Part 21 (1/2)
The middle door leading into the sanctuary is called the Royal Gates, because through it the Holy Sacrament, or Eucharist, is carried out to the faithful. It is most beautifully carved and decorated. Above it is a magnificent ikon, representing the Last Supper. The heavy silver casing is of great value. The casings alone of the twelve ikons on the screen cost many thousands of dollars.
An interesting story is attached to the one of the patron saint of the church, the Archangel Michael. The s.h.i.+p _Neva_, on her way to Sitka, was wrecked at the base of Mount Edgec.u.mbe. A large and valuable cargo was lost, but the ikon was miraculously cast upon the beach, uninjured.
Many of the ikons and other adornments of the church were presented by the survivors of wrecked vessels; others by ill.u.s.trious friends in Russia. One that had paled and grown dim was restored by Mrs. Emmons, the wife of Lieutenant Emmons, whose work in Alaska was of great value.
When the Royal Gates are opened the entire sanctuary--or Holy of Holies, in which no woman is permitted to set foot, lest it be defiled--may be seen.
To one who does not understand the significance of the various objects, the sanctuary proves a disappointment until the splendid old vestments of cloth of gold and silver are brought out. These were the personal gifts of the great Baranoff. They are exceedingly rich and sumptuous, as is the bishop's stole, made of cloth woven of heavy silver threads.
The left-hand chapel is consecrated to ”Our Lady of Kazan.” It is adorned with several ikons, one of which, ”The Mother of G.o.d,” is at once the most beautiful and the most valuable object in the church. An offer of fifteen thousand dollars was refused for it. The large dark eyes of the madonna are so filled with sorrowful tenderness and pa.s.sion that they cannot be forgotten. They follow one about the chapel; and after he has gone out into the fresh air and the sunlight he still feels them upon him. Those mournful eyes hold a message that haunts the one who has once tried to read it. The appeal which the unknown Russian artist has painted into them produces an effect that is enduring.
But most precious of all to me were those objects, of whatsoever value, which were presented by Innocentius, the Metropolitan of Moscow, the n.o.ble and the Devoted. If ever a man went forth in search of the Holy Grail, it was he; and if ever a man came near finding the Holy Grail, it was, likewise, he.
From Sitka to Unalaska, and up the Yukon so far as the Russian influence goes, his name is still murmured with a veneration that is almost adoration.
Historians know him and praise him, without a dissenting voice, as Father Veniaminoff; for it was under this simple and una.s.suming t.i.tle that the pure, earnest, and devout young Russian came to the colonies in 1823, carrying the high, white light of his faith to the wretched natives, among whom his life work was to be, from that time on, almost to the end.
No man has ever done as much for the natives of Alaska as he, not even Mr. Duncan. His heart being all love and his nature all tenderness, he grew to love the gentle Aleutians and Sitkans, and so won their love and trust in return.
In the Sitka church is a very costly and splendid vessel, used for the Eucharist, which was once stolen, but afterward returned. There are censers of pure silver and chaste design, which tinkle musically as they swing.
A visit to the building of the Russian Orthodox Mission is also interesting. There will be found some of the personal belongings of Father Veniaminoff--his clock, a writing-desk which was made by his own hands, of ma.s.sive and enduring workmans.h.i.+p, and several articles of furniture; also the ikon which once adorned his cell--a gift of Princess Potemkin.
Sir George Simpson describes an Easter festival at Sitka in 1842. He found all the people decked in festal attire upon his arrival at nine o'clock in the morning. They were also, men and women, quite ”tipsy.”
Upon arriving at Governor Etholin's residence, he was ushered into the great banqueting room, where a large party was rising from breakfast.
This party was composed of the bishop and priests, the Lutheran clergyman, the naval officers, the secretaries, business men, and masters and mates of vessels,--numbering in all about seventy,--all arrayed in uniforms or, at the least, in elegant dress.
From morning till night Sir George was compelled to ”run a gantlet of kisses.” When two persons met, one said, ”Christ is risen”--and this was a signal for prolonged kissing. ”Some of them,” adds Sir George, navely, ”were certainly pleasant enough; but many, even when the performers were of the fair s.e.x, were perhaps too highly flavored for perfect comfort.”
He was likewise compelled to accept many hard-boiled, gilded eggs, as souvenirs.
During the whole week every bell in the chimes of the church rang incessantly--from morning to night, from night to morning; and poor Sir George found the jangling of ”these confounded bells” harder to endure than the eggs or the kisses.
Sir George extolled the virtues of the bishop--Veniaminoff. His appearance impressed the Governor-in-Chief with awe; his talents and attainments seemed worthy of his already exalted station; while the gentleness which characterized his every word and deed insensibly moulded reverence into love.
Whymper visited Sitka in 1865, and found Russian hospitality under the administration of Matsukoff almost as lavish as during Baranoff's famous reign.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Copyright by E. A. Hegg, Juneau
SCALES AND SUMMIT OF CHILKOOT Pa.s.s IN 1898]
”Russian hospitality is proverbial,” remarks Whymper, ”and we all somewhat suffered therefrom. The first phrase of their language acquired by us was 'petnatchit copla'--fifteen drops.” This innocently sounding phrase really meant a good half-tumbler of some undiluted liquor, ranging from cognac to raw vodhka, which was pressed upon the visitors upon every available occasion. A refusal to drink meant an insult to their host; and they were often sorely put to it to carry gracefully the burden of entertainment which they dared not decline.
The big bra.s.s samovar was in every household, and they were compelled to drink strong Russian tea, served by the tumblerful. b.a.l.l.s, banquets, and fetes in the gardens of the social clubs were given in their honor; while their fleet of four vessels in the harbor was daily visited by large numbers of Russian ladies and gentlemen from the town.
At all seasons of the year the tables of the higher cla.s.ses were supplied with game, chickens, pork, vegetables, berries, and every luxury obtainable; while the food of the common laborers was, in summer, fresh fish, and in winter, salt fish.
Sir George Simpson attended a Kolos.h.i.+an funeral at Sitka, or New Archangel, in 1842. The body of the deceased, arrayed in the gayest of apparel, lay in state for two or three days, during which time the relatives fasted and bewailed their loss. At the end of this period, the body was placed on a funeral pyre, round which the relatives gathered, their faces painted black and their hair covered with eagles' down. The pipe was pa.s.sed around several times; and then, in obedience to a secret sign, the fire was kindled in several places at once. Wailings and loud lamentations, accompanied by ceaseless drumming, continued until the pyre was entirely consumed. The ashes were, at last, collected into an ornamental box, which was elevated on a scaffold. Many of these monuments were seen on the side of a neighboring hill.