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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..326a4ce --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51246 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51246) diff --git a/old/51246-0.txt b/old/51246-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7b8220f..0000000 --- a/old/51246-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,15809 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Great Disasters and Horrors in the World's -History, by A. H. Godbey - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Great Disasters and Horrors in the World's History - -Author: A. H. Godbey - -Release Date: February 18, 2016 [EBook #51246] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREAT DISASTERS AND HORRORS *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - GREAT DISASTERS - - AND - - HORRORS IN THE WORLD’S HISTORY. - - A GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE NOTABLE CALAMITIES - WHICH HAVE BEFALLEN MANKIND - - IN ALL AGES, BOTH UPON LAND AND SEA. - - EMBRACING - - THE LOUISVILLE TORNADO, FLOODS IN THE SOUTH, CHARLESTON EARTHQUAKE, - JOHNSTOWN FLOOD, STORM ON THE COAST OF SAMOA, NOTED SHIPWRECKS, - GREAT FLOODS IN CHINA, HOLLAND AND JAPAN, AND OTHER NOTABLE - DISASTERS CAUSED BY STORM, FLOOD AND VOLCANIC ACTION, - - AND OF THE LAWS OF THE - - NATURAL PHENOMENA THAT PRODUCE THEM. - - COMPRISING - - THRILLING TALES OF HEROISM, GREAT DESTRUCTION OF TOWNS, CITIES, HOMES - AND LIVES, HEART-RENDING SCENES OF AGONY, DREADFUL SUFFERINGS, - MIRACULOUS ESCAPES, DARING ADVENTURES, ETC., ETC., - - TOGETHER WITH - - NOBLE RESPONSES OF AID. - - TO WHICH IS ADDED - - AN ACCOUNT OF METHODS OF PREDICTION. - - By A. H. GODBEY, A.M., - - Author of “Stanley in Africa,” “Light in Darkness,” - “Missions and Missionary Heroes,” etc. - - _SUPERBLY ILLUSTRATED WITH 150 ENGRAVINGS._ - - PUBLISHED BY - ROYAL PUBLISHING CO., - ST. LOUIS, MO. - - - - - [Illustration] - - COPYRIGHT. - - 1890, - - W. L. HOLLOWAY. - - [Illustration] - - - - -PREFACE. - - -Whatever be the ideas of the public upon a glance at the title page of -this work, it is not intended to pander to the morbid desire for the -sensational or horrible, characteristic of weak minds. This volume is -not a literary morgue. - -Mankind is constantly astonished by reports of mishaps and disasters of -manifold character, when there is seldom room for astonishment. A large -proportion of the calamities reported from day to day are directly due -to the haste, greed, and heedlessness of man himself, and need no -comment. - -But there is a large class of disasters, due solely to meteorological or -geological conditions, which surpass all others in magnitude and -appalling destruction. In such cases men insist on prating about -“mysterious visitations,” as though these occurrences were subject to -the dominion of no law. To an examination of such is this book devoted. - -When in school, the writer was often struck by the persistence with -which even the most diligent students would call upon the teachers of -physics and chemistry to suspend the recitation and devote the time to -illustrative experiments. Physical Geography was constantly pronounced -“very dry,” because of the scarcity of opportunities for illustration. - -The writer has endeavored to present in a form acceptable to the popular -palate the general principles of the storm and earthquake so far as they -are understood: and numerous narratives of great disturbances have been -inserted that a clearer conception of the magnitude of these agencies -and their relative importance may be attained by the reader. - -Much care has been spent in “steering between Scylla and Charybdis.” -While it has been designed to avoid merely scientific data, there has -been the equally delicate task of avoiding prolix narration and mere -sensational tales. It is hoped that the result will be useful and -interesting. - -If the book shall lead the reader to higher views of the reign of -inexorable law in nature, and to a profounder reverence for the Author -of Law and his works, the labor of its compilation will not have been -spent in vain. - -A. H. GODBEY. - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - MYTHS OF THE WINDS. - - PAGE. - - Old Greek fancies--Their modern traces--Man seeking - mysteries--Personifications--The “air-mothers” 17 - - CHAPTER II. - - CONSTANT WINDS. - - Comparative climate--Expansive force of heat--Illustrations--The - trade-winds--Effect of the earth’s rotation--Return currents and - calms 26 - - CHAPTER III. - - PERIODIC WINDS. - - Modified trade winds--The monsoons--Local winds--Sea and land - breezes--The simoom: its terrible effects--The khamsin, and similar - winds--Moisture in the air: its effects--Rain and hail--Clouds: their - varieties--Mountain winds 34 - - CHAPTER IV. - - TORNADOES AND CYCLONES. - - Unheeded law--Peculiarities of storms--Cyclonic storms--Theoretical - Illustrations--A “cyclone hot-bed"--Traveling of a cyclone--Its curves - in accordance with law--Features of the cyclone’s path--Great cyclone - of August, 1888--The planetary equinox theory--Objections to it--Safe - predictions--Sun-spots--Mysterious providences 48 - - CHAPTER V. - - THE LOUISVILLE TORNADO. - - Perspective of news--Amusing conceits--Distress at the door--The - tornado--Warning of the Signal Service--The storm strikes - Louisville--Its course--Wreck of Falls City Hall--Rescuing the - victims--Fire breaks out--Personal narratives--At the Union - Depot 65 - - CHAPTER VI. - - INCIDENTS OF THE TORNADO. - - The poor to be remembered--Peddlers, publicans and sinners--The - freaks of “Providence"--Deaths in the storm remarkably few--Wonderful - escapes--Explosive effects of confined air--Strange pranks of - the wind--The storm at Parkland--At Jeffersonville--The mammon - worshiper--Generosity and independence 87 - - CHAPTER VII. - - OTHER TORNADOES. - - The tornado in East Kansas--In Southeast Missouri--Great damage in - Illinois--Water-spout at Metropolis--Many distinct whirlwinds--Effect - of forest and prairie fires--Tornado of Charleston, 1761--Tornadoes at - Natchez, 1840 and 1842--The Marshfield storm, 1880--Remarkably small - loss of life in tornadoes--Tornadoes in foreign lands 114 - - CHAPTER VIII. - - TROPICAL CYCLONES. - - Cyclones on our eastern borders--The Nova Scotia cyclone--St. Thomas - cyclone and earthquake, 1837--Cyclone of 1867--Barbadoes storm, - 1831--Great storm of 1780--Terrible cyclones and storm waves of - India--Typhoons in the China seas 141 - - CHAPTER IX. - - PERILS OF THE SEA. - - Songs of the sea--The ocean always admired--Its treasures and - dangers--Man’s greed a source of disaster--Criminal disregard of - life--Terrible fatalities in leaky ships--The Arctic seas--The ship - _Rufus_ 159 - - CHAPTER X. - - LIFE-SAVING MEASURES. - - Great storm of 1703--Humaneness and inhumanity--Diabolical - wreckers--Hovellers--Desperate struggles without a life-boat - illustrated by Dickens--The life-boat invented--Its - usefulness--Lighthouses and fog-bells 179 - - CHAPTER XI. - - GREAT SAMOAN HURRICANE. - - Germany and Samoa--Naboth’s vineyard--War breaks out--The - assembled navy--Situation of the harbor--The hurricane--Fears - of the natives--Vessels dragging anchors--Sudden wreck of the - _Eber_--Magnanimous natives--The _Adler_ overturned--Struggle of - the _Nipsic_--Fouled by the _Olga_, and run ashore--Crew rescued by - the natives--The _Vandalia_ helpless--Bold feat of the _Calliope_ - cheered--_Vandalia_ stranded--Many Drowned--At the last gasp--The - _Trenton_ drifts upon them--Defiance of the storm--The flag - triumphant 195 - - CHAPTER XII. - - ELECTRIC STORMS. - - Byron’s fire--Myths of the lightning--Causes of thunder - storms--Strange freaks of the lightning--Numerous fatalities--Some - curious cases--A lightning stroke a Divine favor--Thunder--Peculiar - incidents--Lightning little to be feared--Foolish precautions--A - “dysentery conductor” wanted--St. Elmo’s fire--Electric halos--Their - part in history--The aurora--Popular myths--Aurora described 220 - - CHAPTER XIII. - - RAIN, HAIL AND SNOW. - - Clouds and cloud shapes--The storm changes national destinies--Cloud - halos--Specter of the Brocken--The “beautiful rain"--Amount - of rainfall--Snow--Its ravages--Remarkable showers of - hail--Prodigies 246 - - CHAPTER XIV. - - FLOODS IN THE SOUTH. - - Rivers a universal problem--Character of the Mississippi--Failure of - the levee system--The building of levees--Three great sections--Damage - of overflows--Fighting for the levee--Storm on the river--Scene at a - crevasse--The flood in the rural districts--In the city--Closing a - crevasse--Refugees on the levee--Crooked streams 261 - - CHAPTER XV. - - THE FLOOD OF 1890. - - Floods of other years--Warning of the Signal Service--The - water rising--At Greenville, Mississippi--The fight for the - Morganza line--The waters win--Other crevasses--Extent of the - damage--Objections to levees--Levees versus outlets--Terrible floods - in China--A proposed outlet--Reflection on present policy 296 - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD. - - The dam system of India--American “cheap goods and haste"--The Little - Conemaugh Valley--Heavy rains--Johnstown flooded--The artificial - lake--A poor dam--No uneasiness--How the water would move--The dam - breaks--Terrible rush of the flood--An engine chased--A warning - whistle--Locomotives hurled about like toys--Flying for life--Escapes - and losses 324 - - CHAPTER XVII. - - INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN. - - Suddenness of the flood--It divides--A chaotic scene--Fire breaks - out--Faith of the perishing--Narratives: the Hulbert House; Rev. D. M. - Miller’s story; Mr. Calliver’s escape; Dr. Beale and family--Morning: - the stricken multitude; Mr. Rose’s narrative; Talmage’s letter; the - grief of the survivors 343 - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - RELIEF MEASURES. - - The people in want--Johnstown after the flood--Human ghouls--Relic - hunters--Temporary government--A dictatorship--Hospitals and - morgues--Prompt response of the public--Aid from various - cities--Losses by the flood 367 - - CHAPTER XIX. - - FAMINE AND PESTILENCE. - - Signs and omens--Natural causes--Bengal famine of 1866--Relief - Measures--Results--Pestilence and contagion--Black death--Its frequent - ravages--Fright--A romance of Florence 384 - - CHAPTER XX. - - THE VOLCANO. - - Erroneous views--Myths--Active principle in volcanoes--Atmospheric - pressure--Rain at eruptions--Lava, pumice, ashes and tufa--Different - phases of action--Stromboli, the “lighthouse"--Lava bubbles--Thrilling - adventure--Lost!--Theory of a molten earth--Objections to it--The - earth cools slowly--Subsidence and chemical action--Distribution of - volcanoes--Their work and forms 394 - - CHAPTER XXI. - - GREAT ERUPTIONS OF VESUVIUS. - - Pompeii long buried--Excavations begun--A hermetically sealed - city--Scenes in the town--Pliny’s story--Hundreds stifled--Finding the - bodies--Subsequent eruptions--Notable convulsion of 1538--The eruption - of 1531, 1737 and 1793--Recent observations 421 - - CHAPTER XXII. - - OTHER GREAT ERUPTIONS. - - Destruction of Sodom--Arguments--The pitch lake of Trinidad--Ætna: - eruption of 1669--Thousands perish--Catania destroyed--Other - outbreaks--Iceland: Mt. Hecla--Tremendous eruption of Skaptar - Jokul--One-fifth of the people perish--Millions of cubic yards - of lava--Disturbances in the sea--Jorullo: a mountain made in a - night--Fearful outburst of Sumbawa--Twenty-six people out of twelve - thousand escape--Explosions heard nine hundred miles--Other Malaysian - volcanoes--Geysers--Terrible eruption of Cosequina--Heard one - thousand miles--Eruptions in South America--Force required to send - out lava--In the Sandwich Islands--Krakatoa: the greatest eruption in - history--A chorus of volcanoes--Awful destruction--Perceived around - the world--Unparalleled sea wave 440 - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - EARTHQUAKES. - - Myths of the earthquake--Ancient theories--Modern - research--Earthquakes and volcanic agency--Speed of a shock--The - atmospheric theory--Earthquakes at particular seasons--The “planetary - influence” theory--Character of motions 481 - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - EUROPEAN EARTHQUAKES. - - Legends of the flood--Sparta Destroyed--Bura and Helice - engulfed--Numerous convulsions in Asia Minor--Antioch repeatedly - destroyed--North Africa suffers--Calabrian earthquake of 1693--A - tremendous convulsion in 1783--Immense chasms--People swallowed - up--Great landslides--Terrible catastrophe at Scylla--Ruffians - amid the wreck--The great Lisbon earthquake--Its vast - extent--Awful destruction--Earthquake at Chio--In Switzerland--In - Ischia--Distressing scenes in the ruins--Disastrous shocks in - Spain 496 - - CHAPTER XXV. - - EARTHQUAKES IN THE UNITED STATES AND ENGLAND. - - All nature uneasy--The terrifying character of an earthquake--Signs - and wonders--“El Gran Ruido,” of Guanajuato--Frequency of - earthquakes--Earthquake in New England, 1638--A second in 1663--Shock - of 1727--Great convulsions of 1755--Damage and great alarm at - Boston--“The end of the world!"--Great disturbance in the Mississippi - Valley, 1811--Strange feats--The Charleston earthquake--Numerous - English earthquakes--Comparatively small loss of life 535 - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - EARTHQUAKES IN TROPICAL AMERICA. - - Shocks in Asia: lack of reliable information--The Andes region--Great - earthquake of Riobamba--Humboldt’s description--Numerous shocks in - Venezuela--Catastrophe of Caracas--Effect on the survivors--Frequent - convulsions at San Salvador--Total destruction in 1854--Ruffians on - the scene--Sudden disaster of Mendoza--Touching incidents--Faithful - dogs--Shocks in Peru and gigantic sea wave--Numerous great shocks--The - end of all things--The last man 563 - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - PREDICTION AND PREVENTION. - - Futile efforts to control the future--Law neglected for - superstition--Pretentious prophets--Humbugs--Laws of - weather changes--Actions of animals--Methods for producing - rain suggested--Earthquake indicators--A force beyond - control--Possibilities 589 - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - - THE REIGN OF LAW. - - Knowledge only from experience--Partial mastery by faith--Natural - law the ruling force--Good and bad results of faith in the - Supernatural--Sin punished--Ignorance punished--Examples--Man slow - to learn--Eternal wisdom and goodness--Progress, past, present and - future 600 - - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE. - - Cave of the Winds 18 - The Simoom 40 - Forms of Clouds 45 - Path of Cyclones 54 - Rotation of Storms 56 - Water-spouts at Sea 60 - Where the Storm entered Louisville 68 - Baxter Park, Louisville 71 - Falls City Hall 75 - At Work in the Wreck 78 - Main Street, between Eleventh and Twelfth, Louisville 82 - Union Depot, Louisville 85 - Eighth and Main, Louisville 90 - Corner Main and Clinton, Louisville 94 - Looking East from Tenth and Main, Louisville 96 - Corner Jefferson and Twelfth, Louisville 99 - On Ninth Street, Louisville 102 - Ruined Tobacco Warehouses 104 - View of Jeffersonville 108 - Wall and Front Streets, Jeffersonville 109 - Wreck at Jeffersonville 110 - Tenth and Main, Louisville 112 - Looking West from Tenth and Main, Louisville 115 - View of the Residence District, Louisville 118 - Ruined Dwellings 121 - Path of Tornado, Olney, Ill. 124 - Scene at Olney, Ill. 126 - Whirlwind from Burnt Prairie 127 - Tornado followed by Rain Storm 129 - Instantaneous View of Tornado 130 - Tornado at Monville 132 - Water-spout at Sea 135 - Minnesota Tornado 137 - Sand-spouts in the Desert 139 - Cyclone, Fire and Earthquake, St. Thomas 145 - “Drowning with its Terrible Roar” 147 - Hurricane in the Tropics 151 - Coast of India Submerged by a Storm 156 - “He Sinks into Thy Depths” 160 - Cast Ashore 163 - Wreck of the _Minotaur_ 167 - Wrecked on a Rock 171 - Castaways on a Raft 173 - Sinking of the _London_ 177 - Storm on the Shoals, 1703 180 - On a Lee Shore 184 - Hovellers Relieving a Vessel 187 - The Life-boat 190 - The Life-boat at Work 193 - Bow of the _Eber_ Cast Ashore 201 - The _Adler_ on the Reef 204 - Samoans Rescuing American Sailors 207 - The _Calliope_ Putting to Sea 210 - Bow of the Sunken _Vandalia_ 214 - After the Storm 218 - The Lyse Fiord 221 - Ideal Subterranean Storm 225 - Harvesters Killed by Lightning 232 - Land of the Aurora 243 - Field of Waterloo 249 - Specter of the Brocken 252 - Tropical Flood 264 - Making Mats for Levee Fronts 266 - Struggle to Hold the Levee 269 - A Mountain Torrent 271 - “No Time for Prayin’!” 273 - Funeral During the Flood 275 - Breaking of the Levee 277 - Surprised by the Water 279 - Not so Romantic as it Looks 282 - Telegraphing Under Difficulties 285 - Rescuing People 288 - Camps on the Levee 290 - Waiting for a Steamer 292 - The Search Light 293 - Scene at High Water 297 - Negroes Moving Out 301 - Stock Raft 303 - Picking Up Refugees 306 - Deserted Farmhouse 308 - Flood in China 312 - Dykes of Holland 316 - Relief of Leyden 318 - Breaking of the Dykes, Holland 322 - Map of Conemaugh Valley 325 - The Broken Dam 334 - Fleeing Engine 337 - Wreck of the Trains 340 - Mill Creek 345 - At the Stone Bridge 349 - Desperate Struggle 354 - The Gorge at the Bridge 358 - Battle with the Waters 362 - Johnstown After the Flood 371 - At the Morgue 376 - Conemaugh Viaduct 381 - At the Summit of Popocatepetl 397 - View in Active Crater 401 - Crater of Orizaba 405 - Eruption of Vesuvius 411 - Coral Reefs 418 - Destruction of Pompeii 424 - Vesuvius in 1737 435 - Destruction of Sodom 441 - Destruction of Catania 446 - Mt. Hecla 450 - Jorullo 455 - Geyser 457 - The Yellowstone Park 462 - Cattle in Volcanic Mud 473 - Convulsion on the Coast of Sumatra 478 - Effect of Earthquake on Masonry 484 - The Deluge 497 - Ruined Roman Colonnade 500 - Antioch 502 - Massive Architecture Wrecked, Asia Minor 504 - Ruins Near Cairo 506 - Ruins Near Nineveh 507 - Remains of Ancient Hebrew Masonry 509 - Great Earthquake in Calabria 511 - Destruction of Messina 513 - Disaster of Scylla 515 - Lisbon 517 - Earthquake at Lisbon 520 - Ruined Cathedral 522 - Scene at Chio 524 - Panic at Casamicciola 529 - Earthquake in Andalusia 532 - Wreck of the Charleston Earthquake 538 - Houses Thrown into Ravine 542 - Wreck on King Street, Charleston 544 - Scene at Charleston 548 - Old State House, Charleston 551 - Charleston 554 - Wreck of Factory 557 - Ruined Dwelling 560 - Earthquake in China 564 - After the Shock 568 - Scene at Caracas 571 - Ruins of San Salvador 573 - Fright at San Salvador 575 - Shock at Lake in Honduras 577 - Wreck at Mendoza 579 - Great Sea Wave 583 - Earthquake in Spain 586 - - - - -GREAT DISASTERS - -AND - -HORRORS IN THE WORLD’S HISTORY. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -MYTHS OF THE WINDS. - - “Gray in his mossy cave Æolus stood - Gazing in reverie at the distant sails, - That skimmed the surface of the glassy deep, - Unvexed by blasts of Eurus’ boisterous whims. - The restless winds in leash about their lord - Full often murmuring, plucked his floating robe, - Or stirred his tangled tresses with their breath, - Impatient at the lack of wilder liberty.” - - -So sang the bard of the fabled cave of the winds. Thus the old Romans -and Greeks have taught us to think and to speak of the spirits of the -air. Thus the very name of “spirit” was originally identical with -“breath” or “wind.” Those poetic old Hellenes! They contrived to find -something delightfully human in all the phenomena of nature. The woods -were peopled with fauns and dryads. Around the bend of yonder rushy -stream, a wary woodsman found a bathing nymph. Beyond that rock Actæon -saw the chaste Diana sporting in the crystal pool. Here is the spot -where baffled Phœbus found his Daphne changed into a laurel tree. - -See you those stately poplars by the side of Italy’s stream? There -Phaëthon’s mourning sisters changed their fleshly robes for those green -spires. From their waving boughs the cry of the kingfisher Alcyone -reminds us that - -[Illustration: CAVE OF THE WINDS.] - -halcyon days may yet be in store for the most unfortunate. The response -hurled back from yonder cliff warns us to drop a tear for the poor nymph -Echo, whose unrequited love caused her to pine away till only a voice -was left. To this day she answers every call, hoping to yet meet her -love. That flaunting yellow flower is sprung from that very Narcissus -who was so handsome he fell in love with himself. Ten thousand egotistic -beauties of later days have not met so happy a fate. - -Hark! was that the sea-shell of Triton? Neptune approaches with his -Naiad train. You may see the plunge of his dolphin steeds. And see! what -vision of incomparable loveliness is that? It is Aphrodite, goddess of -love--sprung from the foam of the sea--as fragile as the fleecy mass -from whence she came; as inconstant as the tossing wave on which she -dances. How can love be otherwise, since she is its queen? In the sky -above you see the beautiful Andromeda with the radiant Perseus. There -Hercules yet wields his club and wears his lion-skin. And there-- - -It is vanished. The disenchantment is complete. Modern civilization has -replaced the nymph with the peasant, and the faun with the brigand. The -pipe of Pan is forever silent. Marsyas is revenged, for Apollo is no -more. Jupiter dethroned Saturn; Jupiter has long since been dethroned. -Where are the hands that penned those beauteous fancies; the bards that -sung the deeds of the gods? Dust and ashes these two thousand years. - -Their works live after them. Passing centuries have not improved upon -their lovely phantasies: it may be because they could not. Rome has -named the months of our year: Norway has aided to name the days of our -week. Easter preserves the name of Œstara, Teuton goddess of -springtime, of new life, new light. So the names of the winds remain. -Auster, the south wind, has his memorial in Australia. Zephyr, the -gentle west wind, is still a theme for poet’s song. Rude Boreas, -“blustering railer,” will always find a home in the north. Civilization -has not driven him from his domain. Æolus, the master spirit, most -powerful because most delicate and beautiful, still stirs our wind-harps -with his breath. The spirits of the air are as boisterous and untamed as -in the days of Æneas. - -And what figures would appeal more strongly to the imagination than -these simple personifications? How can too great importance be attached -to the part the winds perform in the economy of nature? Without them the -land would become a Sahara; the seas would be covered with a London fog. -In the rustle of the breeze, as well as in the roar of hurricane, there -is purpose and energy. The hand that guides one, controls the other. “He -holdeth the wind in his fists.” - -In every age man’s imagination has been strongly influenced by the -mysterious or unknown. There is little play for poetic sentiment in the -cold practicality of science. That which is clearly comprehended, loses -half its charm. The botanist carefully plucks to pieces a flower; it is -analyzed, and all its mechanism understood--but it is no longer a -flower. The alchemist has produced the wonderful science of chemistry; -but the philosopher’s stone and the secret of producing gold are forever -numbered among the shadowy myths of the past. The explorer has roamed in -countless climes amid a myriad perils: a thousand treasures has he given -to the world: but his El Dorado and the Fountain of Perpetual Youth have -become as a dream in the night. And thus for aye will phantoms vanish as -we grasp. Truth bears a magic wand at whose touch the unreal dies as a -snowflake in a flame. All time has borne its legends of the risen -departed, whose spirits roam the earth by night; but we have not proved -that the dead have done in six thousand years so much evil as the living -in a single day. - -So one by one our cherished fables disappear. The steam-engine seems a -thing of life; but we do not find a hidden geni therein. Electricity, -one of the youngest of man’s practical discoveries, has become the most -easily controlled. The bolts of Jove are the prisoners of man. The river -is harnessed to the mill and factory. But the winds roam as free as in -the day of creation “when the morning stars sang together, and all the -sons of God shouted for joy.” Of all the forces of nature the wind and -sea are least beneath control of man. The command “Subdue and have -dominion” has not yet been fully obeyed. - -Small wonder, then, that a glamour of mysticism remains about the storm -and its birth. Man finds himself in the presence of a power beyond his -comprehension. Of the various elements of nature, the wind, the sea and -the storm are more than ever the realm of fancy and awe. One often -wonders at many other ancient myths; but there seems nothing surprising -in the Grecian fancy that the winds were the spirit slaves of Æolus; or -in the Arabian thought, that storms were but the battles of wonderful -genii, whose weapons were fire, water, and their own powerful breath. In -the crash of the thunder the Arab heard their terrible strokes. The -Northman beheld giants, contending now with each other, now with the -giants of frost or of fire; now resting a moment in their cavern -home--now chasing the clouds like frightened sheep from their realm of -Mistheim. Some day all these powers would be arrayed in battle with the -gods themselves, and Ragnarok, or universal chaos would follow. God -made man in his own image; man has ever since endeavored to make all -things in his own. So have the winds become personified in every age and -land. - -Charles Kingsley has given us a beautiful picture of the “air mothers,” -and the part they play in the realm of nature. Compare the ancient with -the modern. We now know the laws and the work of the winds; but we have -not found a better manner of picturing them. They are still the -beautiful spirits of the air; the Peris of the upper deep, thoughtless -in life, weeping repentant tears in the hour of their death. - -“Who are these who follow us softly over the moor in the autumn evening? -Their wings brush and rustle in the fir boughs, and they whisper before -and behind us, as if they called gently to each other, like birds -flocking homeward to their nests. - -“The woodpecker on the pine stems knows them, and laughs aloud for joy -as they pass. The rooks above the pasture know them, and wheel around -and tumble in their play. - -“The brown leaves on the oak-tree know them, and flutter faintly, and -beckon as they pass. In the chattering of the dry leaves there is a -meaning, and a cry of weary things longing for rest. - -“‘Take us home, take us home, you soft air-mothers, now our fathers, the -sunbeams, are grown dull. Our green summer beauty is all draggled, and -our faces are grown wan and thin; and the buds, the ungrateful children -whom we nourished, thrust us off from our seats. Waft us down, you soft -air-mothers, upon your wings, to the quiet earth, that we may go to our -home, as all things go, and become air and sunlight once again!’ - -“The bold young fir seeds know them, and rattle impatiently in their -cones. ‘Blow more strongly, blow more fiercely, slow air-mothers, and -shake us from our prisons of dead wood, that we may fly and spur away -northeastward, each on his horny wing. We will dive like arrows through -the heather, and drive our sharp beaks into the soil, and rise again, as -green trees, toward the sunlight, and spread out lusty boughs.’ - -“They never think, bold fools, of what is coming to bring them low in -the midst of their pride--of the reckless axe which will fell them, and -saws which will shape them into logs, and the trains which will roar and -rattle over them as they lie buried in the gravel of the way, till they -are ground and rattled into powder, and dug up and flung upon the fire, -that they too may return home, like all things, and become air and -sunlight once again. - -“The air-mothers hear their prayers, and do their bidding: but faintly, -for they themselves are tired and sad, and their garments rent and worn. -Ah! how different were those soft air-mothers, when, invisible to mortal -eyes, they started on their long sky journey, five thousand miles across -the sea. - -“Out of the blazing caldron which lies between the two New Worlds, they -leaped up, when the great sun called them, in whirls and spouts of clear -hot steam, and rushed to the northward, while the whirling earthball -whirled them east. - -“So northeastward they rushed aloft, across the gay West Indian Isles, -having below the glitter of the flying-fish, and the sidelong eyes of -cruel sharks: above the canefields and the plantain gardens, and the -cocoanut groves which fringe the shores: above the rocks which throbbed -with earthquakes, and the peaks of old volcanoes, cinder-strewn: while -far beneath, the ghosts of their dead sisters hurried homeward on the -northeast breeze. - -“Wild deeds they did, as they rushed onward, and struggled and fought -among themselves, up and down, and round and backward in the fury of -their blind hot youth. They tired themselves by struggling with each -other, and by tearing the heavy water into waves; and their wings grew -clogged with sea-spray, and soaked more and more with steam. - -“At last, the sea grew cold beneath them, and their clear steam sank to -mist; and they saw themselves and each other wrapped in dull, rain-laden -clouds. Then they drew their white cloud garments around them, and -veiled themselves for very shame: and they said, ‘We have been wild and -wayward: and alas, our pure youth is gone. But we will do one good deed, -yet, before we die, and so we shall not have lived in vain. We will -glide onward to the land and weep there, and refresh all things with -warm, soft rain, and make the grass grow, and the buds burst; we will -quench the thirst of man and beast, and wash the soiled world clean.’ - -“So they are wandering past us, the air-mothers, to weep the leaves into -their graves: to weep the seeds into their seed-beds, and to weep the -soil into the plains: to get the rich earth ready for the winter, and -then creep northward and die there. But will they live again, those -chilled air-mothers? Yes; they must live again. For all things move -forever: and not even ghosts can rest. - -“The corpses of their sisters piling on them from above, press them -onward, press them southward toward the sun once more, across the floes, -and round the icebergs--weeping tears of snow and sleet--while men hate -their wild, harsh voices, and shrink before their bitter breath. They -know not that the cold bleak snow-storms, as they hurtle from the black -northeast, bear back the ghosts of the soft air-mothers, as penitents, -to their father, the great sun. - -“But as they fly southward warm life thrills them, and they drop their -loads of sleet and snow, and meet their young live sisters from the -south, and greet them with flash and thunderpeal. Men call them the -southwest wind, those air-mothers: and their ghosts, the northeast -trade; and value them, and rightly; because they bear the traders out -and back across the sea.” - -So they live, and so they die, those beautiful air-mothers--for life is -evermore fed by death. And in their wayward course they bring the early -and the latter rain: that so long as time shall be, seed-time and -harvest and summer and winter shall not fail. And men love them, and -welcome each in their turn, whether laden with the pure white snow, or -the cooling moisture of the distant sea; for man is a fickle creature, -and remains constant to none. In summer he sings of the Arctic winds; -and in winter, he longs for the breath of the south; for like the -air-mothers, his course is ever onward, seeking that which he has not. -Yet, sometimes in his discontent, he would curse the soft air-mothers: -but without them he could not live. But the bard knows them all, and -will sing of their deeds till the sun waxes cold with the weight of -years. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -CONSTANT WINDS. - - “Up from the sea I sprang, O voyager, - Ere Aphrodite rose from out its foam. - I am a banned, unresting wanderer, - Doomed o’er the surface of the deep to roam. - Without being aged, o’erwhelmed with days, - The end of being is my only dream. - I trod the earth ere man’s ephemeral race, - And onward flee long as yon sun shall beam, - Ever, forever, - Here, and wherever, - Turneth the earth, must I course forever!” - - -The phenomena of climate and seasons are too familiar to need especial -comment or description. They are dependent, in the first place, upon the -annual journey of the earth about the sun, the inclination of the -earth’s axis to its orbit, and the distance of any particular region in -question, from the equator. - -But the changes thus constantly made are greatly modified by other -factors. Chief among these agencies are the form and extent of the -continents, their position relative to each other and the water areas, -and the currents of the air and sea. - -Men usually identify climate with atmospheric conditions. A warm -atmosphere is for them the whole of a warm climate: it is really but one -of its factors, at most: it is often to be considered as a result, -rather than a cause. On lofty plateaus, or in mountainous regions, the -heat is not oppressive, even in the tropics; but here the moderate -temperature is due to the elevation. France is as far north as -Labrador; but there is no similarity whatever in climatic conditions, as -there should be, were climate dependent only on the heating of the local -atmosphere by the rays of the sun. Who would think of instituting a -comparison of sunny Rome or Madrid with the city of New York? Yet the -three are nearly on the same parallel: Rome furthest north. So there is -little resemblance between the warmth of sunny Florida and the scorching -heat of the Sahara: or between the climates in those portions of our own -Pacific and Atlantic coasts that lie between the same parallels. So we -find that though there is a general relation between the climate of a -region and its distance from the equator, there are many other -conditions to be considered. First, let us note atmospheric currents and -disturbances. - -“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and no man knoweth whence it cometh, -or whither it goeth.” - -“The world do move.” The illustration so full of meaning two thousand -years since has lost much of its force. The truth of yesterday is the -error of to-day. The fact of to-day may be the phantasy of to-morrow. So -it has come to pass that in our day the origin and laws of air currents -are believed to be as well understood as those of any other forces in -nature. Yet scientific theorists are, after all, divided on not a few -points. - -Two general classes of winds are recognized: the constant, and variable. -Constant winds are those that blow all the year in the same direction. -The beautiful concept of Kingsley, in the preceding chapter, contains -the leading points of our knowledge concerning them. - -All the various phenomena of air currents are dependent upon one -unchanging law: that gaseous bodies--and all but two others--always -greatly expand under the influence of heat. There are two noted partial -exceptions: one of these prevents our globe from becoming a complete -iceberg, and is as important as the law itself. Iron expands, till its -melting point; but in its liquid state it occupies less space than when -solid. Water contracts under the influence of cold, until the -temperature of 39° is reached; after that it expands: and when frozen -occupies about one-eighth more space than before. This wise provision of -the Creator is second to none in importance, as regards its influence -upon the climate of the earth at large. Had it been otherwise--did ice -sink instead of float, our rivers and seas would in time become solid -masses of ice; for water is so poor a conductor of heat, that its -under-currents warm very slowly. Any one who plunges into a lake in -mid-summer may often find the water warm at the surface, and of almost -icy coldness a short distance beneath. The great Polar current comes -down from Baffin’s Bay, and off the coast of Newfoundland it plunges -beneath the warm, lighter current of the Gulf Stream; but it is not -warmed by it. Registering thermometers detect its icy coldness almost -unchanged in the realms of the tropics, far beneath the surface. - -Note some simple illustrations of the expansive force of freezing water. -Every housewife knows that a bottle left full of water will burst when -the water freezes. The same power is shown in the gradual disintegration -of rocks by alternate freezing and thawing. Water freezing in the -crevices bursts off small particles, or even large fragments; so that -rocks long exposed to the weather, crumble more or less. Every one is -familiar with the appearance presented by steep clay-banks, in late -winter and early spring, of ragged masses and fragments ready to fall at -any time. Still another instance of this destructive power is shown in -the killing of vegetation by freezing. Plants are built of myriads of -tiny cells. The moisture within freezes and bursts the cell-walls, -destroying the plant life. Certain plants have cells more elastic than -others, which in consequence are not destroyed by freezing. But as an -expanded cell does not readily shrink to its former size, subsequent -freezings, when the cell contains more water than before, may finally -destroy it. So wheat is “winter-killed,” by too frequent freezing. So -globes of steel may be burst by this force. - -To show the poor qualities of water as a conductor of heat, take a long -glass tube and fill with water. Then put a piece of ice in one end. The -water at the other end may now be brought to the boiling point by means -of the flame of a lamp, ere the ice at the other end is melted. - -Every one is familiar with the fact that heated air rises; but not all -inquire why it does so. Take a foot-ball or bladder and partially -inflate it; then hold it near a hot fire, and it may be swollen almost -to bursting. Now, there is no more air in it than before; and if it be -laid in a cold place, it will shrink to its first inflation. This shows -how great is the expansive power of heat on the atmosphere. The same -weight occupying a much larger bulk, we perceive that heated air is much -lighter, and must rise. This, then, is the cause of what are known as -constant winds. - -As the earth revolves on its axis, the air is unequally heated, that -nearest the equator becoming the warmest, in consequence of its -receiving the most direct rays. Here, then, the air rises most rapidly; -while the cooler air to the north or south must flow southward or -northward to fill the vacuum. Now, the earth turning on its axis from -west to east, whirls the northward and southward currents to the -westward, so that they appear to blow from the northeast and southeast. -The result of this loss of direction is gradual; so that when first -perceptible, they are almost from a due northerly or southerly -direction. As they near the equator, they are more rapid, and turn more -decidedly to the west, never becoming violent, however; rarely exceeding -fifteen to eighteen miles per hour. - -It would appear that at the point where these meet each other, or come -in contact with the ascending warm current, there must be a region of -calms or light, variable winds, and occasional tempests. Such, in fact, -is the case. This belt is from two hundred and eighty to four hundred -miles in width, and lies along the thermal equator, or line of greatest -average heat. This is not the same at the earth’s equator, properly so -called; for, as the land has greater capacity for absorbing and -retaining heat than the sea, and as most of the land lies in the -northern hemisphere, it is evident the highest mean temperature must be -north of the equator. So this belt of calms must lie in the same region; -and, in fact, in the Atlantic ocean it lies between 3 and 9° north -latitude, and in the Pacific, between 4 and 8°. As the sun travels -northward during the first half of the year, this region of calms shifts -slightly, also, so as to always nearly coincide with belt of the -greatest mean heat. - -At first sight, it appears curious that the motion of the earth should -deflect these winds to the west. It would appear that the earth, -atmosphere and all, must revolve as a unit about its axis; else, if the -atmosphere lose time, its speed to the westward should be constantly -accelerated, and long ago should have reached a velocity that would -shake the mountains themselves; while, in fact, there is no variation -perceptible. - -It should be remembered that at the equator the earth is about -twenty-four thousand miles in circumference; and as one complete -revolution is made every twenty-four hours, a point on the equator is -carried eastward at the rate of one thousand miles an hour. But if a -circle be drawn around the earth parallel to the equator, at some -distance from it, it is at once seen that any object in this circle, -having a shorter distance to traverse, is carried eastward at a slower -rate; so that a point only a few yards from either pole must necessarily -advance but a few feet per hour. So then, a body of air moving from -either pole toward the equator, must needs advance very slowly if the -friction of the upper reverse currents and of the surface of the globe -are to have opportunity to overcome its relative inertia and give it the -same velocity as that of any point over which it may pass. - -Now, in the case of these constant winds, the inertia is very nearly -overcome, as they start from a circle in which the velocity to the -eastward is about 750 miles per hour. If the inertia were fully -overcome, there would be no perceptible wind; as the velocity is -actually but fifteen to eighteen miles per hour, it appears that the -friction encountered actually destroys from thirteen-fourteenths to -fifteen-sixteenths of the inertia. Hence, we find these constant air -currents toward the west are, in reality, the result of the earth -carrying any object on its surface a little more rapidly than the -atmosphere moves; so that these winds are precisely the same in -principle as the well-known fact that when you run rapidly in still air -(so-called), it seems that the wind is blowing directly in your face. - -In like manner, it appears that a wind from west to east is merely an -air-current moving a little more rapidly than the earth revolves at that -point. The relative difference between the velocity of air-currents must -vary greatly; for a violent easterly or westerly wind very near the -poles may equal or even exceed the speed of the rotation of that point; -while the most violent tropical storms average between one-twentieth and -one-eighth of the local rotation. The latter is not often exceeded. But -whatever the relation of the respective velocities, it is clear that the -velocity of the wind in general must depend largely on the amount of air -abnormally heated, and upon the rapidity with which it is heated. So men -have come to recognize that a period of unusually oppressive heat -forebodes a storm of some sort. But few regard the unusual warmth as a -reason of the storm. They are linked, in the popular mind, as antecedent -and consequent, rather than as cause and effect. - -These constant winds near the equator have been named trade-winds, -because of their importance to commerce. Unknown before the first voyage -of Columbus, they filled the minds of his crew with fear that they could -never return home, if the wind blew always in one direction. The same -gentle wind bore Magellan in his voyage around the world, and caused him -to give the name of “Pacific,” or “peaceful,” to the great ocean on our -west; and the same steady breezes made the fortune of many a noble -galleon in the days when Peru was an Ophir, Mexico an El Dorado, and the -Philippine Isles a Tarshish where they took shipping for the distant -land of gold. - -Owing to the fact that the continents intercept the regular trades by -reason of their elevation and irregular conformation, and also because -of their much greater specific heat, whereby they set in motion many -other local currents, the trades are found to begin only a considerable -distance to the west of the continents. Yet the influence of the trades -is sufficient to make easterly winds the prevailing ones on the great -inland plains: as in the Sahara, Arabia, Southern Siberia, and portions -of North and South America. - -It is clear that other nearly constant currents must exist to supply the -vacuum that would be otherwise caused by the trades. These are found to -the south and north of the trade belts, and, as might be expected, blow -nearly in the opposite direction, being descending currents; while the -trades, as before stated, are ascending. The column of hot air from the -equator starts toward the poles above the trades, while a polar current -sets in toward the equator; but as the amount of air displaced at the -equator is by far the greatest, much of it can, of course, never reach -the poles. On meeting the polar current, the two partially mingle and -descend, forming what is called the return trade. This blows, most of -the year, to the southeast, the equatorial current prevailing and coming -from a region whose easterly rotation is more rapid. At certain seasons -of the year, however, the polar current prevails to some extent, though -not sufficiently to overcome the eastward trend; so the wind in this -belt blows alternately to the southeast and the northeast. - -Between the region of trades and alternating winds is a belt, on either -side of the equator, of calms and variable winds, which shift northward -or southward, parallel to the belt of calms between the trades. These -two zones, however, are much less clearly defined than the great central -one, and are not liable to such extraordinary disturbances. - -Such is the great constant wind, with its dependents. So long as the sun -has warmed the earth, it has hurried on its course, subject to unceasing -law, and destined to cease only when the heavens and the earth shall -pass away, and chaos or annihilation shall end the things that be. A -Wandering Jew of the atmosphere, it flies ever onward, bearing the -merchant to his port, and the rain-cloud to the land; ever and anon -desolating the isles with its bursts of fury; then resuming its restless -course, like the remorseful Salathiel. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -PERIODIC WINDS. - - “Earth has each year her resurrection hours - When the spring stirs within her, and the powers - Of life revive; the sleeping zephyrs rouse, - The blushing orchards clothe their naked boughs, - The swallow skims above the lakelet’s verge. - Swift summer speeds with fire in every vein, - And autumn’s glories crimson hill and plain. - Then warmth and life from Nature take their flight, - And winter robes her in a shroud of white, - While mournful Boreas chants her funeral dirge.” - - -So the seasons tread their ceaseless round in the temperate zones, and -to a certain degree in the colder regions of the earth. But when we -examine the change of seasons in the tropical world, we find a state of -things so different that we are at once led to inquire the reason: and -it will be found primarily in certain periodical winds. - -When the sun is north of the equator: that is, while our northern summer -is in progress, India enjoys a steady sea wind from the southwest, which -brings a rainy season to the corresponding coasts of Hindostan and -Farther India. When the sun returns to the south, the winds set in from -the opposite direction, coming down across the great upland plateau of -Central Asia, sometimes called, from its immense height and extent, the -“Roof of the World.” These periodic winds are called monsoons: a -corruption of the Arabic word _Moussin_, season. They are in reality a -modification of the trade-winds. - -A glance at a map will show that the northern half of the great Indian -Ocean is enclosed by land masses as no other large body of water is. -Consequently, while in the southern section the southeast trade is -present, the northeast trade of the northern part is so modified by the -surrounding land areas as to almost entirely lose its distinctive -character. Hence, most tropical regions have, properly speaking, but two -seasons: the rainy, and the dry. As the clouds swept in meet with an -intensely heated region, the trade never chills them sufficiently to -produce snow, except in extremely elevated regions. - -This is the direct cause of the monsoons: During the northern summer, -southern Asia, being under the rays of the vertical sun, becomes -intensely heated; and the cooler and denser air of the adjacent ocean, -and of southern Africa, flows towards it, producing the southwest -monsoon, which lasts from April or May to September or October. The time -of its beginning and its close varies in different latitudes, according -to the time at which the sun is vertical in each. - -During the southern summer, southern Africa being under the vertical sun -and intensely heated, the cooler air of the surrounding seas, and of -southern Asia, flows towards it. This produces the northeast monsoon, -which lasts from October or November to April. This monsoon is, in fact, -only the regular northeast trade-wind somewhat intensified. - -A similar exchange takes place between Asia and Australia, but it is -less marked, owing, perhaps, to the great islands lying between these -continents. - -The period of transition of the monsoons, in spring and autumn, is -marked by sudden and violent gales, and terrific thunder storms. -Destructive hurricanes, also, are of frequent occurrence. This -corresponds with the period of equinoctial storms in higher latitudes. - -There are narrow monsoon belts in the Atlantic, along the coast of -Africa and of Brazil, also on the Pacific coasts of North and South -America; but the phenomena they exhibit are of a much less striking -character. On the African coast, in general, the winds blow from sea to -land in summer, from land to sea in winter; on the Brazilian, the wind -is from the northeast in summer, while in winter the southeast trade -resumes its sway. The monsoons of the Pacific coast of America blow from -the northwest and north during the southern summer; from the southwest -and south during the northern. The regular trade-wind makes itself so -strongly felt in northern Brazil, which is unusually level, that a boat -can sail almost as rapidly up the swift current of the Amazon as it can -row down: and Humboldt records that he found it of great strength at the -foot of the eastern slope of the Andes. - -Another modification of the northeast trade is found in the Etesian -winds of Greece and the adjacent archipelago. This is a true -intermittent trade, blowing only in the daytime, however, and lasting -from July to September. The cool air of the peninsula rushes toward the -extremely heated regions of the Mediterranean and north Africa. - -Somewhat similar are the northers, or blizzards, of our Western States. -By the laws already given, it is seen that northerly winds can prevail -in any region only when some region further south is unusually heated. -Now, the northern portion of America may be roughly compared to a -trough. The cold polar current sets to the southward across the -continent, and is turned to the east by the Rocky Mountain range, giving -it a general southeast course. Hence, when the southern summer is in -progress, our prevailing winds are from the northwest; and when the -heated portion of the world is north of the equator, we have the return -trade, giving us as our prevailing wind that from the southwest. When -our return trade is unusually prolonged, we have a late fall; and if -the southern summer is unusually warm, we have the polar current longer -than usual, and a late spring in consequence. The polar current seldom -makes its presence felt beyond the Texan plains; though occasionally it -reaches the Mexican plateau, or sweeps across the Gulf to the Antilles. - -A similar cold wind from Central France toward the Riviera is locally -known as the Mistral. The cold winds from the south, which in crossing -the plains of Patagonia, are turned eastward by the Andes, are called in -Uruguay the _pamperos_, as their direction causes the popular belief -that they originate in the pampas, or grassy plains. In Malta the cold -wind becomes known as the _gregale_--in the Adriatic sea it is the -_tramontana_; in Trieste and Dalmatia it is the _bora_. In New Zealand -the corresponding cold blast comes from the south, and is known as the -buster. When loaded with drifting snow, as in the blizzard of the United -States, the cold wind of the Yenisei Valley, in Asia, is locally called -the _purga_; in the steppes of Central Asia it is the _bura_. - -Eastern Asia receives its prevailing cold current from the northwest; -while western Asia and Europe receive their cold wave from the -northeast, there being no range of mountains, as in America, to deflect -the current, as the polar currents are disposed to follow the -continents, having their origin in arctic lands; while for a similar -reason the return trades reach their extremes on the ocean. Hence, lines -drawn through the places which possess the same mean annual temperature -reach a higher latitude at sea than on land. - -These are the chief periodical winds of long periods. There is one other -class to be noted: the diurnal land and sea breezes. These occur along -all coasts, whether in the zone of trades or of variable winds; but the -phenomenon is more strongly marked in the tropical regions, and in the -summer of the temperate latitudes, because of the greater difference in -the temperature of land and sea by day and by night. - -During the hottest part of the day the air over the land frequently -reaches a temperature of 100° Fahr., and even more, while that over the -sea rarely rises above 80°. During the night the land radiates its heat -with such rapidity that, towards morning, its atmosphere may be from 10° -to 15° colder than that of the sea. - -Soon after sunrise, the land being warmer than the sea, a sea breeze -sets in, which increases in force until about three o’clock, when the -difference of temperature is greatest. It then gradually diminishes -until about sunset, when, the temperature of the land and sea having -become equal, the atmosphere is at rest, the calm continuing for an hour -or more. - -Soon the land becomes cooler than the sea, and a gentle breeze from the -former sets in. It increases in force as the night advances, becoming -strongest a little before morning, when the temperature of the land is -lowest; after which it rapidly dies away, and is succeeded by a calm, to -be soon replaced by the sea breeze. - -One other species of variable wind is to be noticed: the hot, dry, -dust-laden blast from desert regions. Such occur more or less -periodically, and are known by different names in different localities. - -Tom Moore has told us that “love’s witchery” on the heart is - - “Like the wind of the south o’er the summer lute blowing, - That hushed all its music, and withered its frame.” - -The reference is to the simoom of Syria and Arabia. One who has not -experienced this wind can have little idea of its oppressiveness. Apt to -come at any hour during the hottest months of the year, with a -temperature so great that a piece of silver exposed to it becomes hot -enough to blister the flesh, and laden with the impalpable dust of the -desert, vegetation is scorched and withered by it, and animals flee from -it as from the pestilence. It may last but a short time: it may endure -several days. - -At the first indication of its approach, people flee to their houses; -doors and windows are shut and every crevice that could allow any dust -to enter is tightly stuffed: while the wind lasts no one ventures out. -Such unfortunate animals as happen to be overtaken by it have literally -to struggle for their lives. The wind is not steady, but comes in fitful -gusts, sometimes differing as much as 20° in temperature. The streets -are deserted; and were they otherwise, a person could hardly be seen at -a few yards distance. Hours pass: that implacable enemy, the dust, sifts -in at unknown chinks. By degrees it covers everything. Valuable lace and -tapestry are nearly ruined. You put on a skull-cap; yet it penetrates -your hair. It finds its way beneath the garments to the skin, producing -distressing dryness and roughness. The lips parch and crack. The eyes -are red and inflamed. You drink as if famished, and gasp for breath. You -are excessively irritable; you reach the verge of complete nervous -prostration. At length the ordeal is over. You creep into the street, to -find your neighbors looking like corpses; some, it may be, actually dead -from nervous exhaustion. Dead birds and animals lie on the earth. It is -a case of the survival of the fittest. You pluck a leaf from a -neighboring tree; it crumbles to dust in your grasp. - -Such are the effects of an unusually protracted wind, even when most -favorably situated to encounter it. But if a caravan be overtaken by -such in the desert, happy are they who escape. The camels kneel and -thrust their - -[Illustration: THE SIMOOM.] - -noses into the sand, against each other, into a pack of goods--anywhere -to avoid breathing that poisonous blast. The men throw themselves upon -the ground behind the camels, and muffle their heads in their garments. -The storm is at hand; perchance attended by whirling columns of sand. -You raise your head: a thick, dun-colored cloud flies at you; a heat as -of red-hot iron, it seems, holds you in its choking grasp. You find your -way to your water bottle, and drink deeply. The lurid sun turns the -sweeping columns of sand to pillars of fire. Superstitious fear seizes -your Arab comrades. Gradually the storm passes on: the men pick -themselves up and endeavor to shake the irritating dust and sand from -out the folds of their clothing, and the party resumes its way, happy -that they are not numbered among the dead whose bones are bleaching by -the way. Tales are not wanting of great caravans completely overwhelmed -by the sandstorms of the desert. - -These storms are met with in their greatest severity in Egypt and -Arabia. In Egypt, this wind is called the _Khamsin_, or fifty, referring -to the period of fifty days--the latter part of April, May, and early -June--when they may be expected. They never blow through the entire -season: rarely so long as fifteen days at a time. In Arabia the simoom -may travel from the center of the peninsula toward any point of the -compass; the Khamsin of Egypt blows from the southwest. Winds of the -same character cross the Mediterranean. In Spain the wind is known as -the _Solano_, or _Levanter_, or _Leveche_: in Sicily and Italy it is the -_Sirocco_. The distressing dryness is somewhat modified by the journey -across the Mediterranean. The same wind in Syria is called _Samiel_; and -a similar wind which blows from the Sahara southwest to the Guinea coast -is called the _Harmattan_. In California a similar dry hot wind blows -from the interior toward the coast, during the hot season, and is -called the desert wind. Such occasional hot blasts are experienced in -southeastern Dakota, coming from the “bad lands,” or sandy and rocky -wastes along the upper Missouri river. - -All these periodical or varying winds may be very properly, from their -time and character, be called the season winds of the earth, as another -means of distinction from the constant trades: as they in part bring -changes of season, and in part are brought that way. - -Into the question of climate and seasons one other element enters, of -especial importance in regard to those disturbances of the regular -winds, which we call storms. That factor is the quantity of moisture in -the atmosphere, and the consequent rainfall or snowfall of a region. -Without this element, the phenomenal disturbances known as tornadoes -would hardly occur: or if they did, there would be greater difficulty in -ascertaining their approach. - -Water, in its vapor state, is but three-fifths the weight of the air, -and in consequence rapidly rises. This evaporation, as it is called, -goes on at all times: even when the water is frozen. A very thin sheet -of ice, hung in the open air, will finally disappear, even though the -temperature be always below freezing. - -Now, all the phenomena of rain, snow, and hail, that are brought by -different seasons, in different climes, depend upon a single simple law: -that warm air can hold a much greater quantity of vapor than cold air. -The amount of moisture that may be held in suspension at different -temperatures is as follows: - - Temperature Weight of vapor Temperature Weight of vapor - of Air. in a cubic foot of Air. in a cubic foot - of saturated air. of saturated air. - - 20 deg. Fahr. 1.30 grains Troy. 70 deg. Fahr. 8.00 grains Troy. - 32 “ “ 2.13 “ “ 80 “ “ 10.95 “ “ - 50 “ “ 4.09 “ “ 90 “ “ 14.81 “ “ - 62 “ “ 6.15 “ “ 100 “ “ 19.79 “ “ - -This gives a second reason why storms of wind and rain closely follow -extremely hot weather. - -Now, as the vapor is so much lighter than the air, their mixture must -also be lighter. So any unusual amount of moisture is at once detected -by the barometer, an instrument for measuring the pressure of the -atmosphere. If the air grow moister, and therefore lighter, the -barometer falls; a storm is approaching. - -Since cold air can retain but little moisture, if a warm moist current -be chilled, it must lose a part of its vapor, which at once falls to the -earth as rain. If the cold be somewhat greater, the moisture is -crystallized into snow. Greely’s observations at Fort Conger show that, -varied as are the forms of snow crystals, those that fall during any -particular storm are invariably of the same types, even though they may -be collected from localities widely removed from each other. All -crystals of snow are hexagonal in plan, but there is much variety in -detail. The laws that produce one variety at one time, and a second at -another, are not yet known. - -The subject of hail is a peculiarly perplexing one to the meteorologist. -Hailstones are more or less spherical in form, and are made of alternate -layers of soft opaque ice, and hard clear ice. It is evident that they -must acquire this structure by being whirled about between clouds of -different temperature and density. Some have supposed that they are -formed in a whirlwind, whose axis is horizontal, but for the present we -must be content with Lord Dundreary’s explanation, for “it ith one of -thothe thingth which no fellah can underthtand.” - -Raindrops from a great height are larger than those from below, for they -increase as they pass through the vapor-masses. As the warmest currents -are also the highest, it will at once be understood why warm and -tropical rains fall in large drops, while drizzling rains, mists, and -fogs are characteristic of cold regions and cold seasons. - -The masses of more or less condensed vapor in the upper air currents are -what are known as clouds. Their various forms and appearance are shown -in the cut on the ---- page. - -The _cirrus_ and _cirro-cumulus_ clouds are the highest, are mostly in -the altitudes of perpetual frost, and are supposed often to consist of -minute ice crystals. In temperate latitudes they are usually formed in, -and move with, the upper air current, or return-trade from the tropical -regions. - -The _cumulus_ clouds are characteristic of the tropics, and of the -summer days in middle latitudes, their height depending upon the -relative humidity of the air. They are formed by local ascending -currents, which carry a large amount of vapor into the cooler upper air. -There the vapors are condensed, and are gradually heaped up into those -heavy masses of sharply defined clouds, which look like vast snowy -mountains. Their base is horizontal, and marks the height at which the -dew point is reached and condensation begins. - -The accumulation of vapors is often so great that these clouds form a -column several thousand feet high. In this case the difference in the -temperature and the electrical conditions of the upper and lower -portions is such that electrical discharges take place, accompanied by -condensation of a portion of the cloud, forming a thunderstorm. - -_Stratus_ clouds are most frequently seen in the morning or evening, and -are always low. They are formed by the descent of the higher clouds and -vapors of midday into the lower air as the temperature decreases. They -are more frequent in winter and summer than in the intermediate seasons. - -The _nimbus_ cloud is more dense and heavy than the others, which may -all be transformed into the nimbus by - -[Illustration: FORMS OF CLOUDS.] - -a diminution of temperature. It is of a dark-leaden hue, changing into -grey. This is the most common form of cloud in polar latitudes; and, -during the cold season, it is the most frequent of the temperate zones. - -If a moist current cross a mountain range, it loses its moisture in the -cold region, and growing narrower as it descends the other slope, -presents the phenomena of a warm dry wind from the mountains. Thus the -wind that brings rain to Norway, gives warm fair weather to Sweden. Of -the same character are the hot winds of Switzerland, called Foëhn winds, -and the Chinook winds which blow from the eastward into Idaho, -Washington, and western Montana. Similar winds occur occasionally in -South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Peru. These hot winds must not -be confounded with the hot and poisonous winds from desert regions -described before. - -Such, in fine, are the noted varying intermittent, or periodic winds. -However uncertain they may appear at first thought, they are obedient to -the same unchanging laws that bind the universe into one harmonious -whole. No doubt the ancients, if they had been acquainted with their -office, would have personified them as the nymphs of the seasons. But, -knowing naught of the wonderful immutable laws that bind them, they -could only say to each, - - “We know not whence thou com’st, or whither goest, - When round our homes thy wizard blast thou blowest.” - -In eternal law and harmony they found only endless confusion and wild -caprice. Man interpreted nature by man. - -Yet they are the angels of the seasons, these air-spirits, sent by an -allwise Providence to bring the rain and the snow, and the sunshine and -storm in their season, to give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; -that while man shall dwell on earth, seedtime and harvest and summer -and winter may not cease. So they wander, clothing the tropics with -emerald cloaks of strangest beauty, and robing the poles with ermine and -crystal: painting with rainbow-tints the autumn leaves, and touching -with virgin blush the orchards in spring; in all things obeying the -decree of Him who hath set the seasons in order and made everything -beautiful in its time. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -TORNADOES AND CYCLONES. - - “O sad and mournful wind! - From what wild depths of human pain and sorrow - Could’st thou those tones of restless anguish borrow - As of a soul that dreams of no to-morrow, - O sad and mournful wind! - - O, thou art fierce and wild! - Thy mighty chariot through the black skies lashing, - The cloud-shapes round the mountain-summits dashing, - The waves of ocean round the wrecked bark crashing-- - O, thou art fierce and wild!” - - -Men find no difficulty in recognizing law and system in the phenomena -that are of constant or frequent recurrence. That which is most -difficult to explain, may pass without a serious thought so long as it -manifests no stupendous or sudden power. The water may wear away the -stone for centuries and its progress be unheeded by those who daily -visit the pool. - -So all observe and admire the beauty and order that prevails in the -system of winds hitherto described. Their movements seem so simple and -natural, that people take them as a matter of course. Rather, we should -say, they may be depended upon with such certainty that the laws which -they followed were unheeded for more than six thousand years. Relying on -result, men gave themselves no concern about principle. - -But in the sudden storm, the cyclone or tempest that comes sweeping the -land with hardly any warning, flooding and destroying, men find -mystery. - -And who is not justly awed thereby? What other power so easily and -frequently wrecks and ravages? Who may point out its course or stay its -progress? - -And indeed it would seem difficult at first to find any law or system -that controls the motion of the storm. If a rain storm always came from -the same direction; if unusually high winds always blew from the same -quarters, just as the moderate breezes of spring and summer can always -be expected from the same general direction, it would appear that there -was much greater subordination to definite law. But what can be more -perplexing than to have a storm blow violently from one quarter for a -time, and after a brief calm to blow with equal violence the other way? -Can such phenomena be explained by any principles hitherto discovered? - -What is a storm? Strictly speaking, it is any marked or unusual -disturbance of the normal atmospheric conditions. There may be excessive -wind: there may be cessation of the customary winds. Two great classes -are found: cyclonic, or low area storms, and anti-cyclonic, or high area -storms. The former may be accompanied by heavy rainfall or snow; the -latter is usually noted for absence of either. It is with the low area -storm that we must deal at present. - -This term is used to designate all storms which are marked by low -barometer, and therefore it is clear that such are accompanied and -partially occasioned by an unusual amount of moisture in the atmosphere. -The resultant commotion is usually extensive, the storm centre traveling -across the country; but occasionally the effects are perceptible only -for a short distance, the storm centre either breaking up or ascending -to the upper atmosphere. - -By a cyclonic storm is signified a storm characterized by unusually low -barometer, and a wind system blowing spirally inward, as in a genuine -cyclone. They usually affect only the lower strata of the air. Quite -frequently they are broken up by striking low mountain ranges, such as -the Alleghany system: and often pass Mount Washington without making -their presence felt at the signal station on its summit. To what extent -they are influenced by or are due to the upper air currents is therefore -unknown, though not a few of the attendant phenomena indicate that the -latter are of no little importance. - -Any one who has observed the waters at the junction of two streams, is -familiar with the appearance of numerous tiny eddies or whirlpools -formed at the point of junction. Such are perceptible also in every -rapid stream, when the current, sheering sharply from a projecting -point, is made in a measure to collide with itself. This is also the -principle of the many tiny whirlwinds seen during the warm summer days: -and such are also observable in winter, if there be snow enough to -render their presence in the air clearly visible. Their results are most -readily recognized in snow-drifts, where the wind meets some special -obstruction. It does not often occur that a high fence is covered with a -snow-drift: a great drift will be thrown up by it, but not against it: -and the side next the fence will be curved inward, or concave. The wind -strikes the fence and partially recoils, curving upward to pass over the -fence. The drift is then built up between the wind and the current -recoiling from the fence, and its inner curve shows the direction -pursued by the rebounding current. - -Now, when opposing air-currents meet each other on a large scale, the -immense whirlwind that is produced is called a cyclone or tornado. It -follows then, that if we would find any regularity or law in these -unusual disturbances, we must know if there exists any permanent -condition of atmospheric currents that is favorable to their -generation. - -That such a state exists, we have already learned. The great belts of -calms that we have found between the trade-winds and the return trades -and polar currents, are more appropriately called the zones of -equinoctial storms. We have in them districts of general calms, with -winds infringing upon either side. It is evident then that, as in the -case of the fence, whose recoil-current curves the snow-drift, a -whirling current of considerable magnitude may arise here at any time: -hence, violent storms do arise in these regions more or less at all -periods of the year. But we have seen that these zones of calms move -slightly to the north or south with the course of the sun. It would then -appear that at the equinoctial period, when they return from the mean -position toward the extreme northern or southern limit, there would be -opportunity for unusual disturbances, especially since the heavy -rainfall of those periods would unusually affect the temperature of the -atmosphere. - -That is precisely what occurs. The equinoxes are marked by storms of -unusual severity, and the influence of the sudden falls of rain is so -great that some eminent men believe them to be nearly the sole factor in -the formation of these storms. In one case they doubtless are. If a very -heavy rain be decidedly local, there is low barometer at that place. -Now, if on either side there be areas of high barometer, the opposing -currents flowing toward the center of low area are sufficient to meet -all the conditions necessary for a cyclonic storm. As the zone of calms -is comparatively narrow, it is apparent that the diameter of the area of -any storm, owing to the pressure exerted by the incoming currents of -wind, must be still less. Hence, the cyclone center, at its time of -formation, seldom exceeds one hundred miles in diameter. As it travels -away from the compressing currents that formed it, it is clear that its -centrifugal force must increase; hence, its area increases, and its -violence correspondingly diminishes. - -These facts refer to the unusually violent cyclonic storms, properly -known as cyclones. But all low area storms are characterized by the -upward spiral motion, though not strong enough in the case of ordinary -summer rains and thunderstorms to be especially noticed. We shall see, -by and by, how this spiral motion may result without the intervention of -any strong opposing currents. - -Why and how a cyclone travels, is a question that at once propounds -itself. Its motion is in accordance with a fixed law, whose operation -varies only as it may be affected by unusual peculiarities in the -configuration of the surface over which it travels. The reason of the -motion is not so easy to explain; neither is it easy to explain why heat -expands objects: but its operation is none the less certain. And so the -route pursued by any storm can be readily indicated in advance. It is -not a matter of mere conjecture. - -The motion of a cyclone or tornado is in accordance with the same law -that governs the motion of planets around the sun. It can be illustrated -in a very simple manner by the spinning of a top. - -Spin a top on a perfectly smooth and level surface. It will be better if -the peg of the top be blunt or round, so that there will be no tendency -to settle steadily into some possible hole or depression. - -Now, the instant any degree of steadiness is attained, the top begins to -move in small curves. If it be spun on a marble slab smoothly coated -with fine flour or sand, it can be made to record its motions, which may -then be carefully studied. It will be found that the form of the curve -is nearly the same with every start. It will describe a parabola, pause -a moment, then describe a second, and so on. - -The chief peculiarity of this separate curvilinear motion is that its -direction is always in an _opposite_ direction to that of the rotation -of the top. If the top turn from left to right, it will move from right -to left, and vice versa. The same tendency will manifest itself even if -the peg of the top be placed in a slight depression or socket, so that -the curve cannot be made. Then the upper portion of the top will incline -to one side, and begin describing a curve: but, as before, in a -direction contrary to the direction of rotation. - -The common toy known as a gyroscope illustrates the last peculiarity -also. It consists of a wheel within a metal frame, which has a peg like -a top. If the wheel be made to revolve rapidly, the whole may be -balanced on the peg: when the frame will begin to slowly revolve in the -opposite direction: and if placed upon a smooth level surface, like the -top it will tend to describe the same course. - -Still other illustrations of this principle are even more familiar than -the spinning of a top. Any one who has seen the game of soldiers in a -bowling alley knows that in order to make the ball turn to the left as -it moves forward, it must spin the other way; that is, with the hands of -a watch. To travel or curve to the right, it must spin in the contrary -direction. So in our “great national game,” base-ball, the pitcher -curves the ball any way he pleases merely by following this law. It is -not necessary to take into account, as many do, the return trades, as -occasioning the travel of a whirling storm; and the fact is, that the -cyclone frequently travels more rapidly than the ordinary wind moving in -the same direction. - -Now, the motion of the planets is similar: rotating in one direction, -they travel in the other. So we find the general law is, - -_All revolving bodies, left free as to direction, travel in a curve in a -direction opposite to that of their rotation._ This curve is usually -some form of conic section: an ellipse, parabola or hyperbola. The -planets, and some comets, move in ellipses. Some comets travel parabolas -or hyperbolas. And the parabola is the customary path of the cyclonic -storm. As the cyclone in the northern hemisphere rotates from right to -left, and in the southern from left to right, their paths must -necessarily be in opposite directions, as may be seen by the -accompanying diagram. So in either case, the direction of the path is -always away from the equator. - -[Illustration] - -As far as the United States are concerned, most non-cyclonic storms -originate in the Saskatchewan country, or along the southeastern slope -of the Rocky Mountains. By far the greater number pass over the St. -Lawrence valley. A small number are developed in the Gulf, or in the -Pacific: but these are much affected, often broken up, in crossing the -Rocky or Appalachian systems. The usual course is somewhat north of -east; but there are a few notable exceptions. The immense amount of -vapor wafted up the Mississippi valley induces some low area storms to -move southward from Manitoba into the upper Mississippi valley. In like -manner, the excessive moisture along our north Pacific coast causes -occasional storms to move southward from Alaska to Oregon. - -But the course of a cyclonic storm, we have seen, must be different. - -The accompanying diagram illustrates the fact that the wind blows from -all directions toward the center of the storm. As the storm revolves, -the wind would come apparently from the south for any one on the eastern -edge of the cyclone of the northern hemisphere. Hence, in the case of a -storm of large diameter, people in Richmond or Washington may often be -surprised by an apparent northeast gale, which reaches them before it -strikes New York or Boston. At the center of the storm is absolute calm. -So if a cyclone pass centrally over any point in the northern -hemisphere, a person at that place will find the wind blowing violently -from the southeast: then after an interval of calm, it will blow with -equal violence from the northwest. This will be the case if the path of -the storm has already turned to the northeast, so that its northeast -quarter may be called its front. If on the northwest course, however, -the apparently alternate winds would be from the northeast and -southwest. So one in the path of a southern cyclone would find the winds -proceeding from the same quarters; for though it revolves in the -opposite direction, its front or path is also in the opposite direction; -so in either hemisphere, the southeast or the northeast wind will be the -first felt by one directly in the track of the storm. - -[Illustration: ROTATION OF STORMS.] - -Another result of the path of a cyclone is that the direction of its -center from the stand-point of any observer is readily known. A glance -at the diagram shows at once that if any one within the storm area of a -cyclone of the northern hemisphere stands with his back to the wind, -the storm center, where the barometer is lowest, is invariably on his -left: but if he stand with his back to the wind of a southern cyclone, -the storm center is always on his right. Hence, if a vessel be overtaken -by a cyclone, the captain at once may know how to pass beyond its range, -by shaping his course at right angles to that of the wind. Thus, if in a -northern cyclone, he must sail to the right, supposing his back is to -the wind: in the southern hemisphere, he would sail to the left. - -As an example of the expansion of the storm area in its journey, may be -mentioned the West India hurricane of 1839, which had, in the Antilles, -a diameter of three hundred miles, which increased to five hundred at -the Bermudas, and eight hundred on the parallel of 50° north latitude. - -To draw again upon the illustration of the spinning top, it will be -observed that the curvilinear motion is extremely slow in comparison -with that of rotation, but increases as the rotation decreases. The same -law applies to the movement of cyclones. The slowest motion forward is -usually near the apex of the curve: and the progress on the ocean is -much slower than on the land. Traveling over the latter, the -irregularities of surface act in the case of the storm just as a rough -surface does in the case of the top. The motion may be accelerated, but -its regularity is lessened. So while at sea the parabolic path of the -storm is almost absolutely perfect, but on reaching the land its motion -is more rapid, and less regular, conforming somewhat to the -configuration of the surface. - -To illustrate, take the great cyclone of August 16th to 22nd, 1888. This -started off Point Jupiter, Florida, with a rainfall of 2.2 inches in -twelve hours, while the rotary velocity of the wind was sixty miles per -hour. Its path across the Gulf of Mexico was a perfect semi-parabola, -curving northward into western Louisiana; but rapid as was the rotary -velocity, three and a half days were required for the journey across the -gulf. Meanwhile, it was rapidly widening: for within a few hours of its -reaching land, its eastern edge was assailing Mobile, Alabama, with a -south wind of fifty-five miles an hour. Almost at the same time the -western half was flooding Memphis and Vicksburg with an enormous -rainfall--almost four inches in twelve hours, at Memphis. By the morning -of August 21st, thirty-six hours after reaching land, it was central -over middle Tennessee and Kentucky; heavy rains fell over the entire -region. But by this time its eastern edge was in collision with the -Appalachian chain; while a heavy local rain at the northern extremity of -that chain created an additional diversion in a new area of low -barometer. So it left the hitherto parabolic route, and shot away nearly -at a tangent along the western Appalachian slope, passing from Tennessee -to Newfoundland in thirty-six hours, thus moving nearly three times as -rapidly as in the Gulf: while its violence, or rotary speed, was vastly -lessened. - -This storm was one of the most destructive of the recent cyclones that -have swept our country, doing immense damage to crops, bridges, houses, -herds--in short, everything that can be seriously damaged by wind or -flood. - -The damage in Louisiana alone was estimated at $500,000. But it was by -no means the most destructive of the West India storms. - -An examination of the areas of calms, which are the hot-beds of cyclones -and hurricanes, shows that the region which produces the great cyclones -of the United States lies in the Antilles and Caribbean Sea. In the -Pacific the portion of the calm belt of the Tropic of Cancer causes the -ravages of cyclones or hurricanes originating there to be felt chiefly -in Japan and China. The storms of the Pacific arising in the equatorial -calm belt, are most violent in the East Indies, and the southern -peninsulas of Asia. As these regions are much warmer, and consequently -the atmosphere may hold a much greater quantity of vapor, it follows -that cyclones in that quarter much exceed in violence those of our own -land. - -Such are the general laws of these terrible disturbances of nature, as -ascertained by years of careful observation. In the United States, our -Signal Service, with well-equipped observatories at important -localities, is able to make these principles of practical use: to detect -the incipient storm and mark out its path, ere it strikes its fiercest -blow. - -It should be observed, ere leaving this topic, that a few would-be -prophets have maintained that not only great storms, but also -earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, etc., are due to planetary -influences. Observing that the most violent hurricanes occur near the -equinoctial period, they argue that the equinoxes of the planets ought -to also disturb the earth. They ignore the fact that as to our own -equinoctial disturbances, the change in the relative position of the -earth and sun is sufficient to produce change in the location of heated -air-currents and consequent storms. They seek to find in the Equinox -Absolute, some strange mysterious magic, some inexplicable power or -_Deus ex machina_, whose business it is to get up a disturbance here on -earth at every possible opportunity, no matter in what planet he may be -for the nonce located. - -But it is difficult to rid any man of his hobby. In the question of the -equinoxes of other planets, their recurrence is of sufficient frequency -to allow the weather-crank full play for his imagination. Two of the -major planets lie within the earth’s orbit, and their more rapid course -about - -[Illustration: WATER SPOUTS AT SEA.] - -the sun results in there being an equinox in one or the other of them -about once in each month. So no matter in what month a great storm may -occur, the enthusiast can point out that a neighboring planet is at or -near an equinox. - -A careful examination of the equinoxes of the inner planets for a period -of fifteen years shows that the number occurring in the month of April -was 22 per cent. above the average occurrence for any month: whence, it -would appear that the disturbances at that period ought to be equally in -excess. But as a matter of fact, storms on the earth are most numerous -and violent at the time of the autumnal equinox--September and -October--when no such departure from the average of equinoxes of the -other planets appears. - -If planetary influence were the cause of our storms, it would be -reasonable to suppose that disturbances would be greatest when the -planets are nearest to the earth: but the advocates of the theory do not -seem to consider this a factor at all. Nor could the planetary equinox -theory account for the fact that storms of peculiar character always -originate in the same regions. For instance, why do cyclones always -originate near the tropics and move away from the equator? If the -planetary equinoxes produce violent earthquakes, why are they so partial -to North America as never in our whole history to have given us a very -serious shaking up? Why is it that of the hundreds of recorded tornadoes -of the past century in the United States, only one has ever occurred -west of Dodge City, Kansas? Clearly the adherents of the equinoctial -theory will have to admit local terrestrial conditions that modify all -their theories: and to make such an admission will be, in the end, to -give up the fight. - -The writer knew of a boy who wasted a pound and a half of bird-shot in -trying to kill a small owl. The game was finally secured, and the young -Nimrod discovered a hatful of feathers with the body of a robin--and of -no earthly use. - -Attacking the planetary theory is of little more use. But the theory is -the resort of many would-be weather prophets, who needlessly alarm the -ignorant with their gloomy forebodings. - -In a country as large as our own, any sort of weather is a very safe -prediction to make for any day in the century, as minor rains and cloudy -seasons and small storms are merely local. Any sort of prediction would -be nearly sure to hit some portion of the country; and one who is so -disposed can easily win a cheap notoriety and gain scores of -testimonials as to the correctness of his predictions. Every unusual -catastrophe produces a brood of these gentry who are eager to make the -trial. But those who endeavor to indicate the exact locality where any -great disturbance is to take place, meet discomfiture with a uniformity -that ought to be discouraging. The work of the Signal Service is as -carefully done as may well be: yet its best men assert that an average -of 90 per cent. of correctness in their prognostications is unusual, -because of the extremely small areas covered by local disturbances. -Rainy weather announced for western Missouri may be correct every time -for Kansas City, but be 10 per cent. in error for Nevada, Missouri. When -those whose time is devoted to the weather can not always be correct, it -is useless to listen to charlatans. - -A careful study of sun-spots with relation to storms has been made of -late years. The fact is elicited that the spots seem to have a definite -connection with electrical disturbances: but while there are numbers of -coincidences between unusual sun-spots and great storms, the number of -striking exceptions seems equally great. Hence, it can not be fairly -inferred that there is any definite relation between them. And so far -as electrical phenomena on the earth are connected with storms, they -always appear as dependent upon rather than productive of atmospheric -currents. Indeed, the most remarkable electrical disturbances occur at -times when no atmospheric current is prevalent. The most beautiful -electrical display, the aurora, appears when the air is abnormally still -and unusually dry. The necessity of the latter condition accounts for -the fact that it is usually observable only in cold weather and occurs -with great frequency and in remarkable brilliancy in the polar regions. -It results from electric currents passing through extremely rarefied and -dry air, and may be produced on a small scale artificially. - -Poe was right when he held that many things remain long secrets by -reason of their very simplicity. Six thousand years steam hissed and -fumed in men’s faces, and tilted the kettle lid, before they learned its -expansive power. Six thousand years the lightning flamed and roared -before man realized it could be made one of his most obedient servants. -Six thousand years he cudgeled his wits to discover the secret of the -wind: yet when he made a fire within his house, he closed the door to -prevent unpleasant draughts of air. And so he continues, constantly -endeavoring to find some strange mystery in the things that are -dependent on simplest laws. - -There was a time when men stood aghast at small-pox, cholera, yellow -fever, and many similar calamities, and spoke with bated breath of the -“mysterious visitations of providence,” the “scourge of God,” and so on. -When the Turks once besieged a plague-stricken city, a comet appeared in -the sky. The pious inhabitants prayed “O Lord, deliver us from the -devil, the Turk and the comet,” and usually such people believed such -plagues were the judgment of God on them for their sins. Modern science -holds that about the only sin the Lord punishes in that way is the sin -of filthy streets, or back-door cess-pools. When man has once learned -the means of control and prevention, evils lose their mysterious -witchery. - -On the other hand, let the laws of any force in nature be every so well -understood: yet, so long as they are beyond the control of man, they -will retain for him an eerie uncanny fascination. The pigmy has -harnessed the steam and chained the lightning: but when the storm clouds -lower and the forests moan, the sea roars and the lightning glows, he -stands in fear and awe before a power whose might he but vaguely -comprehends. He may know of the winds, whence and whither bound; but -when the Stygian darkness has passed on, leaving wreck and ruin, want -and woe, desolation and despair, shattered homes and hopes, and bleeding -hearts, this knowledge of law is, for the nonce, forgotten, and the -hurricane is transformed, in his disordered vision, into a demon of -wrath, or caprice; or he speaks, hesitatingly it may be, of the -mysterious dispensation of an inscrutable providence. But in the mighty -wind, as in the soughing breeze, there is only obedience to universal -law. But when the Author of law displays his power, man’s instinct, -however unwilling his reason, acknowledges a God. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE LOUISVILLE TORNADO. - - “At eve along the calm resplendent west - I marked a cloud alive with fairy light, - So warmly pure, so sweetly, richly bright, - It seemed a spirit of ether, floating blest, - In its own happy empire! While possest - With admiration of the marvelous light, - Slowly its hues, opal and chrysolite, - Waned on the shadowy gloaming’s phantom breast. - The cloud became a terror, whose dark womb, - Throbbed with keen lightnings, by destruction hurled, - Red bolt on bolt, while a drear ominous gloom - Enveloped Nature: o’er the startled world-- - A deep alarum--burst the thunder boom - And the swift Storm his coal-black wings unfurled!” - - -There is a perspective of news as well as of art, which requires that -such features in a view as are supposed to be nearest to the observer -must be given larger detail. It is a natural consequence of the fact -that a small object near by may conceal from view a mountain in the -distance. - -So in the news world a dog run over on Washington avenue takes rank with -a wreck in the Indian Ocean. A fight in a neighboring saloon gets ten -inches: a strike in Germany ten lines. Your neighbor’s new barn is a -good item for the county paper whose editor cares nothing for the new -bank in Boston. The Widow Jones gets a puff for whitewashing her fence; -the refitting of the White House gets a line. A million of people who -have heard of George Washington, never heard of Alfred the Great. - -Now, not a few will think that there is injustice in this. Doubtless -the tendency of the time is to exaggerate perspective to obtain -startling effects. Caricature is characteristic of the age. And yet, -there was never before a time when so many people took interest in -things that lay beyond their own narrow circle; even if that interest be -from mere curiosity. - -Sometimes this self-centered condition of humanity has an amusing -aspect: as if one should imagine the earth terminated with his own -apparent horizon. Some South Sea Islanders called the first white men -who visited them, “sky-breakers.” The reason is simple. Dwelling on -their little islets, mere specks in the deep, and in all their myths and -legends having no account of any other race, they supposed themselves to -be the only people in the world. Their sky was a vast wall of blue -stones raised by one of their mythical heroes. It shut in the world and -could not be far away, though none of them had endeavored to reach it. -So these strange white creatures were not of this world; neither were -they of the race of the gods; they came from no one knew where, and had -somehow broken through the blue wall that bounded the world. And white -men are in some islands called “sky-breakers” to this day. - -Something of the same spirit is manifested by the Chinese. The devil of -their mythology is white. So our occidental sensibilities received quite -a shock when we learned that we were “foreign devils.” The Japanese more -considerately called us “foreign beasts,” as though uncertain of our -status in the animal kingdom. And to this day our magnificent vessels -are gravely styled “devil ships” by the Chinese. - -Such are what might be appropriately styled ludicrous exaggerations of -perspective. And we of the west are similarly so wrapped up in our -self-sufficiency that it hardly occurs to us that we may appear as -amusing to foreigners as they to us. In this respect our charity begins -at home. It is the way of the world. - -But there are a thousand occurrences that make us feel that the -principle is just, no matter to what extremes we may foolishly carry it. -It comes home to each with peculiar emphasis in the hour of distress. -The famine in Asia does not weigh upon you so heavily as the death of -the woman who starved in the garret across the street. A fire that burns -Chicago is easier forgotten that the one which destroys the little home -that represents the savings of years of your life. The cholera in India -has no such terrors for you as the diphtheria or scarlet fever in your -own village. The Czar of Russia is blown to pieces in his carriage; but -he has no remembrance at the bedside of your sick friend. Ten thousand -dead victims of a distant earthquake are hidden by the coffin in your -own home. - -Since the same law applies to the interests of nations, it is not -necessary, in reviewing the work of destructive tempests, to apologize -for giving chief place to the recent Louisville tornado, however -insignificant it may appear in comparison with scores of others that -have desolated the earth in days gone by. The latter shall be noticed in -due time. - -In the foregoing chapter we have seen that the great cyclones that -occasionally visit us originate in the neighborhood of the Antilles. Of -course, similar conditions may produce smaller storms of the same class -in numerous localities. These small storms whose paths are but a few -yards, or sometimes as much as a mile in diameter, are called, to -distinguish them from the great cyclone of twenty to two hundred miles -in diameter, by the Portuguese title of _tornados_, or “turning-storms.” -Often the broken character of the country will cause a large gathering -storm to break - -[Illustration: WHERE THE STORM ENTERED LOUISVILLE.] - -up into half a dozen or more of the smaller ones, which, in their narrow -paths are as destructive as the cyclone. - -It is the unexpected that happens. No one experiences so many surprises, -or has more pet beliefs upset than that oracle of the chimney-corner, -the oldest inhabitant. It was long believed that tornadoes never passed -over an old Indian camp ground. Whatever the popular opinion of savage -intellect, there is marvelous confidence in his instinct. Again, it was -thought a tornado never would pass over a large city. The storm in -question demolished both these “olde wyves’ tales.” - -During March 27th, 1890, the Signal Service Department observed a -threatening storm center gather in the southwestern portion of Wyoming, -and start eastward with great rapidity. Notice was promptly given. -Railway, telegraph and electric light officials were warned that on -Thursday night a hurricane would blow with a speed of at least fifty -miles an hour. Signal Service predictions had sometimes failed, and this -last one excited no particular concern. The destroyer came and was gone -in two minutes; and blocks on blocks of Louisville were a ghastly ruin. - -The tornado was accompanied by a cloud and tremendous rain. To an -observer at the Falls, the cloud was seen to come up the gap between the -hills which guard the banks of the beautiful Ohio. He described it as -“balloon-shaped, twisting an attenuated tail to the earth. It emitted a -constant fusillade of lightning, and seemed to be composed of a lurid, -snake-like mass of electric currents, whose light would sometimes be -extinguished for a few moments, making an almost intolerable darkness. -It was accompanied by a fearful roar, like that of a thousand trains -crossing the big bridge at once. It could be seen to strike Louisville, -and then with incredible rapidity it leaped the river, churning it into -white foam as it went toward the Indiana shore.” - -The streets of Louisville parallel to the river are named; those at -right angles are numbered from east to west. The section visited may be -described as a rectangle a mile square, bounded on the west by -Eighteenth street, on the east by Seventh, on the south by Broadway, and -on the north by the Ohio river. It comprehends the business portion of -the city. Through this district the cyclone swept diagonally from -southwest to northeast, crossing the river and leaving the city at the -foot of Seventh street. The business houses or residences of perhaps -10,000 people lay in its path. - -Two days after the storm, when there had been time for a calm survey, -its track is thus described by a correspondent of the Associated Press: - -“It first descended upon the beautiful little suburb of Parkland, -southwest of the city, destroying many private residences. The loss of -life was inconsiderable at this initial point, however. Rushing onward -toward the northwest it lifted for a moment above the trees and -housetops, and descended again a mile further on at Maple and Eighteenth -streets. From this on its pathway is clearly marked. At no time did the -base of the funnel touch the ground, and one hundred feet higher in the -air, it would have passed by without doing comparatively much damage. - -“The ruins as they now are often show the first, and even the second and -third stories of buildings still intact, with the roofs and higher -stories swept away except in places where the debris from the upper -floors crushed in the lower, and brought the walls down to the ground in -total collapse. From Maple and Eighteenth streets it went northward one -block, then west at an angle another block; and then curving to the -northeast as far as Magazine and - -[Illustration: BAXTER PARK, LOUISVILLE.] - -Thirteenth streets. A quick change to the north is perceptible here, and -after traveling in that direction two blocks, another turn to the west. -An acute angle was then made, the line turning from Fifteenth street -northeast to Thirteenth street again; thence, due east to Tenth street, -and north a block to Market street. At Thirteenth and Jefferson streets -it swept through Baxter Park, doing great damage, and a block eastward -destroyed St. John’s Episcopal Church, in the rectory of which the Rev. -S. E. Barnwell and his little son were crushed and burned to death, the -rest of the family escaping. - -“St. John’s Church is in the street immediately in the rear of the -ill-fated Falls City Hall. The eccentric monster went on eastward past -the Falls City Hall without touching it, and then, as if suddenly -recollecting, it swept around the block and started westward on the -south side of Market street. Had the change of direction been made a -trifle sooner or later Falls City Hall would have escaped, and the dead -been numbered within thirty or forty at the most. - -“As if satisfied with the work accomplished, it turned north again and -struck Main street. This thoroughfare is the principal business street -in the city. It runs parallel with the river from east to west, and but -a block south of it. It is lined with wholesale houses, and was the -solidest part of the city in point of architecture. - -“The tornado reached Main street at Twelfth, and then shaped its course -directly east down the middle of the broad street, sweeping away the -solid stores and warehouses on both sides. From Twelfth to Seventh -streets on Main it is a wholesaling district, and it was practically -untenanted at that hour. Had the storm come in the daytime and taken the -same direction, hundreds who were at their houses and escaped unhurt -would have been killed. - -“At Seventh street and Main the buildings change in their character. The -big Louisville Hotel is on Main between Sixth and Seventh, and east of -the hotel are restaurants, saloons and other hotels which contained -thousands of people at that hour. The tornado chased down Main street, -carrying everything before it, passing Eleventh street, Tenth, Ninth, -Eighth, and Seventh. A block further and the Louisville Hotel, with its -hundreds of tenants, would have been reached. The escape of the hotel is -the strangest incident of all. Adjoining it on the west, from whence the -storm came, was a three-story building used as a saloon on the first -floor, and occupied in the upper stories as sleeping apartments for the -hotel servants. This three-story building, right under the east wall of -the hotel, was totally demolished and not a timber left a dozen feet -higher than the ground. Its inmates were killed. The great hotel shook -from roof to cellar with the force of the shock, but it was spared. - -“The storm veered at the sharpest kind of an angle to the north again, -crossed Main street, and struck for the river, taking in the Union Depot -on the way. Strange to say, although the depot was totally demolished, -only one person was killed there. At the point where the tornado crossed -the river, between New Albany and Jeffersonville, it is supposed several -small crafts were sunk. - -“Reaching the opposite bank of the river, the storm turned to the east -again and took off a bite from Jeffersonville. It went along Front -street for a few blocks, damaging buildings, but causing no loss of -life. Then it took to the river and struck the Kentucky shore about four -miles east of where it left it, and outside of the city of Louisville. -At this exact spot is located the Louisville pumping works, which -supplies the whole city with water. - -“The pumping works were destroyed, and the city is now threatened with -a water famine in consequence. The next heard of the peculiar course -taken by the tornado is from Eminence, Ky., about forty miles east of -Louisville, which was badly damaged by the storm. The intervening -country may have suffered somewhat, but no other towns were visited, and -from Eminence the destroyer probably took a final leave of the earth’s -surface and passed on to the Atlantic Coast at a higher and less -dangerous altitude.” - -This outline seems to show how easily the course of a storm is modified -by the irregularities of surface, even when the obstacles are such as it -can overcome. It is seen that the course of a small storm over broken -country, little resembles the steady curve of the storm in the open sea. -Ever and anon, the obstacles below momentarily break the regular -current, which is as often renewed in a moment by the powerful upward -suction in the upper air. This is the phenomenon known as “jumping,” -which may be repeated till the widening of the center leaves the storm -too weak to promptly restore the current at the ground, and the danger -from the tornado is over. Some of the apparent eccentricities in the -city, are doubtless due to the fact that occasional buildings were -strong enough to resist; and leaving such at slight variations in its -course, made it present the appearance of doubling on its track. - -So many blocks of buildings, great and small, in an instant violently -hurled to pieces, would seem to infer with certainty the death of nearly -all the occupants. That only about a hundred should have been killed -outright, was therefore a matter of astonishment no less than of -gratitude. The terror and anguish of the first moments or hours could -not, however, be measured by the actual calamity to human life. Members -of households suddenly separated from each other in the darkness, could -only fear the worst. - -[Illustration: LOUISVILLE TORNADO--FALLS CITY HALL.] - -Their startled imagination saw the missing one dead or dying under the -huge piles of fallen buildings. There were excited cries and calls and -wailing of the living; a mad rush and frantic tugging at the ruins, from -beneath which were sometimes heard shrieks for help or groans of the -dying. To add to the universal terror, fires broke out in many places, -threatening imprisoned wretches with a fate more horrible than the crush -of falling walls, or timbers, bricks or iron, hurtling through the air. -Before help could reach them the flames took hold on some and hushed -their cries forever. Fortunately, the fire-alarm connections were left -intact, and as alarm after alarm was sent, there was a dashing of the -engines to the rescue, and the whole fire-department was presently -engaged in extinguishing the flames, or recovering the living and the -dead. Hospitals and morgues were suddenly improvised in sheds or shops, -where the wounded were cared for, or the dead were deposited to await -the recognition or claim of the living. - -Falls City Hall was the theatre of the principal loss of life. It was a -brick building fronting on Market between Eleventh and Twelfth. The -ground-floor had long been used as a market, and contained forty or -fifty stalls of gardeners and butchers. These stalls were closed and the -keepers were absent at the hour of the disaster. In front on the second -floor were three small rooms, one of them utilized as an office, the -other two as toilet rooms. Behind these was a large hall, and in the -rear of this still another hall, in which a young lady, her father, -brother and sister being present, was teaching a dancing school. There -might have been sixty-five persons in this room, though one witness says -twenty-eight. In one of the small rooms seven men, constituting the -Executive Committee of the Roman Knights, was holding a business -meeting. In another room a band of musicians, fifteen in number, were -going through a rehearsal. Some decorators were at work in the large -hall, preparing it for some coming occasion. On the third floor were -assembled the Jewel Lodge No. 2 of the Knights and Ladies of Honor, with -an attendance of a hundred or more. In an adjoining hall the Humboldt -Lodge No. 146 of I. O. O. F. with seventeen members was in session. The -whole number of people in the building must have been nearly or quite -two hundred. In an instant the fearful wrench of the cyclone had twisted -the building into fragments, and tumbled it in shapeless ruin upon the -inmates. - -Ten minutes after the collapse might have been seen a frantic multitude -hastily gathering from all quarters, among them many women clutching -vainly with their fingers at the slate roof, and madly tearing at the -wreck beneath which the imprisoned and wounded were crying for help. -Presently, fire broke out, but it was happily extinguished. The work of -rescue was now organized and speedily set in motion, but an hour elapsed -before the first victim was extricated. This was a lady, found sitting -upright with bruised head and broken arm. She told of her vain effort to -escape, and of the position in which she had last seen her companions. -Meanwhile, some were digging in the center of the debris in answer to a -voice which grew fainter and fainter until it was hushed forever. The -work of rescue was now shifted to the other end of the pile. - -James Hassen was foremost among the workers, and on reaching the hall -room of the Knights and Ladies, he took from the ruins the first body, -which proved to be that of his wife, and who expired in his arms. He -gently laid his dead wife aside, and hurried again to aid in recovering -the rest. Presently, ten women were reached, clasped in each others -arms--all dead but one. The dancing room was - -[Illustration: AT WORK IN THE WRECK.] - -reached. One lady was taken out fatally hurt, and one after another her -three children, unconscious, but destined to recover. While her husband -was urging the rescue of his fourth child, still somewhere beneath the -ruins, an under-current of air having been admitted, the fire again -broke out with startling fierceness, and the furious heat compelled a -suspension of the work. The groans of the imprisoned were now changed to -fearful shrieks, while the watchers, helpless to render aid, screamed -and ran wildly about with anxiety and horror. Three or four lines of -hose were turned upon the flames, and they were subdued; but an hour, in -which probably many a life went out, had been lost from the work. By -twelve o’clock many dead and wounded had been removed from the ruins. -The dead were largely in the majority. Many of these exhibited no -outward wounds, and had been apparently suffocated by gas escaping from -broken pipes. - -But the reader may be spared further details of the recovery at Falls -City Hall. Suffice it to say, that two days were required to remove the -wreck and demonstrate the precise extent of the calamity. On this spot, -about eighty persons had lost their lives. - -The narratives of some of the survivors will serve to show that while -the tornado comes without warning, the heaviest wind is not just at -first: and a cool head may sometimes profit by the interval to escape. -Sailors have a saying that the “tail” of a gale is strongest. A young -man who was taken from the wreck of the hall says: - -“I was dancing when a flash of lightning, followed by a crash, made me -think that the lightning had struck some part of the rear of the -building. The next moment, the big doors that enter into the big hall in -front flew open. I continued dancing, and cried to some of the boys to -close the doors. They did so, and were bolting them, when they were -again forced open with such force as to knock down everybody around -them. Then the window sashes were blown in, and the building commenced -rocking. I saw that the house was about to fall, and I hallooed: ‘The -walls will go next.’ I ran to the dressing-room, and I think most of the -girls followed me. I got under a table and held fast to the legs, -thinking that I might be saved in that way. Then the walls began -crumbling, and the lights went out, and the floor descended like an -elevator. The crash stunned me for a moment, but finally a flash of -lightning showed me a hole in the debris, through which I might have -crawled had not my leg been pinioned between some timbers. There were -people all around me, and they were crying for help; but there was no -one to aid us. I tugged and strained, but I could not get loose. -Finally, I heard my father’s voice, and answered him; and directly he -crawled down the hole. It took him three-quarters of an hour to -extricate me, and then we both crawled out. If there had been help at -once, we might have saved others, as I knew about where they all were, -but they were more or less hurt.” - -That less than half of those in the building should have been killed is -a matter of wonder. The manner of individual escapes can only be -inferred from one or two more which we subjoin. - -One of the lady members of the lodge of the Knights and Ladies of Honor -relates: - -“I went to attend the lodge meeting and when all were present the -calamity came. There must have been about seventy-five people in the -room at the time of the tornado. Hone of them were able to get out -before the building fell in. The first intimation we had of what was -coming was the flash of lightning and the beating of hail against the -windows. The wind howled, and I heard a fearful roaring noise. The -people became frightened, and hurriedly gathered their wraps together. -All were fearful of impending danger. - -“Just at this moment I saw a round hole blown through the wall, -immediately above one of the windows. The gas went out and then I saw -another large round hole appear in the roof. Through this I saw the -lightning play with awful grandeur. This natural light was all that -relieved the gloom and darkness. I heard one of the trustees of the -lodge call out to all the people to go out quickly and in a body. He -cried out not to rush, as some one would be killed if they did. Then I -knew no more until I became conscious, and found that I was partially -imbedded in bricks and timbers. I felt blood running down my neck and -became aware that I had been struck on the head by a brick or timber. I -extricated myself, and by the flashes of lightning made my way over the -terrible mass of debris and dead bodies toward the front. I saw a man -making his way down the pile of bricks to the street, and I followed. -When I reached the sidewalk I was aided to a neighboring store by a -lodge trustee. I don’t know how he made his way out. I heard cries for -help as I came out, but I had barely strength to move, and could not -help the others.” - -A thrilling experience was that of another member of the same lodge. His -estimate of the attendance, larger than the foregoing, is yet materially -exceeded by others. He says: - -“The first intimations of danger we had were two distinct rockings of -the building, about which time a dormer window in the lodge room was -blown from its casings, and immediately after the plastering began to -drop from the ceiling. A wild rush was made for the ante-room, which -carried me with it, and I had just reached the door when - -[Illustration: MAIN STREET, BETWEEN ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH, LOUISVILLE.] - -the entire floor gave way, and we were precipitated to the basement, -blinded and almost suffocated by a cloud of dust, and crushed and jammed -by falling timbers. In some way the doorframe fell with me and -maintained an upright position when it stopped, and I was enabled to -extricate myself from the debris and make an exit to the street through -an adjoining house, whose doors I kicked in. Meanwhile, the shrieks and -groans of those still imprisoned by the wreck formed a chorus that, in -connection with the howling of the storm, made my very heart sick. I -was, so far as hasty examination went, comparatively uninjured, and at -once returned over the ruins with several men to the rear of the place -and extinguished a fire that had begun to blaze fiercely. By this time -the rain was falling in torrents, and it was difficult for those who had -gathered from the neighborhood, or who had been as lucky as I was to -escape with life, to tell where to begin the work of rescue. - -“The vivid lightning flashes only gave momentary views of the position -of the ruins, and blinded everybody. Among those whom I saw and -recognized as having escaped from Jewel lodge I can name only the -treasurer, who was covered with dust, drenched with rain and well-nigh -distracted by the probable fate of her aged father, who had attended the -lodge meeting with her and who was still in the ruins. The entire -building collapsed in front and rear, and of the east and west side -walls nothing was standing above the second story. - -“So far as I could judge when I had succeeded in escaping, there were -less than a dozen, all told, who got out unhurt; and the cries for help -and groans that issued from the broken and twisted heap was proof that -scores were still there, unable to escape.” - -The Union Depot was utterly demolished. An officer of the Louisville -Southern Road relates the story: - -“Quite a crowd of people were present waiting for trains. Mr. Woodard, -of the Monon Railroad, was near me, and I had been talking to him. The -wind was blowing strong, and seemed to increase in power. We heard a -dull moaning in the distance, and the glass in the windows of the depot -was shattered, although the first puff was merely the advance guard of -the tornado. The people became alarmed. One man started to rush into the -ticket office, but the ticket-seller pushed him back. Mr. Woodard and I -also started for the ticket office. Just at this moment the tornado, -like a clap of thunder, struck the depot. - -“The building gave way and tumbled in upon us. I was just at the door of -the ticket office when it went down. I fell, and a man standing near me -fell across me. A heavy girder fell on top of him. Mr. Woodard was only -a few feet away. I never lost consciousness. I spoke to Mr. Woodard and -he replied. We both thought we could get out alive if the depot did not -catch fire. I knew that there had been stoves with fire burning in them -in the depot before the tornado struck it, and I expected the flames to -break out at every moment. - -“I spoke to the man who was lying across me and told him that he must -manage to squeeze from under the girder. I thought that if he was off me -I could manage to get out. After many desperate efforts he managed to -get from under the girder, but in doing so his bowels were torn so -terribly that the doctors do not think he can recover. He was a -brakeman, who had come here to be a witness in some case. I do not -remember his name. - -“After the brakeman got off me, I was able to use my strength. Then I -got out, and so did Mr. Woodard. I was under the wreck just thirty-five -minutes. I was slightly bruised in the arm and leg, but that amounts to -nothing.” - -[Illustration: UNION DEPOT, LOUISVILLE.] - -Though forty or fifty persons were in the depot at the time, only one, a -restaurant boy, was killed; Twenty-one passenger coaches were more or -less wrecked. On following days the impression of the ruins upon the -beholder was peculiarly gloomy. Instead of the stir of life, the -brilliancy of electric lights, the scream of whistles and the rumbling -of trains, there was a scattered wreck, and comparative silence. A few -chickens, liberated from their coop, crept at dusk to roost on a timber, -and in subdued tones seemed to be discussing with each other the -mournful situation. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -INCIDENTS OF THE TORNADO. - - “O cold and savage wind! - It racks my soul to hear the wild lamenting - Of wounded hearts whose grief knows no relenting, - Can not their woe e’er sway thee to repenting? - O cold and savage wind! - - O melancholy wind! - Hast thou no requiem for the dead and dying? - Art thou some fierce despairing spirit sighing - O’er a lost Paradise behind thee lying? - O melancholy wind!” - - -Too frequently in the confusion of great disasters the woes of the -poorer classes are forgotten in the attention given to their more -opulent neighbors. There is only too often good cause given for a slight -modification of Shylock’s speech, “Hath not a Jew eyes?” etc. There is -no sadder record than that so frequently given in a single line: -“Dead--a woman, name unknown.” What fearful heart-aches often end in the -Potter’s field! - -Adjoining the Louisville Hotel was a saloon and cigar store, the rooms -over which were occupied by the hotel laundry girls. These were hurled -into the cellar, and so tightly wedged that death could not have been -long delayed. One was found sitting upright, the pallor of death on her -face, and agony in every feature. Another lay upon her back, with hands -outstretched above her head, as though she tried to thrust destruction -back. A third was sitting, dead; while near by another lay upon her -face, as though refusing to behold that which she could not shun. - - “Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault, - If memory o’er their tomb no trophies raise, - Where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault - The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.” - -Poor laundry girls! Let their dead dust be mentioned with reverence. Had -they been spoiled daughters of wealth and fashion, press reporters would -have waxed eloquent of their birth, their history, their beauty, their -accomplishments, their heritage. We should have heard in detail the -names of their wealthy and mourning friends, and of their impressive -obsequies. Magnificent monuments would have risen to mark their sleeping -dust. These five laundry girls were taken up tenderly, and two or three -days later, together borne without pomp to humble graves. But is not -honest industry in useful avocation toiling for bread a more royal thing -than silks and diamonds, bedizzening frivolity and idleness? Is there -not in America many a haughty heiress, less worthy of our tears, than -these? - - “Let not ambition mock their useful toil, - Their homely joys and destiny obscure;” - -and when we say, Peace to their ashes! will not the reader add a fervent -Amen! - -On Seventeenth street was a pathetic sight. One blackened and charred -wall stood swaying in the wind. Just over the door was a sign--“Plain -Sewing.” An old woman had been the sole tenant. Here, any day for years -past, it may be, - - “With fingers weary and worn, - With eyelids heavy and red, - A woman sat in unwomanly rags, - Plying her needle and thread:-- - Stitch--Stitch--Stitch, - In poverty, hunger and dirt, - And still with a voice of dolorous pitch, - She sang the song of the shirt.” - -Her charred body was dug from beneath the ruins. Tragic end of a life of -poverty and toil! But when we reflect on the lot of many another sewing -woman, who still survives, we may, with Solomon, feel inclined to -“praise the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are yet -alive.” - -About Thirteenth and Walnut dwelt a peddler with wife and child. He -knocked a hole in the side wall of his wrecked home, and dragged out his -little family over a seemingly impassable pile of debris. Then he -thought of another woman and two helpless children imprisoned up stairs. -He rushed to their rescue, and dragged them out just in time to save -them from the flames, which two minutes later were licking up all that -would burn. - -Society must think more of its lonely toilers; even of its peddlers and -publicans and sinners. It was the keeper of a brothel in Memphis, who, -during the awful yellow-fever visitation, turned her house into a -hospital, and ministered to the suffering till she fell a victim -herself. Jesus was looking at some very nice people when he said, “The -publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” To -those good people, such a thing would be one of the “mysteries of -Providence.” - -“Mysteries of Providence” are continually ferreted out on such -occasions. Reporters, to whom everything that can be written is news, -gather up a hundred items and give them to the public; often grouping -items in a manner that is strikingly grotesque. There is no grimmer -humor than the apparently matter-of-fact statement that during a great -Italian earthquake, wherein lofty cathedrals were shaken to pieces and -hundreds of people killed, statues of the Virgin escaped uninjured. -Sober-minded people are prone to wonder what is the relative value of a -human life and a graven image. One might, if such things were of -constant occurrence, consider them as meant by Providence as a very -sarcastic punishment for the violation of the second commandment. - -[Illustration: EIGHTH AND MAIN STREETS, LOUISVILLE.] - -It is related that at the time of the massacre of St. Bartholomew, a -Romish captain secured a number of fugitives, among whom he felt -satisfied there were some good Catholics. Not being able to distinguish -them readily, he referred the perplexing case to a fanatical priest. The -response came promptly: “Kill all; the Lord will know his own!” - -Interpreters of the inscrutable ways of Providence might find such the -only solution for many particulars of the storm. The pious but -superstitious folk who believe that all such visitations are for the -sins of a people, instead of the result of laws that send the rain alike -upon the just and the unjust, might find some perplexity in conning the -following cases. - -On the next street back of Falls City Hall stood the St. John’s -Episcopal Church. The rector, with his little four-year-old boy, was in -the study. The rectory and the church were completely destroyed, and the -rector and his child were killed. In an adjoining building, ten or -eleven men were playing cards. The house was demolished, but not one of -the players was seriously hurt. The preacher perished; the idlers were -saved--herein is food for reflection. - -Tierney’s saloon was on Eleventh, between Main and Market. The ice-box -saved him and four other men from being crushed. They crowded beside it, -and crawled out uninjured. The pastor and the useful laundry girls -perished; the saloon-keeper and his patrons survived. - -The Catholic buildings at Seventeenth and Broadway were Father Desney’s -residence, the Sisters’ Home, the Church of the Sacred Heart, and the -parochial school. All these were wrecked by the wind, and Sister Pius -was killed. There is a story that, amid utter ruin, the image of the -Virgin was left standing, untouched by harm. Let the devout remember -that a saloon-keeper obtained an equal deliverance. - -Elmer Barnes and several others ran into Eckerle’s saloon, 1001 West -Market, and securely closed the door. The building fell with a crash, -and the men were buried in the ruins. Barnes and Eckerle were -overwhelmed by the falling bricks and timber. Eckerle was fearfully -injured; Barnes was drawn from the ruins, and died a few hours -afterward. The other men were only slightly hurt. If we have had -occasion to mention the destruction of one church and of several -saloons, it is probably only because saloons are more numerous than -churches. - -At a grocery store at the corner of Sixteenth and Magazine streets the -owner and five others were standing at the bar in the back part of the -store. A dreadful roaring sound was heard, and the house rocked back and -forth. The owner’s wife and children screamed and ran out the back way. -Almost instantly the rear wall of the building fell. The six men rushed -to escape by the front door, but the wind closed it with such force that -it could not be opened. The floor beneath gave way, and three men were -dropped into the cellar and pinned among the ruins. The other three -escaped through a side window. Instantly a fire kindled and took hold on -the imprisoned men. Their cries were awful, while their escaped -companions witnesssed the horrible cremation and were powerless to -render aid. - -We record but a few of the multitude of deaths, experiences, incidents -and escapes. Doubtless, there is many an untold tale--something of -personal interest connected with almost every one of the hundreds of -buildings partially or wholly wrecked. The press at first exaggerated, -and perhaps finally minimized the loss of life. There is reason to think -that not all the names of the dead were given to the public, while -subsequently several died of their wounds. To the list of those who were -killed outright, or died in a few hours, better information might have -added several names, and possibly subtracted or corrected others. - -The public may find in the press reports lists of the dead and numerous -records of persons injured or killed by the fallings of walls, or by -flying missiles; but these, after all, must be regarded as exceptions. -There can be no very correct estimate of the number of people who were -in the down-town district at the time of the accident. Yet, it would be -safe to say only a very small portion of those in the path of the storm -suffered any injury. - -That a storm of such magnitude and fury should have swept through the -heart of a city of 200,000 people, to destroy outright no more than five -or six score lives, may excite our wonder. The most obvious reason of -the low mortality will be found in the hour and place of the principal -visitation. The place was the business part of the city, and the hour -between eight and nine P.M., when the wholesale houses and the streets -in their vicinity were comparatively deserted. Another fact is also to -be noted. The cyclone seems to have reached the ground scarcely at any -point at all. Its principal fury was probably expended in the region -above the housetops. The roofs and tops of walls were removed; the -damage below resulted principally from their fall. Humbler buildings -sheltering human lives were sometimes crushed by the fall of the upper -portion of the wall of some contiguous building; as notably, in the case -of the house occupied by the laundry girls, and which was smashed by the -fall of the wall from the top story of the Louisville Hotel; or the case -of a colored family whose house was crushed by the wall of the Falls -City Hall. But in any case of cyclonic visitation - -[Illustration: CORNER MAIN AND CLINTON STREETS, LOUISVILLE.] - -the escapes will probably amaze us more than the deaths; for when it -will seem that nothing living could have escaped, the majority will not -only probably be found alive, but absolutely unhurt. Of numerous cases, -a few specimens will suffice: - -Peter Speth and family were seated in the parlor when the cyclone -arrived. The family huddled together in the hall, doubtless to avail -themselves of the protection of the side walls not far apart. The walls -of the second story fell in with a crash. The building and furniture -were destroyed, but the family escaped without injury. - -Eleven men were in a barber shop at 1803 Broadway. The roof was blown -off; the walls fell in, but all the men escaped through the windows -without a scratch. - -At 329 Eleventh street, on the upper floor of a two-story brick, a lady -lay at the point of death; watched by her son and daughter. She begged -them to flee for their lives, but they refused to forsake her. The roof -was stripped clean off, but the devoted children with their mother -escaped injury. - -In one cottage on Chapel street dwelt a family of five. At once all were -in the house, when the storm demolished it, and four escaped unhurt. - -Major Galt, of the Louisville and Nashville Road, lived in a two-story -brick. He apprehended no danger till the walls fell. His wife was buried -under a pile of bricks. Her husband with difficulty extricated her, and -carried her unconscious to the house of a neighbor. Save for the shock, -she was not seriously hurt. - -Now, were such cases the exception--had not such instances happened in a -hundred other places similarly visited--there would certainly be cause -for perplexity. But the phenomena of the Louisville storm tend only to -establish the truth of a fact long suspected: that the most - -[Illustration: LOOKING EAST FROM TENTH AND MAIN, LOUISVILLE.] - -destructive effects of a tornado are not always attributable to the -direct force of the wind. A number of interesting incidents of the -Louisville storm will serve to illustrate a now clearly established -fact. - -Mrs. Fitzpatrick and her family were in a two-story brick, 1433 -Seventeenth street. They were all in an upper room and could not get -out. The walls fell outward, while the floor still remained in its -place. They climbed down unhurt. - -James Smith (colored) lived with his wife and seven children in Congress -Alley, in the rear of Falls City Hall. Himself, his wife and three -children were crushed beneath the mass of bricks and timbers; the -remaining four children were taken out more dead than alive. Yet, the -house was not in the least moved from its place. The building was -crushed by the wall of the hall, which fell outward. Similar was the -fate of the laundry girls. The house in which they were was crushed by -the top of the wall of the Louisville Hotel, which fell outward, toward -the wind. - -The colored Odd Fellows were holding a meeting in their hall at -Thirteenth and Walnut. The two upper stories were blown entirely down. -Several large circular holes were blown through the brick walls; one of -these in the side away from the storm. Several received more or less -injury, but not one was fatally hurt. - -At 1315 Eighteenth street, was a magnificent new brick cottage. The roof -remained, but in the west wall were made “six holes, round as a dollar, -and large enough to admit a flour barrel.” It is added that the missing -bricks were nowhere to be found. - -Finally, take the experience of a grocer on West Market street: - -“I was inside of my store, and my clerk was there, too. Standing on the -pavement outside were policeman Harlow, a man named Charles Taylor, who -said he lived in Jeffersonville, a negro whose name I do not know, and -Carl Rice, an eight-year-old boy who lived with his parents in the rooms -above my store. When the wind grew high and the hail began to pelt, Mr. -Harlow attempted to open the front door of the store, which was closed, -to come inside for shelter. At that moment the tornado came in all its -fury. No one who was not in it can conceive of its terrific force. The -suction from without, as the full force came, was so great that it was -impossible to get the front door open. My clerk at work on it on the -inside and Mr. Harlow on the outside, were as powerless against the wind -as babies would have been in attempting to move a stone wall. - -“But their efforts were not of long duration. The tornado forced its way -in the rear of the upper stories of my building, and with impetuosity -unequaled forged through the apartments against the front wall. This -wall popped out and fell to the pavement below, upon those standing -there, burying them in the debris. The front is entirely gone, as you -see. Mr. Harlow and the little boy Carl Rice, were close up to the front -door, and only a small portion of the wall struck them. Taylor and the -negro were out on the pavement further, and they fared worse. Taylor’s -leg was broken at the ankle, and he was internally injured. The negro -had a hole knocked in his skull larger than a silver dollar, and was -used up generally. Mr. Harlow was bruised, but fortunately has no bones -broken, and is not dangerously hurt. The little boy’s head was pretty -badly cut and bruised, but he is not in a serious condition.” - -Now, in all of these cases is noticeable the same peculiar feature of -walls falling outward, sometimes even against the wind: or of holes -being burst in walls, the bricks being - -[Illustration: CORNER JEFFERSON AND TWELFTH STREETS, LOUISVILLE.] - -thrown so far that they could not be found, or distinguished from those -of other houses. This might seem inexplicable--that the windward walls -often fall outward. But it must be remembered that all storms with a -wind system blowing spirally upward and inward are characterized by low -barometer, signifying a diminution in atmospheric pressure at the storm -center; and the lower the barometer, the more violent the storm. Now, it -is clear that if a storm advance slowly, and be widely diffused, the air -in the regions through which it moves has time to accommodate itself -gradually to the change, and expanding slowly to equalize the pressure -in all directions, its rarefaction is not perceptible to the ordinary -observer: and the denser air within a dwelling expands so gradually that -all the surplus can escape through chinks and crevices, if the doors and -windows be closed. - -But the narrow-path tornado comes so rapidly as to produce little -atmospheric change beforehand; while directly at its center the -barometer may stand as much as two inches lower than in the surrounding -region. Now, a fall of two inches means, in round numbers, a lessening -of pressure of one pound to every square inch, or one hundred and -forty-four pounds to the square foot. As the air normally presses -equally in all directions, the passage of a storm of this sort may mean -a sudden change from fifteen pounds pressure to the inch on each side of -a wall, to fifteen pounds on the inside and fourteen only on the -outside. When such a sudden change is brought to bear on every square -inch of the interior of a house, it necessarily amounts to an explosion. - -Suppose that in the case of the door which the men were unable to open, -that the pressure had been as great as one pound to the inch. Then an -ordinary seven-by-three door would be held in place by a force of a ton -and a half. This same power has been observed to burst the -weather-boarding from frame houses, leaving the frame and inner surfaces -intact. - -The reader will wonder why, in such cases, the windows do not burst out, -leaving the walls unhurt. This often occurs. But very great pressure -would evidently act just as does powder in a blast: the rock is rent ere -the tamping is torn out, though the latter has far less resistive power; -while very violent explosives do not even need any tamping in order to -utilize their force. - -It would seem, then, that a house with open doors and windows has a -better chance of weathering a tornado, whether in respect to direct -impact of wind, or to the expansive force of air within, than a house -which is shut up. Here, again, quite a number of instances can be -adduced of houses caught suddenly thus by tornadoes and escaping unhurt, -while houses upon either side were demolished. - -But that the direct force of the wind on the Louisville occasion was -very great is abundantly evidenced. Numerous are the apparently curious -freaks that were noticed. A city paper, four days after the storm, -contained the following: - -“There are hundreds of the most interesting and miraculous incidents -connected with the tornado, showing the queerest sort of freaks of the -wind. A block of iron casting, weighing over one hundred and fifty -pounds, was blown into the second story of the Chesapeake, Ohio and -Southern Railway building, near the Union Depot. Nobody knows where it -came from, and the nearest building from which it could have come is -nearly one hundred yards away. Great sheets of tin roofing were dropped -upon Dr. Barry’s farm near Turner’s Station, forty miles from the city, -on the Short Line. In the ruins of a house on West Main street a clock -was found clinging to the wall. It was a large - -[Illustration: ON NINTH STREET, LOUISVILLE.] - -office clock, but no one in the vicinity had ever seen it before, and no -one knows where it came from. It was badly broken, but the hands still -pointed to 8:20 P.M. A large slab of marble was found in a residence on -West Madison street which was never there before. It will weigh over one -hundred pounds. At Baird’s drug store on Market above Ninth, two bird -cages with the birds were blown in through the skylight. The cages were -not injured, and the birds are as full of song as ever. When the -building occupied by Brand & Bethel, the tobacco men of Green street, -went to pieces, a portion of the frame-work dropped through the roof of -a little cottage just east of the factory. It consisted of a heavy -timber, to which were mortised four upright pieces of timber. When this -came through the cottage the family were sitting around the table in the -dining-room, and the four uprights simply pinned them in but did not -hurt them in the least. It was one of the most wonderful escapes yet -heard of.” - -To the unexperienced reader some of these items seem almost apocryphal. -But when it is remembered that a tallow candle may be shot through a -deal board, or that an ox may be killed by a putty-ball fired from a -gun, or that a revolver loaded with water instead of ball is a deadly -weapon, it will not seem preposterous that a cage may be hurled through -a skylight without seriously discommoding the birds. The writer has seen -soft pine shingles driven endwise through oak boards an inch thick by a -Missouri tornado. Other similar cases might be given. - -The carrying of objects to a distance depends as much on the upward -current as the horizontal motion. One of the simplest illustrations of -the inevitable spiral course that an upward or downward current pursues -may be seen in the ordinary wash-bowl with hole in the bottom. As soon -as the plug is drawn and the water commences to - -[Illustration: RUINED TOBACCO WAREHOUSES.] - -pour out, it begins to assume a spiral course; and, long before the -water is out, there is a circular hole in the fluid, reaching to the -bottom of the basin. This last illustrates also that the air is rarest -at the center of the storm. Pouring liquids through a funnel will show -the same spiral tendency. So an object borne away by a tornado rises in -curves much like those of a hawk or eagle in flying. - -Other peculiar feats of the wind were noticed. Some persons caught by -the storm, had no especial trouble in keeping on their feet; while -others were knocked about severely. One man was killed by having his -throat cut by a piece of flying glass. A frame house, standing near the -corner of Eighteenth and Maple, was shot full of holes by flying bricks -from another house a hundred yards away. A lady standing in the doorway -was picked up by the wind and hurled against a telegraph pole at a -distance of sixty feet. Another lady and her nephew, at the first shock -rushed into the street. They were caught up by the wind and hurled some -distance against a fence. They were found unconscious and both badly -hurt. - -A frame house on Sixteenth street looked as if it had suffered -bombardment. Holes were cut in the weather-boarding by planks evidently -driven through the air endwise, and pieces several feet long had -penetrated and stuck hard and fast. - -The building of the Louisville City Railway at Twelfth and Jefferson -streets was scooped through the middle, while the ends were left -standing. This was, perhaps, due to the explosive force of the air -within, which burst out the weaker portions. In a building of any -considerable length, the points most easily overthrown by lateral -pressure would naturally be found in the middle portions of the longer -walls. - -At a stone-yard on Walnut, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth, the -immense iron “traveler,” with its locomotive--the whole weighing many -tons--mounted on an elevated track and used for transferring immense -blocks of stone from one side of the yard to the other, was blown into -the street and smashed to pieces, while close by, three small brick -buildings and one frame were left unharmed. Such cases show how the -larger obstacles cause the storm to somewhat overleap the smaller ones, -producing the “jumping” motion mentioned before. The narrow path of the -storm may be judged from the fact that no small portion of the good -people of Louisville were not aware of the ruinous tempest till they -read of its deeds in the morning papers. - -The total damage done to property is estimated at $2,000,000. Much the -heaviest loss was among the great tobacco warehouses. - -There has been some discussion as to whether any sort of buildings are -safe in a storm: but so long as the most violent tropical cyclones leave -many houses unhurt after a protracted gale, there is little fear that -the walls of our large buildings may not readily be made massive enough -to withstand any atmospheric storms. - -The chief damage done to business houses was along Main, Jefferson and -Walnut streets; the damage to dwellings being greatest along Broadway. -The havoc on all the crossings in the limits of the tornado was -remarkable. - -It was observed that the buildings on the north sides of the streets -parallel to the river suffered most. These more nearly faced the -advancing storm, while the open street in front of them gave the wind an -increased advantage. This will be better comprehended if the reader will -recollect that the tornado of the northern hemisphere rotates in a -direction contrary to the hands of a watch. So in the case of one -moving eastward or northeastward, the wind on the front edge is blowing -directly northward or northwestward. So the current, slightly broken in -passing through a block, regains its strength somewhat in slanting -across the next street, and assaults the next block with renewed force. - -Louisville, though the principal sufferer by the storm, was not the -first. The tornado formed some distance to the southwest of the city, -and on its devastating march toward Louisville mowed clean a wide swath -through the woods, and fell upon the beautiful suburb of Parkland. The -Mayor’s two-story brick residence parted with its roof at the first -shock. The Mayor’s wife was up-stairs in bed, ill of pneumonia. Her -husband and another man seized the bed and carried her into the yard. -Scarcely was this accomplished when the full force of the storm -prostrated the building. - -It may be noticed in this connection, that the most destructive wind is -never in the first shock, the parting gust being usually the most -damaging. Doubtless this is because the expansion of the atmosphere -within the house at the moment the center of calm passes over it weakens -the building to such an extent that the rear of the tornado, striking -the house from the opposite direction, readily overthrows it. No such -peculiarity is observable in a forest. The trees, containing no vast -quantities of air, are usually felled by the first stroke, if at all. - -The track of the storm through Parkland was one-eighth of a mile wide. -From the rate at which it spread, it is clear it could be but -short-lived. Within its path, it was more destructive in Parkland than -in Louisville. The frame school-house was lifted from its foundation, -carried a few feet away, and then torn to fragments. The Daisy Line -depot was totally demolished. The Masonic Temple parted with its upper -story. Thirteen houses in the village were completely wrecked, and -several others more or less damaged. It will be remembered that in -Louisville the upper stories suffered most: but here the storm was -fresh, and almost every building struck was razed to the ground. The -total damage was about $20,000. - -[Illustration: VIEW AT JEFFERSONVILLE.] - -Passing through Louisville and crossing the river, the cyclone struck -Jeffersonville, on the Indiana side. Here, upwards of eighty houses were -seriously damaged, and quite a number totally destroyed. Two days later, -the press gave the loss at $500,000--probably a great exaggeration, as -the particulars given did not tally at all with the general statement. -Singularly enough, not a life was lost, and only one or two persons were -materially injured. - -[Illustration: CORNER WALL AND FRONT STREETS, JEFFERSONVILLE.] - -The damage was mostly to roofs and top-stories, and the people were -doubtless indoors and below. This, however, does not account for the -deliverance of a number of persons in buildings which were completely -destroyed. Possibly some of these may be accounted for by sudden -explosions of buildings, such as has been noticed heretofore. The -fragments would be much more apt to injure persons just outside than -those within. The largely increased percentage of damage done to roofs -and upper stories only shows how rapidly the storm was weakening. It -could not go very much farther with its devastation. The old Orphans’ -Home was wrecked; one old lady injured; a pastor’s house demolished, -while two men in the upper story in some mysterious way escaped unhurt. -At the foot of Front street, a shanty occupied by a man with wife and -three children was lifted bodily and thrown into the river. The family -would have been drowned had not some car-works employes rescued them, at -the peril of their own lives. A number of guests, and some who came for -shelter, were in a house at the corner of First and Spring streets. The -shock of the tornado was followed by a hail of bricks and tumbling -walls, but no one of the entire assembly was seriously hurt. - -[Illustration: WRECK AT JEFFERSONVILLE.] - -The average American worships no god but Mammon. He may go to church and -bow his head to Jehovah, but it is Mammon who keeps his heart. Between -his devout amens he is thinking of the main chance. He can be converted -and made religious; it is a great deal harder to make him honest. He is -willing to sing the praises of the Lord, but he doesn’t like to foot the -bills. Amid the sorrow and bereavement of a stricken city, the American -was true to himself. Those who had lost house and friends, were asked to -pay ten dollars for a carriage in which to follow the corpse to the -grave. As about thirty victims of the storm were buried on Sunday, it -may be inferred that the carriages in each procession were none too -numerous. A sad sight was that of the four laundry girls, and the -chamber-maid, all being borne together to their long home. Hardly less -impressive was the burial at half-hour intervals of ten members of the -I. O. O. F., killed in Falls City Hall. It was a profitable day for -undertakers. - -Nor did the officers of the Louisville and Southern Railroad forget -their interests. They had for some time been desirous of regaining -possession of their property controlled by the Monon Route. This they -did in the confusion, dismay and darkness, immediately following the -storm. - -The writer does not wish to do any injustice to his people. Such items -present but one side of the American’s character. He is a strange -mixture of grasping greed and warm-hearted generosity. The latter is an -inborn trait; the former in-drilled. We live in a rushing age. We are no -more in a hurry about being rich than we are about a score of other -things. Haste is a national characteristic. - -Further, our people are brought up with peculiar ideas of success in -life. Everything is reduced to a basis of cold cash. A man may be -learned, talented, industrious; but all these things are counted for -naught if he is not also wealthy. So our young people are brought up to -think that money-making is the one business of life; and as a result the -business world is full of those who resort to sharp practice and -questionable methods, merely because they have been taught to -subordinate honor and equity to gain-getting. Yet, the warm sympathies -and native generosity of our people are continually coming to the front, -in a way that, in view of the other traits, is sometimes amusingly -inconsistent. Men who will haggle almost - -[Illustration: LOUISVILLE TORNADO--CORNER TENTH AND MAIN STREETS.] - -about the price of a pin, or make their living by wild or fraudulent -speculation; nay, even professional gamblers, or worse characters, are -prompt in responding to the wail of a distressed city or state. After -all, we are brethren. Yet, our good and bad qualities are so thoroughly -mingled that we must continually rob Peter to pay Paul. - -The American has another prominent trait--independence. He does not -accept aid, as such, when he feels he can do without it: nor does he -wait for demands of help, when he hears of great misfortunes that have -befallen his fellow countrymen. Leigh Hunt once asked a very ragged and -forlorn Irishman, “Why don’t you ask for alms?” “Alms, is it? Sure and -isn’t it begging I am with every bone of my body?” The average American -is generally quick to recognize a case that speaks for itself. To -Louisville, in the hour of her calamity, came tenders of help from many -quarters, and these offers would have been greatly multiplied, had not -the citizens declined the proffered assistance. They felt that the -resources of the city were equal to the necessity. They were grateful, -but self-reliant. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -OTHER TORNADOES. - - “From the dark earth impervious vapors rise, - Increase the darkness and involve the skies. - At once the rushing winds, with roaring sound, - Burst from th’ Æolian caves and rend the ground; - With equal rage their airy quarrel try, - And win by turns the kingdom of the sky. - But with a thicker night black Auster shrouds - The heavens, and drives on heaps the rolling clouds, - From whose dark womb a rattling tempest pours, - Which the cold north congeals to haily showers. - From pole to pole the thunder roars aloud, - And broken lightnings flash from every cloud. - Now smokes with showers the misty mountain ground, - And floated fields lie undistinguished ’round. - Where late was dust, now rapid torrents play-- - Rush through the mounds, and bear the dams away. - Old limbs of trees, from crackling forests torn, - Are whirled in air, and on the winds are borne.” - - -A casual glance at the papers during the last days of March would have -satisfied any one that the storm which passed over the country was -anything but insignificant. So far, we have given only the story of a -single neighborhood; while a score of others suffered more or less. A -brief account of some of these will be of interest, and will give us a -far better idea of the character of great storms and tornadoes. - -The farthest point west touched by a tornado on that memorable day was a -strip near the line between Missouri and Kansas, some fifty or sixty -miles south of Kansas City. Here, a small tornado made its appearance -about five o’clock in the afternoon, demolishing some fences and - -[Illustration: LOOKING WEST FROM TENTH AND MAIN, LOUISVILLE.] - -barns, and breaking down a few trees: but, so far as known, no one was -hurt. Meanwhile, the main storm had passed eastward much earlier in the -afternoon. - -Shortly after the storm reached St. Louis, violent cyclonic movements -were excited in southeast Missouri, upwards of a hundred miles away. At -3 P.M. the little town of Bloomsdale was struck, and five houses were -instantly prostrated. The occupants of four of them were, at the time, -in the Catholic church, and the family who occupied the fifth escaped -unhurt. Two sides of their house were blown away; while one side was -blown inward, and would have crushed them but for chairs and tables -which sustained its weight. The church suffered the loss of its steeple, -and was otherwise damaged. A stable containing seven horses was blown -away, and not one of the horses was injured. - -A cloud gathered, and a cyclone seemed to form at, or over, Charleston. -It followed the Cairo branch of the Iron Mountain Road eastward. Four -miles from Charleston it struck the flag-station known as Hough’s, -having on the way demolished one or two farm-houses, and made havoc of -the forest. The little hamlet of Hough’s was razed from the earth, not a -house being left intact. One dwelling was blown two hundred feet across -the railway track and smashed. The owner, his wife and son were killed, -and another son was badly injured. The three-year-old baby was taken up -unharmed. Another family lived near by in a log house. It was blown -away, and they were left sitting on the floor, wondering. - -Such a case as this is by no means rare. It is one of the many freaks of -the wind not easily understood. In the great cyclone of forty or fifty -miles in diameter, the wind comes in gusts or waves, and such effects -might be readily understood; but in the case of the tornado, of at most -but a few Hundred yards in diameter, its passage is too rapid for those -in its path to learn definitely whether it be uniform or not. - -Other peculiar feats were noticed at Hough’s. A girl seventeen years old -was blown one hundred and fifty yards into a pond, but was rescued in -time to save her from drowning; and it is said that a man and woman were -blown across a sixty-acre wheat field, and picked up insensible. The -further statement that the bark was peeled clean from the trees, though -seemingly most incredible of all, is very probably true; for the writer -has a vivid recollection of precisely the same phenomenon on the theater -of the Marshfield cyclone in southwest Missouri. In that instance the -bark was peeled from hundreds of hickory saplings, almost from the roots -to their topmost twigs. This effect was inconceivable from any cause -that could be thought of. It was done by missiles flying through the -air, or the trees were bent over and threshed against the ground, or -there was some unknown force prevalent in the storm, similar, perhaps, -to that which shatters the bark or body of a thunder-smitten oak. To an -observer on the ground the first two suppositions seemed to be excluded. -Is this peculiar power of the tornado to be sought, like that of Keely’s -Motor, in some occult force? - -From Hough’s Station the tornado may have bounded above the tree-tops -and descended again a few miles further on at Bird’s Point, opposite to -Cairo, Illinois. Anyhow, a tornado struck the former place at 4:35 P.M. -It was first seen above the trees, it showed a yellowish cast, and had -the usual funnel shape. About three hundred yards from the town it came -to the ground and commenced its work of destruction. Eight or ten houses -were blown to pieces, or badly damaged; a roof was carried two hundred -feet into the air; a yearling calf was thrown forty - -[Illustration: VIEW IN THE RESIDENCE DISTRICT, LOUISVILLE.] - -feet into a big ditch filled with, water, and--nobody was hurt. - -At Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi, fifty miles above Bird’s Point, -there was a tremendous hail, which broke thousands of windows, and a -gale lasting far into the night, with damage to timber, fences, and -buildings. - -Illinois suffered far worse than Missouri. The southern part of the -state fared badly; and the further south, the worse. The storm which -struck St. Louis at 3 P.M., was, a few minutes later, giving the -Illinois towns on the other side a lively experience. Edwardsville, -O’Fallon and Centerville received a heavy gale. At Coulterville, -buildings, barns, and orchards suffered severely, and several persons -were injured. Sparta was struck about 3:15 P.M. From the second story of -the public school building, observers watched the approach of the storm. -Two black clouds from opposite quarters of the heavens came together, as -by attraction, and mingled with a rotary motion. The tornado passed -within a mile of the town on the northeast, and mowed a swath through -the heavy timber. No such rain, hail and wind, mingled with fire, had -ever been seen before. Many barns were destroyed; several houses were -blown to pieces; three or four persons were seriously hurt. A traveling -man was whisked out of his buggy by the wind, carried some distance, and -sustained severe injuries; the horses were thrown down, and the buggy -was completely wrecked. - -At Grand Tower, on the Mississippi, forty miles above Cape Girardeau, -there was a terrific tornado at 4:30 P.M. It came from the west, and -swept houses, trees, trains--everything, in its course. Its track is -described as one of “extreme desolation.” Four or five persons, at -least, were killed, and as many injured. Twenty-seven dwelling-houses -were completely demolished, and a great many others unroofed, or -otherwise damaged. - -At Murphysboro, Illinois, many windows were broken by the great hail; -while there came an unverified report of fifteen or more persons killed -about Shiloh, and to the north of Campbell Hill. South of Murphysboro, -several houses were blown down; two children were killed. - -At Centralia, two and one-fourth inches of rain fell in twenty minutes, -changing later into snow. Farm buildings west of town suffered -considerable damage. - -At Carbondale, the dreaded funnel appeared, and two blocks of houses -were unroofed. - -Five miles southwest of Xenia, many out-buildings were blown down and -several houses destroyed. A school-house on the prairie was blown away, -and one of the sills carried nearly a quarter of a mile. - -In the southern part of Union county, seven miles southwest of Anna, a -tornado swept a track about half a mile wide and four miles long, over -the richest farms, destroying stock, orchards, forests and houses. One -or two persons were fatally hurt. At Mt. Pleasant, twelve miles east of -Anna, there was extensive destruction of property. - -At Braidwood, a number of houses and out-buildings were blown away; -trees were torn up, several persons severely injured, and two or three -children are said to have “disappeared.” The writer remembers an -instance that occurred some years ago, when a fourteen-year-old boy was -carried five miles and dropped into a stream: but such a case does not -occur in this country once in many years. One of the freaks told of the -wind at Braidwood is, that it rolled a man in the road and whisked a -watch out of his pocket. It does not appear that any funnel-shaped cloud -was seen here. - -At Cairo, out of a fleet of shanty-boats, thirteen were destroyed, and -an old cripple was drowned. - -The storm struck Nashville (Ill.) at 4 P.M. The rain, - -[Illustration: RUINED DWELLINGS.] - -changing to furious hail, fell so fast that one could scarcely see ten -feet. The wind blew with terrific force. The Prohibition Tabernacle and -a two-story brick cooper shop went down. Beginning six miles southeast -on Little Prairie, the damage was fearful, and ranged through a sweep, -to the northeast, of twenty miles. Not less than thirty houses were -destroyed, and twice that number badly damaged. Of numerous casualties, -one or two will illustrate the force of the wind at this place: One -family of seven were sitting in their house as the storm drew near. Two -of the little girls becoming frightened, ran out, when the wind caught -them up, carried them across a field a quarter of a mile wide, and -dropped them uninjured, save from violent pelting of the hail. As the -remaining members of the family were in the act of forsaking the house, -it fell, and all were more or less hurt. - -This case would seem to indicate a lack of uniformity in the strength of -the wind; it being powerful enough at one point to carry away children, -while the house, only a few feet away at most, was still standing. One -or two other cases of persons being carried a considerable distance were -reported from Nashville. - -All such instances show the powerful upward current of the tornado; for -wind of greater horizontal velocity is often observed, which produces no -such effects. To the uplifting force must be in some degree attributed -the fact that in many cases only roofs or upper stories are damaged. -This same force is responsible for not a few showers of objects that do -not pertain to the upper air: such as the occasionally reported showers -of fish and frogs. - -A tornado swept up Bay Bottom in Pope county, accompanied by “rain and -hail in floods and volleys.” A partial report shows a school-house -dashed against a bluff a hundred feet away and reduced to kindling-wood. -A number of residences were destroyed, and several persons were killed. - -In all the cases hitherto noted, the tornado, when seen, is reported as -about one-eighth of a mile wide. The next one on the list, while -powerful, is much smaller. - -The southwest part of Olney was devastated by a cyclone at 5:35 P.M. Its -track was about a hundred yards wide and a mile long. It shattered or -destroyed the homes of, perhaps, five hundred people. Strange to relate, -only two or three persons were badly hurt. John Bourrell was voted the -wisest man. His house was blown to atoms; but he and his wife were safe -in their “cyclone cellar,” and absorbing much comfort from a $600 -cyclone policy on their building. - -But the climax of ruin for Illinois was reached at Metropolis, a town of -4,000 people, situated on the Ohio River, thirty-eight miles above -Cairo, and eleven miles below Paducah. A greenish tinge of the -approaching cloud was the only unusual portent. “Suddenly there came -from the southwest a rolling, apparently born of the union of two -clouds, which met in mid-air, and in a moment swooped down into the Ohio -river, now at flood-tide, and on lifting, there followed it a column of -water, estimated all the way from fifty to two hundred feet in height.” -This curious phenomenon swept onward, striking the river front like the -hammer of a Cyclop. In an instant, down went a large number of -buildings, including principal business houses, and the finest -residences of the city. A few persons were seriously hurt, and two or -three were killed. Of course, there were wonderful escapes. One -gentleman had a numerous array of little children; the house was swept -from over the family, and not a soul was hurt. In the country the -devastation was even more appalling. Residences, out-buildings, -churches, even grave-stones were wiped from the face of the earth. - -A relief committee was organized. In their dispatch of two days later, -addressed to the St. Louis _Republic_ newspaper, and praying for help, -they say: “Hundreds of homes, the result of a life of labor, have been -swept away in less time than it takes to record it. All kinds of -property have been destroyed. The damage is estimated at over $200,000.” - -[Illustration: PATH OF TORNADO--OLNEY, ILL.] - -Such is a partial list of the more important casualties of the great -storm. Space is lacking to give detail to all the minor visitations and -incidents. Such storms only attract the attention of the public when -some thickly-settled region is visited. Numerous hamlets and small towns -might be named, of which nothing but the bare fact that a tornado passed -through is recorded. The rural districts are, of course, far more -frequently swept; but the narrowness and short path of the tornado -preclude its doing much damage among them. - -Now, we have noticed a dozen different localities, all experiencing much -the same sort of storms. The unthinking person might deem all this -devastation the work of a single storm. Such is the case: but a -distinction must be made between the storm itself, and the tornadoes -produced by it. That there were various tornadoes entirely distinct, or -independent of each other, the reader may clearly perceive, by examining -the foregoing pages. It will be noticed that in several cases the -tornado was seen to form near the spot devastated; and further may be -noted the hours at which the whirlwinds appeared. For instance, the one -which passed near Shawneetown, Missouri, came later than most of those -in Illinois; yet all moved toward the northeast. A brief review of the -main storm will be of interest, and show how the various tornadoes were -produced. - -It has already been stated that the storm originated somewhere about the -southwest corner of Wyoming. Here, as early as Wednesday morning, the -Signal Service observed an area of very low barometer. It moved rapidly -eastward, with a trend toward the south, passing in the vicinity of -Denver, Kansas City, and St. Louis, thence northeast through the central -part of Indiana to Lake Erie. The central path of the storm was a -violent and progressive movement of the air, doing in its passage -trifling damage in some localities. The cyclonic movements which did the -principal mischief, were all to the south of the storm center, and were -local and violent motions of the air about an axis, while yet there was -a progressive movement from southwest to northeast. - -Now, these lesser whirlwinds are produced in exactly the same way as the -great cyclones of many miles in diameter, which we have already seen do -not originate on land often, because of the irregularities of surface -that hinder. But the local currents of wind, in meeting, produce the -whirling motion. Compare with the moving of a current of water. Every -river forms eddies along the bank, which move a short distance down and -toward the main current, and then break up. Consider the great area of -low barometer moving eastward, and it will be seen that the local -tornadoes, suddenly forming and moving but a few miles, are simply -eddies on its edge. It is easy to watch these produced on a small scale; -for nature’s principles are the same in small and great: when we have -mastered the atom, we have mastered the whole object. - -[Illustration: SCENE AT OLNEY, ILL.] - -Let one observe a great fire in a forest or prairie. On the outskirts of -newly burned areas, when the air has been rarefied by heat, may be seen -sudden and violent movements about a point, as though there was a spirit -in the wind. In a moment it has lifted the ashes and scorched - -[Illustration: WHIRLWIND FROM BURNT PRAIRIE.] - -stalks, and whatever light matters were in its way, and circling, -perhaps, wider and stronger for a time, has borne them onward and upward -toward the heavens, where at length its force was dissipated, and it -mingled with the surrounding air. Similar movements were excited along -the southern limits of the storm area, which we are describing; and -hence, not one cyclone, but more properly speaking, a multitude of -little cyclones--tornadoes independent of each other, but dependent on -the main current, or great eastward traveling storm center--swept -through points in Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky; all -rushing toward the line of the lowest barometrical depression, the -actual and advancing storm center. Not since the Signal Service had been -established had the barometer at St. Louis stood so low as 28.46, which, -reduced to sea-level, means 29.08. Toward this region of rarefied -air--this partial vacuum--the cyclonic movements from the south rushed -with inconceivable fury, and as the nucleus of the storm was rapidly -moving eastward, the cyclonic movements were turned from a north to a -northeast course. All these varied movements simply result from the -effort of a disturbed atmosphere to restore an equilibrium. - -The illustration of the fire used above also affords a good example of -the way rotation may result from rising air. Any one who has watched a -great fire in calm weather knows that sparks and smoke do not rise -straight up, but in spirals and whirls, the warmer centers rising -faster, just as the middle of a stream flows faster than the edge. - -But the powerful winds and the damage done were not all the work of the -marginal whirlwinds. A storm center moving so rapidly must necessarily -have carried a steady high wind. Leaving Wyoming, by Wednesday evening -the storm was in the middle of Colorado; on Wednesday night, it moved -well into Kansas; on Thursday, it crossed States of Missouri and -Illinois, and Thursday night it was passing over Indiana. - -The climax of energy was apparently not attained until the storm reached -Illinois. In Missouri, more or less damage was done to fences and -buildings, from Sedalia to St. Louis. At the former place, a roof or two -was blown off, and the teachers in one of the schools were so alarmed -that they dismissed the children. Jefferson City, sixty miles further -on, made a record of damaged roofs and shattered windows. At St. Louis, -there was a deluge of rain at three o’clock in the afternoon, lasting a -half hour; and the wind blew with fury during the evening and greater -part of the night. It drove in and smashed some plate-glass windows, -blew off an occasional roof, and from the top of the corner of St. -Patrick’s School, hurled to the sidewalk a stone weighing, probably, -four hundred pounds. - -The story of the Louisville tornado serves to well illustrate all the -peculiar features of the local whirlwinds produced by great storms. They -seldom travel more than thirty miles; usually much less. Sometimes as -large as two miles in diameter, they seldom exceed five hundred yards; -and one of but fifty yards in diameter may be powerful enough to wreck a -house. - -Often it is possible to trace the path of a tornado through the forest a -century or more after its passage; for the reason that trees once -destroyed are usually replaced by different varieties. But the tornado -usually originates in the open country, though after its formation it -may sweep through heavy timber. - -[Illustration: TORNADO FOLLOWED BY RAIN STORM.] - -So far as loss of life is concerned, the tornado is much more to be -feared than lightning. About two thousand people have been killed in -this country within ten years by these rotary storms. Yet, all over the -land, people put up rods that are expensive, and often worse than -useless, as a precaution against lightning, when a small “cyclone -cellar” could be dug that would be far more useful, and less expensive. -While intense electrical displays accompany the tornado, there is no -authentic record of lightning striking during one; and as will be seen -in another place, the amount of electricity present seems to be rather -an effect than a cause: for rapid motion of gases may be made to -produce powerful electric currents. - -While the tornado is justly feared in this country, yet, as a -destructive agent, it is far surpassed by a number of - -[Illustration: Instantaneous View of a Tornado.] - -others whose ravages are less dreaded. It would be comparatively easy to -show, we think, that more persons have been killed in one way or another -by railways in ten years past than by tornadoes. - -The one that has been so carefully examined must not be considered as -the worst our country has known. An examination of records of the past -century will show a number that were more destructive to life and -property. Doubtless, an account of some of these would interest the -reader. Place is given to a few. - -The tornado has been observed, to some extent, in this country for more -than a century: but only when our central states were well peopled did -it attract very great attention. It is not common in the eastern states, -and but one has ever been recorded west of Dodge City, Kansas. It is not -unknown in Europe, though far less common than with us, having been -noticed a few times in France. In general, it is so rare that a tornado -that passed through Monville in 1845 attracted such attention as to be -noticed in French text-books on physics. To the American, there is -nothing unusual in the conduct of this storm. - -Perhaps the earliest detail of a storm of this sort among us is that of -a double one in South Carolina, on the afternoon of May 2, 1761: - -“The tornado crossed the Ashley River and swooped down upon the shipping -at Rebellion Wharf with such fury as to threaten the destruction of the -entire fleet. From the city, it was seen coming at first rapidly toward -Wappo Creek, like a column of smoke, with a very irregular and -tumultuous movement. The quantity of vapor which composed this column, -and its prodigious velocity, produced such intense commotion that it -agitated Ashley River to its depths and left the channel bare. The ebb -and flow made the shipping float off to a great distance. When it struck -the river, it made a noise like continuous thunder; its diameter, at -that moment, was estimated at fifteen hundred feet, and its height, as -seen at Charleston, - -[Illustration: TORNADO AT MONVILLE.] - -at twenty-five degrees. It was met at White Point by another whirlwind, -which descended Cooper River, but was not equal to the first. When they -came together, the commotion in the air was much greater still; the foam -and the vapor seemed to be thrown to the height of forty degrees, while -the clouds that hurried from all directions toward that point seemed to -rush thither and whirl about at one and the same time, with incredible -velocity. The meteor then darted on the shipping in the roadstead, and -reached them in three minutes, although the distance was nearly six -miles. Out of forty-five vessels, five were sunk on the spot; the state -ship, Dolphin, and eleven others were dismasted. The damage, estimated -at more than £200,000, was done in a moment, and even the vessels that -sank were swallowed up so rapidly that the people who were below had -scarcely time to scramble up on deck. The whirlwind of Cooper River -changed the course of the one that came from Wappo Creek, which, had it -not been for that, would, proceeding in the same direction, have swept -away the city of Charleston before it like so much straw. - -“This terrible column was first perceived about noon, at more than fifty -miles southwest of the roads. It destroyed everything in its way, making -a complete avenue when it passed through the woods. The loss of the five -ships was so sudden that it is not known whether it was the weight of -the column of wind, or the mass of water driven upon them that made them -go down.” - -The tornado occasionally originates at sea and whirls up a heavy column -of water for a few feet, which, meeting the dark funnel from above, -presents the appearance of a pillar of water reaching the clouds. Not a -few ignorant people once imagined that all rain originated from the -water thus sucked up. These columns, or “water-spouts,” are generally a -few feet in diameter, and may sometimes be broken by firing a -cannon-ball through them. They are not ordinarily considered dangerous: -but there are some exceptions, and it is not improbable that many a ship -that left port, never to be heard of again, has been overwhelmed by some -gigantic water-spout. - -Of the most destructive tornadoes in the United States, Mississippi -records the two leading ones. The first came on May 7, 1840, and Natchez -was the principal sufferer, though other portions of Adams county were -swept. The day began warm and cloudy, with the wind south, veering to -east. At 2:15 P.M., the sky became a lurid yellow; the storm striking -the river six or seven miles below the city, did not reach it until 2 -P.M. The rush of the wind did not last five minutes, and the destructive -blast only a few seconds. Houses were burst outward; three hundred and -seventeen persons were killed in the city and on the river. Sheet tin -was carried twenty miles, and windows thirty miles. One hundred and nine -persons were badly injured, and property to the value of $1,260,000 -destroyed. Most of the deaths resulted from drowning; two steamers and -sixty flatboats were sunk, while the city was flooded with nine inches -of rain. Enormous hail-stones fell. A desk fastened with three locks, -was blown open by the explosive force of the expanding air within. -Another curious freak of this expansive power occurred in a tornado at -New Brunswick. A towel hanging on the wall was found apparently blown -nearly through it. The expanding air had driven the towel in a large -crevice which opened in the wall behind it; and the crevice closed as -the storm passed on, holding the towel to puzzle the neighborhood. - -The next great tornado visited Natchez, June 16, 1842, and killed five -hundred people. - -Next to these, in destruction of life, is the famous - -[Illustration: WATER-SPOUT AT SEA.] - -Marshfield tornado of April, 1880, in which one hundred and one persons -were killed, and six hundred injured. The town of Marshfield was -literally wiped off the earth. This tornado is notable for its unusually -wide path, and the large area traversed. Four counties were swept; and -though the country was sparsely settled and comparatively little -improved, yet the damage to property was estimated at more than -$1,000,000. Gen. Greely, of the Signal Service, pronounces it one of the -most remarkable in the history of the United States. It formed at the -junction of two streams, a few miles southwest of Marshfield; and, like -the South Carolina tornado of 1761, owed its immense power to the union -of two lesser storms that had traveled down the valleys of the -respective streams. Such a tornado passing over a great city would equal -the earthquake in disastrous effects. Perhaps a better idea of its power -may be gathered from a comparison with the New Haven storm of 1878, -which killed but thirty-four people and destroyed $2,000,000 worth of -property--as much as the recent storm at Louisville. The remarkable -feature about every tornado--the very small destruction of life--may be -better understood when it is stated that, excluding the two Natchez -tornadoes, where the number of houses wrecked is not known, and the -Louisville storm, the twenty most destructive tornadoes in the United -States have killed six hundred and thirteen people, and destroyed over -three thousand houses. This brings us to the peculiar fact that but one -person is killed in every five houses. As the average house may be -counted as containing four persons, it appears that the chances that any -single individual in a wrecked house will not be killed, are nineteen to -one. While the mathematical calculation may be encouraging, yet few will -care to take the risk of a tornado, even though the odds be vastly in -their favor. People place little dependence in arithmetic as a life -preserver. The recent Louisville storm presents a high average, as about -fifty of the victims were taken from a single building. The lowest -average is shown by the tornado that struck Camden, New Jersey, August -3d, 1885, when five hundred houses were destroyed, and but six persons -killed: one for every eighty-three houses. In general, there seems to be -a prevalence of a one to ten rate: but a storm in a city usually vastly -increases the death rate by reason of the number of brick houses, which, -when wrecked, fall much more compactly than frame buildings. - -[Illustration: MINNESOTA TORNADO, FORMING LATERAL SPURS.] - -The greatest destruction of property has been in Ohio, where the -aggregate now amounts to about $9,000,000. Next is Minnesota with -$7,000,000, and Missouri and Mississippi with about $4,000,000 each. -Missouri is first in respect to loss of life, and Mississippi next. The -months most liable to tornadoes are May, April, June, and July, in -order; and the time of day the hottest; that is, from 3 to 5 P.M. - -These data suffice to show the peculiar acts of the tornado in our land. -There is one case of a great storm attended by tornadoes on its -southeast border, that is even more noteworthy than the great one so -minutely detailed in the preceding pages. A storm center passing over a -wider region, on February 9, 1884, produced, after ten o’clock that day, -over sixty tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, -Kentucky and Tennessee, and North Carolina. Over ten thousand buildings -were destroyed, eight hundred people killed, and twenty-five hundred -wounded. The damage done by any single one was small, while the -aggregate was fearful. - -The tornado is occasionally seen in Europe: but in the few instances -recorded, it has been much smaller, and moved much slower than the same -sort of storm in America, though quite as powerful within the territory -traversed. One that was very formidable, was observed near Boulogne, in -1822. It moved about irregularly for an hour, tearing holes in the -ground, snapping off trees, and twisting down houses; yet, it was not -twenty-five feet in diameter. Another one in 1872, swept through a -little town in Italy, and was so powerful as to twist iron balcony -railings together like so many skeins of thread. Several persons were -killed. - -In some portions of the Sahara and of Arabia, very numerous small -whirlwinds accompany desert storms, whirling up the fine sand in dense -columns, presenting the appearance of clouds in a region where clouds -are unknown. So many writhing columns, swaying like dancing serpents, -present a peculiarly terrifying aspect to the superstitious Arab, who -has only too good reason to fear them. Strange tales of their -destructiveness are rife. It is said that the army of Cambyses was -overwhelmed by one of these desert storms. This story must, however, be -taken “with a grain of salt.” But there is no doubt that a sand storm is -quite as dangerous as a Dakota blizzard. - -[Illustration: SAND SPOUTS IN THE DESERT.] - -In tropical regions the tornado or “land-spout,” as many Europeans call -it, gives place to the great cyclone. Still, it appears occasionally. -One which swept the suburbs of Calcutta, in 1838, was but a few yards in -diameter; but in its march of sixteen miles, it killed two hundred and -fifteen persons, wounded two hundred and thirty-three, and destroyed one -thousand two hundred and forty-five houses: thus displaying quite as -great power as any tornado observed in our own land. The speed of -rotation was so great that a bamboo cane was driven through a mud wall -five feet thick, faced on both sides with brick; as great penetrative -power as is usually given to a six-pound cannon-ball. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -TROPICAL CYCLONES. - - “The Storm is on his way! - With a lightning sword and a thunder shout, - And his robe on the night-wind floating out, - The Storm is on his way! - - The Storm is on his way! - He smites, and the death-swept valleys groan, - The ocean writhes, and the forests moan,-- - The Storm is on his way!” - - -The preceding pages show only the destructive power of the small -tornadoes of our land. We are fortunate in that the great cyclone is, -comparatively, a rare visitor among us. A moment’s consideration of this -ravager, as he appears in the tropics, will show how trifling are the -storms that have swept over our own land. A few examples will convince -the most skeptical. - -Of the great cyclones which have traversed our country in recent times, -we may mention the hurricane of October 21-24, 1878. Gen. Greeley says: -“It first damaged buildings and sank vessels at Havana. It entered the -United States near Wilmington, N. C., and moving due north, passed over -Washington and eastern Pennsylvania, after which it curved eastward, and -crossing New England, left the coast near Portland, Maine. In -Philadelphia, over seven hundred substantial buildings were totally -destroyed, or seriously damaged, bridges injured, twenty-two vessels -sunk, several persons injured, and eight killed, entailing a loss -variously estimated from one to two millions of dollars. Other loss of -life and great damage by freshets and winds occurred elsewhere in -Pennsylvania. A large number of steamers, ships and coasting vessels -were dismantled, wrecked or sunk along the New Jersey, Virginia and -North Carolina coasts, entailing loss of life and enormous pecuniary -damage. The wind reached seventy-two miles per hour at Philadelphia, and -eighty-eight along the coast.” Another cyclone the next year ruined one -hundred large vessels and two hundred yachts and smacks. Another, in -1881, destroyed four hundred persons along the Carolina coasts, and -damaged property to the extent of $1,600,000. - -But these are exceeded by the great Nova Scotia cyclone of 1873. The -property damage alone is estimated at nearly $5,000,000. The Signal -Service report says that “one thousand and thirty-two ships, of which -four hundred and thirty-five were small fishing schooners, are known to -have been destroyed during the 24th and 25th of August, in the -neighborhood of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic shores of Nova -Scotia, Cape Breton and New Foundland. On the other hand, over one -hundred and ninety vessels were destroyed by this hurricane in its -passage over the ocean before it reached Nova Scotia, making a grand -total of at least one thousand two hundred and twenty-three vessels -destroyed within a few days by its power. Two hundred and twenty-three -lives are definitely reported to be lost, and the moderate estimate of -the numerous cases in which whole crews have been lost swells this -number to nearly five hundred; and if to this is added the loss of life -on land, and the loss in the earlier history of the cyclone, the grand -total amounts to at least six hundred lives.” - -Had the famed Shah Jehan ever visited the West Indies, it is probable -that he might have pronounced many of its lovely islets fit rivals for -that beautiful creation of his fancy, which bore above the gateway: - - “If there be Paradise upon the earth, - This it is, this it is, this it is.” - -Among the loveliest groups are the beautiful Virgin Isles, and loveliest -of these is the famed island of St. Thomas. A lofty mountain girdles the -island, leaving an opening between two hills into a wide oval harbor, -while the pretty little town lies around the inner side of the port, -sloping up the mountain behind, the queen of a vast natural -amphitheater. Such a fine harbor has rendered St. Thomas almost the -mistress of West Indian commerce; and one would not suspect, in looking -at the sunny slopes and green-clad ranges around the azure harbor, that -in this region is the birthplace of the Storm King. Yet, not a spot on -earth has been more frequently visited by great cyclones. - -One of the most notable of its visitations during this century occurred -August 2, 1837. The barometer fell rapidly during the forenoon, and by -noon the storm began. In a short time it increased to a tremendous gale. -At about three o’clock, the wind suddenly ceased. In a few moments it -blew from the other direction, roaring and rolling black clouds before -it, raising up immense sea-waves, covering the island with intense -gloom. Six hours it blew, ever increasing. Tiles and slates whizzed -through the air, to be shattered on the rocks or driven into timbers: -great trees were whirled about, often dashing away houses that seemed -about to weather the storm, while the terrible roar of the wind was such -that even the crash of the thunder could hardly be distinguished. One -authority tells us that the great guns at the fort were blown through -the air and tossed about the beach like chaff! This must be taken with -allowance. It is more probable that the great guns on the beach were -washed up from the wrecks of some old pirate vessels or ships of war. - -About 10 P.M. there was a slight cessation of the storm, and the people -were congratulating themselves that the worst was over, when there came -a violent earthquake, which laid in ruins almost everything that was -left. The wreck took fire in two or three places: at once the hurricane -began with renewed vigor: and ere the wretched people had fully -comprehended the magnitude of the calamity, the whole ruined town was a -sea of flame. Buffeted by the wind, blinded by the smoke and the pelting -spray whirled up from the raging sea, the people ran for the slopes of -the hills: the light of the funeral pyre of their hopes and labors -rendering the gloom more horrible, and seeming to rival the gleams of -Tartarus. - -Day broke at last. The storm was gone. The earthquake staggered the -miserable folk no longer. The warm and brilliant sun of the West Indies -smiled upon the scene. “The whole country round was strewn with large -trees, uprooted or snapped off, and all plantations were destroyed. In -the town the fire was dying out, and it was only here and there that the -ruins were still smoking. The hurricane had swept away nearly all the -wooden houses; those which had been lightly placed upon beams, just -above the soil, being carried off as they stood, while the larger ones, -which had resisted the hurricane, were overturned in an instant by the -earthquake. The whole town was strewn with wrecks that told of the -violence of the catastrophe. The port, so gay and animated the day -before, was dreary and deserted, a few masts here and there emerging -from the water: while all along the shore, and even upon the slope of -the hills, were scattered wreckage and corpses of sailors.” - -While we have noticed only the destruction wrought at - -[Illustration: CYCLONE, FIRE AND EARTHQUAKE AT ST. THOMAS.] - -St. Thomas, this storm was general throughout the Antilles. In the -Bahamas, it was less violent, they lying on the outskirts of the storm. -Millions of dollars worth of property--merchandise, vegetation, houses, -and vessels--were destroyed, and thousands of lives lost. - -Thirty years later, St. Thomas again suffered from the combined forces -of storm and earthquake; and the damage was greater, because the -earthquake, with its sea-wave, came a few days after the storm, as the -work of restoration was well under way, and so involved a second -prostration of the resources of the people. Moreover, the town had grown -considerably in thirty years, and there was much more valuable property -to damage. Fifteen large steamers and many smaller vessels were driven -on the shore by the storm: while the sea-wave, a few days later, found -the port again filled with vessels of different nations. It overleaped -the sentinel hills at the entrance of the bay, and swept with tremendous -force upon the city, drowning with its terrible roar, the despairing cry -of the sailors; then suddenly retired with the wreck of the city to its -dark abyss. The batteries of heavy guns at the entrance of the harbor -were swept away. A few injured vessels wallowed on the waves, but most -had been swallowed up and left no trace behind. - -While there is always deep sympathy for those who suffer such -calamities, yet it must remain of the type bestowed upon sufferers in -Arctic expeditions. The character of the climate is well known, and the -whole matter resolves itself into a question of the risk one is willing -to run. There is no blind chance in control of these movements. The -cyclone frequents only certain regions, and its habit and power is -understood. While we pity the sufferers, we can not assert that the -scourge is mysterious or unaccountable, any more than we find mystery in -the fact of eternal snow in the Polar world. - -[Illustration: “DROWNING, WITH ITS TERRIBLE ROAR, THE DESPAIRING CRY OF -THE SAILORS.”] - -But there have been storms in the West Indies far more destructive than -either of these, or both together. One of the most noted of the century -is the famous Barbadoes storm of 1831, which an eye-witness thus -describes: - -“On the morning of the 10th of August, the sun arose without a cloud; at -10 A.M. a breeze that had been blowing, died away; towards 2 P.M. the -heat became oppressive; at 5 P.M. thick clouds appeared in the north, -rain fell, and was succeeded by a sudden stillness and a dismal -blackness all around except towards the zenith, where there was an -obscure circle of imperfect light. Till 10:30 P.M., however, there was -no sign of change; then lightning appeared in the north, and very -unusual fluctuations of the thermometer were observed. All this time the -storm was only approaching. - -“After midnight the continued flashing of the lightning was awfully -grand, and a gale blew fiercely from the north and northeast, but at 1 -A.M., on the 11th of August, the tempestuous rage of the wind increased -as the storm suddenly shifted and burst from the northwest and immediate -points. The upper regions were illuminated by incessant lightning, but -the quivering sheet of blaze was surpassed in brilliancy by the darts of -electric fire which exploded in every direction. At a little after 2 -A.M. the astounding roar of the hurricane can not be described by -language. - -“About three o’clock the wind abated and the lightning ceased for a few -moments at a time, when the blackness in which the town was enveloped -was inexpressibly awful. Fiery meteors were presently seen falling from -the heavens; one in particular of a globular form and a deep-red hue, -was observed by the writer to descend perpendicularly from a vast -height. On approaching the earth it assumed a dazzling whiteness and an -elongated form, and on reaching the ground splashed around in the same -manner as melted metal would have done, and was instantly extinct.” (It -is evident that the coincidence on this occasion with the day on which -the earth is known to pass through the August belt of meteors, rendered -the effect of this great storm at Barbadoes more striking. It is not -safe to assert that there was any relation between the phenomena.) “A -few minutes after, the deafening noise of the wind sank to a solemn -murmur, or rather a distant roar; and the lightning which from midnight -had flashed and darted forkedly with but few momentary intermissions, -now for nearly half a minute played frightfully between the clouds and -the earth with novel and surprising action. The vast body of vapor -appeared to touch the houses, and issued downward flaming blazes, which -were nimbly returned from the earth upward. - -“The moment after this singular alteration of lightning the hurricane -again burst forth from the western points with violence prodigious -beyond description, hurling before it thousands of missiles, the -fragments of every unsheltered structure of human art. The strongest -houses were caused to vibrate from their foundations, and the surface of -the very earth trembled as the destroyer raged over it. No thunder was -at any time distinctly heard. The horrible roar and yelling of the wind; -the noise of the ocean, whose frightful waves threatened the town with -the destruction of all that the other elements might spare; the -clattering of tiles, the falling of floors, and walls, and the -combination of a thousand other sounds, formed a hideous and appalling -din. - -“About 5 A.M. the storm abated; at six o’clock the wind was at south, at -seven o’clock, southeast, at eight o’clock, east-southeast; and at nine -o’clock, the weather was clear. - -“The view from the summit of the cathedral tower, a few hours later, was -frightfully grand. The whole face of the country was laid waste; no -sign of vegetation was apparent, except here and there small patches of -sickly green. The surface of the ground appeared as if fire had run -through the land, scorching and burning up the productions of the earth. -The few remaining trees, stripped of their boughs and foliage, wore a -cold and wintry aspect; and the numerous seats in the environs of -Bridgetown, formerly concealed among thick groves, were now exposed and -in ruins.” - -One peculiarity noticeable, was that in some places trees, timbers, and -many other objects, presented a scorched appearance, as though subjected -to intense heat. The reason of this is not clear, as unusual heat was -not perceptible after the beginning of the storm by any one. It may be -that this was produced by unusual quantities of electricity escaping -through imperfect conductors, for we learn, from other phenomena, that -during this storm there was an unusual state of electrical tension in -the atmosphere. Sparks occasionally leaped from the heads of persons out -of doors. Vast numbers of trees that were not blown down, speedily died: -and it has been suggested that an excess of electricity killed them. - -The total loss in this storm is not definitely known. Some further idea -of its fearful violence may be gathered from the fact that at the north -end of Barbadoes, the waves broke over a cliff seventy feet high, and -the saltwater spray was carried inland in such quantities as to kill all -the fresh-water fish in ponds far in the interior. As for the tremendous -roar of the wind, the commanding officer of the thirty-sixth regiment -sought protection by getting under the arch of a lower window outside -his house. He did not hear the roof and upper story of the house fall, -and only found it out by the dust caused by the fall. - -Far more destructive was the great hurricane of 1780. - -[Illustration: HURRICANE IN THE TROPICS.] - -The French and English were at war. Admiral George Rodney was in the -West Indies with an English fleet in several divisions. The French had -sent a convoy of five thousand troops to Martinique. The storm was of -immense width, extending from Trinidad, on the extreme southwest, to -Antigua. The evening of October 9th was red and lowering. By ten o’clock -next morning, the wind was high, and by one o’clock, vessels in the -harbors were dragging their anchors. The water was driven on shore with -such force at Barbadoes, that it was four feet deep in the Government -House. The family took refuge under the cannon, only to find that they -were moved about by the wind. By morning not a building in town was -standing; every tree was either blown away, or stripped of branches and -leaves. - -The sunny islands were suddenly become as bleak and bare as a Siberian -steppe. - -As to the loss, ten thousand perished at Martinique; six thousand at -Santa Lucia; four thousand five hundred at St. Eustatia; three thousand -five hundred at Barbadoes. Scores of smaller islands were devastated, -but the loss in detail is not known. Of the British fleet, the greater -part was destroyed; only one vessel out of nineteen at St. Eustatia -survived. A score of other ships of war and numerous transports were -sunk. Of the French convoy, with five thousand troops, the governor -wrote laconically that it “had disappeared.” Several English vessels at -Barbadoes were carried far in shore and converted into dwellings. -Doubtless, fifty thousand would hardly be too great an estimate of the -total loss of life in this storm. In a similar one in 1813, the -hurricane drove back the Gulf Stream, piling up the water thirty feet -deep in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship _Ledbury Snow_, endeavored to ride -out the storm, and when it was over, found herself high and dry. She had -let go her anchor among the tree-tops of Elliot’s Key. The Barbadoes -region suffered another severe gale in 1782, when the prizes captured by -Admiral Rodney were sunk, a number of merchant vessels and two English -war-ships foundered, and three thousand lives were lost at sea alone. - -The temperate zone has its occasional hurricanes, though they are by no -means as powerful or as frequent as those of the tropics. It is stated -that in the year 944, one thousand five hundred houses were destroyed by -a tempest in London. In the year 1090, it is recorded that a violent -storm overturned six hundred and six houses in London alone. - -Terrible as is the destruction of the cyclone in the western world, its -fury here can not give a fair idea of the awful havoc it makes in -Oriental regions. All through the Malay archipelago, along the coasts of -China, Japan, the Phillipines, Hindostan, and Farther India, the ravages -of the Storm King have been appalling, far exceeding even the terrible -hurricanes of the West Indies. - -Hindostan affords peculiar facilities for destructiveness of cyclones. -Both its great rivers flow, for the latter part of their course, through -low alluvial plains, and their deltas extend into the ocean directly -toward the region of monsoons; so that a hurricane may send a great -tidal wave up the river: while the low rich plains for miles around are -but few feet above tide-water, and teem with a population attracted by -the amazing fertility. So a sudden great storm may totally submerge, -without any warning, hundreds of square miles of these fertile tracts, -with all their inhabitants. Even when the sea-wave is not added to the -horrors of the storm, the losses are fearful. A cyclone at Calcutta in -1867, destroyed thirty thousand houses, wrecked or sunk six hundred -ships and smaller vessels in the river, and killed ten thousand persons -in the city alone. When to this is added the havoc committed by the -storm--one hundred miles wide--in the rural districts, as it traveled on -toward the foot-hills, it is clear that every reader may be devoutly -thankful that such terrible visitants are altogether unknown in our -land. - -Terrible as this storm was, there was a greater one on the 5th of -October, 1864. About one hundred ships were lost; and over sixty -thousand persons perished; forty-three thousand in Calcutta alone. It -was accompanied by a “bore” on the Hooghly, the water rising thirty -feet, which is ten feet higher than the highest spring tides; whole -towns were nearly destroyed. It indicated its approach for several days, -and Capt. Watson, of the _Clarence_, seeing the barometer falling, knew -a cyclone was approaching, and saved his ship by steering out of its -range. - -Compare this with the storms of our own land, that thrill the country -with horror if but one hundred people are killed, and remember that the -cyclone of India destroyed six hundred lives where one was destroyed in -this region. Compare with the most terrible storms recorded in the West -Indies, and the latter must yield. - -Coringa, on the Coromandel coast, has been several times desolated by -these terrible storm waves. In December, 1789, three immense rollers -came ashore during a single storm; the town was destroyed; the -neighboring country inundated. Ships were torn from their anchorage and -thrown high on the land: twenty thousand people were lost; and the heaps -of sand and mud rendered search for bodies and property useless. - -In May, 1833, the region at the mouth of the Hooghly was inundated by a -cyclone. Three hundred villages and fifty thousand people were -destroyed. In June, 1822, Burisal and Backergunge, at the mouth of the -Ganges, were overwhelmed, and fifty thousand persons drowned. - -But Hindostan has far greater horrors to report. A terrible flood in -1887 was driven by the cyclone over the Ganges delta. The victims -numbered many thousands: exact figures not at hand. But in 1876, a -cyclone swept the Backergunge district, and rolled in a storm wave over -the eastern edge of the fertile delta, covering it with from ten to -fifty feet of water. When the storm had subsided, it was found that more -than one hundred thousand people had perished! - -Finally, a great cyclone in 1737, October 11-12, swept the Ganges delta -with a wave thirty feet deep on the land. Three hundred thousand people -perished in this storm! The mind can not grasp the appalling magnitude -of such a disaster. - -These cases are the most destructive cyclones on record, and in each -case the destruction is due largely to the character of the region -traversed, though the winds of Bengal are not surpassed in violence by -those of any country in the world. Were the harbor an open seaport, -instead of a large river, no ship could live through such a storm. - -Other regions in the east suffer much from tempests. The whole Malay -archipelago, with the Moluccas and Philippines, are visited quite as -frequently as the coasts of Hindostan. A cyclone that swept the -Philippine Islands, November 6, 1885, destroyed ten thousand people, and -millions of dollars worth of property. - -The same character of storms is frequently met with in the Japan and -China seas, where it is known as the “typhoon,” our Anglicised spelling -of the Chinese title, “tei-fun.” With one example of the power of this -storm, this chapter must close. In the narrative of Commander Hall, of -the British Navy, is found this description of a typhoon that occurred -at Hong Kong, July 21-22, 1841: - -“For days previously large black clouds appeared to - -[Illustration: COAST OF INDIA SUBMERGED BY A STORM.] - -settle on the hills on either side; the atmosphere was extremely sultry -and oppressive, and the most vivid lightning shot incessantly along the -dense threatening clouds, and looked more brilliant, because the -phenomena were most remarkable at night; while during the day, the -threatening appearances were moderated considerably, and sometimes -almost entirely disappeared. The vibrations of the mercury in the -barometer were constant and rapid, and though it occasionally rose, -still the improvement was only temporary; a storm was therefore -confidently predicted. Between seven and eight o’clock in the morning, -the wind was blowing very hard from the northward, or directly upon the -shores of Hong Kong, and continued to increase in heavy squalls hour -after hour. Ships were beginning to drive, and the work of destruction -had commenced on every side; the Chinese junks and boats were blown -about in all directions, and one of them was seen to founder with all -hands on board. The fine basin of Hong Kong was gradually covered with -scattered wrecks of the war of elements; planks, spars, broken boats, -and human beings clinging hopelessly for succor to every treacherous -log, were tossed about on every side; the wind howled and tore -everything away before it, literally sweeping the face of the waters. -From half-past ten to half-past two the hurricane was at its highest, -the barometer at this time having descended to 28.50. The air was filled -with spray and salt, so that it was impossible to see anything that was -not close at hand; the wind roared and howled fearfully, so that it was -impossible to hear a word that was said. Ships were now drifting foul of -each other in all directions, masts were being cut away, and from the -strength of the wind forcing the sea high upon the shore, several ships -were driven high and dry. The Chinese were all distracted, imploring -their gods in vain for help; such an awful scene of destruction and -ruin is rarely witnessed, and almost every one was so busy in thinking -of his own safety, as to be unable to render assistance to any one else. -Hundreds of Chinese were drowned, and occasionally a whole family, -children and all, floated past the ships, clinging in apparent apathy -(perhaps under the influence of opium) to the last remnants of their -shattered boats, which soon tumbled to pieces and left them to their -fate. On the 26th another typhoon occurred, but not so severe as the -first.” - -The storm at sea presents a class of peculiar dangers and a variety of -thrilling experiences, such as the landsman never knows. The stories of -great shipwrecks and other purely naval disasters form some of the most -interesting narratives in history: and doubtless the reader will be -pleased to notice in detail the perils of the deep, and to learn of the -precautions taken and the means in common use for averting, as far as -possible, the disastrous results of the tempest. Certainly, the brave -tars who peril their lives on the ocean to bring us the luxuries of a -foreign land deserve especial attention, and no apology need be given -for devoting a portion of this volume to the story of their perils and -daring. