The San Francisco call. [volume], November 10, 1897, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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VOLUME LXXXIL— NO. 163.
OUTFITTED BY "THE CALL,"
A RESCUE SHIP WILL SAIL
INTO THE FROZEN OCEAN
A VIEW OF NUWUK, the Native Village at Point Barrow, as the
Sun is Taking F/'is Long Leave.
BCa'll Office, Etw= HorsE, ) f
Wakhikgtos, Is'ov. \). f j
lijc Cabinet meeting tbis morning was
• c/jvoted almost entirely to tbe matter of j
a relief expedition for tae Arctic whalers. '
AH oi '.tie members of the Cabinet were '■
present. The followinz teiegrnnis were j
received by Secretary Lone early this I
morning from Admiral Kirkland and i
ere leid before the Cabinet:
Mare iFi.ANTv, NOV. S.
Sfrrrtary nf the '■' -vv. Washington, D. C. : Cap- j
tain ISarker resorts u> foUows: Captain De- i
yell of the whaling steamer Baylies arrived ■
to-day from the Arctic, and says the whaling
steamers Orcha, Freeman, Belvidere and
Ross.no "-ere at Point Barrow on September )
13 with &b£u: 100 men. These are now prob- I
ably closed in by t/.e ice near that place.
The whalingsteamers Newport, Fearless, Jean- j
nle and Wanderer were at Herschel Island |
on August '_>> with about one hundred i
and fifteen men. All the above eight
vesseis expected 0 return this fall, and had !
only about three month?' rations. Besides !
the above ships there were several vessels at j
Hercchel provisioned for one year and two
end three years, prepared to star in the Arctic j
and intending to sail soon for the vicinity of
tbe mouth ot the Copper Mine Jliver to winter. i
Captain Devell says there are about 400 bar
rels of fl^ur at Point Barrow. He does not
ihink there will be any starving among the
•whalers tnis winter, though they may be Kept
on greatly reduced rations.
Kirkland, Commandant.
This telegram also was received from
Admiral Kirkiand and read to the Cabi
i 8 1 '.
\ Mare Island. Nov. 8.
■y tertiary of Ihc Naty, Warhing on: Sto::ey's
plan seems advisable io send Hie Bear or the i
i-!:am whaler Thrasher, now aiSan Francisco, !
with, provisions, medicines snd clothing or
3i>o men for one year to Port Clarence or Nor
ton Sound as soon as possible. There Rre rein
deer at Tort Clarence to pack provisions to
Point Barrow for food supply, following the
i-horeline and keeping m lookout for the
whalers. The plan requires four officers,
one being a surgeon, and four meu irom the
'navy. Tne chances of success are regarded as
slight, and every day's delay will add io the
difficulties. Any vessel goin^ should sail at
the earliest possible moment. San Francisco j
is the best point at which to secure the neves- I
sary outfits and to sail from. The whaler |
Thrasher, ready for sea and in srood order, can
be chartered now. The widest discretion
must be Riven the commanding officer of ihe ■
expedition in the securing of Hie crew and
tupplies, including dojj* and reindeer.
KIRKI.AND, Commandant.
The following telegram was also read
from Captain Tattle, now at Seattle,
Wash.:
Repairs to boiler, airpump, bridge walls,
new sails and docking vessel will cost $1500.
Before the Bear can reacn St. Michael the
boy wil] be frozen over. A vessel cannot win
ter at St. Michael, as the ire would carry it
■Iway. There is no harbor north of Unalnsku
that does not remain frozen until late in
.June. Bering Strait is closed by ice in No
rember. and remains so until June. The
■tvbulers at Point Barrow arc within six miles
'D' the point and eighteen miles of the former
refugee station. I understand irom Captain
McGregor of the steam whaler Karluk that
Liebet>' agent at the re:u«ree station has aDoul
:HO«i barrels of flour. With this and the pro
(;b ons of five vessels mere should be no
iiinrvntion. Those frozen in at Demarkation
f*ont have the supply station at Herschel
Y*'i«!d to fall back upon. While it will prob
■ V' ':•■ ue necessary to abandon the vessels do
;1 to fall hack upon. While it wil prob
oe necessary to abandon the vessels i do
jiprehend the crews will meet with any
tbir.^ worse than privations and hardships.
The Bear <an be ready to start in two weeks.
