THE KUSKO TIMES
VOL. 1 NO. 4.
THE Kl'SKO TIMES, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1937.
PRICE. 2i CEVTS
V GOOD STRIKE
AT POORMAN
13 REPORTED
t
A “pretty pood strdie~'-has beer
made near Poerman by Tom Dona
ahue and Russel] Atwood, it was re
ported in Fairbanks last week by Dr
Bart LaRue and Bill Honea.
“Good pay at “0 feet and not down
to bedrock yet" was tbe informaijoi
brought to Ruby.
It has been impossible to use tin
customary freighting methods fron
Ruby to Poorman this winter.'Freigh'
to the creeks is being taken ou bj
plane. Trail conditions have been im
passable, said Dr. LaRue, whose
home is at Ruby.
Mr. Honea, radio operator at Ruby
came to Fairbanks ior medical treat
ment. He made the trip in LaRue’s
plane, piloted by Karris Johnson.
Since leaving Fairbanks two mon
ths ago Doctor LaRue has been hand
icapped in his work as traveling den
tist by stormy wedtber. _He has
served patients at Cripplen.and Flat,
both white ana native. "He does den
tal work for native people-on the Yu
kon and Kuskokwim, under contract
for the Bureau- of'"Indian Affairs.
Th.a.'wolves tare very active this
winter, and the moose are 'often help
less in - the deep snow. Dr. LaRue ob
served. Near Manley Hot Springs
he circled one "pack of nine big
wolves.
TAILORS ARE ADVOCATING
GAUDY DRESS FOR MEN
NEW TOP.K, Feb. ^i-^-Taflors -are
advocating that men assume * heir
r rightful place and wear-,gajdy plom
age and bright coiehed clothes. Na
ture intended for tne male, to be the
attractive member of the sex, the
tailors conter.d-e-butrtry -and -aonvioce
the wife.
700 STRIKES NOW GOING
ON IN UNITED "STATES
WASHINGTON, D. C-TFeb. 24 —
With the ending of'the maritime
and General Motors strike, -an - epi
demic of smalier strikes have -broken
out in nearly every industry in the
United States, until'the teta' has
now- reached more,' than MOO.
In Springfield. Ohio, ithqr.pTinters
typographical union areoTcn -strike
The steel workers are oat in'Illinois
and Wisconsin, while in Detroit,
workers in a large car axle manufac
turing plant walked out today. In
California, workers in airplane plants
walked out suddenly without making
any demands on their employers.
MARKS IMPROVING
FROM WOUNDS
Fred Marks, who figured in a stab
bing affray at McGrath last Satur
day morning, is repoted to be slowly
recovering from his wounds, it was
reported here today. The hearing,
it is understood w as held Wednesday
before the U. S.' Commissioner.
Attorney W. N. Cuddy arrived in
McGrath from Anchorage to repre
ser the accused. Merle Edwards.
WOULD GTYE FUR FARMERS
RIGHT TITLE TO FARMS
Senator Henry Roden introduced a
bill Wednesday in the Alaska Legis
lature giving fur fanners the righ
to obtain title to their fur farms.
Pete Messicb, of Ganes Creek, «
making a short visit in Takotna thii
week. Mr. Messicb is one of th<
owners of the Ganes'Creek dredge
With the exception .of a short visr
to Anchorage last December, Mr
Messich has been living out on th<
Creek standee watch over th<
. jdredge
TOWN OF DOUGLAS IS
WIPED OUT BY FIRE
JUNEAU, Feb. 2A—fruc of un
known origin swpet <l,;wn the s reets
! of Douglas,. Alaska, aying t. "ee
juarters of the town in ashes.
The fire started abort 5 o'clock
1 in the morning at one e.d of town
: with a strong breeze blowing and I
swept through the town leaving i
widespread destruction in its wake, j
By the .time the Juneau fire de-1
partment arrived on the scene, two j
hours later, 'the town lay in a pile i
of gbbes. The entire population of j
TOO were made homeless, and onlj :
saving a few personal belongings.!
j No one was hurt nor injured.
