The Salmon River District is
Marvelously Rich in Minerals
and Hyder is the Gateway in
Consequence of Which II; der is
the Faf.test Growing Town in
the North.
HYDER ALASKA MINER
Published at the Gateway to the Salmon River, Alaska - British Columbia, Mineral Area
This Taper is Out to Publith all
the Mining News. Keep Your
Frier.ds Ported by Sending them
the Paper after You Have Read
it. Boost for Hyder all the
Time.
VOL. 1. NO.9.
HYDER, Alaska, Dec. 19, 1919
FIVE DOLLARS A YEAR
Northern Light
Group Bonded
_ _. . _»
Largest Figure Ever Nam
ed on a Bond up Salmon
River is Secured for the
Property
OTHER GROUPS TAKEN
Woodbine and Cobalt Prop
erties Are Included in a
Big Consolidation of Min
ing Interests
The largest mining deal ever pnt
through in the Salmon river and Bear
river districts'has just been consum
mated by the bonding of the Northern
Light, Woodbine and Cobalt groups,
which form the north and west exten
sions of the Premier. The r cent sale
of a:i interest in the Premier must he
excepted from this statement, though
if a comparison is to be made between
the sale prices of the Premier and Nor
thern Light, it should he made on the
basis of the price at which Ii.K.Neill
bonded the Premier from O. B. Bush,
which was $100,0 0, while the Northern
Light dea is for •■?175,000. The Big
Missouri salj | rice comes next in size,
being Mo ',UUU, and tne area ot the tsig
Missouri is greater than that of the
elaini3 comprising tne Northern Liclu
consolidation.
The bonding of this property has just
been eon ummated, the first cash pay
ment. which was for a substantial sum.
having been made this week, i hr- p o
perty is taken over, under a thre -year
bond, by W. A. Melloc e, representing
the Algunquin Syndicate, a Belgian
corporation with a working capital ol
fifty million dollars, and wi h offices in
Brussels, New York, Montreal and
San Francisco. Mr. Melloche spent
most of last summer in this district,
and from the way he tied up pr >pertie.-.
it appears as though the Algunquin
Syndicate intend to enter into mining
here in a serious manner. Either by
bond or option Mr Melloche secured
groups on both Salmon and- Bear rivers,
amo: g them being the George group
on the Bear, aud the Spider on the
Salmon, in addition to the Northern
Light.
The Northern Light group consists of
eight claims and two fractions and was
located and owneu by Charles aud \\ ill
iam Bnnting, who were also the orig
inal loeatois of the claims which now
comprise the Premier mine. The group
lies on the north and west of the Pre
mier and has nine known leads with all
the characteristics of the Premier ore
bodies. Work, consisting principally
of open cuts, has been done on six ot
the leads with good resuits. They are
shown to be from ten to twenty feet in
width, and the values run from a con
centrating prod ct to the typical high
grade.shippl.ig ore of the district. It
is a noteworthy fact that some of the
high grade ore is identical with that
now being produced by the Forty Nine
mine.
1 he Cobalt group of three claims ad
joins the Northern Light on the north
east and is owned . by John Hovland,
the assayer, w o is now in Everett.
But little work has been done on the
property, but its location is such as to
make it a valuable piece of ground in
conjunction with the other two groups
included in the bond.
The Woodbine group, o vned by Dave
O’Leary and Cnas. Lake, both of
whom are here now, consists of two
claims and one fraction adjoining the
TRAPPER BOOK
GETS JAY BIRD
A trapper extra rdinary is Joe Ben
son, cook at the Mineral Hill. Miners
coming down from there say that his
performance coestitute a marve1, and
that the results ofjiis endeavors are
little short of miraculous.
He has a trap line all the way from
the kitchen door to the wood pile, and
let the weather be what it may, let old
King Boreas himself breathe on the
mountains with his congealing whisper
let the long destroying frost-mist, the
'‘White Death" of song and story, en
fold the cabin in its soul-searing grasp,
let the pitiless blizzaro howl ar.d whoop,
rattle an roar, swirl and swoop adown
the canyons, let the mighty avalanche
rush from its lair in the fastnesses of
tern mountain peaks and shake the
l'v, rlast.ng hills to their very founda
tions’ Joe goes over his trap line twice
each day 1 wice each day he goes
over his line, and alone, with an in
in trepedity of spirit undaunted by any
of the horrors which an im, la .ably cruel
northern winter can produce.
iNot ttiat ary ot these nor, ors have
happened yet, but full well the miners
know that should this munda e spl ere
turn topsey-turvsy, should six, yes even
seven planets meet in conjunction and
the end of the world he prophesied,
Joe will sal y forJi and inspect his
traps.
