Lincoln County leader., May 13, 1910, Image 7

i'..
. ..- ..,',.
jules verC
CHAPTER XII. (ContinniM
' AH, except Hatteras; and why could
Oils extraordinary man not sleep Ilka
the others? He grew more and more
excited, and it was not the thought of
returning that so affected him.
Whatever might be the cause, he
could not sleep; yet this first night? at
ihe pole was clear and calm. The isle
was absolutely uninhabited not a bird,
nor an animal, nor a fish.
Next morning, when Altamont and
the others awoke. Hatteras was enne
Feellns uneaav At his ahunM
'hurried out of the grotto In search of
him. There he was standing on a
rock, gazing fixedly at the top of the
mountain. His instruments were' In
Ms hand.
Presently Hatteras said, In a hurried
agitated manner, as If he could scarce
ly command himself.
"Friends, listen to me. Wa have
done much already, but much yet re
mains to be done."
"We are close to the pole, but we are
not on It"
"We are still 45 minutes latitude
from the unknown point," resumed
Hatteras, with Increased animation.
"and to that point I shall go."
"But It is on the 81111111111 of the
volcano," said the doctor.
"I shall ko ."
The tone of absolute determination
In which Hatteras pronounced these
words it Is imDosslble to describe.
His friends were stupefied, and gazed
in terror at the blazing mountain.
"Very well," he said, Anally, "since
"ou are bent on it, we'll go, too.
CHAPTER MIL
It was about 8 o'clock when they
commenced their difficult aai-ont- th
ky was splendid, and the thermometer
100a at 62 degrees.
Hatteras and his dog went first.
closely followed by the others.
But s-s they got higher, the ascent
became more and more difficult, for the
flanks of the mountain were almost
Dernendlcular. and It romilroil tha nt
most care to keep from falling. Clouds
Of ashes whirled round them reDeated-
ly, and torrents of lava barred their
passage.
Hatteras, however, climbed up the
steepest ascents with surprising agil
ity, disdaining the helD of his atafr.
He arrived before long at a circular
rock, a sort of plateau about ten feet
wide. A river of boiling lava sur
rounded it, except In one part, where
it torkea away to a higher rock. leav
ing a narrow passage, through which
Hatteras fearlessly passed.
Here he stopped, and his compan
ions managed to rejoin him. He seem
ed to be measuring with his eye the
distance he had yet to get over. Hori
zontally, he was not more than 200
yards from the top of the crater, but
vertically he had nearly three times
that djstance to traverse.
"Hatteras," said the doctor, "it Is
enough; we cannot go further!"
"Stop, then," he replied, in a
strangely altered voice; "I am going
higher."
He had hardly uttered the words be
fore Hatteras, by a superhuman effort,
sprang over the boiling lava, and was
beyond the reach of his companions.
A cry of horror burst from every
Hp, for they thought the poor captain
must have perished in that fiery gulf;
but there he was safe on the other
side, accompanied by his faithful Duke
who would not leave him.
He speedily disappeared behind a
curtain of smoke, and they heard his
voice growing fainter In the distance,
shouting:
"To the north! to the north; to the
top of Mount Hatteras! Remember,
Mount Hatteras!"
All pursuit of him was out of the
question.
At intervals, however, a g-limpse of
him could be caught 'through the
clouds of Bmoke and showers of ashes.
Hatteras did not even turn once to
look back, but marched straight on,
carrying his country's flag attached to
bis staff.
At last he reached the summit of the
mountain, the mouth of the crater.
Here the doctor hoped the infatuated
man would stop, at any rate, and
would, perhaps, recover his senses, and
expose himself to no more danger than
he descent Involved.
Once more he shouted:
"Hatteras! Hatteras!"
There was such a pathos of entrea
ty liMils tone that Altamont felt moved
to his Inmost soul.
'Til save him yet!" he exclaimed;
and before Clawbonny could hinder
him, he had cleared with a bound the
torrent of fire, and was out of sight
among the rocks.
Meantime, Hatteras had mounted a
rock which overhung the crater, and
tood waving his flag amidst showers
of stones whch rained down on him.
