THE NOME NUGGET
NOME, ALASKA. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1921.
•>«‘l»ver«d by Carrier or MatVd.
Member of Associated Press
MEETS TRAGIC DEATH BY FREEZING
U. S. NOT CONCERNED OVER FLAG ON WRANGLE
WRANGLE COLONY |,
IN petropavolsk!
PETEROPAVOLSK, Oct. 24, <AP)—The Russian
ice breaker Red October, arrived here today after a
tempestuous voyage in northern waters with Charles
Wells and the twelve Eskimos of the Wrangel Is
land party whom they took off of the Island lately,
all of whom are citizens of the United States. |
!NSERT NO 2 Wrangell
Tells of Taking Americans from Island Colony |
PETEROPAVOLSK. Oct. 24. <AP)- Professor
Davidof of the Russian Wrangel Expedition today J
related the incidents of the taking of Charles Wells |
s nd the American Eskimos from Wrangell Island. |
He said tha: i»? had found a bottle containing a i ct< •
from Wells saying that he had gun * t<> 'he Ray of j
Doubt, then •‘suddenly to the westward they - »strv- ;
ed a boat with five men approaching, evidently think |
ing that our ship was an American one coming to)
rescue them. They came on until fifty yards fr® |
the ship and then started to flee but we stopped j
them with cries of reassurance.
The professor says that they found two tlags j
that Wells had hidden away, one an American and I
the other a Canadian. The wires do not state what]
disposal will be made of the prisoners. -
Ivossian Says Natives Wished to Leave »1
PETEROPAVLOSK. Oct. 24.. (APi -Special -
Professor Davidof. Chief of the Russian Expedition
to Wrangel Island today made a statement in which
he claims that they took the Eskimos from the Is
land because “they didn't want to stay there'' and
they had no permit from the Russian Government
to live and hunt on the Island. * He said that he
found a pole from which a British Flag had flown
and had erected another pole on which he had hoist
ed the red flag of Russia. He also said that Wells
and his companions had attempted flight when they
saw the red flag.
IT. 8. Not Interested in Ownership of Wrangel I.
WASHINGTON. D. C.. Oct. 24 fAP '—Special
Word received here today to the effect that Charles
Wells boarded the Red October of his own free will
at Wrangel Island removes the possibility insofar
as the United States is concerned over the removal
of Wells and the natives from the island by the Rus
sians. The Government seems to be firmly uncon
cerned as to the question of which flog flies over
Wrangel Island.
POSTMASTER IS CLEARED
OP EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGE
CORDOVA, Oct. 24, (AP)—Postmaster Charles
H. Scheffler was today acquitted of the charge of
embezzling $5000 postal funds after the trial had
lasted ten days. After the Jury had deliberated
for seventeen hours they turned in the verdict of
not guilty on the five counts. The post office was
robbed on June 16 and the official was arrested as
a suspect in the crime.
Drys Win in Toronto Election
TORONTO, Can.. Oct. 24, (AP)—Revised figures
in the election count of' the plebiscite for the ques
tion of telling beer by the glass by government sale
give the drys a majbrity of 30,16? and the law
stands as before. The wets held a lead of fifty
thousand in the count but steadily lost when the re
turns came in from the outlying rural districts.
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ARMIES
IN CHINA ENTIRELY CUT OFF
MUKDEN. Oct. *24. (AP)—Special—j6ndinc of
the war with the Chinese Central Government was
officially announced in a communique from the head
quarters of Chang Tsolin. The dispatch states that
Feng Quhsiang was in possession of Peking. Pres
ident Tsao Kun has taken refuge In the legation
quarters and Wu Pel Fu is reported to be in full re
treat. The Central Government armies at Shang
alkwaa are entirely cut off. dispatches say.
JOHN JOHNSON IS
FROZEN JO DEATH
What wo* probably one of the most terrible in
•identH occuring in this section in some time ended
n the freezing to death of John Johnson, 67 years
>f ago and a partner in the dredging concern of
Iverson & Johnson who were operating a dredge on
'Big Hurrah," a tributary of Solomon River
Several mining men. including Mr. Johnson
i*et« Iverson and. Fred Mebes, were planning on a
trip to Nome to start on Tuesday morning. John
son and Mebes, however, had dogs and each had
some young pups, so it was decided by the pair to
travel hy sled by way of Safety Lagoon as the pups
would he unable to keep pace with the truck and
there wav not room to haul them in the vehicle.
