Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-01
BY FREDERICK GRIFFIN.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
WINNIPEG. Manitoba, october l
.(N.A.N.A) Relief forces nave snatcn-
ed a victory from advancing Winter In
their fight for the lives OF the eight
fiyer-explorers lost now more than three
weeks in the upper reaches OF the bar
rem lands.
This victory consists of having pushed
the front line of the relief forces north
400 miles. 1t may hasten the rescue OF
the missing men by two or three weeks:
as 1t changes the advanced base OF
operations from Stoney Rapids, at the
east end OF Lake Athabasca, to Baker
Lake, on Chesterfield Inlet. :.
This move resulted from the audacity
of Pilots Roy Brown and w. Spence,
with Capt. G.. Blanchette OF Dimlnlon
Explorers, who, in two planes. after
fitting with Winter on the height OF
land Just beyond Beverley. Lake. side
stepped the ice and fog and slipped into
Baker Lake.
Await Freeze-Up.
Headquarters at Winnipeg lost no
time in consolidating the position which
these daring airmen had won. They
were told to stay in Baker Lake ana
await the freeze-up. Plans were rushed
to get skis to them to replace the pom
toons on their seaplanes, so that they
might be equipped to start flying over
the frost-bound barrenS which hold the
secret of the eight missing men.
Brig. Gen. D. M. Hogarth OF Domln-
ION Explorers said definitely today that
he would get skis to Brown and spence
before the end of the week. 1t is likely
that they will be sent to Fort Churchill
by the Hudson Bay Railroad. Possibly
Brown and Spence will fly down the
shore of Hudson Bay and get them and
then fly back to Baker Lake.
Although Dominion Explorers are
proceeding with their original plan to
make Stoney Rapids the main oase OF
the relief work, they are now concen-
trating on the idea of Baker Lake as
the farthest Northern post.
In Heart of Barren Lands.
The Importance of the strategy that
teeth of Winter is evident. 1t shifts
the advanced outpost of relief from the
Northern Saskatchewan bush to the
heart of the Barren Lands Baker Lake
is only a little south of the siXty-f1fth
parallel. It is the post from which the
eight men set out before they vanished
after stopping at Beverley Lake, with
which it is in line. 1t is within cru1s-
ing range of the area in which the men
must be down.
= At Baker Lake there is gas cache of
5000 gallons, which will give the pilots
chance to range almost indefinitely,
and the steamship Ocean Eagle is on It's
way now to Chesterfield Inlet and Baker
Lake with supplies from Fort Churchill.
But the time factor in the victory is
the important one. Winter will ice up
Baker Lake at least two weeks before 1t
does Stoney Rapids. Within a week or
two Baker Lake and the adjacent
waterways will have frozen and, If the
skis arrive, Pilots Spence and Brown
will have started ranging toward Bath
urst Inlet and Coronation Gulf in an
effort to find Col. MacAlpine and his
party.
May Try Hunt With Pontoons.
At the time Stoney Rapids, 400 miles
South and sheltered by bush. will still
have open water. Planes there will
weeks longer for ice. before taking OF
with skis and heading for the frozen
lands north.
= Indeed, it is possible that Brown and
Spence, if mild weather should prevail
during the next few days about the
siXty-fifth parallel, with an absence OF
fog permitting visibility, may try to
sneak up toward Bathurst Inlet with
their pontoon-equipped planes and
snatch a still greater victory by finding
further trace of the MacAlpine party
before Winter finally closes in.
In the meantime, Dominion Explor-
ers are not banking too much on Baker
Lake. Their big bet still is going to be
Stoney Rapids and they are proceeding
not merely on basis Of Winter prepa-
ration, but on the chance that the
search may be a long one. A long one
1t may be. with tens Of thousands OF
square miles of frozen and monotonous
wilderness to search.
Gen. Hogarth said that they are pro-
visioning Stoney Rapids to take care Of
30 men for four months. in addition to
Bending in camping equipment and me-
chanical equipment. Here at Stoney
Rapids, indeed up at the north limits
of the Saskatchewan, is being establish
ed an airport, one of the farthest North
in the world, where planes may be re-
conditioned and overhauled. A force Of
mechanics has been sent in and shops
will be set up.
Scow to Bring Provisions.
On Thursday next a scow will set out
from Edmonton, Alberta, and proceed,
tug drawn, up the AthabaSca River and
along Lake Athabasca to Stoney Rap
Ids, with load of groceries and meats.
Dominion Explorers are digging in on
basis that is not unlike preparation
for long war.
In the meantime, nothing has been
heard from C. H. Punch" Dickens. who
Is making lone flight up the Macken-
zie River to Fort Norman, in the hope
of crossing Great Bear Lake to Corona
ton Gulf and Bathurst Inlet. No one
is worrying yet about the spectacular
pilot, who may, by his present solo eff
fort, be going long way toward win
ming the Mckee Trophy second time.
for Punch" is credited with being "a
fool for luck"
And no one at the headquarters of