Seward Weekly Gateway
VOI M, NO. SEWARD. ALASKA. SATURDAY. AI * I! 11. II. !!><!<;._
VESUVIUS DESTROYS
SURROUNDING REGION
Volcano Breaks Out in Terriffic truption and Overwhelms Several
Populous Towns Involving the Loss of at least 2000
lives-Vast Area Buried Under lava and
Ashes to Depth of Many Leet But
Horst Now Seems to Be Over
By Cable to Tbe Dally Gateway.
Naples. April ill Tin* erupt! ■ of
Vesuvius has ceased but the shower of
allies Is heavier thru ever and vou
titines nil :i'0 e’. ur-. ’aMituf ox r i
wide area. Twenty years ran ot v -
»air tin. dan:done to the ('.. v io
lated »; »: -et. •' my u ■ . ts of u •••!
are hurt'rl f mi m n> twenty • et
Jeep in lax me. . - s.
The puttie i> nearly over and |h.h>;*Iv
»re retui nintj'to their homes in some
places, lutti'e Ixodies of soldiers are
wniratretl in shoveling ashes from
houses and in dr«nrin<r narrow paths
through the desert of cinilers to make
passages for relitfjees. They also have
a heavy task in recovering the bodies
ot the dead from the ruins of the:
buried cities.
Scient ists nisayrce as to the proha
oility of another eruption hut tin pre
ponderance of belief is that none i
will occur immediately.
The out ire city of Ottajano is buried !
tn ashes >t vet. feet deep. In some por
tions the depth is twenty feet. Halt
the houses collapsed under the weight
of cinders and the city will never
to;iiu he occupied. Hands of thieves
looted tie* wealthy homes after they
were abandoned, at real risk to their
lives, finders are 'till falling there!
pud in Napes as well a> over alt t lie
area b t ween
Flames Shoot 1000 Feet High
NapI . Apr-1, 0 Vesuvius is .row
ing constantly mote active. Great i
•heels o rue, ofteu 1 00 1 • et high,
are shooting into the sky. Kart hquake
•hocks ar* frequent ami increasing in
violence, atul th* streams of lava Low
ing down the sides of the volcano grow
steadily in volume and consequently in
their rate of sf»eed.
It is feared that the whole lower j
•lope of the mountain, on which are i
located many populous towns, will l>e
devastated. The area now threatened
has a population of 1,000.000 people,
who will l«’ rendered homeless and will
lost- their all if the volcano continues
to erupt w ith unabated force.
City of Naples In Danger
The city of Naples itself, is threat
ened and the lava stream will soon
reach it unless the crater ceases to erupt.
All steamers in the bay of Naples have
•team up, prepared to sail at a moment’s
■otice with the fleeing population
whenever the danger of inundation be
comes imminent. The city is in a panic
and the general terror caused by the
volcanic eruption was greatly intensi
led yesterday by two severe earth
quake shocks. All y esterday afternoon
and last night crowds of people swarmed
the streets, one procession carrying the
statue of the Madonna at the head and
praying loudly for deliverance.
Already 40,000 people are homeless.
Not a building is visible in the town of
Boecotrecaze, whose destruction was
described iu yesterday’s dispatches, and
San Guisseppe was wiped out last
night.
Eruption Works Vast Havoc
Naples, April 10—All the cities of
tfte region surrounding Vesuvius are
in a state of abject terror. It is esti
mated that at least 500 persons have
already perished in various ways as a |
result of the volcanic eruption.
While 200 persons were gathered in
the public market at Mount Olive to I
escape the fall of ashes a large section
of the roof collated and fell upon
them, killing every one. At San
Guisseppe 200 persons have been
killed by houses falling upon their;
heads, and twenty have perished in,
Sorrento in the same way. These col-:
lapses were caused by the heavy
weight of ashes.
