z&s
* MINING *
COAL FIELD AT
COMPLETION OF SURVEY OF AC
CESSIBLE UNITS ANNOUNCED
BY SECRETARY F. K. LANE.
TOTAL AREA IS 19.000 ACRES.
Government Railroad Is Expected to
Reach Newly Released Land by'
Next Summer Thus Affording
Transportation Facilities.
WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 21.—
Completion of a survey, dividing into,
leasing units the more accessible
parts of the Nenana coal field in Alas
ka was announced today bv Secretary
„ j
of the Interior Franklin K. Lane. The
newly surveyed blocks will soon be of
fered for lease.
The area, which is now open to
leases by the public, comprises about
19,000 acres in the valley of Lignite
creek. The coal is of lignite charact
er of a fair grade. It will be suitable
for use by the government railroad,
I y Tanana river steamboats and for
domestic purposes.
The government railroard, which is
new building south from Nenana, is
expected to reach the coal fields next
summer, thereby affording transpor
f.ion facilities for the output of any
wines that may be developed in the
Lignite creek field.
ZUN STEW ART DIES FXEXPECT
EDEY AFTER PARTNER HAD
COOKED BREAKFAST.
OFFICER AT OPHIR NOTIFIED.
Dan Stewart, a prospector of the in
V. lor, died recently at Tolstoi. He
...id his partner, Joseph Mitchell, cab
in :! together. On the morning of the
e.;y of Stewart’s death, according to
‘he Iditarod Pianeer, Stewart went to
the cabin at an early hour and lay
down on his bunk. Several hours
V.ter Mitchell got up from his bed,
repared breakfast, and asked Stew
art if he was ready to eat. Stewart
replied that he wanted nothing.
A few hours later Mitchell again
went to the bedside of his partner to
ascertain his wants, but he had crossed
the Big Divide.
A messenger with a dog team was
sent to Ophir for Commissioner
.Moody to hold an inquest.
Stewart was well known throughout
the interior of Alaska, having pros
pected and mined for over ten years.
He was one of the first men to stam
pede into the Ophir country, and he
spent a couple of years on Moore
creek, where he prospected with Mike
Hayes.
Stewart was about 50 years of age.
CONDUCT OF SOME TOBACCO
USERS IN PUBLIC MAKES
HABIT UNPOPULAR.
LONDON, Jan. IS.—The conduct of
young women who smoke in the sub
way, the moving picture theatres and
other play-houses where it is allowed,
is gradually putting smoking out of
fashion among English women of re
fined sensibilities.
It is accomplishing more than a re
cent semi-official entreaty to women
to give up smoking in order that the
men at the front may have more
“fags.” * £
1
UPPER STEIRT
A. G. CRISFIELD TELLS OF RE
GION FROM MAYO LANDING
TO HEADWATERS.
QUARTZ AND PLACER PROSPECT
Principal Camp Has Two Stores and
Two Hotels and While it Is Not
Booming Now Its Future Looks
Encouraging.
While the country on each side of
the lower Stewart river which flows
into the Yukon river, about seventy
miles above Dawson, have been thor
oughly prospected, the upper Stewart
river region is a very promising field
for the prospector, in the opinion of
A. CJ. Crisfield, a pioneer of the Stew
art river district.
“The part of the Stewart river that
1 regard as particularly inviting to the
mining man,” Mr. Crisfield is quoted
as saying in the Skagway Aalskan,
“extends from Mayo Landing, which
is about 150 miles from the mouth of
the river, to the headwaters of the
stream.
“In the Mayo district there has been
considerable prospecting, and some
good placer developed. There have
also been many good quartz prospects
located since the Silver King mine
commenced producing. If transporta
tion facilities were better, there is no
doubt that the Stewart and McQues
tion regions would be a good quartz
country.
“During the past summer high
grade copper and silver ore was
brought in from the headwaters of
the McOuestion and the Beaver rivers.
“The Stewart river above the Fraz
er falls, on both forks, is practically
a virgin country for the seeker after
gold. The little surface prospecting
that has been done proves that coarse
gold is distributed over a large area.
“The late Dr. Cairnes, Canadaian
government geologist, spoke very fa
vorably of the mineral possibilities of
the upper Stewart, and its tributaries.
His geological report, with maps and
all information can be obtained from
the minister of interior at Ottawa.
“With regard to the Fiasco Dredg
ing company, which has a lease on the
Highett creek in the Mayo district I
would say, that owing to mismanage
ment and dissension among the stock
holders the dredge was not completely
assembled and did not take out any
gold last summer.
“At Mayo Landing, the distributing
center for the district, there are two
stores and two hotels. Jean Binet, a
pioneer of the camp, runs a fine hotel
with a store in connection.
