THE KUSKO TIMES
A. X. Grant, Publisher, Sole
Owner and Editor.
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Entered as seconn-ctass matter Au
tgust 29th, 1923, at the postoffiee at
'Tokotna, Alaska, under the Act of
lMareh-3, 1879.
Takotna. Alaska, July 31, 1926.
MANAGE! SMITH TRYING TO
!U 1 Eli IP ALASKA RAILROAD
(Anchorage Times.)
Jn order to encourage the growing
< >f local vegs tables and spend aa much
<of the annual appropriation in Alaska
;as possible, the Alaska..Railroad is in
augurating a phin -to can peas and
i other commodities now purchased
through Seattle wholesale houses,
Noel \V. Smith, general manager,
i stated this morning,
.To give the matter a thorough test
;the management has engaged a man
•with a team of horses to break a
1 large plot of ground near the general
i office building, in which peas will he
(planted. The stores department, D.
Metzdorf, general storekeeper, will
lhave charge of the work. During the
i past year the railroad used 300 cases
<of peas.
Along the lines of Mr. Smith’s pro
jgram of opening up the Territory to
the fullest extent, and desiring to
. keep as much money in Alaska as
.possible or.’ of railroad appropria
tions, Mr.,Smith fostered the plan of
• canning peas as a nexperiment, be
lieving thatj^w railroad can put up
its own pe^ n cost not to exceed
tthe landed cost' of Outside canned
peas. If the experiment proves a suc
cess it is Mr. Smith’s hope that farm
ers and local gardeners will be raise
.this commodity, as well as any other
•.commodity used in the commisary de
partment for canning purposes.
Mr. Smith advises that it will he tht>
(policy of the Alaska Railroad to pur
chase all the local canned goods that
can be produced, which can be bought
; at prices not exceeding those paid for
: similar commodities purchased in the
(States. Necessarily, the home-canned
(products must meet certain standards
• of quality and quantity, and if these
can be met by the local gardeners in
competition with Outside .articles in
(price, the Alaska Railroad will pur
chase all that can be used by the or
• ganization.
The experiment cannot he taken as
;an indication that the Alaska Rail
;road is starting the canning industry
in Alaska in a commercial way, but is
.intended to encourage local farming.
By so doing more money will be kept
in the Territory, which eventually will
• come back to the railroad in increased
.settlers along the line, with attendant
.increased tonnage.
It ,is Mr. Smith’s earnest belief that
.Alaska can supply most of its own
sr
needs in the way of canned vegeta
bles, fruits and other commodities,
and anything that the Alaska Rail
road can do to encourage the local
farmer will be done.
Mr. Smith had in mind the installa
tion of a fair- zed canning plant te
conduct his experiments, but fount:
that Henry .1. ar.i had a very good
small plant that would serve the pur
pose. To further the experiments Mr
Emard has kindly consented to lent
his outfit to the Alaska Railroad.
With this small canning outfit Mr
Smith hopes to till much of the re
quirements of the Alaska Railroad
and at the same time demonstrate thi
feasibility of canning products locally
Along the same line, Mr. Metzdorf
of the stores department, has orderec
a small canning outfit suitable for usi
in the home, which will be used tc
demonstrate that the small farmei
can put up canned .products at reason
able cost. Wi’.li this small outfit anc
the larger one loaned by Mr. Emard
Mr. Smith hopes that he can satisfac
torily prove that local products can be
canned as cheaply as such operations
are carried on in the States.
DESTRl CTION OF WILD
LIFE lOLL OF FOREST FJRI
(Fairbanks News-Miner.)
Ten chances to one if you point oui
a racing to ■ - fire to the averag*
Alaskan he glance at it in a borei
fashion and m -ver you. “\\ hat of it'.
Let ’tr go. P can’t hurt anything ’
He’ll mean it. -oo, and if you essay
discussion wit i him you will loan
that he really believes forest firts tt
be harmless, doing naught but clear
ing out the oi1 noxious underbrush anc
perhaps fire-killing a few spruce trees
along the way. Press him furthei
and he may admit that a prospector's
or a trapper's cabin * -n ■ ones con
sumed. But that is '
Now, ask lum w,._. .» ct forest
tires have on our wim life. Your an
swer will he, "None, me animals rur
away from it. The birds fly away.’
If.you will believe him in the matter
a forest fire simply renders a tempo
rary inconvenience, while the animals
and birds search for a new home
Nothing could* "be further from the
truth.
Popular conception has the wild
folk fleeing swiftly before the curling
flames of a forest fire. Artists and
writers usually depict a mad scurry
and scramble of animals to some lake
or-river where they usually crowd to
gether like Noah's family on the ark
to await the passing of the flames.
Other than a few singed hides and a
roasted ear or two we are given to
understand no damage is done. Again
we repeat thi - is diametrically op
posed to the recorded observations of
those who hav made a study of the
matter. The cold fact, or rather, in
the present instance, the scorched
facts in the matter are very different.
Caught in the maelstrom of a forest
fire, the usual procedure of a big
game animal is to mill insanely
around where the flames are hottest
until overcome, his last earthly act
being to leap wildly into the very cen
ter of the fire. The usual instinct for
self-preservation does not function in
the matter of fires. Many of us know
what a difficult task it is to lead a
horse from a burning barn to safety;
likewise a cow, sheep, pig or dog.
