davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18

The Pioneer with the following information with regard to platinum, gleaned from a text book on "Mineralogy and Crystallog raphy," which will be of interest to miners and others:
 Platinum is described as a malleable steel gray to white metal, occurring in small grains and nuggets in alluvial sands, very rarely in small cubes Its luster is metallic, streak steel gray, its color light steel gray it is opaque, malleable, and often magnetic. It is infusible before blowpipe, and un- affected by tiuxes or any single acid, but IS soluble in aqua regla. It is found in allu vial deposits with other refractory miner als, aS gold. iridosmine, chronrte corun occur in syenite, and Is sometimes found in cluded in masses of chromlte or of serpen- tine By far the larger part of the platl- mum of commerce is obtained from placer deposits in the Ural mountains; Borneo, Brazil and the United States of Colombia also produce small amounts. It has been identified in many of the gold regions ot the United States, but only in small quantl- ties, and the quantity annually produced Is insignificant. Sperrylite, which is a posSl- ble future source of platinum, is tin white, brittle and opaque mineral of metal lie luster, and is chiefly interesting as being the only native compound of platinum. It is found in minute crystals in small quantl- ties in the nickel bearing pyrrhotlc and chal- copyrte of Sudbury, Canada, and in the cuprc suphide, covellte, occurring at the Rambler mine, in Wyoming.
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18

That immense deposits of native copper have been discovered on the Arctic shores of Canada in the vicinity of Copper Mine river, Coronation sound, and that the work of Vii; almur Stefansson will be seriously delayed owing to the loss of the schooner Great Bear. were the assertions made to the Juneau Empire recently by Dr. k. M. Anderson, second in command of the Stet ansson expedition.
 Dr. Anderson passed through Juneau i'll September Cn his way to his home in Can ada He had been in command of the southern or shore party of the expedition since the expedition divided, and for the past three years had been making geologl- cal surveys and typographical maps of the country along the Arctic border of Can ada Dr. Anderson stated that the mem bers of his party had not seen Stefansson since March, 1913, at which time StefansSon started north over the ice fields. They have not been in communication with him and never knew whether he was alive CT dead Last summer when Stefansson Wis ted Herschel island and bought the power schooner Polar Bear, Anderson and his party were working far to the eastward and did not see him.
 The southern party spent the, first win ter, CT the season of 1913, in winter quar- ters at Council point, and the next two winters were spent in Union strait The work of the party started at Point Harold and extended east around the shores of Coronation sound, and around the Kent peninsula. near. the mouth of the Mac kenze river.
 ''The copper deposit discovered by Us consists of a vast minerallzed belt of na- tive copper on the mainland near Copper Mine river, and extending out to Prince Albert island" said Mr Anderson. "We sampled the deposit in hundreds of places and made a survey of it from a geological standpoint, but l am not at liberty to disclose the size of the deposit As to the value, l cant say until the samples have been assayed, and also until it is deter, mined whether the deposits can be worked successfully or not.
 "The copper ore is almost pure, as far as we could tell The natives of that section use implements hammered frem the copper almost entirely It makes good snow knives, skinning knives and ice picks. They have no steel there and know noth ing of smelling ore. The copper in their implements is just as 1t comes from the ground as to purity
 Dr. Jenness, anthropologlst with the party, is on board this steamer with forty cases of implements used by the natives there in their daily life, and the majority of them are made of hammered copper. The collection includes snow knives, lce picks, skinning knives, dishes, sled runners, spear heads and in fact hundreds of i'm clements of that metal He also has sal- pies of their articles of clothing and of nearly everythino used by them.
 Fer +he first two years it was pretty monotonous in there We had no reading matter at all, and did not know that the
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18
SOMEBODY BLUNDERED ON TELEGRAPH NEWS

