Chapter One
Sally Ann Smelt leftthe hotel where she worked and headed to the home of Elizabeth Tandy, a matchmaker she’d been working with to facilitate her becoming a mail-order bride.She had one more night before she left for Alaska, and she was thrilled that her last day at the hotel was finally over.
As she hurried, she thought of the letter that had started her journey.Not the one from her friend, Maggie, but the one from the man she would marry.She’d read the letter so many times she’d memorized it, and she played the words over in her mind.
October 3, 1897
Yeti, Alaska Territory
Dear Miss,
I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits.Allow me to introduce myself.My name is Thomas W.Harlan, age thirty-two, born and raised in the hills of eastern Tennessee.For the past three years, I have made my home here in Alaska Territory, drawn first by the promise of gold and later by the honest labor and quiet beauty this country offers.
I am a man of plain habits and steady disposition.I came north in the spring of 1894, and after trying my hand at prospecting near Forty Mile, I took to work as a lumberjack in a small town near the Yukon River.The work is hard, but I do not mind it.It has given me the means to build a small cabin of my own, with a good stove and a clean bunk, and to put away a modest savings for the future.
I am five feet ten, with brown hair and fair skin that the cold has toughened some.I am strong in health, do not smoke nor drink, and attend church services every Sunday.I have no children and have never been wed.My folks have passed, and I have no close kin left, though I have made friends with some of the other lumberjacks.
The winters here are long and dark, but the summer light makes up for it.A woman who chooses to live here must be strong of heart, unafraid of snow and silence.But there is beauty too—the Northern Lights, the endless forests, the cry of a loon at dusk.I’ve learned to hunt, fish, and I’ve tried to keep a small garden in summer, but I haven’t yet gotten anything to grow.
I write to you with sincerity and purpose.Life is good, but it is also lonely.I do not seek a servant, nor merely a housekeeper, but a partner—to build a life with, to laugh with, and to share in both hardship and joy.I admire courage, kindness, and faith.If you should write back, I would be honored to learn about you, your hopes, and what you seek in this wide and changing world.
Until then, I remain,
Respectfully yours,
Thomas W.Harlan
Sally and Thomas—who preferred to be called Tom—had exchanged a total of four letters, and they had waited for the spring and the snow to melt to make travel easier.Sally was excited to begin her life with Thomas—Tom, she mentally corrected herself—and all but danced a jig as she hurried through the streets of Beckham, Massachusetts.
As she walked, she imagined her life in Alaska.She would wake early, as was her habit, and she would prepare breakfast for the two of them.Perhaps she would spend some time with her friends, Belle and Maggie, during the day, and in the afternoon, she would cook supper for Tom.She liked the idea of cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry for only one man.At the hotel, she cleaned and served scores of men, but in Alaska, life would be much different.
When she reached Elizabeth Tandy’s home, she knocked on the door and waited.Bernard Tandy came to the door and led her to Elizabeth’s office.
“Thank you, Bernard.Sally will be joining us for supper tonight.Has the guest room been prepared?”
“Yes, it has.Would you like tea?”
Elizabeth nodded.“I would, yes.”After Bernard left, Elizabeth turned to Sally.“You look excited.”
“I am!I always dreamed of going on a great adventure and settling down with a good man.I believe I’ll have both very soon,” Sally said.It was all she could do not to bounce as she spoke.
“We’ve already talked about the length of your journey.You’ll travel by train to Seattle, where you will stay with Harriett Farmer for a night.She will ensure you are on the steamboat to Alaska the following morning.Once you have reached Ketchikan, Alaska, you will spend one night before embarking on another ship to Skagway, Alaska Territory.Thomas will meet you there.”
Sally took a seat on the sofa.“I cannot wait to meet him.He’ll be the handsome prince I’ll spend my happily ever after with.”
Elizabeth smiled.“I hope it works out well for you.He seems excited to have you join him.Now, once you meet Thomas in Skagway, the two of you will walk together along a path until you reach Lake Bennett.From Lake Bennett, you’ll take a boat to a half-day’s walk from Yeti, Alaska Territory, where you will make your home with Thomas.”
“I wish I could leave tonight.I’ve been looking forward to this journey for months now.”
“The train won’t leave until morning, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me until then.”
Sally laughed.“This home is like a palace compared to what I’m used to.I don’t feel stuck at all—just excited about the journey.”
“I’m packing some crackers for your journey.Many people find themselves nauseated on the train and at sea.I pray you won’t need them.”
“If I do, then I do.I know my fairy-tale ending is waiting for me in Alaska, so I will bear it with a smile.”Sally stood, her nervous energy too much to contain.“I’m excited to see Belle and Maggie.They were a great comfort to me when I lost my mother and had to move to the hotel to work.I know they will be the same once I reach Yeti.”
“They’re excited to see you as well,” Elizabeth said.“Remember though, if things there turn sour for any reason, you are welcome to come back here, and you will always have a place with me.”
