THE OCEAN CURRENTS
TRENO OF THOSE IN THE ARCTIC
TO BE DETERMINED.
FLIlttdelphla Geographical Society
Make bd Aeaault Upon the Problem
of DiacoTerlne; the North Pole-To
Experiment with Floating Caaka.
Tlio Geographical Society of Phila
delphia Is fairly embarked upon Its
latest assault upon the problem of dis
covering the north pole. This Is one of
the nioHt Important ventures In geo
graphical discovery Initiated In recent
years. It contemplates the determina
tion of the direction or trend of the
oceanic currents of the arctic region,
for the purpose of ascertaining the con
ditions of drift which there prevail.
The latest polar exploration origin
ated In the course of the ill fated Jean
nette expedition and the later and more
successful drift of the Fram, under
command of Nansen In his farthest
north expedition. The present project
for the determination of polur drift
was conceived by Hear Admiral George
W. Melville, engineer In chief of the
United States navy, who was an officer
of the Jcaunctte expedition. After the
disaster that overtook the Jeannette
Melville was deputed to search for the
lost bodies on tho shores of northern
Siberia. The severe experiences of
Melville during these perilous expedi
tions were not without results that bid
fair to contribute important knowledge
to the problem that has thus far baffled
the researches of geographical science
and cost many lives during the past
BOO years. For Melville believes that
through observation made then the
pole will be ultimately reached.
In a paper read before the American
Philosophical Society late in 1S07 Rear
Admiral Melville outlined his plan of
search. He proposed the construction
of small, strong casks, designed to
meet the requirements of a long drift
between arctic floes, possibly of three
or four years' duration. He suggested
that these casks be built of heavy oak
staves, with conical ends, and encircled
with steel bars, lu order to resist the
utmost pressure of Ice.
The Geographical Society of Phila
delphia undertook to carry our Rear
Admiral Mellvlle's novel proposal. For
more than a year tho society has been
engaged upon the execution of the
plan. Fifty casks have been construct
ed In San Francisco, under the super-
LTD ,. I7f
Jo7
to. 3D
It
MAP OF POLAU SEA, SCENE OF MELVILLE'S LATEST EXPERIMENT.
Ill tT, Put r-l ,!..( TT'ntrttiai.i.
George F. Kutz, U. S. N., an officer
,who Is well acquainted with Mel villi's
plans. Specially prepared messages,
to be placed Inside the casks, are now
en route across the continent. In a few
days these messages will be Inclosed In
the casks and the northern Journey
will begin. ISy means of Pacific whal
ing fleets, whose co-operation has been
generously granted to the society, and
also by the United States cutter Bear,
acting for the United States hydro
graphic service, the casks will be
shipped northward. Of the fifty, twenty-five
of them will be carried by the
steam whalers of the Pacific Steam
Whaling Company, fifteen by the rev
enue cutter Bear and ten by whalers
owned by George Siebers & Co. Dur
ing the next year It is contemplated to
send fifty additional casks.
To Determine Polar Drift.
1 The plun of operation, so far as can
be determined at present, Is to do
posit these casks on Ice floes, north of
both the American and the Asiatic con
tinents, for the purpose of determining
the polar drifts. These drifts are be
lieved by many geographers to pass In
opposed dliectlons, one northwestward
from the Siberian coast, and which Is
assumed to correspond with the drift
of the Fram; the other northeastward
from the archipelago lying north of
'America and Issuing eastward In the
sea that lies west of Greenland.
Henry Q. Bryant, the present Presi
dent of the Geographical Society of
OSK.OF THE DRIFT CASKS.
Philadelphia, has generously contrib
uted to the society the funds needed
to carry this novel polar' . expedition
Into immediate execution. .Mr. Bry
ant Is a graduate of Princeton Uni
versity, lie Is an explorer of wide ex
perience and Is at present on an ex
tended voyage In the West Indies.
4 The casks which will be sent through
!WaaaaaWasjaaaaM.!agajaan ' i miii .'mKmmmmmmttimUm '
the polar floe are about the size of an
ordinary beer keg, but with conical
rooded ends of brass. Each cask will
contain a glass tube. Into which will
be Inserted a memorandum of the lo
cality of the placing the casks In the
drift, with blank Instruction In sev
eral languages, requesting the finder,
wherever the casks may be drifted, to
Inscribe on the memorandum tha loca
tion by latitude and longitude of the
find, and with the request to forward
this Information to the nearest consular
representative of the finder's country,
or direct to the Geographical Society
of Philadelphia. Each glass tube Is In
closed In a small wooden trough, which
will be placed through the bunghole of
I n
It 10 U to
the cask and the hole will bo securely
closed.
