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The Cordova Daily Times
VOLUME ONE. NUMBER 263. _CORDOVA, ALASKA,, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, .. _j^RJ^J^JJ*iN^EN3S^
1
An explosion at the Navy wireless station at Whitslied, |
l at 7 o’clock last night, resulted in live men being burned and
$8,000 loss to the building and instruments. Those injured
were:
Dave Barry, a civilian member of the working party from,
the collier Prometheus, was so badly burned about the face, |
hands and legs that his condition is critical.
A. J. Holton, gunner of the U. S. Navy, severely burned
about the face and arms.
>- M. S. Schajkowski, machinist of the radio force, burned,
about the hands and face.
George O’Hara, of the local station, burned about the face.
John Gillis, in charge of the station, hands burned.
Messrs. Gillis, Barry and O’Hara were adjusting and test
ing the new instruments recently installed in the arc room, in
cluding a JO kilowat set, when the alcohol supply was ignited,
by a back-fire, and a terriffic explosion occurred, blowing out
the end of the tank, which contained twenty-five gallons of
alochol, and penetrating the operating rooms.
The arc room was a mass of flames and its occupants es
caped with their lives by jumping through a window to the not
side of the building. Mr. Barry, however, got the full force
of the explosion in the face and when he made his exit lie re
sembled a hall of fire. Mr. O’Hara escaped’ with slight burns
on the face and hands. Mr. Gillis had his back turned at the
time and was fortunate enough not to sustain any serious
burns, but the flames singed the back of his head.
Messrs. Holton and Schajkowski were in an adjoining
room, at a switch board when the explosion occurred, and its
force blew out the glass partition and these men were enveloped
in the flames.
The interior of the entire building, which is 40x60 feet, was
soon afire and for a time it looked as though nothing could*
prevent the destruction of the entire plant. The fire appara
tus was quickly brought into play and the flames confined to
the new addition of the plant, and preventing its spread to the
main building and power house. Considerable credit is due
Messrs. Upchurch, O’Hara, Fielder and Esposito for saving
the main building who did heroic work in preventing the flames
from spreading.
The burns of the injured men were immediately dressed
by Mrs. Gillis with olive oil and telephone call sent to Cordova
for a physician and nurse. In the meantime the crew at the
station used about fifty gallons of engine oil in the attempt to
relive the sufferings of those who were burned. I here was
no available boat in the local harbor, last night, to make the
trip to the wireless station and word was dispatched to the
power plant and the launch “Bill Bailey” brought to the ocean
dock. l)r. W. W. Council and Mrs. Keating, a nurse, were
taken aboard and Geo. Dooley piloted them into the wireless
station. The tide was extremely low and slow headway was
made, but the party finally reached Whitshed and everything
possible was done to make the unfortunate men comfortable.
This morning Barry, Holton and Schajkowski were brought to
town and taken to the railroad company hospital, where they
are receiving the best of care. When the injured men reached
the local dock the section hands had mattresses in readiness tor
them and they were tenderly lifted into an auto truck and con
veyed to the railroad station. Here a hand-car was used to
take them directly to the hospital.
While it is impossible to jell the exact damage to the in
struments and machinery it is estimated that the loss will
amount to $8,000. The force started' in this morning to get the
naval station in commission again and wireless messages are
being received this afternoon. ______________________
VERDICT GIVEN
Judge Brown has rendered a decis
ion reversing and dismissing the case
of W. W. Harvey & Company vs.
Coppfer River & Northwestern Railway
Company, appealed by the Railway
Co. from the Justice Court at Mc
Carthy. The plaintiff sued the de
fendant for damages in the sum or
$846, claiming that the Railway Com
pany erroneously quoted a rate from
Seattle to McCarthy at a much lower
figure than the tariff rate. Relying
on the question, Harvey & Company
bought a much larger supply of perish
able commodities than was required,
and in consequence lost a considera
ble quantity of the goods by freezing
and rotting. A jury at McCarthy
gave the plaintiff $400 damages, from
which the company appealed.
