Tales From the Hills
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK.
(By J. C. Scales, Assistant Professor of Mining Engineering*, Alaska Ag
ricultural College and School of Mines.>
T1U; tunnel. reverberated with the
throb of the drill. The new compres
sor had . arrived and during the past
four wanks*. Larry and Jack had la
hoed almost.every day and night get-:
ting it up the- gulch and installed in
its room near, the portal of the tun
nel. It Max running beautifully. Dur- i
ing the sast five days they had ad-'
vanced.th.fi tunel over 20 feet—almost
a jnont.h’s work., hy hand. Just this
morning tiie partners had decided to j
raise on the ore, partly to-determine
haw Ugh. it went, but mostly for wen-|
tilation_The tunel had reached a j
length .of. 460 feet, and the powder j
smoke, didn’t clear readily enough to j
prpvideugood air. For the first few:
days they., had been running the com- ]
pressor and blowing air after each
blast, hut,, with gasoline costing 50
centts a gallon, this had proved ex
pensive,-.
Jack was on top of the muck pile
running the drill. Larry was muck-!
ing at its toe. The car full, Larry |
decided to take “five.” He sat down j
and. waited.until Jack had finished the |
hoie and shut off the drill.
“Great thing,” he said, “that water i
attachment. I remember, not so •
many years ago, that I was working j
in. the . independence. Stopers were|
new then. They called them ‘widow- j
makers.' because they, soon made your j
wile a.widow. Now they’ve got that;
water .teed down so fine there isn’t a]
speck of. dust.”
Jack, laid the machine, down and,
seating himself on a rock, loaded his
pipe for a smoke. He was tired. The
grind., of. the past few weeks had
worn ium pretty badly and be was
ready fa listen to one of Larry’s dis
sertations.
“Faci.is,” Larry continued, “mining
isn’t what she used to be. Most ways
things, are better. Take, for instance,
that ...jackhammer—45- pounds and
•he’ll drilL a foot in five minutes in
the tough granite. Remember the old
Burieign ? Three hundred and forty
five, pounds.. Took two men—and
go.od ones, too—to lift it on the bar,
anil then, you worked and tugged and
swore, at it al lday. We get out more
rock these days, but we don’t work so
hard to. get it out. Not a long shot.
Then take the other things—safety
for instance. Around all of the big
minea. they have everything pretty
well guarded. Then if you are hurt—
That makes me think—wa ought to
have .some first aid stuff. down. here
at-the tunnel. It’s a.long, piece up to
the. cahiii, and if .one of .us got. cut. it
would be mighty.handy., to have some
thing here to bind, it.up with. Guess
I’ll fix up some first aid. equipment
itnd pyt.it in. a hox out there by the
compressor.:’.’
“Larry.” said. Jack, “we’re, sitting;
here listening to you spout while, that
compressor: is burning up. good, gas
that sets this firm hack 50 cents a
gallop. Let’s shut it, down and go
home. I’m tired out anyway and
j don’t feel any too good. Hope I don’t
I get that flu that. I hear is going
[ around.”
They gathered up the dull steel, and
[started toward the tunnel’s mouth.
“Yes,” Larry went on,, “things are
^pretty soft ,ithftse days. Especially
around the big concerns. Men are al
ays grumbling, but just let them
Dok back at what they had to do 25.
jfeara ago. That makes me think. We
ould get som oody. interested in this
»yout. Our. finances aren’t as flush
they might be. If we could,
omehcsdy to fske part of the load
(>uld go ahead faster and mayb
ould make, just as much in the
i “Well,” interrupted Jack, “we’ve j
ent fifteen, -gears looking, and this i
[the beststtijiig^we’ve found. I know]
ere is lot* of hard work ahead, but!
Itan’t propose to let this chance slip.)
That showiug looks just as good now
as the day we struck it. It will mill
better than $50 per ton without half,
trying." |
“Yes, yes, I know,” said Larry; ‘.‘but
we don’t want to forget that a dollar
out at interest is a dollar six next
year, a dollar twelve the next, .a dol
lar nineteen the third, and a dollar
thirty-four in five years. We can’t
hang on too many years. 1 wasn’t
saying that we’d give it away. I only
thought that we might be'better off
to get some help.”
“Oh, well,” grumbled Jack, some
what mollified, “if you was only! think
ing, it’s all right.”
By this time they had reached : the
compressor. Larry shut i it down
while Jack dropped onto, a aearby box
and reloaded his pipe. . Larry contin
ued to tinker with some part, of the
machine.
“We could write to some of these
concerns we hoth know-and tell them
what we have,” continued. Larryu “We
could tell them where our ground is.
how many claims we have, how far it
is to the river. Then, too, we could I
tell them something about our title.’"
, “Huh,” snorted Jack. “Young man.
ain’t you old enough yet to know that
it ain’t where she is but what she is
that makes a mine. Better.’tell them
how wide she is,, how she assays,
what kind of walls she has, and how
she lays in .the earth. If she’ll pay.,
they’d mine it at the Pole.”
Larry came back at his partner and
said:. “That’s right. I. guess I’ll
knock out a cup of tea on the forge
before we climb, the hill— You look
sort of tired.”
MISTAKE CAUSES ALIEN
WORKER PLENTY TROUBLE
(Anchorage Times.) )
Buffeted about by two' nations,,
neither of which is over-anxious to
accept responsibility for him,, Charles
Dorflinger scratched a. puzzled head
-in Vancouver, recently and wondered
why. he. didn’t take the right boat
soutth from Ketchikan last . Decem
ber.
Dorflinger, a German sailor, left,
his boat at Seattle in January, 11)27,
to enter a hospital for treatment.
