Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1882-10-21
ALASKA SNOW DRIFTS.
An American Signal officers Experience in
the Northland.
ARCTIC REGIONS NOT THE WORST

In private letter to his brother
Mr.. Charles Ray, of Milwaukee, MIR
p. w Ray, in charge of the United
Stat ties Signal Station at Oogloannie
Alaska, writes that he has his flag
as signal officer, flying further
north than it has ever before been
borne on the American continent, 6
locality where the inhabitants dress
in deerskins eight months of the year
and the official distinction of an of
ficer is marked by wolverines tai
worn on the back of his ''Ahlega," Oh
fur coat. d" 1.-The year has passed very
quickly with u.s." continues Mr. Ray
my party has had all they could
attend to in making the required oh
seryations, and | have been kept busy
picking up the threads of my new
life, and taking up the practical use
of scientific instruments and in con
Quoting an expedition like this to
comply with the requirements laid
down by the Vienna Congress.
"We had rough time in estab-
fishing ourselves here, for beside a
late start from San Francisco, we
met with bad weather both in the
Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and were
fifty two days on the voyage. Win
ter had already set in when we ar
rived, thin ice had formed on the in
let's and along the shore, which
warned us that we had no time to
lose il we would save the ship, for
ordinarily the sea is closed at the
date on which we landed, so L dis
charged the vessel the day the last
of our cargo was ashore. AS |
watched her sails fade away i'll the
distance, and turned to my work, |
must confess that il did look just a
little gloomy. My stores We're scat
tered along the beach for 500 yards,
Just out of the surf, where they had
been landed from the native ca
noes and whalcboats. The natives
swarmed around, whose regulations
were none to good; two lone tents on
a low, bleak point of land, and over
it all a drifting snow storm, com
pleted the picture of desolation.
With the exception of one man Of
tho nine that composed our party,
they were totally inexperienced in
the ways of the savage, or of frontier
life, and some of them had never had
rifle in their hands. Taking into
consideration the fact that we had a
house to build and 40 tons of
freight to be stored therein, carried
by hand, the outlook was anything
but cheerful. / settled With the ma
tives first 10y judiciously punching
the heads of the first / caught steal
ing, and hiring the best of them to
help carry the stores. We had our
house completed by Oct 1. our in
stlaments in position and were tax
ing observations Nov. l, but our
house did not dry until the following
summer, the lumber of which it was
constructed being coated with ice.
There were great many nights
that l did not sleep, and my hair
has grown very white, but ! feel bet,
ter than for years.
"Life in the arctic regions Is not
so terrible as some men have tried to
paint it, and America has had too
many explorers who We're seeking
for self glorification rather than bot
tom facts. / hope that the next few
years will demonstrate the fact that
it was not owing to the climate that
such men ms Hall, Kane and Hayes
left death and disaster in their tracks.
A healthier climate | never saw.
Not one of our party has been sick
since we landed, with all their expos
ure, and / believe any party can have
the same experience if they observe
proper discipline and conduct them
selves in proper manner. l think
we will see 1884 safe and sound, and
return to the United States with our
records, of which / keep two copies
and send one to Washington every
year in case of accident.
aside from its healthiness, / can
say nothing for this country 1t is
the most desolate piece of Gods foot
stool that / ever saw. 1t lies very
low--but a few feet above the level
of the sea is covered with a dense
growth Of moss, and as far as l have
been in the interior, about 100 miles,
the whole region is one great net
work Of lakes and rivers. The frost
comes out of the ground only to the
depth of about foot in the summer,
so that at that season it very much
resembles Wisconsin cranberry
marsh, except that there is an utter
absence Of trees and bushes of every
description. In the winter we are
north OF the line Of animal life on the
land, and only seal exist in the sea.
The temperature last winter sank
twice below 65 degrees in the open
air. / have some doubts about the
correctness of the instruments used
by some explorers that give the very
low temperature reported OF from
70 to so degrees, for from what ]
have experienced l believe such a
temperature would be fatal to ami
NAL life exposed to it, as it must nee
essarily be in making an observation
| -ttot
A YOUNG Austin lawyer was appoint
ed to defend u negro who was toe
poor to hire counsel OF his own
After the jury was in the box the
young lawyer challenged several
jurymen who his client said had 9
prejudice against him. Are there
any more jnrymen who have preju
dice against your whispered the