Northwest History. Alaska, Hardships. United States.

• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1936
• Subjects: Arctic doctor; Point Barrow; Alaska; Dr. Henry W. Griest; Presbyterian medical missionary; blizzard; Wainwright settlement; natives; Indian affairs bureau; Clair Okpeaha; Will Rogers; Whiley Post tragedy; Will Solomon; Northwest; Pacific > History > 20th century; Arctic; Indian; Pacific; Barrow
• Online Access: http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/clipping/id/92250

Arctic Doctor Lost; Escapes. ARCTIC DOCTOR LOST; ESCAPES. POINT BARROW, Alaska, Feb. 27.—(I.N.S.)—Lost for three days In the blackness of the Arctic night, and finally wandering far out over the frozen ocean, Dr. Henry W. Griest, Presbyterian medical missionary, who is one of the unsung heroes of this isolated section of the world, was safely back today. He was caught in an Arctic blizzard and missed the trail on the way back from Wainwright in temperatures which often went to the 60 below zero mark. He reported the Wainwright settlement had not been afflicted with the epidemic of mumps and flu whieh caused much anxiety here but now is in control. Because of lack of sufficient foods, due to a poor hunting.season last year, the natives are low in resistance, making recovery slow. Repeated pleas by Dr. Griest to the Indian affairs bureau finally have resulted in orders to use coal from the school to provide heat for needy families. In many instances, before this order, the natives were living in unheated igloos. At the same time Dr. Griest's pleas to the Indian affairs bureau resulted in the sending of $40 for food relief. Another mystery of the little known Arctic seas has started tongues wagging here. The spars of a two-masted schooner, caught in the solid pack ice fifteen miles off this most northerly settlement were still visible through powerful glasses from the shore. It was impossible to determine the identity of the craft or to ascertain whether any living person was aboard. The mystery ship was first sighted February 23 by Clair Okpeaha, the native who last summer became a hero because of his work in the Will Rogers and Wiley Post tragedy. Clair and Will Solomon sought to reach the vessel over the rugged ice but were driven back by the icy winds and extreme cold, which varied on shore from 28 to 32 below zero.