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THE SUNDAY OEEGONIAN, PDRTLAOT), NOVEMBER 15, 1903.
pterin.
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F'-f -Jlffi pp-f ffSf"-' il r T"i 1? i iBKj&i B" If immSJl
n the nther
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y Albert Sonnichsen,
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IMHHHHHHiHlllSSSni
fcFr m jtWtIW pOyfnE
T-ii i mri
TO BE familiar "with maritime affairs
on the Pacific Coast means that you
hare heard of the Hawaiian hark
TAIeha. The Aloha has had many com
"toanders, but it is not -worth whllo to bur
den your memory with any of their names
Except that of Captain Eric Larsen, who,
I believe, sailed her until annexation
krought her under American colors. .Cap
fin Iarsen'e name will be handed down
o local fame for many years to come,
"fatea a master mariner has a reputation
It means that Me Is either a most ertra
fcrdlnary pood seaman and has a keen
Cose for fair winds, or that he does
things aboard ship not pleasant for de
cent, shore-abiding people to contemplate.
f!Titnin iruMi'R rpnutation was an ex
ception; it was not especially due to !
Either cf these causes. His fame was i
jgalned by his power to convert the wicked
fit heart to the true course of righteous- j
21653. I
Previous to Captain Larsen's advent on !
the Pacific Coast as mate of a large J
British four-master, the Aloha had been '
commanded by a bold, hard-handed Irish- )
"jnan, who divided his time at sea bo- j
tween drinking whisky and committing
Ssault and battery on his sailors. This j
tter pastime of his made life miserable
to th6 marine hospital officials In San
"panblsco and Honolulu whenever the Alo
is, put into those ports. That sort of I
Hhlng went a good ways those days, when '
jnarltime laws were vague and seldom en- I
forced, but finally the Aloha became too I
Siotorlous even for those parts, and tne
wners were obliged by public opinion to
uremove Kanaka Hogan from his com
Jnand. From one extreme they went to
nother. To take his place they engaged
itbe tneek and gentle Larsen.
On the first trip he brpke the Aloha's
previous records between Frisco and Mcl
bournfe, and that placed him high in favor
with the owners. But by his brother
commanders of other ships Captain Lar
sen was regarded with supreme contempt.
ik. religious master mariner is never re
spected, more especially if he belongs to
the SalTA.tion Army, as did Jhls' good and
$lous Larsen.
"When the Aloha lay loading or dis
charging in Honolulu. Captain Larsen
pent his evenings ashore at Salvation
Army headquarters, and he even joined
. the red-shirtcd soldiers of Christ in their
Street corner demonstrations. There tho
seafaring population of Honolulu would
Often behold the Aloha's skipper, his bare
ked and broad shoulders towering above
&ls fellow-Salvationists.
To the popular disgust he would some
times step forward to deliver his testi
mony, bashfully at first, later warming
up enthusiastically, exhorting the scan
dalized seamen to mend their ways and be
saved. Ho invariably began thus:
"Dearly belofed bredern and shipmates:
It is almost impossible to express de joy
pf true salvation. I haf never been so
happy as sfnee I found Jesus. Vunce I
yos a bad man, far from de road of
righteousness. Vunce I drink vlsky and
"vse bad langvldge, and vas not good to
toy sailors, but now, tank de Lord, I have
found salvation, and I don't be so vlcked
tiny more."
Naturally, such sentiments could not be
wall received by "West Coast skippers.
That a sallorman should declare whisky
and rwearlng wicked was, to their minds,
nothing short of treachery to the broth
erhood of seamen.
In San Francisco Captain Larsen's
piousness proved equally objectionable.
He always insisted that the boarding
masters send him Christian, God-fearing
teamen who never swore, and would not
bjpet to prayer meetings in the dog
watches. Such men were naturally scare,
but eo long as the Aloha's owners stood
tk4 for the large shipping fees they
tried to humor the eccentric Norwegian
Skipper. Those were the days of blood
Jnoney.
But one day there came a change of
ALASKA'S WEALT-H IN eOAL Fitz-Mac
LTTN't at different points along her
26,000 miles of coastline, Alaska pos
sesses an amazing wealth of coal.
