62nd Year No. 103NOME, ALASKA,. MONDAY,' AUGUST 28, 1961Per Copy 15^
Kentucky Tourist Outlasts Two Months
Of Alaska’s’ Wilds ... Loses Half Weight
FAIRBANKS Uh — Gaunt and
emaciated, a Kentucky tourist
who amazingly survived 10 weeks
lost in the sub-arctic • Alaska
wilderness was reported on the
road to recovery today.
The fact that William C.
Waters, 42, Erlanger, Ky., was
alive at all was described as “al
most fantastic” by State Police.
Waters, wasted to about 90
pounds from his usual 180, was
brought to St. Joseph’s Hospital
here yesterday from Circle Hot
Springs.
Hospital attendants listed his
condition as fair and his doctor
said he would recover.
His feet were swollen and had
open sores, and his stomach was
so shrunken he cobid hardly eat
when two moose hunters came
across him lying weakly on the
bank of Birch Greek Saturday 80
miles from where he disappeared
June 20.
What happened in the 10-week
interval Waters recalled hazily as
like a dream in which he stum
bled across tundra and bog seek
ing civilization.
Hr Was headed northwest the
wrong he had kept on
bp would have reached the Yu
iron River near the Arctic Circle
S where police said “there’s noth
ing, just nothing.”
Lt. Bill Trafton of the State
Police said the Kentucky man
told1 this story:
He had driven to Alaska alone
on vacation and took a side trip
to the end of Steese Highway at
Circle, 120 miles northeast of
here.
He left his car, hiked a few
miles into Big Lake to fish and
then decided to go on farther to
try a stream near the foothills to
the south. He never found the
stream, but kept on going until
he got to Birch Creek.
Then he made his big mistake.
Thinking the creek flowed south
he followed downstream. Instead
Soviets Send Out Warning
MOSCOW UP) — The Soviet
Union charged tonight that for
eign submarines have been sneak
ing close to its shores on under
water patrols and warned that
future intruders will be destroyed.
SUNRISE TO SUNSET
The Dept, of Fish and Game has
announced that waterfowl hunt
ing is legal this year from one:
half hour before sunrise until
, sunset.
' On Sept. ^1 sunrise will be at
4:42 a.m. and sunset at 7:19, Ber
ing Standard Time-. A complete
chart for the months of Septem
ber, October and November is
available at the Nugget and 9port
suppliers.
—-4
THE WEATHER
Fair with partial fog and driz
zel, little change in temperature.
In the last 24 hours: High of 58,
low of 35. Sunrise at 4:33 a. m.,
sunset at 7:33 p. m. Temperatures
a year ago today: High of 53, low
of 39. Extremes on this date since
1907: High of 65 in 1923, low of
28 in 1913.
it wen* north, and he wandered
farther away from any habitation.
He had only » knife, machete
and a few matches for equipment.
He wore canvas shoes and a heavy
canvas coat-type jacket.
His only food was wild cran
berries, a few raspberries and
rosechips fpods of wild roses gone
to seed>.
He came across bears, once,
but they ran away. A few pnoose
fled in startled surprise.
After what he thought was only
two or three weeks but actually
was 2 Vi months he heard an out
board motor while sleeping
against a log a short distance
from the creek. He tried to run to
the bank, but was too weak and
fell.
The next day, lying on the side
of the stream the boat carrying
the two moose hunters, Ray Ko
solo and James Gunning of Fair
banks, came back and Water’s
almost incredible ordeal was over.
They brought him back to Circle
Hot Springs — and safety.
Gov. Egan Says He
Never Urged Hellenthal
To Resign His Post
JUNEAU UP) — Gov. Egan said
today he had never urged John
■Hellenthal of Anchorage to re
sign as chairman of the State
Democratic Central Committee.
Hellenthal said last Friday his
ouster as chairman of the com
mittee at a meeting in Fairbanks
Aug. 19-20 was illegal.
Saturday, Wendell Kay of An
chorage, who was named to re
place Hellenthal, said Egan went
to Hellenthal during the Central
Committee meeting and asked
Hellenthal to resign.
