DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA AMD THE PORTLAND CANAL MINING DISTRICT
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
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IN AD
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VOL 4, NO. 24
BYQER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 1928.
FIFTY CENTS A MONTI
TEXAS CREEK
GROUP BONDED
Increasing interest in the Tex
as Creek section is indicated
by the bonding this week of
the Silver Bell Group on the
west fork of Texas Creek by
outside interests.
The group comprising sev
eral claims is located in the vi
cinity of the Homestake group
and is owned by Joe Connors,
pioneer prospector and miner
of that section. The mineral
ization is galena, of which the
group is said to contain several
large and important showings,
on which some development
work has been done.
Details of the deal, which war
made through J. A. Hall, of
the Hall Company, Vancouver
have not been made public.
The purchasing interests art
said to be an outside mining
company, whose identity if
withheld for the present.
WOODBINE DEVELOPS
SENSATIONAL ORE
Ore showing gold values up
to 36 ounces per ton and assay
ing as high as 9768.49 ha;
been encountered on the
Woodbine property during re
cent weeks, according to ai
announcement made in Van
couver by F. J. Crossland, con
suiting engineer of the Wood
bine Gold Mining Company
following his return from a re
cent inspection of the property .
The average across 18 feet oi
the new ore body was said by
Mr. Crossland to be $142.63
The rich ore is said to have
* been located in cross veins oi
shoots of a distinctive typt
° which cut through the low
grade ore bodies at an angle
That the Wodbine is now in t
splendid financial situation i.
indicated by a telegram receiv
ed by the Herald this wee!
from Barrett & Co., of Winni
peg, fiscal agents of the com
pany, announcing that an Eng
lish syndicate iir-.s just pur
chased 500,000 Woodbint
treasury shares from J. B
Watson, president of the
Woodbine company, who has
been in England for several
weeks in connection with the
deal.
Included in the purchasing
syndicate are such notable fig
ures as the Duke of Devon
shire, former governor general
of Canada, Sir Kenneth Cross
ley, head of the firm of Cross
ley’s, Limited, probably the
largest manufacturers of auto
mobiles in the British Empire,
and Viscount DeVesci, a prom
inent and large land owner ol
Ireland.
The deal, news of which wa;
received from Mr. Watson by
cable, is characterized a;
probably the most noteworthy
recognition of Canadian min
ing possibilities given by Eng
lish capital in many years. Ii
is also a splendid testimonial
to the business ability' of Pres
ident Watson. Mr. Watson ha;
not only developed the prop
erty from a raw prospect to
the point of production within
a space of two years, but also
has placed it on a financial
basis which insures ample cap
ital for future development
needs and mill construction.
• .— O——-— ■
Mrs. Marjorie Georgians
Brown and Mr. S. G. Law
rence, well known Stewart
couple were united in marriage
by United States Commission
er W. C. Arnold of Hyder at
8 p. m. Thursday evpnjng.
The wedding was followed by
a reception and dance in Stew
si
j TO SPEND 2 MILLIONS
ON RUFUS ARGENTA
Upward of *2,000,000 will be
spent by the Gerard-Daly in
terests of New York on the de
velopment of the combined
Rufus and Argcnta properties
j in the upper Bear River sect
i ion, according to late an
! nouncements in the southern
: mining press.
| An initial development pro
gram involving the expendi
I ture of *500,000 is to be in
j augurated this spring, the re
i ports say. This will be devot
| sd to the development and ex
1 nloration of the many promis
■ ing ore bodies known to exist
on the two properties, Follow
; ing the completion of this huge
program, it is said that-the new
! controlling interests are pre
pared to spend *1,500,000, or
| more if necessary, in installing
j mining, milling and other
equipment necessary to bring
he properties into large scale
production.
Operations will be conducted
' by the Rufus-Argenta Mines,
Ltd., a newly organized cor
poration with a capitalization
>f *3,000,000, divided into
| hree million shares. Under the
terms of the bonding agree
ment, share holders in the old
Rufus and Argenta companies
.vill receive shax-e for share in
he new company and the re
maining 600,000 treasury
shares of the old corporations
will be taken over by the Ger
u-d-Daly people, together with
1,000,000 shares of the new
company stock. This will rep
•esent a 52 per cent interest,
j in return the Gerard-Daly in
terests have agreed to provide
ill capital necessary to place
1 he properties on a productive
plane. Work is to be carried
i >n continuously with the mini
mum monthly expenditure fix
j 3d at *10,000.
