The Daily Alaska empire., 1935-08-12

little boat, led them down into the cabin, dramatically jerked the cover back from the bunk, and revealed the sore-ridden, spotted body of his long-suffering patient. The rail- road men fell over themselves try ing to get out of that cabin; some of them even tried to swim ashore before they could get the boat launched.
 Well, there was one hell of a panic in town. The strikers were tla|bbergasted; said they would gang the next steamer that came into port. There were several hundred of them on dock when the next boat was sighted and no police to stop them; but Doc took rowboat and went out and met the ship; told the captain there was small pox ashore -and if he landed the ship would be quarantined. The boat didn't land. Doc Whiting came near to being lynched that night. When the next boat also didn't land, and there didn't seem a chance of any others coming in, the men had spent all their money and the town of Cordova wouldn't give them any credit; so they had to go back to work, and eventually the railroad was completed.
 well, in The Iron Tra.,' I cre- ated q character somewhat younger than Heney and more romantic of aspect, used q similar experience to the smallpox scare and a doctor patterned after Doc Whiting. A number of characters in this book were patterned pretty carefully on the originals.
 The Silver Horde
 One day last fall I was talking with the Mayor of Vancouver about my book on the salmon industry, The Silver Horde The Mayor had been labor leader and worked up from the ranks. became strike organizer, etc. and he remarked that the thing that struck him most about this book was that here was an author who knew the in- tide of the labor game, and how a Strike could be organized for pri- vate ends and not for the good of the laborers. Although I think I portrayed labor conditions authori- tatiyely, none of the characters used here were based on fact ex- cept one big foreman, called Big George. I patterned him after a fellow knew in the Arctic around Candle Creek This fellow, Big George Matson, was a asquaw man and had big family. He was. d roistering, drunken, fighting crazy sort of fool. The first time I ever came into Candle Creek I came with a team of dogs and got in just at twilight. was told I was in for trouble. Big George was on one of his tears and it was fls cus- tom on these occasions to beat fp any and every stranger who came into town. lfhss said he would give me good walloping. Whenever Big George started to fight, he would slip off his hood, wrfggle out of his. parka and fight in his fur pants.ss ss- 8 ~l s.&s@,
 That night I was in the only sa- loon in town--it was run by the kid brother of rex Rickafd; young Tex. they called i1im-when in came Big George, drunk, and on the lookout for me. But Instead of being plgna.. :. cious, he became fearful. bought me some drinks. and wanted to hug me. I must have reminded him of some longlost relative, because he hung around me like big Yukon, dog, and instead of fighting me, he pitched tia and beat up the little rat Who had guided me into tcwn,l which tickled me to death, because 1t saved me the trouble. The fellow had interested me fin some claims he had just to getAa free trip home. Bis Ge0fye Helps
 Big George was awfuily good to nle. When Idisconered that the claims I came for were worthless. I looked around and found some others on which the recording time was nearly expired 1aN qiiestion was how to get to them. Big George brought me out, widowed tf1fougf, the snow and found the stakes. We were out for two or three days together. He was like great bie tame dog. I never did get over Big George! When it came time to do the story of The Silver Horde I manufactured a character like him.
 T don't know where he is now. He came down to Nome once when I was there He used to pull in the tug -of-war teams. He was so tre.. mendous he was as good as whole team himself. This time | saw him he came down and got drunk and had one hell of good time. He was just one Of those big
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