When the churches first planned to send missionaries and teachers into Alaska, representatives of the several denominations met and divided the territory among them. Should the traveler ask the ordinary Alaskan miner what is the result of effort, he would probably be answered that there has been no result. The miner, in the words of Dr. Sheldon Jackson, is unconscious that the very fact of his presence there at all is the direct outcome of Christian missions. In 1877 Sitka and St. Michaels were armed trading-posts, out of which the soldiers shut the natives every night, that the inhabitants might rest in safety. For ten years not a single whaler dared to stay overnight at Cape Prince of Wales, so savage was the native population. Now, in all those ports, the miner and whaler and traveler can dwell in safety, because of the civilizing work of the missionaries. Probably ten thousand natives have been brought under Christian influences, and many public as well as mission schools have been opened. Among the Moravian missions of the Yukon Valley few of the natives can read or write. At bedtime a bell rings, and the entire population goes to the churches. A chapter in the Bible is read, a prayer offered, a hymn sung; and the men, women, and children return to their homes and go to bed. Where in the United States can be found a better record? In introducing religion with the arts, sciences, and conveniences of civilization, Dr. Jackson's work reminds one of the words of Whittier: I hear the mattock in the mine, The ax stroke in the dell, The clamor of the Indian lodge, And now the chapel bell. I hear the tread of pioneers, Of nations yet to be, The first low wash of waves where soon Shall roll a human sea. XXI BRANCHES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR