Captain Lane and the fruits of his "more better" shot at the bear. Hunting Big Game in the Arctic B By Charles Nola Smith (Photographs by the Author and Captain Lane.) ARON KUTSMUELLER and Paul Niedieck, of Germany, Captain C. R. E. Radclyffe of England, and other big game hunters of renown, have given the name of "That Paradise for Hunters" to the section of country comprising the Aleutian Islands and the eastern coast of Siberia. Africa, Asia, Brazil and other portions of the globe may be all well enough in a way, if one wishes to risk A walrus of the Arctic. This fellow weighed about four thousand pounds. his life among the thousand and one poisonous reptiles and insects with which these places abound, for the comparatively trivial sport of bagging a lion, tiger, elephant or giraffe. Hunting these animals with an army of beaters, gun-bearers, etc., may be more or less exhilarating and exciting, but for true sport, with a capital S, no place in the world can equal Eastern Siberia and the Aleutian Islands. A comparison of the gameness, cunning and ferocity of the animals of the Arctic region with those of the tropics will prove instructive as well as interesting. At the present day the interior of the Islands, comprising the Aleutian group, is much less known than the inmost parts of Africa or Asia, and with little wonder, for the difficulties which, in the extreme north, beset the path of the hunter or explorer, make traveling in the African continent appear a jaunt of pleasure in comparison. Water has, from all antiquity, pro tected both men and beasts from the intrusion of strangers, and only by water can one reach the shores of these islands. Regular steamers there are none; sailing vessels cannot get far enough into Bering Sea without running the risk of being caught in the ice in autumn; and but few explorers and possibly even fewer sportsmen, would voluntarily undergo the rigors of an Arctic winter. In the spring of 1912 the power schooner Polar Bear was outfitted in Seattle for a trading trip to Siberia and the Aleutian Islands. Learning of this, three friends-Messrs. L. Ketchum, O. Swenson and the writerconceived the idea of spending the summer in these little known lands, hunting the big game which we knew abounded in large numbers and variety there. After a deal of argument, Captain Louis L. Lane, the owner and master of the Polar Bear, consented that we should attach ourselves to the expedi Eskimos pulling walrus out of the water onto the ice to remove their hides. tion. That we were extremely fortunate in persuading Captain Lane to allow us to accompany him was amply proven later. He is a man from whom the Northern waters and the countries for which we were bound holds no secrets. Young in years, he is old in experience in navigation and big game hunting. Most of his life has been spent in the land of the Midnight Sun, where he has fought many a good fight with the wild animals of these primordial lands, bearing away with him not only the lawful spoils of the victor, but souvenirs in the shape of torn clothing, lacerated flesh and broken bones, bestowed upon him in any but loving remembrance, by the kings of the kings of the tribes of wolves, lynx, walrus and polar bears, whom the doughty captain has on various occasions sought to dethrone. That many new royal families have come into power among these tribes of the Far North is attested by a visit to Captain Lane's home, where many stuffed monarchs of the North now dwell. A more capable guide and companion cannot be found; he knows the big game country thoroughly, how to get there, and, best of all, his experience has taught him just how to bag the game after arriving. We left Seattle May 2d, heading up the beautiful inside passage to Ketchikan. After a short stop here, we pointed our prow to westward, toward |