The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1902-01-16

secting tha country, and these, being
also elevated above the surface, would
add the impetus of their escaping wa.
tiers to hasten the advance of the flood.
We calculated, therefore, that about
two days would suffice to place the
planet at our mercy
Half way from the Syrtis Major to
the Lake Of the Sun another great con
Meeting link between the southern and
northern ocean basins, called on our
maps of Mars the Indus, existed, and
through this channel we knew that an
other great current must be setting from
the south toward the north. The food
that we had started would reach and
break the banks Of the Indus within one
day
The flood travelling in the other direc-
ton, toward the east, would have con
siderably farther to 60 before reaching
the neighborhood of the Lake of the
Sun. 1t, too, would involve hundreds of
great canals as it advanced, and would
come plunging upon the Lake of the
Sun and its surrounding forts and cit
les, probably about half day later than
the arrival of the deluge that travelled
toward the west.
Now that we had let the awful de-
stroyer loose, we almost shrank from
the thought Of the consequences which
we had produced. How many millions
would perish as the result of our deed
we could not even guess. Many of the
victims, so far as we knew, might be
sntirely Innocent of enmity toward as or
of the evil which had been done to our
native planet. But this was O case in
which the good, If they existed, must
suffer with the bad On account of the
wicked deeds of the latter.
have already remarked that the con-
tinents Of Mars were higher on their
northern and southern borders where
they faced the great oceans These nat
ural barriers bore to the main mass of
the land somewhat the relation of the
edge of shallow dish to its bottom.
Their rise on the land side was too
gradual to give them the appearance of
hills, but on the side toward the sea
they broke down in steep banks and
s&liffs several hundred feet in height.
We guessed that it would be in the d.
rection Of these elevations that the in
habitants would fiee and those who had
timely warning might thus be able to
escape in case the flood did not-as it
seemed possible it might in its first mad
rush-overtop the highest elevations Oh
Mars.
AS day broke and the sun slowly rose
upon the dreadful scene beneath us. we
began to catch sight of some of the flee
ing inhabitants. We had shifted the DO
sition OF the feet toward the south, and
were now suspended above the south
eastern corner of Aeria Here a high
bank OF reddish rock confronted the sea.
whose waters ran lashing and roaring
along the bluffs to supply the rapid
draft produced by the employing of the
Syrtis Major Along the shore there
was narrow line of land, hundreds of
miles in length, but less than quarter
of mile broad, which still rose slight.
ly above the surface of the water and
this land of refuge was absolutely pack
ed with the monstrous inhabitants of
the planet who had fled hither on the
first warning that the water was COM
ing
In some places it was so crowded that
the later Corners could not find standing
ground on dry land, but were oontinu-
ally slipping back and falling into the
water. 1t was an awful sight to look at
them. 1t reminded me of pictures that
had seen of the deluge in the days Of
Noah, when tho waters had risen to the
mountain tops, and men, women and
children were fighting for foothold
upon the last dry spots that the earth
contained.
We were all moved by desire to
help our enemies, for we were over
whelmed with feelings of pity and re
morse, but to aid them was now utterly
beyond our power. The mighty floods
were out, and the end was in the hands
of God.
Fortunately we had little time for
these thoughts because no sooner had
the day begun to dawn around Us than
the airships of the Martians appeared
Evidently the people in them were daz-
ed by the disaster and uncertain what
to do. 1t is doubtful whether at first
they compromised the fact that we
were the agents who had produced the