SECOND YEAR
C'HITINA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1012.
NO. 40
NEW BALL PARK
Chitina Is going to have the best
baseball park in Alaska. No sooner
was the matter mentioned than ev
erybody became interested. A good
level plat of ground a half mile north
of town has been selected and good
progress is being made clearing it.
In another week trees, brush and
stumps will be gone. Two of Chiti
na’s leading women were out the
other day swinging axes in a most
enthusiastic manner. It is now pro
posed to have a tract of forty acres
including the ball park set aside by
the government as a park for the
town of Chitina. The ball grounds
will be finished in time for some
good games this summer.
The following letters remain un
called for in the Chitina postoffice:
A. Berry, John Bergen, Tim Cronin,
John S. Dorwin, Fredric Fredricken,
H. Sutherland, Gust Swersten, Sven
son, Charles Ckoftland, Warren Tay
lor, Louis Wick, Christ Wold, R.
Wrarar.
The crew of men under Frea \\ al
ters have covered about three miles
of this end of the trail and are now
camped at the old site at the south
end of the third lake. The crew un
der Billy Cameron are working at
Tonsina and have covered about four
miles of the trail. The work con
sists largely of ditching and putting
In small bridges.
Since Miller and Chamberlain ar
rived in Chitina the streets and hill
sides have been so full of cows,
horses, sheep and calves that those
passing through here think this is a
ranching country. It will be some
day.
Those registered at the Chitina
Hotel this week are: Sam Potts, P.
M. Fry, wife and child, B. C. Delzell. |
Omer Patten O. Reeves, Will O.
Dryo, Charles David, J. M. Simpson,
O. L. Larson, H. M. Fagerberg, F. A.
Iverson, D. W. Waldron, E. H. Sher
man, Mrs. Johnson, R. R. Stewart, J.
A. Carlson, R. C. Becker, J. M. John
son, Mike Maher, Ray Loomis, L.
Thrift, J. W. Neagle, Mrs. Smith, E.
M. Holmes, Ray Camp, Dan Millen,
Mr. and Mrs. Max Gigold, E. S. Pe
gram, W. A. Gates, B. F. Millard and
wife, Mrs. W. R. Millard, Mrs. B.
Carney, J. Strenlark, Ned Book, S.
O. Breedman, L. L. Butler and wife,
Lewis A. Levensaler, L. P. Schuma
cher, Roy A. Creek.
Miss Jessie Barrus spent a few
days in Cordova this week.
R. R. Stewart was in Chitina and
Kennecott this week looking after
the business of the Arctic Lumber
Company.
Some development work is being
done on the asbestos property about
a mile north of town It is owned
by Dan Lee, Jim Fritter, Tom Clon
Inger and John Irwin. The -work is
being done by John Johnson.
July has been quite cold so far.
Ask Johnnie Nelson about the
ball park.
Fred Walters, with thirty good
men under him, is making a big
showing on the trail out of Chitina.
Ben Richardson and D. Davis have
opened up a new saloon in the build
ing that has replaced the old Log
Cabin Saloon.
F. M. Schaupp is making prepara
tions for a big addition to his pres
ent building. C. C. Hull has given a
contract for building foundation on
his lot near the depot.
Charlie David, the well known
contractor, is back again.
The bridge crew now has every
thing in shape on the railroad and
will go to work on the reconstruction
of the big concentrator at Kennecott.
■ . O- <r- O'—
J. I.indley Green to Resign.
J. Lindley Green, assistant United
States district attorney, with head
quarters at Seward, states that he
will retire next January to resume
the practice of law, and District At
torney Walker has promised to ap
point Judge O. A. Tucker, of Cordova,
in his place.
DEVELOPING INTERIOR GOLD AND COPPffi MINES
(From The Cordova Daily Alaskan.)
Even the people living in Cordova have but a dim idea of
the amount of mining work and development going on tributary
to the Copper River & Northwestern Railway. Through the
courtesy of Frank A. Iverson, who recently made a trip over
the Nizina district, and who is known as a reliable and experi
enced mining man, we are enabled to give a detailed account
of many of the leading properties in that section, which will
prove of interest. Mr. Iverson said:
“The first piece of property I visited was the Erickson
group on Glacier Creek, and they have about 160 feet of tun
nel. The formation there is decoinposedLporphyry, shot full of
kidney copper slugs and nuggets. In connection with that they
have a defined lead, which they figure they will tap in forty
feet more of tunnel they are woi’king.
“The next property I was at was that owned by the United
Copper Exploration Company. That’s also a copper proposi
tion. And they claim to have blocked out *bv tunnels 400,000
tons. They have 360 feet, if I remember rightly, of tunnels
and crosscuts.
“The Range Brothers have about 70 feet of tunnel. They
are located on Dan Creek, adjoining the latter property.
