S MINING *
I
I
18
GOLD IN INTERIOR FOUND
FIRST BETWEEN TANANA AND
YUKON WEST OF BOUNDARY.
YIELD T O T A L S $100,000,000
Town of Circle Is One of Oldest White
Settlments on Alaska's Great River
and Is Center of What Was Once
Rich District.
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 15.—
The first gold deposits found in inland
Alaska were in the Yukon-Tanana re
gion, which lies between the Yukon
and Tanana rivers west of the inter
national boundary, says a bulletin just
issued by the United States geological
survey. The earliest of the pioneer
prospectors crossed the Chilkott Past
about 1SS0 and began mining in the
interior of Alaska six years later aftei
finding gold in the Yukon-Tanana le
gion. Since then this region has pro
duced gold to the value of about $100.
000,000. A number o freports have
been issued by the United States geo
logical survey, department of the in
terior, bearing upon this area and
others adjacent in the Yukon basin,
and among the reports still available
is Bulletin 538, on the portion of the
region known as the Circle quad
rangle. This quadrangle owes its chief
present importance to the placet
mines, which, though worked in a
small way, have produced to the value
of more than $6,500,000.
“The town of Circle is one of the
oldest white settlements on the Yu
kon. It was located before the sur
veyor had determined that the town
was not on the Arctic Circle, as sup
posed, but fifty miles south of it,’;
says the buleltin. “Lest the nearness
of the Arctic Circle be regarded as in
dicative of ice and snow, it should be
noted that there are neither glaciers
nor permanent snow in the Yukon
Tanana region. It is indeed a land
of fertile valleys and grassy slopes
and during the short but warm sum
mers vegetation thrives, many grain
can be ripened, and vegetables grow
luxuriantly. Of course the establish
ment of adequate railroad transporta
tion facilities may be expected to de
velope this entire region greatly.”
Boa Conirictor May Be Trained.
v*
There are several varieties of boa
constrictors, the best known being the
Giboia or land boat constrictor.
This is the smaller, and least viciouc
of the tribe. It is harmless and will
not attack unless attacked, writes a
correspondent. In fact, if caught
young it may be tamed, and the na
tives of the Amazone valley frequent
ly keep them around their houses in
stead of house cats, as they keep the
place clear of rats, mice and othei
vermin, and even of larger maraud
ing animals. You can buy these
snakes in the markets of Para, Man
aos and other North Brazilian ports
where they are offered for sale in
boxes, like chickens or rabbits and the
owner will haul them out and demon
strate them to you.
The water boa contrictor is the
largest known snake in existence,
growing to the length of thirty to for
ty feet and the thickness of a man’s
upper leg.
HARVESTING KELP.
Before the war potash could be
bought for $40 a ton; since its impor
tation from Germany ceased it ha;
risen to $450 a ton.
G. C. Hopkins, in The Forecast, de
scribes the harvesting of the gigantic
kelp of the Pacific, and says this
yields not only potash but ammonia
and Iodine, while the gas generated
in the process is used to help the dis
tillation. The United States depart
ment of agriculture is harvesting the
kelp with floating mowing machines.
•<.»
I
HOLE 181 FEET
BEEP SOI ON
I a. McPherson and partners
ARE PROSPECTING ON BIG
CHENA TRIBUTARY
WASH GRAVEL NOT REACHED.
—
j Stream Has Been Scene of Several
I Stampedes, Particularly During
1908 and 1909, But Nothing But
Prospects Was Found.
—
Alexander McPherson, who has
been up on the Big Chena in the Fair
banks district since last spring, ar
rived in Fairbanks the other day.
Mr. McPherson, with a man named
Glendenaing, and another partner,
'"'e at present prospecting on Hunch
creek, a large tributary coming into
the Big Che" . about forty miles up.
The partners have a hcle down ISO
feet in slum and muck, not having
struck any wash gravel as yet. They
are sinking away up on the bench of
the wide creek, about a mile from its
mouth.
Hunch creek has had several stam
pedes. The creek proper is not very
deep. Several outfits were prospect
ing on the creek during 1908 and 1909,
but nothing was found but prospects
of coarse gold several miles up from
the mouth. There was also consider
able excitement created at one pe
riod by the finding of a “white chan
nel” away higher than the creek val
i ley, but nothing was ever found in
the high channel but fine, flaky gold.
—
—
ONE QUARTER OF TON OF HIGH
GRADE LIGNITE REACHES
MARKET ON FEBRUARY 7.
