Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1904-05-20
IaAvIcArINc ARCTIC SEAS
Experienced seafaring Men Discuss
: One Of Russia,s Latest
Naval Projects

/. Whether or not the. proposition &c
end Russia's Baltic fleet to the Pa
| :ific by way Of the Arctic ocean is Sc
iously entertained at St Petersburg, it
s certainly provoking wide comment,
| iays the New York Tribune. That fact
llone is more or less condemnation
If the scheme. The very discussion
IMPLIES a recognition of it's perlous
Ind audacious character No such
/ sensation would. be created by an an.
louncement that the same vessels
would be. dispatched to. the same ~des-.
ination through the Mediterranean,
Suez canal and Indian. ocean What
.ver may be the considerations of pol
CT that have suggested the idea,- there.
ore, every sane and intelligent person
must perceive its dangers. Wise men
nay wen differ as to the precise degree
If risk, but they cannot be blind. I'd
he risk itself.
Few persons are so we'll qualified to
Judge of the. feasibility of this project
Is Admiral Melville. He was a. men,
Der of the company which went up into
he arctic regions through Behringi'
trait on the Jeanette, and after their
ship went down he spent many weary
months on shore near the mouth OF the
Lena Well, with the right acombina-
ion OF circumstances good season,
IN adequate coal supply, the aid OF 3
powerful ice breaker and so on-Ad-
niraf Melville thinks it possible that
he fleet might get through. He is
careful not to say that success is prob
Lble, even with everything in favor OF
the attempt; and he adds that if the
season were not an open one It would
Sc necessary to winter at some point
IN the Siberian coast-which is not ex-
ictly rapid transit. Greedy and Peary
Ire even more skeptical. In fact, the
majority of Americans who have had
practical experience in arctic naviga-
lion look upon the venture as fool
hardy.
DIR. Cook is an exception to- the rule
He is a trif1e more sanguine than the
other authorities just quoted and he
:ites in support of his belief the fact
hat Nordenskjold, with the Vega
made the voyage from the Atlantic to
The Pacific without serious harm. The
precedent is not a happy one, however.
because the Vega was obliged to spend
winter in the arctic seas and took
over year to complete the voyage
Again, one must Offset against that in
stance of the sinking of the Jeanette. O
Nansen's famous feat does not throw
much light on the prospect, because he
committed the Fran to the control of
the drifting ice and she remained in it
for over a year. Still further, it must
De remembered that both the Vega and
the Fran were built so as to withstand
pressure from the ice on their sides
and had great powers Of resistance be-
low the water line. The modern war
ship is especially weak. there and would
Lnquesuonably succumb if she were
once badly pinched. Even. Achilles had
mis- vulnerable spot.
Practically all the calculations made
by outsiders concerning the chances of
success in this enterprise are based up
IN the superstition that the Russian
fleet would be piloted by one or more
ice breakers. These are useful sinsti-
buttons, but there is limit to their Ca
pacity. On Lake Baikal, for instance.
they operate only in summer.
It is safe to say that at that season
he temperature conditions existing Is
or 20 degrees farther north would be
much less suspicious Still greater dis
advantages would result from another
.act- In harbor like Cronstadt, or.
Upon large sheet of water which is
entirely frozen over, the ice is station
ary. The width of a channel which is
once cut there is not likely to alter.
On the other hand, in the Arctic ocean
che pack is in almost constant motion
s. lead between two foes will open at
one moment and close at another Ad-s
iacent cakes are forever grinding
against one another, slowly and relent-
.essly, under the influence Of the winds
and marine currents. There would be
40 certainty that the breadth of anave-
que opened by the pilot would be main
tanned long enough TO insure the ad-
vance of the convoy, and there would
De no guarantee Of immunity after tie
gap narrowed. II the breaker were not
itself frozen in the warships might all
be sunk Y the crushing of their hufIs.s
Before Russia tries this experiment
she might ask some foreign insurance
company how much II would ask to
her in case Of loss. The re- .
ply would doubtless be instructive. -
Whence the Spots on Fur Of Animals
Although We are told that the leopard
cannot change his spots, it is certain that
the markings on the fur Of some animals
do change. Especially is this true where
the ANIMAL has q distinctive wintercoa1. .
This change has been studied by Bars
rett Hamilton, a British naturalist, Who
is of opinion that whitening of the fur
generally accompanies development of
fatty tissue, which is manifestation Of
insufficient oxidation, and hence of
strephy, which shows itself in whften-s
ing OF the hair In some aninaIs