GATE TO THE Wonderful Growth of Skaguay is a modern wonder. Not many week ago the place practically did not exist. To-dny, with its care fully lmd ont streets and its scores of well stocked and cony private dwell ings, it presents nil the appearance of a thriving Northwestern town. Houses are being rushed np with astonishing rapidity, while merchants are so numeron and enterprising that pom petition has already reduced their wares to almost bottom prices. The starting np of a steam laundry has cansed the "biled shirt" to be accepted as good form in this ont of the way settlement, while the establishment of thirteen saloons plainly indicates the prevalence of a generous atmosphere of conviviality. The New York Herald's special cor respondent, in an entertaining article published herewith, givos a graphic description of Sknguay as ho found it entering tho fourth week of its muni cipal existence. He says: Nothing in the history of Western boom towns will compare with the mushroom growth of Skaguay. Ben Moore, the man who located the town site, left for the Sound on Angust 10, at wnich date there was his own log cabin, the store and tho bnnkhouse of the Alaska and Northwest Trading Company and a number of tents. When he returned there were whole streets of wooden dwellings, which the owners had themselves located and had paid a rogistry fee to United State Commissioner Smith of five dollars. Not only were these new comers permitted to locate on Captain Moore's land on payment of the fee, bnt it is said that Mr. Smith accepted the fee and gave a registration receipt to half a dozen different peoplo for the name plot of land. The newly ap pointed Land Commissioner and Register, Mr. Dndloy, will therefore have some difficulty in nnravelliug the conflicting real estate ownership on the town site. ' Skagnay is on a tide flat, with a tide running over twenty feet, and there fore has a stretch of half a mile below tidewater mark. All the passengers -arv - . BKAOCAY DAY. by big steamers are talcou off in row boats, with a pull of from ono to two miles, according ta tho state of tho tide, when they .'re carried on the backs of the boatmen to comparatively dry land. It is amusing to hear the shrieks of the womon when o:i ths back of the boatmen splashing through the water. Only a month ago, when tho Will amette landed her couplo of thousands of gold seekers, nil the freight and passongers' luggage were landed in these small boats, or small scows, and dumped on the shore pell mell, hig-gledy-piggledy.from which enoh owner had to hurry to secure his particular goods before the rapidly iucomiug tide mined thorn or swopt them away. Immense scows aro now in uhc, big enongh to take the whole of a ship's cargo. Theso, when loaded, float to shore on a high tide, and each owner gets out his own goods as soon as bo can, and woe to him whose belongings chance to bo near the bottom of tho huge pile. I watched the stcatti3i- Queen miload in this way. There mi a gjod dual THE BEGINNING of hustling, uecossarily, but I heard no complaint of any goods being stolen or lost asoept temporarily. Iu fact, the whole community seems wonder fully honest considering that the black sheep of the ooutiueut are herding iu this direotion. - ' Merchants iu tents leave their goods hanging outside all right; pilgrims leave their camps on the trail, with all their belongings scattered about; yet but few oases of pilfering have been beard of, and only one theft of money. This was iu the case of a man named lW. H. Davison, of Seattle, who for tlelvo days had $1400 in his kit under a pile of feed iu his tent. He left his tent often iu perfect confidence, bnt r tby he tvi Vj belongings had fl ifll ill SSftS7 I m GOLD FIELDS. the Town of Skaguay. been disturbed and that the money was gone. Another Heatllo man at once gave him (100 with which to take ont his feed, for he had already gotten his goods some distance along the trail, lint this was only the beginning of Davison's bad luck. He was one of the first on the trnil, and worked beyond his strength. .Tnst pant the summit he had an attack - of pnenmonia, and, getting worse instead of better, had to give np. He is now here waiting for the next steamer, having loft his out fit with his partner, who hopes to sell it to some one who will pay for the difficult journey they made with it up the pass. There does not appear to have been any pilfering of goods left on the beach from the steamers. In a short time there will be no chance for this. The two long piers are hotly competing for the honor of being first completed ana early next month lom will be in operation. That of the Hkagnay Wharf Company is already piled to its ocean end, a length of over fifteen hun dred feet, in a curving lino from tho northern to tho southern side of the bay, thus blocking off all further com petition in this line. This will be known commonly as the Juneau Pier, its promoters being J. P. Jorgensen, hardware merchant; E. Valentine, jeweller, and E. D. Sylvester, editor of the Searchlight, all of Juneau. The other pier will be known as the Seattle Dock, as it is largely backed by capital from that Sound city. This starts from the street south of Broadway and runs straight to the completed dook under the cliff. Both will have ware houses, to