One Dollar Per Month.
TANANA, ALASKA, THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1910.
Two Bits Per Copy
JUSTICE BREWER
DIES SUDDENLY
Washington, April 5.—Associate
Justice David Josiah Brewer, of the
United States supreme court, died
in this city at midnight March 30
from a stroke of apoplexy. Death
resulted so shortly alter the seizure
that attendants had not time to re
move the stricken man to Ins bed
chamber.
Justice Brewer was born in
Smyrna, Asia Minor. June 20,1837,
where his father was a missionary
He lias been on the supreme bench
since 1899.
It is freely predicted here that
Lloyd Bowers, now solicitor gen
eral, wili be appointed by President
Taft as the successor of Justice
Biewer. Mr. Bowers, who was re
ceutiy appointed to succeed Solic
itor-General Hoyt, is a Chicago
man, and a graduate of Yale.
THEY THOUGHT
TEDDY HAD ONE
Cairo, April 5 —When 20,000
Nationalists stormed the hotel at
which Colonel Roosevelt is stop
ping, demanding in an excited way
that he give Egypt a constitution,
the other guests of the hotel fled
from the place in fear, but Roose
velt only laughed at the demon
stralion.
Later in the evening as an evi
deuce of his understanding of the
mob, he delivered an address in
which he scored the Nationalists
unstintedly lor thei: assassination
of the latg premier, telling them
that their course was not only not
justified, but that it argued badly
for their cause. The authorities
are insisting upon a heavy guard
for Colonel Roosevelt, tearing that
the Nationalists may assassinate
him, but he insistr upon no guard,
assuring them that he is abundantly
able to protect himself at any time,
anywhere.
FOUND SOFT
LANDING PLACE
Montgomery, Ala., April 4.—Or
ville Wright fell one hundred feet
with his aeroplane here last Thins
day. He landed in a lake of soft
mud, and neither he nor his ma
chine were at all injured.
LIQUOR-TO-INDIANS
CASE GOMES NEXT
The case of Charles Kerr, arrested
last Sunday charged with furnishing
liquor to Indians, has not come up for
hearing on account of the time of Jus
tice Gallaher being taken up by the
inquiry into the death of Charles F.
Boyd.
Big Luke, Little Luke, Walter Nic
olai, Johnny Glass and Alexander are
natives involved in the affair. Alex
ander, as well as Kerr, is in custody.
Boyd, the dead ‘‘bobtail’’ soldier,
was to have been a witness in the case,
and Geise claims to have been trying
to sober him up so he would be in con
dition to testify.
The bearing is expect ed to commence
this afternoon at 4 o’clock.
MRS. SWANSON
ADOPTS CHILD
Gracie, the infant daughter of Mrs.
and the late Charles J. Smith, was last
Friday legally adopted by Mrs. A. A.
Swanson. Mrs. Swanson has had charge
of the child for several months. It
takes the name of Swanson and starts
on its career under very favorable con
ditions. It is a very bright baby and
is idolized by its new mother and its
grandmother Mrs. Burns.
I guarantee my optical work to give
*\tisfactioo—Beroi«
SUICIDE THEORY UPHELD
BY THE JURY’S VERDICT
Not Certain that Ceise Will Be Released Without
Further Investigation
VERDICT OF CORONER’S JURY
In the matter of the death of Charles F. Boyd, deceased,
we believe that said deceased came to his death by a gunshot
wound inflicted by himself, in a cabin on the Mission road, be
tween the town of Tanana and the Mission of Our Saviour,
between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. o’clock on April 5,1910.
Dated this 7th day of April, 1910.
The above verdict, rendered shortly before 1 o’clock this after
noon, is the result of an inquiry begun as soon as a jury could be"
summoned after the death of Charles F. Boyd became known last
Tuesday at about the same hour.
The case has proven a very peculiar one, but a great many
will believe the verdict is warranted by all the evidence brought
to light.
