THE GREAT NORTH-WEST

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 438, 2 December 1930, Page 8

THE GREAT NORTH-WEST

A HUNTER’S ACCOUNI SEARCHING THE YUKON MR DALRYMPLE’S EXPERIENCES (Concluded]. Concluding his account of a trip to Alaska and the North-west of Canada, Mr K. W. Dalrymple, of Bulls, referred to his visit to Vancouver. He commented upon the fact that it was the practice to keep the main streets free of overhead electric wires. These were taken along side streets. At intersections traffic was regulated by automatic electric signs and the danger to pedestrians from very fast automobiles was reduced to a minimum. The signs “stop” or “go” were displayed for twenty seconds and before each change a warning bell rang for five seconds.

Hydro power was being maintained in the Yukon regions, he said. The intense cold was a handicap which required more than the ordinary guarding. One plant he inspected remained open even though the temperature went to 70 degrees below zero- There was an open race six miles long and carrying a five-foot* depth of water. In the winter this was covered by a 28-foot top and the water, at the inlet, was kept warm by electric heaters. Wages to Come Down “There is one thing I am certain of since my trip and that is that wages must come down,” Mr IDalrymple stated. “I discussed the matter with several men I met and that feeling is general. The cost of living must come down in proportion, of course. I am not suggesting that the one should fall without the other. “America is in a. bad way through high production costs, and because of high tariffs. The elections there gave ample signs of that which were not so forcibly stressed out here.” Reverting again to the matter of aerial transport and the wireless, the speaker told of a man on the Arctic coast wanting to be transported to Selkirk. He wirelessed for a plane and those in charge, dubious about the trip, quoted him their highest price—lB6o dollars. Back the reply came immediately: “Come.” and the plane made the journey. The man from beside the Arctic got back to civilisation in six hours. Tn the olden days it would have taken him 14 months to tramp through the wilds. Flight of the Cranes One of the sights in the Yukon country which impressed Mr Dalrymple was the annual flight of the cranes. There are great numbers of these birds in the North American Continent and it was quite a sight to see them coming back from their migration to the Arctic circle every year. They start about September 11 and in a fortnight they have all disappeared. It seems that it is one day’s flight for them to Selkirk-