Twentieth Anniversary of Great Gold Rush
Data Taken From Special Number Devoted to Alaska, Issued by the Railway and Marine News, Seattle
GOVERNOR RIGGS
SENDS GREETINGS
TERRITORY OF ALASKA
Governor's Office.
JUNEAU
Greetings* Great Rush of ’98, on
this, your twentieth anniversary! We
love your memory, for it is you who
have created a race of men worthy to
follow in the footsteps of their older
brother pioneers, and it is through
the pioneers that Alaska will enter
in on Greatness. You took the dweller
of the town and the dweller of the
country and showed them Opportun
ity, our sturdy pioneers have opened
ed them Possibility in the barren hills
and valleys, and, following Possibil
ity; our sturdy pioneers have opened
new fields rich in gold and copper;
they have cleared moss and broken the
soil into productive farms; they are
the trappers and traders of today, the
merchants, the bankers.
We owe you much, Days of ’98, for
in you we saw magnified all that was
good and all that was evil. W e saw
the days of open license .of the dance
hall, the saloon, the gambling house,
the extravagance and called it Life.
We saw providence, self-denial, plod
ding determination, and in the arrog
ance of youth we called it Folly. ^ ou
have taught us, Days of ’98, that what
we took for Life was Folly and what
we took for Folly was Life; for Suc
cess is Life and Failure is Folly.
We are older, Days of ’98, than
when we swarmed across the moun
tain passes to the waters of the
Yukon. We have profited by your
good examples and by your errors.
Your like will never come again. Your
romance will live forever in our an
nals. We will tell our children of you
and they in turn will tell their
children.
Hail! Gone, but undying, Great
Rush of 1898.
THOMAS RIGGS, JR.
BUILDING OF
W. P. & Y. R. R.
* S. H. Graves, president of the
White Pass &. Yukon railroad, in di
rect charge of its construction in 18DS,
ten years later published in Chicago
his personal recollections of the un
dertaking under the title, "On the
White Pass Payroll,” copyrighted in
both this country and Great Britain.
It is an interesting recital, beautiful
ly printed, illustrated and bound, and
gives a complete history of the early
years of the construction, with a trib
ute to the famous “o H’s,” Hawkins,
Heney and Hislop, who, with Mr.
Graves, have since passed away.
Mr. Graves deals in his early chap
ters with the facts leading up to the
killing of Reid and “Soapy” Smith,
and includes many facts of the days
of ’1)8, which had not been previously
published, so the whole volume is one
well worth reading by those who re
call those stirring times.
Quoting from his work:
“The situation at Skagway in the
spring and summer of 18‘.>8 was brief
ly as follows: Winter had blocked
the White Pass and Closed the Yukon
river, so the rush of gold-seekers had
accumulated on the coast where they
were unloaded by the steamers. The
country between the sea and Log Cab
in, 80 miles inland, including the
White Fass, was hotly claimed by both
Canada and the United States, but the
latter held de facto possession with a
company of soldiers at I>yea. Canada
kept two or throe mounted police in
Skagway to support a claim of pos
session, but they were not allowed to
exercise jurisdiction and had merely
the status of private individuals. The
townsite was claimed by a company,
but was in the possession of some ten
thousand squatters in tents and wood
en shanties. There was no law under
which any municipal government
could be organized, nor was there any
k.
I
| federal law, or courts, or police, or
! authority. The only representative
! of the federal government was an of
ficial known under the imposing title
of ‘Deputy United States Marshal,’
who was in fact in league with the
criminal element which in the circum
stances decsribed had things all their
own way, until the railway builders
began to oppose them on behalf of
decency and order, and to form a nu
cleus around which the law-abiding
element, could rally. The criminal el
| ement, though numerou, were in the
minority, but they had the advantage!
; of being thoroughly organized and
; armed, and skillfully led by a man
; named “Soapy” Smith, who was the
! uncrowned king of Skagway. He was
not a constitutional monarch, but his
word was all the law there was.
