HYDER - FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN BE REACHED BY THE PACIFIC - YUKON -■ ALASKA HIGHWAY
r
SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
V
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
$3.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
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VOL. 8, NO. 4
HYDER, ALASKA NOVEMBER 7, 1931
BY THE YEAR $3.(H
SILVER AND WHEAT
TAKE SODDEN RISE
Spectacular rises in wheat
ami silver were reported in
radio broadcasts heard here
during the past few days. Sil
ver reached 3G cents the high
est point in months, and wheat
rose to 73 cents, but fell back
to 70 and a fraction.
The reports said the spectac
ular rise in silver and wheat
resulted in an increase of mar
ket value in many other stocks.
The reason for the increase i
in wheat and silver is unde-!
termined.
o
!
Hospital Relief Plans
Efforts to keep the Stewart
General Hospital open during !
the winter will include an at- \
tempt to devise a form of hos-1
pital service insurance, where
by those who subscribe wili
pay so much a month toward
the maintenance of the hos
pital and receive hospitiliza
tion in return in case it is need
ed. A decision to this effect
was approved at the mass
meeting held in Stewart last
week and Messrs W. T. Essel
mont, E. T. Applewhaite and
H. W. M. Rolston were ap
pointed a committee to see
what form of plan could be
devised.
Another committee, eonsist
ng ofP. S. Jack, C. M. Adam,
W. R. Tooth, H. D. Rochfott,
L. S. Davidson and K. W.
Grey, was appointed to raise
funds, and a third committee
headed by Rev. G. H. Moody
was named to collect monthly
subscriptions. The latter com
mittee got busy immediately
and secured subscriptions to
taling $35 per month before
the close of the meeting.
Mr. O. J. Hutchings, chair
man of the hospital board, in
formed the Herald this week
that a statement published in
these columns to the effect
that the average monthly
maintenance cost of the hos
pital was $250 was an error.
The actual cost, Mr. Hutch
ings said, is about $500 per
month, hence the $500 remit
ance received a few days ago
from the B. C. government
will not suffice to meet hos
pital expenses much beyond
the middle of the present
month and the institution will
be in the neighborhood of $150
behind by the close of the
month. Mr. Hutchings said it
is expected that the govern
ment will contribute $250 of
the amount needed, leaving an
additional sum to be raised
monthly.
A second public meeting will
be held in Stewart November
18 to receive the reports of
the above-mentioned commit
tees and it is hoped that some
means will be found to prevent
the closing of this important
and necessary institution.
Cash receipts from the re
cent dance and donations dur
ing October amounted to a
total of $140.80, Mr. Hutch
ings said.
-o
C. M. Bryant, Stewart assay
er, left for the south last Sat
urday evening after spending
the summer in the district.
C. H. Sundmacher
Laid At Rest
Funeral -rites were held last
Tuesday for the late Charles
! Henry Sundmacher, pioneer
Northern attorney, who passed
| away last Saturday evening in
j the Stewart hospital follow
i ing a short illness due to val
i vular heart trouble. The ser
j vices were held in Pioneer
! Hall, with Rev. Henry R. Cross
; officiating, and were attended
! by a lai ge gathering. In ad- i
dition to an excellent funeral I
sermon by Rev. Cross, the ser- j
vices included several appro-1
priate vocal selections by the
M. E. Church choir, Mesdames
Harold Johnson and L. L.
Lcgge, and Messrs Cross and
E. D. Haddon, with*Mrs. W.
R. Reid at the piano. Several
handsome floral tributes at
tested the regard of friends of
the deceased.
Following the beautiful and j
impressive services, the re-!
mains were laid at rest in the
Riverview cemetary after short
graveside ceremonies.
The pall bearers included
Arthur O. Moa, E. L. Dale,
Alex. Halstead, I. Finlayson,
Harold Johnson and John Hov
iand. E. E. Charlton officiated
as funeral director.
