DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME IN FIGURING WHY A BLACK HEN LAYS A WHITE EGO—BUT GET BUSY AND GET AFTER THE EGG.
VOL. L
CHITINA, ALASKA, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1910.
NO. 3
Many Quartz Discoveries
Along the Railroad
For the past two weeks there has
been considerable discussion over
the reported findings of gold quartz
along the line of railroad between
Tiekel and Chitina.
Arthur Barrows and several oth
er well known old-timers are some of
the first to stake property on the
well defined ledge at Mile 109, while
others are interested at 122 and 127.
A party from Chitina left Satur
day of last week to look over the
different prospects. Among the party
were Frank Cole, of the Chitina road
house, who was one of the first dis
coverers of gold quartz on Cleary
creek, and who is a mining man of
considerable experience, and Clarence
Stair, formerly foreman for McCarty,
the well known owner of valuable
copper claims on the interior, who
was drowned this fall. These gen
tlemen returned the first of the week
from their trip and report that the
quartz is there, both at 109 and 122.
but, of course, it was hard to 'de
termine the valuation of the pros
pects. They claim that the ledge or
surface of quartz at 109 is plainly
visible for a distance of three miles
over the mountain and that they
picked up a small piece of float which
showed free gold. The ledge is some
three miles from the railroad at a
very high altitude, and owing to the
inaccessibility of the property, the
prospector will have his troubles in
development, unless the ore proves
sufficiently rich to warrant capital
to 'invest, in which case an aerial
tramway and other facilities can, ot
! course, be had for developing the
| property. The property at 122 shows
galena - and silver with well defined
outcroppings and with development
some of the claims located may be
good producers. One prospector de
| scribes the quartz at 109 as a por
! phyry, schist and slate formation,
but whatever it may be, the returns
! from the assay office, three different
tests of which were sent in, are
highly satisfactory to those who first
staked the ledge, some of the sam
ples running over $90 to the ton,
the other two ranging from $4 tc
$27.
It is claimed that everything in
sight is staked, a number of pros
pectors going in this past month, and
while nothing startling is expected
the finds may prove important fac
tors with the many other wealth
producers discovered in this great
mineral belt.
Bloomquist and Siverson, one of
whom conducts the road house at
Kennicott, are reported as having
struck gold quartz at Mile 194 and
that the proposition looks good.
The money for the Chitina Red
Dragon has been received, the deal
for the log cabin closed, and mater
ials for finishing the building and
equipping it for use were shipped
out from Cordova today. Within a
week Mr. Zeigler hopes to have a
house warming, and put the place
in full swing.
Job work at the Leader office.
Orr Co. Buys Six
More Lolls
J. C. Martin, manager for the Orr
Stage Co., spent a few days here
this week and got things to mov
ing immediately upon his arrival.
The stage company already had
property here, but Mr. Martin pur
chased sis more lots and let a con
tract for building additional stable
room for teams this winter. "We
are not afraid of Chitina,” said Mr.
Martin, while paying a visit to the
Leader office, "even though there
are a few of Chitina’s own resi
dents who doubt her. From person
al observation and from criticisms
of others who have visited your
town, I find a decided lack of en
terprise of a municipal nature on the
part of the property owners and oth
ers who really should be the great
est boosters. Graded streets and
some sort of water system for the
winter seems to be the main com
plaint so far, but what you need
more than any one thing is a first
class hotel. Fully forty per cent of
our traffic in the passenger line are
women, and should we bring a sleigh
full of ladies this way, there would
be no accommodation for them
whatever. The cut-off trail from
Willow creek is very promising and
we like the idea of coming that way,
hoping to be able to get the mail
through here, and are consequent
ly preparing our stables and get
ting things in readiness for winter,
and hope to see a good public house
here by December 1st.”
Word has been received from Dr.
A. P. Heimlich, who recently arrived
in Cordova that he may decide to
locate in Chitina and conduct a
small drug store in connection with
his practice. Chitina people will
heartily welcome the doctor, as he
comes highly recommended, being a
graduate from the Bellview hospi
tal and practicing for fifteen years
in the city of Chicago. While there
he taught operative surgery in the
medical department at the Univer
sity of Chicago for some time and
for the past two years he has prac
ticed medicine in Fairbanks, lately
returning from a trip to San Francis
co, where he put his son in high
school.
