LOCAL NEWS
ARVRXTl'RK THAT KVVAI»H
MANV INriDKNTB IN
THK NORTH LA Nl>
Aviator Lajotte arrived in Nome
Monday Sept. 24th after being gone
from Nome lit days. Lajotte tells
a story of hardships and adventure
that rival many incidents happen
ing in the northland.
Hopping off from Nome Sept. 7th
at 12:30 P. M. Lajotte started on a
journey in an attempt to connect
Council City and Nome by air line,
on account of the landing field at
Fort Davis being in very bad con
dition. Lajotte was able to take only
a half tank of fuel with him. that
with the weight of himself being all
the plane would take the air with
from the wet. loose sand at Fort
Davis. The engine in the plane
worked like a clock while the fuel
lasted.
Arriving within about 15 miles of
Council, a heavy fog bank hanging
low loomed up directly in the
plane’s path, swinging the plane in
an easterly direction, Lajotte at
tempted to miss the fog bank and
get into a clear space in the sky
which showed to the eastward of
where Council is located on the
chart. After arriving to the east
ward with Council in a line with
his former position, Lajotte headed
the plane due east in an attempt
to come Into Council from the
north, making his landing to the
south. At about this time Lajotte
became aware of the fact that he
was closed in on each side by a
canyon and could not determine the
location of Council, but knew he was
far to the northeast, and then the
engine sputtered once and the lone
aviator knew the time had arrived
when a landing had to be made.
Skimming along beneath the slow
ing plane was nothing but a vast
area of what is commonly called
Niggerheads, the surface of the
ground being composed of holes
with said niggerheads rising up two
or three feet on each side, and the
holes full of water from the recenl
rain. When the engine gave the
first warning of the fuel suppls
being exhausted, the plane was ther
at a height of possibly 75 or 8<1
feet, flying as low as the aviatoi
deemed it safe. With the first
sputter of the engine almost siml
taneously the engine died and the
propeller came to a stop, the plane
was brought down under perfect
control according to Lajotte, but
owing to the holes in the ground
filled with water, the moment the
wheels hit the ground they stopped
and did not roll a foot, the monten
j turn of the plane when she struck
i caused the rear end of the plane to
elevate and sticking her nose in the!
ground, burying the propeller, she,
I turned, what we called when going ;
I to school, "a flip” onto her back, j
I The aviator being strapped in with j
the safety strap, remained in his |
I seat after the plane had landed I
! wrong side up. and in order for him 1
I to get back on terra flrma. had to j
! release the safety belt and drop out ;
! on his head, n distance of about
I two feet, this he did and landed
j head first in one of the many holes.
J between two niggerheads. filled
I with water.
Lajotte's watch had ceased to
j function before the sensational land
j ing took place, and as the clock
I which is generally attached to the j
! dash board of all planes, was tn !
' Nome having a dose of salt water
| removed, the time of day was not
I known to the aviator.
' After picking himself up from be-i
I tween the ingjgerheads. where he
dropped out of the plane. Lajotte.
taking his chart and compass, climb
ed to the top of a nearby hill, after
scanning the adjacent country bis
gaze finally discerned a native a
short distance away who had not
been seen by the aviator when he
first arrived at the top of the hill,
calling to the native to come over.
Lajotte determined to obtain infor
• mation as to how’ far the nearest
! white man camp was from his pres
ent location. Upon being question
ed the native replied that the near
est white man camp was at the Sil
ver Mine, and indicated the direc
tion in which the Mine might be
, uecuiing inai me ymver .Nine was
his best bet, Lajotte set forth to try
I and locate the. at this time, much
[ desired mine. After what seemed
to the lone walker, hours of weary,
j foot sore hiking with nothing in
sight which looked like a Silver
1 mine or any other kind of mine, and
j with darkness beginning to fall. La
I jotte decided to return to the plane
and endeavor to locate the native
again and have said native guide
him to the nearest camp where he
could obtain something to eat. Hav
in& eaten nothing since early morn*
itig. pangs of hunger became evident
with the young aviator.
After walking in the direction
from which he had formerly start
ed. until he was sure he must be
in the vicinity of the plane, dark
ness having fell so thick nothing
was visa hie. Lajotte laid down on
top of one of the many niggerheads.
that being the only dry spot avail
able. and fell asleep. After spend
ing about an hour and a half balanc
ing on top of the nlggerhead, ex
pecting every moment to awake and
find himself in the hole of water
surrounding the niggerheads. Lajot
te sat up with a start and there not
over 100 yds away was the plane. It
bring broad daylight then, and an
Eskimo man was walking around
the plane, examining it as tho he
expected every moment to see the
thing take wing and disappear In
the morning mist, which as yet had
not been driven away by the sun.
