USA > Alaska > Alaska and the Klondike > Part 7
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Holscher stands in the wheel-house closely scanning the open sea on his left, suggests the thought that we have caught old Neptune asleep and are trying to sneak by while the drowsy fellow isn't looking.
The harbour of St. Michael lies on the north end of the island, and here the senatorial party arrived on the after-
Old Russian Blockhouse at St. Michael
noon of July 27. The whole island is a military reserva- tion and no commercial or transportation interest can get a foothold there, or even make a landing or pitch a tent, ex- cept by permission of the United States Government. Several trading and transportation companies engaged in
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the Alaskan trade have obtained concessions here and have erected docks and storehouses and hotels and houses for their agents and employees, and for a time made this the great shipping centre of the far Northwest. That was in the boom days of 1898 and '99 and before the White Pass railroad diverted the larger part of the travel and traffic to the Klondike to the shorter route. All these com- panies have now been consolidated into two or rather all but one have been merged into the Northern Commercial company, the one declining to go into the combination being the North American Transportation and Trading company, which shares the trade and traffic not only of the Yukon but of the Alaskan coast.
St. Michael was occupied in 1835 by the Russians, who established there a military and trading post for the pur- pose of carrying on the fur trade with the Indians of the lower Yukon country. They fortified the place. Some of the old Russian storehouses are still standing, having been incorporated into the long row of office buildings and storehouses now used by the Northern Commercial com- pany. An old, hexagonal blockhouse on the most promi- nent point extending out into the harbour is still the reposi- tory of half a dozen little rusty Russian cannon, which were once mounted here and at other places around the harbour. The island is treeless, but covered with a heavy growth of coarse, red-top grass, moss and vines. Captain I. N. Hibbard, superintendent of transportation for the Northern Commercial company, and Captain O. J. Hum- phrey, who occupies a like position for the North Ameri-
Belles of St. Michael
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can Transportation and Trading company, entertained the senatorial party most hospitably during a twenty-four-hour stay.
St. Michael is the shopping-place of the curio-hunter. The trading companies have large stocks of Indian wares, which can generally be bought as cheaply in the companies' stores as from the natives themselves. Among the best specimens of the Indians' handicraft are walrus-tusks, carved so as to serve as cribbage boards or as other articles and decorated with crude but not uninteresting designs in black representing feats in hunting or fishing, various Indian sports, the native in his kiak or the antics of the seal. There are miniature sledges, perfect patterns of those in actual use; miniature kiaks and bidarkas, the native seal- skin or walrus-hide boats; seal and bird spears, baskets, masks and a great variety of trinkets carved in walrus ivory.
There are two small Indian villages on the island, and the word small is necessary for accuracy, because it doesn't take more than half a dozen little huts to make an In- dian village, which literally swarms with life when the dogs begin to bark and the inhabitants show up to see what is going on. The Indian village, as a sort of appendix to the white man's town, is almost the invariable rule. The Alaska Indian, who knows little of tribal life or relation in these days, haunts the abode of the white man, and is never so happy as when he is imitating as closely as he can the white man's dress and manners. He is a sociable, good-natured chap, and not only enjoys loafing around the
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white man's town or camp, but he has provided for the social side of his make-up in various ways. The potlatch is a social function, on which the host usually bankrupts himself. It may take years to provide for such an enter- tainment, but it is a " charity ball " on a very large scale. All the guests must be provided with gifts-here prob- ably originated the idea of party " favours "-as well as gorged with food; and while the host generally finds him- self a pauper at the conclusion of the feast, has he not laid every one of his guests under obligations to him and established a permanent claim on their hospitality? The unfaithful steward of the parable didn't fix himself bet- ter with his master's debtors when he wrote off half their indebtedness than the giver of the potlatch has established his future claim for food and shelter on those whom he has feasted and loaded down with presents in the form of blankets, furs, etc. It's a pretty expensive thing to be in- vited to a potlatch, but it is not recorded that such an in- vitation was ever refused.
