The Alaska Prospector
l'ublliDia| at Yftldez, Ala^ku, every Thursday
by tllf PROSPECTOR I'l'BLIMI I SO Cu
I'hune Mais 1.
Kutered at the Valde* I'ostoffloe second
class matter.
Subscription |3per year. VJ f«»r vix month
single copies JOcent*
ALASKA'S WAR ON JUDGES
Ono of the* favorite pastimes of
Alaska is making perpetual war on
tho federal judges assigned to the
territory. Ample newspaper proof
can bo obtained from tho files of the
Alaska papers to demonstrate that
each and every man who ever sat on
the bench in Alaska was a profes
sional criminal. A large percentage
of practicing attorneys helped to
furnish this proof and are ready to
make a spiel on the subject at any
time or place.
When Judge tteid cam*1 to Alaska
some credulous persons hoped he
would prove an exception to the rule
but the offer is now made by parties
so far unknown to demonstrate that
he is no better than his predecessors.
A few crimes have not yet been
charged against him but there i- time
to extend the list.
Still it may not be true. .Judge
Wiekersham was accused of nearly
every offense interdicted by thecrim
nal code but his enemies only se
cured tlie support of three I'nited
States senators out of ninety and
each of those three had a grudge.
Also the people of Alaska seem to
think well of Wiekersham.
A test vote on Judge Reid in the
coast end of the Third Division
would show a result indicating em
phatic confidence.
All this serves :is a reminder of a
story.
A fow years ago Judge Wiekersham
met Thomas A. Mf(io\van. attorney
for the Northern Commercial Com
pany and one of the foremost lawyers
of the Tanana. in Seattle, and ml -
dressed him as follows:
"Tom, 1 think you arc a pretty
poor stick of ;t lawyer."
McGowan inquired with a touch of
asperity the occasion of this unflatter
ing remark, and received this answer.
"Well, you are the only lawyer in
Alaska who ever lost a ease in my
court who did not immediately de
mand an investigation of the judge.
By the way, Tom, I have some news
for you. The circuit court of appeals
has just reversed my decision and
ordered judgement for your client."
BOGUS MINING EXPERTS
•'Employment by the United States
geological survey, for even a short
time or in any capacity, appears to
have a commercial value that it rated
high Even the cooks and teamsters
of the field parties refer proudly to
their connection with the survey and
reap the reward of popularcredit that
attaches to their public service."
In this wise the United States Geo
logical Survey Press Bulletin^ treats
of a subject with which the mining
men of Alaska are somewhat {famil
iar. Continuing, the article says:
"The advertisement of such con
nection after it ceases, how \er, has
sometimes been the source of trouble
or embarrassment to the survey, es
pecially where it is used for the fur
therance of doubtful mining schemes,
and the survey desires t<> ni ve em
phasis and wide publicity to the fact,
now fairly well known, that no mem
ber of its scientific corps is allowed
to do private professional work in the
United States during the period of
his employment. The rules of the
survey are, indeed, so stringent, that
no one connected with it in any ca
pacity—whether as messenger, labor
er, clerk or scientist—is permitted to
hold stock in any mining company in
the United States. The public is
warned to look carefully into the
statements and the standing of any
practicing mining engineer who ad
vertises present connection withj the
survey.
"The fact that the statT of the geo
logical survey is not composed exclu
tivoly of geologists is too often river
looked. Of the twelve hundred or
more persons connected with it in
1908, not more than 10 per cent are
geologists, and not more than t per
cent are engaged in work whose
character implies ability to determine
the merits of a mining prospect or
enterprise."
"Out in ftho Martin river country
is tho greatest place for musHrats
that. I hate ever noon," said Tom
White tho other Hay. "It would
ho no trouhio at ail for a trapper who
known hi* business to get at least fifty
a day, and as tho pelts are worth 20
centn eaeh, lie would he rewarded
with ten dollar* a day for hi* trouble.
The lake* In the Martin river dis
trict are filled with tho house* of the
little muskrat*, of whleh there are
thousand*. There are also mink, fox,
lynx and other fur hearing animal* to
bo found there, but the prevailing
crop i* mu*krat.—Kattilla Herald.
"I* this seetion prosperous?'' "You
bet It is," answered the Kansn* far
mer. "I kin spread a net any time
and snake a grand piano out of a
cyclone."
KETCHIKAN MAN TALKS
TO EASTERN PAPERS
(From tlie Washington Herald)
"If I were a young man looking for
a place to nettle down and make
money I'd go immediately to South
ern Alaska," said \V. S. Daly.fmining
engineer of Ketchikan, Alaska, at
the Shoreham last night.
