The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-10-06

most tactic Islands. il was incIuscc !
by barrier reef. over which Ia. !
w?ras broke i'll whitecar'> a> far a.
cold see | >uppo>.'d that somewhere |
there would he all up.iill. III the reel /
through which We curld sail. That |
Was invariably The. case with all Suct !
.S..rds that i h::d ever known or re;.
al-,::i III, could not >-e the open !
iE-- from r." irr!t YET. Fne lagoon on /
.l,-.'d hv the !r:rrIer reef >eein.d 10 he
4 ,,i:"rfrr ~ ni!f 1t nile wide.
III" S;r:Ilce>t part of the wh"ie !
- .-i... w:,~ that the island itself locke
4" :, Whi'i~h 81! wall rising >traichI
III, rom ;,ir EI.",3n for, / SUPPOSE. firm
la feet III the lowest part I" 500 feet
or more. without :. break. Its t";' WIS
covered with :creeuery. II Stood M
like u solid r:InIar: nf stone From
where, We. were. ! couldn't see the end
Of tie. island. although from my ih>p,-,.
rion - it th,. day before | Judged 4
mint he. six nr light miles long. and
~ | hid SIZED past il I estimated il
WIS about thr same breadth and near
IL cirrul:r in shape.
\ long diStance away on the other
side and hard 10 he Sreu at all from
He level IF rhe sea in the small boat
lay other islands. family outlined on
the far horizon.
SHIP. - must have thrashed
tors description ard ulake II" doubt
"" shall chance upon tl,"ll.
80 We tramped alon2. searching the
shore and sea aud ind ~ nothing
After perhaps All hours monoIon"E>
going when we had traver>eu ahoUt
a third of the distance of the island.
we rounded ii proje,tiOn Of the ri1
md there before E> rose the stairs.
What We saw WAS G!-tnTlc starr
WHY. Irregular. hIt made Of huge
blocks of rough hewn stone. not c"l;'i
rock but hIi.irr St"ue II frnler tex
ture. like granite hi;N">t. WIS not
familiar with the >.UiIr either. There
was no >!mnIr;r! about il. some 81 lie
stones rose PERHAPS three let ana OF
erS not more than TX many inches tnt
stairs they certainly We're and th"N
surely had been made by man. and the
stones We're most carefully fired he
ing laid up without mortar. tie sur
faces 50 close that rou,d scar" tHrnS'
knife blade between. The hue
+ blocks We're of Elul>trnu> size too.
much too great in hulk and wei'"hi Ia
he handled NY any primitive m""h"nI
cal meanS | thought never could
conceive how natives or primitive men
could have shaped them. moved then!
and finally laid them up in the forni
Of stairs.
Nor d Il the stairs alone awaken our
Amusement and quicken our curiosity
They ended in Il rirrling belt of sand
here Il little wider than elsewhere Al
the bottom on either side two "igan
tic statues or buStS of stone had bee,
ere, ted Their bases We're buried II
the sand. and they rose to quite tWl
my height above and | am good slA
, feet and more tall These stones were
carved into the rough yet not unrea
likeneS$pS of human faces.
| WHY we had not discovered theS'
stairs from Seaward was because the.
didn't come squarely down to the wa
, ter'S edge at right angles to the wal
but lay. as it We're. parallel to Mich
r within the wall so that they Wer
{ somewhat sheltered from obServatio
!. from the sea
We broke upon them suddenly. there
f fore Mistress Lucy clutched my arm
: "The giant stairway" she cried i
: amaZement.
n 1T is indeed" | said. Just as it wa
+ set forth i'll the parchment,
And the great stone faces. she adt
, ed in a voice in which there was
i touch of awe.
h Let us 80 nearer and ascend IN
| stairs" | said taking her hand an
{; leading the way. and she was SO pr
) occupied that she did not notice.
Il | observed us we approached II
q stairs that the rock had been W"r
d smooth by the wind and weather.
IS maybe by the passing of many fe'
It md were quite practicable for aS"en
: The angle at which they rose W;
s II !.aAfI roo