The Wrangell sentinel., 1940-09-13
EDITOR AFTER ALASKA BEAR

etlan north bound was Gene Howe The Tactless Texan and eolorful editor Of the Amarillo Daily News of Amarillo, Texas, bound for the Westward 10 see if he couldn't cap Jure a Kodiak bear either with gun or bare knueks. By this time, he either has the bear, or yica-Yersa-- report on that later.
 Point of ths iitem is that Editor Howe, son of Ed Howe. famous newspaper sage, became inspired on leaving Seattle for Alaska and from the Aleutian sent some inter esting paragraphs back to his pa per, copy of which has just been received. Here are some of the high lights:
 Aboard the Aleutian-We left out of Seattle this morning at o'clock for Alaska and we will not arrive at Ketchikan, our first stop in AL aska, until day after tomorrow. For two days we travel through Puget Sound and along the Canadian Coast
 HaaR
 l have always thought that the Panhandle of Texas was the big gest country under the sun, but have sure changed my mind. I've seen plenty of country people, but never have I seen any country, eom- paratively speaking, until we came up here. Boy, that's about all they have up here is country.
 Why we have just trayeied for three hours or more on the boat without seeing anything but water mountains, trees, clouds, rain and gulls. The boat trip from Seattle to Alaska, the way we are going, is through the inland passage. That is. we don't go out to sea but the Aleutian blows it's way between a succession of large and small is lands It looks like we were tray- cling through a narrow, but end less lake, varying in width from a few hundred yards to five or six miles We have caught but an 9c- casional glimpse of the ocean.
 There isn't anything level in sight except the water and it's surround ed by mountains plus more noun tains. These are covered so thick with trees that it doesn't look like you could walk through them, ex- cept on their peaks where they are capped with snow The mountains are so steep you can see but few creeks flowing into this inland pass agei it's waterfalls instead.
 
 moved up here, they'd sure have an inferiority complex quick. If our whole Panhandle was moulded into mountains, such as these, I hon estly don't believe that it's base would be any larger than Dallas.
 I have been sort of worrying that maybe I wouldn't kill that grizzly bear and that mountain sheep, have been boasting and betting about, so I have been sort of ask ing questions of Walter Holmes. told him I was studying quite bit about it! that I sure didn't want to lose that months groceries bet made with c. w Fur.
 "Why where I'm taking you, it N III DE Int SnOOlAuS III q 1OOf hC told me a few minutes ago.
 *@&
 MT. Holmes is one of the most successful independent oil operators in the Southwest. He formerly worked for the big companies and came to the Panhandle field as an independent in about 1926. He has l.
 ". H. (Doc) Holmes, of Anna rillo, who died in 1892 was his brother. ". H. Holmes lived in AL aska for many years and operated a drug store in small town by the name of Ruby, Alaska. He came to Amarillo in about 1919 and with Tex McIllroy, whom he knew in Alaska, was one of the Panhandle's pioneer oil men. At one time they had a lease on most of the Smith Capers ranch.
 w H. Holmes died when he was in California visiting, and he had made a request that he be buried in Alaska His body was cremated and Walter Holmes took his ashes 10 AL aska and scattered them over the sides of Mt. Mckinley, the highest mountain on the American contin- ent It is more than 10000 feet and fro mits base, it's higher than Mt. Everest over in Asia
 Walter Holmes narrowly missed falling out of the a1rplane when he scattered the remains of his broth