IDITAROD AND INNOKO
MUSHERS COME OUT
Abe Levy, Dave Edwards, Jim Ami
son and A. F. Ferguson, on their way
to Fairbanks, arrived from the Iditarod
last Friday evening. They left Discov
ery, Otter creek, Dec. 5. Mr. Levy
had previously made a trip to Ophir,
which place he left Dec. 1. They had
three sleds and eighteen dogs.
They were not knocking the new
country, but the best they could say
for it is that pay is located on live
claims on Otter creek, aad it will be a
good little camp at the worst. Mr.
Levy exhibited gold from a bench on
left limit of 1 above, Otter creek. It
could scarcely be classed as coarse, but
was nice and clean.
A great many holes have been dug
on other creeks, in some of which pros
pects wete found; but in none of them
had pay been located and as a matter
of fact the new creeks do not afford
much encouragement. The pay on
Otter seems to extend up from discov
ery, while the tributaries on which
much prospecting has been done enter
lower down.
No one had come over from the Kus
kokwim side so that conditions over
there could be learned, but a few had
left the Iditarod for that region.
Around Ophir Greek
Mr. Levy said there are 200 or 250
people in the old diggings (the Innoko
district). Yankee creek was showing
up well: a new find is reported on
Spruce creek; and a new creek, called
Canadian, was struck this winter. This
last-named creek comes into the In
noko below Yankee. Nothing more
than good prospects had been found on
it at the time Mr. Levy was there.
Activity in the old diggings is not very
marked.
No Saloons in the iditarod
At OphirCity there are four saloons,
the Tanana, the Pioneer, the Califor
nia and the Log Cabin. Jack Baird
has the only saloon in Diskaket. He
recently came out to the Yukon to get
iu touch with the authorities regarding
a renewal of license. Levy's parly met
Baird going hack in, and he appeared
to have fixed the license proposition up
all right. There are no saloons in the
Iditarod. A.t present the United States
commissioner and deputy marshal are
located at Richmond, but the condi
tions are so unsettled in the Iditarod
that they do not know how long their
headquarters will be maintained there,
and no licenses, under the present law.
can be granted excepting where there
is a commissioner or a deputy marshal
(excepting for roadhouses on regular
established post roads): so the Iditarod
towns are dry.
Centers of Population
Discovery (Otter creek) is the big
gest center of population. There are
probably 800 people there. At the
mouth of Otter there are about 150 and
at Richmond 350. Diskaket is an im
portant place, with about thirty build
ings. Jack Baird has the biggest build
ing in the latter place, including sa
loon, roadhouse and bunkhouse.
From Richmond to the mouth of
Otter, by river, the distance is 25 miles,
across the hills, 10 miles; mouth of
Otter to Discovery, by river 25 miles,
across 14 miles.
Plenty of Good Things to Eat
The sudden freezeup caught the sup
plies pretty badly scattered; but there
is no shortage. The cargo of beef
froze in and butchered by Frank Way
land 12 below Kaltag was being sold at
Diskaket at 50 cents a pound. This
side of Kaltag 75 head of reindeer were
met going in, seven had already been
taken to Diskaket and sold and 100
head were expected from the Kusko
kwim. Simel had received 800 pounds
of turkeys from St. Michael, and A1
Smith was taking in turkeys and oys
ters for the holiday trade.
Rushing New Telephone Line
The party reports work progressing
rapidly on the Kaltag-Ophir telephone
line. The company ran short of wire,
so, the Iditarod branch will not be
built this winter; but it was hoped
Ophir would be able to “Hello, Kal
tag,” by New Year’s.
“Piggy” McLean No More
From Ophir City comes the sad news
of the sudden demise of “Pig” Mc
Lean. Nearly everybody in the coun
try knows Capt. J. H. McLean, former
ly of the steamer J. P. Light and the
Chena flagship Luella. “Pig” was the
“wise” little fox terrier that "el Capi
tan” had taught more tricks than one
could shake a stick at. He would
search all your pockets for a hidden
tin beer-bottle stopper, would sit up,
roll over, and in the good old summer
time would retrieve a stick from the
water many times as big as himself.
“Pig,” when arrayed with collar and
necktie, jockey cap, spectacles and
pipe, never failed to make a hit in the
towns along the rivers. He had a
strong penchant for “mixing in” the
fight# Of Jthe large malamutes—often
getting in a fracas without taking time
to remove his “specs,” as was the case
in Tanana two summers ago. This
weakness of “Pig’s” finally proved to
be his undoing. A few weeks ago in
Ophir City he "butted in” a scrap be
tween a gang of malamutes, and in a
few seconds all that was left of him
was gathered up on a piece of blotting
paper and toted to his grief-stricken
master.
New Democratic Headquarters
At Discovery. Otter creek, a large
two-story building is being erected
under the supervision of Col. A. B. Fer
guson, the stalwart Jeffersonian disci
ple, which will be used as a mercantile
salesroom and Democratic headquar
ters.
Fred Howard, late of Hot Springs,
and "Doc” Laymon, formerly of Chena,
are conducting a restaurant at Discov
ery, and enjoying a good trade.
A. E. Bain, proprietor of a saloon at
Diskaket, has closed his "sunshine fac
tory,” and is now on a trip to Otter
creek. “Gat” Courtnay, formerly as
sociated with Bain, is now the princi
pal tonsorial artist in Diskaket.
“Cow” Miller is one of the busiest
men in the Innoko valley this winter;
he is hauling most of the freight be
tween Diskaket and Ophir City.
