The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-02-17

tt&6f FN00Na
Toronto, for One who was StarV-
ing, Wasn't the Place to Find a 'Man
in a Silver Fox Coat"-came for Re-
Venge.
Trailing the man who had stolen
his huskies and his furs on 81 Northern
tfu1l, jacques Ricltor. ii n1neteen-yeir-
old boy from Great Slave lake in Atha-
basca. Just undt; the Arctic Circle,
STAGGERED from -he blind baggage of
the twin from the West in the depot
1T To fatO. Ont.
Hi. where are you going?' called
a policeman who regSrded the boys APP
pearance as suspicious.
What business is it of yours?" an
sweled the youth.
OF course the policeman grabbed
him but when he did so he found the
boys great frame was emaciated. his
cheeks Sunken. his strength that Of
!; kitten, and his face with a tell-tale
raller. So the boy was escorted not to
flle cells but to the hospital.
There it was found he was in an
advanced stage Of starvation. After
food and rest he related a story of
the great lone Northland that out
movies any movie, and out-fictions' tic-
ton.
Came for Revenge.
Revenge brought him to Toronto.
some one told him the man who had
lone him the great wrong in the Silence
of the Arctic had gone to Toronto. He
had no idea where Toronto was or
what 1t was-he assumed it was a
trading post. maybe Il village where he
would be able to run his man down
promptly. SO he set out to find To
ronto. And for 1000 miles, all the way
from Great Slave lake to Toronto, he
beat his way. For the last four days
of his journey his only nourlshment
had been one Gun Df ,ea. He has moi
found his man nor pis huskies. And
yet some day. somewhere
Jacques Richtor's amazing journey
is but one of many amazing things he
relates. On the north shore of Great
Slave lake he has lived from birth
He and his father are trappers. Fort
Henry. where they take their furs, is
40 miles away. But here is jacques
own story:
II was born in the Athabasca. My
father IS seventy years old and stands
s'x-foot seven. | don't know much of
my mother. Father never speaks of
Ecr. r told me that she ran off
with a nther man when | was two
years old because she was tired of the
loneliness. After that my father had
70 catch a deer and he raised me on
deer milk.
He was n chemist in England, and
in orr cabin we had several books on
chemistry. We had three other books
and on them | was educated. They
were three books of Longfellow's
poems, and my father taught me to
read from them.
First Woman at Fifteen.
~ never saw a woman until l was
fifteen. That year my father took me
to Fort Henry. 1 asked him who
this man was who wore such a long
coat, and he told me 1t was a woman.
He took me to a place they called a
lunch house, and there | tasted pie
for the first time. l had been brought
up on meat and cornmeal bread. |
ate a whole pie that time. Then l
had ice cream and strawberries, the
first time had them, and the last"
Here is Jacques account Of the
strange adventure which brought him
to civilization, an adventure still I'M
guessed by the seyenty-year-old father
the English chemist immured in the
Arctic.
I'VE usually take our furs u from
Great Slave lake In the summer, when
the lakes break up, but last spring my
father got sick and so we couldn't
take our winter trapping down.
Started With Dog Team.
Il started u about two months ago
with our last winters work. l had two
silver foxes, 100 beaver, 300 muskrats,
| 81 lynx, three bears and several offers.
l had a good dog team of II huskies.
81 had gone about twO-thirds of the
way. One morning | saw a man lying
in the middle of the trail with his
snowshoes sticking up in the air.
bought he was dead. When l stopped
over him two men Jumped out of the
bush and grabbed me They hit me on
the head with a club.
The next thing | knew | was lying
Ii the snow, my dogs gone, my furs
gone. my guns gone. And worst Of
all they took my coat, a a my father
had given me. 1t was white seal with
silver fox collar, perfect fur. My
father had got it from Indians who
had bought it from the Eskimos.
"All had left was a buckskin shirt,
buckskin pants. fur underclothes, a
ur cap. mltts. and my hunting knife.
don't remember much after that.
bought I'd die, but first | wanted to
~ the men who stole my dogs and my
urs.
81 had 10 get TO Fort Henry.
don't remember just how 7 got there or
Just now long 1t took me. 7 made
traps frem mOccasln laces and caught