Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-22
A Wealthy Alaskan.

Cor. 81. Louis Globe Democrat.
The palace of Siwash Town is the resi-
dence OF Mrs. Thorn," a painted cabin
with green blinds, and a green railing
across the front porch. Mrs. Thorn is a
character, a celebrity, and a person of
great authority among her Siwash neigh
6ors, and wields greater power and in
nuence among her people than all the
War-chIeIs and medicine men put tOgeth-
er. Even savage instincts bow down to
wealth, and Mrs. Thorn is the reputed
possessor of $4,000. accumulated by her
own energy and shrewdness. We heard
Of Mrs Thorn long before we reached
SItka, and realizing her to be such pO-
tentate among her people, we were shock
ed to meet that lady by the roadside sun
day morning, Offering to sell bracelets to
some OF the passengers. As became us
ENJOYS from Christian land, we read her
small moral lecture, and severely said
that we would buy her bracelets on Mon
day morning; and Mrs. Thorn then and
there invited us to come to her green gal
leried chalet in Siwash Town, 'Enext door
to NO. IL, >" at any time we pleased.
The rainiest morning in all the week we
set our dripping umbrella-points in that
direction and found the great Thee lady at
nome. 1t was raw and chill as New
York November, but Mrs. Thorn strolled
about baret0Oted. wearing a single calico
garment, and wrapping herself in white
. blanket with red and blue stripes across
the ends. Her black hair was brushed to
satlny smoOthness, braided and tied at
the end with a coquettish blue ribbon,
ana her arms were covered with bracelets
up to her elbows. She is plump matron,
fat, fair and forty in fact-and her house
is a model OF neatness and order. Her
palatial residence is built after the gen.
eral plan, the one large room having a
raised platform around the sides. and
small, cabin-like bedroom in one corner.
with glass doors and calico curtains. The
square fireplace of stones, in the center
OF the main iYing-rOOm, is about to be
done away with, an improved cooking
stove having arrived by this steamer for
this great lady of Tyee. When Mrs. Thorn
had reluctantly brought out a dozen pairs
or more OF silver bracelets to show US, we
began to believe that her wealth was
really as b0undless as her neighbors say
Her arms were covered with silver strips,
as II with jOinted mail, and there seemed
no limit to the riches her dozens of trunks
and chests contained. Like all Indians.
she puts her faith IN blankets, and her
house is magazine of such items of
wealth, while deep in her cedar boxes
are such trifies of the toilet as velvet
dresses and fur robes of wonderful quail
lty. w hen the steamer left here in June Mrs
Thorn commissioned the Captain to buy
her bonnet OF the latest style. The gal
liant skipper muddled himself with milli-
merry all the while he was in Portland. and
evolved therefrom brOad-brimmed. gray
straw hat, faced with dark-green velvet
and trimmed with wreath of red poppies
and trailing, crimson feather Mrs
Th0rn's face beamed 18th pleasure at
sight of it, but the accompanying bill of
twelve dollars put her economical soul to
torture, and it was with mingled pride
and regret that she brought out the new
bonnet to show it to us. When she set it
atop OF her broad, plump face and cast
down her eyes with a conscious air of be-
comiHgness, the scene was worth photo
graphing