All railroad tracks leading to Naples 1
have been burned to ashes, the tires j
starting from falling showers of
sparks. The air for many miles is so
surcharged with gases that it is diffi
cult to breathe, and in the immediate
vicinity of the volcano many persons
have been temporarily overcome by
suffocation. The sea is greatly agita
ted today and fears of destructive
earthquakes or a tidal wave are gener
ally prevalent.
At midnight the stream of lava
, seemed to exhibit a slight cessation in
‘ i-s How hut today it is still spreading
over 11:.* plains, and re|»orts come in
from nil directions of wide devastation.
The to .ns of San (lirogio. Cremona.
I’oriiv i, llesiua and Torre Del (ireeoi
are surrounded by lava streams!
u Ijieh are coni inually pressing in upon i
thf'ii ami threatening to engulf tin
hou>*>. The entire |M»pulat ion of these)
towns Hod in terror yesterday. I he j
inhabitants of Torre Annun/.iata are)
prepar»*d to leave at an instant s no* ■
tice whenever the lava stream which j
i> creeping around the town seems:
likely to invest it entirely and over
run it with the How.
ill the fall of cities already over
whelmed many houses have been)
crushed by the weight of ashes which i
fell upon them, and all buildings in j
tinm seem likely to be buried. Shocks
of earthquake and tierce Hashes of
lightning are frequent and add to the
general apprehension. All the pris
oners in the prison at Torre Annunzi
ata mutinied yesterday and were taken
to Naples under a heavy guard.
Inhabitants Flee in Terror
Naples, April 11 The danger to this }
city from the eruption of Mount Vesu- J
i> mi threatening that the inhabi-!
tatits are tleeing by thousands. The
oit v i-. now enveloped in complete
darkness. An enormous and impene
trable volume of blaek smoke is rising
two miles above the crater of the vol- 1
canoandthe wind carries it steadily j
over the city.
The eruption is increasing in vio
lence and huge incandescent masses of
stones are hurled UOOO feet in the air. j
describing streaks of light through!
tie* black pal! of smoke. Communica
tion with the sea has been cut off from *
this city by the dense clouds of smoke
and gas in which no creature can live.
Thousands of people have fainted from
inhaling the sulphurous gases and
' many thousands more have been ren
dered deathly sick from the same
cause.
Several new fissures opened in the
sides of the volcano yesterday and to
day. far below the cone, and each
! opening is emitting great streams of
molten lava which are burying the
lower slopes of the mountain and the
adjacent plain to a great depth. Not a
▼ e>tige is left of the town of Boscotre
cas and several other towns are nearly
covered by the increasing tlow. The
stream has reached the outskirts of
Torre Del Greco, to which the inhabi
tants of the stricken towns had fled for
refuge and it seems certain that it
must be abandoned within a few hours.
The dead now number more than 2000
and the number is constantly growing.
Meat Becomes Unbearable
In all the region near the foot of the
volcano the air is unbearable because
of the intense heat and the suffocating
gast&. Many buildings in the cities in
the path of destruction are buried fif
teen feet deep under lava and ashes.
The town of Ischia, thirty miles west
of Vesuvius, is being evacuated today
because the stream of lava from an
eruption on that side is rushing
toward it with great velocity and the
flow is increasing in volume.
It is thought probable that the lava
streams may again bury Pompeii as
they are approaching very near the
ruined city. The devastation already
extends over an enormous area.
Thousands of acres of vineyards and
fertile farms, with buildings, have
j been destroyed forever, and large
I numbers of live animals have been
buried under the molten streams.
The national observatory near the
top of the cone, and the upper end of
the cable railway leading to it were
precipitated into the crater yesterday
by the collapse of the crust sut^ound
ing the crater. The railroad was six
miles long from the plain and its lower
portion had been consumed by fire
from falling sparks.
Temperature in March
The mean temperature of March in
Seward was 34.89 degrees. In Febru
ary it was 31.64. The lowest tempera
ture in March was 13 degrees, on the
14th; the highest was 50 degrees, on
the 24th and 21th.
