k
4'
PEARY'S WORK
ItKSMVM OF THK I XI'liOUKtVS
1K1' TO THK KAH MUHTU,
lry and Companion Traveled
Over liiOO Mile Ac-rots Inland
Ice Sio tinman Belnits on the
Not til Orcenland Count.
N itn illustrated
account of Lieu
tenant H.E.Pcnry's
expedition, which
tt turned recently
to this country, the
.V
Chicago Graphic
rat:
I-11X J lie surres 01
!'$'-. T'll'",l,nnt !
s PitrtMr -ii.l lila ham.
7 goes tar to prove
rZJJZ&ZA'1" cUim th"t
'i"prxwji,'.i(...'!-,r.in American are pc
'" -"- cnlmrlT fitted to
explore. They ore quick to aiinitt them
rclves to their aurroii iidiiin and possess
unusual ok ill in contriving means by
which to attain the desired end".
In a disrmtch to the Nnvy Department,
rom St. Johns, N. 1'.. Lieutenant Peary
jays: "United States Nnvy claims high
est discoveries on Greenland east coast.
Independence. Hay, 82 degrees north
latitude, .'14 degrees we-t longitude, dis
covered Jmy 4, 1V.)2. Greenland ice
raps end south of Victoria inlet."
Lieutenant Peary presented his ideas
of ctpluralion to the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia in January,
lc91. Ilis plans showed so wide s
LIEUTENANT FKAnv's
familiarity with existing conditions, and
were so practical in character that the
teademy, which had previously borne
the expense of the expeditions under Dr.
(Cane and Dr. Hayes, accepted his propo
sition and provided the outfit needed for
the journey.
It has been ttie experience of Arctic
explorers who had heretofore attempted
high northern latitudes by means of
hips to Una that once
barred by ice it was
impossible to proceed
their
way was
farther with their
ships, and, should
they become ice
bouud, they must re
main there until their
vrseviB nra uusiiuvvu tutfVaji
or arnt out in the
springtime. Peary, 'ti'.Wi
recognizing this tact '
made caretut arrange- f.sq,oim.u.
oienti to travel on toot aud by meant of
ledges.
The expedition sailed on the Kite,
t tteam sealer, which on July 30, 1S1U,
left the party on the south shore of Mo
Cormick Hay. After constructing a
house, a scrius of boat trips and short
excursions was begun. Those trips con
tinued through the winter and until May
3d of this year, when Peary and all the
party, excepting Mrs. Peary and Mr,
VerhoetT, left for the north. On June
8d tbo supporting party returned, having
parted from Peary and Astrup at Hum
boldt glacier. From this point they
continued northward until July 4th they
discovered Independence Hay. After an
absence of ninety-three days, during
which time Pcury and hit companion
traveled over 1U00 miles across inland
ice, they returned to MoCormick Hay,
meeting the Kite, which had in the
meantime returned fur the party.
While preparing to return homo, Mr.
Verbocff went on a short geological trip
to a neighboring settlement. Not return
ing, search wo made, aud after soiuo
V
A Tcnr
time traces of bit footsteps to a large
glacier were discovered, but no sigu of
the missing man was found, and it is sup
posed be loat bit life in one of the nu
merous crevasses.
This oxpeditiou verifies the possibility
of parties making their way on foot
toward the north pole, instead of by
ahipt, aud tbis belief bat been enter
tained before by eminent and practical
Arctic explorers.
Lieutenant Peary'i accomplishment re
vives the inspiration in the betrt of
every Arctic explorer who hat been
btt&td bytUip progress to agila matte
k . - ' TMl H.MaMB ' m
the attempt over the tnnrt, on toot and
by sledge Journey, establishing, as the,
line of discovery progressed, neceisary
depots of supplies lor the purpose of ae
curing retreat or tiding over unseen de
lays. Although Peary retched North Green
land lst year with a broken leg, good
luck seems to have been his portion. He
was fortunate In being nblo to procura
plenty of dogs. He took with him on
the ice cap twenty of these nulmals, bred
by the natives of Whale Hound, and thoy
hauled lour sledges as far as Humboldt
glacier, where the return party went
back, and Piaiy and Astrup, with thir
teen dogs and three sledircs, kept on
their course. Peary had killed an abund
ance ol seals and wall us for dug food
during the winter, and t ravel od in the
tightest marching order. Pemmicnn,
pea soup, beans and biscuit formed his
soe provisions.
