The Explorer Who Died Before His Guidebook Was Printed
Vasco Wilson survived Alaska's Grand Canyon and a Siberian voyage, but typhoid killed him in Seattle just as his Yukon mining guide went to press.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
After struggling with typhoid fever for several weeks, Vasco Wilson died at 10 o'clock yesterday afternoon at the residence of H. A. Fredericks, Division Street and Renton Avenue, aged nearly 30 years. Mr. Wilson was apparently in the possession of his full strength when sickness seized him while engaged in the preparation of his guide to the Yukon River mines.
Mr. Wilson was born at Cherryfield, Me., in 1865, and his parents are both still living there. He was educated as an electrical engineer and developed exceptional ability in that profession. He was employed for several years on the Illinois Central Railroad as trainmaster, having charge of all the trains leaving Chicago, and during the World's Fair 1,100 trains a day were sent out under his direct supervision. He was married in October, 1889, to Miss Josephine South, of Chicago. In February, 1894, he came to this city, and left here on April 25 on a voyage of exploration in Alaska, with a view to preparing a guide to the Yukon River mines. He went to the headwaters, visited every mining camp along the great river and its tributaries, shot the Grand Canyon in a boat, and brought back about 200 photographs of the scenes he had visited. After making a month's trip to the Siberian coast on the United States revenue cutter Bear, he returned to this city on November 7. He immediately set about writing his illustrated guide to the Yukon River mines and directory of Juneau, which was almost completed when he was stricken down by typhoid fever, and is now being printed by the Calvert Company.
Mr. Wilson was a man of peculiarly simple and straightforward character, and his amiable disposition and charm of manner had endeared him to all who met him during his short residence in this city. While he performed some remarkable feats in his travels in Alaska, he always spoke modestly of them. Mr. Wilson was a member of the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows.
The funeral services will be held at 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon at the residence of H. A. Fredericks, Kenton Avenue and Division Street, Rev. D. C. Garrett officiating. The remains will be interred in Lake View Cemetery.
“While he performed some remarkable feats in his travels in Alaska, he always spoke modestly of them.”
Wilson's race to publish a Yukon guide before the gold rush made him a small prototype of Seattle's boom-time adventurers and authors. His grave in Lake View Cemetery is a reminder that the city's gateway-to-Alaska identity was built by people who often did not live to see the payoff.
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