Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1914)
THE 8EMNWEEKLV TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE. NEBRASKA. BEN. FRENCH IELL5 J I ., m ( FACED M I M HO BRITONS Gli EI GO hi ti V m m Vi H m l 1 i 1 1 R y rvS.,iT 4ivfev -V"" SSSJ'STOUV again ropents ItBclf. SovBiitcon .?T fSi X SL SOST? J',enr" nB0 ln. November, 1897, tho T IVHWFC iff $3 1$ D$ Vnltcd Stalos rovonuo cuttor Hoar was V fe5 HksV.Htt f V V X "Si 8&49&JK 018"atcliod northward to rescue th . vRv fl& QM2 -"v- Ny" S WA3Mffii crews of eight wlmlliiL' vi.rhoIs Ice- ' S X 'V o; -1 -ri V . VS. dispatched northward to tchcuo the crews of eight wlmlliiL' vi.rsoIh Ice- 'tmC "oum ln the Arctic ocean somowhoro felV '" tho neighborhood of Point Harrow. KMH Alaska. Now tho Bamo ntiip Ib orf onc more for that frigid region, but tuts time to effect tho rellof of that part of the crow of tho ill-fated Kurluk now marooned upon Wrnngel Island, to tho northwest of llerlng strait. As will bo recalled, tho Kurluk set out to explore im ree'0n north of "caufort sea and If pos- slble to cxamlno more closely Crocker land, which was sighted by Peary on .the 24th of June, 1900, from a distant point. Tho discovery of Crocker and gavo tangible support to tho old contention that tho polar region was not a great Icocovored fica, but instead that a vast continent existed there beneath its eternal cloak of snow and lee. Stefans- son was one of those who belloved In tho existence or nn Arctic continent in that wide untraversed realm, and his am was to trace a part at least of Us boundaries. To tho casual observer the untimely ending of 11,8 0odltlon might seem to havo thwarted his purpose and to havo rendered useless tho ventur ing or tho Karluk, but tho loss of that craft in Itself lias, paradoxically, added cumulative ovldenco of i.i ,el8toncc of shores that Stefansson and his followers did not see. To mnko this clear It Is necessary to explain how the searching mind of me sciontlst has already determined tho probablo cxistenco of an uncharted Arotlc continent or a nst archipelago of largo islands covering a total nrea of quite fiOO.OOO square mllcs-an area more man ten times as big as the state of Now York or ns large as Alaska Imnir Havo you over spilled a vupful of vater on a level bit of ground? If so, you liavo probably notjcod how far tho liquid spread. Again, you havo no doubt poured a bucketful of water Into a barrol and been disgusted at tho modest degreo It went toward Jllllng it. in a popular way this illustrates the manner In which the waters of a rising tide ad vanco upon low-lying lands and, again, how tho samo Influx Is relatively but lit Uo' noticed when tho basin " uuep nnu nrond. Without entering into tho details of Arctic tides it i normally of modest rani. V'U!t Uwt tl,oy nro 'the rlao and fall i fc' nnd yot ln 80I11 PnrtB holdbe?fho""ulf,.u0n8l,;rnbly ,0M UlIl ll lioro to shore nrfl .r, freo t0 clrculnto from Zcl" "i?m tcrru)tu Artlc basin would pro low i- . r W.0,8, th0 nornml or theoretical !?,, ,0 "1tUro nml th0 extt of this ob structlon or sorlos of tidal chocks? "Tho soml-daily tides found in tho Arctic ocean ST0.,00'1 .'llmoBt cntlrol' oni thoso of tho North Atlantic, because tho semi-daily forces van ish at tho polo and nro very small In tho higher latitudes," Mr. Harris continues. "It Is a case of getting near tho hub of a wheel. Theso tides intor the Arctic ocean proper by way of tho strait lying between Spitzborgen and tho custom coast of northern Greenland. They nro propa yntod through tho Arctic to tho Now Siberian Islands, tho average rise and fall at Bennett Is land being 2.fi feet. "Now upon tho assumption of an uninterrupted Arctic basin the tides at Point Harrow nnd at Flnxmnn Island could not differ grontlv in size from tho tides which would, upon tho "same as sumption, bo found at Bennett Island. Hut as a matter or fact tho Hbo and fall of the semi-daily lido Is 0.1 foot at Point Harrow nnd 0.5 at Flax man Island." Hut tho presenco of an obstruction, assuming, tho water for tho tidal movement to conio, ns Mr Harris says, from tho Atlantic ocean via tho "passage between tho northenstorn coast of Green land and Spltzborgen, Is furthor evidenced by the directions In which tho ebb and the Hood tides How. If no bnrrlor existed to tho free movoinent or tho Hood from east to west then the ebb would run east to tho outlet between the two polntH mentioned. In fihort, It would leave by tho short est route to the original point of ontry Into tho Arctic basin. Other records nro avallablo thnt holp to bear out Mr. Harris' argument ln favor of a vast un charted continent or extondod