Seward daily gateway., 1923-12-29
mn TIMERS LEAVE ON
 TRIPS TO THE STATES

Several we'll known oldtimers ofI the lower Yukon river left for theI States on the steamship Alaska. One of the most prominent is Dave Mutch- Ter of Iditarod tram fame; Alex Math- ison. manager of the company operat- ing the old Beaton & Donnelly dredge. Hugh Mathieson and Ioe Newell, the last named being the owner of 8 number of claims on Otter creek. The quartet of sourdoughs made their way to the railroad at Nenana by dog
 Il, covering the distance from Flat in the Iditarod district to Ne mana in ten days.
 The trail is improving With travel but more snow is needed to put it is cal good condition. There are rough spots now which materially della! travel, but which will disappear ell tirely after another good snow.
 Extremely cold weather was expe rienced on the trail, the temperature dropping to 50 below before the tray elers reached Nenana. All of the mem- bers of the party were frostbitten and carry the scars.
 Newell had team or nine dogs anu the condition of the trail was such that he was compeuled to put mosca- sins on the dogs feet every morning not pleasant task with the weather as cold as it was on this particular trip. The Newell team and that also belonging to Mutchler will reach An- chorage this week and will be used by Game Warden Al Hardy until spring.
 Mall conditions in the Kuskokwim district are much better this winter than usual, the travellers report. and the service is improving steadily Four lrlps per month between Nenana and Flat are made with limit of ROO lhs the carriers being Billy Burke. Fred Lemon Jack Lamont, Tom Milligan n and native boy.
 
 chant of Flat, was preparing to leave for the States when the Mathiesou party started for Nenana and he prob abily is on the trail now. Tom Aitker who Is operating dro'on on ~--,a,, also plans to make a trip to the States this winter, and Superintend- ent Bullard of the Treadwell Quartz mine on Nixon Fork, is on his way te } the States and will catch the Victoria Alex Mathieson Is In charge of the operations of t +Son & Don nelly dredge which is now controlled by a new company. He reports fair lv good season was enjoyed, the late ness of the fall helping materially t( swell the output. The dredge was kept busy until November 15.
 Dave Mutchler is an old timer il Alaska. He is one of the most widel! known men in the north and has talk on an active part in the developmen ? of nearly every gold camp thus ia discovered, from Dawson to the hear l of the Kuskokwim district. He ant l his brothers operated tram road be l tween Iditarod City and Flat for number of years. Last summer the c took in a large shipment or frOZeI meat, on two cold storage barges, on l of which was lowed to Ophir and tn = other left at Iditarod. The trip t e Ophir was a rough one, owing to tn low water in the upper reaches of tn Innoko river. The barge was stuc on bar for several weeks but Dav
 stuck to the job and finally got thr
 to his destination. George Mutchler l in charge of their interests this wi ! ter.
 At the time the rrave1ers 1ert tf Interior nothing new had been rt !, ported from the recent strike c :, Crooked creek.
 !, They report that no headway h; h been made in the solution of the my tery surrounding the mail robbel l. last winter. the people of the Kusk h kWlm district are not aware of it. \ , arrests have been made.