VOLUME 1, NO. 21. VALDEZ, ALASKA, THURSDAY, JULY 3, 1902. OFFICIAL CITY PAPER.
JAMES FSSS1 & Go*
Announcement.
On Monday, July 7th 1902, we will open our new store at the corner of
Broadway and McKinley street.
Mr. Oscar Fish retires from the firm and Mr. E. B. Wheat succeeds to
a partnership in the business.
We are now in a position to give our entire time and undivided atten
tion to supplying your wants and we shall at all times endeavor to furnish
the fcest of everything at the very lowest prices.
Goods delivered to all parts of the City.
[ Merit will tell
I The truth of this saying has been proven
I by the wonderful success of
CRARY’S COMPOUND COUGH SYRUP
In all cases of Cough’s Colds, etc. It is our ab
solutely genuine preparation that
Has merit. .
Huy a bottle of it now. Try it,and if not alisolute- 1
Iv satisfactory to you, the money will In* refunded. 1
THE VALDEZ PHARMACY 1
H. T. WHITLEy, GEO. J. LOVE
Merchants Cafe
AMD
Bakery.
MEALS AT ALL HOUpS. OPEN ALL NIGHT
Mow n)e to introd(ic£ god
The Choicest Selections of
UP TO DATE
Watches, Jewelry, Diamonds
and the Swellest of Swell
Novelties in (.Sold and Silver.
WHICH STAND WITHOUT A PEER
Standard Quality, Superior Work
manship, and Artistic Designs.
Any of^which would make “Princely Presents. The prices are right too
The feature of Making to Order NUGGET JEWELRY of all Sorts
we Especially Call Your Attention To.
YOUR SIGHT! See as well as you used to?
HOW NOW ! Delay will cause you endless trouble and sometime)
total hlnuuicss.
Our EZY SPEX will give you absolute relief. Costs nothin;
to find out. FREE' TE1ST.
W. C STULL,
Jeweler, Elx;»crt Watchmaker Optician, and Diamond Setter.
VALDEZ
Copper Center News.;
The Pnwpector S|>c<-ial Service.
Copper Centre, July 3.—.John
Downing and “Rats,’ paid us a
visit the 28th. Billy Soule and
A.Burr arrived here with their pack
horses on the 29th. They will
leave for Slate creek to-day. Harry
Me Gee and Chas. Nelson arrived
from .Slate Creek this morning.
According to their report, things
do not look very good at the dig
gings. The princijial trouble seems
to be the lack of provisions, and
for that reason those who came to
the diggings late did not secure
w ork. All tire old timers are work
ing, hut there are a number of men
idle. Miller Gulch Is short of
water, with very little prospect of i
«n increase on the upper claims as
the ground is still frozen and cov
I ered with snow. Fred Date’s claim
is sitowingup well, but the reported
amount per pan is too good to 1«
true. All claims from the "Foui
Black Dogs” up to Miller Gulch are
working, likewise Kramers, Jack
M illcrs and Garrets on Miller
Gulch, but on an average only ten
mm are employed on the two
shifts. Bert Hurd had a #tiO().
elcan-up. Workman, Tom Me.
Neif, Sy. Me Gown and one other
man will leave here for Valdez to
day. They left Slate the 25th,
There is no doubt now that Mr.
Johnson, who left the telegraph con
struction party to go to Slate Creek,
is lost. His pack and blanket were
found near Fish’s cabin, but he lias
not been seen for a montlc
A NATIONAL BANK.
The First National Bank of Ala
ka, with a capital of One Hundred
Thousand Dollars, is an ussured
fact. The company is organized
and will lie cstuhlishe l here at an
early date. We are not in a j«>si
tion to give the persouel of the
Company.
Some of The Outfits They
Brought In.
They Wandered Over Glaciers and
Mountains Looking for Gold
And Found Hardships.
