Thf Salmon Rivsr District is
M!.>r eloualy Rich in Minerals
anti ’ yder is the Gataway in
Consequence of Which Jtjder is
the Fastest Growing Town in
the North.
HYDER ALASKA MINER
••- ... r . . •
Published at the Gateway to the Salmon River, Alaska - British Columbia, Mineral Area
This Paper in Out to Publish sl*
the Minin* News. Keep Your
Friends Posted by Sending: them
the Paper after You Have Read
it. Boost for Hyder all the
Time.
VOL. i*. NO. 38.
HYDEE, Alaska. July 27. 1021
FIVE DOLLARS A YEAR
Fire Fiend
Deals Death
One man dead, half a score in*
jured—two seriously,— four build
ings destroyed and property loss
approximating twelve thousand
dollars, js the toll taken by a lire
which, starting in the Hotel Beaoh
about 2 o’clock last Saturday morn
ing, spread with sueh rapidity that
for a time it appeared as though
only a miracle could save the en
tire built-up portion of the tide
flats.
The fire was caused by the explo
sion of a kerosene lamp in room
10, opposite the head of the stair
way in the center of the hotel
Fred Card, who lost his life, was
sleeping in a front room of the
building and apparently did not
awaken, the flames and smoke
racing down the hallw ay and over*
powering him in bed. The pitiful
remnant of his body whieh was
found tn the ashes as soon as the
fire was extinguished, was under
the bed springs, which had turned
over as they fell from the top floor
to the ground. The head and limbs
were burned away and the portion
of the trunk remaining was less
than one foot in diameter.
There were eleven rooms in the
hotel and all were occupied. Most
of the occupants lost what belong
ings they had with them, some of
them making their escape without
t swtch of oiothing. Mrs, Helen
Git mere, who conducted (he hotel,
an 1 Lance Craine, who oocUpled a
lower front room and Wai$ reading,
both succeeded in reaching the top
of the atairS with water hot foilid
ho nothing toward subdueing the
blaze, and had jiist time to get
down and out of the building.
Meanwhile the alarm had been
Soundhd and ih a Very few thinutes
tnqny willing Workers were helping
remove the contents of other build
ings in thb Vieiiiity. The Arctic
Digar Store adjoining the hotel Was
quickly ablaze, bUt most of the
Stock, fixtures and decorations werfc
taken out. The personal belonging^
on the second floor, however, Were
h total loss. The law office and
living quarters of C; H: Stlndmacher
Irid the home and carpAitfer shop
Of Max Priebe had ho possible
fchance, so the formet Was dyna
mited, Charlie Ltlnd placing two
charges which practltally laid the
building ioW ann aroUsed the bul
lying portions of the toton.
The ihree-stotey Alaskan Hotfel,
Ihe next buildihg lo the West, was
laved by the power p'ttmp and hoste
Which Sc /tty Patterson brought ita
\o action as soon afe this fire started.
Working with that hoSe in thd nar
row space intelVehing between the
big hotel and the blaze was like
being in an inferno. The heat WaS
4,o intense that the roof ; nd sideb
of the buildihg were smoking, an'd
Vhe water, as . it was thrown on,
^banned to Th* ^(flelenWy
of the file fighting apparatus in
stalled there cotild have reaeived
no more severe test, and by saving
the Alaskan the whole northerly
and westerly part of the piled area
was undoubtedly preven ted from
being wiped out.
The most heroic battle with the
devouring element however occur
red at the Miners’ Hotel, where a
buoket brigade lined up and refused
to give ground, though the building
was ablaze time after time. Ladders
were placed on the roof from the
side opposite the fire, and water
was kept on its way up as fast as
buckets could be passed. One of
the ladders, on which Sam Potts,
Felix Seppi and Holger Johnson
were working, tore loose from the
peak, and with the three men fell
to the tide flats, a distance of forty
feet oi more. How the men escap
ed mortal injury, no one lias ygt
succeeded in figuring out. Potts
was sevetely bruised about the side
and chest but no bones broken, and
he was able to be around Monday.
