davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

total length of the peninsula FROM
northeast to southwest is about $50
miles. and its width in places is from
fifty to seventy-five miles. 1t Is seven
ty-One miles along the line OF the
railroad from Seward to Turnagain
Arm. The peninsula has altogether an
area of $500 miles, being of just about
the size Of Vermont.
This region on the east is one OF
high mountains and, broad valleys: on
the west is great lowland plain that
slopes down to Cook inlet. At Seward
you are in the heart of the Renal
mountains. This range Is about as
high as the Alleghenies. with some
peaks that pierce the clouds above the
altitude of Mount Washington. Many
Of them are snow capped ana some
have magnificent glaciers. There are
n half-dozen glaciers in sight OF the
harbor of Seward, and one sees many
others on his way north by railroad
The peninsula is we'll watered. the
rivers rise in the mountains and most
"f them flow to the west into Cook
inlet. The kena and the kasilof. two
of the largest. pass through lakes or
considerable size and flow thence in an
easy course down to the sea. They go
over what is known the Kenai low
land. This is a plateau from fifty to
two hundred feet high which runs from
Cook inlet eastward to the mountains.
] wish I could take you over the
railroad from Seward north to kenai
lake. 1t is of the wonder rides OF
the world. You go up the valley
which ends in Resurrection bay amid
the most magnificent of mountains.
The mountains begin right at the sea.
1t is as though Switzerland came down
to the ocean. and you could ride under
it's glaciers and SHOWS through valleys
and hillsides of the greenest of green.
There are rushing streams and winding
lakes. There are great canyons and
forest clad cliffs There are open
parks made by nature and in them
ferns and wild flowers and grass as
high as your waist. The trees on the
hillsides are largely spruce and the
ozonic air of Alaska carries the sweet
smell of the pines into your lungs.
The first body of water on the way
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

capped mountains. on the sides of
which hang glaciers of sapphire amid
forests of emerald. The place is now
in the wilds. In the future it Will
have an automobile road into Seward.
and one can then go back and forth
in quarter of AN hour. That region
is now known as Woodrow Park 1t
has been named after the President.
There is a road house on the edge OF
the park and near it a clear rushing
trout stream. The place is picnic
resort. Some of the Seward people
have built bungalows there. 1t makes
one think of a chautauqua or camp
meeting grounds.
Going on to the northward. YOU pass
little homesteadS which have been cut
out of the woods. They are few and
far between. and the patches of Gull
tivation are kitchen gardens in size.
AT Mile - | saw an abandoned log
cabin and was told that it had been
occupied last summer by some city
chaps who had come there to hunt.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

and property. are now used TO save
life and property.
In firing lines with the three and six
Founders projectile about six feet
cylindrical piece of steel slightly
smaller than the pore of the gun and
about a foot in length. to which is at
ia ched a metal rod about "A half inch
in diameter and five feet or more in
length. There is eye at the end of
this rod. to which is tied the end of
the line to be fired. The line is
loosely twisted rope about the size of
a wash line. Several hundred feet of
it is woven bach, and forth on frame
work of wooden pins that set in a re-
ceptacle about the size of trunk and
which is. known as "A taking box"
After this operation is completed, the
box is turned upside down and the pins
are withdra wn. leaving the line in such
a position that it will feed out with
out becoming tangled. The large end
of the projectile is then inserted in the
muZZle of the gun, the end of the line
having previously been attached to it.
A cartridge containing about nine
ounces of black powder is placed in
the gun. which is then aimed and fired.
After travelling for some distance the
heavier end of the projectile causes 1T
to turn in midair and assume the po-
Sition of comet with tail streaming
behind. Successful shots have been
made with these guns up to a distance
of 100 feet, and il is believed by
coast guard officers that further ex-
periments will enable them to throw "A
line 1000 feet or more
Where "a line is fired to sailing YES
sci or one having maSts. effort Is
made to have the projectile carrying
the lire 20 between the masts to keep
the line from being swept overheard.
Those aboard the vessel then pull in
the line, to the end of which a heavier
rope is attached. BY means of this
heavy hawser is brought aboard the
vessel which is to be taken in tow,
or is to be pulled into deep water from
a bar where il has grounded.
Where . cutter can get within sew
eral hundred feet of vessel in distress
A shoulder gun is used in firing line.
1t consists of short barreled gun of
about SO caliber. The projectile is
about a foot in length and the line is
considerably smaller than that used
when the large gun is fired. Instead of
using taking box, the line is per-
mitted to feed out from a ball held in
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

