The San Francisco call., 1907-01-06

TO the north pole and back in an
automobile sleigh,
1t sounds like a vision OF IN
reason: but is il?
J. I. Porter. whaler and engineer Of
san Francisco, claims not alone that
it can be done but that il is much the
most practicable mode OF locomotion
over the frozen hummOcks OF the for
bidden land.
Porter was with the whaling feet
which recently was caught in the
Arctic ice and held captive Tor the
long. dark winter. He was on board
the Charles Hanson. His ship was
nipped in the crunching foes and held
prisoner until the spring. During those
long months there was many an idle
evening-or is ii ali one long evening
twilight thero?-when POrters mind
was free 20 entertain visions Of inyen-
tion An engineer by trade, he lad al
ready taken out patents on fou- de-
vices evolved by his active brain.
new lzind Of circular saw. wagon
spring and two pieces OF mining ma
chinery.
There was other incentive hcHides
leisure 10 turn his mind 10 invention.
Thc lIanson was $50 miles from the
-icarost ship ~ tho frozen-in fleet
ACROSS tire 300 miles of pathlcss ice
plain To- ,hcir next door neighbor and
back tno crew OF the Hanson used
thcir elcdge and dog team when they
went visiting 10 have gone "a any
other SOFT - vehicle would lave
broken thc oanons Of social etiquette
in those parts.
3ui q dog team is ~ bcst only dog
tram TO begin with tho dogs must
csf and when you nave packed on the
iedgc several hundred pounds Of dog
moat there IS not much room for any
thing ELSE. BYoa the dog driver VIII
lare % walk. A cog team is = luxury,
and. although. according 10 the tradi-
tions OF al explorers from Kane to
Amundsen, you must have one II you
go calling over the Arctic foes, yet you
viii wish you hadn't
Now. Porter was the engineer Of the
Hanson and the engines Of that stanch
little whaler are driven by the motive
porvef OF gasoline. The hour was ripe
for the great invention. There were
present the necessity in the 80 miles
that separated the Hanson from her
nearest neiRhbor; the inventor, in the
person Of the engineer, and the key
of the problem in the smell OF the
gasoline in the engine-room OF the
whaler.
p Now il is TO be noted that other mon
who have planned ways new for reach
ing the coveted spot on the top OF
the globe have done all their thinking
on dry ground, FAR away from the
conditions which would try the merit
of their inventions. II Andre had made
his plans on frozen-in whaler he
would probably never have made the
fatal mistake Of go pole-hunting in
a balloon. On the other hand, men
who have been face TO face with the
real conditions have never invented
anything. They have stuck 10 the
dogs-many OF them ate their dogs in
the end-but that is another story. Dog
siedging is unhealthy for the man
and the dog.
Blz to return . the inyention--the
automobile sleigh. il was the farthest
north idea ever born. In fact, I'm the
beginning Porter had no idea OF using
his automobile sledge for anything like
discovery or exploration. II was the
true child OF necessity, and Porter
imagined that his scheme would fur
nish q better means OF getting across
the ice drifts when one went calling IN
the Arctic. From that he went further
and saw that his invention would be
= great thing for Uncle Sam TO have
in his PostOffice Department for the
delivery OF mails in Alaska. where the
postman now drives q dog team with
an appetite. And II IL were a success
il could be used in transporting pro-
visions TO camps cut on by the winter
from outside communication. In fact.
there was little OF tho visionary
about the beginning o. this invention.
which may some day land California
boy at the foot OF the pole--if II ia