Already he has caught a blue-jay,
and the trapping season only one-third
gone. Not only has he caught the jay
bird, but he has caught him alive and
iiss h m in a cage. During spare mo
ments when he is not trapping or think
ing up some new appetizing dish, he is
trying to teach the jay to talk.
Some scoffers there be, they of the
il > who tried to persuade Noah not to
build his ark, who wag their heads ar.d
mumble; “It can’t be d.d.” But for
these there is the unanswerable rejoi id
er; “Talk is cheap, but it takes money
to buy two-per-cent; and anyway, it’s
a long worm that has no turning.”
Miss Grace Ralston, a girl who grew
to womanhood in Fairbanks, and Roy
Blair, a young Fairbanks mining man,
were recently married.
Dawson people are remaining at home
this winter, preferring to spend a long
quiet winter at home than going outside
wirh its in ustrial unrest and strikes.
E.R.Lovejoy, formerly manager of
the grocery department of E.U Peoples
& Company of Fairbanks, will locate
in southeastern Alaska probably at
Ketchikan or Hyder. He is now resid
ing in Seattle.
Northern Light on the southwest and
carrying the western extensions of the
Premier leads. One big showing, at
least 100 feet in width, appears on the
property, and has been exposed by a
; surface crosscut for a width of 75 feet.
The ore is complex and comparatively
low grade, but a valuable coneentrat
1 ing product.
The Algunquin Syndicate are an ac
tlve corporation and in the mining bus
iness as a business, and are operating
mines in Cobalt, Porcupine and Alaska.
Their development program f r this
I camp has not yet been outlined, but it
is known that Mr. Melloche has let a
i contract for diamond drilling to Lyr.ch
Bros, of Seattle, and that three dril s
will be put in operation on the North
ern Light consolidation next spring.
MUDDY GULCH BRIDGE
Tyhen the Bear river section of ihe Portland Canal district
’ ' had its ah >rtive boom in j910 there was some fearful and
wonderful work done in mining, road building rrd carqany
organizations, especial y the last. The • 1 eve l ridge, m tie
old Red Cliff road, is a good specimen of a structure built for
picturesque effect rather than for practical utility.
PERSONAL AND PERTINENT.
Mrs A. Miller has bought the Ilyder
Cigar Store from Blondy Charlton.
It’s a boy„ and word comes from
Victoiia tiiat Roy Clothier's head is up
in the clouds.
Bub Keith is planning an enlargement
of the Alaska GrilF to accommodate
the spring ru h, rumbles of which ian
already be heard.
Mrs. Madge Nelson, Hyder’s only
lady barber, has moved her shop into
the new building erected near the Port
land Cafe by Gus Erickson.
Bill Hall claims to hold a record as a
H gh yiver. He not only dove in, ac
cording to the regulations of the cljb,
but dove out again.
Jack Clegg, manager of the Salmon
River Trading Company's store in Hy
der, worked his way back from Ketchi
kan on the Confidence. Some deck
hand.
Fred Young, Grant Mahood and II.
Hcrstman have returned from a hunt
ing trip down the canal. Tney say the
clams are fat and very tame for this
time of the year.
The Confidence, Captain Bartholo
mew, wai in Sunday from Ketchikan
with a cargo of merchandise.
1 he Premier Mining Company have
closed their Hyder office and moved all
the paraphernalia up to the mine.
Were rumors of a wedd ng early in
the week, hut when the society report
er went around to investigate, he found
there was nothing in it.
Ernest Behiing has just finished in
stalling a connection for she Premier
mine of their telephone line with the
Stevva t telegraph office.
T. D.Smith has opened a new restau
rant invthe old store building opposite
the Salmon River Tra Intj Company’s
sHe calls it Smith’s Kitchen.
Mrs. Roy Moseley gayean impromp
tu supper at the King Edward Hotel
in Stewart Tuesday evening to a few
friends. Such affairs form a delight
ful break in the monotony of a long
winter.
I ,J .HrFoster has been appointed game
warden by Governor Riggs. He will
be stationed at Ketchikan to succeed
A.E. Lucie, resigned.
STRUGGLE IN
EMBRACE OF
ICY WATERS
Jimmy Robinson and Bush
Team Have Exciting Ex
perience on Flooded Ore
Road
When sleigh Jborses came run
ning into llyder with the traces
;oi their harness cut, there was
! no civic organization to ask why.
Peop!e who knew the four,
knew th it Jimmy Robinson, who
is their skinner, would never
Cuts tracec except to give his
horses a chance for their lives.
His own life, that was accoun
! ted for when he showed up. Of
course, evrything was o.k then.
The recent thaw raised some partic
ular high-jinx all ’round._ For one thing
it backed \ he water up under the Pre
mier o.-e road to such an extent that
when the Bush four, driven by Jimmy
Robinson, broke through the crust they
were swimming and so \va3 Jimmy.
