Although the Aleuts willingly embraced the Christian religion, and prayed to God as they were taught, it must be confessed that, until a priest was settled amongst them they worshiped one who was almost an unknown God. For Father Macarius, from the shortness of time that he was with them, and from the lack of competent interpreters, was able to give them but very general ideas about religion, such as of God’s omnipotence, His goodness, etc. Notwithstanding all of which the Aleutines remained Christians, and after baptism completely renounced Shamanism, and not only destroyed all the masks which they used in their heathen worship, but also allowed the songs which might in any way remind them of their heathen worship to fall into disuse, so that when, on my arrival amongst them, I through curiosity made inquiry after these songs, I could not hear of one. But of all good qualities of the Aleutines, nothing so pleased and delighted my heart as their desire, or to speak more justly,thirst, for the Word of God, so that sooner would an indefatigable missionary tire ofpreachingthan they ofhearingthe Word.
Although the Aleuts willingly embraced the Christian religion, and prayed to God as they were taught, it must be confessed that, until a priest was settled amongst them they worshiped one who was almost an unknown God. For Father Macarius, from the shortness of time that he was with them, and from the lack of competent interpreters, was able to give them but very general ideas about religion, such as of God’s omnipotence, His goodness, etc. Notwithstanding all of which the Aleutines remained Christians, and after baptism completely renounced Shamanism, and not only destroyed all the masks which they used in their heathen worship, but also allowed the songs which might in any way remind them of their heathen worship to fall into disuse, so that when, on my arrival amongst them, I through curiosity made inquiry after these songs, I could not hear of one. But of all good qualities of the Aleutines, nothing so pleased and delighted my heart as their desire, or to speak more justly,thirst, for the Word of God, so that sooner would an indefatigable missionary tire ofpreachingthan they ofhearingthe Word.
But Veniamínoff, true missionary that he was, was not content with his quiet, peaceful labors among the Aleuts. There was a fierce tribe that hunted the Russians like wild beasts in the neighborhood of Sitka, and to them he determined to carrythe gospel. He began to get ready for his mission to these Koloshes in 1834, but was detained a year, and at last, ashamed of himself for his cowardice, he resolved that immediately upon the close of the Christmas holidays he would take his life in his hand and go. “Four days before I came to these Koloshes,” he says, “the small-pox broke out among them. Had I begun my instruction before the appearance of the small-pox they would certainly have blamed me for all the evil which came upon them, as if I were a Russian Shaman or sorcerer, who sent such plagues amongst them. But glory be to God, who orders all things for good.” (Think of thanking God for opening sucha door of entrance, a door from whose opening in such a place any one but a man of iron nerves and complete self-surrender would have fled away and thanked God for his escape!) “The Koloshes were not what they were two years previously” (when hemeantto come among them). “Few were baptized then, for, while I proclaimed the truth to them, I never urged upon them, or wished to urge upon them, the immediate reception of holy baptism, but, seeking to convince their judgment, I awaited a request from them. Those who expressed a desire to be baptised I received with full satisfaction.” After sixteen years of missionary toil in such a field Veniamínoff was sent to St. Petersburg to plead for help for the mission. The Czar proposed to the Synod to send him back as a bishop, but that body objected, because, though he was an excellent man, he had “no cathedral, no body of clergy, and no episcopal residence.” “The more, then, like an apostle,” said the Czar, and he was consecrated. No sooner was he consecrated than he was impatient to get back to his see, and on April 30th, 1842, he writes: “At last, thank the Lord God, in America! Our doings since we came to Sitka (September 26th) have not yet been very important. A mission was sent to Noushtau, which will reach its destination not sooner than themiddleofnext June. December 17th a sort of Theological School was opened, containing now twenty-three persons, creoles and natives. The theological student I. T. was sent to Kadiák to learn the language, and in four months has had wonderful success. The monk M. has been preaching to the Koloshes, and ⸺ has about eighty candidates for holy baptism, and asks it for them; but I do not care to be over hasty with them. The more and the better they are taught, the more can they be depended upon. I went this spring to Kadiák to examine into the affairs of the Church there, and was comforted beyond expectation. The church is full every holy day, and Lent was kept by more than four hundred of them, some coming from distant places.”
April 5, 1844.—“The children here (at Sitka) between the ages of one and eighteen are very numerous. In the Theological School, in the Company’s School, and in two girls’ schools, there are about one hundred and forty, and yet I gathered about one hundred and fifty others.” He reports four hundred children under instruction, and thirty-five adults baptized at their own request. 1845.—The Kwichpak Church numbered two hundred and seventy natives and thirty foreigners. Priests visited the Kenai and Koetchan tribes, staying with them some months and baptizing several converts. And so the good bishop went on from year to year, as the Russian Mouravieff says, “Sailing over the ocean, or driving in reindeer sledges over his vast, but thinly settled diocese, thousands of miles in extent, everywhere baptizing the natives, for whom he has introduced the use of letters and translated the gospel into the tongue of the Aleutines.”
