The assembly of the "Three Americas Congress" in Washington, is also an event that may wield an influence in the future. Perhaps it may not be seen for years to come, but it lays the foundation for commercial and geographic developments that would redound to the credit of the western hemisphere.
We have seen during the year the virtual failure of the Panama Canal company; for it is unreasonable to believe that a corporation so heavily involved with such a small proportion of its allotted labor accomplished, can secure the large sum that would be requisite to continue operations to completion. The failure of this company has imparted a fresh impetus to the Nicaragua scheme and ground was broken on this route in October last. As the Nicaragua route presents many natural advantages and is free from such stupendous engineering works as were contemplated at Panama, we may hope for its completion. The surveys were conducted with deliberation and have evidenced great skill on the part of those who supervised them, so that we may reasonably expect the construction will proceed with the same care, and resolve the question of success into the simple problem of cost.
A partial account has been furnished by Dr. Nansen of his journey across Greenland a year ago. The result will be disappointing to those who anticipated the discovery of open country with green fields and the general reversal of the Arctic conditions. He describes the region as being covered with a great shield of ice, dome-like in shape, and which he estimates to have a maximum thickness of six or seven thousand feet. For a great part of his journey he traveled at an elevation of about eight thousand feet, and the cold at times was so intense that he believes the temperature must have been at least 50° below zero on the Fahrenheit scale. No land was visible in the interior and he estimates the highest mountains must be covered with at least several hundred feet of snow ice. The expedition was one of great danger, and we may say was accomplished only through the good judgment of the explorer. The scientific results have not yet been considered, but the explorer suggests it is an excellent region to study an existing ice field, and estimates that persistent observations might prove productive of value in the science of meteorology.
The Canadians have been active during the year in the exploration of the vast territory to the northward of their supposed habitable regions. In the report of Dr. Dawson relating the result of his labors in the northwest, up to the date of its compilation, we find much that is new and a great deal that is of interest. We cannot enter into the details of his itinerary, but we may note as one fact that surely will excite surprise, the conclusion he reaches that there is a territory of about 60,000 square miles, the most part to the northward of the sixtieth parallel, in which agricultural pursuits may be successfully followed in conjunction with the natural development of the other resources of the territory. This does not imply that it may become an agricultural region, and should hardly be construed as more than a prediction that the pioneers who attempt to develop the region need not die of starvation.
We have also to record as a matter of interest in the Arctic region, the successful establishment of the two parties sent out by the United States to determine the location of the 141st meridian, the boundary line between Alaska and the British Provinces north of Mt. St. Elias. The parties are located on the Yukon and Porcupine rivers above their confluence at Ft. Yukon. They are well equipped, and it is expected they will explore a considerable territory and bring back with them valuable information beyond the special object of the expedition. Indeed, it may be said, this is but the beginning of a thorough examination of Alaskan territory, that will eventually form a basis for the demarkation of the international boundary. This country is full of surprises in its details, and whatever examinations are made must be thorough to be effective. Only recently, a small indentation, as it has been carried on the maps since Vancouver's time, and known as Holkham Bay, has been found to be a considerable body of water, extending back from Stephen's passage in two arms, each nearly thirty miles in length and nearly reaching the assumed location of the Alaska boundary. So perfectly is the bifurcation and extension of the arms hidden by islands, that it was only during the past summer when in the regular course of work the shores of the bay were to be traversed, that the extent of the bay became known.
