p1,1. .. ' X
AN ALU
ALASKA
NEWSPAPER
DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OP ALASKA Ai
LY HERALD
THE PORTLAND CANAL MINING DISTRICT.
/
SUBSCRIPTIONS
$5.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
VOL 5, NO. 16
HYPER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, JANUARY 26,1929.
PRICE TEN CENTS
NEW DEVELOPMENT
FDDCINTIIDROOP
The Cantu property in the up
per end of Salmon River val
ley will become the scene of
extensive development activi
ties during the coming season
as a result of recent success
ful negotiations by the Hall in
terests with outside mining in
terests headed by Conrad
Wolfle, widely known Spokane
mining man.
Mr. Wolfle, whose activities
in the Coeur d’Alene and other
districts have placed him in the
forerank of western mining op
erators, was an arrival from
the south Monday in connect
ion with the new enterprise.
Following a visit to the prop
erty Tuesday, Mr. Wolfle in
formed the Herald that he had
inspected the Cantu property
during an earlier visit and was
much impressed by its possi
bilities, as indicated by the
surface aspects.
“It looks like a good chance,’’
he said, “and we are contem
plating a large amount of de
velopment work in an effort
to determine its true value.
The work to be undertaken
first will be a thorough sur
face prospecting, with latei
development operations de
pending on the results of the
earlier activities.”
Mr. Wolfle added that he had
seen some very rich ore on the
property during his last visit
and had found no consider
able difficulty in reaching the
ground despite winter condit
ions.
Mr. Wolfle returned south
again Thursday.
0
The Big Missouri annual meet
ing was held Jan. 8 but is said
to have disclosed little or noth
ing regarding the property or
plans of the Consolidated Min
ing and Smelting Co., asidt
from the announcement tha
the Big Missouri company ha;
ample capital on hand to cart
for the company’s share ir
the development work now be
ing carried on by the Buern
Vista company on the Big Mis
souri property
The officers of the company
were unnanimously re-elected
Announcement was also madt
that the company has pur
chased the Spruce Monarch
property in Nevada and is ne
gotiating for an adjoining
property known as Black Fer
est. The unissued treasury
stock of the company amount*
to 850,000 shares.
Illness among the member
ship and other deterring in
fluences have decided the lo-1
cal igloo of the Pioneer’s oi
Alaska to delay the annual in
stallation of officers until next
month, according to late an
nouncements.
Tuesday, February 5 has been
selected as the date on which
the delayed ceremonies will be
held. Printed invitations have
been issued by the Igloo to
such as are eligible to attend
the installation.
HMD GIVES
POMD CMUL
FINE BOOST
Declaring his conviction that
the Big Missouri property is
destined to become the biggest
mine in the Portland Canal
district, and that it also posses
ses the possiblities of making
the biggest mine in America,
John Hovland, pioneer mining
man and one of the camp’s
most prominent and reputable
citizens, gives the Portland
Canal district a splendid boost
in an interview published in a
recent issue of the Alaska
Weekly, of Seattle.
“Things never looked bright
er in the Portland Canal camp
than they do today,” Mr. Hov
land is quoted as saying in
summarizing local activities
and progress..
In support of his view regard
ing the Big Missouri, Mr. Hov
land called attention to his
long association with the de
velopment of that noted prop
erty; asserting that he had
made a thorough study of the
mine and its possibilities and
felt no hesitation in express
ing the opinion that it is the
biggest mine in the district and
possibly the biggest on the
continent.
Referring to the Premier, Mr.
Hovland asserted that the mine
“has sufficient ore opened up
to keep the mill running Tot
the next eight years without
further development.”
Premier’s acquisition of the
Prosperity, Porter Idaho and
Silverado groups is also the
subject of optimistic comment
by Mr. Hovland. Concerning
the Prosperity, he is atributeo
with the statement that the
company “has enough high
grade ore blocked out to pay
or the mine and the develop
nent work,” while the Porter
daho and Silverado are char
icterized as “very fine pros
>ects which will undoubtedly
nake good mines.”
In addition to expounding
he mineral development possi
>ilities of the district Mr. Hov
and also called attention tt
he fact that Hyder needs e
nodern hotel and declared hit
>elief that such an institution
>vould pay handsomely. Ac
cording to the Alaska Weekly
Mr. Hovland was very insistent
regarding the latter need.
That there will be no immedi
ite change in the federal gov
einment’s policy of caring foi
Alaska insane by the contract
i system in vogue for man>
I years is indicated by a call foi
new bids for such a contract
received recently at the gov
ernor’S office in Juneau. It an
nounced that tenders for a con
tract to care for Alaska insane
for 5 years, beginning Janu
ary 1, 1930 would be received
by the Interior department up
i to January 16 last.
