anana
One Doixak Per Month.
TANANA, ALASKA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1909.
Two Bits Per Copy
GRANT GREEK
LOOKING BETTER
Numerous prospectors from the
Gold mountain district have beeu
paying their ante-holiday visit to
Tauana dining the past several
days. They are all very hopeful of
the future of the district.
The Grant creek contingent re
port that pay has been surely lo
cated on Nos. 3, 4 and 5 above
H. C. Wallick. the Tofty gulch op
erator in the Sullivan creek dis
trict, who has been on a visit to
Grant, returned Tuesday, and ex
pressed the opinio.1 that the claims
mentioned will develop into very
respectable producers. He esti
mates that the ground will go from
70 to 90 cents to the foot.
J. S. Langford and John Minook, i
who are pinning their faith to the
Little Melozi side of the divide, j
were in town, and speak very well’
of that part of the district also.
ALASKA’S ROAD
APPROPRIATION
Washington. D. C., Dec. 15.—Just
before completing the regular army
bill for presentation to the house of
representatives this afternoon the com
mittee on military alTairs inserted an
item of appropriation of $150,000 for
the use of the board of road commis
sioners for Alaska, for the maintenance !
and extension of roads and trails in
Alaska. The bill also carries provi
sion for an appropriation of 375,000 for
maintenance and extension of cables
and telegraph lines : . the same terri
tory.
Major Richardson, at whose instance
the roads appropriation was finally
inserted, states that he desires to use
the money for repairs upon the roads
already constructed and in use, and for
the extension of a trail into the Idita
rod and the lower Yukon valley from
the south coast of Alaska. Half of the
sum will be needed to keep up and
complete the work on the post road
fnm Valdez to Fairbanks, and to make
it feasible for buckboards and light
wagons in the summer time.
Seattle. Die. 15.—Alaskans in this
city are all worked up over reports
from the National district in Nevada,
which are brought by John Anderson,
John Beeman and Lon Holt, all veteran
Alaska miners. These men have just
returned from a long prospecting trip
in Nevada, winding up in the National '
district, where they made their strike, j
They declare they uncovered a stringer
of pure gold. The strike is thought!
to be greater than the finds at Gold
field.
Hi-Yu Potlach
A large number of the natives
living at the Mission left during
the early part of the week for
Croschaket—an Indian camp lo
cated about 35 miles up the Tan
ana rivei—to participate in the
festivities of a sort of yuletide
potlach with their brethern in
that locality.
They will return to their homes
in time for the Christmas feasts.
Bonnifield Money Gone
Seattle, Dec. 15.—Nothing of
value has been found left of the
estate of Samuel Bonnifield,
which was supposed to be worth
in the neighborhood of $300,000.
This is the statement made to
the court by the appraisers ap
pointed for the purpose. The
-mental condition of the former
banker is improving again, and
there is now a fair chance that
he may recover.
WEEK’S WEATHER
Observations taken at Fort Gibbon
at 7 p. m. daily. M. U. Grissinger,
observer.
Max. Min.
Tfcprsday, Dec. 16, cloudy— 17.0 — 7.1
Friday, Dee. 17, snow —26.2 —15.0
Saturday, Dec. 18, cldy.s’w—38.0 —21.9
Sunday, Dec. 19, cldy,snow—27.0 —21.9
Monday, Dec. 20, cldy,snow—27.4 — 1.5
Tuesday, Dec. 21, bright — 1.1 —37.5
Wednesday, Dec 22, cloudy— 9.8 —41.6
BARNEY’S CONFESSION
Says the Crimes Were Committed While Under Influence of Liquor.
Tells From Whom He Secured the Gun
Sunday, 4:24 p. in., Dec. 19, 1909.
To WhoSi It May Concern: w
This is to certify in the presence of two witnesses herein mentioned, one Cap Donovan, Dep. U. S. Mar
shal, and Rev. C. W. Peabody, that I, Arthur E. Barney, have committed the crime of murder of Chas. J.
Smith, from my own hands under the influence of liquor and not knowing what I was doing, and of which I am
sincerely repentant, so help my God. Crime being committed on the morning of the 16th day or the night of
the 15th of Dec. The gun used in committing the deed was borrowed from a certain man, he not being impli
cated or connected <rith the crime in any wav, shape, manner or form.
