Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 73, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 April 1918 — Page 2

HAS GREAT POLAR RIDDLE BEEN SOLVED?

fHE saga of the deeds by Stefannson newly done may yet reveal that the Arctic mirage dream is His lay of discovery * which comes now so briefly out c? the frozen north describes Islands not far remote from that mysterious Crocker Land which was only of the kingdoms of the air. When the final account of the explorations of Vilhjalmur Stefannson is given it is likely that it will show that he has gone far In solving that great riddle of the polar floes as to whether or not there exists a vast continent, or at least an extensive archipelago as yet uncharted by man, hidden in the blind spot of the world. The news which came by way of Fort Yukon, Alaska, brought there by a trader who had seen the sturdy scientist at Herschel island, records further achievements of the Canadian Arctic expedition, of which he is the commander. , The only polar explorer of note on the western side, Vilhjalmur Stefansson comes to the fore even in these days of war and upheaval, for his conquest of nature and Circumstance, aside from the Important results which have attended it, mark him as one of the most remarkable men of the age. Stefansson is of the blood of the North. His father was a native of Iceland, although the explorer himself was born at Armes, Manitoba, thirtyeight years ago. Tthe University of North Dakota and Harvard equipped him in science, but the iron will and the stalwart constitution went back to the Icelandic forbears. It was in 1904 that he went to Iceland on research work for, his alma mater at Cambridge, but it was not until ten years ago that Stefansson became an important factor in Arctic work. Since that time he has labored almost without ceasing. Once he came out of the North, wrote a book and was back again in the boreal fastnesses before he had even read the proofs of his rather hastily written volume. It was in time of respite from his mission beneath the North star that he told us much of the strange Eskimos whom be had found, a race blueeyed, red-bearded and often fair and rody of skin, which had never seen the men of the white race nor heard of such. They might have been descended from that ancient Icelandic colony established by Leif Ericson, which is supposed to have been driven by pirates into the realms of the North. Between the blond Eskimos and Stefansson there sprang up a sense of kinship and from them he learned many secrets of life in the Arctic which were to stand him in good stead in his researches. The young explorer’s work at Cape Parry and later in the neighborhood of Coronation gulf made a name for him in science and Justified the expenses borne by such institutions as the American Museum of Natural History, the National Geographic society and the universities. The fact that in 1913 the Canadian government decided to finance his further explorations in the North, with a view of finding new lands and obtaining other important results, gave to Stefansson a new role and a new mission. He became a subject of Great Britain and left Victoria empowered to raise the flag of a new sovereign over new lands. Canada claims jurisdiction over all the territory which may lie north of her borders. Take down the map of the Arctic regions and note that north of Alaska and of the Canadian borders there is a vast area, bald and white on the map, a region unexplored. Here and there is a scant in-, dication of lands locked in this uncharted expanse. There are a few islands around the margin of it, but here after centuries of polar exploration and after hundreds of brave men have lost their lives in bootless quests, there is little known about an area which must contain at least half a million square miles. Science has held for many years that there is beyond the paleocrystic floes a great land mass. The tidal observations indicate very strongly that such Is the case. From the Pacific side scarcely any tide enters the Arctic ocean. Two tidal streams make their way into it .from the, Atlantic. One proceeds by way of Baffin bay and frets itself out in the narrowchannels of' the Arctic archipelago. The second stream, which may be traced and studied north of Alaska, does not, according to all observations, cross the North pole but sweeps along the coasts of Siberia. There is then a great obstruction of some kind, an immovable body of enormous area, not a shifting expanse of Ice, and that may be solid land. So such authorities as Dr. R. A. Harris of the United States coast and geodetic survey have, long believed, and have sought to establish by ingenious demonstrations. , As long ago as 1906 Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary, on his dash to the North pole, scanned the horizon to the north and northwest of Cape Thomas Hubbard and believed that he saw land of great extent, a vast Island, a continent, mayhap, which In deference to one who had financed his expeditions, he then and there called Crocker * Land. He doubted not from what he .then saw that hla eyes bad beheld the

Map Showing Stefansson's Recent Arctic Explorations. Black Masses Show New Land Discovered and the Solid Black Line the Explorer's Route.

