New Transpertelion Line
Enters Iditarod Field
With orders for many hundreds of tons already booked and routed
and still taking contracts for prompt delivery from San Francisco and
Seattle to Iditarod, Brumbaugh, Hamilton & Kellogg, the big hardware
firm of Fairbanks and this city have entered actively into the transpor
tation business of Alaska and will be a big factor in the shipping of the
coming summer.
The arrangements for the coming season promise quick con
nections, between Seattle and Iditarod with plenty of facilities for hand
ling freight rapidly. Be.t Day, formerly with N. C. Co., has taken
charge of this portion of the business o( B. H. & K in the capacity
of general transportation agent and in addition to the arrangements for
landing the freight at Dikeman, is also negotiating with the indepen
dent mosquito fleet for landing freight here.
Out of San Francisco the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. brings the
freight to Seattle in care of the Western Alaska Steamship Co. which
will land the tonnage at St. Michael. From St. Michael, the Julia B
will bring the freight to Holy Cross where she will connect with the
Samson, the boat built and operated by B. H. & K last summer.
F'or the reception of freight at Dikeman, a warehouse will be built
and a barge installed, while the same arrangement will be made on the
waterfront of this city.
Besides the Little Delta and the Florence S, Mr. Day will have
other boats to be depended upon for the handling of his shipments, and
in fact will doubtless complete arrangements with all of the independent
boats between Dikeman and this point to handle their freight from a
common landing point, an innovation that will lesson much of the vex
atious confusion of last summer, when it was a continual chase to locate
one’s consignments.
The passenger traffic will also receive attention with an office here
and at Dikeman where bookings can be made
The new transportation company has already taken enough con
tracts to keep the Julia B plying between St Michael and Gibbon for
besides the freight for the Iditarod to be landed at Holy Cross, the Julia
B will take Fairbanks freight to Gibbon.
Some change will be made at Holy Cross for the reception of freight
at that point, and it looks probable that a new town will be started
somewhere near but on this side of the Yukon. It is understood this
action is being made necessary on account of the fact that the author!
ties at the mission which to ward off all shipping activity from that -
point.
Looks For Second Nome
According to a lengthy letter printed in the Nome Nugget from F.
W. Cobh, former editor of the Nugget, who at the time of writing was
at Andreafsky, there will be a second Nome on the shore of Good News
Bay, outside the mouth of the Kuskokwitn where they are beginning
to find evidences of beach line pay, and plenty of creeks coming in from
the hills which carry the yellow metal.
The news was brought to Cobb by O Olson who went to the dis
trict last fall from Nome with Martin Johnson. They soon heard that
one Gabrielson, known about Nome as “deep sea diver,” who has been
prospecting about Good News bay for eight years, had found good pay
on a creek. Previously he had discovered much gold scattered along
the beach and in the creeks, but not rich enough to make it pay him.
On the creek. he found 12 feet of pay running from 5 to 25c. He was
reported to have rocked out 4 ounces alone in a day. Another man is
reported to have rocked out j$6oo in a short time
The country, according to description is not inviting. Ocean ves
sels can approach to within two miles of the shore, but there is no tim
ber except drift.
There are many good-sized creeks coming from the hills all along
the shore all having gold, never prospected beyond the surface pan or
two which showed good colors.
The writer further declares that he believes the section will be a
rtew camp and that he had written to Frank Waskey, then at Kusiloak
to hitch up his dog team and come along.
CAP’S PLACE
Imperial 2k.
Just received large stock Peterson
and Calabash Pipes
NEWLY BUILT PRIVATE CARD ROOMS
To enjoy an evening call and see us.
WILLOW ST., IDITAROD
TURN YOUR FACE TO
The Mecca
For Inspiration
Corner Second Avenue and Willow Street
George Auten Dave Ferguson
Iditarod Stage Line:
PAT KEYS AND PHIL MAYHAN, PROPS.
Telephone Main 64. Office at Ophir House, Willow St. j
TRIPS EVERY DAY EXCEPT SUNDAY
Leaves Flat Creek .9:00 a. m. \
Leaves Flat for Discovery Otter at.5:00 p. ra. j
Leaves Discovery Otter at.8.00 a. m.j
Leaves Ophir House, Iditarod.2:00 p. m.j
Round trip to t lat, $6 ; round trip to Discovery Otter, $8.
