 Chapter 8 of A Woman Who Went to Alaska by Mae Kellogg-Sullivan This LiberVox recording is in the public domain. This recording by Karen Cummins. Chapter 8. Fresh Danger At this plan, all the passengers appeared pleased. We were now entering upon the most dangerous part of our voyage. No one knew what was before us. If our ship should receive serious damage from the ice floes or bergs, with which we were almost sure to come in contact, it would be well if we were accompanied by a sister ship which could render assistance. If she were in trouble and we unharmed, we could lend a helping hand to her, and so none murmured at the unique arrangement. Nothing, however, was seen of the much-dreaded ice until about noon on Sunday, June 10th. The air had been steadily growing colder so that woolen clothing and fur wraps were in demand. Men thrust their hands into their pockets or drew on gloves while they stamped their feet upon deck to keep themselves warm in the open air. Soon to our right lay a great semi-circular field of ice in places piled high, looking cold, jagged, and dangerous. In the distance, those having field-glasses saw two clumsy, slow-moving objects which they could easily distinguish as polar bears on floating cakes of ice. By the latter we were soon surrounded and were obliged, slowly and cautiously, to pick our way through towards the narrowest spot or where the nearest open water could be seen beyond. Floating ice now lay all around us, appearing only a few feet above the water. Below it the bergs extended many times that distance. Sometimes they were small and looked harmless enough, but many were large, massive, and full of death-dealing power if urged against the sides of a ship by the wind or struck accidentally. Carefully we picked our way along, watched as we were by every soul aboard the elder following, until we had successfully made our way through the ice-pack and glided out into the blue waters beyond. Then came a great shout from the throats of spectators on both ships, and praises for the master and his crew, who were doing such good work, were loudly sung. Immediately our maneuvers were repeated by the elder, and we watched her with interest equal to their own. Then as she passed the danger point and swung safely through the ice-bergs and out, both ships, like fresh, uncaged birds, sped lightly and swiftly over the water northward. In a few hours we were awakened from afternoon naps by the ringing of the ship's bell, and found ourselves again surrounded by floating bergs. A man in the bow was taking soundings with lead in line, calling out every few seconds, no bottom, no bottom. And then hauling in the lead again as the ship crept carefully along. From submerged flows there was now the greatest danger, but we gradually drew away from all floating ice and sailed safely away as before. Each Sunday on board the St. Paul had been marked by some religious service conducted by one of the preachers, while an improvised quartet of voices led the singing. June 10th service had been held in the forenoon when a short sermon had followed the singing of a few familiar old hymns by the assembled passengers. Now in the early evening, while I sat with a few friends in the dining-salon, rehearsing hymns for the coming service, suddenly the ship's bell rang out upon the still night air. Instantly there came a jar, a quiver, and all rushed out upon deck to see what had happened. We had been rudely jostled by an unseen ice flow, while the eyes of the pilot had been occupied by the ones visible. Several times this happened. We were in the midst of a sea of ice flows. There was no visible egress ahead. We must back out, if possible, as we had come. Soon our steamer was stopped for the night, and religious services were begun in the dining-salon. About one hundred persons were present. Our quartet sang five or six selections, rock of ages, and throw out the lifeline, among others. The preacher offered prayer, read scripture promises, and spoke feelingly for twenty minutes. We talked of our lives being only short spans, the length of which depends upon the will of God, and it is the duty of each soul, he said, to be prepared to meet its maker. It was a solemn moment for all. Outside the ice drifted slowly about, thick fog settled over us, the ship's whistle sounded, and night came on. The loneliness increased. When the speaker had closed his remarks, he asked that the quartet sing, nearer my God to thee, and we sang it. Sweet and firm was the voice of the English girl now, and when, with uplifted arm and softly spoken benediction, the minister dismissed us, it was to go upon deck feeling stronger and much comforted. There was yet no breath of wind stirring. For this we thanked a kind providence, for had the wind risen, our lives would have been in jeopardy indeed. In that case, the massive ice cakes would have been blown swiftly and heavily about to crush all ships like eggshells and send them to the bottom of the sea. For breakfast we ate yellow cornbread and bacon, with a relish such as it never gave it home, and even those who had been seasick for days were beginning to get away with their rations. At eight in the morning the anchor with its rattling chain was dropped and we lay in an open spot. An hour later there was no perceptible motion of the ship. The sea was smooth as a carpet, and our tired captain had gone to bed. For forty-eight hours he had not slept, nor scarcely left the bridge, and the rest was badly needed. Two days we lay anchored in a dead calm, waiting for the passing ice to open away for us through to Nome. Three ships lay near us, as well as two larger ones out farther in the ice fields. But the fog hung gray and persistent over our heads, and we could do nothing but wait. Another concert was given by the musicians, and as the steamer lay gently rocking upon the waters of the Great Sea, through the open front windows there floated out to our sister ship, the sweet and pleasing strains of the violins and mandolins. Were they telling in lively Allegretto movements of our safe landing on golden shores, and of our successful achievements followed by a safe and happy return to home in loved ones? Or were the Adagios mournfully predicting perils, coming disaster, and death? Who could tell? For myself, I felt that whatever came to me would be in accordance with the will and wish of a higher power, and it would be all right in any case. My choice was, of course, from the human standpoint, for life, happiness and success in the pursuit of gold, but this with me was not an obstinate nor rebellious sentiment. Should all these good things be denied me, I could say it is well. I felt satisfied that the way from my going to Alaska had been wonderfully open by an unseen influence which I had been taught from earliest childhood to recognize, and this belief, which was a firm and abiding one, held me calm and contended. Night after night I slept in my birth as soundly as though at home in my bed, and not even the sudden jolt and quiver of the icebergs, coming often into collision with the ship, caused me to awaken. The night of June 12th, about eleven o'clock, just after having retired but being still awake, I heard a sudden and piercing scream. The English madam with me, being still dressed, rushed upon deck to find out the cause of the disturbance. Rushing towards her with pale and frightened face was her daughter, who had been lunching in the dining-salon. An iceberg of immense proportions and greater height than usual had struck the ship with a crash, coming up suddenly and most unexpectedly from underneath the fog bank, so that the watchful pilot was taken unawares. The English girl said the berg, when alongside the ship, reached the height of the upper deck and appeared like a huge mountain of ice from her place at the window. It was consternation at the side of what was apparently sure and speedy destruction, which had caused the woman's scream. Investigation was immediately made of the ship's plates, which, though considerably dented by the ice, were still, thanks to a kind providence, intact, and again I settled myself for the night and slept. Next day men were restless. They wanted to be on their way to Gnome. It was not for this that they had paid a large price for their tickets and assurances that they would arrive early at Gnome, and they agreed that there was no more danger in steaming ahead than in lying anchored with the ice bumping into us and liable to break through the ship's sides at any moment. Will you sign a petition to the captain asking that he proceed on his way to Gnome without further delay? Asked a friend of me while the St. Paul was anchored in the ice still drifting around us. They are circulating such a petition and have a good many signers or those who are willing to sign it, and I wanted to know how you feel about it, said my friend. What is the matter with the captain? Did they not announce their confidence in him by coming aboard this steamer, and has he done anything to cause them to lose faith in his ability to pilot them safely through? Has he not brought them on their voyage thus far without accident? I asked. Oh yes, certainly. Then I for one shall abide by the captain's judgment and remain anchored here so long as he sees fit to order it. You can say to the others that I will sign no petition, said I. Whether my decision and firmness in the matter had any weight with others, I know not. But the petition was dropped, and the captain probably never knew that such a thing had been proposed. The morning of June 13th, the sun shone out clear and bright, great fields of ice surrounded us, and many other ships were also hemmed in at different places. The elder lay contendantly beside us. It was not so cold when the fog had lifted, and the clearer atmosphere made it possible to see for many miles over the Bergstruhn waters. Men were walking restlessly about on deck, trying to keep their impatience down and their hands and feet warm. They feared that other ships with hundreds of passengers would land at Nome before they could, and that would mean loss, perhaps in many ways to them. We were less than two hundred miles from Nome and could easily make the run in a day if allowed a free sea. By this time, the face of the steward began to show anxiety, and he watched the horizon with interest. Serving, as he did, nearly 1500 meals daily, he feared a shortage of supplies if the ship was delayed many days longer. Ten sacks of flour and 1500 pounds of meat were used daily, and other things in proportion. For breakfast one day, 90 dozen eggs were fed to the people. High overhead, the stars and stripes were now hoisted to announce our joy at being delivered from so many dangers, and at leading the way for others to follow. No one could pass us, and we would, after all, be among the first, if not the very first, to reach Nome. The captain looked jaded and worn, but happy and relieved, being able now to get some of the much needed rest so long denied him when in the ice fields. When congratulated by the passengers upon his skill, for by this time they had entirely forgotten their discontent of the previous days, and were willing to give