• '"I'd go to either Ketchikan, Skag
wav, or Juneau," continued the
miner. "It doesn't take much money
to get there." The town in which
Mr. Daly lives is the first on the other
side of the boundary line and is about
700 miles north of Seattle. "The sal
aries there are high; clerks are paid
I from $100 to $150 a month." lie said,
"and it doesn't cost any more to live
there than it does in Washington or
ot a-* much.
"Of course when you go farther
north the eost of transportation
makes prices high, but the salaries
are higher accordingly. Many bright
young men go to Alaska from the
I'nited States, but most of them don't
stay with their work. They either
save a few hundred dollars, and go
back to their friends in the I'nited
States, or they get the gold fever
[ and start out and begin prospecting.
1 have seen times there when a com
pany would pay almost any amount
for an expert bookkeeper.
I " l iio climateof the region in which
' I live is comparatively warm. 7.< •:
weather is rare. We are warmed t>y
the China and Japan current and by
the southwestern winds."
Mr. Daly believes that Alaska i*
destined to become a great eountry,
but that the only industries there
will be fishing and mining.
"Alaska is full <>f gold. The Klon
dike is no longer a placer eountry.
All the surface gold has been washed
out. and only dredges can get it <>nt
now."
Two Atkinson young ladies, while
in O'Xeil not long ago. decided it
' would be quite novel and original to
have their pictures made with tin ir
heads thrust through a newspaper.
After making their wants known to
tin* photographer they popped their
heads through and the work was
done, but when they got the proof
they discovered that they had stuck
their heads through a clother's ad
vertisement; and just below their
faces the elother had said in large
letters, "Our pants are lined in the
seat." They didn't have them fin
ished.—The Frontier.
Strange things happen in Missouri.
The Lowry City Independent tells
this one: "A colored woman was
charged with inhuman treatment of
her children. Kvidence was clear
that the woman had severely beaten
ime youngster, aged some nine yean.
1 who was in court t<> exhibit his bat
tered condition. Before imposing
| sentence the justice asked the woman
I whether she had anything to say."
"Kin I a^k Yo1 Honoh a question?"
inquired the prisoner." "Certainly
i you can," the court responded.
"Well, then, Yo' ilonoh, I'd like to
ask yo' whether yo' was ever de par
ent of a puffeetly wuthless ctilhid
child?"
The grand jurv in Fairbanks re
turned three indictments against
George Gibson, charged with con
verting to his own use some $.'5,000
I worth of gold dust intrusted to him
by Commissioner Bevington of Hot
Springs. The commissioner gave
Gibson the dust with the understand
j ing that it wi'.s to be delivered to the
j officers of the district court in Fair
banks, it being court funds. Gibson,
however, converted the greater part
of it into money orders which he
sent to various persons in the cast.
All except a few hundred dollars has
been recovered. Gibson was indicted
on two count# <»f embezzlement by
trustee and on one of embezzlement
by bailee.
Lecturing Philanthropise (homo
from China)—You know, my dear
people, the prisons there are not the
sort of places to which you and I are
accustomed.
Hunter* coming into town from th»>
neighboring inlands nay that wolves
are more numerous than ever before,
and that deer are consequently hard
j to find. The small islands in Hnow
Passage are said to bo literally cov
ered with wolves, and they are net
ting so bold that they approach very
near to the tents of people camping
on the beach, making the night hide
ous by their howling.—Wrangell
Hentlnel,
\V. II. Kennedy, a eonsnltlng engi
neer for the Western Pacific, says
that In all his forty years experience
In railroad engineering, he has never
before known of or heard of a tnnncl
more thnn a mile in length and the
ground dry all the way through. ft tit
that Is what he found in the Western
Pacific's Flower Lake tnnriel, n hole
1.1 miles long, In the western part of
Nevada. The workmen did not strike
water or rioisturc In any part of the
entire h-r.rfth, and what Is more, the
format loi J was so solid that only a few
rods of ti Iiberlng had to be used in
one spot .Iwhcro tho composition was
not so *ofd.
SENATE VOTES TO
RELIEVE ALASKA
Piles Bill Appropriating
$140,000 For Aids To
Navigation Passes
Washington, Jan, 1 —The senate I
this morning passed the l'iles bill
providing for an appropriation of £140.- |
000 to be used in constructing aids to j
navigation along the coast of Alaska. !
In his efforts tho senator from Wash
ington has acted at the request of the !
lighthouse board.
It is believed that the Piles bill will
pass the house without opposition as
congress lias been strongly urged to
take cognizance of the necessity for
affording relief to the vessels plying
Alaska waters.
