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CHAPTER XIII.

DRIFTWOOD--WHENCE IT CAME.

The driftwood and other material found on the northern sides of the shores bordering the Arctic Ocean, present further proof that the earth is hollow, and that the material came from the interior of the earth; some say from Siberia. If so, and it floated from there, it must have come past the supposed pole. Why, then, cannot the explorers sail over the very same course?

Because the driftwood never came from there; if it had, they could have pursued the same route. One might ask why they have not explored, or sailed, to the place from which this driftwood came. Heretofore, all explorers have had but one object in view,--to get as far north as possible, not knowing that the earth was hollow. If the compass told anything after they got half-way round, or more, it

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would locate the north from the place they had just come from (having passed the magnetic pole); and, not aware, therefore, that it was the compass, and not the ship, that had turned round, they would steer out again, thinking they were going north. It would be next to impossible to reach the interior of the earth under such conditions, passing through stormy, cloudy, and foggy weather, and not knowing how the compass should work.

Greely tells us, on page 100, that Private Connell and Frederick found a large coniferous tree on the beach just above the extreme high-water mark. It was about thirty inches in circumference, some thirty feet long, and had apparently been carried within a couple of years to that point by a current. A portion of it was cut up for firewood, and for the first time in that valley a bright, cheery camp-fire gave comfort to man. Now, there is no timber of the dimensions mentioned growing anywhere near where it was found. Whence did it come? There is but one place that I can think of, and that is the

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interior of the earth. A wood fire made from native wood is a thing practically unknown, barring a few dry willows.

Farther on (page 106), Greely states that a large number of pieces of driftwood were found near or slightly above the high-water mark. Some of the pieces were six or seven feet long, and from four to eight inches in diameter. Nearly all were coniferous woods. If this wood drifted from the earth's surface, it would be obliged to go hundreds of miles, and almost constantly through frozen water; while, upon the other hand, if it came from the interior of the earth, it would have open water to drift in, and tidal waves to lift it above the high-water mark.

On page 308 Greely informs us that about half a mile from the coast he found an old piece of driftwood nearly six feet long, four inches wide, and four inches thick--apparently pine or fir, and evidently split from the body or branch of a tree. It was partly buried, and indications were that the tree must have been large.

Note that he speaks of it as partly buried,

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which would be the case if it had been thrown there by some volcanic eruption.

One of the most interesting articles he discovered was a piece of birch bark, admirably preserved. This timber, it should be noted, never grows in that vicinity.

On page 368 Greely says: "On the shores of this lake Biederbick found a pair of reindeer antlers, and I picked up a piece of close-grained wood--apparently pine--two and a half feet long, and nearly an inch in diameter. In a ravine near the camp were two trees, probably coniferous, partly covered by earth. One was ten feet long and sixteen inches in diameter, and originally had two branches. The second tree was six feet long and twelve inches in diameter. They were about one hundred and fifty yards distant from Lake Heintzelmann."

If Greely was in a country where such timber grew, why did he say anything about it? Because it did not grow in that country, the incident was worth recording.

Greely writes on page 370 of the many musk-oxen--fifteen in one herd and three

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in another--which he saw. In the vicinity enough willow remained to enable them to make a fire and brew tea.

From the writings of different explorers, I learn that willow is about the only shrub or timber growing in that country. It sprouts in the spring, and is generally frozen down in the winter, and it is unusual to have it large enough to cook a cup of tea; so much so that he speaks of it in this connection.

Nansen says, on page 303: "A secret doubt lurked behind all the reasoning. It seemed as though the longer I defended my theory, the nearer I came to doubting it. But no, there is no getting over the evidence of that Siberian driftwood."

Although Nansen felt the driftwood came from Siberia, I hold an entirely different view: it came from the interior of the earth.


Next: Chapter XIV. Have Other Than the Eskimos Inhabited the Arctic Regions?