VISITED
The sun rose above the horizon in a burst of splendor and standing
outside of our ship we enjoy this beauty to its fullest. We wonder if
every day is like this. The air is sparkling clear as it still retains
some of the coolness of the departing night, but from the appearance of
that sun as it climbs higher into the sky, we know today will be just
as hot as yesterday had been.
So far no plans have been made for this day but since days are long
here, each day being equivalent to two weeks of time on Earth, we knew
that something would be worked out. One thing we were sure of, today we
would not return to the crater area. Further exploring in that district
we would leave until some night, since nights are each as long as the
days and very bright from the light of the Earth.
As we review the surprising events of the preceding night, we also scan
the mountains through our binoculars. In so doing, we bring into focus
the flag we had planted the night before. It is waving lightly in a
gentle breeze that seems to be blowing up there, but to our amazement,
gathered around the flag is a group of about a hundred and fifty men.
They are tall and slender with the same type body structure as the
man we had met in the dwellings by the lake, only these men are dark
brown in color while he was so clear white that he gave the appearance
of being almost bloodless. Thereby we knew that they did not belong
to the same tribe as the fisherman. Because of their color we decided
these men gathered around our flag on the side of the mountain must be
dwellers from the hot side. They seem to be armed, as we watch them
closely through our glasses, and yet we cannot definitely tell.
They have observed our ship and see us moving around it, so leaving
the flag untouched, they come towards us. When they get within five
hundred yards of us, we see that their arms consist only of packs of
small arrows and a small instrument which we do not recognize. Later we
learn that these men were on a hunting trip, since they eat wild fowl.
Hearing the volley we fired to frighten the beast in the brush-forest,
they had come to investigate what it was, for the sound was as strange
to them as it had been to the beast! They were surprised and very
curious at seeing the ship and us there.
We were unable to use the same method with these men to let them know
who we were and where we had come from that we had used with the
fisherman, for now the Earth was gone from view. So we had to draw
pictures in the sand, depicting the Moon where we are now, the Sun as
it is just rising in the sky and the Earth as it dropped below the
horizon not too long ago. Then by drawing another picture of a ship
coming through space from the Earth to the Moon and pointing to our
ship to indicate it was what we were picturing, we succeeded in making
them understand what we were endeavoring to convey to them. Their
amazement was equal to the fisherman's when he had learned where he had
come from.
After their excitement had calmed somewhat, we took them close to our
ship and let them look it over all around from the outside, then we
invited them inside to see what was there. They were most jubilant
because of this privilege of examining the ship inside as well as
outside and not the least frightened by this thing that must indeed
have looked like a strange big monster to them.
We are much impressed by their behavior, for even though they are
filled with enthusiastic interest, noting every little thing carefully,
they do not touch a single thing with their hands. However after noting
everything carefully inside and out, they don't leave either. They just
stick around.
They seem to be chewing on some kind of a long weed which looks similar
to a stalk of celery. This they had brought with them and during the
many hours they have been staying around with us, this seems to be all
they have had to eat.
While this has been going on, we have been examining some of their
arrows to see what they are made of. They are about four inches in
length, not much bigger than the old time match stick, and are made of
a twig with a feather-like leaf that acts like a balance. On one end of
each of these twigs a little volcanic rock or lava stone is stuck in;
something like the arrows on Earth are made. As for the instruments
which we previously were unable to recognize, they are similar to
an air gun. It is with these that the arrows are thrown. The person
blows through the gun and an arrow is shot forth at the target. When
an arrow blown through one of these instruments hits a fowl, it has a
tendency to bring on a mild state of paralysis that will wear off in
fifteen minutes, but they cannot kill it, as they show us by hitting a
bird flying overhead. And they certainly are experts at this kind of
shooting.
It hasn't been very long since we got through examining these weapons,
and the natives are all still sitting around chatting among themselves,
when we look up and see the white tribe from up the valley coming
towards us. Our fisherman friend is leading them. There are about three
hundred in all, young and old, men, women and children. As soon as the
dark tribesmen saw these white tribespeople coming towards us, they
rose to their feet to greet these newly arrived brothers, leaving their
weapons on the ground.
Once the white tribe got close enough, the fisherman greeted us through
signs, while to the dark natives he spoke in language. The reaction is
very joyous. Then a man clad in beautiful raiment stepped out of the
group. As he does, a very respectful silence falls over all gathered
here. He speaks to the entire gathering for a couple of minutes. We
don't understand his words but he must be saying something wonderful
about us for both groups are beginning to cheer us.
Now the cheering is over and we are taking the white folks to show
them our ship and all about it. These people, too, are very observant
of every detail and like the men of the dark tribe, are careful not to
touch anything with their hands.
The chieftain of the white folks, the one who had made the speech, is
now sitting down in the pilot's seat to see how it feels. His reaction
is one of great joy. Seeing this, we decide it would be a good idea to
take the ship up and with us as passengers, this leader of the whites,
the fisherman, and a few others including the leader of the dark people.