“The good bishop has little to say of himself. We are told he became master of six dialects, spoken in the field committed to his charge. He himself translated, or assisted others in translating, large parts of God’s Word and the liturgy of his church for the use of the natives. For forty-five years, ten of them as Bishop of Kamchatka, eighteen more as its archbishop, he labored on, in season and out of season.” (Hale’s “Innocent of Moscow.”) And when, in 1867, Philaret died and Innocent was chosen Patriarch of Moscow, one of the first works he undertook was the organization of the Orthodox Missionary Society, which was the cause of as much good at home in awakening the spirit of missions in the church as it was abroad in supporting the work in distant fields. This society in 1877 raised and expended 141,698.65¾ roubles in missionary work.
The following statistics are taken from a report in theMission Journalof Irkútsk: “There are in the diocese of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, including about two hundred Sclaves and Greeks at San Francisco, eleven thousand five hundred and seventy two members of the Eastern Church. The church buildings are nine—viz., at San Francisco, at Sitka (where there are about three hundred orthodox), at Kadiák, at Renai, at Bielkoffsky, at Ounalashka, at Nonschatchak, on the Island of St. Paul, and at the Michaeloffsky Redoubt at Kwichpak. There are two vacancies among the clergy at Sitka and at the Kenai Mission.”
Bishop Iohn succeeded Innocent, but soon returned to Russia. Bishop Nestor, a man of ability, went out in 1879. He died in 1880, and has had no successor. The most influential Russians left the country when the territory was ceded, and interest in the missions has largely been withdrawn, so that in the last two reports of the Orthodox Missionary Society no mention whatever is made of Alaskan Missions.
And this brings us to speak of another work going on there, viz., the mission of the Presbyterians. On the 10th of August, 1877, the Rev. Sheldon Jackson and Mrs. McFarland reached Fort Wrangel as the first missionaries of the Presbyterian body to Alaska. Mr. Jackson reports that one of the first sights he saw was an Indian ringing a bell to call the people to school. The Indian was Clah, from Fort Simpson, and about twenty pupils attended. The Lord’s Prayer was recited in Chinook jargon (a mixture of French-Canadian, English, and Indian words), and the long meter doxology was sung at closing. The book stock inventoried four Bibles, four hymn books (Moody and Sankey), three primers, thirteen First Readers, and one wall chart. Twelve thousand dollars were raised as a special fund by Mr. Jackson’s efforts at home, and two other missionaries were sent out in 1878. In 1880 one missionary and one teacher went to Alaska. In 1879 the mission buildings were erected, and the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wrangel organized. The mission includes a church building, a Girls’ Industrial Home and school houses, with stations among the Chilcats, Hydahs and Hoonyahs, neighboring tribes. There are at present three ministers and five male and female teachers at the different stations.
To provide for the Swedes and Germans in the employ of the Russian American Fur Company, a Lutheran minister was sent to Sitka in 1845 and remained till 1852. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Nintec, preaching in Swedish and German, who remained until the transfer in 1867, when, his support being withdrawn by the Russian government, he returned to Europe.
A Roman Catholic bishop, with one priest, also came to Fort Wrangel in 1879 to establish a mission, but it is believed that the work has now been stopped and the priest withdrawn.
It must be remembered that all that has been cited of the missions so far has only to do with the Indians in the neighborhood of Sitka and Fort Wrangel, along the southern coast, and on the Lower Yukon. So far, the great continent, with its vast and almost unexplored interior, has only been trimmed around the edges. Full 40,000 of the possible 60,000 natives are yet without Christianity, and one might as well establish a mission in Cuba to evangelize Spain, or in the Jerseys to reach the Mahometans, as to sit down in a mission at Sitka and hope to reach the scattered tribes of Alaska. If we should send missionaries to that neighborhood it would only be to make of it a FortWrangelindeed, but the whole country is open to us, and on the Grand Yukon and its tributaries and among theEskimos of the northern coast there is work enough, yet untouched, for all the men the church could send.
Here, then, in as small a compass as possible, is the field, its past history and its present condition; a few Greek priests, whose congregations are decreased by removals and will eventually die out; eight or ten Presbyterians, men and women, who confine their labors to Sitka and Fort Wrangel, and have enough to do there; and one clergyman of the Church of England, on a river 2,500 miles long, whose banks from end to end are his parish; 11,000 members of the Greek Church, 700 or 800 Presbyterians, and between 2,000 and 3,000 Church of England folk familiar with her services and loving her ritual; and at the very least calculation 5,500 natives that might be reached and cared for, andshouldbe cared for. Here is a chance to show the people of America that the church does know how to deal with the Indian question. There will be a clear field and no favor for several years to come. A fund of $15,000 appropriated by Congress in 1878 for educational purposes, but never called for, might be claimed by any party proving to Congress by their works that they meant to educate the people. A government of some sort, military perhaps, will soon be established. Prospectors after everything valuable will overrun the country as soon as it is safe and profitable to do so. What shall be done by Christian people for all these heathen souls?
ByLieutenant G. W. MENTZ, U. S. Navy.
Beside torpedoes and fortifications there should be always at hand for the defense of our coasts, a sufficient number of as good iron-clads and torpedo boats as any nation in the world possesses, vessels that can go to sea, so that we can meet the enemy with the same kinds of weapons he opposes to us, and with enough of them to prevent the first hard blows. Then with this as a nucleus, and our ship-builders and our mechanics skilled in the work necessary to keep up such an establishment, we could build up a sufficiently large navy as the war progressed.
If we wait until war is upon us before we provide ourselves with such modern weapons, and such as every nation of any importance, except ourselves, possesses, our officers and men would have to fight with weapons with which they are unfamiliar, while their opponents are trained in their management.
