Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1891-11-04


my bed room and slept in the kitchen,
for the cOndensing of my breath on
the blankets and then forming ice was
too annoying. jumped mornings
from my warm bed, into a temperature
of zero, 20 begin my days work, but l
did not mind the cold, and cannot re-
member shivering once all winter.
Neither have felt lonesome, being so
occupied with the novelties of this
life, although sometimes during the
long winter, three weeks would pass
by without my hearing single Eng
fish word spoken by a white person.
There is plenty of good hunting here,
and lots of ducks. l can shoot them
as they fly past my house, but am
tired of eating them. can buy all l
want for a cent and a half each,
already picked. l only take the best,
those that do not taste fshy. do not
know where the Canvas backs nest,
but the Elder ducks coast along North
America and nest in Greenland. Some
of the Elder ducks, as well as many
other varieties nest near here, also the
looms and swans and geese. The
crow bill which derive their names
from having a bill like crow instead
of like a duck nest near here, on the
high cliffs, both at Cape Thompson and
Cape Lisbon, within sight of the Mis-
sion, but it is only the most venture
some native that will allow himself to
be lowered by long rope to collect
the eggs though the harvest is rich,
there being myriads of them.
By way of change, am now eating
seal liver, which is quite good. The meat
of young whale is far superior to Del
aware beef. In winter 1 eat a great
deal of venisOn. l one day purchased
a whole deer and nearly half of an
other for about seventy-fve cents.
Meat here is very cheap but all the
rest of my food and supplies that come
from San Francisco are very high.
July 18th, again continue my let
ter. The ships have arrived or at
least can just distinguish them in the
distance, probably fifteen or eighteen
miles away, where they are laying to,
waiting for the large mass ice, which
surrounds both the north and south
beaches to move further north, as at
present it is impossible for them to
approach nearear.
We are at present enjoying the long
| day, but for how much longer do not
know. The sun did not set at all last
night. During the months of May,
June and July, It is as good as all day.
1t is not until the middle of August
that you begin to appreciate that there
is short night between two or three
hours long. In winter from early in
October until the second of February
the days are very short. The total
disappearance of the sun did not occur
until December 10th, and its return
occurred January 3rd giving an actual
long night of twenty four days, al
though for many days before and fol-
lowing that period it was as good as
night.
The day portion of the nights was
made up of a faint twilight, which
travelled from east to west and became
more and more faint as the night ap-
preached its middle, but was never
totally extinct. It was during the
middle of the long night that l wit
messed the vision of the midnight sun.
The moon does not set at its full
either in December or January. Feb
ruary am not sure of, as there was a
long succession of billiards raging.
The Lig blizzard in New York of
March, 1888, was like snow furry
compared to these billiards. here,
nevertheless the natives seem to enjoy
being out in them.
have quite an extensive medical
practice here, and am probably the only
doctor so far north in the world. There
is not l think, another NJ. d. within
over a thousand miles south of here.
The trip, when come up here from
San Francisco, was very rough and
stormy, and by the upsetting of one of
the boats when was landing, lost all
but a ton of coal, but as there was
| great deal of drift wood l managed to
get along very well. expect what is
in one of the ships is my new compan-
ion who was to come this summer.
1 am very careful about venturing
out far On the ice beyond the shore
generally, but once paid visit to a
whaling camp. first walked about
seven miles, then started straight out
on the ice twelve miles, before l
reached the camp. The iee-fiOe was
on at the time, and probably to reach
the open ocean would have required a
walk of fifty miles. AS it was, it
proved the hardest walk 1 have yet
taken, as had to tramp all night to
get home again. The actual distance
was about thirty-eight miles, though it
was equal to sixty or seventy. One of
my boys last spring went off seal fish
ing on the ice, and was carried Oft,
and has never been heard from since.
By making good throw can put
stone from my house into the Arctic
Ocean. All along the ice foe there
are hills and mountains, which if they
ever float around to the Atlantic coast
will 60 down in the shape of ice-bergs.
Running down the mountain sides are
fresh water brooks, made by the melt
ing of the snow, which form lakes
deep enough to row boat upon,
The 2Sth of last July ! watched a
boat being wrecked, in front of the
Mission, but no lives were lost. Two
years ago, ship was wrecked half a
mile above here, and out of forty men,
only nine ever reached San Francisco,
the rest losing their lives.
During the severe cold here, any
thing that touch with my naked
hand burns my skin like fire.
| July AtGn, nave JuSG engaged my
winters supply of venison from party
of hunters. 1t will be brought to me
frozen in the fall. The ducks fly by in
large AOcks every day, and 1 am con-
stantly supplied. The belated ones in
September become so stupeied with
the cold, that can pick them UP on
the beach, The Arctic and ptarmigan
are the only birds that winter so fai
north. Back of the hills wolves, deer,
wolverine and brown bear abound, but
the latter require caution in approach
ing after being shot. have no fear oil
white bear, and followed the tracks o.
two during the long night. One mar
+ alone here killed three in one day
within two miles of the Mission.
The natives here trade and collec
furs, also whale off the ice in spring
: Bone is worth six dollars a pound and
a good whale is worth about $4,000
besides the oil. This refers to the
BOw-headed whale. When 1 an
ready to return home shall collect q
lot of furs to bring with me.
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