Howl he “ Yello w Kid1'
Loses Alaska Fortune
Seattle—The exceeding hard luck of a well known Alaska and
Seattle character and an interesting collection of specimens from Northern
nomenclature are the interesting features of a story that is going the
rounds of “sourdoughs” wintering in Seattle. It is the narrative of how
“The Yellow Kid,” whose reputation is that “he never won a bet,”
lost a cool quarter of a million dollars through allowing his interest in a
Fairbanks mining claim to be sold under his pow'er of attorney for $500.
“The Yellow Kid,” whose real but less known name is Frank
Howard, always had a hard run ot luck, he complains, and therefore it
was painful but not surprising several years ago when the Fairbanks’
police one day told him to shake the dust of the camp off his heels be
fore the wane of the midnight sun. “The Kid” had laid a big b^t on a
prize fighter he was backing to beat a local favorite The police had
not objected to that, particularly, but had come to regard “The Kid”
with a feeling akin to suspicion when they found about a pound and a
half of leaden ingots in both gloves of “The Kid’s” choice in the prize
fight.
In hastily closing his affairs “The Kid” executed a power of attor
ney, authorizing a Fairbanks lawyer to handle for him a half-interest in
a wildcat Coldstream ruining claim, “The Kid,” supposing the claim
to have proved worthless, almost had forgotten it, when not long ago
he received an order for $500. The ground had been sold.
“The Kid” had not finished spending the windfall when more news
about the claim reached him One-half of the interest that had been
sold for him had been sold again to John McGinn, Clarence Berry and
Jack Bigelow', three cf the best known mining men in the country, for
$75i°°°
A few days after this stunning news had reached the luckless one a
Goldstream miner, just down from the North, met “The Kid” and
delivered a last staggering blow with the information that the claim had
been discovered to cover about the richest part of a great, newly.opened
Goldstream paystreak, reputed to be one of the best finds ever made in
the camp. This informant told “The Kid” his interest is worth probably
a quarter of a million dollars.
“The Kid,” inured to such experience by years of dalliance with
Dame Fortune, is taking it stoically. He recently was seen in Sin
Francisco, where he is a bartender in the Thalia dance hall, by a former
acquaintance.
“It’s a shame for me to be slinging beer when I ought to be driving
an auto with some of that two fifty thou,” said ‘The Kid,' but anyway
I’ve earned tlie reputation of losing a mighty nice bet.”
“The Kid’’ had obtained his interest in the claim originally by
grubstaking a prospector, whose only name Alaskans here can remem
ber is “Poker Dick.” One old acquaintance said he believed he had
seen “Poker” sign a location notice with the name Davis once, but he
was not sure.
The same informant, who is authority for the story of “The Kid,"
mentions a “Ham Grease Jimmy’’ person whom he says nearly every
old-time Alaskan will recall. It seems “Ham Grease” was a famous
dance hall caller in the halcyon days of such institutions, before the era
cf T. Roosevelt and Governor Wilfred Hoggatt in the North. “Ham
Grease” found his niche in 'brisco life by signing on with the same
dance hall Howard is employed in, as spieler. The duties of this position
are to stand outside the entrance and in unique and catchy phrases
temptingly de-cribe the lures of the dance, beverages and bright lights
within.
The caller in this place also is a one-time famous Klandike charac
ter, known as “Slim.’’ In his case the surname has not been forgotten
in the usage of the sobriquet tacked on to him because of an abnormal
waist line. He is “Slim Gorman ”
A MODERN HOTEL
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TRIPS EVERY DAY EXCEPT SUNDAY
Leaves Flat Creek .9:00 a. m.
Leaves Flat for Discovery Otter at.5:00 p. m.
Leaves Discovery Otter at.8.00 a. m.
Leaves Ophir House, Iditarod.2:00 p. m.
Round trip to B'lat, $6 ; round trip to Discovery Otter, $8.
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) FIRST AVENUE TELEPHONE 63 ]
Second Entry in Iditarod
Hammer- Thro wing Con test
Fairbanks Times, March 22: Bob Graham, of the Senate, is in
receipt of a letter from big Tom Dodd, former resident of this
camp, who is no.v in the Iditarod country, having gone down there
last summer in company with Tom Chisholm, with whom he has
been associated since the early days of the Klondike, the two hav
ing come into the country over the Dalton trail in ’98 with a bunch
of cattle.
In part, Dodd writes: ‘T am writingonce more to let you know
what I think is my unbiased opinion of the camp. To tell you the
truth, my first opinion remains unchanged. There is pay for about
one mile on Otter creek; two and a half miles on Flat, and a few
bunches here ard there. There are two claims on Willow, three
on Happy and the balance is at the mouth of Black creek; it is such
a scattered affair that there is no regular paystreak -just occa
sional good spots.
"It is a tough proposition here to make a living, as there is
nothing to hang yourself to and the provisions are high . . .
reindeer $1.50 per, ham and bacon 75 cents, butter a dollar per and
so on down the line.
