, 1925-01-29

VI CdlaIaCl1 LII lAA46 MGAo
down the steep mountain Sides. The
ground, wherever not coated with
Ice, was covered with a layer of
moss from six inchss to a foot in
depth. Each step we took we sank
into It as though walking on a
Chinese carpet.
Except for the few people who
mine cryolite the only men who
ever visit Ivigtut, Greenland, are
explorers on their way to the Arctic
ocean. The place consists of an
Eskimo village and a mining camp.
So far as l know 1t is the only place
in the world where cryolite is found
IN quantities large enough to make
mining worth while. Cryolite is a
scaly mineral made up OF sodium
and aluminium and each spring the
Danish firm that has the mining
concession sends up about three
hundred husky men and supplies
them with living quarters. clothing,
food, tobacco, and drink. They are
unable to spend a single penny
while in Greenland, so each miner
goes back TO Denmark in the
| AUTUMN VIII d Ab6C bdhh ACH"
Movies and Fishing. 8
Life gets a bit monotonous for
these cryolite miners. so they were
enormously pleased to see us and
spent most OF their spare time look
ing over the planes. The first night
after our arrival in Ivigtut the Of
| fcers and crew of the Milwaukee
invited the whole Danish colony on
| board TO supper. Afterwards movies
were shown on deck. 1t rained dur
ing the performance, but the miners
sat through the drizzle and roared
| with laughter over the antics In the
American comedy.
Next day while waiting for the
weather to clear between Greenland
| and Labrador several Of US went
| trout fishing. This was the first OPP
| %portunity I had had Of using the rod
and line presented to me by h
| Post.Intelligencer before we left
| Seattle. The fishing was marvellous.
I initiated my Seattle rod by catch
ing forty trout IN loss than two
hours. But tho sailors from the
| Milwaukee decided that hook and
line were too GLOW. so they went
upstream several miles and then
INVADED back. driving the fsh as they
came. They had put a net in a
pool and when they pulled It up
they got nearly five hundred trout
| at tho final haul. most OF them
weighing from one to i've pounds.
when We were down at Fred
--i--<oy 49, no ote1, @fftrera an the
coast guard cutter the Island Falk
had asked us to tell them tho dates
on which we were born. We told
them. but had no Idea what their
| object was. The cutter came in to
Ivigtut on the 2sth. and as that
happened to be Les Arnold's birth
day the captain OF the Island Fa1k
passed the word along to the miners
on shore and a big party was given
that night in honor of Les. These
Danes who are marooned in Green
land take advantage Of every oppor-
tunity TO have a party. II a boat
comes in every one quits work and
they have a celebration. II a boat
goes out they do the same. A birth
day also provides them with ample
excuse to throw a party. q
Always Dodging Ice.
1--WE were staying on board the
cruiser and on our way ashore. to
attend the soiree our launch had &c
dodge in and out among the ice
bergs. The previous night one OF
the launches coIlided with a BERG
on the way back from Ivigtut and
the occupants got to the Milwaukee
just about two minutes before she
sank.
The night OF the 29th we again
attended the movies on tho deck OF
the cruiser. The sky was perfectly
clear and in addition to. tho show OF
the screen we had a marvellous e x
hibition Of the northern lights. They
flashed and crncklcd across the sky
In a weird. uncanny way. To attend
an American movie by the light OF
the aurora borealis was surely a un,
ique experience. And as we sat there
on the deck of the cruiser. with ice
bergs drifting all around US and
with the peaks OF Orchards icy
mountains lit up by tho flashing
northern lights. It seemed hard &c
realize that only a few weeks hao
passed since we had sat underneath
a tropic noon in a lagoon in far of
Indo-China. -
During the night of the 3oth fail
weather reports came in by wireless
from Labrador. so we were VI at
and ready TO leave at 6 o'clock. Bul
I had a bit or trouble with the Chi
cago and 1t was $50 before we final,
got away from Ivigtut. Five miles
out over Davis strait we ran Into a
fog bank. but knowing the weather