WILLMOTH THE WANDERER
BY
C.C. DAIL
NEW YORK:
J- S’ OGILVIE, Publisher,
57 Rose Street.BEECHAM'S
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OR,
THE MAN FROM SATURN.
BY
C. C. DAIL.
Copyright, 1891, by J. S. Ogilvie.
New York :
J. S. OGILVIE, PUBLISHER,
57 Rose Street.INTRODUCTION.
It has often been said, that truth is stranger than fiction, and when the readers of this book have care-fully perused its pages, they will no doubt fully agree* with the above assertion.
The hero of this story was known to the world, or at least to that part of it which knew him at all,' as Mr. Willmoth, and was by them considered a very strange and peculiar old man; but to me who knew him inti-mately from my early boyhood, he was known as a kind and noble old man. One evening he stepped into my office and offered to give me a full and complete history of his life, if I cared to hear it, and as he promised to begin on the following evening, you may well suppose I. viewed the slowly descending sun of the next day with, great impatience, for I had often wished to hear an account of his journey through life-; for inwardly I felt his to be a life filled with mystery and strange adven-ture.
In calling back my long acquaintance with him I could not remember to have seen him eat, drink, or sleep. In dress he seemed to keep pace with the rest of mankind, and would be taken for a man of moderate income, neither wealthy nor poor. In height he was at least six feet, three inches, with broad, square shoulders and limbs well-proportioned. His quick elastic step bespoke him a man of iron constitution, and of untiring endurance. His dong> iron-grey beard gave him the appearance of having passed the meridian of life; but you could see at once by his straight form, clear blue, ’ eyes, and fair complexion, that he had not plunged deep into the pool of vice and folly in his younger days,4
INTRODUCTION.
which ever makes old age creep with feeble step and tottering gait down the shady side of life. Another peculiarity which distinguished him from the rest of mankind, was his occupation; with a powerful telescope he seemed ever searching into space for some trace of a distant planet. The result of his investigations were regularly recorded in a large and curiously-bound book of very ancient date. His manner of conversation impressed one with belief in whatsoever he chose to confide to them, and bis way of stating it seemed ever to hold one’s mind to the subject upon which he was speaking; but still there seemed something about him which reminded you of a man, who in traveling, had, by mistake, boarded the wrong train, and realized the mishap too late to remedy the error, but was too much of a gentleman to blame others for his own carelessness.
I was prompt to be on hand; and just as the clock tolled the hour of nine I heard his well-known step on the stair and the next moment he entered my office, lie seated himself, and after the salutations of the evening were over he began the following history of his life.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
CHAPTER I.
A STRANGE AND STARTLING STORY.
I belong to a race of the human family who inhabit the world known here as the planet Saturn; how I came on this earth you shall know as my narrative proceeds. In that huge world, which would make many such as this, I first saw the light of day, but the time has been so long ago the brain of man cannot grasp the countless number of years. In my native land I was known as Willmoth the Wanderer, a name applied to me in the earlier period of my life, because of my love of wandering from place to place. The true name of Saturn is Gyran, and signifies the “ home of plenty and peace.” Sorrow and death are unknown to my people on that planet • and what may seem to you still more strange, all who are soon to become mothers have to go beneath the sea and reside there until their offspring is one year old, which is as twenty-nine years and four months of the years of this earth. This is no law laid down by rulers or tyrants, but is a law of nature, and is essential to the development of life, for a nursing mother, to us, is unknown. No female Can give birth to more than one child in twenty-five years of Saturn’s time, which equals more than seven hundred and thirty-three years of earth’s time. Death to us is something unknown, for when we are born—or as the saying is, “come out of the sea”—we must exist until the utter dissolution of the planet itself, which is said to occur at stated intervals
(5)6
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
of about ofte hundred and fifty million years, according to the Closest calculations of our most eminent astronomers. In fdct since I have resided here on this earth I have witnessed some great and sudden changes in my beloved birthplace, which has led me to believe that it was passing through one of those periods of ruin and dissolution.
But to again return th my narrative: We, the people of Saturn, as I shall Continue to call my native land, are absolute vegetarians and never think of using animal : flesh for food. / As there are about twenty females to one male, polygamy is practiced to a great extent throughout the civilized portions of the country, few men having less than twenty to twenty-five wives. Every one is free to do whatsoever they may think best to dp. Society is classed in degrees, and each society rules and governs , itself. None can meditate mischief ( on another, for by Soine straUge and unaccountable affinity between mind and matter, tlie thoughts are immediately portrayed upon the face, so that others can readily : see what is passing, in the mind, and therefore no one can form any '^plan ^injurious to another without the object being known and .prevented. The highest crime that ‘can be copniiitted there, is to think of any thing evil; and the only punishment for; this is to be banished from the society tq which the party formerly belonged, and be kept apart until all. evil is banished from the mind. They are then ^admitted back to their former standing in society, and few there be who offend the second time. Children are trained at an early age in all that pertains tp astronomy and natural sciences. 1 They are taught that they are created to .fill the highest scale of animal life; feliat nature has endowed them with intellect suffi-^cipntffp lead them to a life pf happiness, if they will .only direct their minds in the channel of morality and progression to tb^:higher plane of development; that the highe&tj’form of ^happiness consists in making your fellow-creatures happy.
The city in which my boyhood days were passed wasWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.	7
called Eathman. It lay along the shore of a great ocean called Ivan, which signifies “ Good Mother.”
The city was built upon a gently sloping plain, and covered a space of about three hundred and sevefity-five miles by fifty miles; the streets were a hundred and fifty feet wide and made of a stone Called leigliteth, which resembles the gold of» this earth. Shade-trees of every* variety were set in between the streets and pavements on each side, and their dark bluish green leaves formed' a contrast with the stone below. In th e .centre of each street was a smooth broad track, over which passed at. intervals of every ten minutes a public conveyance called^ helpers—a kind of car drawn by an engine, of a very| fine pattern, and was equal to fifty of yodr. largest Tail- i road engines of the present day, and was self-propelling,^ or rather was governed by the laW of perpetual motion. Each car helper was so arranged that any passph^ ger could stop or start it at will; as the cars were low and guards arranged on them, it was impossible forany one to get Injured in getting on or off.; or in crossing from one side of the street to the other.
The houses were all built of large stone, of different, shades and colors, and formed a beautiful contrast. , Eyefy house was surmounted with a tower of observation; and I supplied with astronomical instruments. But the most-beautiful of all the buildings was the city observatory^ .built on an artificial mound in the centre of the.eity. Thffl building was of octagonal shape; its base covered one square mile, and its total height was thirteen thousand^ seven hundred and forty-five feet; A veranda, of dyessj®| stone of all shades of colors encircled the entire building^ Telescopes with the most powerful lenses Jwerp attangefi;s at every angle of the building, and on each, veranda. .; Elevators were distributed, throughout the whole '.edifice for the easy ascent or descent of visitors, or astronomers. -. The elevators were kept in motion by powerftil machifi- ^ ery in the base of the building. This was run by perpetual motion. On the top .«of the observatory , was placed a gigantie telescope, five hundred feet long, ar8
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
ranged on a pivot with such precision that a child could sweep the whole vault of space. With the aid of this powerful glass we could look at other worlds and see ’theireverchanging surface, caused by volcanic eruptions, heavy storms, and tornadoes. But, as I shall have more to say of this observatory as my narrative proceeds, I will give a description of other public places in that famous old city of Eathman. ♦
*' There was a certain ore taken from the mountain side just back of the city. The name of it was helt. This lore was something like copper, but differed with respect to its influence on the air—for by taking a rod of helt, and driving one end into the .ground, the electric current, at the Upper end of the rod, produced a very brilliant light, very much like the electric light of recent Knyentionhere on this earth. Near the centre of the Icity a large post of helt was sunk in the ground, and from.the top of this were placed conducting rods, which io a circle and entered the ground at a ^distance of about ten feet; in this way light was distributed to every part of the city. The conductors were passed from house to house under the ground, just as gas-pipes are here. ;,The labor was all superintended by the'leaders of each society, who were generally men of large experience, and qualified by nature to conduct the forces furnished by the -engines of perpetual motion -from one degree to another, which was done by mechanicalinstruments^'according to the amount of force needed certain thing.
Vegetable food is so prepared that only life-giving-principles remain; this is placed in a dark room, in large ’and never exposed to light. It is only necessary for a prison to eat about once in every five or six hundred years, and then to eat after sundown. No person offers food to another, for it is understood that all mflst eat when desire makes it necessary, and help themselW&p
There is- no such thing as rich or poor people, except as to their knowledge. Theatres are distributed throughWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
9
out the city, and stand in place of churches. The art of acting is practiced to perfection; both comedy/and tragedy are very popular. There are neither preachers nor priests of any kind, judges and lawyers are unknown ; every difficulty arising from differences of opinions is settled by the law of demonstration. Few disputes ever -arise on any subject, other than science, and they are soon settled by test. Everything is governed by love and good-will, and although I lived in the cit^i of Eathman for over two thousand years, I never saw either man or woman angry; in fact,'-hatred and-Strife are unknown there, as a thought of anger cOuld'at once" be detected, and it was instantly subdued by the force of will power. The greatest pleasure experiencedby the older plasses, was to train the children up according to the way they should devote their lives, So as to render most good to their friends and companions and to help develop their minds on every branch of science they" should take most delight in following.
At an early age my parents placed me under the care and training of an old and highly respected astronomer and inventor, by the name of Elwer. This man at once assumed the duties of a father, instructor andfriend,an<|“ it is partly through him I am an inhabitant of this eart]i' at the present time. Hereafter I shall refer to him; and; myself as “ we,” for we were never separated from one another, only at short intervals, for thousands of; ,yeai^> afterwards, and would have been together yet if a’ ffiai$ ful mishap had not occurred, of, which J shajl, spealt^raj the course of my narrative. The first instructions, given me by Elwer were in the art of using all the instruments, of astronomy, which I soon accomplished. The next were those governing perpetual motion; these were very easy when once understood. •
Night after night have we sat on /topybf^ihe city observatory and gazed at the different planet^ as they rolled on in space. One night when we were seated in oar favorite place gazing on other worlds, my old tutor said:10	WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
“ Willmoth, how would you like to travel with me throughout the length and breadth of our own world, •before studying other and more distant planets ? ” '■■-■I answered th^t I should like it very much; and, as but very few had ever been beyond the limits of our own nation, which did not cover one millionth part of the planet, I was very anxious to start at once, so as ■ to be called on my return a great traveler, and also to satisfy a growing desire to see other lands and their inhabitants.
i,7'My teacher had/fbr years been working on a machine which* he had that morning completed. This machine was intended for transporting heavy bodies through the air.
■' In appearance it resembled a large arm-chair, with two large rubber tubes oh eaeh side. Underneath the chair ; was ^arranged a , large iron box which contained air. ®he^ir;: was heated by a small wheel which was kept m .motion by., the pressure of the foot on a spring in fronts of the ^hair.si^Phis wheel in its rapid revolution came in contact \yith a.substance composed of sand and jglueK The‘ ^jibber tubes* were arranged so as to supply i the air box with cold air and let the hot air out; hence, anyone ’could' Syork the air chamber so as to raise or SMteglroe chair at will.
. Th© more hot air the higher the chair would rise, the cooler the air, the lower it would descend. To jgtfide the.fubair' a large fan Was attached, which extended out behind with a lever within easy reach' of the hand. A compass was attached to the arm of ; the chair on the1 l,eft sid^'so as to enable one to tell in what direction? to go. With this machine persons could travel about forty or fifty miles per day, and have plenty of time to see the country over which they were passing. '; j^yf attaching a progressive wheel underneath ,the air chamber, the rate of speed might be increased about eight hundred miles in twenty-four.. Wfete'1'.
i-;, Early one morning, ^fter bidding our friends adieu,WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
11
we seated ourselvJI in our flying chairs, supplied with all necessary instruments for taking observations and measuring distances.
CHAPTER II.
THE GROUND-DWELLERS OF, SATURN;
We left Eathman on the north side, intending to pass entirely around the planet and enter at the south.-side. The first few days took us to the limits of our own country, where everything had been seen by me thousands of times.
After we h’ac[ passed over all familiar sights, I was much interested' in the many strange scenes which were continually coming into view. One day passing over a low range of hills we noticed something moving among the trees which covered the hill-tops.
It had been several days since we ,had noticed signs of human habitation, and naturally supposed,w:e were crossing an uninhabited portion.of the country;, but being anxious to let no opportunity pass without adding to our stock of information, we concluded to-alight in the valley just beyond the hills and 'investi^ gate. On viewing the surrounding country from our elevated position we were surprised to find the, valient which was not more than, one hundred miles m cir- , cumference, dotted here and there, with groups Of human beings not like ourselves, but of a dayk-hlue' color and very large. We alighted on the shore of a > small lake. Our . appearance in the air’ had been noticed by this strange people before we had seen 'them, and as we descended we could hear them calling to each other. But what seemed curious, when we reached the ground, not a single one was visible; every; one had disappeared, as though the ground had opened and swallowed them. We were not jefept long ! in suspense, for before we could realize whence he came,;:,12
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
a very large man appeared before us. In height he was about ten feet, but .he did not appear so tall, owing to the immense girth of his body; across his "shoulders was not less than five feet and around his waist was equal in proportion; his hands were very large, his limbs comparing to the rest of his body in si^e; the color of his skin was of a bluish black; his hair was red, with a slight inclination to curl; but the strangest part about him was his eye, for he had but one, and that was in the center of the forehead and set far back as though; to screen itself from r observation. He was entirely naked, with the exception of a strip of bark, which hung about the waist and extended about half way'down the thighs. He held in his hand what appeared to be a large cane with a bright yellow metal ball attached to one end. As we .drew near he seemed to be holding a conversation with some person concealed beneath the ground.
Finally he approached within a few feet of us and dropped on one knee, at, the same time uttering some sentences, in an unknown tongue which we could not un^eystand; as we did not reply he seemed at a loss what other expedient to try, and stood with his arms ! folded, looking first qt us, then up ‘in the air. Elwer .then ispoke to him in the sign language, which is the most ancient of all the forms of communication known ;to the inhabitants of all worlds. Elwer explained to him that we came from a place many thousand miles sputh, and also the planner of our coming. Through thp/same. process he informed us that we were welcome to ^eibhih with him as long as we chose to stay in that part of the country. But as we could see no signs of habitation w*e were somewhat surprised at the offer. 0ur new friend, who-seemed^ tp'have great authority, gave us little time fdr speculation, for by calling twice four other meri appeared. ?iEach carried a cane similar to' the fone held by the. first. He spoke to them, and they immediately took possession of our chairs, two to each chair, and taking them up prepared to follow us.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
13
Our friend then walked along the- shore of the lake a ' few steps. He then reversed hi$ cane and pointed ther bright end to the ground, which immediately opened}? and revealed a series of stone steps leading down into? the bowels of the earth, and directly under the lake. We followed him for about twenty minutes in this', way, in the meanwhile passing many, openings and stairways which led off in different direction^ The stones of which the stairs and passages were built; were literally filled with the most beautiful diamonds^ which glittered and shone with such brilliancy that they kept the whole underground city bathed in continual light.
We were ushered into the presence of the whole multitude which had assembled undier the ground. After remaining there a short time*and having our.-persons commented upon, and our guide explain all he; knew concerning us, we were shown to a room which ; was set apart for strangers. At the same time we were given to understand we might have, the use of their most eminent scholars to teach us their language, afteri which they would be glad to hear a more detailed account of ourselves. Our guide then left,’usfor a short time.
The room in which we were placed was about thirty feet by eighteen, and the ceiling was at least ?fifty feet high. It was all of solid stone and seemed to be cut out of the living rock. . The diamonds from 'the veiling reminded one of the stars, only they emitted 4 very? strong light, owing to their great number. .This room was furnishedjwith tables and chairs made of stoife; the bedstead was also, of stone, but the bedding was-.coihr? posed of a kind of silky grass, which I afterwards discovered grew near the margin of the lake.
We were not left long to ourselves before our pe^ friend returned, bringing with hina. a man whose long white hair and fair complexion, with two deep blue eyes, bespoke him a man of different nationality. Before I14
‘ WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
could recover from my first surprise, I met with another, for Elwer clasped the stranger in his arms, exclaiming:
“ Oh, father I father! X had lost all hope of ever seeing you again. It has been more than a thousand years since you left us, and pluhged into the densely wooded country lying southwest of the city of my birth. Often and often have, we wondered what detained you. At last we decided that you > bad lost your way; or, worse still, had concluded to, abandon us. But now that I have found you my mother shall at once be notified of the fact; or better still, we will return home, where your great inventions are ^iall in use, and where your name is spoken in praise by everyone throughout the city.” ...
. During all this time ’ the bld man stood with his arm gently resting upon his son’s shoulder, waiting for him to finish speaking. He then made answer, while tears of joy chased each/other-down his cheek:
|L\“Yes, Elwer, it has been many, many years since I 'left my dear family. You were then a boy, hardly so fold as your pupilhere. I took but few necessary instruments with me, and no tools for making more. But what few things I did take were lost in the mountains southwest; of Eathman, for I left the city in that direc-tion.i Unfortunately I came in contact with a whirlwind which carried me far to the north, and left me both naked and helpless near the mouth of a deep cavern, which seemed to be the centre of some dead volcano. I. of course started for home immediately, and took the stars as my guide ; but the distance was so very long, and ihany obstacles arose to prevent me making much progress. I finally came to one which was absolutely insurmountable without the aid of wings, and these I had neither the genius to invent nor the tools to make. But, my dear boy, J see you have surpassed your father as an inventor. The obstacle I speak of was a broad river; of liquid fire which rolls between here and Eathman. When I discovered the utter impossibility of my ever Crossing the great fire river, I gave up all hope of15
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
ever reaching home, and set about finding a location where I could make myself as comfortable as possible. One day by chance I met one of these people and I took up my abode with them, where I have remained ever since. So now, my dear boy, make me acquainted with your pupil; let us arrange -for my return home, and after a brief stay we will all three make the journey around the planet together, for I can see by the expres-' sion of your face that it is your intention to make the trip, and I shall be glad to accompany you.” . Elwer then introduced his father as Esman, the original inventor of perpetual motion. It was the greatest honor of my whole life to be. made acquainted with the inventor of the gigantic telescope and the engine of perpetual motion. From my infancy I had been taught to regard the name of Esman as something that could not be excelled. Our oii^-pyed friend had lohg since taken his departure, leaving us to ourselves. So we sat down and listened to an account, given by Esman, of the habits and customs of our presort host.
“ This people,” said he, “ are not as highly civilized as we are, and know but little of natural laws. They have strange notions regarding an after life. They do not govern themselves, but have rulers and teachers, or rather officers, both for what they call a spiritual calling, and for their temporal welfare. These priests, who pretend to train them in the1 way of a future happiness, really retard the progress they would otherwise make in the way of science and usefulness toothers. But they wield the greatest influence among the ignorant; the most intellectual have little to do with priests and churches. Since living here, I have endeavored to show them that what often appeared mysterious, was nothing but the result of nature’s laws. This underground city has been built for many ages. Because the people live beneath the ground, they are called ‘ Ground-dwellers.’ They have but few inventions, and One of them I gave ; it is called the parting-rod. The metal ball on one end is filled with a composition similar to loadstone, and the sliding16
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
door at the head of the stairway by which you entered 1 has a metal ball underneath, so that by holding the part- j ing-rod to the left, over the door, it will immediately 1 slide open, and to close it all that is necessary is to place 1 the rod to the right of the ball. Before I came they had | men standing as gate-tenders, or porters, to. open and | close the door.
“ Their language is very easy to learn, as it is com-1 posed of only about eight hundred words. They have | no written history as we have, but all their history is i taught by word of mouth. They also eat much oftener a than we do, and can not endure one half the fatigue, 1 although their size would indicate great strength. Before 1 I came they were entirely naked, but I induced them to 1 wear an apron, and some of the higher class of ladies 1 even wear a cape. As you have not met any of the 1 ladies yet, I will forewarn you in regard to them. They I i are far more sensitive and easily offended and have more® intelligence than their husbands. Although they do not -1 seem to govern, yet they really rule, for their good- 1 natured husbands consult them upon all business of J importance. Another thing may seem strange to you ■ J the females have very fair complexions, with loDg dark ’ [ hair and two deep-blue eyes, though the shade of haul and eyes differ to some extent in different ladies. They , r bear children once every hundred years and never faj to bring forth two, one girl and one boy.
“I have never seen the general birthplace,butitisa said to be a lake of pure milk, and very warm. Thel < prevailing opinion here is their God, ever remaining | invisible to mortal eye, supplies the lake with mill from the great fountain of life. As I am positive the™ is some natural cause for this I shall leave the investigation to be made by our young friend Willmoth, wh'a I hope will be willing to remain here while we return] home on a brief visit, then return better prepared for at| three to make the journey.
There are many other things to see and learn among this curious people, but I shall now proceed to teach you;WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
17
the language, Willmoth, so that you may be able to mingle with the Ground-dwellers to a better advantage. ■YoU were at first supposed- to be a female, but I told them you -were only a youth, and as yet the beard had not started on your face.”
■ Esman applied himself to teaching me the language [of the Ground-dwellers, which I mastered in about five days. During this time we three kept to ourselves and aranged our plan for the future, which was, that I should remain there while Elwer and his father returned home, after which they would return with another flying chair. Early next morning Elwer and his father made [known their intention to the Ground-dwellers. After pdding them and myself good-by they seated them-pelves in the flying chairs, arose in the air and started [on their journey back to the home of my childhood.
CHAPTER III.
A NEW HUMANITY TO LEARN.
I had sent many loving messages to dear ones at home, and the thought of being left with this strange people at first filled me with sober feelings hitherto Entirely unknown, but Iset about to learn more of the ■waysandhabits of my hosts. I did not look for Elwer and mis father to return for at least t wo y ears. In thd meantime I was to learn a great deal. Accordingly I attached myself to our former acquaintance, whose name 1 learned was Fee. He was a whole-souled good-natured fellow,[and soon became my constant companion; besides, he was the supreme chief of the Great Council, with .power to come and go at will, and also to command others. It seemed to me they obeyed in that gawning and hypocritical way which I have so often noticed with people here on this earth in their manner to those in power. When I told Fee of the many great
218	WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
inventions in the city of my birth, and how we could see other planets, and that they were worlds something like the one we were on, and how we only ate about one. pound of solids once in every five hundred years, and of the length and breadth of Eathman, also how it was lighted and all built above ground, and of the city observatory, he could hardly realize I spoke the truth.; But I saw it impressed his mind with the determination to show me all of the ways, in which he and his nation1 lived. He, himself, did hot believe in the spirit, or rather the superstition of an after life. “But,” said he; “ Willmoth, I will go with you to-morrow to the sacred, hall of worship, and there you will see strange and curious sights.”
Early next morning I was given a parting-rod, which was equal to an unlimited passport to every part , of the city, and was the mark of high favor. Fee and I, attended by four servants, set out on foot for the hall of public worship. This was to be a feast day, a day of great rejoicing among the members of the Holy Cause, as they termed themselves; and the public at large was invited to attend. , We started out through a broad passage leading from the hall where Elwer and I were first conducted. The passage lead off in a southeast direction, and seemed to go deeper down into the planet.’ By this time I had become used to the glitter of the diamond light and everthing began to look much more natural than at first. We finally came to. a large door which was opened and closed in the usual way. This passage led directly north, and was almost dark, owing, to a large portion of the walls on either side being covered with a dark cloth to prevent the diamonds from giving light. This was called the “ Passage of Repentance,” and all who passed through it were afterwards conJ sidered by the priest of the Holy Cause free from sin and qualified to enter the holy sanctuary. This passage was about fifteen thousand feet long. At the far end a door opened; into a small court,, which was somewhat lighter than the hall. In the,centre of the court the floor openedWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
19
and revealed a flight of winding stairs which led down to the City of Holiness. We descended some five hundred steps and found ourselves in a room fifty feet long by forty wide, with doors on every side, and at the far end of the room stood three persons; one was a very aged and beautiful woman, and one a large but feeble old man who resembled my companion Fee. The other was a younger man, but much more intelligent looking than the rest of his race. He held in his hand a small starshaped piece of dark looking stone, which every few * minutes he would hold up to the old lady and then to the old man. He seemed to be speaking words of encouragement. All at once the sound of a bell was heard in the distance; then the younger of the two men led the aged couple to the. west door, and opened it, saying:
“ May the bleseing of everlasting peace attend you in that land to which you haye now started! And though you leave us behind, yet are we all sure to follow!” p The old lady and her companion then stepped over the threshold of the door, at the same time waving their hands in adieu to their counselor, while a smile of faith ■ and hope lighted up their faces for a moment; then came the sweetest sounds of music filling the long corridors, as the door gently closed between the aged pair and the younger man. , During all this time Fee and myself, with the servants, had remained perfectly quiet at the door by which we had entered, and did not move until the man who had just parted with the old couple came forward to welcome us. He seemed much surprised to see Fee there, but still more so to find a stranger wi th him. Yet his gentlemanly bearing led me to form a favorable opinion of him, and when Fee introduced him as Alfea, “ the wisest and most learned of all the nation,” I felt irresistibly drawn toward him. He was the life and soul of the church.. Fee afterward remarked that it was certainly very strange that so wise and learned a man could believe in the superstition of immortality. Fee informed him of my desire to gain a20
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
knowledge of all the habits and customs of the natior; therefore he had brought me to him knowing that no other could teach me so well. Alfea then invited us into an adjoining room, very neatly furnished, and,after comfortably seating us, retired to arrange some other matter, saying that he would return shortly and bring some one to entertain us during the devotional exercises of the members of the Holy Cause.
Fee then told me that I had been very fortunate, as Alfea never as a usual thing did much to entertain visitors; and as I was here to learn, he would advise me to become a member of the church, as that would give me a greater opportunity to see and learn everything. But before we were through with the subject Alfea returned bringing with him two ladies. One of them appeared to be about thirty years old, and the other not more than seventeen. The eldest of the two wore an apron like that of the men, only of a finer quality; also a mantle or cape. Both cape and apron were highly ornamented with beautiful shells. The younger was clothed with a luxuriant growth of silky brown hair, which reached from her head to the floor and answered as a dress. Tongue cannot describe the feeling I experienced upon beholding that image of perfect lovliness! It was what might be likened to a beautiful dream. Her hair in wavy masses reached the floor; a faultless mouth with rich red lips, and an alabaster forehead white as snow; beautiful, shapely limbs, of which one could catch but a faint glimpse through the wilderness of hair that hung about her lovely form, and a face which a poet might conceive of but never describe. The faint glimpse of the gentle swell of her snow-white bosom, as it rose and fell at each palpitation of the pure young virgin heart, combined to fill me with strange feelings of bashfulness. I felt as though I would like to remain in her presence for ever, and yet feared to speak or move lest I should say or do something awkward. The truth was, I was in love for the first time.
Alfea approached with the two ladies, both of whomWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.	21
seemed to be acquainted with Fee. After saluting him with a bow, Alfea introduced them to me: the elder of the two, as Ora, “ Child of Light,” the younger he called Zea, “ The Beautiful,” and how well did she deserve the name! As Alfea requested them to entertain us during the day, Ora placed herself by Fee, and the beautiful Zea accepted a chair near mine. Alfea then excused himself, and after telling Zea to make a convert by the time he returned, he closed the door and left us to ourselves.
Zea at first seemed rather shy and backward, which emboldened me to open a conversation that soon grew to a friendly chat. I was greatly surprised at the amount of knowledge she possessed of everything pertaining to their form of religion and their manner of life, yet she did not seem superstitious or even hopeful of a future existence. The time flew by seemingly with lightning speed, for I had hardly became acquainted before Alfea returned, and invited us to go with him to the sacred hall of worship, and led the way, followed by Fee and Ora, Zea and I bringing up the rear. As she placed her snow-white arm on mine and tripped lightly along by my side, I felt my heart beat wildly with joy, and I begged her to be my escort while I remained with her people. Before I could receive her answer we had entered the hall of worship, and found ourselves in the presence of a large number of men and women
They were all seated in circles around a kind of elevated platform upon which stood a few priests and teachers. As we entered I saw quite a number of girls between the age of sixteen and twenty-five. Many of them very beautiful, but none as beautiful as Zea. We seated ourselves and prepared to listen to the priests and teachers as they delivered their orations before the congregation.
Alfea stepped forward, and taking the most elevated chair on the platform, opened the meeting by asking if there were any present who wished to express themselves in fayor of the Holy Cause, or who wished to be enrolled as members. About twenty men and three or four ladies arose, stepped forward and kissed the same little star-22
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
shaped stone he held up to the aged couple in the anteroom.
He then laid his hand on the head of each of themenand said:
“ My brother, may the all-wise Father, the ruler of this and all other worlds, make you contented with thislifel and happy in that grand life to come.”
Then turning to the lady converts he took each one by the hand and blessed them, and kissed each of them on the forehead. He then bid them all be seated, and bowed his head in prayer some minutes; after which the wholfl congregation joined in singing a devotional chant, which ■ that in deep underground room echoed and re-echoed,’ making the most delightful, though solemn music.; These were the words:
“ Great God on high! to thee we pray To help us through life’s humble way, That when, to thee, we cross the tide To live in light that will abide, O, may we evefcfind thee near! To shield us With thy loving care ; To guide us through this life so vain, Where all its joys are almost pain.”
g These simple words, in the way they were sung, were very affecting, and when they ended I found the song had impressed me with strange feelings of sobtr reflection. The congregation then arose and remained standing, while a priest delivered a short sermon on the uncertainty of human judgment. No man was perfect unless .God, the great ruler of all, had changed his heart. Then Alfea arose and spoke very earnestly for more than an ; hour ,and a half. Among other things he spoke oitbej final departure of the aged couple who had just that 'morning passed*■from mortal sight, and how they had departed with great faith, and that he felt the Giver of ill Good would welcome them home; that they had left a, loving message for;, all, urging them to seek the true way -and not depart therefrom.
At?firs£,I did not think of whom he was speakingWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
23
when referring to the aged couple, so I whispered to Zea asking her to tell me. She replied that she could not then, but would tell me all after the adjournment of the meeting.
Alfea ended his sermon by reminding them that though this was a great feast day, they should be moderate in all things, and not carry their religious feast to such an extent as to injure the welfare of the body. Then, after singing another song, they arose, received the blessing of an elderly priest, and were dismissed, to meet on the shore of a lake not far from where they then were—only some five hundred feet deeper underground.
I was much surprised to learn of a lake still deeper down; but to hear of its being a pleasure resort was beyond my comprehension. Alfea soon joined Zea and myself, and soon after Fee and Ora came up also, and we were invited to the refreshment-room of Alfea. All but myself partook of such fruit and vegetables as were set before them. At first they pressed me to partake also; but, after an explanation regarding our manner of living, I was excused.
Vocal music is something in which that people excell all others, and the beautiful Zea surpassed anything I had ever heard before. Her voice seemed to fill the whole room with music. To tell how enchanting and beautiful she was is far beyond my power, for even now though thousands of years have passed I find myself carried back in imagination to the lovely, young and innocent girl. .
. After spending an hour or more in Alfea’s refreshment-room in social conversation and song, Ora and Fee started for the lake where the people were gathered to spend the day in amusement, saying as they left they would see us there. Alfea soon after left us on some matter of business pertaining to the church, at the same time telling us we need not wait for his return, as he would be gone some time and might go to the lake before coming back, therefore we must try and entertain ourselves for a while, and as Zea knew the way to the lake24
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
we could use our own pleasure in going. Thus we were ? left to ourselves, arid I availed myself of the opportunity : of Confessing to her the love which was fast taking possession of my heart; but the knowledge seemed to give ] 1 , her great pain, for she sank down and covering her face! with her hands, began to weep as though her heart would! break. I did all I could to comfort her, though with little success. Sobbing bitterly, she said:
“0 Willmoth! if you knew the history and rules ora ^xny people you would see the utter impossibility of myI ever becoming your wife, or the wife of any one else. I Until I saw you I never thought of love or marriage.1 '' \ But first hear the story of my life, and the history of I my people. No, Willmoth, though I love you withall
. my heart yet I cannot marry you, but must ever remain! single.”
I was astonished to hear her declare her inability to
^become my wife, but was filled with unspeakable joy to I know that she loved me; and I vowed, then and there,! to break down all obstacles, let them be whatever they I .were, that stood between us. I clasped her in my arms; fc and begged her not to weep, but to tell me everyth^
L connected with the cause of her not being able to be-| by* come my wife. She promised, but said she would have]
K to wait a more convenient time, for it was now time that; we were at the lake. After drying her tears we left the | room, and, descending a narrow roadway, or hall,fo» about three-fourths of a mile, we came to a winding stairway. When we arrived at the bottom we found
■" Cuy01yes at the east side of a beautiful lake. The sand! and pebbles oh the beach were one solid mass of rubies] and diamonds, intermixed with thousands upon thousands j of curious colored stones. The water was scented with I the most delicate odor resembling that which arises from crushed roses. The lake was about two and a half miles long and a half mile wide. Hundreds of the Ground dwellers ’ were bathing in its waters. The shore ex tended;, back about six hundred yards on all sides, ant terminated in a perpendicular wall studded with diaWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
25
ponds—far more brilliant than any we had yet seen ■nee I arrived in this curious city. This lake was the [work of nature, but the stairway had been cut by the ■hound-dwellers ages before. Large stone tables stood [along the shore covered with fruits of every kind. As Zea and I passed along the walks we saw groups of five and six seated around some priests, who were encouraging them in the faith of immortality, and the truth of the church of the holy cause.
Kin our walk we finally came to a place at the upper I end of the lake where none were likely to intrude upon us. Here she told me the sad story of her life.
K|You are already aware that mothers always bring Into the world one girl and one boy, and that there are an [equal number of males and females. But once in a [great while a woman who is far advanced in life has but [one child bom to her. This does not happen more than once in several thousand years. But such child is, upon its birth, immediately consecrated to the church, and [every member of the holy cause is immediately notified to bring an offering of the most valuable thing in their [possession, and cast it into the sacred pool; a place you lave not yet seen. This pool has no bottom, but the paters are continually in commotion, boiling and surging from side to side, and swallowing up everything cast therein. As each member throws in some highly prized [article they take a vow that the infant consecrated to their church shall ever remain single and free; rather ■ban be contaminated with other mortals it shall be hurled head first into the pool. Though the child is loomed' to a celibate life, it is taught all that the most ■rise men and women of the nation are able to teach it, Ind it is considered sacred in the eyes of all church [members. The infant is considered a spiritual gift from (God to his chosen people, and they would part with life or liberty sooner than yield up their so-called interest in the being so blessed. As this child advances in age it is taught that all feelings of love must be stifled, and that they must ever remain single.26
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
v “I, Willmoth, am one of those children, and until I saw you I did not forget my position here. You ml now well understand why I wept, when you confesses your love for me, knowing as I did the utter impossil bility of my ever becoming your wife. If the priests once become convinced that you are anything more n me than a brother they will enclose you in some dam dungeon, and there you must remain, never to see tH light of day again. Oh, how I tremble for your fate if! you are once found out,I Never, Willmoth, never let them know how dear you are to me, or I to yowl With] your people, you tell me one cannot hide their thoughts but it is different here. We are not so wise, neither so highly educated, and as we live a very simple life the» is but little caution needed to conceal our hearts' secrets] But I intend before you leave us to admit you into the whole secrets of our existence, which is something very! few of our rhce fully understand. The 'churcn is thel ' controlling power of dur nation; although there are many 1 r who, like your friend Fee, pretend to scoff at it. Alfea I ► is the head of the church ; but he, even if he would,® could no more change the laws, or the will of thepe® pie in the way of my marrying you, than you could! change the people of Eathman into Ground-dwellers® therefore, build not upon his influence, but give up ® hope of ever making me your wife.”
IDuring her recital, I sat pondering the best way fl overcome the obstacles she presented to our union! Il could not give up the hope of introducing the lovelyl gi^l to my friends in Eathman as my loved and honor® wife. After she had finished I explained to her tbal we might, after the return of Esman and Elwer, taka the flying chairs and go to my home in Eathman, where! I assured her a warm and kindly welcome by my friends and relatives., For the first time since I had knownher,! she smiled with hope.
We then returned along the shore, and soon came to! a group who were listening to a discussion between Alfea and another priest, regarding some churflWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
27
iuestion. Fee called Alfea to one side, and told him I had expressed a wish to become a member of the Holy Cause; that it would be well to call a meeting It once and receive my pledge, and give me a mern-■nipKs |ie wished to return home, and, as I was lis guest for the day I would return with him. Alfea kas delighted at my conversion. In a short time all the members were gathered and Alfea made known that Rhe stranger, who to-day for the first time had witnessed the religious ceremonies, had been converted, and was low to become a member of the church. I then stepped ■ward, took the pledge, kissed the Star of Hope as it Iras called, and after receiving the congratulations of pome of the most prominent members, stepped back to the side of Zea. Alfea made me promise to come on the morrow and spend a week or two with him, saying that he andZea, together with others, would try to give Be 111 the information they could on spiritual things as [well as others, and bidding Zea to escort us as far as the Hall of Repentance he bade us a pleasant good-evening land left us.
Hl awoke early next morning, and after a refreshing Bath in the lake above, and a brisk walk in the open fir,d bid Fee,good-by, and started back to our friends g)f the church; I arrived at the reception-room where ■ expected to meet Alfea, but hoped to find Zea. No lone was there, so I seated myself in an obscure corner to await their coming.' I had not long to wait before Ithe door opened and in walked two priests. They did lot observe me. The first who spoke said to the other: |. “Is it not strange that a stranger, brought here by an Imbeliever like Fee, should become converted so soon ? I tell you there is another cause, which made that Will* moth pledge himself, and we must watch him ; for if he lares to look with eyes of love on our beautiful Zea, ghe-.Gift of God, he shall be forever entombed in the dark fault under Lake Pleasure, whose gloomy abodes are Known but to the trusted twelve and where a few now le who dared to disobey our divine laws.”28
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
. I recognized the voices of the two as priests wi«l I had seen the day before and whose gloomy looks anl words' filled all who talked with them with sad and din mal thoughts. The other replied that if they could! only get Alfea’s consent they would place me there aa! way until my faith was tested, for they were certain! belonged to Karn, the evil one, or I could not go throng! the air in a chair. But only let them catch me making! love to Zea, and nothing could save me from the secret! dungeons; not even the influence of Zea and Alfeacom bined, for Zea did not know of them, and Alfea darenol tell., Thby then left the room ; but I had heard enough! to put me on my guard.
Soon after the priests left I heard footsteps along the | corridor, and Ora entered the room and bade me accoml pany her to Alfea’s presence, who, she said, sent her fol see if I had arrived. She also told me I was lookeq upon by some of the priests with distrust, and they ha! been urging Alfea /to dismiss me from the church. He 1 had replied that all had an equal right in the enjow ment of the religion of the Holy Cause, until they ha! done something to debar them of that right, and while! they might keep a careful watch, yet I must have the same right of freedom that others enjoyed; that while l| Remained his guest, any indignity offered me would] be considered as a personal affront to him.
I- then repeated what I had overheard in the anteroom j just before she came. She was greatly surprisedto heal of the dungeons under Lake Pleasure. I cautioned herj to tell no one but Zea and Fee, and if I should suddenly I disappear to look for me there, for I did not doubt m! enemies would find some opportunity to get me entombed ' beneath the lake, and my only hope of escape would be in letting my friends know of my whereabouts.
By this time we had arrived at the door of Alfea’s room. He gave a pleasant reception and bade me make myself entirely at home, and assigned me a neat, comfortable room adjoining his own, telling me my escortof yesterday was at present reviewing the training of some
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
29
children, but, that in the afternoon he would request her
10	undertake the task of instructing me. He then sat ■own and invited me to do the same, saying he wished [to give niQ a brief outline of some rules relating to the law on church matters. He led off on some minor laws, [but soon spoke of Zea, and as if by accident gave me a ■story of her birth, and the laws governing it, and [wound up by telling me to guard against placing my ■ections upon her, also telling me of the awful pun-Bhment which would be sure to follow so fatal a love. [“Besides,” said he, “ Zea’s heart is God’s only, and she fcould not return the love of any mortal.” He even [warned me that some of the priests would keep a watch [over my actions toward her.
11	replied, that so beautiful a girl as Zea was certainly [an acceptable gift to God, but that I had not left my Rome to hunt a wife, but to learn all I could of other fpeople, and their different modes of life. In this way I avoided denying my love for Zea, or (as I thought) let- .’ ting Alfea suspect that I did love her. We then conversed on different subjects, among which were the hab-Its and condition of my people, to all of which Alfea teemed to listen with great delight.
r Thus the hours passed rapidly away until my beautiful Zea made her appearance, when Alfea excused him-[self on a plea of urgent business, and left us to our-selves. After seeing that no one was near I told her all that I. had heard while waiting in the anteroom; also all that Alfea had said about the priests intending to watch me when in her presence. She wept at the ■ought of the, fate in store for me, if I were once delected in showing my affection for her, and begged me her sake to appear indifferent toward her, which I promised to do, if J could. She said-Alfea had ordered her to pay all the attention to me she could, and teach me Everything connected with her people; therefore, if I were ready we would start at once for the great Lake of Life, where mothers raise their offspring.30
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER,
CHAPTER IV.
