VOL. XIII.
OCEAN CITY, N. J., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1893.
NO. 30.
Ocean City Sentinel.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT OCEAN CITY, N. J., BY R. C. ROBINSON, Editor and Proprietor.
$1.00 per year, strictly in advance. $1.50 at end of year.
Restaurants.
MARSHALL'S DINING ROOMS FOR LADIES AND GENTS, 1321 MARKET STREET, Three Doors East of City Hall, PHILADELPHIA.
STRICTLY TEMPERANCE.
MEALS TO ORDER FROM 6 A. M. TO 8 P. M.
Good Roast Dinners, with three vegetables, for 25 cents.
Turkey or Chicken Dinners 15 cents.
Ladies' Room upstairs, with homelike accommodations. PURE SPRING WATER.
BAKERY, 601 S. Twenty-Second St.
ICE CREAM, ICES, FROZEN FRUITS AND JELLIES.
Weddings and Evening Entertain-
ments a specialty. Everything to furnish the table and set free of charge. NOTHING SOLD OR DELIVERED ON SUNDAY.
H. M. Sciple. J. M. Gillespie. H. P. Sayford. H. M. SCIPLE & CO., DEALERS IN Boilers and Engines, Every Size for Every Duty, DUPLEX STEAM PUMPS, Third and Arch Sts., PHILADELPHIA, PA.
D. SOMERS RISLEY, No. 111 Market Street, CAMDEN, N. J.
Conveyancer, Notary Public, Com-
missioner of Deeds, Real Estate and General Insurance Agent. Properties for sale and to rent. Money to loan on Mortgage. TELEPHONE No. 16.
PETER MURDOCH, DEALER IN COAL and WOOD, Ocean City, N. J. Orders left at 806 Asbury avenue will receive prompt attention.
Artistic Printing. Material--The Best. Workmanship--First class. Charges--Moderate. R. CURTIS ROBINSON, Ocean City, N. J.
L. S. SMITH, CONTRACTOR IN Grading, Graveling and Curbing. PAINTING BY CONTRACT OR DAY. Eighth St. and Asbury Ave., OCEAN CITY, N. J.
Plasterers and Brick-Layers.
W. STONEHILL. G. O. ADAMS. STONEHILL & ADAMS, Plastering, Range Setting, Brick Laying, &c. All work in mason line promptly attended to. OCEAN CITY, N. J.
Physicians, Druggists, Etc.
DR. J. S. WAGGONER, RESIDENT Physician and Druggist, NO. 731 ASBURY AVENUE, OCEAN CITY, N. J.
Pure Drugs, Fine Stationery, Confectionery, Etc., constantly on hand.
DR. G. W. URQUHART, 2265 North 13th Street, PHILADELPHIA, PA. Will practice at Ocean City during the months of June, July and August.
DR. WALTER L. YERKES, DENTIST, Tuckahoe, N. J.
DR. E. C. WESTON, Dentist, 638 CENTRAL AVENUE, OCEAN CITY, N. J. During August, and Saturday to Monday night of September.
Attorneys-at-Law.
MORGAN HAND, ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR AT LAW
Solicitor, Master and Examiner in Chancery, Supreme Court Commissioner, Notary Public, CAPE MAY C. H., N. J. (Opposite Public Buildings.)
LAW OFFICES SCHUYLER C. WOODRULL, 310 Market St., Camden, N. J. Solicitor of Ocean City.
Bakers, Grocers, Etc.
JACOB SCHUFF, (Successor to A. E. Mahan,) THE PIONEER BAKERY, No. 708 Asbury Avenue, OCEAN CITY, N. J.
Fresh Bread, Pies and Cakes daily. Wedding Cakes a specialty. Orders delivered free of charge. Nothing delivered on Sunday.
HARRY G. STEELMAN, DEALER IN FINE Groceries and Provisions, No. 707 Asbury Avenue, OCEAN CITY, N. J.
Contractors and Builders.
S. B. SAMPSON, Contractor and Builder. No. 305 Fourth St., Ocean City, N. J.
Jobbing promptly attended to. Plans, specifications and working drawings furnished.
