The Alaska daily empire., 1920-10-20
WEATHER Chief
Gets UP RIVER
ON LAST BOAT
Returns from 5 Months Inter
esting Trip-Installs New
Observation Stations.

Arriving on the City of Seattle
yesterday, NJ B. Summers, Director
of the Alaska section of the Wea-
Their Bureau was one of about 25 pas
sengers who travelled up the Yukon
River on the steamer Washburn. Mr..
Summers boarded the boat at Tan
ana on September 80, but the other
passengers were nearly all from the
Iditarod region, among them being
Mr. and Mrs. Jay Smith and son
Mr. and Mrs Guy Geraghty and
children, and Michael Brady. Most
of them were bound for the Outside
some of them to return in the Spring
and others to remain in the States
Indefinitely, or until the lure of the
North overpowers them. This is Mr.
Brady's first trip to the States in SO
years, he having been in Alaska and
the Yukon region continuously since
1887.
Boat ce-Bound
Mr.. Summers stated that the pass
engers of the Washburn all felt for
tunate in having been able to come
through to Whitehorse in view of the
river conditions. Ice was encounter
ed shortly after leaving Rampant and
became heavier as the boat advanced
until at Cliff Creek below Forty
Mile, it completely blockaded the
channel During the two days the
boat lay there making several un
successful attempts to break through,
the passengers had visions of mush-
ing out to Whitehorse, some 500
miles.
Mr.. Summers said that nearly all
the passengers on the Seattle No ),
which was unable to travel any far
Their than Rampant, are also from the
Iditarod region. Among them are
Major Albrecht and Charles E. Tay
lor, attorneys of Iditarod, and several
women and children.
Caribou Encountered
A number of herds of caribou We're
seen between Circle and Dawson
while fresh trails on the slopes of
the hills indicated that many thous-
ands of the animals had recently
passed through. Only mile below
Dawson a herd of several hundred
was seen basking in the sunshine
on the bank of the river, as calmly
and contentedly as so many COWS in
pasture field.
Mr. Summers spent most if his
five months of travel in the Western
part of the Territory. Besides Wis
hn RI,r oil
operative stations in that region, he
established new stations at Barrow
Wainwright and Shaktoolik, and also
made arrangements for observations
at Aniak and Iditarod. The station
at Barrow is intended not only to
furnish climatic data for the extreme
northern portion of Alaska, but. in
conjunction with observations made
in northern Norway, Iceland and by
Arctic explorers, to assist in deter
mining the relations between press
ure conditions in high ATTITUDES and
weather conditions in middle lati
tudes.
Siberia Visited
During his travels in the Boring
Sea region, Mr.. Summers spent two
days at Anadr, Siberia. Here, he
says, the open season" was on from
last December to May, and II men
were the result of the seasons kill
ing-a very concrete example of the
absence of organized government
Mr.. Summers was much interested
In the local weather station at Anadir
which he found to be well equipped
with standard murcurial barometers
thermometers and other instruments
mostly of German manufacture. Re
ports of weather conditions We're
formerly photographed from AnadiI
to the Weather Bureau in the States.
by way of the St. Paul Island radio
station. The observer discontinued
the observations when the reign of
terror" began last December. saying
ii was unsafe to go outside the house
at night to make observations.
BY reason of emergency repairs
to the Coast Guard Cutter Bear
Mr. Summers was compelled to spend
16 days on St Paul Island 1t was
during the height of the sealing sea
son. when everyone on the Island
was busy in the catch of fur seals
He states that the catch of the sea
son was $4,000 on ST. Paul Island
and about 5000 on St George Island
Headquarters for Ladysmith Coal
DLo-o 40 a.