group of big Is lands or which Crockor land is but u part. In September, 1879, tho Arctic exploring craft Joan nctto was caught by the Ico und frozen In near "Wrangel Island, where tho Karluk's men are now marooned. She was carried by the ebb tldo along with tho Ico to tho westward until sho snnk on Juno 12, 1881, to tho northeast of Dennett Island. Again, Nnnson's From was frozen in to tho eastward of Honnott Island on September 23, 18911, nnd after drifting gonorally westward got elear on July 19, 1890, nt a point nearly duo north of Spltzborgen. Now let us seo what hnppenod to tho Karluk. On October C, last year, Etcfnnsson's shli was swept from her nnchorago by a gale and cnrrlod off Bhoro at a point northoast of Darter Island near Manning point. Thoro sho wns caught by tho Arctic pack, from which It was impossible to Ibreak her loose, and theneo she, too, drifted to the wostward alwnys westward instil cruahod and sent to tho bottom north of Wrangol Island JWpmnzcM7jr; Tm'ojssraiPodjTiorjmD jhapz aruwm7axwcnccm2zwfr 1 wk BBBHBH bNHHHHH BR ' " 7 MEtf iSNI I cfs. jyuirj at a position closo to that in which the Jeaunetto was first gripped by tho Ico In September, 1879. Why should nil theso vessels have been moved continually to tho west by tho Arctic drift? Sim ply beeauso, as Mr. Harris and others have ex plained, tho incoming tldo from tho Atlantic hns to sweep to tho eastward and around some great obstruction thnt reaches down from close to tho polo to a point fairly near Alaska and tho upper most shores of tho Dominion of Canada The obb tldo In passing out in turn has to follow tho same circuitous route, but Its movement Is to tho wostward, nnd probably stronger ln its general effect than tho Incoming or flood tide. Why should this bo? Look nt tho little map that gooB with this arti cle. Tho curving lines with time marked In Ilomnn. numerals show how tho advancing high tldo moves from the Atlantic and tho othor fig ures and decimals Indicate tho measure of the rise. 'Plnlnly, tho furthor tho water sweeps Into the pocket ondlng at Hoaufort sea tho smallor tho tidal flux and tho slower tho water moves In tho interval of tldo change; tho water, so to speak, Is being crowded. Accordingly on tho ebb the sweep is freer, as it is trending toward tho great opon Atlnntle, nnd this probably accounts for tho nggrogato net gain In tho westward drift. In this fashion, with tho tldnl data available, the hydrographer has been able not only to com pute tho general area of tho unknown continent or archipelago, but to approximate Its broad con tours. True. the Karluk nover reached her ob jective, and Stefansson did not even seo Crockor land, but his ship, in her unchecked wanderings in the grip of tho Arctic puck, confirmed the ex istence of thn vast, barrier In tho Arctic basin nnd will inspire furthor efforts In thn direction of its exploration. After tho Karluk sank Captain Hartlett and his men mndo their toilsome way southward over tho pnek Ice to Wrangel Island, whero thoy encamped with such of tho ship's stores as they were nblo to curry off with them. From Wrangel Island Captain Hartlett and ono Eskimo mudo a Bledgo trip to tho Slberlnn const and Provldenco bay, thence crossing In tho American whaler Herman north of tho St. Lnwrenco Inland to St. Mlchnel on tho Alaskan shores. From St. Mlchuol news of tho predicament of his men on Wrangel island wns dispatched to tho Unltod States, and steps wore at onco started looking to tho enrly rellof of tho shipwrecked crow. At this tlmo tho United States rovenuo cutter Hour Ik on her -vny Into tho Arctic ocean and would undoubtedly havo gono soonor hnd It not been learned that tho Arctic pack waB still ns far south as Point Hope. Alaska. Tho work cut out for the doughty llttlo steamer Is perilous, for she will probably have to loso her way north and westward ngalnst n good deal of opposition as It Is. Wo can host gather nn Idea of tho task by reference to tho kindred duty performed by tho ship ln tho enrly summer of 189S whon sho got tho crews of tho eight whalers out of their hazard ous positions on tho northorn Alaskan const. Capt. F. Tuttlo, then In commnnd of tho Hear, started from St. Michael on July 7 and on tho , 17th of thnt month stood northward through Ber ing strnlt. Anlvlng oft Point Harrow about July 110. tho Hear was mndo fast to the rolld pack. It was Impossible to an chor. One of tho whal ers, tho Jeannottc, wns also secured to the Ice to tho south of the revenue cutter. Here Is whnt Captain Tuttlo re ported of tho situation at tho tlmo: "ln tho afternoon of tho .'