ALASKA THE GREAT COUNTRY CHAPTER XIII Emerging from Chilkaht Inlet and rounding Seduction Point

Emerging from Chilkaht Inlet and rounding Seduction Point, travelers are met with the stunning wild beauty of Chilkoot and Taiya Inlets, flanked by snow-laced mountains and deep glacial valleys. Skagway, nestled between these towering peaks and lush river flats, grew from a cluster of tents into a booming city during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. With its flower-draped cottages, lingering twilight skies, and constant music of waterfalls, Skagway is a romantic and historic gateway to Alaska’s interior. From here, explorers launched their grueling journeys over White Pass—where names like Bennett Lake, Grand Canyon, and Porcupine Ridge still echo tales of tragedy, dreams, and gold.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter thirteen. Coming out of chilcot Inlet and passing around
seduction Point into chilcoot Inlet, Catchen River is seen flowing
in from the northeast. The mouth of this river, like
that of the Chilcot, spreads into extensive flats, making the
channel very narrow. At this point. Across the canal lies

(00:21):
Haines' Mission, where in eighteen eighty three Lieutenant Schwatka left
his wife to the care of doctor and Missus Willard
while he was absent on his exploring expedition down the Yukon.
The Willards were in charge of this mission, which was
maintained by the Presbyterian Board of Missions until some trouble

(00:42):
arose with the Indians over the death of a child
to whom the Willards had administered medicines. Crossing the mission trail,
writes Lieutenant Schwatka, we often traversed lanes in the grass,
which here was fully five feet high. While in whatever
direction I might look, wild flowers were growing in the

(01:03):
greatest profusion. Dandelions as big as asters, buttercups twice the
usual size, and violets rivaling the products of cultivation in
lower latitudes were visible around it. Produced a singular and
striking contrast, to raise the eyes from this almost tropical
luxuriance and allow them to rest on alpine hills covered

(01:27):
half way down their shaggy sides, with the snow and
glacier eyes, and with cold mist condensed on their crowns.
Berries and berry blossoms grew in a profusion and variety
which I have never seen equaled within the same limits
in lower latitudes. This was early in June. Here the
Lieutenant first made the acquaintance of the Alaska mosquito and gnat,

(01:52):
either of which is to be ignored and may be
propitiated by good red blood only. Also the giant devil's club,
which he calls devil sticks. He was informed that this
nettle was formerly used by the shamans or medicine men,
as a prophylactic against witchcraft applied externally. The point of

(02:14):
this story will be appreciated by all who have come
impersonal contact with this plant, so tropical an appearance when
its immense green leaves are spread out, flat and motionless
in the dusk of the forest from Chilcoot and let
the steamer glides into Taya Inlet, which leads to Skagway.
Off this inlet are many glaciers, the finest of which

(02:36):
is Faribee. Chilcoot Inlet continues to the northwestward. Chilcoot River
flows from a lake of the same name into the inlet.
There are an Indian village and large canneries on the inlet.
Taiya Inlet leads to Skagway and Dye. It is a
narrow waterway between high mountains which are covered nearly to

(02:59):
their crests with a heavy growth of cedar and spruce.
They are crowned even in summer with snow which flows
down their fissures and canyons in small but beautiful glaciers,
while countless cascades foam sparkling down to the sea or
drop sheer from such great heights that the beholder is

(03:19):
bewildered by their slow, never ceasing fall. Here at the
mouth of the Skagway River, with mountains rising on all sides,
and the green waters of the inlet pushing restlessly in front,
with its pretty cottages climbing over the foothills, and with
well worn flower strewn paths enticing to the heights. With

(03:41):
the Skagway's waters winding over the grassy flats like blue ribbons,
with flower gardens beyond description, and boxes in every windows
scarlet with bloom, with cascades making liquid, and most sweet
music by day, in irresistible lullabies by night, and with
snow peaks seeming to float directly over the town in

(04:02):
the upper pro pink atmosphere is Skagway, the romantic, the marvelous,
the town which grew from a dozen tents to a
city of fifteen thousand people. Almost in the night in
the golden year of ninety eight, I could not sleep
in Skagway for the very sweetness of the July night.
A cool, lavender twilight lingered until eleven o'clock, and then

(04:25):
the large moon came over the mountains, first outlining their
dark crests with fire, then throbbing slowly on from peak
to peak, bringing irresistibly to mind the lines like a
great dove with silver wings stretched quivering o'er the sea.
The moon, her glistening plumage brings and hovers silently. The

(04:47):
air was sweet to enchantment with flowers, and all night
long through my wide open window came the far, dreamy,
continuous music of the waterfalls on all the Pacific Coast.
There is not a more interesting or a more profitable
place in which to make one's headquarters for the summer
than Skagway. More side trips may be made with less

(05:11):
expenditure of time and money from this point than from
any other. Launches may be hired for expeditions down Lynn
Canal and up the inlets whose unexploited splendors may only
be seen in this way to the Mendenhall, Davidson, Denver,
Bertha and countless smaller glaciers, two Haines, Fort Seward, Pyramid,

(05:34):
Harbor and Seduction Point. While by canoe, horse or his
own good legs, one may get to the top of
Mount Dewyantu, Dewey Lake, up Face Mountain to Dai and
many hunting grounds where mountain, sheep, bear, goat, ptarmigan and
grouse are plentiful. The famous White Pass railway, which was

