Telegram-herald., 1890-03-21

not De eeaseiy settled, bot i Is not eAsy
70 understand h0x tie great oo1rReRt
of Australia s4z2s - b - loag wlsASst
inhabitants
Ii is oarl0Gs - noss the queer way IN
which populations have shiftoc in the
course of ages Asia. - rhs cradle q
ths human rsce. hrst became thtckly y
settled, and eOntsins to-day i've ooun-
trles-Ckina sn1 Hlnoostan-w tAe
population l. extremely dense. But
portions % Asia-s0ca IS Arabia and
Persia from al SocounGs must have
lost half, Il ret more. of their populs-
ton cUring the last thousand years.
Great a. the shah % Persis fAneies
himself % be. ne Is bat puuy prince
compared With the great Darius OF
NeExes-
Africa has likewise suffered an enOr-
nous loss Of population since ancient
times We have ample proof that the
valley of the Nile once swarmed with
life. ana al through North Africa, nov
almost desert, given Up - wild beasts
and wilder men, civilization once n0ur-
ished 10 remarkable extent
Europe was settled from the south,
and the very small portion comprising
Italy, Spain and the islands Of the Ned
iterranean Sea were pOpulous t0i
centuries, while that We know now as
France. Germany, England, Austria and
Russia were forests and deserts, quite
as barbsrous and unoultivated as the
present interior of Africa.
These were the countries OF ant.o uity
North and South America and Australia
being unknown. Yet the TWO for2ei
were densely populous IN ages long ago
The valleys OF the Missouri, OH nd
Mississippi swarmed vita people en-
gagged in business and agriculture; Mex
leo rad a population much ex eeolng
its present one; the ruins OF great c tie:
ia Central America attest its former
greatness, and il is certain that Peru
under the Incas. was the seat OF mighty
civilization. Australia, however, ha:
always been a sparsely-settled country
Such have been the changes of tim,
that much OF tho world is still an IN
known land, and We are now busily en-
gagged in discovering much that wa:
known before.
Europe has nothing to disclose, but {
great part OF Asia and nearly three
fourths Of Africa is still sealed boot
10 US moderns. The explorations O
Stanley and those who preceded hin
are mere spider tracks in the desert, and
our best maps of Africa arc half guess
work.
In Asia, there is Thibet, Turkestar
and the great desert of Sahara 10 be ex
plored. We know almost nothing Of
Borneo, Papua or Madagascar, and
thousands of islands in the Pacific Ooear
are still unexplored.
Great tracts of Australia have never
been trodden by the foot of a white
man, and nearly all OF South America
inside of the coast lines, is known only
by hearsay and tradition. Coming "
to our northern half Of the continent
we encounter more unknown lands
Central America and Mexico offer fertile
fields for exploration, and Lower Cali
fornia has never been thoroughly ex
plored.
In the far North is Greenland, Baflr
Land, the great Hudson Bay region, all
of British America north OF latitude 6t
degrees, and ou- -reat Territory ot
Alaska. Here is wonderful field fol
adventurous explor -, and it is impos
sible 10 predict hat is i store for them
The natives of North III alaska also re
port that further n rth is another land
not down on the maps-an inhabited
land with a comparatively mild climate
Even in the new State oI Washington
there is an unknown land $50 square
miles. This land is shut in by ths
Olympic mountains, and Indian tradi
tions say that it is inhabited by very
fierce tribe, which none of tho coas-
tribes dared molest.
Here, then, 10 half OF our so, 600, oot
square miles consisting OF unknown
lands! What magnificent field for the
men in search of health, wealth and
knowledge! and what room 1t gives fol
future generations to travel and eettle
All of it is not fertile; some is uninhab
table on account of severity of climate
but much of it is as fair as any land ".
know ard fully as capable of supporting
1;Fa