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -PERILS OF THE SEA. - - “Daughter, the night was made for sleep; - Why dost thou moan, why dost thou weep? - Wherefore thy mournful vigil keep? - Daughter, daughter, my daughter!” - - “Mother, to me the night wind cries. - Cold on the sands thy lover lies, - With none to close his glazed eyes; - Nello, Nello, my Nello!” - - -The Storm at Sea! From the days of David to the present, the poet and -the novelist have taxed their energies to portray the perils of those -who go down into the deep in ships. The ravages of the hurricane on -shore are confined largely to those portions of the world unknown to the -ancients; but the treacherous deep has been sung in every age. We may -hardly choose which of the myriad wrecks to describe. St. Paul’s -perilous voyage to Rome is familiar wherever the gospel is preached; -Jonah has furnished a comparison for the unlucky for centuries; Virgil -has sung of the perils of exiled Æneas in his search for a foreign home. - -The sea has dangers peculiarly its own, and likewise charms possessed by -nothing else in nature. Every one may have heard of the little earnest -woman who at her first sight of the ocean sighed: “Ah--at last here is -something there is enough of!” The sailor knows the ocean’s every mood, -and may sing with Barry Cornwall: - -[Illustration: - - “HE SINKS INTO THY DEPTHS, WITH BUBBLING GROAN, - WITHOUT A GRAVE, UNKNELLED, UNCOFFINED, AND UNKNOWN.” -] - - “I love, oh, how I love to ride, - On the fierce, foaming, bursting - When every mad wave drowns the moon, - Or whistles aloft his tempest tune, - And tells how goeth the world below, - And why the sou’west blasts do blow!” - -Or if his mind be better adapted for homelier ditties, he may hum: - - “The wind it blew a hurricane, the sea was mountains rollin’, - When Barney Buntlin’ turned his quid, and said to Billy Bowlin’: - ‘A strong sou’wester’s blowin’, Billy; don’t you hear it roar now? - How I pity all unhappy folks as lives upon the shore now!’” - -Or if becalmed, and forced for days to lie beneath a scorching tropical -sun, - - “As idly as a painted ship - Upon a painted ocean,” - -the inevitable dreariness of the wide waste of scarcely heaving water -will oppress the mind till the sailor may murmur: - - “So lonely ’twas that God himself - Scarce seemed there to be.” - -It is beyond dispute that the sea has been one of the most important -factors in civilizations ancient and modern. Greece was no longer -supreme in power when her naval supremacy was gone; Rome was not -mistress of the world till she became mistress of the Mediterranean. Not -a single great system of civilization has originated in districts far -inland. The great centers--Greece, Rome, Asia Minor, Egypt, Spain, -England--all that have wielded unusual power--are sea-coasts, peninsulas -or islands. The Jew became prominent as a trader from the day Jewish -vessels sailed from Tarshish. To some extent, these facts must be -considered as results of position only, however powerful the tendencies -or traits of any particular stock. - -It is not merely as a highway for commerce and ready intercommunication -that the seas have enriched mankind. The submarine world presents views -as strange and weirdly beautiful as the ancient myths of nymphs and -naiads. - - “Deep in the wave lies a coral grove, - Where the purple mullet and goldfish rove; - Where the seaflower spreads its leaves of blue, - That never were wet with falling dew; - But in bright and changeful beauty, shine - Far down in the green and glassy brine.” - -And thousands of the human race depend entirely upon the products of the -sea for a livelihood. The fish taken as food would be an enormous item -in any year: but the billows that surge over the deep conceal far more -treasure than these. - - “Full many a gem of purest ray serene, - The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear.” - -All our pearls, nearly all our amber, sponges, and as beautiful and -delicate as spun glass, corals of infinite number and variety--all -these, and more, we must obtain from the depths of the sea. Yet, while -eagerness for gain leads men to brave countless perils to obtain these -treasures, thousands of sad hearts will deem them dearly bought, and -recall the more precious treasures of the deep. - - “Yet more! the billows and the depths have more! - High hearts and brave are gathered to thy breast! - They hear not now the booming waters roar; - The battle thunders will not break their rest. - Keep thy red gold and gems, thou stormy grave! - Give back the true and brave! - - “Give back the lost and lovely! those for whom - The place was kept at board and hearth so long, - The prayer went up through midnight’s breathless gloom, - And the vain yearning woke ’midst festive song! - Hold fast thy buried isles, thy towers or throne-- - But all is not thine own. - - “To thee the love of woman hath gone down; - Dark flow the tides o’er manhood’s noble head, - Or youth’s bright locks, and beauty’s flowery crown; - Yet must thou hear a voice--Restore the dead! - Earth shall reclaim her precious things from thee! - Restore the dead, thou sea!” - -[Illustration: CAST ASHORE.] - -Like the atmosphere, the ocean has its great constant currents, which -play an important part in the economy of nature. These flow steadily on, -one beneath another, and are little affected by atmospheric -disturbances. The presence of submarine currents is often shown by -icebergs moving steadily onward against a surface current and moderate -wind. But there is nothing in the sea, so far as known, that corresponds -to the variable winds or local currents of the atmosphere: for as water -is so much heavier than air, its equilibrium is not so easily disturbed -by unusual heating: and moreover, it does not expand under the influence -of heat to an extent in the least approaching the expansion of the air. -Hence, its currents are steady and slow-moving, and, however much they -affect climate and winds by the heating or cooling of the air above -them, they offer no obstacle worthy of note to the sailor. The latter -must then fear only the power of the storm: and were submarine vessels -readily constructed and navigated, the storm would lose its terrors: for - - “When the wrathful spirit of storms, - Has made the top of the wave his own, - And when the ship from his fury flies, - When the myriad voices of ocean roar, - When the wind-god frowns in the murky skies, - And demons are waiting the wreck on shore, - Then far below in the peaceful sea, - The purple mullet and goldfish rove, - Where the waters murmur tranquilly, - Through the bending twigs of the coral grove.” - -It should be said, however, that the sea and storm are not responsible -for all the disasters at sea. For years the greatest losses of life and -property were due to the greed of conscienceless owners, who sent rotten -tubs to sea, fearfully overloaded and heavily insured, certain to make a -good profit whether they perished or no. As for the sailors, they were -not worth considering: there were plenty to be obtained. Human life is -the cheapest commodity in any market. By a liberal spending of this -currency men become Alexanders or Cæsars, or Sullas, or Marii: -henceforth they are “Great.” - -These abuses were especially prevalent in England, the greatest of -maritime powers; nor were they corrected till Mr. Samuel Plimsoll, in -1870, began a series of earnest efforts to have a systematic inspection -organized. He made a startling arraignment of the atrocious methods of -the land-sharks. He wrote, in 1873, “No means are neglected by -Parliament to provide for the safety of life ashore; and yet, as I said -before, you may build a ship in any way you please, you may use timber -utterly unfit, you may use it in quantity utterly inadequate, but no one -has any authority to interfere with you. - -“You may even buy an old ship two hundred and fifty tons burden by -auction for £50, sold to be broken up, because extremely old and rotten; -she had a narrow escape on her last voyage, and had suffered so severely -that she was quite unfit to go to sea again without more being spent in -repairs upon her than she would be worth when done. Instead of breaking -up this old ship, bought for 4s. per ton (the cost of a new ship being -from £10 to £14 per ton), as was expected, you may give her a coat of -paint--she is too rotten for caulking--and to the dismay of her late -owners, you may prepare to send her to sea. You may be remonstrated -with, in the strongest terms, against doing so, even to being told that -if you persist, and the men are lost, you deserve to be tried for -manslaughter. - -“You may engage men in another port, and they, having signed articles -without seeing the ship, you may send them to the port where the ship -lies in the custody of a mariner. You may then (after re-christening the -ship, which ought not to be allowed), if you have managed to insure her -heavily, load her until the main deck is within two feet of the water -amidships, and send her to sea. Nobody can prevent you. Nay, more, if -the men become riotous, you may arrest them without a magistrate’s -warrant, and take them to prison, and the magistrates, who have no -choice (they have not to make, but only to administer the law), will -commit them to prison for twelve weeks with hard labor; or better still -for you, you may send a policeman on board to overawe the mutineers, and -induce them to do their duty! And then, if the ship is lost with all -hands, you will gain a large sum of money and you will be asked no -questions, as no inquiry will ever be held over those unfortunate men, -unless (which has only happened once, I think), some member of the House -asks for inquiry. - -“The river policeman who in one case threatened a refractory crew with -imprisonment, and urged them to do their duty (!) told me afterwards -(when they were all drowned) that he and his colleagues at the -river-side station had spoken to each other about the ship being -dreadfully overloaded as she passed their station on the river, before -he went on board to urge duty (!) and that he then, when he saw me, -’rued badly that he had not locked ’em up without talk, as then they -wouldn’t have been drowned.’” - -He also found that some ship-builders put together mere floating -coffins, using “devils,” or dummy bolts, or bolt-heads without any -shaft, to present the appearance of a staunchly built vessel. The old -shell would founder in the first strong breeze. Hundreds of examples -came in his way of entire crews lost in these hulks. What such losses -meant to the poor dependent families at home we may imagine, but may not -readily portray. - -Another prolific source of disaster was the neglect to supply captains -with the proper charts. There are notable instances of great vessels so -lost. One ship and cargo, value $350,000, was lost near Boulogne, -because the captain’s chart had not the lights properly marked on it. - -The great steamer _Deutschland_, having a large number - -[Illustration: WRECK OF THE MINOTAUR.] - -of German emigrants on board, ran on an unmarked shoal near the mouth of -the Thames, December 30, 1875, and was lost. The vessel was fourteen -hours on the shoal in the winter storm, ere her signals of distress were -perceived. Fifty-seven of her passengers had been lost in the heavy sea -ere help reached her. - -Ship after ship has left her port, never to be heard of again, whose -crews might have still been in peace and comfort with their families, -had the owners had the least trace of humanity, or regard for simple -justice. A single example will illustrate. - -In a hovel, Plimsoll found a young wife, scrubbing for a living, trying -to support herself and three children. “She had a loving husband but -very lately, but the owner of the ship on which he served, the _S----n_, -was a very needy man, who insured her for £3,000 more than she had -cost him. So if she sank he would gain all this. Well, one voyage she -was loaded _under the owner’s personal superintendence_; she was loaded -so deeply that the dockmaster pointed her out to a friend as she left -the dock, and said emphatically, ‘That ship will never reach her -destination.’ She never did, for she was lost with all hands--twenty men -and boys.” - -Under the owner’s personal superintendence! Could cool calculating -villany go any further? Yet this is but one out of many scores! - -Yet, despite the apparent frequency of complaints from those who -suffered most by these practices, the abuses had grown up so gradually -that the masses of the people had come to accept them as almost a -necessary concomitant of naval matters. While holding out stoutly for -the difference of a penny more or less in wages, there was no effort at -concerted action for better treatment. Men accustomed to risking their -lives daily came to look upon the matter as of no great consequence. -Only the worst possible vessels were very seriously objected to; and -these usually had little difficulty in obtaining crews of men long out -of employment, who would accept any risk rather than remain a burden to -their friends and families, however the latter might object to the -proceeding. So thousands went to a watery grave. Official records of the -period showed that one-half the losses at sea were the result of sending -out rotten hulks. Yet, when reforms were suggested, the promoters were -frequently told that if such things did not properly regulate themselves -as a matter of political economy, there was no use striving for a -change. Cool weighing of human life against gold! - -Even in staunch ships the accommodations provided for the sailors were -of the meanest sort. Men might wade to their bunks through water, or be -packed in a filthy forecastle like herrings; they were fed on “salt -horse” and moldy biscuit; they might rot with scurvy--if the ship got to -port with her cargo, it made little difference how the crew fared. - -Our own ships and the Russian and French vessels the investigator found -far superior in treatment of the sailor: and the majority of English -owners did well by their crews; but Plimsoll’s efforts induced great -improvement. Compulsory survey and no overloading were his main remedies -for the prevention of the terrible loss of life in the mercantile -marine. He cites two cases of great firms--the first engaged in the coal -carrying, and the second in the guano trade--who do not permit -overloading, and the first, in fifteen years had not, out of a large -fleet of steamers, lost a single vessel, although they made from fifty -to seventy double trips per year. The second case deserves particular -mention. About the year 1860, the firm of Anthony Gibbs & Co., of -London, took a contract from the Peruvian Government to charter and -load ships from the Chincha Islands with guano, and as many as three or -four hundred ships left those islands annually for different parts of -the world. At first they were allowed to load and proceed to sea without -inspection or surveying, and were permitted to load as deeply as the -masters thought fit. What was the result? Accidents and losses were -reported every few days, and many of their ships foundered at sea, some -with all hands on board. When the head of the house at Lima, Peru, -introduced proper surveying before loading, to discover what repairs -were needed, etc., allowing no overloading, and not permitting the ships -to go to sea without full inspection of her pumps and gear, a sudden and -wonderful change took place, and for years after not one of these ships -foundered at sea. - -There is no sadder record than that which has been made of many a -gallant vessel, sailing with the best prospects--“Missing,” or “Never -heard of.” Occasionally the mysterious fate of some of these vessels has -been revealed by the picking up of sealed bottles containing brief -records of the disastrous end of the missing ships. But such cases are -rare in comparison with the vast majority of the disasters; for the -greatest peril to a vessel in a storm is the vicinity of a reef or -shoal. In the open sea there is comparative safety, even in a -considerable gale, for good seamen; but a shoal or rocky coast may be -fatal to the vessel striking, even though the wind be but moderate. So -nearly all disasters occur along shore; and the time is past in which it -is possible for a vessel to be lost on an unknown or uninhabited coast. -Hence, soon or late, the lot of nearly every vessel is known. -Occasionally a vessel has been abandoned as unseaworthy or unmanageable, -and has surprised those abandoning her by drifting around for months in -the path of other vessels and occasionally fouling with some of them, to -their serious injury. - -[Illustration: WRECKED ON A ROCK.] - -The polar seas present peculiar perils to the navigator. Almost every -one has heard of the ill-fated Franklin expedition, even though others -may not be familiar. The attempts to find a northwest passage have long -ceased, it being indisputable that it is useless though found. The -great expeditions of later years have been equipped purely from a -scientific standpoint. No conceivable benefit to commerce can result -therefrom. - -But the vast majority of fatalities in the polar seas have not been -among the great exploring expeditions, any more than the majority of -disasters in warmer climes are among first-class passenger steamers. The -world over, it is the coasting vessels, the fishing smacks, the second -and third-class freighters that swell the lists of losses at sea. And in -the polar seas the most numerous disasters are among the whaling and -sealing vessels, which visit the regions season after season. Many a -vessel has been crushed like an egg-shell amid the enormous masses of -ice. Often a vessel seemingly hopelessly imprisoned has been abandoned -by the crew, only to be freed by some caprice of the winds and picked up -by some other crew. And again there have been instances of vessels seen -resting in masses of ice far above the water, raised by continual -tilting and piling of ice-cakes beneath. Sometimes a vessel has floated -about thus for a considerable period. Comparatively speaking, losses of -life have been small in proportion to the dangers and property losses. -Where so many vessels are in the same region at a time, the crew of a -crushed ship can generally reach another vessel without great -difficulty. But years ago, when the whaling fleet was smaller, and steam -had not been called to the seaman’s aid, the peril of life was greater; -and many is the vessel that sailed away never to be heard of again. - -One of the best stories illustrating this class of dangers is that of -the whaleship _Rufus_. A whaling vessel in 1774 found an abandoned ship; -and on boarding her, found the crew scattered about in the postures -assumed when they first yielded to the fatal sleep. The tale, in verse -worth - -[Illustration: CASTAWAYS ON A RAFT.] - -remembering, but seldom or never seen, was told many years ago by an -unknown author. The distinctness and simplicity of the style render the -poem worth preserving, aside from the interest of the story. - - -THE SHIP RUFUS. - - Sing not, my Muse, of brightening fields - Of ether, fair displayed, - Of whispering bowers, where Zephyr yields - His fragrance to the glade - - But haste thee to the frozen throne, - The starry blue domain - Where Winter, monarch dread and lone, - Asserts his iron reign. - - Now Europe’s northern cape recedes, - And Iceland’s utmost shore; - The sailor turns his face and heeds - Those viewless forms no more. - - For mountains, distant yet, but bright, - Edging the arctic tide, - ’Neath spiry flames of dancing light, - At masthead are descried. - - For see! in glittering points, the coast - Divides; the mountain chain, - On waves afar in silence tossed, - Trembles athwart the main. - - Anon, the mariner looks forth, - And scans with cheerless brow,-- - Borne onward by the angry North, - An arctic navy now. - - “How shall the good ship Rufus speed? - How live?” the master cried;-- - “God send us help in time of need,"-- - “Amen!” the crew replied. - - Each ice-built crag and snowy cliff - Chases the foaming spray; - And, ’mid those moving Alps, the skiff - Must find her destined way. - - Her destined way?--Her destined fate! - Now drops the needful gale; - The waves become a glassy plate; - The bark forbears to sail. - - Prisoned of God; by mountains pent,-- - Fuel and food consumed;-- - Ask not of me the dire event, - Nor why they thus were doomed. - - * * * * * - - Again, borne forth by waves and wind, - Men spread a venturous sail, - ’Mid rocks of massy ice to find - The scarce less massy whale. - - The optic tube now aids the eye, - And scans the distant sea: - A distant speck they now descry; - A speck--what can it be? - - “What can it be?” inquire the men-- - “An iceberg, or a sail?” - As yet the crew inquire in vain, - And doubt must yet prevail. - - Yes, doubt prevails, and strengthens still, - Though fast the object nears. - “Sure ’tis no sail which at the will - Of winds and billows steers!” - - Fancy still limns out forms uncouth, - Yet scarce herself persuades; - But fancy now gives place to truth - More startling than her shades. - - A dreary hull, with shattered mast, - And sails of strangest guise, - And cordage fluttering in the blast, - Now meets their wondering eyes. - - The bark they hail;--in many a groan - The bellowing shrouds reply; - But bellowing shrouds respond alone;-- - No voice returns the cry. - - Strange!--for, as near with curious haste - They ply, and glance within, - Lo! at the cabin window placed, - A form is dimly seen. - - They mount the floating ruin now-- - Her deck is overlaid - Man’s height in crusted ice and snow, - Which shows no human tread. - - To find the hatch beneath the drift, - They all their efforts lend,-- - Its frozen planks at length they lift, - And fearfully descend. - - Now pause they at the cabin door;-- - Now enter, as they will;-- - Its quiet inmate, as before, - Sits unconcerned and still. - - With pen in hand, and half reclined, - Like those in thoughtful moods; - To noises deaf, to visions blind, - He cares not who intrudes. - - No!--for a filmy mold invests - His long untroubled brow;-- - His eyeballs green sought not his guests, - Nor can he turn them now. - -[Illustration: SINKING OF THE LONDON.] - - - A crumbling page before him lay, - Which told the unspoken woe;-- - “Our cabin fire went out to-day-- - Food spent five days ago;-- - - “Locked in the ice three weeks,--our crew - All dead,--all hope is o’er;-- - Ship Rufus--1762-- - One hour, and I’m no more!” - - Now horror on the souls sunk down-- - On all who viewed the scene; - Twelve arctic winters then had flown, - Since this a corpse had been! - - Twelve years on polar surges tossed, - By northern blasts conveyed-- - Destroyed--preserved, by iron frost, - Her crew were statues made. - - Perchance this fate-directed prow - Had crossed ’neath cloudless skies - The pole, which jealous Nature now - Shuts out from human eyes. - - Perchance the dreamed of Northern Way - This guileless keel had plowed, - While billows with the helm did play, - And wild winds trimmed the shroud. - - Say when, Stern Spirits of the North, - They found their watery grave? - Or do ye still in awful mirth, - Toss them from wave to wave? - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -LIFE-SAVING MEASURES. - - “‘O father, I hear the church-bells ring, - O say, what may it be?’ - ’Tis a fog-bell on a rock-bound coast,’ - And he steered for the open sea. - - ‘O father, I hear the sound of guns, - O say, what may it be?’ - ‘Some ship in distress that can not live - In such an angry sea.’ - - ‘O father, I see a gleaming light, - O say, what may it be?’ - But the father answered not a word, - For a frozen corpse was he. - - * * * * * - - At daybreak, on the bleak sea beach, - A fisherman stood aghast, - To see the form of a maiden fair, - Lashed close to a drifting mast. - - The salt sea was frozen on her breast, - The salt tears in her eyes. - And he saw her hair, like the brown seaweed, - On the billows fall and rise.” - - -One of the most destructive storms on record, and certainly the most -terrible ever known on the whole English coast is the great storm of -1703. It is the only storm which has ever been made the subject of a -Parliamentary memorial. It raged for a week over nearly the whole of -England. Scores of vessels were driven on shore and perished. At -Bristol, the in-driven sea filled the merchants’ cellars, destroying -sugar, tobacco, and other produce, to the value of hundreds of thousands -of dollars. Eighty people were drowned in the river and adjacent - -[Illustration: STORM ON THE SHOALS, 1703.] - -marshes; fifteen thousand sheep were drowned by the overflow or backing -up of the Severn. At London, the river was filled with vessels, the -crews of which were nearly all on shore. The storm tore them from their -moorings, and drove them into a bight on the opposite side of the -stream. It was a strange sight they presented after the storm. Defoe -says that “there lay, by the best account he could take, few less than -seven hundred sail of ships, some very great ones, between Shadwell and -Limehouse inclusive; the posture is not to be imagined but by them that -saw it; some vessels lay heeling off with the bow of another ship over -her waist, and the stern of another upon her forecastle; the boltsprits -of some drove into the cabin windows of others; some lay with their -sterns tossed up so high that the tide flowed into their forecastles -before they could come to rights; some lay so leaning upon others that -the undermost vessels would sink before the other could float; the -number of masts, boltsprits and yards split and broke, the staving the -heads and sterns and carved work, the tearing and destruction of -rigging, and the squeezing of boats to pieces between the ships, is not -to be reckoned; but there was hardly a vessel to be seen that had not -suffered some damage or other in one or all of these articles.” - -In the city itself, the streets were covered with tiles, slates, bricks, -and fallen chimneys. Common tiles rose to nearly six times their usual -price. Numbers of people were killed by crumbling roofs or falling -houses. In Gloucester, six hundred great trees were prostrated in a -space of five acres. The Bishop of Bath and Wells, and his wife, were -among the more noted dead. The total loss of life has been estimated at -from eight to thirty thousand. The former is Defoe’s, but as he only -counts those of which he obtained direct personal information, this -estimate is certainly too low. - -A single item of this storm will give some idea of the peculiar dangers -once incurred by shipwrecked sailors. Mr. Whymper writes, “The -townspeople of Deal, in particular, were blamed for their inhumanity in -leaving many to their fate who could have been rescued. Boatmen went off -to the sands for booty, some of whom would not listen to poor wretches -who might have been saved. Many unfortunate shipwrecked persons could be -seen, by the aid of glasses, walking on the Goodwin Sands in despairing -postures, knowing that they would, as Defoe puts it, ‘be washed into -another world’ at the reflux of the tide. The mayor of Deal, Mr. Thomas -Powell, asked the Custom House officers to take out their boats and -endeavor to save the lives of some of these unfortunates, but they -utterly refused. The mayor then offered, from his own pocket, five -shillings a head for all saved, and a number of fishermen and others -volunteered, and succeeded in bringing two hundred persons on shore, who -would have been lost in a half an hour afterwards. The Queen’s agent for -sick and wounded seamen would not furnish a penny for their lodging or -food, and the good mayor supplied all of them with what they required. -Several died, and he was compelled to bury all of them at his own -expense; he furnished a large number with money to pay their way to -London. He received no thanks from the Government of the day, but some -long time after was reimbursed the large sums he had expended.” - -One not versed in the tales of the past might be astounded at such -inhumanity; yet the case cited is comparatively a mild one. People -acquainted with the history of pirates and buccaneers know that coasts -everywhere were once more or less infested with land-sharks, more -merciless than any shark of the deep, who enriched themselves by the -misfortunes of others: and drowning sailors would be disregarded in the -race for plunder. Yet this is but a shadow of the fearful tragedies -often enacted. - -Picture a richly laden vessel, homeward bound, with scores of eager -anxious hearts on board, and other scores in port eagerly waiting them. -The captain smiles thoughtfully, as he murmurs, “We shall be at home -to-morrow!” The mother with child in arms repeats, as she thinks of the -waiting husband, “We shall be home to-morrow!” The bronzed wanderer, -returning after years of adventure, wonders if his boyhood’s home is -changed, as he thinks, “I shall be home to-morrow!” - -There is but the faintest indication of storm. On shore, cruel, sinister -faces scan the sky and the distant ship as the twilight settles down, -and whisper together, and scowl as they recall past disappointments. -They will take care that they are not disappointed again. Their grizzled -old leader will see to that. - -Night gathers apace. The storm bursts--the ship is far off shore, and in -safe quarters. It is time to act. “Now, in the pitchy darkness of the -night, with bowed head, and faltering steps battling against the storm, -the old man leads a white horse along the edge of the cliff. To the tip -of the horse’s tail a lantern is tied, and the light sways with the -movement of the horse, and in its movements seems not unlike the -masthead light of a vessel rocked by the motion of the sea. A whisper -has gone through the village of a chance of something happening during -the night, and most of the men and many of the women are on the alert, -lurking in the caves beneath the cliff, or sheltered behind jutting -pieces of rock. - -“The vessel makes in steadily for the land; the captain grows uneasy, -and fears running into danger; he will put the vessel round, and try and -battle his way out to sea. - -“The look-out man reports a dim light ahead. What kind? and whither -away? He can make out that it is a ship’s light, for it is in motion. -Yes, she must be a vessel standing on in the same course as that which -they are on. - -[Illustration: ON A LEE SHORE.] - -It is all safe, then; the captain will stand in a little longer; when -suddenly, in the lull of the storm, a hoarse murmur is heard--surely the -sound of the sea beating upon rocks! Yes! look! a white gleam upon the -water! Breakers ahead! breakers ahead! Oh, a very knell of doom! The cry -rings through the ship, ‘Down, down with the helm--round her to!’ Too -late, too late! A crash, a shudder from stem to stern of the stout -ship, the shriek of many voices in their agony, green seas sweeping over -the vessel, and soon broken timbers, bales of cargo, and lifeless bodies -scattered along the beach, while the shattered remnant of the hull is -torn still further to pieces with each insweep of the mighty seas as -they roll it to and fro among the rocks. Fearful and crafty the smile -that darkened the face of the willing murderer who was leading the horse -with the false light as he heard the crash of the vessel and the shrieks -of the drowning crew! Fearful the smile that darkened the faces of the -men and women waiting on the beach as they came out from their places, -ready to struggle and fight among themselves for any spoil that might -come ashore! A homeward-bound ship from the Indies! Great good -fortune--rich spoil! Bale after bale is seized upon by the wreckers, and -dragged high upon the beach out of the way of the surf. But, see! a -sailor clinging to a bit of broken mast! With his last conscious effort -he gains a footing on the shore, staggers forward, and falls. Is he -alive? Not now! Why did that fearful old woman kneel upon his chest and -cover his mouth with her cloak? Dead men tell no tales--claim no -property!” - -No fiction of the fancy, this! Only the last great day will ever reveal -how many souls have perished at the hands of those who should have -succored them. Think of a man and his wife reaching the shore after an -exhausting struggle; the man leaving his wife in a sheltered nook while -he goes in search of human habitations, and returning after a few -moments to find his wife, a plundered, naked corpse! And yet, such -practices were tolerably common, even within the range of a century -past! - -In striking contrast with the heartless wreckers are those known on the -British coast as “hovellers.” These put out to sea in stormy weather to -ascertain if vessels in the offing are in need of anything, or are -otherwise crippled: and many a ship have they saved from wreck by their -timely aid. - -It appears strange that, among a people so dependent upon the sea as the -English, no regularly organized methods of diminishing the losses by -wreck existed till within the present century. Yet such is the fact. A -hundred years ago, there was no boat that could safely venture in a -heavy sea; and if, perchance, some humane people wished to succor a -vessel in distress, few were the means and terrible the risks. The -graphic pen of Dickens, in this abridged narrative, will illustrate the -case. The scene is Yarmouth, England: - -“In the difficulty of hearing anything but wind and waves, and in the -crowd, and the unspeakable confusion, and my first breathless efforts to -stand against the weather, I was so confused that I looked out to sea -for the wreck, and saw nothing but the foaming heads of the great waves. -A half-dressed boatman, standing next me, pointed with his bare arm (a -tattooed arrow on it, pointing in the same direction) to the left. Then, -O great Heaven, I saw it, close in upon us! - -“One mast was broken off short, six or eight feet from the deck, and lay -over the side, entangled in a maze of sail and rigging; and all that -ruin, as the ship rolled and beat--which she did without a moment’s -pause, and with a violence quite inconceivable--beat the side as if it -would stave it in. Some efforts were even then being made to cut this -portion of the wreck away; for, as the ship, which was broadside on, -turned towards us in her rolling, I plainly descried her people at work -with axes, especially one active figure with long curling hair, -conspicuous among the rest. - -“But a great cry, which was audible even above the wind - -[Illustration: HOVELLERS RELIEVING A VESSEL.] - -and water, rose from the shore at this moment; the sea, sweeping over -the rolling wreck, made a clean breach, and carried men, spars, casks, -planks, bulwarks--heaps of such toys--into the boiling surge. The second -mast was yet standing, with the rags of a rent sail, and a wild -confusion of broken cordage flapping to and fro. The ship had struck -once, the same boatman hoarsely said in my ear, and then lifted in and -struck again. - -“As he spoke, there was another great cry of pity from the beach; four -men arose with the wreck out of the deep, clinging to the rigging of the -remaining mast; uppermost, the active figure with the curling hair. -There was a bell on board; and, as the ship rolled and dashed, like a -desperate creature driven mad, now showing us the whole sweep of her -deck, as she turned on her beam-ends towards the shore, now, nothing but -her keel, as she sprung wildly over and turned towards the sea, the bell -rang; and its sound, the knell of those unhappy men, was borne towards -us on the wind. - -“Again, we lost her, and again she rose. Two men were gone. The agony on -shore increased. Men groaned and clasped their hands, women shrieked and -turned away their faces. Some ran wildly up and down along the beach, -crying for help where no help could be. I found myself one of these, -frantically imploring a knot of sailors whom I knew, not to let those -two lost creatures perish before our eyes, when I noticed that some new -sensation moved the people on the beach, and saw them part, and Ham come -breaking through them to the front. - -“I ran to him, held him back with both arms and implored the men with -whom I had been speaking not to listen to him, not to do murder, not to -let him stir from off that sand! Another cry arose on shore, and, -looking to the wreck, we saw the cruel sail, with blow on blow, beat -off the lower of the two men, and fly up in triumph round the active -figure left alone upon the mast. - -“Against such a sight, and against such determination as that of the -calmly desperate man, I might as hopefully have entreated the wind. -‘Mas’r Davy,’ he said, cheerily grasping me by both hands, ‘if my time -is come, ’tis come. If ’tain’t, I’ll bide it. Lord above bless you, and -bless all! Mates, make me ready! I’m a-going off!’ - -“I don’t know what I answered, or what they rejoined; but I saw a hurry -on the beach, and men running with ropes from a capstan that was there, -and penetrating into a circle of figures that hid him from me. Then I -saw him standing alone, in a seaman’s frock and trousers, a rope in his -hand, or slung to his wrist; another round his body, and several of the -best men, holding, at a little distance, to the latter, which he laid -out himself, slack upon the shore, at his feet. - -“Ham watched the sea, standing alone, with the silence of suspended -breath behind him, and the storm before, until there was a great -retiring wave, when, with a backward glance at those who held the rope -which was made fast round his body, he dashed in after it, and, in a -moment was buffeting with the water. Now, he made for the wreck, rising -with the hills, falling with the valleys, lost beneath the rugged foam, -borne in towards the shore, borne on towards the ship, striving hard and -valiantly. - -“The distance was nothing, but the power of the sea and wind made the -strife deadly. At length, he neared the wreck. He was so near that with -one more of his vigorous strokes he would be clinging to it--when a -high, green, vast hill-side of water, moving on, shoreward, from beyond -the ship, he seemed to leap up into it with a mighty bound, and the ship -was gone! - -“On running to the spot where they were hauling in, - -[Illustration: THE LIFE-BOAT.] - -I saw some eddying fragments in the sea, as if a mere cask had been -broken. Consternation was in every face. They drew him to my very -feet--insensible--dead--beaten to death by the great wave; and his -generous heart was stilled forever.” - -Such things weighed heavily upon the humanely disposed; and when a -century ago Mr. Greathead, who had a great heart, stood at -Newcastle-on-Tyne, and saw man after man drop from a great wreck into a -raging sea without the possibility of rescue, he set himself to work -upon the problem of the life-boat. Noticing that the half of a circular -wooden bowl invariably turned concave side upward, when thrown in the -water, it occurred to him at once that a boat with a curved instead of -straight keel would always right itself. Wouldhave, at the same time was -advocating padding the boat heavily with cork: and the first life-boat -was constructed from these ideas. A year or two later, a minister in the -Orkneys suggested that all boats could be made self-righting by fixing -an empty water-tight cask in either end. So the idea of air-chambers -developed: and later the curved keel was made of iron, to aid in -ballasting the craft: so that the modern life-boat, with curved iron -keel, cork padding, air chambers, and tubes to permit water to flow out, -cannot be sunk, or made to float bottom up. The men may sometimes be -washed out of it, or a side stove in, but the boat will always be found -right side up. - -Strange as it may appear, though the first life-boat, with its -crudities, saved hundreds of lives within a few years, the Government -took no steps to institute a general system or life-saving service. To -the average American, this seems striking; but governments a century ago -were more concerned about the success in war than about the welfare of -the masses; they studied destruction of life more than its -preservation: and if perchance, some ruler affected peculiar concern for -the welfare of “the State,” it was generally the case that the -definition of Louis XIV was applicable; “The State--that’s _me_!” - -But Sir William Hillary and Thomas Wilson made earnest appeals to -Parliament for the establishment of a national life-saving institution; -and Hillary added the more effective argument of many deeds of personal -daring in the venturous work. Between 1821-1846, no fewer than one -hundred and forty-four wrecks occurred on the Isle of Man, and “one -hundred and seventy-two lives were lost; while the destruction of -property was estimated at a quarter of a million. In 1825, when the -_City of Glasgow_ steamer was stranded in Douglas Bay, Sir William -Hillary assisted in saving the lives of sixty-two persons; and in the -same year eleven men from the brig _Leopard_, and nine from the sloop -_Fancy_, which became a total wreck. In 1827-32, Sir William, -accompanied by his son, saved many other lives; but his greatest success -was on the 20th of November, 1830, when he saved in the life-boat -twenty-two men, the whole of the crew of the mail steamer _St. George_, -which became a total wreck on St. Mary’s Rock. On this occasion he was -washed overboard among the wreck, with three other persons, and was -saved with great difficulty, having had six of his ribs fractured.” - -So the British institution arose, small at first, but mighty in its work -since. Ten years after, in 1850, it was reorganized, and improved -life-boats secured. The importance of the work may be imagined when we -record that from 1852 to 1871, the wrecks on British coasts alone -averaged one thousand four hundred and forty-six per annum! When we add -the work of our own life-saving service, and the service of life-boats -in many other lands, we may realize how inestimable is the value of such -an institution. - -[Illustration: THE LIFE-BOAT AT WORK.] - -Among the earlier measures to prevent loss of life are fog-bells, -fog-horns, and lighthouses, to warn the sailor of dangerous shoals. In -earlier days, wreckers sometimes silenced the fog-bell. Southey has -given us a ballad upon the poetic justice said to have been meted out to -a famous pirate who removed the bell placed by the abbot of Arberbrothok -upon the Inchcape Rock, off the Scottish coast. One year later, with a -rich booty, the pirate nears home once more, - - “They hear no sound, the swell is strong; - Though the wind hath fallen they drift along, - Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock,-- - ‘Oh, Christ! it is the Inchcape Rock!’ - - Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair; - He curst himself in his despair; - The waves rush in on every side, - The ship is sinking beneath the tide.” - -With this notice of the extent to which man may be responsible for -disasters, the subject must be dismissed. Ere leaving the topic of -storms, the reader shall know of one of the most notable naval disasters -of the century, which will illustrate the difficulty with which even -powerful war ships face high winds at sea. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -GREAT SAMOAN HURRICANE. - - “Roll on, thou deep and dark-blue Ocean, roll! - Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain. - Man marks the earth with ruin: his control - Stops with thy shores: upon the watery plain - The wrecks are all thy deed; nor doth remain - A shadow of man’s ravage, save his own, - When for a moment, like a drop of rain, - He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan, - Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown.” - - -During the fall of 1888, no little interest centered in one of the -little inland groups of the Pacific. In 1887, German officers in the -Samoan group conceived that the king, Malietoa, was so prejudiced toward -their interests that he should be deposed. So without much ceremony they -laid hands upon and carried him into exile, placing him on an island -some thousands of miles distant. - -There seems no reason to doubt that Germany’s ultimate design was to -formally occupy the islands. It is the old story of the civilized man’s -dealings with the savage; of the man who has ten talents, obtaining the -property of the man with one. - -Methods have changed somewhat, however, since the day when our pilgrim -fathers kindly relieved the Red man of such encumbrances as he had in -the way of real estate, and established quit-claim deeds and perfect -titles in their flint-lock muskets. It is not now considered “good -form,” as it was in the days of olden Spanish America, to declare one’s -self Marquis of this or Duke de that, with several thousands of Indians -as slaves or tributaries, without consulting them. The modern method is -that of the European guide who attaches himself to your person -willy-nilly, in order that he rifle your pockets as the need of his -divers imaginary services. It is a less expensive method, and none the -less sure. So the colonizers of our day kindly establish a -“protectorate” over Naboth’s vineyard. Naboth, however, fully -understands the process, as some civilized races have found to their -cost. - -The Samoans were in high dudgeon at the action of Germany: and when the -foreigners coolly proceeded, without consulting the wishes of the -natives, to select and establish a new king, whom they thought would be -favorable to their own interests, open hostility resulted. - -The Samoans had no way to bring back their former king, Malietoa; but -they promptly deposed the creature of the Germans, Tamasese, and chose -instead Mataafa, a relative and personal representative of their exiled -king. The few American residents and frequenters of the islands approved -this, deeming the act of the Germans one of unjustifiable aggression. - -Civil war resulted. At the outset, Tamasese’s strong personal following, -and the fear of German interference, gave him a very large party. But in -the half-dozen fierce battles that were fought he was decidedly worsted, -and, forced to flee from the capital, Apia, he shut himself up in a -native fortress eight miles distant. - -The Germans had in the meantime actively espoused his cause, and went so -far as to bombard several native villages. Still they did not come into -direct personal collision with the natives until December, 1888. A body -of Germans landed a few miles from Apia, and assaulted Mataafa’s forces. - -The island blood was up. The battle was stubbornly contested. The -Germans were utterly routed and driven back to their vessels with a loss -of fifty killed and wounded. - -This is precisely the sort of pretext a “protecting” power desires. In -great indignation at the pesky people who had failed to allow themselves -to be thrashed, the Germans formally declared war, and began a series of -high-handed seizures and aggressions. The interests of other nations in -Samoa were endangered. There was but one American man-of-war in the -harbor. - -As soon as the War Department learned of the state of affairs, -reinforcements were sent out, and it seemed highly probable that a -collision between America and Germany might be precipitated at any -moment. Thus, there were collected in the harbor the American warship -_Trenton_, the flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Kimberly, and one of the -largest vessels in the navy, N. H. Farquhar, Commander: the _Nipsic_, -Commander D. W. Mullan; and the _Vandalia_, Commander C. M. Schoonmaker. -The Germans were represented by the warship _Olga_, and the cruisers -_Eber_ and _Adler_. England had sent the man-of-war _Calliope_. In -addition, there were in the harbor ten or twelve schooners and trading -vessels. Such was the force assembled at Apia, March 15, 1889. - -The news does not travel rapidly from that portion of the world. During -the spring a report reached America that the looked-for collision -between the assembled forces had occurred, and that the _Nipsic_ had -been sunk by the _Olga_. There was much suppressed excitement; but as -the report was not officially confirmed, this soon ceased. - -No one was prepared for the actual occurrence, or the magnitude of the -calamity. - -The town of Apia, the Samoan capital, lies around a small circular bay. -Across the mouth of the harbor, two miles in width, extends a coral -reef, which is visible at low water. A break in the reef a quarter of a -mile in width forms the entrance to the harbor. Only a small portion of -the latter is available for anchorage, as the eastern part is quite -shallow, and on the west the bay has a small fringing reef well out from -the shore. It will be seen that the crowded condition of the harbor -rendered it peculiarly perilous. The war vessels were anchored in the -deep water, the _Eber_ and _Nipsic_ being nearest the shore. The -schooners and lighter craft were in the shoal water next to the fringing -reef on the west side of the harbor. - -The town is composed of cottages, built after the native pattern: low, -of elastic materials, and bound well together; so that the low houses, -swaying easily with the wind, are not so easily blown away as structures -of stiffer and more pretentious build. The American consulate, facing -the harbor, lies about the center of the town, with a long strip of -sandy beach before it. - -For some weeks the weather had been gloomy and capricious. The time of -the vernal equinox was at hand, and a low area storm of unusual violence -might be expected at any time. During the afternoon of March 15, the -wind began to increase: the war ships lowered their topmasts and secured -their spars; one or two prepared storm-sails for emergencies. The -anchors were all out, and steam was raised lest the anchors should not -hold. - -The wind increased steadily, blowing from the same quarter continuously. -Though the only recorded observations are at this one point, its -proximity to the equator, the steadiness of the wind and the length of -time it blew indicate a cyclonic tempest of unusual violence. - -By 11 P.M. the wind was a strong gale: not too strong in the harbor for -small boats, however; for the crews of nearly all the schooners, -divining what was coming, put out their spare anchors and went ashore, -leaving the vessels to their fate. Mayhap the anchors would hold; but on -their lives they would take no risks. - -An hour later immense rollers were coming in from the ocean, finding the -coral reef only a partial check. Ordinarily a reef insures a harbor from -the force of the waves, and leaves only the direct fury of the winds to -be encountered. But the reef at Apia is a lower barrier than such -harbors usually possess, and may not be seen at high tide. - -At midnight, rain was falling. The wind still increased. The vessels -were pitching fearfully. At this time the _Eber_, nearest the shore, -began dragging her anchors, and was compelled to aid them with her -engines. At one o’clock the _Vandalia_, also, was compelled to use her -engines. Should the wind increase, their case was truly desperate. - -The rain poured in torrents; fiercer grew the gale. By three o’clock -every vessel in the harbor was dragging her anchors. There might be a -collision, or a wreck, at any time. Every able-bodied man was required, -that any emergency might be met. Neither officer nor private could think -of sleep. - -Those on shore realized the peril of the situation. Accustomed to heavy -gales, the natives slept soundly for a time in their low huts. At -length, the crash of falling trees and the tearing away of roofs began -to be heard in the storm. Little knots of people crept about in the -darkness, seeking shelter from the tempest. Sand and pebbles, gathered -up from the beach, were hurled by the wind with cutting force. The tide -was rising, and the gale brought it into the streets, a hundred feet -above the usual high water mark. The spray from the dashing surf sprang -high in the air, and beat into the windows of houses nearest the shore. -It was a memorable night. - -Long before dawn the natives were huddled in little groups about the -shore, gazing at the shifting lights of the tossing vessels. Their -houses were being wrecked, their crops and trees destroyed, but they -themselves were measurably safe. But those in the harbor! - -There was little need of conversation; and, indeed, did one wish to -speak to his neighbor, he was compelled to shout in his ear. As each -peered into his fellow’s face in the uncertain light, he saw the shadow -of a terrible fear and a desperate resolve that spoke plainer than any -words. Explanations were useless; that tacit understanding was enough. -For the time, thrones, principalities, feuds and hostilities were -forgotten. The followers of Tamasese and Mataafa were shoulder to -shoulder. No longer was there thought of the foeman who had exiled their -chief and bombarded their villages. Out in that seething caldron were -scores of human beings, battling for life with wind and wave. That was -enough. - -As the day drew near, the white men on the shore began to join the -little groups of natives. Through the gloom could be seen the lights of -the plunging ships, and ever and anon there came on the gale the sound -of shouted orders, like a distant echo. The wavering of the lights -showed that, despite steam and anchor, the vessels were slowly dragging -about, crossing and re-crossing each others’ paths. The breathless -watchers on the beach listened for the crash of collision that would be -the death-knell of scores of gallant marines. Some shielded their faces -with bits of tile, and endeavored to distinguish the position of the -respective ships. Less hopeful than the whites, the natives saw no -chance of escape. Which vessel would strike first? Would any be saved? - -[Illustration: BOW OF THE EBER, CAST ASHORE.] - -Between five and six o’clock, it began to grow light. The position of -the vessels was completely altered. Forced from their moorings, they -were drifting toward the inner reef. Each contended stubbornly with the -storm. Volumes of black smoke poured from the furnaces of the quivering -hulls. A number of the sailing vessels were already on the reef. -Fragments of wreckage began to be tossed ashore. The _Trenton_ and -_Vandalia_, being farthest out in the harbor, were scarcely visible -through the mist and spray. The large iron hulls were tossed about like -corks. Wave after wave dashed over their decks. The men swarmed about -the masts and the lower rigging, clinging to anything they could grasp. -The _Eber_, _Adler_ and _Nipsic_ were within a few yards of each other -and close on the fatal reef. Each vessel seemed as though endowed with a -life of its own. They struggled like wild creatures; as the stag might -struggle in the clutch of a panther. - -The _Eber_ slowly retreated toward the reef, contesting every inch. -Suddenly she paused, recovered, and dashed forward into the teeth of the -furious storm. - -It was her last desperate sally. The current bore her to the right. In a -moment she collided with the _Nipsic_, her bow carrying away a boat and -several feet of the post-quarter rail. Falling back, she fouled with the -_Olga_, and her rudder was carried away. This left her helpless. -Swinging broadside to the wind, she lay a few moments rolling heavily in -the trough of the sea. Over her deck the surf foamed and roared. - -At length, a gigantic wave lifted her up and hurled her with awful force -upon the reef. Striking fairly on her keel, she heeled over toward the -sea. No further trace of her was seen. Every timber must have been -shattered. Doubtless more of her crew were crushed than were drowned. - -The horror-stricken natives, accustomed to the sea from infancy, dashed -into the surf, struggling with death for the lives of their late -oppressors. They were but savages; they knew no better. - -For a few moments, not a hand was raised from the site of the wreck. At -length, a few faintly struggling forms appeared in the surf. They were -grasped by eager hands, and safely reached the shore. Another was seen -clinging to the piling of a small wharf, beaten half senseless by the -furious waves. He was drawn ashore. It was a handsome boyish-faced -lieutenant, the sole surviving officer. Out of a total force of -seventy-six men and officers on the _Eber_, five only were saved. The -young lieutenant was the officer of the watch at the time of the wreck. -The others were all below, and must have been crushed to death. This -occurred about six o’clock in the morning. - -Finding no other survivors, those on shore turned to the remaining -vessels once more. Their position had changed again. The situation -rapidly grew more perilous. - -The _Adler_ had fouled with the _Olga_, and was close on the reef, some -two hundred yards from where the _Eber_ struck, and like it, was -approaching the shore broadside on. The suspense was prolonged and -painful. For nearly half an hour she lay thus swept by the waves. - -Finally, a huge roller tossed her on top of the reef and turned her over -on her side, throwing those on deck into the water. They struggled to -regain the vessel; those who succeeded clung to guns, tackling, spars -and masts; but twenty were drowned. The vessel lay with her keel to the -sea and nearly her entire hull out of water; so those who clung to the -rigging were fairly protected. - -During the day the natives succeeded in getting a line to the wreck, and -a number of the sailors escaped. But the line parted while some were -still on the vessel, and could not be replaced. The remainder of the -crew clung to the wreck through all that terrible day and night, and -were finally gotten off when at the verge of exhaustion. - -While the _Adler_ was drifting toward the reef, the _Nipsic_ was -battling with fearful odds. Facing the wind, she was - -[Illustration: THE ADLER ON THE REEF.] - -nevertheless dragging her three anchors, and receding toward the reef. - -But her chief danger lay in another source. The gigantic _Olga_, which -had crippled the two vessels already wrecked, threatened to crush her -also. While the _Nipsic_ endeavored by skillful use of steam and rudder -to avoid the _Olga_, a little schooner, the _Lily_, fell in her way and -was cut down in an instant. There were but three men on board; two of -whom succeeded in reaching the _Olga_. - -Just then it occurred to the commander of the _Nipsic_ to reinforce the -anchors by attaching a hawser to one of the heavy eight-inch rifles and -casting it overboard. Ere this was accomplished the _Olga_ struck her a -terrible blow directly amidships. Her smoke-stack was overturned and -fell on the deck with a terrible crash. One of her boats was carried -away and the rail splintered. No one at first knew the extent of the -damage. The frightened crew clambered into the rigging, thinking the -ship was sinking. The lumbering smoke-stack dashed from side to side -with the roll of the ship. - -It was a frightful moment. Only a few yards away the _Eber_ had -disappeared. The _Nipsic_ had swung around and was rapidly nearing the -spot. Only promptness and most skillful management saved her officers -and crew from the fate of the _Eber_. - -Captain Mullane was on the bridge at the time, and took in the situation -in an instant. With the smoke-stack gone it would be impossible to keep -up steam; without steam the reef could not be avoided. At once the -smoke-stack was chocked to prevent its rolling about the deck, and -orders were given to beach the ship while a small head of steam was -still available. Two hundred yards away lay the sandy beach before the -American consulate. - -A great throng awaited anxiously the result of this manœuvre. The -vessel’s course was parallel to the terrible reef, and but a few feet -from it. Her crew were gathered about the bow, and those on shore -recognized many a familiar face or personal friend in the driving spray, -on whom they might be looking for the last time. One or two of the crew -had been on shore during the night, and now stood watching the fate of -their comrades. - -Barely escaping the reef, the steamer plunged into the sand a few yards -from the shore, and swung around diagonally to the storm. The breakers -dashed furiously upon her stern, and it seemed as though she would be -beaten to pieces in an instant. Those who escaped must do so at once. - -Five sailors dashed into a boat; but the falls did not work properly, -and one end of the boat dropped. The men fell into the sea and were -drowned. The surgeon and five sick men were placed in another boat: no -sooner launched than capsized. But the natives had formed a chain by -grasping each others hands; and dashing into surf where a white man -would have perished at once, they seized the men and passed them to the -shore. Several of those on the _Nipsic_ took advantage of the -opportunity and sprang overboard. But two of these were lost. - -Meanwhile, all those remaining on board had crowded into the forecastle. -The natives in the surf, under the direction of two of their chiefs, -Seumanu Tafa and Salu Anae, had succeeded in getting lines to the -vessels, and double hawsers were quickly stretched to the shore. Scores -of eager hands were outstretched to assist in the work. The waves broke -high on the beach, and the undertow was so strong that even the natives -narrowly escaped being carried out into the bay. The white men on shore -scarcely dared venture into the surf. The rain poured more heavily. The -clouds of flying sand grew thicker and more - -[Illustration: SAMOANS SAVING THE LIVES OF AMERICAN SAILORS.] - -cutting. The hoarse shouts of the officers mingled with the roar of the -storm, and the stricken vessel quivered in every fibre. Fragments of -wreckage were ever and anon hurled amongst those in the surf. The gloom -of the awful tempest combined with all these things to produce a tableau -of chaos itself. - -Yet, throughout the whole fearful scene, the natives never faltered, but -sang and shouted words of encouragement to each other as they stood at -their chosen posts. The white men on shore rendered all the aid in their -power; but the posts of danger and need were filled by the natives. An -eye-witness of the scene says: - -“To one who saw the noble work of those men during the storm, it is a -cause of wonder that they should be called savages by more enlightened -races. There seemed to be no instinct of the savage in a man who could -rush into that boiling torrent of water that broke upon the reef, and -place his own life in peril to save the helpless drowning men of a -foreign country. - -“While the Americans and Germans were treated alike, it was plain that -their sympathies were with the Americans, and they redoubled their -efforts when they saw an opportunity to aid the men who represented a -country which had insisted that their native government should not be -interfered with by a foreign power.” - -The coolness of Captain Mullane had mastered the frightened crew. There -was no longer confusion. The officers stood by the rail and directed the -movements of the men. Time after time the rolling billows dashed the men -from the hawser; but the gallant natives succeeded in saving all. By -eight o’clock the _Nipsic_ was deserted. The three smallest of the war -ships were wrecked. - -The four large men-of-war were well out in the harbor, and for the time -measurably safe. - -But near ten o’clock, the situation became alarming again. Masses of -floating wreckage struck the _Trenton_, as it was lifted by a heavy -wave, and carried away the rudder and propeller. Her anchors, unaided, -would not keep her from the reef, or from fouling with the other vessels -in the harbor. - -The _Vandalia_ and the _Calliope_ were drifting toward the wreck of the -_Adler_. As the _Vandalia_ endeavored to steam away, the iron prow of -the Englishman arose high in the air and fell with full force upon the -_Vandalia’s_ port-quarter. The _Calliope_ lost her jib-boom, and the -heavy timbers of the _Vandalia_ were shivered. Every man near the point -of the collision was thrown from his feet by the shock. Water was -rushing through a great rent in the cabin. It seemed that the _Vandalia_ -had received her death blow. The frightened men swarmed from the -hatches, but presently returned to their posts. - -At this crisis the Englishman essayed a bold manœuvre. Seeing that to -remain where he was would be, in a few more moments, ruin to the -_Vandalia_, he resolved to take all risks himself, and letting go all -anchors, swung around to the wind and endeavored to put to sea. For a -moment the vessel seemed stationary. Then the tremendous power of the -propeller began to tell, and the vessel moved slowly forward in the -teeth of the storm. Volumes of smoke poured from her funnels, and the -ship groaned in every timber. Gradually it became clear that she could -escape from the harbor. - -This is one of the most daring feats in the naval annals. It was the one -desperate chance to save the _Calliope_ and her crew from certain death. -An accident to the machinery at this moment, or a slight change in the -direction of the wind as she neared the narrow gate-way of the harbor, -would have been fatal. Down in the fire room, the men - -[Illustration: THE CALLIOPE PUTTING TO SEA.] - -worked as they never had before. The _Trenton_ lay close to the reef, -and the _Calliope_ was compelled to pass between the two. The flagship’s -fires were out, and she could do nothing to save herself. Every man felt -that a few moments longer would find him a grave in the coral reef. -Those on shore were watching with intensest anxiety. - -Just then a strange sound came, borne on the wind; a wild ringing cry -from the four hundred and fifty on board the _Trenton_. The Americans -were cheering the _Calliope_. Expecting death for themselves, they -rejoiced that their friends might yet escape, and the heart of every -Englishman went out to the brave Americans who gave their parting -tribute to the Queen’s ship. - -There is something peculiarly touching in this incident. It is far above -the _morituri te salutamus_ of the gladiator in the arena. It was an -expression of immortal courage; the dying saluting the victor; the -doomed saluting the saved; manhood distressed greeting manhood -triumphant. The English seamen returned the cry. The _Calliope_ safely -reached the sea. Her commander afterward said: “Those ringing cheers of -the American flagship pierced deep into my heart, and I will ever -remember that mighty outburst of fellow-feeling, which I felt came from -the bottom of the hearts of the gallant admiral and his crew. Every man -on board the _Calliope_ felt as I did; it made us work to win. I can -only say, God bless America and her noble sailors.” - -Meanwhile the _Vandalia_, seeing her doom certain, endeavored to reach -the beach, but being a much larger vessel than the _Nipsic_, she could -not come so near the shore. A blow from a terrific wave in the night had -hurled the captain across his cabin and so injured him that he was -unable to control his vessel. His executive officer, Carlin, was in -command, but the captain stood by his side to the last. Carlin’s -coolness and nerve were wonderful. He had been on duty thirty -consecutive hours, and had not tasted food all that time. - -In order to reach the beach, the _Vandalia_ was compelled to execute the -same perilous feat that had been performed three hours before by the -_Nipsic_. Slipping her anchors, she crowded on all steam and skirted the -edge of the reef, finally dashing into the soft sand two hundred yards -from the shore and eighty yards from the stern of the _Nipsic_. The -engines were stopped and the fires put out; all hands were ordered on -deck, and the vessel swung around broadside to the waves. - -At first, her position being supposed safe, it was thought the two -hundred and forty men on board might well remain until the storm was -over. The men were scattered about the deck and forecastle, clinging to -the guns, the masts, rigging and sides of the ship. Within half an hour -her real danger became apparent; she wallowed lower and lower in the -yielding sand; more and more frequently the seas dashed over her, -flooding the hatchways with water. Her boats were dashed from the davits -and torn to pieces. It was attempted to fire lines to the shore, but all -her powder was ruined. The spray and mist arose in such masses from the -sides of the ship, that those on shore could hardly distinguish her -position. - -At this moment a brave sailor volunteered to swim through the surf with -a line, in the hope that his comrades might be rescued. It was a -perilous task, as the water was filled with floating wreckage. Fastening -a cord to his body, he sprang overboard; an immense wave hurled him -against the side of the vessel and struck him senseless. He was drowned -almost within touch of his comrades. Gradually the men were driven from -the gun-deck. By noon it was under water. The heavy billows that swept -over the ship lifted the men from their feet and hurled them against the -sides. The salt water intensified the pain of their bruises. Soon all of -the men sought refuge in the rigging, and a few officers only remained -on the poop-deck. The waves grew more violent. - -For once the bold men on shore were powerless. No boat could live in the -surf, and there was no firing apparatus on shore, that a line might be -conveyed to the vessel. The scores on the land were desperate, but the -_Vandalia’s_ doom was sealed. - -Finally, they resolved on bolder efforts than had hitherto been made. -Three natives fastened a cord to their bodies, and, passing around the -side of the bay a quarter of a mile above the wrecked war ship, -endeavored to take advantage of the powerful current setting toward the -shore, and so reach the vessel. Powerful swimmers as they were, they -were hurled to the beach without being able to get within one hundred -yards of the vessel. Urged by their chief to try again, effort after -effort was made, but without success. - -Seeing no other chance, those on the _Vandalia_ one by one dropped into -the sea, in the faint hope that they might yet reach the land in safety. -Some succeeded in reaching the wreck of the _Nipsic_, only a short -distance away, but many were too weak to draw themselves up to its deck. -As they clung to the ropes, the violence of the waves, in some cases, -tore the clothing from their bodies. - -The captain, sick and feeble, was growing weaker every moment. The brave -Carlin stood by him endeavoring to hold him on, and speaking words of -encouragement. He had not sufficient strength left to clamber into the -rigging and refused a life preserver, insisting that it should be given -to some of the others. At length an immense roller plunged toward the -vessel, and the captain bent forward to receive the shock. A heavy -machine gun was torn from its fastening and hurled full upon the -captain. His body passed overboard and was never more seen. - -[Illustration: THE BOW OF THE SUNKEN VANDALIA.] - -One by one others of the officers were beaten from the deck. The -suffering was not only with those on the vessel. The brave fellows who -labored on the shore and in the surf were cut and bruised by flying -sand and the floating fragments. Exposure to the sea water was making -them stiff and sore. The natives sought occasional shelter and rest -behind an up-turned boat or the masses of drift, and then returned to -the battle. - -Finally, as by common consent, nearly all of those left in the rigging -dropped into the sea. It was an easy matter to reach the _Nipsic_, and a -few succeeded in clambering to her deck; but many were too weak and -exhausted to hold on long enough to receive assistance from their -comrades, and too far off to be reached by the natives. - -By three o’clock the hull of the _Vandalia_ had almost disappeared. A -few men were still in the rigging, lying exhausted on the small -platforms or clinging to the rat-lines or yards with the desperation of -dying men, expecting every moment to be their last. Their arms and limbs -were bruised and swollen and cut by holding on the rough ropes. For -twenty-four hours they had been without food, and cold and exposure were -doing their work. At this moment the rear of the _Nipsic_ swung to the -sea, so that but fifty yards separated the two vessels. A successful -effort was made to stretch a line between the two; but before all in the -fore-rigging could be rescued, the line parted and could not be -replaced. - -Meanwhile the _Trenton_, without steam or rudder, lay with her head to -the wind, while volumes of water dashed through the hawse-pipes and -flooded the engine room. Had the vessel gone down suddenly, none below -could have escaped. They stood at their posts till waist deep in the -water and the fires were extinct. The berth-deck was flooded. Lieut. -Allen and a portion of the men made repeated efforts to close the -hawse-pipes, but the force of the waves tore away every plug. Still they -labored on, far beneath the decks, momentarily expecting the last. - -The admiral and his officers stood on the bridge directing the movements -of the vessel. When almost on the eastern shoals a bold coup was -suggested by Lieut. Brown. Every man was ordered into the port-rigging, -and the compact mass of bodies was used as a sail. The vessel was -brought into the center of the bay again. Then she commenced to drift -back toward the _Olga_, which had been holding up in the gale more -successfully than any of the other vessels. The stars and stripes were -flung to the breeze. If she were doomed, she would go down with flying -colors. The _Olga_ endeavored to steam out of the way, but her bow -struck the starboard quarter of the flagship, shivering the heavy -timbers, carrying away several boats, and throwing the flag to the deck. -Again it was flung from the mast-head. The _Olga_ reached the mud-flat -on the east side of the harbor. Not a life was lost, and a few weeks -later the vessel was hauled off and saved. - -The struggle of the _Trenton_ was almost ended. It was five o’clock and -daylight was fading as the immense war ship bore down upon the -_Vandalia_. When she struck the latter, all would be over. - -That was a memorable scene. The night was coming on the wings of the -storm. Those in the _Vandalia’s_ main-top still clung, bruised and -bleeding. Their eyes were blinded by the salty spray. They looked on the -black waters below knowing they had no strength for further battle with -the waves. The final hour was upon them. The great black hull of the -_Trenton_ could be seen through the gloom, about to dash upon the -stranded vessel and grind her to atoms. Those on the beach ceased their -efforts in despair, and stood waiting the last act of the tragedy. - -At this moment there came over the waves a renewal of the wild cheer of -the morning. Four hundred and fifty voices were heard above the roar of -the storm, “Three cheers for the _Vandalia_!” A cheer in the morning -had animated the British; perhaps another cheer now would encourage the -despairing seamen of the _Vandalia_ to hold on a little longer. A -response went up, feeble, quavering and uncertain, so faint it was -scarcely heard by those on shore. With death staring them in the face, -they sent up a cheer for the flagship; a cheer more pathetic than any -lamentation. That was the saddest cry ever heard. Every heart on shore -was melted to pity. “God help them!” they murmured. - -Darkness hid the scene. The last cheer had died away. As those on shore -listened for the crash, another strange sound came up from the deep. It -was a wild burst of music in defiance of the storm. The _Trenton’s_ band -was playing the “Star Spangled Banner.” Never before had the thousand -men on sea and shore heard such strains at a time like that. The -feelings of the Americans on the beach were indescribable. The power of -the music vied with the howling of the storm. - -Men who during that awful day had exhausted every means of rendering -some assistance to their comrades, now seemed inspired to greater -effort. They dashed at the surf like wild creatures; but they were -powerless. There was nothing left for them to do but wait; and, if they -dared, to hope. - -The _Trenton_ proved the _Vandalia’s_ salvation. She bore lightly -against her without a shock, and swung around in the sand broadside to -the sunken ship. Those who remained quickly escaped to the _Trenton’s_ -deck. - -By ten o’clock the beach was deserted, and all that tempest or man could -do had been done. A few watchers patrolled the beach all night in hope -of rescuing some one who might not have escaped to the _Trenton_. But -one person was found--a young ensign. - -One hundred and forty-four persons had perished. Ninety-one were from -the German vessels; fifty-one from the Americans; two from a little -trading schooner. Not more than one-third of the bodies were recovered. - -[Illustration: AFTER THE STORM: TRENTON IN THE FOREGROUND; VANDALIA’S -BOW IN RIGHT CENTER; OLGA IN THE DISTANCE.] - -The storm died away. It was a strange scene which the morning sun -beheld. The shore was strewn with drifted wreck. The shattered schooners -lay about the reef. The streets were crossed with fallen trees, and -roofless houses stood amid the groves. A fragment of the _Eber’s_ bow -was high upon the beach. Far up the western reef the _Adler_ lay. The -_Olga_ stood unharmed upon the eastern shoal. Before the consulate, the -_Nipsic_ was fast in the sand. Only the bow of the _Vandalia’s_ hull -could be seen. By her side was the _Trenton_, grand though in ruin. And -above the desolation floated the Star Spangled Banner, triumphant over -the storm. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -ELECTRIC STORMS. - - “Far along, - From peak to peak the rattling crags among, - Leaps the live thunder! Not from one lone cloud, - But every mountain now hath found a tongue, - And Jura answers through her misty shroud, - Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud! - - And this is in the night:--Most glorious night! - Thou wert not sent for slumber! let me be - A sharer in thy fierce and far delight, - A portion of the tempest and of thee! - How the lit lake shines, a phosphoric sea, - And the big rain comes dancing to the earth! - And now again ’tis black--and now, the glee, - Of the loud hills shakes with its mountain mirth, - As if they did rejoice o’er a young earthquake’s birth.” - - -Who has not quailed before the storm? Few, indeed, are they whose -spirits kindle with the flash of the lightning, and joy in the roar of -the thunder, that fills the heavens like the voice of many waters. Bold -is the heart that in such scenes can mount with a Byron, and say to the -Avernian gloom that wraps the frightened world, - - “Let me be - A portion of the tempest and of thee!” - -Only that fiery, untameable spirit, fearless of man or demon, dare so -approach the King of the Storm, or pat the mane of Ocean in his wrath. A -thousand plaudits has he won--but not a follower: for when the lightning -flames and roars, the cheering rabble slink away in fear, nor dare to -emulate that genius, strange and wild as chaos as itself. - -[Illustration: THE LYSE FIORD.] - -The fear of the tempest belongs to every age. The ancient Greeks, from -whom the Romans borrowed and modified the myth, told how Hephaistos -toiled in his volcanic forge to form the bolts of Zeus, great father of -gods and men. These flaming weapons could none oppose. By them -rebellious giants were overturned. And the bold Goth, rugged and -vigorous, heard the voice of the war-god, Thor, shout to him: - - “Mine eyes are the lightning, - The wheels of my chariot - Roll in the thunder!” - -The Arab saw the wild combat of genii, whom the great Solomon had not -subdued. Woe to the luckless wight who should arouse their ill-will! The -Arabian Nights tell us of a contest between one of these spirits of fire -and a beautiful princess, versed in magic. The swarthy Moor beheld the -hand of God, waving on his angels to contest with the hosts of evil: and -the same idea of wild combat in the spirit world is found in the myths -of the Caribs and Lapps. In the Hindoo cosmogony, the lightning and -storm are the chief weapons of Siva, the destroyer, who will one day -blot the world out of existence. Only in the red man’s tales do we find -the idea of the Christian world, of one Great Spirit who rules all -nature. In the Persian mythology, lightning and gloom represent the -contest between the forces of Ahriman, prince of evil, and Ormuzd, the -great creator and preserver of good. And among the old Etruscans, from -whom the Romans borrowed many rites and ceremonies, the lightning was -one of the chief objects in their system of augury and divination. A -favorable flash of lightning outweighed all portents of ill. The thunder -was the voice of the gods, communicating their will to men. - -And so the ancients were content to pass the mystery by, unsolved. Now -and then a Pliny, a Seneca, an Aristotle, ventured a timid speculation -upon the origin and cause of lightning, but as electricity was an -unknown force to them, their conjectures were as wild as the chimærical -tales of Cimmerian darkness in ultra-Scythian realms, or of the Utopian -haven of bliss, where the Hyperboreans dwelt. But one of their various -conjectures is worthy of note, as it contains an element of truth. It -was, that the lightning was produced by mutual friction or violent -concussion of the clouds. - -Since electricity has been recognized as the agent in the phenomena of -thunder storms, inquiry as to whether it is a cause or a result of the -formation of clouds, has produced evidence in favor of the latter fact -(though clouds differently charged have mutual attraction for each -other), for rapid motion of gases may be made to generate electricity. A -natural sequence would be that thunder storms are most violent where -clouds are heaviest. Hence, thunder storms are naturally most frequent -and violent in the tropics, where the greater heat produces immense -masses of vapor. and are unknown in the polar world, where the -comparative dryness of the atmosphere is unfavorable. The unusual amount -of electricity in dense clouds in rapid motion is shown by the -tremendous electrical displays attendant upon tornadoes and cyclones. -Another illustration of lightning resulting from cloud agency, rather -than controlling them, may be found in the cloudless Sahara, where -evidences of electricity are sometimes to be observed in the time of the -Khamsin, while the thunder storm is unknown. One notable exception to -the rule that thunder storms are violent and frequent in all tropical -regions is to be found in Peru, with its cloudless skies and eternal -sun, where a rainfall or a thunder storm would be as great a curiosity -as a palm tree at the north pole. The mere fact of elevation renders -the thunder storm more violent in mountainous regions, in both temperate -and tropical worlds. - -Knowing the character of this mysterious power, we may not enter upon a -lengthy discussion of the changes, chemical, physical and otherwise, -that may be produced by it. Within the scope of this work, only its rank -as an agent of destruction and a historical factor may be considered. Is -electricity to be greatly feared? to be put on a par with the flood, the -hurricane, and the earthquake? Has it ever figured in the history of -nations sufficiently to directly affect their destinies? - -The first and most familiar aspect of its power is the thunder storm, -which needs not a word of description. It results merely from the -discharges passing between two bodies oppositely charged. There is one -comparatively rare form of lightning, in which it appears as a globe of -fire slowly descending, with wayward and unexpected dashes to the side, -sometimes coming down a chimney and playing about the floor like a -kitten, much to the discomfiture of the inmates, till it at length -explodes with immense force, hurling zig-zag lightnings all about. This -peculiar freak, several times observed, is as yet unexplained. - -The lightning seems throughout most civilized nations to be the most -dreaded of all natural agencies, if we may judge from the many -precautions taken against it. And in truth it is a terrific power, -cleaving the hardest rocks, rending the mighty oak, and fusing the most -refractory substances. Darting into the soil it frequently forms tubes -of vitreous appearance by fusing the earth and stones as it passes. The -writer has seen masses of straw fused in the same way. And when we -remember that French savants have, with the most powerful of batteries -been able to produce tubes only an inch in length and one-fiftieth of -an inch in diameter by passing shocks through powdered glass, we may -well stand in awe at the terrible power that produces tubes thirty feet -long and four inches in diameter in the far more obstinate feldspar and -quartz. - -[Illustration: IDEAL SUBTERRANEAN STORM.] - -There are numerous cases of death by lightning; but the instances in -which more than one person has been killed by a flash are comparatively -rare. The freaks played far outdo those of the wind, and puzzle the -wisest. March 20, 1784, about four hundred people were assembled in the -theatre at Mantua, when lightning struck the building, and killed two -persons, injuring ten. But many who were not hurt found the bolt had -melted their watch-keys, earrings, and split diamonds they were wearing. -How such feats could be performed without in the least harming the -possessors is a mystery. - -June 11, 1819, while a large assembly were attending divine services in -the church of Chateau Neuf les Montiers, in France, lightning struck the -building, killing nine persons and wounding eighty-two. In 1715 the -lightning fell into the abbey of Noirmoutiers, near Tours, and killed -twenty-two horses, but did no further harm to the one hundred and fifty -monks at supper than to turn over their one hundred and fifty bottles of -wine. In 1855, lightning struck a flock of sheep in France, killing -seventy-eight of them and two dogs, and sparing the old shepherdess. A -French author relates the case of a priest who was killed by lightning, -while the horse on which he rode was unhurt, and quietly continued -homeward with the stiffened corpse. A somewhat similar case has come -within the knowledge of the writer: a man on horseback being killed, and -the saddle perforated; yet the horse remained apparently unhurt. I -remember another instance of a man who was struck, and escaped unharmed; -but one of his boots was torn to shreds and some of the hobnails melted: -and I myself have been struck upon the foot, with no other result than a -peculiar numbness, lasting nearly half an hour. - -In many instances a livid streak is the only mark left upon the dead -body; and again it may be torn almost to atoms; while in some cases not -the slightest trace is perceptible. The greater number fall in the first -class. In 1838, some cattle were killed by lightning near Nymnegen, in -Holland. Their bones were shattered to a thousand fragments, as though -by nitro-glycerine; while externally there was no particular token -visible. Some sheep killed in Bohemia, in 1718, were similarly served. -The fragments of bone were driven so thoroughly throughout the flesh -that the carcasses were unfit for food. - -In 1869, the mayor of Pradette, France, was killed by lightning, and all -his clothes, with the exception of one shoe, were torn from the body. -“August 11, 1855, a man was struck by lightning on a road near -Vallerois, and entirely divested of his raiment, only a few remnants of -which could afterwards be found. Ten minutes after the stroke he was -restored to consciousness, complained of the cold, and asked how he came -to be without any clothing. No doubt, he would have more easily consoled -himself for the loss of his apparel had he known of the case reported by -Sestier, of a man whose whole right side was burnt, as if he had been -held for some time over a fire-pan, while his shirt, his drawers and the -rest of his dress bore no marks whatever of combustion.” Sometimes the -clothing is found unstitched; again, it is burnt, and again, in some -mysterious manner, seems to be annihilated. - -Prof. Tyndall relates his sensations upon having a powerful electric -discharge pass through him: “Life was absolutely blotted out for a very -sensible interval, without a trace of pain. In a second or so -consciousness returned. * * * The _intellectual_ consciousness of my -position was restored with singular rapidity, but not so the _optical_ -consciousness. * * * The appearance which my body presented to myself -was that of a number of separate pieces. The arms, for example, were -detached from the trunk and suspended in the air. In fact, memory and -the power of reasoning appeared to be complete long before the optic -nerve was restored to healthy action. But what I wish chiefly to dwell -upon here, is the absolute painlessness of the shock; and there can not -be a doubt that to a person struck dead by lightning the passage from -life to death occurs without consciousness being in the least degree -implicated. It is an abrupt stoppage of sensation, unaccompanied by a -pang.” - -There is another class of peculiar freaks performed by this subtle -force, which the following instances illustrate. Prof. Perty tells of a -thunder storm in Switzerland, when “the lightning sprang from a pear -tree upon the verandah of a house, where it killed a boy and wounded his -mother. The pear tree and the house were burned down. On the arm of the -wounded woman a remarkably elegant impression of twigs and leaves, like -a photographic copy of part of the pear tree, was found.” - -There are several cases noted of persons sitting near windows when -lightning flashing near by has produced an exact likeness of the person, -as though engraved on the glass. - -“In 1825 the lightning fell upon the brigantine _El Buon Servo_, which -lay at anchor in the bay of Armiro, at the mouth of the Adriatic Sea. -The superstitious Ionian sailors generally fasten a horseshoe to the -foremasts of their ships, probably fancying that this simple means -affords them protection against the evil intentions of wizards and -witches. Of course, the _Buon Servo_ was not without its horseshoe. -Antonio Teodoro, of Scarpanto, was sitting near the mast, when it was -struck by lightning. He was killed at once. No marks of combustion were -found on his body, nor were his clothes torn; but on his back was found -the distinct impression of a horseshoe of the same size as that which -was nailed to the mast.” - -In the records of the Academy of Sciences, we find that “the Signora -Morosa, a lady of Lugano, who sat near a window during a thunder storm, -received a shock which did her no further injury; but a flower which -stood in the passage of the electric fluid was distinctly pictured on -her thigh.” She carried the mark to her grave. - -Lightning is one of the most useful purifiers of the atmosphere. There -can be no doubt that large quantities of noxious exhalations are -destroyed by electrical discharges. Its beneficial effects in this -respect have been long noted. “Both Hippocrates and Galenus remark that -the water which falls during a thunder storm is more healthy to drink -than that which proceeds from a uniformly clouded sky: and Plutarch -mentions that the rain from a thunder cloud is considered as more -favorable to vegetation, and communicates to plants a particular -flavor.” There are also on record a number of instances in which persons -long in poor health, on receiving light shocks, have greatly improved in -health and appearance. Similar results have been noticed in plant life. -Doubtless such cases as these gave rise to the belief of the ancients, -that to be struck by lightning was to be favored by the gods. - -This opinion was especially noted in the case of Mithridates. Slightly -wounded in the forehead by lightning when a child, he escaped unhurt -later in life, when his sword was totally destroyed. These facts caused -him to be held in superstitious fear by the Romans. And Quintus Julius -Eburnus became consul, B. C., mainly because of a similar mark of divine -favor. Those who were killed by a flash were believed to be not subject -to decay, and were robed in white and buried where they fell. So also -those whose tombs lightning struck were peculiarly honored of Heaven. -Lord Byron alludes to this in his stanza upon the bust of Ariosto on the -poet’s tomb at Ferrara, which had been struck by lightning: - - “The lightning rent from Ariosto’s bust - The iron crown of laurel’s mimicked leaves, - Nor was the ominous element unjust, - For the true laurel wreath which glory weaves - Is of the tree no bolt of thunder cleaves, - And the false semblance but disgraced his brow; - Yet, still, if fondly superstition grieves, - Know, that the lightning sanctifies below - Whate’er it strikes--yon head is doubly sacred now.” - -The identification of electricity with lightning is a comparatively -recent occurrence. The story of Benjamin Franklin, patron saint of the -devout lightning-rod agent, is too familiar to require repetition. Yet, -the idea was first broached in the latter part of the seventeenth -century by two students of the new force, more than fifty years before -Franklin’s experiments. - -Thunder clouds usually float from two thousand to five thousand feet -from the earth; but there is one case on record of two priests being -killed by lightning from a cloud only thirty yards from the ground; -while another thunder storm is noted as having occurred eighteen -thousand feet from the earth. As sound travels about one thousand and -ninety feet per second, any one may ascertain the distance of a flash by -noting the time that elapses ere the thunder is heard. All existing -records fail to tell of thunder heard more than four miles; while the -cannonading at Paris in 1871 could be heard one hundred and five miles; -and Waterloo could be heard one hundred and fifty miles. - -The action of lightning is instantaneous, and when near by the report is -at first a single sharp crack; but it is always followed by a long -rolling, so characteristic that every name given the thunder in a -measure endeavors to imitate it. The reason of the continued roll from a -single flash is simple, and is to be found in the fact that a flash -usually travels several miles; and as sound travels as stated above, the -sounds generated at different distances come to the ear in rapid -succession, resulting in a continuous roar. - -As the flash is due merely to the attraction between two bodies charged -with opposite kinds of electricity, the discharge may pass either up or -down. Cases are on record of persons on a mountain side being killed by -lightning from a cloud below them, and of people on the ground killed by -lightning dashing from them toward the sky. - -Among the more notable fatalities resulting from lightning may be -mentioned the terrible thunder storm of 1793, at Buenos Ayres, when the -lightning struck thirty-seven times within the city, and killed nineteen -people. A number of persons were killed on June 18, 1872, in England, at -different places; and numerous others perished within the month from -similar discharges. - -Electricity seems to kill by destroying nervous power. Cardanus tells of -eight reapers being killed while taking their meal under an oak. When -the witnesses of the occurrence ran to the spot, they saw a strange -sight. The victims “seemed to be still busy with their frugal repast. -One of them held his glass, another was putting some bread into his -mouth, a third had his hand in the dish. The angel of death had struck -them so violently that the whole surface of their bodies bore the marks -of his black wings. They seemed so many statues sculptured in black -marble.” - -“In another case where ten reapers were killed under a hedge, one of -them had a dog on his knee at the time when he was struck. The -unfortunate man was caressing with one hand his little companion, and -with the other giving him a piece of bread. Both master and dog were -merely inert masses of rigid muscle and stiffened sinew, and yet the -bread was still held by the lifeless hand. The dog, with his mouth -expressively open, seemed still to beg for the proffered morsel.” - -A peasant woman in the suburbs of Nancy was struck while gathering -flowers. She was found standing, holding in her hand the daisy she had -been plucking. A French soldier took refuge under a tree during a storm; -a peasant sheltered himself in a copse near by. The soldier was killed -by lightning. The storm over, the peasant crept out and called to the -soldier to come on. Receiving no answer, he - -[Illustration: HARVESTERS KILLED BY LIGHTNING.] - -went up and touched the erect, motionless figure. It at once melted -away. Only a little dust remained. A similar result occurred not long -since in a powerful electric light plant. A large rat endeavored to -cross some of the machinery, and at once became rigid, as though an -image of stone. One of the employes, taking a stick, endeavored to push -the carcass off; it at once disappeared in a cloud of impalpable dust. - -Terrible results have followed from lightning striking into powder -magazines. August 18, 1769, the powder vault in the tower of St. -Nazaire, at Brescia, was struck. The explosion destroyed one-sixth of -the city completely, and damaged all buildings more or less. Three -thousand persons were killed, while the property ruined amounted to over -$3,000,000. June 26, 1807, the lightning struck a magazine in the -fortress of the Luxembourg, ruining the lower town, and killing or -wounding two hundred and thirty people. In 1856 the powder vaults in the -church of St. John, in the island of Rhodes were struck. More than two -hundred people were instantly killed. - -The lightning often shows in itself a sort of explosive power. Every one -is familiar with the blasting of trees, and the throwing of fragments to -a great distance. Some unusually violent effects of this class have been -noticed. In 1762, stones weighing one hundred and fifty pounds, were -flung from a church in Cornwall, to a distance of one hundred and eighty -feet. In the Shetland Isles, during the last century, a rock of mica -schist, one hundred and five feet long, ten feet broad, and from three -to five feet thick, was in an instant torn by a flash of lightning from -its bed, and broken into three large and several smaller fragments. One -piece twenty-six feet long, ten feet broad, and four feet thick, was -merely inverted. A second, twenty-eight feet long, seventeen feet broad, -and five feet thick, was hurled over a high point to a distance of -fifty yards: another mass, forty feet long, was hurled still further in -the same direction, quite into the sea. - -Certain localities seem to have peculiar attractive power for lightning. -On the Norwegian coast is a narrow channel between two dark rocky -headlands, where the lightning seems often to play almost incessantly. -The gloomy chasm, so frequently reverberating with the roll of the -thunder, is viewed with superstitious fear by ignorant sailors; and the -boldest heart is filled with awe in the forbidding presence of the Lyse -Fiord. By many he is thought a venturesome captain who will dare take -his vessel through this frowning gateway. - -But after a careful consideration of the topic, it is clear that -lightning is less to be feared than almost any other of the atmospheric -phenomena. Comparatively rare are the cases where more than one or two -persons are killed at once. Statistics hitherto collected show that -scarcely one death in two thousand is occasioned by it. And yet no force -seems to be so universally feared. Every people in every age have taken -precautions against it, while the hurricane and the flood pass almost -unheeded. - -The ancient Thracians were wont to shoot their arrows at the sky during -a storm, to remind the fire-gods to be a little more careful in their -sport. A similar practice is found among certain South African tribes: -while the South Sea Islanders, far more fearless, tell of Ina, a woman -whom the moon stole for his wife, while she was beating bark-cloth. She -may be seen in the moon to-day--the figure we call the “man in the -moon.” Continually at work, she spreads out her cloth on the sky to -dry--(clouds)--fastening it down with blue stones, of which the sky is -built. When done, she gathers it up, throwing down the stones, which, -falling upon the earth, produce the sound of thunder. The lightning is -the torch the moon holds to aid her in her work. - -Augustus was wont to retire to a subterranean vault during a storm, and -it is said the Japanese emperors had a similar custom, having the -additional precaution of large reservoirs of water over the grottos. -When away from home, Augustus usually wrapped himself in sealskin, -believed, not only by the Romans, but by many others, to be -lightning-proof. In some portions of France, the peasants believe snake -skins to be an efficient anti-lightning charm. And among not a few of -the ancients there was a belief prevalent that lightning never injured a -person in bed. - -In the passage quoted from Byron on the bust of Ariosto, allusion is -made to the belief that lightning never strikes the laurel-plant sacred -to Apollo. Firm in this opinion, Tiberius, during thunder storms, put on -a laurel crown; and similar virtue is to-day ascribed by the Chinese to -peach and mulberry trees. Not a few persons to-day believe glass to be a -safeguard, and that a person is safe beside a closed window. Seamen, and -not a few of the peasantry of different regions, believe the firing of -guns will break up a thunder storm. Tolling of church-bells is another -powerful protection against the fires of the sky, which has cost many a -bell-ringer his life; a tall steeple being unusually liable to be -struck, and a damp bell-rope forming a good conductor. One authority -tells us of three hundred and eighty-six steeples struck within -thirty-three years, and one hundred and twenty-one bell-ringers killed. -The preventive was all right; but these tollers had sinned away all -right to protection, and perished as victims of Divine wrath, instead of -an absurd custom. - -Such are some of the many illusory modes of protection in vogue in times -past, and existing to no small extent in the present. Comment upon them -is unnecessary. We know to-day that the higher objects are most liable -to be struck, and that metals are the best conductors; and on these -facts the whole system of lightning-rod protection is based. - -But in regard to even the best conductors, a witty German has found much -room for ridicule. “While I am writing this, symptoms of dysentery are -showing themselves with us in Gottingen. Six persons are said to have -died of this complaint--that is more than twice as many in a few days as -the lightning has killed in our town in half a century--and yet the -public seems remarkably easy upon the subject. I do not even find that -the cheapest _dysentery conductors_ have been resorted to. People still -go about in light clothing, although the wind is already blowing over -the stubble, and I have even perceived, within the last few days, that -some persons sleep with open windows, which are very carefully closed -during a thunder storm, and yet there is not a single instance known -that lightning has ever made its way through an open window, while -dysentery very easily strikes into a bedroom, particularly when, after a -warm day, it makes its appearance in company of rain and a cool wind. Is -not this singular? How would people conduct themselves in these days if -the dysentery was to rise above the horizon in the form of a low black -cloud, changing day into twilight, and whenever it selected a victim, -explode with a violent thunder clap, which made the house shake? I -believe there would be no end of singing and praying. And yet this storm -is now impending on our heads--but without thunder claps and black -clouds, which are, after all, only accessories--and we go about our -affairs as if nothing were happening.” - -The fact that objects reaching much above the general surface are most -liable to be struck, places ships at sea in a peculiarly dangerous -position; and considering the relative number of the two, ships are more -frequently struck than houses. The packet boat _New York_, was struck -some years since: the chain which was attached to the mainmast as -conductor was entirely volatilized, not being large enough to act as -conductor. - -The fact that electricity passes most readily from elevated points, -renders the ship the scene of the most beautiful of the more common -electric phenomena. Any one who has visited an electric plant knows how -sparks and flashes of light accumulate on the brushes; and a similar -spectacle may at times be seen on the wires of electric lights at night. -So at sea during cloudy weather, the yards, masts, spars and other more -prominent points often glow with pale lambent flames, of greenish or -bluish tint. One who clambers up to them may find upon near approach -that they almost disappear; while to one a short distance away they are -as distinct as ever. A hand plunged into the flame glows with the same -spectral light. This phenomenon is popularly known among sailors as “St. -Elmo’s fire;” but there is much difference of opinion as to what it may -forebode. Some sailors believe the ghost of a dead comrade is -accompanying the ship. Others consider that St. Elmo has taken the ship -under his protection. A more common, and the rational view, is thus -given by Longfellow: - - “Last night I saw St. Elmo’s stars - With their glimmering lanterns, all at play, - On the tops of the masts, and the tips of the spars, - And I knew we should have foul weather to-day. - Cheerily, my hearties!--yo-heave-oh! - Brail up the mainsail and let her go, - As the winds will, and St. Antonio.” - -This phenomenon has been noticed from the earliest times. Shakespeare -wrote three centuries ago, in “The Tempest:” - - _Prospero._--“Hast thou, spirit, - Performed, to point the tempest that I bid thee?” - - _Ariel._--“To every article. - I boarded the King’s ship: now on the beak, - Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, - I flamed amazement: sometimes I’d divide, - And burn in many places: on the topmast, - The yards and bowsprit would I flame distinctly; - Then meet and join.” - -When Lysander was about to set sail from Lampsacus to attack the -Athenian fleet, “Castor and Pollux” appeared upon each side of the -Lacedemonian admiral’s vessel, greatly encouraging him. Such were the -names of the strange lights among the ancients: and ever and anon we -find record of their appearance. - -This title needs explanation. This peculiar halo is not confined to the -sea, nor to inanimate objects. The electric aureole has been frequently -observed upon persons, and has always been considered a good omen. The -Spartan Gylippus on his march to raise the siege of Syracuse, saw a star -upon his lance and rejoiced at the token of divine favor. Nearly every -tyro in Latin is familiar with the tale that Servius Tullius, when a -child, was found asleep in his cradle with flames playing about him, and -was in consequence educated like a prince, and became king of Rome. -Stories of halos about Constantine the Great, and the Visigoth emperor -Wamba, are also told. It is said that during Cæsar’s African war, flames -sprang from the standards of the fifth legion during a stormy night: and -at a time when Rome, almost in despair at the triumphs of Carthage and -the death of two Scipios in Spain, was seriously meditating the -abandonment of the contest, Lucius Marcius ventured upon a harangue to -encourage the dispirited legions. While he spoke, a flame rested upon -his helmet. Roused by the wonderful mark of divine favor, the Romans -went forth yet again, and gained one of their greatest victories. What -might have been the fate of the world if Carthage, not Rome, had -prevailed? Who dare assert that an electric flame has not changed the -destinies of the universe? - -But the earliest story of this sort comes from the famed expedition of -the _Argo_, in search of the Golden Fleece. During a fearful storm -Orpheus invoked the gods of Samothracia; and immediately divine lights -appeared upon the heads of Castor and Pollux, two members of the party, -and the storm ceased. So after death the two mythical heroes were -promoted a place among the demi-gods, and became the especial patrons of -sailors: and the strange lights on shipboard were supposed to indicate -their presence. A single light, however, was supposed to bode evil, and -to be the work of the mischief-making Helena. - -Since the extension of travel and scientific research, this phenomenon -has been so frequently observed as to be no longer considered -remarkable; and it is supposed to be due to electric clouds or currents -coming in direct contact with objects, so that instead of the flash of -lightning from a distance, there is a steady discharge, often with some -hissing or crackling sound, noticeable at the brushes of any electric -machine; in fact, the noise is seldom absent. It almost invariably -appears before or after a thunder storm: and has hardly ever been -observed during one. To this same cause must be attributed the -occasional showers of luminous rain and dust. - -But no amount of science can rob such appearances of their terrors for -the uninitiated. Of scores of instances we might name, a single one will -suffice. Prof. Siemens tells of an unusual electric disturbance during a -Khamsin, while his party and his Arab guides were upon the summit of -the great pyramid. Hearing a hissing noise as the wind rose, he at -length concluded it must be due to electricity: and “holding up a full -wine-bottle, the head of which was coated with tin foil,” the same -hissing was increased. The bottle was then wrapped with moist paper, to -increase its capacity. Even before this, a severe shock could be -obtained from the head of the bottle. - -“The Arabs, who for some time had been looking on with astonishment at -our proceedings, came to the conclusion that we were practicing magic, -and insisted upon our leaving the pyramid. Their remonstrances being of -no avail, they now wanted to use the right of the stronger, and to make -us descend by force. I retreated to the highest stone block and loaded -my bottle as strongly as possible, while the leader of the Arabs seized -me by the other hand and was endeavoring to drag me down. At this -critical moment, I touched him with the neck of the bottle, and the -effects of the shock it produced were such as to surpass my keenest -expectations. The son of the desert, whose nerves had never before felt -a similar commotion, fell flat down upon the ground, as if struck by -lightning; and then springing up with a dreadful howl, soon vanished out -of sight, followed by all his comrades.” - -These cases of halos and electric aureoles thus far mentioned, have -clearly played a far more important part in the history of nations than -the more frequently occurring lightning stroke, merely because of the -wonderful hold they have had upon the superstitious tendency of man. -Leave Servius Tullius out of the history of Rome, or leave out the -speech and aureole of Marcius, and who can say how different the face of -the earth might be? - -More frequently observed, and because of its frequency, comparatively -unheeded in northern climes, is the aurora, which in the temperate zone -has frequently inspired terror equal to the earthquake, though -absolutely harmless. The writer recalls that a bright aurora not so very -many years ago caused not a few superstitious folk to believe the end of -the world was at hand. They believed the red streamers to be the chariot -of fire in which the Lord was speeding earthward. This was the great -aurora of September 3, 1859, which was visible from the United States to -Siberia, from the Cape of Good Hope and Australia to the north of -Europe. It was the most tremendous ever known, and well calculated to -terrify the superstitious.[A] - - [A] And even so late as 1872, the brilliant aurora which was seen as - far south as Alexandria, was believed by the intelligent Parisians to - forebode terrible wars, and the speedy overthrow of the hated Germans, - who had so lately trampled their capital and their pride. And in - earlier days the northern light had been deemed the harbinger of war, - famine or pestilence. - -Humboldt, and others since, have supposed the aurora to be light emitted -by the earth itself; but to-day its electric character is proven beyond -a doubt. Electric discharges passed through a tube containing greatly -rarefied dry air produce the same effect on a small scale; and every -aurora produces a powerful disturbance of magnetic instruments. In most -cases, they are attended by a hissing, crackling noise: so the Siberians -are wont to say that “the raging host is passing.” - -We find occasional references to the aurora among ancient writers, but -little attempt to explain it. So we have even few myths, it not being -common enough in warmer climes to hold a place in popular tales. But in -Iceland, and more northern regions, it is of constant and brilliant -occurrence, merely because it requires dry air, and the coldest air is -the driest. So among Scandinavian races appears the myth embodied by -Longfellow in the “Saga of King Olaf.” The war god, Thor, speaks: - - “The light thou beholdest - Stream through the heavens - In flashes of crimson, - Is but my red beard, - Blown by the night wind, - Affrighting the nations.” - -And Scott has told us of the belief in Scotland and the northern isles, -of spirits abroad in the upper air: - - “The monk gazed long on the lovely moon, - Then into the night he looked forth: - And red and bright, the streamers light, - Were dancing in the glowing north. - So had he seen, in fair Castile, - The youth in glittering squadrons start, - Sudden the flying jennet wheel, - And hurl the unexpected dart. - He knew by the streams that shot so bright, - That spirits were riding the Northern light.” - -The light emitted by the aurora varies much in intensity. Ordinarily it -is not greater than that of the moon in her first quarter; but a few -instances are recorded where it was powerful enough to make itself -perceptible by day; and on one occasion it was strong enough at night to -cast a shadow in the midst of a Newfoundland fog. As the phenomenon has -been carefully studied only within a century, it is not safe to affirm -with certainty what records of the past three hundred years have induced -many to believe; that it is of special frequency at periods of one -hundred and fifty years. This can only apply to the temperate zones; for -in the polar world it is to be seen on almost every clear still night. - -M. Martins has given us a striking picture of the auroras. “At times -they are simple diffused gleams or luminous patches; at others, -quivering rays of pure white which run across the sky, starting from the -horizon as if an invisible pencil were being drawn over the celestial -vault. At times it stops in its course: the incomplete rays - -[Illustration: LAND OF THE AURORA.] - -do not reach the zenith, but the aurora continues at some other point; a -bouquet of rays darts forth, spreads out into a fan, then becomes pale -and dies out. At other times long golden draperies float above the head -of the spectator, and take a thousand folds and undulations, as if -agitated by the wind. They appear to be at but a slight elevation in the -atmosphere, and it seems strange that the rustling of the folds, as they -double back on each other, is not audible. Generally a luminous bow is -seen in the north; a black segment separates it from the horizon, its -dark color forming a contrast with the pure white or red of the bow, -which darts forth the rays, extends, becomes divided, and soon presents -the appearance of a luminous fan, which fills the northern sky, and -mounts nearly to the zenith, where the rays, uniting, form a crown, -which in its turn, darts forth luminous jets in all directions. The sky -then looks like a cupola of fire: blue, green, red, yellow and white -vibrate in the palpitating rays of the aurora. But this brilliant -spectacle lasts only a few minutes; the crown first ceases to emit -luminous jets, and then gradually dies out; a diffuse light fills the -sky; here and there a few luminous patches, resembling light clouds, -open and close with an incredible rapidity, like a heart that is beating -very fast. They soon get pale in their turn; everything fades away and -becomes confused; the aurora seems to be in its death-throes; the stars, -which its light had obscured, shine with a renewed brightness; and the -long polar night, sombre and profound, again assumes its sway over the -icy solitudes of earth and ocean.” - -In the presence of such brilliancy and beauty, both poet and artist may -despair. It may be copied only by the master hand that sent it flaming -through the heavens. There is naught under the sun whereunto to liken -it, and it is the electric flash which men may least fear; and yet, -even it has wrought evil at times; for its magnetic power disturbs the -compass; and the electric storms it betokens have more than once in the -past caused electric wires to set objects near them on fire. I well -remember the powerful electric disturbances that attended a magnificent -aurora in 1884, which was visible as far as southern Arkansas. Depots -were fired in many places by electric switch-boards; one in Pennsylvania -taking fire four times. During this electric storm, telegraphs and -telephones were temporarily useless. - -Such are the phenomena presented in the atmosphere by this most -mysterious power. Dreadful in the lightning’s leap, strange and uncanny -in the aureole’s glow, wildly and weirdly beautiful in the flickering -flash and flow of the Northern Light, we have seen that, though it has -played an important part in the history of the world because of its -appeal to man’s superstition, it is notwithstanding the occasional bolt -of death, to be considered, while one of the most powerful and -universal, one of the least to be feared of all the forces of nature; -and is practicably responsible for few great disasters. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -RAIN, HAIL AND SNOW. - - “I bring fresh showers for the thirsty flowers, - From the seas and the streams, - I bear light shade for the leaves when laid - In their noonday dreams. - From my wings are shaken the dews that waken - The sweet birds every one, - When rocked to rest on their mother’s breast, - As she dances about the sun. - I wield the flail of the lashing hail, - And whiten the green plains under. - And then again I dissolve in rain, - And laugh as I pass in thunder. - - I am the daughter of earth and water, - And the nursling of the sky, - I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores, - I change, but I can not die. - For after the rain, when with never a stain - The pavilion of heaven is bare, - And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams, - Build up the blue dome of air, - I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, - And out of the caverns of rain, - Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, - I arise and unbuild it again.” - - -The cloud is well worth Shelley’s admiration; for though it be but a -vague oppressive mist when it enwraps, yet afar it assumes either beauty -or gloom, as its seeming whims may dictate. Few are they who have never -paused in silent admiration of some beautiful fleecy spirit of the upper -deep, changing every instant like the shifting figures of a -kaleidoscope, or presenting fantastic likenesses of natural objects, or -ever and anon presenting pictures of strange monsters, such as only the -superstitious and timid can imagine. Often in times past have nations -stood aghast at the portentous signs observed in season of some great -calamity. A lurid beam of light from the hidden sun, darting through a -rift in the clouds, has been reported as a flaming sword. Shortly before -the destruction of Jerusalem, the sky was filled with horses and -chariots, rushing to battle. After the siege the wretched survivors -recognized too late what was the purpose of the warning. - -Wordsworth speaks of these bizarre fantasies: - - “Lo! in the burning west the craggy nape - Of a proud Ararat! and thereupon, - The Ark, her melancholy voyage done. - Yon rampant cloud mimics a lion’s shape, - There combats a huge crocodile--agape, - A golden spear to swallow! and that brown - And mossy grove, so near yon blazing town, - Stirs and recedes--destruction to escape, - Yet all is harmless--as the Elysian shades - Where spirits dwell in undisturbed repose, - Silently disappear and quickly fades, - Meek Nature’s evening comment on the shows - That for oblivion take their daily birth - From all the fuming vanities of Earth.” - -And naught can present so sombre and terrifying an aspect as those -phantoms of the air, when mailed with the lightning and flying with the -storm. - -Yet, upon the cloud the welfare of the human race is dependent, as much -as upon any other force in nature: for rain or drouth, famine or plenty, -snow or flood, all follow in its path. More than once has rain or storm -decided the destiny of nations. Far different might our own lot have -been, if that bitter storm of Christmas night, 1777, had not given -Washington an opportunity of surprising the carousing Hessians in -Trenton, and so reviving the drooping spirits of his countrymen. Hardly -would he have escaped, but that the sudden frost hardened the ground and -enabled him to steal away by night with his artillery, leaving the -chafing Cornwallis the privilege of attacking the deserted camp on the -Assanpink in the morning. It was a winter storm that enabled the bold -Vermonters to surprise the frowning fortress on the upper Hudson. -Napoleon could invade Russia, and drive the Cossack pell-mell before -him; no mortal power could control the elements; and his splendid hosts -melted away like snow in the breath of the icy storm; and once more the -Cossack sang to his steed: - - “Now fiercely neigh, my gallant gray; thy breast is broad and ample. - Thy hoofs shall prance o’er the fields of France and the pride of her - heroes trample.” - -Again the “Man of Destiny” was conquered by the elements. - - “There was a sound of revelry by night” - -as the dread combat of Waterloo prepared. The plan of the “Genius of -War” was superb. But all his contests were problems of artillery. “The -Lord is on the side of the strongest battalions and heaviest -artillery"--bold manner of saying that “when one seeks for the reason of -the successes of great generals, one is surprised to find that they did -everything necessary to insure them.” But he who would insure success -must have the clouds at his beck. That night it rained. The mud crippled -his artillery and left the contest to the rifle and bayonet. Waterloo -was lost. A shower of rain changed the face of Europe--the history of -the world. - -Scriptural narrative and the sage Josephus tell us how the Philistine -host were cut down by the motley rabble of almost unarmed Israelites, -routed mainly by a terrific thunder storm that beat in their faces, -flamed upon their weapons, and transformed the disciplined army into a -panic-stricken multitude. What might have been the future of Israel and -the Jewish faith, but for the intervention of that storm? We need not -multiply instances. - -[Illustration: FIELD OF WATERLOO.] - -The causes that produce the different phenomena of condensation in rain, -hail and snow, are not known. Rainfall is the most indefinite of all the -atmospheric phenomena in location, quantity, frequency, and -distribution. The winds do not vary greatly, one year with another; but -such is not the case with the rain. Sometimes the condensation is slow -and the moisture falls on the earth as mist. Some suppose that the -rainfall is due merely to the cold of great elevations: and this would -seem to be well supported by the prevalence of fogs on the Newfoundland -banks, where the constant cold current and the occasional icebergs -produce a similar degree of cold at sea level, condensing the moisture -from the warm seas southward. Others urge that two masses of saturated -air of different temperature combine, necessarily condensing the -surplus; and the Newfoundland banks are again referred to as an -illustration. - -Light on fog-banks often presents peculiar and beautiful illusions. The -writer remembers having seen a whole town apparently wrapped in flames, -the effect being produced by the lights from many windows shining -through a light mist that was curling and twisting before a light -breeze. Similar causes produce the peculiar halos and mock-suns and -mock-moons not infrequently seen in the sky. These, and the beautiful -rainbow, all depend upon the reflection and refraction of light in -passing through vapor masses. These curious spectacles once had no -little terror for the ignorant and superstitious. Shakespeare doubtless -alludes to some such case in the dialogue between Hubert and King John, -making Hubert narrate an exaggerated version of the facts, as the -superstitiously inclined rabble reported it: - - _Hubert._--“My lord, they say five moons were seen to-night; - Four fixed; and the fifth did whirl about - The other four with wondrous motion.” - - _King John._--“Five moons?” - - _Hubert._--“Old men and beldams in the streets - Do prophecy upon it dangerously; - Young Arthur’s death is common in their mouths.” - -Sometimes an appearance more terrifying to the uninitiated is seen. The -traveler in Germany may hear strange myths of specters that frequent the -mountains. It was long said that spirits dwelt on the summit of the -Matterhorn. Gigantic phantoms roamed the Harz Mountains. One of the best -known of all these apparitions is the famous “Specter of the Brocken.” -The wanderer on the lonely height at sunrise may see upon a neighboring -summit a gigantic shadowy figure, moving about, and mimicking every -motion of the traveler. Of course, it is but his shadow on a neighboring -fog-bank; but the solution remained a mystery long enough to terrify -many a simple peasant into needless invocations of the saints. But -similar appearances are occasionally observable in many localities. The -Spaniard Ulloa records that on the mountain Pambamarca, in Peru, he saw -his shadow on the cloud surrounded by three complete circular rainbows. -The same peculiarity has been frequently noticed elsewhere, but never on -so grand a scale. We find no peculiar myths concerning halos in general, -it being generally considered that they announce the approach of rain; -and the fog-bank is of no especial danger save to the seaman, or the -traveler overtaken and blinded by one in mountain fastnesses; though -their depressing influence has led one writer to exclaim: - - “Fly, fly, profane fogs! fly hence far away, - Taint not the pure springs of the springing day - With your dull influence; it is for you - To sit and scowl upon night’s heavy brow.” - -And the fog, though not ornamental--unless we except that dry haze, the -Indian summer--may be useful in preventing a frost, or in keeping a -parched earth from drying too rapidly. But for this last, all the world -prefers the rain, and sings with Longfellow: - -[Illustration: SPECTER OF THE BROCKEN.] - - “How beautiful is the rain! - After the dust and heat, - In the broad and fiery street, - In the narrow lane, - How beautiful is the rain! - How it clatters along the roofs - Like the tramp of hoofs! - How it gushes and struggles out, - From the throat of the overflowing spout, - Across the window pane it pours and pours, - And swift and wide, - With a muddy tide, - Like a river, down the gutter roars - The rain, the welcome rain.” - -Not always welcome; for we find the same poet moaning: - - “The day is cold, and dark, and dreary, - It rains, and the rain is never weary.” - -And certainly, the farmer who looks through the driving rain at his -ruined crops has little sentiment left to expend upon its beauty. But -the world over, after a rain every feature of a landscape stands out -with singular clearness; the haze commonly prevalent has for the nonce -disappeared. - -The amount of rainfall varies so vastly in different countries, that it -would be tedious to the reader to enter upon a detail of the different -amounts. In general it is greatest upon those portions of the land first -reached by regular incoming sea winds. So in South America, Peru and -southern Ecuador are practically without rain, as the Andes and the -Amazon forests deprive the trade winds of their moisture ere they reach -the Pacific coast; while southern Chili seldom sees the sun; lying in -the track of the return trades, whose moisture is at once precipitated -by the Andes. So in India the monsoon which pours deluges of water along -the southwestern coasts, brings but twenty-three inches a year to the -central plateau; and by the time Central Asia is reached, it is so dry -the steppes of Tartary must remain almost a desert. And in our own -land, we find in general the heaviest rain from the eastern coast to the -central region: while the western plateau along the eastern slopes of -the Rockies is unusually dry, and liable to protracted drouths: and in -the Mojave desert, and in southeastern California, the rainfall is less -than two inches per year. On the North Pacific coast the rainfall -increases rapidly, as in the southern Andes; but in general our highest -mean rainfall is in the southern portion of the Gulf States. The highest -average in the world is so far credited to Sumatra, one hundred and -thirty inches. This, of course, refers to tracts of considerable size; -for a small tract in Assam, on a mountain slope, where is the town of -Cherrapungee, has a rainfall of four hundred and ninety-three and -two-tenth inches per annum--more than forty-one feet! Twenty-two feet of -rain have fallen there in a single month! A better idea of this may be -obtained by observing that our average rainfall, from Missouri eastward, -is about three feet a year. The rains of the Amazon and Congo basins are -enormous, and would suffice to swell our Mississippi to as great volume -as either of them. On the other hand, the lowest recorded rainfall for a -large tract is that of Greenland--fifteen and five-tenth inches; while -Australia, with fifteen and seven-tenth inches, is but little better -off. It may be mentioned here, that the term “mean rainfall” includes -snow also: ten inches of snow being ordinarily estimated as one inch of -rain. - -A point long mooted, now considered as definitely settled, was, the -influence of forests upon rainfall. There was no doubt that forests -retarded the descent of water into the streams, and so lessened the -danger of floods; and observations of late years have shown that the -forest also increases the amount of rainfall, aiding in the work of -condensation. In the northern lumber regions, the rainfall in the -cleared tracts is less than in the time of the forests, while floods are -more sudden and dangerous. - -These general features being noticed, mention of a few extraordinary -rainfalls may be of interest. The most remarkable rain in one day -occurred September 13, 1879, at Purneah, in Bengal, when thirty-five -inches fell; about as much as Illinois gets in a year. At Nagina, -thirty-two and four-tenth inches fell. Some extraordinary showers have -been recorded in our own country, the most rapid being one and one-half -inches in five minutes: the most rapid long one, ten inches in three -hours; but no record of a day in anywise approaches the Bengal rain. - -A peculiar phenomenon of occasional occurrence in the Western States is -that of “cloud-bursts,” or “water-spouts” as they are sometimes called, -when immense masses of water fall in a few minutes. As the entire amount -of moisture that can be held by the atmosphere at ordinary temperature -would make but two inches of rain, it must follow that to produce such -downpours as are here recorded, immense quantities of moisture from a -wide area must be drawn in and condensed rapidly at a single point. -Perhaps this is done by a reverse cyclonic movement, the atmosphere -rapidly descending in a “spout,” instead of ascending. - -August 11, 1876, a tremendous downpour occurred at Fort Sully, Dakota: -“and on the opposite side of the Missouri River, the water draining from -a canon was reported to have moved out in a solid bank three feet deep -and two hundred feet wide.” Two others of nearly equal violence occurred -during the same month: one in Utah, and one in Kansas. “June 12, 1879, -on Beaver Creek, ninety miles south of Deadwood, Dakota, there was a -cloud-burst, which, without a gradual rise of water, in a few minutes -covered the country and drowned eleven persons.” A cloud-burst in June, -1884, sent a torrent eight feet deep from the hillside into Jefferson, -Montana, drowning several persons. Another one in June, 1885, destroyed -a town in Mexico, drowning over one hundred and seventy of its eight -hundred inhabitants. Cloud-bursts near Pittsburg, on the night of July -25, 1874, destroyed $500,000 worth of property, and drowned or crushed -in the wrecks, one hundred and thirty-four persons. A cloud-burst in -Arizona, August 6, 1881, changed the Hassayampa River from a dry ravine -at sunset to a river a mile wide and from two to fifteen feet deep by 11 -P.M.; by noon next day the river was again dry. Two days later a -downpour at Central City, Colorado, suddenly left from four to six feet -of water in the two principal streets. - -Snow is practically unknown over two-thirds of the land surface of the -earth, and the damage done by it is confined largely to the inland -regions of the temperate zone. And even then heavy snowfalls do no great -injury unless followed by extremely cold wind. The blizzard laden with -“icy sand” is fearful. - - “The night sets in on a world of snow, - And the air grows sharp and chill, - And the warning roar of a fearful blow - Is heard on the distant hill. - And the Norther! See! On the mountain peak, - In his breath, how the old trees writhe and shriek! - He shouts on the plains, Ho-ho! Ho-ho! - He drives from his nostrils the blinding snow, - And growls with a savage will.” - -The extreme ranges of temperature produced suddenly by high area or -anti-cyclonic storms are the most dangerous features of the blizzard; -while the only damage done by snow is to blind the person caught away -from home, and cause him to lose his way. The past ten years have been -marked by severe storms in our own winter season, the most terrible -being that of January 11, 1888, when the wind blew from thirty to fifty -miles an hour, and large numbers of persons in the west were frozen, and -thousands of cattle perished. At Helena, Montana, the thermometer fell -fifty degrees in four and one-half hours. The snow-laden wind reached a -speed of forty miles an hour at Galveston, Texas. At Brownsville, Texas, -the temperature fell forty degrees in eight hours. Two months later came -an exceedingly heavy snow attended by high winds, in the eastern Middle -States. This is popularly known as the “New York blizzard.” Snow drifted -in many places ten or fifteen feet deep. - - “The fence was lost, and the wall of stone, - The windows blocked, and the well-curb gone, - The haystack had grown to a mountain lift, - And the woodpile looked like a monstrous drift, - As it lay by the farmer’s door.” - -The chief damage in all snow storms results from the temporary -obstruction of roads and cessation of business. No very great -destruction of human life has ever resulted, save in case of armies -overtaken by the storm. Napoleon lost four hundred and fifty thousand -men on his Russian expedition. Both armies suffered terribly in the -recent Russo-Turkish war, as they lay facing each other at Shipka Pass. - -The constant accumulations of snow in the colder regions of the earth -produce those immense rivers of ice known as glaciers, the fragments -breaking from which as they enter the sea are known as icebergs. These, -borne by currents to the southward, have no small influence in modifying -the climate. In mountainous regions the accumulations of snow and ice -produce snow-slides and avalanches; but owing to their entirely local -character, the damage wrought by them is comparatively insignificant, -not even approaching the lightning in the total. - -Hail has been far more destructive. As stated elsewhere, the cause of -hail is hitherto unexplained. The storm usually travels in narrow belts. -Many are the wonderful tales told of it. It is said that May 8, 1802, a -mass of ice weighing eleven hundred pounds fell in Hungary. Again, we -hear of an ice-block the size of an elephant, which fell near -Seringapatam, in the reign of Tippoo Sahib. The good father Huc, in his -travels in Tartary, reported the fall of an ice-block the size of a -millstone, which, in very warm weather, required three days to melt. And -we are told that in the time of Charlemagne, there fell hailstones -fifteen feet long, eleven feet wide and six feet thick. All these we -steadfastly do not believe. - -Yet, there are well authenticated records of many disastrous hail storms -and enormous hailstones. A storm in France, in 1788, traveled in two -bands: one, four hundred and twenty by ten miles; the other, five -hundred by five miles. Five million dollars worth of property was -destroyed. In 1865 a severe storm swept a wide path from Bordeaux to -Belgium, accumulating in such masses that it was not all melted in one -or two localities for four days. One bed was one and one-fourth miles -long and two-fifths of a mile wide, containing twenty-one million cubic -feet. Doubtless similar accumulations in depressions, adhering together, -gave rise to the tales of enormous blocks mentioned above. - -An enormous hail storm in India, in 1853, is said to have killed -eighty-four persons and three thousand cattle. During a storm at Naini -Tal, in 1855, hailstones weighing one and one-half pounds fell. Our own -land has had a number of severe hail storms within the past ten years, -that have done immense damage to crops, and occasionally killed cattle, -while smaller animals have perished by hundreds. Frequent are the -records of hailstones as large as oranges, goose-eggs, and occasionally -as large as a fist, with gathered drifts two or three feet deep. Europe -has also had several of her smaller towns nearly destroyed by combined -flood and hail. Yet, none of these equal in fatality the great hail -storm of two years since at Moradabad, India. - -It smashed in windows, glass doors and the lighter roofs, “The verandas -were blown away by the wind. A great part of the roof fell in, and the -massive pucca portico was blown down. The walls shook. It was nearly -dark outside, and hailstones of enormous size were dashed down with a -force which I have never seen anything to equal. * * * There were long -ridges of hail one or two feet in depth. * * * Not a house in the civil -station that did not receive the most serious injury. - -“Two hundred and thirty deaths in all have been reported up to the -present time. The total number may be safely put as under two hundred -and fifty. Men caught in the open and without shelter, were simply -pounded to death by the hail.” - -Spain and southern France have on record some showers of extremely large -hailstones. In 1829, masses of ice weighing four and one-half pounds -fell at Cazorta, Spain. Houses were stove-in by them. During a hurricane -in the south of France, in 1844, there fell ice-masses weighing eleven -pounds. - -Mysterious and ominous to those ignorant of their cause have been the -many showers of “ink, blood, sulphur,” falls of red or green snow, and -similar phenomena. Such things were believed to betoken the wrath of -God, and to forebode war, famine, pestilence, flood, and other dire -calamities. Of course, the good people knew exactly what any shower -meant--after the calamity occurred. When it didn’t occur, the shower was -simply a warning. - -That such phenomena are readily explained goes without saying; and not a -few of the wise of days past have refused to be seriously alarmed, -though they could not find a correct solution of the mystery. Some of -the philosophic minds of other days endeavored to explain these -occurrences by supposing blood vaporized from battle-fields was mingled -with rain, not knowing that the red portion of the blood can not -evaporate. - -The microscope has solved these mysteries. The rains of blood are merely -stained by earthy matter: sometimes organic, gathered by the wind; -sometimes volcanic dust, thrown out by eruptions; and in one case, where -numerous blood-spots appeared on houses and fences in Provence, in 1608, -and the priests asserted it was the work of the devil, the spots at -length proved to be the excrement of butterflies. Rains of melted -sulphur have been found to owe their color to the yellow pollen of pine -trees. Ink is merely sooty rain-water. Showers of this character are -more frequent than might be supposed. More than a score have occurred in -Europe in the present century; and a number in this country. Red and -green snow owe their color to microscopic vegetable life, and are quite -commonly met with in the Arctic world. One bold headland has long been -known as Crimson Cliff, from the extensive deposits of red snow there. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -FLOODS IN THE SOUTH. - - “‘Mother dear, the water’s coming after! - Mother, ’tis between us and the hill!’ - Looking down, they see the flood, with laughter - Lapping idly ’neath the window sill. - - * * * * * - - ‘Mother, in the water we are wading! - Mother, it grows deeper as we go!’ - ‘Hasten, children! hasten--day is fading!’ - Higher creeps the river, black and slow. - - * * * * * - - ‘Mother, ’tis so deep, and we are dripping! - Mother, we are sinking! Haste, oh haste!’ - In her arms uplifting them and gripping, - On she plunges, wading to the waist. - - * * * * * - - Flowers the river snatches, while it calls so-- - Flowers its lean hands never snatched before, - Will it snatch these human flowers also, - Where they cling, sad creatures of the shore?” - - -Every country is confronted with a serious problem in its great rivers. -In some lands the only problem is, how to get rid of flood-water as -quickly as possible: in others, comes the additional question of -securing sufficient water for irrigation during the dry season. Egypt -occupies an anomalous position, the latter question being the only one -of any practical interest. Without rains, she depends on the rise of the -Nile for her existence, and no one dreams of such a thing as endeavoring -to check the overflow. During seed-time the fellaheen may be seen -sometimes in mud knee-deep, busily planting their fields; and in summer -they may be seen hoisting water from the stream and emptying it into -their irrigating ditches. - -In our own land, we have hitherto had no need of irrigation, except in -those districts where there is no fear of a flood: such as the arid -regions of our southwestern states. In China, the people are contending -with both sides of the problem; and their success in the second feature -has not greatly surpassed their achievements in the first. In most other -lands, the flood problem is the chief one. The Amazon at flood time -rises from sixty to one hundred feet, and its volume is almost -inconceivable. But since the larger part of its course lies in an almost -uninhabited region, the high water gives no concern to the people. The -Orinoco rises so high, and is in such a level region, that during part -of the year one of its upper tributaries flows backward and reaches the -Amazon. - -The great length of the Mississippi and Missouri present the gravest -difficulties. The sources of each lie in regions where heavy snows fall -during a considerable part of the winter: and all the melting snows of -the central portion of the country--from western Pennsylvania to -Colorado, Montana and central Dakota--must find their way to the sea by -way of the single stream. By reason of the difference in latitude and -altitude, the melted snows of the head-waters usually swell the lower -river in May and early in June, after the spring rains are over. But it -quite often happens that after unusually heavy winter snows the warm -weather sets in in the mountains very early: so that the great floods of -the upper valleys reach the lower river just when extremely heavy rains -are prevalent in the central and southern regions. This forms a -combination that is terrible to combat, and is the cause of all the -trouble. The present system is effective in ordinary cases; but for the -occasional great exceptions it has hitherto proved insufficient. We do -not seem to be any nearer a practical solution of the problem than when -it first presented itself. Yet, the government of the United States -spends millions of dollars every year in attempts which have, so far at -least, proved totally futile to confine the great river within its -banks, and so avoid the perils which every spring threaten an area -larger than all New England and the Middle States. - -The wonderful and often terrible changes that come with the changes of -season, and which produce such effects as the illustrations show, are -simply inconceivable to one who has not seen them. That a stream so -quiet and comparatively small as the Mississippi is at low water, should -become a raging torrent of twenty miles average width, and ten feet -average depth from shore to shore, throughout the eleven hundred miles -from Cairo to the sea, is simply incredible until one has seen it. This -river, however, did that in 1882, when the great general overflow -occurred. Unnumbered lives were lost that year, and the damage to -property was never even estimated. Details were hard to get when -communication was so nearly cut off as it then was; and after the floods -were over, no effort was made to reckon the extent of the disaster. - -Since that spring the reports have not indicated any flood equal to the -present one; and the only reason why this year has not proved as -disastrous as 1882, is that the levees have been strengthened since -then. The fact, however, that the levee system has, as a whole, -successfully withstood the pressure of the highest water known for many -years, is by no means as reassuring as it seems on first consideration; -for there is grave reason to believe that the levees themselves serve to -increase the very danger against which they are a guard. - -The planters of the earlier days made efforts to protect themselves by -means of “levees:” a name given by the - -[Illustration: TROPICAL FLOOD.] - -French to dykes, or artificial banks, and meaning simply “raised -places.” But of later years, both state and national resources have been -spent freely in endeavoring to curb the restless giant. More than -$25,000,000 has been spent in this way since the war. The Mississippi -River Commission, organized in 1879, under the supervision of the War -Department, as the Signal Service has been, had nominally in view the -increasing of facilities for navigation; but as the methods employed for -the two objects have necessarily been much the same, no little has been -done for protection. - -The character of the lower Mississippi and its valley gravely increase -the difficulties of the case. Its bed has been worn for ages through a -somewhat elevated region, and at present the resultant valley has a -width varying from twenty to one hundred and fifty miles. The result has -been that the channel of the river shifts continually, and is extremely -crooked, literally turning time and again to every conceivable point of -the compass. These curves present the most vexatious features the levee -system must contend with; for it is easily perceived that the levee on -the convex side of the bend in the river has the current directed full -against it, adding the great eroding power of the water to the weight it -must sustain. - -“The levees are relied on as the chief aid to the work of the -commission, but the commission does not construct them, or even work -directly to strengthen them. These levees are nothing more than -artificial banks or heaps of soil shoveled up along the line of the -natural banks. The commission is working to narrow the wide places in -the river, so as to secure a uniform width of three thousand feet. This -is done by constructing revetments, consisting principally of mattrasses -of wire and brush, which are secured by rubble-stone. In other places -great quantities of stone are - -[Illustration: MAKING MATS FOR LEVEE FRONTS.] - -dumped, and various similar means are used to encourage the scour in the -shallower parts of the river, and also to prevent the undermining of the -natural or artificial banks. - -“On a convex shore, where the water is shoal, the levee has been carried -along the river edge as near as possible, as there is no danger, under -such conditions, of a caving bank. Where the bank is liable to give way, -the levees are placed further back, and where a break in the levee -itself has occurred from the caving of the bank, loops are made, joining -the two broken parts. It must be borne in mind that the banks proper -along the river are about forty feet high above low water, and as the -river rises five to seven feet over these banks, the levees are -constructed of sufficient height to restrain the waters within their -proper limits. The material is found on the spot, either clay or sand, -as the case may be. A so-called “muck” ditch a few feet wide is dug -along the center line of the projected levee, down to where the earth is -comparatively free from all organic matter, such as grass and roots of -trees. By this method some adhesion to the ground is gained, and the -artificial construction is not easily swept away. The earth is taken -from the front of the levee line as near the water as the circumstances -will permit. Standard levees have a “crown,” or width at the top, of -eight feet, except in the case of a very low levee, when the “crown” is -not less than its height. The side slopes are one vertical to three or -three and one-half horizontal. Present levees are carried up from two to -three feet above the high-water mark of their position.” - -The river channel, in general, in the upper danger region, adheres to -the right side of the valley, and on the left the danger lies chiefly at -a few points where the bluffs recede considerably from the river. -Throughout the middle and lower flood districts the bends of the stream -are so numerous and capricious that the danger lies equally upon either -side of the stream. Hence, the levee system is not uniform. The whole -alluvial front of the river is leveed on the left bank, the principal -line extending from Horn Lake, just below Memphis, to Vicksburg, -covering the great Yazoo Basin. On the right bank of the river there are -four principal sections which are liable to be overflowed. The first is -known as St. Francis front, which runs from Commerce, Missouri, to the -St. Francis River. The White River front is the second, extending from -Helena, Arkansas, to the mouth of the White and Arkansas Rivers. The -third and fourth, known as the Tensas and the Atchafalaya fronts, run -respectively from the Arkansas River to the Red River in Louisiana, and -from the Red River to New Orleans. The first two sections have received -no government work except in limited localities, where it was merely -incidental to the work of river improvement undertaken by the -commission; and those fronts are everywhere exposed to the overflow, -except where private enterprise has done the work. The Social Circle -Levee, near Laconia, Arkansas, is an example, and a notable one, of what -has been done by the residents. These unprotected tracts have all been -submerged, and the low lands turned into an enormous lake. - -The overflow waters that pass over the upper part of this section spread -over the northeastern part of Arkansas as far back as the high ground, -reaching their greatest width about opposite Memphis, and then pass back -into the Mississippi by way of the St. Francis River. The overflow below -Helena is carried back by the White River. From Arkansas City down, the -river, comprising the third and fourth sections, is completely leveed. - -Throughout all the lowland districts are hundreds of farms and valuable -plantations, the soil being built up by - -[Illustration: STRUGGLE TO HOLD THE LEVEE.] - -ages of alluvial deposits. Most of the towns are built on high ground; -there being a few notable exceptions. A general flood in this valley -means that millions of acres of land are submerged, and such crops as -are in the fields are destroyed. More frequently, the land is flooded -just at planting time, and the land remains wet too long to allow -certain crops to be planted in season. Thus, the water in the flooded -districts may abate in time to allow a fair cotton crop; while the -chance for corn is lost. Fences and small outbuildings are floated away, -and often large numbers of stock are drowned; but, after, all, the -chief damage is usually indirect: the evil of hindrance rather than of -destruction. Further, the retiring water leaves numerous pools and -marshes that are rank breeders of malaria, adding vastly to the -unhealthiness of the country. - -In many places there are marshy or timbered tracts adjacent to the river -that are not available for cultivation. In these districts the levees -are often erected at the border of the cultivable land, so that the -river has a large area of waste land over which to spread the surplus -water without doing any injury. Such areas really aid to reduce the -high-water level. In some cases, a second or third levee is built some -hundreds of yards to the rear, to serve as a sort of reserve, in case -the river break through the first. - -Doubtless the reader has pictured to himself a flooded district as -something like a stream in a mountain gorge; an immense torrent of water -rushing at race-horse speed, uprooting trees, tearing away huge -boulders, sweeping away houses in an instant, without a moment’s -warning, and drowning young and old by scores. If such be his idea, he -will find it necessary to remodel it; or, rather, to cast it away -entirely. Let him follow a guide to the scene of danger. A great levee, -the protection of thousands of acres of rich lands, and perhaps millions -of dollars worth of property, is announced unsafe. Sometimes it is -decided to abandon the river line, weakened for long distances, and -erect a new levee some hundreds of yards to the rear. - -But if the design be to hold the line already established, then the -scene is an animated one. All along the narrow ridge of earth patrolmen -are watching the work at every point. Hundreds of men work day and night -throwing up and strengthening the levees, upon which the salvation of -the district depends. Break after break occurs, - -[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN TORRENT.] - -and it is as fast mended. The waves caused by the rough March winds send -great volumes of water splashing over the weak embankment, almost -washing the men off their feet. The work is continued all day, force -relieving force at night. Thousands of lanterns flashing in the -darkness, as the men pass to and fro with wheelbarrows filled with sacks -of earth and lumber, present a scene weird and ghostly. At intervals -during the night the sound of steam whistles tell of some new break, -some new danger to face and overcome. Often the negroes seem little -disposed to work, even at good wages, preferring to sit on the levee and -fish. But when the danger is fully upon them, they can work furiously. -Sometimes, in leading the forlorn hope, some energetic old fellow may -shout to his terrified, pious brethren, “Dis is no time for prayin’--go -to work!” Out on the border districts where help is not easily obtained, -even the wives and daughters of planters--ladies of culture and -refinement, it may be--sometimes turn out and toil in the mud and rain, -contending with the foe that threatens their homes. If the levees before -a great city be threatened, as frequently occurs, the scene becomes -still more exciting. Business is almost entirely suspended in the city -and the clerks in the dry goods stores, the lawyers, the merchants and -the common laborers stand shoulder to shoulder with picks and shovels -fighting the common enemy. What the outcome will be no one knows. All -are alarmed. Hundreds of boats are moored to back-doors, ready for use -when the worst shall come. Merchants have placed their goods high up in -their stores, hoping the waters will not reach them when they rise. -Housekeepers have packed up their goods out of the way of the water and -laid in stores enough to last for weeks, in case it becomes necessary to -stay indoors for that length of time. All railway communication with the -outside world is cut off, nearly all the tracks being several feet -under water. The mails are sent miles away, by boat. - -[Illustration: “NO TIME FOR PRAYIN’: GO TO WORK!”] - -Such cases were frequent in the recent floods. Greenville, Mississippi, -is one of the towns that suffered much. The water from crevasses above -came down upon the town, and were stopped by a levee around the city. -But while the enemy in the rear could be held in check, it was not so -easy to repel the attack upon the river front; and here the water won -the day. All efforts were in vain. The forlorn and miserable city -appeared as though some savage caricaturist had endeavored to perpetrate -a burlesque upon Venice. A few skiffs crept about the muddy currents -that answered for streets. On outhouses and fences occasionally might be -seen a few melancholy looking fowls. Here some grocer paddled about to -see if his patrons wanted aught; yonder went a funeral party in a single -boat. Many a weary mile would have to be traversed to reach a dry grave. -The lower floors of most houses lay beneath the water, and from the -second-story disconsolate people looked out upon the turbid waste, -wondering what the end would be. - -If the scene upon the levee is exciting when efforts are made to avoid -breaks, still more so is it when a small break is being closed. The -scurrying to and fro; the hoarse shouting of orders; the wild cries for -aid from threatened points; men plunging up to their necks in the -rushing flood, driving stakes, dragging sacks of earth, heaving in -boulders and rubble stone; others bringing timbers and planks from -hundreds of yards away; the dim, smoky glare of countless torches; the -burly figures of wearied men begrimed almost beyond semblance of -humanity--such a picture is more like a strange nightmare that one never -forgets. - -Then suddenly there is a general melting away of hundreds of feet of the -sodden levee. The fight is lost. Scores of the laborers leave for their -homes to save what they can of their property. From farm to farm the -news spreads. In the dead hour of the night, when all is serene, the -dread cry comes, “the levee is broken,” and then comes a wild stampede -for safety, many in their night clothes, women dragging their babes, -husbands carrying their - -[Illustration: FUNERAL DURING THE FLOOD.] - -wives, and the poor negroes, wild with terror, unable to do anything but -stand and view the scene of the waters rushing to bear them to their -doom. Magnificent plantations of yesterday are to-day seas of rushing, -foaming water. Here and there in the shallows stand a few shivering, -half-starved cattle; and occasionally is seen a family, still hoping -that the flood may not be disastrous, clinging to their residence. - -The view of a crevasse in an inland levee, miles away from the channel, -is strikingly grand; but for those in its path the grandeur is lost in a -feeling of despair and danger. The ocean presents a different spectacle, -for the ocean has no swift current, and its waves are greater. The -foaming mountain torrent can not compare with it, for the mountain -torrent is at best but a few yards in breadth. But in the swollen river -is found an apparently illimitable expanse of water, heaving restlessly -under the swift foot of the wind, or foaming and dashing at the roar of -the storm, hurling itself in billows upon the toilers on the levee, and -striking them into the ditch beyond, yet, with all the fury expended -laterally, rushing seaward almost with the speed of a train. For miles -between the levee and the main channel the stream pours through a great -forest, or canebrake, or cypress swamp. - -The fearful noise of a crevasse may be heard for a long distance. No -need to tell the planters far inland the meaning of that distant hoarse -murmur. Approaching the break, the murmur swells to a deep sullen roar. -The water comes tearing through the dense forest at race-horse speed, -not in a broad belt, but closing in from every direction, pouring into -that break as into an immense funnel. As far as the eye can penetrate -into that dense, gloomy forest, it is raggedly carpeted with a heavy, -tossing sheet of snow-white foam. It breaks over stumps, snags and the -up-turned roots of fallen trees, flinging white clouds of spray up among -the branches of trees overhead, mounts in snowy billows over piles of -driftwood, it snarls, hisses and roars like some mad monster at -everything in its path, and then plows in one solid foaming mass into -that raging maelstrom between the ragged, frothy jaws of the crevasse. - -[Illustration: BREAKING OF THE LEVEE.] - -“Nearest the break, just as it sweeps into the crevasse, it curls on -either side, and huge breakers mark the line where it chafes the -crumbling ends of the levee. Once beyond the broken barriers, it plunges -into a wild, lonesome-looking swamp, that still shows the tracks of the -former disaster. Here, for the first time, the real power of this -tremendous flood begins to assert itself. Supple young trees, eight or -ten inches in diameter, are bent and stripped of every leaf, their naked -branches and twigs whipping the foaming surface of the rustling -cataract. - -“It sweeps into the standing timber with a hoarse roar, foaming around -sturdy trunks, and here and there one sees a tall tree swaying to and -fro like a drunken man: then caught in some fierce eddy, it is twisted -from its roots, and reeling around and around it falls into that -tremendous current and is swept away to swell the tangled dams of drift -beyond.” - -As far inland as the eye can reach there is nothing but flood to be -seen, the currents opening out and racing away in every direction. At -some distance away may be seen a flooded settlement, the water washing -the windows of fifteen or twenty abandoned cottages. On a huge mound -some five or six feet out of the outflow, is a group of disconsolate -horses and mules who have taken refuge from the rising flood, and other -hungry-looking brutes wander over the levee. - -But once out of the immediate neighborhood of the break, the character -of the scene changes. The current slackens, as the water spreads out -like an immense fan, and at length becomes almost imperceptible. It may -come in the night, giving no warning of its approach. It steals through -the grass-lands like a serpent. The slumbering family hear no sound. The -water creeps stealthily around the house, like the Red men in the olden -days. - -[Illustration: SURPRISED BY THE WATER.] - -The morning sun finds it lapping uneasily in the breeze against the -threshold. The wakening family find it crawling across the floor toward -their beds. They look upon a region that appears a vast marsh; grass -tops, bushes, little islets and tall trees, everywhere rising out of the -water. In the barnyard the drowsy cattle chew their cuds in peaceful -unconsciousness of the wily foe. The pig in the lower corner of the lot -grunts contentedly to find his wallow freshly moistened. The quacking -duck paddles complacently about the fields. The farmer watches anxiously -the progress of the flood, trusting that there may be no necessity of -leaving. Valuable property that can not be removed is taken to the -second floor, if there be one. A boat, if there be one, is carefully -overhauled to be ready for an emergency. - -Noon comes. The flood has risen but a few inches. The cattle eye the -water curiously. The negroes in their cabins speculate upon the future, -and each tells his tale of “hair-breadth ’scapes and ventures” in other -days, and one and all agree that “_dis_ ain’t no flood--sho! no! You -orter hab seed the big high water way back in seventy-four. _Dat_ was -sumfin’ like;” and in humble submission to the opinions of some old -granny of unknown age and grizzled wool, it is unanimously allowed that -“we ain’t got no cause to be skeered _dis_ time; not much!” So the -happy-go-lucky fellows sit and chat, while some oily skinned picaninnies -wade to deeper parts of the water, cast in their hooks and begin to swap -tales of the wonderful fish their progenitors had caught in other -floods, and to wonder if more brilliant achievements may not be recorded -of them. - -The wind rises. The great crevasse, miles away, has widened till it is -hundreds of yards in extent and many feet in depth, pouring upon the -land millions of cubic feet of water every minute. With the swelling -breeze, the flood goes surging inland in long, low, lazy waves. The -planters who have not already taken flight, conclude it is useless to -endeavor to remain. If the way is open, the cattle are driven inland to -the hills. Some of the negroes straggle after their employers; others -cling to their rude log cabins--all they have to lose--it may be that -the flood will not be serious. So long as corn meal and bacon abound, -they may enjoy an endless picnic. They can fling their lines from time -to time into the stream, and perchance vary their repasts with fish-fry -or turtle stew. - -Evening comes. The lazy waves now nearly reach the window-sills upon the -lower floors. The cattle left behind low uneasily as they move about in -water knee-deep. No one is near to feed them, and the udders of the cows -are swollen with milk. Here and there a mule is seen, stamping -impatiently and braying mournfully for lack of feed. The water displays -a decided but wayward current, swirling now this way, now that. All the -land is covered. Here and there numerous snakes have crawled into the -bushes to escape the yellow flood. Out in a lowland tract a deserted -shanty bobs idly along, now grounding a moment, now floating lazily -around a great tree, finally becoming an item of the great mass of drift -that has lodged at the edge of the forest, and swarms with small animals -flying from the clutch of the crawling water. The game of the canebrakes -and swamp regions has fled to the uplands, and from time to time some -needy refugee family, heedless of game laws, adds venison to its scanty -store. - -The night wears away. The negro cabins are deserted: most have floated -away with the growing current. The simple folk have abandoned them. Some -have made their way to the levees, hoping for a passing steamer. Others, -dwelling above the crevasse, have little to fear from currents; and as -the water rises around them, they take to hastily constructed rafts, -transferring their few household effects thereto, and dwelling for days -in a floating camp, sheltered from the rain by a wagon-sheet or old -quilts stretched over a low ridge-pole. Mooring the rafts to trees, they -lead, to others a romantic, to themselves a precarious existence. - -[Illustration: NOT SO ROMANTIC AS IT LOOKS.] - -A whole village deserted by its people wears a singularly melancholy -aspect. Let the reader row with a press correspondent through the little -town of Bayou Sara La, as it appeared during the recent overflow. The -town lies on rolling ground, dotted here and there with low hills or -drifts of sand and alluvial deposits, left thereby the floods of ages -ago. - -“Even over the center of the roadway back from the front street, which -is just behind the levee, it is unusual to find less than four feet of -water, while in many places a nine-foot oar can not be made to touch -bottom. In some of what, in times of low water, are beautiful residence -streets, the boat as it went gliding on the shining moonlight flood -would pass so close under the spreading branches of the great live oaks, -which interlock their boughs over the roadway, that her occupants would -be compelled to bend down almost level with the gunwales to avoid being -swept off the thwarts. The freaks of the currents wandering through the -flooded streets seem wholly unaccountable. Sometimes they would run -parallel with, and at others directly at right angles to the streets. -Often progress would be blocked by long sections of wooden-plank -sidewalks, gates, doors and cisterns that had formed barriers across the -street, while at every turning the boatman would be compelled to dodge -huge floating masses of drift in which out-houses, timbers, sections of -roofs and other heavy wreckage inextricably commingling were slowly -floating on the lazy current. - -“The air was soft and balmy as that of a midsummer night, and the mellow -light of the young moon that was already hanging low over the great sand -hills to the westward, spread a soft pale light of deep blue on the -bright spangled sky. There were faint night breezes waving the topmost -branches of the great shade trees, but they did not touch the -rippleless, shining flood which gleamed in long narrow paths. The white -moonbeams that, like ribbons of burnished silver, but slept inky and -motionless under the black shadows of the trees, and the rounded -outlines of each great shade tree was sharply reflected in the -mirror-like surface of the water and bordered by a dainty rim of silver. -Houses with snow-white walls were faithfully mirrored in that -motionless, glittering flood. While to the eastward of each lay a long, -deep shadow--a starless night--huge shapeless masses of wreckage -drifting past black opaque shadows that grew longer and more intense as -the young moon sank so low that her lower horizon was dipping behind a -great hoary-crested sand hill in the west. The scene was exquisitely -beautiful, but at the same time weird and uncanny. Not a human voice was -heard, but near at hand between the lower whispering of the softly -dipping oars came the ever varying chorus of the frogs mingling with the -low musical murmuring of the mighty river and the deep sullen roar of -the crevasse on the far off southern shore. There the sides of the skiff -would brush the perfumed shrubbery of a submerged lawn; there could be -seen the tree-tops of a splendid orchard just rising out of the flood, -their lower limbs swaying and bending with the current. In all this -scene of beautiful ruins there was a sense of utter loneliness that was -strangely oppressive. Of those who a week ago filled this bright and -hustling little town to overflowing, only six families remain. The -others have all fled to the adjoining hills, leaving their houses to -their fate till the water shall have subsided.” - -Such villages as are not deserted have little to do with the world -beyond. The post-offices are often exhausted, in addition to the fact -that the nearest points not blockaded are miles away; so that the -telegraph only brings - -[Illustration: TELEGRAPHING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.] - -news from beyond, or tells the world how fares the little hamlet. The -operator may be driven to the upper story, or to the roof, there to -dispute possession with stray turtles or snakes, or to listen to the -hoarse remonstrance of some old bullfrog whose nocturnal rest is broken -by the clicking of the key. All around is a dreary waste of water, on -which the gleam of the moon appears like a ghostly foot-path, and the -dark shadows of the naked-limbed trees menace like gaunt spectres. From -his elevated position the operator may see the flash of the search-light -of a steamer miles away, as the vessel flits along the stream, -collecting refugees from the shores; and ever and anon the deep harsh -bray of the fog-horn breaks the stillness. Save for these distant tokens -of life there is - - “Death and silence! death and silence! - Death and silence all around!” - -At the great crevasse itself the spectacle is exciting. The fight is not -abandoned. Desperate efforts are made to secure the ends from further -washing. That once done, there is hope of closing the gap. At the -extremity of the break a floating pile-driver is fiercely hammering -heavy timbers into the spongy soil. There a tiny, fussing tug is engaged -in trying to float a mat of brushwood against the broken bank, while a -score of anxious men are watching an opportunity to peg it down. Others -endeavor to weave pliant branches among the driven piles to afford a -better hold for the guano sacks of earth that are being thrown into the -break. From these moist earth is often washed out by the powerful -current as though it were melting sugar; while now and then some timber, -undermined by the steadily deepening current, leaps upward as though -endowed with a life of its own, and dashes away on the foaming stream. -After hours of the fierce contest, the ends are at last secured. The -pigmy has stopped the giant. The work progresses more easily, now that -the workers are sure of their ground. The stubborn creatures contest -every inch of space. The roar of the battle goes up incessantly. One -fights for life, the other for liberty--such liberty as the tyrant asks -of his subjects; such liberty as the wolf asks of the sheep, or the hawk -of the doves; such liberty as the strong has always demanded of the weak -and defenseless. - -By and by the voice of the struggling monster grows weaker. The -persistent creatures that swarm about him assault him with renewed vigor -and pertinacity. The roar of the conflict dies away by degrees. Step by -step the two bands of men approach each other. Only a narrow channel -remains. Presently the forces clasp hands over the chasm. In a few -moments there remains but a tiny, remonstrant, murmuring trickle of -water. Another stroke and it is finished. The pigmy has conquered the -giant. The ant has chained the elephant. - -But what, in the meantime, has been the fate of the district along the -levee front? Here the water does not rise slowly and stealthily as in -the regions far inland, where the force of the current is lost. The -planters and all their available forces, it may be, have been busily -fighting the rising floods, but have been finally vanquished momentarily -by wind and wave. Hoping to hold the levee, few, perhaps, have removed -their families, goods, or chattels, or livestock. Then when the break -comes, the raging flood rushes in over the fields and woods, demolishing -out-houses, shaking cottages, drowning stock, hurling masses of drift -against dwellings that might otherwise stand--seeming as though a living -genius of destruction. - -Here a family, carrying only a few changes of clothes, and a purse but -too scantily filled, hurry wildly toward the river front, in hope that a -passing steamer may pick them up; there a planter who has saved his -family is hurrying a drove of cattle to the levee, vaguely wondering, in -the mean time, how he shall feed them if the flood lasts long; here a -negro family, chattering noisily like frightened crows, trudges through -water and mire knee-deep or waist-deep, bearing on their heads bundles -of dirty bedding, or old clothes--one or two lugging sacks of meal and -flitches of bacon, with a blind confidence that they - -[Illustration: RESCUING PEOPLE IN INLAND DISTRICTS.] - -have made sufficient provision for every emergency. There a forlorn -squatter is punting a rude raft with his few belongings slowly athwart -the restless flood. Yonder a band of negroes, unaware of the break in -time to reach the river, have congregated in an old gin house, and swarm -upon its roof, yelling and gesticulating wildly in their terror, for -aid, which they fear will never reach them; and, as the water rises -higher, roofs, barns, hen-coops, and carcasses go floating past or lodge -against their frail support, increasing their peril every moment. Some -moan and cry; others pray vigorously, confessing their misdeeds with -voluble freedom; occasionally there is some old crone who terrifies her -auditors with the assertion that “de Lord is sendin’ another ’varsal -flood on men for deir wickedness,” at which the wicked groan and cry, -and the pious clap their hands and shout, trusting to shortly see the -salvation of the Lord. In the distance appear a few figures perched in -trees, seeming like enormous crows; over yonder, some unfortunate has -shinned up a telegraph pole, which creaks and sways with the rush of the -water, threatening constantly to return the trembling refugee to the -flood beneath. The last unfortunates have straggled to the levee. The -rest must wait for relief. Here and there a few cattle stand lowing in -water half over their sides; a restless, snorting horse plunges -impatiently about. A floating tree-trunk strikes them from their -hillock, to swim aimlessly about till other drifting masses ride them -down. A hen-coop floats past, on which a hungry chanticleer is perched, -occasionally challenging the flood, and in the meantime, with sidelong -glance eyeing the confusion and in undertones discussing the case with -his half-starved, feathered harem. - -It is a motley throng that huddles along the levee. That narrow strip of -earth, but eight feet wide at best, is - -[Illustration: CAMPS ON THE LEVEE.] - -all that is left as a footing for hundreds. The wares swash heavily at -their feet; or sometimes, as the wind blows stronger, they leap clear -over the frail embankment. Trudging wearily back and forth on the -clayey, slippery dykes are planters, once well-to-do, with families of -culture and refinement; others of a middle class, and occasional -specimens of a type denominated by the “man and brother” as “po’ white -trash” are to be seen among the throng. The “man and brother” is usually -in the majority in the lowland districts, and adds greatly to the -picturesqueness of the levees in time of flood. Some rear their tiny -excuses for tents along the bank, and spend the time in uneasily -watching the turbid water. Occasionally some Dinah or Chloe, who has -been on the levee for a week, goes through the motion of washing clothes -in the surging stream, gaining thereby the approval of conscience over a -duty performed, whether the garments be improved or not. Here there is -little concern, these being wandering roustabouts who had nothing to -lose; there some grizzled Uncle Tom bemoans the loss of his two scrawny -mules, and the few pigs and fowls, and his favorite cow, which represent -the savings of years from his toil in his little patch of corn and -cotton; and he feels even sorer over his losses than the rich planter -who has lost a hundred times as much. So the little bands assemble, -mingle and disperse, comparing notes, and all waiting in painful anxiety -for some steamer to pick them up before the sodden levee shall dissolve -beneath their feet and leave them struggling in the stream. At length -the government relief boat appears, and gathers the throngs by hundreds, -to transport them to higher lands. Beyond the levee, skiffs and -flat-boats move about the submerged region, picking up the people who -have taken refuge on the housetops, among the trees, or on piles of -drift. None on the levee fear being passed in the night, for the -powerful search-light illuminates every straggling group. - -[Illustration: WAITING FOR A STEAMER.] - -On reaching a place of safety from the waters, scores of the refugees -are almost penniless, and the question of food is a pressing one. The -liberal contributions of scores of generous souls suffice but for a -short time. The government must again come to the front, and issue -rations, or a money equivalent, sufficient to maintain the destitute -till the falling of the waters allows them to resume labor upon their -lands. After that, the crop-lien system in vogue in the South enables -the people to get credit of their merchants until the cotton-picking or -corn-gathering. - -[Illustration: THE SEARCH-LIGHT.] - -When the waters subside, and the people return, it is often difficult -to find old landmarks. In one place huge trenches may be washed out; but -away from the immediate vicinity of the crevasse the land is covered -with mud, varying from a few inches to four or five feet in -thickness--sufficient guarantee of amazing fertility, when the ground -becomes dry enough to work. In the numerous little depressions in the -surface are stagnant pools that linger for a month or two. The larger -ones, if not before filled, are converted into ponds or marshes, which -only thorough draining will destroy. The air is tainted by the hundreds -of carcasses that are entangled in the heaps of drift. The hot dank -soil, steaming under the summer sun, brings disease in the wake of the -flood. - -Louisiana, from its character, is usually the principal sufferer: the -Arkansas borders fare little better. All along the course of the stream -the land is dotted with lakes and pools and marshy lands, created by -former overflows. Along the lower portion of the river bayous or sloughs -open from either bank, and meander lazily toward the gulf. As showing -the character of the country may be mentioned the Little and St. Francis -Rivers, which flow southward from southeast Missouri, nearly parallel to -the Mississippi, and but forty miles from it at their furthest points. -In flowing one hundred and twenty miles south they double and twist, -expanding into sluggish bayous as broad as the Mississippi itself, or -into shallow island-dotted lakes; and the total length of the numerous -bends and whimsical curves of the main stream, St. Francis, is over two -hundred miles. In like manner, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, is but fifty miles -from the mouth of the sluggish sandy Arkansas as the crow flies; but to -follow the windings of that stream the distance is nearly three times as -great. The backwater of the Mississippi finds its way into these -sluggish channels, and renders comparatively useless any levees on the -banks of the great river near their mouths: and from the northern border -of Arkansas to the gulf the old Father of Waters pursues a course as -intricate in its windings as the St. Francis. It is asserted by many -that the mouth of the stream was once perhaps not far below Memphis, and -that all the land to the southward has been produced partly by slow -upheaval of the sea-bottom and partly by the alluvial deposits of the -river and the gradual extension of its delta, which now projects many -miles into the gulf. This would account for the low and swampy character -of the land in the entire region. - -The writer has endeavored to give an accurate general view of southern -floods. While differing in some features from floods in other lands, -they themselves are much alike. The description of a flood of to-day -would answer with but little adaptation as a narrative of fifty years -ago: and further details of particular flood scenes are unnecessary. -Such great overflows are not common, the levees holding the river in -check on ordinary occasions. Yet, one flood season deserves more than -passing notice. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE FLOOD OF 1890. - - “And rearing Lindis backward pressed, - Shook all her trembling bankes amaine, - Then madly at the eygre’s breast - Flung up her weltering walles againe, - Then banks came down with ruin and rout, - Then beaten foam flew round about, - And all the mighty floods were out. - - So farre, so fast the eygre drave; - The heart had hardly time to beat, - Before a shallow, seething wave, - Sobbed in the grasses at our feet. - The feet had hardly time to flee, - Before it broke against the knee, - And all the world was in the sea.” - - -The great flood of 1874 is remembered as the most destructive of human -life in the history of the Mississippi valley. It came almost without -warning. The rolling river rose rapidly, and the levees broke in many -places before the masses suspected danger. Hundreds of people were -drowned; and as for the losses of property, no attempt was made to -estimate the amount. Certainly it amounted to many millions. Perhaps -only the Chicago fire could compare with it in this respect. Another -great year of high water was 1882: but the damage done was smaller, as -the levees had been heightened and strengthened. - -But the floods of this year, in area submerged, in long duration, in -height of water, and in the pertinacity with which they were contested, -eclipsed all records. There is no measuring the extent of the calamity. -There is nothing in the recorded history of the Mississippi valley - -[Illustration: THE SCENE AT HIGH WATER.] - -to compare with it. In some places the gauges were completely -overflowed. Levees that had withstood former waters, and had been -strengthened since, snapped like whip-cords, under the tremendous -strain. - -Early in the present year, the Signal Service warned the people of the -lower Mississippi that very high water might be expected, as the snows -of the upper Ohio region had been very heavy, while the unusually early -spring would bring the flood water into the lower river at the time of -heavy spring rains. There the levees were carefully examined, and every -precaution against high water taken. But the people, though expecting -high water, had not reckoned upon such a flood as came. The river rose -above the great flood of 1874, passing all previous records by two feet, -and reaching a foot higher than the levees had been built to sustain. - -On January 1, Cairo reported eighteen feet and rising, while the river -was falling from Louisville up the Ohio, was falling at St. Louis, and -stationary on the lower Mississippi. From the first day of the year the -river rose at Cairo, and in ten days the river had risen thirteen feet. - -From Cincinnati down the Ohio increased in volume for four days, and on -January 16, at Cairo, it passed the danger line (forty feet) by -three-tenths. The rise in sixteen days had been one and three-eighths -feet a day. At that time the river was rising slowly from Evansville -down, and falling above. A few days later came another rise in the Ohio, -aided by the Tennessee and Cumberland, and by the 1st of February the -water at Cairo was almost a flood. The volumes of water continued till -the lower Mississippi was bank full. By the latter end of February, the -danger point had been reached at Memphis, Shreveport, Vicksburg, and New -Orleans. Cairo was already in trouble. - -On March 12, Cairo reached its maximum, 48.9. The Signal Service Office -had given out a prediction of fifty-one feet, but the failure of the -upper Mississippi to rise, prevented that stage being reached. The river -at St. Louis had then but five feet of water. - -On March 14, Chief Signal Officer A. W. Greeley sent out a warning from -Washington to the people living on the lower Mississippi. He told them -that the rain they had had for four days had been drained into the -tributaries of the great river and would swell it considerably. The -greatest flood ever known might be expected within a few days. All stock -and valuable movable property should be taken to the hills. New Orleans -had then higher water than ever before. - -The river was then rising in the lower Missouri, and St. Louis was -reporting rapid increase in the stage of water. Cairo had fallen, but -the upper Ohio and lower tributaries brought back the upper line of the -flood to near the maximum stage. - -The lower Mississippi tributaries began to swell. The Arkansas and Red -Rivers overflowed their banks. Low levees grew weak and succumbed. Low -lying towns and plantations were flooded. - -Then came the nights and days of terrible struggle along lines of levee -that protected vast tracts of lands. Men were pressed into service -whether they liked the work or no, and the shotgun patrol was -established for the protection of the safer levees from being cut. The -upper Mississippi swelled rapidly, and while not reaching a dangerous -stage itself, it added enormously to the peril below. Then came floods -in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. - -The first serious trouble from the Mississippi in Arkansas occurred in -Phillips county, above the mouth of the White River, where some five -hundred people were driven from their homes to the highest points by the -backwater, and the cattle, gaunt, wild-eyed, starving, were forced to -subsist on cane, twigs of cotton wood and other trees felled for them. -Three times the backwater and heavy local rains flooded this region, -while the retiring flood left a deposit of mud from one to five feet in -depth, precluding the possibility of turning the hungry cattle upon the -land for two or three weeks, and rendering it impossible to raise a crop -of corn or more than half a crop of cotton. At Cairo, the rivers were -one hundred miles in width, covering fifty miles of Missouri lowlands, -and extending to the hills in Kentucky; while Cairo itself was partially -flooded. The railroads in that section were forced to stop, and the -people fled to the hills for their lives. Steady rains fell in Arkansas, -Ohio and lower Missouri River valleys, and by the time these began to -subside, the floods in the streams below had passed previous records. - -The greatest danger and trouble was in the valley from Arkansas City -southward. Heavy rains produced a break in the levee at that place. -March 28, the levees broke at two points on the eastern shore, between -Arkansas City and Memphis, Tennessee, submerging many thousands of acres -of land, and sweeping southeastward to the Yazoo River. Greenville, -Mississippi, a city of 10,000, is partially protected by a high ridge -through the city; but there was no means of holding back the enemy in -the rear. The town is situated at the extremity of a sharp eastward -curve, and a violent storm at length aided the rapid current in cutting -away the front defense, and the town was forced to yield. Strenuous -efforts to close the breaks above completely failed; and all that could -be done was to secure the ends of the crevasses to prevent their -widening. Cattle were herded for a time on the levees and embankments, - -[Illustration: NEGROES MOVING OUT.] - -but these gradually yielded, and the animals were drowned in droves. -Defenses yielded where least expected. By April 3, there was two feet of -water in the streets of Greenville. There was nothing left but to make -the best of the situation. People took to the upper floors, and appeals -for state, national and individual aid were sent out. The telephone -lines leading out of the city were destroyed, and communication with the -outer world was greatly hindered. Occasional reports of destitution and -suffering came from Greenville, but these were contradicted by meetings -of leading citizens, who said, “there is no destitution here that home -people can not relieve. If the negroes want to wait for government -rations and refuse from $1.50 to $2.50 per day to work on levees, their -starving arouses no sympathy. While all these sensational reports of -destitution are traveling about, the steamboats are running into Memphis -and Vicksburg begging for levee hands, and the native negro is sitting -on the levee fishing.” - -The water swept rapidly southward, submerging almost the entire region -between the Yazoo and Mississippi. Meanwhile, the trouble in Louisiana -was just beginning. The banks began caving near the levee in Madison -Parish Front, compelling the erection of a new levee in the rear of the -old one. But the fight went on stubbornly for three weeks, both along -the river front and along the bayous in the interior. Atchafalaya River -was forty-five feet above low water. The contest for the levees there -was as bitter as along the main stream. Occasional breaks occurred, but -they were closed or kept from spreading by the twenty thousand men who -labored day and night along the stream between Bayou Sara and New -Orleans. - -Ere long it appeared that the greatest danger was along the Concordia -and Pointe Coupee parish fronts. (A parish in Louisiana coincides with -what is known as a county elsewhere). Considerable appropriations were -made, and the head of the third district levee system, Captain D. C. -Kingman, conducted the fight on the Pointe Coupee front in person. The -battle ended here in disastrous defeat. The men held their ground -manfully till April 20, no serious breaks having then occurred. All that -day the men were compelled to work in a drenching rain storm that - -[Illustration: STOCK RAFT.] - -was beating fiercely against the already overburdened and sodden levees -on the west bank of the river. The danger at the great Morganza bend -grew excessive. It was hoped that during the night the storm would -cease, or at least that the wind might shift to some other quarter, but -when the morning broke there were the same leaden skies overhead, with -darker masses still scurrying to the westward before a fierce easterly -gale that was as fresh and strong as ever, and which hurled storms of -white-capped waves upon the rain-soaked earthworks. Bags of earth and -sand were piled up along the levee, to prevent the waves from washing -over. Wilder and more furious raged the storm: higher and higher beat -the waves, as the day passed. “In the teeth of drenching surf and -blinding rain, the battle with rising flood went bravely on. Sacks were -piled upon sacks and revetments of plank and jute bagging were carried -up till the superstructure upon the crown of the levee looked like a -fair-sized levee itself. Not only the men, but even the women and -children fought bravely for their homes in the teeth of that wild -furious storm. - -“As Monday night closed in, the situation was more gloomy than ever. The -heavy leaden sky was deeply shadowed by low hanging clouds of dull slaty -black, driven before the fierce gale that was sweeping up the reach, -thrashing it into long ribs of foam that every now and then broke clear -over the levees all along the New Texas system, and beat savagely -against the great Morganza, just below them. - -“A nightfall dark and wild with wind and storm was followed by a night -black and tempestuous, and still the desperate fight went on. Here and -there ruddy, flaring torches struggled with the murky gloom, but within -their dim halos could be seen the big breakers hungrily licking the tops -of the sodden barriers that throbbed and quivered beneath every cruel -blow. - -“Planters’ wives and daughters stood ankle-deep in mud, filling sacks -and helping to lift them upon the shoulders of the men who were carrying -them to the levee. Two bold Creoles stood at one weak place, though they -felt the levee dissolving beneath their feet. They sank to their knees -in the mud and water, but still they stood stubbornly on the sinking -dike, piling sacks in the breach, though again and again the flood -seemed to be in the very act of overpowering and sweeping them away in -the very center of a crevasse. It was a bloodless battle, but many a man -has won fame on a gory battle-field who never turned a more steadfast, -unflinching gaze into the very jaws of death than did those brave -defenders of their homes during that terrible night.” - -Suddenly there was a wild outcry and a hurried mustering of forces at -the old Morganza levee. But men and materials were no longer of any use. -The dull yellow flood poured through the gap like a mighty cataract. -Four hundred feet of the embankment were gone in a few moments. - -At once there was a _sauve qui peut_. The volunteer forces of the -neighborhood hurried away to save what they could. As the Morganza levee -was backed by a wide uninhabited swamp, there was little danger of any -lives being lost by the sudden breach, though the people had clung to -their homes to the last. - -Meanwhile, numerous other breaks were occasioned by the storm. The first -occurred at Bayou Sara, and others followed so rapidly that within -twenty-four hours fifteen huge crevasses were pouring their torrents -upon the land. Two other breaks occurred in the Morganza; and so vast -was the volume of water drawn out by the three that the river at Bayou -Sara, a few miles below, fell a foot in twenty-four hours, while the -decline above was but an inch or two. Despite the gloomy outlook, the -men toiled wearily on and finally succeeded in closing most of the -breaks; but the great Morganza crevasses defied every effort. Then came -breaks in the Atchafalaya, and the turbid waters united and swept -southward one hundred miles to the sea. Some towns were abandoned to the -snakes and frogs; in others the people put false floors in their -dwellings and prepared - -[Illustration: PICKING UP REFUGEES.] - -for a siege. Government steamers plied up and down the country, picking -up the refugees and all accessible livestock. The effort to keep back -the water was at an end, and all that could be done of any especial use -was in the way of salvage. The only remaining question was that of -providing for the destitute. Appropriations from the State treasury were -made, and corporations and private individuals contributed liberally. -On April 24, two great breaks occurred in Concordia Parish, north of -Pointe Coupee, thus much increasing the submerged area. From the items -given, and the fact of breaks in east Baton Rouge, and the Nita -crevasse, and twenty or more below New Orleans, the reader may see that -a large portion of eastern Louisiana lay more or less under water. By -the end of April there was no fear of further danger, simply because -there was little harm left to do. The continual east wind added to the -distress on the lower river by sweeping Lake Pontchartrain and the gulf -water across the land, up to the levees on the river. - -The one peculiar feature of the recent flood is that but few lives were -lost--perhaps not a dozen, all told. The warning of the Signal Service -put people on their guard, and there was no occasion for surprise. - -The damage to property can not be estimated. Three thousand square miles -of land were more or less flooded in Louisiana alone; and while much of -this was useless swamp land, the larger part comprised some of the most -valuable sugar plantations in the State. Fifty thousand people were -directly affected by the flood in this region. All the railroads in this -district suffered severely from wash outs and loss of time and custom. -Any estimate of the damage done to planters should include not only real -estate and personal property, but also the amount of loss from inability -to raise the customary crops. This single item would be very large. But -when we consider the terrible havoc committed in other lands and -attended by fearful loss of life, we may be devoutly thankful that -things were no worse with us. - -The levee system is attended by peculiar perils. There must be constant -watching and repairing. At seasons of danger, patrols are needed, even -when the levees are - -[Illustration: DESERTED FARMHOUSE.] - -sound; for human nature is full of rank selfishness, and people who find -their property endangered are apt to cut the levee upon the opposite -side above them, to relieve themselves by flooding others. Hungry wolves -will eat a wounded companion; but man is almost the only animal that -seeks an opportunity for wounding his fellow that he may have a pretext -for devouring him. - -The craw-fish is another persistent enemy of the planter, undermining -levees with his numerous tunnels, and even penetrating the low lying -fields at a distance from the river, not infrequently damaging the roots -of growing crops. The ground becomes like a sponge, and water oozes from -the levees in countless places. - -There are other objections to the levee system; and while the -Mississippi River Commission, and a majority of engineers endorse it, -there are not a few equally capable men who denounce it as false in -theory, and mischievous in practice. The problem remains a puzzling one. -If the floods are unrestrained, a large portion of the river bottom -becomes uninhabitable a considerable portion of each year. As to -controlling them, a man of much experience said at the time of the flood -in 1882, “I have lived on the river for thirty years, and I have studied -it, for it was my business to do so. I have been steam-boating all that -time. I am now certain that I don’t know anything about it, or about -what ought to be done to it.” - -Another said, “When God put the river into this valley, He told it to go -wherever it pleased, and it always has done so, and always will.” - -Yet, the problem can not be considered hopeless, though mere experiments -are dangerous. There is little doubt that the levees would have -withstood the unprecedented high water of the present year, had it not -been aided by the severe and protracted easterly storm. But the levees -must remain a constant expense. More than $90,000,000 have already been -spent upon them, and the question is an even more vital one than ever. - -The chief opponents of the levee system advocate the increase of -outlets. A glance at a large-scale map of Louisiana will show the reader -how very narrow the mouths of the river are in comparison with its -breadth above; and when it is remembered that these passages required -deepening ere large vessels could reach New Orleans, it is clear that -the outlet men have good reasons for asserting that the proper thing to -do is to open as many outlets to the sea as possible. Yet, the majority -of engineers declare this to be unscientific, and radically wrong. The -levee men propose to narrow the channel and to rely upon the “scour” of -the water to keep the river bottom free enough to afford a clear passage -to the sea. The “scour” is aided as far as possible by clearing away -obstructions where it is desired to maintain a channel, and by placing -other obstructions in places where natural shallows have been formed. -This is the work carried on by the commission, and is one in theory with -that executed by Captain Eads in the South Pass of the Delta. He claimed -that if the water flowing through the pass should be confined within -comparatively narrow banks, it would scour out the bottom, and so deepen -its own bed. The primary result was exactly opposite to this. The water -refused to do the work expected of it, and following the law of nature, -sought the line of least resistance. Finding the South Pass obstructed, -or rather narrowed, much of it turned aside and poured through the -Southwest Pass and the Pas a l’Outre, and instead of scouring out the -South Pass, scoured the other two to the depth of two feet below where -their beds had formerly been. As soon as this was discovered, the two -passes were partially dammed up, and the water thus forced through the -South Pass. - -It is evident, at a glance, that the amount of “scour” will only be as -much as will permit ready exit of the water at ordinary stages. The -moment that point is reached, the “scour” ceases, and does not again act -unless the river be still further narrowed. Hence, this plan, while -increasing facility of navigation, only robs Peter to pay Paul, so far -as protection is concerned; for what is gained in depth and speed, is -necessarily lost in breadth. The “scour” system has even failed to hold -its own, and has had to be reinforced by dredging machines. - -This last fact tends to confirm the arguments of the outlet advocates. -They urge that the immense amount of silt carried by the river is -destructive to the entire scheme. During flood time this silt is nearly -equally distributed throughout the water. When an overflow occurs, the -immense quantity is shown by the vast alluvial deposits left in the -submerged region. - -According to the believers in the anti-levee theory, if overflows are -prevented, the earth held in suspension, instead of being deposited -where it will enrich the land, will gradually sink to the bottom of the -river. The result will be that the river-bed will be steadily raised -until the surface of the water at ordinary stages will be as high as the -present floodmarks. Levees will have to be built higher and higher, the -river will be raised far above the adjacent country, and should a break -occur at any point, the consequence will be disastrous in the extreme. -As an example of the effect of confining a silt-bearing alluvial river -to its bed, the Hoang-Ho in China is cited. By constant dyking the -bottom of the stream has been raised above large tracts of the adjacent -country and some of the most - -[Illustration: FLOOD IN CHINA.] - -terrible catastrophes in the history of floods have resulted from a -break in the dykes during floods. - -The natural result of the continual raising of the bottom is that where -any serious breach occurs, it is simply impossible to repair it. So the -great river has changed its channel entirely several times in the past -two thousand years. In 1852 it burst through its banks three hundred and -fifty miles from the sea, and cut a new channel through the northern -part of the province of Shantung to the Gulf of Pechili, where it -emptied nearly two hundred and seventy-five miles north of its former -mouth in the Yellow Sea. The sharp angle at which it turned off is -noticeable on the maps. This region being almost unknown to foreigners -at that time, no one can say how many thousands or millions of lives -were destroyed by “China’s Sorrow.” - -But the greatest disaster of this sort occurred in 1887, when the heavy -fall rains of the northwest provinces swelled the streams, and the -Yellow River finally broke its banks at a sharp bend in the Ho-nan -province, where the town of Cheng Chou is situated. Frantic efforts were -made to close the gap, but in vain. It rapidly grew to a width of one -thousand two hundred yards. Some distance away the yellow torrent turned -into the valley of a small stream known as the Luchia, down which it -rushed in an easterly direction, overwhelming everything in its path. - -“Twenty miles from Cheng Chou it encountered Chungmou, a walled city of -the third rank. Its thousands of inhabitants were attending to their -usual pursuits. There was no telegraph to warn them, and the first -intimation of disaster came with the muddy torrent that rolled down upon -them. Within a short time only the tops of the high walls marked where a -flourishing city had been. Three hundred villages in the district -disappeared utterly, and the lands about three hundred other villages -were inundated. - -“The flood turned south from Chungmou, still keeping to the course of -the Luchia, and stretched out in width for thirty miles. This vast body -of water was from ten to twenty feet deep. Several miles south of -Kaifeng the flood struck a large river which there joins the Luchia. The -result was that the flood rose to a still greater height, and pouring -into a low-lying and very fertile plain which was densely populated, -submerged upward of one thousand five hundred villages. - -“Not far beyond this locality the flood passed into the province of -Anhui, where it spread very widely. The actual loss of life could not be -computed accurately, but the lowest intelligent estimate placed it at -one million five hundred thousand, and one authority placed it at seven -million.” - -The inundated provinces were under water four months. Two million -survivors were left destitute. The mind quails at the appalling -magnitude of such a catastrophe. - -Such is the warning given by the Yellow River. It is urged that if the -Mississippi is heavily leveed, the same results will follow. The Po is -another instance. The bed of the stream has been raised by dykes until -it is higher in many places than the tops of the houses, and such -disasters as have befallen the dwellers near the Yellow River of China, -have only been avoided because of the fact that the Po is a -comparatively diminutive stream. It is said that the same state of -affairs exists on a smaller scale still on the Tiber. But the opponents -of the outlet theory ascribe the China floods to ignorant engineering--a -charge that can not be easily made to stick, when it is remembered that -the Chinese have some of the most remarkable specimens of engineering -skill in existence. - -In support of the outlet theory, a number of experienced river captains -and pilots assert that the bed of the river has been slowly rising -during the past thirty years; that levees are needed at points where -none were years ago, while at the same time there is less water in the -channel at those points than formerly. At the time of this writing -Captain Condon is urging that an outlet be made through Lake Borgne, -from a point ten miles below New Orleans. His company is to assume all -costs, only asking that if successful, they shall be paid $500,000 for -every foot of reduction of the high water level. He asserts that -one-fourth of the flood waters can be readily drained off by this means. -This Lake Borgne idea, commendable as it appears, has been agitated, -more or less, for forty years, without being tried. A noted government -engineer, Charles Ellet, urged it at the time of the flood of 1853, -without avail. - -Whatever be the result of present deliberations, we must hope that no -effort will be spared to thoroughly test the merits of any system agreed -upon. But the long deliberations and the slow movements of the -governmental committees are vexatious to those most vitally concerned. A -prominent Louisianian says: “If the government and the people had raised -$500,000, placed a larger force, and held that Morganza levee, it would -have cost less than the mere relief expenditures, to say nothing of the -millions of total loss of the flood.” And _Harper’s Weekly_ affirms that -“in one respect the casual observer is moved to sarcastic reflections. -When a flood does come, like the present one, or even one of much less -dimensions, the work of the commission is of necessity suspended, and at -first sight it seems extremely ridiculous to see engineers waiting for -the water to subside before they can place confines many feet below the -present surface, which confines are intended, in part at least, for the -purpose of preventing similar overflows in the future.” - -[Illustration: THE HOLLAND DYKES.] - -Holland, the land of windmills, is another region which has a continual -struggle with this levee question. The native name of the country, -“Nederlands,” or Netherlands, refers to the character of the region, -which lies as an average, about on the sea level; while a great portion -is even somewhat lower. The thrifty people who settled here, erected -dykes to keep back the sea, and built windmills to pump out the water, -thus reclaiming a fertile tract from the bottom of the sea. But the -great dykes need incessant watching and repairing; and the expenditures -upon them up to the present time, have been greater than would have been -required to build them outright of solid copper. As the safety of the -dykes involves all that pertains to temporal life and welfare, the -people have learned not to trust to a single line of defenses. Second -and third lines are erected in the rear of the first; and many large -towns are completely girdled with defenses of their own. - -Since the population of this region is nearly five hundred to the square -mile, while our own land does not average over eighteen to the same -area, it is at once clear that the breaking of the dykes is a far more -serious and terrible matter than the rupture of our levees. Some fearful -disasters in Holland are recorded. In 1421, the dykes gave way at Dort, -and more than one hundred thousand people perished. In 1530, there was a -general failure of the dykes, and the people, not dreaming of danger, -were suddenly overwhelmed; four hundred thousand perished, and the loss -of property was proportionate. Two great floods have occurred within -this century, doing terrible damage. - -The Dutch, though peaceful and phlegmatic, are a liberty-loving people, -and have often shown themselves ready to sacrifice everything for their -freedom. They have found more than once its safety in the loss of all -else. - -One of the most thrilling and memorable incidents of the sort occurred -in 1574. Under the leadership of William the Silent, one of the noblest -of men, the Dutch - -[Illustration: THE RELIEF OF LEYDEN.] - -were struggling to throw off the yoke of Spain. Leyden was besieged. The -town was well fortified. The Spaniards endeavored to starve the city -into surrender. They swarmed about the outworks and taunted the famished -people as “beggars.” The contest grew daily more hopeless for the -besieged. Hundreds were dead of starvation. But the survivors hurled -defiance at the Spaniards. They were digging up every green thing, -devouring roots of grass, old leather, offal, anything that could in the -least aid to sustain life. But “so long as a dog barked in the city, the -Spaniards might know they held out.” A few faint-hearted ones pleaded -with the burgomaster to yield. But the brave Van der Werff, gaunt, pale, -wearied with care and watching, told them they could only surrender when -they had eaten him; so long as he lived, the city should not yield. - -It was a terrible time. Scores crept into out-of-the-way places to die, -that their misery might not be seen by their friends. The Dutch without -wished to help their friends within--but the lines of the enemy were too -strong. As the last resort, the “Silent Man” ordered the dykes cut. It -was done. The country folk abandoned their homes. A fleet of two hundred -vessels sailed in over the land fifteen miles. They reached the -Landscheiding, a great dyke five miles from the city. Three quarters of -a mile nearer the town was a second dyke, the Greenway; within that was -the Kirkway. - -The rising water frightened the Spaniards. But at ten inches, it -stopped. The Spaniards renewed their taunts. Again it rose two feet; the -vessels drew nearer: then they lay aground in sight of the famished -citizens. Then arose a strong southwest wind--and after days of weary -waiting, the fleet was close on the last line of fortifications. It was -the first of October. In the morning the “beggars” of the sea would -make a desperate attack upon the Spanish hordes. - -In the night there came a terrible crash. The sea had undermined the -wall. The citizens were filled with panic, fearing an immediate -irruption of the enemy. They stood under arms through the weary night. - -The morning came. Not a Spaniard was in sight. Fearing a sortie of the -hunger-maddened people, they had fled in the darkness. The city was -saved by the drowning of the land. - -A story is told of Frederick the Great, illustrative of the same -indomitable spirit. After establishing the supremacy of Prussia, he was -suspected of designs upon the independence of the Netherlands. The Dutch -envoy at his court, newly appointed, Frederick endeavored to overawe by -a display of his power. A great military review was held; and Frederick, -who took a peculiar delight in tall men, caused troop after troop of his -gigantic grenadiers to file before the weazened little Dutchman, and -asked his opinion. Of each one the envoy said: “Very good, _but not tall -enough_.” Frederick, much nettled at this oft repeated criticism, asked -the ambassador what he meant by it. “I mean,” he retorted, “_that we can -flood our country twelve feet deep_!” Frederick left the Dutch in peace. - -Though the most terrible calamities of any kind--whether from flood, -famine, or earthquake--are to be found in the history of China, yet -other nations have shared in disastrous floods. We mention a few: - -A notable flood occurred on the coast of Lincolnshire, England, A. D., -245. It seems to have been a high tide, aided by the wind. Three -thousand people and many cattle were drowned by a flood in Cheshire, A. -D., 353. Four hundred families were drowned in Glasgow, A. D., 758, by -an overflow of the Clyde. A tidal wave destroyed several English -seaports in A. D., 1014. The Severn leaped its banks in 1483, submerging -the adjacent lowlands, and drowning hundreds. Fifty thousand people -perished in Catalonia, Spain, during a flood in 1617. In Yorkshire, -England, occurred a remarkable outburst of subterranean waters in 1686. - -“In September, 1687, mountain torrents inundated Navarre, and two -thousand persons were drowned. Twice, in 1787 and in 1802, the Irish -Liffey overran its banks and caused great damage. A reservoir in Lurca, -a city of Spain, burst in 1802, in much the same way as did the dam at -Johnstown, and as a result one thousand persons perished. Twenty-four -villages near Presburg, and nearly all their inhabitants, were swept -away in April, 1811, by an overflow of the Danube. Two years later, -large provinces in Austria and Poland were flooded, and many lives were -lost. In the same year a force of two thousand Turkish soldiers, who -were stationed on a small island near Widdin, were surprised by a sudden -overflow of the Danube and all were drowned. There were two more floods -in this year, one in Silesia, where six thousand persons perished, and -the French army met such losses and privations that its ruin was -accelerated; and another in Poland, where four thousand persons were -supposed to have been drowned. In 1816, the melting of the snow on the -mountains surrounding Strabane, Ireland, caused destructive floods: and -the overflow of the Vistula, in Germany, laid many villages under water. -Floods that occasioned great suffering occurred in 1829, when severe -rains caused the Spey and Findhorn to rise fifty feet above their -ordinary level. The following year the Danube again overflowed its -banks, and inundated the houses of 50,000 inhabitants of Vienna.” The -Saone - -[Illustration: BREAKING OF THE DYKES, HOLLAND.] - -overflowed in 1840 and poured its turbulent waters into the Rhine, -flooding one hundred square miles of land, and drowning thousands. -Another great flood in France occurred in 1856. In 1875, still another -drowned a thousand people near Toulouse; while India, the same year lost -many through floods. - -But no such destruction of life ever visited our own land till within a -year past, and the event is more to be deplored, in that it was caused -by unexcusable negligence. That flood we must next consider. