VOLUME NO. 5.
PETERSBURG. ALASKA, JANUARY 2, 1931
✓
✓
NUMBER 24
Ask For Indian Land
Grant in Ketchikcn
Delegate Sutherland liar, intro
duced a hill in Congress which
if passed by that body will con
vey to the Alaska Native Broth
erhood of Ketchikan an area of
tide lands 230 feet deep in the
heart of the Thomas Bay Basin
where the harbor of Ketchikan
will be when that project is com
pleted. This grant asked for is
right in the center of the im
provement project for which ap
propriations have been made by
Congress and included in the
Emergency Relief Appropriations
passed last week.
The bill provides for an out
right grant of the land, the title
of which bill reads: “A Bill to
grant certain tide lands to the
native Indians of Alaska organi
zed and operating under the
name and style of the Alaska
Native Brotherhood, of Ketchi
kan, Alaska and for other pur
poses.” Ownership of the tract
is limited to the Indian organi
zation, but access to and across
it. is extended to all Indians of
the Territory.
The bill provides further:
“That the Alaska Native Broth
erhood of Ketchikan Alaska sha 1
have exclusive right to construct
and maintain a substantitl
wharf, dock and or float shall b3
for the evclusive use of the na
tives of Alaska to afford them a;
all times a convient point of ac
cess from Stedman Street over
and across said tidelands to deep
water on Tongass Narrows; Pro
vided further that the tidelands
and frontage herein described I
may not be alienated without.j
the consent of the Secretary of
the Interior.”
This area granted asked for by
the Ketchikan Camp is on tide- j
lands which have always been*
recognized as Indian lands and
which the Government has pre
vented all others from takingup
and occupying. The Ketchikan
Post of the Amercian Legion is
the only other holder of tide
lands in this basin. The claim
of the Ketchikan Camp of the
Brotherhood is based on the
right of inherent possession of
rights which they have never
surrendered and which the law
proscribes they shall be protect
ed in.
-x
“GRISCHASCORES WITH
REALISM
“The Case of Sergeant Gris
cha” will be shown at the Mac
Gregor Sunday and Monday. The
back ground of this picture is
laid in a setting of the World
War but it is not a “war picture.”
Its action occurs back of the
front lines but offers vivid
glimpses of the 'drama which]
grew out of the struggle of those
unfortunate caught in the
clutches of a great military ma
chine. Grischa’s escape from
prison, his romance, his re-cap
ture and sentence to death, the
dramatic argument over his fate
and the amazing decision' at the
climactic moment make this one
of the pictures that you will not
soon forget.
--x
THE VAGABOND KING
One of the most successful
operatas of recent years, the
glamorous “The Vagabond King”
has been converted to the ma
jestic magnitude of the talking
screen and will be seen at the
Coliseum Theatre Sunday and
Monday next. Dennis King, who
established the original thrilling
title role, will be seen and heard
in the same part in the picture,
which is all-singing, talking and
100 per cent technicolor.
-x
WANTED: Gasboat in exchange
for blue foxes. Inquire at this
office.
jSockeye Pact Put
On Greased Skids
With Governor Roland H,
Hartley and the two United
States senators from Washing
ton, Wesley L. Jones and C. C.
Dill, opposing it, the sockeye
salmon treaty between the Unit
ed States and Canada will un
doubteddly be withdrawn from
the United States Senate by its
Canadian sponsors.
This was the attitude taken
by sponsors of the treaty and
men who have been seeking the
ratification of some such pact
for the last twenty years.
“The treaty is dead, so there
is no reason now why it should
be discussed,” said E. A. Sims of
Port Townsend, former member
of the State Fisheries Board and
cne of the most active fisheries
experts who favored its adop
tion.
The Canadian government and
the British Columbia authorities
will not again open negotiations,
the fisheries men, who have been
working for the preservation of
the sockeye industry, believe. All
feel certain that British Colum
bia will now lift its restrictions
and permit the same types of
near and regulations to govern
the taking of sockeytes on the
Canadian side as now exist on
this side, with the result that
before 1933, the sockeye indus
try will become a thing of the
past, these men declare.
x
Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Bowman
s"e spending the holiday schoo1
vacation in Juneau. They will
return on the Northland Satur
day.
