Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1913-12-12
LETTER FROM w. V. HAGAR.

U. S. Geodetic Coast Survey service,
being at present stationed in Honolulu
To begin with, the "Dora" finally
ambled into Unalaska on the thirtieth
of October about midnight, and l re-
ceived your letter, mailed September
10th, then. We were already to leave
Unalaska then, and started out at noon
the next day. While at Unalaska,
had a chance to go over to Dutch Har-
Dor, which is located on a different
island than Unalaska, only about mile
away. In the old days when Nome was
'some city" and the great gold rush
was on, Dutch Harbor was the great
halfway station between Nome and
the States, and the steamers all stopped
for coal and supplies. But the Alaska
Commercial company started up at I'm
alaska and underbid them on coal con-
tracts, and the Northeastern CONNER
cial company abandoned Dutch Harbor.
However, Dutch Harbor still boasts of
having the best house in Alaska, even
if there is only one resident, a care
taker, living in the whole village now.
We saw several reindeer close to Dutch
Harbor.
fear l have digressed, so will return
to our trip. AS l remarked before, we
left Unalaska at noon on October 31st,
came down through Unalga Pass and
stopped at the wireless station long
enough for a boat to go ashore, and
then proceeded southeast along parallel
with the peninsula. We anchored off
Shishaldin at noon. The next day some
of US went ashore for little hunt.
The shippers brother, the doctor and
went together, and the former was for
tunate enough to get a caribou. But
the medico and | We're not successful in
emulating his illustrious example. How
ever, as it was dark before we got
young Miller's cut up, and we had to
pack it two miles to the beach. we
were satisfied before we got back that
there was only one.
AS we had been travelling all the
afternoon around the mountainside and
about half of the time in a binding
snowstorm, we had some fine appettes,
especially as it took US over an hour to
get the boat launched and everybody
aboard, the surf was so bad. Mathew
son, the doctor, the chief, and three
sailors had the pleasure of getting left
ashore when we finally got the boat out
through the surf and we had to hold the
boat off with an anchor line, throw
them in heaving line and let them
come out hand over hand through the
surf, but then they needed bath any
way. We got back aboard the ship
somewhere around nine o'clock. While
in camp at Unga we bought two halves
of caribou and it was sure good meat
and pretty reasonable too, as we only
paid ten cents a pound for it. The
next morning we said farewell to
Alaska for this season and started
south.
The first day out we had head-wnd
hours only three-fourths of mile. 1t
was not very rough however. There
were only few times when it broke
over bad enough to flood through the
skylights, the next day the wind veered
and we used the sails nearly all the
remaining way, it took several days for
the sea to go down though. | was sea
sick little but not bad. 1t used to be
great sport eating. We have racks to
hold the dishes on the table, but that
didn't prevent your neighbours soup
from spilling over into your lap when
she rolled little more than usual, or
perhaps the mess-boy would put half a
cup Of coffee down your neck, mere
trife, of course. Then if you happened
to be on the side toward which the ship
was heeling, you had to hold on or else
you and your chair would both slide
away from the table to the partition.
My dresser broke loose one night and
tried to jump into my bunk with me,
however all it succeeded in doing was tC
slide about half the gear that was or
top into the bunk and the other hall
onto the floor. incidentally | might
add that it woke me up just when | was
enjoying my beauty sleep and | had tC
get up and slide it into the corner anC
wedge it in with chair, such is life or
the ocean wave. | did not have tC
stand watch any on the way down, but
kept more or less busy writing descrip
tive reports. Can't say that | enjoyed
working though when the ship was roll
ing so that you had to hold on witt
your feet and one hand, hold your paper
pencils, ETC., with the other hand, anC
write with your teeth or any other con
venient way. After the first week out
it was warm, compared with what VIZ
have been used to. at least, and useC
| 70 sDaDd YoOot oil tho aUapinnS I'm IN th,