9
3fa£=
▼OL X. vNO.~'?6
TAKOTNA ALASKA. S.vTCiiifAY. ENwJHSN, l'.)30
PRICE 25 CKNTfc
Heart of Ophir
Laid In Ashes
1 FUKWVrH® iMjU'i' ’ • ftOMHHl > U SE,
/ ‘VScMXi sm- re, f ool hall,
* ABIXS.
. a..ii>:e of disastrous propor
,-ti*>usw.x>ccur>-ipi' about 8:30 o clock
, \\ edBQSfJay. pipht,. had wiped out the
»bearl-of. vOphjr, was the startling and
. disheartening, news to reach here at
an early hour Thursday morning,
having been brqught over by Carl
«. hottsfeldt,. who. happened to be in
Ophir at .the time and who was an
eye-witness of the devouring confia
„ gcation
Among the- buildipgs consumed, to
, gether with practically all their con
tents, were the Chris Boigen building,
. in which, was located. the postollice
. and office jof the United States com
missioner, the Aaron Erickson Road
house, the Sid Paulson warehouse, the
- Pioneer .Ball building, Fred Roethlis
. berger’s pool hall, Eric Hard’s ware
- house,, the John Repo cabin, and a
. few minor .structures.
Consumed .by the fire was a large
quantity _of mail, mostly of Medfra,
. Mciirath and. Takotna origin, des
tined muthound. hut held in the Ophir
. qiffice pending transportation by Max
Simel,. Opbir.Hply Cross mail con
tractor.
Also devoured by the flames were
- all the .records.- mining and otherwise,
. that bad ever, been recorded in the
t Ophir .precinct, a loss that may prove
..of, groat concern to many individuals.
.How much, gold dust and currency
* may have, been contained in the mail
. i*.a matter -of conjecture, but it un
. doubtedly amounted to several thou
. sand, dollars.
Smoke,.it.is.stated, was first seen
■ eomipg - from the commissioner’s
.. build){igc.aaide fro mwhieh practically
nothing is known regarding the or
igin of. the. fire.
. All buddings consumed, nine in all,
iwede .old.landmarks, the value of
. which it. would be hard to accurately
estimate.
. The flames .swept so rapidly that it
was a matter of impossibility to( at
tempt, to. .save anything from the
. sweeping .flames.
The 1os3«_o£ the roadhouse and its
contents, a'low-figure value cf which
might be placed, at $5,000, makes
. Aaron Erickson, a heavy loser. He
. saved v-psaaticaJly all his bedding and
furniture,, hut lost most of his kit
chen equipment.
Another heavy loser is Chris Bol
, gen, whqp. aside from the mail and
. commissioner’s records, lost practical
ly everything when his building
1 burned, including his personal effects
. and, itdisv^aid, quite a few hundred
. dollars, ip., currency and gold dust.
Fred Raathlisberger, it is stated,
, grabhed a wad of bills before leaving
his pool ball, but was in such a hurry
that he didn’t have time to scoop up
a no small quantity of silver. His
Joss, the .pool hall and warehouse and
contents, makes him a heavy loser,
ithe. replacement of which might
reach fg,Q00.
The loss, aU told, is a staggering
blow t0 the Qphir community. The
loss of the roadhouse, especially, is a
matter of utmost regret. A andmark
of early' days,'comfortably furnished
: Aid always., well: conducted, it was
most.popular. ;rlniintervening years
it ^tdcheorbd manyaa. lone musher,
welcomed many traveling guests, and
:.Jp4Jbten:th* sceo® <*nmj»y * P«tf?
community and intercommunity func-'
tion.
1'- VV. Carlson, who arrived here to
day from Ophir, declares he had a1
very narro wescape from being’ wiped j
out. His building, he saved, was
saved only by the cool-heauedness of j
Milton Rice, ably assisted by Carl:
"..ottsfeldt, Eric Hard and a few \
others. The structure was saved by;
placing of sheet iron alongside the
exposed side wall.
