Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-10
Engages in Newspaper Work.

lHlleu SldteS as the
Engages in Newspaper Work.
Perhaps Mr.. Heizer's most interesting ex
perience in Alaska was editing and publish
ing newspaper. The firm was possessed
of only type enough to set one page at
time, and the pages were small, being but
8 by Il inches in size. The press, too, was
only large enough to accommodate one of
the pages, and so paper of six pages had to
be run through the press that number OF
times. This made the mechanical process
a very tedious one, indeed. The title of the
little sheet, which is still in existence, is
The Council News" The subscription
price is so a year in advance-single copies
% cents. At the head of the editorial col
umn appears the legend in display type,
published Near the Goth Degree of North
Latitude" The publication day is each
Saturday, for the News is weekly, but
Mr.. Heller said the publication was, in his
experience, frequently delayed until Sun
day, as the printing ink sometimes froZe in
a solid lump and had to be thawed out.
News from the states is received over the
government cable, and necessarily Is given
in the brefest possible form. Consequently
the editor was compelled to do some stall
Wart padding to make the telegraph
service appear at all respectable. Alaskan
news is procured over the United States
telephones.
Mr. Heizer related that at the time of
the Japanese Russian war the most meager
informa ton was received For instance, at
the time OF Cne great Ddtlic VI NuuhtSii thS
cablegram read something like this:
Great battle fought at Mukden Japs
victorious. Russians retreating.
"Of course, details OF the great oattie
were demanded said Mr.. Heller. land it
happened fortunately for US that priest
at Council City had Russian book: We
borrowed the book and made up list OF
imaginary Russian generals, using plenty
of terminal skis and Witches and in SINH
lar manner we manufactured long list OF
the killed and wounded
AS to the naval fights but the merest in
formation was received, but the Russian
book again came in handy and the editor
manufactured names for imaginary Dattie-
ships and cruisers, and described now
large number of them had been SUM- or
blown I'D by the doughty little Japs. With
the use of the Russian book and slight
knowledge of Japanese the horrors OF war
in the far east were vividly pictured by the
little newspaper up in the land of the
midnight sun According to the grapevine
dispat ches printed in the News, 1t was de-
clared, many Russian generals that never
existed, were slain by the Japanese ana
MANY ships that have never been Dullt
went to the. bottom of the sea. Fort Ar
| thur fell about six times and the Japs
were given nine out of ten battles on gen
| eral principles.
Description of Iroquois Fire.
Another piece of far north newspaper en-
terprise was INDUCED in at the time of the
i great Iroquois Theater fire, brief mention
| only of which was received There was a
can of bright red paint in the printing Of
| ice the residue what had been used in
painting the front of the little wooden
building. This paint was thawed out and
reduced with seal Oil to the consistency
| of printing ink and a voluminous account
! of the confiagration was printed In fiery
I red. This innovation was regarded by the
| miners and others as q piece of brisk north
| pole business push, and was appreciated
, accordingly.
| In the first rush for the Klondke there
| were a number of unsavory characters, Mr..
| Heller said, but the government lined them
J up in 1900 and 1901 and transported about
| loo of them back to the states. In the fall
| of 1901 all men who did not have 500 with
| which to purchase a winters outfit were
| sent back.
| There are two churches at Council City
| a Presbyterian and a Catholic. Eskimos
| services are held in the Presbyterian
| Church every Sunday. In Nome there are
| four churches and one public school. The
| school is attended by about twenty three
/ children, practically all the youngsters in
that town. Mrs. Carter, the school ma am,