“The Kruhm property on Dan Creek is a gold proposition,
which I also visited. He has 48 feet of tunnel which in 38 or 40
feet more will crosscut an antimony dyke, which assays show
to be about $300 per ton in gold. They shipped last fall 11 sack’s
which gave them a smelter return of $173 per ton. They shipped
one sack of 52 pounds giving them a return of $22.78.
“Then I also visited the Birch Brothers hydraulic plant on
Dan Creek. They are about ready to turn the water in their
pipe, and were about finished setting up their pipe when I was
there. This company has a sawmill, all lumber buildings;
about three quarters of pipe line laid, dams all completed and
ready to go to work.
“George Max Esterly is working two plants and is now
sluicing. His works are on Chittitu and Rex Creeks. As you
already know, Esterly has one of the most complete hydraluic
plants in Alaska, having lumber buildings, sawmill, electric
light and telephone system and having constructed several
miles of good roads.
“There is also in that district the Brooks property, which
is a hydraulic plant being opened by Minneapolis people. Wil
liams and Holmes are the men who are financing that property.
They have their pipe line laid and are sluicing now. Mr. Holmes
is at the present time in Cordova and is greatly pleased with
the outlook.
“There are also a great many smaller concerns operating
on Young, Cliittitu, Dan and other adjoining creeks, in fact,
too numerous to mention, who are ground sluicing and who will
all take out more or less moey. They all seem to be happy.
“The Fagerberg Brothers are working a quartz lead lying
between shale and slate formations, which has showed assay
returns of from $40 to $200 per ton. They have three tunnels,
and I think they will probably aggi'egate about 200 feet in all.
“The Fagerberg Brothers have made three trips this year
with their pack train to White River, over the Chittistone and
through the Chittistone Pass, taking in supplies for prospect
ors. They took Miss Dora Keen on their first trip. One pros
pector came from there with a poke containing several hum
dred dollars in gold.
“The roxxte which Fagerberg xxsed will be important as
turning the supplies for the White River to the Copper River
& Northwestern Railway. There is plenty of game and good
horse feed, and with the facilities now afforded by the railroad
and from there on with pack tx-ains, there is bound to be more
thorough and systematic prospecting and, therefore, a more
rapid development.
“The fonnation throughout the Nizina country is regular,
and while placer gold will be taken out for years to come, it is
an excellent looking district for quartz prospecting, and will
no doubt in time become a big producer. In fact, the showing
ali-eady made for the amount of woi'k done is phenomenal. It
is certainly an eye opener to make even a hurried trip over the
district.
“One of the urgent needs of the country at the present
time is roads, and I dare say there is not more important inter
ests in any part of Alaska to he served than found at the pres
ent time in that section for the expenditure of money on roads.
The government road commission ought to investigate the con
ditions, and I am satisfied Major Richardson would then see
the necessity for doing something.
“There is now a cable ferry across Nizina about a mile and
a half below the mouth of May Creek, which is of great assist
ance. A1 Bremner operates it. There is also a good roadhouse
at the mouth of May Creek owned by darkens and Cathcart,
and I want to say they know how to treat their guests. From
about five miles out of McCarthy to the Nizina ferry the trail is
’very bad, but after one gets across the Nizina there is a good
trail. I dare say $500 per mile would make a very good trail
to the Nizina. Save a little work done by the government road
commission at McCarthy last year, all the money.on trails ha9
been raised by the mining men and operators.
“Already, because of the mining activity in that section, a
number of building improvements are being-made at McCarthy,
and that place promises to be a thriving town in time, as it is
the supply center for that entire country and will remain so
until an extension of the railroad is made.
“It must be remembered that in addition to the properties
1 have enumerated I have not attempted to say anything about
the big copper mines in the immediate district to the railroad,
including the Bonanza mine, the Blackburn, the Regal, Mother
Lode, Nikolai, Green Group and others, on all of which more or
less work has been done, and some of which, as you know of
course, are already shippers and proven mines.
“In fact, in any one article it is impossible to give even a
comprehensive idea of the amount of work, the development,
the richness of the district and the big output promised in the
near future.”
UNITED STATES FORCED TO USE WESTERN COAL
After nearly two years the battle j
for the opening of the Alaska coal .
fields, says the Seattle Times, has <
proven partially successful. At least <
the lucrative graft of furnishing east
ern coal to the navy on the Pacific (
ocean, so long enjoyed by the Poca- i
hontas Sales Company, has been de- ;
stroyed. The Vancouver Board of '
Trade last night received from Lieut. (
Com. James I. Knight, U. S. N., at i
San Francisco, a request to submit I
tenders for supplying the entire Pa- i
cific fleet with bituminous coal from ]
British Columbia. The request fol- 1
lowed tests of the Canadian coal i
made on the United States cruiser !
