Northwest History. Alaska. Explorers, Exploration & Discoveries.

• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1928
• Subjects: the Arctic; Seward; Alaska; Captain George H. Wilkins; Australian aviator-explorer; Lieutenant Carl Ben Eielson; Point Barrow; Robert B. Woolverton; radio station; communication Wilkins; frozen continent; the Arctic ocean; Spitzbergen; weather observations; air current; Northwest; Pacific > History > 20th century; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Eielson; Fairbanks; Pacific; Wilkins; Barrow; Tundra
• Online Access: http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/clipping/id/91108

Explorer Wilkins Is Safe In Arctic: Reestablishes Radio With Seward, Alaska -- Feared He Had Been Hurt. EXPLORER WILKINS IS SAFE IN ARCTIC. Reestablishes Radio With Seward, Alaska—Feared He Had Been Hurt. SEWARD, Alaska, March 21. (/P)— Captain George H. Wilkins, Australian aviator-explorer, and Lieutenant Carl Ben Eielson, his Alaskan pilot, are safe at Point Barrow, preparing for the'r contemplated flight into the Arctic "blind spot" en route to Spitzbergen on the other side of the Fears that they had met with disaster Monday at the end of their hazardous 500-mile hop from Fairbanks to Point Barrow were allayed when Wilkins reestablished communication with Seward last night. Doubts as to the safety of the adventures were expressed when Wilkins' radio log of their flight abruptly ended with the words "Going to land. Going to land." The plane had just passed through a storm and repeated efforts to establish contact with their radio were unsuccessful. "All Okeh." Last night Wilkins radioed Captain Robert B. Woolverton, Seward radio officer, saying "All okeh." He repeated the message several times then added "Clear and cold." At this point an amateur radio station began sending on the same wave that Wilkins was using, making further reception impossible. Captain Woolverton said that presumably Wilkins was not able to get his radio into operation Monday night after his flight and delayed setting it up until last night. Night was the time agreed upon for the exchange of messages. The explorer's radio is the only means of communication between Point Barrow, the most northerly tip of Alaska, and outside oints, except by a long trek over the frozen tundra. Third Attempt. Wilkins and Eielson, on their third aerial attempt to penetrate the "blind spot" of the Arctic, supposedly were beginning to prepare themselves for the rigors of their 2100-mile flight over the top of the world. They planned to eat, during their stay at Barrow, the same kind of food as their emergency rations. The hop-off for Spitzbergen was tentatively set for April 15. Prior to that time they plan to make several short flight over the Arctic. Wilkins hopes to discover the fabled frozen continent of the north, often reported, but never reached by other explorers. He likewise intends to find suitable locations for weather observations, study the trend of the upper air current and the movement of the ice flow and the Arctic ocean.