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD. - - “A sullen hoarse murmur, and nameless fear!-- - A sound like the tread of a hurrying host!-- - A roar like the storm, as the wild waters near, - Like the dash of the sea on a crag-bordered coast! - - A wave like a mountain sweeps swift through the vale - Ten thousand wrecked homes tossing dark in its spray, - Wild cries of death-anguish echo mocks with her wail-- - And the fiend of the flood now has claimed his prey!” - - -India, profiting by long and sad experience, has provided, as far as may -be possible, against the contingencies of drought and famine, by the -establishment of a magnificent system of storage reservoirs, to furnish -water for irrigating when rain is wanting. Some of these tanks are fine -specimens of engineering, and so far as records go, no disaster has ever -attended their establishment. But to be ready and efficient, for -purposes of irrigation, the water must be above the level of the -surrounding country: hence, the only practicable plan has been to dam up -the courses of streams and ravines in the hills. As nearly all Bengal is -comparatively low and level, this method is not applicable there; hence, -the terrible famines consequent in a comparatively small decrease of the -average rain supply. But in the Deccan, in the Madras presidency, and in -Ceylon, the reservoir system has been carried to an extent astounding to -the white man, who depends with tolerable certainty upon the rain, and -who is accustomed to consider other races as universally indolent and -improvident. In fourteen districts of the Madras presidency - -[Illustration: MAP OF CONEMAUGH VALLEY.] - -are nearly fifty-five thousand irrigation reservoirs, four-fifths of -which are in regular operation. Their size may be estimated by the fact -that the retaining dykes average half a mile in length. One ancient -reservoir, now broken, had a dam thirty miles long, shutting in an -artificial lake of eighty square miles. The Veranum tank covers -fifty-three square miles, has a dam twelve miles long, and produces -$55,000 per year. In Ceylon may be seen a gigantic dam of cemented -stone, fifteen miles long, one hundred feet wide at the base, and forty -feet wide at the top. - -The same plan is of late years being extensively operated in our western -tracts for the reclaiming of extensive tracts otherwise not cultivable. -With these exceptions no great use of the reservoir system has been made -in this country. Every saw-mill, grist-mill or factory in our land -usually has its dam in an adjacent stream to insure a fair supply of -water: but none of these can be properly considered general precautions -against drought. The only prominent public works of the sort are the -Croton storage reservoirs, by which New York is supplied with water. -There are eighteen reservoirs, with a total capacity of fourteen -thousand millions of gallons. China has a great canal irrigation system, -which is, perhaps, safer in some respects than the Hindoo system, but -which can not command as large an increase of supply in time of drought, -the water being drawn from the rivers, and thus having comparatively -little fall. But the canals so thoroughly intersect the whole country as -to serve as public highways: and in many sections there are no other -roads. - -Doubtless the methods of construction in India have been learned by long -experience. Certain it is that for many years, at least, no serious -trouble has ever arisen from defective retaining dykes. The public -welfare is so intimately connected with these pools that they are -carefully inspected and repaired. The destruction of the system might -at any time precipitate a terrible famine. - -Not having a similar condition of things to contend with, the average -American is not concerned about the few dams scattered about the land, -not one in a score of which would cause any serious loss were it to -break: and even were such death-traps scattered over every county, it is -doubtful if a race who will crouch behind a Mississippi levee and refuse -flight till the last moment, could ever be brought to a proper -realization of the danger, or their culpable negligence. The American is -in a hurry: and so if speed be obtained, trains may wreck, vessels -collide, or boilers burst, and the coroner’s jury will obligingly render -a verdict of “nobody to blame.” Since he also wants things at the bottom -market price, he encourages the production of countless unsafe -buildings, dams, and similar structures, merely because they are cheap. - -The most terrible lesson ever given to cheap dam builders in the history -of our country is one, which, with the reader’s indulgence, we shall -endeavor to narrate. - -In southwest central Pennsylvania, among the foot-hills of the -Alleghanies, lies the peaceful and picturesque valley of the Little -Conemaugh. Here, in 1889, within a stretch of a dozen miles, lay five -industrious and thriving towns: South Fork, Mineral Point, Conemaugh, -Woodvale and Johnstown. The last of these, embracing as it did, Cambria -and Conemaugh Borough, was a city of thirty thousand people. The -population of South Fork was two thousand, Mineral Point had eight -hundred, Conemaugh and Woodvale about two thousand five hundred each. -The total population of the valley within the distance named could not -have been far from thirty-eight thousand. - -Johnstown was the center of interest as of population. Thither came on -May 30th--“Decoration Day"--people from Altoona, Hollidaysburg, -Somerset, Latrobe, Ebensburg and Wilmore, and from the four other towns -already mentioned. There was a great concourse, a long and impressive -procession of soldiers and secret orders, with bands of music, flags, -regalia, banners, bunting and devices. With solemn pomp the cemetery was -visited, and flowers were strewn on the graves of the patriotic dead. -This sad but pleasing duty ended, the procession turned again toward the -city, and entering the Opera House, listened to an eloquent oration. It -was a day of more than ordinary interest and elation for Johnstown. The -city stood happy and unsuspecting on the very brink of an awful doom. - -During the day the sky had been overcast, and there were occasional -light showers. At nightfall the clouds lowered more heavily, and seemed -to descend nearer to the earth. At nine o’clock there was a gentle rain; -at eleven, a tremendous down-pour, which continued with little -interruption during the remainder of the night. It seemed as if the -windows of heaven had been opened. - -The site of Johnstown is at the Junction of Stony Creek with the Little -Conemaugh. Before eight o’clock on the morning of the 31st of May, both -streams were bank-full. As the day advanced the lower parts of the town -were inundated. By eleven o’clock there was a depth of five feet at the -corner of Main and Market streets, and at the Cambria Iron Company’s -store. - -Still higher the waters rose. In the houses most exposed, carpets were -removed from the floors, and pianos and organs were lifted on chairs and -tables. Soon the two angry streams were mingling their waters in the -business center of the town. Both streams had been as high before, but -never both at the same time. Some thought the Cambria Iron Company, -which had narrowed the channel below the stone bridge, was responsible, -and should be required to widen it again, and so make a free exit for -the waters. - -By two o’clock the water was two to ten feet deep all over the city -proper, and the people had retired to their houses. There was -inconvenience and cessation of business, but no one apprehended serious -danger. They surveyed the providence of God without fear; little -thinking of the destruction that, swifter than the avalanche, would -presently come through the heedlessness or the greed of man. - -Twelve miles up the river, eastward, and at an elevation of four hundred -and fifty feet above the city, lay Conemaugh Lake. This was an -artificial reservoir, covering four hundred, or perhaps four hundred and -fifty acres of land, and having an average depth of thirty feet. Across -the south fork of the Conemaugh, about two miles above its junction with -the main stream, had been built a dam, sixty-two feet high in the -center, and eight hundred and fifty feet long. The valley, narrow at the -dam, widened above into an extensive basin. Proposed in 1836, and -authorized three years later, this reservoir had been finally -constructed in 1852, as a feeder to the Pennsylvania canal, fourteen -miles below. A culvert at the bottom of the dam contained fine iron -discharge pipes, each two feet in diameter, which could be opened at low -water thus sending the contents of the reservoir to the canal at -Johnstown. In 1857, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, having bought the -canal, abandoned it, and the reservoir was thenceforth disused. In July, -1862, the culvert beneath it gave way, owing to some imperfection of the -foundation. The depth of water in the reservoir was, at the time, not -greater than forty feet; hardly more than half its actual capacity. The -breach widened into a chasm, and the water of the reservoir was -discharged, with the exception of about eight feet at the bottom; but so -slow was the process, owing to the substantial character of the dam, and -the resistance it presented, that little harm resulted. - -From 1862 to 1880, the reservoir was empty, and the property, containing -something more than five hundred acres, was a waste. In 1875 it was -bought by Congressman John Reilly, and was by him, four years later, -transferred to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. This was an -association of three gentlemen; suggested and organized by Colonel B. F. -Ruff, a successful railroad and tunnel contractor. All these parties had -ceased from membership in the club prior to the great disaster. - -The original dam, constructed with care and solidity, had involved an -expenditure of $240,000. It was built in regular layers and solidly -rammed, and when finished was higher in the middle than at the ends, -having a spill-way cut through rock in the side of the hill. The cost of -reconstruction was no more than $17,000. No engineer, good or bad, had -charge of the work. The material used was, for the most part, not more -substantial than shale and earth and straw. The pipes at the bottom were -permanently closed, and as the dam advanced, the water was discharged -through a board flume over the top. It was at first intended to raise -the new dam to a height of no more than forty feet, but it was presently -discovered that to cut down the spill-way through rock would cost more -than to construct the dam to the original elevation. This was -accordingly done, though not perfectly, as the dam was two or three feet -lower than the old one, and had, besides, a sag in the middle. A fatal -mistake, if once the water should begin to flow over the crest. - -Another mistake was the obstruction of the spill-way with an iron -grating placed to retain the fish, without taking the precaution at the -same time to enlarge the passage. This would have been expensive; and -here, as in the construction of the dam, it is apparent that economy was -consulted. - -The sum of the mistakes made in the summer of 1880, and which culminated -in the disaster of 1889, were, according to the report of a corps of -engineers, who made a careful survey, “the lowering of the crest, the -dishing, or central sag of the crest, the closing of the bottom culvert, -and the obstruction of the spill-way.” - -The people of the towns below had often discussed the possible rupture -of the dam, but they scarcely feared it. Had it not been built by men -who understood their business; and might not these be trusted, as men -trust their lives to the doctor and their souls to the priest? Had it -not resisted the flood of June, 1887--the highest ever known--and why -then should it yield to any other? It is certain that in the towns below -some were not thinking of the reservoir at all; while, in case it should -give way, few had formed the remotest conception of the possible -disaster. On the very day of the awful calamity, when the streets and -sidewalks of Johnstown were already under water, a leading citizen, to -the question, “How much higher do you think the water will rise if the -reservoir should burst?” answered quietly, “About two feet;” and we have -not heard that any ventured to correct the estimate. - -Unsuspecting souls were they, and yet wholly like other men. Those long -resident by the volcano have ceased to fear its fires. Familiarity, even -with danger, breeds contempt. The evil which still delays, we fondly -believe will never come. And as to the consequences, if those who build -dams know so little, why should simple townsmen be expected to know -more? Had they guaged that reservoir, and did they know that up there in -the mountains were six hundred and forty millions of cubic feet of -water, enough to make a veritable Niagara, for more than half an hour, -ready to rush down upon them? Had they calculated the awful energy of -twenty millions of tons of water falling four hundred and fifty feet in -a progress of a dozen miles; and this progress down a pent-up valley, in -some places not more than three hundred feet in width? Had they -considered that the flow of a mountain of water, sixty feet high at -starting, must be far more rapid on the top than at the bottom? That the -base, entangled among obstructions, and overspreading them, would -furnish to the water above, an inclined plane, smooth as glass, along -which it would shoot with the speed of an arrow, to fall over the edge -of the retarded water beneath, and furnish in its turn a ready passage -for the water above and behind? That in consequence of this law, the -flood would come not by a gradual rise, giving time for escape, but like -a rolling mountain, to smite with the impact of a falling asteroid, and -crush in an instant everything in its way? Had they reflected that such -a body of water would outrun the swiftest Paul Revere who might mount -steed to fly with the warning to the towns below? That to the doomed, -the first announcement of danger would be the stroke of the destroyer? -That to the living there would be absolutely no more time for flight -than to the sinner, of preparation for judgment after Gabriel shall have -blown his trumpet? It is safe to say that few, if any, had even remotely -conceived the possibilities in the case. Men learn by experience, and -even from experience they fail to learn; for the lesson of to-day is -forgotten to-morrow: and human heedlessness is perpetual. - -The crest of the dam stood four or five feet above the spill-way. -Towards noon of the 31st, persons on the watch saw the water of the -reservoir rising at the rate of a foot an hour. Meanwhile a rumor had -spread that the dam was leaking, and this attracted other observers. -Some declared that jets of water were leaping from the lower side to a -distance of thirty feet. Somewhere about half-past two o’clock water -began to run over the top. The structure was then evidently doomed; for, -though riprapped with stone on both slopes, no rampart of earth could -long withstand the abrasion of a torrent running over its crest, and -down its lower face. A South Fork pastor reached the spot at ten minutes -before three. A foot of water was then running over the dam. A few -minutes later a break was made “large enough to admit the passage of a -train of cars;” then presently the whole thing dissolved almost -instantly, like a phantom. A breach was made four hundred and -twenty-nine feet wide clean down to the bottom, and with the noise of -seven thunders and a tread that shook the hills like a young earthquake, -out rushed a mountain of water “tree-top high.” At such a sight the awed -spectator could only gasp, “God have mercy on the people in the vale -below.” Rushing onward a mile in three minutes, or as some have claimed, -twice or thrice as fast, in an instant down went a mill, two houses and -some barns, up went an iron bridge tossed like a thing of straw, and a -moment later the flood was at South Fork. Two trains, a passenger and a -freight, detained by a wash-out further up the road, were standing at -the station. Warned by the awful roar, the passenger train sprang out -just in time to save the lives of the people on board. The engineer of -the freight, seeing it impossible to move with his heavy train, -unhitched the locomotive, opened the throttle-valve, and with the -fireman, flew for life. The seething mountain leaped on the train and -dragged it away, regardless - -[Illustration: THE BROKEN DAM.] - -of two brakemen, who surrendered their lives. The village of South Fork, -standing in the angle above the junction of two streams, and on high -ground, was comparatively unharmed, though two lives and considerable -property were destroyed. - -On rushed the river down a valley, having from the lake to Johnstown an -average grade of more than thirty feet in a mile. A mile and a quarter -below South Fork the river strikes at right angles a projecting cliff. -The baffled stream makes a detour of two miles and returns almost into -itself, having accomplished an absolute advance of no more than -seventy-five feet. A railroad cut no longer than this quits the river -above, then regains and crosses it by a viaduct below. The railroad bed -at the upper end of the cut is twenty feet above the stream, while at -the lower end it is seventy. Here the torrent divided; a part of it, -twenty feet deep and forty feet above the river-bed, flowing through the -cut, the other part following the channel around. When this latter -portion returning struck the cliff at the lower end of the cut, the -water rose to the enormous height of one hundred and twenty-five feet. -From this point the monster, towering to heaven, and like a “wild beast -dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly,” and ravening for prey, -sprang upon Mineral Point, a little more than a mile below. The town was -instantly “wiped out,” forty houses being swept away and sixteen persons -drowned. The rest doubtless were saved by clinging to the wreck; or -warned by the ominous roar, they had fled to the neighboring hills. The -Methodist church, lifted from its foundation and tossing on the torrent, -solemnly, and for the last time tolled its bell, as if recognizing the -end of its days and usefulness; and continued to toll until its burial -was accomplished beneath the waters. - -Two miles and a half below Mineral Point the flood encountered another -bend of the river, with a cut and viaduct in all respects similar to -that which has been described. Here again was enacted the grand and -terrific scene which took place above. Then from this augmented height -the torrent swept down upon East Conemaugh and Franklin, a mile below. -These villages standing on opposite sides of the river, constituted the -first of that series of boroughs known by the name of Johnstown. - -An engineer, backing up the road, and pulling at the nose of his -locomotive a train of freight cars, had proceeded a third of a mile -above Conemaugh. Here the roar of the coming flood broke upon his ears, -and looking up the river he saw the descending avalanche. Instantly -reversing his engine and drawing the throttle, his whistle all the while -shrieking a wild alarm, he pushed at utmost speed the obstructing cars -back to the yard of the Pennsylvania road. Then leaping from his engine, -and leaving his whistle still to sound its warning, he ran to his house -near by, and with his family escaped to the hill just as the rolling -torrent dashed its billows at his feet. - -Three passenger trains and one freight had been standing on the -side-tracks some hours, detained by the wash-out already mentioned. The -passengers were reading, writing, conversing, worrying, walking up and -down the tracks in the rain, or watching the driftwood and the -constantly rising river, but conscious of no danger. Something was said -about a reservoir somewhere up the road, which might burst and come down -upon them, but they gave the matter no second thought. Twice was one of -the trains compelled to move, as the water undermined the track, and -caused it to fall into the river. Once they were startled by the crash -of a bridge, which yielded to - -[Illustration: FLEEING ENGINE.] - -the rushing waters, and was swept away. It was near the hour of four in -the afternoon, and they were still wearily waiting. Suddenly they were -startled by the long, shrill shriek, close to their ears, of engineer -Hess’ whistle, and looking out of their windows up the river, they saw -an enormous mass of wreckage, roots, trees, and driftwood borne aloft on -the back of the torrent, and rushing toward them. With one impulse, the -most of the passengers leaped from the trains and fled for their lives. -Those in the first train had to run round, or creep under the second in -order to reach the town, and thence the hill. Between the trains and the -town there was a ditch ten feet wide, and five and a half feet deep, and -filled with water. Into this, many plunged--nine women and girls -together. A gentleman who had leaped across tarried a moment to give a -helping hand, and all were rescued, save one, an aged woman. She was -apparently dazed; for, refusing the proffered hand, she said, “I will go -this way,” walked toward the maddened waters, and was lost. The rest -fled amain to the rising ground near by, with the raging torrent not ten -feet behind them. Gaining the hill they turned to behold a grand and -awful scene--the crashing, tumbling buildings lifted from their -foundations and hurled against each other; the shrieks and cries and -screams of agonizing, despairing, dying men and women, and all Conemaugh -going down in the fierce river. The round-house sprang from its seat -like a toy tossed from a giant’s hand, and more than thirty great -locomotives were rolled along “like so many pebbles.” All the trains -were carried away. In some of the cars the passengers could yet be seen, -while on the top of one car, loosened from the rest, were two men -struggling desperately to keep their hold as it rolled from side to -side. The whole four trains drifted down about five hundred feet, when -they were stopped in a singular manner. Some inexplicable movement of -the water lifted the head of one train and threw it across that of the -other. Engines from the round-house were rolled down and piled against -these, a mass of trees and drift were added, and the whole four trains, -with the exception of two or three cars, were arrested and anchored in -the midst of the flood. - -But, though the whistle was a warning, and the hills were a refuge to -the people of East Conemaugh, the lives of twenty-four were lost; while -of the passengers on the trains, twenty-six are known to have perished. - -One family were carried down in their house, which held together till it -drifted against the steep hillside, some distance below, where it was -arrested long enough for them to make their escape. - -Two sisters, clinging to driftwood, were being swept past the woolen -mill in Woodvale, when a rope was thrown to them and they were saved. - -One man was carried on a drifting log clear through Johnstown and over -into Kernville, to find deliverance at the end of a wild, three-miles -ride. Another, overtaken at the fair grounds, climbed on the ticket -shed, and thence upon a telephone pole. This being quickly broken down -by the impact of some solid body, he mounted a passing log and dashed -ahead all the way to the stone bridge, a distance of more than two -miles. Here he took hold of some wreckage, and by the backwater was -carried to Main street, near the Presbyterian church, whence he worked -his way to final safety. - -A quarter of a mile below East Conemaugh was the town of Woodvale. The -story of its calamity has few details, since all its five thousand -inhabitants were either drowning or engaged in a mad struggle for their -lives. Every one of its eight hundred houses was lifted in a minute--not -one - -[Illustration: WRECK OF THE TRAINS.] - -remained; nothing but parts of the walls of the large woollen and flour -mills. To the hills forty or sixty rods distant, not many succeeded in -escaping. Relatively but few attempted it, for when the whistles sounded -the alarm, the hills were too distant and the flood was too near. Such -as fled were overtaken by the raging waters, and, to make destruction -doubly sure, a freight train was standing between them and the hill, and -this at the supreme moment, began to move. Thus many perished when there -was but a step between them and deliverance. The houses were mostly -frames, and the people were commonly swept away with their shattered -dwellings. We know there were thousands of wonderful escapes, the -recital of which would fill a bulky volume; but more than one-third of -the total population were quickly counted with the dead. - -Laden with corpses and debris gathered from five towns; with cars and -trees and all the nameless accumulation from a valley twelve miles long, -the torrent now swept down on Conemaugh Borough. This in turn was -quickly swept away, though more of the inhabitants succeeded in escaping -to the hills. At the lower end of the borough were the Gautier Mills, a -part of the great Cambria Iron Company’s plant. These occupied perhaps -ten or twelve acres of ground. When the flood struck them with their -hundreds of fierce fires, there were thunderous explosions that shook -the hills, and the whole seemed to rise up at once and slide forward on -the slanting flood. One or two experiences from this part of the town -must suffice for hundreds more. One lady drifted far down across the -Seventh Ward and lay all night among the wreckage, within easy reach of -seven dead persons, while the luxuriant hair of a dead woman drifted -frequently across her face, half buried beneath the water. A wealth -German lady, a prominent member of the Lutheran church, said, “My son -Henry and his wife, my son Charles and my son-in-law were all drowned; -my pastor and his wife and four nice little children were lost; there is -not one brick of our good, big church left on top of another; and here -is the key, which alone remains. I think my heart must break from -overmuch sorrow.” A few days later she sank into the grave. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN. - - “They shall sleep - Where death may deal not again forever, - Where change may come not till all change end. - From the graves they have made they shall rise up never, - Who have left naught living to ravage and rend. - Earth, stones and thorns, of the wild ground growing, - While the sun and the rain live, these shall be, - Till a last wind’s breath, upon all these blowing, - Roll the sea.” - - * * * * * - - And till in his triumph, where all things falter, - Stretched out on the spoils that his own hand spread, - Like a god self-slain on his own strange altar, - Death lies dead.” - -The Johnstown flood has no parallel in suddenness and destructiveness, -save in the convulsions of the earthquake and volcano, agencies which -will be noticed shortly, but which have never wrought such serious havoc -in our own land as elsewhere. But the most deplorable feature of this -terrible calamity is, that it might easily have been averted. It was due -entirely to the culpable carelessness of a club of wealthy -pleasure-seekers. It would be senseless to prate of “mysteries of -Providence” in this connection. - -Nothing can give so clear an idea of the exact character of the terrible -flood--totally different from the overflow of a river--than the personal -narratives of survivors. A chapter devoted to these will be of interest, -and serve also to illustrate the breaking up of family and social ties -that are an inevitable consequent of great calamities of every kind. - -The flood was slightly less sudden at Johnstown proper than higher up -the valley. Yet, to the inhabitants, in every part of the city, it was -almost instantaneous. All narrators agree in the statement that they -were taken completely by surprise. Few of them, whether by sound of -whistle, or sight of cloud, or of coming torrent, had so much as a -minute’s warning. Mr. Rose seems to have had the longest notice of any. -He reckons less than three minutes after he looked from his window and -saw the flood a mile above, before his house fell, and himself and -family were struggling beneath the water. His carriage-house was broken, -perhaps three minutes in advance of his dwelling. The water which -overthrew it was a sort of advance guard preceding the main body. This -partial division of forces was doubtless due to the two great bends in -the river, which have already been described, or rather to one of them, -since one would have nearly the effect of two. The upper bend was two -miles round, while the railroad cut across the neck was only -seventy-five feet. The smaller portion of water pouring through the cut -got nearly two miles the start of the main body, which had to flow round -the bend. The water which got the start at the first cut had to flow -round the second bend, not being high enough to command the short way -through the second cut. Practically, therefore, the distribution of -water made at two bends and cuts was only a little more than that which -was made at one. Had there been no bends and railroad cuts between -Conemaugh Lake and Johnstown; had the flood been confined for the entire -distance to a single channel, then the towns below would have recognized -no previous swell whatever; a single gigantic wall of water would have -struck Johnstown as distinctly as it struck South Point; the -inhabitants, in most cases, would not have had time even to reach their - -[Illustration: MILL CREEK.] - -upper stories; the wave, even more than it did, would have crushed as -with the single blow of a mighty hammer, and the number of survivors who -could tell a tale of wonderful deliverance would have been -correspondingly diminished. The lesson of these facts is for those who -dwell below dams or reservoirs. If there be nothing in the nature of the -channel to distribute the water, and the rupture be instantaneous, the -destruction of life and property will be awful to contemplate. - -At the Gautier Works, the flood, while extending over all the valley, -was yet parted into three principal divisions. One of these, following -the course of the Conemaugh, rushed down against the foot of the hill, -just above the Stone Bridge, and would have instantly swept away that -magnificently solid structure, had it not stood parallel to, rather than -at right angles with the torrent; another turning to the left, swept -across Conemaugh Borough and the upper wards of Johnstown, destroying -hundreds of stone buildings, the German Lutheran church, and the Hulbert -House; while the third swept straight down through the middle of the -city, demolishing the Y. M. C. A. Hall, the Municipal buildings, and -scores of the finest residences. This last, turned into a reverse -current by the damming of the water at the bridge, was presently rolled -back, to ensure the destruction of whatever had escaped in its downward -course. - -Thousands of people, drifted from the towns above, were dead already, or -still struggling in the water; and to these were now quickly added many -thousands more. Of the people of Johnstown, it may be said that not a -soul had time to fly. We hear nothing at all about escapes to the hills. -At the scream of the warning whistle, some were startled, and looked up -the river. According to their place in the town, they saw, at the -distance of a mile, half a mile, or only a hundred yards away, an -ominous and inexplicable dark cloud, which might be smoke or spray, -hanging upon the surface of the water. They felt that something unusual -had taken place, but of its nature they were not well aware. Those who -saw it at the greatest distance had hardly time to scramble to the upper -stories of their dwellings, before, even there, they found themselves -struggling in the water; while the vast majority, on looking forth, saw -buildings, not a half block above them, already leaping from their -foundations. Simultaneous with the roar and rush of the torrent, came -the crash of houses, the shrieks and cries of men, women and children, -the revolution of everything as in a kaleidoscope, and then, driven with -the speed of a race-horse, houses, furniture, cars, locomotives, -railroad tracks, the Gautier plant, animals alive and dead, trees, -lumber and infinite wreckage were rushed onward to be jammed and piled -at the railroad bridge in a maze of ruin fifty feet high and covering -forty acres of ground. Here the laboring waters finding no ready exit, -were in part turned to the left up Stony Creek, and in part rolled -swiftly backward across the center of the city, bearing the drift on -their bosom, and in some instances dropping shattered houses within a -square or two of their former places. The wreckage above the bridge, -entangling and holding fast, hundreds, if not thousands, as well of the -living as the dead, presently caught fire, thus adding, through all the -long awful night, to the horrors of flood, the fiercer horrors of flame. -From the roaring conflagration, a sickly, baleful gleam was thrown -through a mile radius of surrounding gloom; but like the Miltonic fires -of perdition, from those flames - - “No light, but rather darkness visible, - Served only to discover sights of woe.” - -Some say they saw hundreds throw themselves backward into the flames, -to perish, and the record of the morgues, showing how often a charred -arm or leg or half a body was interred, prove that upon many, dead or -alive, the fire did its awful work, while in many cases, doubtless, it -was done so effectually that not a remnant could be found. - -As the night drew on, St. John’s Roman Catholic church which had -successfully withstood the angry waters, was seen to be on fire, driving -out the miserable creatures that had taken refuge in it, and with its -fierce heat scorching those on the surrounding drift, till they were -fain to relax their hold and drop into the water. Those flames, as they -climbed the beautiful spire and seized the emblem of Christianity on its -lofty top, seemed to mock the confidence of those who in their last -extremity were still clinging to the cross. In the tower of the Lutheran -church, near to Stony Creek, the town clock was still sustained far -above the raging waters. The flood had struck the city at four, and as -the hour of five drew on, when drifting corpses were now everywhere, and -thousands clinging to the wreck lay at the mercy of the flood or flame, -the mechanism of the clock serenely moving brought the hands to mark the -hour, and slowly five times the ponderous hammer smote the massive bell, -tolling the knell of thousands which that hour had rushed into eternity. -On the ears of the living, the sound of those slowly beating strokes -fell with a horrible sensation; for at the end of another hour would be -tolled a dirge for them. There was something terrible in the calmness of -that clock, faithfully telling the flight of Father Time, reckless -whether he had brought joy or woe to mortal men. - -But not engulfing flood, nor burning temple, nor holocaust of victims at -the bridge could shake the steadfast confidence of many in their God. -One little boy, when his mother and the rest were clinging in the drift -at the - -[Illustration: AT THE STONE BRIDGE.] - -bridge, asked, “Mamma, where is that God that Mr. Beale and Mr. Moore -told us about, and said that he would save us?” but another little boy, -despairing of temporal deliverance, was heard closing his prayer with -the beautiful words of the 23rd Psalm: “Though I walk through the valley -of the shadow of Death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy -rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” A son asked his mother, “Will we -die?” She answered, “I can not tell; but one thing I _do_ know, that God -does all things well, and if he wants us to-night, he will take us; if -not, he will find a way for our escape. We will go and sit down and see -what the Lord will do.” A pastor, just escaped with his family to the -third story, and waist-deep in water, before he could reach it, -instantly opened and read from the family Bible, which he had caught up -in his flight: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in -trouble; therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and -though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the -waters thereof roar and be troubled; though the mountains shake with the -swelling thereof.” One of the sweetest singers in the city had retreated -with her family to the attic; the house was lifted and apparently moving -to destruction, when, to soothe her children and her husband, she calmly -sang, “Jesus, lover of my soul.” While she continued to sing, the end of -a large tree, having great roots, was driven through the house, -anchoring it firmly just in the edge of Stony Creek River. A man who was -carried over the Stone Bridge, saw a lady on a piece of wreckage -shooting down the valley of death, and heard her singing those same -immortal words of Charles Wesley; written by him at night, by a feeble -spark, in a spring-house, where he was hiding from a raging mob: - - “Jesus, lover of my soul, - Let me to thy bosom fly, - While the raging waters roll, - While the tempest still is high.” - -A venerable man was seen upon his knees, with clasped hands, gazing -steadfastly at the cross above St. John’s Roman Catholic church; while -another, converted the previous winter, full of faith, and always -rejoicing in hope, was last seen kneeling upon the roof of his house, -riding with the torrent, and shouting, “Glory to God.” - -The narratives of the survivors, whether from the upper, middle, or -lower portions of the city, all alike serve to show that the suddenness -of the doom could only be equalled by its awful horror. - -The Hulbert House, built of brick, and one of the finest hotels in -Johnstown, stood in the upper portion of the city. There were about -sixty persons in it at the time of the catastrophe, and of these, the -lives of forty-nine were lost. Many of these were in the office, when an -unusual whistling of engines was heard. Imagining a fire had broken out -in the midst of the flood, they all ran to the upper stories, except the -proprietor, the clerk, and one guest. Two or three minutes later, the -clerk walked to the window, and looked across the Conemaugh in the -direction of Prospect Hill, and seeing what he mistook for a great cloud -of dust, exclaimed, “My God, the hill is falling!” At that, the -proprietor ran to the door, and looking up the street, realized at once -the situation. Directing the other two to hasten upstairs and spread the -alarm, he ran to the kitchen to warn the girls; then fleeing to the -fourth floor, he reached it just as the building fell. One of the few -survivors declares that the catastrophe overtook nearly all the guests -no further advanced than to the foot of the stairway on the third floor, -and as yet unapprized of the nature of their danger. - -Rev. D. M. Miller, pastor of the Presbyterian church in East Conemaugh, -had his home in Johnstown. To him and his family the deluge came without -a moment’s warning. They were in an upper room, fearing, suspecting -nothing, till they saw houses not half a square away starting from their -places, reeling and crackling onward over fences, telephone poles and -fruit-trees, and jostling against each other. Before they could fly in -any direction, they were waist-deep in water. Beneath the lower sash -which was raised, Mr. Miller sprang out upon some floating timbers, -urging his wife to follow. She, however, mounted the bed, which being -instantly forced up to the ceiling she was almost smothered. The water -had closed the opening beneath the sash, and up to her neck in water she -now set herself desperately to effect an opening at the top of the -window, but she only tore her hands in the vain attempt to wrench away -the slat. Mr. Miller, by this time recovering from his first plunge, -with one hand caught hold of the spout beneath the eaves, and with the -other, battered through two panes of glass, cutting himself badly. -Drawing up one foot, with it he now kicked out the sash, when his wife -dived out under the lintel, expecting to reach footing on the roof of a -small porch below. The porch, however, was gone, and she disappeared -deep beneath the turbid flood. A moment later, by some violent -ebullition of the water, she was thrown to the surface, and at once laid -hold on the spout. Meanwhile, the house was drifting rapidly toward -Stony Creek. When the vast number of houses adrift struck the hill -beyond the stream there was a fearful rebound; many houses were crushed -to splinters, many were upset, and scores of clinging wretches were -mangled, killed, or plunged into the water and drowned. The current, -arrested by the hill, divided; a part turned to the left up Stony -Creek, carrying many houses nearly a mile; part turned to the right, to -add its freightage of life and ruin to the already tremendous gorge -above the bridge, while between these currents a central portion was -rolled back in the direction whence it came. On this portion Mr. -Miller’s house was carried, till wandering round and having described -two-thirds of a complete circle, by the subsidence of the water it found -rest at last not more than a hundred yards from its original position. -During much of this journey the pastor and his wife, up to their necks -in water, and battered and bruised incessantly by the terrible drift, -were clinging to the spout. At last two of their neighbors being in some -manner, incomprehensible to themselves, thrown upon the roof and sitting -on the comb, after a time espied beneath the eaves the heads of the -unfortunate couple. To creep down to the edge of the steep roof, -slippery through incessant rain and recover the pastor and his wife was -an undertaking fraught with extreme peril, yet these men, as did -hundreds more in this awful hour, freely risked their lives in the -effort to save others. A little later a woman and a boy were recovered, -and brought to the same roof, on the comb of which six persons now sat -until nightfall, when the house having ceased from its wanderings, they -managed to creep into the attic. This being unfinished, there was no -floor on which even the sick could lie; so, in the dark, in their torn -and wet and filthy garments, through all the long, dreary hours of an -endless night, through the forenoon of the following day, and until the -middle of the afternoon, on a narrow board, they sat together until the -rescuers came. Then there was a laborious clambering over broken houses -and great piles of wreck, a tramp of half a mile through mud and water, -when they found at last rest and refuge and friends. Twenty-eight hours -they - -[Illustration: DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE, JOHNSTOWN.] - -had passed without a wink of sleep or a morsel of food, while their -wounds and bruises were such as for a time to render doubtful their -recovery. - -Mr. Calliver, a machinist, had his dwelling in one of the upper wards of -the city. His wife, an invalid, had not walked for seven years. He was -watching the flood, and telling his neighbors that the worst was already -past, when, looking up the river, he saw houses bounding from their -places and skurrying towards him. He shouted to his family at once to -flee to the attic, but, before they could reach it they were knee-deep -in water. The house was floated, and borne swiftly away, but fortunately -did not turn over. It drifted out of the main current, struck upon -something, and was held fast, while other buildings were drifted onward. -Union street school house was near, and to this place, late in the -afternoon, by clambering over the accumulated drift, it became possible -to escape. Here they found themselves in the company of nearly two -hundred others rescued in various ways. Some were crippled, some were -shivering with cold, and all had lost their nearest and dearest friends. -Many were in awful suspense concerning the fate of loved ones. A -sleepless, endless night dragged its slow hours along, and when at last -Mr. Calliver, watching anxiously from the roof, saw the first gleam in -the east, he cried out in an ecstasy, “It is morning! it is morning!” -After deliverance came, being curious to know what it was that had so -opportunely arrested his floating house, he made examination, and found -that, of several open cars that had drifted into the neighborhood, one -had dropped endwise into a cellar, and his house driven upon the end -that was elevated had been penetrated with the shaft of the brake-wheel, -and securely held in that place. - -Rev. David J. Beale, D.D., pastor of the Presbyterian church, to whose -authentic and thrillingly interesting book “Through the Johnstown -Flood,” we are principally indebted for our statement of facts, and to -which the reader is referred for a fuller account, records an -experience, which, like those already narrated, serves to show that the -visitation was as sudden as it was awful. His first intimation of the -coming ruin was a roar, increasing like that of an approaching train, -and a moment later the torrent had struck his residence. Urging in -advance of him his family and two neighbors who were present, he rushed -up stairs, and reaching the second floor found himself already -waist-deep in water. At that instant, a man was shot by the force of the -current through the window, and to the sudden interrogatories, “Who are -you? Where did you come from?” breathless and strangling, he could only -answer, “Woodvale.” He had been carried on a floating roof a mile and a -quarter, and as it violently struck the parsonage, he was pitched from -his hold and dashed through the window. In another minute the whole -company were in the third story, witnesses, blanched and mute, of the -awful scene of destruction and death. - -They recognized many acquaintances and friends riding on to death. They -saw two little children, almost nude, clinging to one roof; four young -ladies, in agonized embrace, clinging to another; houses for squares -north and west torn from their places, and the whole drawn onward, to be -crushed and jammed in the gorge below. Meanwhile, Capt. A. N. Hart, his -wife and two children, were seen struggling in the wreckage which had -drifted near the parsonage, and Mr. Beale, descending into the water in -the second story, assisted them to enter through the window. Their -arrival in the garret increased to fifteen the number of persons there -collected. - -The parsonage now began to show evident signs of giving way, and it was -decided to abandon it. After an unsuccessful attempt to gain the roof, -the whole party were safely passed by means of a rope from the highest -window to a floating roof below. They had hoped to reach the church, -which still stood secure, a short distance away; but, on making the -attempt, they found themselves confronted with fifty feet of water which -could not be crossed. They now began a perilous journey over wreckage to -Alma Hall, half a square away. This was a four-story building, the -largest and strongest in the city. Their way lay over logs and roofs and -houses, fixed or moving box cars, and various debris which often -concealed them from one another. One of the young ladies, crossing open -water on a scantling, fell and disappeared, all but her floating hair, -by which she was caught and recovered. About dark they gained the hall, -and found no less than two hundred and sixty fortunate unfortunates like -themselves, rescued in wondrous ways from ghastly death. - -Then followed the long night of sleepless horror, unillumined, save from -the burning church, and from the horrible holocaust at the bridge. The -suppressed moans of those with bruised bodies and broken limbs, the -crying of little children, cold and wet and hungry, and without a place -to lay their heads, the anxiety for loved ones, the mourning for them -that were certainly lost, the momentary dread lest the building should -give way and yet overwhelm all with sudden death, conspired to make it a -night never to be forgotten. Morning came at last, and then, as the sun -rose above the hills, might have been seen a curious and mournful -procession. Descending through a window, they walked and jumped, and -crawled and clambered over several blocks, filled with broken buildings, -cars, trees, furniture, bridges and dead bodies, till they reached the -hill. - -What a spectacle of human misery was there presented! - -[Illustration: THE GORGE AT THE BRIDGE.] - -Fully three thousand people were gathered, weary, wet, cold, haggard, -hungry, homeless, shoeless, hatless, coatless, ragged, muddy, many -almost naked, gazing in mute despair, in awful anguish that could shed -no tear (for no tears were shed) upon miles of wreck, containing by the -thousand the dead bodies of husbands, wives, parents, children, lovers, -and precious friends. Could humanity be called to suffer more? - -Mr. Horace W. Rose, Esq., a prominent attorney about fifty years of age, -had spent his life in Johnstown, and remembered distinctly all the great -floods it had experienced. The highest he had seen was in 1887, and he -had little fear that ever he would see another higher. He was not -alarmed when the water entered the lower story of his dwelling, but as -he saw it advance above the wash board, and with its foul freight stain -the beautiful paper recently put upon the wall, he was not without a -feeling of sadness. He conversed pleasantly with his neighbors, and -twitted their children with invitations to come across the way and make -a friendly visit. Fifteen minutes before the catastrophe he was engaged -in shooting rats, and continued the occupation until hearing a loud -crash, he ran to the back part of his house, and saw that the water had -broken down his carriage-house and was driving the carriage into the -yard. At the same moment he heard cries, the alarm of a bell, and the -loud screams of a steam whistle. Feeling that something awful must have -happened, he ran to the third floor, followed by all his family, and -looking out through a window, which permitted a view of nearly a mile up -the Conemaugh, the awful fact was at once apparent. “I saw stretching -from hill to hill, a great mass of timber, trees, roofs and debris of -every sort, rapidly advancing, wrecking and carrying everything before -it. It was then about the midst of what was known as the Gautier Works, -a department of the Cambria Iron Works, which covered perhaps ten or -eleven acres of ground. A dense cloud hung over the line of the rolling -debris, which I then supposed was the steam and soot which had arisen -from hundreds of fires in the Gautier Works as the waves rolled over -them. I stood and looked as the resistless tide moved on, and saw brick -buildings crushed in an instant pass out of sight, while frame tenements -were quickly crushed to atoms. - -“Members of my family asked me if there was no escape. I answered, ‘No; -this means death to us all.’ My wife with blanched face said, ‘Won’t our -big strong house stand?’ I replied deliberately: ‘No, Maggie; no -building can stand this awful jam, and we are all lost.’ - -“The press of the heaving, surging mass rolled steadily on, and in less -than three minutes, as nearly as I can estimate time, from the moment I -saw the front of the angry torrent it was upon us. The great Municipal -building above me fell with a crash. The stately dwelling of my -neighbor, John Dibert, was broken to atoms. I walked rapidly to the -southeast window, and saw the front of the brick dwelling above and -adjoining mine, crushed to rubbish. Several persons were floating -directly down Main street, in front of me; a large frame building -directly opposite me careened, at the attic windows of which I saw a -number of ladies, one of whom held an infant in her arms; there was a -crash, a sensation of falling, a consciousness that I was in the water, -and all was dark. A moment later, I felt the press of a heavy shock, a -sense of excruciating pain, involving my right breast, shoulder and arm. -The thought came upon me that I was being crushed to death, that I could -not long endure the agony I then suffered, and that death would come -soon. I watched for the change, expecting in a moment to know the -reality of eternity. I heard the moan of my eldest son, who was at my -side when the crash came. - -“I felt myself struggling, with my left hand clutching at something, I -know not what. I heard the voice of my youngest son, as I thought, -imploring me to aid him. I told him I was powerless to succor him. A -moment later I realized that he was endeavoring to have me reach a -higher elevation, when I told him my whole right side was crushed; he -came to my relief and aided me in getting upon a fragment of the slate -roof. A moment after, a little boy whom I had sheltered, appeared and -informed me that my wife was drowned; he had barely made this -announcement when I saw my only daughter, June, rise up out of the water -among the debris to perhaps her waist, and immediately sink out of -sight. As she sank, I saw my wife rise out of the water to about her -waist, and almost immediately sink out of sight; a moment after, they -rose together, and I saw my son Winter, a lad of twenty years, a strong, -robust person, and heard him say, ‘Ma, hold on to me, and I can save -you.’ I was lying on my side, perhaps twenty or twenty-five feet distant -from where my wife, daughter and son were struggling, the skin torn from -the right side of my face, the blood flowing profusely from the wound, -the skin torn from the back of my left hand, my right collar-bone -broken, my shoulder-blade fractured, the ribs crushed in upon my lung, -my right arm from shoulder to wrist lying limp on my side, powerless to -give aid or assistance to my loved ones. At this moment a young man -seemed to shoot up and out of the debris at my side; I realized that he -was an acquaintance, but could not name him. I at once, however, -addressed him, saying, ‘Young man, won’t you go and help Winter save my -wife and daughter? I am helpless; my whole right side and arm are -crushed.’ He made no reply, but - -[Illustration: THE BATTLE WITH THE WATERS.] - -at once hastened across the debris, and aided in relieving my wife from -the timbers in which she was pinioned. Then he immediately disappeared -from my sight; but I afterward learned he was Harry Philips, who was -reared in Johnstown, was then practicing his profession of dentistry in -Pittsburg; was home on a visit, and in the house of Dr. L. T. Beam, and -was the only person who escaped with his life, while his mother, niece, -nephew and brother-in-law were lost in the flood. My eldest son had -disappeared. I believed I had heard his dying moan. All the other -inmates of my house at the time it was struck, were now floating on -different fragments of houses, and being rushed with fearful velocity in -a westerly course to and across the Stony Creek River. - -“They saw a stout roof on the edge of the debris and succeeded in -reaching it; an old lady on bended knees and holding with her hands, -floated by on a shutter, and Winter assisted her to gain the roof; the -current suddenly turned and swept them rapidly up Stony Creek, a -distance of half a mile; they came to rest above Morris street in the -Fifth Ward, and lay for a considerable time; some inexplicable force -then carried them across the river, and they lay for a while in the -mouth of Franklin street; the Catholic church was on fire, and the town -clock struck five; a cold and pitiless rain poured down upon them; the -current now changed and buildings and wreckage were borne rapidly down -the stream; as houses were broken to pieces, clinging wretches with wild -shrieks sank to watery graves; the two sons were separated from the -remainder of the family on the roof; it drifted once more down the -stream, was struck by a heavier building and pushed upon the bank; over -various drift they climbed till they reached a three-story brick which -stood intact; they entered it just as the town clock struck six--two -awful hours, and yet no member of the family lost. Happier far their -fate than that of many others. The two boys returned to their parents at -four o’clock the next day.” - -These incidents will suffice. Thousands of the same sort might be given. -No wonder that many were crazed with grief. One woman, wife and mother, -sole survivor of a happy family, was found sitting in the wreck, holding -in her arms her family clock which she had found. She told her story -without a tear. Her mind was unbalanced. A man who had never been known -to touch liquor was found the day after the flood, reeling to the -bridge, drunk and raving, determined to drown himself. In agony at the -loss of all he held dear, he had taken to drink, that he might remember -his misery no more; but in vain: whisky could not destroy his terrible -memories. Talmage in a letter to the New York _World_, said: “Such an -avalanche of horrors never slipped upon any American city. Horrors piled -on horrors, woe augmenting woe; bankruptcy, orphanage, widowhood, -childlessness, obliterated homesteads, gorged cemeteries and scenes so -excruciating it is a marvel that any one could look upon them and escape -insanity * * * * - -“Was the work of devastation as great as I supposed? Far worse. Types -can not tell it. Only the eye can make revelation. But the worst part of -it can not be seen. The heart-wreck caused by the sudden departure of so -many can be open only to one eye, and that the All-Seeing. Think of one -family of fourteen all dead except one, and that the wife and mother, -and she the witness of their drowning. I saw the grave trench in which -two hundred and sixty were buried, and the whole graveyard like a -national cemetery, in which the unrecognized dead have a particular -number placed above them and are recorded in the undertaker’s rooms -with a description of the body and clothes.” - -On many a life a shadow has been cast that will never be lifted. Many a -heart will ache until it breaks. One who had lost wife and children and -was alone, whose verses and whose name the world has never heard, more -than thirty years ago wrote the following most touchingly beautiful -lines, which will find an echo in the hearts of thousands of survivors -of the Johnstown flood, as well as among countless millions of others in -every age of the world: - - Down by the cedar sitting, - Lonely and sad and still, - Watching the shadows flitting - Over the distant hill. - Yearning for by-gone hours, - Never again to come; - Longing for beauteous flowers, - Never again to bloom. - - Ever there flits before me - A shadowy form and face; - Ever it hovers o’er me, - Wearing a nameless grace. - Above my brow there lingers - A breath like summer air; - Unseen and loving fingers - Stray through my tangled hair. - - Silence, slow creeping nigh me, - Out from the leafy shade, - Bringeth the dead hours by me, - And rests on the darkening glade. - - O ye beloved of spring time, - Can ye come back no more? - Bending I trace your footsteps - Over the distant shore; - Down to the misty river, - Into the depths of death, - Seeking your presence ever, - Praying with sobbing breath, - “Can ye come back no more?” - Echoing clear from the unseen shore, - Answer sweet voices “No more, no more!” - - O for the pearly gates - Of the golden nightless plain, - Where your gentle spirit waits - For the hour we meet again. - - Out from the darkness, soft and plain, - Comes the glad echo, “_We meet again_.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -RELIEF MEASURES. - - “Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase) - Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, - And saw within the moonlight of his room, - Making it rich and like a lily in bloom, - An angel writing in a book of gold: - Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, - And to the presence in the room he said, - “What writest thou?” The vision raised its head, - And with a look made all of sweet accord, - Answered: “The names of those who love the Lord.” - - “And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,” - Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, - But cheerily still, and said, “I pray thee then - Write me as one who loves his fellow men.” - - The angel wrote and vanished. The next night - It came again with a great wakening light - And showed the names of whom love of God had blessed, - And lo, Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest!” - - -It goes without saying that the destitution and suffering occasioned by -the flood were fearful. Everywhere might be seen hundreds of sad-eyed, -disconsolate, almost famished creatures, groping about the wreck, almost -unconscious of present necessities by reason of present woe. Scores were -compelled to drag their precious dead from the wreck and bury them with -their own hands--a trying task. Other scores found never a trace of many -whom they sought. Hundreds of telegrams of anxious inquiries will never -be answered. - -The pressing necessities of the hungry people soon drove many to seek -escape from the place. Yet all railroads were damaged, and in Johnstown -itself one could hardly get about the streets. A stranger describes it -as it appeared on June 1: - -“Johnstown proper was partly a lake, partly several small streams, -partly a vast sandy plain, and partly clusters of more or less ruined -houses. Around, among, between, inside and on top of these houses, -wherever the rushing torrent had been checked, were piled masses of -wreckage; trunks of mighty trees, household furniture, houses whole and -in fragments, bridges, locomotives and railroad cars, hundreds of tons -of mud and gravel. Thickly strewn through it all were hundreds of -corpses and carcasses. The only communication between this section and -the Pennsylvania Railroad and the village of Peelerville on the north, -and Kernville on the south, was across swollen torrents in skiffs, which -required constant bailing to keep them above water. From the Stone -Bridge of the Pennsylvania Road, for a distance of half a mile, no river -could be seen, simply a dense mass of drift from twenty to fifty feet -deep, apparently inextricable, bound together with miles of wire, here -blazing and there smoldering, and enveloping the bridge in a cloud of -nauseating vapor and smoke, giving unmistakable evidence of the presence -of burning flesh. Not a thoroughfare was passable for a team, and very -few for a horse. Locomotion was difficult, the mud was deep, the streets -obstructed often to the roofs of houses, the rain was incessant. - - “How poor, how rich, how abject, how august, - How complicate, how wonderful is man; - How passing wonder He who made him such, - Who centered in our make such strange extremes - From different natures marvelously mixed.” - -The flood quickly called forth the best and the worst exhibitions of -human nature. We shall mention first the evil, as a back-ground against -which the good may stand more conspicuous. We believe that to most men -it will be simply incomprehensible that anybody should think of adding -so much as the weight of a hair to the calamities of Johnstown, as they -were seen on the morning of that first day of June. Ghouls were quick to -enter, snatching from the living, robbing the bodies of the dead. -Johnstown doubtless had her complement of thieves, and these were -speedily reinforced by many more--crooks and jailbirds, pickpockets and -burglars, from cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburg; for -“where the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” -Residents guarding silverware and other valuables were, in some -instances, overpowered in broad daylight and their goods taken away from -before their eyes. These crimes were diligently laid at the door of the -Hungarians, but better knowledge acquitted them of the charge and proved -that they were not more guilty than others. - -The American, accustomed by republican training to regard himself as the -chief source of law, is never slow to take things into his own hands in -cases of extremity. We are told that a few of these ghouls were -summarily dealt with; and under the circumstances the most conservative -find it hard to condemn the grief-crazed men. One correspondent asked -Deputy Sheriff “Chall” Dick if the reports of summary execution were -true. Chall replied slowly: - -“There are some men whom their friends will never again see alive.” - -“Well, now, how many did you shoot?” was the next question. - -“Say,” said Chall. “On Saturday morning I was the first to make my way -to Sang Hollow, to see if I could not get some food for people made -homeless by the flood. There was a car-load of provisions there, but the -vandals were on hand. They broke into the car, and in spite of my -protestations carried off box after box of supplies. I only got half a -wagon load. They were too many for me. I know when I have no show. There -was no show there, and I got out. - -“As I was leaving Sang Hollow and got up the mountain road a piece, I -saw two Hungarians and one woman engaged in cutting the fingers off of -corpses to get some rings. Well, I got off that team and--well, there -are three people who were not drowned and who are not alive.” - -“Where are the bodies?” - -“Ain’t the river handy there?” - -Another form of robber appeared in the relic-hunter. He is a phenomenon -inexplicable--at least to the writer of these pages. Why men should -think to chip off pieces of the Washington Monument, or from Lincoln’s -coffin, or from the granite sarcophagus in the great pyramid, and carry -them home and put them in a cabinet, and call people to admire them, -without thereby simply advertising themselves as vandals, passes -comprehension. Why a chip from Johnstown should be better than the same -kind of a chip from any other place, no man can tell. But the world has -always had a good stock and store of this kind of fools, well described -by our neglected and forgotten poet, Robert Pollok, as men who roamed -about the world searching for pieces of old pottery and the like, and - - “Wondered why shells were found upon the mountain-tops, - And wondered not at that more wondrous still, - Why shells were found at all.” - -These relic-hunters, commonly of genteel appearance, were in force at -Johnstown, picking up knives, forks, silver spoons, communion -vessels--anything they could call fools like themselves to gape at -because it came from Johnstown, and sometimes judiciously preferring as -mementoes the things that were of greater value. - -[Illustration: JOHNSTOWN AFTER THE FLOOD.] - -There were professional thieves who entered the morgues and identified, -with expressions of sorrow, their dear departed dead, strangers never -seen before, in order that they might secure the valuables found on -their persons. There were others who offered their services for the -recovery of the dead, and who were placed upon the details sent out for -that purpose, and plundered many corpses before the arrival of Mann’s -detectives pointed them out as the worst of thieves and robbers. - -Besides these there were sleek scoundrels, too base and black for -respectability even in the pit, who approached weeping, orphaned, -beautiful young girls with alluring offers of jewelry and fine clothes -and delightful homes, in great cities. Their object has no need to be -stated. - -It is pleasant to turn from these few ghoulish and degraded human -reptiles to the mighty army of noble men and women who succored -Johnstown. - -The story of the help rendered, how much, by whom, and in what ways can -not be detailed in this place. It will be enough to give a brief and -general statement, while for full particulars, even to the long list of -the dead, known and unknown, the reader must be referred to Dr. Beale’s -most interesting book. - -The faults and evils of government have been conspicuous since man was -upon the earth. The contemplation of these has turned some -shallow-brained people into anarchists, who think the ideal state of the -race must be one in which there is no government at all. - -There was no government in Johnstown while the flood was sweeping it -away. All human laws were then suspended, for there was no human power -that could enforce them. It is curious and instructive, in a condition -of complete anarchy, to note the spontaneous movements towards organized -government--movements simply evoked by the popular need. Government was -introduced into Alma Hall almost before the sun had set on that dreadful -day. Two hundred and sixty-four men, women and children, from various -directions clambering out of the debris, had been gathered there. They -were wretched enough already, but disorder would only add to their woes, -and for the sake of order, and to feel that the strongest and wisest -were at the helm, they were ready to submit themselves to command. -Accordingly, a meeting was at once called on the stairway to elect a -director to control the whole building and one of the stories, and two -subordinates to take charge of the other two stories. Orders were at -once issued that there should be no lights, lest the escaping natural -gas should explode, and that all persons having spirituous liquors -should surrender them to the directors. These orders were cheerfully -obeyed. - -As this company was wending its mournful way the next morning to Adam -street, Dr. Beale saw a man taking some valuables, and ordered him to -put them down. With this hint as to the capabilities of bad men, he sent -a boy a little later to the nearest telegraph station with a message to -Governor Beaver to send the military. The response came soon in the -presence of the National Guard, the services of whose officers and men -were, in almost every way, of inestimable value. - -But the necessity for government was instant, and could not await the -coming of a National Guard. The community called Johnstown consisted of -seven straggling boroughs, each with its own officers. Some of these -were dead, all were scattered and paralyzed, while furthermore, the -common calamity demanded common action, and this called for a single -government instead of seven. Accordingly, before the sun was high in the -heavens on that first day of June, government had been organized. -According to our Declaration of Independence, it must have been a -lawful government, for it had for its basis the consent of the governed. - -But it was not a republican government; it was an absolute -monarchy--Charles L. Dick, Esq., was elected generalissimo to direct all -matters according to his will,--the best government in the world if -always there were a wise and good man at the head; for the wisdom of one -man is better than the folly of a multitude. - -It makes one proud of his race as he watches this stricken community in -the midst of overwhelming sorrow and loss taking action immediately for -preservation and recovery. Barbarians would not have done it; Asiatics -would not have done it; nor would anybody else have done it so quickly -and so well as Anglo-Saxon English-speaking republicans, full of energy, -resource, and indomitable courage, and habituated to the idea of a -“government _of_ the people, _for_ the people, and _by_ the people.” - -Avoiding details let us see in brief what was done. - -Within eighteen hours after the flood, there was a force of three -hundred qualified policemen guarding the vaults of the First National -and Dibert’s banks, and patrolling the town. A few were armed with -shot-guns, the most with base ball clubs extracted from a wrecked store. -The size of their batons was an indication that they were not on dress -parade, but were equipped for war. Committees were quickly appointed on -finances, on supplies, on morgues, on the removal of dead animals and -debris, on police, on hospitals; and these committees entered on their -respective duties without an hour’s delay. Farmers and others were now -crowding to behold the ruin, and there were many with hearts to -sympathize and hands to aid. Dr. Wm. Caldwell, one of the oldest and -best known merchants in the place, met the wondering comers and engaged -many of them for service in the removal of the wreckage and the -recovery of the dead. Details were at once constituted and sent forth -under proper leaders for these purposes. Within a brief while, Charles -Zimmerman had removed more than two hundred dead animals, and Thos. L. -Johnson, his assistant committeeman, one of the owners of the great -plant at Moxham, had made visible progress in clearing the streets of -debris. - -A crying and instant need was a hospital. Before the flood there was -only one hospital in Johnstown. This was built by the Cambria Iron -Company for the use of their own men. This hospital was now almost -instantly filled and running over; but before sunset on this memorable -Saturday, June 1st, the committee had opened another. Telephonic -communication was broken, but a boy was sent on horseback to Shoyestown -with a message to Pittsburg for hospital equipments--cots, mattrasses, -pillows, medicines and other necessities; and such was the energy of all -concerned that by two o’clock on Sunday, less than twenty-four hours -from the sending of the message, the equipment was in Johnstown. At that -time every bench and counter and even the floor was crowded with the -sick and wounded from all parts of the city. - -It is impossible to describe the varied movements of that dreadful day. -There was little shelter and less food, death everywhere, and some -doubtless imprisoned in heaps of wreck, and not yet dead, but dying of -wounds, or of cold and exhaustion. The first patient in the Bedford -street hospital had been taken up, presumably dead, and carried to the -morgue; there he was found to be yet alive, was removed to the hospital -and died of congestion the next day. The claims of the dead and of the -living seemed to be equally urgent. Many of the living, for food and -shelter, pushed to the country; the farmers received them with - -[Illustration: AT THE MORGUE.] - -open doors. They sent wagon loads of provisions to the valley of death; -the dairymen came with milk and distributed it freely; but what was this -among so many? It is needless to say that the flood, even where -buildings had escaped wreck, had overflowed cellars and lower stories -and destroyed or badly damaged almost everything eatable in the city. - -Not a few of those who survived the flood are notable for their untiring -and abundant labors. It was no time for perpetuating sectarian -differences. Dr. Beale pays a warm tribute to Father Davin, a Catholic -priest, who stood at his post, laboring with superhuman energy, though -constantly urged to take even a short rest. But he could not rest in -view of so much misery. He and Dr. Beale turned their respective -churches into morgues, and labored like heroes, incessantly. Father -Davin’s health gave way under the terrible strain, and he finally went -to the mountains; but it was too late. He died of overwork and -exhaustion. - -Nor must the work of that much abused fraternity, the newspaper -reporters be forgotten. None but reporters can appreciate the -difficulties under which those men worked; and one, a pale, earnest, -sympathetic little Philadelphian, toiled on till his health failed. He -died at the sea shore, whither he had gone to recuperate. These men we -must thank for the prompt and full reports sent throughout the country, -stirring it to prompt and energetic measures of relief. - -The advantages of Christian over Asiatic civilization are never more -apparent than when the calamity of some calls for sympathy and help of -all the rest. Then, in an hour, the news is borne to every city and -hamlet in a broad continent, in another hour the press has thrown it off -in millions of sheets, and every street is vocal with the cry of the -newsboy proclaiming the disaster, millions of hearts are throbbing with -sympathy, voices from opposite sides of great cities are talking to each -other over the telephone, a meeting is called and quickly assembled, -counsel is taken, performance is prompt, and before the day is done, the -railroad train, bearing the necessary forms of aid, is flying with the -speed of the wind to the relief of the sufferers. - -Not often, even in a Christian land, has relief been so prompt or so -bountiful as it was to Johnstown. Pittsburg read the news in the papers -of Saturday morning. The Mayor called a meeting for one o’clock. It was -crowded to overflowing, for the interest was intense. A committee was -appointed, and work began instantly. By four o’clock nearly twenty cars -were ready. Seventy volunteer aids were on board--all that could be -taken--and the train was flying towards Johnstown. At 10:30 P.M. Sang -Hollow, four miles from the scene of death, was reached. Here -three-quarters of a mile of track had been washed entirely away, and the -train stopped. But the men from Pittsburg stopped not. They sprang out, -and trip after trip through the mud and dark, in the use of hands and -shoulders, they bore onward their precious burdens of food for the -starving brothers and sisters. Long before daylight, the installment of -provisions--a car load and a half--was deposited at the Stone Bridge. -Further than this it was impossible to go. The flood had broken the -embankment beyond the bridge and a furious river a hundred feet wide was -sweeping through. - -But while these valiant relievers were struggling forward under boxes -and parcels, the railroad management was working a veritable miracle. -Men and material were placed on the ground, the grade was restored, the -track was laid, and at seven o’clock the next morning the train was -quietly standing at the Stone Bridge! - -Was ever human energy more conspicuous, or in a better cause? Some -corporations must have souls--at least, the Pennsylvania Railroad--for -this triumph was stimulated not by self-interest, but by the interests -of thousands dead or ready to perish. And it was General Superintendent -Pitcairn of the Pennsylvania Road who moved the mayor to call the -Pittsburg meeting. - -The Baltimore & Ohio Road also signalized its achievements and -generosity. By Monday morning it had entered the south side of -Johnstown, bringing relief, or exit to the suffering people. -Superintendent Patton called on the villages and towns along the road to -load as many cars as they pleased, and they would be transported to -Johnstown without charge. The services of both the Baltimore & Ohio and -the Pennsylvania Roads were of inestimable value, and from first to -last, in a spirit of true philanthrophy, they co-operated with the -efforts for the relief of a stricken people. - -The labors of the Pittsburg committee knew no pause nor rest for ten -days, until the State, whose duty it was in so great a calamity, stepped -in, and through the Flood Commission, took hold and continued the work. -Even then their labors did not cease, but were continued in hearty -co-operation with the officials appointed by the State. During those ten -days from the first of June to the eleventh, they had placed in the -field under the most efficient management between 6,000 and 7,000 -laborers, they had supplied a population of about 30,000 people with -food; they had looked after sanitation and hospitals and morgues; they -had accomplished much in the way of opening the streets and clearing the -properties of filth and debris deposited by the flood. They had been the -ministers not only of the charities of the twin cities, Alleghany and -Pittsburg, but of other and more distant cities. These, recognizing the -integrity and efficiency of the Pittsburg committee, directed their -benefactions to them, with the request that they would control their -administration. A total of $831,295 passed into their hands; of this -$560,000 was turned over to the Flood Commission, the balance having -been expended by themselves. Of this total, $250,770 was contributed by -the cities of Pittsburgh and Alleghany. - -In the ladies’ committee, Pittsburg developed another agency that was -vastly beneficial. Established in rooms of the Second Presbyterian -church, they began work on the 4th of June, and their doors thereafter -were open day and night. A special committee was always on duty and -waiting to receive every train, both of the Baltimore & Ohio and the -Pennsylvania Roads. These brought scores and hundreds of refugees who -had lost everything, and who did not doubt that in Pittsburg, at the -hands of people they had never seen, they would receive sympathy and -aid. They were met at the depots, conducted to the rooms of the -committee, fed and clothed, and sent to comfortable quarters till they -could see a way to provide for themselves. Many were seeking homes in -the country or cities beyond, and the railways generously furnished free -transportation to all who were certified by the ladies’ committee. -Situations were procured for many, and many fragments of families, -seeking permanent homes in Pittsburg, were aided even to the -anticipation of their winter supplies. - -Philadelphia has long been an example to other cities, in that it has -had a permanent committee of relief, ever ready with men and means to -answer the call of some unusual distress. At the announcement of the -great calamity, this committee was at once summoned by the mayor. R. M. -McWade, city editor of the _Public Ledger_, - -[Illustration: CONEMAUGH VIADUCT.] - -a gentleman who had raised $25,000 and sped with it to Charleston, South -Carolina, at the time of the earthquake, was present, and at once moved -the appropriation of $5,000, saying that when the facts should become -known, ten times the sum would be required. Others did not wait for -organized effort, but hastened with medicines, surgical instruments, -shoes and carloads of prepared food--bread, butter, bacon, cheese, -coffee--to the field of disaster. Personal contributions were many and -liberal. On the 11th of June the committee placed $500,000 subject to -the order of Governor Beaver. As late as the 4th of August the committee -was induced through Dr. Pancoast to appropriate $10,000 to the Red Cross -Hospital in Johnstown. Philadelphia is truly a city of “brotherly love.” -Newsboys and bootblacks anxiously offered their mites; and in the -penitentiary hundreds of convicts gave eagerly of the hard-earned -pennies gained by working extra time, till the warden placed a limit -upon the amount each might give. The total contributions of Philadelphia -amounted to nearly $800,000. - -New York went promptly to work on the 2nd of June. The churches -beginning. Monday, the 3d, liberal contributions were placed in the -hands of a committee, by individuals and corporations. The poor or bad -boys in the charity and reform schools were an example to many, for they -of their penury cast in all that they had. The boys in the House of -Refuge on Randall’s Island, gave $258.22. Perhaps such lads may be yet -worth saving. - -The total amount contributed by the City of New York was very close to -$1,000,000. - -Boston gave upwards of $500,000, Chicago about $200,000, Baltimore gave -liberally, and received and cared for a multitude of refugees. Fifteen -hundred rendered homeless by floods at Johnstown and elsewhere arrived -in Baltimore in one day. - -We may not detail further. The reader who desires the fullest account of -what was done, and how, and by whom, must be referred to Dr. Beale’s -most interesting book. It may suffice in this place to say, that -contributions were forwarded, not only from the principal cities and -from every State in the Union, but from foreign countries. Ireland sent -$18,252.21; England, $33,158.36; Canada, $4,454.64; Mexico, $130.40; -Turkey, $876.57; Italy, $9.46; Austria, $481.70; Germany, $34,199.36; -Prussia, $100; Wales, $68.60; Saxony, $2,637.20; Persia, $50; France, -$24,511.13; Australia, $1,251.12. Total, $120,187.79. These figures -prove that there are men everywhere who love their fellow men, and that -the whole world is of kin. - -The total loss in the Conemaugh valley was between $8,000,000 and -$9,000,000; the total bestowment about $3,000,000. The loss of life is -estimated variously; from 4,000 to 10,000. It will never be definitely -known. - -The aid of the sympathetic public--was it charity? No, it was duty. I -_owe_ to help my fellow man in distress just as much as I _owe_ to pay -my debts, and sometimes more. Mercy is _due_ to men no less than -justice. “If any man seeth his brother have need and shutteth up the -bowels of his compassion against him, how dwelleth the love of God in -him?” We might add: How dwelleth the love of _man_ in him? He that does -not love his fellow men is not entitled to a place among them, any more -than fleas or serpents are entitled a place in human beds. - - “That man may last, but never lives, - Who all receives, but nothing gives; - Whom none can love, whom none can thank, - Creation’s blot, creation’s blank.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -FAMINE AND PESTILENCE. - - “Then--see those million worlds which burn and roll, - Around us--their inhabitants beheld - My spher’ed light wave in wide Heaven; the sea - Was lifted by strange tempests, and new fire - From earthquake rifted mountains of bright snow - Shook its portentous hair beneath heaven’s frowns, - Lightning and inundation vexed the plains, - Blue thistles bloomed in cities; foodless toads - Within voluptuous chambers panting crawled; - When plague had fallen on man and beast and worm, - And famine: and black blight on herb and tree. - - * * * * * - - * * and the thin air, my breath, was stained, - With the contagion of a mother’s hate, - Breathed on her child’s destroyer.” - - -Signs and wonders, grave omens, strange portents, have by the ignorant -and superstitious been believed to precede and presage the approach of -famine and pestilence. Comets have terrified the multitudes; the rabble -has quailed at the aurora, and blanched with fear at the sight of -colored rain and snow. And yet nothing is clearer than that famine is -the result of the simplest meteorological causes. A deficiency in -rainfall is sufficient cause--is almost the only cause. Elsewhere we -have noted how dependent we are upon the winds and clouds, and we need -spend no further explanation of their causes and variations. - -Owing to the decidedly local character of our own rains, the probability -of a general famine in this country is very slight, though local -droughts are of continual occurrence. Europe has been affected with -serious famines at various periods; but the greatest “harvest of death” -has been in Oriental lands. During the present century there have been -two or three severe famines in Asia Minor, the last but two or three -years since. But it is in India and China, with their overcrowded -populations and lack of facilities for inter-communication, that famine -becomes most terrible in its ravages. The story of one is that of -another; a deficient rainfall, a failure of the rice crop, a multitude -eating grass, dead leaves, straw, offal--millions starving. As these -lines are written come reports of great dearth in some provinces in -Japan. - -One of the best known famines of recent date is the great Bengal famine -of 1866. When the rice crop failed the British government at once used -every possible means to facilitate the importation of rice and -established large systems of public works that the people might earn -money wherewith to buy. Yet it was but the chief of many great employes. -Great companies pushed great projects. The customary wages remained -steady; but rice had trebled in price. Hence, even by doing double work -the people could not procure their usual food. And no allowance had been -made for the scores of isolated villages where the news of relief -measures penetrated not. So the employed grew weaker continually and -less able to labor and earn; those unemployed perished by hundreds. -Private charity supported thousands; for the Hindoo dreads the beggars’ -curse as much as the loss of caste. The women added their labors to -those of the laboring husbands, but this did not suffice to support the -weakening families. - -Then government charity was broached; but it was at once seen that -efforts in this direction would cause the cessation of individual -charity. Every village looks after its own poor; every noble family -continues to dispense alms, even when every vestige of wealth and -greatness is gone. It would not do to take steps that might instantly -suspend this work. Yet the famished crowds grew daily greater, and the -residents of the European quarter of Calcutta were horrified by the -influx of thousands of squalid creatures in the last extremity of -hunger. - -At this crisis another factor came into play. Every pious Hindoo -merchant writes at the top of his day-book each day the name of the -divinity whose favor he courts, and immense sums--even millions of -dollars--are spent in the annual celebration in honor of Kali, the -especial favorite of Bengal. A wealthy and humane Hindoo merchant -suggested that Kali would be better pleased if her celebration fund were -used to relieve her starving worshippers. The idea became popular at -once; and the fund, promptly swelled by the exigencies of the case, -aided greatly in the relief of the destitute. When we remember that Kali -is a fiend incarnate, who delights in human blood, and wears a necklace -of skulls, we can but consider the suggestion of the pious merchant as -savoring of the ludicrous. - -Another objection to government charity was in the fact that the -government could only hope to establish a few great central depots. -Again, the Hindoo does not discriminate between the professional -beggars, fakirs, hermits, yogis, and those whom we consider more -deserving: and such discrimination as it was certain the government -would make would only render it odious, and probably cause grave -disturbances. So the government lost three weeks when it should have -been actively at work. Meanwhile English residents were spending -liberally their means in private relief depots. - -The government found its way out by making quietly large grants to the -private relief committees established. But it was two or three months -ere the best scheme was adopted. Rice could be imported in abundance. -How to place it within the purchasing power of the people was the -problem. The government turned merchant, and established depots where -the laborer could buy at a price within his means. But while placing the -market rate within reach of the needy one-third, the rate for the -remainder must not be disturbed, or the merchants would be antagonized. -It was easily accomplished. The market was opened but a short time each -day; and the “respectable” Hindoo would never expose himself or his -family to be jostled by the hungry labor-stained multitude that at once -thronged the places. And public opinion, all-powerful in little Bengali -towns, strongly condemned any one who without good reason, bought at the -relief depots. - -By June, every one was anxious to know if the rains would come and -insure the September crops--there are two rice harvests each year. -Thousands of sacrifices were offered, and sometimes human beings were -offered. But the rains came, and the fall brought abundant crops. - -The total loss of life was about 1,250,000, of whom one-fourth starved -outright, while the remainder perished from disease and pestilence -resulting from the scarcity of food. A famine in the same region in 1769 -carried off 6,000,000; but then the government did nothing, and after -the scourge immense tracts of cultivated land returned to their original -wilderness. The reverse was the result in 1866. The methodical work of -the government and the great corporations left the land far more -improved than ever before; with the increasing facilities for -communication and transportation, a repetition of the disaster even of -1866 is almost impossible--certainly beyond probability. - -We may not go into details of scores of famines, ancient and modern; we -have selected this one, showing how, even in adverse circumstances, -prompt work lessens the ravages of the destroyer. Judging from the -percentage of 1769, the loss of life in 1866 would, but for the relief -work, have been about 9,000,000--one-third the population of Bengal. The -only other calamity in recent years at all comparable, is the terrible -famine of 1876 in China. How many perished then may not be definitely -known; but it has been variously estimated at from 15,000,000 to -50,000,000. We may not dwell upon the horrors of such things--the -hideous cannibalism that has at times resulted; as when we are told that -during one famine in Egypt, in the dark ages, human flesh was openly -sold in the markets! - -A terrible scourge that frequently visited the old world in the middle -and dark ages is that known as the “Black Death.” As to its real -character and source, the world is yet in ignorance. Whether it was -readily conveyed in the atmosphere or not seems a mooted point. Modern -medical science has robbed many contagious diseases of their terrors. -Small-pox is easily guarded against. Diptheria has no terrors for clean -streets. Yellow Jack has little chance against sound sanitation and -hygiene. The germ theory of disease has greatly aided disinfective -measures. - -In contagious diseases, infection proceeds chiefly from personal contact -with a diseased person or objects that have been touched by him. In -malarial diseases there is no danger from personal contact; the disease -resulting clearly from a poisoned atmosphere. But in the case of what -are known as epidemics, the source of infection is not clear. The -disease may attack thousands in a short time, and yet not appear readily -communicable by personal contact. Doubtless in these cases the -atmosphere is the medium of infection. Hence, disinfective measures are -of little or no use against them. So while such can not properly be -classed among atmospheric phenomena, yet it would seem that in the -atmosphere we find the chief vehicle of the disease. - -We may not here undertake any discussion of the several deadly -contagious diseases that are known to modern medicine. Suffice it to say -nearly all of them may be classed as filth diseases, arising from impure -food or water, or filthy streets. Most notable of these is perhaps the -terrible Asiatic cholera, that has swept Europe frequently, and which is -now known to originate in the overcrowding and filth attendant upon the -great twelve-yearly festival in honor of a Hindoo idol. Had the people -of the middle ages, who regarded its ravages as a visitation of God upon -them for their sins, been aware of its origin, they might have been -disposed to wonder why they should be punished for the idolatry of a -people thousands of miles away. Possibly such reflections might have -originated either a new species of crusade, or have opened the -missionary movement several centuries earlier than it really began. - -Comparatively speaking, there is little mystery left in connection with -the greater contagious plagues known to modern medicine. But the famous -Black Death, or Plague, or the Pestilence, as it is variously called, -remains a secret so far as its origin and its proper treatment are -concerned. Its symptoms are somewhat variously described by various -ancient writers. In one point all agree: that when near death the body -of the victim was covered with dark, gangrenous or carbuncular spots and -swellings, or boils made their appearance in the glands of the neck, -armpit and groin. It may be that the plague of boils and blains sent -upon the Egyptians was none other than this Black Death. And doubtless -it is identical with the terrible plague that visited Athens, B. C., -430, continuing its ravages through three years. People died in swarms, -and the dead lay about the streets. - -During the middle ages it appeared in Europe on an average, every fifty -years, its last visitation being upon London, in 1665, when 100,000 -people perished. Here its danger was increased by the fact that its -character was more insidious than usual. The plague described by -Thucydides was characterized by high fever and unquenchable thirst, and -a reddish inflammation or eruption of the skin lasting seven or eight -days before the appearance of the fatal spots; while from Defoe’s -account of the plague in London, these symptoms, though common, were -anything but universal; and frequently persons felt no special disorder -till the appearance of the spots told that death was at hand. Both in -Athens and London, contact with the dead bodies seems to have been fatal -to any animal. The suddenness of death in many cases calls to mind the -last plague of Egypt, or the fate of Sennacherib’s host: - - “Like the leaves of the forest, when summer is green, - That host with their banners at sunset were seen; - Like the leaves of the forest, when autumn hath blown, - That host in the morning lay withered and strown. - - For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, - And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed; - And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, - And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still. - - And there lay the steed, with his nostrils all wide, - But through them there rolled not the breath of his pride; - And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, - And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.” - -The horrors of the plague are beyond description. The panic consequent -upon the appearance of Yellow Jack in the South gives but a faint idea -of it. And this very panic was a most--we had almost said the -most--powerful factor in the augmentation of the plague’s fatality. It -is also the case with cholera that a disturbed condition of the mind is -fatal in the mildest form of the disease. Some one has thus embodied -the case, though of course with exaggeration: A traveler leaving Bagdad -met Cholera entering. “For what are you come?” “To slay 10,000 people.” -Each went his way. On returning, the traveler met Cholera once more. -“But you killed 30,000!” “Nay, friend, I killed but 10,000; _scare_ -killed the rest!” - -Occasionally this panic took a terrible form; as when during a season of -plague in Germany, the idea seized the people that the Jews had -occasioned the plague by poisoning the wells; and Jews were murdered, -tortured, and burned by the hundreds; which reminds one of a modern -writer’s sarcastic definition of hydrophobia. “A peculiar periodical -madness, impelling men to destroy dogs.” - -Of the thousand tales of interest that have come down to us, we may give -place to one, a story of Florence. This city had twenty-three -visitations of the plague; the first in 1325, the last in 1630. The -plague of 1338 is the noted one described by Boccaccio. The story which -we condense here is an incident of the plague of 1400. - -Among the noble families who were sworn foes, were those of Rondinelli -and Almieri; and one might as soon have expected the lion to mate with -the serpent, as to hope for an alliance between the two families. But -Cupid has never bothered his meddlesome pate with politics or theology; -and so it came about that, as with Montague and Capulet, Antonio -Rondinelli fell in love with Ginevra Almieri, one of the most beautiful -women of the time--certainly unsurpassed in Florence. Of course, Signor -Almieri could not for a moment think of such a hateful match, and so -Ginevra was given to Francesco Agolanti. The young wife remained -faithful; but she gradually faded; and in four short years sunk into a -sort of lethargic stupor, resulting in death. The plague was then at its -highest, and the panic was great. Every death from uncertain cause was -a source of alarm, and burials were informal and hasty. The poor young -wife was promptly bundled off to the family vault beneath one of the -great cathedrals. - -It seems that it was merely a case of coma, or suspended animation. The -lady revived, only to find herself entombed with the skeletons of her -husband’s ancestors. Horrible as this would be for any one, it is a -wonder that the weak nerves of Ginevra did not give way entirely under -the strain. She screamed and called--only the dead heard. She groped -about her tomb, and found a ladder; clambering up, she found a ray of -moonlight streaming through a crevice, and learned her location. She -looked abroad - - “Upon the moonlight loveliness, all sunk - In one unbroken silence, save the moan - From the lone room of death, or the dull sound - Of the slow-moving hearse. The homes of men - Were now all desolate, and darkness there - And solitude and silence took their seat, - In the deserted streets: for the dark wing - Of a destroying angel had gone by - And blasted all existence, and had changed - The gay, the busy, and the crowded mart - To one cold speechless city of the dead.” - -After desperate effort, and with strength astounding in a frame so weak, -she forced up one of the paving stones that formed the roof of the -vault, and dragged herself out. Sitting wearily down for a brief rest, a -sudden shower came up and chilled her to the bone. She rose and went to -her husband’s house. He, at a second story window, astounded at the -ghostly figure in grave clothes that roused him in the dead hour of -night, “when ghosts do mostly walk abroad,” and doubtless remembering -that his treatment of the living wife had not been such as to recommend -him to the favorable notice of her ghost, shut the window with alternate -imprecations and invocations, and covered his head with the -bedclothes--well-known in all ages to be thoroughly ghost-proof. -Ginevra was similarly repulsed from the houses of her father and of -various relatives. As a last resort, though exceedingly repugnant to a -woman of her delicate feeling, she betook herself, almost chilled to -death, to the house of Rondinelli. To his inquiry as to who was there, a -weak voice responded, “Do you not know me, Signor Antonio? It is -I--Ginevra. Neither my father nor my husband will receive me. Will you, -too, turn me away?” - -Great as was Antonio’s fear of ghosts, the bare possibility that Ginevra -was actually there in the flesh was a far stronger consideration; and he -hastened to test the reality of his fair visitant. Having her properly -cared for, he hastened to the vault, where the displaced stone confirmed -her story. - -A few days later, Antonio boldly applied to the civil authorities to -marry the “late Ginevra degli Agolanti,” and backed his application with -certificates of the death and burial of the lady! The authorities -hearing the facts--and mayhap being romantically disposed--decided that -the lady was legally dead, that her relatives, by their own unwilling -confession, had persisted in so regarding her; hence, she was no longer -bound by any legal tie to the living, father or husband! She was -absolutely free! - -So Antonio and Ginevra were married, and of course, “lived happily ever -after.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE VOLCANO. - - “And it bubbles, and seethes, and hisses, and roars, - As when fire is with water commixed and comblending, - And a hell-molten surf thunders wild on its shores, - While a red-tumbling flood from its caverns outpours, - Hurling hills from their place, and the mountains downrending, - So the chaos eternal - Born of fury infernal, - Boils and belches and rumbles, unreined and unending.” - - -It is an axiom that there are three misstatements in the popular -description of a crab: “A fish, of a red color, that runs backward.” - -_Ques._ What is a volcano? - -_Ans._ A volcano is a burning mountain, from the summit of which issue -smoke and flames. (_Old Geography._) - -The writer remembers the surprise he felt when a lad of nine, full of -childish confidence in the infallibility of text-book misinformation, on -reading in Prescott’s “Conquest in Mexico” that Cortez obtained sulphur -to replenish his stock of powder by lowering one of his soldiers into -the crater of Popocatepetl. He wondered how so reputable a historian as -Prescott had been induced to credit such an extravagant “yarn” on the -part of the Spanish chronicler. To his youthful fancy, fired by the -teachings of primary geographies, a volcano was a sort of chimney to a -titanic iron furnace in full blast; indeed, he would have supposed it -safer to descend into an iron furnace than into the crater. He -speculated long on the matter, and wondered if fire-proof dresses were -known in those days. - -No small part of the non-traveling public has similar misconceptions of -the character of volcanoes; and to obtain the truth it is not so -necessary to learn as to unlearn. The description quoted from the old -text-book is false in every particular. The mountain can not be said to -be burning any more than melted lead. Nor does anything that answers to -either smoke or flame issue from it. Be it known to all, that the -greatest portion of the surface of an active crater is usually covered -with a solid crust, in which there may be a small fiery lake, or inner -secondary cone or crater. Into many craters it is possible therefore to -descend: and into one volcano of the Mediterranean Sea an enterprising -Scotch firm have long had quite remunerative chemical works. - -The name is taken from one of the Lipari Islands--a small group near -Sicily--which was known to the ancients as Vulcano. When the Romans -imported the Grecian god, Hephaistos, to be their chief blacksmith, they -assigned him Vulcano as his forge, and rechristened the lame old fellow -with the adjective appellation of Vulcanus. - -Men much prefer the marvellous or mysterious to the true. And, while -their reverence is of a merely superstitious sort, the reverence of the -ignorant often surpasses that of the learned. A superstitious people -readily manufactured a myth to explain the awe-inspiring demonstrations -of volcanoes; and the myth itself, because of its religious character, -would discourage any attempt to closely investigate volcanic phenomena -as sacrilege and impiety. There are similar volcano myths in the island -and Asiatic world. So firm was the belief of the Sandwich Islanders in -the certainty of dire vengeance upon all who trespassed on the domain of -Pele, the goddess of Kilauea, that when a princess of the blood royal -safely defied the goddess, ate her sacred berries, and threw rocks into -her boiling lake, the people at once abandoned their whole race of gods. -If there was no Pele, they knew of no god. Such reasons prevented the -ancients and the barbarian world from obtaining any light on volcanic -action. - -Similar causes operated with equal force to hinder investigation during -the middle and dark ages. Christian teachers seized upon them as -convenient openings to the abode of eternal torment. The Arian heretic, -the Emperor Theodosius, was assigned to Vulcano; while poor Anne Boleyn, -for whose sake the “Defender of the Faith” defied the Pope, was sent by -the latter to Mt. Ætna, as the shortest route to her destination. - -Similar ideas are noticed among semi-barbarous races. The Aztecs deemed -Popocatepetl, the greatest of their volcanoes, to be the place of -punishment for wicked rulers. These gentry were supposed to cherish no -good will toward their subjects, whose complaints had brought them to -that place of torment, and to be always seeking opportunity for -vengeance. The people held them in great awe, and were wont to invoke -the aid of the gods when it became necessary to travel near the -volcanoes. It is related that the high priest, Tezozomoc, was wont to -give aloe-leaves inscribed with sacred characters, to such persons. -These leaves were amulets to preserve the wearer from harm. Southey uses -this story in _Madoc_: - - “So ye may safely pass - Between the mountains, which in endless war, - Hurtle with horrible uproar, and frush - Of rocks, that meet in battle.” - -This mountain was in eruption when Cortes reached Tlascala on his march -to Mexico. It was believed to bode evil to the people of Anahuac. -Learning the native superstition, Diego de Ordaz, captain of artillery, -determined to beard the demons in their den, and with some companions -ascended the mountain. Their safe return convinced the natives that the -Spaniards were in league with the spirits, and did much to dishearten -them. In memory of this feat, the Ordaz family has a volcano pictured on -its coat of arms. - -The Javanese call their greatest volcano Maha-Meru. Meru, in the -Sanscrit mythology, was the home of Brahma, and the Malays, having -adopted the legend, consider their greatest volcano the fittest symbol -of his throne and power. - -[Illustration: AT THE SUMMIT OF POPOCATEPETL.] - -Virgil’s Æneid affords a passage containing the Roman myth concerning -Mt. Ætna, and showing that the people of Virgil’s day were acquainted -with the phenomena of that mountain. Thus Dryden has translated: - - “The flagging wind forsook us with the sun, - And wearied, on Cyclopean shores we run. - The port, capacious and secure from wind, - Is to the fort of thundering Ætna joined, - By turns a pitchy cloud she rolls on high, - And flakes of mountain flames that arch the sky; - Oft from her bowels massy rocks are thrown, - And shivered by the force, come piece-meal down; - Oft liquid cakes of burning sulphur flow, - Fed from the fiery springs that burn below. - Enceladus, they say, transfixed by Jove, - With blasted limbs came trembling from above, - And where he fell, th’ avenging father drew - This flaming hell, and on his body threw. - As often as he turns his weary sides, - He shakes the solid hill, and smoke the heaven hides.” - -This conception was borrowed from the Greeks, one of whose poets has -told us - - “How shaggy-breasted Typhon lay, - From sea-girt Cuma to Trinacria’s bay.” - -Yet, even among the ancients an occasional great mind disregarded -popular superstition, and enunciated just and rational views upon the -matter. The elder Pliny lost his life in an effort to observe closely an -eruption of Vesuvius. But the ideas advanced by these men were speedily -forgotten; and the exact scientific examination of volcanoes is of the -past hundred years, the great Italian, Spallanzani, being the first to -publish a series of valuable observations on the volcanoes of his own -land. - -The ancients were acquainted only with the few active volcanoes -distributed about the Mediterranean Sea, and the casual thinker might -hence suppose their opportunities for observation were quite limited. -But volcanic principles are the same everywhere, differing only in -violence. In the Lipari Islands is situated the volcanic cone of -Stromboli, which has been in a state of constant activity, though very -mild, for at least two thousand years. This affords excellent -opportunities for study, and much of our most valuable information on -the topic is derived from careful observation of it. When the wind is -steady in any quarter, a person may sit to windward for hours within a -few yards of the boiling mass, while the noxious vapors and gases are -borne away in the other direction. - -The expulsive agent is in all cases steam, mingled to a greater or less -degree with other vapors or gases. Its operation may be simply -illustrated. Pure water does not readily boil over in any open vessel of -ordinary dimensions. But if the vessel be very deep in proportion to its -width, and the heat is applied at the base only, it boils over more -readily. Now, if instead of water, we substitute porridge, thick -molasses, or any similar thick or viscid material, the bubbles of steam -rise slowly; and if rapidly generated, they force the matter out at the -top ere they escape. Such bubbles as reach the top, burst, throwing tiny -particles of the mass into the air. - -How great a portion of the material expelled from volcanoes consists of -steam and other gases is not easy to determine. But that the quantity of -vapor is enormous is indisputable. Vesuvius is noted for the “pine tree” -of vapor that overhangs it. The ascending steam and gases, on reaching -an upper atmosphere as light as themselves, spread out horizontally in -every direction, thus much resembling in outline the stone-pines that -are a prominent feature in the Neapolitan landscape. - -Some effort has been made to connect volcanic eruptions with atmospheric -pressure; for, say the theorists, a fall of two inches in the barometer -removes a pressure of over 2,000,000 tons from each square mile. A -sufficient answer to this is, that this, after all, is only one pound to -the square inch; while the force that can cast up volumes of melted -matter from a great depth must needs be many tons to the square inch. -Clearly these gentlemen would perch us on a sort of universal fire-box, -and poise the lid on a hair trigger. - -But heavy rainfalls and terrific thunder storms are almost invariable -accompaniments of explosive eruptions. That these are the result and not -the cause of volcanic action is clear. An electrical machine was -invented by Sir William Armstrong, in which electricity was generated by -forcing steam at great speed through a narrow orifice. This same -principle would produce volcanic thunder storms. The immense volumes of -vapor, reaching the open air, must rapidly cool and be precipitated as -rain. The Italians dread these torrents, sweeping down immense -quantities of mud, more than they do the streams of lava. - -If an eruption causes an immediate fall of two inches of rain over an -area seven miles square, it will be found that such a rainfall amounts -to more than seven millions of tons of water. Yet the rainfall often is -greater, and the area affected is larger; while it is not to be supposed -that the entire volume of vapor cast forth is at once precipitated on -the earth. This computation can not be assumed as anything more than a -mere illustration of the tremendous forces brought into operation. - -The solid substances emitted by volcanoes are popularly styled ashes, -cinders, or scoria and lava. But what is called ashes would be more -appropriately named dust; for it is merely finely divided lava, and in -no way resembles genuine ashes. - -Lavas present a general resemblance to the slag and clinkers of smelters -and brick-kilns, but vary considerably in appearance and chemical -composition. We need not touch this question further than to state that -oxygen forms nearly one-half the weight of all lavas, silicon one-fourth -of most, and aluminum one-tenth. From fifteen to twenty per cent. is -made of various others, magnesium, calcium, iron, sodium and potassium -being most common. Hence, the compounds present are always of the class -known to chemists as silicates, substances requiring great heat to melt. -These, from being long melted, abound more or less in crystals; but if -any one re-melts them and cools them suddenly, the result is a simple -glassy mass, with no trace of crystals. - -[Illustration: VIEW IN ACTIVE CRATER.] - -Scoria or cinders differ from ordinary lava only in the peculiarity of -having partially crystallized in some portions and then stiffened or -solidified while large bubbles were yet imprisoned or in the act of -bursting; thus leaving the mass very ragged and cellular. But if the -lava contains no readily formed crystals, the imprisoned bubbles of -steam slowly rise to the surface, and being greatly elongated by the -flowing of the lava, produce the beautiful material known as “pumice.” -It is to lava exactly what froth or foam is to water. Usually it is much -lighter colored than the lava on which it floats, for the same reason -that well-worked molasses candy is nearly white: they both contain a -vast number of minute air bubbles. Pumice floats on water, and its -decomposition being generally very slow, it drifts about the sea -currents, and is often found thousands of miles from any volcanic -region. In the immediate neighborhood of volcanoes it often accumulates -on the sea to such an extent that vessels can hardly force their way -through it. In the Sunda Islands it has been seen on the sea three feet -in depth. During the year 1878 the accumulation of pumice near the -Solomon Isles was so great that it took ships three days to force their -way through. Sometimes such masses accumulate along the coast line to -such an extent that a person can not readily tell where the shore line -is. One may land and walk about on the great floating raft of pumice, -unable to guess within even a mile of the actual shore. Deep sea -soundings show that the entire ocean bottom is covered more or less with -the pulverized pumice and volcanic dust. From the wide distribution it -is not probable that the layer attains any great thickness. - -The Mangaians of the South Pacific told the earlier missionaries of a -feat of one of their heroes which at first was unaccountable. This -demigod, Maui, a sort of Pacific Hercules, raised the sky to its -present position. Not getting it high enough to suit him, he put his -head between the legs of his old father Ru, and heaved him and the -half-raised sky up together. Ru stuck fast among the stars, and Maui -left him there till his body dropped to pieces and his bones fell over -the ground below. To prove the truth of their story they brought the -missionaries bits of pumice, which they said were the bones of Ru. -Singularly enough the white porous stone looked much like bone. The myth -had been invented by the simple folk to explain the origin of pumice. - -The ashes, or volcanic dust, is excessively minute, and in consequence -readily penetrate crevices that are hardly visible. Professor Bonney, -examining dust thrown out by Cotopaxi, has calculated that it would -require from four thousand to twenty-five thousand particles to make up -a grain in weight. The substance known as tufa is merely volcanic dust -or ash upon which rain has fallen while the former was still hot. The -resultant paste solidifies into a porous and loosely compacted rock. - -Why some volcanoes nearly always throw out dust and fragments, while -others throw out mere molten streams, was for a time not clearly -understood. Some suggested the dust was the result of the continual -collision of fragments as they rose and fell, and hence would increase -in quantity as the eruption continued. This clearly would not meet the -case of volcanoes which, without showing any previous signs of activity, -burst into action with tremendous volumes of dust. - -It was at length noticed that dust and fragments always were accompanied -by tremendous explosions; while eruptions of melted lava were far more -quiet, shocks being few and the explosions insignificant as compared -with the former. This gave a clue to the mystery. - -Many liquids and solids have the power of absorbing vast quantities of -gas. Under pressure their absorbing powers may be vastly increased. -Sometimes the property appears only at high temperatures. Silver when -melted absorbs twenty-two times its volume of oxygen. If suddenly cooled -the oxygen is given off with a rapidity verging on explosion. This is -called the “spitting” of silver. Tiny cones and melted streams appear on -the cooled surface--volcanoes in miniature. The same property belongs to -the oxide of lead, and some other metals. - -Now water can be made to absorb more than a thousand times its bulk of -ammonia; more than five hundred times its bulk of hydrochloric acid. -Alcohol may absorb three hundred times its volume of sulphurous acid. -Charcoal may absorb one hundred times its volume of ammonia, eighty-five -times its volume of hydrochloric acid, sixty-five times its volume of -sulphuretted hydrogen, fifty-five times its volume of sulphurous and -thirty-five times its volume of carbonic acid. Iron, steel and melted -sulphur absorb many gases. - -We have already seen that immense volumes of gases are thrown off in -volcanic action. Now if a column of lava rises comparatively slowly in -its “chimney,” the imprisoned gases rapidly escape, producing violent -boiling, but not a positive explosion. But if it rises very rapidly, the -sudden removal of the pressure causes so sudden an expansion of the -compressed gases in its upper portion as to amount to a tremendous -explosion, which reduces the lava to microscopic dust. - -This very principle was made practical use of in a mechanical -contrivance invented to make paper pulp out of common cane, such as the -farmer’s boy delights in for a fishing pole. The hard, woody fibre was -placed in a powerful iron cylinder full of water. A strong lid being -adjusted, the whole was heated far above the boiling point of water. -Naturally, every cell would be forced full of moisture by the immense -pressure. After some hours heating, the lid was suddenly removed, and by -the sudden expansion of the water into steam the cane was blown to -atoms. - -[Illustration: CRATER OF ORIZABA.] - -A beautiful product of the volcano of Kilauea is the substance known as -“Pele’s Hair.” Small particles of glass shot violently into the air -leave behind them long, glittering filaments, like gossamers. Birds -often build their nests of these beautiful threads. Man, taking a hint -from nature, has learned to manufacture the glass hair for himself by -passing jets of steam through the molten slag of iron furnaces. It much -resembles cotton wool, and is used for packing boilers and piston-heads, -and similar purposes. - -The appearance of fire at the summit of a volcano is rarely ever real -flame. Any who has seen the peculiar appearance occasioned by brilliant -illumination on a moist or foggy evening may readily perceive the cause. -The phenomenon popularly known as the “sun drawing water” is of the same -character. The immense cloud of vapor ascending from the volcano glows -with the light sent up from the molten mass below. So it may be seen -brilliant by night, and only a dark cloud by day. Stromboli has been -called the light-house of the Mediterranean. In constant action, the -brilliant light at night slowly fades: then suddenly breaks out as -bright as before. This alternating results from the bursting of bubbles -in the crater, which expose a new, hot surface. This rapidly cools; then -another bubble bursts; and so the process continues. This may have -suggested the alternating light now in common use in great light-houses. - -In the Galapagos, and other volcanic islands of the Pacific, occurs -another curious feature of volcanic action. Some places abound in -seeming mounds or domes, which may be sometimes readily broken in with a -heavy stone. These are produced by bubbles which partially cooled, when -the lava below found some rent or outlet in another quarter and flowed -away, leaving the solidified bubble. - -Sometimes the cavern left by the retreating lava abounds in strange -beauties. A sailor, who with a comrade, explored one of these volcanic -caverns, gives the following account of it: - -“In a sharp, deep valley of Albemarle we had broken in the roof of a -bubble; and as we looked in we saw we had opened the way into a tunnel -about fifteen feet in width, and extending either way as far as we could -see from our position. By the lights which entered from above, we made -out the floor as about twenty feet beneath us, and that the walls were -curiously marked with columnar forms. My companion, who had dabbled in -the sciences, proposed that we should take an underground view of -volcanic action and appearances. - -“So, on the following day, provided with a couple of lamps, a coil of -knotted line, and a couple of waist-lines and iron poles for staves, we -proceeded on our exploration. We descended with the knotted rope around -our bodies, and stuck our feet into the rough side, lighted in our way -by a single lamp. We carefully watched for any side openings which might -confuse us or lead us astray in returning, but we saw none and felt -safe. It soon became evident that the tunnel had not been formed by a -rent of the mass after cooling, but rather by the molten lava’s having -drained away after a crust had formed upon it. This may account for the -singular and beautiful formations by which we found ourselves -surrounded. After proceeding some distance through a passage with a -pretty uniform width of fifteen to twenty feet, and of about equal -height, we paused to examine the formation of the cavern. The dim light -of our lamps illuminated the pilastered walls, and a roof raftered and -groined with straight and curved beams of crystalline structure many -feet in length. Some of these were of a reddish appearance, and others -had a vitreous lustre, resembling immense crystals, in places broken -into the semblance of foliage, which reflected an olive green light. The -gloomy splendor of this solemn architecture was relieved by the gold or -amber reflections of crystals of sulphur, which, like marigold or -sunflower, gleamed in the passage. - -“The broad bases of the pilasters were enriched with counterfeits of -fern, palms, and growths intricate and delicate as the penciling of the -frost spirit’s pictures. But these metallic pictures, under the limning -of the fire-fiend had been inlaid with the brilliant facets of igneous -minerals, green and brown in tint. Tempted onward by the increasing -beauty of the scene, our lamp revealed new objects of interest in the -increasing lustre of the arched ceiling, and the carved and painted -walls. Our lamp was multiplied by the sparkle from the faces of unknown -minerals. In places the passage was divided by central columns of basalt -crystals, which terminated in curves, and were in form and tracery -varied beyond man’s power. The rude Goth for his cathedral, the Moslem -for his mosque, the Celestial for his pagoda, might have drawn -inspiration from this solemn portal to Nature’s vast workshop. - -“As we advanced further into the recesses of the mountain, the character -of the cave changed. The angular crystalline forms which indicated the -sudden withdrawal of the molten matter, or the deposit of elements -sublimed by intense heat, yielded to smooth and rounded structures, like -the worn rocks of the river side, giving the impression that the walls -had served as a sluice to fiery torrents pouring from the volcano. A few -steps farther showed us the singular curtain-like foldings of a -substance resembling lampblack. Absolutely without lustre, and absorbent -of every ray of light, it was present, as it were, only to the touch. -With certain misgivings under this curtain of gloom, we entered a cavern -the form or extent of which could only be known by touch of hands, for -no possible brilliancy of light would command an answering reflection -from the absorbent surface. Broken as was the surface to the touch, to -the eye it was without form. The floor was invisible, and we were -guided in our steps by our staves alone. It was like stepping into -primal chaos, before light and form had birth. A profound chasm seemed -to yawn at our feet; yet the rocky floor rang to the blow of the staff, -and with cautious tread we proceeded. The flame of the lamp met no -responsive glow; save from the two intruders who stood awe stricken in -this strange emptiness; it stood in the still blackness unflickering, -like a solid. Feeling the broken walls, the hand was met by an oily -softness; the eye was useless, and even the touch now failed to guide -us. Solid walls were not to the eye; rocky barriers seemed simply -impenetrable darkness to the hand. - -“From repeated contact with sooty walls, we also became covered with -this strange, light-absorbing powder, until we were enveloped in an -invisible mantle, and also passed from each other’s sight. Eye alone -answered to eye in their reflections of light. Too deeply impressed for -conversation, we stood still with outstretched hands. My comrade asked -at length, ‘May it not be even so in the valley of the Shadow of Death?’ -And we looked for strength into each other’s eyes and linked our arms -that we might have the companionship of touch. We were now thoroughly -frightened, and turned to retrace our steps; but which way? We stood in -a sea of nothingness--locked in the foundations of the mountain. The -walls were lost to the sight, and were nothing to the touch. We stooped -to the deep dust of the floor and held the flame to read our -foot-prints; but the soil absorbed the light, as the sand of the desert -does the raindrop. We reached forward, and the hand failed to meet the -wall; we reached downward; there, too, was empty space. The light showed -no defining edge between the solid rock and the void. We swung the lamp -from the brink on which we lay; it revealed nothing. We dropped a heavy -stone into the chasm and listened for the rebound. No sound was -returned as it sank into the profound. We cast another stone across to -test the width, but this, too, was lost to the senses. Silently they -passed away, as the mist wreath on the hill side. And then we knew we -had been preserved from death. A careless step and we had found a grave -in the depths of the world’s foundations. We realized that we were lying -in trembling safety on the threshold of the extinct volcano, and lifting -our useless eyes from the impenetrable blackness, the awful whisper -‘Lost!’ passed between us. We were afraid to move; but the wasting oil -of our lamp warned us that time must not be lost. Presently our ears -caught the heat of surf on the rock as the tide came in, and following -this direction, we finally reached the entrance, almost fainting from -joy when we stood beyond this chamber of gloom. Once more we stood under -the wondrous tracery and reflections of the outer gates of the -inter-world of mysterious.” - -A most thrilling experience, and one giving a fine picture of what may -be found in the mysterious depths of a lava bubble. In some cases the -bubbles are very thin; and an unwary passer might be suddenly plunged -into unfathomable depths should he tread on one. Usually, however, they -are formed over horizontal currents or passages. - -We have endeavored to give the well-established facts concerning the -principles of volcanic action. It only remains, ere we leave this phase -of the subject, that we notice the one point on which as yet our -knowledge is not clear. That point is, the source of the heat which -produces the remarkable effects. - -Several theories are advanced. One class of scientists believes that the -earth is a mass of molten matter, with only a thin outer shell of cooled -material. That a very - -[Illustration: ERUPTION OF MOUNT VESUVIUS.] - -high temperature exists at no very great distance from the surface is -beyond a doubt. The observations made in mines and artesian wells show -that the average increase in the temperature is one degree for every -fifty-five feet in depth. One noted variation exists in the deep wells -at Buda-Pesth, in Austria, where the temperature increased up to 3,000 -feet; but beyond that depth it became cooler again. The Comstock lode in -Nevada, the richest mineral vein in the world, is nearly at the limit of -practicable working, the normal temperature being as high as one hundred -and fifty degrees. - -Even if it be conceded that the material of the earth is a molten mass, -there would be two theories to explain it: one, that the earth was -originally in a state of fusion, and was slowly cooling; the other, that -the great pressure from without keeps an otherwise solid center greatly -compressed and heated, and consequently liquid. Either supposition is -based on well established facts; but it does not appear clear that the -molten globe with a cool shell can settle the entire question. - -The objections to this are several. One, the complete absence of -uniformity in the increase of heat as we descend. While the total -average is as given above, the variations are so many and vast, that -there does not seem to be any general law, as there should be if the -molten interior possessed the least uniformity. In some shafts the -increase is one degree for twenty feet; in others, one for every one -hundred; in some, the temperature increases much more rapidly at great -depths, in others, much less rapidly. - -A second objection is, the vast difference in the character of lavas, -even in districts very near each other. Thirdly, there seems no definite -connection between volcanoes in the same region. Two adjacent ones may -exhibit very different conditions. Mauna Loa is about 10,000 feet above -Kilauea, a great crater of the same mountain. Yet the upper is often in -a violent state of eruption when the latter is perfectly quiet. It would -be difficult to conceive how these are supplied from the same source. If -the interior were a molten mass in a state of equilibrium, as would be -necessary if the uniformity of its motions in the solar system were to -be preserved, any undue pressure would compel the molten matter to -escape from the lowest opening. This would be in accordance with the -simplest laws of liquids. Then we should find volcanic action most -vigorous at the lowest active volcano; but such is not the case. The -idea of a uniformly liquid interior seems hardly tenable. - -There is still other objection to this theory. Experiments have been -made with various materials to ascertain the change affected in them by -heat. It is found that a block of granite five feet long, by a change of -ninety-six degrees in temperature, is expanded .27792 of an inch; -crystalline marble, .03264; sandstone, .0549. If, then, a portion of the -earth’s crust ten miles in thickness be heated six hundred degrees, its -crust would be raised two hundred feet; or a change of one degree, the -rate of expansion being fairly uniform to five hundred or six hundred -degrees, would raise the surface four inches. How important this matter -is may be better understood when we consider that if the interior of the -earth be a uniformly molten mass, with a crust ten miles thick, a -contraction of one-twelve thousandth of an inch should force out of the -crust a cubic mile of lava. We should find then a change in temperature -one forty-eight thousandth of a degree should effect this, if the crust -were ten miles thick. - -We are then forced to conclude that the earth is not cooling to any -appreciable extent; or that the liquid interior is still capable of -indefinite compression without necessarily being forced out through -orifices in the crust; or that the interior is not a uniformly molten -mass. - -Such are the arguments against a melted interior. - -The reader should avoid the assumption of a uniform rate of contraction -or expansion of heat. Within very narrow limits, such a hypothesis may -be allowed; but to assume that it is universal, would be to affirm that -if you could only make the earth cold enough it would shrink to nothing -at all! The earth and the temperature would swallow each other, like the -two snakes, till neither was left. To illustrate more seriously, suppose -a race of men existed whose only experience of temperature ranged -between forty and two hundred degrees. They could consistently -calculate, from the change of water between these limits, that it would -require a temperature of many thousands of degrees to expand it to -seventeen hundred times its bulk. Yet we know they would have to raise -it only to two hundred and twelve degrees to produce the required -effect. And if they could go below forty degrees, they would be -astonished to find that water then expanded instead of contracting. - -That the earth, if it cools, does so very slowly is clear, from the -character of the materials thrown out. Lava from Mt. Ætna has been -observed slowly moving nine months after the eruption. Lower portions of -the beds have been found to be abnormally heated ten years after pouring -out. Compare the thickness of a lava bed with the depth from which it is -thrown, and it will be seen that little heat is lost in the subterranean -depths. One instance, showing how slowly the lava is to part with its -heat, may be given: - -In the year 1828 a great mass of ice was discovered on Mt. Ætna. In -consequence of the protracted heat of the season, supplies of ice at -Catania and the adjacent regions failed entirely, and the people -suffered considerably for the want of an article considered necessary to -health as well as comfort in that hot climate. The Catanian authorities -caused search to be made for some crevasse or natural grotto on Mt. -Ætna, where drift-snow might exist. Near the base of the highest cone -was found a vast mass of ice, covered by a lava bed. How old it was -there is no means of knowing; nor can we tell how much of the ice might -have originally been melted by the overflowing current. But there it -was, so hard and firm that the workmen quarried it with great -difficulty. - -Lastly, it appears that the causes of earthquakes and volcanic action -must be the same. A violent volcanic outbreak causes earthquake shocks -at once, as though relieved by a safety valve. The experiments of Mr. -Robert Mallet, the best known authority on earthquake phenomena, tend to -prove that the shocks necessarily originate at a comparatively short -distance below the surface. So, from two independent lines of -investigation, the same conclusion is reached. - -These objections have caused inquiry to be made as to what causes might -locally develop heat. Here there are so many possible methods that -scientists may not be expected to unite. One is the chemical theory: -water coming in contact with quick-lime, or metallic sodium or -potassium, would evolve intense heat. One or two locomotives have been -invented which need no fuel, obtaining their heat supply thus. - -But it is objected to this that the products of volcanic action are not -such as would result from such a cause; that all experience indicates -that water has already penetrated every portion of the earth, the -deepest borings always crossing veins, and all great mines requiring to -be artificially drained. - -One other theory is, that the slow contraction of the globe from the -radiation of heat into space necessarily affects the outer portion most -directly, and in consequence, the shrinking of the crust at the weakest -points produces unusual pressure there, which can evolve intense heat, -as is shown by the fact that nearly all rocks so twisted or strained -are more or less changed in their internal structure by heat. It is also -evident that a region once thus weakened and seriously broken would -necessarily form a fairly permanent volcanic tract. As the work of -nature all goes to preserve equilibrium or balance of forces, an unusual -upheaval would necessitate unusual subsidence near at hand; and in fact -the highest mountain is always near the deepest ocean. - -This explanation, combined with that of chemical action seems to us the -more tenable. None of these theories conflict with the nebular -hypothesis of Kant and Laplace. - -In looking over the areas of volcanic action, we will find they have -changed considerably from the areas of the past. - -In the continent of Europe there is but one active volcano--Vesuvius; -but there are six others on islands in the Mediterranean. Africa has -four active volcanoes on the west coast, and six on the east; while ten -others are to be found on adjacent islands. Austria has no volcanoes, so -far as is known. In Asia are twenty-four active volcanoes; but twelve of -these are on the peninsula of Kamtschatka. On the American continent we -find a larger proportion. North America has forty-five, most of which -are in Mexico and Central America; and South America has thirty-seven. -Of these continental volcanoes all are near the sea, except four which -are reported to lie in the great unexplored tableland between Siberia -and Thibet; and some are said to exist in the Chinese province of -Mantchooria. No white man has visited them. - -But it is in the island world that we must look for the most numerous -volcanoes. - -A great ridge runs through the Atlantic; and along this lie a number of -islands with active centres. Jan Mayen, in the Arctic circle, has an -active volcano; Iceland, thirteen; the Azores, six; the Canaries, three; -east African islands, eight; the West Indies, six; three submarine -volcanoes have been observed at different times in the Atlantic. But -through the same region the number of extinct volcanoes is far greater. -Of those which exist several seem approaching extinction. - -But in the isles of the Pacific and between the Pacific and Indian -oceans we have a vast series of volcanic vents of wonderful activity. In -the Aleutian Islands are thirty-one; in the Kurile Isles, ten or more; -Japan and the adjacent groups have twenty-five. Southeast of the Asiatic -continent is the most active region on the globe. Fifty volcanoes are -here known. Farther south are four in New Guinea, one or two submarine -vents, a number in New Britain, the Solomon group, the New Hebrides, -three in New Zealand, and Erebus and Terror in the Antarctic circle. Add -to these the islands of the Central Pacific, and we have more than -one-half the volcanoes of the globe. Besides there are a large number of -nearly perfect volcanic cones which must recently have become extinct. - -In conclusion, we find all the oceanic islands are either of volcanic or -coral formation; and as we find that the coral polyp can not live at a -greater depth than one hundred and twenty feet; as we know the ocean in -the immediate neighborhood of these islands to be many thousand of feet -in depth; as we know coral islands to be circular, often enclosing a -lagoon of water, it is fair to suppose that the polyps have not built -through long ages of subsidence, as is usually supposed; but that they -have built upon the rims of extinct craters lying near the surface. The -fact that these circular reefs always have one or more breaks in their -circuit is additional reason for the belief. The fact of a coral island -lying within a barrier reef, then, - -[Illustration: CORAL REEFS.] - -resolves itself into a volcanic crater with an inner cone, as every -active volcano has. It is rather ludicrous to suppose that polyps, among -the lowest of created beings, leading an ephemeral existence, should yet -have such unanimity of purpose, such perfect mutual understanding, as to -undertake to build their reefs in a more or less circular form; it is -preposterous to suppose the unvarying form of the structure is the -result of mere chance. Clearly we must find some other influences; and -the most reasonable is to suppose the foundations of these islands were -laid by the same agency that raised all other Oceanic islands from the -bed of the sea. - -The volcano thus plays an important part in the earth’s economy. Not -only does it add to land areas by upheaval from the deep. The amount of -material thrown out by the Javanese volcanoes alone during the past -hundred years is greater far than all the silt borne to the sea by -American rivers during the same period. Krakatoa, in its recent -eruption, threw out more than the Mississippi bears to the sea in sixty -years. - -There is some doubt as to how much volcanoes effect by direct upheaval. -The formation of many observed cones shows that the majority are mainly -built up by the materials thrown out, and not by any great elevation of -the adjacent surface. In the case of a volcano already existing, it is -of course not easy to know what proportion of its mass is merely -accumulation of lava, cinders, or tufa. - -As to the form of volcanic cones, those of ashes, cinders, and scoria -are of course steepest; those of lava thrown out when liquid having a -very gradual slope. The difference may be readily illustrated by -comparing a heap of sand and pebbles with a heap of stiffening molasses -candy. One is steeply conical; the other, rounded or dome-like. But -either form of volcano may abound in crevices and apertures from which -issue sulphurous vapors and gases. These fumaroles, as they are called, -are usually surrounded with mineral deposits, often resembling the most -delicate filigree work. - -Having considered the general phases and principles of volcanic action, -we may now notice some of the more famous eruptions of the past. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -GREAT ERUPTIONS OF VESUVIUS. - - “E’en while they cheered the gladiator’s thrust, - And shouted as the lion crunched his bones, - Up sprang the Fire King from his ages’ sleep - Shook wide his robe of ever-deepening night, - And flung his fiery banner on the wind. - The groaning earth then trembled at his tread, - And thousand thunders rent the raging mount, - While prince and pauper, ’mid the scorching gloom, - Groped through the gaping streets; the ocean hissed, - And palaces and marble temples reeled, - And crushed or prisoned; still the ashes fell, - Till mansions, statues, homes and colonnades, - And Strength, and Beauty, Love, and Life, and Death, - Lay heaps on heaps, in one black ruin blent.” - - -For nearly seventeen hundred years there lay beneath a sea of ashes near -the Naples Bay, a city whose destruction had not been described by the -younger Pliny; and in the lapse of years its site had been forgotten. -During the construction of an aqueduct in 1592, workmen frequently came -upon foundations of buildings. No curiosity seems to have been aroused. -Nearly a hundred years later other buildings were discovered, with the -inscription “POMPEII.” Still there was no practical interest. Then the -attention of the learned was drawn to the discoveries at Herculaneum; -and Alcubierre, a Spanish colonel of engineers, in examining the -subterranean canal, was led by the discovery of a house and statues to -conjecture that some great treasures might lie buried there. Obtaining -permission of the King of Naples, he began excavations in the year 1748. -In a few days he unearthed “a picture eleven palms long by four and -one-half high, containing festoons of eggs, fruits and flowers, the head -of a man, large and in good style, a helmet, an owl, various small birds -and other objects.” Then was found the skeleton of a man, covered with -the lava mud. By his side were eighteen brass coins and one of silver. -Then was found an amphitheatre, with a seating capacity of ten thousand. -But the work was poorly conducted: valuable pictures were detached from -the walls, and the buildings again covered with rubbish. No strangers -were allowed to copy anything. - -When the French occupied Naples, the work was for a time better -conducted; then it again declined. When Victor Emmanuel became King of -Italy, a distinguished antiquarian scholar, Guiseppe Fiorelli, was -appointed director-general of the works. Since then, the work has been -well done, Signor Fiorelli noting “every appearance or fragment which -might afford or suggest a restoration of any part of a buried edifice; -replacing with fresh timbers every charred beam, propping every -tottering wall or portion of brick work,” till the tourist sees to-day a -town in the integrity of its outlines and order of its arrangement. -“Temples, baths, markets, tombs, stand out just as they stood eighteen -hundred years ago. The villa of the port, the forum, the counting-house, -the baker’s shop, the school-room, the kitchen, carry us into the very -heart of Roman life in the brightest days of the empire. The jewelry of -beauty, the spade of the laborer, the fetter of the prisoner and the -weapon of the soldier are all there, reproducing and realizing the past -with a vividness which can scarcely be conceived.” - -Relics and historic records give us an ideal of the past. How correct is -the ideal may be inferred from the fact that no two antiquarians have -the same conception of a Druid temple. With all the details of -Scripture and Josephus, we have not an exact model of the temple. -Inhabited ruins change with their possessors: those uninhabited decay in -the war of elements. But Pompeii was, so to speak, hermetically sealed, -in the height of its prosperity, preserved from Goths and Vandals, and -is laid before us to-day as it stood over eighteen centuries ago, -allowing us to see how sudden was the storm that burst upon it long -years ago. The paintings are “undimmed by the leaden touch of time; -household furniture left in the confusion of use; articles, even of -intrinsic value, abandoned in the hurry of escape, yet safe from the -robber, or scattered about from the trembling hand which could not pause -or stoop for its most valuable possessions; and in some instances the -bones of the inhabitants, bearing sad testimony to the suddenness and -completeness of the calamity that overwhelmed them.” - -“There are the very ruts which were made by the wheels of chariots, -flying, perhaps, from the impending ruin; there are water-pipes, in the -cavities of which, sealed by the hand of time, the splashing fluid can -still be heard; there are rude and grotesque inscriptions, scratched by -some loiterer on the stucco, and as fresh as when they excited the mirth -of the passer-by; there are egg-shells, bones of fish and chickens, and -other fragments of a repast of which skeletons lying near were partaking -when the catastrophe overwhelmed them; there is fuel ready to be -supplied to furnaces for heating the baths; there are the stains left -upon the counters of drinking shops by wet glasses; there are the vials -of the apothecary, still containing the fluids he was wont to dispense; -there are ovens in which loaves of bread, carbonized, but otherwise -perfect, may yet be seen; there are vases with olives still swimming in -oil, the fruit retaining its flavor, and the oil - -[Illustration: DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII.] - -burning readily when submitted to the flame; there are shelves, on which -are piled stores of raisins, figs and chestnuts; there are amphorae -containing the rare wine for which Campania was so famous.” - -Here you saw a new altar of white marble, wondrously beautiful, just -from the hands of the sculptor; “an enclosure was building all round; -the mortar just dashed against the side of the wall was but half spread -out; you saw the long, sliding stroke of the trowel about to return and -obliterate its own track; but it never returned; the hand of the workman -was suddenly arrested, and the whole looks so fresh and new that you -would almost swear that the mason had only gone to his dinner, and about -to come back immediately to smooth the roughness.” - -The younger Pliny tells us of his uncle’s death, and of the suddenness -of the calamity. The people were in the amphitheater when the volcano -burst forth. The elder Pliny, in command of the fleet at Misenum, was -called by his sister to notice a strange cloud that had just appeared. -He had just returned from a walk, bathed, and gone to his study. This -was August 24, A. D. 79, about 1 P.M. The dense cloud occasionally -glowed with light; again, it was of inky blackness. It was the “pine -tree banner,” since become so familiar to the Neapolitans. Pliny at once -started for his galleys, determined to have a closer view of the strange -scene. As he went to the shore he received a note from a lady who lived -at the base of the mountain, urging him to come to her assistance. He -set out at once to render what aid he could; “for the villas stood -extremely thick upon that lovely coast.” They neared the mount; cinders, -pumice, ashes, and glowing stones fell on and among the vessels. Sternly -ordering the frightened crew to press on, Pliny stood in the bow of his -vessel, calmly dictating notes and observations on the awful scene. -Reaching Stabiae, he found a friend in great fear, preparing for flight, -and waiting for a change of wind. Pliny ordered baths, and sat calmly -down to supper, assuring his friend that the lurid flames on the -mountain sides were but villages fired by the heated stones. Retiring to -rest, his anxious friends heard him snoring. Finding they were about to -be entombed in the falling cinders, they roused him, and all, tying -pillows on their heads as protection from the showers of stones, sought -the seashore; but the waves ran too high for them to embark. It was -still dark as Erebus in the limit of the cloud, though already broad -day. Drinking some water, Pliny stretched himself on a mat; but an -unusual rush of sulphurous vapor compelled the company to disperse, and -two servants assisted him to rise, but he at once fell back dead. -Perhaps the noxious vapors were in greater quantity near the ground. His -nephew tells us he always had weak lungs. The company fled. Three days -later, Pliny’s body was found “looking more like a man asleep than -dead.” At Misenum, fourteen miles away, the earth was constantly and -violently shaken. Houses were toppling down. Chariots could not be -steadied, even by supporting them with large stones. The sea rushed -back, leaving many marine animals stranded high and dry. The dark cloud -on Vesuvius flamed and roared. The cloud enveloped Misenum and spread to -Capreæ. “Nothing was to be heard but the shrieks of women and children, -and the cries of men; some were calling for their children, others for -their parents, others for their husbands, and only distinguishing each -other by their voices; one was lamenting his own fate, another that of -his family; some wished to die that they might escape the dreadful fear -of death; but the greater part imagined that the last and eternal night -was come, which was to destroy the gods and the world together.” Then -came the flash of flames; then darkness and ashes, blinding, crushing, -burying. Stabiae also was buried. But the destruction of the two great -cities is given no word; it was sudden and complete. The ruins show they -were shattered by an earthquake. Then showers of broken lava rushed upon -Herculaneum; while Pompeii, farther away, was reached only by the -cinder-showers. Dion Cassius tells us the people were seated in the -theatres when the shock came. - -In their terror, every object was distorted and magnified. “A multitude -of men, of superhuman stature, resembling giants, appeared sometimes on -the mountains, sometimes in the environs; stones and smoke were thrown -out; then the giants seemed to rise again, while the sounds of trumpets -were heard.” - -Cassius, however, wrote a century and a half after the disaster; and the -chief value of his testimony is to show how terrible and lasting an -impression had been made upon the Campanians, from whom he derived his -narrative. - -After the desolation, the site of Pompeii was searched for such relics -as might be of practical use elsewhere. The search was rough and -destructive. The Emperor Alexander Severus made the place a “sort of -quarry from which he drew a great quantity of marbles, columns and -beautiful statues which he employed in adorning the edifices which he -constructed at Rome. Modern research has discovered but few gold and -silver articles, coins, and statues. It has developed however, a far -more fearful and faithful picture of the eruption than has been given by -any historian. The clouds of falling ashes so enveloped each object as -to preserve an exact impression, from which casts have been made, -showing every curve and line, even to the texture of the clothes. So we -look upon the death-agony, and conceive the terrors of the scene. - -Here is the arena. Here were skeletons; perhaps of gladiators already -slain; perhaps of wounded men, unable to rise, who rolled and gasped, -and struggled in the choking gloom. There is the prison; you may see the -fetters still round the leg bones of the inmates. - -Here stood the temple of Isis. On that pedestal was a beautiful image of -her, draped in purple and gold. In the next room lay a priest beside the -battered wall, with axe in hand. In the next room sat a priest overtaken -at his dinner. In other cloisters lay other priests, who had remained at -the temple, perhaps deeming Isis would protect them in that awful hour. -Close by the prison door lay a skeleton with a handful of silver coins. -Mayhap some one had perished there while endeavoring to bribe the jailor -to release a prisoned friend. Close by that column, in his narrow niche, -a Roman sentry stood, full armed; observing to the last, stern, -unflinching obedience to superior powers, who neglected to relieve him -in the terror of the time. - -In the vault of a beautiful suburban villa of Diomed, lay eighteen -adults, a boy, and an infant, huddled together in attitudes terribly -expressive of the agony of a lingering death. To the skulls of the -children still clung their long, blonde hair. There was the impress left -by the bust of a young girl of striking beauty. Near the garden gate -without the house were two skeletons; one with a bunch of keys and a -quantity of money; the other with a number of silver vases. Doubtless -the family had thought to escape by retiring to the well-provisioned -cellar; while two slaves endeavored to profit by the confusion to escape -with their booty. The stifling sulphureous vapor found them out. - -In the house of the Faun stood the skeleton of a woman; her hands -raised over her head. Her scattered jewels lay about the floor. -Endeavoring at length to leave the house, she found the doorway blocked -with ashes. The flooring of the upper rooms began to fall, and she -lifted her arms in vain attempt to stay the crumbling roof. Thus was she -found. - -In a garden near by a woman was found seven feet from the earth. She had -surmounted many obstacles, but perished as she scaled a wall. - -Beneath a staircase lay a man who had with him a vast treasure of gold -and silver. He had preserved it at a terrible cost. Near by were five -others who had met a similar fate. They lay fifteen feet above the -earth. Plunderers were these, overpowered by a rush of mephitic gas -while delving for buried treasures. - -Here lay two bodies, feet to feet--mother and daughter, perhaps. The -former lay outstretched and tranquil; the young girl of fifteen, in an -attitude expressive of frightful agony. Her legs are drawn up and her -hands clinched. With one hand she had drawn her veil about her head, to -screen herself from the ashes and smoke. The form and texture of her -dress are clearly seen; and through its rents the fair young skin -appears like polished marble. - -Close by lay a young woman of high rank; young, richly dressed and -beautiful. One upraised arm and her clenched hands tell plainer than -words her agony and despair. A man--tall, stalwart, in coarse dress and -nail-studded sandals, lay at hand. Upon his back, with straightened -limbs and extended arms, he had resolved, since unable to escape, to die -like a man. His powerful features are clearly shown, and a portion of -his moustache adheres to the plaster cast. - -Such are sights from which the veil of time has at last been lifted. How -many perished in that fearful outbreak we shall never know. Seven -hundred skeletons have been found in one-third of the city of Pompeii. -Perhaps two thousand perished there. But of the scores who fled from the -city, from suburban villas, from villages along the mountain, and who -were overtaken by the fiery storm ere they reached a place of safety, -who shall tell? Who may declare the fate of the lady who appealed to the -Roman admiral Pliny for relief? Such questions each may determine for -himself. History will preserve an eternal silence. - -Such are the facts concerning the first great historic eruption of -Vesuvius. That volcanic phenomena were known to the ancients we have -already seen; but the character of Vesuvius seems to have been -unsuspected. The Greeks knew of the mountain top as a depressed plain, -covered with groves and wild vines. Spartacus and his gladiators, with -their thousands of followers, had their fortified camp there. Strabo -called it a volcanic mountain, but Pliny the elder did not include it in -his list of volcanoes. The fertile, rounded slopes were covered with -well-tilled fields. - -But the neighboring regions were active, though Vesuvius was not. -Pithecusa, the modern Ischia, was often and terribly shaken, and various -attempts to settle upon it were in consequence abandoned. Poisonous -gases poured forth, even when there was no active eruption. - -Still nearer Vesuvius lay the noted lake Avernus, which in Roman -mythology was the gateway of hell. It was said to exhale noxious vapors -so powerful that birds could not cross it. At the present day it is only -a pretty lake, without any unusual properties. It appears to cover an -extinct crater. - -In the year 63 a great earthquake was felt in the Vesuvian region. -Hundreds of lives were lost, and great damage was done in many cities; -and numerous lighter shocks occurred during the next sixteen years. No -one seems to have apprehended any danger from the mountain. How long it -had remained dormant is unknown. But Pompeii and Herculaneum are both -built upon lava beds. That Pompeii itself was a very old city is clearly -established. In general outline it is elliptical, nearly two miles in -circuit, the entire area being one hundred and sixty acres. Characters -upon many of the foundation stones would seem to indicate a period -earlier than the Etruscan occupation; while other portions, especially -the towers, are certainly of later date. It is quite fair to suppose -that Vesuvius, from these facts, had lain quiet for a thousand years or -more. - -One effect of this first eruption of Vesuvius was to break down the -western wall of the crater and destroy the entire side of the mountain -next the sea, leaving as the only remains of the ancient crater a little -ridge on the south flank, and that portion, which under the name of -Somma, still encircles the present cone. - -From the time of its first eruption, the restlessness of Vesuvius has -been well observed. The next action occurred in the year 203. In the -meantime the sides of the crater had become overgrown with brushwood and -forest trees, and the basin itself was a favorite haunt of wild boars. -In the year 472 the mountain broke forth with more violence than at -either of the former periods. The roaring was simply indescribable. The -clouds of ashes spread over the entire adjacent region. Houses toppled -down miles away. Scores of people were suffocated. The ashes fell in -showers at Constantinople and Tripoli. - -Other eruptions followed in 512, 685, and 993. No stream of molten lava -issued at any of these. But in 1036, a great eruption took place, during -which, we are told, the lava poured forth from fissures in the sides, -as well as from the top, and ran in a broad and deep stream into the -sea. Thirteen years later another similar outbreak occurred; then ninety -years passed without any disturbance. - -Of these eruptions, little beyond the bare fact is known. But from the -time of the last one referred to, 1139, scientific men have carefully -watched each outbreak. In 1198, the neighboring crater of Solfatara Lake -was in eruption; in 1302, Ischia, dormant over fourteen hundred years, -exhibited wonderful activity. For more than a year earthquakes shook the -island, and at length there burst forth a lava stream from the southeast -side of the mountain, flowing two miles, to the sea. Many houses were -destroyed during the two months’ eruption; and not a few of the -inhabitants abandoned the island. But Vesuvius was quiet till 1306. -Again it broke forth in 1500. During this time Ætna was in a state of -unwonted activity. - -The eruption of 1538 broke forth at the foot of the mountain, and was -marked by some peculiar features. The plain between Avernus, Monte -Barbaro, and the sea, was first raised a little, and many cracks made in -it, from some of which water issued. The sea retreated about two hundred -paces, leaving many fish on the sands at the disposal of the people of -Pozzuoli, a little watering place on the Bay of Baiæ. On the evening of -September 29, numerous shocks of earthquake occurred, and about two -o’clock in the night an immense fissure opened near the lake and -extended toward the town. Smoke, fire, stones, and mud made of ashes, -were vomited furiously, the whole process being attended by a terrible -roaring, as of continual loudest thunder. Stones and masses of pumice -larger than an ox were thrown out. The gulf in the town widened, and not -a few houses were broken to pieces, or swallowed up in the chasm. - -The large stones were thrown about as high as a crossbow would carry, -and then fell, sometimes into the lake, sometimes into the chasm again; -but mostly upon either side of it. The mud was ash-colored, very liquid -at first but rapidly thickening; and within thirty-six hours the site of -Pozzuoli was covered by a volcanic cone. A contemporary chronicler, -present at the time, says this cone was one thousand paces in height; by -which he probably meant slant height. The cone at present is four -hundred and forty feet above the Bay of Naples. Two days later it again -began to cast forth stones and ashes; and again on the seventh day. -Several persons who had ascended the hill were killed in this sudden -outbreak by falling stones, or smothered by the sulphurous vapors. This -“Monte Nuovo” or New Mountain, is a mile and a half in circumference at -the base, and four hundred and twenty-one feet deep. It is apparent, -then, that its bottom is nineteen feet above the sea level. The Lucrine -Lake was almost filled up. Only a shallow pool remains. - -Falconi writes that from Naples the flames were seen, bursting forth in -the night, between the hot-baths and Tripergola. The next morning might -be seen the poor people flying in terror, begrimed with the black and -muddy shower, which continued throughout the day. Flying from death, -death was painted in their countenances. Some bore their children in -their arms; some carried sacks full of goods; some led donkeys loaded -with valuables, or such as were unable to walk. - -The few eruptions after 1039 had been feeble. We find the mountain -coming to be regarded as extinct as a volcanic crater. Nearly five -centuries passed. Bracini, who visited it in 1631, writes that “the -crater was about five miles in circumference, and above a thousand feet -deep; its sides were covered with brushwood, and at the bottom was a -plain on which cattle grazed. In the woody parts wild boars frequently -harbored. In one part of the plain, covered with ashes, were three small -pools; one filled with hot and bitter water, another salter than the -sea, and a third hot but tasteless.” Such was the general character of -the crater in A. D., 78, save that it was not so deep. - -In December, 1631, with a sudden, tremendous roar, the mountain flamed -into action. This outbreak has never been surpassed in fury and -destructiveness by any eruption of Vesuvius, unless we except the one -which destroyed Pompeii. The fatalities between the two eruptions had -been few, the most of the mischief being damage to property. One of the -eruptions failed to throw out any marked amount of matter of any sort. - -But in 1631 the woods and pastures, vines, and fields within the crater, -were annihilated. Explosion followed explosion in swift succession. The -great crater was filled with molten rock. Stream after stream poured -swiftly forth, till seven rivers of fire were desolating the land. Crops -were fired by the cinder showers. Millions of tons of ashes were -scattered over the land. The mountain slope was dotted with ruined -villages. Resina, a populous little town on the site of Herculaneum was -completely destroyed. Storms of wind and rain swept the mountain, and -the huge rivers of mud buried whatever had escaped the lava and ashes. -The crater itself was shattered and nearly destroyed. Hundreds of cattle -were destroyed by the fiery storm. Not less than eighteen hundred people -perished in this great convulsion. Thirty-five years later another -outbreak occurred; and since then the mountain has been in constant -activity. - -The next unusual activity of especial note occurred in 1737. Breislak -has estimated the outflow of lava at - -[Illustration: VESUVIUS IN 1737.] - -10,237,096 cubic meters; enough to cover a square mile twelve and a half -feet in depth. Immense quantities of white ashes were thrown out, and -the entire mountain was filled with rents and fissures, from which -poured volumes of noxious vapors that suffocated man and beast. The -quantity of ashes thrown out doubtless exceeded the volume of lava. In -1766 occurred another unusual convulsion, the mountain continuing -vigorously active from March till December, vomiting lava streams and -huge volcanic “bombs.” These last are masses of lava enclosing a bubble -of gas, which is set free by the breaking of the bomb as it falls. In -1779 the lava streams for a time threatened Naples itself. - -Sir William Hamilton, long time English ambassador in Italy, has left a -careful record of the eruption of 1793-94. Passing by such features as, -common to all its eruptions, we have noted elsewhere, we may note the -more striking particulars: Millions of heated stones were thrown high in -the air, and fell in beautiful curves about the cone. It might be -likened to the bursting stars of our pyrotechnic displays. Nearly half -Vesuvius was covered with fire. “Huge masses of white smoke were vomited -forth by the disturbed mountain, and formed themselves at a height of -many thousands of feet above the crater into a huge, ever-moving canopy, -through which, from time to time, were hurled pitch-black jets of -volcanic dust, and dense vapors, mixed with cascades of red-hot rocks -and scoriæ. The rain from the cloud canopy was scalding hot.” - -“As the lava rushed forth from its imprisonment it streamed a liquid, -white and brilliantly pure river, which burned for itself a smooth -channel through a great arched chasm in the side of the mountain. It -flowed with the clearness of honey in regular channels, cut finer than -art can imitate and glowing with all the splendor of the sun.” Various -were the effects of stones thrown in. “Light bodies of five, ten or -fifteen pounds weight, made no impression; but bodies of sixty, seventy -and eighty pounds were seen to form a kind of bed on the surface of the -lava and float away with it. A stone of three hundred weight that had -been thrown out by the crater, lay near the source of the current of -lava. I raised it up on one end and then let it fall in upon the liquid -lava, when it gradually sank beneath the surface and disappeared. If I -wished to describe the manner in which it acted upon the lava, I should -say that it was like a loaf of bread thrown into a bowl of very thick -honey, which gradually involves itself in the heavy liquid and then -slowly sinks to the bottom.” - -As it flowed down the mountain the brilliant whiteness disappeared. Then -it began to wrinkle, where flowing slowly, like the cream on a pan of -milk when poured off. Crusts formed, which were speedily cracked to -pieces, as the current underneath pressed on. On such crusts a person -may cross the stream, if not particular as to singeing his boots. Being -cooled when near the bottom, yet forced on by the pressure behind, the -whole mass “resembled nothing so much as a heap of unconnected cinders -from an iron foundry, rolling slowly along and falling with a rattling -noise over one another.” - -This eruption continued from February, 1793, to July, 1794. Rocks were -hurled two thousand feet into the air. The lava flowed from fifteen -different sources, and pouring in one stream from twelve to forty feet -thick, flowed three hundred and eighty feet into the sea, requiring but -six hours from the time of the outbreak to reach the shore. The sea -boiled for one hundred yards around. The town of Torre del Greco was -destroyed, and a number of persons were killed. The natives insisted, -when the paroxysm was over, on rebuilding on the old site. The -Neapolitans have a jest concerning their own exemption from the -calamities which Torre has endured: “Naples sins and Torre is punished.” -The lava of this discharge is estimated at about twenty-one million -cubic metres. - -Several eruptions of Vesuvius have occurred during the present century. -Of these, the most notable are those of 1822 and 1872. They have given -us exact information upon a point where formerly there was only -conjecture, viz: the height which the material thrown out may reach. - -In 1822, the ashes for twelve days fell in a continuous shower. The lava -which had boiled up and hardened till the appearance of a depressed -crater was lost was blown away. An immense abyss was formed, -three-fourths of a mile in length and two thousand feet deep. The entire -top of the cone was then blown away. Masses of lava weighing many tons -were hurled two or three miles. Darkness prevailed in broad day, as far -away as Amalfi, where the ashes fell to the depth of several inches. The -dense column of ashes and vapor was thrown ten thousand feet above the -level of the sea. In no known eruption has the electrical display been -so brilliant and continuous. The roll of thunder could be clearly -distinguished from the rumble of the volcano. - -In recent years an observatory has been erected on the mountain, and all -its phenomena carefully noted. During the eruption of 1872 instantaneous -photography was pressed into service. A comparison of the whole view -with the height of the mountain, showed that the vapors and fragments -were thrown twenty thousand feet into the air--nearly four miles. This -outburst began on April 24, and reached its climax in two days. The -entire mountain filled with fissures and cracks--in the words of Prof. -Palmieri, “sweated fire.” Enormous volumes of steam poured from the -crater, with such a prodigious roar, that the terrified Neapolitans -rushed from their houses, and spent the night in the open air. The lava -floods rushed down the mountain side; and one of them destroyed two -villages, besides many country houses adjacent. The whole region for -several days quivered with shocks of earthquake. - -Such have been the more important eruptions of Vesuvius. Its position, -by an ancient and populous city, has made it the most celebrated of -volcanoes. There seems no doubt that it is supplied from the same source -which feeds the others in the neighborhood, as well as Mt. Ætna. When -Vesuvius is quiet, Ætna is active, and vice versa. Close observation has -established a well-defined daily periodicity: so that the most favorable -period for visiting the crater may always be known beforehand. - -In fine, about sixty eruptions of Vesuvius are on record. Of these, -twenty-three were during the last century, and twenty-five during this. -The activity of the entire region seems on the increase. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -OTHER GREAT ERUPTIONS. - - “Hast thou observed the ancient tract, - That was trodden by wicked mortals, - Who were arrested on a sudden, - Whose foundation is a molten flood? - Who said to God, Depart from us, - What can Shaddai do to us? - Though he had filled their houses with wealth. - (Far from me be the counsel of the wicked!) - The righteous beheld and rejoiced, - The innocent laughed them to scorn, - Surely their substance was carried away, - And their riches devoured by fire.” - - -Such is Dr. Henderson’s translation of Job XXII, 15-20. By many the -passage has been supposed to refer to the destruction of the cities of -the plain, and used to support the theory that a volcanic eruption was -the means of their overthrow. If the theory were true, the catastrophe -is the earliest historic eruption. A brief statement of the reasons for -the belief may interest the reader. - -The entire Dead Sea valley is depressed far below the level of the sea. -From the Dead Sea to the head of the Red Sea is a well-marked trough, -supposed to indicate that the Jordan once emptied into the Red Sea. The -adjacent Sinaitic peninsula is a volcanic region, which may have been in -eruption when the Israelites passed it. Dr. Robinson reports water marks -left high on the cliffs, far to the south of the Dead Sea. Fragments of -lava have been picked up among the salt-crusts and bituminous deposits -on the shores. - -In short, the region is one in which, at some time, volcanic action -occurred. It lies between two great volcanic - -[Illustration: DESTRUCTION OF SODOM.] - -centers: Sinai, and the volcanic region of Arabia and Syria. The -question really is, whether any disturbance occurred there at so late a -period as the destruction of Sodom. - -The idea advanced by several thoughtful men is, that in the bituminous -plain occupied by the cities, fissures opened and flames and cinders -issuing, rained upon the inflammable surface, speedily destroying the -cities, which sunk with the earth till the sea covered them. Such cases, -minus the bitumen, have several times occurred. And, again, the sea -might have existed before, and merely have been extended by the -convulsion. Such is the substance of the theory. - -Cases in support of it are not wanting. The city of Euphemia, in -Calabria, was so swallowed up in 1638. Kircher, who was near at the -time, tells how he and his companions, unable to keep their feet, during -the violent earthquake, lay upon the ground till the paroxysms were -somewhat abated. Rising and looking for Euphemia, only a frightful black -cloud was seen. It slowly cleared away revealing a loathsome and putrid -lake. No trace of the city or its inhabitants was ever found. - -In the island of Trinidad is a vast lake of pitch, of which the Indian -legend tells the origin. The words are Kingsley’s: - - “Once that dark and loathly pitch-lake - Was a garden, bright and fair, - And the Chaymas, from the mainland, - Built their palm ajoupas there. - - There they throve, and there they fattened. - Hale and happy, safe and strong, - Passed the livelong days in feasting, - Passed the nights in dance and song. - - Till they cruel grew, and wanton, - Till they killed the colibris, - Then outspoke the Great good Spirit, - Who can see through all the trees.” - -The spirit proceeded to remind the Chaymas of all the good things he had -provided for them; how he had allowed them unlimited use of all things -which could be of any possible good to them; how he had even been -patient with their thanklessness. Only the colibris or humming-birds, -useless to the Chaymas, he had reserved for himself, that he might have -pleasure in their beauty and happiness. The story continues: - - “But the Chaymas’ ears were deafened; - Blind their eyes, and could not see, - How a blissful Indian’s spirit - Lived in every colibri. - - Lived, forgetting pain and sorrow, - Ever fair and ever new, - Whirring round the dear old woodland, - Feeding on the honeydew. - - Then one evening roared the earthquake, - Monkeys howled, and parrots screamed, - And the Guaraons, at morning - Gathered here, as men who dreamed. - - Sunk were gardens, sunk ajoupas, - Hut and hammock, man and hound, - And above the Chayma village, - Boiled with pitch the cursed ground.” - -The salient points of the evidence being presented, the reader may draw -his own conclusions. Perhaps the cities were fired in the manner -suggested--perhaps lightning ignited the bitumen. But it is generally -supposed that their site lies beneath the sea. - -After the account given of Vesuvius, the reader will no doubt be -surprised to learn that this noted mountain can not rank as more than a -respectable fourth-rate volcano. It will require but a brief comparison -with others to show that such is the case. - -By far the largest volcano in Europe, and next to Vesuvius, the most -noted, is Mt. Etna, in the island of Sicily. It was well known to the -ancients, and appears to have been in eruption from the most remote -historic times. Diodorus Siculus records that a violent eruption caused -an adjacent district to be deserted by its inhabitants before the Trojan -war. Thucydides tells of three eruptions between the colonization of -Sicily by the Greeks and the Peloponnesian war--431 B. C. - -Notwithstanding the great antiquity of the records of this mountain, but -little detail is known of its earlier eruptions. The first of which any -extended account exists is the great outbreak of 1669. The convulsion -began with a tremendous earthquake. Many villages and towns in the -adjacent districts were leveled to the earth. In the plain of St. Lio, a -fissure six feet wide and twelve miles long and of unknown depth opened -from north to south with a terrific, crashing noise, and extended nearly -to the top of the mountain. Flashes of intense light poured from it. -Five other parallel fissures afterwards opened, one after the other, -emitting smoke, and the most horrid bellowings, which were heard to the -distance of forty miles. - -This explains the manner in which dykes or banks of lava are thrown up -amid other rocks. The light emitted by these fissures would indicate -that they were, to a certain height, filled with glowing lava. - -The lava, during this eruption, having overwhelmed and destroyed -fourteen towns, some of them containing three or four thousand -inhabitants, at length arrived at the walls of Catania, a populous city, -situated ten miles from the volcano. These walls had been raised sixty -feet high, towards the mountain, in order to protect the city, in case -of an eruption. But the burning flood accumulated against the wall, so -as to fill all the space around and below that part, and finally poured -over it in a fiery cataract, destroying every thing in that vicinity. - -From Catania the lava continued its course until it reached the sea, a -distance of fifteen miles from its source, in a current about eighteen -hundred feet broad, and forty feet deep. While moving on, its surface -was, in general, a mass of solid rock, or cooled lava, and it advanced -by the protrusion of the melted matter, through this hardened crust. - -As an illustration of the intense heat of volcanic matter, the Canon -Recupero relates that in 1766 he ascended a small hill composed of -ancient volcanic matter, in order to observe the slow and gradual manner -in which a current of liquid fire advanced from Ætna. This current was -two and a half miles broad; and, while he stood observing it, two small -threads of lava, issuing from a crevice, detached themselves from the -main stream, and approached rapidly towards the eminence where he and -his guide were standing. They had only just time to escape, when they -saw the hill on which they stood a few minutes before, and which was -fifty feet high, entirely surrounded, and, in about fifteen minutes, -entirely melted down into the burning mass, so as to be incorporated -with, and move on along with it. - -According to Hitchcock, 77,000 persons perished during the eruption of -1769, and eighty-four square miles were covered with lava. - -The slowness with which lava cools may be inferred that ten years later, -workmen endeavoring to sink a shaft through the bed were forced to -abandon the work when near the bottom, by reason of the heat. - -While this was Ætna’s greatest outbreak, several of terrible -destructiveness have occurred since. In 1693 an eruption was accompanied -by earthquake shocks, which in three days did more damage than the lava. -Catania was almost destroyed; great sea-waves rolled in upon the - -[Illustration: DESTRUCTION OF CATANIA.] - -wreck; the vessels in the harbor were dashed against each other or upon -the beach: the ringing of the bells and the roar of the mountain and sea -was mingled with the cries of thousands of unfortunates struggling in -the ruins. Not less than 16,000 people perished in Catania alone. - -In 1755 occurred an eruption which is memorable for the great flood -which attended it. Immense quantities of snow and ice, accumulated about -the summit, were melted by the intense heat, and the waters rushed down -in a column thirty feet deep and one and three-quarters miles wide, into -the plain below. The lower portion of the valley was filled with the -debris. Those who were not buried in the rubbish were swept out to sea. -The total loss of life is not exactly known, but amounted to many -thousands. - -Second in volume to the eruption of 1669, but very slightly destructive, -is the eruption of 1852-53. It began August 20, 1852, and continued nine -months. “The united width of the lava streams was two miles, with a -depth of from eight to sixteen feet, piled up in some places to one -hundred feet. It reached to near Zarafana,--almost six miles, descending -thirty-five hundred feet in sixteen days. The Val del Bove, from the -upper part of which it proceeded, looked like a sea of fire. Explosions -as of artillery were frequently heard, and the scoriæ were sent up to -great heights.” The intense heat set fire to the trees in the vicinity. - -In January, 1865, a considerable eruption took place from an immense -fissure on the northeastern slope of the mountain. Seven active craters -developed along the fissure, sending out a lava stream one and one-half -miles wide. - -Three other eruptions have taken place from Ætna since 1853; but, save -some damage to property, these have been comparatively unimportant, save -from a geological standpoint. One began in 1874 from a fissure on the -north side, but suddenly ceased. Prof. Silvestri, after examining the -locality, asserted that the next eruption would take place from this -same fissure. Five years later his assertion was verified, large streams -of lava being sent out, with heavy showers of ashes and sand. Large -areas of forest were destroyed, and the stream drew alarmingly near some -populous villages, but stopped not far from a small river. The area of -the lava bed was about seven hundred and fifty acres, the volume being -about twenty-three and a half million tons. - -Ætna’s last eruption was in May, 1886; a few houses were destroyed, but -no lives were lost. Ætna and the adjacent Lipari Islands exhibited -unusual activity during the entire seventeenth century, having a total -of fourteen eruptions; as many as are recorded in all their previous -history. The next century witnessed fifteen outbursts from Ætna, and -during the present one there have been eleven. - -It will be noticed that both Vesuvius and Ætna seem to have reached -their maximum activity at the close of the last century. The same is -true of the volcanoes of Iceland. This island, which is as large as -Ireland, is built up entirely of volcanic matter. It doubtless began -with a single, great submarine volcano; but to-day it has at least -thirteen active vents. It presents us with the most tremendous outpour -of matter in the history of the world. For seven hundred years there has -not been an interval of forty, and seldom of more than twenty, without -eruptions and earthquakes in some portion of the island. Single -eruptions of Mt. Hecla have lasted six years. Often during violent -earthquakes, old mountains have disappeared; new ones have been raised -up; rivers turned from their courses, or dried up altogether. The old -Norseman who discovered the island might much more appropriately have -named it Fireland. Doubtless had his ancestors known the island they -would have chosen it as the home of the terrible fire giants. - -But Iceland is the realm of both frost and fire; and there is no more -romantic or painful chapter in history than the story of this hardy and -spirited race to maintain their foothold in the face of such terrible -odds. Those who hold that a nation’s progress and stamina are in -proportion to its material advantages, would have to make an exception -in favor of blood. The plucky Norsemen have held their own in this -region for nine centuries; nor is there any deterioration. No nation can -to-day show a better intellectual or moral condition than these poor but -hardy islanders. Yet there is not a region of the world that has been -more frequently or terribly scourged than this semibarren island. - -The best known volcano in Iceland is Mt. Hecla, which ranks with Ætna -and Vesuvius in fame. It is not the highest nor most remarkable of -Icelandic volcanoes; but the frequency of its eruptions, together with -the fact that it may be easily reached, have brought it to the front. It -is five thousand feet high, and lies but thirty-five miles from the sea. -The larger portion of the material thrown out by it consists of slag, -cinders, pumice, and ashes, the slope of its cone being about 35 -degrees. It has nothing answering to the customary crater; the eruptions -break from fissures in its sides; and, in consequence, it may emit -several streams or showers at once. - -Hecla has been in eruption about thirty times since its character was -first known, and has at times made fearful havoc. Its last great -outbreak was in 1878. - -Hecla has adjutants in this volcanic field that are more savage and -relentless than the generalissimo. One of the most destructive outbursts -of recent times occurred in the Vatna district in 1875. In this region, -about sixty - -[Illustration: MT. HECLA.] - -miles by one hundred and fifteen, is a very nest of volcanoes. The -convulsion lasted several months, the entire region being active; and -great numbers of people perished. So great was the destruction of -property, crops, and flocks that the people, reduced to starvation, were -compelled to appeal to Britain and Denmark for assistance. This has -happened more than once in Iceland’s history. - -But far up in the impenetrable deserts of the interior is a mountain -which has seldom shown any activity; but when in full blast, its power -is unsurpassed by any volcano on the globe. This is the fearful Skaptar -Jokul, or Skaptar mountain. A single instance of its power will suffice. - -One of the most stupendous outbreaks recorded in history is that of -Skaptar Jokul in 1783. In the quantity of lava ejected, it is hardly -surpassed by any single eruption; and few disturbances of the sort have -surpassed it in fatality. Immense volumes of ashes were hurled into the -air, spreading over the whole island in dense clouds. Streams were -poisoned by the minerals and alkalies thrown out. Immense numbers of -sheep and cattle perished. Thousands of acres of pasture lands were -ruined. Where the grass was not killed, it often was rendered poisonous, -like the water, by the mineral dust falling upon it. The hills were -dotted with the decaying carcasses. The air was filled with horrible -stench. The ashes fell in such volumes into the ocean that the fish -deserted the coast. The flying clouds of dust spread to Europe. The -appalling horror of the scene can hardly be imagined. Death stalked -abroad in his most repulsive form. - -“The river Skapta, a considerable stream, was for a time completely -dried by a torrent of liquid fire. This river was about two hundred feet -broad, and its banks from four to six hundred above the level of the -water. This defile was entirely filled for a considerable distance by -the lava, which crossed the river by the dam thus formed, and overflowed -the country beyond, where it filled a lake of considerable extent, and -great depth. - -“This eruption commenced on the 11th of June. On the 18th of the same -month, a still greater quantity of lava rushed from the mouth of the -volcano, and flowed with amazing rapidity, sometimes over the first -stream, but generally in a new course. The melted matter having crossed -some of the tributary streams of the Skapta, completely dammed up their -waters and caused great destruction of property and lives by their -overflow. The lava, after flowing for several days, was precipitated -down a tremendous cataract, called Stapafoss, where it filled a profound -abyss, which that great water-fall had been excavating for ages, and -thence the fiery flood continued its course. - -“On the 3rd of August, a new eruption poured forth fresh floods of lava, -which, taking a different direction from the others, filled the bed of -another river, by which a large lake was formed, and much property and -many lives destroyed. - -“The effect of this dreadful calamity may in some measure be imagined -when it is known that, although Iceland did not at that time contain -more than fifty thousand inhabitants, there perished nine thousand human -beings by this single eruption, making nearly one in five of the whole -population. Part of them were destroyed by the burning lava itself; some -by drowning, other by noxious vapors which the lava emitted, and others -in consequence of the famine, caused by the showers of ashes, which -covered a great proportion of the island and destroyed most of the -vegetation. The fish, also, on which the inhabitants depended, in a -great measure, for food, entirely deserted the coast.” - -The quantity of lava which Skaptar Jokul emitted during this eruption -was almost beyond belief. The two principal branches were respectively -forty and fifty miles long. The branch which crossed the Skapta was from -twelve to fifteen miles wide; the width of the other was seven miles. -The usual depth was one hundred feet; but two and three hundred were -frequent; and where the streams dashed across gorges or narrow valleys -the depth was six or seven hundred. It would be quite safe to estimate -the average depth at one hundred and fifty feet. These two principal -streams were, then, sufficient to cover one thousand square miles to a -depth of one hundred and fifty feet. Contrast with this the twenty -million cubic meters estimated to have been poured forth in one of the -great Vesuvian eruptions. This last would cover one square mile to a -depth of twenty-five feet. Vesuvius sinks to an insignificance that is -pitiable; its great outbreak produced but one-six thousandths as much as -the single eruption of Skaptar Jokul! Such calculations may give us a -comparative estimate of the two; but no figures can give us any -conception of the force required to elevate such a stream of melted rock -through the crust of the earth. And if we compare the resultant -fatality, it is clear that this great convulsion, in a very sparsely -settled island, destroyed more lives than all the outbursts of Vesuvius -in its densely populated neighborhood. - -This eruption of Skaptar was preceded by several outbreaks in the sea; -some of them close to the shore; some many miles from land. Such -phenomena have become tolerably familiar. Livy informs us that a -disturbance of this kind near Sicily, occurring with similar phenomena -at the time of Hannibal’s death, so terrified the Romans as to induce -them to proclaim a day of supplication to the gods to avert their -displeasure. Santorin in the Grecian Archipelago is a similar -production. And in 1831 an island was thrown up to the southwest of -Sicily, where previous soundings had shown a depth of six hundred feet. -It was preceded by a violent spouting of steam and water. The sea around -was filled with floating pumice and dead fish. The crater reached a -height of two hundred feet, being three miles in circumference. Its -circular basin was full of boiling, dingy, red water. It continued -active three weeks, and then slowly sank, leaving a dangerous reef -eleven feet below the surface; while a single black volcanic rock -projected from the sea near the center of the reef. It is known as -Graham’s Island. Thus we see that volcanic action is not confined to the -land, and that the areas affected are continually shifting. - -Jorullo, in Mexico, affords an example of the way in which new volcanoes -are constantly being formed. In the parallel of the City of Mexico exist -five volcanoes, extending in a line across the country as if thrown up -along some immense fissure or subterranean fault, extending from sea to -sea. Of these Popocatepetl is perhaps the largest, and Jorullo the most -recent. - -There formerly existed in Mexico an extensive plain of remarkable -fertility, covered with fields of cane, cotton and indigo, and watered -by irrigation from the reservoirs in the basaltic mountains that bounded -it. This region, the _Malpays_, had no volcano within eighty miles, and -lay twenty-six hundred feet above the sea. In June, 1759, alarming -rumblings were heard in the earth, which were succeeded by severe -earthquakes. These phenomena lasted several weeks, to the great -consternation of the inhabitants. In September it seemed that quiet was -restored, when suddenly, on the night of the 28th, a fearful -subterranean noise was again heard; fissures opened, and hot stones were -thrown out. Part of the plain rose up like - -[Illustration: JORULLO.] - -an immense bubble to the height of sixteen hundred feet. Imagine the -astonishment of the natives when morning showed them a mountain where -the night before was a level plain! It almost seemed as though some -magic had transported them to another land. Smoke and ashes spouted -forth; five smaller cones were thrown up, the least of which was three -hundred feet in height. The plain was dotted with thousands of small -conical mounds, called by the natives _hornitos_, or ovens. Each emitted -vapor for a time; but at length all the upheavals, save Jorullo, ceased -action, though the plain remained so hot as to be uninhabitable for many -years. Jorullo continued to throw out lava several months, and has been -in more moderate action ever since. - -In some respects the terrible outbreak of Skaptar Jokul has been several -times exceeded. While almost alone in the immense quantity of lava -thrown out, we have seen that great streams of lava are not accompanied -by the most violent explosions. In the number of lives destroyed, -Skaptar has also been exceeded; but if Iceland had been as densely -populated as Ireland, which it equals in area, the convulsion might have -destroyed half a million or more. - -One of the best examples of the force of steam on a smaller scale is -seen in the eruptions of volcanoes, is to be found in the geysers of -Iceland. These lie in a strip of ground one hundred yards wide and about -a quarter of a mile in length. The ground is dotted with numerous dark -apertures and conical mounds, from which clouds of steam ascend -continually. Of these the Little Geyser is no longer active, being -merely a pool of still, hot water. The Great Geyser is periodically -active, and the Strokr, or Churn, may be excited at any time by throwing -a quantity of earth into it. As a matter of course, these boiling -springs never do any damage, the quantity of water thrown out being of -no consequence. The water holds in solution a vast quantity of silicious -matter, which is deposited around the mouth of the geyser, forming -sometimes a saucer-shaped basin, sometimes a nippleshaped mound. From -the rate at which the deposits are made, it is estimated that the Great -Geyser is about ten hundred and sixty years old. - -One of the most tremendous outbursts of which we have any authentic -account occurred in the island of Sumbawa. It is one of the Molucca -islands; and the mountain from which the outbreak occurred is called -Tomboro. - -[Illustration: GEYSER.] - -“This eruption commenced on the 5th of April, 1815, but was most -terrific on the 11th and 12th of that month; nor did it cease entirely -until some time in the following July. The explosion so much resembled -the firing of heavy cannon at a distance that the people of many -vessels at sea supposed there was a great naval engagement within -hearing, but could not imagine what nations were engaged. - -“The commanders of some ships, and several English forts, gave orders to -prepare for battle, though they were several hundred miles distant from -the mountain. At Sumatra these tremendous explosions were distinctly -heard, though not nearer than nine hundred and seventy miles from -Tomboro. They were also heard at Ternate, in the opposite direction from -Sumatra, at the distance of seven hundred and twenty miles from the -mountain. - -“So immense in quantity was the fall of ashes, that at Bima, forty miles -from the mountain, the roof of the English resident’s house was crushed -by the weight, and many other houses in the same town were rendered -uninhabitable from the same cause. At Java, three hundred miles distant, -the air was so full of ashes that from this cause, at mid-day, it is -said, the darkness was so profound that nothing like it had ever before -been experienced during the most stormy night. - -“Along the coast of Sumbawa the sea was covered with floating lava, -intermixed with trees and timber, so that it was difficult for vessels -to sail through the mass. Some captains, though at a long distance at -sea, mistook this mass for land, and sent out their boats in order to -ascertain the safety of their situations. The sea, on this and the -neighboring coast, rose suddenly to the height of twelve feet, in the -form of immense waves, and, as they retired, swept away trees, timber, -and houses with their inhabitants. All the vessels lying near the shore -were torn from their anchoring and cast upon the land. Violent -whirlwinds carried into the air, men, horses, cattle, trees, and -whatever else was in the vicinity of the mountain. Large trees were -torn up by the roots and carried into the sea. But the most calamitous -part of the account still remains; for such were the tremendous effects -of the burning lava--the overflowing of the sea, the fall of houses, and -the violence of the whirlwind, that, out of twelve thousand inhabitants -on this island, only twenty-six individuals escaped with their lives, -all the rest being destroyed in one way or another. - -“The whole island was completely covered with ashes, or other volcanic -matter. In some places the bottom of the sea was so elevated as to make -shoals where there was deep water before; and in others, the land sunk -down and was overflown by the sea. Adding those who were killed on other -islands, the total death roll was over twenty thousand.” - -This entire region is one of wonderful activity. Mount Api, in the -island of Banda, in the same group, has had twelve violent eruptions in -two hundred and thirty-four years; and, indeed, it is hardly ever really -quiet. The volcano of Abo, in the island of Sanguir, broke out in 1711, -burying a large number of villages in cinders, covering extensive areas -of forest and plain, and destroying many thousands of people. This same -volcano burst forth suddenly in March, 1856, vomiting torrents of mud, -streams of lava, and clouds of ashes and scoria, doing almost as much -mischief as on the former occasion. In the island of Timor, a gigantic -volcano, long known as the Peak, began a violent eruption in 1638. When -the convulsion was over the mountain had disappeared; partly blown away, -partly sunken, and the site is to this day covered by a great lake. - -But the center of this great volcanic region lies in the island of Java, -which possesses about fifty craters, half of them still active. The heat -and vapors poured out, combined with the power of the sun, combine to -make this one of the most noted tempest regions in the world. Nowhere -else are such terrific thunder-storms so common; and more than twenty -water spouts are sometimes seen at one time. - -One of the most remarkable eruptions of modern times is that of -Papandayang, in this island, which occurred in 1772. The mountain burst -forth suddenly, with a tremendous roaring. Cinders and ashes were almost -insignificant. Immense boulders were hurled about the neighboring -regions. The mountain was veiled in a cloud of glowing vapor. A tract of -land seventeen miles long and seven miles wide, with over forty -villages, was swallowed up. Several thousand people perished. When the -cloud finally vanished it was found that four thousand feet of the upper -portion of the mountain had been blown away. The broad, ragged mass -remaining was of little more than one-half the original height. Two -other mountains in the island were in action at the same time; while -several intervening active cones remained quiet. Mt. Guntur, in the same -island, has had a number of violent eruptions. The last, occurring in -1800, sent forth in addition to lava streams, a torrent of white, acid, -sulphurous mud, which swept a populous and fertile valley, engulfing -hundreds of men and animals in its course. We shall notice by and by a -still more remarkable Javanese convulsion. - -Time would fail were details to be given of the numerous volcanoes of -Sumatra and Celebes and the adjacent islands, or of the eruptions and -boiling springs of New Zealand, or the towering cones of New Guinea, or -of the peaks of the Canary, Cape Verde and Azores. Let us notice briefly -a few of the more noted volcanoes of America. - -Our own land is free, for the most part, from such disturbances; the -only recorded outbreaks being those of Rainier and St. Helens, in 1842. -But in prehistoric times it had numerous volcanic areas. The Raton peaks -in New Mexico once sent out lava streams that spread over the country -between the Upper Arkansas and Canadian rivers; and St. Helens, Hood, -Edgecombe, Baker, Rainier, Fair Weather and Shasta, are cones well known -to the western tourist. These, except Hood and Shasta, are still active. - -But better known examples of great internal heat are found in the hot -springs of different portions of the country; though these merely show -the existence of subterranean heat, and afford no conception of its -power or violence. Quite as famous is the famous geyser basin of the -Yellowstone. Here is a region surpassing greatly the geyser district of -Iceland, both in area, and in the number and power of the geysers. The -whole region is pierced with fumaroles, around which sulphur and other -minerals crystalize in beautiful forms; and steam jets break through the -soil in countless places. Certain of the geysers are exceedingly -periodic; and others, like the Strokr of Iceland, may be incited to -action at almost any time by casting in earth or stones. The more -powerful of these “toy volcanoes” send water to a height of four hundred -feet. - -In the southern portion of the continent and in South America we find a -region of remarkable activity. Central America has had several violent -convulsions at a comparatively recent period. The volcano of Las -Virgines, in Lower California, had a great eruption in 1746; but the -country being sparsely peopled, little harm was done, and the fact of -the eruption was made known by the light and clouds seen from vessels at -sea, and the ashes and cinders that fell in the adjacent regions of -Mexico. - -If eruptions be measured by the violence of explosions, - -[Illustration: THE YELLOWSTONE PARK.] - -then the famous outburst of Cosequina must rank among the greatest, if -not itself the greatest, that is known to history. The narrative of its -eruption, as related by an eye-witness, seems almost beyond belief; but -the facts are too well authenticated. The extent of the destruction of -life, though certainly reaching many hundreds, was never definitely -known. The personal narration serves to show the fearful impressions -made upon those who experience such awful convulsions: - -“The wonder to me is how any man could live through such a burst as -Cosequina’s in San Salvador. ’Twas the 21st of January, 1835--as fine a -morning as ever was seen on earth. The Bay of Fonseca was smooth as -silk; never a cloud in the sky. The lazy folks of Playa Grande and -Nagascolo were lying in the hammocks beside the doors, smoking and -dozing, and not a soul had a notion of ill from any side on that sunny -morning, which was to be the last for half of them. They lay in hammocks -and smoked and dozed like worthless cusses, as they are; and most of -’em, no doubt, had full in sight the big mountain on t’other side the -gulf. They’d nigh forgot to call it a volcano. Not for a thousand years, -as the Indians told, had smoke or mischief come from that hill; they’d -ha’ laughed silly any one as had talked danger from Cosequina. - -“At ten o’clock that morning that mountain burst out again, and in a -fury such as never yet was known in the upper world--no, nor ever will -be again, as _I_ believe, till the last day. Suddenly it burst out--not -muttering beforehand, nor smoking--but crash! all on the moment, as if -to remind men what evil power was yet left in nature to destroy them. At -ten o’clock that day the voice of the mountain was heard after one -thousand years’ silence--in such a thunderous roar was it heard that -beast and bird fell dead with the sound alone, and great cliffs pitched -headlong into the sea! There’s thousands still alive to witness. For a -while the streets of Playa Grande and Nagascolo must have seemed like -streets of the dead; for every soul was stunned. Folks were lying in -their hammocks or on the floor, motionless and senseless as corpses. The -sky was still bright and blue, but on the mountain side was a cloud like -ink, which rolled down like a cap to the foot. Naught afterwards seemed -so horrible as the sudden heaping of that jet black mound in the place -of the sunny, green hill. - -“But it didn’t long offend any man’s sight--over heaven and sea the -cloud opened and spread. Lightning and thunders burst from the heart of -the ocean, and sheets of flame glared luridly the sides of Cosequina. -The darkness spread so quick, that at Leon, two hundred miles away, they -were lighting the church candles within an hour after the outbreak. But -candles, nor torches, nor houses aflame couldn’t disperse that darkness. -For three days no soul in Leon saw another’s face, nor ventured out but -to the howling churches, to grovel there. Night dragged after night, but -no day shone over the land. A lighted torch could not be seen at arm’s -length! The ashes fell softly and silently, till buildings crushed down -headlong with the weight. Tigers were in the churches, and panthers -entered house doors in search of companionship and protection. Hundreds -committed suicide in their madness, and hundreds more became simple for -life. Men’s faces were blistered by the hot winds; the paint fell from -the statues; the crash of falling, and the faint light of burning houses -doubled the horror of darkness. Such a time as that was never seen on -earth since the plague of Egypt, I guess! - -“But of course the most awful work was around the Gulf of Fonseca. The -water rose in waves twenty feet high, dashed over the Estero, and swept -off the towns of Playa Grande and Nagascolo, slick as a prairie fire. -Scarce a soul escaped for twenty miles about. The cattle crushed over -the barrancas in search of water, and were destroyed in herds of -thousands at a time; for none could see, nor hear, nor breathe. Rivers -were dried by the heat, and choked with ashes; forests burned up; the -very grass withered throughout the whole length and breadth of -Nicaragua, and hasn’t sprung since. _Sacate_ (‘a broad flag-like blade’) -alone escaped, and the country which was once the grazing land of -Central America was ruined till eternity, for that business. - -“During this time of death, as they still call it, at Balize, one -thousand miles away, the commandant called out the garrison, and kept -them under arms twenty-four hours, thinking all the navies in the -universe were at action in the offing. There ’twas too dark to see fifty -yards oceanwards. The roar of Cosequina was heard miles around, -spreading fear and perplexity. Four thousand miles in radius the ashes -fell; they lay on the roofs at San Francisco, California. - -“Well, the mountain’s behaved like a decent sort of powder-cask ever -since. The fuse has always been burning and spitting; but you see -there’s a big consumption of power in such a burst, and I guess the old -machine wants to recuperate awhile.” - -Those familiar with the terrific effects produced on the gunners by the -discharge of heavy artillery, can understand that the atmospheric -concussion produced by tremendous volcanic explosions might kill large -numbers of birds and small animals in the vicinity. - -As to the distance to which ashes may be carried, a late eruption in -Iceland was announced by a Professor in Germany long before any vessel -brought the news. The atmosphere was unusually full of dust which, on -examining with a microscope, he pronounced to be pulverized Iceland -lava. The detonations of Cosequina were heard over the peninsula of -Yucatan, along the shores of Jamaica, eight hundred miles distant, and -as far as Bogota in South America--nearly ten thousand feet above the -sea. Ashes fell on vessels twelve hundred miles westward at sea. -Fortunately the eruption was soon over. - -Another unusual outbreak occurred in Central America from the volcano of -Leon in 1867, beginning November 27. First there were a number of -violent explosions, which shook the earth for a great distance. Immense -quantities of black sand were then thrown out, and a column of vapor and -fire, filled with meteor-like specks, was hurled to a height of three -thousand feet. Closer observation showed the “specks” to be rocks four -or five feet in diameter, and weighing thousands of pounds. The showers -of sand lasted three days, covering the earth for fifty miles around. -The forest for leagues was scarred by the swift-falling showers of sand -and stones; and for half a mile around the cone the trees were leveled -to the ground. - -Central America contains twenty-nine volcanoes, eighteen of which are -active. Twenty cones are in sight from the town of Leon. One cone, -Izalco, suddenly manifested signs of activity, but no eruption took -place. But the sudden heating rapidly melted the snow on the mountain, -and the torrents of water inundated the town of Guatemala, destroying -thousands of dollars worth of property, besides many lives. The mountain -has since been known as “Agua,” or water. - -South America is noted for the frequency and extreme violence of its -earthquakes; of which more hereafter. Though possessing a greater number -of very lofty volcanic cones than any other region, the direct effect -of its eruptions have not been so disastrous as the results of many -eruptions elsewhere. There is but one very notable exception; the -earthquake that destroyed Riobamba in 1794 was followed at once by an -outpour of mud from Tunguragua, which overwhelmed forty thousand people, -still dazed by the shock, or struggling in the ruins of their villages. - -One notable incident is the continual subterranean roaring heard for a -considerable period over twenty-three hundred square miles of Northern -Venezuela, a number of years ago, during a violent outpour of lava from -the volcano of St. Vincent, an island six hundred and twenty-three miles -to the northeast. No motion of the earth was perceptible. It has been -supposed that the noise was merely the roar of St. Vincent conveyed -through the crust of the earth; but this would raise the question as to -why the same noise was not audible at points nearer to St. Vincent? -Another suggestion is that the source from which the lava of St. Vincent -was derived lay beneath Northern Venezuela; and a fact brought in -support of this is, that the great earthquake of Caracas was immediately -followed by action at St. Vincent. Similarly, the great eruption of -Cotopaxi, in 1744, was attended by subterranean rumbling at Honda, four -hundred and thirty-six miles away, and eighteen thousand and one hundred -feet lower. Between are the colossal mountains of Pasto, Pichincha and -Popayan, with countless valleys and ravines. - -The cone of Cotopaxi is the smoothest and most symmetrical in the world; -perhaps because its eruptions are almost entirely of ashes or -fragmentary lava. As no villages lie in its immediate neighborhood, the -clouds of ashes have not done so much damage as might be expected. - -The first sign of an eruption is the melting of the snow upon the cone. -Torrents of water sweep down the mountain. Such an outbreak occurring in -1741, after two centuries repose, the amount of snow accumulated may be -imagined. The rush of the water tore away blocks of lava, ice and -scoria; the plain below was covered with dashing waves. Twelve miles -from the mountain the waters still had a velocity of fifty-six feet per -second, or about two-thirds of a mile a minute. Escape from such a -current would be impossible. Six hundred houses were swept away and one -thousand people destroyed. The sides of the cone glowed in the night -with a reddish light. Cotopaxi also had a great eruption in 1533, which -hurled lava blocks containing one hundred and thirty cubic yards to a -distance of nine miles. Such masses would weigh more than two hundred -and eighty tons. Such feats will serve to give clearer ideas of the -immense power of volcanic action. - -Perhaps a statement of the force required to raise a column of lava -would interest the reader. Lava being about twenty-eight times as heavy -as water, a column of it eleven and three-sevenths feet high, and one -inch square, would weigh fifteen pounds. Then to raise lava to the tops -of various volcanic cones would require pressure or initial velocity as -follows: - - Pressure per Initial velocity - Height. square inch. per second. - - Stromboli 2,168 feet. 2,640 pounds. 