Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-30
CHILDREN OF FORTUNE
Eli Smith Tells of the Millions
Made in Alaska.
NOME FIELDS DISCOVERY
Wonderful Luck Of Two Soldiers and
What Followed.
THE GREAT RUSH N0RTHwARD
Mail Carrier Who "Mushed" From
Frozen Zone to the White House
Gives His Experiences.
THE GREAT RUSH N0RTHWARI
Mail Carrier Who "Mushed" From
Frozen Zone to the White House

| CHASER. one or EN- was reinoeeT neruet,
and the. third Yves Just Albumin round
looking for odd Jobs. Now one OF ems got
a villa in France, another is president OF
| couple Of banks ~asad-the third Is a gentle
man of leisure, whatever that may mean
| Ell Smith, Alaskan mall carrier. arctic
explorer,- and, the. man who ''mushed' from
| Nome to the White House and shook hands
| with the President. was telling group Of
his friends at the Metropolitan Hotel last
night the wonderful story OF the discovery
of gold at Nome. With his rugged fea-
lures. and his far more rugged dialect, his
| muddy miners half-boots and his seven
Queer-lookng wolf dogs fondly curled at
his heels. one could. not help lingering to
| listen to his tale.
Il was mushins over the long trail from
| Unalakltk, he continued, land when
pulled to at St. Michaels there was q
| whaler laying in the bay. That was along
the latter part of August 1885, when the
| chechacas were pikin into the Klondike
| country looking for a mess Of gold dust
and short cut to peace and plenty. We
old-tlmers had quit the Klondike country
because even before the tenderfeet started
| north all the claims that was worth work.
| ing had been staked off,"
Go slow there. Ell" interrupted one Of
his listeners. What in the world is a
| chechaca' and a blubber chaser'?"
Lingo Of the Northland.
That's right" responded Smith. You
fellers dons know the lingo of the north
| land. A chechaca is a tenderfoot-a new
| conner. We only have two kinds Of folks up
| there. a chechaca and a sourdough. the
| sourdough being a Teller that has staid in
| the country a whole year. seem the rivers
freeze up solid and a-watchin' the ice go
| out again in the spring. And 'blubber
chaser is a Teller that has shipped on
whaling vessel, huntin whales and a-gettin
| IS month and his grub. They're purity
hard bunch-these biubber chasers and 1
don't remember as SEEM any that boosted
much Of their family tree.
| "As l was sayin', l mushed into St.
Michaels along the latter part Of August,
| 1898. with these same old dogs that you see
| here on the floor, and one Of the first folks
! to say 'howdy' was a little red-headed
Swede. who up and asked me where 1 hail
ed from.
From Unalaklik,' says I; bring mall
| and marten skins Well. We got to talkin'.
| and he said his name was Lindbloom. and
| as he was chasin' blubber for Twin. He
admitted that it was kinder poor Twin and
| let on like he would like to find another
| job.
"'Ain't you under contract with the
| whaler?' says I. Lindbloom agreed that he
was, but that If he had a chance for a job
| he'd jump the ship for keeps. Well, sir.
| that Swede nosed around for three or four
days. and finally met up with another Swede
named Lindeberg Now. Lindeberg was
d-ueTuln TelnQeeT LOT ABOUT 20 d InOHlH anu
| his grub. A fine pair of citizens for
| country like that. hey? Both Of EN- had
| the gold fever and wanted the worst way
| to get to Dawson City and the Klondike,
| But they met an old Indian trader named
Englestadt, who used to have his head
| quarters at st. Michael. and who carried
mail now and again and worked for the
| else dom. Englestadt had just come in
from a trip across the peninsula. and kind
| a-jokin like he told the Swedes he had
| tripped UP on some big nuggets over In the
| Nome country.
Of for the Gold Fields.
| The rest Of US sourdoughs gave Engle-
stadt the high sign, believin' as he was
romancin' a bit We fellers heard tales
of new diggin's every day in the year up
in that country. we didn't mind what
| this fur trader had to say. The Swedes.
bein' cheachacas. didn't know any better
than to listen. They hiked off. and about
week later 1t was noised around the camp
| that the two Swedes, with another named
Brynteson. had pulled cut into Boring sea
with a small skiff, sayin as they was
| bound for the peninsula to discover the
new diggin's at Nome. OF course the laugh
| was on those three felers. Even Engle
| stadt took an unnecessary hitch in his fur
| seal trousers and remarked as to how there
| wasn't chance In the world for EN- to
| find anything but an iceberg Then every
| body forgot the Swedes.
| "Englestadt left town a couple of days
later, without as much as sayin goodbye.
| Nobody knew as to where he was goin'.
Then we all got uspicious-and-and. well
| that's how the stampede to Nome started.
| Englestadt had taken the long dog trial
| back up to Unalaklik and round past Colo
win bay toward the peninsula. but the trails
| was bad that season of the year. and he
| made poor time. So did the rest of US One
crowd got another skif, and they sailed
| I'd orr's -
| Here Ell stopped, shifted his knees. relit
his cigar and gazed compacently across
the lobby.
auditors-the number of whom, by the way,
| had increased since the story began. Then
came a chorus of appeals to continue the
| tale. Ell smoked, shifted his knees again
and continued:
| II don't know what the other fellers did
after they got started. For mine. l fol-
| lowed the long trail-the same as what
| Englestadt took. But 1 don't mind tellin'
you that never set eyes on him till I
swung round the base of Anvil mountain.
You know when We fellers mushed in those
days it wasn't any F-street saunter. We
| back for any Of them in that country for
mopin'. lover the trail. that was summer
time, and the trails were bad.
Piles OF Gold Dust.
"All the way along I was thinking as to
whether Englestadt was givin' us the great
slip, maxim believe as he was going to
the Nome country. but in reality pikin' off
toward the Kantishna or the Koogorock.
But when 1 turned round Anvil mountain,
right back of where Nome grew up six
months later, there was the Swedes and
Englestadt and the bunch that sailed with
the skih-all of 'em shovelng UP gold dust
till 1t actually got In your windpipe and
choked you. .ta, ..-ass o.
.Dldn't exactly choke YOU" he apollo
gized, .but 1t made an old sourdough like
me sit up and take notice to observe those
three Swedes one Of EN- blubber chaser.
another reindeer herder and the third
looking for any kind of tob-those three
fellers campin' pile of nuggets as big
as your hat. and none of 'em as knowing
how to shake a gold pan. l spent nigh onto
fifteen years mushing through that country
looking for stake. All the rest of us
| sourdoughs sittin' Back guyin Englestadt
about the new diggin's, and these Swedes
bein so bloomin' confidin'-and then to
see 'em as the real discoveries OF Nome,
with ten thousand in sight on the surface
of the ground, and mebbe ten millions in
the first ten feet of gravel-why 1t made
US kind discouraged and homesick.
"Yessir, there was Lindbloom who had
deserted that whaler and given up blubber
chasin' and Lndeberg. who had jumped