Johnson suffered a severely sprain
ed ankle and will not have the use
of his foot foi weeks; Seppi was cut
across the temple and had a shoul
der injured,',but kept l ight on work
ing. Upwards of a dozen were cut
by glass or burned by boiling tar
that dripped from the eaves. Dr
Davis of Stewart was quickly on
the scene and made the injured
men comfortable, complimenting
the women in attendance for the
first-aid measures they had taken,
That the Miners’ Hotel was sav
ed is (Id less than a miracle, as can
be readily believed from its appear
ance today. The Side of the build
ing is badly soorehed and the roof
ing curled and blistered. Had the
Miners' gohfe, the next stand would
haVe had to be made at the Mala
mute, as no earthly pow< r could
have saved the score of biiildiugs
4hat cluster to the e st and south
of the hotel. Not only this, but the
household goods that Wtere StrUng
oilt aldng the plahfc walks would
haVfe beten destroyed:
Considerable dattiage toaS done
to Windows by the dyhamite explo
sions, the Alaska n Hotel being the
heaviest loser in lint, respect, prac
tioaliy every pane of glass in the
building being broker. The Bun
galow-, flcroSs the street, lost hfeaV
ily, as did thfe Miners' HotWl. Win
dows were broken i.i the Hotel Hy
der, Alaska (Jttie, Meccti, Hyder
Bath House, Mrs, Heleit Bell’s bbiP
ding and ethers. The two paitfe*
smashed in Mrs*. Bell’s strife Irtiht
lNSd dnly recently beeh pin in at a
edit of aboiit $50.
John Lindsey1, otoner of this Hotel
Beach, was the heaviest loier, bfeing
set back about $f,500. Other Idsses
were Approximately: Nick Bieler
and Fred Stanley, Ahotic CigatSHiVe
anu personal belongihgfe, $2,0005
C.H.SUndmafchefe, $500; Max PTiebfe
$300; Mr®. Eetftltere, $400; Alaskah
Hotel', $250. There was no inkitr
anoe. Many lost personal belong*
totfsthe ValftWwWft ft
estimated, and one roomer at* the
Beaah left a $250 roll of bills under
his pillow. Keepsakes, and articles
of an intimate personal nature upon
whiah no monetary value can be
placed, were destroyed. As an in*
stance. Judge Sundmacher lost the
oldest license to practice law in the
Territory of Alaska, which he had
tacked to his office wall
The Stewart fire department
made a quick run over the two-mile
road between the two towns,‘bring
ing ladders and buckets, an act
which Hyder will not forget. Prac
tically the entire citizenry of Stew
art came over, and assisted mater
ially in fighting the flames. For
tunately the tide wag in and there
was no lack of water.
Considering all the circumstances
there is an unanimous opinion that
the town is very fortunate in escap.
ing more serious damage, The fire
started in the very heart of the
most thickly populated district and
that it was confined to so limited
an area speaks volumns for the’
courage and persistency of the fire
fighters and the efficiency of the
Alaskan Hotel protective appara
tus, There was li'tle or no wind, a
factor oi the utmost importance,
and as before stated, the flood tide
furnished an abundance of water
for the bucket brigades. The out
standing pitiful feature is the tragic
death of Fred Card, an old sour
dough well known to all the old
timers from the north, and liked
for his sterling manly qualities and
abounding good nature. But for'
his death the fire would be passed
up as merely an incident in the
history of a young mining camp.
TiillGH MEN-IH BAD LUCK
•John Doe Sweeney came from over the
line yesterday all lit up and hunting tor
trouble, He found it. When Commiss
ioner Reed warned him to behave him
self h- swung at the commissioner but
missed, and was then put hors d' combat
by Alex Fraser and locked up by Magnus
Meisingseth. This afternoon he *as
found guilty of assault; by a jury, and
received d sentence to serve tlirhe
months in jail and S100 firth; with the
hpAOn of another fifty days behind the
bhr*; Re will Lie taken to Ketchikan to
night by special deputies Magnus MeiS"
ingseth and Charlie Tra*ersy;
Another exuberant resident frditiacross
the line had an argument with Immigra
tion Inspector Stivers ttbout entering the
US.A. and became obstreperous. After
a flight from the planked street into the
tide Hats iie was taken in charge by offi
cers BoVler and Scarlett of Stewart.
