The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1940-08-08
Russ Station 2
Miles From us.
Is Planned for Scientific
Research, Including
Weather Study.

WASHINGTON, d. ca new Rus
sian Arctic station" Is being es-
tablished on Big Diomede island, in
Boring strait between the mainland
Of Alaska and the mainland Of ST.
IBERIA, according to news reports
from Moscow. Arctic stations"
have been set up at various points
in the Soviet Unions far-fung icy
domain in recent years. In May,
1887, such a station was established
on the ice within 10 or IL miles of the
North pole, and later drifted south
ward. The various stations are an
nounced to be set up primarily to
facilitate scientific research includ-
ing studies Of weather.
'The new Russian station on Big
Diomede island is within sight Of
U. S. territory" says the National
Geographic society. big Diomede's
companion island, Little Diomede.
on the U. S. side of the Siberian
Alaskan boundary line through Ber-
ing strait, is only two miles south
east. But despite this short dis
lance, 1t is noon Tuesday on Big
Diomede when. it is noon Monday on
Little Diomede. This Is because Of
a man-made time fence the Inter-
national Date Line, which has been
traced between the islands and on
southwark, dividing the Western and
Eastern hemispheres.
Islands Sparsely Settled.
'The two rocky islands rise al.
most exactly in the middle Of Boring
strait, where the easternmost main
land tip of Asia Is IS miles from
the westernmost tip Of Alaska. In
clear weather one mainland head
land is visible from the other. The
weather is usually misty, however,
in this region just south of the Arc
tic circle. Heavy fogs hid the is
land from their Russian discoverer,
Vitus Boring, when he first passed
them on his way through the strait
which bears his name. When he lat
er sighted one of the islands, he
gave it the name Diomede because
the date, August 16 1728) was st.
Diomede's day in the church cal
endar.
Little Diomede is a two-mile-long
oval rock rising steeply 1000 feet
from the waters Of Boring strait.
Big Diomede, to the northwest
across the U. S.-U. S. S. r. frontier,
is larger, higher, and sleeper. Few
er than 30 Eskimos live on Big Di-
omede, but the village climbing the
rocky slope above the narrow boul-
der beach of Little Diomede has
more than 100 inhabitants. In sum-
mer most of the Little Diomede Es-
kimos sail over to Nome, Alaska,
for seasonal work.
Eskimos Live Frugally.
1.-THE rocky surfaces of both is
lands are covered with dark, scaly
lichens, except when summer brings
blooms Of blue monkshood and the
walnut-sized Eskimo potato The
only animal life is the host of aux
let's, pufins, kittiwakes, and other
Arctic birds that breed on the steep
slopes. Occasionally a fox or white
bear roams out over the ice from
the mainland. The Eskimos on both
islands live frugally on fish, sea
mammals, and birds, the latter
caught in long-handled nets from
rock blinds.
ION the trail of prehistoric Eski-
mo migrations, the National Geo.
graphic society and the Smithsonian
institution jointly sponsored an ex-
petition in 1886 which visited both
Little and Big Diomede islands. Ev.
idence from kitchen middens on both
islands showed that this was the
route by which Eskimos entered
America from Asia, presumably
some 1000 years ago, bringing with
them the Golden age culture of
what is known as the Old Boring
sea- period of Eskimo history. 1t
is highly probable, although not yet
proved, that by this same route man
first entered the American CONT
nent, by some pre-Eskimo migra.
tons Of the ancestors of the Amer
lean Indians