The Wrangell sentinel., 1929-08-01

plane, Mir. Frothingham and Colonel ohlson parted company at Ruby, | the colonel having been met there by L. J. Palmer, in charge of the biological survey station at Fair | banks. They flew into the kusko- kwim districts to make a survey or | the reindeer situation and went rom there to Fairbanks by way of Mckinley Pass, while Mir. Frothing- ham waited at Ruby for a plane 10 so from Fairbanks to get nIm. some delay having been experienced Ill I getting a radio message through to the Fairbanks station. He reached Fairbanks about 15 minutes after | Colonel Ohlson had lett for Anchor age and it was necessary for MT. rockingham to 1Iy to Nenana to catch the coast-bound train.
 Numerous forest fires were ob- served while making tue flight from Nome to Ruby, the smoke being so thick at times that it inter1ered with visibility and necessitated a veering off the course. The fires, more than ten of them, were on the north side Of the Yukon river, be- ] low Ruby, and so far back that it l seemed unlikely that they had been set by human agency. It is the conviction of MT. k'rothingham that the fires were caused by lightning. The flames were visible rom the | plane, where the smoke was not too dense, ana it was apparent that a vast area or timber was being de- stroyed, with no means of checking the spread Of the fire because Of the remoteness or the region, far re- moved even from the small river settlements.
 Defend Kodiak Bears
 AS prevIousIy cnronicIed by The 1 Times, Mir. trothingnam had a very successrul spring pear hunt in the Kodiak district, under the auspices of the Alaska Guides, Inc, his ex- pedition in the Uyak bay country having been directed by Guide Earl Olmstead. Two splendid trophies were obtained, the larger pelt hay ing a length Of slightly more than I proximately nine feet.
 MT. Frothingham aYailed himself of the opportunity while on the is land, to make a study of the bear situation and his investigations have convinced him that Kodiak bears have been unjustly accused of being a menace to livestock. Dur ! I,s ct s,, .a bear country he frequently saw two | horses which were abandoned by their owner seven years ago and which have been running wild ever since that time. They could not have survived that long, the New Yorker declares, if the bears had been as meat hungry as it is claim ed they are.
 The truth of claims that cattle and sheep have been killed by Ko- diak bears is not questioned by Mir. Frothingham, but he maintains that all Kodiak bears should not be con demned because certain of their number have made inroads on live stock herds. It is his belief that | age and that if the livestock men of the land will center their atten- tion on him, staying with the chase until he has been rounded up and killed, they will have no further loss to report and no further excuse for demanding the immediate exter- imitation of all bears on the island.
 Coming Back Next Year
 MT. Frothingham spent a consid- erable part of last summer in Alas ka, coming early for bears and re- maining until the end of the fall hunting season. Mrs. Frothingham also was in Alaska last year and she is coming north again next year, having promised that she will re- main with him throughout the next season if he will cut his visit short this summer, which he re- luctantly has consented to do. He will take a lot of material out with him which he will work into news paper and magazine articles and lectures, and the result will be much favorable publicity for Alas ka during the coming winter. Mir Frothingham likes Alaska, believes the territory has a bright future, and is pleased to do what he can to enlighten the world regarding real conditions here, in return for the enjoyment he finds in hunting and visiting among Alaskans.