Justice Gallaher will review all the evidence, which was taken
in shorthand, and will then determine whether or not he will let
Gcise, the only man near Boyd at the time of death, go free with
out further action or not. This will probably take a day or two.
No arranaements have yet been made for Boyd’s funeral. It
will probably be held tomorrow.
Boyd’s death occurred in a cabin situated back a short distance
from the road anc there was no other house nearer than one or two
hundred feet.
Upon the report of the matter to the authorities the commis-j
sioner summoned a coroner’s jury which weut to the cabin and j
viewed the remains, accompanied by Post Surgeon Grissinger, who
examined the wound and explained that death under the circum
stances would scarcely be instantaneous; life might continue 20 or]
30 minutes. He later made a post-mortem examination. The bul- j
let entered the upper portion of the right breast, passed through j
the upper lobe of the right lung ana lodged against the akin just;
to the right of the center of the back. It had grazed the spinal
column but had not shattered the vertebra. The w’ound had bled
not more than enough to leave a slight stain on the undershirt,
which Dr. Grissinger said indicated that there had been no strug
gle after the shot was fired. Internal hemorrhage caused death.
The inquest was adjourned till yesterday forenoon, and the
day was spent in examining witnesses. The jury consisted of J. C.
Dehn, William Corning, A. B. Culp, Theodore Dieterick, A. W.
Williams and James P. Mulligan.
The story developed was about as follows:
About 1 o’clock on the day of the tragedy Lind and Forysko,
two soldiers, went to the cabin where the deceased, William Geise,
civilian, aud Leroy Davis, ex-soldier, lived in common. Geise was
in the act of entering with an armful of wood, and told Lind and j
Forysko they had better not go in; but they pushed by him through
the door and saw Boyd lying on the bed. According to their story
they asked what was the matter with Boyd, and Geise answered,
“O, he’s sick.” Lind said: ‘‘He looks like he was dead,” and went
over and felt his pulse. Then he continued, “Hell, this man’s
dead.” Then his foot touched a pistol under the edge of the bunk.
He picked it up and was in the act of passing it over to Forysko;
when Geise took the pistol away and Lind and Forysko hurried
away and told Jail Guard Van Horne there was a dead man in the
cabin. Guards Van Horne and Howell, on their way to the cabin,
met and arrested Geise.
Geise’s story differed materially from that of Lind and For
ysko, and to get at the truth of the matter was a hard task for
the jury.
Annie Lyons, a native woman commonly called “Short and
Dirty,” who was doing washing in Pete Claveau’s cabin, some 200
or 300 feet from where the tragedy occurred, testified that Geise
had come into that place to borrow a saw. She said he returned
the saw in a very few minutes—not having kept it long enough to
saw but a few sticks of wood.
In Geise’s statement he said he borrowed the saw, and sawed
wood with it for about an hour. He had left deceased in bed when
he went after the saw, and had not been back in the cabin before
the arrival of Lind and Forysko, a time amounting to about an hour
and a half. Geise said Boyd was in a dopey state from long-con
tinued hard drinking. He had the room darkened so Boyd could
sleep better, and on entering from the light objects in the room
were indistinct. He told Lind and Forysko not to come in because
he did not want Boyd disturbed. He vehemently denied that Lind
and Forysko bad said anything about Boyd being dead while they
were in the cabin. When they picked up the pistol Geise aid he
reached for it and said “I’ll take that; Boyd has threatened to
blow his brains out.” Lind and Forysko let him have the pistol
without protest and walked out the door without a word. Geise
busied himself in frying eggs fof dinner, and when they were on
the stove he looked over at Boyd and noticed a staring look in his
eyes and a pallor on his face. It was then he first became aware
the man was dead. He saw the bullet hole in the vest and knew
that he had shot himself. Then he hurried for assistance, and was
met and arrested by the guards.
