Historial Sketches and Experi
ences of Trail-Blazers Who Made
Alaska the Empire of the North
PIONEERS OF ALASKA
EDITED BY
JOHN W. FRAME
President Anchorage Igloo No. 15
MOVING PICTURE STUDIO
WILL BE LOCATED NEAR
ANCHORAGE IN SPRING
Not only did the Agricultural and
Industrial Fair, held in Anchorage
this last fall, do Alaska a world of
good in a way of publicity, but the
moving pictures taken of the exhibits
have amazed the people of the Unit
ed States wherever they have been
shown. W. B. Woodworth, the cam
era man who has been taking movies
of Alaskan views for many years,
sent to the Universal Film Company,
some excellent pictures of the many
exhibits made at the fair. A short
time ago these were released in many
states of the Union and put on the
screen. They certainly demonstrated
what Ella Wheeler W'ilcox said when
she declared that “Alaska is the most
wonderfully misunderstood country
in all the world,” for letters are com
ing by the scores to the parties
whose names wer$ on the cards
shown in the exhibits by the pictures.
When one pauses to consider that
there are in the United States at
least 10,000 picture show houses
where the Universal service is used,
and that at each show there were
probably 1,000 people present at the
time these pictures were thrown on
the screen, it downs upon that person
that TEN MILLION PEOPLE have,
through the “movies,” attended the
Anchorage Agricultural and Indus
trial Fair.
►
me letters received show plainly
that it is difficult for them to under
stand how such products can be
grown in “The cold barren region of
Alaska.” They invariably want more
information, and here is the work
that should be taken up by the peo
ple of Alaska, otherwise Alaska will
continue to be, “the most wonderfully
misunderstood country in the world.”
The great interest taken in the ag
ricultural and mining exhibits at the
fair, by the people where the Uni
versal service has been shown, has
caused Mr. Woodworth to go into the
work more extensively and he has
now decided to open a studio out on
Rainbow creek and secure a real
Alaskan film, showing many of the
wonderful resources of the country
and the different vocations of her
people.
Mr. Woodworth w-as a passenger
on the steamer Alaska, en route to
New’ York, where he will arrange ful
ly for all necessary equipment for the
work on an elaborate scale, and he
contemplates bringing back with
him a leading actress of New York
and one or two assistants for direct
ing the work. Aside from these spe
cialists, the film is to be purely Alas
kan in every respect.
It will show the work on the rail
read; the process of canning the fish
in Alaska; the mad rush of hundreds
of leal prospectors and miners of
Ala. ha over a mountain to a “strike”
on the other side. Mr. Woodworth
has arranged with the Pioneers of
Ale -ha, igloo No. 15, for the “raw
ma '-rial” in this greatest of Alaska's
life ncidents,—a stampede for gold,
It v 1! be the real thing. There will
be no little girl dressed in blue dang
ling her naked feet in the babbling
waters of Rainbow creek as the stam
ped ms rush by in fur parkas and
double mittens.
The Matanuska fields of grain, the
coal ledges of the Chickaloon, the
mines of Willow creek, with the real
gold bricks produced therefrom; the
mountain sheep herding on the pla
teau, the fox farm on the island, the
big bear in the jungle, the moose in
the forest, the beluga in the trap, will
all be on this real Alaska film to be
exhibited to millions of people who
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“misunderstand” the tremendous lat
ent resources and remarkable oppor
tunities of this great northern em
pire.
The people of Anchorage should do
iall in their power to make this rep
I resentative film an “eye-opener” to
.those who still cling to the idea that
I Alaska is a cold barren region. Mr.
I Woodworth says he may have one
i glacier scene just to show the east
erner the colossal majesty of things
in Alaska# but that It shall be one
where beautiful flowers are growing
at its very “toes” and sweet singing
birds warble in the trees green with
luxurious foliage, at its near-by foot
hills.
But this excursion of five million
people to our northland, will not be
complete if the movie director does
not take them to grand old Mt. Mc
Kinley, the most lofty snow-capped
peak in America. Mr. Woodworth is
arranging to have the grandest view
of that old sentinel of nature painted
on his film, that can possibly be ob
tained. It is his great desire to se
cure several views of Alaska’s big
mountain, showing the tens of thou
sands of caribou and other mountain
game, that the hunter of the east
may see for himself the paradise for
which he has been hunting.
