The Open Forum
-X
Seattle, Wash, July,5, 1931
Editor The ALASKAN:
Really, I didn’t intend to dwel
further on this eagle matter
However, I must acknowledge
Mr. Buchanan’s side of the story
and tell him that I enjoyed
reading it very much.
No, I’m not the inventor oi
the term “freak legislation.”
That came from an Alaskan of
ficial (not bureaucrat) some
years back when commenting on
the fifty cent bounty provision.
I haven’t gone to any great
pains to fathom the whys and
wherefores of the eagle killing
law. For the two or three ef
forts that I made, I fancy that
I was given rather scant atten
tion.*! dropped it. What did it
matter anyhow? Such as it was,
it was LAW, and to those who
owned, or had in possession,
shooting irons it was taken seri
ously. It held out opportunities
to these who had no capacity to
things worth while, but on the
other hand enjoyed a yen for
slaughter. I was surprised, all
in all, that the emblem of the
nation had so few friends in
Alaska.
Mr. Buchanan naively says
rays that he never saw an eagle
kill a fox pup. He firmly believes
that the big birds do such things
because others told him so. Yes,
I have been told the same thing
many times, and I never saw a
fox killed by an eagle, nor have
I ever witnessed an attack Still
1 am not making an out and out
declaration that such tragedies
do not happen. I am speaking
from what I have closely observ
ed and from more or less study
of eagles in general. Nothing is
gained by making wild asser
tions and guess work doesn’t
add anything of value to the ar
gument.
I can t refrain, to mention an
instance wherein error accom
panied direct view and prejudic
ed a man so strongly that no
amount of proof to the contrary
would change his mind. I, and
two others, witnessed on a Kuiuj
Island fox preserve, some years;
back a bit of eagle play that;
would have convinced me that
there is straight truth in fox de
struction by Mr. Bald Head, if I
hadn’t investigated. On the is
land there was a small dock near
a smoke house, feed sheds and,
the manager’s dwelling. The j
manager and I were on the dock j
talking of nothing in particular..
Near by was a Kake Indian—I
think Peter Grant—who was
busy at the time whittling bark
from a hemlock sapling. The
time was late autumn, well along
in the afternoon, the sky clear
and the air chilly. Suddenly,
flying directly overhead appear
ed a bald eagle. He was quite
close and moving moderately
along. This was interesting, for
down the beach some 350 or 400
i
«
j feet from us a number of adul
j and near grown foxes were nos
) ing among the rocks near to tin
water’s edge. The eagle was fly
l ing toward the animals. He pass
ed over them some distance be
yond, then it quickly wheelec
- back, made two or three smal
[ circles and with talons out
stretched, swooped to the beach
Instantly he was off and awaj
with a load that held him neai
to the water. It was easy to fol
low the white tail and head in
the gathering gloom, and we saw
the bird light among some drift
on the gravel beach in a cove
where trollers frequently anchor
in stress of weather.
The manager was wild-eyed.
He damned and double-damned
all the members of the eagle
clan and its remote ancestors.
“There goes $75 to a damned pi
rate,” he exclaimed as he shook
a hard fist at the disappearing
bird. The Indian said nothing
at the time, and shortly there
after the manager left us to feed
his stock. I felt that the bird
had played a rotten trick on me,
and since I had but recently tak
en his part, it didn’t make it any
easier. Still, there was a some
thing out of tune in the wTild
act; there was something that
didn’t exactly fit. All at once
it came to me—why weren’t the
foxes alarmed and why didn't
they scurry off when the bird
made his ferocious charge among
them? They hadn’t seemed to
be the least mite afraid; they
paid no more attention to thej
unheralded visit than if a gull
hod sailed overhead or had
perched on the rocks in their
midst. I spoke to the Indian
about it, and he replied.
“He took no fox. I don’t know
what he took, it was too far and
too dark to see good, but he took
no live fox.”
Perked up by this statement,
and what I had visioned, I bor
rowed the Indian’s canoe, took
along my automatic shot gun,
and pulled the long slant against
a swift running tide to where,
the eagle had landed with his
cargo. The bird flew before I
got within range, but he left the
fox and the fox turned out to be
the very ragged remains of a
freshly killed deer’s heart and
lungs. Coming back, I stopped
where the foxes had been wan
dering and there found the rest
of the dead deer’s viscera Some
one with small regard for the
“no tresspass” signs on the is
land, and with no regard for the
law making it a violation to kill
female deer, had made the kill
almost in the manager’s front
yard. Unfortunately, I didn’t
bring back the heart and lungs—
or what was left of them—and
| talk as I would, the manager
; would have it no other way than
| that he had lost a valuable pelt.
