Show 0 alaska ala ka and d bac ab AK W o wa 0 X low w clarr U ALASKAN flying expedition of the army air berlice made history it traveled the 9 miles from new lork to nome and return in flying hours the four DIM planes were mere flying filing their original motors upon their return the flight ranks with mith any aerial ei event ent attempted anywhere the bird men flew over at least 2 1 miles of virgin territory without land marks or landing fields they landed fifty times on strange fields often almost impossible as landing places the british lasts last spring rang attempted to fly from egypt to tha the cape over the wilds of africa one pilot reached the destination but only after he had replaced his machine and motors and after much delay and inconvenience in the transcontinental test last au dumn aleut belvin alnard 31 the winner broke his motor near omah and had to change it en tirel before proceeding only one liberty motor succeeded in making the te journey both wais will s compared to the non stop flight made by the englishman john alcock which gained for him recognition from the british government in the form of knighthood most fliers will agree that the alaskan flight Is a greater feat the tile alaskan flight was nas a steady grind of over three months duration the personnel of the expedition was as fol follows lowrA plane no 1 capt st clair street in command of expedition sergt edmund Il enriques mechael clan no ISO 2 piloted in turn by first aleut allf ford C nutt and second aleut I 1 ric C kelson nelson engineering officer no 3 C 11 II cumrine photographic officer sergt A I 1 vierra no 4 II 11 C kirkpatrick information officer joseph E english capt howard T douglas went vent ahead of the flyers making preliminary arrangements and alarin blaming the trail here are some clate up pen pictures secured from lieutenant nutt t we cut across the international line when we landed at portal irom portal to saskatoon was the only leg of the journey in which we me had the wind with us IN we e made the miles in three hours and at saskatoon got our first taste of that canadian hospitality which added so tremendously to the enjoyment of the long journey almost one third of the population though american born are now canadians in spirit about miles from saskatoon we me left the prairie country and got into a region of forests and lakes with rolling hills some of them feet high at edmonton Ld monton captain streets ma chine had a leak in the gas tank and we were mere held up there for three day getting that patched up the people at edmonton are intensely in te rested in aviation as a means of developing the country they talked of getting planes to the peace river country to the north of them a big stretch of arable land now wholly undeveloped pack mules being the oni means of trans por port atlon tation the transportation to mines of the region also offered another opportunity for avi atlon to exemplify its usefulness our first attempt to leave edmonton was as un successful because of to low hanging clouds taking off at 1000 feet me w e bad had to drop to and when about miles out street motioned us to return the next day in spite of a stiff wind we nade the jump to jasper park this Is a cana dlan than national park miles long by wide abounding with game and fish here we found one of the best landing fields on the whole route colonel rogers warden marden of the tile park met us and extended courtesies and hospitality tents were mere provided for our accommodation with a chinese cook in the mess mers tent gas and oil were nere on the field and after cleaning up our busses and getting everything in shape for the next day we me felt decidedly as if we needed a bath NN ve e set out expecting to take a dip in the athabasca river but were warned that we me should find the water too cold so with a guide we me set out for a little lake about a halt half mile away which we me were told was aa a good bathing place when ahen we wp were mere ready for the dip somebody stuck his foot in the water mater to try the temperature well all I 1 can say Is it if the athabasca riser Is colder than that little lake w m as then its a record breaker for temperature betit but it was a choice of two to evils ebere ready for a bath we either had to get in the water and take it cold as it was pr bo be literally eaten up by mosquitoes we choe the water it Is impossible to conceive the multiplicity and ferocity of the mosquitoes in this region and in deed to the very northernmost limit of our out flight they almost block traffic they are feo numerous and they certainly block progress preventing presenting work worl at some seasons of the ear hoon soon after lifter the hop bop off at jasper captain street streets s machine caught on fire caused by the oil tanks being too full and overflowing down the ellmost pipe henriques enriques Il who was driving drining put the plane into a side slip and was ung going to land in the river but as they descended the change of balance stopped the flow of oil and the fire extinguished hingul ched itself we got into prince