Show THE MIDNIGHT SUN Wonders of a Spectacle Few Mortals Ever SeeThe I See-The various phusci and peculiar attributes at-tributes associated with the sjim In Its extreme northern orbit have long cor sllluled a theme of fascinating interest I and Infinite speculation The remoteness Inc I-nc s of the polar regions whence alone these solar evolutions may he observed I served and the diversified accounts act forth by the comparatively few i travelers who have penetrated those frigid zones are principally responsible responsi-ble for the subtle mysteries Involving the subject Weavers of juvenile romance ro-mance delight In portraying a land where the Arctic sun shines without intermission in-termission the whole summer through but seldom is the appearance of that L I describes de sun and the course It actually explained with any degreo of precision How rarely the midnight sun is viewed by the mortal eyes will be hotter hot-ter understood from the fact that few of the thousands of miners In the famed Klondike regions however extended I ex-tended their quest for gold have ever j I penetrated sufllclently far north to witness I wit-ness the phenomenon Not until the 32 minutes north latitude of C degrees is reached which by sea means the I passing of Bering straits Into Arctic watara does the sin cease for its brief interval In midsummer to dip beneath the Icebound horizon The duration 1 of this period at the point specified which is 1408 geographical miles south of the pole represents an entire day of I I twentyfour hours while at the furthermost I fur-thermost limit of Arctic navigation the space or perpetual sunlight lengthens Ito I-to nearly three months Throughout I I this long summers day the sun describes I de-scribes a circular orbit once In every twentyfour hours attaining its greatest 1 great-est elevation at high noon and sinking Ito I I-to its lowest position immediately r above the horizon and due north at tho hour of midnight At no time In these I northsrn regions Is the sun so Intensely Intense-ly dazling as In the south while under various Influences of the atmosphere It assumes the most fantastic aspects Such conditions are especoally prevalent preva-lent In the late afternoon hours for as the sun curves downward toward the horizon the moisture in the air becomes be-comes more or less Intense causing the orb to assume the most marvelous colorings col-orings At times this will be a vivid red the effect of which on the surrounding sur-rounding world whether land or ice strewn sea is startling in the extreme Always too chill for an otherwise real icHo I niroTii > cK tn rir v the whole universe at such times seems steeped In blood in the midst of which the sun is fixed like an ominous scarlet seal Again and more frequently as the midnight hour approaches an opalescent opales-cent effect will dominate the shining disk from which prismatic colorings radiate over the polar landscape reflecting re-flecting a maze of spectacular iridescent irides-cent hues In drifting clouds and spreading ice fields When finally the sun reaches its lowest decline Its appearance ap-pearance Is almost Invariably characterized charac-terized by a phantomlike pallor on which the eye can rest unbllnded by any glare Thus appears the traditional tradi-tional midnight sun and for the space of an hour It apparently hovers thereIn there-In a direct line with the pole during which interval the world seems wrapped In drowsy awesome silence After the brief season of continuous continu-ous sunlight the sun dips lower and lower beneath the horizon until the 22nd of September when after restIng rest-Ing as it were on the rim of the world for the space of a day It disappears altogether until the 22nd of the following follow-ing March Of such short duration are the Arctic Arc-tic summers and so rigorous and prolonged pro-longed Ho winters that absolutely no vegetation of an orborous character exists along the shores bordering the I Arctic seas Notwithstanding these utterly ut-terly barren conditions however there are many Indications In the form of petrified forests and fossil plants which would indicate a former temperate temper-ate and possibly tropical climate in these Arctic regions Jn this same connection con-nection a strangely beautiful tradition exists to this day among the Eskimo tribes which Inhabit the land There was a time they say long generations ago when the sun never set on the regions of the North and when the strands along the sea were forever hidden with mantles of living green And the waters that washed these beautiful shores were ever waters wa-ters for there was no winter to freeze them And the people who dwelt In this wonderful country were always glad for none of them had over offended of-fended the great Spirits of the Winds who ruled over them from his beautiful beauti-ful snowwhite palace whose glistening glisten-ing battlements could be Just faintly discerned beyond the sea In the north Hence It was that peace and plenty fell to the lot of this people and sorrow was unknown among them But one day a strange thing came to pass As the people were resting and feasting among the trees as was their custom throughout their wakeful hours a beautiful canoe as white as ivory was seen drifting silently toward the shore from the direction of the castle where dwelt the Spirit of the AVInds And as the frail baric drew near the people came and gathered wonderlngly upon the shore to learn the meaning of the strange spectacle Foremost of all the rest stood the young chief of the tribe 1 i a comely youth whose influence over his people was hardly less than that of the great Spirit of the Winds Now M hen the Ivory white canoe had floated quite up to the shore a great awe fell upon the people for there fast asleep among the folds ot an ermine robe lay a beautiful maiden whose skin was as fair as the snow llower and whose hair was like a mantle man-tle of sunshine And when the young chieftain beheld this wonderful vision he stepped forth from the shore into the water and standing beside the ivory white canoe gazed down upon the face of the fair sleeper Then In that same Instant the maiden awoke and looking upward Into the face of the chief she met his eyes and their souls straightway passed from one to tile other But when the chief had borne the maiden to the shore and questioned her whence she came he was troubled In his heart for ahe had answered him I am Delfa the daughter of the Spirit of the Winds and I have drifted here from yonder snowwhite castle In the North But I will return there no more Henceforth my home shall be with you and your people And the chief was fearful lest he should offend the Spirit of the Winds and turn him against his people Yet because his soul was bound to the soul of the Princess he could not send her away Wherefore he bade her remain And Immediately the Spirit of the Winds arose In the North and In a terrible ter-rible voice commanded that his daughter daugh-ter be restored to him But this could not be for her soul und the soul of the youthful chieftain were as one Then in his wrath the mighty spirit caused an icy blast to go forth from his snow white palace and the blast mote with such fury that when it had passed tIll > land was left a desolate strand lila anger an-ger was yet more terrible against the kneeling multitude and he commanded command-ed darkness to come down upon them And the Ice and the cold and the darkness dark-ness continued for tho space of many days before the offended spirit would relent and suffer the sunlight to re turn for a brief season And ever since concludes the legend the hl dren of the North have each year been visited with long dreary seasons of UarkneMs and cold because of the Prin cess who came in her ivorywhite canoe to perish in their midst Joso de Oil ares in St Louis GlobeDemocrat |