VOLUME 2, NO. 6. VALDEZ, ALASKA, THURSDAY; MARCHJ9,\903. ...... ; v OFFICIAL CITY PAPER*
------ '9. . . * • • • * . a ._• -« m *;;? i*S • • *' * •• ^
JAMES FISH & CO
Furnishing Goods.
Everything to Wear.”
IP you WANT
Hats, Caps, Boots, Shoes.
Pants, Overalls,
Ready-to-Wear Suits,
Sweaters or Siickci*
You can get them here
and save money. We
'have the Finest, exclu-i
sive everything-to-wear
stock in town.
J i
We-iS_Headquarters for Underwear
Ami ran fit you in anythin); you
want, from Fleece-Lined, at •1.50
a suit to Mercerized Silk at •#.00
a suit. Twenty-live styles to select
from.
COTTON UNDERWEAR,
WOOL UNDERWEAR,
SILK UNDERWEAR.
Cure That Cold at
P. O. DRUG STORE.
* E. KE^N,
. $ YERSMIT
\\i t. airy a Larg<- Lot of
Souvenir Spoons
Nugget Jewelry
Rings, Etc.
Fine Watch Repairing
City Market
NEXT TO MERCHANT'S CAKE.
Wholesale and Retail Dealers in
Beef, Mutton,PorkandPoultry
Our Price* are RIGHT. Give us a rail.
The Watch of the Hour;
Ami the Hour of the Watch.
On it Life may <le)ieiid! To thia end get the
PROJPCQTOR
A TRUSTY RELIABLE WATCH.
Special Price $2.00.
Pee it and you’ll believe it, try it and you’ll bay it.
Thun make a double strike. Time and Gold.
W. C. 5TULL, Ifunet Jewelry Made to Order
Optician, Jeweler and Kxpert Watchmaker.
Will Develop Property.
Another large company, incorp
orated under the name of the *‘Ni
zina Gold and Copper Company,”
with Sol. Simpson as president, has
been organized in the State of
Washington during the past winter
to operate over thirty claims in the
Nizina country. The working par
ty sent here by the company is now ■
on their way in to the interior with
a full outfit to last for the coming!
season.
The property consists partly of
gold placer ground and partly of
large copper ledges, all of which
were located by R. C. Young, and
by him was turned over to tlie
company. R. C. Young, familiarly
* nown .i« Bob, came to this section
i' V7. and ban been prospecting in
• t i " > r iii/r \ a I ley ever since, i
n.< - • >: ids lime Iieing put in on
the Chiilyua and Koisina rivers
and their tributaries. In 1UOO,
while in the Nizina country, he
was met by tlie Government geo
logical survey party, headed by
Mr. Schrneder, for whom he pan-'
ned out gold, on which Mr. Sclirae
der based part of his report for
that season.
Bob is a good, upright fellow,
and is more of a prospector than '
miner; he will not work this sea
son on the company property, but
will look for other rich fields.
Barnett Relieved From Duty.
Tlie war department has issued
an order directing that Captaiu
George C. Burnell, of the signal
corps, be relieved from duty in
Alaska, to take effect u)>on the
completion of the Tannna section
of the military telegraph lines, and
that he proceed by way of Bkagwav
to Vancouver Inn racks for duty as
signal officer of the Department of
the Columbia. First Lieut Walter
I. Clarke will temporarily assume
the duties of signal officer of the
department.
Railroad to Summit. .
Mr. Alfred B. lies lias made .a
iiro|M>sition to build a railroad from
Valdez to the summit of Thompson
pass, at a cost of 9475,000, pro
vided the eity donate the sum of
.950,000, tlie same to -be made in
four equal |mynieuts on the com
pletion of each live miles of road;
it being about twenty miles from
here to the summit. The matter
will he brought before the public
at the meeting of the cliaiuber of
■ commerce tomorrow night.
SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT
MARCH 4TH.
liberal lav At Last
Provides For Obtaining Patent
to Unsnrveyed I,and. Text
of the BUI
Last fall at a meeting of Alas
kans in New York, most of whom
wrie from Valdez, it was agceed
that they should urge ilic passage
of a i raetieal homestead law for
Alaska. These people went in a
laxly to visit the president and
their recommendations were in
serted in his annual message, and
as a ris.ilt the land law has been
passed. The following is the com
plete bill assigned by the president,
March 4,19Q3:
“An Act to amend Section One
of the Act of Congress approved
May 14tli, 1898, entitled ‘An Act
extending the homestead laws and
providing for a right-of-way for
railroads in the district of Alaska.’
is hereby amended to read as fol
lows:
That all the provisions of the
homestead laws of the United States
not in conflict with the provisions
of this Act, and all rights incident
thereto, are hereby extended to the
District of Alaska, subject to such
regulations as may lie made by the
Secretary of the Interior; and no
indemnity, deficiency or lieu lands
pertaining to any land grant origi
nating outside of the District of
Alaska, and no scrip or warrant of
any kind whatsoever shall 1k> locat
ed within, taken from or exercised
on any lands in said district, ex
cept as now provided by law.
