1931-01-03 — Page 10

PAGE TWO

"VILLAGE OF THE DEAD.'

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, JANUARY 3rd, 1931.

SEARCH FOR VANISHED TRIBE OF ESKIMOS.

The "Village of the Dend" that Joe Labelle, trapper, found to the Aretle, wilderness

dogs following me, I found the other tents in a similar state.

Recalls "Evil Spirkt."

"I tried to figure out where those Eskimos had gone to. They hadn't moved to a new territory, or they would have taken their equipment, especially their guns and their dogs. Then 1 thought of the Eskimos evil spirit'. Torn- rark, who has an ugly man's face with two long tuska sticking up from each side of the nose, The natives live in fear of Tornrark, and they wear charms to ward him off. I thought about Tornrark, and had to make an effort to pat the picture out of my mind.

"I walked into another tent. One side had been ripped to ribboria by the wind. On the floor were three fox skins, made-worthless by rain and snow and mud. Under them was another rusty rifle. Those two rifles seemed strange-the last thing an Eskimo ever paris with is his rifle. One of the doga brushed against, my legs and whined, and I thought of that Tararark again and got outside.

"went down to the lake and wandered if the whole tribe had got trowneil. But that sounded silly, unless they had all com- mitted suicide, which didn't seem likely. Then I found one of the most puzzling things of all.

Grave is Rildle.

"I was an Eskimo grave, with a cairn built of stones. But for some reason the grave had bean opened. The stones bad, been pulled off of one side and there was nothing inside the enirn at All. i had no way of telling when with a i had been opened, or what hnd

is shown above. At the right is Labelle; below, a typlen) Eskimo Tanily like those of the

tribe that vanished,

usually

The northern lights have sett |sions of any Eakino. There was huskies queer sights-as the much-que*edļ no sign of violence, no sign of stranger; they crept up, whining, bren done with the body It had Hobert W. Service remarks—and trouble. The place was simply dolefully. The bodies of revell; once contained. And I couldn't [irad stoga were lying around. figure out why it had been de-

the everlasting silence of the re-empty. gions under the Arctic Circle! Blanks Home strange mysteries. But the northern lights do not tell of the queer sights, nor does

it mysteries. There is nothing to do, usually, but guess,

Par up in the beart of one of

in the

A "Village of the Dend."

"There were six tents, made out,

serrated,

the

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" stayed around all afternoon, Police have taken up the hunt, or skin." he says. "I admit trying to figure things out. There the Arctic silener get vocal about and white trappers have been that when I wont in the first feat were no signs of any struggle. asked to be on the lookout. But was a little jumpy. Just looking Everything looked peaceful. But nothing, so fur, has been fearned. arcunt. I could see the place the air seemed dendly. I enght a Joe Labellle admits that stumb- badn't known any human life for few fish out of the lake and gave ling on the abandoned village gave months, and 1 expected to find them to the two dogs, and then the most lonely places on earth in the creeps, A man doesn't corpses inside. But there was!

Lake Angikani country get the creeps readily

moved on. I didn't want to spend when he nothing there but the personal: 500 miles northwest of the port of spends months at a time trudging belongings of a family. A couple night there,” Churchill, 012 Hudson Baby is lone across the

During Barren of deer parkus takin coats) were i whole tribe of Eskimos has Lands, where there is never ain one earner. Fish and deer; Visited a dozen or more Eskimo vanished. Somewhere, somehow, house or a human being or any-bones were scattered about. There camps, but in none of them could the endless desolation of Canada's thing to break the white-rimmed were a few pairs of boots, and he find anyone who knew anything northern Barren Lands has

silence: but Joc Labelle gaan iron pot, greasy and black, of the deserted, camp. Must of swallowed up 25 men, women and creepy, just the same. The empty Lader one of the parkas 3 found a the Eskimos, when he told them sky and the silent rocky pinin held rifle. It had been there so long it about 1, binmed Tornrack and let it is one of the most puzzling a mystery, and the trapper didn't was all rusty.

it go at that. mysteries that has ever come down like it.

"The whole thing looked AB

Probe Deepens Mystery: out of the Arctic. The news of it! Even when he spied the tentir it had been left just that way has just reached The Pas, on the 'colony, Labelle says, be seused that by people who expected to come

Officers of the Northwest fringe of civilization.

there was something wrong. He back. But they hadn't come back. Mounted Police, trying to trace the It was discovered when one Joej had beached his canoe on the eilge

lost tribe "i went outside and looked aver

are equally puzzled. Labelle, a roving trapper of the of the lake, a hundred yards or softhe rest of the camp.

I tell you,

They say the tribe may have Barren Lands, came upon the distant, and he let out a hail of! was puzzled. I figured there had perished in a blizzard while off tribe's abandoned

camp. Its greeting as he walked up. But been about 25 people'in the camp, on a caribou hunt, although ad- tents, made of varilou skins, there was no answer, Then two but all signs showed the placej mitting that it is unlikely that ail were stil! standing. Inside wereļ half-starved "husky" dogs crawled hadn't been lived in for nearly 12 the women anal children would hides, clothing, evoking utensils,jout and came towards him. They | months. As 1 strolled about, with have gone along. Pestilences' oc- éven rifies the man prized poses-| did not shari #n bark. as those two walking skeletons of casionally strike Eskimo camps--

children.

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but in that ease there would have been badies.

One queer clue did

come to

light, but it hasn't lessened the puzzle. A tribe living about 150 miles north of the abandoned camp has #11 adopted 10-year-old Eskimo boy, who seems to have! wandered into ramp one day a few months ago and who does not be. long to any of the nearby camps. But the bay and the tribe are reticent about things, and nobody¦ has learned anything from them Bo fur

Liquor Falls to Loosen Tongue.

Another time an Eskimo named Shuumek was brought down to a hospital on the Hudson Bay rail- way for treatment for frozen legs. It was thought that he might know! something about it, so, after a longi search, an Eskimo was found who could speak Saumek's dialect, and he began to question him. But Saumek refused to talk about it, mentioning Tornrark mysteriously and refusing to answer any ques- tions.

It occurred to the authorities that Saumek might talk if he got Intoxicated. So his Eskimo ques- tioner was given a quart of whisky and told to ply Snumek with it. This, too, failed; Saumek refused to touch a drop. Like most Eski- moa, he did not like the taste of it. So алу knowledge that Saumek might have remained secret.

a

The police are doing their best to unravel the mystery. They may succeed; on the other hand, the Arctic is full of mysteries. The northern fights huva acen queer sights; but the northern lights keep their secrets.

THE HIGHEST

or

EYE MEN.

N. LAZARUS. OPHTHALMIC OPTICIANS.

13, Queen's Road Central, Hongkong.

Fellows of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers. Fallows of the Institute of

· Ophthalmis Opticians (England).

HOON

BURGLARY

PETITE CINEMA STAR.

Our picture shows thatchers at work at Anne Hathaway's Cottage, at Bhottery, One of our most precious heritages, this

dong two storey house was purchased by the Trustees of Shakespeare's Birthplace in 1882.

(Times copyright.)

Above, Loitia Lodor, a Warner Bros. stær, ja-scen

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