The present yearly consumption of coal
try all the world Is known to be not far
from a billion tons. Alaska can supply
"the whole of that demand 1,000,000,000 tons
e. year for 100 years, from fields along
her coast and accessible to deep craft
cran vesselB without the intervention of
H railroad.
Not an acre of that Alaska coal land
ts owned, nor in the present state of the
Jaw, ean be owned, by any private party
fr corporation.
It Is etill all public property.
Not a ton of It is mined for sale, and
fet, standing there untouched, the coal
"beds of Alaska are worth more every
4ew to the three Pacific Coast states
Washington, Oregon and California than
the pnrchc.se of Alaska cost the United
States in 1867, which was $7,200,000.
The eoal of Alaska is worth that sum
every year to those three states without
bringing a ton of It into the market
California has practically no coal. Ore
gon's 1b not yet much developed. Wash
ington has fine coal and a good deal of
jt, but it 1b all owned or controlled by
the railroads, and it cannot be dumped
from the mines Into shape without a
charge for railroad haulage.
California and Oregon take most of
the It eoal from Washington by rail and
Tetter transportation, and the cost Is rea
sonable and must forever remain reason
able whllo that Alaska coal stands there
accessible to all-water transportation as
a possible competitor, with its great beds
Kposed to the ocean ready to be dumped
Into ships without the intervention of a
railroad.
It costs but a trifle more 10 cents a ton
prhapB to ship coal by boat to San
Francisco from Alaska, than from Puget
Rouni. That's what must always keep
the price of coal down to a reasonable
profit in our Pacific Coast cities Wash
ington mlneowners have no dead cinch
on the market, and they cant work tho
tariff racket against Alaska coal. But
pa the other hand, neither can Alaska
toesi, at the present cost of labor in Alas
ka, be brought Into the market to compete
with Washington coal at the present Bcale
3f prices for Washington coal.
Washington coal will keep Alaska coal
out of the Pacific Coast markets While
the cost of mining in Alaska continues
to much higher than in Washington. But
let the Washington mines raise their price
cn&Uh to offset the difference In wages,
and Alaska will take their trade, for her
coal beds are the moBt accessible in the
world to all-water transportation. They
lie directly on the coast, the beds visi
ble from the decks of passing ships, and
In places, even deep-draft vessels may
run into shore, throw but the gang plank
and go to mining.
STbey actually do that very: thins at
management in the office of the Aloha's
owners, and, among other things Involved,
Captain Larsen must henceforth manage
the financial part of shipping his crews
himself. That was the cause of the trou- '
ble. The religious scruples of Captain I
Larsen and blood money fees wouldn't '
mix in the same pot. 1
In those days the boarding masters of
Frisco stuck together as thick as thieves,
and the shipping commissioners stood in
with them. All this was for mutual ben
efit. Any skipper that refused to put up
their prices brought upon himself their
united displeasure, and that waB some- ,
thing no sane skipper ever cared to do.
Then, it was usually to a skipper's ad- j
vantage in a financial way to stand in
with the boarding masters; it was another'
case of mutual benefit.
But Captain Larsen conceived the idea
that blood money did not chime in with
the moral scheme of things, so he gave
voice to that opinion just about as he
voiced his testimonies on the street cor
ners of Honolulu.
Ho met Seattle Mike and Al Black,
president and shipping master for the
Boarding Masters' Association, in their
office, partitioned off in the Fair "Winds
saloon.
"Two months' advance for each man,"
demanded Seattle Mike. "Just $40 J20 for
us and $20 to square up the men's ac
counts. You've got to pony up the same's
the rest of 'em."
"You bet," added Al Black, drinking
his beer with a dark frown, "we doesn't
stand no foolln'."
Captain Larsen's mild blue eyes wan
dered wearily about the dingy office.
"Twenty dollars shipping fee is too
much," he protested meekly. "I am will
ing to gif the men a month's advance,
but I von't gif you more dan $2 apiece as
shipping fee. Dat is choost vat de law
allows."
"Two dollars!" snorted Al Black sav
agely. "We say 520, and we mean It If
you don't come up with that price, you
get no men."
