Evening star., 1935-06-16

North America, wandered southwark
until he reached the tip Of South
America, sailed through the straits
which bear his name today and even
tually found himself In the Philippine
Islands. The voyage had not been an
easy one, what with mutinies and
storms and privation, and one chron-
icler records that it must have been
with q feeling Of relief that Magellan
met his death during an encounter
with natives In the Philippines.
Although somewhat discouraged, the
remaining members Of the expedition
pressed on and succeeded In sailing
their ship back to Seville with val
usble cargo. The time for this FIRST
circmnnavigation of the globe was
1888 days-almost three years.
It was So years ago that the imag-
iAative M. Jules Verne precipitated q
skeptical world into the seething
cauldron of lively discussion over rec
ord-breaking globe-girdling possibil-
tiles. He wrote his immortal Around
the World in 80 Days." and ever since
old and young have thrilled to the
fanciful exploits Of M. Verne's fc-
tional Characteristic imperturbable
Phileas Fogg, the faithful Passepar-
tout, the beautiful Aouda and Mr..
Fogg's nemesis, Detective Fix.
Won $4,000 Wager.
M. Verne recorded that Mr.. Fogg
sat in the Reform Club, in London
one night and wagered f20. 900 that
he could, without preparation, travel
around the world in 30 days; that
he departed from Charing Cross Sta
ton at s:45 pm. Wednesday, october
2, 1872, and that he won his wager by
reappearing at the Reform Club pre-
cisely on the dot at 8:45 pm. Satur-
day, December 81, 1920 days to
the second. The punctilious Mr. Fogg
actually returned to London in 70
days, but, because of his failure to
correct an error in time, was unaware
of the fact until 10 minutes before he
was to appear at the Reform Club in
order to win his bet.
The Verne story, as the oldsters will
attest, was ridiculed generally. The
consensus was that, like most Verne
stories. it was absurd and impossi
ble";; that while train and steamer
facilities were adequate to transport
one around the world in 30 days,
the ever-present uncertainties Incl
dental to travel and the element of
chance were such as to preclude any
ones seriously undertaking such q
foolhardy mission.
1t was not until 1889 that any one
decided to contest MI. Fogg's fictitious
record.
At that time the late Joseph Pulitzer
q comely young sob sister" Her
name was Elizabeth Cochrane, but
she had adopted the pseudonym Of
Nellie BLY,, by which name he was
known until the day of her death
several years ago. Most of the old
time newspaper men recall her as
being about as big as q minute and
cute as hell" but possessed of amaz-
ing nerve, energy and resource.
Order Given Briefly.
One day Mr.. Pulitzer called Nellie
into his ONCE and without warning
asked a question:
Can you start on a trip around the
world tomorrow"
II Nellie was surprised, she didn't
display 1t by the bat Of an eyelash.
YES, sir" she replied with COM
mendable brevity.
"All right" Mr.. Pulitzer barked.
"I want you to knock about five days
off this fellow Phineas Fogg's record.
Drop in this afternoon" he added,
turning to his work.
An assignment Is an assignment in
the journalistic racket, and ordinarily
a reporter isn't given more than few
minutes to prepare to cover one. Con-
sidering herself fortunate in having
almost day in which to get ready,
Miss Bly, went home and packed; the
next day she was on the Atlantic,
bound for Southampton. She passed
through London, crossed the Channel
to France, and at the request OF
M. Verne stopped at Amiens to pay
him a brief visit.
Although this was II years after he
had sent Phileas Fogg around the
world In 80 days, Verne expressed
doubt that Nellie could duplicate the
feat. He quoted facts and figures to
prove why 1t could not be done.
Nellie listened attentively. smiled
cheerfully and predicted that she
would better Mr. Fogg's record by i've
days or more. M. Verne, appreciat-
ing the futility of arguing with
woman. said no more, kissed her on
both cheeks and bid her Godspeed.
Rejected Several Proposals.
The intrepid Nellie continued on
her way, via Brindisi and Suez, and,
after q series of thrilling adventures.
not to mention half dozen proposals
from importunate suitors, all OF which
were rejected, arrived back in New
York ~ days, 8 hours and IL minutes
after her departure.
The story of Nellie Bly's remarkable
feat was on every ones lips for
months, and her name was recorded
indelibly upon history's pages.
But Miss Bly's record didn't stand
very long. In 1890 (the year in which
she completed her trip George
Francis Train was ungentlemanly
enough to negotiate the distance in