Mr. and Mrs. T. R. Van Campen
Latouche, Alaska, where Mr. Van
Campen has been manager of the
Beatson mine which is a holding of
the Kennecott Copper corporation
and Mrs. Van Campen has been gath
ering material for a series of Alas
kan fiction which will soon appear
as short stories in the leading mag
azines.
"I am going to San Francisco to
write my stories, one must get away
from a country to do it justice in
writing, because from a distance
one has a better perspective than at j
close range,” was Mrs. Van Camp
en's comment in regard to her plans. '
She continued, “when one is in a
place they see too many cold facts ;
to write good fiction, one must de
pend on a resourceful imagination!
and not just on truth to write stor
ies. It takes hard work and lots of
study to become successful as a writ
er. Anyone with some ability can
grind out a certain amount of stor
ies. Then after that one must nour
ish and cultivate thoughts that will
furnish food for a continual output
of work.”
Mrs. Van Campen writes for a
number of magazines, including the
Saturday Evening Post and the
Metropolitan. Her specialty is short
stories that have an average length
of about 9,000 words and while the i
subject of her Alaskan stories have
not been chosen yet. they will deal
with the snow trail, the mining!
camp and many other typical set- 1
tings that are peculiar to Alaska.
In regard to her actual work Mrs. !
Van Campen said: “I do all mv
writing on the typewriter. First I
compose a story in my head, and ;
then I typewrite it. Sometimes I
write a story over three or four
times and then throw it away be
cause I do not like it, but sometimes
T only re-write a page or two before
the parts fit the needs of the set
ting.”
Mys. Van Campen, who is a lady !
of very pleasing personality, has
spent the past five years in Alaska,
coming north from New York,
where previously she was a fiction j
writer on the New York Morning
Telegram.
‘‘No, we will return to Alaska."
said Mrs .Van Gampen when asked it
they were leaving for good, "be
cause minii^ people always travel
in a circle and our circle begins in
Alaska. I do not know just when
we will come back. Mr. Van Camp
en is going to New York on a pleas
ure trip while I will stay in San
Francisco. I would rather live in a
camp than in a city but the latter
location will be better for my work.”
ONLY OXK ALASKA PLANK
IN RKPUBLICAX PLATFORM
The only plank in the Republican
platform adopted at Chicago, which
refers to Alaska, and in it Alaska is
not mentioned, is that entitled.
“Territorial Officials.” It is a# fol
lows:
"Reaffirming the attitude long
maintained by the Republican party,
we hold that officials appointed to
administer the government of any
territory should be bona fide resi- j
dents of the territory in which their
duties are to be performed.”
Dog Keeps Vigil Over
Grave For Five Years
FULTONHAM, O., .Tune 30.—In
the cemetery here a homeless cur
mourns on the grave of George
Baker. They call her the graveyard
dog.
Five years ago the dog came to
the cemetery following the funeral
procession of Baker, an aged farmer
who died at his home near here.
Every night the dog keeps a close
vigil over the grave. It sleeps for
hours at a stretch during the day on
the little mound that marks Baker's
resting place.
Villagers long ago gave up hope
of coaxing the dog away from there.
She leaves the cemetery only long
enough to search for food.
Friends of Baker say he never
owned the dog. Cemetery trustees
refuse to drive it away, and she
seems likely to spend the rest of her
life in this strange manner.
THE MODE I,
Has fresh stock of cigars, candies,
photo goods, stationery, etc.
Meteor Message
From Dead Son
LINWOOD, N. J., June 30. A
meteor In the form of a human hand
| fell from the sky and buried itself
jin the ground near Henry l'ranti's
farmhouse within 48 hours after the]
death of his 18-year-old son.
Mrs. Pranti today declined to sur
render the meteor to any of the sev- ]
eral meteorologists who came after
it. saying she believed it is a mes
sage from her boy,
Mrs. Pranti is superstitious and
has talked a great deal with spiritu
alists since the meteor dropped from
the clouds.