whioh goods will be taken direct from the ship, and there await the proper claimants. These two great piers are impressive to the incoming stranger, who knows that the town is only a month old, but ns to the rest ho cau see but littlo from the steamer's decks. Tents dot tbe shore the whole of its width, with here and there a small wooden building. The latter are rapidly taking the place of the canvas homes and stores, for the reason that cold weather and heavy rains have set in, and more especially very high winds. Captain JIcKinney, the Chairman of the Vigilance Com mittee, estimates that there nre now oue hundred and fifty buildings of wood, and that there would have been mauy more but for the soaroity of lum ber. There is a sawmill hard at work now, lumber is coming in by every steamer, and nearly every one having the purpose to winter here is putting np a habitation of wood. Many are erecting larger and more substantial buildings than thoir noods require, as a spooulation, hoping to sell at a large profit whBii the rush is renowod next OF THE TRAIL. spring and when they once more pack up for the Kloudike. Probably us mauy as fifty of such substantial dwellings are going up. A curious phase of the situation among those who have decided to win ter here is that nearly every oue of them believes that he has just tho nat ural gifts necessary to make a success ful merchant. They aro all putting their great stakes into goods, which they hope to turn into inouey again, with a large profit, by the. spring, and theu sell out an established business wheu the weather permits them to leave for the gold fields. Thus is the new city building up. There are thir teen saloons, a majority of their pro prietors having plans for getting to rmoADWAY, rkaqvj the Klondike as soon at possible, and there are between three and four hun dred merchants of whom the same thing may be said. Not only on Broadway, bnt along the intersecting streets and among the big timbers on each side of the trail, are these merchants' tents and stores, little and big, and all .sorts and condi tions of men are interested in them, from tho spectacled, musoleless store clerk, clumsily handling the saw and the axe on his new building, to the stolid backwoodsman, to whom the making of change is a difficult mental operation. ' One would think that the town would be overdone with so many mer chants, and perhaps it will be soon, when the stctraers are fewer and pas sengers on them not numerous enough to bo worth mentioning. But there is a population of over five hundred still in tents, and it is believed that there will be continnal coming and going until the beginning of December, to be then renewed the month following. So many morchants, however, has had the effect of bringing down prices, which, considering the freight charges, are now rapidly getting to the bottom, making it nearly as cheap to winter here as at Juneau or any other north ern point. But the visitor must not expect luxu ries. He must be content with a bunk and provide his own bedding. The bunk will cost him from seventy-five cents a night up. Meats at cheap res taurants nre fifty cents each. He will, however, in all probability, hire a tiny shack and learn to cook for himself if he is to be a gold hunter. Then, as before stated, ho will find the price of the bare necessaries of life no higher in proportion than Seattle. Flour is I $1.50 per sack, potatoes $1.25, bacon twelve to fifteen conts per pound. I lie mrant city is well laid out, and not only on Broadway bnt on most of J tho side streets on either side np to whore the trail turns off to the left into tho timber there are new stores and residences. Among the timber also there aro many merchants, in tents or rough shacks. In the early history of the city that is, three weeks ago boiled shirts were publicly derided, as were also shaven chins. Now there aro four barber shops and two or three signs reading "Troy Laundry." There is also a bath house in course of con struction, and this is a luxury that tired men coming off the trail will ap preciate. Lumber is still source, rough lumber at nine dollars per thousand feet at Seattle selling for about tweuty five dollars here. There is little doubt that a hundred or more buildings will be erected during the next thirty days. Now, what are the prospects of Skaguay's permanency? The men who are building the wharves and the three story hotel and other buildings evi dently believe in its future growth and prosperity. Yet there is nothing to give it the slightest hope of perma nency except ns an entrance to the gold regions. That they do not at the present time possess any such en trance that is at all what a highway for the expected crowds in the spring should be is conceded. But the in tention now is to build a wagon road along tho Skaguay Kiver to the foot of the mountain. This will cost a great deal of money, but it will in all prob ability be carried out, for every one who has made an investment here un derstands the situation. It is esti mated that from 100,000 to 150,000 gold seekers will flock to Alaska next spring, and that they will begin to come in in February. Skaguay must bo able to nnuounce long before then a better trail than the present one or the trade will pass her by and the town