For some as yet unexplained The Pioneers teIegaphc service failed this week. and the paper makes its without
 line of teegraphc from the Outside Whether s the fault of the news bureau in Seattle of the cable telegraph employees as not vet been asceaned but feel that due our readers whose only news medium The Pioneer i
 Some time ago arrangements made whereby the weekly eegraphc service for this to be receed on Thurs day and Friday of each week thus nsung the latest Outside news the paper goes press early Saturday morning. On several cason the Thursday nsamen dd reach here until Friday and on one occasion the Friday did not reach here until Saturday noon too late for publication The experience teaches that aneenen must be made whereby readers may be assured of the Outside news each week though be day old when reaches them
 The mshap all the regretabe coming ths hme when for five weeks the district has been without mail and trust our patrons will consider that the happening unavoidable
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18
MANY DEPART FOR TOLSTOI AND PLANS ARE FORMED
 FOR MUCH PROSPECTING

The heavy fall of snow in the early part of the present week, with its promise of splendid trails when it becomes packed has started the expected movement to- ward the Tolstoi district, and as the mining season comes to close in the lditarod dis trict with the closing down of the dredges it may be expected that the travel to and from the new district will be lively.
 Nearly all of the prospectors who went to the Tolsto district last spring were men of limited means, who took in small outfits and after stalking claims and doing locatlon and assessment work returned to Idltarod to spend the summer ill earning another grubsake Most of these will return, aud during the coming winter it is more than likely that 1t will be demonstrated whether or not populous and thriving community wi be built up, or whether 1t will be one of the numerous small camps which fur nish lucrative employment to limited number of men each season.
 Boob creek, one of the first streams to be staked, has been proven already to con tain extensive gold deposits While the paystreak has not yet been definitely lined up, sufficient has been shown to justify claim owners in going ahead with eXten- sive work, and meny men already are it work there, with promise of many more as the winter progresses. The ground l, deep and can be worked all winter The big problem there at present Is to get wood on the ground. None of the operators has procured fuel so far, and now that there jS plenty of snow there will be considerable activity in the woods. Fuel must be hauled several miles. Pay has been found on at least five claims on this creek, anl prospecting is still going on.
 Riley x Monier, Van OrsdsIl, Beattie and partners and several others are preparing for extensive winter work on this creek.
 Since late in the spring but little work has been done on the adjacent creeks but reports, more or less authentic, continue to come out at intervals of finds on Esperanto, Madison and other streams. All these will receive renewed attention from now on, and many are extremely optimistic as to the future of the district Operations will be watched with interest and it would not be surprising if a considerable rush to the Tclstoi were started before spring.
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18
PLATINUM MAY BE PRODUCT
 OF BOOB CREEK WORKINGS

Ira Van Orsdol, the Tolstoi miner, WAS in the city several days during the psst week. and had in his possession small phlal of mineral that has attracted a great deal of interest. It was secured in the course of placer operations on MT. Van Orsdols work ings on Boob creek, and mention of the oc currence of this mineral heretofore has been made in these columns. It Is generally sup posed to be platinum, but some ot the characteristics do not tally with those of that precious metal and 1t may be that 1t Is some similar appearing mineral that has not yet been classified by local amateur mineralogists The price of platinum has shared i'll the general rise since the begin ming of the European war, and is said to be in the npighborhood of S60 per ounce !; so that if the find should prove to be that mineral it would be valuable side product and in fact might constitute the principal value of some of the claims i'll that reglon, b it is said to occur quite generally
 Mr Van OrsdCl says that the mineral ls raved with the placer gold, and while not appearing in large quantities, there Is enough of it to make it an important factor ln the value of the ground worked should f prove 10 be platinum. In workings on adjoining creeks, the mining man says, it is also ire Guently found, and one man told Mir Van Orsdol that if it shoull prove to be platinum he had enough of it to constitute pay streak in itself
 The stuff in MT. Nan Orsdol's possession is in small particles ranging in size up to that of grain of rice. It is steel-gray ill color, and cannot be fused with a bowpipe Platinum is maleable, while the mineral in question, when struck heavy blow with q hammer. was unaffected while the hammer was dentcd Apparently the stuff is of about the same weight as gold.
 James Farrell, who has made mlneralogy a matter of considerable study, furnishes
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18
MIKE POWERS PASSES AWAY
 AFTER YEARS OF SUFFERING

