Douglas Island news., 1908-06-24

Editor, "DOuglas Island News,
 Douglas, Alaska.
 My Dear Brother Hopp:
 How is the Fraternal Order of Fats these days? Since left you bathed in tears l suppose life has hardly sesm- ed worth living. We'll, never mind, "Time's healing hand all pains eface, 80 there is hope for you. Dr. Heubner and Tony Tubbs are still there, so you are not nearly alone.
 arrived here on the morning of the 22nd of May, after 8 six day trip from Seattle. The trip up was not particu- larly pleasant. Too much rainy weather and too many "rolls." We had 'em for breakfast, luncheon and dinner, and between times. At times they were quite "swem." Rex Beach, the author of the Spoilers" and other works was a fellow passenger. He, with a song-aud dance artist friend of his from New York, are hunting the festive bear in these parts. They have landed three to date They bro ught with them two so called bear dogs, and it was expected that they would be kept busy killing as soon as the dogs got interested in the subject. The first day out the hunters became separated from the dogs, and after time heard most unearthly barking and bowling and rushing forward fully expecting to ind the trees full Of bears. Much to their disgust, however, they found that the dogs had become lost, and were dolefully wailing their distress to an unheeding world. Since the they have hunted without the dogs.
 Cordova is O small town of some three or four hundred people, besides whom there are several hundred of the employees of the railroad company and the contractor who have their head quarters here. All told there are some 600 men at work along the line of road between here and the Copper River. |. By the fifteenth of the month there will be 2 miles of track laid, extend ing from the wharf at Cordoya, to the Copper River This is a very pretty country, the scenery much resembling that along Gastineau channel. The railroad IS being built along very picturesque route. From Cordoya it follows along the shore of Eyak Lake for about four miles, and then crosses ! the western half of the great delta of the Copper river for distance of about 25 miles, when it reaches the west bank of the river. The delta of the river is fifty miles wide, low, marshy country trayersed by scores of email streams. | After reaching the river the route fol- | lows upstream. One of the great at fractions of this route will be the opportunity afforded of riding in a 1 railway coach right across the front of a rlacier three miles in width and two hundred feet high; in fact, the road will pass between two glaciers, Miles glacier and Childs glacier, the faces of both being of the dimensions just stated. The icebergs can be seen breaking from the glaciers and falling with a deafening roar into the river be- low; the view Is magnificent, the crack ling and rumbling and roaring is ap- pslling.
 T bad e pleasant visit of ten days in Tacoma before leaving for Cordo7a. After an absence of seven years it seemed mighty good to meet the old familiar faces and talk over "old times.n The Sound country "looks good to me-" kept out of the clutch es of the police, did not fall off aI street car, nor get run down by an automobile. That's pretty good rec ord for "Rube" from Douglas Island, isn't itY Don't believe you could beat that very much yourself-not if you had any fun at the same time.
 There is quite an active market in real estate here, and a good deal Of building will be in progress soon. A large hotel, a bank, and number ot bnsiness houses will be added to the number already here, and by the end of the year there will be very nice little town where year ago there was nothing. The climate is somewhat on the same order as that you are blessed with on Douglas Island. It does not