The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1890-09-13

II Would Make the Arctic Region Habit
able and Stop North Atlantic storms.


Did nature intend the Arctic sea 10
be open and the climate moderate?
And Is IL possible to do by means of
dynamite what nature has omitted TO
do9 These points. SAYS the PdH Mall
Gd-ette. are discussed In pamphlet by
III. A. II. Dunsford. Z. f.. which has
just been published.
We need not suppose for n moment.
writes Mr.. Dnnsford. how matters
would stand II tho ice cap were re-
moved from the north pole The two
warm streams would In that case low
in exactly the same course that they
now take. but instead OF becoming
chilled. as Is the ease az present. would
flow past the pole aud southwark as
warm streams still. They would ef-
fcctually keep the ice form reforming.
and do away with the excessive cold
OF the Arctic regions altogether. Ma
ture is. in fact, working toward that
end. for the climate OF the northern
part of the northern hemisphere has
been steadily ameliorating ever since
the commencement Of the historic pc
Rod. In the time of the Roman re-
public the rivers in Gaul used TO freeze
over in the winter. and Roman writers
represent Germany rs land of frozen
morasses. Compare the climate ut
present enjoyed by those countries with
this description. and IL will be mt once
apparent how great n change in eli
mate must have gradually taken place.
The records Of the Hudson's Bay COM
pany also show that the winter ON the
shores of Hudson's bay has grown
shorter ut the rate of one day in ten
years, the season during which the sea
is open for navigation being now TWEEN
~ days longer than 1t was 100 years
ago. About the year lSl5-lS the ice
barrier on the east coast OF Greenland
began 10 break up. rs was noted nj the
time by Sir John Barrow. who regard
ed 10 as one of the most important.
though least noticed events in the his
tory of the world. All this is evidence
that the ice barrier Is being steadily
driven farther north and will eventual
ly leave channel by which the Japan
current can flow unchecked through
the Polar sea from Behring's straits to
the Atlantic, In which case the exist
ence of the remainder Of the ice cap
will be but OF short duration. for IL the
warm currents can actually reach the
ice they will soon solve the question
without human assistance. at present
they do not reach it, for the ice cap block
ing the way leaves no outlet for them
(the warm currents being, of course.
surface water). and their course is ar
rested long before they come near it by
a wide belt of cold water. for which
there is no outlet except that the coolest
part of it escapes by flowing under tho
ice TO form the cold streams
AS for the proposition that we can
open the sea, we must remember that
the ice is not of great thickness, that
we have now powerful explosives that
are perfectly effective when frozen and
that every mass of ice detached on the
course of stream flowing southwark
will iioat away OF itself. | do not Of
course, mean TO imply that IL will
be easy, but that IL IL within our pow
er 10 make channel wide enough for
part of warm stream 10 pass with
out losing all its heat on the way. We
may notice also that explorers have re-
ported open sea 10 the north of Green
land, and that the accounts that they
have given us are circumstantial and
can not well be doubted. The main bar
rier with which we shall have 10 deal
will be the belt of ice northwest of
Greenland. 81 course. until tits COM
pleted. tho channel will freeze over
every winter; but do not think that
the removal of the ice thus formed will
be so serious difficulty as might be
expected. The ice being caused merc-
" by the freezing of the channel will
be smooth. not hummocky, and after
the first snowfall can be traverscd
easily by sledgcs or dog trains, so that
surface or submerged mines can be
laid. enabling the Ice over any de-
sired length of section 10 be broken up
instantaneously so soon rs the winter
is over.
advantage TO be gained by the
opening OF the sea and the ameliora-
ton OF the climate can scarcely DO
overcstimated The rendering habit
able of the shores Of the Arctic. and
growth there of civilized communities;
u direct route To the Pacific and an
immense increase OF trade with the Pa
ciiic coasts Of America aud Asia; lands
suitable for colonization. within easy
reach of Great Britain, and which in
great part belong to the British empire;
valuable fisheries; considerable and
increasing trade in the Arctic itself;
and comparative If not total immunity
from storms in the North Atlantic, the
principal IL not the only cause OF storms
being the difference In temperature be-
tween the poles and tropics.
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