The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1896-11-04
OUR UNEMPLOYED GLOBE,


There Are Twenty MILTON Square Miles
Of tho Earth Yet to Bo Explored.
We are apt to think that we mod.
erns have very little to do in the
way Of exploring the globe and that
the recent explorations in Africa
have quite put thu finishing touch
to geographical knowledge. so that
he who wishes to set foot on virgin
soil must sigh, like Alexander, for
another world. Those who entertain
such opinions may calm themselves
with the thought that no less por.
ton of the earth's surface than 20.
900, 600 square miles is Jet fit sub.
jeot for investigation, and on large
part of this the foot of civilized man
has not yet trod. We translate from
the Paris Cosmos" an article that
brings this fact out very clearly. II
runs as follows:
"At the London geographical con.
gress Mr.. Logan Lobby gave a very
interesting study Of the present state
of exploration OF the globe. It
pears that modern geographers have
an immense amount of labor before
them to make US acquainted with
all parts Of the earth. This conclu.
sion will astonish some people, for
there is q general impression that
almost all regions of the earth are
we'll explored.
"Mr. Lobby reminds US that in
the first place, toward the middle Of
the sixteenth century. all seas had
been traversed by navigators, and
that II the maps of the continents
were not yet very exact, at least
their relative positions and their
general CONFORMATION were known.
Australia-itself appears on q French
map Of 1542 under the name OF
Great Java. In the course Of the 60
years included IN the Lost decade Of
the fifteenth century and the first
half OF the sixteenth pieiad Of nav
igators had advanced geographic
knowledge IN q degree that has never
been reached In any other period 60
short. Sebastian d 'Elano bad made
his first voyage around the world
Vasoo da CANA had doubled the
Cape Of Good Hope; Christopher Co.
ium bus had added the two Americas
to the map; the voyages of Cabot and
Of Magellan had completed this won.
derful list of new discoveries.
To-day, outside Of the polar re-
gions. we must confess that all the
seas have been explored, but this Ia
far from being the case with the
land. An immense extent Is entirely
unknown to US. Another. still more
considerable, has been only imper.
feotly explored; travellers have trav.
ersed 1t, commerce has exploited
some of Its products, but good maps
Of it do not exist. Finally, only the
least part Is we'll known; geodesy
has covered it with a network Of
triangles, and the maps Of it are com.
plete, even from Typographical
standpoint
"After the arctic and antarctic
regions, which have remained mao
cessible up to the present time, At
rioa is the part Of the world that Is
least known to US, notwithstanding
the admirable explorations made IL
this century, which are daily clear
ing up the map The earliest explor
ers, however, could not dream o.
serious efforts, and many years will
pass before the country will be thor
oughly explored.
after Africa, Australia offers th.
vastest field to the investigation O
explorers. We must remember tina
even its seaooast was not fully ex
plored till 1343. Since that time, a
the price of great suffering, 1t ha
been crossed from south to north
but no traveller has yet traversed i
from east to west.
I'm the two Americas, except th'
extreme northern and southern
parts, the continent Is known. Never
theless, the whole central region o
South America, though In great par
explored for commercial purpose
(for 1ninea, woods, oaoutohouc, etc.
Is not exactly mapped.
ITO sum up the yet unexplore
parts Of the globe oover an area O
about $4,000, 600 square kilometer
(about 90, ooo, 600 square miles, 81
proximately divided thus: