As Others See Us.
The following is from s write-up
of Valdes by Arthur C. Johnson,
recently published in the Dawson
News:
Valdes, Alaska, a little city of
1500 souls, built on a moraine at
the head of Prince William sound,
and fairly under the huge bodies
of ice and snow which have Melted
backward and left the soil for it to
stand on, waits expectantly to be
shunted into greatness by the same
agent that seems to make and undo
all towns that become important
spots on the map—a railroad.
In the meantime Valdes goes on
being a town where mushers land
when they come from the outside,
(Seattle or San Francisco,) and
where they put up and get supplies
when they come from the diggings,
many of them 200 miles hack over
the high mountains clad in jierpet
nal snow. In this Copper river I
country as in nearly every part of
Alaska, the winter time is reserved
for traveling and putting in sup
plies, and the summer time for
throwing the pay dirt into the
sluice and washing out its gold.
Hard packed snow on the trail
makes good traveling for the dogs,
and the horses can pull quantities
of grub on sleds instead of taking
it in driblets on their backs. So
Valdez is lively in the winter,when
the musher is corning and going,
never neglecting to liberally spend
his dust on each arrival. In the
summer there are not so many
mushers and the people have more
time to specnlate on the building
of railroads.
As in the case of Seattle, all they
had at Valdez when they commenc
ed to build it wasjwood and water.
Dozens of picturesque little log
cabins stand as monuments of the
days before the enterprising Yan
kee came along and unloaded his
sawmill from the ship. He evident
ly was not long in getting into
operation for they say business be
gan to boom just as soon as the
miners found that there was a good
way to get into the Copper river
country back of Valdez, and mer
chants had at least to have flat
hoards on which to spread out their
wares From the little mill which
nowadays whines away all day
long behind its pile of sawdust,
near the beach, came the broad
walks on which we travel about the
well laid out little town, the two or
three squares of neat little clap
hoarded stores, many neat resi
dences, and the vast wooden struct
ure where the reckless go to feed
their nickels into the slot machine
and onto the numbers of the roul
ette table, where you can see four
games of ten pins going on at once
in the series of bowling alleys, and
where you can shoot at little white
painted - birds and rabbits with a
22-calibre rifle. The sawmill is
also resi>onsible for the two-story
hotel—the telephone partition kind
where you are kept awake nights
by the Bnorings of your neighbor
in the room on one side and the
coughing of the man on the other.
There are only partitions of inch
boards and wall paper. There are
no plastered houses in Valdez—or
in Alaska. The builder is lucky
if he gets bricks and mortar enough
to build a .chimney.
They have two wooden newspa
per offices in Valdez, where ye edi
tor does his own type setting on the
copy he has himself written, and
once a week turns to with the office
devil to get out the regular edition
of his journal on the old reliable
Washington hand press. They
have wooden blacksmith shops,
wooden jewelry stores and wooden
saloons.
Gold flows through Valdez at the
rate of about 9300,000 annually.
“From the Copper river country,”
they all tell you when you ask
where it comes from. I discovered
that this was very general direc
tions for finding its source, for the
Copper river, which resembles a
large fish-hook in appearance, has
a length of over 500 miles, and
they seem to be finding gold on
every little creek that empties in
to it. When you discover that the
valley of this river has an average
width of 100 milee it brings some
realisation of the fact that Valdes
taps a locality of some richness and
importance.
One hundred and sixty-five
miles out of Valdes on Slate river
and a little further along on the
Nisina they are hard at it, over
coming discourngraents, spending
long winters packing in grub and
working early and late in the short
summers delving in the ground.
It is the same class of mining that
is being done all over Alaska—the
finding of gold bearing beds of
streams, new and old, and sifting
out their “colors.” They had a
stampede to the Xiiina district last
winter. Most of the stampeders
came back disgusted. The gold is
there, but you have to move bould
ers as big as courthouses to get at it.
This year they are going at it again
and taking with them hydraulic
machinery to boost the obstructions
out of the way.
It 18 tramp, tramp, tramp—or to
put it in the vernacular—“mush,
mush, mush,”—all the time with
the gold seeker, and the continual
cry is a railroad ora trail on which
wagons can l>e run. The gold is
lying in the Copper river valley in
paying quantities, but it is to-day
a continual robbing of the ground
to pay for the transportation of sup
plies and machinery. The route is
quite feasible for a railroad. Only
two mountain ranges will have to
l>e crossed. The surveyors have
already sought out easy passes.
They show you rich copjier speci
mens in Valdez in order to prove
to you that Copper river is not a
misnomer. Miners who come in
will tell you how they are contin
ually taking copper out of their
gold sluices and throwing it away.
