Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-01-17

that In certain condit ions OF the atmos-
phere the to1ling OF the bells could be
distinctly heard. Treatises were writ
ten by learned professors to prove the
probability of the legend, and other
Heatises, as learned and vehement, to
hout and jeer at 1t as an idle fable
Certain flotsam and jetsam, which
was washed ashore after heavy storms
on the coasts of Georgia and Florida-
logs Of strange woods unknown to this
generation, coias, bits Of carved marble
and beaten brass ascribed to the.
long dead sworkmen Of Atlantis.
The lost colony is now known only.
as the subject Of an ancient fable, but
years ago it was by most educated
people believed to- be an actual fact.
Another much discussed mystery
then was what had become of the col
ony Of civilized people who at the time
Of the settlement Of the country lived
on the western coast of Greenland.
That country is, as you will see by a.
glance at the map, shaped something
like the half Of an egg, cut lengthWise,
the fiat side upon the earth, the point
to the south. The rounded center is a
heap Of impenetrable ice mountains
AS the centuries go by enormous
bodies Of ice slip from it into the sea
and, breaking of, drift slowly down
along our coasts. These are the Ices
bergs Of the Atlantic ocean. Now,
along the narrow slip Of habitable land
which edges Greenland on this side,
tradition says, once dwelt IA civilized
people who. both In knowledge and the
habits Of life, were far in advance Of
the Laplanders. azis 3.
They were well known to the early
Danish navigators, who made frequent
mention Of them in! their logs and re-
ports. The question yet unanswered Is.
Where are they now? Tradition among,
the Laplanders reports that the whole
colony two centuries ago emigrated In
5a body to the eastern coast OF Green,
land, attempting to cross the hitherto
impenetrable masses Of Ice in the CEN
ter. No tidings ever have come back:
from them. Some Of the scientific men
who accompanied the Hayes expedi-
ton made this question matter of
special study. They reported that a
doubt could hardly exist that these;
people did once inhabit that part OF the
coast and that they now had utterly
vanished. II they had been swept
away BY pestilence their household
belongings at least would be Ieftsto.telI
Of them, but not a shard OF pottery,
not a single grave, remains to show
] that they eyer lived. It was supposed
by the Danish missionaries that they
\ had perished In the ranges OF Ice
mountains, but among the Laplandera:
there were traditions that they had:
safely reached the western coast ana
settled there, now forming q civilized.
community, wholly isolated from the.
rest Of the world One OF Nansen's
voyages was, In fact directed to that
coast~in the hope of finding this cob
ony, He Wasis not able to- reach the
northern part Of the coast, and the
mystery Is ti,erefore yet unsolysd.
Another problem which perplexed the
last generation was the long extinct
pygmy race which centuries ago I'M
doubtedIy inhabited the Tennessee
mountains. Legends among the In
dians told OF such tribe OF dwarfe,
who were supposed to be OF more In
telligence than the red men. But these
legends were very hazy. A burying
ground, however, actually WINS discoyt
cred In the early part OF the last cen
tury in which all Of the skeletons were
OF pygmy prop rtions. Some OF them
were carried away to- college museums.
But as Tar as I know no scientific In
quiry has ever been directed to this
question
Another curious matter which caused
much speculation In the early part OF
the last century was the fate ofs the
colony OF French emigres who fed ito
this country III the eighteenth century
and took refugs Ia the northern part
| of Alabama. Like those Frenchmen
who found safety I'd Delaware, they
were for the most part OF noble bleed.
Marquises md counts earned their livs
ling III Wilmington as dancing masters
and even chefs, ard their descend nfs
Live there still. 5ss4
But the poor gentlefolk who went
| penniless to Alabama 70 escape the
| guiIlotife penetrated the wilderness
and nlade up q colony ofsvine growers,
farmers etc They worked helpless3y
awhile. starved and then melted away
fnystefiousiy. Whether they retsirnea
To ungratefni France or died ID til4ii
exile nobody knows It was III
raantic, fragicaI question which nnueh
/ Interested tile last generation and q
/ NOW forgotten But IT III still mn
answered. New York Herald