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PRICE TWENTY-FIVE CENTS.

ALASKA. Vt"^

INTERESTING AND RELIABLE INFORMATION
. RELATING THERETO.

CONTAININQ ALSO THE

Organic Act of the Territory.

By B. K. GOWLES,

Commissioner for Alaska to the American Exposition,

New Orleans.

For Sale by Booksellers Generally, and Mailed to

any Address by the Publishers or Author

on receipt of Price.

MADISON, WIS.:

Democrat Cumponf , Printers «ind Stereotypers,

1886.

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Al!eh)v«t

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ALASKA.

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INTERESTING AND RELIABLE INFORMATION
RELATING THERETO.

CONTAINING ALSO THE

Orcranic Act of the Territory.

Bv B. K. COWLES,

Commissioner for Alaska to the American Exposition,

New Orleans.

For Sale by Booksellers Generally, and Mailed to

any Address bythe Publishers or Author

on receipt of Price.

^ «

MADISON, WI3.:

Democrat Co., Printers and Sterjotypers.

1885.

233587

PREFACE.

I have adopted this method as a brief, concise and
I hope satisfactory manner of replying to thousands
•of questions and dozens of letters received by me
asking for information relative to the country which
is just now attracting such widespread attention.

It has been my aim, not to elaborate on any par-
ticular point, but briefly to give such information as,
judging from the general nature of the inquiries
made a great majority of persons are desirous of ac-
quiring. B. K. COWLES,

Sitka, Alaska.

Where is Alaska? Strange as it may seem to
many, this is a question often asked, and I will ^'eply
to it first. It is the extreme northwest portion of
the United States, extending from latitude 54" 40' to
the totally unexplored regions of the Arctic Sea, and
lying between longitude 131" and 193° west from
Greenwich, that is to say, covering 62 degrees of
longitude.

It was discovered by Vitus Behring in 1741, was
originally known as Russian America, was purchased
from Russia in 1867 for the sum of $7,200,000, and
is the largest possession of the United States. The
land portion contains 531,491 square miles. Its ex-
treme length north and south is 1,100 miles, and its
extreme breadth 800 miles, a distance greater north
and south, than from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of
Mexico, and almost equal east and west from the
same lake to New York City.

The Aleutian Islands, which are a part of Alaska,
extend so far into the Pacific Ocean that the Geo-
graphical centre of the United States east and west
is found in that body of water about 500 miles west
of San Francisco. From the above figures a faint
idea can be formed of the immensity of this terri-
;tory.

HOW DO YOU GET THERE?

We will sUjjpose your starting point lo he east of
the Rocky Mountains. Vou will go to Portland,
Oregon, undoubtedly by the Northern Pacific K. R
That line offers the inducements of through trains
from St. Paul with a deservedly popular Dining Car
service. The ride from St. Paul to the Pacific Coast
on the N. P. R. R. is replete with interest and
combines the maximum of comfort, safety and
speed. At Portland you can take the steamer be-
tween the first and third day of each month, direct to
all points in Alaska.

If you desire to avoid the bar at the mouth of the
Columbia River, as well as several hours of open
ocean, you can go by rail to Tacoma, thence by boat
on Puget's Sound to Port Townsend, where you can
await the arrival of the steamer that you might have
taken at Portland. By leaving Portland the same
day that the steamer sails, your stay at Portland will
not be tedious, having to remain there only about
twenty-four hours. This steamer carries the Alaska
mails and takes them on at Port Townsend, so there
is no danger of one's missing the boat; and the trip
from Tacoma to Port Townsend across Puget's
Sound is a very delightful one. The fare in both
cases will amount to about the same thing. (See
table of fares). If you desire a short stay at Vic-
toria on Van Couver's Island, instead of stopping at
Townsend, continue your journey to Victoria by the
same boat. A visit to this delighlful island will
fully repay any one, and the Alaska steamer can be
taken at that point, as it stops there after leaving
Port Townsend. The fare from Port Townsend to
all points in Alaska is the same as from Victoria, and
the latter place is by far the pleasanter of the two.