him and his crew due praise, he smiled and thanked them kindly, then went away to rest. Early next morning anchor was dropped at Nome. At last we had reached our destination. We had traveled 3139 miles in 19 days, and could have done it in much shorter time had it not been for the ice. Several small ships lay at anchor before us, but we were immediately followed by many large steamers bringing thousands of people to Nome. The weather was splendid. Many of the passengers were in such haste to reach shore, then they left without breakfast. But we waited until 10 in the morning before boarding the lighter, and I donned a dress suitable to the occasion. This was cut short and was worn with high stout boots, leggings, warm coat, cap and veil, with extra wraps for the trip of 2 miles to shore. Certainly we now presented a very unique spectacle. We were really a sort of Noah's art collection with the roof of the ark omitted, women in abbreviated skirts, long rubber boots, golf capes, caps and sweaters, men covered in long raglands, fur coats, jumpers, or whatever happened to be at hand, and all rushing pel-mel in the direction of the lighter, by means of which they hoped to land on the golden beach of Nome. Baggaged there was in stacks. There were boxes, grips, trunks, army sacks, everything but babies, bird cages and bandwagons. Passage for an automobile had been engaged in San Francisco, but at the last moment the lady accompanying the big machine was suddenly indisposed and obliged to allow the Saint Paul to sail without her. The sea was now quite rough. The lighter was brought close alongside. The rope ladder was thrown over the side of the ship with its lower end dangling upon the lighter's deck and we were told we could now go ashore. This was the moment for which we had longed and all were ready, like Kesa Bianca, minus the fire and peanuts. The fat widow of the company tied her bonnet more tightly under her chin, clutched at her pudgy skirts and grasping the deck rail placed her foot upon the rope ladder to descend. Don't look down! shouted someone to her, fearing she might grow dizzy if she did so. Don't hurry, take your time! Called out another. Keep cool and you're all right! Instructed another, at which time the widow, with fluttering veil, pale face and eyes starting from their sockets with fright, reached the lowest round of the ladder and stepped to the deck of the lighter. Her bonnet was awry. The belt of her dress had become unfastened while her skirts were twisted around her in some unaccountable way and her teeth chattering. But she only drew a long sigh as she sank in a limp heap upon an army sack marked with big black letters and said gaspingly, this is terrible. Others followed her example. Some protested they would rather stay on the ship or go back to San Francisco than scramble down that beastly rope ladder, swaying as it did back and forth with every motion of the ship to which it was attached. For myself, I had never posed as especially courageous and wondered how I should get on. But I said nothing. From watching the others, I had learned that to make haste slowly was a good method to follow in the present case. As a misstep without a firm hand grip upon the sides of the ladder while descending would be likely to send one without warning into the yard wide gulf of boiling waters between the ship's side and the lighter as the barge was literally dancing a tendance upon the vessel in the rough sea. Finally everything was ready. All passengers had left the ship. The lighter was crowded to the last inch of space, baggage and freight along the sides and passengers in the middle sitting wherever they could find a box or bag upon which to sit. A tugboat made fast to the lighter. We said goodbye to the Saint Paul and moved away. We are bidding goodbye to all comforts now, exclaimed an old no-mite dubiously. For we won't find any on shore, least wise, not unless it has improved more in the last 10 months that I think it has. It was a tough place enough last summer and that's no Josh either. Looking around him at the ladies of the party and evidently wondering what they would think of the celebrated mining town. Many by this time looked sober but it was not a hard camp that they feared. They had expected to find a typical camp with all the attendant evils usual in such a place and now they were almost there. In fact they looked out over the heaps of baggage toward shore at the long line of white tents, buildings of every description from a board shack to a hotel or large store and it seemed good in their eyes. Very good. For some unseen reason as the barge following as it did at the end of the long line from the tug rode first upon the top of a big breaker and then below in the trough there was a decided longing on the part of some to be on land. It did not much matter where it was. Europe, Asia, Africa or any old place. But as for this confounded zigzagging, even old hook which is trying its best to take us to Honolulu sideways. I want no more of it. Groud one man. Give me no more I die. Guessed another. No more big water in mine for two years and maybe by that time they will have airships to fly in. Muddered a little man as he lay on his back among a pile of bags and gulped at something in his throat he was trying to keep down. So the barge bobbed up and down among the breakers riding to the crest of a wave with a gliding graceful motion only to reach out beyond it and then as the waters underneath receded dropping heavily with a thud and a splash making one feel that he was being dealt with most unceremoniously. The same thing was again and again repeated until we rode as close to the shore as the tug could take us. Then the line was cut a rope was thrown us from shore and with a steam windlass or other contrivance we were hauled upon the sands. Then a gangplank was speedily pushed out over the intervening watery space which the passengers took their turns and crossing until all stood upon the beach. A few to be sure with wet feet damp clothing and soggy tempers if some vicious big breaker in parting had dashed its white foam-tipped waters over their heads but all glad and thankful to arrive in gnome at last. End of Chapter 8 Chapter 9 In A Woman Who Went To Alaska By May Kellogg Sullivan This Libervox recording is in the public domain. This recording by Karen Cummins. Chapter 9 Gnome The man who had predicted that we would find no comforts in gnome proved himself a true prophet. There were none. Crowded, dirty, disorderly, full of saloons and gambling houses with a few fourth-class restaurants and one or two mediocre hotels. We found the new mining camp a typical one in every respect. Prices were sky high, one even paid for a drink of water. Having our newly found Alaska appetites with us, we at once upon landing made our way to an eating-house, the best to be found. Here a cup of poor tea, a plate of thin soup, and questionable meat stew with bread were served us upon nicked china, soiled table linen, and with blackened steel knives and forks for the enormous sum of one dollar ahead which so dumbfounded us that we paid it without a murmur, backed out the door and blankly gazed into each other's faces. Such prices will ruin us, gasped the madam, at table linen, ah, shuddered the young man. Fifteen cents in California for such a meal, growled the English girl in her matter-of-fact way, and with wide, distended eyes. While I found such amusement in watching the three faces before me, that I barely found breath to remind them of the two tons of nice things in their own packing cases at the landing. If only they are soon landed, groaned madam, and we set off at our best gate to find the cases. But we did not succeed. The freight was being unloaded from the ship, we were told, as rapidly as it was possible to handle it. But one lighter and small tug boat in a very rough sea, unloading a ship two miles off the beach, must have time. And we waited. Only two or three lighters were to be head at Nome, other large steamers were being unloaded, and hundreds of people were hourly being landed upon the beach. There was no shelter for them anywhere, every building was full, and confusion was badly confounded. To make matters worse, it began to rain. If we could only find our freight and get our tents, beds, supplies, et cetera, we would be all right. But it would be impossible that day, we found, after making repeated excursions through the freight house and numberless inquiries at the office. Something must be done, but what? I now remembered some Dawson acquaintances in town made the fall before, while coming down the Yukon River with my brother. To one family of these I made my way. They were in the grocery and bakery business on a prominent corner on First Street, and their signboard caught my eye. Blessings on the heads of kind Mr. and Mrs. M of Nome City. They were delighted to see me. They lived back of the store in one room, which contained their bed, stove, cupboard, baby organ, table, chairs, and trunks. But they also owned a one-room shack next door, which was vacant for a few days, being already rented to a dentist who would make some repairs before taking possession. I could bring my friends and baggage into this without charge if I wished until we secured our freight, Mrs. M said kindly, and I pressed her hand in real gratitude with many thanks. I am almost ashamed to show you the room, said the kind little woman as she unlocked the door of the shack and stepped inside. But it is better than no shelter in this rain, and you can have a fire in the stove, pointing to a small and rusty coal heater in one corner. I wish I had some blankets or fur robes to lend you, but everything I have is in use. You are welcome to bring in as many friends as you like if they will share the poor place with you, and you are quite safe here too, for you see the barracks are just opposite, pointing across the muddy little alley down which a few boards had been laid for a sidewalk. And the soldiers are here to keep order, though they do sometimes find it a rather hard job. Then I thanked the little woman again most heartily, and as I took from her hands the door key and stepped outside into the rain to bring my waiting friends and baggage from the freight house, I offered a little prayer of thanks to our good father and hurried away. At the steamer's landing all was hurly burly and noise. It was now late in the afternoon, still raining at intervals and muddy underfoot, though the weather was not cold. Finding my English friends I told them of Mrs. M's kindness and offer of her room, which they were well pleased to accept with me, and we gathered up our luggage and started for the place. Passing through the freight house on our way to the street, Madam said, pointing to the figures of two women huddled in a corner, see, Judge Ah from the St. Paul has not found a room yet, and Mrs. Ah and her friend, the nurse, are sitting there waiting for the judge to return. His wife is nearly sick, and they have no idea where they can get a room. Judge Ah has been looking for hours for one without success, she said in a sympathetic tone. Let us speak to them, said I going over to where the