371 feet. - Vesuvius 3,874 “ 4,710 “ 496 “ - Hecla 5,106 “ 6,195 “ 570 “ - Ætna 10,892 “ 13,230 “ 832 “ - Teneriffe 12,464 “ 15,135 “ 890 “ - Mauna Kea 14,700 “ 17,865 “ 966 “ - Popocatepetl 17,712 “ 21,525 “ 1,062 “ - St. Elias 18,079 “ 21,975 “ 1,072 “ - Cotopaxi 18,869 “ 22,380 “ 1,104 “ - Sahama 22,965 “ 27,756 “ 1,212 “ - -When we remember that our powerful steam engines are operated by -pressures varying from one hundred and twenty to two hundred pounds per -square inch, it is evident we can have no adequate conception of the -magnitude of a force of twenty-seven thousand pounds to the square inch. -And yet such a power must be but a tithe of the force exerted; for it -represents only the force necessary to throw the lava from the surface -to the tops of the mountains; whereas the lava reservoirs are far -beneath the surface. Also, the above calculation considers only the mere -weight of the lava; it allows nothing for the resistance of cohesion, -friction, or a heavy crust to be often burst through. When we consider -all these, each of which must far surpass the weight of the single -column of lava, it is evident that the pressure that can hurl lava -blocks of two hundred and eighty tons nine miles from a mountain must -reach a million pounds per square inch. These are meaningless figures. -Human thought cannot grasp so stupendous a power. - -Perhaps the best known of the great volcanoes are those of the Sandwich -Islands. We find there the largest extinct crater in the world. The -great dead crater of Haleakala, in East Maui, is thirty miles in -circumference. The crater of Kilauea, on the flank of Mauna Loa, is -about seven miles in circumference. Several great eruptions have -occurred in these islands during the past fifty years; and in one of -these convulsions the volume of lava poured out was at least equal to -the great outburst of Skaptar Jokul in Iceland. And when we consider the -frequent recurrence of the Hawaiian eruptions, it at once appears that -in this region lies the greatest lava producer on the globe. - -But in regard to destruction of life or property, there has so far been -no more harmless region in the world. There are two reasons: The lava -poured out is very liquid, and cools slowly; hence a cone formed from it -has a very gradual slope. The actual grade of Mauna Loa is but five or -six degrees. So a lava stream descends it very slowly; and the light on -the mountain warns the people of the outbreak. The shore region is the -only one inhabited, the interior being covered with dense forests. So -the lava may burn a path directly through to the sea, and yet do no -great damage to the interests of the people. The greatest damage done to -the island has not been from an outpour of lava, but from earthquakes -and sea-waves. The great eruption of 1868 was accompanied by continual -shocks--two thousand being felt in a fortnight, and numerous tidal waves -being produced; yet the total fatality was but one hundred, and nearly -all of these were old or weak persons who were unable to swim well -enough to escape from waves that overtook them. A few were overwhelmed -by a torrent of soft, red clay that broke from a fissure in the -mountain. Cliffs and crags were thrown down by the earthquakes, and the -top of one hill was thrown one thousand feet. The lava stream reached -the sea at Nanawale, fifty miles from its source, and pushed -three-fourths of a mile into the sea. - -Again, in an eruption in 1880, two lava streams poured out toward the -town of Hilo; and though the great crater continued in full blast, it -was nine months before the people could be sure whether the streams -would destroy the town or not. At length the lava was within five -minutes walk of the town. Many collected their chattels and left. Then -the action on the mountain suddenly subsided; and in a few days the -“great red dragon” lay stiff and cold, almost at the people’s doors. - -Since the natives build their houses almost invariably of one story and -of the lightest materials, earthquakes can do comparatively little -damage to most property. Hence, with all the activity of the great -volcanoes, the inhabitants are far more secure than those of many other -regions apparently not so dangerous. Persons may readily visit the great -crater in eruption, though at full blast; and excursion parties are -organized to visit this “Niagara of fire” on every occasion of unwonted -activity. Nowhere else in the world can volcanic action on the grandest -scale be so carefully observed. - -The details given hitherto will serve to illustrate the terrible havoc -wrought by subterranean forces. So far only outpouring of volcanic -matter has been especially noticed. But ere examining the terribly -destructive force of earthquakes alone, it is meet that the story of the -tremendous eruptions of the century be closed with the story of the -greatest of the age; and indeed, when all details are considered, it may -rank as the most tremendous convulsion of all history. In certain -details, Skaptar may have exceeded it: in destruction of life. Ætna -surpassed it in 1669; but as a whole, it is simply without a parallel. - -The reader will rightly judge that such a convulsion could hardly occur -elsewhere than in the Malayan archipelago. Already the terrible outburst -in Sumbawa has been noted; also several others in Java. - -Java and Sumatra formerly formed a single island, but were separated by -a terrific earthquake in 1115. Shocks are felt in one of the two islands -nearly every month. The list of calamities occurring there during the -past hundred years is appalling. Besides the convulsions before noted, -an eruption of Galung-gung, in 1822, overwhelmed one hundred and -fourteen villages and destroyed four thousand people. In 1843 Mt. Guntur -cast forth 30,000,000 tons of ashes, doing immense injury to life and -property. In 1867 there was a tremendous earthquake which killed many -thousands in the interior of the island, and dried up or greatly -obstructed the water courses. Immediately afterward the volcano of -Gunung-Salak ejected such a quantity of cinders and lava that the work -of obliterating or obstructing the streams was complete. The cess-pools -and marshes bred pestilence and epidemics, which have carried off from -Batavia alone nearly a million of inhabitants in the past twenty-two -years. In 1872 the volcano of Mirapi burst out and destroyed several -thousand people in the province of Kadu. Sixteen severe earthquakes were -felt in 1878, and another one in 1879. - -At length, in 1883, Krakatoa, a volcano on a small island in the Straits -of Sunda, in the very center of the greatest subterranean furnace on the -globe, began to manifest some uneasiness. As in the case of Cosequina, -people had almost forgotten to call it a volcano. And when the mountain -muttered and fired a little in February, they regarded it with some -curiosity, and then, when it quieted down, thought no more about it. - -On the 25th of August the people of Batavia heard peculiar subterranean -mutterings, as they thought, but the roar increased till it might have -been compared to a battery of fortress artillery. An avalanche of stones -and ashes began to fall, and continued all night. Krakatoa had begun. - -By morning it was impossible for Batavians to reach the Straits of -Sunda. The bridges were down and the roads impassable. The waters of the -straits were in fearful turmoil. Explosions beneath the sea followed -each other in rapid succession. The waters were sixty degrees hotter -than usually. The rebounding waves were dashing upon Madura, five -hundred miles away, mountains high. - -[Illustration: CATTLE IN VOLCANIC MUD.] - -The dance of death had hardly begun. Louder and louder roared Krakatoa; -ere noon, Maha-Meru, the greatest of Javanese volcanoes, had joined in. -Then Gunung-guntur opened; others rapidly followed, till fifteen -volcanoes of Java were in eruption; most of them in full blast. The -awful scene was beyond description. Krakatoa could still be heard -thundering above all the rest. - -Before nightfall Gunung-guntur, the greatest active crater in the world, -four miles in diameter, was spouting enormous streams of lava and -sulphurous mud. Tremendous explosions followed with showers of cinders -and stones, as though the old giant were endeavoring to out-do the -leader of the dance. Terrible was the slaughter by the flying fragments. - -The sea was more violently agitated. Dense clouds of hot, sulphurous -vapors, charged with electricity, hung over the waters, and added -whirlwinds and thunderstorms to the scene. Fifteen large waterspouts -could be seen at one time. - -On the shore, men, women and children ran wildly about. There was no -safety upon sea or land. Houses were crumbling, the atmosphere -darkening, the storm increasing. Hundreds of people were buried beneath -ruined houses. Hundreds more were struck down in their flight. Immense -crevices opened and swallowed; huge waves rushed inland and devoured. It -seemed as though Java were to buried, with a rain of fire, in the -unfathomable depths of the sea. - -Towards midnight, it seemed as though the Prince of Darkness might be -present in person to direct the work of destruction. “A luminous cloud -far more colossal than that which had appeared above Gunung-guntur, -gathered above the chain of the Kandangs, which run along the southeast -coast of Java. This cloud increased in size each minute, until at last -it came to form a sort of a gray and blood-red color, which hung over -the earth for a considerable distance. - -“In proportion as this cloud grew the eruption gained fresh force, and -the floods of lava poured down the mountain sides without ceasing, and -spread into the valleys, where they swept all before them. On Monday -morning about two o’clock, the heavy cloud suddenly broke up, and -finally disappeared. When the sun rose, it was found that a tract of -country extending from Point Capucine to the south as far as Negery -Passoerang, to the north and west, and covering an area of about fifty -square miles, had entirely disappeared. - -“There stood the previous day the villages of Negery, and Negery -Babawang. Not one of the inhabitants had escaped. They and their -villages had been swallowed up by the sea. The population was not so -dense in this part of the island as in others, but for all this the -total number of victims fell little short of fifteen thousand. - -“The chain of the Kandangs, which runs along the coast of Java in a -semi-circle for sixty-five miles, had also disappeared. - -“The waters of Welcome Bay, in the Strait of Sunda, those of Pepper Bay -to the east, and those of the Indian Ocean to the south, had burst in -upon the country, where they formed a raging torrent.” - -All the furies of the deeps of earth and sea seemed freed to work their -will and wreak their wrath. The great Papandayang now joined in the -chaos. The cannon-like reports could be heard fifty miles away. - -Then Sumatra was infected with the wild fury. From one of her volcanoes -three columns of lava shot up from three different places, and three -leaping red streams of lava dashed forth for the plains below. The -mountain hurled after them showers of stones. Volumes of black dust -flew after, making thick, stifling darkness which could be felt. Banks -of ashes lay upon the roofs of houses, or muffled the city streets. A -tornado hurried by, bearing stones, dust, roofs, trees, houses, and men. - -In Java the fierce Papandayang burst open. From the seven great fissures -the lava in its basin plunged out and reached for miles from the -mountain’s base. On the site of the island of Merak, which was swallowed -up by the sea, the next day fourteen volcanic mountains sprang up, -forming a chain from St. Nicholas Point, Java, to Hoga Point, in -Sumatra. - -In Batavia and Anjer were three thousand five hundred European -residents; eight hundred of these never saw the light again. An -overwhelming avalanche of rock, mud, and lava, poured upon their quarter -in Anjer; then the sea leaped upon those struggling in the ruins and -swept away all. Not so much as a trace of them was left. Two thousand -inhabitants perished, besides a large number of fugitives from other -quarters. Bantam was submerged, and one thousand five hundred people -drowned. Waves dashed completely over the island of Serang, and not a -single inhabitant escaped. The storms of rock and lava numbered their -victims at Cheribon, and at several noted pleasure resorts. - -The great temple of Boro-Buddor was ruined, its dome being beaten in by -the showers of rock. This is a most deplorable architectural loss. It -was the largest Buddhist Temple in the east, and had no equal in the -world. Erected eleven hundred years ago, it stood on an eminence in a -circular valley. It had a great central dome one hundred and forty-five -feet high, surrounded by seventy smaller domes. On the platforms beneath -were four hundred and fifty chapels, cut in openwork out of granite, and -each having a statue of Buddha. The walls of the temple contained a -complete picture-history of Buddha, there being four thousand -beautifully chased bas-reliefs. Not a stone was left uncarved. The great -chapel under the central dome was reached by a series of four grand -staircases of five hundred feet each. No other structure is comparable -to it. A few may be even more splendid; but it was decidedly _sui -generis_. - -The list of calamities grew rapidly. The town of Tamarang was devoured -by the lava. Red-hot stones fired many houses. Eighteen hundred people -perished. The island of Onius was terribly shaken and then plunged into -the sea. The island of Midah was swallowed up. No one escaped. The -lighthouses on Sunda Strait were wrecked. The town of Tjeringen was -destroyed with ten thousand people. Nine hundred people perished at -Waronge. Three hundred corpses were dug from the ruins of Talatoa. The -river Jacatana was blocked with lava and ashes, and leaving its bed -poured through Batavia. - -The island of Merak, a fortified place three miles from Krakatoa, was a -valuable Government stone quarry, six or seven years in use. Thousands -of native workmen were assembled there, with engineers and overseers. -Their huts were on hills one hundred and fifty feet above the sea. The -end of the season was at hand. The 1st of September would see them -returning to their Java homes. The island trembled, paused--sank -slowly--the sea plunged over it. Two natives and an European bookkeeper -escaped. - -A steamer put out from the port of Telok Betong. Two inches of lava lay -upon her deck. Pumice stone lay ten feet deep on the sea around her. -When but a short distance out “we saw a gigantic wave of prodigious -height suddenly advancing upon us at great speed from the - -[Illustration: CONVULSION ON THE COAST OF SUMATRA.] - -direction of the open sea. Immediately the captain brought his vessel -round so as to meet the wave stern foremost. After a moment of most -piquant anxiety, we found ourselves lifted up with terrific speed; our -vessel bounded upward, and then we felt ourselves plunged into the -abyss. But the wave had passed us and we were out of all danger. Like a -high mountain the gigantic wave sped furiously towards the shore, while -immediately after three other great waves followed it. The waters rushed -in and destroyed the town, sweeping away first the light house, which -fell in like a pack of cards, then all the buildings beyond. In a few -moments all was over, and where once Telok Betong stood there was -nothing but water.” - -Livid with terror, the captain steamed rapidly to warn the town of -Anjer. There was no longer an Anjer, a Dutch fort, a garrison. A single -sailor, who had caught a floating tree, stalked about among the corpses. - -Krakatoa, which had opened this fearful carnival of death, sank slowly -into the sea. Of the island, twenty-five miles long and seventeen wide, -a small portion of the terribly shattered cone remained in sight. New -islets were made; vast shoals created. Sailors discovered new islands -and landed, only to find themselves on vast floating pumice rafts, miles -from land. New charts had to be made. For a time the seas were hardly -navigable. - -Such is the story. The damage to property was millions of dollars. The -loss of life will never be definitely known. First estimates placed it -at 80,000. Conservative judges pronounced it in all probability between -50,000 and 60,000. - -The explosions were heard as far away southward as Australia; to the -westward as far as Southern India; to the eastward, they are said to -have been heard in the Caribbean Sea. Even if we reject the latter, we -may take the others, and obtain some idea by imagining volcanoes at St. -Louis to be heard at New York and San Francisco, at Mexico and in -Hudson’s Bay. - -The great sea wave rushed from Krakatoa to the Mauritius in eight hours. -It rolled around the coasts of the Australian continent, dashing into -the southern harbors, sweeping through the narrow Bass Straits. It rose -and fell upon Hawaiian coasts in a perplexing manner. It surged against -South America; against East Africa; it rounded Cape Horn and made itself -known on the coasts of France, upon our Atlantic shore. It encircled the -world--the greatest sea wave ever known. - -The volcanic, microscopic dust remained long in the air, and occasioned -the singular redness of the sky at morn and eve that prevailed -throughout the world for the next two years. Apart from this suspended -dust, the volcano threw out as much matter as the Mississippi bears to -the gulf in two hundred and fifty years. - -The atmospheric wave of low barometer was even more marked than the -oceanic wave. On the day when Krakatoa sank into the sea, the barometric -oscillation was noticed all over the world. From the time at which it -reached Berlin, it is found to have travelled eight hundred and -seventy-five miles an hour. Thirty-six hours later the barometric -oscillations were repeated, but less pronounced. Thirty-seven hours -afterward there came a third, and still fainter series. It appears, -then, that the atmospheric wave, set in motion by this stupendous -outbreak, was powerful enough to thrice encircle the world. - -It has been but a short time since geologists believed the magnitude of -the subterranean forces to be greatly decreased; but in view of a -century of great eruptions closed by such an appalling convulsion, it -must be said that the fiery forces are at least as active and powerful -as ever. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -EARTHQUAKES. - - “Diseased Nature oftentimes breaks forth - In strange eruptions: and the teeming earth - Is with a kind of colic pinched and vexed - By the imprisoning of unruly wind - Within her womb; which for enlargement striving, - Shakes the old beldam earth, and topples down - Steeples and moss-grown towers.” - - -Such is the theory of earthquakes as laid down by “Wild Will -Shakespeare.” Whether it be an expression of the popular belief of the -day, or a personal opinion, is not easy to determine. If the latter, he -had, as we shall see by and by, many predecessors in the same belief. -His metaphor, though more elegantly expressed, cannot compare with the -Indian’s for terseness and force: “Ground heap sick--heap belly ache--no -good!” - -We have already seen that the forces producing earthquakes and volcanic -action are conceded to be practically identical. The latter seldom -occurs without the former; but the former are frequent in districts far -removed from any known vent of subterranean heat. So the expression of -Shakespeare is not so far wrong as might be, so far as our present -knowledge goes. - -In the Hindoo cosmogony successive ages of the world are separated by -periods of chaos; and no wilder image of unreined destruction has fancy -ever dreamed. The earth is to be eternal. There is one eternal, -invisible spirit, Brahm, from whom springs Brahma, who creates a race of -gods. These frame the earth into orderly condition, and rule it for four -hundred thousand years. At the end of that time, the land and sea and -sky meet in gigantic ruin; the gods are no more, save only Vishnu, the -preserver. The sea covers all things and eternal night is accompanied by -eternal tempest. - -Eternal is not strictly correct, however. This reign of destruction -lasts four hundred thousand years, during which time Vishnu sleeps on -the coils of the great seven-headed serpent of eternity, which floats -upon the gloomy sea. The long night over, Vishnu wakes and remodels the -earth, and peace and light resume their sway. Seven such cycles pass; -all things are annihilated, and Brahm sets about a new creation which -goes the same round. - -The eastern wise men, fond of allegory and parable, doubtless intended -by this to express the persistence and order in the universe, even in -periods of the most inexplicable disaster; and to picture for the -ignorant the absolute eternity of God. - -The thing was too good to let drop; and others added to it by asserting -the earth was upborne by an elephant who stood on the back of a -tortoise. The tortoise rested on a fish; the fish on water; the water on -air; the air on light; the light on darkness; the darkness on the Lord -only knows what. When these animals were somewhat wearied, they changed -their position, and the earth trembled. - -Greece had a somewhat better myth of the giant Atlas, who bore the world -on his shoulders; but the old fellow’s gait was not of the steadiest. -Rome, not much given to manufacturing her myths _de novo_, imported the -Grecian fable. We have to-day appropriated the old fellow’s title for a -geography supposed to contain the whole earth. The figure is lost on -most. - -But the alleged drunkenness of Atlas did not consort precisely with the -popular ideas of the proper conduct of a steady old porter in a -responsible position; and the mythmakers dragged in a new scapegoat in -the person of the Titan Typhon, or Enceladus, supposed to be entombed in -Mt. Ætna, as we have elsewhere noticed. - -Inhabitants of parts of Farther India and of some Malayan islands -believe that far down in the bowels of the earth an immense tiger, Pelu, -lies asleep. The sole object of his existence is to destroy the earth; -but he may not do this till the human race is extinct. Then he will rise -to his feet, the earth will burst into fragments and fly into the -distant realms of space. It must of necessity follow that our feline -friend’s existence is a somewhat monotonous one, and to avoid ennui in -his cramped quarters, he passes much time in sleep. Waking occasionally, -and wishing like the German Barbarossa, to know if his time is come, he -cautiously raises a few hairs on his back. The earth trembles, and the -natives, rushing from their tottering houses throw themselves upon the -ground, shouting loudly “Pelu! Pelu!” to assure his tigership that they -are certainly alive. Satisfied on this point, the worshipful beast -composes himself for another nap. - -Thor, the war god of the Norsemen, wielded a mighty hammer, Miolnir. In -the “Saga of King Olaf” we find Thor shouting: - - “The blows of my hammer, - Ring in the earthquake.” - -Another myth attributes the earthquake to the restlessness of the -serpent Midgard, who encircles the universe, his tail in his mouth. -Also, the wolf Fenrir, who is to take part in the final contest that -produces Ragnarok, is supposed to have occasional differences of opinion -before the time with certain of the fire giants. The earth is then -liable to be shaken. - -Natives of the Tonga group, in the South Pacific, believed that their -hero-god, Maui, upheld the world on his breast. When he became restless -and shook the earth, they would rush out and beat the ground with sticks -to make him lie still. - -[Illustration: EFFECT OF A POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE ON MASSIVE MASONRY, -ITALY.] - -From traditions concerning Mohammed we learn that the circular earth -lies in the midst of a vast sea, and is encircled by an immense whale, -upon whose back 700,000 gigantic bulls walk up and down. Said whale -swims about the earth very cautiously, but occasionally jostles it -slightly. On the night when Mohammed was born this noble animal was so -agitated with joy, that had not the Lord restrained him, he would -assuredly have overturned the earth. - -The Sandwich Islanders believed that the goddess Pele, who dwelt in the -great volcano of Kilauea, was displeased with the conduct of man; she -proceeded to admonish him of her power, by shaking him out of bed in the -night, or tumbling his house about his ears. If especially angry, she -set her volcanic home to fuming and firing. - -So-called scientific theories on various topics have in time past been -little more respectable, and need not be given any detailed attention. -The pious gentry who deemed Roger Bacon a wizard and Columbus and -Galileo heretics, would have listened with horror to any effort to -explain the phenomena of earthquakes as anything else than a direct -manifestation of the wrath of God. Researches in any branch of natural -science met with decided discouragement in Christendom during the dark -and middle ages; and the goddess of wisdom found a decidedly more -congenial atmosphere at Moorish and Saracen courts. - -Hence the modern science of seismology, as the investigations of -earthquakes are called, is comparatively in its infancy. Yet the subject -of seismic phenomena has been of interest to the thoughtful from a very -early period, earthquakes being of far greater frequency than most -persons suppose. Some of the earliest philosophers ventured opinions on -the topic; for the records of earthquakes, more distinctly than those of -volcanoes, go back to the earliest times. - -We find Aristotle, in his treatise on natural events, rejecting the -explanations of three other philosophers as untenable, and propounding a -theory of his own. Anaximenes, of Miletus, suggested the drying and -moistening of the earth occasioned irregular contraction and expansion, -and from the cracking and readjusting shocks resulted. Democritus, of -Abdera, shook his earth by means of vast subterranean bodies of water -which some force compelled to move from one cavity to another. Doubtless -the peculiar wave-like motion of the earth in many earthquakes suggested -his theory. Anaxagoras, of Clazomenae, believed that ether--by which the -old Greeks seem to mean air--was confined in underground cavities, and -in its efforts to escape upward produced the vibration of the earth. -Aristotle substitutes for the disturbing agent wind, which has flowed -into fissures and caverns and is endeavoring to flow out again. Virgil -and Pliny stand by the old Greek; and it is quite probable that -Shakespeare acquired his idea from one of the three. And these, with -Anaxagoras, are but little out of the way; for as seen in the discussion -of volcanic action, the explosive or disturbing agent is generally -steam, though other gases are present in large quantities. - -We have already noticed that earthquakes and volcanoes are produced by -the same causes; but as the myths of many nations do not connect the -two, it is evident that such people did not recognize their essential -identity. - -But after knowing they are but variations in results, we cannot so -readily explain the reason of the variations. Certain facts are well -established; and from these common premises widely different conclusions -have been deduced. - -We know to-day that in active volcanic regions, an earthquake almost -invariably precedes an eruption; and a violent one has never, within the -historic period, followed an eruption. So the most reasonable inference -is, that the earthquake merely betokens the presence of a vast quantity -of imprisoned vapor which has not found an outlet; and that so soon as a -volcanic vent is found, the pressure is relieved, and the earthquake -subsides. - -But this leaves us just where the theorists of volcanic agency have -stopped. The question of the sudden formation of volumes of gases in -sufficient quantities to produce such terrible effects is to be solved. - -Mr. Mallet, who is one of the best authorities on the subject, considers -that submarine eruptions must account for them. A volcanic upheaval of -the sea bottom would produce crevices, by which the sea is brought -directly in contact with subterranean fires. An explosion is the result, -like those that have occasionally occurred at foundries from dumping -masses of fiery slag into a snowbank. So what began with a gradual -upheaval ends with a sudden concussion, the vibration of which passes -along the sea bottom to the mainland. Every one who has lived in the -city is familiar with the fact that the vibration produced by a carriage -may be felt at the top of a very tall building. - -But the idea that the explosion always occurs at the sea bottom leaves -no way to account for the fact that a volcanic eruption acts as a -safety-valve. Mr. Mallet’s conclusions are largely based on personal -observations of earthquakes in England, where no active volcano exists. - -That earthquakes are more violent and volcanoes more numerous on islands -or near the sea coast is well-known. It is also well established that -shocks frequently occur at sea, which are not perceptible on the land. -The shock is similar to that produced by striking on a reef. Often have -sailors been mystified, on receiving such shocks and hastily heaving the -lead, to find the ocean unfathomable. Again, shocks which are most -violent on land are not perceptible at sea, unless a great sea wave be -produced; but such a wave in the open sea, as often experienced, -produces no shock but passes under a vessel like a heavy swell. And a -shock at sea is sometimes severe enough to snap a spar, or wrench loose -bolts like the blow of a reef, yet no trace is perceptible on shore. -Lastly, earthquakes often happen in inland regions, and affect but a -small area. Clearly it will not do to attribute effects so different to -explosions at the sea-bottom. - -Those who attribute all earthquakes to subterranean heat and gases, -whether local or general, find it easy to account for the occurrence of -violent earthquakes in regions remote from active volcanoes. In case of -the gradual decline of volcanic action, such as we know from the great -numbers of extinct volcanoes, old trap-dykes, and ancient lava beds, to -be continually taking place in one region or another, the old vents or -safety-valves would cool and close. The pent up power would in -consequence gradually accumulate, till finding no outlet, it would burst -the crust over a wide area, and so relieve the pressure. - -This finds further confirmation in the fact that the noted non-volcanic -regions which are seriously shaken are all coincident with or adjacent -to regions of extinct fires; while in such regions as are very seldom -shaken, such as Germany, portions of North America, Brazil, the eastern -slope of the Andes, the traces of such agency are less common, or of -older date. Noted regions of volcanic action of comparatively recent -extinction are Asia Minor, Turkey, Spain, Southern France and Greece. -These, belted together by the active regions of Western Asia, the -peninsula of Arabia, the Mediterranean, and Azores and Canaries, form a -region which has suffered from earthquakes as much as, if not more than, -any other tract upon the globe. - -Those who have been puzzled by the appearance of earthquakes some -distance from any actively volcanic region, have endeavored to divide -earthquakes into two classes, which they have called volcanic and -plutonic. This second class they have considered as originating, like -the other, in the depths of the earth; but have endeavored to account -for them by supposing them to be occasioned by the falling in of great -caverns at a considerable depth. This theory has found a fair objection -in the fact that in such cases an earthquake should always be a sinking -of the ground: while the wrecking power and peculiarities of some -earthquakes indicate a decided upward concussion as the first of shocks; -and at the seashore, where any change in level is at once detected, -upheaval is quite as common as subsidence. - -Much speculation has been spent upon the fact of an earthquake being -very severe in two or three different localities, but being -imperceptible or very mild in intervening places. In South America it -has become so common a peculiarity that the natives speak of such -localities as “bridging” the earthquakes. Not improbably the reason is -the same that produces calm when two waves interfere, crest to trough; -the motions destroy each other. It may be also that the character of the -underlying rocks has much to do with such cases. Experiments with -explosions in mines show that vibrations of the soil travel over three -hundred yards per second through sand beds, or about as rapidly as in -the air; over five hundred yards in granite; while through iron they -travel over three thousand eight hundred and fifty yards per second. So -a vibration extremely destructive to a region underlaid by massive rocks -might be comparatively harmless to a town on a sand-bed or mud-bank. -Observations on earthquakes themselves have shown great variation in the -rate of speed. The earthquake of Germany of 1846 moved four hundred and -ninety-two yards per second; while the earthquake of Viege in 1855 -traveled nine hundred and sixty yards a second toward Strasburg, but -only half that speed towards Turin. So, also, the Lisbon earthquake -traveled three times as rapidly around the coast as down the Rhine -valley. So it must be that certain regions owe their comparative -immunity from earthquakes to the nature of the ground beneath. - -One or two ingenious savants have suggested that the earth is a vast -thermo-electric pile, and that disturbances in the electrical -equilibrium of the earth are the cause of earthquakes and volcanic -eruptions. But as already seen, the electrical phenomena of volcanic -eruptions are fairly considered an effect, and not a cause, of the -eruptions, as the hydro-electric machine illustrates. In the theory of -these men, the molten veins of the interior represent conductors which -are too small or imperfect to allow the electricity to pass freely, and -are fused in consequence. One of these men, Steffens, alleges that such -phenomena can only occur where large veins of coal exist, because large -masses of carbon would be necessary to keep up a strong electric tension -in the interior. Herr Steffens must account for the fact that the great -coal regions of the world have been peculiarly favored in their -comparative immunity from shocks. - -Still others have advocated the idea that atmospheric whirlwinds and -cyclones produce earthquakes. While not a few shocks have been -accompanied by violent storms, the exception seems to be the rule. And -in the case of storms, we have seen that the outpour of heat and vapor -in a volcanic eruption would necessarily produce one. As concerns the -winds that have accompanied earthquakes, they have as often come after -the shock as before. - -But these bring up certain phenomena that must be noticed. It is not -easy to say how great is the connection between electrical and -atmospheric disturbances, and the shiverings of the earth; but that -there is some peculiar bond between them has been thought indisputable. -It is only in the present century that scientists have carefully conned -this matter, and generally rejected the belief. But the opinion is very -ancient, and has a strong hold upon the people. It is generally adhered -to by South Americans, Italians, West Indians, Japanese, and the -inhabitants of Central Asia. Kamtschatkans, Kurile Islanders and -Japanese, assert shocks are most frequent at the equinoxes. In -equatorial America, the natives say an earthquake is preceded by -drought, and is the precursor of rain. In the Dauphiny Alps, the people -regard earthquakes as the result of avalanches; and the latter are -readily started by the slightest atmospheric disturbances. In Central -America the equinoctial idea prevails. - -These things set the wise men to investigating. Much to their surprise, -they began to discover that the idea of connection between the seasons -and shocks seemed well-grounded. In 1834 Professor Merian announced that -of one hundred and eighteen earthquakes at Basle, the majority had -occurred in the winter. Volger made a list of twelve hundred and thirty -shocks in the Alps; seven hundred and seventy-four occurred in autumn -and winter. December showed one hundred and sixty-eight; July forty. Of -ninety-eight quite severe shocks, but one had occurred in the summer. Of -five hundred and thirty-nine earthquakes in the Rhine basin, one hundred -and three occurred in the spring, one hundred and one in the summer, one -hundred and sixty-five in the autumn, one hundred and seventy in winter. -Observations in the Antilles show a slight predominance of autumn and -winter. - -Another peculiar fact is that most shocks seem to occur at night. Out of -four hundred and seventy-two earthquakes in 1855-56, whose time was -exactly noted, but one hundred and seventy-two happened in the day. Of -those at night, three-fifths were during the latter half, forty-four -being between one and two o’clock. Squier has told us that during -several years residence in Central America, nearly all shocks occurred -at night; also, that he experienced none save at the change of seasons. -Hence, one is almost compelled to conclude that, while the primal cause -of earthquakes must exist in the depths of the earth, yet external and -climatic influences are strong modifiers. - -Some other peculiarities are adduced to show the connection between -atmospheric disturbances and earthquakes. In Central and Tropical -America the temperature is said to fall after any shock. After the -earthquake at Lechsand, Sweden, in 1856, the temperature fell eighty-six -degrees. The same shock was violent as far as Smyrna in Asia Minor, -where the thermometer fell at once twenty-nine degrees, the night being -the coldest of the winter. Many similar cases are mentioned. But in view -of the fact that one hundred times as many sudden and marked changes of -temperature occur every year in various localities without the -intervention of an earthquake, it seems difficult to regard the above -instances as more than mere coincidences. The greatest fall in -temperature the writer ever experienced occurred within three hours of a -transit of Venus; but one swallow--nor a flock of them--cannot make a -summer. - -Barometric observations have been dragged into the combat. The great -Lisbon earthquake, and the convulsion in Calabria, were preceded by low -barometer. Similar observations have been made in this century. The -constantly recurring shocks of 1855-56 were in each case preceded by -fall of barometers. But Humboldt, in South America, and Ehrmann, in -Central America, were unable to find such order; though the shocks were -so invariably followed by such changes that unusual earthquakes were -believed by the natives (as is also believed in India) to advance the -rainy season. The resultant electric phenomena might produce this -expedition. - -But in this field all at present is mere guess work. The exceptions to -any association of earthquake and storm are so far the rule; except in -case of a volcanic eruption also occurring. In the latter case a storm -invariably follows, so far as present observations go; but then the -storm is not co-extensive with the earthquake, but is usually confined -to the neighborhood of the volcano. - -It should be noticed that certain scientists have endeavored to prove -these convulsions are due to planetary influence. It does not appear -that they have been able to find the least trace of any connection -between the earth’s convulsions and the planets; but some affirm the -existence of an earthquake cycle coincident with the Saros of the moon. -Effort is also made to connect earthquakes and volcanoes with the -gigantic convulsions of the sun, known as “sun spots.” It is argued by -certain advocates of the molten interior that the attraction of the sun -and moon produces an interior tidal wave, like that of the sea; and any -irregularities in this produce the phenomena of earthquakes and volcanic -eruptions. Objections to the molten interior have been already noted; -and in regard to the other suggestions, so long as the great convulsions -are peculiarly prevalent in certain regions, so long it will be -necessary to seek their chief cause or most powerful modifiers in -entirely local influences. - -In conclusion, it does not yet seem clear that we can rely absolutely -upon a single cause as productive of all the convulsions of the earth’s -crust. Internal local heat, pent up gases, suffice for volcanic -phenomena; but earthquakes present so many peculiar variations that it -seems almost imperative to many men to admit, at least, the modifying -influence of other agencies. But so long as these agencies appear to be -quite as frequently the modified as the modifier, no laws concerning -them can be announced. Hence, internal conditions are the only clearly -identified factors so far. - -There is quite as much difference of opinion as to how far beneath the -surface the shocks originate. Robert Mallet’s investigations have led -him to believe the depth cannot be over thirty miles, and that seven or -eight miles is the limit for most, and his views are those of most -scientists. But a few others conclude that we cannot find molten matter -and gases to produce the concussion at a less depth than seventy-eight -miles. But, as their conclusions are based largely upon the idea that -the melting point of minerals is raised uniformly with increasing -pressure, their conclusions must be rejected as unreliable. - -The character of the motion is well known. Each point of the surface -begins to move with the vibration first upwards, then away from the -center of shock, then downward and backwards. Thus, each point describes -a small ellipse, which is repeated with each wave of vibration. If the -longer axis of the ellipse be vertical, the main force of the concussion -is directed upwards; if the shorter one be upright, the shock is an -undulatory one. An alternation of the two forms the most destructive -combination. The difference is readily perceived in the effects -produced. A sudden upward shock may wreck the roofs or floors of -buildings, while an undulatory one brings down the walls. - -Houses erected on sand, immediately overlaying compact rock, usually -suffer most during earthquakes. The effect is that of the vibration of a -sheet of glass covered with sand. But, if a second sheet of glass be -placed on that, the vibration is hardly communicated to it at all. So, -while sand is a bad foundation, a sand-bed beneath the surface seems to -deaden the shock. - -It is not difficult to understand that lofty buildings, and those of -stone or brick, must be vastly more dangerous than those of wood, and -low and broad. Throughout many portions of Central and South America, -the people endeavor to compromise, by building houses of stone, but low -and massive, with very light roofs. These are far less safe than light -structures of wood; also, it is clear that cupolas and towers must be -peculiarly liable to injury. For this reason, churches have often -suffered more from shocks than other buildings, and the throngs of -penitents who flock to them in the hope of propitiating an offended -providence are often the first victims of an earthquake. - -“It is to earthquakes, rather than to barbarians, from the fifth to the -ninth century, that Rome owed the loss of so many superb palaces and -temples. One might imagine that in these great disasters, the architect -is the ally of the subterranean scourge. The Indian’s hut and the Arab’s -tent, may be overturned without any great loss or injury to their -owners; but the marble of the patrician crushes him as it falls, and the -inhabitants of a great city meet their death under the ruins of their -sumptuous buildings. The Peruvians of old were not far wrong in making -merry at the folly of their Spanish conquerors, who, in erecting great -buildings upon a soil so constantly agitated, were preparing, at great -expense, their own tombs.” - -It will be shown, by and by, how the motions of earthquakes are becoming -so carefully noted that their path can be pointed out beforehand. Ere -many years are past, the prediction of earthquakes may become as -important a feature of the Signal Service Department, as the foretelling -of storms. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -EUROPEAN EARTHQUAKES. - - “The thunder roared his signal to the sea, - While shook the frightened earth through all her coasts, - And mountains bowed their trembling heads in awe, - And yawning gulfs leaped up amid the plains. - The fountains of the mighty deep were rent, - The waves, long prisoned in their rocky bounds, - Roared, in a strange new freedom rushing forth, - And sprang on forest, plain, and mount, and hill, and vale, - Exulting in destruction; while the frightened hordes - Of men, with birds and beasts of every sort, - Fought each with each for refuge from the flood, - Yet none escaped.” - - -Records and myths of great earthquakes go back almost to prehistoric -times. The Greeks tell of an immense flood--perhaps a sea wave--which -overwhelmed Attica immediately after an earthquake in the nineteenth -century before Christ. It is known as the deluge of Ogyges, from the -name of the reigning king. Some three centuries later is the story of a -great earthquake and flood in Thessaly, from which Deucalion and Pyrrha -escaped. There is a still vaguer legend of an immense earthquake about -2400 B. C., that shook all Southern Europe, and Asia Minor, opening an -outlet for the Black Sea, which had before been entirely inland. In the -convulsion of the seas, we are told almost all the people of Greece and -Asia Minor perished. Chinese traditions and monuments tell of an immense -earthquake at the same period, which suddenly raised the bottom of the -great Northern Sea, pouring its waters out upon all North China and -drowning the people. Where the great sea once was is now the great -Mongolian Desert. - -[Illustration: THE DELUGE.] - -Likewise the Egyptian priests told Plato of a great island, Atlantis, -lying off the coast of North Africa, stretching an unknown distance to -the west; the home of a mighty nation that ruled all the western world, -to the shores of the Mediterranean, and threatened the liberty of the -European world. It is said that they made war on the combined forces of -Greece and Egypt; and in the crisis of the struggle a fearful earthquake -swallowed up the Grecian soldiery in a single night, and sunk Atlantis -in the ocean since called from its name, Atlantic. - -Doubtless all these traditions relate to the same terrible catastrophe -described in Genesis. The Chinese even tell us in what way the -“fountains of the great deep were broken up.” It would seem that a great -sea once extended northeastward from the present basin of the Caspian -over the deserts of Central Asia; and that an awful upheaval of this -basin was the chief factor in the flood. Isthmuses were torn asunder: -vast oceans hurled their gigantic waves over the continents, and over -islands engulfed forever. The extraordinary evaporation from the unusual -expanse of water, the sudden chilling of the atmosphere, produced -torrents of rain. “The same day were all the fountains of the great deep -broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” Whatever be the truth -of the traditions, it is certain they preserve the memory of a -catastrophe unparalleled in recent days. - -Of a later date, there is the story that the Ciminian and Alban lakes -near Rome were created by a terrible earthquake; but the date of this -event is not very definite. The Japanese tell us that the great volcano, -Fujiyama, was thrown up in a single night, and at the same time the lake -in Oomi was created, near by, on the site of a number of flourishing -villages. - -Occasionally an earthquake has brought about a historic crisis. In the -year 464 B. C., “in the fourth year of the reign of Archidamus, there -happened the most dreadful earthquake in Sparta that had ever been -known. In several places the country was entirely swallowed up: Täygetus -and other mountains were shaken to their foundations; many of their -summits, being torn away, came tumbling down; and the whole city was -laid in ruins, five houses only excepted. To heighten the calamity, the -Helots, who were slaves to the Lacedemonians, looking upon this as a -favorable opportunity to recover their liberty, pervaded every part of -the city, to murder such as had escaped the earthquake; but finding them -under arms, and drawn up in order of battle, by the prudent foresight of -Archidamus, who had assembled them around him, they retired into the -neighboring cities, and commenced that day open war, having entered into -an alliance with several of the neighboring nations, and being -strengthened by the Messenians, who at that time were engaged in war -with the Spartans.” But for the timely aid of others, Sparta might have -been overthrown. The most striking feature is the astonishing coolness -and presence of mind of the Spartans in the face of such a dire -calamity. - -This is, perhaps, the earliest earthquake of which careful historic -mention is made. But from that time, the record thickens rapidly. In the -year 373 B. C., a great shock did fearful damage throughout all Greece, -destroying thousands of lives and damaging millions of dollars worth of -property in a single night. The inhabitants of the Peloponnesus, roused -by the convulsion, waited in fear for the morning. Dawn showed that the -two beautiful cities of Bura and Helice were no more. The sea rolled -above. Long after, on calm, clear days, Helice, once an inland town, -could be seen at the bottom of the Corinthian Gulf; silent and beautiful -in its ruin, marble temples and shattered homes presenting a literal -“city of the dead.” - -[Illustration: RUINED ROMAN COLONNADE.] - -The year B. C. 217 found Rome and Carthage locked in deadly combat. -While Hannibal and Flaminius fought by Thrasymene, earth felt the throes -of war, and shook Italian cities down, while lakes and streams were -tumbled from their beds. North Africa suffered, perhaps, the greatest -shaking recorded in her history; one hundred towns were lost, and tens -of thousands of people perished. - -In A. D. 17 thirteen cities of Asia Minor were thrown to the ground. The -Emperor Tiberius rebuilt them at his own expense. The grateful people -presented him with a magnificent pedestal, which he had placed in the -forum at Pozzuoli. - -A. D. 27 Egypt was shaken, and the great statue of Memnon overthrown. In -A. D. 63 came a great earthquake in Central Italy. - -The earthquake in A. D. 33, at the time of the crucifixion, was felt -throughout Asia Minor, Greece, Sicily and Southern Italy. In the Syria -corpses were tumbled from their rock-hewn tombs. The town of Nicaea, in -Bithynia, was totally destroyed. How many perished in this widespread -shock is not known. Tradition has it that a fissure in a great rock, -which overhangs the shore at Gaeta, was made by this earthquake. Till -quite recently passing vessels were wont to salute the rock in -commemoration of the great event. - -No city has suffered from these terrible throes of Mother Earth as much -as Antioch. In the year 115, the Emperor Trajan, extending his -territories to the wilder regions of the Caucasus, was in the city with -his army. There came heavy thunders, great winds, fearful subterranean -rumblings; the earth shook; down tottered temples, towns, palaces, -colonnades, statues, homes and huts, in irretrievable ruin. The Emperor -sprang from a window and ran for his life, like a peasant, through the -streets resounding with the groans and cries of the unfortunates buried -in the ruins. Mountains were rent asunder, rivers turned from their -courses, new streams were created, old valleys disappeared. Eighty -thousand people are believed to have perished at Antioch alone. - -[Illustration: ANTIOCH.] - -In A. D. 365 a fearful earthquake was felt throughout the entire -Mediterranean region. The sea rolled back, leaving fishes and vessels -high and dry; then, suddenly returning, it carried large boats two miles -inland. Fifty thousand people were lost at Alexandria. Shortly before, a -number of towns in Palestine had been destroyed. This second great -disaster shook all Asia Minor. In every town men began to talk, with -bated breath, of the fearful wrath the Lord manifested because of those -who had lent a willing ear to heretical doctrines. “This was why only -the priests and holy men of the church could appease the Divine wrath; -and if the town of Epidaurus had escaped the ruin which befell all the -other towns along the coast, it was because the inhabitants had taken -the statue of St. Hilary to the sea-shore. The Saint made the sign of -the cross, and the mountain of water, bending low before him, forthwith -receded.” Whence, it seems the Lord was supposed to have greater regard -for crooked saintly fingers than for heretical doctrines. Numerous were -the direful prodigies said to have accompanied this fearful shock. - -The next century brought calamities once more upon Asia Minor. A series -of tremendous shocks were felt in 458, wrecking many of the finest -cities. The renowned Antioch, rebuilt in its pristine splendor, was once -more humbled in the dust. Eighty thousand people perished within its -walls; many thousands more in the adjacent regions. Probably one hundred -and twenty-five thousand in all were slain in this earthquake. - -Years passed by, bringing, from time to time, minor shocks which -destroyed hundreds in different locations, but which passed with but -little notice amid so many greater disasters, and wars and rumors of -wars. Antioch had been gradually rebuilt, and was more splendid than -ever before. The first quarter of the sixth century was past. The time -of the great festival of the Ascension was at hand, A. D. 526. From all -the country round came people flocking to the celebration, to witness -the pageantry and procession. Without a moment’s warning, a great -earthquake came, as fearful as the shock four hundred and eleven years -before. The destruction was vastly greater. The tottering walls crushed -thousands in the crowded streets. Every avenue and alley became a -death-trap. There is not, in all the pages of history, record of an -earthquake of greater destructiveness. Gibbon estimates the number of -victims at two hundred and fifty thousand. - -[Illustration: MASSIVE ARCHITECTURE WRECKED, ASIA MINOR.] - -Nor was Antioch the only sufferer. The number of victims at other points -in Asia Minor might be fifty thousand more. The whole sixth century is -noted for the unusual number of appalling disasters of this sort which -occurred at different places in the then known world. Probably a million -people perished during this period in earthquakes alone. Such unwonted -havoc may well cause us to wonder what manner of convulsions were -occurring in the great volcanic regions of the Pacific and the then -unknown western world. If the same general rule prevailed then that has -been noticeable in more recent periods; if great convulsions were then, -as now, comparatively synchronous, it would be difficult to form any -adequate idea of the magnitude of the disturbances. - -In 742 there was a tremendous earthquake in Egypt and Arabia, which -overturned scores of cities and villages, rent mountains asunder, buried -people in the wrecks of their dwellings, tossed the sea to and fro, -swallowed up towns, wiped out thriving seaports, and numbered its dead -by many tens of thousands. Four years later Jerusalem and all Syria -experienced a dreadful shock, which made terrible havoc. In 823, Central -Europe was shaken and Aix-la-chapelle nearly destroyed. In 860 Persia -and Syria were again shaken; and in 867, Antioch, after its three -centuries of comparative rest, was again ravaged by the destroyer. This -shock extended to Mecca, which was fearfully rent. Part of a mountain in -Syria was hurled into the sea. The century closed with a fearful -convulsion in far distant India, wherein no less than one hundred and -eighty thousand people were killed. Western Syria suffered again in 1169 -and 1202. All the cities of the Mediterranean coast were shaken to -pieces, with the usual terrible loss of life. The valleys of the Lebanon -district were upheaved and altered throughout their whole extent. - -[Illustration: RUINS NEAR CAIRO.] - -Shock after shock came in the succeeding decades. One of these destroyed -forty thousand persons at Bagdad alone. In 1759, the long list of -catastrophes in Asia Minor was increased by one of the most terrible on -record. At the first shock the proud Antioch was once more totally -destroyed. Within the next forty-five days Baalbec, Sidon, Acre, Foussa, -Nazareth, Safit, Tripoli, and scores of lesser towns and villages were -almost blotted out. The horrors of that period are too awful for -description. Even more fearful, if possible, was the earthquake of 1822, -which once more made Antioch a shapeless mass of ruins. Aleppo, Djollib, -Riha, Gisser, Chugra, Dieskrich, and Armenas shared a like fate. In the -whole pashalic of Aleppo not a house or hut was left standing. Several -severe earthquakes have followed during the century. In one, we are told -the force of the shocks was so peculiar and powerful that in some places -stone walls were converted to heaps of dust or lime. - -[Illustration: RUINS NEAR NINEVEH.] - -This record, which is but a partial one, is enough to explain the -utterly ruined condition of Baalbec, Palmyra, and many other relics of -ancient grandeur. They have contended with a force more terrible than -ever was shot or shell of the cannonier. Thousands are familiar with the -views of such massive columns and walls of the Temple of Jupiter as are -still standing, eighty-four feet high from base to capital. The marvel -is, that after such a succession of fearful quakings there is the -slightest semblance of their former condition remaining. - -Terrible as these calamities are, not a great deal beyond the bare fact -is known of many of them. To learn more exactly the dreadful -capabilities of this stupendous agent, it is necessary to examine -European and South American earthquakes that have come directly under -the observation of scientific men. From these we may learn more -particularly of the details of various fearful shocks. - -In all Italy, so famed for its warmth and beauty, there is not a more -lovely district than Calabria, which lies in the Southern portion of the -peninsula. Yet no part of Italy has suffered such great calamities. An -earthquake in 1693 shook the whole of Calabria and Sicily, totally -destroying sixty towns and villages, and not fewer than one hundred -thousand people. Eighteen thousand perished at Catania alone. -Forty-eight years later a violent earthquake shattered one hundred and -ninety towns in Calabria and completely swallowed up Eufemia, leaving -only a stinking lake. But these were before the day of minute scientific -observation. - -In 1783, a series of shocks, unequalled in recent years in violence, -began in Calabria and continued through four years. The scene was -visited and carefully examined by several able men, and from their -accounts a fine conception of the whole may be obtained. - -The subterranean concussions were felt beyond the confines of Sicily; -but if the city of Oppido, in Calabria, be taken as the center, a circle -around it, whose radius is twenty-two miles, would include the space -which suffered the greatest calamities. Within this circle all the towns -and villages were almost entirely destroyed. A radius of seventy-two -miles would include the whole region affected. - -It was a calm, hazy day in February, 1783. At a - -[Illustration: REMAINS OF ANCIENT HEBREW MASONRY.] - -quarter to one o’clock was felt the first shock, which “threw down, in -the space of two minutes, a greater part of the houses within the whole -space above described. The convulsive motion of the earth is said to -have resembled the rolling of the sea, and that in many instances it -produced swimming of the head, like sea-sickness. This rolling of the -surface, like the billows of the sea, was like that which would have -been produced by the agitation of a vast mass of liquid matter under the -ground. - -In some walls which were shattered, the separate stones were parted from -the mortar, so as to leave an exact mold where they had rested, as -though the stone had been carefully raised from its bed in a -perpendicular direction; but in other instances the mortar was ground to -powder between the stones, as though they had been made to revolve on -each other. - -It was found that the swelling, or wave-like motions, and those which -were called _vorticose_, or whirling, often produced the most singular -and unaccountable effects. Thus, in some streets in the town of -Monteleone, every house was thrown down, except one, and in some other -streets all but two or three;” and these were left uninjured, though -differing in no respect from others. In some houses which were wrecked, -deep foundations were thrown clear out of the ground, as though upheaved -by a direct lifting. Sometimes very massive buildings escaped; sometimes -they suffered most. Obelisks and pillars made in sections showed the -effects of the vorticose motion. The separate portions were partly -turned upon each other, without being thrown down. - -The number and size of the fissures in the soil is astonishing. “In many -instances, these fissures were so wide, as in an instant to swallow up -men, trees, and even houses; and when the earth sunk down again, it -closed upon them so entirely, as not to leave the least vestige of what -had happened, nor were any signs of them ever discovered afterwards. In -the vicinity of Oppido, the center of these convulsions, many houses -were precipitated into the same great fissure, which immediately closed -over them; and, - -[Illustration: GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN CALABRIA.] - -in the same neighborhood, four farm-houses, several oilstores and -dwelling-houses were so entirely ingulfed that not a vestige of them was -seen afterwards. - -In some instances these chasms did not close. In one district a ravine, -formed in this manner, a mile long, one hundred feet broad and thirty -feet deep, remained open; and in another a similar one remained, -three-quarters of a mile long, one hundred and fifty feet wide, and one -hundred feet deep; in another instance there remained such a chasm, -thirty feet wide and two hundred and twenty-five feet deep.” In another -place a gulf three hundred feet square was left open; again, we are told -of one seven hundred and fifty feet square. A calcareous mountain, -Zefirio, was rent in twain for half a mile. Similar effects were -observed in Sicily, where Messina was almost totally destroyed, and the -ruins devoured by the flames. “In various places the ground sunk down, -and lakes were formed, which, being fed by springs, have remained ever -since. The convulsions also removed immense masses of earth from the -sides of steep hills into the valleys below; so that, in many instances, -oaks, olive-orchards, vineyards and cultivated fields, were seen growing -at the bottoms of deep hollows, having been removed from the side hills -of the vicinity. In one instance, a mass of earth two hundred feet thick -and four hundred feet in diameter, being set in motion by one of the -first shocks, traveled four miles into the valley below. - -The violence of the upward motion of the ground was singularly -illustrated by the inversion of heavy bodies lying on the surface, and -which can hardly be accounted for, except on the supposition that they -were actually thrown to a considerable distance into the air. Thus, in -some towns, a considerable portion of the flat pavingstones were found -with their lower sides uppermost. Mr. - -[Illustration: DESTRUCTION OF MESSINA.] - -Lyell accounts for this effect by supposing that the stones were -propelled upwards by the momentum which they had acquired, and the -adhesion of one end of the mass being greater than the other, a rotary -motion had been communicated to them. It is difficult to conceive how a -whirling motion, so rapid as to produce such an effect, could have been -communicated to a whole town without producing some consequences still -more extraordinary.” - -In many places in the plain of Rosarno, funnel-shaped pits were formed, -with crevices radiating in every direction like fractures in a pane of -glass. These were partially filled with sand and water. - -Polistena was so absolutely wrecked that not the least semblance of the -plan of the town could be detected. Terranova was precipitated, with its -fourteen hundred inhabitants, three hundred and twenty-five feet into a -deep gorge, and turned upside down. Moluquello, on an opposite hill -between two streams, was rent in twain--one-half fell into the stream on -the right, the other on the left. There was left a ridge so narrow at -the top one could not keep his balance on it. Santa Cristena was hurled -from the top of a sandy hill into the valley beneath. Out of three -hundred and seventy-five towns and villages, three hundred and twenty -were destroyed. Two hundred and fifteen lakes and morasses were created -by displacements of the ground and blocking of water-courses. The -pestilence bred by these vied with the direct power of the earthquake. - -Some slight disturbance was manifested on the day before the great -shock. Prince Scylla, an old man, warned his people to take to their -boats, and himself set the example. When the first shock came, many of -these people were sleeping in their boats near the shore, while the -others were on the shore at a little place elevated above - -[Illustration: THE DISASTER OF SCYLLA.] - -the sea. With this convulsion the earth rocked, and suddenly there was -precipitated a great mass of rock from Mount Jaci on the plain where the -people had taken refuge; and immediately after the water arose to a -great height above its ordinary level and swept away the sleeping -multitude. The wave then instantly retreated, but soon after returned -again with increased violence, bringing back many of the people and -animals which it had carried away. At the same time every boat in the -vicinity was overwhelmed, or dashed against the beach, and thus -destroyed. The Prince, who was an aged man, with thirteen hundred of his -people was swept away and perished in the sea. The total loss of life -resulting from this earthquake is estimated at eighty thousand. A shock -which came on the 4th of March was as violent as the first one. Eleven -hundred shocks were felt in two years. - -Doubtless not a few of those who perished died merely from hunger or -confinement. Quite a number of those rescued after several days were -uninjured. - -If it be true that prosperity shows men in their true colors, the -reverse is equally marked. It is hard to believe the tales of barbarous -inhumanity of the occasion. Says Dolomieu: “As egotism and the instinct -of self-preservation crushed all other feeling, no help was brought to -the unhappy victims buried beneath the ruins; yet many of them might -have been rescued. When calm was restored, the lower orders, succumbing -to the vilest passions of nature, thought of nothing but pillage.” - -Like a certain class of ghouls who follow in the wake of armies to -enrich themselves by plundering the slain, “men might have been seen -scouring the fallen ruins, braving imminent danger, and treading under -foot dying persons who appealed piteously for help, in order to go and -plunder the houses of the wealthy. They robbed - -[Illustration: LISBON BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE.] - -the very injured, who would have paid them handsomely for rescuing them. -At Polistena a person of quality had been buried head downwards beneath -the ruins of his house, and when his servant saw what had happened he -actually stole the silver buckles off his shoes, while his legs were in -the air, and made off with them. The unfortunate gentleman managed, -however, to rescue himself from his perilous position. For several days -cries of anguish were heard coming from underground.” For days afterward -the fearful stench of putrefying corpses filled the atmosphere. Such -were the horrors of this memorable occasion. So sudden was the calamity -that many of those buried supposed only their own houses were overthrown -and wondered why their neighbors were so slow to aid them. Many suffered -greatly from thirst, and in consequence hardly felt the pinch of hunger, -though entombed several days. - -One of the most notable of the earthquakes of the last century is the -one which overturned Lisbon, November 1, 1755. In extent of territory -affected, it is the greatest of any known; but because it bears the name -of the place where it was most violent, it is supposed by many to have -been confined to a single district. - -The morning was magnificent. At 9:35 A.M. there was a loud underground -roar, like distant thunder, followed at once by a tremendous shock, -which overthrew churches, convents, and many others of the finest -buildings of the city. This shock lasted five seconds. There was two -minutes pause, during which thousands of shrieking people rushed about -the streets to escape the falling ruins. Then came a second shock, and -two minutes later a third. In five minutes the Portuguese capital had -become a ruin, filled with fifty thousand corpses. - -The churches were filled with people, it being All Saints’ Day, and the -hour of high mass. The great cathedrals were but death-traps. All -apparatus that could be of use in the work of rescue was buried in the -wreck. The streets were crowded with sobbing multitudes, calling in vain -for friends and kin. - -At the sea-shore was the magnificent quay, Cays de Prada. It was built -entirely of marble, and just finished at an immense expense; and on it, -after the first shock, a vast concourse of people had collected as a -place of safety, having left the city to escape the fall of the houses. -But it proved the most fatal spot in the vicinity; for at the next shock -the earth opened and instantly swallowed up the whole quay, with the -multitude which had there assembled; and so completely were the whole -retained by the closing of the earth, that not a single dead body ever -rose again to the surface. A great number of small boats and other -vessels near the quay, and filled with people as a place of safety, were -also precipitated into the yawning vortex; and it is stated that not a -single fragment of any of these boats was ever seen afterwards. When the -disaster was over, soundings were taken. Six hundred feet of water -rolled above the marble quay and its countless victims. St. Ubes was -swallowed up by sea-waves, while rocks fell from its promontory into the -sea. - -Then the sea suddenly retired, leaving the bed of the harbor exposed. A -moment later a gigantic wave, fifty feet in height, rolled in upon the -doomed city. - -Two hours later fire broke out in the wreck, and driven by a high wind, -swept the ruins, and also the houses left standing. The furious flames -raged three days, burning hundreds imprisoned in the wreck. Every -element seemed in conspiracy against the city. - -In addition to threatened famine and pestilence among the survivors, the -rabble, as in Calabria, showed a disposition to indiscriminate plunder. -Upon this “the King gave orders immediately for gallows to be placed all -round the city, and after about one hundred executions, amongst which -were some English sailors, the evils stopped.” The King was very prompt -and energetic, initiating every practicable system of relief, and having -the really needy cared - -[Illustration: EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON.] - -for at the expense of the State. Several lighter shocks were felt in the -succeeding two months. At the end of three months the Government began -to rebuild the town. In fifteen years it was well restored, and to-day -is one of the handsomest in Europe. - -The immense area over which this earthquake was felt is very remarkable; -for not only was every part of Spain and Portugal convulsed, but the -shocks were perceived, with greater or less intensity, in England, -Holland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Corsica, the West -Indies, at Morocco and Algiers in Africa, and in a part of South -America. At Algiers the shock was so violent as to throw down many -buildings; and an oasis, with all its population, not far from Morocco, -was swallowed up. Fez and Mesquinez were destroyed, with fifteen -thousand people. The town of Setubal, seventeen miles from the Tagus and -twenty-two miles southeast of Lisbon, was almost entirely swallowed up. -The shock was almost as severe at Oporto as at Lisbon. The premonitory -roar was compared to the rattling of many carriages over a rough road. -The loftiest mountains were shaken, and many cleft or shattered. Masses -of rock tumbled from the crags into the valleys. At Colares, seventeen -miles from Lisbon, flames and smoke were seen to burst from the Alviras, -and also out of the sea. These phenomena continued for some days. A -chasm fifteen miles long opened in the Pyrenees. Towns were seriously -damaged in Switzerland, France and Italy. Vesuvius, in a state of -eruption for a period, suddenly ceased. The shock was also felt by ships -far at sea, and, in several instances, the concussion was such as to -make the people suppose their vessels had struck on a rock. In one -instance, it is said that the people on board a vessel off the West -Indies were thrown up a foot and a half from the deck. This circumstance -may be - -[Illustration: RUINED CATHEDRAL, LISBON.] - -accounted for by the inelasticity of water; so that a violent and sudden -movement of the bottom of the ocean would be communicated to the surface -and to the ship, through the medium of the fluid, with nearly the same -force as though the vessel had been on the ground itself. - -Quite as remarkable was the immense wave produced. At Cadiz its height -was sixty feet, and the damage in proportion. Rolling to the northward -it inflicted vast injury upon Cornwall, England. At the Canaries and -Azores the waves rose repeatedly to an immense height; and at Madeira -the injury was still greater. In less than an hour the wave had traveled -to Leyden. Norway and Sweden felt its presence, even to the recesses of -the Gulf of Finland. On the western border of the Atlantic, among the -lesser Antilles, where the tide scarcely exceeds twenty-nine inches, a -black wall of water twenty-two feet high rushed upon the coasts. The -steep and rocky islet of Stabia was dashed over by the waves. In -Martinique the water rose to the roofs of the houses, and then receded -from the shore for more than a mile. The unusual commotion stirred up -the bituminous sediment of the sea bottom, and at Barbadoes the waves -were in consequence black as ink. - -There have been numerous earthquakes since in Europe which must pass -without mention. One in 1817 completely destroyed Vostitza, a town in -Greece not far from the site of ancient Helice. Another well-remembered -one in 1855 desolated the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. This country -has had numerous shocks--sixteen hundred or more, in the past few -centuries, and once or twice Basle has been almost totally destroyed. -Valais itself is a beautiful vale accessible only by a cleft in a -mountain range eighty-five hundred feet deep. Numerous small towns and -hamlets are scattered about the vale, and the precipitous slopes around -are dotted with shepherds’ and hunters’ huts. - -On July 25, 1855, after an extremely hot morning, the people were -astounded by a great earthquake--an abrupt and vertical shock. Then came -wave-like motions throwing every one prostrate. Houses tumbled in all -directions. People were rolled about like logs of wood. Nearly every -village in the canton was destroyed. Great landslips and avalanches -rushed down from the hills. So tremendous was the shock that the -mountain tops could be seen to sway to and fro. Crags and blocks of ice -fell into the vales, crushing and grinding. The terrible uproar sounded -as though the whole range of the Alps was about to collapse. The -terrible shocks were felt at Lyons, at Paris, at Heidelberg, at Milan, -at Genoa. Lisbon had no severer shock. And this great convulsion, that -dandled mountains as though mere puppets, and destroyed towns and -villages by the score--killed one person. It is one of the most -remarkable occurrences in European history. - -Among the more destructive recent shocks in Europe are those of 1881-84. -Chio, one of the most beautiful islands of the Grecian archipelago, and -the home of a thrifty and enterprising people, was visited by an -earthquake on April 3, 1881. The whole city, with its hospitals, -schools, libraries and works of art, was laid in ruins in a few seconds. -This convulsion forms a strange contrast to the more violent one just -described. Numerous adjacent villages were overthrown; and after the -shock was past it was found that more than five thousand persons were -killed and ten thousand others more or less injured. After making all -possible efforts at restoration, the authorities were compelled to pull -down many still tottering walls and scatter disinfectants over the wreck -to - -[Illustration: SCENE AT CHIO.] - -avoid an epidemic from the thousand corpses left beneath the ruin. - -The entire adjacent coast of Asia Minor was more or less shaken, and -several scores of people were killed in some seaport towns. The shocks -continued several days, each being accompanied by a peculiar -subterranean roaring. Two years later, ere the town was fairly rebuilt, -there was another earthquake, which, however, did more damage in Asia -Minor than in Chio. - -But the most striking example of great damage done by an earthquake in a -very small tract is the case of the island of Ischia. This tiny islet, -the Imarina of Horace and Virgil, was well known to the Greeks, who at -one time endeavored to establish themselves upon it, but were finally -driven away by repeated volcanic outbursts. Since the activity of -Vesuvius, Ischia has remained quiet, though a dozen extinct craters bear -witness to its former fury. Its highest point is two thousand, seven -hundred and seventy-two feet above the sea, while the entire island is -but six miles in diameter. It is evidently cast up by an ancient, -submarine volcano. - -Situated a few miles from Naples, Ischia has for years been a favorite -summer resort for the Italians of the neighboring coast. A score of -little towns and villages dot its shores and hills, and the view of the -Gulf of Naples, Baiae, and adjacent islands and coasts forms one of the -most beautiful landscapes in the world. - -After its abandonment by the Greek colonists the islet was quiet for -sixteen centuries. In 1302 an eruption and earthquake occasioned -considerable loss of life and property. After that, though the main -peak, Epomeo, has been occasionally muttering and fuming, no serious -disturbance occurred for nearly six centuries. The subterranean heat -occasions numerous hot springs, the water reaching a temperature of 178 -degrees. These baths, and the abundance of choice fruits afforded by the -island, afford additional attractions to visitors, and the twenty-five -thousand inhabitants would seem to have an earthly paradise. - -March 4, 1881, the people were suddenly roused from their slumbering -security by two sharp shocks half an hour apart, which overthrew seven -hundred houses in the little town of Casamicciola, killing one hundred -and twenty-six people and wounding one hundred and seventy-seven more. -The only premonition was that a few minutes before the hot springs -suddenly reached the boiling point. - -Yet this disaster was comparatively insignificant when we consider the -one of July 28, 1883. - -It was the height of the summer season. The little island was thronged -with pleasure-seeking visitors. The night was dark and cloudy; the sea -was unusually agitated. The small theatre at Casamicciola was filled -with an animated throng, who cared not for the boding storm. The play -opened with an earthquake scene. As the clock pointed to 9:32, the -_Punchinello_ rushed on the stage, shouting, “Un terremoto! un -terremoto! alla mare! alla mare!” (An earthquake! an earthquake! to the -sea! to the sea!) The audience thought it was part of the play; but ere -they could applaud the vigorous acting, the lights were out, a -thundering sound was heard, and the crashing roof was upon them. The -appalling roar was followed by profound silence, as clouds of stifling -dust were whirled up by the wind. Then in the darkness were heard the -cries of terrified people, seeking one another in the gloom, and groping -for the shore as in the days of Pompeii. - -A visitor who was in the theater said, that at the first noise, which -resembled the discharge of a heavy battery of artillery, “not a cry was -uttered, though terror was depicted in every countenance; but when the -first shock was followed by several others, a shriek of despair went up -from every lip. The lights went out, pieces of timber were falling all -about us, and cries of terror were succeeded by shrieks of pain from -those who had been injured. It was a trying moment. When the shocks -ceased, I crawled, like many others, out of the ruined building in order -to reach the shore. The dust was literally blinding. Several times I -stumbled over heaps of masonry and rubbish from which heart-rendering -groans and shrieks were proceeding. Upon the shore I encountered many -others as frightened as I was, and endeavoring to escape in fear of -there being more shocks. Seeing that all remained quiet, we retraced our -steps in order to relieve the injured. But it was not until the morning, -upon the arrival of the authorities and the troops sent from Naples, -that it was possible to take any effective steps for surmounting the -difficulties by which we were surrounded. The firemen, assisted by -volunteers, then set to work energetically to clear away the rubbish, -laying the dead bodies in a row, and handing the injured over to the -doctors. It was necessary to go to work very carefully, so as not to -injure those still unhurt; and so the work continued very slowly, during -which time we felt our heart-strings torn by the piteous appeals for -relief. Some people were covered by so much debris that it took hours to -reach them, and when we did so, some of them had succumbed to their -injuries, while others had gone out of their minds. The dense clouds of -dust had choked many of those who were not killed on the spot.” - -Some strange scenes occurred; and there were instances of remarkable -coolness. An Italian professor of surgery who had taken his child to the -theatre, coolly took out his watch at the first crash, and noting the -exact time, sat - -[Illustration: THE PANIC AT CASAMICCIOLA.] - -perfectly still while the surging crowd endeavored to escape. There he -sat with his child till morning, when the light enabled him to find his -way out of the wreck. - -The sea shore was a weird spectacle. Lighted up by a pile of blazing -drift might be seen scores of naked children, and grown persons in their -night clothes, scurrying wildly about. An eye-witness tells of many -crazy with fear and grief. All night long the wreck resounded with -groans and cries. One woman, whom he heard continually moaning, and -crying “My children! my children!” was found at daybreak on the edge of -a shattered terrace, and clad only in a chemise. Wondering what he could -say by way of consolation, he chanced to observe two little ones playing -not far away amid a tottering wreck that threatened at every moment to -crush them. They were hers. - -Further down a woman’s jewelled arm and shoulder protruded from the -wreck, while her husband, buried nearly, kept crying “save her, never -mind about me.” As a helping hand was reached to her a sudden landslip -crushed out the remaining life. - -A young English lady sat playing a funeral march. An Italian count -sprang up, saying, “I cannot stand such music!” Just as he cleared the -door the hotel fell in ruins behind him. The young lady was found dead -at the piano. - -For days the work went on, pressed by the energy of the Italian -government. All the native police had been killed in the wreck. King -Humbert in person visited the scene and had the work pressed as rapidly -as possible. - -There was no more complete wreck of any town than of Lacco Ameno. Of -fifteen hundred and ninety-three people but five escaped. At -Casamicciola but one house was left intact. Not a few houses in the -former place were swallowed up in fissures. Floria was totally -destroyed. Yet the largest town on the island, Ischia, with the adjacent -villages, was scarcely hurt; and at Naples, on the mainland, the news of -the catastrophe was a complete surprise. Yet on the half of the islet -that was most severely shaken the earthquake numbered four thousand -victims. A greater contrast to the great Valais earthquake could hardly -be imagined. - -Still more recent is the catastrophe of Southern Spain, one of the -loveliest regions in the world. This district has several times been -shaken; but notably at the time of the Lisbon earthquake, when so much -damage was done by shocks and sea-waves at Cadiz; again in 1833, when in -the single province of Murcia more than four thousand houses were -destroyed, with hundreds of the inhabitants. Again the ground was in a -state of constant tremor from November, 1855, to March, 1856. - -But more severe than these was the shock of 1884. About the end of -November slight vibrations were perceptible in Spain, Portugal, Italy, -and Southern France. The shocks did not manifest especial intensity at -any especial locality, and no attention was paid to them, as such -occurrences are so frequent that they cannot be regarded as indicative -of greater shocks to come. For example, there were forty-six hundred and -twenty shocks recorded in different portions of the earth during the -years 1850-57; yet none of these were followed by earthquakes of great -severity. So in the case of the November shocks of 1884, no one seemed -concerned to know where they originated, or if they boded evil. - -But on Christmas day, 1884, there came, a little past nine at night, an -intense subdued roar like that of a hurricane; and at once the plateaux -of Andalusia, the mountains of Murcia, and the sunny plains of Granada, -Jaen - -[Illustration: GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN ANDALUSIA.] - -and Cordova shook from one end to the other. At Seville the terrified -people rushed into the streets and camped there all night; but this city -did not suffer so much as in the shock of 1755. In Granada the motions -followed in rapid succession for several weeks; but though many other -buildings were overthrown, the far-famed Alhambra was not injured. -Twenty thousand people camped without the city gates. - -The shocks were much severest in the mountainous districts. Villages and -hamlets in ravines and along mountain slopes were speedily destroyed. -The town of Alhama lost thirteen hundred and twenty houses at the first -shock. Five hundred and seventy-six bodies were taken out of the ruins. -Two hundred and eighty houses were overthrown by subsequent shocks. -Abumelas lost five hundred and seventeen people, and four hundred and -sixty-three houses out of four hundred and seventy-seven. More than -three thousand houses were wrecked throughout Andalusia and Granada. -Fifty-six towns and hamlets were greatly damaged, twenty of them -entirely destroyed. Parts of mountain slopes slid slowly into the -valleys. Deep crevices, like those of the Calabrian earthquakes, were -opened in some localities. One of these is two miles long and of unknown -depth. Boiling water burst from fissures in the mountains. The course of -the river Gogollas was changed. Portions of the country were upheaved; -others depressed. Shocks were felt at sea near the Azores. - -Several thousands were killed and wounded, and the survivors suffered -much from cold and hunger. The young King Alfonso took active part in -the work of relief; but so numerous were the dead that many of them had -to be buried in heaps or covered with quick-lime. There was not time to -bury all properly. - -Such are details of the more prominent European earthquakes. There have -been others of almost equal importance; but three years ago a severe -earthquake killed two thousand or more in the Italian Riviera; but the -cases given well illustrate the destruction wrought in Europe, and other -regions claim attention. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -EARTHQUAKES IN THE UNITED STATES AND ENGLAND. - - The fowls of every hue, - “Crowding together, sailed on weary wing, - And hovering, oft they seemed about to light, - Then soared as if they deemed the earth unsafe. - The cattle looked with meaning face on man, - Dogs howled, and seemed to see more than their masters, - And there were sights that none had seen before. - And hollow, strange, unprecedented sounds, - And earnest whisperings ran along the hills, - At dead of night: and long, deep endless sighs - Came from the dreary vale; and from the waste - Came horrid shrieks, and fierce unearthly groans, - The wail of evil spirits that now felt - The hour of utter vengeance near at hand. - The winds from every quarter blew at once, - And shapes, strange shapes, in winding sheets were seen, - And voices talked amid the clouds: and then - Earth shook, and swam, and reeled, and oped her jaws, - By earthquake tossed and tumbled to and fro.” - - -It is a common assertion that when persons are drowning, all the events -of past life rush suddenly before them with startling distinctness: -sometimes in amusing combinations: generally the reverse. - -Something of the same effect is produced by the earthquake; but in a far -more terrifying way. Each one is witness to the panic of his neighbor; -and no fright is so terrible as that which is infectious. In moments of -great peril a single calm master-spirit may quiet a mob. But when the -eternal hills are shaken, when the groaning earth reels beneath the -feet, and the mountains are removed and cast into the midst of the sea, -who is there that retains his presence of mind? Man’s social -arrangements are calculated upon a supposition of the earth’s -stability: and when he finds himself the victim of misplaced confidence, -there is neither courage nor spirit nor reason left in him. Numerous are -the cases where men have been rendered insane by such convulsions. - -To the ravage of the hurricane, the roar of the storm, the surge of the -sea, the rush of the flood, one becomes in a measure accustomed, and in -the moment of danger may take precautions for personal safety. But in -the case of earthquakes the reverse is the rule; none dread them more -than those who know them best. The stranger in tropical America may sit -at his ease on a summer evening, enjoying the beauties of the landscape; -or he may stand in a crowded hall, amongst a galaxy of wits and -beauties, observing the kaleidoscopic movements of the gorgeous costumes -before him. There comes a faint peculiar quiver of the earth, so -insignificant that the uninitiated foreigner may hardly observe it: but -there goes up a wild shout of “Tembla! Tembla!” and in an instant a -terror-stricken, breathless throng surges wildly into the streets, the -fields, the parks--anywhere: anywhere away from the heavy roofs and -massive walls that would defy a hurricane; all blindly seeking to be -under the open sky, only too often to be engulfed in gaping crevices. - -It is preternaturally terrible; this emblem of solidity quivering -beneath our feet, reminding us that the days of unbridled chaos, the -wild war of all the elements, the tremendous geological convulsions that -have exterminated so many races of animals in the days of the past, may -be as ready and powerful for destruction in the present! The sensation -of utter powerlessness is so overwhelming, that amid the crash of -falling houses, the cries of entombed victims, the shrieks of flying -multitudes, the rumblings in the earth beneath, and the trembling of the -soil like that of a steed in the presence of a lion, the boldest and -bravest can but sit with bowed head, in silent, motionless despair, -awaiting whatever fate a grim capricious chance may determine. In the -strange mysterious phenomena, which strike and do their work in a few -seconds, one is disposed to see the disturbing dreams of fever, or the -touch of a horrible nightmare, rather than any possible reality. - -It is no wonder that insanity, hallucinations, or graver nervous -disorders, in such moments fasten themselves on people for life. When a -power, which despite its constant recurrence, remains almost unknown, -holds the lives of untold thousands in its grasp, the mind is affected -beyond the power of pen to describe. Long stress of poignant grief finds -its effects equalled in a few seconds. People dash convulsively on the -ground, as though seized with epilepsy. Some may become paralyzed: -paralytics may recover the use of their limbs: others lose the power of -speech: yet others are hopelessly idiotic. Not less marked are the -effects on the brute creation. The owl, with nervous twitching head, and -feathers all awry, flits to the trees near the house, as though -imploring the protection of man. The panther forgets his ancient enmity, -and creeps within the city gate. The screaming swallow leaves the eaves, -and wings her way to other lands. The long-silent crocodile scrambles -from his native lair and rushes moaning about the sand. The frightened -nightingale forgets her song. The doleful dog howls loudly in the -street. The trembling ox and horse together huddle, and groan as they -tremble. The air itself is chill, as though it were turned cold at the -manifestation of some awful being. All things are awed by the terrible -“Wrath of God.” - -The “Wrath of God!” Yes, such is the actual name of the earthquake among -the modern Greeks--Theomenia. No other title will they give it. They -have braved the - -[Illustration: WRECK OF THE CHARLESTON EARTHQUAKE.] - -storm and the flood, the famine and the pestilence for three thousand -years, and recognize in each the operation of law, and against each may -take precautions; but the earthquake, absolutely beyond control, is to -them inexplicable by natural causes, and any attempt to explain it is -resented. They know the quicksand in which the victim, erect, vigorous, -in full possession of his faculties, stares his fate in the face; stands -for hours with death grinning from the sand at his feet, as it slowly -drags him down; but this fearful opening of the soil, that in an instant -swallows young and old, rich and poor, the loved and hated, the city and -the castle--it can only be the “wrath of God!” So to the Jew was the -fall of Sodom. - -Not a single agent of nature can equal it in sudden destruction. It -comes and it goes in a few seconds; almost ere you are aware of its -presence it has claimed its thousands. There is no escape; no ruin so -absolute; no desolation so pitiful; no death so remorseless. You stand -chatting with a friend, the earth shakes, gapes, and the friend at your -side finds a grave in the foundations of the earth. “Two women shall be -grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left.” - -“Think ye that those twelve on whom the tower of Siloam fell were -sinners above all that are in Jerusalem? I tell you nay.” - -So, as we have already seen, the phenomena of earthquakes are as clearly -under the domination of law as any other forces of nature. We know the -forces that produce them, and though we can not tell with certainty what -combination of them existed at the location of any particular shock. We -can not hope to control the causes, but we can to a large extent avert -the seriousness of the results. With this in view, we can consider -seriously the extent of the ravages of this strange destroyer, without -considering them as direct visitations upon the sins of a people. - -Such views as those of the Greeks, however, have been common among all -Christian nations of non-Saxon origin, and still prevail to no small -extent. But the peculiar sense of personal responsibility and power that -belongs to the Teuton, Scandinavian and Saxon stock has given a -different impress to British and American ideas. Perhaps, too, the fact -that Britons and Americans have suffered less from earthquakes than many -others, has gone far to modify the trend of their thought. Be that as it -may, the dominant element of the race--reverence, awe, and with common -sense and a dash of contempt for those of more superstitious -disposition, may be found in the old hunter’s comment on the outburst of -Cosequina: “What was the meaning of those shakes in New Granada a month -agone? Natur’ don’t mostly toss about this big earth just for sport and -idleness; there’s a meaning and a reason and a secret in every movement -she makes. But eighty earthquakes in twenty-four hours aren’t sent just -to scare a pile of Nicaraguan Greasers. Guess earthquakes don’t take no -more regard of Greasers than of other big folks!” - -So long as superstitious ideas prevail among a multitude of people, it -is not surprising that they find portentous signs in earth and sky -betokening the near approach of the dread visitation. This is naturally -increased by the desire to have due warning. The ancient Greeks were -especially anxious in this regard. So we find one of their grave -geographers, Pausanias, declaring that earthquakes are preceded by -unusual rain or drought, eclipses, sudden disappearing of springs, great -hurricanes, fiery apparitions in the sky with long trains of light, and -the appearance of new stars in the sky. The people of Mendoza, South -America, when overtaken by a great earthquake, suddenly remembered that -but a short time before, a flaming meteor of a brilliant blue color and -awful appearance had hissed past their town. So before the Riobamba -earthquake, a brilliant shower of meteors took place; so, also, at the -Cumana earthquake. At other times the weather has been unusually rainy; -again, long drought has prevailed. Sometimes springs have become -suddenly muddy, and cleared as suddenly after the shock. Again, muddy -streams have become clear till the shock passed. Again, we are told that -all animals manifest great fear before the earthquake comes; that -lizards, snakes, mice and rats rush from their holes in terror. -Doubtless many smaller animals perceive tremors of the earth that pass -unnoticed by men; but as to the efficacy of such signs in general, it is -suggestive of Hotspur’s reply to Glendower. The fiery Welshman, -endeavoring to prove that he, too, is some great one, asserts that at -his nativity - - “The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes, - Of burning cressets: and at my birth, - The frame and huge foundations of the earth - Shaked like a coward.” - -To which Hotspur answers: - - “Why, so it would have done, - At the same season if your mother’s cat - Had kittened, and yourself had ne’er been born!” - -So much for popular beliefs. Quite generally there are subterranean -rumblings, or slight tremors preceding the more violent shock; but even -these are not sure signs, as they may occur alone, or the earthquake may -come unannounced. A notable case of the former sort is the remarkable -subterranean roaring heard at Guanaxuato, in Mexico, in 1784. It lies in -a rich mining district, with no volcano in the vicinity. On January 9 -there broke out, after some preliminary muttering, a great uproar which -seemed as if a thunder storm were going on beneath the surface of the -earth. A short distance from the town it could not be heard; and not the -slightest tremor of the soil was perceptible, even in mines sixteen -hundred feet deep. But so great was the panic it created, that thousands -fled from the town, leaving it entirely to the mercy of thieves and -bandits. The alcaldes, with true Spanish grandiloquence, asserted that -the government would “be able in its wisdom to say when danger is -imminent, and to take measures for enabling the people to fly for -refuge;” and it determined to impose a penalty of one thousand piasters -on the rich, or of two months imprisonment on the poor who fled ere the -word was given. But though it was easy to make laws, it was not so easy -to feed the people; for the affrighted peasantry would not set foot in -the city; so the month of uproar became one of famine as well. - -[Illustration: HOUSES THROWN INTO A RAVINE BY AN EARTHQUAKE.] - -A similar rumbling occurred in Melada, an island off the coast of -Dalmatia, in 1822, and the frightened inhabitants besought the Austrian -government to transport them to a place of safety; but though the -explosions continued during two years, sometimes more than one hundred -in a single night, nothing ever resulted therefrom. - -So with regard to all popular beliefs on this topic--no dependence can -be placed on any of them. There is nothing to warn us of the approach of -the earthquakes, neither in the heavens above, nor the earth beneath, -nor the waters under the earth. - -Has the reader ever experienced one of these strange earthstorms? -Perhaps not. Is it believed they are rare? They are as common as storms -in the atmosphere. Within a period of seven years, four thousand six -hundred and twenty have been recorded. Many more, doubtless, occurred -completely beyond the pale of civilization. Hundreds have passed -unnoticed save by delicate instruments. Not a day passes without several -being recorded. They are as widely various in power as the storm and the -breeze. Not a region on earth is unvisited by them. - -Yet the reader will be disposed to think that the United States is -almost free from these visitants. To a certain extent it is; we have not -in all our history, had a shock of extreme violence, or one that can -compare in destructiveness with the strange convulsions of tropical -regions: but in the rarity of shocks we are not so favored as might be -supposed. A few moments consideration of the records will be -sufficiently convincing. - -In the memoirs of the “Academy of the Arts and Sciences” in Boston, is a -paper read in 1783 by Prof. Williams, recounting the story of some of -the earlier earthquakes in our history. - -The first one noticed after the landing of the Pilgrims occurred June 1, -1638. We are told it was preceded by a rumbling noise like remote -thunder, which gradually grew louder and nearer. Then the earth began to -quake till pewter and crockery tumbled from the shelves, stone walls - -[Illustration: WRECK ON KING STREET, CHARLESTON, S. C.] - -toppled over, and chimneys crumbled and fell. The shock passed from -northwest to southeast, and was followed by a second in half an hour. -People found it difficult to keep their feet. It occurred in the -afternoon but there is no means of knowing what area was affected. As -the country was then unsettled, the damage done was of course _nil_. -Nearly four years later occurred a light shock, barely noticeable, in -the same region. In 1653 an earthquake on the 29th of October stirred up -the Puritan divines to admonish their flocks of the wrath of God. Still -another occasion of the same sort was given in 1658. But of this latter, -though we are told it was a very great earthquake, we have neither day -nor month, nor any record of its violence, extent or duration. - -The first convulsion of which there is any detailed account, occurred in -1663, January 26-28, Old Style. An old narrative thus records it: - -“About half an hour after five in the evening a most terrible earthquake -began. The heavens being serene, there was suddenly heard a roar like -the noise of a great fire. Immediately the buildings were shaken with -amazing violence. Doors opened and shut of themselves with a fearful -clattering. The bells rang without their ropes being touched. Cracks -appeared in the walls of buildings, and floors separated and in some -cases fell down. Chasms appeared in the fields, and the hills seemed to -be in motion. The fright of the inhabitants was shared by the beasts and -birds, who sent forth fearful cries, howlings and bellowings. The -duration of this earthquake was very uncommon. The first shock continued -half an hour before it was over, but it began to abate about a quarter -of an hour after it began.” (Probably there were a considerable number -of shocks, gradually lessening in violence.) - -“The same day about eight o’clock in the evening, there came a second -shock, equally violent as the first, and within the space of half an -hour, there were two others. The next day about three hours from the -morning, there was a violent shock, which lasted a long time, and the -next night counted some thirty-two shocks, of which many were violent. -Nor did the trembling of the earth cease until the July following. Many -trees were torn up, and the outlines of the mountains appeared to be -much changed. Many springs and small streams were dried up; in others -the waters became sulphurous, and the channels in which some had run -were so altered as to be unrecognizable. Half way between Tadousac and -Quebec two hills were thrown down and formed a point of land which -extended half a quarter of a league into the St. Lawrence River. The -island Aux Coudres became larger than it was before, and the channel of -the St. Lawrence was greatly changed.” - -This is, perhaps, as severe a shock as has been felt in this country; -but though the shock extended southward to Pennsylvania, its chief -energy was centered in a narrow strip on the St. Lawrence, giving our -Canadian neighbors the lion’s share of the fright. Other light shocks -were noticed in New England in 1665, 1668, 1669, 1670, 1705, and 1720. - -October 29, 1727, another severe earthquake was experienced about 10:40 -P.M. It seems to have had Southern New Hampshire as its focus, extending -thence to the Delaware and Kennebec rivers. Its approach was heralded by -a subdued roar from the northwest, which, as it drew nearer, “was -thought to be the roar of a blazing chimney near at hand, and at last -was likened to the rattling of carriages driven fiercely over pavements. -In about half a minute from the time the noise was first heard, the -earthquake was felt. It was observed by those who were abroad that, as -the shake passed under them, the surface of the earth rose and sank.” -Houses trembled and rocked, as though about to fall to pieces. Movables -were dashed about with a fearful clatter. Crockery was smashed; stone -walls and chimneys thrown down. - -At Newbury, ashes and sulphur were cast forth from the earth, and also -volumes of sand. Sulphuretted hydrogen seems to have been present in -large quantities: also chemicals readily decomposed by warmth and -moisture. - -A correspondent of the Royal Society wrote that a clergyman near Boston -assured him “that immediately after the earthquake there was such a -stink that the family could scarce bear to be in the house for a -considerable time that night.” Another clergyman writes that in the -following April the fine sand thrown up by the earthquake “had a very -offensive stench--nay, it was more nauseous than a putrefying corpse: -yet, in a very little while after, it had no smell at all. How long it -was before it began to have this stench, I am not certain; but I believe -it was covered with snow until a little while before.” Another minister -records that “about three days before the earthquake there was perceived -an ill-stinking smell, in the water of several wells. Some searched -their wells, but found nothing that might thus affect them. The scent -was so strong and offensive that for eight or ten days they entirely -omitted using it. In the deepest of these wells, which was about -thirty-six feet, the water was turned to a brimstone color, but had -nothing of the smell, and was thick like puddle water.” Some wells, dry -just before the shock, immediately filled up. Occasional shocks were -felt for some months after. - -From the phenomena present here, and in many similar cases, it will -appear that large volumes of pent-up - -[Illustration: SCENE AT CHARLESTON.] - -gases may be discharged in districts remote from any volcanic region. In -some instances, we are informed that immediately after severe shocks, -the streams and vegetation have proved poisonous to cattle. There were -light shocks felt in 1732, 1737 and 1744; but none of these are said to -have done any damage beyond throwing down a few stone walls. Thus we -find within a century fourteen earthquake periods in New England alone; -and in several cases the shocks were numerous, extending over a period -of several months. Comparing the small area with the whole region, and -remembering that shocks are more frequent in the central, southern and -western portions of the country, it is fair to conclude that the merest -tithe of those actually occurring could have come under the notice of -our ancestors. - -The most violent shock ever known in New England came eighteen days -after the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755, preceded by a peculiar, -rumbling roar. Then came a “rapid, jarring, vibrating motion,” with an -upward shock: then a “violent, prodigious shock, as suddenly, to all -appearances as a thunderclap breaking upon a house and attended by a -great noise.” Then followed a series of “quick and violent concussions, -jerks and wrenches, attended by an undulating, waving motion of the -whole surface of the ground, not unlike the shaking and quaking of a -large bog.” - -Several writers give a graphic account of the behavior of the good -people of Boston at this juncture. The shock came at a little past four -in the morning. Some sprang from their beds and ran into the street; -some lay shivering with fear, not daring to rise; others rushed to the -windows, and, seeing in the gloom their unclad neighbors rushing about -the streets, shrieked aloud that the judgment day was at hand. Others -thought that they heard Gabriel’s horn, and fell on their knees, crying -for mercy, or fainted away. The boldest feared the crash of tottering -houses; children ran about crying for their parents; dogs howled -dismally; birds flew aloft with frightened cries; cattle bellowed with -fear as they dashed about their pens. Screaming horses struggled in -their stalls. Numbers of fish were killed by the shock. Changes were -wrought in springs and streams, after the manner of 1727. - -The damage done was not so great as might have been expected from the -unusual alarm shown. A large number of chimneys in Boston were thrown -down; clocks were stopped; a new vane was broken from the market house, -the spindle being snapped at a place where it was five inches thick; but -we are not told of any serious loss of life or property. The shock -extended southward, and was plainly felt along the east side of the -Chesapeake, but not on the western shore. The sea wave set in motion -travelled southward, and it is supposed to have occasioned the unusual -commotion of the water in the West Indies. At St. Martin’s the sea -suddenly fell five feet below its level, and then rose six above. - -The time of the shock was determined exactly by an accident. Prof. -Winthrop, of Cambridge, had placed a long glass tube in his tall clock, -as a safe place. This tube, thrown against the pendulum, stopped the -clock, which the day before had been adjusted to meridianal noon; and as -Prof. Winthrop had compared his watch and clock the night before, he was -able to show that the shocks began at eleven minutes and thirty-five -seconds after four A.M., November 18, and continued about four and a -half minutes. - -Eighteen periods of earthquakes are noted in the next fifty-five years; -and at one of these, in 1791, nearly one hundred and fifty shocks were -felt. - -[Illustration: OLD STATE HOUSE, CHARLESTON.] - -In 1810-11-12, a series of remarkable shocks were felt throughout a -large portion of the United States, but with especial force in the -central Mississippi valley. The first were noticed near St. Genevieve, -but the center of violence seemed to lie around New Madrid, Mo. The -shocks became so sharp and frequent that Dr. Robertson was sent out to -observe and record them carefully. He kept count up to five hundred, and -then abandoned that portion of the work. - -The phenomena were much like those of the milder type of earthquakes -everywhere. Around New Madrid huge fissures opening in the earth emitted -volumes of sand and gas, occasionally spouting water, or sending out -bursts of flame. Some of the fissures were six hundred feet long and -twenty feet wide. The sand and water was sometimes thrown as high as -forty or fifty feet. During the whole period there were unusual -disturbances in other regions. On the night of the most violent shocks -occurred the great earthquake at Caracas, Venezuela, which destroyed so -many thousands. Had the Mississippi region been a very thickly settled -one, the loss of life would have been fearful. Upon the upheaval of a -new island, Sabrina, in the Azores, to a height of three hundred and -twenty feet, and an eruption of the St. Vincent volcano, in the -Antilles, the disturbance ceased. It is not safe to assert positively -that there was no connection between these phenomena; but there is -little probability that there was. They serve rather to show how -universal are the subterranean forces with which man must deal. The year -1811 was also marked by a storm of unusual violence, and by the -appearance of a brilliant comet. But, as noticed before, efforts to -establish any especial connection between such phenomena have not met -with any marked success. - -These earthquakes were so violent in the river itself as to almost -shatter boats in mid-stream. Trees at some distance from the bank were -hurled into the water with tremendous force. Flashes of fire and molten -matter were thrown to great heights. The explosions seemed like a -battery of artillery. Sunken logs and snags were thrown from the deep -bottom of the river to a height of thirty feet above the surface. -Sulphurous streams dashed from a thousand rents, leaving unfathomable -fissures. Great forest trees lashed their heads together, or were -snapped off by the shocks. Small islands sank to the bottom of the -river. Quantities of coal and charred wood were thrown up; some lying a -considerable distance from the fissures that discharged them. Many boats -were lost; quite a number of people were buried under falling banks. It -was undoubtedly the most violent convulsion in the history of our -country. Reelfoot lake, now a noted fishing resort, we are told was -formed by this earthquake. - -Time would fail us to give an especial notice of the many shocks -received since the country has been more widely settled. With a notice -of the recent Charleston earthquake this list must be closed. - -This convulsion owes its importance rather to its location than to its -violence. It was felt over about one-fourth of the entire country, its -greatest force being felt along the Atlantic coast from New Haven to -Savannah. The area affected was elliptical, and the shock was but little -less severe at Atlanta, Georgia, in East Tennessee, and many North and -South Carolina regions, than in Charleston itself. It was felt at -Charleston at 9:51, August 31, 1886, and reached Toronto, Canada, in -four minutes. It did not travel so readily westward as northward. - -It is of course impossible to estimate exactly the damage done. A -considerable number of important cities - -[Illustration: CHARLESTON, S. C.] - -suffered more or less; but the majority were forgotten in the unusual -severity at Charleston. The city appeared as though it had been through -a siege, or as if a gigantic charge of dynamite had been exploded -beneath it. In all directions might be seen heaps of ruins, houses -tottering, cracked, twisted--in all stages of destruction. Ever and anon -a fresh shock brought down some crumbling edifice with a sullen roar, -and a cloud of stifling dust veiled it from view. The night resounded -with the screams of terrified fugitives, the tread of hurrying feet, and -the groans and cries of the wounded. The parks swarmed with those in -search of a place of safety. Hundreds were bruised or maimed by falling -stones and timbers; not a few were killed outright; others, crushed in -the wrecks, died a lingering death. - -Appeals for aid were promptly responded to by all portions of the -country. Even those localities which had themselves suffered severely, -came to the aid of the city that had been more sorely stricken. - -The greatest injury to life was indirect. Only forty-seven people, it is -said, were killed outright. But few houses were left safe; and for a -considerable time young and old, rich and poor, the feeble and the -strong, were out of doors in tents, booths, or such rude shelters as -they could hastily erect. The alarm was perpetuated by occasional -recurrence of the shocks during several days. The continued exposure and -lack of necessaries created a vast deal of sickness; and the deaths thus -indirectly occasioned far exceeded those killed outright. - -The damage to buildings in Charleston is estimated at $5,000,000. But in -comparison with the whole number injured, comparatively few of the -houses were shaken completely down. Hundreds were shaken and shattered -to the point of falling, and had to be pulled down as unsafe. The shock -was just short of a point where it would have made terrible havoc. If -violent enough to overthrow the many houses it merely shattered, its -victims would have been numbered by thousands, instead of tens. We may -be thankful, with Lord North, that things were no worse. - -The nature of the shocks varied. In some parts of South Carolina -chimneys and brick walls remained upright, but crushed to atoms at the -base, as if shattered by a powerful upward concussion; in other -locations, evidences of a twisting motion were present; houses were -turned partially around, and left almost unharmed. Again, as in most -cases in Charleston, the chief movement appeared to be a horizontal -one--the upper portions of walls and buildings being thrown down, while -the lower suffered little harm. More of these singular effects will be -noticed in connection with other shocks. Crevices and fissures were -opened; railroad rails bent in a snake-like form; mud, sand, and small -stones were thrown out. There was no tidal wave, and artesian wells four -hundred feet deep were not disturbed. There was no barometric variation, -though the air is said to have suddenly become oppressively hot at the -moment of the shock. Some Pennsylvania gas wells diminished, and a -geyser in the Yellowstone Park, four years quiet, burst suddenly into -action. These we must deem mere coincidences. - -As a whole, this has been the most destructive single earthquake in our -history, while far inferior in real violence to the convulsions last -noticed. For frequency of shocks, and total damage in consequence, the -Pacific States far exceed all the rest of the country. Their position -with active volcanic regions in Oregon and Washington and Lower -California, renders them peculiarly liable to such disturbances. Within -the years 1872-1885, inclusive, there were registered seventy-five -earthquakes in New England, sixty-six in the Atlantic States, -seventy-five in the Mississippi Valley, and two hundred and thirty-seven -in the Pacific States. - -These facts ought to be conclusive evidence against the belief that, -because storms and earthquakes are sometimes simultaneous, the one is in -any way responsible for the other. These figures show the fewest shocks -in the region - -[Illustration: WRECK OF FACTORY, CHARLESTON.] - -most frequented by tornadoes; while the section never visited by the -latter shows more shocks than all the rest combined. Add to these the -previous shocks recorded in our history--231--and it is evident that we -have our full share of such convulsions. - -In respect to earthquakes, our British cousins have been even more -fortunate than ourselves. A cursory glance at British geology shows that -at a remote age in the past, volcanic action was frequent and violent; -but the whole region has long buried or healed the wounds inflicted upon -the face of nature by the petulant giants of fire. Now and then there is -a premonitory tremor; but the warning seems not to be for the -grandchildren of the Druids; and the latter have been lulled to a sense -of almost absolute security. - -Yet at some periods of the past they have been seriously disturbed, if -we may credit the old chroniclers; but their records are so brief, and -at times so conflicting, that it is not always easy to determine the -extent of the disaster. And it must be remembered that in the dark and -middle ages the mass of the people knew absolutely nothing of affairs -not in their own immediate neighborhood. - -Perhaps the most striking feature of British earthquakes is the fact -that, like the shocks in the Vesuvian neighborhood, the area they -disturb is very small; it may be, however, that incompleteness of -reports is responsible for this apparent peculiarity. Up to the last -century but one general shock is recorded; this being the first of which -there is definite mention, occurring in 974 A. D. Five others are -recorded in the next century, all local. - -Perhaps the most violent of the earlier earthquakes was the one which in -1110 shook the region between Shrewsbury and Nottingham, tumbling down -many houses and injuring many people. At Nottingham the bed of the -river Trent was laid dry and remained so some hours. Probably a large -fissure opened temporarily in the channel, allowing the water to escape -into subterranean cavities. Three other earthquakes occurred in the -Lincolnshire fens in the next thirty-two years, doing considerable -damage. - -In 1158 mention is made of a most extraordinary earthquake which shook -London and vicinity, destroying much property, injuring several people, -and causing the Thames to become so low as to be passed on foot. Seven -years later there was a general tremor observed throughout all England. - -John of Brompton relates a remarkable circumstance in connection with an -earthquake in 1179. The ground belonging to the bishop of Durham, at -Oxenhall near Darlington, was raised suddenly to a level with the -adjacent hills, remaining so from 9 A.M. till sunset, when it fell -again, leaving a deep cavity in place of a hill. Three other earthquakes -occurred ere the close of the century; the last one, in Somersetshire in -1199, being violent enough to throw men off their feet. - -Forty-seven years passed without any further experience of the sort, -when a series of severe shocks, especially violent in Kent, overthrew a -number of churches and other buildings of the more pretentious sort; and -the same thing happened next year, affecting especially London and the -Thames Valley. Again, in the year after, Bath and Wells suffered -considerably; and two years later St. Albans was shaken. - -Of other earthquakes in the next century no especial mention need be -made, save of one of unusual violence in 1385. A revolution in Scotland -followed, and the superstitious populace, looking backward, concluded -that the earthquake had been meant as a warning which they had not been -able to interpret. A second shock which - -[Illustration: RUINED DWELLING, CHARLESTON.] - -followed the revolution was supposed to express the Divine displeasure -at their short-sightedness. - -But one shock, though a very general one, is recorded during the next -one hundred and sixty-six years. Then in 1551 a slight tremor upset the -people’s furniture and dinner pots in a portion of Surrey. Twenty years -afterward a severe shock in Herefordshire was accompanied by a -landslide. A large portion of a hill slowly descended during two days, -turning a half circle as it came, as though on a pivot. - -In 1574 a sharp vibration shook northern and western England at the hour -for vespers. Suppliants in Norton Chapel were thrown prostrate and fled -in terror, believing the dead were rising through the floor. Part of -Ruthin Castle was thrown down. - -In 1580, April 6, nearly all England was alarmed by a violent shock. The -great bell at Westminster rang the alarm; others joined in. Students of -the Temple rushed into the streets; stones fell from St. Paul’s; showers -of chimneys in the streets maimed several persons; a panic ensued at -Christ Church, where two people were killed by falling stones, and -several were maimed in the wild rush to escape from the building. Parts -of the fortifications at Dover were overthrown; also several churches -and castles were damaged. May 1 of the same year the shocks were again -felt in Kent, during the night. This is one of the most notable of -British earthquakes; it passed eastward through Belgium to Cologne. - -But it is needless to pursue the record further. Only two unusual -features are presented among the many earthquakes following: one in 1731 -was confined to an area six miles by five; and one in 1734 exhibited a -peculiar rotary motion, shaking persons in bed around at right angles to -their former positions. - -Summing up the record, we find that in the 10th century one earthquake -is recorded in England; during the 11th, ten; during the 12th, twelve; -during the 13th, thirteen; during the 14th, four; during the 15th, one; -six in the 16th; twenty in the 17th, and eighty-four in the eighteenth. -The present has also had a fair quota. But if we consider the damage to -property, or the fatality, we must conclude that no country in the world -is so favored in this matter of earthquakes as Great Britain, unless it -may be Germany. - -Finally, all the disasters of this sort, in both England and the United -States, so far as all historic records go, do not equal a single one of -the many terrible convulsions recorded in the history of other nations. -From the earliest times to the present, we find a constant succession of -appalling disasters, many of which are almost beyond the power of -comprehension. The most cursory glance at these horrors of the past -should render every Anglo-Saxon peculiarly grateful that his lot is not -cast in a land so cursed with terrors, and more ready to sympathize with -the stranger in his woe. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -EARTHQUAKES IN TROPICAL AMERICA. - - “Hark! louder on the blast come hollow shrieks - Of dissolution; in the fitful scowl - Of night, near and more near, angels of death - Incessant flap their deadly wings, and roar - Through all the fevered air: the mountains rock - And thousand meteors flame about their heads; - The thunder long and loud gives out his voice, - Responsive to the ocean’s troubled growl, - While bellowing chasms rend th’ eternal hills. - Earth trembles at the mighty march of death.” - - -The reader will be assured, from the facts given concerning volcanic -eruptions, and the earthquakes of Asia Minor mentioned in the former -chapter, that great earthquakes are as numerous in Asiatic districts as -elsewhere; but beyond the bare fact, little is known of most of these. -India has preserved no written history: and China and Japan have been -till recently almost inaccessible to Europeans. So while the -disturbances there are equal in importance to those of other lands, it -is but lately that any definite information has been accessible; and our -chief knowledge has come from personal narratives of white settlers and -visitors to the islands of the western Pacific. In Japan, there is, to -say nothing of numerous volcanoes, strong circumstantial evidence of the -frequency of earthquakes in days past. Almost all dwellings are -constructed of bamboo and lightest woods, one story high, with screens -of paper as partitions: houses of stone are feared, the people -preferring to take their chances on a great fire than on an earthquake. -The same fact is noticeable - -[Illustration: EARTHQUAKE IN CHINA.] - -in the Philippines, Moluccas, and adjacent groups. Almost the only stone -buildings are those of Spanish and Dutch settlers. China has apparently -suffered less; but we learn that in 1556 two entire provinces were laid -waste. The extent of the loss of life can not be estimated. The earth -vomited ashes and flames, and ten great sea waves occurred in -twenty-four hours. - -Since European occupation of the East Indies, the convulsions have been -frequent and alarming. The city of Manila was completely destroyed, with -thousands of people, in 1645. Not one stone remained on another. Severe -shocks occurred there again in 1699, 1796, 1825, 1852, and 1863. The -last named wrecked the cathedral while filled with worshipers. The loss -of property was from $8,000,000 to $10,000,000, or twice that of our -Charleston earthquake. Four hundred people were killed. The shock lasted -about half a minute, but opened many fissures, emitted volumes of gas -and spoilt the river water. Again, in 1880, after some vague or -irregular tremblings, there were several violent shocks. There was first -experienced a peculiar sense of nausea and faintness, with a feeling of -powerlessness or inability to flee. Horses stopped trembling in the -streets, “standing with ears erect, with staring eyes, and stiffly -extended legs, as though conscious of extraordinary peril.” The natives, -heedless of appeals for help, wildly sought their own safety, or knelt -devoutly invoking the saints. Clouds of dust filled the air, and heaps -of ruin blocked the streets. The terrible hush that prevailed was broken -only by an occasional cry for aid, or the crash of a ruined home. -Portions of ground between great crevices were raised five or six feet; -other parts fell as much. But the confusion rapidly subsided, and -occupations of all sorts were resumed. One newspaper, true to the -traditional enterprise of the fraternity, dragged its paraphernalia -from its ruined building, and went to work in the middle of the street. -An American publisher could hardly beat that. - -But a region whose earthquakes have attracted greater attention, and -have been more carefully noticed by scientific men than those of the -eastern archipelago, is to be found along the western slope of the -Andes, extending thence into Central America and Northern Venezuela and -the West Indies. - -Ever since the Spanish conquest, earthquakes have been numerous and -violent in this whole region; and judging from the character of the -native dwellings, the aborigines were for centuries accustomed to such -movements. But it remained for Humboldt, in the last century, to give us -a more careful description of some of the greater of these disasters. - -Of the preceding disturbances, one of the most notable occurred in 1698, -when the crater of the volcano Carguirazo fell in with a great crash -during a shock of earthquake, and an area of twenty square miles was -covered with mud containing numerous dead fish. A few years later, a -similar occurrence north of Quito produced an epidemic of pernicious -fevers. - -But of the many great convulsions, that of Riobamba, in 1794, must rank -as exceeding all within the range of authentic history, unless we except -the one which destroyed Antioch in the year 526. The area disturbed was -the great volcanic plain on which Quito stands. - -No subterranean noise announced or accompanied the shock. Adjacent -volcanoes were quiet; but the volcano of Pasto, sixty miles to the -northward, had for three months been violently smoking; and at the -moment the shock sixty miles away began, it suddenly stopped, nor did it -again begin. The volcano of Cayambe, near Quito, seemed surrounded by -meteorites. The pious people, alarmed at this manifestation of the -divine wrath, formed a religious procession which walked through the -principal streets. The result justified their belief in the potency of -their prayers; for Quito remained unharmed. A great roar, since known as -_el gran ruido_, was heard under the town some twenty minutes after the -disaster; but at the scene of the latter it was not heard at all. - -In the immediate vicinity of Riobamba, the destruction was fearful. The -entire plain seemed rent into small independent fragments, which rose or -sank at will. Humboldt tells that an eye-witness might have seen -“fissures which alternately opened and closed, so that persons partially -engulfed were saved by extending their arms, that they might not be -swallowed up; portions of long trains of muleteers and laden mules -disappearing in suddenly opening cross fissures, whilst other portions, -by a hasty retreat, escaped the danger; vertical oscillations, by the -non-simultaneous rising and sinking of adjoining portions of ground, so -that persons standing in the choir of a church, sixteen feet above the -pavement of the street, found themselves lowered to the level of the -pavement without being thrown down; the sinking down of massive houses, -with such an absence of disruption or dislocation that the inhabitants -could open the doors of the interior, pass uninjured from room to room, -light candles and debate with each other their chance of escape, during -two days which elapsed before they were dug out; lastly, the entire -disappearance of great masses of stones and building materials. The old -town had possessed churches, convents, and houses of several stories; -but in the places where they stood, we found, on tracing out among the -ruins the former plan of the city, only stone heaps of from eight to -twelve feet in height.” - -Of some of the villages in the adjacent plain not a trace was left. They -sunk bodily, and the earth closed over them. Of the others, only heaps -of ruins were left. - -[Illustration: AFTER THE SHOCK.] - -Nor was this all. The great volcano of Tunguragua, at the southern -extremity of the plateau, was rent asunder by the shock, or, according -to others, had an eruption from the side. Immense torrents of thick, -dark, sandy mud, mingled with pebbles, poured out and flooded adjacent -portions of the plain, smothered scores still entangled in the ruins of -their dwellings, filling numerous ravines and valleys, one of which was -one thousand feet wide and seven hundred feet deep. - -The total loss of life was terrible. One authority places the -destruction at two hundred thousand. Forty thousand Indians were -suffocated by the torrent of mud alone. It is the most destructive -earthquake in modern history. - -The town of Cumana has been visited almost as frequently as the -far-famed Antioch. In 1530, we are told, the sea rose four fathoms, the -earth was rent, a fort laid in ruins, the town wrecked, and dark, -noisome liquids ejected from fissures. In 1766, a long drought, fifteen -months in duration, had turned the thoughts of the people once more upon -their manifold transgressions, and they were prepared for further -chastisement. This came upon them. October 21 an earthquake blotted the -town out of existence in less than a minute. The earth vomited -sulphurous waters. The shocks were continued during fourteen months. The -good people instituted an annual fast and procession in commemoration of -the event. - -Again, in 1794, Cumana was nearly prostrated. December 14, 1797, there -was a tremendous, upward shock, with a noise like a mine explosion. -Four-fifths of the town was laid in ruins. The atmosphere seemed -converted to water, so great were the torrents of rain. The Indians held -a religious festival and dance, believing the destruction and -regeneration of the world was at hand. - -The first days of November, 1799, were noted for the peculiar redness of -the sky and the oppressiveness of the atmosphere, though the weather was -not especially warm. At nightfall the sea breeze failed to begin, and -the dusty earth began to crack in all directions. The people were sure -some evil boded. November 4, as a heavy storm came up, there was a sharp -gust of wind, which the natives say always precedes an earthquake; and a -few minutes later came the shock; two others followed during the -evening; but though all the tokens of a great shock, according to native -ideas, were present in such force that the people abandoned their homes -and slept in the parks and fields, the great quake never came. The -redness of the sky continued, and a few nights later occurred a -brilliant shower of meteors. Despite these signs and wonders, Mother -Earth refused to tremble. Humboldt concluded native prognostications -were unreliable. - -During the past eighty years destructive earthquakes have been more -frequent in South America than in any other region of the earth. First -on the list is the great disaster at Caracas. - -This town lies six miles from the seaport of La Guayra, in a valley -“where reigns eternal spring.” Shut in by lofty mountains, its aspect is -somewhat gloomy. The cold mountain air keeps the evening veiled with -clouds. But as a whole, the situation is so fine that the people would -hardly exchange it for a site less liable to earthquakes. - -In December, 1811, when the disturbances were so great in the valleys of -the Mississippi, Ohio and Arkansas, there was a sharp shock, which did -no especial damage. At this time there was a severe drought, which -continued during the succeeding months; but no word of the disturbances -to the North, or in St. Vincent, reaching the people, they were not -especially alarmed. So the days passed till Holy Week came, and hundreds -were in the great churches. - -At a few minutes past four there was a sudden shock which set -church-bells to ringing. Then came a second, which made the ground seem -as though it were boiling. This ceased, and the people supposed the -danger was past, when there came the fearful subterranean roar but too -well known in tropical countries, followed by series of alternating -shocks at right angles to each other, and at once the beautiful city, -with its palaces and homes and works of art was a shapeless ruin, with -twelve thousand corpses lying amid the wreck. Four thousand people were -slain in the churches alone. The great church of Alta Gracia, one -hundred and fifty feet in height, whose nave was supported by pillars -fifteen feet in diameter, was turned into a heap of rubbish but five or -six feet high. Nearly all had sunk in the earth. Scarce a vestige of -pillar or column could be found. A regiment of infantry, mustered in San -Carlos barracks, was engulfed, but few escaping. Nine-tenths of the town -was annihilated. - -[Illustration: SCENE AT CARACAS.] - -Night came. The cloud of dust, that like a mist had risen from the -wreck, had settled to the ground. The full moon shone as calmly on the -scene as in the past; and by the spectral light were seen strange -figures hurrying to and fro. Here passed a mother with an infant’s -corpse; while there a father groped amid the wreck, and called by turns -the names of wife and child. No tools were left in reach in all the -town; bare-handed creatures grappled with the stony heaps, and groaned -in answer to the moans beneath. The aqueducts were shattered and the -springs were stopped; the Guayra River was the sole supply. Scarce -vessels could be found to fetch it in. Here hurrying feet bore wounded -creatures to the stream; but lint and bandages were all beneath the -wreck. Two thousand injured people lay upon the turf, with little of -the needed help; but all their friends could do was done. Not even food -enough could be procured at first. - -Then anguish-stricken souls repented of their sins, and marched in -procession that the wrath of God might be changed to mercy. Some driven -to the verge of madness loudly confessed their sins in the open streets. -Some promised to restore ill-gotten gains; often the peculation was -known only to themselves. Marriages were solemnized between many who had -hitherto not considered a ceremony necessary. Children were formally -recognized by parents who had before repudiated them; long standing -feuds and enmities were dropped. - -Caracas was not the only place injured. La Guayra, Mayquetia, Antimano, -Baruta, La Vega, San Felipe, and Merida were totally destroyed. Five -thousand deaths occurred at San Felipe and La Guayra alone. It was -impossible to give burial. Vast funeral pyres were made and corpse after -corpse consigned to the flames. The total number of deaths from the -earthquake, including those who perished from want and sickness induced -by the exposure, was probably forty thousand; some have estimated fifty -thousand. The shocks were felt as far westward as Bogota. - -It does not appear that any especial commotion was felt in Central -America, though shocks in the latter regions are nearly always felt in -Venezuela or Columbia. Every portion of Central America has been -repeatedly shaken. The town of Guatemala has been four times destroyed, -the people each time selecting a new site and adhering to the old name. -The people of San Salvador, on the other hand, have obstinately clung to -their site, though visited by violent earthquakes in 1575, 1593, 1625, -1656, 1798, and 1839; and minor shocks are of such constant - -[Illustration: RUINS OF SAN SALVADOR.] - -recurrence that the locality is nicknamed “the hammock.” But the shock -of 1889 was so severe that they seriously meditated leaving; but they -finally settled in the old place, when four-fifths of their town had -just been destroyed. - -But in Holy Week, in 1854, as Mr. Squier tells us, unusual rumblings -were heard on the morning of Holy Thursday. The inhabitants, somewhat -alarmed, still went about their customary avocations. The remainder of -the week passed without further cause for fear. At half past nine -o’clock on Sunday night a severe shock so alarmed many people that they -prepared to camp out for the night. At ten minutes to eleven there came -without any warning a fearful quaking, which levelled the city to the -earth in ten seconds; clouds of dust filled the streets; wells and -fountains were choked; not a drop of water could be obtained. Not a -house was left inhabitable; scarce one preserved the semblance of being -erect; yet the town was composed chiefly of low, one-story structures. -The air was filled with fumes of sulphur; the neighboring volcano -threatened an eruption; and in addition to the usual horrors of an -earthquake, other features were added. - -The ex-president of the republic was so badly hurt as to be almost -incapacitated for duty. Indians roamed pillaging the wreck, dropping on -their knees and praying as fresh shocks terrified them; then returning -to the plunder; for they were good Christians. Justice, police, -clergy--all were gone. The venerable bishop, Soldana, when dragged from -the ruin, bade the people flee in all haste, for “God had given the city -over to the Evil One as a punishment for its sins; and in spite of the -name it bore ‘(Holy Savior)’ it would be cast into the bottomless pit.” -The good bishop promptly headed the retreat of the clergy from the -forces of Satan, evidently under the impression that if the people -could only leave the accursed locality, the devil would not be so -scrupulously exact in tormenting them before the time. The people -flocked after the clergy in large numbers, believing they would be -safest in the neighborhood of the holy men. It is well known that even -the devil respects the cloth. - -[Illustration: PEOPLE OF SAN SALVADOR FRIGHTENED.] - -The republic had been rent by civil war for years; and in this critical -juncture, it seemed that it was about to be renewed. But a man of strong -will and energy and coolness stepped forward--Duenas, ex-monk, lawyer, -deputy, and president--from his farm, like Cincinnatus. Collecting a few -friends and digging some arms from the wreck of the barracks, he -inspirited the new president, and martial law was proclaimed. The -shooting of a few Indian robbers imparted to the remainder a respect for -law equalled only by their practical Christianity, and the work of -rescue began. Large numbers of the populace permanently forsook the -site. - -Two years later there was a great earthquake in Honduras; but the area -of disturbance was not so densely peopled, and the damage done was -proportionately less. Disasters of this sort cause most Central -Americans to emigrate. “Then women and children form themselves into -groups and travel through the country. They set the drama in which they -have taken part to music, and they go through the country singing the -rude verses which they have run together in the different villages, and -then send the hat around. After they have visited the whole of their own -country, they cross the frontier into the neighboring State, where they -are also assured of doing pretty well.” - -During three centuries of Spanish occupation of South America, while -scores of convulsions had visited the Pacific seaboard, none had shaken -the eastern slope of the Cordilleras, or the great plains beyond; and -there had resulted a settled belief that the entire region was, so to -speak, earthquake-proof. But the illusion was rudely dispelled. - -In the extreme west of the Argentine Republic, on the high road from -Valparaiso to Buenos Ayres, lies the town of Mendoza, in full view of -Tupungato and the mighty Aconcagua. Never having, in all their history, -experienced any harm from these mountains, the people anticipated none. - -“Mendoza had about 20,000 inhabitants and five hundred houses, nearly -all of them very handsome. It also contained two very large hospitals, -several schools, a splendid cathedral, and several churches. Its trade -was prosperous, and more than a hundred large shops testified to the -extent of its commerce. There was no such library in the whole of the -Argentine Republic. Its theatre was most sumptuous, and the Alameda, its -public promenade was regarded as the finest in South America. - -[Illustration: SHOCK AT LAKE IN HONDURAS.] - -“One evening, an immense red and blue meteor slowly traversed the sky -from East to West, and the volcano of Aconcagua broke into an eruption -upon the night following--20th March, 1861--without any premonitory -sound or sign: the earth quaked violently, and in less than a minute the -town of Mendoza had disappeared. It was transformed into a vast field of -ruins, the highest of which were not more than three feet from the -ground. Never within the memory of man has a town been so taken by -surprise; for in this case the earthquake was not preceded by the -underground mutterings which, even if only a few seconds in advance of -the shock, give some sort of warning. Upon that night, and in less than -four seconds, fifteen thousand people were buried in the ruins. Horrible -noises, cries of terror, the heartrending howls of men and animals -filled the air, and a thick cloud of dust darkened the sky.” - -Mendoza was not the only place injured. At San Juan, one hundred miles -northward, three thousand people were killed. Three hundred and fifty -miles further away, Cordova lost a number of houses, and a slight shock -was felt at Buenos Ayres. The wreck presented the scenes common in such -cases; and, as in several similar disasters, bands of brigands pounced -upon the town to pillage the ruins. - -Of the many touching incidents, we must give place to two: - -That the town was absolutely unwarned is hardly correct. A French -geologist, M. Bravard, sent on a scientific mission by the Russian -government, had found the volcanoes near by violently roaring, yet -emitting no smoke or fire; and, nearing the valley of Mendoza, he found -the soil in a constant tremor. Alarmed at these manifestations, he -expressed his belief that if the pressure were not speedily relieved by -eruption, a severe earthquake might follow. His assertion caused serious -apprehension, for his high attainments gave his opinions great weight -with the people. For nearly a week the possibility of a catastrophe was -seriously discussed. One evening he stood at the door of M. Matussiere, -wishing his friends good-night. Again he alluded to the earthquake--the -shock came, and he was caught by the fall of the house. - -Matussiere himself was on his way home from Valparaiso. When fifteen -miles from Mendoza, in the mountains, a tremendous roaring was heard, -but he felt no shock. The moon shone as calmly and clearly as ever, and -no disturbance followed. Oppressed, however, by terrible fear, he -hastened to Mendoza. He could not even guess where was the wreck of his -own home. After a - -[Illustration: WRECK AT MENDOZA.] - -long, despairing search, he saw his great house dog come bounding toward -him. The dog led him to the wreck; and, after wearisome toil, the -merchant found his wife and one child alive. The rest of the family, and -the French geologist, were dead. - -Another episode is related by M. Charton: There was at Mendoza a rich, -French hotel keeper, M. Tesser. After the shock, “one of his intimate -friends wandered among the ruins. His eyes were dry: he could shed tears -no longer. He stopped on the site of the hotel, trying in vain to recall -the old arrangements. He was retiring--his heart filled with sighs, -thinking of the honest man and the family he had loved so well--when he -perceived, through the shapeless mass of girders and calcined stones, M. -Tesser’s dog, which moaned; he approached it. The poor animal, the two -hind legs and part of the body of which were crushed, forced itself, in -spite of his sufferings and weakness, to scratch with his front paws, -and uttered, from time to time, a plaintive howl. As it saw its master’s -friend come near, it exerted itself and howled louder. The friend -understood that Tesser must be beneath this rubbish, and hoped he was -not dead. He ran to fetch some persons, and, with their help, after much -labor, he indeed discovered the body of poor Tesser; his left arm and -leg, lying under the beams, were broken, his mouth and eyes full of -earth, but he still breathed. Before trying to disengage his limbs, they -washed his face, which seemed to relieve him; without saying a word, he -instinctively stretched his right arm toward his dog, who drew himself -to him, and died a few moments afterwards. - -“Tesser scarcely was in a state to pronounce any words, before he asked -where his family was. All had perished in the great disaster. Hearing -this answer, he closed his eyes with despair; then, making a fresh -effort, he pronounced the name of his little girl, and showed with his -finger a separate place where he had put her to bed. Some of the people, -in compassion for his grief, although without hope, made further search; -others occupied themselves in dressing his broken limbs. A few minutes -later, those rendering him this service saw him suddenly raise himself -up--he gave a cry--they brought him his daughter, still living. A beam -had fallen across the bed of the child and had protected it; but she was -seriously wounded in the head; she had also her mouth and eyes filled -with dirt, and was exhausted with hunger.” For two months the pair lay -under a tent against a tree, more dead than alive. They only remained to -each other of the once rich and happy family. But in this respect, they -were no worse off than hundreds of others. - -The people abandoned the site, unable to remain in view of so many -monuments of former happiness. Strangers came in and a new Mendoza rose, -but not so lovely as the former one. This town was also severely shaken -in 1885. - -With a notice of one other earthquake, which demands attention because -of unusual results, this chapter must close. - -This shock occurred August 13, 1868, in Peru. The center of the -convulsion was at Arequipa, at the foot of the lofty volcanic mountain -of Misti, which has not shown signs of activity since the great outburst -of 1542. So far as their volcanic neighbor was concerned, the forty-four -thousand people of Arequipa had apparently no reason for apprehension. - -At five minutes past five, there came a light shock like the jar of a -distant explosion. Half a minute later began the subterranean rumbling, -with a rapidly increasing vibration, which made the people run for their -lives into the streets. Then “the swaying motion changed into fierce, -vertical upheaval. The subterranean roaring increased in a terrifying -manner; then were heard the heart-piercing shrieks of the wretched -people, the bursting of walls, the crashing fall of houses and churches, -while over all rolled thick clouds of a yellowish-black dust, which, had -they been poured forth many minutes longer, would have suffocated -thousands.” - -Tacna and Arica suffered little less. But the greatest damage in the -coast region was from the sea wave. A few minutes after the shock, the -sea rolled back, falling twenty-five feet; then a huge, black wall of -water leaped up, fifty feet in height, and rushed for the shore. The -American vice-consul at Arica, well versed in the phenomena of -earthquakes, left his house at the first shock, and ran with his family -to the hills to avoid any probable sea wave. The monster billow struck -the mole to pieces, and swept clean the lower part of the town. Six -vessels were lost in the bay, or tossed over rocks and houses; two, a -Peruvian corvette and a United States war-ship, were carried inland and -left high and dry, half a mile north of Arica, without a broken spar or -tarnished flag. Similar feats were recorded at Iquique. Twelve hundred -miles of sea-coast were more or less affected. Sixty million dollars -worth of property were destroyed, and twenty thousand people killed. - -The great sea wave was especially remarkable. Recoiling from the -Peruvian coast, in three hours its southern expansion was observed at -Coquimbo, eight hundred miles south. An hour later it was at -Constitucion, four hundred and fifty miles further. Northward, the wave -rushed, sixty feet high, into the harbor of San Pedro, California, five -thousand miles from the shock. - -To the westward, the Sandwich Islands were reached that night, and -irregular waves broke upon the coast for three days. Before midnight it -broke upon the Marquesas and the Paumotu archipelago. At half-past three -in the morning it was at New Zealand. By daylight it was surging along -the coasts of Australia, and by mid-day it was tossing even on the -southwest coast of Australia. The same day, it was heaving on the shores -of Japan. - -[Illustration: THE GREAT SEA WAVE REACHES CHILI.] - -This wave is doubtless surpassed only by the great wave set in motion -by the convulsion of Krakatoa, mentioned in the chapter on volcanoes. It -travelled to a distance of 10,500 miles from its starting point, at a -speed of from 400 to 500 miles an hour, according to the direction. Yet -it has had several strong rivals. Had the great wave of 1867, at the -time of the earthquake at St. Thomas, been raised in the open sea, -instead of in the comparatively shut in Caribbean, it might have -travelled to an equal distance. The sea wave which followed the -earthquake at Simoda, Japan, in 1854, completely wiped out that town, -leaving only fragments of a temple-wall, and some wrecked vessels, two -miles inland. Most of the people perished. Recoiling from the coast, the -wave rolled in upon the shores of California, travelling 5,000 miles in -twelve hours. - -The terrible earthquake that ravaged Jamaica in 1692, produced a wave -that swept thirty-three feet of water over the highest house in Port -Royal, destroying 3,000 persons. An English frigate, the _Swan_, was -deposited on the top of a large building, breaking in the roof. The -waves of the Lisbon and Calabrian earthquakes have been noticed -elsewhere. - -This same district in Peru has suffered similarly several times. Callao, -with the ground on which it was built, was swept away in 1746. Only -fifteen of its people ever reached Lima, six miles inland. When the town -was rebuilt, a second disaster of this sort nearly destroyed it. Iquique -and Arequipa, in Peru, were again destroyed May 9, 1877; and a wave -seventy feet high swept the coast, and recoiling reached Japan next day, -travelling two hundred and eighteen yards per second. - -The cases given illustrate well the stupendous power and destructiveness -of vibrations in the earth’s surface. But few have been given, nor have -all the greatest been detailed. Mention only must suffice for the one -which shook Naples and vicinity, December 5, 1456, destroying forty -thousand people. Another in Persia, June 7, 1755, destroyed Kaschan, -with forty thousand people; one at Cairo, Egypt, the preceding year, -killed twenty thousand. Another in the Abruzzi, Italy, November 3, 1706, -killed fifteen thousand persons; one at Palermo; Sicily, September 13, -1726, killed six thousand; one hundred thousand perished in the Pekin -earthquake of November 30, 1731; two thousand were destroyed by an -earthquake in the Kutch district, India, in 1819. Constantinople was -overturned in the year 1800; six thousand people perished in an -earthquake in Murcia, Spain, in 1829; fifteen hundred were killed by -Italian earthquakes in 1835-36; Southern Syria suffered greatly in 1836; -Hayti was shaken, and four thousand people perished, in 1842; one -hundred thousand houses and thirty thousand people destroyed by an -earthquake in Japan, 1854; Montenerro, Calabria, and ten thousand people -in 1857; five thousand people in Ecuador, 1859; Northwestern Khorassan, -Persia, with thirty thousand people, in 1871; Antioch again nearly -destroyed in 1872; three thousand people killed in Cashmere, 1885. - -Terrible as this list seems, the total but little exceeds the havoc -wrought by the single Bengal famine of 1866. There would be little -difficulty in proving that drought, with the consequent famine, has -proved the most terrible agent of destruction known to man; and yet it -is one that facilities for rapid transit should render least -destructive. - -Scientific men have within forty years made efforts to keep a sort of -catalogue of shocks; but the frequency of earthquakes has rendered this -a profitless task. Great ones are long remembered; but as for numbering -the minor shocks, one might as well count rainfalls; several - -[Illustration: EARTHQUAKE IN SPAIN.] - -occur every day; and it is only when unusually destructive, like -extraordinary tempests, that they attract any attention; so that their -being recorded depends even more upon location than upon actual force. - -All the phenomena of volcanoes and earthquakes point us to one -conclusion: that the earth may in time become as dead and deserted as -the moon. The telescope shows the latter to be thickly dotted with -volcanic craters, whose immensity, in comparison with those of our own -globe, is astounding; yet all are extinct. It is not probable that the -interior of our earth is molten; and we have seen that fractures and -subsidence, caused by gradual cooling, seem to be the main cause of the -local phenomena of volcanoes and earthquakes. As the ages roll on, these -weak places may become still higher; and the belt of warm climate will -grow narrower and narrower. Cooling at the present rate, 2,500,000,000 -years will be necessary to render it as lifeless as the moon. - -“As the cooling progresses, a sheet of snow and ice, from north and -south, will descend from the mountains upon the table-lands and valleys, -driving before it life and civilization, and covering forever the cities -and nations that it meets on its passage. All life and human activity -will press insensibly toward the inter-tropical zone. The great cities -of the world will fall asleep in succession under their eternal shroud. -During very many ages, equatorial humanity will undertake arctic -expeditions to find again under the ice the place of Paris, Lyons, -Bordeaux, and Marseilles. The sea-coasts will have changed, and the -geographical map of the earth will have been transformed. No one will -live and breathe, except in the equatorial zone, up to the day when the -last family, nearly dead with cold and hunger, will sit on the shore of -the last sea, in the rays of the sun, which will thereafter shine here -on a dead, cold earth, revolving, like a satellite moon, about a sun -unseen by mortal eyes, and distributing to an extinguished planet a -useless heat.” So will end the history of our planet and its great -disasters. - - “All worldly shapes shall melt in gloom, - The sun himself must die, - Before this mortal shall assume - Its immortality! - I saw a vision in my sleep, - That gave my spirit strength to sweep - Adown the gulf of time! - I saw the last of human mold - That shall creation’s death behold, - As Adam saw her prime! - - The sun’s eye had a sickly glare, - The earth with age was wan; - The skeletons of nations were - Around that lonely man! - Some had expired in fight--the brands - Still rusted in their bony hands. - In plague and famine some! - Earth’s cities had no sound or tread, - And ships were drifting with the dead, - To shores where all was dumb! - - Yet prophet-like that lone one stood - With dauntless words and high, - That shook the sere leaves from the wood - As if a storm passed by! - Saying, We are twins in death, proud Sun, - Thy face is cold, thy race is run, - ’Tis Mercy bids thee go: - For thou ten thousand years - Hast seen the tide of human tears - That shall no longer flow.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -PREDICTION AND PREVENTION. - - “Fain would th’ ephemeral pigmies then aspire - To drive, like Phäethon, the sun’s coach of fire, - To grapple with the lightning in the sky, - Or with the restless winds abroad to fly. - Not all the bolts of Jove, nor Phœbus’ wrath, - May fright them from their wild, self-chosen path. - Though poplars wave above ten thousand graves, - And myriad Icari lie beneath the waves, - The rest, as once the Titans, still press on, - And strive to thrust the great gods from their throne.” - - -Ever since man has dwelt upon the earth, there has been a constant -effort, not merely to foretell the future, but to control it. So strong -is man’s faith in his own capacity, that wizards, jugglers, fakirs and -tricksters, and necromancers have always found their vocation a -lucrative one. It is easy to make one’s living by imposing upon the -credulity of the public. Not merely the American people, but every other -people, like to be humbugged. So strong is the tendency to gullibility, -that the most extraordinary pretensions are the most readily credited. -The capability of the public to judge in such cases is well illustrated -by the Grecian story of the famous mimic, whose imitation of the grunt -of a pig was so perfect, that thousands came to witness his performance. -A countryman remarked that he could do still better, and, concealing a -pig under his coat, he stole upon the stage. Pinching the animal’s ear, -the pig squealed violently, but the audience hissed the squeak as a -miserable fiasco. Whereat the countryman produced the pig, and left the -audience pondering the situation. - -The same tendency causes men to desire to attribute unusual appearances -to causes beyond the domain of natural law. The savage finds thunder and -lightning in the discharge of a gun; mysterious magic in a telescope; -downright sorcery in quinine; witchcraft and incantation in a written -prescription. If one, a little shrewder than his fellows, after long -study of an ant’s nest, conceive the idea that they have a regularly -constituted community, with a queen at the head, he needs only to -suggest such a thing to his neighbors, to be set down as having -communications with the Ant Queen; and he may readily aspire to the -chieftainship, thence to be known as the Ant Chief. Imagination is so -much easier than observation. Doubtless old Numa’s thoughtful air in his -daily retreat, gave rise to the tale that he was in consultation with -the nymph of a fountain. Any one who had devoted an hour each day to -gazing pensively into a stream, might have achieved a like reputation, -as the Hindoo fakir is held in high repute for sanctity, because he -preserves strict silence and gazes for years at the end of his nose. - -So when men achieve new results by natural means, it is preferred to -assume otherwise. Good Roger Bacon invented gunpowder by witchcraft. The -early chemists were in league with the Evil One. Faust and Gutenberg -sold their souls to the devil, in order to get Bibles printed. The -Magdeburg physicist, who made a water barometer in which a wooden figure -rose or fell as the atmosphere varied, was the devil’s own child. Cows -sickened and died at the will of shrivelled dames who rode through the -air on broomsticks. - -Foreknowledge is always confounded with foreordination. The weather -prophet is transformed into a weathermaker. The myth of Aeolus is thus -explained. Once a king of the Lipari Isles, by careful observation of -the vapor cloud over Stromboli he was enabled to announce changes of -weather a day or two in advance, as every observant man in that region -can do to-day. The simple subjects attributed his knowledge to -supernatural powers, and after his death perpetuated the story of -Aeolus, the king of the winds, who dwelt in a cave in one of the -islands. - -In the time of Elijah, the prophets of Baal were confident of procuring -rain by howling, cutting and slashing; while Ahab believed Elijah was -responsible for the drought. The negro and the red man to-day show the -same characteristics in this respect. The negro rain-maker makes fetich; -the red chief, “big medicine,” to bring rains. The reputed success of -each is proportioned to his shrewdness in recognizing tokens of change -in the weather. - -The great white man is often little better. While no longer trusting in -the power of any one to control the weather, he has set up a god of -false science, whom all must bow down to and worship. True knowledge is -often flouted and scouted; but every one who would attract attention -must assume at least the appearance of learning. College degrees are -bought and sold at reasonable prices. No questions asked. The -dancing-master is professor. The pugilist has become professor. The man -who fiddles for beer in the corner saloon is professor. Weep, O Minerva! - -So any one who wishes especial importance to be attached to his -utterances, needs but assume a title, or a few mystic letters. Every -great catastrophe produces a plentiful brood of them. As soon as the -Charleston earthquake alarmed the country, it was announced that a grave -“Prof.” had predicted it. He was the hero of the hour. Interviewers -flocked from many quarters. For weeks the words of “Prof.” ----, were as -ointment poured out. The papers gave him great space--published sketches -of his career. So much adulation was too much for human nature; besides, -he owed a duty to the public. A man so gifted should continue to give -warning of impending dangers. He did so. They didn’t materialize. The -“Prof.” has had little attention for three years. - -The Louisville tornado afforded other cases. A woman in the west -predicted a combined deluge and earthquake, with other minor horrors on -the side, as prepared for the Pacific coast. Some of the gullible people -sold out at great sacrifice, that they might lose as little as possible -by the greatest cyclone and earthquake of the century. Others drew up a -formal petition to the Governor, calling upon him to proclaim a day of -supplication and fasting for the doomed cities of Oakland, San Francisco -and Alameda. The end of the world drew nigh, and these three cities, as -eminently wicked, would be first punished; after which Chicago and -Milwaukee would suffer. - -Bands of believers met and wrestled mightily in prayer that the -unparalleled horrors might be averted. They were eminently successful. - -Another came forward and announced that the entire Mississippi valley -was to be visited with a cataclysm, such as no man had ever conceived. -The floods were to break all the levees, wash away everything that was -within a hundred miles of the stream, tear up the delta built by the -deposits of ages, and leave the site of New Orleans at the bottom of the -sea. At this writing the Crescent City is in hourly expectation of its -doom. - -Yet another seer, warned of the Lord in a vision, perhaps, has just -declared the fate of the Atlantic coast. Before the end of the century -there will be an earthquake such as no man ever before has known. The -fountains of the great deep are to be broken up. All the cities of the -New England coast will be desolated by immense sea waves. Manhattan -Island, with the city of New York, and Long Island, are to be sunk to -the bottom of the sea. Our hearts fail us for fear for the things that -are coming upon the earth. Let us hope that peradventure there be yet -five righteous men in Sodom. - -Some years ago great sensation was occasioned by the discovery of Mother -Shipton’s prophecy among some old English manuscripts. It began: - - “Carriages shall without horses go, - And accidents fill the world with woe; - Around the world men’s thoughts shall fly, - In the twinkling of an eye.” - -After a few statements of this sort, it closed by saying: - - “The world to an end shall come - In eighteen hundred and eighty-one.” - -Great was the fright of not a few timid believers. Many arranged their -affairs for the end of the world. Some, as the Millerites have several -times done, prepared their ascension robes. Finally, the whole thing -proved to be a hoax. A wag had endeavored to amuse himself at the -expense of the public. - -Such are fair specimens of predictions that continually appear in the -newspapers. Certain men will always endeavor to astonish the ignorant by -their words and works. Seldom do sober-minded people pay the least -attention to them. As for minor changes in weather, they are so -constant, and so limited in area, that, as stated elsewhere, any one is -safe for announcing the character of the weather for any day in the -year. From a score of places, he could obtain testimonials of the -correctness of his prognostications; while nine score more, if they -spoke, might declare him altogether mistaken. - -But many will ask in all seriousness, if there is no means of -prediction upon which all may depend. Is any more reliance to be placed -upon the prognostications of the Signal Service than upon those of the -self-constituted prophets? - -A brief statement of the principles relied upon will be satisfactory on -this point. - -Our weather bureau was established in 1870. Such organizations are -maintained, at the public expense, in Great Britain, France, Germany, -Italy, Australia, Russia, India, Algeria, and Japan. Several smaller -countries share in the expense and benefits. Men long trained in the -work grow more reliable. Each must first master the topography and the -prevailing movements of the atmosphere of any region, ere he can presume -to know anything of the probable changes. - -How extremely important a knowledge of the country is, will be -understood when it is remembered that mountain ranges may turn aside -great storms, and hills of any considerable size may modify small ones. -And in general, storm paths are so narrow, in comparison with the whole -country, that the slightest variation at the start may be very important -at the end of six hundred or seven hundred miles--or a day’s travel. So, -announcing twenty-four hours beforehand the exact locality a storm may -reach is really a very delicate piece of work. If a tyro should announce -rain for North Georgia, he might be astonished to find a difference of -twenty-one per cent. between Atlanta and Augusta. He would find in -Tennessee sixteen per cent. difference between Knoxville and Nashville; -or twelve and a half per cent. in Iowa between Dubuque and Davenport. - -The Signal Service does not endeavor to forecast entirely new conditions -so much as to give warning of storms already on the way. It can not -safely say where a storm will arise; but it can declare with tolerable -certainty the path a storm will pursue after having once started. - -Yet, there are certain signs of rain that can be of use to the public. -Americans, as a rule, pay less attention to the actions of the animal -kingdom at change of weather than other nations; and the lower animals -detect changes of weather more quickly than man. Slugs and snails often -leave their crannies, and endeavor to find some drier retreat at the -approach of rain. Swallows fly lower; chiefly because the insects they -pursue abandon the upper air. Crickets and grasshoppers become less -noisy, and seek snug retreats. Fish leap more frequently from the water. -The oft-praised tree-frog seems not to have deserved the confidence -placed in him as a barometer. - -Quatremere Disjonval, when made a prisoner of war by the Dutch, made a -careful study of the habits of the house spider, while in confinement. -His observations played an important part in the war. “General Pichegru, -being prevented by the mild weather from carrying out his intention of -invading that country, was about to retire with his army from the Dutch -frontier, when Disjonval found means to inform him that, from the signs -he had observed in his spiders, a severe frost was sure to take place in -the next ten days. Pichegru trusted to the prognostic: the frost came in -time. Holland was conquered, and Disjonval released from his prison.” - -Voigt asserts that the spider is so reliable a barometer because of its -anatomy: the long, slender, unmailed legs being peculiarly sensitive to -atmospheric changes. That is, when Madam Spider finds herself with a -touch of rheumatism, she wraps herself in a thicker blanket and takes to -her den. In fine weather the garden spiders are much more plentiful; and -the tiny gossamer spiders also are numerous, and fly at greater -heights. - -These serve to illustrate the class of phenomena most relied upon by -those in every land who must spend much time in the open air. The -scientist may understand the laws of winds and rains: but the farmer, -the shepherd, the fisherman, and sailor, to whom every phase of weather -means much, can, relying upon the actions of the lower animals, detect -approaching changes as readily, in many cases, as the Signal Service; -and far more readily or correctly than the quasi learned theorist whose -stock in trade is a hobby and an unlimited quantity of assumption. - -It is one thing to understand law; it is quite another to be able to -make practical application of it. Franklin identified lightning with -electricity; a century passed before practical use of the electric light -resulted. We know now the general laws of air currents, but little -application of them has been made. - -As to the possibility of controlling the winds, no one has thus far had -the temerity to propose it. But that rainfall can be partially -controlled is well known. The heaviest rains occur in forest areas; and -in turn, the matted roots of the forest and jungle retard the descent of -the rain into the water courses, and hinder the washing away of the -soil. Floods have become more sudden and destructive in the lumber -regions since the timber has been cut away, while the actual rainfall is -not so great. So a number of our Western States require a “homesteader” -to plant a tree claim. - -A bold genius has recently asserted that we may produce rain at will, by -sending up balloons loaded with dynamite or other powerful explosives, -and then firing them. It has been observed that almost every great -modern battle has been followed by a heavy rainfall; and the idea is, -that the continued explosions have had much to do with them. -Frequenters of Fourth of July picnics will readily vouch for the -correctness of the theory. - -Doubtless a more effective plan would be simply to apply the well known -first principle of air-currents and storms--heated air; but this would -be immensely expensive. Every year sees exemplifications of it, however, -in the heavy rains that follow the great forest fires or prairie fires -of our own land. Natives of tropical regions frequently burn the jungle -at the close of the dry season; and the unusual heating of large areas -in this way doubtless has much to do with hastening the advent of rain. - -The expedient of firing the sawgrass ponds is frequently resorted to in -Florida, and has been brought to the notice of the public in official -meteorological reports. It is directly in accordance with the principle -of restoration of the balance of forces, whereby a long heated term is -followed by unusually heavy rains. - -But, in contending with subterranean forces, man is hitherto balked. -Numbers of instruments exist for measuring the force and direction of -earthquake shocks, but these can be made of little practical use; for we -have seen that the vibrations travel from forty to one hundred and fifty -miles a minute, according to the nature of the soil. Hence, could we -know a certain shock would travel around the world, it would not be -possible, after it was first felt, to send warning ahead in time to be -of any especial value. But we have seen that unusual disturbances of -this sort are confined to certain regions, and are of constant -recurrence; while in other lands, they are almost unknown. So any one -understands pretty well what risks he runs in any particular district. - -The Chinese were the first to invent a seismometer, or instrument for -ascertaining the force and direction of any shock. Their apparatus -consists of an upright pillar bearing a number of dragons’ heads--each -one holding a ball in its mouth. So any slight tilting or vibration of -the pillar would cause a ball to drop on the side toward which the shock -travelled. The distance to which the ball was thrown served as a rude -measure of the force. - -Equally simple is Mallet’s contrivance--a number of cylinders of equal -heights and different bases, placed upon a sanded surface. The more -violent the shock, the larger the cylinder thrown down. - -But observations of these vibrations, to be of use, must take note of -the myriad tremors that will escape ordinary perceptions, or the powers -of such rude instruments as the above. There are several sorts now used. -Prof. Palmieri, of the Vesuvius Observatory, uses a delicate instrument, -which records the slightest tremor on a dial-plate. The Italians have -also applied the microphone to this work. The delicacy of this -instrument may be imagined, when it is known that by its means a fly can -be heard walking on the floor. So the slightest subterranean noise may -be heard. - -These instruments have taught us that the minor tremors increase in -number and intensity as any unusual disturbance of Vesuvius approaches; -just as the Signal Service can detect the gathering of a storm ere it -actually bursts. Remembering also Bravard’s warning of Mendoza, in the -last chapter, it is clear that in certain regions such observations can -be made of practical value to the people at large. - -One of the most ingenious apparatus for observing the vibrations of the -soil is that constructed by M. d’Abbadie, at his observatory near the -Pyrenees. A conical cavity forty-six feet deep is excavated in the solid -rock. At the bottom is a basin of mercury. A long-focus lens over this -reflects upon the surface of the ground the image of the metal below. -The slightest tremor is carefully examined by a microscope. In short, -this ingenious Frenchman has applied the reflecting telescope to the -observation of the interior of the earth. - -After all, the chief precautions must be of a different type. As already -noticed, long observation has taught the Japanese and others that their -safety depends mainly upon the construction of houses of the lightest -type; when the sea wave is more to be dreaded than the shock. This is -the general principle of building now adopted in countries where -earthquakes are frequent; and doubtless the earthquake is partially -responsible for the fact that many intelligent savage races have made no -progress in architecture. - -It should be noted, however, that the ancients believed that deep wells -were a safeguard against earthquakes; such is the expression of several -ancient writers. And in this connection we may mention the remarkable -case of Quito, in Ecuador. Here we have a city of magnificent -cathedrals, public edifices, and other lofty buildings, which have not -in three centuries been overthrown by an earthquake. Yet it lies on the -plateau on which stood Riobamba, where such terrible destruction was -wrought in 1794, and at the base of the great volcano of Pichincha. It -has been shaken time and again more severely than towns in the vicinity -that have been totally destroyed. Yet it remains intact, and the people -have an indifference to earthquakes that is astonishing. They attribute -their safety to the fact of having deep cellars under every house. When -we remember that tropical races are not, as a rule, a cellar building -people, it may be that the idea is worthy of serious consideration. But -many idle races of the tropics might, in lower grounds, merely exchange -the results of an occasional earthquake for malaria-breeding pools. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE REIGN OF LAW. - - “Man is born on a battle-field. Round him to rend - Or resist, the dread Powers he displaces, attend - By the cradle which Nature, amid the stern shocks - That have shattered creation, and shapened it, rocks. - He leaps with a wail into being; and lo! - His own mother, fierce Nature herself, is his foe; - Her whirlwinds are roused into wrath o’er his head; - ’Neath his feet roll her earthquakes; her solitudes spread - To daunt him; her forces dispute his command; - Her snows fall to freeze him; her suns burn to brand; - Her seas yawn to engulf him; her rocks rise to crush; - And the lion and leopard, allied, lurk to rush - On their startled invader. * * * * * * * * - Not a truth has to art or to science been given, - But brows have ached for it, and souls toiled and striven; - And many have striven, and many have failed, - And many died, slain by the truth they assailed.” - - -The original condition of the human race was not one of knowledge. When -the first man and the first monkey were created and finished, the monkey -knew as much as the man. Both found themselves in a world of forces, of -the nature of which, beyond what was revealed to their native instincts, -they knew nothing at all. The man’s superiority lay not in knowledge, -but in capacity to know. - -Man learned the forces and facts of Nature by experience. He learned -them at the cost to himself of fear and pain and toil and death. He -plucked one fruit and found it wholesome; another, and found it bitter; -another, and found it deadly. The surviving son learned to avoid the -mistakes of his father. - -Man was not long in gaining a knowledge of his environment, enough at -least, if he would not be too venturesome, to conserve in some degree -his happiness and life. He learned that fire will burn, that water will -drown, that storms will blow, that floods will overwhelm, that winter -will come, and that his life is dependent on continual quest and -avoidance. But Nature held innumerable secrets which he did not know; -many, which, even to-day, he has not learned. In proportion as he should -become acquainted with these, he would be master of a situation, which, -at the first, so nearly mastered him. He might acquire a magnificent -fortune, if he would only work for it; accordingly, we are told that his -Maker admonished him to “subdue and have dominion.” - -Whether man has been six thousand years, or sixty thousand, in learning -the little that he now knows, no one can tell; but during these years of -his primary tuition he could not through knowledge have the mastery of -Nature, for knowledge was too meager. It was well, therefore, that he -should, in the meanwhile, have a partial mastery through faith. Ignorant -of natural forces, or without means of avoidance, is it any wonder that -he should fly for refuge to the Supernatural? Accordingly, God was his -“refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Believing himself -watched and defended by infinite power and love, he could “run through a -troop or leap over a wall;” he could fancy himself “immortal till his -work was done,” safe on the battle-field as in his chamber; he was not -afraid of the “pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the -destruction that wasteth at noonday;” of earthquake and storm and fire -he was not afraid, for these were the ministers of Heaven’s will--if not -to be avoided, then to be accepted with submission and trust. - -Such faith in the presence and interposition of the Supernatural was -instructive to the young world, and as necessary as its mother’s milk -is to a babe. It gave comfort and repose and strength, for its subject -felt that “underneath and round about him were the everlasting arms.” It -made heroes of cowardly men on battle-fields; heroines of weak women in -humble homes. It produced the sublimest characters of history; it -vanquished death. Sustained by it, it is literally true that men -“subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions, -quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword; out of -weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the -armies of the aliens.” - -The sudden loss of this faith from earth would be a calamity. It would -be as though the sun and moon had been darkened, and the stars had gone -out in the sky. Till men know more of Nature, they must continue to lean -on the Supernatural. They may never do this less than they do it now; -but they will do it more intelligently. - -As the child, with growing strength, is weaned from the breast, so -increasing knowledge tends to the destruction of faith. It may be stated -as a law that, other things being equal, faith in the manifestation of -the Supernatural--in the miraculous--is most facile to him who knows the -least. Accordingly, the men of highest attainments have commonly the -least of this kind of faith. They still believe in something back of -Nature; some cause of Nature--in the Supernatural--but they expect -nothing from it outside the lines of natural law. They know nothing of -miracle or special providence. They see everywhere cause and effect; the -one not present without the other; the perpetual grinding of machinery -and the wretch mangled who is caught between the wheels; the wisest and -best of men, pillars of state or prophets of the Lord, crushed as surely -as the vilest and the meanest. All the prayers of God’s people will not -make rivers flow back to their fountains, nor turn the Sahara into a -sea; nor thaw the ice at the poles, nor relieve the famine, nor stop the -pestilence, nor level a single mole-hill, nor make one hair white or -black. The whole universe is held in the chain of cause and effect, with -link joined to link forever and ever. The Supernatural may be the -electric energy that thrills along the endless chain, but it never quits -the conductor to find out new paths. What it does to-day, it did a -thousand years ago, and will do a thousand years hence. So speaks and so -believes the student of Nature. We may be extremely reluctant to admit -his teaching, and yet the facts seem to be altogether with him. The -evidence is overwhelming that men everywhere, good and bad alike, are -dealing directly, not with the Supernatural, but, with Nature--with law; -_nothing but natural law_. If any hesitate to accept this saying, we do -not press them, for the time has not yet come when they could accept it -with safety. The babe will cling to the mother’s breast as long as he -needs it, and sometimes longer; but by and by he will abandon it of -himself. - -A world of iron law is not our ideal world, though the evidence grows -that it is the real one. We like law well enough when it defends us; we -are not pleased with it when it chastises us. At such a moment we would -flee to some friendlier power. We would go to God and tell Him that -Nature is not treating us well, and that we desire His interposition. It -is because we are afraid of Nature that we take so much interest in the -Supernatural. But what reason have we to think that the Supernatural is -better than Nature? - -The Supernatural has had more prophets than Nature, and will doubtless -continue to have them. Far be it from us to forbid them. Let them -prophecy in the name of the Lord. Let them “strengthen the weak hands -and confirm the feeble knees;” inspire courage in adversity, calmness -in the face of death. - -But we should like to remind them that if they have done much good, they -have also done some evil. - -They have greatly obstructed a lesson, the most important for men to -know; a lesson which they must learn at last, whether they like to learn -it or not; a lesson which they need to learn as soon as they can, -because certain knowledge is better to shape the life than is uncertain -faith; a lesson that will bring them face to face with the real -conditions of their present and eternal well-being,--we mean this -lesson, that _the Supernatural, the Primal Fountain of Force, goes forth -only in streams of natural law_. So far as can be shown, it manifests -itself in no other way. Contrary to this, the prophets of the -Supernatural have often encouraged man to believe that he shall not reap -as he has sown; that he may sow to the flesh, and yet reap to the -spirit; that outside and alongside the machinery of law is another and -more masterful machinery of Providence and Grace; that the latter is -ordained a sure corrective and deliverer from the evils of the former; -that so almighty is this invisible, ever-active and presiding energy, -that it can, by a momentary display, transform the most inveterate -sinner into a saint, and crown him with everlasting happiness, although, -meanwhile, it supinely leaves the innocent child the victim of Adam’s -fall, to sink into the flames of hell. Our sense of justice is shocked, -virtue is dismayed, vice is emboldened, and the so-called scheme of -grace, less pitiful and just than that of nature, is seen to differ from -it chiefly in this, that it offers greater encouragement to sin. - -Nature throughout all her regions proclaims the dominion of law. She has -incessantly denounced woe to its violator. A million times has she shown -us the delinquent writhing under the scourge. Never once has the -transgressor escaped. His transgression, - - “Like a staunch murderer steady to his purpose, - Follows him through every lane of life, - Nor misses once the track,” - -and soon or late he is overtaken. Privation or pain is the inexorable -penalty. Nature with trumpet voices shouts incessantly, “Whatsoever a -man soweth that shall he also reap.” - -The dominion of law is shown in the punishment of _intentional -disobedience_--what men call _sin_. Its natural consequences are -remorse, degradation, and spiritual death. A being of loftiest make is -reduced to the likeness of a vile and venomous thing, crawling on its -belly through the dust. Higher enjoyments are exchanged for such as are -brutish and vile,--so to speak, the life of a humming-bird, flitting -through all sunny climes and scenes and feeding on nectar, is exchanged -for the life of a swine, feeding on offal, and wallowing in the mire. -And never once is a wound made by the lash of law healed without a scar; -in other words, transgression leaves its permanent impress on the soul, -and the transgressor, despite the incantations of priest or prophet, -finds himself poorer forever. He has forfeited the peace of them that do -well. He has peopled the past with bitter memories; the future with -gloomy forebodings. Reason untrammeled, loyal to the truth and pursuing -it with success, has been substituted with reason fettered with chains -of prejudice and vile affection, loving and making a lie. - -Habit, with every successive stroke of action, has riveted these chains -more firmly, till the victim is fast bound hand and foot, and delivered -over to despair. The order of downward progress is, transgression, -spiritual pain, stupor, insensibility, permanent degradation, which is -spiritual death. In all this, there is no immediate or special judgment -of God; no working of the Supernatural apart from natural law. If there -were no God at all, while the constitution of man and the universe -should remain as they are, the consequences to the transgressor would, -in no wise, be altered. The sinner has nothing to fear but natural law, -and sooner or later he finds this terrible enough. - -But the punishment of sin is not the most impressive proof of the -dominion of law. We feel that the willful transgressor is entitled to -the punishment of his deed; hence, even when his punishment is severest, -he fails to command our fullest sympathy. That the organization of -Nature should be such as systematically to afflict the sinner, is not -more than our sense of justice would prompt us to expect. - -But the punishment of _ignorance_ offers a more impressive spectacle--a -more striking exhibition of the dominion of law. It seems that -ignorance, especially when absolutely unavoidable, might be pleaded in -bar of punishment; but nature obviously does not accept the plea. Nor -does it avail us in this emergency to appeal from Nature to the -Supernatural. The Supernatural refuses to entertain the -appeal--positively declines to interfere--and natural law is left to -take its course. The ignorant must suffer as surely as the guilty, and -often his suffering is not less severe. For the slightest mistakes men -forfeit happiness or life,--mistakes not of themselves alone, but -mistakes of others. The sin or the error belongs to one man; the weight -of the suffering often falls to another. Even our benevolence seems to -be punished; for quite frequently the effort to help others brings -disaster to ourselves--to our fortunes, to our families, our lives. -Seeking to rescue another from fire or water, from the assassin or the -robber; from the domestic tyrant or the foreign invader, we lose life, -and, for lack of our help, our children are uneducated, exposed to moral -evil, neglected, turned out of doors. The very tramp whom, for pity, we -took in from the street, robs us, or murders us. Meanwhile the -Supernatural beholds and makes no sign--gives no indication that it is -at all concerned. - -The suffering which comes through unavoidable ignorance, or which is -visited upon the innocent through the deeds of the guilty, is, in its -sum total, appalling and unspeakable. It is a dark and fathomless ocean, -whose waves have been incessantly beating on the shores of this dreary -world since time began. Every drop of this mighty ocean has been wrung -out through the operation of natural law. An omniscient eye, every hour -of the day and night, through countless ages, has gazed into these -waters of anguish, and has declined to lessen their quantity by a single -atom. No order from the Supernatural has gone forth to countermand any -decree of Nature. Man has stood alone, grappling with his antagonist; -and though he has cried incessantly, heaven has left him to his fate. -Could there be a more awful demonstration of the supremacy of natural -law? - -Nature slays in babyhood one-third of all the children that are born -into the world, just because they have not strength to resist her; -meanwhile she carefully preserves such tyrants as Tiberius to finish -their three score years and ten, though every added year means the -murder of a thousand of the best men and women to be found in a wide -empire. Why does not the Supernatural rise up from his place and smite -the tyrant to the earth? Is it not plain that we are dealing with -natural forces alone? - -For six thousand years--God knows how long--Africa has been a hell, than -which perhaps no man need ever fear a worse. If the pulpit may convince -a sinner that as a result of his ways he shall be turned black, body -and soul, and sent to Africa, there perpetually to renew his life as -often as it is extinguished by the superstition and fiendishness of his -fellows, and the said sinner do not then begin to live more wisely, it -will be useless to talk to him of fire and brimstone. Upon this horrible -theater of action perhaps 600,000,000 of human beings have been -projected in every century, coming without their will to a heritage of -nakedness and superstition and barbarity absolutely prohibitive of -happiness here or hope for the hereafter; and yet there has been no -interposition of the Supernatural in their behalf. The laws of birth and -death preside, just as if there were no power above us that cares for -either. - -It is one of the ordinances of nature that life without nourishment -shall not be prolonged. There is reason to believe that God would see -the last man starved from off this planet, and the planet itself plunged -onward into the void, tenantless forever, before he would command that -stones should be made bread. Not twenty years ago, 18,000,000 in the -northern provinces of China starved to death in a single year. What -horrible anxiety of hollow-eyed mothers for gasping babes; what hideous -deaths day by day; what acres of unburied corpses; what throngs about -religious altars, wringing their hands, and screaming to the heavens, -till it would seem that the agony of their prayers would have shaken the -very stars from the sky; and yet there was none that heard, nor any that -regarded. Not a single stone was turned into bread; not a single life -was sustained without food; and if any survived, it was the heartless -brother who wrested the last morsel from his weak and dying sister. A -ghastly instance of the dominion of law, attested by 18,000,000 of dead -witnesses. Can we look upon such a scene and ever again expect a petty -interposition in behalf of an individual when it has been denied to a -nation, and when the Continent of Africa has waited for it through -countless ages? - -Instances might be multiplied to infinity. Every horror recorded in this -book is a proclamation of the supremacy of law--a warning to men that if -they would shun the effect they must avoid the cause; that they must -foresee the laws and attributes of nature, and provide; or they must -perish. Strange that after ages of such awful teaching man is yet a -fool--too lazy, too stupid to open his eyes; vigorously fighting against -knowledge when every interest of his soul and body are at stake; saying -supinely, “it makes no difference whether you know much or little, or -what you believe, provided only you are sincere;” and in the same breath -dishonestly hearkening to his prejudices or his passions; becoming a -compound of ignorance, superstition and self-will, which first defies -and rouses the powers of Nature, and then flies howling to the -Supernatural for deliverance. When we think how little man has learned, -notwithstanding the severity of his schooling, we are less disposed to -accuse the harshness of Nature’s administration. - -Our reflections on the course of Nature have not proved that there is no -God, but rather that there is. The order, regularity and certainty of -natural forces indicates a changeless, exhaustless fountain from whence -those forces flow. Amid the ceaseless mutations of the universe, this -primal energy seems to be the one thing in which there is “no -variableness, neither shadow of turning.” It flows on resistless along -the same channels from age to age. It overwhelms whatever lies in its -path. It would sweep away all the millions of earth like a grain of -sand. It would sweep the very stars from the sky. Nothing can arrest it; -nothing change its course. It accommodates itself to nobody; all must be -accommodated to it, or suffer disaster. It is inexorable, like “that -rock, upon which if a man fall, he shall be broken, but if it fall upon -him, it will grind him to powder.” It is not man who is running this -puny world; it is a changeless, eternal Power. No fear that any human -combinations in capitols or temples will swerve this infinite energy, or -control it in the least. That which is according to its nature it will -do, and it will do nothing else. It is absolute monarch, and woe to him -who resists its sway. We are amazed, awed and subdued in the -contemplation. We begin to feel that there is but one thing for us to -do, and that is, to learn its ways and by increasing knowledge and -obedience, as rapidly as possible to put ourselves in accord with its -goings-forth. - -Should we enter some vast factory where there are acres of floor-space, -and wheels and cogs and pulleys and hands and machines of patterns -innumerable, all propelled by a giant engine hidden away in the cellar; -should we see all this wilderness of wheels moving in concert, and every -machine turning out the work for which it was intended, we should -neither doubt the existence of the power, nor the benevolence of the -whole design: nor if presently we saw a workman, reaching after some -fancied good, drawn between wheels and mangled, or a hundred ignorant or -careless persons caught up and whirled round and round and dashed to -death; would we find any occasion to reverse our judgment--to doubt -either the existence of a controlling force, or its essential goodness? -Rather we should be impressed with its terrible supremacy, and with the -importance of seeking out the lines of its manifestation and learning to -avoid a conflict. - -Law is not an entity, but only the mode of an entity; not a thing -existing, but the attribute of a thing; not in itself a power, but the -manner of the action of a power. When a power through a given cause -produces a given effect, and the same effect from the same cause, this -regularity of manifestation fulfills our idea of law. - -The great original energy must act with this perfect regularity--that -is, it must govern by law, and that equally, whether this original -energy be a thing only, or a person. In either case, we must accept it -as uncreated, necessary, having a definite constitution or nature. In -this power or person, natural laws are rooted, and from it they proceed, -as rays of light from the sun. To arrest the rays, you must quench the -luminary; to arrest the current forces of nature, you must stay their -author. The goings-forth of power from this exhaustless fountain are -necessary, ceaseless, changeless, resistless. If this fountain is an -impersonal force, we can no more expect it, on any account, to relax its -energy, than we can expect the engine in the cellar to stop because some -wretch up stairs has been caught between the wheels. - -If it is personal, having the attributes of wisdom and goodness--which -is the popular idea of God--still, from the very attributes with which -it is invested, we must expect it to have all the uniformity, precision, -and inexorableness of a machine. Its mode of action must be the same in -all cases that are alike, though the series be infinite, else there will -be more or less than perfect wisdom or perfect goodness in some of the -series. More would be impossible: less would impeach the power; hence, -the action must be uniform and resistless. It must show the -characteristics of law--_nothing else but law_. God can not consent to -do something that is not perfectly wise and perfectly good because He -has been importuned so to do by fools, or because a creature is going to -be crushed. Therefore, neither with Him--an infinitely wise and good -being--nor with Nature’s laws, which are but the effluence of His -nature, can there be any “variableness or shadow of turning.” - -The general acceptance of this truth will mark a step forward in the -progress of humanity. Such knowledge will largely displace the faith of -the past and the present, but there will be a net gain. We have been -looking for God outside of Nature; but while some profess to have seen -him, the majority have been weak in faith, or wholly unbelieving. When -we learn to see God in nature, we shall see him every day. We shall then -truly realize that “in him we live and move and have our being.” We -shall have substituted certainty in the governing power for something -very like caprice. We shall not expect the Supernatural to forbid the -Natural, any more than we shall expect the sun to quarrel with his -beams. Knowing definitely what not to expect of God, we shall understand -precisely what to expect from ourselves. We shall comprehend more fully -the Maker’s meaning when He said, “Subdue and have dominion.” - -Judaism alone, of all religions, took no cognizance of a future state. -If man thoroughly adjusted himself to this world’s laws, he needed not -fear for the hereafter. Therein is the strongest proof of its divine -origin. And along this line a thousand victories have been won--but much -yet remains. The results of human folly are lessening daily as man -progresses. The means of rational enjoyment have been already vastly -increased, and there will be further enlargement. But men, not angels, -must do the work. Moses and his people stood, the sea before, and -Pharaoh and his hosts behind them. In this extremity, he lifted his -hands and cried to heaven. The answer that came was hardly such as he -expected, but it may be very suggestive to us: “Wherefore criest thou -unto me? _Speak unto the children of Israel_, THAT THEY GO FORWARD.” - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -No so Romantic as it Looks=> Not so Romantic as it Looks {pg xiii} - -harvest and and summer=> harvest and summer {pg 25} - -which bring a rainy season=> which brings a rainy season {pg 34} - -from 10° to to 15°=> from 10° to 15° {pg 38} - -electrical discharges takes place=> electrical discharges take place {pg -44} - -bricks to to the street=> bricks to the street {pg 81} - -their more oppulent neighbors=> their more opulent neighbors {pg 87} - -frivolty and idleness=> frivolity and idleness {pg 88} - -witnesssd the horrible cremation=> witnesssed the horrible cremation {pg -92} - -up to to the front door=> up to the front door {pg 98} - -in some myterious way=> in some mysterious way {pg 109} - -feared in this conntry=> feared in this country {pg 130} - -population atttacted by=> population attracted by {pg 153} - -basin of Hong Hong=> basin of Hong Kong {pg 157} - -the shoal in in the winter=> the shoal in the winter {pg 168} - -from the beyond the ship=> from beyond the ship {pg 189} - -A portion of the tempest and of the!