Totem pole

“ The cleat is for the purpose of tying the halyard to a few feet from the base of the pole. The majority of poles have iron braces for support connected about six (6) feet up from the base of the pole.
From experience I find the steel pole the most dangerous. In my opinion it is [81] more dangerous than the wooden pole for the reason that rust forms inside of the steel pole and around the bands where it is connected, and in the winter time it is easily broken by the cold weather if any weight is put on it, whereas the wooden pole can be tested by sounding it as to its condition. ”

“ For hundreds of years men have struggled amid snow and ice to reach one or the other of the earth's poles. Why? What has attracted them? What has been the lure which has led them from warm firesides and comfortable radiators to suffer the rigors of a most annoying climate?
We search in vain among the writings of modern polar explorers for a satisfactory answer to this question.
In earlier days we find credible reasons for this fanatical zeal, reasons which were material and commercial. In the dark ages we know that hardy Norsemen sought an Ultima Thule beyond the Arctic Circle. ”

“ The way I look at it, the north pole is above and the south pole is below; but there ain't any other feller down there, so we needn't talk about it. And now, Sammy, if you are goin' to take possession of the pole, you ought to put on your best clothes. For one thing, you should wear a pair of those new red flannel socks that you haven't had on yet; it will be a good way to christen 'em. Everything on you ought to be perfectly fresh and clean, and just as nice as you've got. This will be the first time that anybody ever took possession of a pole, and you ought to look your very best. ”

“ Traveling backward in imagination on the circle that our pole has taken 25,000 years to describe in the sky, and again imagining the star which we now see as our Pole Star as the Pole Star of that by-gone era, what a difference we find in the appearance of the earth! Herds of strange and savage animals are scattered here instead of thriving villages and cities, and man, in equally savage state, wanders about the hills and plains alone or in straggling bands. ”

“ The standards are poles made of fir trees, from forty to fifty feet long, and six or seven inches thick at the butt ends, which are firmly fixed in the ground. When one pole is not long enough, two are lashed together, the rope lashings being tightened by wedges driven in between the coils in a peculiar way. ”

“ When the pole has been properly placed, it is seized by several linemen. As soon as the top of the pole is raised high enough to permit the pikes to be thrust into the pole, it is then raised to a vertical position. At about 50° the butt end slides into the hole. The earth is then filled in around the pole and firmly tamped down. Eight or ten poles are about as many as can be set by the average gang in a day. ”

“ The pole of the heavens is near the Pole Star, which itself revolves around the pole of the heavens, as all the other stars do, once every day. The circle described by the Pole Star is, however, so small that, unless we give it special attention, the motion will not be perceived. The true pole is not a visible point, but it is capable of being accurately defined, and it enables us to state with the utmost precision the relation between the pole and the latitude. The statement is, that the elevation of the pole above the horizon is equal to the latitude of the place. ”

“ The adoption of the shaft or pole, as a symbol of the Celestial Centre, may easily be explained by the fact that, stuck into the ground and watched from a certain position, its upper end would seem to touch Polaris and it thus supplied wandering star-observers with a point of fixity in space which, being transportable, facilitated the registration of circumpolar rotation. ”

“ For a short time it remains stationary, then suddenly springs to life. The waves of light drive violently from east to west; the edges assume a deep red and green colour and dance up and down. The rays shoot up more rapidly; they become shorter; all rise together and approach nearer and nearer to the magnetic Pole. It looks as if there were a race among the rays, and that each aspired to reach the Pole first. And now the point is reached, and they shoot out on every side, to the north and the south, to the east and the west. ”

“ This movement of the earth’s axis by displacing the equinoctial points, alters the “declination” and “right ascension” of the stars (compare page 473) . So Polaris is gradually approaching the actual polar point. In about 200 years he will have got as close as he can, and will then begin to recede from it, and in about 12,500 years after he will reach his most distant point.
Fig. 608.—The Great Bear.
Polaris, the Pole Star, was called “Cynosure” by the ancients, and thus we can understand the quotation, “Cynosure of neighbouring eyes,” when a person or object is very attractive. ”

