AND COOK INLET* PIONEER
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1916.
VOL. 2. NO. 26.
PRICE TEN CENTS.
T
BERLIN, Nov. 29.—(By wireless to Sayville)—The German
war office today announces that the combined armies of Gen
eral Mackensen and General von Falkenhayn, under the su
preme command of General von Mackensen, are marching on
Bucharest, the capital of Boumania, and that the fall of the
city is anticipated by the Teutons. The Roumanian army is
retreating toward the eastward, and there is little fighting save
* for the skirmishes between the rear guard of the Roumanian
army and the advance division of the Teuton forces. The Rou
manians are laying waste the region penetrated by their re
treat, so as to hamper the Teutons in getting supplies from the
country.
*4
TEUTONS TAKE ROUMANIAN TOWN.
BERLIN, Nov. 29.—(By wireless to Sayville)—Teuton oc
cupation of the Roumanian town of Curtedarges is announced
today in official reports.
BULGARIANS CROSS THE DANUBE.
SOFIA, Bulgaria, 20.—“We crossed the Danube riv
er yesterday at a point near Ahova and. are today occupying
the Roumanian city of Bechet,” says a Bulgarian official
.statement issued today..
FRENCH ZOUAVES TAKE HILL.
PARIS, Nov. 29.—Led by the French Zouaves, the Serbian
forces made a charge on the Teuton positions east of Mona stir
yesterday and after a desperate engagement, succeeded in tak
ing Hill i 050. _ Ohl ii ..„ . n JfJ
: V*s i,». fee fefllfr ■ ■
4*j
AUSTRIANS ARE ACTIVE AT CARNIA.
-f ROME, Nov. 29.—Austrian artillery, for the past few days,
has been employed in shelling the Italian lines on the Carnia
front, says a report given out by the war office today.
HEAVY RAINS INTERFERE.
ROME, Nov. 29.—In the Trentino war zone, heavy rains
have been prevailing for the past few days, interfering with
war activities along the greater part of the Italian line, says
fin official report today.
HOSTILE AIRSHIPS RAID ENGLISH COAST.
LONDON, Nov. 29.—Another raid of a Zeppelin fleet cros
sed the northeastern coast of England Monday and bombs were
dropped in several coast towns, says a report issued by the
British war office today: The Casualty list and the extent of
ti»e damage to property inflicted had not been officially re
eved by the war department, says the report, but private ad
vices are to the effect that but few lives were lost and that
the damage sustained was meagre.
TWO ZEPPELINS BROUGHT DOWN.
LONDON, Nov. 29.—Two Zeppelins, a part of tlie fleet !
rthat raided the northeast coast of England Monday night, were J
brought down by fire from the forts, says an official report to
day. The crews of both airships were killed by the fall. The
Zeppelins fell into the sea and were destroyed. One woman
was killed and 16 persons injured as a result of the Zeppelin
raid.
DROPPED BOMBS ON LONDON.
LONDON, Nov. 29.—The Zeppelin fleet dropped four
bombs in the city of London, injuring four persons, says an of
ficial report on the raid today.
ORDERED OUT OF GREECE.
» SOFIA, Bulgaria, Nov. 29.—The ministers representing
' the central powers in Greece, and who were ordered to depart
from that country by the Greek authorities, have reached Tva
vala, in Bulgaina, en route to their respective countries.
COAST CLEAR, REPORTS VESSEL.
H. NEW YORK, Nov. 29.—The transatlantic steamer Laug
sent a report from a point south of Nantucket shoals light
house last night, saying that no German submarines were in
that vicinity and that the coast appeared to be clear. The
apparent abandonment of the return route on the part of the
steamer Laug is probably due to the wireless warnings sent
out by a British warship, telling of the presence of subma
rines. Near Nantucket shoals is where the German U-53 sank
five allied ships recently.
/ jf, RAIDERS SINE A VESSEL.
BERLIN, Nov. 29.—(By wireless to Sayville)—German
naval raiders sank an allied vessel near Lowestoff and took cap
tive its crew yesterday, returning safely to port last night,
says a report issued by the German admiralty today.
PROLONGED PROSPECTING TRIP,
BESET WITH TRYING ORDEALS ID
EXPERIENCES, IS SAFELY ENDED
Three men, three horses and three
dogs. One set of threes, alone, is
usually considered a good hand and
has been known to take the pot. How
ever. the combination of threes’ did
not bring fortune or luck to M. L.
Groat, Chas. Mesbelt and Jake Sie
grist, who left the Iditarod the mid
dle of last August on a prospecting
trip in the upper waters of the Iiusko
kwim and only returned to civiliza
tion the last of October after a trip
of hardships and endurance seldom
equaled even in this northland where
privations go hand in hand with the
prospector in their unceasing search
for gold.
That they are alive and able to tell
the tale is remarkable and could only
happen in Alaska. To the effete east
erner and club man it is hard to rea
lize the perilous rugged life the Alas
kan prospector is forced to lead. The
different accounts that have gone out
from time to time relative to the nar
row escapes and the trials and tribu
lations of these men no doubt read
like fairy tales to the uninitiated who
may think that this country was the
original home of Baron Munchausen.