West Virginia, when a maximum of
steam was obtained from 25 per cent
less tonnage than was obtained from
West Virginia coal. ,
The Pocahontas Sales Company, of ;
which Judge Woodruff, an employe
of the Interior Department and a ;
Pinchot adherent, became secretary i
and treasurer after being fired from i
the department by Secretary R. A.
jjallinger, is said to have been large
ly responsible for the movement for
the “conservation” of Alaska coal
that followed the test of that fuel
maae in 1908 on the battleship Ne- <
braska, when it was shown that the
Alaska coal gave a percentage of
threatened intervention in Mexico
and Secretary of the Navy George
2-2-10 higher average for all pur
poses than the coal furnished by the
Pocahontas Sales Company. The
dismissal of Woodruff precipitated
the infamous attacks made on Sec
retary Balltnger in the Ballinger
Pinchot controversy.
The Pocahontas Company, for
many years past, has furnished an
average of approximately $2,000,000
worth of coal a year to the govern
ment for the naval vessels and sta
tions on the Pacific coast, dragging
it around Cape Horn, in defiance of
the United States federal statutes, in
foreign-bottom ships. The Pocahon
tas coal, delivered on the Pacific sea
board, owing to the long haul, costs
nearly twice as much as a better
grade of fuel would cost if brought
from the Alaska coal fields, and be
sides that, 22 per cent of America's
supply of thermal heat units, as con
tained in its coal measures, is burned
up—or wasted—in the process of
transportation. Still, the utlra-con
servationists, backed by the owners
of these Eastern coal fields, thohght
it would be well to “conserve” the
Alaska coal supply for future gen
erations. Otherwise their lucrative
contracts would have been destroyed.
George W. Perkins, the largest in
dividual stockflliolders in the United
States Steel Company, also became
an ardent conservationist, his con
version to the idea following discov
ery of the fact that the Alaskan coal
makes excellent coke, and that it is
the only available coking coal that
could be used to smelt advantageous
ly the iron ores of the Pacific sea
board into steel. The opening of
the Alaskan coal fields would abso
lutely have destroyed the steel trust’s
Western markets.
These facts were pointed out in a
brief published in the Times and
sent to Washington a year ago when
an investigation was being held. The
investigation was dropped immedi
ately and Gifford Pinchot and Secre
tary of the Interior Walter L. Fish
er went to Alaska to make another
investigation of the conditions.
Last winter the delegation from
the Seattle Chamber of Commerce,
headed by former Senator John L.
Wilson, brought all of the facts in
connection with the controversy be
fore President William H. Taft, the
Senate committee on naval affairs
and the Senate committee on terri
tories. Before any action was taken
however, the department of state
von Legerae Meyer then discovered
that there was no naval fuel on the
Pacific coast for battleships, and that,
in the event of war being declared,
the foreign-bottom ships, which he
had then chartered, would become
subject to attack, because carrying
cargoes that would be considered as
contraband.
Senator Reed Smoot, of the naval
affairs committee, immediately pre
sented a bill for the leasing of Alas
ka coal lands and carrying a provi
sion that a large coal mine be open
ed by the government and the coal
ing station on Resurrection Bay,
which is 2,000 miles nearer the Phil
ippines than Mare Island yard, be
immediately stocked with 400,000
tons of Alaska coal. This bill is now
before the public lands committee.
The New York Times, Leslie's
Weekly and other eastern newspapers
drew attention to the fact that in the
event of war with an eastern power,
the naval fleet on the Pacific ocean
would be left fuelless and helpless.
and the exploitation of this fact has
doubtless led to the call for bids for
a supply of naval coal from the Brit
ish Columbia fields.
SCOLAI PUSS
Mountain passes have long been
sought in all countries of the world,
and as arteries of commerce and
communication have played no small
part in its upbuilding. And perhaps
nowhere in Uncle Sam’s domain has
the rought coast range mountains
been more closely scanned for outlets
from the great interior than here in
Alaska, where already the famous
White Pass route, and Thompson’s
Pass of Abercrombie fame, are house
hold words.
Yet there is still another which
promises to figure prominently in the
development of this portion of the
territory and to outrival perhaps all
other interior routes. This is the
Scolai Pass, the connecting link be
tween the terminus of the Copper
River & Northwestern Railway at the
Kennecott mines and the headwaters
of the White river and the different
branches of the Tanana.
•
From Kennecott the distance to
White river at the foot of Russell
glacier is computed to be 50 miles,
via the Chettystone, and slightly more
via the Nizina route. The latter
route is reported to be more favor
able for railway building than the
other, while for packing and foot
travel the Chettystone is more de
sirable, as the Scolai creek and up
per Nizina during the high water
season are more hazardous for foot
and horse travel.
