interesting and novel, and frequently fatiguing, it was. In addition to
drawing agreements and deeds, it consisted of preliminary interviews in
that stately office, followed by long and laborious walks for many miles
through the timber, up and down mountainous hills, over tundra, and
through streams, to the mines on the creeks beyond, there to examine
stakes, witnesses, and liars. Frequently, before starting back, we would
be invited to eat with the men, and a fine lot they were as a rule. Then
the case had to be presented before the lieutenant and argued, with the
assistance of mining-law quotations and diagrams. In many instances the
lieutenant would make a personal inspection of the property in dispute.
If one side appeared to be clearly in the right, the other party would
be ordered off the premises; if it seemed to be an honest contention,
and there was merit on both sides, the disputed ground would be tied up,
a dead-line drawn, and soldiers camped there to see that neither party
mined the contested territory. Either party, if dissatisfied, might
appeal to the federal court then established at Nome. But we were
hearing strange tales about that court. There was a persistent rumor
that it was only the instrument of a great scheme to confiscate the rich
mines. There was said to be a large corporation organized in the East,
with influential political backing, whose guiding genius, on the
flimsiest of pretexts, in violation of all the rules of legal procedure,
and virtually under no bonds, was being repeatedly appointed by this
court receiver of these mines.
Through a tip from a client for whom we had done some legal and
surveying work, my brother and I secured a fraction of mining ground on
Melsing Creek, which was staked, surveyed, and recorded as the "Eli
Fraction." We four staked out also an association claim of eighty acres
on a bench of Ophir Creek, which claim is called the "Rajah," and we
secured other interests farther up on Ophir Creek. As a favor to
friends, we would be willing to sell out our mining interests for a
million dollars cash!
In placer-mining the "pay dirt" (usually found near bed-rock) is
shoveled into long, narrow boxes called "sluices," varying in length, at
the bottom of which are small cross-pieces of wood ("riffles"), or
copper plates, or mercury, devised to catch the gold. The creek is
diverted so as to send a stream of water into the "head" of the
sluice-boxes, and the gold, by virtue of its greater specific gravity,
is caught by one or several of the contrivances--the stones, gravel, and
dirt being carried by the current out of the boxes, and constituting the
"tailings." After a certain number of hours' "run," the water is
temporarily diverted, and the "clean-up" takes place; that is, the
sluice-boxes are cleaned out, and the gold separated from the black sand
and iron substances which usually remain with it. Water, therefore, is
absolutely essential. In 1900, at first, the general complaint was "no
water," although later, when the heavy rains came, it was "too much
water." Placer-mining is a delicate and uncertain business, and is very
hard work. Gold is not "picked up" anywhere, and mother earth yields her
treasure very stubbornly. The gold of this country consists mainly of
fine particles or "dust," and, compared with the Klondike, but few
nuggets are found. It is, however, purer than the Klondike gold, and
assays higher.
One day in August, with a large pack, and followed by an unattractive
but devoted-looking dog, there came into Council F----, whom we had
known on the _Lane_. He was only twenty-two years old, but financial
stress had compelled him to leave his university prematurely; and he had
been among the first to cross the Chilkoot Pass and undergo the rigors
of the Klondike. Late in the season of 1899 he had come from the
Klondike to Nome, and had acquired, as he believed, some valuable
interests there, which he had been obliged to intrust to a partner, as
he was carried out from Nome in the fall more dead than alive with
typhoid. Returning the next year, he learned that his partner had robbed
him, and that all that remained was this dog. So, with his pack and his
dog, and the aid of a compass, he had walked over the mountains and
tundra from Nome to Council,--sleeping, of course, in the open air and
upon the ground,--in quest of employment on one of the Wild Goose
properties, "No. 15 on Ophir." And he was rather a delicate-looking
fellow. He dined with us, and we extended to him the hospitality of our
kitchen floor for the night, for which he was very grateful.
Notwithstanding his continued ill fortune, F---- seemed to be in
first-rate spirits. He recited a verse which he had composed, after
"Break, break, break," etc., which began thus:
"Break, broke, bust, on the ruby sands of Nome,
Break, broke, bust--three thousand miles from home!"
