THE KUSKO TIMES
A. Ti. Grant, Publisher, Sol*
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Entered as seceno-ciaw matter Au
#Mt 29th, 1928, at the postoffice at
Thkotna, Alaska, under the Act of
Man* 3, 1879,
Takolna, Alaska, October IX, 193(1
DOCUMENT, UTNu HIDDEN,
MAY ALT Eli ALASKA HISTORY
The finding of some long-hidden
manuscripts -which have .since proved
to be a source of information for stu
dents about earliest Alaska, may an
swer many questions of great interest
to America, according to a recently
published article prepared by Theo
dore S. Farrely.
The records, he -writes, came orig
inally from Sitka, and were accident
ally unearthed by a priest of the
Russian Orthodox church. They date
back between 100 and 200 years and
may form a link connecting and con
firming reports of a still earlier pe
riod which have come to us from the
-eastward. Heretofore no written rec
-crda of early Alaska had been known
to exist.
One of the questions they may an
swer is: Was the expedition of the
Russian pilgrim fathers at the time
cf Ivan the Terrible .a success ? If it
was successful, the Russians are en
titled to the credit of discovery of
the Pacific oeast of North America b>'
arriving theere a number of years
before the Spaniards and at least
three or four hundred years before
Sir Francis Drake himself.
The discovery which surprised stu
dents of American history took place
■when Father Kedroff of the Russian
•cathedral of St, Nicholas, in the
course of his duties, was clearing out
the cellar of the cathedral. He was
about to burn some old paper bun
dles, so old that the pages of each
bundle had adhered together and
formed a solid mass, the binding
cords having long since fallen by
decay. Fortunately his eye was at
tracted by a detached sheet hearing
an Alaskan heading which, on closer
■MMHHaaBBaaMHaaanR
I-1
Dorbandt
and
Cope
Ply in contort to all points in
Alaska in anr foar-passenger
cabin plane. Large baggage
compartment separate from the
cabin. Bqnipmeot for water
landings.
Sigh'-seeing trips any time,
$5.00 per passenger.
Fer Rates to Alaska Points
SBE
- F. C. H. Spencer
Tnkotna, Alaska
scrutiny, proved to be of the earliest
period of Alaskan histo.ry.
According to officias of the Con
gressional Library, the discovery is
of great historical value, and at the
request of Mr. Vinikouroff, the li
brary’s expert on Russian documents,
the entire set has been packed care
fully in padded oases to insure their
safety and sent to Washington. There
they will be examined, annotated and
catalogued for the benefit of poster
ity
N’ot the least interesting question
included in the possible selection is:
How much right did the Russians
have when they laid claim to San
Francisco? There was, we know, a
Russian settlement at the Golden
Gate, but did it antedate the Spanish
settlement and, if so, by how long ?
As stated by Father Kedroff, a
deep student of the history of Rus
, sia, the Sitka documents are original
periodic reports from the head of
each parish to the bishop and contain
commentaries on all events of inter
est to Russia and the children of the
czar.
Thus the}' would scarcely fail to
note facts of such historica value as
a description of the long-sought site
of the town of Anadir, if it were
known to them. At first the name of
East Russia was given to America,
when the far-flung empire stretched
across nearly half of the world, as
the Russians were quite unaware of
any body of water between Asia and
Anserica.
This was for many generations be
ore an explorer named Behring sailed
through the straits now named in his
honor. In the archives of Moscow
and St. Petersburg are stories of
early voyages as reported hy word of
mouth. The first of these was made
by Cossacks. The word at that time
indicated the groups within the nation
who were in a more or less continual
state of rebellion, and often fled for
safety into the white wastes. Fol
lowing them came other Christian
bands ccfcnposed of trappers and
traders in furs and seekers after the
much-prized ivory tusks of the sea
and land animaL® of the north.
The Sitka documents could produce
no more valuable proof than to iden
tify on our modern map the town of j
Anadir. This town, according to oral
accounts which were ^noted in the 1
capital of the empire, was situated on
the continent of America and was
founded by the most pretentious of i
the early expeditions, in the time of:
Czar Ivan IV, better known as Ivan >
the Terrible, who ascended the throne ;
in 1544.
Mast histories of Alaska give the i
date of discovery as late os 1841, in
cluding the most recent account by
Henry' W. Clark, which, while men- i
tioning the rumors of of earlier set
tlements, retained that date of dis
covery. Thus, if the papers now in
Washington can 'supply proof it
would advance the discovery date by
■almost two centuries.
ixu ui uuo.ua i.aiiic
from Novforod, fro mwhich they fled
when that great dty was destroyed
by the fury of Ivan in 1570. They
set sail across the Pacific from a
river in Northern Siberia with an im
pressive fleet of seven vessels.
After facing storms and the many
trials which are the lot of pioneers,
six of the ships arrived in Alaska.
