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VOLUME 2, WO. 9. _VALDEZ, ALASKA, THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1903. OFFICIAL CITY PAPER.
JAMES FISH & CO
Furnishing Goods.
Everything to Wear.”
IF you WANT
Hats, Caps, Boots, Shoes,
Pants, Overalls,
Ready-to-Wear Suits,
Sweaters or Slickers
You Can get them here
and save money. We
have the Finest, exclu
sive everything-to-wear
stock in town.
We-i^_Headquarters for Underwear
And can fit you in anything you
want, from Fleece-Lined, at $1.50
a suit to Mercerized Silk at $8.00
a suit. Twenty-five styles to select
from.
COTTON UNDERWEAR,
WOOL UNDERWEAR,
SILK UNDERWEAR.
Cure That Cold at
P. O. DRUG STORE.
P. E. KERN,
GOLD and SILVERSMITH.
We Carry a Large Lot of
Souvenir Spoons
Nugget Jewelry
Rings, Etc.
Fine Watch Repairing
City Market
NEXT TO MEBCHANt’s CAPE.
Wholesale and Retail Dealers in
Beef, Mutton, Pork and Poultry
Our Prices are RIGHT. Give ub a call.
mit u looms
We have them for everybody
at every price
Mineral Glasses, Compasses, Blow Pipes
Prospector’s Watches
New Stock Grapbophones, Records and Points Too.
Our stock of Diamonds, Watches, Jewelry
and Optical Goods has never been so
complete nor prices so low.
W. C. -STULL, Nonet Jewelry Made to Order
Optician, Jeweler and Expert Watchmaker.
The Excursion.
In response to th e invitation ex
tended by Capt. Moore to the peo
ple of Valdez to take a short trip
down the sound on the Excelsior,
last Sunday, at least 200 citizens
responded, and at the appointed
hour (1 o’clock) the steamer started
off. touching at the post on the
way to take on some excursionists
from that point.
I he earlier part of the day waB
rather uninviting, which caused a
number to remain at home who
would liked to have gone.
Just as the boat left her moor
ings a slight breeze sprung up
that rapidly cleared the sky and
the sun came out in full force.
The journey extended a couple of
miles below the narrows. Every
one on board enjoyed themselves,
and various sources of amusement
were found. In some mysterious
manner a number of packages of
dainties, such as fruits, candies,
cakes and sandwiches disappeared;
at least the owners so state, hut
they must have made a mistake
and left their packages behind.
The principal place of attraction
for a number of the men was the
captain’s room, where they met
and discussed the land laws.
The trip was a complete success,
and in compliance with the wishes
of those aboard we extend to Cap
tain Moore the thanks of all for
his kindly act in giving us our
first excursion of the season.
Perry Across Copper.
Wm. Wortman and Ralph
Wheaton are to huild and operate
a ferry across the Copper river in
the neighborhood of the canyon.
A 1,500-foot cable is now on the
river being hauled to its destination
and will be put in position while
the river is still frozen. Their boat
will be a good, large one, and
altogether the ferry will cost about
91,000. Just as soon as the snow
disappears sufficiently to allow it,
a number of men will be employed
to cut and make a road suitable
for wagons to run from the ferry
and connect with the government
trail near Ernestine. A first-class
house will be erected at the ferry
landing for the accommodation of
travelers.
CITIZENS SUBSCRIBE FOR
STOCK IN
44,000 Shares Taken at the Meet*
ing. Proposition of
A. B. lies.
Last Monday and Tuesday word
was circulated through the town
that a special meeting of the cham
l»er of commerce would be held
Tuesday evening to consider a rail
road proposition. This brought
out a large number of people in
spite of the inclement weather, anil
at an early hour the court room
was well filled.
F. M. Brown occupied the chair,
with A. W. Rochford as secretary.
Mr. Brown opened the meeting
without any delay, with a short,
able address stating the object of
the call, and requested Mr. Alfred
B. lies to address the meeting,
which he did in a business-like
manner, setting forth his proposals,
which, in substance are as follows:
To form and incorporate a com-;
pany capitalized at $25,000,000,1
divided into 5,000.000 shares, par
value of $5 per slinre. In order
that the people of town may have
an interest in the affair and show
their good will towards the enter
prise, Mr. lies agrees to let them
have 100,000 shares at 10 per cent
of the par value, or in other words,
at 50 cents per share.
