Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1885-04-16
a QUEER OLD MAP.
Pecu1 n Notions Of the Geography q
North America.

Peculiar Notions Of the Geography Of
North America.
Among the most recent acquisitions
to the collection of ancient and curious
works in the legislative library at the
Ontario parliament building is an atlas
printed in London somewhere just be-
fore the beginning of the last century.
The title page calls it "A new sett of
MAPS both of Ancient and Present
GEOGRAPHY. wherein not only the
LATITUDE and LONGITUDE of many
places are Corrected according to the
latest Observations. but also the most
remarkable Differences of ANTIENT and
PRESENT GEOGRAPHY may be quickly
diSccrned by bare inspection or COM
pairing of correspondent MAPS; which
seems to be the most natural and easy
method to lead young students for
whose use the work is principally in
4 tended) unto competent knowledge OF
the geographical science" by Edward
Wells, ID. d.. sometime student of Christ
church, Oxon., and late rector of COtes-
bach in Leicestershire. Each of the
forty-one maps bears a dedication to
'.His Highness William Duke of Glou-
cester, the young son of Princess Anne
| Of Denmark. afterward Queen Anne"
who died in the year 100, and rs he was
only seventeen years of age at that time
the work could only have been prepared
very few years previously. All the
maps in the collection are curious, to
say the least, but the most peculiar are
those relating to America. The map of
North America has been laid out accord
ing to Mercator's projection, as far as
latitude is concerned, but longitude
nally this is changed to tie regular
method. giving the map an even more
distorted appearance than it naturally
world have with the errers which hsve
been made.
kmong the blunders are placing of
The eastern extremity, Newfoundland,
in the 45th degree of latitude, instead of
TIE SD degree, and Cape Charles. the
eastern point of Labrador, is plated in
ahe same 45th degree insteadssf the
j6th degree. Iceland is represented as
ia long. narrow island extending from
from the 9Th degree TO the 2fra degree
west longitude, instead of frOmehe 10Th
/ degree to the 18th degree, butiIaese are
y comparatively small matters. The eX-
trcme eastern point of the continent is
at the 45th degree: the western is un-
known, but must have eXteuTed almost
back to Europe, e. Cape Sen Eugenio
in Lower California, is givens at the l45th
degree, or 30 degrees west'tf its proper
location. The scarce of thu Mescha>ipi
or Mississippi Riveris given in longitude
west from Greenwich 125 degrees, so as
to throw the western boundary of On.
tario from Caps Beale, IN Vancouver
Island, north, thus taking in nearly
half the island. Illinois lake. or Lake
Michigan lis apparently by far the
largest of the ga'eat LAKES, with an ex
IRENE breadth cof over five hund rec
miles. Traci,r Upper Lake, as Lake
Superior IS called. is shown as being the
same size as lakes huron and Era
and Lake Ontario is gircn as about one
fourth the size of the latter. Lat
Timagamins ~ shown az the source Ell
the Sasuenay and the Rupert Riv@s
The Ottawa River Oh the map receis es
the waters Of Hudson Bay and of LIZ Ike
Huron to caTry to the st Lawren e.
and there WIS apparently no knowlei &C
of Niagara Falls.
Five towns only appear to have A.en
settled in what is now Canada or,
ROYAL and Touquemet. the latter aiow
called Yarmouth, in Nova Scotia, ahen
called New Scotland: Brest, at the en-
IRENE eastern point of Labrs Tor;
TadOusac and Quebec. The errors
I H. IL =.
are reproduced ia the southern part of
the map. Baltimore town is giwn as
being some distance north of Phhldel-
phia, and Plymouth is much nearer to
Boston than is .CharlestOwn. The Ap-
palachian mountains run nearly due
east and west oon the map. through
what are now the States of Ohio, Ken
lucky. Indiana, Illinois, thence across
the Mississippi. and trending southwark
into New Mexico. Lower California is
an island, and the upper part ,If the
island is called New Albion. New
Orleans would appear to have just been
founded. as there is an island shown at
the mouth of the Mississippi called New
French Settlement, but the mouth of
the river is nc nearer being in its right
|
at the extreme Northwestern corner O.
the ..Gulf of Mexico" One more
reference to the North; may be allowed.
''Frobisher's" Straits are given As being
south of Greenland. land James Bay
IS divided into TWO parts, one, of which
is called James ami the other Hudson
Bay. Carolina is credited with psssess-
ing lake as isrge;as Ontario, and the
/ Susguehanna river IS represented as
running due porth aud in an exactly
straight line. Many of the towns in
Mexico are located t0lerably accurately.
hut the lay of the land is terriblyesut of
proportion. CtRer maps in the atlas
.nre equally interesting to lovers Of the
pcarious. and will mell repay compari-
son BY tb,,sc who have, time and ,OppOr-
t&Ii Toronto Globe.
Il asked a physician # there really
wer, any structural difference between
! the tongue of Hs-nan and of man.
"Ce1tainly." he replied: .'the organ is
attached to the floor of the mouth at
] .oneoa tremty. and 1T is a fact that in
che females the controlling musclessxre
| hsueh more pliable than in males.
fAoselnuscles which esntrdl the acts of