“Man will go anywhere for treasure.” So Gudbrand “G.J.” Lomen told his 19-year-old son Carl in the summer of 1900, as the two caught their first glimpse of Alaska Territory from the deck of the S.S. Garonne. The flat, treeless expanse in front of them was punctuated by snow-capped mountains, tent-packed mining camps, and rusted heavy machinery. The sounds of ship whistles and jangling dogsleds pierced the icy air. The scene was worlds away from G.J. Lomen’s law practice in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the younger Lomen had previously worked…
