The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-07-13
John K. Sewell is at Cape Nome
and is Very Successful.
COAL ONLY $50 PER TON
Thousands OF People are Flocking into
the Cold Regions Many Return
BY Next Steamer.
CAPE NOME, ALASKA, /,
June 18th, 1900 (

| mail or news from the outside world
| cor nearly eight months. You can
hardly imagine how rejoiced | was to
get them and to know that you We're
| all alive and we'll. AS for myself my
| health was never better, in fact. have
enjoyed better health all through my
Alaskan experience than | did in Iowa
and had nothing to complain of there.
There has been but very little sickness
in the camp this winter.
Abbott and Barbour arrived on the
Robert Dollar about the 9th of June,
| after nearly months voyage. They
were compelled to stay with about a
dozen other boats at Dutch Harbor for
about two weeks, waiting for the ice to
clear Boring Sea. They sent boat
| called Jeneton. from there to explore
and after ten or twelve days she re-
turned pretty we'll battered, but it was
signal for the others to start. which
they were not slow to do. There have
been a good many boats with lots of
supplies and cargo of all kinds landing.
here in the last few days. Talk about
crowds, why its perfect whirlwind.
You can't go down the street without
elbowing your way through and dodg-
ing like man trying to miss bullets in
war. There are just simply thous-
ands and their tents are stretched
%ln
many of them wonder what on earth
they are here for The beach is prac-
tically worked out as far as man and
a rocker is concerned. but of course
machinery will do much better. But
very little work has been done during
the winter. The ground has not
thawed enough yet to do much sluicing,
but from this on work on the creeks
will begin in good earnest and it will
not be long before gold dust will be
pouring in and take the place Of cur
rency as medium of exchange.
This part of Alaska has great future
| believe. The gold belt is extensive
aud the next sixty days will certainly
show up some wonderful prospects.
Abbott and Barbour have bought lot
and gone right to work putting up
building for restaurant, 2Sx4Owith Of
fees above. | have rented one for S75
per month Carpenters are getting the
small wages of $3.50 to 500 per hour
and are hard to get at that. My bust
ness has been good during the winter
have had but one competitor, have
done careful work and hope to reap
some reward, NV practice has aver
aged me 500 per month. but that is not
very big thing when you take into
account the great expense we have [ /
have an interest in fifteen different
claims. so you see | shall be either
millionaire or a pauper. The chances.
| think, are the best for the latter. |
We had pretty dark, gloomy time
during the winter, saw but little day
light and no sunshine for two months. I
L operated and worked entirely by |
lamp light. The mercury did not 90
as low as ia Dawson, rarely going be-
low 30 degrees. while at Dawson the
average was from 10 to 60 below zero
most OF the winter, but the dampness
and the strong north wind more than
made up the difference My office
faced the north and at times it was al
most impossible to keep the room
Cl0xl2l comfortable. | had one ton of |
coal for which paid $3.50 This lasted |
me through the worst part of the win
ter and later when no coal was to be
had bought Blue Flame stove and |
used kerosine oil. This was quite sat-
isfactory and had the building been |
built in any way than thrown together.
would have been entirely so. Blue
Flames are the thing for this country
and a great many are in use Oil has I
sold all winter tor 81 90 per gallon and
it is the only thing the camp was not
short on
We were very fortunate in having no
fires. That was the greatest chance
we took in staying here, as | don't
know what we would have done had a .
Dawson blaze struck US. Our supplies
lasted until spring and we lived on
canned meats for q short time before
any boats arrived
The place was very orderly consider
ing the number of though characters
and it being such new mining camp.
Uncle Sam had twenty boys in blue
stationed here and think it had much
to do with the morality of the place.
This is rainy night, miserable and
cold. | believe there is many home
sick fellow in town tonight. Two
have committed suicide since landing,
and great many are SO homesick that
they are going to take the first boat
back. But that is just the way it was
1t Dawson.