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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1911)
JjT ! ' .' ; There Are Men in Employ of Uncle Sam Who Are High of Brow and Deep in the Lore of BooKs, Who Co Oat in the Open and Perform Such Feats in the Name of Science as Would MaKe the Soul of Many, an Adventurous Spirit Quail With Dread These Bespectacled Daredevils See Their Performances Only in the Light of Science, and Declare That There Is No Danger and No RisK in Their TasKs, for Danger Comes Through Encountering' the Unex pected, While They Have Foreseen Every Possible Emergency and Discounted IL IT Is Just at this late Summer season that those swashbucklers of science. th men who In her name penetrate to the remotest cornera of the earth and wrest secrets from the unknown, are at their busiest. It la now that the explorers of the Government departmenta are In the field, penetrating to the far Interior of frosen Alaska, ac alius- the highest mountains of the continent, delving Into the unknown cornera of the deserts of the Southwest. In accomplishing; these taaka they are meeting? such emergen dea aa hare turned back the adventur ous spirits of the West who have left their bonea to bleach on the trails that lead toward these accomplishments. The unathletlc aclentlst has shown himself the prince of explorers. And he holds that there Is a reason. The scientific theory of adrrnture la this: For the wise It does not exist. The only man who has an adventure la the man who does not know. A scientific man starting out to accomplish a given end sees every emergency that It la possible for him to encounter, prepares for It and meets It. It Is impossible to surprise htm. therefore an adventure sever comes his way. There la no risk, no chance of disaster theoretically. Lrtrnlnf Alaska's Scrrrt. There Is Alaska, the inhospitable, for Instance. The men of the Govern ment's a-eolnglral survey went Into Alaska ahead of the prospector. When the iroMseekers came later there waa the mark of the Government surveyor as location basis. When great de posits of fold or roal were found there waa a report from a geological survey man which told all about It. When the. Cunningham claims came Into promi nence tne a-eoloarlcal survey had all the Information with referenre to outcrop-plna-s around Carbon Mountain. It knows the atreama that lead to the arrest Interior, and what la at their headwaters. It knowa the passes that tnuat be mushed In a-ettlns; from stream to atream that will float 'sup piles. Its men of science have discov ered these secrets In their Summer trips to the new land. Had men other than scientists passed thrnua-h the ex periences of these men there would have been romance and to spare In the work. But In thla rase a knowledge of the difficulties has discounted the adventure. Put here are some of the experiences of the Individual men. A. H. Brooks. geologist In charge- of the Alaskan work, knowa more about that territory than any man llvlnc. lie It was who took the first expeditions Into Alaska. atudled Its geology, mapped Its mountain ranges and re sorted upon Its mineral resources. He It Is upon whom Congress or any of the government departmenta call when they want to know the farts with rela tion to things Alaskan. Mr. Brooks is a scientist, a geologist, wears specta cles, baa Ion bair. does not believe In adventure. One day In the Alaskan wilds Mr. Brooks gave directions for the moving; of camp. Hla directions were misunderstood- lie spent the day In explor ing, aad at night reported at the point where be had ordered the camp made. It was not there. He could eee no slg sal amok. No answer came to signal hots from bla pistol. There waa noth Compensation tywptb mi FrM!ic Chapter. ator Anthonjr ;! and fctt wtf. Ja llt. of Ohio, ar prmtnnt la Wubtnaton, p. C. aociatr at a tlma suppoa to loclud PrMldnt AooMrr4t' Administration, aad thm story pnm with xhmlr otn to tha coming-out party of Via Kathln War raa a your, g g!r1 bom thr had mt yaars pravtoualy. Other iruat at tha party ar Sooator Harwood. Carter Howard, tha Senator aphr. and Locti Paca. a friend of tha ftnator'a Young lonn Karwood per marked attention t Kathleen. fact that la aoted by Major Warrena, tha roun ladr's father. A debata la depicted In tha Vnlted Mate nat. whera Senator Steel deliver a jpeeca In favor of railroad rcu la no a. Senator Htnrood. who la In tha emptor of the "interest a. oppo ttele. L'hrtrtmaY va In Washington. D. C- la pictured, and Mra, Pteeie buv a doll for a irrsnct Ilttl girL Tha tel give a New Year party at their camp, and eome of the iDMti Indulge In cfc-ver vaudeville, among