Bert McCutcheon made a trip to
Tiekel on Thursday on business with
the government tax collections.
Chief Engineer E. C. Hawkins was
an arrival on Wednesday’s train, and
as usual, wherever he may be along
the line, was busy all the time he re
mained with us.
________ ■»—
H. Rudolph, who has been with
the Orr people for the past four
years, is now in Chitina and has a
large force of men busy on the con
struction of the stables.
DINNER PARTY GIVEN
IN HONOR MAJ. RICHARDSON
Mrs. Fred Schaupp entertained at
dinner on Wednesday evening in
honor of Major Richardson. Only a
few were present to partake of the
many good things which the hostess
had provided. The Major apprecia
tes a good dinner, and was heard
to say before leaving, that he never
had a better one in Alaska than that
prepared by Mrs. Schaupp.
FOUND SOMETHING GOOD
IN THE ALASKA RANGE
J. Dahl, and Peterson Bros., of
Fairbanks, arrived in Chitina Thurs
day night. They have been pros
pecting in the Alaskan range on
White river, and from their optimis
tic talk to friends while stopping at
the Log Cabin bunk house, we are
of the impression that they have
run across something pretty good.
They outfitted the following morn
ing and returned to their claims.
INTERIOR PLANTS TO RE
INCREASED NEXT YEAR
—
The placer mines on Chititu creek
owned by George Max Esterly, have
closed down for this season. F. R.
Tracey, Mr. Esterly’s superintendent
arrived in Chitina last Monday, and ;
left for Cordova on the Tuesday
morning train. The Esterly outfit
was the first of any of the inter
ior mining companies to ship their
supplies in by this route last spring
and owing to the unusual weather
conditions, Mr. Tracey and his men
had their troubles. All their sum
mer supplies were shipped to the
end of the railroad several weeks
before they were able to move it up
on the river, and it was sometime in
April before they succeeded in get
ting as far as the Chitina river, the
ice breaking up behind them in many
places. ,
“It is indeed a pleasure to find
the railroad this far interior ” said
Mr. Tracey, as he stood at the de
pot platform on Tuesday morning,
“and a real passenger coach to ride
in, after all the hard mushes and
hardships we used to go through
each season on the way in and
out from the mines. Transporta
tion is a picnic, now that the rail
road is this far, for the rivers are
i always in good shape for traveling
several months in the year above
Woods canyon. Next season nearly
all the supplies of the miners of this
section will come over this route,
and now that the long looked for
transportation facilities are here,
most of the outfits will increase
their capacity, by the installation of
heavier and better machinery.
“We are figuring on operating
tw'o plants next season, where in the
past we were only able to handle one.
The water was quite low for this
season of the year, or we would
have worked a while longer, but the
cleanup was quite satisfactory in
spite of the adverse conditions, and
we were willing to pack up and quit
a little earlier than usual.”
Mr. Tracey stated that Dan Ker
nan, who is located on the same
creek, was just finishing his season’s
clean-up as the Esterly party pulled
out. Eighteen men were employed
at the Esterly diggings, only two be
ing left as watchmen for the winter.
Emil Davis and I. B. Herring ac
companied Mr. Tracey, and all three
exclaimed "nothing to this” as they
swung aboard the passenger coach
which whisked them rapidly toward
the coast.
Five Dredges at Work
In Forty Mile District
Mr. Henry Struck, of the firm of
Struck & Van Hook, of Chicken
creek, passed through Chitina this
week en route to his interior home,
after a visit to the outside. Mr.
Struck's journey carries him from
Chitina over the new government
trail to Tanana crossing, and thence
by Ketchemstock flats to the head of
the Mosquito fork mining district, on
the Forty Mile and on to his home
at Chicken creek. Mr. Struck re
ports considerable activity in the
placer districts tributary to the Forty
Mile, and states that a large company
is already organized with plenty of
capital to install derdges and hydraul
11c machinery with a view to oper
ating ne»t season.
