THE KUSKO TIMES
VOL. 1. NO. 32
TAKOTNA. ALASKA. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1937
PRICE, U CENTS
STRANDBERG
TAKES OVER
FLAT GROUND
Dave Strandberg bis Liken- op*
tjons on lower Otter Creek in Flat,
and will drill the ground, this com
ing winter.
* Lower Otter had been passed up]
until last year when a small stam
pede was started and the whole of
the remainder of. the creek was
staked. , _ .
The ground is quite deep ana nas
never been thoroughly prospected
The head of Otter Creek has been
producing heavily.during the last two
years and the Flat . miners expect
to see the Swandbergs turn up
something on lower Otter- this win
ter. ;
It is understood thkt . Harold
Strandberg will be in charge of the'
drilling and will reside in their cab
in on upper Flat Creek during the
time.
GETTING GOOD'-ITESULTS
DESPITE WATER SHORT AG E1
In spite of .a^shirtagg-.of water;
Walter Sakoss. hai ,bhen:.doing quite
good on the up-grade _onUhh-dihad *o&
Flat Creek.
The Up-Grade ppopertyj is- located
en the; mountainside ■ abo®e the head
erf Flat Creek. The gpound contains
lota of .large boulders rand„is up to®
high-on the aiountainiBideTor a suffi
cient .water supply, for.- conanuous
nozzle - Weak- -
BIEL< BURNS WORKING
-flARLIE YOST’S GHOFNO’
—
BID Bums is looking ater- Char
lie. Yost’s ground, “The Idaho/’ at
thA head of Flat -Creek.
Bill is cleaning bedrock and pre
paring for quick shiiedng when a
sufficient supply of water r is avail
able.
Just over the hump from the Ida
ho, the Stuver Bros, are hydraulic
ing on a lay on the head lof Happy
Creek. The cowboys got a Jate start
this summer and missed the early
run of water. They .-expect to .finish
a cut before freeze-up and wash out
a good ele&nup.
The brothers will spend the winter
on Deadwood doings little 'prospect
ing on a few claims they have there.
ENJOYS VISIT WITH
FRANK ANDERSON
While visiting Flat the .past week
thy Wandering Reporter spent two
enjoyable nights visiting with. Frank
Anderson who is representing the
Strandherg interests on upper Flat
Creek.
Frank is cutting willows and doing
maintenance work on the claims and
reading his “Ruska Times.”
Possibly Awe & Co. will coninne
on through Mi Srrandberg> prop,
erty on upper Flat Creek.
STENBERG AND BECK STROM
HAVE GOOD CLEANUP:
James Stenberg and Gus: Beck,
strom have just finished,, making a
sizable cleanup on the Alphaoon. the
head of Flat Creek, The two met)
are hydraulicing foe Pat Savage.
C. Yost Commits
Suicide in A', Fit
Of Despondency
Charles Yost, Flat miner, took bis
life by taking Cyanide dissolved ii
a glass of water recently at thai
place, it was reported here this week
Yost, who was hydraulicing on th«
Idaho claim on the; head of Flai
Creek, bad been having marita
troubles over which- he brooded
friends of the deceased stated.
The unfortunate man-bad be**., do
ing exceedingly -well on -his property
this summer.
Mr. Yost had a- legion* of,;friends
in the Flat area,, who were greatIj
shocked by his- rash' act He oper
ated the Branch Pool Hall in part'
nership with Aftddrw Miseovich la#
winter until thhisppisqf-when thet
closed the establidMnest for the sea
son to attenddtAonrulid* -matters.
Funeral services were conducts
in Flat tad WTt (attended by a larg<
number of suuirwwig -Sneads.
M. 8. SKA WOtFOBBING S'
25 TONS MlXCfltCARGOr
The 1LS. Sea* Wo If/ Smith' &. Lani
pulled in late Thhrsdayveveming witl
25 fan of mired cargo, most o
which was bridge equipment for th
ABC.
Capt- Smith* reports that tw
more tripe will clean-up the remain
ing freight. The warehouses am
deck in McGrath will ‘be cleaned a
soon as possible so as to be read
for the arrival of t he steamer Lang
ley with the last shipment of the
NEWS OF INTEREST FROM FLAT
By Miss Maxine Keller—(Special Correspondent)
Xxnf Leave This Week—
Among- those leaving on the P. A.
A. plane last week were, Mrs. Peter
Miscovich for Fairbanks, Mrs. Ger
rude Stenberg for Seattle, Tom
Haynes for Juneau and Dave Brown
for Spokane.
