The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-08-20
NOISY NORTH POLE.
Some Remarkable Experiences In the
Arctic Regions.

on itNulA tHat Whth III Winter quarters
az Melville island he was able to talk
to companion mile away without
shouting.
no doubt IL Is from incidents Ike
these, and from the fact that in this
country the air during severe frost i
usually very sim, that the idea has
grown up that there broods over the
polar regions on everlasting deathlike
stiffness.
As Capt Peary pointed out in a re-
cent speech a greater mistake could
hardly be made. Both the arctic ana
the antarctic regions are the very re-
verse Of quiet, and even in the depths Of
the sunless winter you seldom get the
soundless calm recorded by Parry
On polar seas the ice, though thick
and solid as granite blocks, is hardly
ever still. There are tides in the arctic
and antarctic oceans, and these lit and
lower the huge ice fields, causing low
creaking, groaning noises.
Even as late as November the pack
will wake up without warning and pile
itself in huge heaps with indescribabie
crashings, groauings and roarings.
During his last successful journey
Capt Peary's ship was in terrible dan.
ger from sudden movement Of the
Zoe. He speaks Of the "rabid roar Of
the "tumblmg chaos Of ice blocks" His
Eskimos were terribly frightened and
set up weird howlings. The dog whined
and barked, and the noise was terrific.
Every arctic explorer gives similar ae.
counts Capt Hall, who led the Pohris
expedition, had an appalling experience.
He speaks Of masses II leo colliding
around the ship with series Of ter
rife crashes. The Polaris herself was
anipped,' and there followed such ter.
rible rending and poaning that every
one aboard was convinced that she was
going 10 the bottom and the crew, all
but l2 men, were ordered out onto tie
ice.
They spent 1906 days on drifting
noe which carried them $50 miles The
amazing part Of the adventure Is that
the Polaris did not sink and the men Z
left aboard managed to get her to a /
harbor, where they built house and +
spent the rest Of the winter.
Spring is the noisiest time in the /
polar seas When the ice breaks up the I
sound TO use trit phrase, begeags /
description. Capt Mcclure Of the In
yestigator compared Il TO heavy thun-
der, Or the sound Of great guns, ana /
another writer says that the movements I
Of the breaking foe resemble the up
heagals Of a volcanic eruption.
Whether in the arctic or antarctic re.
gions, the air IS seldom .till and gales
are frequent The winter winds OF the
far north, says Peary. blow with al
most unimaginable fury During the
winter which be spent aboard the Roose
Welt before his last successful dash for
the pole. be experienced series Of
terrific storms.
In the cabins the sound resembled
that Of some gigantic plant. everything
to the pulsation Of the ma
.hinery. The whole atmosphere was full
of the deep, sullen roar Of the wind,
and so thick was the cloud Of snow
picked up and swept forward on the
wings Of the gale. that powerful lamps
we're invisible 10 feet away
On high ground, such as inner Green
and, the wind is never stilt Nansen
ellis Of the constant sibilant hiss Of
he breeze laden with tiny speckles Of
&c, which flowed along knee-high like
, shining white river, elittering in the
,ale arctic sunlight. Capt Scott will
ind similar phenomenon in his south
ward dash in November, next.
In the Antarctic the storms are, ii !
possible. more terrific than in the arctic.
The antarctic expedition experienced I
gale from the southwest which blew !
heavy boat distance Of over 90 feet !
md smashed it to matchwood It also
Ihifted heavy bag OF fossils. The
;tonishing velocity Of SIS miles an hour ,
vas registered. and then the wind gauge
vas carried bodily away.
During such storms everything be-
anne charged with electricity, The tips
i mems fingers giowed in the dark,
nd there was d swapping and cracking
) they touched any metal object.
AN along arctic coasts huge rivers
+ Ice extend into the sea. When these
,laciers "ealve" that is. when bergs
reak of the sound which ensues is
ute indescribabe It beggars thlm
er or great guns The very air trcm- Z
les, and the sea is flung up into waves !
fhich resemble those formed BY sub
Marine earthquakes, i
Nor il there lack Of sounds caused
b animal life. IN the arctic may often
e heard the haying Of wolves and the
arking cry Of seals, while in the sum
ler the harsh cry Of sea birds echoes
long the face Of the cliffs. In the south
here are penguins BY the million. Dr.
writes Of ethe cackling 1
olony at Seymour Island"
NO, the poles are not the places to 60
.,.,.k ~ s;Inpea TthaSr III not cant.