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Historial Sketches and Experi
ences of Trail-Blazers Who Made
Alaska the Empire of the North
PIONEERS OF ALASKA
EDITED BY
A. G. THOMPSON,
Member of Anchorage Igloo No. 13
BELOVED BY RUMANIAN PEO
PLE, ME WINS HIGHEST HON
ORS WITHIN THEIR GIFT.
OUR ALASKA SEAL FISHERIES.
Appropriations for the Upkeep of No
ted Seal Rookeries in Bering Sea—
Salaries Paid to the Various Em
ployees in Charge of the Islands.
WASHINGTON, July 15.—(Special
correspondence)—Col. Joseph Boyle,
of Dawson, well known throughout
Alaska, has become a Rumanian hero
and now wears the highest decoration
C in the power of the king of .that coun
try to bestow. The deed which brought
forth this recognition was the saving
of a number of Rumanian deputies
from exile and possible death at the
hands of the Russian Bolshevik at
Odessa. Several of these officers were
arrested there and sentenced to exile
at Sebastopol. Col. Doyle knew the
deputies and protested against their
arrest and punishment, but the Odes
sa members of the then ruling party
refused to listen to his plea, therefore
he accompanied the party on the voy
age to Sebastopol, to which port they
were transferred. Col. Boyle finally
secured a stay of proceedings from
A the authorities there and, in the end,
was enabled to escort the deputies to
Rumania without further interference.
For this he was rewarded by the king
and has now returned to France.
For the Alaskan fisheries service
the government has this year made
the following appropriations:
Pribilof islands—Two agents and
caretakers, $2,000 each; two physici
1
ers, $1,200 each; two store keepers, j
$1,800 each; agent, $2,500; assistant
agent, one $2,000; one, $1,800; one,
$1,500; inspector, $1,800; wardens, one
$1,200; six at $900 each. In all, $30,
400.
Employes at large—Field assistant!
$3,000; two held station superintend
ents, $1,S00 each; field assistants, one,'
$1,500; one, $1,200; fihs culturist, two,!
at $960; two at $300 each; six ma-i
chinists, $960 each; two coxswains,
$720 each. Total in all, $23,100.
Distribution car employes’—’Five !
captains at $1,200 each; six rnessen- i
gers at $1,000 each; five assistant;
messengers at $900 each; five appren
tice messengers at $720 each; fivej
cooks, $600 each. In all, $23,100.
Afognak station — Superintendent, j
$1,500; foreman, $1,200; two fish cul
turists, $960 each; three apprentice
fish culturalists, $900 each; cook, $900.
In all, $8,220.
Through the geological survey the
government has just issued a very j
handsome bulletin on the upper Chiti
{ na valley in Alaska. It covers eighty j
pages of interesting matter and also
contains several well-printed illustra
tions. Beginning with the history oh
previous explorations, the author,
Fred H. Moffitt, dwells at length upon
the topography, geography, routes and
trails, climate, game and other feat
ures of the valley and treats it in a i
z very interesting and authoritative
manner. The bulletin is one which will
undoubtedly attract the attention of
many persons in Alaska, and applica
tions for it, addressed to Delegate
James Wickersham, room 167, House
of Representatives, Washington, will
be promptly and gladly filled.
H. E. DEVENDORF.
Valdez is down to bedrock and, like
an athlete, is in better fighting trim
working off her surplus population.
Every man, woman and child now re
maining in the city has a job if work
is wanted, and our merchants report
a fair monthly business for June. If
? f you have no good reason for going
outside, stay at home and “Watch Val
dez Grow.”—Valdez Miner.
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DAYS OF ’98.
The tribute of Governor Riggs to the
Dhys of '98 (appearing in another
place on this page) upon the twentieth
anniversary of the great Klondike
rush, is more than a pleasing bit of
musical prose.
It is an evidence that the governoi
has imbibed the spirit of Alaska with
out which he could never reach the
hearts of the Pioneer. As a number
of the Alaskan Boundary Survey the
governor has become acquainted with
the lives and hopes of Alaskans, and
his appointment as a member of the
Aku-k.ui Engineering commission has
given him a further opportunity to
form an intimate acquaintance with
the history and the requirements of
the territory.
