The daily morning Alaskan. (Skagway, Alaska) 1899-1904, 1899-02-21
ALAsKA,s GREATEST Day.

granite wall two thousand nine hundred
feet above the sea. with an italian blue
sI<y over head and brilliant sunshine lllu-
mlnatlng miles upon miles Of sparkling
snow, and the thermometer twenty-five
degrees below zero. This, In itself, lSsome-
thing verv much out Of the common and
therefore long to be remembered. But the
banquet was given to commemorate an
achievement which will be remembered
long after the banluetters, and even their
children and ehildren'S children, have
passed the summit to the Great Beyond.
The eommemOration Of the completion
Of the White Pass and Yukon railroad
10 the summit Of White Pass Yesterday,
although weighted with so deep slGn'h-
eanee for the future. was very simple
unpretsntlOus and informal affair. There
was no screaming OF the American eagle
ana no Blowing Of trumpetS. The rail-
road management had simply invited the
chosen representatives Of this eitv and
some Of her influential citizens to LITTLE
excursion, so that thew might be able In
after years to tell their children and gland
children that they rode on the first pas
ssnger train that crossed the White Pass
summit. The management also invited
all the leading representatives Of the Do
mlnion and British Columbia govern
ments who are in the district. to meet
them, 50 II CHANGED that the British lion
visited the American eagle in his noun
tain eyre on the snow clad peaks, and the
eagle and the lion puued In glad content
with each other.
The folds Of Ola Glory and the "Union
Jack Of England" swayed gently together
In The breeze, enwrlPping and enfoldinG
each other with every itful gust, and un'
beneath them, on the boundary between
the possessions Of two Of the mighties'
nations OF the earth, eomminglet citizens
and 81 ,ects w-lpt Animation Of th'
granis Of the sc'ne. Zen lhev retired
toa tent, and lol lnl behold, It was as u
the amp Of Alladin hat been given an sx
gIrdS. From the Brilliant sunshins, th'
molni9lns Of SNOW, the i,lrg cold. into az
rmcsphere Of subdust i,1tan1 warmth
uIyatsw pscss-and lee was eOG fort
and even luxury. a ,:Sc.,' banquet on a
Delmonieo scale. the absence Of flowers
being the onlv no,ls.e difference.
There was III. pOppinS Of many eor<s'
and the unloosening Of The corks unloos-
ened many tongues; some talented, some
graceful. some witty. but all enthusias-
tic In their praise Of the achievement they
vsr. there to commemorate. Even this
was all informal. For one thing, the time
was limited. For another, there was no
disposition to refer, even in Jest, to pend
lng international disputes. As between
the two countries, it was simply merry
but extremely cordial interchange Of eivili-
ties and good will, and the presence Of
many pretty women, and their merry
laughter gave an Inspiration to all that
was said.
The sulogies to the great engineer whose
brain had planned and whose skill had
carried out this stuPendouS railroad under
taking, unfortunately lacked the insplTa'
ton that his presence would have given.
But one could imagine him there, covered
with modest bushes, vet burning with
honest pride over the well-eaned praise.
For he is modest, as have been all great
minds In all history. But duty-a mere
sentimental duty, some may term it.-had
called him away. Tie was accompanying
to his home the remains Of Engineer Jack
another who would have grdeed such
banquet by his handsome presence, his
mellow, sympathetic voice and merry
words. But Mr.. Jack was not forgotten.
The memory Of him. the vev man him
self, was brought back to all by Mr.. Sin
slair's gentle tribute to his manly virtues
and kindly nature.
There followed silence that was rest.
And then came the elang Of the lOcomo-
tive, Its echo bounding from erag to erag
There were other speeches, and mueh that
was worth saying that had to be left UNI
said. And in the bracing open air again
came the rebound, and everybody was
merry and full Of laughter as they hurried
into the train. The eommemoration was
over. As a function it was extremely
simple; as an historic eOmmemOratiOn, II
was simply great.