an upon the beach. One of professed large experience
vehemently maintained that his theory of the beach deposits was the
correct one; that is to say, the gold came down the Yukon River attached
to the bottom of icebergs which were carried out to sea, and then,
somehow, through the kindness of the Japanese current, the gold which
they brought was deposited upon the long-extending beach at Cape Nome!
Of course, as had been clearly demonstrated in the preliminary United
States geological report, the beach gold had been carried down from the
interior by the streams emptying into Bering Sea, and there distributed
in the black and "ruby" sand.

The atmosphere became chill and penetrating, the sunsets later, the
nights less dark. The crowd were kept in good nature by sparring-matches
conducted along professional lines, mock trials, concerts, and
recitations by the "profession." The popular song "Because I Love You"
was murdered several times daily, only to be re-resurrected. We made the
acquaintance of another Yale man, Mr. C----, a member of the California
bar, with whom I worked, weather and disposition permitting, over the
proposed Alaska laws, and with whom I later formed a law partnership.

Early in the morning of June 11 the _Lane_ went through Unimak Pass and
was steaming toward Dutch Harbor, all aboard eager, with eyes straining,
to see whether the vessels which had preceded us were there, or had
continued up into the Bering Sea, navigation being open. To the surprise
and delight of nearly all, there lay at anchor in that magnificent
harbor, almost landlocked, what appeared to be the entire Nome
fleet--steamers of all sizes, sailing-craft laden with lumber and black
with passengers, and the United States vessels _Wheeling_, _McCullough_,
_Manning_, _Rush_, and _Lawton_.

It is a weird and majestic spot. Great hills, almost mountains, barren
of timber or shrubbery of any kind, and streaked with snow, come down
precipitous to the water's edge. Rising beyond these are snow-covered
mountains. Not a tree nor anything green is visible. The surface is
somber with the all-pervading tundra, or Russian moss, which stretches
over the greater part of Alaska and northern Siberia. Looking down the
harbor are discovered the large warehouses of one of the great Alaska
commercial and trading companies, and the ancient and unique Russian
settlement of Unalaska, peopled mainly by a mixed-breed population of
Russian, Japanese, and nativ