SEATTLE ATTORNEY NOMI- |
NATED FOR U. S. MARSHAL j
FOR WESTERN WASHINGTON
-i_ !
SEATTLE.—Charles E. Allen, Se
attle attorney, today was nominated
by President Hoover for U. S. mar
shal for the Western Washington dis
trict, to succeed Ed B. Bedun, who is
credited with having played an im
portant part in supplying the evi
dence upon which Lyle and Whitney
were indicted. Both fought his re
appointment, supporting Allen, whose
selection was made by Senator Jones.
PRESIDENTIAL BOOM FOR
DWIGHT W. MORROW
TRENTON.—A presidential boom
for Dwight VV. Morrow.fi candidate
for the Republican Senatorial nom
ination in New Jersey, was launched
here today, sponsored by former
Governor Edward C. Stokes, and John
Grier Hibben, president of Princeton
Universitty.
DAWES TAKES SLAP AT FEW
ASPIRING AMERICANS
CAMBRDGE.—Charles G. Dawes,
former American vice president, a
guest of Trinity College, last night
: slapped those Americans who seek
I social prominence in Europe. He de
clared that the gold-star mothers now
visiting in France “are the best rep
resentatives of my people.”
COX DECLARES FOR REPEAL.
COLUMBUS, O.—Cox, Democratic
presidential nominee in 1820, declared
for the repeal of the federal prohibi
tion amendment in an address here
last night.
LOS ANGELES’ POPULATION.
LOS ANGELES.—The census bu
reau today announced the population
of Los Angeles to be 1,231,820.
Telegraphic TLcks
SEATTLE.—Clicord T. McDinery,
former assistant United States attor
! ney, indicted along with Lyle, Whit
ney and others, and a fugitive since
the return of the indictment, surren
dered to the authorities at San Fran
cisco last night, and is being held in
jail there. He sought to be released
on $5,000 bail,, but failed owing to a
technicality.
. DES MOINES.—Congressman L.
J. Dickinson won the Republican
nomination for Senator, defeating
Governor John. Hammdll in the' State
primaries. • Senator Steek, unopposed,
was. renominated by the Demolrats.
SEATTLE.—J. C. Lowe, well
known Alaska fur buyer and owner
i of . a trading post, at. Nuahagijc, died
| aboard tlfe steamship. North. King on
• a voyfcge from Bristol.Bay to Dil
linghnm.
WASHINGTON—Lieutenant Ap
pollo. Stoucek, naval aviator, Wednes
day‘attained a height Of4p,000 feet
above, the; earth.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla<*?Mrs.Ruth
Bryan Owen jus been renominated
for.'Congrcift,^defeating-; Oteih.
Sinking Of
Barge Yosmg
__ «
CAUSED SOME APPRSEHENIRGN
BUT SITUATION NOW MUCH
IMPROVED.
u-fFc^J-lIJUN AT—A’.RvGu „0h, mb
The barge Lavelie Young, loaded
with freight taken from tte steamer
Tupper, which latter sank at its
moorings near Bethel on June 10, is
still in the hands of underwriters of
her cargo, who took pqssession of
same following the declination if
practically all consignees to accept
shipments from Outside consignors.
The cargo of the Young, consisting of
early spring shipments from Outside,
was destined for mercanttile concerns
at McGrath, Medfra, Takotna and
Ophir, as well as a number of private
individuals. ALso on hoard of the
barge was a shipment of several
thousand feel of Outside fir timbers
and lumber to be used in the con
struction of a new dredge boat on
Yankee creek.
The situation had a gleomy-look
ing aspect. It locked like a serious
shortage in the grub pile, and it also
appeared as though dredging and
mining operations hereabouts might
be impeded and delayed for many
weeks, and this at a time when those
activities should be at their peak.