. Tnere is plenty of coal at rnalaska. 1 can
nee no way of rendering assistance until the
j-ce opens in July.
Jhe Call's dispatch in response to the I
lie.-ident's request for informaiion as to
definite location of the whalers, the
source of news concerning tbeir precVca
metit, and the amount of provisions they
had on lip.nd, was also read. After a gen
irai discussion it was decided to wire Ad- ,
The San Francisco Call
1 miral Kirkland for information as to the
cost ol chartering the Thrasi.er, so Becrc (
tary Long sent the following teiegratu to
him:
Kirk' and, C nu maiidant Mare TWiivf, Cal. :
j Telegraph at once upon what terms the
, Tn:a-her can be chartered; whether the citl
j zens of Sa-i Francisco will provision her and
I when she can be made reaay. Consult with
ihe < tia;n tM? r ol Commerce of S*a Franciicn ss
! to provisions au<l supplies as offered in vari
ous ' -1 :r«ms. There is no appropriation now
ava Üble for chartering the vessel, but we will
t reiy upon Congress to make tbe appropria-
I tion. Let your report be as full hs possible
| and promp:, for If the Thrasher is not sent
i under Lieutenant Stoney, the I'resirtent will
| send the Bear. Long. Secretary.
After the Canin°t meeting Secretary
Long was seen by The Call corresDond
ent.
"If the Thrasher is sent will the Bear
follow i er?" he was a>:ked.
"I think not,' «aid he. "But that 's not
definitely decided. We cannot decide
» NEWS OF THE DAY. %
v • Weather forecast for San Fran- 3
>o ci>co: Fair Wednesday, with o<
£ fresh westerly winds and prob- 3
jo ably alight fog in ihe monnng. o<
So FIRST PAGE. 3
» Whalers Will Be Rescued. erf
C An Ancient City Discovered. 3
C BEOOHD PAGE. 3
*> Slain by a Blind Stranjrler. °<
v Church Circles in a Turmoil. 3
F • THIRD PAGE. 3
P A Dixon Family Poisoned. 3
£ Fuentes Betrayed Morales. ,v
p- Spain Not Ready for War. e>
G» FOURTH PAGE. oj
|^ Great Coursing at Merced. £|
g Racing on Eastern Tracks. o(
U Boy Tried to Kill lor Coin. 3
g FIFTH PAGE. 3
>o Mrs. Nftck Confesses Guilt. 3
1° Nevnd;< Federal Official Slain. 3*
(o Arrangements for Football. 3
>° Bering Sea Negotiations. 3
? SIXTH PAGE. 5
£ Editorial. . 3
p Contract Worth Noting. 3
C The Municipal Potentate. 3
>o Closine Slot .Machines. oj
]? American Bacon in England. °J
>o Bf bi News Service. 3
(° Api>eal of the Saffron Clan. . 3
£ SEVENTH-PAGE. o
|^ Merchants Want Dyea Closed. 3
/o Marriage of Miss P agemann. 3
|° Gladys Wallis [rues Frawley. 3
(o The School Book Row. 2
g EIGHTH PAGE. 3
>=> Can Carry Arms «t Home. 3
v Funeral of Con O'Connor. 3
(o New D recior at Mt. Hamilton. o
g A Drink Si>oi!ed a Wedding. c "
v Racing ai Ingleside. o
C NINTH PAGE. 0
|° Weil-Known Ship Condemned. °
U Hawkins Challenges Lavigne- 3
Dr. D' Evelyn Expelled. 3
g TENTH PAGE. 3
£ Commercial. 3*
C ELEVENTH PAGE. 3"
Jo News From Across the Bay. 3
g Real Estaie Market Review. 3
>o THIRTEENTH PAGE. 3
to B rth?, Marriaees, D;aths. o< .
C FOURTEENTH PAGE. 3
|° D irrant to Be Resentenced. °
|o Train Wrecked at Mil brae. ' o
ZSLSJLBJLSIJLSUISL2JLB. SJLSI2JLSL23JIJU
SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 10, 1897.
whether we will send the Thrssher until
we near from the commandant at Mare
Island about the cost oi chartering ner.''
"If the Thrasher goes who will bear the
expense?"
"There is no appropriation available for
such an expedition, unless it is under
taken by the merchant marine, hut if the
report from X rkland says the Thrasher
can be chartered at a reasonable price we
will ?end her, with Lieirenant Stoney in
command of the expedition, relying upon
Congress to make an appropriation when
it meets. Tbe provisions will bs furnished
by Sau Francisco people."
