The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-15

country, many of them stranded here,
went over to Nome and either staked
such claims as they could get, or secured
work as they could find it. Much COM
plant was made that claims had been
taken by persons holding powers Of at
torney, their principals not being present
in person, and in June the Cape Nome
district had become so unpopular that
reports were circulating to the effect that
the whole thing was a fake" foisted on
the public by the transportation comp1-
MES to improve their business.
Whatever of truth there may have been
In these stories is now of small import,
for In June or early July, some one of
the stranded miners tenting on the beach,
as the only unclaimed space, accidentally
discovered gold in the sand at his feet.
He told his story quickly among his
stranded friends, and soon all the unem-
ployed We're al work on the beach with
any and all kinds Of tools that would
dig. Their success was such that within
a few days men who had work on
claims along the creek at $40 day and
board threw up their jobs and took to
the beach, expecting to earn, and actual
~ earning III many instances, DIS Ilucn IN
an hour as they had earned in a day.
Never had such easy mining been heard
Of, never had it been found so unex-
pectedly and so opportunity, and it was
not long before everything else was de-
serted for the seashore and even wo-
men and boys of 10 or y years were to be
found as busy in the sand as the men
were.
Since the discovery the number of
beach combers," as they are called, has
steadily increased, and today is presented
the strange sight of hundreds of miners
Of both sexes and all ages and condi-
lions strung out along the beach for a
dozen miles or more.
For miles to the west of Cape Nome the
beach runs straight away in strip of
ide land varying from forty to sixty
feet in width between high and low water
mark, extending up to the tundra" CT
black alluvial soil, which is from three
TO five feet higher than the beach proper.
All Of this tundra, ard all the territory
along the creeks and rivers east and west
for thirty or forty miles and back into
the mountains for ten or twelve miles had
been staked, but on the long strip of tide
lands no man had a better claim than
another or could have, under the tide
land laws, and here the grand army of
gold seekers camped and in very short
order had converted the barren strand
into a site of tremendous and enthusiastic
Industry. At the same time business OF
all kinds began to respond to the boon
from the beach, and the usual collection
Of gambling hells, saloons and dance
halls went into operation. At present i
is estimated that 1000 to 1,200 miners are
at work on the beach, extending west fol
twenty miles All these work with rock
ers, and they occupy just as much ter
rItCry to the man or group as can work
1t 1t is not unusual for one small square
biz of beach to pan out $40 to SIS an hour
but, of course, the space is soon exhaust
ed and the lucky digger must move tt
another sDot.
This beach deposit of gold Is as We
an unsolved problem. BY some it is claim
ed that the gold in the sand which i!
entirely dust" has been washed on
from the tundra by the waves at higf
tide and deposited through hundreds O.
years in the sand. 1t is found here nov
from two to five feet below the surface IL
the drift, and so plentiful that the mine
who does not find 1t in paying quantitie
is the exception. On the other hand
there are some who claim that the golC
is washed in from the sea, and that tn
real field or mother lode" so to speak
IS to be reached and developed by dredg
ing There may be something in thi
theory, but the other seems to be tn
more tenable.
The beach to the east Of Cape Nom
makes no such gold showing as does th
beach to the west, owing to the existenc
of a long reach of water or Lagoon,
which lies a short distance back from
the sea and parallel with 1t. Gold deposit
along the creeks in the interior are quit
as rich in one direction as the other
The headquarters of the Cape Nom
territory is Anvil City-so named fror
the shape of the mountain above tia
the mouth of Snake river, although Nom
City is the postof1ce. While the city pos
sesses a number of frame houses, tent!
are the prevailing shelter, and prices 70
commodities are pretty much as they ar
in all mining towns. Notwithstandin
this is one Of the most accessible mimi
towns on earth, as ships from any par
of the. world may come up to It's yer
doors, making due allowances for no har
Dor and much delay between ship an
shore in bad weather. Meals are froI