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i f * ' ^ / , v * 1 p W « " V 1 l ^ p ^ 1 ' V l ^ P i " \ ' » * I ?^ l i im' *' " ' ,', *•*•/ !•&' *V,S -, •""'*>? s* »; p j J*.*' . , .?• ca Coast Towns JSkagway Furnishes Highlight in Entertainment, While View Columbia Glacier is Nature's Most Stupendous Attraction £ IM Br CHARIJW F. RBNKH ':' With the story of Anchoit(( so *bly presented to our • leaders last freek by Mrs. Renich and Mrs. Mosh ir, I feel that I must now leave the line of the Alaska railroad and devote e concluding chapters of this story the various cities and villages that %e visited on the boat trip from Seattle to Seward and return. We spent four days along the route of the Alaska railroad from Sewarc ^to Fairbanks and return and saw so much of worthwhile interest that it .has taken four chapters to just barely Scratch the surface in trying to der - Scribe it. There are many matters likaf the Matanuska Valley project and agriculture in general, or gold mining, the fishing industry, hunting and: trapping, the climate aitd maliy other subjects which I might discuss by the' aid of an encyclopedia or other au-t thorities, but I feel that my readers? are just as able to look up these au thorities, if they are sufficiently interested, and that they want me to •Write only of my personal observations and experiences. Before leaving the line of the Alaska railroad, I want to express to Col. O. H. Ohlson, general manager of the railroad, and Superintendent J. T. Cunningham the sincere thanks of Mr, and Mrs. Mosher and Mrs. Renich and myself for the many courtesies extended us "while riding on the rail road." , Uncle Sam owns the railroad, together with the hotels at which we stopped. I know nothing about the economic problems involved, I supposeit operates in the "red," just like al most everything that Uncle Sam handles, but in this case I can't see how it can be otherwise. Regardless of the financial losses now involved, I believe that Uncle Sam should con-? tinue to spread out and operate in Alaska until that territory has had a Chance to develop into a prosperous future. Financially it has already in directly repaid many times over every dollar that has been invested th^re. Columbia Glacier Let us now leave Seward, the southern terminus of the Alaska railroad/ and return to our good ship "Aleu tian" which will take us to Columbia Bay to visit Columbia, the largest; glacier in the world to the face of «rhich ocean steamers may call. Our ship approaches to within a half mile/ of this blue and white ice palisadewhich rises 300 feet almost <as a straight wall from the water's edge where it is three miles wide, and we 'ire told extends nearly thirty miles hack in three directions into the Chu-; gach Mountains. There are two kinds of glaciers, learned, one is called a "dead" glacier, while the other is "alive." Th« f ormer do not move, but the ice Ad vances and recedes as it frqpzes and melts with the seasons. Mendenhall glacier near Juneau is classed as a "dead" glacier, while Columbia is a "live" glacier, because the ice which forms it moves forward several feet each year. This forward movement is «aused by the weight of ice formed each winter in the mountains above the ice in the valley below. Let my home readers visualize if they can a field of ice varying from *00 feet to an unknown thickness, ppread out over a territory larger than McHenry county, three sides of it reaching up many miles into the mountains, while one side narrows down through a valley into the open feea, where fissures form in the ice Hind cause large and small chunks to fall off into the sea, the larger ones in the form of ice bergs, floating in the open sea and in time disappearing as they reach warmer currents of water. While {he steamer idles a half mile! ftack from the face of Columbia glac ier, the boat's whistle is sounded at short intervals of three or five minutes, and each time the vibration of sound waves causes portions of the ice to fall into the sea. Another thrilling experience is the continuous rumbling noises like thunder comjrig from the huge ice pack beforg/us, which seems to be full of ^hleatdning life and agony, as if the bed on which it lay was torturous and the huge body of the glacier was suffering and in pain. It was at Columbia glacier that Mrs. Renich lost her voice, which she did not recover until her return home. While on the boat the room steward inquired about Mrs. Renich's voice and learning that it was still gone, exclaimed pathetically. "Too bad, she's such a nice old lady." And he was so serious about it. Mrs. Renich calls it a compliment because he said "Nice old lady." Valdez and Cordova Previous to our visit to the glacier we made a short stop at Valdez, one «f the oldest towns in Alaska, which $i the southern terminus of the Richardson highway, to which I have previously made reference. At Valdez, I saw large trucks which had brought "gold concentrate" from Fairbanks Mnd other points along