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VOL. 1
CHITIXA, ALASKA, SATURDAY, SEPT. 9 1911.
NO. 52
LEAOER_LEADS
There is a young man in this town
who thinks he can sing, while every
body within twenty miles will swear
he cant. If we knew how to change
his mind the verdict would be unan
imous.
A new arrival started out the other
morning to walk to Mount Blackburn
an 1 back before dinner. Round trip
ISO miles. He didn’t.
A dream in a cabin is as sweet as
though you slept in a palace and the
net returns about the same.
A pair of moose horns weigh about
75 pounds and they are seldom of any
value to the animal—the chronic
knocker carries a greater weight,
that is of no use at all to anybody.
The man who hunts for pay dirt
sometimes finds it. The man who
hunts for trouble always finds it.
If you are not sure whether you
can shoot or not better try your gun
at a mark first and then hunt up
your bear.
Don't always associate a malamute
dog with a sledge team—the mala
mute has a way of knowing where
you cache your bacon.
The white man may enjoy the
blessings of Indian summer but he
cannot hope to rejoice in the glories
of the “Happy Hunting Ground.”
The chechaco may not be wise to
the business methods in vogue in
Alaska but you may put it down in
your note book that he did not come
here for his health.
Alaska is very proud of her own,
but she calls on Kentucky for large
quantities of the liquid which “cheers
but does not inebriate”—provided
you know your capacity.
We w'ere introduced to the spark
ling waters of O'Brien creek last
week and since then Rainier beer is
a failure as a beverage.
MODERN' JACK AND JIIX.
Pete and Doc went down the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
They saw a sign stuck on the spring,
That said “you hadn't orter.”
They looked around and found the
boss>
The king bee of the water
Who smiled and said “ten cents a
piece,
Or three pail., for a quarter.”
Now pete and Doc both lacked the
price—
To them it was a whopper.
They said before they’d buy the juice
They’d carry from the Copper.
That very day came Forrester
And looked the matter over,
And laid a plan by which to drive
The old shoat from the clover.
He dug a well right in the street
And then blowed out the bottom,
The water rose right to the top.
And now the old shoat’s “got em.”
RESIDENTS ARE FURNISHED ERE WATS)
Again the railroad company,
through the prompt action of its
efficient employees has come to the
assistance of Chitina. Until recent
ly the principal water supply has
come from a large spring of excel
lent water that comes from the east
slope into the stream which runs
through the townsite. The public
had patronized this spring pretty
freely until one morning last week
a placard advised the public that
the tract w-as private property, and
that water might be had at the ratej
! of ten cents a pail or three for a
: quarter. A flood of indignation
■ swept the town and especially were
the residents of the ‘‘Heights’’ in
censed at the arbitrary action of the
owners, Mr. and Mrs. Newhouse as
they depended entirely upon this
spring for water for domestic pur
poses. The attention of Mr. For
rester, the company’s engineer in
charge of construction was called to
the matter and he immediately set
to work with a gang of men to dig
a well. The Newhouses thereupon
[ threatened to buy the ground hpon
which the well was located, but the
engineer was not to be caught nap
ping. He had dug the well in the
middle of the street and informed
the purveyors of water that the well
was to be public and free to all.
When all efforts to stop the digging
had failed Mr. Newhouse rescinded
the order and offered to permit the
free use of his spring again, but
the digging went on to completion
and an inexhaustible supply of the
best water was struck at a depth of
sixteen feet. The well was at onc<
curbed and a house will be buil
| over it for protection during the win
ter. It is to be regretted that anj
citizen of Chitina should be so short
sighted as to try to corner the watei
supply of the town while a never
failing, sparkling stream runs
through the townsite. and every
surrounding hill holds a hidden reser
voir. The cost of living is high
enough in Alaska without having to
buy water. It is believed the diffi
culty is settled for the present.
ENGINEER VISITS
INTERIOR
i
»■ ■- ■
Forbes Rickard, a mining engineer ;
of Denver passed out over the |
trail via Jack Lawrences’ pack train:
enroute to Valdez creek where he ■
will inspect some mining property i
for a party of Boston capitalists.
Should his report be favorable we I
may expect much activity in that!
vicinity at an early date as we are;
informed that the negotiating parties j
are ready to improve any new prop-!
erty that promises pay. Mr. Rickard ‘
recently headed a party of explorers
and surveyors into Siberia and his
judgment is much sought by pros
pective investors in mining proper
ty.