Further, Ids agreement stipulates
that not one dollar will lie asked
for from the people of the town
until five miles of the road shall
have been laid and a construction
car running over the same, and
then only 25 per cent of the amount
will be due; and when ten miles of
the road is completed as above
another 25 per cent will be due,
and so on until twenty miles of the
road is in working order, then it is
expected that all the stock sub
scribed for in the town, at the
stated price, 50 cents per share,
will lie paid into the company.
In order that there may be no
misunderstanding in the minds of
would-lie purchasers, let us state it
this way: If you subscribe for
1,000 shares, the face value of the
same is 15,000, but being in on the
ground floor, you get them for
$500; for this you pay nothing
down, but just as soon as five
miles are completed you pay
into the company $125; when ten
miles are completed you pay in
another $125, and so on, payment
being made as each five miles is
finished, until the full twenty miles
is in running order.
It is further agreed that the ter
minus of the road will be within
the town of Valdez.
On the completion of Mr. lies’
address setting forth the above
plans, a number of those present
were eager to subscribe, so on mo
tion the chair appointed Messrs.
Fish, Debney and Amy as a com
mittee to receive subscriptions, and
before the meeting adjourned there
were 44,000 shares taken.
Following is the agreement en
tered into and a list of subscribers
who signed for stock at the meet
ing:
, Valdez, Alaska, Apr. 7,1903.
This agreement, entered into be
tween the undersigned citizens of
Valdez, Alaska, the parties of the
first part, and Alfred B. lies, the
party of the second part, witness
ed :
That if the party of the second
purl shnll cause a railroad cur|>or
ation to beorganized under the laws
of congress applicable to Alaska, i
approved March 2, A. I). 1903, with
a capital stock of twenty-five mil
lion dollars, divided into five mil
lion shares of the par value of five
dollars each; and shnll cause to be
constructed a 3<>-inch gunge steam
railroad having its initial point at
the present town of Valdez, Alaska,
and running thence in an easterly
and northerly direction through
Keystone canyon, and for a dis
tance of at least twenty miles from
Valdez, and shall commence actual
construction on or la-fore July 1,
A. I). 1903, and prosecute the work
on said railroad with all reasonable!
diligence;
i hen and in consideration of the
foregoing acts being done and per
formed by Haul party of the second
part or his assigns, the said parties
of the first part hereby agree in
consideration of the benefits de
rived by them from the construc
tion of said railroad, itnd the in
creased value of the real estate and
projierty in Valdes owned by them,
to take the numl>er of shares of the
capital stock of the said railroad
corporation, non-assessahle, herein
after set opposite their names, and
to pay for the same at the rate of
fifty cents per share, to-wit: o.ie
fourth of said subscription to be
paid upon the actual completion of
each five miles of said railroad up
to twenty miles; that is to say,
one-fourth on the completion of
the first five miles, another fourth
on the completion of ten miles of
said road, the third on the comple
tion of fifteen miles of said road,
and the remainder on the comple
tion of said twenty miles of said
railroad; for the purpose of this
agreement, the passage of a con
struction train over any five mile
portion shall constitute the comple
tion of that portion.
L<pon the hrst one-fourth of said
subscription being paid by any one
of the parties of the first part, the
said party of the second part or his
assigns, shall deposit in the Bank
of Valdez, with 8. A. Heinple, pres
ident, the full amount of the capital
stock in said railroad corporation
subscribed by such party of the
first part, and said stock to be held
in escrow by said depository until
all four of said payments herein
provided for shall have been made,
then to be delivered to the party
making said payment, and if ail
four of such payments shall not be
made in full, at the rate of fifty
cents per share as aforesaid, then
said stock shall be forfeited
and revert to said party of the sec
ond part or his assigns.