the line for shipment by boat to the smelter plants at or near Seattle. This gold concentrate 5s a mixture of sand, gravel, gold and other metals. It is shipped in sacks containing about 125 to 140 pounds each and is estimated to carry about $60 to $75 worth of gold in each sack. We saw hundicus of these sacks loaded on our steamer at almost every port of call. The next important city that we visited was Cordova. Enroute to Cordova from Columbia glacier our steamer passes along shores which rise straight up from the water's edge to jagged snow peaks above. Glaciers and waterfalls between these peaks make the picture most thrilling. i: We arrived at Cordova late in the afternoon. Cordova's past history is fhe story of a frontier boom town, With 5,000 transient railroad workairs, saloons, gamblers and hangerson. In its day it was one of the toughest towns of them all. In 1911 the Copper River railway was completed, but it is now no longer is operation. Rex Beach's The Iron TVail," gave the story of this region in one of his best sellers. Today it is all different. Ten fish canneries are located here and produce packs of between two and three million dollars in value annually. Cordova! is a prosperous city, full of life and bustle, it seemed to me, de pendent largely on its fish canneries. Its points of interest include Nirvana Park, along the shores of Lake Eyak, and a drive along the lake and. past the airport. It seemed to mef surprising the large number of pl< Railroad Train On Tracks On Main Street of Skagway In Skagway the railroad tracks of the White Pass and Yukon R. R. "are built right down the main street to the steamer docks. The railroad was built by akd is'still owned by Canadian capital and extends about 110 miles north Into the Klondike district Transporting Passengers By Lighter From Ship To Dock at Sitka It was fun for all. and all for fun at Skagway and the Woodstock editor was one of those brought in by the judge's officers to answer the charge of not supporting 4 face covered with whiskers. Note the Indian boy among the group, also the two "officers" supplied with firearms to enforce their orders. Leaving Church On Sunday at Skagway 4mt--ioMISS in thNi Alaska towns, noth withstanding the limited amount of highway mfteagi--frst a proof that the people have money in Alaska. Sitka, the lhwliii Capital Sitka was the old Russian capital, before Alaska was jferchased by the United States. The present town is located on a channel marked by many small islets, which make the harbor one of the most beautiful in the world. I was told by one of the sailors who had covered all of the Western hemisphere, that there is but one other equal to it in beauty--Rio de Janeiro in South America. At Sitka we were informed that the harbor is too shallow for noats the size of the S. S. Aleutian to tie up at the dock and that we would be conveyed from the steamer to shore in lighters. This was a new experience, slow, but we enjoyed it all. Sitka has .many attractions, but the two which interested me most were the old Russian church, where a Russian Orthodox priest presides, and the old Russian castle built high up on a cliff. We spent quite a bit of time at the old church listening to the story of the olden days as told by the pri&t in his broken* English and also being shown the old robes* vestures and relics of the church preserved from the days of the Russian occupation. The church now ministers only to an Indian congregation and the support the priest and congregation comes through the liberality of the hundreds of tourists who visit the city annually^ The chimes of this church were rung for a half hour in honor of the arrival of the editors. Sitka Was founded in 1799 by Alex ander Baranoff, a prince of the old Russian nobility, who was said to have been the first and ablest of the Russian governors. In the early days fur was the main business, but Bar anoff seems to have aeprred to make Sitka a great industrial city, for here it was that the first bells were cast for the Spanish Franciscan missions located along the California coast. Here also came cargoes of wheat, to be ground into flour, and ships were built to carry Russian trade to all parts of the Pacific coast. But those days are gone and today fishing is the principal industry. Untpld millions of herring are caught annually here to supply the halibut fleet which comes to Sitka for ice and bait. "Ma" Pullen at Skagway No story about the Alaska of the later 90's, following the discovery of gold in the Klondike, which incident- When a ship finds the waters at the dock too shallow the passengers and freight must be transferred by smaller boats called lighters. This is what happened at Sitka. This picture was taken by Mr. Mosher of a group assembling on a lighter ready to be transported to the dock. Beardfcss Woodstock Editor Pays Fine In Kangaroo Court at Skagway Mr. and Mrs. Mosher and Mrs. Renich were at church in Skagway Sunday morning, where this picture was