VOL. 3.
PETERSBURG. ALASKA, JANUARY 4, 1929
NO. 25
Halibatter Saves Tug
-o-—
One of the trilling tales of the
North was unfolded as the closing
chapters in the salvaging of the j
sieamer Starr.
The big tug Roosevelt sent to tow
the Starr south got her tow line
foul of her wheel and was drifting
helplessly toward Weasel’s Reef
when the Attu happened along and
extricated her from her precarious
position.
The Attu, halibut vessel taking
the Starr’s run is registered 37 tons
net and powered with 125 horsepow
Diesel while the Roosevelt is more
than 500 tons net and powered with
1.000 horsenower.
The Northwestern was standing
ny the disabled Roosevelt and had
a lifeboat out while the crew of the
Roosevelt were moving about deck
in life belts when the Attu happen
ed along. The Northwestern was
unable to get alongside the disabled
tug on account of the waves.
The Attu slipped in alongside of
the Roosevelt, got her lines aboard
and headed for Cape Clear.
Capt. Peter Wold and his crew of
three men may well be lauded for
their bravery and tenacity in saving
fhe Roosevelt. Capt. Wold changed
his course to save ten miles and hap
pened on the craft in distress.
After getting a line aboard the
Foosvelt and headed for Cape Clear,
the work was a long ways from be
ing ended. Capt. Wold had to exer
cise real skill in reaching anchorage
as he had to watch the towline, his
men on deck and the tow in the driv
ing gale. High seas swept over the
small craft. Heavy oil was poured
on the line and water to prevent the
l?ne chafing in two at the-chocks.
At first the line was fa'ste£bd to the
stern chocks but at the first tug on
the line the capstan gave way. Next
it was fastened to the mast but when
the lights went out it was fo.. d
that the line had cut the mast al
most in two. For a half hour the
crew worked making new fastenings,
all of which was done in the dark.
Shipping men are speaking in
highest trems of praise of the work
of Capt. Wold and his crew.
Basketball Games Are
Comins: Up
-o
The basketball team representing
the high school has not had as
much real pracaice as they should
have had on account of holiday
events interfering and inability to
have free access to practice place
on account of social events. How
ever some practice was secured so
that the team will be able to
show considerable pep and team
work to opponents.
A schedule has been arranged as
follows:
January 11th,
Ketchikan Town Team v Petersburg
Hi, at Petersburg.
January 18th and 19th
Wrangell v Petersburg Hi at
Wrangell
The following is the Petersburg
lineup:
Mjorud, center.
Runstad, left forward
McDonald, right forward
Wasvick, right guard.
Kahklen, Shaquanie or Gordon,
left guard.
The Ketchikan Five is an un
known quantity here but if they
match the local team in any respect
it should be a mighty good game.
The Wrangell Team took a sting
ing defeat when they visited here
and played the local team. Going
to Wrangell in heavy weather the
local team might be handicapped by
a sick member or two so that one
defeat might be expected.
Has Plan to Use Fish
Money
-o
Senator Charles McNary of Oregon
has proposed a bill in the Senate
which proposes that federal reven
ues from fishing leases on Sand Is
land, Columbia River, be established j
as a fund for propogation of salmon !
in that district.
Federal revenues are said to
amount to approximately $4 60,000
annually and under the bill would
be used for the establishment of
fish hatcheries, fish cultural stations
and experiments and investigations
in the fisheries field. Under the
proposed bill the federal government
will have entire jurisdiction over all
funds so expended regardless of
state law.
Philadelphia Lawyer
Kinks Law
It took a Philadelphia lawyer to
put a new kink in the prohibition
laws. Judge Kirkpatrick, in a case
before the federal district court in
Philadelphia, in a decision, declar
ed that a buyer of illegal liquor
can be prosecuted if party to its
transportation. This decision is
regarded by prohibition officers to
be highly important.
Cordova Blame Oil Law
Depletion Population
The Cordova Chamber of Com
merce in a resolution blames the
decline in the population of Alaska
to the coal and oil laws governing
m Alaska. Seward taking the re
solution up iu its session concurs
and agrees with the resolution. 1
It follows:
Resolution
Adopted by the Cordova, Alaska, j
Chamber of Commerce at its regu- i
lan meeting, Decembed 7, 1928.