Should you make a stop at Victoria, by no means
fail to call at the "Driard," The excellence of its
table is famous the entire length of the Pacific coast,
and the name of its proprietor, Redon, is a synonym
for all that is hospitable, gracious and polite. Its
charges are the same as other first-class hotels in the
States.

Shopping in Victoria, however, is out of the ques-
tion as persons of ordinary means can not afford to
pay the prices asked by Victoria merchants. 'J'he
chief point of interest is the harl)or of Kscpiimalt
where generally lie five or six English men of war.
From Victoria the steamer will go to Nanaimo to
take on coal. Nanaimo is on Vancouver's Island
seventy-five miles from Victoria, and is the last point
touched by the Alaska steamer before starting on its
voyage of a thousand miles to Sitka. Leaving Nana-
imo the steamer turns its head northward and ])lows
its way through the waters of the Gulf of Georgia.
At the further end of Vancouver's Island, O^ieen
Charlotte's Sound is crossed, and here for about three
hours is felt the swell of the Pacific.

The rest of the voyage is, with one or two excep-
tions, scarcely worth mentioning, made through the
, narrow channels of the Archipelago, and is spoken of
as the inside passage, and without doubt is one of the
most wonderful, beautiful and delightful trips, not
only on this continent, but on the entire globe.

To latitude 54"' 40' the voyage is through British
waters, but at this point the boat again enters the
United States' possessions. Its first stop will be made
at a trading post called Loring, its next at a fishing
s^ntion called Kasa-an. This fishery is owned by
Capt. Carroll the man in command of the steamer
which carries you to Alaska. The next stop will be
Ft. Wrangell though possibly the boat may put in at
old Ft. Tougass, both of which places were formerly
occupied by United States troops, but are now aban-
doned, and quiet and decadence reign supreme. At
Ft. Wrangell parties who are desirous of visiting the
Cassiar Mines in British Columbia, leave the Alaska
boat and voyage up the Steekene River in canoes.

Leaving Ft. Wrangell the steamer makes its way to
Juneau; the most important mining camp at present
in Alaska, containing six hundred inhabitants.
Opposite Juneau is Douglass Island, upon which is
located the famous Tread well Mine. The mill at
this mine is said to be the most complete and largest
of its kind in the world, having 120 stamps under one
roof. The vein of gold bearing quartz is 430 feet

wide but of a low grade of ore. It is most favorably
situated in relation to tide water and ])ays net, about
$6.75 a ton, turning out per month from $70,000 to
$100,000. The property is owned by San Franciseo
parties.

About three miles back of Juneau is the Silver
Bow Basin, phenomenally rich in gold bearing quartz
and placer claims.

About 60 miles beyond Juneau is the Chilcat coun-
try. From this place the miners and Indians have a
trail some 35 miles in length, to a chain of lakes about
300 miles long which connect with the 1 ead waters
of the Yukon River. This river is not only one of the
largest on this continent, but one of the largest in the
world, and from the point at which i^iners strike it,
to its mouth, is a distance of two thousand miles.
Valuable mineral discoveries have been made on the
banks of the river and I have reliable information that
one miner has staked a claim on a vein of gold bear-
ing quartz, six hundred feet wide.

From Juneau the steamer makes its way 180 miles
to the southwest to Sitka, the capital of the territory
and located on Baronhoff Island. The population of
Sitka is as follows: 60 native Americans, 240 Rus-
sians, and from 500 to 1,200 native Alaskans. The
native American population of southeastern Alaska
probably does not exceed 1,000 s^uls, though the
white populatien of the entire territory is estimated
by Gov. Swineford in his annual report at 1,900.

Tourists who have seen every harbor of note on
the globe declare the Sitka harbor, in point of beauty,
to have its equal only in the harbors of Rio Janeiro
and Nagasaki, in Japan.

