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About The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1924)
Noses of Planes Pointed to Japan; Smith Commander Birdmen, “Guests of Honor From Clouds,” Allowed to Sit at Church When Others Stand. % _________ Told by LOWELL THOMAS. (Copyright, 1924.) "Next day, after the night that the etorm swept our planes off the beach, . we rebuilt the runways and pulled all three cruisers high enough so that in the future no matter how great the gale it would be impossible for the waves to reach them. But just to make doubly sure we filled 100 burlap bags with stone and loaded each plane down with a weight of over a ton. "Our most interesting experience during our long stay here on the island of Unalaska.” says Heigh Wade, "was when we attended Easter service in the little Russian church, on the night of April 2fi. "During the early part of tho eve ning, Mr. A. C. Goss, a trader who owns fox farms on adjoining Islands entertained in our honor. Tho entire whit# population of Illiiiiyook was there. Counting all of us, there were 21 men and six women. Mr. Goss, by the way. is called the uncrowned king of the island of Atka. "About midnight we heard a wild ringing of hells, and we all rushed over to the church. Crowds of Aleuts, all dressed up In their Sun day best, were pouring In when w’e arrived. Impressive Easter Service. "The children were garbed in pure white. The native chief, who is a r.indte merchant, stood near the door selling his product to tho worshipers as they passed in. I believe I would tather have his candle concession than be king of Atka. "The sexes separated when they merched in with their candles, the women on the left, and the men on the right. The ceremony lasted all night and the congregation was never allowed to sit down once from mid night till dawn. Special benches had been brought In for us, and although contrary to the rules of the church, as guests of honor who had come to their village from the clouds, wo were were allowed to sit down. But we could only do so after the high priest had blessed the benches. "Dutch Harbor Is the official resi dence of the patriarch of tlje Rus sian church of the Aleutian Islands, and It was this bishop, with his long beard, flowing robes, and imposing headdress who led the service. The church wae only Illuminated by a few flickering wioke in tallow dishes. The chanting In Aleut wae as weird as the winds and volcanoes of this remote Island. And as we sat there in our leather flying enats we could al most see our breath freeze in the air. "Wednesday, the Jdth, the wither seemed ideal fop flying. The sun was shining and there was a light, steady wind. It was the first day since leaving Seattle that passed by with out our seeing a snowstorm. Major Blair, our meteoroglcal guardian ungel, radioed Major Martin that the weather indications seemed favorable and about no'on a messge came from Chignik stating that the Seattle had at last started for Dutch Harbor. "Naturally we spent the rest of the day speculating on where the major and Harvey were and when they would be likely to arrive. Hours passed and they didn't come. Dusk approached, still no whirring of a Biberty in the eky. Between Chignik and Dutch Harbor there is a wireless station at King Cove. We were in touch with them but they, too, had seen nothing of the plane. Then darkness fell, and we knew some thing had surely happened. .Search Well Organized. "All that night we tried to get BEDDEO 1418-1417 Douglai Street A Credit Store for All ! the People America’s Largest Exclusive Credit . * Apparel Store BUY ON PAYMENTS | Getting the most out of your Apparel Dol 5 lar is the ambition of each customer. You are assured this when you shop at Beddeo’s. Open a Beddeo Charge Account Todag IVWAV.V.V. t Chlgnlk by radio, and failed. But as soon as It grew dark, Smith, with the rest of us constantly with him, re mained at the radio station, wireless ing every ship within reach, asking them to help in the search. We as signed each vessel to a separate sec tion of the coast. For two days and two nights we remained at the radio station awaiting news. Search parties were organized hy land, and both na tives and white trappers took their dog teams and started for the in terior. Later we learned that Wash ington had dispatched Lieut., Earle H. Tonkin from Crissy field. San Francisco, with a Curtiss .IN air plane, which was boxed up for ship ment to Alaska by boat. “Then on the 2d of May the fol lowing message reached us from thoi chief of the air service: " ‘Lieut. Lowell Smith command world flight. Don't delay longer waiting for Major Martin. See that everything possible done to find him. Planes two, three, and four to pro ceed to Japan at earliest possible moment.’ Off .for Japan. "Major Blair, with the bureau of fisheries people, on the Elder had gone on ahead to the island of <Atka. where we were scheduled to make our next stop in hopping down the Aleutian archipelago toward Japan. Major Blair radioed that they were encountering sevpre storms and that it would be very hazardous for us to leave that day. Next morning we were up before dawn, and with the help of a crowd of Aleuts we tpok ad vantage of high tide (and launched the planes before hreakfast. A few hours later. Major Blair radioed that the weather was fairly clear, and at 11 we Hook off,' with the entire popu lation of the Island of Unalaska on the heach cheering us as we taxied single file out through the channel into Bering sea. “Because the sky was completely overcast and the clouds were down to about l.OOn feet, we had to fly fairly low. And as wo flew south over Unalaska we occasionally passed reindeer grazing on the tundra be low. The traders at Dutch Harbor told us an interesting tale about this herd, it seems that years ago when the white men came into the north and hunted the walrus and seal on an extensive scale the Eskimo and Aleuts were practically deprived of a means of livelihood. Although great hunters, they could not success fully compete against the most ef ficient methods of civilization. "So Dr. Sheldon Jackson, a govern ment official interested in the wel fare of these natives of the far north, raised enough money by private sub scription to introduce a small herd of reindeer from Lapland, hoping that he might he able to bulid up a new industry for the natives. That was along about 1832, and since then the government has made 'further ap propriations and introduced more herds of reindeer. Alrats Too Lajqr to Work. "One of these herds was brought to this island of Unalaska, hut the Voi •! OlO lOlOlOiOl OaOa O* OiO half-breed Aleuts were too lazy even to look after the herd. They simply turned them loose and let them be come wilder and wilder, until today they are as wild as the caribou, the untamed cousin of the reindeer which is indigenous to Alaska and which has never been successfully domes ticated. Today the Aleuts are so lazy that they will not even go out and hunt these reindeer for meat. The reindeer has one peculiarity that gives him an advantage even over the airplane. He prefers to travel against the wind. Our friends at Dutch Harbor told us ihat there are between 200,000 and 300.000 square miles of tundra In Alaska on which the reindeer can feed and which will support at least 10,000,000 of them. Interior Paradise. "From what all of us have said about Alaska nne might gather that it is all a cold and desolate region. But, you see, we flew over the islands, ice fields, ice-capped mountain ranges and volcanoes along the coast. Erik and the other boys who flew with Captain Streett on that great ".OOP mile flight from New York to Nome and return passed right through the interior of Alaska, and once they had crossed the mountain ranges right through the heart of the north they found themselves In a land of flowers and sunshine, a vast empire which should one day sustain a large popu lation. Atka Accommodations Limited. It was 3 in the afternoon when we flew over the Island of Atka and saw the Elder riding at anchor in a little bay. AVe wore welcomed by an other crowd of Aleuts and the sole white man, a school teacher mamed AAnillam Nye—no relation to the hu morist, hy the way, hut even Bill Nye himself would have lost his sense of humor if he had had to live here. "The trading rights to this Island of Atka are under the sole control of Air. Goss, one of the traders who entertained us at Dutch Harbor. As •soon as Major -Blair and the officers and crew of the Elder had helped us ashore they pulled up anchor and left for Attu, the last Island In the Aleutian chain. So we were left on this desolate, wind-swept remnant of an ancient volcano without even a radio. Mr. Goss had told us to make ourselves at home in his trading afore. Some of us bunked alongside stacks of flour and piles of condensed milk, while the rest slept In the attic. AAre elevated our hunks on boxes to keep the rats from running over* us. I don’t mention the rats, however, out of disrespect for our hlghcarted host. Mr. Goss, for he only spends a few days here now snd then. “To Low>U Smith, our newly-ap pointed flight commander, went the honor of occupying the only bed in the place—but he didn’t have all the beSt of It, after all. because his bed broke down with him twice during the first night." Read the next installment of the thrilling round-the-world flight in The Omaha Sunday Bee. SjlPajbjlSaOjlojlQ The Daily Cross Word Puzzle Horizontal. 1. Article of food. .3. Religious skeptic. 7. Insect's eggs. S. And yet. 9. All by oneself. 11. flermnn city. 14. Cushion. 15. Region in the Transvaal, Africa. IS. Three times (prefix). 19. Mning excavations. 21. Toward. 22. Hammer. 24. Gulf in the Arctic ocean, Siberia. 26. Sine Anno (Latin abbr.) 27. Musical note. .23. Tart of the verb be. 29. She danced before Herod the king. 32. Behold. 