_
The Alaska Steamship Company
has just Issued a pretty leaflet, a
story of the glaciers. It has also
gotten out a new hunting and fishing
booklet. Fifty thousand folders are
for distribution.
The Kodiak experimental station
has been re-opened, with Supt.
Snodgrass in charge. The govern
ment abandoned the station when
the Katmai eruption destroyed all
the vegetation there.
Frank Hall, a Nomeite, landed in
a raid on a gambling house at Van
couver, B. C., was fined $25 and had
his ‘‘Gat” confiscated. The po
lice found the gun on him at the
central station.
The prstofU"c department has is
sued an cutler directing thv un
claimed post cards must be re
turned to the writer when the writ
er’s name and address are given.
It is estimated that 10.000,000 to
1 ‘1.000,000 of these cards have b«*>n
destroyed each year.
The meeting of the Valdez cham
ber of commerce which passed a
resolution condemning the appoint
ment of E. W. Exum, of Chjtina,
as marshal of this division, and pray
ing that the United States Senate
would not confirm his nomination,
was attended by but ten people, all
or whom were dihectly interested in
boosting some favored candidate or
had a personal grievance against
Mr. Exum. The list of those who
raised this mighty protest goes to
show that politics make strange
bed fellows, and in this instance the
lion and the lamb seem to have lain
down together, in the effort to take
away a federal job from the Copper
river valley and have a Valdezite
named. Here are the names of
those whose high sense of morality
has been shocked by Exum's ap
pointment: T. J. Donohoe, Joe
Murray. Al. Dowling, Toni Parker, '
John Frame, Ira Frame, Bert Me-'
Dowell, Bob Dorr and Sam McNiece.
The many friends of "Jack” Me-1
Bride, formerly of Cordova, extend
congratulations on his advent on the t
matrimonial sea. He was recently
married to Miss Belle Manear, of
Ketchikan, at the residence of the
groom’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wm.
McBride, in Juneau.
Miss Manear was formerly a Seat- j
tie girl, but has lived at Ketclikan
for some time and has endeared her
self to the community by her many
estimable qualities and charming dis
position. Mr. McBride formerly
lived in Cordova, but some time ago ,
went to Ketchikan and has for a
long time been in the employ of the
Citizen’s Light & Power Company, of
that place. He takes great inter
est in athletic sports and is consid
ered one of the baseball stars in
Alaska.
The Juneau land office has ren
dered a decision in the case of the
United States vs. James Wardell in
volving title to 160 acres of coal land
in the Bering river coal fields, and i
about twenty-five miles from Ka
talla. (Warden was given a favor
able decision.
(The local office holds that in o"
der to profit by the exemption fro .1
cancellation of entry within the res
ervations created by the withdrawal
order, that such regulations must
have been complied with; and that
the defendant has complied with the
regulations and did develop a ooai
mine prior to his application for pat
ent. The decision rests on what
might be considered a coal mine It
iB held that the mere fact of demon
strating that coal exists in commer
cial quantities is not sufficient. It
must be liown that worki’u t ex'st
from which coal can be taken in
commercial quantities.
The case is interesting from the
fact that Mr. Wnrdell has obtained
a decision recognizing the develop
ment of a coal mine at an expense
of under $300, while many others
have spent many thousands of dol
lars determining the extent of vast
quantities of coal with exactness and
in full detail rendering the country
a great service but have been de
n'ed any proprietary right because
they failed to develop a shaft or an
opening whereby the coal could be
hoisted to the surface before apply
ing for a patent, and which neglect
has caused a forfeiture of their
claims.
The land in question was filed upon
October 26, 1905, and located Octo
ber 14 of the same year. Appli
cation for patent was made October
28, 1908 and $1,600 in cash paid in
for the land November 9, 1909. Jan
uary 10, 1912, charges were filed
that the claimant did not prior to
making his declaratory statement,
i open up or develop a coal, mine
1 upon said land. The defendant
j entered into a stipulation with the
' government as to the facts in the
•
! case from which the truth or fals
ity of the charges was to be deter
mined by the local office.