The situation at this writing, how
ever, has a decidedly better-looking
aspect. Manager Oliver Anderson of
the N. C. Co. at McGrath, following
notification of sinking of supplies on
the Young, made requisitions upon
the N. C. Co. at Bethel, amounting to
many tons, fresh from the Outside,
all of which came up with the Tana
on iis recent arrival at McGrath
Also coming up with the Tana to
McGrath, and from the latter point
on the Sea Wolf to Takotna, was a
good-sized consignment for F. C. H.
Spencer. This consignment was for
warded by George W. Hoffman, Nap
amute merchant, who, sensing the
situation, unsolicited, unasked, came
to the aid of Mr. Spencer, who feels
most appreciative of Mr. Hoffman's
generous and timely action.
Released by the salvagers at ’Bethel
and also arriving here on the Sea
Wolf, was a part of the lumber and
timber needed for the Higgins
deedge, most of , which material has
already been taken to Yankee creek
: by the 'Clough & Brink caterpillar, A
team of horses also came up on the
| WOlf.
| • Concerning the cause of the sirik
ing of the barge Young at Bethel, it
is understood that it is a matter still
undetermined. The Young, it is
stated, was tied up next to the bank,
with the Tana on the outside. Mar
tin Clancey, watchman on the Tana,
went aboard the. Young at about 8:30
in the morning, when everything was
apparently all right, although about
three hours later the barge ■com
menced to sink.
The work of unloading the Young
as well as salvaging her cargo is
gopng on under the direction of Cap
tain Wm. Geiger and Mr. Butzene,
who are representing the underwrit
ers in the capacity of salvagor and
fiducial agent, respectively.
Recent developments at Poorman
are to the effect that Billy Ferris,
Clint Winan and James Harlan, In a
bole on Nevada creek, at a depth of
over . 140’feet, found a 20-cent pan
prospect, according to word brought
| ov«t a few days ogo by Albert Ivey
ERNEST SAWYER WRITES OF
i INTERNATON A L HIGHWAY;
NEW GATEWAY TO ALASKA
l'■ Under the caption, ‘‘Opening a
ew.v- iiat* to Our Northern Garden,
a; splendidly written, illustrated ar
ticle appeared in a recent issue of
Pickwick Papers, a magazine of ma
lm? travel published at Los Angeles.
The^ulrticie was written by Ernest
Walker: Sawyer, special representa
tive of the general manager of the
Alaska Railroad, and the pictures
used were selected with a view to
suggesting to motor travelers what
they may expect to find m the North
land in .the way <jff scenic, beauty
when they motor to Alaska .over the
projected Pacific Yukon highway.
The article, follows:
Most American motor tourists be
lieve that, when tjiey have crossed the
Canadian border and traveled a hun
dred mile sinto British Columbia tljey
have reached the northern boundaries
of the earth, that beyond;-,theonorth
ern edge of Canada-there- is nothing
but a trackless waste of ,-snow and ice
through which a fewi-shivering cari-i
bou mush with difficulty.
There are a number, of adventurous
souls who have thrown all caution to
the winds and, bravely started north
from Vancouver,, although in their
hearts was probably .the certainty
that .this smooth highway would last
only a few miles and then suddenly
end up against a wall of ice. Daring
as have these hardy motor travelers
been, the rewards of their courage
have been great.
Theirs has beeto if ■ thrill, of look
ing over a ledge to see, two thousand
feet below, the miyhty Fraser river
struggling through the narrow .pass
of Hell’s Gate. They have seen.the
white .purity of Marble Canyon en
closing green Paviliqn Lake and have
entered the game-filled hills , of the
Cariboo country. They have,ridden
through the streets, of Quesnel, one
of the oldest towns in British Colum
bia, which still quaintly reflects its
early days in the fur-trading business
and later in the Cariboo gold boom of
1858.
...But perh&ps greater than these
thrills of natural beaut yand romance
s the thrill <$f finding that the roads
through this ..scenic country are . ex
cellent and well traveled, that .the
settlements along the highways are
populous and .prosperous, that the
country around them is all .green
countryside and not perpetually
white. In short, that the North is
neither frozen nor uninhabited and
you don’t have to be a hardy pioneer
with a pick on y^ur back and golden
visions in your mind to enjoy it.
