The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-12-02
Rev. III. NJ. Frank, Topeka Boy.
Back From. Alaska
Where Days Two Hours Long
His Interesting Story.

IF Peary had known what the
Alaskans know about using dog teams,
with much less difficulty and in less
time" declared the Rev. Howard M.
Frank, a former Topeka boy today.
The Rev. Frank is a graduate s-of
Washburn college and Princeton uni
versity. He at one time carried a pa
per route for the State Journal He
has spent three years in Alaska as
missionary, and is now interested In
Sunday school missionary work, hav-
ing the northwest of Texas and the
Panhandle as his territory. The day
before Thanksgiving he completed q
horseback ride Of five hundred miles
in connection with his work. But this
little trip was a small incident. com
pared with the strenuous times he had
in Alaska
ten thousand men, mostly miners.
scattered over the. frozen North In
lf-hundred different camps. He
has travelled when the temperature
was 68 degrees below zero. and he mas
slept out doors without tent or stove
when it was forty below zero. He has
travelled 20 miles in one day OF 10
hours with a dog team.
"Peary, in using dogs for his search
for the pole, followed the old Eskimo
method of hitching them up. He used
breast collars, and the dogs were
the Rev. Frank
1.-The white men in Alaska discover
ed a number of Improvements over the
Indian way of driving dogs These I'M
ing to reported strikes. Speed ana
endurance was sought and 1t was dis
covered that shoulder collars were bet
ter than breast collars, but the great
est improvement was In h1tchlng the
dogs single file. In this way tran
them. Peary had his dogs hitcned
the old way-spread out in the shape
Of a fan-in this way each dog nao
to break his own trail ana no Two
dogs used the same. Time was Iost
and the strength of the dogs was
wasted"
The Rev. Frank held most of his re-
ligious meetings in Alaska In road
houses IT preached in the bar rooms
before the bars Sometimes the bars
were covered with cloth during the
services. At other times they were
not covered and continued to do busl-
ness while I preached.
."The finest vegetables in the world
are grown Just under the Arctic circle.
Cabbages as large as small wasntups
are raised and are worth Is cents
pound. Turnips weigh ten pounds each
and are solid, sweet and juicy ana 90
not need to be parboiled, and are also
worth Is cents a pound, or $3.50 tur-
nip. Irish potatoes grow fine and are
worth Is cents a pound. Wild berries
are plentiful. I made $35 in four days
picking wild raspberries. Blueberr1es
and cranberries are there LII unlimited
quantities. S.k
sThe shortest day is to- and one
half hours long, but If theE44mperature
is go below zero one can not see the
sun at all owing to fog. For this rea-
son one night was two months long.
Such a night with it's extreme cold.
darkness and the electrical effects of
the aurora borealis is hard on the
nervous system. 1t keys the system
| up to the swapping point and often
causes people to go suddenly insane"
The Rev. Mr.. Frank was contem-
porary Of Archdeacon Stuck, who re-
| Gently climbed to the highest peak OF
| Mt. Mckinley. He is personally ac-
| quainted with Archdeacon Stuck and
the members Of his party, and also
with DR.. Cook and the members Of his
party.
do you think DR.. Cook climbed Mt.
McKinley?' he was asked.
well, I think he climbed one Of the
peaks, but not the highest one. The
mountain has three prongs. He did not
| climb the highest one, and do not
well understand how he could not have
known that other peaks were higher
for they were there t, be SEEM
The Rev. Mr.. Frank goes from here
to Kansas City and will lecture there
this week. At present he is staying
with his brother-in-law, H. l. Nelson
in Potwin. His headquarters are al
Wichita Falls, Texas.