KEHOE’S BULLY-GOOD STORY
(Communicated.)
Tanana. Jan. 15, 1910.
Mr. Editor:—Please permit space in
The Leader for a fuller account of my
claim against Schubaoh & Hamilton
than the partial and distorted state
ment published by that company which
has gone the rounds of the press and
has become a national topic. I hope
the press will now give as wide a cir
culation to my version of the case as it
did to the garbled statement of the'
company. By so doing it will render a
service to the interests of Alaska by
making manifest some of the discrimi
nations practiced by this company
against people in the Yukon valley.
X will give a synopsis of my business
relation with the above-mentioned com
pany.
Last June, while attending the A.-Y.
P. fair in Seattle, I was impressed by
the splendid display of agricultural
products of Alaska exhibited in the
Alaska building. I resolved to make a
venture at farming. With this object
in view I equipped tpyself with a full
supply of the most improved imple
ments for tillage of the soil, with a
supply of grains and grasses of the'va
rieties exhibited. I also secured four
head of grown cattle for breeding pur
poses, two of which were high-grade
Holstein milk cows. I solicited terms
from the agents of shipping companies
to have my property conveyed to Tan
ana, Alaska. Schubach & Hamilton
had the best convenience for the han
dling of live stock and I engaged their
service to. make the shipment to Tan
anr. My freight was consigned as
part of the cargo of the steamer Mack
inaw. The Mackinaw is a low-built,
rakish-looking craft, with open decks,
no upper structure abqve the line of
he^ hull but poor cabins and forecastle.
She is designed and chartered as a
freight boat, with no convenience er
legal rights for passenger traffic. The
fare of my livestock was prepaid in
fall to their] [destination, Tanana,
Alaska, and I was enrolled as caretaker
of stock at a nominal wage. The sub
attfucc/of the following notice appeared
in the Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer
o< June 17:
“The steamer[[Mackinaw will sail
from Pier 9 tomorrow morning for
Nome, Alaska. She has a heavy cargo
of mining supplies and a large number
of live stock. Hers is the most valua
ble cargo that left port for Alaska this
year. Its value is estimated_at 8450,
000.” i '
After passing the Straits of De Fuca
the Mackinaw was”delayed by head
winds and heavy- seas. She entered
Bering sea by Unfmak pass and there
encountered a heavy flow of ice. Some
where off from the fnouthof the Yukon
she lost her course and stranded on a
bar.X By means of* wireless telegraphy
-she Communicated with the station of
St.. Michael and^the steamer.^Cor win
came out to rescue the United States
mail, beinging a river barge for the
Telief of the Mackinaw. Having got
the mail the Corwin put back to St.
Michael. The Mackinaw transferred
paft'of her freight to' the barge and
wbj^if lightened to her proper capacity
extricated herselfjfrom the bar and
towed the barge into St. Michael har
bor, .»rriving£a~short time after the
■Cor.win.^JTbpJoaded barge and other
freight for Fairbanks and intermediate
points on the Yukon river were taken
in charge by the N. A. T. & T. steamer
JohniJ. Healey and headed up the Yu
kon tor interior points. Two days after
leafing St. Michael .on the up-river
trip t was called upon by the purser to
pay passage to Tanana. I complied
with his demand. From Seattle to this
point' I had cared for the milk cows
-and tprned the milk over to the stew
ard, Without pay, for the use of the
officers and crew; but after meeting
the demand of the purser I turned in
«io more mil k’to„the‘gte ward only as it
was ordered and paid for. Most of it I
sold to the deckhands and firemen. I
thus Compensated myself for more than
the charges of the purser, to the appa
rent dislike of some of the officers.
