THE KUSKO TIMES
A. X. Grant, Publisher, Sole
Owner and Editor.
Published Every Saturday
$1 Per Month
Advertising Rates.
Iteading matter, per line, per
issue .$ .25
JLegal advertisements, per line,
issue .20
Transient display, per inch, per
issue (miaimum charge $1).. .50
Entered as second-class matter Au
iffust 23th, 1923, at the poatoffice at
Tokotna, Alaska, under the Act of
-March 3, 1879.
• agw 'W!* - itji ^ -a»* v. --T7 ■.
Takotna, Alaska, .March B, 192fi.
MACKENZIE INDIANS AND
PROSPECTORS MAKE HARD
TREK IN Ql EST OF GOLD
(Dawson News.)
Some fifteen years ago James, an
lfndian missionary from Fort Norman,
with several other Mackenzie river
Indians, accidentally ran across gold
• on a mountain ridge in the Ogilvie
:rnnge of the Rockies. At that time
ithe discoverers had no knowledge of
ithe precious metal, hut as time flew
)by and they learned of the value of
ithe golden rock they decided to keep
itheir secret to themselves, so that
'Whenever any members of the tribe
;should he in want all they would have
tto do would be to journey to this
ttreasure mountain and dig all the
jgold might require. Janies, however,
imparted his secret to Free Envold
■ sen a number of years ago, but the
latter never considered the statement
(Seriously, thinking the mountain to be
•of copper, such as is characteristic of
that country; hut in the spring, when
word was sent down to Billy Silas, of
fthe Moosehide tribe, from a native of
Mayo, requesting him to make a trip
•into the mountain region of wealth,
Endvoldsen and several associates de
cided to make a prospecting trip into
ithat country along with the Indians.
‘Therefore, with instructions to meet
•two of the Mackenzie Indians at Sel
kirk, Envoldsen and his party started
•out over three months ago with Silas
las a guide.
Trouble commenced at the first
:*top, for the Mackenzie Indians had I
'been down with the flu and were uii- ]
Able to proceed on the journey, while I
• James, who had been in the habit of
• making the journey into the country
•every year, failed to appear at his
usual time, probably also on account
•of sickness. A map which was in the
ihands of one of the Mackenzie In
dians, however, was handed over to
ithe prospectors and, with Silas lead
ing the way, the party set out in
•quest of the new field.
Many were the hardships and mis
fortunes which accosted the fortune
jhunters. Atlogether six men had set
•out, but after the sad drowning of
Harry B. Iseman, one of the members
•of the expedition, on the Mackenzie
river, two of the partners, Fred John
ston and E. Jackson, returned to Daw
son with the news of the sad event
.and Iseman’s launch. For the rest of
the journey, therefore, Silas, Envold
:*nd Gleason continued alone. After
Heaving the river the prospectors had
ito trust to the guidance of the map
which had been handed over by the
Indians, and which, although fairly
Accurate, was away out w hen it came
it odistances. Over high mountains
iinto low, marshy valleys, across lakes
and small rivers, the fortune hunters
icontinued on their way. For .‘500
miles from the Yukon river the coun
try consisted of a silver-bearing for
mation, while further ahead the signs
tended toward a gold belt. Going be
came harder as the men progressed,
:«o hard, in fact, that it was necessary
to cache even their tools, such as
picks, shovels, pans and the like.
Their only aim was to reach their
destination as shown by the Indian
map, which afterwards turned out to
be very accurate.
On the top of the Ogilvies the
guide and the two prospectors decid
ed to part company and take different
routes. This move came very near to
proving fatal to the ilatoter, for after
journeying some distance they came
Into a country which was devoid of
timber and game. For five days the
panepwrttu-j. wire without food or
shelter, until the.'. ; i jv-t about
Riven up hope, wh.” t’ruvi .iwii'e threw
a moose across th... p ith. B:ily Silas
joined them a few days later. The
Indian guide also reported a tough
time during the days which had inter
vened, but a band of wolves, fortun
ately, had chased a moose right into
his camp, so thet he had been well
supplied with food. It was not long
after this, though, that the three men
reached the end of their journey, as
shown by the map, and here, sure
enough, they found the spot where the
Indians had found the gold fifteen
years before.
Envoldsen says that the gold is
there all right, right under the sur
face, but gives warning that for any
body not knowing that country it
would prove nothing less than folly
to attempt to tramp into those moun
tains. Next spring he and his part
ner and the Mackenzie river Indian
guides plan on making another jaunt
nto the region with supplies and then
the true value of the gold-bearing
mountains will be put to the acid test.
The gold-hunters propose to blaze a
trail into the unexplored country next
season and prospect the country thor
oughly.
Although the trip this year proved
disastrous in many ways and tried the
patience and nerve of the men who
made the journey with many hard
ships and tribulations, the sourdough
prospectors wre game and refused to
turn back before they reched their
goal. In certain parts the country
abounds in game, and in relating of
the march Envoldsen says that at
some places moose and other species
of wild game could be seen playing,
fighting or swimming in the lakes, a
sight which was magnificent to watch.
Whether the gold is there in quantiies
or not is a question, but at any rate
those who have faith in the gold
pockets in the midst of the Rockies
have risked their lives in their at
tempt to follow the trail of the wil
derness to the rainbow’s end.
