The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-07-14

SNN1 lslAnos In a summer sea,
green hills sloping smoothly to the
~ shore, beckoning bays and emer-
aid lnlets adventuring into the I'm.
known, and my lazy soul inviting il
seH from steamer chair on the deck
OF the good ship "Mariposa. That
was the inside passage to Alaska on the
1lrst day out from Seattle. Next day
ehe mountains were sleeper, the islands
more rugged, the water grayor, and the
the next we lifted awed eyes unto the
hlns which flung out mist banners and
Lifted snowy heads to greet US.
And so in crescendo of majesty and
beauty We swept past the poverty
stricken expletives of those beginning
days and held our tongues before the
wonder and the glory of God.
But l am anticipating, for this new
finland voyage ''-how Stevenson
would have loved it, except when it
ralnsl-ls arranged with an eye for the
artistic effect upon the tourist, and q
good deal comes between those first
|
at the dense forests along shore and
watched the shimmering waterfalls
tumbllng from the heights and with the
spirit Of the true adventurer we wanted
to be shown what lay beyond. And we
saw. While the Mariposa unloaded
canned cream at Ketchikan, we hurried
past forlorn, forsaken old totem pole,
eluding even the postcard people, and
followed the white water up and up
back Of the village and into the hills.
Again at Juneau we climbed past the
colonial columns of the wooden federal
building. (Why didn't they build it of
big logs and so fit it into its great
background of mountain and forestry
We had view Of the long, narrow
channel up which we had sailed, but
not even that delayed U.s. We were
looking for Alaska and its lure.
"The sunshiny woods all athrill;
The strong life that never knows har-
ness;
The freshness, the freedom, the fair
| ness
We had been reading "The Spell of
the Yukon" you see. We wanted to
find what young Service was talking
about, and we found out-a little The
fairness Of snow peaks that seemed to
lift Just beyond. the stiffness, the big
ness, really I think We got little Of
1t. The caribou might have crashed
through the woods upon US and as for
Brer Bar, we almost thought we heard
him and we knew it, as is reputed. he
is fond Of berries, he had feeding
places all around US.
The jungle was tropical in its dense
ness, with ferns as tall rs I am, and
broad-leaved, luscious-looking plants,
and regular briar patch of berry
bushes. Salmon berries thimble ber-
ries, gooseberries, strawberries. elder
berries, huckleberries that We saw for
ourselves were there, and If Brer Bar
wants little honey now and then for
"Kubs and K1ibs, his two twin chill
Pms" it must certainly be somewhere
around, for the bees follow the bios
SONS. The spirea and elder whitened
the slopes, scarlet colnmbine, wa1en
anemones, briar roses, forget-me-nots-
they were all there.
A ptarmigan cooked her head at us
as we turned a sharp curve and then
whirred into the bushes with her babies.
And we Baw little lake deep in the
shadows and rills Of melting snow and
we heard the music Of wild waters
| Also we saw salmon catcher and
cannery. Somehow or other all those
Chinese and Indian hands patting that
salmon into the little cans interrupted
On appetite for canned salmon. l may
get over 1t, but for the present, salmon
salad has lost Its SAVIOR.
Speaking Of SAVIOR, We bought rather
largely of sealskin moccasins Of the In
dian women squatting on the wharf at
Yakitat, and our stateroom had such an
Indian savor when the door was shut
that we had to cabin and confine those
moccasins in bunch Of newspapers IN
order to live with them The squaws
wore many silver bracelets and rings,
hammered out with rude instruments,
and one wTinkled old woman, Martha
Washington, by name, 80 fat she fairly
rolled along the docks, had on her LIT.
tie finger @ heavy old seal ring OF
gold, the seal engraved with Russian
coat of arms. Of course OUT romanti-
cist snuffed the air for the old, old, love
story.
Speaking of stories, this inside pas
sage is full Of them and good ones, too.
The chief engineer will spin you hair-
raising yarn as he indicates the roeks
where "she went down In tho winter OF
'o5.u The Irish captain had his tales
to tell; so did the Swedish pilot, fresh
faced optimist, who declared as we
shivered through q rainy day, that de
wedder didn' bodder him none" sut
the hest stories were told In tho smok-