Yukon Valiev News
■i
VOL. II.
KAMPAKT, ALASKA, OOTOHKR 25, 1!H)5.
No. !l
THE FREEZEUP
NEAR AT HAND
Not Expected that Ice Will
Be Running Till
Nov. 1.
PAST OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS
Fur two weeks ice 1ms l>een running
in the Yukon in steadily increasing
volume and narrowing runway/ The
closing of the river is near at b/nd.
It might come in two days and it
might hold ojien for four, and none ex
pect by any manner of means to see the
ice moving as late as Nov. 1.
This will rate as an early freezeup, al
though at this time in ltHK! the ice had
stopped, the date being Oct. 24. In 1 S'.is
it stopped Oct. 27. Other years it has
continued to run till in November.
Following is the opening and closing
. dates for the past seven years:
18il8—0|>ened May 22; closed Oct. 27.
181111—Opened May lit; closed Nov. G.
liHH)—O;>cned May 15; closed Nov.
1!K)1—Opened May 24; closed Nov. 8.
1002—0|iened May 21 ; closed Nov. !t.
loa;—Ojientsl May lit: ell I SCI l Oct. 24.
1!W)4—Ojiencsl May 11; closed Nov. 11.
This year ice moved May 1G. It will
la* noted that in 1!H>4 there was exactly
six months liefore the opening and the
closing, while the year before there was
only five months and live days tietween
the two dates, show ing that the date of
0|iening gives no indication of the time
of close.
Taking five months and fifteen days as
about the average time lietvvien the
o|iening and closing, and deducting say,
twenty days of time in which more or
less ice will lie running in the river, we
inav consider ourselves fairly lucky in
years when we have five mouths with no
ice in the river. And we may count it
g reasonably certain that we will have six
months of safe tooting liefore the ice
liecomes rotten in l'*o*i.
About the Late War
Tlir war IwtwrMi Kn-«ia ami .Japan
U iran on K**h. ■'», 1!»*4, ami |»-a**r wa*
I'oni'lmlml A tic. JO, Hi*.'*, tin* war Ia*tine
.VO .lay*.
ICii**i.in i-amtaltna in I*aItl« w*r* U.V.*
mi. a lilt, tliv Japan. **1 I. *•* «u* :l<i,i»n
Tin* Ja|*ui* *•• raptiiro.1 T'.'.tnn* pri*oii*
rm a».l tin* Human* .apturr.l i.UUfi.
liif-ia rat«*i>.lr*l HI\i»»i.iM) anl Ja
)mu ti|o,ia«M**>
l,.nn« lirm.li mill |.i.»|**l on '.plan
rmk .mam tin* ainlrl II. tliinli* a*
aril >4 thall «hh* *>i thv m« a* hr rut
It. I amt mlvaiin* *>iwr wiwilJr na*>n»
f h i thr bnth that w in
No Telegrams This Week.
Arrangements were made some time ago to have a
MAIL ON THE WAY
Sixteen Hundred Pounds
Started From Eagle
Oct. 14.
Sixteen hundred pounds of until was
started in a small boat from Kagle Oct.
14. Of eonrse there is no means of
knowing what progress it has made, but
there is a hope it may reaeh Rampart
within the next seven days. It is be
lieved this batch will contain registered
matter, the first to arrive since steam
boat service suspended. The eleven
hundred pounds landed here by l’aul
Schultz Oct. 17 contained no registered
mail.
Mr. Schultz departed with up-river
mail Oct. lit. He followed the beach
with dogs, and was instructed to con
tinue until he met the down-river mail.
He expected not to have to go beyond
Fort Yukon.
John Rulm is to leave Tanana w ith up
river mail Nov. 1. It is very doubtful if
the down-bound mail will reach there
la-fore his departure.
It is said that this fall carriers are in
structed to incur no avoidable risk; Imt
at the same time it is la-lieved they will
avoid all unnecessary delay.
AFTER MAIL CONTRACTS
Old Musher Would Include Water
Route in the Scope of His
Activity.
I.i* k t'urr, »!»*• K-rt Yuk<*vt tra*U*r an*I
r<>l>li<»il mail •’•»ntra**t»*r, i* • tin*
ni«lr.
It i* *ai«t flu.i l»i» l»u*.»»<«« ha* t*» •!«»
with h»*U umlrr 11«•• t ill httrlv <**• nt <>ut
la tin- •tr}«iFtiiM*nt. an*l that hi* a«|»ira»
ti**»»* r»a*h a* high i* th«- Ytifc*»u ri\**r
•* r\ K'r It***’II.