A brother of Mr. Rickard is’ editor
and proprietor of the Mining and
Scientific Press of San Francisco, and
he recently established in London,
England, the Mining Magazine at an
expense of $75,000. The latter pub
lication has proved a winner having
more than met the expectations of
the publishers. It deals with the
mining news of the world.
Berlin, Sept. 6.—There is a money
panic throughout the provinces as a
•result of the Germany-France war
scare.
CHITIXA SORRY TO IA)SE
EDITOR CHARLES AXD FAMILY
Mr. Sidney Charles and family de
parted Tuesday for Cordova, where
they will again take up their resi
dence. This is a distinct loss to
Chitina. During their stay here they
made many friends who sincerely re
gret their going. The interest and
energy displayed by Mr. Charles in
every move that tended to improve
PLACER GOLD FOUND
ON INTERIOR STREAMS
Parties recently arriving in town
from the headwaters of the Chitina
and whose names are withheld for
obvious reasons, have exhibited some
extremely fine samples of placer
gold. They expect to return soon to
the place of its discovery and make j
preparations to mine their ground.
This is one of the best ways of j
confirming the belief of many of
the old time prospectors and miners
of that region that there is undoubt
"edly more creeks and streams, yet
undiscovered, lying within the water
shed of the upper Chitina region and
adjacent territory that will be as
good or better than those now oper
ated in the Nizina country. The ma
jor portion of this field is unexplored
and the great tributaries of the Chit
ina, Tana, Chakina, Nizina and other
rivers yet unnamed, in as far as they
have been prospected all show a re
cent and uniform distribution of
placer gold little worn and of high
grade.
Those streams comprising the
southern tributaries to the Chitina
such as the Tana, Chlkina and Klu
rtnder a particularly good surface
showing in both their present chan
nels and the ancient and much more
extensive bench gravels.
ilench gravels in a stream of un
broken continuity. and known to be
auriferous, lie in a south and west
erly direction from the Tana river.
Up to the time of the completion
of the Copper River & Northwestern
Railway the comparative remoteness
of this section has precluded much
prospecting. This year. however, a
few of the more venturesome have
entered this field, and while it Is
too early in the season to gather
much authentic information as to re
sults there have been some good re
ports already verified, and the com
ing season will undoubtedly see some
extensive mining developments going
cn in this hitherto little known and
| inviting field.
conditions in our town was so evi
dent that he was looked upon as a
real leader in matters of public im
provement and it will be difficult
to fill his place. He labored with
unselfish zeal for every kind of pub
lic improvement and though he
knew’ he would reap no direct bene
fit it was largely to his efforts that
we owe the establishment of a school
in Chitina. Thus he has uncon
sciously left behind him a lasting
monument which will mean more to
future generations of Chitina than |
would a granite shaft. although it |
reached above the mountain peaks
that surround us. We need more
such citizens as Mr. Charles and his
estimable wife and lovely little girls.
What is our loss is Cordova’s gain.
The best wishes of Chitina go with
them.
—
Lulu Thompson, wife of Arthur
Thompson, of the law firm of Thomp
son & Thompson, at Katalla, has
brought suit in the district court in
an alleged claim jumping case at
Yakataga. The suit brought against
George Felton, Gus Dahlgren, and
another man is an action in eject
ment. Judge Lyons, of the district
court, at the instance of Thos. Don
ohoe, of Ostrander & Donohoe, has
issued a temporary restraining order
and order to show cause in which
the defendents are restrained from
working the ground, consisting of a
number of placer claims, until the
matter is settled. The order to show
cause is returnable Oct. 17.
Mrs. Thompson, it is asserted, se
cured judgment for several thousand
dollars against the Revenue Mining
company, which owned the claim in
question. She obtained title to the
property on the sale of execution and
later Jumped the property.
BRING IX YOi
SPECIMEXS OF ORK
Mr. C. L. Andrews. who has charge
of the Alaska exhibit this winter in
New York came in on Monday re
turning the next morning to Cordova.
Mr. Andrews is anxious for this sec
tion to make as good a showing as
possible so we again request any one
who has not already done so to
bring in good sized samples of their
ore and leave same with the railroad
agent at the depot who will forward
them promptly. This is an excep
tionally good opportunity to adver
tise this section which we trust no
me will overlook.