thra being Kathleen Warr-na, who, to the diatrva of her married at-ter. Doro thea, give Spanish dance In coatame. enator H:eel grove Indifferent to hi wife and suspect that ha 1 reailv In lor whti Kathleen. Mra. Pg arrives, becomes sue picloua of the fetation existing between tete and Ksthleen and 1 saved br tha latter from being badlr burned when her drees catches fire, senator Z La Vega, a foreign diplomat, become interested la; Kathleen and take hr and other mem bers of the party trr a wik through tha enow of Bald Mountain, The become l"t. and Steele and Carter organ lie a searching party. Meele finds Da La Vega and Kath leen together, shivering with cold, and a he rarriee home Kathleen, ehe call him "Anthony." and ha ca. e her "little faiend." Tha house party return to Washington. D. C. Mra. ffteele begin ta feel that her bus band I drifting away from her. Senator Her wood and hi secretary. Mia Traynor. conspire against Steele. CHATTER XX (Concluded.) W1.. I bar an appMntmr-nt. Ollle. Too finish up all that T. U T. crr rffndenf.i and answer tha Invita tions. Hts tea roe with sonorous Importance. n don't know about ac cepting; thoee Browns. I hear they ar Quits- noovo reJu However." h pulled down Ms wattroat with careful nonchalance "you do as you think best; I don't want to t tha reputa tion of being; snobbish or over particu lar. Good-bye. m dear." If pecked at her cheek with his soft colourle lip 'and went out, humming; -Violets" In a rather wheeiy tenor. 311st Traynor made sure that ha had irons; than sha took out her handker chief and rubbed hr fhwk till It was scarlat. After that she locked both doors, pulled down tha shades, and drew a nota from tha folds of her blouse. This shs read four times, although It was only a few lines, and klad It with a sort of fierce passion before hldlnr It again In bar gown. Hr amp. oyer roeaaarhUa was drlvlrif ing; to eat snd no blankets upon which to sleep. He spent the night alone In the solitude, and the next day took hit back trail to the old camp. From there he followed the trail of the party Into the camp where It awaited him. Tet these two day In the solitude, with his life dependent upon his ability to follow so email a thins; aa a trail made by a single man. were not considered an adventure. Battling Icy Streams. The possibility of exploring; aiich a region aa Alaska eVpends upon the ability to carry provisions. . It would require many mules to pack the provl aiona that may be conveyed In a sin gle small boat. The streams therefore are the highways to the Interior. Mr. Brooks was once guiding a boat up one of these streams while bis partner pulled It from the bank. Under thla arrangement, when the boat strikes the bottom the man In It always JurrTps out to lighten It. that It may float free. On one such occasion when the boat struck the bottom Brooks Jumped out. but In stead of leaping Into ehattow water, as he had expected, he jumped Into-a deep channel alongalde the boat. He waa carried a long; distance down the atream by the current. but finally scrambled aahore and overtook hla partner, who was tugging away at the boat unmindful of the things that had happened to Brooks. Geologist Elliott . Blarkwel.ier was another man In the Geological Survey who has penetrated to interior Alaska. A trip up the- Alseck River Is one of the accomplishments to 4he credit of his party. The atream la swift and shallow. Sometimes they poled and at others dragged the boat from the bank. High up the i!rAm a series of rapids was encountered, with the snout of a glacier on one side and a precipitous mountain on the other. The stream waa too swift for poling and too deep for wadiag. It became necessary to carry the supplies along the foot of the mountain and deposit them at the head of the rapids. On one trip, aa the party crept along the foot of the pre cipice, the rumble of an avalanche was heard from' a!tov. The melting snows had softened the mountainside and the voices of the packers had Jarred loose an overhanging rock, which started the landslide. It bore directly down upon them. They cowered beneath an overhanging rock and thousands of tone of earth passed over them. The boat was de molished, but no member of the party waa Injured. , Topographer R- II. Sargent and two assistants found themselves near, the headwaters of the Talkeetna River one Summer aa the season came to a close. There waa danger of being caught In an Alaskan Winter. The Talkeetna River waa swift and strong, but Its course was unknown and there was the possibility of encountering rapids or a waterfall at any point. Tet the party built themselves a raft of such strength that no