The evidence showed that develop
ment commenced on the property in
, 1903 and continued until 190/ and
that an expenditure amounting tc
| between $200 and $300 had result
ed in an open cut front which coal
in commercial quantities could be
taken and demonstrated that coal in
commercial quantities existed upon
the land.
John Gage, formerly of Cordova
and Chitina, is in Juneau, accom
panied by Mrs. Gage, seeking a lo
I cation for a ladies’ furnishing store.
Two pack saddles and a basket
of ranch eggs were recently received
at the Cordova post office, from the
states, by parcels post.
Mrs. Clara P. Babbage, widow of
the late C. W. Babbage, jeweler at
Cordova and Chitina, recently died
at Ketchikan. Deceased was 57
years of age.
S. O. Breedman received word
from J. \V. Forrester, who recently
went to the states, that he has
shipped one hundred Plymouth Rock j
chickens to him, which he will take [
to his ranch at McCarthy.
Uur former townsman, Omar Fat
ten, is secretary of Juneau local No.
869, Hotel and Restaurant Employ
ees International Alliance and
Eartenders International League,
which recently received its charter.
Judge Jennings of Juneau has been
officially notified by the Attorney
General to accompany the floating
court on its trip to the westward,
and as a result Judge Overfield of!
Valdez expects to go to Juneau next
week to hear the case of the govern
ment against McDonald at the re
quest of Judge Jennings, who is dis- i
qualified, and after that he expects j
to go to the States and enjoy a va
cation of several months.
Judge Overfield, who is a poor
sailor, had consented to make the
westward trip, but requested that he
be relieved as soon as was possible,
which will now be done and a new
judge for this division is expected to
be ai pointed in the next couple of
weeks, as the term of Judge Over
field expires June 15.
Charles David has just completed
a contract for the delivery of 662
piles to be used by the Copper River
& Northwestern railway in bridge
and repair work.
The last interior mail to go via
Cordova on the winter schedule left
on the Copper River & Northwestern
railway this morning for Chitina,
and from there will be transported
over the trail to Fairbanks by the
Orr Stage Company in wagons. The
roads are not in the best of condi
tion at this time of the year, owing
to the overflows, and it requires
from ten to fourteen days to make
the trip.
Mail from Fairbanks will contin
ue to arrive at the local postollice
twice a week until about the mid
dle of June, but from now until Oc
tober 1 next there will be no through
mail dispatched to the interior via
Chitina, it being sent direct from Se
attle to Nome and also via Skagway
to Fairbanks and Yukon river points.
When the wniter schedule again
goes into effect there will be two
mails a week of 800 pounds each, dis
patched from Cordova, via Chitina.
during the period from October 1 to
Nov. 24. From the latter date to
March 24 the weight limit is in
increased to 1600 pounds with three
mails a week. From March. 24 to
May 31 but 800 pounds are sent
Cordova is the distributing sta
tion for ninety-five per cent of all
mail sent to interior Alaska for
eight months of the year, and as the
weight for each dispatch is limited
there is necessarily an accumulation
of the inferior class of mail here in
|the spring. This consists princi
pally of merchandise, bulk newspa
j pers and pamphlets. The volume of
mail seems to be increasing each
j year and the local office now has on
hand 30,000 pounds which will be
j shipped on the steamer Northwest
ern to Skagway, and from there Bent
; to the interior as soon as river nav
igation opens.
Former Marshal James M. Shoup
will locate in Peru as soon as Re
leaves Alaska, where he has been
called as a witness in the McDon
ald case,
Thomas J. Nestor, now on his way
north, intends to open a bank at
Ruby. Nestor has a bank at Idlt
arod.
Governor Strong has announced
that he will retain as his private
secretary the present incumbent, W.
W. Shorthill. “I consider Mr.
Shorthill's services to valuable to be
dispensed with at this time,” said the
Governor, “and no change will be
made, at least for the present time.”
Mr. Shorthill served the past three
years as secretary to Governor Clark.
The Dawson light plant destruc
tion by fire was a serious set-back
ljr that camp.
Mayor E. E. Ritchie of Valdez was
a former newspaper man, with a
gjod record to his credit.
