tragedy got frightened, and fearing that Fuller would kill thenj also, disarmed him, but Ful- ler assured thein, saying coolly and calmly that he had made up his mind to kill only the Archbishop. Then he and the Indians arranged the body of the dead Prelate, taking away only the ])astoral cross and ring, which objects, he said, he wou'd give to the ecclesiastical authorities in Victoria, B. C. From this it would seem that we can saftiy conclude that Fuller's mental faculties had been upset, partly in consequence of a previous disposition for monomania and partly, also, in consequence of the sufferings he had undergone during the voyage; further, we may sup[)ose that he killed the Archbishop in a lit of madness. This conclusion is corroborated by the following fact: He is reported to have said that when they will hang him he wants the consolation of confessing to a Catholic Wiest — not to accuse him- self of the murder of the Archbishop, for which he feels no remorse — but of his past sins. The only consolation left to us who have known this beloved Archbishop is the thought that Almighty God, who, in his inscrutable wisdom and providence over his creatures, governs and directs all to his greater glory, will know how to use the tragic death of this holy Prelate as an efficacious means of propagating the saving light of the Gospel, We are aware that the crown of sacri- fices which the Divine Goodness imjiosed on the holy man for the salvation of l^ie Indians in asking from him the renunciation of the Archbishopric of Oregon, in order to undertake such an arduous mis- sion, full of hardships, receiver^, its most brilliant gem in the bloody sacrifice of his precious life. We cannot suppose that God, on be- holding a sacrifice so precious, will not be nwved to grant in some future time, perha])S not far distant, the conversion of the poor crea- tures, for whose salvation the sacrifice was made. Neither F. Tosi nor F. Robaut knew anything about this sad event until last June, when they went down the Yucon to meet the Arch- bishop, F. Tosi left the body of the Archbishup as it w.is, in a /,iiic casket RiirroiiiKJed with ice to preserve it. It is in the Ilussian Chajjcl at St. Michael's which is situated about 500 miles from the mouth of the Yucon, and when jjossible it will \>v taken by steamer to Victoria, IJ. C. Father Robaut went then to the Indians in whoso Territory the Arciibishop was killed, and Father Tosi left on the steamer bound for San Francisco, to acijuaint Superiors of all tliat liad happened. In this last trip he had go(»d opportunity t(» visit the western eea coast of Alaska, both above and below the nu)Uth of the Yucon. lie arrived from San Francisco to Po'-tland on the 23(1 of July, and gave us all the details of the facts just related, besides much important information about the country and its iidiabitants, which we shall now relate. The clinuvte of Alaska is not very changeable, it being very cold in winter, and but moderately warm in summer, and this uniformity of clinuvte nuikes it very healthy. F. Tt»si, whose chest was always more or less weak, and who suffered from rheumatism, like most of our Missionaries in the mountains, says that his health has very much imjjroved during his stay in Alaska, and the writer, who saw him after his return from there can testify to the fact that he ap[)eared to be much stronger. It seems that along the Yucon I'iver the .snow is not very deep, last winter it was not deeper than two feet, whilst in the Rocky Mountains it was very deep. In summer it rains but seldom, hence on the Alaska mountains there must be a great deal of snow, to feed, when melting, a river like the Yucon, one of the largest rivers in the world. During the winter the thermometer marked on an average 15 deg. below zero (F), though sometimes it went down to GO deg., and even 70 deg. below zero (F.). During extreme cold a wonderful phenomenon takes place — the respiration is .iccompanied by a perceptible voice that can be heard at some distance. This strange phenomenon must be .ascribed, it would seem, to the conden- sation of the volume of warm air, which on leaving the mouth is instantly condensed by the very cold air without. The dwellings of the natives are built partly under and partly above ground, and cov- ered with a thick layer of clay as a protection against the severe cold. Dense forests of different kinds of wood can furnish fuel necessary for any purpose. A great quantity of wood being neces- sary it is evident that to procure and transport it is accompanied with many and great difficulties; but should the winter supply of wood give out it is possible to get more, even in winter, only a person has to take the precaution of clothing warmly and lighting a large fire on the spot where he cuts his wood. To form an idea of the intensity of the cold in those regions it is sufficient to mention that to procure the necessary water, they have to go to the middle of the river with 6 a pick-axe and make n hole in the ice, which is about six feet thick, and that they have to cover it with hranche* l*efore leaving, if they don't want to have to g(> through the same procese again next day. To get water near the shove is iinpoeHible, or