The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1896-05-14
THURSDAY, MAY IA, 1896.
PLACER GOLD.
Mr.. Beers Interesting Letter on
Alaskan Resources.


To THE EDITOR Once more it is a
pleasure to me to send few lines to
your paper, so that my many friends,
and others who are interested in
Alaska, may hear from one who is on
the ground, what he thinks of the
country and what, in his opinion, are
the prospects it holds out to man
who wishes to better his financial con-
dition, and run away from the hard
times down below.
In the first place let it be clearly un-
derstood that this is no country for
any one but those who intend to go
mining, climate and soil forbidding
farming,and we already have as many
business men and professional men as
the country needs. I do not mean by
that, that no business or professional
men will succeed-on the contrary,
many no doubt would succeed, but
they would succeed in spite of lack
of opportunities; they would carve
out for themselves place and posi-
ton Notwithstanding adverse circum-
stances. What l wish understood is
that there are not lucrative positions
and splendid business stands await
ing and hungering for men to come
and occupy them. No, those who
come here, such as lawyers, doctors or
storekeepers, will find the ground al
ready fully taken up, and they will
Just have to turn and hustle and
scramble with the rest, and in the
long run the best man will come to
the top, according to the law of "the
survival of the fittest."
Juneau, for instance, which is the
only real business town in Alaska at
present, has five doctors, and that is
more than can make decent living
off small population of from one to
three thousand people. The number
varies as much as that in different sea-
sons. Then there are fourteen regu-
lar lawyers, and some others who are
lawyers, but are dickering in land and
mines. The hotels at present are do
ing a thriving business-that is, just
when a boat comes in, but in day or
SO most of these newcomers pass on
to the Yukon or Cooks Inlet. We
have three or four butchers who get
their meat on the boats from the
sound; it comes up alive and by the
quarter. The price of meat is about
the same as with you. l pay ten cents
for beefsteak. All kinds of vegetables
are brought up, and l saw green peas
and asparagus in the grocery, and l
dare say they we're not too dear, but
as l am running a bachelors den 1
have no use for such things. Clothing
is pretty high and good business is
done in miners suits and long mining
rubber boots. These boots the men
must have, for they have to stand in
the water all day to get the sand to
wash for gold.
Fuel is quite expensive here. The
wood is fir, spruce and hemlock, and
it costs FIVE dollars cord delivered.
You can cut as much as you like for
nothing, but as horses cannot be used
generally, it has to be shouldered out
from the mountains and canyons, and
so it Is we'll worth the money when
you get it, 1t is poor wood, however,
and keeps you firing up all the time.
We use soft coal here, and it costs
thirteen dollars ton delivered, and
as it burns out pretty fast, it is dear
burning also. 1t is also very dirty,
making much ashes and dust; l ex-
pect to hear considerable fault finding
when my wife comes to use it.
To give you some idea of the diff
culties we have to contend with, may
mention that for three or tour days
two or three Indians have been carry
ing all the lumber needed for a house.
They have shouldered it from the
house where l live, couple of hun
dred yards higher up the mountain.
The horses brought it as far as they
could and then men had to carry it
the balance of the road. All the lum-
Der and other things used to be car
ried in this manner until recently, but
matters are gradually improving.
Now just word about washing the
sand for gold and then l must close
this letter. l took a walk the other
day and ran across some men in a
creek. They had some plank troughs