FUEL TO BE HAULED BY TEAM.
Alaskan Engineering Commission
Contracts for Fifty Tons for Deliv
ery at Fairbanks End of Govern
ment Railroad.
—
!
The first shipment of coal from the
Nenana coal field reached Nenana on
February 7, according to an announce
ment made by the Anchorage office
of the land and industrial department
cf the Alaskan Engineering commis
sion. The shipment consisted of one
quarter of a ton of high-grade lignite,
which was mined on Lignite creek
and freighted to Nenana by Toussant
and O’Connor, of Nenana, who are
making preparations to mine coal and
haul it by team to the present end of
: steel—sixteen miles south of Nenana
on the Fairbanks end of the govern
ment railroad. A permit has been
granted them to occupy for storage
purposes, a portion of the waterfront
; at the foot of Market street in Ne
nana.
Neal Van Houten, who has a con
; tract to supply the Alaskan Engi
neering commission at Fairbanks
with 200 tons of coal, to be delivered
on the right-of-way of the railroad,
has mined fifty tons of coal at the
mouth of Lignite creek in the Nenana
field, part of which has been trans
ported to the Nenana river crossing,
Mile 373, (forty-one miles south of
| Nenana) on the surveyed line of the
; railroad.
Secretary of the Interior Franklin
K. Lane announced January 12, that
; the Nenana coal field had been sur
veyed into lots, blocks or units, and
that as soon as the necessary data and
regulations were printed, the offering
of the blocks for leasing would be an
nounced.
CHICIvALOON COMPANY NOW
PROVIDES POWER REQUIRED
BY ITS OPERATIONS.
CAPACITY CAN BE, INCREASED.
Development and Prospecting Work
Has Been in Progress Throughout
Winter and Twenty-Five Men Are
Now on Payroll.
The Chickaloon Coal company, op
erating the Netland coal mine on
Units numbers 10 and 11, at Chicka
loon, the terminus of the branch line
to the Matanuska coal field, recently
j completed the installation of an elee
; trie light plant, and the system is now
| supplying electric light and power to
their camp, says a statement issued
by the Land and Industrial depart
ment of the Alaskan Engineering
commission.
The plant consists of a fifty horse
power boiler, twenty-five horsepower j
i engine and twenty-five horsepower di- j
; rect generator. The company will in
i crease the capacity of the plant as I
I . . I
the need for additional electric ener- i
gy arises in the development and op
eration of the mine.
The Chickaloon Coal company has j
been actively engaged all winter in
devloping and prospecting units num
bers 10 and 11 under the lease exe
cuted last February hy Lars Netland,;
of Oakland, California, with the Unit
i ed States. The units embrace an area
of 1,440 acres, and are situated be- '
tween Chickaloon and Kings river, in
township 20 north, range 5 east, Sew
ard meridian.
The company has a force of twen
ty-five men employed in the mining
work at the present time.
BETROTHAL OF THE JUNGLE.
Maiden and Intended Each Supposed
to Meditate on Advisability of
Union Before Ceremony.
A second beating of tomtoms thun
dereddered through the barrio. The
bride was coming! Down an avenue
made for her by women of the tribe
slowly crept the tiny figure. It was
draped in the softest eastern stuffs,
jeweled anklets and bangles tinkled
merrily. A gauzy veil of wondrous
workmanship swathed the figure, but
through it Fiang recognized his be
loved Papita.
. Slowly she approached; fearfully
she raised her eyes to the man who
awaited her, Florence Partello Stuart
writes in St. Nicholas. Her little feet
faltered, and Papita leaned heavily
against the woman who supported her.
But at that moment Piang gave a
| strange whistle, three soft notes of a
mina bird floated over the barrio and
Papita became suddenly alive. Again
i the notes stole through the jungle.
The bride threw back her veil.
“The unwilling maid seems to have
forgotten her woe,” said one scornful
j woman to another.
The priestess commenced the cere
mony that was to last all night. It
was filled with weird chants to which
Papita responded with renewed vigor.
But her eyes furtively glanced toward
a spot near the curve of the creek
I where a slender reed swayed unceas
i Aftev several hours the priestessj
led the way to the water the Ynoch j
placed Papita in her gala vinta and !
j pushed her out into the stream. He j
! got into another and the two boats j
nosed each other while the crowd
showered them with oils and per
fumes. When the command came to
part, the boats shot off in opposite di
rections. A maiden and a bridegroom
are each supposed to meditate, in
Oriental fashion, on the advisability
of the union before the final ceremony;
so read the Dyak marriage laws.