“Although at present the camp is
not booming, I have very confidence m
a prosperous future for the upper
Stewart country.”
COMPELLED TO LEND.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 15.
—New Zealand has taken the first step
toward compulsory lending. A bill
which has passed the house of repre
sentatives provides that persons with
taxable incomes of $3,500 and more
must subscribe to the war loan three
times the total amount which they
pay in land tax and income tax. There
are provisions for penalizing persons
who had not subscribed to the prev
ious war loan.
Dawson lodge No. 1393 of the Or
der of Eagles, elected the following
officers:
Past president, A1 Kennedy; presi
dent, I’ichard Gillespie; vice-presi
dent, A. Lamontange; chaplain, H.
Jukes Marshall; secretary, Charles
Dealing; treasurer, Howard Pearse;
inner guard, George Earsman; outer
guard, S. S. Commee; trustees for
three years, W. F. Collins, to serve
with John Cameron and Joseph Beau
pre; aerie physician, Dr. N. E. Cul
bertson.
STREAM IS TWENTY MILES FROM
WHITEHORSE AND WAS LO
CATED LAST FALL.
NEW FIND IS IN OLD DISTRICT.
Gold Is Said to Have Been Uncovered
in Paying Quantities, But Ground Is
Full of Boulders and Rather Diffi
cult to Work.
Reddick creek, the scene of a new
placer gold strike, about twenty miles
from Whitehorse, Yukon territory,
holds forth great promise as a future
producer, according- to Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Reddick, the discoverers, who
were interviewed the other day by the
| Skagway Alaskafl? as they ( passed
! through Skagway on their way from
j Whitehorse to Vancouver, B. C. They
I will spend the remainder of the win
! ter in Vancouver, and while there
will endeavor to obtain capital for the
! development of their property.
“Gold was discovered in the Reddick
i creek country about sixteen years ago,
: and there have been many prospect
| ing trips to find the source of the met
al and to find the creek on which pla
cer diggings would pay, says the
Skagway Alaskan. LeMar made
three trips into the country to find the
’ stream, but failed each time.
Mr. and Mrs. Reddick have peer.
| in the country for seventeen years and
are experienced miners and pioneers.
They have prospected every summer
1 season in the seventeen years and nev
er until last fall did they discover any
diggings that were worth while.
Discovered New Stream.
“Mr. Reddick worked on Russel
creek three years ago, and last fall
discovered a new stream which emp
ties into Russel and on which he found
gold in paying quantities. This
stream was named after himself, and
is the scene of the new discoveries
where hundreds of claims have been
staked.
‘‘During the fall months last year
Mr. Reddick sunk a shaft down sev
enteen feet and found good paying
dirt all the way. rl he ground is full
of boulders and a blast set off in the
pit caused a cave-in of the shaft, stop
ping operations temporarily. In the
spring the Reddicks will again take
up the work of further development
and mining.
Full of Hope.
“Both Mr. and Mrs. Reddick are
full of hope for the new district and
expect to find only the best of luck.
“Mrs. Reddick emphatically stated
the new creek is not the McCauley, as
stated in some quarters and which has
been mined repeatedly, but is an en
tirely new stream that has not yet
been, indicated on any map.
“Mr. Reddick is a pioneer skiff
builder of the Yukon, and is known
all along the great interior water
highway. He and wife have suffered
many hardships during their seven
; teen years on the interior and each of
them knows what it means to carry a
pack on their backs and tramp for
days in search of the yellow metal.
, Now that they have made their dis
covery they are bending all their ef
i forts to develop the country and to
I procure ^enough of the gold to repay
; them for their many hardships. ‘True
sourdoughs’ may be the best descrip
1 five word of the Reddicks.”
Mrs. Mary A. Carroll, postmistress
at Treadwell for the past three years,
i having decided to leave the north,
has resigned her office and will leave
as soon as her successor is appointed,
oo far as is known, Miss Anna Faher
ty of Douglas is the only applicant
for the positon and a petition asking
for her appointment has been gener
| ally signed by the patrons of the
I Treadwell postoffice. Miss Faherty
has spent most of her life on the isl
and is both popular and competent.
For the past year and a half she has
been employed in the dry goods de
partment of William Stubbins’ store
at Douglas. Mrs. Carroll has been a
splendid official and has many friends
in Treadwell and Douglas. •
D. M. THOMAS, WHO IS INTER
ESTED AT VALDEZ, WAS MA
ROONED ON NAKED ISLAND.
SPENT DAYS ON BLEAK PLACE
Veteran Northerner, Who Had Madt
Twenty-Two Round Trips Betweer
Alaska and States, Was Accompa
nied by Father, Aged 78.