It is indeed gratifying to see that
one who. as an employe of the govern
ment, temporarily located in Alaska,
to carry out and complete a certain
piece of work, has no inherent claim
to being an Alaskan, has come to un
derstand the spirit of Alaska, and to
appreciate the work that has been
• icne by the Pioneers. In too many in
stances we have seen that the Checha
co, with a consummate scorn of the
knowledge and experience of the Pio
neer, bought at such a cost in hard
ship and suffering, has, upon his ar
rival in Alaska, assumed to a complete
knowledge of all things Alaskan, and
a thorough understanding of the re
quirements of the territory. A little
knowledge is a very dangerous thing,
and this seems to be especially true of
Alaska. We never have far to look
for examples of this time-worn adage.
The office of the governor of the ter
ritory, while not burdened with a
great amount of responsibility, is still
an office of much honor and dignity,
and is capable of being used to the
great benefit of Alaska. On the whole
it has been filled acceptably to the res
idents of the territory, hut no man
who is not an Alaskan, at heart and in
spirit, and with an intimate personal
acquaintance \\ith the territory and
with its people, can measure up to the
standard required for a governor.
Alaskans do not look upon the office of
governor from the standpoint of par
tisan pontes. They care little wheth
er the governor is a republican, a dem
ocrat, a socialist or whether he is so
nearly non-partisan in the administra
tion of Alaskan affairs as to be diffi
cult of classification. The one great
and primary requirement is that he he
an Alaskan, in all that is meant by
this term. The office of governor has
always been above the level of parti
san polites, and has, we believe, in
most instances, been conferred on the
incumbent on account of an honest be
lief in the special fitness of the person
for the office, and we believe the office
has never been stultified by entering
the arena of party politics.
This is as it should be, especially as;
long as the people of Alaska have no
choice in the selection of the governor.
Such governors as Brady and Strong
will long be remembered by Alaskans
as the peculiar property of the terri
tory, and as representing in the high
office of governor the life and history
of the territory, in which they took
such an active part.
Alaskans are not so much concerned
as to who they were, or whence they
came before coming to Alaska, as they
are in what they did while they re
mained in the territory. By your deeds
you shall be known, and it is one of
the unwritten privileges accorded to
every person when he takes up a resi
dence in the territory to leave his past
behind. Many a good man and true
who has helped us to blaze the trails
in Alaska, has availed himself of this
privelege, and has felt secure, in the
confidence of his partners, and strug
gles and privations, knowing that none
would care to pry into his buried past.
The philosophy of the Pioneer is to
take life as it is, not as it should or
might be; knowing full well that “the
evil that men do lives after them,
while the good is oft interred with
their bones.”
J. E. Ketcham, formerly chief clerk
of the U. P. system at Seattle, has
been appointed station agent at Chiti
na.
DOINGS OF IGLOO NO. 15
The meeting of the Igloo last Friday j
evening was the smallest in point ofj
numbers which the Pioneers have had
for a long time, but nevertheless much
interest was taken in the discussion
of a number of matters of importance.
The purpose of the office of historian,
and Hie importance of the work which
it is designed and provided in the con
stitution shall be carried out fry him,
was discussed by a number of the
members. John W. Frame, past his
torian of the igloo, took occasion to
impress upon the members the import
ance of collecting and perpetuating a
history of the members of% the igloo
and called the attention of the igloo
to the way in which this very import
ant work has been neglected, due
largely to the lack of interest taken
by the members in providing the his
torian with their personal histories.
THE HISTORY Of THE PIONEERS.!
Historians may come and historians
rnay go, but has any merely mortal
recorder of human events ever had a
more interesting and spectacular field
to exploit than the history of the Pio
neers of Alaska! Where can a more1
remarkable body of men be found?
