Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1900-07-27
NOME MUCH OVERDONE
IT is NO PLACE FOR THE POOR
MAN.

IT is NO PLACE FOR THE POOR
MAN.
Too Many People Looking for Nussets-Beach
is Poor. but Greeks Rich-The ProverbiaI
Fool and His Money"-Poor Mail Distribu-
ton Fear that Nome will be Very Unhealthy
from Want of Drainage and Sanitary Provis-
ions-Wages Low in the Mines, About One
Half of Last Year.
Ed. Lund writes the Oregonian,
from Nome, under date OF July lst,
that the familiar motto of two months
ago Nome or Bust" had then been
changed to "Home or Bust" and
that nearly everybody seemed to be as
anxious to get away as they had been
to get in to the swim northward. A
blessed thing, he declares it to be, that
only $500 miles of pleasant ocean
voyage on a commodious passenger
steamer separates them from "the
happy home they left behind" All
the pick-up-nuggets- on -the-beach fell
lows, the silver-spoon fellows, all the
good job -at-homc fellows and those
with delicate health are disappearing
fast, and it is to be hoped they will be
better and wiser people in the future
and appreciate home comforts and
good prospects more than they ever
did before. But this is nothing new !;
it is only repetition of the history of
every mining excitement since the
days of 49 or long before, and this
same thing will occur again at certain
periods long after the bones of the
present generation have moldered in
their graves. How many blasted
hopes, shattered fortunes. how much
suffering, disease and death have fol-
lowed in the tracks OF all these mad
rushes for gold history, will never re-
cord. These features are soon forgot
ten, but the bright side of the ques-
tion, the big strikes made, the sudden
rise to fortune and fame by the few,
the very few, lucky ones will stand
out prominently and tickle the ears
and Imagination of the adventurous OF
all classes and ages.
l have no doubt that a good many
of the disappointed home-comers will
publicly declare the Nome excitement
to be swindle and fake; probably
they have done so already. The
trouble is, that if there had been gold
in unlimited quantities in Snake and
Nome Rivers, and all their tributaries,
and if the beach had been twice as
rich as it was reputed to be, there
would still not have been enough to
satisfy all or to give all fair return
for their trouble and expense in COM
ing here. The fact is, that everybody
pinned too much faith on the beach,
to be able to take out a
good days wages with rocker any
where, but the beach 90 far has yield
ed little or nothing; it was worked
out last summer and fall. And then,
80 far as l can learn, it was not nearly
so rich as it was reputed to be. 1t
was only in certain few spots, that it
yielded rich, in other places only fair
days wages; but more generally it did
not pay at all. The storms of last
winter filled in all the holes that were
prospected last summer and fall, and
now people are going over the same
ground again, and the result is failure
for the majority. An immense lot of
machinery has been brought in for
working the beach, and the result of
these enterprises will not be known
for some time yet, as very few OF them
are in operation yet. At least, I have
not heard of any favor able results
from beach .sluices and dredgers SO
far. These implements will be oper-
ated at numerous points along the
beach from Goloinin Bay to Cape
York, so it is fair to presume that the
beach will be given a thorough test
this summer, and its fate settled for
ever.
To find the real and only reliable
source of the fame OF the Nome dis
trict, we must go out to the creeks, to
Snake and Nome Rivers. Here il
where the gold is. The mines on
some of the tributaries of these rivers,
especially Anvil Glacier, Dexter and
Snow Gulch, will, under favorable
conditions, astonish the world with
their enormous yield. Last year, lack
of water and lack of labor and materi.
ais greatly retarded the development
of many of the claims. Still Anvil
Greek, in two months time, yielded
$3.50, 600 last year, and it is fair esti'
mate to say that this amount will be
more than doubled this year. Anvil
Greek is now the Eldorado OF Western
Alaska; but experienced mining men
claim that other creeks only lack de-
velopment to make them equally
great gold producers.
Taking this in consideration, it il
not to be wondered at that at present
there is not employment for one'tenth
of the people here or, should say, fol
one-tenth of all the people who want
to work, for there are good many
who don't want to work. After this
place has been drained of all its super
tluous labor and all the mines start
up full blast, expect TO see some
l;volv <;r,ne horo WaOos in ths