I). M. Thomas, of Valdez and Se
| attle, who is now in Seattle, says hx
I had read all about Robinson Crusox
and his good man Friday, but he nev
J er thought he would have a like ad
venture, according to a recent issue
j of the Seattle Times.
Mr. Thomas left Seattle last April
with his father, 78 years old, aboarx
i
his good ship Mary Ellen, bound foi
Valdez, Alaska, where he is part own
1 er in a mine.
“When in Prince William sound,’
; said Mr. Thomas, “we encountered e
terrific northwestern gale that blew
our little craft on the shores of Nak
ed island. Three feet of snowT ant
ice covered the island at the time.
“After waiting for more than fif
l teen days in a tent while the ther
mometer registered below zero ant
the gale blowing most of the time
| we were rescued by the crew of tht
! gasoline boat Rolf, of Cordova, wht
i had heard we were lost and were
scouting the seas and islands for us.
“I had made twenty-two round trip;
to Alaska and had been in some se
cere storms in those northern waters
but never was shipwrecked before.”
COURSE OF A RIFLE BALL.
.lust What Happens From the Instan
the Gun Is Fired.
Two sportsmen were disputing. On<
claimed that if a rifle is sighted on ;
dead level the ball commences to fal
the instant it leaves the barrel. Tin
I second man claimed that the ball firsi
rises above the level of the barrel am
then falls. They didn’t settle the ques
tion, but here is the answer:
Gravity acts upon a moving and un
supported body instantly, be the bod?
large or small. In a rifle the line o
, sight (that is, the line ox aim) is one
thing; the line of the bore is another
In order that gravity will not cause x
bullet to drop too soon a rifle is al
ways made so that the line of the borx
points slightly upwards as comparer
with the line of sight. The result i:
i that, while the bullet begins to tlrof
away from the direct line of the bor<
the moment it leaves the piece, it rise:
at first above the line of sight ant
then slowly drops below it.
Rifles are usually made so that the?
will strike the object aimed at at i
| certain distance—say 200 yards i'ron
the hunter. That is to say, they can?
“point blank” at 200 yards. If the ob
I ject is farther away more front sigh
must be given. Under any and all cir
cumstances, however, the bullet drop;
away from the line of the bore, owini
to the gravity, the moment the gun i:
fired.—New York Tribune.
TO ENCOURAGE FARMER.
Lumberman Urges Maximum Produe
tion of Foodstuffs This Year.
SPOKANE, Wash., Jan. 15.—A na
tion-wide campaign in every town an<
hamlet to help farmers to produce th<
maximum of foodstuffs during tin
war has been proposed to the Nation
a! Lumber Manufacturers’ associatioi
! by Secretary A. L. Porter of th<
! Western Retail Lumbermen’s associa
i tion.
The plan provides that for threi
days or a week in March or April, a!
merchants, professional men, banker:
and citizens generally throughout tin
country hold meetings to help and en
courage the maximum production o
foodstuffs next season. Mi’. Porte
suggests that lumbermen be prepar
ed to submit figures on building com
plete barns, silos, machinery houses
etc., leaving the farmer free to de
vote his full time to getting in hi
crop.
THREE CLAIMS
ON MOUSE
YIELD RICH PAY
Joseph McDowell brings to
IDITAROD FAVORABLE RE
PORTS OF GOOD NEWS BAY.
ONE OF LOCATORS HAS SCURVY
Five Men in One Month Clean Up $13,
400—Quite a Number Stampede in
Recently Discovered District from
Marshall.
Joseph McDowell recently arrived at
Iditarod from the lower Kuskokwim,
with news of the new strike in the
Good News bay country.
As has been stated by others, Mc
Dowell said the strike was made on
the Watermouse creek flowing into
Kugharock river, which empties into
Good News River, thirty miles from
Good News bay. On Watermouse
creek, which takes its name from the
Indian who made the discovery, three
of the seventeen claims staked by the
j first party of locators, yielded better
i than ordinary pay during the short
time they were worked last fall, ac
cording to the Iditarod Pioneer.
The gold on discovery claim, No. 1-a
and No. 1-b averages about $1.80 to
to the foot, and is from six inches to
three feet in depth. On No. 1-a pay
' j was found in a crosscut of 140 feet.
! McDowell says five men shoveling in
for one month cleaned up $13,400.
McDowell on the way over to Mar
shall fell and hurt his leg. He was
| laid up there a couple of weeks. He
; was overtaken bv the Bethel-Holv
j Cross mail carrier at Holy Cross Mis
i sion and was told by the carrier that
j Butch Smith, one of the men who
i grubstaked the Indian Watermouse
and who was among the first party of
locators on Watermouse creek, had
been taken very sick with scurvy indi
gestion and had been conveyed to Dr.