The government buildings are located at Sitka, also
a Greek church and a Presbyterian Mission School.
There are five trading stores, which do a considerable
business, and a photograph gallery, and an establish-
ment for the exclusive sale of Alaskan curios will be
opened this coming spring of 1886. A United States
man-of-war is generally found lying either at Juneau
or Sitka, and at the latter place a body of marines are
quartered under the command of a United States
naval officer. The present commandant is Lieut. Bar-

nett, of the marine service, who hails from Wiscon-
sin, and is a graduate of the Annapolis Naval School.
The only physician in Sitka, is the surgeon of the man-
of-war, and when that nomadic institution is not "pres-
ent or accounted for" the capital of Alaska has no one
to cure the ills that Alaskan flesh is heir to, and it oc
curs to the author that a fine opportunity is offered
for a worthy disciple of Aesculapius to establish him-
self in a good business at Sitka, as the native Alas-
kans need the services of a physician to an alarming
extent. The law is looked after by several able and
talented followers of Blackstone.

On the Aleutian Islands and at Sitka, and through-
out southeastern Alaska generally, root crops are
raised without much difficulty. Extreme dampness
and want of summer heat, prevent the ripening of
grain. Many kinds of edible berries are plentiful
and at the foot of Mt. St. Elias, strawberries in their
season are found in the greatest abundance. Timber
abounds both on the mainland and islands, and there
are five species ot valuable woods. Commercially
considered they range as fellows: Yellow cedar,
spruce, hemlock, elder and a species of fir or black
pme.

The yellow cedar, susceptible of taking a very fine
polish, is considered valuable for boat building and
finishing purposes. It sells for $80 per thousand
in San Francisco. It possesses a delightful odor
which like camphor wood, it retains for a long time,
and manufactured into boxes and chests is very valua-
ble for packing furs and other goods as it is said to
be a moth preventive.

A good quality of white marble is found on Lynn
Canal. Valuable coal discoveries have been made
near Killisnoo, at which place also the Northwest
Trading Co. have a very extensive establishment,
where they manufacture oil and guano from the
herring, and pack and export codfish in large num-
bers. Gold, silver, copper, cinnabar and iron are
found in apparently inexhaustible quantities through-
out the territory, and in the vicinity of Sitka, the
most valuable gold claims yet discovered, are about
being developed by a company incorporated under

vl^

the laws of Wisconsin, which lias lately purchased the
properties. Ore taken at random from these mines

I has assayed into the thousands.

I Twenty-four miles from Sitka is Mt. Edgecomh,

I an extinct volcano. The contour of the mountain

plainly shows the old crater, and is an object of great
interest to all visitors and tourists. Do not fail to

j take a look at this mountain of extinct fire and flame.

The fur-bearing animals of Alaska are numerous
and among them are to be found the ' eaver, fox,
marten, ermine, otter and wolf. Cinnamon and
black bear are found in great numbers in all part^ of
southeastern Alaska, while furth.i north, "ear the
grc.i'. river Yukon, the reindeer and. the grizzly
bear roam undisturbed by mar. llie islands
literally swarm with deer and venison, and fish of
. various kinds are the main food supply of the
Alaskans.

y Game fish of many kinds are caught both in the

fresh and salt water. At Sitka two distinct species of
brook trout are taken in the mountain streams.
Salmon trout are caught in the Indian River, and
in the salt waters of the harbor. Rock cod, sea-
trout, black bass and halibut afford great sport as
well as delicious food for those who are piscatorially
inclined. The Alaska Commercial Company has a
monopoly of the fur seal business, for which they pay
to the United States an annual rental of $55,000, and
a royalty of $2.62 V2 for each seal killed and are lim-
ited to the killing of 100,000 seals annually. The
principal points where the fur seal is caught are the
Islands of St. George and St. Paul, belonging to
the Pri by loff group, some 1,700 miles west of Sitka..
The territorial officers o nsist of a governor, dis-
trict judge, district attorney, marshal and surveyor
general, collector of customs, and .; clerk of the dis-
trict court, who is also ex-officio secretary and treas-
urer. The first two mentioned officers receive a
salary of $3,000 each, and the other mentioned offi-
cers a salary of $2,500 each, with certain fees. The
mean annual temperature of Sitka is about forty-four
degrees, the winter temperature at that place being
about the same as that of Washington, D. C. The