THE GREAT LAKE OF LIFE,
We set off through a long hall leading due east After going about three miles down this passage, or ball way as it might be called, we came out upon a broai open place which was enclosed on all sides by high hilli covered with trees. I was surprised to find we M been led by the underground passage back to simlifl for it did not seem to me that we had been ascendi during our walk.
Zea noticed my surprised look, and explained tf| this place was a very low depression on the planet» face, and the archway through which we. made owl from under the ground terminated at the foot of a veil high hill. In the centre of the place was a beautiful lake some six hundred yards broad and half a milelonfl The margin of the lake was covered with a soft, sill grass. The waters were colored like very rich milk. 1 noticed the large number of women and children 1« shore. The children would frequently resort J| fl |lake, and drink freely of its waters, then retura again) fcto their amusements. Zea and I seated ourselves on a ||tope bench near the lake, and she proceeded to tell ffl the story connected with the lake’s existence, as it was) taught to her.
^WdThousands upon thousands of years ago,” saidshe, “the god of the Ground-dwellers laid a severe pumsl merit upon them, and caused a famine throughout fl whole country.. / As our people were, for twelve lon| ;jyears, in .great want of food, many wandered away aa .were seen nd rriore. AVhere this lake now is wasadail dismal hole, from which hot ashes and fire poured forthWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
31
light and day. It was not far from here that the crime ^Himitted.
■At last the wXole nation came together and suggested ■erent ways to appease the anger of our justly enraged ■od, The priest who had committed the crime finally ■rose and stated that the night before he had dreamed that m he threw himself head first into the fiery chasm the ■mine would abate, and in place of the fire issuing from the ground, an everlasting stream of life-giving fluid Kidd immediately spring up, and form a lake that ■id last until they had committed some other grave jey gainst the Most High, when it would disappear, and a still more dreadful calamity would come upon ■hem, ‘But,’ said he, ‘the sacrifice must be voluntary ■pon my part, and what to do I cannot tell?
■Kt last it was agreed to leave it to the voice of the ■ople, and if the majority were in favor of it, he was to j Kake the fatal plunge. The votes were cast and there ■re aji equal number on both sides. The priest who I ha| committed the crime had not voted. So he was ■led |pon to cast his vote, and to the surprise of all, he [voted in the affirmative. So the next day just at Mrise, he came to this place, attended only by a few I Iholy men, and plunged head first down the fearful ■asm. He was never heard of more: about noon that ■y the ground about here sank to its present level, and ■his nutritious fluid poured forth from the mouth of the ■asm, and has flowed continuously ever since. Here
■	in this grassy plat, near this lake, all the infants of our ■tion first see the light of day.
■fAnd now, Willmoth,” said she, “ if this is the true ■gin of this lake, if I violate the decree of the church, ■11 not this lake disappear, and leave my people to ■ffer?”
■	I answered that I would find a natural cause for the ■ke’s existence, and told her that the story she had just ■lated was nothing but an invention of the priests, got-len up to frighten their followers into obeying their ■rs.82
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER;
We then wandered among the trees, and over th hills, for some time. I noticed a great many trees, whose broad leaves were coated with a white gum. 1 touched the gummy substance to my tongue,'and fowl a very sweet taste left in my mouth, and on breakfl off a branch the same substance freely flowed from' between the bark and the wood. I called Zea’s attea -tion to it, and she said it tasted very much like I waters of the lake. While we were walking quite ■ shower of the same substance fell from a smallIcIoJ that' suddenly came up, and when the sun again came out I noticed the heat very quickly evaporate the gumj and carry it up in the atmosphere. After I had watchei for some time I saw the cloud, which was formefl \the vapors of the fluid, sail away on the other side oS ' the lake, and, striking the high hill, it would chan j again into rain and fall in torrents, on the hill-tops. | drew Zea’s attention to that fact and told her I hal solved the problem of how the lake was supplied wit its water, or rather milk. So we started for the oppositi hills and there, as I expected, we found that thawatej ^had entered the large crevices between the rocks, audio this way found its entrance to the lake, at the base of :the hills, below the level of the lake’s surface. Tw rain had been thoroughly charged with the sap fro J . the trees, and would be filtered in its passage throfl the ground to reach the lake, hence the milder taste of I the waters of the lake as compared with the gum ontbel trees. All this I saw and made plain to Zea, who now! seemed to understand the principles thoroughly, for the] lesson on cause and effect, ever proves the death» to all religious superstition wheresoever it may be | found.
We spent the day in uninterrupted pleasure, ill the exception of a fear that some priest might bl watching from some secure place. We lingered on tbi hills until late in the evening, and then returned byfl underground passage we had traversed on coming,M soon reached Alfea’s rooms. Zea said she intended toWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
83
guide me to the sacred pool in the morning, and she Khed me to investigate the cause of its waters being jontinually in such a turbulent state; then bidding me good night, left me to myself.
CHAPTER V.
ALFEA TRUSTS ME FULLY AND TELLS ME ALL.
I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. I ■had been sitting thus perhaps some fifteen minutes when B harsh voice recalled me to myself. On opening my ■yes I saw two priests (the same I had seen and heard Bilking that morning in the anteroom), standing before Be. One called me by name and said:
You must take a solemn oath that you do not, or Bill not love Zea, other, than as a sister in the church, ■r fee shall at once deprive you of your liberty, and ■lace you'where no one can ever find you, or help you B escape. Now repeat the words as I call them over.” Bl immediately sprang to my feet, and demanded by Bhat right they thus insulted the honored guest of their Bperior. I told them to go and get Alfea to question Be, or show by what authority they acted. They Beeringly replied, “ By the right of might,” and asked Be if I were ready to swear the oath.
BI answered, that they had no power to either frighten ■ force me to do their bidding; therefore I would do ■thing of the kind. They immediately rushed upon B, t° prevent my leaving the room; but they knew ■ot my strength, for I tripped one up and threw the ■her on him in an instant. During the melee Alfea ■tered and demanded the cause of the strife. I ex-Bined to him what they had demanded me to do, and IjyFPty; then their endeavor to secure me by violence, ■hey were both ashamed to have been thus caught by Bir superior, but asked him to put the oath to me in
I»34
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
their presence. After a severe reprimand for their a Alfea told them he would scorn to do so mean I til to ah invited guest, and if they attempted any far! violence to me he would have them publicly church! and bade them leave. After they had gone he beg® irte to forgive the affront, and pardon him for not fl tec ting me against such an outrage. He asked mel Zea had told me the legend of the lake, and whatfl thought of it. I said that she had, and that I hat found the cause to be very different from the story, I then explained to him how the waters of the lake ■ supplied with the sweet milky gum which exuded■ the treest To my surprise he said he had been investi gating that himself, and that my explanation was I conclusion of the cause!	11 But,” said he, “ do not tell otM
ers of your discovery.” I replied that I had alreal told Zea, and proved it to her as well; but that I wol not say anything to any one else on the subject, ■ said , he did not care to keep Zea in the dark on ffi subject, but the masses were too ignorant to be gol erned by any other power than fear and superstition,! c I found Alfea to be a man deeply learned in scien| and filled with good sound knowledge on many subjeci He held his position in the church by reason of his w discourses to the people. That evening he told me Zea would show me many things, and tell me manylegenl gbf them ; that 1 was at liberty to investigate and revel (jfily discoveries to Zea, but to no one else; “for,"sail ljhA“ the. masses are not yet ready to throw off the sup® ■ stitions of their ancestors, and until they are, I do non want the church divided.” I readily promised all b| tasked, arid after continuing the talk for a while longe» I retired, itb bed, my mind filled with admiration fori Alfea.
b' .Early riext; morning Alfea called and asked me if I wished to ^'o 'With him and witness one of the saddest iites of his church. He then called my attention to th! departure of the -aged couple I had partially witnessed with Fee a few days before.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
35
I	“This will give you an insight,” said he, “ to the beau* les of our religion; for as they go on their westward, |.last journey, through faith they do not dread the grossing from life into oblivion.”
I looked surprised to hear him, who taught a future nfe, speak in this way, and I asked him to explain. ■‘Willmoth,” said he, “when I was young I believed In the teaching of our church, but as I grew older and |my knowledge increased, I continued to teach it, but not ■eve it, I would not say this to you but that I Blieve you have no faith whatever in it, and only became a member that you might be near the beautiful girl whom you have learned to love. Do not look con-Bised, for from the first time you were in her presence B have known you were deeply in love with her, and |he with you; but 1 hope you will act with prudence, land not cause her or yourself any annoyance from any If the ignorant priesthood of our church, for I love Zea far too,well to see her made unhappy, her mother Bas my only sister, and Zea is almost a daughter to Be, for she has been my constant companion from her infancy. I also know of her intended flight with you. [And now to conclude, Depend entirely upon yourselves, [and trust no one further than you can help; but I will lender you such assistance as I can, if it can be done without losing my influence with the people, for without toe they would drift back into the cruel supersti-Itions of the past ages. But let us never refer again to lour love for Zea. You understand my position toward |ou, and also my standing in the church. Therefore let accordingly.”
II	asked him if any one had told him. He replied that I had, by the expression of my face; that he had long |go learned the art of reading the countenance. He then dropped the subject.36
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
CHAPTER VI.
THE GROUND-DWELLERS’ LAST DAYS, AND END OF THEIR j LIFE.
He then told me that when the Ground-dweW I arrived at a certain age, called the “ age of ripeness,” a longing desire grew up in their hearts to leave their] homes and wander away from their comrades.
“This desire,” he continued, “is nothing more or lesl than the first touch of decay and death; but few of therm know it. The passage through the west door through! which you saw the aged couple enter the other day,termin-l ates in an abrupt chasm, miles wide and of unknown depth. Far down its depths can be seen rolling billow of fire, which send up a sweet, mournful sound, l|j the chorus of a sad though beautiful song.i This 1 sound is mistaken by the weary traveler for music 1 frbin the shores of immortality. As they approach! ^nearer and nearer the brink their eyesight becomes! more dim until they lose their sight entirely, and drop! •from the brink like ripe fruit from the parent stem! I am the only one who ever explored the west pas-1 sage and returned, and you are the only one to whom II have ever revealed its secrets; for it would be crueTOl dispel the cloud of faith from those who were born tel travel its dreadful way. The Ground-dwellers have, fori ages , and ages back, with unerring instinct passed from mortality through this western channel, and thoug» many have gone without the benediction of the church,I yet I have watched them unseen, and the nearer they approach the brink the happier they seem, and.thl more contented they appear.
“ I have concluded that dissolution is'nothing, wh« the atoms of the body are in a fit state to become dis-WILLMOTH ■ THE WANDERER.
37
■ved;l)r,.in other words, ripe and ready to decay. Duly We, who are in the prime of life, dread death. Kot so with those who are ready to go.
■ “You Eathiiianites, who do not lose the vigor of fcouth by the weight of years, cannot understand that fcnciple as,I can, who so often see old age feebly Bawling along beside the gay, quick step of youthful ■rength and active manhood. With all your boast, noty°u> hut the very planet which we inhabit, ■st ripen, decay and fall apart; then what real differ-nce does it make whether the space between birth ■nd- death is measured by fifty million years, or ten ■ousand, or even for that .matter ten years ?
■‘Lfor one, when the time is past, can see none. The fruit is as sweet that lasts but a month, as that which Bsts the whole year round; and a life once spent is Krever ended, though its length be one year or one fnillion.”
■During all this time I sat wrapped in speechless ■azement at his-wonderful amount of knowledge, ■nd his splendid comparison on the little real difference In the length of life between the Ground-dwellers and Ktbmanites, arid to learn that for years he had been lie leader and teacher of a doctrine he had not the least Kth in, just because he thought his people would live Hppier with religion than without it. His manner of Basoning, and his flow of words, made me forget all glse in listening to him, but he called me back to my-Blfpyisaymg that if I wished to witness a curious Ight, come with him, and I would see all without being Ben by others. We . hastened to the room where Fee ■id I had first met Alfea. He opened the west door Kid led me some five hundred yards down the passage, ■nd placed pie in a small opening. I could plainly hear Fe monotonous roar of the fiery billows, as they rolled ■from the dark gloomy cavern some distance west of ■here T was sitting. Alfea commanded me not to iiove, neither to listen too closely to the sound of the lery waves; lest. I might be led to my own destruction.38
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
He then left me and returned to the room. Shortly] after, I felt a longing desire to approach nearer the 1 britik, but restrained myself by the greatest effortoil will power. Just as I was on the point of making closer investigation of the mysterious abyss, the doorl opened, and I could hear the solemn words.of farewell spoken by Alfea,’ and then came the mournful sweet] chant of the choir; then two very aged people walkfl slowly down the passage. One was a man, theothefl beautiful old woman. They were talking and laughing] pleasantly. When quite near me they stopped for 3 short time to listen, as they said, to the delightful him echoing from the immortal shore of God’s own landl Their ey es were almost closed when they passed me,™ they did not seem to realize the fact, and again started] leisurely along the passage, still talking pleasantly. 11
As they approached the brink I felt a strong desire® rush forward and pull them back. I could not mo™ I then tried to call to them, but found I could not even speak. A sickening sensation came over me.' I tried] to turn my eyes away, but found I could not even fl that. The woman was a few steps in advanced ;jfl man.
Finally she paused with one foot on the verge of that! awful chasm, and just as her companion asked her ta have him her hand, she. stepped forward and was lost to] ■my view; the man tarried a few brief moments, calling] for her, then reached out his hand as if to caress her] He also fell over the brink and was seen no. more I i sat for a short time feeling a sensation as if my flesh, was. creeping over my very bones. Alfea soon returned and led me back to his rooms, where I found Zea waiting to spend the rest of the day in showing me the sacred pool and other sights. He relinquished me to her charge, saying he hoped to spend a social evening with me, then left us to ourselves. I did not tell her of my Experience with the priests, nor of my conversation wil Alfea, neither of my visit to the gloomy Passage of Death, for I did not want her to feel sad, or unhappy.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
39
■ver what might befall us in the future. We lingered inphe room for some time, and enjoyed each others’ so-■W without fear interruption for nearly an hour, ■uring this time I exacted a promise from Zea to place I her trust entirely in me, and not tell even Ora all we Ihsfc planned, or would plan relative to our future ac-■ons. We finally started for the sacred pool. We Bassed through a long arched hallway until we came to ■large room which was perfectly round, with an arched ■ling about sixty feet high. In the centre of the room Bas a large basin worn by the action of the water to the Beptli of some fifteen feet. This was the mouth of the ■nrlpool, for it was nothing else. We sat down on a ■Be stone bench near by, and she told me the Legend I of [the Sacred Pool.
■	Long ages ago, one of our people fell deeply in love nth his companion’s wife, forsaking his own entirely.
I |Phe lady with whom he became enamored did not return I his affection, but slighted him on all occasions. The I «timent he bore her finally became public, and his com-■apion proposed to exchange wives. This enraged both ihe ladies so much that they took a solemn vow to for-■ver discard both husbands, and live the balance of their ■ays id single blessedness. In the adjoining room from' ■his, they took up their abode, hoping that they might ■yer see the face of man again. But their husbands ■termined to prevent them from remaining thus ■cured, and came to carry them away by force.
■	“The women called on God to aid them, and just as Ihe husbands reached where we now stand a largewolume ■water boiled up and filled this room. The men were Breed by the waves along the arched passage by whioh Ire lame, and were left at the other end completely exhausted. Years rolled on, and this room and passage ■tinned to pour forth its angry waters. But one day ■eased all at once, and presently two females were seen ■ing alorig the way. Neither of them looked to the Bght, or to the left, and their eyes seemed sealed.; They ■poke not a word, but continued on to the western pas40
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
sage, which leads to the shores of eternity. The door opened and closed of its own accord after the women passed through. Sweet songs were heard, and the echo! reverberated along the corridors until they reached tbl pool. Since then the waters have never risen any high! than you see them now. But they still boil and surge from side to side as if in anger, and some of the priests claim this will never cease until some human sacrifice! made to it.”
I laughed at the legend, and told her it was easy to Explain how the waters were kept in motion; that some lake on a higher elevation furnished the waters througl some crevice at the bottom, and the action of the water! had worn the stone to its present shape, in its passage! through to find a lower level; that no doubt there were! many such places throughout all parts of Saturn; and ill fact it was necessary to keep the waters in motion so as! to keep them pure; that nature governed allthings fl the best, and in the easiest, or at least the simplest wayl that every mystery, traced to its fountain-head, word! result in a simple and natural cause. Thus we know! that every cause will produce an effect, and the effect | become a cause which produces another'effect. J L, Zea was soon convinced. of my way of reasoning! land resolved henceforth to credit no more mysteries, b&| to trace all things connected with superstition back until she found the cause of their existence. We passed the remainder of the day in exploring many curious rpoms and passages which had been created by the action! of the waters, and afterward enlarged by the hand of man.
The next day Fee joined us, and Ora also became' one of the party. Alfea had left the city on some mat-’' ter of his own, and had left word for us to make ourselves at home until his return; so I suggested that we explore the dungeons under Lake Pleasure, spoken of by the priests. At first they objected, but I urged them upon the ground that as I might be compelled to visit them some time against my will, I intended first to seeWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
41
now they looked, and if they were occupied. Finally they consented to accompany me.
I We arrived at Lake Pleasure by the winding stair we pad used the day of the feast. We found everything Blent and deserted, but could find no means of descending below the lake. Finally Ora and Zea sat down to lest, and good-natured indolent Fee took his seat beside Ihem, telling me to call when I had found an opening. For some time I wandered along the shore without sue-less, so I concluded to examine the solid wall of rock, which completely hemmed in the beautiful lake and its lovely beach. On going close up to the wall I made a ■refill inspection of its surface and came to a small Eevice, scarcely large enough to admit a man’s hand. On looking in I could see a flight of stairs roughly hewn in the rock; this stairway led downward but seemed to come from some other way. I stood looking through the ■evice for some time, wondering how to get in, when suddenly I saw two priests descending, carrying between Ihem a beautiful young girl. Just as they passed me I [heard one of them say; “ What will that unbeliever; Fee [say, when he returns and finds his youngest sister has ■appeared? But you know Alfea will never consent to [sacrifice Zea to the sacred pool, and we must have some pure, young virgin for the offering.” Then they passed |ut of hearing.
I I stood there some time, pondering on what I had iheard, and the best course to pursue. From what I had beard I knew they only intended to confine her, and I [concluded to await the arrival of Alfea, and tell him all, unless we could gain an entrance to the stairway and lescend at once. I had made a close inspection of the .entire wall, and could find no means of admittance; so jl returned to the others and made known my failure, but laid nothing about what I had seen and heard. Fee laughed at me for my trouble, and as it was growing late we all wandered back to Alfea’s apartments, where the ‘girls left us, with the promise to return in the morning. I Alfea had not returned; just what to do to liberate42
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
Fee’s sister was more than I could tell. I dared not trust Fee; so I concluded to make an attempt tofini the entrance to the hidden stairway alone. Arising from I my couch, I- carefully left the room to avoid awakening Fee, and wandered along the passage leading to the 1 reception-room. I had not formed any plans of action,! and seated myself in an obscure corner of the room fol think what was best to do. I had been there but a short j time when a door at the far end of the room opened, ana in walked the same two priests I had seen on the stair 1 Way leading down to the cavern under the lake. I ai once resolved to follow them. They crossed the room, 1 opened an ingeniously concealed door which I had nev® seen before, and both entered the passage. I then crossed | the room and opened the same door, and heard thesound! of their footsteps as they descended a flight of stairs. 3
Hastening forward, I soon caught sight of them, hutI kept some distance in the rear, yet close enough to keen them in view. Thus we wended our way until we were | far below the lake of pleasure. The dim light became 1 Knoro dim, until it was almost dark. I ventured to ap-1 |proach closer, so I could hear their conversation.' Said® one, “ If we could only get that Eathmanite hypocriteoncel ■entombed within these dark and gloomly cells, and makel (ifhe people believe he had left the city, we mightrestI content, for he has gained such a hold on the heart of our|j beautiful Zea, and is so well respected by our leader Alfea, that unless we crush him his power will soon he so strong he will overthrow our influence with the people.”
During all this time I had followed close at the heels of the two priests, my mind bent more on finding out Where they had Fee’s young sister imprisoned, than on what. they, were saying concerning me. At last then stopped near a large opening in the floor of the passage! we were traversing, and,. taking a kind of grass rope from ha hidderi .recess 'in the wall, they lowered one end intp the opening apd fastened the other to a large stone. One of them said he would descend and see bow the girlWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
43
was getting on, while the other could await his return;
■	lie needed him he would call. At first I thought of rushing forward and overpowering the priest who ■named above, but upon reflection I concluded to await the other’s return; after they should leave, I would descend and bring the girl out. I waited behind the Bulder for about fifteen minutes with considerable im-■tience, when I heard them in conversation, and on peeping out saw them concealing the rope in its hiding-place. I also heard him say that the girl had begged ■teously to be returned home, but that he told her the fate in store for her, and that she must be prepared to be Burled into the sacred pool, as a token of love to their nd, and to rejoice in the honor thus conferred upon her. Bey then disappeared in the distance, returning the way came. I at once secured the rope, as I had seen them Io, Ind descended about twenty feet, where I found lyself on a damp, flat, stone floor, with sand and gravel Irewn over it. Regular passages led off in different ■ections, and I found myself at a loss which to follow, while deliberating which to take, I heard a low mourn-11 sob.; I called aloud, asking who was there. At first ■eceived no answer; on calling again, and telling who was, and my business there, the girl came forward, ■sped me by the hand and begged me to start with her
■	once, as the place filled her with fear and dread. I Bred her if others were there. She assured me she was Re only one, and that she had traversed every passage
■	the hope of escape, but they all ended in walls of Bid rock.
I We soon ascended from the pit, and after resting and Btoring the rope to its former hiding-place, we started
■	our return home. We had not gone far before we bard footsteps in front of us. Quickly concealing our-selves behind a projection of rock, we watched closely, [or by the sound some one was coming toward us. Fee came in sight. ; His usually good-natured face, showed pgns of anger and surprise combined. I stepped out in44
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
front of him, and he grasped my hand, at the same time expressing his joy at my safety.
“ But,” said he, “ what could have .brought you here,! and how did you know of this passage? I never knew j of it myself, until a few moments ago, and then found. it by chance.”
He said he awoke and missed me, and fearing that 1 might, lose my way, or get into trouble, he had started! out to find me. By chance he came to the reception-! room, and seated himself, to determine some plan of find! ing me, when all at once the apparently solit wall! parted, and out walked two priests. He heard them! express their hatred of me. It occurred to him that! possibly they had something to do with my disappear! ance. As soon as they were out of sight he started out 1 to explore the passage in hopes of finding me. Judge! his surprise when I told him what I had discovered that morning, and how I had .that night followed the priests knd rescued his sister. She came forward and Fee eal braced her, and declared he would punish the wretches • who would dare to make his sister an offering io their] God. I begged him to keep quiet for a while. He .finally promised to do so, and conducted herback home, Returning to my room, I soon fell asleep, and did not .awake for some hours after the usual time for arising, i
, CHAPTER VII.
WE VISIT THE FIERY CENTRE OF SATURN. 1
I had just finished my morning bath when Alfea entered ftiy .room, and invited me to make a long journey with fiim. Said he:
We may n°t return for some months, or perhaps a year.”
| was loth to leave Zea for so long a time; but before J could frame an excuse,he smiled, and said:WIIjLMOTH THE WANDERER.
45
I “I foresaw your objection, and am prepared to meet it, For Zea is to make one of the party.”
| I quickly consented, and begged him to tell me about lur intended trip. Said he:
■ “ For years I have had a desire to descend deeper Into the planet, and explore the interior ocean of fire, wherein my race is doomed to plunge, and where so inany have already gone.”
BAs I did not look for Elwer or his father for about Eighteen months, I did not hesitate to make the trip, feo'we arranged to start the next morning, if Zea were willing. Alfea spent the rest of the day in arranging his business so as to be away, and in preparing the few Becessaries for our journey.
I I saw Zea, and she readily consented to make one of ■he party. We three were all who intended to go, and Iwe- kept the trip to ourselves, only saying to the rest, ■hey need not be anxious about us if we did not return Jfor several months. .
■Early next morning we met in the great chamber ■here I first saw Alfea talking to the aged couple ■ho were on their last journey. Alfea opened a Imall door in the northwest part of the room, and led [the way down a steep flight of steps. This passage was ■ery narrow, and grew darker the further we descended. |Zea and I followed, holding each other by the hand. In Ibis way we proceeded perhaps a mile or more, when |ve came to a broad open plain. The ground was covered with the shells of a peculiar kind of fish, which, in [the past, had inhabited the waters that once covered the Blain. The shells emited a pale dull light, somewhat like the twilight here; above all was dark. We could pot. see the ceiling, and we knew it to be far away, «elation had begun to take possession of the place; lichen grew in abundance, and 1 soon learned the value bf it for food. Alfea and Zea pronounced it very nutri-lious; as much so as any kind they used. In my child-Eood days at Eathman I had learned the simple art of abstracting the life-giving principles out of vegetable46
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
matter, and I soon supplied myself with as much! desired. Mushrooms grew 'to a gigantic height,but™ unfit fof food.	1
Alfea said he had been there many times before, ai had explored the anci ent lake-bed, as he called ifl] had never descended any deeper, although he had ffl where the water had been drained off to a lower levfl j, We spent several days exploring the many passage! and openings that led in different directions, but« find none that led downward. At last Alfea conchi to descend by the same course the water had taken, ® therefore prepared a Very novel machine for ascend™ on our return. , We placed a large ball of metal, one of many which Alfea brought with him, secure totheeflj of the chasm'. By pointing our parting-rods injK direction of the ball, holding tight to the rod we would be drawn up. This, of course, was caused by magnetic attraction. Alfea then unwound a long rope, and, after procuring a large number of light-giving shells,« them to one end, and lowered them over the side. -Ii this way we could see where we were going. The rope {descended three hundred feet, and the shells rested» cwhat seemed to be a ledge of rock, about twentyfel wide. We fastened the rope, and then threw overM other end, so as to be able to draw it loose by pulling! around the rock. I first made the descent alone, to investigate, and found the rocky ledge upon which I had lauded twepty or thirty feet wide, and extending alon! ft deep chasm. Zea came down, followed by Alfea, aol hfter . unfastening the rope we followed the ledge! about five miles to a passage leading back from the] .$iasm, and' traveled it for some three miles. It ended® a low arched room, about five hundred feet in width b| eight hundred , ip length. It was lighted up in a mos| brilliant manner. The four sides as well as the ceiliaj wereoiie solid in ass of phosphorus. We remained! this room for some time. The passage by which I reached it had been leading us deeper down, and w calculated we were about twelve or fifteen miles lowiiWILLMOTII TSE WANDERER.
47
Ran Lake Pleasure. To the left of the room was an-other passage leading down a slope, and lighted by the Same substance as the room. This passage had many Ingles, and its descent was very steep. We followed this way about twenty-five or thirty miles without difficulty, and came to a chasm of unknown depth, for the thosphorus light did not penetrate its gloom. We sat 'for some time on the edge of this dark and gloomy abyss, studying a plan which would enable us to descend.
■	Presently the darkness far down its depths began to give (way to a pale yellow light, which gradually grew Brighter and brighter, and to rise higher and higher, [until we were enabled to see clearly to the bottom. At [first we could not tell the cause of this strange phenomenon. but afterwards learned that the light came up from
the inflowing tide of the central ocean of fire, which, like ■the ocean of water on the upper surface, has its regular ■time of ebb and flow. The chasm proved much easier Ito descend than we at first suspected. We made rapid ■ogress in climbing down its rocky sides, until we had [gone some eight miles, when we found the light which Kai served us so well was gradually disappearing, and [would soon leave us in total darkness. We hastened to [secure some resting-place, and await the return of light, for as yet we did not know the length of time required |tobring back the fiery billows upon which we depended [for our light. We were all somewhat fatigued, and soon fell asleep.
| Just how long we slept I cannot tell, but I awoke gwith a start. Far below us could be heard sounds as if [two mighty armies had met in deadly conflict. Loud [reports came as if great cannon were hurling forth their deadly shot and shell, and then the sharp, quick rattle of musketry. Then came silence for a short time, followed by loud yelling of the combatants as they again rushed to the fray. These sounds mingled, with many others, such
■	groans, yells of agony, and low wailing sobs of utter despair, continued for some time; then all was silent. L' At last the soft mellow light began to steal up from the48
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
depths below, and we were enabled to continue our descent. Zea asked me to explain the cause of that horrid noise we had just heard • as yet I was unable to do id hut told her we would undoubtedly find some naturali cause.
Alfea’s opinion was, that the noise arose from the war of the different elements of cold and heat, “for,”] said he, “as we approach near the centre, we are 'brought nearer the original element of heat, or rather, I the molten substance of which the whole planet was] once composed. As the planet begins to cool and throw i - off its heat, the entire surface or shell, becomes thicker, j and the interior, or molten portion, gradually yields its mass of liquid matter to the element of cold, so that ] when this ebb tide of fire rolls back it must leave on the shore a portion of the heated matter of which it is com-1 posed. Then it naturally follows that the liquid thus left immediately begins to lose its heat, becoming consolidated, I . or cold. ; Now when the tide flows back, the intense heat, : , being suddenly brought in contact with its old enemy, the qold, the surface over which it flows expands and breaks up, at regular intervals. The noise we heard is ^merely the breaking up of this mass of matter, and these] l^gidgrground caverns re-echo the sounds so often that it ^appears as though the whole interior of the planet must return again to an ocean of fire.”
k>'Our way became more difficult the lower we descended, and darkness again overtook us before we had come to any level way, or opening leading off in another direction.
We . passed the wurs of darkness as before and were ! awakened by, the same noise. When light again filled the chasm we started on our downward journey. The] heat which; -lj’||0tofore had been moderate, now began to ■ increase very rapidly, and I feared our descent was ended] ;but on going a few feet farther down, we came to an opening in the side of the wall, from which cool air camel forth -with considerable force. We entered this passage and traversed its entire length, which was not less than seventy-five miles.? Cth| floor was smooth but veryWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
49
steep. The passage was lighted from both ends by rejected light from the ocean of fire. When we arrived at the farther end we found ourselves op the outward coniines of a vast plateau' or level plain; small lakes of water filled the hollows here and there, and far in the distance could be seen an immense body of liquid fire, surging and plunging from side to side, as if anxious to overwhelm its rock-bound shore and engulf the waters which stood in pools near by. The heat was not near so: intense as when we were higher up, and we soon learned we might approach very near the burning ocean. ■We spent several days in wandering over the coast, finding mapy curious and strange forms of animal life ■which had sprung into existence and occupied the pools of water. Some of these, of course, were carried from the upper surface with the water in its descent through the ground. But these were gradually changing so as to inform to the new order of life in which they were ■heed.
■ One day I wandered off by myself and sat down near the [fiery ocean, meditating on the many strange and wonder-[ ful things found in nature’s great storehouse, when my 1 ear caught the sound of human voices, although in an j unknown tongue. On raising my eyes I beheld the head and shoulders of a very large man protruding from the waves of fire. His hair was very long and resembled strands of redhot wire; his eyes were a coal black ; bis ■mouth large and broad, with two great tusks fifteen inches long extending out from the under jaw and over I the upper lip. His two arms as they lay spread out on I the waves, were at least thirty feet long; his head-was
as. large as a barrel, the nose and ears very small in I proportion. He advanced near me and I discovered Ithe lower part of his body resembled that of a fish, with a broad tail. He gazed at me for some time, and then I gave vent to a sort of a grunt, which had the effect of | bringing several more to the surface, much like himself. I Some of them had no tusks, and were smaller, with brown eyes and a fairer complexion ; these I afterwardsBO
WILLMOTfi THE WANDERER.
learned were females. For some minutes they all floatel | arouiid in the fiery waves, chattering and gesticulato! to one another, as though debating as to what kind of a being I was. Finally a young female came, near th! shore, and motioned to me to come nearer. I did so.. She then reached out her hand, as if to pull me toll| quickly drew back, and they all roared with laugh®
•	and shouted something unknown to me, at the same tinia clapping their hands as if applauding some one; but for! what I could not tell.
By this time the whole surface of the fiery ocean 4! lined with this strange people. I soon discovered it was! impossible for them to come out of their native element, I 1 and that fire was as necessary to their existence as water I to a fish.
The young girl who had approached me did not seem | offended at my refusal to enter the ocean, but appear® puzzled at the cause. I made a sign to her. that firel was not my element. For some time I could not get ] her to understand my meaning, but by picking up small I stones and casting them in, then pointing to myself, I I»finally got her to know my meaning, and she explain® it to the rest. I then made signs to her that I should like to learn her language. She soon let me know she
■	would teach me if I would come and sit near the shore;
■	but that she would have to retire with the tide each
< d»y,yand would return when the tide was up. The’ I > opean waves then began to, recede and bear away upoS b its bosom this strange race of human beings, leaving i me to myself;
’’ I returned tp Zea and Alfea,and related what I had seen! They were, both surprised, and agreed to accompany jnl to the shore when the tide returned. Alfea declare! he ’had now reached the climax of his ambition, for this: people cpuld tell whether any of his race, who fall do™
•	. that fearful chasm,* ever show any signs of life when they reach the fiery billows. Accordingly we all re-' paired to the ocean beach., There we found the girl who| had promised to be my teacher. She was resting on aWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
51
submerged rock, with the Upper portion of her body above the waves. She seemed pleased when I ap-■oached her, and motioned me to be seated near. Many others had gathered near the shore, and Alfea soon procured a teacher from among them. Zea did not attempt to learn their language, but both Alfea and my-self learned rapidly. In a few days we could talk it fluently, so much so that we could hold a conversation with any of the Fire-dwellers, as they were called.
CHAPTER VIII;
I HISTORY OF THE FIRE-DWELLERS.—OUR RETURN.
K We spent several weeks on the shores of the fiery ocean, and during the time became very intimate with I the Fire-dwellers. Alfea made the acquaintance of one of I their wisest men, who bore the name of Corack, and whose ■ influence was far above that of the rest of his com-tpanions; although there was no such thing asoflfi-Kers or rulers of any kind, yet he was the central figure ■pound which the others revolved. Alfea arranged with ■brack to hear the history of the Fire-dwellers in exchange for ours, and began to tell first of his people, I their ways and habits of life, and their religion and the I end of all, when they took the final plunge into some great ocean of fire. Many of the Fire-dwellers had lingered near Corack during Alfea’s recital, and when he had ■foished all seemed to have solved a strange mystery. Borack remarked that the end of Alfea’s race accounted for the appearance of lifeless bodies, somewhat similar to ours, which fell at irregular intervals from somewhere above, and the very moment they touched the ocean they [were dissolved into the fiery elements ; “ but,” said he,
“the place where these bodies touch the fiery waves is ■along, distance from the shore.” Alfea made diligent [ inquiry if any of the bodies gave forth evidence of52
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
life, but Corack assured him that all life had ceased long before they touched the fiery elements.- Corack then promised to give a full history of his race from the /beginning to the present time, as near as he could. ^Accordingly next morning Corack began thus: <J“In ages long since passed our home was the sun/ that great ball of fire around which this planet, with many others, constantly revolves. At that time this whole planet was. a* part of that great luminary. The sun, as it revolved in space,, came under the influence of other great bodies, and through the laws of attraction which governs motion, this great mass was torn from it, and immediately took up its place as a satellite to the sun, and continues to re volve around it. .We, the Fire-dwellers, were also carried away at the same time, and our home was thenceforth Confined to this fiery ball. At the -time of which I speak this fiery mass had not beganij Lcool, and we did znot feel any great inconvenience in Joeing separated from our former home.
“Ages passed, and we became a happy, contented people, and learned to forget our friends left behind us. kAsit is not .necessary for us to provide for eating as you shave, to do, it is not much we need do, except exercise ourselves by racing through these fiery waves and visiting other tribes who occupy different parts of this fiery '/ocean. We also watch with anxious eye the gradual* diminishing of our beloved ocean home as it yields up its life of heat to the influence of cold.
“ Many long ages ago we discovered a very thin crust was forming .around our fiery element. At first we did not think 'very seriously of the matter, as we could.bread it /with ease, but finally it became so thick, we were .confined entirely , to the. interior. No eye could piercl the lining and' .gaze on other molten masses as they rolled on in space as we used to do. There was one hope left us still; we Watchedl/with interest the millions upon millions ^f’ ventilators, which the heat of this fiery mass kept Jppen/through the|bard crust, and we thought it possible that the molten lava passing through these open*WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
53
ings might reduce this hard substance to its original ■ement. But, alas 1 we found as time rolled on these ■ventilators became fewer and fewer, until there were but two or three left, and I fear that the time is not far dis-iant when our beloved and happy hotne will be one entire Kass of consolidated matter, and we ourselves cease to [exist as Fire-dwellers.”
■ Corack also spoke of a race of Sun-dwellers with [whom he had become acquainted before they had been [separated from that great body. Said he:	“ The Sun-
idwellers live directly in the centre of that great mass, ; and cannot approach the outer edge. They do not move [about, but are stationary; each having two heads and ■four arms. One head is that of a female and the other that of a male. They are supplied with life, as we are, by the heat which passes through their lungs. Like us 'they are entirely barren. We both belong to the First Cause; consequently we neither increase nor decrease^ So. long as heat remains with this planet, so long will we have life. <So it is with the Sun-dwellers^ There is another thing about our race—we appear-to grow old for ■longtime, then return to youth again.’’
I Corack finished the history of his race and We made [preparations to return the following week. During the > interval we explored the shore for many miles, Corack, with many others, swimming along the edge and keeping us company. We finally came to a place where a broad river of cold water plunged down a steep declivity and rushed hurriedly along into the fiery ocean. No sooner would it-touch the fiery billows than it would be changed into vapor, and rise like steam, and hover for a while [over the heated mass; then sail away* losing itself in the gloomy regions beyond. We sat for hours watching [the war waging between fire and water, each striving for victory, and both losing their strength in the struggle. Asithe girl who had taught me had frequently impor-tuned me fe accustom myself to her element, I thought this a good opportunity to teach her , a lesson. So, approaching the ahore near where she was, 1 invited her to54
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
swim with me, and plunged into the river, calling toheri to swim up through the mouth and join me. She started, b ut nd sooner did she touch the cold water than she drew back with a cry of pain, exclaiming that sha could not enter such a cold liquid, and for me. to come out. Just then a young looking male came swimming near; she threw herself on his breast. He enfolded her in his arms, and both sank out of sight
-Early next morning we bade the Fire-dwellers adieu, and started on our journey back to Alfea’s home. After many weeks of Weary travel we arrived at the reception-room, and, found the Ground-dwellers in a stats of great excitement.
'CHAPTER IX.
L THE FANATICAL PRIESTS MEET AN UNTIMELY END.
The priests, with ,their followers, were arrayed against Fee and his followers. It seemed that Fee had caught the two»priests in the act of stealing his sister again, and! thad punished them both severely; hence the trouble.' rTho-priests had also reported, that with Fee’s assistance I had concealed Alfea and run off with Zea. Alfeaa ^return soon settled that matter; but it only enraged the priests against me the more, for by this time it was ■ pretty well understood that Zea and I were more to eaclJ other than .mere;acquaintances, and that Alfea didinot Jook with much disfavor on our love for each othea 'Some weeks after, our .return Alfea came hurriedly into my room and said:
“ Willmoth, you must save yourself and Zea. The Whole body of the priesthood have demanded that Zea shall beconsigned to their God through the sacred pool, (rand that ypu Shall be forever entombed in the dark dungeon. .. .Hasten, immediately to the reception-room ^nd I yvill sbnd Zea. If you ar$ closelyWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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pressed, fold your mantle closely about the head and ears of Zea, and rush into the death passage. It is [hardly possible they will follow y ou there; but if they do kbey will never return. But be careful not to let Zea know what passage you enter.”