But they came to no agreement. Tho
Aloha's skipper returned aboard with a
war against the Boarding Masters' Asso
ciation on his hands.
Next day he opened negotiations with
Chinese Charley for a crew of Kanakas
and Chinamen. The United Boarding
Masters smiled that meant trouble for
Captain Larsen with the union. For a
while they decided to let It go at that,
but Seattle Mike conceived a plan whereby
they might have even a more complete
revenge. This he at once communicated
to his associates and they grinned more
broadly than ever. It was a game they
had played before, and always success
fully. Perhaps you have heard of the
mutiny of the Harvester.
Next day they sent a note to Captain
Larsen stating that they acceded to his
terms a month's advance for each man.
"And a nice Christian crew we'll send
you," added the note.
"We'll give him Three-Fingered Jack
for bos'n," chuckled Seattle Mike sig
nificantly, and the Idea sent the beer
down Al Black's wrong throat.
"An Lager Beer Pete," suggested Al
Black, when he recovered. "He gets out
of choky tomorrow; an we'll give him
the five chaps oft! the Sioux Queen, an'
Bill Simmons and Big Steve."
Whereupon the two plotters chuckled
immoderately over their beer and nudged
each other In Joyful anticipation of what
Cape Lisburna. and Point Barrow, and
can do It at several points in the Cook
Inlet field.
The coal fields of Alaska lying directly
upon the coast can hardly be less, I think,
than 20,000 square miles; while remote
from the coast it probably possesses a
vastly greater area not yet disclosed
sufficient, I should think, at a guess, to
raise tho total to CO.OOO square miles, or
about one-tenth of the whole territory
or about equal to the united areas of
Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The geological reconnaissance of the
territory which the government is now
pushing with most commendable energy
reveal that the series of strata in which
the coal occurs is very widely developed
throughout the Interior.
These strata are called in the Alaska
survey, "The Kenal Series," because they
are most clearly exposed, and were first
studied on the Cook Inlet coast of the
Kenal peninsula (long. 150).
It Is the necessarily tentative and non
committal custom In all preliminary geo
logical surveys to give to any scries of
strata studied the name of the locality
where it is best exposed before its exact
place in the geological column "has been
determined. This is very confusing to
folks who happen not to be aware of the
custom, and who possess only a slight
textbook knowledge of geology, but It is
a necessary -expedient to avoid, in prelim
inary geological surveys, the danger of
compromising the work of such a survey
corps by tho possible blunder of a single
expert.
Thus the study of the scries of strata
containing the coal in the Rocky Moun
tain states was first mode at old Fort
Laramie, in Wyoming, and the strata was
called "the Laramie Series," and their
exact place in the geological column was,
on the final correlation, found to be at the
very top of a cretaceous age. In the same
way It has now been pretty definitely de
termined that the "Kenai Series" lies at
the very bottom of tho Tertiary age, in
the eocene.
But the bottom Of the Tertiary age, and
the top of the Cretaclous come together.
The dividing line Is imaginary, a more or
less Irregular blending, not a definite lino
at all. So whether we call the Alaska
coal Cretaclous or Tertiary, is only a
matter of geological hairsplitting. The Im
portant thing to know Is that its age Is
substantially Identical with that of all
other know Western coal fields of com
mercial importance.
Some geologists still call the Western
coal Tertiary, while others insist that its
horizon is the Cretaclous. But we may
consider the Alaska coal series as prac
tically. If not precisely. Identical with that
of all the important coal measures of
North America west of the meridian
through Central Kansas, and also with
the coal measures of Asia, Australia and
New Zealand: while the coal east of that
meridian In the United States, as also the
coal of England and Europe was laid
down some millions of years earlier In the
Carboniferous age.
, "Wfcen you have a coal field and know
Mfluawggagga iinwfc wr. :v miex-c.h gjEgssgK"jr-r-- zsgggas sasss
lVXXVfrXTte ,ZtUT. ?&&F
f mtimw&m u
IIP
Deadly Beloved
BREDERti AND
5H1PMATE5
a shore person would think a ghastly Joke.