at least very ditticult, because there the water citlier freezes from the surface to the bottom, or the ice is much thicker there than in the middle of the river, where the current is swifter. In summer e. The only vehicle in use in winter h a sled drawn by dogs; the-e animals are very large and tame, and accustomed to hani work. They are placed before the sled in iiles of two or three and are driven without the aid of a bridle, sometimes, however, one of the party on snowshoes pre- cedes the dogs, making the road and leading the way. The dogs carry in this manner considerable weishts. and sometimes even the driver, who jumps on the sled from behind while it is moving. It happens not seldom that the sled is upset in g<)ing over a heap of drifted snow or some other obstacle, and if the driver is not verv quick in jumping off he is thrown into the snow, because the dogs cannot be stopped all at once, on account of their having no bridle. A person ouglit not to loose courage it the dogs, from time to time, are difKcuIt to manage, since much patience is needed in traveling with dog-sleds in Alaska. There are no horses in the country, but F. Tosi thiidvs tlmt it would not be ver^' diliiieult to keep them, even in winter, if only warm stables were buih that would protect them from the cold. Hay grows in all the swamps, which might be mowed in summer and stored away for winter. Still with all this it is to be doubted if horses would be of any utility in Alaska, otherwise they would have been imported long aero. One ot the difficulties, and by no means the least, would be the impog.-ibiIity to carry along on a liorse the amount of hay required for a trip of any extent. The same difficulty does not encumber one who travels with dogs, because these, besides being able to endure hunger for a longer time, may be fed with dry fish of which a sufficient quantity can be taken along on the sled, and which can be procured, if needed, wherever the Indians live. Although there can be found in Alaska large tracts of good land, still on account of the severe and protracted cold it would not do to cultivate them, and therefore they will always lie waste. Nevertheless F. Tosi thinks that, during the short period of summer one could raise without much difficulty such vegetables as need only a short time to come to ma- I i turity, ns potatoes, cnhlmgeH, etc., for the sun reintiiiiing on the horizon for neurly four months (May, June, July and Aiii^iiHt), its lieat must produce a good efT( -t on vegetation. Tliis heing as yet ojily an opinion, experience must show whether it be riglit or wrong. Hut as in otlier countries, ho in Ahiska — a person who has moiu-y can procure from San Krancisco dried ])ear, hean , tc., etc., also fresh vegetables of every description preserved in air tigln tin cans. There are three steamers tiiat run between San Francis ;o and the interior of Ahiska, going uj) the Yucon river. One (>f hem leaves S;in Fiji'i- cisco about the jiiichlle of March, another in the b»giii:iing of April and tl ■ 1 ird at the end of May. Thepo three steamers having com- pleted their voyage up and (K)wn the Yr.con and along the coast of Alaska, return to San Francisco, and if we minlake not tlie first of these steamers returns before the third leaves. Tiie com])any that owns these vessels has been very kind to the Missionaries. For F. Tosi's last trip from Alaska to Sati Francisco the company refused to take any money. The charges for freight are very moderate. By these steamers the Fathers of Alaska would iuivc a means of direct communication with San Francisco, where there is a college of the Societv of Jesus. One of the Fathers residint; in California mijrht miglit, act as Procurator, supplying all the things necessary for the Missions in Alaska. Hy this communication with San Francisco the Alaska Missions are in a much better condition than the liocky Mountain Missions were in years past. The Missionaries were then entirely separated from all civilization, and were obliged to provide themselves with the necessaries of life by undertaking long journeys of several hundred miles over rough and ditRcult roads, transporting everytlii!ig by means of pack-horses. Missionaries of Alaska, by simply writing a letter to their Procurator in San Francisco, may ob- tain every year a full supply of everything they need for the ne.\t year, and keep up a comparatively easy correspondence with their superiors. The country turnishes abundance of food, as fish and game of dif- ferent kinds. Thousands and thousands of Indians with their dogs live almost exclusively on lisli. Every strenn? and river abounds with them. There being no falls of any height that might prevent the fish from going up the Yucon, those from the sea find no difficulty In ascending the river, and therefore it is full of them. There is a cer- tain kind of white fish there, about a foot and a half long, which is of exquioite taste. The Indians fish with strong nets, very ingeniously made of sinews. In winter time they make first a hole in the ice, and then throw in their nets, so in Alaska one may secure at any time a quantity of fresh fish. Game, however, is not as abundant as fish, yet we ought not to wonder at this