Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1907-12-30

u composed OF small nummOck8 OF
earth and thick, heavy grass and ex.
tends for hundreds Of miles, chiefly
near the seacoaHt. In summer the In
tervals between these hummocks,
which are usually only foot or two
apart, are flied with water caused by
the melted snow and ice on the sur.
face of the ground, which does not dis
appear by the action Of the sun. A
few feet below the surface one Will
and In midsummer that the ground is
frozen 80 solidly that a pick can
scarcely enter It. 1t has remained In
this condition, II is believed, from time
immemorial. for the frost never leaves
the ground from one years end to the
other
I'm winter. however, the tundra Is
frozen over and covered with ice and
snow. which makes travel very much
easier than In summer, and there auto
mobiles would find the opportunity Of
making headway.
Just how feasible It would be for
automobiles to travel from UnalaklIk
to Cape Prince OF Wales cannot say
but the trip Ia made at frequent inter
walls during the winter with dog teams
from Nome to Cape Prince Of Wales,
In summer travel is chiefly by water
between these points, Unalaklik, as
looking at the map viii show, is not
great distance from Nome, the distance
from Nome to St Michaels being only
ITO miles.
oil In oil wrskl
would be trying, hazardous one, It Is
altogether likely that with plenty of
pluck and determination several Of the
contrasting machines that left the Office
Of the New York Times would eventu.
ally draw up In front OF the ONCE OF
the Matin In Paris.
"The successful accomplishment of
such marvellous Journey ought to and
undoubtedly would be glory enough for
any automobile enthusiast"
Ex-Representative Jefferson M. Levy,
who has important interests in the
northwest, when asked for his views
upon the forthcoming automobile race
from New York to Paris, said in part:
II am an optimist, an0. while have
great admiration for the enterprise and
originality displayed in arranging such
q spectacular contest. yet l must con-
fess that I am not altogether hopeful
about the probability OF its being car
ried to successful ending.
I'm the first place. man can over
come nature up to certain point Be-
yond that he Is hopeless. The din
cultios which nature has erected In the
face Of the proposed race are so great
that doubt II human beings can sur
mount them. For one thing, I believe
that the intense cold of the arctic,
where the thermometer often goes TO
90 degrees below zero, will make It
practically impossible for steel and
iron to withstand II.
I'VE often hear OF various parts OF
railroad cars and OF steel rails break
ing during severe winters as result
OF extreme cold--this In the moderate
some Of the United States, where the
thermometer seldom goes more than
few degrees below zerol What, then.
II to be expected In a climate where
the thermometer reaches 80 below
and more2 Granted that competing
autos viii carry q limited supply OF
extra parts to replace breaks, the ex-
IRENE cold would break various parts
faster than an automobile factory al
home could produce them.
This, to say nothing of oil freezing
Sttn when used as a lubricant Why,
In some parts of Alaska a gun cannot
Be fired in extreme cold weather unless
every particle Of grease has been either
wiped out or boiled out with hot wa
ter and the gun left outdoors, for the
grease would jam the different parts OF
the gun TO such an extent that II could
not be usedl What show would an
automobile In the arctic region have
under such conditional None at all.
Putting aside the question OF the
availability OF supplies for men and
machines In the zono where human
beings aud habitation IRE not to be
found for hundreds . miles, the to
biography Of the AlaskaA siberian coun. |
Try IL such that think It doubtful II
an automobile could ev0A reach Berina /
strait, While dog team can travel in |
almost any section OF Alaska, yet II h I
a very different MATES for automo (
hiles, which cannot travel down steep
and rough mountain 1 Aes for dis.
lance OF a mile or mare where the l
trail, but two or three feet wide, twists ,
and turns sometimes every few feet.
I note that some person In discussing
this feature Of the trip suggested that +
In such cases the machines could be
lowered with block and tackle. II h
ridiculous TO assume that automobiles
engaged In such race could be load.
Cd down with heavy machinery ana
such impedimenta in addition to the
man aud the supplies.
II do not believe the Peace river
plan IL possible, II Is my opinion the
most feasible route 10 that which was
recently suggested and contemplates
going by Ashcroft, on the Canadian