CHRISTMAS IN ARCTIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 27, 1 February 1930, Page 14

CHRISTMAS IN ARCTIC.

GIRL OH FUR SHIP. LOCKED IN THE ICE. SEARCH FOR MISSING AIRMEN. (From Our Own Correspondent.) . VANCOUVER, January 13. How a seventeen-year-old girl, marooned in an iee-locked ship in the Arctic, spent Christmas hds been revealed in a radio message from Marion Swenson, daughter of the captain of the Nanuk, which was caught in the ice floes and frozen in during the fur-buying expedition. She also tells something of the efforts of several airmen to remove the crew and supplies from, the ship which it is feared may be broken up by the shifting ice. "Our lives have been brightened considerably by the arrival of Pilots Joe Crosson and Harold Gillam," she radioed to the outside world. "The time passes much more quickly since they came to search for Carl Ben Eielson and Earl Borland, who have been missing near us since November 9. "On Christmas Day .Daddy and Chuksi, a native, made a flight with Gillam to search for Eielson's plane, but did not Jind any trace of it. On a previous flight they located three deer camps inland, but! there was no chance to land. We are now sending out men with dog teams to interview the deer herders and have them scout the country with reindeer teams. "It r• ' ■ ' " "? v won't take me along. The only ride I get is to take a deerskin, climb a steep bluff near North Cape, sit on it and slide down, same as a polar bear cub. "We celebrated Christmas Day on the 24th, as we 'are a clay ahead of you folks. We did our best to celebrate, but it was a rather feeble attempt', 1 am afraid. We had a new and brightly coloured oilcloth on the table. We made ice cream out 'of condensed milk whipped with snow. I added a dash of vanilla extract and it tasted pretty good. We had two bottles on the table that looked like vodka, but I guess I should not tell. "The Russians ashore and aboard the trading ship Stavropol, which is frozen in like we are, did not celebrate Christmas, but they are making big preparations for New Year. It is only a couple of miles across the ice between our ships. "Solitaire is our chief diversion. It is very convenient when we have guests, for we just hand them a pack of cards and tell them to enjoy themselves."