-o
Fred Joudry, Prince Rupert
optometrist, left Monday night
i after a week in the district.
1
TO SEARCH FOR LOST
ALASKA GOLD SHIP
Alaska gold believed to total
approximately $3,000,000, will
become shortly the object of
an underseas search in the
cold waters adjacent to the
Alaska coast, if plans of Geo.>
Henderson and H. G. Roller,
of Seattle, for its recovery are
brought to fruition.
According to an article ap
pearing recently in the Denver
Mining World under a Seattle
date line, Henderson and Rol
ler have organized a salvage
company to undertake the task
of recovering the fortune in
gold lost one cold September
night twenty-six years ago in
the sinking of the Alaska
steamer Islander in the vicinity
of Douglas Island,
i Early day Alaskans will re
1 call that tragic event, which
swept away the lives of a ca
pacity load of men and women
returning from the Dawson
gold fields with fortunes in
nuggets and gold-dust won
from the frozen soil. Accord
ing to the few existing records,
the small office of the purser
of the 511-fated Islander held
more than three million dol
lars in gold when the vessel,
crashed upon a submerged
reef near Douglas Island. The
ship’s safe was filled to over
flowing with pokes and pack
ages of the precious metal and
some of the vast wealth waa
stacked in boxes and sacks
upon the floor.
After striking the rock the
[slander was said to have part
ly filled but later the rising
tide carried the vessel off the
reef and she drifted off thru
the cold, foggy night, only to
sink in 310 feet of water about
three miles from the point
where she was first overtaken
by disaster, with a loss of 78
human lives.
Owing to the depth of water
| being greater than could be
| negotiated by earlier - diving
I apparatus, attempts to recover
| the golden treasure on board
the steamer were considered
futile. Henderson has now de
signed diving apparatus which
he is positive can be used suc
cessfully in water 600 feet. At
tached to the diving equip
ment, which weighs 6000
pounds, is a powerful light
which will enable the occupant
to see a distance of 100 feet
at any depth. According to
he designer, the apparatus
has been tested in 450 feet of
water.
Although the records are
'.omewhat indefinite, there ap
pears little doubt that the
Islander wreck contains a
fortune in gold, as Lloyd’s paid
claims of more than $2,000,000
at the time of the disaster.
Henderson & Roller plan to
start the search for the long
lost gold this year as soon as
weather conditions are favor
able.
-o
Seventy per cent qf the pupils
enrolled in Alaska schools
during the 1927-28 school year
were born in Alaska.
LOCAL TOPICS
Ernest S. Parker, Winnipeg
capitalist and head of the Pre
mier Border s^id Crest Con
solidated companies, is expect
ed to visit the camp in the near
future in connection with the
Premier Border operations.
; -o
F. J. Crossland, E. M. arrived
from the south Monday to in
spect the diamond drilling act
ivities on the Premier Border
properties near 13-Mile.
E. W. L. George, president of
the Border Finance Co., Ltd,
and associated with Ernest S.
Parker of Winnipeg in the Pre
mier Border and Crest Con
solidated ventures in the up
per Salmon valley is now locat
ed in Vancouver.
-o--—
Deputy Customs Collector E.
R. Stivers and Arthur Hall,
who have been undergoing a
siege of the flu in Stewart
hospital, returned home this
week.
Col. Stivers will leave next
week to spend his vacation in
the land of sunshine, fruit
and flowers.
-o - -
Telegraphic advices received
by Wm. Bunting, superintend
ent of the Premier Border and
Crest Consolidated companies,
announced that Mrs. Bunting,
\ who left for the south recently,
is ill in the Virginia Mason
hospital, Seattle, and will be
compelled to undergo a major
as well as a minor operation.
As a result of the unfortunate
situation Mr. Bunting plans to
leave for Seattle next week.
-o
U. S. Commissioner W. C.
Arnold and Mrs. Arnold re
turned Thursday from a visit
in the States over the holiday
season.
o
Frances Sandford, five-year
old daughter of the Herald
proprietors, became the victim
of a pathetic accident Sunday
evening as a result or having
her right foot caught in the
mechanism of a printing press
in the Herald office. Although
the press in question is pro
vided with all possible safe
guards against accident, little
Frances, in some unknown
manner, thrust her foot into a
small opening, where the toe of
her shoe was caught and
drawn into the moving mech
anism. The resultant crushing
and laceration necessitated
the amputation of two middle
toes and a portion of the great
toe. The accident was rendered
more inexplicable by the fact
that the little girl, who has
been familiar with printing
equipment since a baby, had
always carefully avoided mov
ing machinery up to that time.
The amputation was per
formed by Dr. H. A. Whillans
in Stewart Hospital Monday
morning with such success that
there is every prospect that
Frances will not be seriously
crippled.