John Beaton Stops Over—
John Beaton, well-known mining
operator, stopped in Flat Friday on
his way to Anchorage from Good
news Bay.
Arrives From Marvel Creek—
Mr. Horner arrived in Flat last
week. She has been spending the
summer on Marvel Creek.
Has Birthday Party—
Miss Eva Miscovich entertained
the school children and others Fri
day, after school, tbo occasion being
her birthday.
Supt. Spach Visits Here—
Pilot Ralph Savory was in town
Saturday with Supt. Fred J. Spach
of the ’ Alaska Road Commission.
Dredge Has Cleanup—
The Matbeson dredge had a clean
up Monday.
Wandering Reporter Visits—
T. R. McRoberts was in town ovei
the week end. He helped Pilot Win
chell take supplies to Julian Creek.
Has Three Passengers—
Johnny Moore- stopped in Fla1
Monday on his way to Anchorag*
from Bethel with three passengers.
Pump Breaks Down—
The Northland Development Com
pany had a break-down in tbeir pumf
No particulars were learned.
---
j Ijrjest Cleanup to Dale—
] Pete Miseovich reports a very sat
isfactory cleanup. In fact, it was the
' largest one to his credit. Pete is
using his new water-wheel, and it is
doing wonderfully well.
Goes to Work for Awe & Co.—
King McDonald went to work for
Awe & Company Sunday.
WiB Work for Miseovich—
• Peter Jensen and Slim Wells will
I finish working this season for Pete
Miseovich.
] Goodman in Tuesday—
i Pilot Don Goodman was in Flat
; Tnesday.
' Nancy Belle Arrives—
The Wood Navigation Company's
boat, Nancy Belle, arrived in Idit
arod early September 13 and left late
' on the 14th. It brought in quite a
j load of mail.
Kills Large Bear—
A huge bear was seen Sunday on
• one of the mountain sides southeast
1 of town. Harry Kardinoff went after
! it, but he came back alone. How
ever. a few days later, he killed a
j large bear near the same place.
; Ne*se Headed For Goodnews—
Pilot Kenneth Neese came in on1
pontoons, beaded for Goodnews from
Anchorage. He brought in Gent;
Hughes, who is going- to work for
the Awe Mining Company the rest
of the season and this winter.
Brings ud Takes Passengers—
Don Goodman came in with Gus
Cotila, who has been at Ophir. He
’ took Harold Strandberg on to Gixy1
news Bay.
WHAT'S DOING IN, McGRATH
.By Special Correspondent
Will Start Store in McGrath—
L. L. Laska, former N. C. Co.
! agent at McGrath, returning from
j the States, arrived here with Pilot
Sasseen. He plans to open a trading
; post at McGrath this fall. He left
i down, river on the MS Alaskan with
! Capt. E. W. Miller, enroute to Beth
_ el, where he expects to meet the
j steamer Eastern Prince, bringing 80.
[tons of supplies for his new store.:
These supplies are to be brought to
McGrath with the' return of the MS
Alaskan.
Old-time Mining Man Ke*urns—
Ed. “Gaston” St. Clair, one of. the
earliest prospectors and developers
of the platinum region below Good
news Bay, returning from Californ
ia, was a passenger with Pilot Sas
! seen enroute to Bethel. Mr. St. Clair
1 is heavily interested in mining prop
erty in Montana. He has numerous
interests in the downriver region
that brought him back.
Brings Crash Victims—
Pilot Sasseen. flying a Star plane,
j arrived here with two of the injured
---
MISCOVICH MAKING GOOD
HEADWAY ON OTTER CREEK
Pete Miscovich is getting places
j with his P & G ditcher and hydraulic
: lift on Otter Greek.
Johnny Miscovitch operates the
! ditcher and hydraulic lift and 14
r'year-old Howard Miscovich is doing
his stuff running the “cat,” and bull
• dozer, Andrew Miscovich does- a
t good job of handling the nozzle.
They are Pete’s sons. Pete super
vises the work and gives a lift 'here
and there wherever needed.
The two younger boys, Howard
and Andrew, will be leaving to at
[ tend school at Fairbanks within a
short time.
1 OLSON & CO. DOING
! WELL ON HAPPY CREEK
Olson & Co. under the supervision
of Andrew Olson, are making it pay
on the head of Happy Creek,
j The Company is working about 12'
' men, running two ten-hour shifts
and losing no time. They have two
i draglines working together there,
one of the machines handling the
large boulders and the other dump
ing into the boxes.
