The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-30
UP IN THE FROZEN NORTH.
TRAVELS OF A MISSIONARY IN Ear,
UNEIPLORED Alaska.
purpnusipG Loneiinoss OF tho Vast Stretches OF
Zee ana snow which the Rev. Rsr. sterritt
was trio FIRST white naan 60 Fenetrnte-A
German Philosopher On an Eskimo Village.

nurrnu-tpr Louelineaa OF tho Vast Stretches ei
Ice ana Snow which the Rsv. R1r. sterrIt,
was trio FIRST white naan TO Penetrnte-A
GERMAN philosopher In an Rskimo Village.
Los ANGELES, Cal, Jan. 22.-Among the
men who have boon exploring Alaska In the
last few years, none. probably. has travelled
further in the icc-bound Territory than tho
Rev. William Il. Sterritt- George A. Wilson,
who was United States Commissioner at Sitka
for nine years, says there is no record OF any
Americans having travelled in the rcgiona
north OF tho Porcupino River to the Arctic
Ocean. where Mr.. Storritt has journeyed in the
last two years. and the o~x.Commissiono ts-
,i.vea that no white man ever went ovor tho
ruuto from Nulato, northwurd 900 miles, to
Norton Sound. previous to Mr.. Storritt's jour
nsy in April, 1894.
Mr.. Sterritt has como down tho coast for q
years vacation after five yenrs Of labor, hard
phips, privntions and sono physical suffering
in Alaska. lie Is n missionary In tho service
Of the American Evangelical Union. Ho Is
about 40 years OF age, q nntivo OF Hartford.
His work has been to establish nor-scctarian
Christian missions IN Alaska A very wealthy
Baptist in New York Whose name is not dis
c,osed, but who is thought to be John d. Rookie
feller) has furnished most OF tho money. Since
September, 1899, this missionary has been lv-
fnr on the extreme frontier of civilization. For
months Mt . time no has not looked upon any
American, ard sometimes for weeks he has seen
no white mans face. He know oil about the OK.
traordinary Klondike gold finds two weeks after
tho first gold was dug there, In the fall of 1896.
end he saw hundreds OF men In Alaska rushing
to tho now gold fields md knew that the first
ones on tho ground would surely be richly paid.
But no never ceased his missionary efforts and
went still further away from tho Klondiko re-
-E~., ~ ,.tpsotnr 20 fho patfyo q n Nanaa NRrt
September no will go back to his missionary
field, starting at Cape Prince Of Wales and ro-
visiting the mission schools he has established.
When no was In Los Angeles the other day
he was urged TO relate his adventures and ex-
perionces in his travels in Alaska.
1.-THE most venturcsomo trip I ever took In
the frozen NORTH said he, was In the summer
of 1906. The journey was from old Fort Yukon
across tho country, northeast to the Arctic
Ocean. Tho trip was the moro hazardous be-
cause Of tho latenoss OF tho season, for before
we got back to Fort Yukon 1t was Nov. /, tho
mercury ranged from 30 to 40 degrees below
zero and We had to travel 800 miles through a
trackless waste Of snow guided only by a COM
pass. For four weeks wo saw no signs Of
human existence.
II had learned from a crew of whalers ut st.
Michael In 1892 about tho settlement Of Agil-
kuk, on the extreme northern edge of Alaska.
The whalers said that among all tho Eskimos
thoy had seen those at Agilkuk were the clean
est, most moral, and highest minded, and also
that they had no religion whatever. Tho
population of Agilkuk and two neighboring
hamlcts was about 1000. On July 90, 1896,
/ started for Agilkuk. There, were three of us
in tho party-two excellent and steadfast
Yukon River Indians and myself. We had
with us two sleds and two teams of eight
trained dogs each. We had guns, ammunition,
fur garments, robes, walrus skin shoes, a chest
Df simple medicines, and a full supply of dura-
BILE, IL not palatablc. provisions.
Eve started due north by the compass. At
tho Nowikokoti foothills we turned to the
west. and when we reached the Davidson range
of mountains-practically the only geographic
cal marks we found in all our long journey
across the Territory to the Arctic Occan-we
turned sharply westward. going close about
the western slope Of the Davidson range,
when we struck off 100 miles northward to the
ocean. where We cam upon q trail to the lit
tie Eskimo village OF -Agilkuk. 1t was the sole
Indication OF human life we saw in the long
journey, as far as from New York to Cleveland.
In my hve years In the interior OF Alaska l
never felt quite SO completely out Of the world
as on those journeys to and from the ocean.
That 10 saying a good deal. too. Let any live
Of Alaska amid snow and ice with a tcmpera.
turo ranging from 20 to 80 degrees below zero,
where in q whole village Of stolid. dirty say.
ages no will not know one aspiration or thought
least communication with tho outside world
nights are from fifteen to twenty hours long,
and i am sure no will have a fairly accurate
thSs Is Is good and blessed in this beautiful World
of ours. Well, the trip across tho country,
$50 miles with not a human being anywhere
paniOns, was even more forlorn.
n one can put in words the sense of per
bounds of tho world as we know it. There is
absolutely nothing by which one can measure
human being but those in our party. and for
four months l saw no one who could speak
EnglhiSh; rh Tor l,rs fo, seventy wy, or T,S siSEhtyd % %ItS
Klondike region. We had a hard time Raging
to snow. Then VIC went faster. but as one OF
MS always, walked and often all walked. we
saw plenty OF game in tho first 200 miles OF our
journey. and we hunted enough to supply our
iissIo brown wg ar Srct e. hare hare M for ihe Fl first t p9ed daSs
of our journey ~northward, besides scores of the
species of grouse known in these latitudcs as
ptarmigan. Several times we saw among the
north OF tho Yukon River a herd OF moose. They
said there were 800 moose in tho herd.
when we were about 100 miles north OF the
waste. The loneliness Of the great plains OF
tho United States is not comparable with tho
crushing loneliness OF northern Alaska. The
silence of tho scene pounded in on my ears.
There was not n living thing IN the mir or on
land anywhere in sight for days AT a time. The
mir was dry and metallic, never knew sounds
TO DO carried further. could plainly hear my
Indian companions yell three miles distant.
The snow grew deeper and the weather even in
those midsummer dog days was not far above
the zero mark. The heavens were always a
peculiar steel blue, Not u treo orS shrub grew
with fuel wo should have Jared sadly In that
climate and region, Except for the Firth River
we saw but one stream from tho time we left
the Yukon. That was an unnamed river,
which. II 1t were In California. would be very
prominent ON our maps.
1--WE reached Agilkuk abont Aug. sc. In all
my experiences among the Eskimos OF Alaska
j never had a more cordial welcome than there.
The chief of the village, n young man. who
could speak the dialect of tho Cape Prince of
Wales Eskimos well, took IL upon himself 10 sec
that we were well treated. Hc said that he
never knew IA white man before TO come across
the trackless, trniliess country from The Yukon
to tho Arctic Ocean. When l explained my
mission there he was tho most puzzled man you
ever saw. Ho was certainly impressed. and,
considering how hard IL Is to tell 30 benightcd
people about religion, tho seed seemed we'll
Gown. ] was In tho town about thirty days.
Tho people 1.-Two from the fisheries. Several
xvIIalinor atN atm, th,pn Ia, tl. ,,,,ns ~ :,