Next day the new crew of the Aloha
went aboard 1G notorious ruffians. Trig
Olafscn. the Alhoa's chief mate, received
them at the gangway. Olafsen had been
on the Coast a long time and he know
most of the men. Perhaps he even then
realized the game that was being played
on his commander, but If he did, his
stolid, high cheek-boned face betrayed no
indication of the discovers'.
That afternoon the Aloha was towed
out to sea. On the glass-covered veranda
of the Cliff House, overlooking Seal Hocks
and the Golden Gate, sat two men, sip
ping brandy an soda. Taking turns
through a brass binocular, they were
watching the Aloha- set sail.
"They'll never get beyond the Farell
ones," remarked Seattle Mike, as the big
topsails of the Aloha were" being sheeted
home.
its extent, it Isn't worth one red cent to
you to know to what geological horizon
or age that particular field belongs. Its
value depends on the quality of that par
ticular field of coal and on the market for
It. Geology Is of no use to you there. I
But if you have studied the series of I
rocks that underlie and overlie that par
ticular coal field and are able to recognize
them In a distant place, the knowledge
may enable you to discover a completely j
concealed coal field of great value. And I
there is where geology counts, for most of 1
the coal beds of the world are concealed j
mju Kcuiuy nus icu to ineir aiscovery.
All of the numerous coal fields of Alaska
bo far discovered (or most of them) lie at
different points along Its 26,000 miles of
seacoast and are pretty Impartially dis
tributed, though the first-known and best
known fUld is that of Cook Inlet, which is
a great arm of the sea In longitude 152,
about CO miles wide by 150 miles long,
with ji series of great coal beds aggre
gating a thickness of about 50 feet, ex
posed the whole length of both its coasts
and known to extend at least SO miles In
land up the wide valley of the Susltna
River.
The workable coal field of Cook Inlet
Is just about equal In area to the State
of Massachusetts SOOO square miles.
At a rough estimate this single coal
basin of Alaska contains nearly 250,000,000,
000 tons.
But the Cook Inlet coal basin, though
the first discovered and the largest yet
known, Is by no means the only Important
one in Alaska.
On the Behring Sea coa.t of the Alaska
peninsula, from the -vicinity of Bristol
Bay southward toward the extremity of
the peninsula, there is a coastal plain.
varying from ten to 40 miles in width.
known to be underlaid with workable
coal veins of excellent quality. This field
Is very convenient to the needs of the
Nome region (Seward peninsula), where
the principal part of Alaska's present
population and business enterprise is cen
tered. It is equally convenient to the
whole Yukon River country, and there are
several good "harbors along that coast
which will facilitate the shipment.
The Pacific-Alaska Transportation &
Coal Company, of San Francisco, has
staked an extensive area in that field and
Is now opening a bed of fine, free-burning
coal at Herendeen Bay (Port Moller) in
about latitude 55 north, longitude 1C0 west,
to supply the Nome and Yukon markets
and the Government coaling station at
Dutch Harbor on the Island of Unilaska
to the southward.
This coal, and. In fact, all the coals of
the Pacific and Behring Sea coasts of
Alaska can, at the same cost of mining,
by reason of the all-water transportation,
bo laid down in Portland. San Francisco
and Southern California nearly as cheaply
as the coal of Washington, and mpre
cheaply than any coal from east of th6
Sierras.
The harbors of this part of Alaska arc
open all the year round and the ground
freezes only to about the same depth as
I In Colorado and Utah the climate being
Tho tue had left her. nnd ninno aha
ducked' to the big blue Incoming rollers.
One by one her white sails were loosed
and bellied out to the northwesterly
breeze, driving her through the water at
Increasing speed. All the square sails
were set; then, one by one, arose the
topsails. The two boarding masters
watched with keen Interest.
"Why fell don't those fellers begin the
fun?" growled Al Black Irritably.
His companion took the binocular.
"They're at lt!'exclaimed Seattle Mike
suddenly. "The ball Is openln' up!"
Aboard the Aloha strange things were
happening. Her foreyards, braced up on
the starboard lack, swung loose, sway
ing until the wind had them aback.