They take silver nuggets, too, and
nobody knows how many other val
uable elements of the old earth.
There will be coal mined in the
Copper river valley and crops har
vested. The expert from the de
partment of agriculture says that
good gardens and plentv of forage
for live stock can be raised on the
ten millions of acreBof arable lands
he estimates as being in the Copper
river valley. Hardy grains will
probably mature at least three
years out of four. Up to date
farmers have not flocked to Valdez
to go into the Copper river valley
and get any of its lands in spite of
the fact that Uncle Sam has offered
to give away absolutely .without
cost, 320 acres to every man who
will go and live on them. It costs
20 cents a pound to have supplies
taken into that country in the win
ter, and 50 cents a pound in the
summer. These are not farmer’s
prices, but some day they will be
over in that valley running the
harvesters in the summer and shov
eling the daily fall of six inches of
snow away from their barn doors
in the winter. Perhaps it will be
the widening of the trail that will
produce this result, or perhaps it
will be the building of a railroad—
or a dozen of them. Who can tell?
Russian Church.
The Russian church has decided
to create a new episcopal see in
Alaska, and Rt. Rev. Innocent, of
Moscow, has b.-en appointed bishop
coadjutor. He will have his resi- j
dence at Sitka.
The creation of a new see was
demanded by the growth of the
Russian church in this country.
During the past five years the num- j
her of its parishes and its congrega
tions has been doubled, and the
enormous territory which the Amer
can mission covers made it impos
sible for Bishop Tikhon to care for
it alone. His diocese includes all
North America and the Aleutian
islands, and the necessity for a
bishop coadjutor has been made
more pressing by the general move
ment on the part of the Austrian
and Hungarian Slavs of the Roman
Uniate confession who have been
immigrating to America in large
numbers, to return to the Eastern
orthodox confession, from which
they were separated in the seven
teenth and eighteenth centuries.
——————
The sausage manufasturer finds
no difficulty in making both ends
meat.
Fok Rent—The best storeroom
in Valdez, cheap to permanent
tenant. Inquire at Bank of Valdez.
Place Hangs Paper.
MMlag I* Blltwlt*.
"At last we shall have a ehancs,” said
Mrs. Newcomb, “to get acquainted
with the Sni plrighs.”
"How?” her hit*band asked. “Haa
she Anally tern fit to call on you?”
“No; but they’re going to build a
new and bigger house acroac the atreet
from the one they occupy now, and
when they go there to lire 1 can call
breanae etiquette gieea the onea that
Hr* anywhere the right to call flrit on
others that just more In, you know.”—
Chicago Rrcord-Ilrrald.
The Secretive Weaaa.
Yeaat—Did you aay your wife can
keep a secret?
Crimtonheak—Can »he? Why, I’ll
bet anything there isn't a soul in the
world knows what she paid for bar
hairl—Yonkers Statesman.
Her Opeortaaltr.
He (rising to say good night)—Well.
I really must go. Miss Caroline. I'?«
enjoyed myself immensely.
Boston Maid (wilh frigid politeness)
— Really. 1’in glad. I’m sure. I have
enjoyed you too.—T,eslic> Weekly.
Mas fleas SShlskers.
She (enquettishly) Oh. ye«; 1 suw
the man in the moon when I was a
little girl.
Hr (thoughtlessly)- He must be
pretty old now; don't you think to?
—Yonkers Stnteanmn.
niirerimt
Mies Ann Tlqne (coyly) Can you
mnki' sun kr rings. Mr. T«o*ti ksoff'
Txowoi k>off (iliserei t!y) — Y-Yes:
but l-i r-gor**. aftc r all. I have smoked
enough to-day!—Brooklyn Eagle.
Why He Quit.
“I thrfuuht yon were given a job in
the public M irier because of the work
you did for the party."
"I was. but I quit."
“Why?"
“Why! Why. hang it all! they’re
getiln - so K:. led particular now that
they want a ft How to work for hi* sal
ary."—Chicago Poat.
V. here to lleirln.
Mra. Trotabnut—1 shall be off the
gnatrr part of the day. as I have
joined the Society for the Suppres
sion of Net dies and Xerve-Kiwking
Noises.
Mr. T.—flood idea, my dear. Take
the baby along with vou.—X. Y.
Weekly.
Cneli Anxious |o Try.
“Fame," said the man with the mel
ancholy »ye. “is but an empty bubble."
“Yea.” at:wrretl the frit t d with
long hair. “But every man ha: the idea
that if he ci.n! 1 get hold of It he multi
turn it into a dirigible balloon."—
Washington Star.
