Evening star., 1926-04-21
BY WILLIAM c. LYON.
Special Dispatch TO The star.

Special Dispatch TO The star.
kOTHEBUE, Alaska, April is. via
Seattle, April 21.-Since sending my
last dispatch five days ago we have
crossed the keewa1ik River, kotzebue
Sound, the Arctic Circle a real Arctic
hhzzard and maybe the Rubicon.
non know exactly what the Rubicon
=. but don't think | missed anything
bId BoreaS was awaiting us Just
across the Arctic Circle, and, of
course we were not expecting 50 Wig
oruus 4 reception. The peculiar thing
about these hlizZards is they slip up
on you unaware and suddenly before
YOU realize Nou are in it. And then
the only thing left 10 do is 10 make
the best OF il, and the best is never
good enough.
We got our dogs ia what we
thought was pretty fair shape, had the
sled. which had been pretty well used
mp in the long mush from Nenana to
Candle. oyerhauled, and Got good
three days rest for ourselves prepara-
tory TO the final dash for Point Barrow
and The scene of the polar flights OF
the coming season. We left Candle in
the middle Of the afternoon OF Friday
70 make q run of 10 miles to keewalik
\ village, 1T the mouth Cf the river OF
that name, and on the shore of kotze-
hue Sound. We made the short run
because the run from Candle TO the
first shelter cabin ON an island in the
sound would have been too long run
to negotiate or attempt in one day.
Stop in Deserted Village.
Keewalik village is another of those
places which are rapidly becoming
typical in this great territory. There
IS group of houses, stores and other
forms of structures there, which, as
the traveller approaches gives the inn
preston of a prosperous village. on
arrival there we found just three per
sons living in one cabin--a squaW
lAan, his wife and a native boy, who
"helpS around the place" The rest of
the village is deserted, not soul or
even dog outside the lone inhabit-
ants team of 13, reduced from the
original Is by two recent deaths, one
of which occurred the night we were
there
After a breakfast of fiapjacks. eggs
and coffee we hooked up our teams
and launched forth to the great open
spaces of kotzebue Sound, covered by
smooth ice and laid over with coat
ing of snow. 1t was like setting forth
across a, great prairie in MidWinter.
One would never suspect that he was
travelling over a large body of water.
which in a few weeks will be open to
navigation.
The shelter maintained by the Alas
ka Road Commission lay some ~
miles ahead of US. We left keeWaHk
about o'clock in the morning ana
reached the cabin after n uneventful
and for once. not entirely uncomfort-
able trip. There we found three native
teams ahead OF us. We Embarrassed
The dogs, tying them to stakes driven
in for the purpose by the same road
commission.
Comforts Are Lacking.
shelter cabin describes the domicile.
II Il shelter-simply that and nothing
more. 1t hasn't even floor, but
there are four shelves of rough plank
huilt on the side walls. on these we
placed our sleeping bags-and that $
chat. You sleep or you don't, and !
didn't. Probably it was because !
had had q few days rest ana SeFefal
nights of comfortable sleeping; per
hans I was surfeited. just At mid
night a traveller from KotZebue ar
rived with two escorts. That made
seven of us to share the cabin.
There is q stove in the cabin made
If an old oil tank On it we melted
snow for water and then made coffee
and had sumptuoUS repaSt -four OF
us, including myself, drew shelVes
and the three others spread their sleep
ing bags on the ground At least we
had shelter. 1t was not 50 cold The
late arrival, a white man who lives
hereabouts and has for many years,
enlightened me to the extent that we
had almost crossed the Circle and
were resting within a mile of it. SO
] decided to speak broadly and say
we slept on the Arctic Circle.
That was Saturday night | did not
reflect in time, but had ! done so !
would have remained at the Circle
cabin until Monday morning. Later
reflection during the day made me
decide there is a jinX on Sunday
travelling. and from now on I'm going
10 heed the ink. For the last three
Sundays it has gone unheeded, and
each time l have had ample reason
10 regret it. Every Sunday we have
travelled we have encountered all
sorts of hard luck, and this one
climaXed them all
Starts OH Next Lap.
Having been unable to get any
sleep worth considering, | arose be-
fore O'Clock and made a fire and
Drenared Il pot Of coffee. Bundy and
] soon consumed an excuse for break
fast, and / hooked up my team, which
is a division Of our original team, and
started out again across the next sec
tion Of the sound.
The trail led from q hundred yards
to half a mile off shore along the
bluffs of a promontory jutting out into
the sound. Il was Il lee side affair
and protected from the wind by the
bluff running up hundreds of feet i'll
the air. | little suspected what was
going TO happen when | rounded the
cape, but when did there was no mis-
taking There was where old BoreaS
staged the reception. The wind, com
ing unobstructed across the sound,
was hitting a gait of about 3o miles
an hour and driving stinging snow
in its wake into my face.
The distance by trail from the
shelter cabin at the circle, to the
village Of kotzebue is 40 miles. It
seemed more like 400 before it was
finished. al $50 last night. AS | sit
in a roadhouSe and write this dis
match I wonder how | ever got here.
The wind. much accelerated. is still
blowing steadily. and the visibility out
Of the window is about ten feet in
face of the flying snow. Mr.. Bundy
left the Circle cabin nearly an hour
after ! did, and beat me to the road
house here by a few minutes. He has
more dogs than l.
In all this blow the temperature
hovers around zero. | Travelled fairly
comfortably even through the blizzard
Of Sunday, because we had lghtened
the load with q guide and his team,
whom we took from Candle. We will
have one Of these fellows with us for
the rest of the trip to Point Barrow.
because there are no more stake and
travelled trails. and if the blizzard
continues there will be no more travel.