THE 8EMNWEEKLV TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE. NEBRASKA.
BEN. FRENCH IELL5
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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
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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
