The Alaska daily empire., 1921-08-24
SCHOONER OFF
 TO FAR NORTH
Staunch Little Vessel Olive Headed for Lena River,
 Arctic Siberia.

Bound on a voyage that ranks with the greatest commercial ventures ever undertaken on the sea. the new power schooner Olive, built in Seattle and owned by the Boring Sea & Arctic Trading Company, is now out from Seattle on trading expedition to the Lena River, Arctic Siberia, 1,500 miles northwest of Nome, Al aska When the stout little schoon CT reaches the Kolyma River, hereto fore considered one of the most re- mote parts of the Arctic. she will have completed slightly more than half of the trip from Nome to the Lena River. E%
 From Seattle to the Lena River via Nome, the distance is 4,000 miles. For the three years preceding last summer, not a single trading vessel was able to reach the Kolyma River and the Lena River is 700 miles be- yond the Kolyma The Lena River is navigable for 900 miles and the Olive expedition plans to ascend 1t for many miles.
 The vessel will remain two years in the North. Next summer she will come out to Nome to discharge furs, ivory and other Siberian products and replenish her supplies. She will then return to the Lena River.
 The company is composed of B. w. (Barney) Hettel, old-time Alaska sourdough who spent four years in the Arctic; Dave Sullivan, also an old-tme Alaska sourdough, and Cap tain Axel Olsen. who first went North in 1881 and who built the Olive at site on the West Water way. Seattle capitalists are inter- ested with them in the expedition.
 Woman Takes Trip
 Mir. Hettel is going along with the expedition Captain Olsen is master of the power schooner, with Charles Martinsen as mate and H. H. Martin sen and Martin H. Martinsen engin- eers. The Martinsens are brothers The crew includes Captain Olsen $ three stalwart sons-Lawrence, Clar- | cDtC anu DuN iu MI oioCh 10 dN companying the expedition, undaunt ed by the perils of Arctic navigation into remote, uncharted and almost | inaccessible region. No vessel has succeeded in reaching the Lena River l for four or five years at least. Dur ing that period it's only connection with the cities of Central Siberia has been furnished by occasional dog team expeditions.
 In building the Olive, Captain Ol sen was assisted by his three sons the work taking IA months. Tht hull is oak framed every six inches and all the lumber used in the hull was seasoned for two years. fht vessel is two-masted schoonel powered with heavy duty distillat' engine of 50 horsepower. She is 6 feet Il inches long with a beam O
 17 feet and was designed by Captail
 Olson especially for Arctic cond
 tions tt -
 Win Take 30 Days
 Captain Olsen figures that unde l NOnuhllOIlo Cdl Hidhc III Lena River 24 to 30 days from S attle. If adverse conditions shoul hold the vessel back. the vessel wi | winter in the Kolyma River, tradin in that district. .l ! The mouth of the Lena River is 8 latitude 72 degrees North s.s | Captain Olsen is well remembere
 in shipping circles as the master (
 the sailing schooner Bear, whic
 dropped anchor off Nome May
 1899, when there were only 30 pc
 sons in that camp. He was one (
 the discoverers of Anvil Creek in tn
 Nome district.
 While in Arctic Siberia the exped
 tion will prospect and survey th | territory with A view tO establishir