'. , ; 1 man ever to perform this hazardous feat. . ' '
BT JOHN 8. HARWOOD.
SlJST of the eminent and otherwise
explorers of today proves conclu
sively, what the photographers say:
Most of the world, leaving out of the
question the Arctic and Anarctlc regions
ejid the deserts of Asia, Africa and Aus
tralia, la fairly well mapped, despite the
fact that tha maps of all the continents
except that of Europe, show blank spots
or broken, lines. Indicative that the' ex
plorer baa aot yet finished hta work In,
sy. the extreme Interior of Texas, be
tween the rivers that empty Into the Am
axon from the south, in Upper Canuda be
low the Arctic Circle. In Arabia; not yet
la Central Africa, since Stanley's time
th objective point of exploring expedi
tion after expedition. ,
From the viewpoint of the reographer
this has been the condition of the world's
map for a decade now. with certain blank
pots, of course, growing smaller or dis
appearing altogether, year by year. For
during the decade, ail the explorers, big
ami little, a veritable legion of them.
s If -supported, syndicate-supported, and
Government-supported, attacked the spots
with their well-known Intrepidity. Today
they are still hard at work, with the more
famous ones, with one or two exceptions,
working In the Arctic and Antarctic re
gion and the deserts of Asia, where the
chances of securing additional fame are
best And when these blank-spot erasers
of today are gone there will be plenty of
blank spots left to erase. It is no easy
task to explore In detail what Others have
discovered In a general way. And it la
detail discovery that Is occupying the
1 days of the great number of present-time
explorers.
Probably no one will question the state
ment that the our foremost living ex
plorers are Peary. Kansen. Abruzzi and
Hedln. claimed, respectively, by Uncle
Sam, Norway. Italy and 8wden. Two of
tteis pre-eminent quartet of blank-spot
erasers are now at work In their specially
chosen fields Peary In the frozen north,
on what he fimdly hopes will prove his
successful dash for the pole, and Hedln
on the "Roof of the World."
To one of these men belongs the unique
distinction of having revealed to his fellow-men
many of the centuries-guarded
secrets of Tibet. The other three have
hld. In turn, the record of furthest north.
Peary holds today the record for the
Western Hemisphere, with no prospect of
either Nansen or the Abruzzi ever at
tempting to wrest this honor from Tilm;
for the royal Italian's mind Is Just now
very much occupied with the problem of
taking unto himself an American heiress
as his consort, while Nansen. when Nor
way separated from Its southern neigh
bor, became a diplomat and now repre
sents his country ui a ministerial position
at the Court of St. James', whefe his fame
as one of the world's intrepid discoverers
and the fact that his Queen Is a daughter
of Edward VII. have made him a favorite
In the royal family and the co,urt.
Tba Abruxzit it baa been said, went tfl
utn north and went to the south where.
under the equator in Africa he discovered
and climbed the snow-capped Mountains
of the Moon tn the hope that his deeds
of daring and resultant fame would win
a "Yes" from Holland's Queen, then hus
bandless. -Because Eva Sars refused to
become his wife until he had won a large
name for himself Nansen, when a few
years . passed his majority, turned ex
plorer, and when the eminent Norwegian
singer finally became Mrs. Nansen in 1X89,
when her husband was 28. the latter had
become the world's foremost authority on
Greenland. He spent the year Immedi
ately preceding his marriage In crossing
that lee-capped Island, the first white
man ever to perform this hazardous feat.
As a boy Peary was fascinated with
stories, real and Imaginative, of the
Arctic, and he registered a boy's vow
some day to conduct explorations In
that forsaken portion of the globe. He
was on naval duty In Washington In
1885 when he registered a man's vow
to the same end. One afternoon, after
the Navy Department had closed, he
went into a book shop, ajid. . browsing
about, came across an article ,on Green
land's Ice cap. One reading 'of It was
sufficient to awaken In him his boyish
love for the Arctic and the man's vow
to explore that region followed speed
ily. About a year later Peary was 100
mile in the interior of Greenland,
studying Its Ice cap at first hand. And
from the time of that Uttle reconnols
sance to the present day he has
dreamed of one day planting the
American flag at the spot where the
Pole ought to'be, and has planned and
labored accordingly, much of the time
under great difficulties.