Nome is having a busy season,
and the outlook for a revival of
mining activity seems bright.
Fairbanks has an energetic pound
master. Sixteen canines were
placed in durance vile in one week.
The only opposition to thie name
of John Y. Ostrander to be U. S.
Judge at Valdez, was that taken by
several soreheads of the Frame type.
—Juneau Dispatch.
According to the new arrange
ments members of the U. S. Signal
Corps can remain in Alaska as long j
as they have a mind to. With the
double time no longer in force the
objection to their remaining here
overlong, is of course removed. It
adds to the efficiency of the service
in Alaska also, for the men will be
inclined to remain who are familiar
with and experienced in their work
in every way.
M. G. Hazel, of Buffalo, New York,
is trying to locate an uncle, Mr.
John Kerr, who left Buffalo in 1898.
John Kerr, who is sought after, is a
bout 74 years of age.. M. G. Ha-,
zel's addreess is 420 Front Street,
Buffalo, New' York.
The inside saloon deck and in
termediate passenger rates between
Seattle and Nome have been raised
$5.00. The government’s new life
boat regulations were given as the
reason for the advance.
The cry is raised that Mr. Exum
the newly appointed U. S. Marsha!,
is a Guggenheim man merely be
cause he was employed, in a cleri
cal position on the syndicate's rail
road. Such premature criticism is
unjust to Mr. Exum.—Seward Gate
way.
Dr. Emil Krulish, who has been !
looking after the health of Alaska |
for the past year, says that tubercu- j
losis will exterminate the native pop-1
elation of Alaska within the next
sixty or seventy-five years if it is !
not eradicated at once He say6
that fifteen per cent of the native
population is now infected with the
disease, in either the latent or active
stage. This condition has been
urougni auoui wim me aavem 01
the white man into the country; the
natives have contracted his dis
eases, with the result that degenera
tion and demoralization are rapidly
exterminating the native population.
As proof of this assertion, Dr. Kru
lish points out that the native pop
ulation of Alaska decreased 14.1 pe.
cent between 1900 and 1910. 1 he
causes leading up to this are found
in the unsanitary condition of most
of the louses it. the villages, crowd
ed and nnvenlilated, where the in
mates eat fi >Li the same dish, drink
from the same teapot spout, and ex
pectorate c-n tli? same Poor The
advent of r'viiization even in A'ask.
is evidently »t-fc altogether a bless
ing. In- in pcsition of the advan
tages or d‘sa‘.vantages of one race
on anotner usually leads to the grad
ual eliminate of the weaker race.
The ban on black bear has been
lifted in a sweeping order.
Dr. Brown, the bureau of educa
tion physician, has taken charge of
the fight against the epidemic of
diphtheria at Nulato.
June will witness two big trials
In the Feleral court at Juneau—the
McDonald murder trial and the
transportation cases.
J. J. Underwood's boow, ‘‘Alaska
an Empire in the Making,” now on
rhe market, has met with a ready
sale.
The first threshing machine ever
brought north will reach Fairbanks
in July and will be placed on the
Rickett homestead.
Former Gov. John G. Brady, of
Aleska, is now in Europe, where he
went in connection with a business
venture that concerns Alaska, ac
cording to information received in
Juneau on the last mail. Mrs. Bra
dy is in New York, where the Brady
home has been located for the last
several years. Gov. and Mrs. Bra
dy are contemplating returning to
Alaska in the not distant future.
The business men of Seward are
planning a publicity campaign.
The Supervising architect of the
Treasury department has asked Col
lector of Customs Willis for esti
mated bids on the cost of excavat
ing for the foundation for Juneau’s
$240,000 public building.
The work of clearing a large tract
of land near the old cemetery at
Eyak is now in progress and within
a month Cordova will boast on an
other industry. The Fundy Fox
Company, of St. John, N. B., has de
cided to establish a chain of fox
ranches in this northland, and with
that end in view have about com
pleted one 56 x 60 feet at White
horse, Y. T., have let a contract for
a ranch here, and will establish one
at Perry island and two other is
lands to the westward of Seward.