"If the Thrasher goe?. will the relief
plan of Btpnev, as outlined in the di~
patches from Tiik Call, be carried out ?"'
4l Yes," ?aid he, "thoueli we are in some
doubt about the reintieor. There may not
b3 enough of them."
"Captain Hooper =ays there are about
L'ooo of them at Port Clarence and Cape
Prince of Wales," suggested the corre
spondent.
"But Dr. Sheldon Jackson says there are
only 150 available, and Secretary Bliss has
issued orders for home of them to bo in
readiness lor a reltei expedition to the
Klondike should it be deiermined upon.
We cannot decide on any plan until we
hear from Kirklana. My own opinion is
that we had better send the Bear, which
Captain Tuttle says can be ready in two
weeks."
Before the Cabinet met this morning Dr. !
Sueldon Jackson lad an interview with
General Alger, Secretary of War.
Secretary Long rnuu have been misin
formed or mistaken about the statement
of Dr. Sheldon Jackson, that there are
only 150 reindeer available, for Jackson
aaid to Secretary Alger and aitarward to
The President and His Cabinet.
The Call correspondent that there were
at lca9t 1500 reindeer in Alaska on Norton
Sound. Dr. Jack«on says the deer are
great carriers and can be utilized in the
expedition. He related to Secretary Alger
an instance of two .Norwegians who trav
eled 2000 miles in Alaska by this means,
although trie ileer moss was scanty. This
is directly contrary to the oDinion of Com
modore Melville, who said to The Call
correspondent that do^s were the btst.
"The deer have not the slaying qualities
of the dog?," said he. "The deer must
have plonty of food. If the deer moss is
scant the deer cannot travel far. They
will soon lie down and refuse to budge.
Their hearts fail 'hem ami they lie there
naming for brea'.h. It is different with
the do^s. They only need a pound of iish
or a pound of fl sli <!;uly, and with this
meager daily allowance trot alonsr at the
rate of four or live miles an hou.-. Enough
food for a dog c.in bo p:icko<i on each sled.
On our Jraiinette expedition we found the
dogs very useful, more useful than the
deer. And when we were through with
them we ate them. F etty good eating,
too, much better than stewed boots.''
Dr. Jackson does not think it possible
for any vessel to reacn the imprisoned
whalers and others in distress before the
spring, and therefore does not like the
idea of sending veer on the whalers' re
lief expedition, but the reindeer will be
utilized by direction of Secretary Bliss, if
Captain Tuttle or Lieutenant btoney or
whoever is in charge or the expedition
lind3 them more available or calculated
to be more u^eiul than the dogs.
Captain Shoemaker of trie Revenue Ma
rine said to 'Jhe Call correspondent to
nigtit:
"If the Thrasher is sent she will prob
ably go no lurther north than Unalasku.
She cannot get aa far as the Bear. But it
might be a good idea to have ihe Thia-iher
at tliat point, and than slie coird proceed
further north i.i the spring and be of
great assistance. The revenue vessel Me-
Cullough is now nearly completed at
Continued on Second Page
RUINS OF AN ANCIENT
CITY ARE DISCOVERED
ON BLACK MOUNTAIN
Demolished Abodes, Occupied by a Once
Powerful Tribe of Sun Worshipers,
Visited by "The Call's"
Expedition*
MOJAVE,CaI.,Nov. 9.— What must take
rank as one of the greatest archaeological
discoveries of the last ten year< is the
ruined city of a once powerful triDe of
sun worshipers on the top of Black Moun
tain, fifty miles to ihe northward of Mo
jave. The city covers about eighty acres,
and. although its ruins are dilapidated, it
contains sufficient to interest antiquarians
for years to came,
Ever since the beginning of the Kands
burc excitement prospectors have from
time to time Drought in stories of the ex
istence of the ruins of a city on the top of
Black Mountain. It is now remembered
by those who heard the stories that they
were -wonderfully similar, although told by
men who had never met one another.
These stories, however, were generally
disbelieved, as tales of cities in the desert
are frequently related by prospectors even
when no cities exist. Not long ago a
prospector returned from Black Moun
tain to Garlock and started to tell of the
wonderful city he had found.
"It's pretty badly ruined," he said, "but
1 am sure it's a city."