I I made all haste to reach the reception-room, and had Keen there but a few minutes when Zea came rushing in, followed by a wild mob urged on by the fanatical ■nests. Zea threw herself in my arms and begged me ■ save her. I saw it was useless to combat such a wild [and maddened crowd; so folding Zea’s lovely form in ■ny mantle, I quickly bore her through the western door, I and along the Way of Death, or rather down the road so ■any of her ancestors had gone—never to return. A lory of horror went up from the crowd as I passed through [the sacred door, and for a while all stood dumfounded. ■But eight or ten of the priests, led by my two enemies, [soon rushed in to detain me. I had just reached the Riche and placed Zea in behind me, telling her not to un-lcover her head or face, but remain perfectly quiet, when ; the band of maddened priests came down the passage, [As they drew near I could see they had lost all thought If Zea, or myself, and seemed to be drawn forward by i some mysterious magnetism. The awful sounds that Belled up from below, as the fiery waves beat upon their Bock-bound shore, had deprived them of all will-power, land step by step they neared the fearful chasm; while they paused for one brief moment on the edge, a look, lawful to behold, overspread their features, and their long red hair stood on end, as if in terror at their terrible doom—they then plunged forward and disappeared in the gloom below! When the last one had gone from sight I lifted Zea gently in my arms and bore her toward the ■trance. Just as we came near the door Alfea swung it open, and with solemn words, called out, “Let God’s savored children come forth.” We stepped beyond the ) threshold, and found ourselves in the presence of Fee, and many of his followers, and Alfea and a number of the churqh members. Ora embraced Zea, while Fee56
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
made milch over me. Alfea appeased the minds of the jchuich. members by telling them that their God had beem satisfied by the self-sacrifice of their priests, and that this should be a warning to all not to be hastily led to do an injury to any one on mere suspicion, and to charge none with' crime upon hearsay. He further explained that the priests had been removed from among them for the crime of stirring up sedition, and that Zea and I had been’ protected'through our innocence. Thus the riot was quelled and each returned to his own occupation. < | Late that evening, as Alfea and I sat alone, he asked me to tell him how the misguided priests had acted as 1 they passed do wjnthe,fatal passage. I told him all. He replied that it was as he expected; their will power was! : weaker than their superstition, and that it was better to' lose these few than have them, lead so many astray,! We then talked of the return of Elwer and his father,* and of my leaving. - ■ I urged Alfea to take a trip with me to my home; but he declined, on the ground that he was needed among his people.
I spent several weeks after that among the Grounddwellers. Zea and I were much in each others’ company, i and sAlfea seemed pleased to see us so fond of each. other.
One day Fee? told us that he had seen two or three Objects high up in the air, and at a great distance, thathe I did: UptOpubt it was my teacher and his father returning. dWe ; all repaired to the upper surface, and sure enough, Elwer and. Esman had just arrived, and brought with them another conveyance, with many necessary instrument^, for taking views of the country over which wewere ■' to;pass. :,}/They were greeted warmly by thd Ground-dwellers, for ^Ij^lpved the old astronomer. I: had already prepared Zea to be ready to leave with me at/fpmdtrient’s notice s so Alfea and she arranged to walk ;<to((the top of a distant hill, where none of the Grounddwellers could see us, and I was to alight and take her in my chair.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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CHAPTER X.
f RETURNING TO EATHMAN WITH A BRIDE. '
I After spending a couple of days longer with these people, and making known my intention toward Zea to Ewer and his father, they made no objection, but on the ■ntrary, agreed, to alight at some convenient, spot and await my return from home, where I intended leaving Zea under the care of my mother.
We bade the Ground-dwellers adieu with many kind iwords, and seating ourselves in our flyingc-hairs, arose in the air amid the loud cheers of our kind hosts. Just feeyond the hill I alighted,’gnd Alfea and Zea stepped pom behind some low shrubbery and came toward me. ! Alfea’s face wore an expression of sorrow, but he em-‘ braced me with many kind words of friendship and [begged me to be'kind to Zea, for he loved her as his own (child; he said the separation from her weighed like a ; stone on his breast. I promised him Zea’s happiness [should ever be my care. Alfea then embraced Zea, and, pace more bidding us farewell, he turned and walked down the hill and was soon lost to view among the thick foliage which lined the hillside.
I We then took possession of the chair; mounted in the air, soon overtaking Elwer and his father. >Elwer suggested that we all return to Eathman and make a : general holiday of it until Zea should get better acquainted with our people, so as to feel at home with them during our absence. We soph made the trip. Everyone was delighted at our return, and all seemed pleased with my beautiful bride.. Zea was delighted with 'everything she saw, and I took great pains in teaching (her bur way of living. About ten days after our return the society to which I belonged gathered in one of the large publip buildings, and passed the ;day in great re-joicing in honorfof my young bride, <58
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
There is ho such thing in Eathman as pledges, or oaths, 'dr, solemn ceremonies to join husband and wife, for every one knows the purity of the marriage relation] ami the: trtie laws governing it. Hence if a man takes! unto himself a wife it is through mutual affinity, one toj the other. The Eathmanites have but one object in marriage, and that‘is to join the most suitable bodies! and minds together. A,man may, and does have, twenty to thirty wives, all living in perfect unity beneath tlii Same roof, because the female mind is brought under the influence of the male mi,ndt through its likeness to it. As the Eathmanites had, for ages and ages past, been in a «high state of development, they had learned to sub-due andvcontrol all the baser and meaner passions, such as jealousy, envy, hate and deceit, with all their accompanying evils, and that the only true happiness could bp | gained by making those happy around you; therefore it .would be the height of folly to exact a promise to Iovm honor and obey, or love, honor and protect.
£ When I returned to Eathman with Zea every one saw at jmce yhat she was just suited to me in every way. My j mind was the centre around which hers revolved; henca it was as natural, for us to be mated as it was for the sun, hpjshipe. So while, Zea was beloved and respected by •all, the young- men, none envied me my happiness with lher, but tried to add- to, rather than take from, our enjoy-] $hept. ‘ On the tenth day after the parties had become, 'frjjly affiliated with one another, it was the custom for tbej husbanfl. to lead his bride before the General Assembly, apd there enroll her name with his in a large book kept fp^tb^t ^hroose. Then began the pleasures of thedayj such as ’music^jdancing, racing and visiting theatres. »1 took most delight in the city observatory, and we spent mpny. hours. after sunset looking through the large telescope at the yarious planets and stars.
had become somewhat accustomed to myj ’Jpedplb, Eaman, Elvker and I concluded to start again on our intended trip; so, bidding our friends adieu, and promising Zea ‘to'r^urb. in a few years, I hade hetWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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looil-bv and we again took our aerial flight to view ■range lands and stranger sights.
CHAPTER XI.
ME FILTHY TOAD-WORSHIPERS AND STRANGE ANIMALS.
■ For many days we passed over a portion, of the I ■untry not differing much from that of our former Voy-■ge. During this time we had alighted several times and Lade minute examination of the vegetable and mineral Kgdoms. One evening our calculations showed us to be ibout three thousand miles northwest of Eathman. We lighted on top of a high mountain, and as we intended fo remain in that part of the country several days, we ■anged a temporary shelter out of large flat stone. Plac-ing our chairs within the enclosure in such a position as to form a comfortable bed for each of us, we lay down * lad slept soundly until morning. We then arose'ana s ■tired to a rivulet near by for our morning bath. We ‘ pad just finished it when we heard loud laughing and9 Aging. The sounds seemed to come from the valley ■ ■low us, and the noise appeared to arise from the minting of many tongues.
■Hastening to our temporary abode and taking our l lairs, we sailed out over the valley where we might pave |n opportunity of making a closer investigation of 7 ■he cause of so much noise. Coming down neafthe ■alley, we discovered a broad, deep river running ■rough the centre: on the banks of each $de wore mall houses built of rough logs set on ehd/the lower rad being set in the ground about three feet, Across the top, dirt, brush and stone were placed to form a roof, ■lien we alighted we found the occupants all gathered ■round a large post, to which was fastened a gigantic load which would not weigh less than one thousand lounds. The toad was literally covered with: f(oyvex8 of60
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
various hues and colors. These people were entire» naked, of a ‘ dirty brown color. Their skins were oiled with a kind of juice pressed from a milky stink weed j which grew in great profusion in that part of the] country, and they emitted a stinking odor which compelled us to remain at some distance until we coulj accustom ourselves to the smell. They did not exhibil the least curiosity at seeing us, but continued their wor-ship of the ugly toad, as if nothing had occurred. Thein height was not more than three feet, and as they walkfl in a stooping position and were very heavy set, they looked shorter than they really were.
We afterwards learned they called themselves Toll dites, or Toad men . We did not spend much time with] them, as they were very dirty and filthy in their way ■ living, also very unsociable. They belonged to a veil low order of the human family, extremely superstitious] and much given to stealing from, and lying to each! other. The females, i f possible, were worse than the males.) They lived on fruits, nuts, roots and weeds of difi'erenl kinds. < They were very quarrelsome, and cowardlyis well. They have a language, but it is of the most simply form, consisting of but a few words, interspersed with grunts and signs. They are very religious, and while at worship seem extremely happy. Their religious devotions consist of slapping the'hands together, and howling, yelling afid laughing. They think that the plane) Saturn was hatched from the egg of a toad. But they like many others who worship in blind faith, do not pre tend to say where the toad came from. The mos strange ;and curious fact about this people was thaw ’ place‘off,’thp females giving birth to their offspring, asi -other races, they produce a dark yellowish egg, som bight’ dr tep inches in length, and four or five in circun 'ference., These eggs are immediately placed in a pi and' covered with excrement and other filth, to the dept t>f two feet. There they are left until the infant .hatched';,and breaks its shell and worms its way totl gprface, which takes about ten or twelve months.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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the time the egg has been buried, no attention what- ' ever is paid to it. It begins life by crawling around, nd subsisting upon what it can get possession of. When Jcan walk it follows the older ones and gradualy adopts Ibeir ways. The race is not very prolific; no female Produces more than two or three eggs in a life-time, and ■any of these do not hatch. They are supposed to live [about six thousand years. Their death is fully as strange
■	their birth. They gradually lose the use of their limbs, also their sight, and it is claimed they are thus gradually changed into huge water lizards and swim off
■	deep ocean water through the mouth of the river. But as we did not remain to witness this strange transpiration I cannot be sure of the truthfulness of it.
| We learned the reason of their not appearing sur-rorised at our appearance in the airover them. They were accustomed to seeing a large race of people passing over ;them, riding through the air on flying reptiles, of which ■shall speak further on.... We Were all disgusted with the filth and ignorance of this race, so after spending a new days in their vicinity, we prepared to leave. Before starting we learned another strange fact—that not more ■ban one female out of ten thousand couldr produce the egg by which theirrace was perpetuated; all the rest king sterile, or barren. Without bidding them adieu, we put our chairs in motion and soon lost sight of the [Toadmen, hoping never to see their Jike again,. ''
■	Our course still lay north west. Though we moved near [the surface of the ground, we did not, alight for three days; when we did it was on. the bank? of , a large lake of pure, clear water—so clear that one could see the bright golden fish as they swam twenty feetbeneath the surface. Many large fish thirty tofifty feet? in length swam near the shore nibbling the grassy that hung over the water. A level plain stretched back from the lake more than a mile and was covered with a soft rich green grass. Beyond this, a thick wood of tall trees, waving their green boughs in the breeze, seemed to stand guard over this beautiful fairy-like land.62
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
. We sat for some time contemplating the delighffl scenery, when'suddenly the sky became as dark a&inB and a hissing sound proceeded from above, as though 1 thousand fire engines were blowing off steam. On look-ing up we saw the air filled with large flying reptiles,] some seventy-five to a hundred feet in length, and om their backs were men over twenty-five feet in height! and- as large in proportion. Each man was armed withI a huge battle-axe, and a spear about the size of a tele-1 graph pole. At the small end was a sharp steel spike some! three feet in length, and very sharp at the point. Thejl did not seem to see us, but Continued their flight oa over the lake and, beyond our sight. The movements! of the winged reptiles was very slow and clumsy, but! their strange and powerful riders exhibited wonderful skill and activity in springing from the back of one rep| tile to that of another, often jumping forty to fifty feet] with apparent ease. Neither of us spoke until these] curious creatures and their wild riders were lost to view! then Elwer proposed to follow them and see more of I this strange race. His father suggested waiting until morning, “Tor,” said he,. “ the sun is now set, and as j we can move so much faster than they, we can easily| overtake them even if they continue their flight.” *
This was agreed upon and we put in the few remaining hours of twilight watching the fish. I was sur-i ■prised to see the big fish eat the smaller ones, for it was the’ first time I had seen any animal exist on other than ' vegetable food; but we were soon to learn that not onlyj flsli, but 'all animals preyed upon each other in tbail .part, of the country. Huge spotted animals, with two] 'arriis': an<j[' four legs, came out of the wood, and after drinking from the lake would plunge in the water and: dive1 beneath the surface then reappear, bringing wiffi Ithem a large fish which they would carry to the sborei /apd. devour. Then came another beast asblackasnighl .and- larger than the first; it had but one arm and four 'ipgs, and in its hand it bore a club not less than fifteen feet long, and two feet in diameter, with a big knot onWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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the end. The one-handed animal attacked the two-landed animal and drove him from his prey. We watched the strife between them with interest. The two-handed one at first fought with considerable courage, but was no match for his large one-handed antagonist, who repelled all his assaults with ease. What at first seemed queer was that the large One seemed to avoid crippling the other, and bent only on depriving him of his prey. Finally the smaller one gave up the struggle, plunged again into the lake, and soon reappeared with another psh, which he carried some distance and settled himself to devour. No sooner did his antagonist see him about to make a comfortable meal than he grabbed his club and quit his own repast, to make another charge on the poor fisherman, and took his second fish, always using his dub on the fleshy part of his antagonist’s body. After taking the second fish he picked it up between his teeth and carried it to where the first , was lying, them began devouring the first. By this time the two-handed' fellow had brought another fish to shore, carried : it pome distance and devoured it in peace, as the one-, handed tyrant seemed satisfied with what he had. Esman said,
I “Behold, the tyrant refrains from crippling or killing the other, as he would thereby be left without a slave Bobring him fish, as he seems unable to swim or fish for himself.”
■ The animal with two arms was somewhat like a panther in shape, but larger than a full-grown ox.., The arms grew out near the shoulders,andwere*not less than ten feet long, with four long slender fingers on each hand. The claws could be'secreted under the skin, or extended at will; the feet were broad and flat, as Was the tail—somewhat like that of a beaver, and a great help in swimming. Two cat-like eyes, short and blunt ears, sharp nose, broad mouth filled with two;rows of canine teeth, were the prominent , features of the head. The head itself was very nayrp^ between the .ears, denoting a small intellectual development. He was64
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
covered with a coat of very short hair, with white and! yellow spots with black edges on his sides.
The larger one-handed animal was a coal black, veil broad between the eyes, and had a long broad nose ahi legs were short and very large* and the arm grew out 'from the breast, and was long, besides extremely large! i his • hand had five fingers, thick and short. In walking ; he always carried his club thrown over his back, and ill his hand. He was a most formidable looking creating and would not weigh less than three and one-half tonal When he had finished his repast he looked around fori his two-handed friend he too had finished, and was] making toward the wood with ;all haste. The monstg seized his club and started as if to follow, but seeming to change his mind, he returned near the shore of tha lake, and lay down. Presently out of the wood camel several of the two-handed animals, snarling and growl- j ing, aS if to give the one-armed monster battle. But he I lay perfectly at ease until they had approached within a! few rods, when he arose and looked at them with seem- i ing contempt; then turning, he walked leisurely away,! One of his enemies, more bold than the rest, ran up and] sprang upon his back, and began biting and scratch J at a great rate. But the one-handed monster let go of I his club, caught his antagonist by the neck and burled] him fifty feet out in the lake, then taking his club he ‘turned upon the others and beat them most unmercifully until they all fled in terror. He then walked leisurely ! back into the forest. All this time we sat in our chairs, prepared to rise in the air if these animals made any hostile demonstrations toward us. Although they did! not seem to know we were there, to guard against sur-l prise or mishap we sailed over to the woods, and fastened our chairs in the branches of a tree. We slept in them until morning, and looking toward the lake we ■saw its surface covered with large swan-like animals ✓whose long ’ necks stretched far above the waves, which , evef and anon were thrust beneath the waters, bringingWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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up some poor, unfortunate fish, which they immediately ■Fallowed.
I “Everything in this lovely valley seems bent on (destroying something else,” remarked Elwer. •
| Said his father, “We are now beholding one of the ’thousands of conditions through which our own race massed, before we attained., that high state ' of moral development which, we so much enjOy in our own beloved country; but let-us hasten and overtake those ■arless riders who passed, over us yesterday, evening.” [■ Accordingly we were soon in the air again, following the course taken by the winged monsters.’ ;
CHAPTER XII.
THE GIANTS OF ANOTONO.
■About noon we found ourselves passing oyer a range If low wooded hills. Just beyond them we could see a large city surrounded by a high wall. As we ap7 broached we discovered the. inhabitants ;to be of the same race we had seen the evening before. Many of Ihem stood on the wall watching us. as we drew hear; others were in an inclosure catching thejr reptiles which they kept confined to a stake by a large, - long, iron chain, long enough to permit the reptile to enter a large pond of water near by. When, we J got withih hailing distance Elwer called to those on the wall and'made the sign usual to signal a desire to come nearer;, they ■turned the answer in the same. Iway;/'that we'might come and go at will. We sooi^lapded on the wall near them, and found them to be a race of^stalwart giants, from twenty-five to thirty fedt^in height*' They were, dressed in a coarse leather garment, in shape something likejthe knee breeches of a century ago,-and all were, well armed as if they intended going into battle. They had fair complexions, mild grey eyes, hnd a vbry pre66
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
possessing countenance. They seemed greatly amused! at our small size, and inspected us closely, also our fl ing-chairs, and then conducted us down a flight of broadi stone»steps to the city pavement. Two of the giants foil lowed, carrying our chairs. When we arrived on fl street, three more stepped forward and placed us gently! on their shoulders and bore us with rapid stridel through * the city. The houses were all built of stofl and though very large, seemed built more for strenfl than beauty. : Everything seemed to be the workfl physical strength without any great mental facul® “being called into question; the workmen were toilfl ' at ..their various occupations, some cutting and otbfl lifting in their places large blocks of stone. At other! places we saw unwieldy and clumsily constructe! machinery for the purpose of lifting the larger blockfl Everything seemed to indicate a want of knowledgefl the most common inventions. The streets werebroa! and clean. Large quantities of vegetables and grain! were being' stored away in graneries and cellars for al time of need.
Our guide finally turned into a large courtyard an! we were placed upon the ground; he then -blew three! times on a horn, which he carried suspended from fl jshoulder by a leather strap. The last sound had hardly plied < away before a large beautiful woman stepped from! a door in the wall of the castle and stood before fl ^ft'pr a few words from our guide we were conducte» d'hrou'gh; the same door, and found ourselves in a large! tMall^4y^sa^n^e^l. ouiy-by the woman. The walls of dhephallj.were decorated with the tusks and teeth on various animals, and different kinds of weapons for hunt-1 ing and 'fighting. She led us to a table which sat in the ^Diddle 'of > fhe room, covered with different kinds of vegrl ptable''td6d;, t^pn, to another on which sat in large dish® great chunks of animal flesh. Both the vegetables and ^Ue^h, were cookpd. >She motioned for us to partake of arif^ihg\before’fis, and seemed greatly surprised and sophewhat .’dfiphded when we declined; she even went,WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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so far as to taste of each dish herself and then bade us eat. Finally Elwer made her understand our food was .prepared in a different way, before taking it into the ■tomacli. We were then conducted to a bathroom, to take a bath, which we did with pleasure. In a short time our lady guide made her appearance, and led us [through anpther door, and we found ourselves in a beau-tiful garden, which seemed to contain every kind of i lovely flower. The garden contained about four acres, and a pool of water stood in the centre. At the far side liras a neat cottage and at the cottage door sat an old ■nan dressed in the fashion of those we had seen on the [wall near him, and playing on the ground was a little ■girl whose long .flaxen curls and fair complexion, with mild blue eyes, bespoke her either the daughter, or the [granddaughter of him who sat near the door. The lady led us to the old man, and after speaking something, the [purport of which we could not understand, left us and [returned to the house.
| The old man arose, as did the child, and after [touching us on the forehead, made a sign for us to [be seated. He was of much smaller stature than'any [we had yet met, being not more than twelve' feet 'high, and somewhat slender built. The' girl was [not more than six feet tall, and. we afterwards learned [was only eleven years old. Elwer and I at once desired to learn the language of this giant race, and made known jour wishes to the old man. He expressed himself anx-[ious to become our instructor. For some days we renamed at the cottage, and wandered through the beautiful garden, accompanied by the old man and his little laughter.
The language was quite easy to master, and Elwer, who was an apt scholar, soon talked,! tyfluently, and t learned rapidly under his instructions. Our host bore the name of Raco, and that of his granddaughter was Ulian. Though he was too modest to admit it, yet we soon saw lie was the oracle whorrh all consulted on all important occasions. One day, when we had been within68
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
the city for about six weeks, and bad become pretty well acquainted with the inhabitants, Eaco, in a very politi way, offered to-exchange histories with us. AshereH fore1 we had only Spoken in a general way about itil selves, and had explained the principle upon which ou flying-chairs Were, used, we soon told him of ourhabM of life, and everything concerning our manner of living also of the wonderful progress we had made in the n and sciences. He listened attentively, and seemed moefl pleased with,our recital. In return he began the history 1 of his people.
11 The name of this city,” said he, “is Anotono. Wl -call' ourselves Anots, or ‘air travelers.’ There aresevl eral sub-divisions of our race, and I am sorry to say thl different factions are frequently at war with one anothefl At present the leaders of this city are preparing to joifl in battle with the inhabitants of another city called! Balthaths, some distance to the southwest of here. Boil parties are about equally divided, and equally well jM pared for war; so it is hard to tell which party will! come off victorious.
“The average life of our race is about thirty-fivqi thousand years. The greatest number of children to one woman is three. The age of puberty in the female! is from three thousand to three thousand five hundred years, and they bear a child once every one thousand] .years until they reach the age of six thousand years! .Then child-bearing ceases with them, and they grow morel ib0autiful the older they grow. Hence, age with us fl •yery’atty^ctive, in place of repulsive. We believe thal death destroys the body, but not the mind; but until the] mind, is again supplied with a new body it is extremely .feebleji’and is apt to lose all recollection of a prior exist-1 ence. I can remember the condition under which my mind existed, at, a period far remote from this, when il was , clothed with a former ' body. At that time we. dwelled in the mountains in large caves and were more ;thhn twice (our present size, and were also of a dark color and covered with hair. We were very savage and fierce.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
69
Ind our single-handed combats among" each other, were ■nething awful to contemplate.' At that'date trees and Bmals of all kinds were much larger than at the preset time; but we were masters of every living thing, Except ourselves; hence, it then was, asitis to-day,- those ■who cannot master themselves, destroy themselves.” I That evening Baco informed us that if we wished to witness the battle between the Anots and Baltliaths we ■right prepare to accompany his people to the territory lofthe enemy. He offered us a. gentle* serpent, to ride, Lne bis granddaughter usually rdde. We’concluded to Igo, but declined to accept his daughter’s pet, preferring lur own mode of conveyance. At daylight the next morning we were called to the great council-room, where Ire were met by several of the leaders, who had called ■ invite us to accompany them, and also to counsel with bur host regarding the coming battle. Everything being Readiness we brought our flying-chairs into the garden, ferose in the air and quickly'- alighted on the outer walls' rof the city, where we awaited the coming of Raco.y Brom our position on the wall we could plainly see the finot warriors gathered on the plain ; each wore a heavy ■east-plate of flint rock, highly polished, which covered ihe greater portion of the stomach. The legs were protected by a hard leather case extending well up under [the edge of the stone breast-plate. From| a belt around ihe waist hung a huge battle-axe, sharp on both sides, |ud weighing not less than forty or fifty pounds..; Each ‘ meld in his hand a great spear fifty feet long, shed at the ■per end with a steel point. As near as we could judge there were about five hundred thousand warriors ; pone less than twenty-five feet tall, Ixnd in the prime of manhood.
I Finally Baco made his appearance, riding on a small Bluish reptile not more than thirty feet.long, but much swifter than the rest. He was not dressed as the gather larriors, but wore a bright red mantle fastened at the ■oat,and open in front. He held in his hand a long staff with a large red flag with a green field in the centre,70
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
attached to the upper end. For the first time we learned! that he was the commander-in-chief of this grand army] Their reptiles were brought forward, and each warrior mounted by springing on the back of his serpent, after it had arisen aboiit twenty feet in the air. The animal was guided by a touch of the spear, and soon the whole' army was in motion.
There were leaders for every twelve men, and these officers received larders from others higher in commandi so that harmony-anil discipline existed to perfection! throughout that vast multitude. Raco approached iB and bid us accompany him to the head of the army, j He also told us when the army joined in battle to ascend above them, for frequently they would hurl each orber from the back of their reptiles, and we would be? in more danger of being , struck by a falling warrior than beings otherwise harmed.
I noticed that Raco always gave his orders by signing or waving,, his; staff, and that be fleW his reptile some! /twenty fe6t. higher than the others, in order that he could] .be the plainer seen.
In this (manner we proceeded all that day, and at might camped on the very lake shore where first we beheld this giant warlike race and their winged reptiles. <As soon as the beasts were turned loose they plunged in (thh lake and had a bountiful repast of fish. The warriors soon finished their evening meal and lay down to rest. We betook ourselves to a tree as before in tbe iMge'jof .the wood; about "midnight there was quite# commotion in camp, owing to our one-handed friend of former acquaintance making an assault on one of our reptiles, but the reptile proved a most worthy adversary 'and soon , jhifred. the dne-handed beast. As Esman viewed the carcass next morning I heard him mutter to IRisel f:
“Ah, .^ea^ • Death, when will you be conquered??
,hntil all that; are unworthy of life, both man and Mfe; are first overeq®/by you.”
The army was again put in motion, and proceededWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
71
■	before. In the evening we camped near the foot of j large mountain. Raco informed us we were now in Hie (enemy’s country, and that: possibly next morning
■	battle would be fought, for he- had seen a Balthath ■out just as we went into camjp; He therefore gave Irders to have the warriors keep close to their winged ■users, in readiness to mount at a moment’s notice. ■Also to keep a double- guard around the camp, and Batch closely to prevent a surprise.
■	Raco was a prudent leader, and I could at times almost wish myself going forth to conquer; but Esman, seeing the wish portrayed upon my face, joined with Elwer in making my mind overcome such debasing and ■worthy ambition as slaying my fellow man.
■	After breakfast Raco sent scouts around the moun-Kn,on foot, to discover if possible whether the Bal-Bhaths were making preparations to advance. While Be awaited the. return of the scouts the enemy appeared iigh up overhead, riding on similar reptiles to the ones -■ddeu by the Anots. Each held in his hand a large rock, ■heir object being to h url them upon our men below. a ■Esman first discovered the danger, and gave the alarm ; '
■	all sheltered ourselves as best we could beneath-! Hones and trees, but these did not entirely protect us^
■	soon the huge stories, some weighing a thousand !pounds, began to fall like hail around us, tearing the limbs from the trees, and often killing, or crippling |ome unfortunate Anot, or his reptile.. Finally the sup-Ky of stone became exhausted, and - Raco gave the order to mount, and form in line of battle. About pne hundred Anots were found badly crippled; these were placed on reptiles and sent to the rear to await thq: Bod of the battle., Esman, Elwer and ,ihyself tq’uichiy icended far above the Balthaths, who at first tried to ppture us; but as we could move ten miles to their Ine, they soon gave it up, and turned their attention to fee Anots, who by this time had reached. a height equal
■	their own.	tQjf
|Then began a.battle worthy of thosemighty giants IWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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the very reptiles themselves joined with their adversa-' ries in mortal combat. Here and there could be seen some bold warrior springing from the back of his winged courser, to that of his foe, and clasped in deadly ,embrace, both would be hurled to the ground three hundred feet below; at other places we could see the great reptiles, some a hundred feet in length, coiled upon thej ground, fighting each other even in their dying agon]! During this time Baco flitted here and there, urging on 1 ‘ his followers ; the blood poured in torrents to the ground] ; below, and as the fight progressed, each party sank lowei and lower. Untj.1 they reached the ground. The reptile! were then 'abandoned and the fight continued on foot! battle-axes being the only weapons Used to end the fray. 1 llhere had been some fifty thousand slain on both sidesI and many more crippled. Neither party thought of| taking prisoners, but each were bent on putting the other! to death. The fight, which for a time had partly ceased,| now commenced with redoubled fury; the shouts of the combatants, the yells of agony, the sickening thud of ] the battle-axe z as it crushed through some poor fellow’s! ' skull, together with the hissing of the enraged reptiles] confined in the rear of each army, all combined to make] it a scene of horror never to be forgotten. Finally Racol brought the left wing of his army into a half circle,] ■ nearly, surrounding the Balthaths, which caused them to retreat. The Anots at the same time pressed hard upon their centre, which threw the Balthaths into a general stampede. Strange to say, the moment they turned to fly not a blow was struck, or any pursuit made; on the Contrary; the Anots picked up their dead and wounded and retired from the field. The Balthaths then returned| and flid likewise. Each army then gathered large piles pf wpod, and Baco drove a stake in the centre of the hard won ;battlefield;, the Anots’ dead were then piled Ground the. stake with their feet to the centre; the Balthaths then brought their dead and also placed them in a row around their dead enemies. The wood was then piled around and over the bodies. Baco, with his ownWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
73
hand set fire to the wood, and thus the ashes of friend Ind foe were mingled together.,
■ During all this time neither party spoke a word to each other. I asked Raco the meaning of all this. He ■aid no man should strike a fleeing foe; therefore they [did not pursue the Balthathis. The Anots burned their ■lead in the centre of the battlefield—the honor was ■heirs; the Balthaths burned theirs with them, to show ■ubmission. Raco and his followers then prepared to [return home; we returned with them and arrived the ■ext day. There was but little demonstration of joy at j their success. Each returned to his work as if nothing Ihadmappened.
I That evening while sitting in the garden with Raco, we asked him what the result would be, now that the [war was over. He replied that the Anots had added Considerable territory to their country, and that the Bal-Ithaths would have to furnish a boy for every one of the knot warriors slain in the battle, and that these boys ’would be adopted into the nation of Anots, and that the [Balthaths would have to contribute so much in support of the Anot widows and the families of the slain.
CHAPTER XIII.
I IB LITTLE PEOPLE AND THEIR WONDERFUL PHOTOG-
RAPHY.
; Early next morning we once more put our flying-I chairs in motion, and the city was soon lost to view. I Our course still lay northwest, and for four or five days ■■thing happened to relieve the monotony of our trip. I On the sixth day we alighted on the top of a mountain, I and were surprised to find the country in a high state of | cultivation. While we sat contemplating the beautiful I scenery, we beheld approaching us, what at first appeared ■ to be a child, about ten years old; when he drew near74
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
we saw it.was an old man with long grey beard. He 1 was about three- feet tall, well built, and would weigh I about ninety pounds, ' He was clothed in the finest silJ his • hat ■ was made "from the ■ finest straw woven in the I ^ostj^attistic manner, his shoes were of the softest and! finest fnaterial, his clothing was cut after a fashion now I in use among uS here. After bowing to us he spoke in 1 our language, asking us to become his guests while i® That part,of the'country. He did not seem surprised at I -our size’ coinpared with his, or opr appearance in that! ►part of the country/. We of bourse accepted his invita-1 itiop, and - he led the way down the mountain side, until 1 we came to an arched way leading back under the moun-l tain. The tunnel which we'entered was about twenty I feet high, and fifteen widp ; the length was not less than 1 one mile andz a half, and was lighted by great glass 1 reflectors set at each end of it in such a way as to receive I /the, sun’s rays and cast; them into the opening. The tun-1 meh terminated in one- of the most beautiful valleys. The;I valley was about two miles in width by four in length, 1 and as -level, a? a floor, except on each side, where a Broad stream of water, clear as crystal, ran close to the Ipiouqtain ’’Wall, which rose perpendicularly on all sides to the height of a hundred and fifty feet. In the centre Ipf^this ;fairydike land stood a beautiful city with broad OeaiK^Streets. The houses were made of stone artistically dressed, and well put together. All of the land
the city appeared to be one vast garden of ; flowers, wherein we could see thousands of little folks ^kelpurrhpstj busy as bees cultivating them. OnemerS ,'in'g' ftom ;^ne jtiinnel we had taken our seats on a bead® Tully. car;vbd 'sejttee, stationed along a stone platform 'raised, several feet above the valley, and on a level with the opening:, in- the passage-way. Our host then proceeded to'i explain how- he knew our language, and who
we were.
“ Among us,” said he, “ we have some noted scientists, '■wh’o' among ',b‘ther discoveries, have learned the art of transmitting all shadows, or rather all objects, whichWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
75
borne between us and the sun,/and some of the stars. We have an observatory built on the highest part of this jountain, and I will some day show you a curious edition of photographs of the beings who inhabit one-half ■ this planet, your own city as well. Regarding the Imguage you speak, a few of us are gifted with a perceptive faculty of so strange a nature, that the instant Ire see the photograph of anyone, or anything, we imine-lately know its habits of life, and its modes of communi-Ition. Therefore, all we have to do is to look at the. photograph machine, as it transmits the likeness pf any-, ling, and we can at once speak the language, be it man ■beast. But this faculty is given to but a few,of us, Id strange to say it cannot be taught to anyone else.” I He then conducted us to the city, and assigned us to the care of a small man not more than two feet high, who acted in the capacity of what they called Welcomes. By him we were conducted everywhere during our stay. Our host had us taken to his own house, and ■ere assigned us five large rooms; we were then given t the freedom of the city, and were invited that evening I) meet some of the principal men. We were all de- ' lighted to see such intelligence among so small a race, and Immediately proceeded to learn all we could regarding our new found acquaintances.
I That evening our host, whose name was Zaro, conducted us to a large hall where we were introduced to ■any .distinguished persons, most of whom were ladies. Zaro acted as interpreter, and we spent a very pleasant evening, for all seemed to try and make our stay as agreeable as possible. Returning to the house of Zaro, we begged him to give us a history of his race, and their ; manner of living, for as yet we had seen no sign of any food. This he promised to do the next morningi
I Early in the morning, according to promise, Zaro called' us to walk with him to the city observatory. As we proceeded through the streets we observed the neatness of all the houses, both inside and out. Flowers of all kinds seemed to bloom everywhere. We did not notice76
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
any children .in any of the houses, or on the streets, and Zaro told us'thqy were all on the other side of the mountain with their teachers. After a walk of some two miles, mostly1 through fields of beautiful flowers, we ascended the mountain side, and entered another tunnel
This tunnel, like the first, was the work of man; but’ this onei, appeared the only means of going to and from! the valley, as the mountain was too steep to ascend. . After going some hundred and fifty yards we came to a flight of steps leading upwards ; the steps were lighted* from an opening above. On arriving at the top we found ourselves in another beautiful valley; similar to the first. There were only a few houses here and there hut thej same neatness prevailed, and flowers grew every where! After passi ng through this valley another flight of steps led upward along the mountain side, and we ascendei ti^nd found ourselves in the midst of thousands of little .children, some not more than eight inches high, and . Others about two feet. They flocked around us as we ^passed, and a few spoke to us in our own language, but they were all very polite, both to us and each other. «
“ This is our school,” observed Zaro. “ Here we teach a our children to, conquer every evil thought, and train their minds to attain a higher state of perfection. ^di^Uee is taught them, so that even in their infancy they are heard sagely discussing some of its most intricate problems.”
We had by this time reached a high plateau, in. the ^efttre of which stood a large round tower built of solid masonry.' The building loomed up for several thousand feqt, and an elevator soon carried us to the top, and we titered a large circular room some fifty feet in diameter. Windows were set in niches in every direction, so that the -Sun’s rays could penetrate the room from every point.
Queer looking machines sat on tables placed in the centre of the room ; Zaro, stepping to one, placed, his hand; on. a spring, and pointing to the opposite wall, I was astonished to see a full sized photograph of myWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
77
Beautiful Zea, as she sat on the top of the observatory at Eathman. Again did Zaro press the spring of another machine and we beheld the face and form of Alfea, the high-priest of the Ground-dwellers ; he was sitting on a bill, the very picture of wisdom’s slave, knowing all, but with power to change nothing. How my heart went iout in pity for him 1
■Again, and again, did Zaro exhibit to us, through his [wonderful photographic* instrument, scenes through which w„e had passed, even to; the repulsive toad worshipers. He then led us into another room, and showed ■ animals inhabiting the country through which we had yet to go. After spending some time, we all returned to' the ground floor, and Zaro told the history of his race.
“Our nation is called Rosemen; because the people live chiefly by drinking the .essence of the roses, and other kindred flowers; the juice is pressed from the flowers, and three or four drops, taken inwardly each day, ■sufficient to give, us health and strength for fifty Or sixty thousand years. I am. now over forty thousand years old, and am in the prime of life. We do not, like the Ground-dwellers with whom you have recently been,, believe we pass from this state of existence to another more perfect; but death comes to us witho'ut pain— ■imply lying down to sleep and never awakenings It .may seem very strange to you,, that while every one of us knows the very date of our death long years before it happens, yet that never gives us any uneasiness.; We are just as cheerful and pleasent up to the day of our death as a child, who, tired with play, lies down to sleep in the pleasent sunshine. When| the breath has left the body, we take it to a certain spring which flows from the [mountain side, and bathe it; well,. whereupon it immediately turns to stone f it is then pl aced in a large cavern hollowed out in the mountain side expressly for Be purpose.
I “We arrive at the age of manhood in abbut two thousand years afterbirth. We usually marry'id the earlier par^ of our lives, and as the females far exceed the males, we78
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
each have from twenty to thirty wives. Our wives never perform any work, except such as pleases them to< perform; /Neither are they in any way subject to th! command of the husband: Id fact' it is j fist the reverse® no, li.usband would thjnk of leaving any wish of any J hU ’.wi^es go unsatisfied, although I must say the lad® are extremely modest in their demands, so much so th® the husbands tryto anticipate the wish of his conso® so as to fulfil^ it without her asking. The first will chobses who tlie second wife shall be—in fact she choose! Whp the husband shall be, for the ladies do all the court! dng. The men are too backward to make any overtures! to a girl.
“ When a young man reaches an age suitable to mar-l riage, the yotmg ladies of his society meet, and pick out! tone of their number to call on him and present the subject! tof matrimony.; She fixes herself up in the most bewitch! ing style,and calls at the house of the young man's rtatfeer. She is invited in, and the father retires; if the young man is not in, he is sent for. He usually comes in, I in a bashful manner, takes his seat as far from the young! lady as, ppssible, and the girl is the one who makes all jbhffi? advances in the way of courtship. And after call-1 $p&M$yeral times, if , she fails to win him to her, dw /resigns to some other girl of her set, who goes through th^ business pf, pourtship. After eight or ten have tried ..tpli^p-.'^-iiii and, foiled, all the young ladies meet, and /tfe'e;_One who first visited him makes the charge against thjtt he is.a belbo, (one born without manhood). She then calls upon the other girls to prove it, which they readily \dQ, ^nd he is at once banished from the city and forever compelled to live with others like himself in pity of Beboffar away on the other side of themouni tain/ Whpn-Ihe yoting paan consents, (which in nearly ipyery c^se they do),rthe girl takes him to her father! house where the marriage rite is performed by the father ,bf the bride, by , hadding each a glass of pure'clear cold' wafer app SPy^ngy ‘ Jjrink this emblem of purity and may ypur t.lives ever remain as pure as this water, which youWILLMOTH THE WANDERER..	79
this day drink.’ They both then swallow the water, and they are henceforth man and wife.
I “After the firstcljild is born, which is. generally in about fifty-years after the marriage, the wife chooses mother wife for her husbandt arid: they two in turn moose the third, arid so on, tile husband, never having anything to say as to who his wives are to be except as to the first. As the ladies have toliye together, we (think it best for them to select ,those with whom they [can live most pleasantly.
t “We have no rulers or priests; nd one controls our factions, and no disputes ever arise.
I “The ladies usually agree among th emselves upon some plan of amusement and the husbands willingly conform to their wishes. Our greatest pleasure is to cultivate I the flowers.”
■Zaro said he had thirty-five wives, and he had never* heard a dispute among them. “It is. strange but trueAh the said, “that the thought of all the wives of one, man; i run in the same channel, and like one mind they ail have lone object in view.” Zaro then proceeded to tell us how the Rose-men had arrived at the state of perfection they' were then in.
■ “About twenty million of years ago, accord^^tdpur (most ancient history, our ancestors, then called,, Bud-eat-ers, lived in a state of savagene^sypmong, the trees.’ Owing to a scarcity of food, fights frequently occurred between the different tribes. A leader named Urner finally arose in one tribe, and overpowered all the other tribes, and united them in His own.He had A daughter Rose, who claimed this valley, for her own. She was of: a very gentle and kind nature, arid gathered,around her lall.the^more gentle and peaceful charactdrs.;,' Her father forbid anyone entering the. valley 'without her permis-sion. She it was who adopted the plan of cultivating the flowers for food, and as they grow in abundance we have continually improved them ; for thousands upon thousands of years we have continued to advance m learning and in happiness/and have driven.from obr80
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
minds every Torm of.: ignorant superstition, and have learned to live, in pepfee and contentment. We have even taught the?ros^ to. grow without thorns, and iha djees, tllat fly. among-them have lost their sting. We have every thing, we hope for, and hope or wish foil nothing but what we have.”
As the day was drawing to a close we started dowi the mountain for the house of our kind host, and arrived ^shortly before sunset, and that evening were introduced! to the family of Zaro. The ladies, some thirty or more, all. about two feet 'six inches in height, were dressed in silk and looked very neat and pretty, although many ofl them- were more than thirty thousand years old. Their splended singing and graceful way of dancing gave nsl great pleasure.
The next morning we visited the cavern of the dead. It had the appearance of being filled with stone statues.’ Each body, (and there were thousands), was petrified into solid stone, white as snow. Soon afterwards we bid* sfe; little folks farewell and took our flight northwest. 
