The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-06-04


over their sudden good fortune and Were
about to load their ship with il and no
turn to Europe at once, but the betto,
Judgment of my ancestor prevailed
He explained that if the world were ~
formed of the discovery of such an in
Xhaustible mine of gold the ya,uo
If tho precious metal would decline nm
It would be worth little more than soma
Erosser metal, and that if they wonId
only keep heir secret 60 themselves thew
could III ,lme control the finances Of tho
world. So, acting on this suggestion
they only dug out few Thousand
pounds and took part of it to Eurono
and part of it 10 America and turned il
into money.
"Then, TO ourtail my story. tbev
elected my ancestor as ruler. and. with
ships loaded with every available con.
venience that ineXhaustible wealth could
procure and a colony of carefully cbo.
SEN men, they returned TO the island.
"After the men and their families
had settled in the great, roomy mouth
of the cavern my ancestor supplied him.
self with several strong men and food
and lights and sought TO explore the en-.
tire cavern.
''To their establishment, they found
that it was practically endless When
they had gone down about 60 or 20
miles below the sea level, they found
themselves on "A vast, undulating plain.
the soil Of which was dark and rich
with the black roof of the cavern arch
ing overhead like the bottom of great
inverted bowl And when they had
travelled about ten days and reached the
other side my ancestor calculated that
the cave must be over 100 miles in al.
ameter and almost circular in shape
But what elated and surprised them
most was the remarkable salubrity of
the atmosphere. In all parts of the cave
it was exactly the same temperature,
and they found that they scarcely felt
any fatigue from their journey, and
that they had little desire to eat the
provisions with which they were sup
piled. Indeed, the very air seemed per.
meated with a subtle quality that gave
them strength and energy of mind and
body.
Finally, when after month had
passed and they returned to their anx-
ious friends, these people overwhelmed
them with EXPLANATIONS of surprise over
their appearance. And in the light of
day the explorers looked at one another
in establishment, for in the dim light of
the lanterns they had carried they had
not noticed the great change that had
come over them. They had all become
the finest specimens of physical health
that could be imagined. Their bodies
had filled out; they were remarkably
strong; their skins shone with health
full color and their eyes sparkled with
intellectual energy, and their minds,
even to the humblest burden carrier
were astonishingly acute and active.
My ancestor was remarkable man,
and he had hitherto shown much in
ventive ability, but in that month in
the cave he had developed into an intel
lectual giant. After mature delibera-
ton he proposed a prodigious scheme
to his followers. He explained that
while they might, by using the utmost
discretion, hold the financial world i'll
their power by means of their mex
haustible wealth. the laws and re-
strictions of different countries prevent
ed men of vast wealth from really en-
Joying more privileges than men of mod
crate means He grew eloquent III
speaking of the underground atmos-
phere and proposed that they light the
great cavern from end to end and make
1t an ideal place where they could live
as 1T suited them.
Il see that you guess the end. My
ancestor was great student of the sci
ences and had already thought of put
ting electricity to practical use. You
are surprised? Yes, it has been applied
to our purposes for 200 years. while
your people have understood its use
such short time"
Great heavensl" exclaimed the Eng
llshman. i see it all. The sun is an
electric one.
Yes"
And it runs mechanically over its
great course as regularly as clockwork.
More accurately, / assure you, but
there probably never was greater
mathematical problem than they solved
In deciding on the size the sun should
be and the amount of light necessary to
MI all the recesses Of the great vacancy.
IL was all very crude at the start. For
years great electric light was simply
suspended in the center of the cavern's
roof, and the light did not vary in color.
A son OF the first king suggested the
plan of giving the sun diurnal move
ment and the changing light. The
moon and stars were later develop
ment. They found, too. that the light
could not be made to reach certain re
cesses In the cavern where the roof APP
preached the earth, so they finally built
great wall to keep the inhabitants
within prescribed boundaries and to
prevent them from understanding the
of the heavens.