"News of oAmencas Last Frontier’
VOL 11 NO 20
KODIAK. ALASKA
JULY 21. 1951
PRICE 10 CENTS
101 Fishermen Arrested;
12-Hour Closure Of Inlet
Huge Fleet Operating
An emergency 12 hour fish
ing closure began at 6 pm
Tuesday in Cook Inlet because
of the great concentration of
fishing boats between Kalgin
Island and Kenai.
The 12-hour closure is in
addition to the mid-week
closure set forth in the 1951
regulations.
A wire to Roy Lindsley,
local FWS fisheries agent, and
to all packers on Kodiak Is
land, said the concentration of
fishing gear on slowly moving
schools of fish made the
emergency closure necessary
if an adequate escapement
was to'be obtained. The wire
was signed by Richard Shu
man, FWS biologist, for
Clarence Rhode, regional
director of the FWS.
Rhode flew over the area
Tuesday and observed around
500 fishing boats in the area.
“The whole Kodiak fleet and
half the boats from Chignik
are in the area, ” Rhode de
clared.
He also stated that the boats
were jammed together and
everybody was pulling in fish.
“They were openly defying
regulations.”
Boats were violating the
new regulation on length of
nets and were not the proper
distance apart. Around 30
arrests were made by FWS
boats patrolling the area.
Red salmon were br inging
$1.25 each as a result of
a fish , buying war earlier
between the packers.
Entrants Sought
For Horse Show
Plans for the August 5,
Wild West Show at Kalsin
Bay were near completion this
week as workmen completed
construction of the arena and
chutes at the site, John Gib
bons, co-sponsor of the event
announced.
The show will feature bronc
busting, cow riding, roping,
horse races and other rodeo
events. Tom Nelson is the
other sponsor. Prizes will be
awarded to winners of the
various events.
The starting time of the
show has been set but will be
announced at a later date.
Persons wishing to enter the
events may do so by writing
John Gibbons, Kodiak.
George R. Carr, deputy col
lector for the Bureau of Inter
nal Revenue, is in Kodiak this
week. He is assigned to the
Anchorage office.
Illegal Fishing Charged
Anchorage (A5)—One hun
dred and one Cook Inlet
Fishermen were slated to ap
pear in U. S. Commissioner’s
Court at Kenai Wednesday to
answer charges of illegal fish
ing.
It was -believed that 12 of
the fishermen are from Ko
diak.
The majority of those ar
rested are charged with fish
I ing too close together and the
remaining two with using nets
exceeding the allowable 150
fathoms.
The FWS has made two
moves in the past week in an
attempt to insure an adequate
escapement of salmon. Gillnets
were ordered shortened from
200 to 150 fathoms and an
emergency 12-hour closure
was ordered.
FWS officials said the cur
rent number of fishing boats
in Cook Inlet numbered 325 an
increase of more than 75 over
last year’s record of 247.
Council Holds
Special Session
The City of Kodiak’s por
tion of the Kodiak Indepen
dent School District budget
for the coming school year is
$28,020.50, it was revealed
Wednesday during a special
council meeting.
The city council met to con
fer with school board mem
bers and to hear a report by
Dr. W. H. Gaub, U. S. Pub
lic Health Service, on the
epidemic of Weil’s disease in
Kodiak.
The council unanimously
approved the city’s portion of
the school budget. Follow
ing Dr. Gaub’s report told
him that the city would co
operate 100% with a program
for the extermination of rats,
which are one of the known
carriers of the disease. (See
story in first column.)
Dr. Gaub told the council
that there were 30 confirmed
cases of Weil’s disease in Ko
diak. He also told the council
that rats were not the only
carriers. From specimen s of
blood obtained from patients
it has been determined that
four or five cases here were
caused by dogs.
He explained that early
symptoms of the disease are
very similar to those of in
fluenza. His work here will be
with laboratory tests on rats
and he is seeking permission
from dog owners to obtain
continued on page 9
Marine Monster
Found At Shuyak
A 30-foot unidentified mam
mal on the beach near Point
Banks on Shuyak Island
created considerable interest
and speculation this week.
It was discovered by a
fisherman for the Washington
Fish and Oyster Company at
Port Williams. He reported his
find to employees at the can
nery and a crew went to the
beach and measured and photo
graphed the strange sea
dweller.
The head of the mammal is
missing and the body is re
ported to be covered with hair
or fur approximately three
quarters of an inch in length.
Its color is “brownish-yellow”
and there are two front
“feet” with digit extremities
like a human hand.
It has a tail like a whale,
and two flukes which measure
72 inches each.
Kodachrome photographs
and the measurements have
been forwarded to Fish and
Wildlife Service office in Se
attle. It is believed that the
bears on Shuyak Island had
been chewing on the mammal
as parts of its body and head
were missing.
ihursday morning Mr. and
Mrs. Bob Hall, Mr. and Mrs.
