Page:Life in a thousand worlds.djvu/74

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A GLIMPSE OF JUPITER.
69

certain belts where the crust of the planet has been hardened for several thousand years. The people have risen from rude, primitive conditions to a state of splendid civilization. In size they are colossal giants, averaging twenty-five feet in height. Their two powerful arms extend from what we would call the hips, and no one would imagine with what facility these giants use them. After extended observation, I was almost tempted to wonder why our arms were placed so high on the body. These Jupiterites are more handsome than the people on the Moon or Mars, and their faces shine with a superior intelligence. Instead of hair on the head, they have something unknown to our world, quite similar in appearance to wool.

Their two eyes blaze like balls of fire, making one of the giants appear like a fiersome though not repulsive monster. The most unusual feature about the face is the peculiarity of the chin and forehead. Each is covered with convolutions of an insensible, rubber-like membrane.

The people of Jupiter excel in mechan-