At about 11 o’clock, when about three mile*
from Th»- roadhouse the men noticed that
some of the pups started to give chase to some sen
gulls which were a short distance away, and reali/.
i! g th«.r *iit presence of the birds meant open water,
they started to turn the sled in the opposite direc
tion to get back to more solid footing. It wav
aking the
Mebes. wh<> was riding the sled at the tin), was
only wh to the hips hut Johnson was pretty wot]
ducked, and the latter, when both were safely out
on the ice. again went back to make an attempt tc
release the dogs from the sled which was submerged
As he went along the line cutting them loose he got
onto thinn*-r ice and he finally again was precipitated
into the icy water of the lagoon.
Mebes called to Johnson to see if the latter could
reach bottom and the reply was “there is no bottom
here.” .Mebes said that Johnson then got ontc
the sunken sled and was able to stand there with
the water to his chin. Seeing that he could not
hear his unfortunate companion Mebes says that hr
told Johnson that he would go for help and left im
mediately for the roadhouse, arriving there three
hours in a state of exhaustion from the cold and
the wetting he had experienced. Pete Iverson and
the rest of the nun who were on the truck had ar
rived and started out sit once along the lagoon with
Chas. Dalqnist and his team of horses drawing n
boat but found that they could not get it to the
scene of the accident from that direction so they
had to turn back. They then started out on the
trail and located the approximate location after
dark,’but believin.; Johnson to have been drowned
returned to the roadhouse to await daylight to make
an attempt to recover the body.
The next day. Wednesday, they went hack lo the
scene and were searching around and saw from a
distance what they thought to be seals on the ice.
They thought nothing of this as seals had been
seen on drifting cakes at different times during the
search. However, getting nearer to this spot on the
third day they discovered that the form on the ice
was the form of a man and upon investigation it
was found to be the body of the supposedly drowned
Johnson.
Mr. Iverson advances the theory that after Mebes
left for aid Johnson decided to put up a tight for
his life and commenced to swim for solid ice on
which to climb out upon. Having reached the ice
and managed to drag himself out. he commenced
to crawl around aimlessly in an exhausted condition
and managed to get about a hundred feet, from the
place where he fell into the water. He had been
crawling in the wrong direction, however, and finally
getting back to thin ice again one foot broke through
and his strength was not sufficient to enable him to
drag it out and continue onward. With one hand
he had been carrying a snow-shoe and it was ly
ing near at hand when he was found.
It is said that Johnson and Mebes were warned
against traveling along the center of the* lagoon
before they started out with the dogs and it is
C. G. TO RESCUE
SILVER WAVE
The ( oust Guard Cutter Mojave left Nome . r
| Kotzebue Sound late Thursday night immediately ;f
ter receiving instructions and late data from 'ho
scene of the trouble, to render assistance to the Lo
j men Reindeer and Trading Corporation’s motorship
I Silver Wave which is drifting helplessly to sea after
i having been taken out with the ice in a storm • ■. rly
| this week, with five men on board.
The Silver Wave left Nome on ihober nth with
| consignments of .‘n ight, passenger* and mail for
points up the coast and on Kotzcbte- Sound. All
: points were made with the exception of York, at
i which place H. .1 Christens©*! of Tin City end some
supplies were to ho left but the weather being tin
favorable, it was decided to go on > Kotzebue and
try landing at York later on the return to Nome.
Kotzebue
lint; I ho mail ;
found that it
on amount of
•argo ashore, flu* captain and en
and returning with outgoing mail
impossible to go .aboard tin* boat
ice. While waiting for a chance
aboard and
•arned tin* v
j a small launch a
; miles from shore
j forced them bind
reach the
but only
mintered i<
It was then that f'apta
officers here “rush cutter north crew is in danger/1
and immediately preparations for the Mojave’s de
parture were made. On leaving here it was the
plan of Captain Dempwolf to stop in at Tell.- • ic
take on sonic natives with skin boats and ice sleds
to aid in case they were needed. Others in the
party on hoard the Cutter are 4\lfred Lomen. Capt
ain Boss of the Coast Guard Station here and Cube
Johnson, former engineer of the Silver Wave.
The hunt will he made, in the vicinity of Cape
Blossom and Cape Espenburg and the powerful
searchlights will he played at night to attract the
attention of the men on hoard the Silver Wave to
let them know that the search is on in hopes that
they will send up signals to help in locating them.
