Evening star., 1924-04-20
AIeutian Islands Like Stepping Stones
Bet,oeen Populations of Vest and East
american Flyers Back Tracking I'm portant Historic
Migration and Perhaps Equally Important Pre-.
historic Movements, in World Flight.

/ ever, maintain themselves entirely by
| fishing, hunting and trapping. Sea
! otterS. the fur from which is very
valuable, frequented the ISLANDS IN
covered, but greedy methods of fur
collection have almost exterminated
these animals. On some of the islands
! blue fox farms are maintained.
"Alighting on the Aleutian Islands
with planes fitted with wheels would
be difficult. But nearly all of the is
lands are deeply indented and provide
every few miles little sheltered coves,
landlocked harbors or lakes on which
pontoon- fitted planes can come to
rest in an emergency.
HcrbOr Half Way 10 Asia.
Dutch Harbor, UnaIaska. is the first
island stopping place on the flyers
Schtdule. This deep, land-locked. har-
bor is one Of the finest In the north, and
has played an important part as a way
station for ships during the gold rushes
to the Yukon and to Nome. 1t Is con-
nected with the rest Of the world by a
radio station. Dutch Harbor is on the
shortest route from Seattle to Toxic, and
with the establishment of coaling sta
tions may conceivably become such A
Pacific way station for the northern
route as Honolulu is for the southern.
Atka, the secnd stopping place for
the airmFn, is approximately the half
way house of the Aleutian chain, and
on IL is the last settlement but one west
OF the mainland. Nazan Bay. which
gives an excellent harbor to Atka- is
often clear of fog when IL hangs heavily
outside. There is government school
in the little village on the inner harbor.
but no post Office. and the only connec-
tion with Dutch Harbor is through occa-
sional small trading schooners
Wcstcrnmost Bit Of America.
After Atka is passed the islands for
500 miles westward are uninhabted.
Then comes Attu. the last Of the Aleu-
tains. the westernmost bit of land at all
connected with the American continent
over which the Stars and Stripes wave.
This little outpost OF America is be-
yond the 1S0th degree Of longitude, and
so is technically in the eastern hemi-
sphere. The international date line has
been bulged out around it. however. 50
that all the Aleutians are included in
the same time system.
''Attu is much farther west than
Hawaii it is, in fact in the same
longitude as New Zealand. And in the
summer the sun is just setting from
Attu when it is rising in Maine 1t Is
200 miles from Attu to the coast Of
Washington state, the nearest point in
the United States proper. 1t is almost
exactly the same distance from the
Arrived at Attu the flyers will have
! covered more than 4 one-fifth of the
longitude they must ebver without hav-
! ing left the territory of the United
States.
Because the international date line
lies just beyond Attu. the airmen rising
from the island to continue their flight.
plunge directly into another day with
ont the lapse of any time Thus, hav-
ing started from this westernmost
! American station Monday. they were
flying a few moments later in the morn
ing Of the day that to the eastern hem
isphere was Tuesday"