Rev. W. 'J. Maakestad and Mr.
Tom Lando are making a short
trip to Juneau leaving on the
Northland this morning.
Mrs. Chas. Williams was a
passenger for Juneau on the
Northland today.
-x
Mrs. L. A. Willard brought in
21 excellent blue fox pelts from
her ranch in Port Beauclerc.
-x
Olaf Tenfjord shipped over a
hundred blue fcx pelts from his
ranch in Tebenkoff Bay.
-x
Ed Reyburn was in from
Reyburn Bros, ranch in Sum
ner Strait with a shipment of
sixty blue fox pelts.
-x
The Yukon Fur Farm shipped
out ten pairs of live minks on
the Alameda.
-x
The Order of Mumps still
flourishes in Petersburg Dr.
Smith and C. .A West are a
mong the more recent recruits.
E. N. Ohmer left on the Ala
meda Wednesday morning for a
short trip to Seattle where he
jwill meet his father and mother
;who are on a trip from Ohio to
visit their daughter., Mrs. Karl
Sifferman and her family.
Mr. and Mrs. Ohmer enter
tained the shrimp boat crews
and the force from the Yukon
Fur Farm with a banquet last
Monday evening at the Sons ol
Norway hall.
-x
APPRECIATION
The Alaska Native Sisterhood
wishes to express publicly theii
thanks to all those who so kind
ly assisted in making the ole
time costume dance entertain
ment a financial success.
Mrs. Maggie Adams '
President
-x
Bob Hurley, our genial neigh
bor from Wrangell came over ii
- his own boat during the week
stopped over night and then xe
| turned to his home.
Ball Teams to Display
Wares Tonight
-X
At 7:30 o’clock this evening,
Petersburg basketball fans will
| see the first games of the season
ion the local floor. A double
(header game between the first
and second High School teams
j teams against the first and se
I cond teams, respectively of the
'“Merchants” will be played in
the Sons of Norway hall and
| some lively hoop work is in store.
Four full teams have been
turning out for practice and
nothing is being left undone to
develop a real championship
team in Petersburg this year,
i The lineup on the two Hi school
(teams are: Leo Ness, George
! Brown, Fred McGiltin, Arthur
iTveten, Frank Gordon, Leonard
Martins, Carl Ness, Elmer Mar
gins, Robert Lando, Peter Han
json, John Olsvick, John Adams.
| The following are the hoop
; sters which comprises the “Mer
| chants” teams: John Johanne-j
Ison, Aubrey Shaquanie, Clifford
Waha, William Jackson, Meri-1
dith Custard, Lewis MacDonald.
“Swede” Wasvick, Leth Mead
ows, Edison Albott, Russel Har
ris, Harlan Skeek.
-x
Finds Wrecked Craft
On Reel, Level Island
-X
Bert Buchanan reported to!
Commissioner Clausen that a!
gasboat is wrecked on Level Is
land but that no trace can be
found of its owners. The boat i
has a Gay engine, a square
stern and the hull is pain' ed !
green. No skiff was found. All!
ignition switches were in indi
cating that the engine was pro- j
bably running when the boat;
struck the reef. The weather was
extremely rough and Bert thinks I
if would have been impossible
*or anyone to have made shore
in a skiff. The hull is badly
damaged but the engine has
; fakon. care of. Further investi
| Rations will be made to find the
'owner of the craft.
Bids for Fish lab.
I Opened in Seattfe
The new laboratory, for the
i Bureau of Fisheries will be a
j realization of |he plans of that
department before the end of
i this year. The department open
ed bids last October in Seattle
for construction of this plant
i which will include not only a
i fisheries laboratory but a marine
ways and machine shops to take
care of and repair boats which
see service in Alaska. The ap
propriation for this work reaches
the sum of $125,000. The policy
of building up Seattle institu
tions at the expense of Alaska
is carried on not only by cor
porations which benefit there
from in Seattle but by the Bu
reau of Fisheries.