A few days ago Harry Fagerberg,
who guided Miss Dora Keen, the
mountain climber, to White river by
the Nizina route, returned, accompa
nied by Andrew M. Taylor and Jo
seph McLellan, well known White
river miners. After a brief stay at
the terminal they returned to White
river via the Chettystone. Harry
Fagerberg accompanied them with a
small crew of men and built a pack
trail around Chettystone falls, a few
miles above the glacier, thus remov
ing the wost obstacle on the trail.
The object of Taylor and McLel
lan’s trip was to look up the best
route with a view of getting supplies
into the White river country more
reasonable than at present, and they
are anxious to enlist the people on
this side to help tnem out in secur
ing an appropriation for the construc
tion of a double-ender sleigh route
and the establishment of a mail de
livery from the railway terminal to
the new town of Wiley, on the river
near the foot of Russell glacier, a
postoffice already having been grant
ed there. ,
The conditions in the White river
district at present, as outlined to
your correspondent by Taylor and
JfcLellan, are in substance as fol
lows: *
The White river empties into the
Yukon 82 miles above Dawson, and
the distance above the mouth of the
white river to Canyon City is 165
miles. The boundary line is ten miles
above Canyon City, and about 30
miles below the foot of Russell gla
cier. From White Horse the distance
is 280 miles, and supplies brought in
that way cost 32 cents per pound for
freight. Freight by polling boats up
the river (a 28-day trip) is 30 cents
per pound.
There are about 25 prospectors la
the district, all of whom have claims,
some of them being very promising.
This does not include the large
operators. Robert Wiley, who rep
resents New* York capital, has nine
teen claims patented. Mr. Knowles*
representing the N. A. T. & T. Co..
has twelve claims patented. These
are on the American side, while on
the Canadian side the largest outfit
is controlled by a Mr. Morgan. These
properties are said to be very valua
ble. Although the chief product of
the district is copper, there have been
several gold bearing quartz claims
located with excellent showings.
A strong effort thas been made
to promote, and it is expected the
Canadian government will bulll a
wagon road to Canyon City. While
the American portion of the district
is looking for relief in this direction,
it is believed both governments will
render aid in opening up the district.
The people of the White river coun
try would like to have the Cordova
Chamber of Commerce and citizens
of Chitina, McCarthy and other Cop
per river towns combine and aid
them in getting government assist
ance for a pack trail and double-end
er sleigh road as.well as mail route.
OVE STAMP MILL FOR MILE 192
Frank A. Iverson, manager and stockholder of the Bonan
za Gold Mining Company, which recently made a strike on its
property at Mile 192, is in Cordova, on his way outside to pur
chase a five-stamp mill for installation on the property.
The workmen are now five feet in the porphyry and have
not as yet crosscut the lead which outcrops above a distance of
187 feet. The tunnel is in 306 feet. The best values so far have
been found in the porphyry, though gold values can be found in
all the rock through which the tunnel is driven.
Some time ago Mr. Iverson sent 32 sacks of ore from one
of the leads through which the tunnel cuts for a mill test to the
Tacoma smelter, and the return was $202 to the ton in gold
and silver. A sample of 12 pounds from the present lead was
worked up by the Bonanza mine people and gave $300 to the
ton.
In order to strike the lead, as the operators were getting
down to bedrock in their finances, it was decided to strike off
from the main tunnel at right angles, as it was judged the out
cropping lead ought to be encountered at about fourteen feet.
The workmen, however, went a distance of 38 feet, as the ledge
dipped more than was anticipated. As soon as it is crosscut
Mr. Iverson will have the main tunnel extended and expects to
strike the lead again in about 5 feet. He will then begin to take
out ore. The present tunnel will make a good working tunnel.
Tlie mine is so situated that in time it will be an easy mat
ter to build a tramway which will send the ore down a distance
of 1,275 feet to where the five-stamp mill will be located. There
is plenty of timber and steam will be used this winter. There
is also a considerable waterfall, which will be utilized next sum
mer for power. As rapidly as conditions permit and the ore
justifies the stamp mill capacity will be increased. It is believ
ed the returns from the five-stamp mill will be sufficient to pro
vide all the money needed to develop the property, although,
of course, by the expenditure of a considerable amount many
economic improvements will have to be dispensed with which
could be installed at the start.
‘‘I am certainly pleased with the manner in which I have
been treated,” said Mr. Iverson when seen at the Rainier-Grand
lobby by an Alaskan reporter. ‘‘The railroad company, the
business men, railroad employes and everyone did all in their
power to assist us in the work. And I want to say to you that
when anyone declares this railroad company is not doing all it
can, within the bounds of reason, to open up this country he is
not telling the truth, and the fault generally lies with himself.
1 found everyone concerned anxious to assist, and there are no
finer people on the face of the earth than Alaskans, once they
are satisfied a man is all right and is doing his best to make
good.”