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Show MOTIVES. Things which we know nothing about are mysteries. mys-teries. And of the mysteries of this earth, the polar extremities for long centuries have been the subjects sub-jects of speculation and guesswork that baffled the best efforts of the brainiest and bravest men. For thousands of years mankind lived on this terrestrial sphere before they discovered that it was round. When one considers that only four centuries have passed into eternity since the globe was first cir- ' cumnavigated, and notes the progress in navigation and commerce, the spread of knowledge and civilization, civil-ization, it must be conceded that the world entered upon a new era of development with the accomplishments accom-plishments of Columbus and Magellan. The voyages voy-ages of Columbus opened up a new world. Ho added a third to the known world a territory so rich in natural wealth, in gold and silver, and fertility fer-tility of soil that millions now make their homes upon it. Following the brave pioneers came the bold adventurers ad-venturers who sought to wrest from the simple inhabitants in-habitants of the- Americas the wealth their avarice and cupidity coveted. Then came the missionaries and the home seekers to the new world, and the subjugation sub-jugation of the land was begun. In all the history of the human race there is no more interesting chapters than those which deal with the settlement and development of the western hemisphere. The story is like a fairy tale. Yet there is always lacking, even in the best histories, the motive which prompted the discoverers, discov-erers, the adventurers, the settlers, to enter upon the subjugation of the new-found country. How many and who were actuated by motives of avarice and gain, attracted by tales of the fabulous wealth of the Montezumas ; how many put selfishness aside and sought knowledge for the benefit of mankind; how many whose object was the spread of the gos pel of our Lord, who entered the wilderness with no regard for personal danger and died martyrs to the cause which was the dominating factor of their lives; how many came with but the one object of establishing a new home in the land of promise history leaves most of this to the inference of the reader. If we could but span the centuries and look deep into the hearts of those who braved the terrors ter-rors of the unknown world, could read the secret thoughts of Ponce de Leon, who sought the fountain foun-tain of perpetual youth, or of Cortez who sought the gold of the Incas, or of Marquette and Joliet, who sought to spread their faith among the aborig-inees aborig-inees if we could but know the secret thoughts of j these, and of the Pilgrims and the settlers of the south, what a world of light would be spread upon the pages of history which must forever remain in the obscurity of the unknown I But what of the north, the icy desert that most unwillingly gives up its secrets, and what of the motives mo-tives which prompt brave men to enter upon the conquest of this forbidding field? Here there is no new continent to subjugate, no gold or riches to attract, no benighted people to enlighten, no hope of finding a new home for. earth's increasing millions. mil-lions. It must be knowledge" they seek, or the fame that will place their, names in the histories for future fu-ture generations to read that has spurred on to success after centuries of failure. The struggle for the pole is a long story of death and disaster, and many who had the heart to strike for the pole have never been heard from. The stories told by those who have penetrated far into the Arctic circle are stories of toil and hardship, of indescribable desolation and cold, of suffering and torture and anguish and death to their fellows. And the compensation? If one iota is added to the sum total of human knowledge their work will I not have been in vain. Though there be no new world to conquer, the simple fact that they have penetrated to the pole, have reached the goal of centuries cen-turies of endeavor, must forever place their nani among the heroic few who have done great deeds, and remain throughout the lapse of time an incentive incen-tive to the world to struggle on in its fight for the mastery of the sphere upon which we live. |