The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-21
RAMPANT CITY, ON. THE YUKON

sessions. But Circle City, which is the
scene of Alaska's first gold discovery,
has been almost abandoned, while Ram
part, which was established by 400 peo-
pie in the fall of 1897, had 1900 inha5i-
tants in the spring of 1899. Mr.. Sturges
expects to find twice as many people
there when he gets back in September
Another urgent need of the people
along the Yukon, from Birch Creek
scene of the first finds-clear down to He
ring sea, is better mail facilities. In the
open season, of course, mail comes by
ocean steamer from Seattle to st.
Michael's, and then by light draft yes
sells up to Rampant and beyond. But
for eight months of each year it Is i'm
possible to come up the river. The ice
begins to run about the middle Of Sep
TENDER, and from then on to May that
whole country, with its $4,000 people, is
practically shut off from the rest of the
world. There IS winter mail route up
by Skaguay, across Canadian territory
past Canadian forts and sediments, and
so to Dawson, and thence on-when oc-
casion serves-to Circle City and Ram
part. But no papers can be expected
in that country by that route. The gov
eminent paid $4,000 last year for the
handling of Alaska mail, yet Rampant
got none from October to April. But
the government is probably moving with
reasonable dispatch in this matter
A party from the engineers corps was
sent up the Copper river from the Gulf
of Alaska, which washes the peninsula on
the south. The purpose is to cross the
divide to the head waters of Tanana
river, and so on down to the Yukon, at
the junction with which mail carriers
will be within seventy-five miles of Ram
part. Another route will be up the Cop
per river and across another divide to
the waters of Birch creek, by which Cir
Gle City and all the settlements along
there near the boundary line can be
reached. The advantage will be the es-
Establishment of a route altogether over
United States territory.
HOW CANADIAN CARRIERS ACT.
BY the Canadian route all the carriers
rush mail for subjects of her Britannia
majesty, and when they have time they
dig up the letters and parcels they have
sidetracked at the various stations and
push them along. If it is late-wen, those
Canadian carriers seem to think Amer
leans can console themselves with the
thought that it is better late than never.
Rampant City is the largest town north
of the Sixty-second parallel of latitude.
1t is the center of q territory reaching
1,50O miles along the Yukon-that artery
of the whole Alaskan peninsula-in which
ers may be tried nor who can adjudicate
disputes between citizens, by means of
whom the payment Of debts may be COM
PEELED, nor any of the legal business of
growing community may be transacted.
When Rampant was young the men
there got together and elected five trus-
tees. They chose marshal and pre-
served order, but there was no levying
or collecting of taxes for public improve
ment There was no attempt to estab-
lish courts, nor to decide disputes, ex-
cepting by the primitive method of ad-
vising and exercising a sort of moral
suasion. 1t was a matter of personal
honor. Men paid their debts If they had
the money, and If they did not have 1t
they worked hard to get it. And the
creditor waited patiently, fearing moth
ing.
But when the soldiers came the trus-
tees shook off the honors of office and
put themselves and all their interests
into the keeping Of the army That was
all very WELL as far as 1t went. But
the soldiers can do no moro than pre-
serve order. and that is only one Of the
requirements of Rampant and the Yukon
country. They want judge.