WILKINS AND EIELSON MAKE
SECOND ROUND TRIP FLIGHT
TO I*T. BARROW IN 34 HOURS
(Fairbanks News-Miner, May 13,)
To Point Barrow, northernmost set
tlement on the Alaskan mainland, and
return to Fairbanks within the brief'
space of 34 hours, was the northern
flight record established by> Captain
George H. Wilkins, commander of the
Detroit Arctic expedition, who with
Pilot C. B. EieLson took off at !*-30
Saturday morning on their second
preliminary flight with supplies for
the Arctic base of their expedition.
The return landing was made t at
1:15 Sunday-evening,, when the Fok
ker Alaskan, which had previously
been reported as crossing over Dun
bar Station, on the Alaskan Railroad,
appeared over the skyline to the
westward, circled, the town .and was
brought to a stop,on.the 4ocaL-.field.
The ship apparently was as^fit when
it landed as .when taking the air on
the morning previous.
In turning the machine after, land-,
ing at Point;Barrow Captain Wilkins’
glove became entangled in the spokes,
of one wheel, with the result that his
right arm was carried between th«
wheel and the landing gear, slightly
spraining his wrist and bruising his
forearm badly. On the return trip
Sunday he performed all navigation
and writing with his left-hand. As
soon as he recovers sufficiently from
the injury, he will set out on another
* rip to Point Barrow to add D the
depot of gasoline, which how amounts
to 400 gallons.
In taking, off on the second trip
Captain Wilkins and Pilot Eielson set
their course for a point where it was
hoped Alexander M. Smith and his
party with dog teams could be found,
with the intention. ,.of dropping 350
pounds of food and supplies to them.
They soon encountered heavy cloud
formation, mounting up to 7,000 feet,
and as they reached the. mountain
range they found that the lplijwe, much
more heavily loaded.-than .on the pre
vious trip, could scarcely fly-above the
cloud hank, and as it had been neces
sary to fly 11,000 feet previously in
order to clear the mountains, it be
came necessary to follow along the
passes.
They crossed Ch'andlniuiake, then
•usned back and went through Anak
tovsk pass, and upon passing through
the range found that the clouds cov
ered the coastal .plain to-ta height of
1,000 feet. It was impossible to see
the ground from the. air, aml.it was
therefore impossible, to find Smith’
■party. They followed the courses .of
the rivers by compass, but could not
see ground until well beyond Smith's
camping place and .beyond the mouth
oif the Colville. They then shaped
their course for Point Barrow, which
was reached after 5 hours and ! 40
minutes’ flying time.
Point Barrow was enveloped in
clouds, making visibility most diffir.
cut for using airplanes. Eielson, with
great skill and judgment, said Cap
tain Wilkins, brought the Fokker
plane down within a few feet of
where the previous landing had been
made.
The Eskimos, who had been greatly
perturbed on the occasion of their
first visit, were much more pleased
to see them this second time. They
now reailized that airplanes were ma
terial things and not the manifesto--,
tion of some evil spirit.
On Sunday the weather was clear
at Point Barrow, Low clouds could
be seen in.the mountains.. It was de
cided to return by way of Smith’s
camp, if visibility permitted, hut the
J. H. McLEAN
Fresh Fruits
Fresh Vegetables
Plenty of Nuts
;i Choice Canned .Gdods Meats
;V ( j
i Fresh Garden Seeds
I
weather proved even more cloudy
than on the previous day, so a course
was decided on which would take the
ship by way of the river valleys and
through the mountain passes. A com
pass course was followed, the Alaskan
passing up the Anaktovuk and down
the John river.
A village was sighted on the Koyu
kuk river which, from the maps, ap
peared to be Arctic City, and in ac
cordance it was decided to head a
course for Fairbanks. In order to
verify the course, the Captaiu decided
to circle the town. A note was
dropped asking the people to spell oft'
tlie name of the town in the snow.1
“With remarkable perception," said
Captain Wilkins, “two persons imme
diately rushed to the river and
stamped out the word ‘ALATNA.’