Kivard Astrup, whoacconipanied Pcnrv
on this journey of 131)0 miles, is a young
jNniwcgian who had lived in the United
Slates only u few months when he volun
leered for the expedition. He was skilled
in the use of the 'Ue,'' as the peculiar
snowshces of Norway bio called.
l'eary s enumeration of the Arctic liich-
lnndeia give a total of less than 230 souls.
They are appaiently decreasing in num
bers, but not so rapidly as was supposed
a lew years ago. In their recent inter-
course with the whites they have becu
lavored beyond most suvagu people. A
large p ut of the men whom they have
seen were rough, and they haven't al
ways becu treated with justice. Kane
had serious dillictilty with tbo natives,
aud two of tils men accused these people
of plotting against their lives. This time
pa
VKSSEt,, TtIK KITIt.
they have been treated by their whito
visitors with kindness, consideration and
generosity.
On the North Greenland coast Peary
found no traces of human beiugs. Ic
has becu a favorite theory with some
soicntirio men that the east ciast derived
its population from the migration of peo
ple living on the northwest coast. There
is no evidence whatever to substantiate
this unlikely theory, and it is probable
that the lemuins of Esquimaux huts
found on the shores of Iiobeson channel,
in Grant laud, indicate the most north
ern limit of human occupancy.
Peary intended to do for the Arctic
Highlanders what Holm did for the 601)
natives he discovered on the east Green
land coast. Ho bus thoroughly carried
out this purpose. He has made a com
plete enumeration of the inhabitants, and
PKABT a HOU3K, M COttNtlCK BAT.
hit long association with them enabled
him to iccure photographs of fully 'half
the. Arctic Highlanders. Ho brings back
a large quantity of ethnological material,
including tents, costumes, sledges, boats,
dogs, and photographs of the people and
dwellings.
Eight days after Peary and Astrup
left the party and pushed forwaid by
themselves they saw, says Peary, "the
land at the head of the St. George's
fjord, and then for two weeks were baf
fled aud harrassed by storms, fogs, cre
vasses and steep ice slopes, while trying
to weather the feeder basins of the St.
Gcorgo'a and Sbcurd Osborue glacier
HUT.
system, the liutterst of the northern in
land ice sea. June 26 we were under the
eighty-second parallel, when the laud
which I bad been keeping in view to
the northwest confronted me to the north
and northeast and then to the east, de
flecting me to the southeast. After
marching four dayt to the southeast, the
land ttill extending southeast and east,
I made direct for it toward Urge open
ing in the mountains visible over the
nearer summits, and landed July 1. July
4, after three dayt' travel overlaud, I
reached the bead of a great bay, lttl,
tude 81 .37, longitude 84, opening out
east ant Horthest. t named this In
dependence Bay in honor of the day and
the great alacler flowing north Into ie
Academy glacier. I reached Inland ice
again July 7, with foot gear cut to pieces
and selves and dogs exhausted and dead
lame from the hard climbing, sharp
stones and frequent falls."
Hlndfto Women.
The women of the dt.rk-skinned Hin
doo race are remarkable for their phys
ical beauty. Helow the medium height
A HINDOO WOMAS.
(from European ttandpoint) their car
riage is erect and exceedingly graceful.
The long, swinging motion which they
allect in walking it produced by their
habit of carrying all kinds of merchan
dise on the head. The Hindoo hesd is
small aud the face is refined, with de
licately chiselled features. The hair,
'woman's crowning glory," is blue
black and very abundant. It was worn
parted in the middle and drawn down
straight behind the cars, being coiled al
the back of the head in a heavy knot.
They practice the barbaric custom of
piercing the nose, through which a gold
or silver ring is inserted. The Ungen
of the small black hands are usually
covered with rings of various kluds,
while silver bracelets adorn the alendet
wrists. Kings are worn also frequently
on the toes, and the women are seldom
seen without heavy silver unklets.
The single garmunt worn bv the Hin
doo woman consists of long tcarf,
always of some whito material, which is
dexterously woven about the body until
it forms a skirt and what looks like t
sleeveless jacket.
I he casto is denoted by the color ol
the mark whicli the priest of the Urahmati
religion places each morning on their
foreheads.
Vogret ible Od.litles.
Freaks of vegetobles, especially of
turnips, radishes, parsnips and the like,
nave probably been observed from time
to time by roost people, though very
raroly in such distinct and striking
forms as in these instances, which have
been recorded in old prints, says thr
Strand Magazine.
The tndisb, which we give first, grew
in a sandy soil at Harlem, more than 200
years ago, and was painted in fac simile
by Jacob Ponoy, one of whose fricndi
presented the picture to Glandorp in the
year 1672. This picture was engraved
by Kirby, showing the mot exactly at
we reproduce it here in Figure 1.
