Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1895-04-06
THE CHICAGO HAaLH.
THE MEN OF MARS.
An Arizona Astronomer Thimks They
May he Nineteen Feet Tall.

An Arizona Astronomer Thinks They
May he Nineteen Feet Tall.
Percival Lowell has completed q
series of lectures in the Lowell Insti.
tutc course which are full Of food for
thought and of inspiration for fancy,
says the Boston Post In these lectures
he told his audiences what he had seen
through his telescope on the planet
Mars, and what opinions he had form.
ed from what he saw. Mr.. Lowell has
had opportunities for making acquaint.
ance with our ncighboring planet
eQualed by few men on this earth. He
has established, and maintains, at his
own expense and for his personal use,
an astronomical observatory at Flag.
stan, Arizona, Mt an elevation and In q
section where the clearness of the at.
mosphere and other favorable condi.
tons offered great advantages for oh.
servation. And there he has scrutinised
Mars during the recent approach Of
that planet to the earth
What Mr.. Lowell bas gained from
these observations Is clear conviction
that the planet Mars Is inhabited. And
not only this, but he reasons from what
he has seen that the men of Mars are
far advanced. ut least In some respects,
beyond the present development Of the
human race upon the earth. Without
attempting TO follow Mr.. Lowell
through the very interesting account Of
his observations and the deductions
which he draws from them. his explana.
ton Of the phenomenon known as tho
canals may be mentioned as an ex.
ample. These famous "canals," appear.
ing and disappearing on the surface Of
the planet, have been the subject Of
hopeless speculation ever since the 1tal-
ian astronomer. Schiaparelli. noticed
them. 1t seemed impossible to regard
them as the work Of men, because Of
their magnitude and the rapidly with
which they sprang into existence. No
men, 1t was thought, could dig so fast.
But as Mr.. Lowell sees It, a solution Of
the puzzle Is ready. The markings
which we call canals. lie holds. IRE not
the trenches themselves. but the broad
belts Of vegetation which spring up, and
again fade away. along the borders of
the vast irrigating bitches which the
men Of Mars have built.
This Is the basis of Mr.. Lowelrs mes.
sage regarding Mars. The canals may
have been built years ago; they certain.
~ are not dug year by year rs they
seem to be; and It Is the recurrence Of
vegetation, season after season, which
brings the markings OF these fertile
belts within the vision of telescopes on
the earth. Then tho question comes
to what use IRE these canals put? They
are seen to converge ut spots which
show dark green color In the telescope
ut Flagstaff. These spots Mr.. Lowell
calls ''Oases;" and here fancy may pic
ture, Is analogy points out, the inhab
itnnts Of Mars congrcgqting during the
long winter Of that planet to live In
luxury upon the stores laid by during
the season Of vegetation.
What sort Of men IL It who have
built this vast system Of irrigation ant
transportation and have created case,
Of refuge In the midst of barrenness'
by mathematics, Mr.. Lowell shows tina
the men Of Mars may be nineteen fee
In height and Of corresponding physlca
strength; the attraction Of gravitatiol
there being not moro than one.thlr,
what It Is upon the earth. And II, q
we have the right to infer. their intel
iectual development matches that o
their bodies, It IL not difficult to con
ceive Of the production Of such work
M those which Mr.. Lowelrs telescOp
dlscloses when pointed toward the re,
planet In the clear air Of Arizona.
1t may be said that this Is fanciful
that the observed facts do not sustain
the deductions. But the facts Mt leas
do not contradict the belief which MI
Lowell holds. The men Of Mars ma,
claim our confidence as existent being
until some one arises to show NOR
plainly that they do not exist.