New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-08-05
J THE BOOM AT NOME.
.rrFrT OF INITIATION MARKED-vAIUF
OF BEACH CLAIMS.

okfn 20 the famous palace OF Aladdin which
y :. crested 81 c night. only 81 the present case
.-e is no night there being rwenty-four hours Of
ssrseht But while one sleeps q city is being
-, Every twenty-tour hours sees a house begun
| - completed. ready for occupancy
Nsue CITY existed in the year 1888 as a Mace Of
vsraI hundred people. nearly al OF whom lived IN
IS which lined q stretch OF some two r,nas
.lgzg the shore OF Behring Sea few wooden
slsiugs were erected that year and cons,dera hla
hrstness was done with the people working on the
hsseh b.; TIE real Nome City cid not begin 20
rs, ua;il The middle CT June 1900 At that time tn,
s-st boats carrying sufficient supplies OF lumber
s7d other building material began TO arrive Then
Ire creation o. real city was the order OF the
ray
Fror June 70 July ever one hundred sailing
and steam craft arrived At Nome. all carrying gold
sskers II addition 70 thousands OF tons OF freight
a Few figures viii give an idea q the tremendous
amount sno value OF the material brought here
Nne million feet Of lumber q 600 tons OF coal "a
ep g worth O. machinery. g 900 900 worth OF mo
zso-s a1d supplies. 200 head q horses and mules
and 5000 people arrived build this new CITY.
re first result o. this tremendous boom was The
-.ss II rsaI estate values The highest price naf5
cor q Io1 vas E5ooo for choice corner on the
-natu thoruughtare, which IS dguiaed BY the name
al Fronr-st Real estate speculation ran riot for
rr0 weeks. Many lots changed owners for the
suu Of $1,000. and residence property was quoted AZ
g o. snd $3.50 6 lot. The rernarza bic feature o4
ms speculation vas that no man could give berre-
rzar q 9uir claim deed 70 mis- property Little #
arv attempt had been made properly 10 record
properly and transfers and Conveyances took place
tv hundreds and are not on record That rnosr
COMMON feature - al mining camps and new town
sites. claim jumping. was so common that one man
r-l5 n had jumped rVventy-three lots in one
day and each IN turn had been Jumped BY some
other e1-erprlstng rascal When man bought e
choice business location ne was not sure OF getting
what he bzr-al1ed for. With the decline Of the
and these same lots can be bought at one-tenth
the- boom values.
MAGIC GROWTH OF BUILDINGS
win me speculation in real estate went the
building af neE structures. Several hundred store
saloon horei and restaurant buildings were erected
within weeks, and still building goes on. Many
are simple ana Unpretentious IN appearance but
Frc1r-st lined with TWO and three story build
irzs having plate glass windows hardwood doors
with brass trimmings, and interior arrangements
which surprising IN their neat and tasty ap-
peara1ce.
Frog1 The first the great effort was TO get estab-
Ished II business n order 70 catch the floating
money brought into camp by the early arrivals.
II this effort The saloons and gambling houses
were generally successful About thirty Joints
we're open for business and during the boom they
gathered Il all the small change and floating money
II ne camp But when that was once IN their
Grasp tire business fell Of, and now with sixty or
nors additional saloons and gambling houses hard
y Joint IN Is making money. IN fact
many have sold their outfits al greatly reduced
prices and either gone back the States or struck
out Tor some new mining camp.
The nen who came 70 engage Fl legitimate bust
1ess were not 1sr behind They AZ once opened Up
their stocks Of groceries drygoods drugs shoes and
mining outfits IN tents, pending the completion Of
--e buildings they we're 70 occupy During the boom
many q thern made enormous SUITS OF money sell
:ns their goods at 800 and go per cent profit They
are row established in good buildings. but are
selling their goods al much reduced rates. Along
with these came Lhe hotel lodging house and res
1Eura-1 keepers Many women were among those
% engage n that business. Few made any attempt
erect permanent buildings. A floor. q skeleton
1-a1e covered with canvas and partitioned on with
dark cloth Is all that the average hotel consists
o. = few have separate apartments with two
cots blankets and pillows; many more
ranged with hunks IN tiers Of three and four with
wire springs, others simply large rooms with
cots occupying every available space The price
Ct 2 COT bunk was. and IS Yet, s., the ledger
70 furnish his own blankets nile the better class
charge g z1G furnish the blankets. There are two
large notes.-the Cladin, erected last year and the
largest building II the city and the 81. Lawrence
JUST completed They furnish beds with sheets and
pillows q great luxury in this country for which
rhev charge - day.
HIGH PRICES FOR FOOD.
Th5 -sz-auranrs are as numerous as cigar stores
81 q -arge city. An estimate OF i've hundred is
1ot tar wrong Some are sualI-only tent where
perhaps four people can eat al once. Others
-arze The Royal Gaze having accommodations for
ere hundred people. but large or small. clean or
dirty WIZ good cooking or 10 cooking the prices
re same a breakfast q coffee and oatmeal
IS 20 cents hor cakes are . cents and q sandwich
ire same Orler prices are n proportion 70 these.
The price Of rentaI az good store building is
So 70 $50 a month Offices for professional men
So Up $50 g month. A small cigar stand at
the front q saloon or lodging house IS $50 Desk
room II once costs S25 70 $50 Lots leased
rn
Wages are also higa Walters earn 81 % q day and
-her board Cooks get so day and board. Car
= al 80 - - se-Ly4S1 O 80
Ez-Ez- TIE -zrge companies board taeir men an6
C0--. although this price is exceptional, most
of ne teams getting s. an hour An exprezsrlar
gels s. Cor carrying a trunk two blocks.
bought q me vel companies There are three OF
L1ree gallons All sorts Of vehicles are Used 10
VHieh rolls over The ground, drawn by 4 horse
- W. = eye 70 business ana aoFeTllslng nsE a
- -aIfstls tNerLy cans 81 WdteF allL ul1~A -
string ~ dogs These dog teams are common On
re T-5f.~ - ,y.,-s .---ov-a alorgi il a.
nosr as common here fl was in the Iklo1di@e.
GREAT BOOM SHORT LIVED.
The great Boom lasted about two weeks. During
That tine f. cost z man money every tine ne turned
around. 4 gazs q water. boiled and cooled. VAS
q cents. The enormous imitation Of prices came 10
sudden ending The ready money II The pockets
G Ire g1iG seekers came a end. and something
nae tc break In consequence The beach and sur
rounding country were rapidly flied with small
Raiders and men with stocks Of goods which they
had hoped 70 sell 81 prices rivaling the early Klon-
elEe- hen they found IhaJ rents and lots were 50
hg1 they ser their goods out in tents and are now
selling them ar prices little IE advance Of Seattle
arc san Francisco
TIE main street. of Nome begins al Snake River.
&c. o. the EHe whore the beach meets me t4l4C--
sssll one Esudred and city feet from me sea line
fssea more crooked man an olatime Boston stree