﻿154 
  AI.ASKA 
  FISHERIES 
  AND 
  FUR 
  INDUSTRIES, 
  1913. 
  

  

  Wireless 
  station.- 
  -The 
  wireless 
  station 
  established 
  on 
  St. 
  George 
  dur- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1912 
  proved 
  of 
  great 
  value. 
  From 
  September 
  11, 
  

   1912, 
  to 
  June 
  30, 
  1913, 
  somethuig 
  over 
  200 
  official 
  messages 
  were 
  

   sent 
  and 
  received. 
  Many 
  of 
  these 
  messages 
  were 
  from 
  the 
  Bureau 
  

   and 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  importance. 
  Without 
  the 
  wireless 
  communica- 
  

   tion 
  it 
  is 
  hard 
  to 
  see 
  how 
  the 
  business 
  of 
  the 
  station 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  

   conducted. 
  

  

  The 
  only 
  fault 
  that 
  can 
  be 
  found 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  sending 
  apparatus 
  is 
  

   strong 
  enough 
  to 
  send 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  St. 
  Paul 
  Island 
  only. 
  Three 
  times 
  

   every 
  24 
  hours 
  the 
  St. 
  Paul 
  Island 
  wireless 
  set 
  is 
  "tuned 
  down" 
  to 
  

   hear 
  St. 
  George, 
  At 
  other 
  times 
  this 
  set 
  is 
  unable 
  to 
  make 
  itself 
  

   heard 
  at 
  St. 
  Paul, 
  A 
  great 
  many 
  things 
  might 
  occur 
  between 
  the 
  

   regular 
  calling 
  hours 
  that 
  would 
  be 
  of 
  vital 
  miportance 
  to 
  have 
  known. 
  

   For 
  instance, 
  a 
  fire 
  might 
  start 
  and 
  threaten 
  the 
  entire 
  village. 
  Before 
  

   the 
  regular 
  calling 
  time 
  arrived 
  the 
  plant 
  might 
  be 
  destroyed, 
  and 
  it 
  

   would 
  then 
  be 
  impossible 
  to 
  make 
  the 
  condition 
  known. 
  Of 
  course, 
  

   nothmg 
  oi 
  this 
  sort 
  has 
  ever 
  happened, 
  and 
  every 
  precaution 
  is 
  taken 
  

   to 
  prevent 
  such 
  a 
  thing. 
  But 
  it 
  is 
  possible, 
  and 
  attention 
  is 
  called 
  

   to 
  the 
  possibility 
  in 
  support 
  of 
  what 
  is 
  believed 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  need 
  for 
  a 
  

   wireless 
  sending 
  plant 
  that 
  would 
  enable 
  this 
  station 
  to 
  communicate 
  

   with 
  Unalga, 
  where 
  an 
  operator 
  "listens 
  in" 
  during 
  the 
  entire 
  24 
  

   hours. 
  

  

  WATER 
  SUPPLY. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  1912 
  a 
  pumping 
  system 
  was 
  installed 
  jointly 
  by 
  the 
  

   Bureau 
  and 
  the 
  Navy 
  Department 
  for 
  furnishing 
  water 
  for 
  domestic 
  

   purposes 
  to 
  St. 
  Paul 
  village 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  Navy 
  wireless 
  station. 
  

   This 
  proved 
  of 
  no 
  service 
  to 
  the 
  village, 
  however, 
  because 
  the 
  pipe 
  

   supplied 
  was 
  of 
  too 
  small 
  diameter 
  to 
  allow 
  water 
  to 
  be 
  pumped 
  

   through 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  tanks. 
  It 
  was 
  efficient 
  only 
  for 
  the 
  Navy 
  wireless 
  

   station, 
  about 
  halfway 
  between 
  the 
  well 
  and 
  the 
  village. 
  

  

  On 
  October 
  9, 
  1912, 
  or 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  40,000-gallon 
  reservoir 
  tanks 
  

   were 
  installed 
  on 
  the 
  village 
  hill, 
  an 
  effort 
  was 
  made 
  to 
  pump 
  water 
  

   into 
  them. 
  After 
  about 
  one 
  and 
  one-fourth 
  hours 
  with 
  a 
  weak 
  stream 
  

   flowing 
  into 
  the 
  tanks 
  the 
  pump, 
  working 
  at 
  a 
  pressure 
  of 
  nearly 
  200 
  

   pounds, 
  smashed 
  the 
  teeth 
  on 
  two 
  of 
  its 
  gear 
  wheels 
  and 
  became 
  use- 
  

   less. 
  In 
  response 
  to 
  a 
  wireless 
  message, 
  the 
  Navy 
  authorities 
  at 
  Mare 
  

   Island 
  sent 
  up 
  to 
  Nome 
  additional 
  gear 
  wheels 
  in 
  time 
  to 
  have 
  them 
  

   there 
  placed 
  on 
  the 
  revenue 
  cutter 
  Bear 
  and 
  brought 
  by 
  her 
  to 
  

   St. 
  Paul. 
  Another 
  attempt 
  on 
  November 
  12, 
  at 
  180 
  pounds 
  pres- 
  

   sure, 
  resulted 
  in 
  the 
  breaking 
  of 
  a 
  shaft 
  in 
  the 
  pumping 
  engine 
  after 
  

   an 
  hour's 
  work 
  and 
  further 
  efforts 
  to 
  fill 
  the 
  tanks 
  were 
  abandoned. 
  

   The 
  pump 
  broke 
  because 
  the 
  strain 
  necessary 
  to 
  force 
  water 
  through 
  

   a 
  pipe 
  two- 
  thirds 
  of 
  a 
  mile 
  long 
  and 
  1| 
  inch 
  diameter 
  to 
  tanks 
  with 
  

  

  