Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-07-07
GOOD ADVICE
FROM alaska
J. p. ALEXANDER ADVISES PEO-
PIE TO STAY AWAY FROM
CAPE NOME.
HE HAS BEEN IN THE
NORTH FOR TWO YEARS.
Says the Golovin District Is Better
Than Nome-Beach Diggings
Exhausted.

OIotnef, M. +. AleAanuer OF the Butte
! Water ompany some interesting facts
are given of life in that far-away
country. Mr.. Alexander was for many
years a resident of Butte, but for the
past two years has been in Alaska. He
lis employed by the Alaska Exploration
.company.
h. Unde date of May q Mr.. Alexander
writes as follows from Council City:
II presume the people in the states
are crazy about the Cape Nome Dig
gings and everything else in this part
Of Alaska. Having been here two years
I should be supposed to know something
about the gold fields, but you know the
old saying about fields that are the fur
thest look the greenest.' In this case I
! would advise those who are lar away
to remain so. because of the thousands
who will come here, and so very few
of whom will be fitted to OF with con-
ditions as they will find them and of
the misery which will surely result.
Cape Nome is only two days travel
from here and yet I have never been
there. That may seem strange. but the
explanation is that I am doing very
we'll where I am, and have no time to
chase elsewhere. 1t is my belief that
this camp (the Golovin Bay district) is
in reality a better country han Cape
Nome. When the Nome diggings are
worked out Golovin will have gold mines
for years to come. This, gold country
is much larger than Nome, and what
mines we have here are just as rich as
the Nome diggings.
I'm the winter of 1889 I was at st.
Michaels when news came of wonderful
fnds in the creeks at Nome. All that
time no one knew that there was gold on
the beach in the sea sands, so the winter
passed and the spring of 1899 opened.
About July, 1899, the Alaska Exploration
company, for whom I am working, start
ed to build a store close to the beach at
Cane Nome. While ~excavating for the
foundation some fool h did
not know any better took a pan of dirt
from the hole and panned out nearly an
ounce of fine dust. Then a rocker was
put to work and the manager of the COM
pany returned to St. Michaels with a
couple of ounces of dust which he exhib-
tied to us, relating where it was found.
1t seemed ridiculous to us that gold could
be washed right out of the sea.
The beach,, of course, was tide lands
and not subject to placer location, so no
claims could be taken up in the regular
way and the men simply washed out
strips 10 to ~ fe t wide. moving their
camps from strip TO strip. Some made
as high as $40, 900 for the season.. but the
majority only made good wages. In this
way they worked out about 20 miles OF
the beach,, which practically exhausted
the rich diggings, although a large num-
Der of men are still working claims.
This wonderful story went out to the
states and early in June the steamers and
| ships from the coast will begin to dump
the pilgrims on thai beac, Every moth
ler's son will land with a rocker in one
hand and a ham sandwich in the other
and will go to work expecting to scratch
up the gold dust by the ton. AS OLD a
camper and rustler as I myself am, 1t
makes my blood run cold to think of the
experiences awaiting the innocents COM
ing into this country. Along the coast as
far as the eye can reach from a ship the
land appears to be a beautiful green
meadow or grassy sward with seldom a
. tree in sight and never two trees In sight
at once. Land upon the beach n put
your foot upon the beautiful meadow
and you sink into water half way to the
knee. This is the tundra, simply a bog
covered with long moss and stunted
brushes perhaps a foot high.
mer and 1 cannot conceive of a more desc,
!. late place for a man to be dumped ana
!; told to HI hustle ST. for ! himself ,nta fia Well flno the ns n pil-
|. ture, with nothing but driftwood at $65 a
: cord to keep one warm. OF course, those
prospecting, and by next August the sea
r shore from st. Michaels to Cape Prince OF
Wales will resemble a continuous camp 6 OF
"There have been a great many e xe
Arctic regions. nave been here two sum
: mers and two winters and my decision. Is
5 that win At r. Is Is the %; only s, time WHEN nj w,n ahl,
is uncommon. while on the contrary. owing
, to the continuous rains, eternal dampness
and stagnant water from the tundra
everybody is sick. Then there are the mos.
life miserable. BY taking the proper pre-
: cautions a. to cleanliness, scurvy, the bug
:, bear of the Arctic circle, can easily bt
avoided. Winter travelling. too. is easy
and about 500 persons came down by dot
team from Dawson the past winter-a dis
lance of 1900 miles.
ut is beyond belief the amount of worl
that can be accomplished by dog team, bu
the kin pin of travellers was a man whit
left Seattle last fall, aking a horse by shiI
to Dyea, and from there driving the horse
with sled attached, to Dawson, and thel
on down the Yukon to st. Mtchaels."