The determination of the boundaries of the land areas on the surface of the earth has ever been a matter of the greatest interest to the students of geography. It was the incentive that led the daring navigators of old to undertake the perilous voyages that in these days read like romances; and in the light of the more perfect knowledge we now have of the hidden dangers to which they were exposed, we may pass by their shortcomings in the admiration we must feel for their heroism and endurance. To these men we owe our first conception of the probable distribution of the areas of land and water, but the lines they gave us were only approximate; and had not scientific effort followed in their tracks we may reasonably believe the progress of civilization would have been retarded by generations. True it is, also, that even to-day we have not that precise knowledge that is requisite for the safety of quick navigation, nor to calculate the possibility of the future improvement of undeveloped regions. The commerce of the world in coming years will demand the accuracy in the location of distant regions as great as we now have in civilized centres, for time will be too precious to lose a day of it in the precautions that the navigator must now follow in approaching undeveloped coasts. That these truths have guided those who seek to do their share for the future in the labor of the present, we have ample evidence in the activity of all civilized governments during the last century. It is a source of shame and infinite regret that our own government has done so little in this vast field: that the intelligence of our people has not been awakened to put forth their energy in so good a cause, that would eventually increase their own prosperity. But we have not been altogether inactive and complaint must be in the quantity, not the quality of our labors. The establishment of "definite locations," for the control of sections and regions, is the first step in eliminating errors that have been committed and in providing greater accuracy in the future. At a recent meeting of the Society we had a paper presented on this subject, from which we can judge of the good work that has been done by our navy in these determinations, and gain an insight of the similar labor that has been prosecuted by other nations. The bands of electric cables that girdle the earth, afford the most approved means of ascertaining the longitudes of these positions; and if we but study a cable chart, it will be found the work yet to be accomplished before the facilities the cables now afford are exhausted, is not inconsiderable. We hope, therefore, this good work may be continued, and that surveying and charting the regions thus approached, will shortly follow. There is much labor of this character still required on our own continent, and we will be delinquent in our duty as a progressive people if we do not follow the good beginning already made to its legitimate conclusion.
The duties of government are manifold, and for the benefit of those governed must include legislation that will make manifest the natural resources of the State. The geographic development and political advancement of our own country in the century of our national existence, is a marked instance of the wisdom of preparing for the future by such acts as legitimately fall within the province of legislation.
The new nation began her existence under extraordinary circumstances. With only an experimental form of government, she was to develop a vast region of unknown resources; but happily imbued with the belief that "knowledge is power," it was not long before systematic efforts were put forth to learn the wealth we had and how it might be utilized. The congress of the confederation provided the first act in 1785, for the organization of the land surveys and land parcelling system, that title to the unoccupied territories in the west might be securely vested in the individual. We have record of the stimulus this act gave to the settlement of a large territory, and raised the demand for surveys in the still further west, developing the geography of a vast region that has since become the home of millions of people. The original act was amended as early as 1796, and since then has frequently been added to in the effort to meet the new conditions evolved in the rapid development of the country. Other great regions were explored by the army, sometimes under special acts, until finally we had learned with some degree of reliability, the general adaptability of our whole territory. The discovery of the great mineral wealth of the west, and the improved means of communication afforded by the construction of continental railways, however, imposed new conditions and it was found more detailed information would be necessary to meet the demands of the increasing population. We thus reached another stage where expeditions equipped for scientific investigation were organized, and through their labors brought us knowledge of still greater value; and to-day we see these merged into one body in the geological survey, whose special duty is the scientific exploration and study of our great territory.
While this had been passing in the interior, bringing life to unoccupied regions, the districts on the coast that had long been settled, were also struggling with new problems. The material progress of the civilized world, and the pressure from the regions behind them that had been recently peopled, demanded greater commercial facilities. Early in the century, almost coincident with the establishment of the land surveys, provision had been made for the survey of the coasts, and although through various causes it was not vigorously prosecuted until a third of the century had passed, when the time came for its economic use in meeting the new conditions imposed by the general progress of the nation, the knowledge had been gained that was essential to advance and develop the great interests affected. The improvements required, however, could only be secured through active exertion, the actual work of man; but so pressing has been the want and so persistent has been the labor, that should we chart the results it would be a surprise to those who believe the "local geography" has not been changed.
The demands upon the older communities arising from the increase in commercial and industrial enterprise, have caused them too, to feel the want of more detailed information of their surroundings, and they have, in consequence, undertaken more precise surveys of their territories, generally availing themselves of the assistance offered by the general government. This work will doubtless extend in time to all the States, and be followed, when its value has been made manifest, by the detailed surveys of precision that have been found necessary as economic measures in the civilized States of the old world.