The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-05

can be conducted on an economical basis, and
that II can bo done without loss OF life.
or first Importance TO the Arctic explorer are
his sledPe and It's 90 uipmont. II seems as though
everything depended on them. The slodge must
combine the qualities OF liphtness, strength, and
easy traction. Sledges for use on the ice cap and
on the sOa level should differ In their construc-
ton. On the ice cap they must have the broad
fiat runner necessary to prevent them from
sinking into tho deep soft snow. Clothing Is
another thing 10 DO considered. Schwatka
was In favor OF reindeer clothing oXclu.
sivcly. Greedy was not a believer In fur
clothing. But the experience Of Greedy. the All.
thor says, seems to have been confined to scalskin
garments, which are not considered by tho natives
to possess any warmth. Mr.. Peary's " expert
ence is that fur clothing Is absolutely essential
in Arctic work, and that the less woollen and
the moro fur one wears, provided the fur Is
properly made into clothing and that the wosror
knows how to wear 1t, the more comfortable
will the woarcr be. or the 800 Illustrations in
these two volumes a number show how COM
Portable the people of the north look in their fur
clothes; at the same time there are pictures OF
natives who do not wear any clothing Mt all,
and. curIously, they also look comfortable.
Still we must believe what Mr.. Pcnry says in
regard to the deslrableness of fur. Fur seems
to be peculiarly desirable in inland Ice travel,
~ hiO VII IL IluNh bC'lU WI biihl
at the sea level. Nothing but fur and tho i'm.
pervious integument OF animal skin will pro-
tect one from the ice-oap winds. In the authors
experience, he and those with him we're com
Portable in their fur clothing In n temperature
ranRing from CO. below zero TO 5Oo above, In all
conditions OF activity and rest, sleeping in tents.
or snowshoeing in deep snow at tho end
Of q drag rope. Tho tent, 1t may be said.
Is considered by the author to Se n SUI
perfluous luxury In Greenland. In pleasant
weather tho lee of a slcdgc; in storms a piece of
canvas kept up at ono end by snowshoes stuck
in the snow, or thrown over low snow walls and
weighted down by the s~ledge-these were found
by the explorer to be quite sufficient. In his OK
petition of 1894 he did not take q tent with him.
In 1895 he took tents, after a careful study and
adaptation of them. He considered size and
weight, and his tents then. consisting of cover.
floor and wind guard for entrance, weighed thir-
teen pounds. They answered all purposes.
The navigator of the ocean makes use of Ger
tain implements. Mr.. Peary, in his travels over
the sea of Greenland ice. substituted the odome-
ter for the log line and the aneroid for the
sounding lead. From the indications Of the lat
ter It was possible to change the course so as to
give the dogs less work. and 1t also gave warn
ing in thick weather of approach to the dreaded
land. between which and tho serene, smooth
heights OF the interior ice cap lie dangerous
slopes OF bare, blue ice, ~yawning crevasses. sud
den and furious squalls, and frequent and
violent storms. The explorers instrumental
outfit for his journeyings included u tran
sit. a seXtant and artificial horizon, three
thermometers, several compnsses, two odom-
eters, three aneroids. several thermometers,
one pair OF binoculars and n camera. The chro.
nometers were pocket size. open-faced, stem
winders, incloscd in a single aluminium case,
made according to the instructions of the ex-
plorer. and were carried by him suspended over
his chest, inside his clothing, by n cord about his
neck. They kept excellent time and gave every
satisfaction. The compasses were a four.inch
liquid boat compass. and several dry cards.
pocket size. in hunting cases. The pocket com
passes were used in the hand for setting the
course when Mr.. Peary was walking in advance
of his people. The boat compass was used as it
would be at sea. 1t was dashed on the ton Of
his sledge during the first 300 miles OF tho
northward journey. when he was obliged
to keep the course and drive a team of
ten dogs. On tho return. dashed upon a pair Of
ski and pushed in front Of him. 1t enabled the
party to march during DAYS of fog when with
ont 1t advance would have been impossible.
Tho odometer saved a great deal OF annoyance
and hard work by reducing the number OF neces-
sary solar observations Solar observations on
the ice cap, even under the most favorable con-
ditions. are extremely trying. and much Of the
time they are unsatisfactory or impossible. The
almost constant wind and drift make the use of
the artificial horizon very difficult. even when
the temperature is high enough not to Affect
the mercury: and the same causes, COM
bined with the varying conditions OF the snow
surface. sometimes extremely hard. again very
soft, and the constant vibrations from the
wind, make the use of the transit difficult. Re-.
fraction and atmospheric vibration are at all
Iimns aYcnaaiv 20 on thn loo N ~ anl tho o-,u.a,a
brilliancy of the sun, even through the special
glasses of instruments for this sort Of work, is
so trying to eyes already strained to their ut
most by the unceasing glare from the sky md
snow, day and night. that the taking OF an OBJ.
servation was always dreaded by Mr.. Peary,
and usually resulted in some one else being
Obliged to take the lead the next day, while the
leader walked with bandagod eyes beside tho
sledge. The aneroids were beautiful aluminium
Instruments, three inches in diameter. reading
to IL. 900 feet. Like the chronometcrs, all three
were carried in n single case.
The term finland ice" Mr.. Peary says. Is mis-
lcading. The surface is not ice. but a com.
pacted snow. Elevated as the entire interior Is,
to n height of from 1000 to 5000 feet above
the sea level, mountains OF the coast which
would be visible to the sailor at a distance Of
sixty to eighty miles disappear beneath the
landward Convexity Of the ice caps by the time
IHc ITHNclleT nus penetrated HItCcn or twenty
miles into the interior. and then he may travel
for days and weeks with no break whatever in
the continuity ofthe sharp steel blue line of the
horizon.
1t is an interesting question rs to whether this
enormous deposit of snow is increasing or de-
creasing or remaining practically stationary.
Since it has got so high, it. might be thought
that there is no reason why II should not get
higher. Still, it may be that causes OF depletion,
recently developed, are qualified to keep the
snow field at its present altitude. Mr.. Poary is
OF tho opinion that such causes are at work, but
only Investigations, he says. carried on through
n term of years. can determine what the facts
are. One and principal among the causes of
diminution are the glaciers. Tho pressure hav-
ing amounted 10 what it is. we may suppose the
depicting labors OF he glaciers to be correspond
ing. Tho wind. the melting, and the evnpora-
tion have also their effect, but these agencies.
1t may be supposed, have always existed. Tho
flaptara a. IA nNpragg fhnT,aoIrn "a n,a L.,