The Nome nugget., 1920-01-17
COMMISSIONER MARK HAS
 CLOSE CALL ON TRAIL

To be lost for hours in a blinding blizzard and undergo the trials and dangers of a night in the open along the unsheltered shores of Cape Spen- cer while the storm king vented his wrath in whirl of bitter cold and driving snow, was the recent perilous experience of United States Commits sioner Wh. Marx of the Port Clar- ence Precinct according to informa- tion brought to Nome by Capt. Thos. A. Ross, who returned from a trip to the Teller and Hot Springs sections last week in company with Rev. Fr. Rupert.
 Commissioner Marx spent the en- tire night of December 24 on the bar ren reaches of Point Spencer, withou. shelter of any kind and without even sleeping bag to protect him from the gale and flashing snow. Unable to sec in the darkness and driving snow murk: bleeding at the nose from the intense cold: saved from yielding t, the deadly sleep of freezing only by the strongest exertion of will and oc- casional stumbles over his recumbent dog team. Commissioner Marks truds- ed weary circles around his sled throughout the long hours of storm and darkness. fighting off the chill grip of the frost until daylight brought surcease from his terrible vigil and permitted him to recognize his surroundings. With the coming Of day the storm abated and the half frozen Commissioner was able, to con- tinue his journey to Teller.
 Relating the story of his experience | to Capt. Ross Commissioner Marx said he became lost in the storm when within about six miles from Teller I while returning from Lost River. Mir. Marx left Teller on the morning of December 24th with Capt. Ross and Father Rupert as passengers. intend ing to deposit them at the tin mine landing camp at the mouth of Lost River and return to Teller the same day in order to spend Christmas with his family. Shortly after leaving | Teller the trio were overtaken by a storm accompanied by a temperature of B below. They arrived at the lower camp on Lost River at 90 p. m. \ strong blizzard was blowing by this time but Commissioner Marx was anxious to return home and left for Teller immediately. He succeed ed in covering about 25 miles of the Journey without difficulty and reached a point on the bay near the entrance to Grantley Harbor. The trail at this point ran between two strips of open water and it was while en- deavoring to avoid these danger spots in the storm and gathering gloom that he became turned around and appar- ently crossed the lower end of the bay, After travelling for some time he realized his predica ment and de- cided to stop. By this time dark. ness had settled down and the storm was so dense nothing could be seen
 Hour after hour was passed in trudg- ing around his dog sled. the chill monotony unbroken save by occas- sional falls from stumbling over the dogs. These tumbles, Mir. Marx said, were about all that kept him from falling to sleep several times. Luckily he was clad in furs and the knowledge gained in long mushing experience enabled him to avoid freez- ing any portion of his body aside from his nose. His nasal organ was blistered d bit despite all precautions. Save for the slight loss of skin involv- cd in this, he was none the worse for his experience. Although escaping practically unscathed. the experience was one that the commissioner vii, probably not recall without a shudder for many year to come. For less lexperionced musher than he it would probably have ended in tragedy. lrAKcc elInou leo -@ @e- ou,rn