| Summary: | On verso of image: Lake Atlin, B.C., Steamer TUTSHI Filed in British Columbia--Atlin Atlin was a busy gold mining community and the region was famous for its beautiful scenery. A tourist business developed, and soon became the most important aspect of the British Yukon Navigation Company's business in the southern lakes. The company replaced the Scotia and the Gleaner with two larger boats - the MV Tarahne and the SS Tutshi - in response to this growing business. In June 1917, BYN launched the steamer Tutshi. The new vessel was 167 feet/51 metres long and held 110 passengers. Unlike other BYN sternwheelers, the Tutshi was specifically built for lake travel. The boat had a larger deck area for passengers and a keel instead of a flat hull. The vessel transported some freight and mail, but it also offered the amenities of a cruise ship. There was an elegant dining room, with an electric fireplace - even a steam-powered ice-cream churn. In 1925 the Tutshi was converted to burn oil as well as wood. This eliminated the noise and disruption of stopping to re-supply at wood camps during the night. The boat continued to burn wood when starting up or standing by. In the fall, vessels were usually hauled out so they wouldn't be damaged by ice. In Carcross, however, there is a small area just this side of the railway bridge where the water seldom freezes. Usually the Tutshi was moored there all winter. Captain "Scotia Mac" McDonald was captain of the Tutshi for more than 30 years. He had years of experience in navigation and operations, and oversaw a crew of as many as 32, from the fireman who stoked the boiler to the pantryman who made the mayonnaise. By the 1920s the region's beautiful scenery, history and unspoiled wilderness had become world famous. Package tours brought tourists north to Skagway on cruise ships, then by train to Carcross. In its peak year, the steamer carried more than 9,000 passengers on excursions to Ben-My-Chree and Atlin. During both world wars, ocean cruises were reduced and tourism declined. In 1955 the Tutshi was hauled out of the water for the last time. [Source: Yukon Heritage web site, http://www.yukonheritage.com/Sign/02english/02sklondike/02sklondike105tutshi.html]
|
|---|