STARTS ALASKA
CAPITAL FIGHT
Senator Piles Introduces Bill to
Appropriate $20,000 for
Building at Juneau.
By Cable to The Dally Gateway.
Washington. D. T., April 11 Sena
tor Piles introduced a bill in the sen
ate yesterday making an appropriation
of >'Jo.on»j for the erection of a territor
i ial capital building at Juneau. Maska.
From the Sitka chamber of com
i meree conies a copy ot a letter "hieh
that organization has sent to \\ ash
i ington protesting against tin- removal !
of the territorial capital to Juneau and
against till* erection of federal build
ings ut the latter plaee upon the
i ground that the capital must within a |
few years he moved westward. ! lie
letter follows:
The report has become current that i
with the inauguration of the new
governor of Alaska, an appropriation
would he asked to cover the expense of,
removing tin* offices of the governor j
and surveyor-general from Sitka to J
Juneau. The Sitka ('hamber of t orn-!
meree, believing that such action (
would work seven* hardship on the re
mainder of the territory, and incur a
large and unnecessary expense to the
government, sent telegrams to many
senators and congressmen urging that
action be deferred until receipt of an
explanation by mail. I'lie chamber of
commerce herewith presents concisely i
reasons why the capital should not be j
removed to a point farther east, and;
respectfully urges you to consider i
t hem carefully:
I’ublie convenience does not demand |
the removal. Sitka is more centrally |
located than Juneau.
The harbor of Sitka is the best one I
in Alaska, has the best anchorage, and
is absolutely free from ice at all times, j
(Naval or revenve officer* will side j
Juntiatc rh>s >t i.Lenieu.t.1 It i-equally ,
accessible from the ocean or "inside
passage.”
The government has buildings and |
ground at Sitka but lias none at
Juneau. 'Hie main office of the Alaska
cable is situated here.
We fully recognize that the capital
will have to be removed from Sitka
within a few years, but contend that
the new location will be west and not
east of this town. The western coun
try is growing and being populated so
rapidly that it will hi* the only logical
location for the capital. It is the only
section in which agriculture can be
pursued with any degree of success.
It* mining, fishing and kindred indus
tries overshadow those of Southeastern
Alaska. Two railroads are actually
under construction, one being operated
for forty miles. Several short lines
from Nome, Fairbanks, Yakutat and
other places, have been in operation
for several years. They are all to the
west of Sitka.
The steamboat travel to Western
Alaska, both as regards passengers
and freight, is double that of South
eastern Alaska. Six years ago one
small steamboat handled all of the
business of Western Alaska; now nine
j regular boats of large size run be
tween Seattle and Seward, stopping at
Sitka. This summer no less than fif
teen large steamers are advertised to
make two round trips a month from
Seattle to Nome from June to Novem
ber.
For the reason that Western Alaska
is growing with such tremendous
rapidity, we contend that the removal
of the governor and surveyor-general
to Juneau now’, would incur an ex
pense to the government that would
not only be great, hut useless, as
another removal to Valdez or Seward
would he inevitable in a few years.
FROST INTENDS
TO PUSH WORK
Seattle, April 7—President Frost of
the Alaska Central gave out the an
nual report of the Alaska Central
Railway Company today. He states
that work will be pushed this summer
on a larger scale than ever with a
much greater number of men em
ployed than last year.
The report shows that forty-six
miles of road are completed, eighty
seven additional miles permanently
located, and preliminary location made
of 260 miles more. Reconnaissance
has been made for 780 miles, which in
cludes numerous branch lines. Machine
shops will be erected at Seward this
summer.
SEVERAL BOATS
| BOOKED TO SAIL
Oregon Jeanie, Excelsior, Santa
Ana, Portland and Caswell
in Close Order.
| By C".ble to The Dally Gateway.
