The Hawaiian gazette., 1869-05-12
SN. CAsrrx

Me-. EpIroR.-It should rot be 4 matter OF
surprise 10 any OF those who have studied
your neighbOr, Of the advertiser. thar be
should have a. correct and brilliant views
upon general science, geography and naviga-
tiou, as he has upon the labor question, End
the various moral and political topics which.
from time TO time, sgitare (and. in his imsgi-
nation, threaten TO disrupt our little com
lnunity. The above rejection was suggest
ed TO my mind, upon reading the resaarks in
his issue Of April s4th, upon Arctic expedi-
tons. and more particularly that portion Of
them which refers to the proposed voyage in
search Of thst much talked OF ''spar," the
the North Pole, via Behring'S Strait. He
says; An expedition, by this route, could
at out At San Francisco, and finally start from
Alaska, would enter tle strait and steer north
and west. in the wake Of whales, which al
Ways seek open water"
Now, in the course Of an active, and some
what protractzd seafaring life, 1t has been my
fortune TO visit the Arctic on several oeea-
siors, andf7on various startingpOiuts, among
which, has been san Francisco; and although
it has always been my object 10 reach that
ocean in as complete state Of preparation as
possible, in order 10 meet the hardShips.
which all, VINO 20 there, must battle with, I
su obliged 10 confess. that from l short sight
eduess, which I can now see has been most
ga,f,rshra f,,,-., ,..,-.- .n.,,.-h. - ..,n-s-
>itka stopping place on the way; and, TO
confess the ruth, never should have done
so, had it not been, Is it were, forced upon
NE, by the brilliant genius ufyour ueighbor
viii explain the views have always held,
in regard TO the shortest and best route 10
the Arctic, via Behring's Strait; BY which
explanation, You will at once be able to per
ceive how natural it has been, for a common
man like myself, TO have taken the wrong
course. Fer instance: the distance from
san Francisco TO Sitka, in a direct line, is
about 1880 miles, in = north and westerly d.
rection; but vessel, in going to Si,ka from
San Francisco, would have 10 sail. at least,
200 miles, during the prevalence Of the y.
". winds, (zud they arc sure 10 prevail for
more than nine months in the year. and if
such vessel was bound TO the Arctic. she
would, when she arrived at Sitka, ind her
self some 400 miles north of the Fox Islands,
through which she must still pass, in order
10 reach Behring's Strait. From Sitka to the
nearest OF the Fox Islands, in direct lire, is
about 1,20o miles in ". 5. W, direction;
with the prevailing winds from the west
ward; :. vessel therefore in sailing from Sitka
TO the Fox Islands, would, under ordinary
circumstances make distance Of !, 500 miles,
making the whole distance from San Fran
cisco 10 the Fox Islands $500 miles. Now
the distance from Honolulu to the Fox Is
lands Is l, SEQ miles in direct line; but as
the winds are generally, what are in sailor
parlanee called soldiers winds,n that is a
wind by which you can sail north or south.
a pleasure,) 4 vessel would not, on ordinary
occasions sail more than 1900 miles 10 reach
the Fox Islands. Now in ny ignorance and
stupidity, have always thought that Honolu-
II was the very best unal starting point for
vessels, bound to the Arctic; better than any
other port in this ocean, and have even sup
posed, that If after leaving San Francisco for
the Arctic, vessel wished to stop at any
port on her way, Honolulu would be the
most natural and convenient port for her to
stop At.
Your friend has, however, undeceivd me
on this subject, and I am now convinced
that no expedition can hope for success, IN
less il ITS out at San Francisco, touches and
finally starts" from Sitka, and steers :
course about as crooked, devious and uncer-
tain as that Of your neighbor, on the labor
question, Of which course 1.-THE wake of the
whales" is most apt and forcible Ilustra-
ton. NAVIGATOR.