The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1905-04-11
NO A MEN IN NOME.
But it Took Nerve to Wear the First
Dress Suit to a Ball There.

The bad man with the revolver,
who used to "shoot up" the Old
camps. is a picturesque character
that has never appeared in Nome.
There were two OF three shooting
affairs the first summer, says Alfred
H. Durham, in the Cosmopolitan, but
they were OF the character that might
occur in New York, London or Paris,
not the mining camp variety, at all.
The most remarkable thing about
Nome is the rapidity with which it
acquired the luxuries OF civilization
Its electric lighting system and its te.
ephone service are excellent. Its
large greenhouse supplies fresh veg
etables and flowers the year round at
reasonable prices. There are nuner~
Gus clubs, the most important OF
which is a secret society, the Artlc
| Brotherhood, whose clubhouse is in
everv particular all that a clubhouse
| should be, from the bowling alleys to
the cafe. The three churches are the
largest buildings.
The frs: winter Of Nome vas char
acterized by what might be called
high finance. truly a commentary on
the mental trend of the day. Every
/! BODY tried to corner something. 10
corner things was in every particular
legitimate, and to neglect an oppor-
tunity was to court ruin.
The price of coal under artifics.
| stimulus went to $3.50 a ton; lumber
commander $500 a thousand feet be-
fore the winter broke. Catsor oil
| could be had in large quantities tor
50 cent an once; eggs brought so
cents each. The most successful cor
ner was that of fresh milk. Their was
only one cow in the city; the owner
thereof cleared $1,000 on milk, and
| sold the COW in the spring for beef,
realizing $500 more. Beer brought
| unheard of prices. To take advan-
tage Of the high prices expected the
following winter, poultry yards and
diaries were established and a brew
erv built, and thus prices found their
| natural level.
The social life Of the town during
the first two winters would have fur
| nished the student Of sociology an
Interesting chapter, comprising as 1t
did the formation Of a -four hundred"
a EAST set" and the like. At a charity
ball held early the second season l
wore the first dress suit ever exposed
to public view in Nome. Needless to
add. I was the most uncomfortable
centre of all eyes. Judge Clark final
" broke the ice by shaking hands
with the imam who had nerve enough
70 wear a dress suit in Nome"
It was a most amusing thing to see
the dress suits appear after that. Be-
! fore the winter was over it was rare
indeed to see a man at a function IN
anything but evening clothes. Where
thew am from has never been salts
factorily explained to this day.
And the thing that brought all this
about is gold. Nature hides her treas
| ures in strange places, and puts
through strange PAGES US that seek
for it. Everybody in Nome has a
claim; everybody expects to strike 1t
rich sooner or later. Enough enthu-
siasm, optimism and ambition are
generated in Nome each year to sup
| DIV the carthage. the universe
could they be bottled or dried. The
first mining was done by placer meth
| DDS right on the sea beach. At first
one man could make as much as $50
a day by the simplest methods. Each
inch of beach, one might say, has
been worked over by the hand meth
DDS, and now the whole beach is be-
ing systematically sifted again; this
time gasolene engines and mercury
are assisting.