The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1879-02-08
DAWN ON THE MOON.

A Rochester journalist who visited
Prof. Swift tha uther evening and had a
view of the moon, says: 1.-THE telescope,
with power of thirty.six diameters, was
turned upon the moon. AT first the
flood of light was binding, and the view
WAS hut cursory. The moon looked like
a shield of embossed silver-the shield
of Acbilles-hung by his goddess mother
in the azure of the Heavens. Professor
Swift looked over the field and noted as
he looked many of the interesting points,
and suggested that we follow the sunrise
on the moon. On the moon the dawn
advanced OF the rate of ten miles an hour,
lighting up new fields and furnishing to
him an ever-changing panorama. Still,
there is naught but desolation, yawning
craters and sharp peaks OF volcanic
mountains and circular walls with per-
pendicular sides that surround deep pits.
The moon is dead to all appearance
burned out with volcanic fires. No water
lays on the desolate and rugged shores
of its gray sea bottoms. But in the gray
plains. where some astronomers think
an ocean once spread, craters are seen
with perpendicular walls.
The gray plains can be seen with the
naked eye forming what is called "the
man in the moon," on map like the
eastern continent. Under the telescope
we could trace what at first seemed to be
shors lines on the borders OF this plain.
On closer inspection, instead of wave-
washed sand, these lines appeared to be
but rounded steps formed by successive
lava bursts spreading over the plain and
making, by the lessening flow, the gra.
dual exhaustion. of the volcanic force.
From one of the largest oraters rise three
volcanic cones, the submits of which are
tipped with sunlight before the floor of
the crater is lighted. In another large
crater two cones arise. From the larger
craters rays spread out, as though the
volcanic force cracked the firm crust in
its upheayal, injecting through the
broken surface ridges of dazzling white
lava, that spread out like the, arms OF
cuttle-ish covering vast surface.
The grandest phenomena are to be OBJ
served by following the sun on the moon.
The advancing dawn forms ragged
crescent line upon the surface still in
darkness. The suns rays pass over
dark ohasms and low fields. lighting up
ragged mountain tops far in advance.
They appear like little islands of light
lying off the coast of an illuminated sea.
High mountains and crater walls near
the shore of light cast deep shadows.
The circular rims of crater are illumin-
ated, and shine like rings Of silver, gilt
tering upon cushion Of darkness. The
advancing dawn now lights up the bases
of the outlying mountains that but a
moment ago showed but speck of light,
and still new mountain tops are tipped
With silver far in advance.
The sunlight strikes upon the side of a
circular wall of a crater, and there is a
crescent, with black space between it
and the sea of light. Slowly the summit
Of other portions of the circular wall are
lighted up, and then the sunlight invades
the depths of the crater. while the
shadow OF the wall nearest the sun
stretches half across the floor of the
chasm. Frequently great gaps are broken
in the crater walls and streaks Of light
stream across the floor. The Jagged
rocks, in calm, cold beauty, shine and
glitter in the fierce white light. The
mountains are mountains of desolation
and the valleys are valleys OF silence anc
death. They are wrinkled with the flow
of lava and torn with upheavals. Tht
moon is dead. No air, no sea, no fores
shade, or living thing. The moon is
nsver-failing source of delight. tits als'
awful in its suggestions OF power and il
its loneliness Of utter desolation.