Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-04-08
FACE PERIL IN ARCTIC
Explorers Food Supply Short
and Starvation Menaces.
LETTERS DATED OCT. IS
Necessity to Hunt Game tnterferes
With Researches.
ANXIETY Is FELT FOR THEM
Long Northern Nights Approaching,
With Dreary Prospect-Stefansson
Tells Of Conditions.

NEW YORK. April s.-Dr. III. c. Bum
pus director of the American Museum OF
Natural History. received letters yester-
day from Dr. r. NJ. Anderson and v.
Stefansson, explorers for the museum on
the extreme north coast of Alaska.
The letters said that at the time OF
writing. about October Is winter was al
ready closing in on them. catching them
with hardly more than half food enough
to last until the weather opens again.
and unless they caught plenty Of game,
for which they were then searching, tney
were facing starvation.
While no fears are entertained by the
museum authorities for the safety Of the
explorers, both of whom are strong men
with plenty of experience in the frozen
north, news OF how they came through
the sunless winter months Will DE eager
~ awaited.
Both of the letters speak of the hard
ships through which the scientists have
passed. Mr. Stefansson being so hard
pressed at one time that he had to eat
his mouse bait. very unpalatable KIND
of oats. For many weeks DR.. Anderson
Travelled in another direction and never
saw a piece Of bread. having to live on
Ash and flesh. When they wrote the sun
was already getting low. and. the winter
night was near. 0-1
Letter From StefanSoon.
Stefansson's letter was written from
Flaxman Island. in the Arctic ocean. about
IL degrees north longitude. In 1t the
writer says:
lat Flaxman Island we found DR.. An
derson and the three natives. all well,
and DR.. A. reasonably satisfied with the
fail months. though he had had rather
complete change from white mems diet
and had been compelled at one time to
eat up his mouse bait. They lived on
squirrels and seal oil for a time. and later
on deer, fish and grouse. They arrived at
Flaxman Island about a week bfore l
got there.
Ion Point Tangent l had put some of
our supplies. and some we were carry
ing for Leftingwell aboard the schooner
Rosie H., whose captain, Fritz Wolki,
promised to take Leffinswel's stuff to
Flaxman and mine as far as he could so.
He was frozen in here, so we have here
the following stores: Twenty-seven sacks
flour I,4Jo pounds approximately, 100
pounds trscuit. 60 pounds pilot bread. ~
pounds bacon, 20 gallons coal oil, tanks
alcohol. This besides our ammunition
which We brought from the east and
some of which Dr. Anderson left at Bar
ter Island (siXty miles easD and some of
which Is at Flaxman.
"These stores are, of course, by no
means sufficient for our maintenance. nor
are they, even il taken with our stuff in
Smiths bay, where our boats were frozen
in. We shall therefore leave here so soon
as DIR. Anderson and I get our letters
written-probably next Monday-and go
looking for game.
Busy Hunting for Food.
"Dr A. wants to try getting some speci
mems Of sheep. SO he. with two natives
lAkpek and his wife, Shunganravik),
will go to the mountains by way Of the
kugruak Ton the maps Kugura) river.
while the rest Of US go west to near
Beechey Point There we already have
eight deer cached and hope to get more,
while some us will try to get seal out
side of the Thetis Islands, which are or
shore just east of the Coville.
IF they starve DR.. A. will come back