The word Alaska is of Greek and
Russian composite origin, meaning
Great Land, and it will be Mr. Wood
worth’s endeavor to paint that Great
Land on the screen that the millions
mighty greatness, its colossal majes
ty, its delightful scenery, its prolific
resources; that they may see for
ithemselves, the gorgeous beauty of
its sunsets, the weird shooting rays
of its “Northern Lights,” its enchant
iing veils of water leaping from her
mountain cliffs, and thereby better
understand why people who once see
Alaska and become acquainted with
her charms and opportunities cannot
resist the “call” to come back home.
Mr. Woodworth has decided to call
his play, “The Pioneers of Alaska,”
for the film that he is to produce will
picture to the outside world the in
cidents of their lives and the country
that has won their hearts. He re
turns to Anchorage in Febi-uary and
will at once establish his studio at
P.ainbow, where the most beautiful
{scenery with which to embellish his
picture can be readily obtained.
FIRST CHILD BORN IN NOME.
Mother Tiffany and Mrs. Ginniven
were the first white women in Nome
and Nome Ginnevan was the first
white child born there. It was a great
event and the child was showered
with gifts.
John W. Brown, in his book, His
tory of Alaska, says, “it is said that
the White Pass railroad company
burned 2000 dead horses that had died
in the rush over the trail to Dawson.
The number of human lives has never
ben estimated, the headboards in the
cemetery tell enough.”
---
Peter Norberg, an inmate of the
Pioneer Home at Sitka, for several
! years ,was discharged September 29.
Mr. Norberg was born in Sweden in
1850 and came to Alaska in 1889.
, Fank Manley, one of the largest
and most successful placer mine op
erators in interior Alaska, was re
cently in Cordova on his way to Cal
ifornia, where he is interested in oil
: fields.
John Miller was dicharged from the
Pioneer’s home at Sitka, on the 25th of
October. Mr. Miller lived in Sitka be
fore entering the Home in 1913. He
was born ;n Russia, and can *o Alas
ka in 1884. He is 71 years oi age.
DOINGS OF II
The last meeting of the Pioneers
\
at their hall was a musical treat. (
Brother Woodworth was there and j
presided at the piano in a way that i
made the Royal Order of Old Stiffs j
think they were young again. Broth- !
er Jimmie McDonald called for Am- i
erica and it was rendered in a man
ner by the pianist that made a num- \
ber of the old fellows feel like start- j
ing for France. At the unanimous
|
request of all present Mr. Wood
worth played his march that he re- ;
cently composed and dedicated to the
local igloo. This aroused the mem- J
bers to a high pitch of enthusiasm,1
for Billy is an efficient performer on
the ivory keys. Aside from the rout- !
ine work of paying bills, and other!
matters of business., the meeting was
one of general good fellowship bor
dering on hilarity.
aLOO NO. 15
There was only one applicant for
membership, James A. McConahy.
Mr. McConahy was born in Alaska, is
six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds.
He was duly elected a member of the
igloo and at the next meeting will
be initiated, if he is not called prior
to that time in defense of his coun
try. '
An entertainment committee, com
prised of J. C. Davidson, S. McNeice
and M. H. Lynch, was appointed for
the purpose of arranging for a dance
on Friday evening, November 16. The
hall is now furnace-heated and elec
tric-lighted and the floor placed in
excellent condition. A big time is an
ticipated.
After extending to Brother Wood
worth, who was leaving on the Alas
ka, a fraternal au revoir, amid the
curls of smoke and the rendition of
“bourbon,” the meeting adjourned.
ANOTHER BIG FRONTIER
FOR THE PIONEER
The Seattle spirit never sleepeth.
The leaders of the chamber of com
i
merce of that city are now busy in a
concerted effort to induce the United
States government to bring about ab
solute free trade between Alaska and
Siberia.
The Nome Nugget says:
“ ‘Irrespective of Alaska or any oth
er mining country in the world, not one
gives greater pi’omise as a mining
country than the portion of the great
Russian domain which is but a short
day’s travel from our doors. Under the
old regime Siberia—our neighbor—
was to us almost as a closed book. To
day things are different under the
new provisional government. A few
weeks ago we had official notification
from them that a custom house would
be established in close proximity to
Nome, with the idea of furthering
trade relations with this country. Here
we have a country nine times as large
as the territory of Alaska at our very
doors which abounds with treasures
and which to all intents and purposes
is unexploi'ed. The dawn of the awak
ening of Siberia is nigh, and with the
cessation of hostilities in this mighty
war will come the opening of this won
derful country, which will mean much
for Nome.’ ”
.
