The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-12
WONDERS OF TEE NORTH
SIGHTSEERS MARVEL AT THE
 SCENIC GR4NDECR
Of the Alaskan Coast-Nev EngIanders
 In Crowd.

Heavily weighted with Indian bas- kets. toy totem poles and sounding syl- fables of praise for ice, sea and sky, the excursioniats of the new steamship Spokane, the first of the seasons Alas kan tourists returned to Seattle yester- day afternoon. About six score were on the vessel, nearly all Fasteners, and Alaska held surprises for them all The steamer, sailing hence June IA. made eight stops, besides special calls at the Muir and Taku glaciers, and incidental ly brought down considerable news | from various points.
 ".All daylight, a smooth sea and con- l tinued sunshine made the trip one that beats anything I've ever tried" re- marked one of the voyagers soon after arrival. If you count what we saw on both sides of the island channel all the way up we've passed more than 5000 miles of scenic grandeur.
 Being midsummer the trip was made 1 on the longest days of the year, and we found out. by demonstration, why 1 Alaska is the Land of the Midnight Sun. I saw the sun set in a blaze Of 1 glory at ten minutes of 10 o'clock, ana saw the first streaks dawn shortly after l 2 o'clock the next morning. Meanwhile the full moon was on duty. and at mid night I read fine print without difficulty from my post of observation on the hurricane deck, with no other light than moon and twilight
 l "It was a sort of continuous scenic performance. after the style of those 1 New York shows that run on without l intermission day and night. My only criticism is that I didn't get time to sleep. as I didn't wish to miss anything and sightseeing was as good at night as during the day.
 I've travelled pretty much every where over the worlds highways, but cannot imagine sights more superb 1 than those of Glacier bay, Wrangel narrows or Peril straits"
 After the first glimpse of totem poles looking shoreward to an Indian village, on the British Columbian side, the day | after sailing, a totem" atmosphere hung over the ship. At every port there was a scramble to see totems. The l cameras were turned loose on these monuments at every opportunity. Slices of venerable totems wepe secured by the souvenir hunters, and toy poles, strangely carved with gargole hyeads or monster frogs and crows, were bought, 1 to find their places later in the hereto 1 fore peacefully ordered homes of Ner- mont, Massachusetts or Connecticut.
 At Wrangel the first close glimpse of
 totems was secured: but at old Kasaan the totem village of Alaska. as the navigators and guide books call it. | there was a mild sort of totem ogie among the tourists. Between seventy 1 five and hundred poles are still stand | ing at this village, once populous, now deserted. The passengers, armed with notebooks and kodaks, went ashore in small boats and raided the silent vil- | lage. snapping views of the towering escutcheons of long-departed Haida warriors and fishermen. and walking the weed grown trails over. which many thousands of these curious aboriGines have passed in years gone by. Twenty or more houses of old Kasaan are to- day in fairly good repair Doors are locked and the furnishings. meager but needful, await the return of the rowing owners Many of the former villagers are at new Kasaan or just plain Kasaan," as a resident of the new town, further up the picturesque inlet, exnlained it was the wish to call the place.
 Here the tourists found a notable ex-
 ample of rapid progress, Sue to the white mans activity and capital The Kasaan Bay company, of New Haven, Conn, has, on the heavily timbered shores of Prince of Wales Island, in-
 vested in Improvements something more than S100,0O0
 Two wharves two big cannery and warehouse buildings a church, a store. and a dozen or more houses, tucked
 away in the protecting forests of vel low cedar and spruce, at present show the results of the company's industry and enterprise. Among the fishermen
 and laborers are many young men and
 women from the company's home city New Haven.
 We have lots of fun here" said one fair maid, whose short dress and high
 boots suggested hunting either salmon or bear, as the mood demanded. We SO HSuiItsS anu SHDoltiIS' ciiu ldsI lllS ltt we had a dance!"
 During the week ending June 21 the
 boats took in their first salmon catch of
 more than 2,G0O fish, and these were all
 disposed of and made ready for use in short order. The cannery output during
 the season will be about 800 cases daily. At Wrangel outfitting point for the
 canneries and mines of the Stikeen riv-
 CT and adjacent country, the visitors
 saw more signs of Alaskan prosperity.
 The old houses, remindful of Russian
 days and the several well-preserved
 totems, were all inspected and photo
 graphed. Wrangel merchants reported
 business good, and the outlook better,
 caused by the recent discovery of gold
 prospects on Worinkowski island, near by.
 l Long before Douglas island was reached. at 9:30 D. m. on June +, the
 resounding din of the TreadwelI mines
 900 stamps was plainly heard. The sun
 was about setting as the steamer reach ed the wharf. but mining operations were as much in full blast as at mid
 day. The party went up to the main
 ore deposit, in the huge excavation not
 far away, and then tried the strength
 of their ear mechanism by walking
 through one of the big stamp mills. The
 Treadwell is still disposing of 2500 or | 2 nnn H.