Northwest History. Alaska. General.

• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1936
• Subjects: arctic freight; Yukon river; Alaska; the Pacific ocean; Bering sea; Glenn R. Day; Idatarod; A. D. Bosworth; moving picture operator; Ketchikan; upstream; flying lessons; transport license; pilot; Monocoupe tow-place ship; the Coast route; Seattle; pontoons; Northwest; Pacific > History > 20th century; Arctic; Bering Sea; Big River; Pacific; Yukon
• Online Access: http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/clipping/id/90352

Arctic Freight Will Use Plane: Spokane Man Will Aid Injured Men With Flying Skill. ARCTIC FREIGHT WILL USE PLANE Spokane Man Will Aid Injured Men With Flying Skill. There are many unusual things about the Yukon river in Alaska, one of which is that its source is only about 25 miles from a bay of the Pacific ocean and yet it flows 1765 miles before it eventually reaches the Bering sea, Glenn R. Day, W1737 Eleventh, declared recently. And, although it Is an arctic river, it flows almost due north for half its length before it turns west and then south to empty into the sea. It is one of the most tortuous of streams, which is an important factor in this story. Mr. Day knows whereof he speaks, for he runs a series of barges on the big northern stream, hauling supplies of the river about 440 miles upstream to Idatarod, a branch of the big river. He spends about seven months of each year in the north, the other five months he and his wife, who is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Bosworth, W1737 Eleventh, live here. Mr. Day first went to Alaska in 1912 as a moving picture operator in Ketchikan. Discovering the possibilities of barging on the Yukon, he gradually built up a string of barges until today he has a flourishing business. Towns Far Between. Towns are few and far between on the 450-mile course, and it is a long, hard pull upstream. Often barges or boats are disabled, which means long delays. At other times men have been taken ill or been injured, miles from hospital or medical care. These facts, coupled with the winding course of the river, last year decided Mr. Day to learn to fly. As a result, when he came south a year ago last fall he began taking flying lessons. This year he has continued them until today he is a pilot with an amateur license and enough hours for a transport license, which will be granted him when he passes the examination. Recently he purchased a Monocoupe two-place ship which is at Felts field and which he intends to fly to Alaska by the Coast route about the first of next month. He will fly it to Seattle and there equip it with pontoons. This plane will be loaded on the head barge when the cargoes are started north and, at the end of each day, Mr. Day will be able to take off by plane and fly back to inspect the condition of the other boats and barges. If one is out of repair, Mr. Day, an expert mechanic, will be able to aid in remedying the trouble, and, if a man has been hurt or taken sick, he will be able to load him into his ship and fly him to the nearest hospital.