This statement is made by my own free will with the advice of Mr. C. W. Peabody and C’apt. J. J. Don
ovan.
(Signed) ARTHUR E. BARNEY.
Witness: John J. Donovan.
Rev. C. W. Peabody.
The confession of Arthur E. Barney,
printed above, was not unexpected.
Captain Donovan had had several talks
with Barney, and seeing Rev. Mr.
Peabody pass the jail building, asked
the accused man if he would not like
to have a talk with the minister. Bar
ney answered, “Yes, I would; I believe
he is from my town.” Mr. Peabody
was called in and the confession fol
lowed.
The principal satisfaction gained by
the officers of the law from the confes
sion is in the knowledge that it re
moves all doubt from the minds of
people who are not familiar with the
details of the case. It has been hoped
that Barney would make a further
confession, revealing under what cir
cumstances and by whom tbe gun was
given him with which he did the
shooting; but up to the present he has
failed to do so.
The Arrest of Wood.
Aside from the confession of Barney,
the most important development in the
case was the arrest of Frederick Albert
Wood, an Englishman, commonly spo
ken of as “the Cockney.” A five
chambered pistol, an “American Bull
dog,” was found concealed between
the mattresses in his cabin. He has
confessed to stealing the weapon from
Minnie Stanford, a woman who lives in
the stockade, on Dec. 15. He alleges
he took it from the top drawer of her
dresser while she was absent.
Wood Jias been-a chcpesman for wo
rn e£.on-‘the row," and lately has been
a swamper in Cavanaugh's saloon. He
was arrested at 5 o'clock Saturday
evening and is held as an accessory to
the murder of Smith and the shooting
of Chanquist.
it is said that when Wood heard
Smith had been killed he rematked
that he was glad of it. adding. "Now
he will do no more dirty work."
Altogether five bullets have been
found and will be used as exhibits in
the trial. One was removed from just
back of the cavity of the left eye when
the autopsy was performed on Smith's
body, one was removed from Chan
quist’s neck, one had struck the ceil*
j iDg in the Grand hotel and glanced
downward and lodged in the wain
scoting, where it was found, and two
were bored out of the rafters of Smith’s
cabin, where they had lodged when
the shots were tired at Smith upon his
opening the door. These bullets are
about .38 caliber, and some of them
were fitted into the pistol found in
Wood's cabin. Their relation to the
Five Bullets Found
case will become fully known when
Wood's preliminary examination is
had.
Tima of tho Shooting
As near as can be told. Smith was
shot at 12:35 on the morning of Dec. 15.
Yhanquist was shot 7 minutes to 1, ac
curate time. W. C. Brown reported
at the deputy marshal’s office at 10
minutes to 1 that some one was lying
in front of Smith's—he believed an
Indian. At just 1 o’clock J. R. Mc
Govern reached the office and said
Chanquist was shot. When Captain ■
Donovan reached the Grand hotel he ,
found Chanquist upstairs in bed. Chan-:
quist said: “A fellow with a black eye
shot me: his name is Barney.’’
^ When Chanquist was shot he thought
he was fatally hurt, and ran upstairs
and told George Bailey, the day bar
tender, and McGovern, a lodger, that
| Barney had shot him.
Smith Disliked Saloon Business
Barney's grudge against Smith grew
out of an unsuccessful dicker on the
part of himself and Torn Rockwell for
the purchase of the Yukon saloon from
Smith a few weeks ago. When the
time came for the consummation of the
deal Barney could not raise the amount
of money he"was to put' in,*;and _n1as
indignant because Smith refused to be
stood off.
Smith was anxious to get out of the
saloon business. He iiad told friends a
short time before his deatli that if he
did not get out of it he feltsute he
would be killed. He was nervous and
suffered from insomnia. The night of
his death he got out of bed and walked
the floor, and bad just lay down again,
turned out the light and dropped asleep
when the assassin knocked at the door.
Saloons Temporarily Closed
Immediately after the shooting, at
the suggestion of Deputy Marshal Don
ovan all the saloons were closed and
remained so until after the funeral on |
Satuiday. This was deemed a wise j
step, for there was a considerable num-:
ber of persons who openly declared
the murderer ought to be lynched.
