Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1897-09-15
OUR ALASKA LETTER.
The Enterprising Reporter How
the News is Obtained.
New Discoveries Panning Out well--Next
Years Output Estimated at s8.OOO,O0O.
Especial Correspondence Herald & Tribune

Especial Correspondence Herald & Tribunel
TACOMA, WASH, Aug. 81, 1897
Many hardships are encountered in
cleaning the latest autentic news from
the Alaska goldfields. During the past
six days have been rolling and tumb.
ling about the Straits of Fuca. Sleep
could be had at bnt short snatches of
from five minutes to two hours. / have
not had my clothes off for five days
and meals have been served, when
served at all, In cramped quarters in
a Puget Sound tug boat with every :
thing tied fast and salty railing
around the table to keep the cups and
dishes from tumbling off and breaking.
Wednesday came to town for few
hours. and while waiting for steno-
grapher to take few dictations fell
sound asleep while sitting bolt upright
in chair. That was the day after the
Associated Press and the st. Louis
Globe Democrat "scooped" In an army
OF special correspondents on the cream
of the Klondike news. To appreciate
what under the circumstances, q
scoop" means it must be remem bered
that the great newspapers of the coun-
try had bright men all along the Straits
OF Fuca from Port Townsend to Cape
Fiattery. and from Townsend to Taco.
ma on Puget Sound. The San Fran
cisco Examiner and Ne " York Journal
Combination had at least fifteen
men detailed to get the Alaska news
via st. Michaels. One tug, the
Wanderer, had ell, of these men
aboard at one time The Wanderer,
together with the tus Sea Lion, the lat.
ter being one of the most speedy tugs
in the world, were detailed to watch
for the steomship Portland off Cape
flattery, at the entrance 10 the Straits
of Fuca, between the State of Washing
ton and the island OF Vancouver.
Well, the ball opened Tuesday n light,
August "a. Il had just written my last
klondike- letter and Immediately took
passage from Tacoma on the elegant
steamer City of Seattle for Port Town
send. arrived at the latter place at
$3.50 AM, and before the steamer had
made fast l was hurryipg about the
docks in quest of a tug. While l was
thus engaged, dapper little youth
tripped along and broke in with the
question:
Il say, Captain, where is your tug
going todayY"
ITO Whatcom for a ship
ITO Whatcom. is that near Cape
Flatteryp'
There followed roar of laughter
from the men on the dock and the
skippers, which was we'll warranted,
inasmuch as Whatcom is about 150
miles from Flattery, and as Townsend
is much nearer the cape than the port
to which the tug was bound. And yet,
there at half past four O'Clock of
cheerless morning, was a dapper little
man, a reporter for the San Francisco
Examiner, poking around trying to
find some means of communicating
with Cape Flattery where the vessels
from the far north are first sighted.
Sometimes they are not sighted there,
to the sorrows of dozen bright news
paper men, as will explain later on In
explaining how the Globe Democrat
was the only newspaper in the country
that got special correspondent aboard
the latest vessel from st. Michaels.
The dapper little reporter referred to
was enterprising but his knowledge of
geography was wretched-particularly
as regards Puget Sound points. A
minute or two after he had left the
dock l had made arrangements with
Captain Herbert F. Beecher to 20 down
the straits aboard the tug Discovery.
Captain BeecheI is son of the late
Henry Ward Beecher, but a man not
aware OF that fact would never know
-
1t from Captain Beecher himself. Even
one OF his nautical friends whom I af-
terwards met at sea did not know it.
Captain Beecher does not swear-rather
unusual among Puget Sound tugboat
masters-and, I should Judge, he is
what is called ''home man." for he
said, soon after we went to sea:
Il guess I'm one of the most unlucky
fellows afloat. have not been home
in fifteen days until last night. Then
l happened to drop In here because the
sea was so rough could not tow some
boom sticks. I let them 20 on the San
Juan Islands and dropped over here
hoping to be with my wife and babies
for few hours. l ran up the steps and
met my wife at the door. said II was
an III wind that blew nobody any good,
and she said, addressing woman l
had not seen before, Mrs. -, my
husband nearly dropped dead. Mrs.
Beecher could not entertain both of US,
so had to drop back aboard, leaving
Mrs. - usurping all my wife's atten.
tion.
just as we rounded Point Wilson and
Strengthened out for down the strait,
Beecher asked me II I could see the
light" on Dnngeness spit. Dungeness
is a little village on the shores Of the
Strait Of Fuca, on the American side.
A spit, consisting of narrow piece Of
sand bank, makes ont into the sea four