The Portland daily press., 1898-02-22
FREAKS FOR KLONDIKE.
Queer Inventions Inspired by the
Thirst for Golden Wealth.

TOboggans Convertible Into BOats-A
New Aid to Navigation-A Cycle Sleigh
Some Remarkable Devices in the Way
of Hunting Wagons and Vessels.
! Correspondence of the Boston Tran
| script
| Washington, Feb. 1a.-The Klondike
craze has proved an immense Indictment
to invent and ingenious persons all
over the country have been contriving
means for overcoming the difficulties of
travel in frigid ALASKA. A special stimu-
lus to efforts in this line was given by
the widely advertised inquiry of Secretary
Alger respecting machine sleds and de-
vices of similar kinds. Applications for
special rights for ideas of the sort have
been pouring into the Paten6 Office, and
not few of them are curious and inter-
esting; for such qualities they are more
remarkable than for Iracticability-whi
is not surprising, inasmuch as the inven-
tors as rule have no knowledge of the
conditions which have to be. met by those
who journey through the wilds of Uncle
Sans Arctic province.
| Sheds for the Klondike trip form quito
an extensive class of patents by them
selves. Some Of them are run by ordi-
nary steam engines, while others depend
for their motive power upon gasoline or
electricity. The inventors do not seem
to consider the fact that along the Yukon
route for which sleds of these types are
designed, there is great scarcity of fuel,
no wood at all being obtainable for q
distance of five hundred miles. from the
mouth of that great river. Wood or coal;
obviously, must be had for the manufao-
ture of electricity, and, as for gasolire @,
| it is difficult to see how sufficient guam
tity of that article can be carried along
conveniently. Some of the sleds have
water-tight bottoms, SO that they will
serve as boats in case they break through
the ice, or surprising that open water is
found The popular supposition evident.
ly is that the Yukon is pretty much like
the Delaware or the Hudson, frozen over,
SO that steam or electric sled need only
start the engine and scoot along at rate
of twenty or thirty miles an hour
For the overland route to the Klondike
there are sleds of other patterns. Some
of them are transformable into toboggans
for use when the snow is deep or on de-
olivities. The coasting method of arriv-
ing at the gold fields is very popular.
More than one inventor accomplishes the
conversion described by turning the sled
upside down. Other contrivanoes enable
the traveller, when he reaches the lakes,
to make boat by fastening three or four
sleds together. There are also sleds that
are collapsible, so that, when the road
happens to be too rough, the hardy argo-
naut can fold up his vehicle of transpor-
tation and carry it on his back.
The effect of the great industrial de-
preston of not long ago upon the patent
business was very remarkable. During
that period of national poverty the num-
Der of patents granted ran down surpris-
ingly; but now, when things are looking
up so brightly there is no better evidence
of improving times than that which is
found in the rush of inventors who are
swelling the work of the Patent Office to
an unprecedented degree. 10 a certain
extent inventions have relation to the
current season and thus it is not surpris-
ing to find among the. patents granted
last week one for cycle-sleigh which is
like an ordianry tricycle. except that it
has runners instead Of wheels. The
sprocket-chain connects with q toothed
wheel, which catches the ice or snow and
propels the vehicle.
Speaking of cycles, one of the most re-
markable inventions for the benefit of
<nv, Tod oct cab
by j. M. Lucas of Lincoln Neb.-is a
pneumatic tire which contains small
quantity of a semi-fuid mixture of mo-
lasses and powdered cork. When pune
ture happens portion Of the mixture
flows naturally into the opening ana stops
it up; thus there is no necessity for the
rider to get off and devote his valuable
time to repairing the damages. He can
afford to go ahead until he reaches his
intended destination. where he may visit
a bicycle shop and have the damage rem
edied in a permanent fashion.
Labor saving, after all, is The prime OBJ
ject of our modern civilization. Hence
ented last week by James M. Dodge of
Philadelphia. This kind of staircase is
specially designed for the use of persons
who by reason of corpulence, age or
laziness, are indisposed to climb. The
staircase itself does the climbing, so that
the tired 1nQlVluual mas only TO IuOunb
the first step and he will be carried to any
floor he wishes. When he wants to come
down again he is required merely to re-
verse the process. Stout women and old
gentlemen will welcome this novel con-
trivance, which depends for its efficiency
upon a series of steps that are attached to
an endless chain worked by machinery.
One Of the most interesting of recent in
yentions is a ogdispeller for ships 1t
was patented last week by Horatio Lug
rim Of Worcester, Mass AS everybody |
knows, fog is one of the most serious per-
ils of the vast Deep 1t is blindness to
the ship, and the oleverest and most eau
tlous skipper can guard with no sort of
certainty against collisions with other
vessels, or, worse yet, with icebergs, |
when veil of mist falls upon the ocean.
He may, and often does, run upon shore
under such circumstances. not being
able TO see half a dozen yards ahead.
Now, happily, this sort of danger is to
removed to great extent by Mr.. lug
RIMS continuance, which literally blows
away the fog from in front of the ship,
making the course plain and visible for
some distance ahead. The device, Tesemb-
ling very much elongated gun, is placed
In the bow of the vessle. 1t shoots con-