White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1931-09-03
One of canada's Far-FIung Trading Posts.

ing rabbits in the woods and killing
frogs with sticks the party kept alive
for seven days, till rescued by an.
other flying boat sent to seek them.
The search for the lost French fly
ers, Coli and Nungesser, in May, 1927,
nearly cost the lives of Captain Rob-
inson and his crew. They had flown
along the north shore as far as the
Strait of Belle Isle, then still full of
ice, when storm forced them down.
Anchoring late in the evening, in the
shelter Of rocky ledge, they curled
up in their cockpit to await better
weather. Suddenly the wind veered,
blowing gale from the open sea.
Their anchor dragged and their ship
smashed on the rocks. They saved
their emergency kits, made a fire on
shore from the wreckage Of their
plane, and cooked breakfast. They
walked 20 miles along the beach,
| to lighthouse and signal station, to
report their whereabouts.
Returning from flight up the
Ashuapmuchuan river, one pilot
brought with him an old Indian. When
invited to ride, the red man seemed
in no way perturbed at the prospect.
He calmly donned helmet and goggles
and settled himself in the front cock
pit, as If flying were an everyday act
with him. In half hour he flew
downstream distance which just
previously it had taken him six days
to cover by canoe.
On landing he climbed out, stretched
himself, and said to the pilot:
bon canot! How much him cost?"
That Indian saw the advantage of
air travel in the north country. I'm
doubtedly he graphically pictured to
himself what patchwork he could
save for himself and family in their
long annual canoe trips to their hunt
ing grounds, If they owned such o
"bon canot"!
Flying In Winter.
In north Quebec, flying goes on
| summer and winter.
On January morning Capt. Ken.
meth Saunders, chief pilot of the Can
adian Fairchild company, started
| north with an engineer and Hud.
sons Bay company official, on a visit
F.! to some of the northern trading posts.
| Unless one flies, it usually takes six
| weeks of mushing on snowshoes, with
dog team to haul baggage, to reach
these wilderness OutpoSts. Regions be-
tween posts are wholly uninhabited.
Snow lies from four to six feet deep;
trails, such as they are, usually fol-
low the lakes and rivers, through a
broken country Of small timber.
When Saunders and party left Rob-
erval the day was bright and fair,
| but the thermometer was % below An
hour up the Ashuapmuchuam they
| sighted the first trading post and cir
cled to land on the frozen river. Eth
| er they struck spot where warm
| spring had thawed the ice or else an
early fall Of snow on this ice had pre-
vented thicker formation; anyway,
the plane broke through. The men
had barely time to crawl from the
cabin before the whole fuselage was
under water.
Luckily. they were near the post,
| and Tom Moar, the Indian in charge,
volunteered to walk out the hundred
| miles to civilization with a message.
| He started away within half an hour,
| taking only an ak, some matches and
chunk Of moose meat. He made the
| trip in the record time Of five days,
| sleeping twice, on the second and
| fourth night, in holes in the snow
lined with balsam boughs, and travel
ing continuously the rest of the time.
Meantime the Canadians set about
salvaging their plane. They made a
platform of logs around the machine
on which to work. AS the water was
not deep, tripod Of poles cut from
the woods was built over the aircraft
and its wings were removed.
savaged Their Plane.
Seven days later q rescue machine
reached the scene with hosting tackle
and tools. The wrecked plane was
moved safely to shore. A tent was
erected around the front of the fusel-
age and the engine, which was solid
mass OI ice. lillS lC0 WIS chopped
out, and then stove was lit in the
tent and gradually the cabin and en-
CINE thawed out.
The metal propeller badly bent, was
Strengthened and the engine reassem-
bled. The carburetor, though frozen
in a solid block of ice for eight DAYS.
again worked perfectly.
On the 9th Of February the plane
was again ready for flight. Accom-
panied by the rescue machine. which
had made several trips to ferry in
gas, provisions, and little gifts for
Mrs. Moar and her family Con whose
hospitality the crew had been depend
ent during the salvage operatlons), 1t
took off safely and flew back to Rob
erval.
Northern British Columbia is as in.
accessible country as can be found
on this continent. Cut off from the
Pacific by the panhandle of Alaska,