Towns, Villages, and Cultivated Fields Can be Seen

 At the astronomical observatory of Berlin, says a translation from Nya Pressen Helsingfor, a discovery has lately been made which, without doubt, will cause the greatest sensation, not only among the adepts of science, but even among the most learned. Prof. Blendmann, in that city, has found, beyond a doubt, that our old friend, the moon, is not a mere lantern which kindly furnishes light for the loving youth and gas companies of our planet, but the abode of living, intelligent beings for which he is prepared to furnish proofs most convincing.
 The question has agitated humanity from time immemorial, and has been the object of the greatest interest. But the opinions have always differed very widely, and no two minds held one and the same Already in ancient times the belief prevailed that the moon was inhabited by some higher organized, intelligent beings, somewhat resembling man, and in order to communicate with them the earthly enthusiasts planted rows of trees several miles in length so as to form the figure of the Pythagorean theorem. The celebrated astronomer Schroder, in the beginning of the present century, fancied that he could detect places on the surface of the moon which periodically grew lighter and darker, and from this fact he derived the conclusion that the phenomenon was the proof of existing vegetation. During the last few decades, however, the idea of life on the moon has been held up to ridicule, and totally scorned by men of learning. But nevertheless, it has now been proved to be correct.
 By accident Dr. Blendmann found that the observations of the moon gave but very unsatisfactory results, owing to the intensity of the light power of the moon’s atmosphere, which is that strong that it affects the correctness of the observation in a very high degree. He then conceived the idea to make the object-glass of the refractor less sensitive to the rays of light, and for that purpose he darkened it with smoke of camphor. It took months of experimenting before he succeeded in finding his right degree of obscurity of the glass, and when finally found he then with the refractor took a very accurate photo of the moon’s surface. This he placed in a sun microscope, which gave the picture a diameter of 55½ feet. The revelation was most startling. It perfectly overturned all hither-to-entertained ideas of the moon’s surface. Those level plains which formerly were held to be oceans of water proved to be verdant fields, and what formerly were considered mountains turned out to be as deserts of sand and oceans of water. Towns and inhabitants of all kinds were plainly discernible, as well as signs of industry and traffic. The learned professor’s study and observations of old Luna will be repeated every full moon when the sky is clear, and we venture to predict that the time is not far off when we shall know more about the man in the moon than as being an agent in English politics.

Weekly Shasta Courier, June 14, 1884