ITHE RIVER of SKULLS
t
-by George Marsh
• PENN PUBLISHING CO. WNU SERVICE
CHAPTER I
—1—
' Billowing away, like the mighty
waves of a white sea, to a horizon
wiped clear of haze by the intense
cold, the naked tundra glittered un
der the March sun.
Slowly over the Ungava wastes
that lifted above the timbered val
ley of an ice-locked river crawled
three dark shapes, like crippled ants
crossing white earth. Twice within
a mile as they labored over the
naked ridge toward the valley the
two hooded figures slumped to the
hard snow beside the great dog.
When they rose to go on, rawhide
thongs, sliped over their shoulders
and made fast to the almost empty
sled, aided the dog.
Far back on their trail, unnoticed
by the three, slunk four skeleton
shapes. When the two men and the
dog stopped to rest, the four gray
wraiths also lay down, slavering
tongues lolling from red jaws
rimmed with icicles.
After a space the larger of the
two men raised his hooded head
and pushed up his wooden eye
shields, pierced by slits, from frost
blackened features. It was the face
of a boy of twenty, cracked skin
tight on the bones of strongly mod
eled jaw and cheeks, deep-set gray
eyes bright from starvation.
“If we don’t find the Montagnais
camps—today—tomorrow—’’
For an instant he buried his face
In the thick black ruff of the dog
that lay beside him, then sat up and
gazed intently over their back trail.
“Noel!” he said, quietly, “Did you
ever eat wolf! If I can keep my
sights lined we’re going to eat some
tonight, or they’re going to eat us.”
"W’at you see, Alan?” The other
hooded figure got stiffly to his feet,
pushed back the eye-shields and the
long wolf-hair fringe of his hood
and stared at the sky-line behind
them. The face was that of an In
dian.
“By gar!” he cried. “We boil de
kettle tonight. You nevaire eat
wolf but you eat wolf tonight!”
The breeze had shifted and the
great dog, following his master,
painfully got to his feet, testing the
air with dilating nostrils.
Swaying giddily on his feet while
he rested a rabbit-skin mitten on
the ^black-and-white skull of the
husky, Alan Cameron pointed to the
four wolves in the distance.
“See them, Rough?” he said to
the excited dog.
The hair on the husky’s back and
neck rose. A deep rumble came
from the hairy throat as the gaunt
frame stiffened.
With shaking hands Alan drew his
rifle from its skin case, where it lay
lashed on the sled.
“You go on with Rough, Noel!
They’ll follow the trail up. I’ll play
dead on the snow and try for a shot.
It’s the only way we'll get one!”
The Indian scowled, slowly shak
ing his head. “Dose are white wolf
from de nord—starved out! Dey see
you lie on de snow, here, dey weel
rush you! Suppose you miss dem,
Rough and I weel be too far for to
help.”
“They won’t come close in on us
until dark I tell you. The only way
we can get a daylight shot is to do
as I say!” the other insisted.
“Here’s a chance for some meat—
to keep us alive, man! If these
spots will stop dancing—in my eyes,
I can get one—from an elbow rest.”
Reluctantly, with much shaking of
his head, the Indian acquiesced.
“Marche, Rough!” commanded
Alan. “You go with Noel. D’you
iiuai mcs
The gaunt husky stood stubbornly
in his traces gazing up at his mas
ter with uncomprehending, slant
eyes. There were enemies back on
the trail and Alan was ordering him
to leave him.
Bending over the bewildered
husky Alan spoke sharply into a
hairy ear: "You go with Noell
Marche! Y’understand?"
A low. protesting whine and the
raising of a white muzzle as the
dark eyes of the great dog searched
his master’s scowling face was the
answer. Lifting his nose, his great
throat rumbled in bitter protest as
he slowly started the sled.
Harassed by uncertain vision and
weakness, Alan settled himself on
the snow to wait for the approach
of the arctic wolves. Lying flat on
the crust, his body shook with the
pounding of his heart, but the fear
that gripped him, as he practiced
lining his sights on the slinking
gray-white shapes, was that his un
certain eyes and jumping nerves
would cause him to miss when food
for Rough and Noel and himself lay
within his reach. Without food they
would never have the strength to
reach the trappers’ camps—two
days, perhaps more, beyond them.
