HYDER WEEKLY MINER
VOL IV, NO. XXXV
HYDER, ALASKA, MONDAY, JANUARY ,14 1924
FIFTY CENTS A ttKIfe
GREAT COPPER LODE
FOUND AT GRANDVIEW
A vein of copper ore, showing
traces of gold and measuring
from 125 to 200 feet in width,
has been discovered on the
Mother Lode property at Mile
44l/i on the Alaska railroad,
near Grandview, according to
George Howe jr.. who recently
arrived in Anchorage with
samples of the ore taken for as
say ‘purposes. The vein, Howe
stated, has been uncovered for
a distance of two miles. The ore
lies in a dyke between L,ot and
.. i ... _j-;
hanging walls of sljtte. So fai
only small amount of develop
ment work has been dune on
the property. Two tunnels have
jbeen driven in on the vein but
i because of the excessive hard
ness of the rock it was found
impossible to work further
with hand drills and arrange
! meats will be made to continue
with machine drills, Howe said.
The property is owned oy
Howe and his father.
GYPSUM MINING COMPANY
QUITS OPERATIONS
A concern that has operated
steadily on Chichagof Island
and about 65 miles southwest
of Juneau for the past sevei'al
years, the Gypsum Mining Co.,
the headquarters of which are
in Tacoma, has suspended op
erations in Alaska, according
to Stroller’s Weekly, which
states that the reason for the
suspension of operations is due
to the deposit of Gypsum being
entirely worked out. The last
few months that the company
operated the output was der
ived entirely from the pillars
that had been left as mine sup
ports during earlier periods of
operation. The mine is now
abandoned.
The Weekly says that in the
same locality as Gypsum there
are said to be vast gypsum de
posits but that the claims are
owned by individuals who are 1
not willing to dispose of them
to the Gypsum company and
the result is that, until a new
company secures the claims
from the owners, or capital is
enlisted by them with which
to operate them, there will be
no more gypsum exported from
the Territory. The Gypsum
Company never had any dif
ficulty in marketing its pro
duct, for which there was a
great demand, both in the XJn- j
ited States and in foreign Coun-!
tries, especially in Japan.
DENIES. PRESS YARN OF
ALASKA NATIVE LITERACY
In a letter to the editor of
this paper, Jonathan J. Wag
ner, chief of the Alaska Divis
ion of the Bureau of Education,
denies the statement accredit
ed to his office and recently
published in numerous Alaskan
papers to the effect that 11,158
Indian children in Alaska at
tended school the past year
and that 58 per cent of the ad
ult Indians in Alaska can read
and write.
When the statements made
above were brought to the at
tention of this paper their
truthfulness was questioned
and a copy of the paper
reached Mr. Wagner at his of
fice in Seattle. He replied by
letter in which he stated that
no such statement, emenated
from his office and he added!
that, while he believes in boost
ing, he does not believe in it to
the exclusion of truth.
Just how such misleading re
ports started is not known but
this paper takes pleasure in
setting Mr. Wagner right in the
matter as, while such ridicu
lous statements might be be
lieved in the east, to tell Alas-'
kanr that 58 per cent of the
adult Indians in this Territory
can read and write or that two
thirds of 11,158 Indian chil
dren attend school in Alaska !
every day in the year is making I
it too strong.—Stroller’s Week- I
The cod banks of Alaska aie
said by the United States Fish
Commission to be among the
finest in the world. The same
is also true of the halibui
banks.
Bring your job printing to
the Miner.
t
According to the estimates of 1
competent engineers and geol
ogists.the coal in Alaska is suf- [
ficient to sustain the people of !
the United States for a period
of 5,300 years at the present
rate of consumption.
KANATAK SCENE
OF NOVEL WEDDING
Mrs. Cora D. Meyer, known
throughout Alaska as Madame
Renio, was recently united in
marriage at Kanatak/ to Hel
bort Anderson, a former Cache
Creek miner. As there was no
minister or other official in the
new oil camp to perform the
ceremony, Derrick Lane, at one
time manager of the Alaska
Central Railroad at Sewara,
and now a resident of Kanatak,
was called upon to officiate, he
being a notary public. The
couple then signed a marriage
contract before a large number
of witnesses and Derrick pro
claimed them man and wife.
Following the ceremony the
wedding party repaired to
Kanatak’s leading restaurant,
where an elaborate wedding
breakfast was served.
So far as recorded, this is
the first common iaw marriage
to be performed in the Terr
itory since the old boom days,
when officials endowed witji
authority to perform marriages
were few and far between.
BOUNTY PAID ON
4,500 EAGLES
BYTERRITORY
An announcement by the Ter
ritorial Treasurer says that the
Territory during the past year
has paid bounty on 4,500 eag
les killed within its confines.
Since the last legislature in
creased the eagle ounty to $1, I
there has been a notable in
crease in the number of eagle
claws received, on which the
bounty is paid. A resident oi j
the Rocky Pass section, about
100 miles south of Juneau,
holds the record for number of
eagles slain for the bounty, he
having collected bounty on 400
pairs of claws during the year.
GOOD SEASON IN
CASSIAR DISTRICT
The Pendleton Gold Mining
Company, operating in the Cas-j
siar district, has experiencea
a good season, according to H.
A. Kuel, who is interested in
the property. Mr. Kuel pre- j
diets more activity in the Cas-'
siar country this year than at j
any time in the past fifteen
years.
Reports from Stewart are to
the effect that the prospects
for the Duwell being placed on j
the list of the district’s produc-]
ing mines are growing brighter
with practically every foot ot
the development work now in
progress. • v
Recent operations have re
pealed additional ore reserves
in the lower tunnel, which is'
now in some 340 feet and in i
what is said to be a good mil
ling ore.