taken by Mr. Mosher. Note the lady in clothes of 1898. MSS. HARRIET PULLEN He* the Wealth ef »min She Wears en Oeeaslons ally is not in Alaska, but in the Can adian Yukon, would he complete with out the inclusion of two people, ono a woman of outstanding physical and mental attainments, who came to Skagway with the first onrush of Klondike trailers--a widow in her early forties with her brood of boys following at her heels. By days this woman drove teams of horses hauling freight over the almost impassable mountain trails and by night she stood over improvised ovens in tents baking cakes and pies, which, she sold to hungry men who by the thousands were dragging their weary bodies over the mountains toward the gold fields many miles beyond. Harriet Pullen did more than a man's part in the early activities of those days forty years ago. Of her boys, one was drowned at Juneau, and one was the first Alaskan boy to enter West Point. In the World War this Colonel Pullen (now deceased) and a third brother, Captain Royal Pullen of the Engineers, made for their mother such a reputation, that General Pershing is quoted with having said, "I wish I had a regiment of Pullens." "Ma" Pullen, now past eighty years of age, is today still full of vigor and activity. When she learned that the editors were coming to Alaska and of course to Skagway. she came down to Juneau to meet them and personally invite them to Skagway. It was at Juneau that we first met her and from her own lips many of our visiting editors heard the first stories of Soapy" Smith and the gold rush days, when thousands of weary men tramped over the trails up and around the mountains to the promised land in the Klondike. Mrs. Pullen is still active in Skag,- way. Without Ptfllen House the town would lack its finest attraction. At that hostelry about sixty people at one time can find luxurious accommodations, and there "Man Pullen presides in person, extending a true Alaskan welcome to her many guests and directing every activity for their j comfort and convenience. Her rooms j are filled with mementoes of the early] days and her guests find it their greatest joy when she will consent to tell them the stories of the happenings of 1896, *97, '98, and from then on. m. And when you can get her to repeat the story of those days, do no* fail to have her tell about "Soapy" Smith, the arch bandit of Skagway, who, with his gang, ruled the whole surrounding country for several years, stealing, killing and. cheating, until Skagway b.came known far and wide for its banditry and as a death trap for innocent and unsuspecting men passing through to the gold fields. _ Mrs. Pullen will tell yon how the citizens finally in defense of thet» town and its good name, under th% leadership of a Frank H. Reid, man of courage and determination, formed a committee of vigilantes to rid the community of Smith and his gang, and how both Smith and Reid were killed by the other's gun when Smith tried to break up Reid's organisation. Mrs. Pullen will also tell you many, many more things of those early bet. tic days and after you have hear* them, you will want to visit the mu- + seam in a separate room in which she has assembled hundreds of relics collected by her from those early days. She has made a specialty of relics, pictures, tables, chairs, gambling devices, etc., from "SoapyV dance halls and bar rooms, weapons, belts and other articles, even including a wooden slab with the name and date of birth and death, which once "graced" the head of "Soapy's" grave in the local cemetery, and which shows that he was only thirty-eight years old when his lawless career was ended. Ehtry Port to Klondike For a large portion of the people from the states who visit Alaska as Loading Gold Concentrate Aboard Ship Gold Concentrate Ready For Shipment At Skagway We saw tons of gold concentrate at various coast towns in Alaska ready for shipment to the smelters near Seattle. TThcfe~Sam pays lh{* people of Alaska a higher price than ever before for 4aking out gold," and after it is refined and made into gold bars he buries it In his vaults hidden In Kentucky, where he now has more than one-balf of the earth's entire gold supply. After all the process of paying for taking it out of Alaska and burying it again sounds sort of foolish to the writer. U. S. Destroyer Visits Skagway A U. S. navy, destroyer brought a group of naval reserve officers from San Francisco to Alaskan waters and stopped fft port at Skagway the same day the editors were there. Here Are Two Pictures of the Same Street In Cordova, Alaska £ si The upper picture of the main business street in Cordova was taken at night in January while the picture below was taken of the same street at. midnight in June. Note how the electric lights reflecting on the snow brigbten the whole street In January, while darkness reigns overhead. In the lower picture It Is so light at midnight that the snow-capped mountains are In plain view adH the electric lights add but