“The largest undertaking so far
by the company,” said Mr. Struck,
“has been the creation of a mam
moth dam which holds in reserve all
the waters of the upper Forty Mile
coutr.ry. The dam in question is a
natural reservoir, with an area of
about thirty square miles, located
at the foot of Ketchemstock creek,
a tributary of the Forty Mile and ,
known as the Ketchemstock flats. J
A peculiar feature of these flats is
that large quantities of it are con
tinually on fire, and the object of
the company in flowing these flats
is not only the conservation of this
area, but to secure a sufficient stor
age of water for mining purposes.
There are 200,000 square miles of
gold bearing creeks tributary to the
Forty Mile and already five dredges
are at work in that district, with
three more contracted for. With the
completion of this mammoth dam,
and a ditch from Ketchemstock creek
to Gold creek, where a large power
plant is already under construction
it will be possible to operate many
more dredges from the generation
of the power at Gold creek. Henry
Savage, the New York capitalist, who
controls the patents on the larger
portion of copper beer fawcets man
ufactured throughout the United
States, is one of the main promoters
of this vast enerprise, and has per
sonally been over the proposed field
of operations, confidently believing
that next to the building of your
great railroad, it will be the best
and greatest thing ever proposed for
Alaska.
"My main object in coming to Chit
ina was to look over the agricultural
possibilities tributary to your rail
road and I saw many promising val
leys and hill land suitable for farm
ing from here on up the line, the
best of which is already taken, and
I believe more will be taken next
year. However, there is no better
agricultural land in Alaska, than the
Tanana valley, but we must wait for
the railroad to reach us, and sin
cerely hope we won't have to wait
long.”
Mr. Struck speaks highly of the
new government trail now building
from here and says all the interior
people or at least those from his
part of the country are anxiously
inquiring about it, and he certainly
intends boosting it at every camp
he makes between here and Chicken
creek.
Dr. Council returned Wednesday
evening after a trip to Cordova to
meet his wife, who arrived on one
of the last steamers from a visit to
the states.
Commissioner Ferguson made a
business trip to Cordova on Thurs
day morning with his quarterly r
ports.
Extensive Improvements at
the Bonanza Copper Mine
That the big Bonanza mine, to
ward which the Copper River & Nor
thwetsern railway is now rapidly
building, will be in readiness for
shipping ore long ere the steel ar
rives is now a certainty, according
to all those who have visited the big
mine this summer, and the reports
are verified by the carpenters and
men who have been working there
for the past year.
Alex. Wilson and W, J. Reeves
who were in Chitina last week on
their way to the outside, paid the
Leader office a call before the local
train left in the morning for Cor
dova, and gave us an interesting ac
count of the building and improve
ments from the mine proper to the
end of the tramway and neighbor
ing property. Messrs. Wilson and
Reeves are carpenters and helped to
finish the construction of tue lar^e
mill for the concentrators and crush
ers and say that the buildings are
now ready for the heavy machinery,
which will be installed as soon as
the railroad can transport it. Over
200,000 feet of lumber was used ir
the construction of the concentrator
building and consists of six stories oi
benches 44 feet wide ranging in
depth from 16 to 22 feet. Other
buildings consist of a large ware
house, an 80-foot extension to thf
tram terminals and transfer bunk
ers ore chute and housing from
tram terminals to the track; 375 feet
of snow sheds between the mine and
ore bins, a two-story addition to the
main office or headquarters, a newly
erected cottage as a starter for mar
ried men, and another bunkhouse of
two stories, which will accommodate
at least 20 more men. The bunk
houses are modern and convenient,
being built with a view to comfort
for the men. Aside from the sleep
ing rooms .there are reading and sit
ting rooms, baths, wash rooms and
toilets.
The sawmill has furnished all the
lumber for the buildings and the
native lumber is considered as good
for ordinary building purposes as
that shipped from the outside. The
carpenters claimed there was still
some more building to be done, but
owing to the heavy fall of snow dur
ing the latter part of September,
work in the building line had to be
abandoned. The last week in Sep
tember snow fell to a depth of over
two feet, but did not lay on the
ground long, there being only about
six inches at the mine when the party
left.