ladies sat. Hearing their story and seeing for myself that both women were cold, hungry, and disheartened, I decided on the spot to share Mrs. M's hospitality with them, made the proposal, which they very thankfully accepted, and we trailed off up the street laden with luggage. Then Madam's son was found, informed of the situation, asked to bring Judge Ah and a few loaves of bread from the shop, along with the remaining luggage, to our new camping place in the little board shack near the barracks. Seeing us arrive, and that the three elderly ladies looked worn and travel-stained, Mrs. M urged us to come into her room and take tea and crackers, which she had already placed upon the table. This invitation the older ladies gladly accepted, while the English girl and myself looked after our new lodgings. Here now is a state of things indeed. The entire stock of luggage for seven grown persons was soon deposited in the middle of the floor. The room of which the shack consisted was about eight by ten feet square, set directly upon the ground, from which the water oozed at every step of the foot. Two small windows, a front and back door, with a small stove. That was all. These were our accommodations for the night, and perhaps several nights and days. Then we, too, set to work with a will. We swept the floor. We gathered sticks for a fire. We threw boards down outside the door upon which to walk instead of in the mud, a pail of water was brought from a hydrant after paying twenty-five cents for it, and a box was converted into a table. Luggage was sorted. Lunch baskets were ransacked, while ten cups, coffee pot, knives, forks and spoons were found with a fresh white cloth upon which to spread the food. When Judge R finally appeared, it was supper time. He carried a ten frypan under one arm, a bag containing one dozen eggs, and a few slices of ham on a paper plate, for which articles he had paid the goodly sum of one dollar and seventy-five cents. Waving the frypan above his old gray head, the jolly judge shouted, See the conquering hero comes! Oh, but I'm hungry. Say, how in the world did you get this place? I hunted four mortal hours and failed to find a shack, room, or tent for the night. Four thousand people landed here today, and still they come. Jerusalem crickets! What a crowd! Everybody is in from Dan to Beersheba. We will have fifteen thousand people here soon if they don't stop coming, and no shelter for them. Then changing his tone and glancing toward his wife, and how is my dear little wifey by this time? Tenderly padding Mrs. R's white hand, which belonged to a woman tipping the beam at two hundred. Aren't you glad we came? I am. Then rattling on without giving his wife a chance to speak, for her eyes had filled with tears. I think I've got a case already. Claim number four on D. Creek. Jump last winter while owner was away, jumper won't leave, talked with owner today, think I'll get the job. Said the hopeful old judge, sitting on an empty cracker box and eating bread and cheese from his fingers. Eat your supper, dear, to his wife, who was taking nothing. And you shall have a bed tonight, the best in Nome City. See, there it is now! Pointing to a big roll of dark brown canvas done up with a few varnished sticks. A folding cot, new patent, good and strong. It'll need to be strong to hold you up, won't it, dearie? Now please take your tea like a good girl to brace up your courage, or would you like a drop of sherry? To all of this, Mrs. R shook her head. She did not speak. Neither did she attempt to eat, for there was a big lump in her throat which prevented. The rest of our party enjoyed the supper. Some sat on boxes, others stood up, but we ate ham and eggs, bread, butter and cheese, tea and crackers, pickles, jellies and jams, as being the greatest comforts we could find in the camp, and we made them speedily disappear. At last the supper things were cleared away, and remaining food repacked in the baskets. The patent cot was unrolled, set up and made ready for Mrs. R, who was the only one favored with a bed. The others finally faced the proposition and prepared, as best they could, their chosen floor spaces for their beds. All slept in their clothing, for we had no bedding, and the night was cold. The two men were banished to the outer air, where together they smoked and talked of affairs of the day, while we women unbuttoned our shoes, took out a few hairpins, cold-creamed our sunburn faces, and then, between jokes, stories and giggling, we settled ourselves, with much difficulty and hard snuggling, among our bags, raincoats, steamer rugs and wraps, on the rough board floor for the night. Coming in later, the judge spread his borrowed fur robe upon the floor beside his wife's cot, covered himself with one half of the same, chuckling as he did so. I'm glad my bones are well cushioned with that, and that I'm old and tough and like this sort of thing. I say, wife, isn't it jolly? And the portly and sunny old judge dropped off to sleep to keep me awake most of the night by his snoring. If I slept little that night, I did not waste my time. My brain was busy forming plans of action. It was not wise to have only one plan, for that one might fail. Better to have several. And some one of these would probably succeed. I felt a good deal of anxiety to know whether my father or brother had or would come to gnome. If either or both of them came, I would have no further difficulty because I would work for and with them. But if they did not come, what was I to do? I had little money. I would not go home. I would work. I was a good cook, though I had never done such work except for our own home folks. I knew that cooking was the kind of service most in demand in this country from women, for my travels in Alaska the year before had taught me that. I could teach music, and I could paint passively in watercolors and oils. In fact, I had been a teacher of all three. But in Alaska, these luxuries were not in demand. I could not expect to do anything in these directions, for men and women had come to gnome for gold, expected to get lots of it and that quickly. They had no time for Beethoven's sonatas or watercolor drawings. It was now an urgent question of food, shelter, and work with all. And the man or woman who could the quickest devise ways and means, the one who saw the needs of the time and place and was able to supply those needs, was the one who could make the most money. Of course, being a woman, I was unable to do beach mining as could a man, and as many men expected to do. Those who brought large outfits and plenty of money with them were immediately obliged to hire help. But it was generally a man's help, like carpenter work, hauling and handling supplies or machinery, making gold washers and sluice boxes, or digging out the gold in the creeks. None of these could I do. On the steamer, all these things had been well talked over among ourselves, for others beside myself were wondering which way they should turn when they found themselves a gnome. As to there being any disgrace connected with work of any sort, it never entered my head. From a child, I had been taught that work was honorable, and especially for a woman, housework and cooking were respectable and healthy service. So I had no pride whatever in the matter. It was only a question of finding the work, and I did not doubt my ability to find it somewhere. On the voyage from San Francisco, I had thought well of the three Swedish women and believed they would succeed in their proposed plan of restaurant work. I said to myself that if I were obliged to seek work, I should like to be with them if possible, or at least with some of the lucky Swedes, as the rich Anvil Creek mine owners were usually designated. These miners all hired cooks for their camps, as they kept large numbers of men at work day and night on the Anvil Creek claims, the season being so short for placer mining in this country. Anvil Creek was only four miles away, and the star restaurant, as my friends had already named their proposed eating house, would be headquarters for all the Scandinavians on Anvil and the entire district. For this reason, and because the three had so many acquaintances who would bring them patronage, and because their pleasant faces and agreeable manners always made friends for them, I felt sure that they would be able to give me work if they chose and I so desired. Then, too, there were the several Dawson families of my acquaintance here, and I would find them. Possibly some of them might give me work if I ask them. However, the first move to be made was to find our freight and baggage, and a spot upon which to pitch our tents, and the sooner that was done, the better, as the best and cleanest camping places were fast being appropriated by the newcomer's hourly landing. It was not easy to find a clean dry spot for a tent, as I had found the day before that the black soggy soil was hardly free from frost a foot down, and this made it everywhere marshy, as the water could not keep down nor run off where it was level. Someone on the steamer who had been and known before had advised us to pitch our tents on the sand spit at the mouth of Snake River, as that was the cleanest, driest, and most helpful spot near fresh water that we could find. And my mind was made up that it was to the sand spit I would go. Many had been the warnings from friends before leaving home about drinking in pure water, getting typhoid fever and other deadly diseases, and without having any particular fear as to these things I still earnestly desired a clean and helpful camping place. This then was the way I planned during most of the first night after landing in Gnome. If I slept it was towards morning, when I had become accustomed to the regular and stentorian snores of the old judge, or when, for a few moments after turning in asleep, his snorts and wheezes had not yet reached their loudest pitch, and when my wishes had shaped themselves so distinctly into plans for work that I felt relieved and full of confidence, and so slept a little. Next day I looked for my father. At the landing, on the streets, in the stores, at all times I was on the lookout, though it was a difficult matter to find anyone in a crowd such as that in Gnome. I saw several acquaintances from Dawson the year before, and people from different steamers that I knew, but not my father. At nine o'clock next morning three of us started out to find the Sandspit, with, if possible, a good camping spot to which we could take our freight as soon as it was landed, and part of our number was detailed to stay at the landing while we investigated. Down through the principal thoroughfare we pushed our way, now on Plank Sidewalk, now in the middle of the street if the walks were too crowded, but going to the west end of town till we came to Snake River Bridge, where we crossed to the Sandspit. At the toll gate we easily passed, as all women were allowed to go over free, men only being charged ten cents toll. Here we quickly found a clean dry place on the riverbank, a hundred feet below the bridge, and two hundred feet from the ocean, which we chose for our tents. Now arose the question, would