James W. Gerard, farmer
imhagg&dor to Germany, and
Marcus Daly, representative oi
he noted Daly family, of An
aconda fame, are the leading
figures in the new deal, which
has been fully confirmed by
he share holders of the former
Rufus and Argenta companies.
-o-f
John Hovland, pioneer assay
er, has discontinued the oper
ltion of his assay office in or
der to devote his time to other
business. Mr. Hovland estab
'ished a splendid reputation as
m assayer of sterling integrity
md excellent ability and the
loss of his services will be re
gretted by all former clients.
-0
Telegraphic advices from M.
R. Jamieson, this week an
i oounced the successful ter
nination of his legal action
xgainst Pat. Daly for the di
/ision under a partnership
igreement of a large block of
Rig Missouri shares received
by Daly in connection with the
| bonding of the Big Missouri by
he Standard Mines Coporat
on.
The case was heard at Ta
| :oraa several months ago, but
-he decision was not rendei’
3d until Monday last. The
Court’s decision fully sustain
ed Mr. Jamieson’s contention
that he was entitled to one
third of the 300,000 shares re
ceived by Daly in connection
with the deal.
I Mr. Jamieson is now associat
! ed with the Poi*tland Canal
Bx*okei*age Co., of Vancouvei*.
Wm. Sloan, formerly in charge
of the Daly-Alaska is also con
nected with the same concern.
RAILROAD SAWMILL
ENROUTE.
A small sawmill, which will
be used for cutting ties for
the rehabilitation of the Can
adian Northeastern' Railway,
has been purchased and will
j be shipped to Stewart from
Queen Charlotte Island, ac
| cording to a recent announce
ment by W. H. Lewthwaite, as
i sociate of H. H. Stevens, M. P.
: in the purchase and financing
j of the railroad line.
! The company is also said to
j have purchased two locomot
; ives in England for use on the
j road, in addition to other con
| struction equipment.
j C ~ 9
! 1927 EXPORTS FAR
BELOW NORMAL YEARS
A digest of the commercial
statistics of the Customs Dis
trict of Alaska covering 1927
shows a regrettable decrease
of $23,873,032 in value of
shipments from Alaska, as
compared with 1926. Against
this, however, is an increase of
■ $4,215,336 in the value of
! shipments into Alaska over
j those of 1926. Despite the un
| favorable year, there still re
: mained a balance of trade in
I Alaska’s favor of $21,185,249,
according to the anliual report
of the U. S. Custom’s Service.
The loss in value of shipments
from Alaska during the year
was primarily due tq the fall
ing off in the size of the sal
mon run as a whole, the report
says. While regarded by the
Bureau of Fisheries as a tem
porary fluctuation comparable?
to that which takes place in
fishing activities everywhere
from time to time, neverthe
less the Bureau has found it
advisiable to take further pre
cautions for the conservation
of the salmon of Alaska.
Preliminary figures of the
Department of Commerce in
dicate that the total pack of
canned .salmon in Ala.-ka in
1927 was approximately S,
540,000 cases, as compared
with 6,652, 882 cases in 1926
and 4,459.937 in 1925. The
pack in 1927 was approxi
mately 46 per cent less than
the 1926 pack, which was the
largest in the history of Alas
ka. The 1927 pack was about
19 per cent less than the pre
vious five year average, ac
cording to the Bureau of Fish
eries.
Shipments of cured or pre
served herring also showed a
decline in 1927 of 2,422,872
pounds and $52,695 in value
from 1926. Shipments of fish
fertilizer, meal and oil, which
are almost entirely products of
the herring industry, also show
a decline of $793,702.
Shipments of fresh or frozen
halibut show an increase in
1927 over the previous year
of -2,460,7594 pounds and
$259,503 in value. Small in
creases were noted in ship
ments of fresh and cured sal
mon, as well as all other fresh
and cured fish.
