Evening star., 1923-07-27
WORKING SLOWLY
! TO THE NORTH POLE
MacMiIIan's Arctic Bound
|, Ship Completes 1000
F Miles of Journey.
BY CAPT. DONALD b. MACMILLAN.

BY CAPT. DONALD b. MACMILLAN.
NEW YORK, July 27 Especial wire
less from MacMillan's Arctic-bound
ship Bowdoin, Turnavik Islands, via
amateur radio station lana, Chatham
port, Mass, r. B. Bourne, operator).-
Since my last message of July 10th
the Bowdoin has worked her way up
the coast of Labrador, through forty
miles of extremely heavy ice, and is
now anchoed off Turnavik Islands.
We arrived here early this morning
and in spite of constant handicaps
of fog, rain, ice and strong winds,
have completed 1000 miles of our
journey northward.
Faces Ice Field Almost Unbroken.
We will have to remain here until
the ice in the Hamilton inlet breaks
up and let's us through. 1t is packed
with an almost unbroken ice field,
held in by the easterly winds, and
causing serious delays for a number
of fishing schoonerS which have been
caught on the south side of the inlet
and are unable to work north to the
fishing grounds.
Our larder has run short and / am
depending now on my men to supply
us with fresh meat. They got some
fine young seals yesterday, wnlcn
the cook converted into seal stew.
The boys though this delicious. The
crew from one of the fishing poats
shot a large polar bear only g. 1e"
miles from here and from now on
we expect to see them In 1alr mum
bers on the ice Our men have their
rifles and ammunition ready ana are
all keen for the big game:
IN the we DdSSeu sever al
ships bound for the gold hunt at stag
bay with provisions ana equipment.
A number of Eskimo families nave
left the Moravian mission station at
Hopedale for the purpose of finding
employment in the gold helds. l
fear the results will prove dlsap-
pointing I examined a good speci-
men of gold-bearing quart .his Is
morning, but subsequently learned IL
had been brought from the interior
of Labrador by an Indian.
Houses Thousand Years Old.
We visited Etah Island and took
on two drivers from the tribe OF
Eskimos there to aid US IN our .s,ei,a Morh
during the spring months. While
there we investigated what are re-
ported to be Morse houses over
thousand years old. This island takes
it's name from legends OF the Eskl-
mos. 1t means the place OF the
The ruins consist of two rock
houses which are better described
as caves, clearly showing signs of
habitation. The fdors are paved
with fat stones and the walls dis
colored by smoke. If these houses
are genuine they are the first sangi-
BILE evidence of the visit OF the
Norsemen to America. First men,
toned in the saga of Eric the Red in
1870. although we find a description
of Vineland as early as 1880.
Early 'DiscOverfes's Noted.
There is evidence, however, in the
oral tradition for, possibly, 300 years
before being recorded, various ac-
counts of discovery Of lands, sup
posed to be Labrador and New
Foundland, have been handed down.
My friend and guest on board the
Bowdoin. Mr.. Sheldon Fairbanks Of
Boston. leaves tomorrow on the Lab
rador mail boat. We have added
another man to our crew in the per-
son of Ahram Bromfield of Auckland
bay. If ice conditions permit, we
shall head across for Greenland
about Tuesday, working constantly
northward toward the north pole.