|_ IDITAROD PIONEER j
Published Every Saturday Evening at Iditarod, Alaska.
FRANK E. BECKER, EDITOR
Vi' 2 Gao. M Arhuckle. Publisher No. ZB
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
One Year.$10.00 ! One Month. 1.00
Six Months. 5.00 I Single Copy. 25
Atlvertising Rates on Application.
THAT MYTHICAL HI K EM AN TRAIL.
It is strange that a country as large and free as this
should be inhabited by so many souls narrow and pinched.
Which is just a preamble for a few remarks on malicious
falsehood to the danger of human life for material gain.
Painful as this subject is, we had occasion to look it
over several times last summer, and not to shirk our duty
to the public, we are going to tear off a few more para
graphs along the same lines, since it is apparent there is
again need of it.
Ever since the birth of Dikeman, that town has cher
ished the fond hope that it would some day be the
metropolis of the Iditarod valley. Indeed the town was
founded in that spirit, and since that time it has wrought
to make it arrow.
In the minds of the pioneers of that burg there has
long reposed the delightful vision of a broad highway of
communicatsou over this bosky empire from their very
midst to the heart of the creeks : a myth that they have
dwelt upon and relished; a fairy tale that has cheered their
despondent hours. They called themselves the head of
navigation, and have ever attempted to impress upon the
newcomer that it is but a step across the hills to the center
of the producing area.
Last summer they started chechacos across the hills
with the vague direction that Discovery laid over that way,
about 30 miles, and could be made easily in a day. Any fair
musher would have no trouble whatever, and couldn’t miss
it.
This always looked good to the cliechaco who was
hard pressed for coin, because he could think of no easier
way of making $20,—the price of his fare by river. Hence,
he would arm himself with a sandwich, probably go with
out a mosquito net, and would head for the distant blue
hills, blithe and confident and softly humming, ‘I wonder
who’s kissing her now.”
Two or three tragedies were narrowly averted last sum
mer from just such starts as these. Men almost mad with
the suffering they have undergone have stumbled into
cabins along the creeks, their eyes swollen almost shut,
their faces almost raw from the attacks of myriads of mos
quitos that drove them on through three, four and five
days and nights without food or shelter.
The identical thing is beginning again this summer in
spite of the protest that was made, and it is certainly high
time that it should cease.
Even among the old-timers of the country there are sc
many who lack proper wood sense or sense of direction that
it would not be safe for them to tackle the summer going
between Dikeman and the creeks. Of the new-comers, it
is safe to say that not one in five can successfully negotiate
that maze of hills and valleys without loss of direction, and
certainly very few indeed who can make the trip in a day.
To allow newcomers to undertake that journey in the
summer time without sufficient food for several days and
good mosquito protection is the worst kind of negligence,
but to deliberately commend a Hail to their consideration
that does not exist, and that for the glory of Dikeman, i.
a crime._
IS IT A HOAD OH A FIGHT WE WANT?
An impromptu public meeting was called this week for
the purpose of discussing the Iditarod-Elat road question
and for the purpose of talking the matter over with tin
member of the road commission now in this city. The
chief direct result of this meeting has been the discovery of
the fact there is an acute sectional feeling in the town re
garding the two roads leading from Willow and Ottei
■streets. It further became apparent that this very con
dition will defeat the object we have sought, for in ordei
to sidestep the favoring of either side to the controversy,
the government will do very little, if any, work on the
Iditarod side of the junction of the two roads.
In other words, this city has put itself up against tht
All Hours Alik& in This House
CARS
COME ONCE AND YOU WILL COME AGAIN
FIRST AVENUE. SOUTAR & SUTHERLAND, Props.
You Don’i Have to Frog
WE SELL
Cigars, Pipes, Tobaccos,
Candies, Etc.
CAP’S PLACE
TURN YOUR FACE TO
For Inspiration
Corner Second Avenue and Willow Street
George Auten Dave Ferguson
25 PerCent. Reduction Sale
FOR ONE WEEK ONLY ON
Ladies Skirts
ALL NKW GOODS. JUST ARRIVED.
