Our Alaska Vacation: Cruising - Day Three

Day Three - Skagway: A place exists in Alaska where the past lives on, where the cries of "gold in the Yukon" still echo from steep canyon walls, where the sounds of barroom pianos and boomtown crowds ring out in the night. A place where the romance and excitement of yesteryear linger around every street corner, every bend in the trail. That place is Skagway!

Our shore excursion is a walking tour called "Ghosts and Good Time Girls". Our "madam" tour guide stopped at various points of interest to tell us stories of hauntings and gold rush days:

.Stopping traffic:

.A building used by "good time girls" once they scored a John:

.Building covered with driftwood:

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The Red Onion Saloon, now a National Historic Building, was Skagway's most exclusive bordello. Built in 1897 with planks cut by Capt. William Moore, the founder of Skagway, the Red Onion Saloon opened for business in 1898, serving alcohol on the first floor while the upper floor satisfied more than the prospector's thirst. The brothel consisted of ten tiny cubicles, called cribs, each ten foot by ten foot with three exits, one into the hallway, and one into each of the ajoining rooms. Each room also had a hole in the floor which connected to the cash register in the bar by means of a copper tube.In order to keep track of which girls were busy, the bartender kept ten dolls on the back bar, one for each of the girls in each of the rooms. When a girl was with a customer, her doll was laid on its back. When she sent her money down the tube, the doll was returned to the upright position signaling to the waiting prospectors that she was ready for business. The bartender safeguarded the girl's earnings, usually $5.00, preferably in gold, while in the crawl space between the floors, loose floorboards hid nuggets and private tips.