The object is light in weight and
color, has no odor, and is unlike me
teoric compositions usually found in
this part of the world. The resem
blance to a human hand is striking,
almost uncanny. The thumb and
little finger are unusually long. The
nails show distinctly. The first,
middle and ring fingers are drawn
together and curve slightly inward.
The wrist stump is charred, as
though it had been burned off. The
Prantis will encase the hand in glass
and keep it.
Tl'G ltlI)l)I.K IS
BRINGING MORE LI MRKIS
C. A. Puriae, secretary of the Co
lumbia Contract company, arrived in
Anchorage after a wild goose chase
after the tug Samson that was re
ported out of commission at Yaku
tat Mr. Puriae was agreeably sur
prised that Captain Kildall had
safely brought the Sampson and
barge No. 38 to Anchorage. Mr.
Puriae was well pleased with the
manner the company’s business was
being handled here and spoke en
thusiastically of Anchorage. He re
ports the tug Biddle would reach
Cordova today with barge No. 41 in
tow and would probably dock at An
chorage some time next Sunday. The
tug Sampson, towing barge No. 40,
is due in Portland by the 5th of July
and will return with barge No. 30
with 700,000 feet of lumber for the
Alaskan Engineering commission.
Mr. Puriae was an outgoing passen
ger on the Admiral Farragut which
left here this morning.
Salmon—10c per can at Pilger’s.
When at Matannska Eat at the
PLACE CAFE
Mrs. Hatton, Prop.
J. M. CORNELIUS
Watches > Jewelry
Eye Glasses Fitted, Watch Repair
ing, Jewelry Made to Order.
High-class. Prices Reasonable.
Fourth and H St._
lkishson s
Bakery and Coffee House
Bread, Pies. Cakes, Cookies, Etc.
-a Specialty
Fourth avenue west.
Sanitary Market
Tt.e only cold storage plant In con
nection with market in Anchorage.
Home-made Sausages. Fruits. Veg
etables, Itutter and Fggs, at whole
sale. Restaurants and roadhouses,
special attention.
tth Ave.. Ret H and I Sts.
£ E. KURTZ & CO.
The Sydney Laurence Company
Commercial and Pictorial Photography
Post Cards and Local Views
Kodak Developing and Printing
Town Center
Carrol Building, Fourth Avenue
Phil, The Barber
O. K. Hath House and Barber
Shop.
Fourth, Between I) and E.
Phil J. Eckert. Proprietor.
$1 PER DAY
Corner 4th Ave. and C
MKS. QUINN, Prop.
BILLIARD m SOLCxl
PARLORS
Soft Drinks, Cigars, Cigarettes, Toba^cm
Balch & McDonald
General Contractors
FRAME CONSTRUCTION CONCRETE WORK
EXCAVATION GRADING
HOUSE MOVING
4th Ave. Bet. D and E , Anchorage
Hi® Two Girls Cafe
Mrs. Ollie Gray and Viola Bar
nett, Propr etocs.
Our Motto: WAFFLES A SPECIALTY'
Courtesy, Service, Quality 4th Ave. and C St.
PETER BOMPIANI & CO.
General Contractors, Concrete Work a Specialty
Address General Delivery '
SPEND the FOURTH With US
This is an invitation for all the people of
Cook Inlet to come and celebrate with
ANCHORAGE
There Will Be Amusement Provided for the Young and the
Old Including:
50-, 100-, and 220-yard dashe3. 100-Yard Obstacle Race.
One-Mile Relay Race. Sack, Three-Legged Potato, and Relay Races.
Five-Mile Marathon. In fast, all kinds of Field Sports and plenty of Good Music.
Two Big Ball Games Two Big Ball Games
Between the Matanuska, Commission, Shamrock and
City Teams.
A MERRY WALTZ
At the dance given in the evening by the Anchorage Volunteer Fire Department will be a fitting wind-up «f the day’s pleasure
I