SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEW8 OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
>- ■■ ■ - J
DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA AND THE PORTLAND CANAL MINING DISTRICT.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
15.00 PER YfcAR
IN ADVANCE
VOL 6, NO. 9
HYPER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1929.
PRICE TEN CENTS
METCALF PROPERTY
CUM RIVER
" FULLY FINANCED
A letter received this week by
B. B. Smith from Mel. C. But
ler, prominent Seattle mining
engineer, brought the interest
ing announcement that Mr.
Butler has completed financing
arrangements for the develop
ment of the Metcalf and Finley
property on Banded Mountain,
^Mr.JButler .A
sk** ■ „• to
inv >tigi..k
Creek and
last summei .u J y
completed branchot the
Metcalf an i fir.ley group ^nd
added th« ho »rw has “noth
ing to w<<» about regarding
the future '* that prgi'&'ty.”
Full det.- ‘ the i ,angr >
ments whticu, Mr. BuUer be-■
came interest**.) -n the proper- j
ty are not available, a. ih. fin
al negotiations were co tipl -'e '
but recently in Seattle. It is ji
derstood, however, that the:
owners, Messrs W. W. Metcall
and Jos. Finley, have granted
a controlling interest to Mr.
Butler and his associates in
consideration of the develop
ment of the property by the
latter interests.
In the opinion of experienced
mining men, the property h
one of unusual promise and
contains an immense zone oi
ore from which high gold val
ues have been obtained. This
ore body is said to range up to
forty feet in width in placet
and apparently extends from
the lower slopes of Banded
Mountain, on the Chickamin
River side, entirely over the
summit of the more than 5,000
foot peak.
Five assays made from samp
les taken from the Metcalf and
Finley property during the
course of development work
early this year gave returns
ranging from $2.80 to $90.87,
while an average sample taken
over eight feet gave a return
of slightly over $90, according
to one of the owners.
In concluding his letter, Mr.
Butler indicated that he would
probably be in Hyder in the
near future.
MOVIE SHOW UNDER
NEW MANAGEMENT
A. J. Mayer has taken over
the management of the Nagle
motion picture show and will
continue the usual weekly dis
play during the absence of
proprietor F. R. Nagle, who ex
pects to be away most of the
winter.
Mr. Mayer, who has been in
charge of the projection room
for a long period, will be as
sisted by Mrs. Mayer, who will
look after the box office.
As one of the camp’s chief
avenues for relaxation and
amusement, the movie show is
a highly beneficent institution
and should be given generous
support by our residents.
Don’t fail to attend the Pion
eer’s Home benefit.
INTERNATIONAL HIGH
WAY PROJECT IS
MAKING PROGRESS
The bills now before Con
gress creating an International
Highway Commission, have
been endorsed by all of the mo
tor clubs of the West, members
of the American Automobile
Association, according to mess
ages received by Governor
George A. Parks.
A letter received by the Gov
ernor from Premier Tolmie, of
British Columbia, said that the
Canadian offWsJ.s arp greatlv
interested
ex»
Uiscussii..
Major Maicolm
ilont of the Alaska >
mission, in the «*•
The measures n».-r f•»
Congress authoriv. # rr. ...
dent to arpoirt A meric-o
members of commission to
act with icpivcentatives c"
Canada to study the feasibility
■ f constructing a highway link
i«g Alaska, through the Yuk n
•rritory and British Colum
bia, with the Pacific Coast
states.
•o
BANK OF HYDER IS
NOW DEPOSITORY
TERRITORIAL FUNDS
The Bank of Hyder has been
made an authorized depository
for funds of the Territory of
Alaska, it was announced late
last week by E. D. Haddon,
manager of the local institu
tion.
Mr. Haddon also anonunced
that the sum of $10,000 be
longing to the territory has
been placed on deposit in the
bank by the Territorial Treas
urer.
The action of the Territory
is in line with a policy of ap
portioning the territorial funds
among the various banking in
stitutions throughout Alaska.
A total of 12 banks were in
cluded in the number designat
ed as official depositories in
the last annual report of the
Territorial Treasurer. Each of
the various institutions held
territorial funds ranging from
$10,000 to upward of $100,
000. The deposited funds draw
interest at the rate of two per
cent per annum, payable quar
trely on average daily balan
ces to the credit of the Treas
urer.