The next morning-it recurred to Geise, he said, that as he was
coming out of the Claveau cabin with the saw he had seen two na
tive dogsleds stopped in the road in-front of the cabin occupied by
himself el al. The occupants were talking and looking toward the
cabin as if something there had attracted their attention. This
circumstance led him to believe they had heard the shot, which
must have been fired while he was in the Claveau cabin. He him
self had heard nothing like a shot and that caused the more sur
prise to find that Boyd . had been killed. Gei.se also remembered
seeing Rev. Mr. Peabody on his way from the Mission about 20
minutes after the native sleds passed up. He asked Mr. Peabody
the time. He said he believed Mr. Peabody must have met the na
tives, and if they could be found he believed the truth would be
come known, and he would be exonerated.
Mr. Peabody, interrogated, remembered meeting the natives.
Two of them, Billy Fields and Eva Fields, were called and told of
having stopped as Geise had said, but their pause was for other
reasons, and they heard nothing like a gunshot and had no sus
picion of anything being wrong in the cabin.
The cabin in which Boyd met his death is situated perhaps a
quarter of a mile above the N. C. store on the Mission road. It is
owned by “Sidewheel” Wilson, and was occupied by deceased and
Leroy Davis, “bobtail soldiers,” and William Geise, a civilian.
“Bobtail” is a name applied to soldiers discharged without honor.
Boyd was educated and intelligent. He had been in the service a
long while and was formerly in the Tenth infantry. He was nick
named “Dopey” Boyd because he was often in a stupid condition
from indulgence in drink. Davis and he had been drinking a great
deal for several weeks. Davis was before the jury and his mind
was muddled. Geise drinks little or none. He did most of the
work around the cabin. He arrived from the Iditarod March 1.
His kindred live in Cincinnati, aud he is a stonecutter by trade.
Mrs. Esther E. Finley, 1206 East Madison street, Seattle, is
sister to Boyd.
The jury retired at 7:15 o’clock yesterday evening and deliber
ated till 11 o’clock. They then reported to Justice Gallaher that
they had decided to recall Lind and Forysko. They went to their
homes with the understanding that they would reassemble at 10
o’clock today and continue the inquest behind closed doors.
JOHN BATHURST
GOT THE PRIZE
ThfrChamber of Commerce last night
awarded the prize of $20 in gold to j
John Bathurst for a paper containing j
the ten best reasons why sessions of'
the district court should be held in j
Tanana. There were four papers sub- j
milted.
POPULAR OFFICER i
USED STRATEGY
Lieut. M. H. Thomlinson has been
the object of much good-natured ‘‘josh
ing” by friends for a couple of days.
In the Array and Navy Journal which
came in Tuesday’s mail was the an-,
nuunceraent that a son was born to him j
in San Francisco Feb. 9. Of course
he had been duly apprised of the event
but did not share the Dews with his
fellow officers and friends, who were
kept in the dark until they read the
announcement.
It is hinted that the strategy on
the part of the lieutenant detracted
somewhat from the merriment at the
big minstrel show given not long ago
at Post Hall.
- I
Lawyer Going to Iditarod !
C. E. Taylor, who recently re- j
signe 1 the city clerkship of hair
banks, arrived in town Tuesday
evening enroute to the Iditarod
diggings. He is making the jour
ney with Jack Conley, the widely
known musician, Jake Mutcbler
and Fred Humphrey.
Mr. Taylor, who is an attorney,
will practice bis profession in the
new camp.
Moseley on Move
Roy Moseley, formerly of Hot
Springs, passed through town the
later part of. last week enroute to
Fairbanks from the Iditarod where
he goes to purchase goods and addi
tional equipment for his business
enterprise on Otter creek. Roy is
in partnership with A. E. Bain,
who is building a new house for
the firm during his absence. He
will return o.i one of the early
boat■. _ '
Fine waich repaii iug a specialty at
Hr mis.’