contact would break it up. tied their provlalona securely to the raft and got aboard. As had been expected many difficulties were en countered. The experiences .of a sin gle day Included the turning upside down of the raft when It ran aground In swift water, the knocking down of all three men when It struck a rock CZJ' Anus briskly down th avenue. At Ninth street ha met Nelson Just coming; out of the bank. "Oet In. mjr boy. rt In." he called with ponderous geniality. "Haven't seen you for a week. How are you making; It these days, eh? No more of those wild larks you bad In Paris. Ill bet! No. I suppos you are settling- down Into Quite a man of business. He laughed, a aly throaty chortle, (rlvlns; Nelson a meanlna- wink and a playful nuda-e In the ribs to punctuate bla subtle humour. Nelson smiled responslvely. He did not entertain an overwhelming- affec tion for his ancle, but was Impelled, by the same Instinct which, as a child, made him drop bis bread butter-slda up. to show the gentleman a tolerant friendliness. "Tea." he agreed with amiable mod esty. "1 think I am doing- fairly decent ly. Uncle Nelse. Of course, a young fellow can't expect big things Just at first, but Mr. H.Uy said today that he'd make me assistant cashier the first of the month, when Graham drops out. and that will be quite a good thing. " "You bet It will!" cried bis uncle, slapping his heir on the knee In an em phasis of Joy. "I tell you. Nelse, the almighty dollar rules the world. By the bye." a sudden Idea seemed to seise hla Jocularity "how are you and Miss Farrena coming on these dayaT Anything doln'T Own up now." He prodded Nelson once more In the ribs, with a delicate faretlousnees which hla nephew found It difficult to appreciate. The boy flushed a little as he an swered. "Why, of course, you know I care for Kathleen. Uncle Nelse. I reckon everybody knows that. And I think she likes me, too. only she's so Jolly unsentimental, and and sort of friendly all the time, that I can't really tell what she does think. However." the eternal masculine conquering timid ity "all girls are queer that way. They pretend they don't rare a pin for you. and then when you come right down and ask them; they Just topple over like ripe fruit. On. I think Kat will have me ail right, when I get enough to marry on." He smiled complacently, remem bering how she had said she liked tall men with fine dlattngusbed heads. Nel son was satisfied that his own head, with rts crop ot close brown curia and high, narrow modeling, fitted perfectly Into her prescription: in fart, lately, be had had his hair cut more aeverely about hla temples. In the happy thought that It made hts profile purer Greek. "Yes. I gu.ss she'll have you ail right, and gladly." the Senator grinned un pleasantly, turning over the Informa tion of tbe morning; "but I hear that I - uv ) I J-,- ill v i -lJ jv r x . , - ill ' f . ..a - t' ' t . v - '&i&-f Ay - -m - v iT m -fr - , -vv ".--'.111 I, ..v . .h"TF m.- . m!J- ' - ?-&" - ''-VL : & . J1; w ' -M v ; .v '. i W'ff . 1-;- " at breakneck speed, and leaving one of them stranded on a rock, and the pulling off of two of the men by a -sweepir" or overhanging tree. In this latter emergency one man swam ashore and the other was lassoed around the neck by the man still on the. raft and pulled aboard. Mixing It AVIth the Mountain Goat. The experiences of the wild are of ten strange and unprecedented, but Thomas G. Gcrdlne holds the record of having fought the only hand-to-band duel with a mountain goat on a pre cipitous ledge that ' has ever been chronicled. Gerdlne Is one of tha stout hearts of the Geological Survey, and the late 90s found him placing his mark on many a lofty mountain In. many regions previously untrod by the foot ot. the white man. Jt was while exploring Copper River In 1900 that he was separated from the rest of his party, and waa following a narrow ledge aOove the stream in an attempt more than one person is Interested in that quarter." he shot a keen glance at Nelson "married and single, they all. eem to have capitulated to the charm ing Kathleen.? His voice rolled her name wtih a lingering,' disagreeable drawl. "Married what -do you mean?" For the moment Nelson's mouth was almost firm. "Tou don't know, then? You're there so much. I should think you would have noticed It long ago. They say he doesn't make much effort to hide his interest." The sneer tickled an embryo suspicion In Nelson's memory, but before he had time to answer, the carriage stopped In front of the Capitol and a group of men claimed the Senator- "I'll wait for you In your committee room." muttered Nelson, turning Into the- elevator. His