The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-17


Juneau and Dawson City as the Klon-
dixie Queen, was in ST. Paul yesterday
with her father and mother on her re-
| turn trip to Alaska. She Is not unknown
in he United States as the wife of one
of the few successful Klondike gold seek
ers, Alexander Mckay, who went into
the Copper river country soon after gold
Was first discovered, and made a lucky
strike. With the results of his first ven
lures as capital he organized a company
to work his mining properties, and has
| turned out the yellow gold until he now
counts his fortune in millions.
But, Mrs. Mckay has another claim to
distinction which is entirely her own. She
| was the first American woman to dare
| the perils Of the overland trip out of
| the KlOndike region. With her husband
and a small party she braved the route
on which so many men have died, and
safely gained United States territory
again. Mr.. Mckay went back to the gold
fields and his wife went East on a visit
, to her aged father and mother. After
! more than years visit she decided to
return to Alaska, and this time is taxi
ing her parents with her. She will go
| to Juneau from Seattle and will spend
the winter there with her husband. She
lett st. Paul last night for the coast.
The woman who made the daring trip
from the gold fields is exceptionally quiet
and retiring in her ways, and rather
avoids notoriety than favors it. She is
less than five feet six inches in height,
and has frank blue eyes in which there
is an expression which marks her as de-
teImlned in what she makes up her mind
to do. She chatted pleasantly on her
experiences in the gold fields, and ex-
pressed the opinion that ultimately
Alaska would become as thoroughly
Americanized as the Pacific coast coun-
try.
But such a country at first!" she
said. when L first went there, there
wasn't a dry goods store in all Dawson
City, and you could not buy a spool of
thread for all the wealth of the hides
Buttons were scarce, too, and those who
had them hung on to them with fierce
! and desperate tenacity. L figured it up
roughly, and among the 5000 people who
were there 1 judged there were about
5000 buttons That was only one and two
third apiece, you see, but there were GER
tain plutOcrats who posed as many as
six at ance.
What did I do TO supply the lack? I
fixed by husbe nds clothes with hooks
and eyes and as he wore furs mostly, it
wasn't noticeable. But 1 liked the coun-
try very well. There weren't anything
but miners there and some of the poor
fellows who hadn't struck it rich were
in awful shape There We're two or three
other women there too and we organized
little aid society Of our own which lid
something to relieve the misery The
men were rough, but there were great
many who were not and all of them were
very nice to US.
what the Rlondike needs most is a
choice assortment of bargain stores and
then some tailOrs and dress makers. If
the fashion dictated good clothes, there
wouldn't be as swell a crowd of men in
the whole continent as the miners, for
when they have money they spend it on
anything which costs money. I've often
wished 1 could make those red golf suits.
1 figure that 1 could start craze which
would make my fortune Besides it
would improve the scenery to have a lot
of red coats distributed over the land
scape prospecting for gold
Il shall join Mr.. Mckay as soon as 1
can, for I haven't seen him for a long
time We will winter in Junea. 1 do not
think I will try to go into the gold fields
before spring, if 1 do then. The last trip
was hard enough.
Thread and buttons, did you say?
Yes, this trip have Il whole hand satchel
full, besides lot of other useful things"