Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-03-10
THE MAGNETIC ISLAND.
ne rahied Lodestone-L Land Which
wrecked the Ships of Old Mar;o.,.

''"tfh science, which haa morn
't'tNtiS I" tell of than the. imagine.
''it ever created. does not disdaIn IN
'Nii"lh away mediaeyal supnrstftionu
"n't legends when it has the chanc.
nc apples OF the Hesperides becoma
oidhseS, Atlantis and Saint Brandan,s
iNie are pushed across the ocean ana
natural explanation is given fo,. ,h,
magnetic mountain in the middle ~
tlic sea. That miss of lodestone wo.
The terror Of mariners on tha nm.
known ocean, for when a shin came
"ilhih range of ii is was drawn on
llil every nail and rivet flew out ~
IL ana the planks fell apart. Tha
story told in the Arabian Nights.
was known throughout Europe 1onr
before the tales were translated. and
accounted for many q shin that ,yo.
never heard of again.
WIN the compass in mind scientific
men have suggested that the Legend
MA! nave arisen In the magnetic yari.
"tloAs common in high ATTITUDES.
"hlcn are all tabulated now for neyi-
gators who have to reckon with them
Inc seaman who returned home after
ms compass had misbehayed wouId
boast OF having escaped in time from
the magnetic mountain, and jmnutn
10 1t the loss of ships that did no,
come back. A conjecture is not so
satisfactory as the specific identified
ton OF a possible place. It is pleasant
therefore, to find an ingenious Ger
man advancing the hypothesis thai
SpitZberg'n may be the mythical is
land.
Ihat long neglected northern isle
has attracted much attention of late
years. Tile archipelago was once a
shopping place for whalers and Arctic
explorers. 1t became the starting
point from which Andrec sailed. ana
Wcllman did not sail, for the North
Pole; l. has come to be- a resort for
those preparing for more arduous ex-
piorations. for adventurous yachts
men. for scientific men desiring a
cool summer for their Investigations.
Ii ntfcrs new field for Alpine climb
ers, and Stree coal and minerals have
been found on it, has been a bone OF
contention for Scandinavian diplo-
macy This has brought also an ef-
fort to re-establish fishing stations OH
the islands.
Ihe main land of Spitzbergen itself
has been traversed recently. a feat OF
great difficulty owing to the ice and
mountains, and Information has been
obtained regarding the geology of tho
interior. The volcanic rocks which.
in the form of diabase, cover good
deal of the space, proved to be mag
netic in strange ways. In some pieces
the north pole is the surface and the
south the inside; in other the direc-
ton is reversed and the supposition is
that the rock was magnetized at the
time of the eruption. The scientific
men are puzzling over these eccen-
tricitieS which they cannot explain.
but they hope to derive from them
information about magnetic condf-
tions in the past. The ract however.
is that Spltzbergen contains great
masses of magnetic rock, which. COM
bined with the variation of the mag
nctic pole not so far away. must
make the compass of little use in thu
adjacent waters. One magnetic island
can be shown, if Il Is remote from tho
seas known to Snbad and the Arabian
sailors. and if it is less potent or
harm than the mediaeval spinners oe
yarns made il out to ben. y. sun.