Iditarod pioneer., 1915-03-06
WERNER RECEIVED
 HIS S2.50 WORTH

Alaska people as rule, are more than liberal in money matters, and are not Tn the habit of sque2ling when taken in on 8 sure-thing game. The gambling instinct IS more or less prevalent, and all seem willing to take lone chance" They have even been known to go agalnst 'suTe-thlng game knowing 1t to be such, and as one victim said afterwards Well, what's fel- low to do? There's no other game run ming" But no matter how liberal a man may be with his money, he Gislikes to be assured that game is "square' and find out after he has parted with his money that be has been victimzed. It has been customary i'll this community when anyone leaving for the Outside desired to get rid of his belongings and realize some return of their value, to conduct ratfie These have always been patroniZed in the spirit of helpfulness which Is so characteristic of Northerners While man may not need photograph, horse, team of dogs and sled, furnished cabin or other representa- tive of alleged value which may be up for disposal, he usually parts with his money and takes chance, charging himself up with so much on his expense account. Re gently there have been many such rallies, and they have realized substantial sums for needy persons in some instances While such affairs are technically contrary to the law which prohibits gambling no one has com plained and everyone was apparently willing to do his little toward helping out
 The Disappearing Furniture
 A raiflle was conducted in this city few days ago, however, which has caused good deal of criticism and left a few sore spots on account of the brazen manner in which the patrons were taken in." A lady about to depart for the Outside announced that she would raffle her furnished three-room cottage" selling 150 chances at S2.50 each. As the residence and its contents were known to be worth a considerable sum, and as there was general desire to help the lady to realize from her property, many tickets were sold Later rumors were given circulation to the effect that the contents of the residence were being disposed of piece meal and the selling of tickets came to standstill. A young man who had been delegated to dispose of the tickets, hearing the rumors visited the lady at her home and was assured that the rumors were false and that none of the house furnishings were being sold, and that none would be sold. The only things disposed of, she alleged, were two articles which had been sold prior to the announcement of the ratfie. This satisfied the ticket salesman, and he again resumed the selling of chances, assuring the purch asers in accordance with the statement of his principal.
 Facetious Remarks
 0. 4l for tho raHIa to occur the rumors were in wider circulation than ever, and names of persons who had purcha ased certain articles were freely gwen. Indeed, it was said that the residence had practically been stripped of its furniture, and that all that remained were "a set of logs and a safety" Wada the Jap, who had been employed in removing the turnl- ture assured acquaintances that 1t was stlll a perfectly good cabin, however, still hay ing doors and windows. The announce ment of the purchase by an individual of certain piece of furniture elicited the facetious inquiry, "Who purchased the wall paper? ?" The raffle was to have taken place at o'clock in the evening, but 1t was nearly midnight when the drawing finally took place, and the delay was ascrlbed by some observer to the fact that it was caused by determination to remove the flooring before the disposition of the cabin.
 Feminine Reasoning
 A great deal of the plunder must have been removed late in the evening, as two gentlemen assured the purchasers of tickets that at o'clock on the evening of the raff1e they had been at the house and the furniture was apparently all there then.
 The lady left the city the same evening as that scheduled for the raff1e, and IS said to have retorted to a protest against her actions that she thought the person who won the house would get more than S2.50 worth" Dame Gossip goes still further and says that she wrote letter to the winner of the house in which she gave as surance that had she known who was to have won 1t she would not have removed so much of its contents as she did.
 Many of the purchasers of tickets were of the bachelor "sourdough'' type, and the remarks concerning the doings of woman, lovely woman" were picturesque. How ever, if anybody seriously thinks of working up raffle in Iditarod in the near future, it might be advisable to follow the advice of an alleged humorous periodical "to those about to be married" i. e., Don't"