CHAPTER XIV.
HAIRY GIANTS, AND UGLY REPTILES.
After leaving the mountain our course was over a broad expanse ofwater whose farther shore could not be "Seen.Esman suggested our return and spending the night on land, and the next morning ascending as high lji the air as need be to discover the opposite shore, if there. Were one. We did this, and by the aid of our tele-s scope the land ^^eared far away to the west. We sailed straight for the > point and landed safe that evening, but -found -only a small island covered by a rank growth pf vegetation, and inhabited by dark red snakes gome twenty to thirty feet in length ; these serpents made bold to attack us the foment of our landing, some run-WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
81
ting and crawling over each other, in their haste to get * at us. We escaped by sailing out over the water, and proceeding around the island, until we came to a place Hbich seemed to be free from the presence of these reptiles. Here we landed, and building a large fire, we remained [undisturbed until morning. We then took our flight to the lorthwest, and sailing very low, sometimes almost skimlung the water, observed it literally filled with sea animals of every description, from the smallest fish to the largest whale. Late that evening vje came t.o a large ■land covered with trees of gigantic height, whose tops [waved their green leaves eight, hundred to a thousand feet above the ground, and in the distance observed a large volcano in active operation.
■This island was inhabited by a race of giants covered with long black hair, and in a perfectly wild state. They had no fixed habitations. As they did not see us until next morning, we had a quiet night,; but at daylight, they saw us and ran about us making a loudnoise. We luickly sailed out over the water in order to avqid^ them. Atthis they seemed paralyzed by fear;- but one, more bold than the rest, hurled a large rock'weighing’ not less than a ton, which almost struck Elwer’s chair? This hint made us ascend higher in the air. The giants looked to be thirty-five to forty feet high. The females peemed larger and coarser looking ,than the males. They had'eyes on each side of the head near the temple, and another eye in the centre of the fore he ad,;just ,£>ver the lose. They looked dirty and appear^f^ltHy' I? their habits. While scanning them at a safe distance, we saw one ungainly brute snatch an infant from its mother’s [breast, and tear it in pieces and then devour it., The others stood by unmoved by the .horrid spectacle. We sailed over the island, but found no sign of civiliz’ation.
We then approached the volcano and; fbfoid ,a broad river of fire flowing down the mountain sidd; emptying itself into the ocean. It appeared to have been in operation many years, as the lava had formed a long causeway far out into the sea. We soon’'bid ddleu -to the I 682
WlLLMOTH THE WANDERER,
Giant Island, as we called it, and continued our Sial north by west.
: We had not proceeded far before we saw, approach ing the Giant Island, a hugh water lizard or snake, with its head reared above the sea at least two hundred] feet. The rest of its body as it lay along the water appeared some four hundred feet in length, and aboui one hundred feet in circumference; upon each side and] about ten feet apart it had bat-like wings, used tof propel it through the water, and it swam at the rate of i about sixty miles an hour with very graceful move! ments, It had a long swan-like neck, fiery red. its breasts and sides white, black wings, and a dark red] back. Its full length was over six hundred feet, and] well it might be called a monster of the deep. As this! fierce reptile approached the island, hundreds of the will and hairy giants gathered on the shore to welcome it;] each one carried some fruit or small animal which he! deposited on a large rock near the sea. The reptile bent his long neck and began devouring everything placedon’ the stone, until a great giantess laid her infant on the] rock, when the reptile began licking its hands and face as a pet dog would do its master’s child. Upon seeing this all the giants came forward and began to pet and fondle the monster with the utmost familiarty. While thus engaged with their pet a roaring hiss was heard far out at sea, and a creature more terrible than the first was seen swimming toward the island. The giants fled in terror up the mountain side ; but their pet swam out to -fn'e,et ,hi^ hugh antagonist, which looked quite similar to the fiyst/,except its color was black, and a coarse mane extended, along the top of the neck; in size it seemed as large as the first, but looked far more formidable.
The fight'between these two monsters of the deep was like the clashing, of two worlds. Their long necks,and large fiprse-like heads were reared two hundred feet abovt the,Wryes'; they swam in a circle a mile in circumferena and their large bat-like wings lashed the ocean into foan for .miles arpuhd; each turn brought the combatants neareiWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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together; their loud bellowing and fierce hissing, tlieir ■cbful movements to gain advantage the onset, gave ■oof that it was to be a battle to thej’jdeath. Finally ■great monsters closed upon each other, twining their long necks, and biting and tearing large pieces of flesh tom their bodies, dying the ocean red with blood. After ■ fighthad lasted about two hours'the red monster ■zed his black adversary by the neck, just below the lead, and crushed the neck bone?; the head fell forward, ind he lay upon the water motionless^but the victor leased not to tear and, bite at the bodyi until the waves ■ever closed above his dead enemy; he then gave forth |loud bellow of triumph, and swam out to sea and dis-jppeared in the distance. The giants had also wit-pessed the battle from the island/?and rejoiced to see the
■dory.
I A fine starlight night succeeded, and we continued bur journey, arriving about noon the next day at a beautiful island, some three hundred miles long by one hundred wide. The entire island was as level as a plain, and Lvered by a thick growth of vegetation. - No sign of human habitation appeared, but closer inspection revealed large round nests in the trees, and from each nest a ■man face peeped forth in astonishment. Presently out horn the nests came large birds with human faces. Every other part of the body was that of a bird. They had no arms and their feet were like the feet of an eagle, with Sharp strong claws. Their wings were large and well 'adapted to flying, and their motions in the air resembled ■that of an owl. Their nests resembled that of the bald eagle of this country; and some of them contained one or two eggs about eight inches long and four inches in circumference. The voice of these strange people resembled that of a duck, and they were too low in the chain of animal life to understand us, or we them. They seemed to live happily and . contented, and appeared human only in their faces ; the island was their natural home, and produced plenty to supply their simple wants;84	WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
So we left them without gaining any information of their I past history.
| On leaving the Human Bird Island, as Esman callediB we took our flight directly west toward a large moun-1 tain, which by the aid of our telescopes, we could see ini the distance. 5 upon arriving there we found it to be al vast pile, of barren rock, standing in gigantic confusioni far above the.level of the sea. No sign of life, either® vegetable or animal, showed itself on the entire island.! A peculiar sound, as if the waters of the sea were roar-1 ing and rumbling through deep caverns beneath ourfl feet, was all that broke the death-like silence which held I dominion there over nature’s dead waste. Even the sea'll for miles around contained no sign of life, and its waves j were scarcely stirred by the air above them. We sat for 1 some time, each contemplating a dead world; at least so I far as that island mountain was concerned, nature had a ceased to strive at development, and it stood a true I monument to death, for every life-giving principle had found a resting-place in nature’s tomb. To describe my feelings as I sat there would be impossible; for the first time in bur journey I felt what you call homesick. Elwer® read the thoughts of my mind and immediately proposed | to continue our j ourney-. After a hasty calculation Esman informed us we had passed half way around Saturn, so bidding adieu to the Island of Desolation, we glided out over the waters, well pleased to leave a place where life had ceased to exist. We continued our flight for six]| ldng/jybeks, and still no sign of land; nothing but one I brpad expanse of water, with here and there some huge J ;sea monster rearirig its unwieldy form above the waves,.] to sink the next moment from sight.
At last land appeared in view, and from our elevated - pli'sitio.ri we could see it was some vast continent. With pleasure ,we ^alighted on a high hill and stretched our limbs on the' ^hort smooth grass, so different fromjhe Island of ]I)esb,iatibn, our last resting-place. O11 looking out over "the valley we’beheld animals of various sizes and kinds movirig aboutiand feeding on the rich herbage that grewWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.	85
I in abundance all over the country. A large herd of mastodon, looking like mountains of flesh with tusks Birty feet long, roamed at will; there were the great I two-headed elk with a forest of spangled horns. Large I turtles, whose circumference would equal an acre of Bound, had crawled out of the sea and were basking ■in the sunshine. The very ground itself teemed with ■mim al life, but no trace of man could we see. Thousands upon thousands of horses roamed the country at ■rill; cows and sheep also grazed freely among the larger ■animals, and all kinds of domestic cattle were there.
■	After resting ourselves a few days We continued our Burney along the coast, making short trips inland, and Returning again near the sea. One day in passing over Barest we discovered what at first looked like an army I ofgiants, but which proved to be apes. They walked Bright like men and were covered with hair. Their I arms were very long and their whole height was some-■tbing more than thirty feet.
■	We alighted some distance from them ; when they saw' tus they came bounding, howling and yelling toward us I in a most threatening manner; their voices seemed half ■human and half dog. Before they reached us we arose land sailed out over the sea; but still they pursued, even ■ashing along under us and swinging their long arms ■ward to catch our chairs, and wading far out into the Isea, still hoping to get within our reach. Elwer was .'anxious to learn more of these strange animals, and Proposed to alight in some of the tall trees and watch Itliem for a while. No sooner had we located ourselves Hhan the apes set up a fearful howl of rage, and began ■cending the trees to dislodge us, and we were again |compelled to take our flight in order to avoid them. I [thk proposed to let them worry themselves out by encouraging them into the belief that they could, catch us; I therefore sailed some distance off and alighted on the ground, at the same time giving a sharp yell to attract their attention. No sooner did they see me than they all came running at the top of their speed • before86
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they arrived I "again arose in; the air and sailed over their heads, out of the reach of their long arms. I alighted as before, and again they came toward me. This time I sailed off very near the ground, but moved just fast enough to avoid being overtaken, and they rani for-miles, until one by one they became exhausted and! . fell to the groundI then returned to Esman and Elwer. ’
The apes finally seemed to give up all hope of capturing ' us and continued their journey inland. We followed at a distance and observed them, each selecting a large i "club from the forest through which they were passings thinking this appeared Strange, we continued to follow to see their object in thus arming themselves. We soon! learned the cause p they were preparing for battle with! another tribe whom they met that evening. Before we thad tiine to take more than a hasty glance at the others | all were in a fearful struggle to the death; about equal| | in number they fought with great bravery. After num-1 bers were slain on both sides, our party (the one first j r seen) began to gain ground, and soon routed the others; 1 thereupon all the females and their small children imme-J diately left their side, and joined the victorious party,! Obt so much as bidding their conquered husbands, fathers and brothers, good-bye. The conqured party hurried to j a small river and bathed themselves, and taking their captives, returned to their part of the forest, leaving their dead and wounded unburied.
r Esman remarked, as we continued our journey, “There, is another stage of development through which the highest state of civilization is attained.”
i' We continued our flight inland and on the eighth day observed signs of man; here and there large unoccupiedI 'log houses were standing. We shortly afterwards alighted | in.a well-cultivated valley containing some three hundred .thousand acres of land ; most of this land was sown in grain somewhat resembling barley. We as yet had seen no inhabitant of the country, but just at sundown we came in sight of a large city, and arrived at the outskirts shortly afterward, where we remained until mornWILLM0TH THE WANDERER.
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Ing, unobserved by anyone. /We then sailed out over the city, and found it to be composed\of large poorly, ^constructed wooden buildings,, and built without^ any •regard to comfort or neatness. The people were black, 'and in height about twelve feet, very slender, with long arms. Their necks were long, their heads sn^ali, with large mouths and small eyes and ears. When we I alighted among them they, were much frightened, .but by 'degrees they learned we would not harm them, and after they became used to us they treated us kindly;v We ■soon learned.their language and could converse with .them. We found them withoutany written history and' but little knowledge of their past existence as a nation. They all cultivated the land we had seen planted in grain. The greatest fear they had was that the Golgal, or Wild-men, as they called the apes we had seen, would come and deprive them-of their crops,'as they had often done before. They had no means of repelling an attack, [hut only concealed themselves when theapes came down, upon them. We remained a few days, and then took. e our flight still farther inland, everywhere seeing ferocious; beasts, either devouring their weaker kindred/or eating? the rich herbage which grew in abundance onz all sides.
After spending four or five weeks in sailing over a’ country that exhibited little or no /civilization, we found, ourselves late one evening directly over-a large5 city. We alighted, and were greatly surp^i^e^Uat .the inhafe-itants who seemed well-informed ,in? many of the arts and sciences that were in common use-in Eathman, Our beloved home. The city was called Tlake,. or “ happiness,” and the people were called Tlakes or wall-builders.” The place was completely surrounded by a wall ■ built of .stone and over a hundred feet high, and forty feet thick; the streets were broad and clean, the houses being built of stone and very neatly finished, and three, to eight stories high. The peoplethem selves were from six to eight feet tall, and weighed about* tyyp'hundred to three hundred pounds. The ladies/were smaller than the men and very fair—altogether Ah^/.- looked, very88
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pretty; in fact the Tlakes were nearer like the peopl of this earth than any I had ever seen.
? We stayed with them some time, and found them veil superstitious regarding an immortal life, and learned that they-seldom’lived to reach one hundred years of age| that each man had but one wife, who brought forth! ten to fifteen children during the first twenty or thirty yearn after their marriage and that three-fourths of the children died before they reached maturity. Their food consisted of the flesh, of animals, and vegetables (both of which-they raised at a great expense of time and labor), and] they ate three or four times in every twenty-four hour» Elwer claimed they ate themselves into disease and deatla by being so gluttonous. Each family provided for itself, and they were extremely stingy in most things, except advice to one another, and in that they were similar ■ the people of the present day. Rich and poor existed among them as they do here. They told us of other! cities like theirs, with whom they traded and throum whom they heard of the city of Eathman and the straDge] people who live therein and never die.
. We' concluded to set out for home without exploring! ,any farther, so one morning early, before any of the! Tlakes w’ere out of bed, we arose in the air about three thousand feet, attached the progressive wheel to our| chairs, and took a direct course for Eathman, and arrived there in thirty-five days.
« .CHAPTER XV.
HOME AGAIN—AND THEN FOR DISTANT WORLDS.
To, tell you of our welcome, and Zea’s joy at our returp,'would - be impossible; suffice it to say we enter-ithjnednoui; friends for many a long day, telling’of our expljdiiisAround the planet. Every moment of my time, and that of Elwer’s^ was employed in finding out someWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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principle which, would enable us to destroy j:lie law of gravitation, for that would enable us to leave Saturn, and visit other planets. We employed over a thousand wears in testing different chemicals, and at last discovered that by distilling leaves of a certain flower which grew high up on the mountain, and mixing the juice nth a powder called oolight, and setting it on. fire, small objects that were near would immediately fly upward land disappear. We then set to work constructing a con-■eyauce that would carry us and all necessaries on a trip to Venus. This we accomplished in fifty years, and Elwer, Zea and I prepared to take one of the most won--derful trips ever known to humanity, Esman concluded not to go, but my beautiful Zea could not be persuaded to stay behind, and in truth I was well pleased to take her with me. We placed all our effects aboard our fly-ing-car—a large rubber box, or, more properly speaking, a ship of rubber. It was about three hundred and fifty feet long, by two hundred feet wide, with sails and wings so adjusted that they could be spread,; or folded up at-■rill, by applying a wonderfully constructed machine;! which manufactured air, and kept the ship in an upright position. We had supplied ourselves with a large quan-] tity of the chemical compound which enabled us to counteract the forces of attraction,, on approaching other; ■odies, and had selected a large Open plain,'with no other objects within a mile of our ship, and placed; a circle'of the chemical compound around it. We bid farewell to our friends, stepped inside of the circle, boarded our ship, and, awaiting until our friends had retired, to a safe distance, Elwer set the compound on fire, which quickly enveloped us in a dense smoke preyentiing us from see* ing anything around us for one or two hpxirb; \ When it! cleared away our ship, was slowly leaving bur old and well-beloved home, and Saturn seemed to be dropping away from us; the farther we traveled the faster we moved. Before leaving Eathman We had: arranged with some astronomers to signal us as soon as we seemed free from the centrifugal forces of Saturn^ and had ceased to90
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
act as a satellite to her. We could detennine this ourselves, but we/wished to see how our observation agree! with theirs. h. We had been sailing in space some twelvi months, when-., we /observed the signal was given; on taking observation we found that Saturn was moving il a straight line from us. I cannot describe the awful stillness, the strange feelings which came over usj out in that limitless ‘ocean of space, entirely free from all influ-; ences, seemingly standing perfectly still. Elwer calle! me^and on going to him, judge of my surprise, on seel ing him step out over the ship, and walk clear aroun] it, just as a fly would walk around an orange.
We found that an qbject, large or small, cast over the; side, of the Ship, immediately returned to it, and lay as solid'against the undersideas it would on the upped We also noticed particles of dust, and small grains of /metal, somewhat like saw- filings, adhere to the ship;! and once in passing adarge comet quite a large quantityj mfthe same material separated from the tail, and began circling aroupd us, forming several satellites to our ship.;
When leaving Eathman we calculated it would take nd forty years to breach Venus. Zea had become accustomed to traveling through space, and as she had taught herself to conform to our manner of living, she experienced no trouble in eating our kind of food, But a .great/fear came over me when I thought of her belong-; dug to aL race that* only lived a few thousand years I The dear girl was then over a thousand years old, and it made my heart sad to think that within the next few .thousand years, perhaps she, the joy of my life, would be no more.
One day we observed that our ship was being carried at a very rapid speed through space, and on taking an observation we found we were following in the path of a daige comet, which was drawing us at the rate of twenty thousand' miles an hour. As we were making straight for VenUs, we let the comet be our horse, and carry us onward, so long as we went in the right direction, i We frequently .passed stars of small magnitude, examinedWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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■hem with, our glasses, and found many of them thickly' fehabited with animal life; several had just arrived at
■	stage of civilization where man learns to distinguish ■cnself from the lower order of the animal creation, by looking food, using simple weapons, and trapping other luimals, and using their skins for clothing. ,
I One small star, or rather satellite of the planet Jupi-Ker, was covered with a rank growth of vegetation of a Brilliant red color. The water was also , red as blood, ■here were large animals, hundreds of feet long, witlr forty legs on either side of the body, and eighty to'a hundred feet high, having at each end of the body a large,head out [of which grew a forest of spangling horns/ These eurinos animals could walk in any direction without the trouble of turning around. There were also huge giants [seventy to eighty feet tall with four arms and two heads. [Everything on that planet or satellite seemed to grow Bouble. Some very small animals also had two heads, Ind everything seemed to live on the vegetation, for we saw no signs of flesh eating, or carnivorous animals. ,;
I It had now been several years since we left Saturn, [and we still continued to follow in the comet’s path. |We discovered that the comet began to diverge from its course, and carry us from our path to Venus, so we found Inecessary to destroy its influence on our ship ; this we did by burning at the front end of our ship a small quantity of our compound. As we had checked our course, we mow awaited anxiously to see which of the planets would attract us toward them.. We soon found the sun to be the centre around which we were inclined to revolve. At each revolution we approached’ nearer and nearer that orb, until we were in the track of Venus ; we then again came to a stand-still, and soon foupd Venus was drawing us toward her at a very rapid rate, and wb had
■	check the attraction. It required constant, attention upon our part to prevent our ship from coming in too sudden collision with Venus, until we. were safely landed on th§ bosom of one of its. broad oce,ans: which we after-'92
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wards learned was tlie great sea Baymoe, which cover» about three fifths of the planet.
There was no land in sight, so steering clue east we sailed for three weeks, and landed on a beautiful island. Every foot of ground was covered with a soft, silky! green grass; beautiful flowers of every hue grew far out -over the waters. Millions of bright red fish, from sia inches to two feet long, darted beneath their blossoms, and we all enjoyed a release from our long confinement]
While we sat contemplating the lovely scenes, far out at sea we saw what appeared to be an army of med walking over the water with apparent ease, just as we| walk over the ground. As they drew near we found we had not been mistaken f there were five or six hundrel of them, about two thirds of them being females. They; were a very beautiful and well-dressed people. The men were about five feet ten inches tall, well-built and would weigh about one hundred and seventy to one hundred! and ninety pounds. They were all dressed in the most simple and becoming style ; the material of the clothed seemed much like our finest silk. Intelligence and kind! ness shone in their faces, their large brown eyes told you at once that no thought of evil ever entered their| minds to disturb the sweet tranquil happiness which re-l posed there. If such was our opinion of the men, how am I to describe the beauty of the women ? They were] fair as lilies, had small teeth white as snow, well-formed.] and full rounded figures, head well poised on the should ders, and soft silky hair, long and wavy. Each wore a. beautiful fillet of gold, which confined the lovely hair to its proper place, and with dresses close fitting their well-made forms, they were altogether the picture® health, grace and loveliness.
As they drew near the island they seemed astonished to see our large ship, but on beholding us they camel forward, extended the hand and spoke a few words! fy^hich signifled our welcome. Elwer became spokesman] and through the sign language we soon learned their, way of living. We remained on the island some days.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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and during the time we learned their language, habits Lf life, and way of passing the < time. That you may the better be able to comprehend the character of these people, I will give you their hi&tpry as told to us by thana, one of the most wise and beautiful ladies;
CHAPTER XVI.
HISTORY OF THE WATER-QUEENS.
I “ We are known,” she said, “ as the Water-queens, because of our habits and powers of living in the water. Far back in the dim ages of the past, some/of our peo-| pie toiled and worked from day to day, striving to build I up large cities in which to dwell; others pl anted grain; kill others possessed themselves of large nerds of cattle, ■and yet others devoted themselves to teaching the more [credulous classes of some power which they called God, or ‘the mighty one.’ The male classes, or man, at that (time ruled everything, and womens were considered so far inferior to them that they were not permitted to have ■ voice in anything. One nation seemed to be ever at war with some other; most heavy burdens were placed I’Upon the ignorant classes. Kings, or rather tyrant after tyrant arose and fell, and*rivers of blood were made to flow over some silly difference of opinion about their [different gods. In one battled bet ween\our nation and another long since exterminated,- we /claimed that God dwelled in the sea of Baymoe, and they, that he dwelled! on an island, called Ire, (which, by the way, sank a thousand feet beneath the water while the war was go? .ing on.) There were slain in that war over nine hundred and sixty-five thousand seven hundred Jand; tyvfcntiy-nine, while the other side (yvhi$|i wasdpfeatedYloSt twice that number. A few daysjafter tl/e war ended, 'a stranger, who pretended to be a messenger direct from God, informed us that God did not: reside ht ^itheir place;94
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on the contrary, he made his home on the top of a certain mpuntain. This brought on another dispute, and ■ soon our own people were at war among themselves! those in favor of the sea against those who believed in, the mountain theory. Finally, men in our nation be-came scarce, and the women met and made a vow that war should cease. 'Officers from among themselves were 'chosen, and their husbands were. compelled to yield up] the reigns of government.
4 “ Those believing their God dwelled in the mountain, were sent there to dwell with him, never to return again, on pain -of death; those who thought he lived in the sea] were put upon rafts—for at that time they could not! walk1 on the water—and were sent to a distant island! there to remain and enjoy his company.
“A meeting was held in the council chamber once every thirty days, and resolutions passed to suit the con-i dition of things. 1 The first meeting declared it foolish I to have so much useless toil going on, and to do away with it they ordered that no person should eat the flesh! «of any animal, hut their diet should be fruits and vege-1 tables ;only of course that put an end to stock-raising. tSoon afterwards the Ihw was passed preventing the! .building, of houses, as it was far healthier to live in the! open air. .After that it was discovered that fruit alone, without vegetables, was more healthy.
F “ A fe w thousand years passed, and our nation discovered, their condition in life had materially changed. It was] &13o discovered that those who kept near the sea and I frequently bathed in its waters differed widely from those* who spent their'lives farther inland, and they very natu-j rally became separated from the inlanders; as the ladies still governed, our race was called Water-queens, while the others were called Inlanders. Children born of the Water-queens were usually raised and nursed in the water.. Some of our ancestors long ages ago discovered a small igrass, haying a thin, broad leaf, that grows only at the bottonij of1 the sea, and the leaves of this grass gradually became our only food; it gives us life, health and strength,WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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but makes our bodies lighter than water, sq that we can walk on the water a» well or better than ,oil the land. If our bodies are lighter than water, you will no doubt-wonder how we obtain this food. ■ We have trained fish that will come at our call, and they supply, us with as much of the leaf as we desire. - Owing to the food we [eat, and our habits of life, we, have ceased to grow old or die. Ladies rule, and have everything their own way, ■ven a plurality of husbands. , J have over three hun« dred myself and will undoubtedly have many more. , ■ “One strange thing is that births are far less frequent than of old. Whether the cause is fromeating the sea leaf, I cannot say. The climate never changes, hence we need no shelter. The cloth from which our clothing |b made, is woven by the weaver-fish, of which there are nuite a number of different kinds;' it is absolutely waterproof, and lasts , for agdsk We are happy because we ■are free from the mad and. blind superstition of our ancestors, and have arisen above the petty ambitions of fame, living without toil, strife or" envy. Amid our circle you will not find male or female dissatisfied with their lot in life. We are neither slaves to wealth, pas-sion, or lust. Although I have three hundred husbands [yet love’s pleasures are the least of my thoughts or desires.”
E Onana had finished the history of the Water-queens. On giving a detailed account of our lives they all seemed to pity us, and begged us -to make our home, with them! It was hard to make them understand, that: they whiv once start out in pursuit of knowledge shall keep forever on and on, till time shall be no more.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHICO, AND THE LOST CITY OF HIN.
Several days after hearing thefhistor^of the Water-queens, Elwer proposed to leave our ship Qh ihe sea of96
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
Baymoe, in charge of Onana, and take our flying-chairs to explore Venus, and see if we could not signal to our friends in Eathman that all was well. Of course thel proposition was quickly agreed to, and we began making preparation for the journey. After providing instrnl ments for taking careful observations, we seated ourselves in our flyingichairs and soon left the happy and coni tented Water-queens far behind, and that night alighted, on' the top of a high mountain. We found no vegetal tion, and called it the. Mount of Desolation. Far down; its steep and rugged side could be seen hugh pieces of I broken and black rock, while off to our left yawned a dark, gloomy chasm, whose depth could not be measured. * It seemed as though nature, in *a moment of anger, had smitten the fair face of Venus, and left a scar as a| monuinent to her rage. As the sun sank beyond the sea i of Baymoe, and the stars appeared one by one, we soon discovered Our own bright world of Saturn, outshining ,all. other Stars ; for a moment I would have foregone alb ambition to see new sights, if again I were but able to walk the beautiful streets of Eathman, or sit with Alfea and listen to his words of wisdom. Even the wild afjes seemed more near and. dear because of their being creatures of a world that was the home of my boyhood, j
Being fatigued. we were soon soothed to sleep by the. gentle %epher from across the sea of Baymoe. When morning dawned^we began a careful exploration of that glbcality, and found this mouthin to be a part of another that had been rent asunder by some mighty convulsion of Venus. We descended the side for miles, but everything seemed dead and desolate, except that here and there a huigh leather-winged bat sailed out from a cave in the rocks to examine us more closely. These bats were of peculiar shape; their wings extended fully seventy-five feet, and the heiad reminded me of a common mastiff’s head, only this had the antlers of an elk, except that the centre horn Was red and gave forth a brilliant light. They seemed penectly harmless.
' We next explored the dark chasm, descending its perWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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pendicular sides for eight miles, and came to a broad open valley through which a stream .of pure water flowed. Upon the banks of this Stream, which was spanned by hundreds of bridges, stood a large city actually built of gold, dug from the heart of the mountain and dressed. The houses were from twelve to twenty stories high, and most beautifully carved and ornamented on the outside. Broad streets and beautiful parks wherein roamed a thou-sand strange looking animals, and field after field of waving grain, showed the inhabitants to^be industrious,, wealthy, and refined. Thousands of stately columns carved pom red, white and blue marble, stood in long lines sup-[ porting vast arches on which great palaces reared their lofty: forms. Images of great beasts of various species, carved in different kinds of stone, so perfect‘that they seemed animated with life, met the eye front' every direction. j In sailing along the streets, we met or saw no human [being, yet observed through the open window the same evidence of taste and refinement inside the dwellings as on the outside, Signs of comfort and culture appeared t in confusion everywhere. Passing through street after [street, and gazing through window after window we saw. in some rooms great rows of costly bound-books and? [tables covered with papers. In one large room was evidence of a trial having recently been in progress '; a judge’s seat, chairs near tables, seats for twelve jurors^ and a dock to hold the prisoner. I entered this, room' and picked up some of the papers, which to my surprise were written in the Eathman language, apd read as fol-lows:
judge’s instructions to the JUIM
I “Gentlemen, the prisoner at the bar being charged with the crime of teaching false doctrine, and using the public streets of the city' of Hin wherein to teach said false doctrine, and whereas you have, heard both the [accuser and the accused, it is your duty to determine: L “First. Was the said doctrine false?
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Second. If false, was it taught on the public streets of Hin ?
x “The prisoner, relying on the doctrine he taught being true, and admitting he did assert himself to that' effect upon the streets of said city of Hin; the words he uttered being as follows: ‘ 01 ye citizens of mighty and prosperous Hin, harken unto me, for of a truth I say’ hnto you, that the great world Venus upon which this mighty.city of Hin is built, shall not turn her face froinj .the sun twelve,times before this mighty city, yea! even this city of Hin, with all its wealth of gold and marble, and all 'things therein, shall be a thousand feet below the great sea of Baymoe; I,the old philosopher Chico, have spoken; take warning! ’
“The prisoner, to demonstrate the laws upon which he ventures- the above assertion, proves this valley over a thousand feet below the sea of Baymoe, and that the natural barriers hitherto protecting us from the waters -of the sea\are being worn rapidly away by the action of the Waves. 'In. conclusion I would say the eminent prisoner, . Chico, has given his whole life to the interest of the city of Hin; therefore deal as kindly and considerately with him as your duties may-allow.
“Zeester,
“Judge of the court of Hin.” 1
To this was appended the jury’s verdict:
«7° We,$he jury impaneled and sworn in the case of the qity of Hin «».'• Chico, the philosopher, do herein find the prisoner .not guilty, and further recommend that his advice be taken^h^ that everyone abandon the city and ascendthemountains to avoid the wafers which at any time may overflow the valley.”
We had>(at Hast found the reason why the city was deserted. , Alas I alas! if Chico was right how soon was tHe. toil of years, yea thousands of years, to be swept into everlasting oblivion. Even as we spoke our atten-WILhMOTH THE WANDERER.
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tion was called to the uneasy actions of the animals confined in the park. In a few minutes a large bull (destroyed his enclosure and dashed up the deserted streets, followed by a great herd of other animals, .and' 'water began to fill the low places. We sailed to the top of the highest dome, and from our lofty position,looked down on a sight appalling to behold. The roaring of 'the waters, mingled with the crashing of timbers, as the angry waves swept down the narrow gorge, made every--Ithing tremble, huge sea animals; drawn into the vortex of rushing waters came down upon the ill-fated city of Bin, like an army of giants storming a city of -dwarfs. [Higher, and still higher, rose the floods, until but few roofs and towers were visible above the surface*; then several more, waves, larger th sin be for$. cande sweeping onward with terrific force, and the people of Hin if®till alive, were left to mourn the loss of their grand old city. I We were compelled to abandon our seat, the festrem-nant left above the waste of waters. How easy the sea? of Baymoe could forever hide' thousands pf years of [ man’s unceasing, and careful tpiVki Yea! the mighty I results of his proud ambition, be forever hid beneath the chilly waves of this waste of waters I Upward and still upward rose the waters, until they lay as if at res|| while their ripples gently kissed the mountain side, two thousand feet above the valley and the words of Chico had been fulfilled! The proud habitation of man had, | become the abode of water lizards, and other monsters of the mighty deep. But what of the inhabitants who had fled to the mountains for protectiori ? Had they escaped the mighty rush of waters,'oy werethey•■Uver-■ taken and submerged beneath the waves? These ques-• tions we concluded to answer by a close inspection of the new-made sea shore; but all our searching proved in vain, and we were compelled to Ibelievp that the builders were like their city,, in the everlasting embrace ofBaymoe’s waters.	y	j»'	««1100
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE SKYWRITER.
We returned to Mount Desolation, and soon constructed a platform upon which to place an engine, which was invented by Esman before we left Eathman, and which , we had brought with us. The name of it was Delineator, or Skywriter. I shall not attempt to describe its wonderful mechanism, but it was so arranged that when heavily charged with electricity, and properly focused, it would throw a brilliant red, narrow line,;across the sky, and by moving a small pen-. like lever, an expert could easily write anything he chose in letters of fire across the face of the sky, each letter being hundreds of miles long; after a few hours’] practice Zea became quite* proficient in its use. When, night came, Elwer and I took observations while Zea worked the skywriter, and soon there appeared across the sky of Venus, these words:
“All hail to Eathman I the city of Saturn, whose people have bridged eternal space, and walk the shores of Baymoe the mighty ocean of Venus.
“ Elwer,
“ Willmoth,
“ Zea.”
This Writing^was repeated several times; presently through my large-glass I,could see what seemed to be star after star shoot out and stand above the planet Saturn. They fbrtaed niost brilliant letters, and could be read with the naked eye ; we read with ease: J
; “Welcome ! thriGe welcome! 0 mighty message from ,WILLMOTH THE WANDERER. ,	101
the distant planet Venus! Science lias at last bound all worlds as one.
“ Esman, “ Eloe, “Artwen.”
J Several other communications were transcribed on the sky, and questions asked and answered concerning four journey, our present condition, as well as loving ' messages from friends. Elwer pronounced the experi-i ment a complete success, and during Our-stay on Venus t we continued to hold frequent and pleasantcommunica-tions with our friends in Saturn. The, next. day we
I started south, and again crossed the. Valley, now filled [with water, within whose cold1 and silent, depth shall [sleep forever the proud city and its busy builders. As we passed above their last resting-place I »thought of; Alfea, the high priest of the Ground-dwellers, and I quoted his words:
I “Yea, of a truth, can it matter, when once it is gone [whether it be but one year or a thousandjonce gone, for-i ever gone, a million years; once spent,.is but a thought at I best, it blends with the ocean' of time and hides itself k forever in the tomb of oblivion.”
I Onward we sped, leaving far belli rtcl us the-waters of . Baymoe. After traveling for several days we observed a large forest below us, whose lofty treetops seemed
| anxious to kiss the sky above then). We alighted, and found the ground beautifully carpeted with a soft green grass, and most of the trees loaded with rich brown nuts ' of different kinds. Walking through this shady forest, j we were startled to see great ill-shapened faces, half human and half ape, gazing down upon us with horrid grins. There seemed to be hundreds of these horrid creatures, hanging head downwards from the trees above.
[ Upon closer inspection they proved to be a race of tailed | men. Their heads were ten times larger than the head | of ordinary men of to-day, low forehead, flat nose, I small wicked, fiendish looking eyes, the shoulder pot102
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
less then twelve feet broad, from which two monstrous arms hot less than twenty-five feet in length, extended. Below the shoulders, the body tapered out into a long! prehensile tail. They had no legs or feet, but the length i of thez body and tail below the shoulders was not less] than fifty feet. They were almost naked, except smalM patches of hair-like bristles grew out on the shoulders and hea’d; as to neck they had none, the shoulder bladed ^coming out in such a way as to hide a part of the head. For some time they hung watching us; then with loud] yells, like the fiendish laugh of a maniac, they began] swinging their bodies to rind fro. Throwing their long arms forward they Would grasp the limbs of a tree, and quick as thought their long tails would fly far out aBead of ;them and coil itself* 'around a limb; then letting go ..with their hands, swinging downward and forward, 'they would grasp another limb an hundred feet beyond. These movements were so rapid they could easily travel dive or six hundred.in ties a day. Their present object J'soon -.became apparent; they had descended hanging to ;thh lower limbs, their long arms extended toward us. We saw that if we escaped at all we must act quickly. dBlwer, ever cool in the hoiir of danger, heavily charged /but	with electricity, and coolly tossed a copped
ball, (which wad* connected by a wire to the battery), to ond of the largest of tihese creatures. The monster held iit in his hands andgazed at it with a look of contempt, as if j to say,You cannot fool me with such traps as this/’ and as Flwer pressed the spring of the engine,the creature gave one horrid yell of mortal agony and dropped to the ground writhing in convulsions of pain. During the confusion which followed we made good our ‘Escape, by ascending through the trees; they quickly ’followed,/ eVen to the tops of the very highest trees, /where they stood on thejend of their tails, yelling and ^iakifcg , their hands at us in great rage. We sailed on over the forest, which was thickly populated with these strange creatures, but gave them no more opportunities to get us in their power., We could not converse withWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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them but found they lived on nuts and birds or,any thing they could catch or find? Their natural position of rest was to hang as we first saw them, head downward with their long arms folded over their chest. The forest was their natural home, and they inhabited it to the exclusion of all other animals.
CHAPTER XIX.
CAMMO AND THE TAKERS.
I After leaving the forest and all its loathsome.inhabitants, we crossed a dreary waste of sand, seemingly the bed of some great ocean, of long ago. . Here and there could be seen the whitened skeleton of some hugh ocean animal which had been stranded in its? efforts to fine! deeper water, leaving its bones to mark the spot which, had once been its home. We must have traveled samp two thousand miles before we saw signs of vegetable, or animal life. Then crossing a small river we alighted In a grove of beautiful green trees, “which grew close? upon its banks. We had not been there long befqre we saw several men, each about six feet tall, approaching us. They had fair skin, blue eyes and light hair,and were altogether rathen prepossessing; if itwerenotfor tMe^apk" of determination which plainly showed Itself in their feces. After several vain attempts to make us under* stand, they picked up our chairs and motioned for us to follow; we had not proceeded far beforpwe saw1.a large city of unfinished houses; very few; of them were oedu? pied, or fit to live in. Passing through, the strepts, it seemed that.for a long time they had made.;great jjrepa-rations for building. Great stone, noAV coveredwith moss, had been cut and dressed to
been started that seemed as though intended twelve Qr fifteen storips, But the builddrshadh^M^^.^^M104
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
minds, and;stopped at the first story, and had abandoned-the building-altogether.
; 4Our escort led us to a cluster of houses built of a mixture of brick, stone and wood, in which the people resided, and quite a large crowd came forward to meet us;..-others started, but for some reason, turned back. No one seemed to be employed, although many appeared to be making preparations to start some big undertaking.] The ladies were small and very pretty, but in the faces j of all could be read that lack of firm determination which is necessary to Success.
:We were treated kindly, and after some days mastered 1 their language so as to be able to hold conversation with them. They Were greatly surprised .at the account we gave of ourselves. Many of them had, (so they said), studied out just such machinery as we had used in Eathman _for millions of years, but had never completed, or finished their work on the machinery. They called! themselves Takers, or Inventors. With considerable J pride they conducted us to a vast, ungainly and unfin-1 ished building, which, was at one time intended for a machine-shop, and there pointed out to us a large conJI ^glomerate mass of old half finished inventions, of which ifihere were -many thousand, none of which were of any] value. Zea called them “ failures,” which I confess was I nearer their proper name. After we had been there several-weeks, they became animated with a desire to invent something which would outdo anything we had told them of;, andfor a while we thought perhaps theyl might accomplish something, but it all ended in talk; I will Speak of one among the hundreds who used to bore j us .with their plans,, and advise us just how to do certain
■ This pld fellow’s name was Cammo. Early and late old,Cammo would hold to the sleeve of Elwer’s coat, and suggest some improvement to our flying-chairs, or some other machinery. He would frequently tell us it was such a pity that he was not in Eathman when Esman invented the skywriter, so he might have instructedWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.	105
■	him how to attach a certain invention he had in his mind by which one could hear sounds at a great distance.
■hen old Cammo would turn to the younger fellows I standing near, and with .great dignity bemoan the fact
■	that the spirit of invention was fast dying out among I the Takers and their enterprise was not what it was when I he was young. But just what Cammo accomplished, or ■did, we could never learn. One evening while we were | making preparations to confer with our friends in Eath-Iman,old Cammo and a number of others standing near ■became very officious as usual, and wanted to conduct ■matters to suit themselves. Elwer’s patience had become I exhausted by his continual talk, and cautioned them not I to fool with or stand near the battery when in motion,
■	as it would injure them. But Cammo, more imprudent I than the others, walked up to the instrument and began
pointing out some needed improvement, and by mistake let his finger touch the battery. The shock was like a | stroke of lightning, and poor old conceited Cammo lay,. I dead at our feet. We all regretted the accident, but the I howl of rage that went up from those standing near wasl I a sufficient warning that we had put ourselves in bad, ■standing with our hosts, and taking advantage of the general confusion, we quickly arranged our machinery, seated ourselves in our chairs, and before they could realize our intention, we were soaring far above their
I heads.	’
CHAPTER XX. ,M|
SINNER.
