The sun., 1909-06-28
ODD PEOPLE IN THE ARCTIC
STEFANSSON HEARS or PER-
SONS WHO ARE NOT ESKIMO.
A Hint That the Mystery Of Sir John
Frankiin's Missing Men or Or Van
ished Icelandtc Colony May He Solved
Finds Ill Effects or Civilization.


Finds Ill Effects or Civilization.
PLRAsANTvILLR, N. T., June 2o.-
A letter from Stefansson. the explorer.
received to-day by friend who lives
here, hints at possible unravelling
either of the mystery which for more
than sixty years has enveloped the fate
OF Sir John Franklins two ships COM
panies or Of the greater mystery oon-
cerning colonies Of Icelanders who long
ago migrated to Greenland an d then dis
appeared.
Stefansson's letter, dated Barrow,
Alaska, February 12.' and postmarked
"Nome, Alaska, April s. in transit. says:
Here I am. further west than you
probably expected me to go in winter.
This Is whaling station. the most north
erly one in America, the most easteriy
one OF those whose egress is by the Pacific
Ocean. There is here also the most
northerly post Office under American
control. and 1t has two outgoing reindeer
mails in winter. November 1 and Feb
ruary Is. as we'll as ship mail in July
or August. I am here to write letters
and reports to the museum.
my winter camp is as planned on the
lower Colville River. I left it about the
time the SUN went away and have since
wandered as far west as Wainwright
Inlet, about one hundred miles southwest
OF Point Barrow and 800 from our winter
camp, stopping at every Eskimo settle-
ment. an unpleasant thing in many cases.
for the habits and diseases Of civilization
are everywhere evident; unhealthy people
crowded into unventilated and uncom-
Portable houses, complete contrast
to what it was twenty years ago here
eastward. where every house, no matter
how crowded. is always warm and we'll
ventilated.
AT Point Barrow and west Of there
% per cent. Of the people have abandoned
the warm. semi-excavated house with
its door In the floor. the advantages OF
which are we'll known to you, for nimsy
overground structures initiating white
mems houses. The walls OF these are
80 thin that even we're they alright, as
they often are (very nearly, enough cold
comes in by conduotion through the boards
to form hoarfrost here and there and ice
In the corners and under the beds. In
always open. these houses have no VEN
tilator. the door is hastily closed whenever
opened. and every crack is filled with
a rag. tallow or chewing gum.
A doctor who has been at Barrow seven
years, since lss8-he has had vacations
tells me that the death rate from tubercu-
losis has more than doubled in ten years,
the period OF the change (under missionary
and other infiuences) from the 'unsanitary,
filthy native houses to the tidy. modern
damp cookie shells that are numbering
the people.
.fhis has been depression. 1t would
take many pages Of print to show up thor.
oughly the effects of civilization at Point
Barrow and west Of it.
-In three or four days I shall start east
for the Colville and spend a month or two
there at least. Many Of the people there
had never seen n white man when we
arrived but they have associated for many
years with E;kimos who are Christians.
&c., and their influence has been marked.
They are. therefore, from my point OF
view sophisticated.
-In October last we divided our party
in two sections, DR.. Anderson, with
an Eskimo family, went into the noun
tains south of Barter Island. about IS
miles southeast from Flaxman Island
party consisted OF man, wife baby
and one man besides. Dr. An
derson was to try to make a living on
mountain sheep, river fish and ptarml-
gan. Our hope was deer. caribou. OF
which we got fifteen; not nearly enough.
though more than any Eskimo hunter
OF the Colville country.
AS heretofore the plan is to spend
next winter a good way to the eastward.
500 or 800 miles as one travels it east OF
the Mackenzie or 800 to 900 east Of the
Colville near the mouth OF the Copper
mine River or on Victoria Land. Some
Eskimos who saw some of these people
last year tell me that in a party of twenty
they saw one middle aged man and one
woman OF about ls who had hair as light
as mine is and several whose hair was
not black. Now you know a pure
blooded Eskimo is as black haired and
stiff haired as any Japanese. With the
disappearance OF Franklins two ships
companies in that eighborhood and
with the lost Icelandic colonies of Green
land in mind. the problem has its inter
esting features.
The letter closes with memoranda con-
corning articles Stefansson has prepared
for publication and which are now on their
way.