This is the latest date in history that a Cutter
has been dispatched into the northern waters and
j it is expected that an icy trip will be experienced.
1 The Mojave also plans on getting in at Teller
' for which place she has a cargo of supplies that are
mind) needed, due to the fact that the motor ship
, Appolo has failed to arrive with stores consigned to
* that place. -’«*»,
CHINESE PRESIDENT FLEES
TOKYO, Oct. 21. (AIM Special—President Tsao
; Jun of China fled today from Peking for an un
{known destination, according to despatches to the
i Kaokiusai News Agency from Tientsin.
WOULD SUSPEND MIKE
MONTIGUB FROM BOXING
j NEW YORK. Oct. 24. (AP)—Special—The State
Boxing Committee recommended that Mike McTingue
j holder of the heavyweight crown, he refused a 11c
i en8e to box in New York for a year because of his
i failure to accept thp challenge of Gene Tunney. who
! is a contender for the honor.
I regrettable that the advice was not followed,
j Mr. Johnson is a member of the Masonic Order,
| belonging to the lodge in San Francisco Members
! of the order here have taken up the matter with his
1 home lodge to ascertain whether or not they desire
shipment of the remains to the outside for burial.
I He has no known relatives in this country, having
j been born in Norway and has lived in Alaska since
COOLIDGE TALKS
TO NAT. G. OF C.
j WASHINGTON. Oct. 24, <AP> Special v>pe k
Sing before* ih Eastern Division of the National
Chamber of Commerce on Thursday night, President
' Coolidgo proposed that the Government “maintain
! peace, promote and provide a protective tariff, leave
! people in possession of their property and maintain
It)' integrity. of the courts.” He said "despite the
I national supposition that every well-wisher of the
| country is anxious to maintain the present estab
lished order of tilings there is now proposed at least
two radical changes." These were in regard to
lit government ownership of transportation and the
j limitations of »he powers of the Supreme Court.
lie said we should get all possible out of the rich by
'making the rates moderate and stimulating business.
• making work for and increasing the earnings of the
j poor, as common sense methods. Speaking on tax
ation he said "We abstained from joining the League
lot Nations mainly to avoid political entanglements
laud committing ourselves to the assumption of the
j obligations of others. We opposed the cancellation
I of debts due us from abroad and shall continue to
j seek further liquidation. He pointed out that the
1 1920 per capita tax was nearly $54 and in 1924 it
was tinder^ $.10 aqd that in ^192H..U should *>e
I $20. f
| TWO ft.%l>IO RECORDS ARE
ItHOKEN IN COOLIDGE SPEECH
Two radio records were broken Thursday night
1 when the voice of President Coolidge was heard at
I KFAO. Seattle. It was the first time that a Presi
| dent lias spoken across the continent without having
j the message relayed. The relays for the first time
.carried directly to the wireless station of the North
I west Telegraph Broadcasting Station KFAO. One
; hundred and twenty two stations will broadcast the
I wot Id) HA It PUBLISHING
OF BIG INCOME TAX REPORTS
j NEW YORK. Oct. 24. (AP)--Newspapers gen
erally printed the amounts of the income taxes paid
by prominent persons following the making available
of the reports by the Treasury Department in Wash
ington for inspection It is said that an attempt is
to be made to prohibit the publishing of these am
ounts on account of the papers making other tea
hn\‘s than the amounts paid in their articles.
WALLACE TAKES BAD TURN
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24. (AP) -Secretary Wat
: lace who was operated upon several days ago and
was previously reported as improving, has developed
Toxemia from an infection in the intestines and it
j was found necessary to call surgeons for a consulta
i tion on his condition.
_
PEKING. Oct. 24. (AP)—It is reported that the
j Chinese President before fleeing issued a proclaraaff
tiou that hostilities should cease immediately, dis
missed Wu Pie Fu. Commander in Chief of the Ar
mies. (lirectod Chihli and Mukden forces to remain
in their present positions. He ordered the execu
tion of General Li’s private secretary after question
ing Li ubout certain liuancial irregularities. He
also issued a proclamation making Wu Kote chief of
a commission for the development of Kokonor. a dis
triet surrounding a Salt Lake by that name.
SHENANDOAH WELL ON WAY
TO EAST COAST RASE
FORT WORTH. Texas, Oct. 24. (AP)—The dir
igible Shenandoah moored here thirty six hours and
thirty minutes from the time she left San Diego.
The airship made a stay of ten hours and continued
her flight te Lakehurst, N. J.