. At sunset we alighted on a low range of mountains lying west of the village we had just left. Beyond this mountain could be seen many fields of ricfi,^ gdlden grain and near the base of the mountairi arose several large castles, each surrounded by a high stone wall. Ws106
WILLMOTH ,THE WANDERER.
spentthe night on the mountain, and the next morning sailed out over the valley; the laborers were harvesting^ -the grain, and we descended among them, greatly to their astonishment. The workmen were small, well] built men, hot over five, feet high, though heavy set, an® would weigh from one hundred and thirty to one hun] dred and fifty pounds each, and were of fair complexion. All were clothed in a'coarse long shirt and cap of the same material. Each carried in his hand a long curvea reaping-hook; presently out from the castle came three ,large well-formed black men, about ten feet high, dressei in blue* linen, almost like silk. As they approached, the expression of their faces gave us great confidence in .them, and we found,them a kind, benevolent, well-educated people, not at all like those we had just left mourn] . ing the fate of Cammo. When within a few yards they;
stopped and bowed to us with great politeness, and spoke > inan unknown tongue.; seeing we could not understand *e£ch otherthey called several of the field hands, and made signs offering, to have our chairs conveyed to the castle, -and invited us to accompany them. We accepted their invitation, but they walked too rapidly, so we chose to Hide, in our chairs. They watched our flight through ■ the air with great pleasure, and we moved slowly so they fiihld keep up with us.
khrQn arriving at the gate of the castle some small fairfaced men' .threw, i^ftopen and we passed in. Within could be seen every evidence of wealth and refinement; easy-chairs sat here and there throughout the grounds and towering far above, were stately shade-trees of every variety 1 flowers of the sweetest fragrance and most beautiful hues , bordered the well laid out walks, and fountains of water kept everything cool and pleasant 1
Severat ladies, black as jet and from six to eight feet tall; came .forward to-iineet us, while behind them came their' maids. These ytere white and fair as lilies, but were.smallylike the white men we saw in the fields. Our host; ^pndpcted us to a suit of rooms in the north wing of the castle, and left us to ourselves for a shortWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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■me. Presently he returned with a large black man, Mose high well-developed forehead iand'kind benevo-f ■nt eyes convinced us of a well-trained and experienced hind, which animated the man, who stood, before iisr Be greeted us kindly in his own language, then spoke Several other tongues, and to our great surprise addressed B at last in the Eathmanite language.-?r When? we fcplied, he asked us if we came from thecity of Hin-I We gave him a short history of ourselves, and closed
■	telling him of the sad fate of that great city, and the Bast of its unfortunate dwellers therein. ?
| “My name,” said he, “is Sinner, which means ■seeker after truth.’ I have traveled over all of the jplanet Venus, visiting all the great cities therein, and mastering their languages.” .
I As soon as it became known that we were there, and (that Sinner could speak our language, people flocked |from far and near to meet us, and learn more of our I wonderful trip from Saturn.
■	Sinner was a giant of over fourteen feet in height and ■ould weigh at least a thousand pounds; his skin was. glossy black and smooth as polished marble; his muscles firm and hard as granite, and among all his people [none could compare with him in strength or speed. One
, evening he came to our room to fulfill his promise to [give us a short history of his race, and of his travels. Baking his seat before a large window he began his story thus:
I “Ourpeople are known as Ophars, no doubt, meaning ‘mountain giants,’ after the name of the mountain range you have just passed over. Our life span is just six hundred years, and there has never been a single |death under that age, and no Ophar exceeds it by a single day—an exception to the rule of life and death in all other nations. ■ Unknown to our people I have made it a special study to* dissect several dead bodies. I find in the stomach two separate receiving vaults or food cells; the first retains a short time the food feken in at the mouth ? and passes pnly a small108
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
quantity to the other cell, of the most pure and life-sJ tain ing ; it then throws off the remainder through]I . proper channels, thereby making it impossible for im J rities to gain access to" the blood vessels and be carriS through the system, to breed disease and premafl death. ; Our race holds as slaves many thousands of thesi little white dwarfs you see in the fields; but their bond age is purely voluntary. Once, long ages ago, they wen a mighty nation, and an industrious and hard-workil people; but a race of savages much larger and strong frequently made war upon them and took all they hal carrying many of them into captivity. Our nation oftei subdued .these savages, and compelled them to restart the stolen property and set at liberty their captives,» ere long a fresh assault would be committed, and out little dwarfs would suffer as before.	I
“At last their principal men offered us their count!] and to serve us on condition that we would afford them permanent protection from their marauding foes. We accepted their offer more in pity for them than benefitU us.	I
“We made a descent upon the savages and drove them westward, settling their country with our own people, thus raising up a perpetual barrier between our little dwarfs and their savage enemies.
“ We have always left our little friends to themselves] to rule their own country to suit their way of life, and > they send volunteers each year to serve as our body-servants and field-hands. By degrees they have assumed alb control of our agricultural pursuits, and all our lighter! manual labor; in their yearly legislation they makl arrangements to have all our wants provided for. Many I of these little fellows die between the age of thirty and seventy, and not one in fifty thousand reach the age of one hundred years. They are often sick, caused mostlyl by indigestion*, overloading the stomach with improper food ; in fact these little dwarfs actually eat themselves into the grave. Small as they are, one will eat more in one day than, six of us. large giants eat ip six days. TheWILLMOTH THE WJdfDE&Eft.
109
krangest part of their history is yet to crime£ they all relieve in a certain invisible being called God. That is they think there is such a being, and they! think Hint
■	powerful, and that he rules all worlds; "that he has (existed forever, and that they themselves'have what they Lil a spirit, or soul which leaves the body when it dies, Ld goes to a locality they call heaven, and that it will Le this God, and dwell with Him, forever and never ■ease to exist; that all will.be one eternal day of per-roetual enjoyment. The most, amusing' part of their: ■eligion, or superstition, is the conditions they claim their God has laid down for them to fulfill, before death comes; or in place of eternal .happiness they must [endure everlasting pain and sorrow. They have one day
■	every seven set apart to worship their God, and on* that day, called: God’s day,’ they gather together in their «lurch, and one reads from a book, called ‘ God’s book, lor the book of life, and law of God.’
■“This book is really a conglomerate collection of i I half-formed ideas, written at different periods, by some^ of their ancestry who were slowly arising from a savage' to a semi-civilized condition. The front of the book1 ■retends to describe this God as making, creating and populating this planet; then the imagination of they irriter creates a devil, or enemy of this God, who somehow gets the advantage and rules the planed A gjbat. part of the book is filled with dire threats of vengeance against those who serve this devil in place of the God ; but from the reports writtten in the book, it seems the [ancestry of this pigmy race preferred the devil, for their God at last got mad and sent floods of water which drowned all, except a few who were saved in a kind of Iboat, called an ark. But it seems that this did no good, for the descendents of those saved were worse than .bose drowned. These little fellows are much given to Kng and stealing from one another, arid we have to latch them ourselves or they will steal from us. They rill also commit every kind of meanness, during the reek, and on the seventh day gather in their church and110
WiLLStOTH tHE WARDEftEft.
pray for their God to forgive them, but they were never’ known to return what they had stolen, or remedy any wrong they had committed. They, will betray their best friends, ruin the reputations of their girls, then hold up their little hands and swear by all that is white or black: they have never said a wora; or done anything of the kind. One of their leaders called David schemed around] until he accomplished the death of one of his followers. He then took the fellow’s wife, who was rather pretty. Somehow of Other hewas found out and was publicly accused of the crime. This David was a great old hypocrite and when he saw he .was cornered he professed great repentance and publicly acknowledged the crime] at the same time making believe he was awful sorry. I But we noticed" he did not give up the woman, or sacriiI fice anything. In fact he still holds on to her,although! some of them ate pre tty on ad over the affair.
“But enough of these little fellows; their lives are] go short, thej.r pleasures so few, and the limit of their knowledge so small, the best we can do for them is to; let them remain in the condition they are in. Teach ^hepi , anything else, and their little minds would be tossed upon the sea of doubt, and before they could master th’e’ tyuth, they are laid away in the tomb of death.”]
Sinner spoke of a Vast expanse of sand far to the northwest of the Ophar Mountains; beyond this sand was a deep morass .covered with a thick vegetation, but! no animal life of any "kind could live within its shadow, for poisonous vapors Continually arise from the marshy ground; aiid.no living thing could breathe its atmosphere -an^! live.; Eastward .he said the country was grand; large cities, rivaling the city of Hin, in its most prosperous ,days, , dot the valleys here and there, wealth and i^ilenTOfti ih fbtihd among them everywhere, but none pf the;rapOS live to exceed three hundred years; he said the smallest and shortest lived eat the most, while the more intellectual and most refined eat the least and live the ldngpst.During our stay with the Ophars we held nightly communications with our friends in Saturn.WiLLMOTH 'THE WANDERER.	Ill
As Sinner had given us a pretty full, description of? fother localities in Venus, we concluded to start at once for this earth, making short stops on other planets. Early next morning we bid our Ophar friends adieu, rose high in the air and sailed directly for the sea of Bay-moe, where we had left our air-ship in charge of Onana. We arrived on the island on the, third day, and found everything as we had left it.' After a hearty welcome ifromthe Water-queens, we gave them a full description of our journey through Venns. Onana again begged us to make our future home with them, but we declined. After a few days’ repairing, our ship was again in readiness for another perilous journey among the stars, that man’s genius might again bridge the broad space between distant planets
CHAPTER XXI.
THE DEATH OF ZEA ON THE PLANET. SORROW.
With the assistance of the Water-queens we soon had our air ship in position to launch,into space. Encircling it with a supply of the chemical already described, of which we had a plenty, we bid our friends a kind fare-, well, and placed ourselves within,the ship, Set; fire to the drug, and when the smoke had cleared away, far below 1« could be seen the Water-queens, still?.standing on the sea of Baymoe, gazing intently upward at our' - ship which was speeding away from Venus at the rate of hundreds of miles an hour.
[ For months and years our journey did not differ much from that described on our way from Saturn t® Venus. Sometimes we would be attracted to one orb, and at other times to another; as we had it in dur power to govern the laws of attraction the course of our journey was continually toward this earth. ;
One day, as we drew near a small plapei» heretofore112	WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
unknown to science, we concluded to alight and spend a few days. After the tedious process of holding our ship on and oft to prevent tod sudden a collision, we alighted inj a beautiful green valley, where silence reigned supreme! This planet was not inore than two thousand miles ini circumference. No living thing could be discovered in. any direction except a prolific verdure that grew every! where, from the most beautiful flowers to large massive trees which waved their foliage three hundred feet in the air. We took our flying-chairs and made a tour of inspection over the mountain and into the valley beyond, but no sign of animal life could be found. We afterward learned that none existed on the whole planedI nor even in its waters, while vegetation of all kinds] seemed striving to rivel each other in their perfect development toward ^perfection. This lovely little planet we named Sorrow, because of a great loss I sub- ' tained yyhile we. remained there. My beautiful Zea, who] had long since passed the age her race usually lived,] gently closed her eyes and ended her existence, as she lay confidingly in. my arms.
* I will pass by the condition of my mind when I realized that the joy of my life was no more. For even, to . this day, though .millions of years have rolled by, I have never forgotten her sweet face or been untrue to her memory, Wehuried her in the valley, and the next night wrote the sorrowful news to our friends in Saturn., It was some time before we received any reply; then like a flash ,of lightning these words were formed on the dark sky above Saturn:
“Eathman has this day draped herself in mourning for her adopted daughter, Zea. Never before has she worn black, but deeply do. we mourn in sympathy with our befoved arid honored son, Willmoth. Remember, mind must master matter.
“ Yours in loving thought,
“ Esman,
: (“ For the entire city.”)WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.	113
Elwer then gave a description of our journey from Venus to Sorrow, and a full explanation of the conditi^ of this little planet, and signaled that we would soon continue our journey toward the earth. A few days after Zea had been gently laid beneath the flowers in the valley, we again set sail, and for years hung in space, moving here and there. One night as I sat with the glass watching the little planet Sorrow, I discovered a large comet approaching it, causing great commotion, as had frequently been the case among clusters of small planets when it came near them. This comet passed very near the planet Sorrow, in whose virgin bosom my darling Zea lay sleeping, that sleep 'which knows no waking. The influence over Sorrow was soon quite apparent; it first seemed to stop, then changed its usual course and followed in the wake of the comet; again it changed its course and darted toward the sun, and disappeared within that great luminary,, never to, reappeah as an orb, and sweet Zea’s gentle form thus received a grand and glorious burial, unequaled before dr since,
A scientific measurement with our instruments con-vinced us we were not far from the earth, and* were already under its influence; that at our present rate of traveling, which would be increased, as, we‘ neared «the the earth, we would reach it in about thirty-five years of earth’s time. These years soon passed, as many hundreds had passed since we had started on our wonderfql trip, and we alighted one evening, near sunset, on avast sandy desert in the eastern hemisphere.
CHAPTER X£II.
THE SAVAGE TARTHS—MAN’S PROGENITOR^ '
t That night we arranged our skywriter to correspond with our friends, but to our great surprise, found it would not work, owing to a peculiar condition' of the 8 ' *.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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electricity of this earth. ' Never before had I seen ElwerI unable to master any ' 'object upon which he bent his mind. But after many days of Careful study and experil menting we-came to the conclusion we would have to I make a skywriter from the minerals of this earth. After muchlaborwe did this and' informed our friends ini Saturn of. our whereabouts and condition. As our i stock of provisions had become almost exausted we made 1 arrangements to replenish it. Situated as we were in a| vast desert of sand, this could not be done, so once more we arose in the air to await the revolution of the earth on its axis. After twelve hours we alighted, this time in a broad valley, rich with vegetation. Little animals of the most, mischievous kind were running here and! there, watching from behind trees and bushes, as if tol .learn who we were and what’we were doing. Once in a while they would come but from their hiding places, year themselves upon their hind, legs, and their comical ^little half human faces would show the lively interest in what; we were doing. We had been there but a few months when we noticed them trying to imitate our walk, and attempting .to use their fore paws as we did! ourhands. f, Elwer gave these little fellows the name of ' Manikins, and took great delight in teaching them dif- j tferent, tracks.? | They somewhat resembled in size and .appearance, our common monkeys, though they sur- j passed them in intelligence.
After A preparing i and, storing a large quantity of food, enough to last us many thousands of years, we -turned; our attention to exploring the surrounding 'country; andsecuring our ship against possible dam-agb’, during our absence, we started in our flying-chairs to |learn more of, our locality. Our course lay northwest, and after several days’ travel over large forests and small bodies of water, we came near the shore of a mighty ocean,. and followed it for many days, when we discovered that the land we were on was a large island., The only animals to be seen were the little Manikins spoken of. The island was in the sea not farWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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from the present coast, of Flordia, though it has long since disappeared. We then started due north, arid upon the fifth day alighted on a small island covered with low marshy places; this seemed the home’ of a peculiar 'animal, half snake and half bird, the wings of a bird being attached to the body of a snake. This" singular creature was able to make short flights through the air, and several of them made bold to attack us, but were easily driven away with a small switch. Toward sunset., 'we again continued our flight north, for we did not care to spend the night with such uncongenial acquaintances. Onward and'still onward we sped, over the vast waste of waters beneath whose surface lay the preseut States of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North- and South Carolina, [Arkansas, Kansas, Missour^—infact all of the/Southeriu Western, and Middle States; for at that time the Rocky |Mountains had not been up-heaved, and the .earth’s sur-f I face differed widely from what it is to day. . As our? flight each day carried us further north, the islands became more numerous. Alter, traveling over two thousand miles we alighted on a large island several hundred mild^in circumference; g
I Our first night was spent near the sea shore. The [following day was passed in comparative idleness, feut^ toward evening we saw a sight wonderful to. behold.' Reclining in our chairs, which we bad fastened in the top' of a large tree, we observed some fifty or sixty large, fiend1' isli looking animals, with faces half human, walking in an upright position; they were covered with coarse, dirty, yellow looking hair, that on the head and heck being much longer and coarser than on the rest of the body. They varied in size from fifteen to twenty feet,| the males being much larger than the ferpales/with tyrp large tusks in the upper jaw, hanging down over the lower lip and chin fully eighteen inches. Their |png arms reached to their knees ; the expressib'n jof; their; feces, large flat noses, small wicked eyes, and low retreatingforeheads was the most diabolical pf any thing it has been the lot of man to look upon. As soon as they116
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reached the water they all plunged in, some swimming! far out to sea and all enjoying their bath in the highest] degree.
As they were in the midst of their pleasure, a dull! roar which seemed to shake the earth, was heard M back in the forest, and the sharp snapping of limbs and] twigs soon gave proof that some monstrous animal was] drawing near. Presently out from the forest rushed a huge form shaped like those in the water, except it was! much larger, being nearly thirty feet in height, with tusks three feet long. The monster stood in silence fori one brief moment as if to take in the situation, then with another terrific roar, which made the very waves] of the sea draw back in fear, he rushed like a thunder! bolt through the waters, «where stood in groups the] Smaller creatures paralyzed with fear. As he approached! them they sought safety in flight, but one young male! who failed to elude the monster fell a victim to his rage! The powerful brute grasped him in his mighty arms] and with one terrific jerk tore him limb from limb, and hurled the bleeding carcass far out inhhe water. By] this time the rest had gathered on th’J shore, and the males had armed themselves with large clubs, ready to give their, giant adversary battle as soon as he should make his advent from the water. The females had all taken refuge among the trees. The armed host had not long to wait before the enemy was upon them. Seizing one by the legs he beat the* others to the ground as fast as he came within their reach, and in less than twenty minutes, fifteen or twenty lay dead upon the ground, and the rest were fleeing for their lives through the forest] After all had fled far beyond the reach of the giant, lie gathered up the carcasses of the slain and cast them into the;sea, where the tide ,soon bore them beyond ®ur sight.]
He then removed all signs of the recent conflict and again betook himself to the water and cleansed his body thoroughly; then taking his seat upon the shore he gave forth yell after yell as if in joy over his victory. Presently his voice changed to a low humming sound as ifWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.	117
Kinging a song; we could now and then almost catch .some of the words. As the song continued the tone grew louder and somewhat musical; this, continued for [some time, when out from the forest came all the females who before had fled at his approach. When they drew Inear he ceased singing, arose and'held out his arms, gibbering and calling as if coaxing them ppt to fear.
■	As soon as they came near he embraced many of them, [rubbing his nose and forehead against their'breasts, and" [finally selecting one young female more attractive than the rest, he sat down upon the sand, taking her upon his ■nee and fondling her for some time and she seething 'all the time to enjoy the caresses of love.5 The rest lay around him sporting themselves in happy gl€*e, having already forgotten their former lords and masters and [anxiously awaiting the opportunity to play the wanton [with their murderer.
■	Elwer, who had sat in silence for some time,1 spoWj [thus: “Behold yon mass of filth and flesh belOwlus^ [and yet these are the progenitors of the coming man. [Through these lustful and filthy beasts must pass, the future being called man; while he may undergo many
. physical changes, yet will he carry with him to the very ’highest stages of his development, mapy iyea very riiariy'. of this animal’s qualities, and among them all, the worst will be his filthy lusts, which ' will bind som&ihbf; the, Brightest intellects with bands whic-n^will hqyd^ ^e broken to yon filthy brute now sporting on the sands with his filthier companions.’’ {
How well the prophecy of Elwer■'Jr^^^e.^nVfulfilld^' I leave the reader to judge for himself;^ Heretofore we. had been talking in a low tonej and the monster below had not discovered us; but, but as we were ijaclinbdtb see what effect our presence would have upon them, we hallooed several times as loud as we pouldi^;}Imlpb* lately they all sprang to their feet, the females huddling together, and the giant stepped before them, beating; his breast and roaring in his rage. Again we yelled at the top of our voices. This time he fairly danced with mad118
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passion, gesticulating and calling in some gibberish Ian-' guage wecoiild not understand, but seeming all the time tojchallenge his unseen foes, as he supposed us to be, to mortal combat. Soon the young female with whom he ^had Been sporting spied us and pointed us out to her, new master,/ At first he seemed surprised, then gave way tof an ungovernable rage and .began throwing clubs’ an$l rocks at us; but his aim was not good, so we were in no danger' whatever. In. return for his rocks wet laughed at him, which so maddened him he rushed to the tree in. which we sat and tried tp’shake us out, but it was, too large for evenhis great strength. One of the females then attempted to climb up where we were; on seeing this Elwer quickly drew from our supply chest a small quantity of the chemical compound used in launch*' ing our air ship. We.soon had a large paper band prepared and sifted the powder between its folds, applied a slow match to it, and when she was about two thirds up the tree dexterously dropped it over her head. She immediately released her hold and flew upwards above tbur heads and fanout over the sea, with wild shrieks of fear that were echoed and re-echoed by her companions ^elow. ’finally she dropped ip the water miles from shore and was seen no more.
i .In greater rage than, ever the monster flew at the tree in which we sat, and began to gnaw it down. He wouldi sinjc his great tusks into the soft green wood and ftgar large slabs from the body. We saw he would soon Bp^ompl^h object and the tree would fall; so we .^pibtly ppqlasped our chairs and moved to another tree jargpr than the first. They were all so much occupied jn/felling the.trqe they did not observe the change we ;liad made,, and when it came down with a loud crash, ;t,hey’all rushed to its top to capture us; their surprise and- anger and disappointment was truly amusing to
• We attracted their attention once more by calling to them, but they did not make any further attempt to get us, moving away in the forest in sullen silence and leavingWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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;us masters of the field. We did not follow them, but there spent the night, and next morning 'sailed out over the forest, seeing many of these human brutes ranging in size from eight to thirty feet.
[ There were also many other animals such as the earth knows not of at the present day"; all of them dreaded and feared the human brutes, or tarths, as we shall hereafter call them, which in our language, means “ physical, or brute force.” These Tarths were scattered all over the island, and as there was plenty f6r them to live on, they did not crowd each other, except whbh the female was concerned; if two parties met and there were any females, the stronger party seized and carried them away. After remaining on the island many months we gave it the name of Tarth Island.
CHAPTER XXIII.
GREAT ICEBERGS.
We continued our flight northward oyer the waste op water that seemed limitless, except by islands. . Most of them were small and uninhabitedby anythipg saye birds and reptiles.
t The climate, which had before been, so mild, noty be- , gan to grow cold. Large ice-fields could be' seen, in 'the ’distance, and in the open water npar them great whales, and other marine animals, reared theiruncouth'fbrms.
We landed upon a large island of ice several’ mile's in extent, which had two large icebergs locked in its embrace ; this ice-field had floated from the far. north,'1 and was now on its journey to destruction. We observed many dead bodies of strange animals frozen in the ice, though some were familiar to u^b^hat.^uz^led us at first was that most of them appeared to belbng to a warmer zone. There lay the large mastodohs', compared120
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with which the elephants of to-day are as a new horn calf.
We measured one of these beasts and found him to be ninety feet long from the end of the tail to the outer point of the trunk. When standing he must have been hot less than sixty feet"tall. We also saw the great woolly ox, nearly as large as the mastodon, and the bodies of the giant Tarths in all their hideousness. Elwer soon reasoned out the manner in which these dead bodies came to be in the ice-floe. Somewhere to the east arid south of us, he said, there was no doubt a vast continent, portions of which are covered with a rank growth of vegetation, otherwise these large animals cotild not find .subsistence. Undoubtedly many of its rivers flow northward and during the wet season they overflow, flooding all the low lands; these animals have; been overtaken^in the rush of waters and carried by the strong current of the rivers far north and their bodies became embedded in the ice. It first forms around them as sheet ice; then by the. winds and waves they are driven far north, the continued formation of ice. forming large bergs, and in these icebergs their bodies may lay flor thousands of years preserved from decay. Finally large portions of the ice are started southward by the winds; jpytime the icebergs melt, and the dead bodies wph decay. and their bones are strewn over the bed of the ocean,, io flbeCome imbedded in the rocks now forming, and future generations, thousands and thousands of ‘years hence, will wonder at their presence.
j'/We' difidn^t remain on the ice-fields long; on deriving, bur course lay east by south. Several days ^a^sed before we again ^alighted. This time, near the flributh of a, great river which poured its waters into the ^ea. Here we passed the night, and in the morning, after carefril investigation, found we had landed on a ’|arge .Continent. \ Several years were devoted to explor-ing its interior. We found vast herds of all kinds of animals. Among them, the gigantic mastodon, the woolly bx, the caybbeer, and many others that roamed the forWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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ests at will. Even at that early age and in the undeveloped condition of the human form the Tarths were masters of the forests and even the yAastodon dreaded his approach, and fled at the sound of his voice. But there was one monster that neither feared the Tarths or Jany other animal then living ; 'it was a huge sea animal from which descended the octopus or devil-fish of the present age. It had twenty-eight long arms, each of which it could extend three hundred and fifty. to four hundred feet. Its ill-shaped body, floating on. the water Booked like an island of a several acres-j it had but one I eye, and that on the back, and this hideous being had the power of drawing the eye down, or extending-Jit'up-ward several feet. It never .left the sea, but sought its food along the shore. Its wicked dark green eye frequently appeared above the waves, and if an animal came near the shore its fate was forever sealed, for si-llently and swiftly from the sea would dart along black arm, and ere the poor brute knew its danger it lay helpless in the deadly coil, was drawn into the water, and swallowed ■whole, for the monster’s mouth could be expanded more than two hundred feet.
K One day while near the shore we noticed a large herd, of great bull mastodons approaohing the sea. After | playing some time they left the water and began brpws* J ing about two hundred feet from the shore; Suddenly from out of the sea protruded th atb aleful green eye of
I the ocean monarch or devil-fish ; like lightning, eight I long, snake-like arms glided from beneath the waves 1 and eight huge bull mastodons were clasped ih its hor-;, rible embrace. The least of these victims, was not less
I than sixty feet high. There was a, struggle
bulls making the very forests tremble with their bellow-1 ing, and the earth shake with their mighty struggling.
At one time I thought they would succeewifi!dragging the ocean monster on shore, but they^sopn lostthat ad* vantage. During the contest nothing -could be seen from the ocean but that fiery green eye, seemihg^t updn the | waters as a beacon of death, and those eight dark leath122
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ery arms extending out on the land. After several hours of useless struggling the mastodons, one by one, became exhausted, and finally the smallest one was drawn near the shore where many more of the shorter arms were quickly thrust forward, and he was dragged into the water. The long arm was again put forth and goon alb had met their doom. The horrid object then swam out to the deep sea, that hellish eye gleaming and ^glittering on the waves as if in fiendish joy over the 'death and destruction it had wrought. At last it sank .from sight and the octopus feasted on the mighty victims of its mightier strength.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CAPTURING AND BREEDING THE TARTHS.
When we first landed on the continent, Elwer and I had taken possession of a large cave in the mountain ,jside. We began smelting the different ores which we ?had taken from the earth, and had now made considera* bl^progress in the manufacturing of scientific instruments. We had almost completed, among other things, a new hlectro-sky writer, suited to the atmospheric condition of this earth. Our underground dwelling had been lighted with electric light, and we had machinery run by perpetual/motion, and were very comfortably fixed. The '^uard placed around our door was made of copper wire, j^vell'woven. Over it continually passed a strong current pfbelectricit^,;and Woe unto the animal that came in 'Contact' with it. Many and many is the time we returned 'after a few days’ absence and found from one to ten Tarths .and other animals, lying dead beneath the electric wire, and none ever gained an entrance to our cave. We also pad ai^q^purslah, .twenty*five feet wide* and fifty long, let into rhe stone floor near the door; this was also charged heavily with electricity, so that if by chance any animalWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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should pass the wire they could not, lift their feet from the floor if once they steppedupon it. Thus we were well protected from our .sava.ge neighbors.
For some time we had been considering the possibility, of training some of the better Tarths in the use. of weapons, so they might protect themselves and -master their enemies. One day we prepared an electric guard enclosing some fifty acres near our cave. After it had been completed we arranged the battery-so the wire might be charged at a moment’s notice.	•
Our next move was to entice a large number of Tarths into the magic circle, our object being to capture the smallest and youngest of them. For several days we did not meet with much success, but one morning we were agreeably surprised to .find a large herd led by a huge old male nearly thirty-five feet,high, had wandered through the opening into the inclosure;: and were bask-, ing themselves in the warm sun. We quickly connected! the wire at the entrancefand turned, on a light charge^ of electricity, just enough to givp them a severe^shocks when they came in contact with the wire.
Presently they started toward the yalle^ithe old male in the lead; he grasped the wire with hishands,no doubt thinking it a vine, but sprang back and gave a y ell of angry surprise. Then another did likewise, ineeting'yfith the same experience; they then started tp findrtjfie openipg through which they entered, but failed.; In this they toade the entire circle of the wire before any of them would again venture to touch it. Then the old mal$ grasped it fiercely, but we had increased'the power to such,a degree that he could not let go. Several other large males, bad also taken hold of it and were in the same fix. The younger males and females, realizing their d'anger, retreated toward the centre, and seemed , to understand that all the danger lay in the wire. As we had no use for the ferocious old males and fearing we would nevey be able again to get them in our power, and they could only prove a drawback to our intended pupils, we turned, on the full force of our battery, and they fell dead in124
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their tracks. This seemed completely to conquer the rest, and teach them to never approach the wire. In Hess than two hour» from their deaths the ants had cleaned the flesh from their bones and the skeletons lay glistening in the sunlight.
E On counting our captives we found sixty young males and two hundred females ; many of the females were in a condition soon to become mothers. After many attempts we succeeded in getting the females in a separate inclosure, and they soon became so gentle that we’could mingle with them freely and they would answer to their names, and they soon learned to repeat many simple words. One young female about twenty years of age we called Zo; she soon became so mild and gentle that we taught her the art of preparing her food by? cooking and tp keep herself neat and clean. We frequently took her in our flying-chairs to our cave, but we had to watch her very elosely to prevent her stealing and hiding our tools. After some months’ training we managed to find a young male suitable to mate with our pet Zo, and named him Zack; he was a fierce young fellow and had exhibited a wonderful amount of courage by whipping all the males that opposed his leadership. He was, also very proud. We would frequently see him Walking up and down the lake inclosed within the park, and gazing at his image in the water.
i He; was also neat and clean with his person, and we noticed that' W his, fights, (which were many), he never m^ed'his tusks, which .were very small, (not over seven .•jnchea long), but always used his club, and that .to the best advantage. He stood more erect, and could throw stones and Jolubs with much better success than any of the btpers. , Ip his mild moods he was very passive, and we succeeded at last in teaching him to do many things, even to governing his temper.
One day,, taking Zo with us, we entered the park where Zack waspromenading, after taking a bath, while we retired behind sbtne shrubbery. We left Zo standing.’ As Zack-turned heobserved her, and his eyes twinkledWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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with pleasure at the sight. We left her with him for several days, then removed her to the female department, until certain she was pregnant; then we took her to our cave where we got her interested in making different! kinds of utensils, .and stone battle-axes. We also trained her to walk more erect, th . stand firmly on her feet, and to speak more distinctly. „ We clipped her hair close to the body, only permitting it to groyr long on tHd head.
By this time we had discovered all the ill-tempered and sulky ones, and the simple ones—those who wbuld not or could not be taught—-and these we had turned: out, and by the time Zo gave birth to her child we had not over thirty females and twenty males, and about thirty young babes, about'two thirds of which.were females. Zo taught all the young girls z to cook their food before eating it, and gradually the practice spreads through all the tribe ruled by Zack. -, Zo’s child proved to be a boy>, and a fine fellow; we named him. Baro. Zo was the proudest mother you. jjever saw, and when we placed a necklace of sparkling diamonds about Baro’s heck, her joy was only equaled when we placedanotheh about her own. She was a good mother, kind and afieC$ tionate, and our attention her boy gave her the gr^a.« est pleasure. When Baro was abpnt two years old, Z^ again brought forth a son, sired by Zack we called him Palo, and he was more highly developed; than Baro, and almost hairless on the body. But I think this Was more a birthmark than a development,;for juska few months before Palo was born Zo came Unexpectedly into the bathroom where I was bathing.
By the time Palo reached the age of six years, under Zack’s leadership some twenty-five Tarths had been trained to handle the stone battle-axe with grea,t dexterity, and no commandereverruledhissoldiers with more severity. One day a largeoldmaleTartlk came out from the forest, followed by some forty others, their object being to carry off the females under Zack’s protection. Thinking this a good time to permit ZacU'to show his leadership, we urged ’jhiih to maintain his126
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rights,- hie was about thirty years old and twenty-eight! feet tall, well formed, arid by constant training his mus-* ’ cles were like iron; He was armed with a large battle. 1 axe, made and polished until it fairly glistened in the I mri. It was a present from Zo, and one of her own make; the handle "was composed of thirty broad strips 1 of mastodon hide twisted together and dried in the sun. I Its length was something over twenty-four feet, and the | whole weight wasnot Jess than three hundred and forty] pounds. The axe Was of black flint, with a broad sharp 1 ;sedge,. the back, or pole running to a point, while the I -middle was thick with a deep groove, in which the ' handle was firmly fastened. In the hands of such a brave fellow as Zack it was bound to sow the seeds of i death and .destruction among his foes. Zack’s followers were all armed in the same way, except they were plainer and unpolished.
The electric wire had long since been removed, and our.pupils had been iri the habit of coming and going at will, always returning at night to sleep in the rude .huts which we had taught them to build. They had &een living in great peace, as none of the wild Tarths < had intruded upon their territory.
E On seeing; , the enemy approaching, Zack placed all .'the children' back on a ledge of the mountain, ordering the females to stay in the rear and pass large stones to |h| . front, Where he and the largest and strongest of his .followers stood. \ On rushed the savage Tarths from the forest, led by a giant over thirty feet high, and all armed with great clubs which they swung in the air, at the same 'time m^k'mg a horrid noise. Zack waited .until the enemy were within fifty yards; then, with terrific force he hurled great rocks among them, crushing seyeral to ther ground. Still they pressed forward, and the ringing of battle-axes against clubs soon became the order of the day. • Each savage fought for himself, but Zack held his followers in a compact body, his axe flashing in the sunlight one second, and the next buried in some monster’s skull. Several times he attemptedWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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! to engage his adversary leader; but each time something : prevented. After an hour the savages were’reduced to about the same number as Zack?s party, but during all the time each party had fotight With weapons, none i engaging in a hand-to-hand fight. ’ The spvages, seeing their numbers diminished so fast by the' superior arms of our warriors, now threw down their clubs, and rushring under the upraised arms of our party, grasped them ■ Hn their mighty arms and bore then! to the ground, where their superior .strength gave them a temporary: advantage. On seeing their, "young defenders taken at such disadvantage the fem ales *took the fallen battle-axes, and led by the usually, mild Zo, sank them deep into the heads of the savages as they lay uppermost in, [the struggle. Zack, who had slain his adversary, now rushed on the giant leader of his enemies, who at that instant was trying to get Zo ip ;hisr grasp; On seeing Zack approach he turned on him with a snarl of rage, and with one terrific blow dashed Zack’s axe from his hand, but ere the club could again come down Zaek'had grasped the giant by his great tusks, and with one wrench broke them out front hip'jaws, at the same time, mangling the monster’s mouth in a horrible manner^ and before the giant could recover from; the pain, Zac^-snatched his club and dashed^out fiis brains.; Thus ended the battle. Zack then ppptpthe 'youngf boys .to finish killing the wounded enemy who lay- helpless bp the ground; this occupation gave them great delight, even the females taking part, with the single exception of Zo. Now that her friends, were safe she turned from the cruel sight with tears in hpr byeg. Not ione single .savage ^ had escaped ; all'lay dead ;pn the battlefield./ Of Zack’s party nine were slain • and three wounded. I We then instructed Zack to gather wood, and lay the bodies of his dead followers oh. it and burn them, but to let the ants and wild beasts devour .the carcasses of the enemy.. This he did, and even went sb far as to say a few words praising their bravery. \128
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CHAPTER XXV.
TRAINING AND CIVILIZATION BEGUN.
After, the Battle Zack’s desire for war seemed to take possession of him entirely, and as we were anxious to see him gather a large force about him, we gave him' fiill syvay- In a fe# days he armed ten of his bravest followers and plunged i,nto the forest with them. In ten days he returned, driving in front of him ten young male Tarths, between the ages of twelve and fourteen j years, and followed by about twenty-five females. The yOung males had to be guarded, but the females were at once parceled out among his warriors, he first selecting six of the fairest for himself.
He afterwards told us that by chance he came upon a large herd of Tarths as they were wandering near the sea shore; that as he watched them from the forest near by, thinking of the best plan to attack them, the males separated themselves from the children and females, and seated themselves near the shore. Just as he was about jtdgive the signal to rush forward, a green glaring eye arose from the water, at the same instant four large black, shining arms sprang from beneath the waves, and before theJTarths could move, had swept the whole crowd beneath the waves. •' After that it was easy to capture the young ones and their mothers, although Zack said he had to kill a few of them to teach the rest submission.
J The tribe of Zack continued to increase; children were being born every day. Zo still remained Zack’s favorite, and gave birth to a girl.’ She was truly a little beauty, And looked almost human; we named her Zell, and she grew up more gentle and kind than her mother. She was the pride of the whole tribe.
When Baro reached the'age of twenty, and Palo eightWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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een, by birth and frequent forays the tribe of Zack had* ‘reached the number of about eighteen thousand^ counting [old and young, male and female. Zack had enlarged.his territory out to the sea coast, and many a mile .each way, and had many great hunters under -.hi^. Game was' plenty, therefore none suffered for want of food. Besides^ the females had began to gather and store; away wild rice and berries, which grew in abundance in, the low swampy ground. Zack had what<might be called-a standing army of three thousand warriors, but as he. had conquered all opposition near him, he had but little fighting to do. We urged him .to turn, his attention to building more substantial houses, and in a-fewyears; Zack’s tribe began to enjoy the blessings of a good home.. [ One day some of the tribe had, been farther, norths than usual, and reported upon their reiu^iy tha'fr a large number of Tarths were hunting , on Zack’s territory, and that they greatly outnumbered'Zack’s army. For' years Zack had been training all; the. mhle>childr^ over the age of ten in the. art of7 war, as Well, as the older ones. Both Baro and Palo had arrived at that age and experience when they i-cquld successfully hpldt s Zack himself in sport.
> Baro’s tusks were about two ihqh'eslong, while Palo had none, but Palo’s nakedness was often ridiculed by the rest, and his sister Zell made him garments from tli^ skins of animals, being first softened, by a kind of simple tanning process. Thus was the first man ever clothed! k Baro. stood next to Zack in power and Palo third. .Both of the boys had taken
the younger girls, and inj one instance 'quite a dispute, had’arisen between them over a; yo^ng:"'''Zel| persuaded Palo to yield her to his brother. This he did, but not with very good grace. Each of the boys had many followers among the younger clasps.'' t Zack divided his army into three parts,’ the old warriors under himself, and the younger ones under Baro and Palo. Zack led the centre, Baro the right wing, anff Palo the left. Thus they marched to, repel their foes.130
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A few days after they started I sailed out and overtook them just as they were going into battle. The wild Tarths had gathered in vast numbers on the open plains. There were thousands upon thousands of them, out-numl bering Zack’s forces almost a hundred to one. Nothing daunted attfiefrnumbers Zack formed his old warriors il eschelon, shoulder to shoulder, and himself in the lead’ frubhed forward to the fray. Baro did likewise; but Palo and Kis'jrohhg troops made a detour to the rear, then forming his mem into line, with a reserve, marched down /upon the enemy, sweeping everything before him. Palo did. not head his men in the fight, as did his father and brother; but be Was'eyery where, guiding and directing them. No opportunity escaped his eye to take advantage of his-foes, :Once, when the battle raged at its highest, Baro became separated from his troops and was completely surrounded by the enemy. He was fighting bravely,1, but it Seemed that for every one he slew two ;W_ould arise, and it was evident that Baro must soon be Lgyercome and Slain.. Seeing his brother so hard pressed Palo dashed forward with a part of his troops, and soon, restored him, to his own followers. Zack had been J,steadily advancing toward the centre of the enemy’s ^forces, and the frail of blood and death left behind was awful to behold;!; He had lost many of his men, but for baehone lbst twenty pf his enemy had fallen. At last Zack. became,? engaged in a hand-to-hand fight with a mighty savage nearly forty feet high. In the meantime halo’s army had slain and put to flight all the foes in his part of the field, and was gallantly pressing forward to' assist his father. By a lucky, blow Zack had severely ■wounded his powerful enemy, and had beaten him to the ground ; his axe was raised to cleave the giant’s skulk, when! he received a blow from behind, upon the back of his head; but Zack’s aim was true to the mark and his weapon sank deep into the brain of his adversary,, while poor Zack fell insensible on the body of his enemy. Palo reached the spot in time to cleave the skull of the one who dealt the fatal blow, for Zack diedWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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the next day. When the great giant whom Zack had slain fell to the earth, the .remnant.- of the savages retreated to the foreSt ;?but most of:them were overtaken and slain. The yictorihnS army \ camped upon the battlefield, and the, next day gatheredtheirown slain and burned themy.'Zack’s body was burned with-much ceremony. With' Baro and Palo as leaders the army marched back -to theft* biomes, taking as captives several hundred women and childrep fijorethan the number of warriors they had lost in battle
CHAPTER XXVI.
TRIBES FORMED AND CITIES BUILT.