It requires time to learn to handle the new weapons of naval warfare, which are very different and much more complicated than those of the days of wooden frigates and smooth-bore guns, such as our navy is still composed of, and that is another reason why we should keep up a navy in time of peace. Torpedo and torpedo-boat attacks, for instance, depend almost entirely upon theskillin their management. We have no such things as torpedo-boats and whitehead torpedoes, etc., and our officers have had no experience or practice with such weapons.
Germany, the leading military nation of the world, has the proper idea of preparing her navy for war in time of peace. Beside being provided with the best and most effective weapons, all her naval force, active and reserve, are exercised each summer and the men and officers are trained in their duties on board the vessels, and with the weapons they will have to use in time of war. Then, each article, from a sailmaker’s needle to a gun is kept ready at the naval stations, all the articles belonging to one ship being labeled with the ship’s name, and all kept together so that they can instantly be put on board. The German Admiralty has recently reported that the whole naval force can be put in effective working order, for offensive or defensive movements, in one week’s time. It was only by similar preparations with her army in time of peace, that she was enabled, so promptly, to meet and to conquer France in 1870.
But let us glance at the kind of weapons which would be used against us in a foreign war, and with which we are unprovided and with which we must supply ourselves. Except the United States, every nation of any maritime importance possesses immense war vessels. There are some vessels which have an average speed of sixteen miles an hour; which have their batteries and their machinery protected by solid iron of a thickness of two feet, or of steel and iron combined of one and a half feet thickness; whose battery, or armament rather, consists of a fewveryheavy guns, capable of sending a mass of metal weighing one ton a distance of eleven miles, several guns of less weight and power, a number of revolving cannon, a dozen or two dozen torpedoes, two torpedo-boats, each of these fitted with four torpedoes and a revolving gun; whose crews are supplied with rapid, accurate and distant-firing small arms (muskets and pistols). In addition to all this, these vessels are rams, and are themselves most powerful weapons of war, and could cut in two and sink any ship they struck. These vessels, when complete, with their guns, ammunition, crews, provisions and coal, everything in fact on board, weigh from 9,000 to 13,000 tons. About twenty-seven feet of the depth of such a vessel while she floats is beneath the surface of the water, and the whole ship is divided into fifty or more water-tight compartments, so that if any two compartments are filled with water the ship will still float. These iron-clads (more properly armor-clads) do not have this two feet thickness of iron all around the ship, only the vital parts, the engines and boilers, etc., and that part of the ship where the great guns are fought, are so protected. The armor consists of a belt eight to ten feet wide (deep) and from one to two feet thick; half of its width or depth is below the surface of the water and half is above. The machinery, engines and boilers in a war vessel are put in the ship as low down as possible, the farther below the surface of the water the better, as below the surface of the water a shot is not effective, that is, for a greater depth below the surface than one or two feet.
The machinery then is protected from shot on the sides and underneath. To protect it from shot on top, a steel deck of three inches thickness is built in the ship immediately over the engines and boilers, the deck inclining toward the sides of the ship, so that if a shot did strike the deck it would be deflected upward and away from the engines and boilers. This deck is also placed below the surface of the water, if practicable.
The guns of such a ship are generally placed in a citadel and on the deck underneath the citadel. The citadel is clad with iron or steel, and the guns on the deck beneath are protected by the belt of armor spoken of above.
The amount of metal that the guns can fire from one side of such a ship is anywhere from 6,700 to 8,960 pounds. The shot composing this mass of metal travel through the air with a velocity of 1,800 feet per second, and travel nine miles in about twenty-five seconds. When a shot weighing one ton and traveling with such velocity strikes an object squarely, the object must indeed be strong to withstand the shock.
What resistance to such a force could the walls of a wooden ship give, or even those of ten-sixteenths of an inch of steel or of seven inches of iron? Yet there is no United States war vessel with a greater thickness of side than seven inches of iron. Most of our monitors have only 5″ armor.
The people of this country have reason to be proud of the deeds of their navy in the past, and many a time has the “ruler of the seas” lowered his flag to the stars and stripes. But those victories were gained with ships the equal of any in the world, and with guns which had no superiors and with crews and officers well trained and accustomed to the use of their weapons. Is it so now with our navy? No. We would go into battle with the odds all against us. The sides of our ships are as pasteboard to the high-power guns of the present time.
Our guns are as much use against two feet of iron armor, or its equivalent in steel, as a pop-gun is against a stone wall, and would make just about as much impression. And, althoughwe have just as brave, patriotic and skillful men and officers in our navy to-day as we ever had, they are not skilled or trained in the use of the proper weapons, in the management of modern weapons—such as their opponents will use against them.
The possession of these instruments of war would make all governments very careful and respectful in their treatment of us and increase the probabilities of their never being used in actual warfare. The annual cost would not amount to the one millionth of the amount of damage Brazil, or Italy, or Germany, or France, or England, or Chili even could do us in the same length of time if we are without them.
Our navy costs about $15,000,000 yearly, about half of that sum is for the pay of officers and men, and it is misapplied, because they are being trained in the use of weapons which are no longer effective, and our people are not getting the proper return for their money. But the fault is their own and the navy is not to blame. The cause of the great change that has taken place in the last twenty years in the weapons of naval warfare is due to the use of iron and steel, instead of wood, in the construction of ships, and, although the navy has asked the country repeatedly for modern ships and guns, the people have not seen fit to grant them.
