The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-12-04
lis No Place for a LabOring Man, Even
If He Is Employed.
Advises Tradesmen to Slick TO Their
Jobs in Minnesota.
Mankato Man Assists in Separating
Gold From Mother Earth.
From Fridays Daily.

quarry of the Mankato Lime and Stone
company, about week ago returned
from Alaska where he spent the summer
mining gold. Mr.. Lander is much pleas
ed with the novel experience through
which he passed and the information he
picked up during his trip to and from
the far north and his sojourn there, yet
he has no hesitation in declaring that,
although he was among the lucky ones
who had employment all summer, he
would be better off financially today if
he had staid at home all that time and
worked at his trade as stonecutter.
However, he says he is glad he went.
Mr.. Lander has been away from Man
kato about sixteen months, the greater
part of which time he spent in Washing
ton state. In the early part of June, ac
companied by his brother, Silas Lander,
who has also been a resident of Mankato,
he embarked at Seattle on board the
steamer Oregon and arrived at Nome
June %.
Nome is city of about 5000, popu-
lated with whites who have settled large
ly from the western states of this coun-
try. Many Esquimaux are seen here
with their merchandise of seal skins
and bones, walrus tusks and the like,
for which they accept in exchange the
food and clothing of the Caucasians. The
EsquimauX are getting into the way of
wearing the clothing of the civilized peo-
pie during the summer months of June,
July and August. The sons of Europe
ON the other hand must during the Oc
tober months of the year to large ex-
tent adopt the fur garments of the
natives.
Arriving at Nome, the Landers and
their companions, to the number OF ten
in the entire party, crossed Golofin bay
in one of the little steamboats, that
make business of such local traffic to
the mouth of little stream called the
Solomon river. Now comes a tramp
of fort six miles up this stream to
Council City The Adventures were three
days making this portion of their
Journey Most of the food they needed
on the way was carried with them and
eaten as they stopped from time to
time, pitched their tent and rested. Twice
they dined at the road houses along the
way, each paying dollar for meal.
On July they arrived at the little
town of miners that goes by the name
of Council. Council has a population
of about 1000 people who work scarcely
any except during the summer when
they labor at terrific rate after gold.
During the remaining three-quarters of
the year they live on their labor of the
summer, the more frugal ones being able
to save quite successfully. Most of
these miners are able to get work for a
hundred days during the summer at S.
per day with board and lodging thrown
in. A man living here without a family
can rent a cabin for himself during the
winter for $15 and keep himself warm
with the driftwood he can catch on the
coast If he does not care to watch for
f, driftwood he can buy hard coal which re-
tails at Nome for $l4 ton on the aver
age but sells for twice as much at
Council. Ordinarily fellow patching
it as most of the miners do, can get
through the winter on $3.50, thus be-
ing $3.50 ahead for the years sojourn
at Council. Few, however, do as we'll as
this and many man finds at the close
of the long winter that he has spent all
his money and must start anew on moth
ing.
] Mr.. Lander thought it safe to say
that the gold regions of Alaska were of
great profit only to those who were
able to invest capital to the amount
of at least $4,000 and had the element
of good luck thrown in. To locate a
good placer claim, get the hydraulic ma
workmen to do the labor for season
required all of the above mentioned sum
| And then it might all prove a failure
Mr.. Lander had met Finland by the
name of Thompson who had lived in
| Council for ten years and at the time
he met him was not cent ahead This
Thompson had located several claims but
had made so many failures that after
/ ten years of prospecting and labor he
was no better off than when he started
Many a laborer had been known to put
his hard-scraped savings into some new
claim and been obliged to start again
from the zero point
Food at Council is very high as well
as clothing and all other merchandise
that has to be reshipped from Nome af-
ter arriving there by water. These
goods are brought in barges and scows
which are towed across Golofin bay by
steamers and then brough up a narrow
stream to Council, distance upstream
of about forty miles, OF six miles short
er than the foot route up the Solomon
river. All these forty miles upstream
the barges are pulled by horse power.
Thus it is clear why all these articles
cost about twice as much at Council as
at Nome, and why wages must be cor