Our Mission In Alaska
We have undertaken to establish a mission school among the Arctic Eskimo Indians of Alaska. The location is to be at Point Prince of Wales at Behrings Strait, the westernmost point of the mainland of America and nearest to Asia. Its distance from the North Pole has not yet been ascertained. The inhabitants are described by Capt. Charles H. Stockton, of the United States Navy, as "the boldest and most aggressive people of all the Arctic coast. They are such a turbulent crowd that the whalers are afraid to visit them and consequently give them a wide berth. It is both the worst people and the most prosperous settlement in that region. They ought to have a mission station."
Dr. Sheldon Jackson, the Secretary of the Territorial Board of Education, says: "On account of the character of the people, I think it would not be safe to send a woman there, at least the first year. I favor the sending of two men at first. If difficulties arise, they will be a mutual strength, and if the teacher gets sick, there will be some one to attend him. From the time that the revenue cutter passes south in August and the whalers in September, these men will be shut up with the natives and thrown upon their own resources and God's protection until the following June or July. I would advise that the missionaries be large men physically, as size impresses the natives favorably, and there may be times when they will need to remove a turbulent man from their room by physical force."
We have sent out our call for the missionaries. It is obvious that none need nor will apply who are not Christian heroes, and who have not in themselves the stuff of which martyrs are made. But this mission will not be alone. In that region, but at vast distances apart, will soon be established Presbyterian, Episcopal, Swedish and Moravian missions.
The Government will refund the $3,000 necessary for the erection of the building, and one church in Connecticut has provided a little over $2,000 to defray current expenses for the first year. This sum will scarcely be adequate for this year, and that generous church, as well as others, must be relied upon to meet future expenses. We believe the hero missionaries will be found, and that a generous support will be given to an enterprise at once so bold, so needed and so promising.