“When our surveyors reached Skag
way in May, 1898, they were dumped
ashore, like everybody else, on a grav
; el flat, which fiiied the narrow valley
between two snow-clad mountain ran-:
ges towering six or seven thousand!
feet above their heads. The gravel j
flat was called Skagway and already
overcrowded with human beings living
j under the conditions described in the
I previous chapter. Our men with dif
I Acuity found room to pitch their tents
j and establish themselves. All they
j had to do was to find the best way
j through those mountains to Lake
j Bennett, and to find it ‘quick.’
“The densest ignorance prevailed as
i to the topography of the country, Peo
i pie knew where the White Pass was
j and that was all. (Some of them
i didn’t know this and strayed into
| ‘False Pass.’) The relations of the
; mountains to one another in a range
I or where the waters in the streams
; had their source, not one knew or
| cared. Yet our men had not only to
And a way through this forty miles
of mountain wilderness for our loeo
' motives, but it was important to find
the best way, and to And it ‘mighty
i sudden.’
i
“The first train from Skagway ran
into Bennett city on Lake Bennett on
July A, 1899, a year after construction
; had commenced on an active sca'e.
Forty miles of railway through the
| mountains connected the waters of
the Pacific ocean with the head waters
j of the Yukon river, and completed
i our first section. Considering the dif
i Acuities of surveying the line, the im
j mense amount of heavy rock blasting,
i bridging and other difficulties oi con
struction, our men had every right to
congratulate themselves on their rap
id work. But for the delay oceasicn
j ed by the Atlin ‘stampede’ we could
! have reached Bennett more than a
! month earlier.
“No time was lost in attacking the
| second section from the head of Lake
j Bennett to the foot of White Horse
j rapids, a distance of a little over sev
J enty miles. The first twenty-seven
I miles runs along the east shore of the
! lake and involved heavy rock blasting.
But till this portion could be complet
ed the lake itself would form a con
necting link with the line beyond.
“July 29, 1900, I left Skagway with
a party to drive the last spike this
| morning. As we came down the lake
on the ‘Australian’ and neared Cari
bou crossing we could see the track
layers at work on the shore, with
about half a mile of track still to lay
at 4:30 p. m. They had to carry the
rails forward from the work train
that followed yards behind the rear
spike drivers, mark the sleepers for
the rails, lay the loose rails in place,
and then four gangs of men drove
home the spikes (4 spikes to each
sleeper, 36 to each rail—72 to each
| 30 feet of track), in a continuous cy
i done of sledge hammers. , Then the
| engine pushing a couple of cars of
j rails would creep cautiously forward
: and behind it the fish-plating gang
! fished the joints and the new track
was laid where a few moments before
was nothing but the bare grade.”
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and Sunday Times.
A TON OF GOLD
FROM KLONDIK
By J. I.. McPHERSON, Secretary
Manager Alaska Bureau Seattle
Chamber of Commerce and
Commercial Club.
“A ton of gold from the Klondike,”
were the magical words that flashed
from Seattle to all parts of the world
on that summer day in 1807, when the
steamer Portland landed at a Seattle
dock the first large output of gold
from the northland. No more clever
advertising phrase was ever worded.
Th ton was a new standard for meas
uring gold that signified unlimited
amount, attracting world-wide atten
tion and interest. The money value of
that first ton of gold was probably
less than $450,000 (depending on fine
ness), while the value of the products
shipped from Alaska last year, at
tracting comparatively little attention
aggregated approximately $97,000,
000, oi about two hundred times the
value of the initial and magical ton of
gold, which goes to prove that Seat
tle's greatness is not all due to loca
tion, but that she has possessed, at all
times, men capabable of quickly see
ing and profiting by opportunities
that would redound to her benefit.