(05:56):
built in eighteen months by the three hes Hen Hawkins
and his lip, and which is one of the most
wonderful engineering feats of the world, may be taken for
a trip which is in itself worth going a thousand
miles to enjoy. Every mile of the way is historic ground,

(06:16):
not only to those who toiled over it in ninety
seven and ninety eight, bent almost to the ground beneath
their burdens, but to the whole world as well. The
old Bracket Wagon Road, White Pass City, This Summit, Bennett Lake, Lake, Lindeman,
White Horse Rapids, Grand Canyon, Porcupine Ridge. Two whom do

(06:38):
these names not stand for tragedy and horror and broken hearts?
The town of Skagway itself is more historic than any
other point. Here the steamers lighted or floated ashore, men,
horses and freight. You pay your money and you take
your chance, the paraphrase went. In those days, me man

(07:01):
saw every dollar he had in provisions, and often it
was a grub stake at that sink to the bottom
of the canal before his eyes. Others saw their outfits
soaked to ruin with salt water. For those who landed safely,
there were horrors yet to come. And here between these mountains,

(07:21):
in this windwracked canyon, the town of Skagway grew from
one ten to hundreds in a day, from hundreds to
thousands in a week, from tents to shacks, from shacks
to stores and saloons. Here Soapy Smith and his gang
of outlaws and murderers operated along the trail. Here he

(07:42):
was killed. Here is his dishonored grave between the mountains,
which will not endure longer than the tale of his
desperate crimes and his desperate expiation. Not the handsome style
of man that one would expect of such a bold
and daring robber was Soapy. No flashing black eyes, heavy

(08:02):
black hair, and long black mustache made him a living
flame among women. As rex Beech would put it, small spare,
insignificant in appearance. It has been said that he looked
more like an ill paid frontier minister than the head
of a lawless and desperate gang of thieves. His spotters

(08:24):
were scattered along the trail all the way to Dawson.
They knew what men were going in what once coming
out healed. Such men were always robbed, if not on
the road, than after reaching Skagway. When they could not
safely or easily be robbed alive, they were robbed dead.

(08:46):
It made no difference to Soapy or his gang of
men and women. It was a reign of terror in
that new, unknown and lawless land. There is nothing in
Skagway to day an must it be the sinking grave
of soapy smith, which is not found by every one
to suggest the days of the gold rush too, the

(09:08):
transient visitor. It is a quiet town where law and
order prevail. It is built chiefly on level ground, with
a few very long streets running out into the alders, bombs, spruces,
and cottonwoods growing thickly over the river's flats. In all
towns in Alaska, the stores are open for business on

(09:30):
Sunday when ay steamer is in. If the door of
a curio store which has tempting baskets or choke it
blankets displayed in the window be found locked, a dozen
small boys shout as one. Just wait a minute, lady.
Proper tours on the way. Now he just stepped out

(09:51):
for breakfast. Wait a minute, lady. We arrived at Skagway
early on a Sunday morning and were directed to the
bust of the leading hotel. We rode at least a
mile before reaching it. We found it to be a
wooden structure four or five stories in height. The large

(10:11):
office was used as a kind of general living room
as well. The rooms were comfortable and the table excellent.
The proprietress grows her own vegetables and flowers, and keeps cows,
chickens and sheep to enrich her table. About ten o'clock
in the forenoon we went to the station to have

(10:32):
our trunks checked to Dawson. The doors stood open. We
entered and passed from room to room. There was no
one in sight. The square ticket window was closed. We
hammered upon it, and upon every closed door there was
no response. We looked up the stairway, but it had

(10:55):
a personal air. There are stairways which seem to draw
their steps around them as a duchess does her furs,
and to give one a look which says, do not
take liberties with me, while others seemed to be crying,
come up, come up to every passer by. I have

(11:17):
never seen a stairway that had the duchess heir to
the degree that the one in the station at Skagway
has it. If anyone doubts, let him saunter around that
station until he finds the stairway, and then take a
good look at it. We went outside, and I, being
the questioner of the party, asked a man if the
ticket office would be open that day. He squared around,

(11:41):
put his hands in his pockets, bent his wizen body
backward and gave a laugh that echoed down the street.
God bless your soul, lady, said he on Sunday. Only
an extree goes out on Sundays to take round trip
tourists to the summit and back, while the steamer waits

(12:02):
to day's extree has gone. Yes, said I, mildly, but firmly.
But we are going to Dawson tomorrow. Our train leaves
at nine o'clock and there will be so many to
get tickets signed and baggage checked. He gave another laugh.
Don't you worry, lady, take life easy the way we

(12:24):
do here. If we miss one train, we take the next,
unless we miss it too. He laughed again. At that moment,
bowing and smiling. In the window of the ticket office
appeared a man, the nicest man. Will you see him?
Bow gasped My friend, is he bowing at us? Why

(12:47):
are you bowing back? Of course, I am What on
earth does he want? He wants to be nice to us,
I replied, and she followed me inside. The nice face
was smiling through the little square window. I was upstairs,
he said. Ah. He had descended by way of the duchess,

(13:09):
and I heard you rapping on windows and doors. The
smile deepened, so I came down to see if I
could serve you. We related our woes, We got our
tickets signed, and our baggage checked at all our questions answered,
and they were not few. And the following morning ate

(13:29):
our breakfast at our leisure, and were greatly edified by
our fellow travelers. Wild scrambled to get their bills paid
and to reach the station in time to have there
baggage checked. Photo by P. S. Hunt Valdez. Photo by P. S.
Hunt Valdez