Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-02-14

bodies of such passengers could b,
made capable of enduring the varioul
changes of air, temperature and othel
climatic conditions to which they
would be exposed
And on our world this kind of trave
would be comparatively easy, ani
would take next to no time. In TWEEN
ty-four hours the passenger could
travel 1, 40 miles. or considerably far
ther than from New York to Chicago.
In forty-eight hours he could travel as
far as from Boston to Liverpool; and
in less than seventeen days he could
go round the world. But as regards
the journeys in space. a difficulty in
most cases insuperable would stand in
the way. In order to visit any but q
very few of the nearest bodies in
space, the travellers on our celestial
railways would need to have their
lives very greatly prolonged Were
they to set out for any distant part OF
the system. they would all die before
they had fairly begun their journey.
A voyage to the moon, to Venus or to
Mars would, under the above condi-
lions, be possible; TO any other body
in the system it would be impossible.
The journey to the moon would be
comparatively short Our companion
is distant about 240,OOO miles; or, in
round numbers, Its distance contains
ten times as many miles "a are con-
tanned in the earth's circumference.
Travelling at the rate of sixty miles
an hour. and never stopping, it would
take between 166 and 167 days to reach
the journeys end. Compared with
other heavenly distances, this is a
mere nothing; but compared with the
distances actually traversed by the
average man. it is very great indeed.
Few ever travel at sixty miles an hour,
and then only for short periods, and
at considerable intervals. Many,
probably the majority, of those who
live to good old age cover less than
100000 miles during their whole lives.
A great traveller might do it in. say,
fifteen years. For even a conductor
or engineer of an express train, it
would require several years.
Venus, as already stated, is about
26,OOO.OO0 miles away; or, at sixty
miles an hour. without stopping, she
is distant a journey not of three weeks,
or six months. but of some fifty years.
On the imaginary railway, such a
journey would be possible. for great
many persons live longer than fifty
years. But in real life no one ever has
Travelled, and no one ever will travel,
any thing like so far. No human be-
ing ever has travelled 100000 miles;
and it is safe to say that no one ever
will. To complete this measure of
journeying would require an average
of 100, 900 miles year for fifty years.
Some few, perhaps. in all their lives,
may have travelled 100000 miles,
but these are probably very rare ex-
ceptions.
Much the same statement may be
made of the trip to Mars, which
would take over ninety years. Even
under the impossible conditions above
assumed, the smallest of the remain
ing distances is too great to be
traversed within the term of one
human life. even were it to reach the
extreme limit of 100 years. Mercury
and the sun are comparatively quite
near us, yet to go to Mercury would
take more than 100 years, or rather
more than the time that has elapsed
since the beginning of the French rev.
Olution; while the journey to the sun
would last about IT'S years. or as long
time as has gone by since the reign
of Queen Anne. The trip to Jupiter
would take over $50 years; that to the
ringed planet, Saturn, no less than
1,475 years.
All the preceding journeys, vast
though they are, could yet have been
taken within time less than the Chris
tan era The one we shall have to
take next brings us back to an age far
more remote. Uranus is 5000 years
distant. Three thousand years ago
King David's life had not begun, and
Greece had yet to make for herself
name in history. or even in fable.
We come at last to Neptune, the
outermost of the planets This planet
is distant more than FIVE thousand
years. Could we imagine Abraham
as living from his birth until now, and
that with the planet Neptune as his
destination he had travelled continu-
ously at sixty miles an hour all that
time, he would still be long way from
his goal.
One more illustration and we will
leave the solar system. Neptune's
path about the sun measures about &c.
200. 0OO, 900 miles. If bodies as large
as the world were placed side by side,
like beads on q necklace, SO as to fill