The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1913-11-19

way, irregular. but maze OF huge
blocks Of rough hewn stone, not coral
rock. but harder stone Of firmer tex.
ture like granite almost was not
familiar with the stone either There
was no symmetry about 1t, some Of the
stones rose perhaps three feet and 9th
ers not more than as many inches. but
stairs the. certainly were and they
surely had been made by man. and the
stones were most carefully fitted. be-
ing laid up without mortar. the sur
faces SO close that could scarce thrust
knife blade between. The huge
blocks were of monstrous size. too,
much too great In bulk and weight to
be handled by any primitive mechani-
cal means thought never could
conceive how natives or primitive men
could have shaped them. moved them
and finally laid them up in the form
of stairs.
Nor did the stairs alone awaken our
amazement and quicken our curiosity.
They ended in circling belt of sand.
here little wider than elsewhere. At
the bottom on either side. two gigan-
tic statues or busts of stone had been
erected Their bases were buried in
the sand. and they rose to quite twice
my height above and am good six
feet and more tall These stones were
carved into the rough yet not unreal
Iikenesses Of human faces.
Why we had not discovered these
stairs from sea ward was because they
didn't come squarely down to the wa
ter's edge at right angles to the wall.
but lay. as 1t were. parallel to a niche
within the wall SO that they were
somewhat sheltered from observation
from the sea.
We broke upon them suddenly, there
fore Mistress Lucy clutched my arm
"The giant stairwayr' she cried In
amazement
1T is indeed" I said. lust as It was
set forth in the parchment"
And the great stone faces" she add
ed In u voice in which there was a
touch of awe.
stairs" said. taking her hand and
leading the way. and she was so pre-
occupied that she did not notice.
l observed as We approached the
stairs that the rock had been worn
smooth by the wind and weather. or
maybe by the passing OF many feet
and were quite practicable for ascent
The angle at which they rose was
steep too.
The ascent was easy enough for me,
but hard for her, and several times
made bold to lift her up the higher
steps. which she suffered without com
planning She told me long afterward
that my manner toward her then and
thereafter had been perfect.
When we at last reached the top
before Us lay a broad pathway rudely
road led straight into the interior of
the island Of which we could see Us
yet nothing. because the wall here
abouts was covered with dense. lux
urious vegetation Progress was din
cult even In the pathway. 1t would
have been impossible In some places
but for my heavy cutlass with which
I cut a path where the place had be-
come overgrown by trees and bushes
which had forced their way through
the cracks. overturning and breaking
the heavy fagstones and blocking up
the path. which 1t was evident had
not been traversed for generations.
perhaps not since the old buccaneer
himself had walked along It beneath
the spreading trees.
For perhaps mile We pursued our
Journey across the top Of the wall.
winding In and out among the trees
through the Jungle the path evidently
seeking the most level direction. for
the top of the wall was very much
broken and irregular
At last We came to an open spot on
the inner edge overlooking the whole
island. and before US lay such pic
ture as few eyes. at least of our race.
had ever looked upon. The wall ended
abruptly and fell on the inner or land
ward side as precipitously as 1t rose
outwardly and to sea ward. Before us
lay most enhancing valley. perhaps
three or four miles across and maybe
half as long again in the other direc
ton and which was walled about on
every hand. 1t was sunk beneath this
wall crest for perhaps 100 feet or more.
In the center Of the valley the land
rose little higher than the island
wall In very considerable hill. tree
crowned on the slopes. but largely bare
on the crest Through the valley ran
q brook. which ended in a little lake