The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1900-07-20
CAPE NOME T0A MINER
Brooklyn Mans Estimate of the
New FL Dorado.
FEW CHANCES ON THE GOLD BEACH

Gustave RudeIph says It Does Not
Pay to Work the Sand the second
Time-Day Wages Best That Can
BE made ON Outlying Tundra or
swamp.
Gustave Rudolph, whose home is In
Brooklyn, N. Y, arrived in Chicago re-
Gently from Cape Nome, the much ex-
plotted poor mans goldfleld of the far
north. Mr.. Rudolph is restaurateur
by profession, but his Cape Nome bid
for fortune is not his first attempt to
make money quickly, for he has made
several trips to the Black Hills and
has investigated the claims or the
Klondike to be the fortune hunters
paradise, says the Chicago Inter Ocean.
Therefore he did not go to the last
talked OF FL Dorado a ''green hand"
His story of his last experience in the
way of gold hunting follows:
~ left Cape Nome June 20 and ar
rived at Seattle July 1. / have staid
over here to see a little of your city.
On my trip north left Seattle May %
on the steamer San Bias. and arrived
at Cape Nome juno II, and remained
at the latter place eight days alto
gether. The cause Of my brief stay
there was the spraining of my leg 50
severely as to render my further stay
there useless and expensive. The situ-
alton at Cape Nome, so far as i was
able to observe II, is this: There were
there when / left between $4,000 and
10000 people-that is, at Cape Nome
and up and down the beach from that
point. / and my partner sank several
holes. Judging from this personal ex-
| perienee and from seeing others work
ing along the beach for miles, both up
| and down the shore from Cape Nome,
| I found that the best the miners were
doing was the making of from $1.50 to
| 81 day, and that only in places which
had not previously been worked But
It appeared to me that most of the
beach had already been thoroughly
worked over.
"Now, we have been led to believe by
reports that after each gale the beach
would be found to have a fresh deposit
of gold dust mingled with the sand,
but this has been found to be not the
case. and it has been demonstrated by
actual work that where the beach has
been once worked out It has been
worked out for good-that is, for lon
ger time than any miner can afford to
wait for its becoming again auriferouS
My partner. after the spraining of my
leg. went on to Anvil creek, going the
full length Of the creek. He found the
creek, when he reached 1t, to be still
frozen solid, although when he got
there it was June 16, and all that be
found doing there was that some 5(
men were engaged, not In taking out
gold, but only in the preliminary work
of stripping off the moss from the
surface of the earth, a layer of moss
from three inches to two feet In thick
ness covering the whole country there
He could not get a lay to work-a lay
Is a portion of a claim-nor could hG
get any work to do.
"As far as the Cape Nome district Il
concerned, the only thing that seem:
left for any one to do is to go up OF
down the beach from the Cape 81
miles, at which distance there may bt
a possible chance of finding unworket
beach ground. There Is some tall
there OF the tundra, as miners call it
swamp land made up Of moss covered
hummocks with water between them
containing gold, but so far miners hav,
worked only between the beach an(
this tundra land. Some so miners whC
are at work there now are simply max
ing fair days wages for that coun
try-that is, from 81 to $40 day.
''As showing that $40 is only a fail
days wages near Cape Nome, will
say that each meal costs from 81 t.
S1.50; that for coffee and piece Of pi,
> or coffee and three doughnuts q quarte
is charged, and that the cost of small
loaf of bread is % cents. The cost O.
wet lumber is $125 q thousand and 70
dry $3.50 a thousand, and this lumbe
must be had not only for building
houses. but for building boats, fo
9 nothing can be done there without
boat. 1t is useless for a man to go vi
] to that country to get work. The onl,
work that can be got there is that O
unloading vessels, and for that a mai
is only paid by the hour. 1t Is no
; steady work by which he can earn
s living. If any one has any intention
: of going there, would advise him 7,
buy knockdown boat-that is, boa
that can be taken to pieces for trans
porting cheaply and be screwed to
gether when it arrives at the miner
] destination. would also advise hin
to check off every article of a bill O
goods that he orders before he pay
for it, and to do this from San Fran
cisco north. If he does not do this, b.
will pay good deal for what he doe
: not get. The only place where i foun,
the miners to be making much none,
was at the point of the beach wher
the TopokOk river enters the sea.
e heard from good authority that thre
or four men took from this point S25
600, but the place was all worked on
In two weeks. There is smallpox nov
at Cape Nome, and the steamers Obi
and Santa Anna, when l left there
were In quarantine at Egg Harbor, OF
St MichaePs."