and our staunch steamship "Elder" was rocked in its cradle for about four
hours. Oftentimes we seemed to be bound by mountains on every side, with
no hope of escape; but the faithful deck officer on watch would give his
orders in clear, full tones that brought the bow to some passage leading
to the great beyond. In narrow straits the steamer had to wait for the
tide; then would she weave in and out, like a shuttle in a loom, among
the buoys, leaving the black ones on the left and the red ones on the
right, and ever and anon they would be in a straight line, with the
wicked boulder-heads visible beneath the surface or lifting their savage
points above, compelling almost a square corner to be turned in order to
avoid them. At such times the passengers were all on deck, listening to
the captain's commands, and watching the boat obey his bidding.

From Victoria to Tongas Narrows the distance is 638 miles, and here was
the first stop for the tourists. The event here was going ashore in
rowboats, and in the rain, only to see a few dirty Indians--a foresight
of what was to follow--and a salmon-packing house not yet in working
order.

From Tongas Narrows to Fort Wrangel, thousands of islands fill the water,
while the mainland is on the right and Prince of Wales Island on the
extreme left.

FORT WRANGEL.

Like all Alaska towns, it is situated at the base of lofty peaks along
the water's edge at the head of moderately pretty harbors. It seems to be
the generic home of storms, and the mountains, the rocks, the buildings,
and trees, and all, show the weird workings of nature's wrath. In 1863 it
was a thriving town where miners outfitted for the mines of the Stikeen
river and Cassian mines of British Columbia; but that excitement has
temporarily subsided, and the $150,000 government buildings are falling
in decay. The streets are filled with debris, and everything betokens the
ravages of time. The largest and most grotesque totem poles seen on the
trip here towered a height of fifty feet. Those poles represent a history
of the family and the ancestry as far as they can trace it. If they are of
the Wolf tribe a huge wolf is carved at the top of the pole, and then on
down with various signs to the base, the great events of the family and
the intermarriages, not forgetting to give place to the good and bad gods
who assisted them. The genealogy of a tribe is always traced back through
the mother's side. The totem poles are sometimes