236 



RECREA TION. 



The horse finally got off the rock and 

 headed for the shore. As he went I caught 

 him by the tail. It happened that he headed 

 for the same shore we had started from; 

 but this was accidental as far as I was con- 

 cerned for I assure you I made no effort to 

 guide him. He made the shore a long dis- 

 tance below where we started in. The men 

 had followed down to see what was to hap- 

 pen. 



As we climbed up the bank, old Corliss 

 came up, looked me over and said, 



" Well. Cap, you come back didn't you? " 



" Yes," I said, " but it wasn't my fault. I 

 didn't start the horse this way." 



" Well, it's mighty lucky for you he took 

 a notion to come this way. If he hadn't 

 you'd a been pounden doun over them 

 rapids yit." 



Then we went down the river some dis- 

 tance to where we found it wider. There 

 we rested a few hours, rafted our stuff over, 

 swam our horses, and continued our march. 



Lack of space prevents me from giving 

 even a synopsis of the entire story of the 

 summer's work, but Captain Abercrom- 

 bie's talk was full of such adventures as 

 the few I have recorded. Yet he told it 

 in so quiet and so modest a way that you 

 might have thought he was talking about a 

 flat boat cruise down the Hudson. The 

 guests at the table knew — many of them by 

 experience — what kind of material a man 

 must be made of who can conduct such an 

 expedition as that over 400 miles of Alas- 

 kan mountains, glaciers, swamps and rivers, 

 and then come home and tell of it as mod- 

 estly as a school girl would tell of her stud- 

 ies. 



Captain Abercrombie's report to the gov- 

 ernment is being written and I shall hope 

 to print some extracts from it in future is- 

 sues of Recreation. 



Lieutenant Bertholf had an entirely dif- 

 ferent experience to relate. He took about 

 200 head of reindeer from the head of 

 Steel bay and started overland with them 

 to Point Barrow, to feed a lot of whalers 

 who had been caught in the ice and im- 

 prisoned there during the long polar win- 

 ter. This expedition started in November. 

 There were a number of sledges laden with 

 provisions. Some of them were drawn by 

 reindeer and some by dogs — the latter prov- 

 ing, however, better for the service than 

 the former. Lieutenant Bertholf had with 

 him several men from the Revenue Cutter 

 " Bear," some Laplanders and a few native 

 Esquimaux. The story of the overland 

 journey of 400 miles was told by Lieuten- 

 ant Bertholf in so graphic a manner that 

 no man who was there could afford to lose 

 a word of it. This young officer is a close 

 student of nature and especially of ethnolo- 

 gy. He made a careful study of the Esqui- 

 maux, several villages of which he encoun- 

 tered on his long and perilous journey. He 



told us many interesting facts, regarding 

 the custom and habits of these strange peo- 

 ple. 



His trip occupied something over 2 

 months, but he finally landed at Point Bar- 

 row with all his reindeer. As many of them 

 as were needed to feed the icebound whalers 

 were butchered and issued to them, thus 

 saving the lives of a large number of brave 

 men. Then Lieutenant Bertolf and his 

 party were compelled to wait 3 long months 

 for the ice to move out, and for the ' ; Bear " 

 to come and bring them away. This time 

 was well occupied in studying the natives, 

 the birds and the beasts of this far North- 

 ern land. 



Every man who was at the Camp Fire 

 Club that night realized he had enjoyed a 

 rare privilege and many of them will relate 

 to their children, and their grandchildren, 

 50 years hence, the stories told there that 

 night. Captain Abercrombie and Lieuten- 

 ant Bertholf will be held in grateful, re- 

 membrance by every member of the Club 

 as long as we live. 



EDITOR'S CORNER. 



"Mr. Charles Daly, senior member of the 

 firm of Schoverling, Daly & Gales, 325 

 Broadway, died on the evening of January 

 nth, at his home in Summit, N. J. He had 

 been at his office in New York during the 

 day and spent the evening at home in pleas- 

 ant intercourse with his family. About n 

 o'clock he had an attack of apoplexy 

 which proved almost immediately fatal. 



Mr. Daly began his business career with 

 the old firm of Tuffts & Colley, about 1858, 

 and was afterward with Sargent & Co. In 

 1865 he joined Mr. Schoverling, commenc- 

 ing business in a modest way as gun dealers 

 in Barclay Street. They removed the fol- 

 lowing year to 52 Beekman Street, later to 

 84 and 86 Chambers Street and then to 302 

 Broadway, where the firm handled a large 

 variety of sportsmen's goods. Mr. Daly 

 was one of the incorporators and for many 

 years President of the Marlin Fire Arms 

 Co., of New Haven, Conn. He was one of 

 the organizers of the Hardware Club and 

 took an active interest in its success. He 

 was also a member of the Colonial Club, 

 and of the Presbyterian church. He had 

 been a widower for some 10 years. A son 

 and a daughter — Mr. Charles H. Daly and 

 Mrs. R. Courtney King — survive him. Mr. 

 Daly leaves a large circle of friends who 

 were endeared to him by his sincerity and 

 generosity. 



There is an alleged magazine published 

 in Chicago called " Advertising Experi- 

 ence." but judging from the manner in 

 which the publisher recently mutilated an 

 ad I sent him, he should change the title 

 to " Advertising Lack of Experience." 



