Evening star., 1940-06-09

| VI AVAIL GOWdIU otdllOIO VI 4ooo
the world as the snow baby" an,
Admiral Robert E. Peary, discovere
Mrs. Stafford is one Of two
nish-Greenland Comm
have been difficult to find one with
Arctic country and its resources and
industries
Born north of the Arctic Circle,
Mrs. Stafford as child spent many
interesting months with her mother
| in Greenland awaiting return of
| the famous admiral from one of
| his numerous exploring expeditions.
She learned to speak the Eskimo
| tongue like native, played games
with Eskimo girls and boys and
for pets had reindeer, seals and
| little furred animals of the north
land.
"One year. she said, I'VE were
! icebound in the early fall and were
obliged to spend the winter aboard
the supply ship which had brought
us to Greenland
Mrs. Stafford recalled that that
winter had passed too quickly for
! her.
There was no school," she said,
land so many things for a little
girl to play with. Mother was a
real heroine, as for weeks she had
no word from my father. There
was no companionship for her, and
toward spring even the veteran
guides believed my father lost
But He Showed Up
To Be Surprised Himself.
Fiction contains no more dra-
matte chapter than that related by
Mrs. Stafford of her fathers unex-
pected return to the American ship
early one spring morning to find
his wife and Snow Baby aboard.
His surprise was as great as theirs,
she said He had not been told
that his family were aboard and
that a baby sister to little Marie
had been born in the States and
died before his wife had sailed with
the supply ship to join him.
Possessing rare individuality and
personality of her own, in no way
a reflection of paternal glory. Mrs.
Staffords life has been filled with
experiences and achievements which
she discounts as nothing extraor-
dinary," modesty frequently found
among clever daughters of famous
fathers.
Her girlhood was spent in close
comradeship with Admiral Peary,
and her sympathy with his views
and ambitions is not based merely
on loyalty but personal conviction.
"He believed years ago that
Greenland should belong to the
United States" she said. "At the
time we purchased the Virgin Is
lands from Denmark and traded our
rights to Greenland as part of the
purchase price he believed we should
have perhaps paid more and Sc
cured full rights to Greenland:
In 1916 my father went through
the country preaching preparedness
and pointing out the Importance of
Greenland as strategic base in
the Western Hemisphere"
Commission to Seek
Market for Exports.
Mrs. Stafford explained that the
commission, of which she is a men,
ber, will endeavor to find markets
for Greenland's exports while Den
mark is controlled by Germany.
With so many European markets
as we'll as her mother country closed
to her, Greenland must find mar
kets on the Western Hemisphere,
she said. While markets have al
ready been found for much Of Green
lands minerals, furs and whale oil,
there is need for many more.
Mrs. Stafford has long been in
terested in the primitive Eskimo
art of bone carving. She values
highly number Of beautifully
carved figures of "huskies," the Es-
kimo dogs; sledges, igloos and
animals native to the Arctic coun-
try which were carved by Eski-
mos from walrus tusks and teeth.
There is also a curious, small,
one-blade, bone-handled knife in
her collection, which, she explained,
is used by Eskimo women for cut
ting out fur garments.
These women are remarkable"
she said. I'm 1882, when I took my
two sons, then 10 and IL, to Green
land, where I dedicated q monu-
ment to my father. I ordered fur
suits for the boys. The Eskimos
woman who made the clothes
brought the furs aboard ship, laid
them fiat on the deck and, taking
one quick glance at the boys, cut
out the garments without taking
measure. The suits fit perfectly"
Polar bear, seal and blue and
white fox are among the furs used
by Eskimos for clothing, Mrs.
Stafford explained.
Flag Carried to Pole
Adorns Living Room.
Perhaps the most priced possess
sion in the Stafford home is the
torn and patched silk flag which
hangs framed in the living room.
THAT is the nag my father car
ried to the North Pole" she said