anyone have any objection to our pitching our tents temporarily? Seeing some men striking camp nearby we asked them. They told us that we could get permission, they thought, from an old captain, nearby on a stranded boat, now being used as an eating-house, and to him we went. He was not in. Going back to the Sandspit it was decided that I should remain upon the spot while my companions went back to the landing. I was to remain there till some of them came back. This I did, sitting on a box in the sunshine with my Kodak, Umbrella, and lunch basket beside me for hours. When Madame returned, saying their search for their freight was still unavailing, I left her in my place and again called upon the captain. Calling the third time at his boat, I found him and secured his ready permission to temporarily pitch our tents upon the Sands, for he was an alderman with adjoining town-lots, he told us. By six o'clock that afternoon a part of Madame's baggage and freight was found, hauled by dog-team through town to the Sandspit, and deposited upon the ground. Then we bestirred ourselves to get a tent up in which we could sleep, as I for one was determined not to be kept awake by the judges snores another night if I had to work till morning. The others shared my feelings and we worked like beavers till midnight. By that time a small tent had been put up, boxes of bedding unpacked, as well as cooking utensils, oil stoves, and foods, so that we could begin cooking. At the continuous daylight we were much pleased, coming gradually into it as we had done on the steamer. We were prepared for it, but the advantage of a continuous day to a busy hustling camp like this one had not presented itself to us until we ourselves attempted to work half the night. Then we realized it fully. At nine in the evening a beautiful twilight enveloped all, restful to nerves and eyes, but still light enough to read by. At ten o'clock it was lighter, and upon the placid waters of Snake River, only fifteen feet away, lay quiet shadows cast from the opposite side, clearly and beautifully reflected. A few small steamers lay further downstream near the river's mouth, row boats were tied along the edge of the water, and on the sand spit below us was a camp of Eskimos, their tiny canoes, and larger skinboats being hauled upon shore beside them for safety. At midnight the sun was almost shining, the air was salt, fresh and clear, while the sky seemed to hang low and lovingly above our heads. After eating a midnight lunch of our own getting of bread and butter with hot tea, we deposited ourselves, still dressed, upon the tops of madam's big packing cases, from which had been taken pillows and blankets, and slept soundly till morning, notwithstanding the fact that the hammers of hundreds of carpenters were busy around us all night. Next morning all felt fresh and invigorated, the sun shone brightly. In the roadstead two miles away, lay several newly arrived steamers, their deep toned whistles frequently sounding over the intervening waters. It was a beautiful sight and welcome sound. How easily the long and graceful breakers rolled and broke upon the sands, with what music the foam-tipped wavelets spread their edges, like the lace-trimmed ruffles on some lady's gown, upon the smooth and glistening beach, how the white tents everywhere looked like doves of peace just alighted, and the little boats danced up and down on the river. I was glad to be there. I enjoyed it. Nothing, not even the hard work, the storms nor the bitter arctic winter which came afterwards, ever a face from my memory, the beautiful pictures of river, sea, and sky repeatedly displayed during those first novel and busy days at Nome. The Four Sisters It was during the first excitement of the gold discoveries in the Klondike that four sisters left their home in Chicago and started for Dawson. They were young, hopeful, ambitious, and handsome. They owned a town lot in the city, but they had not the means with which to erect a building upon it, and the money would never be forthcoming if they remained where they were. The ordinary salary of a working woman in an office or store was not sufficient to allow them more than a trifle above necessary living expenses, and they could see themselves old, wrinkled, and gray before they could hope to attain their desired object. Reaching Dawson safely, as they did after weeks of peril and many novel experiences, they set to work at what seemed to them at the moment the most lucrative labor of which they were capable. They were fitted for laundry work only by being well and strong physically, and by having a willingness to do whatever they first found to do. This proved to be work at the wash tub. Here the four women labored month after month with a will, with the result that at the end of a year their bank account was not insignificant. They owned several gold claims, and in all the mining camp there were none who did not respect the four sisters. Then came their first dark days. It was mid-summer. Down among the grass roots and between the rocks of the hillside back of the famous camp, there trickled numerous freshwater springs, pure and cold when they left their sequestered sources among the seams and fissures, but gaining nothing of purity when spread out upon the little plain now thickly dotted with cabins. Here in the hurry and rush of the fast-growing camp, when fortunes came quickly and men lived at a rapid pace, there was little time for sanitary precautions, and so it presently happened that a shadow like a huge black bird of ill omen suddenly hovered above the camp, sending a shudder through its entire length. A tiny germ, so small as to pass unnoticed and unheeded by, and yet with all so deadly as to be called a plague, crept along, insinuating itself into the streamlets, making their way as best they could to their father, the Yukon, and the fever laid low many victims. Early and late had the sisters toiled, never in a half-hearted way but untiringly, day after day, until one of their number, being perhaps less strong, or more weary from work to which she had been unaccustomed, and more susceptible to disease, was stricken with fever, and after only a few days illness, whispered her loving goodbyes. This happened in the summer of 1899, and rumors of the great gold strike at Nome now reached Dawson. One sister had been persuaded by a member of the Dawson Bar to make for him a happy home during the remainder of his life, and she was married. Again their party numbered the original four, though there were now only three sisters. The excitement in Dawson regarding the new Nome gold fields daily increased, and it was stated by reliable steamer men from St. Michael that the new strike rivaled that of the Klondike. The little party of four decided to go to Nome. In a short time their business was arranged, sales made, gold claims placed in charge of agents, and everything made in readiness for their journey to Nome. It was the middle of September, the last boats were leaving Dawson, both for points on the upper Yukon, and for St. Michael. People leaving Dawson by boat in the fall seldom linger beyond the third or fourth week in September, for then the river may freeze at any time, and they be prisoners in the camp indefinitely. The lower river steamer Hannah was about to push from the dock at Dawson when a friend introduced me to the three sisters, and during the following days on board an acquaintance sprung up which I much enjoyed. Little did we know that this friendship would afterwards be renewed nearly two thousand miles away, and under circumstances vastly different from any with which we had before become familiar. Landing safely from the Hannah at St. Michael, a few days were spent by the sisters waiting for stormy weather to subside, and they then sailed for Nome. Here they landed during the last days of September amid falling snow, bleak winds and boiling surf, upon the sands of the most inhospitable beach in all that dreary Northland. No tree was to be seen, not a rock under whose friendly shelter one might hide from the storms. There was almost no lumber in the camp with which to build houses, and no incoming steamers expected. A few rude shacks, tents and saloons, with two or three companies buildings, of these was the town composed. Many were rushing for the steamers and waiting, determined only upon one thing, to get home to the states. Some carried heavy sacks of gold, others went empty handed. There was the summer's accumulation of filth in the camp, too young as yet for cleanly conditions, and these brought their sure accompaniment, the fever. Many suffered for weeks with it, and then died. Again came the dread plague to the sisters. Scarcely had they unpacked their trunks or found shelter for the winter, when the younger of the sisters was stricken down. For days she raved in delirium, and all feared she would die. Night and day they watched anxiously by her bedside. Everything was done for her recovery and comfort that could be done in a new and rough camp like the one at Gnome. For all who knew the beautiful little sister loved her well. Then came the time when all the long and heavy yellow hair had to be cut from the lovely head in obedience to the doctor's orders. But the little sister lived, their prayers were answered, the worst was over, the danger passed. Then followed long and weary weeks of convalescing, while the winter storms raged outside the little cabin, and the sun retreated farther from the arctic circle in Gnome. But the sisters thanked God and again took courage. Months after came the welcome springtime. With the earliest fine weather and revival of business in the camp, the sisters erected a store building and warehouse on the beach nearby. Into the latter they moved temporarily, hoping to rent the store to some of the numerous tender feet sure to arrive on the first passenger steamers. It was here I found the sisters on my arrival at Gnome from San Francisco in June 1900. Little sister was well and strong again, growing a fresh crop of roses and lilies on her cheeks, and a new head covering of lovely wavy yellow hair. On her lips she wore the same sweet old smiles, however, and I knew her well by these. Since her recovery from the fever, the hands of the sisters had not been idle, and they had become expert at sewing furs. This had kept them busy as bees all winter, and many were the caps, coats, mittens, and capes made by their industrious fingers, which brought them a good income, while their rooms were always the rendezvous of friends, than which a jollier lot could not be discovered. Of the good influence going out through the rough mining camp during the long and dreary winter from the home of these sweet and Christian women, no account has probably ever been kept, except by the recording angel who never forgets. The day after we landed at Gnome, I secured work, not however to begin immediately, which pleased me well, as I should then have a little time to look for father, inspect the camp, study conditions, and take notes and Kodak views. Can you cook for a gang of men? Asked Mr. A kindly, smiling down at me when I had stopped him on the street and asked for work in