The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1915-03-11
MITCHELL MAN is
ARCTIC EXPLORER
ERNEST w. HAWKES.. FORMER
WESLEYAN STUDENT. HAS
. THRILLING EXPERIENCES

up near the Arctic circle is a part
of the daily life of Ernest w.
Howkes. a former Dakota Wesleyan
student now carrying on explora-
tions for the University of Penn
s%ylvania.
Mr.. Hawkes.. before coming TO
Mitchell, taught school at Messing
ton Springs. He came to Wesleyan
to continue his education and was
,befriended by o.. l.. Branson, to
whom he has written an account
of recent adventures. and sent a
Sair of seal-skin gloves he secured
at Cape Chidley, in Labrador. the
most northerly point on this coast
of the continent OF North America.
The writer left Mitchell in 1909,
after securing am appointment as
governor teacher at Little Diamede
island, 400 miles northwest OF Nome,
Alaska. Upon setting out for the
island. Mr.. Hawkes. ascertained at
Seattle that it would be necessary
for him to marry and he thereupon
teleeraphed to Mitchell to Miss
Florence Case. who Immediately
joined him al Seattle, where they
We're married. They spent two years
on the islands, with no other human
inhabitants except Eskimos. Fol
lowing is a portion OF the lettel
from Mr.. Hawkes.:
You ask for a little o
my trip. 1 went up through Nov"
Scotia and the beautiful Evangeline
country, and took the little single
gauge railroad across Newfound-
land, which led for three days
through a beautiful lake country in
the west, and then struck across
into the interior.
This country is inhabited by
countless caribou. 1t is not at al
an unusual sight TO see them pass
ing the track during the migrating
season. After being stalled in st
| Johns two weeks. we took the steam
er to the Labrador coast, but were
kept by the ice from going further
north than Hamilton Inlet. This
represents the southern limit OF the
Labrador Eskimos.
Il thoroughly searched this sec
ton of the country for traces OF tho
old Eskimos tribes formerly inhab
iting the county, as far south as tht
ST. Lawrence. found many inter
cStlnS Things. L iheh Joiheu 'i'
Carnegie Magnetic expedition anf
we proceeded slowly up the coas
hemmed i'll by ice, so h a we were
obliged to put in every little nam
let and bay. This gave opportunit!
! for further exploration and dlscoV'
cry.
I'VE visited the different moravi
an stations. which have been estab
lished among the Eskimos for zoe
years. They still ALLOW the Eskimos
to pursue their ancient mode of NV
ing and it is rather a striking sigh
to see the men in kayaks singing
hymns.
ITO get rid of the ice We held Out
to sea and eventually rounded Caof
Chidley into HUDSON Strait.
found a large band of Eskimos here
and also some very interesting arch
| aelogical remains of an older people
who formerly lived with Eskimos
secured some 200 archaeological
specimens and about 500 et%hnologic
al specimens on this trip, which i:
:, the first complete collection of the
Labrador Eskimos which has bee
made.
1--WE then crossed the Strait ant
visited the southern coast of Balm
Land, afterwards %recrossing TO Cape
| Wolstenholme at the entrance o
Hudson Bay. We then struck dowl
the east of Hudson Bay, which il
very rarely visited. The charts art
!, so defective for this entire countr.
i, that we ran INTO islands not on tn
man and ran over places where Is
lands ought to he. Finally we go
as far south as Cape Duiferln.
1--WE G O pocketed up in II OF TN
numerous groups of small islands
called The Slecpers,' which border
ed the east coast. We finally man
aged to Get out and struck straigh
across the Bay. 1t took us five
!, DAYS to sail across it. we explored
me west a between Fort Church
in and Chesterfield and found a
one point. Cape Eskimo, the mos
extensive camping site II ouI,a
ground have ever seen among .A'
Eskimo. 1t covered several acre
and the Eskimos had erected grea
beacons of stone to guide their ski
boats in summer to TINS common
gathering place. 1t is needless u
say that l got a rich maui 'leIe,
1--WE next visited Coats Island
where we got some more materla
and where we had a thrilling exper
fence with a big polar bear. ! saw
six polar bears on this trip. l pc
lieve this one looked the biggest
When we awoke him 0 ms nal
he made straight for us in W 'un,
godly' leaps, as the captain SAID o,
about 80 feet each. About tha'
time he looked as big as a moun
tain. However. four good mei
armed with rife, shotgun, knife ano
a camera were too much TOR MN
1T is surprising how much am
munition it takes 10 kill these bears
In negotioting an inlet near Cape
Chidley one crossed our bow. and we
shot him three times III the hea
and three times in the body and ne
kept on coming until a heavy builet
shattered his brain. r. .bcR
1--WE were not out of sight of ice