FOURTH YEAR. " CHIT1NA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, JULY 14, 1914. - NTTWRFT? 3Q
WASHINGTON, July 11.—Information received here by
the sffeate department is to the effect that soon the elimination
of Huerta from the affairs of Mexico will be complete.- Several
diplomats announced this afternoon that Huerta would resign
the presidency of Mexico within three days, in favor of
Francisco Carbajal, the newly appointed Minister of Foreign
Affairs. The Huerta delegates to Niagara Falls, who are still
here, stated that they had been waiting for this move, and that
they are satisfied the report is correct. It is now expected that
there will be no delay in carrying out the protocol signed at
Niagara Falls. The administration leaders express themselves
as very well content at the turn affairs are taking and look'
hopefully to an early termination of Mexico’s internal
troubles.
SALTILLO, July 9.—General Obregeon has telegraphed
President Carranza that he and his soldiers had defeated
6,000 federate, who sought to oppose his advance on Guadala
jara. He further states that he expects to take this latter city
very soon.
WASHINGTON, July 9—Dispatches received from border
points make it clear that the Constitutionalists will not accept
the invitation of the mediators for an informal peace confer
ence with representatives of Huerta and Carranza. This
indicates that fighting between the two factions will continue.
,f ?1V 1 ;*-*>■ .5 • • •• •■ , , _
VERA CRUZ, July 13.—Minister of Finance Delelama
arrived here yesterday morning from Mexico City, on his way
to Europe. He stated that in all probibility President Huerta
would retire either on Monday or Tuesday.
WASHINGTON, July 13.—This afternoon President
Carranza of the rebel party, formally notified the United States
that the Constitutionalists would engage in no mediation
conferences with Huerta delegates. They will accept only
absolute surrender.
SEATTLE, July 13.—Agents of the interior department
have been busy in Seattle and various sections of the country
for several weeks past taking testimony from coal claimants
and witnesses. It has been with particular reference to the
locations made in the Bering River field. Mr. Christiansen,
chief of the field division, will now go to Alaska to make a
wind-up in securing testimony on all Alaska coal cases. He
will sail on the steamer Northwestern, which has been delayed
and will not get away until the 15th. Dr. A. H. Brooks, chief
of the division of Alaskan mineral resources, geological survey,
will also sail for the north.
There is a feeling of great confidence among coal claimants
in Seattle that soon dozens of patents will issue for claims in
both the Bering and Matanuska fields. This contention is
largely due to a recent decision rendered by A. A. Jones,
assistant secretary of the interior, in which a decision of the
commissioner of the general land office rendered during the
period when the Piuchots dominated the interior department,
was absolutely reversed, and a patent was ordered issued to
Charles Lightfoot for a tract in Whatcom county, Washington.
In the Lightfoot case the assistant secretary of the
interior, from whose decision there is no appeal, not only
upsets the ruling made by Secretary of the Interior Walter L.
Fisher in the famous Cunningham fight, to the effect that a
claimant must open and develop a payable mine, but it holds
that a patent shall be issued in a case where only $1,500 wortli
of work has been done and on ground upon which the
geological formations “are sufficient to warrant a man of
ordinary prudence in tile further prosecution of exploration
work and development, with reasonable prospect of success in
developing thereon a workable and paying coal mine.”
Many Alaska claims have been turned down by the land
office on the grounds that no workable mines had been opened,
yet when one man, W. J. Wh'orf, did open a mine and began
to sell coal before a patent had been issued he was arrested and
fined $500 for so doing. T. P. McDonald, another coal claimant
who expended approximately $170,000 on his property was
threatened with arrest if he attempted to market the coal. And
yet, under the Fisher decision, his claim to patent would be
denied on the ground that he had not proven that he had
opened a marketable deposit of coal. Under the new policy
of the Interior Department patents are expected to issue before
the summer is over.
A second clean-up in the Chisana has just been reported)
at McCarthy, news reaching there having arrived on Thursday
evening, and is brought tp Cordova by J. E. Barrett who came
to town this afternoon. There had been a shortage of water
but for a couple of days there was enough for a clean-upi and
all got busy, with the result that gold was taken out as follows:
F. T. Hamshaw, $25,000 on Little Eldorado; a previous
clean-up giving him $12,000.
