Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-24
PUTS MuNcHAusEN TO SHAME
Remarkable Tale of Aerial Warfare
Written in the Second Century by
Iucian.

The narrator and a company Of adj
venturous men started out from Cadiz
| to find out where the Western Ocean
| terminated. They arrived first at a
| strange land where the rivers We're of
wine, and where Bacchus was suppose
| ed to have lived at one time. After
leaving these shores they were whisk-
ed away by a gentle breeze and after
seven days travel they arrived at the
MOON Endynljon was ruler. He was a
Greek, who was carried 10 the moon
one day while he lay asleep and was
appointed King. Endymion told them
of a war the people of the moon We're
engaged in.
On our asking him what enemies he
had, and how the misunderstanding
began he replied:
1T is now a long time that Phaeton,
the King of the solar inhabitants flor
the sun is no less peopled than the
noon has been At war with us, for
no other reason than this ] had taken
| the resolution to send out The poorest
people of my dominion as colony into
the morning star which II that time
was waste. and void habitatiors. To
this now Phaeton, out of envy, would
not consent. and opposed my coienists
with n troop Of horseants in midway.
Being unprepared for the encounter,
end therefore not provided with arms
we for that time forced to retreat
have now. however. resolved to have
another contest with them, and 10 set
tie my colony there. cost what 1t VIII.
If you have, therefore a mind TO take
part in this enterprise, / Will furnish
you with yultures out of my own
means. and provide you with The nee
essary arms and aecoutrements, and
tomorrow we will begin our march.
with all my heart ] replied,
whenever you please"
The King that evening made us sit
down to an entertainments; and on the
following morning early we made the
necessary preparations, and drew up in
battle array, our scouts having appfis-
ed us that the enemy was approaching
our army consisted of, besides the
light infantry. the foreign auxillaiies.
the engineers and suffers, OF hundred
thousand men: that is 10 say eighty
thousand horse Vultures. and twenty
thousand mounted on cabbage fowl.
These are an exceedingly numerous
species of birds that instead Of feath-
ers, are thckly grown over with CAP
hag and have a broad kind of let
tuce leaves for wings. Our tanks were
composed of beam shooters and garlic
throwers. In addition to these thirty
thousand flea guards and fifty thous-
and wind courses were sent to our aid
from the bear star. The former are
arehers mounted or kind of fieas
which are twelve times as big as an
elenhant: but the windconrsers,
though they fight on foot yet run
without wings in the air. This is per-
formed in the following manner. They
wear wide. long gowns, reaching down
to the ankles; these they tuck up 50 as
to hold the wind like sail, and thus
they are waited through the air AFTER
the manner Of ships. In battle thev
are generally used like our light armed
foot soldiers. 1t was currently report
ed that seventy thousand sparrow
acorns and five thousand horse cranes
were to be sent us from the stars over
cappadocia, but | must own that did
not see them, and for this plain reason
that they never came | therefore shall
not take upon me to describe them. TOR
all sorts of amazing ana incredible
things were propagated about them.
such were the forces OF Endymicn |
Their arms and accoutrements were all
alike. Their helmets We're of bean |
shells. the beans with them being eX-
cessiyely large and thick shelled. Their |
scaly coats of mail were made of the |
nusks of their lupines sewed together, |
for in that country the shell of the H. |
pine is as hard and impenetrable as
horn. Their shields and swords differ
not from those of the Greeks.
Everything now being ready the
troops disposed themselves in the fol- |
lowing order of battle: The horse vul-
lures composed the right wing and
were led on by the King in person, sur
rounded by a number of picked men. |
among whom we also were ranged: the
left wing consisted of the cabbagefowl |
and in the center We're placed the aux
iliaries. severally classed. The foot
soldiery amounted to about 6o,Ooo, 900
There is n species of spiders in the
MOON the smallest of which IL bigger
than one of the islands OF the CycladeS
These received orders to fill up tho
whole tract Of air between the moon
and morning star with a web This
was done in a few instants, and serv-
ed as a floor for the foot soldiers To
form themselves in order OF battle up
on. who were commanded by Night
bird, Fairweather's son, and two otherl
Generals.
On the left wing of the enemy stood |
the lesser ants, headed by Phaeton. |
These animals are a species OF winged |
ants. differing from ours only in !.