The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-17

the oarsmen in the dory and the three
senators were rowed ashore, where
they arrived in safety, but not with
out a Wetting in the surf. Those on
the tug were transferred just outside
the breakers to a stout, fat-bottomed
barge, which was hauled thru the
surf by a cable from shore, picked
up from the deck of the barge in a
cage let down from a long, project
ing beam and carried up over the
surf to high platform on land.
And that is the way passengers and
freight are unloaded and loaded at
Nome the greater part of the time. A
down from the hills, flows thru the
west end of the town, turns along
the Landslide of a sand spit for half
mile and then cuts thru into the sea.
The people Of Nome believe that
jetty built out from the mouth Of this
stream and the dredging out of a
sand bar that lies across the entrance
would make it practicable for small
vessels and lighters to pass. thru
to a safe harbor inside the sandspit
and the senatorial committee were
urged to procure an appropriation Of
$15o,o0O for such an improvement.
Lighterage costs from $3.50 to IS a
ton for ordinary merchandise and
more for heavy machinery, and it
was contended that on the $4,000 tons
of freight handled there every year
the cost would be reduced enough to
pay for the Improvement in two years.
4 BOUT the first of June a fleet Of
N merchant vessels sails from Seat
tie for Nome. It is all open sea
till they get thru the Aleutian chain at
Unimak pass and for some distance
no in sooner
or latter they encounter the ice fields.
The ice is breaking up and floating
down from the north and there IS
great strife to see which ship Will
force it's way thru the ice and land its
passengers and freight and mail at
Nome first. The race is not always
to the swift or the first in starting, for
it sometimes happens that the vessel
which for a time seems to lead in the
race gets caught in an ice pack and is
forced to wait for it to break while
it sees it's rivals move on thru open
water to their destination. The ice
breaks UP in Boring sea in front Of
Nome about June Is as a rule and
closes that port, if it may be called
port, about Oct. 10. The open season
at Nome is over now and from this
time till the 18th cor goth of next June
that great camp and all the Seward
peninsula are absolutely cut off from
except thru a monthly letter mail.
This fact has developed a great deal
of interest there in the powerful ice
breaking boats built by the Russian
government for the purpose of keep
ing open the port of Cronstadt on the
Baltic sea. In 1898 the largest Of
these vessels, the Ermak was put in
service and it is authoritatively stated
has plowed its way thru solid ice four
teen feet thick for a distance Of 200
| miles. It is sos feet long, its displace-
ment is 5000 tons and it carries 5000
tons Of coal; it's engines have 10000
horse power and it is so constructed
that when it fails to pillow thru the
| ice it literally climbs up on the edge
! of it and breaks it down by its enorm-
Gus weight. It is credited with hay
| ing made thirty miles in eight hours
thru the solid ice. Nome is about five
degrees. farther. north than Cronstadt,
| but it is believed that the ice field in
Boring sea could be traversed as sue
| cessfully in winter by such a vessel as
the Baltic and they would like to see
our government undertake it. The
proposition is certainly an interesting
| one and as Alaska is developed and
becomes more populous it may seem
| to our government to be desirable
thing to do. It is not improbable,
however, that improved facilities of
| transportation and communication by
land will be found to be more prac-
! teal and more economical.
| What there is in the way of re-
sources developed and undeveloped at
Nome and on the Seward peninsula to
| justify extraordinary effort on the
better communication and better
transportation will be the topic next
Saturday. -
| j. S. McLain.