Nor it this the only instnuco in which
the root of a radish bat tukou this par
ticular form, as another, exactly resuin
bling a human hand with tlngors and
thumb complete, was possessed by Mr.
Bisset, Secretary to the Birmingham
Museum, in 1602.
rie i
pica
no a
Figure 2 represents parsnip, which
also strikingly resembles a hand, but in
a difforemt position, as it appears to bi
grasping another root. This oddity was
sold by a market woman in the ordinary
course of business, and was passod from
band to band as a curiosity until it cauna
into the possession of au engraver, who
made the drawing of it which we give.
r igun J is a turnip with a face, e
plumed headdress, body, arms and t
number of intcrtangled legs, like those
of some tea monster, "ending in snaky
twine." This root grew in a garden in
the village of Welden, in Garmany, in
1623, the fact being recorded in the
curious columns entitled "MUcollatM
Academice Nuturte."
Just Out.
UGLY STOWAWAYS.
VKNOMotTfl fjitHvruttKft rouxo
IN BANANA BU.VCHHS.
foorplonn, Tarantula, Spiders, On.
Ilpedea and Snakes Obtain Kreo
laafff In America I tan iter
in Unloading Vessels.
W . ORfCMEN for whole
fj r le banana dealers,
Vl V ? ,,1B New York
Herald, never begin
work that they do
not take their lives
in their hands.
hearccly a wagon
load of the fruit is
taken from a ship
that sjme sort of
deadly poisonous rep
tile, spider or Insect
is not Hidden awnv
urneniu tun inycrs.
Tho amimal life which takes free pas
sago from foreign countries by storing
itself away In bunches ol ban viat would
lurnish food for an interesting volume
of natural history.
8o accustomed have the handlers of
this fruit become to teeing big, hairy
tarantulas crawl out of the bunchei and
up the legs of their ttooscrs that they
whisk them to the floor and step upon
them with no more concern than if they
were harmless Croton bugi or caterpil
lars instead of the venomous iuects that
they are. The bite of a South American
tarantula is in all cases poisonous and in
many instances deadly, yet their presence
smong banana handlers create no more
terror thau if they were the most harm
test of spiders.
They are more frequently found In
bnnanas than any other reptiles, and they
fomc from every place from which ban
iuas are shipped. They are black and
Iiiwy, with long, hairy les and little
Dcadlike eyes, which twinkle and snap
'ike electric sparks, and their very ap
pearance would strike terror to the
iearts of those who are not accustomed
o seeing them. As a rule the bodies of
;hcse big spiders are about the slo of
he end of a man's thumb, but some
imet a "Gulliver" crawls out into day
ight, and he is immediately captured
ind caged, and the cantor easilv sells
lini for from $1 to f2. Those of tho
arnntulas which are
tot aroused by the
oltlngof the bunches
n handling and keep
n hiding are stowed
way in the hot eel
ars of tho dealort,
vbere they become
vanned up and then
irawl out and spend
be remainder of their
lays in the cracks of
he ripening rooms, pkciimah una Kit
vith tho domestic rats and other small
mimals with which those collars abound.
8nakes are not infrequently found
railed around tho stalk of a bunch of
ananas, and they are seldom killed.
Vs a rule the variety is peculiar, and a
tmdy market is always found where they
itn bo disposed of at a reasonable
rice.
They rarely escape after the bananas
lave been lifted from the hold of a vei
tel. If tho snake becomes curious when
he air and light strike him and sticks
lis head nut for a survey of the sur
oundings he is immediately pounced
ipon and imprisoned. If ho remain" to
e stowed away in the ripening room the
leat invariably wakes liuu up aud he uu
toils himself and ciawls out.
Among the most teared of tho reptiles
t a black snukn with a brown tingo
icar its under purl. It usually measures
ibout eighteen inches in length. Its
ica is rather (latter thau is usual with
makes, and just back of its head for
ibout two inches it is marked with small
rcllow stripes which look somothing lika
l gold collar.
The workmen sny that its bite is In
ruriably fatal, a statement which is
lomewhut robbed of its terrors by the
'act that diligcut search failed to (lis
lover anybody who would assume the
responsibility of making un ullldavitthat
ae ever know anybody who died in this
way. These snakes are generally found
in the consignmout of bananas from
Baracoa, although occasionally they are
iiscovured in suipments fro.u Jamaica
lud Costa Itica.
