The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1902-01-09

y
have seen it for yourselves, that there
are almost no mountains on Mars. A
very learned man of my race used to say
that the reason was because Mars is sc
very old world that the mountains il
once had have been almost completely
! leveled and the entire surface of the
! planet has become great plain. There
are depressions, however, most of which
are occupied by the seas. The greater
part OF the land lies below the level OF
the oceans In order at the same time
to irrigate the soil and make it fruitful
and to protect themselves from overflows
by the ocean breaking in upon them
the Martians have constructed the i'm
mense and innumerable canals which
you see running in all directions over
the continents.
There is one period in the year, and
that period has now arrived, when there
is special danger of a great deluge
Most of the oceans Of Mars lie in the
southern hemisphere When it is sum-
mer in that hemisphere, the great
masses of ice and snow collected around
the south pole melt rapidly away"
Eyes that is so,' broke in one of our
astronomers who was listening atten-
lively. Many time | have seen the
vast snowields around the southern
pole of Mars completely disappear as
the summer sun rose high upon them. a"
With the melting of these SHOWS, +"
continued Alma, "a rapid rise in the
level of the water in the southern oceans
occurs On the side facing these oceans
the continents of Mars are sufficiently
elevated to prevent an overflow, but
nearer the equator the level of the land
sinks lower
With your telescopes you have no
doubt noticed that there is great bend
ing sea connecting the oceans Of the
south with those of the north and run
ming through the midst of the CONT
nents.
Quite So" said the astronomer who
had spoken before. "We call it the
Syrtis Major
THAT long narrow sea-" Alma went
on, forms a great channel through
which the flood of waters caused by the
melting of the southern polar SHOWS
Hows swiftly toward the equator and
then on toward the north until it reaches
the sea basins which exist there. AT
that point it is rapidly turned into ice
and snow, because. of course, while it
is summer in the southern hemisphere
1t is winter in the northern.
1.-The Syrtis Major Il am giving our
nj n -
In place of that by which the girl called
lD is like a great safety valve, which,
by permitting the waters to flow north
ward, saves the continents from inunda-
ticn
But when midsummer arrives, the
SHOWS around the pole having been
completely melted away the food
ceases and the water begins to reoede
AT this time, but for a device which
the Martians have employed, the canals
corrected with the oceans would run
dry and the vegetation, left, without
moisture under the summer sun, would
quickly perish.
TO prevent this they have built
series of enormous gates extending COM
pletely across the Syrtis Major at its
narrowest point latitude 90 degrees
south). These gates are all controlled
by machinery collected at single point
on the shore of the strait AS soon as
the flood in the Syrtis Major begins to
recede the gates are closed, and. the
water being thus retained, the irrigat-
Ing canals are kept full long enough to
mature the harvests. -
'"The clewl The clew at last |" ex-
claimed Mr.. Edison. "That is the place
where we shall nip them. If we can
close those gates now at the moment of |
nlgh tide, we shall flood the country.
Dld you say" he continued, turning
10 Alma, THAT the movement of the |
gates was all controlled from single
)oint?''
Yes I" said the girl. "There is a
great building (power house, full of
tremendous machinery which once en-
'ered when my father was taken there
" his MASTER and where | cav one
hartlan, by turning little handle.
'ause the great line of gates, stretch
ng 100 miles across the sea, to SLOWLY
nut IN, edge to edge, until the flow of
he water toward the north had been
topped.
How is this building protected?"
so completely. replied Alma, THAT
ny only fear is You may not be able TO
eaoh 1t. On account of the danger from
heir enemies in Ceres the Martians have
it strongly on all sides and
ave even surrounded it and covered il
Verhead with great electric network
touch which would be instant death u
"AhP' said Mr. Edison They have
ot an electric shield. have they? Well.
think we shall be able to manage
hat.
Anyhow, he continued, I'VE have
OF to get into that power house and
70 have got to close those gates, and we
lust not lose much time in making mn
ur minds how it is to be done. Evi.
emily this is our only chance. We have
OF force enough to contend in omen
attic with the Martians, but if we can
GOD them out and thereby render the
nglnes contained in their Notifications
seless perhaps we shall be able to deal
18th the airships, which will be all the
leans OF defense that will then remain
, them. "
This i5aa