This is what our navy consists of: Of high-power rifle guns, such as almost every nation possesses, we have one, recently finished, and which, owing to lack of experience, requiredone yearto construct.
Of cruising vessels, fit only to destroy merchant vessels of slow speed, we have thirty-six, four of which are of iron, whose sides are about one half inch thick. None of these vessels would be able to engage the battle ships of any maritime nation.
For coast defense, we have nineteen iron-clads; many require extensive repairs, and it would take time to put them in condition. None of them have sides of a greater thickness than seven inches of iron, and they could not withstand the blows of modern guns.
Of guns for the whole fleet, we have, beside the one mentioned above, eighty-seven converted rifle guns worth retaining, but they are only of fair power. The other guns in the navy, 2,577 in number, are, according to a late report of the Secretary of the Navy, “in no real sense suited to the needs of the present day.”
Of torpedo-boats such as every other navy has, we havenonenor have we any torpedo-boats, except the “Alarm.”
Of the personnel, there are, all told, officers, seamen, apprentices and marines, 11,918.
Of reserves, we have none but the merchant marine, and merchant sailors require considerable training to fit them for war purposes, and none of them are trained for such a purpose now.
This force is to protect 10,000 miles of sea coast, the lake coast, the second largest merchant marine in the world, the amount of property is incalculable, and the interests of 55,000,000 of people. Our country is rich and prosperous, and the treasury is fairly bursting with the money we have saved. Every year we put away in its vaults $100,000,000, for which we have no present use. Our resources in metal in the ore, and in everything connected with the material of ship building and gun building is almost beyond comparison with any other country. With one year’s surplus of revenue we could build a navy that would cause the most powerful nations to fear and respect us, and which would be the surest harbinger of peace. But our people are beginning in a slow way to realize that we need a reorganization of the navy, and Congress has appropriated the money for the building of four new vessels. These are to be of steel, and are for the purpose of protecting our shipping, our citizens abroad, and to police the seas in time of peace and to prey upon the enemy’s commerce in time of war. They will have high speed, about seventeen miles an hour, and (if Congress appropriates the money) they will have high-power modern rifle guns which will compare favorably with the guns of similar size of other nations. But they will not bebattleships, nor coast defense ships. Their sides will be about ten-sixteenths of an inch thick, and, although of steel, that thickness will not resist a shot from a high-powered rifle gun. These four vessels have been named the “Chicago,” “Boston,” “Atlanta” and “Dolphin.” The “Dolphin” is now afloat, having been launched Saturday, April 12th, at Chester, Pa., at the works of John Roach & Co. The same firm is building the other three new vessels. They will all be finished one year from now. The guns for the armament are being constructed, some at the Washington Arsenal, some at Cold Springs, N. Y., and some at South Boston, Mass. They are all to be of steel, and this metal, which is used throughout in the construction of the ships and guns, if possible is to be manufactured in the United States, however, it may be necessary to send to England for the tubes for the larger sized guns. The building of these vessels and guns has given an impetus to the steel industry in our country and has been the means of giving employment and experience to our mechanics, which almost alone repays for the outlay in money.
Building ships and guns in our own country, and of our own metal, and with our own workmen, increases our resources just so much, and adds just so much to our war strength; and adds just so much, too, to the interest the people of the country take in their defenses, in their navy. The employment affects thousands of families; not only are the ship builder, the gun constructor and the skilled mechanics employed by them benefited, but the miners, and all those engaged in transporting the ore and the coal from the mines to the workshops, andtheirfamilies are benefited. We have grown to be a great manufacturing country, and the skill and ingenuity of our mechanics in the manufacture of some articles are recognized by all. Many of our manufactured articles are in use in every part of the world. We are unrivaled in our labor-saving machines, because it requires, to think out and invent the sewing machine, the agricultural machine, etc., etc., something which the mechanics of other countries do not possess, superior mental ability, due to our free institutions and general education. Here is a field for our mechanics,the manufacture of all war material. Why should notwe, instead of Mr. Krupp, supply the world with guns? Why should notwe, instead of Mr. Yarrow, of England, supply the world with torpedo-boats, etc., etc.?
We have supplied other nations with muskets; an American invented the gun which fires a hailstorm of 1,200 bullets per minute, and which bears his name, the Gatling gun; and our fellow countryman is supplying the world with revolving cannon, butnotfrom the United States. Every one of our manufacturing industries has been assisted by the government by high tariff on similar articles of foreign manufacture. But that would not be the kind of assistance the manufacture of war material would need to boom it along. All that would be necessary for the government to do for that industry is to accept and adopt such articles for the use of our army and navy as are proved to be valuable, and to provide itself liberally with them, and cease doing as it did with the Hotchkiss gun, purchase one or two, and drive the inventor to a foreign land, where his invention is better appreciated.
