The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-08-08
MAPLESS REGIONS
An Eighth of the Worlds Land
Surface Still UnexpIored.
AREAS WRAPPED IN MYSTERY.

Is Supposed to Be the Most DesoIate
Waste on the GIobe-New Guinea
Has Baffed Countless Expeditions.
1t would seem as though this little
world of ours should be pretty thor
oughly known by this time, yet there
are many uneXplored territories which
have yet to receive the impress of
human foot and which doubtless, like
the north and south polar regions, will
take their toll of heroic victims from
the hardy explorers who first enter
their closed portals.
On q rough estimate about 100000
square miles, or one-eighth of the to-
tai land surface of the world, are wait
ing to be discovered. Some 100000
square miles of this lie in the arctic
regions of the north, but among the
frozen tracts that form antarctic" in
the south, where Scott and his gallant
followers were penetrating, nearly
100000 square miles are relegated to
the sole use Of whales, seals, pen
gums, petrels and other animal and
bird inhabitants of frozen homes.
1t is true that human habitatlons
could never be formed in such cllmes
as these, but the scientific world is
ever eager for the discoveries of eX
plorers, and even among uninhabited
districts their work is never wasted.
In Arabia there exists a tract Of un-
explored country nearly five times as
large as Great Britain. 1t stretches
10 ~
coast and is called Dahkna, or 1.-THE
Dwelling of the Void" Probably no
more deSolate waste is to be found in
the globe, for not a single river is es-
timated to flow throughout its entire
100000 square miles. Imagine Ger
many and France combined without
river or stream and you will gain some
idea of the parched condition of Dahk-
ma The Sahara Is a blssful retreat
by comparison.
Some authorities state that the
whole desert is not worth the price of
a good malacca cane Others give ere
dence to the legend that treasures and
hidden cities lie in the heart of the
sands.
Of quite a different character are
the enormous mountain Businesses of
South America, which lie along the
upper Amazon and in the districts of
Colombia and Peru. The celebrated
treasure of Cuzco lies secreted among
the Peruvian heights. Impenetrable
forests, mountain jungles and innu-
merable fever spreading rivers hold
the most intrepid adventures at bay,
to say nothing of carnivorous ants,
malignant snakes, water moccasins
and those most deadly Of serpents, an
acondas. During recent years over a
dozen expeditions have been either
wholly or partially wiped out in their
efforts to wrestle with these regions.
Although the famous FL Dorado,
which set the sixteenth century ablaze,
has never been unearthed, the country
generally might fftt1ngly be called Ell
Dorado, fnom the rich minerals and
priceless stones emanating therefrom.
Strange, wild eyed men descend oc.
casionally from the mountains, bring
ing wonderful fragments with them.
But they refuse to act as guides to
those who would accompany them
back.
1t is curious to realize that vast por.
tions of the British empire have never
been seen by British eyes or the eyes
of any white men. Nearly a quarter
1 of Australia is still unexplored, mainly
| In the west, where the population av-
erages only one person in about every
twenty square miles.
hnA
expeditions, though many are still try
ing to fight their way inland from the
5 coast Despite the fact that the inte-
rior of this island is practically geo.
4 graphical blank, it is neatly divided
on the maps between Britain, Germa-
nv and Holland. Among its products
are birds of paradise, spices and can
4 nibals.
Another particularly interesting dis
trict which has so far defied civlliza-
& ton lies secreted among the Himalaya
mountains. Rumor accounts that it
is presided over by women, who are
responsible for such rude laws as are
necessary even in a lawless district,
manage the affairs OF state and live in
a luxury of inverted Mormonism by
1possessing four or five husbands apiece.
To the hill men are relegated all the
rough tasks and menial labors. "Mere
man" is of small account beside these
Himalayan amazons. But we may as
= sumo that in due season the men will.
+ rise to claim their vote.
The foregoing selection does not ex-
haust by any means the list Of geo.
r. graphical blanks waiting to be filled.
4 Before the atlas complete can lie on
bur shelves we must penetrate the
/ darker haunts of Borneo, North Ameri-
ga, the Kongo basin, the 700 mile
hountain range that stretches from
Der Fur into the heart of Sahara and
: numerous other spaces-London An
bwers.