The way he got it off caused general laughter. He endured for two weeks
work which very few strong men can keep up, working on the ten-hour
night shift shoveling frozen ground up and into a sluice-box; and then,
pretty well used up, but with enough money to take him home, he departed
for Nome, this time by way of the river, saying that he hoped to return
next spring. Certainly pluck was not lacking in his make-up.
There is no game in this country to speak of. Occasionally, however, one
would scare up a covey of ptarmigan or white grouse, and of course there
were fish in the stream. The government recently imported into northern
Alaska some reindeer with Laplanders to care for them, and there are
scattered reindeer-stations. But none of these animals were seen.
Very pretty wild flowers, many of which I had never seen before, grow
out of the tundra. I have gathered as many as ten different species
within a quarter of a mile of our camp. In places blue-berries grew
thick, and salmon-berries were numerous.
Once in a while a letter of comparatively ancient date, passed on from
Nome to some traveler, would reach us--a great treat indeed. Toward the
end of August we learned the result of the Yale-Harvard race, which had
been rowed the end of June. Miners would come around and ask for the
loan of a paper or novel--any old thing would do.
Soon after we had become settled at Council, with intermittent fair
weather, it rained almost daily, the rain coming up and clearing off
suddenly; and one soon grew accustomed to the peculiarities of the
climate. It was a great relief to have the nights begin to darken. After
the middle of August they became quite dark, and, at the same time, we
not infrequently found in the morning a layer of thin ice in the buckets
of water.
On August 25 T---- left us, having received bad news from home; and
September 1, to the regret of all, the military departed, as the arrival
of the commissioner for the Council City district was daily expected,
and presumably there would be no further need of the soldiers. A
petition, addressed to the general commanding, seeking the retention of
the military throughout the winter, was gotten up and freely signed, but
fear of the friction which, under such circumstances, is likely to exist
between the civil and military authorities, rendered it of no avail.
About September 1, a heavy storm with a driving rain set in, which
continued with no moderation until the 8th of the month. Dams were
washed away, and mining operations ceased. It seemed at times impossible
that the tents could stand up against the wind, or that the canvas could
longer keep out the heavy rain. The "boulevards" of Council were in a
very sorry condition. It was very dismal comfort those days. The Neukluk
had become a young Mississippi, and the bar of the stream was now
entirely covered. The wind blew furiously up the stream; and it was
almost an unbelievable sight to behold one day a freighter sailing
slowly and surely, impelled alone by the favoring wind, _up_ the stream
and over that riffle which hitherto had been the heartbreaker.
In view of this storm and the early approaching winter, the mining
season seemed to have ended, and we decided to quit for Nome and home on
the next favorable day, and began to make ready accordingly. C---- had
decided that he would spend the winter at Council, and I determined to
return in the following spring. A very good log cabin, nearing
completion, which would answer for C----'s residence and the firm's
office, was leased, and the bulk of our general outfit moved into it. It
was economy for C---- to come with us to Nome to lay in his winter
supplies. Sugar was selling at Council for 35 cents a pound; coffee 75
cents; flour $7.50 a sack; kerosene $1.50 a gallon, etc.
Sunday morning, September 9, breaking fair and favorable, burdened with
only a few essentials, we set out in the _Mush-on_ at half-past seven
o'clock. How different it was from coming up! The boat seemed at times
fairly to fly along, borne by the current and assisted by the oars. At a
sudden turn we were hailed by some freighters, and later by the _Arctic
Bird_, which, taking advantage of the sudden rise of the streams, was
bringing up some heavy machinery. The former handed over to us some home
letters, and a batch of mail from the latter, well protected, was thrown
at us and picked up safely out of the river. This mail added to the
general gaiety of the situation. At half-past twelve a short stop was
made at White Mountain to pay our respects to friends there; and then we
pushed on, rowing more as the river became broader and the current less
swift. Taking the wrong fork at the delta of Fish River, it looked for a
while as if we should be stranded on the mud-flats and obliged to return
to the proper channel; but by getting out and pulling the boat, which
drew practically no water, we soon were well off, wading into the
Golovin Bay. Then, with the aid of a bit of canvas, the favorable wind,
and our oars, we reached Chenik at six o'clock in the evening, having
covered a distance in ten and a half hours which had required four days
in the ascent. I believe that is the record time. Fortunately, it was
not necessary to wait for means of transportation to Nome, as the
_Elmore_, a miserable little tub, sailed from Chenik that night. The
fellow-passengers were a tough lot of men and women; and all camped
together very informally that night on the floor of the cabin. The
storm came up again. It was very rough, and in consequence it was a
miserable, sick crowd. Having stopped at Topkok for some additional
passengers, who came aboard with satchels of gold-dust, the _Elmore_ was
off Nome at six o'clock the following evening, bobbing like a cork in
the now fast increasing storm. After some difficulty in getting into it,
in truly a very thrilling fashion, we were rowed ashore in a life-boat
and artistically beached through the surf, a feat which could be
performed only by that crew of skilful Swedes.