mercury seldom rises higher than eighty-two degrees
in summer. The rain fall at Sitka is copious, the
annual precipitation being sixty-five to ninety inches.
The language spoken by the Indians at Sitka is the
Thlinket, although to a great extent they use the
jargon common to all Indians of the Pacific coast
from Oregon to Mt. St. Elias.

There is a paucity of domestic animals in Alaska
as yet, five mules, two horses, and not to exceed a
dozen cows constitute the entire outfit in that line, in
the southeastern portion of the territory. At Sitka
there are a few chickens that sell for $i,oo each; eggs
bring 75 cents per dozen and milk 80 cents a gallon.
There is good grazing on islands in the Sitka Harbor
and a remunerative industry might be worked up
raising vegetables, milk and poultry for the Sitka and
Juneau markets. . , . -

TAHLE OF RATES. -

St. Paul to Sitka $i53-5o

St. Paul to Portland 93 - 5^

St. Paul to Portland, Emigrant 53- 50

Sleeping car fare, one birth from St. Paul to

Portland 15 -OO

Meals on Dining Car, each .75

Portland to Tecoma by rail 7.00

Tecoma to Port Tovvnsend by boat 3-75

Tecoma to Victoria by boat 4-75

Meals on boat on Puget Sound, each .50

Portland to Port Townsend by steamer 10.00

Portland to Victoria by steamer. 10.00

Portland to any point in Alaska 60.00

Port Tovvnsend or Victoria to any point in

Alaska 50.00

The fare on the Alaska steamer includes state-room
and meals.

N. B. The N. P. R. R. furnish free of charge
sleeping accomodations to the purchasers of emigrant
tickets, the purchaser furnishing his own bedding.

During the First Session of the Forty-eighth Con-
gress, the following bill, originating in the Senate,
became a law:

AN ACT PROVIDING A CIVIL G0VP:RNMENT FOR

ALASKA.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen-
tatives of the United States of America in Congress
assemble {, That the territory ceded to the United
States by Russia by the treaty of March thirtieth,
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and known as
Alaska, shall constitute a civil and judicial district,
the government of which shall be organized and ad-
ministered as hereinafter provided. The temporary
seat of government of said district is hereby estab-
lished at Sitka.

wSection 2. That there shall be appointed for the
said district a governor, M'ho shall reside therein dur-
ing his term of office and be charged with the inter-
ests of the United States Government that may arise
within said district. To the end aforesaid he shall
have authority to see that the laws enacted for said
district are enforced, and to require the faithful dis-
charge of their duties by the officials appointed to
administer the same. He may also grant reprieves
for offences committed a2:ainst the laws of the district
or of the United States until the decision of the Pres-
ident thereon shall be made known. He shall be ex
officio commander-in-chief of the militia of said dis-
trict, and shall have power to call out the same when
necessary to the due execution of the laws and to
preserve the peace, and to cause all able-bodied citi-
izens of the United States in said district to enroll
and serve as such when the public exigency demands;
and he shall perform generally in and over said district
such acts as pertain to the office of governor of a
territory, so far as the same may be made or become
applicable thereto. He shall make an annual report
on the first day of October in each year, to the Presi-
dent of the United States, of his official acts and do-
ings, and of the condition of said district, with
reference to its resources, industries, population, and
the administration of the civil government thereof.
And the President of the United States shall have
power to review and to confirm or annul any re-
prieves granted or other acts done by him.