While in the air, we decide to fly above the mountain range dividing
the dark and the light sides. About three miles along this range
from the spot on the plateau where we had originally landed, we see
what appears to be a village, about half way up the mountainside.
The chieftain of the dark race points to himself and to the village,
indicating that is his village. It is located on the light side of the
mountain.
We have turned and are flying over the mountain range to the dark side
of the Moon. Here again we see the fishing shacks and the little lake
which we had visited earlier, during our ground exploring. From here
the chieftain of the white race points the way for us to go. We fly
over the lake and on for about five miles beyond, where we see another
village, altogether different from the one on the mountainside. The
first village we saw belonging to the dark race seemed to belong more
to cliff dwellers, while this one belonging to the white race is in a
valley between two ranges of mountains. The range on the far side of
the valley, being farther away from the heat and dryness of the light
side than the mountains we have recently flown over, has a much heavier
growth of trees and brush, signifying to us that more moisture and
cooler weather prevail here. Some of the mountains in this range have
very high peaks and on these we see snow.
The houses in this village in the valley appear to be built square, box
type. Some are taller than others and there are quite a number of them.
They seem to be built around a central park or community square in
quite a picturesque fashion. Behind these homes and along the foot of
the mountains stretch small cultivated areas where the villagers grow
their vegetables and grains.
The chieftain of the white race points to himself, indicating that this
is his village.
We continue flying farther up the valley for a distance of about one
hundred miles deeper into the dark side, but still within the fertile
belt we had observed as we first approached the Moon, that seemed to
stretch around the Moon between the light side filled with craters and
deserts and the dark side that is never visible to the Earth. Through
this valley we see several small ponds or small lakes. The entire area
looks very fertile and there is some tall timber growing on the higher
mountains. All of the lakes seem to have some dwellings around them. In
one place there is quite a large settlement near a lake.
The chieftain of the white race isn't a bit surprised, so he must
have known there were other people living in the valley. But all the
passengers alike, including the two chieftains, are almost speechless
with the thrill and wonder of thus flying over their homeland. We have
been observing them very closely for their reactions. So we continue
flying farther yet up the valley. In the distance we see a very large
settlement, almost like a city. It might be one. When this came into
view, the chieftain of the white ones was very much surprised as were
all the others. It seems none of them knew it was there. We figure this
city is about four hundred to five hundred miles up the valley from
the village of our white native companions. We have crossed a few low
ranges of mountains in finding this place.
Dr. Johnston has suggested that we fly over this place and see what
it is. So we do. It appears to be a city of about twenty thousand
population. We are directly over it and are lowering for a better view.
We have lowered to within seven hundred feet of the city but we seem
to be frightening everybody down there with our noise for we see the
people clearing the open spaces for cover. We have circled the vicinity
several times trying to find a place in which to land, for we would
like to see more of this city and the people living here. But there is
no possible landing place here in this narrow valley, so we are going
back up.
We are turning towards our original landing field on the plateau
instead of going any farther at this time, since we don't know how long
we will stay on the Moon and we have a hunch to preserve the fuel.
Rather than return over the same territory we have come, George
suggests that we take the light side to see what is there. To our
surprise we find ourselves flying over quite a number of large
settlements which are discernible from the air. Coming this way,
Bob has had to rise to an altitude of forty thousand feet for we
are encountering mountain peaks which are around thirty thousand to
thirty-two thousand feet elevation. In each case the villages of the
people living on the light side are of cliff dweller type, half way up
the mountains from the floor of the valley. Through this entire area
there is very little vegetation, while the mountains themselves seem to
be of volcanic origin and bare of trees or brush.
We have reached our starting place and are landing again. As our
passengers leave the ship they try to thank us by much chattering and
many gestures with their hands, indicating a great deal of excitement
and joyousness, as it appears to us. Both groups of people who had been
left behind when we went for our trip were still there awaiting our
return and they all gathered around the ship when it landed, looking
upon it with amazement.
Our passengers have left the ship and we are following them out. As
we do, the leaders of the two tribes grab us by the hands and start
talking with excitement to their own people. From what we can get, they
seem to be telling them all about the trip, with much enthusiasm and
exuberance.
This has continued for several hours.
Now it is over. The two chieftains, the one of the dark race and the
one of the light race, shake hands with each other and all the people
of both tribes gather together. With one chieftain on each side of us,
followed by all the tribespeople, we start walking in the direction
of the little lake again. When we reach the brush-forest that we had
previously broken a path through, we find they have their own path.
It is a wide open thoroughfare which we would have seen when we were
here first had not the opening to it been camouflaged, made to look
as though it was solid with brush. The natives are removing this
camouflage in order for the procession to get down to the lake.
