The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-04-28
MEN WILL FIsHFoKFoRTUNEs.
(Continued From Far.t Pasel5

gan to be put down IN Seattle more than
a year latter. all doubts were dispelled
and a mad rush to reach the scene Of
the discoveries began at once.
The peculiar situation of the gold de-
posts at Cape Nome is explained by the
topography Of that portion Of the Alas
KAN region. The name properly applies
to a point projecting into the sea on the
west. coast 4Sof Northern Alaska 1t is
located on the northeast arm of Behring
sea, at the entrance of Norton sound and
is the southern promontory of "a large
peninsula extending Westward towards
Siberia between Kotzebue and Norton
sounds. Old sea captains know the place
we'll Long before the discovery OF, gold
there they We're accustomed, to refer to
Anvil Rock as one Of the peculiar feat
ures of the now famous point. Those who
are not familiar with this particular part
Of American geography will be surprised
to. learn that Nome City is 2,70O miles
from Seattle by the most direct route.
In other words the voyage from Seattle
to Nome is almost as long as that from
New York to Queenstown = l
The district that has been explored thus
far extends from the apex of the promon-
miles northwestward along the coast and
about twenty miles inland to the north
In the middle of this shore line, at the
mouth of Snake river, the town Of Nome
is located. &
+; The tundra slopes gently upward from
the beach to the base of the mountains,
where it reaches an elevation of one hum
dred and fifty to two hundred feet None
of tho Of to IL
sand feet high. Near the mountains the
gravel of the tundra is often coarse, car
rying powders of considerable size, but
along the beach they have been: reduced
to fine gravel and sand by wave action.
1t is In this reduced material that the
beach gold is found. ILL.,. ~ -. 4.
A range Of unnamed mountains extends
parallel with the coast, and the foot
hills Of these mountains run down to
within four or five miles Of the shore
line. Between the base of the mountains
and the sandy beach lies strip of land
known as the tundra-a Russian word
signifying a marshy plain or steppe It
is a dreary, desolate stretch. Not tree
or shrub grows ON it., and the only
vegetation it supports is the moss that
covers the marine gravel During the
summer months it is wet and Doggy. A
few ponds dot it's surface and the Snake,
Nome and Cripple rivers flow through it.
Back in the hills are numerous creeks,
and in the gulches of these creeks rich
gold deposits have been found. Numerous
claims have been staked on Anvil and
Glacier creeks, and prospecting is going
on along. most of the Others In fact,
these creeks were prospected before the
gold in the beach sands was discovered.
The first prospectors passed directly over
what may prove to be the richest placer
mines in the world, not thinking it worth
while to look for gold beneath the wave
washed stretch Of sand.
The first discovery. of gold in the
gulches back Of Cape Nome was made in
the summer Of 1898. 1t was a year later,
in July, 1899, that the first gold was
washed from the beach sands and the
discovery at that time was almost an
accident. according to the account of it
generally accepted in the mining country.
One of the miners, an old Klondiker.
was i'll with the scurvy, and so was I'm