Mrs. Olson works in the kitchen
^ with Efrem Asplund, the chef and
between the two they set a table
' second to none.
LEAVES FOR FAIKBAMKS;
»
Fred Padersen left Rat this week
1 for Fairbanks where he will ’ be • em
s ployed in mining by Olson- H Co.
r Mrs. Padersen wHI follow latee-when
- operations in Flat close down; and
the-tesepie will make a trip eatside
for “41k- winter..
passengers who were wife Pilot Vic
tor in the crash near Moore Creek.
Billi" Harding suffered bruises and
shoek. George Kreibl. a broken leg
ind bruises. Doctor A. S. Walkow
;ki, of Anchorage, accompanied
:hem and gave them temporary
ireaiments. They stayed at Clough’s
new roadhouse overnight.
Sew Teacher Welcomed—
McGrath welcomed the new school
teacher, Miss Sandgrin. She is not
i newcomer on the Kuskokwim River
having taught at Aniak last winto'.
Although she arrived during our flood
stage of water here, it daunted her
not a particle and school opened
while boating service was necessary
to bring the children to schooL
Goes to Scene of Wreck—
Deputy Marshal Philip McDonald
left here, going to the scene of the
wrecked Star plane and assisted in
bringing the injured passengers oat
to the Moore Creek field. The route
over which they had to travel was
very rough, necessitating extreme
care with the injured persons.
STRANDBERGS HAVE
MODERN CAMP FOLGER
StrandV A Sons are working
24 men in their mining operations at
Folger this season.
They can boast of having one of
the finest small mining camps in the
Territoory. The cabins are equipped
with electric lights. They have a
real shower with plenty of hot and
cold water, and a table set with food
to tickle the appetite of a king.
This camp has produced several
unusually large cleanups this season.
NEW PILOT CALLED
FOR ARMY SERVICE
Pilot C. A. Reran, just recently
from the States, piloting a five
place Ryan owned by Hal Williams
and Cy Ingalls of Flat, has been
called for military service.
He left Flat last week after three
weeks flying in Alaska and will go
to Randolph Field, Texas. The av
iator fiew the plane to Anchorage
where it will remain until the own
ers procure a new pilot.
MASHES END OP FINGER*
Johnny Lassila, driller for the F.
E. Company in the Flat area, caught
his finger between a heavy timber
and a rock and’ .mashed off the end
half way back on- Hie ffnger-naiL
The accident happened about four
weeks ago. John expects- to- Be hack
to work within a abate bar.
LEAVES FOR McOMTir
Woodrow Vanderpeol puM out
Wednt -wlav 4pHMn(at MrflratV
Operators Are
Rounding Out
A Good Season
Mining on Moore Creek is looking
up.
In spite of the late start in the!
season, due to the moving of the
dragline in from Slate Creek, Uotila
& Keturi are rounding out a very
successful season.
Prior to the present time, the
“diggin's” on Moore Creek have been
worked by hand and several fortunes
taken out of the ground. The F. E.
Co. have had a drill crew located
there since last spring drilling Cecil
Barrows’ ground. Drilling of this
ground was completed last week and
the drill crew moved over to the
head of Fourth of July Creek to do
drilling on some claims staked there.
MILLER LEAVES BETHEL
WITH LOAD OF FREIGHT
The M.S. Alaskan, Capt. E. W.
Miller, left Bethel yesterday enroute
to McGrath with a heavy load of
freight consigned to L. L. Laska
who plans opening a trading post in
McGrath, according to a radio report
reaching here today.
The Alaskan will return to Bethel
as soon as she discharges her load
in McGrath to pick up the remain
der of the freight for the new store.
It is said there is 80 tons in all. :
NOW MAKING HOME IN
AXEL PETERSON’S CABIN
Mrs. Hugh Matheson has taken
over Axel Peterson’s cabin and is
getting nicely settled for the winter.
Hugh, Jr. is" attending school here.
Mother and son make frequent
week end visits out to Pat Savage’s
dredge on Ganes, where Mr. Mathie
son is in charge of the work.
WILL BE EMPLOYED
BY UOTILA & HARD
Dan Lee, veteran construction
man, who has been employed by the
ARC here this season, left this
week for Ophir where he will be em
ployed in the same capacity by
Hard & Uotila in their mining op
erations.
Dan is a veteran of Alaska trails.
There is hardly a camp from Ketch
ikan to Dawson and Nome he hasn’t
been in at some time or another. He
constructed many of the now famous
landmarks such as roadhouses and
business places and bridges in all
sections. He can tell many stories
in a highly interesting manner of
incidents occurring in the early boom
days.
