F. X. Sinclair, a well known veter
an Yukon miner, died at St. Mary’s
hospital, Whitehorse, recently.” He
had been in the Yukon district since
3897 and had engaged extensively in
mining in the country until he was
stricken with paralysis some time
ago. Of late years he was engaged
in fur farming just outside of Daw
son.
A cable to Harold Chutter, of Ju
neau, says thirty days’ additional has
been allowed Alaska registered re
cruits to enlist in the army and navy.
-On December 15 no more enlistments
were allowed to draft eligibles in the
states. However, to accommodate;
Alaska draft men the order was mod
ified allowing them until January 15.
Several Whitehorse stampeders
who joined the rush to the new placer
discovery on Dalton creek, only got
as far as Takini, where they met Bob
Newson, driver of the mail stage, who
reported the roads in such condition
the stampeders turned back. Differ
ent in the old days when nothing could
stop the rush but an absence of colors.
The body of John Herald, wood
chopper, was found in his cabin on
Rock creek, near Whitehorse, recent
ly. The mounted police went to the
scene to investigate and decided the
man had died from natural causes, as
the body was frozen stiff, and had fal
len as the man was placing a stick of
wood in the stove. Nothing is known
of the dead man’s past.
Dr. \V. J. Pigg, a well known phy
sician of Wrangell, has tendered his
resignation as a member of the ex
emption board for that district and
will leave for the outside with his
family, where he will go in the Unit
ed States army as a hospital physi
cian.
In an address at Nenana Commis
sioner Thomas Riggs, jr., before leav
ing for the states, stated that by
the end of next year there would be
but a distance of sixty miles between
the end of the government railroad
building from Nenana and the end of
the line building from Anchorage. At
the same time, he said, the road would
have been completed to the Nenana
coal fields and to Fairbanks.
Mrs. Mary Roguiz, of Juneau, has
brought an action in the district court
at Juneau against the Alaska Gasti
neau Mining company for $1,000 dam
ages for the death of her son, who
was killed on November 30, 1915,
while employed by the company. The
complaint alleges that the boy was
the sole support of the mother.
The home of F. Murphy, at the log
ging camp of Paddock & Baldwin, at
White Water bay, was destroyed by
fire recently, entailing a loss of $500.
A bucket brigade composed of men of
the camp succeeded in saving the sur
rounding property.
Arvid Franzen, of Juneau has re
ceived word that his brother Carl
Franzen, was killed recently while
fighting in Flanders with the German
troops against the Germans. He was
a quartermaster sergeant, and had
seen service since the beginning of
the war. He served in the Gallipoli
campaign and in Egypt before going
to France.
The Alaska bureau of the Seattle
chamber of commerce is preparing to
give Delegate Charles A. Sulzer its
active support in securing the pas
sage by congress of a bill appropri
ating funds for the dredging of Dry
streits channel. The opening of this
channel would be shorter and more
safe than the present route of steam
ship travel between Seattle and Alas
kan points.
Pupils in the Fairbanks public
-•chools have subscribed for 50 of the
550 liberty loan bonds, which they are
laying for in installments of $2.50
ach per month. They have also pur
hased $78.50 worth of yarn which
he girls are nitting into useful arti
les for the boys at the front.
, Wm. Canavan, a former resident of
Skagway, recently sent to E. J. Shaw,
of that place, an extremely handsome
paper weight made from a piece of ore
from the famous Ivennecott mines.
The ore is highly polished and con
tains several streaks of native copper,
which adds to its novelty and attract
iveness.
The five-ton gas boat Bertha, own
ed by W. R. Hanlon of Sitka, was
wrecked recently at Chichagoff. The
boat was tied to the wharf and sank
during the night.
Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Delaney, of
Fairbanks have searched in vain for
weeks to trace their son, Finan Fair
banks, who disappeared from home
several weeks ago. The father asks
that any information be sent him con
cerning the whereabouts of the young
man, who is described as follows: Five
feet, eight inches tall, rather slender,
with long features. He weighed about
145 pounds and was twenty-three
years of age. He left home weai'ing
a yellow khaki outfit, grey toque and
moccasins.