These magical words drew to the
northland hardy prospectors from ev
ery mining district; the one type of
man physically and temperamentally
equipped to cope with the climatic ob
stacles and hardships of the great
northland. The type of men who think
nothing of taking a heavy pack on
their backs and striking off into the
wilderness alone in search of the
precious metal. No other lure than
that of gold could attract and hold
men to the hardships they encount
ered. Few, if any, have any concep
tion of what it means to trudge along
day by day with a heavy load on one’s
back, fording treacherous glacial
streams, scaling rugged mountain
ranges and sinking with every step in
the moss covered tundra alone with
m Aormif one on/1 noefc An
many made life a living torment.
These men knew not the meaning of
the word failure. Xo obstacle was too
great to be overcome, and for hard
ships they had no fear. Disappoint
ment in one valley tended to simply
spur them on to cross the next range
of mountains into a new valley where
their endless store of hope led them to
believe that their green pasture might
be found. Little did these men realize
that largely as a result of their ef
forts a wealth of mineral and natural
resources were being discovered, to
which no like area of our land can
compare.
Due to the indefatigable work of
this sturdy type of manhood the rich
gold fields of Fairbanks, Seward Pen
insula, Iditarod, Ruby and numerous
other small placer camps of Alaska
were discovered and Alaska become
known as a “Klondike*’ (synonomous
of richness), not only of gold but of
copper, tin, and other precious and
base metals; coal in inexhaustible
quantity, great forests of paper pulp
timber, marble, gypsum, oil and
barytes in quantity commercially
profitable ,and waters alive and teem
ing with food fish. A land with all the
base and precious metals and raw
prdoucts both of land and sea, essen
tial to the building of a rich empire;
and stranger still, Seward’s polar bear
garden found to contain millions of
acres of land suitable for cultivation
or grazing. It is estimated that there
are 16,000,000 acres of such lands.
Of the scenic grandeaur of the
northland, no words can in anywise
do justice. It stands pre-eminent
among all lands for its scenic beauty.
“It’s the great big, broad, land, way
up Yonder,
It’s the forests where silence has
lease;
It’s tlie beauty that thrills me with
wonder,
It’s the stillness that fills me with
peace.”
CHRONOLOGY OF
ALASKA MINING
As a number of people still hold the
belief that the great rush of 181)8
l
| marked the beginning of mining in
| Alaska, a few dates are here gitfen for
; ready reference and because of their
; historic value, all on tire authority of
I Dr. Alfred H. Brooks, U. S. Geologi
cal survey, they are given, as follows;
; 1741—Earilest exploitation of any
: mineral deposit in what is now Alas
ka. Bering, the discoverer o.' Alaska,
! when first landing on Kyak island, ob
i served that the natives had copper
| knives and other utensils, which had
been made by the recovery of copper
nuggets taken from tributaries of the
Copper and White rivers. All explor
ers reported a wide distribution oi
! copper utensils among the indigenous
inhabitants of the territory, probably
primitive mining carried on for count
less generations in the Copper rive:
district, now supplying the highest
grade copper being mined anywhere
ir the world.
1848—Only search for gold by the
Russians was made under direction of
an official mining engineer who, after
; two years, reported adversely, al
though he found a little placer gold
i on Kenai peninsula. The Russians ap
; pear also to have known of the occur
rence of copper ores on Prince Wil
liam sound and Prince of Wales Isl
; and and knew something of the coal
! deposits. »
1855—A San Francisco company
originally organized to take ice from
Alaska to California, opened up some
Little did those pioneers, scaling
i the steep slopes of Chilkoot, realize
\ the extent of the great discovery to
which the ton of gold from the Klon
I dike was the magnet, nor did they
realize the hardships and obstacles
; that had to be overcome in the win
ning of her riches, for in the north
land Nature hast surrounded her
! treasures with obstacles greater than
! on any frontier, and he who wins
CH L/tT CU >» 1 LX 1
iimuiiiuaui tr
; will and determination.
