Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1934-12-07
CHAPTER VIII

@Mr. Ransdell and myself" Eliot
James began, "took onr ship of the
ground this morning at eight o'clock.
We few due north for about seventy
five miles. Then we made a circle Of
which that distance was the radius.
covering the territory that formerly
constituted parts of Michigan and Wis
consin.
Il say formerly because our flight
was like journey of discovery. You
have already been told that the Great
Lakes have disappeared. They are,
however. not entirely gone, and I
should say that about cne-third of
Lake Superior. possibly now land
locked. remains In Its bed.
"The country we covered, MS you
doubtless know, was formerly heavily
wooded and billy" the young author
continued. ut contained many lakes,
and was a mining center. viii make
no attempt to describe the astonishing
aspect Of the empty lake bed. the
chasms and Dat beaches which we're
revealed when the wasel sss-=.-
-sA.e.--,, -Di inc Dr0an cracks and crew
ices which stretch across the bed. Most
Of the forests have been burned
away. Seams have opened underneath
them, which are in reality mighty
canyons, abysses in the naked earth.
Steam pours from them and bovers in
them. All about the landscape are
fumaroles, hot springs. geysers and
boiling wells.
In the course Of our flight we OBJ
served the ruins Of a moderate sized
town and Of several villages We also
saw the charred remains of farms,
lumber and mining camps. Not only
have great clefts been made, but hills
have been created, and in lnnumerahle
places the earth shows raw and multi
colored-the purpllsh red Of iron veins.
the glaring white of quartz, the dark
monotony of basalt intermlngled in a
giants conglomerate. can only sus-
gest the majesty ard the unearthliness
of the scene by saying 1t closely re.
sembled my conception of what the
lunar landscape must have been.
"We observed few areas which,
like our own, were relatively undis-
turbed. This district. as you know,
is sparsely settled. l Will complete
my wholly Inadequate report to you
by satisfying what must be your major
curiosity: we saw in the course OF our
flying q number of human beings
Some of them wandered over this
nude, tumultuous country alone and
obviously without resources for their
slstenance. Others were gathered to-
gether In small communities In the
sheltered places. They had fires 60
Ing and they were apparently secure
at least for the time being. An Of
them attempted to attract our attention
to themselves. and It Is With regret
that ! must say that not only Is their
rescue lnadvisable from the sheer
necessity Of our own self-preseryntion,
but that III most cases Il would be
difficult II not impossible, Ms we found
no place ID which we might have land.
ed plabe, II the surface Of the water
that remains In lake Superior be ex-
eepted, and few other ponds and
lakes"
After the speech, people crowded
around James. Peter Vanderbilt, NOV
ing through the crowd glimpsed Rams.
dell a. he was walking through the
front doors Of the hall. The New
Yorker stepped out on the porch be-
side the pllott the sophisticated Man
haitian dilettante with his smooth, gray
ing hais, his worldly-wlse and weary
eyes, bis svelte accent, beside the
rugged tan-faced, blue-eyed, powerful
adventurer
7 wanted to ask you something"
Vanderbilt said. Ransdell turned, and
10 usual he did not speak but simply
waited. "Do you think 1t would be
possible to- hop around the country
during the next few monfhs7"
with good ship--an amphiblan."
Vanderbilt tapped his cigarette hold.
er against one Of the posts on the
porch. you and | are both SUPER
ITINERARIES around here. IN eense. /
was wondering II II might not be
good idea to make an expedition
around the country and see for
ourselves irst what has tappened..s
Ransdell thought inatsIctlatelt Of
Eve, he was drawn to hsf as never %
s,