The situation compelled puick work.
Jimmy slashed the traces, freeing the
horses, til n scrambled to solid footing
himself. The team came to Hycier on
the run, and Jimmy followed on foot,
The sled can be recovered.
Jack Sutherland, who said some t'me
ago that Juneau capitalists would have
a wharf here by th < first of February,
was in and out again by private Lunch
lastwte::, and gave tiie mlormatio .
that a company had been o gamzed for
the purpose of building a private dock
here, and that Juneau an 1 K t hikan
business men are behind the enterprise.
The company is sei ing stock for iabor
and supp ie.-, and several Hyder men
have subscribed their services for the
purpose of" getting out piling. Jack
Ileath is acting as tempoftry secretary
here, end says he is taking no money
for stock, but only labor.
It is reported on good authority that
the Sunset group, situated north of the
Unicorn and owned by Wm. Fil ier 'and
associates, will be opened up as soon as
it is possible to get into the property
with supplies. It is understood that a
company has been organized in Vane li
ver with ample capital to carry on the
mining development. The Sunset con
sists of two claims and lies in th ■ ‘‘dry”
zone, carrying surface showings of ore
similar to that found on the Salmon
river properties that are making good.
S.G. Benson, owner of the White
Mouse group, which is located near the
shore of Summit Lake anti about two
miles beyond the Forty Nine* reports
that wh le in .Vancouver recently he
placed the property in the hands of a
syndicate which will start active devel
opment on the property as soon as it is
possible to get in with suppl es over the
snow crust. At the head of the syndi
cate is Richard Eli cit, K.C., who has
had considerable experience in mining,
and who was heavily interested in Bear
river properties at the time of the ex
citement of some nine years ago.
The White Mouse, according to Mr.
Benson, has a big surface showing of
dry ore. It adjoins Win. Murphy’s
War Eagle which, according to rumor,
may soon be in the lime light,
PICTURESQUE
VISITORS IH
LAW’S TOILS
A short time ago considerable inter
est was aroused by the visit of a pic
turesque qu rtette, two men in north
ern habilament, and their wives in
breeches and mackinaw coats. .The
men, Karl Brandenberg and Robert
Walker, represented that they were in
the United States Forestry service,
and in an interview Brandenberg in
formed the Miner that they h d roving
commissions and had been sent here to
look over the ground and report on the
advisability of segregating this part of
Alaska into a separate administrative
rlist ict, with Hyder as its headquar
ters. This Interview was not published
because the Miner had a ‘‘newspaper
hunch." Brandenberg wore a star,
and carried credentials purported to be
signed by R.L.Alexander, one of the
western divisional heads of the Forest
ry service. His identification descrip
tion noted the fact tnat he measured
only four feet, four inches over all,
and this lack of ordinary vertical pro
portions made him a prominent figure
while the party graced the town with
their presence.
'1 he credentials seemed perfect and
on their strngth they obtained various
sums from Hyder business men, cash
ing drafts which have ince proved of
no value. On their return to Ketchi
kan the men were t laced under arrest
and last week were bound over to ap
pear before the Grand Jury. It is al
leged thet they had worked the same
game all the way up from California
and tracers had been sent out after
them.
While here Brandenberg aiso said
that lie represented a big moving pic
ture concern of California and that the
company would be here in the spring
to stage some stunts in Hyder,
There being no children in Hyder,
this town is taking more than a Pla
tonic interest in the prepa ations for
entertaining the kiddies at Stewart,
where a fine crop of healthy and happy
young hopefuls is flourishing, and Mrs.
Phil Backus, Hyder’s representative
on the ladies’ committee who are hand
ling the celebration, says that the resi
dents i<t both towns have been move
than generous in their resposne to the
call for funds. .
The event will tn e place Saturday
night, Dec 27, in toe Stewart town hall.
Telegraph wires being down, no mes
sage could be sent to Santa Claus that
way, but Archie Path, rson, the mind
reading soloist, came to the rescue
with a b-lopaihic dispatch, and sa\s
old Santa is sure o he there.
Mss. Bagley, a popular nurse at Ne
nana. has gone to the Kantishna coun
try, where she will be occupied at her
profession during the winter
E.D.Howe, miring man of the Sulli
van Creek, II t Springs, district and
Mrs. Ho ve have left to spend the win
ter in the Texas oil fields.
Frank M.I.ucavish, pioneer resident
of Skagwsy, where I e was engaged in
the express business for many years,
died recently in San Francisco.
More than 100 tons of potatoes and a
good quantity of hay was raised this
year in the Tanana Hot Springs dis
trict. It is said that both the potatoes
and hay are of good quality.