JUNEAU, Feb. 24—Governor .T*oy
wired to Delegate Dimond asking
him to appeal to the WPA for re
habilitation funds for reconstructing
homes for the fee-ravaged residents
of Douglas.
The Red'jOros&of Juneau has come j
to the aid of the homeless and: are j
endeavornig to furnish sufficient food,.
clothing and shelter for the destitute!
citizens.
..Several incidents _o£. a freak jja
tore occurred during the confiagra-1
lion. A large bank building that had j
been turned into a church recently,
was entirely missed by the’ flames ‘
which burned buildings within a few;
feet on either side, to ashes. In an
te a garage wiping out everything in
to a garage wipin g crateverything in
its path, jumped the garage and
continued to deal out destruction
along the remainder of the street.
It is estimated that 200 adults and
125 children are without shelter or
funds.
JUNEAU, Feb. 25—The Territorial
Legislature Thursday, passed an
emergency bill appropriating $15,000
for the relief of the needy of Douglas
and a measure appropriating $40,- j
000 for thetbuildmg of a new school
to replace the one destroyed by the i
fire.
So far- only three families hart.
moved ft*m. the-fine-ravaged city.-cf;
Douglas, to Juneau. The rest of the 1
residents ."remained there. The first ]
shipmat;of lumber to rebuild she! t
ter landed'’at the-fire zone -Thursday.
SIEEMUTE SERVES
THE RICH HGLXTN A
MINING DISTRICT
(Editor’s note—^The-following story
j i? “the :first of a series of articles.,to
be published each week in this paper
on the numerous towns and trading
posts, which are established in this
area. We wouUL. be. glad iU> hear
'from anyone residing in tony section
' of the Kuskokwim who would supply
us wath. historical data and mining
and: trapping activities in their see
| tions).
Located atHhe mouth of the Holit
na River down the Kuskokwim, about
one-third the distance from McGrath
down the River, is one of the largest
tpwns on the River.
Sleitmute has a permanent popula
tion of over ISO .inhabitants. On the
right-hand side .of rthe River facing
downstream, is the federal school of
j Indian Affairs. Several white people
also live on this side other’than the
school teacher. The Natives living
here -raise fine large gardens atod
trap. end fish for a living. Some of
them are employed at the Cinnabar
mine, t2 miles down the river.
Across the river from the schdal
is the town of Sleitmute, proper.
Here Nick Mellick runs the post
office and operates one of the largest
trading posts in ' the middle of the
Kdskokwim. Mr. Mellick has con
j structed an up-to-date greenhouse
also supplies his table with ripe to
matoes, cucumbers anl other vege
tables supposedly not grown this far
north.
The town consists of one narrow
street, like most Alaskan waterfront
towns, and extends up the river for
nearly owe mile. The various build
ings are occupied by both natives
j and whites.
j Sk tmute is'■ the gateway for the
Holitna River country. ‘ Until -recent
j years, until'the jump in the price
: of gold, very little mining- has beta
! lone in this section. Now consider
able prospecting is being carried on
up the Holitna. River. A drill has
been taken up the Holitna to Taylor
Creek and real development has be
j gun in earnest.
The Kusko Times would like to
hear from Sleitmute, and would wel
come any and all news items sent in
from mere. We will gladly lend a
. hand toward aiding Sleitmute or any
- other community to help them secure
i needed public.' improvements such as
. airfields road", .mail service, etc.
PILOT BARS HILL GREETS OLU
FRIENDS HERE THIS WEEK
_
Our old fBcnd, Pilot -Barnhill it
back to the'_Kuskokwkn again... He*
was flying a Sanson which, he re •
entiy flew Sam Seattle inoc impact *
with Lyman de Staff any, jwell known i
fur imytr. . j
Mr. de Staff any is ownerf of >ihe j
plane and is now on a fur buying ;
trip throughout the Kuskoicwim coun
try.
Pilot Barnhill-will-continue to fly
the Stinson for Mr. de Staff any in
the Kuskokwim watershed this com
ing season. Barnhill is are of the
pioneer pilots in Alaska. ‘Tie has
been Outside for- Xjsq - years.
