Atlantis

Somewhere in the South Atlantic, cruises the Blossom, three-masted schooner, 109 feet over all, with a 24-foot beam, bearing George F. Simmons, of Houston, Texas, formerly game warden of his state and professor of ornithology in the University of Texas and in Rice Institute.

With him--on a voyage which may yet rival that of Darwin's Beagle--are 15 expert helpers. For Simmons seeks to learn the truth about Atlantis, the "continent" that lies in the twilight zone between mythology, history and science. What, when and where was it? Who inhabited it? What became of it? These are some of the questions the expedition hopes to settle.

It is not really so absurd a wild goose chase as it may sound. The islands off the west coast of Africa are believed to be of volcanic origin. They rise precipitously from the ocean, with little or no beach, sometimes to heights of 4,000 and 5,000 ft. The theory, supported by evidence from soundings, is that these islands once formed the tops of mountains in a continent which has become submerged in recent geological times. The chief scientific objectives of the trip are the study of: 1) the geology and the physiography of the islands in relation to the continental masses, past and present; 2) the continental sources of the fauna of the islands; 3) the variations that have grown up between the forms of life on the islands and similar species on the mainland; 4) the life history of their myriad bird inhabitants.

Hellenic legend records that Atlantis was larger than Asia Minor and Libya, that it lay beyond the straits of Gibraltar, that from Atlantis another continent to the west was easily accessible, and that an army of Atlantisians once invaded Europe and unsuccessfully attacked the Greeks.

These stories have not the slightest basis recorded and two cen turies of debate have discredited their fantastic imaginings. But it is conceivable that the Simmons party may find ruins and relics of an ancient civilization in some of the islands. They will visit in order the Cape Verde, Fernando de Noronha, Trinidad, South Georgia, St. Helena, and about 40 other Atlantic islands, only a few of which are inhabited, thence entering the In dian Ocean. The schooner will sail over 20,000 miles.

Mr. Simmons' expedition is financed by Mrs. Elizabeth B. 'Blossom, of Cleveland, for whom the schooner is named. He has chosen his personnel for specialist efficiency and general ability. It includes Robert H. Rock well, of the Brooklyn Institute Museum, taxidermist, who will mount groups of the island wild life; W. Kenneth Cuyler and Allen L. Moses, collectors, who will prepare the skins. Mr. Simmons himself will devote much time to the many rare and tropical birds -- the sheerwater, gannet, booby, king and emperor penguins, jackass, manofwar, albatross, etc. Experienced navigators and sailors, all college men with scientific training, make up the crew. There is an engineer for topo graphical work, an electrician for ra dio, a photographer, a motion picture man.