ICE BOUND REGIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 December 1934, Page 12

ICE BOUND REGIONS

LIVING CONDITIONS. The Soviet Union’s largest icebreaker, Krassin (says the Moscow correspondent of the Manchester correspondent of the “Manchester Guardian”), is going to the relief of a little colony who have been “marooned” in the Arctic for five years. This colony is on Wrangel Island, north of Eastern Siberia, not far from where the Chelyuskin expedition found refuge on an icefloe. The Krassin will take a new band of men to replace those at present on Wrangel Island, as well as food supplies and equipment. Life on this bleak island is described in a report just wirelessed by the commander of the colony, Mineev, who says:— “Difficult ice conditions in the Sea of Chukotsk have made it impossible for steamers to reach the island for the past five years, so that no new staff could be landed, but all through these years the colony has gone on regularly with economic and scientific work, without even one day’s interruption.

“The first three years passed quick ly, thanks to good equipment, a sufficient supply of fuel, and a large library. In the summer of 1932 we sighted a vessel which had been sent by the Soviet Government to fetch us, but it could not approach because of the heavy ice. Two aeroplanes, however, landed some food supplies and cartridges, and took on board eight men and 1015 fox skins. “The fourth year, also, everything went well. We were at one time short of fuel, but remedied that by bringing driftwood over a distance of 10 to 15 miles. The huts were rather cold but not unbearable. We had no connection with the mainland, but. I succeeded in tuning-in to the Far Eastern broadcasting station ,at Khabarovsk.

“In August last we heard that the Chelyuskin had sailed into the Arctic. As everyone knows she did not succeed in reaching Wrangel Island, but her aeroplane brought us some food supplies and took away eleven people and 430 fox skins. The remaining staff made preparations for their fifth winter on the island.

“In the course of these five years the staff at Wrangel Island obtained 1728 fox skins and 350 bear skins, and dug up two tons of mammoth bone.”