FIRE BURN*"• BLOCK
HTWOI.UI T , Feb. 24—Tire naged
in 111 i *»1 i i i*;. a. destroyin g c
block known as tf. "Tin can’ •'-j
tritt Most of the inhabitants* of j
this section id the city are CY - e. i
SUNDAY TCHOOL OPENS
•The Takotna Sunday School class I
recently formed by Miss Ethyl M. j
Peasgood, will hold its first meeting j
at 11 o’clock Sunday morning at the j
scheolhouse. Everybody is invited to j
attend.
ESKIMO FINDS MESSAGE IN
BOOTLE 87 Y EARS Ol.I)
POINT BARROW, Feb. 25—
An Eskimo picked np a Lottie on
Ike beach with a message ip 'n
that is thought L> .be Irom the
British ship Enterprise " If It is
from the-wrecked British ship, the
- message is S7 rears old. The bot
tle was found 320 miles east'nt
Point Barrow
STEAMER NORTHWESTERN IS
DUE IN SEWARD SATURDAY
The Steamer Northwestern is due
to dock at Seward at 1 pm. Satur
day, according to radio reports last
evening.
The southbound train will lav over
m Anchorage tonight and leave for
Seward to mo now morning to connect
with the steamer and will leave Sew
ard Sunday morning, arriving -.nFair
hanks Monday night.
The Northwestern carries 35 pas
sengers. 13 of «®o-i> are for Seward
and 350 tons of freight far the raii
helt, namely. 1C teats for the Alaska
Railroad:-34 tensifar Seward;-24
of roerehajidrse, 21 toi.s of beer and
two atrotoooiles for Fairbanks, 12
tons, of hay,and several tons ofrfarro
machinery Tor Palme r
PILOT GOODMAN
ARRIVES TODAY
WITH NEW SHIP
-P3«l Dor Goodman ianbea 'n. Met
Grath last evaning in new modem,
radje-tquijrprd ijriaoe from Anchorage.
■Goodman returned from tie state*,
last ’week- bringing the plane on the
same booft. He aswtnhied a An
chorage. Jfe was expecte] to arrive
in Takotna sometime today to make
arrangement* for the estabiiafimesr
of a base here from which he intends
to operate it:is .summer
Two more planes art er peered to
arrive -a -fitfle later -from the States
to he nseti in freight and passenger
carrying- activities in the Kuskcftrwin.
by Kbit -Goodman and h* associates
ANCHOR AGE IS INSTALLING
NEW TELEPHONE SYSTEM
Anchorage is installing a new aiod
«rn telephone system at an estimated
cost to the city of $2LOQ0 it was in
noonced Thursday.
There is to he an increase of .7,000
feet of ln*e and a generally mam-over,
phone service.
KUSKOKWIM DEVELOPING
INTO REAL MINING AREA
"“We ha* in the lower. and -what
| yon might call the central part of
i the Kuskokwim what I believe t*> be
the greatest potential mining district
in all of Alaska—it is a section that
until just recently was -practically -un
scratched, and yet with the limited
amount of prospecting it has had,
has developed into a producer with
possibilities that are bound]ess?'
The speaker was an oldtime Al
askan mining man who has just re
turned from the North, says the Al
aska "Weekly. For years he has been
a resident of the Territory, some
times in a professional capacity, but
always interested in mines and min
ing and few are the Districts of Al
aska that he has sot visited at one
time or another.
“Did you know,'’ he went on, 'that
in the last United States Geological
Report on the Nushagak^-or what we
call the Lake District of the Kusfao
kwim, the engineers making the geo- ;
logical eqaminatkiB, described this
district as the most inviting both
from a placer as well as a quartz
standpoL'. t in all of Alaska*’ Well,
they -did, arid subsequent prospect!* g
has amply demonstrated the .value of
a careful 'Geoiojpeal survey of the
uaeharteri sections of the Sortk.
Gnxmd Not Frozen
“‘One reason why tins left liatK c!
the gTeat "Kuskolrwim watersheo hat
not been more thoroughly prf spec! ed
in the past is the fact that it is ah
thawed ground. Before the - aas em -of
the placer drill, or the introduction
of proper portable pumps that wo tin
permit a pr specter to get to bed
rock, it «£ impossible to find out
just what values lay under the moss.
