Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-12-28
GOLD FIELD RoMANcEs.
Six Men Who Won Immense Fortunes
at Dawson and Cape Nome in Less
Than Two Years.

Six Men Who Won Immense Fortunes
at Dawson and Cape Nome in Less
Than Two Years.
There are six men in Nome and the
Klondike whose total wealth two
years are was less than $4,000, but who
today are worth from 81 100000 to
SO 100000.
George Commack is the richest and
the least pretentious man in the Klon-
dixie. He admits that he is worth
| $1,750,000, most of which is on deposit
in the States; but those who have fol-
| lowed Commack's Klondike career
think that he is worth $2,5O0,O0O.
He was in the gold fields early and
gained large holdings. The rentals of
his properties at Dyea, Dawson and
Skagway alone bring him $4,000 a
year; he owns three rich placer mines,
and has interests in valuable claims.
Welded indian Girl.
Until he was Al he had probably
never seen 5000 that he could call his
own. He married a Stick Indian girl
and lived in log cabins. The desire
for wealth seized him. so he moved
into the Yukon region, dividing his
time between fishing and hunting for
gold.
Commack is still a plain man. He.
his squaw wife and large family of
children still live in little log cabin
at Dawson, a three-roomed, mud
chinked cabin, with earth piled nearly
to the caves. Its two small windows
are the only means of light. The
plank door creaks on its hinges as it
is swung open.
The floor is of earth, packed hard.
On the walls are bunk beds made of
boards and arranged one above the
other. A blinking candle at night
throws a few faint rays on the three
of four shelves of the family plate
and china"
Commack can read and write. but
his wife is ignorant of these arts.
|. Several of their children were well
advanced in years before Commack
could think of giving them an educa-
ton, but now he has employed a
teacher for them.
Cape Monies Richest Man.
Rev. Matthew Anderson is the rich
est man at Cape Nome, and though he
has 100000 in San Francisco banks
and owns some of the best claims on
the beach, he is still the plain, devout
Matthew Anderson that he was a few
years ago when he lived in Minnesota.
too poor to pay for an education to
enter the Lutheran ministry.
For eleven years Anderson was
missionary among the Innuits, and
for tramping through snow and ice to
minister to them he received $500 a
year. 1t was in the fall of 1898 he
heard a native telling that the Eskimo
had found gold at Cape Nome. He or
ganized a party and sailed for Cape
Nome; they were the first white
miners at the cape. Before the sea-
| son closed the party had prospected
the beach and had located some of the
best creek and tundra.
One of the first men one hears
about in Dawson is the millionaire
railroad laborer, hostler, tramp, bank
president. capitalist, cook and gold
| seeker, Jake Halsey.
From Tramp to Millionaire.
A few years ago Halsey was working
in livery in Pittsburg. In 1884 he
was a tramp. In the same year he
beat his way across the continent to
Los Angeles. Four years ago he was
track laborer on the Southern Pa
| cific.
He went to Alaska in 1895 to cook
in camp at Circle City, and reached
the city just in time to go into winter
quarters with 400 or 500 miners after
season of no gold strikes Halsey
was in Circle City when the news of
the Klondike discoveries was brought
there. He joined the first rush, STUN
bled upon the richest claim in Edo
RADIO Creek and got over $4,000 before
June, 1897.
Halsey has an accountant and a
lawyer by the year to attend to his in
terests. He says that he will make
over 100000 this year.
Jim Grady, the gambling house and
saloon-keeper at Skagway, Nome and
Dawson, is another of Alaska's rich
men. Grady was born in New York.
When 10 he went around the world,
and for the next twenty years was on
| the sea.
Il used to think that when l got
| $1,000 | would be rich" said Grady,
but with $4,000 a year l still feel
| DOOR"