The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1869-02-04

l !,
rich. Sailors have always been given to
such fancies; aud, very likely. if cap
tam had In that age daring to steer his
ship by so Simple thing as a needle en-
closed in straw and floating in a cup of
water, the sailors would have thought
him In league with the Devil, and tossed
him overheard, another Jonah, to APP
pease the tempest.
I Many year Passed away. therefore.
before the magnetic needle was much
used by sailors. Stillit ICES used; for in
an lcelandic book, written even before
Roger Bacon was born, ue read that the
brave Norwegian chief who settled Ice
land found his way thither FROM Norway,
a distance of seven hundred miles, guild
ed by ravens; For says the author
''in those times, seamen had no lodestone
IN the northern countries. These words
are a positive proof that the directing
power OF the magnetic needle was known
as early as the year 1850.
! But how could rdceas direct a shin
from Norway to Iceland? Well [ suppose
that wEeh this brave navigator began to
doubt whether he was sailing IN the right
| direction, he let loose one Of the ravens,
and by watching which way it took to get
back to its home, he could ascertain In
| which direction Iceland lav.
| But the magnetic needle could never
have been of very great use to sailors
while ii could only be used wrapped in a
| straw floating on the water, or suspended
by string. Nevertheless it was centl-
ries after the Crusaders brought home
the first lodestone to Europe, before the
compass as we now have it. was invented
An Italian navigator, it seems, named
| hiavlo Gioia, who used to sail out Of Ma
| pies where friend tells me, the name
Is still eommor}, was the man who had
! first the ingenuity to mount the needle
on pivot, and enclose it in box. In
| fact, he boxed the compass; and this
| IS the reason, L suppose, why the Italian
| for compass Is 6oss0tn, a box. In French.
It Is. as you know, IOuss0le, which is evil
IDENTIFY derived from the Italian word.
his boxing OF the needle. or the inyen-
ton OF the compass. took place about the
year 1900, i've hundred and sixty-nine
years ago
Marx that date, boys and girls for it is
very convenient to have, well fixed in
your head a few dates, such as the com
| pass was invented about in 1888, and that
Luther was born in 1888.
Then the sailor needed no longer to
creep tlmidly along the shore. and lie to
whenever the sky was yelled with clouds
ora mist hung over the landmarks by
winch he was accustomed TO steer. Much
remained to he done before the broad
! ocean could be navigated with certainty
and safety by an ordinary man; but the
| flrst and greatest step was taken when the
compass was invented.
Still, You must not suppose that there
were no adventurous navigators before
| that period, and no science Of navigation.
" by, ut the very time when Captain
| fia1io Gioja invented the compass at Ma
| pies, the shipyard5 at Venice employed
sixteen Thousand men, and the ships of
Venice dotted every inland sea, and
swafmed In every port Of Europe, bear
/ Ing to them the spices. fabrics and Jewels
brought from India And had not the
Norwegians sailed to Iceland, seven hun
dred mics. and from Iceland to Green
land two hundred mics, and afterwards
from Greenland TO Massachusetts, to cut
frewood and ship timber. and this seven
hundred years before Columbus? In the
East Indies, too, they ouiit long ga!eys
and huge jun6S, some of which required
"a crew OF three hundred men, carried six
Thousand bags Of pepper, and had ten
boats hung over the side Just where we
hang them now They built their yes
seiS III compartments. too; 50 that. if
ship sprung d leak. the water was kept
out OF all the hold except one sraii por-
ton, from which tie cargo could oe quick
| ly removed. There were map makers iii
the commercial cities. and good many
| OF them for at that day or course, every
map was made by hand And let me tell
you that men who live much oat of doors
| and pass part of every night under the
| stars. become extremely well acquainted
| with the heavens above, and with the oh
| jccts around them. and can feel their way
| III an astonishing manner, without chart
/ or cunpa>S.
Not the less does the invention of the
compass make an area in the history OF
the human race Bold and skillIiul as
| the anc;ent sailors we're in navigating
! inland seas, and sailing along we'll known
coasts.i it was very different thing when
| they found theta selves blown out upon
the broad ocean. The Atlantic was then
called the Sea Of Darkness, and many
sailors supposed that if they should sail
far enough down Into the torrid zone they
would come to where the waters of the
ocean boiled continually and that finally
they would reach the fiery mouth OF hell
into which they would be drawn, and be
! punished fer their audacity in everlasting
ire
1t requires courage in sailor to face
| the dangers which are real and under
stood, such IS tempe>ts, hurricanes, rock
bound coasts, fo>tiie sayages, the sunken
rect. the awful leak. and the wide wide,
pathless ocean Bat | am to tell YOU of
heroes who, besides SUCH perils as these,
went forth TO meet imaginary ones much
more terrible 1t costsus no great effort
to 90 into house supposed 10y ignorant
people to be haunted because we do
not believe in haunted houses But sup
pose you did believe such things? Sup
pose You had no doubt that some houses
were haunted, and that you were called
upon to enter at midnight house that
had had the name of being haunted for
years, wherein you might see horrid
goblin. and that hoTid goblin might carry
yon off 10 eternal flames? That would be
Il brave lad who would go firmly into such
u house. and walk into every room, aud
peep into every closet. and explore eAery
! part OF the garnet, and finish by run
maging about in the dark and cobwebbed
cellar. In Fact, no boy or girl could do
il. 1t would have to be done, as the first
| discoveries were nade, "a little at a time
One boy would muster up courage to so
to the front door and look through the
keyhole. Another might go so far as to
push open the door, and then run away
a fast as his legs could carry him. A
third finding that no ghost appeared,
might walk a few steps into the entry
And SO the work of exploration would
continue. until the whole house had been
gone over. After that, family mic hit