Volume 24-25, 1976-7
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VOLUME XXIV AND VOLUME XXV OTTAWA THE ARCTIC CIRCLE r97 6 L977 THE ARCTIC CTRCULAR CONTENTS Volure 24 , l-976 and Volune 25, L977 VOLTME )O(rV L976 @ver Pictr-re: Princess Charfotte Ibnr-urent - Cobr-rg Island. A pen and irr]< drawing $r l,laurice Haycrcck (see rrote p.2O) Ioss of an l{istoric Site in the Yr:kont by Midrael Gates o . p. I Offshore Diilling in tLre Beaufort Sea . p. 4 FossilsFor-rndinttreE\rekaSotredForrnation. .. .. .. p. 7 Scientists to Strdy Effects of Man's Ercroachnent on ArcticManrnals o . o . p.9 TLre Canad.ian Arctic in ttre Headlines Ttre Year in Review . o . p.10 ScnRecent Pol-ar Books (I975 ard 1976) . p. 17 BookReview: lrlhohasanldea? ...... ..... o.. p.19 voLuME >Q(\/, NO.I, MARCH 1977 @ver Pictrrre: The stern vfueelers Casca and V,ltritehorse, on tl:e bank of ttre Yr:kon nFat WLr-itetrorse. Hrom the sketcLrbooks of Mar:rice Haycock (see p.15) Frederick Cook and the North PoIe : the urrrnaking of a Disoorrerer i byRu.ssellW. Gi-bborrs o . o . o . o . p. I Dawson Julcileet bV lt{argaret Carter . o . o . p.r2 I4snories of Dalton Post: Letter to ttre Editor, from C.H.D. Clafke . o . e . .' . p. 14 Ttre Arctic Circrrlar - a chronclogical list. o . p.16 Arctic: A Dissertation Bibliography. o . o . p. 17 MissiDgMap. o . p .18 voLWE )Q(/, I\0.2, JIJNE L977 Oil and C"as lJ,orthr of 60: Sunnarlz of L976 activities, Northern lrlon-Reneunble Resources Brandr, DIAhlD. p.19 litrgws Releases frcm the Yukon Corrernnent . o . p.28 Klordike International CoId Rr:sh Park . r . o . p.35 Inulctitut Ortlrography/Clendar Cards. p.35 The Norse in Newfourrdland, by Birgitta Wallace. o . p.36 Tulcerelosis in thre NorCh . o . p.42 voLuME )ofi/, I\x).3, SPTEIVIBR L977 WiLliam Laird llbKinlay Visits Ottawa. o . o p.43 TimberfromtheFox. .. .. .. .. o. .. .. ... P.44 CapEainJosephgffiierhonor-uredonCanadianstnnp.. .p.44 Mar-ricre HalI Haycrcck: Painter of tlre Arctic, by Natalie Clerk. o . p.45 Dlcrthern Irand Usg Inforrnation ltttrap Series. p.47 Association of Carndian Universities for likrrthern Studies . p.52 Soviet Atcnric Icebreaker Arktika readres Nlorttr PoIe . o . p.53 lilcrthernCeographicalNanil. o . o . p.54 Ner,lBooksonthel'Ior*1, ccrq>iledby@raldinePerr1z. p.55 Stern !{treelers on ttre Yr:kon: Letter to t}re Editor, frcnr H.S. BOSIOCk. o . p.58 \trgrpsReleases frgntheYukonGcnzernngnt. p.59 Arcbic Irrages . o . o . p.81 Antarchic Journal of tlre United States. o . p.81 Antarctic Bibliography. o . r . o . p.82 Cr::=ent Antarctic Literatr:rg. o . p.82 voLuME )oil/, ltro .4 , DECEMBER L977 All Aror-rrd tlre Circle - I\4efibers Ng\rrls. p.B3 lrtrorttrern Geographical Nares . p.9O lbr Books on the \Iorth; contriled by C€raldine Perry . p.93 Third IUor*I Anerican F\-r Itade bnference 1978. o . p.94 Ngr,,rs Releases frcm the Yukon Govenmngnt . o . r p.95 Covqr:rnent of the fbrtlnpest Territories - Pdclications Catalogt-E. p.99 Inuit Lifestyles Portrayed in ltrevs Series of Carnda Post Stanq>s . p J00 Backgrcurrd for Inuit - Hu:ting Stanps . o . p.101 Arctic TYips 1978 . r . p.102 \IorthernPostOffices o . r . pJ02 ffie Royal Ccnnrission on tlte Dilcrttrern Ervirorrrent. o . p.103 ii ,f. I voL xxlv t9v6 ffi G D _ ,^__-n ,, _.r/r _ - * \ {!rra ^< TIIE ARCT]C CIRCULAR VOL. >OilV Published by the Arctic Circle Ig7 6 Ottawa CONTENTS Cover Picture; Princess drarlotte trbnunent Coburg fsland . A pen and irk drawing by Mar:rice Haycock (see note p. 20 ) I-oss of an Historic Site in tkre Yukon; by },lichael Gates. .p. I Offshore Drilling in the Beaufort Sea , . p. 4 Fossils Found in the E\:reka Sor:nd Forrnation . o. l scientists to study Effects of Ir4an's Ercroachnent on Arctic Mannals . o . , . p. 9 Ttre canadian Arctic in the Headlines Ttre year in Review . p. I0 Sone Recent Polar Books (L975 and L976) . p. 17 Book Review: Vtrho has an idea? . p. 19 A }TC[E FRO}iI THE MITOR Ttris wiII be ttre only issue of THE ARCTIC CIRCULAR to be published for Volr-rne >O(IV' L976. It is hoped that in L977 publication on a quarterly basis will be resrrned. I4embers of the Arctic Circle, and. indeed all otlters are encouraged to send material to the Editor for incl_usion in TTIE ArcTIC CfRCULAR, whether arti-cles, notes or comnents, Deadlines for receipt of rnanuscripts are Februarlz 15, ir{ay 15, August 15 a1d Njcvernber 15. Ttre Editor wishes to thanl< NIr. Keith Arnold, President of the Arctic Circle for his help and encouragenent in preparing this first issue, and Dr. Mar,rice Haycock for designing a new cover. PACiii I LOSS OF AI\ HIST'ORIC SIIE IN ITIE] YUI(ON bv ltichael Gates Ttre historic site complex of Daltorr PostAesketalr-in