Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-11-03
CHAPTER l..

events which followed the disastrous
invasion Of the earth by the Inhabitants
ct Mars should 30 without record. and
circumstances having placed the facts
at my disposal l deem ii duty. 10th
to poSterity and tn those who were wit
nosses Of and participants in the avcng.
Ing CouutcrStrckC that the earth dealt
back at its ruthless enemy in the h,av.
ems. to write down the story in n con
rccted form
The Mgrtians had nearly all persisted.
not through ctr puny efforts, tut in
consequence Of disease, and the few sur.
Nivors fed IN enc Ci thcir lroicctilv
ears, iuliCtiNs their CrucicSt blew in
the set Of departure,
They possessed mysterious oxplo.
sive Of unimayinab!e nuisance, with
whose aid they set their ear i'll motion
for N-"s from Point in Bcrsen county
\. j, just Tack ,t tire Palisades.
Tie force C the explosion may bc
Imagined whom .J is .ccDllcct,G that
they had Ia Givc the ar velocity #
more ;haH seven miles lex second IN or
der To ,vtrvtmy t.. attraction Of the
earth and the resistance # the utuu>.
1hcrc.
The heck Gos;r, vel all of Sew York
hat hai ~, a.r,aGy ial,,u II prey, ami
A.. the buildings yet Standing IN the
r.rr, uud.ns town, AND cities fell in enc
an lirclin- rGiu.
The Palisades tUlul Il in vast sheets,
Uartjnc tidal wave il the Hudson
nat drowned the ON ositc shore.
The victims ii this ilrociuUs eNplo.
non were numbered by tens II thou
snds, and the shOck, transmitted
trough tire rocky frame oi Tn. glHlv.
Mas recorded ly >Jisu graz HE u,mUu-
,Um> in England and ca the continent
oi Europe
The terrible results achieved ty the
invaders had produced everywhere
mingled ling ot con>t, gua,iun and
hlpyl,,>u,>-. Thv devastation was wide.
s-rc&i. Tie death dealing engines
which the M"rt,aus had brought viii
them had proved Irresistible. and the H..
h@tltIutS al the earth possessed Euthlu.
capable II CUntend!uc against them.
There had been no protection ior III,
great cities; LO protection even fer I'll,
down before ihe savage onslaught Il
those illccil5,s invaders from. space.
Savage ruins covered the sites ~ n:au,
formerly Furnishing town, u;.u Villages
and the broken walls Of great viti,,
stared ut the heavens like thv eNhuu>6
sk, Teton ii I0mpeii. The awful aseuuis>
bad oSt!rratcd pastures and meadow
and dried Up the very springs III ivrti..
lily il the earth where they had tout ned
il. In some parts OF tine devastated lands
pcS:i,epce broke ont; elsewhere there
Was famine. Dependency black rs aight
troOded over some of the iaireSt pur.
,ions ot tie globe.
4ot all haj not been DESTROYED, b..
cause all had NOT tcvu reached iv the
whitening hand ii the destroyer. The
NartianS had not had time tn complete
their work before they themselves fol
II prey u diseases THAT carried them I'll
Ut tbs very cU!n,lL0iiCn of their tri.
umYh.
From those lends which had ;cr,u.
uat,ly escaped Invasion relief was .,ut
to the sufferers The oUlbur>t ii pity
md If charity eSCscdvl anything that
the world had known. Differences If
race and q religion wire swallowed I'D
in the universal sympathy which was
felt Tor these who had suffered ~ terri.
bly, from an evil that was n unexpected
A. u wcs UriEaclnatle IN its enurmitv.
But the Wogt WAS not YET. More
dreadful, than the actual suffering and
the scenes ii death and devastation
NV Il 81 ~,
was the IL iC;ud mental ana moral de.
preston tina, followed. This WAS shared
even by those who had no, seen tho
MartianS anu mad hot Witnessed the de.
,trUctivC effects IF the frightful engines
Of war thar they had imported for the
conquest Of the earth.
All mat Sind We're sunk deem in this
universal despair. AMI il became tonfold
blaCker wien the astronomers annuunr.
Ell from their CtscryalUrloS that strange
lights were visible moving aud flash.
ing upon the rel surface of the planet
ot War. These mysterious appearances
could only 10 interpreted in the light
o; past experience to mean that the
MMti2ns were preparing for another
invasion 81 the earth, ANA who could
doubt that with the invinrillc powers If
destruction ut th"ir command they
would this time make their work com,
plctc and final:
inns startling announcement was the
more pitiatlc in IT. effects because il
served tn uuuervo and discourage those
few Of Stouter hearts and m,re AUr-.ul
temperamCntS who had already t,uun
the labor Of restoration AMI rrcuns,ruC.
tion amid the enters OF their deSolat,d
homes. In New York this feeling II
hope and confidence. this determination
TO rise against disaster and To wine out
the evidences Of its dreadful presence a.
quickly as possible, had especially man
ifested itself, Already company had
been formed and II large amour, Of cap.
ital subscribed fer the reconstruction ~
the destroyed bridges over the East
river. Already architects were busily AT
work planning new 20 story hotels and
apartment houses, new churches ana
new cathedrnlS ON grandor scale than
before. amid this stir uf renewed liiv
came the fatal news that Mars WAS un.
doubtedly preparing To deal us q, a,h.
blow. The sudden revulsiOn OF feeling
fitted like the shadow OF an eclipse over
the earth, The scenes that follow,G
We're Understandable. Men lost their rec
son. The faint hearted ended the sus
pense with self destruction, the stnut