The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 48, October 7, 1897 by Various
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Various >> The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 48, October 7, 1897
It is thought that by this time the gas in the balloon must have become
exhausted, and that Andree and his companions have had to cut loose from
it, and are on the ice somewhere near Spitzbergen, and that they may
perhaps be so fortunate as to drift near enough to civilization to be
picked up and rescued.
* * * * *
Interesting news has reached us about Lieutenant Peary.
He left Boston in July to see if he could not establish a settlement far
to the north in Greenland, which should serve him as a base of supplies,
or a place where he could leave the main part of his baggage, and to
which he could send or return at will.
Lieutenant Peary's plan for reaching the North Pole, when he sets out in
1898, is to establish a number of Esquimau colonies at certain distances
apart, and leave supplies with each colony on which he can fall back in
case of need.
He reports that he will have no difficulty in carrying out his plan. He
met a number of old friends among the Esquimaux, all of whom were eager
to help him in his work of exploring the north of Greenland and
searching for the North Pole. He has every hope that the new trip which
he is about to undertake will be a successful one.
Lieutenant Peary reports that he is bringing with him the great Cape
York meteorite, which he intends to place in the American Museum of
Natural History in New York.
A meteorite is a fallen meteor or star, a mass of metal that has fallen
upon the earth from space. It is often called a fallen star.
From the earliest times to the present there is a record of 520
meteorites having fallen upon the earth; 142 of this number fell in the
United States; 13 were seen to fall.
Forty-five years ago a traveller visiting Greenland noticed that the
natives used some kind of metal with which they put tips and edges on
their weapons. On inquiry they told him that they obtained it from some
large stones, but they could not or would not show him where the stones
were to be found.
Lieutenant Peary determined to find them, as he suspected that they were
meteorites, and after a long and careful search he found them on
Melville Bay, a little east of Cape York.
There were three rocks, all of uncommonly large size, and on examination
they proved to be meteorites, one of them being the largest ever found.
In 1895 the two smaller ones were brought back by Lieutenant Peary; but
before he was able to move the larger one, the ice began to form in the
bay, and not wishing to be blocked in for the winter, he had to leave
the prize where it was.
Last year he made another effort to secure the big stone, but the
machinery he was using to raise it got out of order, and he again had to
abandon the attempt.
Now a message comes from Sydney, a port on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia,
which says that he has arrived safely, bringing with him the famous
meteorite.
When his vessel, the _Hope_, steamed into port she was in a very
battered condition. She had encountered so many storms and such furious
seas that her bulwarks had been washed away.
In addition to this she was burning her last ton of coal as she steamed
into port, and so her crew must have been very glad when they sighted
land.
We have not yet heard how the big meteorite was wrenched from its icy
bed, and it is probable that when the _Hope_ reaches New York we shall
have an interesting story to tell you about it.
* * * * *
The news from the Sandwich Islands is of a very pleasant character.
The Hawaiian Senate met in extra session, and agreed to the annexation
of the islands to the United States. There was not one vote against it,
and so the treaty was ratified by a "unanimous vote" of the Senate.
Every Senator was in his seat as the roll was called, and nearly every
one had a good word to say for annexation.
A protest against the treaty was handed to the President, and considered
by the Senate before the treaty was ratified.
The Senators did not regard the protest as worthy of much consideration,
as it was signed by but fifteen persons, all of whom were friends of the
ex-queen. They therefore regarded it as a political scheme arranged by
those royalists who still have hopes of restoring the monarchy.
It is said that Liliuokalani has a new plan for the throne of Hawaii.
She has come to the conclusion that the people of the Sandwich Islands
want neither her nor her rule any longer. She did so many bad things
while she was queen that the people who would like to see the monarchy
restored would not be willing that she should be queen again.
Liliuokalani has therefore decided to resign the throne in favor of her
niece, the Princess Kaiulani.
This young lady is a charming and well-educated person, and the old
Queen is wise enough to know that none of the objections which people
have to her could apply to Kaiulani.
If the plan is successful, the young Queen is to make ample provision
for Liliuokalani.