george just ahead of a n rainstorm and without street we lighted flares to aid old him in finding the landing field outline of the field fieldman was mas however of course cour se indefinite so when street alighted he lie came in with mith great speed and overshot rolling out of the field into a cut over stretch where he lie struck a stump that took off about four feet of the end of his left w ming ing breaking both main spars and tearing all the ribs ou out also the left halt half of his horizontal stabilizer and the aileron to get a wing v sent en t to us in the quickest possible space of time would take eight days from lather field sacramento cal the nearest point available so we A got ot busy on the job our ourselves selNes with the help of a ft big swede suede carpenter who mho was a wonder and 1 10 1 0 it 1 e 7 va XA f S IV a ah h zo who had some wonderful spruce timber he ile framed up the wing for us built ribs and spars for the stabilizer and the aileron of course each one of us had a piece of linen for patching we pooled our supply and cohered the wing the dope I 1 lieutenant leu tenant the only chemist we had in the party wa mug able to concoct from bellu lose nitrate unrefined banana oil and several quarts of amyl acetate proved not very tery effa callous as the linen n was a about as flabby ali when n it dried as it had been before wetting but we tools took a chance on the new wing ming anyhow still hlll another delay held us at prince george bo however uever for al at most ten days in all and we me got our first acquaintance of a real frontier town IN e got acquainted qua quain anted ted w m ith h bird hird ird boiled miners of the old type with mith lumberjacks lumber jacks sr great tall Scotch men and little french canadians who came in about twice a week for the tun fun of spending their anoney our next stop wag was to be at II Il azelton at the heid of navigation on the river riser and at one time the main point of distribution for the region beyond II Il azelton Is right in the mountains and these are covered with mith high timber due to the frost even enen when the timber Is remo removed sed and the land plowed level and cult cultivated during the sum mer when it thaws thams out again next spring it Is as rolling and rough as the waves of the sea rea know ing of these conditions we went on by train to inject the landing field before making the jump in our planes finding its dimensions in adequate captain street arranged to have the grain cut from a field adjoining to make room tor for us to alight with safety I 1 our next jump was to land us in united states territory again but to reach IN Vr angell we me had to jump over the coast range mountains at least that Is what we me thought we me had to do from our maps which showed the trend of a river or of a mountain system and depicted depleted e even thing else as perfectly smooth le level leel el country in point of fact the region has never been explored or surveyed fortunately we had a clear day for our take tale off when we me began to ascend tor for our hop bop over the mountains we me found that the mountains rose too and higher than we me had instead of being and feet as shown on our map when we me reached a height of we found we me needed 3 more to get over the tile top and w m hen me w e tried to skirt the range we me found it m aan t really a range at all with a valley on the other side but just close packed mountain peaks filled with snow and ice between alie e glaciers looked like level seas of dark green treen m vater ater at wrangell Wran goll the only landing field available was on a little island in the kine river which at high tide an island at all we landed in about six inches of water ater which had grown to a foot before we e took off from wrangell we went ment liy by way may of ChIl chilkott koot 11 pass ass and skagway to whitehorse this Is the region made so famous in the early days pt the gold discovery discover formerly it took about three months to make the trip in winter minter travel was mas by dog sleds in summer on toot foot or by pack train the once famous mines of this region are now inactive their surface veins hive been stripped and high grade mining in tills this country is too expensive because of inadequate transportation facilities cili ties from to dawson we me flew flow over oler the route patrolled by the canadian mounted police the trail runs in almost an airline that shows up practically all of the way may dotted with the neat little road houses at intervals of 40 to 50 miles apart the police in full abright tred red jackets and blue trousers arc are snappy looking fellows fel lons well ell disciplined and giving wonderful world erful service to the country they were mere of tremendous tiemen dous assistance to us wherever we me encountered them IN e crossed lake I 1 a barge so eo well known to readers of services poems which breathe the very soul and spirit of this tar far northern this lake Is at once the tile basin of the white river and the source of the lukon lulon unless indeed it be one and the same