The daily Alaskan., 1904-08-08
.SKAGWAY IN DAYS PRIMfV VAL

Ddl9 AglF Nt hAlS A AANN
 August ?, lgOE
 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :-l feel Father Out Of place in bsing upon your program this evening, as you all know that am not a speaker, or even good reader: SD | will handle the subject given me, that of Skagway In Prlm- ,vaI Days" in my own plain way, as best can. But [ will have Go tOuch uDon an early trip into the Yukon no order Co show how l gOt here. My old log book has furnished me few or the dates of the memories recalled 10 Jnls paper. ,-.,--
 While polling my way up the Yukon river. in the early part of August, leS {, in c0muany with two men who l1lneu me at Fo-tymue creek, after a trip thus far of about seven days, or two and half mon hs from FOrtyml,e creek Co St. M,chaels and return, l noticed, one Sunday morning, a large scow mooreu to the left bank of the river, about uVe miles below the mouth of Pe-y river and Fort Scl6irl. There were three or four PeJer5OrO canoes tied 70 tne scow. The wcar her was very hot, the moSguitoes thicS and furious, which made polling against the ltt stream all the more difficult. We had Co knock a swarm Of these pests or our faces every few seconds. l soon perceived through the Oyerhaugjug willows several men, among whom was Gov. William OgA- vie. who at that tune was in charge or a track survey into the Yukon for the Canadian government. Pyramid Island, O1 the Chukat Iulet, was bis starting u0.u l next noticed some one along the verge of the river, hurUNi ing toward my boar and fighting mosquitoes Wltn both hands. On nearer apprOaI saw that it was my father. l ran the bow Of my boIt into the bank. where we talked matters over, and he concluded 10 return .yi.h me Co the coast. Rolling his bIanke aboard and bidding Gov. OyiIvie adieu. We continued up stream. At r stma twenty five days more or polling and rowing over the lakes, We arrived a- che head Of l. ke Llndeman, and thence oyer the ChilcOOJ pass GO the EiJtIe trading post of He ly x Nll- son. gC Dgea. Alter reCuperaJlng For a couple Of days and enjoying the change from the usual miners food, which was nor so varied then as now, by partaNlug of fhs fine meals set up by Mrs. John He3Ty. and wh ch included jars Ot rich, red currau- ie.Nes-ths same that our present campers enjoy Go p,cd ana eat so much. Mrs Heay was the friend of all lbO.e entering and coming from the Yukon iu those days.
 We left Dyea for Skagway m canoe, ana remained here about four days, ,.Ook- iug over the situation. This was my first visit here but iJ was my tather.s second. for be passed through SkagWay on his way into the Yukon by the way of this af.erwarus call d White Pass, ID tbe mou. n Of June, l>S1. My arrival into the country, aJ Dyea, dated from March 2l. having arrived on the lit.le steamer. Yukon. l found Ice three fses thick. in a solid barrier, clear across this Lynn canal, from Smuggler s Cove to the opposite shore, the winter of 'S6 being the hardest and cOidest known f. che country. ln- Lllt.e scearner's miner passengers and their 0utrts were put of on this big Ice wharf. and We sleighed our outfits some fur miles co good camping timber. Strange co say that not one Ot the hVe hurd-gd men who went into the uNOn thas year had any sleigh dogs. Forty mile was then the objective point.
 After rsmaiujug four days aJ SSag- way. as 1 s,id before, We proceeded Co uueau iu our canoe. We there bul a gOod. strong. flat. 0JttOmed bOIt, . feet long. and riuged her with Q lea6O Ud and sail This -OOS us week. After loading her with prOyis Ons and other material. such as ropes, blocks, Iron
 nl NFHE= yrav. arriving s1Out the last or S' ptem- bar. We renamed here Tor TWO months, cutting Jimbers and tax ng soundiugs 0i the entire bay, Co ascer- tain che depths of the water, with a view of putting iD a wharf. We also paced 0E and made notes for location of one hundred and sixty acres 0f land .
 Our tent was pitched near the creek, on IiJt.e elevated p int, between the blud aud the present electric llgh plant, where salmon trout could b. caught at our tent door an where, ten wears later, ground was broken for the present raI.rO-C track.
 The entire Iard in this valley be tween CLs mountains, on both sides or thsI-river. Iwas th-ckly covered with spruce hemIOck. CO.tIOlwUOd, pine and birch. The three first mentioned va rigtIes of timber were the most plenti- fuI, averaging ten inches and SC dom reaching three feet Iu diameter. There were many beautiful little park-like areas, where the uuuerorush was not so thlck. From the upper line of Fifth avenue, and from Broadway Go the bluI on the east, Co the bay, was the edge of the timber. Iu many places along there, and down where the Ross Higgins store now stands, and up Broadway for a short distance, the ground was scanned with little gullies from three to four feet deep, thrO gh - some of winch water flowed, while &thsrs were others that were dry. AIOng from about the upper corner O, Broadway and Fifth avenue. where kalsm's store lOw stands, the timber 5Ess more scattering, but grew dsnser, and, further towards the bay, on near fng the river, were clusters of young ! spruce and many towering COJtOnwOOds. Al along Jhe verge Of high tide line, from the east bIuT t1 the river we found a great lot Ut d-if,wOyd, which covered a large arel, and among it grew coarse, high grass in abundance.
 There was TO sign of house Of any kind ever having beeu built in this vI- cinity ne Ter than Smuggler's OVe which We, at that time. called Wau- suck bay, after the native who lived there with his family, in one of the huts that is there to day.
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