The Alaska daily empire., 1919-07-01
Yellow Peril Explained
(DOuglas News

Local soothSayerS have been puzzled for the past several weeks the appearance of sulphur-co- ored that has been the waters of the channel and on the sidewalks of the town and every other noticeable place.
 Many guesses have been made as to the origina- ton of the stuff, also to the composition of it. Some folks have said that if is q volcanic ash that has been blown here by the upper air currents and inquiry has been made by wire whether there had been violent eruption anywhere in the world. Those in charge of these eruptons wired back that there not.
 Some folks, real old timers, said that this yellow stuff appeared in 1865 just before the signing the peace between the North and the South, and that it portended peace earth and good will among men They could not explain the composition of the stuff but they said they did know it a good omen
 Other folks said that it was oil which was lost overheard when the Princess Alice secured supply at Treadwell a short time ago. They paid atten- tion to the fact that there plenty of the stuff around before that time and that oil generally not up town All they wanted to do was to attach the blame for the phenomenon to corpora tion.
 that foretod big year. maintaining that it always appeared every four years when the big humpie run due.
 Others claimed it sawdust and that it was a shame that the sawms were allowed to dump their Sawdust into the waters of Alaska--that the Legislature had failed in its duty for stopping such thing, and spoke of graft.
 Many people did not pretend to know what it was, but shook their heads and muttered that under a Democratic administration most anything might happen and were more outspoken in their demand that President Wilson return from France and pay attention to the needs of the U. S. A.
 Those folks with scientific turn of mind were quite certain that the stuff sediment from mus tard gas that had been let loose the battefields of Europe. They explained that it just the color of mustard, that the gas up into the air and some evaporated, but the sediment was ried by the upper air currents all the world Every time person sneezed in their presence they said 'I told you so' and blamed the mustard gas.
 That it's presence was not local is proved by the following, taken from the Dawson News of June IS
 Eagle City yesterday afternoon reported
 that fine dust evidently of the nature of
 sulphur, was sitting gently down in that
 vicinity. It possibly from active
 volcanic crater large volcanic eruption
 reported a few days in Japan. Some think
 upper air currents may have carried the dust
 this way. Last week similar dust
 ported falling at Dead Tree Point, B. C.
 Several volcanoes active in Alaska,
 especially that of Mount Katma'
 To satisfy themselves, chemists Treadwell have made an analysis of the sulphur colored that has invaded our land and water and they find that It IS the pollen of some plant that grows land They did not positively identify the plant or tree from which it has come, but they did identify it as d pollen, and that of land plant
 The presence of it is explained this year by T Well-known fact of nature that among plants and trees they have their certain big productive years year. etc Well, this is the big year for the plant that produces this pollen and there is big pro ducton, the pollen has been caught by the winds and spread broadcast the country making if more noticeable than in years when there is only an average production Thus we have this yellow peril that has caused such commotion.
 This theory. which is undoubtedly right has been borne out by the statement of local gas boat man who was in Taku Harbor recently in a heavy breeze, and said that the pollen from the cones Of the spruce trees blowing from the woods in a cloud on that day. This would perhaps identify it as the pollen of the spruce tree although there is possibility that it may have been from some other plant that grows there among the spruce
 With this explanation local folks sleep sound B at night without the fear deadly mustard gasses or the fumes of sulphur lowering them and we thank the chemist for his labors in dispelling our fears.