. Coast Guard history. United States. Coast Guard. Everything under the midnight sun i HE first American ship to reach Alaska, after its purchase from Russia in 1867 for $7,200,000, was the cutter Lincoln. The flag flying from her mast and from cutters subsequently sent there was for many years the outward symbol of government in that remote region. More than symbols, though, cutters per- formed many functions of government. For the Department of Justice they en- forced the law, apprehended criminals, and transported "floating ; For the Navy Department they gathered military m
. Coast Guard history. United States. Coast Guard. Everything under the midnight sun i HE first American ship to reach Alaska, after its purchase from Russia in 1867 for $7,200,000, was the cutter Lincoln. The flag flying from her mast and from cutters subsequently sent there was for many years the outward symbol of government in that remote region. More than symbols, though, cutters per- formed many functions of government. For the Department of Justice they en- forced the law, apprehended criminals, and transported "floating ; For the Navy Department they gathered military mtelligence. For the Post Office Depart- ment they carried the mail. For the De- partment of the Interior they carried teach- ers to their posts and checked up on sani- tation, guarded timber and game. For the Department of Commerce they made sur- veys of the coast and of regional industries. Medical and dental care reached isolated villages, brought by cutters carrying Public Health Service doctors and nurses. Mar- riages were performed by the commanding officers of cutters. And though today Alaska has its local Territorial govern- ment, many of the foregoing functions are still carried out by cutters of the Bering Sea Patrol. In addition, they discharge the normal duties that the Coast Guard per- forms everywhere. One of the notable Alaskan cutters was the Bear which served 41 years on the Ber- ing Sea Patrol, carried Byrd to the Antarc- tic and still came out fighting in World War II. In the winter of 1897, she volun- teered to go to the aid of whaling ships frozen in near Point Barrow. After sailing as far as she could, the Bear sent a rescue group mushing nearly 2,000 miles across the ice, driving a herd of 400 reindeer before them for food. They set out Decem- ber 17, 1897; they reached the whalers March 29, 1898. For 4 months they kept order and staved off starvation among 500 natives and 300 marooned sailors until the Bear got through in July. The cutter Bzat, arctic vet
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