Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1914-03-18
Continued from last week

We finally arrived at the summit
and there we had a lunch at little
cabin which was kept by an old sour
dough Alaskan, who came into the
country during the big Klondike
strike, and about seven o'clock we
started back. 1t was coast most all
the way, the dogs notspulling hardly
at all. taking about three hours to
come back TO the place where we
started from. We had to take a cir-
cuitous route back. on. account OF the
many crevasses in the glacier thus go \
| ing about ten miles out OF our way. j
was some tired when i got out OF that
sled, and all cramped up but
would not miss the experience for
anything. The next day we finished
tthe cable, and left that night, which
was Christmas eve. The boys brought
me down a box of cigars, about five
pounds of chocolates and bunch of
Calendars (byl the way, | was
going to send you one, but the minute
landed here in Seattle, my girl got
| busy with them and now she has
them all. I'll try to get one Of them
from. her if can, but l have my
doubts) and they stayed at the dock
till we heaved in our lines. and cast
off. We left just at midnight. and /
went on watch until three a. m, and
then / turned into the hay.
The next morning | woke up at
nine O'Clock to go on watch again,
and found that we were tied up at the
dock at -Cordovia. The place made
famous by REX Beach,.sin his book,
! The Iron Trail" i went up town about
\ A. l..
the railroad which was the first in
Alaska, and which is as up-to-date as
any road in~the east and back again
to the boat at twelvey where we had
our Christmas dinner. Not much OF a
spread, but still il beat some that we
had everyday. We took on oil and wa
ter while we were at Cordoyia and
left the next 'morping, going at once
outside into the old Pacific again
which was still tossing around, and it
was then that / got sick. Some of
the fellows said that l was not very
sick, but / am quite sure that / was,
and every time that the boat would
roll. ! would heave,. and vice-versa.
oh, it was awful IT lasted for three
days, but I did my work just the same
in fact j had to.
iht DNl1l lMO ilfil NtIt JUST dS
sick as / was, and there was no get
ting out of it. When we hit smooth
water again, / held up my hand and
said Never Again. And when you
get me to go to sea again, I'll let you
know about it, unless OF course it is
orders, but never or. my own accord
will / go again. We. stopped at Ketch-
ikan on the way down and got our
ofI fol, hid "A 10
didn't go ashore, being asleep at the
time. just Weakening up in time to
watch ourselves pull out. oh yes, /
went ashore at Sitka too. I had a swell
time there with some. Seattle people
that / got acquainted with here, and
they saw to it that my time was not
wasted. In Sitka there was no snow,
and i went ashore in my shirt sleeves,
although at night ii was a little cool.
The Japan current flows up that way,
and warns the whole coast way up.
During the whole trip, wore GUNNER
underclothing. and only at Valdez did
i feel the cold, but by putting on ex-.
ira parkas, and mackinaws, / was soon
comfortable again.
You know Sitka is the Oldest town
in Alaska, but it is not the capitol
Juneau is the capitol, and has been
for about five years. Probably your
geography says that Sitkafs the CAPT
toll, but you can tell the teacher that II
isn't should she ask you, and should
she insist, tell her to write the depart
ment of education<at Washington, D.
c., and she will learn better. i haven't
a geography yet which gaysthe capt.
tol of ALASKA right. and II. you have
one that does, it must be an extraor-
binary edition The keographers have