Copper ore, which ranks sec
ond in the exports of the Ter
ritory, shows a decline in 1927
from 1926 to 10,591),987
pounds and $2,261921 in val
ue. A considerable part of the
decrease noted is directly due
to the low price that prevail
ed during the year for copper
ore, as well as other minerals
produced in Alaska. It is not
only directly that these low
prices have adversely affect
ed the value of mineral output,
but their indirect effect in cur
tailing production is even more
CANDIDATES FOR SCHOOL
BOARD ARE NOMINATED
Nine candidates for member
ship on the Hyder School
Board were nominated at the
public meeting held in the
school house Monday evening.
The list of nominees named in
cludes the names of two mem
j hers of the present school
board, namely T. H. Evans and
! John Hovland. Mr. Hovland,
however, was not present at
the meeting and was not a
candidate for re-election and
will not make the race.
! Of the remaining candidates,
j five are members of the fair
i sex, as follows:
j Mrs. Harold Johnson, Mrs.
i Ernest Blue, Mrs. E. D. Had
j don, Mrs. Hubert Thomas, Mrs.
Edgar Provinse.
The remaining candidates of
male persuasion are T. H. Ev
ans, Albert J. Mayer and E.
M. Reynolds.
Three of the number nominat
j ed are to be elected.
J The election will be held
! March 10th, in accordance
t with the provisions of the 1927
i school election law, designat
! ing the second Saturday in
; March as the day of election,
save under unusual conditions,
and providing for the election
of but one school director an
nually after the present year.
While the bare figures in the
report, taken by themselves,
show a decrease in the mineral
production of Alaska in 1927
from the former year, yet such
figures should not be taken as
marking a retrogression in the
mining industry. Such is not
the case, according to the year
ly investigations made by the
Geological Survey throughout
the Territory. Many of the;
conditions that explain the de
creases are of themselves such j
as to indicate increased pro
ducts m in the future. In many
districts the gathering togeth
er and consolidation of a large
number of claims formerly op
erated separately, the careful-1
study of economical methods
of mining the ground, the pur
chase of suitable machinery
and equipment and the under
taking of large engineering
feats, clearly forecast more
productive work in the near
future, and these are the con
ditions which prevail in many
of the mining districts through
out the Territory.
The number of persons ar
riving in Alaska on regular
passenger vessels during 1927
were 32,221, representing an
increase of 12475 over 1926.
The departures represent 32,
769, or an excess of 548 over
arrivals. These figures might
indicate a loss in population
were it not for the fact that a
number of the canneries bring
their employees into the Terri
tory in their privately owned
vessels, which persons are not
counted in our figures, but
who are later returned to the
States by regular passenger1
vessels and counted as paid
passengers. Were it not for
this circumstance we believe a
gain in population would be
shown.
—-o
Three shifts are steadily en
gaged on the Big Missouri in
extending the big 8-foot tunnel
on which work has been px*o
ceeding since last fall.
-O
Mr. and Mrs. William Bunt
ing and family left Thursday
for a visit in the south.
MINING DEALS
UNDER WAY
The Winnipeg interests rep
resented in the recent deals in
1 volving the Virginia, Crest and
j Border groups by Messrs. Nor
I man Tobias and E. W. L
i George, are reliably reported
negotiating for several othei
properties in the same locality.
-o-—.
WANTS INFORMATION
ON AURORA BOREALIS
The following self-explan
atory letter has been address
ed to this and other Alaska
papers by James Halvor John
son, who wants information
regarding a phenomena famil
iar to all Alaskans. He says:
“May I presume upon youi
goodness and friendly interest
to give publicity to the follow
i ing statements?
“The scientific world is deep
ly interested in all matters per
taining to the Aurora Borealis:
and much study has been given
to determine its nature and
origin. There are still manj
unsolved problems in relation
thereto.
“The intelligent people ol
Alaska-situate as they art
where auroral displays art
most frequent-can furnish val
uable information if they wih
kindly report on the aurora,
displays that they may from
time to time witness.
“Two things may be partic
ularly mentioned with respect
to the aurora upon which sci
entific opinion is divided.
“FIRST :-Does sound ever ac
company auroral displays?
Those who claim to have heard
sounds describe them as faint
“swishing,” “crackling,” “rust
ling” etc. sounds. Many men
who have travelled extensive
ly in Arctic regions say that
they have never heard such
sounds. Some scientists dis
credit the possibility of hear
ing aurora-sounds owing to
the great distances at which
(in their opinion) the aurorae
occur.
