Alvaro Shumway
Born - April 11, 1838
Died - November 15, 1892

A letter draft from Alvaro Shumway to “Cousin Flora”, Originally written in pencil on news stock paper, copied 11 January, 1998 by David Shumway Bardue, Alvaro’s great grandson who has not yet identified Flora.

       Lanark, Ill., Mar 22, 1891

Dear Cousin Flora:

            We got a letter a day or two since from away "out West”.  It seemeth that way back in the dim mist of the past we used to be acquainted with someone who moved out there, but in the mists of antiquity her identity has been lost or nearly so. Oh! yes, memory gradually regains her throne, she comes to us as it were, in a vision, and it may be a stretch of the imagination, but really I believe I remember her. Oh! how much we would like to see her once more while we are on this side of the valley.

We shall not leave here before July if at all.  It is true we intended to start in April, but owing to reasons which I cannot go into detail enough to explain, we will not go then, so you will find us at the old homestead when you come. I suppose or course your mother will come with you and we shall be pleased to see her as well as any or all of the rest of your family.

            No doubt you will remember Mr. Eby, Mr. Dietrich, Mr. Shoen, Mr. Gans, Mrs. Corbert, Mr. Hickell, Mm. Reasoner, Mr. Faber, all of whom have died recently; so you see we are passing away one by one.

            Since we saw you we have been to Alaska and climbed the glaciers, walked until tired of the sport on ice 1500 feet thick in the month of July, saw daylight in the West at 12 o'clock at night, and had I thought to look to the East, no doubt would have seen the same there as well.  For miles upon miles, and as far as the eye could reach was one field of floating ice all the way from flat cakes lying flat on the water to huge icebergs towering to the height of a church steeple.

            Ten or twenty miles away they looked like some huge marble monument erected to the memory of some departed greatness.  Others would look like a huge ship, and upon a nearer approach the illusion seemed greater when one would beheld it "manned' by a full crew of sea gulls, thus making it seem to one with sentiment and with a stretch or the imagination, that they were consciously and proudly directing their bark through the briny deep.

            I stood by a ledge of the clearest, purist ice I ever saw and looked up its perpendicular height nearly 400 feet.  I knew it was liable to fall, for there was a mass or ice said to be hundreds of miles in extent constantly crowding it along, but there was a fascination about it that prompted me on and on, although I would tremble at times at what might happen.  As I would come to a perpendicular ledge where I would be compelled to go at least a quarter of a mile in imminent danger, I would sometimes start to run and find myself actually running before I knew or realized what was doing;  when I would get mad at myself and stop still and look up to the huge wall hemming me in where if it fell I would have been carried into the sea with it and that would have been the last of poor Vade. "Small loss" you will say, I know. Well, I guess you are about right.

            What made the sight more grand, the sun was shining brightly, as brightly as it usually

does in a nice, clear July day, for that is what it was.  Isn’t it wonderful? I had heard 0f glaciers and icebergs and read of them but I never expected to see them.  Even when we left home I told my wife that their advertising to go to the glaciers was a dodge to take people in - that something would happen to serve as an excuse, or out of which to frame an excuse - that “it is dangerous” or that they were “behind time”, or too stormy” or something or something or something, but we had a good boat, iron clad and a pretty good captain and we “got there’.

            What makes these floating fields of ice and ice bergs is the pieces breaking off from the glaciers into the ocean as it is crowded down by the force of ice said to be hundreds of miles in extent behind it slowly but surely crowding the great mass along.   The movement cannot be seen so slow is its motion, but surely and steadily it comes.

            We saw great masses of ice fall and actually disappear from sight so great was their weight and so deep was the water that they remained down a long time, I did not think to time any of them so exciting was it but they must have remained underwater several minutes, when up they would pop and float away to join the others gone before, and huge waves rolling along the beach drove us back on a smart run for fear of being swamped in the vortex of its unrelenting fury.

            I had heard of the beauty of a “Sunset in the Ocean”, but of course had never seen one before.  It is simply a beautiful sight to a land lubber.  It seems to dance and tremble like a leaf as though it feared to take its bath and was hesitating as to whether it better or not take its awful plunge.  The motion of the water causes this optical illusion, I suppose.  You can look at the sun at this time as well, or nearly as well as you can at the full moon, and as it seems to be dancing a merry little jig on the crest of the wave, the wave the while throwing off its ten thousand times ten thousands of pretty diamonds, as well as various precious stones variegated by many soft beautiful colors, one feels like grasping out to stay the plunge of the beautiful entertainer, that the eye may longer feast upon the evanescent sight, ere he has gone to rest beneath the wave of old ocean.  But plead as you will and pray him to hold if but for one short minute that you may write on memory’s page the beautiful sight, but he will not stay, Oh! for a Joshua! for I cannot stop him.    Oh! Joshua! Joshua! Come.  Joshua comes not and already the old fellow is hiding himself from our enchanted gaze and a quarter of him is gone.  The waves dance on and on as if in derision of our pleading and the beautiful bather is settling deeper and deeper in the water and now half of it is gone.  The change now to a mellow light into a sort of a hazy twilight makes a beautiful change of scene.  Now look: Only a quarter of the beautiful disc can be seen and as it dances and dances on the Crest of a wave, owing to your long steady gaze your vision by this time becomes uncertain, and without any stretch of the imagination he seems to be bowing good day to you and, and, and look he has gone.  You rise on tip toe to try and get a last, last lingering look and all is over.  The treat of a lifetime has been sipped, sip by sip until the crystal cup has been drained and in order to get back to earth you give one gasp for breath, feel of your head to see if it is still there, then rub your eyes to make sure they are “in” and O! O! O! for what else can a poor mortal do after being left out in the cold in that way and far from home, too!