So the youth who was already
known at the fur-posts along the
East Coast as a better shot than
even his dead father, Graham Cam
eron, once Hudson’s Bay factor at
Fort George, lay hoping against
hope that when the time came the
rifle in his hands would hold true.
As Alan lay waiting the cautious
approach of the four assassins of
the tundra his thoughts turned back
to his home at Fort George far to
the west on the coast of the great
bay. If he and Noel and Rough
never returned with the rest of the
trappers for the spring trade, how
long would his name linger in the
memory of black-eyed Berthe Des
sane? That sleek Arsene Rivard,
clerk at the Revillon Freres, would
win her over with his tale of life
down at Quebec and Montreal. She'd
soon forget Alan Cameron whose
bones lay somewhere in the name
less tundra country of the Big river
headwaters. And his cabin at the
post, with the few earthly posses
sions his mother and father had left
him, who—
Suddenly the man lying on the
snow stiffened; the four white
wolves were approaching at a slow
lope. On they came until, a short
rifle shot away, they separated and
Hit lightly, one of the snarling
wolves paused a moment.
began to circle the still shape on
the crust, until the scarcely mov
ing air had given them the strange
man scent. The starved beasts
squatted on their haunches and,
pointing their noses at the sky, sent
the wailing cry of the wolf pack,
close to the kill, out over the white
tundra to where a man and a dog
were making their reluctant way to
ward the frozen river.
Suddenly, not fifty yards from the
man on the snow, the skulkers
stopped their stealthy circling and
swiftly bunched together.
They were comingl
They started their charge! The
rifle roared! It roared again!
With a yelp the lead wolf somer
saulted in the air—then slid limp
along the crust, followed by a sec
ond who rolled over and over, fran
tically snapping at his bleeding
flanks. Behind them the remaining
two, mad with the sight of blood,
fell upon their wounded mates, sav
agely ripping and tearing at their
throats with slashes of powerful
tusks.
Again the whip lash crack of a
rifle waked the tundra. The man
on the snow got stiffly to his feet
and reeled toward the two blood
maddened brutes slicing their kin
to ribbons. He stopped, took de
liberate aim at the milling beasts
and fired. But, in his increasing
weakness, his rifle barrel swayed
like a branch in the wind. Hit light
ly, one of the snarling wolves paused
a moment and then loped stiffly
away on three legs, followed by
the fourth. Firing again and miss
ing, Alan turned to see a great
black-and-white dog coming at a
painful, stiff-legged lope over the
tundra, slipping and falling, in his
weakness, rising again to struggle
on, on to the master who was bat
tling alone back on the trail. Be
hind the dog, stumbling forward in
a half-trot, came Noel, rifle in hand.
“Bless their hearts!” panted the
excited boy. "They sneaked back
to help old Alan!” Then turning to
the fast freezing carcasses in the
snow, he cried deliriously: "But to
night we eat! Not much on their
bones, but there’s enough to keep us
alive—alive! Wolf stew—a feast for
a king! Wolf stew! Food for us all
and—bones for Rough to gnaw!"
For two days the famished boys
and the dog rested in the shelter of
a windbreak of timber beside the
frozen river while the wind drove
the fine snow before it like smoke
over the crusted tundra. Wise in
the lore of the "bush,” they ate fre
quently but little at a time while
their weak stomachs gained
strength. But the nourishment af
forded by the leathery thews and
sinews of the two starved wolves
was limited. While Rough, with the
marvelous vitality of the Ungava
bred on Hudson Straits, was fast
gaining strength, Alan and Noel
were still weak and unsteady on
their feet when, on the third morn
ing, the three set olT up the river
valley toward the Sinking Lnkes in
search of the camps of the Montag
nais trappers.
It was morning of the third day
of their march up the valley. They
had stopped to rest on the river
ice, the two men sprawled on the
wind packed snow beside the husky.
"Three days now,” sighed Alan,
"and the river has narrowed little.”
"We are still long piece from de
lac,” groaned the Indian.
"One more thin stew of wolf—
that’s all, Noel.”
“Ah-hah! We go wan—two sleep
more—an’ den de fox an’ de car
cajou chew our bones.”
Alan reached over to his recum
bent dog and, dropping the rabbit
skin mitten which hung from his
neck by a rawhide thong, rubbed
the massive muzzle. His heart shin
ing out of his eyes, the dog lifted
his head, and with a staccato intake
and expulsion of breath through his
nostrils, gave what Alan called
Rough’s “love-snuffle.”