MANY LIE IN LONELY GRAVES
The people who came to Alaska
in the hig rush knew nothing of
the country or of the conditions
that prevailed here. They were
ready to Isdieve anything they
could hear or read concerning the
country except the truth. They
had read in their old school lsioks ,
alstltt the ice hergs and polar hears,
and had seen pictures of them
ami of the natives wearing
furs and killing walrus near the
north pole. Alaska must all he
the same, and they could not get
rid of that idea. Consequently they
came here with all manner of de
vices for finding gold, and all kinds
of plunder to harterwiththemitives
for the precious metal and their
furs. Tons of this stuff they found
to he of no earthly use whatever,
after landing here, and had to he
thrown uwav.
One company of forty men in
San Francisco chartered a schooner
and brought nearly half of the car
go in candles, that some party had
told tliem they could trade to the
natives for nuggets and furs. An
other party brought a larger part
of their cargo in soap that they ex
pected to dispose of in the same
manner, not knowing that then
is nothing more abhorrent to
a siwush than soap, l’art of this
soap can still he found on the Kenui
peninsula.
One party of fifty souls • brought
with them three gold pans a piece.
One for each hand and one extra.
Another partv brought a post hole
auger for eaeli man and expected
to Imre holes all over the country,
and in this way they would find
just where the gold was located with
out having to lose valuable time
sinking shafts anil digging holes
with picks and shovels. Otlu-rs
brought crow bars with which tt>
prv up the rocks and boulders and
get the gold that lmd settled under
neath. It is hardly necessary to
say that they did not carry them
very far.
VUlt1 |H lUWUtt IMlHipil WIU1
him a forked limb of a peach tree
about four feet long on the of
which he fastened a live dollar gohl
eoin. He held the stick by the
prongs and traveled aliout over the
mountains and bills declaring that
when he passed over any gold that
the affinity lie tween the two metals
would lie so great that it would
cause the stick to lend down. He
was a good man and honest in his
convictions, hut was never known
to find any gold, and went out of
the country declaring that there
was no gold in the Copper river
[country and tliat it was all a huin
I mg.
Another party of men known as
the “scientific party,” carried aliout
200 or 800 jHiunds of electric bat
teries, wire and other apparatus
into the interior and had it so
arranged that no Indians or wibl
animals could npprocnh the tent
without turning on an alarm.
Their sled was so arranged with
electric wires and batteries that if
it passed over any rich quartz or
coarse gold an electric liell would
ring. One night while the camp
w as peaceful and quiet and all were
I sleeping, the hell commenced to
ring anil instantly there was intense i
action and excitement in the tent, j
The gold alarm laid rung. Some'
commenced to dig with pick and |
shovel, others to write location1,
notices and one or two commenced
to write letters home of their good
luck. They had struck it. Of
course they found nothing, and
from the smiles of some of the
memhers of adjoining ramps it was
thought that some one had turned1
tin- current on, full force, for pure
maliciousness.
One party of half n dozen men.
two of them accompanied by their
wives, came from St. Louis and
brought their valets. They also
brought two full dri-s* suits, with
silk hats, and carried these things
over the glacier l'»0 miles into the
interior, and gave them to the
natives, and to this ilay, if you go
to a certain hwliari village, the chief
will come out to welcome you clad
iu a full dress suit and a silk hat
on. all much too small for his un
graceful form.
Among those who dime in search
of gold were ministers, lawyers,
doctors, men'll*at*, bankers, art
ists, clerks of all kinds, and nearly
every branch of industry was repre
sented. There were men who bad
never slept out of doors, cooked a
meal of victuals, pitched a tent, cut
a stick, made a fire, washed a hand
kerchief or sewed on a button.
Many did not know whether to
cook a gallon of beans for a meal
or till a bucket full of dried apples
to cook for supper.
Many of these people got into
the interior a few miles, built
themselves cabins, and actually sat
around eating bacon and beans,
reading novels, getting no exercise,
and they were soon badly afflicted
with the dreaded scurvy. Some
were carried out to the coast and
sent home physical wrecks. Others
died, and were buried far from
home and friends. Some went to
sea in Units; others traveled over
glaciers, through deep canyons and
up winding rivers, not taking prop
er care of themselves or being care
ful of the (Lingers about them.