These social functions are often held in what is really the village clubhouse. With their social instincts strongly developed, such a public convenience is a necessity, and into the clubhouse of one of the Indian villages at St. Michael we were invited to witness some native dancing.
This clubhouse is called the " kazhim." This one was a typical structure of the kind, built of logs against the hillside and partly under ground. Entrance in summer is through a hole low down on one side through which we crawled on our hands and knees into an apartment about
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20 feet square. In winter this entrance is closed and admission is through a hole in the floor of a sort of ante- chamber along a small tunnel under the wall of the house and up through a hole in its floor. There are no windows or other means of ventilation and no openings for light or air except a hole in the middle of the roof, through which the smoke from the fire built in the middle of the floor escapes. Around the wall is a wide shelf about 4 feet above the floor on which the Indians sit or recline at their pleasure. Here the men of the village congregate in winter, sometimes bringing some of their curio work, like ladies at a sewing bee, and-I draw the parallel no farther -indulging themselves chiefly in gossip or in the recital of their traditions or in rehearsing exaggerated accounts of their individual prowess and skill in fishing and hunting. Games are also played and dancing forms an important part of the programme. It was this feature of club life in an Eskimo village that we were permitted to witness.
Besides our party of nine and a few from the offices of the commercial companies, there were present a dozen or fifteen natives. After repeated urgings by the headman and considerable conferring probably as to what number from their extensive repertory should be produced for the bene- fit of the visitors, three men stepped out stripped to the waist and commenced to dance with that grace peculiar to all Indians. There was music by the band, of course, and the instruments were two, one consisting of a piece of tanned sealskin stretched tight over a big hoop, and the other of a large, square, empty tin lard can, on both of
Interior of the Kazhim, St. Michael
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which the performers beat rhythmically with sticks, as they uttered a doleful sort of chant, now in a low and nasal monotone, and now raising their voices into a higher key, but never stopping for an instant while the performance was on.
The dancers began posturing, and jumping about stiff- legged, turning now this way and now that, raising their arms and stiffening their muscles in attitudes of defiance and defence. Gradually their excitement increased; the drums beat louder and more rapidly, the bodily contor- tions became more vigorous and the facial grimaces more fierce; the dancers began to grunt and then to shout in their rough, guttural tones, and the excitement spread to the other Indians, who presently became a sort of chorus, joining in the measured strain. What an absurd perform- ance, indeed ! But there is nothing ridiculous or farcical about all this-not to the Indian; he is intense in his seri- ousness and the expression on every face is as near to that of enthusiasm as it is possible for the Indian to get. At last the dancers begin to show signs of exhaustion; the strenuousness of the performance gradually diminishes and finally it stops. The dancers gasp for breath and stagger about while the sweat rolls from their glistening bodies. The show is over, the story of personal or of tribal achievement and valour has been told and there is nothing more to be done except to snap the camera as one of the dancers stands for an instant under the opening in the roof, and then to seek the outer air, which smells and tastes sweeter than it ever did before. No admission fee
The McCulloch at Sea
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to this unique performance is accepted; this is the part which the Indian villagers play in the entertainment of the party from " Boston-land."
The revenue-cutter service is a branch of the public . service with which those of us who live in the interior have little to do and of which the most of us probably know little. We may not generally know, for instance, that it is really older, as an organisation of the Govern- ment, than the navy, and that it was established in 1789 with the aid of vessels belonging to some of the original states which they, as colonies, had employed for coast de- fence before the federal Government was formed. Any history of Alaska must deal more or less with the revenue- cutter service, because it has had more to do with the ad- ministration of affairs than any other agency of the Gov- ernment in Alaska. Some account of this service belongs in this story not only on account of the important part it bears in the conduct of public business in Alaska, but because one of the revenue ships was the home of the sen- atorial party for a period of twenty-eight days. Before leaving home Senator Dillingham had arranged with the treasury department to have the revenue cutter McCulloch meet the senatorial party at St. Michael and convey us thence on the remainder of our journey back to Seattle. This vessel was found waiting for us at St. Michael when we arrived.