=> A portion of the tempest and of -thee! {pg 220} - -tremenduous electrical displays=> tremendous electrical displays {pg -223} - -straw fused in in the same way=> straw fused in the same way {pg 224} - -Quinitus Julius Eburnus became consul=> Quintus Julius Eburnus became -consul {pg 229} - -of the Lyse Fjord=> of the Lyse Fiord {pg 234} - -observations of late years has shown=> observations of late years have -shown {pg 254} - -being the the only one=> being the only one {pg 261} - -they liked the the work=> they liked the work {pg 299} - -These uprotected tracts=> These unprotected tracts {pg 268} - -where help not easily obtained=> where help is not easily obtained {pg -272} - -the immediate vicinty of=> the immediate vicinity of {pg 294} - -at a large scale-map=> at a large-scale map {pg 310} - -the governmental committes=> the governmental committees {pg 315} - -had even remotely conconceived=> had even remotely conceived {pg 332} - -ten feet behing them=> ten feet behind them {pg 338} - -succeeeed in escaping=> succeeded in escaping {pg 341} - -magnificiently solid structure=> magnificently solid structure {pg 346} - -droping shattered houses=> dropping shattered houses {pg 347} - -of overwhelmning sorrow=> of overwhelming sorrow {pg 374} - -Monday, the 3d, liberal contritions=> Monday, the 3d, liberal -contributions {pg 382} - -vast quanties of gas=> vast quantities of gas {pg 404} - -character of the cave=> character of the the cave {pg 408} - -twenty-four active volcanes=> twenty-four active volcanoes {pg 416} - -The next unusal activity=> The next unusual activity {pg 434} - -the material threwn out may reach=> the material thrown out may reach -{pg 438} - -the Vatna distriet in 1875=> the Vatna district in 1875 {pg 449} - -the barometic oscillations=> the barometric oscillations {pg 480} - -one hundrd and sixty-five=> one hundred and sixty-five {pg 491} - -Portions of the country was upheaved=> Portions of the country were -upheaved {pg 533} - -the unitiated foreigner=> the uninitiated foreigner {pg 536} - -At was felt at Charleston=> It was felt at Charleston {pg 553} - -long standing fueds=> long standing feuds {pg 572} - -killed killed fifteen thousand persons=> killed fifteen thousand persons -{pg 585} - -the unparalled horrors=> the unparalleled horrors {pg 592} - -weaned from the the breast=> weaned from the breast {pg 602} - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Great Disasters and Horrors in the -World's History, by A. 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H. Godbey - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Great Disasters and Horrors in the World's History - -Author: A. H. Godbey - -Release Date: February 18, 2016 [EBook #51246] -[Last updated: March 21, 2016] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREAT DISASTERS AND HORRORS *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/cover_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="306" height="450" alt="cover" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="border: 2px black solid;margin:auto auto;max-width:50%; -padding:1%;"> -<tr><td> -<p class="c"><a href="#TABLE_OF_CONTENTS">Table of Contents.</a><br /> -Some typographical errors have been corrected; -<a href="#transcrib">a list follows the text</a>.</p> - -<p class="c"><a href="#LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">List of Illustrations</a><br /> <span class="nonvis">(In certain versions of this etext [in certain browsers] -clicking on this symbol <img class="enlargeimage" src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" alt="" title="" height="14" width="18" />, -or directly on the image, -will bring up a larger version of the illustration.)</span></p> - -<p class="c">(etext transcriber's note)</p></td></tr> -</table> - -<h1>GREAT DISASTERS</h1> - -<p class="cb"><small>AND</small><br /><br /> -<big><big><span class="smcap">Horrors in the World’s History.</span></big></big> -<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iii" id="page_iii"></a>{iii}</span><br /> -<small>A GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE NOTABLE CALAMITIES<br /> -WHICH HAVE BEFALLEN MANKIND</small><br /> -<br /> -<big>IN ALL AGES, BOTH UPON LAND AND SEA.</big><br /> -<br /> -EMBRACING<br /> -<br /> -<small>THE LOUISVILLE TORNADO, FLOODS IN THE SOUTH, CHARLESTON EARTHQUAKE,<br /> -JOHNSTOWN FLOOD, STORM ON THE COAST OF SAMOA, NOTED SHIPWRECKS,<br /> -GREAT FLOODS IN CHINA, HOLLAND AND JAPAN, AND OTHER NOTABLE<br /> -DISASTERS CAUSED BY STORM, FLOOD AND VOLCANIC ACTION,</small><br /> -<br /> -AND OF THE LAWS OF THE<br /> -<br /> -<big>NATURAL PHENOMENA THAT PRODUCE THEM.</big><br /> -<br /> -COMPRISING<br /> -<br /> -<small>THRILLING TALES OF HEROISM, GREAT DESTRUCTION OF TOWNS, CITIES, HOMES<br /> -AND LIVES, HEART-RENDING SCENES OF AGONY, DREADFUL SUFFERINGS,<br /> -MIRACULOUS ESCAPES, DARING ADVENTURES, ETC., ETC.,</small><br /> -<br /> -<small>TOGETHER WITH</small><br /> -<br /> -<big>NOBLE RESPONSES OF AID.</big><br /> -<br /> -<small>TO WHICH IS ADDED</small><br /> -<br /> -<big>AN ACCOUNT OF METHODS OF PREDICTION.</big><br /> -<br /> -By A. H. GODBEY, A.M.,<br /> -<br /> -<small>Author of “Stanley in Africa,” “Light in Darkness,” “Missions and Missionary Heroes,” etc.</small><br /> -———<br /> -<i>SUPERBLY ILLUSTRATED WITH 150 ENGRAVINGS.</i><br /> -———<br /> -<small>PUBLISHED BY</small><br /> -ROYAL PUBLISHING CO.,<br /> -<small>ST. LOUIS, MO.</small></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iv" id="page_iv"></a>{iv}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/deco.png" class="imgnone" width="200" height="60" alt="text decoration" title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="c"> -<span class="smcap">Copyright.</span><br /> - -1890,<br /> - -W. L. HOLLOWAY.<br /> -</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/deco1.png" class="imgnone" width="188" height="60" alt="text decoration" title="" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_v" id="page_v"></a>{v}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2> - -<p><span class="smcap">Whatever</span> be the ideas of the public upon a glance at the title page of -this work, it is not intended to pander to the morbid desire for the -sensational or horrible, characteristic of weak minds. This volume is -not a literary morgue.</p> - -<p>Mankind is constantly astonished by reports of mishaps and disasters of -manifold character, when there is seldom room for astonishment. A large -proportion of the calamities reported from day to day are directly due -to the haste, greed, and heedlessness of man himself, and need no -comment.</p> - -<p>But there is a large class of disasters, due solely to meteorological or -geological conditions, which surpass all others in magnitude and -appalling destruction. In such cases men insist on prating about -“mysterious visitations,” as though these occurrences were subject to -the dominion of no law. To an examination of such is this book devoted.</p> - -<p>When in school, the writer was often struck by the persistence with -which even the most diligent students would call upon the teachers of -physics and chemistry to suspend the recitation and devote the time to -illustrative experiments. Physical Geography was constantly pronounced<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vi" id="page_vi"></a>{vi}</span> -“very dry,” because of the scarcity of opportunities for illustration.</p> - -<p>The writer has endeavored to present in a form acceptable to the popular -palate the general principles of the storm and earthquake so far as they -are understood: and numerous narratives of great disturbances have been -inserted that a clearer conception of the magnitude of these agencies -and their relative importance may be attained by the reader.</p> - -<p>Much care has been spent in “steering between Scylla and Charybdis.” -While it has been designed to avoid merely scientific data, there has -been the equally delicate task of avoiding prolix narration and mere -sensational tales. It is hoped that the result will be useful and -interesting.</p> - -<p>If the book shall lead the reader to higher views of the reign of -inexorable law in nature, and to a profounder reverence for the Author -of Law and his works, the labor of its compilation will not have been -spent in vain.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">A. H. Godbey.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii"></a>{vii}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="TABLE_OF_CONTENTS" id="TABLE_OF_CONTENTS"></a>TABLE OF CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="margin:auto auto;max-width:85%;"> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">MYTHS OF THE WINDS.</td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td align="right"><small>PAGE.</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Old Greek fancies—Their modern traces—Man seeking mysteries—Personifications—The -“air-mothers”</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_017">17</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">CONSTANT WINDS.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Comparative climate—Expansive force of heat—Illustrations—The -trade-winds—Effect of the earth’s rotation—Return currents and -calms</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_026">26</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">PERIODIC WINDS.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Modified trade winds—The monsoons—Local winds—Sea and land -breezes—The simoom: its terrible effects—The khamsin, and similar -winds—Moisture in the air: its effects—Rain and hail—Clouds: their -varieties—Mountain winds</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_034">34</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">TORNADOES AND CYCLONES.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Unheeded law—Peculiarities of storms—Cyclonic storms—Theoretical -Illustrations—A “cyclone hot-bed"—Traveling of a cyclone—Its -curves in accordance with law—Features of the cyclone’s path—Great -cyclone of August, 1888—The planetary equinox theory—Objections -to it—Safe predictions—Sun-spots—Mysterious providences</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_048">48</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">THE LOUISVILLE TORNADO.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Perspective of news—Amusing conceits—Distress at the door—The -tornado—Warning of the Signal Service—The storm strikes Louisville—Its -course—Wreck of Falls City Hall—Rescuing the victims—Fire -breaks out—Personal narratives—At the Union Depot<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii"></a>{viii}</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_065">65</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">INCIDENTS OF THE TORNADO.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">The poor to be remembered—Peddlers, publicans and sinners—The -freaks of “Providence"—Deaths in the storm remarkably few—Wonderful -escapes—Explosive effects of confined air—Strange pranks of -the wind—The storm at Parkland—At Jeffersonville—The mammon -worshiper—Generosity and independence</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_087">87</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">OTHER TORNADOES.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">The tornado in East Kansas—In Southeast Missouri—Great damage -in Illinois—Water-spout at Metropolis—Many distinct whirlwinds—Effect -of forest and prairie fires—Tornado of Charleston, 1761—Tornadoes -at Natchez, 1840 and 1842—The Marshfield storm, 1880—Remarkably -small loss of life in tornadoes—Tornadoes in foreign -lands</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_114">114</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">TROPICAL CYCLONES.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Cyclones on our eastern borders—The Nova Scotia cyclone—St. Thomas -cyclone and earthquake, 1837—Cyclone of 1867—Barbadoes storm, -1831—Great storm of 1780—Terrible cyclones and storm waves of -India—Typhoons in the China seas</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_141">141</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">PERILS OF THE SEA.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Songs of the sea—The ocean always admired—Its treasures and dangers—Man’s -greed a source of disaster—Criminal disregard of life—Terrible -fatalities in leaky ships—The Arctic seas—The ship <i>Rufus</i></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_159">159</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">LIFE-SAVING MEASURES.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Great storm of 1703—Humaneness and inhumanity—Diabolical wreckers—Hovellers—Desperate -struggles without a life-boat illustrated -by Dickens—The life-boat invented—Its usefulness—Lighthouses -and fog-bells<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ix" id="page_ix"></a>{ix}</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_179">179</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">GREAT SAMOAN HURRICANE.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Germany and Samoa—Naboth’s vineyard—War breaks out—The assembled -navy—Situation of the harbor—The hurricane—Fears of the -natives—Vessels dragging anchors—Sudden wreck of the <i>Eber</i>—Magnanimous -natives—The <i>Adler</i> overturned—Struggle of the <i>Nipsic</i>—Fouled -by the <i>Olga</i>, and run ashore—Crew rescued by the natives—The -<i>Vandalia</i> helpless—Bold feat of the <i>Calliope</i> cheered—<i>Vandalia</i> -stranded—Many Drowned—At the last gasp—The <i>Trenton</i> -drifts upon them—Defiance of the storm—The flag triumphant</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_195">195</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">ELECTRIC STORMS.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Byron’s fire—Myths of the lightning—Causes of thunder storms—Strange -freaks of the lightning—Numerous fatalities—Some curious -cases—A lightning stroke a Divine favor—Thunder—Peculiar incidents—Lightning -little to be feared—Foolish precautions—A “dysentery -conductor” wanted—St. Elmo’s fire—Electric halos—Their -part in history—The aurora—Popular myths—Aurora described</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_220">220</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">RAIN, HAIL AND SNOW.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Clouds and cloud shapes—The storm changes national destinies—Cloud -halos—Specter of the Brocken—The “beautiful rain"—Amount -of rainfall—Snow—Its ravages—Remarkable showers of hail—Prodigies</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_246">246</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">FLOODS IN THE SOUTH.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Rivers a universal problem—Character of the Mississippi—Failure of -the levee system—The building of levees—Three great sections—Damage -of overflows—Fighting for the levee—Storm on the river—Scene -at a crevasse—The flood in the rural districts—In the city—Closing -a crevasse—Refugees on the levee—Crooked streams</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_261">261</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">THE FLOOD OF 1890.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Floods of other years—Warning of the Signal Service—The water rising—At -Greenville, Mississippi—The fight for the Morganza line—The -waters win—Other crevasses—Extent of the damage—Objections -to levees—Levees versus outlets—Terrible floods in China—A -proposed outlet—Reflection on present policy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_x" id="page_x"></a>{x}</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_296">296</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">The dam system of India—American “cheap goods and haste"—The -Little Conemaugh Valley—Heavy rains—Johnstown flooded—The -artificial lake—A poor dam—No uneasiness—How the water would -move—The dam breaks—Terrible rush of the flood—An engine -chased—A warning whistle—Locomotives hurled about like toys—Flying -for life—Escapes and losses</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_324">324</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Suddenness of the flood—It divides—A chaotic scene—Fire breaks out—Faith -of the perishing—Narratives: the Hulbert House; Rev. -D. M. Miller’s story; Mr. Calliver’s escape; Dr. Beale and family—Morning: -the stricken multitude; Mr. Rose’s narrative; Talmage’s -letter; the grief of the survivors</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_343">343</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">RELIEF MEASURES.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">The people in want—Johnstown after the flood—Human ghouls—Relic -hunters—Temporary government—A dictatorship—Hospitals -and morgues—Prompt response of the public—Aid from various -cities—Losses by the flood</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_367">367</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">FAMINE AND PESTILENCE.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Signs and omens—Natural causes—Bengal famine of 1866—Relief -Measures—Results—Pestilence and contagion—Black death—Its -frequent ravages—Fright—A romance of Florence</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_384">384</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">THE VOLCANO.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Erroneous views—Myths—Active principle in volcanoes—Atmospheric -pressure—Rain at eruptions—Lava, pumice, ashes and -tufa—Different phases of action—Stromboli, the “lighthouse"—Lava -bubbles—Thrilling adventure—Lost!—Theory of a molten -earth—Objections to it—The earth cools slowly—Subsidence and -chemical action—Distribution of volcanoes—Their work and forms<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xi" id="page_xi"></a>{xi}</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_394">394</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">GREAT ERUPTIONS OF VESUVIUS.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Pompeii long buried—Excavations begun—A hermetically sealed -city—Scenes in the town—Pliny’s story—Hundreds stifled—Finding -the bodies—Subsequent eruptions—Notable convulsion of 1538—The -eruption of 1531, 1737 and 1793—Recent observations</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_421">421</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">OTHER GREAT ERUPTIONS.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Destruction of Sodom—Arguments—The pitch lake of Trinidad—Ætna: -eruption of 1669—Thousands perish—Catania destroyed—Other -outbreaks—Iceland: Mt. Hecla—Tremendous eruption of -Skaptar Jokul—One-fifth of the people perish—Millions of cubic -yards of lava—Disturbances in the sea—Jorullo: a mountain made -in a night—Fearful outburst of Sumbawa—Twenty-six people out of -twelve thousand escape—Explosions heard nine hundred miles—Other -Malaysian volcanoes—Geysers—Terrible eruption of Cosequina—Heard -one thousand miles—Eruptions in South America—Force -required to send out lava—In the Sandwich Islands—Krakatoa: -the greatest eruption in history—A chorus of volcanoes—Awful -destruction—Perceived around the world—Unparalleled sea wave</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_440">440</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">EARTHQUAKES.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Myths of the earthquake—Ancient theories—Modern research—Earthquakes -and volcanic agency—Speed of a shock—The atmospheric -theory—Earthquakes at particular seasons—The “planetary influence” -theory—Character of motions</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_481">481</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">EUROPEAN EARTHQUAKES.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Legends of the flood—Sparta Destroyed—Bura and Helice engulfed—Numerous -convulsions in Asia Minor—Antioch repeatedly destroyed—North -Africa suffers—Calabrian earthquake of 1693—A tremendous -convulsion in 1783—Immense chasms—People swallowed up—Great -landslides—Terrible catastrophe at Scylla—Ruffians amid the -wreck—The great Lisbon earthquake—Its vast extent—Awful destruction—Earthquake -at Chio—In Switzerland—In Ischia—Distressing -scenes in the ruins—Disastrous shocks in Spain<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xii" id="page_xii"></a>{xii}</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_496">496</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">EARTHQUAKES IN THE UNITED STATES AND ENGLAND.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">All nature uneasy—The terrifying character of an earthquake—Signs -and wonders—“El Gran Ruido,” of Guanajuato—Frequency of earthquakes—Earthquake -in New England, 1638—A second in 1663—Shock -of 1727—Great convulsions of 1755—Damage and great alarm -at Boston—“The end of the world!"—Great disturbance in the -Mississippi Valley, 1811—Strange feats—The Charleston earthquake—Numerous -English earthquakes—Comparatively small loss of life</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_535">535</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">EARTHQUAKES IN TROPICAL AMERICA.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Shocks in Asia: lack of reliable information—The Andes region—Great -earthquake of Riobamba—Humboldt’s description—Numerous -shocks in Venezuela—Catastrophe of Caracas—Effect on the survivors—Frequent -convulsions at San Salvador—Total destruction in -1854—Ruffians on the scene—Sudden disaster of Mendoza—Touching -incidents—Faithful dogs—Shocks in Peru and gigantic sea wave—Numerous -great shocks—The end of all things—The last man</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_563">563</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">PREDICTION AND PREVENTION.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Futile efforts to control the future—Law neglected for superstition—Pretentious -prophets—Humbugs—Laws of weather changes—Actions -of animals—Methods for producing rain suggested—Earthquake -indicators—A force beyond control—Possibilities</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_589">589</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" colspan="2" align="center" class="c">THE REIGN OF LAW.</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Knowledge only from experience—Partial mastery by faith—Natural -law the ruling force—Good and bad results of faith in the Supernatural—Sin -punished—Ignorance punished—Examples—Man slow to -learn—Eternal wisdom and goodness—Progress, past, present and -future</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_600">600</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xiii" id="page_xiii"></a>{xiii}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td> </td><td align="right"><small>PAGE.</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top">Cave of the Winds</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_018">18</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The Simoom</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_040">40</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Forms of Clouds</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_045">45</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Path of Cyclones</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_054">54</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Rotation of Storms</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_056">56</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Water-spouts at Sea</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_060">60</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Where the Storm entered Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_068">68</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Baxter Park, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_071">71</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Falls City Hall</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_075">75</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">At Work in the Wreck</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_078">78</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Main Street, between Eleventh and Twelfth, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_082">82</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Union Depot, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_085">85</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Eighth and Main, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_090">90</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Corner Main and Clinton, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_094">94</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Looking East from Tenth and Main, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_096">96</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Corner Jefferson and Twelfth, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_099">99</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">On Ninth Street, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_102">102</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Ruined Tobacco Warehouses</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_104">104</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">View of Jeffersonville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_108">108</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Wall and Front Streets, Jeffersonville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_109">109</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Wreck at Jeffersonville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_110">110</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Tenth and Main, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_112">112</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Looking West from Tenth and Main, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_115">115</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">View of the Residence District, Louisville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_118">118</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Ruined Dwellings</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_121">121</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Path of Tornado, Olney, Ill.</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_124">124</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Scene at Olney, Ill.</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_126">126</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Whirlwind from Burnt Prairie</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_127">127</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Tornado followed by Rain Storm</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_129">129</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Instantaneous View of Tornado<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xiv" id="page_xiv"></a>{xiv}</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_130">130</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Tornado at Monville</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_132">132</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Water-spout at Sea</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_135">135</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Minnesota Tornado</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_137">137</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Sand-spouts in the Desert</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_139">139</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Cyclone, Fire and Earthquake, St. Thomas</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_145">145</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">“Drowning with its Terrible Roar”</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_147">147</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Hurricane in the Tropics</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_151">151</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Coast of India Submerged by a Storm</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_156">156</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">“He Sinks into Thy Depths”</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_160">160</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Cast Ashore</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_163">163</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Wreck of the <i>Minotaur</i></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_167">167</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Wrecked on a Rock</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_171">171</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Castaways on a Raft</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_173">173</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Sinking of the <i>London</i></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_177">177</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Storm on the Shoals, 1703</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_180">180</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">On a Lee Shore</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_184">184</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Hovellers Relieving a Vessel</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_187">187</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The Life-boat</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_190">190</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The Life-boat at Work</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_193">193</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Bow of the <i>Eber</i> Cast Ashore</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_201">201</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The <i>Adler</i> on the Reef</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_204">204</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Samoans Rescuing American Sailors</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_207">207</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The <i>Calliope</i> Putting to Sea</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_210">210</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Bow of the Sunken <i>Vandalia</i></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_214">214</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">After the Storm</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_218">218</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The Lyse Fiord</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_221">221</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Ideal Subterranean Storm</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_225">225</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Harvesters Killed by Lightning</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_232">232</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Land of the Aurora</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_243">243</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Field of Waterloo</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_249">249</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Specter of the Brocken</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_252">252</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Tropical Flood</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_264">264</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Making Mats for Levee Fronts</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_266">266</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Struggle to Hold the Levee</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_269">269</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">A Mountain Torrent</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_271">271</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">“No Time for Prayin’!”</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_273">273</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Funeral During the Flood</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_275">275</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Breaking of the Levee</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_277">277</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Surprised by the Water<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xv" id="page_xv"></a>{xv}</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_279">279</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Not so Romantic as it Looks</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_282">282</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Telegraphing Under Difficulties</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_285">285</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Rescuing People</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_288">288</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Camps on the Levee</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_290">290</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Waiting for a Steamer</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_292">292</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The Search Light</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_293">293</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Scene at High Water</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_297">297</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Negroes Moving Out</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_301">301</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Stock Raft</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_303">303</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Picking Up Refugees</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_306">306</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Deserted Farmhouse</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_308">308</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Flood in China</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_312">312</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Dykes of Holland</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_316">316</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Relief of Leyden</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_318">318</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Breaking of the Dykes, Holland</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_322">322</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Map of Conemaugh Valley</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_325">325</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The Broken Dam</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_334">334</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Fleeing Engine</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_337">337</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Wreck of the Trains</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_340">340</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Mill Creek</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_345">345</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">At the Stone Bridge</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_349">349</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Desperate Struggle</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_354">354</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The Gorge at the Bridge</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_358">358</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Battle with the Waters</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_362">362</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Johnstown After the Flood</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_371">371</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">At the Morgue</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_376">376</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Conemaugh Viaduct</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_381">381</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">At the Summit of Popocatepetl</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_397">397</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">View in Active Crater</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_401">401</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Crater of Orizaba</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_405">405</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Eruption of Vesuvius</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_411">411</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Coral Reefs</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_418">418</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Destruction of Pompeii</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_424">424</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Vesuvius in 1737</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_435">435</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Destruction of Sodom</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_441">441</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Destruction of Catania</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_446">446</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Mt. Hecla</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_450">450</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Jorullo</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_455">455</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Geyser<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xvi" id="page_xvi"></a>{xvi}</span></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_457">457</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The Yellowstone Park</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_462">462</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Cattle in Volcanic Mud</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_473">473</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Convulsion on the Coast of Sumatra</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_478">478</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Effect of Earthquake on Masonry</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_484">484</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">The Deluge</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_497">497</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Ruined Roman Colonnade</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_500">500</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Antioch</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_502">502</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Massive Architecture Wrecked, Asia Minor</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_504">504</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Ruins Near Cairo</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_506">506</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Ruins Near Nineveh</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_507">507</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Remains of Ancient Hebrew Masonry</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_509">509</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Great Earthquake in Calabria</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_511">511</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Destruction of Messina</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_513">513</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Disaster of Scylla</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_515">515</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Lisbon</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_517">517</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Earthquake at Lisbon</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_520">520</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Ruined Cathedral</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_522">522</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Scene at Chio</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_524">524</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Panic at Casamicciola</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_529">529</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Earthquake in Andalusia</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_532">532</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Wreck of the Charleston Earthquake</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_538">538</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Houses Thrown into Ravine</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_542">542</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Wreck on King Street, Charleston</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_544">544</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Scene at Charleston</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_548">548</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Old State House, Charleston</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_551">551</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Charleston</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_554">554</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Wreck of Factory</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_557">557</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Ruined Dwelling</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_560">560</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Earthquake in China</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_564">564</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">After the Shock</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_568">568</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Scene at Caracas</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_571">571</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Ruins of San Salvador</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_573">573</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Fright at San Salvador</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_575">575</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Shock at Lake in Honduras</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_577">577</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Wreck at Mendoza</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_579">579</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Great Sea Wave</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_583">583</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top">Earthquake in Spain</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_586">586</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a>{17}</span></p> - -<h1>GREAT DISASTERS</h1> - -<p class="cb">AND<br /> -HORRORS IN THE WORLD’S HISTORY.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> -<small>MYTHS OF THE WINDS.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Gray in his mossy cave Æolus stood<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Gazing in reverie at the distant sails,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That skimmed the surface of the glassy deep,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Unvexed by blasts of Eurus’ boisterous whims.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The restless winds in leash about their lord<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Full often murmuring, plucked his floating robe,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Or stirred his tangled tresses with their breath,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Impatient at the lack of wilder liberty.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_s.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="39" -height="60" -alt="S" /></span>O sang the bard of the fabled cave of the winds. Thus the old Romans -and Greeks have taught us to think and to speak of the spirits of the -air. Thus the very name of “spirit” was originally identical with -“breath” or “wind.” Those poetic old Hellenes! They contrived to find -something delightfully human in all the phenomena of nature. The woods -were peopled with fauns and dryads. Around the bend of yonder rushy -stream, a wary woodsman found a bathing nymph. Beyond that rock Actæon -saw the chaste Diana sporting in the crystal pool. Here is the spot -where baffled Phœbus found his Daphne changed into a laurel tree.</p> - -<p>See you those stately poplars by the side of Italy’s stream? There -Phaëthon’s mourning sisters changed their fleshly robes for those green -spires. From their waving boughs the cry of the kingfisher Alcyone -reminds us that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a>{18}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_018_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_018_sml.jpg" width="450" height="308" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CAVE OF THE WINDS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a>{19}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">halcyon days may yet be in store for the most unfortunate. The response -hurled back from yonder cliff warns us to drop a tear for the poor nymph -Echo, whose unrequited love caused her to pine away till only a voice -was left. To this day she answers every call, hoping to yet meet her -love. That flaunting yellow flower is sprung from that very Narcissus -who was so handsome he fell in love with himself. Ten thousand egotistic -beauties of later days have not met so happy a fate.</p> - -<p>Hark! was that the sea-shell of Triton? Neptune approaches with his -Naiad train. You may see the plunge of his dolphin steeds. And see! what -vision of incomparable loveliness is that? It is Aphrodite, goddess of -love—sprung from the foam of the sea—as fragile as the fleecy mass -from whence she came; as inconstant as the tossing wave on which she -dances. How can love be otherwise, since she is its queen? In the sky -above you see the beautiful Andromeda with the radiant Perseus. There -Hercules yet wields his club and wears his lion-skin. And there—</p> - -<p>It is vanished. The disenchantment is complete. Modern civilization has -replaced the nymph with the peasant, and the faun with the brigand. The -pipe of Pan is forever silent. Marsyas is revenged, for Apollo is no -more. Jupiter dethroned Saturn; Jupiter has long since been dethroned. -Where are the hands that penned those beauteous fancies; the bards that -sung the deeds of the gods? Dust and ashes these two thousand years.</p> - -<p>Their works live after them. Passing centuries have not improved upon -their lovely phantasies: it may be because they could not. Rome has -named the months of our year: Norway has aided to name the days of our -week. Easter preserves the name of Œstara, Teuton goddess of -springtime, of new life, new light. So the names<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a>{20}</span> of the winds remain. -Auster, the south wind, has his memorial in Australia. Zephyr, the -gentle west wind, is still a theme for poet’s song. Rude Boreas, -“blustering railer,” will always find a home in the north. Civilization -has not driven him from his domain. Æolus, the master spirit, most -powerful because most delicate and beautiful, still stirs our wind-harps -with his breath. The spirits of the air are as boisterous and untamed as -in the days of Æneas.</p> - -<p>And what figures would appeal more strongly to the imagination than -these simple personifications? How can too great importance be attached -to the part the winds perform in the economy of nature? Without them the -land would become a Sahara; the seas would be covered with a London fog. -In the rustle of the breeze, as well as in the roar of hurricane, there -is purpose and energy. The hand that guides one, controls the other. “He -holdeth the wind in his fists.”</p> - -<p>In every age man’s imagination has been strongly influenced by the -mysterious or unknown. There is little play for poetic sentiment in the -cold practicality of science. That which is clearly comprehended, loses -half its charm. The botanist carefully plucks to pieces a flower; it is -analyzed, and all its mechanism understood—but it is no longer a -flower. The alchemist has produced the wonderful science of chemistry; -but the philosopher’s stone and the secret of producing gold are forever -numbered among the shadowy myths of the past. The explorer has roamed in -countless climes amid a myriad perils: a thousand treasures has he given -to the world: but his El Dorado and the Fountain of Perpetual Youth have -become as a dream in the night. And thus for aye will phantoms vanish as -we grasp. Truth bears a magic wand at whose touch the unreal dies as a -snowflake in a flame. All time<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a>{21}</span> has borne its legends of the risen -departed, whose spirits roam the earth by night; but we have not proved -that the dead have done in six thousand years so much evil as the living -in a single day.</p> - -<p>So one by one our cherished fables disappear. The steam-engine seems a -thing of life; but we do not find a hidden geni therein. Electricity, -one of the youngest of man’s practical discoveries, has become the most -easily controlled. The bolts of Jove are the prisoners of man. The river -is harnessed to the mill and factory. But the winds roam as free as in -the day of creation “when the morning stars sang together, and all the -sons of God shouted for joy.” Of all the forces of nature the wind and -sea are least beneath control of man. The command “Subdue and have -dominion” has not yet been fully obeyed.</p> - -<p>Small wonder, then, that a glamour of mysticism remains about the storm -and its birth. Man finds himself in the presence of a power beyond his -comprehension. Of the various elements of nature, the wind, the sea and -the storm are more than ever the realm of fancy and awe. One often -wonders at many other ancient myths; but there seems nothing surprising -in the Grecian fancy that the winds were the spirit slaves of Æolus; or -in the Arabian thought, that storms were but the battles of wonderful -genii, whose weapons were fire, water, and their own powerful breath. In -the crash of the thunder the Arab heard their terrible strokes. The -Northman beheld giants, contending now with each other, now with the -giants of frost or of fire; now resting a moment in their cavern -home—now chasing the clouds like frightened sheep from their realm of -Mistheim. Some day all these powers would be arrayed in battle with the -gods themselves, and Ragnarok, or universal chaos would follow. God<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a>{22}</span> -made man in his own image; man has ever since endeavored to make all -things in his own. So have the winds become personified in every age and -land.</p> - -<p>Charles Kingsley has given us a beautiful picture of the “air mothers,” -and the part they play in the realm of nature. Compare the ancient with -the modern. We now know the laws and the work of the winds; but we have -not found a better manner of picturing them. They are still the -beautiful spirits of the air; the Peris of the upper deep, thoughtless -in life, weeping repentant tears in the hour of their death.</p> - -<p>“Who are these who follow us softly over the moor in the autumn evening? -Their wings brush and rustle in the fir boughs, and they whisper before -and behind us, as if they called gently to each other, like birds -flocking homeward to their nests.</p> - -<p>“The woodpecker on the pine stems knows them, and laughs aloud for joy -as they pass. The rooks above the pasture know them, and wheel around -and tumble in their play.</p> - -<p>“The brown leaves on the oak-tree know them, and flutter faintly, and -beckon as they pass. In the chattering of the dry leaves there is a -meaning, and a cry of weary things longing for rest.</p> - -<p>“ ‘Take us home, take us home, you soft air-mothers, now our fathers, the -sunbeams, are grown dull. Our green summer beauty is all draggled, and -our faces are grown wan and thin; and the buds, the ungrateful children -whom we nourished, thrust us off from our seats. Waft us down, you soft -air-mothers, upon your wings, to the quiet earth, that we may go to our -home, as all things go, and become air and sunlight once again!’</p> - -<p>“The bold young fir seeds know them, and rattle impatiently in their -cones. ‘Blow more strongly, blow more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a>{23}</span> fiercely, slow air-mothers, and -shake us from our prisons of dead wood, that we may fly and spur away -northeastward, each on his horny wing. We will dive like arrows through -the heather, and drive our sharp beaks into the soil, and rise again, as -green trees, toward the sunlight, and spread out lusty boughs.’</p> - -<p>“They never think, bold fools, of what is coming to bring them low in -the midst of their pride—of the reckless axe which will fell them, and -saws which will shape them into logs, and the trains which will roar and -rattle over them as they lie buried in the gravel of the way, till they -are ground and rattled into powder, and dug up and flung upon the fire, -that they too may return home, like all things, and become air and -sunlight once again.</p> - -<p>“The air-mothers hear their prayers, and do their bidding: but faintly, -for they themselves are tired and sad, and their garments rent and worn. -Ah! how different were those soft air-mothers, when, invisible to mortal -eyes, they started on their long sky journey, five thousand miles across -the sea.</p> - -<p>“Out of the blazing caldron which lies between the two New Worlds, they -leaped up, when the great sun called them, in whirls and spouts of clear -hot steam, and rushed to the northward, while the whirling earthball -whirled them east.</p> - -<p>“So northeastward they rushed aloft, across the gay West Indian Isles, -having below the glitter of the flying-fish, and the sidelong eyes of -cruel sharks: above the canefields and the plantain gardens, and the -cocoanut groves which fringe the shores: above the rocks which throbbed -with earthquakes, and the peaks of old volcanoes, cinder-strewn: while -far beneath, the ghosts of their dead sisters hurried homeward on the -northeast breeze.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a>{24}</span></p> - -<p>“Wild deeds they did, as they rushed onward, and struggled and fought -among themselves, up and down, and round and backward in the fury of -their blind hot youth. They tired themselves by struggling with each -other, and by tearing the heavy water into waves; and their wings grew -clogged with sea-spray, and soaked more and more with steam.</p> - -<p>“At last, the sea grew cold beneath them, and their clear steam sank to -mist; and they saw themselves and each other wrapped in dull, rain-laden -clouds. Then they drew their white cloud garments around them, and -veiled themselves for very shame: and they said, ‘We have been wild and -wayward: and alas, our pure youth is gone. But we will do one good deed, -yet, before we die, and so we shall not have lived in vain. We will -glide onward to the land and weep there, and refresh all things with -warm, soft rain, and make the grass grow, and the buds burst; we will -quench the thirst of man and beast, and wash the soiled world clean.’</p> - -<p>“So they are wandering past us, the air-mothers, to weep the leaves into -their graves: to weep the seeds into their seed-beds, and to weep the -soil into the plains: to get the rich earth ready for the winter, and -then creep northward and die there. But will they live again, those -chilled air-mothers? Yes; they must live again. For all things move -forever: and not even ghosts can rest.</p> - -<p>“The corpses of their sisters piling on them from above, press them -onward, press them southward toward the sun once more, across the floes, -and round the icebergs—weeping tears of snow and sleet—while men hate -their wild, harsh voices, and shrink before their bitter breath. They -know not that the cold bleak snow-storms, as they hurtle from the black -northeast, bear back the ghosts of the soft air-mothers, as penitents, -to their father, the great sun.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a>{25}</span></p> - -<p>“But as they fly southward warm life thrills them, and they drop their -loads of sleet and snow, and meet their young live sisters from the -south, and greet them with flash and thunderpeal. Men call them the -southwest wind, those air-mothers: and their ghosts, the northeast -trade; and value them, and rightly; because they bear the traders out -and back across the sea.”</p> - -<p>So they live, and so they die, those beautiful air-mothers—for life is -evermore fed by death. And in their wayward course they bring the early -and the latter rain: that so long as time shall be, seed-time and -harvest and summer and winter shall not fail. And men love them, and -welcome each in their turn, whether laden with the pure white snow, or -the cooling moisture of the distant sea; for man is a fickle creature, -and remains constant to none. In summer he sings of the Arctic winds; -and in winter, he longs for the breath of the south; for like the -air-mothers, his course is ever onward, seeking that which he has not. -Yet, sometimes in his discontent, he would curse the soft air-mothers: -but without them he could not live. But the bard knows them all, and -will sing of their deeds till the sun waxes cold with the weight of -years.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a>{26}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> -<small>CONSTANT WINDS.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Up from the sea I sprang, O voyager,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Ere Aphrodite rose from out its foam.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I am a banned, unresting wanderer,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Doomed o’er the surface of the deep to roam.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Without being aged, o’erwhelmed with days,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The end of being is my only dream.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I trod the earth ere man’s ephemeral race,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And onward flee long as yon sun shall beam,<br /></span> -<span class="i5">Ever, forever,<br /></span> -<span class="i5">Here, and wherever,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Turneth the earth, must I course forever!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>HE phenomena of climate and seasons are too familiar to need especial -comment or description. They are dependent, in the first place, upon the -annual journey of the earth about the sun, the inclination of the -earth’s axis to its orbit, and the distance of any particular region in -question, from the equator.</p> - -<p>But the changes thus constantly made are greatly modified by other -factors. Chief among these agencies are the form and extent of the -continents, their position relative to each other and the water areas, -and the currents of the air and sea.</p> - -<p>Men usually identify climate with atmospheric conditions. A warm -atmosphere is for them the whole of a warm climate: it is really but one -of its factors, at most: it is often to be considered as a result, -rather than a cause. On lofty plateaus, or in mountainous regions, the -heat is not oppressive, even in the tropics; but here the moderate -temperature is due to the elevation. France is as far north<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a>{27}</span> as -Labrador; but there is no similarity whatever in climatic conditions, as -there should be, were climate dependent only on the heating of the local -atmosphere by the rays of the sun. Who would think of instituting a -comparison of sunny Rome or Madrid with the city of New York? Yet the -three are nearly on the same parallel: Rome furthest north. So there is -little resemblance between the warmth of sunny Florida and the scorching -heat of the Sahara: or between the climates in those portions of our own -Pacific and Atlantic coasts that lie between the same parallels. So we -find that though there is a general relation between the climate of a -region and its distance from the equator, there are many other -conditions to be considered. First, let us note atmospheric currents and -disturbances.</p> - -<p>“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and no man knoweth whence it cometh, -or whither it goeth.”</p> - -<p>“The world do move.” The illustration so full of meaning two thousand -years since has lost much of its force. The truth of yesterday is the -error of to-day. The fact of to-day may be the phantasy of to-morrow. So -it has come to pass that in our day the origin and laws of air currents -are believed to be as well understood as those of any other forces in -nature. Yet scientific theorists are, after all, divided on not a few -points.</p> - -<p>Two general classes of winds are recognized: the constant, and variable. -Constant winds are those that blow all the year in the same direction. -The beautiful concept of Kingsley, in the preceding chapter, contains -the leading points of our knowledge concerning them.</p> - -<p>All the various phenomena of air currents are dependent upon one -unchanging law: that gaseous bodies—and all but two others—always -greatly expand under the influence of heat. There are two noted partial -exceptions:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a>{28}</span> one of these prevents our globe from becoming a complete -iceberg, and is as important as the law itself. Iron expands, till its -melting point; but in its liquid state it occupies less space than when -solid. Water contracts under the influence of cold, until the -temperature of 39° is reached; after that it expands: and when frozen -occupies about one-eighth more space than before. This wise provision of -the Creator is second to none in importance, as regards its influence -upon the climate of the earth at large. Had it been otherwise—did ice -sink instead of float, our rivers and seas would in time become solid -masses of ice; for water is so poor a conductor of heat, that its -under-currents warm very slowly. Any one who plunges into a lake in -mid-summer may often find the water warm at the surface, and of almost -icy coldness a short distance beneath. The great Polar current comes -down from Baffin’s Bay, and off the coast of Newfoundland it plunges -beneath the warm, lighter current of the Gulf Stream; but it is not -warmed by it. Registering thermometers detect its icy coldness almost -unchanged in the realms of the tropics, far beneath the surface.</p> - -<p>Note some simple illustrations of the expansive force of freezing water. -Every housewife knows that a bottle left full of water will burst when -the water freezes. The same power is shown in the gradual disintegration -of rocks by alternate freezing and thawing. Water freezing in the -crevices bursts off small particles, or even large fragments; so that -rocks long exposed to the weather, crumble more or less. Every one is -familiar with the appearance presented by steep clay-banks, in late -winter and early spring, of ragged masses and fragments ready to fall at -any time. Still another instance of this destructive power is shown in -the killing of vegetation by freezing. Plants are built of myriads of -tiny cells. The moisture within freezes and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a>{29}</span> bursts the cell-walls, -destroying the plant life. Certain plants have cells more elastic than -others, which in consequence are not destroyed by freezing. But as an -expanded cell does not readily shrink to its former size, subsequent -freezings, when the cell contains more water than before, may finally -destroy it. So wheat is “winter-killed,” by too frequent freezing. So -globes of steel may be burst by this force.</p> - -<p>To show the poor qualities of water as a conductor of heat, take a long -glass tube and fill with water. Then put a piece of ice in one end. The -water at the other end may now be brought to the boiling point by means -of the flame of a lamp, ere the ice at the other end is melted.</p> - -<p>Every one is familiar with the fact that heated air rises; but not all -inquire why it does so. Take a foot-ball or bladder and partially -inflate it; then hold it near a hot fire, and it may be swollen almost -to bursting. Now, there is no more air in it than before; and if it be -laid in a cold place, it will shrink to its first inflation. This shows -how great is the expansive power of heat on the atmosphere. The same -weight occupying a much larger bulk, we perceive that heated air is much -lighter, and must rise. This, then, is the cause of what are known as -constant winds.</p> - -<p>As the earth revolves on its axis, the air is unequally heated, that -nearest the equator becoming the warmest, in consequence of its -receiving the most direct rays. Here, then, the air rises most rapidly; -while the cooler air to the north or south must flow southward or -northward to fill the vacuum. Now, the earth turning on its axis from -west to east, whirls the northward and southward currents to the -westward, so that they appear to blow from the northeast and southeast. -The result of this loss of direction is gradual; so that when first -perceptible, they are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a>{30}</span> almost from a due northerly or southerly -direction. As they near the equator, they are more rapid, and turn more -decidedly to the west, never becoming violent, however; rarely exceeding -fifteen to eighteen miles per hour.</p> - -<p>It would appear that at the point where these meet each other, or come -in contact with the ascending warm current, there must be a region of -calms or light, variable winds, and occasional tempests. Such, in fact, -is the case. This belt is from two hundred and eighty to four hundred -miles in width, and lies along the thermal equator, or line of greatest -average heat. This is not the same at the earth’s equator, properly so -called; for, as the land has greater capacity for absorbing and -retaining heat than the sea, and as most of the land lies in the -northern hemisphere, it is evident the highest mean temperature must be -north of the equator. So this belt of calms must lie in the same region; -and, in fact, in the Atlantic ocean it lies between 3 and 9° north -latitude, and in the Pacific, between 4 and 8°. As the sun travels -northward during the first half of the year, this region of calms shifts -slightly, also, so as to always nearly coincide with belt of the -greatest mean heat.</p> - -<p>At first sight, it appears curious that the motion of the earth should -deflect these winds to the west. It would appear that the earth, -atmosphere and all, must revolve as a unit about its axis; else, if the -atmosphere lose time, its speed to the westward should be constantly -accelerated, and long ago should have reached a velocity that would -shake the mountains themselves; while, in fact, there is no variation -perceptible.</p> - -<p>It should be remembered that at the equator the earth is about -twenty-four thousand miles in circumference; and as one complete -revolution is made every twenty-four hours, a point on the equator is -carried eastward at the rate of one thousand miles an hour. But if a -circle be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a>{31}</span> drawn around the earth parallel to the equator, at some -distance from it, it is at once seen that any object in this circle, -having a shorter distance to traverse, is carried eastward at a slower -rate; so that a point only a few yards from either pole must necessarily -advance but a few feet per hour. So then, a body of air moving from -either pole toward the equator, must needs advance very slowly if the -friction of the upper reverse currents and of the surface of the globe -are to have opportunity to overcome its relative inertia and give it the -same velocity as that of any point over which it may pass.</p> - -<p>Now, in the case of these constant winds, the inertia is very nearly -overcome, as they start from a circle in which the velocity to the -eastward is about 750 miles per hour. If the inertia were fully -overcome, there would be no perceptible wind; as the velocity is -actually but fifteen to eighteen miles per hour, it appears that the -friction encountered actually destroys from thirteen-fourteenths to -fifteen-sixteenths of the inertia. Hence, we find these constant air -currents toward the west are, in reality, the result of the earth -carrying any object on its surface a little more rapidly than the -atmosphere moves; so that these winds are precisely the same in -principle as the well-known fact that when you run rapidly in still air -(so-called), it seems that the wind is blowing directly in your face.</p> - -<p>In like manner, it appears that a wind from west to east is merely an -air-current moving a little more rapidly than the earth revolves at that -point. The relative difference between the velocity of air-currents must -vary greatly; for a violent easterly or westerly wind very near the -poles may equal or even exceed the speed of the rotation of that point; -while the most violent tropical storms average between one-twentieth and -one-eighth of the local<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a>{32}</span> rotation. The latter is not often exceeded. But -whatever the relation of the respective velocities, it is clear that the -velocity of the wind in general must depend largely on the amount of air -abnormally heated, and upon the rapidity with which it is heated. So men -have come to recognize that a period of unusually oppressive heat -forebodes a storm of some sort. But few regard the unusual warmth as a -reason of the storm. They are linked, in the popular mind, as antecedent -and consequent, rather than as cause and effect.</p> - -<p>These constant winds near the equator have been named trade-winds, -because of their importance to commerce. Unknown before the first voyage -of Columbus, they filled the minds of his crew with fear that they could -never return home, if the wind blew always in one direction. The same -gentle wind bore Magellan in his voyage around the world, and caused him -to give the name of “Pacific,” or “peaceful,” to the great ocean on our -west; and the same steady breezes made the fortune of many a noble -galleon in the days when Peru was an Ophir, Mexico an El Dorado, and the -Philippine Isles a Tarshish where they took shipping for the distant -land of gold.</p> - -<p>Owing to the fact that the continents intercept the regular trades by -reason of their elevation and irregular conformation, and also because -of their much greater specific heat, whereby they set in motion many -other local currents, the trades are found to begin only a considerable -distance to the west of the continents. Yet the influence of the trades -is sufficient to make easterly winds the prevailing ones on the great -inland plains: as in the Sahara, Arabia, Southern Siberia, and portions -of North and South America.</p> - -<p>It is clear that other nearly constant currents must exist to supply the -vacuum that would be otherwise caused by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a>{33}</span> the trades. These are found to -the south and north of the trade belts, and, as might be expected, blow -nearly in the opposite direction, being descending currents; while the -trades, as before stated, are ascending. The column of hot air from the -equator starts toward the poles above the trades, while a polar current -sets in toward the equator; but as the amount of air displaced at the -equator is by far the greatest, much of it can, of course, never reach -the poles. On meeting the polar current, the two partially mingle and -descend, forming what is called the return trade. This blows, most of -the year, to the southeast, the equatorial current prevailing and coming -from a region whose easterly rotation is more rapid. At certain seasons -of the year, however, the polar current prevails to some extent, though -not sufficiently to overcome the eastward trend; so the wind in this -belt blows alternately to the southeast and the northeast.</p> - -<p>Between the region of trades and alternating winds is a belt, on either -side of the equator, of calms and variable winds, which shift northward -or southward, parallel to the belt of calms between the trades. These -two zones, however, are much less clearly defined than the great central -one, and are not liable to such extraordinary disturbances.</p> - -<p>Such is the great constant wind, with its dependents. So long as the sun -has warmed the earth, it has hurried on its course, subject to unceasing -law, and destined to cease only when the heavens and the earth shall -pass away, and chaos or annihilation shall end the things that be. A -Wandering Jew of the atmosphere, it flies ever onward, bearing the -merchant to his port, and the rain-cloud to the land; ever and anon -desolating the isles with its bursts of fury; then resuming its restless -course, like the remorseful Salathiel.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a>{34}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> -<small>PERIODIC WINDS.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Earth has each year her resurrection hours<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When the spring stirs within her, and the powers<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Of life revive; the sleeping zephyrs rouse,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The blushing orchards clothe their naked boughs,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The swallow skims above the lakelet’s verge.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Swift summer speeds with fire in every vein,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And autumn’s glories crimson hill and plain.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then warmth and life from Nature take their flight,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And winter robes her in a shroud of white,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">While mournful Boreas chants her funeral dirge.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_s.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="39" -height="60" -alt="S" /></span>O the seasons tread their ceaseless round in the temperate zones, and -to a certain degree in the colder regions of the earth. But when we -examine the change of seasons in the tropical world, we find a state of -things so different that we are at once led to inquire the reason: and -it will be found primarily in certain periodical winds.</p> - -<p>When the sun is north of the equator: that is, while our northern summer -is in progress, India enjoys a steady sea wind from the southwest, which -brings a rainy season to the corresponding coasts of Hindostan and -Farther India. When the sun returns to the south, the winds set in from -the opposite direction, coming down across the great upland plateau of -Central Asia, sometimes called, from its immense height and extent, the -“Roof of the World.” These periodic winds are called monsoons: a -corruption of the Arabic word <i>Moussin</i>, season. They are in reality a -modification of the trade-winds.</p> - -<p>A glance at a map will show that the northern half of the great Indian -Ocean is enclosed by land masses as no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a>{35}</span> other large body of water is. -Consequently, while in the southern section the southeast trade is -present, the northeast trade of the northern part is so modified by the -surrounding land areas as to almost entirely lose its distinctive -character. Hence, most tropical regions have, properly speaking, but two -seasons: the rainy, and the dry. As the clouds swept in meet with an -intensely heated region, the trade never chills them sufficiently to -produce snow, except in extremely elevated regions.</p> - -<p>This is the direct cause of the monsoons: During the northern summer, -southern Asia, being under the rays of the vertical sun, becomes -intensely heated; and the cooler and denser air of the adjacent ocean, -and of southern Africa, flows towards it, producing the southwest -monsoon, which lasts from April or May to September or October. The time -of its beginning and its close varies in different latitudes, according -to the time at which the sun is vertical in each.</p> - -<p>During the southern summer, southern Africa being under the vertical sun -and intensely heated, the cooler air of the surrounding seas, and of -southern Asia, flows towards it. This produces the northeast monsoon, -which lasts from October or November to April. This monsoon is, in fact, -only the regular northeast trade-wind somewhat intensified.</p> - -<p>A similar exchange takes place between Asia and Australia, but it is -less marked, owing, perhaps, to the great islands lying between these -continents.</p> - -<p>The period of transition of the monsoons, in spring and autumn, is -marked by sudden and violent gales, and terrific thunder storms. -Destructive hurricanes, also, are of frequent occurrence. This -corresponds with the period of equinoctial storms in higher latitudes.</p> - -<p>There are narrow monsoon belts in the Atlantic, along<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a>{36}</span> the coast of -Africa and of Brazil, also on the Pacific coasts of North and South -America; but the phenomena they exhibit are of a much less striking -character. On the African coast, in general, the winds blow from sea to -land in summer, from land to sea in winter; on the Brazilian, the wind -is from the northeast in summer, while in winter the southeast trade -resumes its sway. The monsoons of the Pacific coast of America blow from -the northwest and north during the southern summer; from the southwest -and south during the northern. The regular trade-wind makes itself so -strongly felt in northern Brazil, which is unusually level, that a boat -can sail almost as rapidly up the swift current of the Amazon as it can -row down: and Humboldt records that he found it of great strength at the -foot of the eastern slope of the Andes.</p> - -<p>Another modification of the northeast trade is found in the Etesian -winds of Greece and the adjacent archipelago. This is a true -intermittent trade, blowing only in the daytime, however, and lasting -from July to September. The cool air of the peninsula rushes toward the -extremely heated regions of the Mediterranean and north Africa.</p> - -<p>Somewhat similar are the northers, or blizzards, of our Western States. -By the laws already given, it is seen that northerly winds can prevail -in any region only when some region further south is unusually heated. -Now, the northern portion of America may be roughly compared to a -trough. The cold polar current sets to the southward across the -continent, and is turned to the east by the Rocky Mountain range, giving -it a general southeast course. Hence, when the southern summer is in -progress, our prevailing winds are from the northwest; and when the -heated portion of the world is north of the equator, we have the return -trade, giving us as our prevailing wind that from the southwest. When -our return trade is unusually<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a>{37}</span> prolonged, we have a late fall; and if -the southern summer is unusually warm, we have the polar current longer -than usual, and a late spring in consequence. The polar current seldom -makes its presence felt beyond the Texan plains; though occasionally it -reaches the Mexican plateau, or sweeps across the Gulf to the Antilles.</p> - -<p>A similar cold wind from Central France toward the Riviera is locally -known as the Mistral. The cold winds from the south, which in crossing -the plains of Patagonia, are turned eastward by the Andes, are called in -Uruguay the <i>pamperos</i>, as their direction causes the popular belief -that they originate in the pampas, or grassy plains. In Malta the cold -wind becomes known as the <i>gregale</i>—in the Adriatic sea it is the -<i>tramontana</i>; in Trieste and Dalmatia it is the <i>bora</i>. In New Zealand -the corresponding cold blast comes from the south, and is known as the -buster. When loaded with drifting snow, as in the blizzard of the United -States, the cold wind of the Yenisei Valley, in Asia, is locally called -the <i>purga</i>; in the steppes of Central Asia it is the <i>bura</i>.</p> - -<p>Eastern Asia receives its prevailing cold current from the northwest; -while western Asia and Europe receive their cold wave from the -northeast, there being no range of mountains, as in America, to deflect -the current, as the polar currents are disposed to follow the -continents, having their origin in arctic lands; while for a similar -reason the return trades reach their extremes on the ocean. Hence, lines -drawn through the places which possess the same mean annual temperature -reach a higher latitude at sea than on land.</p> - -<p>These are the chief periodical winds of long periods. There is one other -class to be noted: the diurnal land and sea breezes. These occur along -all coasts, whether in the zone of trades or of variable winds; but the -phenomenon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a>{38}</span> is more strongly marked in the tropical regions, and in the -summer of the temperate latitudes, because of the greater difference in -the temperature of land and sea by day and by night.</p> - -<p>During the hottest part of the day the air over the land frequently -reaches a temperature of 100° Fahr., and even more, while that over the -sea rarely rises above 80°. During the night the land radiates its heat -with such rapidity that, towards morning, its atmosphere may be from 10° -to 15° colder than that of the sea.</p> - -<p>Soon after sunrise, the land being warmer than the sea, a sea breeze -sets in, which increases in force until about three o’clock, when the -difference of temperature is greatest. It then gradually diminishes -until about sunset, when, the temperature of the land and sea having -become equal, the atmosphere is at rest, the calm continuing for an hour -or more.</p> - -<p>Soon the land becomes cooler than the sea, and a gentle breeze from the -former sets in. It increases in force as the night advances, becoming -strongest a little before morning, when the temperature of the land is -lowest; after which it rapidly dies away, and is succeeded by a calm, to -be soon replaced by the sea breeze.</p> - -<p>One other species of variable wind is to be noticed: the hot, dry, -dust-laden blast from desert regions. Such occur more or less -periodically, and are known by different names in different localities.</p> - -<p>Tom Moore has told us that “love’s witchery” on the heart is</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Like the wind of the south o’er the summer lute blowing,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That hushed all its music, and withered its frame.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The reference is to the simoom of Syria and Arabia. One who has not -experienced this wind can have little idea of its oppressiveness. Apt to -come at any hour during the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a>{39}</span> hottest months of the year, with a -temperature so great that a piece of silver exposed to it becomes hot -enough to blister the flesh, and laden with the impalpable dust of the -desert, vegetation is scorched and withered by it, and animals flee from -it as from the pestilence. It may last but a short time: it may endure -several days.</p> - -<p>At the first indication of its approach, people flee to their houses; -doors and windows are shut and every crevice that could allow any dust -to enter is tightly stuffed: while the wind lasts no one ventures out. -Such unfortunate animals as happen to be overtaken by it have literally -to struggle for their lives. The wind is not steady, but comes in fitful -gusts, sometimes differing as much as 20° in temperature. The streets -are deserted; and were they otherwise, a person could hardly be seen at -a few yards distance. Hours pass: that implacable enemy, the dust, sifts -in at unknown chinks. By degrees it covers everything. Valuable lace and -tapestry are nearly ruined. You put on a skull-cap; yet it penetrates -your hair. It finds its way beneath the garments to the skin, producing -distressing dryness and roughness. The lips parch and crack. The eyes -are red and inflamed. You drink as if famished, and gasp for breath. You -are excessively irritable; you reach the verge of complete nervous -prostration. At length the ordeal is over. You creep into the street, to -find your neighbors looking like corpses; some, it may be, actually dead -from nervous exhaustion. Dead birds and animals lie on the earth. It is -a case of the survival of the fittest. You pluck a leaf from a -neighboring tree; it crumbles to dust in your grasp.</p> - -<p>Such are the effects of an unusually protracted wind, even when most -favorably situated to encounter it. But if a caravan be overtaken by -such in the desert, happy are they who escape. The camels kneel and -thrust their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a>{40}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_040_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_040_sml.jpg" width="450" height="300" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE SIMOOM.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a>{41}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">noses into the sand, against each other, into a pack of goods—anywhere -to avoid breathing that poisonous blast. The men throw themselves upon -the ground behind the camels, and muffle their heads in their garments. -The storm is at hand; perchance attended by whirling columns of sand. -You raise your head: a thick, dun-colored cloud flies at you; a heat as -of red-hot iron, it seems, holds you in its choking grasp. You find your -way to your water bottle, and drink deeply. The lurid sun turns the -sweeping columns of sand to pillars of fire. Superstitious fear seizes -your Arab comrades. Gradually the storm passes on: the men pick -themselves up and endeavor to shake the irritating dust and sand from -out the folds of their clothing, and the party resumes its way, happy -that they are not numbered among the dead whose bones are bleaching by -the way. Tales are not wanting of great caravans completely overwhelmed -by the sandstorms of the desert.</p> - -<p>These storms are met with in their greatest severity in Egypt and -Arabia. In Egypt, this wind is called the <i>Khamsin</i>, or fifty, referring -to the period of fifty days—the latter part of April, May, and early -June—when they may be expected. They never blow through the entire -season: rarely so long as fifteen days at a time. In Arabia the simoom -may travel from the center of the peninsula toward any point of the -compass; the Khamsin of Egypt blows from the southwest. Winds of the -same character cross the Mediterranean. In Spain the wind is known as -the <i>Solano</i>, or <i>Levanter</i>, or <i>Leveche</i>: in Sicily and Italy it is the -<i>Sirocco</i>. The distressing dryness is somewhat modified by the journey -across the Mediterranean. The same wind in Syria is called <i>Samiel</i>; and -a similar wind which blows from the Sahara southwest to the Guinea coast -is called the <i>Harmattan</i>. In California a similar dry hot wind blows -from the interior toward the coast, during the hot season,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a>{42}</span> and is -called the desert wind. Such occasional hot blasts are experienced in -southeastern Dakota, coming from the “bad lands,” or sandy and rocky -wastes along the upper Missouri river.</p> - -<p>All these periodical or varying winds may be very properly, from their -time and character, be called the season winds of the earth, as another -means of distinction from the constant trades: as they in part bring -changes of season, and in part are brought that way.</p> - -<p>Into the question of climate and seasons one other element enters, of -especial importance in regard to those disturbances of the regular -winds, which we call storms. That factor is the quantity of moisture in -the atmosphere, and the consequent rainfall or snowfall of a region. -Without this element, the phenomenal disturbances known as tornadoes -would hardly occur: or if they did, there would be greater difficulty in -ascertaining their approach.</p> - -<p>Water, in its vapor state, is but three-fifths the weight of the air, -and in consequence rapidly rises. This evaporation, as it is called, -goes on at all times: even when the water is frozen. A very thin sheet -of ice, hung in the open air, will finally disappear, even though the -temperature be always below freezing.</p> - -<p>Now, all the phenomena of rain, snow, and hail, that are brought by -different seasons, in different climes, depend upon a single simple law: -that warm air can hold a much greater quantity of vapor than cold air. -The amount of moisture that may be held in suspension at different -temperatures is as follows:</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" summary="" -style="font-size:90%;"> -<tr valign="top"><td align="center" colspan="3">Temperature<br /> - of Air. </td> - -<td align="center" colspan="3">Weight of vapor<br /> -in a cubic foot<br /> -of saturated air. </td> - -<td align="center" colspan="3">Temperature<br /> - of Air. </td> - -<td align="center" colspan="3">Weight of vapor<br /> -in a cubic foot<br /> -of saturated air.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">20</td><td align="center">deg.</td><td align="center">Fahr.</td><td align="center">1.30</td><td align="center">grains</td><td align="center">Troy.</td><td align="right">70</td><td align="center">deg.</td><td align="center">Fahr.</td><td align="right">8.00 grains</td><td align="center">Troy.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">32</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">2.13</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">80</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">10.95</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">50</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">4.09</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">90</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">14.81</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">62</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">6.15</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">100</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">19.79</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>This gives a second reason why storms of wind and rain closely follow -extremely hot weather.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a>{43}</span></p> - -<p>Now, as the vapor is so much lighter than the air, their mixture must -also be lighter. So any unusual amount of moisture is at once detected -by the barometer, an instrument for measuring the pressure of the -atmosphere. If the air grow moister, and therefore lighter, the -barometer falls; a storm is approaching.</p> - -<p>Since cold air can retain but little moisture, if a warm moist current -be chilled, it must lose a part of its vapor, which at once falls to the -earth as rain. If the cold be somewhat greater, the moisture is -crystallized into snow. Greely’s observations at Fort Conger show that, -varied as are the forms of snow crystals, those that fall during any -particular storm are invariably of the same types, even though they may -be collected from localities widely removed from each other. All -crystals of snow are hexagonal in plan, but there is much variety in -detail. The laws that produce one variety at one time, and a second at -another, are not yet known.</p> - -<p>The subject of hail is a peculiarly perplexing one to the meteorologist. -Hailstones are more or less spherical in form, and are made of alternate -layers of soft opaque ice, and hard clear ice. It is evident that they -must acquire this structure by being whirled about between clouds of -different temperature and density. Some have supposed that they are -formed in a whirlwind, whose axis is horizontal, but for the present we -must be content with Lord Dundreary’s explanation, for “it ith one of -thothe thingth which no fellah can underthtand.”</p> - -<p>Raindrops from a great height are larger than those from below, for they -increase as they pass through the vapor-masses. As the warmest currents -are also the highest, it will at once be understood why warm and -tropical rains fall in large drops, while drizzling rains, mists, and -fogs are characteristic of cold regions and cold seasons.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a>{44}</span></p> - -<p>The masses of more or less condensed vapor in the upper air currents are -what are known as clouds. Their various forms and appearance are shown -in the cut on the —— page.</p> - -<p>The <i>cirrus</i> and <i>cirro-cumulus</i> clouds are the highest, are mostly in -the altitudes of perpetual frost, and are supposed often to consist of -minute ice crystals. In temperate latitudes they are usually formed in, -and move with, the upper air current, or return-trade from the tropical -regions.</p> - -<p>The <i>cumulus</i> clouds are characteristic of the tropics, and of the -summer days in middle latitudes, their height depending upon the -relative humidity of the air. They are formed by local ascending -currents, which carry a large amount of vapor into the cooler upper air. -There the vapors are condensed, and are gradually heaped up into those -heavy masses of sharply defined clouds, which look like vast snowy -mountains. Their base is horizontal, and marks the height at which the -dew point is reached and condensation begins.</p> - -<p>The accumulation of vapors is often so great that these clouds form a -column several thousand feet high. In this case the difference in the -temperature and the electrical conditions of the upper and lower -portions is such that electrical discharges take place, accompanied by -condensation of a portion of the cloud, forming a thunderstorm.</p> - -<p><i>Stratus</i> clouds are most frequently seen in the morning or evening, and -are always low. They are formed by the descent of the higher clouds and -vapors of midday into the lower air as the temperature decreases. They -are more frequent in winter and summer than in the intermediate seasons.</p> - -<p>The <i>nimbus</i> cloud is more dense and heavy than the others, which may -all be transformed into the nimbus by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a>{45}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_045_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_045_sml.jpg" width="450" height="287" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>FORMS OF CLOUDS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a>{46}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">a diminution of temperature. It is of a dark-leaden hue, changing into -grey. This is the most common form of cloud in polar latitudes; and, -during the cold season, it is the most frequent of the temperate zones.</p> - -<p>If a moist current cross a mountain range, it loses its moisture in the -cold region, and growing narrower as it descends the other slope, -presents the phenomena of a warm dry wind from the mountains. Thus the -wind that brings rain to Norway, gives warm fair weather to Sweden. Of -the same character are the hot winds of Switzerland, called Foëhn winds, -and the Chinook winds which blow from the eastward into Idaho, -Washington, and western Montana. Similar winds occur occasionally in -South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Peru. These hot winds must not -be confounded with the hot and poisonous winds from desert regions -described before.</p> - -<p>Such, in fine, are the noted varying intermittent, or periodic winds. -However uncertain they may appear at first thought, they are obedient to -the same unchanging laws that bind the universe into one harmonious -whole. No doubt the ancients, if they had been acquainted with their -office, would have personified them as the nymphs of the seasons. But, -knowing naught of the wonderful immutable laws that bind them, they -could only say to each,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“We know not whence thou com’st, or whither goest,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When round our homes thy wizard blast thou blowest.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>In eternal law and harmony they found only endless confusion and wild -caprice. Man interpreted nature by man.</p> - -<p>Yet they are the angels of the seasons, these air-spirits, sent by an -allwise Providence to bring the rain and the snow, and the sunshine and -storm in their season, to give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; -that while man shall dwell on earth, seedtime and harvest and summer<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a>{47}</span> -and winter may not cease. So they wander, clothing the tropics with -emerald cloaks of strangest beauty, and robing the poles with ermine and -crystal: painting with rainbow-tints the autumn leaves, and touching -with virgin blush the orchards in spring; in all things obeying the -decree of Him who hath set the seasons in order and made everything -beautiful in its time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a>{48}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> -<small>TORNADOES AND CYCLONES.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">“O sad and mournful wind!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From what wild depths of human pain and sorrow<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Could’st thou those tones of restless anguish borrow<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As of a soul that dreams of no to-morrow,<br /></span> -<span class="i5">O sad and mournful wind!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">O, thou art fierce and wild!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy mighty chariot through the black skies lashing,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The cloud-shapes round the mountain-summits dashing,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The waves of ocean round the wrecked bark crashing—<br /></span> -<span class="i5">O, thou art fierce and wild!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_m.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="53" -height="60" -alt="M" /></span>EN find no difficulty in recognizing law and system in the phenomena -that are of constant or frequent recurrence. That which is most -difficult to explain, may pass without a serious thought so long as it -manifests no stupendous or sudden power. The water may wear away the -stone for centuries and its progress be unheeded by those who daily -visit the pool.</p> - -<p>So all observe and admire the beauty and order that prevails in the -system of winds hitherto described. Their movements seem so simple and -natural, that people take them as a matter of course. Rather, we should -say, they may be depended upon with such certainty that the laws which -they followed were unheeded for more than six thousand years. Relying on -result, men gave themselves no concern about principle.</p> - -<p>But in the sudden storm, the cyclone or tempest that comes sweeping the -land with hardly any warning, flooding and destroying, men find -mystery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a>{49}</span></p> - -<p>And who is not justly awed thereby? What other power so easily and -frequently wrecks and ravages? Who may point out its course or stay its -progress?</p> - -<p>And indeed it would seem difficult at first to find any law or system -that controls the motion of the storm. If a rain storm always came from -the same direction; if unusually high winds always blew from the same -quarters, just as the moderate breezes of spring and summer can always -be expected from the same general direction, it would appear that there -was much greater subordination to definite law. But what can be more -perplexing than to have a storm blow violently from one quarter for a -time, and after a brief calm to blow with equal violence the other way? -Can such phenomena be explained by any principles hitherto discovered?</p> - -<p>What is a storm? Strictly speaking, it is any marked or unusual -disturbance of the normal atmospheric conditions. There may be excessive -wind: there may be cessation of the customary winds. Two great classes -are found: cyclonic, or low area storms, and anti-cyclonic, or high area -storms. The former may be accompanied by heavy rainfall or snow; the -latter is usually noted for absence of either. It is with the low area -storm that we must deal at present.</p> - -<p>This term is used to designate all storms which are marked by low -barometer, and therefore it is clear that such are accompanied and -partially occasioned by an unusual amount of moisture in the atmosphere. -The resultant commotion is usually extensive, the storm centre traveling -across the country; but occasionally the effects are perceptible only -for a short distance, the storm centre either breaking up or ascending -to the upper atmosphere.</p> - -<p>By a cyclonic storm is signified a storm characterized by unusually low -barometer, and a wind system blowing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a>{50}</span> spirally inward, as in a genuine -cyclone. They usually affect only the lower strata of the air. Quite -frequently they are broken up by striking low mountain ranges, such as -the Alleghany system: and often pass Mount Washington without making -their presence felt at the signal station on its summit. To what extent -they are influenced by or are due to the upper air currents is therefore -unknown, though not a few of the attendant phenomena indicate that the -latter are of no little importance.</p> - -<p>Any one who has observed the waters at the junction of two streams, is -familiar with the appearance of numerous tiny eddies or whirlpools -formed at the point of junction. Such are perceptible also in every -rapid stream, when the current, sheering sharply from a projecting -point, is made in a measure to collide with itself. This is also the -principle of the many tiny whirlwinds seen during the warm summer days: -and such are also observable in winter, if there be snow enough to -render their presence in the air clearly visible. Their results are most -readily recognized in snow-drifts, where the wind meets some special -obstruction. It does not often occur that a high fence is covered with a -snow-drift: a great drift will be thrown up by it, but not against it: -and the side next the fence will be curved inward, or concave. The wind -strikes the fence and partially recoils, curving upward to pass over the -fence. The drift is then built up between the wind and the current -recoiling from the fence, and its inner curve shows the direction -pursued by the rebounding current.</p> - -<p>Now, when opposing air-currents meet each other on a large scale, the -immense whirlwind that is produced is called a cyclone or tornado. It -follows then, that if we would find any regularity or law in these -unusual disturbances, we must know if there exists any permanent -condition<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a>{51}</span> of atmospheric currents that is favorable to their -generation.</p> - -<p>That such a state exists, we have already learned. The great belts of -calms that we have found between the trade-winds and the return trades -and polar currents, are more appropriately called the zones of -equinoctial storms. We have in them districts of general calms, with -winds infringing upon either side. It is evident then that, as in the -case of the fence, whose recoil-current curves the snow-drift, a -whirling current of considerable magnitude may arise here at any time: -hence, violent storms do arise in these regions more or less at all -periods of the year. But we have seen that these zones of calms move -slightly to the north or south with the course of the sun. It would then -appear that at the equinoctial period, when they return from the mean -position toward the extreme northern or southern limit, there would be -opportunity for unusual disturbances, especially since the heavy -rainfall of those periods would unusually affect the temperature of the -atmosphere.</p> - -<p>That is precisely what occurs. The equinoxes are marked by storms of -unusual severity, and the influence of the sudden falls of rain is so -great that some eminent men believe them to be nearly the sole factor in -the formation of these storms. In one case they doubtless are. If a very -heavy rain be decidedly local, there is low barometer at that place. -Now, if on either side there be areas of high barometer, the opposing -currents flowing toward the center of low area are sufficient to meet -all the conditions necessary for a cyclonic storm. As the zone of calms -is comparatively narrow, it is apparent that the diameter of the area of -any storm, owing to the pressure exerted by the incoming currents of -wind, must be still less. Hence, the cyclone center, at its time of -formation, seldom exceeds<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a>{52}</span> one hundred miles in diameter. As it travels -away from the compressing currents that formed it, it is clear that its -centrifugal force must increase; hence, its area increases, and its -violence correspondingly diminishes.</p> - -<p>These facts refer to the unusually violent cyclonic storms, properly -known as cyclones. But all low area storms are characterized by the -upward spiral motion, though not strong enough in the case of ordinary -summer rains and thunderstorms to be especially noticed. We shall see, -by and by, how this spiral motion may result without the intervention of -any strong opposing currents.</p> - -<p>Why and how a cyclone travels, is a question that at once propounds -itself. Its motion is in accordance with a fixed law, whose operation -varies only as it may be affected by unusual peculiarities in the -configuration of the surface over which it travels. The reason of the -motion is not so easy to explain; neither is it easy to explain why heat -expands objects: but its operation is none the less certain. And so the -route pursued by any storm can be readily indicated in advance. It is -not a matter of mere conjecture.</p> - -<p>The motion of a cyclone or tornado is in accordance with the same law -that governs the motion of planets around the sun. It can be illustrated -in a very simple manner by the spinning of a top.</p> - -<p>Spin a top on a perfectly smooth and level surface. It will be better if -the peg of the top be blunt or round, so that there will be no tendency -to settle steadily into some possible hole or depression.</p> - -<p>Now, the instant any degree of steadiness is attained, the top begins to -move in small curves. If it be spun on a marble slab smoothly coated -with fine flour or sand, it can be made to record its motions, which may -then be carefully studied. It will be found that the form of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a>{53}</span> curve -is nearly the same with every start. It will describe a parabola, pause -a moment, then describe a second, and so on.</p> - -<p>The chief peculiarity of this separate curvilinear motion is that its -direction is always in an <i>opposite</i> direction to that of the rotation -of the top. If the top turn from left to right, it will move from right -to left, and vice versa. The same tendency will manifest itself even if -the peg of the top be placed in a slight depression or socket, so that -the curve cannot be made. Then the upper portion of the top will incline -to one side, and begin describing a curve: but, as before, in a -direction contrary to the direction of rotation.</p> - -<p>The common toy known as a gyroscope illustrates the last peculiarity -also. It consists of a wheel within a metal frame, which has a peg like -a top. If the wheel be made to revolve rapidly, the whole may be -balanced on the peg: when the frame will begin to slowly revolve in the -opposite direction: and if placed upon a smooth level surface, like the -top it will tend to describe the same course.</p> - -<p>Still other illustrations of this principle are even more familiar than -the spinning of a top. Any one who has seen the game of soldiers in a -bowling alley knows that in order to make the ball turn to the left as -it moves forward, it must spin the other way; that is, with the hands of -a watch. To travel or curve to the right, it must spin in the contrary -direction. So in our “great national game,” base-ball, the pitcher -curves the ball any way he pleases merely by following this law. It is -not necessary to take into account, as many do, the return trades, as -occasioning the travel of a whirling storm; and the fact is, that the -cyclone frequently travels more rapidly than the ordinary wind moving in -the same direction.</p> - -<p>Now, the motion of the planets is similar: rotating in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a>{54}</span> one direction, -they travel in the other. So we find the general law is,</p> - -<p><i>All revolving bodies, left free as to direction, travel in a curve in a -direction opposite to that of their rotation.</i> This curve is usually -some form of conic section: an ellipse, parabola or hyperbola. The -planets, and some comets, move in ellipses. Some comets travel parabolas -or hyperbolas. And the parabola is the customary path of the cyclonic -storm. As the cyclone in the northern hemisphere rotates from right to -left, and in the southern from left to right, their paths must -necessarily be in opposite directions, as may be seen by the -accompanying diagram. So in either case, the direction of the path is -always away from the equator.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 330px;"> -<a href="images/i_054_lg.png"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_054_sml.png" width="330" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -</div> - -<p>As far as the United States are concerned, most non-cyclonic storms -originate in the Saskatchewan country, or along the southeastern slope -of the Rocky Mountains. By far the greater number pass over the St. -Lawrence valley. A small number are developed in the Gulf, or in the -Pacific: but these are much affected, often broken up,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a>{55}</span> in crossing the -Rocky or Appalachian systems. The usual course is somewhat north of -east; but there are a few notable exceptions. The immense amount of -vapor wafted up the Mississippi valley induces some low area storms to -move southward from Manitoba into the upper Mississippi valley. In like -manner, the excessive moisture along our north Pacific coast causes -occasional storms to move southward from Alaska to Oregon.</p> - -<p>But the course of a cyclonic storm, we have seen, must be different.</p> - -<p>The accompanying diagram illustrates the fact that the wind blows from -all directions toward the center of the storm. As the storm revolves, -the wind would come apparently from the south for any one on the eastern -edge of the cyclone of the northern hemisphere. Hence, in the case of a -storm of large diameter, people in Richmond or Washington may often be -surprised by an apparent northeast gale, which reaches them before it -strikes New York or Boston. At the center of the storm is absolute calm. -So if a cyclone pass centrally over any point in the northern -hemisphere, a person at that place will find the wind blowing violently -from the southeast: then after an interval of calm, it will blow with -equal violence from the northwest. This will be the case if the path of -the storm has already turned to the northeast, so that its northeast -quarter may be called its front. If on the northwest course, however, -the apparently alternate winds would be from the northeast and -southwest. So one in the path of a southern cyclone would find the winds -proceeding from the same quarters; for though it revolves in the -opposite direction, its front or path is also in the opposite direction; -so in either hemisphere, the southeast or the northeast wind will be the -first felt by one directly in the track of the storm.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a>{56}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 218px;"> -<a href="images/i_056_lg.png"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_056_sml.png" width="218" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>ROTATION OF STORMS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Another result of the path of a cyclone is that the direction of its -center from the stand-point of any observer is readily known. A glance -at the diagram shows at once that if any one within the storm area of a -cyclone of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a>{57}</span> northern hemisphere stands with his back to the wind, -the storm center, where the barometer is lowest, is invariably on his -left: but if he stand with his back to the wind of a southern cyclone, -the storm center is always on his right. Hence, if a vessel be overtaken -by a cyclone, the captain at once may know how to pass beyond its range, -by shaping his course at right angles to that of the wind. Thus, if in a -northern cyclone, he must sail to the right, supposing his back is to -the wind: in the southern hemisphere, he would sail to the left.</p> - -<p>As an example of the expansion of the storm area in its journey, may be -mentioned the West India hurricane of 1839, which had, in the Antilles, -a diameter of three hundred miles, which increased to five hundred at -the Bermudas, and eight hundred on the parallel of 50° north latitude.</p> - -<p>To draw again upon the illustration of the spinning top, it will be -observed that the curvilinear motion is extremely slow in comparison -with that of rotation, but increases as the rotation decreases. The same -law applies to the movement of cyclones. The slowest motion forward is -usually near the apex of the curve: and the progress on the ocean is -much slower than on the land. Traveling over the latter, the -irregularities of surface act in the case of the storm just as a rough -surface does in the case of the top. The motion may be accelerated, but -its regularity is lessened. So while at sea the parabolic path of the -storm is almost absolutely perfect, but on reaching the land its motion -is more rapid, and less regular, conforming somewhat to the -configuration of the surface.</p> - -<p>To illustrate, take the great cyclone of August 16th to 22nd, 1888. This -started off Point Jupiter, Florida, with a rainfall of 2.2 inches in -twelve hours, while the rotary velocity of the wind was sixty miles per -hour. Its path<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a>{58}</span> across the Gulf of Mexico was a perfect semi-parabola, -curving northward into western Louisiana; but rapid as was the rotary -velocity, three and a half days were required for the journey across the -gulf. Meanwhile, it was rapidly widening: for within a few hours of its -reaching land, its eastern edge was assailing Mobile, Alabama, with a -south wind of fifty-five miles an hour. Almost at the same time the -western half was flooding Memphis and Vicksburg with an enormous -rainfall—almost four inches in twelve hours, at Memphis. By the morning -of August 21st, thirty-six hours after reaching land, it was central -over middle Tennessee and Kentucky; heavy rains fell over the entire -region. But by this time its eastern edge was in collision with the -Appalachian chain; while a heavy local rain at the northern extremity of -that chain created an additional diversion in a new area of low -barometer. So it left the hitherto parabolic route, and shot away nearly -at a tangent along the western Appalachian slope, passing from Tennessee -to Newfoundland in thirty-six hours, thus moving nearly three times as -rapidly as in the Gulf: while its violence, or rotary speed, was vastly -lessened.</p> - -<p>This storm was one of the most destructive of the recent cyclones that -have swept our country, doing immense damage to crops, bridges, houses, -herds—in short, everything that can be seriously damaged by wind or -flood.</p> - -<p>The damage in Louisiana alone was estimated at $500,000. But it was by -no means the most destructive of the West India storms.</p> - -<p>An examination of the areas of calms, which are the hot-beds of cyclones -and hurricanes, shows that the region which produces the great cyclones -of the United States lies in the Antilles and Caribbean Sea. In the -Pacific the portion of the calm belt of the Tropic of Cancer<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a>{59}</span> causes the -ravages of cyclones or hurricanes originating there to be felt chiefly -in Japan and China. The storms of the Pacific arising in the equatorial -calm belt, are most violent in the East Indies, and the southern -peninsulas of Asia. As these regions are much warmer, and consequently -the atmosphere may hold a much greater quantity of vapor, it follows -that cyclones in that quarter much exceed in violence those of our own -land.</p> - -<p>Such are the general laws of these terrible disturbances of nature, as -ascertained by years of careful observation. In the United States, our -Signal Service, with well-equipped observatories at important -localities, is able to make these principles of practical use: to detect -the incipient storm and mark out its path, ere it strikes its fiercest -blow.</p> - -<p>It should be observed, ere leaving this topic, that a few would-be -prophets have maintained that not only great storms, but also -earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, etc., are due to planetary -influences. Observing that the most violent hurricanes occur near the -equinoctial period, they argue that the equinoxes of the planets ought -to also disturb the earth. They ignore the fact that as to our own -equinoctial disturbances, the change in the relative position of the -earth and sun is sufficient to produce change in the location of heated -air-currents and consequent storms. They seek to find in the Equinox -Absolute, some strange mysterious magic, some inexplicable power or -<i>Deus ex machina</i>, whose business it is to get up a disturbance here on -earth at every possible opportunity, no matter in what planet he may be -for the nonce located.</p> - -<p>But it is difficult to rid any man of his hobby. In the question of the -equinoxes of other planets, their recurrence is of sufficient frequency -to allow the weather-crank full play for his imagination. Two of the -major planets lie within the earth’s orbit, and their more rapid course -about<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a>{60}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_060_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_060_sml.jpg" width="450" height="286" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WATER SPOUTS AT SEA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a>{61}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">the sun results in there being an equinox in one or the other of them -about once in each month. So no matter in what month a great storm may -occur, the enthusiast can point out that a neighboring planet is at or -near an equinox.</p> - -<p>A careful examination of the equinoxes of the inner planets for a period -of fifteen years shows that the number occurring in the month of April -was 22 per cent. above the average occurrence for any month: whence, it -would appear that the disturbances at that period ought to be equally in -excess. But as a matter of fact, storms on the earth are most numerous -and violent at the time of the autumnal equinox—September and -October—when no such departure from the average of equinoxes of the -other planets appears.</p> - -<p>If planetary influence were the cause of our storms, it would be -reasonable to suppose that disturbances would be greatest when the -planets are nearest to the earth: but the advocates of the theory do not -seem to consider this a factor at all. Nor could the planetary equinox -theory account for the fact that storms of peculiar character always -originate in the same regions. For instance, why do cyclones always -originate near the tropics and move away from the equator? If the -planetary equinoxes produce violent earthquakes, why are they so partial -to North America as never in our whole history to have given us a very -serious shaking up? Why is it that of the hundreds of recorded tornadoes -of the past century in the United States, only one has ever occurred -west of Dodge City, Kansas? Clearly the adherents of the equinoctial -theory will have to admit local terrestrial conditions that modify all -their theories: and to make such an admission will be, in the end, to -give up the fight.</p> - -<p>The writer knew of a boy who wasted a pound and a half of bird-shot in -trying to kill a small owl. The game was finally secured, and the young -Nimrod discovered a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a>{62}</span> hatful of feathers with the body of a robin—and of -no earthly use.</p> - -<p>Attacking the planetary theory is of little more use. But the theory is -the resort of many would-be weather prophets, who needlessly alarm the -ignorant with their gloomy forebodings.</p> - -<p>In a country as large as our own, any sort of weather is a very safe -prediction to make for any day in the century, as minor rains and cloudy -seasons and small storms are merely local. Any sort of prediction would -be nearly sure to hit some portion of the country; and one who is so -disposed can easily win a cheap notoriety and gain scores of -testimonials as to the correctness of his predictions. Every unusual -catastrophe produces a brood of these gentry who are eager to make the -trial. But those who endeavor to indicate the exact locality where any -great disturbance is to take place, meet discomfiture with a uniformity -that ought to be discouraging. The work of the Signal Service is as -carefully done as may well be: yet its best men assert that an average -of 90 per cent. of correctness in their prognostications is unusual, -because of the extremely small areas covered by local disturbances. -Rainy weather announced for western Missouri may be correct every time -for Kansas City, but be 10 per cent. in error for Nevada, Missouri. When -those whose time is devoted to the weather can not always be correct, it -is useless to listen to charlatans.</p> - -<p>A careful study of sun-spots with relation to storms has been made of -late years. The fact is elicited that the spots seem to have a definite -connection with electrical disturbances: but while there are numbers of -coincidences between unusual sun-spots and great storms, the number of -striking exceptions seems equally great. Hence, it can not be fairly -inferred that there is any definite relation between<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a>{63}</span> them. And so far -as electrical phenomena on the earth are connected with storms, they -always appear as dependent upon rather than productive of atmospheric -currents. Indeed, the most remarkable electrical disturbances occur at -times when no atmospheric current is prevalent. The most beautiful -electrical display, the aurora, appears when the air is abnormally still -and unusually dry. The necessity of the latter condition accounts for -the fact that it is usually observable only in cold weather and occurs -with great frequency and in remarkable brilliancy in the polar regions. -It results from electric currents passing through extremely rarefied and -dry air, and may be produced on a small scale artificially.</p> - -<p>Poe was right when he held that many things remain long secrets by -reason of their very simplicity. Six thousand years steam hissed and -fumed in men’s faces, and tilted the kettle lid, before they learned its -expansive power. Six thousand years the lightning flamed and roared -before man realized it could be made one of his most obedient servants. -Six thousand years he cudgeled his wits to discover the secret of the -wind: yet when he made a fire within his house, he closed the door to -prevent unpleasant draughts of air. And so he continues, constantly -endeavoring to find some strange mystery in the things that are -dependent on simplest laws.</p> - -<p>There was a time when men stood aghast at small-pox, cholera, yellow -fever, and many similar calamities, and spoke with bated breath of the -“mysterious visitations of providence,” the “scourge of God,” and so on. -When the Turks once besieged a plague-stricken city, a comet appeared in -the sky. The pious inhabitants prayed “O Lord, deliver us from the -devil, the Turk and the comet,” and usually such people believed such -plagues were the judgment of God on them for their sins. Modern science<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a>{64}</span> -holds that about the only sin the Lord punishes in that way is the sin -of filthy streets, or back-door cess-pools. When man has once learned -the means of control and prevention, evils lose their mysterious -witchery.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, let the laws of any force in nature be every so well -understood: yet, so long as they are beyond the control of man, they -will retain for him an eerie uncanny fascination. The pigmy has -harnessed the steam and chained the lightning: but when the storm clouds -lower and the forests moan, the sea roars and the lightning glows, he -stands in fear and awe before a power whose might he but vaguely -comprehends. He may know of the winds, whence and whither bound; but -when the Stygian darkness has passed on, leaving wreck and ruin, want -and woe, desolation and despair, shattered homes and hopes, and bleeding -hearts, this knowledge of law is, for the nonce, forgotten, and the -hurricane is transformed, in his disordered vision, into a demon of -wrath, or caprice; or he speaks, hesitatingly it may be, of the -mysterious dispensation of an inscrutable providence. But in the mighty -wind, as in the soughing breeze, there is only obedience to universal -law. But when the Author of law displays his power, man’s instinct, -however unwilling his reason, acknowledges a God.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a>{65}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> -<small>THE LOUISVILLE TORNADO.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“At eve along the calm resplendent west<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I marked a cloud alive with fairy light,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">So warmly pure, so sweetly, richly bright,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">It seemed a spirit of ether, floating blest,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In its own happy empire! While possest<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With admiration of the marvelous light,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Slowly its hues, opal and chrysolite,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Waned on the shadowy gloaming’s phantom breast.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The cloud became a terror, whose dark womb,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Throbbed with keen lightnings, by destruction hurled,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Red bolt on bolt, while a drear ominous gloom<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Enveloped Nature: o’er the startled world—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A deep alarum—burst the thunder boom<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the swift Storm his coal-black wings unfurled!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>HERE is a perspective of news as well as of art, which requires that -such features in a view as are supposed to be nearest to the observer -must be given larger detail. It is a natural consequence of the fact -that a small object near by may conceal from view a mountain in the -distance.</p> - -<p>So in the news world a dog run over on Washington avenue takes rank with -a wreck in the Indian Ocean. A fight in a neighboring saloon gets ten -inches: a strike in Germany ten lines. Your neighbor’s new barn is a -good item for the county paper whose editor cares nothing for the new -bank in Boston. The Widow Jones gets a puff for whitewashing her fence; -the refitting of the White House gets a line. A million of people who -have heard of George Washington, never heard of Alfred the Great.</p> - -<p>Now, not a few will think that there is injustice in this.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a>{66}</span> Doubtless -the tendency of the time is to exaggerate perspective to obtain -startling effects. Caricature is characteristic of the age. And yet, -there was never before a time when so many people took interest in -things that lay beyond their own narrow circle; even if that interest be -from mere curiosity.</p> - -<p>Sometimes this self-centered condition of humanity has an amusing -aspect: as if one should imagine the earth terminated with his own -apparent horizon. Some South Sea Islanders called the first white men -who visited them, “sky-breakers.” The reason is simple. Dwelling on -their little islets, mere specks in the deep, and in all their myths and -legends having no account of any other race, they supposed themselves to -be the only people in the world. Their sky was a vast wall of blue -stones raised by one of their mythical heroes. It shut in the world and -could not be far away, though none of them had endeavored to reach it. -So these strange white creatures were not of this world; neither were -they of the race of the gods; they came from no one knew where, and had -somehow broken through the blue wall that bounded the world. And white -men are in some islands called “sky-breakers” to this day.</p> - -<p>Something of the same spirit is manifested by the Chinese. The devil of -their mythology is white. So our occidental sensibilities received quite -a shock when we learned that we were “foreign devils.” The Japanese more -considerately called us “foreign beasts,” as though uncertain of our -status in the animal kingdom. And to this day our magnificent vessels -are gravely styled “devil ships” by the Chinese.</p> - -<p>Such are what might be appropriately styled ludicrous exaggerations of -perspective. And we of the west are similarly so wrapped up in our -self-sufficiency that it hardly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a>{67}</span> occurs to us that we may appear as -amusing to foreigners as they to us. In this respect our charity begins -at home. It is the way of the world.</p> - -<p>But there are a thousand occurrences that make us feel that the -principle is just, no matter to what extremes we may foolishly carry it. -It comes home to each with peculiar emphasis in the hour of distress. -The famine in Asia does not weigh upon you so heavily as the death of -the woman who starved in the garret across the street. A fire that burns -Chicago is easier forgotten that the one which destroys the little home -that represents the savings of years of your life. The cholera in India -has no such terrors for you as the diphtheria or scarlet fever in your -own village. The Czar of Russia is blown to pieces in his carriage; but -he has no remembrance at the bedside of your sick friend. Ten thousand -dead victims of a distant earthquake are hidden by the coffin in your -own home.</p> - -<p>Since the same law applies to the interests of nations, it is not -necessary, in reviewing the work of destructive tempests, to apologize -for giving chief place to the recent Louisville tornado, however -insignificant it may appear in comparison with scores of others that -have desolated the earth in days gone by. The latter shall be noticed in -due time.</p> - -<p>In the foregoing chapter we have seen that the great cyclones that -occasionally visit us originate in the neighborhood of the Antilles. Of -course, similar conditions may produce smaller storms of the same class -in numerous localities. These small storms whose paths are but a few -yards, or sometimes as much as a mile in diameter, are called, to -distinguish them from the great cyclone of twenty to two hundred miles -in diameter, by the Portuguese title of <i>tornados</i>, or “turning-storms.” -Often the broken character of the country will cause a large gathering -storm to break<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a>{68}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_068_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_068_sml.jpg" width="450" height="236" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WHERE THE STORM ENTERED LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a>{69}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">up into half a dozen or more of the smaller ones, which, in their narrow -paths are as destructive as the cyclone.</p> - -<p>It is the unexpected that happens. No one experiences so many surprises, -or has more pet beliefs upset than that oracle of the chimney-corner, -the oldest inhabitant. It was long believed that tornadoes never passed -over an old Indian camp ground. Whatever the popular opinion of savage -intellect, there is marvelous confidence in his instinct. Again, it was -thought a tornado never would pass over a large city. The storm in -question demolished both these “olde wyves’ tales.”</p> - -<p>During March 27th, 1890, the Signal Service Department observed a -threatening storm center gather in the southwestern portion of Wyoming, -and start eastward with great rapidity. Notice was promptly given. -Railway, telegraph and electric light officials were warned that on -Thursday night a hurricane would blow with a speed of at least fifty -miles an hour. Signal Service predictions had sometimes failed, and this -last one excited no particular concern. The destroyer came and was gone -in two minutes; and blocks on blocks of Louisville were a ghastly ruin.</p> - -<p>The tornado was accompanied by a cloud and tremendous rain. To an -observer at the Falls, the cloud was seen to come up the gap between the -hills which guard the banks of the beautiful Ohio. He described it as -“balloon-shaped, twisting an attenuated tail to the earth. It emitted a -constant fusillade of lightning, and seemed to be composed of a lurid, -snake-like mass of electric currents, whose light would sometimes be -extinguished for a few moments, making an almost intolerable darkness. -It was accompanied by a fearful roar, like that of a thousand trains -crossing the big bridge at once. It could be seen to strike Louisville, -and then with incredible rapidity it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a>{70}</span> leaped the river, churning it into -white foam as it went toward the Indiana shore.”</p> - -<p>The streets of Louisville parallel to the river are named; those at -right angles are numbered from east to west. The section visited may be -described as a rectangle a mile square, bounded on the west by -Eighteenth street, on the east by Seventh, on the south by Broadway, and -on the north by the Ohio river. It comprehends the business portion of -the city. Through this district the cyclone swept diagonally from -southwest to northeast, crossing the river and leaving the city at the -foot of Seventh street. The business houses or residences of perhaps -10,000 people lay in its path.</p> - -<p>Two days after the storm, when there had been time for a calm survey, -its track is thus described by a correspondent of the Associated Press:</p> - -<p>“It first descended upon the beautiful little suburb of Parkland, -southwest of the city, destroying many private residences. The loss of -life was inconsiderable at this initial point, however. Rushing onward -toward the northwest it lifted for a moment above the trees and -housetops, and descended again a mile further on at Maple and Eighteenth -streets. From this on its pathway is clearly marked. At no time did the -base of the funnel touch the ground, and one hundred feet higher in the -air, it would have passed by without doing comparatively much damage.</p> - -<p>“The ruins as they now are often show the first, and even the second and -third stories of buildings still intact, with the roofs and higher -stories swept away except in places where the debris from the upper -floors crushed in the lower, and brought the walls down to the ground in -total collapse. From Maple and Eighteenth streets it went northward one -block, then west at an angle another block; and then curving to the -northeast as far as Magazine and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a>{71}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_071_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_071_sml.jpg" width="450" height="288" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>BAXTER PARK, LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a>{72}</span></p> - -<p>Thirteenth streets. A quick change to the north is perceptible here, and -after traveling in that direction two blocks, another turn to the west. -An acute angle was then made, the line turning from Fifteenth street -northeast to Thirteenth street again; thence, due east to Tenth street, -and north a block to Market street. At Thirteenth and Jefferson streets -it swept through Baxter Park, doing great damage, and a block eastward -destroyed St. John’s Episcopal Church, in the rectory of which the Rev. -S. E. Barnwell and his little son were crushed and burned to death, the -rest of the family escaping.</p> - -<p>“St. John’s Church is in the street immediately in the rear of the -ill-fated Falls City Hall. The eccentric monster went on eastward past -the Falls City Hall without touching it, and then, as if suddenly -recollecting, it swept around the block and started westward on the -south side of Market street. Had the change of direction been made a -trifle sooner or later Falls City Hall would have escaped, and the dead -been numbered within thirty or forty at the most.</p> - -<p>“As if satisfied with the work accomplished, it turned north again and -struck Main street. This thoroughfare is the principal business street -in the city. It runs parallel with the river from east to west, and but -a block south of it. It is lined with wholesale houses, and was the -solidest part of the city in point of architecture.</p> - -<p>“The tornado reached Main street at Twelfth, and then shaped its course -directly east down the middle of the broad street, sweeping away the -solid stores and warehouses on both sides. From Twelfth to Seventh -streets on Main it is a wholesaling district, and it was practically -untenanted at that hour. Had the storm come in the daytime and taken the -same direction, hundreds who were at their houses and escaped unhurt -would have been killed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a>{73}</span></p> - -<p>“At Seventh street and Main the buildings change in their character. The -big Louisville Hotel is on Main between Sixth and Seventh, and east of -the hotel are restaurants, saloons and other hotels which contained -thousands of people at that hour. The tornado chased down Main street, -carrying everything before it, passing Eleventh street, Tenth, Ninth, -Eighth, and Seventh. A block further and the Louisville Hotel, with its -hundreds of tenants, would have been reached. The escape of the hotel is -the strangest incident of all. Adjoining it on the west, from whence the -storm came, was a three-story building used as a saloon on the first -floor, and occupied in the upper stories as sleeping apartments for the -hotel servants. This three-story building, right under the east wall of -the hotel, was totally demolished and not a timber left a dozen feet -higher than the ground. Its inmates were killed. The great hotel shook -from roof to cellar with the force of the shock, but it was spared.</p> - -<p>“The storm veered at the sharpest kind of an angle to the north again, -crossed Main street, and struck for the river, taking in the Union Depot -on the way. Strange to say, although the depot was totally demolished, -only one person was killed there. At the point where the tornado crossed -the river, between New Albany and Jeffersonville, it is supposed several -small crafts were sunk.</p> - -<p>“Reaching the opposite bank of the river, the storm turned to the east -again and took off a bite from Jeffersonville. It went along Front -street for a few blocks, damaging buildings, but causing no loss of -life. Then it took to the river and struck the Kentucky shore about four -miles east of where it left it, and outside of the city of Louisville. -At this exact spot is located the Louisville pumping works, which -supplies the whole city with water.</p> - -<p>“The pumping works were destroyed, and the city is now<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a>{74}</span> threatened with -a water famine in consequence. The next heard of the peculiar course -taken by the tornado is from Eminence, Ky., about forty miles east of -Louisville, which was badly damaged by the storm. The intervening -country may have suffered somewhat, but no other towns were visited, and -from Eminence the destroyer probably took a final leave of the earth’s -surface and passed on to the Atlantic Coast at a higher and less -dangerous altitude.”</p> - -<p>This outline seems to show how easily the course of a storm is modified -by the irregularities of surface, even when the obstacles are such as it -can overcome. It is seen that the course of a small storm over broken -country, little resembles the steady curve of the storm in the open sea. -Ever and anon, the obstacles below momentarily break the regular -current, which is as often renewed in a moment by the powerful upward -suction in the upper air. This is the phenomenon known as “jumping,” -which may be repeated till the widening of the center leaves the storm -too weak to promptly restore the current at the ground, and the danger -from the tornado is over. Some of the apparent eccentricities in the -city, are doubtless due to the fact that occasional buildings were -strong enough to resist; and leaving such at slight variations in its -course, made it present the appearance of doubling on its track.</p> - -<p>So many blocks of buildings, great and small, in an instant violently -hurled to pieces, would seem to infer with certainty the death of nearly -all the occupants. That only about a hundred should have been killed -outright, was therefore a matter of astonishment no less than of -gratitude. The terror and anguish of the first moments or hours could -not, however, be measured by the actual calamity to human life. Members -of households suddenly separated from each other in the darkness, could -only fear the worst.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a>{75}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_075_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_075_sml.jpg" width="450" height="278" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LOUISVILLE TORNADO—FALLS CITY HALL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a>{76}</span></p> - -<p>Their startled imagination saw the missing one dead or dying under the -huge piles of fallen buildings. There were excited cries and calls and -wailing of the living; a mad rush and frantic tugging at the ruins, from -beneath which were sometimes heard shrieks for help or groans of the -dying. To add to the universal terror, fires broke out in many places, -threatening imprisoned wretches with a fate more horrible than the crush -of falling walls, or timbers, bricks or iron, hurtling through the air. -Before help could reach them the flames took hold on some and hushed -their cries forever. Fortunately, the fire-alarm connections were left -intact, and as alarm after alarm was sent, there was a dashing of the -engines to the rescue, and the whole fire-department was presently -engaged in extinguishing the flames, or recovering the living and the -dead. Hospitals and morgues were suddenly improvised in sheds or shops, -where the wounded were cared for, or the dead were deposited to await -the recognition or claim of the living.</p> - -<p>Falls City Hall was the theatre of the principal loss of life. It was a -brick building fronting on Market between Eleventh and Twelfth. The -ground-floor had long been used as a market, and contained forty or -fifty stalls of gardeners and butchers. These stalls were closed and the -keepers were absent at the hour of the disaster. In front on the second -floor were three small rooms, one of them utilized as an office, the -other two as toilet rooms. Behind these was a large hall, and in the -rear of this still another hall, in which a young lady, her father, -brother and sister being present, was teaching a dancing school. There -might have been sixty-five persons in this room, though one witness says -twenty-eight. In one of the small rooms seven men, constituting the -Executive Committee of the Roman Knights, was holding a business -meeting. In another room a band of musicians, fifteen in number, were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a>{77}</span> -going through a rehearsal. Some decorators were at work in the large -hall, preparing it for some coming occasion. On the third floor were -assembled the Jewel Lodge No. 2 of the Knights and Ladies of Honor, with -an attendance of a hundred or more. In an adjoining hall the Humboldt -Lodge No. 146 of I. O. O. F. with seventeen members was in session. The -whole number of people in the building must have been nearly or quite -two hundred. In an instant the fearful wrench of the cyclone had twisted -the building into fragments, and tumbled it in shapeless ruin upon the -inmates.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes after the collapse might have been seen a frantic multitude -hastily gathering from all quarters, among them many women clutching -vainly with their fingers at the slate roof, and madly tearing at the -wreck beneath which the imprisoned and wounded were crying for help. -Presently, fire broke out, but it was happily extinguished. The work of -rescue was now organized and speedily set in motion, but an hour elapsed -before the first victim was extricated. This was a lady, found sitting -upright with bruised head and broken arm. She told of her vain effort to -escape, and of the position in which she had last seen her companions. -Meanwhile, some were digging in the center of the debris in answer to a -voice which grew fainter and fainter until it was hushed forever. The -work of rescue was now shifted to the other end of the pile.</p> - -<p>James Hassen was foremost among the workers, and on reaching the hall -room of the Knights and Ladies, he took from the ruins the first body, -which proved to be that of his wife, and who expired in his arms. He -gently laid his dead wife aside, and hurried again to aid in recovering -the rest. Presently, ten women were reached, clasped in each others -arms—all dead but one. The dancing room was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a>{78}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_078_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_078_sml.jpg" width="450" height="350" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>AT WORK IN THE WRECK.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a>{79}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">reached. One lady was taken out fatally hurt, and one after another her -three children, unconscious, but destined to recover. While her husband -was urging the rescue of his fourth child, still somewhere beneath the -ruins, an under-current of air having been admitted, the fire again -broke out with startling fierceness, and the furious heat compelled a -suspension of the work. The groans of the imprisoned were now changed to -fearful shrieks, while the watchers, helpless to render aid, screamed -and ran wildly about with anxiety and horror. Three or four lines of -hose were turned upon the flames, and they were subdued; but an hour, in -which probably many a life went out, had been lost from the work. By -twelve o’clock many dead and wounded had been removed from the ruins. -The dead were largely in the majority. Many of these exhibited no -outward wounds, and had been apparently suffocated by gas escaping from -broken pipes.</p> - -<p>But the reader may be spared further details of the recovery at Falls -City Hall. Suffice it to say, that two days were required to remove the -wreck and demonstrate the precise extent of the calamity. On this spot, -about eighty persons had lost their lives.</p> - -<p>The narratives of some of the survivors will serve to show that while -the tornado comes without warning, the heaviest wind is not just at -first: and a cool head may sometimes profit by the interval to escape. -Sailors have a saying that the “tail” of a gale is strongest. A young -man who was taken from the wreck of the hall says:</p> - -<p>“I was dancing when a flash of lightning, followed by a crash, made me -think that the lightning had struck some part of the rear of the -building. The next moment, the big doors that enter into the big hall in -front flew open. I continued dancing, and cried to some of the boys to -close the doors. They did so, and were bolting them, when<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a>{80}</span> they were -again forced open with such force as to knock down everybody around -them. Then the window sashes were blown in, and the building commenced -rocking. I saw that the house was about to fall, and I hallooed: ‘The -walls will go next.’ I ran to the dressing-room, and I think most of the -girls followed me. I got under a table and held fast to the legs, -thinking that I might be saved in that way. Then the walls began -crumbling, and the lights went out, and the floor descended like an -elevator. The crash stunned me for a moment, but finally a flash of -lightning showed me a hole in the debris, through which I might have -crawled had not my leg been pinioned between some timbers. There were -people all around me, and they were crying for help; but there was no -one to aid us. I tugged and strained, but I could not get loose. -Finally, I heard my father’s voice, and answered him; and directly he -crawled down the hole. It took him three-quarters of an hour to -extricate me, and then we both crawled out. If there had been help at -once, we might have saved others, as I knew about where they all were, -but they were more or less hurt.”</p> - -<p>That less than half of those in the building should have been killed is -a matter of wonder. The manner of individual escapes can only be -inferred from one or two more which we subjoin.</p> - -<p>One of the lady members of the lodge of the Knights and Ladies of Honor -relates:</p> - -<p>“I went to attend the lodge meeting and when all were present the -calamity came. There must have been about seventy-five people in the -room at the time of the tornado. Hone of them were able to get out -before the building fell in. The first intimation we had of what was -coming was the flash of lightning and the beating of hail against the -windows. The wind howled, and I heard a fearful roaring<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a>{81}</span> noise. The -people became frightened, and hurriedly gathered their wraps together. -All were fearful of impending danger.</p> - -<p>“Just at this moment I saw a round hole blown through the wall, -immediately above one of the windows. The gas went out and then I saw -another large round hole appear in the roof. Through this I saw the -lightning play with awful grandeur. This natural light was all that -relieved the gloom and darkness. I heard one of the trustees of the -lodge call out to all the people to go out quickly and in a body. He -cried out not to rush, as some one would be killed if they did. Then I -knew no more until I became conscious, and found that I was partially -imbedded in bricks and timbers. I felt blood running down my neck and -became aware that I had been struck on the head by a brick or timber. I -extricated myself, and by the flashes of lightning made my way over the -terrible mass of debris and dead bodies toward the front. I saw a man -making his way down the pile of bricks to the street, and I followed. -When I reached the sidewalk I was aided to a neighboring store by a -lodge trustee. I don’t know how he made his way out. I heard cries for -help as I came out, but I had barely strength to move, and could not -help the others.”</p> - -<p>A thrilling experience was that of another member of the same lodge. His -estimate of the attendance, larger than the foregoing, is yet materially -exceeded by others. He says:</p> - -<p>“The first intimations of danger we had were two distinct rockings of -the building, about which time a dormer window in the lodge room was -blown from its casings, and immediately after the plastering began to -drop from the ceiling. A wild rush was made for the ante-room, which -carried me with it, and I had just reached the door when<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a>{82}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_082_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_082_sml.jpg" width="450" height="289" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MAIN STREET, BETWEEN ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH, LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a>{83}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">the entire floor gave way, and we were precipitated to the basement, -blinded and almost suffocated by a cloud of dust, and crushed and jammed -by falling timbers. In some way the doorframe fell with me and -maintained an upright position when it stopped, and I was enabled to -extricate myself from the debris and make an exit to the street through -an adjoining house, whose doors I kicked in. Meanwhile, the shrieks and -groans of those still imprisoned by the wreck formed a chorus that, in -connection with the howling of the storm, made my very heart sick. I -was, so far as hasty examination went, comparatively uninjured, and at -once returned over the ruins with several men to the rear of the place -and extinguished a fire that had begun to blaze fiercely. By this time -the rain was falling in torrents, and it was difficult for those who had -gathered from the neighborhood, or who had been as lucky as I was to -escape with life, to tell where to begin the work of rescue.</p> - -<p>“The vivid lightning flashes only gave momentary views of the position -of the ruins, and blinded everybody. Among those whom I saw and -recognized as having escaped from Jewel lodge I can name only the -treasurer, who was covered with dust, drenched with rain and well-nigh -distracted by the probable fate of her aged father, who had attended the -lodge meeting with her and who was still in the ruins. The entire -building collapsed in front and rear, and of the east and west side -walls nothing was standing above the second story.</p> - -<p>“So far as I could judge when I had succeeded in escaping, there were -less than a dozen, all told, who got out unhurt; and the cries for help -and groans that issued from the broken and twisted heap was proof that -scores were still there, unable to escape.”</p> - -<p>The Union Depot was utterly demolished. An officer of the Louisville -Southern Road relates the story:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a>{84}</span></p> - -<p>“Quite a crowd of people were present waiting for trains. Mr. Woodard, -of the Monon Railroad, was near me, and I had been talking to him. The -wind was blowing strong, and seemed to increase in power. We heard a -dull moaning in the distance, and the glass in the windows of the depot -was shattered, although the first puff was merely the advance guard of -the tornado. The people became alarmed. One man started to rush into the -ticket office, but the ticket-seller pushed him back. Mr. Woodard and I -also started for the ticket office. Just at this moment the tornado, -like a clap of thunder, struck the depot.</p> - -<p>“The building gave way and tumbled in upon us. I was just at the door of -the ticket office when it went down. I fell, and a man standing near me -fell across me. A heavy girder fell on top of him. Mr. Woodard was only -a few feet away. I never lost consciousness. I spoke to Mr. Woodard and -he replied. We both thought we could get out alive if the depot did not -catch fire. I knew that there had been stoves with fire burning in them -in the depot before the tornado struck it, and I expected the flames to -break out at every moment.</p> - -<p>“I spoke to the man who was lying across me and told him that he must -manage to squeeze from under the girder. I thought that if he was off me -I could manage to get out. After many desperate efforts he managed to -get from under the girder, but in doing so his bowels were torn so -terribly that the doctors do not think he can recover. He was a -brakeman, who had come here to be a witness in some case. I do not -remember his name.</p> - -<p>“After the brakeman got off me, I was able to use my strength. Then I -got out, and so did Mr. Woodard. I was under the wreck just thirty-five -minutes. I was slightly bruised in the arm and leg, but that amounts to -nothing.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a>{85}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_085_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_085_sml.jpg" width="450" height="290" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>UNION DEPOT, LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a>{86}</span></p> - -<p>Though forty or fifty persons were in the depot at the time, only one, a -restaurant boy, was killed; Twenty-one passenger coaches were more or -less wrecked. On following days the impression of the ruins upon the -beholder was peculiarly gloomy. Instead of the stir of life, the -brilliancy of electric lights, the scream of whistles and the rumbling -of trains, there was a scattered wreck, and comparative silence. A few -chickens, liberated from their coop, crept at dusk to roost on a timber, -and in subdued tones seemed to be discussing with each other the -mournful situation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a>{87}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -<small>INCIDENTS OF THE TORNADO.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">“O cold and savage wind!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">It racks my soul to hear the wild lamenting<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of wounded hearts whose grief knows no relenting,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Can not their woe e’er sway thee to repenting?<br /></span> -<span class="i5">O cold and savage wind!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">O melancholy wind!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hast thou no requiem for the dead and dying?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Art thou some fierce despairing spirit sighing<br /></span> -<span class="i0">O’er a lost Paradise behind thee lying?<br /></span> -<span class="i5">O melancholy wind!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>OO frequently in the confusion of great disasters the woes of the -poorer classes are forgotten in the attention given to their more -opulent neighbors. There is only too often good cause given for a slight -modification of Shylock’s speech, “Hath not a Jew eyes?” etc. There is -no sadder record than that so frequently given in a single line: -“Dead—a woman, name unknown.” What fearful heart-aches often end in the -Potter’s field!</p> - -<p>Adjoining the Louisville Hotel was a saloon and cigar store, the rooms -over which were occupied by the hotel laundry girls. These were hurled -into the cellar, and so tightly wedged that death could not have been -long delayed. One was found sitting upright, the pallor of death on her -face, and agony in every feature. Another lay upon her back, with hands -outstretched above her head, as though she tried to thrust destruction -back. A third was sitting, dead; while near by another lay upon her -face, as though refusing to behold that which she could not shun.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a>{88}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">If memory o’er their tomb no trophies raise,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Poor laundry girls! Let their dead dust be mentioned with reverence. Had -they been spoiled daughters of wealth and fashion, press reporters would -have waxed eloquent of their birth, their history, their beauty, their -accomplishments, their heritage. We should have heard in detail the -names of their wealthy and mourning friends, and of their impressive -obsequies. Magnificent monuments would have risen to mark their sleeping -dust. These five laundry girls were taken up tenderly, and two or three -days later, together borne without pomp to humble graves. But is not -honest industry in useful avocation toiling for bread a more royal thing -than silks and diamonds, bedizzening frivolity and idleness? Is there -not in America many a haughty heiress, less worthy of our tears, than -these?</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Let not ambition mock their useful toil,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Their homely joys and destiny obscure;”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">and when we say, Peace to their ashes! will not the reader add a fervent -Amen!</p> - -<p>On Seventeenth street was a pathetic sight. One blackened and charred -wall stood swaying in the wind. Just over the door was a sign—“Plain -Sewing.” An old woman had been the sole tenant. Here, any day for years -past, it may be,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“With fingers weary and worn,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With eyelids heavy and red,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A woman sat in unwomanly rags,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Plying her needle and thread:—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Stitch—Stitch—Stitch,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In poverty, hunger and dirt,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And still with a voice of dolorous pitch,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">She sang the song of the shirt.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Her charred body was dug from beneath the ruins. Tragic end of a life of -poverty and toil! But when we<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a>{89}</span> reflect on the lot of many another sewing -woman, who still survives, we may, with Solomon, feel inclined to -“praise the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are yet -alive.”</p> - -<p>About Thirteenth and Walnut dwelt a peddler with wife and child. He -knocked a hole in the side wall of his wrecked home, and dragged out his -little family over a seemingly impassable pile of debris. Then he -thought of another woman and two helpless children imprisoned up stairs. -He rushed to their rescue, and dragged them out just in time to save -them from the flames, which two minutes later were licking up all that -would burn.</p> - -<p>Society must think more of its lonely toilers; even of its peddlers and -publicans and sinners. It was the keeper of a brothel in Memphis, who, -during the awful yellow-fever visitation, turned her house into a -hospital, and ministered to the suffering till she fell a victim -herself. Jesus was looking at some very nice people when he said, “The -publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” To -those good people, such a thing would be one of the “mysteries of -Providence.”</p> - -<p>“Mysteries of Providence” are continually ferreted out on such -occasions. Reporters, to whom everything that can be written is news, -gather up a hundred items and give them to the public; often grouping -items in a manner that is strikingly grotesque. There is no grimmer -humor than the apparently matter-of-fact statement that during a great -Italian earthquake, wherein lofty cathedrals were shaken to pieces and -hundreds of people killed, statues of the Virgin escaped uninjured. -Sober-minded people are prone to wonder what is the relative value of a -human life and a graven image. One might, if such things were of -constant occurrence, consider them as meant by Providence as a very -sarcastic punishment for the violation of the second commandment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a>{90}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_090_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_090_sml.jpg" width="450" height="342" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>EIGHTH AND MAIN STREETS, LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a>{91}</span></p> - -<p>It is related that at the time of the massacre of St. Bartholomew, a -Romish captain secured a number of fugitives, among whom he felt -satisfied there were some good Catholics. Not being able to distinguish -them readily, he referred the perplexing case to a fanatical priest. The -response came promptly: “Kill all; the Lord will know his own!”</p> - -<p>Interpreters of the inscrutable ways of Providence might find such the -only solution for many particulars of the storm. The pious but -superstitious folk who believe that all such visitations are for the -sins of a people, instead of the result of laws that send the rain alike -upon the just and the unjust, might find some perplexity in conning the -following cases.</p> - -<p>On the next street back of Falls City Hall stood the St. John’s -Episcopal Church. The rector, with his little four-year-old boy, was in -the study. The rectory and the church were completely destroyed, and the -rector and his child were killed. In an adjoining building, ten or -eleven men were playing cards. The house was demolished, but not one of -the players was seriously hurt. The preacher perished; the idlers were -saved—herein is food for reflection.</p> - -<p>Tierney’s saloon was on Eleventh, between Main and Market. The ice-box -saved him and four other men from being crushed. They crowded beside it, -and crawled out uninjured. The pastor and the useful laundry girls -perished; the saloon-keeper and his patrons survived.</p> - -<p>The Catholic buildings at Seventeenth and Broadway were Father Desney’s -residence, the Sisters’ Home, the Church of the Sacred Heart, and the -parochial school. All these were wrecked by the wind, and Sister Pius -was killed. There is a story that, amid utter ruin, the image of the -Virgin was left standing, untouched by harm.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a>{92}</span> Let the devout remember -that a saloon-keeper obtained an equal deliverance.</p> - -<p>Elmer Barnes and several others ran into Eckerle’s saloon, 1001 West -Market, and securely closed the door. The building fell with a crash, -and the men were buried in the ruins. Barnes and Eckerle were -overwhelmed by the falling bricks and timber. Eckerle was fearfully -injured; Barnes was drawn from the ruins, and died a few hours -afterward. The other men were only slightly hurt. If we have had -occasion to mention the destruction of one church and of several -saloons, it is probably only because saloons are more numerous than -churches.</p> - -<p>At a grocery store at the corner of Sixteenth and Magazine streets the -owner and five others were standing at the bar in the back part of the -store. A dreadful roaring sound was heard, and the house rocked back and -forth. The owner’s wife and children screamed and ran out the back way. -Almost instantly the rear wall of the building fell. The six men rushed -to escape by the front door, but the wind closed it with such force that -it could not be opened. The floor beneath gave way, and three men were -dropped into the cellar and pinned among the ruins. The other three -escaped through a side window. Instantly a fire kindled and took hold on -the imprisoned men. Their cries were awful, while their escaped -companions witnesssed the horrible cremation and were powerless to -render aid.</p> - -<p>We record but a few of the multitude of deaths, experiences, incidents -and escapes. Doubtless, there is many an untold tale—something of -personal interest connected with almost every one of the hundreds of -buildings partially or wholly wrecked. The press at first exaggerated, -and perhaps finally minimized the loss of life. There is reason to think -that not all the names of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a>{93}</span> dead were given to the public, while -subsequently several died of their wounds. To the list of those who were -killed outright, or died in a few hours, better information might have -added several names, and possibly subtracted or corrected others.</p> - -<p>The public may find in the press reports lists of the dead and numerous -records of persons injured or killed by the fallings of walls, or by -flying missiles; but these, after all, must be regarded as exceptions. -There can be no very correct estimate of the number of people who were -in the down-town district at the time of the accident. Yet, it would be -safe to say only a very small portion of those in the path of the storm -suffered any injury.</p> - -<p>That a storm of such magnitude and fury should have swept through the -heart of a city of 200,000 people, to destroy outright no more than five -or six score lives, may excite our wonder. The most obvious reason of -the low mortality will be found in the hour and place of the principal -visitation. The place was the business part of the city, and the hour -between eight and nine <small>P.M.</small>, when the wholesale houses and the streets -in their vicinity were comparatively deserted. Another fact is also to -be noted. The cyclone seems to have reached the ground scarcely at any -point at all. Its principal fury was probably expended in the region -above the housetops. The roofs and tops of walls were removed; the -damage below resulted principally from their fall. Humbler buildings -sheltering human lives were sometimes crushed by the fall of the upper -portion of the wall of some contiguous building; as notably, in the case -of the house occupied by the laundry girls, and which was smashed by the -fall of the wall from the top story of the Louisville Hotel; or the case -of a colored family whose house was crushed by the wall of the Falls -City Hall. But in any case of cyclonic visitation<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a>{94}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_094_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_094_sml.jpg" width="450" height="274" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CORNER MAIN AND CLINTON STREETS, LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a>{95}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">the escapes will probably amaze us more than the deaths; for when it -will seem that nothing living could have escaped, the majority will not -only probably be found alive, but absolutely unhurt. Of numerous cases, -a few specimens will suffice:</p> - -<p>Peter Speth and family were seated in the parlor when the cyclone -arrived. The family huddled together in the hall, doubtless to avail -themselves of the protection of the side walls not far apart. The walls -of the second story fell in with a crash. The building and furniture -were destroyed, but the family escaped without injury.</p> - -<p>Eleven men were in a barber shop at 1803 Broadway. The roof was blown -off; the walls fell in, but all the men escaped through the windows -without a scratch.</p> - -<p>At 329 Eleventh street, on the upper floor of a two-story brick, a lady -lay at the point of death; watched by her son and daughter. She begged -them to flee for their lives, but they refused to forsake her. The roof -was stripped clean off, but the devoted children with their mother -escaped injury.</p> - -<p>In one cottage on Chapel street dwelt a family of five. At once all were -in the house, when the storm demolished it, and four escaped unhurt.</p> - -<p>Major Galt, of the Louisville and Nashville Road, lived in a two-story -brick. He apprehended no danger till the walls fell. His wife was buried -under a pile of bricks. Her husband with difficulty extricated her, and -carried her unconscious to the house of a neighbor. Save for the shock, -she was not seriously hurt.</p> - -<p>Now, were such cases the exception—had not such instances happened in a -hundred other places similarly visited—there would certainly be cause -for perplexity. But the phenomena of the Louisville storm tend only to -establish the truth of a fact long suspected: that the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a>{96}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_096_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_096_sml.jpg" width="450" height="260" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LOOKING EAST FROM TENTH AND MAIN, LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a>{97}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">destructive effects of a tornado are not always attributable to the -direct force of the wind. A number of interesting incidents of the -Louisville storm will serve to illustrate a now clearly established -fact.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Fitzpatrick and her family were in a two-story brick, 1433 -Seventeenth street. They were all in an upper room and could not get -out. The walls fell outward, while the floor still remained in its -place. They climbed down unhurt.</p> - -<p>James Smith (colored) lived with his wife and seven children in Congress -Alley, in the rear of Falls City Hall. Himself, his wife and three -children were crushed beneath the mass of bricks and timbers; the -remaining four children were taken out more dead than alive. Yet, the -house was not in the least moved from its place. The building was -crushed by the wall of the hall, which fell outward. Similar was the -fate of the laundry girls. The house in which they were was crushed by -the top of the wall of the Louisville Hotel, which fell outward, toward -the wind.</p> - -<p>The colored Odd Fellows were holding a meeting in their hall at -Thirteenth and Walnut. The two upper stories were blown entirely down. -Several large circular holes were blown through the brick walls; one of -these in the side away from the storm. Several received more or less -injury, but not one was fatally hurt.</p> - -<p>At 1315 Eighteenth street, was a magnificent new brick cottage. The roof -remained, but in the west wall were made “six holes, round as a dollar, -and large enough to admit a flour barrel.” It is added that the missing -bricks were nowhere to be found.</p> - -<p>Finally, take the experience of a grocer on West Market street:</p> - -<p>“I was inside of my store, and my clerk was there, too. Standing on the -pavement outside were policeman Harlow,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a>{98}</span> a man named Charles Taylor, who -said he lived in Jeffersonville, a negro whose name I do not know, and -Carl Rice, an eight-year-old boy who lived with his parents in the rooms -above my store. When the wind grew high and the hail began to pelt, Mr. -Harlow attempted to open the front door of the store, which was closed, -to come inside for shelter. At that moment the tornado came in all its -fury. No one who was not in it can conceive of its terrific force. The -suction from without, as the full force came, was so great that it was -impossible to get the front door open. My clerk at work on it on the -inside and Mr. Harlow on the outside, were as powerless against the wind -as babies would have been in attempting to move a stone wall.</p> - -<p>“But their efforts were not of long duration. The tornado forced its way -in the rear of the upper stories of my building, and with impetuosity -unequaled forged through the apartments against the front wall. This -wall popped out and fell to the pavement below, upon those standing -there, burying them in the debris. The front is entirely gone, as you -see. Mr. Harlow and the little boy Carl Rice, were close up to the front -door, and only a small portion of the wall struck them. Taylor and the -negro were out on the pavement further, and they fared worse. Taylor’s -leg was broken at the ankle, and he was internally injured. The negro -had a hole knocked in his skull larger than a silver dollar, and was -used up generally. Mr. Harlow was bruised, but fortunately has no bones -broken, and is not dangerously hurt. The little boy’s head was pretty -badly cut and bruised, but he is not in a serious condition.”</p> - -<p>Now, in all of these cases is noticeable the same peculiar feature of -walls falling outward, sometimes even against the wind: or of holes -being burst in walls, the bricks being<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a>{99}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_099_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_099_sml.jpg" width="450" height="294" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CORNER JEFFERSON AND TWELFTH STREETS, LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a>{100}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">thrown so far that they could not be found, or distinguished from those -of other houses. This might seem inexplicable—that the windward walls -often fall outward. But it must be remembered that all storms with a -wind system blowing spirally upward and inward are characterized by low -barometer, signifying a diminution in atmospheric pressure at the storm -center; and the lower the barometer, the more violent the storm. Now, it -is clear that if a storm advance slowly, and be widely diffused, the air -in the regions through which it moves has time to accommodate itself -gradually to the change, and expanding slowly to equalize the pressure -in all directions, its rarefaction is not perceptible to the ordinary -observer: and the denser air within a dwelling expands so gradually that -all the surplus can escape through chinks and crevices, if the doors and -windows be closed.</p> - -<p>But the narrow-path tornado comes so rapidly as to produce little -atmospheric change beforehand; while directly at its center the -barometer may stand as much as two inches lower than in the surrounding -region. Now, a fall of two inches means, in round numbers, a lessening -of pressure of one pound to every square inch, or one hundred and -forty-four pounds to the square foot. As the air normally presses -equally in all directions, the passage of a storm of this sort may mean -a sudden change from fifteen pounds pressure to the inch on each side of -a wall, to fifteen pounds on the inside and fourteen only on the -outside. When such a sudden change is brought to bear on every square -inch of the interior of a house, it necessarily amounts to an explosion.</p> - -<p>Suppose that in the case of the door which the men were unable to open, -that the pressure had been as great as one pound to the inch. Then an -ordinary seven-by-three door would be held in place by a force of a ton -and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>{101}</span> half. This same power has been observed to burst the -weather-boarding from frame houses, leaving the frame and inner surfaces -intact.</p> - -<p>The reader will wonder why, in such cases, the windows do not burst out, -leaving the walls unhurt. This often occurs. But very great pressure -would evidently act just as does powder in a blast: the rock is rent ere -the tamping is torn out, though the latter has far less resistive power; -while very violent explosives do not even need any tamping in order to -utilize their force.</p> - -<p>It would seem, then, that a house with open doors and windows has a -better chance of weathering a tornado, whether in respect to direct -impact of wind, or to the expansive force of air within, than a house -which is shut up. Here, again, quite a number of instances can be -adduced of houses caught suddenly thus by tornadoes and escaping unhurt, -while houses upon either side were demolished.</p> - -<p>But that the direct force of the wind on the Louisville occasion was -very great is abundantly evidenced. Numerous are the apparently curious -freaks that were noticed. A city paper, four days after the storm, -contained the following:</p> - -<p>“There are hundreds of the most interesting and miraculous incidents -connected with the tornado, showing the queerest sort of freaks of the -wind. A block of iron casting, weighing over one hundred and fifty -pounds, was blown into the second story of the Chesapeake, Ohio and -Southern Railway building, near the Union Depot. Nobody knows where it -came from, and the nearest building from which it could have come is -nearly one hundred yards away. Great sheets of tin roofing were dropped -upon Dr. Barry’s farm near Turner’s Station, forty miles from the city, -on the Short Line. In the ruins of a house on West Main street a clock -was found clinging to the wall. It was a large<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a>{102}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_102_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_102_sml.jpg" width="450" height="287" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>ON NINTH STREET, LOUISVILLE.</p>s</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a>{103}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">office clock, but no one in the vicinity had ever seen it before, and no -one knows where it came from. It was badly broken, but the hands still -pointed to 8:20 <small>P.M.</small> A large slab of marble was found in a residence on -West Madison street which was never there before. It will weigh over one -hundred pounds. At Baird’s drug store on Market above Ninth, two bird -cages with the birds were blown in through the skylight. The cages were -not injured, and the birds are as full of song as ever. When the -building occupied by Brand & Bethel, the tobacco men of Green street, -went to pieces, a portion of the frame-work dropped through the roof of -a little cottage just east of the factory. It consisted of a heavy -timber, to which were mortised four upright pieces of timber. When this -came through the cottage the family were sitting around the table in the -dining-room, and the four uprights simply pinned them in but did not -hurt them in the least. It was one of the most wonderful escapes yet -heard of.”</p> - -<p>To the unexperienced reader some of these items seem almost apocryphal. -But when it is remembered that a tallow candle may be shot through a -deal board, or that an ox may be killed by a putty-ball fired from a -gun, or that a revolver loaded with water instead of ball is a deadly -weapon, it will not seem preposterous that a cage may be hurled through -a skylight without seriously discommoding the birds. The writer has seen -soft pine shingles driven endwise through oak boards an inch thick by a -Missouri tornado. Other similar cases might be given.</p> - -<p>The carrying of objects to a distance depends as much on the upward -current as the horizontal motion. One of the simplest illustrations of -the inevitable spiral course that an upward or downward current pursues -may be seen in the ordinary wash-bowl with hole in the bottom. As soon -as the plug is drawn and the water commences to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a>{104}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_104_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_104_sml.jpg" width="450" height="290" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUINED TOBACCO WAREHOUSES.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a>{105}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">pour out, it begins to assume a spiral course; and, long before the -water is out, there is a circular hole in the fluid, reaching to the -bottom of the basin. This last illustrates also that the air is rarest -at the center of the storm. Pouring liquids through a funnel will show -the same spiral tendency. So an object borne away by a tornado rises in -curves much like those of a hawk or eagle in flying.</p> - -<p>Other peculiar feats of the wind were noticed. Some persons caught by -the storm, had no especial trouble in keeping on their feet; while -others were knocked about severely. One man was killed by having his -throat cut by a piece of flying glass. A frame house, standing near the -corner of Eighteenth and Maple, was shot full of holes by flying bricks -from another house a hundred yards away. A lady standing in the doorway -was picked up by the wind and hurled against a telegraph pole at a -distance of sixty feet. Another lady and her nephew, at the first shock -rushed into the street. They were caught up by the wind and hurled some -distance against a fence. They were found unconscious and both badly -hurt.</p> - -<p>A frame house on Sixteenth street looked as if it had suffered -bombardment. Holes were cut in the weather-boarding by planks evidently -driven through the air endwise, and pieces several feet long had -penetrated and stuck hard and fast.</p> - -<p>The building of the Louisville City Railway at Twelfth and Jefferson -streets was scooped through the middle, while the ends were left -standing. This was, perhaps, due to the explosive force of the air -within, which burst out the weaker portions. In a building of any -considerable length, the points most easily overthrown by lateral -pressure would naturally be found in the middle portions of the longer -walls.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a>{106}</span></p> - -<p>At a stone-yard on Walnut, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth, the -immense iron “traveler,” with its locomotive—the whole weighing many -tons—mounted on an elevated track and used for transferring immense -blocks of stone from one side of the yard to the other, was blown into -the street and smashed to pieces, while close by, three small brick -buildings and one frame were left unharmed. Such cases show how the -larger obstacles cause the storm to somewhat overleap the smaller ones, -producing the “jumping” motion mentioned before. The narrow path of the -storm may be judged from the fact that no small portion of the good -people of Louisville were not aware of the ruinous tempest till they -read of its deeds in the morning papers.</p> - -<p>The total damage done to property is estimated at $2,000,000. Much the -heaviest loss was among the great tobacco warehouses.</p> - -<p>There has been some discussion as to whether any sort of buildings are -safe in a storm: but so long as the most violent tropical cyclones leave -many houses unhurt after a protracted gale, there is little fear that -the walls of our large buildings may not readily be made massive enough -to withstand any atmospheric storms.</p> - -<p>The chief damage done to business houses was along Main, Jefferson and -Walnut streets; the damage to dwellings being greatest along Broadway. -The havoc on all the crossings in the limits of the tornado was -remarkable.</p> - -<p>It was observed that the buildings on the north sides of the streets -parallel to the river suffered most. These more nearly faced the -advancing storm, while the open street in front of them gave the wind an -increased advantage. This will be better comprehended if the reader will -recollect that the tornado of the northern hemisphere rotates in a -direction contrary to the hands of a watch. So in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a>{107}</span> the case of one -moving eastward or northeastward, the wind on the front edge is blowing -directly northward or northwestward. So the current, slightly broken in -passing through a block, regains its strength somewhat in slanting -across the next street, and assaults the next block with renewed force.</p> - -<p>Louisville, though the principal sufferer by the storm, was not the -first. The tornado formed some distance to the southwest of the city, -and on its devastating march toward Louisville mowed clean a wide swath -through the woods, and fell upon the beautiful suburb of Parkland. The -Mayor’s two-story brick residence parted with its roof at the first -shock. The Mayor’s wife was up-stairs in bed, ill of pneumonia. Her -husband and another man seized the bed and carried her into the yard. -Scarcely was this accomplished when the full force of the storm -prostrated the building.</p> - -<p>It may be noticed in this connection, that the most destructive wind is -never in the first shock, the parting gust being usually the most -damaging. Doubtless this is because the expansion of the atmosphere -within the house at the moment the center of calm passes over it weakens -the building to such an extent that the rear of the tornado, striking -the house from the opposite direction, readily overthrows it. No such -peculiarity is observable in a forest. The trees, containing no vast -quantities of air, are usually felled by the first stroke, if at all.</p> - -<p>The track of the storm through Parkland was one-eighth of a mile wide. -From the rate at which it spread, it is clear it could be but -short-lived. Within its path, it was more destructive in Parkland than -in Louisville. The frame school-house was lifted from its foundation, -carried a few feet away, and then torn to fragments. The Daisy Line -depot was totally demolished. The Masonic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a>{108}</span> Temple parted with its upper -story. Thirteen houses in the village were completely wrecked, and -several others more or less damaged. It will be remembered that in -Louisville the upper stories suffered most: but here the storm was -fresh, and almost every building struck was razed to the ground. The -total damage was about $20,000.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_108_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_108_sml.jpg" width="450" height="390" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>VIEW AT JEFFERSONVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Passing through Louisville and crossing the river, the cyclone struck -Jeffersonville, on the Indiana side. Here, upwards of eighty houses were -seriously damaged, and quite a number totally destroyed. Two days later, -the press gave the loss at $500,000—probably a great exaggeration, as -the particulars given did not tally at all with the general statement. -Singularly enough, not a life was lost, and only one or two persons were -materially injured.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a>{109}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_109_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_109_sml.jpg" width="450" height="282" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CORNER WALL AND FRONT STREETS, JEFFERSONVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The damage was mostly to roofs and top-stories, and the people were -doubtless indoors and below. This, however, does not account for the -deliverance of a number of persons in buildings which were completely -destroyed. Possibly some of these may be accounted for by sudden -explosions of buildings, such as has been noticed heretofore. The -fragments would be much more apt to injure persons just outside than -those within. The largely increased percentage of damage done to roofs -and upper stories only shows how rapidly the storm was weakening. It -could not go very much farther with its devastation. The old Orphans’ -Home was wrecked; one old lady injured; a pastor’s house demolished, -while two men in the upper story in some mysterious way escaped unhurt. -At the foot of Front street, a shanty occupied by a man with wife and -three children was lifted bodily and thrown into the river. The family -would have been drowned had not some car-works employes rescued them, at -the peril of their own lives. A number of guests, and some who came for -shelter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a>{110}</span> were in a house at the corner of First and Spring streets. The -shock of the tornado was followed by a hail of bricks and tumbling -walls, but no one of the entire assembly was seriously hurt.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_110_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_110_sml.jpg" width="450" height="440" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WRECK AT JEFFERSONVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The average American worships no god but Mammon. He may go to church and -bow his head to Jehovah, but it is Mammon who keeps his heart. Between -his devout amens he is thinking of the main chance. He can be converted -and made religious; it is a great deal harder to make him honest. He is -willing to sing the praises of the Lord, but he doesn’t like to foot the -bills. Amid the sorrow and bereavement of a stricken city, the American -was true to himself. Those who had lost house and friends, were asked to -pay ten dollars for a carriage in which to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a>{111}</span> follow the corpse to the -grave. As about thirty victims of the storm were buried on Sunday, it -may be inferred that the carriages in each procession were none too -numerous. A sad sight was that of the four laundry girls, and the -chamber-maid, all being borne together to their long home. Hardly less -impressive was the burial at half-hour intervals of ten members of the -I. O. O. F., killed in Falls City Hall. It was a profitable day for -undertakers.</p> - -<p>Nor did the officers of the Louisville and Southern Railroad forget -their interests. They had for some time been desirous of regaining -possession of their property controlled by the Monon Route. This they -did in the confusion, dismay and darkness, immediately following the -storm.</p> - -<p>The writer does not wish to do any injustice to his people. Such items -present but one side of the American’s character. He is a strange -mixture of grasping greed and warm-hearted generosity. The latter is an -inborn trait; the former in-drilled. We live in a rushing age. We are no -more in a hurry about being rich than we are about a score of other -things. Haste is a national characteristic.</p> - -<p>Further, our people are brought up with peculiar ideas of success in -life. Everything is reduced to a basis of cold cash. A man may be -learned, talented, industrious; but all these things are counted for -naught if he is not also wealthy. So our young people are brought up to -think that money-making is the one business of life; and as a result the -business world is full of those who resort to sharp practice and -questionable methods, merely because they have been taught to -subordinate honor and equity to gain-getting. Yet, the warm sympathies -and native generosity of our people are continually coming to the front, -in a way that, in view of the other traits, is sometimes amusingly -inconsistent. Men who will haggle almost<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>{112}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_112_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_112_sml.jpg" width="450" height="281" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LOUISVILLE TORNADO—CORNER TENTH AND MAIN STREETS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a>{113}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">about the price of a pin, or make their living by wild or fraudulent -speculation; nay, even professional gamblers, or worse characters, are -prompt in responding to the wail of a distressed city or state. After -all, we are brethren. Yet, our good and bad qualities are so thoroughly -mingled that we must continually rob Peter to pay Paul.</p> - -<p>The American has another prominent trait—independence. He does not -accept aid, as such, when he feels he can do without it: nor does he -wait for demands of help, when he hears of great misfortunes that have -befallen his fellow countrymen. Leigh Hunt once asked a very ragged and -forlorn Irishman, “Why don’t you ask for alms?” “Alms, is it? Sure and -isn’t it begging I am with every bone of my body?” The average American -is generally quick to recognize a case that speaks for itself. To -Louisville, in the hour of her calamity, came tenders of help from many -quarters, and these offers would have been greatly multiplied, had not -the citizens declined the proffered assistance. They felt that the -resources of the city were equal to the necessity. They were grateful, -but self-reliant.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a>{114}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> -<small>OTHER TORNADOES.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“From the dark earth impervious vapors rise,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Increase the darkness and involve the skies.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">At once the rushing winds, with roaring sound,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Burst from th’ Æolian caves and rend the ground;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With equal rage their airy quarrel try,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And win by turns the kingdom of the sky.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But with a thicker night black Auster shrouds<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The heavens, and drives on heaps the rolling clouds,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From whose dark womb a rattling tempest pours,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Which the cold north congeals to haily showers.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From pole to pole the thunder roars aloud,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And broken lightnings flash from every cloud.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Now smokes with showers the misty mountain ground,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And floated fields lie undistinguished ’round.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Where late was dust, now rapid torrents play—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Rush through the mounds, and bear the dams away.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Old limbs of trees, from crackling forests torn,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Are whirled in air, and on the winds are borne.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_a.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="48" -height="60" -alt="A" /></span> casual glance at the papers during the last days of March would have -satisfied any one that the storm which passed over the country was -anything but insignificant. So far, we have given only the story of a -single neighborhood; while a score of others suffered more or less. A -brief account of some of these will be of interest, and will give us a -far better idea of the character of great storms and tornadoes.</p> - -<p>The farthest point west touched by a tornado on that memorable day was a -strip near the line between Missouri and Kansas, some fifty or sixty -miles south of Kansas City. Here, a small tornado made its appearance -about five o’clock in the afternoon, demolishing some fences and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a>{115}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_115_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_115_sml.jpg" width="450" height="289" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LOOKING WEST FROM TENTH AND MAIN, LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a>{116}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">barns, and breaking down a few trees: but, so far as known, no one was -hurt. Meanwhile, the main storm had passed eastward much earlier in the -afternoon.</p> - -<p>Shortly after the storm reached St. Louis, violent cyclonic movements -were excited in southeast Missouri, upwards of a hundred miles away. At -3 <small>P.M.</small> the little town of Bloomsdale was struck, and five houses were -instantly prostrated. The occupants of four of them were, at the time, -in the Catholic church, and the family who occupied the fifth escaped -unhurt. Two sides of their house were blown away; while one side was -blown inward, and would have crushed them but for chairs and tables -which sustained its weight. The church suffered the loss of its steeple, -and was otherwise damaged. A stable containing seven horses was blown -away, and not one of the horses was injured.</p> - -<p>A cloud gathered, and a cyclone seemed to form at, or over, Charleston. -It followed the Cairo branch of the Iron Mountain Road eastward. Four -miles from Charleston it struck the flag-station known as Hough’s, -having on the way demolished one or two farm-houses, and made havoc of -the forest. The little hamlet of Hough’s was razed from the earth, not a -house being left intact. One dwelling was blown two hundred feet across -the railway track and smashed. The owner, his wife and son were killed, -and another son was badly injured. The three-year-old baby was taken up -unharmed. Another family lived near by in a log house. It was blown -away, and they were left sitting on the floor, wondering.</p> - -<p>Such a case as this is by no means rare. It is one of the many freaks of -the wind not easily understood. In the great cyclone of forty or fifty -miles in diameter, the wind comes in gusts or waves, and such effects -might be readily understood; but in the case of the tornado, of at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a>{117}</span> most -but a few Hundred yards in diameter, its passage is too rapid for those -in its path to learn definitely whether it be uniform or not.</p> - -<p>Other peculiar feats were noticed at Hough’s. A girl seventeen years old -was blown one hundred and fifty yards into a pond, but was rescued in -time to save her from drowning; and it is said that a man and woman were -blown across a sixty-acre wheat field, and picked up insensible. The -further statement that the bark was peeled clean from the trees, though -seemingly most incredible of all, is very probably true; for the writer -has a vivid recollection of precisely the same phenomenon on the theater -of the Marshfield cyclone in southwest Missouri. In that instance the -bark was peeled from hundreds of hickory saplings, almost from the roots -to their topmost twigs. This effect was inconceivable from any cause -that could be thought of. It was done by missiles flying through the -air, or the trees were bent over and threshed against the ground, or -there was some unknown force prevalent in the storm, similar, perhaps, -to that which shatters the bark or body of a thunder-smitten oak. To an -observer on the ground the first two suppositions seemed to be excluded. -Is this peculiar power of the tornado to be sought, like that of Keely’s -Motor, in some occult force?</p> - -<p>From Hough’s Station the tornado may have bounded above the tree-tops -and descended again a few miles further on at Bird’s Point, opposite to -Cairo, Illinois. Anyhow, a tornado struck the former place at 4:35 <small>P.M.</small> -It was first seen above the trees, it showed a yellowish cast, and had -the usual funnel shape. About three hundred yards from the town it came -to the ground and commenced its work of destruction. Eight or ten houses -were blown to pieces, or badly damaged; a roof was carried two hundred -feet into the air; a yearling calf was thrown forty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a>{118}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_118_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_118_sml.jpg" width="450" height="258" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>VIEW IN THE RESIDENCE DISTRICT, LOUISVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a>{119}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">feet into a big ditch filled with, water, and—nobody was hurt.</p> - -<p>At Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi, fifty miles above Bird’s Point, -there was a tremendous hail, which broke thousands of windows, and a -gale lasting far into the night, with damage to timber, fences, and -buildings.</p> - -<p>Illinois suffered far worse than Missouri. The southern part of the -state fared badly; and the further south, the worse. The storm which -struck St. Louis at 3 <small>P.M.</small>, was, a few minutes later, giving the -Illinois towns on the other side a lively experience. Edwardsville, -O’Fallon and Centerville received a heavy gale. At Coulterville, -buildings, barns, and orchards suffered severely, and several persons -were injured. Sparta was struck about 3:15 <small>P.M.</small> From the second story of -the public school building, observers watched the approach of the storm. -Two black clouds from opposite quarters of the heavens came together, as -by attraction, and mingled with a rotary motion. The tornado passed -within a mile of the town on the northeast, and mowed a swath through -the heavy timber. No such rain, hail and wind, mingled with fire, had -ever been seen before. Many barns were destroyed; several houses were -blown to pieces; three or four persons were seriously hurt. A traveling -man was whisked out of his buggy by the wind, carried some distance, and -sustained severe injuries; the horses were thrown down, and the buggy -was completely wrecked.</p> - -<p>At Grand Tower, on the Mississippi, forty miles above Cape Girardeau, -there was a terrific tornado at 4:30 <small>P.M.</small> It came from the west, and -swept houses, trees, trains—everything, in its course. Its track is -described as one of “extreme desolation.” Four or five persons, at -least, were killed, and as many injured. Twenty-seven dwelling-houses -were completely demolished, and a great many others unroofed, or -otherwise damaged.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a>{120}</span></p> - -<p>At Murphysboro, Illinois, many windows were broken by the great hail; -while there came an unverified report of fifteen or more persons killed -about Shiloh, and to the north of Campbell Hill. South of Murphysboro, -several houses were blown down; two children were killed.</p> - -<p>At Centralia, two and one-fourth inches of rain fell in twenty minutes, -changing later into snow. Farm buildings west of town suffered -considerable damage.</p> - -<p>At Carbondale, the dreaded funnel appeared, and two blocks of houses -were unroofed.</p> - -<p>Five miles southwest of Xenia, many out-buildings were blown down and -several houses destroyed. A school-house on the prairie was blown away, -and one of the sills carried nearly a quarter of a mile.</p> - -<p>In the southern part of Union county, seven miles southwest of Anna, a -tornado swept a track about half a mile wide and four miles long, over -the richest farms, destroying stock, orchards, forests and houses. One -or two persons were fatally hurt. At Mt. Pleasant, twelve miles east of -Anna, there was extensive destruction of property.</p> - -<p>At Braidwood, a number of houses and out-buildings were blown away; -trees were torn up, several persons severely injured, and two or three -children are said to have “disappeared.” The writer remembers an -instance that occurred some years ago, when a fourteen-year-old boy was -carried five miles and dropped into a stream: but such a case does not -occur in this country once in many years. One of the freaks told of the -wind at Braidwood is, that it rolled a man in the road and whisked a -watch out of his pocket. It does not appear that any funnel-shaped cloud -was seen here.</p> - -<p>At Cairo, out of a fleet of shanty-boats, thirteen were destroyed, and -an old cripple was drowned.</p> - -<p>The storm struck Nashville (Ill.) at 4 <small>P.M.</small> The rain,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a>{121}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_121_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_121_sml.jpg" width="450" height="258" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUINED DWELLINGS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a>{122}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">changing to furious hail, fell so fast that one could scarcely see ten -feet. The wind blew with terrific force. The Prohibition Tabernacle and -a two-story brick cooper shop went down. Beginning six miles southeast -on Little Prairie, the damage was fearful, and ranged through a sweep, -to the northeast, of twenty miles. Not less than thirty houses were -destroyed, and twice that number badly damaged. Of numerous casualties, -one or two will illustrate the force of the wind at this place: One -family of seven were sitting in their house as the storm drew near. Two -of the little girls becoming frightened, ran out, when the wind caught -them up, carried them across a field a quarter of a mile wide, and -dropped them uninjured, save from violent pelting of the hail. As the -remaining members of the family were in the act of forsaking the house, -it fell, and all were more or less hurt.</p> - -<p>This case would seem to indicate a lack of uniformity in the strength of -the wind; it being powerful enough at one point to carry away children, -while the house, only a few feet away at most, was still standing. One -or two other cases of persons being carried a considerable distance were -reported from Nashville.