eatures of the subject
can hardly be exaggerated; for instance: the magnitude and blindness of
the stampede of eighteen thousand fortune-hunters in the summer of 1900,
and the almost indescribable scenes which attended their arrival on the
"golden sands"; the marvelous richness of some of the placer-gold
deposits; the dreariness and barrenness of the new country; and the
enormity of the judicial conspiracy, whose proceedings the United States
Circuit Court of Appeals has declared "have no parallel in the
jurisprudence of this country."

Special laws concerning Alaska, the local methods of mining, and various
other matters pertaining to the country and its people, are dealt with
herein, probably with sufficient fullness for the general reader. The
book, however, as a whole, is in narrative form; and personal
experiences and character-sketches (especially in the second part) have
been freely utilized for the purpose of illustrating characteristic
conditions and typical people.

If the narrative in places seems too personal, this, perhaps, will be
pardoned, for the reason that an account of the actual experiences of a
few individuals--tame, indeed, compared with those of many others--may
better suggest the atmosphere of a weird land than a mere resume of
impersonal facts. Finally, it is hoped that this book may, in some small
measure, prove of service in directing attention to the past neglect and
present needs of our wonderful Alaska.

L. McK.

NEW YORK, February, 1902.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I THE RUSH IN 1900 1

II THE HYBRID CITY OF NOME 30

III TRAVEL TO THE INTERIOR 54

IV THE INLAND COUNTRY--THE MINES 76

V MCKENZIE AT WORK--THE STORM--THE
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 105

VI THE DANGERS OF BERING SEA--A
DISMAL OUTLOOK 137

VII UP THE STREAMS--AN EVENING AT
JOHNSON'S CAMP 166

VIII THE COUNCIL CITY MINING DISTRICT--JOE
RIPLEY AND OTHERS 187

IX THE OPERETTA AT DEXTER'S--NOME
CITY OF TO-DAY 230

X THE END OF THE CONSPIRACY--A
WORD FOR ALASKA 246

PART I

1900

I

THE RUSH IN 1900

The r