Geographic Notes 



39 1 



"On each of those occasions and 

 under the excitement of the first mo- 

 ment news was sent abroad telling of 

 * fearful destruction of life' and of 'thou- 

 sands of lives destroyed.' When the 

 facts were investigated it was found that 

 a few persons, most of them Indians, 

 who were not numbered by hundreds, 

 and even less by thousands, had lost 

 their lives. It was indeed very unfor- 

 tunate, but we all felt less depressed 

 when we found that the first published 

 news was exaggerated out of all propor- 

 tion with the real loss of life. The same 

 was the case with the loss of property, 

 estimated at a great many millions of 

 dollars by the first news, and reduced 

 later on to the real ones — that is, the loss 

 of a part, not the largest, of the latest 

 coffee crop, and some damage caused to 

 the cities and towns. Since then almost 

 all the coffee plantations of the affected 

 zone have recuperated, thanks to the 

 fertility of the lands and to the washing 

 of the sand by the heavy rains which 

 followed the eruptions." 



Nearly one million immigrants, 921,315, 

 were adopted by the United States dur- 

 ing the twelve months ending June 30, 

 1903. This was 275,000 more than dur- 

 ing 1902 and 130,000 more than during 

 the banner j r ear of 1882. 



Of this total nearly one-half came from 

 Italy and Austria-Hungary, Italy send- 

 ing 230,622 and Austria 206,011, which 

 were respectively 52,247 and 34,022 

 more than for the preceding twelve 

 months. Russia came third with 136,- 

 093, Sweden fourth with 46,028, Ger- 

 many fifth with 40,086, and Ireland sixth 

 with 35,310. Japan sent 19,958, China 

 2,209, and the West Indies 8,170. 



Iu addition to those admitted, 8,769 

 would-be immigrants were denied admis- 

 sion, and 547 more were returned to 

 countries whence they came within one 

 year after landing. The grounds for 

 disbarment were : Pauperism, 5,812 



cases ; disease, 1,773 I contract laborers, 

 1,086 ; convicts, 51 ; insane and idiots, 



24 ; women for immoral purposes, 13 ; 

 aided paupers, 9, and polygamy, 1. Of 

 the total number admitted, 631,885 

 landed at the port of New York, 62,838 

 at Boston, 55,802 at Baltimore, and 

 32,943 by the northern border. 



The United States Geological Survey 

 has just issued a lisr, complete up to 

 June, 1903, of its serial publications, 

 consisting of annual reports, mono- 

 graphs, professional papers, bulletins, 

 mineral resources, water-supply and 

 irrigation papers, topographic atlas of 

 the United States, and geologic atlas of 

 the United States. Monographs, topo- 

 graphic sheets, and geologic folios are 

 sold at cost of publication — topographic 

 sheets (of which indexes, free on appli- 

 cation, are published from time to time) 

 are sold at 5 cents each, or $2 per 100 

 in one order; geologic folios usually at 



25 cents each; the other publications 

 are distributed free. 



A North Polar Expedition, a cable- 

 gram from England announces, is being 

 organized by Captain Drake, who pro- 

 poses to build a vessel of barkentine 

 rig, with auxiliary steam power. She 

 will be of 380 tons and will be pro- 

 visioned for six years. With a crew of 

 twenty, Captain Drake will leave Lon- 

 don in December, 1904, for Vladivo- 

 stock, and go thence to Point Barrow, 

 Alaska, which he expects to reach in 

 July, 1905. Thence he will proceed 

 easterly to Prince Patrick Land, where 

 the winter of 1905-1906 will be passed. 

 In 1906 he will endeavor to push his 

 ship as far north as 86°, and then make 

 his dash for the Pole. 



A cablegram from South America an- 

 nounces the successful ascent of Mt 

 Sorata, 21,500 feet, by Miss Annie S. 

 Peck. 



