G&riBdd E@tam§ FromLosagTrip
Deputy Collector Charles Garfield
returned this week from a 7,000 mile
trip around Alaska. Every year the
interior has to be covered by some of
ficial of the customs service, to see
that the navigation laws are enforced,
and to inspect the offices of customs
offices. Usually two trips are requir
ed, but this year the experiment was
made of making both trips in a swing
around the circle. The experiment was
entirely successful, and the official
visits will probably be combined into
one hereafter.
Three Millions Gold from Iditarod
“There is a healthy business going
on along the river,” he said Wednes
day to a representative of The Sour
dough, “but there is no boom on. The
Iditarod will turn out about three mil
lions and a half of gold this year. It
is understood that the reason that the
Guggenheims turned down the options
which they held was because they con
sidered the prices asked by the lay
men too high.
Juneauite.
“Lockie McKinnon, formerly a part
ner in the Circle City Hotel at Juneau,
is working on lower Flat creek and is
going to make some money. Isa Gold
stein suffered a severe loss from fire,
and has not recovered. He expected to
come out this fall, but has decided to
stay, to see if he cannot get square.
The Iditarod is quite well built up but
business is overdone.
‘ ‘ Flat City is quite a town, and Dis
covery on Otter creek is quite a camp.
There are about 3,000 people there.
They are building a horse tram from
Iditarod out to Flat Creek to handle
freight and passengers. It will be
seven miles long. They had four miles
of it completed when I was there.
“Fairbanks is looking up. There
are four quartz mills running in high
grade ore. People of Fairbanks are
very much encouraged.
Ruby City.
‘ ‘ But the coming camp is Ruby City,
SOURDOUGH NO. 9
on the Yukon. It is 85 miles below
Tanana and at the mouth of Ruby
creek. There ia a fine townsite, and
buildings are being put up rapidly.
About five hundred people are there,
and more are coming all the time. The
diggings are thirty miles back from
the town. There is pay on five creeks,
running up to $2.45 to the pan. No
one knows how extensive it is—there
are only a few holes down. Freight
ing is very expensive, and they cannot
get machinery in until the freeze-up.
There are some promising quartz pros
pects in the vicinity also.
Small Pox on Porcupine
“There is a serious outbreak of
Small-pox on the Porcupine. Fort Yu
kon was quarantined when we were
there. So far as I know there were
some thirty cases among the natives.
The infection is supposed to have come
from Dawson. All along the Yukon
river in the region of the mouth of the
Porcupine, the natives have abandoned
their summer villages and gone to the
hills, on account of the pestilence. The
boundary survey party had quarantin
ed themselves against the natives. I
heard in Dawson. I do not know how
true it was, that there were two cases
of the diseasq. among the survey party.
The quarantine at Dawson had been
lifted. ’
Good News Bay
“I saw Frank Waskey in Nome. He
told me he was going back to Good
News bay, and that the prospects there
were encouraging, but he did not seem
inclined to talk further about it. I
heard some promising stories since
about Good News bay, but nothing au
thentic.
“The Cook Inlet country is quiet.
Three government parties are at work
on the trail from Seward to Iditarod,
and they expect to have it cut through
this summer.
On the Kuskoquim
“The fur business in the interior
is not as good this year as usual.
“The steamer Alice, formerly op
erated on the Susitna, has been towed
around to the Kuskoquim, and is be
ing run on that river. I saw several
pokes of gold from there, but there
have been no strikes."
FLOATING COURT UNIQUE
So far as Judge Lyons knows, there
is only one floating court in the world.
A sailing court, from port to port, is
an inovation.
It was “invented” by Judge Cush
man, or Judge Overfield, Judge Lyons
is not sure which. It was tried first
last summer, and besides the mileage
it has saved for the court and the offi
cers of the court it has saved a tre
mendous amount of time for litigants
and witnesses and has proven extrem
ely useful in the administration of jus
tice.
“At Nushagak, for instance,” said
Judge Lyons to a representative of the
Sourdough Wednesday, “there is a
large cannery, and all sorts of crimes
are committed there. If it was neces
sary for a prosecuting witness to go to
Seward to make complaint, and then at
tend trial, it might entail the loss of a
whole year, and for that reason men
were very chary about making com
plaints. But when the court comes to
Nushagak, however, men generally are
quite willing to assist in the adminis
tration of justice.”
The floating court has therefore,
brought many men to justice who
would have gone unpunished if the
criminal cases had been tried at Sew
ard, according to the custom which
formerly prevailed.
Contrary to the general impression,
however, cases are not tried on board
ship as the vessel sails. A term of
court may be held anywhere in Alaska,
but thirty days notice must first be
given by publication. Terms of court
were held only in four places: Kodiak,
Nushagak and Unga or Unalaska.
Criminals all the way. down the scale
from murder to whiskey peddling were
tried during the trip, and six insane
persons were committed.
BUYS SHOUP RESIDENCE
James Shoup, ex-United States mar
shal, has. sold his former residence in
Juneau, opposite the school house, to
Mrs. Harry Bishop. The consideration
was $4,000.
STRANGE SUIT
AGAINST POPOVICH
Dan Popovich has been sued in Com
missioner Winn’s court for $800 dam
ages for the alleged stronghand rob
bery of her property, and the breaking
up of her business as a boarding house
keeper, together with exemplary dam
ages and smart money.
Mary says that on June 1 last, she
was running a boarding house in Doug
las for miners and was enjoying a large
growing and lucrative business, making
a profit of $150 a month, and but for
the ‘ ‘ wrongful, tortuous, malicious and
oppressive acts Of Popovich would have
continued to make there at least that
amount until the end of time. She av
ers on that day, Dan Popovich, as
sisted by the city marshal of Douglas,
took possession of her household
goods, and drove her out.
On the date mentioned in the com
plaint, the woman was living in a
house for which John Henson was
agent, but she was in arrears for rent.
Finding it impossible to colect the
rent, Mr. Henson secured the servic
es of Chief of Police Schaeffer to
serve the notice.
“N<me of these people can spak a
word of English,” said Mr. Henson,
and I expect you had better get Dan
Popovich to go with you.”
Marshal Schaeffer says he acted on
the suggestion, and that Popovich wrent
•with him. Schaeffer read the notice,
Popovich interpreted, the woman took
it quietly, and the two men went away
together. This was on the same day on
which Popovich is accused of taking
the furniture.
Dan Popovich says he does not know
the woman, and that he never spoke to
her in his life, except on the day when
he went writh the marshal to act as in
terpreter.
E. E. Richards, of Seattle, arrived
on the Princess May to visit with rel
atives in this city. Mr. Richards is
a brother-in-law of Oak and H. B. Ol
son.
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