Douglas Island news., 1912-01-03

Speaking of the rapid growth of the Arctic Brotherhood, the Iditarod Pio- neer spells "parkey" just like whiskey. Forty bootlegging cases are to come up for trial at Juneau. Here is chance for the U. S. attorney to win everlasting fame.
 Interest Tn the Kobuk region appears to have somewhat subsided. A number of claims were worked iu the Squirrel River region, but, so far as known, no new discoveries of importance were made. There was little mining in the Shungnak region of the upper Kobuk and S600 nugget was found on Dahl creek
 The value of the output of the gold placers of Alaska in 1911 is estimated at about $12,700,000; the corresponding ] value in 1910 was S11,995,000. This in. crease in 1911 is to be credited to the Iditarod .Innoko region, for the output from both the Fairbanks and Seward Peninsula districts was less than in l9l0
 Bringing gold bullion valued at over S5O0,000, shipment of 800 tons of copper ore from the big Bonanza mine at the terminus of the Copper River & Northwestern railroad, and passenger list of 103, the steamship Alameda, of the Alaska Steamship company, ar rived in Seattle at o'clock last night four days and four hours from Cor dova,s says the P.-I. of the 23rd ut.
 Little detailed information is avail able regarding the seasons operations in the Iditarod lnnoko region. It is reported that the total gold produc- tion for 1911 has a value of S3,500,00O, compared with S8OO.O0O for the previous year. It appears that much of the gold produced was from the Flat, Otter, Willow, Happy, and Chicken Creek basins, in the region tributary to the town of Iditarod, and that in this field some work was also done on Black, Little, and other creeks.
 John Cooper, the Gilmore creek egro, who is accused of having killed his partner, William Wimbish, was in- dicted for murder in the first degree by the grand juy at Fairbanks. Vim bish disappeared iu November one year ago. After Cooper told a story to the effect that he had gone to the Chandlar, Deputy Marshal Cunning ham went out to the property on Gil more and after searching found the re- mains of fire that had been built the winter previous and among the debris some charred pieces of human bones. Fair banks continues to lead all the other Yukon camps in placer gold mining, though the output of 1911 was considerably less than that of the pre- vious year. The most important ad- vancement of the year was the installa- tion of dredge on upper Fairbanks creek, the first dredge in this district, though plans have been made for others. Mining operations were some what hampered in June apd July by the lack of men, due to the stampede to Ruby creek. The water supply was, as usual, inadequate, and this condl. tou was probably of more serious con- sequence than in the previous year. Goldstream, Engineer, lower Cleary, and Fairbanks creeks were the prlncl- pei producers It is estimated that about 75 claims were worked i'll the winter and about 124 claims in the summer of 1911, and that from 900 to 1,2OO men were employed.
 The United States will not have to depend on Germany much longer for it's potash with which to make fertili- zer Secretary of Agriculture Wilson says: The principal source of Ameri- can potash, the experts of the agricul. tural department report, will be in the kelp or seaweed of the PaCi tic coast. The plant extracts potash salts from sea water, and from p to 8 per cent of it's weight is potassium chloride. The Pacific coast should yield annually about 100000 tons, worth S40,0OO,OOO. Kelp contains iodine and many other hv.products which may "more than