xm ON THE HOMEWARD TRAIL 273 



this railway ever becomes an accomplished fact, then the 

 future prosperity of Valdez will be assured, since a very large 

 trade will be thrown open with the mining centres along the 

 valley of the Yukon. 



As we were standing on the wharf bidding final adieus to 



a number of the residents at Valdez, an amusing incident 



happened. I was talking to a friend, when suddenly Mr. 



Sexton, the Marshal, walked up to me in front of a crowd 



of spectators and fellow-passengers, most of whom knew our 



story. Holding out his hand he said, "Well, captain, I have 



come to shake hands, and wish you good-bye." As I had my 



hands in my pockets, I did not trouble to remove them, and 



said to him, " Well, sir, you may do one of those things, but 



the other you never will do." He feigned immense surprise, 



and said, " Do you mean to say that you bear me ill-will for 



doing my duty ? " " Certainly not," I rejoined, " but I do 



blame you for the way in which you exceeded it in my case." 



Once more he said, " Won't you shake hands with me as one 



citizen with another?" and I replied, " No, sir, because you 



never treated me as one citizen should another, much less as 



you should have treated an English gentleman." This settled 



him, and he turned away, saying that if he had only known 



that, he would like to have the case tried over again, so as to 



prosecute me in a different manner. This was rather good, 



for, as I told him, he knew perfectly well that he had no 



shadow of a case against me, and that if he wanted to hear 



more of the case his wish might soon be gratified, as I 



intended to carry the matter a little further than the petty 



courts of Alaska. It was rather gratifying to hear the remarks 



of the bystanders, who were almost entirely Americans, and 



one of them remarked to the audience, as the Marshal turned 



his back and walked away, " I guess he's got it in the neck," 



