US. Zoologist
Critical of Polar
Bear Legends
By William C. Harrison
Associated Press Science Writer
CORVALIS, Ore. UFI — A zool
ogist, just back from polar bear!
hunting in the Arctic, criticized)
Monday some popular legends 1
about the animals.
The bear does not blend into I
his snow habitat, but has a yellow j
coat that stands out like a sore j
thumb, said Martin Schein of ;
Pennsylvania State University, J
who had a half-inch growth of j
beard he said he hasn’t had time j
to shave off.
‘'I strongly disbelieve the legend I
that bears travel great distances in j
the water,” said Schein. He left an i
expedition to the Spitzenbergen ]
Islands, halfway between Norway j
and the North Pole, to attend a j
meeting here of the American In- i
stitute of Biological Sciences.
He said polar bears stay close j
to ice or land and are very vulner- ,
able in the water. The tale of their |
prowess as swimmers is based on j
a supposed one-time sighting bv i
a ship’s crew of a bear 200 miles
from land.
The bear probably was carried to
the area on a drifting ice flow that
melted. Dr. Cbein said at a news
conference.
"Nonsense" . . .
Asked about the notion that the
polar bear covers his back nose
with a white paw while hunting
on the ice, Dr. Schein laughed and
replied, “nonsense.”
The pipe-smoking professor of
animal behavior went with a team
of photographers and scientists to
the islands this summer on an ex
pedition financed by the New York
Zoological Society. The rest of the
team is still there.
They find a bear swimming near
an ice flow, herd it by boat toward
the ice and shoot it with anestheti
zing darts as it scrambles out of
the water.
They rush up as the bear drops
unconscious and measure heart
rate, respiration, size and many
other physical characteristics.
Using grizzly-sized doses of the
anaesthetic, the hunters had ex
pected the bear to be out for only
4 to 6 minutes. But they found it
remained unconscious for half an
hour or more. It came to with a
bad hangover, was sleepy for an
other hour and groggy for 24 hours
or more.
Dr. Schein said the expedition
is a pilot study and test of tech
niques.
A later long-range study of
polar bears’ social behavior, move
ment and population is planned,
he said.
Plant Radio Transmitters
On the next expedition the sci
entists hope to plant small radio
transmitters under the hide of
bears so that monitors can track
their movements and study details
of their physical processes.
Almost nothing is known of the
polar bear population or the bears’
movements and habits, Schein
noted. It is known, however, that
the bears follow the ice move
ment from north in the winter and
many are stranded on the unin
habited islands of King Karl’s
Land, when the ice pack recedes
in the spring.
King Karl’s Land, made a pre
serve by the Norwegian govern
ment was the target of this sum
mer’s expedition.
The party was blocked, however,
by the worst ice year in the past
30 or 40 years and has had to
hunt fringe areas to the south.
The area was some 600 miles south
of the pole and about that dis
tance north of Norway.
It was hard work for grandma
to boil the weekly wash, but U.S.
Department of Agriculture tests
indicate her method probably got
rid of more harmful bacteria than
today’s washing machines do.
ARA Projects
Will Create 850
New Jobs in Alaska
Projects approved by the Area
Redevelopment Administration of
the U.S. Dept, of Commerce since
the start of the ARA program 15
months ago will help create nearly
flat) direct and indirect new jobs
in the State of Alaska, it was re
ported recently by Harold Wil
liams, acting ARA Administrator.
Summarizing the activities of the
federal agency — created to work
with private enterprise, local com
munities and the states in helping
to solve local economic problems
—Mr. William said that ARA had
invested nearly $1.5 million thus
far in the State of Alaska.
To date, nine ARA programs
have been approved in the State
of Alaska. These include four tech
nical assistance projects to study
means of creating new industry
and work for the jobless; and a
public facility loan to the City of
Saxman.
The ARA official pointed out
that the projects already approved
arc “only the beginning” as far as
Alaska’s participation in the fed
eral program is concerned. An ad
ditional three loan and grant ap
plications are currently being pro
cessed either by ARA, the Small
Business Administration or the
Community Facilities Administra
tion of the Housing and Home Fi
nance Agency. These projects
could lead to a federal investment
of $1.6 million and could help cre
ate nearly 900 additional direct and
indirect jobs.
“Although the Area Redevelop
ment Act provides ‘seed money’
and other new tools to help in
economic redevelopment,” Williams
pointed out, “the emphasis
throughout the program is on local
■mhehbbhhhb
Underground School
ARTESJA, N.M. UP — When the
460 atomic-;ige youngsters at Abo
Elementary School take a recess,
they play on the roof.
Classes started Tuesday at the
nation’s only underground school.
The only dancers in playing on
the roof are the usual skinned
knees, bumped foreheads and cut
thumbs. The roof is at ground
level.
Two basketball courts, hopscotch
lanes and benches dot the 21-inch
concrete slab playground.
The 18 air-conditioned class
rooms, 13-feet-9-inches below the
surface, will double as a fallout
shelter.
The school cost $468,623. Civil
Defense paid $131,943 of that
amount.
As a fallout shelter, the building
will accommodate 2,000 persons for
two weeks.
ONE HOUSE LESS . . .
CALLAHAN, Fla. (X) — A pas
senger train went right through a
house without leaving the track.
The house, being hauled along a
highway, was shattered by the At
lantic Coast Line railroad’s West
Coast Champion at a grade cross
ing.
If, by any chance, you were to
be asked to count a million one
dollar bills, it would take you at
least 25 days—working eight hours
a day.
initiative. Nothing happens under
the ARA program unless redevelop
ment areas organize representative
local groups, plan their own long
range recovery programs, and
initiate the projects that are de
signed to create new employment.
This reliance on local self-help
efforts is one of the outstanding
features of the Area Redevelop
ment program.
I SCIENCE FACT AND FASH ]
nineteenth century
SAILORS EMBARKING ON A
SHIP'S MAIDEN VOYAGE
always stepped ON the
right foot WHEN THEY
WALKED UP THE GANGPLANK
the right side was
BELIEVED to BE FREE
PROM FEARS OR DANGER.
TODAY'S MODERN TRAVELER CAN
GO WITHOUT ice BAAS AND STILL
•C PRCE OP MOTION SICKNESS,
WHSTHBA IT Be ON A PLANE, SHIP,
CAR OR TRAIN. SCIENTISTS HAVE
DEVELOPED BONADETTES, WHICH
PROVIDE 0PT0 24 HOUR PROTECTION
AAAINST TRAVEL SICKNESS
Need some paper to scratch or scrawl?
Plain, Padded or Bound, the Nugget makes them all !
"—mmmmam—imiu—m in ———1
is the BEST PLACE to SAVE
Box 850 Nome Phone 23B1
BACK TO SCHOOL SUPPLIES
HEY MOM h„w About
POP
For the Holiday
<
SHASTA All Flavors t SEVEN UP or COKE
060
Case of 24 Cans O
Case of 24 Cans 4^
PRICES GOOD THRU SEPT. 8TH
)
)
3 Free Deliveries
DAILY
10:30—3:00—5:00
Order Your Hot I)o» Buns
For the Long Weekend
MEItC MEATS
are BETTER
MEATS
BAR - S
Picnic Hams ib. 59c
CUT - UP FRYING
Chicken «=. 69c
SKINLESS
Weiners *. 79c
SLICED
Bologna 69c
i
We Will Be Closed
Labor Day — Shop Early
Buy Enough to Last