Sven Hedin, too, had a boy's dream
of becoming a great explorer, and it
grew with him as he grew never once
did he lose It. From the time he could
read about travel and geography be
planned to be an explorer; he shaped
his studies to this end; and until he
was In a position to begin his series of
explorations, to whatever h,e turned his
hands and mind was with the idea of
making this count In his ultimate
work.
By the men who went to school with
him when he was still under his teens
Hedln Is still known by the nickname
of "Explorer." In Swedln, It seems, the
school youth of the land, when they
are around the age of 10, must tell
their teachers whether they will tackle
mathematics or the classics for the re
mainder of their school days; and the
boya are expected to add voluntarily
what line of -work they Intend to fol
low when they reach man's estate. In
Hedln's class the answers as regards
ambitions were the stock ones until it
came Hedln's turn to reveal his dream.
Then, when he announced that he was
going to be an explorer, the whole
room, teachers Included, was convulsed
with laughter. Thus the nickname
which Hedin, by sticking doggedly to
his boyish purpose, converted Into an
honorable and world-famous handle,
for It is no longer "Explorer" Hedin,
but Hedin. the explorer.
All of these four men snatched Inter
national fame while they were still in
the flush of young manhood. Hedin
was 33 when he reached' the outposts
of civilization after concluding his first
and most fsmous expedition in Tibet.
Then he flashed like a meteor across
the world's eye. for until It learned of
his wonderful feats in that then mys
terious country the world generally
had not taken cognizance of the exist
ence of a Swede named Hedin.
By crossing Greenland When he was
IS Nansen not only won the answer he
longed for from Miss Sars, but also
Scandinavian fame, and made his name
known anieng the , sreoraphlcal -
ctetiea of the world. Not untn he was
1 35, however, when he attained what
Was men lurincpi uurui, nm me wuuio
world acclaim him. Peary was a year
older, when. In his first real expedition
to the north, ha determined the Insul
arity of Greenland and made other
highly important discoveries that
brought him the plaudits of the hemis
pheres. The Duke of the Abruzzi was
but two years past his majority when
he scaled Mount St. Ellas, 27 when he
outdistanced Nansen tn the race for
the Pole and 13 when be found the
legendary Mountains of the Moon to
be grim, snow-capped realities. He al
most could be called a boy explorer.
Peary is the oldest of the quartet, be
ing a couple of years past the half
century, mark. Nansen lacks four years
I
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX. PORTLAND, AUGUST
II II .v k"M!0 . J " II began
- . ill t I
I. .... J' : x ' H . . . . -LS' t :::v . . . . 5: .i, .. i. - . r .'r'-?'' OiSrSvi K, :-v .
of it and Hedin is three years Nansen's
Junior. .
Equally as interesting as these statis
tics of early secured fame is the fact
that every member of the quartet was
what Is called well born. Peary comes
of stanch old New England ancestry.
The Duke of the Abruzzi, as practically
every American learned last Winter, is
of royal blood and close to the Italian
throne. Nansen Is the son of a well
known Norwegian advocate; Hedln's
father is chief architect of Sweden's
capital. Hedln himself, like the Duke. Is
still single. If ever he had a love ro
mance, he has been successful in keeping
the details from the public, a feat which
the conqueror of Mount St. Ellas vainly
tried hard to do.
Another coincidence connected with
this eminent quartet Is this each man
started In life well educated. Peary,
Nansen and Hedln are college graduates,
while the Abruzzi received what amount
ed to a college education from numerous
tutors. Among their educational accom
plishments, the Duke and Nansen num
ber that of languages; each Is proficient
in -four. Hedln Is master of an unusual
list of languages. Besidea speaking Eng
lish, French and German fluently, he Is
at ease In Russian. Tartaric and Persian,
these tongues being picked up by him
when he was a tutor at Baku, on the
Caspian. Later on, when his travels
carried him still further away from the
fjords of his native land, he got a good
knowledge of Chinese and Tibetan, and
there is not a dialect spoken in or around
the deserts of Asia of which he remains
Ignorant.