little to the street visibility. tourists, Skagway is the farthest pert they reach, thus failing to see sMi realize the beauties ami importances! the vast empire which lies to tit west. Skagway lies in the upper part of the "panhandle," that part which skirts the coast to the southeast of the Alaska proper. Where forty years ago the gold seekers entered the great Klondik*. gold fields on foot through Skagway and up over the mountains, today the tourist makes the trip in a few hours on a sight-seeing railroad train. This trip was made by many of the editorial party to Lake Bennett and return. It was an interesting trfp, almost paralleling the old trail of 1897 and *98, which can be readily seen in places from the train. Not far from Skagway well up on the mountain divide the train passes over the international boundary line from the U. S. to Canada, and two flag poles, each flying the flag of its country, mark the line. Over on the Canadian side we are also met by a "monntie* attractively attired in his bright red uniform and riding a stately horse. At Lake Bentiett, about forty miles from Skagway, we were served a bountiful dintier, after which we returned to Skagway, arriving there at about 3m tf'clock. We were accompanied on the trip by citizens from Skagway who pointed out the items of interest earoute. ' Men Grew Whiskers When we first arrived at Skagway %hich was on Sunday, June 25, we found a large part of the local citizenry down at the dock to greet us. We learned that the Chamber of Commerce had ma^e extensive plans to feature relics and memories of the gold rush days. The citizens, both men and women, were dressed in the costumes of those days, with the men "sporting" a six weeks' or; more growth of beard and whiskers for the occasion. A program had been prepared for the afternoon which included the "shooting of 'Soapy Smith'," a train holdup and other excitement. It was Sunday and the Moshers accompanied by fifty per cent of the Renichs went to church in the morning. where men with whiskers and ladies clothed in the styles of the gay nineties served in the choir and made Up part of the audience. Just as iir 1898 immediately after church tne day of the1 week was forgotten and everybody was up and at it, helping put on a program of mirth and merriment planned for the visiting editors. , '• * * 'Cr: % .• =v.- .4 v< r• i 1 ' 4';- '"J£1 /:• -/ ' Was "SOAPY" SMITH Se Popular With the Ladles of ills Fine Beard! The Day Was Sanday Immediately after the return at SHIS o'clock of the contingent of editors, which made the special trip to Lake Bennett this program was set m motion and there was excitement all up and down the main business street of Skagway. "Soapy" Smith waa duly "shot," Martin Itjen and his novel street car carried passengers everywhere, on one street corner a kangaroo court was in session, where local citizens who failed to grow beards were brought in by special vigilantes and fined from five to twenty-five dollars for the tifenefit of the expense fund. The editor of the Woodstock Sentinel was one of those placed under arrest and brought before the court. It was not quite clear what the charge was, but the judge delivered a talk an the beauty of a neatly trimmed beard and then said he should fine the prisoner $25, but being a stranger he would reduce the fine to $5, and would settle for one dollar, which was promptly paid and as promptly spent. Many of the editors had dinner at "Ma" Pullen's place that evening while others returned to the boat for dinner. After dinner there was a dance at a large hall on the main street, with gambling with phoney money at an old faro table and roulette wheel. Prizes were also awarded to the men and women wearing the most approved costume, the men with the beards and old style clothes, the ladies with the old style hats and dresses. Skagway made a big hit with the editors. Although today a town of only about 600 people, it entered into the occasion of the visit of the NJBJL with enthusiasm and hearty gopd will. In the form of entertainment, it was the high spot for our fp. Asked whether the whiskers would be shaved off the next day, one of th< local men told the writer, "No, we have heard that President Roosevelt is planning to visit Skagway and we have agreed to wait until we know for sure what the President's plana are." I guess they have shaved them off since. I neglected to say before that daring our stop at Skagway a lT. S. navy destroyer with a contingent of R. O. T. C.'s on board arrived in port. These young fellows in uniform were just lucky, they got in on all of the big doings and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I noticed that at the dance some of the visitors in uniform got a little bold, but presently a husky native whispered a few warnings in their ears and everything straighten ed out at once. ^ ! '(•"kyjj m I Smile Gingras of Montreal went to sleep in a house he had entered. Lwss caught with two hags of loot I had intended to steal.