</p> - -<p>All such instances show the powerful upward current of the tornado; for -wind of greater horizontal velocity is often observed, which produces no -such effects. To the uplifting force must be in some degree attributed -the fact that in many cases only roofs or upper stories are damaged. -This same force is responsible for not a few showers of objects that do -not pertain to the upper air: such as the occasionally reported showers -of fish and frogs.</p> - -<p>A tornado swept up Bay Bottom in Pope county, accompanied by “rain and -hail in floods and volleys.” A partial report shows a school-house -dashed against a bluff a hundred feet away and reduced to kindling-wood. -A<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a>{123}</span> number of residences were destroyed, and several persons were killed.</p> - -<p>In all the cases hitherto noted, the tornado, when seen, is reported as -about one-eighth of a mile wide. The next one on the list, while -powerful, is much smaller.</p> - -<p>The southwest part of Olney was devastated by a cyclone at 5:35 <small>P.M.</small> Its -track was about a hundred yards wide and a mile long. It shattered or -destroyed the homes of, perhaps, five hundred people. Strange to relate, -only two or three persons were badly hurt. John Bourrell was voted the -wisest man. His house was blown to atoms; but he and his wife were safe -in their “cyclone cellar,” and absorbing much comfort from a $600 -cyclone policy on their building.</p> - -<p>But the climax of ruin for Illinois was reached at Metropolis, a town of -4,000 people, situated on the Ohio River, thirty-eight miles above -Cairo, and eleven miles below Paducah. A greenish tinge of the -approaching cloud was the only unusual portent. “Suddenly there came -from the southwest a rolling, apparently born of the union of two -clouds, which met in mid-air, and in a moment swooped down into the Ohio -river, now at flood-tide, and on lifting, there followed it a column of -water, estimated all the way from fifty to two hundred feet in height.” -This curious phenomenon swept onward, striking the river front like the -hammer of a Cyclop. In an instant, down went a large number of -buildings, including principal business houses, and the finest -residences of the city. A few persons were seriously hurt, and two or -three were killed. Of course, there were wonderful escapes. One -gentleman had a numerous array of little children; the house was swept -from over the family, and not a soul was hurt. In the country the -devastation was even more appalling. Residences, out-buildings, -churches, even grave-stones were wiped from the face of the earth.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a>{124}</span></p> - -<p>A relief committee was organized. In their dispatch of two days later, -addressed to the St. Louis <i>Republic</i> newspaper, and praying for help, -they say: “Hundreds of homes, the result of a life of labor, have been -swept away in less time than it takes to record it. All kinds of -property have been destroyed. The damage is estimated at over $200,000.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_124_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_124_sml.jpg" width="450" height="325" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>PATH OF TORNADO—OLNEY, ILL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Such is a partial list of the more important casualties of the great -storm. Space is lacking to give detail to all the minor visitations and -incidents. Such storms only attract the attention of the public when -some thickly-settled region is visited. Numerous hamlets and small towns -might be named, of which nothing but the bare fact that a tornado passed -through is recorded. The rural districts are, of course, far more -frequently swept; but the narrowness and short path of the tornado -preclude its doing much damage among them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a>{125}</span></p> - -<p>Now, we have noticed a dozen different localities, all experiencing much -the same sort of storms. The unthinking person might deem all this -devastation the work of a single storm. Such is the case: but a -distinction must be made between the storm itself, and the tornadoes -produced by it. That there were various tornadoes entirely distinct, or -independent of each other, the reader may clearly perceive, by examining -the foregoing pages. It will be noticed that in several cases the -tornado was seen to form near the spot devastated; and further may be -noted the hours at which the whirlwinds appeared. For instance, the one -which passed near Shawneetown, Missouri, came later than most of those -in Illinois; yet all moved toward the northeast. A brief review of the -main storm will be of interest, and show how the various tornadoes were -produced.</p> - -<p>It has already been stated that the storm originated somewhere about the -southwest corner of Wyoming. Here, as early as Wednesday morning, the -Signal Service observed an area of very low barometer. It moved rapidly -eastward, with a trend toward the south, passing in the vicinity of -Denver, Kansas City, and St. Louis, thence northeast through the central -part of Indiana to Lake Erie. The central path of the storm was a -violent and progressive movement of the air, doing in its passage -trifling damage in some localities. The cyclonic movements which did the -principal mischief, were all to the south of the storm center, and were -local and violent motions of the air about an axis, while yet there was -a progressive movement from southwest to northeast.</p> - -<p>Now, these lesser whirlwinds are produced in exactly the same way as the -great cyclones of many miles in diameter, which we have already seen do -not originate on land often, because of the irregularities of surface -that hinder.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a>{126}</span> But the local currents of wind, in meeting, produce the -whirling motion. Compare with the moving of a current of water. Every -river forms eddies along the bank, which move a short distance down and -toward the main current, and then break up. Consider the great area of -low barometer moving eastward, and it will be seen that the local -tornadoes, suddenly forming and moving but a few miles, are simply -eddies on its edge. It is easy to watch these produced on a small scale; -for nature’s principles are the same in small and great: when we have -mastered the atom, we have mastered the whole object.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_126_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_126_sml.jpg" width="450" height="339" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SCENE AT OLNEY, ILL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Let one observe a great fire in a forest or prairie. On the outskirts of -newly burned areas, when the air has been rarefied by heat, may be seen -sudden and violent movements about a point, as though there was a spirit -in the wind. In a moment it has lifted the ashes and scorched<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a>{127}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_127_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_127_sml.jpg" width="450" height="363" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WHIRLWIND FROM BURNT PRAIRIE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">stalks, and whatever light matters were in its way, and circling, -perhaps, wider and stronger for a time, has borne them onward and upward -toward the heavens, where at length its force was dissipated, and it -mingled with the surrounding air. Similar movements were excited along -the southern limits of the storm area, which we are describing; and -hence, not one cyclone, but more properly speaking, a multitude of -little cyclones—tornadoes independent of each other, but dependent on -the main current, or great eastward traveling storm center—swept -through points in Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky; all -rushing toward the line of the lowest barometrical depression, the -actual and advancing storm center. Not since the Signal Service had been -established had the barometer at St. Louis stood so low as 28.46, which, -reduced to sea-level, means 29.08. Toward this region of rarefied -air—this partial vacuum—the cyclonic movements from the south rushed -with inconceivable fury, and as the nucleus of the storm was rapidly -moving eastward, the cyclonic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>{128}</span> movements were turned from a north to a -northeast course. All these varied movements simply result from the -effort of a disturbed atmosphere to restore an equilibrium.</p> - -<p>The illustration of the fire used above also affords a good example of -the way rotation may result from rising air. Any one who has watched a -great fire in calm weather knows that sparks and smoke do not rise -straight up, but in spirals and whirls, the warmer centers rising -faster, just as the middle of a stream flows faster than the edge.</p> - -<p>But the powerful winds and the damage done were not all the work of the -marginal whirlwinds. A storm center moving so rapidly must necessarily -have carried a steady high wind. Leaving Wyoming, by Wednesday evening -the storm was in the middle of Colorado; on Wednesday night, it moved -well into Kansas; on Thursday, it crossed States of Missouri and -Illinois, and Thursday night it was passing over Indiana.</p> - -<p>The climax of energy was apparently not attained until the storm reached -Illinois. In Missouri, more or less damage was done to fences and -buildings, from Sedalia to St. Louis. At the former place, a roof or two -was blown off, and the teachers in one of the schools were so alarmed -that they dismissed the children. Jefferson City, sixty miles further -on, made a record of damaged roofs and shattered windows. At St. Louis, -there was a deluge of rain at three o’clock in the afternoon, lasting a -half hour; and the wind blew with fury during the evening and greater -part of the night. It drove in and smashed some plate-glass windows, -blew off an occasional roof, and from the top of the corner of St. -Patrick’s School, hurled to the sidewalk a stone weighing, probably, -four hundred pounds.</p> - -<p>The story of the Louisville tornado serves to well illustrate all the -peculiar features of the local whirlwinds produced by great storms. They -seldom travel more than<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a>{129}</span> thirty miles; usually much less. Sometimes as -large as two miles in diameter, they seldom exceed five hundred yards; -and one of but fifty yards in diameter may be powerful enough to wreck a -house.</p> - -<p>Often it is possible to trace the path of a tornado through the forest a -century or more after its passage; for the reason that trees once -destroyed are usually replaced by different varieties. But the tornado -usually originates in the open country, though after its formation it -may sweep through heavy timber.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_129_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_129_sml.jpg" width="450" height="316" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>TORNADO FOLLOWED BY RAIN STORM.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>So far as loss of life is concerned, the tornado is much more to be -feared than lightning. About two thousand people have been killed in -this country within ten years by these rotary storms. Yet, all over the -land, people put up rods that are expensive, and often worse than -useless, as a precaution against lightning, when a small “cyclone -cellar” could be dug that would be far more useful, and less expensive. -While intense electrical displays accompany the tornado, there is no -authentic record of lightning striking during one; and as will be seen -in another place, the amount of electricity present seems to be rather -an<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>{130}</span> effect than a cause: for rapid motion of gases may be made to -produce powerful electric currents.</p> - -<p>While the tornado is justly feared in this country, yet, as a -destructive agent, it is far surpassed by a number of</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_130_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_130_sml.jpg" width="450" height="319" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>Instantaneous View of a Tornado.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">others whose ravages are less dreaded. It would be comparatively easy to -show, we think, that more persons have been killed in one way or another -by railways in ten years past than by tornadoes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a>{131}</span></p> - -<p>The one that has been so carefully examined must not be considered as -the worst our country has known. An examination of records of the past -century will show a number that were more destructive to life and -property. Doubtless, an account of some of these would interest the -reader. Place is given to a few.</p> - -<p>The tornado has been observed, to some extent, in this country for more -than a century: but only when our central states were well peopled did -it attract very great attention. It is not common in the eastern states, -and but one has ever been recorded west of Dodge City, Kansas. It is not -unknown in Europe, though far less common than with us, having been -noticed a few times in France. In general, it is so rare that a tornado -that passed through Monville in 1845 attracted such attention as to be -noticed in French text-books on physics. To the American, there is -nothing unusual in the conduct of this storm.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the earliest detail of a storm of this sort among us is that of -a double one in South Carolina, on the afternoon of May 2, 1761:</p> - -<p>“The tornado crossed the Ashley River and swooped down upon the shipping -at Rebellion Wharf with such fury as to threaten the destruction of the -entire fleet. From the city, it was seen coming at first rapidly toward -Wappo Creek, like a column of smoke, with a very irregular and -tumultuous movement. The quantity of vapor which composed this column, -and its prodigious velocity, produced such intense commotion that it -agitated Ashley River to its depths and left the channel bare. The ebb -and flow made the shipping float off to a great distance. When it struck -the river, it made a noise like continuous thunder; its diameter, at -that moment, was estimated at fifteen hundred feet, and its height, as -seen at Charleston<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a>{132}</span>,</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_132_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_132_sml.jpg" width="450" height="304" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>TORNADO AT MONVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a>{133}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">at twenty-five degrees. It was met at White Point by another whirlwind, -which descended Cooper River, but was not equal to the first. When they -came together, the commotion in the air was much greater still; the foam -and the vapor seemed to be thrown to the height of forty degrees, while -the clouds that hurried from all directions toward that point seemed to -rush thither and whirl about at one and the same time, with incredible -velocity. The meteor then darted on the shipping in the roadstead, and -reached them in three minutes, although the distance was nearly six -miles. Out of forty-five vessels, five were sunk on the spot; the state -ship, Dolphin, and eleven others were dismasted. The damage, estimated -at more than £200,000, was done in a moment, and even the vessels that -sank were swallowed up so rapidly that the people who were below had -scarcely time to scramble up on deck. The whirlwind of Cooper River -changed the course of the one that came from Wappo Creek, which, had it -not been for that, would, proceeding in the same direction, have swept -away the city of Charleston before it like so much straw.</p> - -<p>“This terrible column was first perceived about noon, at more than fifty -miles southwest of the roads. It destroyed everything in its way, making -a complete avenue when it passed through the woods. The loss of the five -ships was so sudden that it is not known whether it was the weight of -the column of wind, or the mass of water driven upon them that made them -go down.”</p> - -<p>The tornado occasionally originates at sea and whirls up a heavy column -of water for a few feet, which, meeting the dark funnel from above, -presents the appearance of a pillar of water reaching the clouds. Not a -few ignorant people once imagined that all rain originated from the -water thus sucked up. These columns, or “water-spouts,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a>{134}</span> are generally a -few feet in diameter, and may sometimes be broken by firing a -cannon-ball through them. They are not ordinarily considered dangerous: -but there are some exceptions, and it is not improbable that many a ship -that left port, never to be heard of again, has been overwhelmed by some -gigantic water-spout.</p> - -<p>Of the most destructive tornadoes in the United States, Mississippi -records the two leading ones. The first came on May 7, 1840, and Natchez -was the principal sufferer, though other portions of Adams county were -swept. The day began warm and cloudy, with the wind south, veering to -east. At 2:15 <small>P.M.</small>, the sky became a lurid yellow; the storm striking -the river six or seven miles below the city, did not reach it until 2 -<small>P.M.</small> The rush of the wind did not last five minutes, and the destructive -blast only a few seconds. Houses were burst outward; three hundred and -seventeen persons were killed in the city and on the river. Sheet tin -was carried twenty miles, and windows thirty miles. One hundred and nine -persons were badly injured, and property to the value of $1,260,000 -destroyed. Most of the deaths resulted from drowning; two steamers and -sixty flatboats were sunk, while the city was flooded with nine inches -of rain. Enormous hail-stones fell. A desk fastened with three locks, -was blown open by the explosive force of the expanding air within. -Another curious freak of this expansive power occurred in a tornado at -New Brunswick. A towel hanging on the wall was found apparently blown -nearly through it. The expanding air had driven the towel in a large -crevice which opened in the wall behind it; and the crevice closed as -the storm passed on, holding the towel to puzzle the neighborhood.</p> - -<p>The next great tornado visited Natchez, June 16, 1842, and killed five -hundred people.</p> - -<p>Next to these, in destruction of life, is the famous<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a>{135}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_135_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_135_sml.jpg" width="450" height="301" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WATER-SPOUT AT SEA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a>{136}</span></p> - -<p>Marshfield tornado of April, 1880, in which one hundred and one persons -were killed, and six hundred injured. The town of Marshfield was -literally wiped off the earth. This tornado is notable for its unusually -wide path, and the large area traversed. Four counties were swept; and -though the country was sparsely settled and comparatively little -improved, yet the damage to property was estimated at more than -$1,000,000. Gen. Greely, of the Signal Service, pronounces it one of the -most remarkable in the history of the United States. It formed at the -junction of two streams, a few miles southwest of Marshfield; and, like -the South Carolina tornado of 1761, owed its immense power to the union -of two lesser storms that had traveled down the valleys of the -respective streams. Such a tornado passing over a great city would equal -the earthquake in disastrous effects. Perhaps a better idea of its power -may be gathered from a comparison with the New Haven storm of 1878, -which killed but thirty-four people and destroyed $2,000,000 worth of -property—as much as the recent storm at Louisville. The remarkable -feature about every tornado—the very small destruction of life—may be -better understood when it is stated that, excluding the two Natchez -tornadoes, where the number of houses wrecked is not known, and the -Louisville storm, the twenty most destructive tornadoes in the United -States have killed six hundred and thirteen people, and destroyed over -three thousand houses. This brings us to the peculiar fact that but one -person is killed in every five houses. As the average house may be -counted as containing four persons, it appears that the chances that any -single individual in a wrecked house will not be killed, are nineteen to -one. While the mathematical calculation may be encouraging, yet few will -care to take the risk of a tornado, even though the odds be vastly in -their favor. People place little dependence<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a>{137}</span> in arithmetic as a life -preserver. The recent Louisville storm presents a high average, as about -fifty of the victims were taken from a single building. The lowest -average is shown by the tornado that struck Camden, New Jersey, August -3d, 1885, when five hundred houses were destroyed, and but six persons -killed: one for every eighty-three houses. In general, there seems to be -a prevalence of a one to ten rate: but a storm in a city usually vastly -increases the death rate by reason of the number of brick houses, which, -when wrecked, fall much more compactly than frame buildings.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_137_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_137_sml.jpg" width="450" height="314" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MINNESOTA TORNADO, FORMING LATERAL SPURS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The greatest destruction of property has been in Ohio, where the -aggregate now amounts to about $9,000,000. Next is Minnesota with -$7,000,000, and Missouri and Mississippi with about $4,000,000 each. -Missouri is first in respect to loss of life, and Mississippi next. The -months most liable to tornadoes are May, April, June, and July, in -order; and the time of day the hottest; that is, from 3 to 5 <small>P.M.</small></p> - -<p>These data suffice to show the peculiar acts of the tornado in our land. -There is one case of a great storm<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a>{138}</span> attended by tornadoes on its -southeast border, that is even more noteworthy than the great one so -minutely detailed in the preceding pages. A storm center passing over a -wider region, on February 9, 1884, produced, after ten o’clock that day, -over sixty tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, -Kentucky and Tennessee, and North Carolina. Over ten thousand buildings -were destroyed, eight hundred people killed, and twenty-five hundred -wounded. The damage done by any single one was small, while the -aggregate was fearful.</p> - -<p>The tornado is occasionally seen in Europe: but in the few instances -recorded, it has been much smaller, and moved much slower than the same -sort of storm in America, though quite as powerful within the territory -traversed. One that was very formidable, was observed near Boulogne, in -1822. It moved about irregularly for an hour, tearing holes in the -ground, snapping off trees, and twisting down houses; yet, it was not -twenty-five feet in diameter. Another one in 1872, swept through a -little town in Italy, and was so powerful as to twist iron balcony -railings together like so many skeins of thread. Several persons were -killed.</p> - -<p>In some portions of the Sahara and of Arabia, very numerous small -whirlwinds accompany desert storms, whirling up the fine sand in dense -columns, presenting the appearance of clouds in a region where clouds -are unknown. So many writhing columns, swaying like dancing serpents, -present a peculiarly terrifying aspect to the superstitious Arab, who -has only too good reason to fear them. Strange tales of their -destructiveness are rife. It is said that the army of Cambyses was -overwhelmed by one of these desert storms. This story must, however, be -taken “with a grain of salt.” But there is no doubt that a sand storm is -quite as dangerous as a Dakota blizzard.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a>{139}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_139_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_139_sml.jpg" width="450" height="313" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SAND SPOUTS IN THE DESERT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a>{140}</span></p> - -<p>In tropical regions the tornado or “land-spout,” as many Europeans call -it, gives place to the great cyclone. Still, it appears occasionally. -One which swept the suburbs of Calcutta, in 1838, was but a few yards in -diameter; but in its march of sixteen miles, it killed two hundred and -fifteen persons, wounded two hundred and thirty-three, and destroyed one -thousand two hundred and forty-five houses: thus displaying quite as -great power as any tornado observed in our own land. The speed of -rotation was so great that a bamboo cane was driven through a mud wall -five feet thick, faced on both sides with brick; as great penetrative -power as is usually given to a six-pound cannon-ball.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a>{141}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /><br /> -<small>TROPICAL CYCLONES.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">“The Storm is on his way!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With a lightning sword and a thunder shout,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And his robe on the night-wind floating out,<br /></span> -<span class="i5">The Storm is on his way!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">The Storm is on his way!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He smites, and the death-swept valleys groan,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The ocean writhes, and the forests moan,—<br /></span> -<span class="i5">The Storm is on his way!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>HE preceding pages show only the destructive power of the small -tornadoes of our land. We are fortunate in that the great cyclone is, -comparatively, a rare visitor among us. A moment’s consideration of this -ravager, as he appears in the tropics, will show how trifling are the -storms that have swept over our own land. A few examples will convince -the most skeptical.</p> - -<p>Of the great cyclones which have traversed our country in recent times, -we may mention the hurricane of October 21-24, 1878. Gen. Greeley says: -“It first damaged buildings and sank vessels at Havana. It entered the -United States near Wilmington, N. C., and moving due north, passed over -Washington and eastern Pennsylvania, after which it curved eastward, and -crossing New England, left the coast near Portland, Maine. In -Philadelphia, over seven hundred substantial buildings were totally -destroyed, or seriously damaged, bridges injured, twenty-two vessels -sunk, several persons injured, and eight killed, entailing a loss -variously estimated from one to two millions<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a>{142}</span> of dollars. Other loss of -life and great damage by freshets and winds occurred elsewhere in -Pennsylvania. A large number of steamers, ships and coasting vessels -were dismantled, wrecked or sunk along the New Jersey, Virginia and -North Carolina coasts, entailing loss of life and enormous pecuniary -damage. The wind reached seventy-two miles per hour at Philadelphia, and -eighty-eight along the coast.” Another cyclone the next year ruined one -hundred large vessels and two hundred yachts and smacks. Another, in -1881, destroyed four hundred persons along the Carolina coasts, and -damaged property to the extent of $1,600,000.</p> - -<p>But these are exceeded by the great Nova Scotia cyclone of 1873. The -property damage alone is estimated at nearly $5,000,000. The Signal -Service report says that “one thousand and thirty-two ships, of which -four hundred and thirty-five were small fishing schooners, are known to -have been destroyed during the 24th and 25th of August, in the -neighborhood of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic shores of Nova -Scotia, Cape Breton and New Foundland. On the other hand, over one -hundred and ninety vessels were destroyed by this hurricane in its -passage over the ocean before it reached Nova Scotia, making a grand -total of at least one thousand two hundred and twenty-three vessels -destroyed within a few days by its power. Two hundred and twenty-three -lives are definitely reported to be lost, and the moderate estimate of -the numerous cases in which whole crews have been lost swells this -number to nearly five hundred; and if to this is added the loss of life -on land, and the loss in the earlier history of the cyclone, the grand -total amounts to at least six hundred lives.”</p> - -<p>Had the famed Shah Jehan ever visited the West Indies, it is probable -that he might have pronounced<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a>{143}</span> many of its lovely islets fit rivals for -that beautiful creation of his fancy, which bore above the gateway:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“If there be Paradise upon the earth,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">This it is, this it is, this it is.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Among the loveliest groups are the beautiful Virgin Isles, and loveliest -of these is the famed island of St. Thomas. A lofty mountain girdles the -island, leaving an opening between two hills into a wide oval harbor, -while the pretty little town lies around the inner side of the port, -sloping up the mountain behind, the queen of a vast natural -amphitheater. Such a fine harbor has rendered St. Thomas almost the -mistress of West Indian commerce; and one would not suspect, in looking -at the sunny slopes and green-clad ranges around the azure harbor, that -in this region is the birthplace of the Storm King. Yet, not a spot on -earth has been more frequently visited by great cyclones.</p> - -<p>One of the most notable of its visitations during this century occurred -August 2, 1837. The barometer fell rapidly during the forenoon, and by -noon the storm began. In a short time it increased to a tremendous gale. -At about three o’clock, the wind suddenly ceased. In a few moments it -blew from the other direction, roaring and rolling black clouds before -it, raising up immense sea-waves, covering the island with intense -gloom. Six hours it blew, ever increasing. Tiles and slates whizzed -through the air, to be shattered on the rocks or driven into timbers: -great trees were whirled about, often dashing away houses that seemed -about to weather the storm, while the terrible roar of the wind was such -that even the crash of the thunder could hardly be distinguished. One -authority tells us that the great guns at the fort were blown through -the air and tossed about the beach like chaff! This must be taken with -allowance. It is more probable that the great guns<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a>{144}</span> on the beach were -washed up from the wrecks of some old pirate vessels or ships of war.</p> - -<p>About 10 <small>P.M.</small> there was a slight cessation of the storm, and the people -were congratulating themselves that the worst was over, when there came -a violent earthquake, which laid in ruins almost everything that was -left. The wreck took fire in two or three places: at once the hurricane -began with renewed vigor: and ere the wretched people had fully -comprehended the magnitude of the calamity, the whole ruined town was a -sea of flame. Buffeted by the wind, blinded by the smoke and the pelting -spray whirled up from the raging sea, the people ran for the slopes of -the hills: the light of the funeral pyre of their hopes and labors -rendering the gloom more horrible, and seeming to rival the gleams of -Tartarus.</p> - -<p>Day broke at last. The storm was gone. The earthquake staggered the -miserable folk no longer. The warm and brilliant sun of the West Indies -smiled upon the scene. “The whole country round was strewn with large -trees, uprooted or snapped off, and all plantations were destroyed. In -the town the fire was dying out, and it was only here and there that the -ruins were still smoking. The hurricane had swept away nearly all the -wooden houses; those which had been lightly placed upon beams, just -above the soil, being carried off as they stood, while the larger ones, -which had resisted the hurricane, were overturned in an instant by the -earthquake. The whole town was strewn with wrecks that told of the -violence of the catastrophe. The port, so gay and animated the day -before, was dreary and deserted, a few masts here and there emerging -from the water: while all along the shore, and even upon the slope of -the hills, were scattered wreckage and corpses of sailors.”</p> - -<p>While we have noticed only the destruction wrought at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a>{145}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 291px;"> -<a href="images/i_145_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_145_sml.jpg" width="291" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CYCLONE, FIRE AND EARTHQUAKE AT ST. THOMAS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a>{146}</span></p> - -<p>St. Thomas, this storm was general throughout the Antilles. In the -Bahamas, it was less violent, they lying on the outskirts of the storm. -Millions of dollars worth of property—merchandise, vegetation, houses, -and vessels—were destroyed, and thousands of lives lost.</p> - -<p>Thirty years later, St. Thomas again suffered from the combined forces -of storm and earthquake; and the damage was greater, because the -earthquake, with its sea-wave, came a few days after the storm, as the -work of restoration was well under way, and so involved a second -prostration of the resources of the people. Moreover, the town had grown -considerably in thirty years, and there was much more valuable property -to damage. Fifteen large steamers and many smaller vessels were driven -on the shore by the storm: while the sea-wave, a few days later, found -the port again filled with vessels of different nations. It overleaped -the sentinel hills at the entrance of the bay, and swept with tremendous -force upon the city, drowning with its terrible roar, the despairing cry -of the sailors; then suddenly retired with the wreck of the city to its -dark abyss. The batteries of heavy guns at the entrance of the harbor -were swept away. A few injured vessels wallowed on the waves, but most -had been swallowed up and left no trace behind.</p> - -<p>While there is always deep sympathy for those who suffer such -calamities, yet it must remain of the type bestowed upon sufferers in -Arctic expeditions. The character of the climate is well known, and the -whole matter resolves itself into a question of the risk one is willing -to run. There is no blind chance in control of these movements. The -cyclone frequents only certain regions, and its habit and power is -understood. While we pity the sufferers, we can not assert that the -scourge is mysterious or unaccountable, any more than we find mystery in -the fact of eternal snow in the Polar world.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a>{147}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 294px;"> -<a href="images/i_147_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_147_sml.jpg" width="294" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>“DROWNING, WITH ITS TERRIBLE ROAR, THE DESPAIRING CRY OF -THE SAILORS.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a>{148}</span></p></div> -</div> - -<p>But there have been storms in the West Indies far more destructive than -either of these, or both together. One of the most noted of the century -is the famous Barbadoes storm of 1831, which an eye-witness thus -describes:</p> - -<p>“On the morning of the 10th of August, the sun arose without a cloud; at -10 <small>A.M.</small> a breeze that had been blowing, died away; towards 2 <small>P.M.</small> the -heat became oppressive; at 5 <small>P.M.</small> thick clouds appeared in the north, -rain fell, and was succeeded by a sudden stillness and a dismal -blackness all around except towards the zenith, where there was an -obscure circle of imperfect light. Till 10:30 <small>P.M.</small>, however, there was -no sign of change; then lightning appeared in the north, and very -unusual fluctuations of the thermometer were observed. All this time the -storm was only approaching.</p> - -<p>“After midnight the continued flashing of the lightning was awfully -grand, and a gale blew fiercely from the north and northeast, but at 1 -<small>A.M.</small>, on the 11th of August, the tempestuous rage of the wind increased -as the storm suddenly shifted and burst from the northwest and immediate -points. The upper regions were illuminated by incessant lightning, but -the quivering sheet of blaze was surpassed in brilliancy by the darts of -electric fire which exploded in every direction. At a little after 2 -<small>A.M.</small> the astounding roar of the hurricane can not be described by -language.</p> - -<p>“About three o’clock the wind abated and the lightning ceased for a few -moments at a time, when the blackness in which the town was enveloped -was inexpressibly awful. Fiery meteors were presently seen falling from -the heavens; one in particular of a globular form and a deep-red hue, -was observed by the writer to descend perpendicularly from a vast -height. On approaching the earth it assumed a dazzling whiteness and an -elongated form, and on reaching the ground splashed around in the same -manner as melted<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a>{149}</span> metal would have done, and was instantly extinct.” (It -is evident that the coincidence on this occasion with the day on which -the earth is known to pass through the August belt of meteors, rendered -the effect of this great storm at Barbadoes more striking. It is not -safe to assert that there was any relation between the phenomena.) “A -few minutes after, the deafening noise of the wind sank to a solemn -murmur, or rather a distant roar; and the lightning which from midnight -had flashed and darted forkedly with but few momentary intermissions, -now for nearly half a minute played frightfully between the clouds and -the earth with novel and surprising action. The vast body of vapor -appeared to touch the houses, and issued downward flaming blazes, which -were nimbly returned from the earth upward.</p> - -<p>“The moment after this singular alteration of lightning the hurricane -again burst forth from the western points with violence prodigious -beyond description, hurling before it thousands of missiles, the -fragments of every unsheltered structure of human art. The strongest -houses were caused to vibrate from their foundations, and the surface of -the very earth trembled as the destroyer raged over it. No thunder was -at any time distinctly heard. The horrible roar and yelling of the wind; -the noise of the ocean, whose frightful waves threatened the town with -the destruction of all that the other elements might spare; the -clattering of tiles, the falling of floors, and walls, and the -combination of a thousand other sounds, formed a hideous and appalling -din.</p> - -<p>“About 5 <small>A.M.</small> the storm abated; at six o’clock the wind was at south, at -seven o’clock, southeast, at eight o’clock, east-southeast; and at nine -o’clock, the weather was clear.</p> - -<p>“The view from the summit of the cathedral tower, a few hours later, was -frightfully grand. The whole face of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a>{150}</span> the country was laid waste; no -sign of vegetation was apparent, except here and there small patches of -sickly green. The surface of the ground appeared as if fire had run -through the land, scorching and burning up the productions of the earth. -The few remaining trees, stripped of their boughs and foliage, wore a -cold and wintry aspect; and the numerous seats in the environs of -Bridgetown, formerly concealed among thick groves, were now exposed and -in ruins.”</p> - -<p>One peculiarity noticeable, was that in some places trees, timbers, and -many other objects, presented a scorched appearance, as though subjected -to intense heat. The reason of this is not clear, as unusual heat was -not perceptible after the beginning of the storm by any one. It may be -that this was produced by unusual quantities of electricity escaping -through imperfect conductors, for we learn, from other phenomena, that -during this storm there was an unusual state of electrical tension in -the atmosphere. Sparks occasionally leaped from the heads of persons out -of doors. Vast numbers of trees that were not blown down, speedily died: -and it has been suggested that an excess of electricity killed them.</p> - -<p>The total loss in this storm is not definitely known. Some further idea -of its fearful violence may be gathered from the fact that at the north -end of Barbadoes, the waves broke over a cliff seventy feet high, and -the saltwater spray was carried inland in such quantities as to kill all -the fresh-water fish in ponds far in the interior. As for the tremendous -roar of the wind, the commanding officer of the thirty-sixth regiment -sought protection by getting under the arch of a lower window outside -his house. He did not hear the roof and upper story of the house fall, -and only found it out by the dust caused by the fall.</p> - -<p>Far more destructive was the great hurricane of 1780.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a>{151}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_151_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_151_sml.jpg" width="450" height="279" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HURRICANE IN THE TROPICS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a>{152}</span></p> - -<p>The French and English were at war. Admiral George Rodney was in the -West Indies with an English fleet in several divisions. The French had -sent a convoy of five thousand troops to Martinique. The storm was of -immense width, extending from Trinidad, on the extreme southwest, to -Antigua. The evening of October 9th was red and lowering. By ten o’clock -next morning, the wind was high, and by one o’clock, vessels in the -harbors were dragging their anchors. The water was driven on shore with -such force at Barbadoes, that it was four feet deep in the Government -House. The family took refuge under the cannon, only to find that they -were moved about by the wind. By morning not a building in town was -standing; every tree was either blown away, or stripped of branches and -leaves.</p> - -<p>The sunny islands were suddenly become as bleak and bare as a Siberian -steppe.</p> - -<p>As to the loss, ten thousand perished at Martinique; six thousand at -Santa Lucia; four thousand five hundred at St. Eustatia; three thousand -five hundred at Barbadoes. Scores of smaller islands were devastated, -but the loss in detail is not known. Of the British fleet, the greater -part was destroyed; only one vessel out of nineteen at St. Eustatia -survived. A score of other ships of war and numerous transports were -sunk. Of the French convoy, with five thousand troops, the governor -wrote laconically that it “had disappeared.” Several English vessels at -Barbadoes were carried far in shore and converted into dwellings. -Doubtless, fifty thousand would hardly be too great an estimate of the -total loss of life in this storm. In a similar one in 1813, the -hurricane drove back the Gulf Stream, piling up the water thirty feet -deep in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship <i>Ledbury Snow</i>, endeavored to ride -out the storm, and when it was over, found herself high and dry. She had -let go her anchor among the tree-tops of Elliot’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a>{153}</span> Key. The Barbadoes -region suffered another severe gale in 1782, when the prizes captured by -Admiral Rodney were sunk, a number of merchant vessels and two English -war-ships foundered, and three thousand lives were lost at sea alone.</p> - -<p>The temperate zone has its occasional hurricanes, though they are by no -means as powerful or as frequent as those of the tropics. It is stated -that in the year 944, one thousand five hundred houses were destroyed by -a tempest in London. In the year 1090, it is recorded that a violent -storm overturned six hundred and six houses in London alone.</p> - -<p>Terrible as is the destruction of the cyclone in the western world, its -fury here can not give a fair idea of the awful havoc it makes in -Oriental regions. All through the Malay archipelago, along the coasts of -China, Japan, the Phillipines, Hindostan, and Farther India, the ravages -of the Storm King have been appalling, far exceeding even the terrible -hurricanes of the West Indies.</p> - -<p>Hindostan affords peculiar facilities for destructiveness of cyclones. -Both its great rivers flow, for the latter part of their course, through -low alluvial plains, and their deltas extend into the ocean directly -toward the region of monsoons; so that a hurricane may send a great -tidal wave up the river: while the low rich plains for miles around are -but few feet above tide-water, and teem with a population attracted by -the amazing fertility. So a sudden great storm may totally submerge, -without any warning, hundreds of square miles of these fertile tracts, -with all their inhabitants. Even when the sea-wave is not added to the -horrors of the storm, the losses are fearful. A cyclone at Calcutta in -1867, destroyed thirty thousand houses, wrecked or sunk six hundred -ships and smaller vessels in the river, and killed ten thousand persons -in the city alone. When to this is added the havoc committed by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a>{154}</span> the -storm—one hundred miles wide—in the rural districts, as it traveled on -toward the foot-hills, it is clear that every reader may be devoutly -thankful that such terrible visitants are altogether unknown in our -land.</p> - -<p>Terrible as this storm was, there was a greater one on the 5th of -October, 1864. About one hundred ships were lost; and over sixty -thousand persons perished; forty-three thousand in Calcutta alone. It -was accompanied by a “bore” on the Hooghly, the water rising thirty -feet, which is ten feet higher than the highest spring tides; whole -towns were nearly destroyed. It indicated its approach for several days, -and Capt. Watson, of the <i>Clarence</i>, seeing the barometer falling, knew -a cyclone was approaching, and saved his ship by steering out of its -range.</p> - -<p>Compare this with the storms of our own land, that thrill the country -with horror if but one hundred people are killed, and remember that the -cyclone of India destroyed six hundred lives where one was destroyed in -this region. Compare with the most terrible storms recorded in the West -Indies, and the latter must yield.</p> - -<p>Coringa, on the Coromandel coast, has been several times desolated by -these terrible storm waves. In December, 1789, three immense rollers -came ashore during a single storm; the town was destroyed; the -neighboring country inundated. Ships were torn from their anchorage and -thrown high on the land: twenty thousand people were lost; and the heaps -of sand and mud rendered search for bodies and property useless.</p> - -<p>In May, 1833, the region at the mouth of the Hooghly was inundated by a -cyclone. Three hundred villages and fifty thousand people were -destroyed. In June, 1822, Burisal and Backergunge, at the mouth of the -Ganges, were overwhelmed, and fifty thousand persons drowned.</p> - -<p>But Hindostan has far greater horrors to report. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a>{155}</span> terrible flood in -1887 was driven by the cyclone over the Ganges delta. The victims -numbered many thousands: exact figures not at hand. But in 1876, a -cyclone swept the Backergunge district, and rolled in a storm wave over -the eastern edge of the fertile delta, covering it with from ten to -fifty feet of water. When the storm had subsided, it was found that more -than one hundred thousand people had perished!</p> - -<p>Finally, a great cyclone in 1737, October 11-12, swept the Ganges delta -with a wave thirty feet deep on the land. Three hundred thousand people -perished in this storm! The mind can not grasp the appalling magnitude -of such a disaster.</p> - -<p>These cases are the most destructive cyclones on record, and in each -case the destruction is due largely to the character of the region -traversed, though the winds of Bengal are not surpassed in violence by -those of any country in the world. Were the harbor an open seaport, -instead of a large river, no ship could live through such a storm.</p> - -<p>Other regions in the east suffer much from tempests. The whole Malay -archipelago, with the Moluccas and Philippines, are visited quite as -frequently as the coasts of Hindostan. A cyclone that swept the -Philippine Islands, November 6, 1885, destroyed ten thousand people, and -millions of dollars worth of property.</p> - -<p>The same character of storms is frequently met with in the Japan and -China seas, where it is known as the “typhoon,” our Anglicised spelling -of the Chinese title, “tei-fun.” With one example of the power of this -storm, this chapter must close. In the narrative of Commander Hall, of -the British Navy, is found this description of a typhoon that occurred -at Hong Kong, July 21-22, 1841:</p> - -<p>“For days previously large black clouds appeared to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a>{156}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;"> -<a href="images/i_156_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_156_sml.jpg" width="297" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>COAST OF INDIA SUBMERGED BY A STORM.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a>{157}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">settle on the hills on either side; the atmosphere was extremely sultry -and oppressive, and the most vivid lightning shot incessantly along the -dense threatening clouds, and looked more brilliant, because the -phenomena were most remarkable at night; while during the day, the -threatening appearances were moderated considerably, and sometimes -almost entirely disappeared. The vibrations of the mercury in the -barometer were constant and rapid, and though it occasionally rose, -still the improvement was only temporary; a storm was therefore -confidently predicted. Between seven and eight o’clock in the morning, -the wind was blowing very hard from the northward, or directly upon the -shores of Hong Kong, and continued to increase in heavy squalls hour -after hour. Ships were beginning to drive, and the work of destruction -had commenced on every side; the Chinese junks and boats were blown -about in all directions, and one of them was seen to founder with all -hands on board. The fine basin of Hong Kong was gradually covered with -scattered wrecks of the war of elements; planks, spars, broken boats, -and human beings clinging hopelessly for succor to every treacherous -log, were tossed about on every side; the wind howled and tore -everything away before it, literally sweeping the face of the waters. -From half-past ten to half-past two the hurricane was at its highest, -the barometer at this time having descended to 28.50. The air was filled -with spray and salt, so that it was impossible to see anything that was -not close at hand; the wind roared and howled fearfully, so that it was -impossible to hear a word that was said. Ships were now drifting foul of -each other in all directions, masts were being cut away, and from the -strength of the wind forcing the sea high upon the shore, several ships -were driven high and dry. The Chinese were all distracted, imploring -their gods in vain for help;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a>{158}</span> such an awful scene of destruction and -ruin is rarely witnessed, and almost every one was so busy in thinking -of his own safety, as to be unable to render assistance to any one else. -Hundreds of Chinese were drowned, and occasionally a whole family, -children and all, floated past the ships, clinging in apparent apathy -(perhaps under the influence of opium) to the last remnants of their -shattered boats, which soon tumbled to pieces and left them to their -fate. On the 26th another typhoon occurred, but not so severe as the -first.”</p> - -<p>The storm at sea presents a class of peculiar dangers and a variety of -thrilling experiences, such as the landsman never knows. The stories of -great shipwrecks and other purely naval disasters form some of the most -interesting narratives in history: and doubtless the reader will be -pleased to notice in detail the perils of the deep, and to learn of the -precautions taken and the means in common use for averting, as far as -possible, the disastrous results of the tempest. Certainly, the brave -tars who peril their lives on the ocean to bring us the luxuries of a -foreign land deserve especial attention, and no apology need be given -for devoting a portion of this volume to the story of their perils and -daring.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a>{159}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> -<small>PERILS OF THE SEA.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Daughter, the night was made for sleep;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Why dost thou moan, why dost thou weep?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Wherefore thy mournful vigil keep?<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Daughter, daughter, my daughter!”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Mother, to me the night wind cries.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Cold on the sands thy lover lies,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With none to close his glazed eyes;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Nello, Nello, my Nello!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>HE Storm at Sea! From the days of David to the present, the poet and -the novelist have taxed their energies to portray the perils of those -who go down into the deep in ships. The ravages of the hurricane on -shore are confined largely to those portions of the world unknown to the -ancients; but the treacherous deep has been sung in every age. We may -hardly choose which of the myriad wrecks to describe. St. Paul’s -perilous voyage to Rome is familiar wherever the gospel is preached; -Jonah has furnished a comparison for the unlucky for centuries; Virgil -has sung of the perils of exiled Æneas in his search for a foreign home.</p> - -<p>The sea has dangers peculiarly its own, and likewise charms possessed by -nothing else in nature. Every one may have heard of the little earnest -woman who at her first sight of the ocean sighed: “Ah—at last here is -something there is enough of!” The sailor knows the ocean’s every mood, -and may sing with Barry Cornwall:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a>{160}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a href="images/i_160_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_160_sml.jpg" width="401" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“HE SINKS INTO THY DEPTHS, WITH BUBBLING GROAN,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">WITHOUT A GRAVE, UNKNELLED, UNCOFFINED, AND UNKNOWN.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a>{161}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“I love, oh, how I love to ride,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">On the fierce, foaming, bursting<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When every mad wave drowns the moon,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Or whistles aloft his tempest tune,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And tells how goeth the world below,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And why the sou’west blasts do blow!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Or if his mind be better adapted for homelier ditties, he may hum:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The wind it blew a hurricane, the sea was mountains rollin’,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When Barney Buntlin’ turned his quid, and said to Billy Bowlin’:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">‘A strong sou’wester’s blowin’, Billy; don’t you hear it roar now?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">How I pity all unhappy folks as lives upon the shore now!’ ”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Or if becalmed, and forced for days to lie beneath a scorching tropical -sun,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“As idly as a painted ship<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Upon a painted ocean,”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">the inevitable dreariness of the wide waste of scarcely heaving water -will oppress the mind till the sailor may murmur:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“So lonely ’twas that God himself<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Scarce seemed there to be.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>It is beyond dispute that the sea has been one of the most important -factors in civilizations ancient and modern. Greece was no longer -supreme in power when her naval supremacy was gone; Rome was not -mistress of the world till she became mistress of the Mediterranean. Not -a single great system of civilization has originated in districts far -inland. The great centers—Greece, Rome, Asia Minor, Egypt, Spain, -England—all that have wielded unusual power—are sea-coasts, peninsulas -or islands. The Jew became prominent as a trader from the day Jewish -vessels sailed from Tarshish. To some extent, these facts must be -considered as results of position only, however powerful the tendencies -or traits of any particular stock.</p> - -<p>It is not merely as a highway for commerce and ready intercommunication -that the seas have enriched mankind.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a>{162}</span> The submarine world presents views -as strange and weirdly beautiful as the ancient myths of nymphs and -naiads.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Deep in the wave lies a coral grove,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Where the purple mullet and goldfish rove;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Where the seaflower spreads its leaves of blue,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That never were wet with falling dew;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But in bright and changeful beauty, shine<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Far down in the green and glassy brine.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And thousands of the human race depend entirely upon the products of the -sea for a livelihood. The fish taken as food would be an enormous item -in any year: but the billows that surge over the deep conceal far more -treasure than these.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Full many a gem of purest ray serene,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>All our pearls, nearly all our amber, sponges, and as beautiful and -delicate as spun glass, corals of infinite number and variety—all -these, and more, we must obtain from the depths of the sea. Yet, while -eagerness for gain leads men to brave countless perils to obtain these -treasures, thousands of sad hearts will deem them dearly bought, and -recall the more precious treasures of the deep.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Yet more! the billows and the depths have more!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">High hearts and brave are gathered to thy breast!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">They hear not now the booming waters roar;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The battle thunders will not break their rest.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Keep thy red gold and gems, thou stormy grave!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Give back the true and brave!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Give back the lost and lovely! those for whom<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The place was kept at board and hearth so long,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The prayer went up through midnight’s breathless gloom,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And the vain yearning woke ’midst festive song!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Hold fast thy buried isles, thy towers or throne—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">But all is not thine own.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“To thee the love of woman hath gone down;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Dark flow the tides o’er manhood’s noble head,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Or youth’s bright locks, and beauty’s flowery crown;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Yet must thou hear a voice—Restore the dead!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Earth shall reclaim her precious things from thee!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Restore the dead, thou sea!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a>{163}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_163_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_163_sml.jpg" width="450" height="310" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CAST ASHORE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Like the atmosphere, the ocean has its great constant currents, which -play an important part in the economy of nature. These flow steadily on, -one beneath another, and are little affected by atmospheric -disturbances. The presence of submarine currents is often shown by -icebergs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a>{164}</span> moving steadily onward against a surface current and moderate -wind. But there is nothing in the sea, so far as known, that corresponds -to the variable winds or local currents of the atmosphere: for as water -is so much heavier than air, its equilibrium is not so easily disturbed -by unusual heating: and moreover, it does not expand under the influence -of heat to an extent in the least approaching the expansion of the air. -Hence, its currents are steady and slow-moving, and, however much they -affect climate and winds by the heating or cooling of the air above -them, they offer no obstacle worthy of note to the sailor. The latter -must then fear only the power of the storm: and were submarine vessels -readily constructed and navigated, the storm would lose its terrors: for</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“When the wrathful spirit of storms,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Has made the top of the wave his own,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And when the ship from his fury flies,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When the myriad voices of ocean roar,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When the wind-god frowns in the murky skies,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And demons are waiting the wreck on shore,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then far below in the peaceful sea,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The purple mullet and goldfish rove,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Where the waters murmur tranquilly,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Through the bending twigs of the coral grove.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>It should be said, however, that the sea and storm are not responsible -for all the disasters at sea. For years the greatest losses of life and -property were due to the greed of conscienceless owners, who sent rotten -tubs to sea, fearfully overloaded and heavily insured, certain to make a -good profit whether they perished or no. As for the sailors, they were -not worth considering: there were plenty to be obtained. Human life is -the cheapest commodity in any market. By a liberal spending of this -currency men become Alexanders or Cæsars, or Sullas, or Marii: -henceforth they are “Great.”</p> - -<p>These abuses were especially prevalent in England, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a>{165}</span> greatest of -maritime powers; nor were they corrected till Mr. Samuel Plimsoll, in -1870, began a series of earnest efforts to have a systematic inspection -organized. He made a startling arraignment of the atrocious methods of -the land-sharks. He wrote, in 1873, “No means are neglected by -Parliament to provide for the safety of life ashore; and yet, as I said -before, you may build a ship in any way you please, you may use timber -utterly unfit, you may use it in quantity utterly inadequate, but no one -has any authority to interfere with you.</p> - -<p>“You may even buy an old ship two hundred and fifty tons burden by -auction for £50, sold to be broken up, because extremely old and rotten; -she had a narrow escape on her last voyage, and had suffered so severely -that she was quite unfit to go to sea again without more being spent in -repairs upon her than she would be worth when done. Instead of breaking -up this old ship, bought for 4s. per ton (the cost of a new ship being -from £10 to £14 per ton), as was expected, you may give her a coat of -paint—she is too rotten for caulking—and to the dismay of her late -owners, you may prepare to send her to sea. You may be remonstrated -with, in the strongest terms, against doing so, even to being told that -if you persist, and the men are lost, you deserve to be tried for -manslaughter.</p> - -<p>“You may engage men in another port, and they, having signed articles -without seeing the ship, you may send them to the port where the ship -lies in the custody of a mariner. You may then (after re-christening the -ship, which ought not to be allowed), if you have managed to insure her -heavily, load her until the main deck is within two feet of the water -amidships, and send her to sea. Nobody can prevent you. Nay, more, if -the men become riotous, you may arrest them without a magistrate’s -warrant, and take them to prison, and the magistrates, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a>{166}</span> have no -choice (they have not to make, but only to administer the law), will -commit them to prison for twelve weeks with hard labor; or better still -for you, you may send a policeman on board to overawe the mutineers, and -induce them to do their duty! And then, if the ship is lost with all -hands, you will gain a large sum of money and you will be asked no -questions, as no inquiry will ever be held over those unfortunate men, -unless (which has only happened once, I think), some member of the House -asks for inquiry.</p> - -<p>“The river policeman who in one case threatened a refractory crew with -imprisonment, and urged them to do their duty (!) told me afterwards -(when they were all drowned) that he and his colleagues at the -river-side station had spoken to each other about the ship being -dreadfully overloaded as she passed their station on the river, before -he went on board to urge duty (!) and that he then, when he saw me, -’rued badly that he had not locked ’em up without talk, as then they -wouldn’t have been drowned.’ ”</p> - -<p>He also found that some ship-builders put together mere floating -coffins, using “devils,” or dummy bolts, or bolt-heads without any -shaft, to present the appearance of a staunchly built vessel. The old -shell would founder in the first strong breeze. Hundreds of examples -came in his way of entire crews lost in these hulks. What such losses -meant to the poor dependent families at home we may imagine, but may not -readily portray.</p> - -<p>Another prolific source of disaster was the neglect to supply captains -with the proper charts. There are notable instances of great vessels so -lost. One ship and cargo, value $350,000, was lost near Boulogne, -because the captain’s chart had not the lights properly marked on it.</p> - -<p>The great steamer <i>Deutschland</i>, having a large number<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a>{167}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_167_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_167_sml.jpg" width="450" height="298" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WRECK OF THE MINOTAUR.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a>{168}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">of German emigrants on board, ran on an unmarked shoal near the mouth of -the Thames, December 30, 1875, and was lost. The vessel was fourteen -hours on the shoal in the winter storm, ere her signals of distress were -perceived. Fifty-seven of her passengers had been lost in the heavy sea -ere help reached her.</p> - -<p>Ship after ship has left her port, never to be heard of again, whose -crews might have still been in peace and comfort with their families, -had the owners had the least trace of humanity, or regard for simple -justice. A single example will illustrate.</p> - -<p>In a hovel, Plimsoll found a young wife, scrubbing for a living, trying -to support herself and three children. “She had a loving husband but -very lately, but the owner of the ship on which he served, the <i>S——n</i>, -was a very needy man, who insured her for £3,000 more than she had -cost him. So if she sank he would gain all this. Well, one voyage she -was loaded <i>under the owner’s personal superintendence</i>; she was loaded -so deeply that the dockmaster pointed her out to a friend as she left -the dock, and said emphatically, ‘That ship will never reach her -destination.’ She never did, for she was lost with all hands—twenty men -and boys.”</p> - -<p>Under the owner’s personal superintendence! Could cool calculating -villany go any further? Yet this is but one out of many scores!</p> - -<p>Yet, despite the apparent frequency of complaints from those who -suffered most by these practices, the abuses had grown up so gradually -that the masses of the people had come to accept them as almost a -necessary concomitant of naval matters. While holding out stoutly for -the difference of a penny more or less in wages, there was no effort at -concerted action for better treatment. Men accustomed to risking their -lives daily came to look upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a>{169}</span> the matter as of no great consequence. -Only the worst possible vessels were very seriously objected to; and -these usually had little difficulty in obtaining crews of men long out -of employment, who would accept any risk rather than remain a burden to -their friends and families, however the latter might object to the -proceeding. So thousands went to a watery grave. Official records of the -period showed that one-half the losses at sea were the result of sending -out rotten hulks. Yet, when reforms were suggested, the promoters were -frequently told that if such things did not properly regulate themselves -as a matter of political economy, there was no use striving for a -change. Cool weighing of human life against gold!</p> - -<p>Even in staunch ships the accommodations provided for the sailors were -of the meanest sort. Men might wade to their bunks through water, or be -packed in a filthy forecastle like herrings; they were fed on “salt -horse” and moldy biscuit; they might rot with scurvy—if the ship got to -port with her cargo, it made little difference how the crew fared.</p> - -<p>Our own ships and the Russian and French vessels the investigator found -far superior in treatment of the sailor: and the majority of English -owners did well by their crews; but Plimsoll’s efforts induced great -improvement. Compulsory survey and no overloading were his main remedies -for the prevention of the terrible loss of life in the mercantile -marine. He cites two cases of great firms—the first engaged in the coal -carrying, and the second in the guano trade—who do not permit -overloading, and the first, in fifteen years had not, out of a large -fleet of steamers, lost a single vessel, although they made from fifty -to seventy double trips per year. The second case deserves particular -mention. About the year 1860, the firm of Anthony Gibbs & Co., of -London, took a contract<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a>{170}</span> from the Peruvian Government to charter and -load ships from the Chincha Islands with guano, and as many as three or -four hundred ships left those islands annually for different parts of -the world. At first they were allowed to load and proceed to sea without -inspection or surveying, and were permitted to load as deeply as the -masters thought fit. What was the result? Accidents and losses were -reported every few days, and many of their ships foundered at sea, some -with all hands on board. When the head of the house at Lima, Peru, -introduced proper surveying before loading, to discover what repairs -were needed, etc., allowing no overloading, and not permitting the ships -to go to sea without full inspection of her pumps and gear, a sudden and -wonderful change took place, and for years after not one of these ships -foundered at sea.</p> - -<p>There is no sadder record than that which has been made of many a -gallant vessel, sailing with the best prospects—“Missing,” or “Never -heard of.” Occasionally the mysterious fate of some of these vessels has -been revealed by the picking up of sealed bottles containing brief -records of the disastrous end of the missing ships. But such cases are -rare in comparison with the vast majority of the disasters; for the -greatest peril to a vessel in a storm is the vicinity of a reef or -shoal. In the open sea there is comparative safety, even in a -considerable gale, for good seamen; but a shoal or rocky coast may be -fatal to the vessel striking, even though the wind be but moderate. So -nearly all disasters occur along shore; and the time is past in which it -is possible for a vessel to be lost on an unknown or uninhabited coast. -Hence, soon or late, the lot of nearly every vessel is known. -Occasionally a vessel has been abandoned as unseaworthy or unmanageable, -and has surprised those abandoning her by drifting around for months in -the path of other vessels and occasionally fouling with some of them, to -their serious injury.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a>{171}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_171_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_171_sml.jpg" width="450" height="340" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WRECKED ON A ROCK.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The polar seas present peculiar perils to the navigator. Almost every -one has heard of the ill-fated Franklin expedition, even though others -may not be familiar. The attempts to find a northwest passage have long -ceased, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a>{172}</span> being indisputable that it is useless though found. The -great expeditions of later years have been equipped purely from a -scientific standpoint. No conceivable benefit to commerce can result -therefrom.</p> - -<p>But the vast majority of fatalities in the polar seas have not been -among the great exploring expeditions, any more than the majority of -disasters in warmer climes are among first-class passenger steamers. The -world over, it is the coasting vessels, the fishing smacks, the second -and third-class freighters that swell the lists of losses at sea. And in -the polar seas the most numerous disasters are among the whaling and -sealing vessels, which visit the regions season after season. Many a -vessel has been crushed like an egg-shell amid the enormous masses of -ice. Often a vessel seemingly hopelessly imprisoned has been abandoned -by the crew, only to be freed by some caprice of the winds and picked up -by some other crew. And again there have been instances of vessels seen -resting in masses of ice far above the water, raised by continual -tilting and piling of ice-cakes beneath. Sometimes a vessel has floated -about thus for a considerable period. Comparatively speaking, losses of -life have been small in proportion to the dangers and property losses. -Where so many vessels are in the same region at a time, the crew of a -crushed ship can generally reach another vessel without great -difficulty. But years ago, when the whaling fleet was smaller, and steam -had not been called to the seaman’s aid, the peril of life was greater; -and many is the vessel that sailed away never to be heard of again.</p> - -<p>One of the best stories illustrating this class of dangers is that of -the whaleship <i>Rufus</i>. A whaling vessel in 1774 found an abandoned ship; -and on boarding her, found the crew scattered about in the postures -assumed when they first yielded to the fatal sleep. The tale, in verse -worth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a>{173}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_173_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_173_sml.jpg" width="450" height="325" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CASTAWAYS ON A RAFT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a>{174}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">remembering, but seldom or never seen, was told many years ago by an -unknown author. The distinctness and simplicity of the style render the -poem worth preserving, aside from the interest of the story.</p> - -<p>THE SHIP RUFUS.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Sing not, my Muse, of brightening fields<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of ether, fair displayed,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of whispering bowers, where Zephyr yields<br /></span> -<span class="i2">His fragrance to the glade<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But haste thee to the frozen throne,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The starry blue domain<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where Winter, monarch dread and lone,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Asserts his iron reign.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Now Europe’s northern cape recedes,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And Iceland’s utmost shore;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The sailor turns his face and heeds<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Those viewless forms no more.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">For mountains, distant yet, but bright,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Edging the arctic tide,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">’Neath spiry flames of dancing light,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">At masthead are descried.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">For see! in glittering points, the coast<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Divides; the mountain chain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">On waves afar in silence tossed,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Trembles athwart the main.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Anon, the mariner looks forth,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And scans with cheerless brow,—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Borne onward by the angry North,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">An arctic navy now.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“How shall the good ship Rufus speed?<br /></span> -<span class="i2">How live?” the master cried;—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“God send us help in time of need,"—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">“Amen!” the crew replied.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a>{175}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Each ice-built crag and snowy cliff<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Chases the foaming spray;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And, ’mid those moving Alps, the skiff<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Must find her destined way.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Her destined way?—Her destined fate!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Now drops the needful gale;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The waves become a glassy plate;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The bark forbears to sail.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Prisoned of God; by mountains pent,—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Fuel and food consumed;—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ask not of me the dire event,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Nor why they thus were doomed.<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Again, borne forth by waves and wind,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Men spread a venturous sail,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">’Mid rocks of massy ice to find<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The scarce less massy whale.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The optic tube now aids the eye,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And scans the distant sea:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A distant speck they now descry;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A speck—what can it be?<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“What can it be?” inquire the men—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">“An iceberg, or a sail?”<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As yet the crew inquire in vain,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And doubt must yet prevail.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Yes, doubt prevails, and strengthens still,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Though fast the object nears.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Sure ’tis no sail which at the will<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of winds and billows steers!”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Fancy still limns out forms uncouth,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Yet scarce herself persuades;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But fancy now gives place to truth<br /></span> -<span class="i2">More startling than her shades.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a>{176}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A dreary hull, with shattered mast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And sails of strangest guise,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And cordage fluttering in the blast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Now meets their wondering eyes.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The bark they hail;—in many a groan<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The bellowing shrouds reply;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But bellowing shrouds respond alone;—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">No voice returns the cry.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Strange!—for, as near with curious haste<br /></span> -<span class="i2">They ply, and glance within,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Lo! at the cabin window placed,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A form is dimly seen.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">They mount the floating ruin now—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Her deck is overlaid<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Man’s height in crusted ice and snow,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Which shows no human tread.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">To find the hatch beneath the drift,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">They all their efforts lend,—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Its frozen planks at length they lift,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And fearfully descend.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Now pause they at the cabin door;—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Now enter, as they will;—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Its quiet inmate, as before,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Sits unconcerned and still.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">With pen in hand, and half reclined,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Like those in thoughtful moods;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To noises deaf, to visions blind,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">He cares not who intrudes.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">No!—for a filmy mold invests<br /></span> -<span class="i2">His long untroubled brow;—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His eyeballs green sought not his guests,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Nor can he turn them now.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a>{177}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_177_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_177_sml.jpg" width="450" height="320" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SINKING OF THE LONDON.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a>{178}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A crumbling page before him lay,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Which told the unspoken woe;—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Our cabin fire went out to-day—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Food spent five days ago;—<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Locked in the ice three weeks,—our crew<br /></span> -<span class="i2">All dead,—all hope is o’er;—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ship Rufus—1762—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">One hour, and I’m no more!”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Now horror on the souls sunk down—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">On all who viewed the scene;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Twelve arctic winters then had flown,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Since this a corpse had been!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Twelve years on polar surges tossed,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">By northern blasts conveyed—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Destroyed—preserved, by iron frost,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Her crew were statues made.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Perchance this fate-directed prow<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Had crossed ’neath cloudless skies<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The pole, which jealous Nature now<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Shuts out from human eyes.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Perchance the dreamed of Northern Way<br /></span> -<span class="i2">This guileless keel had plowed,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">While billows with the helm did play,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And wild winds trimmed the shroud.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Say when, Stern Spirits of the North,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">They found their watery grave?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or do ye still in awful mirth,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Toss them from wave to wave?<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a>{179}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /><br /> -<small>LIFE-SAVING MEASURES.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“ ‘O father, I hear the church-bells ring,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">O say, what may it be?’<br /></span> -<span class="i1">’Tis a fog-bell on a rock-bound coast,’<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And he steered for the open sea.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">‘O father, I hear the sound of guns,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">O say, what may it be?’<br /></span> -<span class="i1">‘Some ship in distress that can not live<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In such an angry sea.’<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">‘O father, I see a gleaming light,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">O say, what may it be?’<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But the father answered not a word,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For a frozen corpse was he.<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i1">At daybreak, on the bleak sea beach,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A fisherman stood aghast,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To see the form of a maiden fair,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Lashed close to a drifting mast.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">The salt sea was frozen on her breast,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The salt tears in her eyes.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And he saw her hair, like the brown seaweed,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">On the billows fall and rise.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_o.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="48" -height="60" -alt="O" /></span>NE of the most destructive storms on record, and certainly the most -terrible ever known on the whole English coast is the great storm of -1703. It is the only storm which has ever been made the subject of a -Parliamentary memorial. It raged for a week over nearly the whole of -England. Scores of vessels were driven on shore and perished. At -Bristol, the in-driven sea filled the merchants’ cellars, destroying -sugar, tobacco, and other produce, to the value of hundreds of thousands -of dollars. Eighty people were drowned in the river and adjacent<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a>{180}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_180_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_180_sml.jpg" width="450" height="345" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>STORM ON THE SHOALS, 1703.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">marshes; fifteen thousand sheep were drowned by the overflow or backing -up of the Severn. At London, the river was filled with vessels, the -crews of which were nearly all on shore. The storm tore them from their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a>{181}</span> -moorings, and drove them into a bight on the opposite side of the -stream. It was a strange sight they presented after the storm. Defoe -says that “there lay, by the best account he could take, few less than -seven hundred sail of ships, some very great ones, between Shadwell and -Limehouse inclusive; the posture is not to be imagined but by them that -saw it; some vessels lay heeling off with the bow of another ship over -her waist, and the stern of another upon her forecastle; the boltsprits -of some drove into the cabin windows of others; some lay with their -sterns tossed up so high that the tide flowed into their forecastles -before they could come to rights; some lay so leaning upon others that -the undermost vessels would sink before the other could float; the -number of masts, boltsprits and yards split and broke, the staving the -heads and sterns and carved work, the tearing and destruction of -rigging, and the squeezing of boats to pieces between the ships, is not -to be reckoned; but there was hardly a vessel to be seen that had not -suffered some damage or other in one or all of these articles.”</p> - -<p>In the city itself, the streets were covered with tiles, slates, bricks, -and fallen chimneys. Common tiles rose to nearly six times their usual -price. Numbers of people were killed by crumbling roofs or falling -houses. In Gloucester, six hundred great trees were prostrated in a -space of five acres. The Bishop of Bath and Wells, and his wife, were -among the more noted dead. The total loss of life has been estimated at -from eight to thirty thousand. The former is Defoe’s, but as he only -counts those of which he obtained direct personal information, this -estimate is certainly too low.</p> - -<p>A single item of this storm will give some idea of the peculiar dangers -once incurred by shipwrecked sailors. Mr. Whymper writes, “The -townspeople of Deal, in particular,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a>{182}</span> were blamed for their inhumanity in -leaving many to their fate who could have been rescued. Boatmen went off -to the sands for booty, some of whom would not listen to poor wretches -who might have been saved. Many unfortunate shipwrecked persons could be -seen, by the aid of glasses, walking on the Goodwin Sands in despairing -postures, knowing that they would, as Defoe puts it, ‘be washed into -another world’ at the reflux of the tide. The mayor of Deal, Mr. Thomas -Powell, asked the Custom House officers to take out their boats and -endeavor to save the lives of some of these unfortunates, but they -utterly refused. The mayor then offered, from his own pocket, five -shillings a head for all saved, and a number of fishermen and others -volunteered, and succeeded in bringing two hundred persons on shore, who -would have been lost in a half an hour afterwards. The Queen’s agent for -sick and wounded seamen would not furnish a penny for their lodging or -food, and the good mayor supplied all of them with what they required. -Several died, and he was compelled to bury all of them at his own -expense; he furnished a large number with money to pay their way to -London. He received no thanks from the Government of the day, but some -long time after was reimbursed the large sums he had expended.”</p> - -<p>One not versed in the tales of the past might be astounded at such -inhumanity; yet the case cited is comparatively a mild one. People -acquainted with the history of pirates and buccaneers know that coasts -everywhere were once more or less infested with land-sharks, more -merciless than any shark of the deep, who enriched themselves by the -misfortunes of others: and drowning sailors would be disregarded in the -race for plunder. Yet this is but a shadow of the fearful tragedies -often enacted.</p> - -<p>Picture a richly laden vessel, homeward bound, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a>{183}</span> scores of eager -anxious hearts on board, and other scores in port eagerly waiting them. -The captain smiles thoughtfully, as he murmurs, “We shall be at home -to-morrow!” The mother with child in arms repeats, as she thinks of the -waiting husband, “We shall be home to-morrow!” The bronzed wanderer, -returning after years of adventure, wonders if his boyhood’s home is -changed, as he thinks, “I shall be home to-morrow!”</p> - -<p>There is but the faintest indication of storm. On shore, cruel, sinister -faces scan the sky and the distant ship as the twilight settles down, -and whisper together, and scowl as they recall past disappointments. -They will take care that they are not disappointed again. Their grizzled -old leader will see to that.</p> - -<p>Night gathers apace. The storm bursts—the ship is far off shore, and in -safe quarters. It is time to act. “Now, in the pitchy darkness of the -night, with bowed head, and faltering steps battling against the storm, -the old man leads a white horse along the edge of the cliff. To the tip -of the horse’s tail a lantern is tied, and the light sways with the -movement of the horse, and in its movements seems not unlike the -masthead light of a vessel rocked by the motion of the sea. A whisper -has gone through the village of a chance of something happening during -the night, and most of the men and many of the women are on the alert, -lurking in the caves beneath the cliff, or sheltered behind jutting -pieces of rock.</p> - -<p>“The vessel makes in steadily for the land; the captain grows uneasy, -and fears running into danger; he will put the vessel round, and try and -battle his way out to sea.</p> - -<p>“The look-out man reports a dim light ahead. What kind? and whither -away? He can make out that it is a ship’s light, for it is in motion. -Yes, she must be a vessel standing on in the same course as that which -they are on.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a>{184}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 397px;"> -<a href="images/i_184_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_184_sml.jpg" width="397" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>ON A LEE SHORE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>It is all safe, then; the captain will stand in a little longer; when -suddenly, in the lull of the storm, a hoarse murmur is heard—surely the -sound of the sea beating upon rocks! Yes! look! a white gleam upon the -water! Breakers ahead! breakers ahead! Oh, a very knell of doom! The cry -rings through the ship, ‘Down, down with the helm—round her to!’ Too -late, too late! A crash, a shudder<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a>{185}</span> from stem to stern of the stout -ship, the shriek of many voices in their agony, green seas sweeping over -the vessel, and soon broken timbers, bales of cargo, and lifeless bodies -scattered along the beach, while the shattered remnant of the hull is -torn still further to pieces with each insweep of the mighty seas as -they roll it to and fro among the rocks. Fearful and crafty the smile -that darkened the face of the willing murderer who was leading the horse -with the false light as he heard the crash of the vessel and the shrieks -of the drowning crew! Fearful the smile that darkened the faces of the -men and women waiting on the beach as they came out from their places, -ready to struggle and fight among themselves for any spoil that might -come ashore! A homeward-bound ship from the Indies! Great good -fortune—rich spoil! Bale after bale is seized upon by the wreckers, and -dragged high upon the beach out of the way of the surf. But, see! a -sailor clinging to a bit of broken mast! With his last conscious effort -he gains a footing on the shore, staggers forward, and falls. Is he -alive? Not now! Why did that fearful old woman kneel upon his chest and -cover his mouth with her cloak? Dead men tell no tales—claim no -property!”</p> - -<p>No fiction of the fancy, this! Only the last great day will ever reveal -how many souls have perished at the hands of those who should have -succored them. Think of a man and his wife reaching the shore after an -exhausting struggle; the man leaving his wife in a sheltered nook while -he goes in search of human habitations, and returning after a few -moments to find his wife, a plundered, naked corpse! And yet, such -practices were tolerably common, even within the range of a century -past!</p> - -<p>In striking contrast with the heartless wreckers are those known on the -British coast as “hovellers.” These put out to sea in stormy weather to -ascertain if vessels in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a>{186}</span> the offing are in need of anything, or are -otherwise crippled: and many a ship have they saved from wreck by their -timely aid.</p> - -<p>It appears strange that, among a people so dependent upon the sea as the -English, no regularly organized methods of diminishing the losses by -wreck existed till within the present century. Yet such is the fact. A -hundred years ago, there was no boat that could safely venture in a -heavy sea; and if, perchance, some humane people wished to succor a -vessel in distress, few were the means and terrible the risks. The -graphic pen of Dickens, in this abridged narrative, will illustrate the -case. The scene is Yarmouth, England:</p> - -<p>“In the difficulty of hearing anything but wind and waves, and in the -crowd, and the unspeakable confusion, and my first breathless efforts to -stand against the weather, I was so confused that I looked out to sea -for the wreck, and saw nothing but the foaming heads of the great waves. -A half-dressed boatman, standing next me, pointed with his bare arm (a -tattooed arrow on it, pointing in the same direction) to the left. Then, -O great Heaven, I saw it, close in upon us!</p> - -<p>“One mast was broken off short, six or eight feet from the deck, and lay -over the side, entangled in a maze of sail and rigging; and all that -ruin, as the ship rolled and beat—which she did without a moment’s -pause, and with a violence quite inconceivable—beat the side as if it -would stave it in. Some efforts were even then being made to cut this -portion of the wreck away; for, as the ship, which was broadside on, -turned towards us in her rolling, I plainly descried her people at work -with axes, especially one active figure with long curling hair, -conspicuous among the rest.</p> - -<p>“But a great cry, which was audible even above the wind<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a>{187}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_187_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_187_sml.jpg" width="450" height="314" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HOVELLERS RELIEVING A VESSEL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a>{188}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">and water, rose from the shore at this moment; the sea, sweeping over -the rolling wreck, made a clean breach, and carried men, spars, casks, -planks, bulwarks—heaps of such toys—into the boiling surge. The second -mast was yet standing, with the rags of a rent sail, and a wild -confusion of broken cordage flapping to and fro. The ship had struck -once, the same boatman hoarsely said in my ear, and then lifted in and -struck again.</p> - -<p>“As he spoke, there was another great cry of pity from the beach; four -men arose with the wreck out of the deep, clinging to the rigging of the -remaining mast; uppermost, the active figure with the curling hair. -There was a bell on board; and, as the ship rolled and dashed, like a -desperate creature driven mad, now showing us the whole sweep of her -deck, as she turned on her beam-ends towards the shore, now, nothing but -her keel, as she sprung wildly over and turned towards the sea, the bell -rang; and its sound, the knell of those unhappy men, was borne towards -us on the wind.</p> - -<p>“Again, we lost her, and again she rose. Two men were gone. The agony on -shore increased. Men groaned and clasped their hands, women shrieked and -turned away their faces. Some ran wildly up and down along the beach, -crying for help where no help could be. I found myself one of these, -frantically imploring a knot of sailors whom I knew, not to let those -two lost creatures perish before our eyes, when I noticed that some new -sensation moved the people on the beach, and saw them part, and Ham come -breaking through them to the front.</p> - -<p>“I ran to him, held him back with both arms and implored the men with -whom I had been speaking not to listen to him, not to do murder, not to -let him stir from off that sand! Another cry arose on shore, and, -looking to the wreck, we saw the cruel sail, with blow on blow,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a>{189}</span> beat -off the lower of the two men, and fly up in triumph round the active -figure left alone upon the mast.</p> - -<p>“Against such a sight, and against such determination as that of the -calmly desperate man, I might as hopefully have entreated the wind. -‘Mas’r Davy,’ he said, cheerily grasping me by both hands, ‘if my time -is come, ’tis come. If ’tain’t, I’ll bide it. Lord above bless you, and -bless all! Mates, make me ready! I’m a-going off!’</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what I answered, or what they rejoined; but I saw a hurry -on the beach, and men running with ropes from a capstan that was there, -and penetrating into a circle of figures that hid him from me. Then I -saw him standing alone, in a seaman’s frock and trousers, a rope in his -hand, or slung to his wrist; another round his body, and several of the -best men, holding, at a little distance, to the latter, which he laid -out himself, slack upon the shore, at his feet.</p> - -<p>“Ham watched the sea, standing alone, with the silence of suspended -breath behind him, and the storm before, until there was a great -retiring wave, when, with a backward glance at those who held the rope -which was made fast round his body, he dashed in after it, and, in a -moment was buffeting with the water. Now, he made for the wreck, rising -with the hills, falling with the valleys, lost beneath the rugged foam, -borne in towards the shore, borne on towards the ship, striving hard and -valiantly.</p> - -<p>“The distance was nothing, but the power of the sea and wind made the -strife deadly. At length, he neared the wreck. He was so near that with -one more of his vigorous strokes he would be clinging to it—when a -high, green, vast hill-side of water, moving on, shoreward, from beyond -the ship, he seemed to leap up into it with a mighty bound, and the ship -was gone!</p> - -<p>“On running to the spot where they were hauling in,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a>{190}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_190_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_190_sml.jpg" width="450" height="301" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE LIFE-BOAT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a>{191}</span></p> - -<p>I saw some eddying fragments in the sea, as if a mere cask had been -broken. Consternation was in every face. They drew him to my very -feet—insensible—dead—beaten to death by the great wave; and his -generous heart was stilled forever.”</p> - -<p>Such things weighed heavily upon the humanely disposed; and when a -century ago Mr. Greathead, who had a great heart, stood at -Newcastle-on-Tyne, and saw man after man drop from a great wreck into a -raging sea without the possibility of rescue, he set himself to work -upon the problem of the life-boat. Noticing that the half of a circular -wooden bowl invariably turned concave side upward, when thrown in the -water, it occurred to him at once that a boat with a curved instead of -straight keel would always right itself. Wouldhave, at the same time was -advocating padding the boat heavily with cork: and the first life-boat -was constructed from these ideas. A year or two later, a minister in the -Orkneys suggested that all boats could be made self-righting by fixing -an empty water-tight cask in either end. So the idea of air-chambers -developed: and later the curved keel was made of iron, to aid in -ballasting the craft: so that the modern life-boat, with curved iron -keel, cork padding, air chambers, and tubes to permit water to flow out, -cannot be sunk, or made to float bottom up. The men may sometimes be -washed out of it, or a side stove in, but the boat will always be found -right side up.</p> - -<p>Strange as it may appear, though the first life-boat, with its -crudities, saved hundreds of lives within a few years, the Government -took no steps to institute a general system or life-saving service. To -the average American, this seems striking; but governments a century ago -were more concerned about the success in war than about the welfare of -the masses; they studied destruction of life<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a>{192}</span> more than its -preservation: and if perchance, some ruler affected peculiar concern for -the welfare of “the State,” it was generally the case that the -definition of Louis XIV was applicable; “The State—that’s <i>me</i>!”</p> - -<p>But Sir William Hillary and Thomas Wilson made earnest appeals to -Parliament for the establishment of a national life-saving institution; -and Hillary added the more effective argument of many deeds of personal -daring in the venturous work. Between 1821-1846, no fewer than one -hundred and forty-four wrecks occurred on the Isle of Man, and “one -hundred and seventy-two lives were lost; while the destruction of -property was estimated at a quarter of a million. In 1825, when the -<i>City of Glasgow</i> steamer was stranded in Douglas Bay, Sir William -Hillary assisted in saving the lives of sixty-two persons; and in the -same year eleven men from the brig <i>Leopard</i>, and nine from the sloop -<i>Fancy</i>, which became a total wreck. In 1827-32, Sir William, -accompanied by his son, saved many other lives; but his greatest success -was on the 20th of November, 1830, when he saved in the life-boat -twenty-two men, the whole of the crew of the mail steamer <i>St. George</i>, -which became a total wreck on St. Mary’s Rock. On this occasion he was -washed overboard among the wreck, with three other persons, and was -saved with great difficulty, having had six of his ribs fractured.”</p> - -<p>So the British institution arose, small at first, but mighty in its work -since. Ten years after, in 1850, it was reorganized, and improved -life-boats secured. The importance of the work may be imagined when we -record that from 1852 to 1871, the wrecks on British coasts alone -averaged one thousand four hundred and forty-six per annum! When we add -the work of our own life-saving service, and the service of life-boats -in many other lands, we may realize how inestimable is the value of such -an institution.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a>{193}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_193_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_193_sml.jpg" width="450" height="330" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE LIFE-BOAT AT WORK.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a>{194}</span></p> - -<p>Among the earlier measures to prevent loss of life are fog-bells, -fog-horns, and lighthouses, to warn the sailor of dangerous shoals. In -earlier days, wreckers sometimes silenced the fog-bell. Southey has -given us a ballad upon the poetic justice said to have been meted out to -a famous pirate who removed the bell placed by the abbot of Arberbrothok -upon the Inchcape Rock, off the Scottish coast. One year later, with a -rich booty, the pirate nears home once more,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“They hear no sound, the swell is strong;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Though the wind hath fallen they drift along,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock,—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">‘Oh, Christ! it is the Inchcape Rock!’<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">He curst himself in his despair;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The waves rush in on every side,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The ship is sinking beneath the tide.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>With this notice of the extent to which man may be responsible for -disasters, the subject must be dismissed. Ere leaving the topic of -storms, the reader shall know of one of the most notable naval disasters -of the century, which will illustrate the difficulty with which even -powerful war ships face high winds at sea.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a>{195}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /><br /> -<small>GREAT SAMOAN HURRICANE.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Roll on, thou deep and dark-blue Ocean, roll!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Man marks the earth with ruin: his control<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Stops with thy shores: upon the watery plain<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The wrecks are all thy deed; nor doth remain<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A shadow of man’s ravage, save his own,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When for a moment, like a drop of rain,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_d.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="46" -height="60" -alt="D" /></span>URING the fall of 1888, no little interest centered in one of the -little inland groups of the Pacific. In 1887, German officers in the -Samoan group conceived that the king, Malietoa, was so prejudiced toward -their interests that he should be deposed. So without much ceremony they -laid hands upon and carried him into exile, placing him on an island -some thousands of miles distant.</p> - -<p>There seems no reason to doubt that Germany’s ultimate design was to -formally occupy the islands. It is the old story of the civilized man’s -dealings with the savage; of the man who has ten talents, obtaining the -property of the man with one.</p> - -<p>Methods have changed somewhat, however, since the day when our pilgrim -fathers kindly relieved the Red man of such encumbrances as he had in -the way of real estate, and established quit-claim deeds and perfect -titles in their flint-lock muskets. It is not now considered “good -form,” as it was in the days of olden Spanish America, to declare one’s -self Marquis of this or Duke de that,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a>{196}</span> with several thousands of Indians -as slaves or tributaries, without consulting them. The modern method is -that of the European guide who attaches himself to your person -willy-nilly, in order that he rifle your pockets as the need of his -divers imaginary services. It is a less expensive method, and none the -less sure. So the colonizers of our day kindly establish a -“protectorate” over Naboth’s vineyard. Naboth, however, fully -understands the process, as some civilized races have found to their -cost.</p> - -<p>The Samoans were in high dudgeon at the action of Germany: and when the -foreigners coolly proceeded, without consulting the wishes of the -natives, to select and establish a new king, whom they thought would be -favorable to their own interests, open hostility resulted.</p> - -<p>The Samoans had no way to bring back their former king, Malietoa; but -they promptly deposed the creature of the Germans, Tamasese, and chose -instead Mataafa, a relative and personal representative of their exiled -king. The few American residents and frequenters of the islands approved -this, deeming the act of the Germans one of unjustifiable aggression.</p> - -<p>Civil war resulted. At the outset, Tamasese’s strong personal following, -and the fear of German interference, gave him a very large party. But in -the half-dozen fierce battles that were fought he was decidedly worsted, -and, forced to flee from the capital, Apia, he shut himself up in a -native fortress eight miles distant.</p> - -<p>The Germans had in the meantime actively espoused his cause, and went so -far as to bombard several native villages. Still they did not come into -direct personal collision with the natives until December, 1888. A body -of Germans landed a few miles from Apia, and assaulted Mataafa’s forces.</p> - -<p>The island blood was up. The battle was stubbornly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a>{197}</span> contested. The -Germans were utterly routed and driven back to their vessels with a loss -of fifty killed and wounded.</p> - -<p>This is precisely the sort of pretext a “protecting” power desires. In -great indignation at the pesky people who had failed to allow themselves -to be thrashed, the Germans formally declared war, and began a series of -high-handed seizures and aggressions. The interests of other nations in -Samoa were endangered. There was but one American man-of-war in the -harbor.</p> - -<p>As soon as the War Department learned of the state of affairs, -reinforcements were sent out, and it seemed highly probable that a -collision between America and Germany might be precipitated at any -moment. Thus, there were collected in the harbor the American warship -<i>Trenton</i>, the flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Kimberly, and one of the -largest vessels in the navy, N. H. Farquhar, Commander: the <i>Nipsic</i>, -Commander D. W. Mullan; and the <i>Vandalia</i>, Commander C. M. Schoonmaker. -The Germans were represented by the warship <i>Olga</i>, and the cruisers -<i>Eber</i> and <i>Adler</i>. England had sent the man-of-war <i>Calliope</i>. In -addition, there were in the harbor ten or twelve schooners and trading -vessels. Such was the force assembled at Apia, March 15, 1889.</p> - -<p>The news does not travel rapidly from that portion of the world. During -the spring a report reached America that the looked-for collision -between the assembled forces had occurred, and that the <i>Nipsic</i> had -been sunk by the <i>Olga</i>. There was much suppressed excitement; but as -the report was not officially confirmed, this soon ceased.</p> - -<p>No one was prepared for the actual occurrence, or the magnitude of the -calamity.</p> - -<p>The town of Apia, the Samoan capital, lies around a small circular bay. -Across the mouth of the harbor, two<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a>{198}</span> miles in width, extends a coral -reef, which is visible at low water. A break in the reef a quarter of a -mile in width forms the entrance to the harbor. Only a small portion of -the latter is available for anchorage, as the eastern part is quite -shallow, and on the west the bay has a small fringing reef well out from -the shore. It will be seen that the crowded condition of the harbor -rendered it peculiarly perilous. The war vessels were anchored in the -deep water, the <i>Eber</i> and <i>Nipsic</i> being nearest the shore. The -schooners and lighter craft were in the shoal water next to the fringing -reef on the west side of the harbor.</p> - -<p>The town is composed of cottages, built after the native pattern: low, -of elastic materials, and bound well together; so that the low houses, -swaying easily with the wind, are not so easily blown away as structures -of stiffer and more pretentious build. The American consulate, facing -the harbor, lies about the center of the town, with a long strip of -sandy beach before it.</p> - -<p>For some weeks the weather had been gloomy and capricious. The time of -the vernal equinox was at hand, and a low area storm of unusual violence -might be expected at any time. During the afternoon of March 15, the -wind began to increase: the war ships lowered their topmasts and secured -their spars; one or two prepared storm-sails for emergencies. The -anchors were all out, and steam was raised lest the anchors should not -hold.</p> - -<p>The wind increased steadily, blowing from the same quarter continuously. -Though the only recorded observations are at this one point, its -proximity to the equator, the steadiness of the wind and the length of -time it blew indicate a cyclonic tempest of unusual violence.</p> - -<p>By 11 <small>P.M.</small> the wind was a strong gale: not too strong in the harbor for -small boats, however; for the crews of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a>{199}</span> nearly all the schooners, -divining what was coming, put out their spare anchors and went ashore, -leaving the vessels to their fate. Mayhap the anchors would hold; but on -their lives they would take no risks.</p> - -<p>An hour later immense rollers were coming in from the ocean, finding the -coral reef only a partial check. Ordinarily a reef insures a harbor from -the force of the waves, and leaves only the direct fury of the winds to -be encountered. But the reef at Apia is a lower barrier than such -harbors usually possess, and may not be seen at high tide.</p> - -<p>At midnight, rain was falling. The wind still increased. The vessels -were pitching fearfully. At this time the <i>Eber</i>, nearest the shore, -began dragging her anchors, and was compelled to aid them with her -engines. At one o’clock the <i>Vandalia</i>, also, was compelled to use her -engines. Should the wind increase, their case was truly desperate.</p> - -<p>The rain poured in torrents; fiercer grew the gale. By three o’clock -every vessel in the harbor was dragging her anchors. There might be a -collision, or a wreck, at any time. Every able-bodied man was required, -that any emergency might be met. Neither officer nor private could think -of sleep.</p> - -<p>Those on shore realized the peril of the situation. Accustomed to heavy -gales, the natives slept soundly for a time in their low huts. At -length, the crash of falling trees and the tearing away of roofs began -to be heard in the storm. Little knots of people crept about in the -darkness, seeking shelter from the tempest. Sand and pebbles, gathered -up from the beach, were hurled by the wind with cutting force. The tide -was rising, and the gale brought it into the streets, a hundred feet -above the usual high water mark. The spray from the dashing surf sprang<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a>{200}</span> -high in the air, and beat into the windows of houses nearest the shore. -It was a memorable night.</p> - -<p>Long before dawn the natives were huddled in little groups about the -shore, gazing at the shifting lights of the tossing vessels. Their -houses were being wrecked, their crops and trees destroyed, but they -themselves were measurably safe. But those in the harbor!</p> - -<p>There was little need of conversation; and, indeed, did one wish to -speak to his neighbor, he was compelled to shout in his ear. As each -peered into his fellow’s face in the uncertain light, he saw the shadow -of a terrible fear and a desperate resolve that spoke plainer than any -words. Explanations were useless; that tacit understanding was enough. -For the time, thrones, principalities, feuds and hostilities were -forgotten. The followers of Tamasese and Mataafa were shoulder to -shoulder. No longer was there thought of the foeman who had exiled their -chief and bombarded their villages. Out in that seething caldron were -scores of human beings, battling for life with wind and wave. That was -enough.</p> - -<p>As the day drew near, the white men on the shore began to join the -little groups of natives. Through the gloom could be seen the lights of -the plunging ships, and ever and anon there came on the gale the sound -of shouted orders, like a distant echo. The wavering of the lights -showed that, despite steam and anchor, the vessels were slowly dragging -about, crossing and re-crossing each others’ paths. The breathless -watchers on the beach listened for the crash of collision that would be -the death-knell of scores of gallant marines. Some shielded their faces -with bits of tile, and endeavored to distinguish the position of the -respective ships. Less hopeful than the whites, the natives saw no -chance of escape. Which vessel would strike first? Would any be saved?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a>{201}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_201_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_201_sml.jpg" width="450" height="303" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>BOW OF THE EBER, CAST ASHORE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Between five and six o’clock, it began to grow light. The position of -the vessels was completely altered. Forced from their moorings, they -were drifting toward the inner reef. Each contended stubbornly with the -storm. Volumes of black smoke poured from the furnaces of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a>{202}</span> quivering -hulls. A number of the sailing vessels were already on the reef. -Fragments of wreckage began to be tossed ashore. The <i>Trenton</i> and -<i>Vandalia</i>, being farthest out in the harbor, were scarcely visible -through the mist and spray. The large iron hulls were tossed about like -corks. Wave after wave dashed over their decks. The men swarmed about -the masts and the lower rigging, clinging to anything they could grasp. -The <i>Eber</i>, <i>Adler</i> and <i>Nipsic</i> were within a few yards of each other -and close on the fatal reef. Each vessel seemed as though endowed with a -life of its own. They struggled like wild creatures; as the stag might -struggle in the clutch of a panther.</p> - -<p>The <i>Eber</i> slowly retreated toward the reef, contesting every inch. -Suddenly she paused, recovered, and dashed forward into the teeth of the -furious storm.</p> - -<p>It was her last desperate sally. The current bore her to the right. In a -moment she collided with the <i>Nipsic</i>, her bow carrying away a boat and -several feet of the post-quarter rail. Falling back, she fouled with the -<i>Olga</i>, and her rudder was carried away. This left her helpless. -Swinging broadside to the wind, she lay a few moments rolling heavily in -the trough of the sea. Over her deck the surf foamed and roared.</p> - -<p>At length, a gigantic wave lifted her up and hurled her with awful force -upon the reef. Striking fairly on her keel, she heeled over toward the -sea. No further trace of her was seen. Every timber must have been -shattered. Doubtless more of her crew were crushed than were drowned.</p> - -<p>The horror-stricken natives, accustomed to the sea from infancy, dashed -into the surf, struggling with death for the lives of their late -oppressors. They were but savages; they knew no better.</p> - -<p>For a few moments, not a hand was raised from the site<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a>{203}</span> of the wreck. At -length, a few faintly struggling forms appeared in the surf. They were -grasped by eager hands, and safely reached the shore. Another was seen -clinging to the piling of a small wharf, beaten half senseless by the -furious waves. He was drawn ashore. It was a handsome boyish-faced -lieutenant, the sole surviving officer. Out of a total force of -seventy-six men and officers on the <i>Eber</i>, five only were saved. The -young lieutenant was the officer of the watch at the time of the wreck. -The others were all below, and must have been crushed to death. This -occurred about six o’clock in the morning.</p> - -<p>Finding no other survivors, those on shore turned to the remaining -vessels once more. Their position had changed again. The situation -rapidly grew more perilous.</p> - -<p>The <i>Adler</i> had fouled with the <i>Olga</i>, and was close on the reef, some -two hundred yards from where the <i>Eber</i> struck, and like it, was -approaching the shore broadside on. The suspense was prolonged and -painful. For nearly half an hour she lay thus swept by the waves.</p> - -<p>Finally, a huge roller tossed her on top of the reef and turned her over -on her side, throwing those on deck into the water. They struggled to -regain the vessel; those who succeeded clung to guns, tackling, spars -and masts; but twenty were drowned. The vessel lay with her keel to the -sea and nearly her entire hull out of water; so those who clung to the -rigging were fairly protected.</p> - -<p>During the day the natives succeeded in getting a line to the wreck, and -a number of the sailors escaped. But the line parted while some were -still on the vessel, and could not be replaced. The remainder of the -crew clung to the wreck through all that terrible day and night, and -were finally gotten off when at the verge of exhaustion.</p> - -<p>While the <i>Adler</i> was drifting toward the reef, the <i>Nipsic</i> was -battling with fearful odds. Facing the wind, she was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a>{204}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_204_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_204_sml.jpg" width="450" height="297" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE ADLER ON THE REEF.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a>{205}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">nevertheless dragging her three anchors, and receding toward the reef.</p> - -<p>But her chief danger lay in another source. The gigantic <i>Olga</i>, which -had crippled the two vessels already wrecked, threatened to crush her -also. While the <i>Nipsic</i> endeavored by skillful use of steam and rudder -to avoid the <i>Olga</i>, a little schooner, the <i>Lily</i>, fell in her way and -was cut down in an instant. There were but three men on board; two of -whom succeeded in reaching the <i>Olga</i>.</p> - -<p>Just then it occurred to the commander of the <i>Nipsic</i> to reinforce the -anchors by attaching a hawser to one of the heavy eight-inch rifles and -casting it overboard. Ere this was accomplished the <i>Olga</i> struck her a -terrible blow directly amidships. Her smoke-stack was overturned and -fell on the deck with a terrible crash. One of her boats was carried -away and the rail splintered. No one at first knew the extent of the -damage. The frightened crew clambered into the rigging, thinking the -ship was sinking. The lumbering smoke-stack dashed from side to side -with the roll of the ship.</p> - -<p>It was a frightful moment. Only a few yards away the <i>Eber</i> had -disappeared. The <i>Nipsic</i> had swung around and was rapidly nearing the -spot. Only promptness and most skillful management saved her officers -and crew from the fate of the <i>Eber</i>.</p> - -<p>Captain Mullane was on the bridge at the time, and took in the situation -in an instant. With the smoke-stack gone it would be impossible to keep -up steam; without steam the reef could not be avoided. At once the -smoke-stack was chocked to prevent its rolling about the deck, and -orders were given to beach the ship while a small head of steam was -still available. Two hundred yards away lay the sandy beach before the -American consulate.</p> - -<p>A great throng awaited anxiously the result of this<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a>{206}</span> manœuvre. The -vessel’s course was parallel to the terrible reef, and but a few feet -from it. Her crew were gathered about the bow, and those on shore -recognized many a familiar face or personal friend in the driving spray, -on whom they might be looking for the last time. One or two of the crew -had been on shore during the night, and now stood watching the fate of -their comrades.</p> - -<p>Barely escaping the reef, the steamer plunged into the sand a few yards -from the shore, and swung around diagonally to the storm. The breakers -dashed furiously upon her stern, and it seemed as though she would be -beaten to pieces in an instant. Those who escaped must do so at once.</p> - -<p>Five sailors dashed into a boat; but the falls did not work properly, -and one end of the boat dropped. The men fell into the sea and were -drowned. The surgeon and five sick men were placed in another boat: no -sooner launched than capsized. But the natives had formed a chain by -grasping each others hands; and dashing into surf where a white man -would have perished at once, they seized the men and passed them to the -shore. Several of those on the <i>Nipsic</i> took advantage of the -opportunity and sprang overboard. But two of these were lost.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, all those remaining on board had crowded into the forecastle. -The natives in the surf, under the direction of two of their chiefs, -Seumanu Tafa and Salu Anae, had succeeded in getting lines to the -vessels, and double hawsers were quickly stretched to the shore. Scores -of eager hands were outstretched to assist in the work. The waves broke -high on the beach, and the undertow was so strong that even the natives -narrowly escaped being carried out into the bay. The white men on shore -scarcely dared venture into the surf. The rain poured more heavily. The -clouds of flying sand grew thicker and more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a>{207}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_207_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_207_sml.jpg" width="450" height="280" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SAMOANS SAVING THE LIVES OF AMERICAN SAILORS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a>{208}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">cutting. The hoarse shouts of the officers mingled with the roar of the -storm, and the stricken vessel quivered in every fibre. Fragments of -wreckage were ever and anon hurled amongst those in the surf. The gloom -of the awful tempest combined with all these things to produce a tableau -of chaos itself.</p> - -<p>Yet, throughout the whole fearful scene, the natives never faltered, but -sang and shouted words of encouragement to each other as they stood at -their chosen posts. The white men on shore rendered all the aid in their -power; but the posts of danger and need were filled by the natives. An -eye-witness of the scene says:</p> - -<p>“To one who saw the noble work of those men during the storm, it is a -cause of wonder that they should be called savages by more enlightened -races. There seemed to be no instinct of the savage in a man who could -rush into that boiling torrent of water that broke upon the reef, and -place his own life in peril to save the helpless drowning men of a -foreign country.</p> - -<p>“While the Americans and Germans were treated alike, it was plain that -their sympathies were with the Americans, and they redoubled their -efforts when they saw an opportunity to aid the men who represented a -country which had insisted that their native government should not be -interfered with by a foreign power.”</p> - -<p>The coolness of Captain Mullane had mastered the frightened crew. There -was no longer confusion. The officers stood by the rail and directed the -movements of the men. Time after time the rolling billows dashed the men -from the hawser; but the gallant natives succeeded in saving all. By -eight o’clock the <i>Nipsic</i> was deserted. The three smallest of the war -ships were wrecked.</p> - -<p>The four large men-of-war were well out in the harbor, and for the time -measurably safe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a>{209}</span></p> - -<p>But near ten o’clock, the situation became alarming again. Masses of -floating wreckage struck the <i>Trenton</i>, as it was lifted by a heavy -wave, and carried away the rudder and propeller. Her anchors, unaided, -would not keep her from the reef, or from fouling with the other vessels -in the harbor.</p> - -<p>The <i>Vandalia</i> and the <i>Calliope</i> were drifting toward the wreck of the -<i>Adler</i>. As the <i>Vandalia</i> endeavored to steam away, the iron prow of -the Englishman arose high in the air and fell with full force upon the -<i>Vandalia’s</i> port-quarter. The <i>Calliope</i> lost her jib-boom, and the -heavy timbers of the <i>Vandalia</i> were shivered. Every man near the point -of the collision was thrown from his feet by the shock. Water was -rushing through a great rent in the cabin. It seemed that the <i>Vandalia</i> -had received her death blow. The frightened men swarmed from the -hatches, but presently returned to their posts.</p> - -<p>At this crisis the Englishman essayed a bold manœuvre. Seeing that to -remain where he was would be, in a few more moments, ruin to the -<i>Vandalia</i>, he resolved to take all risks himself, and letting go all -anchors, swung around to the wind and endeavored to put to sea. For a -moment the vessel seemed stationary. Then the tremendous power of the -propeller began to tell, and the vessel moved slowly forward in the -teeth of the storm. Volumes of smoke poured from her funnels, and the -ship groaned in every timber. Gradually it became clear that she could -escape from the harbor.</p> - -<p>This is one of the most daring feats in the naval annals. It was the one -desperate chance to save the <i>Calliope</i> and her crew from certain death. -An accident to the machinery at this moment, or a slight change in the -direction of the wind as she neared the narrow gate-way of the harbor, -would have been fatal. Down in the fire room, the men<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a>{210}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 308px;"> -<a href="images/i_210_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_210_sml.jpg" width="308" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE CALLIOPE PUTTING TO SEA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a>{211}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">worked as they never had before. The <i>Trenton</i> lay close to the reef, -and the <i>Calliope</i> was compelled to pass between the two. The flagship’s -fires were out, and she could do nothing to save herself. Every man felt -that a few moments longer would find him a grave in the coral reef. -Those on shore were watching with intensest anxiety.</p> - -<p>Just then a strange sound came, borne on the wind; a wild ringing cry -from the four hundred and fifty on board the <i>Trenton</i>. The Americans -were cheering the <i>Calliope</i>. Expecting death for themselves, they -rejoiced that their friends might yet escape, and the heart of every -Englishman went out to the brave Americans who gave their parting -tribute to the Queen’s ship.</p> - -<p>There is something peculiarly touching in this incident. It is far above -the <i>morituri te salutamus</i> of the gladiator in the arena. It was an -expression of immortal courage; the dying saluting the victor; the -doomed saluting the saved; manhood distressed greeting manhood -triumphant. The English seamen returned the cry. The <i>Calliope</i> safely -reached the sea. Her commander afterward said: “Those ringing cheers of -the American flagship pierced deep into my heart, and I will ever -remember that mighty outburst of fellow-feeling, which I felt came from -the bottom of the hearts of the gallant admiral and his crew. Every man -on board the <i>Calliope</i> felt as I did; it made us work to win. I can -only say, God bless America and her noble sailors.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the <i>Vandalia</i>, seeing her doom certain, endeavored to reach -the beach, but being a much larger vessel than the <i>Nipsic</i>, she could -not come so near the shore. A blow from a terrific wave in the night had -hurled the captain across his cabin and so injured him that he was -unable to control his vessel. His executive officer, Carlin, was in -command, but the captain stood by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a>{212}</span> his side to the last. Carlin’s -coolness and nerve were wonderful. He had been on duty thirty -consecutive hours, and had not tasted food all that time.</p> - -<p>In order to reach the beach, the <i>Vandalia</i> was compelled to execute the -same perilous feat that had been performed three hours before by the -<i>Nipsic</i>. Slipping her anchors, she crowded on all steam and skirted the -edge of the reef, finally dashing into the soft sand two hundred yards -from the shore and eighty yards from the stern of the <i>Nipsic</i>. The -engines were stopped and the fires put out; all hands were ordered on -deck, and the vessel swung around broadside to the waves.</p> - -<p>At first, her position being supposed safe, it was thought the two -hundred and forty men on board might well remain until the storm was -over. The men were scattered about the deck and forecastle, clinging to -the guns, the masts, rigging and sides of the ship. Within half an hour -her real danger became apparent; she wallowed lower and lower in the -yielding sand; more and more frequently the seas dashed over her, -flooding the hatchways with water. Her boats were dashed from the davits -and torn to pieces. It was attempted to fire lines to the shore, but all -her powder was ruined. The spray and mist arose in such masses from the -sides of the ship, that those on shore could hardly distinguish her -position.</p> - -<p>At this moment a brave sailor volunteered to swim through the surf with -a line, in the hope that his comrades might be rescued. It was a -perilous task, as the water was filled with floating wreckage. Fastening -a cord to his body, he sprang overboard; an immense wave hurled him -against the side of the vessel and struck him senseless. He was drowned -almost within touch of his comrades. Gradually the men were driven from -the gun-deck. By noon it was under water. The heavy billows that swept<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a>{213}</span> -over the ship lifted the men from their feet and hurled them against the -sides. The salt water intensified the pain of their bruises. Soon all of -the men sought refuge in the rigging, and a few officers only remained -on the poop-deck. The waves grew more violent.</p> - -<p>For once the bold men on shore were powerless. No boat could live in the -surf, and there was no firing apparatus on shore, that a line might be -conveyed to the vessel. The scores on the land were desperate, but the -<i>Vandalia’s</i> doom was sealed.</p> - -<p>Finally, they resolved on bolder efforts than had hitherto been made. -Three natives fastened a cord to their bodies, and, passing around the -side of the bay a quarter of a mile above the wrecked war ship, -endeavored to take advantage of the powerful current setting toward the -shore, and so reach the vessel. Powerful swimmers as they were, they -were hurled to the beach without being able to get within one hundred -yards of the vessel. Urged by their chief to try again, effort after -effort was made, but without success.</p> - -<p>Seeing no other chance, those on the <i>Vandalia</i> one by one dropped into -the sea, in the faint hope that they might yet reach the land in safety. -Some succeeded in reaching the wreck of the <i>Nipsic</i>, only a short -distance away, but many were too weak to draw themselves up to its deck. -As they clung to the ropes, the violence of the waves, in some cases, -tore the clothing from their bodies.</p> - -<p>The captain, sick and feeble, was growing weaker every moment. The brave -Carlin stood by him endeavoring to hold him on, and speaking words of -encouragement. He had not sufficient strength left to clamber into the -rigging and refused a life preserver, insisting that it should be given -to some of the others. At length an immense roller plunged toward the -vessel, and the captain bent forward<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a>{214}</span> to receive the shock. A heavy -machine gun was torn from its fastening and hurled full upon the -captain. His body passed overboard and was never more seen.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_214_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_214_sml.jpg" width="450" height="310" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE BOW OF THE SUNKEN VANDALIA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>One by one others of the officers were beaten from the deck. The -suffering was not only with those on the vessel. The brave fellows who -labored on the shore and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a>{215}</span> the surf were cut and bruised by flying -sand and the floating fragments. Exposure to the sea water was making -them stiff and sore. The natives sought occasional shelter and rest -behind an up-turned boat or the masses of drift, and then returned to -the battle.</p> - -<p>Finally, as by common consent, nearly all of those left in the rigging -dropped into the sea. It was an easy matter to reach the <i>Nipsic</i>, and a -few succeeded in clambering to her deck; but many were too weak and -exhausted to hold on long enough to receive assistance from their -comrades, and too far off to be reached by the natives.</p> - -<p>By three o’clock the hull of the <i>Vandalia</i> had almost disappeared. A -few men were still in the rigging, lying exhausted on the small -platforms or clinging to the rat-lines or yards with the desperation of -dying men, expecting every moment to be their last. Their arms and limbs -were bruised and swollen and cut by holding on the rough ropes. For -twenty-four hours they had been without food, and cold and exposure were -doing their work. At this moment the rear of the <i>Nipsic</i> swung to the -sea, so that but fifty yards separated the two vessels. A successful -effort was made to stretch a line between the two; but before all in the -fore-rigging could be rescued, the line parted and could not be -replaced.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the <i>Trenton</i>, without steam or rudder, lay with her head to -the wind, while volumes of water dashed through the hawse-pipes and -flooded the engine room. Had the vessel gone down suddenly, none below -could have escaped. They stood at their posts till waist deep in the -water and the fires were extinct. The berth-deck was flooded. Lieut. -Allen and a portion of the men made repeated efforts to close the -hawse-pipes, but the force of the waves tore away every plug. Still they -labored on, far beneath the decks, momentarily expecting the last.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a>{216}</span></p> - -<p>The admiral and his officers stood on the bridge directing the movements -of the vessel. When almost on the eastern shoals a bold coup was -suggested by Lieut. Brown. Every man was ordered into the port-rigging, -and the compact mass of bodies was used as a sail. The vessel was -brought into the center of the bay again. Then she commenced to drift -back toward the <i>Olga</i>, which had been holding up in the gale more -successfully than any of the other vessels. The stars and stripes were -flung to the breeze. If she were doomed, she would go down with flying -colors. The <i>Olga</i> endeavored to steam out of the way, but her bow -struck the starboard quarter of the flagship, shivering the heavy -timbers, carrying away several boats, and throwing the flag to the deck. -Again it was flung from the mast-head. The <i>Olga</i> reached the mud-flat -on the east side of the harbor. Not a life was lost, and a few weeks -later the vessel was hauled off and saved.</p> - -<p>The struggle of the <i>Trenton</i> was almost ended. It was five o’clock and -daylight was fading as the immense war ship bore down upon the -<i>Vandalia</i>. When she struck the latter, all would be over.</p> - -<p>That was a memorable scene. The night was coming on the wings of the -storm. Those in the <i>Vandalia’s</i> main-top still clung, bruised and -bleeding. Their eyes were blinded by the salty spray. They looked on the -black waters below knowing they had no strength for further battle with -the waves. The final hour was upon them. The great black hull of the -<i>Trenton</i> could be seen through the gloom, about to dash upon the -stranded vessel and grind her to atoms. Those on the beach ceased their -efforts in despair, and stood waiting the last act of the tragedy.</p> - -<p>At this moment there came over the waves a renewal of the wild cheer of -the morning. Four hundred and fifty voices were heard above the roar of -the storm, “Three<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a>{217}</span> cheers for the <i>Vandalia</i>!” A cheer in the morning -had animated the British; perhaps another cheer now would encourage the -despairing seamen of the <i>Vandalia</i> to hold on a little longer. A -response went up, feeble, quavering and uncertain, so faint it was -scarcely heard by those on shore. With death staring them in the face, -they sent up a cheer for the flagship; a cheer more pathetic than any -lamentation. That was the saddest cry ever heard. Every heart on shore -was melted to pity. “God help them!” they murmured.</p> - -<p>Darkness hid the scene. The last cheer had died away. As those on shore -listened for the crash, another strange sound came up from the deep. It -was a wild burst of music in defiance of the storm. The <i>Trenton’s</i> band -was playing the “Star Spangled Banner.” Never before had the thousand -men on sea and shore heard such strains at a time like that. The -feelings of the Americans on the beach were indescribable. The power of -the music vied with the howling of the storm.</p> - -<p>Men who during that awful day had exhausted every means of rendering -some assistance to their comrades, now seemed inspired to greater -effort. They dashed at the surf like wild creatures; but they were -powerless. There was nothing left for them to do but wait; and, if they -dared, to hope.</p> - -<p>The <i>Trenton</i> proved the <i>Vandalia’s</i> salvation. She bore lightly -against her without a shock, and swung around in the sand broadside to -the sunken ship. Those who remained quickly escaped to the <i>Trenton’s</i> -deck.</p> - -<p>By ten o’clock the beach was deserted, and all that tempest or man could -do had been done. A few watchers patrolled the beach all night in hope -of rescuing some one who might not have escaped to the <i>Trenton</i>. But -one person was found—a young ensign.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a>{218}</span></p> - -<p>One hundred and forty-four persons had perished. Ninety-one were from -the German vessels; fifty-one from the Americans; two from a little -trading schooner. Not more than one-third of the bodies were recovered.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_218_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_218_sml.jpg" width="450" height="274" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>AFTER THE STORM: TRENTON IN THE FOREGROUND; VANDALIA’S -BOW IN RIGHT CENTER; OLGA IN THE DISTANCE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The storm died away. It was a strange scene which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a>{219}</span> the morning sun -beheld. The shore was strewn with drifted wreck. The shattered schooners -lay about the reef. The streets were crossed with fallen trees, and -roofless houses stood amid the groves. A fragment of the <i>Eber’s</i> bow -was high upon the beach. Far up the western reef the <i>Adler</i> lay. The -<i>Olga</i> stood unharmed upon the eastern shoal. Before the consulate, the -<i>Nipsic</i> was fast in the sand. Only the bow of the <i>Vandalia’s</i> hull -could be seen. By her side was the <i>Trenton</i>, grand though in ruin. And -above the desolation floated the Star Spangled Banner, triumphant over -the storm.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a>{220}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /><br /> -<small>ELECTRIC STORMS.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i8">“Far along,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From peak to peak the rattling crags among,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Leaps the live thunder! Not from one lone cloud,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But every mountain now hath found a tongue,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And Jura answers through her misty shroud,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And this is in the night:—Most glorious night!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thou wert not sent for slumber! let me be<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A sharer in thy fierce and far delight,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A portion of the tempest and of thee!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How the lit lake shines, a phosphoric sea,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the big rain comes dancing to the earth!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And now again ’tis black—and now, the glee,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of the loud hills shakes with its mountain mirth,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As if they did rejoice o’er a young earthquake’s birth.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_w.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="55" -height="40" -alt="W" /></span>HO has not quailed before the storm? Few, indeed, are they whose -spirits kindle with the flash of the lightning, and joy in the roar of -the thunder, that fills the heavens like the voice of many waters. Bold -is the heart that in such scenes can mount with a Byron, and say to the -Avernian gloom that wraps the frightened world,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i12">“Let me be<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A portion of the tempest and of thee!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Only that fiery, untameable spirit, fearless of man or demon, dare so -approach the King of the Storm, or pat the mane of Ocean in his wrath. A -thousand plaudits has he won—but not a follower: for when the lightning -flames and roars, the cheering rabble slink away in fear, nor dare to -emulate that genius, strange and wild as chaos as itself.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a>{221}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_221_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_221_sml.jpg" width="450" height="283" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE LYSE FIORD.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a>{222}</span></p> - -<p>The fear of the tempest belongs to every age. The ancient Greeks, from -whom the Romans borrowed and modified the myth, told how Hephaistos -toiled in his volcanic forge to form the bolts of Zeus, great father of -gods and men. These flaming weapons could none oppose. By them -rebellious giants were overturned. And the bold Goth, rugged and -vigorous, heard the voice of the war-god, Thor, shout to him:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Mine eyes are the lightning,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The wheels of my chariot<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Roll in the thunder!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The Arab saw the wild combat of genii, whom the great Solomon had not -subdued. Woe to the luckless wight who should arouse their ill-will! The -Arabian Nights tell us of a contest between one of these spirits of fire -and a beautiful princess, versed in magic. The swarthy Moor beheld the -hand of God, waving on his angels to contest with the hosts of evil: and -the same idea of wild combat in the spirit world is found in the myths -of the Caribs and Lapps. In the Hindoo cosmogony, the lightning and -storm are the chief weapons of Siva, the destroyer, who will one day -blot the world out of existence. Only in the red man’s tales do we find -the idea of the Christian world, of one Great Spirit who rules all -nature. In the Persian mythology, lightning and gloom represent the -contest between the forces of Ahriman, prince of evil, and Ormuzd, the -great creator and preserver of good. And among the old Etruscans, from -whom the Romans borrowed many rites and ceremonies, the lightning was -one of the chief objects in their system of augury and divination. A -favorable flash of lightning outweighed all portents of ill. The thunder -was the voice of the gods, communicating their will to men.</p> - -<p>And so the ancients were content to pass the mystery<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a>{223}</span> by, unsolved. Now -and then a Pliny, a Seneca, an Aristotle, ventured a timid speculation -upon the origin and cause of lightning, but as electricity was an -unknown force to them, their conjectures were as wild as the chimærical -tales of Cimmerian darkness in ultra-Scythian realms, or of the Utopian -haven of bliss, where the Hyperboreans dwelt. But one of their various -conjectures is worthy of note, as it contains an element of truth. It -was, that the lightning was produced by mutual friction or violent -concussion of the clouds.</p> - -<p>Since electricity has been recognized as the agent in the phenomena of -thunder storms, inquiry as to whether it is a cause or a result of the -formation of clouds, has produced evidence in favor of the latter fact -(though clouds differently charged have mutual attraction for each -other), for rapid motion of gases may be made to generate electricity. A -natural sequence would be that thunder storms are most violent where -clouds are heaviest. Hence, thunder storms are naturally most frequent -and violent in the tropics, where the greater heat produces immense -masses of vapor. and are unknown in the polar world, where the -comparative dryness of the atmosphere is unfavorable. The unusual amount -of electricity in dense clouds in rapid motion is shown by the -tremendous electrical displays attendant upon tornadoes and cyclones. -Another illustration of lightning resulting from cloud agency, rather -than controlling them, may be found in the cloudless Sahara, where -evidences of electricity are sometimes to be observed in the time of the -Khamsin, while the thunder storm is unknown. One notable exception to -the rule that thunder storms are violent and frequent in all tropical -regions is to be found in Peru, with its cloudless skies and eternal -sun, where a rainfall or a thunder storm would be as great a curiosity -as a palm tree at the north pole. The mere<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a>{224}</span> fact of elevation renders -the thunder storm more violent in mountainous regions, in both temperate -and tropical worlds.</p> - -<p>Knowing the character of this mysterious power, we may not enter upon a -lengthy discussion of the changes, chemical, physical and otherwise, -that may be produced by it. Within the scope of this work, only its rank -as an agent of destruction and a historical factor may be considered. Is -electricity to be greatly feared? to be put on a par with the flood, the -hurricane, and the earthquake? Has it ever figured in the history of -nations sufficiently to directly affect their destinies?</p> - -<p>The first and most familiar aspect of its power is the thunder storm, -which needs not a word of description. It results merely from the -discharges passing between two bodies oppositely charged. There is one -comparatively rare form of lightning, in which it appears as a globe of -fire slowly descending, with wayward and unexpected dashes to the side, -sometimes coming down a chimney and playing about the floor like a -kitten, much to the discomfiture of the inmates, till it at length -explodes with immense force, hurling zig-zag lightnings all about. This -peculiar freak, several times observed, is as yet unexplained.</p> - -<p>The lightning seems throughout most civilized nations to be the most -dreaded of all natural agencies, if we may judge from the many -precautions taken against it. And in truth it is a terrific power, -cleaving the hardest rocks, rending the mighty oak, and fusing the most -refractory substances. Darting into the soil it frequently forms tubes -of vitreous appearance by fusing the earth and stones as it passes. The -writer has seen masses of straw fused in the same way. And when we -remember that French savants have, with the most powerful of batteries -been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a>{225}</span> able to produce tubes only an inch in length and one-fiftieth of -an inch in diameter by passing shocks through powdered glass, we may -well stand in awe at the terrible power that produces tubes thirty feet -long and four inches in diameter in the far more obstinate feldspar and -quartz.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_225_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_225_sml.jpg" width="450" height="321" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>IDEAL SUBTERRANEAN STORM.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>There are numerous cases of death by lightning; but the instances in -which more than one person has been killed by a flash are comparatively -rare. The freaks played far outdo those of the wind, and puzzle the -wisest. March 20, 1784, about four hundred people were assembled in the -theatre at Mantua, when lightning struck the building, and killed two -persons, injuring ten. But many who were not hurt found the bolt had -melted their watch-keys, earrings, and split diamonds they were wearing. -How such feats could be performed without in the least harming the -possessors is a mystery.</p> - -<p>June 11, 1819, while a large assembly were attending<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a>{226}</span> divine services in -the church of Chateau Neuf les Montiers, in France, lightning struck the -building, killing nine persons and wounding eighty-two. In 1715 the -lightning fell into the abbey of Noirmoutiers, near Tours, and killed -twenty-two horses, but did no further harm to the one hundred and fifty -monks at supper than to turn over their one hundred and fifty bottles of -wine. In 1855, lightning struck a flock of sheep in France, killing -seventy-eight of them and two dogs, and sparing the old shepherdess. A -French author relates the case of a priest who was killed by lightning, -while the horse on which he rode was unhurt, and quietly continued -homeward with the stiffened corpse. A somewhat similar case has come -within the knowledge of the writer: a man on horseback being killed, and -the saddle perforated; yet the horse remained apparently unhurt. I -remember another instance of a man who was struck, and escaped unharmed; -but one of his boots was torn to shreds and some of the hobnails melted: -and I myself have been struck upon the foot, with no other result than a -peculiar numbness, lasting nearly half an hour.</p> - -<p>In many instances a livid streak is the only mark left upon the dead -body; and again it may be torn almost to atoms; while in some cases not -the slightest trace is perceptible. The greater number fall in the first -class. In 1838, some cattle were killed by lightning near Nymnegen, in -Holland. Their bones were shattered to a thousand fragments, as though -by nitro-glycerine; while externally there was no particular token -visible. Some sheep killed in Bohemia, in 1718, were similarly served. -The fragments of bone were driven so thoroughly throughout the flesh -that the carcasses were unfit for food.</p> - -<p>In 1869, the mayor of Pradette, France, was killed by lightning, and all -his clothes, with the exception of one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a>{227}</span> shoe, were torn from the body. -“August 11, 1855, a man was struck by lightning on a road near -Vallerois, and entirely divested of his raiment, only a few remnants of -which could afterwards be found. Ten minutes after the stroke he was -restored to consciousness, complained of the cold, and asked how he came -to be without any clothing. No doubt, he would have more easily consoled -himself for the loss of his apparel had he known of the case reported by -Sestier, of a man whose whole right side was burnt, as if he had been -held for some time over a fire-pan, while his shirt, his drawers and the -rest of his dress bore no marks whatever of combustion.” Sometimes the -clothing is found unstitched; again, it is burnt, and again, in some -mysterious manner, seems to be annihilated.</p> - -<p>Prof. Tyndall relates his sensations upon having a powerful electric -discharge pass through him: “Life was absolutely blotted out for a very -sensible interval, without a trace of pain. In a second or so -consciousness returned. * * * The <i>intellectual</i> consciousness of my -position was restored with singular rapidity, but not so the <i>optical</i> -consciousness. * * * The appearance which my body presented to myself -was that of a number of separate pieces. The arms, for example, were -detached from the trunk and suspended in the air. In fact, memory and -the power of reasoning appeared to be complete long before the optic -nerve was restored to healthy action. But what I wish chiefly to dwell -upon here, is the absolute painlessness of the shock; and there can not -be a doubt that to a person struck dead by lightning the passage from -life to death occurs without consciousness being in the least degree -implicated. It is an abrupt stoppage of sensation, unaccompanied by a -pang.”</p> - -<p>There is another class of peculiar freaks performed by this subtle -force, which the following instances illustrate.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a>{228}</span> Prof. Perty tells of a -thunder storm in Switzerland, when “the lightning sprang from a pear -tree upon the verandah of a house, where it killed a boy and wounded his -mother. The pear tree and the house were burned down. On the arm of the -wounded woman a remarkably elegant impression of twigs and leaves, like -a photographic copy of part of the pear tree, was found.”</p> - -<p>There are several cases noted of persons sitting near windows when -lightning flashing near by has produced an exact likeness of the person, -as though engraved on the glass.</p> - -<p>“In 1825 the lightning fell upon the brigantine <i>El Buon Servo</i>, which -lay at anchor in the bay of Armiro, at the mouth of the Adriatic Sea. -The superstitious Ionian sailors generally fasten a horseshoe to the -foremasts of their ships, probably fancying that this simple means -affords them protection against the evil intentions of wizards and -witches. Of course, the <i>Buon Servo</i> was not without its horseshoe. -Antonio Teodoro, of Scarpanto, was sitting near the mast, when it was -struck by lightning. He was killed at once. No marks of combustion were -found on his body, nor were his clothes torn; but on his back was found -the distinct impression of a horseshoe of the same size as that which -was nailed to the mast.”</p> - -<p>In the records of the Academy of Sciences, we find that “the Signora -Morosa, a lady of Lugano, who sat near a window during a thunder storm, -received a shock which did her no further injury; but a flower which -stood in the passage of the electric fluid was distinctly pictured on -her thigh.” She carried the mark to her grave.</p> - -<p>Lightning is one of the most useful purifiers of the atmosphere. There -can be no doubt that large quantities of noxious exhalations are -destroyed by electrical discharges. Its beneficial effects in this -respect have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a>{229}</span> long noted. “Both Hippocrates and Galenus remark that -the water which falls during a thunder storm is more healthy to drink -than that which proceeds from a uniformly clouded sky: and Plutarch -mentions that the rain from a thunder cloud is considered as more -favorable to vegetation, and communicates to plants a particular -flavor.” There are also on record a number of instances in which persons -long in poor health, on receiving light shocks, have greatly improved in -health and appearance. Similar results have been noticed in plant life. -Doubtless such cases as these gave rise to the belief of the ancients, -that to be struck by lightning was to be favored by the gods.</p> - -<p>This opinion was especially noted in the case of Mithridates. Slightly -wounded in the forehead by lightning when a child, he escaped unhurt -later in life, when his sword was totally destroyed. These facts caused -him to be held in superstitious fear by the Romans. And Quintus Julius -Eburnus became consul, B. C., mainly because of a similar mark of divine -favor. Those who were killed by a flash were believed to be not subject -to decay, and were robed in white and buried where they fell. So also -those whose tombs lightning struck were peculiarly honored of Heaven. -Lord Byron alludes to this in his stanza upon the bust of Ariosto on the -poet’s tomb at Ferrara, which had been struck by lightning:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The lightning rent from Ariosto’s bust<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The iron crown of laurel’s mimicked leaves,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Nor was the ominous element unjust,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For the true laurel wreath which glory weaves<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Is of the tree no bolt of thunder cleaves,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the false semblance but disgraced his brow;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Yet, still, if fondly superstition grieves,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Know, that the lightning sanctifies below<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Whate’er it strikes—yon head is doubly sacred now.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The identification of electricity with lightning is a comparatively -recent occurrence. The story of Benjamin<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a>{230}</span> Franklin, patron saint of the -devout lightning-rod agent, is too familiar to require repetition. Yet, -the idea was first broached in the latter part of the seventeenth -century by two students of the new force, more than fifty years before -Franklin’s experiments.</p> - -<p>Thunder clouds usually float from two thousand to five thousand feet -from the earth; but there is one case on record of two priests being -killed by lightning from a cloud only thirty yards from the ground; -while another thunder storm is noted as having occurred eighteen -thousand feet from the earth. As sound travels about one thousand and -ninety feet per second, any one may ascertain the distance of a flash by -noting the time that elapses ere the thunder is heard. All existing -records fail to tell of thunder heard more than four miles; while the -cannonading at Paris in 1871 could be heard one hundred and five miles; -and Waterloo could be heard one hundred and fifty miles.</p> - -<p>The action of lightning is instantaneous, and when near by the report is -at first a single sharp crack; but it is always followed by a long -rolling, so characteristic that every name given the thunder in a -measure endeavors to imitate it. The reason of the continued roll from a -single flash is simple, and is to be found in the fact that a flash -usually travels several miles; and as sound travels as stated above, the -sounds generated at different distances come to the ear in rapid -succession, resulting in a continuous roar.</p> - -<p>As the flash is due merely to the attraction between two bodies charged -with opposite kinds of electricity, the discharge may pass either up or -down. Cases are on record of persons on a mountain side being killed by -lightning from a cloud below them, and of people on the ground killed by -lightning dashing from them toward the sky.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a>{231}</span></p> - -<p>Among the more notable fatalities resulting from lightning may be -mentioned the terrible thunder storm of 1793, at Buenos Ayres, when the -lightning struck thirty-seven times within the city, and killed nineteen -people. A number of persons were killed on June 18, 1872, in England, at -different places; and numerous others perished within the month from -similar discharges.</p> - -<p>Electricity seems to kill by destroying nervous power. Cardanus tells of -eight reapers being killed while taking their meal under an oak. When -the witnesses of the occurrence ran to the spot, they saw a strange -sight. The victims “seemed to be still busy with their frugal repast. -One of them held his glass, another was putting some bread into his -mouth, a third had his hand in the dish. The angel of death had struck -them so violently that the whole surface of their bodies bore the marks -of his black wings. They seemed so many statues sculptured in black -marble.”</p> - -<p>“In another case where ten reapers were killed under a hedge, one of -them had a dog on his knee at the time when he was struck. The -unfortunate man was caressing with one hand his little companion, and -with the other giving him a piece of bread. Both master and dog were -merely inert masses of rigid muscle and stiffened sinew, and yet the -bread was still held by the lifeless hand. The dog, with his mouth -expressively open, seemed still to beg for the proffered morsel.”</p> - -<p>A peasant woman in the suburbs of Nancy was struck while gathering -flowers. She was found standing, holding in her hand the daisy she had -been plucking. A French soldier took refuge under a tree during a storm; -a peasant sheltered himself in a copse near by. The soldier was killed -by lightning. The storm over, the peasant crept out and called to the -soldier to come on. Receiving no answer, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a>{232}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 303px;"> -<a href="images/i_232_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_232_sml.jpg" width="303" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HARVESTERS KILLED BY LIGHTNING.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a>{233}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">went up and touched the erect, motionless figure. It at once melted -away. Only a little dust remained. A similar result occurred not long -since in a powerful electric light plant. A large rat endeavored to -cross some of the machinery, and at once became rigid, as though an -image of stone. One of the employes, taking a stick, endeavored to push -the carcass off; it at once disappeared in a cloud of impalpable dust.</p> - -<p>Terrible results have followed from lightning striking into powder -magazines. August 18, 1769, the powder vault in the tower of St. -Nazaire, at Brescia, was struck. The explosion destroyed one-sixth of -the city completely, and damaged all buildings more or less. Three -thousand persons were killed, while the property ruined amounted to over -$3,000,000. June 26, 1807, the lightning struck a magazine in the -fortress of the Luxembourg, ruining the lower town, and killing or -wounding two hundred and thirty people. In 1856 the powder vaults in the -church of St. John, in the island of Rhodes were struck. More than two -hundred people were instantly killed.</p> - -<p>The lightning often shows in itself a sort of explosive power. Every one -is familiar with the blasting of trees, and the throwing of fragments to -a great distance. Some unusually violent effects of this class have been -noticed. In 1762, stones weighing one hundred and fifty pounds, were -flung from a church in Cornwall, to a distance of one hundred and eighty -feet. In the Shetland Isles, during the last century, a rock of mica -schist, one hundred and five feet long, ten feet broad, and from three -to five feet thick, was in an instant torn by a flash of lightning from -its bed, and broken into three large and several smaller fragments. One -piece twenty-six feet long, ten feet broad, and four feet thick, was -merely inverted. A second, twenty-eight feet long, seventeen feet broad, -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a>{234}</span> five feet thick, was hurled over a high point to a distance of -fifty yards: another mass, forty feet long, was hurled still further in -the same direction, quite into the sea.</p> - -<p>Certain localities seem to have peculiar attractive power for lightning. -On the Norwegian coast is a narrow channel between two dark rocky -headlands, where the lightning seems often to play almost incessantly. -The gloomy chasm, so frequently reverberating with the roll of the -thunder, is viewed with superstitious fear by ignorant sailors; and the -boldest heart is filled with awe in the forbidding presence of the Lyse -Fiord. By many he is thought a venturesome captain who will dare take -his vessel through this frowning gateway.</p> - -<p>But after a careful consideration of the topic, it is clear that -lightning is less to be feared than almost any other of the atmospheric -phenomena. Comparatively rare are the cases where more than one or two -persons are killed at once. Statistics hitherto collected show that -scarcely one death in two thousand is occasioned by it. And yet no force -seems to be so universally feared. Every people in every age have taken -precautions against it, while the hurricane and the flood pass almost -unheeded.</p> - -<p>The ancient Thracians were wont to shoot their arrows at the sky during -a storm, to remind the fire-gods to be a little more careful in their -sport. A similar practice is found among certain South African tribes: -while the South Sea Islanders, far more fearless, tell of Ina, a woman -whom the moon stole for his wife, while she was beating bark-cloth. She -may be seen in the moon to-day—the figure we call the “man in the -moon.” Continually at work, she spreads out her cloth on the sky to -dry—(clouds)—fastening it down with blue stones, of which the sky is -built. When done, she gathers it up, throwing down the stones, which, -falling upon the earth, produce<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a>{235}</span> the sound of thunder. The lightning is -the torch the moon holds to aid her in her work.</p> - -<p>Augustus was wont to retire to a subterranean vault during a storm, and -it is said the Japanese emperors had a similar custom, having the -additional precaution of large reservoirs of water over the grottos. -When away from home, Augustus usually wrapped himself in sealskin, -believed, not only by the Romans, but by many others, to be -lightning-proof. In some portions of France, the peasants believe snake -skins to be an efficient anti-lightning charm. And among not a few of -the ancients there was a belief prevalent that lightning never injured a -person in bed.</p> - -<p>In the passage quoted from Byron on the bust of Ariosto, allusion is -made to the belief that lightning never strikes the laurel-plant sacred -to Apollo. Firm in this opinion, Tiberius, during thunder storms, put on -a laurel crown; and similar virtue is to-day ascribed by the Chinese to -peach and mulberry trees. Not a few persons to-day believe glass to be a -safeguard, and that a person is safe beside a closed window. Seamen, and -not a few of the peasantry of different regions, believe the firing of -guns will break up a thunder storm. Tolling of church-bells is another -powerful protection against the fires of the sky, which has cost many a -bell-ringer his life; a tall steeple being unusually liable to be -struck, and a damp bell-rope forming a good conductor. One authority -tells us of three hundred and eighty-six steeples struck within -thirty-three years, and one hundred and twenty-one bell-ringers killed. -The preventive was all right; but these tollers had sinned away all -right to protection, and perished as victims of Divine wrath, instead of -an absurd custom.</p> - -<p>Such are some of the many illusory modes of protection in vogue in times -past, and existing to no small extent in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a>{236}</span> the present. Comment upon them -is unnecessary. We know to-day that the higher objects are most liable -to be struck, and that metals are the best conductors; and on these -facts the whole system of lightning-rod protection is based.</p> - -<p>But in regard to even the best conductors, a witty German has found much -room for ridicule. “While I am writing this, symptoms of dysentery are -showing themselves with us in Gottingen. Six persons are said to have -died of this complaint—that is more than twice as many in a few days as -the lightning has killed in our town in half a century—and yet the -public seems remarkably easy upon the subject. I do not even find that -the cheapest <i>dysentery conductors</i> have been resorted to. People still -go about in light clothing, although the wind is already blowing over -the stubble, and I have even perceived, within the last few days, that -some persons sleep with open windows, which are very carefully closed -during a thunder storm, and yet there is not a single instance known -that lightning has ever made its way through an open window, while -dysentery very easily strikes into a bedroom, particularly when, after a -warm day, it makes its appearance in company of rain and a cool wind. Is -not this singular? How would people conduct themselves in these days if -the dysentery was to rise above the horizon in the form of a low black -cloud, changing day into twilight, and whenever it selected a victim, -explode with a violent thunder clap, which made the house shake? I -believe there would be no end of singing and praying. And yet this storm -is now impending on our heads—but without thunder claps and black -clouds, which are, after all, only accessories—and we go about our -affairs as if nothing were happening.”</p> - -<p>The fact that objects reaching much above the general<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a>{237}</span> surface are most -liable to be struck, places ships at sea in a peculiarly dangerous -position; and considering the relative number of the two, ships are more -frequently struck than houses. The packet boat <i>New York</i>, was struck -some years since: the chain which was attached to the mainmast as -conductor was entirely volatilized, not being large enough to act as -conductor.</p> - -<p>The fact that electricity passes most readily from elevated points, -renders the ship the scene of the most beautiful of the more common -electric phenomena. Any one who has visited an electric plant knows how -sparks and flashes of light accumulate on the brushes; and a similar -spectacle may at times be seen on the wires of electric lights at night. -So at sea during cloudy weather, the yards, masts, spars and other more -prominent points often glow with pale lambent flames, of greenish or -bluish tint. One who clambers up to them may find upon near approach -that they almost disappear; while to one a short distance away they are -as distinct as ever. A hand plunged into the flame glows with the same -spectral light. This phenomenon is popularly known among sailors as “St. -Elmo’s fire;” but there is much difference of opinion as to what it may -forebode. Some sailors believe the ghost of a dead comrade is -accompanying the ship. Others consider that St. Elmo has taken the ship -under his protection. A more common, and the rational view, is thus -given by Longfellow:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Last night I saw St. Elmo’s stars<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With their glimmering lanterns, all at play,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">On the tops of the masts, and the tips of the spars,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And I knew we should have foul weather to-day.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Cheerily, my hearties!—yo-heave-oh!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Brail up the mainsail and let her go,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As the winds will, and St. Antonio.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>This phenomenon has been noticed from the earliest<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a>{238}</span> times. Shakespeare -wrote three centuries ago, in “The Tempest:”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><i>Prospero.</i>—“Hast thou, spirit,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Performed, to point the tempest that I bid thee?”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><i>Ariel.</i>—“To every article.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I boarded the King’s ship: now on the beak,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I flamed amazement: sometimes I’d divide,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And burn in many places: on the topmast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The yards and bowsprit would I flame distinctly;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Then meet and join.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>When Lysander was about to set sail from Lampsacus to attack the -Athenian fleet, “Castor and Pollux” appeared upon each side of the -Lacedemonian admiral’s vessel, greatly encouraging him. Such were the -names of the strange lights among the ancients: and ever and anon we -find record of their appearance.</p> - -<p>This title needs explanation. This peculiar halo is not confined to the -sea, nor to inanimate objects. The electric aureole has been frequently -observed upon persons, and has always been considered a good omen. The -Spartan Gylippus on his march to raise the siege of Syracuse, saw a star -upon his lance and rejoiced at the token of divine favor. Nearly every -tyro in Latin is familiar with the tale that Servius Tullius, when a -child, was found asleep in his cradle with flames playing about him, and -was in consequence educated like a prince, and became king of Rome. -Stories of halos about Constantine the Great, and the Visigoth emperor -Wamba, are also told. It is said that during Cæsar’s African war, flames -sprang from the standards of the fifth legion during a stormy night: and -at a time when Rome, almost in despair at the triumphs of Carthage and -the death of two Scipios in Spain, was seriously meditating the -abandonment of the contest, Lucius Marcius ventured upon a harangue to -encourage the dispirited legions. While he spoke, a flame rested upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a>{239}</span> -his helmet. Roused by the wonderful mark of divine favor, the Romans -went forth yet again, and gained one of their greatest victories. What -might have been the fate of the world if Carthage, not Rome, had -prevailed? Who dare assert that an electric flame has not changed the -destinies of the universe?</p> - -<p>But the earliest story of this sort comes from the famed expedition of -the <i>Argo</i>, in search of the Golden Fleece. During a fearful storm -Orpheus invoked the gods of Samothracia; and immediately divine lights -appeared upon the heads of Castor and Pollux, two members of the party, -and the storm ceased. So after death the two mythical heroes were -promoted a place among the demi-gods, and became the especial patrons of -sailors: and the strange lights on shipboard were supposed to indicate -their presence. A single light, however, was supposed to bode evil, and -to be the work of the mischief-making Helena.</p> - -<p>Since the extension of travel and scientific research, this phenomenon -has been so frequently observed as to be no longer considered -remarkable; and it is supposed to be due to electric clouds or currents -coming in direct contact with objects, so that instead of the flash of -lightning from a distance, there is a steady discharge, often with some -hissing or crackling sound, noticeable at the brushes of any electric -machine; in fact, the noise is seldom absent. It almost invariably -appears before or after a thunder storm: and has hardly ever been -observed during one. To this same cause must be attributed the -occasional showers of luminous rain and dust.</p> - -<p>But no amount of science can rob such appearances of their terrors for -the uninitiated. Of scores of instances we might name, a single one will -suffice. Prof. Siemens tells of an unusual electric disturbance during a -Khamsin, while his party and his Arab guides were upon the summit<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a>{240}</span> of -the great pyramid. Hearing a hissing noise as the wind rose, he at -length concluded it must be due to electricity: and “holding up a full -wine-bottle, the head of which was coated with tin foil,” the same -hissing was increased. The bottle was then wrapped with moist paper, to -increase its capacity. Even before this, a severe shock could be -obtained from the head of the bottle.</p> - -<p>“The Arabs, who for some time had been looking on with astonishment at -our proceedings, came to the conclusion that we were practicing magic, -and insisted upon our leaving the pyramid. Their remonstrances being of -no avail, they now wanted to use the right of the stronger, and to make -us descend by force. I retreated to the highest stone block and loaded -my bottle as strongly as possible, while the leader of the Arabs seized -me by the other hand and was endeavoring to drag me down. At this -critical moment, I touched him with the neck of the bottle, and the -effects of the shock it produced were such as to surpass my keenest -expectations. The son of the desert, whose nerves had never before felt -a similar commotion, fell flat down upon the ground, as if struck by -lightning; and then springing up with a dreadful howl, soon vanished out -of sight, followed by all his comrades.”</p> - -<p>These cases of halos and electric aureoles thus far mentioned, have -clearly played a far more important part in the history of nations than -the more frequently occurring lightning stroke, merely because of the -wonderful hold they have had upon the superstitious tendency of man. -Leave Servius Tullius out of the history of Rome, or leave out the -speech and aureole of Marcius, and who can say how different the face of -the earth might be?</p> - -<p>More frequently observed, and because of its frequency, comparatively -unheeded in northern climes, is the aurora, which in the temperate zone -has frequently inspired terror<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a>{241}</span> equal to the earthquake, though -absolutely harmless. The writer recalls that a bright aurora not so very -many years ago caused not a few superstitious folk to believe the end of -the world was at hand. They believed the red streamers to be the chariot -of fire in which the Lord was speeding earthward. This was the great -aurora of September 3, 1859, which was visible from the United States to -Siberia, from the Cape of Good Hope and Australia to the north of -Europe. It was the most tremendous ever known, and well calculated to -terrify the superstitious.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> And even so late as 1872, the brilliant aurora which was -seen as far south as Alexandria, was believed by the intelligent -Parisians to forebode terrible wars, and the speedy overthrow of the -hated Germans, who had so lately trampled their capital and their pride. -And in earlier days the northern light had been deemed the harbinger of -war, famine or pestilence.</p></div> - -<p>Humboldt, and others since, have supposed the aurora to be light emitted -by the earth itself; but to-day its electric character is proven beyond -a doubt. Electric discharges passed through a tube containing greatly -rarefied dry air produce the same effect on a small scale; and every -aurora produces a powerful disturbance of magnetic instruments. In most -cases, they are attended by a hissing, crackling noise: so the Siberians -are wont to say that “the raging host is passing.”</p> - -<p>We find occasional references to the aurora among ancient writers, but -little attempt to explain it. So we have even few myths, it not being -common enough in warmer climes to hold a place in popular tales. But in -Iceland, and more northern regions, it is of constant and brilliant -occurrence, merely because it requires dry air, and the coldest air is -the driest. So among Scandinavian races appears the myth embodied by -Longfellow in the “Saga of King Olaf.” The war god, Thor, speaks:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a>{242}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The light thou beholdest<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Stream through the heavens<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In flashes of crimson,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Is but my red beard,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Blown by the night wind,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Affrighting the nations.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And Scott has told us of the belief in Scotland and the northern isles, -of spirits abroad in the upper air:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The monk gazed long on the lovely moon,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then into the night he looked forth:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And red and bright, the streamers light,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Were dancing in the glowing north.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">So had he seen, in fair Castile,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The youth in glittering squadrons start,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Sudden the flying jennet wheel,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And hurl the unexpected dart.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">He knew by the streams that shot so bright,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That spirits were riding the Northern light.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The light emitted by the aurora varies much in intensity. Ordinarily it -is not greater than that of the moon in her first quarter; but a few -instances are recorded where it was powerful enough to make itself -perceptible by day; and on one occasion it was strong enough at night to -cast a shadow in the midst of a Newfoundland fog. As the phenomenon has -been carefully studied only within a century, it is not safe to affirm -with certainty what records of the past three hundred years have induced -many to believe; that it is of special frequency at periods of one -hundred and fifty years. This can only apply to the temperate zones; for -in the polar world it is to be seen on almost every clear still night.</p> - -<p>M. Martins has given us a striking picture of the auroras. “At times -they are simple diffused gleams or luminous patches; at others, -quivering rays of pure white which run across the sky, starting from the -horizon as if an invisible pencil were being drawn over the celestial -vault. At times it stops in its course: the incomplete rays<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a>{243}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 322px;"> -<a href="images/i_243_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_243_sml.jpg" width="322" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LAND OF THE AURORA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a>{244}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">do not reach the zenith, but the aurora continues at some other point; a -bouquet of rays darts forth, spreads out into a fan, then becomes pale -and dies out. At other times long golden draperies float above the head -of the spectator, and take a thousand folds and undulations, as if -agitated by the wind. They appear to be at but a slight elevation in the -atmosphere, and it seems strange that the rustling of the folds, as they -double back on each other, is not audible. Generally a luminous bow is -seen in the north; a black segment separates it from the horizon, its -dark color forming a contrast with the pure white or red of the bow, -which darts forth the rays, extends, becomes divided, and soon presents -the appearance of a luminous fan, which fills the northern sky, and -mounts nearly to the zenith, where the rays, uniting, form a crown, -which in its turn, darts forth luminous jets in all directions. The sky -then looks like a cupola of fire: blue, green, red, yellow and white -vibrate in the palpitating rays of the aurora. But this brilliant -spectacle lasts only a few minutes; the crown first ceases to emit -luminous jets, and then gradually dies out; a diffuse light fills the -sky; here and there a few luminous patches, resembling light clouds, -open and close with an incredible rapidity, like a heart that is beating -very fast. They soon get pale in their turn; everything fades away and -becomes confused; the aurora seems to be in its death-throes; the stars, -which its light had obscured, shine with a renewed brightness; and the -long polar night, sombre and profound, again assumes its sway over the -icy solitudes of earth and ocean.”</p> - -<p>In the presence of such brilliancy and beauty, both poet and artist may -despair. It may be copied only by the master hand that sent it flaming -through the heavens. There is naught under the sun whereunto to liken -it, and it is the electric flash which men may least fear; and yet,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a>{245}</span> -even it has wrought evil at times; for its magnetic power disturbs the -compass; and the electric storms it betokens have more than once in the -past caused electric wires to set objects near them on fire. I well -remember the powerful electric disturbances that attended a magnificent -aurora in 1884, which was visible as far as southern Arkansas. Depots -were fired in many places by electric switch-boards; one in Pennsylvania -taking fire four times. During this electric storm, telegraphs and -telephones were temporarily useless.</p> - -<p>Such are the phenomena presented in the atmosphere by this most -mysterious power. Dreadful in the lightning’s leap, strange and uncanny -in the aureole’s glow, wildly and weirdly beautiful in the flickering -flash and flow of the Northern Light, we have seen that, though it has -played an important part in the history of the world because of its -appeal to man’s superstition, it is notwithstanding the occasional bolt -of death, to be considered, while one of the most powerful and -universal, one of the least to be feared of all the forces of nature; -and is practicably responsible for few great disasters.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a>{246}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /><br /> -<small>RAIN, HAIL AND SNOW.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“I bring fresh showers for the thirsty flowers,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">From the seas and the streams,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I bear light shade for the leaves when laid<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In their noonday dreams.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From my wings are shaken the dews that waken<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The sweet birds every one,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When rocked to rest on their mother’s breast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">As she dances about the sun.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I wield the flail of the lashing hail,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And whiten the green plains under.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And then again I dissolve in rain,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And laugh as I pass in thunder.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">I am the daughter of earth and water,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And the nursling of the sky,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I change, but I can not die.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For after the rain, when with never a stain<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The pavilion of heaven is bare,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Build up the blue dome of air,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And out of the caverns of rain,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I arise and unbuild it again.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>HE cloud is well worth Shelley’s admiration; for though it be but a -vague oppressive mist when it enwraps, yet afar it assumes either beauty -or gloom, as its seeming whims may dictate. Few are they who have never -paused in silent admiration of some beautiful fleecy spirit of the upper -deep, changing every instant like the shifting figures of a -kaleidoscope, or presenting fantastic likenesses of natural objects, or -ever and anon presenting pictures of strange monsters, such as only the -superstitious and timid<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a>{247}</span> can imagine. Often in times past have nations -stood aghast at the portentous signs observed in season of some great -calamity. A lurid beam of light from the hidden sun, darting through a -rift in the clouds, has been reported as a flaming sword. Shortly before -the destruction of Jerusalem, the sky was filled with horses and -chariots, rushing to battle. After the siege the wretched survivors -recognized too late what was the purpose of the warning.</p> - -<p>Wordsworth speaks of these bizarre fantasies:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Lo! in the burning west the craggy nape<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Of a proud Ararat! and thereupon,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The Ark, her melancholy voyage done.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Yon rampant cloud mimics a lion’s shape,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">There combats a huge crocodile—agape,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A golden spear to swallow! and that brown<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And mossy grove, so near yon blazing town,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Stirs and recedes—destruction to escape,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Yet all is harmless—as the Elysian shades<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Where spirits dwell in undisturbed repose,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Silently disappear and quickly fades,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Meek Nature’s evening comment on the shows<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That for oblivion take their daily birth<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From all the fuming vanities of Earth.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And naught can present so sombre and terrifying an aspect as those -phantoms of the air, when mailed with the lightning and flying with the -storm.</p> - -<p>Yet, upon the cloud the welfare of the human race is dependent, as much -as upon any other force in nature: for rain or drouth, famine or plenty, -snow or flood, all follow in its path. More than once has rain or storm -decided the destiny of nations. Far different might our own lot have -been, if that bitter storm of Christmas night, 1777, had not given -Washington an opportunity of surprising the carousing Hessians in -Trenton, and so reviving the drooping spirits of his countrymen. Hardly -would he have escaped, but that the sudden frost hardened the ground and -enabled him to steal away by night with his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a>{248}</span> artillery, leaving the -chafing Cornwallis the privilege of attacking the deserted camp on the -Assanpink in the morning. It was a winter storm that enabled the bold -Vermonters to surprise the frowning fortress on the upper Hudson. -Napoleon could invade Russia, and drive the Cossack pell-mell before -him; no mortal power could control the elements; and his splendid hosts -melted away like snow in the breath of the icy storm; and once more the -Cossack sang to his steed:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Now fiercely neigh, my gallant gray; thy breast is broad and ample.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy hoofs shall prance o’er the fields of France and the pride of her heroes trample.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Again the “Man of Destiny” was conquered by the elements.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“There was a sound of revelry by night”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">as the dread combat of Waterloo prepared. The plan of the “Genius of -War” was superb. But all his contests were problems of artillery. “The -Lord is on the side of the strongest battalions and heaviest -artillery"—bold manner of saying that “when one seeks for the reason of -the successes of great generals, one is surprised to find that they did -everything necessary to insure them.” But he who would insure success -must have the clouds at his beck. That night it rained. The mud crippled -his artillery and left the contest to the rifle and bayonet. Waterloo -was lost. A shower of rain changed the face of Europe—the history of -the world.</p> - -<p>Scriptural narrative and the sage Josephus tell us how the Philistine -host were cut down by the motley rabble of almost unarmed Israelites, -routed mainly by a terrific thunder storm that beat in their faces, -flamed upon their weapons, and transformed the disciplined army into a -panic-stricken multitude. What might have been the future of Israel and -the Jewish faith, but for the intervention<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a>{249}</span> of that storm? We need not -multiply instances.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_249_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_249_sml.jpg" width="450" height="336" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>FIELD OF WATERLOO.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The causes that produce the different phenomena of condensation in rain, -hail and snow, are not known. Rainfall is the most indefinite of all the -atmospheric phenomena<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a>{250}</span> in location, quantity, frequency, and -distribution. The winds do not vary greatly, one year with another; but -such is not the case with the rain. Sometimes the condensation is slow -and the moisture falls on the earth as mist. Some suppose that the -rainfall is due merely to the cold of great elevations: and this would -seem to be well supported by the prevalence of fogs on the Newfoundland -banks, where the constant cold current and the occasional icebergs -produce a similar degree of cold at sea level, condensing the moisture -from the warm seas southward. Others urge that two masses of saturated -air of different temperature combine, necessarily condensing the -surplus; and the Newfoundland banks are again referred to as an -illustration.</p> - -<p>Light on fog-banks often presents peculiar and beautiful illusions. The -writer remembers having seen a whole town apparently wrapped in flames, -the effect being produced by the lights from many windows shining -through a light mist that was curling and twisting before a light -breeze. Similar causes produce the peculiar halos and mock-suns and -mock-moons not infrequently seen in the sky. These, and the beautiful -rainbow, all depend upon the reflection and refraction of light in -passing through vapor masses. These curious spectacles once had no -little terror for the ignorant and superstitious. Shakespeare doubtless -alludes to some such case in the dialogue between Hubert and King John, -making Hubert narrate an exaggerated version of the facts, as the -superstitiously inclined rabble reported it:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><i>Hubert.</i>—“My lord, they say five moons were seen to-night;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Four fixed; and the fifth did whirl about<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The other four with wondrous motion.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><i>King John.</i>—“Five moons?”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><i>Hubert.</i>—“Old men and beldams in the streets<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Do prophecy upon it dangerously;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Young Arthur’s death is common in their mouths.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a>{251}</span></p> - -<p>Sometimes an appearance more terrifying to the uninitiated is seen. The -traveler in Germany may hear strange myths of specters that frequent the -mountains. It was long said that spirits dwelt on the summit of the -Matterhorn. Gigantic phantoms roamed the Harz Mountains. One of the best -known of all these apparitions is the famous “Specter of the Brocken.” -The wanderer on the lonely height at sunrise may see upon a neighboring -summit a gigantic shadowy figure, moving about, and mimicking every -motion of the traveler. Of course, it is but his shadow on a neighboring -fog-bank; but the solution remained a mystery long enough to terrify -many a simple peasant into needless invocations of the saints. But -similar appearances are occasionally observable in many localities. The -Spaniard Ulloa records that on the mountain Pambamarca, in Peru, he saw -his shadow on the cloud surrounded by three complete circular rainbows. -The same peculiarity has been frequently noticed elsewhere, but never on -so grand a scale. We find no peculiar myths concerning halos in general, -it being generally considered that they announce the approach of rain; -and the fog-bank is of no especial danger save to the seaman, or the -traveler overtaken and blinded by one in mountain fastnesses; though -their depressing influence has led one writer to exclaim:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Fly, fly, profane fogs! fly hence far away,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Taint not the pure springs of the springing day<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With your dull influence; it is for you<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To sit and scowl upon night’s heavy brow.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And the fog, though not ornamental—unless we except that dry haze, the -Indian summer—may be useful in preventing a frost, or in keeping a -parched earth from drying too rapidly. But for this last, all the world -prefers the rain, and sings with Longfellow:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a>{252}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_252_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_252_sml.jpg" width="450" height="277" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SPECTER OF THE BROCKEN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a>{253}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“How beautiful is the rain!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">After the dust and heat,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In the broad and fiery street,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In the narrow lane,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">How beautiful is the rain!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">How it clatters along the roofs<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Like the tramp of hoofs!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">How it gushes and struggles out,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From the throat of the overflowing spout,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Across the window pane it pours and pours,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And swift and wide,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With a muddy tide,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Like a river, down the gutter roars<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The rain, the welcome rain.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Not always welcome; for we find the same poet moaning:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The day is cold, and dark, and dreary,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">It rains, and the rain is never weary.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And certainly, the farmer who looks through the driving rain at his -ruined crops has little sentiment left to expend upon its beauty. But -the world over, after a rain every feature of a landscape stands out -with singular clearness; the haze commonly prevalent has for the nonce -disappeared.