New-York tribune., 1906-11-27

AA--@o
-. 81 definite settlement
''..,,aI agreement. OF the veAeo 0ueS''0h % ',.e
rsaA :. sn,tssergen. iIuparts timely
So 70 the recently punhsheo history Oh
chf'a --s+.ar bv Sir Martin Conway. The
'-.s,- who has taken ieaolns par ~ tiIo
fufho' 80, of the interior Of Spitsbergen
sni --o-7o+3on Of scientific knowledge in
sn' = ,be region. has made an exhaustive
ressIu = -.,ords relating TO the discovery
sue s,o,+.+,on Of this uninhabited Arctic land
sna - a1+bough claimed by many nations,
spl'ss .,,,,arIv been conceded to any one OF
sSs "' has never possessed a permanent set
a,s so cannot be said TO have his
usn "a sense that settled countries have
iNs = has. however, been the scene Of
,o-,v,ercial activity. Of many desperate
.,as and thrilling experiences. giving rise
tended literature. as may be seen by the
,5s nsges OF photography included In the
=:.ae ~ The present work. From these
'PF--- - ancient volumes written in many Ian
4. s,- Martin has ninutely built Up a con-
80 narrative OF events occurring IN and
+ba archipelago from the time OF its dis
- - 1895. down 10 about 1910. the period
es-io.,s scientific interest first began to
,s,ffas-ed IN the country. Year by year
:, .,,4bo- follows the fortunes Of the walrus
,.s-s the whale fishers and the Russian trap
rho successtvely made Spitsbergen the
=. NJ -hef- painful and dangerous labors. Sir
49,, quotes freely and with discrimination
.,r, the accounts written by early explorers
s,s adventurers, giving s much attention to
q, disputes arising over contested sovereignty
e 10 the exciting incidents and weird legends
,socsated with the country
The logbooks Of the oldtime ship masters form
q, basis OF most Of our early knowledge Of
s.tsbergen and II is interesting to note that
ia mariners Iogbook owes It's origin TO the in
s-uctions drawn up by Sebastian Cabot and
issued BY the Company OF Merchant Adventur-
sxto Sir Hugh Wiuoughby and Richard Chan
ceror, when they set forth in 1853 in search OF
Northeast Passage:
Item. tha. the marchants and other skilful per-
,ons II writing snail daily write, describe, and put
II --s--o4-- - i-co---,+ - - I,--5- 80
with tie points ana OLserVa-C-lS OF lne lf4nQS udes'
elements altitude Of the sunne- Of the
= ne master and pilot OF every ship TO be put in
writing. the captains general assembling the mas
e. snail serve 70 conferse all the observations and
notes q the said ships. 10 the intent il may appear
sen and upon coed debaterlent deliberation and
conclusion determined, 70 put me same into
PAN.
ENGLAND long laid claim to spitsbergen by right
Q. prior discovery, even after It was definitely
determined that the land seen by Willoughby
was TOT Spitsbergen, but q part OF Novaja Zen-
ia
To the Dutch belongs the credit OF the discov-
cry OF spitsberEen. and the chief honor OF the
voyage has always been given 10 Barents al
though ST. Martin holds that Jacob Heemskerks
Esndrickszoon. the captain OF his consort,
should not be forgotten, FOR he was e great
sanor" The ship sailed by Barents was
wrecked and he lost his life from exposure. When
A-st discovered e Islands abounded in reindeer,
polar bears. foxes and walrus. which afforded
profitable source Of income to the hardy hunters
who promptly followed in the track Of the first
explorers. L was 4 long time, however, before
s-y Of them ventured 10 risk winter on that
hhogpitabIe coast The British ''AIugcovy Com
pany" somewhere between 1926 and 1890 in
their Efforts 70 form a winter settlement. and
after trying n vain 10 bribe men TO remain there
by offer or great rewards. obtained some Grim
tals condemned 70 death, who were promised
repr,eve on condition that they should spend
whole year in Spitsbergen. They were TO be
vel supplied with food and other necessaries
and 70 be generously rewarded on their return
AFTER the year The men were shipped to the
eft behind, the horror Of the place was so heavy
upon them that they preferred 10 return home
and be hanged rather than stay en- those DESC
ate shores
Yet very soon afterward the possibility Of
Spending nor one but many winters in Spitsber-
ger was iHvoluntarily demonstrated by three
English sailors out OF a party Of four, who were
accidentally abandoned there by ship which
vas never heard OF later. For six years these
unhappy men fought successfully against cold,
solitude and starvation, subsisting on game
which they killed with lances and bows and ar
rows that they manufactured. Much later It be-
cane quite customary for Russian trappers to
winter On the island, but. in very many in
Stances. with fatal results
scurvy was the curse Of the land and claimed
countless victims, whose graves are scattered IN
pttul pro1usion in the neighborhood Of the
Principal anchorages Lack Of proper food and
enforced inactivity were the leading causes OF
he disease, from which the three English sail
ors already mentioned escaped by reason Of
Her persistent alertness and the large quanti-
les o. raw meat and fresh blood which they
oeFoured. favorite-or. at least, & common
method o. keeping the Russian trappers en-
P'yed was TO set them tying knots IN thongs.
-F TO unknot them again. and so on inter
.lnaoy for nineteen hours out Of the twenty
-f. The dread disease was personihed by the
'IeFsttious Russians who believed that Il
-s-' about vtsib.y IN the form Of an old
Aan' the eldest daughter Of King Herod.
ls has eleven sisters, some Of whom concern
se-Ves with spreading scurvy over the
no, While the others intice away the hunters
'FasT eventually 10 lead them 10 destruc-
of dazzling beauty. they often as
l4e ne form Of the women dear 10 the trap
.'S-'he'r wives or betrothed ones left behind
ne D"ina-and appear 20 them IN that form
ef sleep The enraptured hunter wishful
'''iong the sweet vision. withdraws from his