King & Winge with Jochimsen. McCurdy's does not list sources; the origin of this account is unknown. It conflicts with both contemporary and later sources listed for the preceding paragraph. North Cape to Irkutsk trek 1928-9 In the fall of 1928, Swenson was frozen in off North Cape, Siberia (now Cape Schmidt) in the M.S. Elisif. Impatient to get back to Seattle and hungry for adventure, Swenson decided on an overland trek to Irkutsk, which was served by the Trans-Siberian Railway. The first stage employed dogsleds, leaving North Cape October 19, 1928. The route proceeded along the coast, cutting inland on either side of Chaunskaya Bay, to the Kolyma River. Then the party went up the river to Srednekolymsk, arriving December 4. They left Srednekolmysk cutting west overland on an old Government trail through flat, forested country dotted by lakes. They switched from dogsleds to reindeer sleds at a village he records as Solgutter. Much of the ensuing leg of the trip employed an established relay network of reindeer teams and drivers. They crossed the Indigirka River at Zashiversk and then proceeded through Abbi (this is presumably Abyy but if so they seem to have taken a circuitous route) to reach Verkhoyansk January 6, 1929. Heading south for Yakutsk, they were asked to carry the mail; this improved their access to reindeer teams but involved traveling day and night. The route to Yakutsk went over Tukulan Pass with a spectacular, precipitous descent into the valley of the Aldan River. At the foot of the pass they switched to horse sleighs and proceeded to Yakutsk. They arrived in Yakutsk January 16. Swenson was held up in Yakutsk four days due to visa problems and then proceeded to Irkutsk, arriving February 9. A dispatch from Moscow to the New York Times, datelined March 5, reports his trip. The entire trek amounted to over . The New York Times dispatch also disclosed plans for airplane service between Alaska and the Siberian coast, for which Swenson had just secured permission from the Soviet government. These plans were soon realized when Noel Wien flew $150,000 in furs from the Elisif on March 8. Three further flights were planned but the Soviet government withdrew permission. Eielson plane crash near North Cape The Nanuk was frozen in for the winter of 1929-30 at North Cape, with Swenson and his 17-year-old daughter Marion aboard. Swenson contracted with Alaskan