Now the greatest thrills of the
North country are to be made acces
sible to motor travel. Plans for . the
International Highway are taking
very definite shape, and when the In
ternational Highway is, finished it,
will reach from Seattle, Washington,
far beyond the confines of British
Columbia, beyond the Yukon Terri
tory, to Fairbanks, in the heart of the
Territory.
Now the .movies have led us to< be
lieve that Alaska is the last word in
coldness, that snow cofers the coun
try almost the whole year, that dog
teams are the best means of trans
portation there, rnd that highway
travel is at bo.-i possible only -during
a few weeks' in -th eraiddle of sum
mer, and then (With/difficulty.
The real state of -the weather is
quite otherwise. Alaska has summers
! as mild and' flower 4aden as the best
of her Northern sister States, for
1 during -'the-six- months of Alaskan
| summer the days are warm and much
-(Continued on , Page 3.) j
Doings At
Washington
HOOVER’S LAW ENFOECEM ENT
COMMISSION WILL CON
TINUE ITS WORK,
WASHINGTON, June 28.—With or
without the assistance of government
funds, Hoover’s law enforcement
commission intends to carry on its
usual inquiry into enforcement of all
federal statutes. After the Senate
voted to resume activities of the
group to study the prohibition law.
Hoover asked the commission to pro
ceed with its original program and
maintain its course.
WASHINGTON.—Refusing to con
sider the plea. Tor postponement oi
the London -naval treaty in the Sen
ate .until December,* President Heover
informed Senate leaders that he
would call a special session of the
Senate for its consideration the day
after this Congress adjourns.
WASHINGTON.—Bishop Cannon
Jr., appearing tdday for the third
time before the Senate lobby commit
tee, read a statement again attacking
the committee’s authority to inquirt
about',his anti-Smith campaign activi
ties in 1928, declared that his volun
tary testimony was at an end atoc
then walked out, followed toy ap
plause. Senator Walsh of .Montana
warned the witness -that he was not
excused and that.:his jpese would be
brought up, where he Ik to be held, io
contempt of the- Senate, which stej
will be decided upon .the return &
Chairman Caraway from Arkansas.
WASHINGTON—Hoover today re
fused to snbmit to the Senahe foreign
affairs committee certain secret pa
pers and agreements pertaining tr
the Londonmayal armamentts confer
ence.
WASHINGTON-Allotments to
taling $39,580,090 for rivers and har
bors work in ,the states and terri
tories were approved today toy Secre
tary of War. Hurley.
VICTORIA FOR NOME.
SEATTLE, June 5.—The steamer
Viotoria, Captain Ranssauer, sailed at
10 O’clock this morning on its first
voyage to Nome, with 325 passengers,
including 13d steerage. Among the
prominent ones on hoard, were O. ,W.
Howell, Dr. B. -E.-Waugh, John Dex
ter, James. Fnawlgy, Robert Sears,. C
L. JRatiqaein,. D. JEL Lamontains, (t.
W. -Weaver.
i Captain Jj :H. McLean was among
the week’s i arrivals, having come
from Ganes creek. He states that
the Gibbs A JSson-dredge. has been
moved from its former location on 17
Ganes tq the ~%pper part of 14, that
a still further move of 600 feet will!
be-made with the first rise: of water;
also a new shaft for the dredge is
expected-within a few days , and that
the outlook fer early operations is
very encouraging.
Bert Uoodpaster,. after an absence
of almost a year on the Outside, prin
cipally -in Seattle, was among pas
sengers coming ap on Hie Tana. He
•declares <hi^ xelf greatly improved, in
health, and -looks it.
John Edwards, who deft here .a few
days age for. Ajtehonege to go into
hospital there, left that placa a day
or so ago for Seattle, aedord}qgu*to
Into word race UraL-here.