Duke was bj- his side; but the poor
boast was gn-rlng dizzy in such close
proximity to the abyss.
Hatteras balanced his staff with one
hand, and with the other sought to And
the precise mathematical point where
all the meridians of the globe meet, the
point on which It was his sublime pur
pose to plant his foot
All at once the rock gave way, and
he disappeared. A cry of horror broke
from his companions, and rang to the
top of the mountain. Clawbonny
thought his friend had perished, and
lay buried forever In the depths of the
volcano. A second only a second,
though it seemed an age elapsed, and
there was Altamont and the dog hold
ing the ill-fated Hatteras! Man and
dog had caught him at the very mo
ment wnen he disappeared In the
abyss.
Hatteras was saved! Saved In spite
of himself; and half an hour later he
lay unconscious In the arms of his de
spairing companions.
When he came to himself, the doc
tor looked at him in speechless an
guish, for there was no glance of rec
ognition In his eye. It was the eye of
a blind man, who gazes without seeing.
"Good heavens!" exclaimed Johnson,
"he Is blind!"
"No!" replied Clawbonny, "no! My
poor friends, we have only saved the
body of Hatteras; his soul Is left be
hind on the top of the volcano. His
reason Is gone!" "
Three hours after the whole party
were back once more In the grotto.
"wen, friends," said the doctor, "we
cannot stay longer in this Island; the
sea Is open, and we have enough pro
visions. We ought to start at once,
ar.fl get tack without tho Icaat delay to
Fort Providence, where we must win
ter."
The day passed In profound dejeo
tlon. The Insanity of the captain was
a bad omen, and when they began to
talk over the return voyage, their
hearts failed them for fear. They
missed the Intrepid spirit of their
leader.
Next morning they made all ready
to sail, and brought the tent and all Its
belongings on board. ,
But before leaving these rocks, never
to return, the doctor, carrying out the
Intentions of Hatteras, had a cairn
erected on the very spot where the
poor fellow had jumped ashore. It was
made of great blocks placed one on the
top of the other, so as to be a land
mark perfectly visible while the erup
tlons of the volcano left It undlsturb
ed. On one of the side stones. Bell
chiseled the Blmple Inscription: -JOHN
HATTERAS.
The duplicate of the document at'
testing the discovery of the north pole
was Inclosed In a tinned Iron cylinder.
and deposited in the cairn, to remain a
silent witness among those desert
rocks.
. This done, the four men and the cap
tain, a poor body without a sout set
out on the return voyage.
On the 15th they sighted Altamont
harbor, but as the sea was open all
along the coast they determined to go
round to Victoria bay by water, in
stead of crossing New America In the
sledge.
As the sloop made Victoria bay they
all hastened to Fort Providence. But
what a scene of devastation met their
eyes! Doctor's house, stores, powder
magazine, fortifications, all had melted
away, and the provisions bad been ran
sacked by devouring animals.
After a thorough search, a few cases
of pemmtcan were found scattered here
and there, and two barrels of preserv
ed meat altogether enough for ' six
weeks, and a good supply of powder.
It was soon collected and brought on
board.
At last after thirty days tolerably
quick sailing, and after battling for
forty-eight hours against the Increas
ing drift ice, and risking the frail sloop
a hundred times, the navigators saw
themselves blocked In on all sides.
Altamont make a reckoning with
scrupulous precision, and found they
were in 77 degrees 15 minutes latitude
and 85 degrees 2 minutes longitude.
"This is our exact position, then.,"
said the doctor. "We are In South
Lincoln, Just at Cape Eden, and are
entering Jones sound.' With a little
more good luck we should have found
open water right to Bafflns bay.
"I suppose, then," said Altamont,
"our only course Is to leave the sloop,
and get by sledge to the east coast of
Lincoln."
The rest agreed.
The little vessel waa unloaded and
the sledge put together again. At last
on the 24th, they set foot on North
Devon. .