since warmblooded animals cannot 8 live in such a cold climate. Nevertheless they are great numbers of deer, moose and bears, the meat of which is verv good to eat. In hunting these animals a person has to be very cautious if he values his life. Hunters there use a kind of bullet which explodes in the body ot the animal and kills it instantly. Let this suffice with regard to the country and climate. We will now proceed to give some particulars of a more important nature — about the Indians or natives. We do not intend to say any thing about the whites that are spread here and there over the interior of the country, as they are very few. On the south coast, however, which is very healthy on account of its mild climate, and on which several mines have been discovered, the Indians have been over- whelmed by the whites and infected with corruption, so that it is very probable that they are lost to religion. It seems, too, that there is very little hope of converting those Indians who live on the west coast of Alfiska, south of the mouth of the Yucon, but the same can not be said of those Indians who dwell on the west coast of Alaska north of the mouth of the Yucon, as also of those who live in the interior of the country, along the shores of the same river and its tributaries. These latter Indians are very numerous and are all heathens. F. Tosi says that he met about 10,000 of them who, in their eager desire to be instructed in the truths of religi(jn, have asked for Missionaries. He also saw about 5,000 who belong either to the Protestant or Kussian Churches. Unfortunately F. Tosi lacked the opportunity of visiting the more northern regions of Alaska where, according to the most uuthoi-itative accounts the In- dians are the most numerous, and have as yet never seen a Missionary of any denomination. The zeal of the English Protestant Ministers is very great. Last year five of these Missionaries went up the Yucon to open a school for the Indians. We may state here that for many years there lives on the shores of one of the tributaries of the Yucon an old minister. F. Tosi has met this gentleman, and says that he is for the Protestant Missions of Alaska what F. Joset is for the Catho- lic Missions of the Rocky Mountains. His zeal for the conversion of these Indians is so great that without ever relenting he undergoes the greatest hardships and difficulties. F. Kobaut has taken up his abode amongst the Indians who were to be visited last fall by the Archbishop, and he is all alone. Let us pray to the Almighty that he may take this good Father under his protection, who very proba- bly will have to remain in his present solitary position until next spring; however, all possible measures have been taken that F. Tosi and his companions — F. Ragaru and B. Giordano, S. J., may reach him before winter sets in. They left Victoria on August 9th. 1887. In consequence of the dangers tliat would follow from delay, ¥. Tosi 9 thinks that serious steps ought to be taken to open tliose Missions at once, and lie is also of the opinion that at each station there should he at least two Fatlieis and one Brother. In the region where these iirst stations should he estal)lished there are inoi-e than 15,000 In- dians anxious to put themselves under the care of Catholic Priests. But it" the number of Missionaries necessary could not be supplied at present, then there should be — for the moment — one Father with a Brother at each station. Even during winter communication might be had between these several stations. Tlie two which are the farthest apart are about 300 miles from each other. The trip could be made with facility, there being all along the way, at a distance of from iifteen to thirty miles, Indian villages. But the distance be- tween all the other stations would be only from 100 to 200 miles. Of those stations, all accessible either by the river or by the sea, four would be in the interior, on the banks of the Yucon, and three would be near the seacoast. These Indians speak only two languages that are entirely different from each other; one of these is spokeji by those living in the interior, tlie other by those living near the seacoast. Besides these, there are several dialects, more or less different from the mother language. The coast Indians are Esquimaux, and all these, to the number of several thousands, gather together in summer time for the purpose of fishing, which circumstance would offer to the Fathers a good opportunity to work for their conversion. In general, these Indians may be said to be of a very pacific disposition, like the Indians of the Kocky Mountains — there being no danger at all to go and live among them. They are very intelligent and well disposed to be instructed in religion, which assertion can be proved by the con- version to Protestantism of many thousands of them. Those of the Indians who had the happiness of making the acquaintance of Arch- bishop Seghtuf; respected, honored and loved him very much, and whenever any of them happened to meet him they would say that they preferred the Catholic Bishop to any otiier teacher. From this ^ve may infer of how great importance it is that the place left by our lai.nented Archbishop be as soon as