The deceased attorney was
aged 74 years and is survived
by a widow and one daughter.
Mrs. Mary Smith, both of
whom reside in Corona, Cal
ifornia.
He was a member of the Ma-,
tonic fraternity and also of the j
Odd Fellows and Knights of i
Pythias lodges. Little is known i
here regarding his antieedents. j
He is known to have practiced
his profession for many years
in various parts of the United
states before coming to Alas-,
ka about 12 of 15 years ago.;
During his residence in the j
North he was engaged in law ;
practice at Cordova, Peters
burg and other points and was !
for a time United States Com- j
missioner at Cordova.
Mr. Sundmaeher located in
Hyder the first time in 1920
and remained here about two
years. He returned here for j
the second time last year. Dur
ing the interval between his I
first and last visits he resided
in various parts of the United
States, including Colorado,
California and Washington. He
was a man of excellent chara
cter, quiet and studious hab
its and possessed a large fund,!
of legal knowledge. His de
mise so far away from home
and family is sadly unfortu
nate and is deeply regretted
by his local friends.
Armistice Day Observance
The Stewart branch of the
I Canadian Legion will hold
their usual Armistice Day ser
j vices and dance on November
11. By a recent Order in Coun
[cil, the closing date of the
! Great War is now known in
I Canada by the appropriate
name of “Remembrance Day.”
I
The Legion program for the
day will include appropriate
services in Legion Hall at 10
a. m., followed by a ceremon
ial at the imposing Cenotaph
on the Stewart-Hyder road
and a dance in the evening.
CHAMBER COMMERCE
HOLDS DIHHER MEET
! The first dinner meeting of
the Ilyder Chamber of Com
merce under the new admin
istration was held Wednes
day evening at the Silver Grill
with the new president, Chas.
F. Sandford, presiding and 28
members and visitors in at
j tendance. Included among the
i non-members were W. Assel
! tine, of Premier; H. Zeffert,
| R. E. Haack, and W. R. Tooth,
of Stewart; Messrs Clay Por
ter, L. C. Thornton, and H. H.
Bunsell, of Ilyder.
Following an excellent re
past, Ernest Blue, chairman of
the International Highway
committee, rendered an inter
esting report relative to re
ceipts from and distribution of
the recent special Chamber of
Commerce edition of the Hy
der Weekly Herald. The report
showed that only a few of the
nearly 1500 copies printed re-1
main unsold and that the pub- j
lication, while not renumerat
ive, would clear expenses by a
small margin.
A new Highway committe
composed of Messrs. Ernest
Blue, chairman, and II. R.
Cross was appointed and N.
M. Traversy was designated
to head a new Fire Protection
and Streets committee. Other
committees named included a
finance committee endowed
with authority to hold enter- j
tainments to provide funds for
carrying on the work of the
Chamber. Members of the com
mittee are Messrs E. D. Had-1
don, chairman, N. M. Traversy
and Oren F. Hill. A member
ship committee was also ap^
pointed with Holger Johnson
as chairman and N. M. Trav
ersy as associate member.
Among other business mat
ters conducted was a decision
by the Chamber to extend an ■
invitation to the Northwest
Telephone Company to extend j
its proposed Alaska and north
western Canada radio tele
phone service to include this
district.
It was also decided to ad-;
dress a letter to the Forestry j
Service trail officials pointing !
out that their recent decision j
requiring local cooperation to
the extent of 25 per cent of
costs in the construction of a
much needed trail leading to
the Hobo, Crest and other j
properties would cause a con
siderable hardship to the claim
owners of that section, who
under stress of present hard!
times are having all they can !
do to continue active develop
ment of their ground and that
the absence of easy means for
transportation of supplies adds i
materially to the burden of ex
pense.
At the close of the business j
end of the session Mr. T. B. j
McKay, of Premier, delivered
one of the most thoughtful and
suggestive addresses ever
heard by the Chamber. Mr.