34. Arrange for exhibit. 37. Long period of time. Solution of yesterday’s puzzle. fTRITTTToMel ^ 1 1 -1 Nma\o\*\n lO . O, o (OlOiOl OlOiOlOlOlOP 38, Piece of window glase. 40. Malt beverage. 41. One way of spelling a good smoke. 43. A substance that exudes from plants. 45. Mountain range in Asia Minor. 46. To knot. 4 7. To plot. 48. Eagle. \ ertleal. 1. To make fun of. 2. Made clear profit. 3. The positive electric teimlnul of a galvanic battery. 4. Strong drink. 5. Religious monogram. 8. A riblike structure. 9. Zealous advocates of a cause. 10. To lick up. 12. To go wrong. 13. One of the elements of the air. 18. Tn place. 17. Negation. 19. Observes. 20. Indefinite number of things. 22. yuanity. 23. Burden. 25. Double (prefix). 28. Musical note. 30. *Rock containing metal. 31. Supernatural, art. 32. Another musical note. 33. Upon. 35. One of the five senses. 38. Adopted son of Mohammed. 38. To move with high step. 30. Smalt animal valuable for Its fun' 4 2. Euss. 44. An organ of sense. The solution will appear Sunday. -- Funds Sought for Making Indian Village Excavations Columbus, Dec. 12.—Mapping out of a campaign lo Obtain from the next session of the state legislature an appropriation of $1,000 to provide for the expenses of an entire sum mer's excavation from the mouth of the Loup river southeast of here In Genoa, Neb., searching for Indian Give Furniture for Christmas White Birch Wood From the Canadian Border Choicest For the Fireplace That Can be Obtained Also Genuine Missouri Oak, Any Length Desired UPDIKE ^lbecro& WAInul 0300 'ioioioioi io loioio.o ipioio. oi o»o*oi oioioieio village ruins and remains of the 111 fated Spanish expedition that perish ».i at the Lamp river mouth. August II, 1620. is now under way here. E. M. Blai-kman. curator of the Nehras ka State Historical society, made the preliminary survey last summer. Should the legislature fail to make . an appropriation the matter will let \ taken in hand by eastern museums. —~_" ~ ess®!® HCRZBERGS " Saturday > New Tyrolean Crown Hats in a feature showing at ^ i Every Felts New Faille Color | Satins The newest models are high crowned, scant of trim, with feather pom-poms, cut felt or flowers, some with dashing bow* perched atop the crown or on the side; large and small head sizes. Cranberry Rust Henna Co pen Wood Green Black Soft rolled br ims. deep’ pokes and Pierrette mod els. Every hat in the showing was intended to •ell at much higher prices. i . Millinery—Third Floor lOA-OaQa Oi O Oi Ok OiOiOi OiOiOi Oi Oi Oi ninm.MsMft m n. » When in Doubt: Give Her a Herzberg Gift . Certificate. We Issue Them in Any Amount. Saturday— The Last Day of Our Choice of the House Footwear ' - I No Reservations ' Every Pair of Shoes in Stock Involved. A tailing arant that af ford* you a dafinita, worth-while iarin| on any pair of ahoea in tha houae. Thia aala meant that you can aupply your footwear naeda for tha r holiday aaaton at de clare raving. This includes nil Ron* ^ doir Slippers at a dis count of 15 per cent. i I STYLE WITHOUT 1519 1521 EXTRA/AfiANCE DOUGLAS ST Fur Scarfs — .4 Wonderful Christmas Gift Baum Marten and Sable for mother and wife. Beautiful Fluffy Fox Skin* in the new shades for sweetheart and sister. $1950 to *6950 <s * \N Saturday—in “Girlie Nook” A Pre-Christmas Sale of Girls' Dr~ss~s The season’s greatest value surprises await Omaha mothers and daughters in this sale Saturday. Exquisite new dresses, secured in a very recent pur chase and shown for the first time Saturday, are offered in three remarkable sale groups. . Dresses Worth to \ $10.75 in Sale / In this lot you’ll find dresses of , exceptional jrood style, well made, ( perfect In fit. V Sizes 6 to 12 years. Dresses Worth to i I $ 14.50 in Sale I At $d.D5, chic little frocks that will delight any Omaha pirl, A : jrreat array of styles. 1 Sizes 6 to 12 years. ' Dresses Worth tfl \ $17.50 in Sale i The very finest dresses that the market affords, rich in fabric, styles of the hour; you should buy l several at this low price. 1 Sizes R to 16 years. V Silk* Velvet* Wool Crepe* Many Smart Combination* Every N rw Color Style* of the Hour 1 Gorgeous Gift Blouses In a Feature Sale Saturday, H Clever Tunic and Overblouse Creations Milady is indeed luckv who receives one of these magnificent blouses for Christmas. Crisp new creations, in fine quality silks, every imacinablr color, both solid and novelty patterns. r At $4.95 they are easily Omaha's greatest values. H hat Finer Gift Could He—Than Gotham Gold Stripe Silk Hose ’ Three Pairs in a Gift Box— 50 This famous quality hose is the personal choice of the nfr Pair well-dressed woman. $1.85 a To give Gotham Gold .Stripe Hose is an ex pression of good judgment. Fine all silk, lustrous finish. Every Color That Is in Demand Gunmetal Black Nude Airedale Gray Caramel Acorn Gravel Skvn 1 wig Bobolink Piping Rock -— f t f