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
i
GO TO STATES
■FOB WINTER
COUNTRY IN VICINITY OF FAM
OUS MINING CAMP HAS A
PROPEROUS YEAR.
WORK WAS ENDED OCTOBER 15.
Weather Conditions Were Unusually
Favorable During Past Season and
There Was Plenty Water for
All Purposes.
The steamboat Victoria, which cal
led^at Cordova the other day from
Nome, had probably more “sour
doughs” who had been in the Nome
country since the early days than
have left Nome on any single trip
for several years.
T1 's was a prosperous year, gener
ally speaking, in Nome. The weather
conditions were more favorable than
usual with an ample supply of water
for mining purposes throughout. The
largest employing company, the Pio
neer Mining company, whose presi
dent, Jafet Lindeberg, was on board
the Victoria, had a practically unin
terrupted season from the beginning
of June until the middle of October.
The underground mining was confin
ed to two or three small outfits on the
submarine west of Nome.
Third Beach Line.
Center creek had some on the third
beach line. The dredges had a ban
ner year generally speaking in the
Solomon, Kougarok and Nome coun
try as well as in Council where the
Wild Goose installed a> hydro-electric
plan; for the operations of their
Ophir creek dredge.
Probably the largest producer this
year was the Mathew’s dredge in the
Kougarok, where exceptionally rich
ground was encountered and fifty
dollars a bucket being a turnover for
days at a time.
The newly formed Alaska Mines
corporation which took over the
*“ property of the Nome Consolidated
with the dredges on Flat and Bour
boi^wi ich were built this summer had
but a hort season although the re
ports of the actual clean-up were
fairly good.
Dime Creek Yields $.">00,009.
,7
The astonishing interest in Dime
creek, which produced half a million
this year also saved the Nome mer
chants during a period of dullness
this summer. The ground which is
being opened up in this new camp in
the Ivoyukuk country is quite exten
sive. Opened up by small miners,
most of whom have been with Nome
since the beginning, large areas of
lowgrade pay have been discovered
and it will keep over 100 miners op
erating this winter. There are plen
ty cf men there and as there is no
bonanza mine in the section it is not
'likely to occasion stampede excite
men\
The tin ore dredges in the York
‘country did not lose a day and both
the Victoria and the Umatilla took
aboard sacks of concentrates as a re
sult of this work, which is even more
remunerative than the gold.
Only Few Idle Men.
There were on the whole, fewer
idle men this year in Nome and vicin
ity than in years.
On board the Victoria were mining
men from practically every section of
the Seward peninsula, from Marshal,
ffom the Iditarod and from the Yu
kon generally. O’Hallorhan who op
erated extensively on Candle creek;
Jvor Johnson, another Candle opera
pr, whose dredge was- one of the last
close; Charles Dankart the light
|ge man of Kotzebue sound who has
of the best equipped plants for
work in the north, and several
from the Kotzpbue section
-on board.
|m Nome the legal profession
^presented by William A. Gil
the republican candidate in a
election for the territory,
and republican delegate to the na
tional convention last election.
Old-Time Lawyer.
T. M. Reed* another old time law
yer, was also on board. Dr. Graves
who was an board with his family
represented the medical fraternity o
the city of Nome and Seward pen
insula. £)nl and Joe Ernst, pionee
printers of the north, and also dredg
ing men of prominence in Nome wer
going otitside for the first time i
many years. v'
Finance was represented by J. J
Cole son Arthur Cole of th
i Miners* 'and Merchants’ bank, Coeh
rane, of BouWer creek; Jake Berge
and wife, who has taken over th
Ashby property on Daniels creek i
the Bluff section; Anon Andersor
whose dredge on Center creek ha
had a good season; Greenberg, wh
still represents large mining interest
in the Nome section; Carl Mint, wh
formerly with James Byrne took ou
rich dumps on Cunningham creek
Martin Corliss, the well-known Gol
Run miner; M. F. Linehan of th
same section, F. J. Bakke, former]
Nome postmaster, and Fred Daniels
the pioneer caterer of Nome, wer
others aboard the Victoria.
Mrs. Alma Nelson and Joe Math
ews of the Kougarok section, Mrs
Casey, past president and one of th
founders of the Pioneer Women o
Alaska, the women’s subsidiary of th
Alaska Pioneers; John McGivnej
formerly editor of the Nome Indus
trial Worker, and family; Dr. Fren
the pioneer dentist; A. D. Petee, w7h
had a water monopoly in Nome fo
many years; Barry Keown, who ha
been drilling extensively in the Nom
section, James F. Halpin, who ha
optioned a large acreage of product
ive ground in Nome; William O’Briei
the owner of the only productive ti
lode mine in American territory
which is located at Lost river and o
which a considerable quantity o
work was done during the summer
W. McArdle who took out a rich dum
on Dexter, and hundeds of othe
men who have been identified in sea
son and out with the productive la
bor of Nome, were Victoria passer
gers.