Meanwhile Japan has agreed to arbitrate the immigration question, but
refuses to consider the matter from the Hawaiian point of view.
The complaint which was made against Japan in the first instance was
that she evaded the law which provided that every immigrant must have a
contract for labor and fifty dollars in cash in his pocket, by giving
false contracts and lending the required fifty dollars, which immigrants
gave back as soon as they were safely landed.
The Japanese refuse to enter into the question whether this fifty
dollars was fraudulently supplied. They say that so long as each man
had fifty dollars in his possession, it was nobody's business where or
how he got it. They persistently refuse to arbitrate this point, which
seems to be the most important of all the questions involved.
The Japanese are continuing to send large numbers of emigrants to
Honolulu, and the Hawaiians have become very much alarmed about it.
They insist that the new colonists are Japanese soldiers disguised as
laborers, and that the Mikado is sending them over to be in readiness to
fight for the possession of the country in case the United States
decides to annex it.
* * * * *
The strike in Hazleton is now over, but the settlement has not been made
without a good deal of trouble and anxiety.
When the state troops ordered out by the Governor arrived in the town,
some of the men decided to go to work under the protection of the
troops. The spirit of the strikers had been broken by the firing of the
Sheriff and his posse, and many of the men who were peaceably inclined
thought the best thing to do was to go back to work.
The women did not agree with them. The wives and mothers of the
unfortunate men who had been killed declared that their dear ones should
not have been sacrificed for nothing; and as the men refused to continue
the strike, the women decided to go on with it for them.
A strike is of no use unless all the men stand together and hold out for
their point. The women understood this perfectly, and they determined
that the men should stand together.
Arming themselves with sticks, they set out in a body for the mines that
were being worked, and under the very noses of the soldiers raided the
works and drove the men out.
The next morning the men, still determined to go to work, started out in
a body for the mines. On their way they were met by a body of women, who
drove them back with threats and scoldings to their homes again.
The general in command of the state troops then decided that it was time
for him to interfere, and on the third day, when the women attempted to
stop the men, the troops were ordered to disperse them.
To frighten the women the officers ordered their men to fix their
bayonets and advance on the women as if they meant to charge them.
The two bodies met--the women brandishing their sticks, and the men with
their glittering bayonets pointed at this unusual foe.
The women were, however, not deceived. They refused to believe that the
soldiers would charge them, and when they saw the men advancing they
began to laugh. This laugh was rapidly taken up by the soldiers; and the
two parties facing each other, brandishing their weapons and laughing,
must have been a curious sight.
For some time the women stood their ground, but finally became convinced
that, though the soldiers were not going to do them any harm, they did
not mean to allow them to pass or to do any mischief of their own. They
then fell back, and returned to their homes; and the women being
disposed of, the miners went peaceably to their work.
* * * * *
The sheriff and the deputies who did the shooting in Hazleton have been
arrested.
At the first hearing the judge decided that there was a grave cause of
complaint against the men, and so he ordered that they should be tried
before a jury to find whether they were guilty of murdering the rioters.
As they were all respectable men, who were not likely to run away, the
judge allowed them to furnish bail. That is to say, he said that if they
could each find a friend who would give the court $6,000 as a surety
that they would come up for trial when their case was called, they might
go free in the mean time.
Each of the accused men was able to furnish the required bail, and so
they are all at liberty for the present.
* * * * *
Queen Christina of Spain is not the only queen regent in Europe. The
Government of Holland is also in the hands of a queen mother, who is
guiding the affairs of state for her young daughter, Queen Wilhelmina.
The fact has been brought to our notice by the announcement of Queen
Emma that her daughter will be eighteen years old next August, and will
then assume the cares of government.
Queen Emma has been Regent of the Netherlands since 1890, when her
husband King William III. became insane, and was declared to be
incapable of governing.
The little Wilhelmina was then ten years old. She is now a grown-up
young lady, and there is quite a stir among the royal families of Europe
to find a suitable husband for her.
A marriage has been proposed for her with Prince Alexander of Teck,
whose sister is the wife of the Duke of York, and will probably one day
be Queen of England. The Duke of York is the son of the Prince of Wales.