Through the binocular Seattle Mike made
out figures on deck In violent commotion.
The poop was clear, but amidships some
great event was taking place. A confused
mass of mm were surging about the deck,
but distance made It Impossible to dis
tinguish Just what wa3 taking place. Sud
denly the lee clue at the mainsail, which
had been raised to the yard, came down
on the run, and hid the scene of trouble
from view.
"Now he's getting It," chuckled Seattle
Mike.
Al Black seized the glass gleefully.
"They'll be raising police signals pres
ently," he remarked.
"Yes, or squaring In for shore," pro
phesied Mike.
But none of these things happened. To
the amazement of the two boarding mas
ters, the foreyards of the bark were
suddenly braced up again and she
ploughed on to the southward, sending out
long foam whiskers from her cutwater.
Smaller and smaller she dwindled, until
she was hull down on the horizon, beyond
the Farellones. Then Al Black and his
companion arose and returned cityward,
much perplexed and not well pleased.
The Aloha was gone for almost a year.
The usual reports of her safe arrfval at
Melbourne and Port Adelaide were cabled
by the underwriters, but -beyond that no
news came to 'Frisco of Captain Larsen
and his crew for a long time.
One day the Hawaiian mall steamer
came in, and the passengers aboard told
that the Aloha had reached Honolulu. But
more astonishing was the report that she
Asserts' That It
influenced by the great Japan current.
With the cost of labor equalized, the
Herendeen Bay coal can be laid down In
Nome as cheaply as the coal of Wash
ington can be placed at San Francisco.
What that means to the development of
the mineral wealth of the Seward penin
sulathe region lying between Behring
Sea and the Arctic 'Ocean, which is tree
lessmay be Judged when it Is said that
Nome now pays from 525 to 550 a ton
for coal, and the other camps of that
golden peninsula about double those
prices.
But Seward peninsula, where there Is
practically no wood, Is not actually de
pendent on any coal fields to the south
ward. There Is a great coal field at Cape
Llsburne, north of Kotzebue Sound In
the Arctic Ocean, knpwn for a genera
tion to the steam whaling fleet and to
the Government exploration boats which
.have mined It for their own use from
the beds exposed on the beach. The
quality Is said to be very superior and
the field extensive. The Arctic Ocean Is
open for four months In the year and
the camps of Seward Peninsula can draw i
their supplies from that field whenever
the cost of labqr admits of mining the
coal, which at present It does not.
L The highest quality of coal yet dis
covered In Southern Alaska is at Con
trolers Bay, near Kayak Island, In lati
tude about G) north, longitude 145 west.
This exceeds JO per cent in fixed carbon
and grades as a semianthracite. The
three principal veins aggregate over 50
feet in thickness and it lies almost di
rectly on tho coast, but is under the dls-
nr?T"T"tf"i f tt tH nnAMief Vni'Hrtiiifrtlri
j deed about the only poor harborage In
How extensive the area of this coal
basin may now be Is not, I believe,
very definitely known. It probably ex
tended originally southward to Yakutat
Bay and perhaps to Cross Sound, but
subsequent mountain-making and glacl
atlon have burled or eroded 1L Patches
discovered along the coast line all the
way southeastward to Cross Sound sug
gest that the basin was originally con
tinuous for several hundred miles.
It wllli require the planting of a large
capital to handle the fine coal of Con
trolers Bay, but the product can' hold
its own against competition on equal
terms in any market in the world. Its
development on a large scale will be un
dertaken as soon as title to the land
can be obtained.
Coal has also been found in many of
the islands in the Sitka Archipelago, on
several of those in Prince Williams'
Sound and in a number cast and south
of the Alaska Peninsula; but in view
of the valuable and expensive fields men
tioned, such patches are unimportant be
cause to be mined and marketed cheaply
enough to meet competition coal must
be handled on an extensive scale, requir
ing large capital, and capital can be
interested only where the beds are exten
sive the quality good, and the title set
tled. That the Interior of Alaska contains
J still retained the same crew shipped in
I 'Frisco. By this time the game put up
, on Captain Larsen was common knowl
i edge among seafaring men all over tho
i-casi. uut tne laugn seemed to b turn
ing on the Al Black gang.
