422 A Century of Science 



he issued a circular, of which the following is an 

 abridgment : &quot; To ALL THE WORLD I declare the 

 earth is hollow and habitable within ; containing 

 a number of solid concentric spheres, one within 

 the other, and that it is open at the poles twelve 

 or sixteen degrees. I pledge my life in support 

 of this truth, and am ready to explore the hollow, 

 if the world will support and aid me in the under 

 taking. . . . My terms are [Hear, Messrs. Quay 

 and Platt ! and give ear, O Tammany !] the PAT 

 RONAGE of THIS and the NEW WORLDS. ... I 

 select Dr. S. L. Mitchell, Sir H. Davy, and Baron 

 Alexander von Humboldt as my protectors. I ask 

 one hundred brave companions, well equipped, to 

 start from Siberia, in the fall season, with reindeei 

 and sleighs, on the ice of the frozen sea. I engage 

 we find a warm and rich land, stocked with thrifty 

 vegetables and animals, if not men, on reaching 

 one degree northward of latitude 82. We will 

 return in the succeeding spring.&quot; 



This circular was sent by mail to men of science, 

 colleges, learned societies, legislatures, and mu 

 nicipal bodies, all over the United States and 

 Europe ; for when it comes to postage, your crank 

 seems always to have unlimited funds at his dis 

 posal. At Paris, the distinguished traveller, Count 

 Volney, doubtless with a significant shrug, pre- 