C. D. Colwell is the superintendent
in charge at Cordova and he has let
a contract to Chas. Goodall for the
erection of a ten-foot-high board
fence around a plot of ground 120 x
120 feet. In this enclosure will be
built of wire sixty corrals, 10 x 15
feet each. These are to be stocked
with foxes for breeding purposes.
Contracts have already been made
with parties to the westward to
furnish the foxes, and about a hun
dred will be shipped here to start
with.
I
Mr. Colwell says he also intends j
erecting a house at the ranch for the
keeper and that his total expendi
ture in starting this new industry
will be about $2,500.
In a long document submitted by
the U. S. Land Office at Juneau the
recommendation is made that Jack
Dalton be given a patent to approx
imately twenty acres of tideland and
upland located at Cordova. The
patent has been held up for several
years.
The government’s inquiry into the
claims of Mr. Dalton has resulted in
bearing out Mr. Dalton's assertion
that his land contained mineral, as
set out in his original location. The
lode locations cannot be further at
tacked in the face of the recommen
dations.
The Dalton tideland case has been
fought out in the government land
office for the past three years.
A prominent Juneau Democrat is
slated to become < ‘territorial treas
urer,” a post created by the legis
lature. ,
It is reported that all of Frank
Manley's mining machinery, appa
tus and equipment that hereto
fore has been used in the Hot
Springs district on the Tanana, is
ready for shipment to the Iditarod
on the first water this spring.
Manley will confine his efforts to
the last named district this year.
An action which involves the ti
tle to eleven coal claims due north
of the Cunningham group, in the I
Bering river coal fields, near Katalla, |
is now being threshed out before the i
Juneau land office.
These claims were first located in
1903 by S. C. Chezum, Charles
Dougherty and E. H. Hughes, as
agents for the different claimants.
Application for patent was made in
1908, the individual claimants hav
ing previously transferred their
rights to the Northern Improvement
Company, a Washington state corpo
ration. Early in 1912 the govern
ment Wed charges against the entry,
alleging that the claims were not tak
en up for the use of the locators
themselves, but for the use of S. C.
Chezum, and Charles Dougherty;
also that the locators had not op
ened a coal mine on each of the
claims. Testimony in the case was
taken in San Francisco, Portland and
Seattle. ^
An oral argument was presented
on the case before Register Walker
and Receiver Boyle of the local land
office by Judge A. C. Shaw, a Port
land attorney, representing the
claimants. S. C. Chezum also ap
peared at the hearing. M. S. Hib
bard, a United States mineral in
spector of the general land office and
Attorney Meade, of the Forest Ser
vice, were also present.
The editor of the Daily Alaskan
is in receipt of a letter from our
former townshan, Wm. E. Woods,
from Elizabeth City, North Caroli
na, where he is disposing of the fam
ily estate and settling the litigation,
and as soon as this is concluded he
intends to come back north. Mr.
Wools, who was a candidate for U.
S. Marshal of this division, had just
returned from a trip to Washington,
and he writes as follows:
“Alaskan affairs are much in ev
idence before the Senate Committee
on Territories, and it looks to me
like a good time for the various
Chambers of Commerce in Alaska,
and especially an the disficl af
fected, to get busy again in urging
legislation for the opening of the
coal and the getting of an appropri
ation for a railroad.
"I know that the Secretary of the
Navy is greatly interested. I know
him well and he sent for me and
asked me what I knew about condi
tions in Alaska. Unfortunately my
knowledge was very limited. I was
very much surprised to learn that
our members of Congress knew so
little of Alaska. Especially is this
true among the southern members,
although Mr. Flood, of Virginia is
very well posted. Your Chamber
may have already taken some ac
tion, as I have not seen a paper from
the Third district since leaving Ju
neau, but now is a good time to
keep hammering away.”
Representative Milo Kelly, accom
panied by his wife, was a returning
passenger to Knik on last night's
steamer. Mr. Kelly attended the
session of the first Alaska Legisla
ture as a member from this division,
and later went to Seattle on a bus
iness trip. He says that from the
information gleaned by him while
in the states he believes that Con
gress intends to pass some favorable
legislation for Alaska.