PASSENGERS, EXPRESS and FREIGHT
IMEFtO’S FIDDLE
We have often roasted Nero that
he played his violin, while his na
tive Rome was burning and the fire
men raised a din; there he sat and
played “Bedelia,” heedless of the
fiery storm, while the fire chief
pranced and sweated in his neat red
uniform. And I often think that
Nero had a pretty level head; would
the fire have been extinguished had
he fussed around instead? Would
the fire insurance folks have loos
ened up a shekel more, had old
Nero squirted water on some groc
er's cellar door? When there comes
a big disaster people straightway
lose their wits; they go round with
hands a-wringing. sweating blood
and throwing fits; but the wise man
1 sits and fiddles, plays a tune from
1 end to end, for it never pays to
worry over things you cannot mend.
It is good to offer battle when catas
trophes advance, it is well to keep
on scrapping while a fellow has a
chance; but when failure is as cer
tain as the coming of the dusk, then
it’s wise to take your fiddle and fall
back on “'Money Musk.”—Walt
Mason.
STANLEY SCEARCE
MONTANA MAGNATE
Old Dawsonites will remember Stan- I
ley Scearce, the go-ahead young mer
chant of the early days. Scearce is
now located at Ronan, Mont., and from
all accounts is doing exceedingly well.
The Anaconda Standard recently had
an elaborate writeup of the town of
Ronan, which is situated in the old
Flathead reservation, and the place
which Stanley Scearce holds in the
community can be gathered from the
columns of the Montana newspaper.
Scearce is the organizer and presi
dent of the First National Bank of
Ronan, president of the Ronan Com
mercial Club, president of the Ronan
Townsite Company, and proprietor of
a large department store- in which
venture he has invested over $100,000.
In the absence of railroads Mr. Scearce
moves his freight to Ronau in a large j
Packard truck, which runs night and |
day, sometimes delivering as much as
175 tons in 24 hours. These enter
prises not being sufficient outlet for all
of Mr. Scearce’s boundless energy, lie
has bored an aitesian well and struck
good water, which ho is supplying to
the town, and has also installed a sys
tem of fire protection. With a few as
sociates Scearce has gone into fruit
business. Eighty acres of land have
been purchased and scientific commer
cial orcharding will be practiced for
the information of aspiring fruit-grow
ers. Mr. Scearce is only 33 years old.
Attorneys Heading
in This Direction
From all accounts the Iditarod will
be well supplied with legal lights this
summer in addition to our perfectly
good selection of luminaries who are
already lighting up the litigious por
tion of our population. They seem to
be heading in from all directions.
From Seattle it is reported that one
Alfred Murphy and partner are com
ing, while A. J. Daly has already an
nounced his intention of looking after
his Iditarod practice for the summer.
E. Coke Hill and Mr. Grigsby, of
Nome, were supposed to be on their
way over the trail, but as nothing has
been heard from them of late they may
have delayed for the water.
Joseph H. Bullock, of Lexington,
Ky., who has spent the winter in Fair
banks, will be here on the first boat to
visit his old friend, Major Albrecht'
and it is possible he will take up prac
tice here if it looks good to him.
Fire Whistle to Toot Again
When you hear the whistle at the
Cascade laundry go toot-toot a lot of
times in rapid succession you will know
there is something doing in the fire
line. Then, if you listen attentively,
you will hear it “toot” three long
blasts which will indidate to your edu
cated ear that the fire is west of Rich
mond street, or on the up-river side.
If you hear it "toot” two long blasts
you will instantly realize that the blaze
is east of Richmond, and you will be
off like a vvarhorse scenting battle.
If you happen to be tooting at the
time the toots are tooted and find your
self unable to tabulate the total toots,
toddle to the telephone, or ask a p’lice
man. __
First Boat Arrived Tuesday
_
The first boat of the season came
from Boulder creek last Tuesday when
“Big John the Swede” brought his
poling boat through. At that time
there was a channel five or six feet
w’ide. When John “hove” in sight he
was greeted with the old cry “steam
boat” by a number of interested spec
tators along the front at Flat.
Northern
W*7 sjr i U y ' ■ ^ v-. - *L? 4 w. S
THE ONLY PLACE
IN TOWN TO GET
WE ARE THE SOLE AGENTS
Stores: Iditarod and Dikeman
COMING AND GOING
Charles Marsh, who has been busy i
during the winter on a large logging |
contract on upper Otter, made a quick i
trip to Ophtr last week with Slim |
McRea. He went, there on business 1
and will return in a short time, although
McRae got back last Tuesday.
