The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-25
pa KLONDIKE TOWN.
THE GROWTH OF SkAGGuAY UN-
/ EQuALED IN WESTERN HISTORY.
Rows ~ House are Rapidly Built - A
sawmiii Is Hard at Work The Infant
City IL Well Laid Out - Blooms" Per-
manency Doubtful.

Nothing in the history of western
boom towns will compare with the
mushroom growth of Skagguay. Ben
Moore, the man who located the town
site, left for the sound on Aug. 10, at
which date there were his own log cab
in, the store and the clubhouse of the
Alaska and Northwest Trading COM
pany and a number of tents When he
returned, there were whole streets of
wooden dwellings, which the owners |
had themselves located and had paid a |
registry fee to United States Commits |
sioner Smith of So.
Skagguay is on tide fat with tide
running over 90 feet, and therefore has
a stretch of half mile below tide water
mark. All the passengers by big steam.
ers are taken off in rowboats, with a
pull of from one to two miles, accord
ing TO the state of the tide, when they
are carried on the backs of the boatmen
to comparatively dry land
Merchants in tents leave their goods
hanging outside all night. Pilgrims
leave their camps on the trail, with all
their belongings scattered about, yet but
few cases of pilfering have been heard
of and only one theft of money.
There does not appear to have been
any pilfering of goods left on the beach
from the steamers In short time
there will be no chance for this. The
two long piers are holly competing for
the honor of being first completed and
soon both will be in operation. That OF
the Skagguay Wharf company is already
piled to its ocean end, a length of over
| |. 500 feet in a curving line from the
northern TO the southern side of the
bay. thus blocking off all further COM
petition in this line This will be
| known commonly as the Juneau pier.
| its promoters being j. p. Jorgensen.
hardware merchant; f. Valentine, jew
eler, and e. d. Sylvester. editor of The
Searchlight, all of Juneau. The other
pier will be known as the Seattle dock,
as it is largely backed by capital from
that sound city This starts from the
( street south of Broadway and runs
straight to the completed dock under
the cliff. Both will have warehouses,
to which goods will be taken direct
from the ship, and there await the
proper claimants
Captain Mckinney the chairman of
| the vigilance committee. estimates that
there are now 100 buildings of wood
and that there would have been many
more but for the scarcity OF lumber.
There is a sawmill hard at work now,
lumber is coming in by every steamer.
and nearly every one having the pur-
pose to winter here is putting up hab-
itation of wood. Many are erecting
larger and more substantial buildings
than their needs require as a specula-
ton hoping to sell at large profit
when THE rush is renewed next spring
and when they once more pack up for
the Klondike.
A curious phase of the situation
among those who have decided to win
ter here is that nearly every one of them
believes he has Just the natural gifts
necessary to make a successful mer'
chant They are all putting their great
stakes into goods which they hope to
turn into money again with a large
profit by the spring and then sell out
an established business when the wealth
er permits them to leave for the gold
fields. Thus is the new city building
up. There are 3 saloons. a majority OF
their proprietors having plans for get
ting to the Klondike as soon as posi-
BILE, and there are between 300 and 4OC
merchants of whom the same thing may
be said.
Not only on Broadway. but along the
intersecting streets and among the ols
timbers on each side of the trail, are
these merchants tents and stores little
and big, and all sorts and conditions Of
men are interested in them.
The infant city is well laid out. ant
not only OH Broadway, but on most O.
the side streets on either side up t(
where the trail turns off TO the left int
, the timber there are new stores an6
, residences Among the timber also there
are many merchants. in tents or rough
shacks In the early history of the cit,
that is. a few weeks ago-boi!et
shiRs were publicly derided, as wer'
| also SIldNtu ANoN ohoiS ~ 800
barber shops and two or three sign
reading Troy Laundry "
Now. what are the prospects of Skag
gray's permanencyY The men who ar
building the wharfs and the thre
story hotel and other buildings evident
: ly believe in its future growth and pros
perity. yet there is nothing to give
. the slightest hope of permanency excep
! as an entrance to the gold regions. Tha
!, they do not at the present time posses
any such entrance that is at all what
. highway for the expected crowds in tn
spring should be is conceded.
But the intention now is to build
, wagon road along the Skagguay rive
y to the foot of the mountain. This viii
cost a great deal of money. but 1T viii
in all probability be carried out. TO
!, every one who has made an investmen
here understands the situation. 1t is es
J timated that from 100, 900 to $50, 90
gold seekers will flock to Alaska mex
spring, and that they will begin to com