            We saw hundreds of whales spouting, and the bodies of quite a number.   One in particular, a huge fellow was but a few rods from the steamer.  It was in the early morning and I was the only one out on deck, save the watch.  The white folks were too lazy to get up I guess.  The old fellow seemed to want to show himself, as though he was proud of his great size, and he floated at the top and as one part of his body went down another part came up and it was the greatest menagerie I ever saw.  This was way out on the broad Pacific away from islands or any thing to break the monotony of the great expanse of the wide old ocean, and to see such a monster way out there alone, as it seemed, was to me a sight beyond my power of description.

            In the gulf of Georgia whales are much more numerous, but are not so large as those are that are out in the ocean; and being much more limited by whalers are more wild.  We knew they were very numerous in the gulf from the spouting, but with few exceptions they did not come near the steamer to show themselves or speak to us.

            At the quaint, little old town of Sitka we remained 40 hours.  We visited Barinoff Castle and all the other prominent old Russian buildings are used now by the U.S. Government for its offices, prisons, storehouses etc., etc. Of course we visited the famous old (St. Nick?) Church and saw diamond decked Crowns, images of Saints who never lived, or if they lived at all were much less Saintly when alive than they are pictured to have been or that their images would seem to represent.

            Fine paintings from Russia of the long ago, some of which are said to be presents from the Czarina and Czar, and I do not doubt it as the frames, besides being richly gilded are set in diamonds and other precious stones as well as pearls and other costly nonsense. I dared not tell them what I thought of all this grand tomfoolery, for fear I would be taken by the left ear and be led out, but kept up a devil of a thinking all the same. Everything there is of the grandest and Costliest kind.  How different from the teachings of the one whom they seek to honor.

            In the twilight of the evening we visited the old Russian Cemetery, and the dates of course were all I could read on the tombstones.  These of 100 to 200 years standing or rather lying, for many of the tombstones long since, like the ones they were supposed to honor had forgotten to stand and too were lying down to rest.  Oh! the desolation and ruin of a neglected grave yard of 100 to 200 years standing!  Did you ever see one?  If not methinks it would make a cremationist of you as it would have made of me were it not I was already one.

            I had quite a visit with the governor and was present at the trial of a lot of Indians for trying to prevent whites from fishing at a certain place claimed by the Indians to be theirs. Of course everything was done through an interpreter. Momma and some other ladies visited the Mission School but I did not see fit to go.

            The main Street leading up from the wharf was lined with Squaws sitting flat on the ground or walks with every-thing to sell that one can think of in shape of Indian trinkets, shells, bracelets, rings, miniature canoes, paddles, canes representing totem poles, moccasins, firs, bags made from squirrel skins and other skins, and in fact every thing that an Indian can make, kill, find or steal, and that white folks are fool enough to buy. I did not know I was such a fool, but one gets into the swim and everybody else is buying and it is catching like the itch.

            Sitka is hemmed in on all sides save of course the water front, by forests backed by high mountains, and all the way I could see of getting out of it is by the sea. It is a much smaller town than I expected to find the capital of Russian America of my boyhood’s geography, and later the Capital of Alaska the great “horn of the delemma” of the U. S. I doubt very much whether I would be contented to live there.   I might were I the governor, for the sake of drawing the salary.

            We left Sitka in the night time when we were asleep, and when I awoke we were way out to sea.

We were on the Steamer the “City of Topeka” 20 days and 20 nights.  Left Tacoma on the 8th day of July and arrived back the 28th.

            I took a memorandum of the names of the places at which we landed but have mislaid it, but those I remember are Seattle, Wash., Port Townsend, Wash., Victoria, Vancouver Island, B. C., Nanimo, Vancouver Island, B. C., Matacatta, Alaska; Fort Wrangle, Alaska, Loring, Alaska; Juno, Alaska; Douglas Island, Alaska; Glacier Bay, Alaska; Sitka, Alaska Port Pitt, Alaska, Killasnoo, Alaska; Chilkat, Alaska.

            We visited quite a number of Salmon Canning establishments and to one brought up on dry land it is a curious sight.  Saw as much as 50 tons of whole salmon in a pile where they had been thrown from the fishing boats employed for the purpose of bringing them in from the nets.  These salmon are very large ranging in weight from 15 to 30 pounds each.  We saw the whole process of canning.  The cutest thing about the whole business is to see a China= man dress or rather “undress” a fish.  It is perfectly astonishing to see how quickly he can do it.