But the time came when the right man
told the story to the right man. This was
about a month ago. Ex- Judge Wells of
Bakersfield happened to be in the vicinity
of Black Mountain and met a prospector
named Professor Hanson of Philadelphia.
In the course of conversation Hanson re
lated that in his work over the mountain
on one occasion he fiad stumbled over the
ruins of an old city that he believed to
have been built by the aborigines.
He was in earnest about what he saw
and pointed out the exact location of the
city, only it was on tne other side of the
mmir.tain. Judge Wells had every confi
dence in Professor Hanson, bat not hav-
ing leisure lo ascend the mountain at the
time he returned to Bakerstield and in
formed The Call of what he had heard.
As the information spemed reliable, The
Call determined to dispatch representa
tives to the scene, It was real. z ;d that
the existence of a ruined city in that sec
tion was of tne greatest importance. It
was also realized that to be reliable sucli
statements should be investigated.
When he was told that the expedition
was to Black Mountain Judge Weils vol
unteered to go along as guide, so there
should be no mistake in finding the
locality. The st?.rt was made trom here
last Friday mornins and the members or
the expedition have just re. timed niter
spenaing five days on the trip. They
were successful beyond their expectations,
and it can now be Announced without any
possibility of a doubt that there is a ruined
city of the abor ginai trib» of sun wor
shipers on the top of Black Mountain.
To reach this st>ot is a journey of hard
ship. Food, Bh< her and water are scarce
and mountain roads are rough. Tne
mountain sides are rougher and climbing
over them means a great deal of fmi^ue
for all. The exact location <>! Black
Mountain 13 about tiHy miles from
Mojave. The nearest settlement is the
new mining camp of Garlock.
This is about ten miles frnm the peak in
a 3traight line, but there is a lofty moun
tain range lying in between wh.cii has to
be ciimbed. '1 bis makes Black Mountain
a most isolated r>eak, although it can be
seen by the naked eye from the mesa
about five miles north 01 Mojave.
The Call's expedition took tne Rands
burg roa.i as far as Garlock. and there
climbed over ihe mountain road to Colo
rado Springs at the base of Black Moun
tain.
From here to the peak there is no sign
of a road or trail, and in climbing to the
summit it is necessary to pass over many
foothills and down into tlie valleys be
tween. From down here the peak is
lost sight of, and it is all guess work rind
ing the best routes iv order to bring it
into view again. The formation of the
mountain i« volcanic rock and bowlders
of various sizes are scattered about on all
sides.
They are black and rough and full of
boles like sponce. Uiimbing over them is
dancerous work, as even a stumble means
cuts and braises.
When the uramit is reached one looks
about some moments before the dead city
mtikes it~ appearance. The blackened rocks
are on all sides in heap«, and scattered
about in the wiideat confusion.
The ruined city is in among these, but I
being built of the same material is not
readib y discernible. But whan it is at
last made out its wonders become greatly
increased. The Call's expedition reached
the top at the eastern end of t:>e moun
tain. There was nothing in sight that
could, by the widest stretch of imagina
tion, be conju-ed into a ruined city — only
black rocks and ashes.
Ii was on the way over the west peak
that the first evidences of the handiwork
of the prehistoric race came into view. In j
a sort of a hollow between two ridges of
the mountain peak there stretched a
straight row of black stones. Tne row j
was 200 feet long and tne stones were |
piled about two feet high. The curvature j
of ths mountain top made it apparent at I
a glance that the stones could not g,et into j
such position by the action of the ordi- I
nary forces of nature. The line of rocks j
was the ruin of a stone wali.
About a hundre.l feot further to the
West there was another of these walls !
running parallel, and subieqtipnt investi
gation proved it to be with mathematirii
precision. Off from these wals tuere |
were other waiis running at neht angles
and joining wall* at the other ends, mak-
A REINDEER SLEDGE.
The tut herewith is reproduced from a drawing niade by an Esquimaux and
printed in the Eskimo Bulletin, the only newspa; er in the world published but.
once a year. The number of the Bulletin from which this drawing is taken is
dated July, 1897, and contains the somewhat srartiinp intelligence tna«. Bryan has
been elected President und that the United State* is at war with Spain.
ing perfect squares. There was a patch of
land several acres in extent fairly covered
with the<e ruined walls.
