The Cordova daily times., 1921-04-14
LETTER SAYS
 POLAR BEAR IS
 SAFE IN ARCTIC

JUNEAU, April 14.-Safe in winter quarters at Nizhni, near the mouth of KOlyma river, Siberia, after an ad venturous trading voyage on the Arctic coast, the trading schooner Polar Bear, which left Nome June 27, 1920, in command of Capt. s. K. Gudmunndson, is awaiting breaking up of the Arctic ocean and Boring sea ice this summer to return to Nome with a rich cargo of furs and ivory, according to a letter, six months in transit, just received by Henry Berry, Juneau curio dealer.
 The letter itself, written on an old fur list and enclosed in an en- velope previously used and turned inside out, is a curio. The letter, dated Nizhni. Kolyma, Siberia, Sept. 27, 1920, and coming, as shown by one of the postmarks, by way of Moscow, bears the marks of much travel. No adhesive stamps at all are affixed to the. envelope. Where the stamp ordinarily would be is a postmark in Russian characters.
 In January, 1920, Capt. Gudmud- son passed through Juneau on his way to western Alaska to go in over the winter trail to Nome. He visited Mir. Berry, who, knowing that he was contemplating trad ing voyage to Siberia, commissioned him to get some curios for his store here from that far-off land The captain did not forget his promise, and explains in his letter, which follows, why the curios had not yet reached Juneau.
 "T want to explain to you that did not forget my promise regard ing the Siberian curios. They were boxed and addressed to you, but did not reach Nome last fall on ac- count of the ice on the Arctic ocean.
 "T left Nome on June 27, 1920, in command of the trading schooner Polar Bear and. sailing along the Siberian coast and around East Cape into the Arctic ocean, arrived at the mouth of the kolyma river on Au- gust 4 Took the Polar Bear 120 miles up the river and then took a small boat 39O miles farther up and was still 400 miles from the head of the river.
 'We found trading exceedingly good, as no boat had visited that vicinity in four years and we soon disposed of our goods and loaded up with goods of the country.
 "OH August 28 we left the mouth of the Kolyma for Nome, loaded down with trade goods but rather short of provisions. We ran into the Arctic ice on September 6, so deter mined to go back to the Kolyma river for winter quarters. We ar is where we are now. We have a great abundance of meat and fish but no luxuries. We have cut great supply of wood and will spend a good winter We intend to trap and travel over the country
 eve have found the inhabitants of this country most kind and hos pitable and their government much different than pictured by many radical newspapers.
 "We will sail for Nome at the opening of navigation next summer"
 DARING VOYAGE
 The Polar Bear is a motor driven schooner 76 feet long, powered with a 75-h. D. engine and is of 55 net tons crew of five is carried. To reach the Kolyma river it was nee essary for the boat to cross the Bering straits, skirt the western coast of Siberia for several hundred miles and then, rounding East Cape, tray eerse the Arctic ocean for several hundred miles more. That the cargo that will be brought back will be rich one there is little doubt as the traders would have their pick of the rich fnrS and ivory of the district that had been gathered by the na- tives since the last visit of a ship there four years before.