Show roalin around with the he NEA weeks art article icle 0 on al alaska k 3 I 1 this iiii an hiten by F fye faye ye E williams r a tr ip by plane over ovel who h the arctic circle dressed for or our trip to fair A 43 1 I morning of june 14 kinks banks on the undecided alot about my y i as quite i I 1 of the day whether or unito suit bult and forget about a A ear es I 1 to do arctic circle flight or be the and don flannel slacks reckless idess topcoat just ou on a a becket k t and aci lb that I 1 might decide to take lunch 1 to further north I 1 dewed decided I 1 one L etc tep this on the slacks and as events I 1 forked corked out I 1 was happy in my choice immediately following our lunch too on at the country club in fair the few ot of us who elected tusks uie the flight to fort yukon yukong to 11 take were hustled bustled to the airport and in I 1 matter ceatter of minutes were flyings hying cort bard into a stormy sky the night flight took approximately one and a halt half hours each way cowing covering an utterly desolate area no visible sign of human habl astion below leaving tile the moun talus and nd forests of stunted mis gopen ever evergreens greens we emerged into a flat marsh dotted tundra nihei miles and miles ot of it as far as our pilot sent the eye could see gee word tord that any of 0 us wishing to do 10 go might pay a brief visit to the cockpit it was during the few moments I 1 spent peering through the wide windshield of the abe plane that I 1 had my first glimpse of the mighty yukon river far below uncoiling across the flat land like a smooth silver ribbon 2300 miles long no sooner had I 1 returned to my teat seat than we were circling for a landing and very shortly we were clambering out at fort yukon eight liht miles across the arctic circle the sun was shining and the temperature was lust just about like early april here brisk and bright we were met by a young whole some bone looking woman named evora iva melville who graciously acted to 11 our guide tor for our entire visit tle the present settlement of 0 fort I 1 yukon Is situated within a wide bend of 0 the river however since the community was established on june 27 1817 1847 it his has been feces ury urr from time to time to move the buildings further and further inland due to erosion of the river I 1 links banks the last general move occurred I 1 la in 1916 when the banks cut inland for over a hundred feet 7 when we asked concerning the population of the village we were told lold that it was between tour four and I 1 five eye hundred but no accurate cen bus m had been taken due to the fact that the trappers were so constantly in and out of 0 the settlement they were unable to account for then them with the exception of about 10 unite people the inhabitants ire re indians indiana there Is no rhyme or reason to the townsite te nearly all ol of the buildings are of 0 log and seem to have been built wherever the trees happened to fall he hence r there licit lre ire no streets main or Ith otherwise emise just a maze of worn paths threading among the dwellings dwelling the indian huts huta are all quite I tallar lar small one or two room low roofed solid shacks many of then them had added adornment of a doubled lilt tied turned upside down on the sloping root roof and covered with a piece of 0 canvass or hide quite garage we were invited to enter one 01 t these huts a little larger than aln the others and displaying a widely lettered sign coffee house on OIL the front inside the lele room was waa crowded by a large irie oval table of ten ot of twelve seating capacity A few feet from it t aaa M a huge black wood burning frith mt cavernous ovens all oyer tr the available work space were pull or of bread and rolls rolla set to rise arid 1 I delicious to smell the esi es I 1 was operated by an am indian ilia I 1 woman 1 who sells bella bread and tolls besides doing a regular cabel cafe bul ni lii neim we sat around the tat bie and had cottee coffee very good cot cof fes M too and nd regretted that we bad arrived too toon no a tor for fresh bread 0 a f toffee coffee cost 25 cents a cup laid d tells sells for loo 1100 a loaf ballon no not really flour alt 2000 a 1 hundred pounds in that faraway araway ar away pla ce wt ae found the northern commer co store clo closed sed but the prop pro P botor bur ridly opened up when he be nied of 0 ig his p prospective custo intra tl it was as a typical frontier ler tur fur bil bulginess giness it consisted of large ree room with a beamed ng e stock in trade was prin ipa ily y made up ot of trappers trap pera piles staple foodstuffs cured tura furs I 1 and beautiful beadwork produced by the indian women for the few minutes we spent there the ealer dealer 10 did a thriving business some of the men took advantage of the rare opportunity to buy double fox furs at 30 a pair no inflation in that department the transact transaction io n corn com i 1 plated the trader dropped the pelts in a sugar sack knotted the end and handed it to his cli customer stomer no high overhead in fancy packaging either we were told that worth of muskrat pelts had been sent through the post office the day before our arrival leaving the store we boarder an open truck of venerable old age one of the two motor vehicles ju in the town our guide had arranged crates for us to sit on and we gaily took oft off for a visit to the historic hudsons day bay company cemetery we pursued by ai a band of excited screaming indian children who by this time had overcome their shyness and were leady to join in the tun fun our visit to the cemetery about foot square area was quite ailef ono concrete monument honored the men who had died in the service of the hudsons day bay co it dated back into the 1840 era so we concluded that they were very dead indeed and left them to their ua disturbed peace the most imposing building Is the story and a halt half log structure housing the hudson stuck memorial hospital it was built in 1914 by the episcopal church and Is under the supervision of the episcopalian co mission bertha mason the present supervisor head nurse and practical physician surgeon was our pleasant hostess during our interesting visit she Is assisted by two young missionary nurses and some help from the vil lage at the time of our visit they were without a resident doctor and except for critical surgery took care of all cases including confine I 1 ments in the event of serious emergency they send a radio message to point barrow for the armyl army surgeon who flies in does the necessary operation and flies out leaving the patient to the skill of dertha bertha mason she is a small grey haired lady with a warm friendly personality no wonder that all the natives love her and name their babies alter after her and her pretty assistants si we were treated to coffee and salted nuts in the sunny dining room and marvelled marvellee marvel led at the high water marks tour four feet from the floor which still show on the walls marking the most recent breakup break up of the yukon it necessitated all of the patients being moved to the second floor bertha mason recounted tuberculosis Is very prevalent in the area and one u wing ing of the hospital Is always crowded with young victims of this dread disease it would seem that these women deserve a very special blessing tor for theirs is truly a self sacrificing career we were taken to the pretty little st stephens church also built of log mounted by a beltry belfry and a simple cross the interior Is beautifully clean and orderly and pre evaded by the dignity of simple worship here we saw one of the most exquisite pieces of handiwork it has been my privilege to see a white moosehide moose hide bide alter cloth completely covering the top and three sides or of the alter beaded in an intricate and almost solid pattern ol of tiny tiny beads here too while our versatile guide played the the little organ martha wallis a very old and very appealing indian woman sang two verses of a christian hymn in her native tongue we stood in respectful silence because reverence Is the same in any tongue martha Is also noted for her elaborate and lovely beadwork and Is able to speak some english we enjoyed her very much almost as much as she enjoyed us I 1 do believe one of the most interesting phenomena this far north at the date approaching the summer solstice on june 22 Is the continuous visibility of the sun it rides the sky in a slanting course and barely dips under the horizon then rises on the opposite side to repeat its strange performance in the winter months almost continuous darkness prevails along ann extreme cold and much snow enow not h half alf has been told but at least this Is a once over I 1 lightly Ight ly visit to the land of accod account nt of my santa claus I 1 have a treasured momento in the form ot of a very ot of tidal looking document which says saya this certifies that PAVE FAYE WILLIAMS crossed the arctic circle on the ath day of 0 june 1951 landed at fort yukon it Is signed by the pilots and I 1 witnessed by the stewardess so BO it really a pipe dream dreama after all rAl editors note alaa williams informs us that she has hag a number of interesting pictures taken on this trip which may be seen been at the J williams sons co store estors |