Provided, that no more than lfiO
acres shall be entered in any single
body bv such scrip, lieu, selection
or soldier’s additional homestead
right; and provided further, that
no location of scrip, selection or
right along any navigable or other
waters shall lie made within the
distance of eighty rods of any land
along such waters theretofore lo
cated by means of any such scrip
or otherwise; and provided further,
that no commutation privileges
shall lie allowed in excess of 160
acres included in any homestead
entry under the provisions hereof.
And provided further, that no
entry shall lie allowed extending
more than 160 rods along the shore
of any navigable water, and along
such shore a space of at least eighty
reals shall be reserved for entry lie
tween all such claims; and that
nothing herein contained shall be
so construed as to authorize entries
to lie made or title to lie acquired
to the shore of any navigable wat
ers within said district; and no
patent shall issue hereunto until
all the requirements of Sections
twenty-two hundred and ninety
one, twenty-two hundred and
ninety-two, and twenty-three hun
dred and five of the Revised Stat
utes of the United States have lieen
fully complied with as to residence,
improvements, cultivation and
proof, except ms to commuted lands
as herein provided.
Ana n is iuriner provided, mat
there shall he mul is hereby grunt
ed every settler who is qualified to
make homestead entry of the pub
lic lands of the United States, who
has settled, or who shall hereafter
settle on any of the public lands of
thc'United States situated in the
District of Alaska, whether sur
veyed or unsurveyed, with the in
tention of claiming the same under
tlie homestead laws, and who shall
have resided upon and cultivated
the same for the period of five
vears, beginning from the date of
nis actual settlement thereon, the
quantity of one-half section, or
three hundred and twenty acres of
land. If any of the land so settled
upon, or to be settled upon, Is un
surveyed, then the- land settled
Upon or to fie ’settled upon must
be located in a rectangular form,
one mile in leugth and oue-half
mile in width, and located by north
and south lines run aocordingL to
the true meridian. That the loca
tion so made shall be marked upon
the ground by permanent numu
_,
ments at each of the four corners
of the said location, so that the
boundaries of the same may Ik*
readily and ensily traced; That the
record of said location shall within
ninety days from tlic date of set
tlement he filed for record in the
recording district in whioh'the Tand
is situated; said record shall con
taift ttir jitrjne of the,..settler, the
date of the settlement ami such n
description of the .land settled up
on by reference to some natural
object or permanent monument,ns
will identify the samel*. And if,
after the. expiration of the'stiid pe
riod of five years, rtf at such date
ns the settler may desire to com
mute, the public surveys of the
United States have not been ex
tended over the laful located, a
patent shall nevertheless- issue for
t ie land ine’udcd within the Ikuhi
daries of said location ns thus re
corded, upon proof to Ik* submit
ted to the Re^is'er ami Receiver of
the proper land office, as required
by Section twenty-two hundred and
ninety-one of the Revised Statutes
of the United States, ns heretofore
and herein amended, and under
the procedure in the obtaining of
patents to the unsurveved lands of
the United States, as provided for
by Section Ten of the Act hereby
amended, and under such rules and
regulations as shall Ik* preserihed
by the Secretary of the Interior as
hereinbefore provided, except that
the settler sliall jmy no price per
acre for said land in the pr<K*edure
of obtaining said patent, except tlio
ordinary office foes and commis
sions of the Register and Receiver,
except fl.25 per acre on land com
muted. And provided always, that
no title shall Ik* obtained hereun
der to any of the mineral or coal
lands of the District of Alaska.
Receivers Appointed.
Thomas B. McGovern, of New
York; George I). Unlink, of New
Jersey, and James Kerr, of Seattle,
have been ap]>oittted receivers to
take charge of the affairs of the
Pacific American Fisheries Com
pany and the Pacific Pucking and
Navigation Company, both of which
companies admit their insolvency.
The complaint against the Pacific
Packing and Navigation Company
states that the firm is capitalized
at #2'),000,000, one-lialf of which is
preferred and one-half common
stoek. Debts to the amount of
#1,650,000 are unpaid. They con
sist mostly of overdrafts, payments
for services to employes, and bills
payable.
it is not likely that the Naviga
tion Company will discontinue
their business. Steps are now
being taken for a reorganization.
Council Organizes.
The first regular meeting of the
new city council was held Monday,
all the members of the board, with
the exception of (ioodcll, 1 icing
present.
