The Washington times., 1912-03-24
CHAPTER Xxx (continued).

CdAPIEK Xxx (C0ntinued).
r T was evident that this place. which
lay in a depression of the land, had
been buried by the rushing water
as high as the top stories of the
] buildings. From some of the sights
! that they saw they shrank away, and
afterward tried to forget them.
Owing to the presence OF the women
and children their progress was slower
than 1t might otherwise have been. They
had great difficulty in crossing the
course of the torrent which their com
panions had described as cutting them
! off from the foothills of the Pixies
Peak range.
The water had washed out veritabe
,canyon hundred or more feet deep in
walls and banks. which they had to de-
scend on one side and ascesd on the
other. Here the skill and local knowl-
edge of their three new-found friends
stood them in good stead. There was
yet enough water in the bottom of the
great gully to compel them to wade,
carrying the women and children.
But, Just before nightfall, they sue
heights, where they determined to pass
tne night. They managed to make a
fire with brush that had ben swept
down the mountain fianks and had re-
they dried their soaked garments, and
were able to do some cooking and to
have a blaze to give them little heat
during the night for the air turned cold
after the disappearance of the sun.
When the others had sunk into an un-
easy slumber, the President and Prof.
Pludder sat long, replenishing the fire
and talking Of their future course.
shall find a considerable population
aiye among the mountains. There is
nothing in Colorado below 1900 feet ele-
yauon, and not much below 5000. The
into lakes, but they will drain off, as tho
land around us here has done already.
Ihose who managed to find places oi
comparative shelter will now descend
the sites of their homes. If only some
plants and grain have been preserved
they can, after. a fashion, begin tc
cultivate the soil"
dent, shuddering at the recollection oi
the devastation he had witnessed III
mas all been washed off"
No" replied the professor. there's
yet good deal in the low places, where
tho water rested"
But 1t is now the middle Of winter
'Reckoned by the almanac it is, bu
you see that the temperature is that OF
summer and has been such for months mont IS
think that this Is due in some way t.
the influence of the nebula, although
cannot account for 1t. At any rate 4
will be possible to plant and SOW
The whole body of the atmospher,
'having been raised 1000 feet, the at.
mosphertc conditions here now are Writ
tually the same as at the former ses
'Flevel If we can find the people and re
assure them we must take the lead il
restoring the land to fertility, and alst
in the reconstruction of homes"
suppose the flood should recon-
There is no likelihood of it,"
. Then" said the President. puttins
MS race between his hands and gazing
sadly into the fire, here is all that re
mains Of the mlghtiest nation of thu
world, the richest, the most popuIous-
and we are to build up out of thi!
remnant of new fatherIand."
This Is not the only remnant" sale
Prof .Pludder. one-quarter, at least
iof the area of the United States Is still
above sea level. Think of Arizona, New
Mexico. Utah, Nevada, the larger par
OF California, Wyoming, a part of Mon
tana, two-thirds of Idaho, a half o
oregon and Washington-all above tn,
kcritical level of 1900 feet, and all excep
the steepest mountain sides can be re
lClaimed
There is hope for our country yet
Remember that the climate of this en-
tire region will now be changed, sine
tfhe barometric isobars have been lifte'
up. and the line Of thirty inches, pres
sure now meets the edge of the Colorad
lplateau. There may be a corresponding
change in the rainfall and in all tn
lconditions Of culture and fertility"
Yes" sighed the President. but
cannot. I cannot withdraw my min.
from the thought of the millions, mil
lions, millions who have perlshed!'
IT do not say that we should forge
them" replied Prof. Pludder: "HeaVel
forbid! But say that we must Civ
our attention to those that remain. an
turn our faces steadily toward tn
future"
"Abiel," returned the President. press
ing the professors hand, you are right
My confidence in you was shaken, bu
now I follow you again"
Thus they talked until midnight, an
then got little rest with the others
They were up and off at break of day
and as they mounted higher they bega
to encounter immense rocks that ha
come tumblinR down from above.
"How can you talk Of people escapin
toward the mountains If they had to er
counter these?' demanded the Pres
dent.
Some of these rocks have undoubted
ly been brought down by the torrents,
Prof. Pludder replied. but believe tina
the greater number fell earlier duTin
the earthquake that accompanied tn
: first invasions of the sea-"
But those EARTHQUAKES may have cor
tinued all through"
81 do not think So We have felt n
trembling of the earth. ] believe thu
the convulsions lasted only for a briC
period while the rocks were yielding
the pressure along the old sea coas
After 4 little tine crust below adjuste
ltSelT 10 the new COnul(lOnS. ana eve
n the rocks fell while people were tr!
ing to escape from the flood below, the
must, like the water, have followed Il
gorges and hollow places, while II
fugitives would, OF course, keep upo
the ridges"
Whatever perils they may have er
oountered, people had certainly escape
as the professor had averred. who
the party, in the middle of the da
were seated at their lunch on an ell
waited point from which they could 81
far over the strange ocean that the