expression waa not pleasant as he swung open the door labelled' "Committee of Finance." nor did it lighten any when his eye fell upon Mrs. Page draped effectively against a tall leather chair by the desk. "What a naughty face!" she chlded, tapping him coyly on the arm with her heavy Jade lorgnette. . "Has Miss War rens been unkind to you, poor boy?" Her cool, tinkling laugh tantalized his sulklness, and he glowered at her youth fully. He was decidedly too simple to play opposite her with any success. "No," he said with short conciseness, "I haven't seen her for a fortnight." "So that's why!"' The widow's pro voking eyes gleamed green through the lorgnette and a few folds of blue tulle. Ehe had recently affected long stream ers on her hats, which she fastened In a fluff under the left ear. The whole scheme was ss Incongruous as a sun bonnet on Satan, but to Mrs. Page It appeared dellclounly piquant. "Come over here and tell me all about it." She moved the- Pomeranian from the chair beside her onto her blue broad cloth lap, where he bit nastily at a complicated gold chain. Nelson dropped into the vacated seat with the enthusiasm of a condemned Innocent. ' "You know," Lucile continued talking, as she saw no reason for being bored by other people's speech when she could easily hold the floor. "I was afraid at first that you would drop out of the race when you aaw what a formidable rlvat had entered, but you have really shown a great deal of pluck." The frank ad miration in her voice waa quite clever. "And Tony is very attractive, too: I can quite understand her weakness for him." Mrs: Page dropped her shadowed to find a passage around the mountain front. It waa out on a narrow ledge that he met the goat. The animal had probably never seen a man before and as a consequence was not afraid of him. Gerdlne was Indisposed to give up the ledge .and the goat showed equal determination. Gerdlne was armed with a small hatchet and the goat was armed with the effective frontispiece which Is worn by all his kind. The goat charged Gerdlne. who sidestepped and attempted to use the hatchet. This process was repeated several times without much damage being done on either side. Finally. In a passage at arms, Gerdlne emitted a great shout, whether of fright or ex ultation it Is not stated. The sound so frightened the goat that It Jumped over the cliff and left the mountain aide to the explorer. Robert H. Chapman Is a slender, rath er delicate and unathletlc-appearlng sort of man, yet to him Is due the credit of wrestling many of Its secrets from that land of tragedy of the ex lids as demurely as sweet 16. as she ut tered this charitable extenuation. Nelson added his uncle's two to Lai die's' tne, and did a furious sum of quick addition. Being too Inexperienced to analyse motives, and too untrained to conceal his own emotions, he precipi tated the results of his arithmetic with crude haste. "What do you mean?" he asked thick ly. "Do you mean that" "Dear boy, don't let yourself' be upset by such a common occurrence."- soothed his tormentor. "In our world those things happen every day, you know, and no one thinks anything about them. Of course, I feel terribly sorry for Juliet" conscientious loyalty struggled through the crust of rose cream until something like an expression of regretful virtue permeated It "terribly sorry for her," she added pensively. "And I bad such faith In Tony he always was so dear to me. But there's no use crying over split champagne, and you must remem ber that 'many men nowadays have to take their wives second-hand." She laughed at him without mirth. It was quite diverting o tease this boy. The boy's brain had cinematographed. with lightning distinctness, the almost forgotten picture of a man and a girl standing on the stairs of a mountain camp, with their bands clasped and their faces drawn by some tense strain. It was a tableau which at the time had only Impressed him as odd hurrying home from a late train he had merely caught a glimpse of them through the window but It stung his Imagination now Into the blind Jealousy of a weak nature. ; He wanted to be alone to think: but Lucile was enjoying herself. "And do you know," she leaned for ward, enveloping Nelson In a fog of sachet and chiffon "one day when I had come here to-see your uncle about poor George," she raised an intricately embroidered handkerchief to her eyes, but prudently "I got into the wrong room really it was most embarrassing and Tony came in with Miss Warrens and was dreadfully cross at finding me there. Oh. I assure you, Mr. Harwood. they were both quite disturbed." Any older person would have suspected the thick layer of Jeune fllle helplessness, but Nelson did not notice It. "Of course I told them they must not feel badly, that I would never tell a soul only I had to tell you.' somehow." She looked at him with a marvelously childish con fidence, which was one . of the best things she hsd ever done in-that line. It failed to awaken any appreciation from Nelson, however; he seemed disin clined to talk and only stared moodily at the pale pink bird on Mrs. Page's plorer. Death Valley. In California. Here are the great stretches of burning sand extending for hundreds of miles with no water to quench the thirst of the man who would cross them.