' When Hedln went down to the shores
of the Caspian to be tutor to the chil
dren of the brother of the late Alfred
Nobel, Inventor of dynamite and founder
of the Nobel prizes, he had formed no
definite idea of Just what portion of the
earth he some day would explore. But
he had not been teaching long before he
awoke to the realization of the fact that,
though Asia is popularly supposed to
have been the first continent to behold
man and his work, great stretches of It
were unmapped. Hedln at once saw his
opportunity and began to prepare for
grasping it hy studying Russian and the
native languages of Western and Central
Asia. Then as he traveled further and
further east through Central Asia, mak
ing the great deserts peculiarly his own.
Hedin naturally came under the spell of
Tibet, and was not content until he had
penetrated to the very heart of that long
guarded land of the Dalai Lama.
Hedln was a mere youth in years when
he went on his first exploring expedition,
being, only 30. He financed the expedi
tion, which went through Persia and
Mesopotamia, with his savings from his
position as tutor. This sum amounted to
less than 3300. At Kermanshah, about
iM mile to the south of Baku as a bird
files. Hd!n found himself penniless, and
ought out the English agent in Persia,
a wealthy Arabian merchant, for assist
ance. Incidentally, he told the old fel
low that he -was a countryman of
Charles XII. Now. all Islam knows of
the deeds.. of that great Swedish King,
so no sooner had Hedln spoken his name
than the Arabian began showering him
wiUi honors. He put hi house at the
young Swede's disposal, ministered lav
ishly to his smallest need, and when the
time came sped hi mwi his Journey of
discovery with a bulging sack of silver
and a picturesque guard of honor.
"
The Duke of the Abruzzi Is said to
have spent a fortune on his three great
exploring expeditions: their combined
cost he a been set down at a quarter of
a million dollars. Hedin, on the other
hand, has Opened the great deserts of
Asia and Tibet to the knowledge of the
world with singularly little cost. No
other modern explorer, It Is safe to say,
has achieved such startling results with
so small expenditure of money. The ex
pedition that made him famous, which
lasted four years and took him across
Tibet for the first time, was carried on
at an annual cost of only $7000.
A large portion of the money spent by
Hedin on ' his various expeditions has
been secured by him from his savings
and through his books and articles on
hl travels and discoveries.
Peary's passion for Polar exploration la
well known to his fellow Yankees. Hedin,
too, is an. apparently chronic victim of
explorer's fever; he -has acknowledged
that he Is happiest when he is sleeping
in a tent; pitched somewhere preferably
In a desert where the maps show a blank
or, at best, broken lines, Indicating unex
plored territory. It was his passion for
Tibetan exploration that caused him to
slip into the country a short time after
England and Russia had entered into an
agreement to keep all explorers off the
"world's roof," this agreement following
the so-called opening up of Tibet by the
English punitive exploration under Col
onel Younghusband, which reached Lhasa,
the capital city, four years ao. Hedin
slipped Into Tibet Just after the treaty
was ratified, and he haa recently told the
world of a hitherto unsuspected chain of
mountains discovered by him on this
trip.
While Hedln la a man of one purpose.
Nansen. h!a Northern brother. Is veritably
many-sided. Before he turned explorer he
had made of himself a zoologist, and
through the still authoritative book that
he wrote on the nervous system of ani
mals he received an offer from a college
In the Middle West to be Its professor of
soology. He hesitated, finally declined
the chair, and the world gained a noted
explorer, for It was shortly after the
American offer came to htm that Nansen
set out in earnest on bis career of dis
covery. As a mathematician Nansen has been
brilliant from his youth up. While still a
youngster he succeeded in solving certain
problems In conic sections which pre
viously had defied the mathematical in
telligence of the world; and Nanses has
the satisfaction of knowing that these
solution are in use today all over the
collegiate world. Sketching and painting
are two pastimes that he turned to good
account when he was in the Arctic; he
once dreamed of being an artist, but
finally turned from the brush to the study
of animal life. He Is a champion of out
door sport, and largely through his
efforts that distinctive Scandinavian sport
ski Jumping became popular In Nor
way. Before Nansen and his brother,
racing on skis down the hill near their
parental home, discovered that one could
Jump from a height on skis, sail through
the air and land afely, the Norwegian
snowshoe was looked upon by the better
class Norwegiants am a contrivance of us
only to the peasant.
