My Journey to ALASKA

[(RIP) rustygates]

Originally Posted by zippy656

snow that deep in wales then?

My mate who drives a JCB 360 was working by the Horseshoe pass clearing snow, said the drifts were up to top of the cab that's 14ft off the road,

[(RIP) rustygates]

Tomorrow's installment will be about "Soapy Smith" the famous or infamous Conman who plagued Scagway for a while and had plagued other states in the lower 48 as Alaskans call America.

[(RIP) rustygates]

Soapy smith was experienced conman before he ever set foot in Scagway, but having arrived he preyed on the stampeeders going up towards Dawson and also preyed on those coming back loaded with gold and also those poor buggers who went nowhere,his first con was selling soap which he said had $100 bills inside some of them which we know that was a lie but some people believed it and was selling soap for $5 a bar,his accomplices would shout out "I've got one" and wave $100 about and then it was like a feeding frenzy.
Another con was to set up a fake telegraph office whereby stampeeders arriving at Scagway to go to the goldfields and those returning from the goldfields would pay $5 to send a message back home to any where in the world problem was that the wire stopped after disappearing into the wall,he made a fortune,he then set himself up as an undertaker when there was an avalanche or rockslide and there were many he would bring the bodies into his makeshift morgue and strip the bodies, he kept the any valuables and dumped the bodies out in the snow,there was as many as 70 bodies in one avalanche.He opened up a saloon called JEFF'S.SMITH PARLOUR where he ran hie empire and practically everything in Scagway.

[(RIP) rustygates]

He had the town mayor on his payroll,he had a gang of thugs who swindled money and gold from unsuspecting people at his brothels and gambling casinos.some thought him to be a Robin Hood character robbing the rich to give to the poor,he even built a church,but there were a growing number of people who were against his ways and organised a meeting at the Juneau Wharf ,to decide a plan to rid Scagway of Soapy smith there were men posted outside and armed to prevent anyone of Soapy's men entering,when Soapy heard of this meeting he went down to the Wharf with his winchester(his favourite weapon) and challenged the men posted outside and one of them was called Frank Reid, there was a shootout and Frank shot Soapy through the heart with his revolver but not before Soapy had let off a shot and wounded frank in the groin, he took 12 days to die a painful death.They are both buried in the cemetery outside of town,Frank Reid with a granite headstone and Soapy with just a plain marker.

[(RIP) rustygates]

and Soapy Smith

[(RIP) rustygates]

Here's a link for bad boy Soapy.

http://www.soapysmith.net/id46.html

[sam1989]

such an interesting read all of that thanks for sharing it with us

[(RIP) rustygates]

We left Scagway which is Yukon Territory and took a ferry across the sound to Haines which is British Columbia(yes british) or was,now Haines played an important roll in the early days when Russia sold Alaska to the Americans for 1c an acre in 1867 (kicking themselves now i bet) the mapping was not it's best so there were skirmishes between the three participants so a fort was built Fort Chilkoot who kept law and order on the borders and was kept very busy when gold was found in 1898.this pic is part of the living quarters of the fort.

[(RIP) rustygates]

View looking back toward the harbour

[(RIP) rustygates]

There were an odd selection of vehicles scattered around

[(RIP) rustygates]

and another

[solarman216]

Will never tire of this it is great, keep it coming, whish now I had done a record like this of my european travels in the truck, Rick

[SPARKIEDOO]

MORE PLEASE ITS THE BEST THING IVE SEEN ALL YEAR ...........THANK YOU !

[(RIP) rustygates]

last one

[(RIP) rustygates]

next installment travelling from Haines to Haines junction