Lillian Alling
[1] Because her first appearance in official records was September 10, 1927, when she was arraigned in Hazelton, details before that, including her birth, emigration, and early journey, are impossible to confirm.
[3]: 13–18 One of the earliest articles recounting her journey, published in a 1943 issue of The Beaver, simply stated Alling "could not stand the loneliness and the nostalgia any longer ... Siberia was her objective.
When the customs official asked her the routine entry questions, she stated her last place of residence was Rochester, New York, she was a Catholic, she was 30 years old, and had been born in Poland.
[1] Dickie's accounts gave an alternative origin: she was 25 and had left New York City in spring 1927 instead,[7]: 14 back-calculating from the 30 mi/d (48 km/d) walking pace she averaged from Vancouver to Smithers in 1928.
[8] Beaver and Coronet stated she was remembered in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Winnipeg,[4]: 15 where she had worked in restaurants, and then farm fields in Canada, where she helped with the harvest.
[2]: 213–214 The lineman noticed Alling's tattered and malnourished appearance, and, after hearing her intention to walk to Siberia, he phoned the authorities at Hazelton, at the southern trailhead, out of concern for her welfare.
A. Wyman arrived at Cabin 2 (Greenfield says it was Kispiox)[6]: 182 knowing the coming winter would be deadly to someone on foot; and fearing that allowing Alling to proceed would be unethical, he brought her back with him to Hazelton.
[9] When she was searched, they found two ten-dollar bills and an iron bar (or pipe) 18 in (460 mm) long, which she declared was "protection against men", not wild animals.
[11] When she reached Atlin, the dog had died,[4]: 17 possibly after ingesting poison from traps meant for wolverines,[2]: 216 but Alling was remembered for carrying its stuffed form with her, as she had vowed "he will always remain with me" when he was gifted to her.
[6]: 180–181 She again spent the winter working, and saved up enough money to purchase and repair a boat, which, the next spring (1929), she intended to sail along the Yukon River into Alaska.
Contemporary coverage of Alling's journey included 1928 articles in the Whitehorse Star, as "the mystery woman" who arrived in Hazelton from the regularly scheduled steamship service from Vancouver to Prince Rupert, without suggesting that she had started from New York,[3]: 132 and the Dawson News in October 1928, where she had arrived after "the most trying and uncomfortable hours of her long trip" aboard a small boat, followed by a brief item mentioning her departure by the same boat in June 1929.
This article included many speculative details before and after the timeline established by official records (September 1927 in Hazelton to spring 1929 in Dawson); these details include her origin (New York), early route (via Chicago, Minneapolis, and Winnipeg), river journey (down the Yukon from Dawson through Tanana to Nome), last sighting (Teller), and ultimate destination (Siberia)[4] A colourful retelling of Alling's journey was given by J. Wellsford Mills in a 1948 issue of Shoulder Strap, the journal of the British Columbia Provincial Police; Mills's article repeated the same speculative details, but Cassandra Pybus believes that Mills fabricated most of this history.
[3]: 196–197 These speculative retellings were taken up by Coronet in 1949,[5] then appear to have lain dormant until Francis Dickie published his version in 1966,[8] expanded and republished in the March/April 1972 issue of True West.