The Juvenile Bostonians will open
in Juneau Monday evening, June 2,
with the ‘'Dream Girl,” and close
Tuesday night, June 3, with the
‘‘Rose of Blandeen.’
George E. Baldwin, who is in
charge of the opening up of the
Mother Lode copper property at
Kennieott, contributes the following
very interesting article of conditions
in the Copper River valley to the Val
dez Miner:
‘‘The effect of railroad building to
date upon the Chitina River mining
region may about be described as
follows:
‘‘It has now been about two years
since the Copper River & Northwest
ern Railway from Cordova to Ken
train service which has been more or
nieott, a distance of 196 miles, was
officially declared completed and a
train service which has been more or
less regular inaugurated.
"Those who expected this event
to at once produce a great boom in
mining and townsite speculation, to
gether with a sudden and enormous
increase in population, have been
very seriously disappointed. These,
however, it may be noted, were most
ly newcomers into the territory. The
seasoned resident of this territory
seasoned residents of this region,
who can from personal experience
gauge the difference between
conditions existing twelve or four
teen years ago and those existing to
day, easily note a great change for
the better, and behold bright prom
ises for still more beneficial changes
for the future.
“‘ Had the railway been completed
early in 1906, during the world
wide boom in copper properties, the
wildest dream of those expecting
sudden prosperity would no doubt
have been fully realized.
‘‘The progress of the Chitina re
?ion since the completion of the rail
way has been, while slow, very sat
isfactory to those who do not ex
pect too much. The freight and
passenger rates charged on the rail
way, while extremely high, as com
pared with the average rates charged
by lines in the states, are from one
fifth to one-fifteenth of the cost of
traveling by sleds, as was the cus
tom up to two years ago.
"One operator, who this year
brought in the same sized outfit as
in 1907, saved nearly $40,000 in
freight as compared with the amount
expended for freighting six years
ago.
From the back pack, to the pack
horse, to the wagon in summer, and
from the hand sled and dog sled to
the double-ender, to the bob sled in
winter, supplemented and assisted by
the iron horse the year round, has
been the slow but steady progress of
transportation during the past four
teen years.
"Up to the present time no branch
lines or feeders have been construct
ed, but at least three have been sur
veyed, all of which will be con
structed as soon as the properties
tributary to them develop sufficient
tonnage to justify the expenditure.
‘ ‘The best of feeling exists be
tween the railway company and Its
patrons, the latter realizing the enor
mous difficulties with which the for
mer contend in operating a new line
through an undeveloped territory,
railway operation hitherto unknown
to railway managers, and this in the
face of scanty earnings and meagre
business.
"A twice-a-week mail service is
provided by the company with no
limit as to the number of pounds
carried, and to those who remember
the maybe one delivery of first-class
mail in a season, this a volunteer
service, too, is certainly a sign of
substantial progress.
“With two properties being e
quipped with machinery preparatory
to shipping ore, with extensive devel
opment work being carried on the
year round by nearly a dozen large
outfits, all along the copper belt of
the region, a distance of over sev
enty miles, with a prospect of a ban
ner yield of gold from the placer
camps, those interested in the well
fare of this section of the territory,
face the future with every confi
dence."
The Daily Alaskan is in receipt
of a letter from Attorney E. E.
Ritchie in which he says Tom Par
ker feels justified in filing an action
against this paper for libel and esti
mates his damages at $50,000 for
publishing a statement to the effect
that said Parker attended a meeting
of the Valdez Chomber of Commerce
which passed resolutions opposing
the confirmation of E. W. Exum as
United States Marshal of this divis
ion.
Mr. Ritchie says that Parker ‘‘hap
pened into the room to see a man
whom he knew was there, while the
meeting was in progress, but took no
part,” and he doesn’t care a rap
whether Mr. Exum gets to be Mar
shal or not.