Then one dav the signal station nt Vnrt
Point reported the Aloha standing in for
I the Gate. The Custom-House offlpprs
started out to meet her in their launch.
Impatiently anxious to learn the state of
affairs aboard. They, too, were on to the
rome.
They boarded the Aloha a few miles
off shore. Captain Larsen received them
at the gangway with his habitual Chris
tian smile, and mild blue eyes. But when
the Inspectors beheld Three-Fingered Jack,
Lager Beer Pete, Big Steve and their
equally notorious shipmates briskly pull
ing braces, yehoing and clewing up sails
In as orderly and shipshape a manner as
ever obtained aboard a man-o'-war, they
swore aloud In their amazement. Finally
one of the Inspectors got Three-Fingered
Jack aside for a moment.
"I say, Jack, what happened?" he asked.
"Didn't you everlastingly lambaste him?"
"You're a child of. wrath," retorted Jack
Indignantly. "We've learned the ways
of the meek and lowly, thanks to our
noble captain."
"Oh, come oft!" exclaimed the revenue
man. Impatiently. ."Don't come any of
that guff on me. What happened?"
"Go soak yer head," responded Jack,
with a return of his old-time manner.
"Ye want to know more'n what's good for
ye."
And that was all the Information that
was forthcoming. BIcr Trlf ninfenn
smiled significantly as the boarding-house 1
. u....v.. wwU.ul.u Aii tut uuj, uuu me crew
refused to have anything to do with them.
The Aloha dropped anchor oft Mission
Flat, and with a seamanlike promptness
the men furled sails and cleared up decks.
"The Lord loveth dose who are indus
trious," said the skipper, with pious meek
ness, to the harbor officials about him on
the poop.
That eveninir Seattle Mlko nnrf Al ninir
sat impatiently smoking big black cigars i
in tne latter s establishment on Pacific
street. They were waiting for the appear
ance of the Aloha's crew. The mystery
must be solved.
At about 10 they showed up the entire
ean Supply the
very extensive coal fields hardly admits
of a geological doubt, because the re
connaissances made by the United States
Geological Survey Bureau have shown
that the "Kenal Series," in which the
coal m'easures of Alasna (and all the
western part of the continent) occur, is
developed over a wide interior area In
the drainage basin of the Yukon. In
fact the coal beds have been found at
several places on the Yukon Itself, on
the Tanana, its largest southern tribu
tary, and on the Koyukuk. Its largest
nothern tributary, at points hundreds of
miles apart.
The quality of the coals of Alaska has
been much disputed and the disputation
for the most part has been marked by
an oceanic ignorance of the subject or a
reckless disregard of facts.
There Is an altogether needless amount
of confusion in the unprofessional mind
about coal, which the text-books and
even our excellent and energetic geologi
cal survey, It must be confessed rather
foster. The experts of our geological
survey corps ought to know and of j
course do know that it is not geological i
position which determines whether a Coal j
Is In the condition of a lignite, a bitu
minous or an anthracite, and they ought
not to permit themselves the use of a
term which utterly lacks scientific pre
clseness and is misleading and injurious.
Thla began when the coal fields of the
Rocky Mountain region were first stud
led. The finding of extensive coal fields
In so late a geological horizon took
American geologists, familiar only with
the coals of the carboniferous age, by
surprise, and they foolishly insisted on
lumping it all as lignite as mostly they
still do without any apparent conscious
ness of the absurdity of the designation,
for there is probably no more lignite
among the coals of the later than of tho
earlier coal age.
To lump the cretaceous or tertiary
coals of the West as lignite is false and
confusing and' unscientific, and there
fore the designation ought to be aban
doned by our survey corps.
Lignite means, literally, woodlike, an,d
is properly used to designate a coal of
low value In which the woody fiber still
shows. It is an old designation for In
ferior coals of the carboniferous age,
and of course Is" properly applied to some
of the coals of later age," but by no
means to all or even to any considerable
part of them.