Consequently many have crossed
over the great divide and now
prospect in an unknown country,
from which no prospector ever re
turns.
Tim s they came into the country
Kverv lxxlv had a sure thing, or
a tip from some one to “just
follow me.” They moved alien* tin
country cautiously and mysterious
ly, afraid that some one would fol
low them and discover their “sure
thing.” More than 11HH) came to
Valdez and went over the glacier
into the interior. Half as many
went into the Cook Inlet country
and thousands of others went into
other parts of Alaska. It was a
hcterogenious mass of humanity
with not one in twenty that was
fitted ior the life of a prospector
in Alaska. Of the more than four
thousand who came to Valdez, less
, than a hundred remained. They
| could not stand such a life, not
lieing accustomed to the depriva
tions that one had to endure in the
, early days.
Is it any wonder that thousands
1 traveled over a rich country and
found nothing. They did not know
how look for gold, and were not
fitted ftir the prospectors life.
They returned to their Ionics curs
ing Alaska, themselves and every
thing connected with the Alaska
expedition. A few remained anti
have heen sue essful. More men
of experience arc now coming into
the country and they will profit by
I the experience of those who have
gone on before. The country is
rich ami needs only to be developed
anti its greatness will be something
wonderful.
in B »u mi:
Late News From Chittyna
Confirm First Report
Of Rich Placers.
WORK BEGUN jAT NEW CAHP.
Mr. Kd. Hormel, who returned
from Young Creek last Sunday, ful
ly confirms all that has lieen re
ported of the new strike at the
head of the Chittyna.
Horiael went in late last spring as
•ook for a party working on one of
die large copper properties, hut
broke loose and joined the rush.
He located some good claims, and
was then compelled to come out to
Yaldez. as he had no outfit. He
lid some panning with a shovel,
ind the results satisfied him that
his property is all right. He
brought out a small quantity of the
gold with him, which looks very
good, and is not so flat and flaky
as Slate Creek gold. The sample
suggests a land of coarse gold.
Some«»f the other hoys, who did
nothing more than to pan, have
some very nice nuggets to show for
their trouble.
From Hurry Fitch, who ha« been
very near there all the season, we
hum that itl*e ground i< fully as
rich as reported, and he believes
that when iJiey’settle down to work
with sluice 1 sixes it will prove far
better than their expectations.
Up to the time Harry left. Young
Creek and Hex tiulcli were looked
upon as. the best holdings; whether
they will prove up as such remains
to lie seen,
There is plenty of timber every
wJer-e in tbe neighborhood of the
claims, and at the time Harry left
the men were cutting down trees
and getting ready to whip-saw.
This will he a slow proceeding this
season as there were hut few saws
brought hat« the country, and those
will have to lie lent around.
There is a tin-* head of
water on all the streams, so there
will lie no trouble from that source.
Mr. Amy, who was on Dun and
several other of the adjacent creeks
last year, and was very near there
this year, confirms all the state
ment.- of Harry Fitch. Mr. Amy
located four claims on Dan Creek
last season, with which lu* is well
satisfied. Mr. Amy’s time is fully
taken up in attending to his copper
property, so that lie is unable to
give Ji is per son a 1.a t tent i« n to placer
mining, hut the reports he receives
from thosethe ground are very
tiatteriaig.
Last year when locations were
first made, Kane and W’arner with
mlv a gold pan to work with took
.K ja-tiKvweight out of Dan creek
in a .short time.
Wild) the Siut# Creek, Brem
ner anil Chittyna millionaires meet
here next £».l Valdes ought to l>e a
hot town.
Later News.
The main camp of the diggings
is on Young creek.
Koppus, Stevens, Keman, and
the two Griffiths are cutting lumber
for sluice lioxes.
Burt Skinner and Ur. Winuns
ire on the Uuskalina with >JcCar
liy, Hoffman, McNeer, McNaugh
ton aomi Heok.
Fete Cxsliman and Jas. McHie
ire at the Xazina.
Mr. Banta lost a horse on the
Strelna divide.
The McPherson outfit also lost*
horse three miles beyond the Cojs
per river.