The Lehi banner. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1891-1917, 1894-02-15
INTERIOR OF ALASKA.
Wonderful Tales Related by Re-
turned Missionary.
A Place where n IL SO stln and Cold
That Ono Could Hear Himself breathe
Wonders of the Aurora
Borealls.

Wonders of the Aurora
Boreaiis.
A remarkable story Is told by Rev.
f. c. Wallis, a missionary Of the Epis-
copal church, who arrived here recent
ly from the Porcupine river, in the
British possessions, just over the limo of
[ Alaska, on the edge of the Rocky |
mountains. II is mainly about the in !
tense cold, the immense herds of
reindeer, and the sublime mugnihcense
of the aurora borealis. DR.. Wallis,
says the San Francisco Examiner. has
been seven years in the wilds of the
Porcupine river, and FOR the last
eighteen months his wife has been
with him assisting in teaching the In
dams.
1t does not appear TO be generally
known that there are vast herds OF
reindeer in that part of the country
DIR. Sheldon Jackson, s1pcrintendcnt
OF education for ALASKA aud Capt.
Herly of the Pear lave 'ar couple Of
years been iwporiug reindeer from
Siberia, aud thi Is TIC season FOR the
supposed scarcity throughout that
region; but the sr,"Hi'v n-9o9rs 20 he
towards TIL, southern, sn"thwestern
and northern coasts In the far in
terror there are myriads of them.
"They are remarkably numerous
everywhere about my mission near the
mouth of the Porcupinc river" said
the reverend gentleman. Back to-
wards the mountains from Lay house |
have seen great bands OF them, and al
most every where looked could see
| Lao,
broke up on the river remember see
ing six or seven Of them on a cake of ice
floating down, and saw many others
floating on the ice.
"For much of the time have lived
at the mission. have subsisted almost
exclusively on reindeer meat. II is
very good, and ] may say IL is about
the only kind OF meat you don't get
: tired of l think it Is better, all things
considered, than beef, and you can eat
It longer without its palling on you.
The Indians cat IL almost exclusively,
, and they are very big and strong.
, Some of them are six feet in height,
} and the average il about Ave feet ten
, inches They are genuine North Amer
: lean Indians, and not the Aleuts, Es-
quimaux, or "A mixture of the two.
~ keep an Indian hunter, and he
: supplies me with all the reindeer meat
: want. lie also brings in grouse,
ducks, bear and other game as / need
II. have learned to shoot pretty we'll
} myself, as all white men do in that re-
J qion. The ducks and grouse, like the
: reindeer, are remarkably good eating.
"It is fearfully cold there. Last win
Y Al. f.,r Mt
: q time down to sixty degrees, and
. have seen it go even considerably low
h err. At no time in the winter, nor dur
ing other winters that ] have boen
4 there, was II higher than forty degrees.
u This cold is excruciating. We lived in
Il q solid log house, good warm one, but
Q many a time have awakened in the
IS night and found the blankets, which
1t were kept up well under the nose
d frozen into cake of ice Sometimes
y the intense cold cakes the blankets fol
e n long distance down.
Meats and everything froze, ant
you would throw them anywhere with
out thinking. The worst experience
was trying to make bread. The yeast
would freeze in spite OF you, often
n times even when the greatest care wa,
IL exercised. II you stepped out, every
' thing was 30 still and so intensely colo
:. YOU could hear yourself breathe. Ithat
v = rustling sound.
= II discovered a queer thing abou
- the cold. and IL was this. Below fort,
:. degrees YOU didn't notice IL any NOR,
~ than forty degrees. 1t might 20 I,
:, sixty degrees, or even more, but 4
. made SO i5ttle difference that YOU didp'
- notice It. 1t was all practically tn,
same to YOU.
,r The wonders OF the aurora ooreaii
- beavaps oll yyinter Iona. are IN IN will
u o.,,ao,, 80, T,,doo1 90, ~,
o. ca1ors--tbe srorl,Ics and naSbos-.ar
10 % ,nary con.t,rt and ,,r;cd tbat n,
y ono can aescrihe ,ham J,hcre 10 nrac
= t;o.il,, NO do, dnr;n,, Tho ,c,r M
", go ~, ,hroo n,ontbs M 10 ncccrbc
y tx from nine 10 twelve o'cloelS tber
~ is n nor, 90 dawn Int tho rast 81 IN
VI tir,o ~ Ia rirht n ;sso clcnr that vo