The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-02-04

| has mad elD,bpV ehtn IH WV liiW Nv fh'''
and Snow ,recks, Hut the men Who have sought
wealth with comparatively little labor have been
e,,,ng their attention 10 the beach plncers. 1t
will take money aud management To get the
rrh.s from the bnck country at Cspe Nom"
hccau~. water cannot I've got W the mines IN th'
his aud rsvlnes without the use ~ fumes and
bitches, ard the wood for the fumes and dkeS
must be brough, to the gold fields on steamers
II wall take n little fortune to get u nber l." I ar"
Nome fur fumes. and YOU may imagine what
cno5muus Prices must b" paid for day labor w.
construct bitches IN a country where every man
has u chance 10 do mining on his own account
and make from $40 To $50 a day, Lucky Bald
win ~ San Fra nciscO IL now organizing A com
pany with a paid up capital Of $3.50 900 to pros
ccutc gold mining IN IN. hills and gulchcs about
Nome. and | hear ut u dozen other com panies
tina, are forming On the Pacific coast and in
Denver for like projects II the Lodges from which
these plac.rs have been fed year after year are
ever found In Alaska, 1t will he the most stu
%pendous gold discovery ever known. The ledses
| must be about AS nearly pure gold A. any that
can ever be found, and wouldn't be surprised
II the discovery Of such lodges would set the fnan-
ciers Of the world to wondering whether gold was
not gong Ia b. demonetiked.
VIVA, kind Il community Is Nome"
4, has grown AZ fast rs Dawson, and,
bocause It is 80 much easier Of access from the
outside world from the middle Of April to October,
II will grow faster and h. a finer town, When
reached Nome last August the town had be
tween $500 and 1000 men, and about 1000
women. Before | left there were more than ., 200
men in Nomc, The town IL at the mouth Of Snake
River, in the elbow II a wide turn in the cCast
! line. Shipping cannot reach the shore, and
everybody and everything that arrives al the
town on \ ship must b. carried to shore on lighters.
The town has grown up right On the beach. and
last summer II was an extraordinary sight 10 see
several thousand men strung out in broken lines
along the beach as far as the eye could reach,
all working day after day as hard a. they could
at shONeling sand into the rockers and getting
out the golden particles Day and night the
work went on, for IN summer the nights in the
Arctics are almost a. light as in the daytime
Nome is an organized city, with a Mayor and
City Council The City Marshal, ! believe, got
500 a month salary when ! was there, and he
was threatening to quit the job unless he got
$500 The city is very quiet and unusually hon
est, fer a new gold camp Compared with cripple
Creek and Virginia city in their early days, Nome
is q Puritanical. Sabbath observing town
Everyone is too busy there to scheme deylltry,
aud too tired from gold washing to raise much
zane when night comes, All these Arctic min
ing camps ARE different from any We ever knew
IN the States. The climate is too sever, the
necessity for providing for fIlgh,fully cold weather
is too apparent Ia permit II eGsc-taking and de
bauchery like that We have known in all Western
god and silver camps \ small company OF
lnlted States soldiers in charge Of Capt Craig
are stationed near Nome, and they have KEEP, in
check any turbulent spirits among Nome's popL.
lation The winding, lAnalike streets Of Nome
arr fanked by rudr and hasuly-cunstructed build.
lugs II rough pine boards, canvass houses,
dirty, weather. beaten tents, and cabins built
in the most primitive way, with rusty
h-l''rc stove. p pes sticking at all angles through
side walls and roofs. \ score of cheap saloons,
seven gambling houses, three dance halls and
q very crude apology for a hotel are he prlnci.
pal structures in Nome. liut you must remcm.
Der that there was not even a tent there last Feb,
ruarv. In a year more Nome will have, without
doubt a population Of 1900
Prices for everything run high in Nome. Coal
was eagerly bought there last October for SO
a ton. and II sold for SIS there even when nayi.
CATION was open. Rubber boots, absolutely neces-
! sary up there. sell for SIS a pair, common shovels
for $40; krre7onc oil for So a gallon. and flannel
shirts that ran b. bought FIR 81. 20 ~snywhrrr
in the States bring s. in Nome. The prices
for provisions vary with the seasons every where
in Alaska Las, summer when navigation was
! open ! PAID 81. 80 for five pounds 81 sugar. andnow
that Nome is cut of from the outside world the
pr,e is s. for five pounds. Fresh beef and
pork sell Tor 81 and sl.60 a pound: Goldfish for
20 cents a pound -four il 81 cents Il pound in
summer and so cents a pound in winter, candles
sell Tor 90 cents each, oatmeal. that may h. pretty
mustv, sells for 80 cents a pound, and twelve
pound hams, that may be several years old, sell
! like hotcakes at Nome for $40 and Sl2 each Packed
eggs ara a scarce article AT \ ome. and | have seen
them sell for % cents each. Lumber ~ scarce,
for there is no timber within hundreds Of miles
It has sold Tor $50 a thousand feet, and could moi
b. had often at that price. Regular meals,
consisting Of three ur four substantial article
Of diet and ~" made Of dried apples could b. had
AT from 81 tp 50. aud by ordering fancy dishes
il was very easy To- make a meal cost $50 \ bod
~ a tent without blankets costs 81 a night
or SO If blankets are furnished. Beer il sold a
80 cents a glass. Everybody seems to have
sufficient, gold dust to keep him in food. and there
Is little suffering because of hunger. Really
sales are made every day. \ lot back from tho
beach some dls,anca costs $500. and a lot with q
l2Nli shanty on II l. worth Sl,jOO " So 900,
according t. location, TN the main street OF NOm,
rough board buildings have brought 81, 800 auC
upward The large majority of people live n
tents The demand for houses WAS such tina
several 81 the \ ukon River steamer are mooreC
IN nelghb ring creeks and used a. lodging houses,
After mining, gambling Is the commences
OCCUPATION in Nome, Gamblers. sharps. and
men who 1--we ON ther wits have nocked 10 NunIC
from juneau. Skagwny, Dawson, Circle City.
and from cites Of the Pacific Coast States, The
Bertha brought about two hundred card SHARPE
~ Nome on one trip. Adam Mason, who use,
t. be a political IN Philadelphia, and who has
run a dance hall in Dawson for two years, has
the largest saloon and gambling place in Nome
lie pays 500 n month Tor rent for the lot upo.
which he has put a board structure tina
cost about 50, 900 And he does a land
iii e, business, have sean heaps Of gold dusl
on tn" marble slabs In Mason's place, that mus
have been worth upward Of 5000, and there was
probably as much more gold in the walrus hide
IT the fare and roulette games there. The games
run IN eight hour shifts day and night right along
all the tine. Faro hips sell for - cents each. anc
there are some worth So a piece. The miner VIII,
sit. down H. try his luck for u few hours at tbs
faro W roulette tables hands To the faro cashier
= nas Of gold dust, aud when the cashier
ha, weighed II to a penny weight and given 4
receipt Tor the bullion, the gambling miner pro
c,rIs H. draw chips to the amount ol the value