of the kind narrated above. What the Indians
should have, and are entitled to, is a chance to
make their living in the regular lines of trade.
Under the rule of King O’Malley I it may soon be
necessary to put the Alaskan Indian on rations.
The government has taken away his right to earn
a living, so the government will soon have to feed
him.
O’Malley’s Excuse - Capt. Hunters Affidavit - The
Log of the U. S. B. F. S. uBrant”
Ketchikan, Alaska,
May 13, 1930
Hon. Robert P. Lament,
Secretary of Commerce,
.Washington, D. C ,
Dear Sir: In Re: O’Mallev’s
Excuse for not attending Na
tives’ meeting to protest hook
off rule, July 3, 1929.
My contention is this: that
Henry O’Malley, in line with his
long established practice of
treating the Natives of Alaska
with contempt and refusing to
give them a hearing although
graciously granting the same to
f ig operators, did not wish to
attend the meeting of native
seiners gathered for the express
purpose of conferring with
O’Malley one and one-half hours
after O’Malley left town; that
O'Malley deceived the Secretary
by saying that he was compelled
to leave Ketchikan when he did
because he had to go to An an
Creek to inspect \he weir ml
then catch the tide at Wrangell
Narrow’s We charge that this
reason was a mer- excuse con
cocted after O’Malley saw that
his violation of our constitution
al rights had aroused the inter
est of his superior.
I have just received the so
called copy of the log book of
the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries
vessel “Brant” from June 29th
1929 to 11 p.m. July 7, 1929, and
certified to by E. L. Hunter, Mas
ter U. S. F. S. “Brant,” this being
the boat upon which Mr. O’Mal
ley was travelling.
I cannot believe that this is a
COMPLETE copy of the Brant’s
log although I am willing to be
lieve that it is CORRECT in what
is given therein.
I cannot believe that Hunter,
or any other captain could be as
careless in navigating a ship as
this log indicates. My belief and
conviction is that Capt. Hunter
has concealed the facts that
would pr°ve that Henry O’M ..
falsified when he told the Secre
tary he (O’Malley) could not at
tend the meeting of seiners in
Ketchikan because he had to go
to Anan Creek and thence to
catch the tide at Wrangell Nar
rows.
Allow me to state my reasons
for so believing.
The log is complete, all points
involving changes of course be
ing noted, up to Ship Island, 25
knots west of Ketchikan. From
Ship Island no entries appear in
this purported copy of the log
book until t he Brant reached An
an Creek at 7.05 p.m., four hours
later. Why did the Captain omit
Lemesurier Pt., on entering Ern
est Sound?
After the Brant left Anan
Creek, what channel did he fol
low? Blake Channel, Zimovia
Straits, or back to Clarence
Straits?
When did the Brant enter
Wrangell Narrows?
Why didn’t the captain note
the time when he passed Pt.
Alexander light to enter the
Narrows?
There are 22 lights in Wran
gell Narrows. Why did the cap
tain fail to note any one of
them?
His first course entry after
leaving Anan Creek (7 p.m. of
July 3rd) was 5:43 a.m., July 4th,
Mitkcff Point, the most norther
ly Point of Mitkoff Island, at the
upper end of Wrangell Narrows,
a period of 10 and % hours.
After this point, please note
that the captain again makes his
frequent entries of point after
point, every few miles.
O'Malley says he had to leave
Ketchikan in a hurry to catch
the tide at Wrangell Narrows via
Anan Creek. Did Captain Hunt
er know about this hurry? The
captain apparently defending his
chief because of the entry “11:00
p.m. slow bell awaiting tide,”
says: “On leaving Ketchikan I
estimated about two hours would
be required at Anan Creek * * *
Mr. O’Malley being in a hurry
stayed about an hour at Anan
Creek and as we had good luck
with tide and wind it put us
about two hours ahead of time I
estimated it would be favorable
to enter the Narrows.”
Did Captain Hunter learn for
the first time at Anan Creek
that O’Malley was in a hurry?
Apparently so because he now
excuses the stay of only 55 min
utes by saying that Mr. O’Malley
was in a hurry whereas Hunter
had figured two hours.
The tide from Anan Creek to
Wrangell via Zimovia Straits
THWAIT’S PHOTO SHOP
KODAK FINISHING
COPYING—ENLARGING
Ketchikan
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