The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-02-02
suE ARCTIC CACHES.
ovrpos1 OF cwll'zA'T' TIC y
FIRST ov Tre FAR NORTH. IS,

image Of Aro'o m.x
re r'l' s...ra Joar..y-Ho- The, a.. Az.
ss 'v,,,.d-supply villages Oh '"s
-. ..s..a government
.a more news comes piece
AS more 49,. .hs arctic regions and each
peal rom i1.S An map Of the world has fresh
rssds'sa', names put upon it in the near
inc blank spaces marking 1i,n ;gte ses felt in
Dis there is not little interest," ssruoturss Of
those prl ,arsr without which a trip IN
the eSp, n;,ds would seldom be possible
pe s.s caches of the north, .,v,,,,..
~ and exploration, they ,eS AVE 10 ceased
tiCn is ar them when once they nave s o.ase y,
oslinu =, 'I nractical use. A heavy iail Oh
pbe ol ! w;ndstorm comes and tears
now % remnants to pieces On ocoa-
sD iSns something Of this sort nappens ~
aOn s1 so even while it is serving as . 70.
sca i.1r and is being depended upon oy
pOsllOi s,owly toiling party far away.
some ,los unable ON retracing his steps
Peaiy - his Greenland journeys 10 ma
% - Oro Of the caches he had car S
e ''nI;sbed and plainly marked. SNOW
ss s"rms and gales of wind had oDii'era'.
SUi~ ".v eien of them, and no amount
J, seorching was of avail
Oh ache is an arctic storage ware,
co made TO keep provisions III untii
p pSon are wanted. The word Is the
T W.. word cache, meaning simply
t tien1 Mace. A hiding place is precise
aiu,Ie Il is. for while men are not 10
soored on the score of theft IN the
Ute :. lands animals of all sorts are
The great white bear that abounas IN
i inO recions will readily sniff out food
'n Wa ony supplies left behind need to be
bermetically sealed.
Thus the cache is the first outpost OF
ovilization i'll the far north. when the
grdson bay region was being travers'
.dord explored for the first time, caches
rore set mn everywhere. Now, the re-
.;on being q fairly well known land,
Permanent supply posts in the form oil
tinv villages, of perhaps but two OF
,hrsa bindings, have been established,
~ mon are TO be found settled there
the year round 49,. -,
The great northern belt OF the land
If perpetual ice circling the pole has
however, none Of these permanent set
Elements. though year by year the Dan
ism government is planting new supply
villages still farther north ON thu
snowy coasts of Greenland. These Dan
ish villages are intended primarily fo
the benefit of the Greenlanders, but M
sxplorer is ever turned away from thei
Unsuitable doors Food is given hin
.outright. if he wishes it, or he is allow
ed to buy it at cost price. Each yea
sees the extension Of these Danish VII
lagos farther north. mainly on the Yves
coast, really the only habitable part o
theisland. The entire interior OF Green
land is a vast ridge of ice and snow
colossal glaring mountain ranges (cross
ing this ridge was one Of Nansen
greatest achievements), and the cas-
coast is bordered by ice foes that Shit
40 continually and rapidly that landin
Is practically impossible. Yet even o
this east coast several Danish village
have been set.
Once beyond the last of these village
an exploring party must plan its ow
food supplies. This it does by establish
ing these caches along its line Of march
An arctic expedition moving overlan
practically always intends to return b
the same route. Even in these days {
compressed foods the weight OF sever;
months provender for large party
considerable In caches it is therefor
slowed along the route several day
journey apart.
What is simply hole in the grour
Is first dug, a matter Of extreme difficu
ty at times. Then, painfully diggir
elsewhere, earth is brought to the su
face, and quantity of this is dump'
into the hole. Ice is melted and the WI
ter from it poured upon the earth, Il
entire mixture freezing in few m
nents into compact mass. This is Il
pVttOn VI tne CdCue. I'll IL tuo PRIV
sons the party want to put aside for
future day are laid. so many pounds +
each man, carefully calculated. The
should be just enough to support Ii
comfortably until the next cache
reached on the return, with two or thr
days rations over for emergencies.
With stones, ice and snow the wal
81 the cache are now built up, water b
ing poured over the snowy structu
nermetically to seal it. 1t Is point
honor among even the poorest nativ
not to rifle cache unless in cases Of {
direst necessity, but the provisions mu
oe kept safe from the bears. Proper
Quilt the structure is impregnable, al
1t needs the work Of pickaxes to tear
open.
1t is marked by anything that the
plorers can spare or find in the vicinit
generally by'a staff of wood. In Sibei
the tooth Of a mammoth is not inf
quently used. Despite this precautic
however, many caches can never
found again. II rendered provisional
this manner, the party must res'
Vol Its guns and. hunt for the musk {
Inc white bear and the seal, which son
Vines are In easy reach. more freQueI