New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-04-24

turtle. Ago In the Arctic wtId.-seareh.
fngs for the Nerth PoIe aud Their Novel.
ties.
As there is nothing so solemn in nature A.
the vast desolation that reigns about the
north pole-vi-gin yet of the presence of in.
truding foot. or sail, or any evidence of our
human kind-so when we catch yarue
glimpses of that land of silence, or are eua.
bled TO lift the curtain OF ignorance that hangs
about its outskirts, nothing can more strike
tho mind with its impressiveness. We all
know that in some lonely, ice-bound spot lie
the remains Of brave explorers-Sir John
Franklin and his eompany-never, perhaps,
to be brought back to the worlds of green
fields and pleasant places. But sometimes
the secrets of the far north are unlocked :
sometimes the shadow of ignorance which
envelopes il and hides it from our sight gives
way to the light of knowledge, and the world
reads a curious story in the revelation. 1t
has been reserved for Capt. Garrison, Nor
wegian navigator, to pierce this veil of mys-
terry, in one instance at least, and to make a
discovery which, in the recital of it, seems
more like strange fairy tale Of the far north
than sober narrative of our prosaic day.
While so many brave men are exploring the
Arctic region, searching for that north pole,
the geographical phantom which alures and
ever alludes, a curious interest will attach
to his discovery. But in order to approach
this subject we must follow a circutous
route--we must go back nearly two hundred
and seventy-eight years, to a period late in
the sixteenth century, about the wear 1896,
when one William Barentz, Dutch navi-
gator, sailed away on his second voyage of
discovery to trace out, if possible, the north
west passage-that famous imagined high
way to Asia by way of the Arctic ocean, the
Of ttao &C 4,
navigators have vainly endeavored to realize.
Barentz failed in his search, but he discovered
Spitzbergcn, the vast archipelago which lies
in the heart of the Arctic ocean. He found
it expedient to land upon this coast, and
there he built huts for shelter and for tempo
rary residence for himselfan and for his company
Here he tarried during the dreary months of
an Arctic winter, and in due course of time
abandoned the spot, leaving the huts and
their contents, and returned TO his own coun-
try, never to revisit his quaint settlement.
Three centuries nearly have passed away
since that event. The years have come and
gone over those silent witnesses to the pres
encc of the ancient mariner and bis sturdy
crew. In all that time, as we may believe,
no living thing has invaded the sacred soli-
tude Of this spot haunted with memories of
that coming, long ago, of BarentZ and his
men. Possibly, from distance, the walrus
and the seal may have gazed upon it, and
from his rapid fight in the ether some Arctic
bird of passage may have turned a curious
eye upon it. But no dust has settled there :;
no moth has stolen in to bring decay. Even
the elements seemed to have abated their
severity and to have protected with kindly
hand the legacy left to their undivided keep
ing. The sequel almost partakes of one of
those tales wherewith the princess in the
Arabian Nights deferred her threatened and
delayed fate by Willing away the tedious
evenings of her cruel Caliph. One day, in
the year 1870, Captain Carlson bore shore
ward in his ship to this lev coast of Spitz.
bergen. He landed at the spot where Bar
entZ had landed before him, and to his per-
picked eyes appeared the vision of the old
encampment.
The hills were still there, just as Mynheer
had left them nearly three hundred years ago.
In the rude hearth lay the relics of the ut
terly dead and long eXtinguished fire. Upon
the shelf were books from the old Dutch
mans library-a work on navigation, the
latest edition published before he had sailed,
and history of China translated into Dutch
Jugs and dishes, wherein had been prepared
the drink and food of the Adventures, were
scattered here and there, and even a pair of
shoes was found which had belonged to a lit
tie cabin boy, who, as say the records, had
died upon the voyage. There were also
quaint engravings, and curious mathemati-
cal instrument intended to assist in obtaining
longitude. All these articles were carefully
collected, and were brought to Europe on
Carlsen's return. There is a touch of the
pathetic in the revelation Of the long-kept
secret of the Arctics. 1t is as pathetic, in
deed, as that story of another old Dutch
man, Mynheer Eanderdecken, whose ship
we ha.r it upon excellent authority of sail
ors VII, come to port, and who themselves
have witnessed the strange spectacle-may
be >een, at dawn and twilight, in fair weather
"a Il foul, rushing like the ghostly ship that
it is through the startled sea, or beating aim
lessly about the approaches to the Cape of
Good Hone