Two outfits are now prospecting on
Boulder creek in the Iditarod dis
trict. They are E. J. Davis and John
Blevich, and Bob Dunn and Angus
McLellan. In the early days of the
camp pay was found in places at the
mouth of this creek, and these pros
pectors hope to uncover more pay up
the creek.
F. Bishop, a trader located at Sleit
mute, on the Kuskokwim, arrived at
Flat, near Iditarod, the other day. He
reports that an option was taken on
the Parks cinnibar properties, located
about fifteen miles above Georgetown,
on the Kuskokwim. He stated that
Dick McCarthy, of McGrath, has gone
up the Hahalitna river to prospect,
and that Tom Taylor has lined up
some low-grade ground on the Holitna
river. Taylor, it is claimed, has five
miles of 25-cent dirt.
Although there was a shortage of
fish in the Tanana river this summer,
the natives along that stream will not
suffer this winter, as game is more
than usually plentiful, and the Indians
have laid in a bounteous supply of
meat. Bear and moose have been tak
en in unusual numbers.
Allen Shattuck has been chosen
councilman of Juneau to succeed Geo.
F. Miller, resigned. The vote for
Shattuck was unanimous.
Three well known old timers of the
Fairbanks district, Harry Lucky,
Henry Knight and Harry Burns, were
arrested at Nenana for having more
than the regulation amount of sheep
meat in their possession. They were
given a hearing before Commissioner
Robert E. Burns of Nenana, with the
result that Lucky and Knight were
each fined the sum of $15 and costs.
A fine of $1 was imposed on Burns
and all the meat concerned in the case
was confiscated. The seized meat is
being held pending instructions from
the attorney-general.
In a communication to the Nome
Chamber of Commerce the Alaska bu
reau of the Seattle Chamber of Com
merce and Commercial club encloses
copy of a letter received by the lat
ter organization from Secretary of
State Robert Lansing in which the
secretary states that the matter of
securing the establishment of a Rus
sian customs house on the Siberian
coast north of Vladivostok, as advo
cated by the Nome Chamber of Com
merce in order to facilitate trade be
tween Nome and the Siberian coast,
has been called to the attention of
the Russian ambassador at Washing
ton with a request that he place it be
fore the Russian government for con
I sideration.
Judge William A. Holzheimer, of
j Nome, has appointed former Terri
torian Senator Tom McGann, clerk of
the court and Hugh O’Neill, a Name
attorney, United States court commis
sioner. Clerk McGann succeeds Gil
bert A. Adams and Judge O’Neill suc
ceeds James Frawley. Both McGann
and O’Neill are prominent and active
democrats. It is understood that Dep
uty Clerk W. C. McGuire will retain
his present position, as chief deputy
in the clerk’s office at Nome.
Work has been started on the quar
termaster building to be erected by
the government at Valdez. The build
ing will contain a stable, a large store
room and sleeping quarters for the
employes.
Not a sign of the steam fishing
trawler Manhattan remains on the
reefs at the entrance to Yakatage
harbor, Alaska, where she piled up
during a storm recently, acording to
Captain N. B. Hegge, master of the
schooner Republic, who arrived in Se
attle recently. The Republic passed
the spot where the Manhattan was
wrecked. It also passed the wreck
of the steamer Al-Ki on Chicagoff
island and reported the vessel was
still intact.
Scores of herring outfits with float
ing salteries were working in Sey
mour Narrows, in the inside passage
recently, according to Game Warden
Frank Aldrich, who recently returned
to Juneau from the Seymour section.
The Brown brothers arrived in
I Fairbanks recently from the Kantish
j na country, one of the borthers suf
! fering from severely frozen hands and
I feet. It is believed that his fingers
| will be saved, but that several toes
| will have to be amputated.
Reports from Tenrterroot creek , on
I the upper Tanana, state that there is
i little doing in that section. Many rich
j spots were discovered on the creek,
| but most of those who took out the
j gold put it all back into the ground
j looking for more.
