| Summary: | Joint Scientific Expedition Will Leave Capital Today For Alaska. Joint Scientific Expedition Will Leave Capital Today for Alaska Washington, May 19.—(/P)—A joint expedition of the Smithsonian institution and National Geographic society will leave Washington for Alaska tomorrow, seeking to unearth remains of North America's oldest inhabitants. Led by Henry B. Collins, Jr., of the Smithsonian, veteran of four years of archeological exploration in Arctic regions, the expedition will attempt to trace American history back to a time centuries before the birth of Christ when predecessors of the Eskimo inhabited the region. Assisting Collins will be James A. Ford of Louisiana State university, who also has done previous work in the Arctic, and Harrison Prindle, recent graduate of Duke university. Headquarters of the expedition will be established at Cape Prince of Wales, westernmost point of North America, which is only 55 miles across the Bering strait from the mainland of Asia. A theory which has been strongly supported by archeological findings, Collins said, is that the Americas were populated originally by people of Asiatic origin who crossed on an ancient land bridge or on ice connecting the two continents. The Smithsonian archeologist recently was awarded a gold medal and prize of 1,000 kroner by the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences for his uncovering of evidence that the Eskimo was clearly of Asiatic origin. He said he believed that somewhere along the Bering seacoast or one of the remaining islands, would be found skeletons and old tools, implements and utensils of the mysterious people who preceded the Eskimos to North America.
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