Such terms as anthracite, bituminous
a,nd lignite do not Indicate kinds of coal,
but only conditions. Every variety nam
able may be found within a mile In the
samo coal basin of any age If the condi
tions were there to produce them. Any
coal may be anthracited If the conditions
i for altering It to anthracite have been
present, and, in fact, some of the best
anthracite coal In the world is found in
Colorado and New Mexico of the same
j geological age as the coal of Oregon.
I Washington, British Columbia and
1 Alaska.
. That anthracite coal will be found in
I Alaska Is hardly to bo doubted. It Is
16 all more or less drunk, and with Three
Fingered Jack In the lead. The two
boarding-house masters received them
with sinister smile- of welcome, barely
concealing the Impatience and anger with
in them. They were, of course, too tact
ful to broach the main question at once.
An hands crowded about the long ta
ble, and Al Black's bartender was kept
busy serving, first beer. Dut later whis
ky and rum. The men were hilarious,
noisy, apparently In excellent humor, but
not a word referring to their late voyage
came out. The two masters waxed more
and more Impatient, especially as the
drinks were as yet not being paid for.
Much against their wills they had been
obliged to drink with the crowd. Finally
Al Black could no longer contain him
self. He determined to demand an ex
planation. "Boys," he said, rising and hitting the
table with a mug, "I think It's up to you
to tell us what the devil all this means.
Did you fellers flunk out there?"
There came a pause all hands turned
towards Three-Fingered Jack. He arose,
shovins away his drink.
"Well," as ye ask an explanation." he
said, "I might as well tell ye we've" come
up here to have a few words with you."
"That's what you bet," broke in several
of the others.
"Yes," continued Jack, "we have come
up here to make you see the sinfulness of
yer ways. We've come to offer ye the
salvation we got through you. Ye once
shipped us on a craft wot ye said would
be a home for us. Ye told us the skipper
was a kind, fatherly ol man wot would
look well arter our welfare. He did. He
looked arter us all right."
Here Jack pushed back the long hair
from over his forehead, revealing n long,
white scar.
"But ye sinned against that same kind,
fatherly ol' skipper, Al," he continued,
"an we want ye to repent. It was a
sin, Al, to work off a lot of wicked, world
ly men like us on that kind ol man. But,
thank the Lord, he showed us the sinful
ness of our ways, just as we're goln' to
show you."
"What damned rot Is this?" broke In
Al Black, purple with rage. "What fell
d'ye mean, ye drunken swabs?"
"Hear the child of wrath." said Jack,
World's Meeds
next to impossible where the coal beds
have been so involved in subsequent
mountain-making that some of It should
not be found completely anthracited.
The existence of this Cook Inlet coal
field has been known since the year 17S5,
when It was discovered and tested by
English navigators at Graham Bay or
Harbor, near the mouth of the inlet, on
the east, or Kenal peninsula coast. It
became known and was worked a little
by the Russians early in the nineteenth
century and in 1852 It was again opened
to supply the San Francisco market, but
the demand was small and the difficulty
of getting coal miners so great that tho
enterprise was abandoned.
On both coasts of the inlet the wide
coal veins can be seen from vessels in
the high and abrupt coast.
The field offers all the advantages of
safe and deep harbors, great and clean
veins, and the healthiest of climates;
therefore, though the quality of the coal
of the Cook Inlet field Is not, so far as
yet opened, of the highest, grade. It con
stitutes an Immense source of natural
wealth for Alaska to fall back on nt
some future time. Its actual, ultimate
value can be stated only In billions.
As a merely curious calculation of no
practical value, of course it is Interest
ing to reflect that If Alaska were sup
ALWJffS XI
NEVER
To be tired out from, hard work or bodily
exercise is natural and rest is the remedy, but
there is an exhaustion without physical exer
tion and a tired, never-rested feeling a weari
ness without work that is unnatural and shows
some serious disorder is threatening1 the health.
that "Always-tired, never-rested condition" is impure blood and bad circu
lation. Unless the body is nourished with rich, -cure blood there i InrV of
nervous force, the inus- .
