New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1927-06-25
SCIENTISTS READY
| FOR ARCTIC STUDY
Macmillan Confident Of Benefits
to Aviation
TO STUDY RUINS ALSO

Present For All Children Living
Along the Desolate Labrador
Coast-Has Eskimo interpreter.
Wiscasset, Maine. June Is R1
Optimism ran high among members
Of the Rawson- Macmillan Field Mu-
scum expedition to the Arctic today
as preparations were made to weigh
anchors OF the little fleet that is to
carry IL scientists on fifteen
months trip to the interiors OF La
brador and Greenland.
Lieutenant Commander Donald B.
Macmillan who was starting his
eleventh voyage into the frozen
north, declared his belief that the
complete series Of meteorological in
vestigations which the expedition is
to undertake would prove of the
greatest value to aviation, particu-
larly transatlantic flying.
He also expressed the belief that
the study OF tunic ruins which is to
be undertaken under direction of
DR.. Duncan Strong Of Chicago, an
thropologist for the Field MI
scum, might solve the secret of the
strange race reputed to have settled
among the Eskimos hundreds Of
years ago.
Presents For All
One Of the features of the trip.
Macmillan revealed today. was the
fact that the three vessels are car
rying Christmas presents for every
child on the desolate Labrador coast.
Candy. toys. dolls and the other
appurtenances of Christmas in this
country will replace the usual raw
turnip as festive delights. The car
go OF holiday presents will be dis
tributed as the flotilla proceeds to-
ward Kauk, where the first perma-
nent scientific station in the far
north is to be established. Kauk Is
to be the base of MacMillan's oper-
atoms.
Another feature OF the trip is to
be a call at Hopedale, the Moravian
Eskimo mission village of 900
souls established on the bleak
peninsula 162 years ago. The ex-
plorer will present to Rev. William
Walter Perritt, head Of the mission.
$1,000 collected in voluntary con-
tributions during his lecture tour
last winter. The Moravian mission
is part OF the work OF denomi-
nation which has its head in this
country at Bethlehem. Pa.
The village has never seen such
a fund. Commander Macmillan
said, explaining that $50 was suf-
ficient to educate child for an
entire three year course there.
Data Important
Discussing the helpfulness of the
arctic meteorological data to the
trans Atlantic fier, the explorer
said, This is the very thing that
Lieutenant Commander Byrd is
waiting to obtain from weather Of
fcials and ships at sea to determine
whether he can fly to Europe. The
aviator depends so much on atmos-
pheric conditions that the value of
this station which we will con-
struct at Kauk ought to be great"
Macmillan recalled that Byrd had
his first arctic flying experience as
a member of the 1925 expedition
with the schooner Bowdoin and the
steamer Perry year before he
made his successful fight to the
north pole and return.
Special study Is to be undertaken
of the Tunic ruins which are to be
found up and down the Labrador
coast and which, according to Es-
kimo legend. are the remains of
houses built by a curious race
which came to the shores in open
boats without decks or sails. The
remnants OF the structures which
still stand resemble the Morse
ruins in Greenland.
IF we can get good evidence
that they are the homes of Morse
men, then we have real grounds
for believing America was discov-
cred at least 300 years before Co.
lumbus came across" declared the
arctic adventurer.
volumes have been written and
many places on the coast Of the
United States claim the honor Of
having been visited by the Morse
but as far as we know there is not
a single bit of evidence that is au-
thoritative. believe we are going
to find something in Labrador that
will shed light on the Tunic race"
Has Eskimo Interpreter
One OF the party is Abraham
Bromfield. whose home is in Jack
Lanes bay, $50 miles south OF
kauk. who is the party's official
Eskimo interpreter. He returned
with Macmillan to the United