Inscription:

“To Dad,
Well, here were are, sailing up the Taku Arm, in the wilderness of the Yukon, on the quaintest old stern-wheeler steam-boat you ever saw. The plumbing is the bowl and pitcher type, but it is all so much fun.”

The southern lakes became a popular tourist attraction for Inland Passage travelers who could afford an excursion into the interior.

The SS Tutshi was constructed in 1917 to accommodate an increasing number of tourists. Tourism declined during WWI but later rebounded and the sternwheeler was expanded three times in order to meet the demand for staterooms. In 1925 the Tutshi was converted from wood to oil to preserve the quiet during night-time stops.

The gardens and hospitality at Ben-My-Chree became a popular tourist destination for the Tutshi. WP & YR purchased and maintained Ben-My-Chree as a tourist destination after the owner died in 1930.

There was a piano on the freight deck and in 1952, two of the waiters played for dances. Canvas, stored in a roll and suspended from the ceiling, was dropped down and pulled tight as a dance floor.

The low population and construction of all-weather roads in the 1940s led to the end of Yukon’s paddlewheel era.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=248654