L For several years the two brothers jointly ruled the tribe and did not fall out,, but. there came-a time when' they could not agree, and it was about a girl of thei|’ own tribe. Zell and Zo did their best.' to-; prevent.' trouble, but it was impossible, for J’alo liad t^e girl at his house and refused to yield her up. One,day while Palo and a large part of his followers were .absent oh\% hunting expedition, Baro and a few of his,chosen co,in-' panions made a descent upon Palo’s household, and not only carried off the girl over whom the dispute had arisen, but several of Palo’s favorite wiveis as, well When Palo returned his indignation knew no bounds; hedeclared himself the only ruler, and that Baro shopld be put to death. Baro had always been oyerbearing, to those under him, and very selfish; while Palo' had1' ever taken great interest in watching over and1 caring fbr th,d. comforts and welfare of the tribe. With1the sisters’: teip he had taught the tribe many ways of adding to their co,m-forts, such as drying and stowing away meats and.planting and cultivating wild rice and grain of other kinds. Palo had also invented the spear, and with it had armesd his 'bodyguard of five hundred young warriors. The guard132
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had; been, taught to Wear clothing and dress like himseM and Zell had adapted herself to the use of clothes, and I taught many Of. the young girls to do likewise. When! shefouhd herself unable to reconcile her two brothers j she persuaded Palo to seize Baro and his companions! and keep** them prisoners until Elwer and I had been] consulted.
■ After ^raiding his brother’s house Baro and his crowd! had gone to the sea coast to spend a few days hunting and fishing, «and were absent when Palo returned. Palo j marched with his bodyguard at. once, and happened to come upon Baro and his followers while they were bathing in the sea. He captured all of them without» struggle and brought them to the village as prisoners. In the ■ meantime Zell had come to Us and begged that] we advise the banishment of Baro and his companions .to a distant .part of the country, in place of the death! -penalty being inflicted. We thought this best, and a few days, afterwards Baro and his family with his followers were marching south under a strong guard. The «boundary line between the two brothers was made on the «south side of a large river which flows through the forest about two: hundred miles south of the village parted byr/Zack. The country south of the river was ipohsidered ias jthat belonging to Baro and that north to Palo. The tribe of Zack thus divided, became known as the Paloites and Baroites, after their respective leaders. «Both Zo andZell remained with Palo, though a large num- j berof the most fierce and warlike men followed Baro into the new country.
- Palo at once began to make improvements. From us be; jearned jtpe art 0$ smelting ore, thus his tribe soon ®|Cshpde ipOssessed of iron and copper tools in place ot stone; he extended his farming far beyond what it had been. Bimo,' the oldest sort of Palo, invented the bow and arrow, apd soon had a magnificent troop of well-drilled archers. Palo now determined to build a city, &hd With a fewr suggestions from us, he selected and laid out a large .plat of ground on a beautiful elevation, someWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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ten miles from the sea and near a broad river. When the city was laid out Palo begged ils'tpname-it; so Elijreil called it the city of Zea,, and thus it (was that the first' city of this earth was built and named. Palo divided*’ his tribe into three separate classes; firsfy the vyarriors^ second, the builders; and' third, the tillers of the sojT. The tribe then began to domesticate young mastodons,; and soon had a large number of these huge beasts td drag large stone from the mountain side, which wer^1 used in building the city. They also, used them fpr ploughing and draughting of all kinds. Twice had Palo been compelled to lead his troops against the I wild Tarths who trespassed upon his territOry from the north, and each time he returned victorious^..
I Zell had never allied herself to any one, but was with yhild, and the father of the child has never been.knowl^ When born it proved to be a boy,, andof;fair complexion, with no hair on the body; its’ head' was well-shaped, land it soon gave signs of superior developments Elyrer’ took great delight in training this child, and gave; it the name of Elvo. At the age of fifteen’Elvo was one ofj the most successful inventors in the city.
I By his machinery large stone, were/ swung into their proper place; at his suggestion thecitywa? surrounded^ by a high stone wall. He also invented. layg^boa*^ I with sails, and looms for weaving.1 clptfifrom-different sea-weeds and other fibrou^ vegetabit
i It must not be supposed that during; tbqtime we had" been watching the wild tribe of Tarths gradually develop [into the tribe of Zack, then into the Baroites And Paloites, we had done nothing else, for we had completed our sky-writer, and had constructed a large (air-ship, designed! fair/ i transporting heavy bodies thripsi^|(fi(W^ry. It'j-^hs.' intended to only rise a few hundred;,/e^t’
of the mountain. I will not give aod^th^tfei^descyipiiip^ of its construction, for it will be siifiicie^t fo say if answered every purpose. We had freq uefit cpmmuni.catidh with our friends in Saturn, telling thejp/^our eonditibfr and experience here.184
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As the tribe of Palo had greatly increased, when Elvq arrived at the age 'of thirty, he called for volunteers to migrate some two hundred miles north, and there build a city.
2e’ soon had a large number, and they bid the city of Zea adieu, and took up their line of march to their newl borne. 'Zell remained in the city of Zea at Elwer’ssug-1 gestion, until her eon would reach his destination and prepare a place fit to receive her, then he would take! her in%his .flying-chair to the new city. WhenElvd! became full-grown he was but little over twelve feet high, and very handsome; in fact as well-developed and perfect a$ any man I have since seen on this earth. He was a deep reasoner, and quick to reach conclusions,! which were generally correct, and though many of hisI followers and subjects were more than twice his size, ill physical strength, yet mentally he towered above them all, as the great oaks of the forest stand above the weeds which grow beneath their shadows.
, Elvo selected", a. Vacation on a high hill, or plateau, which ended in an abrupt perpendicular wall of rock,| peaching down some two hundred feet to the plain below,' which stretched but for several miles, then gently sloped .to thegisouth. Upon this elevation Elvo founded the ;$pbond city-of,the world, and called it the city of Zell, ini honor of his mother. He had broad canals cut from thei pcean to the 1 e)iff ; the natural wall was extended by an artificial one, and when I visited the city of Zell, about fifty years'Afterwards, I found it one of the best pro-j tected cities I have ever seqn. The valleys were under a, high,state of cultivation, thousands of mastodonsand ' other hnimals had been domesticated, and were used for! food and heavy work, and Zell had become a great city. Elwer had been back and forth several times, j
The Baroites had greatly multiplied, but had not advanced as rapidly in civilization as the Paloites. Baro himself had been slain by some of his own sons, and there had been a division of the tribe. Some of them, under the leadership of a young man namedWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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Hinner,had been quite successful in battle,-and in buildingseveral small fortified cities. Hinner had also encouraged invention, and had made several trips to the city of Zea and prevailed on Palo to permit some of his best mechanics to return with him. : Several neat villages had sprung up between the cities of. Zea and Zell. The wild animals had been driven from all of that part of’ the country, and large herds, of domestic animals had, taken their places, attended by thejr herdsmen. . The country south of Zea had also become heavily populated from the city, and all seemed to prosper; towns and villages seemed to spring up in'every direction. The Tarths had disappeared far'to thei south of the-territory of Baro. By common consent the .cities-of Zea and Zell united in building a large canal running from one city to the other; they had’also passed a law that all male children born with tusks should be made eunuchs, and that they should be trained .up as herders. Thpg women removed the hair .from their, faces bypluckingM out by the roots ; though this was painful, still, for th©/ sake of fashion, they endured it.|/.'ElyO had onilt a larged castle on the perpendicular side of the plateau upon$ which the city of Zell was builb “for;” as he told me onc^ “the sun of peace might shine for U' while,,/yeff there ’would come a time when war with all its horrors.would/, burst forth; then woe be to those who. were riqik prepared/ for it.”
L During our stay in his city; Elvo. had buQt’us a large castle similar to his own, and "atTUiyer’s request Zell, was placed in chargeof. it, and Zostayed at the city of Zea with Palo. . Both castles had been constructed with many secret passages, cut even to the plain below. Elvo; had not neglected to build and’ prbperjy man a large fleet of vessels. Gold coin had becord^’^ medium of circulation among the people, and frade had become very prosperous with the numerous sea coast to whs which, had sprung up.
1 Of course it frequently happened that vessels were driven by the winds far out to sea, and were lost, or per?136
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
Haps cast upon some island, and there the unfortunate castways were left to begin anew. Thus many of the large islands were ,peopled by the race of Paloites, and "afterwards were found by the vessels from the two cities, and trade established with them.
"j&arly One morning Elwer and I started on a journey to a distant part of the continent, for the purpose of finding, the"herb from which, in Saturn, we had made •the* yp onderful chemical compound which destroys the law of attraction,'that we might thereby be enabled to make a trip to-thn moon, our supply brought from Saturn 'haying bhen almost exhausted. Several years were thu,s spent .in an unsuccessful; search among the mountains;; ■but tMjHW not been spent in vain, for we had discov* pred the true . properties of many herbs which did not •belong to Saturn., After many years we again returned to the city of 'Zea, and found that during our absence war had broken Out-between the Paloites who inhabited, the city of Zea and the country north, and the Baroites south of the river which formed the boundary line. Much blood had been- shed on-both sides, but when it iwas phdedi Palo had conquered, and had many of the Baroites as slaves, and had settled their country with his own pedpl’e. 'The Baroite slaves were mostly worked ?in thamines and . stone quarries, and some were sold to bf Zell. A few weeks after Putirepirn/Zo, the good, kind and loving mother, closed her pyes in. death; her body was placed in a stone coffin, :ahd Elwer curved the following appropriate words upon its polished surface:
“ Here rests in death the mother of Zell, was'l^fierfirst man born to this . earth, but the germ of love and affection z’n ^7ze AeaW of Zo was faith- I to heart of her daugh- , ter Zeld^ tJierefore, though she be dead, yet do many of,her kind acts live after her, and we, Willmoth and Elwer, the representa* ’WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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lives of a mightier race who dwell in the planet Saturn, drop a tear of pity on this cold stone, over the death of the first true mother of this earthly race of men.
“ Elwer and Willmoth.”
Heretofore all who had died had been burned, but Zell had been with her mother for some time previous to her death, and until the end came, and could not bear to see the body thus destroyed ; 'so Elwer suggested the stone coffin. After being sealed* it 'was carried into a long dark cavern hollowed in the mountain; this was closed with stone, and if yet undisturbed there may be found the dust of humanity’s first mother. Elvo had a large monument raised to the memory of Zo. It was inscribed with all the prominent acts of her life, and not the least among themwas 'the part she took in slaying the wild Tarths, and winning the battle for Zack.
| Elvo had taken a large number of wives, in fact had several hundred women, most of whom, had borne him from one to six sons and daughters. Most of his^ sons were like himself in size, and very intelligent, butj none were his equal as a leader or teacher. Schools had been established in the earlier, days of; Zellyand Elvo had introduced and encouraged the study of several branches, of science. Among them the most beautiful Of,all was‘ that of psychology. Many eminept fanen understood this science to the highest degree, and by'■fits, use all sickness was subdued; the mind Wasmade master over matter, the age of man was greatly increased, and the vigor of youth was carried through'to old age,'and men’whose', ancestors died at the age of one hundred years now lived for fifteen hundred, or moref Everything went ’wdlj in the cities of Zea and Zell, With the exception nf the loss, of Palo, who had died a few months before, the science, of psychology and been developed; •andylikehis mother^ was placed in a suitable stone coffin, Upon its lid was inscribed the following.138
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
“ To the Memory of Palo,
The Wise,, the Good and Great, the Founder
of the City of Zea,
The First City of the World, Rest in Peace.
“ Elvo, Elwer, Zell and Willmoth." I
After his death the cities of Zea and Zell, with all their surrounding country, were ruled over by Elvo. "Great improvements of various kinds were continually iri progress; both, men and women seemed to vie with] each other , as to who could surround themselves with the greatest- luxuries. The simple language, first spoken1 in* the latter years of Zack’s time, had entirely disappeared, and was,.superseded by a language introduced by Elvo.1 He had brought forward a form of writing and printing, and had passed laws- that all children under the age of twenty-five and over the age of ten years should; attend school. The discovery of steam was made, and /■the manner? of applying it as the means of propelling Sengipes;-of various kinds, by an inventor named Arn; fhnd apon large vessels propelled by steam plowed the /ocean waves, collecting the various produces of different; Ssl^uds, .and bringing them to the empire of Elvo. Thus i di<3 a' lh^hty. nation arise whose wealth, art, and refine-; mept was far in advance of to-day, for they had never been contaminated and held back by the weights of superstition and; fanaticism the world now calls religion. A.^e^iod bf many hundred years had passed since the •$ay Elwer and I had captured the wild Tarths, and now over a( large portion of the continent the being called ;man,.' who had descended from those wild, half brute and half hundah, giants, had, developed a race almost to per-fection, for they hadidiscovered the perfect law of psy-| chology, land thereby learned to prolong their lives, giving'them the opportunity to accomplish what they under-|pb,k.' ‘ Apout this time it became our sad duty to attend the bhrial of out good and faithful Zell, who had died from old age. Like her mother she was laid to rest inWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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a stone coffin; but before the body was placed in its last resting-place, Elwer embalmed it; sothat it might never decay, and on the coffin he inscribedthese words:
“ Sleep on forever,
Thou whose heart beat only to teach thy race loveff honor and truth.
Thy descendants may forget the&, and thy name be lost in the ages yet to come,
But in my heart thou shqlt&f rememberedforeverfc/ “Elwer.”
Soon after the death of Zell/ Elvo resigned the reins pf government into the hands-of his eldest; son? whose name was Valma. He was a sedate, quiet? man, with much firmness of character, and was behoved by all his people; during his reign wonderful improvements were made in the arts, and painting andsculptureattaineds tbeir highest development. A new 'palacO-was built which excelled anything of thmkind IJiaye ever seen; it covered a space five miles square, and was built of highly polished granite and: marble/ The inside?was finished with jaspdr and carnelian stone; each colunpii supporting the arches Was carved in thousands or differ^ ent figures, most pleasing to the eye/« Column after col-; umn arose like a forest, their different colors of marble, red, white and blue, blending with the many-tin ted and black granite blocks. Most ? beautiful,.fountains threw their scented waters, by'a	tfe
air, to fall again in marble basins trimmed with gold, held in the hands of- six gigantic Tartos,' hewn from the' .solid blocks of granite.
in stone, with mighty tusks^upria.i^bd,'jsupponted magnif-', 'icent gardens two hundred, feet’jn thej air, where the most beautiful flowers and fruits gre^.ih profusion? and a thousand different singing-birds yied iiyith each other in sweetest song. Rich paintings coVerpdthe Walls, and" the eye could ever see somethirtg	and,enchant
the mind. Before this beautiful palace was completed,140
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Elvo was laid td rest , beside his mother, and like her body, his was also embalmed. Elwer was much affected by his death, and on his coffin Hb carved the following lines:
“Sacred to the Memory of
King Elvo. The First of this' Earthly Race. A Soni of Saturn -Looked Kindly Upon the Fairest Laughter of Earth, and Behold A King Steps Forth.
fEkvo, thy Life is :do,ne Lut thy Deeds shall live on and on to bless the ages yet to come.
“ Elwer.”
-Seventy-five years after the death of Elvo the palace ■ was finished and dedicated to him, and was ever known as jthe “Palace El.Vo.” It was eighteen stories high, and tfrom the ground to the top of . the arched roof measured pine hundred feet. People from all parts' of the continent came to look at the wonderful and magnificent structure.
s • *The'law was then written in letters of gold, on tablets of silver fastened to the walls of tlfe great public hall, where all, might come and read, and profit thereby. ^I^er^sbemed.^ldse all interest in the advancement, of' man , alter Elvo’s death, so when the palace was a trip far to the Southwest (and ^top ,oh Tarth Island as we passed, to see how the Tarths jiad passed the last two thousand years. We therefore bid adieu to the cities of Zea and j^ll and their busy inhabitants, -and after many days we covered with small iif'ude dwellings in wiiibh/‘lived a dwarfish, yellow, dirty wretch whom the '^e'st pbbyedr' through'a superstitious fear that if they did indi, ,^e'WCtiid' bring upon them , some dreadful punishment, After learningenough of their language founder*WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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stand them we obtained the. following account from their leader.
“ A few hundred years, ago part of our tribe, who live on an island south of here, were out jn/bbats'on the water, when a great storm came’ that drove the boats far out to sea, and it was impossible for the'm to find the way back/ After many days of suffering one boat, with a few survivors, was cast upon this island^ where they soon began to multiply, and now,” said he in a boasting way, “ we; are a mighty nation.’’ \
We also learned they found the island desolate^ except for a few small animals. What became of the. wild Tarths who used to dwell, therewill, neverbe known; perhaps some fatal disease swept them away, or they exterminated themselves by bloody wars. .A mighty volcano had broken forth since bur first visit, and was then in active operation.: Many parts. of the. island had sunk beneath the sea, and it was only a ques,-. tion of time when the rest of it would do
We continued our journey, stopping on islands, som^ of which had but recently been,, made by Volcanic spout' —that is, a volcano breaks througfi^herseadaottom, and.' forces its lava up until the mouth qf .the vqlcanojis raised, above the water by the cooled lava, then over this hpllpyr rim the lava and ashes roll down'intp tjxe seaj until large islands are formed. The birds, and waves sopn supply seeds of different kinds from other places,, and in a,, short time a thick growth of vegetation covers thfe newly-, formed island. Onward and still onward,*. We . sailed. Many of the large islands wereiphabitpd . bjrz map advanced in civilization; MOa fbwjy/ beautiful cities erected on them. Elwer would iapt stop to leatn anything concerning them; in fact, he preferred tp stpp ou islands uninhabited by man.
k: After many weary months of travel we discovered a lofty mountain range, which is. how a paVt of the ihterioir of Africa, and alighted. After a careful jnvestigation we found the country uninhabited, e?cep^,by wild beasth^ and prepared ourselves for a stay of several years, as we142
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
wished to make a careful search for the herb most need-■fui to us in making the compound required for our jour-;ney back to. our home in Saturn; for of late Elwer '.seemed anxious to return home, and I must say I was .somewhat inclined that way myself. We selected a beautiful little Valley» far up in the mountains, soon built H coinfortable house .and had everything arranged to our satisfaction? : The second year passed and still found our greatest wish unattained. ; But one morning after a great Fstorm had passed we wandered down to the sea coast, more for recreation than anything else, and there among jsdmedrift which was cast ashore by the waves, we ■found several stalks of the plant we had sought for so long. While the few stalks were not enough to supply our wants, they; gave us the pleasure of knowing they grewon this earth. We secured the plant, root and all, and;carefully sifted but the seed, which we planted in a spot of ^ground near our house ih the valley. A few ;more years' passed and wC had a large supply of this ■most _ valuable and mysterious of herbs. Elwer set to (work in his laboratory^ and. soon had a large quantity of .the precious compound ready for use. But alas! it was'used fatally, fob one day the whole quantity by accident became ignited, and my poor friend Elwer happening to ; be!, standing in the centre of it, like a flash of lightning he shot upward: before either could speak, for Astonishment, he had, .gone far beyound the range of the eye unaided by the glass. After ranging my telescope on him J could see him. still ' moving farther and farther ‘from the earth. y!Bq.a||y he began to move around the earth, and the^ IWbealized his doom was sealed I The greatest and' wisest fof all humanity, by a careless acci-dent, h ad Become A satellite of earth, unable ever again, perhaps, to use any of that wonderful knowledge he possessed.
' (Here the qld man eeased his story, and for some time sajt j'4.silence. At last,.arising, he said, “My young friend, ,come' with mej1 and; I will show you what no living nil an except myself ;>|ias seen.” Together we ascended toWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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the top of the house, where he placed his telescope in my hand, at the same time telling me to search the space between the two outside stars forming the handle of the’ Great Dipper. I did so, and by the aid of that wonder-ful instrument plainly saw a well-formed man, between: six and seven feet tall, whose ldng1 white beard, blue, eyes, and fair complexion showed a striking resemblance to my old friend Willmoth who stood there with his hand on my shoulder, instructing me in the use of the •glass. The form of the unfortunate astronomer, Elwer, seemed standing in space, with the arms folded over the' chest, the pale brow uncovered^ while his long 'whitehair floated back from the high and well-developed forehead like waves of snow. There he stood, facing the, earth, but unable ever again to reach it. The tears were chasing each, other down my cheeks as t Returned the glass to Willmoth, and in silence we returned to the-room below. My old friend resumed his narrative.)
After the sudden taking ayyay of my oid instructor! I did everything in my power io ascend to ^here he was,| but every effort proved a failure, as it was impossible for me to manage the air ship alone,and finally J had to: give it up in despair. I communicated with my friend^ in Saturn, telling them of the sad accident which had-befallen my companion, asking them... to' do all they could to save him, but as yet they have been unable to aid him in any way. Thus it I ahi left alone,' and from that time until now I have done nothingtoward, taking part in any of the many struggles which have taken place on earth by the millions of generations' that have since come and passed away.?;,
i ’ But to continue my story: t One day, on returning to the 'valley,: after several weeks’ absence, I found it occupied by alarge nunfber of men somewhat resembling those we hadleftyearsbe-fore in the city of Zell, though these were darker, and not so tall. I watched them unobserved ibr ,some time^> and saw they were in a very savage condition/ They had among them several like themselves, who were144
WlLLMOTH THE WANDERER.
bound and were .no doubt prisoners; these they quickly slew, cooked and ate, at the same time quarreling and fighting over their horrid repast. This scene so dis-; gusted me I did not make myself known to them, but retired unobserved. I then began to look about me for some place of. safety where I might live undisturbed by any marauding expedition, of these worse than brutes, while at the same time I might observe their habits as ^iyearS rolled by. After a few days’ search I found a high K and inaccessible spur of the mountain, where the perpen-] 7 dicular wall was crashed on one side by the ocean wavetf || two thousand feet below the top ; upon the other three
sides a perpendicular wall of rock arose from the plain several hundredfeet. Tbe top of this “table rock” in-’ y, cljided, a space $ of about four acres, and was covered] fewith a thick, growth of vegetation. A few feet down
its,,rocky sicles was an entrance to a large cavern which continued downward for many hundred feet, and termin-ated in many large rooms far back in the mountain. It was impossible for any one to gain an entrance except from the opening , near the top, and as for anything y without wings, or means of flying, scaling its rocky & walls, it would be utterly impossible; neither reptile nor creeping thing could reach its height. To this place I jakoohveyed all.,my. instruments and machinery, from the
valley where I spent my last days with Elwer, leaving it forever in possession of those human brutes who had de-^,:>410d its.'bhCred precincts. Here like an eagle I made my more ^th’an a thousand years, going forth only to watch the slow progress of wretched humanity, as step,.'by step it progressed upward, frequently deluging ' • ’diie' .ground with the blood of its weaker kindred., J
Near the shore one morning I observed a large fleet over ^e*r s^es . into boats, leaped like tigers, thousands of well-armed ' meh., The boats were quickly manned and loosened ’ ^•pm the- sides of the ships, and soon landed this warrior tribe on the sands of the sea shore, where they were quickly formed into line of battle, and with confidentWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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step marched onward to conquer and slay those who held the country in their possession. It is useless to reiterate the means used by the conquering tribes; with their superior weapons, their bloody determination and superior skill in warfare, the weaker tribes were soon: brought under subjection, and the conquering tribe, who called themselves Anoites,: or the tribe of Apo, declared their leader, whose name was Tain, king of the eountry.
Tain built a largei city and called it Ano. Years afterwards I learned this marauding band of Ocean pirates had been forcibly driven from a large island far; norths by the rulers of the cities of^Zea ana Zell, because of their continued piracy on the vessels of those countries; that their king, Ano, had been captured and put to death, and that the remnant of the tribe had unluckily escaped the just vengeance of the warriors of Zell-, and through the darkness of night they had made good their escape to the waters of the south-sea, where for years upon years they multiplied and prospered.;' |
I could never fully determine whether: the Anoites had descended from the tribe of Baro in ages past, or branched off from the Paloites; some of their ^usto'iiw. indicated they had either descended from the Paloites or had at sometime held intercourse with them,;asmahW' of their weapons were similaf 4q'^o$e warriors, and the shape of their boats indicated they had been built from a pattern after those built in the time of Elvo.
CHAPTER XXVII.
| RELIGIOUS FAITHS ESTABLISHED—FOOLS MULTIPLY.
The people themselves were muchsmaller than those who built the city of Zell, and were of a darker color, with heavy dark hair. ■ Their language Was simpler than that of Elvo, and they did: not have any writtenhistory,
10146
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
though many stories of their ancestors had been handed clown from one generation to another in such an imper- i /feet' manner that these accounts would be greatly en-1 larged upon, until simple things performed by their ancestry had grown into myths and miracles, impossible j for any reasonable man to believe. Thus it was that a certain class of people forked upon the credulity of the simpler minds, and. induced them to believe impossible' things. They called themselves priests or prophets, meaning thereby “ the teachers or leaders of the people.” At; firsv it was not intended they should do more than glorify the dead heroes of their miraculous stories; I but as the people were held in ignorance, they continued :to teach more and still more improbable theories, until at last from the hypocritical and fertile brain of the lying'priesthood sprang the idea of the immortality of the' soul. Once having, taken root in the minds of the tribe of Ano, this foolish doctrine spread with great ^rapidity, and woe be to .the doubter, for his fate was cer-: tain death by the most extreme torture. It soon became necessary that each household should contain images of different imaginary beings-to be worshiped, and then ,-laws that great images of different kinds should be set up in public places; that all might fall down and publicly worship at these different shrines, and invoke their different deities to grant their different requests, such as bringing rain, or /health, or prosperity, and all other wants. >It must not be imagined that all these changes , were brought about in a few days by the remnant of the tribe’ of; Ano whof overran that part of the African upoast; many hundred, years had passed and many cities ijliad been built ‘ Oter; vast areas of country, and Africa h&d been populated with myriads and myriads of hu* manity, ,Wt. all of it had been tainted and cursed by superstitious forms and priestly doctrines, and the civil-that would otherwise have arisen and made the Country blpom like a garden of flowers, was bound with the t purse of fanaticism. Z No man dared to advance an idea not ip* Conformity with the favorite religion of theWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.	147
part of the country where he resided, as the cry of doubter or falsifier would, soon be raised against him, land amid great public rejoicing the unbeliever woujd be put to death by some cruel torture of the priesthood. || [ Wars were always in progress, and the defeated so unfortunate as to escape death on the battle-field were (subjugated to the most cruel slavery, and were literally worked to death, or beaten and starvediby their cruel [taskmasters, always their priests oi* their abject tools; if | One day I made up my mind to return to the cities of Zea and Zell and see how. time ,had dealt with the. [inhabitants of that locality. On my journey north I [discovered many changes were taking place; not the [least was that large fields of ice had. floated far south of [their usual limits and had taken complete possession of [all that part of the ocean over which Elwer and I, . thousands of years before, had made, our first trip, and [landed oh Tarth Island pin fact all of what is.now.known , as the Temperate Zone had become, as it were, a world [of ice and snow, and over its gloomy solitude for manyp [days I pursued my lonely way. No familiar object metj mv view, for all had been changed; great volcanoes poured forth their lava and smoke from many mouths,
| which seemed to show the earth’s internal structure was' also making many changes, as well as her surface. , ■' Still| onward I pursued my solitary flight, guided only by .pay,.
1 true compass, landing now and then on some great iceberg . that heaved and groaned like some monster disturbed.-1in his quiet sleep as he lay in his deep sen bed, and had arisen to the surface take vengeance on that which had disturbed him. In fact, the earth itself seemed breaking to pieces. Chaos and desolation ruled every, [direction; but each day my flight bore me farther east, and the ice-fields grew thinner and the climate warmer, until finally I left them behind, and safely alighted upon a mountain top not far from my old home near the city of Zea.	-Aw"1
[ While the city itself looked familiar, and both the cities had prospered in size and beauty, yet their customs148
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
and habits had changed and there were no familiar faces to welcome me back to my old home. The Palace Elvo, had been enlarged and many additional! improvements had been added. There had been no warl and everything had prospered in magnificent splendor 'Huge pyramids hundreds of feet high, stood here and 1 there, inscribed ,to commemorate the kind and noble acts of their great men ; and not least among these was] the one erected5 to King Valma. Side by side with that | of .the kings stood those in honor of their astronomers] and inventors. p visited the tombs of Zo and Zell, and, thought of my old friend Elwer who had taken so much I Interest in. the advancement of their descendants, but 11 could take no pleasure in mingling with any of the dwellers of this earth, though this race was so much! admired by my old friend Elwer. The king who ruled the country on my return was called Ack, and he proved I himself worthy, as he was a true descendant of Elvo. When I introduced myself to him I was accorded every 'honor thak could be neaped upon me by so wise and! great a man, for the earlier history of the race, (with i W^iph King Ack was perfectly familiar), had placed Elwer j ted I in a very high and honorable position, and we were! npoked upon with pride as the fathers of the nation, ffience, if love, kindness, honor, and position could have] Satisfied the mind, I would have been very happy; but] ! it is not that which we attain that furnishes us contentment, for the stars themselves shine and twinkle. ^b.t, when you view them closely, but many of them are <dai^,<idead,fand -dying worlds, wherein no life or beauty 'dwells. Thus it is with many pleasures; the farther .awayfthey afe, the more beautiful they appear. • .
? Pteiqaihed the honored guest of the citizens of Zes for several hundred years. Higher and higher the nations TOsq iii^fs add sciences; the Palace Elvo contained large, rrobipS) and in,'them yvere carefully stored large volumeaj ^herein, was wrMciL a true history of their race from the ^ypry beginning of the tribe of Zack. Also countless treasures of gold arid silver, and other precious metals.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.	.	149
as well as patterns or models of all their different inventions. In fact the palace contained the archives of the nation, and everything of value, and deaf to the memory of the people as a memento of bygone times, was carp-" 'fully laid away to be viewed by future*1 generations. They had at last attained a development under nature’s-laws which made it almost a pleasure.for man to live. They had learned by continual practice to subdue And control the lower passions which had at first so utterly; Controlled their long ago dead ancestry. Many of the, laws which in the days of Palo .had been so hard to enforce, had almost been forgotten, as none would have ■Doped to acts which made theta necessary. Such crimes [as theft, murder or rape, were unknown,, or if; remembered at all, were only remembered in the early boyhood I of the most aged citizens. Their amusements, like purs Bn the city of Eathman, consisted in training the1 rising generations in the path of moral rectitude, in making Ethers happy, and in the study of astronomy and ’otheK sciences. Never had there been, from the time of Zack, until the destruction of the city, one word or thought of the superstition and fanatical idea of immortality taught! tone of the descendants of that now truly great
CHAPTER XXVfflgM
( THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CITIES OF ZEA AND ZELL.
I But I shall now have to speak of a great. catastrophe which forever ended this noble race/pf, nature’s truesons. .One morning several hundred years after I had retgih^d from the south, and while Ack was still on the throne, I noticed that the mountains 'bacjs!; of the bitj^ ofZea began to tremble as if some mighty monsteh beneath them had awakened from a long sleep, and "a.fp^'days afterwards a large volcano poured fortliitsdava'andashes in torrents. The wind blowing steadily from the moun*150
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tains carried the ashes directly over the ill-fated cities of Zea and Zfell, and the whole surrounding country fori thousands of miles was wrapped in darkness. For months, ashes', continued to .cover up and lava spread! over the surrounding country, overwhelming every thing ] beneath them. For eight long months this volcano! ‘belched forth its flames, of destruction and death; when at last if ceased jtsconvulsions and, the sun again penetrated the gioom, I sailed out over the once prosperous! country, and beheld a sight which made my very heart 1 sick at the awful havoc that had been created. Nothing j whatever could be seen that gave evidence of man’s busy j feet having trod, the plains below, except a few tall j spires that still held their heads in lonely solitude above 1 man’s work as it lay buried in lava and ashes, hundreds I ,and hundreds of feet beneath. Not the least sign of the. I Palace Alvo could be seen, and by the height of some of ’ the great pyramids that could be seen, I could judge ,that the ashes were not1 less than fifty feet above its ( ^tallest spires., After a careful examination of the sur- | rounding . 0QuUt^y l^ : found that not one of that great j nation lived to tell the tale of its rise and fall; but there still remains in , the Palace Alvo a history, and the records of the lost nation whose greatness has never yet been equalled on this earth.
remained in the vicinity for a few years after this great catastrophe, and, witnessed the very mountains and , valleys, with their buried cities, gradually sink, until the waves of the sea came in and formed their burial shroud, and there unto this day, above their unknown graves,'unkhown to all save me, swim the monsters of the deep. I wondered as I sailed away from the top of the only ..mountain that projected above the waste of the waters, whether 'my fanatical and superstitious neighbors of the south had fared likewise ; to tell the truth, I almost wished they had, for I would not exchange the life of one citizen of Zea for the whole race then populating the .south country, with their savage superstitions and priestcraft of hypocrisy and lies.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
151
In my flight toward the south I intended to again , take possession of my mountain home on the coast of Africa, where I had spent so many years watchingthe changes constantly taking place, in the weak and foolish minds of the races then inhabiting it^'but I traveled far. west of where I had hitherto been, and spent many years’ in watching the great masses of ice floating in the deep waters, then covering large portions of what is now called, the western hemisphere1. Many islands were springing up by the active operations of thousands, of volcanoes, a mighty change was taking place in the earth’s surfaced Wherever the eye was turned huge furnaces., of nature could be seen pouring forth their volumes of fire and smoke; deep rumbling noises might be heard both night and day, as earthquake after earthquake broke u.p the bottom af the deep sea. Soon after, what is now known • as a part of the Rocky Mountains reared its lofty head,-; far above the waves, like some huge sea animal which had come to the surface to destroy whatsoever,, mighty oppose its mighty strength ; the deep bellowing p^th^ earthquakes, the sharp, quick reports fromthe discharg-| ing volcanoes, blending and mingling together with the;, smoke and flame, was a sigljt most^ grand but awfpli to behold; and there a.mid.that heaving and panting,; world, I sat lonely in the solitudes,..^witnessing the great and mighty change rapidly taking’ place, guided,'by what seemed to me a destroying hand Of nature’s unpityh; ing law.
Now and then some great iceberg, was stranded,and the top becoming heavier than its, base, .it1 wodld /alk forward like some huge giapt, apd the niinglipg and, crashing of ice would sound like, the coming together of : two mighty worlds. In some plaqesjgreat .monstefs df the deep could be seen on the nevrly-mp^ ground, and tbeir groaning and struggling to gain the water added another scene in the horrid destrhpt3^ni,>,taking place on every side. But it is useless to -continue a description of the continual changes then goingfPn't it is sufficient to say that many ages passed away befd^ t&e ocdan waters,152
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
were drained from the eastern side of what is now known as the Rocky Mountain range, and left it in many places a barren ^aste of sand, with nothing to relieve the monotony of the scene but the whitening bones of gigantic ocean animals which were left stranded by the retreating waters. After growing weary of the sight of fee and volcanoes, I again pursued my journey south/ and placed, my feet once more within my lonely home on Table Rock.
	CHAPTER XXIX.
PRIESTCRAFT AND SUPERSTITION.
That part of the country forming the African coast had changed buUlittle since I left it; of course the sea in many places had given place to land, and where once the /waves- washed the foot of the perpendicular rock of ,?vmy mountain\home, there was a broad strip of land over which the waves never came, except in times of the manyiplaces'the ocean had yielded ■0Up i'tjBibed to rank growths of vegetation that seemed to; revel in their new possessions.
The race of men in that part of the country had con-’ 1 tinuedto, slowly struggle upward, though always adding upward growth more mysteries and fanaticisms which hindered their progress. They had begun the introduction of written accounts, supposed to be historical, but as they were then being written by the fanatical [rpri^th’bbd, and spoke of a time far back of their own they naturally gave strange, improbable and even impossible|accounts of (many, things which had been bhidcd down by word of mouth from their illiterate ^m^ndsirbSi As each natural event had been and still was |^^te|dOtuS'^lj^^i^tnTal^<ther0'Could only be a tissue of ■<fa|^4pbtrine and niisrepresentation written in a record of that kind.WILLJtOTH the wanderer.
153
About the time I. arrived at my mountain home, a war' , broke out between two tribes, one of which inhabited, the valley lands 1 nehrythig sea,.- and the other the table, lands among the mountains. Those near the sea wefe-called Gips and were led or ruled over by a king who^J name was Gip; their opponent^ were called Ayres,, hyd;« were governed by a king called> Ayrp. These1 tribes^ were equally divided. TheTGips weresomewhat better ; prepared for war, as many of their, warriors had been taught to fight from their chariots or rolling cars, dragged j over the ground by swift horses.
The Ayres were larger, stronger, and more .fierce, and . ! when in battle exhibited more bravery than 'did' Gips. Both of these tribes had lived on friendly termp^ each fearing to proclaim war-against'the other,- although^ with many of the weaker tribes near them were con^ stantly making excuses to deciare war, and hadslaip^ and captured large numbers,, and had devastated theinj cities, always carrying away with theto,.everythirig„offi value found therein, until it had become a saying among -the rest of the nations that ten fat oxen, belonging to them would be sufficient cause./or, eithe^jlb Qip,.pran| Ayre to declare war against the owners. Just how ’ifJ came about that these two tribes became.enemies I and^ unable to say. When the nev^s. spread I through thd i country that war had been declared Ipetwpe^therni, itgay^.;’ the other tribes great joy,;, that the two', great blood- ' hounds had now turned, and would , rpnd. paehi pthe^.'. For several weeks great prep actions-were ,madeby; both the tribes, and envoys had been sent from each army to see if certain concessi<^.^i^^|hp!.inh^diwW^W^wi side, and a battle be avoidbd.^ For some causC they coiild not oome to a satisfactory
most willing to invade the country of '0i^>, but knew in doing so they would be ^g^hi^^MM^W^^f -disadvantages; on the other han^4. Gip could pot m^pih^v ulate his army of war chariots ‘iuJthe '3^pgh aUd brokeh country of the Ayres. But marauding parties from each army began to invade the,-154
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
great damage along the frontiers, sometimes destroying whole villages and carrying off their inhabitants to be used as slaves. Finally King Ayre led his whole army into the valley, and Surprised the army of Gip under the cover of night. In the morning began a battle which! lasted for several days before either party could boast of victory; toward evening of the last day the king of Ayre led a brilliant Charge upon the left wing of Gip’s army, where Gip himself stood in his chariot, surrounded by a large number of hjs warriors. Gip and many of his followers were made prisoners/ When the Gips saw their king was captured, many of them hastened to the sea coast and took refuge in their ships, sailing out beyond the reach of the victorious army. Thus ended the war between the two armies. The king of Ayre possessed himself of all the rich valley lands and cities belonging to, Gip,-' and he . wasymade to serve as a slave in the country where he once reigned a mighty king.
About this time the priests began to interpret the mysterious sayings which had been recorded in some of theiry books as prophecies, and read something in this manner:
“ The mighty oaks of the forest shall fall and lay low in the Valley of the shadows of death, and their high places shall be torn down, and shall be known no more.”
All the former sins of Gip were then remembered Against him, and upon his downfall arose, in faith and superstition, what they called prophecies, or that which had been foretold pin times past by their wise men of old. After the tribe of Gip had been thoroughly conquered, King Ayre settled their country with many of ! hi a, own people, and tore down and destroyed many of the temples which bad been built by the Gips, and set up in their places; temples and images of his own. The principal image worshiped by the AyreS was a huge lion with the wings and head of an eagle; this deity was suppose^ to rule over their destinies and lend them aid in tne time of’battle. Many human sacrifices wereWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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I offered up to it as a peace offering The king was very I superstitious, and placed- great faith in the virtues and I powers of this image, and after winning the battle I against'the Grips, he offered to the image as a peace ' | offering, a beautiful young virgin-of his own household; I It had been customary to make offerings of-captives' I taken in war, but the offering of this virgin- was .a prece-I dent for which he gained great- ciedit, and it soon I became quite common for pother nations to do so. I Women sometimes dedicated their children, at birth,-to ■/become sacrifices to these images when they arrived at K the age of an adult, for the lying priesthood had begun I to teach them whosoever became a voluntary sacrifice-I should, after death, enjoy unlimited freedom in the life I to come; thus, through the’ ignorant credulity of the
■	people, the priests and prophets grew, in power and, [ became feared, even by the kings themselves.
s The Gips who had escaped to their boats,after the,
■	battle, numbered in men,* women', and children About I fifteen hundred, sailed away and landed pn what is. now^ I known as a part of Asia; there, under a ruler named Afaplrd I who had been a captain under Gip, they took possession of I a large territory and soon became* a very jprqsperOufi^anff < I warlike people. But I must leave them therewhile I
■	continue my narrative regarding the Ayres, andthe I other African races. The kin^- of Ayre cdntiilped his
■	wars with adjoining nations utffiHall other fiingspaid t him tribute, for he enlarged 'hi^s dopainjon until fie was
■	the acknowledged ruler over the wfiole! African'conti-
■	nent. About this time
I trained as a priest in. the" ter^^^	w
■	enter his father’s palace one -darlc; pigfit afid stealthily I drive a poisoned dagger through his h'eeyt, so that he I himself might be called.
I stead. . The next morning the king wasffoufid, and tipne I knew who committed the dreadfii¥ cfime, and his pious
■	and priestly son Aro was chief among the mourners.
■	When he took his throne he ordeipdjfhat 'all the attends I ants and soldiers around the palade should be taken to156
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
the outside of the city, and there be chained to a stake, 1 ■and tortured,to death by a slow burning fire, “for” said .1 he, “ by, this means I will get the one who conynitted 1 the crime.”