To the old-timer these experiences
are usually passed as an every-day
episode and it is only when the ex
thaordinary cases come to their atten
tion that they show more than pass
ing interest. And even then they will
probably refer you to the hard win
ter of 1897, when, etc. These Alaskan
prospectors are a race of their own
and it is almost inconceivable for the
first yearer to believe that they have
IPj4Pt£on« such hardships and are
always ready to try again. You can
starve these Alskans and torture
them in many ways from . exposure
and privations but you cannot kill
them nor stop the wild search for
gold.
It is partly for this reason that
Alaska occupies such a prominent
part in the nation’s history and is
gradually receiving just attention
from the government authorities. It
is through them that the original pur
chase price has been repaid many,
many times and further goes to prove
that Secretary Seward, in putting one
over on the czar, knew his American,
and that the spirit of wanderlust and
adventure would never die as long as
the strains of the Celt, the Angle and
the Saxon ran in the veins of the peo
ple. •'
Mr. Groat is one of these—quiet
and unassuming with the clear blue
eye of the Celt and the persistency
of the Saxon. In recounting the tale
yesterday afternoon in the lobby of
the Hotel' Anchorage Mr. Groat was
extremely reticent and told the tale
as a matter of everyday life and ex
perience and says he is only waiting
for his brother to arrive in Anchorage
from the Iditarod when he will start
out again, always looking for gold.
Mr. Groat said that he had lived in
Alaska for 18 years and had often
camped in the vicinity of where An
chorage now stands and little did he
dream of what a change time and
American vigor could accomplish. The
other two members, Mesbelt and Sie
gest, are also old-timers and are fa
miliar with the life of the prospector.
Mr. Groat said in telling the tale—
“We left the Iditarod on the 16th day
of last August on a prospecting trip
to find a new country. Our outfit was
complete with provisions and the ne
cessary supplies particular to a trip
of this nature. We started out with
three pack horses and three dogs un
der especially favorable circumstances
and took a due course for Mount Mc
Kinley, following the base of the
mountain as much as possible. We
were lost for over two weeks in the
swamps and low lands and lost .one of
our horses from overexertion. After
leaving the low lands we had a fairly
good trip and reached the base of
Mount McKinley the 22nd day of Sep
tember. There was plenty of game
in that part of the country and after
prospecting for awhile we started up
the Nenana river on the way to
Broad pass. We ran into a heavy
snow storm ^he second day after leav
ing Mount McKinley and it snowed
for two days. The two horses were
commencing to play out as the travel
was so heavy and there was nothing
for them to eat except brush. About
30 miles from Broatl Pass we had to
I shoot Both horses, as they were too
weak to travel. We also lost two of
the dogs in this neighborhood.
After shooting the horses we pack
ed what we could, taking one gun
and part of our bedding. The snow
was 18 inches deep and the going was
so bad we had to stop and make skiis.
Our only tool was a camp axe and our
pocket knives. We charred the bot
tom of the skiis and greased the bot
tom of the runners with candle grease.
We only had two days grub left by
this time and made about 30 miles
the first day on the skiis. There was
no game in the country and we were
getting so' exhausted that we had to
leave the balance of our. bedding and
slept under the trees at night. We
had plenty of matches and some to
bacco but our grub was entirely gone
by this time and things were getting
very serious. We knew we were head
ed in the right direction but on ac
count of the heavy snow storms and
fog we got lost several times. We
went without eating for one whole
day but killed a porcupine that night.
The one dog we had left was footsore
and could not keep up, often coming
into camp two hours after we did. We
had nothing to eat the next day and
were somewhere in the vicinity of the
east and west forks of the Chulitna
and lost a day here as we got tangled
in our directions. We killed two
porcupines the next day and lived on
this meat for two days. We had lost
all track of the days and were travel
ing entirely by the compass. In the
course of time we reached Granite
creek aad recognized the government
pack trail which we followed until we
came to what we thought was Indian
river. We had then gone one day
and up to about noon the next day
without eating when he killed and ate
a lynx. By this time we were all in
from exhaustion, cold and exposure
but were traveling a few miles every
day. We finally reached Chulitna
river and decided to make a raft
which took us three days, as we only
had the camp axe and were so weak
it would take hard work by tl#? .three
of us to pack an ordinary log to the
water’s edge. Our strength was all
but gone by the time we completed
the most ordinary raft of five logs and
none of us had the energy to try for
a porcupine and there was no other
game in the vicinity.
It was a case of starve or eat dog
and we were forced to kill our faith
ful remaining dog. I had raised this
dog from a pup and he had been my
companion for over ten years, so you
can know we had to resort to extreme
measures. I could not kill him but
one of the other boys did.
We launched the raft the next
morning, taking the balance of the
dog meat. The raft really was a sub
marine and was' partly submerged
most of the time. The weather was
terribly cold and it had either snowed
or rained for the past ten days with
out a let-up. We were all three wet
to the skin day after day and could
only get partial relief at night when
we would make a big camp fire.