JOSEPH F. HAND, ARCHITECT, CONTRACTOR AND BUILDER, Ocean City, N. J. Plans, Specifications and Working Drawings furnished. Estimates given on Application. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Nicholas Corson, CARPENTER AND BUILDER, OCEAN CITY, N. J. Estimates given. Plans and Specifications furnished. Buildings put up by contract or day.
G. P. MOORE, ARCHITECT, BUILDER, AND PRACTICAL SLATER, Ocean City, N. J. Best Roofing Slate constantly on hand.
Samuel Schurch, PRACTICAL BUILDER, MAY BE FOUND AT Bellevue Cafe, On beach bet. Seventh and Eighth Sts.
HENRY G. SCHULTZ, CONTRACTOR AND BUILDER, 2633 Germantown Avenue, PHILADELPHIA. BRANCH OFFICE Seventeenth and Asbury Avenue, OCEAN CITY, N. J.
ARNOLD B. RACE, UNDERTAKER, PLEASANTVILLE, N. J.
All orders by telegraph or otherwise will re-
ceive prompt attention. Bodies preserved with or without ice. Office below W. J. R. R. at the residence of A. B. RACE. ARNOLD B. RACE.
Plumbers, Steam Fitters, Etc.
J. T. BRYAN, Practical Plumber and Gas Fitter, No. 1007 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia. Circulating Boilers, Sinks, Bath Tubs, Water Closets, Lead and Iron Pipes, Pumps, Etc., furnished at short notice. Country or City Resi-
dences fitted up in the best manner. Sanitary Plumbing and drainage a specialty. Orders by mail promptly attended to.
ROBERT FISHER, REAL ESTATE AND Insurance Broker, CONVEYANCER, COMMISSIONER OF DEEDS, AND NOTARY PUBLIC.
Agent for the Aetna Life Insurance Company, of Hartford, Connecticut, and some of the oldest and best Fire Insurance Companies of America.
What's the matter with Ocean City? She's booming, that's all. New water supply system; new electric street railroad; electric lights; new hotels; new cottages; new tenants and new guests; everything is on the jump, and Fisher is rushing the business.
Call and see him, and put your money in Ocean City be-
fore things get up to the top notch.
Fisher is one of the few pioneers of Ocean City and among its first Real Estate purchasers and Cottagers, intimately associated with all its history and identified with every step of its progress and the operation of its Real Estate, has extraordinary opportunities for the transaction of all kinds of Real Estate and Insurance business.
FOR RENT--Having very extensive and influential connections, he has superior advan-
tages in bringing those who have properties to rent and those who require them together, and at present has some of the finest cottages and other houses on his books at liberal prices. FOR SALE--Long experience and personal dealing in Real Estate has made him expert in values of both improved and unimproved property. Occasionally even in such a prosperous town as ours some one wants to charge or get out.
Then we help them by helping some one else to a bargain. From Ocean front to Bay, and all between, you can be suited with fine corners or central building lots. A few cottages, new and well built, now offered at cost.
Write for information of the Lot Club. Headquarters for every house-hunter and investor, Fisher's Real Estate Office, the most prominent corner in Ocean City. Insurances placed on most advantageous terms in best companies. For any information on any subject connected with any business enterprise write freely to Robert Fisher, Ocean City, N. J.
The National Institute
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THE HIDDEN CITY. By WALTER H. McDOUGALL.
[Copyright, 1892, by Cassell Publishing company, and published by special arrangement with them.] [CONTINUED.]
"Ages ago, so far in the past that the records have been lost from sheer decay, our people dwelt on the shores of a great sea. Cities greater and richer than
Atzlan were there, and the people were more numerous than the sands of the desert. Across the sea there led a nar-
row strip of land to the city of the gods, which was called At, a wondrous city on a mountain, rich in gold and
silver, surrounded by water, and in which resided the great ruler of the whole world--a wise, wonder working king. To him our cities paid yearly
tribute, and in his city our priests were taught and sent out to proclaim the truth. There was then no winter, no cold; it was the summer age.
