BRIEF NEWS OF THE NORTHLAND.
That the mothers of American boys
are proving positively that they did
bring their boys up to be soldiers, if
the time should arrive that they would
be needed, has been demonstrated
time and time again, but never more
« early than in a case that came to
light in Fairbanks the other day, when
V’ctor Sjolseth, a mining man of
('.old Hill, near Fairbanks, let it be
known that he would leave within a
few days to join the colors. Recent
ly Victor, who, with his brother,
thorge Sjolseth, has been mining on
(loin Hill, received a letter from his
mother from the outside, in which
.-h-1 intimated regret that neither of
‘he boys had found it possible to en
ter the service. Right then and there
the young man made arrangements to
.-*•!! out. He has now disposed of his
:nwrests to his brother and is ready
to start. That Uncle Sam will be glad
to get him is certain, for, in the north
ern parlance, he is certainly a
“moose.” Last summer he was a mem
ber of the winning Bloom tug-of-war
team.
During the last few months, many
voung men of interior Alaska entered
the service of the nation, either in the
navy or army. The list of those in
the army is not complete in Fair
banks, but many of them are known,
and among those who formerly re
t ided at Fairbanks that are now in the
s' ice are Captain Roberty Loghry,
signal corps: First Lieutenant James
C Coleman, signal corps; Captain
hr. C. Flitch, signal corps; Sergt. S.
Y. fchermerhorn, U. S. aviation corps;
F.cy Porter, U. S. aviation corps;
S'rgt. E. C. Schmanke, U. S. signal
corps; Elmer Deiser, national army;
Arthur Y. Heacock. Q. M. corps; Al
1 ■ it Burglin, Q. M. corps; Craig Con
d:t, Harry Delvig, U. S. navy; Clifford
i'oody. Tommy McSmart, Canadian
expeditionary force; Fred Johnson, av
h mn division, C. S. navy; Bryant
Lfi.il, Sumner White, aviation division
C. S. navy.
Before laying down the reins in the
•. : A •' of the district clerk at Nome
January 1, Judge Adams turned over
to the city of Nome the goodly sum
of 0,144.12, thereby making glad the
hearts of the city dads to whom the
word deficit had become an abhor
rence. The money, combined with
the taxes to be paid in the near future
p aces the Nome city government on
Easy street for some time to come.
The coroner’s jury in the inquest at
Nome held over the body frozen in
near the head of Hasting creek, iden
tified it as that of Ben Jones, a half
tit mented soldier from Fort Davis,
and found death as resulting from
unknown cause, in the month of July
congress, was taken out by the ice
nuring the recent cold snap. The clock
v..: - completed last fall, being built
three and a half miles from shore, at
a cost of from $25,000 to $30,000. If
wa- hemmed in by ice from Berine
aver and the piling succumbed to the
1 :gh tide.
H. Larson has arrived at Cordova
having traveled from Fairbanks tc
Chilna on skis. He says the trail was
• avy and as he has been working
indoors, he only covered eighty miles
in the first four days’ travel. The
trip from Sourdough to Chitna, IOC
miles, was made in two days. Lar
sen was on the trail eight days, but
his actual traveling time was ninety
two hours.
Lyle Laumeister, of Fairbanks, re
cently received word by wire that his
father, a well known old pioneer ol
the north, had died at Dawson. The
elder Laumeister passed away from
an attack of pneumonia. He was one
of the real old-timers of the Dawsor
country and had a wide acquaintance
among the Yukon pioneers.
In the district court at Fairbanks
recently O. M. Newland’s petition te
be made a preferred creditor of the
American Bank of Alaska was grant
eel by Judge Charles E. Bunnell. New
land left a note with the Americar
Bank for collection some time before
the bank became insolvent. He order
ed the money collected from this note
to be sent to him at Nome by wire.
Instead of doing this, the bank col
lected the money and sent a draft by
mail to Newland. Before this draft
reached Nome by mail the bank was
closed by the territorial banking ex
; aminer, and when the draft was pre
| seated for payment was refused.
Newland then petitioned the court at
Fairbanks to make him a preferred
| creditor, and this petition was grant
ed.
