Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-09-11
SHOULD SHUN ALASKA
Little But Suffering and Prob
able Death For Those
Who Go There
STATEMENTS GIVEN OUT
One Just Returned From Tour of the
Northern Country Bitterly BIames
Transportation Companies and News
papers on the Sound and in Alaska
for Suffering Evident on Every Hand.

Tacoma, Wash. Sept. n.-Henry
Bratnober. of Oakland, Cal, who is in
terested in banks in Tacoma, and Hell
holder in the Tacoma smelter the
TreadWell mines on Douglas Island. and
is also interested in other mining prop
critics in Alaska, and the Youkon terri
tory, has just returned from long tour
from different parts of the north, and
the report that he brings back is not
encouraging. He is very bitter in his
denunciatons of those who are maxi
ing efforts to get people to go to Alas
ka thru false representations, and he
blames transportation companies and
the newspapers on the Sound and in
Alaska for the suffering that Is evident
on every hand at the present time. He
said:
II passed thru the Tanana country
on my way from Valdez to Eagle, and
thre I found a lot of prospectors who
were suffering for the necessaries of
life. The party that l met had not had
anything to eat for seventeen days ex-
cept huckleberries. Most of the men
We're provided with money, but there
were no provisions for them to buy
The party had been In the country for
some time and had not found single
color of gold for their work. had
some provisions with my outfit that !
had packed In from Valdez, and left
800 pounds Of grub with the men, and
this will prolong their lives for time.
I do not know what they will do after
the provisions are gone.
unless relief goes in from some
where fully 100 men will perish in the
Tanana country this winter. In my
estimation there is but one way to ges
relief to the men and that is from
Eagle. 1t would be impossible to get
anything over the trail from Valdez to
'ranana in time to save the lives OF the
men. The country between those two
points is full OF mud holes and is most
difficult to travel thru. Captain Per
llins, who is in charge of the military
he can for the prospectors. Whether
he can do enough to relive all OF them
is doubtful. If the men could only get
down as far as Fairbanks. believe
they could get some provisions there.
But the distance is goo or 800 miles
too far for the majority of the men ID
walk, in their present emaclated con-
dition. and the river is dangerous. sew
eral prospectors have already peeh
drowned in trying to go down the river
ON RATS. The majority of the men VINO
20 into these traps are not .eSperlehceu
prosnectors. and they make no provis-
ions for getting out. When they at
tempt to go out on RATS, they pulio
them too cumbersome and 1t Is I'M
possible to steer them.
II visited the Yukon country and II
is not as prosperous as It was When !
was last there two years ago. There
ire many idle men In Dawson and they
ara getting out of the country just as
FAST as they can. There will be little
liz anything doing in Dawson this WIN
ter. The ground that will be drlfted is
very scarce and it does not pay TO
drift poor ground.
There have been no new discoveries
in Alaska or the Yukon this year. a
strong effort has been made 10 get up
a stampede from White Horse to the
Alseck river. met some prospectors
at White Horse whom knew to be
GOOD reliable men. They had just re-
turned from the so-called new diggings
and they Informed me that there was
nothing there that would pay. The
dust found was very fins and in six OF
eight pans enough of it could not De
obtained to turn the scales. The gold
does not prospect any better there than
Ii. does on the bars of the Yukon river.
I hope there will not be stampede
into that country, as they viii surely
Perish if they go in this fall.
Farming impossible.
at met several men who had gone to
Conner Center to farm. They had read
Governor Brady's report on the farm
ing district of Alaska. They told me
that they had taken in 1900 pounds OF
seed and they could not grow anything.
There is no use trying TO grow any
thing III that soil. l 90 not believe
there could be enough grain and veg
etables raised in all Alaska to feed a
dozen men. 1t is all bosh to state that
Alaska is a farming country or a stock
growing country. There is no timber
in Alaska that Is any good, except IN
the southeastern part. On the whole
men who can make living on the OUT
side have no business to go to Alas
ka, for it is the poorest country that l
know of today.
1.-The building of railroads in Alas
ka. will be an expensive proposition. 1t
will cost not less than $4,000 mile
to construct railroad from valdez to
Eagle. There is nothing to build
railroad for yet, except to reach the
copper deposits on White river ana the
lime from Valdez to Eagle would not
go anywhere near these deposits. II a
railway We're built it might develop
some better country, but without a
railroad it will take many years to
prospect Alaska, owing to the difficulty
experienced in bringing in provisions.
Il have been greatly worried ever
since met those unfortunate men IN
the Tanana country and hope that
the papers out here will take this mat
ter up and let the people know the
true condition of affairs in Alaska.
There is absolutely nothing to go there
for at the present time"
Wooden Manufacturer Fails.
Boston, Sept. 11.-Joseph H. Louden,
a wooden manufacturer of Wales, Mass,
lvaStarf1ay filed a petition in bankruptCy