When near Tanana I was called upon
to pay $26 for freight on stock feed
consumed en route between Seattle
and St. Michael. I pointed out that
stock feed consumed in passage was by
my contract exempt from freight
charges. I refused to pay freight and
salvage on feed that was no part of the
cargo of the Mackinaw at the time she
stranded. Besides, the per c ;nt- of the
general levy was excessive. My pro
rata of salvage charge being 10 per
cent, of the purchase value of‘'goods,
amounting to $50. The ratio if applied
to the whole cargo, according to the
published estimate of value of cargo,
| $450,000, would be the neat sum of
$45,000—a very excessive rate for one
dayV'service tor 'such.'a diminutive
craft as the Corwin. I offered' to pay
what freight was due, accoiding to my
agreement in Seattle, but 'nothing in
excess. This they refused'to accept on
arriving in Tanana. James Wicker
sham, our congressional delegate, hap
pened to be there en route from Wash,
ington, D. C. I made known the case
to him. He admitted that the com
pany was taking an unfair advantage
but as the company had possession of
the goods, to pay under protest and
send notice to Schubach & Hamilton at
Seattle to refund these excess”charges.
On my return'to; the ;john J. Healey I
was reproached for having delayed the
boat and informed that I had five mm
utes.to decide whether 1 would^pay the
rates demanded^or hav.e^imy * freight
carried.on.to.jFaithanks. With other
dissatisBed.customers I paid these ex
cess charges under protest. My freight
was hastily_checked off. The number
of packages was complete, but on ex
amination 1 found they had substituted
several sacks of bran not belonging to
me in lieu of sacks of grass seed and
grain. When I called their attention
to this mistake they took back the
sacks of bran, but failed to make good
the missing sacks of seed. Thus it was
that I was charged full freight and
salvage on freight ■ that was no part
of the cargo of the Mackinaw
at the time she got stranded, and again
I was charged full freight and salvage
for freight that they lost and failed to
make good. I wrote to Schubach &
Hamilton and explained the case to
them, but got no answer. I then wrote
a more stringent letter and informed
them that if tbey^did not refund these
excess charges and make good the
missing freight I would report them
to the Seattle Chamber of Commerce
and take legal action to recover these
excess charges and lost freight, stating
also that in taking legal action I
would include a claim for the milk of
two cows supplied to the crew of the
Mackinaw. The answer I received
was similar to the statement published
in the press; passing lightly on" ,7iv
claim fora return of the excess freight
and salvage charges, they dwelt pro
fusely on my incidental^claim for milk
supplied to the crew of the Mackinaw.
After their abbreviated version of the
case, they intimated that this claim is
one amongst a thousand absurd claims
by which unprincipled patrons endeav
or to take snap judgment agaiost ship
ping companies. Judged by their own
statements the frequent occurrence of
such claims by, their patrons’ is dam
aging testimony 'against the business
integrity of their company. The city
of Seattle has been enriched by her
Alaska trade.' Is this instance of Schu
bach & Hamilton to be taken as an
exhibition of the Seattle spirit toward
their Alaska patrons? Will her au
thorities permit" resident shippers by
extortion^and deceit”to exploit the
tributary avenues^of her trade?
John^Kehoe.
Napoleon Lacrosse was fined $10 and
costs by- Justice Gallaher last Monday
morning for disorderly conduct. It
was a case of too much hootch.
JJThe Leader is on sale at the Tanana
postofflce lobby.
Tanana 1Restaurant
» _ r .
Under New Management
BESTMEALS IN THE CAMP
gj^i. SHORT ORDERS AT ALL HOURS
But of Evirything 01 the Market Senrieo Unexeallad in the North
' Fresh and Delicious Bread, Pies and Pastries Always on Hand
HEADQUARTERS FOR TRAVELING PUBLIC!
Pioneer-Tower Houses
Two First- Class 'Rosorts
Stables for Horses and Dogs. Warm Bnnkhouse where
you can dry your clothing and sox.
Joe Anlcich, Prop. Tanana, Alaska
ALASKANS PLENTIFUL
IN NEW NEVADA GAMP
San Francisco, Dec. 17.—Following
the dispatches from the three Alaskans
who made such a bigstrike at National,
Nev., a few days since, comes further
news that a number of other Alaskans
were on the ground at the time, and
all are supposed to be in possession of
good claims.
S. W. Gerndacker, Arthur and George
Stowe, all of Nome, own claims in the
new district that are very valuable.