political entity. 1t wants governor,
d Legislature and officials OF it's own
who shall have nothing to do with the
rest of Alaska. The same Will eventu-
ally be true of the Tanana valley, of
the Yukon valley and of the kusko-
kwim region. Seward peninsula will
some time be territory. and so will
the Aleutian islands and the Alaskan
peninsula. Another great territory of
the future will be the arctic province
north of the Rocky mountains. This
contains 10000 square miles. having
an area Of more than three times thar
of the state of New York. But all this
is for the far future. The kenai pen
insula Is land Of the living present.
Suppose you had a country one-ffth
again as large as Massachusetts and
wild and virgin as Massachu
sets was when the Pilgrims first land
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

expenditure for the maintenance OF the
service was S5.027.752.71.
During the year the Apache did her
share in seeing that navigation laws
were enforced. officers from the various
cutters of the service having boarded
and examined the papers of 24,Sl7 YES
sells. of which II2 were seized or re-
ported for violations of law: fines and
penalties incurred by vessels amounted
to S22O,500.
During the year the Apache was one
of the eleven revenue cutters assigned
TO special duty in enforcing neutrality
at various ports of the United States.
While at anchor outside of the Virginia
capes. in September, 1914. the cutter
was run into by vessel and her bow
badly damaged
The United States coast guard was
created by an act of Congress of Janu-
AIRY IS. 1915. being an amalgamation of
the revenue cutter service and the life
saving service. 1t is A military orSani-
cation and stands ready to become
part of the regular naval forces AS "c-
casion requires. In addition to twenty
four cruising cutters the coast guard
has eighteen harbor cutters and 80
coast stations.
In general the duties of the oasf
guard may be classified as follows:
Rendering assistance to vessels in dis
treSs and saving life and property: de-
struction and removal of wrecks. dere-
lets and other floating dangers to naNi-
CATION: extending medical aid to United
States vessels engaged in deep-sea fish
cries: protection of the customs rev
enue: operating a part of the navy
in time of war or when the President
shall direct; enforcement of law and
regulations governing anchorage OF
vessels in navigable waters: enforce
ment of laws relating to quarantine
and neutrality: suppression of mutinies
on merchant vessels. enforcement OF
navigation and other laws governing
merchant vessels and motor boats: en-
forcement of law to provide for safety
of life on navigable waters during re-
EattaS and marine paradeS; protection
of game and the seal and other fisher
les in Alaska; enforcement of sponge
fishing law.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

Iy seas broke across her deck. She bound
from Sewalls point to Providence with cargo OF
Chandler during gale on the Sd instant. She vas
anchored with both anchors and WAS riding to
sixty fathoms each anchor.
The Apache anchored ahead of and TO wind
ward of the barge. On acconnt of the strong
and the cutter rolled quickly and heavily. The
power launch'S strong back. broke and the
open power motor snrfboat. which hang
ing from the launch davits, swung against them
and stove in her gunwale aft. An attempt was
made 10 float line to the barge. but the tide
carried the line away. then a line shot
from the shoulder gun 10 her Heaving lines
were bent to the shot line aud three-inch line
bent the heaving lines With this line
the end of the barge's eight-inch hawser
hauled aboard the Apache. At 1o:43 O'Clock got
under way and proceeded to tow the barge in
side. The barge steered badly, her steering
gear being disabled and the cutter became tn-
manageable when the sea and wind caught her
on the bow. At ] 80 the towboat John {.
Chandler took line from the Apache's bow.
At $40 she cast off and went alongside the
barge making an unsuccessful attempt TO steer
her. At 3:45 the Apache, becoming unmanage-
able hauled the barge ont of the channel and
east off. The towhoat took the hawser aud with
difficulty continued the towing. the cutter
voyins. At 80 the tow having made the lee
of Thmblr shonl. and the wind and hav-
ing moderated. the towtoat Went alongside Ih.
barge and the services OF rne cutter were no
longer required.
The record further shows that the
odTse is Ndlueu at ?fu,ooV ana tndt IL
had a cargo of coal worth 81 200 The
duration of service rendered was So
hours. during which time the Apache
consumed coal and oil to the value of
s2e, a small amount compared to the
value of the barge and cargo which
were saved.
The annual report of the coast guard
service shows that during the fiscal
wear of 1915 a total of I,50I persons
were saved or rescued from peril, and
on all the vessels to which assistance
given there was total of 1882
persons whose lives may or may not
have been jeopardized, according to the
subsequent circumstances attendin Z
each incident. The total appraised val
of the property saved or rescued
from perilous situations during the
wear was s11,0SS.130, while the total
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