The pilgrims landed a green-for
ested and rocky coast and built a
town which they called Anadir, the
“Gift of Anna.”
Besides the usual dwellings, the
settlers constructed a stone church,
for, unlike other expeditions, they
were accompanied by Russian priests.
The Novgorod pilgrims intermar
ried with the natives, Who may have
have been of the Thlingit tribe, or
perhaps the moire kindly Haida, and
the church structure overlooking the
waters of the Pacific fell into ruins
from neglect, but, according to oral
reports relayed around the world, the
foundation stones of the church were
visible At a comparatively recent
!
I
i
date. The hope now arises that the
site of the lost town of Anadir will
at last be determined when the Sitka
documents are thoroughl yexamined.
GOVERNMENT TO SPEND $.300,
000 ON ALASKA RADIO SYS
TEM IN NEXT THREE YEARS
SEATTLE. — Expenditures during
the next three years of approximate
ly $300,000 in expanding radio com
munication between the Pacific
Northwest and Alaska was an
nounced by Col nel Frank J. Griffin,
in charge of operations of the Wash
ihgtgn-Alaska military and cable
system.
Expansion of radio facilities is nec
essary because the cableship Dell
wood will be placed on a war res°rve
basis in October. 1931, which orders
the ship unavailable for immediate
cable repairs.
The Signal Corps is to brild a sta
tion with four or five transmitters
near Seattle. Griffin said Anchorage
is probably best adapted for relay
work, and a $100,000 station will
likely be erected there.
Seward, however, will not be aban
doned. The telegraph from Seward ]
to Anchorage will furnish ample ser- |
vice. Anchorage will be the collect- J
ing station for all n*e; ages from j
Northern Alaska to the States and
will connect with the Bristol Bay dis
trict.'
Nome will be a sub-station for the
Bering Strait district, and Fairbanks
will be a sub-station for Central
Alaska. A new receiving set will be
installed at Mountain Point to avoid
a relay at Ketchikan. It is expected
to establish a direct channel from
Juneau to Anchorage.
FROSTED GLASS CAUSE
OF D0RBAND7 WRECK
ANCHORAGE.—Piot Frank Dor
bandt cracked up his ship today in
attempting to take off on ’he first
passenger and mail flight uom this
section to Seattle.
Pilot Dorbandt and his mechanic,
Alonzo Cope, and Harry F. Morton,
Anchorage attorney,-were not hurt. a
Frost on the glass of the cabin
ship caused Dorbandt to misjudge the
distance He reached the end of the
field before he Realized it.
The ship struck brush and came to
earth about a hundred yards from
the field The landing gear, wings
and propeller were damaged.
He will leave tomorrow by boat for
Seattle to bring back two panes, one
of which he will fly in.
Territory of Alaska—Mount McKin
ley Precinct—ss.
To all persons to whom these pres
ents shall come, greeting:
Know ye that it appearing to W. T.
Vanderpool, United States Commis
sioner, that F. C. H. Spencer has died
intestate, leaving at the time of his
1 McGrath i
: Pool Hall:
j Fresh Fruits j
Candies j
Tobaccos j
jPipes j
Cigarettes j
Soft Drinks j
Cigarette Holders ]
FRANK LANGE
Proprietor
death property in this district, the
aforesaid Commissioner has duly ap
point Chris Petersen, of Takotna,
Alaska, administrator of the estate
of F. C. H. Spencer, deceased. This,
therefore, ■ authorizes thp said Chris
! eter^en to administer the estate of
the said F. C. H. Spencer, deceased,
according to law.
In testimony whereof I have here
unto set my hand and affixed my offi
cial seal this 12th day of September,
1930.
W. T. VANDERPOOL,
U. S. Commissioner and ex
19 Officio Probate Judge._
NOTICE OF FORFEITURE.
You, Ralph J. Rivers, Hans Gal
ieck, co-owners with the undersigned
in the Garnet Lode Claims No. 1,
No. 2, iNo. 3 and No.'4 situated on
the reght limit of Otter, on Mala
mute Pup, in Otter Recording Pre
cinct, Territory of Alaska, will please
take notice .that the undersigned, for
the years of 1927, 1928, 1929, did
perform more than $1,200.00 worth
of work for the benelt.of the above
described claims. If each of your
proportionate share -'of assessment
work dues is not paid within ninety
days after last publication of this no
tice, your interest in each of the
claims will become forfeit to the
undersigned in accordance with the
provisions of Section 2324 of the Re
vised Statutes of the United States.
RASMUS- HIELSEN.
First publication, September 27,
1930.
Last publication, December 27.
1930. 21
Takotna Pool Hall •
I
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Fresh Fruits Candies Soft Drinks;
i
Tobaccos Cigars Cigarets \
Apples Oranges !
_ _ j
Charlie O’Halloran - - Prop, j
Max Simel : fix'
STATION: FAlKVlEW.TNNOKO RI' ER.
Miners’, Prospectors’ and
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