Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-10-01
Synmes's Hole.

God bless you, lmogen.
Symmes's Hole.
Recently venerable-looking old gen.
tleman, with fast whitening full beard,
thick gray hair, eyes shrouded by spec
tacles, and the respectable dress of
well-tO-do farmer lectured in Calves
ton, Texas The old gentleman was
the exponent of the most visionary of
theories IN regard to the Arctic regions.
He was Mr.. Americus Symmes, son of
John Cleve Symmes, who, in 1924. pub
lished little book promulgating a
theory. The multitude knew it only
In connection with Symmes's Hole, the
groteSqueness of that idea fasts ming it
firmly upon the popular mind
Mr.. Symmes says: leone before you
in obedience to my fathers dying re-
quest that L would keep an eye on
arctic explorations and see how they
would bear out his theory. l have done
so. / have watched the explorations
of Lieutenant Greely, and they certain
ly bear out what the world of scientists
has long called visionary idea. They
fought that theory, as exemplitied in
this little book. 1t was published by
my father In 1924, and was then gladly
sold at 81 a volume. Now it can be
got nowhere for less than S12, If, in
deed, a copy is anywhere for sale. l
know of but one man in this city with
one, and he would not take $50 for it.
According to my fathers theory,
the earth is hollow, globular and open
at the poles. The shell of the earth is
about 1000 miles thick, and the dis
tance from verge to verge of the shell
at the openings is about 1900 miles.
The edge of the verge is about 100
north latitude, and it is the coolest
place OH earth. When you advance
over that you can see very clearly, and
the temperature becomes much war
mer. AT about 500 north latitude is
the true magnetic pole, and when you
get at so the pole Is behind you. You
are then gong south, and will see large
flOcks of wild birds and great numbers
of wild animals. This is very different
from the Newtonian theory. which
places the magnetic pole at 800 north
latitude, which is now supposed to be
SuIIOuuutu Win ttcIuGl ice anu 10 Jut
coolest spot on earth.
Now, for the proofs. Greely in his
explorations found the weather to be
growing warmer as he went further
north. People will believe Greely, but
not NordenskjOld, Tuttle, Sarben and
Virgins. They went very far north,
and found land on which grew big
trees, where there were warm water and
large rivers. Nordensl j Id thought it
was Siberia. Virgins found the same
country inhabited by a strange people.
How could he have found these people
if he had not been going solth and if
it had not been in the hollow of the
earth? Where could they have come
out if they had continued to go if not
at the south pole? Captain Virgins,
| Tuttle and Sarben all saw these people,
and they asked them how they came
there. 1t was a wonderful country,
with multitudes of game, elephants.
mastOdons, gold rines, men seven and
eight feet high and women nearly as
large. They asked him how he came
there and were very friendly.
'Greely made several excursions.
The further north he went the milder
became the climate, and once he saw a
valley sixty miles wide and full of
game. Don't that compare with
Symmes's theory? The next trip he
took he found the further he went the
milder became the weather. He waded
| brooks and swan rivers. How does
that compare with Newton, who says
this is place of great cold? And yet
people won't believe in Symmes. They
won't come and let me convIce them.
l stand solitary and alone, the only
| believer.
"Newton says tue pole is surrounded
by the ice; Symmes by an open sea.
Explorers didn't know what to do when
they found the magnetic pole. On
Captain Parry's third voyage he took
reindeer. and thought to gam the north
pole over the ice or perish. He found
| the weather growing warmer, the ice
| thinner and streams of water abundant.
At so degrees he found the water flow
ing with stiff current. How could
that be if it didn't go in at one pole and
! out at the other? Look at the fish al
ways going south and never returning.
At 81 degrees 40 minutes Captain Parry
couldn't find cake of ice strong
enough to bear him up, and the sun
was SO hot 1t melted the pitch in hi:
boats. When he got past so degrees
the compass fiickered and pointed be-
hind HIM, He was passing the magne-
tic pole. And so it was with Captain
Ross, DR.. Kane, Captain Hull and
others. All found an open sea. Cap.
tain Symmes, then resident of New.
port, petitioned Congress to send him
out on an expedition, but was ignored
Had he gone he would have found the
open sea and that country where Greely
says he spent two such pleasant years.
He says it was the paradise of the
north. Captain Symmes said that the
magnetic pole was at so degrees, and
beyond that, at So degrees, the lant