Also on board were a number of S
Michaels residents, including Di
Thompson, Mrs. Burns, Mrs. Hal
Captain Polty, river boatman and otli
ers. Indeed, there seemed to be
general rush for the outside on th
last of tire boats from the variou
sections tributary to the city o
Nome.
RUBY PIONEER DIES.
Harry Durkir», a pioneer resident o
the Ruby section, died recently a
Skagway while on route to the out
sale. The body wa.i taken in charg
by the Skagway Igioo of Pioneers i
response to a request by the Rub
igloo, of which the deceased was
member, and the funeral was held a
Skagway under the auspices of th
order.—Skagway Alaskan.
FAIRBANKS BANK
RECOVERS $13,001
FM RECTOR R. C. WOOD ORDERE1
TO PAY ALLEGED WRONG
FULLY TAKEN MONEY.
I -
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 20. — Th
United States district court of appeal
here yesterday ordered R. C. Wooc
one of the directors of the defunc
Washington-Alaska Bank, of Fair
banks, to pay $13,000 and interest t
| F. G. Noyes, receiver of the bank.
This judgment of the court of ap
peals reverses a decision of the dig
trict court of Alaska.
Receiver Noyes alleged the $13,00
| involved in the suit had been wrong
fully taken from the bank. The sui
| against Director Wood is one of sev
eral that either have been or will b
| filed against several directors an
J stockholders of the bankrupt ir
! stitution.
Barney McKenna ,an old-timer i
the Seward Peninsula region, was rt
: cently operated on successfully for ap
I pendicitis at the Seward generc
hospital.
DOINGS OF IGLOO NO. 15
At the regular meeting of the
■f Pioneers on Friday evening, the five
applicants at the previous meeting
f; were all elected as members of the
_ i Igloo. There was only one of the ap
r plicants present, Brother T. O. Higil
. stad, and he was duly initiated. There
3 were no new applicants for member
y ship. After the routine work of the
igloo was transacted, a public dance
took place as advertised. There were
e a large number of ladies out and
_ Kemp’s orchestra furnished the music
r that soon filled the floor with maizy
g waltzers. There was a splendid feel
! ing of good fellowship and an un
l} usually pleasant time was had by all
s present. Several elderly visitors were
0 out who did not come to take part in
s the dancing, but when the old-time
0 quadrille was called some of those old
5 pioneers heard the whisperings of that
; still small voice within, saying, “Back
1 ward ,turn backward, Oh, Time in
o your flight, Make me young again,
y just for tonight,” and, say, well, it
was worth the price of admission! The
e janitor had to let the windows down!
A table in the club room was spread
- i with good things to eat and hot coffee
i. was served, Mrs. Hamilton attending
e to the pouring. Just to the other side
f of the room was a “Yukon Bar,” pre
e sided over by the 'Bard of Kuskokwim,
r? who declares, “That as sure as you
- are born, the punch that’s used in An
1, chorage is made of rye or corn.” The
o happy, joyful crowd adjouned “some-1
r time in the morning,* as the strains j
s of “Home, Sweet Home,” reverberated i
e throughout the hall.
- NEW MEMBERS ELECTED AT
i, LAST MEETING, IGLOO NO. 15.
n -
THOS. O. HIGILSTAD. X
111 Was born in Norway, July 22, 1853. f
He came to Cook Inlet in 1896. He
» * has been in Anchorage from its earl-!
P iest days. Mr. Higilstad is a miner i
r and prospector and. is quite familiar
- with the mountains and streams of j
■ Alaska, especially in the Cook Inlet i
• country. He was in Dawson in 1897 j
and went from there to Nome in 1901.i
In 1903 he was in the Inmachuck and
'• Candle' camps. His former home was !
at Cambridge, Wisconsin.
THOMAS AUREEN.
This son of ’98, was born in Nor
land,^Sweden, on the 7th day of March,
1851. He crfhie to Alaska in the spring
3f '98, and to Anchorage in 1915. Mr.
Aureen is a rancher and has a fine
homestead in the Matanuska country.
Se has relatives living at Skelofta,
Sweden, and Jacksonville, Florida.
DUNCAN McCORMICK.
Duncan was born at Port Huron,
Michigan on the 10th day of March,
1862. He first came to Alaska in the
year 1900, landing in Juneau in April.
Mr. McCormick came to Anchorage,
October 15, 1915, and has lived here
ever since. He is a carpenter by trade
and a miner and prospector by occu
pation at the present time. He has
friends and relatives at Cass City,
Michigan.
PETER ROBERTS.
