The following is a summary of a trip by a woman from east to west coasts and then north to the Bering strait. It's quite factual and is in the archives of the BC Provincial Police, as well as various newspapers.
Comments?
Jimbo
One determined woman
by Don Sawatsky
Yukon News columnist
Lillian Alling was a young slip of a woman of about 30 back in 1927. Where she came from or who her family was is, to this day, still a mystery.
In fact, there are still people in the North who met her and helped her and who wondered whatever became of this indomitable spirit who set off from New York City on foot in an attempt to reach her homeland of Russia.
One report has it that Lillian Alling was of Polish origin and is said to have come from Renfrew, Ontario.
Another is that she was Russian and had come to the United States only to become so incredibly homesick for her homeland that she could think of nothing else but returning.
No one will ever know the full background of this young woman but her epic odyssey of 4,000 miles or more on foot caught the imagination and sympathy of northerners throughout British Columbia and Yukon.
Lillian apparently did not fit in at all with the gigantic city of New York. She was frightened of the teeming people, the noise and the impersonal almost hostile attitudes of urban North America.
She was a peasant girl who longed to return to the quiet and safety of her own people.
But, she had no money for passage back to Russia. She worked at odd jobs, such as dishwasher and cleaning woman, and this brought her barely enough on which to exist.
She had only one other alternative. She would walk to Russia!
Today, more than a handful of young people have hitchhiked, not only north into Yukon, Alaska and the NWT but around the world.
But one must remember that in 1927 there were no roads, and except for the odd trading post or telegraph station, there was nothing but an unbroken stretch of wilderness that even bush-wise men thought twice about tackling without extensive supplies and preparation.
Lillian Alling took off from New York City early in 1927 with a few hoarded dollars and a couple of loaves of bread.
By the middle of September of that year, she appeared at Second Cabin on the now defunct Yukon Telegraph Line that ran from Hazelton, B.C., to Dawson City, Yukon.
She had averaged between 30 and 40 miles a day through some of the toughest mountain and bush terrain to be found anywhere, sleeping in the open and surviving on a meagre diet of bread, wild berries and some tea.
Her arrival in Hazelton in the late fall caught the attention of the local B.C. provincial police who tried to convince her to stay the winter.
They argued that she was heading north at a time of year when temperatures could suddenly drop and early storms could descend out of the mountains within minutes without warning.
But she was adamant. She must keep going. Nothing the police could say was going to change her mind.
She had three loaves of bread, some tea, two ten-dollar bills and an 18-inch iron bar which she carried, she said, in case some man should get in her way.
The general feeling was that she was a man-hater, although ironically throughout her northern journey it was men who came to her aid.
The sergeant of the Hazelton detachment decided he simply couldn't allow this young woman to go on with winter just around the corner.
So for her own safety, he charged her with vagrancy and had her sent to Oakalla Prison Farm near Vancouver.
She was to spend three months there. But before too long it was discovered she had money hidden in her clothing and she was released only to head directly back to Hazelton.
She looked up the police again and told them: "I am going to Russia. Please do not stop me."
There was nothing to do but let her proceed. But the sergeant made her promise she would check in at every telegraph station.
They were located about every 15 or 20 miles along the way. He promptly contacted the line operators to tell them to expect her.
By early June of 1928, Lillian resumed her trek. By the time she had reached Cabin Number Nine, her clothes were in shreds.
Jim Christie and his partner Charlie Janze, who were in charge of the station, went to work on some of their old clothes and altered them so Lillian could get into them.
She rested for three days and then pushed on, this time with a dog given her by Christie. (The dog later drowned while crossing a stream.)
She had roughly 600 miles to travel from Hazelton to Dawson City. She left with her new remodelled clothes and a few supplies that Christie and Janze had given her.
It was one of the toughest stretches of country she would ever cover. Towering mountain passes, swirling streams, fog and rain stood in her way. But she refused to give up.
The weather was particularly bad as she neared the Echo Lake telegraph station.
Telegrapher Scotty Ogilvie was worried when she was overdue, so he set out along the trail south to find her.