I. GOLDSTClN^i,
C. J. Hurley, President J. P. Gleason, Vies President A. Droning, Cashier
Corner First Ave, und Richmond St., Iditarod
CAPITAL $50,000.00, FOLLY PAI0 IN CASH
General Banking Business Transacted Upon Liberal, But Conservative Lines
GOLD DUST PURCHASED UPON ASSAY VALUE
And we guarantee our assays against any of the government assay oltices.
Clippings from your gold furnished you for the purpose
of obtaining check assays if desired.
We solicit your business, and assure you of our courteous, prompt and
careful attention combined with fair treatment, whether
your account may be large or small.
Just Arrived
COMPLETE LINE OE
Carpets, Linoleum, Floor Oilcloth,
Chairs, Shades and Furhiture
of Aft Descriptions
- ALSO
Fiesti Stock S, &, W, and Reliance Groceries
Willow Street, Iditarod Phone 4U
Also extra cans of Ilonting Cement. Will stop a leak immediately. This 1
paper may also bo used for Hours anil decks of steamboats— wears longer!
than linoleum. Also a large stock of •
Doors, Sash, Windows, Class, Eta.
Runs, ail sires, Linoleum, Shades
New and Beautiful Designs in WABLPAPBLl Direct from New York. <
Anderson Bros. & Nerland
proposition to furnisli its own money to finish one or the
other or both of the roads to their present junction without
the aid of the government.
The government funds will be spent on that portion of
the road between the junction of the Willow and Otter
street roads and Fiat, but later the road commission will
spend some money on that portion of Widow adjacent to
the city, because Willow has been adopted as the govern
ment highway, known as such for over a year, and govern
ment money iias aleady been spent on that highway.
The present situation is this: The Otter street road is
in fair condition, but will unquestionably need money for
constant repairs as traffic continues through the summer.
The corduroy is light, as is the surface covering, and heavy
loads cause much damage.
The Willow street road is in excellent condition, save
the portions close to tow n and a considerable distance along
the sidehill, just before the junction with the Otter street
road. To get it in shape for travel, money must needs be
spent on it at once.
lo add to these ditheulties there is conflict of senti
ment in town which seems to preclude a united action on
one of these roads or the other and which will apparently
result in money being spent on both. Thus will be
presented the edifying spectacle of a small town divided
against itself and the citizens thereof working against each
other for the sake of a mistaken business principle.
To a man down a well, it would look as though the
business people of this city should save their rancor and
their money at the same time. We cannot see how a road
leading into any one portion of this city will work to the
very material gain or loss of any merchant. The town is
so small that a block or so either way will hardly deter a
merchant’s customers from calling on him.
The road commission having washed its hands of our
petty fight will go blithely on its way, spending its money
where it will do the most good, but in a short time it will
be up to us to spend some money oil this end of the same
road. •
As a solution of the difficulty, and to prevent any
more of this expensive bucking, we would suggest, fiist
the appointment of a board of phrenologists or an insanity
commission to examine the heads of our business people. We
would then have a board of arbitration or a committee of
teamsters to select either Willow or Ottei streets for the
permanent route up to their present junction, upon which
to spend money. We would then suggest that the citzens
of the town as a whole forget that they have any object
to attain but one good road, and that thev subscribe
their money and their support toward that end.
The death of Dave Moffat calls to
mind a story we heard about him in
Denver ten years ago. The Denver
papers will remember it io a day 01
two if we don’t beat them to it. Prob
ably they will anyhow — but in that
case we shall be able to point tbo linger
of scorn.
The late Mr. Moffat went to Chicago.
He was alone, and when lie stepped
from the Pullman into the crowd on
tlie platform, a sweet, fluffy young
thing threw herselt into his arms.
“Oli, dad!” she cried with a series of
ecstatic hugs; “Oil, papa, dear, I'm so
glad to—Oh!”
She perceived her error and blushed
painfully hut gloriously “I I beg
your pardon,” she stammered, “I-”
And she tried to escape into the throng
where she could hide her confusion.
But the gallant empire builder would
have none of such. He still hold hei
firmly in a qnasi-puternal embrace.
