The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-07-19

COLONEL WILLIAM Il. GLIDER.
changes from year to year, and that the
variations in the mariners compass,
which were first noted by Christopher
Columbus on his greatest voyage, do not
follow any fixed rule yet known to sci
ence. In other words, the magnetic nee
die points to the pole truly enough, but
not to the geographical pole. 1t points
to the pole Of the great magnet, the earth,
and this pole is constantly changing its
place. 1t is believed that these changes,
occurring as they necessarily must in
obedience to some law, can be foretold
when that law shall come to be under
stood. And as the only means Of learn
ing what that law is, it is proposed to
establish permanent stations in the vicin-
ity of the pole and from time to time
take observations at these stations which
shall show the line of these changes.
Such, briefly stated without technical
language, is the problem which has en-
gagged tho attention of scientists for
some years past. 1t would be easy to
explain the Importance Of it in techni-
calities, but it scarcely seems necessary.
There are men to whom the arctic
zone is a field of desirable adventure.
Lieutenant Schwatka was one. He was
filed with desire to lead an expedition
in search of the needed information, but
his desire was never realized. Colo
mel William Fl. Glider is now enthusi.
astically working toward the Same end,
and unless some unforeseen accident
shall prevent he will start at the head of
such party before the end of the pres
emit summer.
Colonel Glider Is in the prime of life
and certainly in physical condition to
face any hardship. In the journey which
he took with Schwatka in 1878, 1879
and 1880 in search Of the lost records of
the Franklin expedition they had no 9th
er white man with them, but employed
some 90 of the natives in their party.
They made the longest sledge journey
ever undertaken for scientific purposes
and not only visited the site Of the mag
netic pole as it was located by Sir James
which was the real object of the journey,
by proving that the Franklin records
were actually lost Lieutenant Hobson
had found them and had been obliged to
leave them in cairn near Cape Herschel.
There McClintock found them and took
them, leaving record Of his own. Gill
der and Schwatka found McClintock's
record and brought it home, leaving
copy of it, together with their own rec
ord, in the same cairn. They also found
and buried the remains of some4 40 of the
earlier explorers along the coast Of King
Williams Land.
His second trip was made on the Unit
ed States relief expedition on the steam
er Rogers, under Captain r. NJ. Berry.
After the Rogers was burned the entire
party was reduced to the utmost ex-
tremities, and Glider started on Jan. Z
to cross Siberia alone to get relief. 81
left the party" he said to me yesterday,
Giving on frozen, raw, rotten walrus
meat and sleeping in the huts of the ma
tives along Shore"
No one expected him to survive this
venture. He had official dispatches and
his own press dispatches with him, for he
represented The Herald. His sole COM
panion was native trader named Wau-
ka, and he was repeatedly warned that
Wauka's motive in taking him on his
dog sled was to get him away from help
and kill him. 81 wasn't afraid Of his
killing me-" he says, "but I was desper-
ately afraid he would leave me, and for
"a days I didn't get a single minute of
sound sleep. would lie down and rest
but I didn't dare to go to Sleep"
In those 81 days they travelled 1880
miles and then reached the first settle
ment, where Wauka lived. Thence with
Cossack companions he pushed on, and
after 1000 miles in all Of travel on dog
sleds he reached Irkootsk and civilization
on July 5. It was an unparalleled feat
and fixed his fame forever.
Concerning the trip which he is to UNI
dertake this summer, Colonel Glider
says: "My object is to establish per-
manent station at Repulse bay, the most
northern point of Rowe's Welcome,
which is the northern arm Of Hudson's
bay, because it is the nearest point to the
pole containing area that is always &C
cessible by water during the summer"
Although government officers are to
go and government instruments are to
be used, The expedition is a private one.
1t is Colonel elders own enterprise, and
he is backed by private subscriptions,
which have already been obtained for
him in part by the intervention OF the
National Academy of Sciences, the
American Geographical society and the
New York Chamber of Commerce. Like
manv other promoters, he met with diff