Seward and the Alaska Central
Dr. C. II. Gibbons, who left Ua in part
half a voar ago and established himself
in Seward, writes from that place to a
friend here under date of Jan. 12:
Seward is the best place on the coast
without a doubt. I was in Valdez two
days, or part of them. About a third of
the town was washed away by a flood,
another third is empty, and the remain
der is occupied hv people who spend
most of the time cussing Seward and de
claring that Valdez is building two rail
roads to the interior. They were actu
ally grading on the proposed roads, hut
no iron was in sight except picks and
shovels. Seward has a good harbor and
fine townsite. It has just been made a
port of entry and the first boat to clear
for here direct is now unloading (100,000
feet of lumber. Building is going on
all over town and many cellars are dug
and waiting for lumber. The railroad
is building everything in a first-class
manner. The new headquarters build
ing cost over $00,000. Construction
trains run forty-six miles, and work on
tunnels and rock cuts in the next fifty
miles is being rushed all winter. Sev
enteen hundred men are at work now
and more are coming on every boat.
The weather is generally fine. Murcury
touched 8 deg. below one morning, but
nearly all December it was above freez
ing point.
\V. G. Atwood, assistant engineer of
construction for tl>c Alaska Central
railroad, in a personal letter to a ltain
part friend, said, under date of Seward,
Jan. 30:
The road is progressing fairly well.
We have about forty-five miles in opera
tion and are grading sixty miles more.
We expect to have road and trail open
to Fairbanks next winter. I note what:
you say in regard to the Yukon termi
nus, hut think it extremely doubtful if
the road is extended beyond the Tanana 1
at the present time.
Henry Papin wrote from Seattle Jan.
5 that he was done visiting in the States
and would soon start for llampart by
wav of Valdez, Fairbanks and Pioneer.
About the Alaska Central Mr. Papin
said :
1 think now that it will not be long
before the Alaska Central railroad will
be built from Seward to Atwood, on the
Tanana somewhere above the mouth of J
Baker creek. That is the way it is
marked out. They have about fifteen
hundred men working this winter, run
ning tunnels and doing such other work
as is feasible at this time. Kvery steamer
that leaves Sr at tie for Valdez and Sew
ard is loaded to its full capacity, carry
ing food and material for the railroad.
MAN LOST
ON CHANDELAR
Traced to Where His Tracks Led
Into Broken Ice—His Name
Jack Erb.
A correspondent writing to the Nome
Nugget from C’oMfoot, under date of
Dee. 2, says :
The only exciting thing I have heard
of is the probable death of .lack Krb,
formerly of San Francisco. He and Ar
thur Newton were on Flat creek, a
tributary of the (’handelar, when Krb
took their horse and started for a cache
they had a few miles away. Some days
later (Oct. 5) Krb stopped at the mail
cabin at the Ka>t Fork of the ( handelar,
killed his hors*1 and left a note for the
mail carrier stating that he had tak* n
some tea and would replace it. Fight
days later he was again at the same
mail cabin and left a note for his part
ner. Newton, telling him he was going
to ('oldfoot. He was tracked from tie re
down the t handelar t • a -pot w her** his
tracks led into broken ice, and no other
trace of him has been found. At the
Fast Fork eabin he was in tbre* miles
of tin* cabin of John ( hristian-eii, John
Uabv and Mr. Nelson, who are pros*
|m etmgoh the ('handelar,ami they heard
some one chopping in hi-* direction, but
did not go t<» -»•«• about ir. Newt**n and
Miller were l«M»king 1 r Krb for <N>mr
•lays, hut found nothing to give them
any lto|«* of finding him.
Exposition Incorporated.
The Alaska-Yak*>ti K\|«*»-»ti*>n <*•>•»»•
|hiiiv Ims iMiuel a com in it tee >»f Hfty,
«h«> have inr«*rpon»te»| the • i }«•*•!tion
They have rwrivwl ah imitation to \i*it
tlie Jamestown ev|»«ott«>ti In |tai«
ESTER CREEK
A WINNER
So It Appears to D. W. Scott, Who
Recently Returned From
Fairbanks.
I*. W. Scott, who lately returned from
Fairbanks to What Cheer I’ar, formed a
good opinion of that part of the country,
particularly Ester creek, lie writes to
a town friend as follows:
While in Chena I met a hunch of old
Ramparters. Quite a few of the hoys
have gotten off right there. F.ster creek
is surely a winner. They have pay from
7 above to 0 below . They are most all
loJ(l-f. .it claims. The pay-freak is J.">0
feet wide in places and 4 tot, feet thick,
some of the dirt going fa to the square
foot, hast fall there were practically no
boilers on the creek: today they have
J1 -team hoists and ‘Jl pros|sa-ting l« il
er- working there. They have dumps
with as high as aO.UM) TA-pan hm kets;
-o you can see there is something tloing.
