THE UNMAPPED AREAS ON THE KARTirs M RFAcE 



2h\f 



NOKTII AMKKICA 



I have dwelt thus long on Africa, because it will really be one 

 of the great geographical problems of the coining century. Had 

 it been as suitable as America or Australia, we may be sure it 

 would not have remained so long neglected and despise.l by tbe 

 European peoples as it has done. Unfortunately for Africa", just 

 as it had been circumnavigated, and just tis Europeans were lie- 

 ginning to settle upon its central portion and trying to make tb.-ir 

 way into the interior, Columl)us and Cabot discovered a new 

 world— a world as well adapted as Europe for tbe energies of tbe 

 white races. That discovery postponed the legitimate develop- 

 ment of Africa for four centuries. Nothing could be more marked 

 than the progress which America has made since its rediscovery 

 400 years ago, and the stagnation of Africa, which has been known 

 to Europe since long before the beginning t)f history. During 

 these 400 years North America at least has been very thoroughly 

 explored. The two great Nations which divide North America 

 between them have their Government surveys, which are rapidly 

 mapping the whole continent and investigating its geology, phys- 

 ical geography, and natural resources. 



I need hardly tell an audience like this of tbe admirable work 

 done b}'- the surve}^ of Canada under Sir William liOgan, Dr 

 Selwjni, and his successor, Dr George Dawson ; nor sbould it l>e 

 forgotten that under the lands department much excellent to- 

 pographical work has been carried out by Captain Deville and 

 his predecessors. Still, though much has been done, much re- 

 mains to be done. There are large areas which have not as yet 

 been roughly mapped. Within quite recent \'ears we have b;id 

 new regions opened up to us by the work of Dawson and Ogilvie 

 on the Yukon, Dr Bell in the region to the south of Hudson bay, 

 by the brothers Tyrrell in the barren lands on the west of tbe 

 same bay, by O'Sullivan beyond the sources of the Ottawa, and 

 by Low in Labrador. 



But it is not so long since that Dr l)awsi)n, in reviewing what 

 remains to be done in the Dominion in the way of even pioneer 

 exploration, pointed out that something like a million square 

 miles still remained to be mapped. Apart from tbe uninhabit- 

 able regions in the north, there are, as Dr Dawson pointed out, 

 considerable areas which niigbt be turned to profitable agrieult- 

 ural and mining account of which we know little, such areas as 

 these which have been recently mapi)ed out on tbe south oi ilnd- 



