Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-17
ATLANTIC CITY, n. j..

ground There is force of 40 marines, in
| command of Lieut.. Col. GoodreIl, who,
captain, made hero of himself at Guam
tanamo with his marines.
Until last July nobody paid any taxes
whatever but since the new code went in
| to effect every man In business must pay a
license, in proportion to the amount of stuff
he sells.
Sitka people read good deal and books
are in demand well as all the periodi
calls. The prices of ma gaines are cents
| In advance of the usual figures, but most
| magazine buyers are yearly subscribers. A
free reading room and library is maintain
ed by private donations.
An Indian police force of four men at SO
month each looks after the inhabitants
of The Rancho" ''Skookum house. is Chin
ook for calaboose. Hoochinoo is a drink
that gets an Indian into the skookum
house. 1t is made of molasses and flour,
distilled in an old oil can, and is guaran-
teed to take hold quickly and let go slow
ly. tSkookum chuck is the general Chin
ook term for liquor-skookum meaning
strong and chuck water or drink.
Really Remarkable Birds.
The Sitka raven is bird of almost hu-
man knowledge, according to the best Sit
kan authorities. Governor Brady says they
talk with each other, and on one occasion
when he put pot of poison out for
flock they held a consultation over it, and
after long debate one of their number
vas chosen to sample the suspected food,
the others standing by to see it tested.
When the chosen bird stuck his bill into
the pot he gave a loud squawk and the
whole flock flew away, thus making the
governors labors in vain. Judge Johnson
says he two one day watching a dog
eating a piece of meat which they ham
kcred for They talked awhile together ar
ranging their plan of operations and then
one swoopej down up the dog. He made
a jump for the audacious bird, leaving the
meat for instant, and as he did so the
other swooped down on the meat and car
ried it off to place where the two birds
divided it between them. Marshal Snoup
he has seen them do it. He also says they
have fun with him by carrying stones up
over his skylight and letting them fall on
the glass to break 1t.
Sitka has very little daylight in winter
and very little night in summer. If it had
an electric light plant 1t would have to
work twenty-four hours day all winter.
They tell funny stories about live chickens
brought up from below on steamers in sum-
mer. The poor fowls almost die of In
somnia until they learn how to hunt dark
place, as the native chickens do. one man
told me that he had seen three or four ma
tive ROSTERS whip lot of tenderfoot chick
ems one evening at the usual chicken bed
time, and actually drive them into a Shed
where 1t was dark enough to sleep All.
davits were not furnished with these fowl
recitals.
A Few Notes.
The best-looking men in a town full Of
manly pulchritude are Judge johnson and
Walter McNair OF the customs service
They are 225-pounders and over six feet.
Milk cows are kept on tap by few of the
citizens and milk sells at 10 cents a quart.
Beer is 10 cents a glass, other liquors
quarter.
There ara no shade trees, and all the
streets except one sre merely lanes between
the houses.
There used to be one mule in town. but
he was taken over to Juneau, and Gov.
Brady says he died there of a broken heart
Commit ed suicide, the governor says, and
the governor is. a Presbyterian, in whom
there is no guile.
The gum boot trade is next to that in In
dian curios.
.Sitkans dine at G o'clock, and, by the way,
this seems to be the custom all over the
northwest even the miners having adopted
it
There are two private telephones in use,
and there is scarcely store or saloon in
Sitka or the whole northwest that doesn't
have music box graphophone with
nickel slot in it. One hotel man told me he
had paid for his $3.50 music box by the re-
ceipts in ninety days. Oftentimes lot of
miners just arrived would keep the music
box going an entire evening.
'O,- W. J. HAMPTON.