Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1916-11-30
YOUNG NORWEGIAN
DISCOVERS GOLD

CHRISTIAN LEDEN TELLS FACIN
ATlNG TALE-METAL AND
OIL IN NORTHLAND
New York, Nov. 25.-Bringing .
tale of q land where gold is more
plentiful than in Alaska, Christian
leden, a young Norwegian explorer,
has returned to New York city after
three years spent in the Arctic region.
AS evidence of his story he has 2
harpoon head hammered out Of gold
by the natives of an Eskimo village,
which he says has been wiped out
since by disease. He has also sew
eral specimens of gold bearing quartz
brought to him by Eskimos. who
dared many dangers in order to get
them. Leden said he had visited
land where the ground was SO full q
oil that in the warm months the smell
of it filled the dir.
Mr.. Leden's explorations carried
him over thousands Of miles IN t1s
country northwest Of Hudson bay. He
went alone, and lived and traveleo
with the natives and was one OF then.
He visited the Iglukiks, near Fgly
8UO kxSClS StIWIt0S VsbO AAASsAROossO1. -
tween the Great Fish river and Chss-
terfield inlet; the Netchiliks, near
Bootha and the magnetic pole, and the
Elyisliks. near the Wager river. His
outfit was shipped by boat to Fort
Churchill, in Hudson bay, which was
1 the starting point of his travels.
Keeps Ell Dorado Secret
Just where the gold and Of! are,
Mr.. Leden who is now at the Waldorf
| Astoria, >will not say. The place
where the gold is to be found he did
not visit, because to have done so, ne
said. would have meant another two
years in the far north. The territory
was described to him by some Eskl-
mos, who told him of great hill that
had been so split that the different
strata were uncovered. Here the red
dish yellow metal could be seen Mr..
Leden persuaded some OF those pour
neying north to search out the place.
| "The Eskimos that went in to find
| it had terrible time," he said. Their
dogs died and they had to win their
| way back to the place where was
| staying through terrific weather.
| They attempted to bring back sew
eral large specimens of the gold, but
| conditions became SO bad they had
to throw them away.
Zone very old man told hOm ms
grandfather, the possessor OF an old
fashioned big bore gun, had found 2
yellow metal that he had hammered
out to make bullets. The stories OF
the Eskimos would indicate that gold
is up north in greater abundance than
! in Alaska The natives, OF course,
have no idea of it's value"
Brings Records of Music
Mr.. Leden's expedition was planned
with the idea Of making a scientific
survey of the country and it's people:
He said he believes the Eskimos had
a common ancestor with the Amerl-
can Indian. He bases his opinion
chiefly on their folk lore and their
music. He took photographic out
fit into the far north, and he brought
back many records of Eskimo music.
"The Eskimos have a wonderful
language" he said.
ut is hard to master because the
same word will express so many diff
ferent things depending upon the ir-
| fection, the pronunciation, and relative
| position. 1t is much the same as the
indian language There is the same
similarity in their myths and in their.
| poetry.
each individual composes his own
songs, and by them gives expression
| to his feeling. Their instrumental
music is entirely confined to the
drum
Travelling with the natives, he said.
was not only full of peril, but re-
quired the utmost diplomacy. The
natives are superstitious and they
| have a firm belief in good and bad
spirits.
Suspicious of White Men
A white man is considered more of
bad spirit than good one and this,
Mr.. Leden said, makes him at all
times a sort of Jonah in the camp.
Ii the weather is bad, if an accident
happens or if sickness comes it is al
| ways the white man who is regard
ed as the cause. If he becomes very
sick, they are sure it is another mani
festation of the anger of the good
spirit and so they never lack for an
excuse to abandon him.
Tribes living within few miles Of
each other he found had no words in
common, but the roots of their words
were the same. Their common blood
is also shown, he said, by the struc-
ture of their music and their manner
of delivery and it is by these means
that he hopes to prove to the scien-
tifc world that the Kskimos are re-
lated by blood to the Indian and not
to the Mongol.
Although he is only 35 years old
Mr. Laden has made five trips into.
he unknown regions of the far north.
He is commissioned by the Univer
sity of Norway at Christiania, and
also by the geological survey of Can
ada.
POLITICS THEN, TOO
"Why is George Washington des-