LIFE IN ALASKA.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 January 1916, Page 3

LIFE IN ALASKA.

TRADING WITH THE ESKIMOS. ' BETTERING THEIR CONDITIONS. AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW. All sea. captains have interesting stories :to relate, but few have had such a novel and fascinating $ life at sea as Captain John Backhand," of the schooner. C. S. Holmes, which is now in port at New Plymouth. With his massive frame and sun-burnt countenance, lit up by the genial expressions of a cheerful and active man, Captain ISackland represents the type of man one associates with the sailing vessels which trade in strange seas, and he might just have w.lked out of one of those books one prized in boyhood. For Captain Backland's life has iirtt' been spent on steamers running from port to port with passengers and cargo, but recent years have found him taking his small schooner—the C. S. Holmes—through the ice-covered seas bounding the. northern coasts of Alaska and trading with the primitive Eskimos—giving them food and clothing for furs and whalebone, just as in olden days seamen sailed to New Zealand and bartered with the Maoris.

Captain Baekland yesterday gave a Daily News representative some interesting glimpses of his life in the Alaskan trade. About eleven years ago, he related, lie resigned his position as master in the Burn Line (Scotland), and, seeing opportunities on the Western Pacific cpast he left the Old Country and went out to settle in Seattle. lie procured bis vessel and at once arranged a cargo fot Alaska. Witli goods for the various mission stations in Alaska he set out for the north. Through Behring Sea the vessel proceeded and thence through the Behring Strait, until he reached Barren Point, the northernmost, point of Alaska reached by vessels. The first trip showed Captain Backhand that this trade offered splendid opportunities, and lie decided to devote his life to it. This he has done, breaking the monotony by an occasional journey into more cheerful latitudes, such as his present voyage to New Zealand. "I have met with many interesting experiences fighting the polar ice, which is met just before reaching Beliring Strait," continued the captain. "The ice moves according to the winds, and with favorable north-east and. east winds, it breaks away from the shore*, and makes the sea navigable among the bergs. Through the broken ice one lias to work one's way. and all the time the sea is dotted witli liergs of all sizes, so that much skill has to be employed in threading a vessel among them. It would be venturesome enough for a steamer, but my trips have always been made in sailing vessels, and I have ; iad many tricky paths to travel.

"I found the Eskimos very interestm™ people," added Captain Backland. "They iive in mud houses, with pieces of drift wood and walrus skins to form a covering'. In most of these small lulls you will find from three to four families living, and without ventilation they stay in these hn'ts for two or three months during the winter, when the. sun never rises. They are an honest and fairly industrious people. They mostly live by hinting', and recently the United States Government has encouraged n Ivado in Siberian reindeer, which ilo well in America. This trade has brought a continuous livelihood for the Eskimos and has finally crushed the fear of famine, which was n frequent enemy of the Eskimos before the United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1807." Referring to the future of Alaska, Captahi Backland said thsi. "it is a tre-mc-udo'us country with a great future.'' At present it supplies from fifteen to twenty million dollars to the mints of the United States, and there is a hardly a river flowing from the mountain ranges which does not bear signs of gold in it. There..is also a large lake of lirstclass petroleum, and experiments have recently shown that this petroleum will produce gasoline of the finest quality yet discovered. "Though T have found ihe Eskimos honest and faithful, their morals need to be elevated," added Captain Backland. "Hence I have started a trade in lumber to Alaska, bribing I timber for the Eskimos to enable them to build better llpuses, and improve their conditions of living. "! also'take trfl'ft forty to sixty thousand dollars worth of'groceries, hardware, and dry goods and exchange it with the Eskimos for furs at the Seattle price, puis the cost of freight. I usually brim; back thirty to fifty thousand dollars worth of furs and a quantity of whalebone. Yes," he concluded, "it is a splendid trade, and' though I have looked to a trip down these waters i hope to be back in the Alaskan trade soon. I would not evchanp it'fpf jl>iy'l>!!>£ i n Ilis ? oun tiy-."