Michael Powers, aged about 50 years, died yesterday morning at o'clock &t the Flat hospital, after years of suffering from tuberculosis The remains were brought to this city yesterday, and are now at the un- lertaking rooms of J. II. smith.
 Mr. Powers had been in the North since the early days of the Klondike stampede, and remained in Dawson until he followed the rush to the Fairbanks diggings about 1904 He has been a resident of thls camp for the past six year, Al hou2h be vas widely known throughout the district, little is known of his early life beyond the fact that in his younger days he was seafarns man, and occasionally, while talking with friends, would spe,k of his experiences i'll that connection During his residence i'll the Interior he Was usu8lly employed about hotel, and mining camp mess houses. Mike" aS he was known to his friends, was a man of very quiet and unobtrusivc dispo- sition. of Sp.endid intelligence and was al ways q great reader of historical and current literature
 He is said to have had sister in Buf falo, N. '.
 Funeral Tomorrow
 TEe funoral services will he hcli tomor- row (Sunday) at the chapel of the under takers establishment on Willow street.
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18
STEFANSSON EXPEDITION FOUND RICH
 COPPER ORE ON SHORES OF ARCTIC

Fur0pean war was on until the mall reached us overland on November last year. Alter that we were al right, as we received com, plete files of the daily papers of Ottawa up to the time the mail left civilization for the long trip overland and down the Mac kenzle river to our camp. After its arrival We had Ilenty of reading matter.
 There Is plenty of large standing tlm- Der there a few miles back from the coast Of course on the Arctic coast there IS no timber, but back about twenty miles on the Copper Mine river, and little farther back on the Mackenzie, there are heavy stands of timber We used driftwood and some coal which we took with us for fuel Our base camp was stationary and We were not obliged to move sround much We had the gasoline schooner Alaska and were very comfortable on board her most of the time.
 '"We had no difficulty in securing all the fresh meats we wanted. The annual nn- Grafton of the caribou herds passed close to cur heaGquarters. and we shot Ill we needed. Ducks and other migratory birds are plentiful there in the summer time There are very fev geese there i'll the summer time.
 I've broke camp in Union strait on July 13 of the present year, and reached Tier, schel island on July 20, having encountered very little ice east of the island. On AuguSt 8 we reached Point Barrow, and srnTed &t Nome August l5.''
 When questioned regarding the tempera- tyre in the Arctic regions, Dr. Anderson stated that it Is not cold along the coast He stated that last December the tenn perature was but little below freezing point and the average was between b end 2' degrees above zero. The coldest weather encountered by the party during their ell tire stay in the north was 47 degrees be low zero. Last winter the thermometer only registered zero on one occasion.
 When asked to account for 1t, Dr An derson stated that he could not, unless it was on account of the dampncss of the atmosphere end the density Of the air
 This is the ninth consecutive season Dr. Anderson has spent in the Arctic. having worked there four summers for the AmerI- can Institute of New York. This Is also his first trip Outside since the Stetansson expedition sailed for the north on board the ill-fated karluk.
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18
C0NSGRIpT10N OF WEALTH SUGGESTED
 BY TRADES UNI0NISTS OF GREAT BRITAIN

