The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-08-18
The Psychology Of Adventure
By Frederic }. Haskin


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Adventure. says the veteran pro-
Ifessfonai explorer In the service OF
Uncle Sam is a thing peculiar 70 the
Iamateur. man who knows his bus
i1ness never has an adventure Adven-
ture is an experience which comes
Fon1y to the bIunderer, tothe manSwho
Founders into situations that he
should have foreseen and avoided.
In substantiation of which theory
the government explorer modestly re-
1ates some Of his accomplishments
and those Of his fellows He tells
cuted, in attempting that which other
men had lost their lives. But. he
hol6ks, there was no adventure. no
danger, when the scientist went forth
upon the same tasks. For the scien.
fist foresaws every possibility and pro-
lv1ded against 1t. He discounted ev-
lery danger. He proceeded with I'M
lderstandtng and returnetn safety.
Many field men OF the government
are just now out upon sucn tasks for
Explorations have to do with a num-
The explorers of the geological SUR
lvey are the most numerous Of those OF
any bureau that sends men into the
wild. TO be sure there are agents
OF the department Of agriculture who
go into the jung1es for rare plants,
Iof the bureau of ethnology, who ven
ture among strange and savage peo-
IpIe, of the Smithsonian Inst1rutIons
which sends all manner OF scientific
lexpe6ttions into all parts of tm
world. But the geological survey is
the official bureau of explorations e
the government.
Pioneers OF Alaska.
The scientists of that service were
the pioneers of Alaska. They pushed
into the forbidden interior OF that
vast waste where the foot or white
man had never before trod- They
climbed its mighty mountains. crossed
Its tundras, navigated its unknown
streams, suffered the darkness OF Its
hong winters But, they say. they ex-
tperienced no adventures.
One such scientific expedition
started out with pack train, travel
led a thousand miles, exhausted Its
horses, killed and cached them
against the posi- bility OF needing
their flesh as food, built itself boats
and pushed on. So prectpitous grew
the region that it was necessary for
the boats to be taken up the stream
by wading in it and dragging them.
lain day there men fioundered through
1.-THE waters that ran from the snout OF
la glacier, slipped and Tell In 1t and
never changed their clothes. Tney
knew that vigorous exercise IN the
open prevented such a possibility as
Itakfng a cold. There was no danger
for them.
They came to the end OF the stream
and knew that they were near the top
OF a divide. Beyond were p7a.er =. ina LEsI1
Moved in another direction into the
unknown. They cashed food against
the necessity of returning this way
and portaged over the divide and
found a newriver. They built them
selves stout RATS. II raft is strong
enough it will not break to pieces II
LIT runs into rocks on fast rapids. Inc
amateur would build a raft tnat
would go to pieces and wouId nave
I'M adventure IN the first rapids, but
mot the scientist. He discounts ene
possibility of rapids.
with food sufficient for trip OF
almost any length the voyage was
begun. It led into a new valley thal
Ais an offshoot of the Yukon and
eventually 1900 miles down that
stream to its mouth past which ply
whaling ships that may take wan
lderer home.
- A Moose Not Afraid.
Frank c. Schrader is the veteran
axnlorer OF the Geological Survey.
one spring he crossed Chilkoat Pass
early and went down the Yukon a
| thousand miles with dog team pc
fore the ice broke up. Then ne
climbed a stream that reached out
toward the Arctic ocean at the east
ern boundary of Alaska. Whlte man
had never crossed here. He got
over a pass 5000 feet high Wners
the moose were unafratd Of him pc
"a use they had never known the en-
mftv Of this man creature. Going
down a stream on RATS ne reached
the Arctic ocean far beyond Point
harrow which Is the northermost
land of the continent.
schrader knew the way back and
lhad food stored along the way II
retreat became necessary But ne
WANTED to map this Arctic coast ana
so pushed westward. 1t was Sep
ten1ber when he reached Point Bar
row to which station revenue cut
ter penetrates once year. But the
revenue cutter had come and gone for
the field ice was treatening to close
I'm at any time. The explorers had
the choice of remaining here for a
year or pushing on down the coast
lin a whale boat. Fortified with pro-
visions against any emergency. !ney
chose the latter. -Four hundred
miles down the coast they found
belated collier that was Just clear
1 ing from an isolated mine in these
Iwilds. They took their whaleboat
aboard with them for the collier was
likely to be crushed in the ice and.
without this provision against such
an emergency, there might be an adj
venture. So they came out safely.
Bloodthirsty Savages.
The late DIR. W. j. MCGEE wanted
| ia On ia Tiburon Island. In the Gulf