Captain W. C. Coulson received us on board Tuesday evening, July 28, just a month after we left Seattle and 2,988 miles from that sound port by way of the inside
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passage to Skagway, the White Pass railroad and the Yukon River.
The McCulloch, it will be remembered, was Admiral Dewey's dispatch boat at Manila and carried from Manila
Captain Coulson
to Hongkong the first account of the brilliant engage- ment in Manila Bay, May 1, 1898. It was also the first of the Asiatic squadron to become a target for the fire of the Spanish guns. It was during the night of April 30, when Admiral Dewey was leading his fleet under cover of darkness past Corregidor Island that the smoke-stack of the McCulloch, which was last in the line, suddenly be- gan to burn out and belch forth flames like an iron furnace.
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The flaming chimney at once attracted the attention of the Spanish garrison in the Corregidor fortress and the first shot of the war of the Philippines was fired at that shining mark with the result that usually followed Spanish marksmanship.
The McCulloch was built in 1897, just in time to get into business at Manila, where it was attached to the Asiatic squadron, according to the custom which makes the revenue cutters a part of the naval service in time of war. This vessel is a handsome craft, 219 feet long, having a tonnage of 869, and a record on her trial test of 17 I-2 knots, or 20 miles, an hour. She is of composite construction, which means that her hull to the water-line is built of wood and above of steel. These revenue cut- ters are often obliged to go on long cruises and experi- ence shows that wooden bottoms do not become so foul as steel bottoms.
Alexander Hamilton was the founder of the revenue- cutter service. He obtained authority first in 1789 to employ persons to serve in boats in harbours and along shore to aid in collecting the revenue. He appreciated also that only persons of the most trustworthy character were desirable for this service, otherwise they "would probably serve to screen fraud rather than to detect it." Great pains was therefore taken in the enlistment of officers and men, and the high standard then recognised as necessary has been maintained ever since.
The duties imposed upon this arm of the service are to aid in the enforcement of the customs revenue laws, render
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assistance to vessels in distress, enforce quarantine regula- tions, compel observance of the neutrality laws and the laws governing merchant vessels, protect wrecked prop- erty, prevent depredations on Government timber lands, guard the seal and other fisheries, prevent the sale of arms and liquors to Indians, aid in the establishment and maintenance of life-saving stations, supervise the light- house service, aid in the coast survey, assist in scientific exploration and in general stand in readiness to do any- thing that may be required to promote the safety of life and property along our ocean fronts as well as on the Great Lakes. The revenue cutters on the Pacific coast are equipped with several guns. The McCulloch has two rapid-fire guns and also two magazine guns that were once in service on the Reina Cristina, the Spanish flagship at Manila.
In time of war the officers and vessels of the revenue- cutter service, which in peace are under the direction of the treasury or revenue department of the Government, are placed under the command of the navy department, and in all our wars, both against foreign foes and during the great rebellion, they have rendered valiant service to the country. The Harriet Lane, a revenue cutter, was attached to the Fort Sumter relief expedition in 1861, and the first shot of the rebellion fired from a loyal ship was discharged from her deck. It was when her commander had treacher- ously surrendered the McClelland to the rebels, and Ritchie, a subordinate officer, had torn down the Con- federate flag, run up again the Stars and Stripes, and had
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succeeded in delivering the ship to General Butler at New Orleans, that General Dix delivered that famous order : " If any man attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot."
The history of the service is full of deeds of heroism performed not alone under the inspiration of war, but at times when there was only the incentive of a sense of duty. The courage which braves the dangers of the ice fields of Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean, which battles with dark- ness and storm in the life-saving service, the devotion to duty which sends officers and men into plague-infested ports and keeps them there to enforce quarantine and carry aid and comfort where pestilence stalks, the superb and unfaltering heroism which sent a Jarvis and a Call and a Bertholf 1,800 miles afoot across the ice fields of Alaska in midwinter at the constant and imminent risk of their own lives that they might save the lives of the imprisoned whalers at Point Barrow-these things are seldom mentioned and rarely if ever heard of by the gen- eral public, but they make up a large part of the life work of our revenue-cutter service and particularly that part of it which patrols our North Pacific coast line.