On January 1, 1863, at Stafford
Springs, Connecticut, Peter Roberts,
was born. He came to Alaska in 1884,
landing first at .Juneau. He came to
Anchorage in 1915 and has been en
gaged here ever since. His vocation
is that of a “lumberjack,” but here
in Alaska he has done considerable
prospecting and is quite a “tourist”
for he has been in all the towns on the
Yukon from Forty Mile to Nome. At
the present lime he is engaged with
the Alaskan 'Engineering commission
on Turnagain Arm. His home ad
dress is Anchorage.
WILLIAM KEUHM.
Mr. Keuhm is a native of Maryland,
having been born in that state on the
4th of March, 1876. He came to Alas
ka in 1900, landing first at Nome. Mr.
Keuhm came to Anchorage early in its
nxstory arm nas remainea nere eve1
since. He is a miner by occupation
jnd has visited many of the camps of
the yGreat Land.” His name was
submitted to the Igloo by S. R. Calvin
and Capt. George A. Howe, who have
known him several years.
The identification card in the
Pioneers of Alaska, of Brother George
Rulapaugh who recently died here in
Anchorage, found among his papers,
shows that he was born'in Lucas coun
:y, Ohio, on the 8th day of September,
1870. His home addrress is given as
“1424 Walbridge Ave., Toledo, Ohio.”
He has friends living at Fort Smith,
f
MINNIELUKTUK
l . ■.
—
By EDWIN H. BLACK in Pioneer Women’s Magazine, Nome,
f |
t Where the sun shines bright at midnight all through the month of June
. Where the winter’s sun sheds twilight cn the snow and ice at noon,
2 Lived a dusky dark-eyed maiden, and her heart was free from care,
rj And she thought not of the morrow as she ate her salmon rare.
vt Her hands and feet were dainty, she could sing the mission psalms
a But a little soap and water would have added to her charms,
t She could run before her dog team and laugh with childish glee;
e And the waters of the Kobuk rippled onward to the sea.
She could paddle her small kyak, she could trail the fox and bear
She could dry the meat for winter, she could hunt and fish and snare,
She was handy with the needle, no furrier in the trade
Could chew a boot, or patch a skin, like this bright-eyed little qiaid,
| She had very few accomplishments; she seldom wriped her nose,
And the perfumery about her resembled not the rose.
^ She had many dark admirers, but she heeded not their plea;
J And the waters of the Kobuk rippled onward to the sea.
She was not tall and slender as the poet’s verses tell;
j She’d have been far more attractive, if she’d had a different smell,
e i She was clothed in skins of animals, and wherever she would roam
s Many tiny little creatures would make her clothes their home.
1, Don’t lay this up against her, for she had never seen
t Pear’s soap, nor insect powder, fine toothed comb or Camelline.
- But no high born lady in the land had a warmer heart than she;
a And the waters of the Kobuk rippled onward to the sea.
When the Kotzebue excitement brought a crowd of miners there,
There was one young man among them, with blue eyes and sorrel hair.
He was smitten with this maiden, and he was often seen,
Hanging ’round her little igloo (which was not so very clean)
At home he was fastidious, ’twould be very hard to tell
^ How he became accustomed to that peculiar smell.
He brought her flour and bacon, sugar, beans and tea;
And the waters of the Kobuk rippled onward to the sea.
i When the sun came back in summer, and the winter’s storms were spent,
- The miners left the country, where they hadn’t found a cent.
Empty cabins, rude reminders of the days of ninety-nine,
r. Stand all along the river ’mid the stumps of spruce and pine.
- On the banks of crooked river, sits a maiden all forlorn;
- “Kabloona kow kow peluk,” (All the white man’s grub is gone.)
i A blue-eyed Mickaninnie she holds upon her knee;
And the waters of the Kobuk rippled onward to the sea.
Arkansas and asks that they be noti
fied in case of his death. The identifica
tion, card should have been filed with
the Iggloo of Pioneers, but he had re
tained it and made it quite difficult
to ascertain where his relatives reside.
WORK FOR GOOD OF ORDER.
The Pioneers of Alaska who have
the interest of the igloo at heart, can
not i ttach tob much importance to
the nomination of officers at the first
meeting in December. In the selec
tion of these officers, “the good of the
order” is the only thing to be consid
ered.
The Pioneers of Alaska are organ
ized for a purpose and there is r» j
great work for them to do. If they do |
not attend to it, it will never be done.!
It is of too much importance to lay |
this work aside to please the whims j
uf some old chap who aspires to be !
pensioned with a few dollars’ salary,
or the other old chap, whose only am
bition is to be an officer of the order.
Such history as that is not worth pre
serving, yet there aie some officers in
the igloo at the present time who, ev
idently, have no higher- aims for the
order, as it is almost impossible to
get them to answer a letter of inquiry
Concerning the business of the igloo,
or to do anything else, even to
attend the funeral of a brother and
help bury him if the old man with
the scythe cuts him down.
