Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-05-16
THE BISHOP OF THE ARCTIC.

group of prospectors in Il lonely inter.
ior mining camp Thinks Darlington
Weems. who writes OF the Bishop and
ms HOOK In the current Worlds Work.
He first of all meets tie human craV-
ing for tidings from the outside world"
lNhen. after his warm welcome for his
genial presence as we'll as for the news
and reading matter" which he supplies,
al night before time comes to turn in,
when confidence has been gained all
round. the bishop lemarks: You are II
iong way from amy church: lets have Il
little church here ny ourselves Like
wise. to all the Indian tribes of Alaska.
from the Thlinkits in the near south
west. to the kskimos of the Arctic
coast Bishop Rowe's coming means
something. For to them he brings
medical aid. religious instruction, and
the schooling SO necessary to
them against the civilization which
otherwise engulfs them disastrously."
Ihe diocese of Alaska, founded i'm
1875 with Peter Tri,nble Rowe AS its
first bishop. lies on both sides of the
Arctic circle. Sitka is the bishops
see. but his field of work is mainly the
great interior of Alaska. the country
drained by the Yukon and koyukui:,
ana the N and the mountains and
the valleys to the northward. EVERY
year he travels more thar 10000 miles
hrough this territory, by boat i'm the
snort summer. and by dog team and
reindeer I'm winter"
Bishop Rowe "unfiagg,ng hnoyancy
ana good hume" and his ready human
sympathy e%ininently tit him for mis-
TASK. according to MIR. Weems. Service
IN canada and ilichigan gave him wall
liable preparation for his life work. AS
for physical fitness. "travcling nearly
~ months IN every year i'm a country
IKE Alaska keeps one in %trainIng." In
l9oS. "A typical episcopal year" he
travelled 1000 miles to hold 12l ser
vices. Extracts from the bishops diary
telling OF Il trip from Tanana to VAL
dez read like a tale of Arctic eNplora-
ton. Every winter brings such hard
ships. dangers. adventures and sue
cesses. Bishop Rowe. we are told. fore
saw the stampede t." the klondike gold
helds. and ST. Mary's church. dit Nome.
was built by him ard two helpers
ahead of the great influx of settlers.
These extracts from the bishops diary
may be read with serious reflections
around a comfortable fire:
Our sled was loaded with robes.
tent. stove. axes. clothing and food for
rs days for dogs and selves. n =
Wind blew the snow like shot i'm our
faces. kept ahead nf the dogs. lead
ing them. finding the way. We had
to cross a wide river; the great hum
mock mad this an ordeal; had to use
the y and break a way for the dogs
and sled. In the midst of it all the
Il uOkS WOuiO SlNR. tIIcN COulu not see:
their yes were closed with the frost;
my own were; So | dubbed off the frost
and went IN. The time came when
the dogs would-could-no longer face
the storm l was forced to make ~
before breakfast. 1t was still blowing
IA gale; had some breakfast: tried to
hitch the dogs. but they would not face
the storm, so ] resigned myself to the
situation and remained in camp. 1t
was my birthday. too. / kept busy
In carrying Il heavy log down the side
of the mountain. ] tripped, fell many
feet. and injured shoulder slightly.
After another cold and shivering
night we found the wind somewhat
abated and without breakfast hitched
up the dogs, packed sled. and were
travelling before it was Very light.
EARLY in the day, while plotting the
way, 1 bad ice. open
water. broke through and got wet.
After that ] felt my way with axe in
hand, snow shoes on feet. until it grew
dark. In the darkness i broke through
the ice and escaped with some diff
ficulty.
"Ail night the wolves bowling near
by. and we had to kept our dogs near
the fire to prevent their being killed.
Bitter iron-cold shackled the north
land. BY night the fire roared de-
iance to u frost which it could not
subdue. while dog and man crouched
near it for protection from it's awful
power. When outside of the fires
light. the heavens were ablaze with
moving lights-the aurora borealis of
the Arctic shone with wonderful bril-
lance.
only the great white d%esolatton.
silent. awful. broken by the wall of
wolves or the cracking of ice, as
though strange spirits were all about
you. The days were strange as the
nights. Close by the river crept the
spruce. and through this there trotted.
dOElike, packs of wolves. invisible hut
none the less real, MS their howlings
Indicated"
But this is not simply a story of
Arctic adventure. Bishop Rowe's work
among Alaska's $4,000 white inhabi-
tants has had most practical and eff
fective results. We are assured. Five
hospitals and as many ~dispensaries are
supported. Several of these have we'll
equipped reading rooms open to all.
At Cordova is the unique Red Dragon
club" In all, about so workers serve
in Alaska under Bishop Rowe, "2l
churches are scattered through his
huge diocese, and almost twice as many
missions are maintained more or less
regularly"
Humors Of Cleaning Up Louisiana,
Henry Oyen, in the Worlds Work.
gives some amusing examples Of the
easy going ignorance that DR.. Bowling
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