Section 3. That there shall be, and hereby is,,
established a district court for said district, with the
civil and criminal jurisdiction of district courts of the
United States exercising the jurisdiction of circuit
courts, and such other jurisdiction, not inconsistent
with this act, as may be established by law; and a
district judge shall be appointed for said district, who-
shall during his term of office reside therein and hold
at least two terms of said court therein in each year,,
one at Sitka, beginning on the first Monday in May,
and the other at Wrangel, beginning on the first
Monday in November. He is also authorized and
directed to hold such special sessions as may be nec-
essary for the dispatch of the business of said court,
at such times and places in said district as he may
deem expedient, and may adjourn such special session
to any other time previous to a regular session. He
shall have authority to employ interpreters, and to
make allowances for the necessary expenses of his
court.

Section 4. That a clerk shall be appointed for
said court, who shall be ex officio secretary and treas-
urer of said district, a district r'^torney, and a mar-
shal, all of whom shall during their terms of office
reside therein. The clerk shall record and pre-
serve copies of all the laws, proceedings, and official
acts applicable to said district. He shall also receive
all moneys collected from fines, forfeitures, or in any
other manner except from violations of the custom
laws, and shall apply the same to the incidental ex-
penses of said district court and the allowances thereof
as directed by the judge of said court, and shall ac-
count for the same in detail, and for any balances on
account thereof, quarterly, to and under the direction
of the secretary of the treasury. He shall be ex officio
recorder of deeds and mortgages and certificates of
location of mining claims and other contracts relating
to real estate and register of wills for said district,
and shall establish secure offices in the town of Sitka
and Wrangel, in said district, for the safekeeping of
all his official records, and of records concerning the
reformation and establishment of the present status
of titles to lands, as hereinafter directed: Provided y

*'t

That the district court hereby created may direct, if
it shall deem expedient, the establishment of separ-
ate offices at the settlements at Wrangel, Oonalashka,
and Juneau City, respectively, for the recording of
such instruments as may pertain to the several na-
tural divisions of said district most convenient to said
settlements, the limits of which shall, in the event of
such direction, be defined V)y said court; and said
offices shall be in charge ol the commissioners respec-
tively hereinafter provided.

Section 5. That there shall be appointed by the
President four commissioners in and for the said dis-
trict, who shall have the jurisdiction and powers of
commissioners of the United States circuit courts in
any part of said district, but who shall reside, one at
Sitka, one at Wrangel, one at Oonalashka, and one at
Juneau City. Such commissioners shall exercise all
the duties and powers, civil and criminal, now con-
ferred on justices of the peace under the general laws
of the state of Oregon, so far as the same may be
applicable in said district, and may not be in conflict
with this act, or the laws of the United States. They
shall also have jurisdiction, subject to the supervision
of the district judge, in all testamentary and probate
matters, and for this purpose their courts shall be
opened at stated terms and be courts of record, and
be provicied with a seal for the authentication of their
official acts. They shall also have power to grant
writs of habeas corpus for the purpose of inquiring
into the cause of restraint of liberty, which writs
shall be made returnable before the said district judge
for said district; and like proceedings shall be had
thereon as if the same had been granted by said judge
under the general laws of the United States in such
cases. Said commissioners shall also have the powers
of notaries public, and shall kf^pa recotdof all deeds
and other instruments of writing acknowledged before
them and relating to the title to or transfer of pro-
perty within said district, which record shall be sub-
ject to public inspection. Said commissioners shall
also keep a record of all fines and forfeitures re-
ceived y them, and shall pay over the same quar-
terly to the clerk of said district court. The governor

appointed under the provisions of this act shall, from
time to time, inquire into the operations of the Alas-
ka Seal and Fur Company, and shall annually report
to Congress the result of such inquiries and any
and all violations by said company of the agreement
existing between the United States and said com-
pany.

Section 6. That the marshal for said district
shall have the general authority and powers of the
United States marshalls of the States and Territories.
He shall be the executive officer of said court, and
charged with the execution of all processes of said
court and "'ith the transportation and custody of pris-
oners, and he shall be ex oj^cio keeper of the jail or
penitentiary of said district. He shall appoint four
deputies, who shall reside severally at the towns of
Sitka, Wrangel, Oonalashka and Juneau City, and
they shall respectively be ex-officio constables and
executive officers of the commissioners' courts herein
provided, and shall have the powers and discharge the
duties of United States deputy marshals, and those
of constables under the laws of the state of Oregon
now in force.