s,cribner publication, Frederic (. Howe shows how unequally the burden Is now borne in England Says Mir. Howe:
 While the munitions makers in Great Britain doubled their profits during the first year of the war. while the bankers maintained their old dividends and added immense sums to their reserves, while the ship owners increased freight rates from 800 to 600 per cent and freight rates on food stuffs went up from 10 Shllings in 1914 to 75 shillings per ton in 1915. while coal was advanced to prohlbitlve prces by op- orators. the working classes were asked m the name of patriotism to continue thelr cid scale of wages in the face of the fact that flour rose 50 per cent, bread 40 per cent sugar 68 per cent and meat from 40 to 90 per cent.
 "War created fabulous profits for the trading and financial classes; 1t cut the wages of the workers from one-fourth to one-third by reason of the mononolv charges and the high cost of liv"g which the war entailed"
 The recent announcement that v per cent of the excess war profits of the ship owners would be taken in taxes and the statement that the income tax on large incomes would be graded to 33 per cent are, however, movements in the direction of leveling the profits and distributing the financial load of the war
 Labor is the class which has the best right to ask for conscription of wealth. For labor always pays the penalty and escapes the profit of war. Moreover, labor alone, by insisting on constantly higher wages and shorter hours, may in time ab- sorb the surplus earnings whose invest ment in politically disorderly countries now makes for war.
 Economists are seeing more and more clearly-as Mr. Howe shows vividly that English finance in Egypt, German finance in Turkey, French finance in Morocco, Ital- l ian finance in Tripoli are at least some of the great causes behind the war. Good citizens here likewise are wondering if Amerca's surplus income which has found | lodgment in Mexico is responsible for any of the intervention ambitions so noisily expressed.
 The facts for Europe seem fairly well proved. So respectable a person as Lord 1 Cromer, for example, is the authority for the statement that English finance brought about the English occupation of Egypt. Wealth thus not only is not conscripted in war; it prospers by war in many ways, and even lays the deep foundations for trouble: But the British Trades Union Congress and allied groups over the world may be able 1 to make difference for the future The Britshers at least have stated the issue, 1 Icl1 h,,{
 If the proposal can be pushed in peace times, a great blow will have been struck at the possibility of an evil future.
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18
TENDERNESS AND AFFECTION
 NOT MONOPOLY OF WHITES

It may be true as general rule that the natives of Alaska are lacking i'll sentiment; that the ordinary virtues of kindness, ot affection. of love and >elfsacrtice have no part in their makeup. And thls estl- mate of the native character Is borne out in great measure by the tribal customs @t the aborigines in remote districts where they do not come much in contact with the whites. There are horrible stories current of helpless children being abandoned to the clements, of blind, maimed or crippled eli spring of indifferent parents being turned adrift in the wilderness to starVe and de; of helpless cid men and women who have become burdens to their relatives being turned adrft to meet death alone and un- cared for. These 1tores are vouched for by those who know the natives. But an in cident occurred recently which proves that even in the minds of the aborgneS there are latent depths of humanitarian sentiment, not untinged with self-Sacrtlce, which only tend to show that the instincts which sep arate humanity from the brute creatures are not the attributes solely of the Cau- casian race.
 There is in this city young Indian girl who for several months past has been em- ployed at ous times by the ladies of the community at odd tasks. She shows a de sire to learn the ways of the white folks, and the good ladies of the city have taken an interest in her and have devoted consld erable time to instructing her in the domes- tic arts One of them acted as banker for the girls mo | savings, which she took a somewhat exaggerated interest in lncreaa- ing, to such an extent, in fact, as to arouse the curiosity of the good lady as to the cause of her thrift The answer was one that astonished her and gave her an insight into the native girls goodness of heart hitherto unsuspected.
 It appears that the girl has little sister who has been blind from infancy, and whose sad condition has made a deep i'm pression on the girls mind. Recently visitor to the city who is the possessor of a glass eye came under her observation, and she was greatly interested in the artificial eye. She gained the impression that by its aid the mans sight had been restored, and she immediately dreamed of like bless ing for her afflicted sister.
 When asked by the lady who was the custodian of her savings what she intended to do with the money she replied that she was saving it to purchase glass eyes for her sister, and appeared proud and delighted at the prospect When the good lady gently told her the truth, and she realized that her self sacrifice would be in vain so far as restoring the little ones sight was con cerned she was greatly dejected, and re- Fused to be consoled
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18
OFFICIAL VOTE OF TOLSTOl
 SHOWS SURPRISING TOTALS

The official vote of Tolstoi precinct, re- ccived by The Pioneer on Thursday evening last, in a letter dated on election day, shows surprising totals in some instances. Dan Sutherland, for territorial senator, received the highest vote 35 and C. K. Snow, for the legislature also received big vote. The majority of Wickersham was votes, in stead of lO as reported in The Pioneer last week The vote in detail was as follows:
 For Delegate Lewis, : Su!zer, IS; Wick ersham, ?.
 For Attorney General Cobb, 9; GrigSby, 27; Schofeld, II.
 For Senator McCahe, 10; McGowan, ?; Sutherland, B.
 For Representatives Bean, 7; Burns, 3; Collins, 3 Dunn, :; Green, 10; Hess ; Huey, i kilgore, l9; Ledger, 3; Mon&han, S. Nerland, 9; Snow. 2S; Ninal, 25; Web ster. F; Westenvik, (.
 For Road Commissioner Jensen, 22; Ross, 10; Sabin, ,; Steil, 3.
 Eight hour law-For, 46; against l.
 Dry 43; wet, 9.
 Total vote caSt-54.
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18
KUSKOKWIM NEWS NOTES
Aniak. Alaska, Sept. 24