The case of Mrs. Ida Beam vs. Geo.
| Wilson, for possession of the Big
! Chena Hot Springs homestead, which
[ has been before the Fairbanks court
I for some time, was recently settled
out of court. Wilson gains possession
of the property, as well as certain
personal property of Mrs. Beam.
When Martin Lavanik, of Juneau
bowled a score of 257 one night re
cently, one spectator became so excit
ed that he phoned the score to the fire
hall. The man on watch there thought
it was an alarm from box 17 and as a
result made a mad rush down to tbe
city dock, with half the town follow
ing, only to find the alarm was a false
one.
The steamer Peterson, from Fort
William H. Seward, is expected to ar
rive at Juneau soon to take all men
who have enlisted there to the fort for
examinaiton. A total of 15 men have
enlisted at Juneau, and of these ten
were over the draft age.
Ed. Bartlett, the well-known
freigher of Fairbanks, is suffering
from a severe case of blood poisoning
in one of his arms. The poisoning
arose from a slight scratch, to which
little attention was paid. An opera
tion was performed on the arm at the
hospital recently, and the doctors are
using every effort to save the member,
and will only amputate as a last
resort.
John T. Reed, deputy clerk of the
court at Juneau, recently received
word of the narrow escape from death
of his son, at present serving with an
American ambulance corps in France.
A hospital where he was serving was
bombarded by the Germans, and
young Reed was thrown some distance
by one of the expolding shells, but es
caped with comparatively slight injur
ies. Two of his companions were
killed.
H. K. Carlisle has been appointed
timber cruiser at the Fairbanks land
office, and is now on his way from
Chitina to that city to take up the
duties of his office. The office has been
short a man for some time past.
While hurriedly trying to get an
empty gasoline tank at one of the
floats at Juneau to buoy up his sink
ing launch, Ole Franzen rolled it
against another tank and caused an
explosion which blew out all the win
daws in the cannery boat Red Boy,
badly burned Carl Dahl and burned
up Franzen’s overcoat.
A. F. Stowe, who is tending a gov
ernment catche near Indian river, re
ports that game is more plentiful in
that section than for several years
past. He states that he has no trou
ble in bagging the limit whenever he
goes out, and moose are so plenti
ful and tame that they come up and
eat out of the cache.
Jacob Johnson, a native of Finland,
created considerable of a stir at Skag
way recently, when it was reported
that he was lost somewhere in the vi
cinity of the Summit. Johnson left
there about 2 o’clock saying he would
spend the night at Glacier. At 9
o’clock he had not reported at the lat
ter place and a crew of men braved
the 15 below zero weather, and look
ed for the missing man till after mid
night, but without success. The mat
ter was reported to Superintendent
Hahn, of the White Pass railroad and
he sent out a crew of section men to
aid in the search. About 11:30 p. m.,
Johnson dropped into the White Pass
car shops to get warm and it was
learned from him that he had passed
Glacier without reporting. Deputy
Marshal Hardy took the man into cus- j
tody and is holding him to await the
action of the customs authorities.
Mrs. Hoggan and daughter Doro
thy of Dawson, had a narrow escape
from death Saturday evening from
the explosion of a kerosene lamp
while it was sitting near another
lamp. Others of the family had nar
row escapes. The mother, wife of
Capt. Hoggan, a well known steam
boat man, was badly burned about the
head and hands. Dorothy was also
burned about the hands. After the girl
was burned she crossed the Yukon
river on the ice to summon aid for her
mother, and the exposure aggravated
the burns until she is in a serious con
dition. She is receiving much praise
through her heroic conduct.
Right Rev. Father Crimont, the
newly created bishop of Alaska, arriv
ed at Ketchikan recently unannounced
and being informed that the hotels
were tilled with pai'ties attending1
court, made his way to the rectory,1
and finding it locked because of the
absence of Father Kerns, he went to
the church, where he spent the night,
sleeping on one of the hard benches.
It had been rumored that the bishop
was in town, but a search failed to lo
cate him and the rumor was put down
as a canard until the Bishop appeared
at the Sunday morning service.
It is stated that Guy Mish and J.
M. Keenan, well known miners and
dredge men of Nome, will probably j
go to China during the present winter
to participate in projected dredging
operations on the Yang-tse-kiang.