CONGRESS TO BECOME
BUTTER BATTLE-GROUND
Congress is to become the battle
I ground between the butter-makers
I ami the oleomargarine manufacturers i
this winter. It became known today
-a\> the Chieago Fvening Post, that
a vigorous fight is to be put up in both
houses of the national legislature for
the removal of the embargo on but
terine production.
Whileit is conceded that gastronom•
ieally there is a difference between
good butter and oleomargarine in
| favor of good butter, and also in
favor of good oleomargarine as com
pared with bad butter, it is recog
nized on all hands that a removal of
the embargo placed on the manu
facture of oleomargarine would be
followed by a big slump in the price
of butter of all grades, possibly a
drop of ti or 7 cents a pound.
This is a serious proposition for the
i dairy interests, but on the other hand
it is claimed that advantage has been
taken of the tax <>n oleomargarine to
put artificial and excessive prices on
imt ter.
MAN HUNTS DEER. DEER
HUNTS MAN: OH! DEAR.
Superior. Wis.,— Here is the realest
story of the hunting season. One j
for whic h none will stand responsi
ble except the hunter who tells it
upon himself.
Henry Linker was eating lunch in
the wilderness near here when he
was attacked by a buck that rushed]
from the underbrush. Linker forgot
his gun in a mad rush for a sapling,
which he climix d. The tree, how- j
ever, tvouhl not hear his weight, and]
he droppe l upon the back of , the
bu k, which, frightened at receiving
a rider, dashed away across a clear
ing. Linker hung on for dear life
while lie drew hi* razor and, leaning
over tlie buck's neck, cut its throat,
l'he deer was eaten before the party
ret urned home.
There was a man in our town
Who was so wondrous wise.
He thought a business he could run. ,
And never advertise.
Take heed and learn the moral
<>f this sad, mournful tale,
For the only ad he ever had
Was, "Closed for Sheriff's Sale."
—Exchange.
'THEY TRIED BRIBERY"
SAYS GRAFT VENIREMEN
San Francisco, Jan. 15—That the
defense in the graft cases is desper
ate, and is determined to continue its
old tactics is indicaied by the char
ges made this morning by .Joseph
Dixon, a prospective juror in the case
against Patrick Calhoun of the Uni
ted Railway Company. Dixon told
that he was last evening approached
by a person whose identity he does
not know and was offered substantial
reward if he would stan 1 out for ac
quittal.
An investigation has been ordered,
and, as usual, the lawyers for the de
fense deny any knowledge of the at
tempt at bribery.
"Man is a little cuss and hasn't
Ion# to slay. Ho lies around and
makes a funs and then lie hikes away.
Homo men imagine they are groat,
and try to tear up jack, but each
one meotH tho satno oid track. (Ireat.
('eaaar'n dead and turmd to clay and
ho Ih Cicero. Alexander has gone
the way the rent of uh must go. The
nagoB. poets, heroes, all the men of
worth, Into the open grave must fall
ami crumble back to earth. Then
let's not Join the mad affray to strug
gle like the duco, and agonize our
lives away, for really what's the use?
Let's live and love and sing the while
and work some now and then, and
give to everyone a smile that cheers
tho hearts of men. And whether we
are crowned with flowers or chilled
with winter snows, with happiness
let's fill the hour*, ere we turn up our
toes."—Kx.
•'I suppose you know why you are 1
here?" asked the judge several. "Yen,
sir," answered the prisoner. "I wuz
dnig here."
OUTFITTING
w—naaiTWiiflm'iiM % umv mrnmtanammmrmmwtmM
Our outfits have stood the test for over TEN years*
We carry a complete line of Supplies, Provisions, Clothing, Bed
ding, Foot Ware, Hardware, Camp Outfits and seven foot can
vas Tarpaulins, Miners Supplies, Powder, Caps, Fuse, Gasoline,
Dog Sleds, James Patterson Horse Sleds, Hoffman Horse Sleds,
Yakshaw Camp Stoves, made in Valdez.
We are the sole agents for £5, \^/o Canned Goods, Holly
Flour, Chase & Sanborn coffee*
Our packers are men of long experience and your outfit will be
properly packed if placed with us.
VALDEZ BANK it If UTILE CO., IHC.
ijS PHHEER flUTFiTTEHS gft
PENKNIFE LEFT IN FUR
COAT CUTS WOMAN'S LEG
New York,—Mrs. Frederick E.
Belcher, wife of the secretary of a
music-publishing company of this
city, was seriously injured while
st ated in a subway train last night in i
one of the most peculiar accidents on
record. Mrs. Belcher was heated by
her husband when she screamed slid- j
denly and grasped her left leg. As,
passengers stared she cried franti-J
cally: "1 am bleeding; it is in my]
coat."
