Palisadian., 1923-02-16

Trailing the man who had stolen
his huskies and his furs on Northern
trail, jacques Richtor, ii nineteen-year-
old boy from Great Slave lake in Atha-
basca, just under the Arctic Circle,
staggered from the blind baggage of
the train from the West in the depot
at Toronto, Ont.
Hi, where are you Soing?' called
a policeman who regarded the boys ap-
pearance as suspicious.
what business is it of yours?" an
swered the youth.
OF course the policeman grabbed
him but when he did so he found the
boys great frame was enaciated, his
cheeks. sunken, his strength that of
kitten, and his face with Il tell-tale
pallor. So the boy was escorted not to
the cells but to tie hospital.
There it was found he was in an
advanced stage of starvation. After
food and rest he related story of
the great lone Northland that out
movies any movie, and outtictionS tic
ton.
Came for Revenge.
Revenge brought him TO Toronto.
Some one told him the man who, had
done 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 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 nourishment
had been one cup of tea. He has not
found his man nor his 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
TAO miles away. But here is jacques
own story:
II was born in the Athabasca. Ny
=
six-foot seven | don't know much of
my mother. Father never speaks Of
her. He told me tlIat she ran off
with another man when | was two
years old because she was tired of the
loneliness. After that my father had
to catch deer and he raised me on
deer milk.
"He was a chemist in England and
in our cabin we had several books on
chemistry We had three other books
and on them I was educated. They
were three books of Longfellow's
poems, and my father taught me to
read from them.
First Woman at Fifteen.
Il never saw woman until l was
fifteen. That year my father took me
to Fort Henry. | asked him who
this man was who wore such a long
coat, and he told me it was a woman
He took me to place they called a
lunch house, and there | tasted pie
for the first time. had been brought
up ON meat and cornmeal bread. L
ate whole pie that time. Then l
had ice cream and strawberries, the
first time 1 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 seventy-year- father
the English chemist immured in the
Arctic.
1--WE usually take our furS out 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.
'I' started out about two months ago
with our last winters work. / had two
silver foxes, 120 beaver, 300 muskrats,
81 lynx, three bears and several offers.
had a good dog team of II huskies.
II had gone about two-thirds of the
way. One morning 1 saw a man lying
in the middle of the trail with his
snowshoes sticking up in the air.
thought lie 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 l was lying
in the snow, my dogs gone, my furs
gone, my guns gone. And worst Of
all they took my coat, coat my father
had given me. 1t was white seal with