The most lreiiieut visitor to our shoroi
in tho snake kingdom, on banana voi
lels, is what tho workmen call diamond
makes. There is nothing iu tooir ap
pearance to indicate the origin of the
aame. Mr. Genaro, uu Italian wholosale
dealer on Washington street, suggested
that at one time several raugh gems were
tound iu the stomach of one of these
makes, hence the name. In longth thoy
tre about two feet. The bead it flat and
sharp, and those who profess to have
knowledge on the subject say that its
blto it poisonous, though not uecessarlly
fatal. .
Scorpions of the real" '3 order are
also among these unKvuume bauaua
stowaways, and while their ttlngt are
not considered actually dangerous they
are usually extremely painful, and work
men when thoy are stung by tbein gene
rally stop work for a few hours and re
duce the swelling which follows and allay
the pain at the most oonvt nieat liquor
saloon. When one of these autuiula ligbtt
on a tit subject it seems to go about its
ftCOIIPIOX AND TARANTULA.
work with 'all Its body and sou), II
catches on with iu two arms and head,
and giving a sudden hump of Its jointed
back it jabs the end of Its needle pointed
tail into the flesh where It calculates to
do the most harm, and the subject usu
ally jumps and creates an atmosphere of
a sulphurous odor about him for several
minutes. The littlo stowaway then, as
a general thing, is made to expatiate his
crime by being crushed beneath a largf
sired foot.
Centipedes are not uncommon amont
cargoes ol bananas. They are not o
the domestio order commonly known ai
"earwigs" cither. They aro long, fa'
fellows with tfco rows of saffron celored
legs and brilli int purple bodies, and
their stints are feared more thsn small
pox by the handlers of bananas.
It is sniil that these creatures are st
poisonous that when they walk upon tin
bare flesh their legs leave a red trull upon
the skin as if a pin had scratched it. I'
Is also said that with such lightning lika)
quickness do they sink the ends of thcil
numerous legs into wheatever they an
crawling upon, when they bonomt
alarmed, that it is impossible to knock
them oil. Should the legs penetrate s
person's flesh, so the men who unload
ships will tell you, death is inevitable,
and when the poison Is injected the flesh
ruortilics almost immediately.
These are the sort of tropical centi
Msn citAtS."
pedes which reach these shorei in ba
nanas, and when a workman discovers
one crawling upon him be stands per
fectly quiet and allows it to crawl olf
without disturbing it. Then it is crushed
bencuth a heavy boot or captured and
sold, as tho man feels disposed. They
aro usually summarily killed, as the
workmen prefer foregoing the loss of
fifty or seventy-five cents rather tbnu run
tho chances of being stung.
A peculiar crustacean in the shape of
a crab also hides itself in the buuehes of
bananas from Haracoa occasionally and
makes a free trip to this city. How
these animals find tboir way among the
bananas Is known only to themselves,
but the supposition is that when the fruit
is piled up for shipment they crawl
among the bunches and stick there. In
shape there Is scarcely any difference be
tween them and tho ordinary crab of
commerce, but in dress they are as gay
as a stylish woman Kastor Sunday. Their
legs, claws and eyes are flaring red ind
A Ilt!TTF.nrf.T VISITOR.
give the impression that thuy have
stopped into hot wator and managed to
hop out ayain without being parboiled
all over. Their bodies aro ubout as
large as the back of a man's hand and
ore perfeotly black, nnd their long fool
ers are of a dark blue color. They aro
known among banana handlers as land
crabs. Sometimes thov are cauzht and
kept as curiosities, but they aro generally
killed, at they livo only a short time
after they huve been captur.id and con-
llnod.
Big cockroaches, pure white in color.
are regular travelers among bunches of
bananas. They aro about twice the size
of croton bugs and appear to have un
dergone a bleaching process at tome
stage la their existence.
A beautiful butterfly, with big bolv
and largu wings, it also among the in
sects found in banana ship. Its body is
almost white, except for a delietto pink
tint, ana its wings are of pure white,
dotted with brilliant red spots. A super
stition exists among some of the han
dlers of bananas that if one of theso but
terflies lights upon a person it is an as
surance of good luck.
Innumerable variotieiof sea shells find
their wuy into the banana bunches,
many of which are prized highly by tho
workmen for their beauty. It is sup
posed that they get into tho bunches
when the latter are piled upon the sea
shore, preparatory to being stowed away
m the holds or the vessels.
Hats aud mice run out of the bunches
when they are bsiug j3lted about, and a
few days ago two little bird's eggs were
difcovered by a Washington street deal
er in a piece of folded leaf which bad
become in some way attached to a stalk.
