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Thoughts through Space – Sir Hubert Wilkins and Harold M Sherman

On December 7th, Sherman’s "hits" were more remarkable, regardless of his continued reference to our location as Aklavik instead of Point Barrow:

"Seem to see a crackling fire shining out in darkness of Ahlavik; get definite fire impression as though house burning - you can see it from your location. I first thought fire on ice near your tent built by one of crew - this may also be true – but impression persists it is white house burning and quite a crowd gathered around it – running or hurrying towards flames – bitter cold – stiff breeze blowing – blaze heightens and throws reflection out over snow and ice”.

It was a dampish, cold, penetrating night with a wind blowing; a night of the kind when hoar frost forms even in below-zero temperature. I was in the radio office at Point Barrow when the fire alarm rang. It was precisely at the time that Sherman should be sitting in his New York office trying to record my thoughts, but, of course, I did not know certainly that he was so doing, as I had no idea he would keep his appointments religiously. I had not been meticulous about my 'appointments’; in fact, I was not that night keeping my appointment in the true sense. Instead, I was busy trying to send some wireless messages to New York and Aklavik.

The fire alarm was an extra-long ring on the telephone. There were only four houses with telephones at Point Barrow, and I did not recognize the long ring as a signal for a fire. But Morgan shouted 'Fire"-and together we went to a window, and looked out over the village. An Eskimo house was on fire.

Flames were roaring out of the chimney, and as we watched they burst forth and spread to the roof where it was free from snow. Men and women were running with axes and shovels. There was, of course, no water to be had. The men shoveled snow on the fire, and cut away the burning pieces. The fire was soon under control. I talked with Morgan about the frequency of fires, and he said that in the seven years that he had been there fires had been rare. There had been only one of importance, and that was when the hospital and the doctor's residence had burned down a few months before.

We went on with our work on the radio. I was too busy to concentrate for the whole period with Sherman that night, but I remembered thinking to myself as I worked on the radio, of the possibility of Sherman's getting an impression of the fire.

He did!

Coincidence seems unlikely. His report for that night not only gave a good description of the fire, but also included a complete description of our plane, which he had never seen. I question that he had ever seen a picture of it, or had any ordinary knowledge of its general construction. He began with the words,

"Your plane looks like a silvery ghost in the moonlight," and ended with the words, "Plane not yet equipped or stowed with things as it will be on actual hops."

This was true. I had been giving the plane and its stowage much thought.

I had noticed the plane particularly that night, for it was the first time that it had been completely covered with thick rime and hoar frost. The wings, fuselage, and engines were entirely covered, and the plane stood out above the dirtied ice like a spectre.