“I'm not your papa, it is true,” he
whispered tenderly, “But I'm going to
play that I am for a while. Don't try
to get away from me my dear. I’m
going to play papa to you until! the
police come!”
When the police came they restored
Mr. Moffat's watch and diamond scarf
pin to him and led the struggling
broiler away.—Cleveland Plaindealer.
Bellingham, Wash.—E. Howard and
party have started in their gasoline
launch on a prospecting trip to Alaska
and are to ba gone two years.
The party will live aboard the boat
most of the time, and they carry a
large prospecting outfit, from tents,
shovels, picks and pans to drills and
gold scales.
Quite a number of friends and people
who are backing the outfit were down
to see them oil' and they will go to
Alaska via the inside passage, stopping
long enough at the different Creeks
and rivers entering into the Pacific to
prospect them and their side streams.
They expect to be gone at least two
years and hope to find a mine by that
time, either placer or quartz, for ex
perts in both forms of mining go to
make up tne party.
The first townsite selected by the
Guggenheim railroad people on the
southwestern coast of Alaska as a ter
minal has no v become an object of
litigation between John R jsene and
the townsite agent, George Iluzlott.
Now that there are prospects of there
being a prosperous raining camp up
mineral gulch, tlie townsite people see
a chance of starting a town in opposi
tion to Valdez, and it is with this end
in view that Roseau is endeavoring to
clear his title to the towasite. He has
brought suit iu the district cou>-t
against Harden for a settlement era
division of the properly.
The schools of Valdez were closed
recently because of an epidemic of
meases.
MISSING—One case lacks, one bolt
honselining. Finder return to Sny
der, Flat City, and receive reward.
AT THE
Machine Shop
This Will Interest You
The Johnson Mattress & Hose Com
pany make the finest silk floss mat
tresses on earth from $!i up.
Pure cotton-filled comforters, from
$2.50 up. .
Floss pillows, $1.50 each.
Feather pillows, $2 each.
Sheet blankets, $1.25 each.
In a few days we shall have cretonne
and figured house lining, also colored
burlap. Sets us before you buy.
Johnson Mattress & Hose Factory,
Phone 22. Willow Street.
Fried eggs or ham and eggs at the
Merchants. 75c.
DR. B. F. BROOKS,
Office: Discovery otter.
Dr. Heinrich Worlmann,
Office at City Drug Store. Tel. 36
First Ave., Bet. Willow and Uichmond
Office Hours- 11 to i. 3 to 4, 7 to 8
DR. E. T. BRADBURY,
Dentist
Over Merchants Cafe, First Avenue
Telephone 30-B
CHAS. D. CARTER,
Dentist
Ollices, Pioneer’ Drug Stores,
Flat Creek
DR. F. W. HE RMS,
Ban fist
Dr. Wortmann’s Office.
First Avenue and Willow Street
McGowan, Clark & Albrecht
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
Iditarod, Alaska Phone No. 7
The Pioneer Attorneys of This Camp
ALFRED E. MALT BY,
[U. S. Commissioner]
Attorney at Law
Notary Public
Practice only in I)i strict Court. IDiTAROI>
J. S. HARDING,
Attorney at Law
Room 1, Iditarod Hotel
Iditarod. Alaska
CM AS. E. TAYL OR.
Attorney at Law,
Notary Public, Conveyancing,
Abstracts of Titles
flat City
A. J. DALY,
Attorney at Law
M. & M. Bank Bldg, Iditarod
Wickersham & Roden,
ATTORNEYS AT IAW
Iditarod, Alaska
E. COKE HILL,
Attorney at Law
Simpson Buildinjr, Iditarod, Alaska
First Class in Fact
FIRST AVENUE
Furnished Rooms, Bath Rooms, Spring Cots
Good Stables Adjacent
WHEN IN FLAT
The Only Restaurant, that
Did Not Raise Prices Dur
ing the Winter Months,
n-Cut Headlights
TO DO YOUR MINING
Three thousand and five thousand candle power, throwing a shaft of light
1500 feet.
Call at the Iditarod headquarters for information concerning the J. B.
COLT’S ACETYLENE LIGHT MACHINE.
Pioneer Sheet Metal Works