-x
No More Wire Spillers
Used in Fish Traps
-X
Under the fishery regulations
for 1931 wire spillers in all traps
are verboten. the regulations is
sued for this year read: “The
use of wire spiller in connection
with any fish trap is prohibited.”
To hit at some new scheme in
fishing, perhaps, the following
rule will be the law for the next
year: “In commercial fishing
for salmon, all forms of gearl
other than drift gill nets, stake
nets, oet nets, driven and float
ing traps, purse seines, beach
seines, fish wheels, trolling ap
^r^tus. hand line, rods, spears
and gaffs are prohibited at all
times. 1 * -• * |
“The use of any other form of i
gear including trammel nets, j
divers’ nets, tra wls, combina- j
*ion nets, hammerhead traps or
r,ny modification thereof is pro
hibited at all +’mes. No gill net
hall include any webbing
afher than a single sheet hung
befween the cork and lead lines.
No gill net shall be used in any
other form of sein ng opera
tints.”
Indian Ceremonial Dances Depicted By
A.N.S. and A.N.B. at MacGregor Theatre
Last Tuesday evening at the
i MacGregor Theatre t-he people of
Petersburg were afforded an op
jportunity of witnessing a num
iber of the old time ceremonial
'dances of the Alaska natives—
dances which are no longer prac
ticed in this territory. Only a few
of the older natives can now re
call the days when clan invited
■clan and tribes joined in friend
I ly contest to entertain each oth
j er with the number and intricacy
.of the classical ceremonies they
could perform.
These dances were of many
kinds and served various pur
poses. Some of them were con
ceived to commemorate histori
cal events before the languages
were reduced to writing. Some
were purely ritualistic with a
deep religious significance; some
were folk dances or the mere
acting out of the folk songs of
the people, while others were
comedies to promote hilarity and
general good feeling on feast
occasions. Always and every
where intensely dramatic, the
. iThlingets, the Haidas and the
Tsimpseans found charateristie
L expression in these ceremonials
For this performance a numbei
of the younger people had beer
specially drilled. Dressed for the
occasion in Chilkat blankets anc
ceremonial robes, all priceles:
. family heirlooms, and aided bi
L those who, in their youth, have
_ actually taken part in these dra
. mas, they were able to call bad
Mor the edification of their au
ience something of the spirit of
former times. The program in
cluded dances from the Aleut,
the Copper River, The Stick or
Athabaskan, the Tsimpsean, the
Haida and the Thlingit groups,
all of which were well executed
and enthusiastically received. A
' mong other numbers on the pro
gram were a folk dance, “ The
I Raven and. the Halibut;” a dra
ma, “The Lost Son,” protraying
j the heart anguish of a mother
jwho calls to the wilderness of
i mountain and glacier and forest
|to give back her son who is lost;
| the “Mystery Dance,” the “Spirit
j Dance;” the “Money Dance;”
jthe “Gun Dance” in which a
; young man who has violated the
social code is put to death by his
own people in order that the
family name may be cleared of
stigma and shame;the “Whiskey
, Dance” (Hootchenoo); but when
the players took sides to illus
trate the old time gambling with
sticks they brought down the
■ house, for after all the gambling
| spirit is more or less developec
I in us all regardless of the forrr
of the game. The concluding
number was the salute to th*
“Stars and Stripes,” the onl]
totem which is now recognized,
i The entertainment was spon
sored by the Alaska Nativt
’ Sisterhood, and the proceeds, a
, mounting to $118.50, go to thi
. building fund for the new Alas
: ka Native Brotherhood hall ii
- Petersburg.
Advocates Moving
Library for Territory
Travelling libraries which
would visit for a while in every
community in Alaska was advo
cated before the Juneau P. T. A.,
I recently by Charles W. Hawker
worth, Acting Chief of the U. S.
Bureau of Education activities
in Alaska. The proposal is a
modified form of the country
plan which operate to advantage
in virtually all the States. Books
would be made available in re
mote places to persons now de
nied desirable reading matter,
and the expense would be so
small as not to be noticeable.