copyrighted. 1915, by Frank G. carpenter)
SUNRISE. kenai Peninsula.
S@oR the past week l have been
IL travelling over the kenai pen
1T insula. II is the first patch Of
q our big territory to be opened
by the new railway. and 1t is destined
to be one of the thickly settled states
of the Alaska of the future. / say
states. The time will come when
Alaska will be divided Its will have
its own states and territories. Each
district will have its local industries.
its own interests and its own popuia-
ton ! have already shown how south
eastern Alaska, a country as big as
South Carolina. is already discussing
the possibility Of breaking away and
Damaging it's affairs as an independent
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16
CLEANING DAY ABOARD CUTTER.

E1HE United States coast guard
cutter Apache, saver of life and
property and guardian of navi
q cation, quarantine, customs and
neutrality laws on the Chesapeake bay
and Potomac river, completed her win
ter cruising season several days ago
and has returned to her station at Bal
timore to have erased the stains and
bruises of four months of hard work
Since the first of last December the
cutter has been in continuous service,
spending most of the time in the bay
and river and occasionally going out
side the capes to render assistance to
some vessel in distress. The cruising
was confined to the daylight hours, her
Iookouts ever on the watch for vessels
that had met with trouble. but at all
hours her radio operators were on duty
to receive calls that might he flashed to
them from land stations or vessels.
Several weeks will be needed to
move the scars of winter from the
stanch little craft and give her
summer dress of white. There's bad
ly battered bridge which needs re-
pairing a memento of blow received
as she lay at anchor in a fog and an
unmanageable barge bumped into her.
None of her bruises is serious. how
ever and before long she will be ready
for her summer activities.
Although ready to go at all times to
the assistance of any vessel that may
be reported to he in trouble in her
cruising territory. the high tension
which existed during the winter season
Will not be in evideAce on the Apache
during the summer and there probably
will be few calls for her services.
Enforcing navigation laws and pa
trolling the courses of yacht and motor
boat races will be her chief duties I'M
til the time arrives for her to resume
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16
Guard Gutter Apache Ends a Busy Season

Four Months
Hard Wotr Cruising Completed and During the Summer There Will Be
SnceThe Protecting Life and Property and Enforcing
and Neutrality LawsEq1rnent Carried by VESSEL
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

her winter cruising. Most of the time
will be spent at her anchorage near
Baltimore and her regulations will per-
NIT generous shore liberty to officers
and crew.
From the standpoint of a coast
Suardsman who is so accustomed to
life of action that any lessening in
the usual amount of activity is noticea-
BILE. the winter cruising season OF the
Apache was dull one. There We're
few storms. and during those that did
occur few vessels met with mishaps.
There was an almost total absence of
ice. which in past years has caused
considerable damage to shipping on
the bar and river There were few
calls for assistance growing out OF
accidents aboard boats or from col
Hsions between vessels.
But such has not always been the
case with the Apache, for there have
called to the aid of many vessels and
was instrumental in saving many lives
and thousands of dollars worth of
property. The winter of 1912 was a
particularly busy one. During the
months of January and February of
that year the extreme low temperature
resulted in an ice blockade in the
Chesapeake bay for period of SIX
weeks. during which time traffic was
seriously affected and at times COM
pletely suspended.
This caused suffering among the
crews of the smaller bay craft, the
island inhabitants and in certain com
munities on the mainland which are
dependent upon water communication
for the necessities of life. Appeals for
aid came from every direction and the
Apache never failed to respond but
succeeded in reaching all points where
assistance was needed.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