THE WISE FOOL.
“Memory is short and fleeting,” ob
served the Sage.
“Yes,” agreed the Fool. “That’s the
reason why the attorney with the
closing argument usually wins the
case.”
HERBERT QUICK SAYS EVERY
PRO-GERMAN IN AMERICA IS
ENEMY OF NATION.
VARIOUS KINDS OF FOES.
Peace When It Comes Must Be Made
With Teuton People or With Brok
en Hohenzollern and Must Insure
Principles of Democracy.
Writing for the national committee
of public safety, Herbert Quick, of
Washington, D. C., well-known maga
zine writer and editor and federal
farm loan commissioner, declares that
every pro-German in the United
States is an enemy of the nation.* He
asserts thei*e is no middle ground,
that every man must be a patriot or
an enemy. This not only applies to
every American, but every Briton,
Frenchman and Italian. The cruel
war being waged by the Junkers of
Prussia is sketched rapidly as am
ple reason for the destruction of the
German military power. Mr. Quick’s
article follows:
‘*A pro-German is a man who, by
private or public utterances, stands in
the way of a whole-hearted prosecu
tion of this war and the defeat of the
German will to conquer.
“He may do it by finding fault with
the conduct of the war. He may do
it by improcaicable peace arguments.
He may do it through a mistaken pol
icy. He may do it because he is in
the pay of the German government.
He may do it because he has been be
fooled and bamboozled by those who
are in Germany’s pay.
“The German will to expansion by
conquest must be broken by defeat.
If that rapacious will be not broken,
the war will not give us peace. In
all the history of the world there nev
er existed a conquering nation less fit
to rule others than are the Germans.
This is true because the German pol
icy is so brutal, so cruel, so scientific
ally exterminating.
Poles Are Starving.
“In the streets of every town in
German Poland children are falling
and dying of starvation. Children 8
to 12 years of age are being carried
through the streets by their parents
because they are too weak to walk—
because of starvation. The Poles are
being exterminated as fast as possi
ble by the Germans just as the Ar
menians—the oldest Christian nation
in the world—are being exterminated
by the Germans and Turks.
“Why? Because Germany wants
the property of the Poles for Germans
after the war; and because they want
the property of the Armenians for the
Turks and Germans after the war.
“Their will can and must be broken
by defeat. It is not the will of the
individual German. It is the bloody,
brutal, cruel, devilish will of the
German government and the German
ruling class, miseducated in the school
which believes that war is the summa
ftnn "T linmon /vaa/1
“A pro-German is anyone who
stands in the way of our successful
prosecution of the war. Every word
that falls from the tongue of any
Americah or is written by him car
ries with it a responsibility greater
than exer existed in the history of
this nation. Look well to what you
say or do.
‘‘Germany has in this country hun
dreds of papers printed in the Gei’
man tongue. Whether this ought to
be or not is a grave question. If any
of these papers are loyal, I do not
know of them. Some of them may be
but I have not heard of them.
“These and other papers and many
individuals say they are for Amer
ica, but none of them say they are
against Germany.
“He who is for us is against Ger- :
many. He who is not against Ger- |
many, tooth and nail, in this war is j
not for America.
“You can tell the pro-German by j
another test: If he is against Great
Britain, France, or against Italy, he is j
pro-German.
“The armies and navies of these
powers are fighting our fight. They
are dying by thousands every day to
make the world safe for democracy.
If we win, we must win because they
do most of the fighting and dying,
while we only do some of it.
“The enemy of Great Britain is pro
German.
“The enemy of Italy is against Am
erica.
“The enemy of France is lost to ev
ery claim of patriotism.
“Do not let these pi'o-Germans poi
son the atmosphere in your locality
by slandering our allies without chal
lenge. It is time to call down the
man who fights against our armies
with tongue or pen, no matter what
flag those armies are fighting under.
Words Are Things.
“Words are things. In such a crisis
they are dreadful things, portentous
things, things whifch can not be al
lowed to pass as of no account.
“Germany is penetrating every
country of the world with her hired
spies and traitors. She disorganized
the Russian armies through traitors
after the revolution. She knew the
plan of Russian battle beforehand
through traitors. She has filled this
country with spies and traitors.