Then she tainted. The train was
stopped at the next station and the i
unconscious woman was carried to a j
bench on the platform, leaving a trail
of blood behind her. Mr. Belcher, ,
frightened and mystified ns to the!
cause of the accident, bent over his I
wife and found a six-inch cut on the
calf of the leg. Bandaging the wound (
hastily, he summoned a physician,
but before the doctor arrived the
woman continued to bleed so freely I
that a policeman found it necessary |
to take his night stick, by means of
which he hastily provided a tourni- (
quet.
Examination of Mrs. Belcher's coat i
in the meantime revealed the point
of a sharp penknife sticking through i
the linning. It is supposed that some]
one who had a hand in making the
garment, which is a sealskin, left the
knife by accident in the folds where
it was sewed up unnoticed.
Pegasus Adds To Mary's Stable j
A Fairbanks merchant named Gor- j
don drafts Mary and her little lamb j
Into his service for advertising pur
poses, in tlie following "pome:"
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleeco was white as snow
It used to butt In everywhere
That Mary used to go
But Mary fleeced the sheep one day
And shopping went down town
And at Gordon's bought a new
Sheath Skirt
And Bplit Directoire Clown.
Yet sheep eyes are still east at her.
And "rough necks" jeer and gloat.
Though Mary has the lamb no more
She's got everybody's "goat."
For the sheath skirt is the latest cut
It's almost cut in half
Who cares a damh
For Mary's lamb
When we see Mary's calf?
Day Is Cold Along Trail
According to the reports frot* the
government telegraph stations the
weather along the trail is somewhat
cold. The rejjort from Delta gives
fifty two below hero, from Donnelly's
fifty, from McCarty's fifty-one, from
Copper Center forty-eight, from Ton
sina forty-two and from Tiekhel,
thirty-five.
"Poor Tom, it cost hint a terrihio
lot to give up his sweethoart." "Then
why did he?" "Because it would
have cost him a great deal more if he
hadn't."
"Fvery man is the architenf. of his
own fortune," quoted the Wise Guy.
"Yes, but he wants to keep solid with
the building inspectors," added
Simple Mug.
Sapleigh—A bwlck fell from a build
ing two years ago and knoekod me
*onseless, Miss Crtustique—Indeed!
And does your phy^clan think you
will ever get over it?(
Wortman's Roadhouse
Bar and General Merchandise
Accomodations for Travelers
Pontius Magnuson Prop.
The Teikhell Roadhouse
48 Miles From Valdez
On Government Trail.
Bent of accommodations for man and beast. Fresh Meat
always on hand. Horse and I)og Feed All the latest
improvements. I'lilVATE ROOMS.
Mrs. Ed. Wood, Proprietor.
Alaska Coast Co.
S. S. BLilTHA, °'eac'1 m°n"1
S. S. I'ORTLANU,25111 of cach >*»«&
From Valdez for
Juneau and all Puget Sound Ports
Rights Reserved to Change Steamers or Sailing Dates Without Notic*.
A. S. I)A IT RICK. . (leneral Agent, Valdez, Alaska.
VALDEZ HOSPITAL
Reservation Ave. near Court House
Private Rooms for Patients Graduate Nurses
Hospital Tickets, $1.50 per Month.
Phone 77
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The PROSPECTOR
Either The Daily or Weekly Sent to The
States Will Be a I,etter Sent Home.
Dally, $1.00 per. Month In Advance.
Weekly, $.1.00 per. Year In Advance.
A woman roporteron an eastern pa
per wsh recently shocked because a
streot carnival had an attraction
which wan placarded with the inscrip
tion, "For Mon Only!" From the
great number of men she Haw patron
izing the plaee, she soon decided that
it must he something very wieked.
and therefore naid Home very caustic
things about it in the paper. Upon
investigation it proved that the hold,
had attraction consiHted of a clothes
line upon which hung a pair of pants,
coat, vest and socks. When one
sucker entered the place and found
ho had been buncoed, he naturally
steered all bis friends into the trap.
Comfort la Held For Ornnd Jury
Him Comfort, the negro who was
shot by (/leo Wardell, was yesterday
afternoon by CommiaslotMr Beeks
held to appear before the grand jury
on a charge of assault. with intent to
kill. Hall was fixed at $2,000, which
hns not been furnished.
Ilallroad (Conductor—la there room
In there for this man? Young Men In
Compartmont~-ImpoMlble. Justabout
room for the two 1 adieu.
Do you Consider your nerve 1b niifH
ciently steady to fit, you for an alrahlp
navigator?" "Well, I're been out In
a canon with a nervous fat girl."