Douglas Island news., 1918-05-17
ALASKA AS SEEN
BY A CHEECHAKO
Fort Wayne, Indiana,
 May 1. 1918.

|up thCrc during the summer, l am 1 Irous Co give you a few impressions Ior thc country as seen by "chee-
 choko." SO that you coming from Missouri. win avoid Che mistakes made by a Hoosier.
 The moment you arrive in Alaska, or even ou thc boat going there, you are dubbed "cheechako, !" which means a newcomer. But, af-
 ter spending a year In Che North land. after you havo experienced the freczc-up iu Che fall and the thaw- ling in thc spring. you acquire Che now uumc of "sourdough," word which originated i'm tho carly days ol Che gold rush when every prospcc-
 tor kept a kettle Of sour dough on
 Che back of his stove
 TO "chccchako." Alaska is a series Of surprises and novel cxper-
 fences. Going mp by boat you pass among hundreds of beautiful islands tbicby carpctcd with moss and coy- cred with hcmlock, spruce and cedar
 trees Immense ferns. wild berries and beautiful flowers grow here and In Che canyons; SO donsc Is the foli- age that one could easily imagine oneself In Florida if the air were not SO cool
 The throc things typical Of Alas ka arc its totem poles, northern lights and glaciers. The totem poles arc carved by Che Indians and are not worshipcd by them but represent the history of family something like our family tree" They arc gaily painted and make am unusual pie Wrc n setting of cvergrccns. Right here | might explain that the natives of Alaska arc Che Indians. SO it is not in good taste to say to am Alaskan, as ono might Co a Cali tornian Cwho would swell with .pridcl, "Arc you a natiyc?" One
 newcomer made this mistake. but am old "sousdough" pointed disgust odly to some Indian squaws sitting on Che sidewalk selling baskets and saId "Thosc are natives"
 As for Che northern lights. words cannot describe their beauty. 10 is Ia fascinating sight Co see Che lights come over Che mountain tops wav-
 ling libc ribbons Of shimmeriug silk. always changing color from vivid green to rose purple or a blending of oll colors They move constantly. sometimes sending out their rays lIkc thc spokcs of a wheel. or shoot
 ur them down over your heads in tongues of flame that seem SO close vou actually try to dodge thcm.
 We had thc opportunity of going to geo Toiu Glacier with picnic party Of sixty University of Wash
 urton ulumnu. lt was a twenty five mile trip up thc channel. and ou our way we passed hundreds of .ccborgs which had broken ou Of tbc glacier Here ! had Che surprise of my liro. the color of Che iccbergs was ana intense. peacock bluc-I had Imagined them Co Doc a Clarlng white. We stopped our launch at an ice berg and, with am ax, clipped of enough fee Co rcplonish our ice cream freezer. That novel experi- cncc fingers with me still When we finally sighted TalW it loomcd out of thc water like a gigantic emerald
 300 feet high and extended back into the mountains over thirty miles. 10, too. was Of Che same beautiful blue-grccn shade. The icebergs were breaking on and mmbling into the water with am awful roar like thun- dcr SO that it was dangerous to go near in a small launch
 The mountains bordering on the coast of this section of Alaska rise mp out of Che water SO steeply that
 thc towns are built partly over the water on piles. Consequently, some of Che streets arc paved with wooden beams and during high tide one can
 see thc water underneath through thc cracks in Che sidewalk.
 These towns arc thoroughly alive and up Co date. and have very metropolitan air for towns SO small. There arc good hotels, fine stores ] with plate glass windows, and mod eru homes. The people living here arc from every state in the union and socially they are a fine class to meet. and royal entertainers. Most of the social affairs, especially dances. are strictly formal, with an Imray of evening dresses that would please Che most fastidious. You de- eide at once that your last years party dress which you expected to wear m Alaska is passc You re-
 solve also that the discarded dresses land narrow skirts which your imme- diatc family had kindly offered you and you had SO gratefully accepted
 would remain packed at tho bottom or your trunk. Mentally you plan
 your new wardrobe adding Co it a linking suit. hunting clothes, snow
 shoes. bathing suit and tennis para Iphcrnolia; and later you write home
 to your friends that for all-round