It was not till the 30th of August
that they emerged from those wild
mountains Into a plain, which seemed
to have been upturned and convulsed
by volcanic action at some distant pe
riod. Altamont, who had displayed great
unselfishness and devotion to the oth
ers, roused his sinking energies, and
determined to go out and find food for
his comrades.
He had been absent about an hour,
and only once during that time had
they heard the report of his gun; and
now he was coming back empty-handed,
but running as if terrified.
"Down there, under the snow!" cried
Altamont, speaking aa if scared, and
pointing In a particular direction.
. "WhatT"
"A whole party of men!"
"Alive r
"Dead frozen and even "
He did not finish the sentence, but a
look of unspeakable horror came over
his face.
The doctor and the others were so
roused by this Incident that they man
aged to get up and drag themselves
after Altamont towards the plaee be
indicate
They soon arrived at a narrow nart
at the bottom of a ravine, and what a
spectacle met their gaze! Dead bodies,
already stiff! lay half burled In a wind
ing sheet of snow.
It was evident. this ravine had been
but recently the scene of a fearful
struggle, that the poor wretches had
been feeding on human flesh, perhaps
while still warm. And among them
the doctor recognized Shandon, Pen
and others of the Ill-fated crew of the
Forward!
"Come away! come away!" cried the
doctor, dragging his companions from
the scene. Horror gave them momen
tary strength, and they resumed their
march without stopping a minute lon
ger. Even the men themselves were never
able to give any detailed narrative of
the events which occurred during the
next week. However, on the 9th of
September, by superhuman exertions,
they arrived at last at Cape Horsburg,
the extreme point of 'North Devon.
They were on the short of Bafflns
bay, now half frozen over; that Is to
ay. on the road to Europe, and three
miles oft the waves were dashing
noiselessly on the sharp edges of the
Ice-field.
Here they must wait their chance of
a whaler appearing; and for how longt
But heaven pitied the poor fellows,
for the very next day Altamont per
ceived a sail on the horizon.
Just then a happy Inspiration came
to the doctor. His fertile genius, which
has served him many a-time In such
good stead, supplied him with one last
Idea.
A floe, driven by the current struck
against the ice-field, and Clawbonny
exclaimed, pointing to It:
"This floe!"
His companions could not under
stand what he meant
"Let us embark on it! let us embark
on it!" - . -
Bell, assisted by Altamont. hurried
to the sledge, and brought back one of
the poles, which he stuck fast on the
Ice like a mast, and fastened it with
ropes. The tent was torn up to fur
nish a sail, and aa soon as the frail
craft was ready the poor fellows Jump
ed upon It and sailed out to the open
sea.
Two hours later the survivors of the
Forward were picked up by the Hans
Christian, a Danish whaler, on her way
to Davis straits.
Ten days afterward. Clawbonny,
Johnson, Bell, Altamont and Captain
Hatteras landed at Korsam, in Zea
land, an island belonging to Denmark.
They took the steamer to Kiel, and
from there proceeded by Altona and
Hamburg to London,' where they ar
rived on the 13th of the same month,
scarcely recovered after their long suf
ferings. The first care of Clawbonny was to
request the Royal Geographical Society
to receive a communication from him.
One can Imagine the astonishment of
the learned assembly and the enthusi
astic applause when he read Hatteras'
document
The doctor and his companions had
the honor of being presented to the
queen by the lord chancellor, and they
were feted and "lionized" In all quar
ters. The government confirmed the names
of "Queen's Island." "Mount Hatteras"
and "Altamont Harbor."
The Insanity of Capt Hatteras was
of a mild type, and he lived quietly at
Sten cottage, a private asylum near
Liverpool, where the doctor himself
had placed him. He never spoke, and
understood nothing that was said to
him; reason and speech had fled to
gether. The only tie that connected
him with the outside world was his
friendship for Duke, who was allowed
to remain with him.
For a considerable time the captain
had been In the habit of walking In
the garden for hours, accompanied by
his faithful dog, who watched him with
sad. wistful eyes, but his promenade
was always in one direction in a par
ticular part of the garden. When he
got to the end of this path he would
stop and begin to walk backwards. If
anyone stopped him he would point
with his finger towards a certain part
of the sky, but let anyone attempt to
turn him round, and he became angry,
while Duke, as if sharing his master's
sentiments, would bark furiously.
