Evening star., 1923-07-15
BY JAMES A. BUCHANAN.

T scientists have been of the
i opinion that the place that
has long been called the New
World was indeed the newer section
OF the world. They were wont to
accept as fact that Europe and
other lands across the sea were the
oldest in the matter of human life,
butstn the last two or three years
discoveries have been made in the
Americas that have led many savants
10 shake their heads as IL in doubt
as TO whether or not the place we
nave no long called the Old World
might not after all be the younger
OF the two hemispheres.
The discovery Of the tomb of King
Tutankhamen has renewed the in
terest in the matter as far as the
iaymen and others are concerned.
of course. the simon-pure scientist
Is always trying to prove or dis
prove something, SO he has been dig
ging along the lines of new obser-
Vations; he has been quietly going
mere and there in search of the
truth, and while it is true that the
Tor by many has not as yet been
discovered, explorers have unearthed
the ruins of cities that bear out, in
part at least. the theory that the
Americas are really older than the
countries which have SO long been
awarded the palm for antiquity. At
the present writing there is an ex-
pedition being fitted out that Is going
TO try and uncover some ruins in a
country to the south of us that may
mean greatly advanced steps in the
matter Of discoveries as relating to
the age of this hemisphere. The
writer is not at liberty to disclose
the name nor the destination of the
party of explorers. but he can say
without violating a confidence that
the men, who are connected with the
expedition are savants whose names
bear an honored position in the
world Of science.
X * :. X
BEFORE attempting to. describe
any. of the great ruins that give
US a key to an earlier civilization
than that of today, let us for the
moment recount some of the discov-
cries that have been made in the
Americas, discoveries that bear out
the theories being pursued by men
or science In order that they may
ascertain just how old the so-called
New World Is. Indisputable evidence
shows that the early camel was
haf ha
the western hemisphere long before
1t did the land of the sheiks. Also,
we find that the llama was recognized
ages and ages ago. for upon the
stones which the ancients recorded
events We find drawings of the
animals OH great slabs. The horse,
called by many q one-toed animal.
did not always have a hoof or one
toe extremity. There have been found
drawings of a two-toed equine-yes,
three-toed one, and then four
toed steed, and lately a discovery
was made of a rf1ve-toed horse, and
the place of discovery was In the
Americas. So one can without trouble
trace the line of progression from
the early horse down to the present
one-toed beast of burden. In pur-
suing the subject of some of these
discoveries, one is amazed to learn
that the great national sport of
base ball was played thousands of
years ago, played in vast courts or
stadiums, played for great prizes and
played by professionals. So those
who have long cherished the idea that
Spaulding. Dan Brouthers, Pop Anson
and others were the ortginators of
this game must realize that centuries
and centuries ago base ball was
played on the western hemisphere.
1t may be Of interest to describe,
briefly. some of these courts. They
were arranged in a manner similar
to our present day base ball dia-
monds, although there is nothing of
a positive nature found to show
that there were four bases, a home
plate and the other three used in the
modern day game. The players took
their places and a ball. which was
fashioned from the gum taken from
a rubber tree, was thrown into the
field. In some of the games the
players hit the ball with the should
ers, somewhat in the manner en-
ployed by the English who play that
kind of football, and the players
would run. according to the draw
ings. in a crouched position and
would by means of a twist of the
shoulder as 1t came in contact with
the ball give 1t a curving motion
that had the same effect as the
pitched ball of today in the hands of
a man who curves the ball Others
of the ancient game used their heads,
aud ii is said that they became very
proficient in giving the ball an un-
usual twist or curve. According to
the drawings these players were fine
physical specimens
The members of the ball teams
went from town to town and played
in the same manner as do the players
of the present time, and according
90 the writings the games were hot
1y contested and brought forth i'm
mense audiences.
Other large courts uncovered by