Impelled by the lure of gold, for the
most part, but also inspired by the
spirit of adventure, these hardy pio
neers have been gathered from the
four corners of the earth in this land;
—the flower of the north, to play out
the game of life with that most fickle;
mistress, Fate. The workings of!
chance in this mysterious land of the j
Midnight Sun reminds us of those]
pithy lines of old Omar Khayam, the!
poet philosopher of the east, when hei
said:
"Life is a checkerboard of nights and
days,
Where Destiny with men for pieces
plays,
Hither and thither moves, and mates
and slays.
And one by one back in the closet I
lays.”
In our experience with the element- j
al forces of the north, how many of
us have not felt the impotence and j
the insignificance of the human life,!
and how often the merest chance, triv-!
ial incident, or run of luck, has chang- J
ed the whole course of a life. Destiny
and not man makes the plays of life,
and by the caprice of her own sweet
will lays our finished work, at last,
back in the closet.
The days of '98, in the Klondike,
and the days of 1900, at Nome, have
furnished such a wealth of novel hu
man experience, such a store of ro
mance, such a volume of thrilling ad
venture, such a setting for the most
spectacular and the most extravagant
phases of life, that it is not likely that
in the course of our more staid experi
ences of today, these scenes of revelry
and misery, of exultation and of de
spair, of extravagance and of penni
lessness will ever be repeated.
Will the “Swiftwater Bills” of > the
future ever spend a fortune to corner
the stock of eggs available, just be
cause the rival of his lady love, sit
ting at an adjoining table, had order
ed “two fried with the sunny side up”
for breakfast, and Bill has determined
she should not have them. Will the
pioneer discoverers of the Anvil creeks
of the future ever ride into the big
dance halls and shoot the glasses off
the bar-back, invite the house to
drink, and pay for the damage in
bright yellow dust, taken from yester
day’s clean-up?
No thrilling experiences of Captain
John Smith and Pocahontas, of Dan-j
iel Boone and the painted red men, of
Buffalo Bill and the vast herds roam
ing wild upon the western plains, are
more inspiring, more fascinating,
more gripping upon the heart strings
than the real lives of the Pioneers of
Alaska. These intrepid advance
agents of the race came into the north
to explore and subjugate a land pro
claimed by history, and by the tradi
tions of the ages, to be beyond the
power of human effort, abandoned by
all things that rejoice upon the earth,
and forgotten by God Himself.
What they have done, and what sue
The Grand Igloo came in for a lit
tle criticism for the seemingly unwar
ranted delay in the forwarding of the
charter for the Woman’s Auxiliary.
Thomas Aureen, wha had been pre
viously elected a member, but had
never taken the oath, w..: initiated.
The lack of numbers was offset in
a measure by the interest taken in the
meeting, and the members present ad
journed feeling that the evening had
been well spent.
It is inevitable that, at times, espe
cially during the summer, circumstan
ces may combine in such a way that
meetings may not be well attended,
and the usual attendance of fifty cr
sixty may be reduced. However, on
the whole, the Pioneers have shown a
very commendable interest in the
meetings of the igloo, and it is not
often that a member will willingly
miss a meeting.
cess has followed upon their efforts,
history will record, hut many of these
intrepid lives will, pass away unwrit
ten and unsung, for there is little of
the hero in the reflection which the
Pioneer sees in the glass.
His experience and that of his fel
lows has become such a matter of
fact with him that the most heroic
struggles are looked upon as everyday
experiences, and soon forgotten.
The recording in history of the lives
of the Pioneers lies in the pi’otecting
care of the historians of the Igloos of
the Pioneers of Alaska. Historians,
remember, this is your sacred charge
by your solemn obligation to your ig
loo; it is your duty to your brother
Pioneers, and it is due to the genera
tions of the future, that our children
and our children's children shall know
how a great commonwealth compris
ing one or more magnificent states of
the union were hewed out of the rough
and forbidding land of the north.
THE ALASKA PIONEER.
The first issue, Vol. 1 No. 1; of the
;‘Alaska Pioneer” is before us. This
is a very creditable and interesting'
magazine edited by a former Anchor
age man, and a Pioneer and member
of Igloo No. 15, Brother T. I?. Need
ham.