river riser with mith different names in different localities crumrine had blown out a tire at M but filling ills casing with rope packed tightly he wrapped the outside with rope taking oft off with us to dawson and landing safely despite the hard bard jolt from his mended tire ve arrived at dawson damson by chance on august 17 the gala day of the country I 1 discovery day it Is called for just 22 years before the first alaskan gold was discovered on bonanza creek creel the people made ua us welcome to their festivities gave us the town la lik fact the principal meat supply of this region Is lf wild game chiefly the moose and the caribou we were mere there at the season of tf the caribou runs as they are called it seems that as autumn approaches pro pr aches oathes the caribou begin their annual migra afon or ran run the herds bunch together under a leader apparently and to the number of to be begin in their run that stops at nothing that never turns asade and that leids IV ids nobody kiowa news where the method of hunting Is quite simple the rhe huntsman selects a spot pot that Is as near to the trail as he dares dare s to get takes ahli stand and picks game as it passes on the run aa As it Is 13 1 3 purely pot hunting huntin 0 the gime belne being killed for food the biggest biggert and fattest bucks are usually the oner killed by the gunner nature hwa ha provided presided ample cold ige ft so the meat Is 13 easily kept the flight to fairbanks the northernmost point reached was mas oler the mot desorte legion of the entire course lor miles 4 there yas no sign of a trail not een an indian trail then suddenly we picked up tip a trail that appeared here and there along the route quite clear and well defined we afterwards learned that gen ullam Il lani of the air bernice sen ice had led an expedition into this country and cut this trail 20 10 years ago in making a suney for the tile purpose of establishing a tele graph line to connect with mith a cable to siberia which aich project was later abandoned fairbanks with a a population of 2000 la is the largest town west 0 alberta and the whole town reinforced by the mining campa camps of the vl cenit was mas out to meet us the route to ruba was over low hills and swamps there are no maps of tile country because there has been no suney it has been impossible to make one la in winter the country Is covered with mith snow and ice and the only means of travel Is on ski in summer it Is tundra and travel Is at ruby we landed on a sand bar which con appeared in the riser at the right time and proved better for our purpose than the landing field first selected by captain douglas we lve made the hop to iome skirting the bering sea with weather conditions changing every hour keeping in touch by wire mire with the wireless at nome as won soon as we me got a flash reporting the weather clear we jumped in our boats and hopped off we flew at an ail altitude of I 1 1000 M feet zig zigzagging zagging our way to avoid brainstorms rainstorms rain storms when we e saw a fairly clear spot ahead we steered for it but for the most part it was mas just steady pushing through black cloud clouds at golovan ba bai we me saw a herd of reindeer and in bering sea we spotted a number of whales hales and long longhaired hatred haired seila seats I 1 our only actual hunting on the trip was to bag a hundred or more ducks and to kill a black beir IN we e might have killed caribou moose mountain goats and sheep but there was no reason for it as we bad had no means of carrying the game at fairbanks and nome we me were ghen glien many souvenirs in the way may of gold nug ets and so on each one of us wag was with mith a reindeer hide tilde parka such as the eskimo wear par most interesting te bowsier howe bo weier cr of the gifts arc are our alaskan aogi ay iy two were mere ghen glen roe me by ben den derrick of ruby who lias has carried the mall malt in tint thit part of the world for years the dogs are a cross between the gray wolf and the alaskan husky husty s ca captain streeta streets dog were mere presented to him by one of the La who ulio cameto alaska with the re reindeer which the government imported from siberia about twenty 11 ae e 3 ears eam ag ago T and have multiplied and become so numerous in alaska captain douglas Dougl to whom Is due the tile credit of making all preliminary arrangements for the flight confined his ills remarks to expressions espres dons of appreciation for the operation cooperation co tind and courtesy courteR 3 extended throughout his journea jour nev and that of the expedition by the canadian government by the signal vignal corps and weather NN bureaus of both countries by municipalities and individual from one end of the route to the other IN heraver I 1 ment w ent captain douglas paid 1 I got acqua acquainted inte d with e I 1 klikow know them they are my friends at daw damson son the cetire party were mere made honorary members of both tra trie lukon pioneers and the alaskan pioneers and at whitehorse the same distinction was conferred upon us by the squaw mans union ij |