DWELL IN A STUMP.
Queer Living Quarters of Five Men
In Southern Australia.
Sometimes the rodents and the birds
make homes In tree stumps, but man
has usually selected different quarters.
w mm
THE STUMP HOtTSK.
In the township of Wynnasty, South
GIppsland, Australia, however, five men
have converted a huge gumtree stump
Into a very habitable dwelling. This
queer home Is two stories high, the up
per story being reached by a regular
stairway. A glance at the accompany
ing picture of the stump house will con
vince you that the tree must have been
a giant of Its species.
Wonders of Nature.
If two. pieces of looking-glass are
held on the opposite sides of a lighted
lamp or candle, an endless series of
bright flames may be seen at one time.
So," In he"c61d north, '"-when the air Js
full of minute floating lce-ffakes, the
sun with its halo Is reflected many
times, and the traveler sees two, four
or more mock suns with crossing halo
rlngs of startling patterns. In hilly
countries, where the sun rises In a
if m it
BURNINQ OF THE WINDSOR
serene atmosphere, but opposite to a
thin vaporous cloud, If a human being
stand on a high hill between them, a
wonderful Image Is seen on the cloud
curtain, moving as the man moves, at
one moment clear and the next fading
away. This Is a kind of natural magic
lantern, where the cloud takes the
place of the white screen, and a man,
or men, of the slides. The highest peak
of the Hartz Mountains, called the
Brocken, Is the place where this Is
oftenest seen, so the linage Is called the
spectre of the Brocken. But mountain
eers see It often on the high Alps." The
changing rays of the morning sun make
the giant shadows vanish and reapper,
and the moving cloud-screen gives
them motion.
LEWIS CARROLL.
Peeullaritiea of the Author of "Alice
In Wonderland."
S. D. Colllngwood, In the Century, de
scribes soma of the odd ways of Lewis
Carroll, the author of "Alice In Won'
derland."
That he was, In some respects, eccen
tric cannot be denied; for Instance, he
never wore an overcoat, and always
wore a tall hat, whatever might be the
climatic conditions. He would wear
only cotton gloves. In these small per
sonal matters he had a great fear of
extravagance. At dinner In his rooms
small pieces of cardboard took the
place of table-mats; they answered the
purpose perfectly well, he said, and to
buy anything else would be a mere
waste of money.
On the other hand, when purchasing
books for himself, or giving treats to
the children he loved, he never seemed
to consider expense at oil.
When making tea for his friends he
used In order, I suppose, to expedite
the process to walk up and down the
room waving the teapot about, and tell
ing meanwhile those delightful anec
dotes of which he bad an Inexhaustible
supply.
He had a strong objection to staring
colors In dress, his favorite combina
tion being pink and gray. One little
girl who came to slay with him was ab
solutely forbidden to wear a red frock,
of a somewhat pronounced hue, while
out in his company.
At meals he was always very abstem
ious, while he took nothing in the mid
dle of the day except a giass of wine
and a biscuit. Under these circum
stances It is not very surprising that
the healtfiy appetites of his little
friends filled him with wonder, and
even with alarm.
When he took a certain one of them
out with him to a friend's house to din
ner he used to give the host or hostess
a gentle warning, to the mixed amaze
ment and Indignation of the child:
'Tlease be careful, because she eats a
good deal too much."
Two Valid Excuses. -
Last week, late In the afternoon, a
case was called by Judge Sutherland In
County Court.
"I would like to ask, your Honor,
that this case go over until to-morrow,"
said one of the attorneys.
"On what ground?" said the Judge.
"Too tired."
"Yes, your nonor. I have been argu
ing a case all day in Part II. and I am
really too fatigued to go on with this
trlaL"
"Very well, let the case go over. Call
the next case."
The next case was called and another
attorney arose.
"May It please your Honor, I would
like to ask this case to go over."
"For what reason?"
"I am too tired."
"You, too? What makes you tired?"
"I have been listening all day to my
learned friend In Part II." Rochester
Herald.
When a girl of sixteen, who Is pretty,
and has "good clothes, gets a sad took
In her eyes, it means that she has heard
It Is becoming; nothing more.
