OPINION PREVAILS IN THIRD
DIVISION THAT ORPHANAGE
WAS SET AFIRE BY DESIGN
k'
Charges of first degree murder
against Mrs. Horace Caldwell, ma
tron of the Dillingham orphanage,
were not translated into an indict
ment by the Third division grand jury
which recently sat at Seward, but the
belief persists among those who in
vestigated the case that the- fire at
the orphanage last winter which
caused the death of Ann Woods was
set intentionally. The case is ex
plained in a recent issue of the Cor
dova Times as follows:
“This case was of peculiar interest,
due to the unusual circumstances sur
rounding the- charges, and aisoduc to
the fact ’’hat the case involved the
death if Ann Woods, who died a mar
tyr to save the lives of 80 orphan
children, early in the morning of De
cember 22, 1928.
“Murder charges against Mrs.
Caldwell followed the incarceration of
her husband, government school
teacher, who is now under indictment
for alleged attacks on a number of
the orphanage girls.
“In filing charges of murder
against Mrs. Caldwell the authorities
acted on. the deduction that Mrs.
Caldwell had'planned the firing of 'the
orphanage in order to destroy evi
dence against her husband. The find
ings of the grand jury exonerated her
on this charge.
“The salient facts brought out by
the Department of Justice investiga
tion were as follows:
“About 5 o’clock in the morning of
December 22, 1928, an accident at the
orphanage building of the Kanananak
industrial school caused the death of
»ne of the inmates, Ann Yukluk
(Woods.
lilt; uuiutuiL wets uuc tu use gin
l attempting to fill a kerosene lamp''
* with what she thought, was coal oil,
but what was presumably-some other!
liquid, highly explosive, possibly gas-j
eline with, ether mixed in it. None of
iis liquid was kept in the kitchen of
the orphanage, but had been placed
there. Miss Gertrude. Greer, nurse
matron, testified that the can was not.
in the room at. midnight December,
December 21.
“On the strength of considerable
evidence, purely circumstantial, which
was unearthed,. Mrs. Caldwell was ar
rested and her room searched. The
U. S. commissioner at Dillingham tes
tified that he found a can of the same
liquid which caused the explosion, in
• the woman’s room. The other evi
dence was that Mrs. Caldwell was en
tirely dressed, with her long hair
done up neatly, when she arrived
among the first at the- fire, and that
tracks were found in the snow lead
ing from her room to the o.phanage
and back to her domicile in the staff
house.
“However, the findings' of the
grand jury exonerated Mrs. Caldwell
of the attempt to fire the rphanage.
And it was entirely possible* very
probable, that the explosive liquid
was “planted” in her room, but it
seems certain that someor.o had a di
abolical plan to set fire to-the struct
ture and burn, the inmate? to death.
“Who that person is may never be
known, and the. reason for such, an
, attempt may: never' he known. The
fact remains, however, that Ann
Woods, little orphan girl, paid the su
preme sacrifice to save he lives of
her companions, and the. her tragic
heroism was the toff of one of the
most fiendish criminals in the world.’"
CONTRACT LET FOR FED
ERA LBDILDING, JUNEAU
WASHINGTON”.—Dc -gate Suth
land was informed' by the Treasury
Department that N. F. deverin & Co.
of Chicago was the lowest of fifteen
bidders for the new federal building
at Juneau. The' com i ray's bid was
$712,000, with $25,000 additional if
Alaska marble is used. The contract
will be let within a few days, Dele
gate Sutherland said ...s
OLDTIMER SEES MERIT IN
DAHANNI PLACER DISTRICT
(Fairbanks News-Miner.)
A malignant case of stampede
fever is wracking the bones of Stan
dish O’Sullivan, oldtime prospector of
this district, who in a letter to Andy
McKenzie, written from Mayo, on the
upper Yukon, late in May, spreads
the merits of the Dahanni ami the
upper Liard, in Northwest Territory.
In his letter Standish says:
“Everything here is going along at
its usual pace. A good many are
quitting work here to go prospect on
their own. A few of the young fel
lows are getting ready to go to the
new strike on the “South Dahanni”
river, but they have so far been un
successful in getting planes to take
them.
“The strike was made last summer
by a party who went there from Ed
monton. In order to reach the strike
you go up the Dahanni 140 miles,
where the Flat river conus in on the
left, up that river for 60 miles to the
waterfalls. The creeks entering on
the left bank as you poceed above the
falls are said to carry the pay. The
third creek up is the one the MqjLeod
rothers were on when they were
were killed by Indians in 1904. The
McLeods took out about $3,000. Their
brother Charlie escaped the massacre
and has tried often since to get a
party to go back with him. He is
no wat Edmonton on his way in by
plane.
“The story of the strike reads like
an airplane stampede. And yet there
are three men here who put in two
years on the Liard river tributaries
and ranges overlooking the creek
where the. McLeods were killed, al
though miles away from the Dahanni.
One of them, Bob Miller, sits next to
me at the table. He says there is no
doubt but that, the McLeans took the
money out.
“Mayo and Keno are the nearest
camps to the strike. It is about 200
miles east by south of Mayo, and
Felly Banks post on the Pelly river
Is the nearest grub pile. From this
post you can pole up to the Pelly
lakes, a distance, of 80 miles,’ and
from the lakes it is about 70 miles
to the creeks on Flat river. The Da
hanni is a tributary of the Liard, and
the Liard flows into the Mackenzie.