The monetary outlay for books
would hot be excessive. Four
thousand dollars or one thou
sand dollars for each division—
would be sufficient to take care
of this plan. Eight thousand
books were recently received by
the Bureau of Education in
Alaska from San Francisco f6r
distribution in Alaska. Allot
ments for distribution to the
various divisions had not yet
been made according to state
ment by Mr. Hawkesworth.
-x
Nothing from Nothing
Leaves Nothing
C. J. Rockwoorl, receiver for
the W. B. Foshay Company in
his first formal report to the
Federal Court in Minneapolis,
Minn., declared that the stock
holders of the company will re
ceive nothing and the creditor
but very little more from the li
quidation of the assets of that
defunct organization.
The Director reported that
$170,000 had been paid out in
dividents during the six months
before receivership and he was
filing suits to recover same on
,1-e. ground that the dividents
7 ere not earned and were un
lawfully paid. Delay in consum
mation of sale of the Petersburg
hydro electric plant only pre
vented a legal tangle with this
corporation.
-. x—
THE LIGHT OF WESTERN
STARS
Another Zane Grey story is
pictured and will be shown at
the Coliseum on Saturday night
j—“The Light of Western Stars.”
jThis picture is the first Zane
| Grey story to be filmed with dia
| log. In it the he-man heroes and
| danger-defying women of the
West step from the pages of the
famous novel, act their gripping
drama, and talk. Two lovers of
ithe “Virginian” Arlen and Mary
Brian bring a gripping charac
! terization of Grey’s gripping
i Western story.
I -X
“AFRICA SPEAKS”
At The MasGregor
Paul L. Hoefler, Colorado ex
plorer with a group of campani
cns went into the unexplored
regions. From a scenic stand
point it is magnificent while the
intimate glimpses of native life
are fascinating. Practically everj
type of native is shown from the
giant wasara of French Conge
to the pygmies of the Ituri for
est. who seldom reach a heighl
of fifty-seven inches. Religion?
rites and tribal ceremonials are
features of the production. Pic
ture shots of wild animals were
! i taken at an amazingly close
range and the thrills these af
ford are enhanced by sound ef
. fects. The whole^picture is ex
, tremely interesting as well as ed
jucational. This picture will bi
. shown tonight and Saturday.
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Gauffin re
1 turned on the Northland fron
j Seattle this morning.
Call For Bids on
: Ketchikan Project
Major Malcolm Elliott, District
Engineer of the War Depart
ment, stationed at Juneau has
j announced that his office will re
iceive bids for the improvement
|of the Thomas Basin project,
Ketchikan harbor and that
i these bids will be opened in the
| Juneau and Seattle offices of the
Department on the 16th of Janu
ary.
The cost of the work is esti
mated at $272,000 and’ involves
construction of a breakwater,
rubble mound in type, 950 feet
long, and the removal of a large
quantity of silt and other mat-,
erial. Work will be started on
this project just as soon as pos
sible following acceptance of the
bid. i
William Anderson who has
been employed by the Town of
Petersburg during the past win
ter and who has been connected
with the force under Mr. James
Tnritt of the Engineer’s Office,
left for Ketchikan on the Ala
meda this week and will be on
the Thomas Basin project as-J
listing in the survey of the job. j
It is expected that others who
have been connected with this
force will be called later. ,
The Next Shot Will be
A Real Hot Slug
A poacher just missed being on
+he receiving end of the hot end 1
of a shotgun at the hands of
Horve Jorgensen who is night
watchman at the Yukon Furj
PYirms, across the bay, on New
Year’s Eve. Herve who was in the
workshop heard a slight commo- !
Mon and went to investigate,
when spotted the intruder was
'ust a bit beyond the range of
Herve’s shotgun so that no
marks were left on the poacher
or mink thief who left behind
him nine dead mink which he
did not have time to gather in
before Herve got around on the
mb. On another column is a no
tice to this mink thief and to
others which it might be well to
take heed of.