boom will be "hushed." She will also have others besides theDyea trail to compete with, uud, in short, her future depends entirely upon her making the best inland route to the Yukon territory that can be made. Her citizens are remarkably public spirited and liberal. A town meeting two nights ago subscribed 91500 for fire protection in a few moments. A surveyor is now mapping out route for a wagon road along tbe river. Money will have to be raised to meet the cost of this road and work on it be Bturted immediately to insure the permauoncy of Skaguay as a port and as a town of even its present propor tions. American Woman Honored. Mrs. May French Sherman, the African explorer, recently elected member of the English .Royal Geo graphical Sooiety, is the only woman ever thus honored. She is an Ameri can by birth. Equipped Far War. It has always been Lord Wolseley's boast that when starting upon a cam paign his equipage is of the lightest, consisting of little more than a tooth brush and a clean shirt. KuineroutBIg CIUm. There are known to be 309 cities In the world with populations of over out bandied thousand persons each, . THE REALM The trimmed skirt and the blouse bnsqne make the prominent lentnres of all autumn styles, writes May Manton. The costume shown in tho illustration is so simple as to be well-suited to the shopper's needs at the same time that BLOCSK WAIST WITH SAILOR COLLAR AND BKVEN-OORED SKIRT. it is correct for the afternoon call or promenade. The model is made of diagonal cheviot in the new shade known as castor, the contrasting ma terial being plaid in shades of brown and tan, with a sufficient number of bright yellow and red lines to enliven the whole. The buttons are of metal in a rich bronze tone, and tho loops of brown silk cord. With it is worn a hat of castor-colored velvet, trimmed with plumes of varying shades of cas tor and brown, togethor with loops of ribbon showing a plaid design in tho same tones. Tho bodice proper is full, and falls' slightly over the belt, but the fonuda- tion is fitted snugly and is composed of the usual pieces and seamB, closing at the centre-front. On it is arranged the plastron of plaid, whioh is stitched to the lining at tbe right and hooks over onto the left side. The blouse is fitted with shoulder and uuder-arra seams only, aud turns back from the front in pointed revers, which reveal the vest beneath. Beneath that, on the right side, the blouse is stitohed fast, while the left serves to oonoeal the dosing, which is effected by books and eyes. At the baok, falling over the shoulders to meet the revers, is a deep, square collar of the plaid, and loops of conLpassed over large but tons serve to hold the blouse well in place. The basque portion is circular, and seamed to the blouse beneath the belt of brown leather. All the free edges are stitohed by machine. The sleeves are snug fitting and finished with cap-shaped epaulettes, which fall over the shoulders and relieve the Otherwise plain effect, The skirt S cut in seven gores and embodies the apron idea, so conform ing with the demand for trimming without detracting from the apparont height of the wearer. The lining trout is oat wider than the material . HANDSOME JACKET. OF FASHION. and into it are stitched the narrow sections of plaid. The edges of both the front and sides are machine stitched and the buttons and loops serve to hold them in place. Tho back gores are laid in deep backward-turning plaits and so form the fan back. Zibeline, covert cloths, all cheviots and drnp d'ete are all eminently appropriate and iu the height of style. To make this costume for a lndy in tho medium size will require six and one-half yards of forty-four-inch ma terial with one yard of plnid of the same width. The blouse alone calls for two and one-half yards with one half yard of plaid. The skirt requires four yards of forty-four-inch goods, with one yard of plaid, but the one length of the latter will also cut the vest and collar if the complete costume is to be made. l.nille' .larket Ititsque, Many of the' recent importations show jacket basques. An unusually attractive design is in the large en graving and described by May Man ton. It is made of ziheliue in the deep shade of green known ns lluasinu. The full vest is of silk, while the re vers, belt and collor show velvet in a darker shade. Braid is artistically ap plied and lnrge buttons are used for decorative purposes only. The pattern gives a short lining front that has double bust-darts and closes invisibly at the centre-front. Upon this lining the fnll vest is mounted, the soft and becoming fulness being regulated by gathers nt the neck and nt the wnist, where it is confined by a wide bolt. The side or jacket fronts are fitted by deep, singlo bust-darts. The velvet revers extend from the shouldorsto below the bust line, where they meet; they are widest at tho top, tapering gradually toward the lower edge, adding somewhat to' the length of the figure, so proving especially be coming to ladies whose figures are larg er than the average. The back shows the usual number of seams, and is carried belotv the waist to a becoming length, as is tho front. The neck finishes with a closo standing band that closes iu the centre-front. The. sleeves nre two-seamed, fitting tho arm