The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-09-13

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most have passed be-
yond my ken. All
but two were chance acquaintance,
with whom | spent an hour or so.
There was Helmslund for instance.
His line Is birds-sea-birds, although,
as far as that goes, anything wild and
unknown attracts Helmslund. l dare
say you never heard Of Helmslund.
You would soon enough, though, If
you undertook to collect rare birds as
q hobby, Helmslund is indispensable
to scores Of collectors In this country
RGI Europe.
met him n Sunday afternoon at
the house of a friend who possesses
q really remarkable collection Of
North American birds.
odd sort Of fellow-Helmslund,"
our host later remarked. I've known
him several years, now, and he's just
getting to the point where he gives
me a sketchy account of the main in
Cidents Of interest in his trips"
What trips?" | asked.
after BIRDS" replied my host.
"Thats Helmslund's work. He gets
birds, not for the feather people-he
would regard that as sa~criIege-but
for collectors like myself. He goes
ayorryhnra tp cot than 7 dopbt r,n
pose there's a country he hasn't been
to in search Of some particular spe-
cimen."
And that was how / happened to
hear the story Of Helmslund's battle
for life on the wrathy waters Of Lake
Kibushka, far up by the Arctic circle
In the grim d~esolation of the Siberian
steppes, 1t had happened the sum
ner before, on a trip he had taken to
secure some specimens of the rosy
gull for a European collector.
With a single companion and a cou-
pie Of dog-teams, he was working
around the country, paying especial at
tention to the marshy tracts bordering
several large lakes, which are the hab-
fiat Of various species of water fowl.
There is probably no more desolate
country in the world than this portion
Of the steppes.
Helmslund soon found that the rosy
gllls had deserted the shores of Lake
Kbushka, and he determined to cross
The lake, which was about twenty
niles wide, and try his luck in the
country beyond. Sc he secured a craft
Which he called a dingey and which
vas large enough to hold his compan-
Jon and three Of the dogs, besides
himself, and the party set III early
In the morning. They propelled the
craft by padding, and 1t was slow
work. At first, everything went well.
Then a brisk breeze sprang up, agi-
tating the surface of the lake until the
waves became as large as those of the
open sea. To add to the confusion,
the dogs became frightened and start
ed to quarrel among themselves.
Before they realized the danger, the
boat had capsized and the two men
and three dogs were struggling in the
water. Helmslund kept his wits about
him and helped his companion to swim
to the overturned dingey. The dogs
had already clustered about 1t and
were fighting desperately in the wa.
ter to climb on the bottom, but Helms
lund pushed through them ruthlessly
and helped the other man to get a
seat, before he followed him. Luckily,
he had retained possession of his pad
die and he used 1t to beat off the dogs,
crazy with fear as they felt the stead
lily increasing weight Of their heavy
Water-soaked fur. snarling fiercely,
the beasts attacked the boat again
and again, swapping at the mems legs
and leaping out Of the water in wild
attempts to seize their Threats.
Early in the Afternoon, Helmslund's
companion tainted and dropped off.
MY friend said that the tears stood in
the little mans eyes as he told Of this
occurrence. He told 1t quite simply,
as he told the whole story, indeed
without any straining for effect. 1t
was only by direct questioning that
my friend discovered that HeImslund
mad fallen off the boat himself In his
enortS to save the other man, who
mad sunk like a stone. When Helms
nhd gained the boat a second time
Ne was utterly exhausted and barely
aole to crawl on to Its bottom. He
mad lost his paddle and had no means
u directing his progress or even OF
determining in which direction he was
going.
fortunately for him, the wind was
on'shore, and late in the afternoon
ue drifted within sight of land. The
sght gave him renewed energy to
sNlD OF his shirt and use 1t to signal
"a village of natives.
whenever | smell the sickly-sweet
scent OF South American orchids a
vision rises before me OF another one
VI the Ska f~ever-racked specter
MON met toiling down the gang.
canA OF a fruit-steamer from La
Suayfa. His name was Grayson, and
belonged to that legion of reck.
"IS aoVenturers, the orchid hunters.
oFayon had gone to Venezuela
ne months before, with a vague de.
Examination to strike into the jungle
NOuntry In the dIrantinn az thn c,hn.