The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-26
NEWYEAR'S IN THBARGTIC.
FESTIVITY AND FUN FOR WHALER1
THEIR WIVES.


Ono GREAT Day when Ola Caro- 10 Left FofleFua
md There Is Tea In the Cnbin and Dinuep
with Cranberry sauce. and Then q Song
ana N Dance Mt the CompanJ's store.
They are making New Years calls in the Ara.
tic. "They" nro tho American women, wivS0
Of whaling captains, who spend three years OUT
Of every four in that region, whore tho pefbet-
ual blizzard Is In motion. and whore they rise
superior TO months and days and weeks. Ito
always winter in their calendar there, so there
Is rest from spring housekeeping, and tho sum
NOR fashion ceases TO porplcN. In fact, what
bonnets are doing on land, aftor several moons
spent in that icc.wallcd world. ceases to be OF
even passing interest, and only tho Eskimo
slcdgcs or the cuts of fur hoods come to beguilo
the time.
New Years in that wonder world Of sleet and
frost is not necessarily n typical time Of the
year, but the rest Of the months pass 80 un-
eventually that it proves thefnost picturesque 40
well as the best fed time of all their days there's
for it is then that the Captains and their wives
and children relax their vigilance and become
pert and frolicsomc, and have orgies on jam and
lemonade and the canned truck OF q frivolous
nature that has boon stored away for this gala
season. Mrs. Capt. Green. Mrs. Sherman and
daughter Dorothy, and Mrs. Wood and SON
Bert, both small children, and the rest of the
crew will have a merry time this New Yoar's
Day in making and receiving calls, in giving and
taking hospitality from ship to ship. and in
trifling with the airy cranberry tart and tho I!
bear steak. . sN.
You can imagine how welcome people arc who
are SO scarce as in the friendly little fleet near
Point Barrow. When you only have three
women min1l ne,gh6ors S lou are en- not going to b
the timc.honored greeting that used to prevail
in this enlightened land. Instead YOU are going
hood and go and pay your respects to those
ladies. And tho ~rospects will not be chilly e
ity can overlook a great deal In the matter Of
climate and canned peach sherbet; And such
the principal CONNECTION. Judging by the iotters
that reach their relatives and friends once In Q
far between from the Arctic circle. i'" y"
When tho first of January dawns, with the
first first peep peep of the north + ,t pole :, day the men jump !
work. The ships are frozen into the ice foes, ,
and the snow must be swept away from ship to
are a hundred OF themnnand then there ie a time
after the condensed milk and brown plush coffee
tack of an early morning meal aboard a whalers
The men have a feverish anxiety dseo the day
pass without q jar or jerk In tho festivities. and
this lonely land into something akin to a holi.
is, to be sure, for they como homo and spend all
of their whale money on It after getting back
il they do stay aboard ico-fastened boats for
thirty.six months at a time and eat blubber.
II. i FTe a = Of and th seiS sRaps sr ths m adeas 10 Fii 2enstS
like the morning sun in lieu of that functionary,
and siun every ~ l;or brass q. 1t knob : Io or ? Gao, or Lining fnr Sr from
can go and cali on three araiabiss Ladies' WITH
scalskin dresses and teapots OF rare china, Mo-
1 masS that aaa la ,Sess se @as i hiRBteF'1 than me eve s9's sn -
sliirened hands and would shout for Rlee but
that he is afraid that his breath will form into
thing equally awful viii happen, and thus he
will miss the delights below stairs when the
The women meanwhile have given the chill.
dren dolls and books to fasten their minds to,
foT the mso oeca sGoS u The %d piums p 5nd RusPhn as to BE-
dishes that will tempt the bashful whalers. end
there is a general air of mysterious concoction
that delights and confounds the hundred men
who admiringl!y survey the scene. They fetch
md carry with eagerness dishes and compli.
ments and what not, and before you could say
Jack Robinson there is a table set and an array
ladies. God bless EN-" become sort Of brown.
clad angels with cod patties-and a corner ON
At about IL A. NJ. the real day begins, and
then there is such IA talking and such a feasting
a sailor goes calling in the cold. cold land Of siS
months winter he is not looking for a frost, and
if 1 ali 81 his Hb sGSsn,' d FSa y: pe MS II s!RIHdEsf So sSS;
and red handkerchief necktie, and he Is a 10y
f so,r,efver if no, not a Thing thin g of th 6s1 ,aG;.s exactly act S,n he
ingly leven beneath his smoked, and bronzed
skim makes his entrance into the hallowed pres.
party. He says little at frst-though. /
know sailors are supposed to spin yarns with
peeps SO much us a ""fo'castlc sally Of Wit. His
wontcd GOODNESS in danger forsakes him and he
and bite his fhgers. But he is soon put at ease.
a anf pA inGeed pre Sg sh bns fGs 4syHeF GXrr sRRpf fop ne
American flag and all feel their hearts swell-
ing, and grow loquacious and think Of passing
And the tea-gorgeous array that it isl One
vast table in the inner cabin. and one vast
amount Of temptations in the way of food and
drink. They all sit down TO the china pot and
the sandwiches, and the bits, OF cranberry and
the loads of walrus rump, and the beef stow and
the bean soup, and there is a lively time;
Driod fruits and spiced pickles and many
You Would expect from a blackberry juice today
innocent of Kentucky rye; and thon, after the
dinner is over, there is a session of reminiscence
and ease and handmade cigars. and the ladies'
do fancy work on the patterns of three years
shop" Whales may come and whales may 60.
in the meantime. but the chatter goes on for
ever. or SO tho men wish it would as they lounge
think OF the women who wait them there.
Tears that e. III they yo you'd ~ ~, assure is.Mrre v you l. were %s joyy
sentiment; as for the rest. they nre %rontent-
And then more talk, and later tea again and
preserved ginger. and jokes not n bit older than
those at home. for all !hcir three years sojour4
In foreign seas. And around the flowing bowl
crgy Of people long denied such dissipation.
And then they all march homo to their Ice
DOund Snlps, uhucf tIc btafb OI mat Dig nlBnt.
Rebel Woman Invited Grant 10 90 to Her Cols
lar ir He Col scared.
From the Boston Transcript.
Summer Hill. close to Studlcy, Va, is a very
interesting place. built over a hundred years
ago, and was the arena of much active warfare
about the year 1862. Mrs. Newton resides
there. the widow Of Capt. William Is. Newton. .
scholarly gentleman and brave commander OF
cavalry in Gen. Fitzhugh Lees brigade. whO