It is humiliating to every patriotic man and to every mechanic in our land, and a disgrace to the American people that we, a manufacturing country, a country full of mechanical genius, a country full of iron ore and of coal, a rich country, should go to other nations to buy steel plates to use as armor for our monitors, and steel for the tubes of our guns. That is what we have recently done, and the “Alert” is now bringing us some steel plates made in England. Why should not our manufacturers get the large profit there is in the manufacture of weapons of war? All they need is a little encouragement from the government, and orders would sooncome in from foreign governments, for it can not be doubted that our superior mechanics in a very short time would produce a superior style of weapon. There is at present no demand by our government for such articles, while in England there isconstantdemand for them; our mechanics are inexperienced, and governments which have a need for such material, and whichdoprepare for war in time of peace, purchase from those skilled and experienced in their make. Our government, by encouraging such an industry, would be but providing itself with the best of weapons, and would be putting the country in a secure state of defense.
Germany, ten years ago, adopted a scheme for the improvement of her navy, which before that time was of little consequence, and part of the policy was, to build her own armor-clads, and everything pertaining to the navy in her own country, and she has so far succeeded that her navy, though not the largest, is one of thebestin the world, and was all created by her own people, and at a small annual expenditure. Now, the private dock-yards in Germany that build some of the new ships of the navy are building war vessels for other countries. It is unnecessary to say that Germany’s wealth and natural resources are not nearly as great as our own.
At the opening of Congress in 1872, the President, in his message, called attention to this subject in the following few but apt and unequivocal words:
I can not too strongly urge upon you my conviction that every consideration of national safety,economy, and honor imperatively demands a thorough rehabilitation of our navy.With a full appreciation of the fact that compliance with the suggestions of the head of the Department and of the advisory board must involve a large expenditure of the public money, I earnestly recommend such appropriation as will accomplish an end which seems to me so desirable.Nothing can be more inconsistent with true public economy than withholding the means necessary to accomplish the object intended by the constitution to the national legislature. One of these objects, and one which is of paramount importance, is declared by our fundamental law to be the provision for the “common defense.” Surely nothing is more essential to the defense of the United States, and ofallour people than the efficiency of our navy.We have for many years maintained with foreign governments the relations of honorable peace, and that such relations may be permanent is desired by every patriotic citizen of the republic.But if we heed the teachings of history we shall not forget that in the life ofeverynation emergencies may arise when a resort to arms can alone save it from dishonor.
I can not too strongly urge upon you my conviction that every consideration of national safety,economy, and honor imperatively demands a thorough rehabilitation of our navy.
With a full appreciation of the fact that compliance with the suggestions of the head of the Department and of the advisory board must involve a large expenditure of the public money, I earnestly recommend such appropriation as will accomplish an end which seems to me so desirable.
Nothing can be more inconsistent with true public economy than withholding the means necessary to accomplish the object intended by the constitution to the national legislature. One of these objects, and one which is of paramount importance, is declared by our fundamental law to be the provision for the “common defense.” Surely nothing is more essential to the defense of the United States, and ofallour people than the efficiency of our navy.
We have for many years maintained with foreign governments the relations of honorable peace, and that such relations may be permanent is desired by every patriotic citizen of the republic.
But if we heed the teachings of history we shall not forget that in the life ofeverynation emergencies may arise when a resort to arms can alone save it from dishonor.
The Secretary of the Navy commences his annual report for the same year with this earnest appeal in behalf of the navy:
The condition of the navy imperatively demands the prompt and earnest attention of Congress. Unless some action be had in its behalf it must soon dwindle into insignificance. From such a state it would be difficult to revive it into efficiency without dangerous delay andenormous expense. Emergencies may at any moment arise which would render its aid indispensable to the protection of the lives and property of our citizens abroad and at home, and even to our existence as a nation.… The mercantile interests of our country have extended themselves over all quarters of the globe. Our citizens engaged in commerce with foreign nations look to the navy for the supervisory protection of their persons and property. Calls are made upon the Department to send vessels into different parts of the world, in order to prevent threatened aggression upon the rights of American citizens and shield them in time of civil commotion in foreign lands, from insult or personal indignity. It is to be deplored that in many such instances it has proved impossible to respond to these calls, from the want of a sufficient number of vessels.These things ought not to be. While the navy should not be large, it shouldat all timesafford a nucleus for its enlargement upon an emergency. Its power of prompt and extended expansion should be established. It should be sufficiently powerful to assure the navigator that in whatsoever sea he shall sail his ship he is protected by the stars and stripes of his country.
The condition of the navy imperatively demands the prompt and earnest attention of Congress. Unless some action be had in its behalf it must soon dwindle into insignificance. From such a state it would be difficult to revive it into efficiency without dangerous delay andenormous expense. Emergencies may at any moment arise which would render its aid indispensable to the protection of the lives and property of our citizens abroad and at home, and even to our existence as a nation.… The mercantile interests of our country have extended themselves over all quarters of the globe. Our citizens engaged in commerce with foreign nations look to the navy for the supervisory protection of their persons and property. Calls are made upon the Department to send vessels into different parts of the world, in order to prevent threatened aggression upon the rights of American citizens and shield them in time of civil commotion in foreign lands, from insult or personal indignity. It is to be deplored that in many such instances it has proved impossible to respond to these calls, from the want of a sufficient number of vessels.
These things ought not to be. While the navy should not be large, it shouldat all timesafford a nucleus for its enlargement upon an emergency. Its power of prompt and extended expansion should be established. It should be sufficiently powerful to assure the navigator that in whatsoever sea he shall sail his ship he is protected by the stars and stripes of his country.