Sec rioN 7. That the general laws of the state of
Oregon now in force are hereby declared to be the
law ni said district, so far as the same may be appli-
cable and not in conflict with the provisions of this
act or the laws of the United States; and the sen-
tence of imprisonment in any criminal case shall be
carried out by confinement in the jail or penetentiary
hereinafter provided for. But the said district court
shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases in equity
or those involving a question of title to land, or min-
ing rights, or the constitutionality of a law, and in all
criminal offenses which are capital. In all civil cases
at common law, any issue of fact shall be determined
by a jury, at the instance of either party; and an ap-
peal shall lie in any case, civil or criminal, Irom the
judgment of said commissioners to the said district
court, where the amount involved in any civil case is
two hundred dollars or more, and in any criminal case
where a fine of more than one hundred dollars or im-
prisonment is imposed, upon the tiling of a sufficient

appeal bond l)y the parly appealing, to be approved
by the court or commissioner. Writs of error in
criminal cases shall issue to the said district court
from the United States circuit court for the district
of Oregon in the cases provided in chapter one hun-
dred and seventy-six of the laws of eighteen hundred
and seventy-nine; and the jurisdiction thereby con-
ferred upon circuit courts is hereby given to the cir-
cuit court of Oregon. And the final Judgments or
decrees of said circuit and district court may be re-
viewed by the supreme court of the United States as
in other cases.

Section 8. That the said district of Alaska is
hereby created a land district, and a United States
land office for said district is hereby located at Sitka.
The commissioner provided for by this act to reside
at Sitka shall be exo fficio register of said land office,
and -the clerk provided for by this act shall be ex
officio receiver of public moneys, and the marshal
provided for by this act shall be surveyor general of
said district, and the laws of the United States relat-
ing to mining claims, and the rights incident thereto,
shall, from and after the passage of this act, be in full
force and effi^ct in said district, under the administration
thereof herein provided for, subject to such regula-
tions as may be made by the Secretary of the Interior,
approved by the President: Frovided, That the
Indians or other persons in said district shall not be
'^'isturbed in the possession of any lands actually in
tjieir use or occupation or now claimed by them, but
the terms under which such persons may accpiire title
to such lands is reserved for future legislation by
Congress: And provided further, That parties
who have located mines or mineral privileges therein
under the laws of the United States applicable to the
public domain, or who have occupied and improved
or exercised acts of ownership over such claims, shall
not be disturbed therein, but shall be allowed to per-
fect their title to such claims by payment as aforesaid:
And provided also, That the land not exceeding six
hundred and forty acres at any station now occupied
as missionary stations among the Indian tribes in
said section, with the improvements thereon erected

by or for such societies, shall be continued in the
•occupancy of the several religious societies to which
said missionary stations respectively belong until
action V)y Congress. But nothing contained in this
act shall be construed to put in force in said district
the general land laws of the United States.

SeCTlON 9. That the governor, attorney, judge,
marshal, clerk, and commissioners provided for in this
act shall be appointed by the President of the United
States, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, and shall hold their respective offices for the
term of four years, and until their successors are ap-
pointed and qualified. They shall severally receive
the fees of oflice established by law for the several
offices the duties of which have been hereby conferred
upon them, as the same are determined and allowed
in respect of similar offices under the laws of the
United States, which fees shall be reported to the
Attorney General and paid into the Treasury of the
United States. They shall receive respectively the
following annual salaries. The governor, the sum of
three thousand dollars; the attorney, the sum of two
thousand five hundred dollars; the marshal, the sum
of two thousand five hundred dollars, the judge, the
sum of three thousand dollars; and the clerk, the sum
of two thousand five hundred dollars, payable to them
quarterly from the Treasury of the United Spates.
The district judge, marshal, and district attorney
shall be paid their actual, necessary expenses when
travelling in the discharge of their official duties. A
detailed account shall be rendered of such expenses
under oath and as to the marshal and district attorney
such account shall be approved by the judge, and as
to his expenses by the Attorney General. The com-
missioners shall receive the usual fees of United
States ccmmissioners and of justices of the peace for
Oregon, and such fees for recording instruments as
are allowed by the laws 01 Oregon for similar services,
and in addition a salary of one thousand dollars each.
The deputy marshals, in addition to the usual fees of
constables in Oregon, shall receive each a salary of
seven hundred and fifty dollars, which salaries shall
.also be payable quarterly out of the Treasury of the