“You have to believe what you
see, don’t you”? and that, to him
{settled it.
A
THE CANNING SEASON
IS HERE AGAIN
And We Have All Kinds Of
FRUIT JARS
JAR CAPS & LIDS
RUBBER RINGS
JELLY GLASSES
AND THE MUCH NEEDED
“CERTO”
QUALITY AND SERVICE PHONE 55
T>- modern Grocery
t, Mr. Buchanan says that I’n
-i no authority. No, nor have 1
2 posed as an authority on any
- thing. Setting up one’s self a:
- an authority is getting up on s
- very shaky pole. William Jen
1 nings Bryan posed as an author
1 ity on the Bible. He caused il
- to be known by frequent phrase
. and many quotations that he
r j had the Good Book down pretty
•jpat. Along came the ' wope trial
■ | and Mr. Bryan went on the
l stand as a Bible expert and a
Bible authority. Attorney Dar
, row, agnostic, knew something
about the scriptures, too, and in
• a short time he had Mr. Bryan
.so befuddled and humiliated that
I he collapsed shortly after trial
j ended and died. Were I cock
I sure and dead certain, I would
| hesitate a long time before I’d
I go of record as an authority.
j Mr. Buchanan says that eagles
(eat seagulls. Maybe they do
once in a very great while. I
i saw, one time, an eagle kill two
big, herring gulls that were try
ing to horn in on a small halibut
I that the bald head was feeding
; on. This was at Ratz Harbor.
The halibut had been dragged
out on a seine haul for salmon.
However, I didn’t notice that the
eagle changed to gulls on his bill!
of fare. He tore them up badly J
ibut so far as I saw, he made no'
attempt to feed on them. An
! eagle that I raised from a fluffy
[mouse colored ball to nearly
[adult size and strength, would
n't eat strips of flesh cut from
breast of raven, crow nor gull.
If the fox farmer has an idea
that the eagle is a destroyer of
foxes, young or old, he’ll go after
the birds just as hard without a
bounty. Some one is obliged to
pay a tax, direct or indirect, to
keep up the bounty fund, and
the great majority of those who
garner the dollar for a pair of
eagle feet pay no direct tax atj
all. They are not rated highly
in the wealth producing lines in
Alaska. The bounty stigmatizes
the great bird of the nation.
Long ago—the eagle—was se
lected as the head piece of the
[country’s loftiest totem and it
I doesn’t stand Alaska in hand to
destroy to extinction our feath
ered friend of song and story.
The day is coming when the
Territory will regret this unre
strained killing. It appears to
many as mighty small business.
! Clear sailing in any endeavor
is seldom experienced Right
here and now song birds are
cleaning the cherry trees of
! splendid fruit, stripping berry
I bushes, eating the first tender
I shoots of peas, beans and other
vegetables; picking holes in ap
ples, pears, peaches and plumbs
and once in a while they’ll light
on the ground and dig out a
worm to pay for all the damage
Far as I know, no one thinks of
a bounty, or asking for a bounty,
on these birds. In truth the
birds are protected and it is un
lawful to disturb them.
I don’t believe that the eagle
has injured the fox industry of'
Alaska worth mentioning. I came
very near being a fox farmer
myself. It wasn’t the eagle, by
any means, that held me back.
It was ignorance of the business
and the general so-called ill
luck of many farmers I knew.
There didn’t seem to be any stan
datds to go by in feed, in care,
in environment. There was no
marketing schedule worth a red
penny. It appeared to me to be a
sort of hit and miss proposition
wherein a deal of money was
called for and success a matter
of luck rather than labor and
close attention. I pictured the
industry, at the time, as one in
which there was all kinds of
work, immense outlays of money
and too many maybe returns.
What an eagle might kill wasn’t
thought of at all. Eventually,
the fox business will bring re
turns worth while. It will be a
good business. The longer it is
carried on, the more will be
known about it and the elements
of luck will be sidetracked by
| knowledge and experience. The
eagle will have little to do with
'either its success or failure.
Will A. Barrows.
i DEMONSTRATION FUR FARMS
C IN ALASKA
By J. E. Ames
The eyes of the world are fo
cused on North America for the
supply of fur bearing animals to
be used for propagation purpos
es. Russia and Siberia are thot
of as being great fur producing
countries. Yet the Soviet Gov
ernment is spending vast sums of
money at this time to train men
in propagation of fur-*bearers
and buying large numbers of
foxes and other animals to take
the place of the fast disappear
ing wild stock.
It does not seem possible that
it is necessary to petition the
Government to establish and to
maintain a demonstration fur
farm so that the many men en
gaged in fur farming in Alaska
may receive the help they need
along sientific lines. However
it is not only true but it is appar
ent that we must also advise
where to establish this farm.