Lamb at Akiak. The mail carrier also
told of the death October 12 of Lyman
Russell, who had been cooking for
Butch Smith and his partners at the
1 new strike. Russell on the morning of
October 12, unexpectedly announced
that he felt so sick he would have to
' | lie down. Later he groaned, but when
! asked what was the matter he failed
to reply. Investigation revealed the
1 \ fact that he was dead. Heart trouble
j is thought to have been the cause of
■ ■ his sudden death.
Among those who have left Mar
shall to go to the new diggings are
' Alec Hetberg, John Shecoski, Curley
’ Smith, Joe Jean, John Henderson,
1! John Anderson, Frank Waskev, Sifer
, j *
J neck and Gunderson.
McDowell says Dr. Lamb was mar
ried recently to Miss Wynne, a school
teacher at Akiak.
L
l
“Spark Plug” McKeagh, formerly of
Iditarod, is industrial teacher at a
native village below Akiak.
McDowell declares there is a short
age of butter, ham, lard and beans at
the Good News bay camp. There is
no dog fish to be had, either, and seal
oil and rice are used for dog feed.
Miss Benith, a teacher, and Miss
Libby, a nurse, arrived at Bethel on
the last trip last fall of the steam
boat Ruby.
PLAN TO ADJOURN
CONGRESSJUNE 1
'j DEMOCRATS EXPECT TO ENACT
ALL NECESSARY LEGISLA
TION
i
BY
MAY 15.
i WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 18.—
• i Speaker Champ Clark, Representative
Claude Kitchin, of North Carolina,
; chairman of the ways and means com
i mittee, and democratic floor leader of
J the house of representatives, and
i chairmen of the leading committees
- cf the house today conferred and
1 agreed to “speed up” all appropria
" tion measures by avoiding unneees
■ sary hearings and delays with a view
- to concluding the business of the
, house by May 15.
They agreed that every effort should
; be exerted to have congress adjourn
by June 1 at the very latest.
4
REPORTS TO FEDERAL AUTHOR
ITIES INDICATE RELIEF IN
TRAFFIC CONGRESTION.
SHIPS ABLE TO GET SUPPLIES.
Amount of Coal Available for Domes
tic Use Is Greater in New York
City Now Than it Has Been at Any
Time in Last Month.
WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 10.—
Reports to the federal fuel adminis
tration show that transportation con
gestion throughout the east is being
cleared and that bunker coal is being
unloaded in increasing large quanti
ties. A few empty cars have begun to
move back to the mines.
In New York, in particular, there is
marked improvements in the coal sit
uation with respect to bunkering
: ships. Sailings in the last twenty-four
; hours exceeded arrivals in New York
i for the first time since the bunker sit
uation became alarmingly acute.
The domestic supply in New York
i is greater today than it has been in a
| month.
It is evident that the application of
fuel order is less drastic than was at
| first believed. Many plants were ex
empted from its provisions.
I _
OUTRAGES ARE REPORTED TO
I5E OF DAILY OCCURENCE IN
MANCH l RIAN CAPITAL.
TOKiO, Jan. 21.—Reports reaching
Tokio describe the situation existing
in Harbin, Manchuria, as grave. Dur
ing the past three months there have
been 237 murders mostly in connection
with robberies, and crime of every
, description occurs daily. Many of the
ruffians are dressed in the uniform of
soldiers as a disguise and yet the
! army looks upon the matter with in
difference. Inhabitants of the city do
not dare to go out of doors after sun
' set. As the police are not equal to
their task, foreign residents are plan
ning to organize a private police from
their own number. The Japanese con
sular authorities have protested to
Russia but with no effect.
i _
MUNITION DIRECTOR
URGED BY SENATORS
—
1 MILITARY COMMITTEE OF UP
j PER BRANCH OF CONGRESS
FAVOR WAR COUNCIL.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10.—The scn
, ate militarv committee late todav fa
*
; vorably reported a bill creating a di
i rector of munitions, who will not have
a place in the president’s cabinet, but
will have broad authority to central
ize the control of war munitions.
| Another bill to establish a war eoun
j cil is framed and will soon be reported
I bv the committee to the senate.
HEAVYWEIGHTS BOX
TEN ROUND DRAW .
—
FRED FULTON AND BILLIE
MISKE ENGAGE IN LIMITED
BOUT AT ST. PAUL.
ST. Paul, Minn., Jan. 19.—Fred
| Fulton and Billie Miske, heavyweight
i pugilists, boxed ten rounds to a draw
here last night.
i A large crowd witnessed the event,
j Pai't of the gate receipts went to the
Red Cross.
NOT WORTH IT.
“Do you consider this poem worth
sending to a magazine?”
The expert considered.
And then rendered this verdict:
“Not with three-cent postage.”