The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-09-15


ascertaInment Of every result.
The fifteenth century is marked as
the dawn OF mental activity In the
present era Of the history Of cur race.
Near its close, Columbus and other
mariners, marked dimly in the tEi-
light the outlines ola new hemisphere.
Printers ink and press about the
same time had been invented. But
the great world. with here and there
an exception, yet slept quietly In the
long night which had preceded that
time unconscious Of the approach of
day. Centuries of stupid inactivity
were still being added to the past.
The long night was becoming tedious
aud WearlsOme to the active. Ihe
great powers of Dante had, like q wild
dream, started some from their slum-
bers. while Milton and a host of others
were awakening many with the bold
ness Of their imagery, Cervantes
was breaking the knight from
| his nighthoOd of darkness by
/ the railery and madness Of his
/ Don QuixOte. The immortal bard Of
Avon vas shedding floods Of light by
| his clear delineations Of nature.
| Hale, Bacon and Blackstone had
given some new thoughts to the law
making and adjudicating parts of the
T race. Doubts had been generated In
! the minds of the great thinkers of
/ Germany and France as 10 whether
/ the world was measurably cropping its
/ way in darkness, or walking by day
/ light. The strong bands by which
/ the intellect Of the race had been
/ girted and bound for centuries were
/ daily beng snapped and broken.
/ Kepler, Laplace and Newton had re-
vived and developed the system Of
/ Coperincus and Calico and shown
the falsity Of the maps and geographys
Of the world. Old theories and sys-
TENS had began to be doubted and
4 distrusted Men who nObly sought
/ for facts oud results were. coming In
the distance. Among the first of
! these was Alexander Won Humboldt.
4 His great mind sought for the ascer-
tainment and development Of phys
| zeal truths.
We have referred to him as miner
and investigator of plants, and their
| diffusion over the world. Let US
think Of him for a moment as an ex-
lplOrer seeking for facts in the physical
world Ne have no time to trace
him from place to place, or to give in
/ detail bis movements as he. passed
from cavern to cavern, plain to plain,
and mountain to mountain, making
his observations, measurements and
analiZations He at once became a
cosmopolitan stranger no where A;
whether 1t was in Northern Asia or
South Ameriea-Bhether it was in
the temperate zones or among the
snow clad hills of the north, or the
burning sands of the south, the orr
entail plains or the western slopes,
alike in all, his grand investiga cations
were carried on. he made
vast additions to the knowl-
edge and largely contributed to
the perfection and correction
I Of the geography Of the world From
the history of his explorations upon
this continent, We make the follow
ing extract. There were more than
seven hundred places of which he
made Astronomical measurements. lie
himself made the map Of the OrinocO
and the Magdalena, and the greater
part Of the atlas Of Mexico. 1t was
with the barometer in his hands that
he travelled from Bog)ta to Lima, as
cended the peaks Of Teneriife and
Il Chimborazo, and numerous other
mountains, making four hundred and
fiity-nlne measurements of altitude,
which were often confirmed by trigo-
nometrical calculations. But we can
not now enter further into the details
of this great mans travels and obser-
VatiOns. 1t is sufficient upon this
point to say, that in his extended
travels and great research for facts IL
the physical world, he often demon
strated the common saying that truth
IS stranger than fiction" His de.
scription Of new and strange phe-
nomena IN nature, drawn from aetua
observation, have been and will con.
tinue to be read, By mature scholars
J with the same feelings of interest anC
amazement that startles and aWakenl
! the credulOus boy while reading
! the wonderful story Aladdin:
: Lamp. Through him we have
a description of the electrical
? fish, warding off and putting tC
i fight intruders by electrical shocks
as we'll as of the great cavern o.
| Guachedo with its broad entrance
z through massive rocks, It's sunles:
| trees and vegetation, aud vast rookie
+ lries Of nocturnal birds. But ht
{ sought not to starde or surprise man
= kind by glowing descriptions o.
+. strange things, or wonderful discove
3 ries, but 10 his Investigation and de
+, lineation Of the earth to arrange natU
! raj phenomena In such a manner al
/ to indicate their casual connection
2 To this end, in the evening Of hi:
f life, he gave to the world his Cosmos
/ which explains the physical universt
f | according to its dependencies and re
S lations, grasps nature as a whole
e ! moved and animated by interna
D forces, and by comprehensive de
= seription shows the unity which pre-
] walls amid its variety. This grea
4 work has been without an equal il
s infusing an impulse to natural studies
AS the nautical discoveries Of Colum
= bus and his compeers opened the wa.
+ to the founding of new settlements
j the building OF new cities and tn
= erection of new superstructuTes 0
g government so the scIentlf
e achievements of Humboldt opeae
S the way to new development
: in the sciences and the establishment
Y Of new and more systematic theOrie
S Of the arrangement and harmony 0
e the physical world From the stud
d and analysis of the mines and min
g erals, the investigation and causalit
|. of the flowers, fruits and production
l. Of the surface of the earth, climat
t and atmosphere, waters, valleys an
d mountains, he. passed into the as
% Economical regions aud systematic
If the motions Of the PLANETARY world
Here he gave to the human race hi
ID considerations on the realms Of spac
) and the bodies by which they appea
IS to be filed; the velocity of light, til
is distribution, color and scintillatioa c
le the stars, those that were newly az
81 z Nj, nj,