The Cairo bulletin., 1910-02-04
PLACES PEOPLE DON'T KNOW.
unexpLored Lands Galore, Including
THE Dwelling OF the Voids."

The Dwelling OF the Voids"
II liz odd tht so much fuss IL made
about the North and South poles, as
If they We're the only places on this
globe that man cannot reach There
is still enough unexplored land in the
world to make a new continent, IL
Jumped together For instance, within
10 days journey from London, by
modern express routes. there is
tract OF country the size Of Germany,
France and Holland combined, and AZ
unknown as the mountains of the
moon. says London Answers 1t oc-
cupes nearly the whole of central
southern Arabia. This pleasing dis
trict know as the Dahkna. or the
Dwelling OF the Void" and cons lists
Of what Lord Salisbury once politely
referred TO as Chiefly light soil,
when he was speaking of the French
possessions In Africa. II Is a mighty
waste OF sand, with not a single river
AS far as can be judgedin more
than 100000 square miles,
Compared with this country, the Sa-
hara is pleasant and fruitful tract.
1t defies even the Arab and the camel.
Ii Is unlikely that the whole 400 coo
square miles is worth Clio note.
However, a plucky Engiishman-Mf.
Hury-~is preparing to make an ate
tempt to penetrate into the interior
this year.
Another wholly unknown tract OF
country--one that is likely to show
Its future explorers more profit than
the last meptioned--is to be found In
Tibet. along the lower Brahmaputra,
and Is about the size of the United
Kingdom. Of course, central Tibet,
Lhassa, and so forth. are mere trip
per" districts now, since the British
expedition to the Secret City. But
the southeastern part OF the country
has yet to see white mans face,
According to the newspapers, however.
AN adventurous Englishman, carry
ing his life in his hands" is now
starting to try his luck In the district.
1t seems quaint that any part OF the
British empire should remain untra-
versed by white men. Indeed. 1t is
necessary to rush the next Item into
| print In order TO include 1t, for, al
though unexplored at present, 1t will
not be 50 much longer. No less than
three expeditions are starting to pen
citrate the unknown parts OF New
Guinea, but up till now nothing can
| be recorded about the district except
BY guesswork and any surprise may
await the explorers. The coast ia
comparatively civilized and the British
| portion is administered by the crown.
Perhaps on the whole, the finest
| place to get absolutely lost in Is the
| interior of South America, where 300,-
600 square miles or so are still wait
ing for the first white mans foot to
intriIde on any OF them. Most OF this
| lies around the watershed OF the up
per Amazon and its tributaries. Many
OF the names politely ascribed by the
| atlas to the rivers and mountains
hsre are efforts OF imagination. Only
| a small number have really been
reached or surveyed. As two-thirds
of the whole region is impenetrable
forest, 1t Is not place to take casual
| strolls in: and over a dozen expedi-
lions have either failed been COM
| pletely lost, or wiped out by accidents
of travel in the last 40 years. The
principal joys that await forthcoming
expeditions are fever of a very malig-
nant sort. armies of ants that can
declmate a baggage train. and even
overwhelm and eat Is proprietors, inn
| passible cypress swampe. and snake
bite. The latter commodity cannot
be eQualed anywhere eise--there is no
| place on the globe where deadly snakes
swarm TO such an extent. and hardly
any of them permit the least hope OF
life after a bite The fer-de-lance
water moccasin, and a dozen others
are particularly plentiful; and, by way
of variety, the anaconda, champion OF
the world in the constructing and bone
smashing line. is abundant In the
| fnresta Evan tina natiyes--mainiy