The Forrest City times., 1903-10-23
ALASKA'S MAGNETIC ROCKS.
stady of Them by Scientist VIII Lead
10 Explanation of what Has
1. Been . Mystery.

The Alaskan commission now sitting
in London upon the Alaskan boundary
question will be interested over Prof.
Barnett's discovery of considerable
stretch OF magnetic rocks of the coast
Of Alaska. Now the world will under
stand how 1t happens that a mariner
who comes within a certain distance Of
the coastline finds his compass doing
everything but preserve its rightful po-
sition. says the st. James Gazette OF
recent date. We have had to wait long
for the information. But Alaska re-
mains still largely a land Of mystery.
Its whole history is strange. The Rus
slams who colonized 1t before such
things as Mondoe doctrines were, spent
100000 on great survey; then
dropped the business, not greatly wiser
than before. Then. having so done,
they sold out. lock, stock and barrel,
for beggarly million and a half
pounds. The territory was making
return OF half a million year a. the
Thoroughly, a pound a mile; quar-
ter of a century later it was returning
an annual revenue Of G2,072, 900, while
ten years further on its silver output
alone was worth yearly million.
Alaska has no monopoly in magnetic
rocks that distress the mariner and
surveyor. Not long ago party of Rus
sian explorers found their needle swing
round $50 degrees. Parry, in his sec
ond voyage in the Fury and Hecla, OBJ
served considerable local deviation OF
the compass when off the shore OF Igloo-
Xix. At Bluff Harbor. South Island, New
Zealand, there Is focus of magnetism
on the summit OF the bluff; and during
the survey of South Island the officers
Of II. M. s. Acheron had to abandon the
use of compass bearings. A similar dis
turbance was observed by Capt Creak
when surveying near Port Walcott,
Northwest Australia. He came across
a submerged square mile of rock, which
made the needle of the compass hop
about so degrees and more from where
1t should have been. Upon the Norwe-
gian coast in the Joedern province is a
magnetic mountain. about a thousand
influence is such that vessels venturing
100 near the coast lose tnelr Dearln83,
and frequently are wrecked
Nobody quite knows who first discov-
cred that certain kind of stone would
attract iron, and nobody knows who
first turned the knowledge to account
One gentleman of whom there is record
lived at date early enough to indicate
a respectable antiquity for the science
From his case 1t would seem that the
first to employ the mariners compass
was not mariner at all. but a gentle
man who ruled the Chinese 1887 years
before the dawn of the Christian era.
1t was Emperor Hoang-ti. A certain
friend of his, Prince Tchiyeou, had
annoyed the monarch, who put out
after the unmannerly one to relieve
him Of his peacock feather, his yellow
waistcoat, his head and other unconsid-
cred trides. But the prince with his
legions came across fog. and into this,
with all his fighting men, he dived. The
excellent emperor, left on the outside,
did not know from which side to enter
the mist. nor in what direction to pro-
coed, when he did get inside So he
made car. which showed EN- the four
cardinal points; by this means he over
took Tchiyeou, made him prisoner, and
put him to DEATH" The magnetic
needle in its crudest form was employed
for that car.