For a moment the man buried his
face In the thick, black ruff of the
dog’s neck, then sat up and gazed
far up the valley where a stand of
spruce and poplar occupied the flat
country between the river and the
lifting shoulders of the tundra. His
eyes wandered aimlessly; then, of a
sudden, his mittened hand brushed
back the wolf-hair rim of his hood
as his gaze focused on the timber,
blue in the distance.
Scrambling to his feet, he cried
to the man on the snow beside him:
"Look, Noel! Look at the timber up
there on the shore!"
The Indian rose to his knees.
"Wat you see?"
"In that black spruce up the riv
er, Noel!" Alan pointed with a shak
ing mitten. "My eyes are tricky.
Is that haze or smoke?”
"Smoke! Dat ees smoke! De Mon
tagnais!"
"D’you hear, Rough?” cried Alan
to the dog who had risen and was
shaking himself. "Fish tonight for
a hungry dog and two men. Maybe
tea and—flour, bannock! Maybe
caribou!"
His great brush of a tall sweeping
the crust in his excitement, Rough
fidgeted in his harness, impatient
to be off. while the arms of the
men circled each other’s shoulders
in a delirious hug. Standing over
his dog, two tears slowly froze on
his frost-cracked cheeks, as Alan
choked: "We eat—food—real grub!
Tonight we eat, Roughy! Marche,
boy! Marche on!"
The crust offered good footing and
with snowshoes on the sled and with
what strength remained in their un
certain legs Noel and Alan followed
the dog over the river ice up the
valley.
Turning in shore at the water hole
in the Ice they followed a beaten
trail back into the timber.
"Somet’ing ver’ strange here,"
said the puzzled Indian, shaking his
hooded head. "Dis ees no Mon
tagnais camp. W ere are de dog
sign?”
"No, there are no signs of dogs,
no signs of—well, look at that!"
"By gar, white men on de Talk
eeng Riviere!”
Standing beside the husky whose
throat rumbled as he suspiciously
sniffed the air while the hair of his
mane and back slowly rose, Alan
and Noel gazed in amazement at
the substantial log building, banked
high with snow, which stood in the
center of the clearing that opened
before them.
"White men on the Talking Riv
er!” Alan repeated, his curious eyes
noting the size of the log cabin with
its large mud-plastered chimney,
the huge platform cache evidently
piled with supplies which were cov
ered by canvas, the two pairs of
snowshoes and the toboggan sled
stuck in the snow beside the door,
and close by, the ample remains of
what had evidently been an enor
mous wood-pile in the autumn.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Flooding of Illinois Coal Mine Many
Years Ago Developed a Boiling Spring
% %
The flooding of a mine near
Pinckneyville in 1880 caused a tem
porary phenomenon in the nature of
a true geyser, probably the only
occurrence of this kind in the re
corded history of Illinois. Research
workers of the Federal Writers’
Project, WPA, have found an ac
count of this event in a Pinckney
ville newspaper of the time, notes a
correspondent in the Chicago Daily
News.
Flood waters on Beaucoup creek
had covered a tract of land above
the coal mine of Bernhard Blume.
A break in the roof of the mine sud
denly admitted the flood water in
great volume, "for a short time al
most diverting the current of the
swollen creek, carrying away whole
sections of the rail fence which
stood near a bank of the creek,
many of the rails as well as other
timber and driftwood being caught
in the maelstrom and whirled down
the capacious throat of the gaping
crevasse.”
The sudden inrush of the water
“compressed the air in an extraor
dinary degree, and the rebound was
such that the descending flood was
forced back as in the action of a gey
ser, and for several minutes’ time
heaved skyward in vast quantities
to the height of at least 100 feet.’’
This upheaval of water, dirt and
drift was succeeded by a few min
utes of quiet, during which the
floods again poured down the funnel.
The air was again compressed and
again the geyser-like reaction oc
curred, higher than before. This
process was twice more repeated
before the mine had been entirely
flooded.
All but one of the miners had
escaped before the break in the roof
occurred. The Blume mine re
mained flooded for nearly 39 years.
In 1918 the body of Joseph Neising,
which had been preserved by the
mineral-laden water, was finally re
covered.
"It lay face down on the floor of
his room and conditions indicated
that he had his working place in
order. A sack of tobacco and a
small clay pipe, with a ‘heel’ of to
bacco tapped tightly in it, were
found in the pockets.”