The doctor, who often visited his af
flicted friend, noticed this strange pro
ceeding one day, and soon understood
the reason for It He saw how It was
that he paced so constantly In a given
direction, as if under the Influence of
some magnetic force.
This was the secret: John Hatteras
invariably walked towards the north,
(The end.)
Epigram Criminal Code.
Procrastination Is the thief of time.
Curiosity Is the porch climber of
society.
The past la the hold-up man of am
bition. Good-fellowship Is the firebug of so
briety. Conscience la the sneak thief of con
tentment The bore Is the pickpocket of pa
tience. The college boy Is the checkklter of
humor.
The firecracker is the pirate of
peace.
The welsh rabbit is the ghoul of
sleep.
Hard luck Is the shoplifter of hope.
Bad cooking Is the sandbagger of
civility. Puck.
The Muatana-.
What la known as the California
horse or mustang la In his ancestry
and essential Qualities aa Arab
LaV"" -A. -.-If.
The Experimental Plot.
Every farmer should have, and' easi
ly can have, a small experimental plot
of ground for testing the soil and dif
ferent crops. No farmer can ever
know the highest capacity of his soil
till he has fertilized a small portion
of his land very heavily with a com
plete balanced mixture of fertilizers,
planted the very best of seed, and
given the crop, or crops, extra good
cultivation. Many farmers hear or
read of 100 bushels of corn to the
acre, or several hundred dollars an
acre made In growing special crops,
and do not believe that it is possible.
They do not believe It because they
have never done half so well on their
own land, but they never put half the
amount of fertilizers, nor half as good
seed, nor half as good cultivation, to
the crops they grew. Try an acre, or
even a half acre, of ground on your
own farm this coming season and see
what results can be had from it Be
gin now to fertilize and do not' stop
till the piece of land is as fertile as
it can well be made with at. leaBt
three dicieul kinds of fertilizing mat
ter. Prepare the land in the very best
manner, use the best seed, and give a
dozen cultivations. You will surprise
yourself with results. Journal of
Agriculture.
ram Maah.
Can you make a bran mash? Like
coffee, maahed potatoes' and a few of
the everyday things, the average fur
nished is not of good quality. To
make a bran mash, take a clean
bucket, well scalded out, and put In
the measure of bran. Then pour into
the center, stirring all the time, scald
ing water enough to make it moist
Cover it closely while hot with a blan
ket, and let It Btand three or four
hours, until cold. There are many
times when a cow or horse is sick
and weak, and needa a bran mash. The
Tmm Alaska Wheat rale a.
The "Alaska wheat" fake, which hag
been pretty thoroughly exposed In the
west, in now attracting attention In
the east Commenting on the result
of some experiments made by a New
Jersey farmer with this cereal "gold
brick," the Boston Transcript re
marks: "If the wheat of Alaska can
reclothe our old but still responsive
acres with harvests of the golden
grain, It will be an obligation of no
mean magnitude to be added to what
we already owe her for past and po
tential yields of gold and copper, lum
ber and coal." Unfortunately for the
responsive acres which are awaiting,
the coming of Alaska wheat, that 'fa
mous cereal has been repeatedly ex
posed as a fraud. Its latest previous
appearance in the limelight was in
Idaho, and the Saturday Evening
Post, by giving it a page of praise,
brought It to the attention of scien
tists and agricultural experts, with ths
result that the government Issued a
fraud order which prohibited the Ida
ho promoters circulating any litera
ture regarding It
i
r'
To Prevent Feed BolHnar.
So many horses, especially nerv
drivers, get in the habit of gulping
their feed down In great mouthfuls.
Here is a device
that I have found
very convenient
and effective in
preventing feed
bolting. The feed
is put into a hop
per (b) outside
the manger, and
Is allowed to run
Into the manger box (a) In a thin
stream. The size of this stream Is reg
ulated by the slide (c), and It Is Im
possible for the horse to get more feed
in his mouth at one time than he caq
easily masticate. Farm and Home,
The Wheat Situation.
The high prices which our farmers
have run up for wheat have stimulat
ed the cultivation of the grain
wherever It Is possible to raise it
Last year Chile produced 19,000.,003
bushels, and waa encouraged by the
results to sow many more acres this
year. Experimental stations of the
Chilean government are distributing
the best varieties of seeds among the
THREE-HORSE HITCH.
EE
V
mQLZl
3L
This arrangement enables one horse to walk in the furrow when
ploughing and two on the unploughed land. The length is marked on each
of the' parts. The draught chain must be set well toward the left of th
head of the plough.
usual proceeding Is to use any old
bucket and some hot water. A hand'
ful of bran Is stirred Into a slop, and,
scalding hot, Is put under the sick
animal's nose, only to be rejected. It
should be cool, or cold, and only moist
enough to hold together when pressed
In the hand. Then add a little salt,
and It Is relished by the sufferer.
California Cultivator.
How to Fasten Mallet Handles.
The old method of fastening mallets
:o handles by boring a hole through
he head and Inserting a wedge from
.he outside may be superseded by a
lew way that makes the tool much
eater and one that conceals the
wedge and eliminates all possibility of
the head flying off as the wedge can
aot come out. This new Tray Is to
aore a hole the size of the handle and
three-fourths the distance through the
head, then cut a slot In the handle
md Insert a wedge as shown In figure
1. Put the wedge end Into the hole
bored In the head and drive It In.
Whe"h the wedge touches the bottom
3f the hole (Fig. 2) It will be driven
Into the split of the handle, thus forc
ing the sides out and making a tight
5t. Popular Mechanics.
Deep Plowing;,
Results of experiments at the Kan
sas station show that deep plowing (8
to 10 Inches) tends to. Increase the
number of soil bacteria In both sandy
and slit soils. Deep plowing tends to
Increase bacterial activity. More am
monia Is produced. Deep plowing
tends to decrease denltrlncatlon of the
reduction of nitrate and the liberation
of free nitrogen.
Increase In Farm Horaea.
Government reports show that farm
horses have Increased in number from.
13,000,000 to 20,000,000 'since 1900, and
In value from $44.61 to 205.64 each.
Illinois has more farm horaea than
say other State In the Unlo
farmers. If American farmers keep
down their production to hold up
prices they may find they had such a
good thing that they tempted all the
world into it and broke up the snap,
New York Press.
Bfalclaa; Good Dntter.
The best butter is made from cream
collected about the same time. Mixing
cream from three or four days' skim
mings Is what makes the texture of
butter uneven and the flavor poor.
Keep the different skimmings sepa
rate, and churn them separately, as
far as possible. This requires soma
more work, but it makes better but
ter. If several skimmings are mixed,
stir the mixture well when cream Is
added.
All cream should be frequently
stirred when ripening' In order to
make the ripening progress evenly
through the mass. Always skim milk
before it becomes coagulated.
Straw In Manure.
Owing to Its abundance, straw is
added to barnyard manure, but it can
be made more serviceable If made fine
with the feed cutter before being used.
While straw may soon rot after being
mixed with manure, yet in a fine con
dition it Is a much better absorbent
and can be forked Into the manure
with advantage. When loading and
spreading manure there is a saving of
labor when handling that which la
fine, and the manure will be more val
uable because the loss of ammonia
will be arrested by the use of suitable
absorbent materials. .
Diversified Farmlnar Spreading;,
Diversified farming Is fast redeem
ing agriculture. Even the Western
people are finding out that crop rot
tlon is more remunerative than the
one-crop method of farming. Diversi
fied farming and stock raising will re
deem the West as it has the prosper
ous part of the East
Object of Soli Cnltnre.
Cultivation of the soil la not merely,
done to kill weeds, but it is a molaturt
conservator; makes the soli more por
ous, so that the plant roots mors eas
ily penetrate in search of plant food.
In time of protracted drought the oul
ttvator should be kept going whstaa
there are weeds or not