"The dwellers in At were wiser than all other people. They commanded the thunder and the lightning and brought
down fire from the heaven, as you do. They journeyed on the water in great canoes, and the wind obeyed their commands; they sailed by night, for they knew the
stars and had a magic guide. They it was who taught the early dwellers on the
shores of the sea how to build their houses, plant their seed, make their records and worship their god. They brought them seed in times of famine,
and cattle and fowls. 'Twas said of them that they could see farther than
other men, by which I judge they possessed magic tubes, such as you, my brother, have. Indeed our books show
them looking through such tubes toward the stars. They were white and bearded;
'tis from them we derive the white blood in our people, but they were of greater stature; they were large men, like you.
In fact they were a people such as you have told me of--people who know all things.
"But there came a time, the legends tell, when they grew bold, and wicked,
defying the gods. Then there appeared in the sky a great serpent of fire. For days it was seen approaching, and all
the world trembled with an awful dread. The light of it was terrible, and flames went before its mouth. It de-
voured the sun, as you can see in our sacred books, which show Quetzal battling with it and conquering it; but that is a religious fable. As it approached
the earth grew dry and parched; men fled into caverns and deep pits, into
mines and wells, to avoid its blighting, poisonous breath. The earth was swept with flame. Then came scathing, grind-
ing showers of stone and sand, tearing
away the forests, filling the valleys, leveling and burying the cities. Great At sank beneath the sea, the bridge was destroyed forever, and the people perished from the face of the earth.
"The legends differ, even in our family tales; some tell of two who survived in their canoe, others on the back of the
turtle; but the common Atzlan tale, the one we tell the children, is nearer the
truth. It says that the people first came from a cave in a mountain, where they
were entombed when they fled, with cat-
tle and other animals. There was but a dim light, lasting only a few hours each
day, but there were two blind men who cheered the dull hours with flute play-
ing.
"One of these struck the roof by chance with his flute, bringing out a
hollow sound, upon which the elders of the tribe determined to bore in that direction. The flute was set up against
the roof, and the raccoon sent up the tube to dig a way out, but he could not. Then the earthworm mounted and bored
until he found himself on the outside of the mountain surrounded by water; this water soon flowed off, leaving only mud.
The worm returned to the cave, and the
raccoon went up into the mud, sinking into it midleg deep, as the marks on his fur show to this day.
"The mud dried away, and the animals began coming up from the cave. This took several days; then came the men.
When they were under ground they spoke one tongue, but when they came
forth they had many languages. The earth was then very small; the light
was as scanty as it had been below; there was no heaven, no sun, no stars.
So a council was held and a committee appointed to make these. They made
the heavens and set the stars in patterns of bears, birds and such things, but a wolf rushed in and scattered them about as they now lie. This is the legend," said Iklapel, "and it conceals the truth in its mythical language.
"As I have said, mankind took refuge in caverns, but they were all, according
to our records, destroyed with the ex-
ception of two. Some lived to see the earth swept with water and covered many feet deep with mud and then with
ice. They had no food, and they de-
voured each other until they were exter-
minated.
"But far, far to the south, where the fire and stony rain and the floods were
less severe, there survived two people, the progenitors of the Atzlan race--a
white man and a red woman. In a canoe they came here from the sea, and they built new cities and populated the earth. But it took many ages to do this, and the people have forgotten their origin, but as they had existed in darkness for so long, when the sun returned they worshiped it and have continued to do so ever since, and have made the serpent their god of evil since that day when, filled with terror, they saw the sun swal-
lowed up."
"Not only a single kingdom was de-
stroyed, but half the world," continued the priest. "All mankind was believed
to have been swept away in the dire catastrophe, and although we know that some were spared they were left desti-
tute and wretched, becoming savages and cannibals ere they rose to their for-
mer state.
"However," continued Iklapel, "the destruction of the city of Atlantis oc-
curred at a period when mankind had arrived at a state of great learning and civilization, for we know that the most wondrous cities then stood on the shores of the western ocean, to which came great ships from far away toward the setting sun, from distant lands, taking many months for their voyages, and
bringing rare and curious treasures
from another race. It was the people of the far south who were spared, and they gradually came northward, extending their settlements along the great rivers, building mounds in imitation of the sacred city"--"I've seen them," interrupted Gilbert, "and they are the source of much discussion among our learned men."
