DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME IN FIGURING WHY A BLACK HEN LAYS A WHITE EGG—BUT GET BUSY AND GET AFTER THE EGG.
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VOL. 1 CHITIXA, ALASKA. SATURDAY, JULY 22. 1»U. NO 44
Local News
Harry Dean, of Dean's basin, who
for the past few weeks has been en
<engaged as blacksmith at the Spirit
Mountain copper mines, recently re
ceived a letter from a former Chit
ina friend, who left last winter for
the Iditarod, which gives a somewhat
discouraging report of that coun
try. He advises anyone who has not
a pretty fat grub stake to stay away
from there as the pay does not jus
tify any stampede and there are a
great many idle men at the dig
gings.
F. A. Smith and John Delanders
returned from another prospecting
trip this week. “Appeal to Reason”
Smith now has a real grievance.
Just as he was telling his friends
about striking a real quartz gold
mine and figuring that he was fixed
for life the mail came in, and pick
ing up his dearly beloved “Appeal
to Reason” saw where the precious
yellow metal was being demonaliz
ed. "It’s no use,” he said, “I’ll be
an anarchist instead of a socialist
from now on.”
C. ,T. Dykes, the Palmyra, Miss.,
Kid’ made a trip up the line from
his hangout at camp 146 this week
for a short visit. You really can't
blame Johnny, you know, for the
Missouri boy is fond of the ladies
and there are a number of the fair
ones at the various camps along the
line now.
“Brownie” the popular relay man
at the Chitina depot, is now in the
limelight. His many friends say
they never realized before how he
evidently missed his calling, and
should have been a Catholic priest
instead of a railroad man. The
Chitina ladies say he looks just too
cute for anything since he had his
hair cut.
A most pleasant little hop was
given at the Tibbs building on Tues
day evening and dancing was enjoy
ed until the wee sma’ hours. Tibbs
and Bennett furnished the music
and Deputy Marshal Joe Brown had
•charge of the floor.
Jake Nafsted, the well known road
house man and packer, who has just
finished a packing contract for the
Elliott Creek Mining company, has
been engaged by Capt. Lathrop to
take in the engineers and supplies
for the trip to the Kotsina.
Geo. Cappell, S. B. Combast and
John Gage, who have been prospect
ing in the vicinity of Mount Wran
gell the past few weeks, arrived in
town on Thursday evening's train.
Mr. Cappell states that he is well
satisfied with the trip as he secured
and staked some most promising
prospects.
Mrs. May Newhouse has pur
chased three residence lots from
the Townsite company and two tents
have already been erected thereon.
Chitina’s water supply is located on
these lots, but Newhouse & Co. very
courteously offer the spring water to
everyone as in the past, though they
request that care be taken to keep
the water clean. As the Katalla Co.
•camps enjoy the use of this water,
'they may install a pump and crib
up the spring for permanent use.
Paymaster E. J. Davis of the Ka
talla company, accompanied by his
wife. Miss Green, stenographer in
the office of the attorney for the
Katalla Co., and the sister of Mrs.
Corser, arrived in Chitina Thursday
evening and will go on up the front
as far as the Kennecott, as Mr.
Dgvis pays off the men at the var
ious camps.
Mr. and Mrs. O. E. Bennett de
parted for Cordova on Friday morn
ing’s train and will take the next
steamer outside. Mr. Bennett has
been editing the Chitina Leader since
the first publication and has work
ed steadily on both the Cordova Alas
kan and the Leader for over two
years and is taking a well earned
vacation. They go to their Seattle
home, and expect to spend about 30
days in the mountains. Mrs. Bennett
will visit her mother in Oregon, and
after a vacation of about sixty days
Mr. Bennett expects to return to
Chitina and again take charge of
the Leader.
Sidney D. Charles, formerly editor
of the North Star at Cordova, will
have charge of the Leader In the
absence of Mr. Bennett and will ar
rive here on Monday next. Mr.
•Charles and family will occupy the
cabin on Chitina Heights belonging
to Mr. and Mrs. O. E. Bennett.
“There is plenty of capital from
a number of sources in the states to
develop good mining prospects and
properties in Alaska.” This is the
statement made by Mrs. L. B. Ker
wood, a promoter who represents
several combinations of capital in the
east and middle west.