-x
NOTICE
-x
Will the party or parties who
paid the Yukon Fur Farms a
call on New Year’s Eve, please
call and get property which he
so carelessly mislaid, same being
‘NINE FRESHLY KILLED MINK.’
Call again fellow and do not
he in such a hurry next time, we
would like another shot at you
and promise to do better if we
have another chance,
j Our watchman’s orders are
| “shoot first and ask questions (if
I any) afterwards.
Yukon Fur Farms
By A. G. Williams
-x
MJORUD, FEARED LOST,
TO RETURN FOR
SHELL WORK
Rowing stock at the Univer
,sity of Washington took a de
cidedly bullish movement Satur
day when Coach A1 Ulbrickson
,at the varsity turnout announc
ed that Herb Mjorud, the giant
; sevenman of last year’s cham
pionship freshmen eight, will be
in the university next quarter
and will turn out for a seat in
the varsity shell.
The assurance that Mjoruc
will be back pulling an oar foi
Washington is great news to Ul
brickson. It comes almost in the
nature of a Christmas present
for the seven-man of last year’!
frosh crew rated as possibly the
. most outstanding potentiality t(
i move into varsity company as £
j sophomore;
Fishery Regulations
For 1931 Released
The fisheries regulations for
1931 have been released, text of
first copies being in the hands
I of bureau of fisheries officials
in Juneau. There were changes
in season fishing dates for the
several Southeastern Alaska dis
tricts. The only change made in
the Icy Strait district is that
the traps will close on the 3rd of
August, the closing date for
seiners remaining the 6th as
last year.
Skinner and Eddy Corpora
tion or Alaska Pacific Salmon
Corporation loses one trap in the
Port Althrop district and loses
another at Point Adolphus. The
Pacific American Fsheries Com
pany loses its trap in Idaho In
let. Opening fishing season in
the western district is on the
15th of June and closing date
August 10th with the fall season
running from October 1 to Octo
ber 15. The opening date in the
eastern district is June 15 and
closes on August 14. South of
58th parallel fishing will be per
mitted from October 1 to the
15th inclusive.
North Prince of Wales area
cnens July 10 and continues o
August 20 with a fall season for
seiners only from October 1 to
the 15th inclusive. South Prin ’e
of Wales district open July 15
and lasts until the 24th of Aug
ust for seines only; in the south
ern Ketchikan district, the sea
son opens the 5th of July and
clrres on the 16th of August, ex
eent for traps; fall fishing from
October 1 to the 15th inclusive
is also permitted.
In the Stikine area the closed
season was advanced from June
10 to June 1 and the opening
date for fishing advanced from
June 20 to the 25th. The fall
close date was advanced from
September 30 to September 23.
cutting off one week from the
fishing season.
The trolling seasons are un
changed in Southeastern Alaska.
The summer closure beginning
August 25th to September 20th
is effective throughout the Divi
sion except on the west coast of
Baranof Island where the area
between Cape Ommaney and the
north entrance to Puffin Bay is
not effected by the closing re
gulations. This cuts the fishing
area permitted last year to
about one third.
Major Malcolm Elliott of the
United States Army Engineer
Corps predicted in San Francis
co, recently, that in five years,
| or ten at the most, the U. S. and
Alaska would be connected by an
automobile highway. He pictur
ed a 2,200 mile line between Se
attle and Fairbanks, and said
that there were no insurmount
able difficulties in such a plan.
The Major was enroute from
Alaska to Washington, D. C., in
the interest of road appropria
tion for Alaska.
-x
Mr. Willie Johnson left for
Seattle this week where he will
receive treatment for an ailing
shoulder.
Miss Peggy Carson who has
been supplying as an extra
nurse in the Petersburg hospital
returned on the Queen to Ket
chikan.
Bert Buchanan of Level Is
land has brought in seventy-five
prime blue fox pelts and is still
pelting. He says the pelts are
rather better than last year’s in
spite of the weather,
j Several of the boys were re
quired to finish their New Year
I celebrations in durance vile.
The following were arraigned
before Judge Clausen this morn
» ing: Clarence Glunt, Willie
. Rusk, Fred Gunderson, Ed New
man and Per Pileberg.