Martin Itjen's Skagway Street Car Tour

Martin Itjen's Skagway Street Car Tour. Choose A Story. , Gold to Silver (Lining) , On page 53, this is Carmack, the man that discovered the Klondike. But really, you know, it was his wife that discovered the Klondike. But when your wife does anything, the husband always gets the blame for it, and that was the way here. You see, this man, was married to an Indian woman. Well, anyone that lives with the Indians, they don't prospect. Chopping, hunting, fishing: that's the life to lead. They just had moved to a new camp; while the men folk fixed up the camp, his wife went down to the creek to get some water to cook with. Right when she went down for some water, there was a piece of bedrock bare. All the gravel had washed off, and right there in plain sight were nuggets the size of my watch chain and smaller, laying right there in plain sight. Instead that she brought back a bucket of water, she brought back a bucket of nuggets, and that started all the trouble., Just as soon as the railroad was finished to the top of the summit, they took over the freighting, and the packers and pack horses had to get out. This made our town a whole lot smaller... Just as soon as the miners quit coming out with their gold dust, well, the gamblers had to get out too. You see, folks, these are the causes why our town went down from 10,000 to 490. But every cloud has its silver lining. As long as I can keep the population down below 500, I don't have to pay any license as an undertaker. That's why I hope to be a doctor, so that I can keep a close tab on the incoming and regulate the outgoing accordingly. But in '39, every Tom, Dick, and Harry sent out for a wife. This has raised our population over 500, and now I will have to pay a license until I get things under control again., Soapy Smith , We are now at the cemetery. Right here, we have the grave of Jefferson R. Smith, Soapy Smith. He got his name "Soapy Smith" before he came up here in Colorado. He used to get out on a busy corner, take a box of soap, take one cake out, take the wrapper off, put a $5 bill around the soap, then the wrapper over the top. This was done in a hurry, and he called out to the crowd, "Who will give me $1 for this cake of soap?" He'd have his own men there, they'd come rushing through the crowd. They always got the $5.The rest of them got experience, which was worth more to them, really, than the $5. For any man that thinks he can get $5 for $1, there is something wrong with him, and the quicker he finds this out, the better it was for him., Soapy was a good-hearted fellow. It never was known that a man ever went to him for help that didn't get it. There was a man named Kearney in St. Louis, Tom Kearney. He died in '35. He wired Mrs. Pullen $50 to put up this last monument Now, when he sent that $50, he didn't say, "Have my name on there as the donor." No, gamblers don't do that; just like Soapy did when he gave $200 towards building a church. This is charity, which comes in very good after we leave here. So when we get over on the other side, and we see that some of these gamblers are playing the harp, and some of those that we think ought to play the harp shoveling coal, we must not be surprised., From Gambler to Ambassador , In those days, things were booming; the bright lights were aglow, The city found the gambler and the girls up on the row. I dug up my monthly fine the same as all the rest. Nothing was too good for me; I always bought the best. I patronized the tailor, for I always had the coin. I even had the porterhouse or a juicy tenderloin. The dance halls were flourishing, the girls were selling wine. They suckled Gerty's hide full and had to pay a fine., When the roughneck came to town and brought along his poke, [a] few turns at the roulette wheel would send him back home broke. He got something for his money when he went and bought a dance, [b]ut when he played the roulette wheel, he never had a chance. You really can't imagine how good it made me feel, [t]o win the sucker's money, then listen to him squeal. Conditions now are different; things then were not the same, [f]or the milk of human kindness did not figure in the game. So I had to change my system; I earn an honest living now. I drive the Skagway Streetcar for my daily chow., Every dog must have his day, as everybody knows, [s]o I cut out the porterhouse and put on working clothes. Soapy Smith and many more have long since gone to rest, But I, through honest dealings, with many friends am blessed. I'm an authorized Ford dealer, an undertaker, with all kinds of supplies, And hope to be a doctor before many years go by. But I'm quite well satisfied with the progress I have made, [f]or I have designed and built a streetcar for the Skagway tourist trade. But I'm still a dead game sport, and you'll never hear me squeal, But I never was the sucker; I always ran the wheel., Skagway Goes to Hollywood , All right folks, you know I've been to Hollywood to see Mae [West]. "Come up and see me sometime." You see, this was the invitation. So I put my streetcar on the boat on detail for a movie station. One old guy advised me if I was going to take a trip to have my Longhorn mustache shaved off my upper lip. He said, "If you go to Hollywood and want to see Mae West, you should patronize the manicurist and try to look your best." I told him I had worn this mustache almost all my life, and if I had it shaved off I'd surely lose my wife. If that is ever taken off, it will be done by force for the last of it, but surely cause proceedings for divorce,..., So I mushed out to the movie lot, dressed up in my best. I tipped the page to take my car, then to my star Mae West. I dated her up that very night, and we went out to dine in one of the swellest night clubs one could wish to find. ....I camped down there a couple of months. I don't regret my stay. I took in everything worthwhile and made a friend of Mae. ...She said to me, "Now Martin, if it wasn't for your wife, I'd take you and your mustache for the rest of your sweet life. I'm different from other movie girls. I took a solemn vow that I would never come between a husband and his spouse.", So I came back home to Skagway. When I got off the boat, I found to my amazement that I was darned near broke. Then I wandered on up home, was welcomed by the cat, and as the door was opened, I just throwed in my hat. I had a great vacation. I saw the movie side of life, but it can't compare with Skagway, my friends, home, and wife.