Claims are selling theie now for as high
as $.io,!KNt. F.ster creek is made up
prinri|«tlly of Kamparters. It is esti
mated the er.ek will pr.since |:;.omi.iitN)
Is fore fall. Cleary creek is taking out
ten dumps to one on Kster. They place
the total output of the district at lie
twi-en ten and twelve million- Fair
iHinks makes a man think of some city
o i thr"ait-ide—all lighted with electric
lights and heated with steam.
The war de|strtn» nt ha- .Irridnl not
to leas, tin1 \lask.i telegraph ami cable
tinea to a private company, siecretnrv
Taft sanl that if the government deckles
to rflimpiish the business, which is tin
pr*dssl*te, it will not lease it, latt will
sell it >aitright.
HARD FIGHT
WITH CRIMINALS
Peterson, the Fairbanks Jail Guard,
Was Almost Done to Death
By Thornton.
Particulars' of the jail-hreaking epi
sode of Jan. 2t> were received in the
papers which reached here from Fair
banks Feb. I’M. The fight between the
jailors and the daring criminals was
truly dt sperate.
Thornton is said to have been armed
with a clasp knife, which he used with
terrible effect on Peterson, who fought
gamely, but at great disadvantage be
cause he had been blinded with jH-plK-f.
One knife wound struck the point of
Peterson’s breastbone and penetrated
the abdomen; another wound, a deep
narrow cut, penetrated near the same
place and cut an artery, and another
deep cut was received in the back,
toward the left side. Any one of the
wounds were deep enough to cause death
had not chance directed them to spots
not vital. As it was Peterson was so
near death he had to be kept alive In
artificial respiration ; but he rallied and
will recover.
tiallagher. who fought with Hendrick
son, fared better. Hendrickson had a
case knife, broken to a (mint; but early
in the scuttle the blade broke off even
with the handle. The prisoners had
intended to kill the guards and take
arms and clothing: but an outcry had
l«-en made and they feared help would
come for their antagonists.
After leaving the jail Hendrickson
went Up t'helm slough, lie was bare
headed and wrap|>ed a jum|s-r around
his head to keep from freezing. This
attracted notice and fnrnistied a clue to
the direction he had gone. Heputv
Marshal Charles Preilielhis and S|»eial
l *Hi» er Schnablo found him in a cabin
ten miles away and returned him to jail,
t *f course the officer* W on Id have killed
him at the least sign of resistance, but
Hendrickson only la gged pitifully not to
la- shot.
It has lan-ntne known that Thornton
was la-friended and harls-red after his
escape, lb- is the limn- dangerous of
tin- two, and it is ho|as| he may yet la
taken in.
*ucve*»fnt men Is-lieve in luck, tstckrd
Up by their own efforts.
Lost
Dog
Strayed from the vicinity of
Eureka, Jan. L’ti. Weight
about IN) pounds; black;
tan legs; tan spots over
eyes; short haired ; answers
to the name of “Spot.”
Suitable reward if turned
over to (r. W. Spicer, Eure
ka,or John Stanley, 35 B. M.
(inr vmIone,*'osePeoP*ewho\
Ant I UU seldom write home? \
They will know you are all right if you I
send them the YUKON VALLEY NEKS. J
Mail yours or let us send one weekly.^
Our Mining Laws
Are Very Good
It in believed that a great majority of
miners are becoming settled in the
opinion that the fewer changes attempt
ed in the mining laws just at this stage
of affairs in Alaska the better it will be.
Probably all realize that the laws are
not perfect; but there are fewer risks in
letting them alone than undertaking
changes that might turn out for worse.
Some such thought as this must have
possessed Henry Papin when be wrote
as follows from Seattle: "There are a
number of persons in Washington try
ing to have congress pass some laws for
Alaska. Whether the laws will be for
the interest of the people of Alaska in
general, or for their own good, I do not
know. I think we should have some
one from Alaska to see that the laws
they want to pass will be of some benefit
to us. We have plenty of mining laws,
and they are very good ; although a good
many have abused them in Alaska.”
Better Results
From Assays
It i* rlaiiut-d that tin* iv^tilN (ruin
ir*>1*1 «*uhiiiitti**I t** tin* rt!*?»ay
have iin|»r«*vt*«l |*-rrnptihly tin*
*tt*aUng« tlirr*- \v«*iv ilrtwtfd and t• *j*
F itfht rvi-vni a*-av r**rtilu*at«** *|iowt*d
vain*-* from kain|>art |m»Iu* a- follow*,
|Hr*r ur*'** on: T**> • »< ♦ I’*.•*•!, on«* of
t • * • »| on** of #|.Y:trt, on*
«»< $1 tilt, and **»*•• *»f #IY |H,
It i* *i»hl that J«’fTr»* -* will r**-vnt«*r tl.«*
I'm* rititf atfuiit in «*rdrr t«» n.ak* a
fU atni)* of » han»| i n-. II. wm*
p* r-u.«-l**l that th** ft*ii»iin| » h*t»tt|>t’ it
<*lioiil«| i-tim tin* h-*n»«r Utfitimatvlv