Anlak, AaSka, sept -t
 The water in the kuskokwim and tribu taries has been lower all summer than for many years An unusually heavy catch of fish is reported this year
 The enthusiastic manner in which the na- tivcs took to msking gardens has been a great surprise, and there Is scarcely na- tive cabin without one or two garden patches. The yield has been unusually good
 Among the death certificates filed in the commissioners office, in accordance with territorial laws, was that of Chief Antony Aiamlsy, whose death occurred at Horn village on September }. He was born ln 1858 at Napamute, being nearly 60 years of age at the time of his death. The cause given in the certificate was throat con sumption" His sufferings were more than usualy severe at the end. He is reported to have been conscious up to the time ot hlS desth. but for more than ten days had been unable to swallow either food or water. Everything that could possibly be done for him was done. Chief Ajamaty, accord ing to tribal customs, was chief of all the territory lying between Russian Mission and Sleetmute.
 The largest and most imposing kashlm on thc kuekokwim river was erected dur ing the past summer at Oskawallck. It Is very large, and wholly above the ground. The building is square, and has a supported roof with windows at the apex According to the past traditions and superstltlons ot the natives no tool of metal was allowed to be used in the erection of the kashlm, but this one shows that they have out lived some of the ''preaching' of the medl-
Iditarod pioneer., 1916-11-18

The suggestion of the Trades Union Con gress to Premier Asqulth that wealth oe conscripted shows how curiously our ideas have become inverted by civilization says William L. Chenery, a writer for the Chicago Herald,
 The conscription of wealth appeals to nearly everyone Soclallsts be- hg a radical doctrine Yet the most con krvative leaders think that the conscrlp- Bon of men Is natural and right. Indeed the conservatives in every nalon are de mandng compulsory service of men, both in war and in peace, when they call 1t unl- versal military training.
 What singular state of affairs Is this ]! We regard it as natural for the state to take any man from his home and his work, to expose him to disease and muulatlon and death on the battlefield. We think It proper and patriotic to deprive him Of hls health his limbs or his life. But we balk at the idea of taking away the same mans income, or his property. According to our reasoning, what a man owns IS more lm- portant. more holy, than his life itself.
 Premier Asquith, it is true, was able to tell the trade unionlsts in England that the conscription of wealth had already been begun in the higher war taxes. The tax on an income of fl ,000 has been increased from e29 to 9l3S since the war began. And the end is not yet.
 While ali of the service of all eligible men is demanded under conscrlptlon, an income of fl 900 is conscripted only to the extent of l4 per cent The difference is marked It may be less so in the future.
 This idea of the conscriptlon of wealth, of the using of all of nations property resources as well as all its human re- sources in time of emergency, Is full Of possibilities. Suppose the average men and women of a nation would say:
 You ask us to give ourselves and to hazard our lives for the nation. Human beings are of more value than things. Be fore we surrender our bodies you, the gov ernment, must enroll all the property, all the physical resources of the nation, Tn the same cause Not only must you conscrlpt wealth to the extent of IA per cent, you must take 1t all and set 1t to work at its various tasks just as you use us men and women"
 Strange things might occur if doctrine such as that proposed by the Trades Union Congress to the British. premier were to find favor in nation. Not only would the burdens of war be spread out more fairly, but war itself might be made i'm possible For the surplus wealth which seeks investments in foreign lands would be consumed at home and the great out Handing cause of modern war would bt eliminated.
 But a conscripticn of wealth is not ye an appealing slogan.
 In his brilliant book Why War;" :