Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1920-03-25
HISTORICAL
SOCIETY GETS
PEARY RELIC

A Peary souvenir is now in the
possession of the Sank county His
| torical Society, a bit insignificant
| perhaps even inelegant, since it is
meant to serve as napkin ring, yet
a memento just the same of this
famous discoverer Of the north pole.
This is two-inch section Off a mar
whal's cylindrical ivory tusk that
Lieutenant Robert e. Peary brought
back with him about fourteen years
ago from one of his eight ventures
into the arctic wastes, and gave to
Herbert l.. Bridgman, for years pre-
sident of the Arctic CLUB OF Ameri-
] ca and who, on one occasion, led a
Perry reliefexpedition to the farnorth.
Mr. Bridgman had the tusk divided
into sections, two OF which he gave
to o. D. Brandenburg of Madison, a
longtime friend. Mr.. Bridgman is
general manager or the Standard
Union of Brooklyn and a member of
the board which has charge of all
the educational institutions of the
Empire state. The relic is a twisted
band about two inches broad and of
like diameter, hard as elephants
ivory and apparently of the same
material formed in the same way.
The male narwhal attaining a
length of some twenty feet, has this
tusk projecting from it's upper jaw
sometimes six feet. 1t is twisted like
] the gnarled body of a Devils lake
cedar. Occasionally there are two
tusks side by side. Doubtless they are
means of offense and defense.
Peary, who died in Washington
Feb. 20, at the age of 81, thorn May
6, 1859, reached the north pole April
6, 1909,-about IL years ago. Congress
at once created him rear-admiral.
Mar means dead" therefore
white, and so a naTwhale is a
white cetacheon. It is found only in
circumpolar regions and is about a
third as big as its more common
cousins in warmer waters.
: The society is fortunate to have
this memento of Peary and it's pre-
sentation is timely because of the
great discoveries recent death.
Also there come from Mr.. Brand
enburg strip Of perforated paper
tape, many feet long, such as is used
In the automatic transmission and
receipt of telegraph messages by
what is known as the morkrum sys-
tenn. The tape is about half an inch
wide, full Of small round holes which
constitute code, akin to that used
in ordinary telegraphing. An operator
using a machine resembling a type
j writer, perforates the tape, which
then luns through another little me-
chanism, electric contacts being
made through the holes, the mes
sage thus going out over the wires,
and being taken off at the other end
in typewriter form again automati-
callyi One operator in the Associated
Press offices in lower New York thus
daily transmits into a dozen uptown
newspaper offices 10000 words or
more, with not a man at the various
receiving ends; and the time may
come when a Chicago operator will
transmit, at single sending, mes
sages to 500 or more newspapers.
every one of which is now obliged to
have its. own telegrapher to take the
report, men released to labor in
other ways or at other points. The
inventor is son Of A. J. krum, aged
| VI, Madison's Oldest citizen.-and
"krum' appears in the name of the
system.
Yet another gift from Mr.. Branden-
burg is roll Of films such as an
aviator uses in photogTaphing. 1t is
some six inches wide and the roll is
about two inches thick representing
a length Of several rods. An aviator
5000 feet high will take a zone
along the earth 1900 feet wide on
such nlm,-or a picture of nearly
all Baraboo, birdseye view, in about
two parallel flights across the CITY.
This big film is securely protected in
a stout tin tube. This film is a hit
FAULTY in some manner not discern.
able to the layman and was handed
TO MI. B1andenburg by a government
SKY pilot just after he had landed
from several flights back and forth
during which he made a negative of
Madison.