“There is no doubt hut that it is a
big country to. prospect in, and by far
the most.difficult to get into with sup
plies, as I see it. Were it not that I
have that ground on Galena Hill, I’d
be on my way next week. I don’t
know the mining laws pertaining to
that district, as it is in the. Northwest
Territory, about 750 miles northwest
of Edmonton.
TACOMA FUR AUCTION.
TACOMA.—Alaska fur valued at
$7.r)/)00 was bought at the July auc
tion of the West Coast Fur Sales,
Inc.
Mink of inferior grade was offered
at from $8 to $11.
A good selection, of lynx hrought
from $66 to $77.
Better quality w lives brought from
$17 to $22.
Weaeol brought from $1.85 to $2.50.
An ordinary grade of cross fox sold
at from $75 to $100,, and the darker
skins up to $165.
Otter brought from $28 to $55, and
bear-from $5 to $7.50.
iTmber wolves generally were
high, selling up to $55 for pale, sorts.
Good lots of red for fetched from
$50 to $55, and medium grades from
$35 to $40.
Only about half offa.collection of
45,000 muskrats was sold, at prices
ranging from 95 centts to $1.08.
WOMAN CONFESSES BANK
ROBBERY; LOOT RECOVERED
TOPEKA, Kas.—Mrs. Vivian Scra
per, 25, confessed holding up and
robbing two employes of the Security
Benefit Association of approximately
$14,000 on June 28.
She took officers to her apartment,
where all but $40 or $5 Oof the loot
was recovered. She, was arrested yes
terday in the apartment with Ceril
Street, 25-year-old employee of the'
Benefit Association, and Marie Raney,!
■ 14.eStreet is held, although no charge j
has been placed against him.
Mrs. Scraper, who is the mother of j
a seven-year-old daughter, has not]
been living with her husband for sev- j
eral months.
NORTHERN DIVER, KETCHI
KAN, HAS NARROW ESCAPE
| Charles Hansen, working for the
Alaska Tug and Salvage Company,
had. one of the narrowest escapes of
his career as a professional diver
when the propeller on the Akutan
fouled his air and telephone lines and.
cut them in two while he was explor
ing the hold of the lighthouse tender
Alder 70 feet below the surface in
mid-channel in front of the Ketchikan
plant of the New England Fish Com
pany, reports the Ketchipan Chron
i icle.
The tender Alder sank Tuesday
noon when the engin? backfired, ex
ploding the gas in the base of. the en
gine. She sank immediately agaiust
the side of the General Petroleum
tanker Falls of Clyde. Mooring ropes
tied to the ship held her just below
the surface for a time until they
parted and let her go down into deep
water.
Since that time efforts nav > been
made to bring her up again close to
the surface ana beach her. She had
been towed part way out into the
channel when the gear parted and
Diver Hansen was endeavoring to get
the. gear again attached to the ship
under water when the prop.ller on
the Akutan cut off the air supply.
i.ttendants at the surface immedi
ately noticed the accident and pulled
Hansen up from the bottom'at once.
His helmet was so constructed to hold
four minutes’ supply of air, so he was
but little the worse for his experience
after a short rest. Luckily, the life
line between the boat and the diver j
did not part, and this was the means
of saving him.
- |
Gunnar Wickstrom, a young min-:
ing man of the Fairbanks district, i
, and Archibald Summers, elderly pio-1
! neer from the Circle country, were
! recently adjudged insane at Fair
j banks, and will be sent to Morning
! s de Sanitarium for treatment.
During the past school year the
States of Arkansas, California, In
1 diana, Minnesota, Montana, New
Mexico, Ohio, Oregon and Washing
ton were represented in the student
body of the Ala 11 Agricultural Col
lege and School of Mines.
Mrs. Ivar Chilstrom and Miss Mary
MeLean, after a visit of several days
at McGrath, returned here yesterday,
coming up with Ralph Dulac.
| Charlie O’Halloran left yesterday
on a business trip to McGrath, travei
i ing with Ralph Dulac.
-_ !
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TABLE OF DISTANCES BE
TWEEN NENANA AND FLAT!
Miles1
Nenana . 00 I
Tavern. Roadhouse . 17%
Knight’s Roadhouse . 23% |
Nineteen-Mile Roadhouse —. 58 ..!
■ Diamond Roadhouse.‘ 76
1 Roosevelt . 89
'i Lake Minehumfna •.. 115
! Trappers’ Cabin . 132 j
{Lone Star Roadhouse . 150
j Telida Roadhouse .— 169 %
•! Slow' Fork Roadhouse .— 187
j East Fork Roadhouse .) 206
i Berry’s Landing Roadhouse. 227% ,
Big River Roadhouse . 241 j
' McGrath .. 263 |
I Takotna . 280
Bill Goss’ Roadhouse ...— 291 j
Ophir .... 300 j
I McCafferty ... 306 j
Brown Creek shelter cabin . 318
Fritz shelter cabin . 333
First Chance shelter cabin . 346
Schermeyer R. H. 360
Iditarod ... 376
j Flat . 384 -
Bonanzza sheler cabin, 12 miles
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
i i unw fn ■■ iwnir—iTi ttut—————
TAKOTHA ROADHOUSE
Best Of Meals and Rooms
Where Everything Is Homelike and
Where You Are Cordially Welcomed
GOOD DOG HOUSES BATHS
Ivar Chilstrom - Prop.
Rough and pressed Lum
ber of All Kinds
IINOKO LIMBER CO.