"They still exist, then?" inquired Ikla-
pel, and continued: "These people went far to the north and dug deep in the earth for copper on the borders of the
north sea. We have none of this cop-
per left. It long ago vanished, but the memory of it lingers with us. 'Twas a
rare and valuable metal. After a long time the cities of the great country of Xibaba, which had sunk in the sea where a strip of land had been, slowly rose again and were rebuilt. All this was long ago, long ago, before the sea had left these deserts above us, but after a time a wild and savage race overflowed the land from the north, strange in speech and dark, fearful and bloodthirsty. They drove our people back until they were obliged to dwell in the inaccessible cliff houses and build themselves walled towers for defense, for they were not a warlike race. "Since the people lived in the caves and cliff houses, the rivers have cut their way deep into the earth, leaving the dwellings of our forefathers high upon the cliffs, so you may know that many ages have passed since then. "There were seven great cities in the Atzlan country ages ago, but they have vanished, and we know not even where they stood; but we know they were rich and beautiful. Atzlan is a very old city, but it is in truth the youngest of them all and stands upon the site of
a city far more ancient. Beneath the buildings of this old city are under-
ground passages of wonderful extent, and more splendid than anything we have above ground, for our forefathers were more skilled in the art of masonry than we are.
"In those passages are huge arches which we cannot build now, and in them we have stored our treasures, vast sums of gold and silver which the priests of the sun for centuries have collected. "Our people built great roadways and aqueducts in those days which have passed away, which were the wonder of all the nations, who came to us to learn
our arts of building, mining, sculpture, painting and writing--the study of the sun, moon and stars, and our religion.
"I can show you," continued Iklapel, "many things which came from At ages
ago, when the sea, now dried up, reached nearly to this city of Atzlan."
"What!" cried Eric in amazement.
"Have you traditions of the time when the sea was near this place?" "Oh, yes; there was a great sea to the north," said the priest, "and a chain of large salt lakes in a great circle to the east. All this desert was at one time under water, and it was near our city. But it dried away, and the land was white with salt. In the underground room of the temple is a canoe, which has been kept sacredly, that journeyed
often to At and returned laden with much treasure. It is the boat, they say, that brought Quetzal to this land."
"I must see it!" cried Eric.
"You shall this very day. I shall procure torches at once."
"Never mind them," said Eric. "I have a lantern that will outshine all
your torches. But what else is there among your sacred relics from the van-
ished city?"
"Many things. Images of gold and silver, pottery, carved stones, earrings, bracelets, stone axes and knives. The sacred white knife which your light-
ning shattered in Kulcan's hand came from At."
"Alas!" cried Eric, with a sense of real injury at the loss of such a treasure. "I regret the deed now. I should have hesitated had I known the worth of the weapon."
He was trembling with eagerness to see the relics. Almost feverishly he
hurried the old man along, and reaching the temple he ran up to his room and brought down his electric light apparatus, long unused, but needing only a few touches to be in working order.
Meanwhile Iklapel had brushed away a covering of sticks, grasses and earth
from the ground floor of the temple, re-
vealing a large trapdoor, and when Eric arrived he told him to lift it up. It was
not easily moved, however, and took
several minutes of effort, but it yielded
at last, and they descended a ladder into
a room about forty-five feet wide, in the masonry of which was imbedded many decorated yellow slabs, with a glazing similar to common modern earthenware.
In an instant the light had flooded every crevice with a dazzling brilliancy
and showed to Eric's eyes a sight that
made his heart beat with a new emotion. He stood by a boat so ancient
that beside it the pyramids were young.
