Sheldon Jackson

Alaska is the great island region of the United States, having off its southern coast an archipelago rivaling the better known archipelagoes of the Southern Pacific. The 732 miles of latitude from the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad, at the head of Puget Sound in Washington Territory to the head of Lynn Channel in Alaska contain one of the most remarkable stretches of inland ocean navigation in the world. The Indians of North America are so open to the gospel that, from the experience of the past, the Christianizing of them is, with God's blessing, simply a matter of men and money. They are like fields white for the harvest. Cannibalism and cruel savagery have given way before the preaching of Christ, a Saviour suited to the Indians' deepest need. Souls have been saved and Christian churches formed. - Sheldon Jackson.