Despite the fact that Alaska eon
i tains all resources essential to the
' building of a great and prosperous
; country, there has been no increase in
| permanent population. In fact, the
| last year shows a heavy decline, and
! there has been no building of any in
' dustrial development such as is war
ranted by her great resources of raw
products.
The reason is clear and apparent to
all who know northern conditions.
' Carried away by the potential wealth
of the northland, with no considera
tion to the risks and great obtsacles
I to pioneer development of that coun
j try, our people inflicted on Alaska a
1 policy of restriction that effectively
! blocked any real development and re
! suited in driving from Alaska the
! class of citizenry essential to the de
; velopment of her resources.
The prime requisite in building a
; strong citizenry for any country is to
i get them attached to it by home and
i business ties. Our policv has been
; prohibitive of such, and until we
j adopt a broad constructive policy that
! will offer the necessary encourage
j ment to the pioneer, there will be no
material progress in the development
of Alaska. 'The present policy has re
sulted in creating a citizenry of board
ers that will naturally flow back and
forth with every fluctuation of busi
ness conditions. Such a policy has
and will result in making Alaska a
source of national weakness and in
the loss of the use of humanity of her
much needed resources and products.
To secure the rational development
of Alaska, make her great resources
available to mankind, and built a
strong and prosperoues citizenry in
Alaska, we must adopt a policy that
will offer the necessary encourage
ment, with every safeguard against
monopoly, essential to the pioneer de
velopment to the great nnrthland.
coal beds at Point Graham, on Cook
inlet. During the succeeding decade
this mine made small production for
the use of the Russian colony and
led to some other, though unsuccess
ful attempts at coal mining.
1867—American prospectors went
to Alaska soon after the transfer to
the United States.
1869—Placer geld found at Sum
dum bay.
1877—Quartz vein located near Sit
ka and two years later a small stamp <
mill erected to crush the ore.
1879— The occurrence of auriferous
gravels in the Yukon basin of Canada
was reported by several of the early
explorers and fur traders but it was j
not until the discovery of Cassiar bar :
on the Lewis in 1879 by a party of;
prospectors who went in over Chilkool,
pass, that there was any production
of gold from placers. By 1882 this
route through the coast range into
the interior had become well estab
lished, having been crossed by about
100 prospectors and they discovered
gold placers in the Yukon basin. It
was not until 1887, however, that pla
cers were found on the Alaska side of
the international boundary, while the
Franklin creek discoveries were fol
lowed by those at Forty Mile and
other sections, but the population was j
very small for many years.
1880— The above finds stimulated !
prospecting, led to the quartz and
lode gold discoveries near Juneau in
this year and an output of placer gold
was made. In this year silver and
lead ores were found in the Fish river
basin, Seward peninsula.
1881— Early attempt at lode min
ing in Alaska made on Prince of
Wales island, to develop some copper
deposits.
1882— Treadwell mine made its first
important output.
1883— Small shipment of ore from
Fish river basin, Seward peninsula.
1886—Gold-bearing lode found on
Unga island but not developed until
1891.
1893— Gold found in the Birch
creek and Rampart regions.
1894— Discovery of the gold placer
of the Sunrise district. Cook inlet.
1895— 6—Great development of the
Treadwell group of mines and smaller
lode mines in the Juneau district.
1896— The discovery of gold in the
Klondike region of the Canadian Yu
kon. Mining population of the Yu
kon valley, both in Canada and Alas
ka had probably reached 1,000.
1897— Widespread publicity given
to this discovery by the arrival of the
steamship Portland into Seattle,
which started the first stampede that
summer, fall and winter.
1898— The great rush to the north.
The discovery of gold placers on Sew
ard peninsula. The Nikolai copper
bearing lode was discovered in the
Copper river basin.
1899— Pay found in the sands of
l Nome beach.
1900— Great rush to Nome. Placer
tin first found in the York region ox I
Seward peninsula.
1901 — Construction of extensive:
conduits for bringing water to the
placer mines begun at Nome.
