The Daily Alaska empire., 1937-02-11

| them again. But, because the Qeer were driven so much, they were very little bothered by wolves. After two months of driving, 17,000 deer were counted in the Point Barrow roundup, but again only after every bit of country had been thorough ly secured, even overlapping onto other ranges. Point Barrow and the coast east of there proved to be somewhat north of the main body of wolves which seem to be on the
 winter ranges between the Col
 vile and Noatak rivers, and follow ing the caribou But, the scattered
 small packs and rowing old males are able to do considerable damage even there.
 Follows Drive
 From Point Barrow, Collins s mushed for five days to the Ikpik- lpuk River, following the drive of about three thousand deer to the natives east of Barrow, to keep them from starving The deer in that
 drive, contrary to widespread re-
 ports, were not a gift from the gov
 ernment, but belong to the natives
 along the North coast and had been
 ranged with the Point Barrow herds.
 The natives just drove them back from the roundup to where they
 belonged.
 Four more days of mushing took
 Collins to Cape Halkett, the most easterly point on his trip. The trek
 was made in such haze and dark Il that one could not see beyond his
 dog team. The natives find their
 way by the feel of the wind, and
 of the snow under their feet, some
 times digging down to see whether
 They are on ground or ice. No land-
 marks can be seen.
 Far For Game
 } There are no villages east of Point Barrow, the Eskimos living in their original state, in groups of , two or three families where } lever there is good fishing. The vil- t lages that have sprung up around / the schools are one factor that makes it harder for the natives so f collected to obtain food. They must
 20 far for game, Collins declared.
 East of Point Barrow there are , more fish in the rivers, and the scattered natives remain closer to , the moose, caribou. and other game 7 But there are no walrus nor whales , there, and the natives have lost I their art of spearing seal through } the ice, he said. Fuel is obtained | from solidified petroleum seepage , from pools, instead of the coal that is nearby the villages in the Point Hope and Wainwright district and 2 the whale and walrus blubber that l is used further south.
 III Deer Butchered
 ; When Collins reached Cape Hal , kett, the deer drive had preceded 7 him there and the natives appeared to have enough food, some reindeer
 having been taken from the herd !: and butchered for each family group along the way.
 From Cape Halkett, Collins | turned west again and swinging l south next stopped at the Tommy Brewer camp, treking across Tesh- ekpuk Lake. From there Collins travelled across the Ikpikpuk River, and Meads River to the Point Bar row corral; the trip being made in . fifty degrees below zero weather, camping overnight in ice houses. 1 The natives there will set out in storms or in any weather that their logs can stand, he said. They go on the theory that they can stand , anything their dogs can, and stop only when the dogs begin to freeze. Swinging next back to Vain wright, Collins, on December 28, headed south, first making a side trip up the Kuk and Avalik rivers. Tracking down some wolf trace in 1.-the Avalik valley, he killed two wolves, and came upon the wolf , slain carcass of a female deer ham, strung, its throat siashed and the l, tongue eaten out from the back. Part of rear ham had also been
 eaten, but that by fox the trace
 of which he found.
 ;I Killed by Pack
 Following the wolf trace little
 farther he came upon eleven more
 freshly killed deer; eight females, Inone of which had been at all eaten,
 and three lawns with their tongues
 gone. The kill had evidently been made by pack of seven wolves
 Doubling back on his tracks, Col lins in other sections came upon
 group of 16 older kills, and found other carcasses scattered around.
 Natives tt Wainwright reported
 having found about 250 scattered
 slain reindeer.
 ,l From Wainwright Collins mushed pack to Kotzebue. then, after wait
 ng there on weather conditions for several days. flew to Nome, from
 where he boarded a plane to Fair
 banks, and continued on to Juneau.
 Action Needed Now
 Action must soon be taken against
 he wolves, or, though not yet threat I I