John (ioodcll was elected perma
nent chairman; W. H. Crary, clerk;
(ius Sponberg, city treasurer, and
J. W. Leedy, city attorney.
I>r. Boyle was ap]>ointcd health
officer, and authorized to destroy
all milk offered for sale in'town by
Mr. Schaeffer, at least until the di
seased horse which ir kept in the
stable with his eows lias, luvn
killed.
The hill ot E.-C. Hasey for serv
ices as city, marshal wa's-'-RJferred to
a committee, who were instructed
to try and., raise—sufficient funds
from the merchants of Valdez to
pay the salaty of the marshal.
The biir of J. <i. Snyder for 9300
for service's as city treasurer, was
not allowed.
Died..___
Mr. ancl Mrs. John T. Gavigun
have the sympathy of the entire
community in the death of tlieir
infant daughter, Daphine, which
occurred yesterday morning after
only a day’s ijlneijs. The-little
daughter was the" sunshine qt the
home, and was a sweeflajiil lovable
child, and-a great favorite with "the
neighbors-and friends of the family?
She was 18 months and two days
old. Mrv Gavigun. and family
egme-here from Butte, Muilt.', last
September. v .
The schooner Duncarn reached
Sitka recently with a cargo of coal
from Wales. She was .231: days
making the trip of 28,000-• miles,
and did not see a vessel (luring the
entire journey.
AFTER FOUR YEARS OF DE
I»AY
it Sttka.JW(h Ml
Attempts to 8ecnre a Pardon All
Fail. Declared His Inno
cence.
Humor Bird, twice convicted of
murder in the first degree in tlte
U. S. District Court of Alaska, and
after an ap]>cnl to the U. S. .Su
preme Court and the President,
consuming four years’ time, was
hanged at Sitka on Friday, March
16th.
Every- effort known to save his
life was made by his wife, child and
others to secure a pardon for him,
and the marshal delayed the execu
tion an hour at Sitka to wait for
the steamer, which was late, think
ing that |»ossibly it might bring a
pardon or reprieve.
When the steamer arrived and it
was ascertained that no reprieve or
pardon had arrived, immediate
preparations were made to carry
out the mandate of the law. At
1:20 the condemned man, in com
pany with the marshal and two
deputies, ascended the scaffold.
Marsha] Slump then addressed
the prisoner in the usual manner,
staling that it had now liecome his
painful duty to cairy out the sen
tence of the court. The prisoner
wi s then allowed 20 minutes to
make his last statement. He de
cline 1 h ’ore his (fad that he did
not u se vc to Ik* hanged, and
would not l>e in his awful (Misition
were it not for his wicked compan
ions. He then mude several futile
attempts to read from a prepared
statement, and finally handing the
same over to Father Turnell, re
questing the onlookers to read itj
lie was men placed in (lusuion and,
securely hound, the noose was*
placed around his neck and tlie
black cap drawn over his head, and
13• liiinutfs aficr the trap was
sprung he was declared dead.
There was no struggle and death
seemed to lie instantaneous.
At the expiration of 20 minutes
the body was cut down, placed in
I a coffin and taken to the Catholic
church, where services were held.
Later, Bird reached his last resting
pluce under the direction of the au
thorities, and thus ended the first
legal execution of Southeastern
Alaska.
The crime for which Homer Bird
paid the penalty was the killing of
J. H. Hurlin at Anvik, on the Yu
kon river, Septemlicr 27. 1 S'.ts. At
the same time he shot K. L. Pat
terson, who died six months later
from the effects of the wound. The
other male member of the party
ha/ely escaped Bird’s rifle by flee
ing into the woods. The party
were proceeding up the Yukon, anil
in tlie company was a woman, and
it was jealousy over her that caused
tlie shooting.
Bird had two fair trials at a great
exjiense to the Government, and
while all feel grieved for the wife
and child, no one who is familiar
with the facts, can feci but that
justice to mankind has been ac
complished.
Cable to AlaaKa.
- The War Department, on March
-6th, let a contract to the Safety In
sulated Wire and Cable Company
jof &£W York, for the manufacture
of eleven hundred statute 'miles of
-submarine cable, -to be delivered
on the Pacific coast at the /earliest,
possible date. The cable is intend
ed. Jot use' between- Seattle and"
Alaska, and will -touch at Juneau
aod Sitka. As soou - as it reaches
the coast the work, .of placing it in •
.position will be pushed, along as
.rapidly as possible," and Gen. Gree
ley, head of the signal service de
partment, hoj>es to -see the line
completed this coming summer.
1485,000 has been appropriated by
Congress for this line.
Vocal and piano instruction,
French or German language classes.
Schneider Sisters, Broadway.
Maps of Niiiua country for sale
at the Poetoffice.