!0th there were largo pieces of ico drift ing along with tho current. Fearing they might strlko the vessel and part the mooring lines, got under way and steamed Into an Indentation in the ground ice, whero the steamer Jeannette was made fast. A suitable mooring place wns found and tho vessel mado fust to tho ground Ice. "On August 1 nnd 2 loose Ice would drift in and pack around the vessel whero she lay In the indentation In the ice. As there was only a tri fling pressure no danger was anticipated. At 2 p. m. August " enmo a sudden pressure of the Ice, the four forward fasts carried away and the vessel forced astern about five feet. The pres sine then coming against the starboard side forced the port side ngainst the ground ice. "A point of Jco under water abreast the englno room, the weakest placo in tho vessel, as thero are no nthwartship timbers there, forced the port sldo ln sufliciontly to buckle tho engine room lloor plates. Men were immediately sent with Ice chlsclB and the ice wns cut away. A3 soon as tho ico was removed the pressure at that point ceased and tho floor plntes dropped back In place. "The aftor section of tho rudder was sprung about an eighth of an inch. Tho Ico was cut from around tho rudder und the pressure on that was removed. So far as can bo seen no material dam age wns dono by the nip. A vessel less strongly constructed would hnve been crushed at once." On more than one occasion that year tho little Hear was hard put to it and her mission of mercy wns fraught with hazards. On several occasions during that Arctic summer she had' to blast a channel open to clear water, nnd this exploit was not always Immediately successful, while the odds ngalnst escape piled up in u threatening manner. However, tho ship kept steadily at her task, and In the end tho Ice-bound whalemen were succored and carried back to civilization, or after restora tion to health set upon other whnlers In that treacherous region. Ico wns not tho only peril, for with the milder months thero was fog, nnd occasionally very strong winds or gales that meant danger upon that barren const. As a part of tho relief expe dition n sled party was dispatched overland long beforo tho Hear could nose her way Into tho Arctic ocean, and of tho gallant work of thoso men Americans and tho personnel of tho revenue cuttor sorvlco may well be proud. In closing his report to the treasury depart ment Captain Tuttlo said: "The ofllcers und crew bore tho monotonous isolation with the greatest putlonce. complaints being almost un heard of. Tho courage, fortitude and persover nnco shown by tho members of tho overland ex pedition nro deserving of the highest commenda tion "Starting over a route seldom traveled before by dog sleds, with a herd of over 400 reindeer to drlvo nnd euro for, thoy pushed their way through whnt at times seemed Impassable obstacles, across frozen seas and over Bnow-clad mountains with tireless energy until Point Harrow was reached and tho object of the expedition success fully accomplished." Such Is tho typo of tho men now nboard tho little cuttor, and thoro Is every reason to expect tho same splendid performnnco of their present mission us wns witnessed under soincwhnt kin dred conditions 17 years ago. NOTICEABLE ACCENT. Rosemary Look at tho man mnklng motions with his hnndB and wriggling his shoulders. Thornton Yes; I hnppon to know him. Hosomnry Who Is he nun what Is ho doing? Thornton Ho Is u deaf und dumb man who talk's with n French accent. WORTH TRYING. "Now some doctor advises people to cat bnnd. Sooms dnngorous to mo. Whnt do you think?" "Dunno. I think it might bo safe to tako t chance. Most or us need It badly In our systems." London. Tho olllcial press burenu Issued a report from Field Marshal Sir John French's headquarters on tho British operations In Franco. Tho text follows: "The enemy is still maintaining him nelf along tho whole rront and In order to do so Is throwing Into tho light de tachments composed of units from tho different formations, tho nctlvo nrmy, reserve, and landwehr, as is shown by tho uniforms of the prisoners recently captured. "Our progress, although slow on ac count of the strength of the defensive position against which we are pressing, hns In certain directions been continu ous, but the present battle mny well last for some days more before a de cision Is reached, since it now ap proximates nearly to siege warfare. "Tho Germuns uro making uso of searchlights. This fact, coupled with their great strength in heavy artillery, leads to the supposition that they are employing materinl which may havo been collected for the siege of Paris. Confident of the Result. "Tho nature of tho general situation after