The San Francisco call., 1898-04-12
MATE HILTON STILL HERO
 OF THE DAY Praised for His Brave March Through
 the Arctic. I Telegrams Show That Mate Walker Is at
 Winnipeg. The Whalers at Point Barrow Had but Little Hope of
 Success.
LETTERS FROM ALASKA.
Batch of Epistles Which Were Carried Four Thousand Miles
 on Sleds.

The marvellous story told by Third Mate Hilton of the steam whaler Belvedere ex- cluSiVely in The Call of yesterday was the talk of commercial circles. In the af- ternoon a cipher dispatch arrived which shows that Mate Walker also succeeded on the other route. A more thrilling mar rative of hairbreadth escapes and perils of the rigid Arctic was never told. Those most familiar with the country-old whalers and sea captains acquainted with the fierce storms of the blizzard stricken Arctic, would not have believed such a journey possible but for the undisputed fact that it was made.
 Letters received from Point Barrow which were carried as far as Portland by Mate Triton. show that his comrades did not believe he would ever be able to force his way to civilization.
 One of the interesting letters brought to this city was addressed to E. Fl. Shel- don. It was written by Captain Coffin of the Rosario. He evidently had no faith that Tilton would arrive beyond the Arc tic. The following is the full text of the letter:
 POINT BARROW, October 1o 1897. To E. H. Sheldon, 327 Market street. San south of Point Barrow. fifty yards fro from ''iihe the beach, ten feet of water under the stern nine under the bow. The ice alongside is thirteen inches thick; new ice.
 I cut the schooner in through the Ice (the 2oth of of, last month) about an e; eighth of mile to Freeman bucked out through the ridge of ground ice the day before.
 Impossible for to get out, at that time was frozen in. The day cut in the Orca was abandoned; Freeman also Natives set her on south % of here. The Beivedere was with tbe1n a1n but managed to get through the young ice to shoal water. just north Of the Sea Horses Nearly all the men have come up to Cape Smyth. The Newport and Fearless are thirty five miles east of here, close to Cape Simpson The Jennie is seventy miles from here off Pitt Point. There are just 300 men and short ra- tions. am the only one with four enough to winter
 The only thing needful for me is coal ] went to the coal mine, too, but my folks could find but little coal. got into this | scrape by trying to pick up the Navarch screw also carrying two officers to the Bayliss east of here. I was with the Bear when the captain much farther east than I wanted to go to try and get the thirty men who were drifting about
 I hardly think you will get this letter am going to send it by MT. Tilton. who is going tc ever reach farther than Point Hope. Telegraph my wife I am all right. The out all right don't know what to write you in regard to sending up supplies.
 and H Fearless Seven of the nine ' men eeal cPme | ashore They got out a lot of flour, beef and But ths ios 1 a2d E. EtheS HS
 The refuge station IS gone: The Steam Whaling Company, I hear. said they could take care of all shipwrecked men at Cape Smyth. They have nothing here. Were 1t not for Liebes' place the men would starve this winter. The following cipher dispatch was re- ceived by E. l.. Griffith of this city yes. terday. showing. that Fifth Mate Charles H. Walker of the Orca, who made the Mackenzie River route, has arrived safely at Winnipeg. It was forwarded by him from Edmondson
 ON BOARD THE JENNIE. Oct. 30. 1897
 E. L. Griffith, San Francisco. Cal-Dear