The Ketchikan miner., 1907-07-20
FROM FRIDAYS DAILY


 at II 30, baby girl. Mother and child both doing well, and swelled head of the paternal parent expected to regain it's natural proportions just as soon as he recovers sufficiently to be able to realize the fact that the same thing has happened to others several thousands of millions of times heretofore previously.
 Miss Alice R. Hamblett, former resident of this section, ana who was for time teacher of the native school at Port Gravina, died at the home of her sister, in Seattle, oD the 3rd inst. She was sister of Jos nh and Ellis Hamblett, who are inter ested in min ing properties at Thornc Arm, in this district, and was a wonan of consid- erable literary and musical attain ment.
 FROM SATURDAY. $ DAILY.
 Col. J. H. Conrad, the Windy arm, B. C., mining operator, and we'll known in this district, was north bound passenger on the Seattle yester- day. He is on his way home from London, in which place he sojourned on business during the past winter.
 Mr. c. H. Black, of Seattle. and his Detroit friends left on the Seattle yes terday for the round trip to Sitka and all intervening points of interest.
 Mrs. Kazis Krauczunas left on the City of Seattle yesterday, for a week or ten days visit with friends at Skagway.
 The new planklng on the Dock street front of the Ketchikan Club building was a much needed improve ment, and one which makes the prem ises look much more respectable.
 Sam Guyot, the indefatigable com mercial traveller, is again in town.
 Attempted Suicide. Fred Gervais, a miner and prospector, who is the owner, or part owner of some pros pectively valuable mining locations near Hollis, Prince of Wales island, sometime during the night of the 9th inst. or early morning of the 10th, attempted self-destruction by slashing his throat with a razor. The fact that he had been acting rather queer- ly the evening of the 9th was reported the following morning to some of the residents of the place, a number of whom went to his cabin, outside of which they found ample evidence of some kind of tragedy having been enacted, and going into the cabin found Gervais on the bed rolled up in . blanket saturated with his own blood. In talking with him during a subsequent partially lucid interval, he made a rambling statement that the officials from Ketchikan were on the beach and had given him the alterna- tive of paying fine of S2O0, going to jail or taking his own life, and that he had accepted the last. He also stated that he would have completed the job by shooting himself, but for te fact that he had no cartridges for his gun-which statement was sub stantiated by the condition in which the gun was found. The would-be suicide was brought over from Hollis by A. s. Cobb and Amos Duncan Fri day morning, and taken to St. Johns hospital, where he is under the surgi cal care of Dr. J. L. Myers. The self inflicted wound consists of cut about six inches in length across the upper and feshiest part of the throat which, however, did not reach the windpipe. The man is undoubtedly insane.
 The cause of the explosion which destroyed the barge Japan and the lives of several persons, is a mystery which will probably never be satis- factorily solved. The identification of the remains found the following morning near the scene of the disaster as being those of Tracy, the cook, is by no means complete, and the con- census of opinion appears to be that they are those of an unknown stow away. If this theory be the correct one-and not few persons affect to believe that there were several of that class on board-the supposition that they engaged in fight and that most probably a shot was fired the bullet striking one of the boxes of powder ard causing the explosion may not be far wrong. This theory is, however, mere conjecture upon the strength of which it would not be safe to base a positive conclusion.
 An Italian sailor, whose name the Miner has not been able to learn, was taken from the steamship Halvard last evening to the marine hospital in a badly injured condition. It appears that just as the ship was about to sail from Mt. Andrew where she had fin ished taking cargo of copper ore, the man accidentally fell into an open hatch, falling distance of fifteen feet upon the hard ore in the hold with the result of an ugly cut over