"With the coming of the light
weight placer drill however, this
problem was soon shined ana today
there are literally ooze of creeks
that have been tested in this area
and good paying gravel located. ’la.
the last few years too, “there rare a
number of outfits -writ.-hav- taken «ut
good money, and they are just get
ting wefl under way. As aeon fie
most of them aemmstrated a pac ing
creek, they immediately started iato
(Continued on ppg^. 5*
DEATH TAKES
MRS. B. J. BOYD
AT ANCHOR ACE
1 Mrs. Bertha J. -Boyd. pkuieflr wo
man of the K-tiskokwio. country, and
well know n in Takotna a'here she
made her home-for many >airs be
■for*- movinjr to Anchorage two years
-ago, passed away in tiat city one
*laj last week, arc* tiling .U recent
. reports.
She is survived by a daughter.,
Mrs. Bernard ol.MnGratr
Mrs. Boyd came to the Kuakokwiia
country to teat} in the native school
at Bethel snnrv Loan £0 y*arr ago.
.'.While .at Bethel, she also served ia
: the capacity of nurse, administering
j to the needs -of .the natives *.ho re
garded her, as a mother. Many na
I tives who are aive today give her
credit far their being aiise-Sht was
aeweh known to refuse her skillful
service to the care of the sick. While
down river she spent some time ia
isolated spots on the Bering ia
charge of checking ,*ut scixxl sup
v ?d>t.~ to a mall outrof-i h e-wz,/ schools.
She came from Bethel to teach
school at Takctna. While . teaching
here, ahe became irterested in The
Kusko ■ Time$. then cwcea oper
fMfd by Mr. A_ X Grant. Some
Years later she gave up teaching
I and devoted her whole time tc -assist
| tag Mr Grant in producing .the pa
per.
Mrs.. Bauyc was st^oter. with
IKusko Tiroes over.a oeriad jof ,15
years, xluring .-which. time iShe be
came .well known tlm-a,great the an
-tire .country
The deceased was in faliag ft.raltk
for the. past few -years aad finally,
two years age, akewoswpmpeQfcd tc
laave her name here .and locator it
Anchorage where she could have the
benefit of first kand medical ad.
She had a legion -af f tie ads here
i who are saddened hylhe .news of
-her passing
1 ASS. AIK V let rvfcAf!
BUST MAKi.\L TUPS
Mri. E._ a.. Adams asad Jotawi Mc
/Uung. were passengers or the ^plane
piloted by Jiaiph Savory Teeterda;
i-for Anchorage. Mrs. Audactb :s er
j route, to the States an. a trip tc feet
! aid hr me.
;Pik>t Savt-r. -returned to'aar *i-n
i* kmc <rt parcels for Yasatna res
idents Ike .Star Air . Service fcas
been busy carrying pas-engers from
i ibesteameti lukac rand Alaska^ to
the "Kusknko im. -A total of 2T< pas
-engerswere tasen to -various jfoini*
in this area
-MRS. E. A. ADAMS
LEAVES OX TRIP
Mrs..£. A. .Adams h-ft by plane
Thursday or an extende* va-dl And
' btndagss tiap to .Sea: tie
Sh.* zviP c’T-deaw tc -dispose " of
-certain property sitoated near Seat
tie (maied jointly by she. and. her hus
band..
Mrs. Adams Jras v.t sisters, a
daughter and gnmriwT, -y..»rtje
whejr >si^e -plans to v isit for
some, tittle. -After ciesilg Jsosiaess
-matters in Seattle she will malie a
-trip East on a visit to relatives, plan
ning to returr to label at late oevt
summer or if -not, Mr Adaos -wifl
join, her next fall.
Mrs. Ada mis has be*. I empiojaal as
cook .ax jtoad Commission camps out
from Takoraa the pest fiw seasons
■and i« regarded as at exatllent rook
hy hsrvmany fricads here. The crews
-Trill miss the tempting nr-ah ,pre
pared by Mrs. Aj
Mkqf cf Aar friemh scare at 4}tt
plane to see her off and to offer finr
best wishes