the operations of tho eighteenth, nineteenth nnd twentieth, cannot be better summarized than ns expressed recently in a neighboring French com mander to his corps: 'Having repulsed repeated and violent counter attacks made by tho enomy, wo have a feeling that wo have been victorious.' So far as tho British are concerned, the course of events during those three days can be described in n few words. During Friday, eighteenth, artillery lire was kept up intermittently by both sides during daylight. At night the Germans counterattacked certain por tions of our line, supporting the ad vance of their infantry as always by n heavy bombardment. Hut tho strokes wore not delivered with great vigor and ceased about 2 a. in. During the day's fighting an air-craft gun of tho Third army corps succeeded in bring ing down a German aeroplane. "News was received also that a body of French cavalry had demolished part of the railway to the north, cutting, at least temporarily, ono line of communi cation which is of particular Import ance to tho enemy. German Attack Stopped. "On Saturday, the nineteenth, tho bombardment was resumed by tho Ger mans af an. early hour and continued Intermittently under reply from our guns. Some of their infantry advanced from cover, apparently with the inten tion of attacking, but on coming under tiro they retired. Otherwise the day was uneventful, except for the activity of the artillery, which is a matter of normal routine rather than nn event. "Another hostile acroplano was brought down by us, and one of our aviators succeeded in dropping several bombs over the German line, ono in condiury bomb falling with consider able effect on a transport park near La Fere. "A burled store of tho enemy's ammunitions of wnr also was found not fnr from tho Atone, ten wagon loads of live shells und two wagons of cable being dug up. Traces were discovered of largo quantities of stores having been burned all tending to show that ns far back as tho Aisno the German retirement wns hurried. "There was a strong wind during tho day, accompanied by a driving rain. This militated against the aerial reconnaissance. Several German Attacks Fail. "On Sunday, tho twentieth, nothing of imiortance occurred until tho after noon, when thero was a break in the clouds nnd an interval of feeblo sun shine, which was hardly powerful enough to warm -the soaking troops. The Germans took advantage of this brief spell or flno weather to make several attacks against different points. Theso wore all repulsed with loss to tho enemy, but the casualties Incurred by us were by no means light. "In one section of our firing lino tho occupants of tho trenches were under tho impression that thoy hoard a mill tary band in tho enomy's lino just be fore the attnok developed. It is now known that the German infantry started their advance with bands play ing. "Tho offensio ngainst ono or two points was renewed at dusk, with no greater success. The brunt of the re sistance nntuinlly has fallon on tho in fantry In splto or tho Tact that they havo been drenched to the skin tor some days nnd their trenches have been deep In mud water, and in splto of tho incessant night alarms and tho almost continuous bombardment to which they hnve been subjected, they have on every occnslon been ready for the enemy's Infantry when tho latter nttompted to assault, and they have boaten them bnck with great loss. In deed, tho sight of troops coming up hns been a positive relief after long, trying hours of Inaction under sholl lire. German Cannon Fire Falls. "Tho object of the great proportion of artillery tho Germans employ Is to bent down the resistance of their enemy by concentrated and piolonged fire to shatter their nerve with high explosives beforo tho Infantry attack is launched. They seem to havo ro lled on doing this with ub, but thoy have not done bo. though It has taken them several costly experiments to discover this fact. "From statements of prisoners It np pears that they havo been greatly dis appointed by tho moral effect pro duced by their heavy guns, which, de spite tho actual losses inflicted, lias not been at nil commensurate with the colossal expenditure of ammunition which has been wasted. "By this It Is not implied that their artillery flro is not good. It Is moro than good it Is excellent. But tho British soldier Is a difficult person to Impress or depress, even by immense shells filled with n high explosive, which detonate with terrific vlolenco and form craters largo enough to act as graves for live horses. Scoff at German Shells. - "The Gorman howitzer sheila nm from eight to nlno Indies ln caliber, and on impact