Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1900-10-23
SOUTH AMERICALEAST KNOWN
More Exploration Remains to BE
Done in That Continent Than
in Any other.

When we recall that the Spaniards
crossed South America from sea to
sea more than three centuries ago
and that nearly every city on its
coasts was founded in the age of the
Columbian explorers, it seems strange
that to-day our southern neighbor is
the least known of all the continents.
There are not so many big white
spaces on the map of Africa as on that
of South America If we study the
history of South American eXplora-
tion we find some surprising facts.
One is that up to 1875 not n single
government in that continent had
sent out any expeditions or spent any
money to explore the unknown parts
of their territories. Until within the
past few years nearly all the eXplora-
tion of this century in that continent,
excepting in Argentina and Chilli, has
been the result of private enterprise.
A few explorers from North America
and many more from Europe have
made most of this century's additions
to our geographical knowledge of
South America, except in the south
ern part of the continent, says the
New York Sun.
Thus it happens that none of the
Cordilleran states from Venezuela to
Chilli has as yet emerged from the
stage of the rough, pioneer eXplora-
tion. A considerable part of their
territory, as in the southeastern part
of Colombia, is still almost wholly un-
known. Some of them, like Bolivia,
have made no attempt whatever, eX-
cept in small districts around their
chief towns, to carry out official sur
veys. They have to thank foreign eN-
plorers for most that they themselves
know of their own countries. 1t is
Conway. who recently passed through
New York to renew his work in the
Bolivian Andes, that is supplying the
Bolivians with very good maps of
their own part of the Cordlleras. lie
is doing for Bolivia what other ex-
plorers, chiefly German, have done for
Ecuadorian ranges.
The same condition of affairs is to
be observed among the Atlantic states
as far south as Uruguay. The Gui-
anas, except Cor a narrow strip along
the coasts, are still on the threshold
of the beginnings of exploration.
Brazil, with a territory nearly as
large as our own, has not a single es-
tablishment like our geological or
coast and geodetic surveys to make
a careful geographical study of any
part of its vast domain. All the Off
cial explorations that have been made
in any part Of Brazil are the work of
some of the individual states. Scarce
ly a traveller has crossed any of the
northeastern states from Maranbao to
Pernambuco. and much of the in
terror, except along the river courses,
is still quite unknown. The wide will
dernesses between the large tribu-
taries of the Amazon are completely
terra incognita.
In Argentina, however, very salts
factory progress has been made in ex-
ploration in the past quarter OF cen
tury. 1t was in 1852 that the first
collected results Of the governments
activity in this direction were seen in
the large atlas of the country pre-
pared under the direction of the
geographer Seestrang. Argentina
has the advantage of geological ard
meteorological establishments and
foreign scientific men in the service
of the state and the universities
whose labors have largely enhanced
the value of all official geographical
work. The systematic study which
both Argentina and Chill have for
some years given to the ranges along
their common frontier have made this
the best known part Of the South
American Cordilleras.
Just as sportsmen travel thousands
of miles to reach the big game OF
central Africa, India and Manchuria
so explorers will turn, in the neXt
century, TO the large. untraveled areas
of South America as the best fields tht
world has now to offer for original
pioneer research in the way of geo
/ graphical discovery.