Little Falls transcript., 1884-10-10
HUNTING FOR Il !.

q ~. I. ouM Is
s This is O. Flannig ganIs account 81 it as
he told it to me. have, made no al
terations, being unwilling to take any
responsibilities upon myself in . matter
3 Of such Importance. Said he:
4There are more fools in the world
than you would think for. When our
geographical society met last we found
bhat we had got hold Of one. This vas
The new member, SO I jnst set it down
as maxim, then, that if fools can work
their way into oven geographical soei.
ETY., there isn't any place that's safe
against them. However, that's neither
here nor there; ! simply mention it in
passing; it hasn't anything to do with
what ] started ont to tell you about.
"Well, IS I was saying before. [ was
loaded up solid with my sublime project.
I was fostering volcano OF excitement.
II was as much as I could do to hold in
till my turn should come. And when
it did come, at last, I was in such a
state that I could only pant it out in
broken phrase, with gaspings for breath
between It made an immense stir
1t was received with prodigious favor.
The end of every sentence was dro wned
in applause. closed by stating: ~
. "'So, gentlemen, my project, in a
word, is to send out discovery expedi-
tion to search for new and direct road
to Hall pronounced it hall, out Of
deference to the society, all the mem
bers being religious; but you can pro-
nounce it your own way. ,t a4, f-.,.
I sat down amid q storm of applause
which lasted several minutes, during
which my hand was H'rnng by throng
after throng Of geographers, who said
my idea was the graadest one Of the
age, and would make my name immor-
Eal. .saa.:
"Quiet was hardly restored when the
new member spoke up and said:
- But who wants to go to Hall? He
pronounced it the old way.
"It was q most strange question.
Members glanced at each other in q sur
prised and somewhat affronted way, and
said nothing. Then the new member
spoke up again:
Nobody wants to go to Hall nobody
wants to travel any road to Hall; so
where in the nation is the use in hunt
ing up a new One?" ,s-
after an awkward pause, the presi-
dent said, with cold and cruel bland
ness OF tone and mnnner:
1T is evident that our new acquisi-
tion is not familiar with the ways of geo.
graphical societies. If he will reflect a
moment, it may occur to him that his
question need be changed in words only,
not in sense, to read, "Where is the use
in searching for the Northwest pas
Sage ?"'
"It was an awful shot. 7 pitied the
poor ass with ali my heart: and could
see that others did, too, though naturally
we couldn't help enjoying the annihilat'
ing completeness Of the presidents re-
tort. But what do you think? It new
er pheazed the new member at all.
He didn't know lie was hit-he actually
didn't. No, he looked up as sweet and
innocent as the child unborn, and says
"'In my day / have wanted to ask
to 500, 900 times"
IF he didn't say it, I wish may new
/, or stir. And he didn't stop there, eth
! er, but goes right on as calm as any
thing and says:
"'What do you want Of Northwest
passage, anyway, after you've got it ?
DO you calculate that anybody's going
to use it?
:. "'Use it ? says the president, who saw
4 hat sarcasm was wanted Oh this numb
skull, and didn't propose to throw away
any more Of it on him. No, we don't
expect any body to use it. There would
: be no occasion to use it anyway, be-
cause the old routes are far better and
quicker and easier. And besides no.
/, body could use it. for the reason that
from the nature of the climate and the
shortness Of the season it is simply non.
ugable.' NJ r.. .ss&
"fWell, then,' says the new member
as calm as that door-nob there, what
/. Go you want it for?'
" #"tWant it for /? snaps the president
rattle Lofty. we don't want it, We
4 only want to find it, -. ..
Il. "Well, that is odd,' says the new
, member. 7 don't seem to get your idea,
: somehow. What do you want to find il
F for, if you don't want it after you've
+ found it.? AS I understand it, England
and America and other countries have
!. been hunting for it for fifty, years, and
they've spent about $35, 030,0OO and got
no end of ships mashed up it the ice
: and no end of men frozen to death, and
sourvied to death, and starved to death
and 80 on, and buried around here and
there on q lot Of skinned rocks in the
Arctic ocean and that's all that's beer
accomplished; and it appears to me it.,
a big price to pay and long ways te
go just to start an international grave.
yard. Yes, and as said before, the
thing thatis too many for me is, what
dofyou want to find that Northwest pas.
sage Tor, if you don't want it after you've
found it'??' $g.
III s'My friend, says the president, pretty
/ fercely, if you knew any thing abou,
geographical societies, you wouldn't asl
so foolish and irrelevant q question
Geographical societies do not trouble
themselves to hunt for things that art
wanted everybody does that; there j.
noYoccasion to gather together a learne:
and expensive organization for such ,
purpose. IL is the distinct and peculial
province Of . geographical society K
hunt for things that are not wanted. W.
/, ,donot seek them out because they ar.
\ needed, but simply to prove that they
are there 9
It's q big thing" says the new mem
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