; His brother priests all commended the great wisdom fl of Aro.
The third year • after Aro had ascended his father’s! throne many of the kings and princes who had proven 1 faithful allies to the father revolted against the son, and j , Aro found himself and his vast dominions in the midst Of a civil and bloody war. As he had not the ability, j “Shrewdness, or sense of his father, he was compelled to I concede many' things, and yield up large portions of his territory/which his father had won by force of arms and j superior skill. In the fifth year of his reign 'he was ,slain by the hand-of his younger brother, at a banquet •where they were holding a drunken revel, and when it had been spread. abroad that Aro, the priest king, had (been £slain, there was great rejoicing among the higher classes, excepting by his associate priests.
Upon the death of Aro, a half-brother named Ahue, ascended the throne; this young man was sober, industri*1 |pus,« and very quiet in his habits, but of firm character, Jand full of determination’. He cordially despised the priest* wood, and most things, connected therewith, so during ■hiSTdign all thepriests. were kept in the background. When he ascended the throne the nation was literally •(gQing„ i<\ pieces, but he -instilled new life into the army and led OO a hundred different victories, recovering back ■ all his father’s •> territory, and conquering many islands and adjoining nations. He built several new i^iiaes, ^rid,‘ lent his, aid and encouragement to all the arts SfK- s^idphes, sending envoys to many distantjcountries to learn their ways, and how he might add copfort and \:knojvledge‘;tO his pedple^ During his reign many of the superstitions taught by the pri'ests were abolished, and many, of the priests were beheaded for teaching false doctrines. He. established schools in many large cities of hi§ dbipiritipri, and paid their teachers from the pub*WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
157
lie fund; he gathered around him scholars and wise men, and encouraged the science of astrology, and while not free from superstition, yet he clothed his false ideas with something like the-appearance of reason. The mystery of psychology sprung up during his reign, and while none knew the cause, yet many (to them) strange things were performed by this', spience. The eyesight of people were deceived, and theywere made to see .that? walking canes were snakes, that common house-flys were eagles, that clear water was blood or wine, and the like. In the hands of ' tfib descendants of Palo, psychology proved a blessing, for by its use they had learned to extend the period, of life for hundreds of years; but in the hands of this superstitious race.it proved a curse, for it was Only used to frighten pepple^ and strengthen the tissues pf their false doctrine^ Thpr necromancer did not know whence the power canm/by/ which he deluded the people, and attributed it to something supernatural, and claimed- th^t. he Was possessed of power from the images he^ worshiped.' The kib^ wa^ .very fond of this art, and consequently he had made it a? special deity, in the form of a great image which represented a coiled snake, holding a huge staff in its pappth:.’, This image was placed beside the lion with the'eag^J wings, and was worshiped with the , same devotiotf.? But Ahue prohibited the sacrifices, either of slaves or others, but the custom had become so\popular it' wa;s in many places carried on in' secret. Frpm' the.> inpSt' learned men he selected twelve of’the most;wise, .and1 instructed them to search the records of his nation and, rewrite its history, and
errors found therein. He erected large ‘monuihq'n^;, and on them inscribed the glorious deeds done by his fathe^ and hinftelf, but of Aro he made no jnention wha^evp^ During his time astronomy reached the/greatest 'perfep^, tion attained since the destruction of the >,citie’s of Zea and Zell. Ahue was well versed injthat- science, and taught the art of measuring time by the revolution pf the earth on its axis, and its journey, around the sun j158
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
also the knowledge and use of the compass, and the principles of longitude and time. His reign was ninety- j lour years, and was one'of prosperity and peace, after the first ten years devoted to war in the recovery of his father’s kingdom. He was well loved by all his subjects, and died at the age of one hundred and twenty-two years,, mourned for by all.
Armo, his eldest son ascended the throne at the age of forty-two, and his reign was peaceful and quiet for more than fifty years,„at the end of which time a great pestilence swept over the country, and in many districts ‘ people lay down on the streets and died in such vast , lumbers that there were not enough left to burn or bury the dead. In one city Of a hundred and eighty-four thousand people/ three days from the first death there was not a single person left to tell the tale of the awful scourge. The disease was a peculiar one in many respects; in its Brst stages the \victim would turn green, and in the ’Second would become blue, then would quickly fall and . expire in great agony? It remained in the country about lsik<weeks, and during its stay four-fifths of the people were wrapped in the siletit sleep pf death, and the cities became the dwelling-places of wild beasts and bats; and strains of music were exchanged for the fierce growl of the lion and tiger, and the remnant of Ahue’s nation fell back io a. savage condition, never to recover as a nation.
CHAPTER XXX.
WHERE CAIN GOT HIS WIFE—ADAM, AND HOW HE CAME TO BE CALLED THE FIRST MAN.
day I . concluded to follow the remnant of the tribe <of Gip, and see what they had accomplished in that ; part of the country now called Asia, although it then differed widely from what it is at the present day. After many days I alighted hear a broad river far in the159
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
interior of the continent, and found myself surrounded Iby a high state of civilization/. A large city with its-busy inhabitants, was situated;on the opposite .shore, and large fields of golden grain spread around me, upon every side as far as the eye could reach.
B The people were a nation calling themselves Inhorites, and they were ruled over by a queen calledTnnora,who dwelt in a palace composed of . pure -gold that had [been taken from the river Edekiel. / This race was about six feet high, of fair complexion, and ratter prepossess-.: ing in appearance. I took .up my abode in the eity, and lived a quiet and retired life for a long time. I learned that this race lived to a much greater age than those on i the African coast, that they believed in the immortality of the soul, that they worshiped a large, image known as Bode, and that this deity had performed many miracles^ but among them were many doubters in Bode’s miraculous power, and these doubters werq led by a priest named Adam.
I Adam and his followers claimed to- believe in and,, worship an invisible being whom they called God^ I claiming for him the credit of haying created, populated, land controlled the earth, the -sun, strirs,, and all other, things visible to the eye. This faith seemed to have grown in popularity owing toa test which had recently been made between the priests of the two 1 deities. Adam was somewhat of a rain prophet, one who could tell signs favorable for rain,, arid he challenged a .priest of Bode to ask his deity to bring rain at a certain time when it was much needed. Bode1 was called upon to perform his duty, and be merciful to his people ■; but he sat in silence, his stony heart heeding- not their prayers. For several days they prayed and supplicated to him, but all in vain. On seeing signs favorable for rain, Adam went forth in public, and caused it. to be told; far and near that his invisible God, would, within the; next three days, fulfil his promise to him, and send copious showers to refresh the ’thirsty fields, and this, that people might judge between his power and the power of Bode,160
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
The rain came as Adam predicted, and the people celebrated the j by fill pcdas|idH by putting to death many of the priests of $ode, and consigning Bode himself to the bottom of the river. Innora, the queen, made a great] feast unto Adam, and he was accorded the first place ■ the kingdom, and. the. records were made to read that Adam was the first man, meaning thereby that he stood! first in the' estimation of the people as a prophet and 'lawgiver. By frequent mistranslations from one language to another, in the ages since, he is erroneously] called the first man created on earth, while jn truth ■ greater number of people lived and died before his birth than have lived and died since. Several years after thus being" honored by the queen Adam's wife bore him a son, and they called his name Seth.
The story of Cain and Abel, as described in the Book ipf Genesis, being. Adam’s sons, is incorrectly told, forj ^Cain’s' father’s name was Garmo, and he was a brother] }bf Adam; while the man Abel whom Cain slew was a , favorite servant of Garmo’s, and had charge of Garmo’s Sossessidns/.andyjt' was Garmo himself who in his anger «drove Cain forth from his presence. Cain’s flight ended ^njthe land then ruled over by a king called Nod. Cain, ^gained the;confidence of King Nod by his inventions of different musical instruments, for which Nod gave him thi^ only daughter in marriage; her name was Alloma. {jSshe 'was very fair to look upon, and the most beautiful woman throughout all the country. Cain was very IwM®® her, and when she bore him a son his joy was ^difip^tq, and he named him Camro, and in honor of,the occasion went forth and laid out the metes and bounds pf , a grhp,t \di^, and named it after his son Camro; it .©ebhmAa' city of great magnificence by the time Camro reached the age of thirty-four years. King Nod was laid at rest in his tomb two years after the birth of Camro, and, Cain reigned in his stead. The possessions belonging to the. land of Nod at Camro’s birth' were fully equal if not superior to those of the Innorite queen. Years before, this time the Gips had landedWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
161
toon the seacoast and had taken possession of A part of the country claimed by the people oif Nod, and the •king then ruling over that paft of, the country granted to Arack and his followers the .right to build a cit£. thereon, and use as much of the territory as was not occupied by the people of Nod* TheseGips had grown in numbers and prosperity until Gain ascended jtheth rone lofNod, and had always proven faithful allies to the lings of Nod. Cain was an unbeliever in; his/uncle Adam’s invisible God, neither recognizedhe the deity.'bf Bode. He was a very wise and intelligent man, but t^f Gips had instilled many of their mysteries and peculiar beliefs into the minds of the people of Nod; therefore each household bad its own peculiar image of worship. ; Cain discouraged this as much as possibly yet ruled his, people in a kind and mild, manner, and they all loved Bum, and he was ever remembered among them a* ope of their best kings.
■ When the Innorites lost their queen Innora,.Adam was called upon to rule over them. ., This he did with;’ ?the true instincts of a cruel priest,	a largpl
number of his fanatical followers,!^ gave 'them the name of the “ Sons of God,” and, caused them- to wear,' 1 different apparel from the rest of the Innorites, instructed them to hold themselves aloof as much as possible from the other classes.; ’ Thiscqurse/spbn brought on an insurrection in which he and, his .^qnpwets yere'' driven from the country, and made to ta-hd' up thejrtabofl;^ in the barren mountains, where after'^uflfeyfng'ijaany years he died, leaving his thick-headed son^Seth ;to; takd' his place as the leader of the Sops of God.
This incident in Adam’s life is the'foundation ipf , mythical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, now found in your Christian Bible. Soon after Adam had been driven from the land of the Innorites they took from the river their insulted deity, Boder set him up in a high place, doing him greyt fhornage and offering him many sacrifices to appease his mighty wrath. After Adam had been driven	throne,
I 11162
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
. the Innorites chose as ting a man of low degree, who had come into prominence as a great warrior, and bore the name ofDebo, and was the elder son of Abel whom Cain slew. , Debp was a man without knowledge an<^ ability* toKcpntrol. a nation, but was not lacking in courage. His success filled him with conceit, and like all weak-minded and ignorant men, be was soon perl suaded'to do foolish things. He declared war against Cain, who ruled in the land of’Nod, because Cain had slain his father. Many of the. Innorites tried to prevent Debo .from bringing the whole nation into strife to satisfy some priy'atb wrong, but Debo claimed that as they had made him king he would now do as he pleased. Wan •was forthwith declared, andean army led by Debo, marched over into the land of Nod and began laying waste to its towns and villages. The warriors of No(0 and their allies met them in the valley of Shomar, and Debo sent a challenge to Cain to a single combat. Cain] laughed at the messengers, and told them to return and tell Debo that he who had slain the lion would in no wise be troubled over the cub, but as he had brought on the war he must let the battle decide it. In the meantime Cain had instructed his generals to completely surround Debo and his army as they lay in the valley, and at a given signal to rush forward under their several leaders and slay all who would not surrender.
The battle began by Cain leading a part of his troops, armed with long lances and sharp battle-axes, and mounted on swift war-horses, down upon the army of Debo; they were quickly routed, and Debo was left in the field to fight alone, and was soon disarmed and made prisoner. The Innorites were captured with but little loss, and sold' into slavery to the tribes living far north of Cain’s dominions. Cain then invaded the country of the Innorites, and placed one of his generals upon the Innorite throne, “ for,” said he, “ if they cannot govern themselves, it is better for them that a foreign eagle be perched upon the throne, than that they should mount a native ass to that elevated position.”WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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Cain placed upon the Innorite throne his general, Apro, a wise, careful, andprudent man, Who did not deal s harshly with his subjects. - Debo was kept in confinement for several months, and then banished to a distant I country never to return upon pain of death/ Cain, thei# F took a large portion of the land belonging to the Inno-; rites, and adjoining that portion of the land of Nod ' which had been settled by the Grips under their leader Aiack, and gave it, and the cities the Gips had built on t the land of Nod, to them as their own ; thus it was that [ the Gips gained a permanent-home in their adopted | country. They built large cities. in/their new posses-l sions, and soon became a powerful nation. During the [ reign of Cain the Sons of God were permitted to take | possession of a portion of the country once owned by I* the Innorites. When Camro, Cain’S son, was twelve I years old, his mother Alloma bore Caip another sOn, .and. E they called his name Epoch. When Enoch, was twgu | years old, AlloAia bore Cain ^twb daughters; the name L of one was Ula, and the other Amy. At the time of » their birth it happened that two great comets were.'^isfl I hie side by side in the heavens, andS the astrologers# t predicted that from the two girls would sprang two great' L and mighty nations that would over^yhelhjjthe^QrJ^ i-When the twins arrived at the, age of eighteen years,
Amy was given in marriage to Jeebe, the king of the I Gips, and Ula was married to, Sian, a young chief who I had sprung up among tli^elSohs, of, God. The union I between Sian and Ula,' greatly exasperated/the bigoted'
Sons of God ; thus it became recorded in: their history1 r that the Sons of God looked upon the daught^ bf
■	and saw that they were fairy and took Unto .them wives», I But the young chief withdrew from lhe Sons of God, E and for some time after lived the: land, of Nod. .
Shortly after the marriage of his jtwo ' daughters Cain I died, and Camro, his eldest son$ ascendedthe thronei I Enoch was made ruler over «the city oft Camro, and the I name of the city was changed to that .of ;Endch-.<^h the
■	fourth year of the reign of Camro, Jeebe the king of the164
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Gips, sold his possessions in that part of the country, and settled in the valley then known as the valley of the Nile, and named the country Egypt, meaning “Ever Oeebe’s.”\ Shortly^ after Jeebe had settled on the Nile, Sian and a few followers, marched eastward from the land ofc Nod, and .settled in what is now known as the , Chinese Empire; since which time the descendents of JSian have continued in possession of that vast country, although numerous civil wars have at times broken out among them. A few of the customs that were introduced by Sian and his,wife, Ula,, are still extant among the Chinese to this day, though their early history as a nation has not been correctly written^ I will add that Confucius, their greatest philosopher, recognizes the fact that he descended in a direct line from Queen Ula, who Was the .daughter of Cain. During Cam ro’s reign the Innorite nation, lost its identity as a nation, and became Absorbed in that of the children of Nod, and all that part of.the country was for many years afterwards ;kno\yn as the land of Nod. Jeebe had started a large jcity on the, banks of the Nile and called it Amy, after his wife, who had borne him. a son called Pharoan.
In the meantimeEnoch, Cain’s second son, had taken ;hita a wife from the tribe of Uzz, that held possession of a small fi^puntainbus territory just north of the land of Nod, and unto Enoch a son was born, and they named hiih; Eemo. He became the father of Noah, the same who is known among your Bible readers as the one ' WMp was , saved from the yengeance of God to repopulate after the supposed great flood. The truth con-cerning that story is in this wise :
./..^nipn Xdhh had ta^en him a wife he settled in some low Valley land near what is , now known as the Ural ^fpuntaijls, and there set up a religion of his owd, differing widely from the doctrine followed by the nation among whom he had, settled. He was a man of very gldhfey ideas, always prophesying evil, and continually looking for some dire mishap to -take place; his chief occupation was the quarrying of stone from the mountainWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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side, which he brought to the city wherein he dwelled and sold to the inhabitants. He had three sons who assisted him in his labor, and they and their wivfes lived, in a small house near the 'river bank; One season an unusually large amount of rain fell in the mountains, and in fact over all that part of the country, completely destroying and washing away all of the . towns and villages built in the valley. The waters reached far up: the mountain side, and for many days the Cbumtry. was one vast ocean of water, with nothing but the mquntain tops standing above it,. Noah and his three sons-with their wives escaped in one of their boats, carrying with, them a few domestic cattle,;which'' they had saved from/ the deluge. They took refuge in the mountains, with h few others who had been so fortunate as to make their escape, and there they remained, until the waters hack abated. As this flood had destroyed many large cities and hundreds of thousands, of- human lives, it became H prominent feature in their histofy, and by cog$tabt:telL/ ing, and repeating, and 'changing. .from one language jp? another, like the story of Cain; and, Abel, Adampanidli Eve, and the Garden of Eden, there, wasavoven around it all of that which is most wonderfulandsuperpatural, as it is now found in the history of tile account .as it is given in your Bible.
Some years after Jeebe had settled the valleys of the Nile, I returned to my mount aid home on Table Rock, near the sea coastal I found Africa had drifted backward; civilization had cea$d$> most of her cities had been forsaken, and the |descendants of those’..who»-' had built them had drifted
were living by hunting and fishing The large country once controlled by	almdst am
unbroken wilderness; amid the tangled? ;vines and trees stood the large cities and works of , art1 which bad been built in his day, now depopulated and fallen into decay.166
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CHAPTER XXXI.
THE DESCENDANTS OF ESAU—THE TOWER OF BABEL— AND WHY IT WAS BUILT.
Of late my mind had been filled with a desire to revisit the; locality of the. mighty icebergs whose heads pierce'd the clouds, and were only over-reached by the flames fromt'The gigantic volcanoes. I soon made the few preparations necessary, and started on my journey J to what is now known as the “ Great American Continent.” A few mofiths afterwards I landed on what is now "known as Pike’s Peak in the State of Colorado; of . course it was, not named, at that time, but I shall use ,'these terms in my narrative hereafter, the better to simplify and get me better located geographically. I-soon found a suitable .place among the caves for my abode, j H Most of the volcanoes had died out; the icebergs had disappeared,, and rank -growths of vegetation had sprung up, from the new earth, though many large lakes still ^cupied the lower ground and formed homes for thou-, )sands upon thousands of large sea animals that once ;claimedy;lid;bpundless ocean as their abiding-place. As these lakes dried up these animals were left to die and become dbod, for the many wild beasts which inhabited mSpbrests surrowading the lakes.
' In one of my .trips far east of the Rocky Mountains, and somewhere pear the central part of Kentucky, I dis-hofered some evidence of . the work of man, though in a ‘^ery rude state. Upon .investigation I found the coun-j try, occupied by a race of short, thick, heavy set black -then; they were i’M a very rude state of development, not much above the higher order of the ape family. They did netknow the use of fire for cooking purposes, but; ate their food raw. After a careful study of their habits concluded they were descendants from theWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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monkey-like animals Elwer and I had seen shortly after we landed on this earth. The disposition of this "black: race toward each other was mild" and friendly, as they teemed to have no desire for strife ; ' any little thing would please them, and the different tribes, of which there were many, always seemed to meet on the most friendly terms. They woftldf chatter and laugh arUong each other, and in many ways exhibit the greatest joy upon the arrival of strangers from a distance4, and the greater the crowd, the greater the pleasure. Their habits were simple, living in rude huts, and feasting on wild 'fruits and nuts, and such animals as they could capture. They would frequently steal from bpe another, and play all sorts of pranks upon each other, but it was all taken as a joke and ended in .uproarious laughter., Like our little Manikins they were great imitators, and had many* traits which proved to me, beyond any doubt, they were [the descendants of those same little fellows' Elwer and 1^ took so much pride in training,, when we werelocated in our first home on earth, several, thousand years before, t This race of blacks became very Numerous throughout 'allthat part of the country, and gradually.increased:|ii knowledge until they formed quite , a: nation, and were ruled by one acknowledged leader. They did not have'-[any idea of that development whi-chi was attained' by the descendants of the savage Tarths; as the forfest furbished them their food in.abundahWLhey seemed perfectly satisfied with the simple manner in which they lived. For several hundred years T watched .this black race, from time to time, and so long as they were left to themselves they seemed to enjoy theih lives in the mpst simple way. War or strife was entirely unknown among them, and their wants were easify; provided: for; but there came a time when it would hav0 been far .better for them if they had knowni the arts of war, for, they would have been better prepare#, to-defend their, country against the cruel invaders from th^fnorth and east;- t , [ To make this plainer I will say that one dayiR,.niy lonely wanderings nearly east, I discovered a large body168
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
of white, men about .five feet and a half or six feet tail! with great bushy heads, broad thick shoulders and body! well proportionedthey were armed with spears, battlei axes, bows and arrows, with strong shields and helmefl of thick bull hides. These fellows had apparently just I landed upon the coast, now forming a part of the State! of New York, and their' sloops were drawn upon the | shore as if they had come to stay. I mingled amongl them, and after learning their language, I learned they! -had descended from the race which had inhabited an 1 island not far from the coast of Asia. They called] ■ themselves Earthmakers, from the fact that all of the j images they worshiped were made by piling up great ‘masses of earth, and Shaping it in different forms. This race of'Earthmakers had been driven from their homes j . by the warriors of the Nile, who were the descendants of Jeebe and had become a great nation. It was not many years after the arrival of the Earthmakers on the! rCjoast, before they had advanced far into the interior, land settled in large numbers along what is now known] as; the Ohio and-Miami rivers. The inoffensive black] j$ace whom they found there, and who at first treated the jny^ders withf kindness, were repaid by being made. .Slaves of, and compelled to assist in building the im*l mounds now found scattered throughout a large ’part pf tfce United : States, as far west as the great Missouri -riyer, though the greater portion of their work $ap.	seen along the Ohio river and its tributaries.]
When the blacks found they were ill-treated by the :Earthmakets,'dr .as; history calls them, “Mound-build*j $rs,-” as many of the little fellows as could get away, retreated southward, and did not stop in their migration until topy entered the African forests—for at the time of P^frich I-speaka narrow strip of land formed a connect* ing dink between the African and American coasts;] featuries afterwards it ;sank beneath the waters and the twb countries were- separated. For four hundred years the Moxmd-builders grew and flourished -throughout a large part of the American continent. Aside from theirWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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passion for building mounds they did but little else except war upon each.other and hunt. At some periods’ they would flourish,, and at others they were-:.almost exterminated by their savage wars with one another. \
When the Mound-builders had d^iveh; the black race into the African wilds, I returned; to that country; and again occupied my old; home on Table Rock. I found that Jeebe, or rather his descendants, had completed the building of many large and magnificent cities. The interior of Africa still remained wild; and uninhabited, except by wild beasts and a few, savage tribes. In the continent of Asia the descendants of the three sons ofj Noah, and the‘'few saved from the floods with them, had repopulated that portion of the country, and under their various leaders had divided themselves into-hundreds of different tribes. In the northern part of Asia the peogj pie of the land of Nod had spread out over a vast terri-c tory, and had also divided themselves into many tribe^l and had taken the names of their leader^ Among them, were the names of the Assyrians, Babylonians,, Alm<M| ans, the Saffans, and the Phoenician^. One w® undefe^ the leadership of Nimrod settled in thp Valley pf^hinar^ and spent several hundred years in tljp He^c^wh effort of building an immense tower, whose top . was;intended to reach beyond the clouds. ’
It was the builder’s first s intention ithat this tower should be a refuge in case of another deluge, similar to the one near the Ural mountains, which their forefathers had been so lucky as to espape;X Owing to the fall of the dynasty of Nimrod the tower, was never completed, and stands to this day like a huge ungainly wait bp the' fair face of nature. By an error’du history long since i written it is made to appear that this tower, which was called the Tower of Babel (becauseBabel was king over the people of the valley of Shinar at the time of their subjugation), was bein^ built to' avenge themselves on, God, whom they supposed dwelledjhthe ’skies, for send;, ing the deluge which destroyedbomanyof their people;’ and that this God, fearing that they would succeed, in170
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
their undertaking, sent ah angel? down who confounded their language, so that they were scattered over the face of the earth and left off building the tower, and that this was the reason for calling ib the Tower of Babel.
/ It is not my intentiontdgive you.all the details of the rise and fall; of-the different nations, so I shall merely point out a few of the errors which appear in the Bible .'account, and' in other historical writings, regarding that age of man’s existence, as they are so plain to me, but so dim to those who wrote the accounts now found in the •different < histories. Egypt, or the land of Jeebe, had now begun to Attain a very high state of civilization; her, rulers had sent to foreign nations, and by liberal in-dticements'had prevailed upon many of their wisest men to pome and make their homes at the court of her kings. The Assyrians had also become a great and powerful nation in Asia.* Both of these nations had become well versed in the sciences, of astronomy, astrology, psychology, mathematics and philosophy, so much ^dmired by the ancient Greeks and modern thinkers. From the old Innorite nation a man had descended in a pirectline from Ada.pi, whose name was Abraham; this mm had become’chfef of-a small tribe, and very wealthy, And yyitH his nephew Ifot, dwelled in the plains then called, “the plains :of Simmack.” He was a devout believer in tbe-'invisible God, arid while he had been the father; of .many1 '.children by his female servants, he had bu&fqne Son. by his favorite wife, and he called his name Isaac. ^ri^ wari jvbry fond of this son, but in his old •days hiS i brain Jifoftened and he imagined he must give offering to his God. He confided his intentions -tq some of his servants, who were very, fond, of the voung man, but as they knew it was impossible to persuade him- out of his notion, Isaac and they ^sorted ’to thi^ .subterfuge: they first found out where the.offering was to be made ; then they took an old* ram from their flock and fastened him by the horns he^,t th^j Spot to some bushes; early the next morning the young man, acting as though he knew nothing ofWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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his father’s intentions, willingly went with him to where the offering was to be made. Several servants followed at a safe distance, so ah to be able to /protect the youth from the fanaticism of his father’s dethroned minck When all was ready for the offering to’ be-made, one. of the servants, who was concealed in the brush near by, cried out to Abraham in a hollow voice, as though he were God, saying: • |
“Abraham, slay not thy son Isaac, but look behind thee, for lo I I, nave provided me a sacrifice; and also tested thy obedience to me! Lo I am thy God.”
The trick worked to perfection, and Isaac, who bad engineered the whole thing, retained his father’s confidence and love, and at the same time-saved his own life.
When Isaac had arrived at the proper age and had taken unto himself a wife, she bore him two sons, and he called their names Esau and Jacob? Of Esau’s gen--? eTation I shall speak hereaftej. Jacob grew up, and proved to be a shrewd sharp fellow, always, taking somp-mean advantage of those with whom he dealt; even Esau, Ins brother, did not escape being swindled, by him. Fearing that some of his mean-tricks ijad endangered his life, his mother prevailedJupqn; him to go to her brother, who held large possessions in a distant country. Jacob obeyed his mother’s voice hand soon after fbufid ‘ himself comfortably located with Mis uncle, whose natae was Laban. Here he stayed (or several years, at, the end of which time, and by his	tricks,dhe had swin-
dled his uncle and others^ otut of large herds of cattle f he also married Laban’s two daughters, who in ?the course of time, with their^ handmaidens, bore him twelve sons. These sons, with; tHeii*' father, and their wives finally settled in Egypt, where, the rulers pf that, country, “through the influence of one of their brothers who had been in Egypt from his early youth, and whose name was Joseph,” granted them a large tract of land. l Jacob had kept in force an old -jiractide pf:circumcision introduced long years before birth of his grandfather Abraham, by a priest Qf the tribe of Umorites172
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
who dwelled in the land of limo, a country lying not far. from theborders of the Red Sea. It was first practiced under the belief that it was a preventive againil disease, but /Abraham accepted it as a command from /his God, that his descendants might be distinguished from the rest of the human race. Jacob adopted the name of Israel, and for his sons, that of Israelites, which name: their descendants bear to this day, as well as that of the Jews.
As a history of this race can be found in the BibleJ from Jacob’s time down to their subjugation by the. Romans, I shall dwell on it no farther, but will return to Esau who had left a large number of descendants. His third son, whosb name was Nicomede, married four' wives, and with them and his servants located in the i northern part of AsiaK and from them the Esquimaux, Greenlanders .and North American Indians have descended. In time they spread over Northern Asia, and Sived , by.Hunting and trapping. A body of them pushed across the ice-fields and gained a footing on the shores of'Alaska ; these in time worked their way down through British America until they were opposed by the Mound-builders. In them the warlike Moundbuilders met a class as bloodthirsty as themselves, and aftermany/years of war they were exterminated, and ‘tire last remnslnli of the race was slain by the Nicomedia» or Indians, as they are now called, on the eastern banks bf the Mississippi river, near where the city of East St. Louis now stands. Of the descendants of Nicomede there is little more to be said. The great difference ex* isting at ; tn^ present day between the offspring in the AfctiA region, and other parts of North America, is entirely due to climate and their manner of living. ]WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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CHAPTER XXXII.
| DRUIDISM AND WORSHIPERS OF FIRE AND THE SUN.'
r I shall now begin with the southern races, or rather, at the time when Ahue, the king of the Ayers, had the control of the continent* of' Africa. Shortly after the ; disease had depopulated* many,.of their cities, a large•< number of the survivors abandoned the African'coasting their ships, to seek a more congenial, climate.. After a troublesome voyage and undergoing innumerable, hard- * ships, they landed on a large island whipfiy® now called Madagascar; they found its forests inhabited by wildv beasts and birds of gigantic size, and here they began to subdue the country and build thenfiselves permanent .homes. From this island their descendants sopn spread^ and populated a large number of smaller islands between,, the continent of what is now known hs; Australia, and, ’ the island of Madagascar; most o£Uhps® islands have since been submerged. Part them landed ’on shore of Australia, and under a leader called,?!Surl^ became quite a nation, taking possession of all the inhabitable lands. They buj.lt several large pities, and a. certain priest among them whose name was Art introduced a religion which is now‘known as'“ fire worship-' ing.” He taught that all things first passed through fire, and that the fire was all-powerfhV^h either .create,1 or destroy.
This religion flourished forWorethanfive hundred years, and human sacrifices to the number of one thousand were yearly offered to this god; the victiins were mostly young virgins betweeii	fifteen
and’twenty years.
Finally there arose a king among thh^ whdsp name was Druid, who proved a most cruel ruler, japd .increased, the number of sacrifices to theGodofFire,and added174
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
another torture to their horrid customs; he offerel his only daughter as the first sacrifice. Before hid time it had been the custom for the victim to drink a certain potion; distilled from a plant, which when' /drank, would cause a deep sleep to fall Upon those who V drank it. In this; unconscious condition was the maid
laid upon the altar, and her body quickly reduced to ashes but Druid, who was by nature very cruel ana superstitious; ordered that the sacrifice should be bound down to the rock and have an incision made on the left’ side, and the beating and bleeding heart be torn from . the victim while their piteous cries for mercy were ringing in the ears of the multitude. From him descend» what is now known as ancient Druidism. Druid’s wife , bore him ,a son, whose horrid deformity must have been - a;complete counterpart to his mind. He named the ^/child Poss, and when he arrived at the age of manhood he was a sight to behold; two long tusks protruded • from the- mouth, the eyeballs .seemed as though they were ready to fall from their sockets, there was not the <- least resemblance of a nose, and the ears lapped forward like, a hound’s, while the body was ill-shaped and horrid to, look upon, but his mind was strong and capabldof ^ruling the nation. In his early youth his father had hlaid several plans to have him destroyed, but from some |lc^use they failed, and Doss, who bore the king no goodwill, succeeded at last in having him assassinated. J
Upon the death of Druid the nation became divided lai^d uivil war broke but in all its horrors; when it ended Doss came out victorious, and the conquered party were /banished from the country. Under the leadership of a / general called Amacus the banished party finally found /a fhbme on the qpast of South America; here a large empire was founded by them. They spread over the 'whole of that country, and in Central America, and also ;|>eopled many islands. Large cities were built by them throughout both Central and South America, whose iiemains are fopnd' standing'to this day. They also pushed forward into Mexico, and what is now known as175
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
New Mexico and Arizona, Ini those countries they became what is known as the /Oliff-dwellers, and their cities may be found cut '"from, solid rock high up on the mountain side. When they1 first landed upon the South American coast they took tne namerof..-“ Qhildren of the sun,” and made the sun their god?; These people, as history tells you, were finally- subdued by the Spaniards.
I In giving you a general, outline of how the earth was populated, it has not been- my intention to go into details. I have omitted to^speak of many important inations such as the Romans, Gfeeks,Sabines, Phoenicians land German races, and thousands ;of others,froin the fact that this recital would weary ithe reader by a too often repeated tale, for all of these* races sprang from one or the other of those whom I havodescribed. / f
I I might mention to you a great many errors found in I your New Testament, which is the cornerstone of the Chris-:* tian religion. I might also speak of tne doctrine taught by Buddha, and that of Mohammed.,,, which are at the ■present day the three great, religions beliefs of the i world; but as I have a true history of them I will; at some future time permit you to peruse it, and will omit them here. About five hundred years before the birth of Christ I lost my mountain home and all-its pbntehts.
I by an earthquake, which separated it , ffofo;?tfie .r6stifof 1 the mountain, and it sank beneath the ocean level.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THROUGH THE EARTH TO THE NORTH POLE.
I I will now tell you of a strange trip I once made to the North Pole. I think it was something over two thousand years ago. On^day I discovered what is now known as the Mammoth'Cave of Kentucky. Haying nothing better to do at tire time, I concluded to explore one of the many corridors which led off in different178
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
directions. So preparing myself with everything need-1 ful for an underground exploration, I went to my task with all the. ardor of youth. I had prepared a small stout rubber boat, and a srpall electric machine for supplying light With these and my other necessaries for the journey, I soon found, myself -several miles under! ground from the entrance of the cave. At first my course lay to the northeast and did not dip much; but I finally came to a deep chasm, at the bottom of which rushed a dark stream of water. The chasm was about twenty yards wide, but the passage ended on the other side. After great difficulty I succeeded in climbing down the steep sides, and launched my boat upon the river. At this place, I carved pay name upon the rock; by calculation I found I was four miles underground and about twenty-five miles from the entrance of the cave. I seated myself , in the boat and started down iz stream. In some' places the roof of the cavern came | alpiost to the water, at others it arose three or four hun-$ dred feet high. I kept a careful lookout for other openings, and after sailing about forty-five miles I discovered . a large round hole in the side of the stone wall about t wenty feet above the water. I landed and made my I boat safe to the shore, and climbing to the mouth of the opening I explored it for some distance. It differed greatly; from anything I had yet seen, insomuch as it was perfectly round, and seemed as if it had been bored by some mighty machinery through a solid black gran-‘ iterock and had left the sides very smooth and highly polished: | Theisize of the opening was some forty feet in diameter, buf the hole increased in size as it extended back into the rock. I returned to my boat, and taking it with me, again entered the opening, which I followed for about eight miles, where it terminated in a large room, ot plain, not legs thaniten miles wide and fifty Idng.^ In the centre of this space a lake .of clear water could be seen,' but what surprised me most was that the whole space was bathed in aRnellow pale light which seemed to come from the lake, and make any objectWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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plain to be seen anywhere within five miles from the lake shore. Upon a careful inspection of the lake I found the water to be filled with millions of small fish, which I named Electric, dr. “ lantern fish,” for whenever they moved their fins would glow with a very beautiful light. These fish were about, eight or ten inchest in length and were without scales J the water • was milk warm.
I I remained in the cavern for many days and explored it carefully. There were great veins of coal, two hun-dred feet thick, which if ? they were ever , worked, would supply the earth with fuel for ages to comef; Hedges of pure silver ore cropped, out that might enrich a world. The ground near the lake shore was carpeted ’ with a short greenish-white grass: the air in the cavern was very pure, and seemed to be'supplied from an opening further north. One day! wandered near the rocky, wall inclosing the valley.' To my surprise I.saw what” appeared to be the head of a manprotruding from a hole", in the wall. Upon closer inspection I found I was noti mistaken: but he bad been dead for many years and had turned to stone.
When alive he would have stood, about ten fe§tit?dl. and would have weighed not less than eight hundred? pounds; about his waist was a very broad belt, also; rifled, and when with a small stone I tried to separate it, it broke, and several bright rdund gold-pieces fell out, somewhat similar to the twenty dollar'gpld-pieces/ now in use, except the figures stamped upon them. ' I Upon one side the figure represented an old man W the act of lifting a most beautiful little girl in his hrms,V and circling around this figure were these words in the Elvo language, “ Children’s Love is the tlrdwnihg’, Glory of Old Age.” Upon the other side were the figures of a handsome youth and lovely maidM'with their'hands joined together, and around them the words,.As I Journey Be Thou My Guide.” Th,e riin^bf tbe-cdinMlsp' bore an inscription reading as follows : “ Science is the
I 12178
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
Lamp of Knowledge which Guides our Weary Footsteps to a Peaceful Sleep in Death.”
I cpuld not: tellhow longthe body had laid therein that petrified condition, or where it came from, but I had’ no doubt the race from whence it sprung had been in close communion with the people of the cities of Zea and Zell. I managed after much'labor to stand it upon; its feet with its face to the south, and in one of its out-1 Stretched hands I laid one of the; pieces of gold, and there' to this day it stands if nothing has disturbed it. The rest of the gold, or at least a greater part of it, I still have in my possession.
I:then>continued my exploration of this wonderful' cave, or underground Valley, but I found no other evidence of man. There were veins from six to ten feet thick of pure gold, and upon the ground near them lay great golden nuggets, like yellow pumpkins in a field of corn. If gold could satisfy man’s mind, this cave should be a well-spring of eternal joy, when it becomes known to others ; as for me I do not need or desire it.
After becoming tired of wandering among the great t pillars and boulders of stone and along the lake shore of thiscurious subterranean valley, I entered the opening i where I- first found the petrified human body. This , entrance was not over four feet high and three wide and Jesd directly north. Above the entrance I carved my Sime fri |he smooth granite, and below it in the Elvo language I carved these words: “I entered from the south, my journey is northward, and I call this the Cave of tne : Stone ;Glant^ As I pursued my way along this .channel I/jdi^OverOd many openings upon both sides of tberockywail, and from many of them small streams of water; flowed, apd disappeared among the crevices. This passage Jlipped Very rapidly, carrying me deeper and still ■peeper intd theeart.fi.Several days were spent in follow-/frig this narrow channel, and nothing unusual occurred uptil X hamh to, a^lhrge circular room, not less than half a mile in circumference. The ceiling extended far above my head, and;must have been five hundred feet from the179
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
floor. I heard a dull roaring sound aS i?I stood above some great cataract; the floor was very smooth and doped gently to the centre of the rooim where a hole about twenty feet in circumference and leading downward, proved the only outlet except the one I entered.< Upon lowering a, light I found it to be shaped like an inverted funnel, not less than eight hundred feet deep, and a large river was flowing, directly beneath the open- • ins. F concluded to descend if possible and continue my journey.
F As it was impossible to climb down the smooth sides [which inclined inward and under, I prepared my rubber ' boat, placed my effects in jtr attached h a large para- . chute to the boat, stepped in myself,,gently pushed it from the ledge and gradually sank through the opening rg the descent was very slow, .and I had» ample time to inspect the walls of this funnel, and my electric light ’j [made everything as bright as day, could see the'| wonderful sights. About three hundred feet from the i top I observed a large round hole running far back into the earth, and there coiled, as if in sleep,:fay a great spr- \ pent, which could not have been less than .eighty , pr a hundred feet in length. There musti have been some’b .other egress to its den, for it could not have reachedit by • I the opening I saw.
■	At another opening in a large room.. I saw several^ stone images standing in a cluster, with'handsel asped
i as if in prayer. Here I checked rny descent and, gained
■	footing on the slippery edge.;' fastened <ihy boat, closed my parachute, and made my way back to the
[room where the images stood,, I found them ,to be nal»^' wal formations caused by , the dripping of water, and Impregnated by different mineral deposes from above,;. bat they were such perfect imitations of ^ien that I liad, i at first taken them for works of art;i; As I was Abpijt' td^ , return to my boat I was startled,'bjr(a loud hissing noise at the end of the cave where my Jight did not penetrate ;1 upon looking that way I saw tl|e	Of a hiige ser-
pent with great flaming eyes andfaibpd$ Ted as scarlet,.180
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from which arose a bluish-red flame. I at once recognized it as a.fire-serpent, although I had seen this class of reptiles but once, in a marshy forest of Venus, and they were small compared with this one. Being anxious! to get a nearer view of this rare reptile, I cautiously] approached the place where it lay, at the same time concealing the light so as to be able to observe more closely the flames of the serpent. When it heard me advancing it coiled itself in a defiant attitude; and increased its hissing and blowing until it made the whole cavern 1 re-echo, and from the head and neck a great flame sbone I so as to light the uttermost recesses of the cave.