Parker also writes that he is not
a member of the Chamber, has never
taken sides with any aspirant for a
federal position, knows nothing
against Exum, other than what he
read in the public press, and upon
this lie had never expressed an opin
ion. Under the circumstances we
roust admit that an injustice has
been done Mr. Parker, and feel that
a retraction is due him for the asso
ciation of his name at a meeting of
a few political soreheads whose mor
al sense of duty has been greatly a
roused because President Wilson saw
fit to name another than a Valdezite
for United States Marshal
<
ora
! THepevncT
r —i aii a-pposf
OL-ZUZZS noun
f Costs
MOK per Sack
LESS per Loaf
- " ~ ••' i
FISHER'S
BLEND
FLOUR
• Best yon can bay
For biscuit and pic;
Makes bread ami cake
Without mistake.
A Ferfect, All-Purpose Flour
lias long been the miller’s aim
to produce.
It was not achieved until
we perfected
Fisher’s Blend
45 For tale by all Dealers
good In mu
__._
Under the caption of “Will the
New Administration Open Alaska”
Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly contains
a forceful article from the pen of
Henry Roberts, in which he shows
the neglect of this territory by the
government and what would be the
results if the residents were permit
ted to develop its great resources.
A comparison Is also made of the
treatment accorded by the Canadian
government to its provinces, where
land is free and everything done to
promote the welfare and comfort »
of the settlers, while in Alaska pros
pectors, homesteaders and capital
ists are warned to keep out. by with
drawing the land from entry.
-o—o—o
A five-foot ledge of silver ore
has been exposed on Michigan creek,
in the Koyukuk country near Bet
ties, by E. R. Walker and Leonard
Thrift. The specimens from the
ledge show free silver in the ore, car
rying wire and ruby silver. The
strike was made on Eureka claim
on Michigan, a tributary of Wild
creek.
-o—o—o-- ..
Jack Carlyle and Miss Bernice Ran
kin were married on Sunday even
ing by the Rev E. P Zeigler, In their
new home in the Borden building.
CHITINA: BAKERY
AND
Coffee House
HENRY GESSXER, Prop.
FRESH BREAD, CAKES AND
PIES ALWAYS ON HAND
0. ADRIAN NELSON
U. S. Mineral Surveyor
CHITINA - - - ALASKA
Commercial Hotel
Just open under management of John Palmer
Everything New and Clean. Warm Rooms
CHITHSTA. - ALASKA
ALASKA
COAST
COMPANY
I Steamers via the INSIDE PASSAGE calling at Ketchikan, Juneau, I
Yakutat, Katalla, Cordova, Ellamar, Valdez, Fort Eiseum, I
Latonche, Seward, Cook Inlet Points and Kodiak. 1
From South from Arrive at
Sailings Seattle Cordova Seattle
Yukon_Mar. 20. ...Apr. 5..Apr. 12
Sampson __ Mar. 27.,_Apr. 7_ Apr. 12
Sampson... Apr. 15 .Apr. 25 Apr. 30
Yukon.Apr. 20...May 7... May 14
Sampson... May 5*_May 16 May 21
Yukon-May 20—for Kuskokwim river, calling
at regular ports.
Sampson-May 25*_June 8_June 13
Sampson-June 15_June 26. July 1
_-Subject to change without notice—
Steamer Yukon caHs
at KNJK anchorage
Monthly from May 1st
to November 1st in
clusive. Also calls
at llliamna, leaving
Seattle on the 20th of
April, June, August
and October.
I ‘SAMPSON calls at KNIK ANCHORAGE. |
California Connections—Alaska-Pacific Steamship Co. |
^B^F^WATSON^Genera^Agent.
ALASKA TRANSFER CO., Agent, j
ALASKA
STEAMSHIP COMPANY .
► Fast and commodious steamers sailing between
► Seattle, Ketchikan, Juneau , Cordova, Valdez and Sew
► aid, via INSIDE PASSAGE.
y Sails from Seattle— Sails from Cordova—
► May 30.ALAMEDA.J.une 7
► June (i.MARIPOSA.June 15
y This company reserve* the light to change schedule of steam*
y era without notice.
y Tickets on sale at up-town office Aluska Steamship Bldg.
y Baggage or freight will not be received at dock later than one
y hour before suiting time.
> P. B. TRACY
► General Agent.
LAAA ▲▲▲▲ AAA ▲ AAA
T. J. TALLENT,
Ticket Agent.