The birthplace of this new arrival
on the horizon of Alaska journalism is
the smiling city of Ketchikan, and we
believe that no better man could be
found to steer the course of the Alas
ka Pioneer through the reef-strewn
channels of our Alaska shores than T.
R. Needham. With his strong hand on
the editorial helm we believe the voy
age will be safe and prosperous.
The following is the greeting of the
Alaska Pioneer to the Pioneer igloos.
TO ALL ALASKA IGLOOS.
To you The Pioneer is dedicated.
We are going to try to deport our
sglves in a manner that will make us
many friends not only among our
brother pioneers, but the good people
of Alaska. We are already accused of
being subsidized by wily politicians,
and perhaps, before long we will be
accused of voting for some of them.
Be that as it may, we are going to
make The Pioneer a welcome visitor to
every home in Alaska if such a thing
is possible. We have no enemies to
punish but many friends to reward,
and if we succeed in making The Pio
neer the success we wish to, we will
feel that both our friends and our
selves have been rewarded. When you
receive a copy of this journal, look it
over, and if you think it worthy of
support, go buy a money order for
three dollars and mail it to us. Nika
cumtux Chinook wah-wah ?
REWARD OF MERIT.
Capt. J. T. Westermann, formerly
of Skagway, and later of Anchorage,
where he was connected with the Bank
of Alaska, has been placed in charge
of a battalion ^t Camp Fremont, Cal.,
made tip of men whose slowness in
training had been holding back oth
ers who had made good progress.
There are about 1,000 men in the bat
talion, who will be vigorously trained
after the other troops with whom they
have been serving have been sent to
IGLOO NO. 16.
lglco No. 16, Pioneers of Alaska,
was organized in Ketchikan about one
year ago, and has steadily increased
in membership until at this time
there is a roll call of 150 members.
David W. Sanford*, a pioneer resident
of Ketchikan is president of No. 16,
presiding in a very capable manner.
Bro. Sanford has followed prospect
ing during his residence in this dis
trict with varying success and at
present is the owner of same very
promising mining property. D. Smith
Harris, one of Ketchikan’s most wide
ly known citizens, is secretary.of igloo
No. 16. It is needless to hay he is a
success in this station,' as he at some
time or another acted as secretary for
every organization in Ketchikan.
Brother Harris has also occupied the
offices of mayor, clerk chief of the
j fire* department, and several other po
sitions of trust during his residence in
Ketchikan. He came to Ketchikan in
1900 and has lived there constantly
since that time. Brother Harris is as
sociated "with The Pioneer, and is at
tending to the outsode affairs of the
office, and if you have not yet sub
scribed for this journal just see Bro.
Harris and hand him “the price.”
i GREETINGS OF GOVERNOR RIGGS !
TO THE DAYS OF ’98.
j _
I “Greetings, Great Gold Rush of ’98,
; on this, your twentieth anniversary!
We love your memory for it is you j
who have created a race of men wor-!.
thy to follow in the footsteps of their
; older brother pioneers, and it is j
through the pioneers that Alaska will
j enter in on Greatness. You took the'
! dweller of the town and the dweller of
the country and showed them Gppor-j^
tunity hitherto undreamed of; you
have showed them Possibility in the!
hills and valleys, and, following Pos
sibility, our sturdy pioneers have j
opened new fields rich in gold and cop-1
per; they have cleared the moss and j
broken the soil into productive farms;!
they are the trapper and traders of to-!
day, the merchants, the bankers.
“We owe you much, Days of '98, for:
fn you we saw magnified all the good
and all that was evil. We saw the days!
of open license, of the dance hall, the
1 saloon, the gambling house, the ex- i '
! travagance, and called it life. We saw I
providence, self-denial, plodding de
termination, and in the arrogance of
youth we called it Folly. You have!,
taught us, Days of ’98, that what we |
took for Life was Folly aYd what wej
took for Folly was Life; for Success
.is Life and Failure is Folly.