I
It is proposed by the new govern
ment of Russia to offer American capi
talists the Russian or northern half
of the island of Sakhalin, off the east
ern coast of Siberia, for working pet
roleaum and coal deposits, and also to
offer for the same purpose several dis
tricts of Siberia.
The Island of Sakhalin.
The island of Sakhalin, which it is
proposed in Russian to open to Ameri
can exploitation, is a long finger of
land off the east coast of Asia, sep
arated from the mainland by the Gulf
of Tartary, and is just north of the
Japanese group. It is 570 miles in
width, having an area of about 29,400
square miles.
The surface of the island is moun
tainous, rising in the peak of Tiara to
5,000 feet, and is largely forest-clad,
with some pairie land and pastures.
The climate is very severe in winter
and raw in summer. Many fur-bearing
animals abound. Large deposits of
lignite coal of higher quality occur on
the island.
The island wras wholly Russian un
til September, 1905, when, under the
terms of the treaty of Portsmouth, the
southern half was ceded to Japan.
Sam Gullet, who was admitted to j
the Pioneer Home* at Sitka, on Sep-s
tember 27, from Port Graham, died at i
the home on the 18th day of October, j
The deceased was born in Texas, No-,
vember 14, 1849, and came to Alaska j
in 1888.
John Lochner, of Glacier creek, who j
was admitted to the Sitka Home for,
Pioneers during the month of Septem- j
ber, was discharged on the 18th day |
of October. Mr. Luochner was born
in Austria, February 12, 185G, and
came to Alaska in ’93.
Read The Weekly Times.
A PIONEER NEVER “QUITS.
The publisher of this page is in cor
respondence with most every Pioneer
organization in the territory. There
have “deceased” secretaries and his
torians. They do not take enough in
terest in the “good of the order” to
even answer a letter in request for
information, notwithstanding the fact
that the secretaries are the only of
ficers of the organization who re
ceive a salary.
At the first meeting of next month
the nominations for officers in all the
Igloos of the territory are made. If
there are any members in the different
Igloos who are interested in building
up our great organization and mak
ing it a factor in the welfare of Alas
ka, they should see to it that a live
secretary and historian are elected at
thg jlpst meeting in December. With
out’active work from these two offi
cers, nothing will be accomplished.
With the right men for secretary and
historian, a great work can be done
for the members of the different
Igloos expect them to attend to the
business correspondence and collect
the history.
Unless the several Igloos work in
unison as one, all interest in the up
building of the organization lags and
finally fags. Three or four good live
men with a true pioneer spirit, will
make any Igloo in the territory an ac
tive unit in the organization and en
able the order to accomplish a great
deal for the welfare of Alaska.
* If things do not go to suit you in
the igloo, it is not the spirit of a real
Pioneer to “quit” and say “to hell
with it.” The man who “quits” is not
a Pioneer. He is the man, who, if on
a stampede, and some one gets in his
way, gets cold feet and turns back.
This is the first positive evidence that
he hasn’t the stuff in him that will
make a Pioneer. A Pioneer'is a man
who never quits. If some upstart gets
into camp and wants to run the whole
thing, the Pioneer doesn’t “quit,” he
kicks the upstart out and goes out and
saws some wood. If there is a slack
er in camp who wants others to wait
on him while he gets all the pie, the
Pioneer, the real Pioneer, doesn’t
“quit,” he forces the slacker to saw
the wood or move on.
A Pioneer Igloo is nothing more
than a camp of old-timers organized
for the purpose of writing all their
names on a piece of birch bark, record
ing the incidents of their travels, trials
IhiSitka Hot Springs
These springs are five in
number and one of the old land
marks of Alaska. T he Russians
had a hospital there in 1841,
where they sent patients with
diseases of the skin and consti
tutional blood disorders.
The temperature averages
145 degrees Fahrenheit at the
Spring. The baths are effica
cious for rheumatism, stomach
and liver troubles, kidney and
bladder diseases, and for consti
tutional disorders.