Charley Range, $9,000 on Skookum.
Taylor & Wyle, $11,000 on Bonanza.
There are favorable prospects on Alder, which is deep
ground, they now being down 80 feet.
The editor of the Juneau Daily Empire had best consider
a little else he will be accused of being a corporation organ.
Geo. W. Sias has again been with
us a' few days but is now on his
way to Valdez creek, having been
at his Boston home since last
October, when he came from the
interior. It is to Mr. Sias that
credit is due for the development
of one of the biggest hydraulic
propositions in the interior of Alaska.
As a large stockholder in the
Valdez C're.ek Placer Mines he put
forth the efforts as fiscal agent that
resulted in the securing of the sev
eral hundred thousand dollars neces.
sary to take in machinery and open
up the property that his company
had acquired.
During the past winter the bal
ance of the machinery necessary to
equip this plant was brought to Cor
dova and from here shipped over the.
railroad to Chitina. From there it
was transported by team over the
government road to Gulkana. From
there it was necessary to sled it a
distance of 120 miles northwest over
a more difficult road. But this was
successfully accomplished and sup
plies were also sledded in to suffice
for the employees of the company
until next winter. Mr. Sias will
remain at the workings until the end
of the season in October, when he
will come out with the other officers
and men via Chitna and Cordova.
Valdez Creek is this season the
scene, of more activity than has been
witnessed there since 1907, the year
of the big influx of miners. Since
that time the richest of the proper
ties on the cre.ek and its tributaries
have been gathered together in one
ownership and are now controlled by
the Valdez Creek Placer Mines, an
organization with headquarters in
Boston and financed'by New Eng
land capital. This season they are
installing one of the most perfect
hydraulic plants of its size that has
been sent out in recent years by the
Joshua Hendy Iron Works of San
Francisco.
vujiuiuuno uii » aiuct n ecu die
reported by engineers who visited
the scene, both those of the United
States Geological Survey and those
in private employ, to be ideal for
hydraulic operations.
The creek carries from 3,500 to
7.000 miners inches of water. In
flowing from its source to the
Susitna river it falls rapidly and in
the lower few milen of its course
cuts a canyon whose greatest depth
is about 18 8 feet. This canyon just
above a 28-foot fall intersects a pre
glacial channel whose bedrock is 60
feet above, the waters of Valdez
creek at that point. This old chan
nel has proved to be 110 feet deep
and about 200 feet wide.
In this old channel on bedrock a
tunnel has bee.n driven 1,200 feet.
Every foot of the way had to be
timbered with square sets and in
places the tunnel is 30 feet wide. In
other places tunnels have, been
driven at right angles to the main
tunnel on one side for 100 feet and
on another side for 60 feet. The
total amount of workings are equiva
lent to one tunnel 25 feet wide and
7 feet high for the whole 1,200 feet.
The gravels taken out have aver
aged $21 per cubic yard. These
workings have thoroughly pros
pected the. bedrock gravels and the
engineers of the Valdez Creek Placer
Mines are satisfied that in the still
unworked gravels they have material
for several bonanzas. The most
striking thing and the thing that
first strikes the vision of visiting
engineers and hydraulic miners is
the close juxtaposition of rich gold
bearing gravels, of adequate dump,
and of volume and head of water im
mediately available for hydraulic
operations.
The water supply comes from
Valdez creek. A ditch 6,200 feet
long brings the water to the hill
Immediately back of the intersection
of the old and new channels. From
the end of the ditch steel pipe, con
sisting of 1,000 feet of 36-inch pipe,
1.000 fe.et of 30 inch pipe, 1,000
fe.et of 24-inch pipe, and 1,000 feet
of 22-inch pipe takes the water to
the point immediately above the en
trance of the aforementioned chan
nel. 1,000 feet of 13-inch pipe fur
nishes the three branches requisite
to work from the points of vantage.
Through this simple system water is
applied through the giants under a
head of 350 feet.
