HYDER - FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN BE REACHED BY PACIFIC-YUKON-ALASKA HIGHWAY,
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SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
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VOLUME 10. NUMBER 1.
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1933.
SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS
SAYS GOV’T. WILL
REMONETIZE SILVER
Senator Key Pittman, in a n
address in Salt Lake a few
days ago, offered the predict
ion that the government will
take steps to remonetize silver
within 30 days after Congress
again convenes.
The Nevada senator was also
reported in radio broadcasts
this week as having expressed
confidence in the remonetiz
ation of silver on basis of 16 to
1 with gold following an inter
view with President Roosevelt.
In a recent radio broadcast
Senator Pittman declared that
the agreements on silver effect
ed at the London conference
were the greatest forward step
on behalf of silver money that
has been taken in over a hun
dred years. The effect, he
said, will be to restore the
price of silver to between 60
cents and 70 cents an ounce
and to stabilize it around that
price. There is nothing in the
agreements to prevent any gov
ernment or group of govern
ments from enacting legislation
looking to the further remone
tization of silver. In fact, such
action will be much easier by
reason of the adoption of the
conference agreement, he said.
Gold Strike Holds Stage
The strike of free gold ore
made by Joe Moran on the
south slope of Marmot River
valley continues to be the sub
ject of interested discussion in
mining circles. Many indicat
ions point to the discovery as
one of marked promise, al
though free gold deposits have
been found at intervals at sev
eral points in that area but
failed to develop pay ore un
der exploration. This, howev
er appears to be of somewhat
different character and may
develop a producing property.
A mining engineer of one of
the local companies is said to
have expressed a favorable
'opinion of its possibilities fol
lowing an examination of the
surface aspects.
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, Orville Hoguewood Located
Orville Hoguewood, report
ed lost last week while hunting
on Duke Island near Ketchi
kan, was located safe after he
hand wandered in fog for 56
hours. He finally reached the
beach in an exhausted state
and was located by one of the
search party from Ketchikan.
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John Hovland and Arthur
Moa, who have been plugging
away steadily on the Unicorn
all summer, came into town for
a short rest this week. They
reported no new developments.
Old-Timer Visits District
Charles Clay of Anyiox, veter
an mining man and one of the
pioneer explorers of the Port
land Canal and Nass river dist
licts, has been a visitor in Hy
der and Stewart during the
past week.
Mr. Clay, who is the owner of
j the well known Saddle proper
i ty in the Hastings Arm district,
has resided in this part of the
North for 23 years. He first
came to the Portland Canal
section in 1910 and established
his prospecting camp near the
mouth of Bitter Creek. Find
ing nothing sufficiently attract
ive, he decided to move on to
the then little known upper
Nass River district and spent
some years in that section and
in the Hazelton district. Later
he proceeded to the Alice Arm
section and located the Saddle
property, which has been un
der bond to the Silver Crest
Mining Company, owner of the
local Silver Crest group north
of the Big Missouri.
describing the activities ot
that company on his property,
Mr. Clay said they installed
over a mile of tramway at a
cost of approximately $71,000
and drove 467 feet of tunnel
and 47 feet of shaft before
suspending active mining as a
result of the difficulties attend
ing the depression period. The
ore bodies found on the proper
ty are of the galena type.
Samples taken from the shaft
gave assay returns showing
around 62 per cent lead, 38
ounces silver, 3 per cent copper
and about $5 in gold.
Mr. Clay believes the prop
erty is due to become a valu
able gold producer with more
extensive development as ore
found recently on extensions of j
the same lead in an adjoining
and somewhat lower situated
property known as the Elkhorn
has yielded gold assays running
as high as $8,441 in gold per
ton. Samples of this ore dis-!
played by him show consider
able quantites of free gold in
a grayish quartz matrix, which
carries small quantities of cop
per and iron.
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Silver at New Low Ratio
The increase in the world
market price for gold has re
sulted in silver reaching the
lowest ratio, measured in terms
of gold, in all history. During
the past week the ratio has
ranged as high as 84 to 1. In
the United States the general
market value of silver has in
creased a few cents in terms of
American money.
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Mrs. Arthur Moa returned
this week from a three weeks
visit to the Unicorn property,
adjoining the Big Missouri.
DIMOND URGES ACTION
ON FLOOD PROJECT
That the local flood control
project has not been turned
down by the Public Works Ad
ministration and that there is
good ground for expecting that
it will ultimately receive fav
orable consideration is indicat
ed in a letter from Alaska Del
egate A. J. Dimond to the
Chamber of Commerce in
which he encloses a letter sent
by him to the Public Works
Administrator urging action
on two Alaska flood projects.
Commenting on his action,
the Delegate wrote:
This is merely to show that I
am working on the Salmon Riv
er project, and in spite of de
lay, I still expect that it will be
approved, and funds allotted.
No one regrets the delay more
than I do.”
ine lener to ruDnc worKs
Administrator Ickis offers the
following strong urge for act
ion on the local project. The
message is dated September 7:
“My dear Mr. Ickis:
Among the Public Works
projects recommended for
Alaska are two only of flood
control, one for the control of
Salmon River to protect the
town of Hyder, and the other
for the completion and extens
ion of the Valdez Dike, to fur
ther protect the town of Val
dez from the flood waters of
the stream that flows around
that town. They will be dis
cussed in order.