Egan said at his news confer
ence today he arrived in Fair
banks Aug. 19 and shortly there
after was told that 20 members
of the 25-member committee had
signed a statement urging Hel
lenthal’s resignation.
During a brief meeting with
the committee later, Egan said,
he suggested that the committee
recess for lunch while he met
with Heilenthal, who had not per
sonally seen the signed statement.
“The committee recessed and I
talked with Mr. Hellenthal,” Egan
said.
“I informed him of the state
ment and unanimity of feeling
among members and proxy hold
ers. He stated that he had no in
tention or resigning. I did not ask
or seek his resignation. I simply
made known to him the situation
up to then.
“. . , there was no couse what
ever for my becoming involved
in the committee’s effort to force
his resignation.
“I returned to the meeting, ad
vised the members that Mr. Hel
lenthal had no intention of re
signing , and thereupon left . . .”
The Central Committee declared
Hellenthal’s post vacant and then
named Kay to the positior
Egan declined to comment on
the legality of the Central Com
mittee’s action.
Surcharge on Freight
Shipments Suspended
Between Alaska and Japan
JUNEAU — A surcharge on
freight shipments between Alaska
and Japan has been suspended in
definitely, Sen. E. L. Bartlett said
today.
Bartlett said in a wire to the
Associated Press at Juneau that
he was advised of the indefinite
suspension in a cable from Chair
man D. P. Gillette of the Trans
pacific Freight Conference.
The conference has been apply
ing a surcharge for cargo destined
to Alaska ports, even though
mileages to Alaska from Japan
ese ports are hundreds of miles
less than mileage to other Paci
fic coast ports.
The Trans-Pacific Freight Con
ference originally had a 30 per
cent surcharge on Alaska ship
ments. This was reduced recent
ly, to 20 per cent.
“This is an important victory,”
Bartlett said of the Trans-Pacific
Freight Conference’s action in
suspending the Alaska surcharge.
“The fact that the conference
members were first willing to re
duce the surcharge by 10 per
cent was proof enough the sur
charge was artificially inspired
and maintained.”
Gov. Egan, in-his regular Mon
day morning news conference,
said the conference’s action “could
be the beginning of a break
through on export of such items
as coal to the Far East in huge
quantities.
“This is big news for Alaska
and I am certainly pleased with
elimination of the surcharge,”
Egan said. “Apparently we are
now being recognized as one of
the States in the Union.”
Soviet Vessel Reverses
Course After Asking for
Medical Aid for Seaman
JUNEAU W) — A Russian sea
man in need of hospitalization,
who had been expected to be
landed at Dutch Harbor in the
Aleutians, died after being taken
instead to a Siberian .port, the
Coast Guard reported today.
The Soviet Union asked the
U. S. State Department last week
for permission to bring the sea
man into Dutch Harbor for medi
cal attention and hospitalization.
Permission was granted, but
the Soviet vessel, the 238-foot
refrigerator ship Samarkand,
could not be contacted by radio
and an air search by Coast Guard
planes failed to locate the vessel.
Yesterday, the Coast Guard re
quested the State Department to
attempt to learn, through the Rus
sian Embassy in Washington,
D. C., the Samarkand’s position
and estimated time of arrival at
Dutch Harbor.
East night, the Coast Guard was
advised that the Samarkand,
operating with a Soviet fishing
fleet in the Bering Sea, headed
for Provideniya, on the Siberian
Coast 260 miles west of Nome,
rather than for Dutch Harbor.
The seaman died.
It was still not known here why
the seaman needed hospitalization
or what his name was.
Plummer Named
U.S. District
Judge for Alaska
HYANNIS PORT, Mass. UP) —
President Kennedy yesterday
nominated Raymond E. Plummer,
Anchorage attorney, as U. S. Dis
trict Judge for Alaska, a newly
created position.
The nomination had been pre
dicted earlier in Washington by
Sen. E. L. Bartlett who called
Plummer “a man of high capa
bility and reputation.”
The federal judgeship is the
second for Alaska. Judge Walter
Hodge was named to the U. S.
District Court bench with state
hood.
Plummer, 48, was U, S. Attor
ney in Alaska from 1947 until
1949, when he resigned to return
to private practice of law.
