^ “ *■''<
SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
■» ■*
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA AND THE PORTLAND CANAL MINING DISTRICT.
rm ■..—■<
SUBSCRIPT to NS
$3.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
VOL 6, NO. 35
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, JUNE 7,1930.
PRICE TEN CENTS
CANADIAN PREMIER
FORCES PEACE RIVER
RAILROAD ISSUE
Declaring that in the opinion
of the government it ought to
be possible tor the Canadian
Pacific and Canadian National
railways to agiee upon a route
within six months and to have
work begin on a railway from
the Peace River district to the
Pacific coast within a year,
Hon. Mackenzie King, Premier
of Canada, declared in the
House of Commons a few days
ago that if they (the railways)
do not make a beginning with
in a year and the present ad
minintration should be in office
at that time, the government
will then undertake to find a
way or make it for the begin
ning of a railway route from
the Peace district to connect
with some already existing
line.
As reported in Vancouver
pi ess dispatches from Ottawa
Premier King said the presi
dents of both railways have
agreed that it should be possi
ble for some appropriate out
let from the Peace to be agreed
upon within a period of possi
bly six months and he under
stood that they now have sur
veyors at work looking for a
suitable route. The Premier
then ' outlined various state
ments made on the subject of
the proposed outlet by the
presidents of the two systems,
mentioning with particular
fmphasis that when President
Beattie of the C. P. R. was west !
last summer with the directors
of the company, he gave an as
ruiance that this year the C. 1
P. R. would undertake a de-:
tailed survey of the possible
loutes for the outlet with a
view to ascertaining which was i
the most feasible, and also to
settle the question as to wheth
er a crossing of the Peace Riv
er at Hudson’s Hope can be |
made.
The Premier’s reference to >
survey parties being engaged t
at the present time is support
ed by recent press reports from
Grand Prairie and Prince
George to the effect that C. N.
R. engineers have appeared at
those points to make surveys of
all possible routes to the coast, j
including the four mountain i
passe?—Monkman, Pine Pass, i
Peace and Wapti.
Following this delineation of j
the views of the railroad heads,
Pi-emier King announced the
decision of the government to j
itself undertake the work of
finding an outlet from the
Peace if the two railroads,
failed to address themselves to
the task of opening a way to i
the Pacific coast.
The Premier’s ultimatum, for ;
such it appears to be, should j
have the effect of bringing the
much discussed Peace outlet to I
a focal point within a short
period. What the outcome of
the situation it creates will be
is conjectural. To the local
viewpoint the Premier’s decis
ion appears to jeopardize to
some extent the outlook for the
proposed Peace-Stewart-IIyder
line as, if the railroads fail to
act, the dominion government
will not seek to establish a new
outlet to the coast but will con
tent itself with finding an ave
I
REPORTS SAY MILL FOR
DIG MISSOURI SOOR
j Late reports from various re
liable sources in the south in
| dicate a general expectancy on
the part of those in close touch
i with Big Missouri Minin£
j Company officials that a test or
1 “pilot” mill will he installed on
the Big Missouri property by
I the Buena Vista Mining Co.
i during the present year. Inti
mations to the same effect are
also said on reliable authority
to have been made by Consoli
dated M. and S.. officials. The
! impression prevails that the
mill installation will become
, the subject of an official an
' nouncement by W.M. Archi
bald, Consolidated mines man
i ager, soon after his return from
i abroad.
It is reported locally that a
power site survey is now being
made for the Buena Vista
company on Cascade Creek in
near proximity to the lower
ine of the Big Missouri.
'-o
Stewart Couple Wed
Miss Elizabeth Boyce became
the bride of Mr. James Loane
in a quiet wedding ceremony'
preformed Monday' evening in
the U. S. Commissioner’s office
by Commissioner Chas F. Sand
ford.
The ceremony was witnessed
by friends of the young couple,
with Mrs. N. L. Riva as brides
maid and Mr. T. M. Pope as
best man.
