The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-09-07
is ANCHORED TO
ARCTIC ICEBERG
ALLAN MDANIEL WRITES OF
EXPERIENCES IN FAR NORTH
ON GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

DR.. and Mrs. J. A. Mcdaniel are
in receipt of an interesting letter
from their son, Allen, who is with a
party of United States geological sur
veyors, in the far north, where they
will make a survey of two rivers
emptying into the Arctic ocean, which
have never been surveyed. They will
make headquarters at Point Barrows.
Young Mcdaniel left Moscow, June
3. The trip from Nome was made
on the American fur trading vessel,
" The Arctic"
The letter, which is dated July
13, Artic Ocean, ten miles south of
Icy Cape" says in part:
"Still the ice keeps holding US
back from Point Barrows. We are
now anchored to field of ice which
looks strong enough to last forever.
The Arctic stops at all the Eskimo
villages, such as Point Hope and
Point Lay and I find the villages very
interesting.
"At Point Hope, which was for
merly the home of great and power
full band of whalers, the framework
of the houses are all made from the
ribs of the whale. Dirt and sod are
piled against the ribs, making a very
warm abode.
The Eskimo homes are very dirty,
due to the fact that the seal and
other animals are butchered right in
the homes and the remains left there
to decay. A graveyard is fenced with
whale ribs. There are several hund-
rod Jncnrtnd hnr1nc hof
allowed to fall apart and I find these
remains very interesting.
"At Point Lay we went ashore,
and while looking around the village
storm came up at sea. The ice
burgs shifted their position and
closed in our motor boat, so we had
great difficulty in again reaching our
ship, The Arctic which was four
miles out at sea.
"My sleeping quarters are in
life boat which hangs by the side
of the big ship and over the water,
but my sleeping bag keeps me very
warm.
During the days we have been
anchored to the iceburgs, several in
teresting and thrilling hunts have
OCOh DletSoCu w Gil I'D al Z IAANh III
arctic waters and sometimes we have
come upon herds of them numbering
a thousand or more. At such times
we started after them in a large
whale boat, loaded with harpoons and
high powered guns. Those in the
front of the boat shot the walruS and
when it came up for air the harpoons
were used. These are long spears
with rope attached and when they
enter the walrus' body the animal
fights for it's life. One walrus we
killed thrust its tusk through our
whale boat, but as it was above the
water line it made no difference On
this particular expedition we killed
fourteen walrus and / am spending
my spare time polishing one of the
pairs of tusks.
THE walrus when full grown
weighs about two thousand pounds,
and their groaning reminds me Of the
elephants in the circus.
"Seals are everywhere, and we kill
many of them every day. OF course
these are hair SEAL not the fur seal
which are controlled by the govern
ment.
July 24-We have at last landed in
Wainwright and met the world re-
nouned arctic explorer, Captain
who invited us to lunch
at his house. 1t seemed queer indeed
to be dining on top of the world
with man who has been royalty en-
tertained by our presidents, as well
as by kings and emperors of other
lands. He says that his aeroplane,
The Elizabeth will not make its
two-thousand mile flight to the pole
this summer.
This is a barren little town and
the native Eskimos here are little
more than savages. A large Reindeer
herd is right in town now.
Perhaps by the time you receive
this letter I will be on my way
home and I will send you a wire from
Nome on my way out"
At one of the stops in Alaska, the
Moscow boy met Miss Diupe, a Red
Cross nurse, who was stationed at
Moscow for some time in connection
with the veterans bureau work, some
two years ago.