The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-08

"A modern ClVillZatlon, the kero-
sene engine, wireless, the quiz
nine pills and the fly screen. DR..
Alexander Hamilton Rice and Mrs.
Rice are forsaling fine houses which
they own I'm Boston and Newport
and a comfortable apartment at the
Ritz TO penetrate the upper reaches
Of the Amazon and Or?noco rivers,
aiming to succeed where every white
man from the conqulstadores down has
failed. They will depart in a few days
With them will be shipped y 4O-foot
fiat bottomed launch upon which they
and the five other members of the ex-
petition expect to be comfortable Cor
the months they are away from all
civilization.
For DIR. Rice says the .'.mazon and
the interior Of South America have
been given a black eye by the unskll-
ful persons who have attempted to ex.
plore them from time TO time. Tenn
peratures, he says. are no worse than
they have been in New York this
week. A daytime reading OF over 80
degrees Is a rarity. and at night the
thermometer frequently drops ten or
twelve degrees. other explorers have
died OF fever because they had no
quinine or succumbed to the rapids OF
the rivers, or got lost because they
had no wireless, or been infected anil
died from the bites OF insects. DR..
Rice's equipment includes means We'll
calculated to save him and his party
! from any such fate. and he expects TO
gain geogra pi1ical, chronological and
even commercial data OF much i'm
portance.
In Quest of White Indians.
The most romantic OF the things he
expects to do is to confirm or shatter
definitely the legend of the White In
dams, the Guahariva, OF the upper ba-
sins. The Spanish explorers OF l7al
mentioned them: an Engishman If
1853 and a Frenchman in 1885 report
ed them: and DIR. Rice has been told
about them by traders and Indians
whom he met on one or another OF his
several previous trips through TINS
least known part OF the habitabl,
world. But such natives as DR. Ric'
90 far has seen invariably shade cop
DER color when tried against the stan
dard chronological scale.
This time DR.. Rice expects to pen
etrate to the proper habitat OF tn
tribe itself and find out about then
all that a trained observer can. Ther'
is a traditional fear of these "wnit'
Indians among their neighbors bu
DR.. Rice has found that the reputa
tion Of the natives often has beef
blacksned unjustiy. as has the repu
tatipn of the climate. He expects N
trouble with any new tribes he ma!
encounter.
The expedition is financed by ID
Rice himself, but his chronological re
port will go to Harvard Universit.
and his maps and other data to tn
Royal Geographical Society OF London
OF which he is a fellow and medaliis'
He already has crossed South Americ
from ocean to ocean and has mappe
the upper reaches OF the rivers in tn
southwesterly corners OF Nenezuel
and Colombia and the northwestern
corner of Brazil. Most of his work Of
the present trip will be done along tn
southern boundaries of Venezuela
where he hopes 10 map accurately tn
Orinoco TO it's scource. He will then &
back UP to the westward into III
country previously mapped ard en-
Orinoco to the Amazon basin.
Rich in Natural Resources.
"This country" says DR.. Rice, 81
the oldest in the world. Beneath ii
surface are undoubtedly importar
mineral deposits. possibly oil, and II
jungles ARE fun of the most valuabl
Of growths. II is entirely possible fo
q white man 10 live there comfortabl
and BEAUTIFULLY II he takes the prope
precautions. II the country and tn
natives are known and treated as the
should be 1t is a field of marvellol
developments of all sorts,
The natives are really splendid pet
pie. They are honest, simple and d.
cent. They live without a stitch
clothing, with the boys growing u
on one side of the compound and Il
girls on the other. Yet they have
wonderful modesty Of their own. The
are willing to work II properly d
recteu, though they don't like to trav
much, and il they are not abused Ar
exploited they will make a fine popl
lation.
What the country needs IL a d.
velopment like that the Hudson Ba
Company gave to northern Canad
The natural difficulties to life dow
there are infinitely less than tn,
were in northern Canada. There a
only few things that white ms
need do To live there in health al
comfort He must take a course