The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1894-01-27
Greenland Has the Only One of the
Kind in Existence.
FOUND NINETY YEARS AGO
Now Used in the Manufacture of alumni
num-Only Three Women Are Al
lowed to Live There.

scattered ABOUT at the WOES Intervals IN inc
ports along botheoasts Of the Atlantic Ocean
puts to sea and heads away for a point in
the lee OF Cape Desolaton, on the southwest
coast OF Greenland. The ships of this feet
have the strongest and best of canvas and
gear aloft, while the hull is not only unusu-
ally strong everywhere but is built solid at
bows, covered with an extra layer OF plank
there and then armored with steel plates
The passage before this fleet is at the best
says Frank Leslie's Weekly, one of the most
arduous in the world. The destination is
few miles south Of the arctic circle An ocean
river sweeps along the coast bearing masses
OF field ice hundreds OF miles in extent, aud
into and across this barrier the feet must
fight its way to the harbor for which it is
bonnd, and when loaded there the fight must
again be undertaken in order to return. 1t
is sight fit to turn a landsman's hair gray
even under the mostfavorable circumstances;
but when the gales arise and especially gales
from the south, with their black fogs, the
position OF the ship as it losses about be-
tween the threatening ice masses is SO fright
full as to be beynnd the power OF man to de-
scribe. During last summer, out of dozen
ships that attempted the passage one sue
ceeded, after beating about in theice for over
thirty days; two failed to get in and returned
with crews almost worn out and starved
while fourth was never heard of after leav-
ing port The rest had fairly successful voy-
ages happening to fod the ice fields open.
The voyage is undertaken by the fleet in or
der to carry to Philadelphia the product OF
the cryolite mine in the Arsok ford This
mine is SO odd that it is unique. There is no
other cryolite mine in the world 1t is worked
in odd fashion, by the men Of an odd camp,
and it was discovered by an odd prospect or
DISCOVERED by GERMAN PRospEcroR.
In 1903 German prospector named Gle
secke went to Greenland, landing at Cape
Farewell, where he lived with the Eskimos.
and with them he Travelled up the rugged
coast in the skin-covered comiaks until he
reached the Arsuk ford. An Eskimo who
resided there told him that few miles up the
ford was curious stone, which his people
called the ice-that-never-melts. They used it
in dressing pelts, rubbing the stuff on the
flesh side where it acted somewhat as soap
might. GieseCke went to the place and fonnd
at the waters edge a cropping OF white, soft
rock, that when wet looked exactly like wet
snowmixed ice. 1t was an entirely novel
substance, so he gathered samples, prospec-
tor fashion, and he had hard luck with them.
which is also after the fashion OF prospectors.
On his way home in a danish ship British
cruiser captured the outfit, and Giesecke lost
all he had. However, the chemical world
learned that Giesecke had found the foride
OF sodium ard aluminium, and it was named
cryolite, which meansice-seone
No one but chemical students took note Of
it, however. until Professor J. Thomson, OF
Denmark. made some experiments with it
about forty-6ve years after it was found and
demonstrated that chemically pure alum
could be cheaply made from it as we'll as sal
soda, bicarbonahe OF soda and some other
useful substances. So a company to work
the mine was formed, and, about 1860. men
and materials were seut up there to mire the
stuff and ship it to Copenhagen Thersat
Ivigtut came into existence as a mine camp.
and it is to this day The only white settle
ment in Greenland. 1t is, Of course, a Dan.
ish settlement for Greenland is one of the
colonies Of good old King Christian. First
Of all they built house TO live in, using tim
Der and boards to build up walls and stuffino
the spaces between ceilings with moss Then
most Of the houses were shingled over all,
but that built for the superintendent was
covered with smooth Norway pine There
were double doors and double floors and
double windows and the best OF al-burnina
stoves, while huge coal bins are erected close
by. So, the storehouses to hold other sup.
plies sufficient to last three years were erected
and filled, and they have been kept full con.
tinuously
The cryolite deposit was walled in and Gov
cred over with gray granite. When the GOV.
ering had been cleared off they found a mass
OF pure white cryote about 600 feet long
and 200 feet wide Investigation showed
that this was the top of pocket or chimney
OF the material that plunged down at an
angle OF 40 degrees with the horizon into the
mountain that rises there. 1t was asolearred
that the cryolte, though pure on top, was
mixed with much carbonate OF iron in the
chimney of ore.
DEVELOPER BY AMERICAN ENTERPRISE.
For several years the working of the de.
post did not pay, but in 1864 a Yankee firm
the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Com
pany, contracted to take two-thirds of all
that the mine could produce, and since then
the mine men have been getting rich while
paying the crown a royalty of one-ffth. The
info ffTnnr 10 rs =, o., =,