Evening star., 1935-03-27

once, In trying to round up q big
herd that had broken away. We were
gone so long that our food ran out.
and we lived for six days on one cup
Of -four and the hard dough broken
from the sourdough pot. This was
Clipped from the pot, and we each
took nibbleS.
But up close to the Arctic Coast,
when We began to think that every
thing which could happen to us had
already happened to us, my two Eski-
mos asked to have their wives join
them from Kotzebue Sound. The
mems clothes were all in Shreds by
then, and SO were their muk-luks
Eskimo boots), and they needed the
women along to make new outfits.
We got the request through somehow
by way of some trappers in Northwest
Canada. and the families were brought
around in little trading boat
through the Arctic Ocean.
Baby Born and Died.
After the wives had been with us
long time, a baby was born. 1t died
later, and is now buried beneath the
snow up there.
Tom Wood, one of the Eskimos. was
lost for three days and was sure he
was going to die. The temperature
was 10 degrees below. When he could
go no further he fell down into the
snow and began to pray. That's
what he did. And long distance off
he thought he saw person in the
storm. Toms nose, chin. cheeks and
wrists were frozen, and he could not
talk. But he stumbled on toward the
person, and there 1t was, woman,
and white woman. She was stand
ing in front of an igloo. She turned
out to be Strapper's wife. who had
the storm, and that's why Tom feels
SO sure that God answered him.
He feels so sure about 1t that
when we finally reached the Mac
kenzie Riven long afterward, and a
Canadian visitor asked Tom what he
would like given to him from the out
side, the only thing Tom asked for
was four hymn books and two Bibles.
The request was forwarded down to
Edmonton and took long time get
ting there. but the ministers did not
know what kind of Bible Tom could
read, so they finally decided to make
sure by sending him one printed in
English. one in Laplandish and third
in Eskimo English.
Lets Boys Go.
These two EskimoS, Peter and Tom
Wood were with me more than three
of the five years. When the herd
reached the west bank of the Mac
kenzie and help began to reach me
! from the other side, I thought the
boys had had enough, so let them go
home. A trading boat took them to
Point Barrow.
These boys admitted afterward that
never in their lives had they gone
through anything like that before
and no wonder. On regular days the
shifts at herding would be "a hours
long, and more often than not twice
as long as that To keep the deer to-
gether they would have to ski fast
would freeze their clothes. making the
clothes as hard as planks.
Two OF my Eskimo crews were
forced to quit because Of the tough
going, and once in the camp. when !
was so sick thought sure would pass
out before morning, I worried about
what would happen to the herd, SO
told the boys to keep on with the herd
to Canada. no matter what happened
These deer are for your own people.
who are starving over there" told
the boys. The deer will save them
the same as it saved your own broth
ers in Alaska" The boys knew that I
spoke the truth. so promised to try
to continue on. no matter what hap
pened to me before morning.
Fate Helps.
The final crossing of the Mackenzie
Delta this time was not as tough as
when we had tried to cross 1t that
time before but 1t was tough enough,
for, If wind should have come up
and cleared off the snow from the ice,
the deer would all have been stranded
out there, slipping all over themselves
and breaking their legs and necks.
It's about 100 miles across, you know.
But Dan Crowley, the American
who came from the east side Of the
river to help me. staked out route
ahead of time across the ice so we
could see where we were, and onto
some of the frozen islands out there
he packed in sacks of moss for the
deer to eat, in case We were caught in
the middle. AS it was, we had to
hurry the deer so fast that some of
them dropped In their tracks and
had to be carted the rest of the way
on our sleds.
1t was dark all the time, you see,
except for the moon, which shone all
through what would be your daytime
here. And q month or so before, when
we were about all set for the final
dash, imagine how we felt when an
unexpected blow not only cleared the
ice Of snow, but the moon also right
up and had a total eclipse on us.
That's what it did.
(Copyright. 1885. by North American
Newspaper Alliance. Inc)