These springs are in charge
of Dr. F. L. Goddard. The
terms for room, board, and
-baths, $2 a day and up. Cabins,
$7.50 per month and up, includ
ing furnishings, except bed
ding. ADDRESS
F. L. GODDARD, M. D.,
SANITARIUM, : ALASKA
and triumphs in the north, and at all
times and in all places, to stand up
for the best interests of Alaska. A
Pioneer, is a man who is always ready
to grab the double-bitted axe apd
defend the camp (or Igloo) when
there are siwashes around who are
endeavoring to swipe the grub. A
quitter of the camp, in earlier times
was called a “deserter.” In this day
he is called a “slacker.” The man who
never quits, or turns back, is a Pio
neer. The man who lives in Seattle,
or Spokane, and runs up here, or sends
a man, to every “strike” he hears of,
and when it is proven to be no good,
runs back to Seattle and waits for an
other discovery before returning—
he’s an “exploiter” of Alaska. He is
on a plane with the man who robs the
country while it is in the throes of
war. He wants all the profits of pio
neering without being a pioneer. He’s
a wart on Alaska’s face. He’s for self
only. He usually refers to a Pioneer
as an “old stiff.”
ELECT EFFICIENT OFFICERS.
The nomination of officers in ail the
Igloos of"-Alaska occurs at the first
ineeting in December and the election
takes place the last meeting in De
cember. Men who will take an inter
est in the work should be elected.
Quite often a most excellent man and
brother will make a poor officer for
the work assigned him. Every pioneer
| should do his bit—that for which he
is best qualified. By electing a presi
dent to the office of secretary, or vice
versa, often kills the usefulness of
both and the Igloo is the sufferer.
: Above all things keep the “grouch” in
the background. The faultfinder, in ev
ery organization, is always the most
undesirable member than an order can
have. Better give him his funeral
benefits in advance and let him go. Hs
is like unto the grouch in camp who
doesn’t like the cooking, but always
grabs for the best dish. The wood is
■ no good but he never tries to get any
1 better. He declares that the potatoes
are sour; the meat is tough, the
weather is the worst he ever saw, the
-country has gone to-,
1 half the men in the camp are -
-and the Liberty bond
promoters ought to be hung. Why kill
, the dogs for the want of meat, as
Hoover suggests; why not feed the
carcasses of such men to the dogs and
let them do the “barking?”
Cedric M. Davis, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Montgomery Davis, of Juneau,
left that city recently for Bremerton
to report for duty as a member of the
naavl reserve. Young Davis was born
in Juneau in 1894 and has lived there
most of his life. He is one of the few
boys actually born in Alaska to join
! the colors.
j W. F. SCHNABEL, FORMER DEPU
TY MARSHAL IN VARIOUS
| CAMPS, LONGS FOR ALASKA.
| CHIEF IN CALDWELL, IDAHO
—
Old Sourdough Declares Persons Who
Have Never Been in Territory Cant
Not Realize Lure it Has for Former
Residents.
William F. Schnabel, for some time
deputy United States marshal under
Marshal H. L. Faulkner, stationed at
Wrangell, and now chief of police at
Caldwell, Idaho, in a letter to Chief of
Police Harding of Juneau writes of
his longing to return to the land of
the aurora borealis, says the Juneau
Dispatch. Schnabel, or “Bill” as he is
familiarly known by a large circle of
I friends in the city, says
“I would tie a happy man if I could
! once more spend a few days with the
| ‘old gang’ at Juneau, Ketchikan, or
l Wrangell. I often have an irresist
ible longing for Alaska. It is impos
sible to shake off the lure of the
north.
Longs For North.
“Where I am now located I have
friends, good climate, everything my
heait desires, but still. I long to camp
once more among the mighty moun
tains and rivers of the glorious north.
1 wish I could once again kill a moose,
hunt a sheep, or kill a grizzly. Man
is born to kick, I suppose; never satis
fied. I am always restless, always
want to look beyond the hills or moun
tains, always want to go where ^hings
arc wild and where nature is most
beautiful. To camp once more in the
woods near the mighty Yukon would
be a treat to me. What a wonderful
spell is produced by the word ‘Yukon.*
“it recalls to me days that will nev
er come again; it recalls hardships,
hunger, poverty, and yet I long to try
it all over again. The world will never
know, never understand, what that
word means to a sourdough. I lo\}e
Alaska and its people. If I can’t live
in Idaho, I want to live in Alaska. God
bless her and let her bloom out and
prosper. I have many friends in Ju
neau whom I love from the bottom of
my heart and I love the old town.”
Schanbel was for many years an
officer in various camp of the interior
of Alaska.
Anchorage juaily Times, “The
Newspaper of Alaska.”
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