But it is as a patriot that Nansen Is
affectionately known in Norway today.
He was one of the handful of leading Nor
wegians who took a prominent part in the
movement that resulted In the separation
of Norway and Sweden, and his pen and
voice probaoly did more to arouse Nor
wegian public sentiment for separation
than any other's. His sturly insistence
for Norway's rights made nlra a public!
Idol, and from time to time there was
plenty of talk of making him President,
I- case a republic should be established.
Nansen, however, waa for a monarchical
1908.
form of government, and would not llaten
to the importunities of his friends to de
clare for a republic, even when, at a giant
mass meeting In Chrlstianla, the capital,
he was hailed by a partisan as the na
tion's standard-bearer end cheered long
and enthusiastically by the crowd, which
apparently wanted to make Nansen really
what the partisan called him. Today
Frldtjof Nansen is not only Norway's
Minister at the court of St. James, but
one of its leading public men: and no
man in Norwegian public life has a larger
following.
- .
Hedln is small of stature; the biggest
thing about him is his Indomitable will.
Nansen, on the other hand. Is big both in
will and body. His friends tell all sorts
of wonderful stories of his truly phenom
enal strength, but none is stranger than
the display of his muscular power which
he gave shortly after his return from
"furthest north." Otto Sverdrup, now an
Arctic explorer on his own hook, had been
When Bryan Slew a 'Panther
' t, . Twom Ion for the Great Xebraskan' Entertainment.
uuvcruui jnu jmvivt
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN was
an unwitting participant - in a
bold scheme of nature faking
which was successfully pulled off In the
vicinity of Austin, Tex., nine years ago.
Mr. Bryan's family was spending that
Winter in Austin and he went there to
spend a few weeks with them. He was
royally entertained by the late ex-Governor
J. S. Hogg and other admiring
citizens. In the early part of his stay
Mr. Bryan expressed a desire to take a
hunting trip into the country and Gov
ernor Hogg promised to arrange the de
tails of the proposed expedition for him.
About the only wild game to be found
around Austin were Jackrabbits, wildcats
and coyotes. Governor Hogg decided that
It would not do to. offer Mr. Bryan such
tame sport as these animals afforded.
Why not provide a fake programme for
the entertainment of his guest? If a
tame bear or two or a Mexican Hon or
panther could be found the matter of
staking the animals out for the dogs to
trail- and Mr. Bryan to kill would be
comparatively easy, Mr. Hogg said, when
laying the scheme before a few friends.
Found a Decrepit Panther.
No tame bear could be found, but In a
cage in the back yard of a saloon there
was an old panther which would serve
the purpose of the hunt Just a well. Mr.
Hoggs bought this panther from Its
owner and arranged that on the morning
of the hunt th animal should be taken
to a designated spot about six miles
from town and turned loose. The spot
selected for liberating the ancient pan
ther was in the low mountains which
skirt the Colorado Kiver. In appearance
the place was ideal for the habitat of big
wild game and Mr. Bryan would not
know the difference, it was thought. It
was planned that In order to insure the
quick capture of the animal that th
man who was to hav It In charge should
not turn it loose 'until the huntlnf party
was near the spot.
Having arranged the affair thus far
Mr. Hogg devoted several days to de
scribing to Mr. Bryan, the splendid hunt-
Nansen's captain in the Fram. Nansen
desired that full credit should go to the
burly captain for his share In the success
of the expedition, and while telling his
hearers that the expedition would have
been a failure without the presence of
Sverdrup. he grabbed the latter in one
hand and literally held him aloft that all
might get a good look at him.
A native of the little dot of an Island
called Heligoland, away up in the North
Sea. and the only distinguished person
among its 2000 Inhabitants. Sverdrup is
a' true son of the sea, having gone down
to it In ships since he was 17; today he
is In his 53d year. Newspaper dispatches
containing his name nennj o
years ago. when, as mam ui a
wrecked off the west coast of Scotland
his work saved the entire crew from a
watery grave. Next, his name turned up
In the news when he accompanien Nanr
sen on his trip across Greenland. Then he
was Nansen's captain on the dash to the
pole; and he came very much before the
public eye when he himself took the I ram
Into the Arctic Ice and, in the four years
that he remained there, made important
land discoveries.
