The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-08-08
RIVERS IN THE PLANET MARS
Wherein They Differ From Those to be
Found on This Earth.

! TOuHQ Oh Ills
The first sight of Mars through an OBJ
servatory telescope is almost terrifying,
even for person of good nerves. 1t is
as if zone saw the whole earth, with its icy
poles, as solid globe, floating overhead.
! One distinguishes clearly the dark blue
seas and the brilliant, beaming, many
! hued dry land-and on this the dry beds
of multitude of lakes, bays, CULTS,
streams and canals, these latter either
parallel to each other or crossing one an
| other at right angles. AS you continue
to look you note the variations of color
and Of light and shades and, further, that
| the outlines on one edge OF the disk pass
out OF sight, while on the other the land
scape expands; you see that Mars re-
wolves on its axis, and that the ends of
the axis are the frozen poles, as with US.
| There is further resem blance in the in
cllnatlon IN the axis, which provides that
on this planet also the seasons follow
each other in regular succession.
The ice crust at the poles diIninisheS IN
| summer, and Westermann'S ManOt'S-
Hette claims that this affords demonstra-
ton not only that Mars is influenced by
the suns rays precisely as we are, but
also that the air and water are identical
with ours. In fact the meteorology of
Mars is now reduced to science. Judg-
ing the two planets by superficial char
acterlStlcS, however, one must admit a
condition implying a higher degree of
| Development IN Mars. The continents of
TIC earth, as seen from a distance, pre-
sents very torn appearance, and occupy
scarcely third of its surface, while Mars
is girded on both sides Of the equator by
one continuous mainland, intersected by
network Of canals and rivers, the land
occupying approximately three-fOurthS
of the whole planet and the water only
one-iourth, as consequence of which 1t
may be that It's atmosphere is less cloud
ed and vapor laden than ours. Pecul-
larly characteristic is the arrangement in
which the geological nature of Mars has
laid the streams tcanals?). All our
streams. without exception, are tortuous,
| and all increase in width as they near the
ocean.
On Mars, on the contrary, the streams
flow in straight lines, and are Of uniform
width from source to mouth. These
streams, from seventy to 100 kilometers
apart, have their banks so well defined
as TO suggest the idea that they are sub
ject to intelligent regulation. 1t is hardly
possible to conceive that two parallel
canals, intersected at right angles by Il
third, as in Ophir land, can be the work
OF the elementary forces of nature. The
question suggests itself again by the two
canals which flow from ocean to ocean
through the island Hellas, crossing each
other at right angles in the center. Not
less questionable is the origin of the great
blue lake Of the sun in the center Of KEEP
pier land, with its three rectillinear canals
connecting it with the ocean.
But what most eXcites our astonish-
ment in connection with these canals is
that almost every one of them is double,
i. e., it has it's parallel canal alongside OF
1t, but visible at intervals only. This has
thoroughly perplexed all investigators.
The earth has nothing analogous to aid
US to solution. On this account the re-
turn of Mars is looked forward to with
considerable interest. The improvement
iii optical instruments within the past
decade may probably help to solve the
riddle, or, perhaps, what is still more
probable, may present more riddles of
solution. The occasion of Mars next
return will be the first time for fifteen
years that we shall have an opportunity
of examining his south polar region.
Apart from the scientific interest which
attaches to these observations, it is an
immense gain to our intellectual culture
to overthrow the pride, born of ignor-
ance. which in the earlier centuries
prompted man to regard this earth as the
one inhabited sphere of the universe.
Equal rights for all planets appears to be
the law Of nature, which certainly has
not expended all her forces on this dark
clod of ours.