“ On a long canoe trip where much rapid water must be run, a “setting pole” should be reckoned a necessity. The pole may be a stout sapling, 10 ft. long, cut by the stream side, but an iron shoe, or spike, about 3 in. long, with an iron band or ferrule, should be carried in the kit, the iron spike being simply driven in the end of the green pole. The pole may be used to good advantage when running down shallow rapids, the man in the bow kneeling and using his paddle to help steer while his partner stands in the stern and wields the pole. ”

“ The harder the multitude pulled, so long as they remained200 evenly distributed about the circle, the more rigid the pole would become. But if, on the other hand, all the men were to stop pulling and slacken the ropes, the pole would at once fall over. The pole, under such circumstances, would represent the axis of the revolving wheel, which acquired increased stability in exact proportion to the increased velocity of its revolutions, and therefore of the increased force with which its particles tend to fly off into space. ”

“ The posts have forked heads, and upon them is laid a transverse pole, which is firmly lashed to them. From this transverse pole another pole is laid to the ground, so as to form an inclined plane up which the inhabitants of the house can walk. It will now be seen, that if a man walk up the inclined pole, to the transverse one, he can pass along the latter in a stooping attitude until he comes to the opening in the floor. ”

“ A pole is an important accompaniment, aiding to slide the traveler along and steady him on the skis. It also serves as a brake in descending steep hills, the traveler sitting astride it and bearing the rear end into the snow. ”

“ Indeed, as a matter of fact, our knowledge of the movements of the Pole are derived from observations made not alone hundreds but even many thousands of miles distant. It is in such observatories as those at Greenwich or Berlin, Pulkova or Washington, that the determinations have been made by which changes in the position of the Pole can be ascertained with a delicacy and precision for which those who were not aware of the refinement of modern astronomical methods would hardly be prepared. ”

“ Paragraph 11 - What is the frame of an entrance? A pole here and a pole here and a pole on top of them. This even works if the top one doesn't touch the bottom ones and there are a few amot between them, as long as the poles here and there are ten tefachim tall and are pointed towards the top pole. If the top pole is connected to the two bottom ones or to one of them on their side, it does not work. The poles must be strong enough to hold some sort of door, even if it is made of straw or reeds, but the pole on top can be anything, even reed-rope. ”

“ The 'poles' of most MSS. is obviously necessary if we are to have two temperate regions. The expression is a condensed one for 'either of the adverse icy poles'. Compare:
He that at sea prayes for more winde, as well
Under the poles may begge cold, heat in hell.
One cannot be under both the poles at once. One is 'under' the pole in Donne's cosmology because the poles are not the termini of the earth's axis but of the heavens'. 'For the North and Southern Pole, are the invariable terms of that Axis whereon the Heavens do move.' Browne, Pseud. ”

“ He has courage, spirit, and strength; but, cursed with instability, that courage, strength, and energy have neither method nor guidance; for the Pole displays a variability resembling that of the winds which blow across that vast plain broken with swamps; and though he has the impetuosity of the snow squalls that wrench and sweep away buildings, like those aerial avalanches he is lost in the first pool and melts into water. Man always assimilates something from the surroundings in which he lives. Perpetually at strife with the Turk, the Pole has imbibed a taste for Oriental splendor ”

“ Morse’s letter:
“North Pole, 10 January 1869.
“Miss Carrie Richards,
“My Dear Young Friend.—It is very cold here and the pole is covered with ice. I climbed it yesterday to take an observation and arrange our flag, the Stars and Stripes, which I hoisted immediately on my arrival here, ten years ago. I thought I should freeze and the pole was so slippery that I was in great danger of coming down faster than was comfortable. Although this pole has been used for more than 6,000 years it is still as good as new. The works of the Great Architect do not wear out. ”