Seattle, April K! Steamer < > re yon
will sail tomorrow for Sewaril anil Val
; d« z witli the laryost passenyer list of
I tie' season so far. She will also carry
a foil frciyht caryo. Antony her pas
st'nyets will lie W. B. Poland, yeneral
niauayer and chief engineer of the
Alaska Central Railway Company. and
Col. A. \V. Swan it/., chief onyini it of
one of the Valde/; railroad projects.
The little steamer Caswell sailed
this morniny for Cook inlet, where
she will yo on the run up the Susitna
and Veiitna rivers to the yold districts
of the interior. Sin* yoes under her
! own steam.
The Kxeelsior will sail for Seward
i and vat ports on the inside pussaye
Apri Id. The Santa Ana will sail the
satin• day with Chinese and supplies
for the canneries of the Northwestern
Fisheries Company at different places
on t'e southern coast as far west a>
Bristol bay. She will not carry yen-j
era! frciyht for the ports of the inside
pass; yr on this trip.
Tie Jennie, under charter to the;
Ala- <a Coast Company, sails this after
noot for Skayway where she will load
a la rye quantity of railroad material
for Orca. She also takes some sup
plies from Seattle. The* Portland will
sail Monday with supplies for the
Orea-Copper river railroad.
BRINGS 117 PASSENGERS
‘ t •amer Santa Clara, ('apt. Sell age. i
fetched port yesterday morning I
and .-ailed again for Seattle at 15:
o'clock in the afternoon. She brought 1
in 117 passengers. Of these thirty-nine j
were lirst-class and seventy-eight
steerage. Of the latter sixty-six were
Iabor< rs /or the Anis^TiTehtraT. The
steamer brought U>2 tons of general
merchandise.
The Santa Clara sailed from Seattle
loaded to the guards with passengers
and freight. Much of the cargo was for
canneries along the southern coast.
Part of her passenger list was for the
Xanana and it was slated at Valdez
that they could no doubt get through
as the trail was still in good condition.
PLAN TO BUILD
LOCAL HOSPITAL
A canvass of the city will be made
within the next few days to see what
amount of money can be raised to
build a hospital in Seward. At a re
ception Monday to Bishop Rowe last
night in Moore's ball the subject was
discussed and a committee appointed
to undertake the task of raising the
money.
Pnanimity of sentiment was ex
pressed at the public meeting in
favor of making every effort to secure
the hospital. By invitation Bishop
Rowe spoke first, promising to equip
and maintain the hospital if the citi
zens of Seward would erect the build
ing. He estimated that the cost would
be about $4000. Plans sutnuitted by
Architect W. J. Stone call for a struc
ture which w’ould cost about $5000.
Bishop Rowe stated that he would
rather build a hospital and have some
one else conduct it than take the
completed building and be responsible
for its maintenance for an indefinite
period. The latter, however, he said
was part of his business in Alaska and
he was willing to assume it. Already
the Episcopal diocese of Alaska has
seven hospitals under his supervision.
He promised to furnish the equipment
and nurses for the hospital and be re
sponsible for its maintenance from the
day of its completion.
The committee appointed to raise
the fund met Tuesday night and or
ganized by electing F. H. Stewart
chairman, Wes Allen treasurer, and
M. B. Holland secretary. Plans will
be made for a systematic canvass of
the town to obtain subscriptions.
_
To Superintend Tunnel Work
M. A. Moran came up on the Santa
Clara to become general foreman of
work on the railroad tunnels. He has
had wide experience in that branch of
railroad work and directed the boring
of one end of the Great Northern tun
nel under the city of Seattle.
—
An iceberg often lasts 200 years.
TO OPEN TRIAL
TO INLET TOWNS
- I
Capt. Pillsbury Will Recommend
Construction of Road Prom
Hope to Railway.
.
Hope and Sunrise will have a yov
j eminent t rail to the railroad at the,
head of Turnayain Arm hy fail if a
promised reconitnendation of Capt. <].