Whereas—The population of the !
Territory of Alaska, has steadily de- '
dined in numbers for the past 15 !
years and is continuing so to de
cline; and,
Whereas—with the decrease in
population the material welfare of
the inhabitants of the Territory,
has seen a corresponding decline j
and,
Whereas—it is the belief of the ■
Cordova, Alaska Chamber of Com- !
merce that the loss of population is '
due in a great measure to the re- j
sanctions placed on the disposal of
oil lands and placer ground thru !
Executive Order of November 3, j
1910, by which all lands containing1
petroleum in the Territory of Alas- j
ka were withdrawn from entry; the
subsequent Act of February 25,1920,
(41 Stat. 4371, known as the miner- ,
al leasing Act; the Act of October
20, 1914, (38 Stat. 741); the Act of
March 4, 1921, (41 Stat. 1383); and
the Act of March 8, 1922, (41 Stat.
415), by which last three named
laws the coal lands of Alaska were
placed under leasing system, and
thru the Act of August i 1912, (37
Slat. 242i, by which association
placer claims were abolished and
piospectors were limited in the
amount of ground which could be
staked each month; and
Whereas—the effect of the with
drawal of the oil lands, and the
and coal lands, has been to drive
capital out of the Territory of Alas
ka for the reason that men and
corporations desiring to develop
such properties refuse to do so un
less title can be obtained; and
Whereas—prospectors for placer
Continued on Page 3
Drowns Near Home
Lemmie Boatman, young Native
cf Wrangell, travelling on the gas
Loat Diamond C. from Petersburg
to Wrangell on the last day of the
o,d year, fa>l from the deck of the
i)1 lot house and was drowned a
few minutes before reaching port.
The forward range light was
loose in the socket so he went up to
fix it. He evidently reached for the
stay, to guide himself to the deck,
and missed it. Losing his balance
he went overboard. Joseph Kah
kjen who was on deck saw the un
usual splash in the dark so he look
ed closely and saw Lemmie come to
the surface near the stern of the
vessel. He gave an immediate
alarm. The vessel stopped and put
about searching for the lad with
only his shout to guide to him. Two
boats were put over the side with
men to find him while the gasboat
cruised back and forth in a stern
effort to reach him. From the sound
of his first call he was about a hun
dred feet to starboard; the next
call he was about the same distance
• o port; the third call he was hut
a few feet to starboard at the bow.
Effort to reach him with a pike pole
failed for the next break of the
wave took him down and he was
seen and heard no more. The search
was continued even though it was
evident no man could long live in
the icy waters.
He is survived by a sister at Sit
ka in the Sheldon Jackson School
and a cousin, Mrs. Otto Feller at
Wrangell.
Lemmie was a clean minded and
living young man of about 25 years.
He was a hard and willing worker
and at all times ready to turn his
effort to help others. He just re
cently joined the Wrangell Camp
of the Alaska Native Brotherhood
and already had made his member
ship felt for good. His demise re
gretted hv all those citizens of
Wrangell who knew him and his
immediate friends and fraternal
brothers.
Mr. and Mrs. Ellery Carlson re
turned on the Alameda from Wran
gell where they spent the holidays
with their parents.
Northland steamship Co
Adds to Fleet
The W. B. Foshay Company of
Minneapolis which recently purchas
ed the Ketchikan Light, Power and
Water Company including its subsid
iary company Northland Transpor
tation Company, has announced that
it will build a steel passenger motor
liner at a cost of approximately
$350,000.
It is being stated that the Foshay
company ultimately will build three
more such vessels at an expenditure
of over a million dollars. The work
being done ?n Seattle.
The new vessel now proposed will
have a length of 185 feet, 35 beam
molded and depth of 21 feet 6 inlhes
She will be equipped with twin Die
sel engines of 500 horse power each.