V
McKENZIE AT WORK--THE STORM--THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Nome had become more substantial in appearance,--there were fewer tents
and more buildings,--but it was even more unsightly now that the rain
had made the streets a perfect sea of mud, knee-deep in most places. The
Wild Goose Company's railroad had been laid, and was in successful
operation. On all sides was manifest the hustling genius of the American
people. We put up at a remarkably promising place, The Golden Gate
Hotel; and, after a long unacquaintance with such a luxury, rested
between sheets, and gave our things a chance to dry. We were lucky to
have caught the _Elmore_, for otherwise it would have meant detention at
Chenik for a week, awaiting an abatement of the storm. It was a pleasure
to see some of our friends again, and very interesting to learn the news
and latest developments. The story of the wonderful strike of gold at
Kougarok and Gold Run, back of Port Clarence, was corroborated, and,
generally, the mine-owners said that the country was richer than they
had ever dreamed it to be. The receivership story was also very
generally confirmed. Undoubtedly there then existed in the civil
administration of the Nome country as corrupt a ring of wholesale
robbery and blackmail as one can imagine.
The following account may better enable the reader to appreciate the
magnificence of the scheme of confiscation which at this time was in a
prosperous state of realization.
There had been organized in the city of New York, under the laws of
Arizona, with a capital stock of fifteen million dollars, The Alaska
Gold Mining Company, of which Alexander McKenzie, a man of political
influence, well known in the Dakotas, was the chief promoter and the
owner of a majority of the stock. He had placed a portion of the
remainder where he believed it would stand him in good stead. The main
assets of this company consisted of "jumpers'" claims to rich mining
property near Nome, principally situated on Anvil Creek--claims which,
having already been taken or "located," had been "jumped" or
"relocated" by certain individuals on some of the pretexts suggested by
the looseness of our mining laws, and which in a new country so
frequently constitute a species of legal blackmail. These claims, for
the most part, had been purchased from the original owners by the Wild
Goose and the Pioneer Mining companies, large corporations which had
been formed to operate them, and other claims, on a very large scale,
and which, with immense equipment at hand for future operations, were
already, in the early season of 1900, engaged in taking out the gold in
great quantities.
In company and on the same vessel with McKenzie, Judge Noyes arrived at
Nome on the nineteenth day of July, 1900, and (to use the language of
the Circuit Court of Appeals in the McKenzie contempt cases) "on
Monday, July 23, before the court was organized and before the filing of
any paper of any character with the clerk of the court, [McKenzie] was
appointed by Judge Noyes receiver of at least four of the richest claims
in the district of Nome, upon complaints made by persons the interest
therein of at least one of whom had theretofore been acquired by the
receiver's corporation, the Alaska Gold Mining Company." And this, too,
upon papers grossly inadequate, without notification to the parties in
possession, or an opportunity for them to be heard, and, generally, in
total disregard of the necessities of the situation and legal precedent.