unfulfilled vision of the mighty North. This much, of- course, Stefansson knew before he started on his own quest as a conquistador of the pole. It was his belief that one day he would not only set foot on the Crocker Land which Rear Admiral Peary believed he had seen, but also find reaches of territory in what many had believed to be an Impenetrable sea. He set forth from Teller, Alaska, on June 27, 1913, with a well equipped expedition in the steamship Karluk, prepared to do at least three years of work beyond the Arctic circle. The Karluk was caught in floes 20 miles from the mouth of the Colville river. It was at this point that Stefansson, accompanied by five men, landed for the purpose of hunting caribou and other game. The floe in which the Karluk was embedded was torn from the shore by a heavy gale in which Stefansson and his party o' hunters nearly lost their lives. After a hopeless drift of four months the Karluk was crushed in the ice off Herald island on January 11. 1914. There had been time to remove most of the supplies to the ice. The company of the Karluk which remained was divided into two companies.

Eleven of the number in all lost their lives. The others succeeded in reaching Herald Island and also Wrangell island. Capt. Robert A. Bartlett, of Peary North pole fame, accompanied by an Eskimo, made a dash to the mainland and the following September brought the King and Winge to the rescue. Stefansson, unaware of the tragedy in his wake, proceeded on his way after he had learned that the Karluk had drifted beyond his reach. The daring trip which he made to the north from Martin’s Point demonstrated his self-confidence and hardihood. With two companions, Storkensen and Ole Andresen, he pressed on to try his fate with tin? floes. The entire resources of the party consisted of one sled and a dog team with which they were conveying 1,300 pounds of supplies and baggage, two rifles and 300 rounds of ammunition. Stefansson literally put his theory of life to the proof, for he and his followers became Eskimo, dressed as such and subsisted for the most part on the meats which make that race so rotund and oily. Other explorers, ac-

XMAS TREE CUSTOM HAD ITS ORIGIN IN NEW YORK

The custom of placing an evergreen tree In the home on Christmas eve to be decorated and hung with gifts is of course a yuletide rite of ancient standing, but in its modern form as practiced in the United States it is comparatively young and had its origin in New York. Mark Carr Is the man who introduced the Christmas tree to New York city as New York knows it now. He was a Catskill woodsman. He had traveled a bit and was acquainted with the Christmas customs of various countries. He thus came''to see the possibilities of the evergreens of the Catskills. The more thought he gave to the little trees the more confident he was that they would make a fine Christmas decoration. He decided to try

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN. RENSSELAER* INP. r

customed to the many needs of civilization, have always looked forward with anxiety to the idea that they might have to subsist on such primitive fare, but Stefansson and his two comrades welcomed the novel subsistence methods in their unbroken journey of 700 mile?. Proceeding to the north and northwest from Prince Patrick island, Stefansson discovered his first new land on June 15, 1915, in 78 degrees north latitude and 114 degrees west longitude. He surveyed this new territory to the eastward for 100 miles, and from observations made at a height of 2,000 feet estimated at that time that the newly discovered territory extended for at least 150 miles. It apparently touches the periphery of the area marked unknown.

The party returned to a base camp at Cape Kellett on Banks Land and, after having communicated its discovery to the outside world, prepared to push Its explorations further into the unknown realms of the North. More land was discovered, according to the latest advices, in June of the following year in approximately 80 degrees north latitude and 102 degrees west longitude. In August of the same year additional land was seen in approximately latitude 77 degrees north and 117 degrees west” longitude. These figures are only approximate and do not take into account the outline of the lands as they are likely soon to be set forth in the official records of the Canadian government. That there is a large land mass or a conglomeration of many islands in the unmapped regions which have been the objective of Mr. Stefansson all these years there can be little doubt. If there were not solid and well anchored terra firma in those regions the scientists believe that the enormous glutting and choking of the straits and the channels of the Arctic could hardly occur. The drift of various vessels indicates that there are impenetrable tracts of large area in the so-called unexplored region. Dr. Herbert .1. Spin* den In the Scientific American. not long ago discussed the extent of the uncharted polar basin as indicated by the drift of the vessels of explorers. “The track of the Karluk,” he wrote, ‘‘practically completes the drift record from Point Barrow, in Alaska, to Spitzenberg island, north of Norway,