The Bible tells us God created man
In His own image and nearly every
man thinks he Is the one referred to.
HOTEL IN NEW YORK
WHEN THE CENTURY BEGINS.
It Waa a Fruitful Topic of Diacuaalon
One Hundred Years Ago,
An Immense amount of discussion Is
current as to the exact time when the
present century ends, and the next one
begins. Some very clever arguments
have been advanced on various phases
of tho subject The reader who fol
lows up all of these will be rewarded
with a vast amount of curious Informa
tion. With the great deal that Is specu
lative and purely theoretical, some
most curious and bewildering proposi
tions are brought to the front A good
deal of this Is new to the person who
has not reflected over the matter be
fore. All that Is being gone over, how
ever, Is old, thrashed material. As the
end of each century approaches the
old, old question Is mooted, people get
thinking and naturally the same Ideas
that presented to their great grand
grandparents appeal to them with the
first blush of something original.
A century since, as the year 1800 ap
proached, the prints then current were
filled with a good deal of discussion as
to whether 1800 or 1801 signalized the
beginning of a new century. One of
the most entertaining and Interesting
papers on this subject is comprised In
a letter written by Gen. Philip Schuy
ler of historic fame, Feb. 11, 1779. It
is addressed to his eldest daughter,
Mrs. Augelica Church, and was In
dited to set at rest In her mind the
baffling pros and cons concerning the
century-ending ideas. At that time
men of sound sense, and of such can
dor as to be Incapable of subterfuge
which cavilling about words affords,
held antagonistic views as stubbornly
as though millions were Involved.
Gen. Schuyler premised everything
on the fact that the birth of Christ, be
ginning at tne first minute of the first
day of Jannsry, computation com
mences with a cipher 0. Some theor
ists placed 1 at the birth of Christ In
stead of at the end of the year from
his birth, rejecting, he claimed, one en
tire year out of the series composing
the Christian era. Here Is his quaint
practical proposition to Illustrate:
Suppose, he says, a surveyor was di
rected to begin at the city hall, New
York, to measure on a due north
course. 1,800 miles, and at the end of a
mile to set up a stone to indicate how
far that stone was from the city hall,
what' mark would he place upon It?
Surely he would mark It with the num
ber 1. If he should proceed one mile
farther, and set up another stone, this
he would mark with the number 2, and
proceeding thus, when he had run
1,800 times eighty chains he would set
up a sUae and luark it 1,800, and, turn-
CITY.
Ing his face to the south be would
say: "I am now 1,800 miles from the
city hall of New York."
But if be had put the stone numbered
1 at the city hall, then the stone to be,
placed at one mile, from the said cor
ner would have been marked 2, and
the stone marked 1.800 only 1,799 miles
from New York. But placing the stoiui
marked 1 at the said corner would surei
ly mislead the traveler in determlna-i
tlon of how far he was from New York.
for seeing 2 marked on the stone be
would conclude that he had still two
miles to traverse to be at the New York
city halL
A Sure Stand.
The following story of a really smart
retort Is from "More Humors of Clerl-
cal Life," and Is told in connection with
a church In one of the eastern counties
of England:
The church possessed a valuable
Bible, which was used only on Sun
days. During the week It was kept In
a box which rather curiously formed
the stand upon which the reader of the
lessons stood. On one occasion, when
this was being shown to a visitor, the
remnrk was made that It did not seem
very reverent for even a clergyman to
tread upon the Bible.
"Pardon me," the old verger replied.
"In this church, sir, we take our stand
upon the Scriptures."
Sitt nff Bull's Grave.
A broken wooden headboard and a
neglected mound of earth In the Fort
Yates, N. D.t military cemetery mark
the resting place of Sitting Bull, the
great Sioux medicine man whose wily
brain planned the deathtrap of the
Little Big Horn Into which General
Custer's command feU. On the broken
headboard Is written: "No. 64. Sit
ting Bull, Indian." Relic hunters have
cut most of the headboard away.
The Devil in a Candlestick.
An odd candlestick is In bronze of
the brilliant flaming red always as
sumed by Mephlstopheles In masquer
ade. It represents his Satanic majesty
In ail the familiar brilliancy, with
horns and cloven foot, the latter serv
tag as a standard. The tail is curved
Into a loop handle for the candlestick
and the candle Itself, of tUe same flam
ing red wax, fits between the horns.
