The daily progressive-miner. [volume] (Ketchikan, Alaska) 1915-1919, 1918-09-14
STEFANSSON ON
WAYSOUTH TO-DAY
FROM ARCTIC
To Recommend To The
Canadian Government
Reclamation Of Arctic

tiC cApioIcl, VIM mas SPCht eA0 past
five years exploring within the Arctic
Circle, was passenger southbound
today on one of the steamers, togeth-
er with Governor George Norris Will
liams of Yukon Territory. Having
lost the Karluk in the ice, Stefansson
is now on his way to report by re-
quest, at Ottawa to the Canadian
Government, by whom he was en-
ployed to recommend his plans for
the reclamation of the Arctic Islands
and the tremendous waste spaces of
the north, as he recently announced
in Dawson.
Northernmost Canada has thous-
ands of square miles of territory un-
inhabited and which at present is a
most inhospitable region. The explor-
er's plans are for the development of
the latent wealth and resources of
these vast spaces which wealth has
already been proven to exist. BY con-
Quoting operations on scale large
enough of these waste places can cas-
lily and economically be turned into
the most desirable asset to the Do;
minion, is Stefansson's idea.
Five Years in the Arctic
Stefansson and his expedition left
Victoria, B. c., June II, 1913, in the
steam whaler Karluk At Nome, AL
aska, the expedition was divided into
northern and southern parties. Stef-
ansson, on the Karluk, taking conf
mand of the former which was to
seek new land north of the mouth Of
the Mackenzie river, and DR.. Rudolph
NJ. Anderson, with two, smaller vessels
toward the Coronation
country, east of the Mackenzie delta,
to take a geological, botanical and BIZ
survey of the country, beside
charting channels and studying the
Eskimos, some of whom are blueeyed
presumably from an admixture or
blood from the lost Scandinavian col
ony of Greenland.
The Karluk stopped at Point Bar
row the most northerly point OF Alas
ka, early in September, 1918, and was
at once clutched by the ice. On Sept
10 the ship was apparently frozen in
for the winter, and Stefansson, ac-
companied ty two white men and two
Eskimos, went ashore to hunt caribou
:Qr winter meat
karluk Crushed in Ice
While he was absent a violent
storm arose and blew the Karluk out
to sea. The Karluk was soon after
ward again gripped by the ice and
carried westward with the drifting
ice, being finally crushed by the ice,
Jan. 16, 1914, east of Wrangell Island
which is north of Siberia. The men
took to the ice, but became separated
and several were never seen again.
The others, under Capt. Robert Bart
lett, reached Wrangell island, and
eight men were rescued in September
1914, by a vessel sent to the island
for the purpose, Capt. Bartlett having
made his way over the ice to Siberia
and Nome with news of the disaster.
Meanwhile Stefansson and his as
sociates moved eastward along the
shore CT the Arctic, and fell in with
the Anderson party in winter quar-
tiers at Martin Point, west of the
mouth of the Mackenzie river.
Stesansson and two companions set
out in March, 1914, over the ice with
dogs, and made their way due north,
discovering a large island or contin-
ent northwest of FRINGE Patrick is
land and making safe return to
Banks island.
Stefansson passed the summers of
1915 and 1916 in exploring this new
land, having established communica-
ton in 1915 with the Anderson party
through the powerboat Polar Bear,
which had gone to Banks Land with
supplies. expecting to find him.
Stefansson purchased the Polar
Bear and made it his headquarters.
Most of the crew of the Polar Bear
remained with him. He had an abun-
dance of food and large stock of
gasoline.
Stefansson at last had with him "a
white men, 10 Eskimos and a large
number OF dogs. and was in the best
of health, regretful that the Canadian
government had declined TO grant him
another year in the Arctic.
RED CROSS GETS So
C. M. Taylor, agent of the Alaska
Deck, found two one-dollar bills lying