“ Let there be given a terrella of no contemptible power, or a long loadstone with equal cones as polar extremities; but in any other shape which is not exactly round error is easy, and the experiment difficult. In the Northern regions, raise the true North pole of the terrella above the horizon straight toward the zenith; it is demonstrable that it raises up a larger iron spike on its North pole, than the South pole of the same terrella is able to raise, when turned in the same way toward the highest point of the sky. ”

“ To accommodate a large number of men, a good plan is that practised by the Dutch army in the East Indies. Two upright poles are driven into the ground, and a horizontal pole tied from one to the other at a height of about 7 feet. Many poles 12 to 15 feet long are then laid about 1 foot apart, with one end on the ground and the other resting on the horizontal, to which they may be tied by rattan or cord ”

“ But the artist does not show in the picture the most important part of this arrangement. On the other end of this long pole a heavy stone is fastened, and it is easy to see that a bucket of water may be raised without much trouble, with the stone bearing down the other end of the pole. To be sure, the stone must be raised when the bucket is lowered, but that is done by pulling downward on the rope, which is not so hard as to haul a rope upward when the resistance is equal in both cases. ”

“ Poles should be not less than twenty-five feet long, with a diameter of six inches at the top; and should be set five feet in the ground. Before being set up, poles should be carefully stripped of the bark, and, when used in cities, should be painted. It is the usual practise to place all the crossarms on one side of the pole, fastening them with bolts and nuts. It is sometimes, however, absolutely necessary to run house-top lines. ”

“ Tanno explained, "It is far harder to get sound, flawless, perfect poles full length. Then, too, full-length spare poles are very bothersome and inconvenient to carry. With a litter equipped in this fashion one man can carry a spare pole, and they are much easier and quicker to put in if a pole snaps." ”

“ At any time you are working on a flagpole and the work consists of replacing a truck, ball or spindle, the only thing to do is to make sure of the pole being solid enough for a little swaying. If so, take a sling, lash yourself to the pole under the arms as a back brace, then reach up and pull yourself up and stand in the chair. Avoid shaking the pole as much as you possibly can. ”

“ The length of the tether pole you are to use depends upon your height and that of your young friends. Make the pole long enough to allow being planted sufficiently deep to be firm and steady and extend up above the surface of the ground, vertically, to the height of about three feet above your head. Cut a notch near the top of the pole before erecting it (Fig. 285) . Tie one end of a long string fast around the notch. The string must be well waxed, twisted and doubled and waxed again, and it must reach within two feet of the ground. ”

“ We know that, if attained, the North Pole would probably be like any other part of the Arctic regions, presenting a landscape of ice and snow, perhaps with black rock showing here and there, containing fossils of a former age of heat, perhaps broken by pools or lanes of open water. The pole has no physical mark any more than the top of a 148 spinning coin has, and the pole is not even a fixed point ”

“ The balance pole is more faithful in its action. It is simply a long slender pole fastened in a crotch or tied to the side of a sapling, the trap being secured to the small end. It is so balanced that the weight of the butt will not only lift the trap but the captured animal as well. It is fastened down in the same way as the spring pole and is released by the struggles of the animal. ”

“ Posts, or comparatively slender poles, are planted through the field at regular intervals, usually sixteen feet apart. From the tops of these, galvanized wire is strung from pole to pole, in squares, while over this is spread a specially manufactured cheese cloth or tobacco cloth, usually woven in strips of a width convenient to fit the distance between the poles. ”

“ The fact that the pole has never been trod by man constitutes the lodestone to such undertakings; and that it continues to defy him only whets his endeavor the more. Except for the demonstration of the polar drift-current conceived of and then verified by Nansen, very little has been added by them to our knowledge of the globe. Nor is there specific reason to suppose that what they might add would be particularly vital. Nothing out of the way is suspected of the pole beyond the simple fact of being so positioned. ”