The plant that is being Installed
this season is under the supervision
of Alfred H. Bryant, a former New
Englander, who came to Alaska in
1898 and has installed various
hydraulic plants in the Kenai Penin
sula. The government engineers
who made a reconnoissance of Val
dez creek in 1910 and who were
again on the. ground in 1913, Mr.
Forbes Rickard who examined the
properties of the Valdez Creek
Placer Mines in 1911, and Mr.
Bryant, unite in declaring that the
natural advantages for hydraulic
operations on Valdez Cre.ek excel
those of any proposition they ever
have visited.
Mr. Rickard estimated the gold
content of the gravels in the old
channel at 94c per cubic yard. There,
was some small pipe that had been
taken in by one of the companies
absorbed by the Valdez Creek Placer
Mines and a short 24 hours run was
made, with some hastily improvised
sluice boxes as a test of the values
to be recovered by actual hydraulic
operations. With this small pipe,
about 1,000 yards were washed
through the boxes of an average lot
of gravel above the old workings
where the bedrock gravels had been
entirely washed out to a height of 6
feet, the recovery amounting to
about $2,500, thus entirely justify
ing Mr. Rickard's estimate. The
season for hydraulicking on Valdez
Creek is about 150 days. The big
hydraulic plant is expected to be in
operation for one-third of the season
of 1914 and the owners expect big
things from the first full season,
which will be that of 1915.
--O-O-G
William C. Edes, chairman of the
Alaska Engineering Board who has
been at Ship Creek, is about to start
on a trip from there to Fairbanks.
He may return to Seward via Chitina
and Cordova. 1
— . fi-rv ----
Within the next week it will be
necessary for the Democrats of the
Third judicial division to elect dele
gates to the territorial convention to
be. held at Skagway on Monday,
August 3, when a candidate for Dele
gate to Congress will be nominated.
At a recent meeting of the terri
torial and division committees at
Valdez Thos. C. Price and Jam€.s
Smith were delegated to call a pri
mary for Cordova to include the
precincts of Cordova, Eyak, Miles
Glacier and Tiekel, and at which 7
delegates are to be, elected. In ac
cordance with this authorization the
Cordova committeemen have issued a
call for a meeting of all Democrats
in the precincts named to be he.ld
at Town Hall on Monday night, July
13, at 8 o’clock.
The following apportionment has
been made for the division:
Afognak 2, Kodiak 1, Unga 1,
Unalaska 1, Kenai 1, Knik 1, Nush
agak 1, Sunrise 1, Seward 6, La
touche 2, Golden 1, Granite 1, El
lamar 2, Copper Cente.r 1, Nelchina
1, Katalla 2, Chitina 4, McCarthy 2,
Kennecott 1, Chisana 2, Cordova 7,
Valdez 9, making a total of 50 for
the division.
The judges of election were in
structed to ask of each voter the fol
lowing questions: Are you a Demo
crate? Is it your intention to vote
for a regular nominee of the Demo
cratic convention to be held at
Skagway, Alaska, August 3, 1914?
If the person answers in the af
firmative he or she. shall be allowed
to vote.
The committee authorizes William
O’Connor to select some Democrat to
afrange for a primary or caucus at
Chitina, to include Chitina, Copper
Mountain, Kotsina, Strelna and Kus
kalana. James Millsap is entrusted
with a similar duty for a caucus to
be. held at McCarthy, to include Mc
Carthy, Blackburn, Mother Lode
Mine, Long Lake and Nizina. T. B.
Tansy is authorized to call a caucus
at Kennecott for the precincts of
Kennecott and Regal. Judge Dimond
or A1 Hoffman are authorized to ar
range a caucus for Shushanna pre
cinct at Chisana or Bonanza.
-o—o —o
When Col. Jackling recently re
turned from the north on his yacht
Cypress he made the run from Sitka
to Seattle in 58 hours and 45 min
uter, which is the fastest time on
record.
-- -. t ---i-r--|-%
WASHINGTON, July 9.—Alaska has won another big
victory in the'passage at this late day of a bill in the Senate
which exempts the railroads of the north from the iniquitous
tax of $100 per mile per annum. An effort was made to place
a tax on the tonnage of Alaska railroads but this failed. It was.
however, incorporated in the bill which repeals the $100 per
mile tax that the railroads should pay a tax of 1 per cent on
their gross earnings, in addition to the general income tax.
