MASKS FOR THE MASQUERADE. ALL SHAPES AND SIZES. MINERS STORE
Local and General Notes
l’itka, tin* native fisherman, is taking
plenty of whitefish in his basket trap.
Price, 3 for if 1.
J. \V. Bootliby, .1. F. Nellany anil
Pete Johnson are mining men in from
across the divide.
Jack Coleman, noted as a stampeder,
blew in a few days ago, with bis nose
pointed toward the Chandlar.
When the groundling looked out Feb.
2 be saw his shadow and scampered hack
to his nest to sleep six weeks longer.
Yaska anil Lige, natives, arrived a few
davs ago, two and a half days from May
River Hot Springs They left Johnny
Lige there to keep Ld Power company.
(’. 1. Jordan and A. F. Schmitz are
expected in company over the Valdez
trail. It is believed by some that they
will operate mines in partnership in
this district.
Charley Mayo and Lilly Sipary went
to and through bedrock in their hole in
Russian creek, but failed to find pay.
There were colors in the gravel, but bed
rock was barren.
S. E. fleeter, took a load for Hot
Springs as far as 72 yesterday. A gale
of wind and a temi>eraturo of 28 below
caused him to return to tow n and wait
for better weather.
Men from across the divide say the
belief seems to be growing that the
Kantishna country wiil justify the early
good opinion formed of it. Only the
easv spots have been prospected, and
some of them jiatd well.
Some of the men around town have
made a start toward clearing the snow
away from the round pond half a mile
above town so that it may he used for
skating. It is proposed to erect a tent
on the ice and make the place as at
tractive as possible.
On his return from a two-weeks trip
to Hot Springs ami other plaees aeross
the divide last Wednesday, S. K. lleeter
said in an experience of t ight winters
he had not seen anything to approach
the bad condition of the trails. How
ever, they have greatly improved now.
H. F. Thuinin is in town from aeross
the divide. He is not operating any of
his properties extensively this season,
hut is prospecting them thoroughly. It
is known that the work so far aeeotn
plished has proven highly satisfactory.
Mr. Thumni gets more pleasure from
prospecting than from mining even such
rich ground as a great deal of his is
known to lie, and he plans to do mtieh
more of it in the future.
TO PROSPECT
CHICKEN GREEK
Messrs. Nichols and Strickland have
moved from Slate creek into the
house on Big Minook. and will pro*|»eet
on Chicken cieek.
In coin|*»»ny with ticorge W. ledger
they have put downs g»*<d many holes
on Shite creek this winter. They found
pretty g***! |»n*sperts hut i»o pay. Fi*
nallv water came into a -haft •*»» which
they were at w«*rk at.d they had to
wlamdoli their so it is likely they
will d«* in* more mii 'date th»- shmhi.
[ Advertisement.)
CARD FROM S. R. HUDSON
Editor Yukon Valley News:
Dear Sir: The statement in your paper of
Jan. Hi of the ease of Diver et al. vs. Hudson
has been the means of producing considera
ble inquiry: therefore I have deemed it
proper to gi\e the public u review of this (to
me interesting:) case. Some time in August,
llHi.’i, I was placed under arrest by the federal
authorities here on charges preferred by Mr.
Diver for criminal trespass on what is know u
amoi»" miners as a wildcat mining claim,
situated on a bench of Pioneer creek, where
I had been doing some prospecting to see if
there could be found any gold on the ground.
Said claim w as staked by T. L. Henry on Jan.
1. 1905, and w as purchased some time after
by O. A. Diver, according to the records and
statements at the trial, for the sum of one
dollar, and not one shovel of dirt was turned
o\er for the Henry title, when I located and
commenced prospecting the ground on June
IN, 19,5, fully believing from enquiry among
the prospectors that Mr. Henry had aban
doned the ground by intent which anyone
knows was a fact by law and bid good-by
to his numerous friends ami this part of the
country and returned to Fairbanks. Mr.
Diver’s contention being that stakes and a
record were all that was necessary to hold u
placer claim w hile 1 contended that an effort
to make a discovery w as the only basis for a
mineral location, when placed on trial on
the above-mentioned charge I brought up
the question of title by showing the justice
that plaintiff's hud no cause for action, not
having made a discovery w ithin the limits of
the claim, but that I had made a discovery
and was the only | erson qualified to bring
action for trespass, and asked for the case to
l.e dismissed < n that ground. This motion
was overruled, and the case proceeded. I
then objected to the justice trying the case,
< n the ground that tl at court could not try
title.nnd consequently had no jurisdiction,
citing as authority laska Code, page 242,
section 971, (which reads thus: “Proceeding
w here Title to Land is in Issue. If it appear
on the trial of tiny cause before a justice of
the i race from the evidence of either party,
that the title to lands is in question, which
title shall he disputed by the other party,
the justice shall immediately make an entry
thereof in his docket and cease all further
proceedings in the cause, and shall certify
and return to the district court a transcript
of all the entries made in his docket relating
to the action, in the same manner and w~ithin
the same time as ii| on an appeal: and there
upon the district court shall proceed in the
cause to final judgment and execution in the
sume manner as if the said action had been
originully commenced therein: and the cost
shall abide with the event of the suit.’’
This, my friends, is the law ; read it over
again and mark you how plainly it com
mands the justice to stop. I will now ask
you this plain question: Do you think this
fellow has any more right to disobey our
laws or cast slurs on them to a jury by say
ing that they are \ery misleading than any
thief or scoundrel who is punished w ith a
prison? See also Alaska (axle, page 280. sec
turn
Aiul usked that the ca«e la* dismissed on that
ground. Tliis the justice overruled. stating
to the jury that the law was very misleading.