The young Prince of Teck has been sent to Holland to visit the young
Queen at her castle of Loo, but as yet the Queen has neither refused nor
accepted him.
It is rumored that Prince Alexander of Teck hopes that Wilhelmina will
refuse him, as he is very anxious to marry a young American of great
wealth.
This is a very romantic story, and very pleasing to our national vanity
to think that one of the daughters of America may some day be closely
related to the Queen of England, but it is a very remote contingency,
and not very likely to occur.
G.H. ROSENFELD.
INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.
Tennessee has the latest thing in bicycles.
It seems that the wheel craze is just as rampant there as it is in our
own fair city of New York, but that the facilities for owning machines
are not as great there as here.
To overcome this, a bright-minded individual has invented a new device,
which is certainly the most ingenious we have yet heard of.
It is a "nickel-in-the-slot" bicycle, and probably works somewhat on the
principle of the "quarter-in-the-slot" gas-meter, which for every
twenty-five cents put in, releases just that coin's worth of gas to
illuminate your house.
The bicycle, however, is arranged in such a manner that for every
five-cent piece dropped in the slot it will run exactly five miles.
There is not the slightest fear of the rider forgetting to renew the
nickel when he has ridden his five cents' worth; nor is there any chance
of his cheating the wheel out of an extra mile--or half inch, for the
matter of that.
When the end of the five miles is reached the honest wheel stops dead.
Whether it throws its rider over its head or not is a matter of no
moment to it. It stops then and there, and refuses to move another foot
until it is re-fed with a fresh nickel. Then it will bound along again
as peacefully as before.
The story does not say whether a device in the form of a small red flag
shoots out from any portion of the wheel to give a warning when the next
"lap's" rent is due. But without some such plan we should doubt whether
this kind of wheel would ever become very popular; for while four miles
and three quarters might be ridden with much peaceful enjoyment, the
last quarter of a mile would be filled with terrors that would spoil the
pleasure of the nicest ride ever attempted.
G.H.R.
LETTERS FROM OUR YOUNG FRIENDS.
DEAR EDITOR:
Where can the "pocket protector" and scissors-sharpening
machine, mentioned in THE GREAT ROUND WORLD, be obtained.
MRS. M.F.
NORTHFIELD, MINN., Aug. 4th, 1897.
DEAR MADAM:
We are not able to tell you where the above articles are manufactured,
but you could obtain them through the agency of any reliable,
first-class hardware store. In all such stores they have illustrated
catalogues of the various articles manufactured in their line of goods,
and you should have no difficulty in finding both the pocket protector
and the scissors sharpener.
EDITOR.
DEAR EDITOR:
I have never written to you before, so you don't know my
name. Papa is on the school committee, so you sent him a
sample copy. I saw it, and was very much interested in it. I
am extremely fond of reading and have read at least ten
different histories. And with one exception I like your
little book best of all. You can imagine how well I like to
read when I tell you I am eleven years old, and have read
over seven hundred prose books, and the books of ten
different poets. I could read primary lessons when I was
three years old.
Yours truly,
ELEANOR J.L.
P.S.--I am going to earn money so I can subscribe.
NEWBURYPORT, MASS., Sept. 7th, 1897.
DEAR ELEANOR:
We are delighted to hear from you, and to have the indorsement of such a
bright little critic as you must be after all that you have read.
Would you not like to have our premium list and learn the easiest way
for you to become a subscriber?
EDITOR.
DEAR EDITOR:
Your little magazine is of great interest to me, as I am
sure it is to many others. I am especially interested in the
accounts you give of the search for the North Pole. I do
hope that soon _somebody_ will succeed in reaching it, so as
to tell us just what kind of a region it is.
I hope that the Cubans will soon gain their liberty for I
think they surely deserve it.
Wishing THE GREAT ROUND WORLD great success, and a long
life, I remain,
Your most devoted reader,
ALISON H.
BREWSTER, CAPE COD, MASS., Sept. 7th, 1897.
DEAR ALISON:
Many thanks for your nice kind letter, and for the good wishes contained
in it. EDITOR.