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AN ARCTIC MYSTERY.Mr. 13. Walter Muuixior, thu well-known astronomer. writes to U'u •■Daily Graphic*' nt* followsI was much interested in reading tho litile paragraph under tho heading, A Yarn from the North, lieoauho It was dourly nn echo of what had happened near tho North-West River post of the Hudson’s Day Company only a very few. days before we, with tho Canadian Government Eclipse Expedition, arrived thoro.Tho llttlo sol'll (Mi ion I Is stationed a I the mouth of the Norlh-Wost Itivor, where that stream empties itself* into Lako Melville, as tho principal extension of Hamilton Inlet is called. Tho KOttlemont consist!* of a cul-tiagvj belonging to Mr. Cottar, the Hudson’s J3ay factor, his store, and three or four huts occupied by his trappers on the north bank of the river, while Immediately opposite. on tho south’ bank, is the station la-longdny to tho French fur company of Messrs Rovlllion ot Cie. Tho population of the On Li no settlement is alrout., twenty in nil, of whom only three wore pint; whiles—namely, Mr. Cottar, an English Cnnadian ; M. Duel os, tho factor In charge of tho French store, a Frenchman ; and Captain Fournier, tho contain of Messrs. RovllUon'H schooner, n French Ommdian. All these fiontlomun rendered tho1, Eclipse Fix pod I turn} vory great service, Captain Fournier giving tho use of thu schooner to act us a lighter, and bringing all our goods and instruments from our Htcnmor, tho King;Edward, to the; wharf and back again.It is lliis Captain Fournier, who la incorrectly described as n ••'AtewurciJ' In li'u Lnf-fun’a telegram from. Montreal. For when wo reached tho station -wo found tho litt.le community In a stato of great uxcitemont ever some mystorlous footmarks that had boon scon In tho neighbourhood.. resembling . -tho track left by a banefooted'man, with the OX; oopt'ion that there, wns the mark of a great claw on caoh foot. Three individuals scorned 1.0 have lcou passing, for the tracks ucrc of 'three dlflbrent sizes, tlioso of the largest being very clabply sunk in Iho ground, ns ir maftlq by an enormously -heavy creature ;* \w-dcod. Captain Fournier told mo that ho cb-llmnlod tho weight, or the creature making them as fully TOOlbs. The alarm was much intensified, when ft h*Uf-bifcd trapper, .Michael by niunc, who had a Hut some 20 milesfrom tho settlement up ono of the divers, brought bis family into' tho BOttlonvjut with tho story that, his daughter (who was, I bo-Dove a grown-up young woman, not a child) had seen an' enormous black-looking n»n. who beckonod her to como away with him. She took rcfugo in tho hut, and shut herself ?n, and when her father returned homo told him what ..had happened, and he /at onco gathered all his family together, and hurried ofT to tho fur station. Captain Fournlor at onco -gathered together as largo n forco n-9* they could, and they net out to track the mysterious beings. Thuy cameupon tholr npoor. and upon vory abundant trncas of tholr feeding. ' At the time when wo wore In, the North-West River, J-nhrador •was oVer-rua Jjy a plague ot field, votes, and It was clear thaiJ tho creatures in question made those tholr chief, diet, which they ate by biting tho .middle out of. tho. living animal. .and throwing away tho head and bWu. as if it.wore.«. prawn or shrimp.' Thoy would liftvo no difficulty, in catching . tho voles by the hundred, for, us wo found in rnir tvnnp. tho little lrcasts seemed absolutely without fear of human kind. ;•Captain Fournlor trucked tho mynlnrioUB creatures to a place that they had evidently made their hvir, nnd hid himself in n trha close l».v for tho whole of a night; He novcr Hucr.coded in wvlng thorn In tho open, but ho hoard tholr gibbering. iunlt;l also tho no Iso they made when fowling i»n tho voles. I'lwsibly they inu.v have detected tho presence of a hunter in tho neighbourhood# .md therefore look to flight. At least they disappwiml. and nothing furt*lt;T wo** soon nf them up to the thmi Hint wo left North Wust River.Diero emi. i think, bu no reiumnablo doubt UP La ilia real nature c»r thoso ntystn'i mH I ings. The wandering Indians in t ho vast «ol-itiKloK of 1 oiljHwlor and Northern fmuulu are pecidlnrly liable to attneks of inndnww.ui.runic, nor it» ucshould be without it, as, taken iBeware of Iof unprincipled deceiving tlie otrr HEARNE'S BRONC and to request jH EARN E'Slt;. BRONCHITIS Proprlct-or, W. G. HtNOTICE.-Hearne’s Bronchitiibearms, and their lower bodies resomblo bears. Tho Eskimus have ofu*n mentioned the existence of tlinso creatures, but their tales were never credited.”1potas,tdasannrby,• Lh.lV t hi*i it wives put It. to possessi.m b.V i e.vfl spirit.. Wlu-n un ''pomhuhhmI.'' ihr.v1Hla:lt;(\t COJ U.i foi he i OKI an It. kU sui Of. btJIIIL eg, SLlkct1,0!tillI lt;a I tat TinwhpHHr'ofin?tuiamthrcdlamin?inHinin?*jfurthesorlh(.SI'Sth(odowha1bu.dirwhaularon3wtanwclt;wtIVicinl.seem to haw strong cannibalistic t.midnnr.ies. Tn Nova Scotia lust year I visited lr. Hipd, the explorer of Ausinlhnia and of the Abasia River in Uvlmulor. from whom I learn of Ilia tales ihut the Indiutm toll of tluvso A'amll-■goi'H.” whom t-hey describe us qig.inHc laut-nllmlH mill vnmplres. On my !«mfii*5.V home f met, Mishap IIilimes on s.s. Tunisian, who gave me nn account ol h I'nse which he had iilim-vir witnessed of possession by Aunt such a Winnibnlislii: npirlt of un Indian neat’ lht* lti*«l Hivor. In this rase the other Indians, wlm were usually wholly averse to anything like vlolenr.e or Iho inking of life, were.most anxious thnl the man should he killed, a.« they said I ha I otherwise he would 1.111 and cat (horn. Thera can he no doubt, that nui\v of the weird tales of otir foeofnlliees nro bntunt upon inulHtires of Hitch wandering inadtnen. As I la eing-Gonlil has painted out, niicIi in nil prolm'liillly wn.s the ghost Glnin. with whom lt;1 rel1.li- the Strung hod *n lerrlhto a fight. ,Tiha telegram refc-mxl i.lt;» by Ale. Maunder \v ii ii nr; follows '■According to a I.cdTnn'sO'legrnm from Montreal, n man nitiiuv.l Four-n|«*r, u Htewuvd on bound tho Htenmcr Stot’d, owned by Messrs. ttevilllon Urnthaes. French fur donlerH, trading in Polar waters northwards of Hudson's liny, reports the nxintcncq far nocHt of a race dV seml-lmmAn Rltuils. Fournier Hint'ono of (he moimtem, tmil gnvo chase, for tho creatine fled nl. a rapid rata. Fournier llrod nl It, but mliispd. Thr.H Hlmt-Inr crnntttiOH ivtl.mnptctl to kidnap u littlelhlas«tu\v:Hit!.«»thliemNUt’JIJortklt;IIfrgirl. Tltu luonui.cru havg cnoruigtta itoada and
Newspaper Details
Maitland Daily Mercury
Maitland, New South Wales, AU
Mon, Dec 31, 1906
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Wallace M.
CA 06 Sep 2022
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