As I continued to approach it sprang forward, and for the first time I saw it had four leathery black wings j upon each side of its body, which assisted it in making prodigious leaps through the air. In springing, it passed j ^completely over my head, and coiled itself near the open-g ing which I had entered, as though to bar my escape ; ’ ; then rearing its head, it fastened its glittering eyes upon me and began a low chanting, or humming sound, at the same time swaying its head to and fro as if keeping time to its own music; then I realized its intention was to charm, me, which is the means used to procure its food. v The air became fetid by its breath, and I felt a sickening sensation. I had kept my electrib light concealed, • but the serpent’s flames had furnished sufficient light to ' examine the cave, and I had seen an opening near where , I first discovered the serpent, and through which it had no doubt gained entrance to the cave; into this I moved, 1 and by the aid: of my light I moved forward to gain a breath of pure air. After going about a quarter of a mile I came to another large room, similar to the one which I had just left, except in the centre a fountain threw its waters with great force against the ceiling, about two ’hundred feet from the floor. Around this fountain there were many curious formations resembling animal life; Among them I could fancy the gigantic Tarth, and I saw a resemblance of my old friend Elwer. Apart from the rest stood a huge form which resembledWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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the great Asiatic mastodon, and near him his giant adversary of the sea, the octopus, or devil-fish; all these were formed from the minerals thrown up by the foun-tain. I then turned my attention to a closer inspection of the dark recesses which had been beyond the reach of my light ; in one of them I found an opening leading upward, which appeared’ to lead up toward the surface of the earth, and as it was worn smooth it was probably used by the serpents. After satisfying my curiosity I returned to the fountain, and sitting at the feet of the form I fancied most like Elwer’s I . made a careful calcu-lation which showed I was about ten miles underground, iand about four hundred from the entrance of the Mam-moth Gave.
I then carved my name upon a large granite boulder, and feeling somewhat weary I sank into a doze, from which I was aroused by a queer purring noise, and abserved a great serpent emerge from the hole which led up toward the surface of the earth, with a large ’ animal between its teeth. This serpent was over fifty feet long, and its circumference not less than twenty feet.’ [When it had dragged its unwieldy form into the apart- ■ ment where I sat, it laid the carcass upon the floor, and went to the fountain, opened its. capacious mouth, and permitted the water to pour down its throat; After its thirst was satisfied it moved toward the entrance where1 I had entered, and gave one or two bellows that reverberated like distant thunder down the dark corridor, and presently an answering sound was . heard.. Con-healing myself behind a large statue I soon witnessed a , sight P shall never forget. The serpent that brought in the carcass had no wings, and was black; immediately after being answered by the fire-serpenfe his color began to change, first to purple blue, then a green, and soon around him all the colors of the rainbow could be seen*; He coiled himself in the most graceful attitude and began a low purring sound, great waves of light being thrown off from the upper part of the body, from the neck downward, When the fire-serpent entered the cave182
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
the joy of the pther knew no bounds. He moved in & graceful circle Ground the dead carcass, then gliding up to the fire-serpent, that proved to be the female mate, and by every means showed his delight in being with her, and invited her to accept his offering, While she devoured the animal the male coiled himself beside her,' greatly pleased as she satisfied her appetite. Fearing they might take me for a kind of dessert, after meals, I glided out unnoticed and hastily entered my boat, and opening! my parachute I continued my descent until I rested upon the river; then closing the parachute I sailed down the river to the north. It proved to be a stream of considi erable size, in depth about fifteen feet and in width about half a mile, with high steep rocks upon either side, leaving no shore or landing-place. In some places the roof was so near the water I was compelled to lay flat in my boat to avoid striking the rocks above, which* .were of a dark gray color, and were of very early for-; mation, as no shells could be discovered. Formore than sixty days I continued my way down the river. Finally -the waters began flowing more rapidly ; as though I I were drawing near a cataract and descending deeper into the earth,
Presently I heard a dull roar echoing along the vaulted] -channel and I /began to look about me for a place to
■	land, but this I could not find. The rapid current would draw me into the vortex of waters and prevent me land-, ing, even though I should discover a landing-place; fortunately the roof overhead became much-higher, and I «’Opened my parachute and fastening it to the boat, braced myself for the mighty plunge I would soon have to
(ipake. The roaring of the cataract had become terrific; the waters were rushing on at the rate of almost a mile
■	a minute, and far ahead I could see the white mist arising from belpvt the falls. For the first time in my life I I begad realize imminent danger; my little boat flew dike, a thing lifib, and before I could think, it had shot but pyef tfie falls in;, sn straight line about one hundred, feet, and then supported by the parachute, it sank fifteen183
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
hundred feet to the lake below as gracefully as a swan. No tongue can describe the grandeur of this subterranean cataract. I found the lake to be near the edge of a vast open underground plain which was lighted by the ' fires from two volcanoes then in active operation at the •other side. I landed my boat and stepped upon the shore, feeling greatly relieved for the opportunity of surest after my long ride on the river. But it seemed very strange then, and is yet, that this plain was covered with vegetable matter. Several varieties of trees grew in abundance, and among their branches the birds were singing as gaily as those above the earth. Small animals I of the deer species roamed in large herds through the [forests, and fishes of every variety glided through the waters of the lake.
Even a greater surprise than this greeted me, for on the third day as I sat near the lake, I saw what I at j f first took for a large, beautiful water-fowl gliding over I the water, and as it came near; judge my surprise at i seeing a beautiful little lady, not more than eighteen^ inches tall, spring to the land from the back of a large?” white swan. I think she was the most beautiful little ! creature I had ever seen, and seemed so innocent iand harmless that I thought her the emblem of purity and; sweetness. No sooner had she landed than .thousands
I of little birds of every color, not larger than dur hum*^ lining-birds, gathered about her, singing audchirping aS if to give her a warm welcome. Ship wouldthenput
I forth her hand, talking and chatterihgto thenTas if they I were her companions, and seemed greatly delighted at^ having them near her. As yet she had, hot observed
I me, but wandering along the beach, "she jmy boat, I and examined it with great curiosity,' Then calling to -her ■ swan, that still floated on the lake, shemounted its back and glided away to the farther side,. where pho disap-;, peared in the forest beyond. I felt nssured^tha^^she ■would return with others, so I walked; into the forest [ and concealed myself that71 might ,/kh^all trans-pired. Presently out from the forest’bn the other side184
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
of the water■ came about fifty little men and women, some larger and some 'smaller than the little lady, who walked in advance,* each fallowed by a white swan. When she reached the water she called her swan, as did the others, and they all took their seats upon their' . curious steeds and rapidly approached my side of the lake, landed, and soon began to examine the boat, and to speculate as to its being there.
After muon talking in a language I could not understand, they tried to launch it upon the waters; when I saw they were about to Succeed I walked forward to save my boat. The little fellows saw me, and seemed stricken with terror, but their great swans bravely marched out . of the water and took a position of defiance between their masters and myself. ' They hissed, flapped their wings, and, stretched their necks in the most warlike and determined manner. I then called to the little fel-. lows, addressing, thyself in particular to the little lady 3 whom I had, first seen. After many vain attempts I.
*	made her Understand that I would not harm her, at the fsame time boaxing her to come to me. After consulting
her friends she timidly approached, but when I stooped pdown to take her in my arms (she quickly glided away.
I then threw her one of the gold-pieces which I had . i taken from the waist’of the stone giant, that had the picture of the gray haired man lifting a little girl in his
*	arms. She picked it up, gazed upon it for some time, then lifting, up her little arms she sprang forward and fairlyleapedinto mine. When the swans saw our friendship, they’returned to the water, and I advanced j parrying her, and seated myself upon the ground amid the kittle/people, who soon became familiar and sociable, fl ||4pPh'e males were dressed in a web woven by a peculiar .bird PaJIed the weayer-bird, of which they had many gained -fpr that purpose; the females were dressed in
\Which they wove similar to the silk of to-day, $bphgh much, finer. My little friend bore the name of Etta, which signified “Bud of Beauty,” and proved to be the king’s daughter. After considerable persever-'WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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ance she succeeded in making me understand thatthey dwelled in a city beyond tHe forest, on the opposite side of the lake, and that if I could- cross over they would be glad to have me accompahyithem to the city/ They i did not understand that I could use my boat as a means of conveyance and knew my size would prevent my using one of their swans. When I set my boat upon the water, took Etta in my arms and stepped in and floated out upon the lake, they clapped their little hands in joyful glee, and quickly mounted their swans. We passed » over the .lake together. Carrying Etta'in my arms we entered the forest, and in three hours we came out on the other side where a beautiful little, city met my view, whose largest buildings were about eighteen feet high.
i The streets were broad and clean, with, little trees on either side, and along the sidewalks were well-kept flower?,* gardens. The city was built Of polished stone somewhat like granite, and busy little feet went pattering up and down the streets. I was amused to see numerous stores filled with notions, dry-goods, books, jewelry, and a thousand other articles. Etta conducted me to the palace of her father, and workmen at once began to remove the first and second floors of a building in which I was comfortably provided for, although my head reached near the ceiling of the third floor. I was looked upon as a great wonder, and the king provided me with F teacher to learn their language so that he might be able to learn more regarding me.
t My tutor proved to be a man well adapted to teaching the language, and in less thafl a week I could speak it fluently. I gave an account of , my life; by wh at mearis I had arrived in their country, and spoke of people J much larger than I who inhabited the, outside-world. ■They seemed greatly surprised and by the look of their faces, I often thought, as I was telling my story, they took me to be the biggest liar they, ever had the misfortune to meet; “for,” said the king, “how is it possible for anything to live or be able to remain on the outside of this round ball called earth ? It is my opin186
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
ion they Ayould fall off of When I tried to explain the law of attraction and when I demonstrated to him that many worlds hung in space, that large numbered them were populated with different qualities of animal life, I at last convinced him of the truthfulness of’my former statements. y
I learned these little fellows had been living in this subterranean valley for many a century. Their history gives a very ^mythical account of their ancestors having ■ at one time lived in the water like fish, but had gradually adapted themselves to making their permanent home on land. They called themselves Verays, or “great men.” They had a large number of domesticated animals someJ what resembling the spotted .deer of North America; from these they obtained a good supply of milk, that constituted their only diet. Their average life was about six hundred years, and, through a very peculiar oon-, dition of life, at the death of any one the following day a child* was born, And no births ever occurred’until after death. Hence the Verays did not increase or decread fci population and they numbered anqut: one thousand, of : which the sexes were equal; Until! arrived there they did not have the least idea there was any other animal ‘life in existence, except that which they> had known. They told me that at the extreme end of their territory ’there was a large hole in the ground through^ which all the surplus waters were emptied. They had supposed] the waters fell through the earth, and in this hole it had been their custom to cast all their dead bodied I remained with the little Verays some months, and found them very peaceful and sociable toward one another, and. I was told that strife, quarreling or disputes of any kind were unknown. Each couple had their favorite deer which furnished them milk. They had no idea or thought of any existence after death; consequently they did not bow to any form of worship.
Etta had been my constant companion, and proved herself an amusing little creature; in her company I explored their country carefully and found gold on theWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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shore of the lake as sand on the beach of the upper oceans, and large blocks of gold cropped out from the hill sides, but was no more regarded than stone is above the earth j-in fact it was frequently cast aside to get some beau-ful little pebble.
I made a careful examination of the hole through which the waters of the lake flowed, and found it to be
I	continuation of the subterranean river which I had been following for several hundred, miles. Etta persuaded me to stay with them until her marriage, which [would occur in about two months; I did so, and during the time taught them many useful things which might add to their comfort. The day previous to the wedding was employed by everybody in decorating the streets. The most beautiful arches, woven with flowers of every hue and color, spanned the streets in a thousand different places. The wedding-trip was to be made in my little boat across the lake and back, and I to be oarsman, while the escort were to use their swans. The groom was the son of their great historian, and kept a record of everything that occurred to the nation, and was con- < sidered of equal footing with the king; his name was Rewee, and he was very handsome, being about twenty-ttwo inches high and well-proportioned, with deep blue
■ eyes and curly hair that hung in golden ringlets over his ■■oulders.
Rewee took his stand upon the balcony of the palace. Then all the citizens gathered below, when out of the palace stepped the king, leading his daughter by the hand. Advancing to Eewee, he placed Etta’s hand in his, ‘and laying his hand upon their heads he said in a loud ■ice:
i “Before my people do I here publicly declare that I j give my daughter Etta in marriage to Rewee, the son of the public recorder and historian, and I call upon all of my people to witness this my voluntary act, and
II	this day renounce all power to recall the words I have spoken. Let it be recorded.”
'Immediately there went up from the people a loud188
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
shout of rejoicing. I then took the bride and groom, one on each arm, carried them through the forest to the lake, and gave them their promised wedding-trip in my boat. The next day I declared to the king my intention to continue my journey down the river, and that I would have to descend through the opening by which the surplus waters of the lake flowed off. They did everything in their power to prevent my attempting what appeared to them such a dangerous undertaking, but when they found I was not to be turned back, the whole city turned out to see my descent.
When we arrived at the opening I arranged my boat and parachute, and after bidding my little friends adieu, and placing a string of pearls around Etta’s neck as a bridal present, I stepped into the boat, and getting as far from the land as possible, with the assistance of a ; pole glided over the falls and gradually sank in the abyss below. I had prepared a small balloon, with i certain chemicals, with which I could return to the upper surface if I found it necessary. This I explained to my little friends before descending, and told them to have no fear as to my fate, for if I did not return, it » would be evidence there was a way opened for my jour-l ney. Slowly I sank deeper into the chasm, which was greatly enlarged the lower I descended; ^ After going ■ down some eight hundred. feet. I saw a large crevice ^ j; the rock that formed a solid wall around me, and far back in the crevice I observed a liquid river of fire . flowing in a parallel course with the river of water; but as I continued to descend I lost sight of this river of fire, for my mind -was suddenly attracted to a much more important object. I had noticed for sometime, clinging to the rocky walls, a number of soft snail-like creatures, with long feelers extended, that would sometimes adhere to my boat or parachute, if by accident they came too near the sides of the wall. These creatures weighed not less than ten or twelve pounds, but I did not think of them attaching themselves to the boat, so I had paid but little attention to them; now I foundWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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so many hundreds of these slimy animals had become attached to the boat and the top of the parachute, that their extra weight was making' me descend at a very, rapid rate. As they continued to multiply it became necessary to get rid of them, or I would be plunged into the unknown regions below. I quickly ran a fine copper wire several times around the parachute, and bringing it down over the side, extended, it several times around the boat; I then attached the end to the small battery that supplied me with electric lights and turned on a full charge of electricity which soon compelled ‘them to release their hold and fall past me into the depths below. I took a special delight in seeing how many of those creatures I could destroy, for they were the most loathsome objects, I had met on my journey.
B After descending about six hundred feet my boat floated placidly on the current of a broad river that hurried me down stream, and still further north.. For. many days I sailed without seeing, anything worthy of, I note, but finally the river terminated in a large lake,, almost boiling hot. I landed upon the shore and began an exploration of the cavern in which I found myself, tit proved to be several hundred acres in extent, with a passage leading directly north. : This I followed for several days, and.I came to another small cavern at the farther side, out of which flowed a broad river of molten hva; beyond this river I could see that the passage still led northward. While I was considering the possibilities of crossing I was surprised, to see .several small animals, about the size of foxes,-wallowing in a miry substance that resembled tar, bot, was of very different nature. After these animals had thoroughly coated themselves with this substance, t^ey^ fearlessly plunged into the river and swam to the other side, and I learned that the substance was a substantial fireproof covering, and might be relied on with confidence; and after applying a goodly portion of fit ,‘to myself and boat I unhesitatingly launched it, and was soon on the other side. Freeing myself from the tar-like substance by a190
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
good bath in a warm spring of water near by, I com tinued my journey northward along the passage.
About five miles from the river of fire I entered a small room perfectly round, with the walls as smooth as glass. From every direction I saw images of myself reflected from its polished surface. Here was the work of art, and I knew that man had been there before, me, but I could not believe he came the way I did. This room was something over forty feet in circumference and in the centre stood a handsome dressing-case, carved from stone, and highly ornamented with various devices. The legs represented the Polar bear, the feet were like the large green sea-turtle, and were carved from green granite; the upper portion of the dressing-case was of red granite, and was inlaid with white marble; on the four comers the perfect image of a wild goose was ’ carved. Near this sat a stone bedstead, highly carved with similar figures; upon the bedstead was anorna-j , mented covering richly embroidered with silk, and beneath this were several beautiful quilts. Upon the P; floor near the bed was the well-dressed robe of the Polar] bear, the outer edges being trimmed with gold laced Many other articles of rich furniture and wearing apparel were also in the room, which indicated that it was, or had but recently been occupied by a lady. While I stood gazing around me, I heard voices and footsteps approaching, as if two or three people were drawing near. I had scarcely time to conceal myself ^beneath the couch and extinguish” my electric light, i before two ladies entered the apartment^ one of them j bearing a lighted lamp, of exquisite workmanshin, which she placed oh a stand near the couch under which . I was concealed. I heard the distant tolling of a bell, and a large block of granite descended from aoove, com- J Jgletely closing up the entrance through which I had entered the room. The ladies sat down and conversed /or some minutes in a language entirely unknown to me, when the tinkling of a bell from the direction they came seemed to call one of them away, for she aroseWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
ldi
Immediately and left the apartment. The remaining one* then approached the dressing-case and pressed gently upon the head of one of the. stone turtles, whereupon another block of granite descended and closed the Entrance through whichthe ladies had'entered, and through which the other had left. Thus my escape was completely cut off.
From my position under the couch I could see nothing of ihe lady except her feet and ankles, and about half way up to her knees, where her beautifully embroidered skirts concealed the rest of her limbs, but from what I , did see I judged her to be asuperb and beautiful woman. She sat down near some musical instrument and began singing and playing.? Her melodious voice and the manner in which she handled .the instrument, convinced me she had been highly trained in the art of music. By this time I had managed to get in such a position as to see her image from the opposite wall; presently she ceased playing, and began to disrobe as though preparing for bed, and her upper garments fell from about her shoulders, and her long, dark hair, being then unfastened,; fell in wavy, folds far below her shapely and well-formed waist, making a charming and beautiful picture. She was about five feet tall, with a clear, snow-white com-; plexi on ana dark dreamy eyes, with heavy brown eye-' lashes ancf a bosom white as driven snow and firm as |Barbie. She appeared between the age of sixteen and I eighteen years, and as she stood there disrobed for the night, she seemed as if sent by nature to test the moral | forces of science.
I But what was I to do ? It seemed as if I were in a most lamentable position; here I was in the apartments of a young girl, and could not retire ; besides this I did
■ not know her language, and to reveal myself . I could J not tell what the result might be—but something must I be done; so arising from my position I stepped before her and bowed upon one knee. At first she seemed I speechless with, terror, and her graceful form bent toward I me aS though she would fall forward in a faint. /1192
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
quickly arose and placing my arms around her waist, seated her upon the'cou^h' and .did my uttermost to calm her fears, at the same time trying to explain to her who I was and how I came to be in her apartments. After some time I succeeded in making her see I intended her no harm and that my coming was purely accidental.J She had been sostartled at my first appearance she had forgotten her undressed condition. After she became somewhat calmed she hastened to conceal her beautiful figure in a long loose wrap, while her modest blushes made her appear more lovely than ever. In her presence all the animation of youth was revi ved within me, and I almost fancied I again saw my lovely Zea, as of old.‘ji After many vain attempts she gave me to understand that she herself had been i mprisoned in this room, and was to remain there four or five days, and that it would. be impossible for either of us to make our escape without fe assistance from without. In this fact I actually felt Li pleasure and begged her to devote the time to^ teaching me her language, which she readily promised to do. Observing she was weary I persuaded her to repose upon J the couch, while I rested myself upon the bear robe near j it, and soon sank into peaceful slumber. . Upon awaking I made a careful examination of the "walls, but could not j i even find the places where the granite blocks closed up .
the openings. Soon the lady arose, and when’her toilet was completed came toward me, and: taking me by the j k hand, gave me to understand that I must again conceal myself beneath the couch. I then heard the small bell j ring, and immediately saw one of the granite blocks slowly arise and disappear in the ceiling overhead, and three young ladies advanced into the room followed by 1 two servants who bore a table filled with dishes of various kinds of vegetables and fruits; The four ladies then sat down to their repast, and after satisfying their appetites, the three retired with their servants who boreJ away the table with its contents, and again the granite block descended^ leaving us still prisoners. I then came forth and bent all my energies to the task of learningWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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herlanguage, and in less than twelve hours had advanced far enough to understand her, but could not speak so she could understand me. She informed me her name was Daisy, meaning “snow-drift;” that her father was an ocean king, and the three young ladies were her sisters. She said.that each of them were’confined in?separate looms, similar to the one we were in, and they were only permitted to dine together; that they would all be kept so confined until the return of their father, whoihad gone with a large force to make war upon a nation living ! upon an adjoining island ; and that the room we were in was situated about five miles from an opening high up : on the mountain side, and was known to but few of her father’s people; that her father was very suspicious, and had used these apartments wherein to conceal his greatest treasures; that the' doorway through which I entered t the room was seldom opened, and no one had ever explored beyond it, at least not to her knowledge. It greatly Astonished her to learn my mode of eating. - She cau-tioned me to be very careful and not reveal myself to L any who might enter the room. She promised when L she gained her liberty she would leave tne passage open i so I might gain access to the outer world.
■ On the fifth morning, when the servants entered with s their breakfast, they said her father had returned, and I would that evening send for his daughters and take them ■ aboard his ship, and that they must all be prepared when i the messenger came. Her sisters rejoiced to think they Iwould once more be at liberty; but Daisy seemed down-| hearted and declared she would rather remain where she I’ was. After they had left she threw her arms around I my neck and shed tears at our parting. That evening I the messenger came and the girls were taken away aboard I the vessel, K Daisy managed to leave the doors all open, I and a hasty examination showed the other three rooms I finished and furnished similarly to the one I had just left194
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE NORTH STAR—THE TRUE POLAR SEA.
I hastened along the corridor and soon found myself, after being months beneath the surface, once more gaz> F j'ing at the bright red sun as its lower edge just touched the western horizon. Unpacking my astronomical instruments I made a careful calculation, and to my greatest surprise I found that I had emerged from the earth within one degree of the North Pole. The air was as balmy as a June morning in the south, and far out over the sea were the white sails of several ships that reminded me of the fleets of Alvo, king of the lost cities of Zea and Zell. Heretofore I had thought the I Arctic region one vast body of ice; but here I was within sight of the North Pole, and not the least sign of ice near it I Instead of ice, a luxuriant growth' of vegetation covered the mountain side, and at the foot of the mountain several large fields of grain of different kinds, such as wheat, rye, cotton, and sugar-cane, with many kinds of fruits such as are found now growing in the temperate lands; and far away in the distance could be seen the tall steeples and chimneys rearing their lofty heads far above a large city.
To ward it I directed my way. Stopping at a small] farmhouse, at the foot of the mountain, I learned the city was called Jouce, that it contained about fifteeefl thousand people, and was ruled oven by a king called Jarbo, who frequently made expeditions to distant? islands, and returned with large quantities of booty, suchi as gold, silver, fine silks, beautiful carvings in stone and . wood, and many other things useful and ornamental. I found upon inquiry the island was about one hundred miles long and eighty wide; that the seamen whoWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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accompanied King Jarbo on his expeditions reported that several hundred miles south there were large icefields frequently found floating in the ocean, and still further south the ice was so thick that it was impossible for vessels to pass and where heavy snow storms were of frequent occurrence. After remaining several days in the city of Jouce, the king returned to. the palace, and I succeeded in making his acquaintance.
After giving him a brief history of myself, whence I Icame, and the route by which I reached his dominions |(of course omitting anything about my imprisonment with his daughter Daisy) he informed me that around the North Pole they had one continual season; that many large islands, all thickly populated, and ruled over by different kings, were situated in the open sea, or more properly speaking, the true Polar sea. 1 found Jarbo to be one of the best navigators it had ever been my pleasure to meet. He told me that many expeditions had | been fitted out by different kings for the purpose of exploring the country lying south, and finding a passage | by which ships might pass to what they knew to be the I open sea; but these expeditions had either returned to ■report their failure, or had been lost in the vast fields of lice.
■ “Even now,” said he, “one of my sea captains has gone to the relief of some unfortunate explorers who I have lost their ships in an unsuccessful attempt to findt the open waters beyond, and you are the only one I* have everknown to succeed in reaching the open Polar sea; and from the description you have given of your ■journey, the route could not be used for any particular purpose, unless large fortunes were expended in improv-ling the way, and even then an earthquake shock might (forever block the way.”
I Jarbo introduced me to his four daughters, and while I kept the secret of my former acquaintance with Daisy,still she became my constant companion, and [ for many months I remained the honored guest of King I Jarbo. One day he invited me to take a trip with him,196
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and said I could cross the’ line of the North Pole and go straight south without ever turning hack to retrace my steps. The novelty of the, trip amused me, and I accepted Jarbo’s inyitation. Accompanied by liis daughters and a few seamen we soon made the trip. We landed on a beautiful little, island which lay just beneath the North Star, and there, on the extreme northern part of the earth, I, with Jarbo’s assistance, raised a lofty granite monument, and on it inscribed my name together with that of Jarbo and his four daughters. It took us many months to complete the work, and Jarbo’s whole fleet was used in bringing material. While I directed the work, Jarbo furnished the workmen; when it was finished we called it the “ North Star Monument,” and it stands to this day, surmounted with the figure of ai man holding to an upright ladder, with one foot on the lower round as if in the act of ascending, and near the foot resting on the ladder I carved these words:
“ Still onward and upward, no power shall check my way.”
This figure, ladder and all, were carved from one! large block of granite of a light gray color, while the I monument was of dark green granite highly polished, and with, a purple base, also well polished. The ladder! was surmounted with, a large urn, cut from jet black granite, and finished in the most elegant manner. | Around the rim of this most beautiful work of art I carved this most appropriate verse:
“ Ambitious man will turn to dust,
Though ruled by science or by lust; a Though be he timid or be he brave, His life is ended in the grave.” I
Jarbo was highly pleased when the monument was ' completed, and offered me every inducement to remain with him, and Daisy and her sisters added their influence! to that of their father. I .consented to postpone my departure for some time. Jarbo was making preparations to san around the Polar sea and explore the iceWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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fields and icebergs which guarded with so much care the rim of this northern world, and asked me to accompany him, saying.that Daisy should make one of the party. I accepted the invitation with pleasure. Jarbo named the island upon which the North Star Monument stood “ Willmotn Island.” in my honor, and we carved the name on the base of the monument, where it may be found to this day. A few months [after Jarbo, Daisy and myself, with the king’s seamen, started on dur voyage to examine the ice fields of the Polar Ocean. We first sailed south for many days. I Noticed the air became much colder, and where islands
L were, vegetation was more stunted and scarce. Presently l a heavy snow storm came up. As we proceeded on our | way the cold became so intense that the steersman at the 1 wheel had to be changed every fifteen minutes. Jarbo at last concluded to take shelter in a small bay to the leeward of a large iceberg; he said he had been in this
I locality before, and had hunted the Polar bear and I other fur-bearing animals. After the storm . abated we f continued our course, stopping often to give the men a chance to hunt; for myself, I never indulged in such I cruel sport. Daisy endured the cold bravely, and as for I Jarbo, nothing gave him greater satisfaction than stand* I ing on deck facing the most severe storms. Frequently we would see a strip of clear water running far back among the white fields of ice, but Jarbo was too good a ■teaman to trust his ship into their treacherous jaws. I Pointing to one of these open spaces as we stood on • deck, he said:
“Here are the graves wherein so many of our explorers lie buried; they can be sailed into, but seldom out of.”
While we were talking the ice began to move, pushed, no doubt, by other ice miles away, and the ice came together like two armies engaged in deadly combat.
“Behold,” said Jarbo, “ a mountain of iron could be I crushed, as if it were the shell of an egg, if it lay between I those fields of ice when they came together; then how198
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
'is it possible for ships to escape if they once ventare ‘ to enter these perfect traps, for they are seldom, if ever, f Opened at the farther end, and are constantly opening ; and closing? I suppose,” said he, “it is the same way t on the other side as you approach from the south.”
| After several weeks’ sailing we came to a large island
which Jarbo was not familiar with; this island was inhabited by a small race of low, heavy set people, not very far advanced in civilization. They were | dressed in the skins of animals, with the hair to the . outside, and lived by hunting and fishing, and were somewhat filthy in their habits. Jarbo traded them - some provisions and trinkets for furs, of which they had a good supply. We found the island to be about thirty ; miles long and seventeen wide. At the time we were there it was covered with about three feet of snow, and the inhabitants gave us to understand this was an unusual depth. There was a great quantity of timber growing on the island, and among the hills where it was too steep for the snow to lodge, could be seen ledges of coal, some of these not less than twenty feet thick. 1
There were also deposits of lead and other ores.. Jarbo was much pleased with the island, and although ; he did not say so, I felt sure he intended to profit by his discovery, even though he had to exterminate the race found living there. We continued our journey many days without meeting anything worthy of notice; but ' one morning we found our ship completely surrounded1 by a large school of whales, some of them not less than one hundred and fifty feet long.
There were thousands of them, for the ocean for miles around seemed alive with these great animals. AlthoughI they were harmless, yet we were in great danger of having our ship stove by coming in contact with them as they sported in the water. We worked our way close I up to a large iceberg, and anchored to it until the I whales should shift their sporting ground to some other quarter.
As we sat upon the deck, watching the whales sport- ]WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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ing in the water, we were greatly astonished to see five or six strange looking human faces peering up at us from the waters. The next moment a large whale arosetothe surface, having on his back several men and women who were entirely naked, with white smooth skin and pale blue eyes. Their heads were covered with fine, long red hair, which hung almost to their waist; they seemed startled at the sight of us, and appeared relieved when; the whale moved farther from the ship. The men were about five feet high and the women four feet six inches. They did not remain long above the water, and no one saw them but Daisy and myself; and though we watched closely until the whales moved away from the vicinity, we did not get another sight of this strange race who seemed to live beneath the water. -V '.V /
When I spoke to Jarbo about them he said he had heard of this tribe before, but had never seen any of them. He said it was supposed they were supported upon the milk of the whale. They were only seen in company with the female whales, and some travelers had come upon them while taking milk from the udder of the whale. They were very shy, and no one had ever succeeded in capturing one Of them,, although large rewards had been offered for one. I thought they did not flourish in great numbers, or they would be seen more .frequently.
Our trip for the rest of the way did not vary much, and after several months of absence we again landed at the city of Jouce. Daisy had been very attentive to me during the whole voyage, and Jarbo did not .seem averse to a union between us; but I could not bring my mind for one moment to entertain the thought of another filling the place of my youthful companion,Zea.
With Jarbo I visited several other islands, ruled by different kings, which I found did not differ much from the kingdom of Jarbo.200
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
CHAPTER XXXV.
A RETURN OVER THE ICE FIELDS TO THE SOUTH.
Having a great desire to return south I began to make preparation for the trip. I did not make known my intention to any one, for I knew every argument ; would be used to prevent my going. This time I concluded to start south overland, and the first thing required for trip of that kind was to make myself a flying-chair, as I had brought none with me. I set about gathering the material to make one, and in less than four months it was completed.
It was smaller than the one I had heretofore used, except I had attached a large oval covering made from the skin of a whale to protect me from the cold.
This • covering was so arranged that it might be brought over the front and completely inclose me as I ■ sat in the chair. Glass windows were placed in the covering in such a manner as to enable me to see in every .direction. It resembled in shape the back of a great sea-turtle, and was well padded inside, and heated by electricity. About the time I had completed my work Jarbo had made arrangements to send a party to the south, and offered me command of the expedition, which I declined, but agreed to accompany them, and thia pleased the king. When Daisy found I was going with .'the' party she did her best to gain her father’s permission to go also. This, of course, he would not consent to, unless she went as my wife. Not desiring to wound her feelings when she told me the conditions upon which she might go, I persuaded her, as the trip would be a severe one, she had better remain at the palace, and that upon my return we would be married. This promise I could make her for the reason I never intended to return.WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
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The commander of the expedition borethe name of Jard, and his instructions were to proceed as far south as possible for man to go, and make a careful survey of the route, and to proceed on foot over the ice-fields if he lost his ship. I conveyed on board all the instruments and machinery necessary for my trip, together with many curiosities which I had gathered near t|ie North .. Pole; then bidding all our friends good-by, and while they stood at the wharf wishing us an early return and a happy voyage, we sailed south and soon lost sight of the land.
Jard proved himself a whole-souled and jovial fellow, always laughing and joking with his seamen, but was for all that a stern commander, and kept his crew under? the best discipline. After several weeks we found our passage further south obstructed by ice. Skirting the ice-fields for several miles we came to a large iceberg | which had recently broken loose and been set adrift from its moorings by the winds from the north and was grinding and crushing its way south through the icefields at the rate of several miles an hour, leavingdn its wake a clear strip of water into which we sailed and quickly anchored the ship to the iceberg; at, the same time Jard remarked that the ship would never, return, but that a relief party would, be kept cruising in the open sea to carry him home when his mission was accomplished among the ice-fields. On looking back we could, see the ice grinding and crashing together, closing up the opening through which we had entered, and the wind, which had been blowing a strong gale, now became a perfect hurricane, and blew along the iceberg to which we were attached at the rate of forty miles per hour.
I To portray the terrific noise produced by the grinding of ice, the shrieking of the winds, the roaring of the waters, is something beyond my power.; But, amid the tempest, there came a sudden shock which made the very ocean tremble, and great blocks of ice, weighing hundreds of tons, broke from the upper part of the ice202
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
berg and plunged into the ocean beneath. The ice closed around our ship, forcing it fifty feet above the | water, and lodging it on the ledge of the berg, which had been run aground in shallow water, and would in H all probability remain there for many years to come.
It had turned bitterly cold., and fine sifting snow began to fall, and soon enveloped the ship, compelling us to . retire to the cabin below. For five days the storm raged | in all its fury, but, fortunately for us, the snow protected us .from the cold. When we ascended to the deck we were compelled to dig our way through sixteen feet of snow, as the ice in drifting around us had prevented the ft snow from being blown away by the winds. We soon had the deck cleared, and as the sun was shining and all was still, the men were in much better spirits, and when | Jard explained to them, that a relief party would be sent to their rescue they became satisfied with their con-|| dition, and began to take everything in a much more cheerful and contented way. He cautioned them not to stray too far from the ship, but gave them permission to
«nunt.
Then for the first time I brought my flying-chair on deck, and after arranging everything to my satisfaction, I explained to Jard the use I intended putting it to, and also told him I would continue my flight south, and in all probability would never return. lie begged me to give up my intention of not returning, but as I knew he was somewhat in love with Daisy I felt that he would be pleased to have me out of his way; so bidding him adieu, for the first time in many a day I mounted in the air, and like a wild bird sailed away to the south. The third day after leaving Jard and his «companions I alighted upon a large iceberg, and among its rough crags I discovered the wreck of a large ship, upon the deck of which lay the frozen corpses of several seamen. I recognized them as belonging to the kingdom of Jarbo, and I felt they were the remainder of the crew Jarbo spoke of as being sent to the relief <?f others. The poor fellows had found their own reliefWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
203
in death! As I noticed another severe storm arising, I concluded to shelter myself as much as possible in the cabin of the ship, and bringing my flying-chair in also to prevent its being blown away, I made everything secure and waited for the storm to, spend its fury. Pres- g ently the ice beneath me began to creak, and the ocean itself to heave and groan as though in great labor, and * from the cabin window I could see large icebergs, which had stood for many centuries, forced by the winds to change their position, and crashing together break to pieces. Large fields of ice would part and leave great lakes of clear water through which some large whale would rear his bulky form, perhaps the next moment to be crushed between two great masses of floating ice. While I sat thus contemplating the scene before me, the ice beneath began to heave and break, and I just had time to get upon deck and seat myself in my flying- ; chair before the ship itself fell in the chasm that opened under it, and sank into the great waters. I sailed away to a small spur of land I observed in the distance, and there waited for the storm to end, when I continued my flight for eight days, and came to a small village of peod pie, now known as Esquimaux. They were greatly astonished when I alighted among them, and at first thought me some kind of an animal. They were in the most abject poverty; owing to the severe storm they had been unable to hunt. When I pointed out to them a large whale which had been crushed by the ice and crowded above the water, they rushed toward it like a pack of starving wolves, and gorged themselves with the raw flesh until they could eat no more. '
That evening I again took my flight southward, and after several days and nights in the air, sheltered,’comfortably warmed by my electric machine, I alighted on a small island covered by a stunted growth of pine-trees, and I realized the worst of my journey was over. Every few days I observed parties of Esquimaux traveling in their reindeer sledges. After this large bodies of open water could be s,een, and fhe air became muclx204
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
warmer, compelling me to remove the whale skin covering from my flying-chair, and shortly afterwards, without any new adventures, I landed near my o'd quarters in the Rocky Mountains, not far from what is now known as Pike’s Peak. This was my first and last journey to the North Pole, and if any of the present explorers ever succeed in reaching it they will, no doubt, find the North Star Monument still standing as an evidence of my trip more than two thousand years ago.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
AGAIN UNITED WITH ELWER BY THE USE OF THE MYSTERIOUS DRUG.
Some time after my return from the Polar regions I returned again to the Mammoth Cave, where I again explored many of its dark passages, and where I made my . home until the civilization of that part of the country was accomplished by the white man, and the Indians were driven from the country. During my stay in the cave, by chance I came upon an old iron box which contained a large scroll written in the Elvo language, purporting to be the life and adventures of Wymorian. . This scroll I will place in your hands, together with the translatioiis which I have made, and the iron box. I feel assured it refers to the stone giant I discovered in the cavern on my trip to the North Pole. As my story is now nearly ended and I feel that my life will soon close, I will place in your own hands and for your own use, all of my possessions, which consist mostly of the notes and histories of the past ages, and a careful and well prepared map of the locality wherein the cities of Zea and Zell were situated, and the directions by which you may reach the treasure chambers of the Palace Elvo. If you preserve them with care the time may Comp when you or your descendants may enjoy unlim-WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
205
ited wealth, for the waters are again receding from above their lonely graves, and you will have no difficulty in locating the spot by following the directions laid down though the earth’s surface may change, the scientific instruments I give you with the instructions how to use them, will locate the exact spot.
The old man requested me to accompany him to the city of St. Joseph, and invited me to his rooms and placing the key of a large iron chest in my hand, told me the contents were mine, upon the following conditions:
That I should accompany him to the Rocky Mountains, and when death closed his eyes I should take a fine powder which he would place in my possession, and encircle him with it, set it on fire, and he would immediately fly upward; but that this should be done at one o’clock at night when the earth was in a certain position toward the North Star, so his body might take a position in space beside that of his old friend Elwer. This I promised to do, and after spending several weeks in the old man’s company, we took the cars for Denver. A few weeks after arriving there found us located in a rugged and rough part of the mountains.1 Up to this time the old man had shown no signs1 of failing health or strength. He was as jovial and pleasant as ever, still he would not allow me to be out of his sight for one minute. Shortly after sunset one evening he again repeated his instructions of just how and where to set fire to the magic drug, and warned me to be careful to retreat as far as possible after lighting it; then placing his telescope in my hands and writing his notes for the last time in his book, he handed that to me also, and once more embracing and kissing me, remarked that he almost regretted to leave the earth, for he felt toward me as if I were his own son.	*W|!
I now realized the end was near, and tears streamed down my cheeks and I wept as though my heart would break. For this the old man chided me in a friendly20$
WILLMOTH THE WANDERER.
way, though I could see it made his heart rejoice to know he would leave one true friend behind. Then with a calm and beautiful smile he folded his arms over his honest and faithful heart, and with a pleasant farewell upon his lips he sank back into the sleep of death as an innocent child might sink to rest on its mother’s breast. As the old man breathed his last the moon slowly arose over the mountains, and I sat for hours weeping over the corpse of my dear old friend; but remembering his orders in regard to the disposition of his body, I arose, and taking the powder which he had placed in my hands for the purpose, carefully placed ' it in a circle around his body, at the same time being careful not to move him from the position he had as-: sumed the moment of his death; and when the watch he had given me struck the hour of one, I lighted the fuse and retiring some three hundred yards, awaited the result. Five minutes after applying the match a dark blue flame encircled the body, and a heavy dense smoke ^enveloped the place where it lay. Out from the cloud of smoke and upward through the air sprang, as if re*
> newed with life, the form of my dear old friend. Upward and still upward it ascended until it was lost to eyesight; then fixing my glass to my eye I could per-ceive it moving onward through space, and far beyond it I could also see the form of Elwer, and to my excited imagination it looked as though a pleasant smile was on his face as he saw the form of Willmoth, his beloved scholar, would be with him once more. At this instant my nerves gave way, and I sank upon the ground in au unconscious condition.
When I came to myself the sun was shining down from above, and my mouth and throat were parched with thirst. What I had gone through appeared to me as a dream; but when I looked upon the telescope, book and empty box which had contained the powder, I realized the sad reality. Just how I made my way to Denver I can never tell. I afterward learned that aWILLMOTH THE WANDERER.	207
party of miners found me wandering through, themourl* tains clasping the book and telescope in my arms.
I was taken to the hospital at Denver and there ten- < derly cared for. After the fever abated I returned to Atchison, and now give the world a true and correct biography of the life of that strange and wonderful being, who millions of years ago left his home in Saturn, a mere youth, exploring three planets, at last claiming the boundless space for his grave, and closing his eyes in death, is mysteriously wafted beyond the confines of earth, carrying with him the secret of the mysterious drug.
THE END
Since writing the above I have discovered through the telescope that Willmoth has taken up his position by the side of his old friend Elwer, and by the aid of his glass they can be seen circling around the earth side by side.	the author.Van Houten's
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