The contracting parties are
both residents of Stewart. Mr.
Loane is a miner by occupation
and his bride is a bookkeeper
by profession.
Mr. J. A. Hall, president of
the Bank of Hyder, returned
Monday evening from a short
visit in Vancouver.
nue to connect with already ex
isting lines. This would mean
that Peace River traffic would
go either to Prince Rupert or
Vancouver, owing to their con
nection with the principal rail
arteries to the interior. Whether
such a development would de
lay or prevent the construction
of a more northerly line to the
coast is a question of para
mount importance to this sect
ion. That such a route will be
opened eventually is an almost
mathematical certainty but
whether such a line could exist
under present conditions in
competition with a more south
erly rail outlet is highly uncer
tain.
There are, however, pertinent
reasons for the belief that the
final resolution of the Peace
outlet question will not rest
with the government. Perhaps
the most significant of these is
that the O. P. R. has already
taken the initial steps toward
the construction of a Peace out
let on its own initiative by ac
quiring the Canadian North
eastern and its franchise to Ft.
Grahame, on the border of the
Peace district, thereby disclos
ing what appears to be a well
matured plan to open a new
mil route from the Peace to
Stewart through northe r n
Biitish Columbia. And in con
clusion, it may be added that
all subsequent and present in
dications point to a determin
ation to continue the develop
ment of the project.
FLOOD CONTROL
PLANS OOTLINEO
In acordance with, the an
onuncement in last week’s is
j sue, the Herald presents below
I the text of the report and rec
1 ommendations of the Board of
Engineers, United States Army,
for the protection of Hyder
against the flood encroach
i ments of Salmon River. Ow
. ing to the highly interesting
; and informative character of
■ the report, it has been decided
to publish the documet^Lin full,
i although it’s voluminous char
i acter compels reproduction in
several installments, all of
which will appear under the
present caption in succeeding
} issues.
j The report is acompanied by
a plat of the river area show
ing the location of the pro
posed works, copies of which
I may be seen at the Boundary
i Gift Shop and Herald office.
! Denuded of the numerous of
; ficial endorsements of super
! ior army officials and extran
i eous official matter, the report
ireads as follows:
Preliminary Examination of
Salmon River, Alaska.
“In compliance with the pro-1
vision and instructions con
tained in your letter of March i
8, 1929, the following report
with map and photographs is
submitted on a preliminary ex
amination of Salmon River, j
Alaska, with a view to controll
ing its floods.
A preliminary examination of
Hyder Harbor, which is at the
mouth of Salmon River, was
made in June, 1925, and report
based thereon was submitted j
on February 15, 1926. This re
port contained a discussion
relative to the menace of the j
floods of Salmon 4 River and
was unfavorable tfs to improve
ments of Hyder Harbor.
The above preliminary exam
ination included an estimate
for 8,000 lineal feet of wing
dam and dike at a cost of $96,-1
000 for the control of the j
floods of Salmon River. No
funds have been expended'by
the United States for the con
trol of the tloods of Salmon
River except for short control
works incident to road con
struction by the Bureau of Pub-'
lie Roads. Department of Agri
culture, in the amount of $8,- i
000 as later set forth herein.
Local interests state that they
have expended a total of about
$13,000 in cash and $4,000 in
labor for flood control work in
the vicinity since 1920. The
Legislature of the Territory of
Alaska at its 1929 session ap
propriated $7,500 for the re-j
lief of the town of Hyder, to be j
expended in flood control1
work. These funds were ex
pended during the summer of
1929 for temporary work,
which included a diversion op
posite the city.
Public hearings have been;
held in Hyder on June 30, 19-1
25, and May 3, 1929. Report of'
the former was enclosed with
report of preliminary examin
ation dated February 15, 1926.