Notwithstanding such messages from the highest authority in our land, onlysomeof the money necessary to build four new cruisers has been appropriated by Congress. Our people must instruct their representatives in Congress to provide them with the means to put them and their country in a secure state of defense, else that body, composed of many politicians and few statesmen, will never show that they have any other welfare at heart than their own reëlection, and the getting or retaining of their party in power.
The advance number of theAssembly Heraldfor 1884, already in the hands of many of our readers, contains a well arranged, though necessarily condensed, program of the exercises for July and August at this well known and increasingly popular summer resort. The tens of thousands who expect both pleasure and profit from spending part of the season there, will be glad to have some notice beforehand of the rich things in preparation for them. For our friends who have already acquaintance with the place and the persons who have brought it into such favorable notice, it is enough to say, there is, in the schedule before us, unmistakable evidence that the motto of those in the management of Chautauqua is stillExcelsior. The attractions of the place itself have by manifold improvements been constantly increasing. Means have not been wanting, and their outlay has been generous—science and art, under skillful direction, have done much, never to mar the beauties of nature, but rather to unveil features of exquisite loveliness that were partially concealed. The grandeur of the noble forest trees that tower above the neat cottages is even more majestic since the occasional openings show them to better advantage, and afford glimpses of the cerulean vault, or floating clouds against which they seem to thrust their branches. The native flora, of great richness, has, whenever practicable, been protected, while many carefully tended exotics display their modest beauty or shed sweet fragrance on the air. The little patches of lawn are becoming more beautiful, and the larger one extending from the hotel Athenæum to the lake, is arranged with taste, and kept in fine condition. The hotel itself is very commodious, furnished and kept in the best style. From its spacious verandas there is a delightful view of the lake and the landscapes adjacent to it. There are accommodations for about five hundred guests, who at moderate cost can, if they will, enjoy all the conveniences, comforts and luxuries furnished at the best hotels in the large cities.
The places for all public meetings, concerts and class lectures are in good order, and many interesting and valuable additions have been made to the museum, among which are mentioned a cast of the arch of Titus; several new statuettes, just received from the British Museum; also casts of the Siloam inscriptions, and of the Moabite stone. Much valuable information may be gathered, as well as a pleasant recreation enjoyed in the museum. The grounds and principal buildings are provided with electric lights, so that there is no groping around in the dark, as was the case at our first visits to “The Fair Point,” as the retreat was then called.
But “Chautauqua” has a meaning far beyond what belongs to the place, charming as the site is, and beyond the material improvements that have been made. It is often, and not inaptly, spoken of as an “idea,” a thought or conception of a desired object, and the way to reach it. The thought, however vague at first, had life and power in it, took form, and was cherished till a new system was evolved—one that at first proposed more complete normal instruction and thorough preparation for Sunday-school work. But theideasoon so expandedas to take in everything pertaining to the proper development and culture of human beings. From the first inception of this grand work that, in eleven years, has extended into every state in the Union, and influenced many kindred educational enterprises, there has been no standing still. The idea having thorough possession of the minds that entertained it, “progress” has been the watchword, and, fortunately, the management has been in such competent hands that the advance movements have always been in the right direction. The trustees and other business officers have approved themselves as wise counselors, and been liberal in their personal sacrifices of the time and means necessary to forward the enterprise, while the Superintendent of Instruction and President of the association have demonstrated to all their rare qualifications for the responsible positions they occupy. With faith in the enterprise, a worthy object in view, and the resolute purpose to accomplish it, all obstacles have been overcome, and a marvelous fertility of invention shown in the methods adopted. It is not too much to say that all the important measures proposed and adopted have been found both practicable and useful. Skilled architects have wrought in the Assembly, but their united efforts did not make it. Chautauqua, as it is to-day, confessedly far surpassing the most sanguine hopes of its founders, was never made. It was born and grew. It has vital elements; and whereunto it may yet grow, no one can tell. It is already, though in its youth, a university in fact, as well as by the charter obtained from the legislature. It employs some thirty or more able professors, selected because of their known ability and success as teachers in the several departments to which they are assigned.
We take note of a few things in their order:
The Teachers’ Retreat, under the personal direction of some of the foremost educators of the age, will open July 12. It is specially for the benefit of secular teachers, and a large number of them are interested in it. The time thus spent in counsel and delightful social intercourse, without interfering with the needed rest, recreations and pleasures of the summer vacation, will lead to a higher appreciation of their work, with a knowledge of the best methods of accomplishing it, and make their return to the school room a delight.
The Chautauqua School of Languagesincludes Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, German, Spanish and English. This school is not for undergraduates alone, as the instruction is given in a way to illustrate the best methods of teaching. Students, if prepared, may profitably pursue the study of several languages at the same time, but are not registered as beginning more than one. As all having experience in the matter know, much depends on starting right, and any one, of fair ability and a firm purpose, with the help and direction furnished at Chautauqua, can, in due time, become an accomplished and thorough linguist.
The School of Theology, J. H. Vincent, D.D., President, is to commence its first session July 12. It will be an attraction to many. The studies and topics for discussion, we see, are arranged not alone for beginners, but to allure ministers of experience to review first principles, and extend their acquaintance with truths that the wisest know but in part.