The case arises under the Inter
state Commerce Act of Congress, un
der which Act, so Judge Brown holds,
the railway company was bound in
law to collect the full tariff rate, irre
spective of any quoted rate. In shorti
the law itself fixes the rate, and both
Harvey & Company and the railway
company were charged with notice of
the tariff rate. This is the law as
repeatedly laid down by the Suprme
Court, so Judge Brown points out in
his decision.
VIOLATING GAME LAW
MEAT SENT ANCHORAGE
SEWARD. Oct. 15—A wholesale
. 1 slaughter of moose is reported here
from Katchetak Bay and Chickaloon
Flats and it is said that the meat is
beng shipped to Anchorage wh«re
there is no game warden. The law
prohibits the taking of moose from
Kenai peninsula and Warden Erick
son has been sent from Seward to put
a stop to the practice.
T CITY OF PUEBLA COMING
, DIRECT TO CORDOVA
The City of Puehla, which has been
chartered by the Alaska Steamship
Company for one trip, left Seattle
Tuesday night via the outside passage
and will come direct to Cordova. On
her return she will stop at Juneau and
other Southeastern Alaska ports.
The Alameda is scheduled to sail
from Seattle October 18th, and the
Northwestern on October 24th.
-:o:
S. O. Breedman left this morning
on a business trip to Anchorage. i
PASSE
FAIRBANKS, Oct. 15—Grave fears are felt here and at
Iditarod over the safety of a party which left Iditarod on the
launch Tramp bound for St. Michael. The launch carried a
score of passengers, who were on their way outside, including
several women, and one invalid, who was being taken to the
States for expert medical treatment.
The launch left Iditarod on October (i, and has never been
reported since. From what news can be received here it is
believed that the mouth of the Yukon is frozen, and the launch
did not carry sufficient supplies to provide a delay. The im
pression is growing that the entire party perished, and th
military authorities at Fort Gibbon have been appealed to fo
aid, and requested to send out a searching party with relie
supplies.
The members of the Signal Corps stationed at Xulato hav
received orders to look out for the party, and to make whateve
search it was possible. The stations at the mouth of the rive
have been closed and the men withdrawn owing to the close n
navigation. The government has no means of sending out
searching partv, and the possibilities are that the entire part
has frozen to death.
VALDEZ TO TIE-UP SHIPS
VALDEZ, Oct. lo—The various transportation companies
and dock companies operating at this place have been served
with notice to the effect that on and after the twenty-fifth of
October the famous Valdez Dock Ordinance will be enforced
by the town officials. The notice is signed by Willard Scott,
who subscribes himself as “ Harbor Master,” and bears date the
eight of October.
Under the ‘‘Pock Ordinance,” the town of Valdez extends
its harbor limits a distance of one thousand feet beyond navi
gable water for ocean going steamers. The ordinance pro
vides for a harbor master, who is given wholesale powers to
i regulate and restrain the manner in which steamers and docks
[shall be operated in the new harbor limits. Under section •'!
of the ordinance, all steamships or other vessels are forbidden
under criminal penalities to dock at any other wharf than the
one owned by the City of Valdez, and under section 4, no privat
corporation or person can collect any wharfage charges to
handling freight. A monopoly in this respect is attempted t<
be created in the City, and' rates are fixed for wharfage at th
City Dock.
The transportation companies will undoubtedly take step
to prevent the attempted enforcement of the ordinance. 1
great deal of comment has been stirred up by this remarkabl
piece of municipal legislation, and tin* attempted ordinance ha
brought the Town Council of Valdez into derision and ridicul
not only throughout Alaska, but up and down the Pacific Coasl
There have not been wanting rumors to the effect that, if en
forcemeat of the ordinance were attempted, the steamship line
would withdraw from Valdez altogether, but whether thi
rumor has any substantial basis is not known.
i ' " ” ^ ! i: ® w' 3JB|i3S3|^ ^*^1
Tin* steamer Mariposa, which struck the rocks at Pointer
Island, below Ketchikan, last Friday in a fog, is a total loss
according to passengers on the steamer Evans, who arrived in
Cordova today from the scene of the wreck. When the boat
first struck a hole was stove in the bottom and soon had a bad'
list to starboard, with a heavy swell pounding. She was prac
tically submerged with water when the Evans passed her,
and is a total loss. As previously stated the passengers and
crew were saved, as was also the mail and express. On ac
count of the inflow if water into the engine room, which ex
tended to the different parts of the lower deck a large part of
the second-class matter was badly damaged.
