A Woman who went to Alaska

ng at St. Michael each day from

ith no thought of anything except to reach Cape Nome as quickly as possible. At last they were off. A rough, and in some instances a drunken lot, but all hopefully happy and sure that they

ip companies. Still none went to the rescue, as the gale was terrific. A steam tug started out, but she passed by on the other side, not caring to act the part of good Samaritan to a rival. In a few moments the fires of the little steamer were out,-she was sinking. Through a glass w

Nome, began to sink. The wind came from the north, and little by little the barge became unmanageable, until at last she wa

tired cooks and stewards in the kitchens were rushed both day and night. Here the price of a meal, to all but thos

carry us, tickets on each one having long ago been sold. If we should be frozen in all winter, with no way of letting our friends at home know of our whereabouts for six months, how terrible would be their anxiety, how hard for us in this exposed spot n

formation regarding the gold fields in this wonderful new Golconda. Two million dollars, it was said, had already been extracted from the beach at

size of the claims allowed by law is one thousand three hundred and twenty feet in length, and six hundred and six

ng five hundred feet in width, and the length depending on the g

g to Norton Bay. The tundra, which is nothing but the old beach, follows the present shore, and is fully as rich as the surf-washed sands. More producti

ear Nome, are all exceedingly rich; one claim on Snow Gul

rge and very rich. Fish River is the principal one in this section, and has inn

ut in nineteen days by the Dusty Diamond Company working seventeen men. On number twenty-nine above Discovery on Ophir Creek, sevente

ted by the power of attorney; though the majority of men here seemed to belie

Bertha" on the bright waters as though she had always been there. How rejoiced everyone was! How relieved were those who intended to remain here because of the additions to the winter's supplies, and how rejoiced were those wai

cold and draughty inside, so we found a sheltered place in the sun on some piles of luggage, and sat there. As the "Bertha" was reached, a gangplank was thr

kens, and pens of live sheep and pigs brought from San Francisco to be put off at Nome, as well as a full passenger list for the same place. On the way here a landing had been attempted at Nome, but the surf had be

rs of river steamers and smaller craft being snugly tucked up for the winter. From three tall flagstaffs on shore

rth were taken. Many of the staterooms below were filled from floor to ceiling with flour in sacks for Nome, as well as every foot of space in passage-ways or pantries. Many men were so disorderly from drink that they kept const

ach Nome that we might be rid of some of these object

ars, the first being accompanied by a very distinct creaking of timbers of the ship, so that some of us rose and dressed; but the ship had apparently sustained no injury, and we proceeded on our way. Whether we had str

passengers were taken ashore in like manner, for the surf was so heavy on the beach, an

proper, and still back, the rolling hills now partly covered with snow. Not a tree or shrub could be seen, though we strained our eyes through a strong glass in an effort to find them. A few

KI

e tremendous surf. When, after watching others, seeing their little boats tossed like cockle shells upon the sands, and h

the breakers and surf run so high that nothing could be done; then at sundown, perhaps, the wind would die away, and men were put to work unloading again. The calls of those

he women had first sailed had been wrecked on St. George's Island; from there they were rescued by the revenue cutter "Bear," transferred to the "Cleveland," and were now going ashore at Nome, their destination. As they passed us we n

started for Cape Prince of Wales in a small boat and been overtaken by disaster. Ma

w reached our ears, but n

His parents lived in a poor board shack or house which his father had built just back of the golden beach sands. Here the surf, all fo

ckened and died. He had worked too long in the wind and rain

ort, but the burly and generous miners did not allow them to want. Willie was a great pet in

hing else, had he wanted it. Big, shining nuggets had already been give

her's arms, while her hot tear

ere the shining wheat-gold clung to the moss roots and sparkled

ut wild flowers and grasses upon it, and there they nodded their p

hurricane deck, lashed down, and covered with tarpaulins. Strong boxes of gold bullion, with long, stout ropes and boards attached in case of accident, were stowed away in as safe a place as could be found. Copies of the first issue of the "Nome News" w

eir orders in quick, stern tones. They were in haste to leave. They had lingered here too long already. All were soon hustled on board; the "Sadie" and her barges moved away; we took

find; and we remember it with thanksgiving, for we had no storms o

became familiar with the sea phrases commonly used, and watched the old salts "bracing the mast arms," "hoisting the jibs," or "tacking," and could tell when we had a "cross sea," a "beam sea," or a "sou' wester." As we neared Unalaska on the

ts towering peaks snow capped; its sequestered and winding valleys, and bright, sparkling waterfalls; its hillsides in all the artisti

angel in his

mantle floati

e eye of the worn vo

en hillside; we bought apples and oranges at the store, and furs of the furrier; we rowed in a skiff and scampered over the hills to Dutch Harbor; we watched jelly-fish and pink star-fish in the water; we saw white reindeer apparently as tame as cows browsing on the slopes; we visited an old Greek church, and were kept from the very holiest place where only men were allo

and were in Unimak Pass. Here the wind blew a gale from the west, on account of which we were obliged to go below to our staterooms after watching the sailors lash everything on the hurricane deck well down

losopher's fortitude we studied to overlook everything disagreeable, and partly succeeded. That our efforts were not a complete

e day. Sometimes a breeze would spring up from the wrong direction, rolling us for a few hours, causing us to prefer a reclining posture instead of an upright one, and giving our

ow and then seen in the distance, like the spreading white wings of enormous swans gliding quietly over the bosom of the deep, and we realized that we were nearing land. In the darkness one n

ried five hundred passengers, as well as three million dollars in gold. I had been away from home four months without a day'

LAS