they send up columns of grensy black smoke. On account of this thoy are Irreverently dubbed 'coal boxes, 'black Marias,' or 'Jack Johnsons' by tho soldiers. "Men who tako things ln this spirit are, It seems, likely to throw out tho calculations based on loss of morale so carefully framed by the German military philosophers. "A considerable amount of Iniorma tlon has been gleaned from prisoners. It has been gathered that our bom bardment on the fifteenth produced a great impression. The opinion nlso is reported that our Infantry makes such good uso of the ground that tho Ger man companies aro decimated by our rifle flro before the soldier can bo seen. N "From an official diary captured by the First army corps it appears that one of tho Gorman corps contains an extraordinary mixture or units. If tho composition or the other corps to sim ilar it may bo nssumed that tho pres ent efficiency of tho enemy's rorces to in no way comparable with what it was when tho wnr commenced. Germans Lose Many Officers. "Tho losses in officers aro noted as having been especially severe. A bri gade is stated to bo commanded by a major; some companies or foot guards by one-year volunteers, while after tho battlo of Montmirail one regiment lost flrty-Hve out of sixty officers. "Tho prisoners recently captured ap preciate the fact that tho march on Paris has failed, and that their forces are retreating, but state that the ob ject of this movement is explained by the ofllcers as being to withdraw into closer touch with the supports which havo stayed too far in the rear. "The officers are also endeavoring to encourage tho troops by telling them that they will bo at home by Christmas. A large number of tho men believe that thoy aro beaten. "Among tho Items of news are tho following: Itecently a pilot and ob server of tho Royal Flying corps woro forced by a breakage In their aero plane to descend In the enemy's Hues. Tho pilot managed to pancake his ma chine down to eartli and the two es caped into some thick undergrowth in tho woods. "The enemy came up and seized and smashed the machine, but did not search for our men with much zeal. Tho latter lay hid till dark and then found their way to tho Atone, ncrosa which they swam, reaching, camp ln safety but barefooted. "Numerous floating bridges havo by now been thrown across the Atone nnd some of the permanent bridges have been repaired under fire. On the twentieth Lieutenant (name deleted) of Third signal corps, Royal Engineers, was unfortunately drowned while at tempting to swim across the river with a cable in order to open up fresh telegraph communication on tho north. Telephone Aid to Spies. "Espionage Is still carried on by tho enemy to a considerable extent. Re cently the suspicions of somo of tho French troops were aroused by com ing across a farm from which tho horses had been removed. After somo search they discovered a telephone which was connected by an under ground cable with the German lines, and the owner of tho farm paid tho penalty in the usual way ln war for his treachery. "ATtor somo cases of village fight lng, which occurred earlier in tho war, it was reported by somo or our ofll ceis that tho Germans had attempted to approach to closo quarters by forc ing prisoners to march In front or them. Tho Germans havo recently re peated tho samo trick on a larger scale against tlie French, as Is shown by the copy of an order issued by tho French officials, it to therein referred to as a ruse, but ir that term can bo accepted It to a distinctly illegal ruse. Charges Tricks to Germans. "'During a recent night attack,' tho order reads, 'tho Germans drove a col umn or French prisoners in rront or thorn. This action is to be brought to tho notico or all our troops, (1) In order to put them on their guard against such a dastardly ruse, (2) in ordor that every soldier may know how the Germans treat their prison, ers. Our troops must not rorget that ir thoy allow themselves to bo takon prisoners the Germnns will not rail to expose them to French bulletB.' " "Further ovldenco has now been col lected or tho misuse or tho white flag and other signs or surrender. "During recent lighting, nlso, Ger. man ambulance wngons advanced ln ordor to collect tho wounded. An or der to ceuso flro was consequently giv en to our guns, which were firing on this particular section of ground. Tho German battery commanders at onco took advnntago of the lull In tho ac tion to climb up their observation lad ders and on to n haystack to locato our guns, which soon artorwards camo under a far more accurate flro than any to which they had been sub Jected up to that time " t
