ve thought saying it was a waste of time as even a
small child could have seen that they were. And any way, why any
body should want to be there is some thing beyond me.

"We took off from Whitney on the 14th inst., flying back S. West.
There were no land marks, but the navigator told me when we were
over the Site of L. A. I have to report that the Grass looked no
different in this Area, where it is the oldest. Then we flew North
E., looking for the Gt. Salt Lake according to yr. instructions. I
am sorry to say that we could not find it altho we flew back & forth
for some time, searching while the instruments were checked. The
Lake has disappeared in the Grass.

"We headed North E. by E., finding no land marks except a few peaks
above the snow on the Rocky Mtns. I am very glad to say that the Gt.
Lakes are still there, altho much smaller & L. Erie & L. Ontario so
shrunk I might have missed them if the pilot had not pointed them
out. The St. Lawrence River is of course gone.

"We followed the line of the big Canadian Lakes N., but except for
Depressions (which may be Swamps) in the latitudes of the Gt. Bear &
Gt. Slave Lakes, there is nothing but Grass. We stayed over night at
Banks Is. & it was very cold & miserable, but we were happy to
remember that there was no Grass underneath the Snow below us. Next
morning (the 16th) after fueling up we took off (with the ground
crew) for the Homeward trip.

"Stopping at Whitney, every thing was O.K. except that I did not see
the lady professor (Miss Francis, I mean) as Mr. White and Mr. Black
said she was too busy.

"I will be in London to meet you on the 1st as arranged & give you
any further news you want. Until then, I remain,
Yrs. Truly,
A. Preblesham, Vice-Pres. in Chge of Field Operations,
Cons. Pem."

I cannot say Preblesham's report was particularly enlightening, but it
at least squelched any notion the Grass might be dying of itself. I did
not expect any great results from the scientists' expedition, but I felt
it worth a gamble. In the meantime I dismissed the lost continent from
my mind and turned to more immediate concerns.

_71._ The disappearance of American foundries and the withdrawal of the
Russian products from export after their second revolution had forced a
boom in