“We are older, Days of ’98, than;(
when we swarmed across the moun- *
tain passes to the waters of the Yu- ^
kon. We have profited by your good
examples and by your errors. Your 1
like will never come again. Your Ro- ]
mance will live forever in our annals. 1
We will tell our children of you, they
in turn will tell their children.
“Hail! Gene, but undying, Great :
Rush of >898.”
Among those arriving in Fairbanks
| lately was Sam Weiss, commissioner .
| and mining man at Chatanika, who i
| states that good pay has been struck
! on the ground which he is working.
I He has a dozen men at work and will i
employ a number more.
PASSING THE “BUCK.”
The Colonel tells the Major i
When he wants something done,
And the Major tells the Captain
And gets him on the run.
The Cap’n thinks it over
And to be sure and suit,
Passes the buck and baggage
To some shave-tail second “Lieut.”
The said Lieutenant ponders
And strokes his downy jaw,
Then calls his trusty Sergeant ^
And to him lays down the law. j
The Sergeant calls a Corporal (
To see what he can see; (
So the Corporal gets a Private \
And the Private’s always me. \
France. Capt. Westermann, Dr.
Westermann in civilian life, served 1
for ten years with the New York i
national guard, and is Tegarded as a <
highly .capable officer for the work as- i
signed to him.
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PASSES STRONG RESOLUTIONS
SETTING FORTH REASONS
WHY HELP NEEDED.
IMMEDIATE RELIEF IS SOUGHT.
Aid May Take Form of Paying Bonus
to Encourage Development of New
Properties and Induce Prospectors
to Make Further Discoveries of Gold
Fields.
The Anchorage Chamber of Com
merce has adopted the following set
of resolutions in aid of the agitation
to spur mining development by gov
ernment aid:
Whereas, the results of recent in
vestigation by the government show
that the value of the gold dollar in
the United States has decreased 63 per
cent in purchasing power within the
last five years; and
Whereas, the mining of gold, the
monetary standard of the world, has
oecome unprofitable, except from the
richest ^mines, and the work of pros
oecting and development of the min
eral areas of the country, which con
:ain the monetary metal, is stagnant;
md
Whereas, the need for an increased
supply of this metal, as the basic mon
ey of redemption, is becoming ever
nore important, due to the tremen
lous extension of credit in the form of
oans, bond issues and every form of
commercial paper, required for the
inancing of the war;
Therefore, Be It Resolved by the
Anchoi'age Chamber of Commerce of
Anchorage, Alaska; that Gold Com
missioners be authorized and created,
jy an act of congress, whose duty it
shall be, in as far as possible, to gath
er data relative to the production and
.ralue of gold, stimulating the gold in
lustry and re-establish the purchasing
sower of gold to its normal condition.
That immediate relief be given to
he gold mining industry throughout
he United States; by abrogating
axes; by placing it in the essential
ndustry class and men actively en
gaged therein receive deferred classi
fication under military draft law;
By the payment of ,a bonus to en
ourage the development of new prop
erties and induce prospectors to make
urther discoveries of gold;
By liberal appropriations for the
mmediate completion of the govern
nent railroad in Alaska, which will
nake available tremendous areas of
•ichly mineralized territory, where
mportant discoveries of gold ore have
ilready been made, but which are now'
naccessible; by the extension of
spurs and feeders, as development
varrants, which are necessary ad
uncts to the development of the min
ng industry;
By the building of wagon roads
rrom the line-of the government rail
oad into the various mining districts,
vithout which development is impos
sible.
VETERAN ALASKAN
AIDS GOVERNMENT
fOHN W. FRAME ACCEPTS SEC
RETARYSHIP OF ANCHORAGE
EXEMPTION BOARD.
John W. Frame, a veteran Alaskan,
v'ho recently returned here from a
irospecting trip in the Broad Pass
ountry, has been appointed secretary
if the Anchorage military exemption
loard, with offices in the Fowler
tuilding. He will assume the duties
if the position tomorrow.
Mr. Frame will succeed Robert S.
Jragaw, sr., who recently tendered his
esignation to accept employment as
lock timekeeper in the Anchorage ter
ninal yards of the Alaskan Engineer
ng commission.