The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1900-08-02


or twelve miles to the westward.
Broad clefts in the mountains, which
were still patched with snow, indicat-
ed the valleys of several streams or
rivers which entered the sea at inter
walls of a few miles.
One of the largest of these, Snake
River, enters opposite the ships, but
its mouth is not distinguishable from
shore on account of the lowness OF
the beach and tundra at its mouth,
and by rea on or a sudden turn few
wards from the point of discharge into
the sea. To the eastward OF the
mouth of the river stands the one
year-old town, distinguishable from
a distance by its unpainted wooden
buildings extending for half q mile
along the beach. Among these and
for several miles each way, is simply
a mass of tents, not fewer than 5000
or 5000 in number.
Back of the town, several miles dis
tant, is Anvil Mountain, so called
from a block of rock upon its top, APP
parently as big as house, and hav-
| ing q fanciful resemblance to an
anvil. The town was first called
Anvil City after the mountain.
The work of unloading the vessels
has been going on night and day.
The passengers and freight including
many horses and some cattle are
taken ashore in big lighters or scows,
thirty or forty feet long and some OF
these are capable of carrying two
hundred people with their hand bag
gage.
They are taken in tow by a steam
launch to point near the beach,
where a line is sent ashore and the
lighter is drawn in by men. Then
gang plank is put ashore, wherever
place can be had that is not covered
by tents. Only the three principal
companies which did business here
last wear, the Alaska Commercial
Company, the North American
Transportation & Trading Company
and the Alaska Exploration Company
hsve warehouses built, but even
these. until the goods could be trans
ferred to them, have put their stuff
upon the beach, and here it is-eyery
: thing, goods, people, tents, horses
f and wagons, in the widest confusion
, every foot of space occupied almost
l to the waters edge, with sometimes
lust room for a wagon to drive by
e and often not that much. Fortunate
2 ly. since our arrival the winds have
= been somewhat off shore, SO that
: while it has often been rough work
: getting the people into the boats of
? the ship, inshore has been as quiet az
;. a lake, with hardly dip of surf sucE
!. as swept the beach last summer. Il
II a southerly storm should come uF
s now million dollars worth of goods
r would be destroyed.
l. The lightering has been in the
h hands of a few persons, who hole
n practically a monopoly, as most 0
V the boats brought for lightering
e such as round-bottomed surf boat
h are totally untitled for the work
is When it is so rough that surf boat
e must be used. it is too rough to TAX
o goods off the ships in safety. Th
monopolists have been making for
x tunes. The steamers are charged s
n head for every passenger LANDED
If without baggage and $3.50 with bag
@ gage; $22. so for horses, and $15 pc
e ton for freight. The launches max
e $500 to S400 per trip, and can max
IS four trips a day. Each lighte
n employs eighteen men, working il
10 three shifts of six men each. TIL
# men receive one dollar an hour. TIL
,. owners of launches at first receive
ID $50 tow, but the price is now re
T. duced to $25.
t. Enterprising men with row boats
a which they have either brought wit
" them or built here, are reaping tn
lg lldFVebb dS lOltS dS IL may i1ou OoA
e, ing passengers to and from the ship
ut at So head and upwards to So
-h Men who have brought wagons an
#. horses are also making big none
ut freighting goods from the beach 6
O. $40 an hour or fraction thereof.
10 costs So to $40 to have a trunk deli
or cred few hundred yards away,
at The new companies, l should sa
at those old companies which have tn
d. year gone into the business of carr
so ing to Nome, such as the Pacif
%. Steam Whaling Company, to whic
So. company the Valencia belongs, an
nj which owns the bulk of the whalir
,ss fleet, have set up large tents in whic
ed to care for the baggage of their passel
as gers until it can be removed by tt
10 owners
oil 1t is notable sight, this beach
yea the present time. That it may be u
derstood how we are packed togethe
he should describe the beach as abo1
.as 200 feet in width, gently sloping, wi,