Geography of the Land. 129 



not far distant when American officers may again roam the seas 

 in Geographic research, and bring fresh laurels to crown the en- 

 terprise of our people. 



The great American continent, the New World as it is called, 

 presents an example of progress of which history affords us none 

 similar — a marked instance of the power of intelligent persever- 

 ance to conquer in new fields and bring under man's dominion 

 for his use and welfare even some of the elements themselves. 

 The last century has shown a branch of one of the old parent 

 stocks, divorced from many of their traditions and left to them- 

 selves, imbued with a spirit of progress that has advanced with 

 such giant strides, that in a generation we have seen more strange 

 things than had come upon the world before in centuries. At 

 the birth of our nation the now populous district on the Ohio 

 and the Great Lakes was the " far west," roamed over by native 

 tribes. The great northwest of to-day was marked upon the 

 maps as " unexplored," and the confines of the continent on the 

 Pacific were known more on the faith of good reports than the 

 knowledge of observation ; while that vast territory west of the 

 Mississippi was not known at all, or only through the legends 

 transmitted from the " Fathers " who had partly occupied it in 

 following their holy calling. And yet within half a century ex- 

 plorers have traversed nearly eveiy square mile, science has dis- 

 covered in it treasures of knowledge that have taught the world : 

 and instead of a vast region of wandering tribes, we find a civili- 

 zation, energetic, progressive, and still pressing on to reclaim 

 even that which has been considered waste. Indeed, so rapidly 

 have the choice areas been occupied, that it may be but a few 

 years when none will be left, and the question of over-po23ulation 

 may press upon us as to-day it presses upon older nations. While 

 this state of affairs may not excite present alarm, it is a matter of 

 congratulation that the Congress at its last session provided the 

 initial step for an exhaustive examination of the great arid region, 

 to determine what portion of it may be reclaimed by irrigation. 



And in Alaska the desirability of a better knowledge of our 

 possessions has been emphasized by the fear of international com- 

 plications on the boundary, which has resulted in a small appro- 

 priation by the Congress for surveys, with a view to obtaining a 

 better knowledge of the country, whereby a more reasonable de- 

 limitation of the boundary can be made. 



