Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1922-11-01

prepared by the National Geographic So
ciety. Washington. D. c.
What is the biggest real estate
transfer ever recorded in the New
World?
Any little group Of QUESTIONABLE
addicts who encountered that inquiry
probably would begin wondering
whether Muscle Shoals had been sold.
or whether somebody had purchased
the Woodwork building. II is re-
called. apropOs Of the plans being
discussed i'm Holland 10 invest new
capital in Dutch Guiana. that New
York once was traded for ParamaribO.
The real estate record of the trans
action is to be found I'm the treaty of
Breda. by which, in 1867. the Dutch
gave New Amsterdam 10 England
aud England turned over pretty little
Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana's capital,
10 Holland.
To put il mildly. ParamaribO today
Is not known so widely as il might be
Neither is Surname. which is the
commOner name for Dutch Guiana
nor Demarara. which is locally used
TO designate British Guiana.
And Guiana itself missed a chance
for fame through a typographical
error. The humble guinea pig. a ma
tive son, would have carried its home
lands name into popular usage had
not early writer's confused the habi-
tat Of the rodent with African Guinea
"a confusion which is not altogether
overcome to this day.
Almost an Island.
Yet Guiana proper is about a third
as large as the United States and
occupies a conspicuous position on
the forehead" of continent or
American republics which Americans
of the United States have come TO
know so well.
British Guiana. French Guiana and
Dutch Guiana are not all of Guiana;
there also is Venezuelan Guiana and
Brazilian Guiana. Thus Greater"
Guiana comprises the region between
the OrinOcO and the Amazon; in fact,
Guiana is a sort OF island, because
these rivers. along with the Rio Negro
and Caslquaire, form its boundary.
1t Is not an inexcusable error TO
class Dutch Guiana with the West In
dies. for in respect 10 communication
and commerce II Is all but cut OF
from its South American neighbOrS
and does business with Trinidad and
with Holland direct.
Florida failed TO reveal its fountain
of youth TO Ponce de Leon. but its
Miamis have yielded restorative gifts
TO many thousands of midwinter pill
grims. Although the Guianas failed
Sir Walter Raleigh In his quest for a
promised land Of gold and gems. that
region may vet become an economic
TT Dorado by the saner romance o.
modern development.
~eo!d-PIated" People.
For getting his lies believed. the
fluent and facile Juan Martinez out
ranks Munchausen or Ananias. His
tales of Manoa. where the monuments
were marvels of lustrOus gold. and
where men were anOinted with oil and
then sprinkled with pulveTized gold.
captured the imaginations Of many
explorers even before Sir Walter Ra-
leigh penetrated the humid interior
Of Guiana in search Of this FL Dorado.
So generally is the term now used in
a fgurative sense to denote any fan
cifuI rainbOw's end that IL Is hard 20
realize how seriously the tales Of
Martinez and lesser liars were cred
tied. Indeed. Fl DoradO's mythical
court city, the lake on which II was
supposed 10 be located and the esti-
mated extent Of the country itself
appeared on maps until the serious
scrutiny Of Humboldt exploded the
fairy tale
Dutch Guiana Is about the size OF
Florida. The British first held II;
and the Dutch first held what Is now
British Guiana. The westernmOst OF
the three foreign holdings, French
Guiana. is used in part as a penal
colony.
Along the coast Dutch Guiana Is
strip Of transplanted Holland. Back
m its forests is a bit OF Africa. In
hablted by bushmen who live much as
a. chair naps Oonfinanf canSins- The