Chanqnist Recovering
The bullet that caused the most dan-1
gerous wound was successfully removed
from Chanquist's neck by Captain
Grissinger of the Fort Gibbon medical
corps. No complications have set in
and lie is expected to recover rapidly.
He could sit up yesterday and will be
able to walk around in a day or two,
but has been advised to remain quiet |
for awhile yet,
SECOND CONFESSION IMPLICATES ROCKWELL
Postponed from time to time for
the gaining of additional evidence,
the preliminary hearing of Arthur
E. Barney and Frederick Albert
Wood, jointly charged with the
murder of Charles J. Smith, was
set for io o’clock this forenoon.
Until after 11 o’clock the witnesses
and others sat in A. B. hall wait
ing for the principals to arrive and
the proceedings to begin, and when
a messenger arrived and said the
hearing was postponed to 2 o’clock
it was surmised that something
was in the wind.
As a matter of fact Barney had
made a further confession, excul
pating Wood and implicating Tom
Rockwell.
The deputy marshal is averse to
having the full portent of Barney’s
second confession made public, but
it is certain that Barney names
Rockwell as the person from whom
he secured the gun with which he
did the shooting, and that he re
ported to Rockwell after he bad
killed Smith, and Rockwell re
loaded the gun and Barney told
him he was going to complete the ]
job lie had already begun, alter1;
which he went to the Grand and |
shot Chatiquist.
Last night the warrant charg
ing Wood and Barney jointly
with the murder of Smith was
read by Barney, and the wrong \
of'allowing Wood to be wrong
fully suspected, if innocent, was
dwelt upon. It was for the pur
pose of sbielding'Wood from un
just accusation that Barney made
the confession implicating Rock
well.
Wood Given Ninety'Days
In the justice’s court at 1
o’clock today Wood pleaded guil
ty to the theft of the pistol from
Minnie Stanwood, and was sen
tenced to.90 days in jail.
Barney Held Without Bail
Barney's preliminary trial
came up at 2 o’clock. He was
held to the grand .jury without
bail. He made no statement at
the hearing, which was com
pleted within an hour.
Deputy Marshal Corning is on
his way from Fairbanks to Tan
ana and will tak.e Barney, to Fair
banks and place him in jail.
Holdup Was Expected
For several days previous to the
tragedy a holdup had been expected.
At all hours of the night Captain
Donovan was patroling the town
and taking observations. It is believed i
Stoddard & Kay’s saloon, the Northern, !
had been decided upon for the plaee of
loot. Friday night, Dec. 10, is the
time the robbery was probably sched
uled for. : '
For some reason the robbery miscar
ried—perhaps the finding of a mask at
Black’s Tanana hotel caused the would
be holdups to abandon their plans. At
any rate, it is common knowledge that
David Kay felt that he had a very nar
row escape when Barney looked into
the Northern and saw Kay was not
alone shortly after the shooting of
Smith and Cbanquist.
Second Dicker for Smith's Saloon
In the meantime it was known thdt
negotiations had been opened a second
time for the purchase of Smith’s sa
loon, and Saturday, Dec. 18, was the
day set for the money to be paid and
the saloon property to be transferred.
Only Rockwell was known in thes*'
second negotiations. The deputy mar
shal had reason to believe the proceeds
of, the contemplated holdup were in
tended to make up the balance of the
purchase price of Smith’s saloon.
Rockwell Suspected
When the shooting occurred, it was
suspected that Rockwell had been a
party to the contemplated holdup, and
it was thought possible he might have
guilty knowledge of the shooting.
When Rockwell suddenly left town on
last Saturday’s stage the suspicions
were strengthened.
Arrested at Hot Springs
Word was received here that Rock
well was arrested at Hot Springs at
1:30 o'clock this afternoon. Deputy
Marshal Corning will probably get him
on his way down and bring him to
Tanaoa, where he will have a prelim
inary hearing.
Reck well is one of the best-known
salooD men in the North. He had been
at Hot Springs two years and came to
Tanana the last of last September.