Kim Clark and Mel Crawford
flew to Shuyak to view the
strange sea-creature.
The mammal is beginning to
disintegrate but the “feet”,
which resemble an unusually
large human hand, are visible.
The “feet” measure approxi
mately 45 inches across.
The party ot five made the
trip in a Kodiak Airways
(formerly Bob Hall Air Ser
vice) Widgeon.
Clark obtained samples of
the flesh and several pieces of
bone from the hairy odorous
creature.
Elks Plan Adult
Picnic At Woody Is.
An Elk’s picnic will be held
on Woody Island July 29, for
Elks, their ladies and guests,
Sig Digree, BPOE publicity
chairman said yesterday.
The local lodge will be the
guests of Woody Island CAA
personnel. The lodge has been
challenged to a baseball game
and tug-o-war. There will also
be the usual program of races,
games, etc.
Boat’s will leave for the is
land at 10 am and 12 noon,
according to Jim Bennett, j
chairman of the picnic com
mittee.
The annual Elk’s Picnic for
children will be held on Au
gust 19, Digree said.
Doctor Studies Kodiak
Rat-Caused Sickness
Kodiak has the dubious dis
tinction of being the first
locality in Alaska where
Weil’s disease has been de
tected, according to Dr. W.
H. Gaub, U. S. Public Health
Service representative of the
Arctic Health Research Cen
ter in Anchorage.
Dr. Gaub arrived in Kodiak
Monday to conduct a survey
and study of the numerous
cases of Weil’s disease here.
His study is to ascertain the
actual causes of the disease.
While it is known that rats
are partly responsible, it is
also known that other animals
caused the spread of the
disease in other areas.
“Man’s best friend can be
his enemy,’’ Dr. Gaub de
clared. He referred to dogs,
of which Kodiak has a large
population, and said they have
been known to carry the
disease.
Late this winter or early
spring the first case of Weil’s
disease was detected in Ko-.
diak. While the presence of
the sickness had been sus
pected it was not possible to
obtain definite evidence be
cause no laboratory^ facilities
were here, Dr. Gaub said.
The causative agent fo»
Weil’s disease is contained in
the blood and urine of patients
and the feces and urine of
rats, James A. Westbrook,
assistant director, division of
sanitation and engineering of
the territory, reported after a
survey was conducted here
early in May.
The disease organism has a
high penetrating capacity,
Dr. Gaub said. He urged all i
Late Bulletins
By Associated Press
Washington—Congress and
the Army promised swift ac
tion in pushing housing legis
lation to end the squalor and
rent gouging around military
camps.
Anchorage—A district court
warrant was ordered for the
arrest of Paul Wise, former
U. S. Commissioner at Kenai.
The action was taken after
Wise failed to appear to face
charges of embezzlement of
$4,000 of public money be
tween April 1949 and Febru
ary 1951.
Bail in the amount of $5,000
was ordered forfeited. Also in
Anchorage, the trial of Eu-1
gene Lanier, former mayor of,
Seward, was continued until!
continued on page 9
residents to thoroughly wash
all fruits and vegetables be
fore eating them.
In Westbrook’s report it
was shown that 25 cases of
Weil’s disease were known in
Kodiak.
Following his report the
City Council ordered a supply
of Warfarin and Red Squill to
combat the rats. The poison
arrived and is now at the city
dock.
Bulletin
A meeting to make plans for
an extermination program
against rats will be held to
morrow at 3 pm at the City
Hall, Mayor Lee C. Bettinger
announced late yesterday.
James A. Westbrook and E.
K. Day of Anchorage arrived
here yesterday to help start
the urogram. Volunteer work
ers are needed and interested
persons are urged to attend
the meeting.
A man from the Fish and
Wildlife Service in Anchorage
is due to arrive to supervise
the “baiting program” which
will be done with the coopera
tion of the Public Health Ser
vice, Alaska Department of
Health, FWS, the Navy and
City Council.
John Gibbons, president of
the Kodiak Health and Wel
fare Council, and Mary Jane
Hurley, public health nurse,
have worked tirelessly for the
extermination of the rodents.
Oscar Drake, former seventh
grade teacher in the local
school, became alarmed at the
rat population early this year
and started a campaign to
make residents conscious of
the danger they faced.
.Numerous new cases or me
disease have been reported
since Westbrook made his
survey. Dr. Gaub did not re
veal the actual count of cases
to date but said a full report
would be made when he com
pletes his survey.
Dr. Gaub expects to be in
Kodiak for two or three
weeks to complete his study.
Cach Rastopsoff was flown
from the cannery at Shear
water to Griffin Memorial Hos
pital Tuesday evening- for
treatment of a lacerated
finger.
Bob Hall of Kodiak Airways
brought the injured man to
the hospital. Rastopsoff was
discharged from the hospital
on Thursday.