Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1904-08-18
ROUTE FOR BALTIC
tLbET.

Recent dispatches from st. Peters !
burg state that the cruisers of the Bal. |
tic fleet have received sailing orders
and a number have already left Cron. {
stadt These ships may or may not
DO headed for the Orient. The public
has a right to be skeptical that the
will make the long tour
There is always the possibility, how.
ever, that the attempt will be made to
strengthen the sadly depleted naval
force at yladivostok, though with Port
Arthur besieged and vladivostok closed
60 navigation during the approaching
winter 1t must be confessed as some.
what improbable. Should the task be
set for the Baltic feet Its natural route
would be by way Of Suez. Not many
weeks ago dispatches suggested the
Of Cape Horn and the long
passage across the Pacific. These ap.
peal to the public as the only routes
by which Russian warships can be
sent to the rescue.
Rear Admiral George W. Melville,
one OF the best qualified experts in the
world responding to q query from the
editor of the North American Review,
says From my own experience In
these seas, | do not hesitate to assert
that when there Is need to face its
possible, the Northeast Passage must
be regarded as practical route for a
determined and able commander In
other words our highest naval author.
Ii ty holds that the Russian ships can
reach the Orient by way OF the Arctic
ocean and through the Behring Strait.
This course has often been referred to
in ridcule, but when a man Of Mel.
ville's standing marks It with his ap.
proval he attracts worldwide atten.
ton.
| Admiral Melyille's statement Of the
possibilities of the Northeast Passage
given In the Review Is very interesting.
He first points TO the memorable
achievement of Prof. Nordenskjold,
lwho, during 1873, in the slow steam
whaler veGa OF but 300 tons burden,
successfully made the voyage from
l1'romsoe to within hundred miles OF
Behring Strait Nordenskjold was
forced to winter In Kiliuchin bay, the
latter part OF September. Before Nor
denskjolds day, however" says Mel
Iv!lle, "a long line of arctic natiyators
land explorers of many nations, with O
daring equalled only by the toll and
suffering they endured. had mapped
rudeiy, 1t Is true, the shore line from
North Cape to Behring Strait, and b,
their united efforts, extending from th'
ninth century onward. had practical,
completed, although in links parted b!
years and distance, the coast survey o
the Northeast Passage.
I'm modern years. in addition to tn,
Vegas cruise, Nordenskjold made tw,
preliminary exploring runs, one in
vessel of 20 tons to the mouth of tn
Yenisei; Captain Joseph Virgins ha
steamed successfully u number o
times to the same destination, and tn
essays Of commerce In the Arctic hay
been frequent from the west. With thi
D knowledge and from my own exper
: ence In these seas do not hesitate I
assert that, when there is need TO fac
its possible dangers, the Northeast Pas
sage must be regarded as a practicabl
route for a determined and able con
= mander.
I Until the Kara Strait Is reached n
. difficulties will be encountered whic
would not be met In ordinary cruisin
. in high ATTITUDES. The arctic voyag
practically begins at this point, an
in traversing the distance to East CAP
the dangers which might imperil tn
fleet are the persistent fog which pr
walls in the Arctic during the summe
season, the fly charted waters throug
e which the ships must pass, and FINAL.
J. and most important of all, the eve
y present ice."
q The Admiral draws on his experient
'' Gs photographer of the Inflated Jeal
. nette expedition when he and his ass
ing the characteristics Of the coast lin
to the East Cape. seeking a safe line
u retreat when their ship was given u
n The dangers from the ice ''fioes"
It noted but even these are not classed /
Is impossible barriers.
u THE ships of war fleet, such as
u under discussion, are armored to fo'
Ie feet or more below water-line, stiffen,
d from end to end by the protective dec
IT and have massive bows fitted for q
y tack by ramming. They are. therefor
n far more capable than the ordinal
r.