THREE NOTABLE WOMEN 295 



tion so firmly that she raised the money to pay 

 for the long journey, and off she started full of 

 hope and yet equally full of uncertainty. 



Arriving at Skagway, which is the door- 

 way to the Upper Yukon, her eyes beheld a 

 sight that will stay within her recollections as 

 long as she lives. Here were thousands of 

 men outfitting at this noted town for a hard 

 and hazardous trip on foot over the Chilkoot 

 Pass, and thence to White Horse where they 

 could take boat or raft down to Dawson, 

 nearly four hundred miles distant, where the 

 great gold-mining craze was then in full 

 swing. 



It should be known that Skagway is at the 

 end of the famous interior waterway which 

 stretches from Seattle and Vancouver to this 

 far-famed town. And here came many men. 

 There were old-time prospectors; youths look- 

 ing for excitement, adventure, and experi- 

 ences; the poor man hoping against hope that 

 luck might now come to him ; the strong man 

 and the weakling; merchants, and men who 

 were willing to act as pack-horses for the good 

 wages that were being paid. All, every one 

 of them, had to pay tribute in some way to the 

 town of Skagway. 



There was a trail of eighteen miles before 