According to statistics of the trans
portation companies operating steam
j ers between ports in the states and
Alaska, says the Douglas Island
News, there are fewer people in
Alaska at present than at any time
since the early spring of 1898, more
Alaskans having gone to the states
for the winter than ever before in the
history of the territory. All of which
means that there will be the biggest
rush to the north during the coming
I spring and summer than for twenty
years.
Frank Monett, of Brooks, was re
j cently brought to Fairbanks and plac
ed in St. Joseph’s hospital, suffering
from a stroke of paralysis. Monett
has been paralyzed for several days,
and it was thought best to take him
from his home at Brooks and place
him in the hospital at Fairbanks.
Charles Derry, formerly connected
, with the Iditarod Pioneer with Ar
backle, for a couple of years, and lat
er lessor of the Pioneer for a year,
will be the editor of the Ruby Record
Citizen as soon as he arrives at Ruby
from the outside. He is en route now.
Derry started outside last year about
the time Editor Filbin, who was
formerly in charge of the Record-Cit
izen, died.
People of Circle raised more than
>1,000 to help Chester Spencer and
his family, who were burned out there
several weeks ago. Mr. Spencer is
deputy marshal at Circle, and -lost all
has oiiice and personal effects. With
the usual generosity of northern peo
ple, the Circle friends of the Spen
cers got right to work and in a short
time had more than $1,000 collected
for their help.
Ceoige Hobar, of Graehl, near
Fairbanks, recently had the misfor
tune to have his barn burn down, and
j at tHe same time lost five horses and
a quantity of horse feed. Hobar’s
stock was among the best in the coun
try and was very valuable. He has
had a run cf bad luck during the past
year, culminating in the recent blaze.
During the summer, while working
for the railroad commission at Ne
ar na, Hobar lost two horses, and then
, later lost a considerable sum in the
! American bank when it suspended
payment. This, with his latest loss
which amounts to about $4,000, will
put him considerably behind, but he
is not discouraged, and says he will
work for the winter hauling wood
and will then join the army and take
his losses out on the Germans.
_
Richard Ketzlor, a miner of the To
tutlanika district, recently underwent
; an operation at the government hos
1 pita! at Nenana for treatment of a
gunshot wound in the hand. Ketzlei
was hunting at the time the accident
occurred. He slipped and fell in suet
a manner that the gun he was carry
ing was discharged, the shot passing
through the fleshy part of his thumb
tte started immediately on a thirty
; mile mush to the end of the railroac
i and from there was brought to Ne
nana.
Judge Runnel!, of the fourth divi
j sion, with headquarters at Fairbanks
the other day denied the petition o!
: one Boulton, of Ruby, in the case oi
Boulton vs. Ditz and Selch, thus
; bringing to a close one of the mosl
i famous cases ever heard on the lowei
i Yukon river. This case was triec
with a jury at Ruby in August, 1917
Boulton, the plaintiff, petitioned tc
compel the defendants to deed hirr
i an undivided third interest to tht
Masco bench placer claint in the Nu
lato recording precinct, and also de
»/
manded an accounting of the proper
ty and one-third of the net profits.
The evidence in the case showed that
Boulton had gone to the states after
disposing of some of his interests in
the claim, and then, after coming
back some time later, wanted back
the interests he had disposed of, as
well as a share of the profits, taken
out while he was gone. The judge de
nied the petition, and Boulton lost
out.
Ike and A1 Weathers and Arthur
and Ike Sholin arrived in Douglas
from Hump island, where the former
have a homestead, in the launch Nau
tilus, says the Douglas Island News.
They say that there is every indica
tion that the fishing season will open
a month earlier this spring than us
'ual; that herring are already running
in great shoals and that halibut are
coming back in consequence, the lat
ter living principally off herring. They
also tell of the wanton slaughter of
deer in that vicinity by Indians, one
bunch cornering in the deep snow and
! killing only a few days ago no less
i than nineteen deer.
Sam Sullivan recently was sen
tenced to seven months’ imprisonment
at Iditarod on the charge of petit lar
ceny. He pleaded guilty to stealing
a revolver and several articles of jew
elry from the home of Nellie Brady
at Flat.