The position having been verified, the
ship was turned toward Fairbanks, i
After passing through the range a
high easterly wind was met, which
retarded flight about thirty miles an
hour, thus bringing the actual flight
time up to seven hours on the return.:
On the. first trip,, states Captain
Wilkins, after crossing the low. flat
coastal country, very similar in ap
pearance to the ice plain, it was al
most impossible to discern the de
markation between land and ice.
. Young sea ice was flat and smooth.
Knowing that they were east of Har
row, they flew in a northerly direction
for one and a quarter hours, until,
they had reached .73 degrees latitude,
150 degrees longitude, and then
turned back in .search of Point Bar
row. Again they passed the coastal
line without recognizing it. After u
(few minutes’ flight inland the tundra
was recognized and the ship turned
i on a westerly course, which was fol
lowed until the coastal border of
rough ice was seen, Captain Wilkins
then, knowing that Point Harrow lay
I to the northwest. Turning, they saw
the houses of Point Barrow within ten
minutes.
An Eskimo, saw the plane cross
over Barrow ssndspit and return two
and one-halfi hours later over the
same place. This proved a. positive
check. ..Navigation was out only five
miles in 500 miles of flight.
For 60 miles after eaving the main
land the ship traversed young ice,
; which then was bfokenti at intervals
’ by iramis of rough ice and small leads
| of unbroken surface. No land was
’ sighted at an altitude of 7,000 feet,
i When the landing was made at Pt.
t Burro wlhe wind was sweeping the la
, goon at a velocity of 30 to 35 miles
an hour, carrying drifting snow waist
high. The Eskimos had been expect
ing the arrival of the. planes since
marly February. Under the direction
of Charlie Brower, pioneer trader
there, and Earl 11 immoral, advance
i agent of the expedition, who came in
j from Nome, they had cleared the la
! goon of drift snow after each windy
day.
Some of the, younger Eskimo, who
had been educated ,at the mission
school, knew something of an air
plane, hut many of the older natives
had no .realization of what a flying
machine would look like. Two of. the
women fai need., suffer trig from hemor
rhages of the eyes/ nose and mouth.
In their excitement none of them
j would come near the plane, fearing
| that it was .some evil object.
! The high wind continued for three
1 days, covering the lagoon with soft
' drifted snow. The fourth day broke
i war mand foggy, with the thermom
; eter at 20 degrees above zero. It was
| was impossible to make a start, and
I on the next day an attempt was made
I to take off over the deep snow, but
the machine failed to develop the re
quired speed and an accident was nar
i rowly averted. After three, attempts
tthe Eskimos were equipped with all
' available implements and set . to- work
in clearing a runway, from which the
; machine took off well.
' On the return trip piloting/ ns' op
l posed to navigation, was decided on.
! This was foun to be successful until
Wiseman was reached. There the
wind became so strong that an ob
servation was taken, and the instru
ments were corrected for a drift of 30
degrees. Shortly thereafter the wind
changed without warning, and within
an hour’s time Captain Wilkins found
that the course was set far to the east
of Fairbanks. In trying to locate
some point with which to set a course!
Circle City was observed and the trail
to Fairbanks located. Since fuel and
oil were running low it was decided i
to make a landing, which was easily
accomplished on the river opposite!
the town.
Smith Is Safe.
New York.Sandy Smith reported to
the North American Newspaper Al
liance here by radio that he had re
turned from a hunt with an ample
supply of reindeer meat, and after a
few <lays of reconditioning the party
would resume the trek to Point Bar
row.
YOTR INCOME TAX.
If you are single and support, in
your home one” or more persona close
ly related to you aruf over whom1 you
exercise family control, you are the
head of a family and entitled under;
the revenue act of to the same
personal exemption allowed a married
person, $3,000. in addition, a- tax
payer is entitled to a credit of $-108
for each person dependent upon him
for chief’ support, if such person is
either under '18 years of age or in
cupable of self-support because men
tally or physically defective. Such
dependent need not be a member of
the taxpayer's household. For ex
ample, an unmarried- son who sup
ports in his ho mean aged mother is
entitled. to an exemption of $3,500
plus the $400 c ted it for dependent, a
total of $3,000. If from choice the
, mother lives in another city, the son.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS.
