Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-09-02

but perhaps. At the foot of the path
| is cabin in which four or Ave men
spend the summer and assist the wo-
men in the climb. carrying their ko-
| daks, blankets and the wraps that are
| taken as precaution against cold
AT different places the ascent Is too
steep and steps have been chiseled out
of the rocks,
1t takes about an hour to make the
ascent and twenty minutes more to
cross the promontory to building
on the edge of the cliff overlooking the
ocean. where potal cards and cham
payne are sold. Everybody Is ex-
pected to open bottle and buy lot
of postal cards with the picture of
the North Cape~upon them to send
to friends. A temporary postoifice is
established by one of the officers of
the steamer, who has a machine to
cancel stamps. and puts the letters in
mail bag, so that they are post
marked and properly mailed at the top
of the mountain.
There is a granite column to com.
memorate the visit of King Oscar in
emperor at his first visit in 1S9l-he
has been to the top nearly every year
since-and a Norwegian flag floating
from tall pole.
Somebody always brings an Amerl-
can flag and lets its fly the best he
can to vindicate his patriotism. The
nag man in our steamer could not
find anything to tack 1t to where 1t
woul float, so he gave up the effort
in despair and tucked 1t into crack
in the rocks.
People behave differently Some
get gay and others sentimental The
emotions of the majority take the
form of patriotism. They want to
sing their national hymn so some
body usually rounds up the represent
atives of the various nations. who at.
tempt in turn to sing the Star Spang-
led Banner" God Save the King"
the "Marseilaise" or the Watch on
the Rhine Some persons, intoxi-
Gated with champagne and enthusi-
asm. usually get eloquent and In
sist on making speeches. The Eu-
ropeans invariably drink to the health
of their sovereign. and Frenchmen go
prancing around in great excitement
and yell "Vive In Republic Fran
caise." don't know why 1t is. but
Frenchman can make more noise and
confusion than the representatives of
all the other races combined.
OF course everybody has his pho
tograph taken and exhausts the films
in his camera before he returns to
| the steamer.
now approach a delicate topic.
The principal object in visiting the
North Cape is to see the midnight
sun. and the Itineraries of the steam
ers are timed so that they will arrive
there about 10 o'clock in the evening
and give the passengers time enough
to climb to the top and express their
emotions by such demonstrations as
they consider appropriate before mid
night Then they are free to OBJ
serve the great phenomenon. But
the great majority of tourists are dis
appointed in this respect, because the
sun Is seldom seen from the North
Cape after O'Clock In the afternoon.
OF course people who have travelled
all that distance and have made that
long and tedious climb cannot be ex
pected to express their failure and
disappointment. In fact. | have new
er met anybody who has gone to the
North Cape without seeing the mid
night sun. General absolution Is
granted to tourists to lie about it to
other travellers and to the folks at
home, but the captain admitted to
me that they only saw it twice last
year, and that when they saw 1t four
times in season it was considered
remarkable triumph.
We sailed through the famous mael-
strom, which the ancients believed
guards the entrance to the sublimest
beauty of the fjords Of the Lofoden
Islands. and has furnished so much
material for the Imagination of the ar-
thors OF Norwegian legendry and mod
ern novelists. 1t is a reality-not
one but several maelstroms actually
exist, and any of them will answer the
Verne. Edgar A. Poe and writers Of
lesser fame. The chief and most dan
gerous is an extraordinary whirlpool
between the islands of Moskene ard
Roest, near the southern extremity
Of the Lofoden archipelago. 1t is
called Mosknaes-Strommen An
other by the island of Vaero. called
the Saelstrom. is almost as danger
Gus. There are many narrow chan
nels between the mountains where
great volumes of water. coming from
opposite directions. meet as the tide
flows In and out. They form tenn
porary whirlpools twice day, and
during the spring tides, or when the
natural currents are accelerated by
heavy western gales, passage Is i'm
possible. No vessel can survive them
Even whales have been caught and
| whirled around until they were dead.
Between times these channels look
innocent enough Even small boats
can pass safely through them at the