PRESIDENT BENJAMIN HARRISON - MANUSCRIPT LETTER SIGNED 06/25/1886 - HFSID 5087

BENJAMIN HARRISON
The Senator cannot supply Alaskan explorer Frederick Schwatka with copies of books and reports.
Manuscript Letter Signed: "Benj Harrison" as U.S. Senator, 1¼p, 7½x9½, front and verso. Washington, 1886 June 25. To Mortimore Crabb, Erie, Lawrence Co., Indiana. In full: "Yours of the 22nd inst. rec'd. I had but ten copies of Lieut. Schwatkas (sic) report given me for distribution and they have all been sent to the libraries committed to my charge. Education in Alaska by Sheldon Jackson has not yet been published for distribution but my quota of that document will be so small that I cannot send a single copy to any individual. I send you today the Senate reports on Interstate Commerce and Ordinance and War ships. My quota of the unabridged volumes was small except the volumes on Population and Agriculture, and they have all been dispensed of in setts (sic). I do not suppose you can secure the remaining volumes except by purchase." LIEUTENANT FREDERICK SCHWATKA (1849-1892), an 1871 West Point graduate, served on garrison and frontier duty until 1877. Obtaining a leave of absence, Schwatka searched for traces of Sir John Franklin's party in the Arctic, making the longest sledge-journey then on record, 3,251 miles. Afterwards, he explored the course of the Yukon River in Alaska, rejoining his regiment in 1884. Schwatka wrote Along Alaska's Great River, published in 1885. It is possible this is the report Harrison is referring to in this letter. In 1886, Schwatka commanded "The New York Times" Alaskan exploring expedition. SHELDON JACKSON (1834-1909), a Presbyterian missionary, was U.S. Superintendent of Public Instruction in Alaska from 1885-1908. Light folds, vertical one touches "H" in Harrison. Fine condition.