Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1873-06-26


poth;pr .o solemn !, n,,,,. a IN. ,.si
de.cla,;on thu, re;.n. .ho., ,he N.,tN
pole-v;r,;n 70, of IA. nrs.sr-e of ;n,rn.
din, foo, or s.;l ar ,nv ev;5.nre of o,.r
bum,n k;na-.o vbe, ., c..eh ,,sns
elimp.es Of ,ha, land Of silence. or are en-:
abled to lifs the curtain of ienorsi,cs sssl
hangs ahonk IL ookskirsss = flliea can uatrS
ssriks e ~ MI III inprsesivefl.<s
We oil nov thst n sUuse ionsly, icc-boumd
spot lie she remcins Of brave exploeers-
Sir John Frsrklin and his company--net.
ef PERHAPS 10 Be brought back to she world
Of green kelds and pleasant places. but
sometimes the secrets Of the far north sre
unlocked. sometimes the shadow osiesor-
ancc which envelcps il and hides it trout
our sight gives way to the light Of knowi;
edge. aud the world reads . curious story
in the revelation.
1t has been reserved for Captain Carl
ser. Norwegian navigator. to pierce this
veil of mystery. in one instance at least:
and to make discovery which. in the re-
cital OF II. seems more like strange fairy
tale OF the far North than sober narra-
tive Of our prosaic day. While SO many
brave men are exploring the arctic te:
gions; searching for that North Pole. the
geographical phantom which ever allurcs
aud ever eludes. curious interest will at
tach to his discovery. But in order to
approach this subject We must follow q cir
cuiious route-we must 60 back. nearly
o1S years. to a period late in the sixteenth
cen. lry. about the ssar 1896. when one
William Basentf. a Dutch navigator. sail.
ed away on his second voyage Of discovc.
~ 10 trsce cut. il possible, the northwest
ba,sass.shat taf..ots imagined liighsst
TO Asia by way Of the Arctic Ocean. IN,
fact Of the existence of which SO many 9TH
or naviga,ors have vaiuIy endeayorcd to
tcslite. Baren,. failed in this search. bu.
he discovered Spi,xbereep. tha, vas, arch.
ipelago which lies in the heart Of the Arc
tic Ocean. He found it cxpedient to land
upon this coast, and there bull, huts for
shelter and for temporary residence for
himself and for his company. Here h.
tarried during tho dresry months Of an
Arctic winter. and in due course of timo
abando oned the spot, leaving the huts and
their contents. and returned to his own
country. never 70 reyi.,t bis Quaint settle.
ment.
Three Centuries nearly have passed aw,v
Since ,ha, event. The years have com.
and gone over those silent witnesses TO tho
, presence of the ancient mariner and his
sturdy crew. In all that time a We NAV
believe. no living thing has invaded the
sacred solitude of this spot haunted with
! memories OF that coming long ago, Of
| l3arensx and hissmcn. Possibly. from
distance, the walrus and the seal may have
gased upon it. and from his rapid fight
In the other some arctic bird Of passage
may have turned curious eye upon the
scene. But no dust has settled there; no
moth has stolen in TO bring decay. Even
the elements seemed to have abatcd their
severity and to have protected with d kind.
ly hand the legacy left to their undivided
keeping.
The sequel almost partakes Of the char
acter OF one of those tales wherewith tho
princess in the Arabian Nights deferred
her threatened aud delayed fate BY Will.
ing away the tedious evenings ct her crii-
el caliph. One day in the year 1870
Cartaiti Carlsen bore shoreward in his
ship to this icy coast Of Spi,zbergcn. He
landed at tho spot where Barcuts hal
landed before him. snd to his perple1cd
escs appeared the vision Of the old cn-
campmcnt.
The huts were still there. just as Myn-
heer had left them nearly three hundred
years ago. In the rude hearth lay tho
relics Of the utterly dead aud long cxtiu-
guished FIRE. Upon a shelf were books
from the old Du,chmau's lib.a.y-~a astk