The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-17

come often in the long Arctic night.
Then there is nothing for the poor,
foolish Eskimos to do except to cover
in their snow houses and wait until
death from starvation oVertakes them.
Now, Uncle Sam has tried in vain
to reform them and to teach them
better ways; although his revenue Of
ficers have often found whole villages
that had been almost completely de-
stroyed by starvation, yet the little
men of the north do not seem to heed.
So the government has no other way
to help them except to send such
sturdy ships as the Bear into the po-
lar seas again and again to feed the
unfortunate creatures. 1t was partly
Uncle Sans worry over them that
led him to import the beautiful REIN
deer into Alaska and several large
herds of them are there now, while
he has lent smaller herds to certain
Eskimo tribes that have promised to
care for them.
Uncle Sans troubles do not end
with caring for his people. A few
years ago, the lovers of birds found
that cruel and selfish persons were de-
stroying the beautiful, innocent pig
con gulls and terms by millions, in
order to sell the pretty feathers from
their soft breasts. Some of Uncle
Sans rocky islands in the Atlantic
ocean off the American coast had
been almost denuded of the poor lit
tie creatures when he awoke to the
fact. Now the government is father
ing the gulls.
1t is a pretty thing to think of the
great government of the United States
pausing in the work of building up
its giant empire to stoop to the gen
tie birds. That is what was done.
And lifesavers and lighthouse keep
ers and treasury department officials
and employees of the Department of
Agriculture all received orders to pro-
tect the poor, hunted things. They
all did it eagerly, with the result that
now the rocky islets are beginning to
fill once more with nests. But Uncle
Sam must watch them all the time,
for the hunters are ready to Stay The
birds again at the first opportunity.
Every time that a great storm
moves along the coasts of the Pa
cjf1c or the Atlantic Uncle Sam gets
anxious lest some part of his vast
beaches shall develop a new danger
to his ships or those of other nations.
The old gentleman never is quite easy
in his mind about such places as the
shoals off Hatteras, most famous of
capes. The sands there move in the
beating of the waters almost as il
they had life and constantly new
shoals are forming or old ones ex-
tending their deadly arms farther to
seize the keels of the ships. So there
hardly is any time in the year when
some of his men must not be out,
studying and measuring his channels
and bars and reefs.
His tides trouble him. too. Com
merce amounting to millions of dollars
depends to a large extent every day
ON the tide. And all his people-mer-
chants and sailors and pilots and tug
boat men and passengers-look to
Uncle Sam to watch the tides every
where from Maine to Boring straits
and tell them just when it will he
high or low water each day. Indeed
his sailors look to Uncle Sam to tell
them not only about the tides on the
United States coast, but tides on ev-
cry shore in all the world. Therefore,
the government makes tables that
show sailor at just what hour it
will be high water or low water, on
any day in the year, in every place
from New York to Fiji islands, so that
an American sea captain may know
what he is about, no matter low
strange harbor he may enter.
j. w. NJ.