MacKap discussed present lo
cal and world conditions, with
reference to their bearing on
the mining industry and local
conditions and outlook, and
declared that mining will come
back, bringing increased activ
ity and prosperity to the in
I
PUN WINTER WORK
ON FISH OR, GROUND
Wm, McGrevv, John Ronan
I and Sidney Anderson plan to
: do extensive development
work on their Fish Creek prop
j ties during the coming winter
| and may extract ore for ship
ment if conditions are favor
able.
Approximately one ton of
provisions and mining supplies
was taken to the property this
week by Jim Kennedy’s pack
train in preparation for the ex
pected activities.
dustry.
The main theme of his argu
ment was that present untow
ard conditions should not cause
lack of faith in or diminish en
thusiasm regarding the pos
sibilities of the future. During
the course of his address Mr.
MacKay displayed close fam
iliarity with world industrial
conditions, splendid eruditions,
and oratorical qualities which
caused the presiding officer to
suggest that in spite of his be
ing a Canadian citizen, he
should be induced to deliver
the next Independence Day
oration at Hyder.
Viewing Mr. MsKay’s address
as one of the most interesting
ever given here, the Herald
sincerely regrets that it was
far too extensive to permit full
publication in these columns.
Following Mr. MacKay, Wm.
Asseltine, superintendent of
the Premier mill, gave a short I
but interesting and instructive
talk on local conditions and
highly commended the spirit j
which has brought about such
close cooperation between the I
citizens of Hyder, Stewart tnd
Premier, two Canadian and!
one American town, in further- \
ing the common welfare of the i
district, as indicated by many j
citizens of the Canadian towns .
becoming members of the Hy- j
der Chamber of Commerce.,
Such a spirit of cooperation
could not fail to further the j
progress and prosperity of the
district, the speaker said.
Mr. Asseltine then disclosed
the deep sincerity of his re
marks by announcing- his own
desire to affiliate with the lo
cal organization and was
promptly admitted under a
suspension of the rules. Mr. L.
C. Thornton was also admit
ted at the same time.
Mr. H. Zefferit, leading Stew
art business man, addressed
the gathering and, like Mr. As
seltine, voiced his appreciation
of the cooperative spirit ev
idenced by Canadian repre
sentation in the Chamber of
Commerce membership.
The concluding speaker was
Mr. Ernest Blue, who gave an
interesting description of his
recent visit to the Meziadin
Lake and Nass River sections
to determine conditions rela
tive to the possible linking up
of the local highway system
with the proposed internat
ional highway and declared in
convincing fashion that it was
of inestimable value to the
Portland Canal district as a
future resource.
P. S. Jack, of Stewart round
ed out the session with one of
his humorous stories.
Says Meziadin Country
Is Economic Assst
(The Herald presents here
with the fourth installment of
Mr. Ernest Blue’s interesting
article on the Meziadin Lake
and upper Naas River section,
considered from the standpoint
of their economic value to
this section and also their re
j lation to the proposed Hyder
| Stewart branch of the Paeific
■ Vukon-Alaska Highway con
struction project.—Editor)
To resolve the question, let
us first examine the country
around Meziadin Lake.
From Fitzgerald Bay, locat
ed at the extreme south end o1
the lake, it is but 15 mile'
southwesterly to the WhiL
River placer fields. One thous
and dollars would build a
pack trail from Fitzgerald Baj
to Nelson Creek, the-center oi
the White River placer area
| and would open up an hitherto
| unaccessible country which
| has been known for years to
be one of the richest placer
fields in British Columbia; an
other two .thousand dollars
would convert this trail into a
“cat” road. This $3,000 would
open up a mineral area, the
potential wealth of which is
not excelled anywhere, but the
road, like the Highway from
Kitwanga, ends at the shores
of the lake.