The School of Elocution—open from July 12th to the 25th—will be in charge of Prof. Cummock, a gentleman of culture, and thoroughly fitted for his position. Too many offer themselves to read and speak in public who know almost nothing of English phonation, and were never trained to pronounce the language distinctly and forcibly. If two-thirds of the average clergymen of the country, who are not wanting in ability, could be persuaded to seek, in their summer vacations, such instructions in voice culture and manner, as are now offered them, it would add much to their present efficiency, and make the Sabbath services a delight to their hearers.
The Sunday-School Normal Departmentretains its prominent place in the program, and the managers have made a wise selection of the persons to whom the work is committed.
Chautauqua Music, both instrumental and vocal, has always been of a high order, and a source of much pleasure to those in attendance. From the grand organ, chorus choir, Tennesseeans, skillful directors and distinguished soloists that are promised, we may expect special richness in that part of the feast of fat things.
The lectures in the Amphitheater and Hall of Philosophy will be by men of acknowledged ability, equal to the best that have been on the platform before them. By such men to such audiences no second rate productions will be presented.
Recreations are recognized as desirable, and provided for—such as will please all and injure none. Nothing innocent and elevating is forbidden. Those who enjoy good society, and the friendly intercourse of cultured people, find that at the Assembly in the grove thoroughly refining influences are prevalent, and seem never to tire of praising the resort.
Although some imitations have been attempted, the original Chautauqua is unrivaled, the cheapest, most accessible, and for many reasons the most enjoyable summer resort in all the land. If you are a stranger, get the program as published in theAssembly Herald, study it, and in due time report in person on the ground. You will then know, and unless different from most well disposed persons, you will not need a second invitation to come.
Stowed away among the cherished plans of most people is generally a European trip. Sometimes the plan is vague, to be sure. Sometimes the probabilities are that it will never in the world be carried out. However that may be, it is a good thing for which to plan. Learning something about the conditions and details of European traveling gives not a little of the relish of the actual trip, and a preparatory journey on paper does much to educate us to travel—as important a training, by the way, as traveling.
The value of this practice was admirably illustrated last summer at Chautauqua by Dr. Vincent, in his introduction to the first tourist’s trip beyond the sea. He said:
When I was a boy I took a trip to Europe without leaving home. I imagined myself traveling all over the continent of Europe, going to Egypt and Palestine. I cut out a lot of paper and gave it value as money, foreign money and American money, and every once in a while I would take it up and imagine it covering the expense of the trip. I would read a little, and imagine myself going almost everywhere. I said to myself: “If I can ever go to Europe I shall certainly go,” and I went.I have often said to myself, if I were a teacher, knowing the power of the imagination over children, I would take my school on a trip to Europe, and when they grew weary with the recitations and of the monotonous tasks or other routine of school life, I would say: “Now let us have a bit of fun, let us go to Europe.” I have thought of how much geography, history and architecture I could bring out on a trip to Europe! What demand there would be all the while for the knowledge of arithmetic! How many things I could teach a lot of youngsters in the average school room in the way of an imaginary trip to Europe that should last several weeks or months! And what an opportunity we have, what facilities we have for the furtherance of a scheme like this, in the photographs, the engravings and books of travel, and all sorts of things that abound everywhere, by which little people might go with you, and be glad all the while they went, and learn all the more because they were glad.And then how much more intelligent the traveler would be in his maturer years! Men and women who imagine themselves going to Europe become much more intelligent observers on a trip to Europe. It pays double value to them.
When I was a boy I took a trip to Europe without leaving home. I imagined myself traveling all over the continent of Europe, going to Egypt and Palestine. I cut out a lot of paper and gave it value as money, foreign money and American money, and every once in a while I would take it up and imagine it covering the expense of the trip. I would read a little, and imagine myself going almost everywhere. I said to myself: “If I can ever go to Europe I shall certainly go,” and I went.
I have often said to myself, if I were a teacher, knowing the power of the imagination over children, I would take my school on a trip to Europe, and when they grew weary with the recitations and of the monotonous tasks or other routine of school life, I would say: “Now let us have a bit of fun, let us go to Europe.” I have thought of how much geography, history and architecture I could bring out on a trip to Europe! What demand there would be all the while for the knowledge of arithmetic! How many things I could teach a lot of youngsters in the average school room in the way of an imaginary trip to Europe that should last several weeks or months! And what an opportunity we have, what facilities we have for the furtherance of a scheme like this, in the photographs, the engravings and books of travel, and all sorts of things that abound everywhere, by which little people might go with you, and be glad all the while they went, and learn all the more because they were glad.
And then how much more intelligent the traveler would be in his maturer years! Men and women who imagine themselves going to Europe become much more intelligent observers on a trip to Europe. It pays double value to them.
Imaginary trips beyond the sea may teach two very important things: How to travel and how to observe. It is impossible for a novice to make a European trip with the ease withwhich one would journey about the United States. One must encounter strange customs, trying climates, new languages, endless interesting sights. He will be on the verge of losing his baggage, dire calamity! he will have his trunk ransacked, he will be charged extra for over-weight, he will have to wait and fight and worry his way unless fortified by a knowledge of what he must go through with, and of how to act under all circumstances. He will miss much that he wants to see, and see much in which he is not particularly interested, unless his trip is thoroughly planned and he knows accurately what he is going to see and where to go to see it.