The United States land office at
; Fairbanks has received from Wasli
j ington city the patent for the home
stead of Charles R. Davison, seven
miles from Fairbanks, on the Tanana
! river. The patent is for 228.31 acres
; of land. Mr. Davison has been farm
ing there for years, and has a large
amount of land cleared.
Dr. F. \Y. Lamb, formerly stationed
at Xulato as physician in charge of
the government hospital there, and
I later transferred to Akiak, in the
Ivuskokwim, has been married to
Miss Ro.^e May Wynne, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs, J. H. Wynne. The brid
al couple will make their home at
i Akiak.
—
Isaac Mitcham recently was con
victed at Fairbanks of using seditious
language. He was sentenced to serve
ten months in the Fairbanks jail.
During the year 11)17 there were
thirty-six deaths in Fairbanks and
twenty-six births, according to the
I vital statistics compiled at the city
hall. During the same period, how
ever, Dan Cupid made a greater show
ing than either the angels of Life or
Death, having to his credit thirty-nine
marriages.
—
The Farmers’ Bank of Fairbanks
has purchased from the receiver of
the American Bank of Alaska the as
say office formerly used by the Amer
ican bank. The Farmers’ bank also
purchased all the equipment in the
building. It is the Farmers’ bank’s
intention to use the building in the
future as its assay office.
The miners’ union at Nome has
elected the following officers for the
ensuing year: President, Martin
Kennedy; vice-president, John Ja
cobson; secretary-treasurer, A1 Bra
ten; conductor, Charlie Haering;
warden, Tom Wilmore; trustees, An
dy Beck, Gus Hansen and William
Stipek; newspaper committee, Will
iam Austin, Harold Jensen, Otto Mills
George Rabien and L. M. Peterson.
It is announced that George L.
Stanley, the well known miner and
agricultural authority of Biana, has
been appointed by Judge Holzheimer,
of Nome, to the post of United States
commissioner of the Kiana district to
fill the vacancy created by the death
of former Commissioner J. H. Reng
storff. The appointment of Mr. Stan
ley is one that will meet with popular
approval in Nome, as the new ap
pointee is a typical Alaskan and as
clean-cut and bright as they make
them, says the Nome Nugget.
A reindeer herd containing 100 deer
from the Mary’s igloo herd arrived in
Nome recently in charge of five native
herders headed by Oquellok, chief of
the board of head herders of the dis
trict. The animals will be quartered
on the tundra until about half of them
are slaughtered and disposed of in the
local market. The natives contem
plate opening a reindeer meat market
for the disposal of the meat as soon
as a location is secured. While in
Nome the natives will regale Nome
ites with a number of deer races be
tween fast reindeer teams, about a
dozen sled deer having been brought
down with the herd.
Nome barber shop owners have
agreed to open their shops at 11 a. in.
daily and close at 8 in the evening.
The shops will also remain closed on
Sundays. This schedule will be main
tained until the arrival of the first
boats in the spring.
Jake Mutchler met with a very
painful accident the other evening,
while piloting the Yukon Gold Co.’s
tractor engine about three miles be
low Flat, says the Iditarod Pioneer.
Jake got underneath the machine to
knoek the ice out of the steering gear,
and while doing this the engine turn
ed over, pinning his head between
the steering gear and the pitman of
the engine. It was due only to the
quick work of Austin Horner, who re
versed the engine, the man’s life was
saved. Jake piloted the big machine
back to flat, but was then compelled
to go to the hospital. The bruises on
his head were so serious cthat Dr.
Behla found ten stitches necessary to
properly lace the wounds.
There have been no reported viola
tions in the second division of Alaska
of the eight hour law which went into
effect January 1, according to a tele
gram received yesterday from the sec
retary of the Western Federation of
Miners of Nome, by Jack Sutherland,
secretary of the Alaska Labor union.
It was thought that the mine operat
ors in the Nome district would be neg
ligent in observing a strict enforce-1
ment of the law.