LEAVES FOR HOME
O. Davis, well-known oldtimer,
who has been working with the ARC
the past season quit his job and re
turned to Takotna today. He will
leave for his home in the Fairview
district where he will work on some
.nining claims for the remainder of
the season.
RETURNS TO OPHIR
E. O. Gurtler pulled his boat out
of the water and left for Ophir this
week. The oldtimer and riverman
will aw'ait the arrival of Max Simel
in Ophir and take passage down the
Innoko to his home and winter quar
ters in Fairview.
NO LUCK ON HUNT
A. H. Twitchell and his son Tim,
returned Wednesday night from a
moose hunt up the Takotna River,
going as far as Fourth of July Creek.
They report no luck.
LANGLEY LEAVING 20TH
The steamer Lar.gley is scheduled
to leave Bethel on the last trip of
the season on the 20th, according
latest reports.
BRING LIGHT LOAD
McAdams & Anderson nulled in
today in their power barge with a
light load of mixed freight.
RELIEF PARTY
REPORTS HARD
TRIP TO CRASH
BY THE WANDERING REPORTER
A crew of nine men guided by C.
A. Fowler was recruited in Takotna
Tuesday, September 7 to make the
second trip to tbe scene of the wreck
ed Star plane and carry out the body
of E. G. Morton, the effects of the
injured and the mail. Five of the
party were from among tbe employ
ees of the Alaska Road Commission
They were, Gus Olson. George Chris
to, Jim Simi, Very] Gard and Bill
Nelsen. Bert Demientieff, Dave
Peck, Alexy Wilson and T. R. Mc
Roberts, the Kusko Times reporter,
comprised the remainder of the par
ty.
Don Goodman left early Wednes
day morning with the first load,
landing on the Moore Creek field
with the fourth and last load in time
for dinner prepared by Mrs. Lena
Toner, Moore Creek cook. The hus
ky gang took advantage of the well
filled table and stocked up to capa
city. The party started out on the
long hard trek shortly after dinner
and made it over the firc‘ summit
to Mr. Fowler’s reindeer cabin early
that night. Don Goodman was on
the job and roared overhead a few
minutes after the arrival of tne par
ty at the cabin, and started drop
ping a plentiful supply of food. We
might mention here that ?Jr. Good
man. in representing the Star \ir
Service, followed the party through
in his plane and dropped plenty of
food and other supplies, do ng every
thing in his power to aid the rescue
party in their undertaking.
The gang left early Thursday
morning on the last lar to the scene
of the wreck. After four hours of
hard, steep and brushy mushing,
they stumbled onto the well-hidden
wrecked plane. The plane was a
complete wreck. Both wings were
rolled an and completely demolished.
The motor lay beside the wreck
where one wing should have been.
Nothing was left recognizable a- an
airplane but the cabin. How tv of
the passengers and p:lot em«rt»ed
from the wreck alive was a miracle.
The crew spent a few minutes tak
ing pictures and dis ussing the ac
cident. its cause. etc. snd then got
busy making up packs and prepar
ing the body for the long 20-mile
hike out. Suitable timber for the
construction of a stretcher to carry
the body wasn’t to be found. A
couple of the boys cut a heavy green
spruce pole and the deceased was
lashed to this. Fowler went ahead
“brushing” § e trail and kept on the
look-out for a couple of dry roles.
It was hard going, the body being
heavy and the green, limber pole
swayed down and rll-wod -h«- load
to swing back and forth in packing.
A little of this kind of packing went
a long ways. In fact, it went a lit
tle bit too long and the carriers balk
ed and declared a si^-d^wr =*nke.
At the critical moment Fowler came
to the rescue and the ringing of his
axe was heard just ahead. The dis
couraged packers regained new life
and forged ahead to where the able
reindeer man had found a near
ly extinct dry spruce pole. A
stretcher was made with the one dry
and one green pole, the load sw ung
aloft and the husky young mushers
started forth on what" turned out to
be a long, hard, wearying trip.
The first day of the return tr D
ended with one summit travers. 1
and the body within a mile or so of
the cabin.
The writer went on in to prepare
supper consisting of gallons of good,
hot, scalding coffee, hot-dogs, chick
en and plenty of good fresh brea-1
baked by the Moore Creek cook.
On reaching the relief cabiu, a
cheerful fire was found burning in
the stove, lots of hot water bubbling
away and a visitor gently snoring
< Continued on page 6)
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