A large degree of credit for the passage of this bill in the
Senate is due Falcon Joslin, of Fairbanks. He labored here all
winter and into the spring to convince senators and represen
tatives that the tax was stifling development in the north and
discouraged the building of branch lines. He pointed out that
some of the small roads had ceased to operate while others, like
his own road, the Tanana Mines, was operating in violation of
the law and had already incurred penalties largely in excess of
the value of the road.
Mr. Joslin recently returned from Seattle and since then
has been so persistent in his advocacy of this measure that
Senator Kern and other leaders finally decided to put it
through. Delegate Wickersham also favored the bill and lent
some assistance in securing its passage, but Mr. Joslin labored
zealously night and day to bring about the desired result. He
says he will now devote his efforts during the time lie. is here
to working up favor for a coal leasing bill and for Secretary
Lane’s Alaska Development Board bill.
SEATTLE, July 9.—Stephen Birch sailed north on the
steamer Alameda and will go through to Latouche. He is not
accompanied by any of the party from the East. In answer to
an inquiry Vice President Baxter of the Alaska Steamship Co.
and the Copper Biver & Northwestern Bailwav stated that the
party would sail north from Seattle on the steamer Mariposa
on July 18, going to Cordova, where they would be joined by
Mr. Birch. Mr. Baxter will likely accompany the party north.
However, he preferred not to announce the personnel of the
party, stating that it was better that the information should
come from Mr. Birch.
WASHINGTON, July 9.—The Senate has passed the
amendment of Senator Jones to the sundry civil bill appropriat
ing $50,000 for the assembling of an Alaskan exhibit for the
Panama exposition at San Francisco. This amount will be
expended under the supervision of a federal committee of four.
The item will undoubtedly be accepted by the House and
assures Alaska of having a creditable exhibit, although it is
regarded as too late to assemble such an exhibit as would best
portray the resources and opportunities of Alaska. Senator
Jones is being warmly congratulated by the Alaskans now here
and other friends of the north among the legislators, for his
Strenuous work in having this appropriation included in the
bill. Preliminary arrangements will at once be made so that
as soon as the bill becomes a certainty, men can be put in the
field to gather the exhibits from the north land.
WASHINGTON, July 7.—Recently the Secretary of the
Navy referred the report of the Bureau of Muies on the the
value of the Bering River coal of Alaska to the committee on
naval afFairs. While it is recognized that the test was not
satisfactory, the evidence shows that the coal was of a poor
character and included slate and dire and that it was after
wards exposed during a winter to the elements. As a conse
quence it is not considered that an accurate knoweldge has
been secured of the steaming value of the Bering coal. The
committee therefore recommends that another test of these
fields be made upon the completion of a railroad into the fields.
A part of the new bridge that crosses the Nizina river a
few miles from McCarthy has been carried away by the high
water. The bridge has seven spans, about 700 feet in length,
with 140 additional feet of trestle work. It is one of the most
substantial bridges built by the Alaska Road Commission, and
there was much surprise at Valdez headquarters a couple of
days ago when word was received that two spans had been
carried away by the raging water. Lieut. Edgerton came to
Cordova on the steamer yesterday and will take the first train
for the interior, to make an examination of the damage done.
Unless the heavy timbers are affected an effort will be made
to replace the bridge at once but it is possible that it may be
necessary to wait for the freeze up before the necessary work
can be done. The bridge was built last winter at a cost of but
little less than $25,000. Everybody in the interior expressed
satisfaction that the structure was to substantial and well
constructed. But it has been of little use to the miners and
prospectors, as no approaches have been built on either side of
the structure and it has been impossible for pack horses and
even men to scale the almost precipitous incline to reach
the bridge.
VERA CRUZ, July 13.—Last evening Roberto Estevarinz,
Mexican substitute for Secretary of Foreign Affairs, arrived
here on his way to Europe. He says that Huerta will surrender
the reins of government to Francisco Carbajal, who will step
aside as soon as a provisional president acceptable to the
Constitutionalists is agreed upon.