Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1898-01-07
FRANK THOMAS WRITES FROM
SKAGUAY.
Mas Grea1 Ill ope> for That New city da>
Made ONE Good specuia 10 is-Wea;h-
er il Alright There-WiiI Wait TilI
Spring to 20 to- Dawson.
Skaguay Alaska Dee. ~ 1891

SkdguaN AldSkd Dec ~ 1914
Dear Father. | just received your let
ter dated Dec g Well the weather here
is remarkably fine for this time OF the
year. Yesterday the wind blew from
the South and the snow which WAS
about three inches deep melted as ii
hot water mad fell on il and il is all
gone in fact the winter is the incest part
of the year here. The wagon road |
wrote you about Is being put through
as fast as men and money can do H..
They are evidently intending 10 rHake d
railroad of 1t as soon as they get Il lin
ished as they are laying 1t OF al easy
grade and spanning the river with heavy
steel bridges. Dyea is only four niles
from here as the crow liles IT ne could
fly over this mighty mountain of gran
lie ice and snow. There Is DO whOrl al
at Dyea all the goods for that place is
unloaded here and has 20 ue shipped
from liere To Dyea on scOws as steamers
with dead draft cant get nearer than
two miles on account OF large rocks.
Father | wish you would come up here
it would be the greatest trip you ever
had. From Seattle up here is made by
what they call the inside or inland pas
sage There is no rough water as sea
sickness, and is considered the finest
trip for scenery in the world In many
places the stea mer passes through mar
row passages or channels with great
towering walls OF rock on either side.
There onN can see great mountains
) and 10 honsand feet high out OF the
sea. ThY re are mountains, glaciers and
ice bergs hearty all the way, ycu can all
so see bigDwhaes sporting In the water
ahead OF the ship. les truiey this is
q wonderful country. Here it is warm
when just over this mighty mountain
forty miles only the thermometer ran
ges from IS to 40 degrees below zero.
Skaguay is going to DE city, it is a
city already. Don't think me visionary
or crazy about this town, have seen it
grow. / was here when there was only
one house here, the squaw man. From
the eth to the Sth of August We haa no
faith in it then but went into that the
worst pass that any lot OF men ever un-
dertock to cross and there we worked
like slaves and then got stuck and now
when look around me here and see
men who were too faint hearted To ven
ture into the pass settle down here on
q lot and make a thousand without any
exertiOn or effort, it looks as If the old
saying of t2e blind pig getting the
acorn was verified here. 80 YOU cant
tel, 1t isn't shTewd or smart chap that
gets all the gold but pity us, we may
have saved so much hard work and
many horses II We had done as they did.
Well we are after them and will never
give them up till We bring them to hay.
Live to you all, Frank l.. Thomas.
n another letter dated about the
sarne date Frank tells his parents that
he and his cousin have four town lots
In partnership. They are building a
house 24x40 on one and expect to make
lodging house out of 1t which they
viii either rent or run it themselves.
Beds rent there for 81 and straw hunks
for 30 cents. Frank says that they
could rent their building for 500 a
month now If it was completed. They
have commenced TO build cabins on
the other lots. He states that he
has enough faith in Skaguay 10 believe
that fortune can be made there with
small amount of capital.