Mrs. Harry Moss, of Flat City, was a
visitor in tlie city during the early part
of the week.
It is reported that Henry Leonard}’,
the well-known gardener of Fairbanks
who taught the. “yung dunion” how to
sprout at his greenhouses on Garden
island, will be one of the first passen
gers on that far-fatned “first boat1’ with
a load of green goods. He will also
bring the building material for green
houses, which he will set up here at
once.
A1 Raynor, the famous messhouse
proprietor of Dome creek, has trans
ferred his property there to Walter
Fisher and will come here to do fancy
messing for operators on Flat creek.
The Misses Cora and Lillian Smith,
popular telephone girls of the Fair
banks district, accompanied by their
mother, will be down on the first
water, and will join their brother, Ben
Smith, at Flat. Miss Cora Smith, it
will be remembered, was the Tanana’s
choice as the most popular young lady,
receiving the highest number of votes
in the Fairbanks Times’ competition
for the trip to the Seattle fair. She is
still quite popular with a certain indi
vidual in Iditarod, and her wedding
will be solemnized shortly after her ar
rival.
Gus Olson, chief architect and main
push of carpenters on the Baird & An
derson building of Flat, was in town
Tuesday talking to his backers, mean
ing the men who will put up the panga
for the aforesaid building. Building
operations will start there immediate1}
on the site of the old Pacific cold stor
age building next to Casey's, which
will be moved to the back of the lot.
The place will be ready for occupancy
about the first of June.
James P. Mulligan, of the N. C. Co.’s
station at Dikeman, visited in this city
from last Saturday until Monday’s mid
night hour, when, in company with Cy
Atwell, he hit the trail for home.
George Kilroy, of Kilroy & Martin
dale, laymen on the Up-Grade associa
tion at the head of Flat, came in on
business last Wednesday.
Mrs. J. J. Price was reported quite
ill this week at her home on upper
Flat.
Miss Halley, of the local telephone
exchange, was suddenly taken ill Tues
day afternoon and was assisted to the
local hospital where she recovered rap
idly, but is still quite weak. It is con
sidered that a rest will do her good,
and, in the meantime, Miss Kotsch is
handling the keyboard.
Watching the calm and impressive
laying of the cornerstone of the new
A. B. hall, which took place last Mon
day, a young man of this city was sud
denly seized by a brilliant idea and
rushed off to engage a young lady as
his partner for the opening ball. As
George Ade would say: “To beat this
fellow to it, you'd have to leave a call
for 4 o’clock and start on a run.”
Mr. Rooney, of Rooney & Teassack,
who conducted a mercantile establish
ment here last summer, has gone to
Seward where he is going into busi
ness. Mr. Teassack is reported to be
in Ellensburg, Wash.
Mrs. Selma Swanson, of the Grand
hotel, Flat, was a visitor in the city
last Monday.
Col. A. B. Ferguson, the widely,
known apostle of simonpure democracy,
visited Iditarod on urgent business this
week. He was accompanied by Mrs.
Ferguson.
Headed for Georgetown and going
good, Attorney J. C. Moody was sighted
along the ridge of the divide by E. M.
(Black) Sullivan, who reached town
Monday. Moody will stop at George
town for the spring, but he will prob
ably go Outside wheD -the Kuskokwim
opens. Mr. Sullivan, the first chief of
Iditarod’s fire department, spent most
of the winter near Bethel, but for the
last few weeks has been at George
town. The latest reports along the i
Kuskokwim are not encouraging, he
says, and he will once more stack his !
fortunes with Iditarod.
Luke Radigan, of the firm of Radigan
and Paris, poolroom proprietors of
Cullenville, at the forks of Flat creek,
came into Iditarod city during the |
week on business. Mr. Radigan looks I
forward to a prosperous summer at the J
forks, and will install another pool \
table as soon as the Minneapolis arrives.
Mrs. Anna M. Nee, who is associated
with Mrs. Snyder in the operation of
the Snyder house at Flat city, paid a :
visit to town during the week. Mrs.
Nee is very hopeful regarding the com
ing summer. To use her own expres
sion, “it sure will be a hummer.”
Mr. Wile, the Second avenue manu
facturer of glad rags, is willing to swear
on oath that the ice will go out on May
10. _
HOOSIER POET |
DEAD IN LIFE
Lexington, Ky., Feb. 24—That James
Whitcomb Riley, the famous Hoosier
poet, has been ill since last summer, j
the nature of his illness, which has;
been concealed by his friends and the j
newspapers of his home city, Indian- j
apolis, has just come to light.