It is III miles from St. Michael across Norton Sound to Nome, where we arrive in rough weather on the morn- ing of July 29. It was not so rough we couldn't land, but rough enough to involve some danger and afford the senatorial committee a practical demonstration of the need of better landing facilities. The people of Nome seemed, somehow, not to regret very cordially that we
ELITE
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A Section of Nome
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had some adventures in getting ashore. Nome, it will be remembered, has no harbour. It stands on the open sea, exposed to the storms that sweep northward across Bering Sea over an unbroken stretch of over 700 miles. The location of the town was determined not by any regard for natural landing facilities, but by the discovery of the gold-bearing beach sands. Bering Sea is shoal and the slope of the beach very gradual; it is impossible for seagoing ships to go within less than a mile of land. Passengers and freight must be taken off on lighters and it often happens that ships cannot unload either passen- gers or freight or even the mails for several days after arrival. The only shelter on that bleak and dangerous coast is that afforded by a small island ten or fifteen miles away, behind which vessels are sometimes obliged to re- treat to avoid dragging their anchors and being dashed to pieces on shore. And our experiences with the risks and delays incident to landing and embarking were not con- fined to the difficulties we encountered on arrival. We were obliged to wait thirty-six hours after the intended date of departure till the sea had quieted down so that we might venture out to our ship, and were observant during that time of the arrival of two ships outside, neither of which could land a single man till the storm subsided. One of them, a mail ship from St. Michael, was forced to carry passengers and mail back again-mail that we were particularly anxious to receive as it was supposed to con- tain letters for our party, and, as a matter of fact, did, as we afterwards learned.
A Bit of Nome Surf
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The first glimpse of Nome, obtained by the aid of our field-glasses, showed a low, treeless coast, and along the water's edge for a mile or more stretched a thin line of frame buildings, some two stories and a few more preten- tious in height, crowded so close to the water's edge as to suggest danger from the waves.
Our vessel came to anchor about 9 o'clock, and a small steam tug was presently observed coming to meet us, while further in we presently discovered a dory mounting one wave after another and bringing the quarantine officer. It was so rough that the tug could not come alongside, but stood off and sent a dory to convey us over to it. The second load consisted of Senators Nelson, Dillingham and Burnham and the transfer from the dory to the tug was attended with so much difficulty, and the tug itself seemed such an unsafe dependence as it rolled and tossed about, that the senators elected to stay in the dory and be towed ashore. That soon proved to be impracticable and ex- tremely dangerous; the line was cast off by the oarsmen in the dory and the three senators were rowed ashore, where they arrived in safety, but not without a wetting in the surf. Those of us on the tug were transferred just out- side the breakers to a stout, flat-bottomed barge, which was hauled in by a cable from shore till it grounded on the beach sands. We were then picked up from the deck of the barge in a cage let down from a long, projecting beam and carried up over the surf to a high platform on land.
And that is the way passengers and freight are unloaded
Landing at Nome
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and loaded at Nome the greater part of the time. A small stream, the Snake River, comes down from the hills, flows through the west end of the town, turns along the land side of a sandspit for half a mile and then cuts through into the sea. The people of Nome believe that a jetty built out from the mouth of this stream and the dredging out of a sandbar that lies across the entrance would make it prac- ticable for small vessels and lighters to pass through to a safe harbour inside the sandspit, and the senatorial com- mittee were urged to procure an appropriation of $150,000 for such an improvement. Lighterage costs from $3.50 to $5 a ton for ordinary merchandise and more for heavy machinery, and it was contended that on the 50,000 to 60,000 tons of freight handled there every year the cost would be reduced enough to pay for the improvement in two years.