Vessel Had Big Cargo Mixed Freight.
The value-of the cargo of the Mariposa is as follows:
Cordova..'.$ ^,000
Juneau. 5,000
Thane . 3,600
Seward. 4,500
Kink. 17,000
Dawson . 9,500
La Touche ....... 5,500
ITnalaska . 2,200
Valdez . 4,200
Anchorage .. 7,000
Afognak. 7,000
Various other ports. 20,000
Total . $94,200
I
Value of the vessel .. $800,000
With the exception of 250 tons of government freight, eon
signed to Ankorage, the cargo was insured. It is said that th
cargo lost amounted to about 1,000 tons.
Crew of the Steajner Maxiposa.
The Mariposa was in command of Captain Chas. -I
O’Brien, a veteran navigator. Other officers on the Maripos,
were First Officer Jack Wahl, Chief Engineer Earl Kaymonc
Purser William Harris, and Pilots Johanson and Charles Davis
Vessel Was An Old-Timer.
In 188.3 the Mariposa was launched' at Philadelphia. Th
steamship had a gross tonnage ot 3,158 tons, she was al4 tee
long, 41 feet wide, and 17.3 feet deep. She usually carried i
crew of 50 men.
Formerly Operated on Australian Run.
The Mariposa is a sister ship of the steamship Alameda
which was built for the Oceanic Steamship Company while th
Mariposa was under construction. The Spreckles interests o
California operated her between San Francisco and the Anti
podes for several years. Later the Pacific Mail Steamshi]
Company placed th*1 Mariposa and Alameda in the Hawaiiai
Island-San Francisco service. The vessels at that time were th.
fastest boats in the Pacific, and' werer speedier than most of th
boats on the Atlantic.
Five years ago the Mariposa was purchased by the Alaski
Steamship Company and put on the run by the outside route be
tween Seattle and Cordova. About three years ago she entem
the Southeastern Alaska service and took the “inside passage.’
'NEW DISTRICT
CHEATED IT
n
fi
1 , FAIRBANKS, Oct. 15—When the
’’ district court opened at ten this morn
t ing, Judge Charles E. Bunnell read an
l order creating a new Commissioner’s
v precinct and recording district at Tol
ovanana, the scene of the latest placer
strike in the Fairbanks country. The
precinct was called the Tolovana
, Precinct, although there was some de"
sire to have it named Brooks, the same
| i as the postoffice newly established
there, in honor of Dr. Alfred Brooks
| of the Geological Survey. Howard
Johnson Atwell was appointed the
first commissioner for the new pre
1 cinct.
>i --
CUPID’S ARROW
! SCORES AT
• <
' i
j
3
’ KATALLA, Oc. 15—A very pretty
wedding was soleminized here on Mon
( day afternoon at 3 o'clock, when Miss
Lizzie Oahl became the wife of Hugh
j Hosick. The ceremony was perform
ed at Peterson's hall, in the presence
of a large number of friends Imme
diately after the nuptial knot had been
tied a wedding supper was served, fol
lowed by a dance, the hall being artis
tically decorated for the occasion.
Fi mmm
'! urn to era
_
i
J FAIRBANKS, Oct. 15—E. M. Keys,
j the largest placer operator in the
Fairbanks country left here today, ac
companied by his family for the out
! side. The party will go via Chitina
1 and Cordova, by auto over the trail
i to the railroad junction point.
f-:o:
No Outside News Today.
, Owing to the accident at the wrre
less station, and the fact that the ca
ble is still out of commission, no out
i 1
side press dispatches were received
, today.
-—_ • o *
H Rev. D. A. Holsvitsky, a Russian
j priest from New York, passed through
i town this morning on bis way to Un
’ | alaska.