Digital Bob Archive

10 March 1980

OCTOBER 30, 1885-John McKenna has now taken up duties as deputy U. S. Marshal for this area, and one of his first acts was to raid a hoochinoo camp on Douglas Island. He captured three men, four barrels of hooch and 15 coal cans stills. The men pleaded guilty before the Commissioner and were lodged in a temporary jail here until they could be sent to Sitka on the mail steamer. They escaped when some of their friends tried to burn the building but were soon recaptured and put in the brig of the Navy vessel Pinta which had arrived in the meanwhile. It is understood that the Pinta will remain here for several months.

NOVEMBER 14, 1885-Governor Alfred P. Swineford, who was appointed last May and arrived in Alaska a couple of months ago, has offered to arm and equip a volunteer militia company here at Juneau. Organization of the company has been deferred until spring, however, in the absence of any building in town suitable for an armory. The old Navy buildings are too far gone to serve the purpose. New buildings are going up, however, in both Juneau and on Douglas Island.

Alaska at last has a newspaper once more after being without one since the Army moved out of Sitka eight years ago. The weekly paper is The Alaskan, which started publication at Sitka on the seventh and is said to be owned by Governor Swineford with M. D. Ball as manager.

NOVEMBER 21, 1885-Work in the Basin is now shut down for the winter, but tragedy struck in the final working days. In the worst disaster since mining began there, Mike Powers, Fred Cushman and three Indians lost their lives in a huge slide of earth and rock, triggered by recent heavy rains. Several others were partially buried but managed to escape. The bodies of Powers and the Indians were recovered, but Cushman?s body was so deeply buried that it could not be removed without a danger of more slides. Powers was one of the most active miners of this area and had been a resident of Alaska since the flag was changed at Sitka. Cushman was also an oldtimer and was a member of the Edmund Bean party which opened the trail over Chilkoot Pass in 1880. He had been a resident of this camp since 1881.

New gold discoveries at Berners Bay are creating a good deal of excitement in this camp and many miners from Juneau have gone there.