The orders appointing McKenzie receiver of these claims directed him to
take immediate possession thereof; to manage and work the same; to
preserve the gold and dispose of it subject to the further orders of the
court; and expressly enjoined the persons then in possession from in any
manner interfering with the mining of the claims by the receiver. By a
subsequent order, and in the very teeth of the express prohibitory
provision of the statute under which the court was created, Judge Noyes
further ordered that the receiver take possession of, and that there be
delivered to him, all _personal_ property of every sort and description
on one of these claims and in any way appertaining thereto. The
receiver's bond in each case was fixed at only five thousand dollars,
though at least one of these claims was then yielding about fifteen
thousand dollars a day!
Thereupon, several of the parties thus held up by this highway
procedure, upon proof and affidavits, moved the court to vacate these
orders, which applications were denied, as were the petitions to the
court for the allowance of an appeal from its orders granting the
injunctions and appointing the receiver, the court holding that its
orders were not appealable, and, in effect, that its jurisdiction in the
matter was exclusive.
Upon the refusal of the court to allow an appeal, the Wild Goose and
Pioneer Mining companies, which were represented by able counsel,
secretly despatched to San Francisco, on a fast vessel, a special
messenger bearing papers and affidavits disclosing the record of the
court at Nome, upon which to base application to the appellate court,
the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, for
allowance of appeals and writs of supersedeas. This writ, which, in
effect, nullifies the proceedings of the court below pending the
determination of the appeal which it, the appellate court, has allowed,
was granted in the Wild Goose cases by Judge Morrow, upon the giving of
proper bonds.
Meanwhile the receiver business was in full swing, and McKenzie became
known near and far as the "King of Receivers," or the "Big One." After a
while, when the thing was becoming too notorious, the court evinced a
certain delicacy of feeling by bestowing sundry receiverships upon
selected friends of McKenzie, instead of handing them all over to the
chief. Many mine-owners did not attempt to develop their ground,
fearful lest, it proving rich, the receivership jurisdiction would be
thereto extended. Charges and countercharges of bribery and corruption
were rife, and the fight between the attorneys for the ousted parties
and the "ring" became strenuous and embittered.
In the midst of the storm above referred to,--on the 14th of
September,--an exciting rumor spread throughout the town that the writs
from the appellate court had arrived; and this proved to be the fact.
The Nome dailies (three of them) came out with such head-lines as
"McKenzie Thrown out of His Job," "Death-blow to the New York Ring," and
printed in full the writ commanding a stay of operations and a return of
the property.
But McKenzie did not proceed to obey the mandates of the higher court,
nor did Judge Noyes order him so to do, though they both had been served
with all the requisite papers.
With the knowledge that the Circuit Court of Appeals was back of them,
the Wild Goose people took possession of their mines. McKenzie, acting
under the kind of legal advice that he wanted, maintained that the writs
were irregular and void, and absolutely refused to deliver up the
gold-dust which he had mined. Judge Noyes made an order merely staying
all proceedings in his court, and refused to make orders compelling
McKenzie to obey the writs and deliver the gold-dust to the appellants.
It became known that the receiver would attempt to withdraw gold-dust
which had been deposited in the vaults of the Alaska Banking and Safe
Deposit Company; and when McKenzie, in company with one of his
"friends," made the attempt, he found himself surrounded by a detachment
of the military and a number of the parties interested, together with
their attorneys. As he was about to walk out of the building, an
attorney stepped forward and stopped him, causing that remarkable person
for the first time to lose his head and nerve. It looked for a moment as
if there might be some gun-play, but this, fortunately, was avoided. All
this happened when the storm was at its height, the miserable streets of
the hybrid "city" knee-deep in mud, and when, without the semblance of a
harbor, and open to the clear sweep and fierce attack of the Arctic
gale, entire sections of the place were under water, and houses and
wreckage generally drifting about. It was an excellent background for a
dramatic incident.
The next step, therefore, was to proceed against McKenzie for contempt
of court. The time was very short; for communication with that country
ceases with the freezing of the sea, the latter part of October, and the
distance to the appellate court and return is about seven thousand
miles. At the last moment, just before we sailed, Samuel Knight (Yale,
'87), who, in behalf of the Wild Goose Company, had been fighting the
ring with great aggressiveness and skill, gave me, for his firm in San
Francisco, the papers on which to base proceedings for contempt of court
and arrest.