Report of the latter is enclosed
herewith. i
Salmon River is a stream 25
miles long located in southeast
ern Alaska. It rises in glaciers
lying along the Alaska-Canada
border and flows through a(
I
NOYES PUS NEW
BONE FOB HYOEf
I The Noyes Boat Company i
preparing to further improve
its local mail and freight serv
! ice byjplacing a new and larg
er vessel on the local run nex
month, according to a rccen:
anouncement by Capt. W. W
Noyes.
The new boat, the motorshif
! Windsor, will make her firs!
j appearance on the iuii aboul
July, Capt. Noyes said. She is
65 ieet long and posseses com
I fortable accomodations for 20
| passengers. These include 12
j stateroom berths and ahso a
i oom with 8 berths. In addit
ion to ample freight sp'ace for
local demands, the vessel is al
so equipped with a cold stor
age room of sufficient size to
accomodate about three tons of
meat. 1 he vessel is driven by
a diesel engine f 150 horse
power and is expected to de
velop a speed of about nine
knots per hour.
Summarizing the improve
ments in the local service to be
provided by the new vessel,
Capt. Noyes said the Windsor
will be both larger and faster
than the older vessels and will
have considerably greater pass
enger carrying capacity. The in
creased number of berthing
accomodations will relieve
overcrowding and add consid
erably to the comfort of pass
engers. The general cargo ac
comodations will meet all pres
ent requirements, and the cold
storage facilites represent a
distinct innovation in small ves
sel transportation and will in
sure proper care and preser
vation of perishable shipments.
“As we promised at the start
of our local service, Capt. Noy
es said, “we are doing all we
can to give Hyder the best ser
vice possible under present
conditions, and we believe that
the local public will appreciate
the big improvement represent
ed by the new vessel and real
ize that in placing her on the
run we have taken a long step
in that direction.”
narrow valley in a southerly di
rection into Portland Canal,
which forms a part of the in
ternational border. The drain
age area covers approximately
200 square miles, of which 50
square miles- are overlain With
glaciers and 150 square miles
are precipitous mountains, well
timbered with spruce up to the
limber line, which lies at an
elevation of about 3,500 feet
above sea level. The valley of
the Salmon River is from one
half to 1 mile wide and is bor
dered on each side with steep
timbered mountains rising to a
height of from 4.000 to 5,000
feet. The floor of the valley is
composed of gravel and silt
and is covered with a dense
growth of large timber over
one-half of its width. The
stream shifts its channel contin
ually over the other half,
which is therefore denuded of
vegetation. A gradual cycle of
change in the general course of
the river keeps the open part
of the valley covered with a
profusion of drift which adds4
to the rapidity of local channel
changes by causing drift jams
which violently deflect the cur
rent. The lower portion of the
GOHST AIR TRANSPORT
| BIDS FOR LOCAL TRADE
j Paving the way for contem
, plated future air transport
,! service between Hyder and
! Ketchikan, a Gorst Air Trans
. |port plane piloted by C. L.
j Scott, veteran northern flyer,
arrived from Ketchikan at 11
a. m. Monday morning with
four passengers, three of whom
are local residents. The list in
cluded Deputy U. S. Marshal
Donald E. Martin and Mrs
j Martin, of Hyder; Mrs. Alex,
j Frazer, of Hyder, B. C.; and A.
i II* Zeigler, prominent Ketchi
kan attorney.
The plane negotiated the 15C
mile journey in 1 hour 35 min
utes, following the winding
course of Portland Canal from
the vicinity of Lincoln Chan
| nel, after crossing the mount
ains from Ketchikan.
The plane is of the type
j known as the Boeing flying
j boat and differs in many re
j spects from the pontoon sea
j planes of the Washington
j Alaska Airways which visited
: Hyder several times last sum
mer. The Gorst plane carrier
five passengers and is powered
with a 425 h. p. Wasp engine.
The flying speed was said by
j Pilot Scott to range around 100 |
| miles per hour.