</p> - -<p>The amount of rainfall varies so vastly in different countries, that it -would be tedious to the reader to enter upon a detail of the different -amounts. In general it is greatest upon those portions of the land first -reached by regular incoming sea winds. So in South America, Peru and -southern Ecuador are practically without rain, as the Andes and the -Amazon forests deprive the trade winds of their moisture ere they reach -the Pacific coast; while southern Chili seldom sees the sun; lying in -the track of the return trades, whose moisture is at once precipitated -by the Andes. So in India the monsoon which pours deluges of water along -the southwestern coasts, brings but twenty-three inches a year to the -central plateau; and by the time Central Asia is reached, it is so dry -the steppes of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a>{254}</span> Tartary must remain almost a desert. And in our own -land, we find in general the heaviest rain from the eastern coast to the -central region: while the western plateau along the eastern slopes of -the Rockies is unusually dry, and liable to protracted drouths: and in -the Mojave desert, and in southeastern California, the rainfall is less -than two inches per year. On the North Pacific coast the rainfall -increases rapidly, as in the southern Andes; but in general our highest -mean rainfall is in the southern portion of the Gulf States. The highest -average in the world is so far credited to Sumatra, one hundred and -thirty inches. This, of course, refers to tracts of considerable size; -for a small tract in Assam, on a mountain slope, where is the town of -Cherrapungee, has a rainfall of four hundred and ninety-three and -two-tenth inches per annum—more than forty-one feet! Twenty-two feet of -rain have fallen there in a single month! A better idea of this may be -obtained by observing that our average rainfall, from Missouri eastward, -is about three feet a year. The rains of the Amazon and Congo basins are -enormous, and would suffice to swell our Mississippi to as great volume -as either of them. On the other hand, the lowest recorded rainfall for a -large tract is that of Greenland—fifteen and five-tenth inches; while -Australia, with fifteen and seven-tenth inches, is but little better -off. It may be mentioned here, that the term “mean rainfall” includes -snow also: ten inches of snow being ordinarily estimated as one inch of -rain.</p> - -<p>A point long mooted, now considered as definitely settled, was, the -influence of forests upon rainfall. There was no doubt that forests -retarded the descent of water into the streams, and so lessened the -danger of floods; and observations of late years have shown that the -forest also increases the amount of rainfall, aiding in the work of -condensation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a>{255}</span> In the northern lumber regions, the rainfall in the -cleared tracts is less than in the time of the forests, while floods are -more sudden and dangerous.</p> - -<p>These general features being noticed, mention of a few extraordinary -rainfalls may be of interest. The most remarkable rain in one day -occurred September 13, 1879, at Purneah, in Bengal, when thirty-five -inches fell; about as much as Illinois gets in a year. At Nagina, -thirty-two and four-tenth inches fell. Some extraordinary showers have -been recorded in our own country, the most rapid being one and one-half -inches in five minutes: the most rapid long one, ten inches in three -hours; but no record of a day in anywise approaches the Bengal rain.</p> - -<p>A peculiar phenomenon of occasional occurrence in the Western States is -that of “cloud-bursts,” or “water-spouts” as they are sometimes called, -when immense masses of water fall in a few minutes. As the entire amount -of moisture that can be held by the atmosphere at ordinary temperature -would make but two inches of rain, it must follow that to produce such -downpours as are here recorded, immense quantities of moisture from a -wide area must be drawn in and condensed rapidly at a single point. -Perhaps this is done by a reverse cyclonic movement, the atmosphere -rapidly descending in a “spout,” instead of ascending.</p> - -<p>August 11, 1876, a tremendous downpour occurred at Fort Sully, Dakota: -“and on the opposite side of the Missouri River, the water draining from -a canon was reported to have moved out in a solid bank three feet deep -and two hundred feet wide.” Two others of nearly equal violence occurred -during the same month: one in Utah, and one in Kansas. “June 12, 1879, -on Beaver Creek, ninety miles south of Deadwood, Dakota, there was a -cloud-burst, which, without a gradual rise of water, in a few<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a>{256}</span> minutes -covered the country and drowned eleven persons.” A cloud-burst in June, -1884, sent a torrent eight feet deep from the hillside into Jefferson, -Montana, drowning several persons. Another one in June, 1885, destroyed -a town in Mexico, drowning over one hundred and seventy of its eight -hundred inhabitants. Cloud-bursts near Pittsburg, on the night of July -25, 1874, destroyed $500,000 worth of property, and drowned or crushed -in the wrecks, one hundred and thirty-four persons. A cloud-burst in -Arizona, August 6, 1881, changed the Hassayampa River from a dry ravine -at sunset to a river a mile wide and from two to fifteen feet deep by 11 -<small>P.M.</small>; by noon next day the river was again dry. Two days later a -downpour at Central City, Colorado, suddenly left from four to six feet -of water in the two principal streets.</p> - -<p>Snow is practically unknown over two-thirds of the land surface of the -earth, and the damage done by it is confined largely to the inland -regions of the temperate zone. And even then heavy snowfalls do no great -injury unless followed by extremely cold wind. The blizzard laden with -“icy sand” is fearful.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The night sets in on a world of snow,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the air grows sharp and chill,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the warning roar of a fearful blow<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Is heard on the distant hill.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the Norther! See! On the mountain peak,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In his breath, how the old trees writhe and shriek!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">He shouts on the plains, Ho-ho! Ho-ho!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">He drives from his nostrils the blinding snow,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And growls with a savage will.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The extreme ranges of temperature produced suddenly by high area or -anti-cyclonic storms are the most dangerous features of the blizzard; -while the only damage done by snow is to blind the person caught away -from home, and cause him to lose his way. The past ten years have been -marked by severe storms in our own winter season,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a>{257}</span> the most terrible -being that of January 11, 1888, when the wind blew from thirty to fifty -miles an hour, and large numbers of persons in the west were frozen, and -thousands of cattle perished. At Helena, Montana, the thermometer fell -fifty degrees in four and one-half hours. The snow-laden wind reached a -speed of forty miles an hour at Galveston, Texas. At Brownsville, Texas, -the temperature fell forty degrees in eight hours. Two months later came -an exceedingly heavy snow attended by high winds, in the eastern Middle -States. This is popularly known as the “New York blizzard.” Snow drifted -in many places ten or fifteen feet deep.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The fence was lost, and the wall of stone,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The windows blocked, and the well-curb gone,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The haystack had grown to a mountain lift,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the woodpile looked like a monstrous drift,<br /></span> -<span class="i5">As it lay by the farmer’s door.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The chief damage in all snow storms results from the temporary -obstruction of roads and cessation of business. No very great -destruction of human life has ever resulted, save in case of armies -overtaken by the storm. Napoleon lost four hundred and fifty thousand -men on his Russian expedition. Both armies suffered terribly in the -recent Russo-Turkish war, as they lay facing each other at Shipka Pass.</p> - -<p>The constant accumulations of snow in the colder regions of the earth -produce those immense rivers of ice known as glaciers, the fragments -breaking from which as they enter the sea are known as icebergs. These, -borne by currents to the southward, have no small influence in modifying -the climate. In mountainous regions the accumulations of snow and ice -produce snow-slides and avalanches; but owing to their entirely local -character, the damage wrought by them is comparatively insignificant, -not even approaching the lightning in the total.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a>{258}</span></p> - -<p>Hail has been far more destructive. As stated elsewhere, the cause of -hail is hitherto unexplained. The storm usually travels in narrow belts. -Many are the wonderful tales told of it. It is said that May 8, 1802, a -mass of ice weighing eleven hundred pounds fell in Hungary. Again, we -hear of an ice-block the size of an elephant, which fell near -Seringapatam, in the reign of Tippoo Sahib. The good father Huc, in his -travels in Tartary, reported the fall of an ice-block the size of a -millstone, which, in very warm weather, required three days to melt. And -we are told that in the time of Charlemagne, there fell hailstones -fifteen feet long, eleven feet wide and six feet thick. All these we -steadfastly do not believe.</p> - -<p>Yet, there are well authenticated records of many disastrous hail storms -and enormous hailstones. A storm in France, in 1788, traveled in two -bands: one, four hundred and twenty by ten miles; the other, five -hundred by five miles. Five million dollars worth of property was -destroyed. In 1865 a severe storm swept a wide path from Bordeaux to -Belgium, accumulating in such masses that it was not all melted in one -or two localities for four days. One bed was one and one-fourth miles -long and two-fifths of a mile wide, containing twenty-one million cubic -feet. Doubtless similar accumulations in depressions, adhering together, -gave rise to the tales of enormous blocks mentioned above.</p> - -<p>An enormous hail storm in India, in 1853, is said to have killed -eighty-four persons and three thousand cattle. During a storm at Naini -Tal, in 1855, hailstones weighing one and one-half pounds fell. Our own -land has had a number of severe hail storms within the past ten years, -that have done immense damage to crops, and occasionally killed cattle, -while smaller animals have perished by hundreds. Frequent are the -records of hailstones as large as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a>{259}</span> oranges, goose-eggs, and occasionally -as large as a fist, with gathered drifts two or three feet deep. Europe -has also had several of her smaller towns nearly destroyed by combined -flood and hail. Yet, none of these equal in fatality the great hail -storm of two years since at Moradabad, India.</p> - -<p>It smashed in windows, glass doors and the lighter roofs, “The verandas -were blown away by the wind. A great part of the roof fell in, and the -massive pucca portico was blown down. The walls shook. It was nearly -dark outside, and hailstones of enormous size were dashed down with a -force which I have never seen anything to equal. * * * There were long -ridges of hail one or two feet in depth. * * * Not a house in the civil -station that did not receive the most serious injury.</p> - -<p>“Two hundred and thirty deaths in all have been reported up to the -present time. The total number may be safely put as under two hundred -and fifty. Men caught in the open and without shelter, were simply -pounded to death by the hail.”</p> - -<p>Spain and southern France have on record some showers of extremely large -hailstones. In 1829, masses of ice weighing four and one-half pounds -fell at Cazorta, Spain. Houses were stove-in by them. During a hurricane -in the south of France, in 1844, there fell ice-masses weighing eleven -pounds.</p> - -<p>Mysterious and ominous to those ignorant of their cause have been the -many showers of “ink, blood, sulphur,” falls of red or green snow, and -similar phenomena. Such things were believed to betoken the wrath of -God, and to forebode war, famine, pestilence, flood, and other dire -calamities. Of course, the good people knew exactly what any shower -meant—after the calamity occurred. When it didn’t occur, the shower was -simply a warning.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a>{260}</span></p> - -<p>That such phenomena are readily explained goes without saying; and not a -few of the wise of days past have refused to be seriously alarmed, -though they could not find a correct solution of the mystery. Some of -the philosophic minds of other days endeavored to explain these -occurrences by supposing blood vaporized from battle-fields was mingled -with rain, not knowing that the red portion of the blood can not -evaporate.</p> - -<p>The microscope has solved these mysteries. The rains of blood are merely -stained by earthy matter: sometimes organic, gathered by the wind; -sometimes volcanic dust, thrown out by eruptions; and in one case, where -numerous blood-spots appeared on houses and fences in Provence, in 1608, -and the priests asserted it was the work of the devil, the spots at -length proved to be the excrement of butterflies. Rains of melted -sulphur have been found to owe their color to the yellow pollen of pine -trees. Ink is merely sooty rain-water. Showers of this character are -more frequent than might be supposed. More than a score have occurred in -Europe in the present century; and a number in this country. Red and -green snow owe their color to microscopic vegetable life, and are quite -commonly met with in the Arctic world. One bold headland has long been -known as Crimson Cliff, from the extensive deposits of red snow there.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a>{261}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /><br /> -<small>FLOODS IN THE SOUTH.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“ ‘Mother dear, the water’s coming after!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Mother, ’tis between us and the hill!’<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Looking down, they see the flood, with laughter<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Lapping idly ’neath the window sill.<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i1">‘Mother, in the water we are wading!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Mother, it grows deeper as we go!’<br /></span> -<span class="i1">‘Hasten, children! hasten—day is fading!’<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Higher creeps the river, black and slow.<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i1">‘Mother, ’tis so deep, and we are dripping!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Mother, we are sinking! Haste, oh haste!’<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In her arms uplifting them and gripping,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">On she plunges, wading to the waist.<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i1">Flowers the river snatches, while it calls so—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Flowers its lean hands never snatched before,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Will it snatch these human flowers also,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Where they cling, sad creatures of the shore?”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_e.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="37" -height="60" -alt="E" /></span>VERY country is confronted with a serious problem in its great rivers. -In some lands the only problem is, how to get rid of flood-water as -quickly as possible: in others, comes the additional question of -securing sufficient water for irrigation during the dry season. Egypt -occupies an anomalous position, the latter question being the only one -of any practical interest. Without rains, she depends on the rise of the -Nile for her existence, and no one dreams of such a thing as endeavoring -to check the overflow. During seed-time the fellaheen may be seen -sometimes in mud knee-deep, busily planting their fields; and in summer -they may be seen hoisting water from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a>{262}</span> the stream and emptying it into -their irrigating ditches.</p> - -<p>In our own land, we have hitherto had no need of irrigation, except in -those districts where there is no fear of a flood: such as the arid -regions of our southwestern states. In China, the people are contending -with both sides of the problem; and their success in the second feature -has not greatly surpassed their achievements in the first. In most other -lands, the flood problem is the chief one. The Amazon at flood time -rises from sixty to one hundred feet, and its volume is almost -inconceivable. But since the larger part of its course lies in an almost -uninhabited region, the high water gives no concern to the people. The -Orinoco rises so high, and is in such a level region, that during part -of the year one of its upper tributaries flows backward and reaches the -Amazon.</p> - -<p>The great length of the Mississippi and Missouri present the gravest -difficulties. The sources of each lie in regions where heavy snows fall -during a considerable part of the winter: and all the melting snows of -the central portion of the country—from western Pennsylvania to -Colorado, Montana and central Dakota—must find their way to the sea by -way of the single stream. By reason of the difference in latitude and -altitude, the melted snows of the head-waters usually swell the lower -river in May and early in June, after the spring rains are over. But it -quite often happens that after unusually heavy winter snows the warm -weather sets in in the mountains very early: so that the great floods of -the upper valleys reach the lower river just when extremely heavy rains -are prevalent in the central and southern regions. This forms a -combination that is terrible to combat, and is the cause of all the -trouble. The present system is effective in ordinary cases; but for the -occasional great exceptions it has hitherto proved insufficient. We do -not seem to be any nearer a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a>{263}</span> practical solution of the problem than when -it first presented itself. Yet, the government of the United States -spends millions of dollars every year in attempts which have, so far at -least, proved totally futile to confine the great river within its -banks, and so avoid the perils which every spring threaten an area -larger than all New England and the Middle States.</p> - -<p>The wonderful and often terrible changes that come with the changes of -season, and which produce such effects as the illustrations show, are -simply inconceivable to one who has not seen them. That a stream so -quiet and comparatively small as the Mississippi is at low water, should -become a raging torrent of twenty miles average width, and ten feet -average depth from shore to shore, throughout the eleven hundred miles -from Cairo to the sea, is simply incredible until one has seen it. This -river, however, did that in 1882, when the great general overflow -occurred. Unnumbered lives were lost that year, and the damage to -property was never even estimated. Details were hard to get when -communication was so nearly cut off as it then was; and after the floods -were over, no effort was made to reckon the extent of the disaster.</p> - -<p>Since that spring the reports have not indicated any flood equal to the -present one; and the only reason why this year has not proved as -disastrous as 1882, is that the levees have been strengthened since -then. The fact, however, that the levee system has, as a whole, -successfully withstood the pressure of the highest water known for many -years, is by no means as reassuring as it seems on first consideration; -for there is grave reason to believe that the levees themselves serve to -increase the very danger against which they are a guard.</p> - -<p>The planters of the earlier days made efforts to protect themselves by -means of “levees:” a name given by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a>{264}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_264_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_264_sml.jpg" width="450" height="286" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>TROPICAL FLOOD.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a>{265}</span></p> - -<p>French to dykes, or artificial banks, and meaning simply “raised -places.” But of later years, both state and national resources have been -spent freely in endeavoring to curb the restless giant. More than -$25,000,000 has been spent in this way since the war. The Mississippi -River Commission, organized in 1879, under the supervision of the War -Department, as the Signal Service has been, had nominally in view the -increasing of facilities for navigation; but as the methods employed for -the two objects have necessarily been much the same, no little has been -done for protection.</p> - -<p>The character of the lower Mississippi and its valley gravely increase -the difficulties of the case. Its bed has been worn for ages through a -somewhat elevated region, and at present the resultant valley has a -width varying from twenty to one hundred and fifty miles. The result has -been that the channel of the river shifts continually, and is extremely -crooked, literally turning time and again to every conceivable point of -the compass. These curves present the most vexatious features the levee -system must contend with; for it is easily perceived that the levee on -the convex side of the bend in the river has the current directed full -against it, adding the great eroding power of the water to the weight it -must sustain.</p> - -<p>“The levees are relied on as the chief aid to the work of the -commission, but the commission does not construct them, or even work -directly to strengthen them. These levees are nothing more than -artificial banks or heaps of soil shoveled up along the line of the -natural banks. The commission is working to narrow the wide places in -the river, so as to secure a uniform width of three thousand feet. This -is done by constructing revetments, consisting principally of mattrasses -of wire and brush, which are secured by rubble-stone. In other places -great quantities of stone are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a>{266}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_266_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_266_sml.jpg" width="450" height="298" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MAKING MATS FOR LEVEE FRONTS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a>{267}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">dumped, and various similar means are used to encourage the scour in the -shallower parts of the river, and also to prevent the undermining of the -natural or artificial banks.</p> - -<p>“On a convex shore, where the water is shoal, the levee has been carried -along the river edge as near as possible, as there is no danger, under -such conditions, of a caving bank. Where the bank is liable to give way, -the levees are placed further back, and where a break in the levee -itself has occurred from the caving of the bank, loops are made, joining -the two broken parts. It must be borne in mind that the banks proper -along the river are about forty feet high above low water, and as the -river rises five to seven feet over these banks, the levees are -constructed of sufficient height to restrain the waters within their -proper limits. The material is found on the spot, either clay or sand, -as the case may be. A so-called “muck” ditch a few feet wide is dug -along the center line of the projected levee, down to where the earth is -comparatively free from all organic matter, such as grass and roots of -trees. By this method some adhesion to the ground is gained, and the -artificial construction is not easily swept away. The earth is taken -from the front of the levee line as near the water as the circumstances -will permit. Standard levees have a “crown,” or width at the top, of -eight feet, except in the case of a very low levee, when the “crown” is -not less than its height. The side slopes are one vertical to three or -three and one-half horizontal. Present levees are carried up from two to -three feet above the high-water mark of their position.”</p> - -<p>The river channel, in general, in the upper danger region, adheres to -the right side of the valley, and on the left the danger lies chiefly at -a few points where the bluffs recede considerably from the river. -Throughout the middle and lower flood districts the bends of the stream -are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a>{268}</span> so numerous and capricious that the danger lies equally upon either -side of the stream. Hence, the levee system is not uniform. The whole -alluvial front of the river is leveed on the left bank, the principal -line extending from Horn Lake, just below Memphis, to Vicksburg, -covering the great Yazoo Basin. On the right bank of the river there are -four principal sections which are liable to be overflowed. The first is -known as St. Francis front, which runs from Commerce, Missouri, to the -St. Francis River. The White River front is the second, extending from -Helena, Arkansas, to the mouth of the White and Arkansas Rivers. The -third and fourth, known as the Tensas and the Atchafalaya fronts, run -respectively from the Arkansas River to the Red River in Louisiana, and -from the Red River to New Orleans. The first two sections have received -no government work except in limited localities, where it was merely -incidental to the work of river improvement undertaken by the -commission; and those fronts are everywhere exposed to the overflow, -except where private enterprise has done the work. The Social Circle -Levee, near Laconia, Arkansas, is an example, and a notable one, of what -has been done by the residents. These unprotected tracts have all been -submerged, and the low lands turned into an enormous lake.</p> - -<p>The overflow waters that pass over the upper part of this section spread -over the northeastern part of Arkansas as far back as the high ground, -reaching their greatest width about opposite Memphis, and then pass back -into the Mississippi by way of the St. Francis River. The overflow below -Helena is carried back by the White River. From Arkansas City down, the -river, comprising the third and fourth sections, is completely leveed.</p> - -<p>Throughout all the lowland districts are hundreds of farms and valuable -plantations, the soil being built up by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a>{269}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 443px;"> -<a href="images/i_269_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_269_sml.jpg" width="443" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>STRUGGLE TO HOLD THE LEVEE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">ages of alluvial deposits. Most of the towns are built on high ground; -there being a few notable exceptions. A general flood in this valley -means that millions of acres of land are submerged, and such crops as -are in the fields are destroyed. More frequently, the land is flooded -just at planting time, and the land remains wet too long to allow -certain crops to be planted in season. Thus, the water in the flooded -districts may abate in time to allow a fair cotton crop; while the -chance for corn is lost. Fences and small outbuildings are floated away, -and often<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a>{270}</span> large numbers of stock are drowned; but, after, all, the -chief damage is usually indirect: the evil of hindrance rather than of -destruction. Further, the retiring water leaves numerous pools and -marshes that are rank breeders of malaria, adding vastly to the -unhealthiness of the country.</p> - -<p>In many places there are marshy or timbered tracts adjacent to the river -that are not available for cultivation. In these districts the levees -are often erected at the border of the cultivable land, so that the -river has a large area of waste land over which to spread the surplus -water without doing any injury. Such areas really aid to reduce the -high-water level. In some cases, a second or third levee is built some -hundreds of yards to the rear, to serve as a sort of reserve, in case -the river break through the first.</p> - -<p>Doubtless the reader has pictured to himself a flooded district as -something like a stream in a mountain gorge; an immense torrent of water -rushing at race-horse speed, uprooting trees, tearing away huge -boulders, sweeping away houses in an instant, without a moment’s -warning, and drowning young and old by scores. If such be his idea, he -will find it necessary to remodel it; or, rather, to cast it away -entirely. Let him follow a guide to the scene of danger. A great levee, -the protection of thousands of acres of rich lands, and perhaps millions -of dollars worth of property, is announced unsafe. Sometimes it is -decided to abandon the river line, weakened for long distances, and -erect a new levee some hundreds of yards to the rear.</p> - -<p>But if the design be to hold the line already established, then the -scene is an animated one. All along the narrow ridge of earth patrolmen -are watching the work at every point. Hundreds of men work day and night -throwing up and strengthening the levees, upon which the salvation of -the district depends. Break after break occurs,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a>{271}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;"> -<a href="images/i_271_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_271_sml.jpg" width="297" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>A MOUNTAIN TORRENT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a>{272}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">and it is as fast mended. The waves caused by the rough March winds send -great volumes of water splashing over the weak embankment, almost -washing the men off their feet. The work is continued all day, force -relieving force at night. Thousands of lanterns flashing in the -darkness, as the men pass to and fro with wheelbarrows filled with sacks -of earth and lumber, present a scene weird and ghostly. At intervals -during the night the sound of steam whistles tell of some new break, -some new danger to face and overcome. Often the negroes seem little -disposed to work, even at good wages, preferring to sit on the levee and -fish. But when the danger is fully upon them, they can work furiously. -Sometimes, in leading the forlorn hope, some energetic old fellow may -shout to his terrified, pious brethren, “Dis is no time for prayin’—go -to work!” Out on the border districts where help is not easily obtained, -even the wives and daughters of planters—ladies of culture and -refinement, it may be—sometimes turn out and toil in the mud and rain, -contending with the foe that threatens their homes. If the levees before -a great city be threatened, as frequently occurs, the scene becomes -still more exciting. Business is almost entirely suspended in the city -and the clerks in the dry goods stores, the lawyers, the merchants and -the common laborers stand shoulder to shoulder with picks and shovels -fighting the common enemy. What the outcome will be no one knows. All -are alarmed. Hundreds of boats are moored to back-doors, ready for use -when the worst shall come. Merchants have placed their goods high up in -their stores, hoping the waters will not reach them when they rise. -Housekeepers have packed up their goods out of the way of the water and -laid in stores enough to last for weeks, in case it becomes necessary to -stay indoors for that length of time. All railway communication with the -outside world is cut<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a>{273}</span> off, nearly all the tracks being several feet -under water. The mails are sent miles away, by boat.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_273_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_273_sml.jpg" width="450" height="261" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>“NO TIME FOR PRAYIN’: GO TO WORK!”</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Such cases were frequent in the recent floods. Greenville, Mississippi, -is one of the towns that suffered much. The water from crevasses above -came down upon the town, and were stopped by a levee around the city. -But while the enemy in the rear could be held in check, it was not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a>{274}</span> so -easy to repel the attack upon the river front; and here the water won -the day. All efforts were in vain. The forlorn and miserable city -appeared as though some savage caricaturist had endeavored to perpetrate -a burlesque upon Venice. A few skiffs crept about the muddy currents -that answered for streets. On outhouses and fences occasionally might be -seen a few melancholy looking fowls. Here some grocer paddled about to -see if his patrons wanted aught; yonder went a funeral party in a single -boat. Many a weary mile would have to be traversed to reach a dry grave. -The lower floors of most houses lay beneath the water, and from the -second-story disconsolate people looked out upon the turbid waste, -wondering what the end would be.</p> - -<p>If the scene upon the levee is exciting when efforts are made to avoid -breaks, still more so is it when a small break is being closed. The -scurrying to and fro; the hoarse shouting of orders; the wild cries for -aid from threatened points; men plunging up to their necks in the -rushing flood, driving stakes, dragging sacks of earth, heaving in -boulders and rubble stone; others bringing timbers and planks from -hundreds of yards away; the dim, smoky glare of countless torches; the -burly figures of wearied men begrimed almost beyond semblance of -humanity—such a picture is more like a strange nightmare that one never -forgets.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly there is a general melting away of hundreds of feet of the -sodden levee. The fight is lost. Scores of the laborers leave for their -homes to save what they can of their property. From farm to farm the -news spreads. In the dead hour of the night, when all is serene, the -dread cry comes, “the levee is broken,” and then comes a wild stampede -for safety, many in their night clothes, women dragging their babes, -husbands carrying their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a>{275}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_275_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_275_sml.jpg" width="450" height="263" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>FUNERAL DURING THE FLOOD.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">wives, and the poor negroes, wild with terror, unable to do anything but -stand and view the scene of the waters rushing to bear them to their -doom. Magnificent plantations of yesterday are to-day seas of rushing, -foaming water. Here and there in the shallows stand a few shivering, -half-starved cattle; and occasionally is seen a family,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a>{276}</span> still hoping -that the flood may not be disastrous, clinging to their residence.</p> - -<p>The view of a crevasse in an inland levee, miles away from the channel, -is strikingly grand; but for those in its path the grandeur is lost in a -feeling of despair and danger. The ocean presents a different spectacle, -for the ocean has no swift current, and its waves are greater. The -foaming mountain torrent can not compare with it, for the mountain -torrent is at best but a few yards in breadth. But in the swollen river -is found an apparently illimitable expanse of water, heaving restlessly -under the swift foot of the wind, or foaming and dashing at the roar of -the storm, hurling itself in billows upon the toilers on the levee, and -striking them into the ditch beyond, yet, with all the fury expended -laterally, rushing seaward almost with the speed of a train. For miles -between the levee and the main channel the stream pours through a great -forest, or canebrake, or cypress swamp.</p> - -<p>The fearful noise of a crevasse may be heard for a long distance. No -need to tell the planters far inland the meaning of that distant hoarse -murmur. Approaching the break, the murmur swells to a deep sullen roar. -The water comes tearing through the dense forest at race-horse speed, -not in a broad belt, but closing in from every direction, pouring into -that break as into an immense funnel. As far as the eye can penetrate -into that dense, gloomy forest, it is raggedly carpeted with a heavy, -tossing sheet of snow-white foam. It breaks over stumps, snags and the -up-turned roots of fallen trees, flinging white clouds of spray up among -the branches of trees overhead, mounts in snowy billows over piles of -driftwood, it snarls, hisses and roars like some mad monster at -everything in its path, and then plows in one solid foaming mass into -that raging maelstrom between the ragged, frothy jaws of the crevasse.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a>{277}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_277_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_277_sml.jpg" width="450" height="313" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>BREAKING OF THE LEVEE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a>{278}</span></p> - -<p>“Nearest the break, just as it sweeps into the crevasse, it curls on -either side, and huge breakers mark the line where it chafes the -crumbling ends of the levee. Once beyond the broken barriers, it plunges -into a wild, lonesome-looking swamp, that still shows the tracks of the -former disaster. Here, for the first time, the real power of this -tremendous flood begins to assert itself. Supple young trees, eight or -ten inches in diameter, are bent and stripped of every leaf, their naked -branches and twigs whipping the foaming surface of the rustling -cataract.</p> - -<p>“It sweeps into the standing timber with a hoarse roar, foaming around -sturdy trunks, and here and there one sees a tall tree swaying to and -fro like a drunken man: then caught in some fierce eddy, it is twisted -from its roots, and reeling around and around it falls into that -tremendous current and is swept away to swell the tangled dams of drift -beyond.”</p> - -<p>As far inland as the eye can reach there is nothing but flood to be -seen, the currents opening out and racing away in every direction. At -some distance away may be seen a flooded settlement, the water washing -the windows of fifteen or twenty abandoned cottages. On a huge mound -some five or six feet out of the outflow, is a group of disconsolate -horses and mules who have taken refuge from the rising flood, and other -hungry-looking brutes wander over the levee.</p> - -<p>But once out of the immediate neighborhood of the break, the character -of the scene changes. The current slackens, as the water spreads out -like an immense fan, and at length becomes almost imperceptible. It may -come in the night, giving no warning of its approach. It steals through -the grass-lands like a serpent. The slumbering family hear no sound. The -water creeps stealthily around the house, like the Red men in the olden -days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a>{279}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_279_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_279_sml.jpg" width="450" height="388" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SURPRISED BY THE WATER.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The morning sun finds it lapping uneasily in the breeze against the -threshold. The wakening family find it crawling across the floor toward -their beds. They look upon a region that appears a vast marsh; grass -tops, bushes, little islets and tall trees, everywhere rising out of the -water. In the barnyard the drowsy cattle chew their cuds in peaceful -unconsciousness of the wily foe. The pig<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a>{280}</span> in the lower corner of the lot -grunts contentedly to find his wallow freshly moistened. The quacking -duck paddles complacently about the fields. The farmer watches anxiously -the progress of the flood, trusting that there may be no necessity of -leaving. Valuable property that can not be removed is taken to the -second floor, if there be one. A boat, if there be one, is carefully -overhauled to be ready for an emergency.</p> - -<p>Noon comes. The flood has risen but a few inches. The cattle eye the -water curiously. The negroes in their cabins speculate upon the future, -and each tells his tale of “hair-breadth ’scapes and ventures” in other -days, and one and all agree that “<i>dis</i> ain’t no flood—sho! no! You -orter hab seed the big high water way back in seventy-four. <i>Dat</i> was -sumfin’ like;” and in humble submission to the opinions of some old -granny of unknown age and grizzled wool, it is unanimously allowed that -“we ain’t got no cause to be skeered <i>dis</i> time; not much!” So the -happy-go-lucky fellows sit and chat, while some oily skinned picaninnies -wade to deeper parts of the water, cast in their hooks and begin to swap -tales of the wonderful fish their progenitors had caught in other -floods, and to wonder if more brilliant achievements may not be recorded -of them.</p> - -<p>The wind rises. The great crevasse, miles away, has widened till it is -hundreds of yards in extent and many feet in depth, pouring upon the -land millions of cubic feet of water every minute. With the swelling -breeze, the flood goes surging inland in long, low, lazy waves. The -planters who have not already taken flight, conclude it is useless to -endeavor to remain. If the way is open, the cattle are driven inland to -the hills. Some of the negroes straggle after their employers; others -cling to their rude log cabins—all they have to lose—it may be that -the flood<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a>{281}</span> will not be serious. So long as corn meal and bacon abound, -they may enjoy an endless picnic. They can fling their lines from time -to time into the stream, and perchance vary their repasts with fish-fry -or turtle stew.</p> - -<p>Evening comes. The lazy waves now nearly reach the window-sills upon the -lower floors. The cattle left behind low uneasily as they move about in -water knee-deep. No one is near to feed them, and the udders of the cows -are swollen with milk. Here and there a mule is seen, stamping -impatiently and braying mournfully for lack of feed. The water displays -a decided but wayward current, swirling now this way, now that. All the -land is covered. Here and there numerous snakes have crawled into the -bushes to escape the yellow flood. Out in a lowland tract a deserted -shanty bobs idly along, now grounding a moment, now floating lazily -around a great tree, finally becoming an item of the great mass of drift -that has lodged at the edge of the forest, and swarms with small animals -flying from the clutch of the crawling water. The game of the canebrakes -and swamp regions has fled to the uplands, and from time to time some -needy refugee family, heedless of game laws, adds venison to its scanty -store.</p> - -<p>The night wears away. The negro cabins are deserted: most have floated -away with the growing current. The simple folk have abandoned them. Some -have made their way to the levees, hoping for a passing steamer. Others, -dwelling above the crevasse, have little to fear from currents; and as -the water rises around them, they take to hastily constructed rafts, -transferring their few household effects thereto, and dwelling for days -in a floating camp, sheltered from the rain by a wagon-sheet or old -quilts stretched over a low ridge-pole. Mooring the rafts to trees, they -lead, to others a romantic, to themselves a precarious existence.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a>{282}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_282_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_282_sml.jpg" width="450" height="157" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>NOT SO ROMANTIC AS IT LOOKS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a>{283}</span></p> - -<p>A whole village deserted by its people wears a singularly melancholy -aspect. Let the reader row with a press correspondent through the little -town of Bayou Sara La, as it appeared during the recent overflow. The -town lies on rolling ground, dotted here and there with low hills or -drifts of sand and alluvial deposits, left thereby the floods of ages -ago.</p> - -<p>“Even over the center of the roadway back from the front street, which -is just behind the levee, it is unusual to find less than four feet of -water, while in many places a nine-foot oar can not be made to touch -bottom. In some of what, in times of low water, are beautiful residence -streets, the boat as it went gliding on the shining moonlight flood -would pass so close under the spreading branches of the great live oaks, -which interlock their boughs over the roadway, that her occupants would -be compelled to bend down almost level with the gunwales to avoid being -swept off the thwarts. The freaks of the currents wandering through the -flooded streets seem wholly unaccountable. Sometimes they would run -parallel with, and at others directly at right angles to the streets. -Often progress would be blocked by long sections of wooden-plank -sidewalks, gates, doors and cisterns that had formed barriers across the -street, while at every turning the boatman would be compelled to dodge -huge floating masses of drift in which out-houses, timbers, sections of -roofs and other heavy wreckage inextricably commingling were slowly -floating on the lazy current.</p> - -<p>“The air was soft and balmy as that of a midsummer night, and the mellow -light of the young moon that was already hanging low over the great sand -hills to the westward, spread a soft pale light of deep blue on the -bright spangled sky. There were faint night breezes waving the topmost -branches of the great shade trees, but they did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a>{284}</span> touch the -rippleless, shining flood which gleamed in long narrow paths. The white -moonbeams that, like ribbons of burnished silver, but slept inky and -motionless under the black shadows of the trees, and the rounded -outlines of each great shade tree was sharply reflected in the -mirror-like surface of the water and bordered by a dainty rim of silver. -Houses with snow-white walls were faithfully mirrored in that -motionless, glittering flood. While to the eastward of each lay a long, -deep shadow—a starless night—huge shapeless masses of wreckage -drifting past black opaque shadows that grew longer and more intense as -the young moon sank so low that her lower horizon was dipping behind a -great hoary-crested sand hill in the west. The scene was exquisitely -beautiful, but at the same time weird and uncanny. Not a human voice was -heard, but near at hand between the lower whispering of the softly -dipping oars came the ever varying chorus of the frogs mingling with the -low musical murmuring of the mighty river and the deep sullen roar of -the crevasse on the far off southern shore. There the sides of the skiff -would brush the perfumed shrubbery of a submerged lawn; there could be -seen the tree-tops of a splendid orchard just rising out of the flood, -their lower limbs swaying and bending with the current. In all this -scene of beautiful ruins there was a sense of utter loneliness that was -strangely oppressive. Of those who a week ago filled this bright and -hustling little town to overflowing, only six families remain. The -others have all fled to the adjoining hills, leaving their houses to -their fate till the water shall have subsided.”</p> - -<p>Such villages as are not deserted have little to do with the world -beyond. The post-offices are often exhausted, in addition to the fact -that the nearest points not blockaded are miles away; so that the -telegraph only brings<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a>{285}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_285_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_285_sml.jpg" width="450" height="393" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>TELEGRAPHING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">news from beyond, or tells the world how fares the little hamlet. The -operator may be driven to the upper story, or to the roof, there to -dispute possession with stray turtles or snakes, or to listen to the -hoarse remonstrance of some old bullfrog whose nocturnal rest is broken -by the clicking of the key. All around is a dreary waste of water, on -which the gleam of the moon appears like a ghostly foot-path, and the -dark shadows of the naked-limbed trees<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a>{286}</span> menace like gaunt spectres. From -his elevated position the operator may see the flash of the search-light -of a steamer miles away, as the vessel flits along the stream, -collecting refugees from the shores; and ever and anon the deep harsh -bray of the fog-horn breaks the stillness. Save for these distant tokens -of life there is</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Death and silence! death and silence!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Death and silence all around!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>At the great crevasse itself the spectacle is exciting. The fight is not -abandoned. Desperate efforts are made to secure the ends from further -washing. That once done, there is hope of closing the gap. At the -extremity of the break a floating pile-driver is fiercely hammering -heavy timbers into the spongy soil. There a tiny, fussing tug is engaged -in trying to float a mat of brushwood against the broken bank, while a -score of anxious men are watching an opportunity to peg it down. Others -endeavor to weave pliant branches among the driven piles to afford a -better hold for the guano sacks of earth that are being thrown into the -break. From these moist earth is often washed out by the powerful -current as though it were melting sugar; while now and then some timber, -undermined by the steadily deepening current, leaps upward as though -endowed with a life of its own, and dashes away on the foaming stream. -After hours of the fierce contest, the ends are at last secured. The -pigmy has stopped the giant. The work progresses more easily, now that -the workers are sure of their ground. The stubborn creatures contest -every inch of space. The roar of the battle goes up incessantly. One -fights for life, the other for liberty—such liberty as the tyrant asks -of his subjects; such liberty as the wolf asks of the sheep, or the hawk -of the doves; such liberty as the strong has always demanded of the weak -and defenseless.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a>{287}</span></p> - -<p>By and by the voice of the struggling monster grows weaker. The -persistent creatures that swarm about him assault him with renewed vigor -and pertinacity. The roar of the conflict dies away by degrees. Step by -step the two bands of men approach each other. Only a narrow channel -remains. Presently the forces clasp hands over the chasm. In a few -moments there remains but a tiny, remonstrant, murmuring trickle of -water. Another stroke and it is finished. The pigmy has conquered the -giant. The ant has chained the elephant.</p> - -<p>But what, in the meantime, has been the fate of the district along the -levee front? Here the water does not rise slowly and stealthily as in -the regions far inland, where the force of the current is lost. The -planters and all their available forces, it may be, have been busily -fighting the rising floods, but have been finally vanquished momentarily -by wind and wave. Hoping to hold the levee, few, perhaps, have removed -their families, goods, or chattels, or livestock. Then when the break -comes, the raging flood rushes in over the fields and woods, demolishing -out-houses, shaking cottages, drowning stock, hurling masses of drift -against dwellings that might otherwise stand—seeming as though a living -genius of destruction.</p> - -<p>Here a family, carrying only a few changes of clothes, and a purse but -too scantily filled, hurry wildly toward the river front, in hope that a -passing steamer may pick them up; there a planter who has saved his -family is hurrying a drove of cattle to the levee, vaguely wondering, in -the mean time, how he shall feed them if the flood lasts long; here a -negro family, chattering noisily like frightened crows, trudges through -water and mire knee-deep or waist-deep, bearing on their heads bundles -of dirty bedding, or old clothes—one or two lugging sacks of meal and -flitches of bacon, with a blind confidence that they<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_288" id="page_288"></a>{288}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_288_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_288_sml.jpg" width="450" height="299" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RESCUING PEOPLE IN INLAND DISTRICTS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_289" id="page_289"></a>{289}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">have made sufficient provision for every emergency. There a forlorn -squatter is punting a rude raft with his few belongings slowly athwart -the restless flood. Yonder a band of negroes, unaware of the break in -time to reach the river, have congregated in an old gin house, and swarm -upon its roof, yelling and gesticulating wildly in their terror, for -aid, which they fear will never reach them; and, as the water rises -higher, roofs, barns, hen-coops, and carcasses go floating past or lodge -against their frail support, increasing their peril every moment. Some -moan and cry; others pray vigorously, confessing their misdeeds with -voluble freedom; occasionally there is some old crone who terrifies her -auditors with the assertion that “de Lord is sendin’ another ’varsal -flood on men for deir wickedness,” at which the wicked groan and cry, -and the pious clap their hands and shout, trusting to shortly see the -salvation of the Lord. In the distance appear a few figures perched in -trees, seeming like enormous crows; over yonder, some unfortunate has -shinned up a telegraph pole, which creaks and sways with the rush of the -water, threatening constantly to return the trembling refugee to the -flood beneath. The last unfortunates have straggled to the levee. The -rest must wait for relief. Here and there a few cattle stand lowing in -water half over their sides; a restless, snorting horse plunges -impatiently about. A floating tree-trunk strikes them from their -hillock, to swim aimlessly about till other drifting masses ride them -down. A hen-coop floats past, on which a hungry chanticleer is perched, -occasionally challenging the flood, and in the meantime, with sidelong -glance eyeing the confusion and in undertones discussing the case with -his half-starved, feathered harem.</p> - -<p>It is a motley throng that huddles along the levee. That narrow strip of -earth, but eight feet wide at best, is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_290" id="page_290"></a>{290}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_290_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_290_sml.jpg" width="450" height="295" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CAMPS ON THE LEVEE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_291" id="page_291"></a>{291}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">all that is left as a footing for hundreds. The wares swash heavily at -their feet; or sometimes, as the wind blows stronger, they leap clear -over the frail embankment. Trudging wearily back and forth on the -clayey, slippery dykes are planters, once well-to-do, with families of -culture and refinement; others of a middle class, and occasional -specimens of a type denominated by the “man and brother” as “po’ white -trash” are to be seen among the throng. The “man and brother” is usually -in the majority in the lowland districts, and adds greatly to the -picturesqueness of the levees in time of flood. Some rear their tiny -excuses for tents along the bank, and spend the time in uneasily -watching the turbid water. Occasionally some Dinah or Chloe, who has -been on the levee for a week, goes through the motion of washing clothes -in the surging stream, gaining thereby the approval of conscience over a -duty performed, whether the garments be improved or not. Here there is -little concern, these being wandering roustabouts who had nothing to -lose; there some grizzled Uncle Tom bemoans the loss of his two scrawny -mules, and the few pigs and fowls, and his favorite cow, which represent -the savings of years from his toil in his little patch of corn and -cotton; and he feels even sorer over his losses than the rich planter -who has lost a hundred times as much. So the little bands assemble, -mingle and disperse, comparing notes, and all waiting in painful anxiety -for some steamer to pick them up before the sodden levee shall dissolve -beneath their feet and leave them struggling in the stream. At length -the government relief boat appears, and gathers the throngs by hundreds, -to transport them to higher lands. Beyond the levee, skiffs and -flat-boats move about the submerged region, picking up the people who -have taken refuge on the housetops, among the trees, or on piles of -drift. None on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_292" id="page_292"></a>{292}</span> levee fear being passed in the night, for the -powerful search-light illuminates every straggling group.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_292_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_292_sml.jpg" width="450" height="379" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WAITING FOR A STEAMER.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>On reaching a place of safety from the waters, scores of the refugees -are almost penniless, and the question of food is a pressing one. The -liberal contributions of scores of generous souls suffice but for a -short time. The government must again come to the front, and issue -rations, or a money equivalent, sufficient to maintain the destitute -till<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_293" id="page_293"></a>{293}</span> the falling of the waters allows them to resume labor upon their -lands. After that, the crop-lien system in vogue in the South enables -the people to get credit of their merchants until the cotton-picking or -corn-gathering.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_293_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_293_sml.jpg" width="450" height="307" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE SEARCH-LIGHT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>When the waters subside, and the people return, it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_294" id="page_294"></a>{294}</span> often difficult -to find old landmarks. In one place huge trenches may be washed out; but -away from the immediate vicinity of the crevasse the land is covered -with mud, varying from a few inches to four or five feet in -thickness—sufficient guarantee of amazing fertility, when the ground -becomes dry enough to work. In the numerous little depressions in the -surface are stagnant pools that linger for a month or two. The larger -ones, if not before filled, are converted into ponds or marshes, which -only thorough draining will destroy. The air is tainted by the hundreds -of carcasses that are entangled in the heaps of drift. The hot dank -soil, steaming under the summer sun, brings disease in the wake of the -flood.</p> - -<p>Louisiana, from its character, is usually the principal sufferer: the -Arkansas borders fare little better. All along the course of the stream -the land is dotted with lakes and pools and marshy lands, created by -former overflows. Along the lower portion of the river bayous or sloughs -open from either bank, and meander lazily toward the gulf. As showing -the character of the country may be mentioned the Little and St. Francis -Rivers, which flow southward from southeast Missouri, nearly parallel to -the Mississippi, and but forty miles from it at their furthest points. -In flowing one hundred and twenty miles south they double and twist, -expanding into sluggish bayous as broad as the Mississippi itself, or -into shallow island-dotted lakes; and the total length of the numerous -bends and whimsical curves of the main stream, St. Francis, is over two -hundred miles. In like manner, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, is but fifty miles -from the mouth of the sluggish sandy Arkansas as the crow flies; but to -follow the windings of that stream the distance is nearly three times as -great. The backwater of the Mississippi finds its way into these -sluggish channels, and renders comparatively<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_295" id="page_295"></a>{295}</span> useless any levees on the -banks of the great river near their mouths: and from the northern border -of Arkansas to the gulf the old Father of Waters pursues a course as -intricate in its windings as the St. Francis. It is asserted by many -that the mouth of the stream was once perhaps not far below Memphis, and -that all the land to the southward has been produced partly by slow -upheaval of the sea-bottom and partly by the alluvial deposits of the -river and the gradual extension of its delta, which now projects many -miles into the gulf. This would account for the low and swampy character -of the land in the entire region.</p> - -<p>The writer has endeavored to give an accurate general view of southern -floods. While differing in some features from floods in other lands, -they themselves are much alike. The description of a flood of to-day -would answer with but little adaptation as a narrative of fifty years -ago: and further details of particular flood scenes are unnecessary. -Such great overflows are not common, the levees holding the river in -check on ordinary occasions. Yet, one flood season deserves more than -passing notice.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_296" id="page_296"></a>{296}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /><br /> -<small>THE FLOOD OF 1890.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“And rearing Lindis backward pressed,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Shook all her trembling bankes amaine,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then madly at the eygre’s breast<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Flung up her weltering walles againe,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then banks came down with ruin and rout,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then beaten foam flew round about,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And all the mighty floods were out.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">So farre, so fast the eygre drave;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The heart had hardly time to beat,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Before a shallow, seething wave,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Sobbed in the grasses at our feet.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The feet had hardly time to flee,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Before it broke against the knee,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And all the world was in the sea.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>HE great flood of 1874 is remembered as the most destructive of human -life in the history of the Mississippi valley. It came almost without -warning. The rolling river rose rapidly, and the levees broke in many -places before the masses suspected danger. Hundreds of people were -drowned; and as for the losses of property, no attempt was made to -estimate the amount. Certainly it amounted to many millions. Perhaps -only the Chicago fire could compare with it in this respect. Another -great year of high water was 1882: but the damage done was smaller, as -the levees had been heightened and strengthened.</p> - -<p>But the floods of this year, in area submerged, in long duration, in -height of water, and in the pertinacity with which they were contested, -eclipsed all records. There is no measuring the extent of the calamity. -There is nothing in the recorded history of the Mississippi valley<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_297" id="page_297"></a>{297}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_297_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_297_sml.jpg" width="450" height="196" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE SCENE AT HIGH WATER.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_298" id="page_298"></a>{298}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">to compare with it. In some places the gauges were completely -overflowed. Levees that had withstood former waters, and had been -strengthened since, snapped like whip-cords, under the tremendous -strain.</p> - -<p>Early in the present year, the Signal Service warned the people of the -lower Mississippi that very high water might be expected, as the snows -of the upper Ohio region had been very heavy, while the unusually early -spring would bring the flood water into the lower river at the time of -heavy spring rains. There the levees were carefully examined, and every -precaution against high water taken. But the people, though expecting -high water, had not reckoned upon such a flood as came. The river rose -above the great flood of 1874, passing all previous records by two feet, -and reaching a foot higher than the levees had been built to sustain.</p> - -<p>On January 1, Cairo reported eighteen feet and rising, while the river -was falling from Louisville up the Ohio, was falling at St. Louis, and -stationary on the lower Mississippi. From the first day of the year the -river rose at Cairo, and in ten days the river had risen thirteen feet.</p> - -<p>From Cincinnati down the Ohio increased in volume for four days, and on -January 16, at Cairo, it passed the danger line (forty feet) by -three-tenths. The rise in sixteen days had been one and three-eighths -feet a day. At that time the river was rising slowly from Evansville -down, and falling above. A few days later came another rise in the Ohio, -aided by the Tennessee and Cumberland, and by the 1st of February the -water at Cairo was almost a flood. The volumes of water continued till -the lower Mississippi was bank full. By the latter end of February, the -danger point had been reached at Memphis, Shreveport, Vicksburg, and New -Orleans. Cairo was already in trouble.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_299" id="page_299"></a>{299}</span></p> - -<p>On March 12, Cairo reached its maximum, 48.9. The Signal Service Office -had given out a prediction of fifty-one feet, but the failure of the -upper Mississippi to rise, prevented that stage being reached. The river -at St. Louis had then but five feet of water.</p> - -<p>On March 14, Chief Signal Officer A. W. Greeley sent out a warning from -Washington to the people living on the lower Mississippi. He told them -that the rain they had had for four days had been drained into the -tributaries of the great river and would swell it considerably. The -greatest flood ever known might be expected within a few days. All stock -and valuable movable property should be taken to the hills. New Orleans -had then higher water than ever before.</p> - -<p>The river was then rising in the lower Missouri, and St. Louis was -reporting rapid increase in the stage of water. Cairo had fallen, but -the upper Ohio and lower tributaries brought back the upper line of the -flood to near the maximum stage.</p> - -<p>The lower Mississippi tributaries began to swell. The Arkansas and Red -Rivers overflowed their banks. Low levees grew weak and succumbed. Low -lying towns and plantations were flooded.</p> - -<p>Then came the nights and days of terrible struggle along lines of levee -that protected vast tracts of lands. Men were pressed into service -whether they liked the work or no, and the shotgun patrol was -established for the protection of the safer levees from being cut. The -upper Mississippi swelled rapidly, and while not reaching a dangerous -stage itself, it added enormously to the peril below. Then came floods -in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.</p> - -<p>The first serious trouble from the Mississippi in Arkansas occurred in -Phillips county, above the mouth of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_300" id="page_300"></a>{300}</span> White River, where some five -hundred people were driven from their homes to the highest points by the -backwater, and the cattle, gaunt, wild-eyed, starving, were forced to -subsist on cane, twigs of cotton wood and other trees felled for them. -Three times the backwater and heavy local rains flooded this region, -while the retiring flood left a deposit of mud from one to five feet in -depth, precluding the possibility of turning the hungry cattle upon the -land for two or three weeks, and rendering it impossible to raise a crop -of corn or more than half a crop of cotton. At Cairo, the rivers were -one hundred miles in width, covering fifty miles of Missouri lowlands, -and extending to the hills in Kentucky; while Cairo itself was partially -flooded. The railroads in that section were forced to stop, and the -people fled to the hills for their lives. Steady rains fell in Arkansas, -Ohio and lower Missouri River valleys, and by the time these began to -subside, the floods in the streams below had passed previous records.</p> - -<p>The greatest danger and trouble was in the valley from Arkansas City -southward. Heavy rains produced a break in the levee at that place. -March 28, the levees broke at two points on the eastern shore, between -Arkansas City and Memphis, Tennessee, submerging many thousands of acres -of land, and sweeping southeastward to the Yazoo River. Greenville, -Mississippi, a city of 10,000, is partially protected by a high ridge -through the city; but there was no means of holding back the enemy in -the rear. The town is situated at the extremity of a sharp eastward -curve, and a violent storm at length aided the rapid current in cutting -away the front defense, and the town was forced to yield. Strenuous -efforts to close the breaks above completely failed; and all that could -be done was to secure the ends of the crevasses to prevent their -widening. Cattle were herded for a time on the levees and embankments,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_301" id="page_301"></a>{301}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_301_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_301_sml.jpg" width="450" height="371" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>NEGROES MOVING OUT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">but these gradually yielded, and the animals were drowned in droves. -Defenses yielded where least expected. By April 3, there was two feet of -water in the streets of Greenville. There was nothing left but to make -the best of the situation. People took to the upper floors, and appeals -for state, national and individual aid were sent out. The telephone -lines leading out of the city were destroyed, and communication with the -outer world was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_302" id="page_302"></a>{302}</span> greatly hindered. Occasional reports of destitution and -suffering came from Greenville, but these were contradicted by meetings -of leading citizens, who said, “there is no destitution here that home -people can not relieve. If the negroes want to wait for government -rations and refuse from $1.50 to $2.50 per day to work on levees, their -starving arouses no sympathy. While all these sensational reports of -destitution are traveling about, the steamboats are running into Memphis -and Vicksburg begging for levee hands, and the native negro is sitting -on the levee fishing.”</p> - -<p>The water swept rapidly southward, submerging almost the entire region -between the Yazoo and Mississippi. Meanwhile, the trouble in Louisiana -was just beginning. The banks began caving near the levee in Madison -Parish Front, compelling the erection of a new levee in the rear of the -old one. But the fight went on stubbornly for three weeks, both along -the river front and along the bayous in the interior. Atchafalaya River -was forty-five feet above low water. The contest for the levees there -was as bitter as along the main stream. Occasional breaks occurred, but -they were closed or kept from spreading by the twenty thousand men who -labored day and night along the stream between Bayou Sara and New -Orleans.</p> - -<p>Ere long it appeared that the greatest danger was along the Concordia -and Pointe Coupee parish fronts. (A parish in Louisiana coincides with -what is known as a county elsewhere). Considerable appropriations were -made, and the head of the third district levee system, Captain D. C. -Kingman, conducted the fight on the Pointe Coupee front in person. The -battle ended here in disastrous defeat. The men held their ground -manfully till April 20, no serious breaks having then occurred. All that -day the men were compelled to work in a drenching rain storm that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_303" id="page_303"></a>{303}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_303_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_303_sml.jpg" width="450" height="364" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>STOCK RAFT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">was beating fiercely against the already overburdened and sodden levees -on the west bank of the river. The danger at the great Morganza bend -grew excessive. It was hoped that during the night the storm would -cease, or at least that the wind might shift to some other quarter, but -when the morning broke there were the same leaden skies overhead, with -darker masses still scurrying to the westward before a fierce easterly -gale that was as fresh and strong as ever,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_304" id="page_304"></a>{304}</span> and which hurled storms of -white-capped waves upon the rain-soaked earthworks. Bags of earth and -sand were piled up along the levee, to prevent the waves from washing -over. Wilder and more furious raged the storm: higher and higher beat -the waves, as the day passed. “In the teeth of drenching surf and -blinding rain, the battle with rising flood went bravely on. Sacks were -piled upon sacks and revetments of plank and jute bagging were carried -up till the superstructure upon the crown of the levee looked like a -fair-sized levee itself. Not only the men, but even the women and -children fought bravely for their homes in the teeth of that wild -furious storm.</p> - -<p>“As Monday night closed in, the situation was more gloomy than ever. The -heavy leaden sky was deeply shadowed by low hanging clouds of dull slaty -black, driven before the fierce gale that was sweeping up the reach, -thrashing it into long ribs of foam that every now and then broke clear -over the levees all along the New Texas system, and beat savagely -against the great Morganza, just below them.</p> - -<p>“A nightfall dark and wild with wind and storm was followed by a night -black and tempestuous, and still the desperate fight went on. Here and -there ruddy, flaring torches struggled with the murky gloom, but within -their dim halos could be seen the big breakers hungrily licking the tops -of the sodden barriers that throbbed and quivered beneath every cruel -blow.</p> - -<p>“Planters’ wives and daughters stood ankle-deep in mud, filling sacks -and helping to lift them upon the shoulders of the men who were carrying -them to the levee. Two bold Creoles stood at one weak place, though they -felt the levee dissolving beneath their feet. They sank to their knees -in the mud and water, but still they stood stubbornly on the sinking -dike, piling sacks in the breach, though<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_305" id="page_305"></a>{305}</span> again and again the flood -seemed to be in the very act of overpowering and sweeping them away in -the very center of a crevasse. It was a bloodless battle, but many a man -has won fame on a gory battle-field who never turned a more steadfast, -unflinching gaze into the very jaws of death than did those brave -defenders of their homes during that terrible night.”</p> - -<p>Suddenly there was a wild outcry and a hurried mustering of forces at -the old Morganza levee. But men and materials were no longer of any use. -The dull yellow flood poured through the gap like a mighty cataract. -Four hundred feet of the embankment were gone in a few moments.</p> - -<p>At once there was a <i>sauve qui peut</i>. The volunteer forces of the -neighborhood hurried away to save what they could. As the Morganza levee -was backed by a wide uninhabited swamp, there was little danger of any -lives being lost by the sudden breach, though the people had clung to -their homes to the last.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, numerous other breaks were occasioned by the storm. The first -occurred at Bayou Sara, and others followed so rapidly that within -twenty-four hours fifteen huge crevasses were pouring their torrents -upon the land. Two other breaks occurred in the Morganza; and so vast -was the volume of water drawn out by the three that the river at Bayou -Sara, a few miles below, fell a foot in twenty-four hours, while the -decline above was but an inch or two. Despite the gloomy outlook, the -men toiled wearily on and finally succeeded in closing most of the -breaks; but the great Morganza crevasses defied every effort. Then came -breaks in the Atchafalaya, and the turbid waters united and swept -southward one hundred miles to the sea. Some towns were abandoned to the -snakes and frogs; in others the people put false floors in their -dwellings and prepared<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_306" id="page_306"></a>{306}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_306_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_306_sml.jpg" width="450" height="397" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>PICKING UP REFUGEES.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">for a siege. Government steamers plied up and down the country, picking -up the refugees and all accessible livestock. The effort to keep back -the water was at an end, and all that could be done of any especial use -was in the way of salvage. The only remaining question was that of -providing for the destitute. Appropriations from the State treasury were -made, and corporations and private individuals<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_307" id="page_307"></a>{307}</span> contributed liberally. -On April 24, two great breaks occurred in Concordia Parish, north of -Pointe Coupee, thus much increasing the submerged area. From the items -given, and the fact of breaks in east Baton Rouge, and the Nita -crevasse, and twenty or more below New Orleans, the reader may see that -a large portion of eastern Louisiana lay more or less under water. By -the end of April there was no fear of further danger, simply because -there was little harm left to do. The continual east wind added to the -distress on the lower river by sweeping Lake Pontchartrain and the gulf -water across the land, up to the levees on the river.</p> - -<p>The one peculiar feature of the recent flood is that but few lives were -lost—perhaps not a dozen, all told. The warning of the Signal Service -put people on their guard, and there was no occasion for surprise.</p> - -<p>The damage to property can not be estimated. Three thousand square miles -of land were more or less flooded in Louisiana alone; and while much of -this was useless swamp land, the larger part comprised some of the most -valuable sugar plantations in the State. Fifty thousand people were -directly affected by the flood in this region. All the railroads in this -district suffered severely from wash outs and loss of time and custom. -Any estimate of the damage done to planters should include not only real -estate and personal property, but also the amount of loss from inability -to raise the customary crops. This single item would be very large. But -when we consider the terrible havoc committed in other lands and -attended by fearful loss of life, we may be devoutly thankful that -things were no worse with us.</p> - -<p>The levee system is attended by peculiar perils. There must be constant -watching and repairing. At seasons of danger, patrols are needed, even -when the levees are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_308" id="page_308"></a>{308}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_308_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_308_sml.jpg" width="450" height="167" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DESERTED FARMHOUSE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_309" id="page_309"></a>{309}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">sound; for human nature is full of rank selfishness, and people who find -their property endangered are apt to cut the levee upon the opposite -side above them, to relieve themselves by flooding others. Hungry wolves -will eat a wounded companion; but man is almost the only animal that -seeks an opportunity for wounding his fellow that he may have a pretext -for devouring him.</p> - -<p>The craw-fish is another persistent enemy of the planter, undermining -levees with his numerous tunnels, and even penetrating the low lying -fields at a distance from the river, not infrequently damaging the roots -of growing crops. The ground becomes like a sponge, and water oozes from -the levees in countless places.</p> - -<p>There are other objections to the levee system; and while the -Mississippi River Commission, and a majority of engineers endorse it, -there are not a few equally capable men who denounce it as false in -theory, and mischievous in practice. The problem remains a puzzling one. -If the floods are unrestrained, a large portion of the river bottom -becomes uninhabitable a considerable portion of each year. As to -controlling them, a man of much experience said at the time of the flood -in 1882, “I have lived on the river for thirty years, and I have studied -it, for it was my business to do so. I have been steam-boating all that -time. I am now certain that I don’t know anything about it, or about -what ought to be done to it.”</p> - -<p>Another said, “When God put the river into this valley, He told it to go -wherever it pleased, and it always has done so, and always will.”</p> - -<p>Yet, the problem can not be considered hopeless, though mere experiments -are dangerous. There is little doubt that the levees would have -withstood the unprecedented high water of the present year, had it not -been aided by the severe and protracted easterly storm. But the levees<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_310" id="page_310"></a>{310}</span> -must remain a constant expense. More than $90,000,000 have already been -spent upon them, and the question is an even more vital one than ever.</p> - -<p>The chief opponents of the levee system advocate the increase of -outlets. A glance at a large-scale map of Louisiana will show the reader -how very narrow the mouths of the river are in comparison with its -breadth above; and when it is remembered that these passages required -deepening ere large vessels could reach New Orleans, it is clear that -the outlet men have good reasons for asserting that the proper thing to -do is to open as many outlets to the sea as possible. Yet, the majority -of engineers declare this to be unscientific, and radically wrong. The -levee men propose to narrow the channel and to rely upon the “scour” of -the water to keep the river bottom free enough to afford a clear passage -to the sea. The “scour” is aided as far as possible by clearing away -obstructions where it is desired to maintain a channel, and by placing -other obstructions in places where natural shallows have been formed. -This is the work carried on by the commission, and is one in theory with -that executed by Captain Eads in the South Pass of the Delta. He claimed -that if the water flowing through the pass should be confined within -comparatively narrow banks, it would scour out the bottom, and so deepen -its own bed. The primary result was exactly opposite to this. The water -refused to do the work expected of it, and following the law of nature, -sought the line of least resistance. Finding the South Pass obstructed, -or rather narrowed, much of it turned aside and poured through the -Southwest Pass and the Pas a l’Outre, and instead of scouring out the -South Pass, scoured the other two to the depth of two feet below where -their beds had formerly been. As soon as this was discovered, the two -passes were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_311" id="page_311"></a>{311}</span> partially dammed up, and the water thus forced through the -South Pass.</p> - -<p>It is evident, at a glance, that the amount of “scour” will only be as -much as will permit ready exit of the water at ordinary stages. The -moment that point is reached, the “scour” ceases, and does not again act -unless the river be still further narrowed. Hence, this plan, while -increasing facility of navigation, only robs Peter to pay Paul, so far -as protection is concerned; for what is gained in depth and speed, is -necessarily lost in breadth. The “scour” system has even failed to hold -its own, and has had to be reinforced by dredging machines.</p> - -<p>This last fact tends to confirm the arguments of the outlet advocates. -They urge that the immense amount of silt carried by the river is -destructive to the entire scheme. During flood time this silt is nearly -equally distributed throughout the water. When an overflow occurs, the -immense quantity is shown by the vast alluvial deposits left in the -submerged region.</p> - -<p>According to the believers in the anti-levee theory, if overflows are -prevented, the earth held in suspension, instead of being deposited -where it will enrich the land, will gradually sink to the bottom of the -river. The result will be that the river-bed will be steadily raised -until the surface of the water at ordinary stages will be as high as the -present floodmarks. Levees will have to be built higher and higher, the -river will be raised far above the adjacent country, and should a break -occur at any point, the consequence will be disastrous in the extreme. -As an example of the effect of confining a silt-bearing alluvial river -to its bed, the Hoang-Ho in China is cited. By constant dyking the -bottom of the stream has been raised above large tracts of the adjacent -country and some of the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_312" id="page_312"></a>{312}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_312_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_312_sml.jpg" width="450" height="317" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>FLOOD IN CHINA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_313" id="page_313"></a>{313}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">terrible catastrophes in the history of floods have resulted from a -break in the dykes during floods.</p> - -<p>The natural result of the continual raising of the bottom is that where -any serious breach occurs, it is simply impossible to repair it. So the -great river has changed its channel entirely several times in the past -two thousand years. In 1852 it burst through its banks three hundred and -fifty miles from the sea, and cut a new channel through the northern -part of the province of Shantung to the Gulf of Pechili, where it -emptied nearly two hundred and seventy-five miles north of its former -mouth in the Yellow Sea. The sharp angle at which it turned off is -noticeable on the maps. This region being almost unknown to foreigners -at that time, no one can say how many thousands or millions of lives -were destroyed by “China’s Sorrow.”</p> - -<p>But the greatest disaster of this sort occurred in 1887, when the heavy -fall rains of the northwest provinces swelled the streams, and the -Yellow River finally broke its banks at a sharp bend in the Ho-nan -province, where the town of Cheng Chou is situated. Frantic efforts were -made to close the gap, but in vain. It rapidly grew to a width of one -thousand two hundred yards. Some distance away the yellow torrent turned -into the valley of a small stream known as the Luchia, down which it -rushed in an easterly direction, overwhelming everything in its path.</p> - -<p>“Twenty miles from Cheng Chou it encountered Chungmou, a walled city of -the third rank. Its thousands of inhabitants were attending to their -usual pursuits. There was no telegraph to warn them, and the first -intimation of disaster came with the muddy torrent that rolled down upon -them. Within a short time only the tops of the high walls marked where a -flourishing city had been. Three hundred villages in the district -disappeared utterly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_314" id="page_314"></a>{314}</span> and the lands about three hundred other villages -were inundated.</p> - -<p>“The flood turned south from Chungmou, still keeping to the course of -the Luchia, and stretched out in width for thirty miles. This vast body -of water was from ten to twenty feet deep. Several miles south of -Kaifeng the flood struck a large river which there joins the Luchia. The -result was that the flood rose to a still greater height, and pouring -into a low-lying and very fertile plain which was densely populated, -submerged upward of one thousand five hundred villages.</p> - -<p>“Not far beyond this locality the flood passed into the province of -Anhui, where it spread very widely. The actual loss of life could not be -computed accurately, but the lowest intelligent estimate placed it at -one million five hundred thousand, and one authority placed it at seven -million.”</p> - -<p>The inundated provinces were under water four months. Two million -survivors were left destitute. The mind quails at the appalling -magnitude of such a catastrophe.</p> - -<p>Such is the warning given by the Yellow River. It is urged that if the -Mississippi is heavily leveed, the same results will follow. The Po is -another instance. The bed of the stream has been raised by dykes until -it is higher in many places than the tops of the houses, and such -disasters as have befallen the dwellers near the Yellow River of China, -have only been avoided because of the fact that the Po is a -comparatively diminutive stream. It is said that the same state of -affairs exists on a smaller scale still on the Tiber. But the opponents -of the outlet theory ascribe the China floods to ignorant engineering—a -charge that can not be easily made to stick, when it is remembered that -the Chinese have some of the most remarkable specimens of engineering -skill in existence.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_315" id="page_315"></a>{315}</span></p> - -<p>In support of the outlet theory, a number of experienced river captains -and pilots assert that the bed of the river has been slowly rising -during the past thirty years; that levees are needed at points where -none were years ago, while at the same time there is less water in the -channel at those points than formerly. At the time of this writing -Captain Condon is urging that an outlet be made through Lake Borgne, -from a point ten miles below New Orleans. His company is to assume all -costs, only asking that if successful, they shall be paid $500,000 for -every foot of reduction of the high water level. He asserts that -one-fourth of the flood waters can be readily drained off by this means. -This Lake Borgne idea, commendable as it appears, has been agitated, -more or less, for forty years, without being tried. A noted government -engineer, Charles Ellet, urged it at the time of the flood of 1853, -without avail.</p> - -<p>Whatever be the result of present deliberations, we must hope that no -effort will be spared to thoroughly test the merits of any system agreed -upon. But the long deliberations and the slow movements of the -governmental committees are vexatious to those most vitally concerned. A -prominent Louisianian says: “If the government and the people had raised -$500,000, placed a larger force, and held that Morganza levee, it would -have cost less than the mere relief expenditures, to say nothing of the -millions of total loss of the flood.” And <i>Harper’s Weekly</i> affirms that -“in one respect the casual observer is moved to sarcastic reflections. -When a flood does come, like the present one, or even one of much less -dimensions, the work of the commission is of necessity suspended, and at -first sight it seems extremely ridiculous to see engineers waiting for -the water to subside before they can place confines many feet below the -present surface, which confines are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_316" id="page_316"></a>{316}</span> intended, in part at least, for the -purpose of preventing similar overflows in the future.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_316_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_316_sml.jpg" width="450" height="342" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE HOLLAND DYKES.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Holland, the land of windmills, is another region which has a continual -struggle with this levee question. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_317" id="page_317"></a>{317}</span> native name of the country, -“Nederlands,” or Netherlands, refers to the character of the region, -which lies as an average, about on the sea level; while a great portion -is even somewhat lower. The thrifty people who settled here, erected -dykes to keep back the sea, and built windmills to pump out the water, -thus reclaiming a fertile tract from the bottom of the sea. But the -great dykes need incessant watching and repairing; and the expenditures -upon them up to the present time, have been greater than would have been -required to build them outright of solid copper. As the safety of the -dykes involves all that pertains to temporal life and welfare, the -people have learned not to trust to a single line of defenses. Second -and third lines are erected in the rear of the first; and many large -towns are completely girdled with defenses of their own.</p> - -<p>Since the population of this region is nearly five hundred to the square -mile, while our own land does not average over eighteen to the same -area, it is at once clear that the breaking of the dykes is a far more -serious and terrible matter than the rupture of our levees. Some fearful -disasters in Holland are recorded. In 1421, the dykes gave way at Dort, -and more than one hundred thousand people perished. In 1530, there was a -general failure of the dykes, and the people, not dreaming of danger, -were suddenly overwhelmed; four hundred thousand perished, and the loss -of property was proportionate. Two great floods have occurred within -this century, doing terrible damage.</p> - -<p>The Dutch, though peaceful and phlegmatic, are a liberty-loving people, -and have often shown themselves ready to sacrifice everything for their -freedom. They have found more than once its safety in the loss of all -else.</p> - -<p>One of the most thrilling and memorable incidents of the sort occurred -in 1574. Under the leadership of William the Silent, one of the noblest -of men, the Dutch<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_318" id="page_318"></a>{318}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_318_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_318_sml.jpg" width="450" height="330" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE RELIEF OF LEYDEN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_319" id="page_319"></a>{319}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">were struggling to throw off the yoke of Spain. Leyden was besieged. The -town was well fortified. The Spaniards endeavored to starve the city -into surrender. They swarmed about the outworks and taunted the famished -people as “beggars.” The contest grew daily more hopeless for the -besieged. Hundreds were dead of starvation. But the survivors hurled -defiance at the Spaniards. They were digging up every green thing, -devouring roots of grass, old leather, offal, anything that could in the -least aid to sustain life. But “so long as a dog barked in the city, the -Spaniards might know they held out.” A few faint-hearted ones pleaded -with the burgomaster to yield. But the brave Van der Werff, gaunt, pale, -wearied with care and watching, told them they could only surrender when -they had eaten him; so long as he lived, the city should not yield.</p> - -<p>It was a terrible time. Scores crept into out-of-the-way places to die, -that their misery might not be seen by their friends. The Dutch without -wished to help their friends within—but the lines of the enemy were too -strong. As the last resort, the “Silent Man” ordered the dykes cut. It -was done. The country folk abandoned their homes. A fleet of two hundred -vessels sailed in over the land fifteen miles. They reached the -Landscheiding, a great dyke five miles from the city. Three quarters of -a mile nearer the town was a second dyke, the Greenway; within that was -the Kirkway.</p> - -<p>The rising water frightened the Spaniards. But at ten inches, it -stopped. The Spaniards renewed their taunts. Again it rose two feet; the -vessels drew nearer: then they lay aground in sight of the famished -citizens. Then arose a strong southwest wind—and after days of weary -waiting, the fleet was close on the last line of fortifications. It was -the first of October. In the morning the “beggars”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_320" id="page_320"></a>{320}</span> of the sea would -make a desperate attack upon the Spanish hordes.</p> - -<p>In the night there came a terrible crash. The sea had undermined the -wall. The citizens were filled with panic, fearing an immediate -irruption of the enemy. They stood under arms through the weary night.</p> - -<p>The morning came. Not a Spaniard was in sight. Fearing a sortie of the -hunger-maddened people, they had fled in the darkness. The city was -saved by the drowning of the land.</p> - -<p>A story is told of Frederick the Great, illustrative of the same -indomitable spirit. After establishing the supremacy of Prussia, he was -suspected of designs upon the independence of the Netherlands. The Dutch -envoy at his court, newly appointed, Frederick endeavored to overawe by -a display of his power. A great military review was held; and Frederick, -who took a peculiar delight in tall men, caused troop after troop of his -gigantic grenadiers to file before the weazened little Dutchman, and -asked his opinion. Of each one the envoy said: “Very good, <i>but not tall -enough</i>.” Frederick, much nettled at this oft repeated criticism, asked -the ambassador what he meant by it. “I mean,” he retorted, “<i>that we can -flood our country twelve feet deep</i>!” Frederick left the Dutch in peace.</p> - -<p>Though the most terrible calamities of any kind—whether from flood, -famine, or earthquake—are to be found in the history of China, yet -other nations have shared in disastrous floods. We mention a few:</p> - -<p>A notable flood occurred on the coast of Lincolnshire, England, A. D., -245. It seems to have been a high tide, aided by the wind. Three -thousand people and many cattle were drowned by a flood in Cheshire, A. -D., 353. Four hundred families were drowned in Glasgow, A. D.,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_321" id="page_321"></a>{321}</span> 758, by -an overflow of the Clyde. A tidal wave destroyed several English -seaports in A. D., 1014. The Severn leaped its banks in 1483, submerging -the adjacent lowlands, and drowning hundreds. Fifty thousand people -perished in Catalonia, Spain, during a flood in 1617. In Yorkshire, -England, occurred a remarkable outburst of subterranean waters in 1686.</p> - -<p>“In September, 1687, mountain torrents inundated Navarre, and two -thousand persons were drowned. Twice, in 1787 and in 1802, the Irish -Liffey overran its banks and caused great damage. A reservoir in Lurca, -a city of Spain, burst in 1802, in much the same way as did the dam at -Johnstown, and as a result one thousand persons perished. Twenty-four -villages near Presburg, and nearly all their inhabitants, were swept -away in April, 1811, by an overflow of the Danube. Two years later, -large provinces in Austria and Poland were flooded, and many lives were -lost. In the same year a force of two thousand Turkish soldiers, who -were stationed on a small island near Widdin, were surprised by a sudden -overflow of the Danube and all were drowned. There were two more floods -in this year, one in Silesia, where six thousand persons perished, and -the French army met such losses and privations that its ruin was -accelerated; and another in Poland, where four thousand persons were -supposed to have been drowned. In 1816, the melting of the snow on the -mountains surrounding Strabane, Ireland, caused destructive floods: and -the overflow of the Vistula, in Germany, laid many villages under water. -Floods that occasioned great suffering occurred in 1829, when severe -rains caused the Spey and Findhorn to rise fifty feet above their -ordinary level. The following year the Danube again overflowed its -banks, and inundated the houses of 50,000 inhabitants of Vienna.” The -Saone<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_322" id="page_322"></a>{322}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_322_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_322_sml.jpg" width="450" height="292" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>BREAKING OF THE DYKES, HOLLAND.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_323" id="page_323"></a>{323}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">overflowed in 1840 and poured its turbulent waters into the Rhine, -flooding one hundred square miles of land, and drowning thousands. -Another great flood in France occurred in 1856. In 1875, still another -drowned a thousand people near Toulouse; while India, the same year lost -many through floods.</p> - -<p>But no such destruction of life ever visited our own land till within a -year past, and the event is more to be deplored, in that it was caused -by unexcusable negligence. That flood we must next consider.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_324" id="page_324"></a>{324}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /><br /> -<small>THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“A sullen hoarse murmur, and nameless fear!—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A sound like the tread of a hurrying host!—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A roar like the storm, as the wild waters near,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Like the dash of the sea on a crag-bordered coast!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">A wave like a mountain sweeps swift through the vale<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Ten thousand wrecked homes tossing dark in its spray,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Wild cries of death-anguish echo mocks with her wail—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the fiend of the flood now has claimed his prey!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_i.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="32" -height="60" -alt="I" /></span>NDIA, profiting by long and sad experience, has provided, as far as may -be possible, against the contingencies of drought and famine, by the -establishment of a magnificent system of storage reservoirs, to furnish -water for irrigating when rain is wanting. Some of these tanks are fine -specimens of engineering, and so far as records go, no disaster has ever -attended their establishment. But to be ready and efficient, for -purposes of irrigation, the water must be above the level of the -surrounding country: hence, the only practicable plan has been to dam up -the courses of streams and ravines in the hills. As nearly all Bengal is -comparatively low and level, this method is not applicable there; hence, -the terrible famines consequent in a comparatively small decrease of the -average rain supply. But in the Deccan, in the Madras presidency, and in -Ceylon, the reservoir system has been carried to an extent astounding to -the white man, who depends with tolerable certainty upon the rain, and -who is accustomed to consider other races as universally indolent and -improvident. In fourteen districts of the Madras presidency<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_325" id="page_325"></a>{325}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 265px;"> -<a href="images/i_325_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_325_sml.jpg" width="265" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MAP OF CONEMAUGH VALLEY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_326" id="page_326"></a>{326}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">are nearly fifty-five thousand irrigation reservoirs, four-fifths of -which are in regular operation. Their size may be estimated by the fact -that the retaining dykes average half a mile in length. One ancient -reservoir, now broken, had a dam thirty miles long, shutting in an -artificial lake of eighty square miles. The Veranum tank covers -fifty-three square miles, has a dam twelve miles long, and produces -$55,000 per year. In Ceylon may be seen a gigantic dam of cemented -stone, fifteen miles long, one hundred feet wide at the base, and forty -feet wide at the top.</p> - -<p>The same plan is of late years being extensively operated in our western -tracts for the reclaiming of extensive tracts otherwise not cultivable. -With these exceptions no great use of the reservoir system has been made -in this country. Every saw-mill, grist-mill or factory in our land -usually has its dam in an adjacent stream to insure a fair supply of -water: but none of these can be properly considered general precautions -against drought. The only prominent public works of the sort are the -Croton storage reservoirs, by which New York is supplied with water. -There are eighteen reservoirs, with a total capacity of fourteen -thousand millions of gallons. China has a great canal irrigation system, -which is, perhaps, safer in some respects than the Hindoo system, but -which can not command as large an increase of supply in time of drought, -the water being drawn from the rivers, and thus having comparatively -little fall. But the canals so thoroughly intersect the whole country as -to serve as public highways: and in many sections there are no other -roads.</p> - -<p>Doubtless the methods of construction in India have been learned by long -experience. Certain it is that for many years, at least, no serious -trouble has ever arisen from defective retaining dykes. The public -welfare is so intimately connected with these pools that they are -carefully<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_327" id="page_327"></a>{327}</span> inspected and repaired. The destruction of the system might -at any time precipitate a terrible famine.</p> - -<p>Not having a similar condition of things to contend with, the average -American is not concerned about the few dams scattered about the land, -not one in a score of which would cause any serious loss were it to -break: and even were such death-traps scattered over every county, it is -doubtful if a race who will crouch behind a Mississippi levee and refuse -flight till the last moment, could ever be brought to a proper -realization of the danger, or their culpable negligence. The American is -in a hurry: and so if speed be obtained, trains may wreck, vessels -collide, or boilers burst, and the coroner’s jury will obligingly render -a verdict of “nobody to blame.” Since he also wants things at the bottom -market price, he encourages the production of countless unsafe -buildings, dams, and similar structures, merely because they are cheap.</p> - -<p>The most terrible lesson ever given to cheap dam builders in the history -of our country is one, which, with the reader’s indulgence, we shall -endeavor to narrate.</p> - -<p>In southwest central Pennsylvania, among the foot-hills of the -Alleghanies, lies the peaceful and picturesque valley of the Little -Conemaugh. Here, in 1889, within a stretch of a dozen miles, lay five -industrious and thriving towns: South Fork, Mineral Point, Conemaugh, -Woodvale and Johnstown. The last of these, embracing as it did, Cambria -and Conemaugh Borough, was a city of thirty thousand people. The -population of South Fork was two thousand, Mineral Point had eight -hundred, Conemaugh and Woodvale about two thousand five hundred each. -The total population of the valley within the distance named could not -have been far from thirty-eight thousand.</p> - -<p>Johnstown was the center of interest as of population. Thither came on -May 30th—“Decoration Day"—people<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_328" id="page_328"></a>{328}</span> from Altoona, Hollidaysburg, -Somerset, Latrobe, Ebensburg and Wilmore, and from the four other towns -already mentioned. There was a great concourse, a long and impressive -procession of soldiers and secret orders, with bands of music, flags, -regalia, banners, bunting and devices. With solemn pomp the cemetery was -visited, and flowers were strewn on the graves of the patriotic dead. -This sad but pleasing duty ended, the procession turned again toward the -city, and entering the Opera House, listened to an eloquent oration. It -was a day of more than ordinary interest and elation for Johnstown. The -city stood happy and unsuspecting on the very brink of an awful doom.</p> - -<p>During the day the sky had been overcast, and there were occasional -light showers. At nightfall the clouds lowered more heavily, and seemed -to descend nearer to the earth. At nine o’clock there was a gentle rain; -at eleven, a tremendous down-pour, which continued with little -interruption during the remainder of the night. It seemed as if the -windows of heaven had been opened.</p> - -<p>The site of Johnstown is at the Junction of Stony Creek with the Little -Conemaugh. Before eight o’clock on the morning of the 31st of May, both -streams were bank-full. As the day advanced the lower parts of the town -were inundated. By eleven o’clock there was a depth of five feet at the -corner of Main and Market streets, and at the Cambria Iron Company’s -store.</p> - -<p>Still higher the waters rose. In the houses most exposed, carpets were -removed from the floors, and pianos and organs were lifted on chairs and -tables. Soon the two angry streams were mingling their waters in the -business center of the town. Both streams had been as high before, but -never both at the same time. Some thought the Cambria Iron Company, -which had narrowed the channel<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_329" id="page_329"></a>{329}</span> below the stone bridge, was responsible, -and should be required to widen it again, and so make a free exit for -the waters.</p> - -<p>By two o’clock the water was two to ten feet deep all over the city -proper, and the people had retired to their houses. There was -inconvenience and cessation of business, but no one apprehended serious -danger. They surveyed the providence of God without fear; little -thinking of the destruction that, swifter than the avalanche, would -presently come through the heedlessness or the greed of man.</p> - -<p>Twelve miles up the river, eastward, and at an elevation of four hundred -and fifty feet above the city, lay Conemaugh Lake. This was an -artificial reservoir, covering four hundred, or perhaps four hundred and -fifty acres of land, and having an average depth of thirty feet. Across -the south fork of the Conemaugh, about two miles above its junction with -the main stream, had been built a dam, sixty-two feet high in the -center, and eight hundred and fifty feet long. The valley, narrow at the -dam, widened above into an extensive basin. Proposed in 1836, and -authorized three years later, this reservoir had been finally -constructed in 1852, as a feeder to the Pennsylvania canal, fourteen -miles below. A culvert at the bottom of the dam contained fine iron -discharge pipes, each two feet in diameter, which could be opened at low -water thus sending the contents of the reservoir to the canal at -Johnstown. In 1857, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, having bought the -canal, abandoned it, and the reservoir was thenceforth disused. In July, -1862, the culvert beneath it gave way, owing to some imperfection of the -foundation. The depth of water in the reservoir was, at the time, not -greater than forty feet; hardly more than half its actual capacity. The -breach widened into a chasm,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_330" id="page_330"></a>{330}</span> and the water of the reservoir was -discharged, with the exception of about eight feet at the bottom; but so -slow was the process, owing to the substantial character of the dam, and -the resistance it presented, that little harm resulted.</p> - -<p>From 1862 to 1880, the reservoir was empty, and the property, containing -something more than five hundred acres, was a waste. In 1875 it was -bought by Congressman John Reilly, and was by him, four years later, -transferred to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. This was an -association of three gentlemen; suggested and organized by Colonel B. F. -Ruff, a successful railroad and tunnel contractor. All these parties had -ceased from membership in the club prior to the great disaster.</p> - -<p>The original dam, constructed with care and solidity, had involved an -expenditure of $240,000. It was built in regular layers and solidly -rammed, and when finished was higher in the middle than at the ends, -having a spill-way cut through rock in the side of the hill. The cost of -reconstruction was no more than $17,000. No engineer, good or bad, had -charge of the work. The material used was, for the most part, not more -substantial than shale and earth and straw. The pipes at the bottom were -permanently closed, and as the dam advanced, the water was discharged -through a board flume over the top. It was at first intended to raise -the new dam to a height of no more than forty feet, but it was presently -discovered that to cut down the spill-way through rock would cost more -than to construct the dam to the original elevation. This was -accordingly done, though not perfectly, as the dam was two or three feet -lower than the old one, and had, besides, a sag in the middle. A fatal -mistake, if once the water should begin to flow over the crest.</p> - -<p>Another mistake was the obstruction of the spill-way<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_331" id="page_331"></a>{331}</span> with an iron -grating placed to retain the fish, without taking the precaution at the -same time to enlarge the passage. This would have been expensive; and -here, as in the construction of the dam, it is apparent that economy was -consulted.</p> - -<p>The sum of the mistakes made in the summer of 1880, and which culminated -in the disaster of 1889, were, according to the report of a corps of -engineers, who made a careful survey, “the lowering of the crest, the -dishing, or central sag of the crest, the closing of the bottom culvert, -and the obstruction of the spill-way.”</p> - -<p>The people of the towns below had often discussed the possible rupture -of the dam, but they scarcely feared it. Had it not been built by men -who understood their business; and might not these be trusted, as men -trust their lives to the doctor and their souls to the priest? Had it -not resisted the flood of June, 1887—the highest ever known—and why -then should it yield to any other? It is certain that in the towns below -some were not thinking of the reservoir at all; while, in case it should -give way, few had formed the remotest conception of the possible -disaster. On the very day of the awful calamity, when the streets and -sidewalks of Johnstown were already under water, a leading citizen, to -the question, “How much higher do you think the water will rise if the -reservoir should burst?” answered quietly, “About two feet;” and we have -not heard that any ventured to correct the estimate.</p> - -<p>Unsuspecting souls were they, and yet wholly like other men. Those long -resident by the volcano have ceased to fear its fires. Familiarity, even -with danger, breeds contempt. The evil which still delays, we fondly -believe will never come. And as to the consequences, if those who build -dams know so little, why should simple townsmen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_332" id="page_332"></a>{332}</span> be expected to know -more? Had they guaged that reservoir, and did they know that up there in -the mountains were six hundred and forty millions of cubic feet of -water, enough to make a veritable Niagara, for more than half an hour, -ready to rush down upon them? Had they calculated the awful energy of -twenty millions of tons of water falling four hundred and fifty feet in -a progress of a dozen miles; and this progress down a pent-up valley, in -some places not more than three hundred feet in width? Had they -considered that the flow of a mountain of water, sixty feet high at -starting, must be far more rapid on the top than at the bottom? That the -base, entangled among obstructions, and overspreading them, would -furnish to the water above, an inclined plane, smooth as glass, along -which it would shoot with the speed of an arrow, to fall over the edge -of the retarded water beneath, and furnish in its turn a ready passage -for the water above and behind? That in consequence of this law, the -flood would come not by a gradual rise, giving time for escape, but like -a rolling mountain, to smite with the impact of a falling asteroid, and -crush in an instant everything in its way? Had they reflected that such -a body of water would outrun the swiftest Paul Revere who might mount -steed to fly with the warning to the towns below? That to the doomed, -the first announcement of danger would be the stroke of the destroyer? -That to the living there would be absolutely no more time for flight -than to the sinner, of preparation for judgment after Gabriel shall have -blown his trumpet? It is safe to say that few, if any, had even remotely -conceived the possibilities in the case. Men learn by experience, and -even from experience they fail to learn; for the lesson of to-day is -forgotten to-morrow: and human heedlessness is perpetual.</p> - -<p>The crest of the dam stood four or five feet above the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_333" id="page_333"></a>{333}</span> spill-way. -Towards noon of the 31st, persons on the watch saw the water of the -reservoir rising at the rate of a foot an hour. Meanwhile a rumor had -spread that the dam was leaking, and this attracted other observers. -Some declared that jets of water were leaping from the lower side to a -distance of thirty feet. Somewhere about half-past two o’clock water -began to run over the top. The structure was then evidently doomed; for, -though riprapped with stone on both slopes, no rampart of earth could -long withstand the abrasion of a torrent running over its crest, and -down its lower face. A South Fork pastor reached the spot at ten minutes -before three. A foot of water was then running over the dam. A few -minutes later a break was made “large enough to admit the passage of a -train of cars;” then presently the whole thing dissolved almost -instantly, like a phantom. A breach was made four hundred and -twenty-nine feet wide clean down to the bottom, and with the noise of -seven thunders and a tread that shook the hills like a young earthquake, -out rushed a mountain of water “tree-top high.” At such a sight the awed -spectator could only gasp, “God have mercy on the people in the vale -below.” Rushing onward a mile in three minutes, or as some have claimed, -twice or thrice as fast, in an instant down went a mill, two houses and -some barns, up went an iron bridge tossed like a thing of straw, and a -moment later the flood was at South Fork. Two trains, a passenger and a -freight, detained by a wash-out further up the road, were standing at -the station. Warned by the awful roar, the passenger train sprang out -just in time to save the lives of the people on board. The engineer of -the freight, seeing it impossible to move with his heavy train, -unhitched the locomotive, opened the throttle-valve, and with the -fireman, flew for life. The seething mountain leaped on the train and -dragged it away, regardless<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_334" id="page_334"></a>{334}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_334_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_334_sml.jpg" width="450" height="302" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE BROKEN DAM.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_335" id="page_335"></a>{335}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">of two brakemen, who surrendered their lives. The village of South Fork, -standing in the angle above the junction of two streams, and on high -ground, was comparatively unharmed, though two lives and considerable -property were destroyed.</p> - -<p>On rushed the river down a valley, having from the lake to Johnstown an -average grade of more than thirty feet in a mile. A mile and a quarter -below South Fork the river strikes at right angles a projecting cliff. -The baffled stream makes a detour of two miles and returns almost into -itself, having accomplished an absolute advance of no more than -seventy-five feet. A railroad cut no longer than this quits the river -above, then regains and crosses it by a viaduct below. The railroad bed -at the upper end of the cut is twenty feet above the stream, while at -the lower end it is seventy. Here the torrent divided; a part of it, -twenty feet deep and forty feet above the river-bed, flowing through the -cut, the other part following the channel around. When this latter -portion returning struck the cliff at the lower end of the cut, the -water rose to the enormous height of one hundred and twenty-five feet. -From this point the monster, towering to heaven, and like a “wild beast -dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly,” and ravening for prey, -sprang upon Mineral Point, a little more than a mile below. The town was -instantly “wiped out,” forty houses being swept away and sixteen persons -drowned. The rest doubtless were saved by clinging to the wreck; or -warned by the ominous roar, they had fled to the neighboring hills. The -Methodist church, lifted from its foundation and tossing on the torrent, -solemnly, and for the last time tolled its bell, as if recognizing the -end of its days and usefulness; and continued to toll until its burial -was accomplished beneath the waters.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_336" id="page_336"></a>{336}</span></p> - -<p>Two miles and a half below Mineral Point the flood encountered another -bend of the river, with a cut and viaduct in all respects similar to -that which has been described. Here again was enacted the grand and -terrific scene which took place above. Then from this augmented height -the torrent swept down upon East Conemaugh and Franklin, a mile below. -These villages standing on opposite sides of the river, constituted the -first of that series of boroughs known by the name of Johnstown.</p> - -<p>An engineer, backing up the road, and pulling at the nose of his -locomotive a train of freight cars, had proceeded a third of a mile -above Conemaugh. Here the roar of the coming flood broke upon his ears, -and looking up the river he saw the descending avalanche. Instantly -reversing his engine and drawing the throttle, his whistle all the while -shrieking a wild alarm, he pushed at utmost speed the obstructing cars -back to the yard of the Pennsylvania road. Then leaping from his engine, -and leaving his whistle still to sound its warning, he ran to his house -near by, and with his family escaped to the hill just as the rolling -torrent dashed its billows at his feet.</p> - -<p>Three passenger trains and one freight had been standing on the -side-tracks some hours, detained by the wash-out already mentioned. The -passengers were reading, writing, conversing, worrying, walking up and -down the tracks in the rain, or watching the driftwood and the -constantly rising river, but conscious of no danger. Something was said -about a reservoir somewhere up the road, which might burst and come down -upon them, but they gave the matter no second thought. Twice was one of -the trains compelled to move, as the water undermined the track, and -caused it to fall into the river. Once they were startled by the crash -of a bridge, which yielded to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_337" id="page_337"></a>{337}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_337_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_337_sml.jpg" width="450" height="304" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>FLEEING ENGINE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_338" id="page_338"></a>{338}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">the rushing waters, and was swept away. It was near the hour of four in -the afternoon, and they were still wearily waiting. Suddenly they were -startled by the long, shrill shriek, close to their ears, of engineer -Hess’ whistle, and looking out of their windows up the river, they saw -an enormous mass of wreckage, roots, trees, and driftwood borne aloft on -the back of the torrent, and rushing toward them. With one impulse, the -most of the passengers leaped from the trains and fled for their lives. -Those in the first train had to run round, or creep under the second in -order to reach the town, and thence the hill. Between the trains and the -town there was a ditch ten feet wide, and five and a half feet deep, and -filled with water. Into this, many plunged—nine women and girls -together. A gentleman who had leaped across tarried a moment to give a -helping hand, and all were rescued, save one, an aged woman. She was -apparently dazed; for, refusing the proffered hand, she said, “I will go -this way,” walked toward the maddened waters, and was lost. The rest -fled amain to the rising ground near by, with the raging torrent not ten -feet behind them. Gaining the hill they turned to behold a grand and -awful scene—the crashing, tumbling buildings lifted from their -foundations and hurled against each other; the shrieks and cries and -screams of agonizing, despairing, dying men and women, and all Conemaugh -going down in the fierce river. The round-house sprang from its seat -like a toy tossed from a giant’s hand, and more than thirty great -locomotives were rolled along “like so many pebbles.” All the trains -were carried away. In some of the cars the passengers could yet be seen, -while on the top of one car, loosened from the rest, were two men -struggling desperately to keep their hold as it rolled from side to -side. The whole four trains drifted down about five hundred feet, when -they were stopped in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_339" id="page_339"></a>{339}</span> a singular manner. Some inexplicable movement of -the water lifted the head of one train and threw it across that of the -other. Engines from the round-house were rolled down and piled against -these, a mass of trees and drift were added, and the whole four trains, -with the exception of two or three cars, were arrested and anchored in -the midst of the flood.</p> - -<p>But, though the whistle was a warning, and the hills were a refuge to -the people of East Conemaugh, the lives of twenty-four were lost; while -of the passengers on the trains, twenty-six are known to have perished.</p> - -<p>One family were carried down in their house, which held together till it -drifted against the steep hillside, some distance below, where it was -arrested long enough for them to make their escape.</p> - -<p>Two sisters, clinging to driftwood, were being swept past the woolen -mill in Woodvale, when a rope was thrown to them and they were saved.</p> - -<p>One man was carried on a drifting log clear through Johnstown and over -into Kernville, to find deliverance at the end of a wild, three-miles -ride. Another, overtaken at the fair grounds, climbed on the ticket -shed, and thence upon a telephone pole. This being quickly broken down -by the impact of some solid body, he mounted a passing log and dashed -ahead all the way to the stone bridge, a distance of more than two -miles. Here he took hold of some wreckage, and by the backwater was -carried to Main street, near the Presbyterian church, whence he worked -his way to final safety.</p> - -<p>A quarter of a mile below East Conemaugh was the town of Woodvale. The -story of its calamity has few details, since all its five thousand -inhabitants were either drowning or engaged in a mad struggle for their -lives. Every one of its eight hundred houses was lifted in a minute—not -one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_340" id="page_340"></a>{340}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_340_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_340_sml.jpg" width="450" height="299" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WRECK OF THE TRAINS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_341" id="page_341"></a>{341}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">remained; nothing but parts of the walls of the large woollen and flour -mills. To the hills forty or sixty rods distant, not many succeeded in -escaping. Relatively but few attempted it, for when the whistles sounded -the alarm, the hills were too distant and the flood was too near. Such -as fled were overtaken by the raging waters, and, to make destruction -doubly sure, a freight train was standing between them and the hill, and -this at the supreme moment, began to move. Thus many perished when there -was but a step between them and deliverance. The houses were mostly -frames, and the people were commonly swept away with their shattered -dwellings. We know there were thousands of wonderful escapes, the -recital of which would fill a bulky volume; but more than one-third of -the total population were quickly counted with the dead.</p> - -<p>Laden with corpses and debris gathered from five towns; with cars and -trees and all the nameless accumulation from a valley twelve miles long, -the torrent now swept down on Conemaugh Borough. This in turn was -quickly swept away, though more of the inhabitants succeeded in escaping -to the hills. At the lower end of the borough were the Gautier Mills, a -part of the great Cambria Iron Company’s plant. These occupied perhaps -ten or twelve acres of ground. When the flood struck them with their -hundreds of fierce fires, there were thunderous explosions that shook -the hills, and the whole seemed to rise up at once and slide forward on -the slanting flood. One or two experiences from this part of the town -must suffice for hundreds more. One lady drifted far down across the -Seventh Ward and lay all night among the wreckage, within easy reach of -seven dead persons, while the luxuriant hair of a dead woman drifted -frequently across her face, half buried beneath the water. A wealth -German lady, a prominent member of the Lutheran church, said, “My son -Henry and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_342" id="page_342"></a>{342}</span> wife, my son Charles and my son-in-law were all drowned; -my pastor and his wife and four nice little children were lost; there is -not one brick of our good, big church left on top of another; and here -is the key, which alone remains. I think my heart must break from -overmuch sorrow.” A few days later she sank into the grave.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_343" id="page_343"></a>{343}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /><br /> -<small>INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i3">“They shall sleep<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where death may deal not again forever,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where change may come not till all change end.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From the graves they have made they shall rise up never,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who have left naught living to ravage and rend.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Earth, stones and thorns, of the wild ground growing,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">While the sun and the rain live, these shall be,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Till a last wind’s breath, upon all these blowing,<br /></span> -<span class="i8">Roll the sea.”<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">* * * * * *</span><br /> -<span class="i0">And till in his triumph, where all things falter,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Stretched out on the spoils that his own hand spread,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Like a god self-slain on his own strange altar,<br /></span> -<span class="i5">Death lies dead.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>HE Johnstown flood has no parallel in suddenness and destructiveness, -save in the convulsions of the earthquake and volcano, agencies which -will be noticed shortly, but which have never wrought such serious havoc -in our own land as elsewhere. But the most deplorable feature of this -terrible calamity is, that it might easily have been averted. It was due -entirely to the culpable carelessness of a club of wealthy -pleasure-seekers. It would be senseless to prate of “mysteries of -Providence” in this connection.</p> - -<p>Nothing can give so clear an idea of the exact character of the terrible -flood—totally different from the overflow of a river—than the personal -narratives of survivors. A chapter devoted to these will be of interest, -and serve also to illustrate the breaking up of family and social ties -that are an inevitable consequent of great calamities of every kind.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_344" id="page_344"></a>{344}</span></p> - -<p>The flood was slightly less sudden at Johnstown proper than higher up -the valley. Yet, to the inhabitants, in every part of the city, it was -almost instantaneous. All narrators agree in the statement that they -were taken completely by surprise. Few of them, whether by sound of -whistle, or sight of cloud, or of coming torrent, had so much as a -minute’s warning. Mr. Rose seems to have had the longest notice of any. -He reckons less than three minutes after he looked from his window and -saw the flood a mile above, before his house fell, and himself and -family were struggling beneath the water. His carriage-house was broken, -perhaps three minutes in advance of his dwelling. The water which -overthrew it was a sort of advance guard preceding the main body. This -partial division of forces was doubtless due to the two great bends in -the river, which have already been described, or rather to one of them, -since one would have nearly the effect of two. The upper bend was two -miles round, while the railroad cut across the neck was only -seventy-five feet. The smaller portion of water pouring through the cut -got nearly two miles the start of the main body, which had to flow round -the bend. The water which got the start at the first cut had to flow -round the second bend, not being high enough to command the short way -through the second cut. Practically, therefore, the distribution of -water made at two bends and cuts was only a little more than that which -was made at one. Had there been no bends and railroad cuts between -Conemaugh Lake and Johnstown; had the flood been confined for the entire -distance to a single channel, then the towns below would have recognized -no previous swell whatever; a single gigantic wall of water would have -struck Johnstown as distinctly as it struck South Point; the -inhabitants, in most cases, would not have had time even to reach their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_345" id="page_345"></a>{345}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> -<a href="images/i_345_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_345_sml.jpg" width="410" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MILL CREEK.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_346" id="page_346"></a>{346}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">upper stories; the wave, even more than it did, would have crushed as -with the single blow of a mighty hammer, and the number of survivors who -could tell a tale of wonderful deliverance would have been -correspondingly diminished. The lesson of these facts is for those who -dwell below dams or reservoirs. If there be nothing in the nature of the -channel to distribute the water, and the rupture be instantaneous, the -destruction of life and property will be awful to contemplate.</p> - -<p>At the Gautier Works, the flood, while extending over all the valley, -was yet parted into three principal divisions. One of these, following -the course of the Conemaugh, rushed down against the foot of the hill, -just above the Stone Bridge, and would have instantly swept away that -magnificently solid structure, had it not stood parallel to, rather than -at right angles with the torrent; another turning to the left, swept -across Conemaugh Borough and the upper wards of Johnstown, destroying -hundreds of stone buildings, the German Lutheran church, and the Hulbert -House; while the third swept straight down through the middle of the -city, demolishing the Y. M. C. A. Hall, the Municipal buildings, and -scores of the finest residences. This last, turned into a reverse -current by the damming of the water at the bridge, was presently rolled -back, to ensure the destruction of whatever had escaped in its downward -course.</p> - -<p>Thousands of people, drifted from the towns above, were dead already, or -still struggling in the water; and to these were now quickly added many -thousands more. Of the people of Johnstown, it may be said that not a -soul had time to fly. We hear nothing at all about escapes to the hills. -At the scream of the warning whistle, some were startled, and looked up -the river. According to their place in the town, they saw, at the -distance of a mile, half<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_347" id="page_347"></a>{347}</span> a mile, or only a hundred yards away, an -ominous and inexplicable dark cloud, which might be smoke or spray, -hanging upon the surface of the water. They felt that something unusual -had taken place, but of its nature they were not well aware. Those who -saw it at the greatest distance had hardly time to scramble to the upper -stories of their dwellings, before, even there, they found themselves -struggling in the water; while the vast majority, on looking forth, saw -buildings, not a half block above them, already leaping from their -foundations. Simultaneous with the roar and rush of the torrent, came -the crash of houses, the shrieks and cries of men, women and children, -the revolution of everything as in a kaleidoscope, and then, driven with -the speed of a race-horse, houses, furniture, cars, locomotives, -railroad tracks, the Gautier plant, animals alive and dead, trees, -lumber and infinite wreckage were rushed onward to be jammed and piled -at the railroad bridge in a maze of ruin fifty feet high and covering -forty acres of ground. Here the laboring waters finding no ready exit, -were in part turned to the left up Stony Creek, and in part rolled -swiftly backward across the center of the city, bearing the drift on -their bosom, and in some instances dropping shattered houses within a -square or two of their former places. The wreckage above the bridge, -entangling and holding fast, hundreds, if not thousands, as well of the -living as the dead, presently caught fire, thus adding, through all the -long awful night, to the horrors of flood, the fiercer horrors of flame. -From the roaring conflagration, a sickly, baleful gleam was thrown -through a mile radius of surrounding gloom; but like the Miltonic fires -of perdition, from those flames</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“No light, but rather darkness visible,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Served only to discover sights of woe.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Some say they saw hundreds throw themselves backward<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_348" id="page_348"></a>{348}</span> into the flames, -to perish, and the record of the morgues, showing how often a charred -arm or leg or half a body was interred, prove that upon many, dead or -alive, the fire did its awful work, while in many cases, doubtless, it -was done so effectually that not a remnant could be found.</p> - -<p>As the night drew on, St. John’s Roman Catholic church which had -successfully withstood the angry waters, was seen to be on fire, driving -out the miserable creatures that had taken refuge in it, and with its -fierce heat scorching those on the surrounding drift, till they were -fain to relax their hold and drop into the water. Those flames, as they -climbed the beautiful spire and seized the emblem of Christianity on its -lofty top, seemed to mock the confidence of those who in their last -extremity were still clinging to the cross. In the tower of the Lutheran -church, near to Stony Creek, the town clock was still sustained far -above the raging waters. The flood had struck the city at four, and as -the hour of five drew on, when drifting corpses were now everywhere, and -thousands clinging to the wreck lay at the mercy of the flood or flame, -the mechanism of the clock serenely moving brought the hands to mark the -hour, and slowly five times the ponderous hammer smote the massive bell, -tolling the knell of thousands which that hour had rushed into eternity. -On the ears of the living, the sound of those slowly beating strokes -fell with a horrible sensation; for at the end of another hour would be -tolled a dirge for them. There was something terrible in the calmness of -that clock, faithfully telling the flight of Father Time, reckless -whether he had brought joy or woe to mortal men.</p> - -<p>But not engulfing flood, nor burning temple, nor holocaust of victims at -the bridge could shake the steadfast confidence of many in their God. -One little boy, when his mother and the rest were clinging in the drift -at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_349" id="page_349"></a>{349}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_349_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_349_sml.jpg" width="450" height="284" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>AT THE STONE BRIDGE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_350" id="page_350"></a>{350}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">bridge, asked, “Mamma, where is that God that Mr. Beale and Mr. Moore -told us about, and said that he would save us?” but another little boy, -despairing of temporal deliverance, was heard closing his prayer with -the beautiful words of the 23rd Psalm: “Though I walk through the valley -of the shadow of Death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy -rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” A son asked his mother, “Will we -die?” She answered, “I can not tell; but one thing I <i>do</i> know, that God -does all things well, and if he wants us to-night, he will take us; if -not, he will find a way for our escape. We will go and sit down and see -what the Lord will do.” A pastor, just escaped with his family to the -third story, and waist-deep in water, before he could reach it, -instantly opened and read from the family Bible, which he had caught up -in his flight: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in -trouble; therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and -though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the -waters thereof roar and be troubled; though the mountains shake with the -swelling thereof.” One of the sweetest singers in the city had retreated -with her family to the attic; the house was lifted and apparently moving -to destruction, when, to soothe her children and her husband, she calmly -sang, “Jesus, lover of my soul.” While she continued to sing, the end of -a large tree, having great roots, was driven through the house, -anchoring it firmly just in the edge of Stony Creek River. A man who was -carried over the Stone Bridge, saw a lady on a piece of wreckage -shooting down the valley of death, and heard her singing those same -immortal words of Charles Wesley; written by him at night, by a feeble -spark, in a spring-house, where he was hiding from a raging mob:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_351" id="page_351"></a>{351}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Jesus, lover of my soul,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Let me to thy bosom fly,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">While the raging waters roll,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">While the tempest still is high.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>A venerable man was seen upon his knees, with clasped hands, gazing -steadfastly at the cross above St. John’s Roman Catholic church; while -another, converted the previous winter, full of faith, and always -rejoicing in hope, was last seen kneeling upon the roof of his house, -riding with the torrent, and shouting, “Glory to God.”</p> - -<p>The narratives of the survivors, whether from the upper, middle, or -lower portions of the city, all alike serve to show that the suddenness -of the doom could only be equalled by its awful horror.</p> - -<p>The Hulbert House, built of brick, and one of the finest hotels in -Johnstown, stood in the upper portion of the city. There were about -sixty persons in it at the time of the catastrophe, and of these, the -lives of forty-nine were lost. Many of these were in the office, when an -unusual whistling of engines was heard. Imagining a fire had broken out -in the midst of the flood, they all ran to the upper stories, except the -proprietor, the clerk, and one guest. Two or three minutes later, the -clerk walked to the window, and looked across the Conemaugh in the -direction of Prospect Hill, and seeing what he mistook for a great cloud -of dust, exclaimed, “My God, the hill is falling!” At that, the -proprietor ran to the door, and looking up the street, realized at once -the situation. Directing the other two to hasten upstairs and spread the -alarm, he ran to the kitchen to warn the girls; then fleeing to the -fourth floor, he reached it just as the building fell. One of the few -survivors declares that the catastrophe overtook nearly all the guests -no further advanced than to the foot of the stairway on the third floor, -and as yet unapprized of the nature of their danger.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_352" id="page_352"></a>{352}</span></p> - -<p>Rev. D. M. Miller, pastor of the Presbyterian church in East Conemaugh, -had his home in Johnstown. To him and his family the deluge came without -a moment’s warning. They were in an upper room, fearing, suspecting -nothing, till they saw houses not half a square away starting from their -places, reeling and crackling onward over fences, telephone poles and -fruit-trees, and jostling against each other. Before they could fly in -any direction, they were waist-deep in water. Beneath the lower sash -which was raised, Mr. Miller sprang out upon some floating timbers, -urging his wife to follow. She, however, mounted the bed, which being -instantly forced up to the ceiling she was almost smothered. The water -had closed the opening beneath the sash, and up to her neck in water she -now set herself desperately to effect an opening at the top of the -window, but she only tore her hands in the vain attempt to wrench away -the slat. Mr. Miller, by this time recovering from his first plunge, -with one hand caught hold of the spout beneath the eaves, and with the -other, battered through two panes of glass, cutting himself badly. -Drawing up one foot, with it he now kicked out the sash, when his wife -dived out under the lintel, expecting to reach footing on the roof of a -small porch below. The porch, however, was gone, and she disappeared -deep beneath the turbid flood. A moment later, by some violent -ebullition of the water, she was thrown to the surface, and at once laid -hold on the spout. Meanwhile, the house was drifting rapidly toward -Stony Creek. When the vast number of houses adrift struck the hill -beyond the stream there was a fearful rebound; many houses were crushed -to splinters, many were upset, and scores of clinging wretches were -mangled, killed, or plunged into the water and drowned. The current, -arrested by the hill, divided; a part turned to the left up<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_353" id="page_353"></a>{353}</span> Stony -Creek, carrying many houses nearly a mile; part turned to the right, to -add its freightage of life and ruin to the already tremendous gorge -above the bridge, while between these currents a central portion was -rolled back in the direction whence it came. On this portion Mr. -Miller’s house was carried, till wandering round and having described -two-thirds of a complete circle, by the subsidence of the water it found -rest at last not more than a hundred yards from its original position. -During much of this journey the pastor and his wife, up to their necks -in water, and battered and bruised incessantly by the terrible drift, -were clinging to the spout. At last two of their neighbors being in some -manner, incomprehensible to themselves, thrown upon the roof and sitting -on the comb, after a time espied beneath the eaves the heads of the -unfortunate couple. To creep down to the edge of the steep roof, -slippery through incessant rain and recover the pastor and his wife was -an undertaking fraught with extreme peril, yet these men, as did -hundreds more in this awful hour, freely risked their lives in the -effort to save others. A little later a woman and a boy were recovered, -and brought to the same roof, on the comb of which six persons now sat -until nightfall, when the house having ceased from its wanderings, they -managed to creep into the attic. This being unfinished, there was no -floor on which even the sick could lie; so, in the dark, in their torn -and wet and filthy garments, through all the long, dreary hours of an -endless night, through the forenoon of the following day, and until the -middle of the afternoon, on a narrow board, they sat together until the -rescuers came. Then there was a laborious clambering over broken houses -and great piles of wreck, a tramp of half a mile through mud and water, -when they found at last rest and refuge and friends. Twenty-eight hours -they<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_354" id="page_354"></a>{354}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_354_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_354_sml.jpg" width="450" height="304" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE, JOHNSTOWN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_355" id="page_355"></a>{355}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">had passed without a wink of sleep or a morsel of food, while their -wounds and bruises were such as for a time to render doubtful their -recovery.</p> - -<p>Mr. Calliver, a machinist, had his dwelling in one of the upper wards of -the city. His wife, an invalid, had not walked for seven years. He was -watching the flood, and telling his neighbors that the worst was already -past, when, looking up the river, he saw houses bounding from their -places and skurrying towards him. He shouted to his family at once to -flee to the attic, but, before they could reach it they were knee-deep -in water. The house was floated, and borne swiftly away, but fortunately -did not turn over. It drifted out of the main current, struck upon -something, and was held fast, while other buildings were drifted onward. -Union street school house was near, and to this place, late in the -afternoon, by clambering over the accumulated drift, it became possible -to escape. Here they found themselves in the company of nearly two -hundred others rescued in various ways. Some were crippled, some were -shivering with cold, and all had lost their nearest and dearest friends. -Many were in awful suspense concerning the fate of loved ones. A -sleepless, endless night dragged its slow hours along, and when at last -Mr. Calliver, watching anxiously from the roof, saw the first gleam in -the east, he cried out in an ecstasy, “It is morning! it is morning!” -After deliverance came, being curious to know what it was that had so -opportunely arrested his floating house, he made examination, and found -that, of several open cars that had drifted into the neighborhood, one -had dropped endwise into a cellar, and his house driven upon the end -that was elevated had been penetrated with the shaft of the brake-wheel, -and securely held in that place.</p> - -<p>Rev. David J. Beale, D.D., pastor of the Presbyterian church, to whose -authentic and thrillingly interesting book<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_356" id="page_356"></a>{356}</span> “Through the Johnstown -Flood,” we are principally indebted for our statement of facts, and to -which the reader is referred for a fuller account, records an -experience, which, like those already narrated, serves to show that the -visitation was as sudden as it was awful. His first intimation of the -coming ruin was a roar, increasing like that of an approaching train, -and a moment later the torrent had struck his residence. Urging in -advance of him his family and two neighbors who were present, he rushed -up stairs, and reaching the second floor found himself already -waist-deep in water. At that instant, a man was shot by the force of the -current through the window, and to the sudden interrogatories, “Who are -you? Where did you come from?” breathless and strangling, he could only -answer, “Woodvale.” He had been carried on a floating roof a mile and a -quarter, and as it violently struck the parsonage, he was pitched from -his hold and dashed through the window. In another minute the whole -company were in the third story, witnesses, blanched and mute, of the -awful scene of destruction and death.</p> - -<p>They recognized many acquaintances and friends riding on to death. They -saw two little children, almost nude, clinging to one roof; four young -ladies, in agonized embrace, clinging to another; houses for squares -north and west torn from their places, and the whole drawn onward, to be -crushed and jammed in the gorge below. Meanwhile, Capt. A. N. Hart, his -wife and two children, were seen struggling in the wreckage which had -drifted near the parsonage, and Mr. Beale, descending into the water in -the second story, assisted them to enter through the window. Their -arrival in the garret increased to fifteen the number of persons there -collected.</p> - -<p>The parsonage now began to show evident signs of giving way, and it was -decided to abandon it. After an unsuccessful<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_357" id="page_357"></a>{357}</span> attempt to gain the roof, -the whole party were safely passed by means of a rope from the highest -window to a floating roof below. They had hoped to reach the church, -which still stood secure, a short distance away; but, on making the -attempt, they found themselves confronted with fifty feet of water which -could not be crossed. They now began a perilous journey over wreckage to -Alma Hall, half a square away. This was a four-story building, the -largest and strongest in the city. Their way lay over logs and roofs and -houses, fixed or moving box cars, and various debris which often -concealed them from one another. One of the young ladies, crossing open -water on a scantling, fell and disappeared, all but her floating hair, -by which she was caught and recovered. About dark they gained the hall, -and found no less than two hundred and sixty fortunate unfortunates like -themselves, rescued in wondrous ways from ghastly death.</p> - -<p>Then followed the long night of sleepless horror, unillumined, save from -the burning church, and from the horrible holocaust at the bridge. The -suppressed moans of those with bruised bodies and broken limbs, the -crying of little children, cold and wet and hungry, and without a place -to lay their heads, the anxiety for loved ones, the mourning for them -that were certainly lost, the momentary dread lest the building should -give way and yet overwhelm all with sudden death, conspired to make it a -night never to be forgotten. Morning came at last, and then, as the sun -rose above the hills, might have been seen a curious and mournful -procession. Descending through a window, they walked and jumped, and -crawled and clambered over several blocks, filled with broken buildings, -cars, trees, furniture, bridges and dead bodies, till they reached the -hill.</p> - -<p>What a spectacle of human misery was there presented!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_358" id="page_358"></a>{358}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_358_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_358_sml.jpg" width="450" height="300" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE GORGE AT THE BRIDGE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_359" id="page_359"></a>{359}</span></p> - -<p>Fully three thousand people were gathered, weary, wet, cold, haggard, -hungry, homeless, shoeless, hatless, coatless, ragged, muddy, many -almost naked, gazing in mute despair, in awful anguish that could shed -no tear (for no tears were shed) upon miles of wreck, containing by the -thousand the dead bodies of husbands, wives, parents, children, lovers, -and precious friends. Could humanity be called to suffer more?</p> - -<p>Mr. Horace W. Rose, Esq., a prominent attorney about fifty years of age, -had spent his life in Johnstown, and remembered distinctly all the great -floods it had experienced. The highest he had seen was in 1887, and he -had little fear that ever he would see another higher. He was not -alarmed when the water entered the lower story of his dwelling, but as -he saw it advance above the wash board, and with its foul freight stain -the beautiful paper recently put upon the wall, he was not without a -feeling of sadness. He conversed pleasantly with his neighbors, and -twitted their children with invitations to come across the way and make -a friendly visit. Fifteen minutes before the catastrophe he was engaged -in shooting rats, and continued the occupation until hearing a loud -crash, he ran to the back part of his house, and saw that the water had -broken down his carriage-house and was driving the carriage into the -yard. At the same moment he heard cries, the alarm of a bell, and the -loud screams of a steam whistle. Feeling that something awful must have -happened, he ran to the third floor, followed by all his family, and -looking out through a window, which permitted a view of nearly a mile up -the Conemaugh, the awful fact was at once apparent. “I saw stretching -from hill to hill, a great mass of timber, trees, roofs and debris of -every sort, rapidly advancing, wrecking and carrying everything before -it. It was then about the midst of what<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_360" id="page_360"></a>{360}</span> was known as the Gautier Works, -a department of the Cambria Iron Works, which covered perhaps ten or -eleven acres of ground. A dense cloud hung over the line of the rolling -debris, which I then supposed was the steam and soot which had arisen -from hundreds of fires in the Gautier Works as the waves rolled over -them. I stood and looked as the resistless tide moved on, and saw brick -buildings crushed in an instant pass out of sight, while frame tenements -were quickly crushed to atoms.</p> - -<p>“Members of my family asked me if there was no escape. I answered, ‘No; -this means death to us all.’ My wife with blanched face said, ‘Won’t our -big strong house stand?’ I replied deliberately: ‘No, Maggie; no -building can stand this awful jam, and we are all lost.’</p> - -<p>“The press of the heaving, surging mass rolled steadily on, and in less -than three minutes, as nearly as I can estimate time, from the moment I -saw the front of the angry torrent it was upon us. The great Municipal -building above me fell with a crash. The stately dwelling of my -neighbor, John Dibert, was broken to atoms. I walked rapidly to the -southeast window, and saw the front of the brick dwelling above and -adjoining mine, crushed to rubbish. Several persons were floating -directly down Main street, in front of me; a large frame building -directly opposite me careened, at the attic windows of which I saw a -number of ladies, one of whom held an infant in her arms; there was a -crash, a sensation of falling, a consciousness that I was in the water, -and all was dark. A moment later, I felt the press of a heavy shock, a -sense of excruciating pain, involving my right breast, shoulder and arm. -The thought came upon me that I was being crushed to death, that I could -not long endure the agony I then suffered, and that death would come -soon. I watched for the change, expecting in a moment to know the -reality of eternity. I heard the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_361" id="page_361"></a>{361}</span> moan of my eldest son, who was at my -side when the crash came.</p> - -<p>“I felt myself struggling, with my left hand clutching at something, I -know not what. I heard the voice of my youngest son, as I thought, -imploring me to aid him. I told him I was powerless to succor him. A -moment later I realized that he was endeavoring to have me reach a -higher elevation, when I told him my whole right side was crushed; he -came to my relief and aided me in getting upon a fragment of the slate -roof. A moment after, a little boy whom I had sheltered, appeared and -informed me that my wife was drowned; he had barely made this -announcement when I saw my only daughter, June, rise up out of the water -among the debris to perhaps her waist, and immediately sink out of -sight. As she sank, I saw my wife rise out of the water to about her -waist, and almost immediately sink out of sight; a moment after, they -rose together, and I saw my son Winter, a lad of twenty years, a strong, -robust person, and heard him say, ‘Ma, hold on to me, and I can save -you.’ I was lying on my side, perhaps twenty or twenty-five feet distant -from where my wife, daughter and son were struggling, the skin torn from -the right side of my face, the blood flowing profusely from the wound, -the skin torn from the back of my left hand, my right collar-bone -broken, my shoulder-blade fractured, the ribs crushed in upon my lung, -my right arm from shoulder to wrist lying limp on my side, powerless to -give aid or assistance to my loved ones. At this moment a young man -seemed to shoot up and out of the debris at my side; I realized that he -was an acquaintance, but could not name him. I at once, however, -addressed him, saying, ‘Young man, won’t you go and help Winter save my -wife and daughter? I am helpless; my whole right side and arm are -crushed.’ He made no reply, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_362" id="page_362"></a>{362}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 317px;"> -<a href="images/i_362_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_362_sml.jpg" width="317" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE BATTLE WITH THE WATERS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_363" id="page_363"></a>{363}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">at once hastened across the debris, and aided in relieving my wife from -the timbers in which she was pinioned. Then he immediately disappeared -from my sight; but I afterward learned he was Harry Philips, who was -reared in Johnstown, was then practicing his profession of dentistry in -Pittsburg; was home on a visit, and in the house of Dr. L. T. Beam, and -was the only person who escaped with his life, while his mother, niece, -nephew and brother-in-law were lost in the flood. My eldest son had -disappeared. I believed I had heard his dying moan. All the other -inmates of my house at the time it was struck, were now floating on -different fragments of houses, and being rushed with fearful velocity in -a westerly course to and across the Stony Creek River.</p> - -<p>“They saw a stout roof on the edge of the debris and succeeded in -reaching it; an old lady on bended knees and holding with her hands, -floated by on a shutter, and Winter assisted her to gain the roof; the -current suddenly turned and swept them rapidly up Stony Creek, a -distance of half a mile; they came to rest above Morris street in the -Fifth Ward, and lay for a considerable time; some inexplicable force -then carried them across the river, and they lay for a while in the -mouth of Franklin street; the Catholic church was on fire, and the town -clock struck five; a cold and pitiless rain poured down upon them; the -current now changed and buildings and wreckage were borne rapidly down -the stream; as houses were broken to pieces, clinging wretches with wild -shrieks sank to watery graves; the two sons were separated from the -remainder of the family on the roof; it drifted once more down the -stream, was struck by a heavier building and pushed upon the bank; over -various drift they climbed till they reached a three-story brick which -stood intact; they entered it just as the town clock struck six—two -awful hours,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_364" id="page_364"></a>{364}</span> and yet no member of the family lost. Happier far their -fate than that of many others. The two boys returned to their parents at -four o’clock the next day.”</p> - -<p>These incidents will suffice. Thousands of the same sort might be given. -No wonder that many were crazed with grief. One woman, wife and mother, -sole survivor of a happy family, was found sitting in the wreck, holding -in her arms her family clock which she had found. She told her story -without a tear. Her mind was unbalanced. A man who had never been known -to touch liquor was found the day after the flood, reeling to the -bridge, drunk and raving, determined to drown himself. In agony at the -loss of all he held dear, he had taken to drink, that he might remember -his misery no more; but in vain: whisky could not destroy his terrible -memories. Talmage in a letter to the New York <i>World</i>, said: “Such an -avalanche of horrors never slipped upon any American city. Horrors piled -on horrors, woe augmenting woe; bankruptcy, orphanage, widowhood, -childlessness, obliterated homesteads, gorged cemeteries and scenes so -excruciating it is a marvel that any one could look upon them and escape -insanity * * * *</p> - -<p>“Was the work of devastation as great as I supposed? Far worse. Types -can not tell it. Only the eye can make revelation. But the worst part of -it can not be seen. The heart-wreck caused by the sudden departure of so -many can be open only to one eye, and that the All-Seeing. Think of one -family of fourteen all dead except one, and that the wife and mother, -and she the witness of their drowning. I saw the grave trench in which -two hundred and sixty were buried, and the whole graveyard like a -national cemetery, in which the unrecognized dead have a particular -number placed above them and are recorded in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_365" id="page_365"></a>{365}</span> the undertaker’s rooms -with a description of the body and clothes.”</p> - -<p>On many a life a shadow has been cast that will never be lifted. Many a -heart will ache until it breaks. One who had lost wife and children and -was alone, whose verses and whose name the world has never heard, more -than thirty years ago wrote the following most touchingly beautiful -lines, which will find an echo in the hearts of thousands of survivors -of the Johnstown flood, as well as among countless millions of others in -every age of the world:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Down by the cedar sitting,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Lonely and sad and still,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Watching the shadows flitting<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Over the distant hill.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Yearning for by-gone hours,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Never again to come;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Longing for beauteous flowers,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Never again to bloom.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ever there flits before me<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A shadowy form and face;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ever it hovers o’er me,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Wearing a nameless grace.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Above my brow there lingers<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A breath like summer air;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Unseen and loving fingers<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Stray through my tangled hair.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Silence, slow creeping nigh me,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Out from the leafy shade,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bringeth the dead hours by me,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And rests on the darkening glade.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">O ye beloved of spring time,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Can ye come back no more?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bending I trace your footsteps<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Over the distant shore;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Down to the misty river,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Into the depths of death,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_366" id="page_366"></a>{366}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i0">Seeking your presence ever,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Praying with sobbing breath,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Can ye come back no more?”<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Echoing clear from the unseen shore,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Answer sweet voices “No more, no more!”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">O for the pearly gates<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of the golden nightless plain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where your gentle spirit waits<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For the hour we meet again.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Out from the darkness, soft and plain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Comes the glad echo, “<i>We meet again</i>.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_367" id="page_367"></a>{367}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>RELIEF MEASURES.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase)<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And saw within the moonlight of his room,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Making it rich and like a lily in bloom,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">An angel writing in a book of gold:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And to the presence in the room he said,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“What writest thou?” The vision raised its head,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And with a look made all of sweet accord,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Answered: “The names of those who love the Lord.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,”<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But cheerily still, and said, “I pray thee then<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Write me as one who loves his fellow men.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">The angel wrote and vanished. The next night<br /></span> -<span class="i1">It came again with a great wakening light<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And showed the names of whom love of God had blessed,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And lo, Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_i.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="32" -height="60" -alt="I" /></span>T goes without saying that the destitution and suffering occasioned by -the flood were fearful. Everywhere might be seen hundreds of sad-eyed, -disconsolate, almost famished creatures, groping about the wreck, almost -unconscious of present necessities by reason of present woe. Scores were -compelled to drag their precious dead from the wreck and bury them with -their own hands—a trying task. Other scores found never a trace of many -whom they sought. Hundreds of telegrams of anxious inquiries will never -be answered.</p> - -<p>The pressing necessities of the hungry people soon drove many to seek -escape from the place. Yet all railroads were damaged, and in Johnstown -itself one could<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_368" id="page_368"></a>{368}</span> hardly get about the streets. A stranger describes it -as it appeared on June 1:</p> - -<p>“Johnstown proper was partly a lake, partly several small streams, -partly a vast sandy plain, and partly clusters of more or less ruined -houses. Around, among, between, inside and on top of these houses, -wherever the rushing torrent had been checked, were piled masses of -wreckage; trunks of mighty trees, household furniture, houses whole and -in fragments, bridges, locomotives and railroad cars, hundreds of tons -of mud and gravel. Thickly strewn through it all were hundreds of -corpses and carcasses. The only communication between this section and -the Pennsylvania Railroad and the village of Peelerville on the north, -and Kernville on the south, was across swollen torrents in skiffs, which -required constant bailing to keep them above water. From the Stone -Bridge of the Pennsylvania Road, for a distance of half a mile, no river -could be seen, simply a dense mass of drift from twenty to fifty feet -deep, apparently inextricable, bound together with miles of wire, here -blazing and there smoldering, and enveloping the bridge in a cloud of -nauseating vapor and smoke, giving unmistakable evidence of the presence -of burning flesh. Not a thoroughfare was passable for a team, and very -few for a horse. Locomotion was difficult, the mud was deep, the streets -obstructed often to the roofs of houses, the rain was incessant.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“How poor, how rich, how abject, how august,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">How complicate, how wonderful is man;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">How passing wonder He who made him such,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Who centered in our make such strange extremes<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From different natures marvelously mixed.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The flood quickly called forth the best and the worst exhibitions of -human nature. We shall mention first the evil, as a back-ground against -which the good may stand more conspicuous. We believe that to most men -it will<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_369" id="page_369"></a>{369}</span> be simply incomprehensible that anybody should think of adding -so much as the weight of a hair to the calamities of Johnstown, as they -were seen on the morning of that first day of June. Ghouls were quick to -enter, snatching from the living, robbing the bodies of the dead. -Johnstown doubtless had her complement of thieves, and these were -speedily reinforced by many more—crooks and jailbirds, pickpockets and -burglars, from cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburg; for -“where the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” -Residents guarding silverware and other valuables were, in some -instances, overpowered in broad daylight and their goods taken away from -before their eyes. These crimes were diligently laid at the door of the -Hungarians, but better knowledge acquitted them of the charge and proved -that they were not more guilty than others.</p> - -<p>The American, accustomed by republican training to regard himself as the -chief source of law, is never slow to take things into his own hands in -cases of extremity. We are told that a few of these ghouls were -summarily dealt with; and under the circumstances the most conservative -find it hard to condemn the grief-crazed men. One correspondent asked -Deputy Sheriff “Chall” Dick if the reports of summary execution were -true. Chall replied slowly:</p> - -<p>“There are some men whom their friends will never again see alive.”</p> - -<p>“Well, now, how many did you shoot?” was the next question.</p> - -<p>“Say,” said Chall. “On Saturday morning I was the first to make my way -to Sang Hollow, to see if I could not get some food for people made -homeless by the flood. There was a car-load of provisions there, but the -vandals were on hand. They broke into the car, and in spite of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_370" id="page_370"></a>{370}</span> my -protestations carried off box after box of supplies. I only got half a -wagon load. They were too many for me. I know when I have no show. There -was no show there, and I got out.</p> - -<p>“As I was leaving Sang Hollow and got up the mountain road a piece, I -saw two Hungarians and one woman engaged in cutting the fingers off of -corpses to get some rings. Well, I got off that team and—well, there -are three people who were not drowned and who are not alive.”</p> - -<p>“Where are the bodies?”</p> - -<p>“Ain’t the river handy there?”</p> - -<p>Another form of robber appeared in the relic-hunter. He is a phenomenon -inexplicable—at least to the writer of these pages. Why men should -think to chip off pieces of the Washington Monument, or from Lincoln’s -coffin, or from the granite sarcophagus in the great pyramid, and carry -them home and put them in a cabinet, and call people to admire them, -without thereby simply advertising themselves as vandals, passes -comprehension. Why a chip from Johnstown should be better than the same -kind of a chip from any other place, no man can tell. But the world has -always had a good stock and store of this kind of fools, well described -by our neglected and forgotten poet, Robert Pollok, as men who roamed -about the world searching for pieces of old pottery and the like, and</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Wondered why shells were found upon the mountain-tops,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And wondered not at that more wondrous still,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Why shells were found at all.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>These relic-hunters, commonly of genteel appearance, were in force at -Johnstown, picking up knives, forks, silver spoons, communion -vessels—anything they could call fools like themselves to gape at -because it came from Johnstown, and sometimes judiciously preferring as -mementoes the things that were of greater value.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_371" id="page_371"></a>{371}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_371_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_371_sml.jpg" width="450" height="298" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>JOHNSTOWN AFTER THE FLOOD.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_372" id="page_372"></a>{372}</span></p> - -<p>There were professional thieves who entered the morgues and identified, -with expressions of sorrow, their dear departed dead, strangers never -seen before, in order that they might secure the valuables found on -their persons. There were others who offered their services for the -recovery of the dead, and who were placed upon the details sent out for -that purpose, and plundered many corpses before the arrival of Mann’s -detectives pointed them out as the worst of thieves and robbers.</p> - -<p>Besides these there were sleek scoundrels, too base and black for -respectability even in the pit, who approached weeping, orphaned, -beautiful young girls with alluring offers of jewelry and fine clothes -and delightful homes, in great cities. Their object has no need to be -stated.</p> - -<p>It is pleasant to turn from these few ghoulish and degraded human -reptiles to the mighty army of noble men and women who succored -Johnstown.</p> - -<p>The story of the help rendered, how much, by whom, and in what ways can -not be detailed in this place. It will be enough to give a brief and -general statement, while for full particulars, even to the long list of -the dead, known and unknown, the reader must be referred to Dr. Beale’s -most interesting book.</p> - -<p>The faults and evils of government have been conspicuous since man was -upon the earth. The contemplation of these has turned some -shallow-brained people into anarchists, who think the ideal state of the -race must be one in which there is no government at all.</p> - -<p>There was no government in Johnstown while the flood was sweeping it -away. All human laws were then suspended, for there was no human power -that could enforce them. It is curious and instructive, in a condition -of complete anarchy, to note the spontaneous movements towards organized -government—movements simply evoked<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_373" id="page_373"></a>{373}</span> by the popular need. Government was -introduced into Alma Hall almost before the sun had set on that dreadful -day. Two hundred and sixty-four men, women and children, from various -directions clambering out of the debris, had been gathered there. They -were wretched enough already, but disorder would only add to their woes, -and for the sake of order, and to feel that the strongest and wisest -were at the helm, they were ready to submit themselves to command. -Accordingly, a meeting was at once called on the stairway to elect a -director to control the whole building and one of the stories, and two -subordinates to take charge of the other two stories. Orders were at -once issued that there should be no lights, lest the escaping natural -gas should explode, and that all persons having spirituous liquors -should surrender them to the directors. These orders were cheerfully -obeyed.</p> - -<p>As this company was wending its mournful way the next morning to Adam -street, Dr. Beale saw a man taking some valuables, and ordered him to -put them down. With this hint as to the capabilities of bad men, he sent -a boy a little later to the nearest telegraph station with a message to -Governor Beaver to send the military. The response came soon in the -presence of the National Guard, the services of whose officers and men -were, in almost every way, of inestimable value.</p> - -<p>But the necessity for government was instant, and could not await the -coming of a National Guard. The community called Johnstown consisted of -seven straggling boroughs, each with its own officers. Some of these -were dead, all were scattered and paralyzed, while furthermore, the -common calamity demanded common action, and this called for a single -government instead of seven. Accordingly, before the sun was high in the -heavens on that first day of June, government had been organized. -According<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_374" id="page_374"></a>{374}</span> to our Declaration of Independence, it must have been a -lawful government, for it had for its basis the consent of the governed.</p> - -<p>But it was not a republican government; it was an absolute -monarchy—Charles L. Dick, Esq., was elected generalissimo to direct all -matters according to his will,—the best government in the world if -always there were a wise and good man at the head; for the wisdom of one -man is better than the folly of a multitude.</p> - -<p>It makes one proud of his race as he watches this stricken community in -the midst of overwhelming sorrow and loss taking action immediately for -preservation and recovery. Barbarians would not have done it; Asiatics -would not have done it; nor would anybody else have done it so quickly -and so well as Anglo-Saxon English-speaking republicans, full of energy, -resource, and indomitable courage, and habituated to the idea of a -“government <i>of</i> the people, <i>for</i> the people, and <i>by</i> the people.”</p> - -<p>Avoiding details let us see in brief what was done.</p> - -<p>Within eighteen hours after the flood, there was a force of three -hundred qualified policemen guarding the vaults of the First National -and Dibert’s banks, and patrolling the town. A few were armed with -shot-guns, the most with base ball clubs extracted from a wrecked store. -The size of their batons was an indication that they were not on dress -parade, but were equipped for war. Committees were quickly appointed on -finances, on supplies, on morgues, on the removal of dead animals and -debris, on police, on hospitals; and these committees entered on their -respective duties without an hour’s delay. Farmers and others were now -crowding to behold the ruin, and there were many with hearts to -sympathize and hands to aid. Dr. Wm. Caldwell, one of the oldest and -best known merchants in the place, met the wondering comers and engaged -many of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_375" id="page_375"></a>{375}</span> them for service in the removal of the wreckage and the -recovery of the dead. Details were at once constituted and sent forth -under proper leaders for these purposes. Within a brief while, Charles -Zimmerman had removed more than two hundred dead animals, and Thos. L. -Johnson, his assistant committeeman, one of the owners of the great -plant at Moxham, had made visible progress in clearing the streets of -debris.</p> - -<p>A crying and instant need was a hospital. Before the flood there was -only one hospital in Johnstown. This was built by the Cambria Iron -Company for the use of their own men. This hospital was now almost -instantly filled and running over; but before sunset on this memorable -Saturday, June 1st, the committee had opened another. Telephonic -communication was broken, but a boy was sent on horseback to Shoyestown -with a message to Pittsburg for hospital equipments—cots, mattrasses, -pillows, medicines and other necessities; and such was the energy of all -concerned that by two o’clock on Sunday, less than twenty-four hours -from the sending of the message, the equipment was in Johnstown. At that -time every bench and counter and even the floor was crowded with the -sick and wounded from all parts of the city.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to describe the varied movements of that dreadful day. -There was little shelter and less food, death everywhere, and some -doubtless imprisoned in heaps of wreck, and not yet dead, but dying of -wounds, or of cold and exhaustion. The first patient in the Bedford -street hospital had been taken up, presumably dead, and carried to the -morgue; there he was found to be yet alive, was removed to the hospital -and died of congestion the next day. The claims of the dead and of the -living seemed to be equally urgent. Many of the living, for food and -shelter, pushed to the country; the farmers received them with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_376" id="page_376"></a>{376}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_376_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_376_sml.jpg" width="450" height="270" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>AT THE MORGUE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_377" id="page_377"></a>{377}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">open doors. They sent wagon loads of provisions to the valley of death; -the dairymen came with milk and distributed it freely; but what was this -among so many? It is needless to say that the flood, even where -buildings had escaped wreck, had overflowed cellars and lower stories -and destroyed or badly damaged almost everything eatable in the city.</p> - -<p>Not a few of those who survived the flood are notable for their untiring -and abundant labors. It was no time for perpetuating sectarian -differences. Dr. Beale pays a warm tribute to Father Davin, a Catholic -priest, who stood at his post, laboring with superhuman energy, though -constantly urged to take even a short rest. But he could not rest in -view of so much misery. He and Dr. Beale turned their respective -churches into morgues, and labored like heroes, incessantly. Father -Davin’s health gave way under the terrible strain, and he finally went -to the mountains; but it was too late. He died of overwork and -exhaustion.</p> - -<p>Nor must the work of that much abused fraternity, the newspaper -reporters be forgotten. None but reporters can appreciate the -difficulties under which those men worked; and one, a pale, earnest, -sympathetic little Philadelphian, toiled on till his health failed. He -died at the sea shore, whither he had gone to recuperate. These men we -must thank for the prompt and full reports sent throughout the country, -stirring it to prompt and energetic measures of relief.</p> - -<p>The advantages of Christian over Asiatic civilization are never more -apparent than when the calamity of some calls for sympathy and help of -all the rest. Then, in an hour, the news is borne to every city and -hamlet in a broad continent, in another hour the press has thrown it off -in millions of sheets, and every street is vocal with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_378" id="page_378"></a>{378}</span> cry of the -newsboy proclaiming the disaster, millions of hearts are throbbing with -sympathy, voices from opposite sides of great cities are talking to each -other over the telephone, a meeting is called and quickly assembled, -counsel is taken, performance is prompt, and before the day is done, the -railroad train, bearing the necessary forms of aid, is flying with the -speed of the wind to the relief of the sufferers.</p> - -<p>Not often, even in a Christian land, has relief been so prompt or so -bountiful as it was to Johnstown. Pittsburg read the news in the papers -of Saturday morning. The Mayor called a meeting for one o’clock. It was -crowded to overflowing, for the interest was intense. A committee was -appointed, and work began instantly. By four o’clock nearly twenty cars -were ready. Seventy volunteer aids were on board—all that could be -taken—and the train was flying towards Johnstown. At 10:30 <small>P.M.</small> Sang -Hollow, four miles from the scene of death, was reached. Here -three-quarters of a mile of track had been washed entirely away, and the -train stopped. But the men from Pittsburg stopped not. They sprang out, -and trip after trip through the mud and dark, in the use of hands and -shoulders, they bore onward their precious burdens of food for the -starving brothers and sisters. Long before daylight, the installment of -provisions—a car load and a half—was deposited at the Stone Bridge. -Further than this it was impossible to go. The flood had broken the -embankment beyond the bridge and a furious river a hundred feet wide was -sweeping through.</p> - -<p>But while these valiant relievers were struggling forward under boxes -and parcels, the railroad management was working a veritable miracle. -Men and material were placed on the ground, the grade was restored, the -track was laid, and at seven o’clock the next morning the train was -quietly standing at the Stone Bridge!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_379" id="page_379"></a>{379}</span></p> - -<p>Was ever human energy more conspicuous, or in a better cause? Some -corporations must have souls—at least, the Pennsylvania Railroad—for -this triumph was stimulated not by self-interest, but by the interests -of thousands dead or ready to perish. And it was General Superintendent -Pitcairn of the Pennsylvania Road who moved the mayor to call the -Pittsburg meeting.</p> - -<p>The Baltimore & Ohio Road also signalized its achievements and -generosity. By Monday morning it had entered the south side of -Johnstown, bringing relief, or exit to the suffering people. -Superintendent Patton called on the villages and towns along the road to -load as many cars as they pleased, and they would be transported to -Johnstown without charge. The services of both the Baltimore & Ohio and -the Pennsylvania Roads were of inestimable value, and from first to -last, in a spirit of true philanthrophy, they co-operated with the -efforts for the relief of a stricken people.</p> - -<p>The labors of the Pittsburg committee knew no pause nor rest for ten -days, until the State, whose duty it was in so great a calamity, stepped -in, and through the Flood Commission, took hold and continued the work. -Even then their labors did not cease, but were continued in hearty -co-operation with the officials appointed by the State. During those ten -days from the first of June to the eleventh, they had placed in the -field under the most efficient management between 6,000 and 7,000 -laborers, they had supplied a population of about 30,000 people with -food; they had looked after sanitation and hospitals and morgues; they -had accomplished much in the way of opening the streets and clearing the -properties of filth and debris deposited by the flood. They had been the -ministers not only of the charities of the twin cities, Alleghany and -Pittsburg, but of other and more distant cities.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_380" id="page_380"></a>{380}</span> These, recognizing the -integrity and efficiency of the Pittsburg committee, directed their -benefactions to them, with the request that they would control their -administration. A total of $831,295 passed into their hands; of this -$560,000 was turned over to the Flood Commission, the balance having -been expended by themselves. Of this total, $250,770 was contributed by -the cities of Pittsburgh and Alleghany.</p> - -<p>In the ladies’ committee, Pittsburg developed another agency that was -vastly beneficial. Established in rooms of the Second Presbyterian -church, they began work on the 4th of June, and their doors thereafter -were open day and night. A special committee was always on duty and -waiting to receive every train, both of the Baltimore & Ohio and the -Pennsylvania Roads. These brought scores and hundreds of refugees who -had lost everything, and who did not doubt that in Pittsburg, at the -hands of people they had never seen, they would receive sympathy and -aid. They were met at the depots, conducted to the rooms of the -committee, fed and clothed, and sent to comfortable quarters till they -could see a way to provide for themselves. Many were seeking homes in -the country or cities beyond, and the railways generously furnished free -transportation to all who were certified by the ladies’ committee. -Situations were procured for many, and many fragments of families, -seeking permanent homes in Pittsburg, were aided even to the -anticipation of their winter supplies.</p> - -<p>Philadelphia has long been an example to other cities, in that it has -had a permanent committee of relief, ever ready with men and means to -answer the call of some unusual distress. At the announcement of the -great calamity, this committee was at once summoned by the mayor. R. M. -McWade, city editor of the <i>Public Ledger</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_381" id="page_381"></a>{381}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 358px;"> -<a href="images/i_381_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_381_sml.jpg" width="358" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CONEMAUGH VIADUCT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">a gentleman who had raised $25,000 and sped with it to Charleston, South -Carolina, at the time of the earthquake, was present, and at once moved -the appropriation of $5,000, saying that when the facts should become -known, ten times the sum would be required. Others did not wait for -organized effort, but hastened with medicines, surgical instruments, -shoes and carloads of prepared food<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_382" id="page_382"></a>{382}</span>—bread, butter, bacon, cheese, -coffee—to the field of disaster. Personal contributions were many and -liberal. On the 11th of June the committee placed $500,000 subject to -the order of Governor Beaver. As late as the 4th of August the committee -was induced through Dr. Pancoast to appropriate $10,000 to the Red Cross -Hospital in Johnstown. Philadelphia is truly a city of “brotherly love.” -Newsboys and bootblacks anxiously offered their mites; and in the -penitentiary hundreds of convicts gave eagerly of the hard-earned -pennies gained by working extra time, till the warden placed a limit -upon the amount each might give. The total contributions of Philadelphia -amounted to nearly $800,000.</p> - -<p>New York went promptly to work on the 2nd of June. The churches -beginning. Monday, the 3d, liberal contributions were placed in the -hands of a committee, by individuals and corporations. The poor or bad -boys in the charity and reform schools were an example to many, for they -of their penury cast in all that they had. The boys in the House of -Refuge on Randall’s Island, gave $258.22. Perhaps such lads may be yet -worth saving.</p> - -<p>The total amount contributed by the City of New York was very close to -$1,000,000.</p> - -<p>Boston gave upwards of $500,000, Chicago about $200,000, Baltimore gave -liberally, and received and cared for a multitude of refugees. Fifteen -hundred rendered homeless by floods at Johnstown and elsewhere arrived -in Baltimore in one day.</p> - -<p>We may not detail further. The reader who desires the fullest account of -what was done, and how, and by whom, must be referred to Dr. Beale’s -most interesting book. It may suffice in this place to say, that -contributions were forwarded, not only from the principal cities and -from every State in the Union, but from foreign countries. Ireland<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_383" id="page_383"></a>{383}</span> sent -$18,252.21; England, $33,158.36; Canada, $4,454.64; Mexico, $130.40; -Turkey, $876.57; Italy, $9.46; Austria, $481.70; Germany, $34,199.36; -Prussia, $100; Wales, $68.60; Saxony, $2,637.20; Persia, $50; France, -$24,511.13; Australia, $1,251.12. Total, $120,187.79. These figures -prove that there are men everywhere who love their fellow men, and that -the whole world is of kin.</p> - -<p>The total loss in the Conemaugh valley was between $8,000,000 and -$9,000,000; the total bestowment about $3,000,000. The loss of life is -estimated variously; from 4,000 to 10,000. It will never be definitely -known.</p> - -<p>The aid of the sympathetic public—was it charity? No, it was duty. I -<i>owe</i> to help my fellow man in distress just as much as I <i>owe</i> to pay -my debts, and sometimes more. Mercy is <i>due</i> to men no less than -justice. “If any man seeth his brother have need and shutteth up the -bowels of his compassion against him, how dwelleth the love of God in -him?” We might add: How dwelleth the love of <i>man</i> in him? He that does -not love his fellow men is not entitled to a place among them, any more -than fleas or serpents are entitled a place in human beds.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“That man may last, but never lives,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Who all receives, but nothing gives;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Whom none can love, whom none can thank,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Creation’s blot, creation’s blank.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_384" id="page_384"></a>{384}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /><br /> -<small>FAMINE AND PESTILENCE.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Then—see those million worlds which burn and roll,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Around us—their inhabitants beheld<br /></span> -<span class="i1">My spher’ed light wave in wide Heaven; the sea<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Was lifted by strange tempests, and new fire<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From earthquake rifted mountains of bright snow<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Shook its portentous hair beneath heaven’s frowns,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Lightning and inundation vexed the plains,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Blue thistles bloomed in cities; foodless toads<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Within voluptuous chambers panting crawled;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When plague had fallen on man and beast and worm,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And famine: and black blight on herb and tree.<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i1">* * and the thin air, my breath, was stained,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With the contagion of a mother’s hate,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Breathed on her child’s destroyer.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_s.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="39" -height="60" -alt="S" /></span>IGNS and wonders, grave omens, strange portents, have by the ignorant -and superstitious been believed to precede and presage the approach of -famine and pestilence. Comets have terrified the multitudes; the rabble -has quailed at the aurora, and blanched with fear at the sight of -colored rain and snow. And yet nothing is clearer than that famine is -the result of the simplest meteorological causes. A deficiency in -rainfall is sufficient cause—is almost the only cause. Elsewhere we -have noted how dependent we are upon the winds and clouds, and we need -spend no further explanation of their causes and variations.</p> - -<p>Owing to the decidedly local character of our own rains, the probability -of a general famine in this country is very slight, though local -droughts are of continual occurrence. Europe has been affected with -serious famines at various<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_385" id="page_385"></a>{385}</span> periods; but the greatest “harvest of death” -has been in Oriental lands. During the present century there have been -two or three severe famines in Asia Minor, the last but two or three -years since. But it is in India and China, with their overcrowded -populations and lack of facilities for inter-communication, that famine -becomes most terrible in its ravages. The story of one is that of -another; a deficient rainfall, a failure of the rice crop, a multitude -eating grass, dead leaves, straw, offal—millions starving. As these -lines are written come reports of great dearth in some provinces in -Japan.</p> - -<p>One of the best known famines of recent date is the great Bengal famine -of 1866. When the rice crop failed the British government at once used -every possible means to facilitate the importation of rice and -established large systems of public works that the people might earn -money wherewith to buy. Yet it was but the chief of many great employes. -Great companies pushed great projects. The customary wages remained -steady; but rice had trebled in price. Hence, even by doing double work -the people could not procure their usual food. And no allowance had been -made for the scores of isolated villages where the news of relief -measures penetrated not. So the employed grew weaker continually and -less able to labor and earn; those unemployed perished by hundreds. -Private charity supported thousands; for the Hindoo dreads the beggars’ -curse as much as the loss of caste. The women added their labors to -those of the laboring husbands, but this did not suffice to support the -weakening families.</p> - -<p>Then government charity was broached; but it was at once seen that -efforts in this direction would cause the cessation of individual -charity. Every village looks after its own poor; every noble family -continues to dispense alms,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_386" id="page_386"></a>{386}</span> even when every vestige of wealth and -greatness is gone. It would not do to take steps that might instantly -suspend this work. Yet the famished crowds grew daily greater, and the -residents of the European quarter of Calcutta were horrified by the -influx of thousands of squalid creatures in the last extremity of -hunger.</p> - -<p>At this crisis another factor came into play. Every pious Hindoo -merchant writes at the top of his day-book each day the name of the -divinity whose favor he courts, and immense sums—even millions of -dollars—are spent in the annual celebration in honor of Kali, the -especial favorite of Bengal. A wealthy and humane Hindoo merchant -suggested that Kali would be better pleased if her celebration fund were -used to relieve her starving worshippers. The idea became popular at -once; and the fund, promptly swelled by the exigencies of the case, -aided greatly in the relief of the destitute. When we remember that Kali -is a fiend incarnate, who delights in human blood, and wears a necklace -of skulls, we can but consider the suggestion of the pious merchant as -savoring of the ludicrous.</p> - -<p>Another objection to government charity was in the fact that the -government could only hope to establish a few great central depots. -Again, the Hindoo does not discriminate between the professional -beggars, fakirs, hermits, yogis, and those whom we consider more -deserving: and such discrimination as it was certain the government -would make would only render it odious, and probably cause grave -disturbances. So the government lost three weeks when it should have -been actively at work. Meanwhile English residents were spending -liberally their means in private relief depots.</p> - -<p>The government found its way out by making quietly large grants to the -private relief committees established.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_387" id="page_387"></a>{387}</span> But it was two or three months -ere the best scheme was adopted. Rice could be imported in abundance. -How to place it within the purchasing power of the people was the -problem. The government turned merchant, and established depots where -the laborer could buy at a price within his means. But while placing the -market rate within reach of the needy one-third, the rate for the -remainder must not be disturbed, or the merchants would be antagonized. -It was easily accomplished. The market was opened but a short time each -day; and the “respectable” Hindoo would never expose himself or his -family to be jostled by the hungry labor-stained multitude that at once -thronged the places. And public opinion, all-powerful in little Bengali -towns, strongly condemned any one who without good reason, bought at the -relief depots.</p> - -<p>By June, every one was anxious to know if the rains would come and -insure the September crops—there are two rice harvests each year. -Thousands of sacrifices were offered, and sometimes human beings were -offered. But the rains came, and the fall brought abundant crops.</p> - -<p>The total loss of life was about 1,250,000, of whom one-fourth starved -outright, while the remainder perished from disease and pestilence -resulting from the scarcity of food. A famine in the same region in 1769 -carried off 6,000,000; but then the government did nothing, and after -the scourge immense tracts of cultivated land returned to their original -wilderness. The reverse was the result in 1866. The methodical work of -the government and the great corporations left the land far more -improved than ever before; with the increasing facilities for -communication and transportation, a repetition of the disaster even of -1866 is almost impossible—certainly beyond probability.</p> - -<p>We may not go into details of scores of famines, ancient and modern; we -have selected this one, showing how, even<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_388" id="page_388"></a>{388}</span> in adverse circumstances, -prompt work lessens the ravages of the destroyer. Judging from the -percentage of 1769, the loss of life in 1866 would, but for the relief -work, have been about 9,000,000—one-third the population of Bengal. The -only other calamity in recent years at all comparable, is the terrible -famine of 1876 in China. How many perished then may not be definitely -known; but it has been variously estimated at from 15,000,000 to -50,000,000. We may not dwell upon the horrors of such things—the -hideous cannibalism that has at times resulted; as when we are told that -during one famine in Egypt, in the dark ages, human flesh was openly -sold in the markets!</p> - -<p>A terrible scourge that frequently visited the old world in the middle -and dark ages is that known as the “Black Death.” As to its real -character and source, the world is yet in ignorance. Whether it was -readily conveyed in the atmosphere or not seems a mooted point. Modern -medical science has robbed many contagious diseases of their terrors. -Small-pox is easily guarded against. Diptheria has no terrors for clean -streets. Yellow Jack has little chance against sound sanitation and -hygiene. The germ theory of disease has greatly aided disinfective -measures.</p> - -<p>In contagious diseases, infection proceeds chiefly from personal contact -with a diseased person or objects that have been touched by him. In -malarial diseases there is no danger from personal contact; the disease -resulting clearly from a poisoned atmosphere. But in the case of what -are known as epidemics, the source of infection is not clear. The -disease may attack thousands in a short time, and yet not appear readily -communicable by personal contact. Doubtless in these cases the -atmosphere is the medium of infection. Hence, disinfective measures are -of little or no use against them. So while such can not properly be -classed among atmospheric phenomena,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_389" id="page_389"></a>{389}</span> yet it would seem that in the -atmosphere we find the chief vehicle of the disease.</p> - -<p>We may not here undertake any discussion of the several deadly -contagious diseases that are known to modern medicine. Suffice it to say -nearly all of them may be classed as filth diseases, arising from impure -food or water, or filthy streets. Most notable of these is perhaps the -terrible Asiatic cholera, that has swept Europe frequently, and which is -now known to originate in the overcrowding and filth attendant upon the -great twelve-yearly festival in honor of a Hindoo idol. Had the people -of the middle ages, who regarded its ravages as a visitation of God upon -them for their sins, been aware of its origin, they might have been -disposed to wonder why they should be punished for the idolatry of a -people thousands of miles away. Possibly such reflections might have -originated either a new species of crusade, or have opened the -missionary movement several centuries earlier than it really began.</p> - -<p>Comparatively speaking, there is little mystery left in connection with -the greater contagious plagues known to modern medicine. But the famous -Black Death, or Plague, or the Pestilence, as it is variously called, -remains a secret so far as its origin and its proper treatment are -concerned. Its symptoms are somewhat variously described by various -ancient writers. In one point all agree: that when near death the body -of the victim was covered with dark, gangrenous or carbuncular spots and -swellings, or boils made their appearance in the glands of the neck, -armpit and groin. It may be that the plague of boils and blains sent -upon the Egyptians was none other than this Black Death. And doubtless -it is identical with the terrible plague that visited Athens, B. C., -430, continuing its ravages through three years. People died in swarms, -and the dead lay about the streets.