The storm and rain continued with unabated fury. It was impossible to
get away. All the steamers had either put to sea or sought for shelter
the lee of Sledge Island, to the northwest, and the shore was fast
becoming a scene of wreckage indescribable. Tugs, lighters, floating
piers, and all small craft lay tossed upon the beach. The sea was rising
higher all the time, and soon buildings were washed away, and the front
and lower part of the town were under water. All machinery which had
rested upon the beach was buried in the sand. The entire sand-spit where
we had first camped was washed by the surf. Lumber in great piles was
strewn all along the water-front, and there were general loot and
consequent drunkenness. The saying that the "Bering Sea is the graveyard
of the Pacific" seemed verified. Certainly it was the most destructive
and long-continued storm within my knowledge.
It was during this waiting period that we quite unexpectedly ran across
V----and R----. They had, it seemed, gone northwest in their boat for
about thirty miles and tried the beach, with but little success. Then,
having, as they believed, good information as to the rich strike which
had been made at Bristol Bay, five or six hundred miles to the south,
they had joined a party and gone thither in the small sailing-schooner
which now lay high and dry upon the beach. Caught by storms either way,
their experiences were of the hair-raising order, and it was only
through the great skill and coolness of the captain and the mate that
they were there to tell the tale. Bristol Bay had proved to be a fake,
so far as gold was concerned. But V---- said that the streams were
simply red with salmon, and that they found many walruses dead upon the
shore, which probably, wounded by the natives, had come there to die. He
brought to us a splendid pair of their ivory tusks, in which I have a
special pride. Although he plainly showed the effects of his hardships,
his cheerful spirit was unbroken, although the thought of having to
return unsuccessful, but with hardly a fair trial, hurt his sense of
pride. We told him of the Council City country, and it was suggested
that he go back and winter with C----, which proposition was quickly
accepted.
We dined once for experiment at the Cafe de Paris, a very clean and
dainty-looking restaurant, quite incongruous with its surroundings. This
was frequented by some of the French "counts," German "barons," and
persons "representing capital in the East," for all sorts and conditions
were to be met at this motley Nome. Really, our general apparel was
quite out of place. The proprietor seemed the gentleman. He said that he
came from New York, and that his chef was from the Cafe Martin. When we
remarked that we had eaten at the Cafe Martin, with a French gesture of
delight, he exclaimed, "Zen zere ees nussing more to be said!" Most of
the things were very good, but we ordered beefsteak, about which we used
to talk at Council. That portion of the menu was very well disguised. As
an Alaskan friend of mine once remarked on a similar occasion, it was
"so tough that you couldn't stick a fork in the gravy."
On September 17 the storm finally abated, and, after an earnest
"good-by and good luck" to C----, my brother and I were rowed out to the
big ship _Tacoma_. We left many behind who would have given their
eye-teeth to be in our boots. It seemed almost too good to be true that
we should be upon that stanch vessel, in good health, and with the near
prospect of enjoying the delights of a home-coming. As is frequently the
case when one has been counting the days which are to lead up to an
anticipated pleasure, a certain apprehension that some mishap might
occur to delay departure had been felt by us during these last days in
Alaska. The _Tacoma_, which before the Nome excitement had been engaged
in the China trade, was officered by Scotsmen and Englishmen and manned
by Chinamen. Big and steady, with roomy decks, she was crowded to the
limit of her passenger accommodations. Though the majority of the
passengers had been unsuccessful, the fact of going home made all
light-hearted and good-natured.
One of the first persons I saw was our Pullman porter friend, who
greeted us grinning and deferentially, though we were still in that
wholesome atmosphere where all men meet on equal terms and no one is
better than the other until he proves it so. He said that he had been
lucky in getting hold of a claim, and drew from his pocket a good-sized
bottle pretty well filled with gold-dust. I learned further that he
would "railroad" during the winter and return in the spring to Nome,
having left behind a "good partner" whom he had so tied up that it
would be impossible to be defrauded! I was flattered to know that on the
occasion of his getting into a "jack-pot" (some trouble) he had hunted
Nome after me for legal advice. He had many opportunities to get into
"trouble" during the voyage home, as he gambled all the time.