FRED CARD'S FUNERAL
Funeral services for the late Fled Card
Were Hhfd in Pioneer hall Sunday after
noon under the auspices of the Pioneers;
with Vlce-presidbnt A. A, Frazier in the
chair and F.C. Lawrence acting as chap
lain in thb absence of Chaplain Jas. Pit
ched. Historian B. M. Stone told What
Urns known of the unfortunate Plan's an
tecedents. IhaF he was f»9 years old, a
member of one of the Interior Igloos and
leaves a brother who resides in Marys
ville Wash, Commissioner Johh T. Reed
who knew deceased in the north, spoke
feelingly of his manV good qualities, Fell
ing of his generoS'ty and hospitality in
the bdrly days ot the gold excitements.
Many blWtirtVe friends of MV Card attend
ed the Vibse^Uies'.
teARI) OF IthaNkS
tdoDbdelr, JtWVesoh and Reid wish t?
extend their siheere thanks to all those
wfio so successfully hided in preventing
further damage by the fiVe %f fast Shtbr*
PERSONAL AND PERTINENT.
Meet me at the Mecca,
Send this paper to your friend
Ketchikan Chronicle at the Mecca,
Get your bread from Jimmy Carter,
Bill Page left Sunday for Edmonton,
Itev. T.J.MoQueen returned to Ketch
ikan on the C arman
I f it isn't to he found elsewhere, try
The Midget Emporium.
Leo lUichesna and Frances Paquet
have gone to Edmonton.
I*'rcd Welda was in Thursday from An
ypx with the launch Lillian.
The Hyder Paint Shop is selling wall
paper at half price this week,
J, R,McKinnon has returned to the
Premier after a week spent in the hospi
tal.
Fine local strawberries have been
shown here grown in IT,C, Hennett’s gar
den in Stewart,
E. I..Hunter of Juneau, special tax col
lector for the first division, is here deal
ing out misery.
Hill Watson left .Mmday for Rupert.
. Hr did not know which way he would
head from there.
l>r. and Mrs, Irwin of Coburg, Ontario,
are visiting the doctor’s brother George,
assayer at the Premier.
. W.J.Crawford's new livery barn on the
forest reserve is finished and stocked with
horses. Jack Peters is in charge.' .
tV.R.Tonkin, president of the Fish Creek
Mining Company, arrived Sunday from
Seattle and expects to rernatn until fall,
K. W.Wood, president of the Premier
Gold Mining c< myany, who has been in
• camp for two weeks, left Sunday for the
outside.
The George brought in a quantity of
cedar lumber and timbers for a large
flume which is to be built at the Premier
power house.
D.A.Hoffman, of Vancouver, who rep
resents the Sullivan Machinery Co., is
talking business this week with local
mining men.
.lim Itewltt is back from a trip through
California and Nevada. He says condi
tions are better in the north than In the
states he visited.
Hilly Hiack, Sn oldimfer of Anchorage
anil bne of the best chefs in this iMstfict,
hds bought Lance Lraine's interest in th8
king Edward t afe.
Mrs. Harry Tdririer arrived on the
Hedrsie from Seattle tb join her h’isbanu
who is superintehdent of the EiSh Cfeek
Mining Company’s property.
R L. Cline, natiohal forest examiner for
Alaska, left on the Carmen tbr Ketchi
kan after seeing the Work oh the heV
Fikh creek trail weii ilnder way.
Mrs. Helen Bell, who recently purchas
ed the Broadwell building and intends
obehing one o! her famous "Style Shops,"
arrived from Ketchikan last eVEriing.
I.'ahce Craine, who has resided here for
more tiiah a year, left Sunday for Los
Angelas t'd join Mbs. Crdlne whO has been
therie sihee last tail foe-the benefit of her
health.