Alaska is too large for any one
experimental ranch. There
should be one in Southeastern
Alaska, situated about half way
between Juneau and Ketchikan
and another to the Westward or
at Fairbanks. The purpose of an
experimental or demonstration
farm should not be only for the
reason to send out literature on
certain phases of fur farming,
but for visiting by fur farmers
and getting their information
first-hand. This would be im
possible with only one experi
mental ranch in Alaska. Anoth
er angle that we must realize is
the factor of human nature in
the average fur farmer. He is not
a chemist, veterinary or of scien
tific frame of mind. He is ad
verse to science in written form.
A balanced ration means noth
ing to him. He resorts to crude
methods in the eradication of in
testinal worms such as giving
deer hair in the food of the ani
mal and not knowing that hook
worms are microscopic and that
deer hair would have no effect
whatever on them. He claims
that his animals do not have
vermin such as lice because he
cannot see them. Now these fur
farmers cannot be blamed for
their ideas because there is no
one to advise them to the con
trary or any place for them to go
and see the results obtained by
experiments. If the experiment
al fur farm was in Fairbanks
Alaska would continue to be
sceptical. But if there was a
ranch of this kind here where he
would hear of results and where
lie could go and see the results
he would soon be interested and
[a supporter of such help.
How is it possible for an exper
imental fur farm at Fairbanks to
study the troubles that the island
fox farms have? Does the island
rancher from up and down the
Coast of Alaska have to go inland
to see the experiments on some
pen raised foxes in order to find
out how to treat his foxes for
worms, etc?
One of the late issues of the
American Fur Breeder, a maga
zine devoted to the interests of
fur farming and printed in Min
nesota, contained an article writ
ten by an Alaskan working for
the Alaska Railroad and advising
future visitors to fur farmers in
Alaska as to what route to follow
in order to see such ranches. One
took the boat at Seattle and got!
off at Seward and travelled over
the Government Railroad to see
the fur farms of Alaska was the
sum and substance of the article
and no mention was made of
Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg,
Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, Kodiak
or any place on the Coast. Such
an article and the placing of the
experimental fur farm at Fair
banks, apparently is for the in
creasing of the patronage of the
Railroad and let the fur farmers
of Alaska take care of them
selves.
Yours very truly,
v J. E. Ames.
. ■ - ► -■ - ✓
-x
Wrangell Narrows Packing Co.,
had packed up to this morning,
3,500 cases of salmon. They have
had a fair run for a small can
nery.
SIGNIFICANCE OF A PACK OF I
CARDS
-x
An English soldier who had
been brought before the town
magistrate for apparently play
ing cards in church, explained
away the charge that had been
made against him in the follow
ing manner:
“I have l?pen, Your Honor,
about six weeks on the march
and have had neither Bible nor
common Prayer Book; in fact
nothing but a pack of cards.”
Spreading the deck of cards ;
before* the magistrate, he began ;
with the Ace.
“When I see the Ace, it re- <
minds me that there is but one <
God. When I see the deuce it <
reminds me of the Father and ;
Son; when I see the trey, it re- ;
i minds me of the Father, Son and ;
Holy Ghost; the four reminds ;
me of the four Evangelists who ;
preached—Matthew, Mark, Luke ;
and John; the five reminds me *
of the wise virgins who trimmed <
their lamps. There were ten J
but only five of them were wise <
and five were foolish. J 4
“The six reminds me that in
six days the Lord made Heaven
and Earth. The seven reminds
me that on the Seventh Day God
rested from the great work he
had made and hallowed, it; the
eight reminds me of the Eight
Religious Persons who were sav
ed when God destroyed the j
world: i. e. Noah, his wife, three(
sons and their wives; the nine
reminds me of the lepers who
were cleansed by our Savior
There were nine of ten who nev
er returned to thank Him. The
ten spot reminds me of the Ten
Commandments which God,
handed down to Moses on the
tablets of stone.
“The King reminds me of. the
Queen of Sheba who visited Sol-,
omon for she was as wise a wo-1
man as he was a man. She brot
with her 50 boys and 50 girls all
dressed in boys’ apparel for King
Solomon to tell which were boys
and which were girls. The King
sent for water for them to wash
and the girls washed to the el
bows; the boys to the wrists, so
King Solomon told by that.”
The soldier continued: “When
I count the number of spots in
a pack of cards, I find 365—the
number of days in. a. year. There
are 52 cards in the pack—the
number of weeks in a year.