They seemed possessed of some block
headed, suicidal intent to remain in
■
Larson & Guskey
FREIGHTERS
Operating Gasboat ‘Seawolf \V
Between McGrath and Takotna
Connecting Carrier of Alaska Rivers Navi
gation Company
the building in contradictibn to every
known law of common sense. And did
anyone ever know of a case where a
hen—a single, solitary barnyard fowl
—ever escaped from a hurning
chicken coop? Simply is not being
done. Wild creatures are that way.
A forest fire, does not drive a herd
of caribou, moose, foxes, marten, lynx
and other animals before it. Nor do
bevys of grouse and ptarmigan sail
triumphantly away to greener fields.
The initial effect of a forest fire on
wild life is to fascinate, mesmerize, or
‘ to have some allied brain-scattering
I effect on them. Its next effect is to
| leave in its black wake various-sized
lumps of charred material that once
was pulsating and valuable citizens of
I our wilderness.
The final result of forest fires is to
c reate vast acres of lifeless, blackened,
dead land in which no living thing can
survive. It destroys the homes of val
uable fur hearers, g: ne birds and
game animals as surely as flames
may destroy your home or my home.
If we would out the matter to positive
check we could find that no other one
factor in Alaska has had the destruc
■ tive effect on our passing wild life.
ELECTRICITY POPULAR
NOW IN REFRIGERATORS
New York.—More electrical refrig
erators were sold last year than in
the preceding five years combined,
and the prospects of the new industry
are so tremendous that the number of
electrical refrigerator manufacturers
has been increased from five to more
than fifty within a. few years, a dozen
new companies entering the field this
spring.
These are some of the facts re
vealed by a nation-wide survey of
i electrical refrigeration in the home
conducted by the merchandising de
partment of the McGraw-Hill elee
I trical magazines, tre findings of which
were made public by Arthur Williams,
vice president of the New York Ed
ison Company, upon the opening of
the company’s first annual electric re
frigeration show:
! The number of electrical refrigera
tors-used ux .American homes has
jumped from 3,000 to more than 142,
000 in the last six years, according to
! the survey, and approximately 75,000
; of these were sold within the last
year.
i The report shows that an average
of 200 American homes exchanged
their old-fashioned ice boxes for elec
trical refrigerators every day in 1925,
and predicts that an average of 500
, additional homes a day will take their
“ice by wire’’ this year. The sale of
; domestic electrical refrigerators this
] year, the reporta says, should ap
proximate 200,000, thus exceeding by
far all previous records.
Pointing out that at the present
rate of development the next few
years will see several million homes
solving their refrigeration problems
by electricity, Mr. Williams said:
“Six years ago household refriger
ators occupied a position analogous to 1
that occupied by the automobile in the
early days of the automotive industry.
The idea was there, machines were
being manufactured, but the industry
had not yet been put on a basis of
mass production.”
! PIONEER!
! SHOP :
I --J
f
Machine, Black
smith and
\ Sheet Metal Work \
All Kinds of Repairs j
| Stoves Built ■
| and Repaired !
Robt. E. Lowrie !
Tokotna, Alaska
UNCOVERING NEVADA
MINES 2,000 YEARS OLD
Los Angeles.—Several new discov
eries throwing additional light on an
ancient race have heen made at Pu
eblo Grande do Nevada, the buried
city of Nevada.
The archaeological finds' were de
scribed here by Governor Scrugham,
who has followed with interest the ex
cavating work in his State. They in
clude the remains of the works where
these ancient people obtained their
salt, ledges where they mined for or
naments, and remnants of clothing,
indicating familiarity with the use of
cotton.
“The salt was gotten from a series
of caverns a short distance from the
buried city,” Governor Scrugham said.
“Some of the walls and floors of these
caves are formed in part of pure rock
salt, and here the ancients conducted
their salt mining. The workings,
showing where large blocks of salt
were removed, are in the same condi
tion of about 2,000 years ago.
“One of the relics was a pair of
sandals of a type -never before found
in this country. They are in a good
state of preservation, and were made
of deer hide, and equipped with cotton
! cords for fastening.”
Only traces of turquoise workings
have been uncovered, as most of the
j work of excavation has been directed
I toward the salt mines.
I Tokotna |
! Cigar Store |
i-!
1 f
! I Tobaccos
f I
Cigars
Soft Drinks
t _
| Fred Dubois j
I Proprietor I
•_ i I
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Takotna
Pool Hall
Ruhae i
Pine Tar j
Mosquito Ointment
or Lotion
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Stationery
Fresh Fruits and Tobarcos
On First Boats.
Jack Mutchler
Proprietor
Max Simel
The Pioneer Trader
I
Furs Bought and
Sold
\ ■
Miners’, Prospectors’
and Trappers’
Supplies
i
i
| Steamer Service On the Inoka
River.
Aalc the People of Ophir about
STATION
Fairview. Imtokd River
FREIGHTING i
General Transportation
How About Wood Hauling?
Joe Ferris - - Takotna