Explorers of today In Sverdrup s class
of fame, which, with propriety, might be
called secondary, are rather numerous.
Prominent among them Is Dr. Frederick
A. Cook, of Brooklyn, now searching for
the North Pole. Even now he may be
making his dash for U. as he planned to
do this some time this Summer. Dr. Cook
has the unusual distinction of being a
searcher for both poles; he was a' mem
ber of the expedition that went to the
Antarctic in 1897, In the Belgica. the first
vessel to pass through the Antarctic
night. Dr. Cook's present expedition is
the result of a hunting trip taken with
his backer on the latter's schooner yacht.
When the hunting party reached polar
waters, polar fever claimed the doctor,
and the upshot of it was that his guest
agreed to back him financially in a dash
and a short time after that the intrepid
Brooklynite was oft. Next to Peary, he
Is doubtless America's best-known living
explorer.
Only 29 when, five years ago, he planted
furthest south the Union Jack given him
for that purpose by Queen Alexandra.
Lieutenant Ernest H. Shackleton is again
in the Antartic, with the avowed object
of making a dash for the South Pole next
month. On this dash he hopes to carry
his provisions in a motor car. a queer
contrivance which has skis in front and
Ice-gripping wheels in the rear. Shackle
ton is the only Irishman of any promi
nence among today's explorers, and when
first in the Antarctic he showed an
Irishman's pluck by allowing himself to
be harnessed to a- sledge while suffering
from snow blindness. Thus laboring and
in this condition he attained furthest
south with the party. Had Shackleton
performed his heroic deeds in the Arctic
and there made furthest north, his name
would doubtless have become as familiar
as Peary's or Nansen's.
Dr. Jean Charcot, who headed the first
w
ing that was to be had In the mountains
west of town. ' He would tell of the,
pleasure and danger of hunting big game
around Austin. Panthers, he said, were
numerous In the mountains, and when
cornered the animals would put up a
hard fight. These stories aroused the
sportsman spirit in Mr. Bryan, and he
was as eager as a boy for the appoint
ed day of the hunt to arrive.
In order to make the hunt as realistic
as possible the searcher after big game
made their course to the spot where the
panther was to be turned loose as
round about-as possible. .The man who
was to perform the Job of liberating the
panther had done his work neatly 'and
well. He had hustled the Iron cage out
of sight. The dogs took up the scent
Immediately upon reaching the- spot, and
away they went in full cry. 'Bryan, Hogg
and the rest of the crowd rode behind
In hot pursuit.
"It is a bear or panther, sure, Gov
ernor Hogg said to Mr. Bryan as thejt
rode over the mountains.,
"How can you tell?" Mr. Bryan asked.
"By the tone of the cry of the dogs."
Mr. Hogg replied. "It's not a' coyote
or wildcat this time."
The "Ferocious" Beast at Bay.
The chase was a short one. The old
panther waa stiff in his Joints after his
long term in captivity, and he ran up
the first tree he came across. The dogs
were baying at the animal, when the
hunters rode up. Upon a. limb, -about
20 feet " above the ground, stood the
panther, mildly looking down upon th
men and dogs and doubtless wondering
what all the noise and excitement was
about. '
There was plenty of talk about the fe
rociousness and beauty of the animal On
the part of the men who sat upon their
horses under the tree. It was agreed
that Mr. Bryan should be given the
honor of shooting the panther.
"NOw. look Out, and don't let him
spring upon you after you have wound
ed him," waa the cautioning advice given
the Nebraskan a the rest of the crowd
withdrew to a gaf distance.
Mr. Brysn took long and fle'llberate
aim with his rifle and pulled the trigger.
The bullet went through the panther's
heart and he fell dead to the ground.
Congratulations were showered upon the
French expedition ever to Winter tn the
Antarctic, and planning another trip to
that region, like Peary had a boy's de-,
aire to become an explorer. But his father I
wanted him to follow in his footsteps
and become a great scientist. He had won !
quite a reputation as a medical scientist j
when his father's death occurred; then;
Immediately he gave up his scientific
work and turned explorer. Charcot's In-1
itial Antarctic trip was undertaken for(
the purpose of rescuing the Otto Nord
enskjold expedition, which left civilization:
behind in 1902. The Argentine Republic's
expedition, however, got to the Norwe--gians
first; and then Charcot and his ex
pedition spent their time making explora
tions, many of which were important.
