El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-07-08


JIIy s-This is the story of
Chicken Bill and his Ten Thou
sand Collar potato patch It is the
story Of young American who be
came the poultry king Of the Klondike,
and then vent Into farming with such
success tE2t he has one field OF pota-
toes that VIII bring in $4,000 this fall.
That is a sample Of what farming can
do on the banks Of the Yukon, and
suggestion Of the fertility Of Alaska
as well
Chicken BIZ is a good type Of the
farmers Of the far north I first met
him yesterday afternoon He called at
my hO.el here in Dawson
A rough looking young man Of less
than medium height. his face IS brOnzed
from the hot summer sun Of the arctic
and his EanOs are horny with handling
the piCE- He wore PAIR OF rough
boots mat reached to his knees. blue
jeans trousers somewhat the worse for
the wear, ard q shirt Of flannel. open
at the E5cE. that showed his brown
chest He was in his working clothes
for he had brought some of his crop OF
hot house vegetables into Dawson for
sale He Introduced himself as VIII
liam Anstett. nicknamed Chicken Billy.
and asked me 10 20 with him up the
river to look at his farms. I accepted
from the trip, the most interesting !
have vet FAD OF the Yukon
Farming Near the Arctic Circle.
But first let me tell you something
about farming in the far north. Daw
son is rear tie Arctic circle, and the
country about ii is thought by many
to De snow and ice the year round
The fact is the winters last only until
April or Nav. and the short hot sum-
mers are almost perpetual daylight. SO
that nature puts on It's seven league
boots anu works the greater part OF the
night. As TO the farming in general,
the most Of II is in very small patches.
There E.re gardens about the miners
cabins where they raise potatoes and
turn1pS. green peas and beets, and car
rOts ard celery Last year one man
grew forty tens of turnips, or 1929
bushels upon e field Of one acre. and
from another acre the same man raised
SOL bushels OF potatoes His crop OF
vegetables all told weighed 200 tons
Another farmer recently brought in a
caulifIowsr which measured ten inches /
in diameter. 4 turnip weighing four l
teen POUNDS. ana six heads OF cabbage I
which when put on the scales regis I
tered 139 pounds light I have these I
figures frcTc Albert z. Lamb, one Of ]
the government officials Of Yukon ter
ritory, s-Ild q man entitled TO credit. He !
is an enthusiast on farming IN the I
Yukon and says the day is coming when I
no vcgeta lies VIII be brought in from .
outside.
Mary Homesteads Taken Up.
Already q number Of hOmesteads have
been Iaker up in the territory. and 4
there are little farms here and there on
the banks Of the Yukon river and on
the ISLANDS which pepper Its surface
There are also great farms under glass
Dawson itseif has acres Of hOthouses,
and there are other hothouses belong
ing O Joseph W Boyle in the heart Of
the klOndike- He keeps them TO sup I
ply his miners with the earliest greens
and vegetables that the arctic sun VIII
produce
Chicken Billy Bachelor.
AMI IU.. (. word about Chicken Billy
He s an Lmerican. q bachelor. only
thirty-seyen years old and 5000 10 ms
mother 2 know this, for the old lady.
although she IS over fOur-scOre, is now
on h-r wa from Seattle TO the hlon-
dixie. SEe Lies the cold weather. and
prefers TO sfesd her winters in Billy.s
"a sin rather than with her well-to-do
son in the states
Billy wis horn, in Philadelphia and
went to scEoC, there Re was still
auiua t.CIi5 for appointment 10 the navy
AZ the time Of the Cuban war He was
so excited over his success that when
he cane iF-O the hands OF the surgeons
10 be Jeste2 as 10 his physical fitness
his heart was tErobblnC AT the rate OF
A hundred sud odd beats 10 the minute. I
and the result was that the doctors !
pronounced him unfit for the service !
lneE SalQ ne lau nearL disease
BillT then Worked at odd jobs. with +.
put great success. until one day he Z
saw a Papcr describing the strike in
the Klondike- The article was headed !
Cold at the Grass Roots" and Billy
tells me- ne decided 10 get into the
grass and d3g out a fortune He had
only S17 ahead at the time, but with Z
that he got 70 st. Paul and thence
worked his way onto Skagway.
He walked IN over the Dvea trail and
5OUg II for his own with the miners Of
Dawson He got some gold from his I Z
various ventures. but made no big
strikes, and finally gave up mining and I
vent into chickens.
Buys An Island or Yukon. {
For this purpose he bought an island !
IN the Yukon not far from the mouth I Z
# the Klondike. and built him a hen !
house OF logs with glass windows fac / q
NJ the south For a time he didsWell. Z =
His eggs sold for 50 cents each. and his =
at chickens brought in $40 or $50 a ! {
iozen- Re built UP his flock until he 7
lad 500 chickens and his fresh laid I (
Eggs became so well known that he 2
acquired his nickname. Chicken Billy !
which he holds 10 this day throughout ! I
he whole region
He thought he was on the fair road /
o fortune, VIXEN competition came IN (
-he other poultry raisers cut prices {
nd chickens dropped 10 a dollar apiece.
Billy found that his hens did not do so I q
veil IN largo fiOcks- He was losing I q
money and looked about for other | ]
-inds OF farming instead. He is now
alslnS only fancy chickens and is de- =
'otinS his energy TO hogs and potatoes ! ,