Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1919-12-11

the silent places of earth, Today some
thing like a seventh of the earth's surface is still
unexplored. Tomorrow typographical maps at a
nominal cost will be on sale at the bookstores.
Last season an airplane glided slowly down
past Ell Captain and Half Dome and alighted on
the floor of the Yosemite valley; it rose and sailed
away without difficulty. A daring airman swooped
down into the abyss of the Grand canon of the
Colorado in Arizona and then scared out over the
rim without a mishap. A whole fleet of %airplanes
rose into the thin air of the Rockies crossed the
14,000-foot peaks of the continental divide and did
stunts over the SUBMITS of Pixies Peak and Longs
Peak. These things were something new under
the sun; it was believed they could not be done.
These feats merely emphasize the fact which is
becoming increasingly apparent that there is no.
where that the airplane cannot go.
The fact that these unexplored regions of the
earth are the most difficult, dangerous and mac
cessible but hastens their exploration. The more
danger the greater the incentive! The greater
the adventure the more enjoyable the thrill!
These silent places of earth appeal to the adven-
turer of the skies as the mail service fills him
with Ioathing.
A writer in the Strand Magazine observes sage
ly that nature still provides the flying man with
all the hazards of adventure. And he proceeds to
set down in detail the opportunities that await
the aviator on exploration bent. He argues that
nature, in these remote regions, has detied all the
white mans attempts to scale her heights, intrude
upon her arid ~soitudes, escape from the lurking
dangers of her virgin forests, or feast his sight
upon her snowy wastes. She laughed his foot
expeditions out of court but she cannot laugh at
the equipment Of the winged explorer. In fact,
there is little the airman cannot do. From Glib
raltar he can peep upon the tribal fanatics of
southern Morocco and dwell a while on the west
ern Atlas mountains.
From Egypt he has a flying ground of thou
sands of square miles in the eastern Sahara and,
If he is fond of rolling sand, the deserts of Ara
bia, too. Both are within his reach, and he Is
certain of no company except what he takes with
him. For a change, the coast of the Guianas Is ideal
for slipping into the malarial jungles of the
Cordillera of southern Venezuela, and when tired
and seeking a brief rest he should find a conven-
lent landing spot on the Tumac Humac. Or else
the desert of Cobb from the Siberian railway, or
portions of the polar area that are not "the home
of the blizzard" might be worth his attention. But
let him beware of the illimitable forests of Brazil,
the hurricane lands of western Antarctica, the
windy heights and icy crests of the HimalayaS,
without proper regard to the pitfalls that beset
the unwary in these regions.
In the Great HimaIayas.
An airman would probably fly a thousand feet
above the Great Himalaya, the main range, which
from the south appears like a cleaning wall Of
snow and ice. Some of the snow fields of the
Himaayas are only accessible from the air, and
if he landed on one an engine ~stoppage might
leave him marooned in an exposed and precarious
position. i.
1t would be hard to find any scientific task more
interesting than the exploration of certain regions
Of Afghanistan and the study Of its wild, pagan
inhabitants, the bold Kafrs and other strange
trfhoa Tn tho northpoc Of pnrnQr Of thQ noI1ptru
large portions of Badakshan and Kafrstan are
entirely unknown.
The aerial wanderer, inspired with a true love
Of adventure, will doubtless be pleased to know
that not all the Dark Continent is vet an open
book. In fact, it still jealousy guards some very
black spots. Even in British territory how much
is known Of the inner Shilluk districts of the
Soudan; the region between the upper waters of
the Blue Nile and the fimitso of the Uganda, or the
line of the Senussi GASES from Tripoli, or the
Cyrenaica toward Wadai? What European has
seen, much less trod, huge areas within the desert
regions of southern Asia? There are other areas
which have been crossed always in haste and even
in fear; also regions visited perhaps by a score
Of travellers since the revival of learning, but in
habited by peoples Of whom we have learned much
less than about the polar Eskimo.
The greatest unseen area lies in Arabia, almost
all sthe southern half Of which is occupied. ac-
cording to native reports, by a great wilderness
known as the Dwelling of the Void" Three
travellers have claimed that they have gazed on
its uttermost fringes from the west, south and
east, respectively, but no European has ever en-
tered this immense tract Of 100000 square miles.
It Is further doubtful, moreover, whether any
native has ever crossed any part but certain
tongues which /. throws out toward the Persian
gulf. and toward the Indian ocean southwest of
the latter province. Some maps mark a caravan
track running through the heart of this desert,
but at a Dutch colony in Java, to which colonists
from south Arabia generally resorted, Javanese
Arabs denied all knowledge Of 1t.