THE RIGHT WAY TO GET TO THE NORTH POLE.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2546, 5 March 1877, Page 2

THE RIGHT WAY TO GET TO THE NORTH POLE.

Mr"Joseph Newton, •A.LC.E.,<wriCes to the following effect:—The result of the (lasl Polar) expedition is that a higher latitude was reached than^h"«Tever been approached by mortal' man, before, and that, at the last, 400 milesof unexplored territory remained between Nares'and the North Pole. If we really wish to complete the exploration which has so often been begun and 7 left runfinished, other means than those hitherto used for conducting it must be employed. Ought {here not to be in'auy future ?expedttu«c:sr»aiething beyond the merely nautical element in its composition P 'Dupng-.jLko Crimean war the mechanical engineer was found to be a valuable auxiliary to the military office, and a hastily constructed railway did the duty of hunaredsl'ojE im? f The fact is that a combination of the same kind is needed between the ?i*Val officer commanding the Arctic Expedition and the engineer. The duty Of the former should, to a certain extent, cease-and determine when his Vessels aMoajrikatetl as far as skill and/seamanship could^M, them. Afterwards the engineer should be the commanding "office*, a IV&tifi 'pot> sible good can 100 or 200 men do, distributed among a-number of sledges, at which they are tugging, and pulling, and hauling' until fatigue compels tthein to return to their ships, without baring got over a mile of fre^h ground? The discovery by Mr Hart, naturalist to the Nares Expedition, of a seam of coaKn~""the"^j£*ctio" regions is by far the most important incident in connection' with' 'thVla'Vt'visit to that inhospitable place.- The existence of coal suggests, unmistakably enough the mode,' o.f procedure which ought to.be employed in any future attempts to reach the Pole. The mechanical engineer, on his arrival at the newly found coal-bed, would commence operations — not, by causing the dragging .of sledges -hither and thither by the ~acfcion\of sentient bone and muscle,' but I by. establishing a colliery. Thus nature's own antidote to the bane*vof-- Arctic.^exploration, cold, would V-W*. dftai'ned£ and the giant force of- steam would?presently be enlisted into the;rank»,oFthe exploring army. Once this% ''coign of vantage" bad been gained, the Government, guided by the adyice and ..assistance^ of railway engineers at Hfcme.fc'mighi' tiinSport to it properly constructed locomotive engines, built, if need were, semi-boat fashion, and having attached "to them fast-running steel cutter drums, for disposing of ice and other impediments.. 'I he necessary kind of engines »nd'appliances for- inch work will readi|y.,. suggest itaelf ■to practical men,' 1 but, generally speaking, broad-tired wheels, the _ avoidance of cast-iron, a combination of lightness with ,Btrength ?(r and a narrow gauge, should'chftiracfise-ice-cutting or Pole-searching locomotives., £uch engine! should, of course, be of the requisite horse* rower to, do all-the pickaxe work required for the''cutting «f' projecting^ietf, filling up cavities with the deb.ru, and to draw three or four carriages, "'constructed in a rough and strong " Pulman" style, for the conveyance of navvies,s provisions, stoves,, tools, &c. Thus equipped and provided, the pioneer ' etfgine^'Jwould clear the road, whilst reserve trains would follow in'its-wake. Such an arrangement would keep the men always fresh and strong, whilst at the colliery workshops repairsjotf machinery, implements}land 'fitments'generaily could be effected. Experience would doubtless dictate many other expedients tending to facilitate operations; but, by the aid of such means as have already been named, there is little doubt that alh" engineering^ difficulties", in the way of r the formation of an Arctic tramway -wo\if«tffa Tttme, be overcome. Engineers when they cannot o'ertop a mountain tunned'through it. Glaciers .might also.be^pierefd'*y tht engine " needling/ at ttsbasejh a ssimilar manner ;, and, in short) there^ appears to us to be no substantial'! rea'soU why the North Pole "should very n^ucli kmger.re} main,, either ;,a terra incognito^'or? A mltr inconnu, if .its,discovery b&.buTeptrusted to. the' united'pluck of thei Britigh' sailor and the.skill ofjthe British engineer.— News of the World. " ,j,. t .

„His".Bank Che<jub.—'Af a jbolonh! man was walking oufc ,6f. the poat-osce yesterday' morning, withVai proud .step f iVrjng just beeji handed a letter at^e general delivery window, be was overhauled by a' brush boy in a barber's shop, wbooallecj out, " So de tailor has sent in his bill—yi, yi! " . "Boy! "said the other'in-alofty tone —"boy, I is* expecting a cheque from Toledo." ' ";And • • it's^- ip*; daft letter, eh ? " " Dats de superstioion* my son." " " I'llA wait and see," chuckled the youngster;. and he stood- betide the other when • the-envelope Twa» ? torn open, 1 and a handful of election slips wipre^akeh out.— - " Gwine>to- get.dat cheque jpashed right awayp" sneered the brush boy. " Bub; you's a sniall cliilo yet," answered the other, " an' it would be frowing tidie" away to splain to you dat de.se slips come one day ahead ob de cheques on de bank. When you is a few ycahs older, you'll know fur more." —Detroit Free Press,