The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-02-27
The Open Polar Sea.
Arrival in ~. Louis of a Sailor WIS aavs
He Has Been There.
lSt. Louis Republican I

(St. Louis Republican
Captain A. 3 Tuttle, who claims TO have
had larger and more varied experience as q
seaman than almost any man now living was
IN the city yesterday, on his way to Washing
ton to negotiate with the Government for
small steamer to assist in his further explora-
tions in Arctic seas. Captain Tuttle Is q na-
tive of New York, but at the early age of six
teen ran away from his parents and went to
sea and has ever since-some thirty-Gye years
been sea-faring man, He has been all over
the globe, he says, and has sailed in every sea
and has made twenty voyages to the Arctic
regions. Since his early manhood he has been
captain of whaling aud surveying ships. One Of
the things that particularly attracted his at
tention in sailing northward was tn at he found
the sea more and more opep, especially every
fourth year. He made his trip about year
ago, starting from Hakodado, Japan, in fulI
rugged ship with forty-fve men all told. In
latitude IS he found an open sea, clear of ice.
In latitude 81 be noticed an extraordinary din
of the compass, and on taking soundings dis
covered the cause of it to be immense lodes Of
magnetic substance in five fathoms OF water.
In latitude 50 he encountered the ice belt,
grounded under the water and extending in
height in some places over 400 feet 1t stretched
east aud west as far as the eye could reach.
He here discovered that the needle pointed due
south, and 10 his own mind concluded that the
magnetic deposit be had passed had some con-
Declion with the direction in which the needls
usually pointed, By climbing to the highest
points on the icy barrier he could see directly
into an open polar sea lying beyond, and by
tracing along the belt eastwsrdly be found
passage through into this sea, with depth Of
80 f.thoms, or $40 feet The water is quite
warm, and guilt stream was steadily setting
out with a velocity of from four to six miles
per hour. He Oulled through this passage in
whale boats, and found it to bs about eighteen
miles wide. In the north part Of this open sea
he found nearly fresh leaves of plsntsins, ban
auas and other tropical plants floating on the
water and showing that they had been off the
trees but short time. Last OctObsr be found
large female whale going north through the
open passage before mentioned aud also saw
migratory birds going orth. In July these
birds went back south with their young, and
about the same time he observed whales going
south with their young. From these facts he
concludes that during considerable part of
the year there is a warm climate within the
open polar sea sufficient to produce tropical
ftuts. In the ice barriers on one OF his trips
ne found bones and tusks of the mastadon,
which in 1876 he carried to the Centennial at
Philadelphia They were so large that some
Daturalists thought the animal to which they
belonged must have been forty feet in length.
H also found some hard wood in the shape Of
troughs imbedded in the ice. They looked like
feeding trOughs, and the edges bad the ap-
pesrance of having been gnawed By animals.
10 sailing west he struck the north part Of
the coast of New Siberia, where he found
race OF people that he thought no one had ever
seen before or heard of. They spoke an un.
b uUn or NH pAad baH
They spoke few words of Hawaiian and the
aid of signs they conveyed the idea that they
came from the north. He was little ac-
qualnted with the Esquimsux language, hav.
ing passed four winters with that people living
on raw walrus, whale blubber and bear meat.
During one of these winters, which are with
out daylight, he made lurney of $50 miles 10
the darb. Daring his adventurous career he
has met with many disasters, the most serious
of which was an encounter with polar bear.
He had both arms and both legs broken, and
lost one finger off his left hand, another being
30 badly lscersted by ths teeth of the animal
that it is sadly out of shape. Hs has also lost
two ribs which were completely torn from his
body, which bears the marks of wounds which
it seems almost incredible that any man could
receive and live. The polar bears attain an in
credible ze, some being reported to weigh as
much as 5000 pounds. He contempia iates maxi
ing another trip to further explore the open
polar sea, bat needs q small steamer for to wing
purposes, which he hopes to obtain from the
Government. He proposes to start some times
in 1880, and leaves for Washington City this
morntng.