Before launching the raft we rea
lized our situation and mutually
agreed to travel until we came to hab
itation no matter what physical dis
comfiture we experienced. We had
virtually reached the stage where
nothing mattered but instinctively felt
that if we made a landing it would be
our last. The current of the ■Chulit
na was very swift and the first after
noon out we ran into a drift pile and
upset the raft, losing the balance of
the dog meat, the camp axe and our
one remaining rifle. We righted the
raft after a great deal of trouble and
started out once more, cold* tired and
discouraged.
Later the same afternoon we sight
ed the lights of Talkeetna and made a
landing near the wagon bridge. It
was dark by time time and we were
too exhausted to cry out for help but
managed to walk and crawl across the
bridge where we found friends,
warmth and relief.
Our condition was still critical;
our limbs were badly swollen and
each of us had gone deaf. We were
under the doctor’s care at Talkeetna
for three weeks and enjoyed every
comfort in the camp. A person who
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29.—This morning government offi
cials were warned that General Villa and his bandit army have
taken Chihuahua City and that General Trevino, de facto com
mander there, has evacuated and fled toward the south. A
lack of ammunition forced the retirement of the de facto troops,
according to rumors reaching the national capital.
GOING TO AID OF TREVINO.
LAMASO, Mex., Nov. 29.—With 400 soldiers drawn from
the Carranza garrisons at Casa Grandes and Nomiquipa, Gen
eral Gonzales, commander of the-de facto troops at Juarez,
departed for Chihuahua City on military trains before dawn
this morning. It is believed the force is going to the aid of
Trevino \s troops.
JUAREZ HEARS OF EVACUATION.
JUAREZ, Nov. 29.—While no official information is avail
able, the report is persistent that General Trevino and his
troops have evacuated Chihuahua City and are en route west
ward. leaving Villa and his bandit army in possession of the
city.
EL PASO HEARS REPORT.
EL PASO., Nov. 29.—United States officials at El Paso
have received reports telling of the evacuation of the city of
Chihuahua by the de facto government troops and that Villa
is in control. A shortage of amnufnition is said to have been
the cause of the evacuation.
WOULD CHANGE SITUATION.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29.—Confirmation of General Vil
la’s capture of Chihuahua City would change the trend of the
American-Mexican commission’s negotiations with respect to
the border patrol protocol, say government officials.
AMERICAN SHIP TORPEDOED.
LONDON, Nov. 29.—The American ship Chemung was
sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Spain yesterday,
according to advices received here this morning. The report
says that the ship’s master was directed to haul down the
American flag. Upon his refusal so to do, the crew of 35 men,
nearly all of whom are Americans, were taken off the vessel
and conveyed to within a few miles of the Spanish shore, after
which the ship was torpedoed and sunk. The ship carried no
munitions of war.
has not undergone some of the trials ;
of the prospector’s life in Alaska can
not realize just what the dim lights
in the cabins at Talkeetna meant to
us. I have taken many trips in this i
territory looking for gold and have!
experienced bad weather but the trip;
we just finished was by far the rough-;
est of my experience. We all came ;
out without any permanent disability
except the memory of a very disas- !
trous trip and are willing and anxious i
to try again.” j
Is it any wonder that Alaska is on
the map? This is only one of the
many such experiences that confront
the hardy prospector. There is an
unwritten code among this class of
men that a prospecting party of
three men fail to get along without
dissension. This was proven a mis
nomer in the above case for the men
are more closely affiliated after their
unusual experiences. There were
many times no doubt when they were
ready to give up but still they strug
gled on, battling with tlie elements;
weak and exhausted after weeks of
cold and exposure and practically
without sustaining food but with the
dogged determination and the perse
verance that chracterizes this class of
men they stumbled blindly on to a
haven of warmth, comfort and relief.
Nor has the determination or ener
by waned but they will try again,
again, always in the advance of civi
lization; the men that blaze the trail;
the men that make it possible for oth
er industries, commercial enterprises
that are again the forerunners of set
tling the country which means j
churches and schools and the perma
nency of Alaska.
IS. FORE! IDS
SEATTLE, Nov. 29.—Mrs. Ethel
Crooker Forgy, of New York city,
was married to Mr. John W. Troy
last evening, the Rev. W. A. Major
performing the ceremony. • The happy
couple will take a honeymoon trip to
California. The bride was formerly
principal of the public schools at Sew
ard and until recently was employed
by the Alaskan Engineering Commis
sion at Anchorage. The groom is the
editor and manager of the Juneau
Empire.
CHICAGO, Nov. 29.—United States
Senator James Hamilton Lewis, of Il
linois, said he was certain that Presi
dent Wilson would not recommend nor
would congress pass a law placing
an embargo on food stuffs. Lewis is
known to very close to the president
and in the campaign recently ended,
was selected by Wilson to follow and
answer the campaign speeches of Can
didate Hughes.