Evening star., 1923-11-01
BY HAROLD NOICE.
Leader WrangeI Island Rescue Expo
Gitson.

BY HAROLD NOICE.
Leader WrangeI Island Rescue Expe-
Git.On.
Ada Blackjack's record of life on
Wrangel Island is as much an epic
of suffering patiently borne as the
Book of job
In tie most matter of fact way and
without the least trace Of self pity.
she records the Affections as they be-
fell her Scurvy and snow blindnc css
keep her indoors for a few days at
provement she is out again, visiting
her traps. hauling and chopping wood
and hunting for eggs to feed her pa
tient Lorne Knight, the American
man, who was slowly dying of scurvy
at that time
In May her trips TO the traps be-
came more and more discouraging.
Time after time she finds them empty.
She is in d. dsspair Tnen she sees a
mines to learn to shoot. Knight as
been afraid to trust her with the gun.
IT may be that the deSperateness of
their situation causes him to recon
s.der. IL may be that she learns to
shoot surreptitiously. At any rate.
She takes his gun and makes target.
Learned to Shoot.
On May % she writes in her diary
with a trace of exultance:
Il shot shotgun one time. | took
empty tea tin and shot. I Sfot right
TN it; that's pretty good for first time
shooting. and ] clean Doth shot guns
Again. on May 25th:
II carry log Of about ten feet long
and saw half Of 1t. And | shot five
times with Knights rifle. I did shot
better than though l would do.
only hit my target twice. l thought
that's good enough for me for first
time shooting with rifle.
May 26th. took four shots witt
the rifle. With three first shots 1
didn't hit my target. With the last
shot | hit my target. l 81 cot with
three sitting and last one l lie on
my belly. And l took a shoot with
shotgun standing UP and hit my tar
get and | make shotgun case and
knife case for myself. And l took
two pictures of camp and didn't work
Kills seaguu.
Also on June she proudly re-
cords the fact that she killed a sea-
that she made a shotgun cartridge
bag"
Another entry records crack
shot:
June I found one fresh
seagull egg and when l was coming
home there was geese fly over me
and | took shot. | got one geese
and she had three eggs in her. One
almost got she'll on it and T took
shot at hawk but didn't kill her
and ] saw little summer bird"
Ada's thoughts. as the days so by,
are more and more on her little boy
IN Nome. Her fears for him are
those Of any mother anywhere. even
to her desire to save him from
stepmother. On June 10 she writes
what is almost a will.
This very important notice case
] happen to died. ] want Mrs. Rita
McCaffcry to take care of my son
Bennett. l don't want his father
mother. Not for my boy. My sis
ter Rita is just as good his own
mother. ] know she love Bennett
just as much l do. I dare not my
son have stepmother. If you please
let this known to the judge. If I
got any money coming from boss of
this company, 1t it $1,000 give my
mother. Mrs. Ototook. 5000. If It
only $500 give her 800. Rest Of it
for my son and let Rita have money
enough support Bennett"
Was Legal VIII.
This entry is dated, and unlike the
others In the book is signed by her
'"h anu III case OF HGr QSdln
would have been a legal will.
She follows 1t with the explanation:
Il just write note In case polar
bear tear me down or else l fall in
sorae rotten ice because / am hunt
tnH pretty near every day. Knight
- very sick. He hardly talk He
lie in his sleeping bag for four
months. He pretty near die, tenth
of May and twelfth"
Then comes snow blindness:
account my eyes sore from snow
blind. Yesterday ! got geese and
found one seagull egg and that one
geese | got she has one egg and two
small ones. knight eat some egg,
he cannot eat meat"
For fhrea dauc Ado