THE KUSKO TIMES
A. X. Grant, Publisher, Sole
Owner and Editor.
Published Every Saturday
$1 Per Month
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Entered as second-class matter Au
jgust 29th, 1923, at the poatoffice at
Tokotnn, Alaska, under the Act of
i March 3, 1879.
Tokotna, Alaska, February 20, 1925.
/ADVANCE GUARD OF POLAR
, EXPEDIT'D IN CON FIDENT
TRIP WILL BE SUCCESSFUL
(Anchorage Times.)
'“You can tell the world we are
jgoing through,” said Captain A. Mal
colm Smith, head of the advance
.party for the Wilkins polar expedi
tion, during his short stopover in An
chorage yesterday. “We are well
i aware what we are up against in our
inorthern venture, and have no fear
.of the outcome. Our plans have all
ioeen laid carefully, and, while we
•know we have a tough time ahead of
ius, we are going ahead "with every
; assurance of success.”
The personnel of the rarty under
‘“Sandy” Smith well justifies his feel
ing of optimism. Young, confident,
;and thorough professionals in their
’lines, his three assistants show every
indication of possessing the right
imettle for such an undertaking. Gor
i ion Scott, representative of Snow
Motors, Inc., in direct charge of the
mechanical phase of the journey, is
one of the inventors of the machine
which is being talked about so much
in connection with the journey. He
lhae driven and demonstrated the ma
ccFunes under all sorts of conditions
.•and in many sections. One of his re
-e it trips took him to the Alps in
v’tzerland, where the snow motor
- given rigid triols over Alats gla
cr, the snowy reaches and ice fields
ii the rugged little European princi
pality, Still later he went across the
Iborder into Canada and put the ma
chine through its paces in the heavy
: snows of the northern part of the
'.Dominion. In Montana he proved
ithe feasibility of the machine in. fight
ling drifts of the Black Hills, ,a:.'i de
clares he has met with su-cess
cwherever he has taken the machines.
'Finland and Russia have also wit
nessed demonstrations of this new de
parture in sno wtransportation, and
Mr. Scott declares it will be recog
nized as the “iron mabimute” when
the sourdoughs recognize its utitity.
;He is satisfied thatthe interior will
present no unforeseen difficulties, and
^expects to make the long trip to Bar
iriw without trouble.
Karl Rossman, photographer for
(the party, is no stranger to the Ter
ritory, having been a resident for the
■past five years. He was in Juneau
;at the time of President Harding’s
i/isit there in 1923, and secured pho
nographs of the nation’s chief execu
tive at that time. Mr. Rossman had
;at that time just returned from a
ttwo-year sojourn in Wainwright,
ywhere he was engaged in filming
■scenes of Eskimo life and the north
ern phenomena. Mr. Rossman claims
ito be the first motion picture pho
tographer to take the northern lights
;and in their natural colors. He spent
(five hours in the biting cold of the
inorthern winter at 4f> degrees below
:zero, photographing the course of the
■sun, from sunrise to sunset, utilizing
(two cameras, and taking pictures
,every ten seconds. One of the ma
chines froze during the day, and but
for the extra camera his effort would
have failed. The Eskimo looked
jaskance at him and called him “The
;Man That Hunts With a Box.”
While located at Wainwright Ross
iBan also photographed his feature
(51m, “Kivalina of the North,” which
is? said to be creating a sensation in
fhe States. It was being exhibited at
{he I’antages three weeks ago. “Ki
Mi au, Eskimo word denoting
“town,” or the equivalent of hamlet
or community. While in New York!
Iasi winter Rossman put the finishing
touches on the film and collaborated
in the promotion and advance work.!
He also completed work on his book,1
“B'ack Sunlight,” which is being pub
lished by the Oxford Press. The
book is a log of his experiences dur
ing his two years in the shadow of
the pole, and includes an introduc
tion written by Vilhjalmar Stefans-!
son. He expects it to be on the mar- I
ket by the middle of March.
Mr. Rossman also has in his pos- '
session a Masonic Bihle, which was
presented to him and autographed
by the propriestors of the Oxford [
Press. It is a beautiful volume, and j
Mr. Rossman declares if he is for
tunate enough to reach the pole he is
going to lay that Bible right “on the
top of the world" and leave it for
future discoverers to find. He ex
pects to be one of the first leaving
for Barrow, as official photographer.
Rossman is also contemplating
writing a history of Alaska for the
Oxford Press, after his return from
the northern trip. He has taken up
hi.- residence at Juneau, and expects
to make Alaska nis home. With the
r. Serial available at Juneau, and
with help promised him, he expects
no difficulty with the work. He de
clares it will not be a cut-and-dried
h tory, but will be written more
along the narrative line, with enough
life to it to make it interesting, tak- ,
ing Alaska from the Czarina’s first
expedition down to the present time.
Howard F. Mason, a youngster
from, Seattle, who joined the party
a the Spirit City, is assistant pho
tographer, and wireless man for the
journey. He has been busily engaged
in accumulating sleep for the hard
trip ahead of him, sleeping in the
of tv) ff,o f.om
route north fro nthe Gateway, and !
most of the time on the journey from 1
Seattle. The expedition carries a !
portable wireless station with it, and I
a: the overnight stops the rig will be \
hooked to the tractors and daily re- j
P'-rts sent out of the progress and]
events as they transpire. A base for j
the dispatch of the wireless news to |
the Outside will be established either;
at Fairbanks or Anchorage, and the I
news matter received and transferred '
to the cable for transmission to the ]
.- 'ates. Mr. Sffilft had not definitely1
decided w'hich place would he selected .
when he left Anchorage, and efforts ]
were made to induce him to settle on 1
this point. The news will be sent out!
in code form, exclusively to the North
American Newspaper Alliance, com
posed of seventy of the biggest news-'
papers of the United States, which is i
• Ae of the sponsors of the expedition.