his camp for the English girl and myself, as we wish to be together. Indeed, I can. I will do my very best, Mr. A, and I feel sure we can please you. My friend is an extra good cook, as you will discover if you give us work. Will you try us? I will, he replied. At what wages please? Five dollars per day each, with board. Properly answered the gentleman whose two gold claims on famous Anvil Creek made him one of the richest men in Alaska. So it was settled. Claim number nine, Anvil, was about seven miles from Gnome, and one of the most noted claims in the district. Mr. A, a former Swedish missionary at Goloven Bay, had, with his Dr. Brother, voyage to Gnome on the St. Paul when we did. So we already had a slight acquaintance with both gentlemen, and were pleased to get the work. Anvil Creek claims had been worked the summer before. Gold had first been discovered in the fall of 1898 by Mr. Holtberg, a Swedish missionary, who learned of the precious metal around Gnome from the Eskimos. His mission was stationed at Goloven Bay, and he notified the Swedes, Bryntonsen, Hagelin, Lindblum, and Linderberg, who in turn saw G.W. Price and induced him to go with them as he was the only one there experienced in mining. Price was on his way to Kodiak over the ice by dog team, en route to California, as the representative of C.D. Lane, the San Francisco Mining Man and Millionaire. The most of Anvil Creek was staked by this party before they returned to the mines at Council City, 50 miles up Fish River from Goloven Bay. On July 2nd, 1899, a second cleanup was made on number one above discovery claim, Anvil Creek, the property of Jay Linderberg. The result of four men shoveling out of the creek bed from a cut five feet to bedrock for 20 hours amounted to $14,000 in gold dust. The men shoveled all the gravel from the moss down to bedrock into the sluice box as it was all pay gravel. The owner refused $500,000 for the property without considering the offer. Tierney is authority for the statement that this claim produced $400,000 that season. From this time, the discoverers were known by the sobriquet of the Lucky Swedes for Anvil Creek was all good. There being no really poor dirt in it and number nine above discovery claim proved itself the first summer, also a banner winner. It was here that we expected to work as soon as supplies could be hauled to the claim the monotony of bread making and dishwashing to be varied by the new and strange sites on an enormously rich gold claim not far from the Arctic Circle. Everywhere around us were carpenter's hammers in operation and tents were rapidly going up. We found great difficulty in reserving ground space enough for another tent as others found the sands bit as desirable for tending as we did and elbowed us closely. Along the river's edge and the beach nearby, many were digging and panning in the sands searching for colors. Dog teams were hauling freight and baggage with their swearing and perspiring drivers at their heels and while the big black snake whips flourished in air above the dogs or upon their straining backs, the tongues of the fateful brutes hung from their mouths and their wide open eyes looked appealingly at bystanders. My heart ached for the animals but there were no humane societies in Alaska. About five o'clock on Sunday afternoon it began to snow. This was the first June snowstorm I had ever seen. Our little tent leaked badly as it had been hastily pitched and the snow melted as it fell. Small rivers of water were soon dropping upon our heads. Raincoats, oilcloth and opened umbrellas were utilized to protect the clothing and the bedding. An hour of this experience would have been enough for one time but troubles seldom come singly and so the wind began to blow. Donning her raincoat and rubbers the English girl did her best to tighten ropes and make the tent taut for madam's son had not returned from town. Presently to our great joy we saw him coming with a loaded dog team of freight and best of all with a man friend to assist him whose strong arms and broad shoulders were well fitted to tent pitching. Hastily the cart was unloaded and the large canvas tent unrolled and laid upon the sand. Stakes were driven, poles adjusted, ropes stretched with much straining as the wind whistled more vigorously and snows still fell and the two men, both wet and cold, huddled into the little tent for a cup of hot tea which was waiting. Then strong hands opened more boxes and a large oil stove, carpets, rugs and many other necessary things were hustled into the new tent as well as trunks, bedding and the contents of the small tent with the exception of canned goods and such things as water would not injure. The sands were clean but wet and if we were thankful for a stout canvas cover over our heads we would have also been glad of a dry place underfoot. However carpets and rugs were spread down, stoves lighted and the tent door flap fastened as securely as possible. As well as we could we arranged all for the night but we expected to sleep little for the storm was now fearful. Rain, snow and hail each came down by turns accompanied by a high wind which drove the surf and roaring rage upon the beach. How thankful we were that we had chosen this spot instead of one directly in reach of the great rollers with their mist and spray. Though we had the roar and boom of the surf in our ears continually sometimes it seemed that the wind had lulled and then with increased violence it again screamed above our heads threatening us each moment with disaster. At midnight a supper of hot macaroni, cocoa, bread, butter and cheese with canned meat and jam was heartily eaten by all including the visiting friend from Sitka who had assisted. A low box was used for a table and we all sat upon the mats eating from ten cups and plates with the keenest appetites. The weather was now awful. The storm had increased until it seemed each moment that the tent would be torn from its fastenings and we be left without any protection whatever. The ropes and stakes had frequently to be looked after and made stronger. The snow had turned to rain which beat heavily upon the stout canvas resisting well the water without leaking. By one o'clock the wind showed signs of abating and we were so much in need of sleep that all dressed as we were we rolled ourselves in our blankets and dozed on the rugs close to the oil stoves. For an hour I lay uneasily dreaming or listening to the royal cannonating of the heavy surf upon the beach. From my diary I quote the following extract. Monday four in the morning June 18th 1900. It is four in the morning and we are sitting around the oil stoves in the middle of the tent. We have just had hot cocoa and crackers. The surf still booms but it does not rain and the wind has died down. We are better off than many people. Tomorrow we will put up the other tent and get more settled. We are thankful not to be on the sea beach where so many are camped. A. wishes herself home again. People around our tent all night were talking moving afraid of the storm but the big ships are still here and they would put out to see if it were necessary for their safety. They say we have smallpox in town from the steamer Ohio and yesterday Mrs. H who came up on the St. Paul was reported to be dying from pneumonia. The nurse Mrs. Judge R's friend is caring for her. Judge R and Y are still in Mrs. M's shack near the barracks. It has been daylight all night. I hope to hear from father soon and get my freight. My friends here all have theirs. The two men are smoking and talking while I write and the Eskimo dogs not far away are howling in their usual interesting nightly manner. I will now try to get a little more sleep. We had heard much of beach mining at Nome but saw little of it. Stories were told of men who in the summer of 1899 had taken hundreds of dollars in gold dust from the beach sands by the crudest methods and thousands of men were now flocking into the camp for the purpose of doing beach mining. They were sadly disappointed. Not however because there was no gold in the beach sands but because it was so infinitesimally tiny that they had no means of securing it. No hand rocker, copper plate, nor amalgam had been used with success. Neither did any of the myriads of prospective miners bring anything with them which promised better results. Great heaps of machinery called by hopeful promoters gold dredgers were being daily dumped upon the beach from the ships. Signboards were covered with pictures of things similar while the papers continually bloomed with advertisements of machines which if speedily secured by the miners would, according to the imaginative advertiser, soon cause all to literally roll in riches. One flaming dodger ran in large letters thus, calling millions from the Vasty Deep a fortune in one hundred days. Our dredger will work three thousand yards of sand and heavy surf at Cape Nome. It will take out twenty four thousand dollars in a day. You can make more money with us than by taking flyers and wildcat oil schemes, etc. The poster was illustrated by a huge machine gotten up on the centipede plan. At least it resembled that hated insect from having attached to its frame two sets of wheels of different sizes along the sides like the legs of a centipede but with a steam boiler for a head and a big pipe for a throat from which the salt water was disgorged to wash out this immense amount of sand and give the gold to the miner. It did not save the gold. Thousands of dollars of good, hard-earned money were dumped upon the beach in the shape of heavy machines of different kinds which were worse than useless and only brought bitter disappointment to their owners. Men had stripped the beach the summer before of all-course gold which had perhaps been ages in washing up from the ocean's bed or down the creeks from the hills and only the fine or flower gold as it was called remained. By the newcomers men were cursed for spreading a broad tales of beach mining of the year before but this was unjust for conditions were not the same. The waters bringing the gold to the beach could not in one season replenish and leave the sands as rich as they had been after long years perhaps ages of action and blame could not rightly be attached to anyone almost without exception the men who did the cursing were the men who had never been hard workers and did not intend to be and so after becoming satisfied that the nuggets were not there to be simply picked up and pocketed they turned looked backward and went home it was well for the new camp that they did there was also much trouble over real estate land was very high in price some Swedes who the year before had paid seven hundred dollars for a town lot three hundred by fifty feet in size now sold one half of it for ten thousand dollars it is small wonder then where possession is nine points of the law that men who rightfully claimed ground were ready to fight to keep it and those who were wrongfully in possession many times stood guard with firearms in pitching our tents upon the sandy beach especially after gaining permission of the old captain who told us we would be in the street if ever a street should be opened through