N. P. R. Hatch, Judge J. E. Fen|on
and Dan Dwyer, all old Nomeites, have
good leases on valuable property. The
ore is of such tichness that if one is
not on the ground it is impossible to
believe it. George A. Shea, of Cordova,
states that he saw $18,000 taken out of
10 feet of a drift on the National Min
ing Company’s property. The Stahl
brothers, of Nome, are working a lease
on this ground, which will produce
$1,000,000 in the next ninety days from
ground already opened up. Jake Ber*
ger, A1 Guinan and Joe Sullivan, all of
Nome, are on the ground, and it is
lieved will work valuable property.
WORLD NEWS
Private O’Neill has beeti con
victed at Kansas City, Mo , of ilie
murder of Minnie Schierharda, and
sentenced to be hanged. Miss
Scheirbarda was a French maid in
the employ of air officer at the bar.
racks. O’Nieli was in love with
her, and, when she refused to marry
him, fired several shots at her, kill
ing her instantly.
As a resu’t of the recent blizzards
in Wyoming there have been scores
of sbeepherders Irozen to death on
the ranges. Relief parties have
been organized to carrv succor to
those in the more remote districts.
A number of New York scientists
are now expressing the belief that
Andree actually reached the North
pole with his balloon in July, 1897.
The belief heretofore held was that
the balloon came down in the Bar
entz sea, east of Spitzbergen and
southwest of Franz Jpset land a dav
or two after the start. The recent
finding cf the balloon on Danes
island, b natives of Spitzbergen.
has, however, induced the belief
that the • xplorer madp a successful
dash to the pole and' returned to
his starting point, only to meet dis
as er and death.
Seth Bullock, United States mar
shal of South Dakota, is slated by
President Taft as the permanent
successor ofGifFord Pihchot as chief
forester. Bullock is a warm per
sonal friend of former President
Roosevelt, and was given a billet
in the forestry service when the
bureau was first created. He is
one or the best-known men of the
old type of Westerners, and was a
prominent figure in South Dakota
in territorial days. During the
Spanish-American war he held a
commission in the Third U. S. vol
unteer cavalry, better known as
Grigsby’s Cowboys.
The National Livestock associa
tion, in convention at Denver on
January 12 adopted a resolution
protesting against the establish
ment of a federal court for the hear
ing of complaints against railroad
rates, ss suggested by President
Taft In his recent special message
to congress.
The plan suggested by the gov
ernment at Washington for the
neutralization of the Manchurian
railway in China is meeting with
strong opposition in Tokyo and St.
Petersburg. It is being discussed
at great length in the press, and, so
far, none of the newspapers have
been able to discover any good
points in the plans suggested. Sev
eral editorials have plainly stated
that the United States is interfering
in a matter in which that country
has no concern. France favors the
plan advocated at Washington for
the neutralization of the Manchu
rian railroad, and considers it a de
sirable method of eliminating the
danger of further complications in
the Far East.
At a night session of the house
of representatives on January ro,
Congressman R. B. Macon, of Ar
kansas, during the discussion on
the army appropriation bill, ob
jected that the people of his state
shonld be taxed to build Joads in
Alaska. The house had practically
gone to sleep over the discussion of
the bill, and only those intimately
concerned displayed any interest—
the insurgeut problem being much
more enthralling. The army ap
propriation-bill item for Alaska
read building was cut from $150,
000 to $100,000. Delegate Wick
ersham and Congressman Sulzer, of
New York, opposed the action.
The cut means that there will be
no road made to the Iditarod coun
try unless the item is restored in
tire senate, which ts quite likely.
Macon also opposed the appropria
tion of $75,000 for the Alaska cable
service, but this item was put
through in spite of him. Senator
Piles has asked for an appropriation
of $225,000 for the purpose of
“quipping a lighthouse tender for
the Alaska coast L,ittie opposition
in the senate is expected to the ap
propriation, but it may be held up
;n the house *"*
A dispatch from Chinik of Janu
ary it says: The worst case of suf
feiing on the trail in Northwest
Alaska developed today when Peter
Munson arrived here with Victor
Brewster, who had become a raving
maniac as a result of his experiences
while enrouie to Kol uk Brew
ter was lost for )6 days on the
Koyuknk river, during a part of
which time the thermometer regis
tered 60 below zero. He had with
him neither matches, food, knife
nor ax. He was driving a team of
six dogs, and, when the cravings oi
hunger became more than he could
stand, he choked one of the animals
to death and ate its heart and liver.
