Evening star., 1896-12-26

HHM flood, but to call out
f1-6HTM NV the energies of work
HIP " in a manner and to
an extent that have
not heretofore been known.
Ten years ago any plan of attaining the
pole by means of balloon sailing from a
latitude not higher than that of Spitz-
bergen would have been secuted as the
visionary illumination of one hardly better
than maniac; today the plan of Andree,
however wise or unwise it may appear,
however unmeritorious it may seem tt
those who are perhaps best acquainted with
arctic conditions and possibilities, receives
at least respectful consideration. More tina.
this, 1t has received government or roy
support. The year to come is likely to pu
to test the possibilities of polar aeronautics.
FOLLOWING closely upon the Andree aberra-
tlon-for in It's radical departure from past
methods 1t can be properly so-called-comes
now the plan of M. Pesce, a French en-
glneer, to reach the pole by means of
submarine vessel.
This astute semi-scientist asserts that
various models of immersion vessels have
demonstrated the fact that good conditions
OF navigation are found at depths of at
least $50 meters (sO-1OO feet, and that
habitaticn at this depth so far as length of
time is concerned, is merely matter de-
pending upon the size and form of con-
struction of the boat The two main OBJ
1ections that might appear to this form of
exploration, as stated by NJ Pesce, are the
dlfhculty of orienting the vessel and the in
visibility through the regions of "watery
darknesS.' The former, 1t Is claimed is
hardly true difficulty, as the proper direc-
uon or the vessel could readily be deter
mined by the compass; but Mr.. Pesce does
not INFORM us just how the magnetic varia-
tions would be co-reate with position
When the position, either terrestrial or
sonar, Itself remains unknown. AS regards
the second difficulty--of not seeing lust
Where you are going-it might be overcome
by the proper use Of electric illuminants,
either now in use or to be contrived.
Ihe plan of operations, however, does
not contemplate a continuous passage be-
meath the surface of the waters, but pas
sage of this kind only in such places which
are densely charged with ice; in other
words, 1t means surface sailing where it is
at all practicable. and "ducking' under
where the surface is clogged with pack ice
and drifts. The conception Is as novel as
1t Is picturesque, and yet it may not be pos
slble to say just where any really insur-
mountable obstacles to the scheme are to
be found. Naturally, a long traverse be-
meath an ice-pack a hundred miles or more
IN extent is neither pleasant contempla-
tioE nor an enviable situation, but it Is
perhaps not very much worse than being
buffeted about in a balloon in an adverse
or contrary wind. It is NJ. Pesce's con-
ception to supply his boat with balloon ap-
paratuS, and also to discharge at regular
intervals small pilot balloons, from which
the world is to derive it's information re-
garding the progress of the explora ton.
North American Continent Mountains.
The joint English and American surveys
which have for some time been conducted
in northwestern North America, mainly for
the purpose of determining the exact
boundary line between Alaska and the
British possessions, and the results OBJ
tanned from which may lead to the recogni-
ton that the giant st. Elias Is located
without the realm of American territory,
call up again the question of the culmi-
mating point Of the North American conti-
nent. For many years prior to 1880 Mt. ST.
Elias enjoyed undisputed claim to this dis
tinction, its altitude at that time being
rated at about 19. 500 feet.
The second highest summit was assumed
to be Popocatepetl, the great smoky
mountain Of Mexico, with approximately
searches and remeasurements have, how
ever. developed the fact that the Peak Of
Orizaba, or "Citlaltpetl," in Mexico, e4-
ceed famous Popocatepetl by about 600
feet, and almost simultaneously it has
been shown that the height of Mt. st. Elias
is only 1S,10O feet; so that as far as these
Two SUBMITS are concerned, the advantage
lies with the Mexican volcano. 1t would
seem, however, that about twenty miles
northeast of st. Elias, in what is indis-
putably British territory, second noun
tain exists, the crest of which is claimed
to rise full one thousand or fifteen hundred
feet above that of Mount St Elias. If this
Is true, then the claim to Superiority over
alf must rest with Mount Logan. The
question necessarily lies between Mount
Logan and the>Peak of Orizaba, with ST.
Elias as second or third in distinction
An Animal That Never SIeeps.
With food in abundance. capable of yield
ing continuous supply of energy, It seems
a strange physiological paradox that all
animals should not be able to work unceas-
il gly. 1t is. however, impossible, or was SO
regarded until the experiments carried on
by Professor Hodge and Professor Aikens.
in the physiological laboratory of Clark
University, at Worcester, Mass The latter
have found an exception to the apparently
universal law Of the animal world, that
work produces fatigue and fatigue compels
rest. They have found an animal which
seems never to sleep. nor even to cease
from the most restless activity; and fur
thermore that is not only tireless, but
possessed of an insatiate hunger as we'll
This extraordinary creature belongs to the
lowest type Of animal life. the protozoa,
and is little more than u minute speck of
living matter-protoplasm. 1t differs from
a microbe chiefly in that it is an animal,
whereas bacteria are microscopic vegetable
organisms. 1t is difficult for the mind to
grasp it's size 1t bears about the same
relationship to man, in point Of bulk, as
man does to the earth itself. In other
words. were a protozoan magnified to the
size of a man, the latter similarly enlarged
would be about the same size as the globe.
The type of protozoan studied by Profess
sors Hodge and Aikens, known as yorti-
celia, is really little more than mechan-
ism for digestin food. Supplementing this
is a motor mechanism beautifully adapted
to capturing it. Evidently it regards this
agency for food supply as a good thing,
for the animal keeps these sensitive hairs,
or ella as they are called. going all the
time, and no matter chow much plunder
these little tentacles gather, this Hungry
Joe of the micro-organic world never gets
enough. 1t is, however, exceedingly fas-
tidious in it's choice of eatables, and is
alert to push away the things it does not
want. All the while it keeps its ella LASH
ing the water in which it lives, setting up
currents which will draw food particles
within it's reach. When a particle is
touched by a ella, an hct Of choice is clear,
for instantly it is carried toward the ami
mails mouth, or whirled away. Other ella
are employed to sort the flood, take them
into the body, and eject the excreta and
debris. There is practically continuous
stream of food and detritus flowing in and
out Of the animals stomach.
The vorticella Is violent In Its likes and
dislikes, and expresses them in the most
summary manner. In order to protect 1t
from bacteria and other animals, the ex-