Fergus County Democrat. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-1919, 1906-02-27

interior of Alaska, and nurSed 1t night
and day. He says that for these six
teen years. in the midst of other work
to give him livelihood, he has been
thinking out the principle, and that
at last he has the scheme practically
perfected. After year spent in the
mountains of Idaho, where he went to
work out a few final mechanical de-
tails. he Is at point where he Is sure
success looms before him. He will
leave for Fairbanks on January 25,
and believes that in less than a year
he Will have his apparatus for utiliz-
ing the new power patented and in
shape to be of immence commercial
Importance.
Men who have "mushed" over the
trails in Alaska know the name Of
kollm WELL He has been in the in
terror for years, and has gained a rep
utation in the north for bravery and
ability. With his paintings and his
curios he has made more than enough
for himself and his wife, who has ac-
companied him In all his travels. She
went to Alaska with the first women
who ventured into the icy north, and
Is almost as we'll known throughout
| Alaska as Kolm Is himself She is
| said to be the first woman who walked
| every foot Of the way from Dawson to
| Skagway In winter. Kollm has led a
rowing life. Born in Germany fifty
| thre years ago, he studied painting at
Berlin and Munich under the best mas
ters of the day. When the Franco
| Prussian war broke out in 1871, Kollm,
then only II years of age, volunteered
for service and served with such dis
| tinction that he was granted medals
for conspicuous bravery. In 1873 he
came to the United States. Since then
he has been much on the move, finally
| going to Alaska in the early days of
the gold excitement, where he cores
ponded for London newspapers.
| In Alaska he is known principally MS
| a painter. He designed the diploma
Of the Artic Brotherhood, of which he
| has been a prominent member for
years. Painting on tent canvas, bark,
moose hides or whatever came to his
hand. he found a ready sale for his
work. Besides this, Kollm has done
1 work outside of Alaska that entities
him to be called an artist. One OF
| the big San Francisco theaters used to
boast huge curtain painted by him.
and Boise. Idaho, theater Is now
using curtain decorated by the same
| hand
Through all his years OF rowing and
painting, Kollm cherished his idea of
the new power. Whenever he had a
little leisure time he set himself to
working out the details. He had many
a failure before success seemed even
in sight. Many a time he had to give
up work on the great idea to take up
something else; but always he came
back to the scheme with energy un-
abated
Finally, about year ago, he felt
that he was near victory. He left
Alaska with his wife and came to the
states. They went into the mountains
of Idaho, where for months Kollm
fished, planning the final details be-
fore he should announce them to the
world
Then came a disappointment. Read
ing a San Francisco newspaper, Kollm
saw a dispatch from New York, tell
ing of an inventor there who had an
nounced the same thing that kOlln
had been working on so long. kolln
was stunned at first. Then. thinking
it over he decided he could improve
still further on his idea.
With this idea i'm mind, he will go
back to Alaska with his wife. He be-
lieves that the New York inventor
has not after ALL solved the great
problem, and that 1t remains for him
to Civ it to the world. He expects to
be in Alaska for eight months, then
to come out with fame and, perhaps,
fortune awaiting him.