Salmon River Flood Control
“The report of the Chief of
Engineers (House Document
No. 228, 72nd Congress, First
Session), copy of which is at
tached, recommends that the
work for the control of Salmon
River be undertaken at a total
cost of $53,000.00, of which lo
cal interests should contribute
$7,000.00 and the United
States the remainder, $46,000.
The Legislature of the Terri
tory of Alaska at its recent
session appropriated $7,000.00
for this project, and in addit
ion appropriated $4,000.00 for
repairs immediately necessary.
“A large part if not all of the
$4,000.00 appropriation has al
ready been expended in order
to save the town of Hyder from
being destroyed by the flood
waters of the river.
“It is worthy of note in this
connection that local interests
have heretofore expended
more than $26,000 on the now
existing, but admittedly inade
quate, flood control works.
“The project should be un
dertaken at once, since there]
is always danger that a sudden j
flood will overwhelm the pres
ent protective works and de
stroy the town, thus rendering I
Mackay Party Returning
Concluding what is described
as a satisfactory season of
prospecting in the Unuk P:ver
district, about 75 miles north of
Hyder, three members of the
Premier prospecting expedit
ion, which has been in that
section since August 15, re
turned by airplane Thursday
evening. They will be fol
lowed by the other four mem
bers of the party as soon as
flying conditions, which were
unsettled Friday, permit the
big Canadian Airways sea
plane with pilot Forrester in
command, to return to Mackay
Lake, where the headquarters
of the expedition have been es
tablishd.
1 he returned members of the
party are T. B. Mackay, leader
of the expedition, A. D. Coul
ter, and Ed. Edwardson.
Those «till to come out of the
district, which is almost in
accessible by ordinary means
of travel, are Wm. Prout, Har
ry Kay, Ralph Swartzfiguer,
and Harry Melvill.
Beyond the general state
ment that operations had been
carried on successfully, no in
formation could be obtained
regarding the results of the
party’s activities. The expedit
ion was the second headed by
Mr. Mackay to make the trip
into the Unuk district by plane;
the first one having operated
there in August and Septem
ber last year. This year’s ex
pedition was much larger, how
ever, and also took in much
more extensive equipment, in
cluding a diamond drill and
assay outfit.
It is understood that the
plane on returning to pick up
the rest of the party, will take
in a load of supplies for oper
ations next 'summer.
another 500 people homeless
and destitute, and destroying
the only American port of en
try to.the very rich mining reg
ion now served by Hyder.
“It is assumed that the work
can be done under the super
vision of the Chief of Engineers
of the War Department, since
the Board of Engineers for riv
ers and harbors of the War De
partment made the surveys and
estimates and mapped out a
complete plan for doing the
necessary work.
“This is another case where
speed is, essential, if any cer
tain good is to (be accomp
lished. This very necessary
project well fits in with the
plans of the Public Works Ad
ministration, because it will
furnish needed employment to
quite a number of men in that
region.’’
CONTINUANCE OF GOVT.
ROAD CAMP URGED
Continuance o.f the activities
of the local emergency employ
ment work instituted by the
federal government, following
expected early completion of
the Moose Park highway con
struction, was urged by the Hy
der Chamber of Commerce in a
petition forwarded this week
to the Forest service officials
in charge of the emergency em
ployment work in Alaska.
The communication pointed
out the present prospect that
the Moose Park project will be
completed about October 1,
several weeks ahead of sched
ule, and proposed a number of
other projects of public charac
ter to which work could be de
voted with much benefit to the
district and to local labor.
Among the projects suggest
ed were the repair and exten
sion of the rock jetty in Sal
mon river near the cemetery
and the widening of the road
way on International avenue by
filling in the deep gully on the
north side o,f the highway be
tween the Hyder Drug Com
pany store and the boundary
line. Bftt.h t.VlP DDAiIwav nml
the jetty are under forest serv
ice jurisdiction, the jetty hav
ing been installed to protect
the Salmon highway from
flooding. The petition pointed
out that the jetty project could
be carried on virtually through
out the winter.
The great need for local em
ployment and the benefit ac
cruing to local business from
the work camp payroll were
cited in support of the urge to
continue the work camp activi
ties, which at present give em
ployment to 14 men, all of
whom are said to be desirous
of continuing on the govern
ment payroll in the absence of
more remunerative employ
ment.
President Roosevelt recent
ly ordered the continuance of
the emergency employment
camps throughout the country
for an additional six months
and it is expected that the re
quest for continuance of the lo
cal camp will receive favorable
consideration.
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Marshal Will Close 2 Offices
In addition to closing down
the Hyder station of the U. S.
Marshal’s office, Marshal Al
bert White has also ordered
the discontinuance of the office
at Hoonah, according to re
ports from Juneau. Both of
fices will close at the end of
the current month. The work
of the local office will be hand
led through the Ketchikan of
fice and Hoonah business by
the office at Tenakee, the mar
shal announced. *