Henry Arctowski, one of the leaders of
the Belgica Antarctic expedition, and whoi
is planning to return to the Antarctic next;
year, should prove Interesting to Amer-j
leans by reason of the fact that his wife.
Is an American girl, who was studying
music In Paris when she and the Belgian,
fell in love with each other. Adrian de
Gerlache. who waa Arctowski' superiorj
In the Antarctic, is Belgium's leading ex-j
plorer, and he and Arctowski, when they,
returned to Brussels, Were loaded with
honors, their expedition being the first in j
years to accomplish anything worth while
In the Antarctic.
Roand Amundsen, who recently traveled;
across this country after locating the
magnetlo pole and making the Northwest.
Passage: MIkkleson and Lefflngwell. now,
in the frozen wastes of the North: Walter!
Wellman, Anthony Flala and Evelyn Bald-'
win, who led the two Ziegler expedition
poleward, and the Duke of Orleans, who
has to his credit important discoveries in1
and about Nova Zembla these are among
the more important Arctic explorers who
are heard from, as explorers, from time
to time.
Another explorer with royal blood m
his veins is none other than the noted
anarchist, Prince Peter Kropotkin. To
him the entire world is deeply indebted
for the mapping of great portions of Man
churia and other regions in the Far East.
He, too made important discoveries in
Finland,' and, altogether, was well started
on a career of exploration that might
have ma) him world-famous when he
became a convert to ' anarchism after
which he Bpent several years In Russian
fortresses, escaped, was pursued from one
country to another for his views and at
last took up his residence In England,
where he has lived In comparative peace
ever since.
To look at Kropotkin no one would ever
take him for an anarchist, and his voice
and every action, when he is met so
cially, are as mild as his physical appear
ance Indeed every inch of him looks
what the reference books call him a
geographer, and not the blood-curdling
thing the world calls him. He Is now 6S.
as tlrro in his unorthodox views as e ver ,
and la leading the life of a very well be
haved country gentleman and erudite
"Copyright, 190S, by the Associated Lit
erary Press.)
lucky guest and the body of the beast
was hauled back to town In triumph.
The animal was skinned and It is said
that the trophy of this hunt has been
proudly treasured by Mr. Bryan during
the years that have since passed. The
secret was well kept, even the newspa
per correspondents entering heartily into
the scheme. Many were the glowing re
ports that were written and published
at the time of the proweas of Mr. Bryan
as a hunter of big game. A photographer
was taken along with th party and th
animal was photographed in the tree
and 'In different poses after he was
killed. Mr. Bryan was presented with
a full set of these photographs. Govern
or Hogg enjoyed the Joke which he had
played upon Mr. Bryan, but he never
had the courage to expose the trick to
the Nebraskan."
' Linen Sideboard Covers.
Useful covers for tables and side
boards are of blue linen, hemstitched,
and edged with Irish peasant lace.
The linen may In fact, must be
coarse, and it Is very inexpensive. Blue
does not soil easily, while the lare Is all
that could be desired made of linen
thread and quite Inexpensive.
If the cover Is Intended for the side
board the lace and hemstitching need
be on only three sides: the selvage serv
ing for the sld nearest the wal. The
hems of these cover should be about
two inches broad.
Covers in colors are particularly
adapted to seashore and country houses,
but covers of natural linen, edged with
white lace, are handsome enough to be
used anywhere.
The Irish peasant lace is a really
beautiful fabric, though it Is too heavy
for any purpose save for household fur
nishing. ' Graduated wearing Line.
London Tlt-Blts.
Borne navvies in a railway carriage
were once In loud conversation, swearing
boisterously the while. -One of them was
especially fluent. "My Ifrtend." said an
other passenger In shocked tones, "where
did you learn to ue such language?",
"Learn!" cried the navvy. "You can't
learn It, guv-nor. It's a gift, that wot
it Is."