WHAT TO EAT
AND WHY
(2. 4fouiton (foudfos
Discusses the
NEED FOR IODINE
Key Substance of the Thyroid Gland— Tells
How to Avoid Iodine Starvation
By C. HOUSTON GOUDISS
A Eaat 39th St.. Naw York City
^p HE discovery of our vital need for iodine is one of 4he
1 most thrilling chapters in the long history of scientific
research.
Many investigators contributed to our understanding of
iodine hunger, but special credit is due to Dr. David Marine
a a a a a a A _
and his co-worKcrs; and tov
Dr. E. C. Kendall of the Mayo
Clinics at Rochester, Minn.
Today we know that al
though it constitutes only
about one part in three mil
lion parts of the body weight,
iodine is so essential that its
absence from the diet may
have the gravest conse
quences.
Thyroid—The Gland of Gland*
Iodine is necessary for the nor
mal functioning of the thyroid
gland, situated in the front part of
the neck. The thyroid is so im
portant that it is often regarded
as the throttle which governs the
human locomotive, and when It
fails to function normally, the
body machinery may be thrown
out of balance.
Thyroid disturbance during
childhood may affect mental and
physical development, and many
children have been accused of
laziness who are suffering from
thyroid deficiency. Thyroid disor
der may be a complicating factor
in obesity, and specialists have
found that it is associated with
many stubborn skin diseases. It
is also claimed that iodine starva
tion influences mental make-up
and emotional tendencies.
Disfiguring Goiter
Simple goiter is a common dis
order of the thyroid gland. At
one time the very mention of this
disease terrified girls and women,
who feared the unsightly lump in
the neck which disfigures the vic
tim. Now, thanks to dramatic ex
periments, we know that simple
goiter is an iodine deficiency dis
ease.
Animal Experiments Point the Way
In 1916, it was estimated that a
million young pigs died annually
in Wisconsin. Investigation dis
closed that their thyroid glands
were abnormally large and ab
normally low in iodine. When io
dine was administered to the
mothers, the young pigs were born
normal.
Scientists reasoned that if goiter
could be prevented in animals, it
could be prevented in humans,
and undertook the now famous
census in Akron, Ohio. A study
was made of the thyroid glands of
all school girls from the fifth to
the twelfth grades. Almost 50 per
cent were found to have enlarged
thyroid glands.
The girls were given small
doses of sodium iodide dissolved
in drinking water at given periods
over 2]/fe years. At the end of
that time, investigators found that
of 2,000 pupils, only 5 developed
thyroid enlargement. Of the same
number not treated, 500 showed
enlargement.
—it—
Danger Periods
This demonstration aroused the
interest of the scientific world and
Semi for This
FREE CHART
Showing the Iodine Content
of Various Foods
—it—
V OU are invited to write C. Houfr
ton Goudiia for a chart showing
the foods rich in iodine and those
which are poor in this substance. It
will serve as a valuable guide in
preparing balanced menus.
Just ask for the Iodine Churl, ad
dressing C. Houston Goudiss, at 6
I',nst 39th Street, New York City. A
post card is sufficient to carry your
request.
F
gave impetus to additional experi
ments which increased our knowl
edge of the iodine requirement
The great danger periods are
during pregnancy, childhood and
adolescence. The diet of the ex
pectant mother must include an
adequate supply to protect herself
and avoid the early development
of simple goiter in the child.
It is also essential to provide
sufficient iodine for growing chil
dren, as the incidence of the dis
ease increases steadily up to the
eighteenth year in girls; in boys
it reaches its peak at twelve.
Some investigators also claim
that one way to enhance the ac
tion of the glands after middle life,
and so prolong youth, is to include
in the daily diet some foods with a
high iodine content.
—★—
Nature's Storehouse of Iodine
It la the duty of every home
maker to learn where the neces
sary iodine can be obtained and to
include iodine-rich foods in the
daily diet, but It is especially im
portant for those living in "the
goiter belt." This area stretches
along the Appalachian mountains,
as far north as Vermont, west
ward through the basin of the
Great Lakes to the state of
Washington, and southward over
the Rocky Mountain and Pacific
states.
—★—
Iodine-Rich Foods
The sea is the great storehouse
of iodine and hence, the most
abundant sources are sea food, in
cluding salmon, cod, crabmeat
and oysters; cod liver oil; and
salt.