possible tilled by an- other, in order that the Indians may know that if they have lost a good friend and father in tiie Archbishop, they have found another with' a spirit like his and who like him desires nothing more than to make them know God and the religion that leads to him. One of the principal motives of the hope we cherish of their easy and speedy con- version is the absence of that detestable plague — polygamy — which is and always has been the greatest obstacle to the conversion of the In- dians of the Itocky mountains. It seems that the fact of this excep- tional contineiicy among those Indians must beascriV)ed to a peculiar custom generally observed among them. When their children have 10 come to the use of reason, tlmt is about the age of 7 or 8 years, tlieii* parents make an agreement by whicli they are betrotlied to each other. From the time of this — tlieir betrothal — the children are obliged to help each other as if married already, although they continue to live each in his or her respective family. For instance, wlienever the boy goes a fishing he has to give part of his fish to his future wife, and so in like manner in all other things. On the otiier hand, the girl is ol)liged to mend the boy's clothes, to dry them when they are wet, and to prepare his meals whenever necessary. In this way they grow up loving each other from their tenderest years. Further, when they have come to a riper age, they go and live together, conti.aiing all the while to love each otlier so exclusively that the same affectioTi for other persons never arises to interfere. This custom, says F. Tosi, not oidy keeps far away any polygamy, but even renders any breach of conjugal faith very difficult, and what is more wonderful is that without any religious teaching their morals are in general very good. But we must not thiidc that the missionaries will have no ditMculties to surjnount. One very great obstacle will be the superstitions or practice of Indian medicine — probably even of magic arts. It is evi- dent that these Indians will not give up so easily such practices, which are of so high repute among them that atiyone who is versed therein is considered by the tribe a wise and powerful man. Let us hope that t!ie all-powertul grace of the Almighty will overcome all these ob- stacles. Let us pray that lie, the Lord of the harvest, may send laborers into this uncultivated part of his vineyard. A grand oppor- tunity is now open to secure to holy church the charge of these numerous tribes. To do this, however, requires immediate action, or the enemy will creep in and sow the cockle in this virgin soil, as he has already done on the southwest coast of Ahiska, and if so, the cockle will take such firm root as to requiiv years of endeavor to erad- icate it — if possible even then. The many Indians visited by the now martyred Archbishop and his companions appealed to him in the most urgent and piteous nuinner to have the Fathers stay with them, and teach them the way to heaven. Shall their a])peal be in vain'^ Shall the labors of the apostle of Alaska be now lost after having shed his blood to water that promising soil? This is the question now to be considered by all Catholics who have the welfare of souls at heart aiul desire to raise a itionument to the memory of one of the greatest Apostles of Holy Churcl'.. Let studentf, of all Seminaries and (yutholic Universities both of Europe and America olier themselves to go and toil there, mingling their sweat with the blood of this new Martyr of the Northwest. Let Superiors of religions houses and dioceses, who caniu)t go them- selves to that field of labor, exercise their merciful zeal towards those 11 abandoned souls by encouraging their young Levites to iinitate Arch- bishop Seghers. We, who hear the cries of these poor Indians for lielp, wish we had a voice of thunder like the Angels trumpet, which would carry to the four corners of the globe these words of Etei-nal truth : D;ito et dabitur vobie, date Missionaries to Alaska and dabitur vobis een- tupluni, dabitur to your souls, dabitur to your parishes, dabitur to your religious communities, dabitur to all your flocks. To the Laity, also, are addressed these same words: Date et dabi- tur vobis, give and it shall be given unto you, because they can help the Missionaries with their means, and to them a hundredfold shall be given here, and life everlasting hereafter. The children of the Church all over the world, whom God has blessed with temporal goods should remember in their comforts, that whilst they are enjoying themselves and at the same time believe that they are pleasing God, many souls in Alaska are allured into the bot- tomless pit by the enemy of their Divine benefactor. Let them con- sider that by giving up some of their su])erfluities in favor of the Alaska Indians, those abandoned souls will be enlightened in the ways of the Lord — will enjoy an everlasting happiness and will pray for their benefactors here upon earth and in heaven. For further information apply to the KEVEIIEND FATllEKS OF GONZAGA COLLEGE, Spokane Falls, W. T., U. S. of A. Or to Very Reverkno Father J. J. Jonckan, Administrator of the Diocese of Vancouver Island, Victoria, 13. C. ifi3^e'-