Rensselaer Republican, Volume 20, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 December 1887 — Inhabitants of Mars. [ARTICLE]

Inhabitants of Mars.

The recent improvement in the tele* scopes has enabled astronomers to learn a great deal that is new about oar neighboring planets. It is now asserted positively by iig. Schiaparelli, of Milan who has the finest instrument in the world, that Mars is inhabited by a people somewhat like ourselves. Under the clear Italian Bkies he has made the wonderful discovery of a series of canals in the planet Mars. They are nearly a hundred miles wide, and rnn from the seacoast to the interior. It was in 1879 that he first noticed this phenomenon, and then again in 1882 he was surprised to find that the canals had been lengthened farther into the interior of the land. He made also his observations when Mars was at a point in the ecliptical course nearest to the earth. Many of the canals rnn parallel, while others diverge at right angles from each other, show that nature could not have followed such precise methods. It is A well-known fact that Mars, in contrariety to the earth, has far more land than water, arid thesa canals running tn tho interior of the continent mnst be useful water routes to the inhabitants of that far-off sphere. Sig. bchiaparelli is acknowledged to have the best and most practiced eye of any living since he has announced his discoveries others have seen the same phenomena. The geography of Mars is better known than that of our own polar regions. It is known positively that Mare has snow and rain, while there are indubitable .evidences of animal lile. It would be intersting to know who these strange beings of onr nearest planet are, and the question may be solved some day.