Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-03-02

been busy freeing the vessel from the mass Of
sea weed with which it was surrounded, and
had cleared it so that there would be no
difficulty in putting to sea when the breeze
that was to carry us sprang up, for the calm
still continued.
''Where are WEI" asked Ned.
"Can't say, SIR" answered Capt. Jack;
''teetotally lost my reckonin in that there
storm an can't make no observation by the
moon. We're off some big island or other,
judgin' from, them mountains, but what, Is
more'n l can tell"
sWere we in the neighborhood of any land
when you last took your reckoning" asked.
"Nearest place was the coast OF Portugal,
an we can't be there, COS that was to the
BASTARD of us an we've been druv ives most
o. the time"
'.What was the nearest land to the west Of
our position them queried Ned.
s'The Azores was wes'-sow-wes', }" said Capt.
Jack, IAN if we're there, which l bet my
bottom dollar we amt, then we've done
about the fastest bit OF travelin' ever heard
tell Of The seven league boots was a infant
to it,
''Well, suppose we row ashore and find
out" said Ned
sIt'u be a tough pull through all that thera
sea weed" said the captain, but if you want
to 60 I'll try it. l must say I'm bit curious
about it myself.
Shortly after we We're laboriously working
passage through the mass of sea weed lying
upon the water and after half an hour of
hard work succeeded in reaching a rocky
point that jutted into the water.
Leaving the men in charge Of the boat
Ned, Capt Jack and | proceeded upon our
trip of exploration, fully expecting to come
upon some fisherman's hut at every step, but
the place was deserted.
Not a living thing appeared besides our
selves, either human or of the brute creation.
The island, or whatever it was, appeared
to be of rocky formation and it was COW
cred in all directions with thick carpet of
tangled sea weed, but we saw no vegetation
Of any kind.
Huge pools Of water impeded our progress,
and the land itself, where it was not of bed
rock, seemed to be one mass of oozy mud.
Here and there we observed dead fish upon
the ground, and live ones swimming in the
larger pools Of water.
We walked some distance along the shore
without observing anything worthy Of note,
Just before us rose a cliff, shutting out the
curve of the coast from orr view.
We decided to walk round this obstruction,
hoping to find some clew to our whereabouts
upon the other side.
Not far from the cliff we discovered stone
pier, solidly built, with large iron or bronze
rings for mooring vessels to, but 10 sign of
ship or man. Rounding the point which i'm
peded our view, we We're struck dumb with
establishment at the sight which met our eyes
Some five hundred yards above us, on a
gently rising slope, lay the ruins of an
ancient city, bathed in moonlight and backed
by the dark slopes of rugged mountain
range. =.
Here again we saw the inexplicable masses
of sea weed, not only upon the ground, but
everywhere, even upon the ruins themselves,
hanging in festoons from pillar TO pillar,
forming in places roof instead of the one
which had long since gone to decay, or max
ing curtains for doorways through which no
human foot had passed for centuries.
The scene was weird to the extreme; drops
of moisture upon the sea weed reflected the
moonlight here and there, giving the ruins
the effect of being illuminated by millions of
fairy lamps. 1t was grand, it was sublime, it
was beyond description. 12Ye ~ 90
aWcstruck.
''Do you know the place. asked Ned Of the
captain.
Il never see it BEFORE" was the response;
and without further questioning weproceeded
60 approach the majestic city of the dead
Ned was badly frightened on the way by q
large porpoise, lying partly submerged in
shallow pool that jumped and tapped about
as he was passing, thereby treating him to a
very respectable shower bath.
We tried to think of some reason why this
huge fish was so far from its native element
and in position which it was clearly unable
to reach by itself. but gave up the problem
and pushed on through mud and slime to the
mysterious city. The way seemed very long
until by good fortune we came upon broad
road, leading to the very gate, which was
comparatively clear
The architecture, to my inexperienced eye
at least, seemed to be Egyptian. A high and
massive wall, fully twenty feet thick. sur
rounded the city, and the gate before us was
cut through it.
Over tho gate was a statue, and we hazarded
a guess that it was intended for Neptune, but
it was almost impossible to tell with any de-
gree of certainty, since the sea weed so COW
cred it, like everything else, that not more
than half the figure was visible.
Upon the arch of the gate was rude carv-
ing, in relief, which undoubtedly represented
the sun, and on either side were five stars
Some odd looking ships or galleys, with
queerly shaped sails, completed the design,
which was executed with no mean skill
Entering, we saw row on row of pillars
and walls in various states of preservation,
with seaweed dangling from them in every
conceivable way. Walking along, we came
70 a large open space of an oval shape, paved
carefully throughout. as we observed by
Scraping away the mud and debris that COW
cred it.
At che end were the remains of a huge
stand, overlooking the entire space, which
led us to believe it might have once formed
race course 1t could not have been an
arena, since there was nothing to keep wild
beasts from leaping among the spectators or
running into the city itself.
We wandered about among the ruins
searching for traces of the past, and. were it
not for the thick cloak of seaweed covering
everything, we would doubtless have sue
ceeded in unearthing many interesting OBJ
jectS: but as it was our search was fruitless
nothing was TO be seen but that endless
monotony of ruins with its glittering drap-
cries, coiling and clinging about the stones
like seTpentS. Once we saw something move
between two fallen pillars, but on approach
ing it was only too glad TO retreat again, for
we discovered a hideous deviltish, or octo-
pus, III hiding there, and l narrowly escaped
the embrace of one of his long arms.
Tired with our ezertions and covered from
head to foot with slime, we sat down to rest
in a circle Of pillars more masSively con-
-.--,,.,t1,a than tho Nhila thera Nod 10