person walks over it, he will sink to his knees at every step, getting well soaked, unless he has rubber boots on.
In other parts there are “niggerheads,’’ which make walking as difficult as it is in the swamps. A “niggerhead” is a formation of earth which extends about a foot above the ground and is shaped like a head, with wiry grass growing all over it. When there are a great many of these niggerheads growing close together, with water between, a person not used to walking will get worn out very quickly.
There is no timber in the western part of Seward Peninsula except two or three groves of cottonwood or Balm of Gilead trees, and a small grove of birch. In the creek valleys, little red willows grow, and there are large willows and a few alders along the river-banks.
We also have several kinds of berries: salmon-berries, cranberries, blueberries, and two kinds of little blackberries. The cranberries are small, being about the size of a pea, and are the same kind as those imported in large barrels from Norway. They grow on cliffs among the rocks, and have a stem two or three inches long. It is a pretty sight to view them from the base of the cliff, as they are a bright red, and show up very plainly.
The salmon-berries are about the size of large raspberries, and grow where it is rather damp. Each berry grows by itself on a stem about two or three inches long, while the cranberries grow in small clusters. We all like the salmon-berries very much, but there are quite a few people who can’t bear the taste of them. The Eskimos pick barrels of them and pour seal oil over them to eat in the winter.
We have the arctic hares and ptarmigan for meat, and the fur-bearing animals are: fox, muskrat, mink, and weasel. One winter there were quite a few lynx trapped, but they are all gone now. The arctic hares are very wild, so there are not many killed. In the fall, hundreds of ptarmigan are killed by hunters and by flying against the telephone-line while going at full speed.
Your interested reader,
Carl L. Lokke (age 15).
The last surviving member of the Boston Tea-party was my grandfather’s uncle, David Kennison, who died in Chicago, at the age of 116 years. The Chicago Historical Society erected a bronze marker to his memory in Lincoln Park.
Your interested reader,
Theodore Keniston (age 10).
Dear St. Nicholas: I am writing to tell you about two alligators we brought home from Florida. They are only five months old, and they are about ten inches long. They have yellow stripes across their backs, which the old ones do not. On one of the very cold days, they were nearly frozen, and we have to keep them wrapped up in flannels near the radiator. The other day we had them by the fireplace in a cage. One of them got out and crawled over the hot ashes. He croaked loudly, not unlike a frog, when taken away from the ashes.
Your interested reader,
Clarence E. Thornall (age 12).
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE MARCH NUMBER
Novel Bird Zigzag. Chickadee. 1-6, Grouse; 7-13, Ostrich; 14-16, Emu; 17-21, Pipit; 22-25, Lark; 26-29, Teal; 30-33, Rook. Crosswords: 1. Cuckoo. 2. Thrush. 3. Ibises. 4. Scoter. 5. Kakapo. 6. Magpie. 7. Dipper. 8. Petrel. 9. Eaglet.
Novel Acrostic. Longfellow, Evangeline. Cross-words: 1. Lover. 2. Olive. 3. Naval. 4. Grand. 5. Flags. 6. Elder. 7. Lowly. 8. Limit. 9. Opens. 10. Wheel.
Numerical Enigma. “Let us be inflexible, and fortune will at last change in our favor.”
Double Acrostic. Peter Lely, Henry Clay. Cross-words: 1. Paragraph. 2. Eglantine. 3. Tarpaulin. 4. Encounter. 5. Rotundity. 6, Lethargic. 7. Empirical. 8. Libellula. 9. Yesterday.
Illustrated Diagonal, Eureka. Cross-words: 1. Easter. 2. Bundle. 3. Garlic. 4. Easels. 5. Clocks. 6. Alpaca.
A Diamond of Diamonds. I. 1. W. 2. Lea. 3. Weird. 4. Charm. 5. Druid. 6. Pitch. 7. Divan. 8. Tapir. 9. Niche. 10. Resin. 11. Eider. 12. New. 13. R. II. 1. W. 2. Lea. 3. Weird. 4. Armor. 5. Dross. 6. Matin. 7. Siren. 8. Pined. 9. Elfin. 10. Sinew. 11. Eider. 12. New. 13. R. III. 1. W. 2. Lea. 3. Weird. 4. Arm. 5. D. IV. 1. D. 2. Pit. 3. Divan. 4. Tap. 5. N. V. 1. S. 2. Tin. 3. Siren. 4. Ned. 5. N. VI. 1. E. 2. Sin. 3. Eider. 4. New. 5. R.
Double Diagonal. Xenophon, Anabasis. Cross-words: 1. Xanthura. 2. Penitent. 3. Mandrake. 4. Jacobite. 5. Seraphim. 6. Sisyphus. 7. Picaroon. 8. Solution.
Additions. Katharine of France. 1. Kid-nap. 2. Ant-rim. 3 Tar-get. 4. Has-ten, 5. Asp-ire. 6. Rat-her. 7. Imp-act. 8. Not-ice. g. Err-and. 10. Off-end. 11. Fat-her. 12. Fin-ale. 13. Rot-ate. 14, Arc-her. 15. Nut-meg. 16. Can-did. 17. Fye-let.
Cross-word Enigma. Chanticleer.
To our Puzzlers: Answers to be acknowledged in the magazine must be received not later than the 10th of each month, and should be addressed to St. Nicholas Riddle-box, care of The Century Co., 33 East Seventeenth Street, New York City.
Answers to all the Puzzles in the January Number were received before January 10 from “Queenscourt.”
