Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-05
viii Cause Reign OF Terror
in That District.
IF LAWS ARE NOT PASSED
Governor Brady Thinks That There
Will be $4,000 People There This
Summer-General Land Laws
Should be Extended.

New York, Fen. Will We law
lsssness and a reign of terror In the new
gold fields at Cape Nome, Alaska. next
summer in the opinion of John G. Brady,
governor of the new territory. and George
N. Wright, postmaster at Cape Nome,
unless congress takes steps to establish
civil government on a firm foundation,
and makes laws defining the proprietor
ship Of claims.
Governor Brady and Mr.. Wright are in
the east endeavoring to obtain the APP
pointment of United States judges at
Sitka. Circle City and Cape Nome. An
extraordinary rush of gold seekers to
the last named place Is expected next
May, when communication with the t
side is re-openad. Mr.. Wright believes
will be 6 {, 1000 persons in Cape Nome.
We want the general land laws ex-
tended to Alaska, so that we may have
homestead rights" said Mr.. Wright last
night, otherwise we cannot help hav-
ing a great deal of trouble. We are with
out the legal form of government. We
have organized one of u own, electins
a mayor, a council, a chief of police and
other officers, but 1t has no standing in
law. There were 1000 men there last
year. and they agreed among themselves
to observe each others rights, hut 1t will
be different whenswe have $4,000.
I'm law nobody has any right to the
beach between the, high and low water
marks, where there are rich deposits of
gold. 1t ought to be laid off in small
plots for The sale Of h mineral rights.
Though gold WAS discovered in Cape
Nome a year ago last September, we did
not get the news in Seattle until last
May. We suspected at first that it was
a, scheme of the steamship companies to
get passengers, as the Yukon business
was getting slack. I telegraphed to
Washington to be appointed postmaster,
and was appointed over. night by wire.
I got to Nome July 4, where there was
not a sluice box in the district.
Lumber came in later and about 49,
500. 900 in gold was taken out last sum-
mer. One claim in Anvil creek paid $175,-
600 in five weeks. / know because !
handled the money. Three claims in Snow
gulchf paid $500, 900.
ION the Yukon THE gold lis well below
the surface, but at Nome it lies near the
top of the ground. Many claims have
been staked out, but there is a vast re-
gion still to be explored. The formation
is very peculiar. Back of the beach,
which is white sand and rising 10 feet
above it, is a fiat strip called Tundras,
which extends from two to four miles
back to the mountains. This has a layer
OF moss Int peat IN top, then comes a
layer of blue clay from 6 to Is inches thick
and then white sand to bedrock, Is feet
below. The gold in the white sand runs
+ from so cents to $3.50 a pan n the pay
streak of ruby sand on the bedrock runs
S. to the pan, besides coarse gold. /,
Zone of the steamers took $50 tons OF
sand shoveled at random from the beach
to San Francisco last year. It was put
into a smelter there and yielded $1,000 in
gold. The beach has been prospected fol
Is miles. Nobody now where the gold
came from. Some hin it was from mills
brought down by glaciers and some think
It was thrown up by a volcano.
Governor Brady var Alaska te
come in as a state when the population
has increased by the rush next summer
He is the one man all the people there
have absolute confidence in. If we arr
admitted to the union we can take care
of ourselves. Miners began coming from
the Yukon last fall and more will come
II we do not get authority to protect our.
selves we shall rave trouble" 81 ~
In Delaware last week the Nationa
Cape Nome Mining and Transportation
company was organized with a capita.
of $4,000, 900, to establish a steamship
line and work with machinery claims
covering 920 acres OF beach and Tundras
Francis B. Thurber, FL. Loring anf
George Crawford are the incorporators.