-o
Wrecked in his all-metal cab
in plane on the bleak Siberian
coast, Carl Ben Eilson, noted
Alaska flyer, has been the ob
ject of a strenuous search by
airplanes and dog teams for
several weeks, according to re
ports from Nome. Eielson was
engaged in bringing a fortune
in furs from the ice-bound
trading schooner Nanuk off the
East Cape coast.
■-o
Thomas Powers left Thursday
on a short vacation trip.
MARMOT METALS j
REPORT SHOWS
HD OUTLOOK
The annual report of the Mar
mot Metals Mining Co. for the
current year is most encourag
ing and shows a decidedly
promising outlook for the fut
ure. The report states that de
velopment work on the Black
Hill group has been very en
couraging. The series of high
i
i
een
ason
>:* has
& -n pt jvelop-d. Tnis
^hoot com ’ues in . .ti\<•
.Vlver. F .er uevv..-.>p<v,.,ut
will hav^^be done to si. /v
le exte' f this occurrence,
further sui‘'ace w»>i r hpr uee<’
uone this season on u;e Glac
i r Girl group but the "esults
have not been of a positive nat
ure. There does not seem to be
any considerable extent of the
better values located in last
season’s work. Further pros
pecting should be done next
season. The high grade silver
lead ores located last season
on the Bitter Creek group have
had some work done on them.
This development work has
not shown up any quahtity of
ore. Considerable surface pros
pecting has been done and
some showings located which
warrant a small amount of de
velopment which will, be un
dertaken next year. Operat
ions have been carried for
ward in a satisfactory and
economical manner and the
company is now interested in
properties, one of which at
least gives indication of becom
ing a producer.
Results of the season’s activi
ties not included in the report
are the shipment of 30 tons of
high grade from the Blackhill,
details of which will be found
in another column, and the
shipment of 6 tons of native
silver-bearing ore from the
Melvin group.
--o—;
The motorship Norco arrived
from Seattle early this (Satur
day) morning with a good |
sized cargo of merchandise for
local busine.ss houses.
-o—
The gold production of the
Nome area this year will be in
creased by at least a half mil
lion dollars, with a production
of $1,163,181 up to the time
the last steamer sailed from
Nome, according to R. W. J.
Reed, deputy collector of cust
oms at that port, who arrived
in Juneau a few days ago, ac
companied by Mrs. Reed. The i
figures given may be increased \
slightly by the end of the year,
as a result of mail shipments of
gold.
BLACKHILL MAKES
FURTHER SHIPMENT
OF HIGH GRADE
That the Blackhill property
of the Black Hill Mining Co., in
the Bear River section, is the
most successful new develop
of the year is indicated by the
dispatch of a second shipment
of high grade ore on the steam
er Mogul this week.
The shipment consisted of 20
tons, which is said to run well
over $100 in gold, silver, lead
and zinc.
Another shipment of ten tons
of the same ore was sent to the
Selby smelter a short time age.
The shipments are said to be
from the No. 3 tunnel, which
is being run on a vein of good
commercial pre carrying an av
erage of a foot of ore assaying
over $100.
An ore car and rails were
taken to the property last
week.
o
LOCAL MINER KILLED
Arthur J. Hoskins, a miner,
well known in this district, was
killed at Anyox December 2 by
falling into a crusher at the
Bonanza mine, according to
word received in Stewart this
week. Deceased resided in the
district off and on since about'
1919 and was employed at the :
Premier and other mines.
W. S. (“Billy”) Orr, known to
almost every individual in the
district and until recently asso
ciated with the B. C. Silver
company, has joined the staff j
of the Stewart News. Being a •
decidely versatile individual, i
who has tackled about every-;
thing except newspapering in
his varied career, with usually!
successful results, he will un
doubtedly become an ornament
to the Fourth Estate, as well
as a valuable asset to the News.
The Hyder Drug Co., follow
ing a happy custom of earlier
years, has installed a large
Christmas tree in front of their
splendid concrete building to
mark the holiday season. The
tree, with its vari-colored elec
tric lights, presents a decidedly
pretty appearance at night and
is a most effective reminder of
the period of glad tidings and
good cheer.
-o
Application for a waterpower
license has been filed with the
Federal Power Commission by
the Tongass Power and Light
Co., of Hyder. The application
covers a 100-horsepower pro
ject on Granite Creek, about
three miles north of Hyder,
where the company has estab
lished a power plant.
Help give the old-timers a mer
ry Christmas—Sunday evening.