In some spots they could scarcely be
traced, and in ottiers They rose about two
fptrt above the surface.They were spread out
about three feet wide, indicating that they
might have been much higher at one
time. Still, further toward the west peak,
and on 1 }' a few feet down the northern
slope of the mountain, was the first ruined
habitation found. .It was al-o tne roost
important, for it contained the idemifica
tion of the people who once inhabited the
mountain top.
This ruined dwelling was almost circu
lar in form, and the walls rose from two
to tnree feet in height. One portion of
the wall faced the side of a small cliff and
in the other was a door facing the east.
Strangest of all, though, were some
PRICE FIAE CENTS.
hierog'yphics carved on the walls on tho
inside of the house. These were exactly
like those carved on the famous Poston
Butte, near Florence, Arizona. The lock
is almost identical.
It is covered with the blackened surface
caused by the volcanic fires. This has
been chipped away in tho desired places,
leaving the image in plain view. On the
recks of Poston Butte there is a certain
sign used very frequently. This looks
something like the astronomical sign for
the planet Mars.
This same sign is carved in a number of
places on Black Mountain, showing con
clusively thai both must have had the
same origin, but there are also a number
of other signs that can be positively iden
tified. Some miszht think that these sisr.s
were carved by vandals for the purpoe of
deceiving people.' This, however, can be
set at rest. In the fifst place, the signs
are carved with too much exactness to be
done by a miscreant.
A learned man interested in them would
not do sucti a thinj;- In t lie second place
the curving was done so long ago that
the rock has been discolored. This can be
proved by giving a slight scratch with a
knife-blade in the sk-n and exposing the
lighter colored rock underneath. A mag
nifying glass shows that the surface has
changed in structure, Tnis could not
take place in the locality in less than 200
years.
The shape of this house was also exactly
like those on Poston Batte. It was a!so
about the same size. The houses on Pos
ton Batte also have doors facing the east.
From indications the houses on both
places were built in the same manner.
That is, they were made by laying the
rough, uncarved stone in the mud, then
plastering th«» outside to keep out the
wind and the wails were done. The
roofs were put up with timbers and
covered with clay. This is all that Wie
nouses consisted of.
On Black Mountain the rains of cen
turies have washed out all the clay and
the stones have fallen down. The clay
has also piled up around the walls, there
by reducing their height. The same
thing is observable on Poston Butte.
The more these two localities are com
pared the more similarity there is between
them; in fact, toere can be no doubt but
tha* tie two are of the same origin. As
a number of learned men, after many
years of study, have pronounced the
former inhabitants of Po-ton Butte to
have been sun-worshipers there can be no
iloubt that the former residents of Black
Mountain were also sun-worshipers.
Over a sma 11 hill still further toward
the west peak there were a number of
other ruins ranppd about a largn central
court that was built on a natarul pile of
bowlder.-. In the center of this was a
monsier bowlder, nearly square, having a
Hat top with a circle carved on it.
The circle was rude in the extreme an i
shallowly carved, bit there cm be no
doubt of what it was intended for. Of
course, there can be no positive proof of
what t his was u^ea for. but a* a surmise it
issa c to say that the large tlat rock waj
an altar and that the circle was intended
to be a representation of the sun.
This ruin was one of the moit interest
ing on the whole top of Black Mountain.
The west peak i;seif rises almost like a
perfect cone, about 150 feet a hove this flat
place just described. From below it did
not appear as if there couid bo any habi
tations up there. The place looked too
steep and rugged.
But a climb to the top disclosed the fact
that there were three rums up there.
These were circular houses not more
lhan six feet in diameter, but having their
walls almost complete. From the size of
these and their location it would 8 -em
as if tliey were intended for the watch
men.
Between each of the houses there was a
(1 it place as if it mizht have been used
for building signal tires on. The strangest
thine about, tnese houses is ttie enormous
stones used in the sides. Many of them
must weigh several tons, and it hardly
seems possible they could have been
moved without the aid of machinery.
And yet all that is known of the sun
worshipers place them as a people of
rather low intelligence. Certain it is
they did iiot know bow to carve stone or
their buildings wou d have been standing
perfectly io-aay.
.All iliat portion of tfce j>re- historic city
on Back Mountain that has just been de
scril>ecl lies on a flat piace cio^e to West
Peak, but tipped a liule downward on the
northern slope.
At first, it waa thought that this was all