- It Is In the making of Just such trips as are here necessary that the scientific mind has Its particular advantage over that of the prospector. The scientist knows exactly how far he can travel on a given amount of food and water. So, with, a given dis tance to travel, he knows exactly how much food and water to take along. Ten pounds extra weight make it im possible for him to cross a given des ert. A shortage of one drink of water might make the same eccompliahment Impossible. The scientist- also refuses to make a farther trip into such a re gion as this than he can retrace with his given water supply. Meeting the Thirst Demon. There Is a section of Death Valley that boasts In Its area of 950 square miles but a single watering place. hat. Just as she was planning a new attack. Senator. Harwood came In, puffily and In great good humor. He bowed over the widow's blue suei-a hand with what he mentally termed "an old-world courtliness" he had read the phrase In Chit-Chat with Royalty, and liked It. "Well. Nelse, see you later, m' boy," he clapped Nelson on the shoulder paternally. "Mrs. Page and I must get to- business. So long." When he had shut the door on his nephew, he came back to the chair where Nelson had been sitting. ' . "I have Just been teasing your young nevvy the weentiest bit," cooed Lucile with awonderful attempt at Juvenile mischief? "I don't think, he enjoys shar ing his old playmate." Harwood leaned toward her until the Pomeranian snapped at his watch-charm. "Is there really anything In that?" he asked In a loud whisper. Lucile laughed her Insistent, meaning less little laugh. "My dear friend," she demurred, toying with the noisy Jeweled bangles on her wrist, "if you want tho latest scandal of society, never come to me! I go outtoo little to hear any." Excluslveness was a newly-developed cult, and Mrs.' Page never missed an opportunity to declare her retiring habits "quite an- old stay-at-home," she called herself blithely. "Of course, though. I have my eyes open," she went on, unable to resist the chance for a barbed speech, "and I see Just what everyone else sees." She settled her streamers with a conscious air of re spectability. One might have thought had one been only listening to her that the white-minded LucTle and Im morality had never brushed skirts; In fact, her convent-built speech would have been a great card, had she taken pains to dress up to it. But unlike Olive Traynor, Mrs. Page had no eye for con sistency. She failed to see the humor of chaste Innocence worn in conjunc tion with 24 false puffs and a rosy mask of French enamel. But the old Senator was not without the saving sense, and he smiled de lightedly over the nun-like seclusion of the lady's pose. "Well, anything you find out about that little affair will be worth money to me and Influence," he added with significant emphasis. 'I need a story like that, nicely worked out. and with no weak points, mind, v , .k. this T. L. & T. transaction.' he pulled his chair up to the desk and rolled up the top "bow are the women taking to it For some hours the two heads one sleek and white, with a round pink ..,,,-. h other an elaborately undu lated Titian, under a large blue chip hat j 7 TXVVl "2" -A? c-. known as Mormon Well. Another sec tion, including the Sheep Range of Mountains, has only the flow of Corn. Creek, which runs a few miles and then sinks into the sand. It was from this latter point that a surveying party un der Mr. Chapman set out to triangu late the country from the top of Sheep Range, 9000 feet above the sea. It de veloped that In one particular this party was not truly scientific. When it was five miles from camp it was discovered that one of the canteens had been left behind, and this threw the reckoning of water Bupply versus the distance to be traveled somewhat out of balance. Tne Journey was con tinued, however, as It was not regarded as a dangerous one. Bat when the top of the peak chosen for the triangula- bent over papers and rating