There are 12 picture cards in the
pack—the number of months in
a year, and 13 tricks—the num
ber of weeks in a quarter. So you
see, a pack of cards serves as a
Bible, an Almanac apd a Com
mon Prayer Book ”
-X.:
THEY DO RESIGN
-x
It has been said that bureau
cratic employees never resign,
they get canned or die. Major
Evan W. Estep, superintendent of
the Yakima Indian Reservation
for the past seven years and in
the Federal Indian Service for
25, announces that he will retire
under pension July 31.
Pension for what? Investiga
tion of affairs by a Senate In
vestigating Committee, last year
disclosed conditions in the Yak
| ima Agency which if perpetrated
in any other civil life would send
the principals to the penitenti
ary for varying terms. But that
slithering octopus, the millstone
tied to all Indians of the States
and retarding their progress, is
judge, jury, prosecuting attorn
ey, defense attorney, and wit
nesses all in one. They have and
are robbing the Indians with im
punity; committing crimes of all
degrees and conniving at de
frauding these wards of the gov
ernment—the charges of the Bu
reau. And in spite of the urgent
request of the Senate Investigat
ing Committee and despite a re
port by this committe that equals
the Spanish Inquisition, the
administration winks its eyes at
all of the evils arid continues to
permit depredations upon person
and property of the Indian by
the political pets, friends and re
lations of a system un-American
and unwanted by America’s first
'citizens.
V._
C OlISEUM
| Saturday
“Imagine My Embarrassment”
“Why Leave Home ?”
|j Six Brown Brothers Vitaphone
j: A Mermaid” i uo fice/ 4// Talking
jj “Romance De Luxe”
^ With Monty Collins and Buddy Shaw
[ TWO NEWS REELS~ TWO
Saturday is Candy Night
; Sunday h Monday
V
:
i
t
j
t
;
t
;
Y
,s.
Kraft &
U
Lamont
In
Rarin To Go
)>
Hugh O'Ctnnell
In
Familiar Face’
A Vitaphone Sketch
-X
A Russell Crovse Sketch
News Reel And Paine News
('et your Drugs, Medical Supplies and Sundries at
People’s Drug Co.
DAHL and SKLI, Owners.
Prescriptions filled by Graduate Pharmacist
DOGS AND DEMOCRACY
By Hill Billy in Seattle Star
-x
I believe in giving everyman
ppportunity according to his,
ability, plus the use he makes of j
his opportunity; I do not believe t
that all men are created equal, j
and I do not believe in universal;
and unlimited suffrage; a dumb]
venal voter is more of a menace j
than a crook in office, or a gun- i
man.
An uneducated mob of voters
will ruin any democracy, and
there is a considerable per cent
of men born of women who nev
er can be educated, not even if
they come from families of
wealth and graduate from Har
vard.
There are morons in every an
imal species, but no other ani-;
mal does what man does; breeds,
the most from the lowest.
For some months I have been
watching the last puppy I bought
for the boy. It is my conviction
that every boy deserves a dog,
and when that poor dumb tramp
of a Curly finally got himself!
lost, I bought a pedigreed Bos
ton, a tiny bit of a butterball,
and expected I had acquired
just another dumb dog.
| This Boston, his name is Skip,
Skipper or Skippy, proved within
1 a week that he was born intelli
jgent, loyal and a gentleman.
From his first week at the town
home he became a fixture; left
I to roam at will, enticed by pass
ing children, playing with inter
, esting, visiting puppies, whistled
i to by passing smart alecks, that
!pup either stayed in his own
'yard, or if he did play around
a bit, he came dashing home be
fore dark.
This Boston today (he is less
than f months old) will curl up
on the mat before the front door
and stick there like an old watcl
dog; he will come in the house
and curl himself at my feet and
stay there for an hour without
moving; he is not dashing here
and yon when he goes walking
with you; he is at your heels
without any training whatever;
also he has the good old bull
dog guts; all he knows is to fin
ish what he, or any other pup
begins. Skipper in a voting
booth should be given at least 19
votes to every one that Curly
would cast, and in dogdom he
will be given such advantage.
A SON’S WISH
-x
Richard was disconsolate—the
rain had been falling in great
gobs for several days. “Ma,” .
where do you go when you die?”
said he. “To heaven, son” she
replied. “Mamma, said the wist
ful one, “why don’t you die and
go to heaven and ask God to
make it stop raining”?
-x
MISSED WHOLE MOUNTAIN
C. E. Rusk of Grants Pass, Ore.,
returned to his home in the
States after spending several
weeks in Alaska in an effort to
| reach and climb Mt. St. Elias.
Leaving Juneau in June, he
went to Yakutat where he was
marooned for two weeks, think
ing he was on the mainland on
his way to the big mountain.
He plans to return another year
to make an attempt to climb the
big peaks of Elias.
-x
x
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