Fot* AVI lint Foots,
Oh you who reRTfh to fird a creed
Here »r.(! the fcolleh i,u*ft;
Th;* ilttlt '.Ine is all you r.ted:
. “Do wh/t you kr<»w is beat.**
—t.’hicaKO 1U cord-Herald.
THE SEHVANT (41KITION.
Mistress—There’s a piano in the
kitchen, a bicycle for your mvn use
and a tennis lawn set apart exclusive
ly for all my servants and their
friends.
Maid- Well, ma'am, if there’s any
stipulations as to a dowry in the
event of marriage. I think your terms
w ill suit.—Ally SI ope r.
Table Talk.
Sentimental Hostess (to haehelor
guest;- Hut will you never marry, Mr.
Hopper?
Bachelor finest—No. Lady Sportley.
life's too short to quarrel.--Judy.
Tkv Art ot Finance.
“A financier is a man w ho makes lota
•f money, isn’t he, father?”
“No. Freddy; a financier is a man
who get* hold of lots of money other
people make.”—Tit-Bits.
Timely Warning.
Hewitt—That fellow is alwaya talk
ing about honor in little things.
Jewett—I'm glad you told me; I’ll
keep mj eye on my umbrella when ke
b around.—Town Topica.
NEW PROCESS
STEAM LAUNDRY,
McKinley street.
Finest Work. Prompt Delivery.
Fully Res|>onsible.
—
For Axsavs Send Your Ore To
J. H. MORRISON,
Aasayer Ellamar Mining Co.
Gold, Silver and Copper $3.50
Gold and Silver - 1.50
Copper ... 2.00
Lead ... 2.00
Ellamar, Alaska
Ellamar
Mining
Company
Powder, Caps, Fuse,
and all other nec
essaries for the
Prospector.
GENERAL MERCHANDISE
Prices Reasonable.
Ellamar. Alaska.
The northwestern Line
Operate* the finest train* in the
world every day in the vear, be
tween
Minneapolis,
St. Paul,
Chicago,
Milwaukee,
OMAHA and KANSAS CITY,
making direct connection* with
through trains for all point* East
and South.
As cheap as the cheapest and the
beet to tie nad. For rates or reser
vations, call or write,
F. \V. PARKEK, General Agent,
151 Yesler Way, Seattle.
Dissolution of Partnership.
The holiness heretofore existing under the
firm name of Wooda * Kowlie at Seward, Alan
ka between Oeo Wood, and Jamea Kowlie la thta
day dtaaolved by mutual content. Cieo. If.
Wooda continuca the buaineu, and collect, and
pay. all btlla of the aaid firm of Wooda *
Kowlie.
Jamea Fowlie.
_ , U. H. Wooda.
Dated Jan II, 1M>4. 2
Notice oi Forfeiture.
Valors, Alaska. Jan. 1,190J.
To IN alter L. White and E. F. Willis:
You are hereby notified that the undersigned,
A. H. Utley, has expended during the year
ltiU3, four hundred (1400) dollurs'ln labor upon
[ the Lost Chord, the llelen. the Gold Dollar and
| the Black Bear ininiug claims situated on the
' benches of Slate Creek and Miller Gulch, in
the Chisna mining district. Alaska, in Val
dez Recording District, the locution notices
i of which claims are now of record in the
office of the I'nited States Commissioner at
I Valdez, and to which notices reference is made
| for a more particular description thereof, in
| order to hold said claims uuder provision of
Section 23*44. Revised Statutes of the I'nited
[ Slates, and the amendments relating thereto
coucernlng annual labor upon mining claims,
1 b. ing the amount required to hold said claims
[during the year 19&I. ending December 31,
[D»tt. And if at the expiration of'ninety
days from the publication of this notice, you
fail or refuse to contribute your proportion of
such expenditure, your interests in said claims
will become the nroi«>rty of the undersigned,
your eo-owuer, who na* made the required ex
penditure by the terms of said section.
_ A H. I'TLEY.
First publication Jan. 7.
Last publication April 7.
yssMining Ju —
_261 Broadway, New York
EVERY WEEK, 108 TO 136 PAGES~
SUBSCRIPTION. $3 00 A YEAR
(Including U S., Cana'n or Max'n postage)
The Engineering and Mining Journal
Is now In Its 37lh year. Its 2000th con
secutive number will be Issued shortly.
for a uuarter of a century It lias been pre
eminently the leading mining periodical,
with a world-wide cimiiuton. Editorially
the paper la partleuiarly strong and broad
gauite. Sulwnpiiou* can begin at anytime.
