\
VOL 8. SEWARD, ALASKA, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 9, 1914 NO. 105
BANDITS CAUSE
TRAIN COLLISION
Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 9.—Castillo's
bandits yesterday pushed some burn
ing freight cars into the Cumbre tun
nel of the Mexican Northern railway,
causing a collision in the tunnel with
a passenger train coming from the op
posite direction. Fifty persons were
cremated, including nine Americans.
General Villa has ordered that a de
tachment of soldiers be sent in pursuit
of the tunnel bandits.
A. H. Bryant, formerly superintend
ent of the Kenia Mining and Milling
company at Cooper creek, but for the
past year manager of a big hydraulic
plant on Valdez creek, will arrive in
Seward on one of the early boats,
planning on spending a month in this
city before leaving for Valdez creek,
where he will take up the work of in
stalling one of the largest and most
complete hydraulic plants ever assem
bled in Alaska. Mr. Bryant has been
outside all winter, visiting his folks in
Maine and later journeying to San
Francisco to personally select the
plant he will install and operate this
season.
Frank E. Yonngs, who returned to
Seward on Saturday after a couple of
months spent on the outside, has de
cided to make a trip into the Nelchina
to have a look for himself. Mr. Youngs,
who is represented in the new dig
gings, lately received word from there
that is considered very encouraging,
although not in any way a boom or
stampete letter. He will leave Seward
about the first of next month and will
be absent possibly two months.
Joe Richards of Hope who has been
spending a weeks in Seward will leave
in the morning for the booming little
camp on Turnagain Arm.where he will
be employed this coming season, in
charge of the Hoben-Davis hydrdalic
plant on Bear creek. Mr. Richards is
planning some extensive development
work for this season and says that the
Bear creek property will develop into
a good producer before fall.
The Alaska Transfer company, of
tins city have purchased, through Mr.
Davis, a member of the firm who is on
the outside, four fine horses of 1700
pounds each, and one saddle horse for
Mr. Hoben’s private use. The horses
are looked for on the Sampson.
.T. Hamilton Graff, formerly with the
Seward Light and Power company, is
now in Seattle visiting friends and rel
atives. At the time of the departure
of the last steamer Mr. Graff was con
sidering accepting a position with
James E. O’Reilly doing construction
work in Canada.
Dave Spencer, an old-time bartender
of Alaska, and known by all the sour
doughs. died the other day in Cordova.
Dave was well liked by all, who will
regret to learn of his death.
For Sale—Land scrip which can be
used for locating government land in
Alaska. Fully guaranteed. For price
and particulars address L. W. Hubbell
k Son, Springfield, Missouri. +
Long distance telephone booth at the
Branch. _ _
Pabsts blue ribbon beer at The
Branch. _
Field glasses at J. L. Graef's.
Meet me at the branch.
WHAT CAPTAIN MOORE
SAYS OF PORTAGE BAY
I
!
If anv man. woman or child in Alas
« 1
ka was asked off hand to give the
name of the most popular skipper that
ever sailed to Alaska, its a nine to
four bet that they would speak right
up and answer, *‘Zim. Moore.”
If any transportation or steam
ship man on the Pacific coast were
asked the question, Who is the ablest
navigator sailing to Alaska, and who
knows the Alaskan coast from Peters
burg to Point Barrow, the answer
would be the same, “Zim. Moore.”
And both the traffic experts and the
public would be right, for if there is a
man who knows Alaska and knows how
to handle a ship, it is that same gen
ial Captain Moore, who lately resigned
his position as United States Deputy
Marshal at Unga, and passed through
Seward last week on his way outside.
It is rumored that when Captain Moore
comes back he will be on the bridge
of one of the new passenger ships run
ning north this coming season, and if
so he will have the best wishes of all
the traveling public.
Knowing that Captain Moore knows
the Alaskan coast like a boy knows
his pockets, the Gateway man ap
proached him in an endeavor to get
his opinion, and the captain just bub
bled opinions, in fact, that is one of
the best things that he does, is having
| opinions. He has opinions on every
| thing t hat he know’s, and has reasons
| for having them, and is never afraid to
1 express said opinions and give the rea
son for them at the same time.
It was a fortunate moment when the
scribe approached the ex-marshal of
Unga, as he had just finished reading
the telegraph article from Prof. Mar
tin, wherein tlie geological expert
from the fresh water knowledge box
up in the middle west had aired his
opinion of some of the harbors on the
Alaskan coast. The captain threw the
sheet down and glared around the
room and then asked in a quiet, oh
such a quiet tone, “Who in h-- is Pro
fessor Martin?” No one answered, and
here’s where he got rid of opinion No. 1.
I ‘That settles it,” he said, ‘Tm off for
the outside representing Unga as a
future terminus of the government
built railroad in Alaska. I see that
this school teacher in the east says
that Port Wells or Portage bay is a
good place to start from. I wonder if
he was ever there in his life? I have
sailed there ever since the spring of
1889, and I never took a ship in there
in my life that 1 did not breathe easier
when I got her out of that pot hole of
| trouble. There is floating icebergs in
there all the year round and there
must be a dozen man size glaciers spit
ting ice there all the time. It is the
home of the big wind and take it all
and all, much as I have heard Illiamna
bay knocked as a harbor, and God
knows it is bad enough, I iike it bet
ter than I do Port Wells. Why, I
used to run the nose of the old Nome
City right up on the beach and put a
gang plank ashore to let passengers
off, because I could not find a place to
anchor, and when the bow stuck in
the mud, it would have taken fifty
fathoms of cable to drop a hook over
the stern. And tell me where would
they start a railroad form over there
anyway. Why they would have to
drive a tnnnel under a glacier to get
out and it may be 2000 feet deep. It
would cost twenty million dollars to
build a single track road from Wells
bay to the head of Turnagain arm, and
if it is right that that place has a chance
for tiie terminus, me for Unga. The
fact that Unga is on an island and
miles out to sea puts it in the same
class as Port Wells as far as natural
difficulties are concerned. It would
be as easy to build a bridge from
Unga to the main land or even drive a
tunnel as it would be to get from the
head of Port Wells to Turnagain arm,
and if that place has a show, 1 can
show them a better proposition in
Unga as a possible terminal site.”