A freak of nature in the shape of a
reindeer fawn which was born with
but three legs at the Point Barrow
station. In his report to the bureau
of education, T. L. Richards, the gov
ernment teacher at Barrow, says the
deer has two forelegs but one hind leg
is entirely missing. In spite of this
handicap, the deer is as active as any
of the fawns in the large herd and one
of the hardest to catch. The natives
are very proud of their unique speci
men of the deer tribe and aver that
they will keep it “to look at.” Nearly
all the native men at Barrow are deer
owners and out of a population of less
than 500 persons more than 130 arc
possessors of deer. The total number
of deer at Barrow is placed at 3771.
A jury the other day in United
State Commissioner Whittlesey’s
court at Seward, found Manuel Rajas,
a Russian insane. Domestic troubles
started the mental derangement then
birds began to sing queerly and mys
I terious messages were received from
the air. Rajas was arrested in Seward
upon his arrival from Cordova on a
recent steamer.
The Clay Products company, a cor
poration which expects to engage in
i the business of making bricks and
other clay products has been organiz
ed at Nenana. The company has se
cured some ground on which is located
I a first class bed of clay. The property
is located near the railroad so that it
will be an easy matter to ship the
goods to Fairbanks and other mar
kets. The announcement of the for
mation of the corporation was made
by J. Hutmacher. Among others r&
ported to be interested in the business
is R. E. Burns. The incorporation
papers have been sent to Juneau and
it is expected that the eorncern will
| be ready to start operations early in
! the spring.
C. A. Anderson was drunk the other
I night in Seward. The police asked him
! where he received his little jag, in a
j dry town, and Anderson told them it
was none of their business. Anderson
was entenced to 90 days in jail.
Reports in Fairbanks from Olnes
say that Vault creek is showing con
siderable activity at present. Thomp
son & Anderson, on the Alhambra as
sociation, are said to be hiring men
every day and preparing for work on
a large scale. All the operators on
the creeks are reported as observing
the eight-hour law, in fact, reports
from all the creeks in the Fairbanks
district show that the law is being en
forced on nearly all claims.
As there were so fe\y people in Ne
nana appointed as members of the
council of national defense that organ
ization met the other night and in
vited all the town of Nenana to take
part with it. A big meeting was had
and George W. Pennington was se
lected chairman, with George Packer
vice-chairman and R. R. Douse, sec
retary. The members appointed by
the governor as members of the coun
cil were appointed as the executive
board. Among other things the body
decided to work in conjunction with
P’airbanks council in every way. The
council also asked all the people of
Nenana to adopt the first food con
servation measures by boiling their
potatoes with the “jackets” on, and
thereby cut out a certain amount of
waste.
Charles Neuhause, of Nome, has re
ceived a telegram from Dan Alvich,
known in Nome as “Spaghetti Dan”.
He is now located at Casper, Wyom
ing. Among the other Nomeites
there are William Doyle, Fred Dan
iels, William Draper and Tom Nes
tor.
James E. Wilson, road commission
er for the third division, with head
quarters at Valdez, has filed his cer
tificate of candidacy for re-election to
the office. Mr. Wilson is the first man
to file in the coming primaries, and
will make the race on the democratic
ticket. He was elected road commis
sioner at the election of 1916. His term
expires in 1919. His certificate of
declaration was signed by Thomas
Donohoe, Charles Wilcox, Arthur
Lang, Harry Whitley and John H.
Higgs.
Skagway has sent many of its son ;
to the army, among them being Roy
Mulvihill, Fred Rosenburg, Harry L.
Wurzbacher, Clarence Pike, George
Magee, J. W. Miller, Eddy Dillon,
Burnette Ashley, Frank Ashley, Clar
ence Achison, Earle Lincoln, Charles
Milnes, Elden Daily, Bruce Harridan,
Royal Fullen, J. T. Westermann, Leo
Haslett, H. W. Kirby, Clarkson Galle
her, John Griffith, W. K. Schwechten
Rufus Bailey and William Brooke.
William Campbell, following a hear
ing in the commissioner’s court at
Fairbanks recently was held to await
the action of the grand jury on the
charge of burglary. His bond was
fixed at $1,500, which he furnished,
He is accused of having entered the
cabin of William Eisenmenger and ot
having stolen a quantity of moose
meat.
CHIEF NIKOLAI’S'
[INDIAN PROGNOSLICATOR OF
WEATHER CONDITIONS SAYS
SNOW WILL SOON MELT.