on the sand spit but that was not likely and he had given us his full and free consent to our camping temporarily there next to his lots we expected to have no trouble here we miscalculated though the captain was kind and reasonable he had a partner who was just the reverse and this person gave us infinite trouble scarcely had our first load of baggage been put upon the ground when he began to tramp fussily about at all times of day and night after our stakes were driven he would come quietly in the night and pull them up so we would find our canvas flapping in the morning breeze when we wait or after we had retired for the night he would come with some other stand within hearing distance and threaten us if we did not move away one morning upon rising we found that he had moved along carpenter's bench directly upon the spot next madam's tent which I was trying to reserve for my own tent as soon as I succeeded in getting my things from the steamer this disappointed me much but I said nothing and when my tent finally came I pitched it on the other side with my door directly opposite hers and only six feet from her entrance as to appearance this old man was a jolly sight he wore long and tangled hair which had once been curly but now hung in unkempt and dirty shreds upon his shoulders while his hat was an antiquated relic of a former life in the states a pair of old trousers generally hung by one suspender over a colored shirt which the summer before possibly had had a wash tub experience but not later his footwear was all together unmentionable he was called well to do and there was no necessity for him to cut such an abominable figure so he soon became a byword and was designated as sourdough at all events he was sour enough and kept up a continual siege of torment until he received a temporary quietess we three women were sitting in the tent one morning when there came a voice at the door going forward to inquire what was wanted a man said gruffly thrusting a piece of paper into my hand a notice from the chief of police for what I inquired for you to vacate these premises without delay indeed are they to open a street will the other campers about here move also I asked I don't know my orders are that you shall move immediately see that you do it said the man rudely while holding the paper in my hands I glanced over it hastily and saw the marks of a spurious document it was poorly constructed and bore no official signs I recognized it as a counterfeit we have had permission from captain s one of the alderman to put our tents here and we shall stay here unless he orders us away said I stoutly you have permission from captain s he asked in surprise yes sir from captain s himself and you can say to the chief of police that we shall stay here until the captain orders us to leave saying which I stepped back into the tent the man retreated muttering to himself as he went for he was utterly routed and never returned neither did we hear anymore for some time about moving our tents it was as I suspected mr. sourdough had thought to frighten us away and the order from the chief of police was utterly bogus sometime afterward when madame attempted to put a floor into her tent sourdough again put in an appearance he threatened but she held out when the obstinate and perverse old man trotted off downtown and secured an officer and four soldiers to come and put her off the officer looked the ground over inquired if there was room for teams to pass if necessary and seeing her tent in line with many others he turned to the old man and said this tent takes up no more of the street than the others this lady has as much right to be here as anyone else what is the matter with you let the women alone and he and his soldiers marched away mr. sourdough tore his hair he was wild with anger the floor of madam's tent went down and stayed each day i was in the habit of giving my Swedish friends a call and found them finally ready to set up their restaurant tent a large floor was laid on second street near the post office the large canvas stretched over the frame tables and seats provided a corner partitioned off for a kitchen dishes placed upon shelves and they began serving meals at this juncture i happened in one day just before noon and found them rushed with work and unable to fill their meal orders for lack of help mary was peeling potatoes and haste while trying to do other things at the same time and rika and alma were flying like bees let me peel those potatoes for you said i taking the knife from mary's hand and when she demurred i told her i really had nothing to do and would be glad to assist when the potatoes were peeled dishes were heaped up to be cleaned and i quickly washed them feeling that i was of some service and not heating the surprised looks of a few acquaintances who chanced to catch a glimpse of me at work in the kitchen through the door this i did each day coming over after i had eaten my breakfast and rolling up my sleeves to my elbows drove them deep into the dishpan and hot water many were the jolly times we now had how the jokes flew past each other over the puddings and the crisp pies needed almost no other seasoning how cheerfully the boys brought wood and water and counted it reward enough if they only received a smile from little alma many a man was glad enough too to render such service for a meal or lunch of hot coffee and donuts especially such good big motherly ones as mary made and there was no lack of men helpers how the coffee steamed the hot bread and meats smoked and the soup odors tantalized the old factories of hundreds of tender feet with their lusty alaska appetites which were increased by an open air life such as all in those days were living when at last we were summoned to our work on number nine the swedish women pressed my hand cordially leaving a good-sized bill in it at the same time saying when you get through on number nine come back to us we need you i thanked them gratefully and said goodbye the english girl and myself were soon settled in our little tent with its clean new floor on the hillside of claim number nine no tree was to be seen on the long rolling hills and only an occasional boulder on some summit like anvil peak perched as a sentinel above us a few wild flowers bloomed on the tundra and the waters of the little stream gurgled over the soft slate pebbles that screwed its course but the season so far was a dry one and more water was needed before much could be done at sluicing miners were not happy at the prospect of a dry season which meant a stoppage of all mining operations and eagerly scan the heavens for rain indications a small force of men were at work night and day on thursday july 12th 1100 dollars in gold dust was taken from the sluice boxes in the creek and two days afterwards 12 000 with which the owner of the claim was much dissatisfied calling them small cleanups a few hundred feet upstream on number 10 the machinery of cd lane word constantly on the upper end of number nine a small new machine called a separator was put in by some men from new york who had taken a lay on the claim but this scheme was not successful seeing men at work prospecting along the benches as the banks of the stream or hill sides are called by miners and having a woman's proverbial curiosity after my work was done i climbed the hill to investigate the prospectors had left after digging a hole about six feet deep and four square evidently having satisfied themselves as to what the ground contained into this hole i descended to feel of the cold wet earth and inspect the walls the miners had reached the frost line and gone taking with them samples of pretty white quartz rock as much of the debris at the bottom of the hole plainly showed but whether it contained gold i knew not as yet i was a tenderfoot but something satisfactory was without doubt found here and in the vicinity as quartz claims were staked over the placer claims the whole length of anvil creek that summer while rambling about in search of flowers during our afternoon rest we found many interesting spots to the northwest over the highbear ridge lay snow gulch from which fabulous sums had the summer before been taken the blue and winding waters of famous glacier creek lying just beyond walking through the dry deep tundra over the hills was warm hard work though we wore short skirts and high stout boots and womanlike we were always filled to the brim with questions and ready to rest if we chance to meet anyone which was not often wherever we went and whatever the hour we met with no incivility hats were lifted and men rested a moment upon their shovels to look after us as we passed while frequently some rough miner swallowed the lump in his throat or wiped a tear as he thought of his wife daughter or sweetheart far away we were the only women in the mines for miles around but felt no fear whatever and indeed we were as safe there as at home and there was no occasion for anxiety life was extremely interesting our work was not hard the first few weeks after that the force of men was increased rich pans of dirt two shovels full to a pan were daily being brought to light one pan contained seventy two dollars and seventy five cents one eighty three dollars and thirty five cents big fat nuggets already melted into wondrous shapes but iron rusted as all anvil creek gold is for some reason was discovered each day one nugget tipped the scales at thirty nine dollars one at twenty dollars and one at fifty dollars with many others of like value Wednesday August 8th the following entry was made in my diary today has been the banner day for gold dust the night's cleanup of 12 hours work was a big one three pans full of gold later still more yet a cleanup of nine thousand dollars and three of the largest nuggets I ever saw has just been made this evening two of the nuggets were long and flat as large as a tree toad and much the shape of one the men took the first load of gold dust to town seventy five pounds but the bank was closed before they could get the remainder there the foreman says they are prepared to keep it here safely overnight however and I believe they are judging by the big protuberances on their hip pockets end of chapter 10 chapter 11 of a woman who went to Alaska by May Kellogg Sullivan this LibriVox recording is in the public domain this recording by Karen Cummins chapter 11 life in a mining camp as the rains came to facilitate the sluicing more men were added to the force shoveling in the creeks and this made our work heavier an exceedingly cranky foreigner as head cook presided over the big coal range in the mess house and we women played second fiddle so to speak however we all had enough hard work as a midnight supper for the second force had to be prepared and regularly served and at this we labored alternately strange to relate the men at the long tables soon began to exhibit a very great partiality for the dishes prepared by the english girl and myself to the end that the foreign fellows black eyes snapped with anger and he swore deeply under his breath he will eat what I give him he must eat it when he hungry as he starve himself I cannot he no like it he get nothing