San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-03-09
THE NORTH POLE.
HAN +, Canadian Proposes to Discover it-Laylng
INV Telegraph From Winnipeg TO the Pole.


"a ,he pleasure recently of ascertain
~" the views of Mr.. Okill Stuart, an
nnsineer, on the subject of discovering
.hs pole. would Che said have con
sssr,cted Immediately 200 sled huts on
>" ;mproyed plan aud have them deliv.
noJ Inv steamer ut the northwest angle
g Hudson's Bay, latitude 81 degrees
oortb. longitude "a degrees west, at a
NM known rs Chesterfield Inlet, not
Fer than August. This point is dis
rant from the Pole 1865 miles.
Now, from Chesterfield Inlet to the
Nth end of Lake Winnipeg, where
n"nnIies could be delivered by boat, is
Srt 900 miles. This distance / would
overeome permanently by building a
system of relay stations twenty miles
mart and connected by a through tele-
"ronh line to Winnipeg City at a cost
Of sl2O,OO0. This work would be car.
r;ed out by the Government and would
eventually pay, connecting, as it would,
Churchill Harbor, mouth of Nelson
Diver and west coast of Hudson Bay,
rhere in tho future, will be the great
ar,norium of the North, thus neutraliz-
inc this expenditure by the great ad-
yantage of telegraph system for the
,urnose of emigration and trade. These
rejay stations of block huts would be
stored with oil necessary supplies for
she undertaking, together with sleigh,
Jogs and men in charge, for purposes
Of TRANSFORMATION from Lake Winnipeg
IN chesterfield Inlet, which latter place
would be the headquarters of the ex-
nedition, in daily communication with
fhe outer world. These sled huts
would be constructed of paper board of
the lightest design and frost proof;
eanb sled would be about six ieet wide
and ten feet long, neatly rounded at the
ton and about five feet high, with hole
down through the center for a signal
mole or anchor, to avoid drifting while
resting in a gale. Each sled would
contain kerosene stove, oil tank and
lamps, as we'll as complete supply of
preserved food, medicine, axes and ice
shovels, sufficient for six men for six
months, together with fur trappings
and other clothing. When complete
each sled hut would weigh about one
thousand six hundred pounds or little
more than two hundred and fifty pounds
per man. Thus equipped we would
commence the forward march by NOV
ing ten sleds at time, managed in the
following order: To each sled one
practical engineer, one doctor and
four able-bodied men, all thoroughbred
canadians; thus ten sleds would COM
nr;se sixty men. These would advance
in order at intervals, all keeping the
due north course, and any deviation
would be reported by halt from the
advance sled. All the sleds would be
advanced in this order Nntil complete
chain of communication was estab-
lished.
I would commence this movement
about the LIST of December, or as soon
as the ice formed on the more southern
rivers. Our route would lie by the
west coast of the Gulthia to North
Devon and North Lincoln by Jones'
having land the whole distance, except
Barrow Strait and Jones' Sound,
which would be frozen. At North
Lincoln we would be distant from
Chesterfield Inlet 1856 miles, and from
the Pole $50 miles. To North Lincoln
we would push all the sleds, except
seventy eight, which we would leave by
RELAYS of ten miles, all anchored with
signals, so as to form complete chain
of refuge in our rear, and we would es-
tablish a system of telephone from each
sled by means of tripod poles. This
would give us daily communication
with Winnipeg, and govern our dog
transportation trains, which would be
in constant attendance throughout the
whole line. When this was done we
would commence our advance along the
third or polar division in the same
order as before, only by shorter relays,
as we would have 122'sled huts to sta
ton over $50 miles, or about six miles
apart, so that each hut could be seen
and reached with safety. It might be
necessary to have some OF these sleds
constructed upon boat principle, in
case omen water was reached, and could
be used for towing others, as they would
all be watertight and capable OF being
foated, but as L do not contemplate
finding open water this latter point
would not offer any serious difficulty
The only obstacles likely to be encoun'
tered are rough and irregular ice Lodges,
which might have to be levelled OF
tunnelled in places. In this manner l
would expect to overcome the whole
distance from Chesterfield Inlet to the
Pole by the 1st of July, 1884, that be-
ing the best season for observations at
the Pole. The whole cost of the eXpe-
dition in this way, not including the
telegraph line to Winnipeg City, would
be about $4,000, and is only matter
of dollars and cents.
For, if properly undertaken, as
have pointed out, there is nothing to