Accommodations for 56 passengers
will be provided. Refrigeration in
all holds will provide ample care for
frozen stocks that they handle,
seeed of twrelve knots per, sht-the
The vessel will make a speed of
12 knots. Plans and specifications
fcr construction of the craft were
given to shipbuilding yards. Auxili
arvmachinery will be electric drven,
including winches, capstan and wind
lass. It is expected that she will be
leady for service by next August.
Further statement is that the re
gular run of these vessels will in
clude Juneau and way ports as soon
as the new boat is ready to operate.
\
Fishermen Ask Aid of
Government
Intention of the Deep Sea Fisher
| men’s Union to request the govern
; ment to station a large vessel on the
, halibut banks to render aid to fish
i ii g boats wherever required during
i the season, was announced in Ket
jfhikan recently by Frank Semers,
, t ^preservative of the union.
I Mf. Semers pointed out that Nor
j way and other small nations main
tain several government steamers
j which patrol their fishing grounds
, for the express purpose of helping
vessels in distress.
As soon as the fate of the Brun
vol and Imperial is difinitely decided
me union at Ketchikan will start
; action to bnng pressure to bear on
the proper official, he said. A com
munication will be sent to Dan Su
therland, Delegate to Congress, re
questing his help in the matter.
“A trip of a coast guard cutter
is not sufficient; a large steamer, of
at least 1,000 tons should be on the
banks at all times during the halibut
season,” Mr. Semers said. A large
vessel was stationed by the govern
ment on the Alaska banks in 1913
t ut was discontinued a short time
later. Since then the matter has
been brought up several times.”
Still Electing Reps,
. -o
All but two small precincts re
ported in the Valdez districts gives
MeCutcheon place on the legislative
ticket and settles the race. He has
12 78 votes as against 122 3 for
James N. McCain. The two small
precincts out cannot change the
standing of the men.
'Twas a Serious New
Year
Those members of the Brother
hood and Sisterhood who went over
[to Wrangell along with the Wran
gell Camps were in no mood for the
big social event planned for the
closing hours of the old year. They
repaired to their several homes af
ter it was announced that a Watch
Service would be held that night
!
beginning at eleven o’clock. Prompt
ly at eleven the crowd being assem
bled in the Hall the meeting was
called to order and opened with the
Brotherhood Song-Onward Christian
Soldiers followed by the invocation
by Staff-Captain Acton of the Sal
vation Army. After several songs
by the audience William Tamaree
gave the main talk of the evening.
He was followed by Frank Desmond
of the Wrangell Camp and Staff
Captain Acton, of the Salvation
Army. Shortly after twelve the
meeting adjourned and all were in
vited to stay to partake of a gener
ous lunch. A short time was spent
in conversation and lunching then
all returned to their homes.
It is said that among the native
people of Wrangell this was the most
quiet holiday season that has been
seen in many years. All of which
was due entirely to the influence
and principle of the Alaska Native
Brotherhood
Baby Swallows Toy
An month-months-old baby swal
lowed a toy motorcycle which lodg
ed in his throat shortly after Christ
mas. After two weeks the toy was
still lodged in the throat and the
doctors unable to operate to remove
it on account of the weakened con
dition of the little one owing to
pneumonia which developed.
Regulations Yakutab
District
A communication has been re
ceived in reference to net and fisher}
regulations in the Yakutat Districl
which will be of considerable interest
to the people of that district. The
letter is from Henry O’Malley and
is written to Delegate Dan Suther
land who had taken the matter up
with him.
“Referring to your letter of the
19th instant in regard to placing a
limit of 60 fathoms on drift gill nets
in the Yakutat District, Southeast
ern Alaska, you are advised that
vhen the first supplement to the new
regulations appears it is planned
tr. place a limit of 60 fathoms on
drift gill nets for use in the Dry Bay
legion and a limit of 40 fathoms for
other parts of the district, these
lengths to be based on 5 V2 inch
mesh, 35 meshes deep. It is not
known just when the first supple
ment to the new regulations will be
issued but it may appear some time
in January.”
Escapes From Bear
H. S'. Abbert, leading stockman
of Kodiak Island, had a close es
cape from a large bear cub which
attacked him near his rnach. The
cub was followed by its mother. In
spite of a shot which practically
u'semboweled it, the bear kept com
ing. only to fall a couple of feet
from' the rancher.
