The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-18
The UncxpIorcd Continent.

- 10 IN lOliktI II '"A
Explorers have gridironed IL with their
routes. Probably no geographical question
OF the ilrst Importance remains to be set
tied there. In its most important aspects
Africa is now revealed, and its study in
detail will lie the work of the next century.
1t is in South America and Antarctica that
the largest explorations Of the future will
be made. OF the great land masses, South
America is the least known and offers the
greatest prizes to exploration.
All that part of Colombia lying east of
the Cordillcras, n region as large as Texas,
is almost wholly unknown except along the
courses of four or five of the larger rivers
which were mapped by CREvAUX and other
explorers. Withonly one or two exceptions,
the many tributaries of these large streams,
If they are indicated on the maps, are
marked in broker lines to show that they
have not been surveyed. The names of n few
of the Indian tribes and towns, and some
inklingof minor mountain ranges seen from
the explored rivers, are all we know OF the
large white spaces on the maps of eastern
Colombia.
Not a third of Brazil, as large a country
as our own, is even fairly we'll known away
from the large tributaries of the Amazon;
and even the best known and most
populous part Of the country, East
Brazil, was shown on the maps with
glaring inaccuracy not more than ten
years ago. A number of long mountain
ranges were depicted on all maps for many
years, though there are no sue ranges.
Some of the large rivers nave cut their
yn1lnyc lpnp1y and thp hiuh hlY,fFc xyara
represented as mountains. There are dis
tricts, thousands of miles square between
the Amazon tributaries, both north and
south of that river, of whose geography
not the slightest detail has come to light.
The eastern parts of Ecuador, Peru, and
Bolivia, east of the Cordilleras, are very
little known. 1t is correct, in the main, to
to say hat between Venezuela and Argen-
tina, all inner South America has been ex.
plored only along its more important water
courses and that the still unvisited regions
in Brazil stretch two.thirds of the way
across the continent in it's widest part.
No one knows when a survey of the Andes
will be carried out, but certainly many
years will clapse before a fairly detailed
map of these great mountain chains will
~ p'o'i'i' Nv iu,ol vi "
German explorer within the past few years
have revealed about fifty passes through
the mountains which had never been
mapped. The sources of many rivers flow.
ing into the Pacific are not known, though
they are undoubtedly among the mountains
not more than 100 to 0 miles from the
coast. The recent boundary dispute between
Chilli and Argentina was due largely to the
fact that the crest of the mountain range
in that latitude is further west than was
supposed. and Chill thought herselfentitled
to a wider territory than she could have If
she accepted that line as a boundary.
A few years ago the late Capt. PAGE, an
American, settled an interesting question
in South American geography, and there
are not a few Others of equal Importance
that remain to be solved. His work blasted
the hopes of Bolivia that she might find a
water outlet to the Atlantic by way of the
Pilcomayo River. which rises among the
mountains and flows southeast to the broad
Parana. Capt. PAGE was employed to as
cend the Pilcomayo on a small steamer,
through the hostile indian country, and
cndeavor to reach Bolivia. He steamed far
up the river, until at last his keel stuck
fast on the bottom of the channel. Then
he built a dam across the river behind his
vessel, and the accumulated waters enabled
him to go on a few miles. He repeated
this process six times, and his seven
dams added t~hirty-tive miles to the distance
his vessel made. BY that time Capt. PAGL
was convinced that the Pilcomayo was not
available rs an outlet for Bolivia's produce.
Let EurOpcan cXplorerS discover "A CONT.
ncnt at the South Pole if they can. Ameri.
cans will do we'll to complete the explora.
ton of the Americas.