The Nome nugget., 1903-03-25
WhO Were We'll Known in the 0!den Time
AS Ho0TCn TRADERS
How Eighteen Natives at Cape Prince of Wales Were
 Speared to Death.
Copyright, 1903, by Peter Bayne.


 whaler, and favorte of Capt. Me Kenna. He was master of the Sea Breeze number of year., and was co-owner with McKeuna. If the old bark were animated, and had the power of speech, what strange and weird tales she could have told duril z her long, eventful existence as whaler and slave trader, chased by British guns! Always ahead and in the lead whether making passage, chasing ! whale or beating up to the Arctic ice pack, after being driven away by fall blizzard! The Tapping of her large along during d calm and give her steer- age way.
 About the time that Commander Healy was relieved from command of the Bear, some years ago. the Sea Breeze had so barrels of hootch on deck ready to land at Indian Point, on the Siberian shore. The wind had died away and the village was close by when the man in the crows nest re- ported large steamer in sight, and coming head on. As the vessel neared the Sea Breeze, she proved to be the United States revenue cutter Bear. The hootch captain got his axe and went d, the barrels. hardly stopping to breathe until all the heads were knocked out. A full stream of the stuff was running from every scrupper, the sailors filled their cups and pans and themselves as well. and there was not sober man on the bark, except the cap tain and boy, when the cutters boat came alongside. One of the Pacific Steam Whaling Co.'S vessels was sim ilarly surprised, but the hOotch had also been spilled, and the vessel smelled like distillery when the searching officer boarded her. Since Capt. Futile has had command of the Bear the hootch traders have been kept in state of alarm.
 Some years before the 1898 stampede Capt. Green purchased a large ract of alkali land near Fresno, Cal, which cost him S75, 100. JackrabbitS couldn't live on it, and it proved worthless How much more of his wealth. he eX- pended in the KotZebue sound stam- pede am unable to say. He was in the Nome roadstead last summer on small schooner tor some other parties with freight and mining supplies. Capt. Green was an expert whaler, and one of the most successful masters that l know. When he sailed for eastern firms I never knew him tp aI1e fail ure. but always returned with full ship. He also made some large catches in McKenna's ships, and was co.owner with him. He landed large quantities of hOotch on the Siber.an side. and traded it all along the Alaskan coast. but when McKenna commenced going down grade, Green hooked on and went along with him. Green is now an old man, and Capt. Cogan met his death in Boring sea only last fall.
 George Gilley was full blooded Kanaka. He was master mariner many years, and as whaleman had few equals. For many years he sailed from the Sandwich islands, whaling and trading. He was always success full trader. The Siberian chiefs would wait and hold their trade for him. He was quite q favo.ite with them. as he always had supply of hootch, and very little of anything else that had value. This was the case when he and his Kanaka crew killed so many Cape Prince of Wales natives. One of his officers told of it as follows: After we several large canoes came -6ngside and passed up their whale bone and pelts. They all knew Gllley and liked him. He got up rum and commenced treating. The head natives and all those that had trade bone could help themselves. Gilley didn't have much else. The natives lald out their bone and furs, telling GilIey what they wanted. Some wanted one thing, and some another, and Gilley had hardly anything they wanted. Some of them were getting quite drunk and all were noisy.
 "The Kanakas commenced passing the bone down to the lower hold. The natives called their chief who was quite drunk and was quarreling with Gilley, and they soon clinched, and the mate knocked him on the head with cap stan bar. Then the fight began. Some shots were fired. The Kanakas got the