pies become weak the di- 5oroveiXourye5rilI sed with general debility,
CiespecomeweaJv.xneai- causing a thorough breaking down of my system. My
gestion impaired, and cousin, who had boon benefited by S. S. S., told mo
General disorder ocpiir? Sbout lfcj i HS l and lfc curel mo- I heartily re-
generat disorder occurs commend S. S. S. to all who may feel tho need of a
throughout the system, thoroughly goodblood tonic. Yours truly,
Debility, insomnia, ner- 4 w. ninth St., Columbfa? 'SSg A B:MTAIir
vousness, indigestion,
dyspepsia, loss of appetite, strength and energy, and the hundreds of little
way to get rid
cleansing thebloodand toningup thesystem. Itis a vegetable blood purifier
and tonic combined, that enriches the blood, and through it the entire system
is nourished and refreshing sleep comes to the tired, never-rested, body
- 1HE SWIFT SPEGSFIG GO., ATLANTA, GA,
piously. "Boys, the time for the Lord's
vengeance has come."
The bos'n kicked back his chair, and
as though this were a signal, all hands
sprang up, and In a moment the room
was in a savage turmoil, in the center of
which were Seattle Mike and Al Black.
Both of the crimps drew revolvers, but
their weapons were hurled across tho
room before they could uve them. Down
the two went under the feet of the mob,
fighting fiercely. The bartender and two
runners attempted to help them, but the
first went down with a split scalp and
the other two were trampled insensible in
a second. Next the infuriated sailors
dragged the two boarding masters into tho
kitchen, where they ducked their heads
into the dishwasher's tub, full to the brim.
Dishes, pots, pans and even the lamps
were piled on top of them and scattered
over the floor. Shattering glass and
trampling feet raised a most unearthly
row.
Ducked Into insensibility, the two board
ing masters were then dragged into the
barroom, which was wrecked In a similar
manner. There would certainly have been
murder done had not a squad of police
burst In the front door just then and
charged the drink-crazed sailors. Most of
them were rounded up after a desperate
fight and hauled off to the police station,
but not until a squad of reserves had re
inforced the original patrol. Al Black,
Seattle Mike and the bartender were taken
to the hospital.
Next day Captain Larsen appeared at
the police station and paid the fines.
"It griefs me." he said, as the men fol
lowed him meekly out Into the street,
"to fint you In dls condition. You haf
glfen avay to sinful wrath again. Vat
did you do to dem?"
"They're In the hospital." replied Jack,
with a sickly smile.
"Veil." continued the skipper. "In dot
case, I see de hand of de Lord, who smit
eth In his anger. 'Vengeance Is mine,'
salth the Lord. You have been his In
struments of vengeance, and so shall bo
forglfen.
"Say, boys, dis afternoon I ship again
for de next voyage. You vant to sign
on again?"
"Aye. aye. sir," they all responded.
(Copyright, 1003. by Albert Sonnlchsen.)
for 100 years
plying the world's present consumption
of coal (1.000,000.000 tons a year), a tax
of 1 cent a ton on the output would give
her 510.000,000 a year to support a state
government a sum not to be sneezed at
by politicians looking for a graft.
The question will naturally arise, why
is Alaska taking all the coal she uses
from Washington and British Columbia
at a high price. If she has this vast opu
lence of good coal at home?
The answer Is that It takes capital to
open coal mines on a commercial scale;
that the present demand for coal in
Alaska does not exceed 60.000 or 70,000 tons
a year, and that capital cannot be en
listed In opening the coal mines of
Alaska till a title can be secured to the
coal lands and finally that, as the law
has stood and still stands, no one can
secure title to an acre of the coal lands
of Alaska.
Much of the best and most accessible
coal land that Is known In Alaska is
already "staked," but such staking counts
for nothing. It gives nobody even a
preferential right. Nobody has any color
of title to an acre of coal land in Alaska,
nor can have, till Congress authorizes
the extension of the public surveys to the
territory.
The Ideal child of 6 weighs 45 pounds. Is 44
Inches high, and has a chest measurement of
SS'-j Inches.
One of the chief causes of
ailments weotten have are due directly to a bad con
dition of the blood and circulation, and the Quickest
of them is by purifying and building
up me uioou, ana ior tnis purpose no remedy equals
S. S. S., which contains the best inorrpdipntc f-T-