Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1876-02-26
THE. INSIDE WORLD;
STORY OF THE FUTURE.
BY JULIA 8. FERN.
CHdPTER VII.


their adventures in the polar regions
and in at the great, doorway of the hol.
Flow earth. It is now necessary that
we pause to explain few of the strange
phenomena which they encountered on
their inward passage, and make clear
few points which were necessarily OBJ
scure in straightforward narrative.
And as this is story of the future, we
may be permitted to state in advance
a few facts yet to be discovered. We
kindly do this in the interest of science.
We were taught in our childhood that
the shape of the earth is that of ON OBJ
late spheroid, that is sphere except
for slight fattening at the poles MAX
ing the polar diameter considerably
shorter than the equatorial diameter.
The discovery of which we are lelating
the history shows that this aattening is
caused by the simple absence of the
crust of the earth in those regions.
The earth is hollow shell and would
be spherical except for the holes in
each end. 1t will aid the imagination,
to conceive of it as having once been
spherical and then to have had O slice
cut off each end, using the word end
to represent the parts nearest the axis
OF rotation. Suppose these slices to
have been cut deep enough to have the
hollow within exposed by holes about
five hundred miles in diameter. This
representation is accurate except liz one
particular, there is no sharp edge to be
passed over in sailing from the outer to
the inner surface. The oceans are con-
tinuous, and but for the everlasting
masses officiating ice that clog the wa
ters OF the entrance for distance OF
more than a hundred miles, there is no
barrier to a regular steamship line con-
Meeting the inside and outside worlds.
This difficulty is great one but the
new diving propeller, patented in the
year 1877, has already made several
successful trips under the ice, and will
no doubt in future--but we. are antici-
pating.
The strange dark cloud seen rising
in the north by our heroic adventurers
was simply the crust of the earth on
the opposite side of tho aperture.
Cutting off all light from the sky in
that direction. it appeared as black
cloud, and during the time that they
were passing over what may DO called
the edge of the aperature it appeared
to rise with great rapidity, not so much
on account of their actual inward pro-
gress as on account Of the rapid change
OF the plane of their horizon as they
passed, so to speak. over the edge of
the aperture and so to the inside of
the earth. The appearance of the great
disk of light, in what seemed the north
to our little party was their first glimpse
of the southern opening into our earth.
They were the first who ever sdc through
this world Of ours, which simply shows
how much position has to do with per-
ception. yeasgts ppIi sant IL. Il4
And now taking up Che thread of our
narrative again where it was dropped,
we continue the history of this wonder
tful discovery, .1al l iae'es
Y, When Arthur and Inmand first an
nounced thatthe end Of the journey had
really becn accomplished, thsro was
great manifestation Of surprise disap-
pointment or orincredulity, upon the part
ofneady every one Of their companions.
Indeed. had they been upon aship or
bout, the announcement would have
been the cause of an immediate mu-
tiny. Buta oil were equally powerless
to direct their course. violent argu-
ment was the only result of the great
difference of opinion among the men. d
But questions OF practical nature
soon arose to tho silencing Of these warm
theoretical arguments. They were
floating into a climate that grew con-
stantiy warmer, and the iceberg was
rapidly melting. The provisions were
giving out and and had to be supple
mented by 4 daily supply Of fish or
fowl, and this gave occupation to moro
thaaf half the men; for although the
waters about them sbounded in fish
and though the air above them seemed
full at birds, ii was no slight task to