Has Financed I. W. W.
She has financed the I. W. W. with
out a doubt. She has destroyed prop
erty and debauched our citizens.
“Is there ar.y American who does
not long for peace? Not one! Neith
er is there a Briton or Frenchman or
Italian. But it must not be a German
peace, leaving the great spider in the
center of his web waiting for another
chance. It must be a real peace. It
must be made with the German peo
ple or with a ruined Hohenzollern—
one or the other. But he who talks
peace as if he only longs for’it, as if
he only were commissioned to make
peace, must want a different sort of
peace from the sort we must have.
Distrust him. He may be sincere, but
he may not be.
The world has in the past been
conquered by traitors—oftener than it
was ever conquered by arms. The
Mexican people fought each other in
to slavery to Spain. Let us not be
bought by German gold into slavery
to Germany.
FOR ROAD COMMISSIONER.
I hereby announce my candidacy as
Road Commissioner for the Third Di
vision of Alaska subject to the voters
of the Democratic party as expressed
at the primary election to be held
April 30, 1918.
If elected I promise to perform the
duties of the office with due regard
to the needs of all sections of the
Third Division. In solicitng the votes
of the people of the Third Division I
respectfully refer them to my record
in this office for the past two years.
159 JAMES E. WILSON.
CORRECT.
A profiteer is a man who puts inter
est above principle.—(El-Jay-El.)
COMMERCIAL CLUB OF TOWN
SAYS IT WENT FORTY DAYS
WITHOUT LETTERS.
PROTEST SENT TO WASHINGTON
Unsatisfactory Condition Is Blamed
on Contractor and Federal Govern
ment Is Requested for Remedial Ac
tion at Once.
Becoming irritated over the appar
ent negligence in the handling of mail
on the coast division of the Seward
Iditarod route, the Iditarod Commer
cial club’s executive committee di
rected the president, Albrecht, of the
club, to send to Washington city the
following message, which, the Idita
n#d Pioneer says, clearly expresses
sentiment in Iditarod on the subject:
“Second Assistant Postmaster Gen
eral.—No mail here in forty days.
Wireless reports not passed McGrath.
(From McGrath, where there is a
wireless station, messages for Idita
rod, which has no wireless station,
are transmitted by mail) and that
trouble is clue to non-payment of road
houses and carriers by mail contrac
tor. We blame whoever in authority
has allowed the mail contractor to
continue year after year defaulting in
service and upon his bills. Iditarod
respectfully protects against condi
tions and asks remedial action.
“IDITAROD COMMERCIAL CLUB.”
HUH.
“Your husband tells me that you
I never listen to a word he says,” said
Mrs. Naybor.
“Is that so,” replied Mrs. Gobb.
“The poor fool doesn’t know that he
talks in his sleep.”
A lucky lout, ♦
Is Hiram Halls;
He’s always out
&
When trouble calls.
Ihi Sitka Hot Springs
These springs are five in
number and one of the old land
marks of Alaska. The 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,
$7.50 per month and up, includ
ing furnishings, except bed
ding. ADDRESS
F. L. GODDARD, M. D.,
SANITARIUM, : ALASKA
American Savings Bank & Trust Co. j
AMERICAN BANK BUILDING f
Second Avenue at Madison Street, Seattle, Wash.
CAPITAL AND SURPLUS .$ 700,000.00 |
RESOURCES . 3,500,000.00 •?
Protection to depositors 156 per cent, the highest of any Seattle ^
bank as decided in a recent publicity contest entitled “Can You Tell •>
How Strong a Bank Is.” ;■
We know your needs and can serve you. *
Send us your savings by mail.
We Pay 4 Per Cent Compounded Semi-Annually
Signature card and pass book will be mailed upon request. Write ®
us.
1
J. A. Murray—Chairman of Board. B. B. Luten—Sec. and Trust Officer e*:
J. P. Gleason—President. John K. Bush—Cashier <•)
George B. Baker—Vice-President. A. T. Drew—Assistant Cashier. <•)
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Get the Best Price by Shipping Your
Furs to the EASTERN MARKET.
Furs Bought Outright, or Sold on
Consignment.
FURS
REMITTANCE BY MONEY ORDER, EXPRESS ORDER OR CHEQUE
Hoerner, Williams & Co.
FUR MERCHANTS REG.
NEW YORK, N. Y. 129 West 29th Street
REFERENCE—BANK OP ANCHORAGE.