Mrs. Kerwood has just returned
to Chitina from a four week’s trip
into the Nizina country, where she
succeeded in securing an option on
some placer ground situated on
Young creek owned by Fred Stevens
and Tony Diamond. The deal was
financed by D. H. Williams, a capital
ist from Minneapolis who remained
behind for a few days to straighten
up some business connected with the
deal. The purchasing of the Young
creek property and securing other
options in the Nizina district means
considerable activity this coming win
ter to Chitina. as the company will
ship a $100,000 hydraulic plant this
fall which will go in over the ice in
December or not later than February.
In an interview with the Leader
representative Mrs. Kerwood said:
“I have been pretty much over
the mineral belt of Alaska and Brit
ish Columbia and in no locality have
I seen more promising prospects for
mining activity than in this mineral
belt surrounding Chitina, but there
is a most serious drawback here,
and your country will amount to but
little until your prospectors and prop
erty holders recognize the fact that
they must secure capital to develop
their properties, and in order to do
this they must give capital induce
ment to come in.
“I have promoted several good
mining deals in southeastern Alas
ka, the Porcupine district, the Su
sitna district, Kluwana country and
British Columbia and other placer
propositions, and I must say that in
all my experience I never found peo
ple with likely looking properties so
hard to do business with. Mr. Wil
liams, the capitalist, whom l brought
here, really wanted to get hold of a
quartz proposition, and he stood
ready to offer as high as $5OO,0Oh
for something in this line. I know
there are some splendid quartz ledges
in this belt ready for development
work on a large scale, and nothing
can make a mine out of them until
many thousand dollars have been ex
pended in preliminary work. This
the present owners cannot afford to
do, but 1 found it impossible to se
cure an option on any of them, the
owners apparently being “on the
fence” and preferred to hold on, Irt
ting their property lay idle in evi
dent hopes that something better
would turn up. Some seem to be
the opinion that now the railroad is
in operation they can secure help
from that source, but this is a mis
\ taken impression, as the railroad
company proper, or the stockholders
of the concern, are not in the mining
business. They are in the railroad
business and are after the tonnage
and the people in this section will
soon realize this unless there are
more properties than one in opera
; tion, and a promise of ore ship
| ments. There is only one solution
i to this, and that is that capital must
get hold of the mines and good pros
pects already, discovered, expend
thousands of dollars in making real
■ mines and get the ore moving to the
coast. I have capital representing
f several millions from different sour
I ces at my command which is only
awaiting the necessary inducements
to get hold of good mining property,
but first of all the owners must show
a disposition to turn over their prop
erties, or at least an interest in them
for the necessary development work.
‘‘To any likely looking quartz or
placer property we are willing to
pay a part cash and let the owner re
tain an interest, and I made the of
fer to several who interviewed me
as to disposing of their ground, but
they seemed so reticent or of the
belief that they could do better, that
I was discouraged and came out with
making only one deal on Young
creek. We paid the owners of this
ground several thousand dollars
cash and they still retain an Interest
in the properties. I shall make no
more trips in here, as I am get
ting too far along in years to mush
over these bad mountain trails, and
don’t have to do it, but I love the
work, and realizing what a wonder
ful mineral belt you have in here I
am intereseted in seeing the coun
try developed. But first of all you
want to get men in here who are
ready and willing to let capital help
them, or this belt, will lie dormant
for many years yet.”
Mrs. Kerwood and party left for
Cordova on Tuesday’s train enroute
to the states. Should anyone who
has a likely looking quartz showing
and who has the assays and the ear
marks of a mine, write her at Prine
ville, Oregon, she may be able to
finance the deal and will consider
anything of a legitimate venture, but
nothing else.
Ia't the header do your job work.
POLL Til SHOULD 8E EXPENDED OH LOCIL MS
The Leader recently received a
communication from a well known
Alaskan who has been in and around
Chitina for the past two years, re
lative to the much talked of road
tax, which portrays the views of a
good many on this question. We
doubt if there is a good Alaskan in
the territory who complains of a
fair road tax, say half the present
amount imposed, or even $5 per
year, and realizes that trail work
is one of the most beneficial things
to Alaska at the present time, but
(here are few who do not object to
the methods employed in collecting
these taxes and the following letter
voices the feelings of many on this
subject:
During the past few weeks the
government (?) road tax collectors
have been pushing their nefarious
business in and around this dis
I
trict. Now to all fair minded people
no one at all minds paying taxes,
when the taxes are used for the ben -
fit of the people where they are col
lected, especially when the money
collected is used for road and trail
building. Excepting for one road
used by a few passengers in the
winter, and one stage coach company,
nothing has been done by the govern
ment road commission towards build
ing trails in this country.
Let a traveler go to one of the
numerous mining camps and he
goes over trails built by the mining
companies and not the government.