In addition to the erection oi
buildings around the Bonanza prop
erty, a dam is being constructed
across National creek near the end
of the tramway for the purpose of
furnishing a sufficient head of water
to operate the machinery for the
crushers and concentrators, as well
as furnishing power for the electric
and steam plants to be installed next
year.
There have been about ten miners
this season, running tunnels making
crosscuts, etc., and getting out hign
grade ore, which ts being sacked
ready for shipment, according to
Harry Hills, a miner, who has been
at the mine for the past eighteen
months, and who was one of the
party going outside to his old home
in Liverpool, England. When asked
about the development of the mine,
he stated that there were about 950
feet of tunneling and about 150 feet
of raise so far in the Bonanza prop
er, and that there were over 1,200
tons of high grade copper ore already
sftked and sent down the tram ready
for shipment, which would run over
75 per cent, copper. Ore running
over 20 per cent, is being thrown
over the dump, which will go through
the crushers and concentrators. Mr.
Hills also reports most favorably on
the Jumbo copper mine, another
holding of the same company, which
controls the Bonanza. This property
is situated about two miles from the
Bonanza mine, and while the ore is
not of so high a grade as the Bonan
za, it has every prospect of becom
ing a great producer, it being rich in
malatite and glance,, with indications
of great depth. Mr. Hills sunk a
shaft to a depth of 59 feet on this
property, but had to abandon it for
the time being until arrangements
for air could be installed, there be
in? no tunneling or crosscutting as
yet in this mine.
Reports have been circulated fre
quently of late, that the Bonanza
mine was nothing but a big blow
out, according to a few would-be ex
perts, who claimed to have sized up
the property, so the Leader has made
it a point to ask not less than half
a dozen miners who have worked on
the property their unbiased opinion
about the matter and all those who
have actually been at work on the
property agree as one that there is
more copper in sight than the Cop
per River & Northwestern railway
can handle in years. Mr. Hills, who
is an expert miner, stated that it was
impossible for any expert to determ
ine the amount of copper or even
make an approximate estimate, as not
even a wall to the great vein of ore
had yet been found, and from the
developments so far made no living
man could judge as to the depth of
the lead. At any rate, with the larg^.
amount of important work done, sucn
as getting the buildings ready to*
heavy machinery—other improve
ments still to be made—with an ap
proximate and conservative estimate
of a $20,000,000 expenditure by ti e
time the railroad will have arrive I
at the mines, to a man up a tree, it
looks as though there will be time
thing doing in copper before many
moons will have rolled around.
Postmaster Names
Assistant
The postoffice is now in good work
ing order. Postmaster Foulkes has
been busy all week in arranging the
office for convenience to the public,
as well as for himself and assistant.
The partition and office proper was
only completed yesterday, and the
lock boxes are yet to be installed,
which will be done next week. Post
master Foulkes left for Cordova yes
terday morning on a business trip,
and will not return until the first of
the week. In his absence, at any
time, it is necessary for him to have
an assistant, and before leaving he
appointed O. E. Bennett, of the Lead
er, to the position, who will be in
charge of the office until the post
master’s return. As the Leader of
fice and postoffice are in the same
building Mr. Bennett can readily
handle the work in the postoffice,
and as his appointment as assistant
postmaster was satisfactory to Mr.
Foulkes’ bondsmen, he considered it
as good an arrangement as could be
made, and trusts that the public will
be equally satisfied.
The big tunnel at the beginning
of mile 132 was completed today.
The tunnel proper is about 480 feet
long, and is timbered throughout
with native timber, which was fur
nished by the Tibbs Bros., of Chitina,
who have been working on the con
open cut next to the townsite, upon
which Paddy MacCormac is working,
is expected to be completed and a
track laid through the tunnel in
about three weeks, which will do
away with the switch back and the
four per cent grade
Mr. Thos Clonninger gave an In
formal farewell party on Tuesday
evening of this week in honor of
Mrs. Dixon, and daughter Mia, and
Miss Clara Kreuger. The first part
of the evening was spent in playing
hearts, there being only a few guests
present, and all participating in the
game. At a signal from the hostess
the cards were abandoned for re
freshments, and many good things
to eat made their appearance. As
the guests took their leave their only
regret was having to say good bye to
the ladles who have spent the sum
mer in Chitina.