Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-01-27

welcome to their festivities-gave us the town. in
fact.
"The principal meat supply of this region is its
wild game chiefly the moose and the caribou.
We were there at the season of the caribou runs,
as they are called. 1t seems that autumn ap-
proaches, the caribou begin their annual migra-
ton or The herds bunch together under
leader, apparently, and, to the number of 2OOOOO
to 100000, begin their run that stops at nothing,
that never turns aside, and that leads nobody
knows where. The method of hunting is quite
simple. The huntsman selects a spot that is as
near to the trail as he dares to get, takes his
stand, and picks off his game as it passes on the
AS it is purely pot-hunting-the game being
killed for food-the biggest and fattest bucks are
usually the killed by the gunner. Nature
has provided ample cold storage so the meat is
easily kept.
"The flight to Fairbanks the northernmost point
reached, was over the most desoate region Of the
entire course For miles there was sign of
trail not even an Indian trail. Then, suddenly we
picked up trail that appeared here and there
along the route, quite clear and well-defned We
afterwards learned that Gen. William Mitchell Of
the air service, had led an expedition into this
country and cut this trail 20 years ago in making
a survey for the purpose of establishing tele-
graph line to connect with a cable to Siberia,
which project later abandoned.
Fairbanks, with a population of 2,OOO is the
largest town west of Alberta, and the whole
town, reinforced by the mining camps of the VI
cinity, was out to meet us. The route to Ruby
was over low hills and swamps. There are no
maps of the country, because there has been no
survey 1t has been impossible to make one In
winter the country is covered with snow and ice,
and the only means of travel is on skis. In sum-
mer it is tundra, and travel is impossible
cat Ruby we landed on a sand-bar which con-
veniently appeared in the river at the right time,
and proved better for our purpose than the land
ing field first selected by Captain Douglas
seWe made the hop to Nome, skirting the Bering
sea- with weather conditions changing every hour
keeping in touch by wire with the wireless at
Name as soon as we got flash reporting the
weather clear, we jumped in our boats and
honped off. We flew at an altitude of 1OOU
feet zg-Zagging our way to avoid transforms.
When we saw fairly clear spot ahead we steered
for it. but for the most part it was just steady
pushing through black clouds.
"At Golovin bay, we saw herd Of reindeer,
and In Bering sea we spotted number of white
whales and long-haired SEALS
"Our only actual hunting the trip was to
bag a hundred or more ducks, and to kill black
haer We might have killed caribou, moose
mountain goats and sheep, but there was no rea'
son for IL as we had no means Of carrying the
game.
"At Fairbanks and Nome we given many
souvenirs. In the way of gold nuggets, and so on
Each one of us was presented with reindeer
hide parka such as the Eskimo wear. Most In
teresting, however, of the gifts are our Alaskan
dogs NV two were given me by Ben Derrick OF
Rubv who has carried the mail in that part OF
the world for years. The dogs are cross be-
tween the gray wolf and the Alaskan husky.
"Captain Streets dogs were presented to him
hv Sepalla, one of the Laplanders who came to
Alaska with the reindeer which the government
imnorted from Siberia about twenty-five years ago
and have multiplied and become so numerous IN
Alaska
CAPTAIN Douglas, to whom is due the credit OF
making all preliminary arrangements for the
fight confined his remarks to expressions of ap
probation for the cooperation and courtesy ex
tended throughout his journey, and that of the
expedition, by the Canadian government by the
signal corps and weather bureaus of both coun
tries, by municipalities and individual citizens
from one end of the route to the other.
wherever 1 went" Captain Douglas said 81
got acquainted with everybody. 1 know them
they are my friends. At Dawson the entire party
we're made honorary members of beth the Yukor
Pioneers and the Alaskan Pioneers, and at White
horse the distinction was conferred upon us
by the 'Squaw Mans Union"