REV. KOOXCE TO HOED
SERVICES IX CHITIXA
Rev. M. E. Koonce of Cordova,
was a visitor to Chitina the first
of the week. He promised to ar
range to preach for us occasionally
during the winter if the citizens
would provide a place of meeting
and his generous offer should meet
with every encouragement we can
possibly give. The Leader will be
found in hearty sympathy with every
movement that tends towards the es
tablishment of religious, educational
and civic improvements. If enough
of our citizens are interested to war
rant Rev. Koonce to make the trip,
there will be no trouble in securing
him for an occasional service.
^IiOCAL JOTTINGS
'1 ■
The second wedding to occur in
Chitina was solemnized on the 1st.
inst., when Mr. R. E. Condon, of
Chitina, and Miss May McDougal.
of Tennessee, were united in mar
riage by Judge Healy. The contract
ing parties immediately went to
housekeeping in the St, Clair cabin.
The Leader extends hearty congrat
ulations and good wishes.
Roy C. Wilson, a well known pros
pector of the Nizina is in town for
a few days. He reports most of the
boys doing well in that section.
Superintendent George Geiger, of
the Copper River & Northwestern
railway, has appointed F. C. Gorman,
who arrived on the Northwestern,
general foreman in charge of the ma
chine and car shops and round house.
Mr. Gorman held a similar position
under the Colorado & Southern rail
road, in the building of the branch
from Wellington to Cheyenne. Prior
to i'.ut he was in charge -of the
construction work from Saratoga to
Encampment.
P. Brophy is in from the White
river country and will return there
shortly for the winter. He will take
in a team of horses. He reports
Zeke Mullett and Frank Smith six
miles from the head of White river
toward Canyon City. They have an
excellent layout for copper.
KEXAI NOTED GAME RESERVE
The fame of Kenai peninsula as
the rendezvous of big game animals
yearly brings to this region sports
men from the four quarters of the
globe. The majestic moose, the
toothsome mountain sheep, the moun
tain goat, and black and brown bear
may be found in abundance. Grouse,
ptarmigan, and w-ater fowl are in
plenty. The streams abound with
the various species of trout and the
bay affords fine salmon and bass
fishing.
September 1 the season opened for
grouse, ptarmigan and water fowl,
extending until March 31.
HOTEL ARRIVALS.
The following names appear on
the register of the Hotel Chirina
since Sunday:
Root. Martin, M. Morton, E. Lund,
Jas. Fisher, E. A. Slantister, John
Johnson, Chas. Smith, B. Martin, P.
Olson, O. W. Collins James Mc
Cluskev M. J. Morton Chick Nelson
Ray Dayton, Lulu Palmer, Chas.
Simmenstead, Peter Kennedy and
wife, P. M. Carnult, S. H. Hardy, M.
Mority, Chas. Malander, G. O. Olson
Gus Johnson, A. J. Larson, J. D. F.
Stephenson A. Walstrom, Ed Young.
Rev. M. E. Koonce, and C. L. An
drews.
C. H. Buschman has been appoint
ed manager of the Northwestern
Fisheries company, succeeding Capt.
D. H. Jarvis, deceased. W. T. Chut
ter, for many years head of the
Chlopeck Fish company, was elected
Vice-President of the Northwest Fish
eries company. Mr. Chutter has
been connected with the fishing in
dustry on the Pacific coast for 30
years, while Manager Buschman is
perhaps the best informed man in
the salmon canning business in the
north.
Anything In the Job printing line a*
the Alaskan office.
LABOR SHORTAGE
ALONG LINE
There is a shortage of labor not
only in Cordova but along the rail
road and at the interior mines. This
condition nas prevailed for some time
past, due to the fact, no doubt, that
many men left here early in the
spring to seek employment elsewhere,
:n business throughout the territory,
on account of the general stagnation
It is with great difficulty that
enough longshoremen are secured to
discharge vessels upon their arrival
here, while there is a shortage of
labor for all kinds of work planned
and under way by the Copper River
fe Northwestern railway. Miners are
also in great demand by the opera
tors of the interior property.
General Agent Harry has made
frequent calls upon Seward and Val
dez for help and most of the boats
from the westward have brought
some men but not enough to supply
the market.
