Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 214, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 September 1918 — DIVIDED FOOD WITH INDIANS [ARTICLE]

DIVIDED FOOD WITH INDIANS

Splendid Spirit of Belf-Shcrifl©o Shown by Party of White Travelers In the Far North. The day of adventure, romance and sentiment in the wilds, is recalled by the arrival at<Qnebec a couple of days ago of two men and a woman, the wife of one of the men, after a mile drive by dog sledge across Ungava In 5Q days. When the party arrived at,the first outpost on thebrim of civilization the first act was to replenish food supplies which were completely exhausted, and all hands with an appetite; Then the trio pushed forward again after the first meal in almost a month, because halfway across the white wastes the party discovered ten Indian families slowly starving, with no one to go for .Jtood and no one to bring any to them. The sledge party was provisioned to the ounce for Jtsi trlp of almost two months but could not leave without j doing something—although pitifully little —for the starving • Indians. Another careful calculation was made, and each of the three consented to live on the least possible ration and take a chance on accident or loss of supplies by storm or other means. All except what the party believed would sustain life against the cold was left with the Indians and when the travelers reached the first outpost they had been some, time without food and were strenuously hungry. The food supply of the dogs could not be reduced, as the only hope of safety for the party was In the “huskies,” so the humans ate practically nothing while the dogs got their regular allowance. The story of the long drives across the northern snow fields is familiar in modern fiction but occasionally a narrative of fact as in this case, presents reading that maintains the essence of adventure and romance quite as welL The spirit that surrenders food to starving savages or barbarians, midway of a 900-miles journey over endless snow with no surer guarantee of safety than the willingness of a team of dogs Is that which underlies the world struggle In Europe.