Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1886-11-04
VOYAGE TO OUR ARCTIC LAND.
or for Aiaska-Amons tho Islands of q
NortheSu Sea-Scercs OF Weird Beauty,

OF for Alaska-Amons tho Islands of .
Northesn sea-Scenes OF Weird Beauty.
This is slow and easy sailing-a sort Of
jog-trot over the smoothest possible sea,
with the paddles audibly working every
foot Of the way. We run down among
the San Juan islands, where the passages
are so narrow and so intricate they make
kind Of watery monogram among the
fir-lined shores. A dense smoke still OBJ
scures the SUM- rich haze that softens
the distance and lends a picturesqueness
that is perhaps not wholly natural to tie
locality, though the San Juan islands are
unquestionably beautiful The Gulf OF
Georgia, the Straits Of Fuca and Queen
Charlotte sound are the words upon the
lips of everybody. Shades Of my school
boy days. How much sweeter they taste
here than in the old geography class. Be-
fore Us wilderness of wild islands,
mostly Ilrinhabited, stretches even into
the sunless winter and the shadowless
summer OF Behring sea.
There are delightful people On board
many Of them-and not q few others; but
bear in mind there are bevieS of girls-au
young, ell pretty, and all, or nearly ell,
bubbling over with hearty and wholesome
laughter. Now, inasmuch IS every thing
is new to Us, we can easily content our-
selves for hours by lounging in the easy
chairs and looking of upon the placid sea
and at the perennial verdure that springs
out of it and mantles lovely but lonely
land.
Only think CT it for moment. Here
on the northwest coast there are islands
sown so thicbly that many OF the sea pass
ages, though deep enough for a three
decker to swim IL are so marrow that one
might easily skim his hat across them.
There are thousands Of these islands
yea, tens OF :housands-I don't know just
how many, end perhaps 10 man does
They are al shapes and sizes, and the ma
jority OF them are handsomely wooded.
The sombcr green Of the woods, stretching
between the sonbcr blue-green OF the
water md the opalne sheen or the sky,
forms picturc-a momentary picture
the chief features OF which change almost
as suddenly and quite rs completely az
tho transformations in kaleidoscope.
We ere forever turning corners, and 10
sooner are we safely around one corner
| than three others elbow Us just ahead;
now, toward which OF the three are we
bound and viii our ship run TO larboard
| bet on al day long-and lose nearly every
time.
| What q bcy7ildering cruise! Vastly
| finer t,an RIVER sailing is this Alaskan eX-
petition. Here is q whole tanGle OF rivers
| full Of STRANGE tides, mysterious currents
and sweet surprises. Moreover, we can
get lost If we want to-no one can get lost
in q river. We can rush in where pilots
fear to trend, strike sunl,cn rocks, toss
an,on; dismal eddics CT plunge into whirl
pools. We can rake ovorhanging boughs
with our yardarms If we want to, bit VIZ
don't want 10. IN 1910 the United States
| steamer Sara1nc went down in Seymour
rarroUs and her fate was sudden death.
| The United States steamer SuUanee ne;
with Ike misfortune ut the entrance to
| Queen Charlotte sound. It IS rather Jolly
to think Of these things, and TO realize
that we arc II more or less dcnSer, though
the shores ere as Silent Us the grave, tho
sea sleeps like mill pond, and the sun
sets with u great dignity and precision
nightly bathing the lonely north N s;nsu
Gus splendor Charles Warren 3tos arc
| Aboard an Alaska Steamer.