LICENSES ARE RENEWED.
The following renewals of lecenses
were granted by the district court:
Thos. J. Davis, O'Brien & Simpson
Thisted Ai Ross of Cordova; Palmer
& Cloninger. of Chitina; F. B.
Vaughn, Clear Creek; Hitchcock &
Weierman, Susitna; Wile & Little,
Latouche; Charles Cowell, Copper
Center; Bailey, Newman & Co., of
Katalla, and W. H. Blackwell, Val
dez.
The transfer of the license of M.
J. Sullivan, of Cordova, to L. G. Bel
ter was also granted.
LOCAL JOTTNGS
I -
C. J. Dykes, a time keeper Tor the
Katalla company, passed through
' Chitina last week on his way to mile
183, where he will be stationed for
the present. Mr. Dykes is well and
favorably known in this section, hav
ing previously run a store at Katalla
and Eyak at which latter place he
was burned out.
Ferry Jacobs has dsiposed of his
stock of goods to Finkelstein & Sap
iro and has gone up the line on a
collecting trip. He has not yet de
cided where he will locate in the
future. We will miss the congenial
Ferry and a host of friends wish him
well wherever he goes.
M. F. French, a sourdough of the
early days, passed through Chitina
last week on his way to the White
river country. He has been spend
ing the last few- years on his farm
in Oregon but says he could not
resist the call of the northland.
Oscar Freedman left for Cordova
on the first of the month, having
turned the hotel over to the new
owners, Messrs. Falmer & Clonin
ger.
Richard Bell of the Slate Creek
district is in town this week.
Jerry O'Leary and John Dorney
of Nizina, went down the line Mon
day enroute to the outside. They re
port everything quiet in the Nizina.
Henry Stuck is in from Slate
Creek and reports that preparations
j are under way for closing there for
: the season which was unusually short
this year. He says that the Miller
j claims have proven as productive
| as heretofore, otherwise the creek is
narrowing down to smaller returns.
Louis Roussel has brought suit in
| Judge Healey's court to recover on
a note for $110.80. alleged to have
been given by George Blouen. The
j date for the hearing has been set
l for Sept. 11th.
The Nelson brothers are putting
down a w’ell on their property on
First street and expects to get a
' good flow at about twenty feet.
The Chitina hotel and bar is un
dergoing some radical changes and
many improvements under the man
agement of the new proprietors,
Messrs. Palmer & Cloninger, These
wide-awake business men are deserv
ing of much credit for the expen
sive and tasty improvements and we
bespeak for them a large and con
stantly growing volume of business.
Chitina is justly proud of its first
class hostlery which is entitled to
the support of every progressive cit
izen. The traveling public are sure
to appreciate the efforts of “mine
* host.”
ALASKA’S OPPORTUNITY
TO MAKE AN EXHIBIT
The greatest part of the people of
the United States have not yet dis
covered Alaska. To the most of
those who have, the country is a
vague, distant and misunderstood
land. They look upon it as beyond
ordinary sympathy and considera
tion to them. It is a little reduced
scale plot in the Southwest part of
the map of the United states and its
inhabitants are natives who live on
oil and blubber. The people of the
U. S. need educating.
Men who have the interest of Alas
ka at.heart realize this and to assist
in bringing Alaska before the people
of the east where no comprehensive
exhibit of the products of the coun
try has been made they have bought
space in the American Lands and Ir
rigation Exposition at Madison Gar
den Square in New York City from
Nov. 3-12, 1911, to make an Alaskan
exhibit. They now ask the people of
Alaska to bring the tbings which will
illustrate favorably what Alaska la
and place them before the people in
the largest and best known show
place in America.
Many have responded but there is
more needed to make an adequate
showing. It is the duty of every man
who has the good of Alaska at
heart to do what he can to assist.
Mineral and agricultural suecl
mcns are sought and those who have
them will assist by bringing them In
so they may be sent at as early a date
as possible.
They will be taken care of at the
railway depots along the line and
forwarded without cost in care of
the agent at Cordova and marked
“Exhibit ” or left at the dock or
depot in Cordova.
If Alaska does not have a good
showing it is the fault of the people
who live here.
Conductor George Saunders is en
joying a thirty days vacation in. the
( states.