Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-06-01
NAME OFGOD ON MARS
HAVE ITS INHABITANTS BEEN TRYING
TO COMMUNICATE WITH USi

Discovery sf " misunderstanding From
our Sister Planet That Had Hitherto
Escaped Terrestrial Obseryntion--Inter-
eating whether Trre or Not.
The name of tho Almighty, standing out
boldly In the original Hebrew characters
GU the planet Mars, Shaddni, the name Of
God traced by the Martians on the surface
of their world by the Ingenious arrange
ment Of the canals that have been tho sub
ject OF SO much study and speculation, II
an interesting observation which IL tho
result Of the study of "A scientist In the
service at Washington.
Schiaparelli In Italy, Flammarion In
France and our own Lowell have made
the study Of Mars tho especial object OF
their life work. They have found on our
sister planet such signs OF an advanced
civilization that even tho most skeptical
have been compelled to admit the plausi-
bility Of the astronomers statements and
to concedc the possibility Of their truth.
Lowell has observed that after the snow
caps disappear, melting, presumably, tho
so called canals widen ont, and after n few
weeks assume blush green tint, as
though vegetation had developed In them.
The parallel at once suggests itself OF the
Nile valley, which Is inundated from tho
Abyssinian SHOWS, then soaks In the wa
ters and develops luxurious vegetation
Of maize and grain and vegetables.
One further fact was established In the
astronomical world IA few years ago. when
series of light flashes were observed com
ing from Mars. AT one time three such
lights appeared simultaneously, forming u
regular triangle. IL was at once surmised
that the Martians were attempting to sig
10. 4 off tp suu IN 4 Int
we had been as constant objects Of study
to them as they have been to u.s. and did
they seek to tell us that u civilization ex-
listed on Mars, IL civilization far advanced
because far older than ours? If IL was a
signal, no answer was ever made, because
it found our astronomers all unprepared.
But that these light flashes eliminating In
the triangle were some signal has como to
be generally believed, and 1t has set all sci
entists specializing and eagerly searching
for further manifestations
A few evenings ago student OF tho
Martian phenomena in Washington was
reading an abstract of Lowell's Boston lec-
ture on Mars. With the lecture he had q
map of the planet, on which the canals
and artificial lakes had been printed some
what darker than they ordinarily appear
through the telescope. Remembering the
episode of the triangular lights nc was led
to examine more carefully the evidently
artificial outlines of the network Of water
ways on the planet. If an attempt had
been made to communicate by three mon
ster lights, which had been too transitory
to evoke a response, might there not be
some more lasting effort at communica-
tion? Might 1t not be possible to trace out
in the canals some giant cipher that could
be seen and read on earthY
The suggestion of some letter or cipher
had hardly occurred when with 1t came
the answer. He was an able orientalist,
and the first glance of his eye, trained to
the curious characters Of the oriental Ian
guages, showed him the letters "daleth"
and "yodh" of the Hebrew alphabet. Be-
fore the "daleth" he saw at the edge Of the
hemisphere map what appeared to him to
be part Of the letter Sheen"
A skilled craftsman, 1t was for BIN the
work of no difficulty to draw a Mercator's
projection Of Mars, taking in the adjacent
surroundings from the other hemisphere.
To his amazement and JOY there appeared
plainly traced out in the artificial canals
of the sister planet the words signifying
God, the selfsame word ordered to be writ
ten on the doorposts Of every Israelite.
There it stood in bold letters traced be-
yond question by intelligent beings, and
traced there, too, beyond a question by
those beings as greeting and overture to
the people of our earth for mutual study
and friendship.
This observer was not n devOut believer.
He was frank agnostic, and his observa
tion was therefore unbiased by any reli
gious zeal. But this discovery, which sub
sequent examination only confirmed, i'm
pressed him as most remarkable, supporting
as 1t did the generally accepted theory that
intelligent beings have perhaps for ages
been seeking to give us some sign of recog
milton.
There is a wide field for thought and
speculation In this appearance Of the name
of God standing out Enthusiastically on the
surface of a sister planet. There can DO no
doubt of the observers accuracy. The first
letter (sheen) Is not as sharply defined as
are the two others, but washings by the
ocean have undoubtedly taken place, as is
proved by a glance at the original maps,
where partly submerged portions of the
orange hued land are indicated. True the
magnitude Of the work of cutting the CO.
nails into the shape of tho name of God Is
at first thought appalling, but there are
terrestrial works which to us today seem
no less impossible. Besides II is known that
the difference in gravitation between Mars
and the earth would make 1t easily posi-
BILE to do far more work with far less ener-
gy on Mars than on the earth.-New York
Herald.