AMUR 



241 



AMUSEMENTS 



ing he changed his plans and headed for the 

 Antarctic regions. Arriving in January, 1911,. 

 at the far southern land mass, he determined 

 to set up his camp on the great ice barrier, 

 which had always seemed impassible. Supplies 

 for nine men for two years, together with 

 building material, were hauled to the top of 

 the ice cap, and there was built Framheim, 

 his headquarters. 



With the aid of Eskimo dogs and sledges, 

 three provision depots were established farther 

 south, and with the coming on of the southern 

 winter, men and dogs settled themselves at 

 Framheim. When the weather broke in Oc- 

 tober, 1911, Amundsen, with four companions, 

 fifty-two dogs and four sledges, set out for 

 the south over the ice. Latterly they traveled 

 across a plateau 11,000 feet in height, and 

 crossed some very dangerous crevasses, but on 

 December 16 all their hardships were repaid 

 when observations showed that they had 

 reached the South Pole. There Amundsen set 

 up a small tent, with the Norwegian flag float- 

 ing above it, and it was these landmarks which 

 Scott encountered a month later. 



This voyage of Amundsen was merely the 

 climax of a life largely spent in explorations. 

 He was born at Christiania, Norway, studied 

 for the navy, and in 1897 went on his first 

 Antarctic exploring trip as first mate of the 

 Belgica. It was in 1903 that he undertook his 

 first independent expedition, which had two 

 objects: the locating of the north magnetic 

 pole and the discovery of the Northwest Pass- 

 age, which had been sought, off and on, since 

 the sixteenth century. After making numerous 

 observations from which scientists afterward 

 worked out the location of the magnetic pole, 

 he pushed the Gjoa from the Atlantic into the 

 Pacific through Bering St.rait; and the North- 

 west Passage was found (see NORTHWEST PASS- 

 AGE). 



Amundsen's character is noteworthy for its 

 modesty. In his lectures on his great achieve- 

 ment he can hold his audience for hours en- 

 trance. 1 with interesting and instructive tales of 

 farthest south," without once mentioning 

 in 1 1 1>* If His narrative has appeared in book 

 form as The South Pole. See POLAR EXPLORA-. 

 SCOTT, ROBERT FALCON. 



AMUR, or AMOOR, ah moor', the riv.-r whirh 

 separates Manchuria from Eastern Siberia, tin n 

 turns north and discharges into the ocean be- 

 luii.l SuKlialu-n Island, a few miles from the 

 Sea of Okhotsk. It is formed by thr junction 

 of th. Argun and Shilka rivers, a few hundred 

 16 



miles east of Lake Baikal. It is the most im- 

 portant stream flowing to the Pacific north of 

 the Yellow River of China. 



The Amur is an important river in com- 

 merce. Though its mouths are so choked with 

 sand that goods must be transported by rail 

 for nine miles, it is navigable in a great part 

 of its 2,680 miles of length, from April to No- 

 vember. Khaborovsk, at the point where the 

 river turns north, has rail communication with 

 the port of Vladivostok and the Trans-Siberian 

 railroad. 



The river has four important tributaries, the 

 Sungari and Ussuri on the south, and the Seya 

 and Bureya on the north. Its basin includes 

 about 772,000 square miles. 



AMUSEMENTS . It is not only the children 

 who need play or other relaxation to keep 

 them physically and mentally fit; grown peo- 

 ple, those who give up most of their time to 

 work, are dependent no less upon some form of 

 recreation. The man whose work is mo- 

 notonous and deadening needs it to invigorate 

 his mind; the student or the man of large 

 affairs needs it as a mental rest, as a let-down 

 to a mind too tensely keyed. 



There is thus a valid reason for many of 

 the amusements or recreations which have been 

 devised in almost infinite number, for different 

 people demand different kinds of recreation. 

 One man delights in games of skill in which 

 he himself may take a part, and a wide choice 

 awaits him he may "relax" with golf or with 

 tennis, with chess or with whist. Another 

 prefers to watch the skilful moves of others; 

 he spends his summer afternoons at the baseball 

 grounds, or his evenings at the vaudeville, 

 where graceful dancing is to be seen. The 

 man who devises a popular amusement has 

 found a sure way of attracting money to his 

 pockets, for the majority of people are more 

 willing to spend money for their recreation 

 than for any other purpose. 



Hrlatrd Topic*. A glance at the following list 

 will show something of the number and variety 

 of amusements popular to-day or In some past 

 time. Each topic is given detailed treatment In 

 Its alphabetical order In these volumes. In the 

 article GAMES AND PLATS, also, are discussed 

 numerous types of games for children. 

 Acrostic Baseball, Indoor 



A- .KI..MI Basket Ball 



Angling Battledore and 



ry Shuttlecock 



Athletics Billiards 



Backgammon Bowling 



Bagatelle Boxing 



n.m.'t Bridge 



K, .urn Bullfighting 