DISCOVERY OF CANADA
Every now and then, some maga
zine writer discovers that the habit
able portion of the earth does not
cease at the northern boundary of
the United States; and great is his
eagerness to pass on the wonderful
discovery to the fellow countrymen,
says the Denver News. Eess fre
quently, but still every little while,
some other magazine writer finds
out that Canada is building a trans
continental railroad; arid the cack
ling. over THAT discovery is like
that of the hen who has just laid a
double-yolked egg. The printed
ctckles are generally illustrated
with maps, showing how short the
new line is between Britain aird the
Orient; and there seldom fails to be
a deal of lugubrious prophecy as to
the loss of trade the United States
will suffer when the rich, ripe Can
adian railroad apple is brought
clowtr from the tree.
Now, tlrese wondrous discoveries
are mostly true, and they are like
wise very important. Canada is
building a transcontinental railroad
and she will find a world of busi
ness for it when it is finished.
Some of the very best wheat land
on earth is away up, hundreds and
hundreds of miles to the north of
Uncle Sam’s farm; and the world
is very hungry for wheat. Cana
dian wheat has a shorter course to
the London market than American
wheat, and will have a yet shorter
course when Hudson’s bay is util
ized as a shipping point—a thing
which will be done in the near fu
ture. Aside from these economic
r< a ;ons for the new road, there is a
military reason. England wants
an all British route from London to
the Orient which she can use in
case of a temporary closing of the
Suez canal. She is getting this
route in the quiet, open, undis
guised but unheralded fashion in
which the Saxon-speaking peoples
have got so many other things; and
while it may seem a far cry fiom
railroads in Canada to battleships
in the Adriatic, this afternative
route lakes away much from the
efficiency of Austria’s new building
navy.
But- -the road will be no menace
to the Uuited States, industrially or
politically. It will ruin no Ameri
can trade. It will bankrupt no
American railroads. We doubt if
it will even force Great Northern
diyidends down from 7 per cent, to
6. When all is said and done the
trade which goes straight across
from ocean to ocean is a small frac
tion of that which originates or
stops on the way; and American
commerce depends on American
productiveness, not on nearness to
any part of the world. Canada may
very well pass us as a wheat-ex
porting nation. But if she does so,
it will be because she has fewer
people to feed with that wheat at
home, and the United States will
not he a penny the poorer for Can
ada’s gain.
Eighty odd millions of people,
with the highest average produc
tiveness the world has ever seen,
are going to have a commerce.
They would have a deal more com
mercy it they would kick off the
steel bands of the tariff which are
holding that commerce back. For
all business purposes, we could
annex Canada by the simple means
of establishing tree trade with Can
ada. Some day, botli nations will
awake to the simple proposition
that to tax themselves for buying
vvliat they want trom each other is
a very poor wav of getting rich
When that time conies, the all
British route will still have all it
can do, and perhaps more; hut the
north and south roa .swill be busy,
too.
Novel Method Used by Police
A new and in this case very effec
tive punishment was meted out in
police circles at Bellingham, Wash ,
recently, when O. M. Beeler, who
had been drinking, was sent home
to apologize to his wife for his ac
tions instead of being taken before
the police magistrate. At first it
was intended to give Beeler bis
choice, but when be showed symp
toms of favoring ilie court visit lie
was instructed to go home. He
went, but not willingly.
Chile’s Long Railway
The Chilean government has
contracted with a London syndicate
for the construction of that section
of the Longitudinal railway which
will lie between Copiapo and Iqui
pue. The price is $15,250,000.
When completed the road will ex
tend from the frontier of Peru to
the Strait of Magellan.
ST. JAMES’ CHAPEL
First Sunday in each month, Holy
Communion II a. ra. Other Sundays,
Evening Prayer. 7:30 p. m.
Winthrop Peabody,
Priest in Charge.
Stoddard Kay
THE
NORTHERN.
BEST WINES
LIQUORS AND
CIGARS.
Pool Tables In Connection.
Stoddard Kay
CHAS. B. ALLEN,
Attorney at Law
Rampakt, Aka.
Legal Papers Carefully Drawn.
H. L. HEDRICK,
GENERAL
BLACKSMITH
AND MACHINE SHOP
Horseshoeing Repairing
Near Cor. Campbell ave. and 2nd St.
Rear of Yukon Saloon.
BILLIARDS
AND POOL
Elegant New Tables
Gibbon Bor
BEST OF.WET GOODS
Estate of George W. Powell,
DECEASED.
Notice is hereby given by the under
signed, A. B. Culp, administrator of the
estate of George W. Powell, deceased, to
the creditors of and all persons having
claims against said deceased to exhibit
them, with the necessary vouchers,
within six months after the first publi
cation of this notice, to said administra
tor at his residence in the town of Tan
ana, territory of Alaska, the same being
the place for the transaction of the
business of said estate in Fort Gibbon
precinct, Alaska.
A. B. CULP, Administrator.
Dated this 13th day of December, 1909.
Date of first publication, December
16,1909.
There’ll Be
Mashers
Galore
On the trails'this winter looking for good places to stop—
more than ever'^before known in the history of Interior
Alaska—and the roadhouse and hotel keepers who introduce
their places of business and their accommodations to the
man along the route is the fellow who’ll get the trade. The
Tanana Leader makes a specialty of printing large and small
CLOTH
SIGNS
On Heavy Muslin, designed especially for out-of-door adver
tising—they will endure for years, and will [withstand the
rigors of the Northland elements.
Send in your order at once for the “business ::
promoters’’ and be prepared to do business when j:
winter travel starts in
THE LEADER
Tanana, Alaska
On One of the Last Steamers We Received Our Yearly
Supply of Paper for
Commercial Job Printing
OF,/MANY KINDS