HARRY ,T. RAYMOND CHECKS OCT
Harry .1. Raymond, aged 57, for
many years a resident of Alaska
(lied of blood poisoning following an
injury to his leg. He is survived
by his wife.
Raymond for many years was a
go-getting salesman on the Alaska
i cutes. He purchased an interest
in the Bell Island Hot Springs sev
eral years ago and then disposed
cf it only to acquire the Warm
Springs properties which he was still
Harry Kinnear, his wife and son
Connor have made reservations for
passage on the Alameda for Seattle.
Would Change Meeting
Date, Legislature
-o
The executive committee of the
Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce
has adopted a resolution urging that
the legislature meet on the first
fust Monday in March as is now the
first Monday in March os is now the
case. The reasons advanced for
changing the date is to permit legis
lators to return to their homes in
time for spring business. Under
present conditions it is said that the
legislators oft times suffer consider
able financial loss because of their
inability to attend to their business
during the most profitable part of
the year.
The various Chambers of Com
merce in Alaska will be asked to
take action on this resolution with
the request that Delegate Sutherland
introduce a bill amending the Or
ganic Act.
The Fairbanks Club further favors
changing election dates from the
first Tuesday after the first Monday
in November to the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in September.
In this change the Organic Act of
course will have to be changed to
meet the desires of the Club.
The reason set forth for this
change being that fully 25 percent
of the voters have gone to the
States by November and the vote
cf that district is therefore under
the figure it is estimated should be.
' Ask Later Closing
Fish Season
The Columbia River Fishermen’s
Protective Union at a recent meet
ing in their halls at Chinook, Wash
ington, went on record as favoring
'toe closing of the Columbia River
from August 25 to Oct. 21, instead
of opening the fall season on Sep
tember 10.
The Columbia River season opens
on the first of May, ending on the
25th of August, and reopens on the
iOth of September to remain open
until the first of March. Under the
proposed fishermen’s program, If
adopted, an additional 20 days closed
season would be secured in the fait
According to the Chinook Obser
ver: “The fishermen generally
were against any earlier opening of
the summer season altho the subject
has been agitated here of late. They
declare that such a stand might be
misinterpreted in face of their cam
paign against fish wheels and also
accepted statements regarding re
ports that poachers who have work
ed the river during the closed period
in April have never made large
catches.
The local fishermen will also en
dorse a movement for legislative de
finition of various types of fishing
gear including river nets, floating
gillnets; drag seines, as well as such
lypes of gear as are held illegal, such
as whip seines and purse seines. It
was stated their recommendations aa
j to the definitions of seines would
'lender illegal the use of the “Smith
| swine’’ or floating drag seine such
| as was used off the local water front
k f 'r the past season.
i -
t
Hydaburg to Build
Halls
-o
At one of the recent meetings of
the Alaska Native Brotherhood, at
Hydaburg, it was decided to put the
cid saw mill in running condition,
again to facilitate the building at
a new A. N. B. and Salvation Army
nails.
The Board of Directors acting on
the part of the Hydaburg Trading
Company promised the free use of
the mill whon rebuilt to both organi
zations. All labor is to be voluntary
with no pay. but an accurate account
cf the work is to be kept to deter
mine the actual amount of hours put
in on the work. It is hoped that
the mill will be put in running con
dition by next fall so that actual
work can start on the buildings
during the winter months of next
year.
"Independent” Politico
Under Bond $5,000
Thomas A. Marquam, erstwhile
candidate on the ‘independent ticket”
of a couple cf years ago was recently
indicted on several counts for vio
lation of the election laws of the
| United States. Said indictment ba
ling made by the Washington, D. C.„
grand jury.
More recently he was arrested
and taken before the Federal Court
' at Fairbanks of which city he was
'mayor for several terms. Bail being
I fixed at $5,000. he was released to
I appear before the Federal Court at
Washington. Morton E. Stevens is
representing him.
Under the indictment, if found
guilty, he will be sentenced on two
counts charging felony and two oa
misdemeanors.
j Concluding chapter of the story of
the machinations of the "indepen
' dent” “Demo-Republican” machine
J will be written later.