Air Mushing

Marked in red on a map of Alaska in the Alaskan Airways office at Fairbanks is a 200-mi. square in the extreme northeast section of the Territory along the Canadian border and the coast of the Arctic Ocean. Somewhere in that wilderness plods a herd of 2,400 reindeer, all that remain of a herd of 3,500. With seven Lapp herders they are on their way from the Seward Peninsula to east of the Mackenzie River in northern Canada. They set out two years ago when Lomen Reindeer Corp. contracted to deliver the herd to the Canadian Government by next summer (TIME, Dec. 30, 1929). Four times so far, at six-month intervals, planes of Alaskan Airways have overtaken the drive with supplies for the lonely herders. Last week General Manager Arthur W. Johnson started home from a visit to the Manhattan offices of the parent company American Airways Inc.-to chart routes for the next flight, which they expect to make next month, with three tons of food & supplies.

Flights of such special nature are frequently undertaken by aviation companies in Alaska but Alaskan Airways (pioneered by the late Carl Ben Eielson) is now also operating monthly passenger & express service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay (southern coast), weekly beI tween Anchorage and Bethel (southwest), weekly between Fairbanks and Nome, monthly between Fairbanks and Wiseman (above the Arctic Circle), weekly between Fairbanks, Fort Yukon & Dawson (Yukon). Compared to domestic U. S. airways, Alaskan fares are high ($200 between Fairbanks & Nome). But they are much cheaper than the only other means of winter travel-dogteam. The Fair-banks-Nome flight takes from 4 1/2 to 6 hr. By dogteam the trip may take from 4 1/2 to 6 weeks, costs about $400 exclusive of roadhouse bills.

Natives of outlying points have learned the flying schedules of planes from Fairbanks and regularly file orders of their needs by Government wireless in advance. A message recently received by Alaska Airways from its agent in Wiseman:

"Blue calico dress for Susie Bigfoot; 30 Ib. boiling beef for Hudson's; 4 pr. gumboots size 11 Lucky Strike Mining Co.; dozen phonograph records assorted Joe Slisco; rosebush knocked down deputy marshal; 2 live pigs not exceed 10 Ib.; 2 Ib. epsom salts."

Pilots learn without being told the dress size of Susie Bigfoot and all other regular customers on their routes. Sometimes an order calls simply for "greenstuff." It always means two bunches of celery, two heads of lettuce, two peppers.

By at least one element in the Far North the airplane is regarded with strong disfavor: the big dogteam operators, who have been put nearly out of business. The dogteams first began to suffer when the airplane companies gained a toehold on the passenger and express business; but they still had the mail. Finally this year the air services were permitted to bid for the mail and two companies, Alaskan Airways and Pacific International Airways,* won all the contracts.

Also violent in their dislike of the airplane men are the roadhouse keepers who were supported by the dogteams, and the Indians who in turn caught the fish which the roadhousekeeper sold to the drivers for dogfeed. But the planes are opening hitherto inaccessible regions where roadhouses, dogteams, Indians and fish still will be needed along feeder-lines.

* Other leading company: Northern Air Transport.

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