Friends of the young men say they j
have been requested to make the trip j
to the oriental republic by a friend j
who is intimately associated wtih the j
project and announced their intention
of taking up the offer before their
departure fi'om Nome on the last
boats.
D. W. Leach, an old-time resident
of the Nome district, passed away aft
er a long period of illness. The de
ceased was well beyond the allotted
span of three score years and ten and
old age is given as the immediate
cause of demise. Mr. Leach was well
known in Nome. He is survived by
two sons, both of whom reside in
Nome.
The members of the Pioneers Home
at Sitka have a fairy god-mother in
the natuer of Mrs. John Freusi who
every year at Christmas for several
years has sent a large box to them.
This box contains, not persents, but
dainties such as do not come to them
every day except through donations.
They are substantially provided with
the necessaries of life so she trys to
supply the trimmings.
A suit has been started in the ad
miralty court in Seattle by the Coast
wise Steamship-Barge company, own
ers of the barge St. David, against the
steamer Daniel Kern. The suit is the
result of the total wreck of the barge
while in tow of the Daniel Kern, on
October 31, on a trip from the Granby
mine at Valdez to Ketchikan. The
value of the steamer was fixed at $60,
000 and the cargo of copper at $21,000
making the total $81,000.
Wade Blaker, a well known old
timer of Fairbanks recently passed
away there at the hospital after ar
illness of many years. Mr. Blaker was
born at Newton, Pa., in 1858 and
leaves three brothers to survive him.
He was never married. Mr. Blaker
has resided in Fairbanks since 1904.
In accordance with a custom es
tablished three years ago at Metla
katla, a number of the residents un
der the auspices of the returned stu
dents presented a concert an denter
tainment. Three of the directors were
graduates of Carlisle and the rest stu
dents of Indian indutsrial schools.
While lying at the dock at Sitka
loading freight the Evans picked up
a wireless call for help, erading: “S.
O. S. S. O. S. We are sinking fast.
Sent Help Quick. We’re sink-”
The call was also heard by the Sitka
naval radio station. No boat name
was given and in spite of all search
no other information could be secured.
The Tanana River valley railroad
has been moving dredge supplies for
some time now for the new Fairbanks
creek dredge. The lumber is being
hauled from the Chena while most of
the machinery comes from Fairbanks.
Charles Gathofner of Hot Springs,
near Fairbanks, recently tried to com
mit suicide by shooting himself in
the ear and then cutting his throat.
He was in such a serious condition
that he was ordered removed to Tan
ana at once where he could be placed
under the doctor’s care. No reason
was advanced for the tragedy.
Xavier Kleinhunz, of Valdez, has
just been released from jail there.
Early in December he was arraigned
on a charge of making seditious ut
terances. He was placed in jail and
as he said he never came to town but
what liquor got the gest of him and
he did something rasn. He decided
that a stay in jail would not hurt him
any until after the town went dry.
The Big Chena Hot Springs, near
Fairbanks, situated on the Mammoth
creek are now open for the public.
Hunting is excellent in that vicinity.!
The water having been tested, has
been declared to possess medicinal1
qualities equal to many of the famous
bath of the states.
_
It is expected that the Klondyke
will yield millions this winter as an
enormous output is estimated.
The halibut schooner Zapora, Capt.
Jacob Hansen, recently arrived in
Ketchikan with the report that he had ;
lost two of his men, Martin Wick and
Andrew Nelson, in a sudden gale. The
dories were all picked up with the ex
ception of the one containing the two
men as no trace of it could be found.
A few days later the halibut schooner
Tordenskjold arrived in port with the
two men whom she had picked up.
She had a catch of 60,000 pounds. The |
captain and engineer were suffering i
from severe burns received when a j
light globe dropped into the engine i
room and ignited distillate from a'
tank pipe.
Herman Magnuson, the man who j
was lost up the Big Chena slough,
near Fairbanks, has been located. He j
became tired out and lost his way i
while traveling with Ed Jerns who
had gone ahead to the cabin. The
searchers picked out the route they
thought he might travel and making
a large circle left caches of food.