United States. Plach of said officials shall, before
entering on the duties of his office, take and subscribe
an oath that he will faithfully execute the same, which
said oath may be taken before the judge of said
district or any United States district or circuit judge.
That all officers appointed for said district, before
entering upon the duties of their office shall take
the oaths required by law, and the laws of the United
vStates, not locally inapplicable to said district and
not inconsistent with the provisions of this act are
hereby extended thereto, but there shall be no
legislative assembly in said district, nor shall any
delegate be sent to congress therefrom. And the
said clerk shall execute a bond, with sufficient sure-
ties, in the penalty of ten thousand dollars, for the
faithful performance of his duties, and file the same
with the Secretary of the Treasury before entering
upon the duties of his office; and the commissioners
shall each execute a bond, with sufficient sureties, in
the penalty of three thousand dollars, for the faith-
ful performance of their duties, and file the same
with the clerk before entering upon the duties of
their office.

Section io. That any of the public buildings in
said district not required for the customs service or
military purposes shall be used for court rooms and
offices of the civil government, and the Secretary of
the Treasury is hereby directed to instruct and
authorize the custodian of said buildings forthwith to
make such repairs to the jail in the town of Sitka,
in said district, as will render it suitable for a jail
and penitentiary for the purposes of the civil govern-
ment hereby provided, and to surrender to the mar-
shal the custody of said jail and the other public
buildings, or such parts of said buildings as may be
selected for court-rooms, offices, and officials.

Section ii. That the Attorney-General is di-
rected forthwith to compile and cause to be printed,
in the Ei glish language, in pamphlet form, so much
of the general laws of the United States as are ap-
plicable to the duties of the governor, attorney,
judge, clerk, marshals and commissioners appointed
for said district, and shall furnish for the use of the

•officers of said Territory so many copies as may be
needed of the laws of Oregon applicable to said dis-
trict.

Section 12. That the Secretary of the Interior
shall select two of the officers to be appointed under
this act, who, together with the governor, shall con-
stitute a commission to examine into and report upon
the condition of the Indians residing in said Terri-
tory, what lands, if any, should be reserved for their
use, what provision shall be made for their educa-
tion, what rights by occupation of settlers should be
recognized, and all other facts that may be necessary
to enable Congress to determine what limitations
may be imposed when the land laws of the United
States shall be extended to said district; and to de-
fray the expenses of said commission the sum of
two thousand dollars is hereby appropriated out of
any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appro-
priated.

Section 13. That the Secretary of the Interior
shall make needful and proper provision for the edu-
cation of the children of school age in the Territory
of Alaska, without reference to race, until such time
as permanent provision shall be made for the same,
and the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, or so
much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appro-
priated for this purpose.

Section 14. That the provisions of chapter three,
title twenty-three, of the revised statutes of the
United States, relating to the unorganized Territory
of Alaska, shall remain in lull force, except as herein
specially otherwise provided; and the importation,
manufacture, and sale of intoxicating liquors in said
district except for medicinal, mechanical, and scien-
tific purposes, is hereby prohibited under the penalties
which are provided in section nineteen hundred and
fifty-five of the revised statutes for the wrongful
importation of distilled spirits. And the President
of the United States shall make such regulations as
are necessary to carry out the provisions of this
section.

Approved, May 17, 1884.

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