Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-03-03
The Possibilities d Future Discovery.

The Possibilities Of Future Discovery.
We wonder, now that the whole earth
is being searched as with = microscope,
and that we are really approaching its
secret ~places-the center Of Africa, the
great unexplored islands like New
Guinea and inner Borneo, the north
pole and long valleys Of Northern Thi-
bet; that thousands are hunting III the
scientific field and the antiquafians are
| inquiring about really interesting an
| tiquities, the origins Of the races and Of
the states-whether we shall ever find
anything really marvellous, anything
which will defect the whole current Of
human thought, or eve make us ques-
ton the accuracy of what We know. We
doubt it greatly. One can dream such
t~hings-say, of n mountain transcending
all human experience in New Guinea;
or a depression Of miles in the
earth's surface between, say the
Desert of Cobb and Lhassa, q depres-
sion by which we might penetrate a lit
tie below the opter skin Of the world,
and know geological facts at which We
now only guess. Man discovered a
thing as startling when he convinced
himself that the sky was not solid. Or,
say-for that is perhaps better and
would startle cultivated mankind more
effectually-that we found in Australia
a buried city, skeletons and all, pre-
served like Herculaneum, and full evil
dence Of q high civilization anterior to
all that we know Of men, and separated
by time IS well as the ocean from all
history. Or, fancy that We reached the
north pole, and found q new race there,
human beings, yet with some peculiar
ity, say, sky-blue hair, which unmis-
takably cut them off from the known
races Of man. Or im~agine-and for
this we need fix on no lo%cality-that we
found early man, indubitable early man,
not to be denied by theologians any
more than by s~avants, patent
to DIR. Benson as to Sir John Lubbock,
and found him superior, and not infe-
rior, to mar "a he>now is; found proof,
that is, Of the Duke Of Argyll's hypoth-
esis that we are but rising again after
having descended from q level higher
than we have yet reached. Or to stand
on another plane, dream for a moment
- q ~ Hin HPAVhtllLlS oNCl lSu-
rope, soon to be verified, that the mas
ter chemist of the day had discovered
and had revealed the means of firing
water, and that the earth was therefore
Mt the mercy Of the first misanthrope
Of high chemical attainments; or that q
great surgeon, given to wild expert
ments with electricity, had made what
doctors, they whisper, dream Of as only
just beyond hope-a light SO %concentra-
ted and SO searching that the physi-
clan could look through his patient
and see past all question or error what
was wrong. Dream of that, or of
a method of thought-reading actually
found out and verified, SO that
whenever it was applied lying would be
forever rendered impossible o useless.
Or, once again, not to waste time in
such q speculation, think OF a method
"a practical method-suddenly occur
ing to m~echanicians whereby the rush
of the earth on its course through space
could be utilized as a force, and human
labor be rendered almost needless by
an exhanstless and t~ireless method Of
developing electric energy, which it
would then be necessary only to dis
tribute. II il all adream. Geography
has nothing to give us beyond a few
mines; a plant o. two-possibly even
one that will grow like rye, yet bear
like wheat; and, it may be a few drugs
perhaps to the despair of publicans,
u sedative that has no reaction.