reet 93
Interior of Cathedral 95
Russian Blockhouse 100
Map of Sitka 108

TO MY MOTHER

THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY

DEDICATED

THE AUTHOR

Copyright 1922

By C. L. ANDREWS

Seattle, Wash.

[Illustration: Lovers' Lane, Sitka.]

SITKA

Foreword

The panorama of sea, island, and mountain, which holds Sitka, Alaska, as
a jewel in its setting, is one of the most beautiful of those which
surround the cities of the world. Toward the sea from the peninsula on
which Sitka is situated stretches an expanse of waters, studded with
forest-clad islands which break the swell of the Pacific that foams and
tumbles on the outer barriers. To the westward Mount Edgecumbe lifts its
perfect cone, its summit truncated by the old crater whose fires have
been dead for centuries; to the northward Harbor peak lifts its signal
to mariners; the Sisters, with a gleam of snow and ice among their
pinnacles, lie in the distance of Indian River; to the east is the
arrowhead of Mount Verstovia; the glaciers glisten beyond; and the sweep
of mist-clad mountains, in their softness, beyond the bay to the
southeast completes the circle.

Radiating like the spokes of a wheel, waterways with historic memories
reach out from the town. Krestof Bay, where the early navigators cast
anchor; Neva Strait, commemorating the first Russian ship that visited
Sitka from around the world; Katleanski Bay, on which was situated Old
Sitka; Silver Bay, a Norwegian fjord transplanted to Alaska; Lisianski
Bay, named for the Russian navigator of a century ago; the inlet at
Ozerskoe Redoubt and Globokoe (Deep) Lake; the island-studded way to the
Hot Springs; each with its individual charm; the ocean, with the deep,
rich, marine tints of northern waters; the forest of blue, that folds
like a robe over the mountains; the mountain summits beside the
glaciers, clad in the exquisitely wonderful green of the Northland, all
are delightful. But when the sun sinks low in the west, with the long,
lingering twilight of the North, and the soft, delicate rays touch and
blend with the water and islands, the mountains and sky--then, in the
mystery of the evening, is the supreme beauty of the land. To those who
have really known and loved Sitka, there is no place on earth to
compare.

There