He is a Democrat, and served
a term as a member of the Alas
ka House of Representatives in
1955.
Plummer is a native of Harlan,
Iowa, and a graduate of the Uni
versity of Nebraska. He became
an assistant U. S. Attorney in
Alaska in 1944.
In Juneau, Gov. Egan said
Plummer is a “fair and judicious
man who will be an outstanding
member of the federal bench.
“The appointment of Mr. Plum
mer. who served with distinction
as a U. S. Attorney in Alaska, will
be met with favor throughout the
state,” Egan said.
Couple from McGrath
Survive Four Days in the
■Wilds After Plane Crash
McGRATH UP) — A couple and
their infant daughter survived
four days in the wilds of in
terior Alaska after their light air
plane crashed Thursday on the
north fork of th/e Kuskokwim
about 20 miles northeast of Mc
Grath.
Harry Faulkner, his wife Eve
lyn, and their daughter, Elizabeth,
were forced down while on a
flight from Anchorage to Mc
Grath by marginal weather and
engine failure. The crash wiped
out the plane and the Faulkners
lost all their rations with the ex
ception of some baby food.
Faulkner decided to attempt to
get help by going down the Kus
kokwim to McGrath. He wrapped
his arms around two logs and
rode tiie Oulu swirling waters of
the river on and off for three
days until he reached the village
of Medera.
There Air Force authorities
were notified and a bush pilot
flew Faulkner to McGrath.
Meanwhile 23-year-old Mrs.
Faulkner and her six months old
daughter were surviving on two
cans of baby food and some damp
cereal.
Sunday morning an Eielson
based helicopter flew out of Ga
lena and was able to spot the
crash scene, landing on a nearby
partially submerged sandbag. Two
of the crew waueu through waist
deep water to carry the young
mother and child to the waiting
aircraft.
Soviet Ship Sighted
Nosing Its Way at
St. Lawrence Island
The military authorities accept
ed with complacency the report of
another large Russian ship nosing
itself along the shore of St.Law
rence Island between its two
main villages when reported by
bush pilot Dick Galieher who was
on a flight in that area last Sat
urday.
According to Galieher, the large
gray ship, flying a Russian flag,
seemed to know where it didn’t
belong as it lost no time turning
completely around and heading
out to sea after the plftjie ap
peared and circled the ship.
Local business leaders are con
cerned with the lack of interest
shown by the military which has
no planes based on the coast to
investigate and patrol and pro
tect, if need be, the American
interest.
Contacts were made with Col.
E. L. Smith, public information
officer at Elmendorf, and assur
ance was given that they knew
the boat was there and are inter
ested. This does not satisfy the
need for on-the-spot protection
from aggressive visitors on either
sea or land, it is felt here.
Among the passengers Galie
her was carrying was Lawrence
Elliot, writer for Reader’s Digest.
Calls w'ere placed directly to
Washington, D. C.f this morning
asking that this coast, which bor
ders Russia, be included in the
defense which is being built up
stronger and stronger in the heart
of Alaska.
Two Cordova Men Found
Dead in Plane Wreckage
JUNEAU lift — Two bodies were
recovered Sunday from the wreck
age a light plane which crashed
Friday on the Gulf of Alaska
Coast at the mouth of the Cape
Suckling River.
Coast Guard headquarters re
ported tht cutter Storis took the
bodies aboard and headed for
Yakutat. They will be flown from
there to Cordova.
The single-engine plane ap
parently became lost on a flight
from Anchorage to Cordova and
crashed on the rugged coast about
60 miles southeast of Cordova.
The pilot was identified as A.
C. Schumacher and his passenger
was John Webber, both of Cor
dova.
East German Border Guard
Seeks Asylum in West Berlin
BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany (*>
— A 28-year-old East German
border policeman slipped into
West Germany Sunday night
while patroling the Iron Curtain
border and has asked for political
asylum, Western border guards
reported today.
A second defection to the West
was reported by Bavarian border
patrol headquarters, which said
an East German border guard
crossed near Pressig, wearing his
full uniform and carrying his
arms.
ratulations to ™N “s,
ie Nome Telephone Co. MUNZ AIRWAYS