I
GREAT TOURIST
TRAFFIC THIS
YEAR PREDICTED
E. Grant McMicken, passen
ger traffic manager of the
Pacific Steamship Company,*
predicts that the present year
will see the largest tourist traf- j
fic to Alaska in the history of i
the Territory. Three large >
tourist parties from the east i
are already booked for Alaska
trips on July first, each of
which include 180 or more per-;
sons, and several others which
number more than 100.persons.
SEWARD VOTES
FUNDS TO
ADVERTISE TOWN
At a recent meeting of the
city council of Seward, it was
voted to contribute the sum ol
$75 per month for a period of
four months toward an adver
tising campaign to be con
ducted by the Seward Cham-1
ber of Commerce, the object of :
which is to place Seward be
fore the outside world in a
favorable light, according to j
the Seward» Gateway, which j
says:
“The council, after reading a
petition from citizens request
ing $75 per month be appro
priated from city funds for the
purpose of carrying out the
proposed program of the
Chamber of Commerce in a
publicity campaign, granted
tiie request, and ordered $75
per month paid to the treasure!
of the Seward Chamber of
Commerce for December, Jan- i
uary, February and March. j<
This money added to $75 con- i
tributed by the chamber will
piace Seward before the out- (
side world in a favorable light, j]
and will doubtless attract many j
tourists to this section. i
WOMAN NAMED
U. S. COMMISSIONER |
ATNENANA
~ I:
Miss C. C. Held has taken the Ij
aath of office as United States ^
Commissioner for the Nenana j,
precinct, succeeding Chas. D.;[
Leckie. Miss Heid, who has^
many mining interests in that (
section, has resided at Fair- j
banks for a long period and 1
was employed in the office of j
the clerk of the district court 1
[luring several administrations. jj
She is a sister of the late John !j
Ueid, of Juneau, at one time a |<
member of the Territorial leg-. 1
islature and a prominent law- ]
yer of the capital city.
i
ALASKA R. R. TO PLACE
MORE BOATS ON WKCN
The Alaska Railroad will add
another big river steamer to
steamers on the Yukon, both j
during the coming summer, in
the event that present plans
of the new management are
approved by Washington, ac
cording to the Anchorage
Times '
The new boat, in such case,
will be built by the railroad
and will be similar in construct-j
ion to Tanana, lost several
years ago when she struck a
rock near Hot Springs. The
railroad has at present two
steahers on the Yukon, botn
of which are now in winter
quarters at Nenana.
Development of Yukon and
and Tanana river traffic will
bo one of the principal endeav
ors of the new manager. Cot.
Lee H. Landis. Capt. J. M.
Hughes, former Yukon river
(' ansportation manager, who
is now traffic manager for the
.ailroad, will be in charge of
toe river service. The raflroad
at present has a working agree
ment with the White Pass and
Yukon railroad river boats, op
erating on the.,upper Yukon, m
regard to through tickets for
what is termed the “loop, trip”
through Alaska, via Dawson,
I airbanks and Anchorage, and
this traffic, in addition to the
northern end of the railroad,
will come Under Capt. Hughes’
jurisdiction.
CIRCUIT COURT CLEARS IIP
ALASKA TAX QUESTION
That the limitations of the
Alaska Organic Act, denying
power to incorporated towns to
levy taxes in excess of two per
cent of the assessed valuation
af property within the munici
pality and also denying author
ty to issue bonds or incur debt
n any amount greater than the
urrent revenue for the.year,
elate's only to the use of rev
enues for ordinary municipal
purposes and does not inhibit a
;own from levying taxes in ad
lition to two per cent for the
jurpose of meeting other legal
)bligations, is the gist of a re
sent decision handed down by
he Circuit Court of Appeals.
The decision was rendered in
:onnection with the Peters
burg electric light case, where
n the authority of the town to
evy a tax in excess of of the
tv/0 per cent of the assessed
\ aluatfon of the municipal
property was brought into
icrtion in connection with a
bond issue authorized by Con
i ress to raise funds for a mur.
i ipal electric light plant.
The court holds that the spec*
i d act of Congress gave to the
t >wn the authority to incur the
expense indicated and to isri.e
1. onds, redeemable in 20 years,
in payment thereof, hence, as
there is no constitutional limit
ation on the taxing power of a
imunicipality in Alaska and
Congress, haring authorizea
the town council to hold an el
ection and issue bonds for the
purposes expressed, the au
thority to levy a tax to meet the
authorized obligation is im
plied.
PLANS FOR MILL ON INDIAN PROPERTIES
ASSURE NEW PRODUCING MINE IN SPRING
That the Indian Mining Com
pany will, during the early
spring, commence the installat
ion of a mill on the company’s
property a short distance be
yond the international boun
dary line, is the definite state
ment of Mr. G. D. B. Turner,
consulting engineer and an of
ficial of the company, who re
turned recently from the Out
side to make initial preparat
ions for the handling of the
machinery and other equip
ment on its arrival in the near
future, which means, Mr. Tur
er says, before the snow is
uone, as it is the intention to
transport the materials over
the winter trail.
The plant will be purchased
as soon as possible in order to
have it on the ground before
the break-up if possible and
the initial shipment of mach
inery is due to arrive In a short
time. The mill will be of 200
ton capacity and will employ
the oil floatation process.
Mr. Turner’s announcement
preages a development of the
greatest importance to the dis
trict, as it means that another
producing mine is to add its
quota of prosperity to the
district. But little can be learn
ed regarding the results of the
development work of the past
. eason but it is reliably stated
that the ore reserves on the
property are of sufficient size
to insure a long period of oper
ation and the employment of
a crew of considerable size. *
Jc.