ed. Suppose it had as much good land
as Massachusetts. that it had warmer
winters and cooler summers and that
the rainfall was sufficient to raise
hardy crops. Suppose the country was
one of surprising beauty: that it had
rivers and lakes and beautiful valleys.
with mountains equal to the Alps in
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16
COUNTRY Mild Climate Good land-Acss
Clad Vney-Bg
Had Life Trail Described
" frankie. Carpenter

is Bear lake. This is about a mile and
a half long and a mile wide. 1t is
filed with fish. and it is Sa1S the gov
eminent intends to establish there
fish hatchery and experimental farm.
The location is ideal. 1t is only six
miles from Seward and is in the midst
of natural park surrounded by snow
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

They had expected to stay week or
ten days. but they remained more than
two months. Nevertheless. their actual
cash outlay for food during that time
was less than $40. They spent IS for
-four. potatoes and coffee, and the rest
of their food was the fish. game and
berries they found in the woods.
We stopped for a time at kenai lake
and then rode along its shores for four
or five miles. The lake begins at Mile
10 and it winds about through the
mountains for length of twenty
seven miles. 1t is "A mile or so wide,
and no one knows how deep. Sound
ings have been made to 1850 feet be-
low the surface and the bottom not
reached. The scenery there reminds
OF Switzerland. The mountains
Continued on Seventh PageD
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

at several points encountered pack Ice
from four to five feet thick.
The Apache is one of twenty-four
cruising cutters of the United States
coast guard. Although now twenty-five
years old the cutter is still efficient
craft. her size and draft making her
well suited for the position she occu-
pies. From an engineering standpoint,
the boat is an oddly.
, Originally the craft was of the twin
screw type. having been built in Balti-
more in 1891 for service in the Gulf of
Mexico. with Galveston as headquarters.
Proving to be of too deep a draft for
rivers located in her cruising grounds,
the cutter. which was then known as
the Galveston. was refitted with sin
gle screw. given the name Apache and
transferred to her present station.
The Apache is 1SS feet long over all,
20 feet beam and 9 feet inches draft,
displacement being 700 tons. Her hull
is of iron construction and her engines
are capable of developing about 1000
horsepower. The cutter carries one
kilowatt radio set and is armed with
three rapid fire three Founders She is
manned by crew of six officers and
fifty-Seven men. Her commander is
Capt. A. l.. Gamble, who has had eX-
perience in all phases of coast guard
work from Florida to Alaska.
Although having to deal with steam
vessels and various era # of heavy ton
mage on the Chesapeake bay, the work
of the Apache in rendering assistance
to vessels in distress in the Potomac
river is confined mostly to small
schooners and such boats of other
types as engaged in bringing
oysters lumber and other supplies to
Washington. As in the case of other
cutters of the coast guard service, the
Apache stands ready to go to the as
SistanCe of any craft that may be in
distress. The records of the service
and other cutters have rendered
sistance to the occupants of rowboats
and small motor boats that have met
with mishap.
Equipment must he carried which
will permit the cutter to undertake any
task without delay. ON the quarter
deck of the Apache. during her winter
cruising season, several huge coils of
heavy hawser are carried, so that not
moment will be lost in getting line to
some vessel that is laundering or has
gone aground on some bar and is in
danger of being broken up. The
hawsers range in size from five to eight
inches. the latter being about the size
of mans arm
After use the hawsers are allowed to
remain on the deck in open coils until
they dry out. when they are coiled
more closely and covered by tarpaulins
to protect them from the weather. A
dry hawSer is easier to handle. il
weighs much less than one which is
water soaked. and being dry will float
on the surface of the water it is
being hauled aboard some vessel to
which assistance is being given.
When the sea will permit. line is
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

