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on local history by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story. A cheering throng of thousands met the SS Portland as it pulled up to Seattle’s Schwabacher Dock on July 17, 1897. The spectators chanted, over and over, to see the gold. The perhaps slightly bewildered but good-humored miners on board the steamer waved in return. Today, a plaque at the Seattle Waterfront Park notes the location of the festivities. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran an extra edition that day with the details. The newspaper declared, “This morning the steamship Portland, from St. Michaels for Seattle, passed up Sound with more than a ton of solid gold on board.” Of the 68 passengers, “hardly a man has less than $7,000 and one or two have more than $100,000 in yellow nuggets.” ....