1902—Discovery of extensive gold
bearing gravel in the Fairbanks dis
trict, which in four years became
Alaska's greatest gold producer and
still is a notable producer. In the;
same year gold was found in the Ko
buk basin and Copper river basin.
1904— Gold found in Susitna basin, j
1905— First successful dredge in- j
stalled on Seward peninsula.
1906— Beginning of the great devel
opment of copper properties in Prince j
William sound and Copper river val- j
ley.
Subsequent development on a large'
scale of gold, copper, marble, gypsum, j
with some limited development in coal j
mining, are of such recent occurrenceI
that they do not require extended ref- j
erence.
1016—Twenty years after the Klon
dike discovery, value of Alaska’s total
mineral output $52,361,386 for that
calendar year.
HOW GREAT RUSH
AIDED SEATTLE
ALBERT J. RHODES,
President Seattle (hamber of Com
merce and Commercial Club.
Seattle’s history in the last fifty
years is an epic in western develop
ment, divided into five epochs: The
transfer of Alaska from Russia in
1867; the conflagration of June G,
1889; the discovery of gold in 1867
79-96; the birth of the idea of the A.
Y.-P. Exposition in 1905, and the real
ization of the idea in 1909; the world
struggle against autocracy in 1914
and our declaration of war in 1917.
Each of these epochs is so filled
with wondei*ful achievement as to
provide material for a separate vol
ume of thrilling history. We are now
in the midst of progress that seems
of paramount importance, but reflec
tion will convince any thinker that
the next ten years will surpass the
sum of the advance of the last fifty
years.
The previous five epochs were de
voted to foundation work. During tne
next five years will come the realiza
tion of the dreams of the founders.
Alaska, Siberia and the Orient to be
developed; likewise all the arable
lands of the State of Washington now
vacant. Many foretunes will be made
in the northland, in Siberia, in the
Orient and in city and state develop
ment. The gold discoveries were all
important during the rush to the
northland in ’97 and ’98. The demand
for “ships, more ships,” like the de
mand today, started a great era of
shipbuilding. Without Seattle-owned
ships, with headquarters here, and
without the friendship of the Alas
kans, this city could not have had the
lion’s share of the benefits that flow
ed from the northland. Seattle filled
the need. A great conglomerate fleet
was built or asembled. Led by such
giants as Robert Moran and John Ro
sene, Seattle put the foundations
under shipbuilding as a permanent in
dustry. Our business men gave the
needed assistance to the pioneers. The
world-war is giving impetus that will
develop this work to gigantic propor
tions. In the gold stampede days
beattie was the supply depot for Alas
ka. Every boat went out with a full
cargo. Every business was enlarged
and enriched. The same will be true
of the next ten years upon an im
mense scale. Commerce of stupendous
value will flow from Alaska, Siberia
and the Orient, and American ships,
built in Seattle, will return with full
cargoes.
Seattle's destiny — world import
ance and greatness—was assured by
the discovery of gold in the north
land. The coming victory over auto
cracy will mark the beginning of an
other great epoch during which Seat
tle’s commerce will be multiplied.
First of all we must win the war,
and at all times we must remember
the immense advantage of winning
and holding the sincere good will of
the Alaskans, the Russians and peo
ples of the Orient, for our peculiar
advantages can not be utilized fully
without the friendship of those with
whom we deal.
ONLY ONE BREAD ALLOWED.
Inquiries received by E. T. Lindner,
food administrator for the Anchorage
district, indicate that a clear idea does
not yet prevail in regard to the lat
est rules of the federal food adminis
tration. The belief is entertained by
some that two ounces of victory bread
and four ounces of quick bread may
be served by restaurants and lunch
places to a person at any meal. This
is not the case. The rule provides for
either two ounces of victory bread or
four ounces of quick bread, and this
limits the service to either one or the
other, but does not allow both.
Job printing at the Times office.