“One of the operators, Charles Linn, was sluicing close to
town and lost about $10,000 in six weeks’ run—this was on Flat
creek, mind you, so don't get any false impressions. However,
there no doubt will be a lot of gold taken out of the creek next
summer, as there are some awful big frameups—Riley & Marston,
on discovery, Otter, 200 men; Aitken & Manley, Doc Mading,
O'Connor & Co., George Friend, Bennie James, Ronan & Monk
man and lots of others will work to their full capacity. It looks as
though it might be a hummer around here. Flat City is a town
about the size of Chena with all of her buildings, and goodness
knows where they are going to stop.
“Iditarod city is not even what Fairbanks is to the creeks; it
is the best boosted, most false alarm place you ever saw.
“Bill Maher and Taylor are cutting wood above here, but can’t
sell it for cash. Maher says that if he could sell, he would hit the
trail for Fairbanks right away; also the same with Bob Cameron.
Bob Logan is on the Tokotna, on the Ku.skokwim side.
“I am writing this from Jack Connolly’s place at Flat City.
Jack has a good saloon and lodging house and is doing well.
■_ “M. T. Dodd.”
DIVORCED, BUT HE
DIDN'T KNOW IT
Seattle, March 22.—Mrs. Minnie R.
Williams, divorced wife of John R.
Williams, deceased, an Alaska mining
man, was brought from the county jail
recently in a suit by Mrs. Luella E.
Roat for $25,000 for alienation of the
affections of her husb&nd, W. E. Roat,
to whom she was married at Glenwood
Springs, Col., in 1901.
John Williams was killed in Alaska
in 1899 by a snowslide. His wife had
secretly obtained a divorce from him a
year previously and he lived with her
after the divorce in ignorance of it, ac
cording to the four brothersand sisters
of Williams, all of whom live in Tilla
mook, Ore.
The brothers and sisters contested
the alleged will of Williams, filed by
the divorced wife, giving his $25,000
estate to her, and the jury found
against the woman. As soon as the
verdict was returned Judge Wilson R.
Gay ordered the arrest of Mrs. Wil
liams and her witnesses to the alleged
will, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Graham, charg
ing them with fo"gerv and perjury.
Judge Gay said that he was satisfied
| that a lawyer aided Mrs. Williams
i throughout the crime. Mrs. Williams
has been thrice divorced.
Vautier’s Valuable Vision
George Vautier says he has often
seen geese flying over low passes carry
ing swallows on their backs. When the
little birds are rested they fly along
with the geese until they again become
tired, when they return to their
perches and ride a while. Mr. Vautier
also declares there are fish in Alaskan
waters. Further, that a certain small
black fish he caught and froze, months
later when thawed out in warm water,
came to life again.—Gibbon News,
Assayer Returns
Carl Rogers, assayer and assistant
cashier of the American bank, returned
early this week after a trip to the In
noko via. Moore creek. He reports a
good season in prospect in the vicinity
of Ophir, and a healthy state of things
on Moore.
•Save the pieces 1 broken lenses re
placed at Simpson’s,
Alaska As it Appears To
The Minneapolis Journal
Alaska is a syndicate, refrigerated territory of the United States,
hemmed in on the north hy the polar scandal, on the east by the North
west Mounted Police and on the south and west by the Japanese seal
poachers. The government is administered by the secretary of the in
terior, the revenue cutter service and the campfire club of New York. The
teiritory is inhabited by federal judges, Eskimos, pelagic sealers, faro
dealers, anti conservationists, Athabasca Indians and the United States
signal corps. Alaska produces coal, gold, furs, totem poles, icebergs,
reindeer, salmon and congressional investigations. It also furuished
the pretext for the Seattle exposition of 19 )9. The PribylofF islands in
Bering sea form the greatest seal fishery in the world, a matter of in
finite gratification to our little brown brothers of Nippon. Mining is
carried on in the territory by the latest approved red tape methods. The
climate compares icily with Blixen and Etali, Alaska was purchased
trom Russia in 1867 by Secretary Seward for the sum of $7,200,000. At
the time the secretary was thought to have bought a Muscovite gold
brick ; but time has shown it to be a parallel to the acquiring of Man
hattan island for $24 Alaska is the only portion of the United .States
that can boast of a decline in the cost of living. In the early Klondike
days, beefsteak brought $too a pound and whisky $350 a diitik, hut
the territory is now enjoying these blessings at a slightly higher price
than is paid by the ultimate consumers of the mainland. Fairbanks,
one of the principal towns, is named after the discoverer of the butter
milk cocktail. Mt. McKinley, near Fairbanks, is the highest* peak in
North America, and the repository of the lost copper cylinders of Dr.
Frederick A. Cook.
Cne-Line Aiaskagraphs
“Conserve the territory.’’— G. Pinchot.
“Syndicate it.’’— S. Guggenheim.
“Copyright it.”—Rex F. Beach.
"Investigate it.-I, R. Glavis.
“Forget it.”—R. A. Ballinger.
A Five-Foot Alaskan Bookshelf
“Me and Mahomet—IIow We Went to the Mountain.’’- Dr. Cook.
“Letters of a Japanese Seal Boy.”—Hashimura Togo.
“The Art of Successful Real Estate Dealing.’’—Seward.
“The Bawl of the'Ice.”—Jack London.
“The Discreet Angler, a Guide to Correct Poaching.”—The Mi
kado.
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