Thomas Bay

Thomas Bay is in the southeast corner of Alaska. The Baird Glacier empties into Thomas Bay, which is located to the northeast of Petersburg, Alaska. There are two things that make Thomas Bay, Alaska, famous, and neither of them is positive. Thomas Bay is most often known as “The Bay of Death,” as a Tlingit Native community was wiped out there in 1750 by a large landslide. On that fateful day, more than five hundred persons perished in what was thereafter dubbed “The Bay of Death” or “Geey Nana.”

In Tlingit folklore, there are monsters called “kushtaka” that can change into either a man or an otter. White prospectors said they had seen these monsters. In 1900, Harry D. Colp published the first recorded account of the fabled devil creatures. Wrangell, Alaska, was home for Harry Colp and his three prospecting pals, Charlie, John, and Fred. According to the legend, Charlie learned from a native resident about a promising gold-mining location. In May of 1900, Charlie investigated the aboriginal man’s claim that gold could be found in the mountains. By the time he got back in June of 1900, he had lost his hat and coat, and all he had in his canoe was a big chunk of quartz.