In this district are several bad moun
tain streams that require bridging
as they are both dangerous to life
and property in crossing. Excepting
for the bridge on the Kotsina, which
this year was swept out by the high
water, the government has not at
tempted to bridge any of these and
travelers have to ford the streams
as in days of old.
But the wo,rst feature of this tax
collecting is the discrimination shown ]
by the collectors along the construe- i
tion works of the Copper River & !
Northwestern railway. The slogan
of the U. S. A. is “fair play”,
whether a man is black, white, or
piebald, and these collectors certain
ly do not play fair in their work as
they only collect from the “muckers”
and do not go near any of the high
er-ups who might cause them some
trouble in their angust work. If
ALL this money collected was spent
solely in building roads etc., the pub
lic would not make a “holler” or
»
if the tax was collected from one and
all—big man and little man. As far
as the tax being legal, enough has
been written and said about that
in the past. But in the opinion of
many, nowhere in the laws and stat
utes governing Alaska is there a
clause authorizing that it is legal
to collect taxes.
People around this district should
at least get the benefit of this money
collected as the whole country de
pends on the mineral wealth being
developed.
Something should be done with
all this money that will be collec
ted during the next few months in
building bridges and trails where
they are needed. Let us hope that
the road commission will be more
of a success this year than it has
been previously and within a short
time we will see good trails to the
various mining camps.
Keep your eye on Chitina and
watch h r grow.
Work on the Chitina branch or
the Copper River tc Northwestern
Railway, which means from mile 132
to 196, will be completed today. With
the exception of a small iorce left
to cleanup, the entire crew of men
and steam shovel will be removed
on Monday to mile 67, where the
track from mile 62 to 67 will be
brought to grade. It was on this
stretch of five miles that so much
trouble was experienced by the
trains last winter. When the pro
posed work is completed no more
delays will be experienced from the
ice.
Next week the construction of the
snow sheds will also begin, the lum
ber for which is now being distrib
uted between mile 53 and 65.
Washington, July 22.—The Ameri
can Federation of Labor is sending
out a general appeal for money to be
used in the defense ,of the McNam
ara brothers, who havfe been Indicted
for dynamiting the office of the Los
Angeles Times.
Washington, July 22.—A severe
hall storm visited this section and
blew an automobile Into the Potom
ac river. Atwood’s aeroplane was
also wrecked but none of the oc
cupants hurt.
'
FOUND—Gent’s solid gold ring, mas
onic emblem, picked up at camp 133.
Owner can have property at the Log
Cabin bar by identifying same and
paying for this ad.
“30” FOR THE NEWS.
The Yukon Valley News, owned by
Albert Stamm, who is doing repetor
ial work on the Valdez Prospector,
published weekly at Tanana, suspen
ded publication. The paper has been
in charge of Art Heacock, formerly
employed as foreman of the Cordova
Daily Alaskan.
m BILL
Washington, July 22.—The ('an
adian reciprocity bill passed the sen
ate, without amendment, by a vote
of 53 to 27. The measure, how
ever, cannot become a law until Wed
nesday, as the house, from where it
must be returned with engrossment,
adjourned until noon of that day.
Etampes, Prance, July 22.—Mad
ame Denise Moore was killed by
the capsizing of her biplane and is
the first woman victim of the flying
machine.
New York, July 22.—This city
has let the contract for $225,000,.
000 subway extension through Man
hattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the
Bronx.
Dan Kelly, an old-time Nomeite,
with many friends in this city, died,
last month succeeding an operation.
The Alaska Steamship company is
now arranging a three freight boat
service from Prince William Sound
to take care of the ore shipments.
The Edith, Seward and Latouche
will be put on a regular schedule.
The Beatson copper mine at La
touche is increasing its output fifty
per cent and will hereafter ship 4500
tons a month. If plans now in for
mation are consummated the Ellamar
mine will ship on a larger basis than
ever before. It is the intention to
install a concentrator.
The Fidalgo bay mine, in which
Judge Ostrander is interested, will
commence to ship ore in September,
starting with fifty tons per day and
gradually increasing it to one hun
dred tons. They are at present
erecting a wharf wdth an approach
150 foot long.
James L. Galen is developing a
property on Jack bay at Chenga is
land, which will also become a ship
per before long.
The steamship company will give
such a service as will permit of all
the mines in this section being work
ed to their fullest capacity.
Let the Leader do your Job work.
Manassas, July 22.—After a mud
bespattered and difficult automobile
trip from Washington, President
Taft faced an audience of the blue
and grey, a few miles from where
the first great conflict of the Civil
war took place, and made a strong
plea for international peace.
