The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-11-28
SETBACK FOR COLUMBUS.
The First Discoverer Of America q CHINESE
Skipper Named Hill

The First Discoverer Of America q Chinese
Skipper Named Hill
1t is not probable that the Columbian
Exposition in Chicago will be postponed
by any question as to the real date Of
the discovery of the Western Henri
sphere. Apart from the action of Con-
gress the ladies have formed "Queen
Isabella Association" in honor Of the
great Spanish Queen who 'spouted"
her jewels to raise money for the ex-
petition of Columbus; and we may,
therefore, take 1t for granted that the
Chicago Exposition will come of in
strict accordance with the programme
Our patriotic ladies are not to be baked
In their arrangements by the claims
that have been raised in behalf Of the
Norsemen, in honor Of whose discov-
cry of America 1t has been proposed to
put of the Exposition until 1901.
But by latest accounts the claims that
the Norsemen who touched on the
coast of Rhode Island in 1901 were the
first discoveries of America must also
be RENTED to the lumber room of his
tory. An American missionary in China
named Shaw, aided by the great
Chinese antiquarian scholar Ta-Ku, has
deciphered manuscript which appar-
emily puts at rest the question of the
discovery of this hemisphere. Accord
ing to this manuscript, which was found
in the city of Si-Apau-Hu, on the upper
waters of the Hoang-Ho, America was
discovered in the year 217 b. c. bya
Chinese captain named Hill
1t is not necessary to enter upon all
the romantic details Of this narrative,
which reads more like chapter of the
Arabian Nights than a sober ex-
cerpt Of Chinese history. The ac-
count relates that after a weary.
voyage of three months and some days
Chinese sailor on the lookout cried,
'Iandi landr' and that on June 16, in
the 217 b. c., Captain Hill and his
crew landed on the shores of California.
For. three months the bold navigator
explored the coast and on his return
gave glowing account of the country
and predicted future greatness He
discovered the bay of San Francisco and
entered into intimate trade relations
with the natives. 1t appears that in
that epoch of discovery the Chinese
policy of protection and non-in tercourse
with outside barbarians had not yet
been fully established.
If this narrative should be accepted as
correct historical consistency might re-
quire further postponement-to 1885
of the celebration of Americas discoy-
cry. A Hill exposition by that time
would attract to Chicago not merely the
Chinese, but all the other nations of the
Orient But the Ta-ku manuscript has
about the same historical merit as the
productions of H Rider Haggard As
for the discovery of the coast of Rhode
Is and about a thousand years ago by
the Norsemen, that rests on a somewhat
more substantial basis.
But in spite of any historical doubts, |
the Columbia Exposition will be held in |
Chicago according to programme in 1898 |
The mere anachronism of year is not |
to be considered in matter of such mo- |
ment The lad es of the Queen Isabella |
Association propose to make the Expo
sition a memorable occasion for cele- |
brating the achievements of women |
within the last four hundred years; and |
they will regard it as new starting
point of further progress To them the |
question who discovered America is of |
minor concern com pared with the ques-
ton whether the women shall conquer
and own the country before the end of
the century.-Philadelphia Record.