PLANS FOX FARM 1
AT COPPER CENTER
Superintendent Heideman to
Cultivate Black Ones
By Breeding.
A black fox farm, owned and oper
ated by th«- government, is a project
which C. \V. II. llcidcman, superin
tendent of thc'agricultural experiment
station at Copper Center, intends to
add to the productive industries of
that paternal ranch. The government
has plenty of land in Alaska for sev
eral kinds of experiments without
pinching space <»n miners and home
steader*, and Mr. Ileideman figures;
that if black foxes can be generated
successfully instead of being just al
lowed to happen a new and exceed
ingly profitable industry will be add
ed to Alaska's wealth.
Black foxskins are tin* rarest and
most valuable of furs. The fluent fur'
sealskin is worth about 211 cents on
the dollar with hla'-k fox as the stan
dard of value. Mr. Ileideman has no
fear that a fox farm woidd break the
back of the market for a long time.
mack foxcs b reaks
Black foxes arc l>oli«vc?tl tt» bo a
freak in nature, like black sheep,
white I »l a "k 1 »i r« I - and red-haired ne
groes. Slill Mr. Ileideman thinks the
freaks can l> • multiplied hy careful
selection and breeding, just as laith
cr Hnrhank has produced green roses
and oth* rimpossbilities in nature. 11«•
b dieves ic black fox belongs to the
silver 1- y tribe and in that opinion
is ii)> i i hy other authorities.
I'\ :i mile* from Cnppar Center
«;.i rU M . O.M'ii, a <piiet hilltop in
spit :• of it <'name, where foxei have
holm and birds of the air have nests.
In the foothills of this rmtie report I
silver grey foxe< are more] numerous
tiiau anywhere else in Alaska and t he
trihe is always more or less dotted
with hlaek skins. This induces Mr. i
ileideman to h.dieve that the region
is a natural habitat of silver greys,
and he is even hopeful that something;
in the seener\ or air currents has a
tendency to make gray hairs grow I
atramcntal. The project is to make
it the domicile of silver foxes and the
sit" of an effort t » strew more hlaek
hairs unions the silver.
Hopes for the Best
Mr. Ileidcman's only fear is that
partial domestication or too (dose as
sociation with depraved humanity
may cause the fox fur, to deteriorate
in quality, hut as (lie stock will utill
lie kept wholly in the open air and
breathe the same ozone he is confident
that such will not l>e the case.
Perfect hlaek fox skins are almost
unknown. The finest specimens have
a few white hairs hut if they are not
numerous a woman can smoothethc
black hairs over the white ones so a
man wouldn't notice them. Of course j
another woman would be sure to rub
the fur the wrong way so as to show !
up every!Iiing.
I'lie agricult ural experiments at ('op
pert'enter have been a decided suc
cess, especially hay raising. From l/i
acres of oats last year the station sold
twenty-two and one-half tons of hay
for $170 1. Moadhousc keepers in the
('opper valley nearly all do a little
farming and add to their profits by
fretting fabulous prices for hay and
vegetables. All the hardy vegetables
thrive*!here, the most serious handi
cap being I he lack of rainfall. Mois
ture laden air seems to pass by the
Copper valley as a rule and move on
nort h.
In the trial of a caso at Nome, be
fore ('ommissionor Btevens, in the
day* of UK>:i, an amusing incident oc
curred. A fellow was charged with
stealing a sum of money from a
French count. A barkeeper was on j
the witness stand and testified that
the defendant had taken a drink of
absinthe shortly after thcallegcd rob
hery. The defendant's attorney, now
in Fairbanks, evidently not knowing
what ahsint he was, confounded il with
the word "alMent." When it came
time for erons-cxamina ion, t he yont h
fnl disciple of illacksfouc asked the
witness:
"What did yon mean, sir, when
yon said my client had taken a drink
of 'alnenl?' Did yon mean Unit
there was nothing in the glass?"
"What the hell's the matter wil h
you," indignantly replied the mixol
ogist. "Trying to make a damn fool of
me?"
It was some time before order was
restored, the judge himself leading in
t he laughter,
A gruff, hardy sallorman was snlng
to recover damages from a vessel at
Nome for alleged ill-treatment, among
other things charged being that the
gmb was'nnlit to eat. Wlckersiiam
was ott the bench. In the course of
the examination, the sailor was asked
what kind of food the ship furnished, i
"They feed ns on a kind of 'skilla- '
galee,'" responded t he man of the '
Hen,
The Jndge looked perplexed, and
turning to tin* witness, asked:
"What kind of food did you call
that?"
"f call it a kind of a skillagalee,"
said the sailor. i
"Will you please Inform the court
what a 'skillagalee' is?" remarked
ids honor.
"Honest to (lod, Judge, its got a
'mulligan' all skinned to a frazzle,"
responded the witness.
ADAM SWAN
Adam Swan may well be termed the
Adam of Valdez, as he wa« the first
white man to loeate in this part of the
country. Swan arrived in Valdez bay
Nov. 10, 1897, and took np a tract of
land which ban since been known as
Swanport. A lnonthMater, in compa
ny with Capt. Zim Moore and Jack
Shepherd, he assisted in erecting the
Hint building where Valdez is now for
a trading post, and staked out sixty
acres of ground for the Pacific'Steam
Whaling Co. for a townsite and called
it Copper City. This company was
then operating steamers between Se
attle and Prince William Sound.
Swan was appointed local agent for
the company and had charge of the
mail. About two months later, Mr.