Lajotte upon questioning the Es
k mo found that the Eskimo had a
oamp nearby where he could ob
tain some tea and if luck favored
the two and they killed some fresh
meat, that could be added to the
menu of tea. which was all the Es
kimo had. as his supply of provisions
were exhausted with the exception
of the tea already mentioned.
set out for the nearby ramp, and
arriving there, the weary aviator
was given a cup of hot tea. which
he later stated tasted like a "Sal
vation Cocktail.” (what ever that
means). After drinking the tea.
Lajotte lay down and slept until
late in the evening when he was
nwakened by the Eskimo coming In
with a squirrel which he had kill
ed. and which was later cooked and
shared between the two. After par
tially satisfying the agonizing pangs
of hunger, the young aviator decid
ed to spend the night with the Es
kimo and the next morning attempt
to reach some white man’s camp and
get in touch with his friends from
Nome, as he felt sure a relief party
had been sent to search for himself
and plane.
After spending a restless night on
the floor of the native camp. Lajotte
in company with the Eskimo set out
in the direction of Chinik. That
first day will never be forgotten by
Lajotte. his shoes which were never
made for hiking, being of a thin
material, were beginning to show
the strain of hiking over the rough
country, and holes were becoming
I vi sable m the soles of each shoe,
I nfter a heart-breaking journey over
j some of the roughest country im
! aginable. with nothing to eat or
| drink but water and a small por
j tion of the tea which was brought
along, both the white man and Es
kimo lay down to try and sleep in
the open. Morning arrived at last
and after several attempts to catch
a squirrel they were, successful, and
removing the head from view, the
squirrel was cooked over an open
fire and devoured by the two hun
gry hikers. The reason of conceal
ing the head was, because the head
gave the squirrel an appearance of
a field rat. according to Lajotte.
Setting forth on another day of
heart-breaking hiking, with a half
filled stomach, of half cooked squir
rel. late in the evening, the two ar
rived at a cabin owned by the Lo
rien Reindeer and Trading Corpora
tion, which was unoccupied. At
this location a reindeer was shot
and a feast was spread, which ac
cording to Lajotte had the appear
ance of a dinner party at the St.
Francis. The rifle which belonged
to the native could not be used for
killing small game, as it was of
such high power it would tear small
game to atoms. After a meal of
reindeer. (Lajotte says he ate one
j of the hind quarters) the two men
! lay down and slept the sleep of the
blessed, arising the next morning,
tea and reindeer were prepared and
! ate for breakfast and the two set
! out for the Coast line, which the
; Eskimo assured Lajotte was only a
j short distance. Foot sore and with
every muscle in his body protesting.
Lajotte and the Eskimo arrived at
' a point about five miles on the coast
below Chinik. At this point a row
boat belonging to the Eskimo was
made use of in taking the two men
Arriving in Chinik that afternoon,
which was September 11th. Lajotte
called Nome on the telephone and
notified his friends he was safe, and
then he says, he fell into a bed
furnished by Captain Harry Chester,
and dropped into a sleep which last
ed for many hours.
Lajotte remained In Chinik with
Harry Chester until the arrival of
the schooner Donaldson from Nome
on her way to St. Michael and re
turn with the mail. The Donaldson
arrived in Chinik on the 16th of the
month, according to Lajotte. and
sailed the following morning for St:
Michael, with Lajotte aboard as a
passenger. The trip to St. Michael
was uneventful, but on the return
I trip, the storm that raged for the
; 3d hours the Donaldson was out In
I It, Lajotte says, was the worse he
jever experienced. The Donaldson
j stopped at ITnalakleet on her return
, fro"» St. Michael, but could not take
I aboard the mall on account of the
; terrific wind blowing, the Donald
son returned to the Nome roadstead
and dropped her anchor and after
| spending a short time at anchor, the
chain on the anchor shapped and
the schooner had to get underway
for Port Safety. Arriving at Safety
Lajotte went ashore and was brot
back to Nome by E. K. Johansen In
Win. Cameron's automobile.
Thus ends a journey in which it
took 19 flays to return over the
same distance that was covered by
his aeroplane on the trip over in
one hour and a half.
HOT SPRINGS VEGETABLES
OF MAMMOTH SIZE ' I
ARRIVE IN NOME j
A shipment of vegetables from the i
Hot Springs arrived in Nome Sept.