Jack Smith has sold his place of
business at Katalla to Frank Peel
and Ernest Miller and gone out
side. The name of the new firm is
Miller & Peel.
ATter next week there will be one
( through train a week to Kenuecott.
On the return trip it will lay over
night at Chitina.
EVElElT
IS KILLED
Tacoma, July 22.—E. W. Mathew
son, a rich lumberman of Everett,
met death while out automobile rid
ing near here. His machine jumped
from the Mount Rainier road down
an embankment, killing him instant
ly.
Let the Leader do your job work.
Washington, July 22.—Postmaster
General Hitchcock has ordered the
establishment of a fast ocean mail
service effective August 14. It will
include a weekly service between
New York, New Orleans and Colon
and Seattle, San Francisco and Pan
ama.
Katalla company officials Van
Cleve, Wernecke, Spangler, McCoy
and McCune were in Chitina over
Thursday evening.
Local News
Frank Clarkin, one of the popular
conductors on the Chitina branch,
left on Wednesday morning's train
for a short business trip to Cordova.
Road Overseer Fred Schaupp and
Roland Healey, deputy road tax col
lector, left on Tuesday’s train for
the front, where they expect to make
arrangements with the mine owners
In the different sections to have
much necessary road work done on
the various trails in that vicinity.
Dr. Whiting received a post card
from the well known comedian Fred
Stone w'ho was here on a bear hunt
with Rex Beach two seasons ago.
The card came from Norway and
was mailed on June 22, arriving here
on the last mail, making fast time
from Norway, being less than three
weeks enroute. The comedian is on
his way to Greenland to hunt polar
bear and states he will drop a card
to his friends here on his return.
Tom Holland left on Tuesday’3
train for the front, taking his old
“meat inn the pot” Winchester and a
small pack. He is heading for Mc
Connells' camp and may be gone a
week or ten days.
Mrs. Fyler, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Baird, who conduct the dining
car on the local run between here
and Cordova, is visiting her parents,
and made a round trip on the car
leaving Cordova Monday.
Capt. A. E. Lathrop, mayor of
Cordova arrived on Monday evening's
train, accompanied by Fred Butter
worth, the civil engineer of Valdez.
Capt. Lathrop is interested in the
group of claims on Kotsina river and
will on this trip run the final lines
necessary to prepare the claims for
patent.
The California-Alaska Mines &
Development company, who own this
group of claims, have been doing
development work on them for the
past five years, and now have four
men employed in finishing the work
for patent.
B. F. Ulrich, one of the best civil
engineers who ever squinted through
a transit on the Copper River &
Northwestern railroad, and who has
been with the company off and on
since early Katalla days, has re
signed his position as transitman
with the special engineer party at
the front, and left for Cordova on
Friday morning's train, expecting to
take one of the next outgoing steam
ers for the states. The many friends
of “Barney”, as he is generally
known, wish him good luck in pas
tures new, as he states that he ex
pects to survey other fields as prom
ising as Alaska.
Miss Mia Dixon, who has been
visiting friends along the line of
railway as far as the Kennecott,
since leaving Cordova on July 4th,
returned to her home again on Fri
day morning’s train. She was the
guest of Mrs. John Reed at mile 183,
and of Mrs. Thos. Cloninger while
in Chitina.
Hugo Fels, the well known car
penter who has been with the Kat
alla company since the early con
struction days at Katalla, left on
Friday’s train for Cordova, and
will take the steamer Northwestern
for the states. Hugo has been suf
fering front a bruised hand caught
between the railings of the Kusku
lana bridge, and while the injured
member is healing, will spend his
vacation at Sierra Madero, Cal.,
where he has a sister living.
Mrs. Josephine Meyers, who has
been along the line of railway since
the early Eyak days, and a resident
of Chitina since the town first start
ed, left on Friday’s train for Cor
dova and will take the next steam
er for Seattle, expecting to visit in
Montana.
Mrs. Kate Johanson and son
Clarence, came up from Cordova and
spent a few days visiting her hus
band Antone Johanson, who is at
work on the new Chitina depot.
D. A. Stantien, formerly electri
cian at Copper Mountain, who last
week left on a trip to the Kotsina,
returned Thursday evening and says
that the copper properties there
in which he is interested look most
promising. He left on Friday morn
ing’s train for a business trip to
Cordova.
Cook & West who have been in
Chitina since last December, closed
out their business on Thursday of
this week, by an auction sale and
leave on the next steamer for Fort
George, B. C.