Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-09-27
ALASKAN MINING.
n ,,ively Pen Picture Of nm Obscrvaut
Visitor.

radically changed the whole outlook OF
Nome. Until two winters ago all mining
.eased with tho advent OF snow Now
Sinter Is the busiest season. Distinctive
hre the summer and winter populations
When ono comes In" the other goes
out" as in the vernacular of the coun-
try returning to the States is called. The
change has been wrought by better I'M
derstanding Of conditions and the intro
duction OF the steam shovel and various
mechanical devices for thawing Toe and
snow and enabling shafts to be sunk to
bedrock. The dirt thus dug up la piled
IN dumps along the claim from whose
bosom 1t was wrenched, to await the
spring thaw and the summers rain for
the sluicing which reveals the gravel's
golden treasure.
Water and transportation are the great
needs OF Seward Peninsula. with these
essentials the development Of Alaska will
be one OF the twentieth century's seven
wonders. This to date is the dryest sea-
son the country mas had in years 1t has
been to the profit of ditch building and
road construction, but rulnous to mining
For the man who can give Alnsl;a n
continuous water supply great fortune
Is In store. Eastern capital has Weakened
TO this realization, and on every side
Mt an outlay of money and abor that is
little short of miracle when II Ia recalled
that everything employed. from pick and
shovel to food, clothing machinery. and
men. has to be transporteCfat enormous
cost.
Hitherto want of water has curtailed
the development Of the wonderful Kou-
gerok district. The Kougcrok is 80 miles
inland from Nome. To this district the
Nome-Arctc railroad aims to extend its
narrow-gauge bed before the snow flies
The Nome-Arctic ts the peninsula's first
railroad Originally laid over the tundra
by the Wild Goose company in 1900 to
carry supplies TO It's claims, four and
half miles inland, It Melted that sum-
mer 100000 profit. A ride on the Nome
Arctic Is novelty without parallel in
steam transportation. 1t was mid-Juno
when 1 boarded the train, which consist
ed OF logging engine. a Pullman and
TWO roofless freight cars. To be accu-
rate. the whole was observation. The
Pullman had a canvas roof Kitchen
benches held UP the sides. AS every bench
was occupied l climbed on to freight
TO find seat on a miners oilcloth pack
The cars were piled high with supplies
Tor the camps along the route. and sand
Niched IN were miners in various garb,
"ith sprnk'ing Of women. some mod
SHY white-Shirted and yelled, with ko-
1aks and baskets for wild flower gather
ng. The tundra. which stretches back
from the beach some twenty-cdd miles
70 Nome River Valley. where it is lost
sl the hills. which in turn are footstoois
o the Sawtooth mountains is vegetable
decay. verltable peat Dogs IN rainy sea
son. spongy and dangerous to horse or
foot traveller. Beneath this tundra is ice
that never melts. Often Ice lies but
foot beneath riotous wild flower bloom
The engine, not unlike homely Dutch
teakettle. swayed back and forth to and
fro now picking its way gingerly where
snow thav had sunk ties or rail, now
assured of clean sweep, it grew
"chesty." and with funny toots from its
caricature of whistle it puffed and
snorted up grade. while not infreouently
passengers got off to give tho whole lift.
The tundra. which gives the impression
from the beach of being a level stretch,
has. as the railroad reveals. 50O-foot
grade above the level of the sea.
1t Is a constant surprise az the beauties |
Of the landscape unfold. Lovely is the |
mountain divide. the valley of the Nome. |
with wild flowers every side fields of
cotton plant. their white. silky tops bend
Vlg 10 the DreeZe. sweeping from snake
Nome river. with Boring sea to the
south. Miners say the cotton plant IS al
ways Indicative Of Ice close beneath
Natures irony! Nourishing the most
tropical of plants ont Of bosom Of ice
Never have I seen for get me nots of such
wondrous hue, odor, and luxuriant bloom.
while their stems We're almost the length
OF an American Beauty rose. More than
one hundred varieties of wild flower deck
the tundra, lifting their tiny heads be-
fore the snow has melted to the sea
step lively" has no place in the vocab-
ulary of a Nome-arctic conductor. More
than two hours We're consumed In reach
ing "Ex," the last station of the Il miles
Three dollars is the price Of round-trip
ticket The stations are wooden sheds or
canvas tents They are signposts to the
mining centres-Little Creek. Discovery.
Banner, Dexter, etc. At "Ex" two women
are station keepers. One is ticket and
freight agent, telephone girl, messenger
boy postmistress. and general collier"
Bunks three deep line the walls, rusty
stove tin basin, and cracked mirror are
the toilet accessories, while baggage and
freghtage are In hopeless confusion.
back-eyed beauty is the head Of the
commissary In a spacious tent to the
ESQ cook and tends bar. Lifting a board
In the kitchen floor, she revealed to me
The liquor cellar. n hole the size of beer
box cut out of the eternal ice. Without
were the tundra in riotous flower bloom
lmpertnslt mosquitoes. and a blistering
sun. Under contract these two hustling
women feed, at $3.50 per day per head
from $50 to 800 men employed in recon-
structng and extending the road. Aside
from this revenue they catch on an aver
age 90 transients a day at 81 a meal.
we Will clean up about $4,000 before
The season closes" they conhded As the
road building advancsr these plcky
women will pull up stakes and follow
until winter puts an end to the work y
Across the tundra from "Ex" in the
centre of Nome river. Is huge dredgc
brought into the country last season by
the Seward Peninsula Mining company a
Philadelphia enterprise. Like huge man
of-war 1t stands in the stream, a marvel
Oh mechanical construction. Invented by
EDWARD Smith of New York it was con-
btructed at cost of 800 600 and brought
piece by piece across the continent and
set up In this bleak arctic, to remain
throughout tho winter silent In the plot