other the angry man would exclaim as the untouched plates of the men were scraped into the waste box he would then fearing that we would cook some dish more palatable to the miners hide the best food or forbid us to use certain ingredients as we wished of the culinary stores provided there never could be a complaint everything that money could buy in the way of fresh meat potatoes onions canned and dried fruits and vegetables flour corn and oatmeal's were stacked up in the greatest profusion from canned oysters clams and french sardines to find cocoa and cream all was here found in quantities after being hauled in a wagon behind powerful horses over the seven miles of heavy roads from gnome by the time the goods reached camp they were almost worth their weight in gold but one might have supposed them dirt cheap or we as hungry miners and cooks were never limited week after week the patient animals and their driver were kept measuring the distance between the city and the claim even though the wet tundra in low places grew sodden and boggy and the wheels repeatedly sank to the hubs at times more horses were attached to haul them out of some hole or if these were not at hand certain heavy cases were dumped off until the wreaking straining brutes had successfully extricated the load covered with mud and sweat his high topped rubber boots each weighing a number of pounds and his stomach too empty to allow of conversation after a long hard day's work the driver of this team would fling himself upon one of the benches alongside our table and say yes i'm ready to eat anything been caved in for two hours this young man as well as the night foreman was a cousin of mr. a both farmer boys honest kind and true no oaths fell from their lips and no language was used which their own mothers would ever blush to hear the second of these the foreman was dressed also in great rubber boots dark blue sweater and broad brimmed felt hat with a quick eye and ear for all around him though he was a man a few words which he weighed well before using his hip pocket always contained a loaded revolver and he was obliged to sleep days after being on duty nights to eyes so unaccustomed as ours to the site how strange it all looked at midnight from the big tent door which faced south and towards gnome city we could see the blue waters of bearing sea away in the distance great ships lying there at anchor lately arrived from the outside world or just about to leave laden with treasure at this long range look more like mere dots on the horizon between them and us they're straggled over the beach in a westerly direction a confused group of objects we well knew to be the famous and fast growing camp on the yellow sands to our right as well as our left rolled the softly underlating hills glowing in tender tents of purples and grays or if the moon hung low above our heads there were warmer and lighter shades which were doubly entrancing accompanying the low moon twinkled the silver stars with their olden time coiness of expression little birds not knowing when to sleep in the endless daylight hopped among the dewy wildflowers of the tundra calling to their mates or nestlings twittering a song appropriate to the time and place because entirely unfamiliar no other sound was to be heard except the pics of the miners at work in the stream no word was spoken unless the foreman gave some order those sleeping in nearby tents must not be awakened and besides the men at the shovels and picks did no loitering there were the long sluice boxes to be filled with what was once the creek bed from which the water was now turned in another direction to await the morning's cleanup of gold at that time the water would be conducted into the long boxes to wash away the dirt and gravel leaving the heavier gold in the bottom either mr. a or his brother with the foreman attended to cleaning up the gold when all the dirt and gravel or rock had been washed out of the sluices a whisk broom was used to brush the gold into a corner of the box a dustpan conveyed it to broadmouth gold pans close at hand and these were carried into the kitchen here the pans were placed upon the iron range big mush spoons were utilized for stirring and the precious metal was well dried before being weighed as soon as possible afterward it was taken to the bank of gnome a tall black horse was purchased for this purpose alone and after a few such trips the intelligent creature most reluctantly approached the office where the gold was kept having learned of the grievous burden he would have to bear sometimes he would snort throw himself and pull back and in every way show his unwillingness to proceed but no shirk was allowed here the horse was led close to the steps of the office tent and a gunny sack tied in the middle brought out by two men and laid over the back of the unwilling beast a raincoat or blanket was flung over the sack and the man at the halter started for town leading the horse which walked slowly and resignedly after being compelled to go a second man well armed with revolvers like the first always accompanied the pair and when the three had returned to the claim another cleanup awaited them enormous sums of money were taken from this claim while we were there averaging ten thousand to twenty thousand dollars per day seventy men worked for a time when the water was at its best part of that number on the day force and part at night in august the west bank of the creek was accidentally pricked and found to be far richer than the bed of the stream nuggets worth many dollars were continually unearthed the largest one that summer amounting to ninety dollars the richest pans contained sixty four dollars seventy two dollars and seventy five cents and eighty four dollars with others ranging all the way below from a bench claim next to number eleven on this creek and only one fourth of a mile above us great heaps of gold were taken from the ground no pan carrying less it was said than five hundred dollars from seventy men to wait upon when the stream was at high water mark to twenty five when it was lower at any time our lot was hard we worked with chapped bleeding hands and aching backs we worked until our tired limbs sometimes refused to carry us further by the middle of august the nights began to grow dark at nine o'clock and a hold up or two took place on the creek the weather was rainy and cold with frosty nights between and as we were all intense and these sometimes leaked which did not improve the headcooks temper and he grew almost abusive we retired went to town and left him alone to meditate here he hastily and angrily for a few days longer tossed up nondescript messes for the men which none could eat and was then discharged in disgrace in all there were 15 place or claims staked on anvil some of these were scarcely touched that summer but from those operated fully two million five hundred thousand dollars were taken in three months during the six weeks we had spent at number nine many improvements had been made along the route and in gnome where before we had traveled seven miles we now walked only two riding on the new narrow gauge railroad spoken of there as mr. lanes the remainder of the way at discovery claim instead of a few straggling tents there were eating houses saloons storehouses a ticket in post office and the nucleus of a town the cars we boarded were open flat cars with seats along the sides to be sure but they were crowded at one dollar per head to gnome after waiting a little time for a start the whistle blue shrilly the conductor shouted all aboard and we trundled along behind a smoky sturdy engine and almost civilized style this was the first railroad in alaska with the exception of the white pass and yukon road and will eventually extend to the southern coast and iliamna next morning after spending the night on the sand spit with madame i called bright and early upon my swedish friends in their restaurant good morning mrs. Sullivan cried mary in a hearty voice as she stirred the steaming mush on the kitchen range good morning said ricka more quietly but with a pleasant welcoming smile did you come from number nine good morning from alma as she poured a cup of hot coffee for a waiting customer do you want to help us we have plenty of work that's what i came for said i laying aside my hat and coat will you lend me an apron till i get mine glancing toward the kitchen sink full of unwashed dishes and the cupboard shelves quite demoralized i will lend you six if you will only help us we are so busy serving meals we cannot take time to get settled said mary yes we moved from the tent last week she said in reply to my question we like this much better the tin leak during the hard rains and flaps so much in the wind that we were afraid it would come down upon our heads we have had this kitchen built on and she'll keep open till the last boots are gone for the winter that will be two months longer likely and mary talked on as she dished up the griddle cakes and the two others waited upon the tables i felt quite happy to have found work so soon and that too among friends and without any particular responsibility attached to the position i would dignify my labor doing it well and acceptably carrying always a sunny face and pleasing mood the work was of a kind despised by hundreds of women who after landing at gnome had not found agreeable in genteel situations and so had gone back home or in some cases done even worse to be sure the pay was not large the work tiresome and i would be snubbed by many persons but i had not come to alaska for my health that was excellent then i had good food and sufficient quantities which was always a thing to be considered in that country i had a purpose in view which i never lost i would get some gold claims the swedish people were brave and fearless as well as patient and strong i had many acquaintances among them already i felt they were good people to stay with and they were congenial to be sure a few spoke english with an accent and there were no small white hands among them but if the hearts and lives were clean and true and so far as i could judge they were so i was satisfied the missionaries from galovan including the young lady who had come up on the saint paul had with my three friends here called at number nine at different times during the six weeks of our stay there already a plan had been considerably discussed which would take a party of us to galovan to winner either in the swedish mission or near it and of all things in mind so far this prospect most pleased me we would then be 50 miles from the rich council city mines on the fish river creeks and only half that distance from the topcock diggings of which we now heard considerable every creek within many miles around gnome was entirely staked but in the vicinity of galovan we might hope to secure claims or at least be in a good position to learn of new gold strikes if any were made during the coming winter but we will keep a roadhouse if we go there said alma and be making some money i am sure there will be many people traveling through galovan all winter and we can make a few dollars that way as well as anyone else then we will not