sheets, comparing figures with certain names that had been crossed off in a thin blue book, and noting new additions to a list that finally found Its way to Mrs. Page's rattling bag. Late In the afternoon Mary Mathews and her mother passed the two, taking a very cordial leave of each other at Luclle's door. Mrs. Mathews turned to her daughter with triumphant conclusiveness. "You remember what I told you yesterday, Mary! And here they are again I wouldn't be at all surprised, not one particle. If that would be a match!" (To be continued.) Gcmeroslty and Xcrve. Popular Magazine. Among newspaper men, the borrow ing and lending of money Is no unusual thing, and the man who has a few- dol lars 19 always ready to share them with the fellow who "is hard up. One afternoon a middle-aged man. who looked seedy and hungry, and who had not had a shave for four days, leaned against the 'wall near the en Return of Skerlock Holmes CONTINUED slon In the Rhodesian police, and I am going out to South Africa at once." " "I am indeed pleased to hear that you did not intend to profit by your unfair advantage," said Soames. "But why did you change your purpose?" Gilchrist pointed to Bannister. "There is the man who set me in the right path." eald he. ' "Come now. Bannister," Baid Holmes. "It will be clear to you, from what I have said, that only you could have let this young man out. since you were left in the room, and must have locked the door when you went out. As to his escaping by that window, it was in credible. Can you not clear up the last point in this mystery, and tell us the reasons for your action?" "It was simple enough, . sir. if you only had known, but, with all your cleverness, it was impossible that you could know. Time was, sir, when I was butler to old Sir Jabex Gilchrist, this young gentleman's father. When he was ruined I came to the college as servant, but I never forgot my old em ployer because he was down in the world. I watched his son all I could for tha sake of the old days. Well, sir. , tion was reached it was found that a sister mountain was of still greater elevation, and It was necessary to climb to Its top to secure the observations desired! All this required more time, and the short water supply bred dan ger. Night came on before the return to camp could be made, and it was necessary to sleep on the -mountain top. The next morning .the party set out with its eyes on the green tree tops of Corn Creek, and rode until the horses fell beneath their, riders. Suf fering greatly, the men staggered on toward camp, resisting the Impulse to grovel in the sands of the roadside, which always overtakes the man suf fering from thirst. But for the fact (Cnncludfed on Page 6.) trance to a big" newspaper building In St. Louis. When a young man came out of the door, the older called him, and said: "Dick, lend me half a dollar. I'm all In, and I need something to eat." "I'm sorry. Barney," replied Dick, "but I haven't a cent. I'm Just on my way to pawn my watch for a five spot." . "AH right," said Barney; "I'll wait until you get back. Then you can let me have the half." Dick did. A Divinity In Japan., ' Pittsburg Gazette-Times. Until 1870 it was against the law ano sacred custom for any subject to look at the Emperor of Japan. His political advisers and attendants saw only his back. When he first left the palace the shutters of all the houses had to be drawn and no one was permitted Jn the streets. Even today, when the Emperor has the prividege of driving through the streets like one of his sub jects, it Is not considered quite proper to cast a glance at him. , FROM PAGE 3 when I came Into this room yesterday, when the alarm was given, the very first thing I saw was Mr. Gilchrist's tan gloves a-lying In that chair. I knew those gloves well, and I under stood their message. If Mr. Soamea saw them the game was up. I flopped down into that chair, and nothing would budge me until Mr. Soames he went for you. Then out came my poor young master, whom I had dandled on my knee, and confessed It all to me, Wasn't It natural, sir, that I should save him, and wasn't it natural also that I should try to speak to him as hie dead father would have done, and make him understand that he could not profit by such a deed? Could you blame me, sir?" "No, indeed," said Holmes, heartily, springing to his feet. "Well, Soames, I think we have cleared your little problem up, and our breakfast awaits us at home. Come, Watson! As to you, sir, I trust that a bright future awaits you in Rhodesia. For - once you have fallen low. Let us see, in the future, how high you can rise." (Copyright, 1911, by Sir A. Conan Doyle.)