! During his stay Mr. Scott an
nounced that his company is in
the field for local business and
j will send a plane to Hyder
| from Ketchikan whenever suf
| ficient business offers. The
! company plans to maintain a
■ plane at Ketchikan during the
J summer to handle the growing
| traffic of that port. Mr. Scott
! has arranged with Oren F. Hill
j of the Hyder Drug Co., to re
i resentthe Gorst company local
! ly and he will arrange trips for
j those who wish to avail them
selves of the company’s servic
| es.
The Gorst Air Transport ha1'
not operated in this section un-1
til the present year but i3 a !
pioneer in air transportation in
teh Prince William Saund sect-!
ion. Pilot Scott was operating i
one of the company boats in
that locality last year and is
entirely familiar with flying
conditions in the north.
The plane returned to Ketch
ikan at 3:30 Monday after
noon, with Mr. Zeigler as pass- j
enger.
valley drops about 30 feet to
the mile, which causes high
flowage velocities in this area,
and leads to rapid encroach
ments into the banks of the riv
er wherever attacked.
The floor of the valley also
slopes from the center each
way from one-fourth of 1 per
cent to 1 per cent which causfes
violent sharp turns in the
course of the stream and adds
to its destructive effect.
No accurate records of the
precipitation over the water
shed, but Stewart, British Col
umbia, is sufficiently close by
to serve as an index. There,
observations over a period of
10 years show that the snow
fall averages 220 inches per
year, and that rainfall is 74 in
ches, giving an average annual
i precipitation of 96 inches.
The low stage discharge is es
timated at 1,100 cubic feet pet
second. The river, being a
flashy glacial stream is subject
(To be continued next week)
MSI JOTTINGS
BEARING ON LOCAL
MINING NOTH
Good Gold Values on Titan
I S. P. Fitzgerald, president of
I the Titan and Independence
mining companies, announced
recently in Vancouver that as
says of ore recently encount
ered in the main tunnel on the
Titan property in the Fish
Creek section showed excellent
gold values in addition to jm
■ portant silver returns. One
| sample was said to shows $7 in
gold and $7.32 in silver per
ton, while another assay gave
returns of $2 gold and $7.35
silver. The ore was encount
ered at a depth of 275 feet on
a 45 degree ?lope, in what is
apparently the downward con
tinuation of a promiisng sur
face lead. The tunnel, which
has been pushed ahead for sev
eral years, is now in about 450
feet, according to Mr. Fitzger
ald, who is one of the most
widely known mining men in
the Portland Canal district.
Lccal Mining Stocks Show
Increased Strength
Renewed activity in local min
ing sharesis becoming increas
ingly evident on the southern
exchanges. With few except
ions, all of the more prominent
issues have showed an upward
tendency in recent days and
gains of 30 per cent or over
have been recorded in several
instances.
Although a few swallows do
not make spiing, the generally '
healthier tone of the market
suggests a renewed interest in
metal mines and may mark
the end of the long continued
slump of the past winter.
Premier has gained steadily
since May 13, on which date
shares reached a record low
level of 81. Quotations during
the past two weeks have
ranged between 8.r> and $1.11,
with an average slightly under
$1. Big Missouri hit 36 on
April 28 but has since dis
played a steady upward ten
dency, with present quotations
ranging around 60 cents. Por
tre-Idaho has also strength
ened considerably, prices rang
ing from 10 cents March 31 to
20 on May 7. Later quotations
have run between 11 and 19.
George Copper has wavered
erratically between $1 on May
6 to $2 on May 31, but the ten
dency on the whole has been
upward rather than down.
Southern brokerage houses
report a steadily increasing de
mand in the major issues and
also glowing interest in stocks
of gold producing companies.
-O
A collision Tuesday evening
on the Salmon River road be
tween a car driven by Holly
Evans and a truck piloted by
M. E. Birdwall resulted in con
siderable damage to both ve
hicles but luckily neither driv
er was hurt. The accident is
said to have occurred near 7- *
Mile.
-.-O-r
Clay Porter, head of the Por
ter-Idaho company, returned
Thursday after spending the
winter in the south and east,
accompanied by Mrs. Porter.