Ill hold m
BREW-UP CONTEST
Recent reports from the Fair
banks section indicating that
the opposition of the postal
officials might cause the
abandonment of the annual
Nenana sweepstakes ice pool
contest have been rendered
negative by definite informat
ion that the big contest will
be held as usual, athough the
use of the mails in connection
therewith has been prohibited.
A telegram conveying this in
formation was received during
the past few days by E. M.
Reynolds, proprietor of the
Nugget Shoppe. The message
gives positive assurance that
the sweepstakes will be pulled
off under practically the same
conditions as have prevailed
in earlier years.
■o
In a letter to the Herald from
Portland, dated Jan. 14, T. W.
McDonald, who recently en
rolled at the Rankin Flying
School, writes that he is get
ting along wonderfully well in
the flying game. Up to the
time of writing he had had 22
hours in the air, 12 of which
were of the type known as
“solo hours,” meaning alone
and in full command of the
ship.
“Last week,” he continues, “I
made a trip to Medford, in
Southern Oregon, plotting my
own course and all. Got there
and back just like a homing
pigeon. I was quite proud of it
for the reason that about 20
miles enroute was dense fog.”
Mr. McDonald stated that he
had already mastered four
types of planes and would not
hesitate “taking off” in any
type of plane made.
“Flying,” he avers, “is more
safe nowadays than people
generally think it to be. When
one studies the theory of a
plane in flight; the factors of
safety in the construction and
rigging of modern airplanes
(which are required by the
government) the more con
vinced they become as to the
safety of travel by air. Person
ally I feel a lot safer in the air
than when driving my car on
the highway. I have been hit
twice during the last month
while driving my car.”
Mac. also reports getting
along fine in ground school
and has successfully passed a
wide range of examinations.
He also spends two hours daily
on practical work in the shop.
Martin Harrais, well known
mining man of the upper Chit
ina country, recently reported
a very encouraging season at
his camp and declared that the
indications were that he had
struck one of the most mineral
ized belts in the country, ex
ceeding anything he had seen
in all his experience in Alas
ka. The mineral belt on which
his property lies shows good
ore for a stretch of six miles
in extent. Harrais said that
nature had been exceptionally
good to them in that the vein
is crossed by numerous gulches
making the exploration work
HOSPITAL DANCE
NEXT WEDNESDAY
The annual dance of the
Stewart General Hospital As
sociation, held usually on New
Year’s Eve but postponed this
season owing to the influenza
outbreak, will take place next
Wednesday, January 30th, ac
cording to announcements by
representatives of the board.
The entertainment is designed
to assist in the maintenance of
the Stewart General Hospital,
the only public medical insti
tution in the Portland Canal
district, and should receive the
patronage of every adult indi
vidual in this section. This ap
plies no less to the people of
Hyder than those of Stewart,
as Hyder residents are entitled
to the fullest use of the hospi
tal and are to a certain extent
dependent thereon in time of
sickness. It matters not who
applies for admittance, high or
low, rich or poor, native or
foreign, they will be received
and given such assistance as
the well equipped and excel
lently conducted hospital af
fords. This is a condition im
posed by the government in
connection with the authorizat
ion of such institutions.
The hospital is supported in
part by grants, from the Pro
vinicial government, but the
main burden of its support
must rest with the community.
Having full and free use of
the hospital on an equal foot
ing with the residents of Stew
art, Hyder citizens are under
no small obligation to help in
its support and should do so
to the fullest possible extent.
The forthcoming entertain
ment provides a splendid op
portunity to give our commun
al help and everyone in the dis
trict should purchase a ticket.
Aside from the fulfillment of
a bounden duty, those of us
who patronize the entertain
ment will receive their mon
ey’s worth from the excellent
program and may also partici
pate in the big raffle for a
prize of $50 in gold, in addit
ion to numerous other prizes.
easy to do. Though the prop
erty is north of the Chitina,
Harrais also investigated the
country south of that river
and declared that in every
gully they went up they found
indications of an immense
body of good grade ore. There
are two distinct grades of ore
on the property Harrais is de
veloping. Ore taken from
Douglas Creek Margaret Cr.
and Fourth of July Creek av
erages up to 54 per cent min
eral content. From one 24-foot
vein the following values were
obtained. Copper 13.3 per cent,
lead 10.6 per cent, zinc 6 per
cent, and silver 1.2 per cent.
An eight foot vein carries 17.8
per cent copper, 12.5 per cent
lead, 23.6 per cent zinc and
9.6 per cent silver. Harrais is
making an effort to have the
Chitina trail extended up the
river to allow prospectors eas
ier access to the country, and
will appear before the Alaska
Legislature to petition for this
trail.