The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1897-11-04
A PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE.

that had done the best work for loca
citizenship. But, when the time fol
presentation came, the banner could
not be given; for it was in the bottom
of a trunk which conld no. be found
AT last the day came when that mass
of baggage was distributed, and tbs
banner was given to new owner
1t was again put in the bottom of 6
trunk, and it is still there
The way of 1T was this. We decid
ed to go to Alaska, and so put that
trunk on board the steamer City of
Mexico. The steamers all take what
IS known as the inside passage
That is, there are islands all along
| the coast, which shelter the passage
from the force Of the waves. so that
the journey is among .nnumerable
islands over a waveless sea. Talk Of
the Thousand Isles of the ST Law
1encel They are nothing compared
to what one sees on this trip. Through
ont the whole voyage we threaded
our way through these beautiful
islands, which are covered with a
verdure that can be compared only
to the green of young wheat, it is so
vivid
Beyond these islands On each side
rise snow capped hills or mountains
stretching away, one behind the other,
till they seem lost in the blue of the
sky. Their emerald sides are inter
laced with foaming streams, which
have their birth IN some hidden noun
tain lake or in glacier. They are
dashed into foam by their steep de
scent. One small Junior looked at
them, and said with an air of salts
faction, We'll, now | know what a
turbulent stream is" He was realiz
ing his geography. Whales, Ice
bergs, and glaciers were common
sights. Once, when our refligerators
We're empty, the ship was stopped,
and a baby iceberg was taken on
board. 1T looked small in the water,
but proved too heavy for the hosting
apparatus. and men were sent down
to chop 1t III pieces. it weighed four
teen tons.
We had about three hundred min
ers on board to take to Dyea and Ska
quay. They were an interesting
crowd. We gave away our bibles and
| testaments to some who promised to
read them. One man, who Was a
great lover of music, was given a co
by of Gospel Hymns. He had taken
along with him quantity of coon
songs" But after he had attended
a song service at Fort Wrangell he
WAS much interested in our music,
especially III God be with YOU"
| which be had never heard before. He
promised he would sometimes get
''the boys" TO sing sacred music
When we stopped at Fort Nrangell
and at Sitka we found that arrange
mems bad been made with the Tndi
ans that, whenever snip stopped
| with Endeavorers on it, the bell OF
| The church would ring and the Indi
ans would gather to hear about the
| convention. SO In both places we
went to the churches, and found them
decorated with beautiful ferns and
berries. At Sitka they even had "A
boquet of purple and yellow flowers
and some other decorations in con
| ventiOn colOrs. Governor Brady pre-
sided, and all listened intently to
what we had to tell. None Of them
| had ever attended a convention Then
there were exercises at the mission
school by the Indians, so we felt as f
we received far more than we gave.
Lit would take long article to tell
| about the mission alone, to say moth
! ing of description of the beautiful
Journey.
We had to go clear up to Dyea
| and Skaguay to land the miners.
These two places are only about five
miles apart. Numerous tiords extend
up into the land sometimes more than
hundred miles. They are narrow
but deep, and are bordered by steep,
snow clad mountains, which are re
Elected in the placid water 1t is at
the head of such ford that Dyea
and Skagua are situated. Here the
miners land, and begin their inland
journev to the klondike, 760 miles
away
We had visited all the places in
Alaska at which the boats usually
stop. The last place was Sitka. The
captain had been so delayed by land
ing the miders and their goods that
he determined to take the outside, or
open ocean, passage, and SO save six
teen hours. SO, Wednesday, August
4. found very few people at the tables.
For the first time we had but little
interest in the bill of fare. Many of
the passengers did not like the change
in the route, not only on account of
| seasickness, but also because they
wished to see the beauties of the in
side course. SO the captain was pre-
vailed upon to steer among the islands
ednesday evening we turned into
| DiXon's Entrance. The sea grew
smooth, and the seasick passengers
came on deck and enjoyed the long
twilight Even at half past ten We
could see to read
The night was foggy, and the cap
tain was obliged to stop the boat. Al
two he went to lie down in his cabin
telling the pilot not to start the yes
sci until he came on the bridge again
But, as the fog lifted and it grew
lighter, the pilot thought the danger
was past, and finally, at little aftel
four, he signaled for the engines t(
start at full speed In five minute.
after the boat had got under ful
headway she struck on Devils Rock
az 4:2o, a. m., August 5.
| None Of us will ever forget tha
noise. The ripping off of great tim
bers and the grating on the rock wa,
awful. The boat shook and tremblet
and went over on one side as if sh,
would sink immediately But with
mighty culver she righted herseli
and we hoped the worst was over
Many were thrown from their berths
erockery was broken: chairs wer
thrown over. The crew and officer
all rushed from their looms.
l In fnyr- ho Il /,