Washburn, in behalf of the Alaska
Commercial Co., secured from Swan
a part of the land at Swanport. The
A. C. Co. at that time was operating
the steamer Dora between Seattle,
Juneau, Sitka, Valdez Hay and Kodi
ak. Swan was given a position as
agent until 11)00, when the company
erected a wharf at Swanport. In tho
I spring of Ikoh, Capt. Abercrombie, at
| the heud of what was known as the
j Copper Kiver Exploring Expedition,
j arrived at Valdez and located a tract
of land as a government reservation,
j which included the building and most
I of the ground previously staked by
i the Whaling company. At that time
j there was a stampede of gold seekers
i to the Copper River country. Over
:;(!<)(> people made their way over the
Valdez glacier, which was at that tune
the only route to the interior. Swan
was one among a number of about HO
persons \\ ho decided to locate here
permanently. These people organized
themselves into a townsite communi
ty, and with the assistance of ('apt.
Abercroinbie's surveyor, located (lie
tract of land a quarter of a mile
square, joining the reservation, and
called it the city of Valdez. The
(own was then laid out into streets,
blocks and lots, and townsite rules
and regulations were adopted. It was
decided that each man or woman he
allowed to take up but one lot 50x150
feet. Swan located lot 12 in block 7,
since known as the Swan corner, put
up one of the lirst log houses, and has
lived and conducted business on the
premises for the past ten years. He
lias in the meantime acquired several
good lots with improvements by pur
chase; from the original locators. In
15102, as the population wa« growing,
it was decided to take up more ground
and enlarge the boundary, making the
townsite a mile square. It was also
decided to incorpoiate the town; a
city council and school board was
elected, Swan serving on the latter as
school trustee for two terms. A cham
ber of commerce was organized with
Swan as its lirst treasurer. In 15107,
| when II. I). Reynolds started the
Alaska Home railroad and bought
considerable property in and about
Valdez, Swan was put in charge of
the real estate depart ment of the Rey
nolds concern. II may be staled for
the benefit of newcomers who want a
home in Valdez, that the townsite
was not taken up by a few for money
making or speculative purposes, and
the same rules are still in favor. Any
body may take up one unimproved
lot 50x150 feet, pay the small sum of
!*:{ recording fee and build a home.
That gives possessory right and title
tot he property.
i\11iKwhim mix, nil' nirrm'iM' nnwn
>f Copper (Vnlcr, Ih tlx* I'oo-Huh c»f
^lint neotlon, Im'Imk H. ('ommlHHlon
>r, pOMtmaflter, notary public, hotel
proprietor, minor, etc. lie onmo to
Valdey, in 'tlH, pulled IiIh outfit over
the glacier, located the flint home
lie ad In the Copper river valley, and
rnim'u mh* nrm. rroHh vegetablcH (grown
there. He Ih the pioneer trader and
road home man between Valdoz and
the Yukon, the primitive roadhoune
ih-Ht built being eventually replaced
by a HulmtantlalJhotelHtrueture known
hh fb«' I lot <»1 Itolman. Illlx Ih alHo
largely Interested In mining In the
Copper river Imwln.t^^^y
AlHHUfl WHtllC
(lame abounda in tho Mmborod wor
lonH of Alaska, and includon mooHO,
•arrlbou, mountain wbrop and goat*,
riUHk ox, porcupine and rabbi ta. Tho
feathorod tribp IncludoH ptarmigan,
Kcoho, ducka, rtnlpo, wwan, crane* and
grotiao. riHh of varloim kind* aro to
ho found In abundance In tho rlvorw
and on the «oa coaat.
Fortune Smiled 011 Rounder
In the old/layn of Nome, before I lie
reform wave H\vopl (he broad surfacei
of Alaska from the Pacific to the Are-|
tic, and the knight of the green cloth
plied bin vocation undiHturhcd 1»y llnv
authorities, a well-known rounder of1
the big nort hern mining camp made
a phenomenal winning <>11 of a 2"»-cent
piece at faro. When he "called the
j turn" at the end of a deal bin asseta
j were something over $W0. Previous
I to thiw stroke of fortune the "round
er" belonged to the "mulligan stow"
I brigade, thin delectable dish, once a
i day, being bin aole miHtcuanee. On
I the day that he acquired the "velvet" j
he went to his accustomed feeding!
place. Ah the "rounder" perched
himself on a stool, the waiter, not
' knowing <>f the change in the flnau
clai status of hbi customer, placed the
iiHual "mulligan" before him.
"What's dis?" Haid the "rounder"
In unfeigned dis^uM. "I don't want
I dat. (limine a chicken, wld French
fried and a small bottle,"
The waiter hesitated, a "show me"
exprcHwion on his countenance.
' "Oh, I got de dough to pay ferit,
too," Haid the rounder, exhibiting bin
1 bank roil.
The waiter, satisfying himself that
it wan real money,' started to remove
the "mulligan."
"I,et dat set," Haid the rounder. In
due time the chicken ordcrcame. The
rounder put the "mulligan" to one
Hide, remarking with evident satisfae
I tlon, "Now you set dere, damn ye,
| and watch me eat din cldcken."
The fur Industry of Alaska Is an Im
! portant and profitable one. Fur-boar
' ing animals to be found here are fur
! Heal, Hea otter, land otter, beaver,
marten, fox, mink, lynx, muflkrat,
wolf, wolverine, ermine, and Polar,
brown, black and sllver-tlp bear.
Mt. .Wrangell
When in Copper Center, Alaska
Get the Habit of Stopping at
HOTEL HOLMAN
(Tho 'I'rrtVolorH Ilcnting I'lnoo of t)i<< Copper Rlvor VftlW'.vt
(IuIcIoh Kuruhhocl nnd Hpcclnl UntoH
(JIvch i<» ToiirM* and Kxplomtlon
PnrtlcH,
Tho Mont Acooininorlntlon find Hor
vU'o (hinrnnlcod Nothing Ion (Jnncl
fnr I ho M tinhorn.
Flmt EstablUhed In 1R98 by
Ringwald Blix, Proprietor