The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-07-23

the First Place Where the Fellows Can
Have Taken Out Of Single Psn-It has
No Government and Needs None-Ex-
element There Is Now Very Great, OF
Course.
Seattle, Wash. July Pat present
p-ooaly the busiest and most important
town with in United States territory is
juneau. Alaska-the metropolis" OF
that far away northwestern possession
of Uncle Sam's-for it is the starting
point aid general supply place for the
great Yukon placer gold fields.
The Klondyke portion of the Yukon
country. over which there is 50 much
excitement at present. is s7s miles from
Juneau. But 67s miles is a short d.s-
lance in Alaska, and the great Klondyke
gold fields are 200 miles nearer civiliza-
ton than the famous Circle City dig
gings of the Yukon.
The excitement in other parts IF the
country is nothing compared with that
in Juneau. Every steamer from Seattle
brings from the Pacific coast and from
the east scores of miners for the Yukon.
Every day since March 1 Juneau mer-
chants nave been Quitting these men
for the Yukon. About the middle CT
March the rush was so great that the
merchants ran out of supplies. sucn as
sleds, picks, shovels, etc.
from the head OF navigation az Dyea,
bringing miners out from the Yukon,
and sometimes bringing the small car
rier. has filled the town with fresh ex-
element by the wonderful stories from
the klondyke. Around the hotels, n
the oarrooms and playhouses the men
gather and read letters from their
friends in the Yukon. and discuss excit-
edly the great finds" that are made.
Doubtless today Juneaus 1000 inhabi-
tants are at fever heat Of excitement
over these latest discoveries, and the
merchants are doing a tremendous bus
mess.
Juneau is a typical mining town in
many ways, and in some ways 4 is not
judging l. from our usual ideas ard
knowledge OF western mining towns in
the states. Ii is strictly a mining town.
but it hasn't so much Of the wild and
wooIly' and generally lawless elements
that enc is accustomed to think as typi-
cal oe mining towns.
1t $ situated on Gastineau channel,
right up against Juneau peak of the
main land. and is abou. 1 900 miles from
Seattle. The steamers from Seattle TO
Juneau are large and quite comfortable,
and make the trip in four days. They
run every five days from March ! to Oc-
tooer 1. and every fifteen days the rest
IF the year
Juneau is very wide-awake town.
No one need ever fear of being depriv-
ed OF comforts when there, no matter
what time ne. may see # 70 visit the
place. There are five hotels in the
place, all pretty good and you can get
the best they have for $3.50 day This
always means electric light, for the town
has f3e electric light plant. and in
SINE instances, il means steam heat In
your room.
There are only two lathed and plas-
tered houses in the town. But all the
houses are comfortable, and look as
neat and pretty in most instances as
our New England frame houses in the
country villages. Over the smooth
shaething OF the inside walls OF the
houses, tar paper is put. This keeps
out the cold. Then over this is put the
wall paper. But for the fact that you
can hear all the conversation in the
next room. you would not know that
the house was upholstered.
There are only five or six brick ohm
news in town-bricks are a luxury up
pipes and terra Gotta flues
are very neat and serviceable. There is
rot a brick or stone house in the
place.
The streets are all pretty well paved
with wood. The water power plant and
the fire department are good, and the
electric light plant is very complies.
There is good telephone exchange. too,
and one can telephone all around Ju>
neau and across Gastineau channel to
Douglas City or Douglas island. This
Douglas City. by the way, is a place OF
about 500 people.
-lpSpItdI eRCepllOndlly
good. II accommodates sixty patients,
and is conducted by the Catholic sisters
Of st. Ann. Its head surgeon is a man
Of much skill. Usually the men work
ing in the various mines anywhere with
in 100 miles OF Juneau pay a fee to the
hospital OF 81 per month, and this en-
titles them 70 free treatment any time
thew are III or disabled.
There are five churches in the town.
Episcopal, Roman Catholic. Presbyte-
Ran. G-aeco-Russian and the Presbyte-
ran mission. and in addition there is an
religious body which vor-
ships in town han. Tfhe general sen
,inent Of the town is not deeply religi-
Gus, however. There are thirty saloons,
which seem to do a pretty good bust
ness.
Men drink great deal and gamble
great deal. There is nothing else for
amusement. they say, but they do II in
i me:ter-of-fact way. as though it were
L part OF a daily. necessary routine.
hey lose their money good-naturedly.
10 not often get drunk enough 20 be
1issgreeable. work hard. pay their bills
and generally seem happy.
There is no municipal government:
whatever in Juneau. or in any Alaska
own. for that matter. Juneau runs IL
self. The law is CARED out by United
States deputy marshais and district
Judges. The FIRE department is volun-
.eer. Tie water department and cleo
ric Egh; plant are run By private CAPT (.
al II a street needs repairing those /
VINO live on il chip in AMI have the
work dome or help 20 do L. There are
u policemen. And there are To town
except those empowered by
private fms. Yet there is not a more
,rieriv Mace IN the United States