It was about thirty-seven feet in
length and twelve feet wide. The bow was high and terminated in a swan's
head and neck, well carved and curving
gracefully. The bow was decked over
for about four feet, and the lines of the vessel, although somewhat clumsily designed, showed much nautical knowledge. She had eight wide thwarts, and had evidently carried a mast inserted in
the center of the boat, as there was a round aperture in one thwart. There
were deep, round notches in the outer edge of the gunwale, evidently made
by the abrasion of paddles, for thus she must have been propelled, as there was no evidence of oars or any other appliance for their use.
The wood of which she was built was
as hard as iron and as black. Great studs of pure gold occurred at intervals just under her gunwale, evidently forming at one time prominent features of a painted decorative border which had been obliterated in the blackness of years. On her bottom he found barnacles, black and brittle, proving that she had once voyaged at sea for a long period. It was with a creeping feeling--a shudder of involuntary awe--that Eric gazed upon this wondrous relic, and it was several minutes before he summoned composure to examine it minutely. In the bottom of the boat lay several large water urns and a bundle of spears, each with its shaft split and a flint spearhead inserted in it. No vestige of the lashings of gut remained. They had long ago decayed. On the stern thwart rested an oblong block. Eric pitched it up and knew at once that it was metal. "Can it be copper?" he thought, and taking his knife he sliced a small piece from it. Lo, it was bronze, rudely engraved with characters slightly resembling Phoenician writing! A slab of bronze! What was it doing here? Iklapel did not know what it was, but he said that there was once a knife made
of the same metal in Atzlan, but it had been lost for many years. It was stolen
from the temple ages ago by a man who went into the desert and never returned. In At there were many such knives, he said, but they were very precious, and but one, which Quetzal had brought, was ever seen in the west. He had heard of arrows and spearheads and axes of the same metal, but had never seen them. The slab had been preserved sacredly, yet he had thought more than once of trying to convert it into axes,
but knew of no way to do it.
At this moment Eric glanced up and beheld the evil face of Chalpa, his eyes lighted with malice, peering down upon them. As Eric's eyes met his he drew his head back and disappeared, but there was an unpleasing suggestion in the suspicious, vindictive look in his face that left a feeling in Eric's mind that Chalpa would be a good man to make a target of before very long. Iklapel had seen nothing, but when Eric explained the occurrence he angrily called to Chalpa, but received no answer. The man had slipped out stealthily, and this added to Eric's unpleasant feeling. That Chalpa hated as well as feared him he knew full well from the evil glances he cast upon him, and there seemed something ominous in his stealthy hovering and spying. Still, as he had disappeared, neither Eric nor Iklapel allowed it to rest long upon their minds, and they continued their examinations of the relics undis-
turbed.
Each of the glazed tiles inserted in the walls, Iklapel asserted, had been brought in the very earliest times from At. They were covered with rude picture writing, among which Eric found representations of elephants, lions and camels, distinctly and carefully drawn, animals of which Iklapel had no conception whatever beyond these rude outlines. There were boats delineated there somewhat resembling the one before them, and figures in costumes resembling those in the early Toltec manuscripts. Temple fronts and houses, war chariots with prancing horses, and, most wonderful of all, a battle scene, in which clouds of rolling smoke and curiously carved tubes belching flames, mowing down whole rows of men, were depicted with rare skill. It would have stood for a rude picture of a modern field of war. It was with wonder and amazement that Gilbert studied the strange pictures, undoubtedly relics of a long past age, for he was convinced that the priest had no knowledge of their import and meaning; in fact the characters in which the records were written upon them were with few exceptions unfamiliar to him, they having been superseded by a more convenient if less picturesque method in later times. In these characters he found many resembling those of the Maya alphabet, but more in the nature of pictorial representation. These were similar to the characters upon the slab of bronze, and there flashed across his mind a memory of Plato's statement--that the people of Atlantis engraved their laws upon columns and plates of bronze and gold. Could it be that this was one of those tablets?
While he was occupied with these thoughts the old priest brought a quaint-
ly carved cedar box, and removing its cover disclosed a double handful of roughly cut gems, the great value of
which Eric discerned at a glance. He examined them with appreciative eyes,
finding among them several diamonds of
the size of hazel nuts and many fine rubies and emeralds.
[TO BE CONTINUED.]