Fruits and vegetables grown
near the sea contain varying
amounts of iodine, depending upon
the water and soil, and the season,
the iodine content being at a max
imum in the autumn and winter.
In general, it may be said that
the leaves of plants contain more
iodine than the roots, and that
leafy vegetables and legumes
store more than fruits, with the
exception of cranberries, which
are a good source. When the soil
is rich in iodine, watercress be
comes a fine source of this sub
stance.
—★—
Iodized Salt
One of the most satisfactory
methods for adding iodine to the
HOUSEHOLD (
QUESTIONS \
_-<
For a Flakier Crust.—One-half
teaspoonful of vinegar, added to
the water when making pie crust,
will assure a flakier crust.
• • *
Improving Fudge.—If you will
add a small spoonful of cornstarch
to the next batch of fudge you
make, you will be amazed at the
improvement in flavor.
• * •
Butter Marshmallow Fork.—
When toasting marshmallows to
prevent them from sticking to
stick or fork when toasted, have
handy a cube of butter so the
toasters can thrust their stick or
fork into it before putting the
marshmallows on.
• * •
Stoning Raisins.—To stone rai
sins easily, first place them in
boiling water for a short time.
• • *
Cooking Cauliflower.—Cauliflow
er will remain a beautiful white
and be most delicate in flavor if
cooked in a mixture of half milk
and half water. For some reason
this method practically elimi
nates any odor during cooking.
I,----—
Have You a Question?
Ask C, Houston Goudiss
C. Houston Goudiss has put at the
disposal of readers of this newspaper
all the facilities of his famous Ex
perimental Kitchen laboratory in
New York City. He will gladly an
swer questions concerning foods and
diet. It’s not necessary to write a
letter unless you desire, for post
card inquiries will receive the same
careful attention. Address him at 6
East 39th Street, New York City.
diet, especially in goiterous re
gions, is through the use of iodized
salt. In Detroit, a city-wide test
of iodized salt reduced the preva
lence of simple goiter from 36 per
cent to 2 per cent. Similar fig
ures have been cited for other lo
calities. Iodized salt costs no
more than ordinary table salt and
is an excellent safeguard against
simple goiter.
Iodine in Drinking Water
Even in early times, it was be
lieved that there was some rela
tion between goiter and drinking
water, and recent evidence has
disclosed that there was a sound
basis for this belief. Two investi
gators found that the water in a
large part of the northern half of
the United States falls into a low
iodine classification.
Several communities have given
consideration to the prevention of
goiter by the addition of iodine to
the water supply. This method is
commendable, but it must be
borne in mind that wherever io
dine is taken in forms other than
food, careful supervision by the
physician or the public health au
thorities is necessary.
To those homemakers Interested
in planning the best possible diet
for their families, I shall gladly
send lists showing which foods are
rich In Iodine and which are poor
in this substance.
I-1
Questions Answered
Miss 8. G.—There is no Justifi
cation for serving toast at every
meal instead of bread. It is true
that proper toasting changes some
of the starch to dextrine which is
quickly and easily digested. But
laboratory experiments reveal
that the proteins of toasted bread
and crusts have a lower digesti
bility, and' animals gain less
weight when fed on them than on
the untoasted bread and the in
side crumbs of the loaf.
Mrs. B. R. 8.—The average
meal leaves the stomach within
four hours, though a large meal
may stay for five hours. How
ever, the length of time food re
mains in the stomach is only a
fraction of that required for the
entire digestive process, which va
ries in normal individuals from 12
to 47 hours. Carbohydrates leave
the stomach most quickly, pro
teins are next, and fats require
the longest period.
Miss C. T.—Agar-agar is a non
irritating, indigestible carbohy
drate. As it is not digested, its
caloric value is zero, and it could
not possibly be fattening.
Mrs. M. 8. F.—I do not approve
of the strictly vegetarian diet be
cause it is unbalanced. One who
desires to omit all animal foods
from the diet must also omit the
top-notch protective foods, milk
and eggs. It is doubtful if adequate
protein could be supplied without
milk, eggs or meat. Good health
is best maintained on a balanced
diet, and is such a priceless pos
session that I CEfhnot understand
why anyone should risk the con
sequences of consuming a one
sided diet.
© WNU —C. Houston Ooudlss—1938—11
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