Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1905-12-15
OLD TIME MYSTERIES
BONE RIDDLES IN LIRE THAT HAVE
NEVER BEEN SOLVED.

- 70 nave HNA-
end 81 the Lost Auantis-The An-
client T'yEmfss % Tennessse.
The public appetite Graves nothing
20 much as a riddle, a secret to guess,
but nowadays every mans life is SO
bare, 50 exploited. and we live so much
out of doors from the cradle to the
grave that very few facts or fancies
can be kept hidden. There were. how
ever. certain mysteries which during
the last century the American public
pondered and worried over which are
yet unsolved and, except by a few old
people. are almost forgotten.
One Of these. perhaps the Oldest, Is
the question whether beneath the At
lantic not far from the Bahamas there
Is a sunken continent known to the
Greeks as the lost Atlantis. 1t was
still talked OF Familiarity in the irst
half Of the last century. Seafaring
men declared that when the water was
calm and clear they had caught
gIimpses OF ancient cities beneath. with
their glittering roofs and spires, and
that in certain conditions Of the atmos-
phere the tolling OF the bells could be
distinctly heard. Treatises were writ
ten by learned professors to prove the
probability Of the legend, and other
treatises, as learned and vehement. to
hout and jeer at It as an Idle fable.
Certain notsam and jetsam, which
was washed ashore after heavy storms
on the coast Of Georgia and Florida
logs OF strange woods unknown to this
generation. coins, bits Of carved marble
and beaten brass-wns ascribed to the
long dead workmen Of Atlantis.
The lost colony is now known only
as the subject Of I'M ancient fable. but
years ago It was by most educated
people believed to be an nctual fact.
Another much discussed mystery
then was what had become Of the col
ony Of civilized people who at the time
Of the settlement OF the country lived
on the western coast Of Greenland.
That country is, as you will see by a
glance at the map, shaped something
like the half Of an egg, cut lengthwise.
the fiat side upon the earth, the point
to the south. The rounded center Is a
heap OF impenetrable ice mountains.
AS the centuries go by enormous
bodies Of ice slip from It into the sea
and, breaking of. drift slowly down
along our coasts. These are the ice
bergs Of the Atlantic ocean. Now,
along the narrow slip of hnbitable land
which edges Greenland on this side,
tradition says. once dweit a civilized
people who. both in knowledge and the
habits OF life. were far in advance OF
the ~L.aplanders.
They were well known to the early
Danish navigators, who made frequent
mention of them in their logs and re
ports. The question yet unanswered IS
Where are they now7 Tradition among
the Laplnnders reports that the whole
colony two centuries ago emigrated in
a body to the eastern coast Of Green
land, attempting to cross the hitherto
impenetrable masses Of ice in the cen
ter. No tidings ever have ON back
from them. Some Of the scientific men
who accompanied the Hayes expedl-
ton made this question a matter OF
special study. They reported that 9
doubt could hardly exist that these
people did once inhabit that part Of the
coast and that they now had utterly
vanished. II they had been SWEEP
away by a pestilence their household
belongings at least would be left to tel
Of them, but not a shard Of pottery
not a single grave, remains to show
that they eve lived. 1t vas supposed
by the Danish missionaries that they
had persisted in the ranges Of ic'
mountains. but among the Laplanderi
there were traditions that they haC
safely reached the western coast anC
settled there, now forming a civilized
community, wholly isolated from til,
rest of the world. One Of Hansen'
voyages was. in fact directed to tina
coast in the hope Of finding this col
ony. He was not able to reach tn,
northern part Of the coast, and tn
mystery is therefore yet msolyed.
Another problem which perplexed tn
last generation was the long extinc
pygmy race which centuries ago un
doubtediy inhabited the Tennessee
mountains. Legends among the In
dians told Of such a tribe OF dwarfs
who were supposed 10 be OF more in
telligenee than the red men. But thes
legends were very hazy. A buryin
ground, however, actually was discOV
cred in the early part Of the last Ger
fury In which oil OF the skeletons wer
Of pygmy proportions. Some Of ther
were carried away to college museum
But as far as / know no scientific II
duiry has ever been directed to thi
question.
Another curious matter which cause
much speculation In the early part {
the last century was the fate OF Ii
colony Of French emigres who led
this country In the eighteenth eentuT
and took refuge ia the northern pal
OF Alabama. Like those Frenchme
who found safety In Delaware. the
were for the most part Of noble bloc
Marquises and counts earned their IL
ing in Wilmington Is dancing master
and wen chefs. and their descendant
live there still.
But the poor gentlefolk who wei