is l-ocated in the southwest Yukon near the Haines road, ofl the northernnost point of the Tatshenshini River. Tb the west is Kluane National- Park and the front ranges of tkre St. Elias }tlct:ntains rvhich contain sone of the rnost picturesque scenery in lilcrth Anerica. Tkris region, r:rurnppecl and unoplored until the end of the 19th centurlz , has a history rvhich reflects the, cor.rage and enterprise of those people who first settl-ed there. Prior to the crcrning of the first white IIErn, Nesketerlrin was inqnrtarrt as a settlement and trading rendezvous in the e>ctensirre native trade network between the interior Athabasca speaking Indians ancl the Chilkat Tlingit of eoastal Alaska. At this tirre , the crrastal Indiarrs ef fectively oon- trolled access to tlte passes to tht: interior, and Lreld a trading nonopoly over the inland groups. Tlre earliest knovm reference to Neske.tahrin dates berck to L852. Ttre first doctrrented white excursion into this region occurreld in 1890, when E.J. Gl-ave, a noted African e><plorer, and Jack Dalton, hr-is guide entered the region as part of the Alaskan D<pedition sponsored by Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. After briefly visiti-ng NesJ<,etahrin, Glave and Dalton continued doram the Tatshenshini River to its; confluence Withr the Al-sek River and then to the Pacific Ocea n Ttrey returned thris way the following )zear , bringing the f irst packhorses into ttre region. Glave ' s description of the Neskatahin Indi,ans, who had neve:r before seen a white man, provided the first descriptive information about these people. Following these two visits, Dalton returned to the sarre area to establish his trading post a rnile upstream f rom the Indian vi.1lage. Using this site as a base of operations, Dalton e>qtlored ttre interj.or of tlre southrwest Yulcon and established the famed Dalton Ttail, an irrportant route to thre Klondike after the discovery of gold in 1896, DaL.ton Snst was established in 1894; a small |ilcrth West lulounte<l Police garrisorr was established in 1898 , D.rring this period n Dalton Post was a way st.ation for gold seekers travelling to thre Klondike, to the !{hrite River regi.on, ds well as nearby sites. At this tjne too, Dalton brought the first herds of cattle into ttre Yukon; tlrese were ultirnately destined for Dawson City. D:ring ttre early stages of the lCondike boon! Dalton Post and thre Dalton Ttail fl-or:rished with the hear,Dz traffic " At thris tinie, about a ll:ndred Indians inhabited Nesketahrin. After the turn of the century, however, * Canadian Conservation fnstitute , National M:seuns of Canada. PAC;E 2 several developnents brought about t he decline in the inportance of Dalton Post. Establishnent of anot trer trading post at Chanpaggre induced nany of the Nesketahrin Indians to npve north. Although ttre settlerrent was greatly decreased in size, tot;rl abandonrnent apparently did not take place until sone tine later. In 1906, the Royaf Ncrthr West Mor:nted Police garrison at Dalton post was relocated. Little is kncxnrn about Dalton Post for the following 20 year:s . Discovery of gold cn Squaw Creek in L927 led to an extensive re-establishnent of the post which lasted r:ntil ldcrld War II effectively brought about the end of the rush. Since that tifie, Dalton Post has enjoyed otrfy lirnited use. V{Lrile the llaines Road made access to Dalton post easier , it also attracted settlenent to thre road and away frorn the old sj_te. A few years d9o, I had the opportunity to visit, nnp and photograph this site. Furttter research established the fact tkrat there were sorTe significant exanples of both native and pioneer architecture located in these two settl.ernents. Ttre native architecture of liesketahrin was very strongly i-nfluenced by the coastal styles tlpically for:nd in I,Jul<r,van, about one hr:ndred rniles away. Thre houses were quite large , a1d const4rcted of caref-ully,Phaped timbers. The elaborateness of tlre ra.tive hou-ses continued after Daltofi Post was establ-ishecl, the sezle of houses fr"Gg-"ttered. sonevfrrat b17 the influence of white culttre. Tqire c.bi.r^s l:.uitt at oiton post rder€ a1l_ made of unheu.'n logs, rvit]- the univer:sal dirt roof. appear t-o oermanent. "h.ey be less hTlrat I for:nd shocking about Dalton Post and Nesketahin was the renrarkable darnage which buildings had suffered in recent years. Photographs taken by Mr. AIan Innes-Taylor indicate that considerable dannge has been caused by people. Natural decay has tal<en its toll too, so that al-l we have now to telI us about the rmique architectr:re which once existed at -{esketakrin are archival photographs.