forget how to cook and the young woman with eyes always open to the main chance for making money as she called it laughed at the bare possibility of such a thing we might do that and help in the mission too there are so many of us i would like to work in the mission for a change i think said ricka who is very religiously inclined and quiet generally what would you like to do mrs. Sullivan asked mary you say so little and we talk so much i want to know what you think well there are three of you to talk and i am only one said i laughing as i place the cups and saucers all clean and shining on the cupboard shelves i should like the mission plan better than anything for i have had some experience in mission work but if they do not need us there then i should like the roadhouse well enough though i think if eight or ten of us each having enough supplies for himself for the winter should form a club and live under one roof we could do so more cheaply and comfortably than any other way and have a real jolly good time in the bargain these young men many of them are intending to winter here somewhere and all hate to cook for themselves i know while they would gladly get the wood water and shovel snow if we did the cooking and housework none need to work hard and if a rich gold strike were reported somebody might want to go and do some staking in that way we might get some gold claims i reasoned while all three listened during a lull in the work that's what we all came to Alaska for gold claims i want three remarked alma with complacency and besides there is plenty of driftwood at gloven on the beach which we could have for nothing and save buying coal at three dollars a sack as we do here glancing at the scuttle near the range reproachfully as if the poor inanimate thing was to blame for prices little alma was keen at a bargain there was nothing slow about the gray matter in her cranium if there was buying to do or a commodity to sell alma was the one of the restaurant firm to do it enjoying well the bargaining where she was seldom outwitted so in the intervals between meals or at night when the day's work was done we discussed our plans outside the kitchen door next the sea beach watching the shipping in the roadstead admiring the lovely sky tents left by the setting sun or gazing at the softly rolling breakers under a silver bowed moon if we had plenty of hard work with it's not altogether desirable phases we also enjoyed much beside the novelty someone we knew was always in from the creeks principally anvil to bring latest news as well as to collect the same and the kitchen as well as the dining room was the constant rendezvous of friends of one or all of us those prospecting among the hills or on the beach at some distance from town came in often for supplies and to visit the post office giving the star a call for hot coffee if not a supper before leaving jokes and stories flew about over the tables and interesting incidents were always occurring good humor and good cheer float on every side along with the cordial greeting and tea and coffee though nothing stronger in the way of drinks was ever placed upon the tables in the kitchen we did not lack voluntary assistance when work pushed or there was what we called a rush one young man would fill the water buckets at a neighboring hydrant another would bring in coal and some other would carry away refuse happy indeed were the great numbers of dogs fed from the star kitchen no beggar was ever turned away no homeless and discouraged soul whether man or woman sober or drunken was allowed to leave as for lorn as he entered men often sat down at the tables who when filled with good food and hot drink in a warm and comfortable room fell asleep from the effects of previous stimulants and sank to the floor when this happened some strong and helpful arm assisted such a one with friendly advice to the street the two sisters were now our nearest neighbors the third and married one having gone with her husband to live in a new cottage of their own in another part of the town the eldest of the two had kindly offered me lodging in the back part of their store building of which our restaurant rooms were a half and from which we were only separated by a board partition this was a temporary arrangement until i could find something that suited me close at hand as i chose to be near my work on account of going to my room in the evening after my duties were done the sisters themselves still lived in their large warehouse a few feet back from the store and between it in the surf which rolled ceaselessly upon the sands i was now more comfortably lodged than since i had landed at gnome my canvas cot placed in the back of the store vacant except for a few rolls of carpeting matting an oil cloth on sale by the sisters stood not far from the large coal heater in which fire was kept during the day making the room warm and dry when i came in at night near the foot of my cot a good window admitted light and sunshine and a door opened upon a flight of six stairs into a tiny square yard before one entered the warehouse where lived the sisters this ladder building was made of corrugated iron on piles with windows and a door in the south end looking directly out upon the water only a few feet away and was fitted causally enough for the summer but not intended for anything further except storage purposes a second door in the north end opposite the one in the store and only separated from it by the little yard was the door generally used at this time lodgings without fire were worth dollars a night in crowded gnome and one's next neighbors might prove themselves anything but desirable meanwhile we worked steadily many of the anvil creek mine owners and their men took meals at the star whenever in town some of their office employees came in regularly hundreds were going outside on boats and all was bustle and excitement at least 25 000 people had landed at gnome during the summer and fully one half of them had gone home discouraged on sunday september 2nd there came up a most terrible storm which for the velocity of its gales tremendous downfall of rain terrific surf accompanied by great loss of life as well as length of duration had not been equalled for over 20 years never before was the property loss so great on the Bering Sea coast by nine o'clock sunday morning the large steamers at anchor had put far out to sea for safety the wind rose the rain poured the surf was growing more rough at dinnertime those who came in reported the dead bodies of nine men picked up on the beach they had attempted to land from a steamer and their small boat was swamped one of the men drowned was the mate of the vessel for days the storm lasted and our work increased it was not long before the continuous rain had penetrated our little kitchen roof and walls roughly built as they were of boards and from that on we worked in rubber boots and short skirts tucked still higher with the storm at its hardest i donned a regular sourcester or waterproof hat rather than stand with the rain dripping upon my head and a cape of the same material covered my shoulders people living in tents where the storm began and there were thousands had been washed out or been obliged to leave them and could not get their own meals the star swarmed with hundreds who had never been there before as well as those in the habit of coming 10 days passed sometimes there would be a lull in the storm for a few hours and we hoped it was over but the surf ran high and could not return before the wind again lashed it into fury one midnight when i was sleeping soundly after an unusually hard day's duties in the kitchen there came a hasty knock at my door let me in quick mrs. Sullivan the warehouse we fear is going we must come in here we will bring some more of our things and little sister dropped the armful of clothing she carried and ran back for more sure enough as i looked the water surged up under the warehouse to the foot of the steps when she returned with another load i offered to dress in a system but she said they would only bring the clothing and bedding and i better go back to bed breathlessly the sisters worked for a time until the tide prevented them from again entering the warehouse and they made their bed near me on the floor when after watching the waters they felt satisfied that they receded they retired weary and troubled hoping that before another high tide the storm would have subsided and the danger would be passed by september twelfth the surf was the worst we had ever seen it and snake river had overflowed its banks most of those on the sandspit were obliged to flee for their lives hundreds were homeless on the streets the town's whole waterfront was washed away tents not only went down by hundreds but buildings of every description were swept away and flung by the angry surf high up on the sands anchored blighters and barges were loosened from their moorings and came ashore as did schooners broken and disabled dead bodies were each day picked up on the beach which was strewn with wreckage one dark night when the rain had ceased for a time to give place to a fearful gale which tossed the madden waters higher and higher there appeared upon the horizon a dim portentious shape at first it was only a form indistinct and uncertain as we watched longer it gradually assumed the semblance of a ship keen eyes soon discerned a huge black hulk of monstrous size when riding the crest of the breakers smaller and partially lost to sight when buried at intervals in the trough of the sea a ship was drifting helplessly entirely at the mercy of the elements and must soon be cast upon the beach at our feet approaching swiftly as she was in the heavy sea as the violence of the wind bore her onward lights appeared as signals of distress telling of souls on board in fearful danger in dismay we watched the helpless oncoming vessel we were in direct line of her path as she was now drifting if by chance the mountain of water should by an awful upheaval rear the wreck upon its crest at landing we would be engulfed in a moment of time no power could save the buildings which would be instantly shivered to heaps of floating debris should we flee for our lives or would the wind quickly by some miracle change its course and thereby send the menacing vessel to one side of us or the other groups of patrolmen and soldiers everywhere watched with anxious eyes and friends stood with us to encourage and assist if needed god alone could avert the awful impending disaster he could do so and did when only a few hundred feet from shore the huge black mass rearing and tossing like a thing of life in the raging sea swerved to the west by a sudden veer of the wind and then amid the roar of breakers angry to ferocity she with a boom as of cannon in battle plunged into the sands of the beach only a hundred and fifty feet away the earth trembled with one long quivering motion like some dumb brood in its death struggle the ship settled its great timbers parting as it did so and the floods pouring clean over its decks then began the work of rescuing those on board which was finally after many hours successfully accomplished end of chapter 11