The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-24

were a few men present who were not
in evening dress, but very few, while
the ladies had had time since the ar
rival of the first boats from the states,
those of them who were in Nome all
winter, to prepare the new dresses
they had planned for this special
event. 1t was a brilliant occasion and
was certainly worth what it cost in
the impression it gave to the senators
Of the kind of men and women there
are in farthest Alaska.
For the banquet the next evening
ly redecorated. One hundred and
twenty-five of the leading men sat
down with the senatorial party and
after dinner served in first-class
style, the requests and suggestions
prepared by the general committee
of citizens, as to legislation by con-
gress, were formally. presented. The
extremely Favorable impressions Gre
ated the previous evening were
strengthened by this we'll conducted
and creditable affair. It is doubtful
if anything observed or experienced
during the entire trip of the sena-
torial party did more to promote the
interests of Alaska than these social
events at Nome, so we'll calculated to
create the most favorable impressions
with regard to the character of the
people who are developing the re-
sources Of the great country, Of
whose natural wealth the general
edge.
90 much has been written about
| y the wonderful results of wash
i ing the beach sands at Nome for
gold and the beach sands proved to
be so rich that the impression has
prevailed in some quarters that not
only has this been the source of the
! greater part Of the gold output of the
Nome district, but the important dis
! coveries in this district are supposed
to have been made first on the beach.
! This is not quite true, however. The
first discovery of gold in the beach
sands was made at Shook, a point
| about twenty-five miles west Of Nome.
| This led to some prospecting In the
vicinity of Nome, but the prospectors
were not then fortunate in finding in
the beach sand paying quantities of
gold, and they proceeded inland,
where the first important discoveries
! were made on Anvil Creek and on
Snow and Glacier gulches. H. L.
Blake claims the credit for having
made the original discovery. Some
prospecting had been done in 1896
and 1897 in the region of Golofnin
bay and on the streams flowing into
it. Word was brought there, to a. camp
near the Swedish Lutheran mission,
of discoveries Of gold In the
beach sands at Shook. Blake made
up a party, including Hultberg,. the
Swedish missionary, to investigate
the Shook rumors. They found moth
ing Of Importance there, and soon re-
turned, to the creeks above Nome. Or
the 26th and 9th of July, 1898, they
prospected in that vicinity but stakec
no claims.
A little later the same season EricA
G. Lindb1om, John Brinterson and
Jafet Linderburg went to Anvil creek
where they staked out claims. They
also staked on Snow and GlacEl
gulches. These men were first to dis.
cover a sufficient quantity Of gold II
the Nome district to induce them tc
stake a claim, and are therefore en-.
titled to be regarded as the real dis.
coverers. Some of the claims they
then staked proved to be very valu.
able, and were ultimately the proper
+ ties over which occurred that famou!
4 litigation which resulted in the re,
novaI Of Judge Arthur Moves an6