Writh two life-long women friends of
Mr. Riley, one of whom was a school
mate of the poet in his native town of
Greenfield, John Wilson Townsend, the
Kentucky wtiter, called at the Riley
home recently, and there, Mr. Town
send told a friend, he received one of
the greatest shocks of his life.
On a sofa, with his eyes staring into
vacancy, the veins of his face flushed,
his hair almost gone, his small emaci
ated body covered with a big robe, lay
the greatest poet Indiana can claim and
one of the world’s foremost dialect
poets, James Whitcomb Riley. Mr.
Townsend said his first thought was :
“Riley is dead.”
One of the women told the poet her
name and asked him if he remembered
her.
“Alice? Alice? Alice,?" he said,
and then finally : “Eh, eh, yes, of
course I do ; sit down.”
“Only once,” Mr. Townsend con
tinued, “did Riley’s mind flash up like
the final flicker of a sputtering candle
before it goes out, when he asked Alice:
“Well, anybody dead or married out in
Greenfield ?”
Then -with the trace of a smile he fell
back into his monosyllables and short
questions and answers.
For many years Riley had lived ia
the home of the late Major Charles L.
Holstein, the Indiana poet and lawyer.
He has had several strokes of par
alysis, he is helpless, his mind is prac
tically a complete blank. Truly, “Riley
is dead.” _
Full line optical goods at Simpson’s.
John Mihalcik Will
Hydraulic Rich Ground
From the Fairbanks’ press it is
learned shat John Mihalcik, a well-to
do operator of Ester creek for a number
of years past arrived in the Tanana
metropolis recently and gave it out
that he has solved the mining problem
of Ready Bullion creek, and that his
hydraulic plant will be in with the
early shipments.
Mr. Mihalcik is the owner of the
first and second tier benches at No. 3
Ready Bullion creek, where he has
been prospecting for three years, long
enough to determine that the ground
carries a big stake for the man who
can handle it properly. The ground
is wet however, and the Ready Bullion
Mining Co. which took out so much
money a year ago from No. 2, found the
handling of ihe pay by drifting methods
a very expensive proceeding.
Number three is virgin ground and
Mr. Mihalcik finally decided to install
a hydraulic plant for which he went
Outside last November.
In waiting for the arrival of his pipe
and monitor Mihalcik will strengthen
a ditch of a mile in length from Willow
creek and the pups of upper Ester, and
will be in a position to do some work
this summer.
The gravels on No. 3 are about 42
feet in depth and thawed, with 7 feet of
muck. With a good grade on the
creek, it is possible that the Fairbanks
distiict will be one of the first to come
through witli a practical test of hy
draulicking possibilities in deep ground.
Caterpillar Traction
Is Suocess on Trail
It is interesting to note that much
of the freight that will land here on
the first boats by way of Lebarge will
have been transported by the first
eaterpiller traction engine operated in
the North by the White Pass railroad
between Whitehorse and the foot of the
lake.
The engine which runs on a sort of
progressive treadmill arrangement was
brought in this spring by the company
to help move the large amount of
freight they had contracted to deliver to
Dawson and the foot of the lake, prin
cipally for the Iditarod.
The engine was tried out and al
though it was found that snow clogged
it at first, this difficulty was overcome
with fenders. It has been found the
proper thing for heavy loads according
to the Whitehorse Star, and once the
trail is broken to its wide guage, it is
capable of dragging 40 to 50 tons at a
rate of two and a half and three miles
an hour.
Dark and Sweeny, who worked on
the Hilltop association, at the head of
Flat, during the last summer and win
ter, have transferred their operations
to the head of Chicken.
mmm W V Furnished Rooms and Spring Bods.
# #? 3 £8 Fates by the Day, Week or Month
A I&Z* JrClJClCrC^ Mrs. FA. Perkins. Prop
GOLD STREET, FLAT CITY
Telephone 67 Wood for Sale
Mutchler Bros.
FREIGHTERS
For Rates to the Creeks See Us
WEEK-DAY
Stage Line Between Iditarod and Flat City
Leaves Flat City 9 a, m. Leaves Iditarod 4 p. m,
ENCLOSED RIGS AND FOOT WARMERS
■ Iditarod Office, Next to Sherburne House, Willow Street.
Flat City Office, Grand Hotel.