HOTEL ARRIVALS
GRAND HOTEL
J. H. Scott, Nellio Rogers. Fair
banks: J. Greenbaura, Chicago; R. B.
Osburn, Sain Bates, Iditarod; W. C.
Curtis, city.
KENTUCKY RESTAURANT
Carl, Ed and John Peterson, Chas. F.
Chapman, T. B. Edwards, Ida Wil
liams, bound for Koyukuk; Roy Mose
ley, Iditarod; Rod McKenzie, Victor
Nelson, Hot Springs; Fred Umphrey,
Jack Conley, Jake Mutchler, Charles
E. Taylor, G. A. Dannebier, Fairbanks;
Joe Michaud, Miss Mariette G'ourriou,
Miss Angele Geogel, Tofty.
black’s hotel
Roy McLeod, Iditarod; H. Pringel,
G. Fisher, A. G. Brackett, Coldfoot;
T. A. Hedstrom, Seattle; Oscar Berg
man. Olaf Raasen, Ed Daley, Rampart;
Jim Smith, L. Rothermil, Hot Springs;
O. A. Johnson, Cap Williams, Ram
part: Count George of Forselles, John !
Hewitt, Nizena; Fred Bruhn, Guy i
Stewart, James Conachen, \V. H. Mock- j
ler, G. C. Matsen, Iditarod: J. S. Lang- ■
ford, Kalland’s Landing; J. E. Pink
naro, Rosy creek; Alfred Strangberg,
city; Julius Rosenbaum, city, to San
Francisco; George Stevens, Morelock.
Death at the Mission
Francis, the infant son of Lily Ben
nett, died at the Mission on Tuesday.
The funeral was held Wednesday by
Rev. Winthrop Peabody.
GOVERNOR CLA . '
AT WASHINGTON
Washington, April 5 —Governor
Clark, of Alaska, hacked by Presi
deit Taft's influence, is moving
upon the departments here in a
business-like manner. First, he
will be able to stop the expensive
experimenting that government en
gineers have beeii carrying on in
Alaska for years and establish in
lieu thereof practical improvements
which will be the result of practical
knowledgr of Alaskans as to what
the country really needs. He will
be able to this year obtain many
needed aids to navigation in Alas
kan waters, among which will be
several lighthouses at points where
they are most needed.
BRUTAL MURDER
IN "BAD LANDS”
Seattle, April 5.—On the night
of March 29 in the restricted dis
trict cf this a very beautiful girl
was murdered, and so far the police
are completely at sea as to the per
petrators of the deed. The motive
for the murder seems to have been
robbery, as the money and jewelry
of the girl was all stolen. The
murder was a most brutal one, the
girl’s throat being cut from ear to
ear.
TIMMINS TRIES
BANKRUPT COURT
Fairbanks, April 5 —Papers in
the matter of the bankrupt petition
of John L. Timmins have been filed
in the district court The papers
set out that the petitioner is owing
to creditors holding security the
sum of $44,499 51, and to those un
secured the sum of $12,427.25. His
personal properly is valued at $2,
6§8 21, and his clioses in action at
$23,062 08. The property held in
trust for the debtor is valued at
$951 • _
Going to Fairbanks
U. S. Deputy Marshal Charles
Hanover, of Iditarod, yesterday
telegraphed for reservations on
Saturday’s Fairbanks - bound
stage for himself and another.
It surmised that Hanover has the
unfortunate in charge who was
recently adjudged insane in that
district. _
Ernest Lindholm Buried
Tire funeral services over the re
mains of Ernest Lindholm, who
died in this city on the morning of
March 31, were held at St. James
chapel at 2:30 o’clock on last Sat
nrday afternoon, Rev. Witithrop
Peabody officiating.
Diamond engagement rings and other
jewelry at Bernis’.
BALL BAND
Rubber Hip Boots
Rubber Pace
ALSO
Knee Boots
FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
NORTHERN COMMERCIAL CO.