II. I ‘illshury of the Alaska road com
missiou is adopted by tin* war depart
ment, and the project executed. Tin*
road, accordiny to <!. A. K' |e. lneat iny
engineer of the Alaska Central, will
he of easy eonstmction most of the
way and will not l»e expensive. It
, will he about thirty miles lot.*/ from
Hope to the head of tin* Arm.
The promised recommendation for
this mail is due to the suyyestion of
Frank L. Ballaine. (’apt. i’illsbury
visited Seward to look up the survey
records of the Alaska Central and
liyure on a route for a trail to the
Tatiana from Cook inlet. While doiny
so lie frankly admitted that it was
doubtful whether anything could he
done on theTanana road this year be
cause the territorial road plans'
already ordered for execution are
likely to absorb nearly all the availa
ble fund.
Mr. Hallaine then suggested that
Seward ought at least to get the bene
fit of tlie license fees which it eon
tributes to the road fund and ('apt.
Pillslniry was considerably surprised
to learn that Seward is not incorpo
rated and that therefore the license
fees collected here, amounting to
nearly #7000 last year, are diverted to
improvements elsewhere.
(’apt. Pillshury admitted the injust
ice of taking money from this com
munity to build roads for remote por
tions of the territory, and when hi>
attention was called to the isolation of
the prosperous mining communities on
the south side of Turnagain Arm and
to thr fact that a iu.-m to ihe railway .
could he made for a few thousand dol-;
lars which will give them easy egress
and ingress in the winter time he1
readily promised to recommend the
construction of a trail from Hope to i
the railroad.
••of course all I can do is to recom
mend, “ said (’apt. Pillsbury. “The j
war department may not adopt my |
recommendation, but l will put it up,
to the powers that be as strongly as l I
can and hope to be successful."
If constructed the road will be
chiefly beneficial to Hope and Sunrise,!
and only of incidental consequence to
Seward, but it will bring those towns
into closer touch with this city, the
only accessible seaport in the winter,
and enable them to trade here trie
year round. It will follow closely the
line of tidewater, avoiding steep
climbs, and will be a good freight
road as well as one easy for travelers.
Mr. Kyle thinks there are only two
or three miles of hills which will re
quire heavy work. The remainder of
the distance will require only the
I clearing away of timber and brush and
the construction of a roadbed.
Capt. Pillsbury said that he was un
able to say whether anything will be
done toward the construction of the
Tanana trail this summer. He said|it
wouid depend altogether upon the
state of the fund. The money for the
construction and maintenance of gov
ernment roads in Alaska comes from
the licenses. Extensive work is al
ready mapped out for this year which
will absorb nearly as much money as
the fund contained last year. Never
theless business is increasing all over
the territory and license collectors
have been instructed to collect very
closely, so there is no doubt but the
fund will be largely augmented this
year.
Maj. Richardson, chairman of the
commission, has already expressed
approval of the project for a trail from
Cook inlet to the Tanana. and has
promised to visit the Inlet region this
summer. He is now in Washington.
Capt. Pillsbury and tdeut. Orchard
are the other two members of the com
mission. All belong to the engineer
ing corps of the U. S. army.
Capt. Pillsbury is stationed at Skag
way. He came west recently to sup
erintend preliminary work for a bridge
over the Tazlina river on the Valdez
trail, and has just come out. He re
ports that winter travel over the trail
has ceased.
Hermon Fawcett, or an industrious
young man giving that name, is con
fined in the county jail because he
raised $512 this week on forged checks.
RAPID PROGRESS
IN TUNNEL WORK
At Present Pate of Borin# all
Seven Will Be Ready for
Track September I.
