The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-12-22
HIBERNATION.
A CONDITION NOT TO BE FOUNG E
THE ARCTIC REGIONS.
An Explorers Observations-Wiia fGa
Indians Say-Animals of the Polar
Regions Not Given TO the Habit
of Over Sleeping.


Frederick Schwatka in Chicago Tines.I
: There is not more interesting subject in
natural history than the Information OF ami
mails, and no one which has been much less
studied among the larger animals, for the
good and sufficient reason that Ona OF their
main objects of Information is such a t.
put tee subject; beyond the easy inveStga.
ton Of man. The very first conclu 10 at
which person woull jump, f0llowing up
an inductive line of reasoning, * that Of all
other places in the worll especially fitted
for Information in ever particular 5sential
land not worth much foc anything else the
Arctic country is pre-em nsatly the mo It
likely to be SO used. AMI l am afraid that
most ideas have bsea arrived at by this
jumping at them instead OF by personal OBJ
SeryatiCnS.
WHAT THE INDIANS SAY.
Probably in the study OF the HABITS of
animals, and especially those on which they
depend for subsistence and clothing, the
sayages are far superior to CIVILIZED people.
1t may not be proper to say in the study
OF animals, but rather in that peculiar
knowledge, which is ab 5orbei by constant
contact with them in SO many ways, and
which after all is the mo t thorough in hab-
its of animals but in other way. l often
questioned the E qlimhux re ;arding this
subject, expecting to get s0ms minutB not
generally known, but wa totally uapre-
pared to have them tell me that they had
never heard of such thing before, aaI did
not believe that any of their animals ever
cut up such curious capers as sleeping
the whole winter.
l cited the case OF the bears alternating
in the white MANS country, and they re-
pied that they had killed or seen polar
bears during every month (5de Z kiman,
like so many savages, have lunar months.
or thirteen in the year, callel by certain in
cidonts likely to happen in them, as tie
young seal month, or moon; the dOvekie
moon, the reindeer migrating" moon, and
so ON Of their year. This statement of
theirs l had several chances afterwari to
partially corrob0rate, and came fully to
the conclusion that it only needed longer
!ojourn in that country to confirm it in all
important particulars
Hole; have boon found in snow-bank5
where bears crawl in, as bears crawl into
caves in our own country, and it is even
possible that some OF these are excavateI
by bruin to protect her young for a fe W
days, but there has yet to be the first re
corded instance Of one of these creatures
being caught in L slumbar of a more eX-
tensive character than a nights sleep OF q
casual nap Even the protection OF the
pace
for short time, or can only be casual in
stances, for they have been caught follow
ing the mother, so my best E;quimau au.
t4orities told ma when they could not have
been over few days Old.
HYPERBOREAE HIBERNATION.
And so it is WITH all other animals. my
iu:oTmant5 toll me. l have myself llil!e
polar hares in January and February ana
known them to be killed and seen in De-
cember and March. This would show that
if they hibernated at all it would be by
ats and starts." However, the hare family
do not hibernate witt lis, and it is not fair
to use them as an example, an I woulI not
have done 50 had not seen statement in
a polar book accusing them OF this trait,
along with many others. AMI probably
finding its way therein as much by q
casual mistake as by any intention OF the
author
Even ptarmigans. or Arctic grouse, have
been accused Of budding together in little
| snow houses formed by piles of large rocks,
and as the crust of snow over them was Sc
| dense and thick that they could not break
/ through it and stores of food were found in
! side this peculiar domicile. it was inferred
that this might bo callel peculiar form OF
! Information. This, | believe, was in west
| Greenland. The habits of these birds may
vary with the different well defined geo.
/ graphical distress of the Arctic, but in north
| Hudson's bay and locality, where l spent
| two winters, think l am temperate in say
! ing that l saw thom every week in the win
/ ter time, from the first snowfall till it left
| the ground. And SO on through the whole
! list.
| l am inclined to believe that Information
| like great depth OF snow, will be fcu95
| somewhere between the polar ana t-op.cl
/ regions, and not in either. l have an idea
| which l will not dignity with the tit'e o.
! animals that are known to hibernate il til.
lower latitud3s and that have CORE pond
! ing species in the polar ZONES, tlose who's.
coverings are changed to suit the new
regions, either by color or abundance. never
hibernate even in thu broadast sense Of tina
word. Strictly sIeaking, this idea an
initiates the idea Of hyperborean hiber
/ nation.
Once a convert to this idea, there or,
many reasons for its being true. Nothing
less than the lower forms of life, with
low order OF vitality, could possibly live of
the superfuous flesh AMI fat which they
could ore up il the short summer during
the long winter OF those regions. We know
that Information is not q complete cessation
! OF life, but rather form OF it where sur
Plus aliGent generally in the shape CT ia
is used as the food, AMI the animal emerge
thin "as a foace-raip at the end of it. Al
htbarnations are Of short duration wlicl
could not obtain in the Arctics.