He was able to cut the animal to
pieces with a piece of tin he took
from the bottom of the sled. The
rest ot the carcass he fed to the
other dogs. When he was found
by Peter Munson on January i he
had already disposed of three of the
animals in a similar manner Both
bis hands and feet were so badly
frozen that he vyas'helpless and out
of his mind. Munson is now tak
ing the man to Nome for treatment,
but .gangrene has set in on both
handi and feet, and it seems im
possible that he can live. Before
leaving here Brewster had become
a raving maniac and was violent.
With the arrest of Frederick
Cohn in Chicago on January n the
police brought to the public notice
one of the raost'sensatioual elope
ments of recent years.JCohn, about
a month ago, while employed as a
waiter in a Philadelphia restaurant,
made the acquaintance of Roberta
Dejanon. the 18 year old'daughter
of one of the best-known and
wealthiest families of the Quaker
city. The police have been look
ing for them for some time, and 16-'
cated the pair at a cheap hotel.
The girl is broken hearted, but oth
erwise unharmed, and begged to be
returned home. Cohn is 36 years
of age, and a married'man.
In order to fight the prohibition
sentiment, which i9 growing in the
state of Colorado, the saloon men
intend to so conduct their places of
business as to comply with every
phase of ti.e law. Art association
has been formed and every liquor
man has pledged himself to close
lis saloon on Sundays. The new
order of things went into effect on
Sunday, January 16.
“BIG JOE” EN6LE
HAS “CASHED IN”
Skagway Alaskan: “Big Joe”
Engle, well known in Skagway
and throughout Alaska as the man
ager of the old Beard of Trade,
died iu Oakland and was cremated
i there November 10, according to
John Thomas, who has Just re
turned from California. “Big Joe”
Engle was one of the pioneers of
Skagway, and remajiied here until
1905. He had a genial,^likeable
personality, aud ^bad one of the
widest acquaintanceships of any
man in Alaska. :£’Engle«vvas about
47 years_of age. Hejdied of dropsy.
Hundreds of prospectors have this
winter flocked into a section situate
near'New Castle, Col., on account of
specimens of float said to'assay several
thousands dollars "^-to the .'ton found
there and taken to Denver. The 'float
was picked up in gullies near the new
camp.
ONLY 19 “KICKERS”
AT HAINES ELECTION
ftf. ' '
Haines, Jan. 8.—The voters o
Haines vindicated the home rule
idea yesterday and despite bitter
opposition, generated by outsiders,
voted by a majority of 92 to. 19 to
incorporate. The following men
were elected:
George Vogel, mayor; Homer
Banta, Karl Johnson, P. Polley, J.
G. De Haven, J. B. Peterson, G. A.
Baldwin. __
MASONS, ATTENTION
All members of the Masonic fra
ternity residing in the vicinity of
Tauana are urgently requested to
leave their name and address at the
office of Phil Gallaher, Tanana.
Special Bunday Dinner at the Ken
tucky restaurant from 3 to 7 p.m.—
Mrs. M. E. Cooper, proprietor.
Try Williams’ new barber shop for
an easy shave or a stylish haircut.
NOTICE
All persons knowing themselves to
be indebted to the estate of Charles J.
Smith are earnestly requested to come
forward and make settlement. Persons
who had open accounts with deceased
should come and have the same ad*
justed. OSCAR LUNDIN,
Administrator.
Office at the Yukon saloon building.
Tanana, Alaska ■ Dec. 29, 1909.
ABOUT THE MAILS
ARRIVALS
From Outside, Valdez, Fairbanks,
and Rampart-Hot Springs, every Tuea*
day.
From Nome, St. Michael and lower
Yukon, every Friday.
From Dawson and Eagle, every other
week, Saturdays.
From Coldfoot, about the 12th of
each month.
DEPARTURES
To Outside, Valdez, Fairbanks and
Rampart-Hot Springs, every Saturday.
To Nome, St. Michael and lower
Yukon, every Wednesday.
To Coldfoot, the 15th of each month.
Registered Mail and Money Or
der Business will close every Friday
at noon and not open before departure
of Outside mail.
[
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LEADER JOB DEP’T.