This lengthy opinion was listened to
respectfully by the scribe, as he
realized that he was getting the “real
dope” from one who knew whereof he
spoke, and then the question was
asked: “Captain, did you ever see ice
in Resurrection bay, and did you ever
know of Bear glacier throwing ice?”
“No,”-quoth the captain, “and no
one else ever did. I have been on the
coast a long time and have been into
this harbor more times and wi.h more
ships than I can remember, and I con
sider it the best harbor north of Port
Townsend, in fact it is ttie only real
harbor on the coast. Why take last
summer when the Maryland was up
here. She came up Resurrection bay
at a rate of better than ten knots and
! ran clear past your town and dropped
anchor off the mouth of Lowell creek,
above the railroad yards. Bid she do
that at Cordova or Valdez? Answer
that—No, you bet she did not. At Val
dez she anchored down by the Cliff
mine, seven miles from town, and hard
ly went near Cordova at all. f don't
want to knock, but this harbor speaks
for itself. It is not Knocking to tell a
blacksmith he is not a good watch
maker, because he’s not, and it is not
knocking to say that a little glacial
morraine, or a few acres of tide Hats
are not a harbor because they speak
for themselves, and a man need not be
a navigator to see that.’'
“This man Martin who says so much
about this country has either been
misquoted or is grossly ignorant, or is
a malicious liar. He is hardly in a po
sition to make the assertions that he
is credited with in this article, as from
what I hear, he was only up here a
short part of one summer and no tnan
can gather enough information in such
a short time to warrant him in ven
turing such an opinion.”
Such opinions coming from a man
like Captain Moore are, inoui opinion,
worth more than all the opinions that
can be voiced by all the fresh water
geologists in the middle west, as they^l
are the result of years of experience j
and the kind of experience that gives
a man grounds for such opinions.
Captain Moore left for Valdez on the
steamer Saturday, where he goes to
turn over his office. He will then go
to Seattle.
Don’t let yourself be forced to eat
what you don’t like, when you can
order what you like at the
Commerce Cafe.
Budweiser beer at the Branch.
Meet me at the Branch.
Dog harness at J. L. Graef ,8.
HOUSTON BOOSTS
OUR RESOURCES
Washington, Feb. 9. —Representa
tive Houston, who is leading the tight
in the house for the Alaska railway
bill, today said that Alaska has pro
duced more per* capita than any
other region in the world.
Canadian Pacific Will Improve.
Vancouver, B. C., Feb. 9.—The Can
adian Pacific expects to pend $100,000,
000 during the coming season in im
provements, laying double tracks,
adding new steamships, and $5,000,000
for a new tunnel.
Crown Prince to Visit Alaska.
Berlin, Feb. 9.—The crown prince
has expressed a desire to hunt grizzly
bear in the Rockies during the coming
summer. The prince will also hunt
big game in Alaska.
Bumper Fruit Crop.
Los Angeles, Feb. 9—The fruit crop
here this season is estimated at 5,000
cars, valued at $30,000,000. This is
nearly a record crop.
To Monopolize Radium.
Washington, Feb. 9.—Representa
tive Walsh lias introduced a bill in the
house for a government monopoly of
radium in the United States.
After the Quacks.
New York, Feb. 9.—The health de
partment of this city has issued a
warning to the people against the rad
ium quacks.
Impeachment Expensive.
Albany, Feb. 9.—The Sulzer im
peachment proceedings cost the state
of New York $35,000.
Free Tolls Slipped In.
Washington, Feb. 9.—Democratic
leaders here claim that a free toll
plank, unbeknown to a majority, was
slipped into the democratic platform
at the Baltimore convention, and that
democrats in congress can not eon
consistently support a measure placing
a toll on American bottoms passing
through the Panama canal.
Frank J. Cotter of the Miners’ Store
l will leave in the morning for Sunrise
via the canine express, planning on
spending the mid-week in the banana
belt. Unless signs fail, however, he
will be back in Seward in time for the
Pioneers’ dance Saturday night.
James R. Hayden, president of the
Kenai Alaska Gold property on Falls
creek is on his way back home after a
few months on the outside. Mr. Hay
den started back on the same steamer
that finally landed the Youngs-Whit
tetnore combination, but got side track
ed at Juneau and promises to pick up
the Sampson sailing northbound from
Seattle on the fifth, and should arrive
in Seward this week.
Frank Youngs, who arrived on the
steamer .Saturday, brings the news
that James E. O’Reilley and Ralf Me
Donald, both wall known old timers in
Seward, are working on construction
work on one of the Canadian railroads,
and are both doing well.
Twenty-gauge, 1913 model shot guns
at J • L. G raef s. I
Finch’s Golden Wedding rye at tho
Branch. *
Meet me at the Branch *