They missed each other, and when Lillian reached the station, Ogilvie's partner set out to bring him back.
The partner found Ogilvie. He was dead although it is not clear how he met his death.
At any rate, Ogilvie was buried on the trail and it was the only time that Lillian Alling showed any emotion.
She wept over Ogilvie's grave and left a bunch of wild flowers on top before resuming her journey north.
Lillian's sudden arrival in Whitehorse caused a stir of interest but no one could find out who she was or where she was actually going.
All she would say is that she was "going a short distance north." Questions from strangers seemed to disturb her.
One couple, Mr. and Mrs. George Wilson, overtook her in their car between Carcross and Whitehorse and offered her a ride.
They were concerned over her welfare and warned her that she would have to ford many streams on her trip north. She replied that she would float across them on a log.
She stayed overnight at the old Regina Hotel in Whitehorse and left the next morning for Dawson.
The Whitehorse Star kept a running commentary on her progress and reported on September 14, 1928, that the "mystery woman" had passed through Carmacks, 100 miles north, "but she maintained her silence."
Some time later, she arrived at Pelly Crossing. Then it was over the Pelly and Stewart rivers.
At Stewart, a survey party was camped "and the boys cared for her for three days during a bad storm."
She arrived in Dawson on October 5.
"She left Whitehorse, on the morning of August 28, and as far as was known the only provisions she had was a loaf of bread which she had cut into three pieces, as she said she was not carrying a knife," The Star reported.
It took her 39 days to walk the 330 miles from Whitehorse to Dawson, sleeping in the open in the fall of the year without sleeping bag or tent.
When she reached Dawson, she had a different style of men's shoe on each foot.
"Her general demeanor resembles that of a haunted person who is ever trying to get farther away from the object of her fears," said The Star.
"If she continues her journey at this season of the year, disaster is almost sure to overtake her."
An oldtimer, the late Helmer Samuelson worked for the Dawson News in those days.
He said the "mystery woman" was last seen heading down the Yukon River in a small boat for Eagle, Alaska. She was never seen or heard of again.
Comments?
Jimbo
One determined woman
by Don Sawatsky
Yukon News columnist
Lillian Alling was a young slip of a woman of about 30 back in 1927. Where she came from or who her family was is, to this day, still a mystery.
In fact, there are still people in the North who met her and helped her and who wondered whatever became of this indomitable spirit who set off from New York City on foot in an attempt to reach her homeland of Russia.
One report has it that Lillian Alling was of Polish origin and is said to have come from Renfrew, Ontario.
Another is that she was Russian and had come to the United States only to become so incredibly homesick for her homeland that she could think of nothing else but returning.
No one will ever know the full background of this young woman but her epic odyssey of 4,000 miles or more on foot caught the imagination and sympathy of northerners throughout British Columbia and Yukon.
Lillian apparently did not fit in at all with the gigantic city of New York. She was frightened of the teeming people, the noise and the impersonal almost hostile attitudes of urban North America.
She was a peasant girl who longed to return to the quiet and safety of her own people.
But, she had no money for passage back to Russia. She worked at odd jobs, such as dishwasher and cleaning woman, and this brought her barely enough on which to exist.
She had only one other alternative. She would walk to Russia!
Today, more than a handful of young people have hitchhiked, not only north into Yukon, Alaska and the NWT but around the world.
But one must remember that in 1927 there were no roads, and except for the odd trading post or telegraph station, there was nothing but an unbroken stretch of wilderness that even bush-wise men thought twice about tackling without extensive supplies and preparation.
Lillian Alling took off from New York City early in 1927 with a few hoarded dollars and a couple of loaves of bread.
By the middle of September of that year, she appeared at Second Cabin on the now defunct Yukon Telegraph Line that ran from Hazelton, B.C., to Dawson City, Yukon.
She had averaged between 30 and 40 miles a day through some of the toughest mountain and bush terrain to be found anywhere, sleeping in the open and surviving on a meagre diet of bread, wild berries and some tea.
