Located in Wrangell, the totem pole pictured on the cover of this 1926 booklet is one of the most famous in Alaska. Originally carved in 1890 and known as the Kicksetti or Kiksadi totem, it is described in detail in a 1915 book on Alaska totem poles (which is quoted on page four of today’s booklet). Sometime between 1925 and 1933, Alaska territorial governor George Parks sent a slightly smaller version of the pole to the Union Pacific Railroad, which displayed it next to the Cheyenne train station.
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In 1940, the Forest Service had Native American Civilian Conservation Corps workers restore it, which included repainting it. At that time, CCC workers carved a 6-1/2′ version of the pole and sent it to President Roosevelt.
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Another replica was erected in Juneau in 1947 and dedicated to the Soap Box Derby. Smaller models were also made, probably for tourists, one of which is in the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College. Similar souvenirs are still sold today. Totem poles were never expected to last for a hundred years, and the original of this one was replaced in 1987 with a replica.
Other than a centerfold map, most of this booklet consists of a series of photos that fill about 60 percent of each page together with text providing a travelogue of a trip from Vancouver to Skagway on the Prince George or Prince Rupert followed by a trip into the interior on the White Pass Route. The booklet notes that a two-day trip on the lake steamer Tutshi on Tagish Lake cost $35, including “berth and meals.” While that sounds reasonable today, it is about US$430 in today’s money.
The back of the booklet has deck plans for the steamships, information about CN’s Triangle Tour, and a few paragraphs about Jasper Lodge. The last page has a crude map of Canadian National Railways with a boast that CN transcontinental and other principal trains not only carry radios on board, but that CN itself owned ten radio stations from Moncton, New Brunswick to Vancouver, British Columbia.