The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-03-25
STEEANSSON TELLS
OF CONDITIONS.
IN NORTH
Former Student of University
on Arctic Trip Writes to
G. D. Hamel.

Charles D. Hamel of Grafton. who
is at Washington. acting as one of
Senator Hansbroughs secretaries, has
received an interesting letter from Y.
| Stefanson, a former Grand Forks boy
who is now with the Leffingwell-Mi-
! kelson expedition to the north pole as
| the representative of the department
Of anthropoligy of Harvard university,
| of anthropology of Harvard university,
member of the faculty.
Professor Stefanson was reared near
Cavalier, n. d., and was student at
| the university in Grand Forks for a
| number of years. He is an lcelander.
The letter is dated November IL. and
| was received by Mr.. Hamel last week.
| Owing to a scarcity of envelopes Mr..
Stefanson sent the letter to Mr.. Ham,
ell, with others. in care of a mutual
friend in Boston, who, in turn, for
warded the Enclosure.
The following is a copy of. the inter-
esting letter which Mr.. Stefanson
wrote to Mr.. Hamel:
Single Point, Arctic Ocean.
| Nov. IL. 1906.
Dear Charlie:
wrote you, think. last August.
This is to inform YOU that am still
living and prospecting. Single Point
is an Eskimo village, fifty miles east
from Herschel island and twenty west
from the mouth of the Mackenzie
| My ship did not arrive and no ship
| from the outside came in. though one
whaler who was here last year went
to Barrow (north coast of Alaska) and
came back with food enough to winter
and the news my ship had been at
Barrow all summer, unable to get far
Their.
| have been staying here since Sept
1.-The first six weeks with an Eskimo
family and since then with a white
man who is married to an Eskimo and
lives here this year. The cooking of
the Eskimo isn't always the best, nor
are they model housekeepers in gen.
eral, but still really enjoy it. It's all
in the trip.
/ am waiting here for police pa
troll, due about now, going from Fort
Mcpherson to Herschel island (2eO
miles,. They bring the mail that left
Edmonton about July l. and when they
go back (the first week in December
probably they take outgoing mail
This is carried by another patrol from
| MCPHERSON to Dawson, and is due to
reach the outside" about April, at
which time l hope you will receive
this.
When the patrol has arrived start
for the south end of Eskimo lake,
twenty miles north and thirty east of
the junction of the Mackenzie and
Peel. (Get your atlas out) At that
place Mr.. Harrison. an Englishman,
about whom l believe have told you,
has his camp, and We shall join forces
for the winter. The trip to his place
will take about ten days with dogs. 1
hire an Eskimo to take ME with his
team. When daylight becomes plenti-
| full again We intend to make a trip
east along the coast, possibly as far
as the Coppermine river, with good
| luck. Harrison has hired three fami-
| lies, with whom We shall live and
hunt. The diet will be meat straight
and If deer fail us We starye. He has
| been there some two months now. The
natives in the mountains to the south
of here have killed on an average
twenty-five deer to the family. He is
in good game country and should
have a hundred in cache by now.
| Here on the coast we depend on fish,
though l made fifteen-day trip
while ago into the Yukon drainage
area to the south for deer meat. We
shot one deer only, for it was foggy
every day and We were in a hurry be-
sides. We bought meat and brought
home some 700 pounds on two dog
sleds.
can see already that the chief trial
to face here is the darkness. Theoret-
ically, We lose the sun about Dec. 1,
but practically sooner on account of
mountains to the south (the Rockies).
There isn't much daylight now, though
it is some six hours from the first ap-
pearance of dawn to the disappear
ance of the last suspicion of light. 1
believe day glimmers in the south
even on Dec. 81.
The cold is not said to be SO ter
rife, though it goes Dakota little bet
ter. 1t blows more frequently and no
less furiously, and there isn't shrub
here on the coast to stop the wind.
Usually the thermometer does not 20
below fifty-five below zero on the
coast At MCPHERSON, hundred or
so miles inland, they had sixty-eight
below last winter, and have had sew
enty-one below, believe Living in a
canvas tent, as we shall be, we will
probably find it chilly some mornings.
But that's in the trip, too.
BY next summers mail l hope to
write you letter you should receive
in September. If you get it you will
know l am alive, but its non-arrival
Will by no means prove me dead.
l may take it into my head to spend
a year on the Mackenzie among some
Athabascans before returning to CIV
ilization. They are an interesting and
little known people. can sort of pick
them up on my way home. am afraid
shall not find them the good fellows
the Eskimos are. however. They are
really delightful people, on the whole
Intelligent. honest, energetic and
thrifty, very courteous and manly.
They are strong, agile fellows. There
are two tribes; the men of one of them
have an average height of 5 feet is
inches in their bare feet. Six footers
and hundred and eighty Founders are
common. Erect carriage, thin, straight
or Roman noses. Hardly to fit your
idea OF Eskimos, are they? l knew
these things before coming, in gen.
eral way, but couldn't rid myself of
the old notion which I probably alb
sorbed from that compendium of mis-
statements and lies, the school geog-
raphy.
Hoping you are enjoying Washing
ton, and wishing could drop in on
you for civilized meal at some res
taurant (fOr fish and flesh gets monot-
Onous),
Always sincerely yours,
v. Stefanson.
Nov. 22.-Police mail patrol came
YESTERDAY All fhia Won r,a mail So. ~.