Navigating the "Norge" from Rome to the North Pole and Beyond With 37 Illustrations GENERAL UMBERTO NOBILE GEOGRAPHIC ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS SIXTEENTH AND M STREETS NORTHWEST, WASHINGTON, D. C. ORGANIZED FOR "THE INCREASE AND DIFFUSION OF GEOGRAPHIC KNOWLEDGE" use, ARTICLES and photographs are desired. For material which the Magazine can generous remuneration is made. Contributions should be accompanied by an addressed return envelope and postage. IMMEDIATELY after the terrific eruption of the world's largest crater, Mt. Katmai, in Alaska, a National Geographic Society expedition was sent to make observations of this remarkable phenomenon. Four expeditions have followed and the extraordinary scientific data resulting given to the world. In this vicinity an eighth wonder of the world was discovered and explored-"The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes," a vast area of steaming, spouting fissures. As a result of The Society's discoveries this area has been created a National Monument by proclamation of the President of the United States. AT an expense of over $50,000 The Society sent a notable series of expeditions into Peru to investigate the traces of the Inca race. Their discoveries form a large share of our knowledge of a civilization waning when Pizarro first set foot in Peru. THE Society also had the honor of subscribing a substantial sum to the expedition of Admiral Peary, who discovered the North Pole. NOT long ago The Society granted $25,000, and in addition $75,000 was given by individual members to the Government when the congressional appropriation for the purpose was insufficient, and the finest of the giant sequoia trees of California were thereby saved for the American people. THE Society is conducting extensive explorations and excavations in northwestern New Mexico, which was one of the most densely populated areas in North America before Columbus came, region where prehistoric peoples lived in vast communal dwellings and whose customs, ceremonies, and name have been engulfed in an oblivion. a TO further the important study of solar radiation in relation to long-range weather forecastings. The Society has appropriated $60,000 to enable the Smithsonian Institution to establish a station for four years on Mt. Brukkaros, in Southwest Africa. Copyright, 1927, by National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C., in the United States and Great Britain. All rights reserved. Entered at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., as Second-Class Mail Matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Sec. 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized July 1, 1918. THE NATIONAL COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. WASHINGTON DC IN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN ACROSS THE MIDI IN A CANOE Two Americans Paddle Along the Canals of Southern France from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean BY MELVILLE CHATER AUTHOR OF "THROUGH THE BACK DOORS OF FRANCE," "RE-DISCOVERING THE RHINE," "HISTORY'S GREATEST B With Illustrations from Photographs by the Author ORDEAUX'S bureaucratic humdrum was suddenly disrupted when, one hot August day, a strange pleasure craft was unloaded on the quay. Although messieurs the customs officials knew the proper duty ratings on boats propelled by steam, or sails, or petrol, they were quite at a loss as to how to rate ours. In search of a precedent, the scurrying office staff produced weighty tomes. from the archives and even forgot to keep alight its cigarettes. Finally the formula for calculating ships' cubic contents was applied to our case and our clearance papers were prepared. They ran: "The proprietor makes entry of one Canadian canoe, of tonnage 0.03, with two fantastic oars (avirons de fantaisie), subject to customs charges following. We paid the charges, then a porter carried off our 0.03 ton of canoe on his back, and Bordeaux's bureaucratic calm was resumed. "Will we have time for a glimpse of Bordeaux before the canoe arrives at its destination?" we asked the railway official who presided over the petite vitesse, or slow-freight service. "But certainly, monsieur," he replied. Now, we were shipping the canoe to a point on the Garonne Latéral Canal, at no great distance from Bordeaux. "It will take a day, perhaps?" we hazarded. "Eight days, monsieur," he replied suavely. PLEASURE CRAFT ARE UNKNOWN ON THE GIRONDE That was our introduction to a phrase which we were to encounter many times. For, whether we wanted films developed, or a suitcase repaired, or boots soled, the native response-implying perhaps that Sundays, holidays, and church festivals were included in the estimate was a cheerily smiling, "Eight days, monsieur !" The customs snag over our canoe became comprehensible when we discovered that pleasure craft are unknown on the Gironde. Its 62-mile stretch from the Atlantic to Bordeaux and its radiating rivers and canals, the whole totaling 1,300 navigable miles, are employed almost exclusively for commerce. You sense the traditional aspect of importing when you learn that Bordeaux's tall-masted sailing ships still cross to BORDEAUX'S SIX MILES OF WHARFAGE CURVE ALONG THE BANKS OF THE GIRONDE This Midi port is one of the few of large size which have troubled to beautify their water fronts. Its broad, quay-paralleling thoroughfare, with tree-shaded promenades and public parks here and there, proves that slummy elements can be reduced to a minimum (see, also, text, page 130). Many of its vessels are engaged in the wine trade, the most important of the port's enterprises, but some of its tall-masted sailing ships still cross to Nova Scotia, as they did in the sixteenth century, to obtain a Lenten supply of codfish. WHERE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS LANDED IN FRANCE The shipping lines of Bordeaux, 62 miles from the mouth of the Gironde River, diverge to four continents, and the channel is being deepened to accommodate vessels of 28-foot draft. During the World War Bordeaux was one of the eight United States base ports in France, from which thousands of doughboys went forth to write a new chapter in the history of American achievement (see text, page 130). |