To study up for a European trip begin with your pocket-book, and ask, “Can I afford it?” The voyage is of course the first item. The different lines which cross the Atlantic—no less than twelve in number—are very nearly uniform in their charges, in their accommodations, and in their provisions for the safety of their passengers. A first-class passage over and back may be put at $140, but as steerage passenger one may go for about $60. The expense of traveling in Europe varies with the caution, tastes and habits of the person. Supposing that you are willing to walk much, to go to second-class hotels, to ride in second or third-class carriages, and take very little luggage, you may make your trip for from $2 to $3 per day, and in that way, too, you have the advantage of seeing and hearing very much that the more expensive and, in consequence, more exclusive style of traveling denies. More than half of the unpleasantness of traveling second-class in Europe is in the disagreeable sound of the word “second-class.” On the Continent the associations of the third-class carriage are by no means unpleasant—nearly all students and many professional men travel in that way. It is, too, the only way in which to come in contact with the people and study their habits:
First-class traveling may be estimated at about $7 per day in Great Britain, and $6 on the Continent. The items which must be added to the usual hotel expenses and car and carriage rates consist largely of fees to servants in the hotels and restaurants, and to the guards, porters and guides that seem to be essential to each traveler. It is said that many servants on the Continent receive no wages except the fees from travelers. It is not strange then that the result is that in order to receive any respectable attention one must pay often and liberally. A not inconsiderable part of the day’s expense is the little fee which is required at the gate of churches, castles, museums, parks, and where-not.
It may be roughly estimated that a tour of three months through England, Scotland, France, Germany, Holland and Italy can be made for $650. Of course this is making no allowance for purchases, which latter, it is well to warn lovers of bric-a-brac, are a continual snare to pocket-books and incumbrance to luggage.
If you can afford the trip, then pack your trunk. Apropos of this operation it is well to remember that much luggage is a continual annoyance and expense. In France you can carry but fifty-five pounds free; for all over that amount you must pay. On the railways of Germany, Holland, Italy and Switzerland no luggage, as a rule, is free. The truth is, you must submit to expense and trouble for every vestige over what you can carry in your hand. A sorry outlook for Americans, who are accustomed to the generous outfit which our capacious “Saratogas” allow. The useful little “steamer trunks,” about twenty-five inches in length, eighteen in width and fourteen deep, hold considerable property if they be well packed, and one can easily arrange to leave all the ocean paraphernalia, including the steamer chairs—asine qua nonto ocean travel, by the way—at the port of landing, until their return. Perhaps the best plan is to take only necessary clothing—very little finery and all the small conveniences which are requisite for comfortable living at home. A very useful and formerly essential part of your outfit will be your passport. Although not now absolutely necessary, except in Russia and Portugal, it is a very convenient document, as it secures many privileges to its possessor. It does seem strange to be obliged to carry a paper testifying that you are yourself but in the masses of humanity which throng Europe it is not surprising that it is sometimes necessary to be identified. In the United States the Secretary of State has the power of granting passports. In order to procure one an affidavit of citizenship, with papers of naturalization, if a naturalized citizen, must be forwarded. This must be accompanied by the affidavit of a witness, and an oath of allegiance to the United States, all these duly made and sworn before a justice of the peace. With these go a description of your person, in which your age is given, your height, the color of your eyes and hair, the size of your nose and mouth, the length of your chin, your complexion and the shape of face.
On reaching Europe it will be necessary to secure the indorsement, orvisa, as it is called, of the American minister, or consul, and afterward of the minister of the country to be visited. The last item of business to worry you before you leave is to put your funds into a shape in which you will have no trouble. The “letter of credit” is undoubtedly the favorite method, as by it any amount may be drawn at almost any place a tourist will visit. Several banking houses of New York furnish them. Napoleons are current in all parts of the Continent, and English sovereigns pass in Belgium, Holland and Germany.Circular notesof from £10 to £20 and upward may be obtained and are available throughout Europe.
These matters arranged, there is a much more important one to occupy your attention—to plan your trip. The indefinite purpose of tourists, their hap hazard efforts to see everything, involves them too often in a jumble of misconnections, lost days, out-of-the-way trips, and unnecessary expense, where a careful arrangement of their plan beforehand would have saved them time, trouble and money. Plan your trip. If you can go for but six weeks or three months, do not try to see all Europe and part of Asia in that time. Be content to “do” thoroughly a smaller territory, and be assured that you will be the gainer. It is well to invest in a guide-book—a stout, latest edition, reliable guide-book—Harper’s or Appleton’s is best—and select your trip. Decide exactly where you want to go, and what you want to see. If you are interested in paintings, prepare an outline of the European schools of painting, with the examples of each that will be found on your route. Put down on your chart the subjects of these pictures, and an outline history of the artists. Thus equipped you can study and enjoy the work without wasting time in learning historical details. It is wise to know something of the history of each locality which you visit, to be familiar with the palaces, cathedrals and museums of the cities, and the government, customs and employments of the people. Nor is it at all difficult to learn these things. Books of travels, delightful magazine papers, newspaper letters teem with information which can all be utilized on an imaginary European trip. It would be wiser if many people who spend much time in acquiring a slight smattering of French, German and Italian in order to make their way understandingly on the Continent would let the language go and study the countries, their cities and their people. Better, because English is spoken at all the leading European hotels and by most guides, and at nearly all points interpreters may be found to assist in making any necessary arrangements. Of course the greatest amount of good can only be gained by one commanding the languages, but where there must be a choice between a smattering of them and general information on what one is about to see, by all means choose the latter.