22nd and the cabbage surpasses any
ever exhibited in Nome for slxe.
Thorulf Lehmann received one cab
bage head which weighed 24 lbs.
A. Polet received one head weigh
ing 19 pounds and several weighing
as much as 18 pounds. Radishes I
weighing each one .pound and a
quarter were also received. Tur- i
nips 8 lbs. each. Caluiflower 4 lbs. J
each. Beets 4 and 5 pounds each, j
all these vegetables mature In ap-j
proximately two and one half
months time after planting.
The Hot Springs is located at the j
i base of the Saw-tooth Mountain i
range and 1s an ideal location for;
truck farming on account of the j
abundance of .warm water there, al- j
tho the water is not used for irrt- j
gation purposes, the warm water j
serves to keep the ground close by i
j in a thawed# condition. thus facilita- j
ting the growing of these vegetables :
very much.
XKW HTAMPKDE IX XOMK—
MANY CLAIMS TO TIK STAKED
The event which will be staged on
' the evening of Saturday October 13 ,
j at the large Eagle Hall la to repre
i sent the opening of a new mining
i field, the staking and recording of
claims, the striking of a paystreak
| with marvelous yields will be a dis
tinct feature, everyone may partici
pate in locating and sharing in
ownership and the discovery of val
uable mining ground.
The committee announces, claims
carrying diamonds and nuggets will
be available for location and pros
pecting to all alike, and will guar
antee the lucky miners will be re
warded with pans running as high
ns f 15A.00.*
An entertainment with refresh
ments Will also be provided.
SILVER WAVE RETURN'S NOME.
The schooner Silver Wave owned
by the Lomen Reindeer & 'Trading
Corporation with Captain John Heg
ness m command, arrived in Noma
last Wednesday from a trip up the
coast to Deerlng.
Returning with the Silver Wav®
was agent Reed, representing the
Remington Arms Company. ftL*.
Watson who was connected with the
Bureau of Education t Shungnak
and A. Treifers.
The Silver Wave on her trip up
left the equipment for a blinker
navigation light to be installed at
Cape Bspenberg. and which was In
stalled by A. Treffers. This makes
the fourth light which has been
transported to different parts of the
coast during the summer on the
Lomen Reindeer ft Trading Corpoi*
atlon boats which have been unde*
the command of Captain Hegness.
The Lomen Company has not
charged the government one ceut
for freight in transporting the equip
ment mentl ned. all this was done
in order to assist in making naviga
tor. safe along thts coast.
Both the Lomen Reindeer ft Trad
ing Corporation, and their able
Captain John Hegness, have done
commendable work in ass’stlng the
work of installing the lights, and it
should cause others navigating
these waters to take an interest In
the matter of making the coa*‘ of
northern Alaska safe for navigation
LATOrCHR ARRIVES SKATTLK
According to a dispatch received
by James P. Daly, Nome agent for
the Alaska Steamship Company,
the freighter I,a touche arrived in
Seattle Sept. 24th with mail from
Nome and other Alaskan ports.
FOR SAIJC
Very good violin, with case, out
fit nearly new, will sell at very rea
sonable price, for further informa
tion, see Joe Durand, at local Radio
Station.' ^ *■
WE RETAIL AT WHOLESALE PRICES
HART 1
SGHAFFNER |
MARX
SUITS
Included in this
SALE
WOOLEN
OVERSHIRTS
Regular $6.00
Now $4.50
WE MUST UNLOAD ABOUT $40,000 WORTH OF CLOTHING
AT PRICES THAT ARE MUCH LOWER THAN YOU CAN
HOPE TO RUT ON THE OUTSIDE
We will absolutely save you 25 cents on each $1tOO
spent with us for anything in the line of wearing apparel.
Anything bought from us we guarantee to be good, if not, we
will make it good. __
JUST A FEW OF OUR SPECIALS
OREGON CITY
all woolen
Mackinaw Coats
Regular Price
$12.50
cut to $9.00
LEATHER
VESTS
A large variety
as low as $7.00
Boys Woolen
MACKINAWS
cut to $5.50
CASHMERE SOX
REGULAR
PRICE 75cts.
NOW 50cts.
WOOLEN SOX
30cts. per pair
UNDERWEAR
Cotton and Wool
$ 1.00 per garment
CHEAP JOHN’S STORE
(The Home of Hart, Schaffner & Harx Clothes and Stetson Hats. Mail Orde{s given personal attention)
WHOLESALE * M. WEISBERG. manager | RETAIL