AftE WE BETTER OR WORSE?
(Seward Gateway.)
After living in the Territory over a
decade we fail to see where Alaskans
are chronic lawbreakers. If any
thing, the laws are more strictly ob
[ served and there is less crime in
Alaska than in the States. To a close
observer it would appear that Alas-1
kans are “just regular fellers,” with j
the same frailties a d >,• pcs and fears'
tTiat govern resident-, of the States, j
Our vermiform a; - age is in the |
same spot, and our , ts are located;
close to where thi sa if residentts of
the States are located, the only differ
ence b :ng they are somewhat larger
and no. so adamantine.
Taking us per capita, we believe we
stack up about as intelligent, as law
abiding and as God-fearing as any
nation in the world. Our only trouble
is that our pool is small and when a
rock is thrown into it the ripples are
larger. It is impossible to keep one’s
frailties hid in a small town, therefore
a small fire makes a lot of smoke.
We are not tooting our own horn in
the least in asserting that if all the
people in a town were as loyal to the
town as the average editor of the
home newspaper, there would be a
! wonderful difference in many places.
The eidotr is always up and doing,
never ceasing, even if at times he
gets little or no encouragement. He
leaves unsaid that which might cast
reflection on the town, and empha
sizes the good things.
He is a booster for beter schools
and churches, civic pride and good
citizenship. He favors good roads
and public improvements of whatever
nature that will help to make the old
home town a more lesirable place in
which to live. He is the most liberal
donor in the town—not in money, per
haps, but in other things that help the
town and everyone in it. If there is
any person more beneficial to a town
than the newspaper man we would
like to know who he is.—Hyder Miner.
Sportsmen shooting game birds
during the hunting season are re
quested by the Biological Survey to
examine all birds carefully for leg
bands at the time shot. It will prob
ably aid the investigations being
made by means of banded birds if
bands are returned to the department
with accurate particulars regarding
the exact spot where found, and any
other pertinent information.
PRESS SQIJIBS.
If we can have civilized warfare,
why not civilized peace?—'Oil City
Derrick.
If only the nations would wait 62
years to pay off their grudges.—As
sociated Editors.
Maybe there arc more killings now
because people shoot straighter when
sober.—Washington Post.
“It takes years of practice to break
a record.” This is especially true of
a longevity record.—Greenville News.
Two problems our pioneer women
didn’t have were cigaret stains on j
! their fingers and chapped knees.—I)e
i troit Free Press.
The net income for nine months of
| a well known chewing gum company
was $7,bOO,000. And we howl about
taxes.—Charleston Mail.
For the best program to 'T«due«
crime in New ’York, a $2,500 prize is
offered. Our contest suggestion is a
gang war.— Dallas News.
At least a treaty eliminating sub
marines would entail no scrapping ex
penses-—given a little time, they i
would sink themselves.— Virginian
Pilot.
It is .said that present crime eondi
I tions approach a state of civil war.
j That’s one trouble with the w«r on
\ crime—it’s been too civil.— Brooklyn
! Eagle.
Not all ventriloquism is on the
vaudeville stage. There is, for exam
ple, that voice of the people that so
many patriots hear every election
year.—Arkansas Gazette.
"So that,” exclaimed the letter car
rier’s wife, who had been reading the
Rhinelander letters for ten days, “is
the kind of stuff you’ve been breaking
your back to carry!”—^New York Sun.
Probably the word blurb comes the
Max Simelj
The Pioneer Trader
-;
■ i
Furs Bought and
Sold
Miners’, Prospectors’
and Trappers’
Supplies
Steamer Service On the Iaoka
River.
Auk the People of Ophir al**«iKs. i
STATION
Fairview. Innoko River
nearest of all the words in onr beau
tiful language sounding exactly
like what it means, though the word
boob runs it a close second.—Ohio
State Journal.
American commerce would be on- a
basis of unprecedentd prosperity if
every man who complains^ about the
slowness of France in settling her
debt would pay all his past due bills.
-b;gvTuktnaJ.kn S hoSW es
—Southern Lumberman.
Tokotna
Pool Hall |
/Avoidsthe Rush!
»
;TbifetlArtieles
Cigarefcid^Iolders
• tSifar5 Solders
* V
’I’ocfee# ‘Combs
Sanitary Tooth Broshes
Extracts Ia?mon, Banana
and Strawberry Flavors
(Imperial Cigarettes
at cost price
Jack Mutchler
’ .|
Proprietor
Du Rand’s
Cafe and
Hotel
Flat City
B. & L Store
McGrath, Alaska
Groceries
Hardware
Miners’ Supplies .
of All Kinds
Ladies' Furnishings
Furs Bought and Sold
Moose Skin Mitts and Boots
King Island Mukluks
Babeesh, or Sled Lashing
Voigt’s Dog Harness, the very
Best
PARKAS—-Cuff and hood of
wolf skin, $6.00. Come and
get them while they lust.
R. Ddt
■ Beat of Home Cooked Meals. Prompt Attention
New Dog Houses
Frank Larson - - Proprietor
n
FREIGHTING
General Transportation
How About Wood Hauling1?
See Joe Ferris or Bud Riley
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