About the first of June a fleet of merchant vessels sails from Seattle for Nome. It is all open sea till they get through the Aleutian chain at Unimak pass and for some distance northward in Bering Sea, but sooner or later they encounter the ice fields. The ice is breaking up and floating down from the north, and there is great strife to see which ship will force its way through the ice and land its passengers and freight and mail at Nome first. The voyage from Seattle to Nome is made ordinarily in six or seven days, but the race is not always to the swift or the first in starting, for, at the opening of navigation, it sometimes happens that the vessel which for a time seems to lead in the race gets caught in an ice-pack and is
Arriving at Nome a Little Early
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forced to wait for it to break while it sees its rivals move on through open water to their destination. The ice breaks up in Bering Sea in front of Nome about June 15 as a rule and closes that port, if it may be called a port, about October 10. The open season at Nome is over then and from that time till the 15th or 20th of June that great camp and all the Seward Penin- sula are absolutely cut off from the outside world ex- cept through a monthly letter mail and the re- cently installed Govern- ment telegraph service.
This fact has developed a great deal of interest there in the powerful ice- breaking boats built by the Russian Government for the purpose of keeping open the port of Cronstadt The Senate " Goes in the Air " on the Baltic Sea. In 1898 the largest of these vessels, the Ermak, was put in service and it is authoritatively stated has ploughed its way through solid ice fourteen feet thick for a distance of
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200 miles. It is 305 feet long, its displacement is 8,000 tons and it carries 3,000 tons of coal; its engines have 10,000 horsepower, and it is so constructed that when it fails to plough through the ice it literally climbs up on the edge of it and breaks it down by its enormous weight. It is credited with having made thirty miles in eight hours through very heavy ice. Nome is about five degrees fur- ther north than Cronstadt, but it is believed that the ice field in Bering Sea could be traversed as successfully in winter by such a vessel as the Baltic, and they would like to see our Government undertake it. The proposition is certainly an interesting one, and as Alaska is developed and becomes more populous it may seem to our Govern- ment to be a desirable thing to do. It is not improbable, however, that improved facilities of transportation and communication by land will be found to be more practical and more economical.
VII NOME AND THE GOLD FIELDS OF THE SEWARD PENINSULA
T AKE a low, sandy beach, one without a tree within fifty miles; show a white line where the waves break into foam along the shore; stretch along the water's edge for a mile or more a double row of frame buildings, most of them two stories high and facing each other; cover the street between with boards laid on the sand; don't be very particular about making the street lines straight nor insist that the street shall have uniform width; let the elevation and the width of the sidewalks be determined by chance, it produces more variety and claims closer attention from the pedestrian ; fill the lower floors of the buildings along this street with business undertakings of various kinds, and the upper floors reserve for living purposes; throw in a liberal por- tion of places devoted to the gratification of highly developed thirsts; fill the air at frequent intervals with the sounds of rag-time music; gather on the sidewalk and in the narrow street groups of men who seem to have noth- ing in particular to do and are doing it; then go back from the first street and locate a church or two, a schoolhouse, a federal courthouse and custom-house, sprinkle around a few small buildings for residence purposes; fill the air
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with a cold drizzle, and you may have the materials out of which were obtained my first impressions of Nome, on the morning of July 29.
Nome is on the south shore of the Seward Peninsula, that portion of Alaska which reaches farthest out toward
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NOME
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Main Street in Nome
Siberia, and is only 120 miles from Cape Prince of Wales, the extreme point on the Alaskan coast between which and the Siberian shore flows Bering Strait. The name Bering Strait recalls those impressions we used to get from our school geographies. I don't know what your youthful am- bitions were, but Bering Sea and all that belongs to it were associated in my mind with remoteness more unattain-
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able than the highlands of Thibet or the jungles of Africa. But that was long before the magnet of gold began to draw thousands across that bleak and stormy water, be- fore the soldiers of fortune began to storm the icy palisades of the north, and sweep through the watery pass into the Arctic Ocean and explore its inhospitable shores, not for fame or knowledge, but for the precious yellow metal.
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