The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1900-07-19

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along the coast now and then rich
strike is made. At one place about 90
miles from here they took out $500, 0o0
! in a week; the week before we got
here a few were reaping the harvest
/ and working out the strike before the
news got around. The richest strike is
Anvil creek and they are taking out a
fabulous amount Of gold there right
along.
Well, we start out down the coast to-
morrow and, if fortune favors us, we
will make money; but not one man in
! twenty that comes to this land will
make his expenses. The cost of living
is frightful1y high, and many people
get here with no money, no outfit, only
a few provisions and no experience in
mining. They come here thinking if
they get to Nome their fortune is
made, but if they get back home be-
fore winter they will be mighty lucky.
Many people get here, endure a few
days of the hardships all must put up
with, and, as they say here, ''get cold
feet" and take the first boat back.
When we arrived here there were on
| 1y ten boats off the beach. Yesterday
| counted over forty-most of them
large steamers. All these boats come
loaded down with people and their
holds full Of freight Our boat had
ASP passengers and I have forgotten
how many thousand tons of freight.
/ The boats approach to within one
fourth of a mile from the shore and the
people and goods are taken off in small
boats and lighters that look like mud
scows. The 1ighterage people contract
to put the stuff above high tide mark
and there it is. Boxes and bales, cases
and crates, knocked down houses, ma
| chinery of all kinds-from a printing
/ outfit to a stamp mill for the mines
1un1 BET, barrels and barrels of whiskey
and articles too numerous too mention
all piled together in the greatest con-
fusion and extending for miles along
the shore. There are cases and boxes
of groceries enough to fill all the gro
Gerry stores in Kenosha clear up to the
ceiling, and hardware in proportion.
People have hard times getting their
goods and although each boats stuff is
all together many losses are reported.
We, on our boat, joined a mutual pro-
lection society and as the goods were
carried ashore, men called the names
of the owner, who would sieze the boxes
and rush them each to his particular
pile. In this way we got all our goods,
but we worked until two a. m. before
they were all ashore.
Considering the crowd there is fairly
good order kept and a man who minds
his own business and don't invite
trouble is in no danger. But they kill
a man every day some way or other.
/ Yesterdays tragedy consisted of an A.
e. Co. Waterman killing a man who
had pitched his tent on the company's
property and refused to move. The
Waterman removed him by force and
with a gang was moving the tent and
goods, when the man returned with
| gun and opened fire on the Waterman.
| The Waterman pulled his gun and
killed the man, not, however, before
being himself dangerously wounded.
Several disputes have arisen over
property, town lots, etc., and they usu-
|
other. One woman was shot by acct
dent, her husbands gun falling out of
his pocket and, going off, shot her
through the arm. was near enough
to hear ner scream and when the cause
was ascertained and doctors sent for,
| you should have heard the old miners
curse the tenderfoot for carrying a
gun, meaning revolver of course. A
sensible man goes unarmed and avoids
trouble.
We have our portable house set up on
little neck of land between the Snake
river and the sea and are quite com
| Portable, although a little cramped for
room in our little 7x7. Our launch is
tied to a stake not fifty feet from us
and is our most valued possession. We
have been offered four times what we
paid for it and if we succeed it will be
through our ability to move quickly
from one place to another in it. At the
same time it has caused us some
trouble. The Snake river is about like
| Pike creek, only it runs three miles an
hour and has a continually changing
bar across it's mouth.
The day we got our boat off the ship
there was quite sea running and we
| had hard work to get to the river, not
knowing just where it was, and having
to row as we had no gasoline for our
engine. We got to the mouth finally
and the surf was running so high we
couldn't see the bar. Our boat struck
it and both of us had to jump out and
lift the boat over, getting wet to the
waist Iii the operation. Kehlor didn't
mind this, however, as he had been
knocked overheard on the way up by
timber we were carrying changing po-
sition suddenly. We rowed up the
river to place near where we are To-
Gated now and tried to get dry-suc-
ceeding indifferently. We got our
baggage in the afternoon and that
night slept in the boat under a canvas
| covering we had made for the boat