When discharged, he traveled to Ju
neau and obtained work as a carpen
ter. at the Alaska Juneau. He was an
industrious, hard-working man and
I saved his money, so that when acci
! dentally discovered by W'. G. Strench,
district director of immigration, last
j September, the federal authorities
■ were inclined to be lenient with him
: for overstaying his leave in America.
Government officials and Alaskan
I business men wrote recommendations
for him, and the Department of Labor
issued a permit for him to stay in this
country until December 31, 1928, so
that he could obtain a vise from an
American consul general.
Under $500 bond with the American
immigration service, Dorflinger w«nt
to Ketchikan and bought a ticket.for,
Seattle via Vancouver, intending to
see the American consul at the. Ca
nadian city, and, if that failed, to im
terview the American consul general
at Seattle.
Failing to-- see the Vancouver con
sul, he took the train south, but was
removed by the American immigra
tion authorities at. the border, where
the officials decided that.while the
permit issued by. theJlepartmemt. al
lowed him to remain in . the United j
States, it did not allow him to re-en-,
ter the country* If he.had taken the.,
boat direct to Seattle from Ketchikan,
everything would have heen, okay. j
they told him .
Then the Canadian- immigration au- j
thorities arrested the unfortunate
man. for being in Canada unlawfully,.
He was held 'in jail and finally re
leased on $500 cash bail, while the
United States tried to decide what
shall be done with him.
So much do the United States im
migration authorities believe in the
man’s good intentions, according to
Mr. Strench,. that they will likely oh
tain a special ruling; to enable him to.
go to Seattle and ship back to his
home in Germany front ^here;. Then
Dorfiinger will be at liberty to start
"the necessary proceedings to return
to Alaska..
THIRD DIVISION RANKS
I
FIRST.IN 1928 COMMERCE.
The Third division led all others
last year in the value of outgoing,
commerce, the value of its products
being $37,100,208, according to the
annual report of J, C. McBride, col
lector of customs. The First division *
was in second place, with a total of
$31,507,091, trailing the Third divi
sion by $5,593,091.
The other two divisions were far.,
behind. The Fourth, in. third, place.!,
showed a total value of $3,530,513.!
and the Second division last, with, ex-j
ports of $2,089,522.
The First division led the Territory,
in value of gold and silver produced, j
the total being $3,296,846, virtually
'50 per cent of the Territory’s total
production., which was $6,640,127.1
The Fourth division was in second
place, with $1,761,471. Second divi-j
sion production was valued at $1,117,- ■
362, and the Third division brought!
up the rear with $464,448. The First;
and Fourth divisions showed substan
tial gains, while the other two re-1
ported decreases from 1827. .
’
One Interpretation.
A teacher was desirous of stimulat-j
ing the imagination of a class of boys}
who read football reports with great-)
er zest than they studied anthologies.j
The quotation of a certain couplet,)
however, aroused a look of keen ap- j
preciation in one of the class whom1
she considered to be hopeless.
“Tom,” said she, “what does
‘Two men looked through the prison
bars;
The one saw mud .the other
stars'
suggest to you"?"
“That it must have been a gorgeous i
scrap!” said the unimaginative, one.
NOTICE OK HEARING OF FINAL
ACCOUNT.
Notice is hereby given that the un-j
dersigned has filed his. final report and
account as administrator de bonis non
of the estate of Joe Kermond, de
ceased, and that such report will be
heard and considered by. the Probate
Judge of Otter Precinct., Fourth Divi
sion of Alaska, at his office ;U. Flat,
Alaska, on the tilth day of June A. D.
i 1929, at the hour of two o’clock, in the
I afternoon of said. day.
j All persons having objections to
' such report may be heard at said time
and place.
CHARLES" E. TAYLOR,
Administrator de bonis non Es
tate of Joe Kermond, deceased,
tate of Joe Kermond, deceased.
| First pub., March 30, 1929.
TABLE OF DISTANCES BE
TWEEN NENANA AND FLAT
Miles
j Nenana .. 00
! Tavern Roadhouse . 17 V*
1 Knight’s Roadhouse . 11 Vfc
f Nineteen-Mile Roadhouse. 58
Diamond Roadhouse . 76
Roosevelt . 80
Lake Minchumina . 115 '
Trappers’ Cabin . 132
Lone Star Roadhouse .. 150
Telida Roadhouse . 169 Mr
Slow Fork Roadhouse . ... 187
East Fork Roadhouse .) 206
Berry’s Landing Roadhouse . 227 V* j
Big.- River Rbadhouse. 241
i McGrath ..... 263
Takotna ... 280 .
Bill Goss’ Roadhouse. ’291
! Ophir... 300
i McGafferty . . 306
Brown Creek shelter cabin _318
Fritz shelter cabin . 333
First Chance shelter cabin _ 346
Schermayer R, H. 360
Iditaxod 1....376
Flat .... 384
Bonanzza. sheler cabin, 12 piileo
from Flat.
Crooked Creek shelter cabin, 19
miles from Bonanza.
Babeesch Moosehide Mitts and Boots
Furs Bought and Sold Clothing
All Kinds of Nice Fresh Groceries and Fruits
Canned Goods of All Kinds Beds and Bedding
A. R. Eldridge - McGrath
TAKOTNA ROADHOUSE
Best of Meals and Rooms
Where Everything Is Homelike end
Where You Are Cordially Welcomed
GOOD DOG HOUSES BATHS
Ivar Chilstrom - Prop.
1
Rough and Dressed Lum- J
her of All Kinds i
.
! ‘
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Job
Printing
?
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Kusko
Times
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