When the sons of a great church
worker show no inclination to study
for the ministry, she begins to build
her hopes on one of her daughters mar
rying a preacher.
Love finds the way in, bet it has to be
thrown out
ELECTROCUTION OF A WOMAN.
Mrs. Place, the Firat Woaaaa In the
World to IM la the Electric Chair.
The law is not a respecter of skirts.
It makes no distinction of sex. The
electric chair was not made for men
ilone, for the statute which prescribes
fleath as a penalty for deliberate mur
fler does not say that Its provisions
shall be inoperative If the criminal
bappend to be a woman.
But the law's machinery seems to get
out of gear when a woman Is Involved.
A sentiment that has It Inception In
the purity of woman Is held up to' pro
tect the most degraded of the set. ' Are
the female criminals of the lower
classes, It Is argued that their very
degradation precludes their realization
of the enormity of the offense; If of the
educated and well-to-do, then it can
not be that they would knowingly com
mit the crimed Insanity is pleaded la
xcuse. These Influences usually have
the desired effect on Jurors and ac
aulttal or a penalty altogether Inad
equate is the result Should the Jury
rail to be Influenced, then the higher
courts and the Governor's pardoning
or commuting power are appealed to.
At some one of these various stages the
murderess usually Is saved. " ' '
Only twice in fifty years have women
been executed In New York State. In
both cases strenuous efforts were made
to save them, but their crimes were so
AeudtBh that mercy could not be suc
cessfully Invoked in their behalf.
These two were Roxalana . Druse,
hanged In Herkimer in 1887, and Mar
tha PI ice, whose execution at Sing
Sing was the first Infliction of the death
penalty upon a woman in the electric
chair.
In the former case the victim went
sobbing, moaning and shrieking to the
gallows. Her screams resounded
'1
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lav- " -if
' 5 i-li
-
L v -. u
4
MRS. MABTHA PLACK.
through the Jail corridors. She feared
death. Mrs. Place was different " Her
death scene was lacking lu sensational
features. There was no noise, no mani
festation of terror. A plea for heaven
ly mercy were the only words that
broke the stillness of the death cham
ber. Her execution was no uiore re
volting than If the victim had been a
man.
But It had unusual features, most
notable of which was the presence of
two women who had come upon the
warden's request One was Dr. Jennie
Griffin, of Troy, who accepted an In
vitation because Gov. Roosevelt had
Bald that a woman physician should be
present, and the other, Miss Mary
Meury, of Brooklyn, who had befriend
ed Mrs. Place while lu Jail and who
witnessed the painful ordeal because
the condemned woman wanted her to
be with her to the last
Mrs Place murdered her step-daughter
in a most fiendish manner and made
an almost successful attempt oh the
life of her husband. She was convicted
of murder in the first degree aud sen
tenced, to be executed in August 1898.
Her execution was stayed -by an ap
peal to the Court of Appeals for a new
trial It was denied aud March 20 was
set as the new date of her execution.
Then from New York came a protest
against the execution of a woman.
Gov. Roosevelt was appealed to. He
Bald If she was insune he would save
ber life and bad a commission appoint
ed to examine her. They reported that
she was sane and Roosevelt said then
the law must take Its course.
Couldn't Run Away..'
There are times In war when one ac
tive brain is equivalent to a great many
guns. Witness this Incident of the Ger
man revolution of 1848, told to the Trib
une by a German-American citizen of
New York:
We were short of men, and had a
large number of prisoners to look after.
That did not worry us as long as we
were not moving, but one day we had to
make a forced march.
The country through which we were
to pass was hostile, and extreme watch
fulness was necessary. We had few
enough men as It was, and we knew
that our prisoners were ready to run at
the first opening.
Finally a young officer made a bril
liant suggestion, and it was promptly
carried out We ripped the suspender
buttons from the prisoners' trousers,
took away their belts, and knew we had
them. Their hands were busy after
that, aud fast running was out of the
question.
We made the march safely, and I do
not believe that even Yankee ingenuity
could have Invented a simpler solution.
Sausage Day.
The butchers of Berlin have a curi
ous way of Informing their customer!
of the days on which fresh sausages
are made by placing a chair, covered
with a large clean apron, at the side ot
the shop door.
Cbapel Built of Coral.
One of the curiosities of the Isle of
Mahe, in the Indian ocean, Is the chapel
that is built of coraL -
r