An account of assistance given a
barge by the Apache on March A. as set
forth in the official records Of the cut
ter Is a typical example of the char
acter of work done by this stanch lit
tie craft. 1t reads:
At $40 am. March 4. 1915. the Apache re-
ceived a radiogram FROM the Norfolk navy yard
stating that a three-nasI-d barge was in dis
off Cape Henry. At $50 sighted the
barge. which at anchor in nine f8homS OF
water two and a half miles northeast of the
cape. She rode abeam TO the sea and occasional
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

carried to vessel by means of a
whaleboat or other type of tender. A
sma Her line is carried to the vessel and
the heavy hawser is then hauled aboard
from the cutter. Rendering assistance
under such conditions is comparatively
easy. but such is not the case when the
is running high and gale is blow
ing. Then line must be gotten to the
vessel by floating it or by means of
line gun.
Where the cutter can work to the
windward of the vessel in distress it is
often possible to float a line by at
taching it to small cask or barrel.
This floats the surface and is driven
by the wind and waves toward the YES
sell If her position permits. the cutter
maneuvers back and forth i'll an effort
to get the float close enough to the YES
sci to permit those aboard her to catch
hold of the line with a boat hook. An
other way of accomplishing the same
task is to put the float overheard from
the stern of the cutter and play out
several hundred feet of line. The cut
ter then encircles the ship in distress
and in this way brings the line within
reach Of those aboard.
When conditions make ii Impossible
to either carry float a line to a
vessel line firing gun is brought into
play. Formerly the coast guard cut
tiers carried a gun especially designed
for this purpose, being not unlike those
kept at the life-saving service stations
Although they had been in use many
years, these guns never were very sat
isfactory. II was difficult to aim them
with any great degree of accuracy aud
line firing accordingly was a hit and
miss proposition for the most part.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

the hands of a sailor who stands be-
side the gun operator. The line is
feed" out from the center of the
mass. With a shoulder gun the maxi
mum distance for firing line is about
$50 feet.
tress in such a way that a firm hold
will be secured often proves a difficult
task. This is specially true in the case
of old vessels of wooden construction.
With the first tug on the line the
cleats to which the hawser is attached
often are pulled from'the deck.
If no other holds are available. the
line usually is tied about the base of
the masts in such way to distrl-
butte the strain on them. This is a
dangerous practice if the hull is old
and rotten for the strain is apt to
start the boat to leaking badly. Oc-
casionally it is necessary to carry a
line entirely around a vessel at the
waist in order TO get a hold.
All of the coast guard cutters carry
a large supply of high explosives in a
magazine deep down in the hold OF
the vessel. In the case of seagoins
cutters this is used to blow up dere-
licts that constitute menace to ocean
traffic. Cutters that work in BAYS and
rivers often utilize explosives in break
ing the chains of boats that have cap
sized while at anchor. In such case
it is impossible for the cutter to at
tempt to right the vessel until the an
Choir chains are broken away
With a vessel bottom side up and the
deck under water there is no way to
get at the chains to unfasten them. A
line is passed under the vessel until it
engages the chains. A charge of nitro
glycerin is allowed to ride down this
line until it comes into contact with
the chains. The explosive is set off
by electricity, and in this way the
chains are broken.
Rendering assistance to barges that
have broken away from their tows con-
stitutes a large portion of the work
done by the Apache in the Chesapeake
bay A great deal of shipping between
Baltimore and Norfolk and other points
is done in barges and it often happens
that their towlines part in a storm
and they are left fioundering about in
helpless condition, having neither sail
nor power to get them out of their
difficulties.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

In this work she rescued many yes
sells from the ice Jam and succeeded in
reaching Tangier Island and Holland
Island. where the peopie were reported
to be suffering for lack of food and
medicines. In doing this the-Apache
was obliged to cut her way through
ice from three to ten inches in thick
eSs, blocked from shore to shore. and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-16

CONTINUED on Seventh Page.)