them and came to New York before Christmas in 1851 with a lot of the evergreens. took up his stand in St. Mark’s place, which was then more or less of a shopping center. He decorated one of the trees with ribbons and tinsel and sparklers and other things until it was a riot of color. The sight Immediately struck the fancy of the ladies of the Stuyvesant section and lower fjiecond avenue, which were then vastly different from what they are now. Two hours after he had placed his trees on display he had sold out his cargo and was speeding hack to the Catskills as rapidly as conveyances .could take him. He returned the day before Christmas with a larger load and found New York waiting for him and his trees. He sold them all before they had been

two-thirds of the circuit around the pole. It ends at almost the same place where the drift of the Jeannette began, and this vessel in turn sank not far from the beginning point of the Fram’s long voyage in the grip of the floe. “All drifted toward the west, but the Fram made more to the north than the others did. These certified tracts block a vast area capable of {holding a continent the size of Greenland or extensive archipelagoes. “Contrary to some published reports, the new land north of Siberia found by Commander Wllkitzky of the Russian navy cannot possibly be part of this supposed land mass. The Fram drifted in between this new land (Nicholas II Land) and the pole, passing over an area of deep ocean soundings. The De Long islands, near which the Jeannette sank, and the ill defined mass of Bennett Land, may mark the extreme extension toward the west ,of the supposed land of the Arctic ocean.” As the work of exploration carried on by Mr. Stefansson is official in character, there is every reason to believe that after the close of the European war Canada will devote extensive resources to further exploration based on what he has already ascertained. Although the lignite deposits which Stefansson' reports finding are not considered of commercial importance at present, it may be that the researches of the explorer will open up a new region for development. His meteorological and tidal observations are bound to be of great service to navigators. The ethnological investigations which Stefansson’s ready sympathies and keen insight into life have enabled him to make are likely to prove of exceptional value to science. He was the first to grasp the spiritual ideas and concepts of the Eskimos and to explain their peculiar beliefs concerning the migration of souls. Taken all in all, If Vilhjalmur Stefansson returns to civilization in the spring of 1918, as he planned to do, he will have a mass of important information of all kinds to collate and arrange, of which the geographical results will form an Important part, as they may well lend to the Jiftipg of the veil of time from the secrets of an icelocked land. ,

In the city three hours and for prices which would compare favorable with those of today. This was the real start of Christmas trees in New York.

Roast Armadillo.

The distress of w ar has caused us to eat many strange things. We are casting hungry looks at many an animal, that we have heretofore regarded with merely zoological Interest. For Instance, the armadillo. According to the San Antonio Light, the first wagon load of armadillos arrived on last Saturday at the Texan city and was immediately sold to ultimate consumers who found the meat of the armadillo, which suggests food a"bout as much as does 'a British tank, to be greatly like pork and entirely edible. - > This consumption or armadillo on the half-shell by San Antonians suggests a thought. Will a zoo eventually become a place where animals are kept in cages, not because the animals are wild, but to preserve them from the covetous tooth of man ? —Cincinnati Times Star. \\'

HOME GARDEN PUN SAVES TIME, MONEY, AND LABOR FOR GARDENER

PLAN AND PREPARE

Prepare to do your part In increasing America's food supply by raising your own vegetables In your home garden. Plan your garden on paper. Map out your campaign. You will profit through time, labor, and money saved. Planning it preparing.

Plan your home garden in advance. Make a diagram of the available space; allot the ground to the vegetables you want to grow. Prepare to make your garden work until frost next fall. That Is advice to home gardener bv horticulturists of the United States Department of Agriculture. - 1 Interest in the planning all members of the family, especially the children who, by being given a partnership now, will know their duties when the time comes. Read such gardening publications as are available. Write to the Department of Agriculture for a home gardening bulletin. In making a diagram of the garden It is well to use tough paper, such as heavy w-rapplng paper, which will stand repeated handling out of doors. A fairly large scale should be adopted so that full notes can be kept In the spaces representing rows. If the garden Is fairly large or abnormally long the diagram may be made in separate sections for the sake of convenience. Plan for Home Needs. A typical plan of this character Is shown In the illustration. This plan, of course, is of use chiefly as an example, and In most cases a different arrangement will be necessary to meet the conditions surrounding Individual garden spaces. On the plan the gardener may indicate the approximate date each of his projected crops Is to be planted. No more space

Plan for a Small Garden.