After reaching the lake, the white boys go into the water taking with
them little gadgets which we are permitted to examine. These are made
of wood or the crotch of a limb with a very sharp point. With them they
catch fish at an amazing speed. In a very short time they have caught
a large quantity of fish. Then some of the people start to prepare a
feast.
During these preparations messengers are dispatched somewhere but we
don't know to where.
Realizing that these people are all friendly towards us, we are taking
more liberty in openly observing them and what they are wearing.
During all the time we have been with them, we have noticed how very
intelligent these Moon people really are in all their ways.
On examining the garments of the leaders we find the cloth they are
made of is a surprisingly fine quality. In fact the clothing all the
people are wearing is made of some very fine cloth, a sort of fiber
yet finer than the silken cloth used by people of the Earth.
The ornaments which they are wearing, bracelets and trinkets of many
types, are of a fine quality. They are all of very intricate designs.
The ornaments are made of gold and platinum and on close examination
they seem to have some iron in them for sturdiness, yet alloyed so well
that it does not tarnish, rust, nor anything that iron might do. Inlaid
in these ornaments or trinkets are quite a number of very large gems, a
considerable amount of diamonds and still more precious than diamonds
is a stone that is fully transparent, with a very, very moonlike cast.
This stone gives off regular prism colors. We are made to understand
this color radiation is the same at all times, in the brightest light
or in the darkest of darkness.
We would like to have a stone like this for it seems to possess magic
powers of some kind, but the white chieftain is the only one wearing
them while everybody is wearing the diamonds and the other types of
gems.
We wonder about this, why this chieftain alone is wearing these
precious stones. Finally we are able to find out, for through motions
and signs we have made them understand that we would like to know more
about this particular stone.
The chieftain is indicating that we can have anything we want except
this stone, and he is showing us the reason. He has taken off his
outer garment which has these stones studded in it, and as he did this
he seemed to change into an older man. He pointed to himself as this
was taking place, also he fluttered with his arms and jumped into
the air and hit back onto the ground, just like anybody would do. Now
he is taking a stone about two inches in diameter which hangs from a
gold chain and is putting the chain around his neck. In a matter of
seconds as we watch he has turned to be as youthful as he was when we
first met him. Then by putting his garment back on, which seems to be
a royal-like robe, he can flutter with his arms again and jump up into
the air, only now he stays there. He doesn't drop back to the ground.
Instead he moves about above the ground something as a humming bird
does, only he does not flutter his arms like a humming bird does his
wings.
We are made to understand that this is only possible by possessing this
gem.
After carefully examining and sincerely admiring many different types
of these trinkets worn by the people and thoroughly enjoying the
demonstration given by the chieftain, our attention is again drawn to
the lake that we may examine it more closely. Along its shores the sand
itself is radiant and possesses something that we cannot analyze, for
all the grains seem to sparkle. After spending quite some time in the
sand on the shore of the lake we went into the water to pick up some of
the sand from the lake bottom. This we find is as clean and sparkling
as that on the shore. It seems to have a different feel to it than
sands which we have known on Earth, just as the waters of the lake were
so refreshing when we drank from them.
Now these tribes' leaders are indicating that there is something else
they want to show us. They are leading us again to the brush-forest.
Here they pluck down some of the brush and split it with a flint-like
instrument. To our surprise there is a fine silken thread in the center
of each stalk. This thread is sometimes ten to twenty feet in length,
depending upon the height of the brush from which it had been plucked.
It really looks like silk, yet it is very strong. They show us that
when this fiber thread is taken out from within the limb, or stalk, it
can be woven into cloth immediately without any treatment of any kind.
They are weaving some of these threads together making a small piece of
cloth for us to see and feel.
One of the tribesmen is handing us a wrap which he says is made of this
brush thread. He wants us to throw it over our shoulders. It is a far
finer cloth than any we have ever known. This wrap is very warm and
seems to be wind proof. Besides, garments made from it have some kind
of a magic power as well, for when we put the wrap around us we felt
as though we are charged with some sort of energy, almost as if we had
had a good night's rest. This also accounts for them being able to lose
a night's sleep and not feel it, for the dark ones who are still with
us had been hunting during the entire preceding night. Knowing that we
needed sleep, at least they got the idea, they have given us a jacket
to wear while we are partaking of the feast, as it is now ready.
While all of this has been going on, the messengers have reached their
destinations and returned to join us in the feasting, but we don't
notice anything different happening since their return.
The feast is lake fish and some sort of a vegetable which the natives
have gathered from around here somewhere. It is similar to lettuce
except that it doesn't taste like lettuce. There is no bread but we
don't miss it for there is plenty of what we have.
Now the feast is over. The white chieftain has indicated that we are to
go with him and his people. He spoke to the black chieftain and this
leader with his tribesmen have started back through the brush-forest,
while we are accompanying the white chieftain and going in the opposite
direction, up the valley. We have walked a good five miles, yet we
don't feel tired, even though we have lost much sleep. It seems that
the food and the jackets are doing their work.