NEWS BY MAIL.

Hokitika Guardian, 8 December 1922, Page 3

NEWS BY MAIL.

ESKIMO FILM ACTORS. TIC KLED BY CARUSO’S SINGING, j ■ - LONDON, Oct. 3. \ Mr Robert, .1. Flaherty, the explorer I who took the wonderful Eskimo film j “Nr.nook of the North” which is now [ running at the New Gallery Kineina, j Regent-street, AA'., lias many tales to j tell of his exDcrieeecs. Thw enrio-iTy ol the Eskimos and their active co-operation in the production ol the film arc particularly inter- : cstiug. "The lame of the picture,” i ie s..ys, "spread through the country j like wild-lire. Throughout the year j •Iha! | remedied there every family j ::‘ cao.e wandering into the post I In mo show tie big picture —the : 'hi' k Aggie.’ ” •■>• This i; did not take the T'Uriipo Lug to si.o the practic'd side of j fill's, and ie “con ahautlonciL. hi--g-1 d-huMtourcii ridicule towards the Aiii.ei'cak -th'- AA lute Master who ;

wanted pictures of him—-and from that . time on lli-y were all with pie. "When tin- snow lay heavy on tie- I ground the Eskimos abandoned their ; Tover-ks of sealskin and a village of j snow igloos sprang up round my winter oust ; my kitchen, my graino- ) phone, and my pictures were their , cr.innit.u propertv ( aruso. l-arrar, and j MeCormiuk served their turns wPhj Murry Lauder and jazz orchestras, i Caruso’s singing of the Prologue to ( •lV.gliaeci’ was to them the most [ comic retord ol all. It sent them into , peals of laughter.” Mr Flaherty tells of an attempt which was made to film a hear hunt at ; Cape Sir Thomas Smith. Soon after setting out the party was overtaken by a Minding blizzard, some of the. j dims ilvin-c of starvation. ' 4 D.-Vi'S’ DARKNESS. | ••‘Vo forgot,” lie says, "about hear-, hunting. Fur two and a half weeks ; we tried for seals, wandering from j day to day along the broken ice. Two ! small seals were killed, and they were just enough to keep the dogs alive. | For jour days, when we had no sea ! oil, our igloo was in darkness. The ; dogs were utterly weak and slept in ■ lb,, igloo tunnel. Whenever 1 had to . crawl out 1 had to lift them to one , side like sacks of Hour, for they were ; too weak and indifferent* to move : away. The irony of it all was that hears were everywhere, hut the dogs were too weak to bait them or biing them to a stand. “T will never forget one hitter morn- j

. ing when Nanonk and his men were 1 starting off for a hunt on tlie ice- . fields near the sea. 1 discovered that; I none of them had touched any food at. , I breakfast time. When I remonstrnt- j I ed with Nanonk he answered that he j l was afraid 1 might be short!”