If Iwiring continues at tin- pr* sen
rate* alI tlie seven railroad tunneN «jr
miles 40. .72 anti will he lini'h* i by
Septemher 1. and trains will he rui
ning through t hem to Turnagain \rn
within a tew weeks after that dat*
H.:s is tile eaieulation ot -I. 15. < n* <
on, engineer of eorist ruet ion. .-.*.*5 tr
lias i he figon s to just ify it.
In iliis tunnel work it. now ipp ir
probable that tie* tirst will h* 'asi a
lhough the last ,vi!i not i*>- . i>;
eumplel ion. The 11 tun*! on eh l‘*
all hough not. ihe longest. pri-'-nt
dillicult ie> wiiieh ar>* oil'wred hy son*
of tIn* others. Tin rock is tnor oitli
euit to work and for a longtime iioi in,:
can proceed only on one end because
of Irequeut >now slides at he i tie
w hich make it dangerous for ni* -i t*
work at the portal. This tunnel
710 feet long and if the boring is al
done from the farther end, wher
work is in progress now. it cannot b*
linished until about September f.
the present rale of perforation.
Figures furnished to Mr. t'arneror
last Saturday nitrht by tin* engineer
in charge show the following res .Its
on that date: Tunnel No. 1 214 feet
work proceeding at the rate of .5 fe.*
per day. No. 2 2215 feet: boring 1 fee
per day: rock very hard. No. .'5 2h
feet at one end. 1H fe* t at tin* other
boring last week proceeded •» feet p< i
day at one end and .*> feet, per day a
the other end; engineer* e.xpec n.
maintain Id feet per day so long a« tie
rock formation continues as at pr-^scr,
workings. This is tin* longest tunnel
!*dd feet in length. Tunnel No. *>
142 feet at one end and Nt feet at th»
oilier end. Tunnel No. H 21 feet. Or
tunnel* o and <5 ibv ►>-- *k is **. », ir,
and progress is only I* feet on **acl
face per day.
Boring has not yet begun on tunnels
4 and 7. Heavy rock work was nec* *
sary to reach the portals, w hich art
extremely inaccessible, but ibis wil
soon be linished and the boring of
these tunnels will he completed a
early as No. 1 and probably soonei.
The tunnels are all located in the >idt
of a precipitous canyon wall midway
between the top and the bed of 1‘lacei
river. This made the preliminary
work very difficult.
A slightly larger force can 1m
worked on the tunnels than are no*
employed and the steamer Santa Clar.
is bringing about sixty rock men who
will be placed in the tunnels or upon
the outside work near them. As the
work proceeds a large number of inei
can be worked to advantage and addi
tions have been made steadily to th«
crews as the working area hu^ ex
panded.
Beyond Tunnel No 1, on mile 4!*, .»
long, high trestle is to be constructed,
besides several lesser ones. This part
of the road embraces the “loop” whicl
was made necessary in order to obtain
a 2 per cent grade along Placer rivet
The upheavals of nature failed to tak
railroad construction into accurate
account and while a suitable valley
was left the descent of the stream wa^
made much steeper than the traction
power of an engine with a big loa<
behind it can overcome in traveling
the other way. Watson & Snow havt
the contract for the trestle and bridg*
work and it is expected that their task
will be finished as soon as the tunnel-.
Between the last tunnel and Turna
gain Arm a large percentage of tin
grading work was done last fall and
the remainder can be easily finished by
the time the tunnels are ready for the
track.
To Bring Stock for Forks Station
A letter was received on the Berths
by H. P. Gallapher from A. H. Litch
field at Seattle, formerly with th<
store at Shushetna station, and owner
of the store at the Forks of the Shu
shetna, saying that he will come up in
May with a stock of fifty tons of good*
for the Forks store. He has already
arranged with Capt. Swift of the river
steamer Caswell, now on her way
north, to carry the stock up the Shu
shetna from the inlet. Mr. Litchfield
expects that extensive prospecting on
the upper Shushetna this summer will
create a good market for supplies in
that region.
Chicago now has forty-five mile* of
subway electric car lines.