Special Sunday Dinner at the Ken
tucky restaurant from 3 to 7 p.m.—
Mrs. M. E. Cooper, proprietor.
The Leader is on sale at the
postoffice lobby.
Carrie Busy Regulating Congress
Washington, D. C., Dec. 15.—Carrie Nation invaded the na
tional capitoi building today. She made herself obnoxious from
the moment she entered the lobby of the lower house. She learned
without delay which were visitors and which were congressmen,
and proceeded to harangue the latter on the evils of drinking and
smoking and swearing. If the unlucky representative happened
to be supporting a weed between the teeth, Mrs. Nation introduced
herself by knocking the offensive article to the floor. One. of the
astounded congressmen took her playfulness seriously, and her
forced exit followed apace. All that the police did when she made
her invasion of the capitol building today was to eject her. It re
quired more than a mere show of force.
MR. TOURTILOTTE
DIES AT RAMPART
Allen Jordan, the mail carrier
between Tanana and Rampart,
who arrived from the latter place
last Saturday, reports the death
of Vine Tourtilotte, of Burling
ton, Wash., at Rampart, Wednes
day, Dec. 8. Mr. Tourtilotte was
connected with the A. F. Schmitz
'Gold '.lining Company, which
has property in the Rampart
di trict. The cause of his death
was catarrh of the stomach and
bowels, coupled with diabetes.
He arrived at Rampart last fall,
and was about 30 years old.
In coming down the Yukon Mr.
Tourtilotte’s party was frozen in
180 miles above Rampart. He
was brought in by sled after the
ice formed on the river, and had
been unwell ever since his ar
rival. It is believed the exposure
he was subjected to may have
! hastened his death.
—
BURIAL SERVICES
OF GHAS. SMITH
The funeral of the late Charles J.
Smith was held Saturday morning.
Dec. 18, under the auspices of Camp
Gibbon No. 25, Arctic Brotherhood, of
which the deceased was a charter
member.
The members of the camp assembled
at A. B. hall at 9:110, marched in a
body to their late brother’s residence.
! and escorted the remains to St. James’
chapel. Almost the entire member
• ship of Camp Gibbon was present, and
I several visiting brothers joined in the
; exercises. Oscar Lundine, Peter Co
! loumbe, Andrew G. Vachon, David
Kay, Kd. M. Woods and Joe Anicich
were the pall bearers.
At the diapel “Nearer, My God, to
Thee” was impressively sung, after
which Rev. Mr. Peabody read the
beautiful service of the Church of
F.ngland, and the singing of “Rock of
Ages” followed. Thy chanel not being
large chough to contain all the people
j who had assembled, those inside tiled
around the casket, viewed the body
and passed outside, while those who
had not been able to gain entrance to
tlie building filed in.
The remain', escorted by the A. B.'s,
weie followed to tlie grave by a largo
number of people. The burial service
of the Arctic Brotherhood, closing
with the singing of “It is Well,” was
conducted at the grave and concluded
j a most impressive and heartfelt tribute
to a man of wide acquaintauce and
war:-, and steadfast friendship.
Plenty Meat Coming
| On Wednesday morning Sam
Heeter sent “Cyclone Cy” Noble
with a team and sled to Fish lake to
fetch part of the big load of meats
which Jim Blodgett is hauling to
this camp from Tolovana. This
was done by Mr. Heeter to make
sure that a bounteous supply of
meats and poultry would be in the
market for Christmas feasting.
Successful Production
Post Amusement hall last Thurs
day night was filled to its capacity
to witness the performance by local
talent of the face comedy “That
Box of Cigarettes.’’ All the play
ers knew their lines perfectly, and
got about all the fun out ol the
simple little piece there is in it.
The entertainment was greatly en
joyed and reflected much credit on
every.one who took part in it.
Mu'ligan Improving Rapidly
Jimmy Mulligan, the N. C Co.’s
bookkeeper at this station, was se
verely attacked by the grippe last
Monday which has caused him to
be confined to his room under the
care of Flether Fullthorp and other
medical men. Mr. Mulligan is im
proving rapidly, and expects 10 be
able to celebrate Christmas in his
usual health.
The Leader is on sale at the Tanana
postofffc" lobby.