The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1893-12-17


public occasionally. and We have read ac-
counts OF the vast inland sea which might
! be formed, rivaiirr the Mediterranean IN
sixe. giving Southern scacoast TO Morocco
and Aiglers, and admitting steamers d.
rectly 10 tho wealthy states OF the Sudan.
The Sahara as known TO the geoErapher
corresponds badly with this conception,
for, In fact there "a no risk OF the 'snip
lof the desert" ever being snpplsnted By
the ships Of the sea. Few parts ara below
| sea level, and they are small and scattered.
In the interior the desert Is a plane high
above sea level covered with vast dunes
OF red sand in many parts, IN others Il Is
an elevated plateau with lofty mountain
| ranges or bare rocks intersected By stony
valleys II Is arid save where spring
bubbles up and gives rise 20 small oasis
Of grass and palm trees. The Sahara pro-
per is unknown except for few trade
routes regularly trayersed BY Arabs and
occasionally by adventurous Europeans.
railway running from the French pos-
sessions on the Mediterranean across The
desert TO Timbuctoo. the scarcely known
trade center near the Niger. i talked OF.
such q line may be constructed IN the
future. but the difficulties are enormous.
Tha richly cultivated region Of the
Sudan stretches from seq to sea south OF
the Sahara, Is full OF blanks on the map.
places unknown. not because OF physical
obstacles, but from the organized resist
ilized Mohammedan negroes who inhabt
Il. Their fanaticism and determination TO
exclude strangers have kept many places
unknown to the present day.
EASTERN COAST OF ASIA
coasting along China and Korea the !
merchant skipper passes town after town (
where he is forbidden 10 land and where 4
10 foreign trade Of any kind can be dome. |
China Is. however comparatively well /
mapped the only really unknown region /
being Orsios Ia the great bend OF the Yei- \
low river in the country beyond the great 4
wall For many ages Korea justified rs Z
nickname OF the hermit nation. selfcon- 4
tanned. With a more than Chinese ex- 4
clusiveness, Il felt no need Of outside help {
and refused 10 welcome foreign devils 70
its shores.
Now it has open ports, and foreign rep
reaentatiyes AZ Ire courl, and only north
ward toward the Msnchurisn border are
thcre patches Of mountain whore the
foreign foot has not yet trod. The vast
archipelago that unites Asia and Aus
traiia, although almost the first part Of
The trus Orient 10 be visited By traders
from the West, also retains much OK the
unknown Iava alone haa been surveyed
and studied as infinitely as a European
country. The huge interior OF Bofneo |
teens With possibilities OF exploration.
and IN It's central mountains II locks up
one OF the most interesting problems yet
unsoiyed regarding the geographical dis
tribution OF animals
GREAT AUSTRALIAN PLANS.
IN Australia we are hardly surprised to
mud considerable area SIN untrayersed
Wherever tbs squatter could md graz
ing lands FOR his sheep. or the miner
could detect traces OK ore, the land has
been overrun and more or less settled,
AMI rim OF known territory encirces
the continent widest on the east and
on the west Occasionally in
tTepid explorers with horses, or latterly
camels, have made their way across the
arid regions Of the Interior In various d.
rectipus. or persisted Of thirst and starva-
tipn IN the desert. a great overland tel-
esraph line. running from the south
ern 70 the northern coasts OF South Aus
ualia, bisects the continent, and IL is TO
the west OF TINT line that the largest un-
explored areas SIN remain.
Here II the great Victoria DESERT on
the south. a tract OF land larger than the
Briiish Islands has never been entered
by white man, and in the great Sandy
desert, further NORTH the unknown ter
ritory - hardly less Tho obstacles I
which have 30 long guarded the unknown
REGIONS are almost entirely physical
fherc are hostile natives who resent the
1gh.hanaed Intrusion Of the white stfang-
az anu thene natives are perhaps the
most degraded aud least attractive OF ali }
d,
numher, and not Formidable 10 ermod
.ravclera The chief difficulty Is want u
water end climate not only extreme but
uncertain.
NEGLECT he's met every proposal OF An }
arctic research Tor half century The 7
Aninrtir circle surrounds an area OF over
a@1.Q11 square miles. an area larger thar :
All North America, and this has only
been crossed 70 any distance IN two /
places, southeast OF South America ana q
soufh OF New Zealand 9
For an scientific purposes exploration
p the south viii yield n far surer and
'ichnr reward than Ia the north. II Is /
be lart chnaoe LEFT for a man Of wealth. i
. sri.e hts name across a thousand miles (
= blank space on the map Of the world g
lhe opportunity is now open to anyone
o IND q continent and solve the last "a y
ihnuc problem 81 exploration and Seo /
10 spent IN this direction would eer 4
AMY bring IN The gfGndest harvest Of Q
,ure exploration loft % be reaped from .
he feld of the werld. The last great \
Not Of ignorance might be wiped from y
ne globe before the dawn ~ the TWEEN. ,
ieth century d
Hugh Robert srn. D. Sc.