The justice also overruled my objection to
one of Mr. Diver’s partners acting as juror
on the second trial of this ease, it being
shown at that time that suid juror jointly
owned a mineral location w ith Mr. Diver in
the near vicinity of the one in dispute, and
as u matter of fact this juror stood to the
last for conviction and could not bechanced.
There were two trials of this case, each be
ins? a hunt; jury. The first was 7 for acquit
tal, 5 for conviction: the second was h for
acquittal, 4 for conviction; but had either
jury done w hat the justice repeatedly told
them in his instructions it was their duty to
do, there would have been 12 men for con
viction. It would then have been up to the
justice to pass a sentence in accordance with
the law in the case (Alaska Code, puge 15,
section w hich reads thus: “Trespass on
Mining Claim. That any person w ho shall
break or roll in any manner, or w ho shall
attempt to break or rob. any Hiijnc, rocker,
quartz, quart/, vein, or lode, bed rock, sluice,
sluice box. or mining claim not his own. or
who shall trespuss m on such mining claim,
with the intent to commit a felony, shall
a; on convit tiou thereof, la* punished by im
prisonment in the penitentiary not less than
one nor more than five years, or by tine not
less than one hundred nor more than one
thousand dollars, or by lw»th such imprison
ment and fine.” it would have plueed the
justice in a very awkward position, for it is
plainly evident that a judge, hut not a mere
justice of the peace, can pass sentence for
coiiv iction of felony, a justice l>eing quali
fied to sentence to terms of less than one
year and that to u county jail, but never to
tin* penitentiary. The case was dismissed,
and the cost jurors, w itnesses, rte. charged
up to Cnele Sam. instead of Mr. Diver, as the
laws provide, which should make him an
uncle iiideol to mv opponents.it being the
first time where I have noticed the uncle
paying the uccoimts of one of his nephews’
hud-peculations. Diver’s next move was a
trip to Fairbanks to secure a firm of law
yers. put up the necessary depo-it. and Hie a
new -nit in the district court 11 seems from
some cause or other |»rrh<it»s the gentleman
will explain the uncle refused to finance
this suit: suit w as made a civil suit. They
• -ked the court to give them damages to the
amount of ♦ l.tltO him I the ground. This was
not so *erioii« as the former case, which
would have been no less than one vrnr in the
}>eniteiit inrv. This t**gan now to develop
into a • ase where I could enjoy considerable
mirth at my «»i<|M>nent’» expense, for I had
provd to myself anil friend vlax Neville the
ul»sohite worthlessness of this piece of
ground, toolil ami dial goad mv opponent
into ns mtteh expense as po~*itde for re
venge is sweet, even for a ntiUl angel like
uivself. Wasting the enensv '• treasure is one
of the rectignizetl M ethods of warfare, ami
on this I had my inning as mv opponent ran
mil we ay ami if he w ill show his account
smrmnrs msn isms msmsmsmsmsmrm
| S. E. HEETER, \
\ Freighter and Packer \
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\ Good Equipments and °
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hook you would notice booked there two
trips to Fairbanks and return: board in
Kainpart, Tatiana and Fairbanks; to procure
firm of lawyers; campaigning and making
himself generally agreeable with desirable
witnesses, etc., etc., etc.; sum total. I ven
ture to say, not less than $1,500. To balance
up against this expense what has he got? A
piece of ground that 1 nor you nor anyone
else would give two bits for. I will go on
record for this statement right now that no
man will ever take out as profit from this
certain piece of ground 25 cents. A ml now
asto how the case was disposed of: Some
time last summer T wrote to the clerk of the
court enquiring when the case would be
called up, and got information that it was
hoped before close of navigation. To act on
this indefinite information would be to put
myself in the position of large expenditures
of which my distinguished opponent was
holding down the monopoly. This, together
with the fact that I had certified to certain
pa|>ers setting forth irregularities in the
commissioner's court pertaining to this
case as well as others that came under my
personal observation, which papers were
sent before the district court and grand jury
asking for an investigation with a view to
ridding the office of w hat I believed to be a
corrupt official. Said papers appear from
reports of the commissioner as well os a
Fairbanks paper to have met with scorn at
the hands of the district court and grand
jury, intsead of the investigation they mer
ited. and the official returned more secure
and arrogant in his little office than ever
(though I will state that he has since had
causes so urgent that he has quit and is now
trying to sell his goods and chattels w ith a
view to flying to parts unknown, all of w hich
good news is causing great satisfaction in
this precinct). This caused me to think my
self ami suit would be looked on with dis
favor by the court: therefore I wired a
friend: “Waive my right to title. No ex
pense on me: otherw ise w ill come ami fight
the case.” This the enemy accepted, saving
themselves the probabilities of a big court
expense when the case was finished, as they
would surely have lost that casp. To those
w ho care to know I will state that the sum
total of my exj ense in this case w as $10 sent
to clerk of court to file answ er to summons,
about $1.75 tor above mentioned telegram,
onstage about 25cents; total $12- not such a
had showing for my side w hen you come to
consider my opponent's expenditure of. say,
at least $1,500, ami this for a piece of hind
that I so willed to give him after I had
made* him waste all the funds I could on
something I knew to be worthless. Moral:
The next time you want a piece of presumed
mineral ground go after it with a pick and
shovel instead of a hatchet and pencil, and
you w ill no doubt find it cheaper than buy
ing law . which you stated to me was for sale
in this country. Respectfully.
S. R. HUDSON.
(
i nr uni Ione ,*’ose pe°pi< *hov
Ant I UU seldom write home? \
They will know you are all right if you 1
send them the YUKON VALLEY NEWS. I
Mail yours or let us send one weekly./
Mail Carrier John Palm lias hail a
hard time on account of overflows on
tin' Cirele-Fairlainks trail.
& Tin, Granite and Crockeryware l
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| Northern Commercial Co. |
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