Magnuson found one of these in bis
wanderings and was able to get along
all right until he found the cabin
three days later.
W. C. Mullen, a well known the
atrical man of the north recently ar
rived from the inside and will take
charge of the Lyric theatre at Doug
las in conjunction with Manager Fer
ris. Mr. Mullen has conducted moving
picture houses from Nome to Dawson
and Fairbanks and was one of the
original members of the old Juneau
Stock company. Only exclusive films
of the best companies will be handled
and Douglas is making the boast that
she will soon have one of the best
moving picture houses on the chan
nel.
*
The president of the United States*
created the Four Minute Men organ
ization by executive order last April
for the purpose of telling to the peo
ple of the United States the reasons
we are at war, in speeches positively
limited to four minutes. Ralph E.
Robertson was made the Alaska ter
ritorial chairman. This organization
is made up of a voluntary member
ship. Beginning last week Juneau will
have a round of speeches as long as
the war lasts. It is presumed that the
rest of the Alaskan towns will soon
follow suit.
Dr. J. L. Buckeley of Petersburg
recently closed a deal for the pur
chase of the Warngell hospital and *
with the assistance of his wife took
charge of the institution at once.
The Dexter-Horton Bank of Seat
tle has brought suit against the Wash
ington-Alaska bank for $28,000. This
suit will take place at Fairbanks, A..
R. Heilig appearing for the plaintiff
and Cecil Clegg fo rthe defendant.
Joe Howard, a messenger at Sew
ard, attempted to get a better fire by
pouring oil on hot coals in the stove
of his abode. The oil and the hot
coals came together in a spectacular
manner, flames shot around the room,
ignited the clothing of the messenger
and then the fire bell rang. Joe put
the blaze out before the department
arrived. The thumb on Joe’s right
hand was badly burned during the dis
turbance and the wall paper on the
room was badly scorched in places.
Hon. P. M. Mullen, for eight years
register of the United States land of
fice in Alaska, underwent a major op
eration for bladder trouble at the St.
Ann hospital in Juneau, recently. He
stood the shock well, and is reported
in a favorable condition. Drs. Sloane
and Mahone performed the operation.
P. M. Mullen is the father of J. F,
Mullen, Mrs. J. F. Herbert and Vera
Mullen, and has lived many years in
the north. His health has been im
paired for some months by reason of
an unnatural growth in his bladder,
and it is believed the operation will
prove a great benefit.
Jack Raymond, formerly employed
in Juneau by Charles Williams as an
automobile driver, has been wounded
in France, and is in a hospital there.
\Vrhen Raymond enlisted in a Cana
dian regiment for overseas duty he
gave Williams’ name among others to
communicate with in case of accident.
Recently a wire from the Canadian
intelligence office to Williams said
Raymond was wounded and in a
French hospital. No other informa
tion was sent.
Max Poehlman, formerly in the
engineer department of the Alaskan
Engineering commission and a broth
er of Otto Poehlman, of the Seward
Drug company, is nowr in the United
States army, and will shortly leave
for France. Otto Poehiman recently
received the following cablegram:
“Fort McDowell, Cal. Enlisted En
Engineer Corps, going to Fort Meade,
Maryqland. “MAX.”
In making announcements of chan
ge? to be made in the staff, the Wells
Fargo Express company at Seattle
states that L. P. Starr, for many
years connected with the company,
and now agent at Seward, Alaska, has
received instructions to go to Seattle,
he having been appointed to a posi
tion in the superintendent’s office
there, undoubtedly being later in
charge of the Alaska division. A. H.
McDonald, agent at Seward for the
Alaska Steamship company, has been
i.ppo‘n\>«t express agent there.
In a gale which recently struck Ket
chikan much damage was done along
the waterfront. The barge Blanche of
the Ketchikan Power company which
was tied up at the sawmill dock broke
loose from her moorings and went
sailing up the chanel till she was fin
ally tossed ashore near the Ketchikan
Marine Railway ship yards where she
was found and towed back the next
morning. Kreidler’s new cement shop
j which he had built on the dock was
* blown overboard.