On page 21 of her book, Cathy Spude states that U.S. Marshal John Shoup in Sitka appointed only one deputy to Dyea and Skagway, D. H. McInness, during the winter of 1897-98. The author then reasons that since McInness was stationed in Dyea and the only route to Skagway at the time was
across four miles of often turbulent water, McInness probably asked for
assistance from the vigilante organization in Skagway. Apparently the author forgot about the other deputy U.S. marshal assigned to Dyea and Skagway, James Mark Rowan. He was at first in Dyea with McInness but later established an office in Skagway and a home where he lived with his pregnant wife. He remained there until fatally shot in an ambush on January 31, 1898. Marshal Shoup in Sitka then appointed another deputy U.S. marshal to serve in Skagway, Sylvester S. Taylor. He remained stationed in Skagway until Shoup relieved him of duty in July 1898.
