combat the huge wolf-packs that In
vade even the larger cities and.
towns in search for food, it is not
safe to venture to the edge of any
towns after nightfall during the
winter, unarmed."
Now there's a break for tho Col
onists. a real break. Ho throws
some bait, say tho careas3 of a
snowshoo rabbit, out into the back
yard, then he goes into tho house
and aits by the. radio vith his fav
orite pipe and a good book. At the
first blood curdling howl -- for
aging wolf packs are always sup
posed to let out blood curdling
howls, aren't they? -- well, he
throws up the window, only a few
inches mind you, just enough to
stick his rifle barrel out, but not
enough so that the savage, hunger
crazed brutes can squeeze in, and
then he lots 'em have it. Even If
it is at night he can't miss. The
moonlight here is bright as day.
When the first one falls the
rest of the pack will jump on him
and eat him up. They invariably do
that in stories, you know, and what
in the world is this masterpiece of
misstatement by Mr. pledge Brown
but a fiction yarn of the first
water?
When the wolves pounce upon the.
unfortunate one our Colonist has a
rrim.ito or two in which to relight
his pipe, then he can polish the
rest off at leisure while they are
at their cannibalistic feast.
Now he brings them in and skins
them. Let's say he got ton, there
should be at least ten in a 'huge'
pack. At twenty dollars apiece
bounty which the Territory pays and
sale of the pelts bringing another
twenty on an average, our Colonist
has made himself $360.00 -- one
out for the feast. Tie can then •
turn off the radio and go to bed.
Tho only thing wrong with that
picture is that there aren't enough
wolves to go around. A good Matan
uska Valley trapper like Emil La
Walters would consider a winter's
catch of three a big year. It's
the mink, fox, lynx and ermine that
ha depends upon to buy his outfit.
As for it being safe to travel
around, well, this valley has had
settlers in it for over twenty ..
years and. no one has ever been at
tacked by wolves.
And now Mr. Brown tells us about
the mosquitoes that ”...have been
known to strangle a man to death
In several minutes."
We've seen them pretty bad, but
never that bad. A veil and gloves
wore always protection enough, but
this thing of strangling....maybe
he's thinking of those big Kodiak
bear. And hero's something else
wo never knew. Brown says; "Alaska
is a rough, tough and wild today
as it was in the stirring days of
the Klondike.Men still kill
for tho passing of a dirty name,
and got thirty days suspended
sentanco in the government jail."
Wowi Are we tough up herol
The only place in the world, too,
where suspended sentuncos are
served in jail. We're just dif
ferent, that's all.
"The owner of a fishing boat,
halibut or salmon, averages from
'!|:15,000 to $20,000 net, in the
five months of tho fishing season
or he has had a bad year."
Some of the boys will be glad
to know '.bout that. They've been
going by those darned Fisheries
Bureau bulletins which give seven
weeks as the longest salmon fish
ing season. And won't they be
sore when they find that the can
nery left a cipher off their pay
check?
"Vice, gambling and liquor
are legalized and tho saloons uro
filled to capacity every night of
the year. In fact every night
is Now Year's eve. individual
prospectors blow into town from
some "unknown" point far up in
tho frozen north, tilt their poke
of dust on the bar, and call on
drinks for the house, the same
as has been going on in Alaska
since gold was first discovered."
Shades of Dan hegrow I
Right here is where we speak
our little piece. It's too much •
to wade through any more of such
seditious slavering. Away goes
the editorial 'we' while I got
this off my chest.
I came to Alaska as a very
small boy, I've travelled over a
lot of it, have poled my boat up
nameless rivers and mushed my
dogs over trails of my own making.
I've lived in established cities
and in towns that have boomed and
died, but I don't know the Alaska
of which this follow Brown writes.
I was one of the first from
Fairbanks to reach the Chisana at
the time of the big stampede, and
it was the last camp I know of
where dust couldn't be changed
into choechako money....1913.
I think I know about most of
the murder cases during the past .. —
thirty years, but I don't know of
any where a man got 50 days. He
either was acquitted or paid the
penalty.
I burned up my head net once
while lighting my pipe, and I was _ *.
in real mosquito country, not a ; j
clear, breezy valley like this.
I suffered from the bltimed things,
yes, but they never got to first
base on this ‘strangling business, /•?;
nor did they oven close my oyos.v
There is only one conclusion
I can reach about Mr. plodge „«■ - -|j
Brown and his article. It.is writ* M
ton out on a piece of asbestos ■
and will be attached to a copy of tgM
this paper. I'd like to hand it tr,: '44
to him... .personally. vY' 0