LOCAL BENEFIT FOR
OLD PIONEERS
The annual Christmas fund
drive for the inmatfs of the
Pioneers’ Home at Sitka, start
ed three years ago by W. D.
Gross, owner of the Coliseum
motion picture theatres in Jun
eau and Ketchikan, is to be ex
tended to Hyder Sunday even
ing with the presentation at
the movie show of a complete
motion picture program donat
ed for the occasion by Mr.
Gross.
The program, of which de
details will be found in another
section, will be presented un
der the auspices of the local
branch of the Pioneers of
Alaska, which will bear the
entire expense of production,
so that the entire proceeds of
the show can be added to other
Collections for the benefit of
the old pioneers in the Home.
To further assist the benefit,
the picture show management
will not present a program
until the following Sunday,
thus in effect donating the
profits of one show.
ns iiv» otrtitci) a cum
munity of any size in Alaska
which does not send a contri
bution to the fund, which is de
signed not only to give the old
timers at Sitka a bit of real
Christmas cheer but also to
provide them with little extra
comforts and luxuries not sup
plied by the Home. Substan
tial contributions are also sub
scribed by residents of Seattle,
Portland and other Pacific
Coast centers. The custom pro
vides a splendid testimonial of
the kindness and thoughtful
ness of Alaskans for those who
have borne the trials and hard
ships of early pioneer days and
made easier the paths of those
who followed them; but who
themselves failed to find a
competence for their declining
years. The spirit of Christmas
cannot be displayed in a more
beneficent manner than by at
tending the benefit and help
ing to bring a bit of comfort
and help to the old trail-blaz
ers, who now can do no more
than sit idle and lonely and
gaze into the sunset of life’s
efforts and dreams.
-o
INTERIOR SNOWFALL
UNUSUALLY HEAVY
Reports from Interior Alaska
disclose that in spite of an ex
ceptionally rainy summer, that
section of the Territory has ex
perienced a fall of snow far
deeper than the average for
early winter. Many of the lo
cal weather prophts predicted
that only a light fall of snow
would follow the wet summer,
but with a month of winter
gone, their predictions have
been decidedly off. With the
exception of Rapids, on the
Richardson Highway, Fair
banks and Fort Yukon appear
to hold the lead for depth. Ft.
Yukon had 7 inches, the same
as Point Barrow, while Fair
banks lacked onlya half-inch of
that amount. Rapids had 24
inches of snow at the same
time.
For the men who blazed the
trail*— Sunday evening.
NEWSY JOTTINGS
BEARING ON LOCAL
MINING ACMES
The Premier company is re
ported to have installed a larg
er compressor on their Porter
Id^ho-Prosperity properties in
refcent days.
Work has been resumed by
the Rufus-Argenta company
on its properties in the upper
Bear River district. A 50-foot
extension of the main tunnel is
being driven under contract
with the expectation of tap
ping the Erickson vein.
Late reports from Vancouver
disclose that J. F. Duthie has
relenquished his option on the
property, which is again under
the control of the Rufus-Ar
genta Mines.
The discovery of an import
ant new ore body at depth is
reported from the Silverado
property but no details are
available at present. A large
quantity of supplies was sent
up to the property recently.
A directors report issued late
last month by the Woodbine
Gold Mining Co. expresses the
belief o f the directors that the
company has in the Woodbine
a “Mine in the Making”’ and
assures stockholders that the
money now in the treasury will
be used to the best possible ad
vantage in further develop
ment. Returns from the two
ton sample shipment late in
July are characterized as sat
isfactory and show that the
company has “commercial ore
on its property.”
In a recent address before
the Canadian Institute of Min
ing and Metallurgy, Mr. D. L.
Pitt, manager of the Premier
Gold Mining Co., speaking on
the interesting subject of aer
ial tramway construction, stat
ed that the five-mile tramway
built by his company between
the beach at Marmot River
and the Porter-Idaho property
had cost $312,000, according to
press reports.
Mr. Pitt designated the con
struction as one of the engin
eering triumphs of the north,
owing to the almost insur
mountable difficulties encount
ered in the work.
S. P. Fitzgerald was reelected
president of the Independence
Gold Mining Co. at a recent
company meeting in Vancouv
er. It is understood that the
company plans to install larger
equipment next spring in the
interest of speedier develop
ment.
Don’t forget the big Pioneer
benefit Sunday evening.