Sample copies free.
_^*oertitt»4 rate* am aaaUemt/am
Seattle’s Crest
*Psper.
IHf DAILY.
ttJDAY.
iWKI A WffK
Post-Intelligencer.
—
^■pic (spies tree.
' Write hr Oml
Miy PtsHit*l|e»cer. \i to li Piles,
Publishes the fullest telegraphic
news from all parts of the world.
Ad the state and local news. Daily
and Sunday edition 7Sc per month.
inky PesUitettjeKer, 30 ti 40 Piles.
The largest and most compete Sun
day paper north of San Francisco.
Special departments of literature,
of fashion, of women'* new* Sun
day edition $2.00 per year
Twice i Week titta tie Seitue PesMcteW e*
Of.
All the news or the week in concise,
detailed form THE TWICE A
WEEK ED11 ON IS THE BEST
TWICE AWEEK PAPER PUBLISHED
ON THE PACIFIC COAST. Write for
»amp e copy and be conv.nccd.
Subscription price $1 00 per year.
Al PtSIMASIKSWiTuLeS ISCklPHOHS.
POST • millLKIIICLR (0.. MAI.If. WASH.
S. P. WESTON, Business Manager.
Alaska Pacific Itarijafion Company
Carrying U. S. Mail and Express.
E. E. Caine, President
fl_ I__ |V«||M F«r VALDEZ, by the outside route, every
Mr a Do ar
«/ll • iUJi Vvliui • . First 9ni,ing Feb 5
From Seattle for Valdez. Cook Inlet und
«tr Fvrpkfnr way ports, 1st of each momh. From Val*
kJU* LAVUJIUl dez for Seattle and way ports. 16th of each
•month.
From Seattle for Valdez, Cook Inlet and
Cfr Conto Ann way pons 16thof each month. From Val
Oll* 0411 Id Alld dez for Seattle and way porta, 1st of each
^ month.
From \ aldez to l liala^ku and wav porta
Cfr Newnnrt J ’26th of each month, connecting at Valdei
OH. lien pul l I with S. S. Santa Ana
Company reserves right to change steamers or date of sailing
without notice.
Seattle Office— 61N First Ave. J 2. Martin
Agent.
PHONE IS.
A. B lie*, Pros. F. M. Brown, Treaa. F. J. Kingliorn, Sec.
Valdez Dock $ Warehouse Company.
tiooria may be shipped in our care and left in warehouse till
called for. I’nrtie* i«• k to the Interior will find •; conven
ient to leave const mi men ta with n« to (••mardeii to loib
point* nnd at such time as they may direct.
Our storage is safe, being t-4th mile from nearest building
McIntosh & Duncklee
Horseshoeing and Blacksmithing
All work will receive prompt attention. High class
blacksmithing made u special feature, (.live us a call.
Cor. Keystone and McKinley. Value*
Home Restaurant t .
Keystone Ave. Opp. St. Elias Hotel.
Meals At All Hours From 6 O’clock A.M.
to 9 O’clock l’.M. Regular Dinner From
5 to T. Sunday Dinner A Specialty.
IceCreamandSodaWater Parlor
MRS. It. H. ALLEN.
C. E. BOQARDUS
Assayer and Chemist
Gold and Silver $ 1.00 Gold Silver and Copper $2.50
. BO Columbia St., Seattle, Wash.
“10 YEARS STANDARD"
RMBEROID
(Trade Mark Registered.)
Has demonstrated that it is the most durable and etlieient ROOFING
for all sorts of buildings, weathers and conditions. Made of the strong
est, l>est wool felt, thoroughly saturated with the well-known Ruhcroid
Compound. Proof against heat, cold, water, steam, acids, alkalies,
gases, fumes, etc. Outlasts metal. Fire-resisting. Contains no tar or
paper. Will not melt, rot or tear. Easily laid. Booklets, sample*
and prices upon application. A large shipment now on hand at
SHEFFER & BORTON,
McKinley Street.
Valdez Electric Light, Power & Telephone Co.
Incorporated.
We have on hand a large assortment of Electric Fixtures,
Plain and Fancy Shades, Call Bells and Annunciators.
Estimates given on all kinds of electrical work. Phone 35).
Where Do You Stop? Why of Course at
MINERS* HOTEL.
COMFORTABLE QUARTERS.
McKinley st. and Keystone a? C. Johnson, Prop
McKinley -Hall
Cor. Reservation Av. and Hobart St.
Suitable for Balls, Parties,
Receptions, Banquets, etc.
Dates Booked With
A. M. EDWARDS, White Bloek.