Her arrival in Hazelton in the late fall caught the attention of the local B.C. provincial police who tried to convince her to stay the winter.
They argued that she was heading north at a time of year when temperatures could suddenly drop and early storms could descend out of the mountains within minutes without warning.
But she was adamant. She must keep going. Nothing the police could say was going to change her mind.
She had three loaves of bread, some tea, two ten-dollar bills and an 18-inch iron bar which she carried, she said, in case some man should get in her way.
The general feeling was that she was a man-hater, although ironically throughout her northern journey it was men who came to her aid.
The sergeant of the Hazelton detachment decided he simply couldn't allow this young woman to go on with winter just around the corner.
So for her own safety, he charged her with vagrancy and had her sent to Oakalla Prison Farm near Vancouver.
She was to spend three months there. But before too long it was discovered she had money hidden in her clothing and she was released only to head directly back to Hazelton.
She looked up the police again and told them: "I am going to Russia. Please do not stop me."
There was nothing to do but let her proceed. But the sergeant made her promise she would check in at every telegraph station.
They were located about every 15 or 20 miles along the way. He promptly contacted the line operators to tell them to expect her.
By early June of 1928, Lillian resumed her trek. By the time she had reached Cabin Number Nine, her clothes were in shreds.
Jim Christie and his partner Charlie Janze, who were in charge of the station, went to work on some of their old clothes and altered them so Lillian could get into them.
She rested for three days and then pushed on, this time with a dog given her by Christie. (The dog later drowned while crossing a stream.)
She had roughly 600 miles to travel from Hazelton to Dawson City. She left with her new remodelled clothes and a few supplies that Christie and Janze had given her.
It was one of the toughest stretches of country she would ever cover. Towering mountain passes, swirling streams, fog and rain stood in her way. But she refused to give up.
The weather was particularly bad as she neared the Echo Lake telegraph station.
Telegrapher Scotty Ogilvie was worried when she was overdue, so he set out along the trail south to find her.
They missed each other, and when Lillian reached the station, Ogilvie's partner set out to bring him back.
The partner found Ogilvie. He was dead although it is not clear how he met his death.
At any rate, Ogilvie was buried on the trail and it was the only time that Lillian Alling showed any emotion.
She wept over Ogilvie's grave and left a bunch of wild flowers on top before resuming her journey north.
Lillian's sudden arrival in Whitehorse caused a stir of interest but no one could find out who she was or where she was actually going.
All she would say is that she was "going a short distance north." Questions from strangers seemed to disturb her.
One couple, Mr. and Mrs. George Wilson, overtook her in their car between Carcross and Whitehorse and offered her a ride.
They were concerned over her welfare and warned her that she would have to ford many streams on her trip north. She replied that she would float across them on a log.
She stayed overnight at the old Regina Hotel in Whitehorse and left the next morning for Dawson.
The Whitehorse Star kept a running commentary on her progress and reported on September 14, 1928, that the "mystery woman" had passed through Carmacks, 100 miles north, "but she maintained her silence."
Some time later, she arrived at Pelly Crossing. Then it was over the Pelly and Stewart rivers.
At Stewart, a survey party was camped "and the boys cared for her for three days during a bad storm."
She arrived in Dawson on October 5.
"She left Whitehorse, on the morning of August 28, and as far as was known the only provisions she had was a loaf of bread which she had cut into three pieces, as she said she was not carrying a knife," The Star reported.
It took her 39 days to walk the 330 miles from Whitehorse to Dawson, sleeping in the open in the fall of the year without sleeping bag or tent.
When she reached Dawson, she had a different style of men's shoe on each foot.
"Her general demeanor resembles that of a haunted person who is ever trying to get farther away from the object of her fears," said The Star.
"If she continues her journey at this season of the year, disaster is almost sure to overtake her."
An oldtimer, the late Helmer Samuelson worked for the Dawson News in those days.
He said the "mystery woman" was last seen heading down the Yukon River in a small boat for Eagle, Alaska. She was never seen or heard of again.