Thr » all f*»f hi»U that *l»miitf
th» **a««*»* tka ***rvk** n*u*t I*
r«-n*lia *r*k it* *ti>tahh -*<H iiuU<at’« It ia
n* t fca**VA h**w M tart «*%**r
flaw* tka *hitu »ilt* i lait it tub* rartamlv
I*vr taik*«l that hv want* Ikr *»*i»tra* t.
TO GO SECOND TIME
For Geological Surveyors’
Abandoned Outfit and
Horses.
C. F. W. Cassidy expects to set out in
a few days on a second trip in an at
tempt to bring in a part of the aban
doned outfit of the geological survey
party, and will prohahly he successful
this time. Unlv the instruments and
sjiecimens will he brought out. (’amp
equipage and all articles that may he
readily replaced will he left where they
are.
Sept. 2T, Mr. Cassidy left Fort Hamlin
ami .“pent nine days in locating the
cache and looking out a suitable route
for its removal. The condition of the
snow was such at that time that it was
useless to try to move it. The cache is
located at the head of Fish creek, a trib
utary of Mike Hess river. Mr. Cassidy
found four abandoned horses there, and
put them into a heavily timbered place,
where he l>elieves they can get grass
enough to keep them alive. He will
take in feed on dog sleds, and if he gets
them out he will Ik* four horses ahead.
The geo|«»gical survey party inehided
half a dozen men under l>. C. With* r
s|*M»n. They hud fifteen horses, eleven
of which Ucuine exhausted and were
killed.
The party started from Circle early in
the summer and worked around tin*
headwaters of lleavcr and 'like Hess
rivers. They exacted to finish at Fort
Hamlin. Aug. J'J snow lagan to fall
and gradually Iwcaiue dee|ier till prog
re--* was very ditheiilt. The horses cotlld
imt hold up under the heavy burdens.
Sept. H everything was utwinalonrd.
With canvas l**g* drawn over th« ir feet
and tied around their kg*, the men
plowed through the *tiow and itiulh
rwhnl F**rt I land in vj-t. 1«. There
thev dinhittikil.
V prospector remark* d a few day*
ago that if M»*rel»ak * reek was in lair*
lank* district the it Inks «h*-wu
would set a hundred men to digging,
IMAGINARY FOE
HID IN AMBUSH
The Novel Experience of a
Prospector—Thought
He Was Shot.
STARTED OUT ON A MAN HUNT
It seldom fill!* tip the lot of a {pros
pector to undergo a more startling expe
rience than what hotel I), h. Fancher
over on the llootlanana a short time
ago. •
He was trudging along with a hag of
shavings on his hack, when there was a
lightning-like flash, followed, {perhaps,
hv a sin pi t period of unconsciousness.
As his scattered senses returned he felt
a dull pain in the hreast, accompanied
hv a sensation of nausea.
Nmie Mkliw hunter, he thought, hail
mistaken him for a moose and made
him the vietim of a rifle hall.
“What do you mean?” he yelled, as
he looked about for the guilty one.
Keeeivlng no answer, he eoncluded his
assailant was hiding. ‘‘Come out like a
man,” he called, ‘‘instead of hiding
there in the brush like the infernal cow
ard that you are.” Hut no one appeared.
(letting madder and madder, Mr.
Fancher hustled to his cabin a short
way off and got his MO-dO rifle. He pro
mised to camp on that villain's trail.
Returning to the place where he had
linen stricken he saw his pipestem lying
in a little hollow in the snow. Come to
think, he was smoking when he was
shot. He ran his hand under his vest
but felt no blood. He probed into divers
little holes in the snow and brought out
fragments of his pipe.
Further investigation made everything
clear. He had carried his pipe in a
pockit with a lot of ,1’J cartridges. One
nestled snugly at the lrottom when the
pi|ie was tilled.
That dull hurting in the breast lin
gered some time after the mystery was
explained.
A. B. Entertainment
Tin' installation tin- new
ollieer* "( lt»' lisal «'»>■■ |» tl;r Aretie
ltlntherho*»l lin k ]‘hlee at tin' halt hist
niulit aeenr<!iii|f anm mieeinrnt.
Aft< r tin installation tin re was a
• la nee, eiijnyetl l>i tin* toa n*|ieoj.|e an*l
unite a niuulsr lr>*in tli * rmk», aumii*
tin latter lein* Mr*. Iimfonl ami Mo*
IV * k from l.ittlr Miin*>k.
It i> will that tlw affair wareely
n|U*llnl m ylrwiiig lU-tail amt thought
fill |>te|«irnlio|| the nniMvroiia .tehgMfnl
t<uflie* la»t «inh r It ia ho(a*l a latter
re*nlt Will I* Iwt In \t tone.