In the Commissioner’s Court, at Mc
Grath, Mount McKinley Precinct,
Fourth Division,. Territory of
Alaska, before VV. T. Vanderpool,
U. S. Commissioner and ex-officio
Probate Judge.
In the matter, of the estate of John
| Mark McDonald, deceased.
Notice is hereby given that the un
i dersigned has been duly appointed ad
i ministrator of the estate of John
Mark McDonald, deceased.
All persons having claims against
.said estate are required to present
’ same,duly verified, with proper vouch
I ers attached, to the undersigned, at
McGrath, Alaska, within six (0)
months from date of this notice.
Dated: McGrath, Alaska, April 22,
I PJ26. GEORGE A. GREEN,
Administrator.
First publication, April 24, 11)26.
Last publication. May 21), 1026.
| Tokotna j
i Cigar Store j
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I Tobaccos j
Cigars \
! Soft Drinks
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! Fred Dubois j
| Prapriet wr |
lii
; CHARLIE’S ;
I LAUNDRY |
Mctirath,. Alaska
»_»
I
j A Bath in a Real
i Bath Tub
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• j Shoe Repairing
t Sijn Writing f
Paper Hanging
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1 1 _ I
S Charles Rebhun j
Tlia Handy Man
although her chief support, would be
entitled only to the $1,500 exemption,
plus the $400 credit. The mother not
living with him( he is not considered
the head of a family.
An exemption as the head of a fam
ily can be claimed by only one mem
ber of a household.
The $400 credit does not apply to
the wife or husband of taxpayer,
though one may be totally dependent
upon the other.
The Boston Critic.
The historian, James Ford Rhodes,
was talking about a Boston critic.
“The man’s knowledge of history
is nil,” he said. “He reminds me of
J aggers.
“daggers, you know, gave a conde
scending laugh and said to a tnaga
7.ine writer:
“‘I ran through your magazine ar
ticle about ancient Rome, old man,
and l must say it-struck me a-, pretty
poor stuff, t' ich mistakes—gee!’
“‘Mention a mistake,’ said the mag
azine writer.
“ ‘Well, here’s one that sure made
me laugh. You said Socrates oi
Xenophon, or some other high-brow
or other, was born in 219 B. C., and
then you said he died in 147 B. C.
That kills him off before he was
born.’ ’’
PROFESSIONAL
Mrs. Jean McLean
Notary Public
Tokotna, Alaska
Front Street, Tn’iotiM
* t
Mrs. Fred Dubois - Prop. {
F88 DELEGATE TO CONGRESS
i
| Primary Election, April 27,1926
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His Platform:
1. Increased powers for the Alaska Territorial Legislature, includ
ing authority to llegislate on fisheries, and to elect a Governor.
Am opposed to the establishment of a full form of Territorial
Government, which means organized counties with Territorial
courts and law officers.
2. Hotter enforcement of law under present system. I am opposed
to the proposed establishment of a Territorial constabulary.
2. To keep road and trail appropriations up to the present standard
and increase them if possible.
4. The construction of a tram road across Seward euinsnla.
5. Improvement of Harbors and Waterways.
6. A more liberal policy in leasing forest areas.
7. A more liberal policy toward those who actually drill for oil.
8. An act to permit* the leasing of the public domain and islands
for grazing and for farming.
9. To permit departure from rectangular surveys of homesteads.
10. To permit the exportation of timber from the public lands or
forest reserves.
(Bills have been reported to the House calendar on the two
latter subjects.)
11. Confirmation by Congress of the educational test for voters en
acted by the Alaska Legislature.
To have the mining law of Congress conform t(, the Territorial
Act in its relation to locations by power of attorney and number
of claims that may be located.
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