The American Geographic Societ y and I
the Detroit Aviation Society are also
backing the party.
"Sandy” Smith is one of the best
known oldtimers of the Territory, and !
enjoyed his visit here yesterday re
. swing acquaintances. He was the
head of the expedition into the oil
fields at Point Barrow several years
ago, and owns forty-two claims with-!
in the reserve. He declares Anchor-'
age cannot lay claim to the honor of j
having the farthest north golf course
in the world, as he and four other
members of the party constructed a I
nine-hole course at Barrow and used
the grounds to keep up their game
while isolated at the top of the con
tinent. But one set of clubs was pos
sessed by the’party, and the members
took turns in using them. Mr. Smith
will be base commander during the j
! time the flights are being attempted,
1 but declares he hopes to have the op
| postunity to hop off in one of the
| planes. However, he recognizes the
fact that an experienced man will
i have to be in charge of the base op
; erations in case of emergency, and
| doesn't expect to have a chance to
1 take to the air.
Mr. Smith stated that the party had
; brought along covers for the sleds,
| made of waterproof materials, which
in emergency could be used to cover
their bottoms, thus converting them
into utility canoes, somewhat bungle
some and awkward to handle, but still
invaluable in case water is struck and
if it is necessary to abandon the mo
tor sleds and make way without them.
, He has had experience on the far
northern ice fields, and spent forty
days on a floe in the Arctic ocean
with the Eskimo several years ago.
When nsked if they expected to re
i
turn immediately if the expedition
over the pole was successful, one of
Ehe party responded, “H—1, no; we’re
going on across and visit the king of
England.” Invitations have been re
ceived from King George for the dele
gation to visit the royal peraonage if
the opportunity presents itself. The
delegation has been treated royally on
its journey, and the members declare
it has been a veritable triumphal.pro
cession.
The members base their belief that
fi new land will be found north of .Bar
row by the immense number of .birds
which annually make their flight out
:>f sight into the northern ocoun.
1'hese birds, literally millions in -num
ber. return in the fall, fat, and bring
ing wi; them large numbers of fledg
lings, indicating that there is land to
:>e found, where they have built their
nests and raised their young, as -a
aird will not nest on the ice.
' If land is found, the ..party will
spend considerable time platting and
exploring it, and claiming it for the
United States of America.
Too J3r«r.
“Coal is too dear,” said General
Palmer Pierce at a iunchenn at the
iValdorf-Astoria. “I don’t .know
whether capital cr labor is to.blame,
iioal, anyhow, is too item:.
“An inventor visited m r.cml wan,
ind said:
“ ‘I have here a marvelous inven
:ion, sir—a -ubstltute coal that-cam
je sold at half price.’
“ ‘Rats!’ said the coal man.
Haven’t we got one already 'lhat we *
iell at full price 1'*"
Dry Land.
Sir William Letts, -the English au
omobile manufacturer, said at a ban
quet in New York, as he twirled the.! _
item of a glass of sparking; ice
water between thumb and finger: *
"We are taught in childhood to lay
jp something for a rainy day, but
what a pity j ou Americans werenit
•aught to lay up something for a dry
me.”
Max Simel
The Pioneer Trader
Furs Bought and
Sttid
Miners’, Prospectors’
and Trappers’
Supplies
Steamer Service On the Xndka J
iirver. I
j j
Ask »ta« Pvoplfi i>( Ophir f j
STATION
Fairview. Innoko River
Quicksilver
For Sale
At
$90 Flask
At the
Parks Mine
Your Order Solicited
i
A faction in Poland wants Ilenr;
'ord as king of the country. N
oubt tbr big idea is that the kin]
fill brir<u.' ’ sd jajk along.—Clevelam
?imea.
Thau i£b*rmi&nder suit ought to b
ent to the cleaner .-^-Norfolk Vir
linian-Pilot.
.We are r.it very unpopular-in Li
eria, that country, owing ms - onl;
2G,tK)0.—Brooklyn Eagle.
Tokotna
Avdffltheitaaii!
Tmltt’irtiHea
JCrgare%te Holders
‘ Cigar iidf alders
’Podefet Cmfibs
'‘Sanitary’Tooth Brushes
ifftttraCLs -I^emon, Banana
and Strawberry Flavors
'Imperial Cigarettes
at cost price
Jack (Mutchler
Proprietor
I Du Rand’s
vCafe and
Hotel
r Flat City
li
{
!
'■*>
B.&E. Store
McGratlv Aia*ka
Groceries
Hardware
f Miners’ Supplies
of All Kinds
l adies" Furnishings ^
'• Furs Bought and Sold
' Mobs*1 Ski* Mitts’wnd iteets jj
King Island Maikhtks
Babeesh, or Sled Lathing |
' 'Voigt's Dog Harness!, ••thi1 very ;
Best 5
T PABKJlS^Cuff and-iwiodofof?
wolf skin, $6.00. Cotne'wnd*
■S then* while theydast. 1
A. R. Eldridge
Larson Roadhouse
Heme Cookei Meals. Prompt Attention !
vNew Deg. Houses
)
^Erank liarson
PropriHot
General Transportation
How About Wood Hauling?
See Joe Ferris or Bud Riley
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