—
I
With the rising of the sun this
morning there arose in the mind of
Chief Nikolai the desire to prognosti
cate weather conditions. When seen
in his cabin this morning the Chief
j was rubbing his heels and allaying a
bothersome itch. “Heels itch, snow
soon go,” said the chief. The weather
from now on is to moderate and be
fore the passing of another moon the
(present snows will be melting rapid
| ly, according to Chief Nikolai.
SCANDINAVIANS GIVE
159 TO RED CROSS
Fifty dollars was donated to the
Anchorage chapter of the Americar
Red Cross by the Scandinavian society
here yesterday. The gift was officially
acknowledged and added to the funds
of the Red Cross treasury last nighl
at the regular business meeting ol
the Anchorage chaptei\
A resolution was adopted by the
chapter extending its thanks and ap
preciation for this donation, whicli
substantially swells the chapter’s
funds.
POUCH IN •
SEATTLE SAVES
DAN SKYATITIS, AFTER LIVING
IN NEIGHBORING VILLAGE,
VENTURES INTO CITY.
TRIES TO CROSS REAL STREET.
Patrolman Has to Stop All Traffic in
Every Direction While He Rescues
Confused Nogffierner and Escorts
Him to Sidewalk.
“Am I glad to get back to the
White Way of Seward—say, I am
here and here to stay.”
That is how Dan Skyatitis appreci
ated his trip to the states after be
ing ten years in the north., says the
Seward Gateway.
Dan came back home on the recent
trip north of the steamship Victoria.
When Dan arrived in Seattle he did
very little traveling about in the day
time. For two weeks he never wan
dered from in front of his hotel with
the exception of between the hours of
1 a. m. and 5 a. m. Those hours were
generally quiet on the streets and he
was safe to travel.
Dan sallied forth one day from his
hotel and tried for one solid hour
to get across the streets and then he
only succeeded with the aid of a cros
sing patrolman and after that the
Seward denizen did not wander
around until the early morning hours.
“You see it was this way,” said
Dan. “The first day I was in Seattle
I started to go across a street. I
put one foot in the gutter and then
stepped out with the other when a
honk sent me skidding back to the
pavement. 1 tried to cross the street
for an hour, and each time, just otf
shore from the sidewalk, an automo
bile would honk at me, a street car
man would jangle his alarm bell, or
a teamster would let out a yell. Fi
nally I became almost a nervous
wreck.
“At last, I just had to cross the
street. I plunged into the traffic and
my plight soon attracted the attention
of the traffic policeman.
“The policeman wanted to know
what the matter was with me.
“ ‘Nothing,’ I said, ‘but I just must
get across that street.’
“ ‘Well, why don’t you go across the
street: Others are doing it. What’s
matterwityou? Where you from?’
“I told him I was from Seward.
“He gave me the up and down and
the twice over ancl said: ‘You look
it, come with me.’
“He blew a whistle and raised his
right arm at full length above his
head. Automobiles stopped, wheels
of street cars grated on the rails.
Traffic for a couple of blocks, both
lengthwise and crosswise came to a
halt. Then in a jiffy he had me over
on the other side. Well, I waited un
til after midnight before I got back
bv myself.”
HOW BOMBS ARE DROPPED.
The bomb-dropping mechanism of
| a Zeppelin captured by the British
; was described in a recent number of
• the London Sphere. There are CO
bomb droppers for conical bombs. The
| bash is slung in straps, and there is
a strap around the neck. The latter
has a releasing hook, and when the
hook is operated the small end first
drops down and the base slides out of
its straps. The bomb then rights it
self and drops base downward. The
bombs are slung in one or two lines
along the under side of the main hull.
The releasing hook is operated by an
electro-magnet, and there is a small
switchboard in the cabin for control
ling the release. Each bomb has a
separate switch. The bombs can be
released by hand-levers also in case
the electric means fail. Each bomb
has a safety device and is not “alive”
until it has dropped several hundred
feet.
*
%
x
WELCOME TROUBLE.
Miss Newitt—May’s in trouble.
She’s had proposals from two men
and can’t choose between them. Miss
Passay—Heavens! \nd does sire call
that trouble?