Messrs. Kerr Slid Kelyti, Rupert carpen
ters. Arrived Sunday and have gone up to
Silver Heights tb bliild a cultoml house
On the B.C. hide of the boundary line near
the I’retniet.
Will sell ttr trade IfiO acres of fend, 30
miles Welt of Princfe Gebtge, 6 miles from
railroad, knqhitfe the Junctioti.
For Sale
"THE BUNGALOW"
Ht Hydter
Tterrns if desired
Apply
Postoffice Inspector J.E. Fitzgerald and
Albert Wyle. postmaster of Ketchikan,
returned to that city on the Carmen after
setting; Oran F. Dili's feet on the trail
which leads to the successful performance
of his new official duties
Miss Daniels and Miss Fortune, whoac
companied a party of tourists north from
Los Angeles, arrivedin (lyder about ten
days ago. They have been having such
an enjoyable time here they purposely
Hissed last Sunday's boat for the south.
The Pioneer dance, postponed on ac
count of the death of Fred C^rd. will be
held next Saturday night. An impromp
tu dance was held last night and thor
oughly enjoyed, but on account of insuffi
cient notice a i,-qmber were disappointed
who would have attended.
C.W,Cheatham, superintendent for the
Alaska Bureau of Public Roads, came
over on the Goldenrod from Ketchikan to
inspect the government work being done
her-, He was accompanied by Mrs.
Cheatham, h r aunt, Vr». O'Brien, and
Mr. Dominie,
I»r. R.K.McKechnie of Vancouver ar
rived Sunday ai d has gone over to the
Marmot with Il.C. M agee to stimulate his
eyesight by leoking at the high-grades on
the Patricia grouj», in which he owns an
interest. Ha arrived at an opportune
time, as Mr. Magee has only just recent
ly broken :nh> a new shoot of rich ere on
the property.
For sale-.The Grand Smokery. Enquire
at premises.
< 'apable woman wants work by day or
hour. Enquire Miners Hotel,
^or Sale—Six chairs, one 9x12 rug,
hed-springs and mattress, kitchen cast
iron stove for coal or wood, beating stove,
linoleums. Enquire Miss Anna Mendes.
opposite Portland rooms.
Ask Rube Miller about house cleaning,
suit pressing, shoe shining, wood for sale.
Or leave orders at Frazer and Adkins.
Exceptional bargain. Tight little bun
galow for sale. Well finished throughout,
No incumbrances Apply A, A.Frazer,
Freight Rate
Is Adjusted
During the stay of the Carmen
in port last week a number of rep
resentative business men of‘the
town held a meeting with Captains
Williams and Clary in the Hvder
Auto Service headquarters and
went thoroughly into the question
of freight rates to this town from
Seattle and Ketchikan as compared
with the rates charged on the Giand
Trunk boats.
Captain Williams clearly outlined
the situation, showihg that unless
he received a much larger percen
tage of the freight coming; here he
would have to take the Carmen oft
the sun and substitute the Taku 11
which does not compare with the
Carmen in comfort for passengers
and freight carrying capacity. The
Captain offered a flat rate of $20
per ton from Seattle and $10 fro.n
Ketchikan on all classes of freight
landed at the store door. This rate
from Seattle approximates the cost
on the Canadian route for the cheap
est freight carried, while their rate
on green good-', furniture etc is
much higher.
After considerable discussion and
figuring the business men decided
to throw all their freight business
to Captain Williams: first, because
it is good business principle and
second, because he has maintained
the best service possible ever sinco
the inception of the camp, in all
kinds of weather and sometimes
under very adverse financial con
ditions, besides which he is right
now bringing mail here six times a
month, while being paid for only
four trips.
Modern house and two lots for sale
very reasonable. Enquire Hotel Hyder,
Dear1 Folks
The druggist
was too busy to*
day to write an ad
and left it to the
printer, which
Was taking a long
chance* But evep
so, if we had any
COIN we would
go to the Hvdei4
Drug Co* and buy
a Kodak ahd a
portable phono^
graph and a fish
ing outfit and a
magazine and a
safety razor and &
bottle of fly dope
and go camping*