“ SECONDDo aurorae ever
approach near to the surface
of the earth?
“There is eminent authority !
for the statement that lower i
ends of the auroral streamers j
are always at about 62 miles i
above the surface of the earth.
“On the other hand, there is
much respectable testimony to
the effect that auroral stream
ers have been seen between:
the observer and some distant
hill, or other object, thus indi
cating a close approach of the
aurora to the earth’s surface.
“Such close approach auroras
are exceedingly rare. Unlike
many problems which have to
be solved by the use of scien
tific apparatus, the above two
questions can be determin
ed by non-scientific persons
through the direct evidence of
sight and hearing. Such im
portant testimony js sought,
and will be duly appreciated.
“Communications may be ad
dressed to James Halvor John
son, care of the “Astronomical
Society of the Pacific,” Mer
chants Exchange Building, San
Francisco, Calif.
“Thanking you in anticipat
ion, I am,
Sincerely yours,
James Halvor Johnson.
Ice Cream Cones, Sodas, Sun
dae*—Northern Pool Hall
! LIVELY PRIMARY
ELECTION IS
IN PROSPECT
The forthcoming primary
election bids fair to be the
liveliest in several years. With
:he usual crop of Independent
j candidates still keeping in the
back ground, the list of repub
: iican and democratic office
; seekers who will ask the suf
1 frage of the First Division con
tains a total of 36 names|. A
majority are of the republican
persuasion, although the dem
ocrats have candidates in the
field for every elective office.
As the time in which Inde
pendents may file does not ex
pire until April 14th the total
of those who will seek the good
graces of the dear voters can
j not be told until after that
date.
Following is the full list of
| regular candidates.
Republican:
Delegate to Congress: D. A.
Sutherland, Juneau; Bartley
Howard, Anchorage.
Atty. General: John Rust
gard, Juneau; J. L Waller,
Anchorage.
Nat’l Committeeman: Frank
A. Aldrich, Juneau: O. A.
Lathrop, Fairbanks; Geo. W.
Albrecht, Fairbanks.
Delegates to National Con
vention: Loir's K r>"..'
banks; W. H. Caswell, Sitka;
Dr. W. H. Chase, Cordova;
James Wickersham. Juneau?
Gus Gelles, Anchorage.
Alternates: W. D. Grant,
Wrangell; J. B. Gottstein, An
chorage.
Republican Divisional Ticket:
For Senator: Chas. Benjamin,
Wrangell; Forest J. Hunt, Ket
chikan; C. T. Gardner, Juneau.
For Representatives: Chas.
Dacwell, Wrangell; Pat. Gil
dea, Ketchikan; Jno. A. John
son, Ketchikan; P. C. Me Cor
mack, Wrangell; LeRoy No
land, Juneau; A. L. Oalts* Ket«
chikf.n; W. L. Paul, Ketchi
kan; Eugene Wacker, Wack
er City; Grover C. Winn, Jun
eau.
Divisional Road Commission
er :-Peter F. Gilmore and Alex.
Adkins, Ketchikan.
Democratic :—
Delegate to Congress: George
B. Grigsby, Ketchikan.
Nat’l Committeeman: J. J.
Connors, Juneau; J. C. V.irdjn,
Ketchikan.
Atty. General: J. S. Truitt,
Anchorage.
Delegate to Nat’l Convention:
S. Hellenthal, J. F. McDonald,
H. J. Turner, John W. Troy,
Jas. McCloskey, Allan Shat
tuck, all of Juneau..
For Senator: Norman R. Walk
er, Ketchikan.
For Representatives: Nels
Anderson, Douglas; Allan
Shattuck, Juneau; Joel S.
Ream and A. H. Zeigler, Ket
chikan.
This list includes all regular
party candidates. Take your
choice.
Joe Jackson, discoverer of the
Texas Creek mineral belt, ar
rived from the south via Ketch
ikan Wednesday. Joe is en
route to his valuable placer
holdings in the Clearwater dis
trict, but will remain in this lo
cality a few week3 ‘intil min
ing conditions in the interior
are more favorable than at
present. In anticipation of do
ing some prospecting along
Portland Canal, during his
stay, Joe has had a fine speed
boat, used by him in traveling
on the Stikine River, brought
to Hyder.