Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-08

ging one two-horse load five miles over the
snow. 1t seems rather high.
1t is little, however, compared with the
cost OF the same wood at the mines. In such
cases it has to be hauled much farther and
over bad roads. The result is the price rises
to SIS and $l6 cord. 1t takes at least two
cords of wood to furnish the heat equal to
that in one ton of coal When the railroad
is completed, coal from the Nenana fields,
not far away should be delivered in Fair
banks at SIS or So a ton, making the fuel cost
about one-hfth what it does now.
The Northern Commercial company Is de-
nounced as monopoly by some of the
smaller merchants of Alaska. There Is prob
ably considerable truth in the statement
but any one can import goods, and there are
several firms here that are doing a very
large business for this part of the world
One is E. R. Peoples, Incorporated, and an
other is the Dominion Commercial COM
pany. both of which have their headquarters
at Fairbanks and do business with the min
ing camps for hundred miles or so in the
neighborhood They also send goods by
small steamers far up the tributaries of the
Yukon. One of their trading stations Is at
BEETLES, the chief town of the Koyukuk river
and the head of steamship navigation on that
stream. The goods go to BEETLES and from
there are carried something like so miles
across county to placer mines that are now
doing we'll. The pay dirt is only about four
or five feet from the grass roots and is yield
ing from $3.50 to $40 to the square foot of
bed rock.
Another trading station Is Wiseman,
about 90 miles from BEETLES. 1t is also on
the Koyukuk, but the stream Is so shallow
that the goods are hauled there on barges
drawn by horses. The freight rate is ST 40
a ton and the goods are much higher in
consequence. Flour sells at Wiseman for
$50 barrel, and bacon brings Is cents
pound. The most of the merchandise is paid
for in gold dust A miner will come in and
pay for his purchases out of his poke Of gold
dust, the storekeeper weighing out the
amount needed. There are now something
like $50 miners in the Koyukuk region, and
their trade is worth thousand dollars per
NAM. The miners will often come In at tho
close of a season and drink up all they have
made within few days. A miner will put
his poke of gold on the bar of saloon and
ask all to drink with him. 1t is an Insult not
to join in, whether you know him or not
The man keeps up his spree until his money
is gone and then, like as not gets credit for a
new supply of goods for the camp.
Most of the business of Alaska Is done
upon credit and any one who would sell
much has to give time. The people here tell
me that the merchants are liberal in their
advancements to miners | talked with a
commercial traveller last night who started
to Fairbanks with six horses freighting
goods in over the trail He got into cold
snap on the way and his horses died of star
vation He arrived in Fairbanks with only
enough for a mining outfit, but the mer-
chants gave him credit and in company with
partner he leased a claim on one of the
creeks for Is per cent of the profits At the
end of that year he was $1,000 in debt. The
next winter he and his partner had no money
to pay wages, but by their own work they
got out enough pay dirt to yield them about
$4,000 when they washed it out in the spring.
they then paid UP their debts and within the
next year or SO cleaned up $4,000 out of the
claim FRANK G.. CARPENTER.