If a brother is “too busy” to attend
I the funeral of an old pioneer who
has reached the end of the trail, what
is to become of HIS remains when
Father Time calls him under the
scythe? To merely be a member of
the Pioneers, is nothing, unless you
help in the work that they have un
Each igloo in the territory should
elect officers that have the good of the
igloo at heart and who are interested
enough in the work to DO something.
This is the time when these matters
should be considered, and then, after
the officers are elected, whether they
be good or bad, each brother should
! get in and work for the good of all
without any “grouch.” If you cannot
do this then you are no pioneer. You
may think you are but you are not.
Be sure and attend the first regular
meeting in December and see that
good pioneers are nominated for the
offices, and then, on the last meeting
in December, be there and see that
they are elected. Then do all you can
for the good of the igloo.
Attorney Charles II. Cosgrove of
Ketchikan has received word of the
death of W. H. Gilmour, who left Ivet
| chikan several weeks ago to visit old
home in 'Buffalo. He was affectionate
ly known as “Pop.” He will be buried
in Houston, Tex., where he has rela
tives. He was an old-timer at
Ketchikan.
WAR INSURANCE POPULAR.
Already soldiers »nd sailors have
applied for insurance policies aggre
gating $18,000,000 under the new war
insurance system. As the benefits of
the government’s plan come to be ful
ly understood, the men in the national
service will not need to be persuaded
to take advantage of it.* They owe it
to themselves and their families to
provide for the future with the gov
ernment’s assistance. — Ne\V York
World.
THftEE KINGS.
And when you hold three royal kings
And think you’re surely in the fray,
You bet the limit just to learn
You really don’t know how to play.
—Exchange.
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I THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE
PETERSON’S
If you are dry and want something “soft” and refresh- @
ing. It’s a Home-like Place and you are always welcome. |
Both the Pool and Billiard Tables are new and the lovers
of the cue hang out at §
Fourth Ave„ bet. C and D 0. F. PETEKSON, ?nv §
THE REAL ALASKANS.
The old-tinjprs in Alaska have
proven their loyalty to the north. Oth
ers may come and do much toward the
development of the country provided
they are paid for it, but as soon as
their salary stops they have no fur
ther interest in the territory more
than to wish it well, if even that.
If Alaska is ever developed and
made the producer of the commodi
ties of the world that it is possible
for her to furnish in international
trade, it must be by and through
those who make Alaska their home.
If Alaska is developed by those who
care only to exploit it, her wealth
will be carried away in the same
manner that the wealth of Belgium
and France is being carried to Ger
many for the upbuilding of that au
tocracy. The coal mines of France
have been developed by the Germans
as never before, but it has done
France no good. Germany will devel
op the oil fields of Russia in a man
ner that will astonish the world, if
she bolds possession of that country,
but it will not be for the upbuilding
of Russia. Germany may let the Rus
sians work at slave wages, as certain
autocrats of Seattle, Portland and
San Francisco let Alaskans work in
catching fish for them, but, while it
may “develop the country” it will en
slave the people.
The people of* Alaska do not fi^ht
for the revenue derived from her re
sources as they should because there
are not a sufficient number of them
have their homes here. It was Abe
Lincoln who said that vou could in
duce men to walk into the mouth of u
cannon in defense of their homes,
while it was quite a difficult thing to
get men to enlist to defend a board
ing house.
There are too many in Alaska who
are merely running ‘-summer boarding
nouses” here. And a large number of
these “boarding houses” are only
“tents.” When these political Arabs
are through with their jobs, or have
lost their offices, they have no fur
ther use for Alaska, and immediately
fold their tents and mount their
camel for some other clime.
So the real Alaskan, the man who
takes an interest in having burial
grounds cleared and fenced here,
should fight with the same spirit for
the welfare of Alaska that the Bel
gian fights in defense of the ground
where his ancestors lie buried.
These political and “get-rich-quick”
kaisers who are here merely to ex
ploit Alaska, and who have no respect
for real citizens of the country, other
than to use them to dig trenches or
catch fish for alien enemies, should no
more possess the confidence of Alas
kans than the kaiser possesses the
confidence of the Belgians. They are
here to conquer Alaskans for revenue
only.
The great European war has not
been fought in vain. It has taught
mankind that he must look out for
himself. It has taught man that he
has the power, and that he can up
turn empires if he only has the WILL.
If the real Alaskans will only “mo
bilize” they will need no Hoover to
enable them to save their country
from the alien engmy. Keep all those
men who have a cemetery lot in the
states bargained for, out of power.
They are here as summer boarding
house keepers, only, and do not call
Alaska “home.”
FOOEY!
He surely is a rummy mutt,
I speak of Ignatz Dice;
He always has an edge on, but
He never cuts much ice.