Jas. Fish & Co.6000 shares
C. G. Debney.5000 '*
F. M. Brown.5000 “
C. H. M. Greenwald .. .5000 “
Bank of Valdez.2000 *•
\V. 8. Amy.2000 “
A. J. Kelsey.2000 “
Adam 8wan.2000 “
E. C. Richards.2000 “
Geiger* McPhce.2000 “
C. M. McGrath.1000 “
F. Ketelhut.1000 “
C. K. Hammond.1000 “
G. E. Baldwin.1000 “
Peter Hebert.1000 “
H. H. Hildreth.1000 “
O. J. Anderson.1000 “
Chas. 8imonsted.1000 “
R. R. Robinson.1000 “
J. J. McGillicudy. 500 “
John C. Dougherty_ 500 “
L. A. Decker. 500 “
W. E. Root. 500 “
Wm. Bannister. 100 “
John Koakes. 100 “
Seeing the earnestness of the
people in the enterprise, Mr. lies
immediately wrote out an order for
rails and sent the same off on the
Excelsior yesterday morning, and
if all goes well the returning Ex
celsior will bring to Valdez the
first installment of railroad iron.
Mr. lies will leave here on the
next lioat and go east, where the
final arrangements will be made
for the Valdez railroad.
At the time of going to press
80,000 shares of the 6tock had been
subscribed for.
snoi nin stir
BECOMING DESPONDENT. J.
McCURDT SUICIDES.
Operator at the Darns
Found Dead in Hie Cabin. Brought
To Valdea. Coroner's In*
quest.
Last Saturday evening the body
of Jesse McCurdy was brought to
town from Station No. A of the
government telegraph line, where
he had Ijeen stationed as operator.
He had been there alone for about
two months and was seen very
seldom.
On the morning of April ‘i, at
about 7:30 o’clock, J. 1). Scow,
medical attendant on the trail saw
deceased, who ap|>cared #to l>e in a
healthy condition, both mentally
and physically. The same morn
ing.about an hour later, Lieutenant
Wheeler found tho door locked and
was al>out to pass on, hut before
doing so. looked in through the
closed window and saw the body of
a man lying on the floor. With
t(jo assistance of a passing miner
they forced the door open and
found the prostrate form to he that
of McCurdy, dead though still
warm. A carbine lay lietween his
legs, with a string tied from his
foot to the trigger, which plainly
showed the affair to be a case of
suicide. The gun had l»een evi
dently placed upright on the floor
and the deceased leaning over the
muzzle pulled tl»e trigger with hia
foot. The door was locked on the
inside to prevent the possibility of
interruption.
Lieutenant Wheeler finding that
the man was beyond recovery
telegraphed Ft. Liscum for instruc
tions; in compliance with which,
the body was placed on a sled aud
hauled to Valdez, a distance of 55
miles, by J. D. Scow.
Dr. Hewett of the Post examined
the body and found that the bullet
had entered the chest, passed
through the body and came out on
the back, piercing the heart in
transit.
A coroner’s jury was impaneled
by Judge Lyons and brought iu
the following verdict:
We, the jury, find that the de
ceased, Jesse G. McCurdy, age
about 22, a native of Pennsylvania,
came to his death on April 2, 1903,
at the United States telegraph sta
tion at Tiekhell, Alaska, from the
effects of a gunshot wound indicted
by himself with suicidal intent.
After the verdict was rendered
the body was taken in charge by
the military authorities and in
terred at Ft. Liscum.
Cold at Copper Center.
CorrER Center, April 8.—There
are no signs of Copper river break
ing up. From all appearances the
seasou will be two weeks later than
last year.
Every day there are number of
dog mushers going through here on
the way to the Tanana strike. Tha
trail is fine.
Bob Coles, Mrs. Strouse and
party left for Slate creek Mouday.
Austin and party passed through
the same day.
Kracmer, Finical and Leavell
leave tomorrow. Jack Miller and
party leave todav. Temperature,
22 below last nigKt.
The Portland left Mouday noon,
southbound. The following is the
list of passengers, most of whom
are going to Kayak: Miss M. H.
Bear, Miss F. J. Chapman, Miss S.
F. Chapman, Wm. J. Keller, A. J.
Brown, B. F. Walker, M. O. Simp
kins, Miss R. H. Kelly, Rob’t. H.
Kelly, M. Goldsmith, A. 6. Clark.
M. Schumer, M. Barrett, D. Dris
coll, J. T. Murphy, Mary Grise, J.
W. Higgins, J. ?mitb, J. Trail.