            Were in the great gold mine of Douglas Island and went through the great crushing mills said to be the largest in the world.  I never heard a noise before and I had a house full of children.  I wanted to speak to a man and put my mouth close to his ear, (no I did not bite it) and yelled as loud as I could and he only barely heard what I said.

            I was glad to get out, for everything above, around and under us trembled like a leaf and amid the unceasing roar of 240 stamps it seemed as though every thing was going to pieces.

            Before I close I must not forget to tell you about the roses at the beautiful City of Victoria, B. C.  Our steamer landed there and remained about 3 hours and we took a carriage ride up to the City.  I never saw roses before.  The yards were full and of every variety of color and shade of color.  It was one grand sight.  If the world can beat it I would like to take a trip to the world just to see the beat.

            Situated as Victoria is at the head of the straits of Fuca, the Japan current of air across old ocean up the straits fans the tender cheek of the rose and gives it just what it needs.   It must be so.   I cannot account for it in any other way.  The day was fine and I believe they have a most delightful climate there.  Indeed it is a beautiful City.  The girls mailed lots of letters there to their friends at home on account of the novelty of using foreign stamps having their letters post marked in and sent from a foreign Country.  See?

            Our driver turned to the left on meeting other vehicles and it made me nervous as I feared an accident, so I spoke to him and requested him to be more careful to turn to the right, but he informed me that he was correct and that the law of the road there required it thus.   He said Americans often get fined there for running into someone by turning to the right.  So I subsided and kept my mouth between my teeth and let him do the driving after that.

            When I was on the subject of the ice fields I forgot to tell you of our boat plowing through the ice.  You see the ice is so thick that the boat could not run at all unless it plowed its way through.  It is not dangerous but exciting, for an iron clad steamer plows through cakes of ice lying flat on the water.  Not so of course with the icebergs which of course vary in height according to their thickness.   These must be left clear of or down goes our meeting house.

            When our boat would hit some heavy cake of ice it would tremble like a leaf and some were scared, but I knew there was little danger as long as the pilot kept sober and avoided the icebergs.

            You must “oxcuse” me as the Dutchman says, for the desultory way I put things together, for you know in a letter to an old friend, that is a friend that is very old, thoughts come to us, not in the order of their occurence, at all, but in their own sweet fanciful way and we do not take the time to rewrite and arrange our thoughts as we would were we writing a book or to a critic.

            In the limits of a short letter I cannot tell you much only give outlines as it were but I would like to have the time and ability to describe the big tall trees and forests of Washington and Alaska, the snow capped mountains, the cascades and cataracts, the archipelagos for hundreds and thousands of miles and our worming around among the islands and between the islands and mainland; the great panoramic changes of scene - all grand, all new yet how old!

            Did I not think you are already tired, I believe I would take you by the arm and in the twilight of the evening, say 10 o’clock P. M., for you must know the sun has only been down in its ocean bed but one hour for you must not forget our latitude - I say I would take you by the arm and walk out on the upper deck of the steamer as at the rate of say 12 miles an hour it is plowing along a few miles off shore with its prow pointed northward, you wrapped in your cloak and thickest shawl, I with my overcoat, for you must remember they are nearly dying from heat at home but we are trying to keep comfortably warm.  Now do you see that grand old mountain?  Yes, it is old if new to us.  It has stood there ever since you and I were yearlings and several years before.  Do you see the green fir trees reaching nearly to the water’s edge?  See them recede back and up, up like stepping stones, getting smaller and smaller and less and less and the grand old white headed mountain looks down upon us as complacently as it looked down upon the lone Indian in his canoe thousands of years ago. Now do you see that cataract?   It is white with foam, as white as is the cap of the mountain with snow.  Thus on we go from one grand scene to another, as it seems to us into the great unknown regions, and as the shades of evening fall deeper and deeper we conclude to awake from our reverie and find ourselves sweltering under the July sun of home.  I have one consolation; I got rid of one July heat and not in fancy either.

            No doubt you will ask me about Tacoma as it is there we hope to move if our health remains good and if nothing happens to prevent.  As I stated in the beginning of this letter, we will be delayed at least until July.

            Tacoma is a beautiful City of about 40,000.  My folks were enamored of the City and I think I can do as well there as here, and hope to do better.  The summers there are cool, and as it is about as much as I can do to get through the summer here and live, I feel as though it is worth while to make the change.  Time alone will have to decide that, however.

            Mount Rainier, called Mt. Tacoma there, stands up in full distinct view of Tacoma and you can see the snow as plainly as though one mile away, when I am told it is 67 miles.  In a clear morning the whole Cascade Range in fact, can be seen from Tacoma.

            There are many things I could tell you that cannot take up your time to read in a jumbling letter, so guess I will stop for I do not think you can make much sense out of what I have already written.

            Kind Regards to All

            A. Shumway.

 
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