Let us examine also the Mass
River ridge. This ridge is a
sort of a table land averaging
from fifty to one hundred feet
in elevation above the adjoin
ing swamp areas, with an av
erage width of about two
miles. It extends northeasterly
up to the northerly side of
Nass River 12 to 15 miles and
is estimated to contain at least
15 square miles of agricultur
al land that is not excelled
anywhere in British Columbia.
A road up this ridge from a
point near the Indian village,
about 2'/5 miles from the out
let of Meziadin Lake, would
open one of British Columbia’s
lichest agricultural areas. But
again the road ends at the
shores of Meziadin Lake.
A simple, efficient, econom
cal and self-sustaining means
of tying the Stewart-Bowser
Lake Highway, a Kitwanga
Highway, a White River road
and a Nass ridge road together
would be a ferry.
A diesel-powered ferry of
sufficient capacity to carry 6
or 8 automobiles could be built
and equipped for about the
same amount as would be re
quired to construct four or five
miles' of the fifteen to twenty
i miles of highway necessary to
, connect the roads at the north
j and south ends of the lake
land if operated as a toll prop
! osition it would be self sup
! porting.
| The importanct of the water
j transportation on Meziadin
Lake can hardly be estimated.
! As the Bear River road closes
i the gap between the Portland
; Canal Highway system and the
j lake, increasing interest is be
ing taken in that area. To my I
personal knowledge there are;
two or three substantial min
ing concerns that would enter
upon a development program
in that area as soon as trans
portation costs are reduced be
low the present prohibitive
figures. The Bowser Lake dis
' trict lies undeveloped simply
1
PLANE ARRIVES TO
SUCCOR DYING MAN
Bound upon the merciful
mission of saving the life of a
dying man, a Moth seaplane of
the Northern B. C. Airways,
with Pilot Murphy in charge,
arrived here from Prince Ru
pert Friday afternoon enroute
to Echo Lake, on the Yukon
telegraph line, where the gov
ernment telegraph operator at
.hat point is reported danger
| iusly ill with pneumonia. Mr.
Quinn, the striken man, is be
ng cared for by his partner.
The plane made the trip ov
er from Rupert in the most dif
icult flying conditions, with
'og and rain rendering passage
rnong tme towering mountain
:eaks extremely hazardous.
Owing to bad flying condit
ons, the plane was compelled
to tie up here over night and
had not resumed its journey up
to the time of writing. The
plane’s destination is about 75
miles north of Stewart but can
not be reached except by de
eming via Bowser or Meziad
n lakes under present foggy
jonditions.
It is understood that Bill Scott,
of Stewart, who is familiar"
with the country, has volun
teered to accompany the plane
to its destination. As the plane
ean carry only one passenger,
he will be compelled to walk
back.
All of which reminds us of
those lines of Dunham’s about
the men of the north perform
ing services “so high high
priced, they will not collect
their wages ’till they hand
their time to Christ.’’
Predicts Bright Future
For Stewart
In an address at the semi
monthly meeting of Stewart
Board of Trade Tuesday even
;ng, Mr. Gordon Keatley, sec
letary of the Vancouver Hold
ings Co., who was visiting the
district, declared that his com
pany, which has large real es
tate and other interests here,
has every faith in the future of
Stewart, as evidenced by re
tention of their extensive hold
ings.
Mr. Keatley said he felt that
as soon as the depression pass
es, Stewart will become the
scene of increased activity and
lapidly assume considerable
importance. Stabilization of
silver, he felt, is of the utmost
importance to the camp and
its rehabilitation should be
concentrated upon by the
Board of Trade.
because it costs $10 per 100
pounds to transport supplies
into that area.
The Strata range from which
float has been carried out that
assays above $1,000 per ton in
gold, lies undeveloped because
one cannot get supplies in at
any price under present con
ditions. The White River and
Nelson Creek placer area,
which for twenty years has
been known to contain im
mense placer deposits, lies un
developed because one cannot
at any price deliver supplies
sufficient to sustain operat
ion^.
Concluded Next Week