Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1900-09-19
ODD MOON THEORIES.
THE MANY SUGGESTIONS THAT
FLOURISH ABOUT FAIR LUNA.
Lnughable and Absurd Motions That
Gain Credencc In Untusorcd Minds
Concerning the Changes and
EcIipses OF the Orb OF Night.

Eclipses OF the Orb OF Might.
For countless ages the darkness of
night has exercised terror on all sorts
and conditions Of men. and in conse-
Quence the moon has become surround
ed by untutored people with degree
Of mystery that is sometimes merely
laughable. sometimes ingeniously alb
surd, but I'm most cases the natural out
come OF superstition and ignorance.
There is probably no country i'm the
world where some kind of picture has
not been made out of the visible mark
ings on the moons surface. We have
our own old man I'm the moon who
made that famous journey to Norwich,
while in many parts of France it Is
hunter and his dog that folks say they
can distinguish.
In eastern Asia the marks in the
moon are said TO be a hare sitting on
its headquarters. while the Incas Of
South America maintain that the dark
patch Is the figure of young lady who
happened to be walking in the moon
light and suddenly became enamored
OF the brightness and beauty of n star.
She sprang forward to embrace the OBJ
ject of her affection. and the moon,
taking advantage Of her amorous leap,
caught her up and has kept her ever
since.
EcipseS Of the moon, being common
er than those Of the sun. have always
attracted more attention than solar
obfuscations. In Peru an eclipse Of
the moon was always considered to be
a sudden illness Of that star. and so
when one occurred the Peruvians
would start treating everything that
was capable Of making a noise and in
particular fog all their dogs. the theory
being that the moon, witnessing the
sufferings Of the creatures it loved,
would revive herself to come to their
help.
The Khasias of northeast India have
a very remarkable superstition regard
ing the sun and moon. They believe
that the waning and increasing moon
represents the state of that planets
strength as she wrestles with the sun,
which is her husband.
The increasing moon represents that
Luna is winning hands down." the
decrease that she is losing, until at last
the sun swallows his wife and splits
her head out into the sky. The wife
then has another chance so to speak.
and the quarrel goes on without cessa-
ton.
a popular superstition among the
Slavs was that the moon was condemn
ed to wander through space for inf
deity in company with the morning
star. The Dakota Indians fancied that
the moon as she decreased was being
c1n
Polynesians that she was being de-
voured by spirits Of the dead.
Still more extraordinary is the super
stition held by the Hottentots that the
waning moon suffers from headache
and always hides her face with her
hands.
The EskimOs maintain that the same
period in the moons history merely be-
tokens the fact that she is hungry and
retiring to rest and eat previous TO be
ginning another fast AS regards the
markings on the moon the Eskimos
have n most laughable theory. They
say that Anninga, the moon. brother OF
the peerless and incompatible Malnia
the sun. was pursuing his sister and in
deed had drawn so close to her that
she was almost within his grasp,
whereupon the enraged lady turned
around and blackened his face and
clothes with her fingers, which she had
smutted with the SCOT Of an oil lamp.
Other savaCes there are who main
tain that the marks are the cinders re-
sulting from the monthly destruction
by fire of the moon by the incendiary
sun.
The Chinese believe that when al
eclipse Of the moon takes place she Is
being vigorously attacked by a dragon
At the commencement Of the lunar
phenomenon they throw themselves
PROSTATE and bang on gongs anC
drums to brighten the dragon away. II
the meanwhile the mandarins and eX
allied personages present shoot arrow,
at the moon, which reminds one o.
the story OF a former king of Portugal
who, hearing that n comet was il
sight, hurried out to see it. scolded 4
vehemently and discharged pisto
shots at the inexplicable monstrosity.
The Maoris believed that the moor
was a great hole torn in the heavens
through which could be seen the warn
fires that kept the earth alive and tn,
sun heated. When the moon was OF
the wane, they said that the gods wer,
busy mending the rent, and when tn,
moon appeared again in her crescen
shape they said that the tear had burs
once more.
Among the untutored peasants of tn
remote parts of France many strang
superstitiOns are rife as regards tn
moon. Many aver that they can sc
Judas Iscariot hanging from an eide
branch, others that it is Cain they sc
leaning on his spade and gazing at tn
murdered body of Abel, while som
again say that 1t is a peasant compel
led to freeze In the moon with his bun
die Of faggots for attempting to wattl
q fence on the Sabbath.
AT certain times OF the year the Malo
pos, a tribe of African savages, bury
live goat with many strange rites
This, they say, has to be done to al
pease the moon, who expects a goat a
stated intervals. They firmly believ
that the goat makes its way throug