comfortably close from wrists to within a short distance of the shoulder, where a slight fulness appears that is arranged in tho arm's eye in box-plaits. Basques of this description aro well adaptod to street and early autumn wear. Among the suitable materials nre cloth, serge, diagonal and novelty goods, while braid or passementerie are the accepted decorations; or tho garment oan be finished in plain tailor fashion, with tho free edges showing machine stitching. To make this basque for a lady in the medium size will roquire two and one-half yards of forty-four-iuoh ma terial. Silk Mouse WnWt. Among skirt models are many fin ished with three very deep flouacott, the three wholly covering tbe closely gorged foundation, or there are mauy rows of tiur frills set on from belt ta hem, aud iu this case the sleeves and upper portion of tho waist are likewise trimmed. Flufllneu In Net Trimmings. A tendenoy toward flufflness is ap parent even in net trimmings, says the Delineator, which are enriched with beads and spangles, tiny frills of beaded not beiug set at tho edges or along tho centre of tbe bands. The effuot is novel and interesting. WILL USE NO UNCUACE. Bow Coming Generations Will Look and Act, According-to Rclentlst. This is the way Dr. B. M. Bnrke, President of the psychology section of the British Medical Association, says 13 hkad of rm man or thb FCTrne. the head of the man of the future will look. The now raco, he says, will nse no language because it will need none. The interchange of thought between individuals because it will be simply a mental effort on the part of each unac companied by any physical manifesta tion whatever. As olio person evolves bis idea the other will instantly grasp it by means of a subtle telepathy, which oven now is the gift in a more or less modified form of many people who are only vaguely conscious of their strange power, and, in many in stances, too timid and fearful of ridi cule to publicly confess it or attempt to develop it. With future genera tions this gift will become more and ' more frequent iu individuals and of greater and greater power, until this silent interchange of thought is nt last ns common as is now speech and writ ing. Nor will his powers stop eveu there. He not only will be aide to ex change thoughts with people thousands of leagues away, but will be able to soe them as distinctly as though they were physically present and even see if he chooses what is passing anywhere iu the world. There will be an end of eyes and cars, tho gross physical chan nels through sensations now must pass to tho mind. They will all go, for they will all be useless as useless as the mechanism of tho voice, by which son- sat ions and ideas are now conveyed from the mind outward. There may be some scar or meaningless excres- ence where these organs ouco were, just as now there nro physiological suggestions of man's npe origin hu miliating reminders of the brute an cestry from which the godlike being was evolved. But that will be all, anil eveu that will melt away aud disap pear at last. Locomotive llullt In Ten Honrs. A looomotive was recently built in ten hours at the Stratford works of the (treat Eastern railway. It was a main line goods engino with a tender. Be fore the actual construction com menced the various component parts were placed close nt hand, ready foi fitting together. The workmen began early in the morning, and continued briskly till the breakfast bell sounded. After half nn hour's rest tho work men returned to their tank, and la bored steadily until the dinner hour, and thus the work proceeded until tbe engine was at last completed, with the exception of a coat of paint. This was quickly laid on with a spraying machine, aud iu less than half an hoar was perfectly dry. Tho locomotive was then sent on a trial journey a few miles on the lino, and all proved satis factory, so it was sent with a luggago train to Peterborough. It has been in active service ever since, and is proudly displnyed as a marvel of engineering quickness. Hani on Fat. Gentleman (to an Irishman) "Well, Pat, I see you have a small garden." Pat "Yes, sir." "What are you going to sot in it for next season?" "Nothing, sir. I set it with pota toes last year and not oue of them came up." "That's strange; how do you explain it?" "Well, sir, tho man next door to me sot his gardon full of onions." "Well, had that anything to do with your potatoes not growing?" "Yes, sir. Bedad, thoui onions was that strong that my potatoes conldn't see to gow for their eyes vatcriu3." Answers. Thousand of MUdi Arrow-Viert-ed. ' Some years ago II. N. Clement, an Indiana farmer, shot at a flock of wild geese iu the Kan Ka Meo marsh and bagged several of them. Oue of them wore as a breastpin an trrow nine inches long. The arrow was so unique FLYING) FROM TUB YUKON PIERCED lit AN ARROW. 1 in formation that it oould be ascribed to no tribe of Indians in the United States or in any other country. Finally Prof essor O. T. Mason, of the National Museum, said tbe bird and arrow oould have come from no othor plaoa of the globe than the Yukon Valley. Thousands of miles the goose had flown with an arrow in its breast be fore turning up its legs at the shot of Hoosier farmer, ... .
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers