TEN MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Friday, January 27, 1956
Is Thai" So?
A nature puzzler. Identify me
by No. 2 and you are an Out
door Expert; by No. 4, a Woods
man, by No. 6, a Dude Wrangler;
by No. 8, a Drugstore Cowpoke.
The answer is stowed away in
the last paragragph.
1. FoiPsize, I am the world's
most solitary animal. Some of
us may live a lifetime without
seeing a blade of grass. My soles
are covered with hair. My dense
fur coat appears a size or two
overlarge. Swift of foot, I can
outrun a man: fast of stroke, I
can outswim him. My tongue is
black. When five, the female
may dig a burrow.
2. Although I live in the cold
est regions in the northern hem
isphere, where man seldom
trods, I am fairly abundant. I
may spend my entire life on the
acean although ' occasionally
some of us may come ashore,
but rarely, and roam inland a
hundred miles. I have been
sighted 200 miles asea. Somtimes
I lie in wait for my prey.
3. Nine months after pairing,
two or three young are born
a scant ten inches long, weighing
around two pounds. Immature,
they are blind and naked. For
fflfwr
mm
warmth, they snuggle into the
soft fur of the mother's abdomen
' and front legs. When eyes open
at six weeks, the young ' are
covered with a soft down fur. As
days lengthen, the offspring
come out in March and when
17 months old, and weighing
about 200 pounds, they are put
out on their own. Fathers take
no interest whatever in their
family.
Sharp Hearing
4. What I may lack in vision,
I make up by sharp hearing and
my nose is particularly keen.
Comparatively speaking, my
head is so small for my massive
700-pound body. Should I rear,
I tower 10 to 13 feet. My fur
is course, long and shaggy. My
five long claws on both front
feet and back are nontractable.
My ancestry is closely inter
woven with the dog.
5. My long tapering body,
with long head and neck, is built
for the water I am a slx-mile-an
hour swimmer and an excel
lent diver, rolling over and over
in the water for pleasure. Unlike
any other quadruped, I can
swim rapidly by using only my
two forward legs and trailing
my rear pair. My walk is
shambling, because I lift both my
right feet together and then both
my left. I have no tail.
6. Although among the world's
largest carnvores, I devour much
less meat than my much smaller
relative, the wolf. Nontheless,
most of my time is spent stalk
ing seals and walruses, hunting
caribou and fish, and stealing
birds' eggs. During summer, I
may augment any diet with sea
weed and terrestrial vegetation,
grazing like a cow.
Two-Year Cycle v--
7. My family life is geared
tr a two-yr cycle:- when five,
the smaller female will pair with
a look-alike mate during June
or July after a brief courtship
and then they part. The female
does not mate again for two
years. When with young, the
female may tunnerinto- a snow-
bank for protection from the
wintry gales while the male
keeps on stalking, through the
Arctic wastes' like a wraith. We
are old at 30.
8. Advisedly, man considers
me dangerous and I have been
know to stalk him with remark
able persistence and attack his
small boats at sea. Unlike my
near cousin, the grizzley, I tend
to kill by biting, not swiping.
My skull is heavy and my jaws
are powerfully hinged. On pad
ded feet, I stalk my prey. With
lack of cover, it takes doing.
9. Miehtv is the Eskimo hunt-
er who can bring me down! And
for them. I am indeed a valu
able trophy. My pelt is used for
mukluks, clothing, robes and
rugs; my blubber for oil; my
sinews for sewing thongs;, my
claws and teeth for or'naments;
my flesh, except for the liver,
for food; and from my bones
utensils are made.
10. Once seen, no one could
possibly mistake my kind for
any other kind of animal and
because I am a creamy white
toGmatch my background even
in summer it is often ice and
snow. Everyone knows I'm a
polar bear although in some
places I am called an ice bear.
Need I add, I am a favorite in
zoos!
(Copyright, 1956, by
Eugene Burns)
(Released by McClura
Newspapers)
By EUGENE BURNS
Ranger-Naturalist
the reader who sends me the
best true-life nature adventure,
the best nature observation, or
the best question on nature and
wildlife, a complete 30-volume
set of this world-famous refer
ence work in a handsome Seal
craft binding. Each week new
submissions will be considered.
Sorry, I simply can't answer
your many friendly letters.
Please address your letter to:
IS THAT SO! co Medford Mail
Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito,
Calif.
Free: By special arrangement
with the editors of the Encyc
lopedia Americana, my panel of
judges will award each week to
Queen Starts Royal
Tour of Nigeria
London (U.R) Queen Eliz
abeth II left today for her first
royal tour of Nigeria, which
may be her last as outright ruler
of the equatorial territory.
Pickin' Pears
News and Notes
From Camp White
By BILL HURN
Grants Pass BPOE 1584, head
ed by Lester Pearson presented
a show at Camp White Friday
night. Attending was Emil Kroe
ger, VAVS state hospital chair
man: A full house saw the two-hour
show by three groups of Grants
Pass youngsters. Daryle's studio
opened with eight dance acts,
Gold Hill Glenn Miller,
chairman of the March of Dimes
for the Gold Hill area wishes to
remind everyone who has receiv
ed March of Dime envelopes
through the mail and has not as
yet returned them with their
contribution please do so soon
as possible.
followed by the Valentine Music
studio with five numbers by the
five members.
The Redwood Public schools
of Grants Pass fifth and sixth
graders, under the direction of
Mrs. Ola Mae Simpson, present
ed 10 vocal numbers. A group
calling themselves The Nonettes
participated.
The Lady Elks served 48 layer
cakes and coffee.
Medford American Legion
auxiliary and post 15 sponsored
a game party Monday night at
the Camp White theatre build
ing. Prizes of cigarettes and
merchandise were awarded.
Mrs. Thelma Williams of the
Legion's Camp White office, Mr.
and Mrs. Tom Ginn and Ed Rus
sell were in charge.
Wind Delivering
Uncensored Paper
Info East Germany
Munich, Germany U.R) The
Communists in Eastern Europe
are shaking their fists at the
wind.
The wind is delivery boy for
some merchandise the Commu
nists didn't order a truthful,
uncensored newspaper from the
free world.
Red officials In Czechoslova
kia recently have stepped up
their . criticism of the regular
balloon barrage that carries 2,
000,000 copies of a bi-weekly
paper into their country and
Hungary and Poland.
Aircraft Said Menaced'
Although the Free Europe
press has taken elaborate steps
to insure the safety of its "winds
of freedom" operation, the Com-
munists claim the balloons are
menacing aircraft and causing
injury to people on the grpund.
Last week the Prague govern
ment charged a 14-year-old boy
was injured and his home de
stroyed when a balloon explod
ed. On Jan. 20, the Czech Com
munists announced they had sus
pended all night flights of air
craft because drifting balloons
made it too hazardous to fly.
Free Europe press takes ad
vantage of prevailing west-to-east
winds to deliver its paper,
which is coordinated with the
broadcasts of Radio Free Eu
rope, as a . one-two punch to
bring truth to citizens of satel
lite countries.
An envelope of dry ice sus-
German Provinces
Plan Atomic Vessel
Hamburg, Germany U.R)
Germany's four maritime prov
inces have decided to pool then
assets for the development of an
atomic - powered ship, it was
made known today.
The prototype vessel is to be
developed at a research site.
not yet designated. The project
will be financed by contribu
tions from Bremen, Hamburg,
Schleswig-Holstein, and Lower
Saxofly, all of which depend
primarily on sea transport for
their, economic well-being.
pended from the boxes deter
mines the range of each balloon.
When the ice evaporates, the
boxes are upended and dump
their contents.'
The discharge of the cargo
f shoots the balloon skyward and
at the same time flips it over.
The sudden rise usually rips the
balloon and its inverted position
virtually guarantees that all the
gas will be discharged before it
hits the ground.
Free Europe Press officials
say the balloons float at altitudes
over 18,000 feet and are "well
within the specifications which
U.S. civil-air regulations define
as not hazardous to aircraft."
Get Marvelous
KING OF-ALL
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And to Keep
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Nothing
without wings
climbs like a
'56 Chevrolet !
The new '56 Chevrolet handles hills
like they aren't even there! Aim it up
a steep grade .. . . and you'll see why
it's the Pikes Peak record breaker!
Ever level off a mountain with your
foot? Nothing to it. Just point this
new '56 Chevy uphill and ease down.
- on the gas.
In the merest fraction of a second
you sense that big bore V8 lengthen
ing out its stride. And up you go with
a quiet rush of power (hydraulic-
hushed valve lifters now in all engines
V8 or 6) that makes a mountain
seem as flat as a roadmap !
For nothing without wings climbs
like a '56 Chevrolet! This is the car,
you know, that broke the Pikes Peak
record. The car that proved its per
formance on towering grades in the
thin air of altitudes up to 14,110 feet.
The car that proved its cat-footed
cornering ability and nailed-down
stability on Pikes Peak's vicious
switchback turns,
-These are built-in qualities that
mean more driving pleasure and
safety for you. You can also have seat
belts, with or without shoulder har
ness, and instrument panel padding
at extra cost.
You've a choice. of 19 frisky new.
Chevrolets all with Fisher Body and
with horsepower ranging up to a new
high of 205. Drop in, when you have
a chance, and drive the new record
breaker!
THE HOT ONES EVEN HOTTER
Ninth
and
Bartlett
Streets
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2-6115
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Medford