The Nome nugget., 1934-03-03

It was With the greatest fel.ef that we sailed from Vladivostok to Anadir. the outpost of Siberian fertilization. After we reached Anadir we were in safety because northward from Anadir there are only some 5000 square miles of desolate icy wastes inhabited by several tribes of natives.
 So On leaving Anadir about Au- gust .15, we were at our leisure and even performed the coastal geologic explorations of the north ern reg.on, because our leader and friend, Professor Chackin, being a geologist, was greatly attached to his scientific occupations and would not miss the opportunity of such researches for anything in the world.
 There is no telegraph line in Anadir. We knew we were safe until the next steamer came, any way. So we prepared for our voyage. We obtained s'xty-foot boat, and the services of native mechanic to run it.
 We headed across Boring Sea, leaving Anadir August Is. We were on the water for four weeks. It is long way, much longer than t looks on the map. The weather was always rough; we fought gales. But still we kept on
 But it is a very dangerous oc- cupation to navigate Boring Sea at 1 this time, in it's western parts, with small wooden boat, be- cause floating ice appears there in the first days of September. When on September IT, we began to cross Boring Straits, wes were capsized by northern storm and the ice broke a hole in the bow of our vessel causing it to leak. I Being in a sinking boat and having before us sixty miles of stormy sea, we made up our minds to cross the straits to reach the Alaska side. But Tn the vic- Iinity of the Dfomede Islands our engine failed because of being flooded, and we were thrown by fthe wind on the rocks of Little Diomede Island where the Am erican Eskimos saved us.
 But during the landing, our .ffriend. Professor Chackin lost hs life.
 Then six days later, an Ameri- can vessel, Good Hope, came here. i It was late in the season, and ] this vessel, like ourselves, was un fortunate in having to navigate these waters at such a late time.
 After landing us at Nome, this ] late bird of a ship was wrecked on its return. with all aboard lost Such m sery and danger we en- dured because it was the only way for us to reach the free coun- try. But it was considered by us as worth the price of1our hard ships.
 That is our answer to those who ask if we are not really Red spies, asent to ferret out. the secrets of the White Russian colony here.
 That is silly If we were Red spies--and it is ridiculous to be an swering such charge seriously I've should not have braved the terr ble journey in small boat from Anadir, Siberia, across the Bering Sea to Alaska We should have come like gentlemen, with out r.sking our necks and found some other way of insinuating ourselves into the local society.
 An, no! It is absurd! You see there are too many "happenstan- ces." How could we have inticip ated, if we were spies, that our ship would be wrecked and one of our party, good Prof. Alexander Chackin. would be drowned; that we would be saved by the Eski- mos On an American island; that six days later an American mail boat would come along and take us of; that the nal boat, in turn would take us to Nome? It is too ridiculous.
 The United States commissioner tof mmigration 0ueatfonad us