In this plan all the vegetables named are planted In row* across from the inside lateral rows of strawberries. As rapidly as each kind of peas matures and the crop Is over, kale Is planted in its place. The ground to be used for tomatoes is first planted with onion sets, and these onions are used as rapidly as needed. When the time comes to set out the' tomatoes, some of the onions are dug to make space for the tomato plants. When the tomato crop is over, the ground Is occupied by spinach as the third crop. Bpinach Is also planted as soon as the bulb onions from the side are gathered. The beans, carrots, and peas are succeeded by late cabbage, and between the rows of late cabbage •‘potato-onion” sets are planted. Late beans are planted between the rows of parsnips after the radishes and lettuce have been gathered. should be allotted to each than Is needed to furnish a sufficient quantity of the vegetable for family consumption or for other known needs. -' Make the garden work all summer. Make your plans so that when one crop is ready for the table or fßr canning another vegetable can be planted between the old rows and new plantings can take the space vacated. Many home gardeners seem content

to raise a single crop on each plot of land at/their disposal, but it Is quit* possible to grow two or three crops of some vegetables In one season. A primary consideration In arranging the garden Is the kind of cultivation to be employed. Where the work is to be done mainly by means of' horse-drawn tools the arrangement, should be such as to give the longest possible rows and a straight outline should be followed. The garden should be free from paths across the rows and turning spaces'should be provided at the ends. For hand cultivation (the method that probably will be used by most home gardeners) the arrangement can be quite different, as the garden may be laid out in sections with transverse walks ant) the rows can be much closer for most crops. t Remember Early Vegetables. Its, Is also important to consider the location of permanent crops such as asparagus and rhubarb. If any of the small fruits such as raspberries, currants and gooseberries are to be planted within the garden inclosure they should be Included with the permanent crops. The location and area for the hotbed, cold-frame or seedbed should be decided upon, although these may be shifted to some convenient place outside the garden. Where there Is great variety in the composition of the soil in different of the garden It will be advisable to note this when arranging for the location of the various crops. Such crops as celery, onions and late cabbage should be planted In land that Is not too low and moist. If part of the soil Is high, warm and dry, that Is the proper location for early crops and those that need a quick, warm soil. Points to Consider. Remember these points in planning your garden: A gentle slope toward the south or southeast Is most desirable for the production of early crops. It Is an advantage to have protection on the north and northeast by either a hill, a group of trees or hedge, buildings, a tight board fence or a stone wall to break the force of the wind. The land should have sufficient drainage for surplus water to run off during heavy rains, but the fall should not be so great that the soil will be washed. Fill up holes In which water will accumulate. Avoid banks of a creek or stream liable to overflow. A good fence around the garden plot is almost indispensable to keep out damaging animals. The garden should be as near the kitchen as possible so that the work of caring for the crops may be done at odd times and so that the vegetables are quickly available to the housewife.

Garden Space Valuable.

Just what vegetables are to be grown depends, of course, upon the Individual tastes of the family. In general, the aim of the home gardener should be to raise vegetables in which freshness Is an important quality. Peas, string beans, Lima beans, asparagus and sweet corn, for example, lose much If they are not cooked almost Immediately dfter they are picked. In the case of potatoes, corn, cucumbers, squashes and melons, It should be remembered that these vegetables occupy a large area in proportion to their yield and in a small garden consume valuable space which, In most cases, conld be used more profitably. In the case of potatoes, however. It also should be noted that they are easily stored and are an extremely good staple crop, and many gardeners will .find It to advantage to plant as much ground to potatoes as possible after sufficient space has been allotted to the other garden crops.

Get Ready to Plant

By knowing what and where and how much you want to grow, by being prepared with your seeds and tools, by mapping out your work in advance, you will grow more and better vegetables and save time, labor and money.

Use All Available Spacs.

Intensive culture and carefully arranged rotation will help make every foot of available space In the small garden produce the maximum yield.

BE A “HOME GUARDENER”

\" The home gardens of America are the home guard In food production. The “home guardener” of this year—our second in the war—ls forewarned and thus forearmed. The “home guardener," before he arms himself with his hoe, must fortify himself with knowledge. i Every peck of vegetables produced for home use this year from ground that never before grew food will mean a certain quantity of meat or wheat released for use behind our battle lines. Join the "home guardeners.”