They were white, speckled with brown.
Of tho tbousaudt of small spiders
which stick to the bunauas none is more
feared than a red one, which is to small
that often it is not perceived until it
has perched itself upou a man's band
mid has injouted its sting. The sting it
uot fatal, but it causes n j end of incon
venience, at the toot it penetrates be
comes exceedingly painful aud swells up
to a grout size.
It is only a little over forty years a?o
that a Russian farmer began the cultiva
tion of the sunflower in order to extract
oil from the seeds. Now 700,000 acres
in Russia are in sunflowers, and the
original founder of the induttr it
millionaire.
laSt vtW'Vw
How Thleics Are ronisiitd la this.
There is no honesty among rural
Chinamen, writes Ell Perkins in tho
New York Sun. They all steal any
thing that they can carry away without
being seen. A farmer never leaves
liuuausiw
ruxiRfiKn Fon steamno.
plow or a hoe in the field. It would be
stilen. Each man guards hit own
property, and it is a case of tho "survival
of tho fittest." A Chinese rural family
usually consists of from twonty to forty
people, all related. Tho family govern
ment is palriarchial. A small family
would not dare to live Isolated. In tho
big cities murder nnd theft are about tho
only crimes punished. Every Chinaman
lies, and the man who Is the most skill
ful liar is considered the best man. Pun
ishment for theft is made by locking a
big heavy wooden collar around a rain's
or woman's neck, and then exposing him
or her to the gait of tho people.
Flesh That Is Po'smous.
The polor bear f)rc?uts on? of tho
best attested examples of a poiaououj
animal, Ibis property of its flush being
probnbly derived from some of its vege
table and berries which it reeks on tue
fhores during the autumn. Scnresby
lays that sailors who have been obliged
to eat bear's flesh, and have not taken
tho precaution of rejecting tbo liver,
have almost always been attacked with
sickneis, and a peeling oil of the tkin,
and have sometimes died from its bane
ful effects. The same thing happened to
Sir John Ross's party at Fury Beach,
also to the putty under Sir Edward Parry.
In America, wli'jre the snow lies so deep
as to prevent the deer from glazing, they
are compelled to subsist by browsing on
the leaves and bark of the luurol, incon
sequence of which they secrete so much
of its well known poison that their flesh,
proves hurttul to persons who eat it.
The flesh of hares and rabbits is occa
sionally noxious, owing to their having
eaten largely of poisouous barks and
poisonous plants, which, strange to say,
do not hurt them. The fact is, certain,
animals will eat with impun'ty various
plants, barks and berries, which prove
poisonous to human beings. In the same
way the flesh of many birds that eat
poisonous berries is sometimes hurtful to
jjooplo who partake of it. During tho
time that the American ruffled grouso
feeds on laurel buds its flesh is highly
deleterious. Southey says that the fleshi
of parrots is so powurful that it is used
medicinally abroad. Yankee Blade.
The Bible la Polyglot.
There nre 3000 spoken languages. The
Biblo has been translated into about 2'M)
of them, but is accessible to fully two
thirds of the human race, a billion peo
ple. The Mandarin Chinese affords
communication to 200,000,000 souls;
the Kaglish to 120,000,000; the Hindu
stani to 82,000,000; the German to B4,
000,000; the Arabic to 50,000,000. It
appears, however, that there are ttill
500,000,000 soul, who have no Bible in
their own tongue. The English people
have translated most of the version
that now exist. Now York Newt.
An Instructive Trick.
Ilere is a trick that will amuse and in
struct: It consist of supporting a pail
titled with water by means of a stick
placed on the edge of a table and passed
through the pail. To be successful with,
tbis experiment, which appears liko art
impossibility, it is only necessary to
place a small rod of suitable longth be
tween the point of the suspension stick
and tho bottom of the pail. The system
thus consolidated forms, after a manner,
a single muss, and the pail is readily
held us in tho engraving, becauso tbo
whole ceutre of gravity of the system ia
jbeueath the poiut of suspension. Thtj
Scientific Cyclopedia.
Hot Water on Tap.
Public fountains of hot water are being
stabilised ia Paris, France, oa the au
fomatlo system. By putting half
peony in the slot, anyone can obtain
pearly two gallons of thoroughly hot
prater, heated by the public got torvics,
.The first fountain put up as an experi
ment proved a gieut tuccest, at in auaa
jner few housewives In the poorer quar
ters care to keep tiro. New. lark
Tliiraiu.