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_390" id="page_390"></a>{390}</span></p> - -<p>During the middle ages it appeared in Europe on an average, every fifty -years, its last visitation being upon London, in 1665, when 100,000 -people perished. Here its danger was increased by the fact that its -character was more insidious than usual. The plague described by -Thucydides was characterized by high fever and unquenchable thirst, and -a reddish inflammation or eruption of the skin lasting seven or eight -days before the appearance of the fatal spots; while from Defoe’s -account of the plague in London, these symptoms, though common, were -anything but universal; and frequently persons felt no special disorder -till the appearance of the spots told that death was at hand. Both in -Athens and London, contact with the dead bodies seems to have been fatal -to any animal. The suddenness of death in many cases calls to mind the -last plague of Egypt, or the fate of Sennacherib’s host:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Like the leaves of the forest, when summer is green,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That host with their banners at sunset were seen;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Like the leaves of the forest, when autumn hath blown,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That host in the morning lay withered and strown.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">And there lay the steed, with his nostrils all wide,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But through them there rolled not the breath of his pride;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The horrors of the plague are beyond description. The panic consequent -upon the appearance of Yellow Jack in the South gives but a faint idea -of it. And this very panic was a most—we had almost said the -most—powerful factor in the augmentation of the plague’s fatality. It -is also the case with cholera that a disturbed condition of the mind is -fatal in the mildest form of the disease. Some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_391" id="page_391"></a>{391}</span> one has thus embodied -the case, though of course with exaggeration: A traveler leaving Bagdad -met Cholera entering. “For what are you come?” “To slay 10,000 people.” -Each went his way. On returning, the traveler met Cholera once more. -“But you killed 30,000!” “Nay, friend, I killed but 10,000; <i>scare</i> -killed the rest!”</p> - -<p>Occasionally this panic took a terrible form; as when during a season of -plague in Germany, the idea seized the people that the Jews had -occasioned the plague by poisoning the wells; and Jews were murdered, -tortured, and burned by the hundreds; which reminds one of a modern -writer’s sarcastic definition of hydrophobia. “A peculiar periodical -madness, impelling men to destroy dogs.”</p> - -<p>Of the thousand tales of interest that have come down to us, we may give -place to one, a story of Florence. This city had twenty-three -visitations of the plague; the first in 1325, the last in 1630. The -plague of 1338 is the noted one described by Boccaccio. The story which -we condense here is an incident of the plague of 1400.</p> - -<p>Among the noble families who were sworn foes, were those of Rondinelli -and Almieri; and one might as soon have expected the lion to mate with -the serpent, as to hope for an alliance between the two families. But -Cupid has never bothered his meddlesome pate with politics or theology; -and so it came about that, as with Montague and Capulet, Antonio -Rondinelli fell in love with Ginevra Almieri, one of the most beautiful -women of the time—certainly unsurpassed in Florence. Of course, Signor -Almieri could not for a moment think of such a hateful match, and so -Ginevra was given to Francesco Agolanti. The young wife remained -faithful; but she gradually faded; and in four short years sunk into a -sort of lethargic stupor, resulting in death. The plague was then at its -highest, and the panic was great. Every death from uncertain cause<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_392" id="page_392"></a>{392}</span> was -a source of alarm, and burials were informal and hasty. The poor young -wife was promptly bundled off to the family vault beneath one of the -great cathedrals.</p> - -<p>It seems that it was merely a case of coma, or suspended animation. The -lady revived, only to find herself entombed with the skeletons of her -husband’s ancestors. Horrible as this would be for any one, it is a -wonder that the weak nerves of Ginevra did not give way entirely under -the strain. She screamed and called—only the dead heard. She groped -about her tomb, and found a ladder; clambering up, she found a ray of -moonlight streaming through a crevice, and learned her location. She -looked abroad</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Upon the moonlight loveliness, all sunk<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In one unbroken silence, save the moan<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From the lone room of death, or the dull sound<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Of the slow-moving hearse. The homes of men<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Were now all desolate, and darkness there<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And solitude and silence took their seat,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In the deserted streets: for the dark wing<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Of a destroying angel had gone by<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And blasted all existence, and had changed<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The gay, the busy, and the crowded mart<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To one cold speechless city of the dead.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>After desperate effort, and with strength astounding in a frame so weak, -she forced up one of the paving stones that formed the roof of the -vault, and dragged herself out. Sitting wearily down for a brief rest, a -sudden shower came up and chilled her to the bone. She rose and went to -her husband’s house. He, at a second story window, astounded at the -ghostly figure in grave clothes that roused him in the dead hour of -night, “when ghosts do mostly walk abroad,” and doubtless remembering -that his treatment of the living wife had not been such as to recommend -him to the favorable notice of her ghost, shut the window with alternate -imprecations and invocations, and covered his head with the -bedclothes—well-known in all ages to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_393" id="page_393"></a>{393}</span> thoroughly ghost-proof. -Ginevra was similarly repulsed from the houses of her father and of -various relatives. As a last resort, though exceedingly repugnant to a -woman of her delicate feeling, she betook herself, almost chilled to -death, to the house of Rondinelli. To his inquiry as to who was there, a -weak voice responded, “Do you not know me, Signor Antonio? It is -I—Ginevra. Neither my father nor my husband will receive me. Will you, -too, turn me away?”</p> - -<p>Great as was Antonio’s fear of ghosts, the bare possibility that Ginevra -was actually there in the flesh was a far stronger consideration; and he -hastened to test the reality of his fair visitant. Having her properly -cared for, he hastened to the vault, where the displaced stone confirmed -her story.</p> - -<p>A few days later, Antonio boldly applied to the civil authorities to -marry the “late Ginevra degli Agolanti,” and backed his application with -certificates of the death and burial of the lady! The authorities -hearing the facts—and mayhap being romantically disposed—decided that -the lady was legally dead, that her relatives, by their own unwilling -confession, had persisted in so regarding her; hence, she was no longer -bound by any legal tie to the living, father or husband! She was -absolutely free!</p> - -<p>So Antonio and Ginevra were married, and of course, “lived happily ever -after.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_394" id="page_394"></a>{394}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE VOLCANO.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“And it bubbles, and seethes, and hisses, and roars,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As when fire is with water commixed and comblending,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And a hell-molten surf thunders wild on its shores,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">While a red-tumbling flood from its caverns outpours,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Hurling hills from their place, and the mountains downrending,<br /></span> -<span class="i8">So the chaos eternal<br /></span> -<span class="i8">Born of fury infernal,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Boils and belches and rumbles, unreined and unending.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_i.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="32" -height="60" -alt="I" /></span>T is an axiom that there are three misstatements in the popular -description of a crab: “A fish, of a red color, that runs backward.”</p> - -<p><i>Ques.</i> What is a volcano?</p> - -<p><i>Ans.</i> A volcano is a burning mountain, from the summit of which issue -smoke and flames. (<i>Old Geography.</i>)</p> - -<p>The writer remembers the surprise he felt when a lad of nine, full of -childish confidence in the infallibility of text-book misinformation, on -reading in Prescott’s “Conquest in Mexico” that Cortez obtained sulphur -to replenish his stock of powder by lowering one of his soldiers into -the crater of Popocatepetl. He wondered how so reputable a historian as -Prescott had been induced to credit such an extravagant “yarn” on the -part of the Spanish chronicler. To his youthful fancy, fired by the -teachings of primary geographies, a volcano was a sort of chimney to a -titanic iron furnace in full blast; indeed, he would have supposed it -safer to descend into an iron furnace than into the crater. He -speculated long on the matter, and wondered if fire-proof dresses were -known in those days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_395" id="page_395"></a>{395}</span></p> - -<p>No small part of the non-traveling public has similar misconceptions of -the character of volcanoes; and to obtain the truth it is not so -necessary to learn as to unlearn. The description quoted from the old -text-book is false in every particular. The mountain can not be said to -be burning any more than melted lead. Nor does anything that answers to -either smoke or flame issue from it. Be it known to all, that the -greatest portion of the surface of an active crater is usually covered -with a solid crust, in which there may be a small fiery lake, or inner -secondary cone or crater. Into many craters it is possible therefore to -descend: and into one volcano of the Mediterranean Sea an enterprising -Scotch firm have long had quite remunerative chemical works.</p> - -<p>The name is taken from one of the Lipari Islands—a small group near -Sicily—which was known to the ancients as Vulcano. When the Romans -imported the Grecian god, Hephaistos, to be their chief blacksmith, they -assigned him Vulcano as his forge, and rechristened the lame old fellow -with the adjective appellation of Vulcanus.</p> - -<p>Men much prefer the marvellous or mysterious to the true. And, while -their reverence is of a merely superstitious sort, the reverence of the -ignorant often surpasses that of the learned. A superstitious people -readily manufactured a myth to explain the awe-inspiring demonstrations -of volcanoes; and the myth itself, because of its religious character, -would discourage any attempt to closely investigate volcanic phenomena -as sacrilege and impiety. There are similar volcano myths in the island -and Asiatic world. So firm was the belief of the Sandwich Islanders in -the certainty of dire vengeance upon all who trespassed on the domain of -Pele, the goddess of Kilauea, that when a princess of the blood royal -safely defied the goddess, ate her sacred berries, and threw rocks<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_396" id="page_396"></a>{396}</span> into -her boiling lake, the people at once abandoned their whole race of gods. -If there was no Pele, they knew of no god. Such reasons prevented the -ancients and the barbarian world from obtaining any light on volcanic -action.</p> - -<p>Similar causes operated with equal force to hinder investigation during -the middle and dark ages. Christian teachers seized upon them as -convenient openings to the abode of eternal torment. The Arian heretic, -the Emperor Theodosius, was assigned to Vulcano; while poor Anne Boleyn, -for whose sake the “Defender of the Faith” defied the Pope, was sent by -the latter to Mt. Ætna, as the shortest route to her destination.</p> - -<p>Similar ideas are noticed among semi-barbarous races. The Aztecs deemed -Popocatepetl, the greatest of their volcanoes, to be the place of -punishment for wicked rulers. These gentry were supposed to cherish no -good will toward their subjects, whose complaints had brought them to -that place of torment, and to be always seeking opportunity for -vengeance. The people held them in great awe, and were wont to invoke -the aid of the gods when it became necessary to travel near the -volcanoes. It is related that the high priest, Tezozomoc, was wont to -give aloe-leaves inscribed with sacred characters, to such persons. -These leaves were amulets to preserve the wearer from harm. Southey uses -this story in <i>Madoc</i>:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i3">“So ye may safely pass<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Between the mountains, which in endless war,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hurtle with horrible uproar, and frush<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of rocks, that meet in battle.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>This mountain was in eruption when Cortes reached Tlascala on his march -to Mexico. It was believed to bode evil to the people of Anahuac. -Learning the native superstition, Diego de Ordaz, captain of artillery, -determined<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_397" id="page_397"></a>{397}</span> to beard the demons in their den, and with some companions -ascended the mountain. Their safe return convinced the natives that the -Spaniards were in league with the spirits, and did much to dishearten -them. In memory of this feat, the Ordaz family has a volcano pictured on -its coat of arms.</p> - -<p>The Javanese call their greatest volcano Maha-Meru. Meru, in the -Sanscrit mythology, was the home of Brahma, and the Malays, having -adopted the legend, consider their greatest volcano the fittest symbol -of his throne and power.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_397_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_397_sml.jpg" width="450" height="337" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>AT THE SUMMIT OF POPOCATEPETL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Virgil’s Æneid affords a passage containing the Roman myth concerning -Mt. Ætna, and showing that the people of Virgil’s day were acquainted -with the phenomena of that mountain. Thus Dryden has translated:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_398" id="page_398"></a>{398}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The flagging wind forsook us with the sun,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And wearied, on Cyclopean shores we run.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The port, capacious and secure from wind,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Is to the fort of thundering Ætna joined,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">By turns a pitchy cloud she rolls on high,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And flakes of mountain flames that arch the sky;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Oft from her bowels massy rocks are thrown,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And shivered by the force, come piece-meal down;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Oft liquid cakes of burning sulphur flow,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Fed from the fiery springs that burn below.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Enceladus, they say, transfixed by Jove,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With blasted limbs came trembling from above,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And where he fell, th’ avenging father drew<br /></span> -<span class="i1">This flaming hell, and on his body threw.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As often as he turns his weary sides,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">He shakes the solid hill, and smoke the heaven hides.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>This conception was borrowed from the Greeks, one of whose poets has -told us</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“How shaggy-breasted Typhon lay,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From sea-girt Cuma to Trinacria’s bay.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Yet, even among the ancients an occasional great mind disregarded -popular superstition, and enunciated just and rational views upon the -matter. The elder Pliny lost his life in an effort to observe closely an -eruption of Vesuvius. But the ideas advanced by these men were speedily -forgotten; and the exact scientific examination of volcanoes is of the -past hundred years, the great Italian, Spallanzani, being the first to -publish a series of valuable observations on the volcanoes of his own -land.</p> - -<p>The ancients were acquainted only with the few active volcanoes -distributed about the Mediterranean Sea, and the casual thinker might -hence suppose their opportunities for observation were quite limited. -But volcanic principles are the same everywhere, differing only in -violence. In the Lipari Islands is situated the volcanic cone of -Stromboli, which has been in a state of constant activity, though very -mild, for at least two thousand years. This affords excellent -opportunities for study, and much of our most<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_399" id="page_399"></a>{399}</span> valuable information on -the topic is derived from careful observation of it. When the wind is -steady in any quarter, a person may sit to windward for hours within a -few yards of the boiling mass, while the noxious vapors and gases are -borne away in the other direction.</p> - -<p>The expulsive agent is in all cases steam, mingled to a greater or less -degree with other vapors or gases. Its operation may be simply -illustrated. Pure water does not readily boil over in any open vessel of -ordinary dimensions. But if the vessel be very deep in proportion to its -width, and the heat is applied at the base only, it boils over more -readily. Now, if instead of water, we substitute porridge, thick -molasses, or any similar thick or viscid material, the bubbles of steam -rise slowly; and if rapidly generated, they force the matter out at the -top ere they escape. Such bubbles as reach the top, burst, throwing tiny -particles of the mass into the air.</p> - -<p>How great a portion of the material expelled from volcanoes consists of -steam and other gases is not easy to determine. But that the quantity of -vapor is enormous is indisputable. Vesuvius is noted for the “pine tree” -of vapor that overhangs it. The ascending steam and gases, on reaching -an upper atmosphere as light as themselves, spread out horizontally in -every direction, thus much resembling in outline the stone-pines that -are a prominent feature in the Neapolitan landscape.</p> - -<p>Some effort has been made to connect volcanic eruptions with atmospheric -pressure; for, say the theorists, a fall of two inches in the barometer -removes a pressure of over 2,000,000 tons from each square mile. A -sufficient answer to this is, that this, after all, is only one pound to -the square inch; while the force that can cast up volumes of melted -matter from a great depth must needs be many tons to the square inch. -Clearly these gentlemen would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_400" id="page_400"></a>{400}</span> perch us on a sort of universal fire-box, -and poise the lid on a hair trigger.</p> - -<p>But heavy rainfalls and terrific thunder storms are almost invariable -accompaniments of explosive eruptions. That these are the result and not -the cause of volcanic action is clear. An electrical machine was -invented by Sir William Armstrong, in which electricity was generated by -forcing steam at great speed through a narrow orifice. This same -principle would produce volcanic thunder storms. The immense volumes of -vapor, reaching the open air, must rapidly cool and be precipitated as -rain. The Italians dread these torrents, sweeping down immense -quantities of mud, more than they do the streams of lava.</p> - -<p>If an eruption causes an immediate fall of two inches of rain over an -area seven miles square, it will be found that such a rainfall amounts -to more than seven millions of tons of water. Yet the rainfall often is -greater, and the area affected is larger; while it is not to be supposed -that the entire volume of vapor cast forth is at once precipitated on -the earth. This computation can not be assumed as anything more than a -mere illustration of the tremendous forces brought into operation.</p> - -<p>The solid substances emitted by volcanoes are popularly styled ashes, -cinders, or scoria and lava. But what is called ashes would be more -appropriately named dust; for it is merely finely divided lava, and in -no way resembles genuine ashes.</p> - -<p>Lavas present a general resemblance to the slag and clinkers of smelters -and brick-kilns, but vary considerably in appearance and chemical -composition. We need not touch this question further than to state that -oxygen forms nearly one-half the weight of all lavas, silicon one-fourth -of most, and aluminum one-tenth. From fifteen to twenty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_401" id="page_401"></a>{401}</span> per cent. is -made of various others, magnesium, calcium, iron, sodium and potassium -being most common. Hence, the compounds present are always of the class -known to chemists as silicates, substances requiring great heat to melt. -These, from being long melted, abound more or less in crystals; but if -any one re-melts them and cools them suddenly, the result is a simple -glassy mass, with no trace of crystals.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_401_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_401_sml.jpg" width="450" height="344" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>VIEW IN ACTIVE CRATER.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_402" id="page_402"></a>{402}</span></p> - -<p>Scoria or cinders differ from ordinary lava only in the peculiarity of -having partially crystallized in some portions and then stiffened or -solidified while large bubbles were yet imprisoned or in the act of -bursting; thus leaving the mass very ragged and cellular. But if the -lava contains no readily formed crystals, the imprisoned bubbles of -steam slowly rise to the surface, and being greatly elongated by the -flowing of the lava, produce the beautiful material known as “pumice.” -It is to lava exactly what froth or foam is to water. Usually it is much -lighter colored than the lava on which it floats, for the same reason -that well-worked molasses candy is nearly white: they both contain a -vast number of minute air bubbles. Pumice floats on water, and its -decomposition being generally very slow, it drifts about the sea -currents, and is often found thousands of miles from any volcanic -region. In the immediate neighborhood of volcanoes it often accumulates -on the sea to such an extent that vessels can hardly force their way -through it. In the Sunda Islands it has been seen on the sea three feet -in depth. During the year 1878 the accumulation of pumice near the -Solomon Isles was so great that it took ships three days to force their -way through. Sometimes such masses accumulate along the coast line to -such an extent that a person can not readily tell where the shore line -is. One may land and walk about on the great floating raft of pumice, -unable to guess within even a mile of the actual shore. Deep sea -soundings show that the entire ocean bottom is covered more or less with -the pulverized pumice and volcanic dust. From the wide distribution it -is not probable that the layer attains any great thickness.</p> - -<p>The Mangaians of the South Pacific told the earlier missionaries of a -feat of one of their heroes which at first was unaccountable. This -demigod, Maui, a sort of Pacific<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_403" id="page_403"></a>{403}</span> Hercules, raised the sky to its -present position. Not getting it high enough to suit him, he put his -head between the legs of his old father Ru, and heaved him and the -half-raised sky up together. Ru stuck fast among the stars, and Maui -left him there till his body dropped to pieces and his bones fell over -the ground below. To prove the truth of their story they brought the -missionaries bits of pumice, which they said were the bones of Ru. -Singularly enough the white porous stone looked much like bone. The myth -had been invented by the simple folk to explain the origin of pumice.</p> - -<p>The ashes, or volcanic dust, is excessively minute, and in consequence -readily penetrate crevices that are hardly visible. Professor Bonney, -examining dust thrown out by Cotopaxi, has calculated that it would -require from four thousand to twenty-five thousand particles to make up -a grain in weight. The substance known as tufa is merely volcanic dust -or ash upon which rain has fallen while the former was still hot. The -resultant paste solidifies into a porous and loosely compacted rock.</p> - -<p>Why some volcanoes nearly always throw out dust and fragments, while -others throw out mere molten streams, was for a time not clearly -understood. Some suggested the dust was the result of the continual -collision of fragments as they rose and fell, and hence would increase -in quantity as the eruption continued. This clearly would not meet the -case of volcanoes which, without showing any previous signs of activity, -burst into action with tremendous volumes of dust.</p> - -<p>It was at length noticed that dust and fragments always were accompanied -by tremendous explosions; while eruptions of melted lava were far more -quiet, shocks being few and the explosions insignificant as compared -with the former. This gave a clue to the mystery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_404" id="page_404"></a>{404}</span></p> - -<p>Many liquids and solids have the power of absorbing vast quantities of -gas. Under pressure their absorbing powers may be vastly increased. -Sometimes the property appears only at high temperatures. Silver when -melted absorbs twenty-two times its volume of oxygen. If suddenly cooled -the oxygen is given off with a rapidity verging on explosion. This is -called the “spitting” of silver. Tiny cones and melted streams appear on -the cooled surface—volcanoes in miniature. The same property belongs to -the oxide of lead, and some other metals.</p> - -<p>Now water can be made to absorb more than a thousand times its bulk of -ammonia; more than five hundred times its bulk of hydrochloric acid. -Alcohol may absorb three hundred times its volume of sulphurous acid. -Charcoal may absorb one hundred times its volume of ammonia, eighty-five -times its volume of hydrochloric acid, sixty-five times its volume of -sulphuretted hydrogen, fifty-five times its volume of sulphurous and -thirty-five times its volume of carbonic acid. Iron, steel and melted -sulphur absorb many gases.</p> - -<p>We have already seen that immense volumes of gases are thrown off in -volcanic action. Now if a column of lava rises comparatively slowly in -its “chimney,” the imprisoned gases rapidly escape, producing violent -boiling, but not a positive explosion. But if it rises very rapidly, the -sudden removal of the pressure causes so sudden an expansion of the -compressed gases in its upper portion as to amount to a tremendous -explosion, which reduces the lava to microscopic dust.</p> - -<p>This very principle was made practical use of in a mechanical -contrivance invented to make paper pulp out of common cane, such as the -farmer’s boy delights in for a fishing pole. The hard, woody fibre was -placed in a powerful iron cylinder full of water. A strong lid being<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_405" id="page_405"></a>{405}</span> -adjusted, the whole was heated far above the boiling point of water. -Naturally, every cell would be forced full of moisture by the immense -pressure. After some hours heating, the lid was suddenly removed, and by -the sudden expansion of the water into steam the cane was blown to -atoms.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_405_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_405_sml.jpg" width="450" height="342" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CRATER OF ORIZABA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>A beautiful product of the volcano of Kilauea is the substance known as -“Pele’s Hair.” Small particles of glass shot violently into the air -leave behind them long, glittering filaments, like gossamers. Birds -often build their nests of these beautiful threads. Man, taking a hint<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_406" id="page_406"></a>{406}</span> -from nature, has learned to manufacture the glass hair for himself by -passing jets of steam through the molten slag of iron furnaces. It much -resembles cotton wool, and is used for packing boilers and piston-heads, -and similar purposes.</p> - -<p>The appearance of fire at the summit of a volcano is rarely ever real -flame. Any who has seen the peculiar appearance occasioned by brilliant -illumination on a moist or foggy evening may readily perceive the cause. -The phenomenon popularly known as the “sun drawing water” is of the same -character. The immense cloud of vapor ascending from the volcano glows -with the light sent up from the molten mass below. So it may be seen -brilliant by night, and only a dark cloud by day. Stromboli has been -called the light-house of the Mediterranean. In constant action, the -brilliant light at night slowly fades: then suddenly breaks out as -bright as before. This alternating results from the bursting of bubbles -in the crater, which expose a new, hot surface. This rapidly cools; then -another bubble bursts; and so the process continues. This may have -suggested the alternating light now in common use in great light-houses.</p> - -<p>In the Galapagos, and other volcanic islands of the Pacific, occurs -another curious feature of volcanic action. Some places abound in -seeming mounds or domes, which may be sometimes readily broken in with a -heavy stone. These are produced by bubbles which partially cooled, when -the lava below found some rent or outlet in another quarter and flowed -away, leaving the solidified bubble.</p> - -<p>Sometimes the cavern left by the retreating lava abounds in strange -beauties. A sailor, who with a comrade, explored one of these volcanic -caverns, gives the following account of it:</p> - -<p>“In a sharp, deep valley of Albemarle we had broken in the roof of a -bubble; and as we looked in we saw we<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_407" id="page_407"></a>{407}</span> had opened the way into a tunnel -about fifteen feet in width, and extending either way as far as we could -see from our position. By the lights which entered from above, we made -out the floor as about twenty feet beneath us, and that the walls were -curiously marked with columnar forms. My companion, who had dabbled in -the sciences, proposed that we should take an underground view of -volcanic action and appearances.</p> - -<p>“So, on the following day, provided with a couple of lamps, a coil of -knotted line, and a couple of waist-lines and iron poles for staves, we -proceeded on our exploration. We descended with the knotted rope around -our bodies, and stuck our feet into the rough side, lighted in our way -by a single lamp. We carefully watched for any side openings which might -confuse us or lead us astray in returning, but we saw none and felt -safe. It soon became evident that the tunnel had not been formed by a -rent of the mass after cooling, but rather by the molten lava’s having -drained away after a crust had formed upon it. This may account for the -singular and beautiful formations by which we found ourselves -surrounded. After proceeding some distance through a passage with a -pretty uniform width of fifteen to twenty feet, and of about equal -height, we paused to examine the formation of the cavern. The dim light -of our lamps illuminated the pilastered walls, and a roof raftered and -groined with straight and curved beams of crystalline structure many -feet in length. Some of these were of a reddish appearance, and others -had a vitreous lustre, resembling immense crystals, in places broken -into the semblance of foliage, which reflected an olive green light. The -gloomy splendor of this solemn architecture was relieved by the gold or -amber reflections of crystals of sulphur, which, like marigold or -sunflower, gleamed in the passage.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_408" id="page_408"></a>{408}</span></p> - -<p>“The broad bases of the pilasters were enriched with counterfeits of -fern, palms, and growths intricate and delicate as the penciling of the -frost spirit’s pictures. But these metallic pictures, under the limning -of the fire-fiend had been inlaid with the brilliant facets of igneous -minerals, green and brown in tint. Tempted onward by the increasing -beauty of the scene, our lamp revealed new objects of interest in the -increasing lustre of the arched ceiling, and the carved and painted -walls. Our lamp was multiplied by the sparkle from the faces of unknown -minerals. In places the passage was divided by central columns of basalt -crystals, which terminated in curves, and were in form and tracery -varied beyond man’s power. The rude Goth for his cathedral, the Moslem -for his mosque, the Celestial for his pagoda, might have drawn -inspiration from this solemn portal to Nature’s vast workshop.</p> - -<p>“As we advanced further into the recesses of the mountain, the character -of the cave changed. The angular crystalline forms which indicated the -sudden withdrawal of the molten matter, or the deposit of elements -sublimed by intense heat, yielded to smooth and rounded structures, like -the worn rocks of the river side, giving the impression that the walls -had served as a sluice to fiery torrents pouring from the volcano. A few -steps farther showed us the singular curtain-like foldings of a -substance resembling lampblack. Absolutely without lustre, and absorbent -of every ray of light, it was present, as it were, only to the touch. -With certain misgivings under this curtain of gloom, we entered a cavern -the form or extent of which could only be known by touch of hands, for -no possible brilliancy of light would command an answering reflection -from the absorbent surface. Broken as was the surface to the touch, to -the eye it was without form. The floor was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_409" id="page_409"></a>{409}</span> invisible, and we were -guided in our steps by our staves alone. It was like stepping into -primal chaos, before light and form had birth. A profound chasm seemed -to yawn at our feet; yet the rocky floor rang to the blow of the staff, -and with cautious tread we proceeded. The flame of the lamp met no -responsive glow; save from the two intruders who stood awe stricken in -this strange emptiness; it stood in the still blackness unflickering, -like a solid. Feeling the broken walls, the hand was met by an oily -softness; the eye was useless, and even the touch now failed to guide -us. Solid walls were not to the eye; rocky barriers seemed simply -impenetrable darkness to the hand.</p> - -<p>“From repeated contact with sooty walls, we also became covered with -this strange, light-absorbing powder, until we were enveloped in an -invisible mantle, and also passed from each other’s sight. Eye alone -answered to eye in their reflections of light. Too deeply impressed for -conversation, we stood still with outstretched hands. My comrade asked -at length, ‘May it not be even so in the valley of the Shadow of Death?’ -And we looked for strength into each other’s eyes and linked our arms -that we might have the companionship of touch. We were now thoroughly -frightened, and turned to retrace our steps; but which way? We stood in -a sea of nothingness—locked in the foundations of the mountain. The -walls were lost to the sight, and were nothing to the touch. We stooped -to the deep dust of the floor and held the flame to read our -foot-prints; but the soil absorbed the light, as the sand of the desert -does the raindrop. We reached forward, and the hand failed to meet the -wall; we reached downward; there, too, was empty space. The light showed -no defining edge between the solid rock and the void. We swung the lamp -from the brink on which we lay; it revealed nothing. We dropped a heavy -stone into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_410" id="page_410"></a>{410}</span> chasm and listened for the rebound. No sound was -returned as it sank into the profound. We cast another stone across to -test the width, but this, too, was lost to the senses. Silently they -passed away, as the mist wreath on the hill side. And then we knew we -had been preserved from death. A careless step and we had found a grave -in the depths of the world’s foundations. We realized that we were lying -in trembling safety on the threshold of the extinct volcano, and lifting -our useless eyes from the impenetrable blackness, the awful whisper -‘Lost!’ passed between us. We were afraid to move; but the wasting oil -of our lamp warned us that time must not be lost. Presently our ears -caught the heat of surf on the rock as the tide came in, and following -this direction, we finally reached the entrance, almost fainting from -joy when we stood beyond this chamber of gloom. Once more we stood under -the wondrous tracery and reflections of the outer gates of the -inter-world of mysterious.”</p> - -<p>A most thrilling experience, and one giving a fine picture of what may -be found in the mysterious depths of a lava bubble. In some cases the -bubbles are very thin; and an unwary passer might be suddenly plunged -into unfathomable depths should he tread on one. Usually, however, they -are formed over horizontal currents or passages.</p> - -<p>We have endeavored to give the well-established facts concerning the -principles of volcanic action. It only remains, ere we leave this phase -of the subject, that we notice the one point on which as yet our -knowledge is not clear. That point is, the source of the heat which -produces the remarkable effects.</p> - -<p>Several theories are advanced. One class of scientists believes that the -earth is a mass of molten matter, with only a thin outer shell of cooled -material. That a very<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_411" id="page_411"></a>{411}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 357px;"> -<a href="images/i_411_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_411_sml.jpg" width="357" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>ERUPTION OF MOUNT VESUVIUS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">high temperature exists at no very great distance from the surface is -beyond a doubt. The observations made in mines and artesian wells show -that the average increase in the temperature is one degree for every -fifty-five feet in depth. One noted variation exists in the deep wells -at Buda-Pesth, in Austria, where the temperature increased<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_412" id="page_412"></a>{412}</span> up to 3,000 -feet; but beyond that depth it became cooler again. The Comstock lode in -Nevada, the richest mineral vein in the world, is nearly at the limit of -practicable working, the normal temperature being as high as one hundred -and fifty degrees.</p> - -<p>Even if it be conceded that the material of the earth is a molten mass, -there would be two theories to explain it: one, that the earth was -originally in a state of fusion, and was slowly cooling; the other, that -the great pressure from without keeps an otherwise solid center greatly -compressed and heated, and consequently liquid. Either supposition is -based on well established facts; but it does not appear clear that the -molten globe with a cool shell can settle the entire question.</p> - -<p>The objections to this are several. One, the complete absence of -uniformity in the increase of heat as we descend. While the total -average is as given above, the variations are so many and vast, that -there does not seem to be any general law, as there should be if the -molten interior possessed the least uniformity. In some shafts the -increase is one degree for twenty feet; in others, one for every one -hundred; in some, the temperature increases much more rapidly at great -depths, in others, much less rapidly.</p> - -<p>A second objection is, the vast difference in the character of lavas, -even in districts very near each other. Thirdly, there seems no definite -connection between volcanoes in the same region. Two adjacent ones may -exhibit very different conditions. Mauna Loa is about 10,000 feet above -Kilauea, a great crater of the same mountain. Yet the upper is often in -a violent state of eruption when the latter is perfectly quiet. It would -be difficult to conceive how these are supplied from the same source. If -the interior were a molten mass in a state of equilibrium, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_413" id="page_413"></a>{413}</span> would be -necessary if the uniformity of its motions in the solar system were to -be preserved, any undue pressure would compel the molten matter to -escape from the lowest opening. This would be in accordance with the -simplest laws of liquids. Then we should find volcanic action most -vigorous at the lowest active volcano; but such is not the case. The -idea of a uniformly liquid interior seems hardly tenable.</p> - -<p>There is still other objection to this theory. Experiments have been -made with various materials to ascertain the change affected in them by -heat. It is found that a block of granite five feet long, by a change of -ninety-six degrees in temperature, is expanded .27792 of an inch; -crystalline marble, .03264; sandstone, .0549. If, then, a portion of the -earth’s crust ten miles in thickness be heated six hundred degrees, its -crust would be raised two hundred feet; or a change of one degree, the -rate of expansion being fairly uniform to five hundred or six hundred -degrees, would raise the surface four inches. How important this matter -is may be better understood when we consider that if the interior of the -earth be a uniformly molten mass, with a crust ten miles thick, a -contraction of one-twelve thousandth of an inch should force out of the -crust a cubic mile of lava. We should find then a change in temperature -one forty-eight thousandth of a degree should effect this, if the crust -were ten miles thick.</p> - -<p>We are then forced to conclude that the earth is not cooling to any -appreciable extent; or that the liquid interior is still capable of -indefinite compression without necessarily being forced out through -orifices in the crust; or that the interior is not a uniformly molten -mass.</p> - -<p>Such are the arguments against a melted interior.</p> - -<p>The reader should avoid the assumption of a uniform rate of contraction -or expansion of heat. Within very<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_414" id="page_414"></a>{414}</span> narrow limits, such a hypothesis may -be allowed; but to assume that it is universal, would be to affirm that -if you could only make the earth cold enough it would shrink to nothing -at all! The earth and the temperature would swallow each other, like the -two snakes, till neither was left. To illustrate more seriously, suppose -a race of men existed whose only experience of temperature ranged -between forty and two hundred degrees. They could consistently -calculate, from the change of water between these limits, that it would -require a temperature of many thousands of degrees to expand it to -seventeen hundred times its bulk. Yet we know they would have to raise -it only to two hundred and twelve degrees to produce the required -effect. And if they could go below forty degrees, they would be -astonished to find that water then expanded instead of contracting.</p> - -<p>That the earth, if it cools, does so very slowly is clear, from the -character of the materials thrown out. Lava from Mt. Ætna has been -observed slowly moving nine months after the eruption. Lower portions of -the beds have been found to be abnormally heated ten years after pouring -out. Compare the thickness of a lava bed with the depth from which it is -thrown, and it will be seen that little heat is lost in the subterranean -depths. One instance, showing how slowly the lava is to part with its -heat, may be given:</p> - -<p>In the year 1828 a great mass of ice was discovered on Mt. Ætna. In -consequence of the protracted heat of the season, supplies of ice at -Catania and the adjacent regions failed entirely, and the people -suffered considerably for the want of an article considered necessary to -health as well as comfort in that hot climate. The Catanian authorities -caused search to be made for some crevasse or natural grotto on Mt. -Ætna, where drift-snow might exist. Near<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_415" id="page_415"></a>{415}</span> the base of the highest cone -was found a vast mass of ice, covered by a lava bed. How old it was -there is no means of knowing; nor can we tell how much of the ice might -have originally been melted by the overflowing current. But there it -was, so hard and firm that the workmen quarried it with great -difficulty.</p> - -<p>Lastly, it appears that the causes of earthquakes and volcanic action -must be the same. A violent volcanic outbreak causes earthquake shocks -at once, as though relieved by a safety valve. The experiments of Mr. -Robert Mallet, the best known authority on earthquake phenomena, tend to -prove that the shocks necessarily originate at a comparatively short -distance below the surface. So, from two independent lines of -investigation, the same conclusion is reached.</p> - -<p>These objections have caused inquiry to be made as to what causes might -locally develop heat. Here there are so many possible methods that -scientists may not be expected to unite. One is the chemical theory: -water coming in contact with quick-lime, or metallic sodium or -potassium, would evolve intense heat. One or two locomotives have been -invented which need no fuel, obtaining their heat supply thus.</p> - -<p>But it is objected to this that the products of volcanic action are not -such as would result from such a cause; that all experience indicates -that water has already penetrated every portion of the earth, the -deepest borings always crossing veins, and all great mines requiring to -be artificially drained.</p> - -<p>One other theory is, that the slow contraction of the globe from the -radiation of heat into space necessarily affects the outer portion most -directly, and in consequence, the shrinking of the crust at the weakest -points produces unusual pressure there, which can evolve intense heat, -as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_416" id="page_416"></a>{416}</span> is shown by the fact that nearly all rocks so twisted or strained -are more or less changed in their internal structure by heat. It is also -evident that a region once thus weakened and seriously broken would -necessarily form a fairly permanent volcanic tract. As the work of -nature all goes to preserve equilibrium or balance of forces, an unusual -upheaval would necessitate unusual subsidence near at hand; and in fact -the highest mountain is always near the deepest ocean.</p> - -<p>This explanation, combined with that of chemical action seems to us the -more tenable. None of these theories conflict with the nebular -hypothesis of Kant and Laplace.</p> - -<p>In looking over the areas of volcanic action, we will find they have -changed considerably from the areas of the past.</p> - -<p>In the continent of Europe there is but one active volcano—Vesuvius; -but there are six others on islands in the Mediterranean. Africa has -four active volcanoes on the west coast, and six on the east; while ten -others are to be found on adjacent islands. Austria has no volcanoes, so -far as is known. In Asia are twenty-four active volcanoes; but twelve of -these are on the peninsula of Kamtschatka. On the American continent we -find a larger proportion. North America has forty-five, most of which -are in Mexico and Central America; and South America has thirty-seven. -Of these continental volcanoes all are near the sea, except four which -are reported to lie in the great unexplored tableland between Siberia -and Thibet; and some are said to exist in the Chinese province of -Mantchooria. No white man has visited them.</p> - -<p>But it is in the island world that we must look for the most numerous -volcanoes.</p> - -<p>A great ridge runs through the Atlantic; and along this lie a number of -islands with active centres. Jan Mayen,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_417" id="page_417"></a>{417}</span> in the Arctic circle, has an -active volcano; Iceland, thirteen; the Azores, six; the Canaries, three; -east African islands, eight; the West Indies, six; three submarine -volcanoes have been observed at different times in the Atlantic. But -through the same region the number of extinct volcanoes is far greater. -Of those which exist several seem approaching extinction.</p> - -<p>But in the isles of the Pacific and between the Pacific and Indian -oceans we have a vast series of volcanic vents of wonderful activity. In -the Aleutian Islands are thirty-one; in the Kurile Isles, ten or more; -Japan and the adjacent groups have twenty-five. Southeast of the Asiatic -continent is the most active region on the globe. Fifty volcanoes are -here known. Farther south are four in New Guinea, one or two submarine -vents, a number in New Britain, the Solomon group, the New Hebrides, -three in New Zealand, and Erebus and Terror in the Antarctic circle. Add -to these the islands of the Central Pacific, and we have more than -one-half the volcanoes of the globe. Besides there are a large number of -nearly perfect volcanic cones which must recently have become extinct.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, we find all the oceanic islands are either of volcanic or -coral formation; and as we find that the coral polyp can not live at a -greater depth than one hundred and twenty feet; as we know the ocean in -the immediate neighborhood of these islands to be many thousand of feet -in depth; as we know coral islands to be circular, often enclosing a -lagoon of water, it is fair to suppose that the polyps have not built -through long ages of subsidence, as is usually supposed; but that they -have built upon the rims of extinct craters lying near the surface. The -fact that these circular reefs always have one or more breaks in their -circuit is additional reason for the belief. The fact of a coral island -lying within a barrier reef, then,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_418" id="page_418"></a>{418}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_418_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_418_sml.jpg" width="450" height="274" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CORAL REEFS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_419" id="page_419"></a>{419}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">resolves itself into a volcanic crater with an inner cone, as every -active volcano has. It is rather ludicrous to suppose that polyps, among -the lowest of created beings, leading an ephemeral existence, should yet -have such unanimity of purpose, such perfect mutual understanding, as to -undertake to build their reefs in a more or less circular form; it is -preposterous to suppose the unvarying form of the structure is the -result of mere chance. Clearly we must find some other influences; and -the most reasonable is to suppose the foundations of these islands were -laid by the same agency that raised all other Oceanic islands from the -bed of the sea.</p> - -<p>The volcano thus plays an important part in the earth’s economy. Not -only does it add to land areas by upheaval from the deep. The amount of -material thrown out by the Javanese volcanoes alone during the past -hundred years is greater far than all the silt borne to the sea by -American rivers during the same period. Krakatoa, in its recent -eruption, threw out more than the Mississippi bears to the sea in sixty -years.</p> - -<p>There is some doubt as to how much volcanoes effect by direct upheaval. -The formation of many observed cones shows that the majority are mainly -built up by the materials thrown out, and not by any great elevation of -the adjacent surface. In the case of a volcano already existing, it is -of course not easy to know what proportion of its mass is merely -accumulation of lava, cinders, or tufa.</p> - -<p>As to the form of volcanic cones, those of ashes, cinders, and scoria -are of course steepest; those of lava thrown out when liquid having a -very gradual slope. The difference may be readily illustrated by -comparing a heap of sand and pebbles with a heap of stiffening molasses -candy. One is steeply conical; the other, rounded or dome-like. But -either form of volcano may abound in crevices and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_420" id="page_420"></a>{420}</span> apertures from which -issue sulphurous vapors and gases. These fumaroles, as they are called, -are usually surrounded with mineral deposits, often resembling the most -delicate filigree work.</p> - -<p>Having considered the general phases and principles of volcanic action, -we may now notice some of the more famous eruptions of the past.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_421" id="page_421"></a>{421}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br /><br /> -<small>GREAT ERUPTIONS OF VESUVIUS.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“E’en while they cheered the gladiator’s thrust,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And shouted as the lion crunched his bones,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Up sprang the Fire King from his ages’ sleep<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Shook wide his robe of ever-deepening night,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And flung his fiery banner on the wind.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The groaning earth then trembled at his tread,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And thousand thunders rent the raging mount,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">While prince and pauper, ’mid the scorching gloom,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Groped through the gaping streets; the ocean hissed,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And palaces and marble temples reeled,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And crushed or prisoned; still the ashes fell,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Till mansions, statues, homes and colonnades,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And Strength, and Beauty, Love, and Life, and Death,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Lay heaps on heaps, in one black ruin blent.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_f.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="F" /></span>OR nearly seventeen hundred years there lay beneath a sea of ashes near -the Naples Bay, a city whose destruction had not been described by the -younger Pliny; and in the lapse of years its site had been forgotten. -During the construction of an aqueduct in 1592, workmen frequently came -upon foundations of buildings. No curiosity seems to have been aroused. -Nearly a hundred years later other buildings were discovered, with the -inscription “<span class="smcap">Pompeii</span>.” Still there was no practical interest. Then the -attention of the learned was drawn to the discoveries at Herculaneum; -and Alcubierre, a Spanish colonel of engineers, in examining the -subterranean canal, was led by the discovery of a house and statues to -conjecture that some great treasures might lie buried there. Obtaining -permission of the King of Naples, he began excavations in the year 1748. -In a few days he unearthed “a picture<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_422" id="page_422"></a>{422}</span> eleven palms long by four and -one-half high, containing festoons of eggs, fruits and flowers, the head -of a man, large and in good style, a helmet, an owl, various small birds -and other objects.” Then was found the skeleton of a man, covered with -the lava mud. By his side were eighteen brass coins and one of silver. -Then was found an amphitheatre, with a seating capacity of ten thousand. -But the work was poorly conducted: valuable pictures were detached from -the walls, and the buildings again covered with rubbish. No strangers -were allowed to copy anything.</p> - -<p>When the French occupied Naples, the work was for a time better -conducted; then it again declined. When Victor Emmanuel became King of -Italy, a distinguished antiquarian scholar, Guiseppe Fiorelli, was -appointed director-general of the works. Since then, the work has been -well done, Signor Fiorelli noting “every appearance or fragment which -might afford or suggest a restoration of any part of a buried edifice; -replacing with fresh timbers every charred beam, propping every -tottering wall or portion of brick work,” till the tourist sees to-day a -town in the integrity of its outlines and order of its arrangement. -“Temples, baths, markets, tombs, stand out just as they stood eighteen -hundred years ago. The villa of the port, the forum, the counting-house, -the baker’s shop, the school-room, the kitchen, carry us into the very -heart of Roman life in the brightest days of the empire. The jewelry of -beauty, the spade of the laborer, the fetter of the prisoner and the -weapon of the soldier are all there, reproducing and realizing the past -with a vividness which can scarcely be conceived.”</p> - -<p>Relics and historic records give us an ideal of the past. How correct is -the ideal may be inferred from the fact that no two antiquarians have -the same conception of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_423" id="page_423"></a>{423}</span> Druid temple. With all the details of -Scripture and Josephus, we have not an exact model of the temple. -Inhabited ruins change with their possessors: those uninhabited decay in -the war of elements. But Pompeii was, so to speak, hermetically sealed, -in the height of its prosperity, preserved from Goths and Vandals, and -is laid before us to-day as it stood over eighteen centuries ago, -allowing us to see how sudden was the storm that burst upon it long -years ago. The paintings are “undimmed by the leaden touch of time; -household furniture left in the confusion of use; articles, even of -intrinsic value, abandoned in the hurry of escape, yet safe from the -robber, or scattered about from the trembling hand which could not pause -or stoop for its most valuable possessions; and in some instances the -bones of the inhabitants, bearing sad testimony to the suddenness and -completeness of the calamity that overwhelmed them.”</p> - -<p>“There are the very ruts which were made by the wheels of chariots, -flying, perhaps, from the impending ruin; there are water-pipes, in the -cavities of which, sealed by the hand of time, the splashing fluid can -still be heard; there are rude and grotesque inscriptions, scratched by -some loiterer on the stucco, and as fresh as when they excited the mirth -of the passer-by; there are egg-shells, bones of fish and chickens, and -other fragments of a repast of which skeletons lying near were partaking -when the catastrophe overwhelmed them; there is fuel ready to be -supplied to furnaces for heating the baths; there are the stains left -upon the counters of drinking shops by wet glasses; there are the vials -of the apothecary, still containing the fluids he was wont to dispense; -there are ovens in which loaves of bread, carbonized, but otherwise -perfect, may yet be seen; there are vases with olives still swimming in -oil, the fruit retaining its flavor, and the oil<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_424" id="page_424"></a>{424}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_424_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_424_sml.jpg" width="450" height="274" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_425" id="page_425"></a>{425}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">burning readily when submitted to the flame; there are shelves, on which -are piled stores of raisins, figs and chestnuts; there are amphorae -containing the rare wine for which Campania was so famous.”</p> - -<p>Here you saw a new altar of white marble, wondrously beautiful, just -from the hands of the sculptor; “an enclosure was building all round; -the mortar just dashed against the side of the wall was but half spread -out; you saw the long, sliding stroke of the trowel about to return and -obliterate its own track; but it never returned; the hand of the workman -was suddenly arrested, and the whole looks so fresh and new that you -would almost swear that the mason had only gone to his dinner, and about -to come back immediately to smooth the roughness.”</p> - -<p>The younger Pliny tells us of his uncle’s death, and of the suddenness -of the calamity. The people were in the amphitheater when the volcano -burst forth. The elder Pliny, in command of the fleet at Misenum, was -called by his sister to notice a strange cloud that had just appeared. -He had just returned from a walk, bathed, and gone to his study. This -was August 24, A. D. 79, about 1 <small>P.M.</small> The dense cloud occasionally -glowed with light; again, it was of inky blackness. It was the “pine -tree banner,” since become so familiar to the Neapolitans. Pliny at once -started for his galleys, determined to have a closer view of the strange -scene. As he went to the shore he received a note from a lady who lived -at the base of the mountain, urging him to come to her assistance. He -set out at once to render what aid he could; “for the villas stood -extremely thick upon that lovely coast.” They neared the mount; cinders, -pumice, ashes, and glowing stones fell on and among the vessels. Sternly -ordering the frightened crew to press on, Pliny stood in the bow of his -vessel, calmly dictating notes and observations<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_426" id="page_426"></a>{426}</span> on the awful scene. -Reaching Stabiae, he found a friend in great fear, preparing for flight, -and waiting for a change of wind. Pliny ordered baths, and sat calmly -down to supper, assuring his friend that the lurid flames on the -mountain sides were but villages fired by the heated stones. Retiring to -rest, his anxious friends heard him snoring. Finding they were about to -be entombed in the falling cinders, they roused him, and all, tying -pillows on their heads as protection from the showers of stones, sought -the seashore; but the waves ran too high for them to embark. It was -still dark as Erebus in the limit of the cloud, though already broad -day. Drinking some water, Pliny stretched himself on a mat; but an -unusual rush of sulphurous vapor compelled the company to disperse, and -two servants assisted him to rise, but he at once fell back dead. -Perhaps the noxious vapors were in greater quantity near the ground. His -nephew tells us he always had weak lungs. The company fled. Three days -later, Pliny’s body was found “looking more like a man asleep than -dead.” At Misenum, fourteen miles away, the earth was constantly and -violently shaken. Houses were toppling down. Chariots could not be -steadied, even by supporting them with large stones. The sea rushed -back, leaving many marine animals stranded high and dry. The dark cloud -on Vesuvius flamed and roared. The cloud enveloped Misenum and spread to -Capreæ. “Nothing was to be heard but the shrieks of women and children, -and the cries of men; some were calling for their children, others for -their parents, others for their husbands, and only distinguishing each -other by their voices; one was lamenting his own fate, another that of -his family; some wished to die that they might escape the dreadful fear -of death; but the greater part imagined that the last and eternal night -was come, which was to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_427" id="page_427"></a>{427}</span> destroy the gods and the world together.” Then -came the flash of flames; then darkness and ashes, blinding, crushing, -burying. Stabiae also was buried. But the destruction of the two great -cities is given no word; it was sudden and complete. The ruins show they -were shattered by an earthquake. Then showers of broken lava rushed upon -Herculaneum; while Pompeii, farther away, was reached only by the -cinder-showers. Dion Cassius tells us the people were seated in the -theatres when the shock came.</p> - -<p>In their terror, every object was distorted and magnified. “A multitude -of men, of superhuman stature, resembling giants, appeared sometimes on -the mountains, sometimes in the environs; stones and smoke were thrown -out; then the giants seemed to rise again, while the sounds of trumpets -were heard.”</p> - -<p>Cassius, however, wrote a century and a half after the disaster; and the -chief value of his testimony is to show how terrible and lasting an -impression had been made upon the Campanians, from whom he derived his -narrative.</p> - -<p>After the desolation, the site of Pompeii was searched for such relics -as might be of practical use elsewhere. The search was rough and -destructive. The Emperor Alexander Severus made the place a “sort of -quarry from which he drew a great quantity of marbles, columns and -beautiful statues which he employed in adorning the edifices which he -constructed at Rome. Modern research has discovered but few gold and -silver articles, coins, and statues. It has developed however, a far -more fearful and faithful picture of the eruption than has been given by -any historian. The clouds of falling ashes so enveloped each object as -to preserve an exact impression, from which casts have been made, -showing every curve and line, even to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_428" id="page_428"></a>{428}</span> texture of the clothes. So we -look upon the death-agony, and conceive the terrors of the scene.</p> - -<p>Here is the arena. Here were skeletons; perhaps of gladiators already -slain; perhaps of wounded men, unable to rise, who rolled and gasped, -and struggled in the choking gloom. There is the prison; you may see the -fetters still round the leg bones of the inmates.</p> - -<p>Here stood the temple of Isis. On that pedestal was a beautiful image of -her, draped in purple and gold. In the next room lay a priest beside the -battered wall, with axe in hand. In the next room sat a priest overtaken -at his dinner. In other cloisters lay other priests, who had remained at -the temple, perhaps deeming Isis would protect them in that awful hour. -Close by the prison door lay a skeleton with a handful of silver coins. -Mayhap some one had perished there while endeavoring to bribe the jailor -to release a prisoned friend. Close by that column, in his narrow niche, -a Roman sentry stood, full armed; observing to the last, stern, -unflinching obedience to superior powers, who neglected to relieve him -in the terror of the time.</p> - -<p>In the vault of a beautiful suburban villa of Diomed, lay eighteen -adults, a boy, and an infant, huddled together in attitudes terribly -expressive of the agony of a lingering death. To the skulls of the -children still clung their long, blonde hair. There was the impress left -by the bust of a young girl of striking beauty. Near the garden gate -without the house were two skeletons; one with a bunch of keys and a -quantity of money; the other with a number of silver vases. Doubtless -the family had thought to escape by retiring to the well-provisioned -cellar; while two slaves endeavored to profit by the confusion to escape -with their booty. The stifling sulphureous vapor found them out.</p> - -<p>In the house of the Faun stood the skeleton of a woman;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_429" id="page_429"></a>{429}</span> her hands -raised over her head. Her scattered jewels lay about the floor. -Endeavoring at length to leave the house, she found the doorway blocked -with ashes. The flooring of the upper rooms began to fall, and she -lifted her arms in vain attempt to stay the crumbling roof. Thus was she -found.</p> - -<p>In a garden near by a woman was found seven feet from the earth. She had -surmounted many obstacles, but perished as she scaled a wall.</p> - -<p>Beneath a staircase lay a man who had with him a vast treasure of gold -and silver. He had preserved it at a terrible cost. Near by were five -others who had met a similar fate. They lay fifteen feet above the -earth. Plunderers were these, overpowered by a rush of mephitic gas -while delving for buried treasures.</p> - -<p>Here lay two bodies, feet to feet—mother and daughter, perhaps. The -former lay outstretched and tranquil; the young girl of fifteen, in an -attitude expressive of frightful agony. Her legs are drawn up and her -hands clinched. With one hand she had drawn her veil about her head, to -screen herself from the ashes and smoke. The form and texture of her -dress are clearly seen; and through its rents the fair young skin -appears like polished marble.</p> - -<p>Close by lay a young woman of high rank; young, richly dressed and -beautiful. One upraised arm and her clenched hands tell plainer than -words her agony and despair. A man—tall, stalwart, in coarse dress and -nail-studded sandals, lay at hand. Upon his back, with straightened -limbs and extended arms, he had resolved, since unable to escape, to die -like a man. His powerful features are clearly shown, and a portion of -his moustache adheres to the plaster cast.</p> - -<p>Such are sights from which the veil of time has at last been lifted. How -many perished in that fearful outbreak<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_430" id="page_430"></a>{430}</span> we shall never know. Seven -hundred skeletons have been found in one-third of the city of Pompeii. -Perhaps two thousand perished there. But of the scores who fled from the -city, from suburban villas, from villages along the mountain, and who -were overtaken by the fiery storm ere they reached a place of safety, -who shall tell? Who may declare the fate of the lady who appealed to the -Roman admiral Pliny for relief? Such questions each may determine for -himself. History will preserve an eternal silence.</p> - -<p>Such are the facts concerning the first great historic eruption of -Vesuvius. That volcanic phenomena were known to the ancients we have -already seen; but the character of Vesuvius seems to have been -unsuspected. The Greeks knew of the mountain top as a depressed plain, -covered with groves and wild vines. Spartacus and his gladiators, with -their thousands of followers, had their fortified camp there. Strabo -called it a volcanic mountain, but Pliny the elder did not include it in -his list of volcanoes. The fertile, rounded slopes were covered with -well-tilled fields.</p> - -<p>But the neighboring regions were active, though Vesuvius was not. -Pithecusa, the modern Ischia, was often and terribly shaken, and various -attempts to settle upon it were in consequence abandoned. Poisonous -gases poured forth, even when there was no active eruption.</p> - -<p>Still nearer Vesuvius lay the noted lake Avernus, which in Roman -mythology was the gateway of hell. It was said to exhale noxious vapors -so powerful that birds could not cross it. At the present day it is only -a pretty lake, without any unusual properties. It appears to cover an -extinct crater.</p> - -<p>In the year 63 a great earthquake was felt in the Vesuvian region. -Hundreds of lives were lost, and great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_431" id="page_431"></a>{431}</span> damage was done in many cities; -and numerous lighter shocks occurred during the next sixteen years. No -one seems to have apprehended any danger from the mountain. How long it -had remained dormant is unknown. But Pompeii and Herculaneum are both -built upon lava beds. That Pompeii itself was a very old city is clearly -established. In general outline it is elliptical, nearly two miles in -circuit, the entire area being one hundred and sixty acres. Characters -upon many of the foundation stones would seem to indicate a period -earlier than the Etruscan occupation; while other portions, especially -the towers, are certainly of later date. It is quite fair to suppose -that Vesuvius, from these facts, had lain quiet for a thousand years or -more.</p> - -<p>One effect of this first eruption of Vesuvius was to break down the -western wall of the crater and destroy the entire side of the mountain -next the sea, leaving as the only remains of the ancient crater a little -ridge on the south flank, and that portion, which under the name of -Somma, still encircles the present cone.</p> - -<p>From the time of its first eruption, the restlessness of Vesuvius has -been well observed. The next action occurred in the year 203. In the -meantime the sides of the crater had become overgrown with brushwood and -forest trees, and the basin itself was a favorite haunt of wild boars. -In the year 472 the mountain broke forth with more violence than at -either of the former periods. The roaring was simply indescribable. The -clouds of ashes spread over the entire adjacent region. Houses toppled -down miles away. Scores of people were suffocated. The ashes fell in -showers at Constantinople and Tripoli.</p> - -<p>Other eruptions followed in 512, 685, and 993. No stream of molten lava -issued at any of these. But in 1036, a great eruption took place, during -which, we are told, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_432" id="page_432"></a>{432}</span> lava poured forth from fissures in the sides, -as well as from the top, and ran in a broad and deep stream into the -sea. Thirteen years later another similar outbreak occurred; then ninety -years passed without any disturbance.</p> - -<p>Of these eruptions, little beyond the bare fact is known. But from the -time of the last one referred to, 1139, scientific men have carefully -watched each outbreak. In 1198, the neighboring crater of Solfatara Lake -was in eruption; in 1302, Ischia, dormant over fourteen hundred years, -exhibited wonderful activity. For more than a year earthquakes shook the -island, and at length there burst forth a lava stream from the southeast -side of the mountain, flowing two miles, to the sea. Many houses were -destroyed during the two months’ eruption; and not a few of the -inhabitants abandoned the island. But Vesuvius was quiet till 1306. -Again it broke forth in 1500. During this time Ætna was in a state of -unwonted activity.</p> - -<p>The eruption of 1538 broke forth at the foot of the mountain, and was -marked by some peculiar features. The plain between Avernus, Monte -Barbaro, and the sea, was first raised a little, and many cracks made in -it, from some of which water issued. The sea retreated about two hundred -paces, leaving many fish on the sands at the disposal of the people of -Pozzuoli, a little watering place on the Bay of Baiæ. On the evening of -September 29, numerous shocks of earthquake occurred, and about two -o’clock in the night an immense fissure opened near the lake and -extended toward the town. Smoke, fire, stones, and mud made of ashes, -were vomited furiously, the whole process being attended by a terrible -roaring, as of continual loudest thunder. Stones and masses of pumice -larger than an ox were thrown out. The gulf in the town widened, and not -a few houses were broken to pieces, or swallowed up in the chasm.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_433" id="page_433"></a>{433}</span></p> - -<p>The large stones were thrown about as high as a crossbow would carry, -and then fell, sometimes into the lake, sometimes into the chasm again; -but mostly upon either side of it. The mud was ash-colored, very liquid -at first but rapidly thickening; and within thirty-six hours the site of -Pozzuoli was covered by a volcanic cone. A contemporary chronicler, -present at the time, says this cone was one thousand paces in height; by -which he probably meant slant height. The cone at present is four -hundred and forty feet above the Bay of Naples. Two days later it again -began to cast forth stones and ashes; and again on the seventh day. -Several persons who had ascended the hill were killed in this sudden -outbreak by falling stones, or smothered by the sulphurous vapors. This -“Monte Nuovo” or New Mountain, is a mile and a half in circumference at -the base, and four hundred and twenty-one feet deep. It is apparent, -then, that its bottom is nineteen feet above the sea level. The Lucrine -Lake was almost filled up. Only a shallow pool remains.</p> - -<p>Falconi writes that from Naples the flames were seen, bursting forth in -the night, between the hot-baths and Tripergola. The next morning might -be seen the poor people flying in terror, begrimed with the black and -muddy shower, which continued throughout the day. Flying from death, -death was painted in their countenances. Some bore their children in -their arms; some carried sacks full of goods; some led donkeys loaded -with valuables, or such as were unable to walk.</p> - -<p>The few eruptions after 1039 had been feeble. We find the mountain -coming to be regarded as extinct as a volcanic crater. Nearly five -centuries passed. Bracini, who visited it in 1631, writes that “the -crater was about five miles in circumference, and above a thousand feet -deep; its sides were covered with brushwood, and at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_434" id="page_434"></a>{434}</span> bottom was a -plain on which cattle grazed. In the woody parts wild boars frequently -harbored. In one part of the plain, covered with ashes, were three small -pools; one filled with hot and bitter water, another salter than the -sea, and a third hot but tasteless.” Such was the general character of -the crater in A. D., 78, save that it was not so deep.</p> - -<p>In December, 1631, with a sudden, tremendous roar, the mountain flamed -into action. This outbreak has never been surpassed in fury and -destructiveness by any eruption of Vesuvius, unless we except the one -which destroyed Pompeii. The fatalities between the two eruptions had -been few, the most of the mischief being damage to property. One of the -eruptions failed to throw out any marked amount of matter of any sort.</p> - -<p>But in 1631 the woods and pastures, vines, and fields within the crater, -were annihilated. Explosion followed explosion in swift succession. The -great crater was filled with molten rock. Stream after stream poured -swiftly forth, till seven rivers of fire were desolating the land. Crops -were fired by the cinder showers. Millions of tons of ashes were -scattered over the land. The mountain slope was dotted with ruined -villages. Resina, a populous little town on the site of Herculaneum was -completely destroyed. Storms of wind and rain swept the mountain, and -the huge rivers of mud buried whatever had escaped the lava and ashes. -The crater itself was shattered and nearly destroyed. Hundreds of cattle -were destroyed by the fiery storm. Not less than eighteen hundred people -perished in this great convulsion. Thirty-five years later another -outbreak occurred; and since then the mountain has been in constant -activity.</p> - -<p>The next unusual activity of especial note occurred in 1737. Breislak -has estimated the outflow of lava at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_435" id="page_435"></a>{435}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 282px;"> -<a href="images/i_435_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_435_sml.jpg" width="282" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>VESUVIUS IN 1737.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_436" id="page_436"></a>{436}</span></p> - -<p>10,237,096 cubic meters; enough to cover a square mile twelve and a half -feet in depth. Immense quantities of white ashes were thrown out, and -the entire mountain was filled with rents and fissures, from which -poured volumes of noxious vapors that suffocated man and beast. The -quantity of ashes thrown out doubtless exceeded the volume of lava. In -1766 occurred another unusual convulsion, the mountain continuing -vigorously active from March till December, vomiting lava streams and -huge volcanic “bombs.” These last are masses of lava enclosing a bubble -of gas, which is set free by the breaking of the bomb as it falls. In -1779 the lava streams for a time threatened Naples itself.</p> - -<p>Sir William Hamilton, long time English ambassador in Italy, has left a -careful record of the eruption of 1793-94. Passing by such features as, -common to all its eruptions, we have noted elsewhere, we may note the -more striking particulars: Millions of heated stones were thrown high in -the air, and fell in beautiful curves about the cone. It might be -likened to the bursting stars of our pyrotechnic displays. Nearly half -Vesuvius was covered with fire. “Huge masses of white smoke were vomited -forth by the disturbed mountain, and formed themselves at a height of -many thousands of feet above the crater into a huge, ever-moving canopy, -through which, from time to time, were hurled pitch-black jets of -volcanic dust, and dense vapors, mixed with cascades of red-hot rocks -and scoriæ. The rain from the cloud canopy was scalding hot.”</p> - -<p>“As the lava rushed forth from its imprisonment it streamed a liquid, -white and brilliantly pure river, which burned for itself a smooth -channel through a great arched chasm in the side of the mountain. It -flowed with the clearness of honey in regular channels, cut finer than -art<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_437" id="page_437"></a>{437}</span> can imitate and glowing with all the splendor of the sun.” Various -were the effects of stones thrown in. “Light bodies of five, ten or -fifteen pounds weight, made no impression; but bodies of sixty, seventy -and eighty pounds were seen to form a kind of bed on the surface of the -lava and float away with it. A stone of three hundred weight that had -been thrown out by the crater, lay near the source of the current of -lava. I raised it up on one end and then let it fall in upon the liquid -lava, when it gradually sank beneath the surface and disappeared. If I -wished to describe the manner in which it acted upon the lava, I should -say that it was like a loaf of bread thrown into a bowl of very thick -honey, which gradually involves itself in the heavy liquid and then -slowly sinks to the bottom.”</p> - -<p>As it flowed down the mountain the brilliant whiteness disappeared. Then -it began to wrinkle, where flowing slowly, like the cream on a pan of -milk when poured off. Crusts formed, which were speedily cracked to -pieces, as the current underneath pressed on. On such crusts a person -may cross the stream, if not particular as to singeing his boots. Being -cooled when near the bottom, yet forced on by the pressure behind, the -whole mass “resembled nothing so much as a heap of unconnected cinders -from an iron foundry, rolling slowly along and falling with a rattling -noise over one another.”</p> - -<p>This eruption continued from February, 1793, to July, 1794. Rocks were -hurled two thousand feet into the air. The lava flowed from fifteen -different sources, and pouring in one stream from twelve to forty feet -thick, flowed three hundred and eighty feet into the sea, requiring but -six hours from the time of the outbreak to reach the shore. The sea -boiled for one hundred yards around. The town of Torre del Greco was -destroyed, and a number of persons<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_438" id="page_438"></a>{438}</span> were killed. The natives insisted, -when the paroxysm was over, on rebuilding on the old site. The -Neapolitans have a jest concerning their own exemption from the -calamities which Torre has endured: “Naples sins and Torre is punished.” -The lava of this discharge is estimated at about twenty-one million -cubic metres.</p> - -<p>Several eruptions of Vesuvius have occurred during the present century. -Of these, the most notable are those of 1822 and 1872. They have given -us exact information upon a point where formerly there was only -conjecture, viz: the height which the material thrown out may reach.</p> - -<p>In 1822, the ashes for twelve days fell in a continuous shower. The lava -which had boiled up and hardened till the appearance of a depressed -crater was lost was blown away. An immense abyss was formed, -three-fourths of a mile in length and two thousand feet deep. The entire -top of the cone was then blown away. Masses of lava weighing many tons -were hurled two or three miles. Darkness prevailed in broad day, as far -away as Amalfi, where the ashes fell to the depth of several inches. The -dense column of ashes and vapor was thrown ten thousand feet above the -level of the sea. In no known eruption has the electrical display been -so brilliant and continuous. The roll of thunder could be clearly -distinguished from the rumble of the volcano.</p> - -<p>In recent years an observatory has been erected on the mountain, and all -its phenomena carefully noted. During the eruption of 1872 instantaneous -photography was pressed into service. A comparison of the whole view -with the height of the mountain, showed that the vapors and fragments -were thrown twenty thousand feet into the air—nearly four miles. This -outburst began on April 24, and reached its climax in two days. The -entire mountain filled with fissures and cracks—in the words of Prof. -Palmieri,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_439" id="page_439"></a>{439}</span> “sweated fire.” Enormous volumes of steam poured from the -crater, with such a prodigious roar, that the terrified Neapolitans -rushed from their houses, and spent the night in the open air. The lava -floods rushed down the mountain side; and one of them destroyed two -villages, besides many country houses adjacent. The whole region for -several days quivered with shocks of earthquake.</p> - -<p>Such have been the more important eruptions of Vesuvius. Its position, -by an ancient and populous city, has made it the most celebrated of -volcanoes. There seems no doubt that it is supplied from the same source -which feeds the others in the neighborhood, as well as Mt. Ætna. When -Vesuvius is quiet, Ætna is active, and vice versa. Close observation has -established a well-defined daily periodicity: so that the most favorable -period for visiting the crater may always be known beforehand.</p> - -<p>In fine, about sixty eruptions of Vesuvius are on record. Of these, -twenty-three were during the last century, and twenty-five during this. -The activity of the entire region seems on the increase.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_440" id="page_440"></a>{440}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.<br /><br /> -<small>OTHER GREAT ERUPTIONS.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Hast thou observed the ancient tract,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That was trodden by wicked mortals,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Who were arrested on a sudden,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Whose foundation is a molten flood?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Who said to God, Depart from us,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">What can Shaddai do to us?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Though he had filled their houses with wealth.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">(Far from me be the counsel of the wicked!)<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The righteous beheld and rejoiced,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The innocent laughed them to scorn,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Surely their substance was carried away,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And their riches devoured by fire.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_s.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="39" -height="60" -alt="S" /></span>UCH is Dr. Henderson’s translation of Job XXII, 15-20. By many the -passage has been supposed to refer to the destruction of the cities of -the plain, and used to support the theory that a volcanic eruption was -the means of their overthrow. If the theory were true, the catastrophe -is the earliest historic eruption. A brief statement of the reasons for -the belief may interest the reader.</p> - -<p>The entire Dead Sea valley is depressed far below the level of the sea. -From the Dead Sea to the head of the Red Sea is a well-marked trough, -supposed to indicate that the Jordan once emptied into the Red Sea. The -adjacent Sinaitic peninsula is a volcanic region, which may have been in -eruption when the Israelites passed it. Dr. Robinson reports water marks -left high on the cliffs, far to the south of the Dead Sea. Fragments of -lava have been picked up among the salt-crusts and bituminous deposits -on the shores.</p> - -<p>In short, the region is one in which, at some time, volcanic action -occurred. It lies between two great volcanic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_441" id="page_441"></a>{441}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 291px;"> -<a href="images/i_441_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_441_sml.jpg" width="291" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DESTRUCTION OF SODOM.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_442" id="page_442"></a>{442}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">centers: Sinai, and the volcanic region of Arabia and Syria. The -question really is, whether any disturbance occurred there at so late a -period as the destruction of Sodom.</p> - -<p>The idea advanced by several thoughtful men is, that in the bituminous -plain occupied by the cities, fissures opened and flames and cinders -issuing, rained upon the inflammable surface, speedily destroying the -cities, which sunk with the earth till the sea covered them. Such cases, -minus the bitumen, have several times occurred. And, again, the sea -might have existed before, and merely have been extended by the -convulsion. Such is the substance of the theory.</p> - -<p>Cases in support of it are not wanting. The city of Euphemia, in -Calabria, was so swallowed up in 1638. Kircher, who was near at the -time, tells how he and his companions, unable to keep their feet, during -the violent earthquake, lay upon the ground till the paroxysms were -somewhat abated. Rising and looking for Euphemia, only a frightful black -cloud was seen. It slowly cleared away revealing a loathsome and putrid -lake. No trace of the city or its inhabitants was ever found.</p> - -<p>In the island of Trinidad is a vast lake of pitch, of which the Indian -legend tells the origin. The words are Kingsley’s:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Once that dark and loathly pitch-lake<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Was a garden, bright and fair,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the Chaymas, from the mainland,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Built their palm ajoupas there.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">There they throve, and there they fattened.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Hale and happy, safe and strong,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Passed the livelong days in feasting,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Passed the nights in dance and song.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Till they cruel grew, and wanton,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Till they killed the colibris,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then outspoke the Great good Spirit,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who can see through all the trees.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_443" id="page_443"></a>{443}</span></p> - -<p>The spirit proceeded to remind the Chaymas of all the good things he had -provided for them; how he had allowed them unlimited use of all things -which could be of any possible good to them; how he had even been -patient with their thanklessness. Only the colibris or humming-birds, -useless to the Chaymas, he had reserved for himself, that he might have -pleasure in their beauty and happiness. The story continues:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“But the Chaymas’ ears were deafened;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Blind their eyes, and could not see,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">How a blissful Indian’s spirit<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Lived in every colibri.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Lived, forgetting pain and sorrow,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ever fair and ever new,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Whirring round the dear old woodland,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Feeding on the honeydew.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Then one evening roared the earthquake,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Monkeys howled, and parrots screamed,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the Guaraons, at morning<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Gathered here, as men who dreamed.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Sunk were gardens, sunk ajoupas,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Hut and hammock, man and hound,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And above the Chayma village,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Boiled with pitch the cursed ground.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The salient points of the evidence being presented, the reader may draw -his own conclusions. Perhaps the cities were fired in the manner -suggested—perhaps lightning ignited the bitumen. But it is generally -supposed that their site lies beneath the sea.</p> - -<p>After the account given of Vesuvius, the reader will no doubt be -surprised to learn that this noted mountain can not rank as more than a -respectable fourth-rate volcano. It will require but a brief comparison -with others to show that such is the case.</p> - -<p>By far the largest volcano in Europe, and next to Vesuvius, the most -noted, is Mt. Etna, in the island of Sicily. It was well known to the -ancients, and appears to have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_444" id="page_444"></a>{444}</span> been in eruption from the most remote -historic times. Diodorus Siculus records that a violent eruption caused -an adjacent district to be deserted by its inhabitants before the Trojan -war. Thucydides tells of three eruptions between the colonization of -Sicily by the Greeks and the Peloponnesian war—431 B. C.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the great antiquity of the records of this mountain, but -little detail is known of its earlier eruptions. The first of which any -extended account exists is the great outbreak of 1669. The convulsion -began with a tremendous earthquake. Many villages and towns in the -adjacent districts were leveled to the earth. In the plain of St. Lio, a -fissure six feet wide and twelve miles long and of unknown depth opened -from north to south with a terrific, crashing noise, and extended nearly -to the top of the mountain. Flashes of intense light poured from it. -Five other parallel fissures afterwards opened, one after the other, -emitting smoke, and the most horrid bellowings, which were heard to the -distance of forty miles.</p> - -<p>This explains the manner in which dykes or banks of lava are thrown up -amid other rocks. The light emitted by these fissures would indicate -that they were, to a certain height, filled with glowing lava.</p> - -<p>The lava, during this eruption, having overwhelmed and destroyed -fourteen towns, some of them containing three or four thousand -inhabitants, at length arrived at the walls of Catania, a populous city, -situated ten miles from the volcano. These walls had been raised sixty -feet high, towards the mountain, in order to protect the city, in case -of an eruption. But the burning flood accumulated against the wall, so -as to fill all the space around and below that part, and finally poured -over it in a fiery cataract, destroying every thing in that vicinity.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_445" id="page_445"></a>{445}</span></p> - -<p>From Catania the lava continued its course until it reached the sea, a -distance of fifteen miles from its source, in a current about eighteen -hundred feet broad, and forty feet deep. While moving on, its surface -was, in general, a mass of solid rock, or cooled lava, and it advanced -by the protrusion of the melted matter, through this hardened crust.</p> - -<p>As an illustration of the intense heat of volcanic matter, the Canon -Recupero relates that in 1766 he ascended a small hill composed of -ancient volcanic matter, in order to observe the slow and gradual manner -in which a current of liquid fire advanced from Ætna. This current was -two and a half miles broad; and, while he stood observing it, two small -threads of lava, issuing from a crevice, detached themselves from the -main stream, and approached rapidly towards the eminence where he and -his guide were standing. They had only just time to escape, when they -saw the hill on which they stood a few minutes before, and which was -fifty feet high, entirely surrounded, and, in about fifteen minutes, -entirely melted down into the burning mass, so as to be incorporated -with, and move on along with it.</p> - -<p>According to Hitchcock, 77,000 persons perished during the eruption of -1769, and eighty-four square miles were covered with lava.</p> - -<p>The slowness with which lava cools may be inferred that ten years later, -workmen endeavoring to sink a shaft through the bed were forced to -abandon the work when near the bottom, by reason of the heat.</p> - -<p>While this was Ætna’s greatest outbreak, several of terrible -destructiveness have occurred since. In 1693 an eruption was accompanied -by earthquake shocks, which in three days did more damage than the lava. -Catania was almost destroyed; great sea-waves rolled in upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_446" id="page_446"></a>{446}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_446_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_446_sml.jpg" width="450" height="281" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DESTRUCTION OF CATANIA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_447" id="page_447"></a>{447}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">wreck; the vessels in the harbor were dashed against each other or upon -the beach: the ringing of the bells and the roar of the mountain and sea -was mingled with the cries of thousands of unfortunates struggling in -the ruins. Not less than 16,000 people perished in Catania alone.</p> - -<p>In 1755 occurred an eruption which is memorable for the great flood -which attended it. Immense quantities of snow and ice, accumulated about -the summit, were melted by the intense heat, and the waters rushed down -in a column thirty feet deep and one and three-quarters miles wide, into -the plain below. The lower portion of the valley was filled with the -debris. Those who were not buried in the rubbish were swept out to sea. -The total loss of life is not exactly known, but amounted to many -thousands.</p> - -<p>Second in volume to the eruption of 1669, but very slightly destructive, -is the eruption of 1852-53. It began August 20, 1852, and continued nine -months. “The united width of the lava streams was two miles, with a -depth of from eight to sixteen feet, piled up in some places to one -hundred feet. It reached to near Zarafana,—almost six miles, descending -thirty-five hundred feet in sixteen days. The Val del Bove, from the -upper part of which it proceeded, looked like a sea of fire. Explosions -as of artillery were frequently heard, and the scoriæ were sent up to -great heights.” The intense heat set fire to the trees in the vicinity.</p> - -<p>In January, 1865, a considerable eruption took place from an immense -fissure on the northeastern slope of the mountain. Seven active craters -developed along the fissure, sending out a lava stream one and one-half -miles wide.</p> - -<p>Three other eruptions have taken place from Ætna since 1853; but, save -some damage to property, these have been comparatively unimportant, save -from a geological standpoint. One began in 1874 from a fissure on the -north<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_448" id="page_448"></a>{448}</span> side, but suddenly ceased. Prof. Silvestri, after examining the -locality, asserted that the next eruption would take place from this -same fissure. Five years later his assertion was verified, large streams -of lava being sent out, with heavy showers of ashes and sand. Large -areas of forest were destroyed, and the stream drew alarmingly near some -populous villages, but stopped not far from a small river. The area of -the lava bed was about seven hundred and fifty acres, the volume being -about twenty-three and a half million tons.</p> - -<p>Ætna’s last eruption was in May, 1886; a few houses were destroyed, but -no lives were lost. Ætna and the adjacent Lipari Islands exhibited -unusual activity during the entire seventeenth century, having a total -of fourteen eruptions; as many as are recorded in all their previous -history. The next century witnessed fifteen outbursts from Ætna, and -during the present one there have been eleven.</p> - -<p>It will be noticed that both Vesuvius and Ætna seem to have reached -their maximum activity at the close of the last century. The same is -true of the volcanoes of Iceland. This island, which is as large as -Ireland, is built up entirely of volcanic matter. It doubtless began -with a single, great submarine volcano; but to-day it has at least -thirteen active vents. It presents us with the most tremendous outpour -of matter in the history of the world. For seven hundred years there has -not been an interval of forty, and seldom of more than twenty, without -eruptions and earthquakes in some portion of the island. Single -eruptions of Mt. Hecla have lasted six years. Often during violent -earthquakes, old mountains have disappeared; new ones have been raised -up; rivers turned from their courses, or dried up altogether. The old -Norseman who discovered the island might much more appropriately have -named it Fireland. Doubtless had his ancestors known the island<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_449" id="page_449"></a>{449}</span> they -would have chosen it as the home of the terrible fire giants.</p> - -<p>But Iceland is the realm of both frost and fire; and there is no more -romantic or painful chapter in history than the story of this hardy and -spirited race to maintain their foothold in the face of such terrible -odds. Those who hold that a nation’s progress and stamina are in -proportion to its material advantages, would have to make an exception -in favor of blood. The plucky Norsemen have held their own in this -region for nine centuries; nor is there any deterioration. No nation can -to-day show a better intellectual or moral condition than these poor but -hardy islanders. Yet there is not a region of the world that has been -more frequently or terribly scourged than this semibarren island.</p> - -<p>The best known volcano in Iceland is Mt. Hecla, which ranks with Ætna -and Vesuvius in fame. It is not the highest nor most remarkable of -Icelandic volcanoes; but the frequency of its eruptions, together with -the fact that it may be easily reached, have brought it to the front. It -is five thousand feet high, and lies but thirty-five miles from the sea. -The larger portion of the material thrown out by it consists of slag, -cinders, pumice, and ashes, the slope of its cone being about 35 -degrees. It has nothing answering to the customary crater; the eruptions -break from fissures in its sides; and, in consequence, it may emit -several streams or showers at once.</p> - -<p>Hecla has been in eruption about thirty times since its character was -first known, and has at times made fearful havoc. Its last great -outbreak was in 1878.</p> - -<p>Hecla has adjutants in this volcanic field that are more savage and -relentless than the generalissimo. One of the most destructive outbursts -of recent times occurred in the Vatna district in 1875. In this region, -about sixty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_450" id="page_450"></a>{450}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_450_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_450_sml.jpg" width="450" height="274" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MT. HECLA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_451" id="page_451"></a>{451}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">miles by one hundred and fifteen, is a very nest of volcanoes. The -convulsion lasted several months, the entire region being active; and -great numbers of people perished. So great was the destruction of -property, crops, and flocks that the people, reduced to starvation, were -compelled to appeal to Britain and Denmark for assistance. This has -happened more than once in Iceland’s history.</p> - -<p>But far up in the impenetrable deserts of the interior is a mountain -which has seldom shown any activity; but when in full blast, its power -is unsurpassed by any volcano on the globe. This is the fearful Skaptar -Jokul, or Skaptar mountain. A single instance of its power will suffice.</p> - -<p>One of the most stupendous outbreaks recorded in history is that of -Skaptar Jokul in 1783. In the quantity of lava ejected, it is hardly -surpassed by any single eruption; and few disturbances of the sort have -surpassed it in fatality. Immense volumes of ashes were hurled into the -air, spreading over the whole island in dense clouds. Streams were -poisoned by the minerals and alkalies thrown out. Immense numbers of -sheep and cattle perished. Thousands of acres of pasture lands were -ruined. Where the grass was not killed, it often was rendered poisonous, -like the water, by the mineral dust falling upon it. The hills were -dotted with the decaying carcasses. The air was filled with horrible -stench. The ashes fell in such volumes into the ocean that the fish -deserted the coast. The flying clouds of dust spread to Europe. The -appalling horror of the scene can hardly be imagined. Death stalked -abroad in his most repulsive form.</p> - -<p>“The river Skapta, a considerable stream, was for a time completely -dried by a torrent of liquid fire. This river was about two hundred feet -broad, and its banks from four to six hundred above the level of the -water.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_452" id="page_452"></a>{452}</span> This defile was entirely filled for a considerable distance by -the lava, which crossed the river by the dam thus formed, and overflowed -the country beyond, where it filled a lake of considerable extent, and -great depth.</p> - -<p>“This eruption commenced on the 11th of June. On the 18th of the same -month, a still greater quantity of lava rushed from the mouth of the -volcano, and flowed with amazing rapidity, sometimes over the first -stream, but generally in a new course. The melted matter having crossed -some of the tributary streams of the Skapta, completely dammed up their -waters and caused great destruction of property and lives by their -overflow. The lava, after flowing for several days, was precipitated -down a tremendous cataract, called Stapafoss, where it filled a profound -abyss, which that great water-fall had been excavating for ages, and -thence the fiery flood continued its course.</p> - -<p>“On the 3rd of August, a new eruption poured forth fresh floods of lava, -which, taking a different direction from the others, filled the bed of -another river, by which a large lake was formed, and much property and -many lives destroyed.</p> - -<p>“The effect of this dreadful calamity may in some measure be imagined -when it is known that, although Iceland did not at that time contain -more than fifty thousand inhabitants, there perished nine thousand human -beings by this single eruption, making nearly one in five of the whole -population. Part of them were destroyed by the burning lava itself; some -by drowning, other by noxious vapors which the lava emitted, and others -in consequence of the famine, caused by the showers of ashes, which -covered a great proportion of the island and destroyed most of the -vegetation. The fish, also, on which the inhabitants depended, in a -great measure, for food, entirely deserted the coast.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_453" id="page_453"></a>{453}</span></p> - -<p>The quantity of lava which Skaptar Jokul emitted during this eruption -was almost beyond belief. The two principal branches were respectively -forty and fifty miles long. The branch which crossed the Skapta was from -twelve to fifteen miles wide; the width of the other was seven miles. -The usual depth was one hundred feet; but two and three hundred were -frequent; and where the streams dashed across gorges or narrow valleys -the depth was six or seven hundred. It would be quite safe to estimate -the average depth at one hundred and fifty feet. These two principal -streams were, then, sufficient to cover one thousand square miles to a -depth of one hundred and fifty feet. Contrast with this the twenty -million cubic meters estimated to have been poured forth in one of the -great Vesuvian eruptions. This last would cover one square mile to a -depth of twenty-five feet. Vesuvius sinks to an insignificance that is -pitiable; its great outbreak produced but one-six thousandths as much as -the single eruption of Skaptar Jokul! Such calculations may give us a -comparative estimate of the two; but no figures can give us any -conception of the force required to elevate such a stream of melted rock -through the crust of the earth. And if we compare the resultant -fatality, it is clear that this great convulsion, in a very sparsely -settled island, destroyed more lives than all the outbursts of Vesuvius -in its densely populated neighborhood.</p> - -<p>This eruption of Skaptar was preceded by several outbreaks in the sea; -some of them close to the shore; some many miles from land. Such -phenomena have become tolerably familiar. Livy informs us that a -disturbance of this kind near Sicily, occurring with similar phenomena -at the time of Hannibal’s death, so terrified the Romans as to induce -them to proclaim a day of supplication to the gods to avert their -displeasure. Santorin in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_454" id="page_454"></a>{454}</span> Grecian Archipelago is a similar -production. And in 1831 an island was thrown up to the southwest of -Sicily, where previous soundings had shown a depth of six hundred feet. -It was preceded by a violent spouting of steam and water. The sea around -was filled with floating pumice and dead fish. The crater reached a -height of two hundred feet, being three miles in circumference. Its -circular basin was full of boiling, dingy, red water. It continued -active three weeks, and then slowly sank, leaving a dangerous reef -eleven feet below the surface; while a single black volcanic rock -projected from the sea near the center of the reef. It is known as -Graham’s Island. Thus we see that volcanic action is not confined to the -land, and that the areas affected are continually shifting.</p> - -<p>Jorullo, in Mexico, affords an example of the way in which new volcanoes -are constantly being formed. In the parallel of the City of Mexico exist -five volcanoes, extending in a line across the country as if thrown up -along some immense fissure or subterranean fault, extending from sea to -sea. Of these Popocatepetl is perhaps the largest, and Jorullo the most -recent.</p> - -<p>There formerly existed in Mexico an extensive plain of remarkable -fertility, covered with fields of cane, cotton and indigo, and watered -by irrigation from the reservoirs in the basaltic mountains that bounded -it. This region, the <i>Malpays</i>, had no volcano within eighty miles, and -lay twenty-six hundred feet above the sea. In June, 1759, alarming -rumblings were heard in the earth, which were succeeded by severe -earthquakes. These phenomena lasted several weeks, to the great -consternation of the inhabitants. In September it seemed that quiet was -restored, when suddenly, on the night of the 28th, a fearful -subterranean noise was again heard; fissures opened, and hot stones were -thrown out. Part of the plain rose up like<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_455" id="page_455"></a>{455}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_455_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_455_sml.jpg" width="450" height="282" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>JORULLO.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">an immense bubble to the height of sixteen hundred feet. Imagine the -astonishment of the natives when morning showed them a mountain where -the night before was a level plain! It almost seemed as though some -magic had transported them to another land. Smoke and ashes spouted -forth; five smaller cones were thrown up, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_456" id="page_456"></a>{456}</span> least of which was three -hundred feet in height. The plain was dotted with thousands of small -conical mounds, called by the natives <i>hornitos</i>, or ovens. Each emitted -vapor for a time; but at length all the upheavals, save Jorullo, ceased -action, though the plain remained so hot as to be uninhabitable for many -years. Jorullo continued to throw out lava several months, and has been -in more moderate action ever since.</p> - -<p>In some respects the terrible outbreak of Skaptar Jokul has been several -times exceeded. While almost alone in the immense quantity of lava -thrown out, we have seen that great streams of lava are not accompanied -by the most violent explosions. In the number of lives destroyed, -Skaptar has also been exceeded; but if Iceland had been as densely -populated as Ireland, which it equals in area, the convulsion might have -destroyed half a million or more.</p> - -<p>One of the best examples of the force of steam on a smaller scale is -seen in the eruptions of volcanoes, is to be found in the geysers of -Iceland. These lie in a strip of ground one hundred yards wide and about -a quarter of a mile in length. The ground is dotted with numerous dark -apertures and conical mounds, from which clouds of steam ascend -continually. Of these the Little Geyser is no longer active, being -merely a pool of still, hot water. The Great Geyser is periodically -active, and the Strokr, or Churn, may be excited at any time by throwing -a quantity of earth into it. As a matter of course, these boiling -springs never do any damage, the quantity of water thrown out being of -no consequence. The water holds in solution a vast quantity of silicious -matter, which is deposited around the mouth of the geyser, forming -sometimes a saucer-shaped basin, sometimes a nippleshaped mound. From -the rate at which the deposits are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_457" id="page_457"></a>{457}</span> made, it is estimated that the Great -Geyser is about ten hundred and sixty years old.</p> - -<p>One of the most tremendous outbursts of which we have any authentic -account occurred in the island of Sumbawa. It is one of the Molucca -islands; and the mountain from which the outbreak occurred is called -Tomboro.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 240px;"> -<a href="images/i_457_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_457_sml.jpg" width="240" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>GEYSER.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>“This eruption commenced on the 5th of April, 1815, but was most -terrific on the 11th and 12th of that month; nor did it cease entirely -until some time in the following July. The explosion so much resembled -the firing of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_458" id="page_458"></a>{458}</span> heavy cannon at a distance that the people of many -vessels at sea supposed there was a great naval engagement within -hearing, but could not imagine what nations were engaged.</p> - -<p>“The commanders of some ships, and several English forts, gave orders to -prepare for battle, though they were several hundred miles distant from -the mountain. At Sumatra these tremendous explosions were distinctly -heard, though not nearer than nine hundred and seventy miles from -Tomboro. They were also heard at Ternate, in the opposite direction from -Sumatra, at the distance of seven hundred and twenty miles from the -mountain.</p> - -<p>“So immense in quantity was the fall of ashes, that at Bima, forty miles -from the mountain, the roof of the English resident’s house was crushed -by the weight, and many other houses in the same town were rendered -uninhabitable from the same cause. At Java, three hundred miles distant, -the air was so full of ashes that from this cause, at mid-day, it is -said, the darkness was so profound that nothing like it had ever before -been experienced during the most stormy night.</p> - -<p>“Along the coast of Sumbawa the sea was covered with floating lava, -intermixed with trees and timber, so that it was difficult for vessels -to sail through the mass. Some captains, though at a long distance at -sea, mistook this mass for land, and sent out their boats in order to -ascertain the safety of their situations. The sea, on this and the -neighboring coast, rose suddenly to the height of twelve feet, in the -form of immense waves, and, as they retired, swept away trees, timber, -and houses with their inhabitants. All the vessels lying near the shore -were torn from their anchoring and cast upon the land. Violent -whirlwinds carried into the air, men, horses, cattle, trees, and -whatever else was in the vicinity of the mountain. Large trees<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_459" id="page_459"></a>{459}</span> were -torn up by the roots and carried into the sea. But the most calamitous -part of the account still remains; for such were the tremendous effects -of the burning lava—the overflowing of the sea, the fall of houses, and -the violence of the whirlwind, that, out of twelve thousand inhabitants -on this island, only twenty-six individuals escaped with their lives, -all the rest being destroyed in one way or another.</p> - -<p>“The whole island was completely covered with ashes, or other volcanic -matter. In some places the bottom of the sea was so elevated as to make -shoals where there was deep water before; and in others, the land sunk -down and was overflown by the sea. Adding those who were killed on other -islands, the total death roll was over twenty thousand.”</p> - -<p>This entire region is one of wonderful activity. Mount Api, in the -island of Banda, in the same group, has had twelve violent eruptions in -two hundred and thirty-four years; and, indeed, it is hardly ever really -quiet. The volcano of Abo, in the island of Sanguir, broke out in 1711, -burying a large number of villages in cinders, covering extensive areas -of forest and plain, and destroying many thousands of people. This same -volcano burst forth suddenly in March, 1856, vomiting torrents of mud, -streams of lava, and clouds of ashes and scoria, doing almost as much -mischief as on the former occasion. In the island of Timor, a gigantic -volcano, long known as the Peak, began a violent eruption in 1638. When -the convulsion was over the mountain had disappeared; partly blown away, -partly sunken, and the site is to this day covered by a great lake.</p> - -<p>But the center of this great volcanic region lies in the island of Java, -which possesses about fifty craters, half of them still active. The heat -and vapors poured out, combined with the power of the sun, combine to -make this one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_460" id="page_460"></a>{460}</span> of the most noted tempest regions in the world. Nowhere -else are such terrific thunder-storms so common; and more than twenty -water spouts are sometimes seen at one time.</p> - -<p>One of the most remarkable eruptions of modern times is that of -Papandayang, in this island, which occurred in 1772. The mountain burst -forth suddenly, with a tremendous roaring. Cinders and ashes were almost -insignificant. Immense boulders were hurled about the neighboring -regions. The mountain was veiled in a cloud of glowing vapor. A tract of -land seventeen miles long and seven miles wide, with over forty -villages, was swallowed up. Several thousand people perished. When the -cloud finally vanished it was found that four thousand feet of the upper -portion of the mountain had been blown away. The broad, ragged mass -remaining was of little more than one-half the original height. Two -other mountains in the island were in action at the same time; while -several intervening active cones remained quiet. Mt. Guntur, in the same -island, has had a number of violent eruptions. The last, occurring in -1800, sent forth in addition to lava streams, a torrent of white, acid, -sulphurous mud, which swept a populous and fertile valley, engulfing -hundreds of men and animals in its course. We shall notice by and by a -still more remarkable Javanese convulsion.</p> - -<p>Time would fail were details to be given of the numerous volcanoes of -Sumatra and Celebes and the adjacent islands, or of the eruptions and -boiling springs of New Zealand, or the towering cones of New Guinea, or -of the peaks of the Canary, Cape Verde and Azores. Let us notice briefly -a few of the more noted volcanoes of America.</p> - -<p>Our own land is free, for the most part, from such disturbances; the -only recorded outbreaks being those of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_461" id="page_461"></a>{461}</span> Rainier and St. Helens, in 1842. -But in prehistoric times it had numerous volcanic areas. The Raton peaks -in New Mexico once sent out lava streams that spread over the country -between the Upper Arkansas and Canadian rivers; and St. Helens, Hood, -Edgecombe, Baker, Rainier, Fair Weather and Shasta, are cones well known -to the western tourist. These, except Hood and Shasta, are still active.</p> - -<p>But better known examples of great internal heat are found in the hot -springs of different portions of the country; though these merely show -the existence of subterranean heat, and afford no conception of its -power or violence. Quite as famous is the famous geyser basin of the -Yellowstone. Here is a region surpassing greatly the geyser district of -Iceland, both in area, and in the number and power of the geysers. The -whole region is pierced with fumaroles, around which sulphur and other -minerals crystalize in beautiful forms; and steam jets break through the -soil in countless places. Certain of the geysers are exceedingly -periodic; and others, like the Strokr of Iceland, may be incited to -action at almost any time by casting in earth or stones. The more -powerful of these “toy volcanoes” send water to a height of four hundred -feet.</p> - -<p>In the southern portion of the continent and in South America we find a -region of remarkable activity. Central America has had several violent -convulsions at a comparatively recent period. The volcano of Las -Virgines, in Lower California, had a great eruption in 1746; but the -country being sparsely peopled, little harm was done, and the fact of -the eruption was made known by the light and clouds seen from vessels at -sea, and the ashes and cinders that fell in the adjacent regions of -Mexico.</p> - -<p>If eruptions be measured by the violence of explosions,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_462" id="page_462"></a>{462}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_462_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_462_sml.jpg" width="450" height="269" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE YELLOWSTONE PARK.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_463" id="page_463"></a>{463}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">then the famous outburst of Cosequina must rank among the greatest, if -not itself the greatest, that is known to history. The narrative of its -eruption, as related by an eye-witness, seems almost beyond belief; but -the facts are too well authenticated. The extent of the destruction of -life, though certainly reaching many hundreds, was never definitely -known. The personal narration serves to show the fearful impressions -made upon those who experience such awful convulsions:</p> - -<p>“The wonder to me is how any man could live through such a burst as -Cosequina’s in San Salvador. ’Twas the 21st of January, 1835—as fine a -morning as ever was seen on earth. The Bay of Fonseca was smooth as -silk; never a cloud in the sky. The lazy folks of Playa Grande and -Nagascolo were lying in the hammocks beside the doors, smoking and -dozing, and not a soul had a notion of ill from any side on that sunny -morning, which was to be the last for half of them. They lay in hammocks -and smoked and dozed like worthless cusses, as they are; and most of -’em, no doubt, had full in sight the big mountain on t’other side the -gulf. They’d nigh forgot to call it a volcano. Not for a thousand years, -as the Indians told, had smoke or mischief come from that hill; they’d -ha’ laughed silly any one as had talked danger from Cosequina.</p> - -<p>“At ten o’clock that morning that mountain burst out again, and in a -fury such as never yet was known in the upper world—no, nor ever will -be again, as <i>I</i> believe, till the last day. Suddenly it burst out—not -muttering beforehand, nor smoking—but crash! all on the moment, as if -to remind men what evil power was yet left in nature to destroy them. At -ten o’clock that day the voice of the mountain was heard after one -thousand years’ silence—in such a thunderous roar was it heard that -beast and bird<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_464" id="page_464"></a>{464}</span> fell dead with the sound alone, and great cliffs pitched -headlong into the sea! There’s thousands still alive to witness. For a -while the streets of Playa Grande and Nagascolo must have seemed like -streets of the dead; for every soul was stunned. Folks were lying in -their hammocks or on the floor, motionless and senseless as corpses. The -sky was still bright and blue, but on the mountain side was a cloud like -ink, which rolled down like a cap to the foot. Naught afterwards seemed -so horrible as the sudden heaping of that jet black mound in the place -of the sunny, green hill.</p> - -<p>“But it didn’t long offend any man’s sight—over heaven and sea the -cloud opened and spread. Lightning and thunders burst from the heart of -the ocean, and sheets of flame glared luridly the sides of Cosequina. -The darkness spread so quick, that at Leon, two hundred miles away, they -were lighting the church candles within an hour after the outbreak. But -candles, nor torches, nor houses aflame couldn’t disperse that darkness. -For three days no soul in Leon saw another’s face, nor ventured out but -to the howling churches, to grovel there. Night dragged after night, but -no day shone over the land. A lighted torch could not be seen at arm’s -length! The ashes fell softly and silently, till buildings crushed down -headlong with the weight. Tigers were in the churches, and panthers -entered house doors in search of companionship and protection. Hundreds -committed suicide in their madness, and hundreds more became simple for -life. Men’s faces were blistered by the hot winds; the paint fell from -the statues; the crash of falling, and the faint light of burning houses -doubled the horror of darkness. Such a time as that was never seen on -earth since the plague of Egypt, I guess!</p> - -<p>“But of course the most awful work was around the Gulf of Fonseca. The -water rose in waves twenty feet<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_465" id="page_465"></a>{465}</span> high, dashed over the Estero, and swept -off the towns of Playa Grande and Nagascolo, slick as a prairie fire. -Scarce a soul escaped for twenty miles about. The cattle crushed over -the barrancas in search of water, and were destroyed in herds of -thousands at a time; for none could see, nor hear, nor breathe. Rivers -were dried by the heat, and choked with ashes; forests burned up; the -very grass withered throughout the whole length and breadth of -Nicaragua, and hasn’t sprung since. <i>Sacate</i> (‘a broad flag-like blade’) -alone escaped, and the country which was once the grazing land of -Central America was ruined till eternity, for that business.</p> - -<p>“During this time of death, as they still call it, at Balize, one -thousand miles away, the commandant called out the garrison, and kept -them under arms twenty-four hours, thinking all the navies in the -universe were at action in the offing. There ’twas too dark to see fifty -yards oceanwards. The roar of Cosequina was heard miles around, -spreading fear and perplexity. Four thousand miles in radius the ashes -fell; they lay on the roofs at San Francisco, California.</p> - -<p>“Well, the mountain’s behaved like a decent sort of powder-cask ever -since. The fuse has always been burning and spitting; but you see -there’s a big consumption of power in such a burst, and I guess the old -machine wants to recuperate awhile.”</p> - -<p>Those familiar with the terrific effects produced on the gunners by the -discharge of heavy artillery, can understand that the atmospheric -concussion produced by tremendous volcanic explosions might kill large -numbers of birds and small animals in the vicinity.</p> - -<p>As to the distance to which ashes may be carried, a late eruption in -Iceland was announced by a Professor in Germany long before any vessel -brought the news. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_466" id="page_466"></a>{466}</span> atmosphere was unusually full of dust which, on -examining with a microscope, he pronounced to be pulverized Iceland -lava. The detonations of Cosequina were heard over the peninsula of -Yucatan, along the shores of Jamaica, eight hundred miles distant, and -as far as Bogota in South America—nearly ten thousand feet above the -sea. Ashes fell on vessels twelve hundred miles westward at sea. -Fortunately the eruption was soon over.</p> - -<p>Another unusual outbreak occurred in Central America from the volcano of -Leon in 1867, beginning November 27. First there were a number of -violent explosions, which shook the earth for a great distance. Immense -quantities of black sand were then thrown out, and a column of vapor and -fire, filled with meteor-like specks, was hurled to a height of three -thousand feet. Closer observation showed the “specks” to be rocks four -or five feet in diameter, and weighing thousands of pounds. The showers -of sand lasted three days, covering the earth for fifty miles around. -The forest for leagues was scarred by the swift-falling showers of sand -and stones; and for half a mile around the cone the trees were leveled -to the ground.</p> - -<p>Central America contains twenty-nine volcanoes, eighteen of which are -active. Twenty cones are in sight from the town of Leon. One cone, -Izalco, suddenly manifested signs of activity, but no eruption took -place. But the sudden heating rapidly melted the snow on the mountain, -and the torrents of water inundated the town of Guatemala, destroying -thousands of dollars worth of property, besides many lives. The mountain -has since been known as “Agua,” or water.</p> - -<p>South America is noted for the frequency and extreme violence of its -earthquakes; of which more hereafter. Though possessing a greater number -of very lofty volcanic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_467" id="page_467"></a>{467}</span> cones than any other region, the direct effect -of its eruptions have not been so disastrous as the results of many -eruptions elsewhere. There is but one very notable exception; the -earthquake that destroyed Riobamba in 1794 was followed at once by an -outpour of mud from Tunguragua, which overwhelmed forty thousand people, -still dazed by the shock, or struggling in the ruins of their villages.</p> - -<p>One notable incident is the continual subterranean roaring heard for a -considerable period over twenty-three hundred square miles of Northern -Venezuela, a number of years ago, during a violent outpour of lava from -the volcano of St. Vincent, an island six hundred and twenty-three miles -to the northeast. No motion of the earth was perceptible. It has been -supposed that the noise was merely the roar of St. Vincent conveyed -through the crust of the earth; but this would raise the question as to -why the same noise was not audible at points nearer to St. Vincent? -Another suggestion is that the source from which the lava of St. Vincent -was derived lay beneath Northern Venezuela; and a fact brought in -support of this is, that the great earthquake of Caracas was immediately -followed by action at St. Vincent. Similarly, the great eruption of -Cotopaxi, in 1744, was attended by subterranean rumbling at Honda, four -hundred and thirty-six miles away, and eighteen thousand and one hundred -feet lower. Between are the colossal mountains of Pasto, Pichincha and -Popayan, with countless valleys and ravines.</p> - -<p>The cone of Cotopaxi is the smoothest and most symmetrical in the world; -perhaps because its eruptions are almost entirely of ashes or -fragmentary lava. As no villages lie in its immediate neighborhood, the -clouds of ashes have not done so much damage as might be expected.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_468" id="page_468"></a>{468}</span></p> - -<p>The first sign of an eruption is the melting of the snow upon the cone. -Torrents of water sweep down the mountain. Such an outbreak occurring in -1741, after two centuries repose, the amount of snow accumulated may be -imagined. The rush of the water tore away blocks of lava, ice and -scoria; the plain below was covered with dashing waves. Twelve miles -from the mountain the waters still had a velocity of fifty-six feet per -second, or about two-thirds of a mile a minute. Escape from such a -current would be impossible. Six hundred houses were swept away and one -thousand people destroyed. The sides of the cone glowed in the night -with a reddish light. Cotopaxi also had a great eruption in 1533, which -hurled lava blocks containing one hundred and thirty cubic yards to a -distance of nine miles. Such masses would weigh more than two hundred -and eighty tons. Such feats will serve to give clearer ideas of the -immense power of volcanic action.</p> - -<p>Perhaps a statement of the force required to raise a column of lava -would interest the reader. Lava being about twenty-eight times as heavy -as water, a column of it eleven and three-sevenths feet high, and one -inch square, would weigh fifteen pounds. Then to raise lava to the tops -of various volcanic cones would require pressure or initial velocity as -follows:</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" summary=""> -<tr valign="bottom"><td> </td><td align="center" colspan="2">Height.</td> -<td align="center" colspan="2">Pressure per<br /> -square inch.</td><td align="center" colspan="2">Initial velocity<br /> -per second.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Stromboli</td><td align="right">2,168</td><td align="center"> feet.</td><td align="right">2,640</td><td align="center"> pounds.</td><td align="right">371</td><td align="center"> feet.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Vesuvius</td><td align="right">3,874</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,710</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">496</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td>Hecla</td><td align="right">5,106</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,195</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">570</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td>Ætna</td><td align="right">10,892</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">13,230</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">832</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td>Teneriffe</td><td align="right">12,464</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">15,135</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">890</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td>Mauna Kea</td><td align="right">14,700</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">17,865</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">966</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td>Popocatepetl</td><td align="right">17,712</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">21,525</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">1,062</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td>St. Elias</td><td align="right">18,079</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">21,975</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">1,072</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td>Cotopaxi</td><td align="right">18,869</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">22,380</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">1,104</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -<tr><td>Sahama</td><td align="right">22,965</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">27,756</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">1,212</td><td align="center">“</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_469" id="page_469"></a>{469}</span></p> - -<p>When we remember that our powerful steam engines are operated by -pressures varying from one hundred and twenty to two hundred pounds per -square inch, it is evident we can have no adequate conception of the -magnitude of a force of twenty-seven thousand pounds to the square inch. -And yet such a power must be but a tithe of the force exerted; for it -represents only the force necessary to throw the lava from the surface -to the tops of the mountains; whereas the lava reservoirs are far -beneath the surface. Also, the above calculation considers only the mere -weight of the lava; it allows nothing for the resistance of cohesion, -friction, or a heavy crust to be often burst through. When we consider -all these, each of which must far surpass the weight of the single -column of lava, it is evident that the pressure that can hurl lava -blocks of two hundred and eighty tons nine miles from a mountain must -reach a million pounds per square inch. These are meaningless figures. -Human thought cannot grasp so stupendous a power.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the best known of the great volcanoes are those of the Sandwich -Islands. We find there the largest extinct crater in the world. The -great dead crater of Haleakala, in East Maui, is thirty miles in -circumference. The crater of Kilauea, on the flank of Mauna Loa, is -about seven miles in circumference. Several great eruptions have -occurred in these islands during the past fifty years; and in one of -these convulsions the volume of lava poured out was at least equal to -the great outburst of Skaptar Jokul in Iceland. And when we consider the -frequent recurrence of the Hawaiian eruptions, it at once appears that -in this region lies the greatest lava producer on the globe.</p> - -<p>But in regard to destruction of life or property, there has so far been -no more harmless region in the world.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_470" id="page_470"></a>{470}</span> There are two reasons: The lava -poured out is very liquid, and cools slowly; hence a cone formed from it -has a very gradual slope. The actual grade of Mauna Loa is but five or -six degrees. So a lava stream descends it very slowly; and the light on -the mountain warns the people of the outbreak. The shore region is the -only one inhabited, the interior being covered with dense forests. So -the lava may burn a path directly through to the sea, and yet do no -great damage to the interests of the people. The greatest damage done to -the island has not been from an outpour of lava, but from earthquakes -and sea-waves. The great eruption of 1868 was accompanied by continual -shocks—two thousand being felt in a fortnight, and numerous tidal waves -being produced; yet the total fatality was but one hundred, and nearly -all of these were old or weak persons who were unable to swim well -enough to escape from waves that overtook them. A few were overwhelmed -by a torrent of soft, red clay that broke from a fissure in the -mountain. Cliffs and crags were thrown down by the earthquakes, and the -top of one hill was thrown one thousand feet. The lava stream reached -the sea at Nanawale, fifty miles from its source, and pushed -three-fourths of a mile into the sea.</p> - -<p>Again, in an eruption in 1880, two lava streams poured out toward the -town of Hilo; and though the great crater continued in full blast, it -was nine months before the people could be sure whether the streams -would destroy the town or not. At length the lava was within five -minutes walk of the town. Many collected their chattels and left. Then -the action on the mountain suddenly subsided; and in a few days the -“great red dragon” lay stiff and cold, almost at the people’s doors.</p> - -<p>Since the natives build their houses almost invariably of one story and -of the lightest materials, earthquakes can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_471" id="page_471"></a>{471}</span> do comparatively little -damage to most property. Hence, with all the activity of the great -volcanoes, the inhabitants are far more secure than those of many other -regions apparently not so dangerous. Persons may readily visit the great -crater in eruption, though at full blast; and excursion parties are -organized to visit this “Niagara of fire” on every occasion of unwonted -activity. Nowhere else in the world can volcanic action on the grandest -scale be so carefully observed.</p> - -<p>The details given hitherto will serve to illustrate the terrible havoc -wrought by subterranean forces. So far only outpouring of volcanic -matter has been especially noticed. But ere examining the terribly -destructive force of earthquakes alone, it is meet that the story of the -tremendous eruptions of the century be closed with the story of the -greatest of the age; and indeed, when all details are considered, it may -rank as the most tremendous convulsion of all history. In certain -details, Skaptar may have exceeded it: in destruction of life. Ætna -surpassed it in 1669; but as a whole, it is simply without a parallel.</p> - -<p>The reader will rightly judge that such a convulsion could hardly occur -elsewhere than in the Malayan archipelago. Already the terrible outburst -in Sumbawa has been noted; also several others in Java.</p> - -<p>Java and Sumatra formerly formed a single island, but were separated by -a terrific earthquake in 1115. Shocks are felt in one of the two islands -nearly every month. The list of calamities occurring there during the -past hundred years is appalling. Besides the convulsions before noted, -an eruption of Galung-gung, in 1822, overwhelmed one hundred and -fourteen villages and destroyed four thousand people. In 1843 Mt. Guntur -cast forth 30,000,000 tons of ashes, doing immense injury to life and -property. In 1867 there was a tremendous earthquake<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_472" id="page_472"></a>{472}</span> which killed many -thousands in the interior of the island, and dried up or greatly -obstructed the water courses. Immediately afterward the volcano of -Gunung-Salak ejected such a quantity of cinders and lava that the work -of obliterating or obstructing the streams was complete. The cess-pools -and marshes bred pestilence and epidemics, which have carried off from -Batavia alone nearly a million of inhabitants in the past twenty-two -years. In 1872 the volcano of Mirapi burst out and destroyed several -thousand people in the province of Kadu. Sixteen severe earthquakes were -felt in 1878, and another one in 1879.</p> - -<p>At length, in 1883, Krakatoa, a volcano on a small island in the Straits -of Sunda, in the very center of the greatest subterranean furnace on the -globe, began to manifest some uneasiness. As in the case of Cosequina, -people had almost forgotten to call it a volcano. And when the mountain -muttered and fired a little in February, they regarded it with some -curiosity, and then, when it quieted down, thought no more about it.</p> - -<p>On the 25th of August the people of Batavia heard peculiar subterranean -mutterings, as they thought, but the roar increased till it might have -been compared to a battery of fortress artillery. An avalanche of stones -and ashes began to fall, and continued all night. Krakatoa had begun.</p> - -<p>By morning it was impossible for Batavians to reach the Straits of -Sunda. The bridges were down and the roads impassable. The waters of the -straits were in fearful turmoil. Explosions beneath the sea followed -each other in rapid succession. The waters were sixty degrees hotter -than usually. The rebounding waves were dashing upon Madura, five -hundred miles away, mountains high.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_473" id="page_473"></a>{473}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 327px;"> -<a href="images/i_473_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_473_sml.jpg" width="327" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CATTLE IN VOLCANIC MUD.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_474" id="page_474"></a>{474}</span></p> - -<p>The dance of death had hardly begun. Louder and louder roared Krakatoa; -ere noon, Maha-Meru, the greatest of Javanese volcanoes, had joined in. -Then Gunung-guntur opened; others rapidly followed, till fifteen -volcanoes of Java were in eruption; most of them in full blast. The -awful scene was beyond description. Krakatoa could still be heard -thundering above all the rest.</p> - -<p>Before nightfall Gunung-guntur, the greatest active crater in the world, -four miles in diameter, was spouting enormous streams of lava and -sulphurous mud. Tremendous explosions followed with showers of cinders -and stones, as though the old giant were endeavoring to out-do the -leader of the dance. Terrible was the slaughter by the flying fragments.</p> - -<p>The sea was more violently agitated. Dense clouds of hot, sulphurous -vapors, charged with electricity, hung over the waters, and added -whirlwinds and thunderstorms to the scene. Fifteen large waterspouts -could be seen at one time.</p> - -<p>On the shore, men, women and children ran wildly about. There was no -safety upon sea or land. Houses were crumbling, the atmosphere -darkening, the storm increasing. Hundreds of people were buried beneath -ruined houses. Hundreds more were struck down in their flight. Immense -crevices opened and swallowed; huge waves rushed inland and devoured. It -seemed as though Java were to buried, with a rain of fire, in the -unfathomable depths of the sea.</p> - -<p>Towards midnight, it seemed as though the Prince of Darkness might be -present in person to direct the work of destruction. “A luminous cloud -far more colossal than that which had appeared above Gunung-guntur, -gathered above the chain of the Kandangs, which run along the southeast -coast of Java. This cloud increased in size each<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_475" id="page_475"></a>{475}</span> minute, until at last -it came to form a sort of a gray and blood-red color, which hung over -the earth for a considerable distance.</p> - -<p>“In proportion as this cloud grew the eruption gained fresh force, and -the floods of lava poured down the mountain sides without ceasing, and -spread into the valleys, where they swept all before them. On Monday -morning about two o’clock, the heavy cloud suddenly broke up, and -finally disappeared. When the sun rose, it was found that a tract of -country extending from Point Capucine to the south as far as Negery -Passoerang, to the north and west, and covering an area of about fifty -square miles, had entirely disappeared.</p> - -<p>“There stood the previous day the villages of Negery, and Negery -Babawang. Not one of the inhabitants had escaped. They and their -villages had been swallowed up by the sea. The population was not so -dense in this part of the island as in others, but for all this the -total number of victims fell little short of fifteen thousand.</p> - -<p>“The chain of the Kandangs, which runs along the coast of Java in a -semi-circle for sixty-five miles, had also disappeared.</p> - -<p>“The waters of Welcome Bay, in the Strait of Sunda, those of Pepper Bay -to the east, and those of the Indian Ocean to the south, had burst in -upon the country, where they formed a raging torrent.”</p> - -<p>All the furies of the deeps of earth and sea seemed freed to work their -will and wreak their wrath. The great Papandayang now joined in the -chaos. The cannon-like reports could be heard fifty miles away.</p> - -<p>Then Sumatra was infected with the wild fury. From one of her volcanoes -three columns of lava shot up from three different places, and three -leaping red streams of lava dashed forth for the plains below. The -mountain hurled<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_476" id="page_476"></a>{476}</span> after them showers of stones. Volumes of black dust -flew after, making thick, stifling darkness which could be felt. Banks -of ashes lay upon the roofs of houses, or muffled the city streets. A -tornado hurried by, bearing stones, dust, roofs, trees, houses, and men.</p> - -<p>In Java the fierce Papandayang burst open. From the seven great fissures -the lava in its basin plunged out and reached for miles from the -mountain’s base. On the site of the island of Merak, which was swallowed -up by the sea, the next day fourteen volcanic mountains sprang up, -forming a chain from St. Nicholas Point, Java, to Hoga Point, in -Sumatra.</p> - -<p>In Batavia and Anjer were three thousand five hundred European -residents; eight hundred of these never saw the light again. An -overwhelming avalanche of rock, mud, and lava, poured upon their quarter -in Anjer; then the sea leaped upon those struggling in the ruins and -swept away all. Not so much as a trace of them was left. Two thousand -inhabitants perished, besides a large number of fugitives from other -quarters. Bantam was submerged, and one thousand five hundred people -drowned. Waves dashed completely over the island of Serang, and not a -single inhabitant escaped. The storms of rock and lava numbered their -victims at Cheribon, and at several noted pleasure resorts.</p> - -<p>The great temple of Boro-Buddor was ruined, its dome being beaten in by -the showers of rock. This is a most deplorable architectural loss. It -was the largest Buddhist Temple in the east, and had no equal in the -world. Erected eleven hundred years ago, it stood on an eminence in a -circular valley. It had a great central dome one hundred and forty-five -feet high, surrounded by seventy smaller domes. On the platforms beneath -were four hundred and fifty chapels, cut in openwork out of granite, and -each<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_477" id="page_477"></a>{477}</span> having a statue of Buddha. The walls of the temple contained a -complete picture-history of Buddha, there being four thousand -beautifully chased bas-reliefs. Not a stone was left uncarved. The great -chapel under the central dome was reached by a series of four grand -staircases of five hundred feet each. No other structure is comparable -to it. A few may be even more splendid; but it was decidedly <i>sui -generis</i>.</p> - -<p>The list of calamities grew rapidly. The town of Tamarang was devoured -by the lava. Red-hot stones fired many houses. Eighteen hundred people -perished. The island of Onius was terribly shaken and then plunged into -the sea. The island of Midah was swallowed up. No one escaped. The -lighthouses on Sunda Strait were wrecked. The town of Tjeringen was -destroyed with ten thousand people. Nine hundred people perished at -Waronge. Three hundred corpses were dug from the ruins of Talatoa. The -river Jacatana was blocked with lava and ashes, and leaving its bed -poured through Batavia.</p> - -<p>The island of Merak, a fortified place three miles from Krakatoa, was a -valuable Government stone quarry, six or seven years in use. Thousands -of native workmen were assembled there, with engineers and overseers. -Their huts were on hills one hundred and fifty feet above the sea. The -end of the season was at hand. The 1st of September would see them -returning to their Java homes. The island trembled, paused—sank -slowly—the sea plunged over it. Two natives and an European bookkeeper -escaped.</p> - -<p>A steamer put out from the port of Telok Betong. Two inches of lava lay -upon her deck. Pumice stone lay ten feet deep on the sea around her. -When but a short distance out “we saw a gigantic wave of prodigious -height suddenly advancing upon us at great speed from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_478" id="page_478"></a>{478}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_478_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_478_sml.jpg" width="450" height="277" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CONVULSION ON THE COAST OF SUMATRA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_479" id="page_479"></a>{479}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">direction of the open sea. Immediately the captain brought his vessel -round so as to meet the wave stern foremost. After a moment of most -piquant anxiety, we found ourselves lifted up with terrific speed; our -vessel bounded upward, and then we felt ourselves plunged into the -abyss. But the wave had passed us and we were out of all danger. Like a -high mountain the gigantic wave sped furiously towards the shore, while -immediately after three other great waves followed it. The waters rushed -in and destroyed the town, sweeping away first the light house, which -fell in like a pack of cards, then all the buildings beyond. In a few -moments all was over, and where once Telok Betong stood there was -nothing but water.”</p> - -<p>Livid with terror, the captain steamed rapidly to warn the town of -Anjer. There was no longer an Anjer, a Dutch fort, a garrison. A single -sailor, who had caught a floating tree, stalked about among the corpses.</p> - -<p>Krakatoa, which had opened this fearful carnival of death, sank slowly -into the sea. Of the island, twenty-five miles long and seventeen wide, -a small portion of the terribly shattered cone remained in sight. New -islets were made; vast shoals created. Sailors discovered new islands -and landed, only to find themselves on vast floating pumice rafts, miles -from land. New charts had to be made. For a time the seas were hardly -navigable.</p> - -<p>Such is the story. The damage to property was millions of dollars. The -loss of life will never be definitely known. First estimates placed it -at 80,000. Conservative judges pronounced it in all probability between -50,000 and 60,000.</p> - -<p>The explosions were heard as far away southward as Australia; to the -westward as far as Southern India; to the eastward, they are said to -have been heard in the Caribbean Sea. Even if we reject the latter, we -may take<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_480" id="page_480"></a>{480}</span> the others, and obtain some idea by imagining volcanoes at St. -Louis to be heard at New York and San Francisco, at Mexico and in -Hudson’s Bay.</p> - -<p>The great sea wave rushed from Krakatoa to the Mauritius in eight hours. -It rolled around the coasts of the Australian continent, dashing into -the southern harbors, sweeping through the narrow Bass Straits. It rose -and fell upon Hawaiian coasts in a perplexing manner. It surged against -South America; against East Africa; it rounded Cape Horn and made itself -known on the coasts of France, upon our Atlantic shore. It encircled the -world—the greatest sea wave ever known.</p> - -<p>The volcanic, microscopic dust remained long in the air, and occasioned -the singular redness of the sky at morn and eve that prevailed -throughout the world for the next two years. Apart from this suspended -dust, the volcano threw out as much matter as the Mississippi bears to -the gulf in two hundred and fifty years.</p> - -<p>The atmospheric wave of low barometer was even more marked than the -oceanic wave. On the day when Krakatoa sank into the sea, the barometric -oscillation was noticed all over the world. From the time at which it -reached Berlin, it is found to have travelled eight hundred and -seventy-five miles an hour. Thirty-six hours later the barometric -oscillations were repeated, but less pronounced. Thirty-seven hours -afterward there came a third, and still fainter series. It appears, -then, that the atmospheric wave, set in motion by this stupendous -outbreak, was powerful enough to thrice encircle the world.</p> - -<p>It has been but a short time since geologists believed the magnitude of -the subterranean forces to be greatly decreased; but in view of a -century of great eruptions closed by such an appalling convulsion, it -must be said that the fiery forces are at least as active and powerful -as ever.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_481" id="page_481"></a>{481}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /><br /> -<small>EARTHQUAKES.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Diseased Nature oftentimes breaks forth<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In strange eruptions: and the teeming earth<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Is with a kind of colic pinched and vexed<br /></span> -<span class="i1">By the imprisoning of unruly wind<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Within her womb; which for enlargement striving,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Shakes the old beldam earth, and topples down<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Steeples and moss-grown towers.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_s.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="39" -height="60" -alt="S" /></span>UCH is the theory of earthquakes as laid down by “Wild Will -Shakespeare.” Whether it be an expression of the popular belief of the -day, or a personal opinion, is not easy to determine. If the latter, he -had, as we shall see by and by, many predecessors in the same belief. -His metaphor, though more elegantly expressed, cannot compare with the -Indian’s for terseness and force: “Ground heap sick—heap belly ache—no -good!”</p> - -<p>We have already seen that the forces producing earthquakes and volcanic -action are conceded to be practically identical. The latter seldom -occurs without the former; but the former are frequent in districts far -removed from any known vent of subterranean heat. So the expression of -Shakespeare is not so far wrong as might be, so far as our present -knowledge goes.</p> - -<p>In the Hindoo cosmogony successive ages of the world are separated by -periods of chaos; and no wilder image of unreined destruction has fancy -ever dreamed. The earth is to be eternal. There is one eternal, -invisible spirit, Brahm, from whom springs Brahma, who creates a race of -gods. These frame the earth into orderly condition, and rule it for four -hundred thousand years. At the end of that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_482" id="page_482"></a>{482}</span> time, the land and sea and -sky meet in gigantic ruin; the gods are no more, save only Vishnu, the -preserver. The sea covers all things and eternal night is accompanied by -eternal tempest.</p> - -<p>Eternal is not strictly correct, however. This reign of destruction -lasts four hundred thousand years, during which time Vishnu sleeps on -the coils of the great seven-headed serpent of eternity, which floats -upon the gloomy sea. The long night over, Vishnu wakes and remodels the -earth, and peace and light resume their sway. Seven such cycles pass; -all things are annihilated, and Brahm sets about a new creation which -goes the same round.</p> - -<p>The eastern wise men, fond of allegory and parable, doubtless intended -by this to express the persistence and order in the universe, even in -periods of the most inexplicable disaster; and to picture for the -ignorant the absolute eternity of God.</p> - -<p>The thing was too good to let drop; and others added to it by asserting -the earth was upborne by an elephant who stood on the back of a -tortoise. The tortoise rested on a fish; the fish on water; the water on -air; the air on light; the light on darkness; the darkness on the Lord -only knows what. When these animals were somewhat wearied, they changed -their position, and the earth trembled.</p> - -<p>Greece had a somewhat better myth of the giant Atlas, who bore the world -on his shoulders; but the old fellow’s gait was not of the steadiest. -Rome, not much given to manufacturing her myths <i>de novo</i>, imported the -Grecian fable. We have to-day appropriated the old fellow’s title for a -geography supposed to contain the whole earth. The figure is lost on -most.</p> - -<p>But the alleged drunkenness of Atlas did not consort precisely with the -popular ideas of the proper conduct of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_483" id="page_483"></a>{483}</span> a steady old porter in a -responsible position; and the mythmakers dragged in a new scapegoat in -the person of the Titan Typhon, or Enceladus, supposed to be entombed in -Mt. Ætna, as we have elsewhere noticed.</p> - -<p>Inhabitants of parts of Farther India and of some Malayan islands -believe that far down in the bowels of the earth an immense tiger, Pelu, -lies asleep. The sole object of his existence is to destroy the earth; -but he may not do this till the human race is extinct. Then he will rise -to his feet, the earth will burst into fragments and fly into the -distant realms of space. It must of necessity follow that our feline -friend’s existence is a somewhat monotonous one, and to avoid ennui in -his cramped quarters, he passes much time in sleep. Waking occasionally, -and wishing like the German Barbarossa, to know if his time is come, he -cautiously raises a few hairs on his back. The earth trembles, and the -natives, rushing from their tottering houses throw themselves upon the -ground, shouting loudly “Pelu! Pelu!” to assure his tigership that they -are certainly alive. Satisfied on this point, the worshipful beast -composes himself for another nap.</p> - -<p>Thor, the war god of the Norsemen, wielded a mighty hammer, Miolnir. In -the “Saga of King Olaf” we find Thor shouting:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The blows of my hammer,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Ring in the earthquake.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Another myth attributes the earthquake to the restlessness of the -serpent Midgard, who encircles the universe, his tail in his mouth. -Also, the wolf Fenrir, who is to take part in the final contest that -produces Ragnarok, is supposed to have occasional differences of opinion -before the time with certain of the fire giants. The earth is then -liable to be shaken.</p> - -<p>Natives of the Tonga group, in the South Pacific, believed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_484" id="page_484"></a>{484}</span> that their -hero-god, Maui, upheld the world on his breast. When he became restless -and shook the earth, they would rush out and beat the ground with sticks -to make him lie still.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_484_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_484_sml.jpg" width="450" height="393" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>EFFECT OF A POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE ON MASSIVE MASONRY, -ITALY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>From traditions concerning Mohammed we learn that the circular earth -lies in the midst of a vast sea, and is encircled by an immense whale, -upon whose back 700,000 gigantic bulls walk up and down. Said whale -swims about the earth very cautiously, but occasionally jostles it -slightly. On the night when Mohammed was born this<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_485" id="page_485"></a>{485}</span> noble animal was so -agitated with joy, that had not the Lord restrained him, he would -assuredly have overturned the earth.</p> - -<p>The Sandwich Islanders believed that the goddess Pele, who dwelt in the -great volcano of Kilauea, was displeased with the conduct of man; she -proceeded to admonish him of her power, by shaking him out of bed in the -night, or tumbling his house about his ears. If especially angry, she -set her volcanic home to fuming and firing.</p> - -<p>So-called scientific theories on various topics have in time past been -little more respectable, and need not be given any detailed attention. -The pious gentry who deemed Roger Bacon a wizard and Columbus and -Galileo heretics, would have listened with horror to any effort to -explain the phenomena of earthquakes as anything else than a direct -manifestation of the wrath of God. Researches in any branch of natural -science met with decided discouragement in Christendom during the dark -and middle ages; and the goddess of wisdom found a decidedly more -congenial atmosphere at Moorish and Saracen courts.</p> - -<p>Hence the modern science of seismology, as the investigations of -earthquakes are called, is comparatively in its infancy. Yet the subject -of seismic phenomena has been of interest to the thoughtful from a very -early period, earthquakes being of far greater frequency than most -persons suppose. Some of the earliest philosophers ventured opinions on -the topic; for the records of earthquakes, more distinctly than those of -volcanoes, go back to the earliest times.</p> - -<p>We find Aristotle, in his treatise on natural events, rejecting the -explanations of three other philosophers as untenable, and propounding a -theory of his own. Anaximenes, of Miletus, suggested the drying and -moistening of the earth occasioned irregular contraction and expansion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_486" id="page_486"></a>{486}</span> -and from the cracking and readjusting shocks resulted. Democritus, of -Abdera, shook his earth by means of vast subterranean bodies of water -which some force compelled to move from one cavity to another. Doubtless -the peculiar wave-like motion of the earth in many earthquakes suggested -his theory. Anaxagoras, of Clazomenae, believed that ether—by which the -old Greeks seem to mean air—was confined in underground cavities, and -in its efforts to escape upward produced the vibration of the earth. -Aristotle substitutes for the disturbing agent wind, which has flowed -into fissures and caverns and is endeavoring to flow out again. Virgil -and Pliny stand by the old Greek; and it is quite probable that -Shakespeare acquired his idea from one of the three. And these, with -Anaxagoras, are but little out of the way; for as seen in the discussion -of volcanic action, the explosive or disturbing agent is generally -steam, though other gases are present in large quantities.</p> - -<p>We have already noticed that earthquakes and volcanoes are produced by -the same causes; but as the myths of many nations do not connect the -two, it is evident that such people did not recognize their essential -identity.</p> - -<p>But after knowing they are but variations in results, we cannot so -readily explain the reason of the variations. Certain facts are well -established; and from these common premises widely different conclusions -have been deduced.</p> - -<p>We know to-day that in active volcanic regions, an earthquake almost -invariably precedes an eruption; and a violent one has never, within the -historic period, followed an eruption. So the most reasonable inference -is, that the earthquake merely betokens the presence of a vast quantity -of imprisoned vapor which has not found an outlet; and that so soon as a -volcanic vent is found, the pressure is relieved, and the earthquake -subsides.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_487" id="page_487"></a>{487}</span></p> - -<p>But this leaves us just where the theorists of volcanic agency have -stopped. The question of the sudden formation of volumes of gases in -sufficient quantities to produce such terrible effects is to be solved.</p> - -<p>Mr. Mallet, who is one of the best authorities on the subject, considers -that submarine eruptions must account for them. A volcanic upheaval of -the sea bottom would produce crevices, by which the sea is brought -directly in contact with subterranean fires. An explosion is the result, -like those that have occasionally occurred at foundries from dumping -masses of fiery slag into a snowbank. So what began with a gradual -upheaval ends with a sudden concussion, the vibration of which passes -along the sea bottom to the mainland. Every one who has lived in the -city is familiar with the fact that the vibration produced by a carriage -may be felt at the top of a very tall building.</p> - -<p>But the idea that the explosion always occurs at the sea bottom leaves -no way to account for the fact that a volcanic eruption acts as a -safety-valve. Mr. Mallet’s conclusions are largely based on personal -observations of earthquakes in England, where no active volcano exists.</p> - -<p>That earthquakes are more violent and volcanoes more numerous on islands -or near the sea coast is well-known. It is also well established that -shocks frequently occur at sea, which are not perceptible on the land. -The shock is similar to that produced by striking on a reef. Often have -sailors been mystified, on receiving such shocks and hastily heaving the -lead, to find the ocean unfathomable. Again, shocks which are most -violent on land are not perceptible at sea, unless a great sea wave be -produced; but such a wave in the open sea, as often experienced, -produces no shock but passes under a vessel like a heavy swell. And a -shock at sea is sometimes severe enough to snap a spar, or wrench loose -bolts like the blow of a reef, yet no trace<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_488" id="page_488"></a>{488}</span> is perceptible on shore. -Lastly, earthquakes often happen in inland regions, and affect but a -small area. Clearly it will not do to attribute effects so different to -explosions at the sea-bottom.</p> - -<p>Those who attribute all earthquakes to subterranean heat and gases, -whether local or general, find it easy to account for the occurrence of -violent earthquakes in regions remote from active volcanoes. In case of -the gradual decline of volcanic action, such as we know from the great -numbers of extinct volcanoes, old trap-dykes, and ancient lava beds, to -be continually taking place in one region or another, the old vents or -safety-valves would cool and close. The pent up power would in -consequence gradually accumulate, till finding no outlet, it would burst -the crust over a wide area, and so relieve the pressure.</p> - -<p>This finds further confirmation in the fact that the noted non-volcanic -regions which are seriously shaken are all coincident with or adjacent -to regions of extinct fires; while in such regions as are very seldom -shaken, such as Germany, portions of North America, Brazil, the eastern -slope of the Andes, the traces of such agency are less common, or of -older date. Noted regions of volcanic action of comparatively recent -extinction are Asia Minor, Turkey, Spain, Southern France and Greece. -These, belted together by the active regions of Western Asia, the -peninsula of Arabia, the Mediterranean, and Azores and Canaries, form a -region which has suffered from earthquakes as much as, if not more than, -any other tract upon the globe.</p> - -<p>Those who have been puzzled by the appearance of earthquakes some -distance from any actively volcanic region, have endeavored to divide -earthquakes into two classes, which they have called volcanic and -plutonic. This second class they have considered as originating,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_489" id="page_489"></a>{489}</span> like -the other, in the depths of the earth; but have endeavored to account -for them by supposing them to be occasioned by the falling in of great -caverns at a considerable depth. This theory has found a fair objection -in the fact that in such cases an earthquake should always be a sinking -of the ground: while the wrecking power and peculiarities of some -earthquakes indicate a decided upward concussion as the first of shocks; -and at the seashore, where any change in level is at once detected, -upheaval is quite as common as subsidence.</p> - -<p>Much speculation has been spent upon the fact of an earthquake being -very severe in two or three different localities, but being -imperceptible or very mild in intervening places. In South America it -has become so common a peculiarity that the natives speak of such -localities as “bridging” the earthquakes. Not improbably the reason is -the same that produces calm when two waves interfere, crest to trough; -the motions destroy each other. It may be also that the character of the -underlying rocks has much to do with such cases. Experiments with -explosions in mines show that vibrations of the soil travel over three -hundred yards per second through sand beds, or about as rapidly as in -the air; over five hundred yards in granite; while through iron they -travel over three thousand eight hundred and fifty yards per second. So -a vibration extremely destructive to a region underlaid by massive rocks -might be comparatively harmless to a town on a sand-bed or mud-bank. -Observations on earthquakes themselves have shown great variation in the -rate of speed. The earthquake of Germany of 1846 moved four hundred and -ninety-two yards per second; while the earthquake of Viege in 1855 -traveled nine hundred and sixty yards a second toward Strasburg, but -only half that speed towards Turin. So, also, the Lisbon earthquake<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_490" id="page_490"></a>{490}</span> -traveled three times as rapidly around the coast as down the Rhine -valley. So it must be that certain regions owe their comparative -immunity from earthquakes to the nature of the ground beneath.</p> - -<p>One or two ingenious savants have suggested that the earth is a vast -thermo-electric pile, and that disturbances in the electrical -equilibrium of the earth are the cause of earthquakes and volcanic -eruptions. But as already seen, the electrical phenomena of volcanic -eruptions are fairly considered an effect, and not a cause, of the -eruptions, as the hydro-electric machine illustrates. In the theory of -these men, the molten veins of the interior represent conductors which -are too small or imperfect to allow the electricity to pass freely, and -are fused in consequence. One of these men, Steffens, alleges that such -phenomena can only occur where large veins of coal exist, because large -masses of carbon would be necessary to keep up a strong electric tension -in the interior. Herr Steffens must account for the fact that the great -coal regions of the world have been peculiarly favored in their -comparative immunity from shocks.</p> - -<p>Still others have advocated the idea that atmospheric whirlwinds and -cyclones produce earthquakes. While not a few shocks have been -accompanied by violent storms, the exception seems to be the rule. And -in the case of storms, we have seen that the outpour of heat and vapor -in a volcanic eruption would necessarily produce one. As concerns the -winds that have accompanied earthquakes, they have as often come after -the shock as before.</p> - -<p>But these bring up certain phenomena that must be noticed. It is not -easy to say how great is the connection between electrical and -atmospheric disturbances, and the shiverings of the earth; but that -there is some peculiar<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_491" id="page_491"></a>{491}</span> bond between them has been thought indisputable. -It is only in the present century that scientists have carefully conned -this matter, and generally rejected the belief. But the opinion is very -ancient, and has a strong hold upon the people. It is generally adhered -to by South Americans, Italians, West Indians, Japanese, and the -inhabitants of Central Asia. Kamtschatkans, Kurile Islanders and -Japanese, assert shocks are most frequent at the equinoxes. In -equatorial America, the natives say an earthquake is preceded by -drought, and is the precursor of rain. In the Dauphiny Alps, the people -regard earthquakes as the result of avalanches; and the latter are -readily started by the slightest atmospheric disturbances. In Central -America the equinoctial idea prevails.</p> - -<p>These things set the wise men to investigating. Much to their surprise, -they began to discover that the idea of connection between the seasons -and shocks seemed well-grounded. In 1834 Professor Merian announced that -of one hundred and eighteen earthquakes at Basle, the majority had -occurred in the winter. Volger made a list of twelve hundred and thirty -shocks in the Alps; seven hundred and seventy-four occurred in autumn -and winter. December showed one hundred and sixty-eight; July forty. Of -ninety-eight quite severe shocks, but one had occurred in the summer. Of -five hundred and thirty-nine earthquakes in the Rhine basin, one hundred -and three occurred in the spring, one hundred and one in the summer, one -hundred and sixty-five in the autumn, one hundred and seventy in winter. -Observations in the Antilles show a slight predominance of autumn and -winter.</p> - -<p>Another peculiar fact is that most shocks seem to occur at night. Out of -four hundred and seventy-two earthquakes in 1855-56, whose time was -exactly noted,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_492" id="page_492"></a>{492}</span> but one hundred and seventy-two happened in the day. Of -those at night, three-fifths were during the latter half, forty-four -being between one and two o’clock. Squier has told us that during -several years residence in Central America, nearly all shocks occurred -at night; also, that he experienced none save at the change of seasons. -Hence, one is almost compelled to conclude that, while the primal cause -of earthquakes must exist in the depths of the earth, yet external and -climatic influences are strong modifiers.</p> - -<p>Some other peculiarities are adduced to show the connection between -atmospheric disturbances and earthquakes. In Central and Tropical -America the temperature is said to fall after any shock. After the -earthquake at Lechsand, Sweden, in 1856, the temperature fell eighty-six -degrees. The same shock was violent as far as Smyrna in Asia Minor, -where the thermometer fell at once twenty-nine degrees, the night being -the coldest of the winter. Many similar cases are mentioned. But in view -of the fact that one hundred times as many sudden and marked changes of -temperature occur every year in various localities without the -intervention of an earthquake, it seems difficult to regard the above -instances as more than mere coincidences. The greatest fall in -temperature the writer ever experienced occurred within three hours of a -transit of Venus; but one swallow—nor a flock of them—cannot make a -summer.</p> - -<p>Barometric observations have been dragged into the combat. The great -Lisbon earthquake, and the convulsion in Calabria, were preceded by low -barometer. Similar observations have been made in this century. The -constantly recurring shocks of 1855-56 were in each case preceded by -fall of barometers. But Humboldt, in South America, and Ehrmann, in -Central America, were unable<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_493" id="page_493"></a>{493}</span> to find such order; though the shocks were -so invariably followed by such changes that unusual earthquakes were -believed by the natives (as is also believed in India) to advance the -rainy season. The resultant electric phenomena might produce this -expedition.</p> - -<p>But in this field all at present is mere guess work. The exceptions to -any association of earthquake and storm are so far the rule; except in -case of a volcanic eruption also occurring. In the latter case a storm -invariably follows, so far as present observations go; but then the -storm is not co-extensive with the earthquake, but is usually confined -to the neighborhood of the volcano.</p> - -<p>It should be noticed that certain scientists have endeavored to prove -these convulsions are due to planetary influence. It does not appear -that they have been able to find the least trace of any connection -between the earth’s convulsions and the planets; but some affirm the -existence of an earthquake cycle coincident with the Saros of the moon. -Effort is also made to connect earthquakes and volcanoes with the -gigantic convulsions of the sun, known as “sun spots.” It is argued by -certain advocates of the molten interior that the attraction of the sun -and moon produces an interior tidal wave, like that of the sea; and any -irregularities in this produce the phenomena of earthquakes and volcanic -eruptions. Objections to the molten interior have been already noted; -and in regard to the other suggestions, so long as the great convulsions -are peculiarly prevalent in certain regions, so long it will be -necessary to seek their chief cause or most powerful modifiers in -entirely local influences.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, it does not yet seem clear that we can rely absolutely -upon a single cause as productive of all the convulsions of the earth’s -crust. Internal local heat, pent up gases, suffice for volcanic -phenomena; but earthquakes<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_494" id="page_494"></a>{494}</span> present so many peculiar variations that it -seems almost imperative to many men to admit, at least, the modifying -influence of other agencies. But so long as these agencies appear to be -quite as frequently the modified as the modifier, no laws concerning -them can be announced. Hence, internal conditions are the only clearly -identified factors so far.</p> - -<p>There is quite as much difference of opinion as to how far beneath the -surface the shocks originate. Robert Mallet’s investigations have led -him to believe the depth cannot be over thirty miles, and that seven or -eight miles is the limit for most, and his views are those of most -scientists. But a few others conclude that we cannot find molten matter -and gases to produce the concussion at a less depth than seventy-eight -miles. But, as their conclusions are based largely upon the idea that -the melting point of minerals is raised uniformly with increasing -pressure, their conclusions must be rejected as unreliable.</p> - -<p>The character of the motion is well known. Each point of the surface -begins to move with the vibration first upwards, then away from the -center of shock, then downward and backwards. Thus, each point describes -a small ellipse, which is repeated with each wave of vibration. If the -longer axis of the ellipse be vertical, the main force of the concussion -is directed upwards; if the shorter one be upright, the shock is an -undulatory one. An alternation of the two forms the most destructive -combination. The difference is readily perceived in the effects -produced. A sudden upward shock may wreck the roofs or floors of -buildings, while an undulatory one brings down the walls.</p> - -<p>Houses erected on sand, immediately overlaying compact rock, usually -suffer most during earthquakes. The effect is that of the vibration of a -sheet of glass covered with sand. But, if a second sheet of glass be -placed on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_495" id="page_495"></a>{495}</span> that, the vibration is hardly communicated to it at all. So, -while sand is a bad foundation, a sand-bed beneath the surface seems to -deaden the shock.</p> - -<p>It is not difficult to understand that lofty buildings, and those of -stone or brick, must be vastly more dangerous than those of wood, and -low and broad. Throughout many portions of Central and South America, -the people endeavor to compromise, by building houses of stone, but low -and massive, with very light roofs. These are far less safe than light -structures of wood; also, it is clear that cupolas and towers must be -peculiarly liable to injury. For this reason, churches have often -suffered more from shocks than other buildings, and the throngs of -penitents who flock to them in the hope of propitiating an offended -providence are often the first victims of an earthquake.</p> - -<p>“It is to earthquakes, rather than to barbarians, from the fifth to the -ninth century, that Rome owed the loss of so many superb palaces and -temples. One might imagine that in these great disasters, the architect -is the ally of the subterranean scourge. The Indian’s hut and the Arab’s -tent, may be overturned without any great loss or injury to their -owners; but the marble of the patrician crushes him as it falls, and the -inhabitants of a great city meet their death under the ruins of their -sumptuous buildings. The Peruvians of old were not far wrong in making -merry at the folly of their Spanish conquerors, who, in erecting great -buildings upon a soil so constantly agitated, were preparing, at great -expense, their own tombs.”</p> - -<p>It will be shown, by and by, how the motions of earthquakes are becoming -so carefully noted that their path can be pointed out beforehand. Ere -many years are past, the prediction of earthquakes may become as -important a feature of the Signal Service Department, as the foretelling -of storms.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_496" id="page_496"></a>{496}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /><br /> -<small>EUROPEAN EARTHQUAKES.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The thunder roared his signal to the sea,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">While shook the frightened earth through all her coasts,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And mountains bowed their trembling heads in awe,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And yawning gulfs leaped up amid the plains.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The fountains of the mighty deep were rent,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The waves, long prisoned in their rocky bounds,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Roared, in a strange new freedom rushing forth,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And sprang on forest, plain, and mount, and hill, and vale,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Exulting in destruction; while the frightened hordes<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Of men, with birds and beasts of every sort,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Fought each with each for refuge from the flood,<br /></span> -<span class="i5">Yet none escaped.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_r.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="37" -height="60" -alt="R" /></span>ECORDS and myths of great earthquakes go back almost to prehistoric -times. The Greeks tell of an immense flood—perhaps a sea wave—which -overwhelmed Attica immediately after an earthquake in the nineteenth -century before Christ. It is known as the deluge of Ogyges, from the -name of the reigning king. Some three centuries later is the story of a -great earthquake and flood in Thessaly, from which Deucalion and Pyrrha -escaped. There is a still vaguer legend of an immense earthquake about -2400 B. C., that shook all Southern Europe, and Asia Minor, opening an -outlet for the Black Sea, which had before been entirely inland. In the -convulsion of the seas, we are told almost all the people of Greece and -Asia Minor perished. Chinese traditions and monuments tell of an immense -earthquake at the same period, which suddenly raised the bottom of the -great Northern Sea, pouring its waters out upon all North China and -drowning the people. Where the great sea once was is now the great -Mongolian Desert.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_497" id="page_497"></a>{497}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;"> -<a href="images/i_497_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_497_sml.jpg" width="299" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DELUGE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_498" id="page_498"></a>{498}</span></p> - -<p>Likewise the Egyptian priests told Plato of a great island, Atlantis, -lying off the coast of North Africa, stretching an unknown distance to -the west; the home of a mighty nation that ruled all the western world, -to the shores of the Mediterranean, and threatened the liberty of the -European world. It is said that they made war on the combined forces of -Greece and Egypt; and in the crisis of the struggle a fearful earthquake -swallowed up the Grecian soldiery in a single night, and sunk Atlantis -in the ocean since called from its name, Atlantic.</p> - -<p>Doubtless all these traditions relate to the same terrible catastrophe -described in Genesis. The Chinese even tell us in what way the -“fountains of the great deep were broken up.” It would seem that a great -sea once extended northeastward from the present basin of the Caspian -over the deserts of Central Asia; and that an awful upheaval of this -basin was the chief factor in the flood. Isthmuses were torn asunder: -vast oceans hurled their gigantic waves over the continents, and over -islands engulfed forever. The extraordinary evaporation from the unusual -expanse of water, the sudden chilling of the atmosphere, produced -torrents of rain. “The same day were all the fountains of the great deep -broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” Whatever be the truth -of the traditions, it is certain they preserve the memory of a -catastrophe unparalleled in recent days.</p> - -<p>Of a later date, there is the story that the Ciminian and Alban lakes -near Rome were created by a terrible earthquake; but the date of this -event is not very definite. The Japanese tell us that the great volcano, -Fujiyama, was thrown up in a single night, and at the same time the lake -in Oomi was created, near by, on the site of a number of flourishing -villages.</p> - -<p>Occasionally an earthquake has brought about a historic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_499" id="page_499"></a>{499}</span> crisis. In the -year 464 B. C., “in the fourth year of the reign of Archidamus, there -happened the most dreadful earthquake in Sparta that had ever been -known. In several places the country was entirely swallowed up: Täygetus -and other mountains were shaken to their foundations; many of their -summits, being torn away, came tumbling down; and the whole city was -laid in ruins, five houses only excepted. To heighten the calamity, the -Helots, who were slaves to the Lacedemonians, looking upon this as a -favorable opportunity to recover their liberty, pervaded every part of -the city, to murder such as had escaped the earthquake; but finding them -under arms, and drawn up in order of battle, by the prudent foresight of -Archidamus, who had assembled them around him, they retired into the -neighboring cities, and commenced that day open war, having entered into -an alliance with several of the neighboring nations, and being -strengthened by the Messenians, who at that time were engaged in war -with the Spartans.” But for the timely aid of others, Sparta might have -been overthrown. The most striking feature is the astonishing coolness -and presence of mind of the Spartans in the face of such a dire -calamity.</p> - -<p>This is, perhaps, the earliest earthquake of which careful historic -mention is made. But from that time, the record thickens rapidly. In the -year 373 B. C., a great shock did fearful damage throughout all Greece, -destroying thousands of lives and damaging millions of dollars worth of -property in a single night. The inhabitants of the Peloponnesus, roused -by the convulsion, waited in fear for the morning. Dawn showed that the -two beautiful cities of Bura and Helice were no more. The sea rolled -above. Long after, on calm, clear days, Helice, once an inland town, -could be seen at the bottom of the Corinthian Gulf; silent and beautiful -in its ruin, marble<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_500" id="page_500"></a>{500}</span> temples and shattered homes presenting a literal -“city of the dead.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_500_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_500_sml.jpg" width="450" height="307" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUINED ROMAN COLONNADE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The year B. C. 217 found Rome and Carthage locked in deadly combat. -While Hannibal and Flaminius fought by Thrasymene, earth felt the throes -of war, and shook Italian cities down, while lakes and streams were -tumbled from their beds. North Africa suffered, perhaps, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_501" id="page_501"></a>{501}</span> greatest -shaking recorded in her history; one hundred towns were lost, and tens -of thousands of people perished.</p> - -<p>In A. D. 17 thirteen cities of Asia Minor were thrown to the ground. The -Emperor Tiberius rebuilt them at his own expense. The grateful people -presented him with a magnificent pedestal, which he had placed in the -forum at Pozzuoli.</p> - -<p>A. D. 27 Egypt was shaken, and the great statue of Memnon overthrown. In -A. D. 63 came a great earthquake in Central Italy.</p> - -<p>The earthquake in A. D. 33, at the time of the crucifixion, was felt -throughout Asia Minor, Greece, Sicily and Southern Italy. In the Syria -corpses were tumbled from their rock-hewn tombs. The town of Nicaea, in -Bithynia, was totally destroyed. How many perished in this widespread -shock is not known. Tradition has it that a fissure in a great rock, -which overhangs the shore at Gaeta, was made by this earthquake. Till -quite recently passing vessels were wont to salute the rock in -commemoration of the great event.</p> - -<p>No city has suffered from these terrible throes of Mother Earth as much -as Antioch. In the year 115, the Emperor Trajan, extending his -territories to the wilder regions of the Caucasus, was in the city with -his army. There came heavy thunders, great winds, fearful subterranean -rumblings; the earth shook; down tottered temples, towns, palaces, -colonnades, statues, homes and huts, in irretrievable ruin. The Emperor -sprang from a window and ran for his life, like a peasant, through the -streets resounding with the groans and cries of the unfortunates buried -in the ruins. Mountains were rent asunder, rivers turned from their -courses, new streams were created, old valleys disappeared. Eighty -thousand people are believed to have perished at Antioch alone.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_502" id="page_502"></a>{502}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_502_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_502_sml.jpg" width="450" height="339" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>ANTIOCH.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>In A. D. 365 a fearful earthquake was felt throughout the entire -Mediterranean region. The sea rolled back, leaving fishes and vessels -high and dry; then, suddenly returning, it carried large boats two miles -inland. Fifty thousand people were lost at Alexandria. Shortly before, a -number of towns in Palestine had been destroyed. This second great -disaster shook all Asia Minor. In every<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_503" id="page_503"></a>{503}</span> town men began to talk, with -bated breath, of the fearful wrath the Lord manifested because of those -who had lent a willing ear to heretical doctrines. “This was why only -the priests and holy men of the church could appease the Divine wrath; -and if the town of Epidaurus had escaped the ruin which befell all the -other towns along the coast, it was because the inhabitants had taken -the statue of St. Hilary to the sea-shore. The Saint made the sign of -the cross, and the mountain of water, bending low before him, forthwith -receded.” Whence, it seems the Lord was supposed to have greater regard -for crooked saintly fingers than for heretical doctrines. Numerous were -the direful prodigies said to have accompanied this fearful shock.</p> - -<p>The next century brought calamities once more upon Asia Minor. A series -of tremendous shocks were felt in 458, wrecking many of the finest -cities. The renowned Antioch, rebuilt in its pristine splendor, was once -more humbled in the dust. Eighty thousand people perished within its -walls; many thousands more in the adjacent regions. Probably one hundred -and twenty-five thousand in all were slain in this earthquake.</p> - -<p>Years passed by, bringing, from time to time, minor shocks which -destroyed hundreds in different locations, but which passed with but -little notice amid so many greater disasters, and wars and rumors of -wars. Antioch had been gradually rebuilt, and was more splendid than -ever before. The first quarter of the sixth century was past. The time -of the great festival of the Ascension was at hand, A. D. 526. From all -the country round came people flocking to the celebration, to witness -the pageantry and procession. Without a moment’s warning, a great -earthquake came, as fearful as the shock four hundred and eleven years -before. The destruction was vastly greater. The tottering walls crushed -thousands in the crowded<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_504" id="page_504"></a>{504}</span> streets. Every avenue and alley became a -death-trap. There is not, in all the pages of history, record of an -earthquake of greater destructiveness. Gibbon estimates the number of -victims at two hundred and fifty thousand.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_504_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_504_sml.jpg" width="450" height="308" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MASSIVE ARCHITECTURE WRECKED, ASIA MINOR.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_505" id="page_505"></a>{505}</span></p> - -<p>Nor was Antioch the only sufferer. The number of victims at other points -in Asia Minor might be fifty thousand more. The whole sixth century is -noted for the unusual number of appalling disasters of this sort which -occurred at different places in the then known world. Probably a million -people perished during this period in earthquakes alone. Such unwonted -havoc may well cause us to wonder what manner of convulsions were -occurring in the great volcanic regions of the Pacific and the then -unknown western world. If the same general rule prevailed then that has -been noticeable in more recent periods; if great convulsions were then, -as now, comparatively synchronous, it would be difficult to form any -adequate idea of the magnitude of the disturbances.</p> - -<p>In 742 there was a tremendous earthquake in Egypt and Arabia, which -overturned scores of cities and villages, rent mountains asunder, buried -people in the wrecks of their dwellings, tossed the sea to and fro, -swallowed up towns, wiped out thriving seaports, and numbered its dead -by many tens of thousands. Four years later Jerusalem and all Syria -experienced a dreadful shock, which made terrible havoc. In 823, Central -Europe was shaken and Aix-la-chapelle nearly destroyed. In 860 Persia -and Syria were again shaken; and in 867, Antioch, after its three -centuries of comparative rest, was again ravaged by the destroyer. This -shock extended to Mecca, which was fearfully rent. Part of a mountain in -Syria was hurled into the sea. The century closed with a fearful -convulsion in far distant India, wherein no less than one hundred and -eighty thousand people were killed. Western Syria suffered again in 1169 -and 1202. All the cities of the Mediterranean coast were shaken to -pieces, with the usual terrible loss of life. The valleys of the Lebanon -district were upheaved and altered throughout their whole extent.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_506" id="page_506"></a>{506}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_506_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_506_sml.jpg" width="450" height="346" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUINS NEAR CAIRO.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Shock after shock came in the succeeding decades. One of these destroyed -forty thousand persons at Bagdad alone. In 1759, the long list of -catastrophes in Asia Minor was increased by one of the most terrible on -record. At the first shock the proud Antioch was once more totally -destroyed. Within the next forty-five days Baalbec, Sidon, Acre, Foussa, -Nazareth, Safit, Tripoli, and scores<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_507" id="page_507"></a>{507}</span> of lesser towns and villages were -almost blotted out. The horrors of that period are too awful for -description. Even more fearful, if possible, was the earthquake of 1822, -which once more made Antioch a shapeless mass of ruins. Aleppo, Djollib, -Riha, Gisser, Chugra, Dieskrich, and Armenas shared a like fate. In the -whole pashalic of Aleppo not a house or hut was left standing. Several -severe earthquakes have followed during the century. In one, we are told -the force of the shocks was so peculiar and powerful that in some places -stone walls were converted to heaps of dust or lime.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_507_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_507_sml.jpg" width="450" height="300" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUINS NEAR NINEVEH.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>This record, which is but a partial one, is enough to explain the -utterly ruined condition of Baalbec, Palmyra, and many other relics of -ancient grandeur. They have contended with a force more terrible than -ever was shot or shell of the cannonier. Thousands are familiar with the -views of such massive columns and walls of the Temple of Jupiter as are -still standing, eighty-four feet high from base to capital. The marvel -is, that after such a succession<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_508" id="page_508"></a>{508}</span> of fearful quakings there is the -slightest semblance of their former condition remaining.</p> - -<p>Terrible as these calamities are, not a great deal beyond the bare fact -is known of many of them. To learn more exactly the dreadful -capabilities of this stupendous agent, it is necessary to examine -European and South American earthquakes that have come directly under -the observation of scientific men. From these we may learn more -particularly of the details of various fearful shocks.</p> - -<p>In all Italy, so famed for its warmth and beauty, there is not a more -lovely district than Calabria, which lies in the Southern portion of the -peninsula. Yet no part of Italy has suffered such great calamities. An -earthquake in 1693 shook the whole of Calabria and Sicily, totally -destroying sixty towns and villages, and not fewer than one hundred -thousand people. Eighteen thousand perished at Catania alone. -Forty-eight years later a violent earthquake shattered one hundred and -ninety towns in Calabria and completely swallowed up Eufemia, leaving -only a stinking lake. But these were before the day of minute scientific -observation.</p> - -<p>In 1783, a series of shocks, unequalled in recent years in violence, -began in Calabria and continued through four years. The scene was -visited and carefully examined by several able men, and from their -accounts a fine conception of the whole may be obtained.</p> - -<p>The subterranean concussions were felt beyond the confines of Sicily; -but if the city of Oppido, in Calabria, be taken as the center, a circle -around it, whose radius is twenty-two miles, would include the space -which suffered the greatest calamities. Within this circle all the towns -and villages were almost entirely destroyed. A radius of seventy-two -miles would include the whole region affected.</p> - -<p>It was a calm, hazy day in February, 1783. At a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_509" id="page_509"></a>{509}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_509_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_509_sml.jpg" width="450" height="322" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>REMAINS OF ANCIENT HEBREW MASONRY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">quarter to one o’clock was felt the first shock, which “threw down, in -the space of two minutes, a greater part of the houses within the whole -space above described. The convulsive motion of the earth is said to -have resembled the rolling of the sea, and that in many instances it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_510" id="page_510"></a>{510}</span> -produced swimming of the head, like sea-sickness. This rolling of the -surface, like the billows of the sea, was like that which would have -been produced by the agitation of a vast mass of liquid matter under the -ground.</p> - -<p>In some walls which were shattered, the separate stones were parted from -the mortar, so as to leave an exact mold where they had rested, as -though the stone had been carefully raised from its bed in a -perpendicular direction; but in other instances the mortar was ground to -powder between the stones, as though they had been made to revolve on -each other.</p> - -<p>It was found that the swelling, or wave-like motions, and those which -were called <i>vorticose</i>, or whirling, often produced the most singular -and unaccountable effects. Thus, in some streets in the town of -Monteleone, every house was thrown down, except one, and in some other -streets all but two or three;” and these were left uninjured, though -differing in no respect from others. In some houses which were wrecked, -deep foundations were thrown clear out of the ground, as though upheaved -by a direct lifting. Sometimes very massive buildings escaped; sometimes -they suffered most. Obelisks and pillars made in sections showed the -effects of the vorticose motion. The separate portions were partly -turned upon each other, without being thrown down.</p> - -<p>The number and size of the fissures in the soil is astonishing. “In many -instances, these fissures were so wide, as in an instant to swallow up -men, trees, and even houses; and when the earth sunk down again, it -closed upon them so entirely, as not to leave the least vestige of what -had happened, nor were any signs of them ever discovered afterwards. In -the vicinity of Oppido, the center of these convulsions, many houses -were precipitated into the same great fissure, which immediately closed -over them; and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_511" id="page_511"></a>{511}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_511_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_511_sml.jpg" width="450" height="276" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN CALABRIA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_512" id="page_512"></a>{512}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">in the same neighborhood, four farm-houses, several oilstores and -dwelling-houses were so entirely ingulfed that not a vestige of them was -seen afterwards.</p> - -<p>In some instances these chasms did not close. In one district a ravine, -formed in this manner, a mile long, one hundred feet broad and thirty -feet deep, remained open; and in another a similar one remained, -three-quarters of a mile long, one hundred and fifty feet wide, and one -hundred feet deep; in another instance there remained such a chasm, -thirty feet wide and two hundred and twenty-five feet deep.” In another -place a gulf three hundred feet square was left open; again, we are told -of one seven hundred and fifty feet square. A calcareous mountain, -Zefirio, was rent in twain for half a mile. Similar effects were -observed in Sicily, where Messina was almost totally destroyed, and the -ruins devoured by the flames. “In various places the ground sunk down, -and lakes were formed, which, being fed by springs, have remained ever -since. The convulsions also removed immense masses of earth from the -sides of steep hills into the valleys below; so that, in many instances, -oaks, olive-orchards, vineyards and cultivated fields, were seen growing -at the bottoms of deep hollows, having been removed from the side hills -of the vicinity. In one instance, a mass of earth two hundred feet thick -and four hundred feet in diameter, being set in motion by one of the -first shocks, traveled four miles into the valley below.</p> - -<p>The violence of the upward motion of the ground was singularly -illustrated by the inversion of heavy bodies lying on the surface, and -which can hardly be accounted for, except on the supposition that they -were actually thrown to a considerable distance into the air. Thus, in -some towns, a considerable portion of the flat pavingstones were found -with their lower sides uppermost. Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_513" id="page_513"></a>{513}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_513_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_513_sml.jpg" width="450" height="279" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DESTRUCTION OF MESSINA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_514" id="page_514"></a>{514}</span></p> - -<p>Lyell accounts for this effect by supposing that the stones were -propelled upwards by the momentum which they had acquired, and the -adhesion of one end of the mass being greater than the other, a rotary -motion had been communicated to them. It is difficult to conceive how a -whirling motion, so rapid as to produce such an effect, could have been -communicated to a whole town without producing some consequences still -more extraordinary.”</p> - -<p>In many places in the plain of Rosarno, funnel-shaped pits were formed, -with crevices radiating in every direction like fractures in a pane of -glass. These were partially filled with sand and water.</p> - -<p>Polistena was so absolutely wrecked that not the least semblance of the -plan of the town could be detected. Terranova was precipitated, with its -fourteen hundred inhabitants, three hundred and twenty-five feet into a -deep gorge, and turned upside down. Moluquello, on an opposite hill -between two streams, was rent in twain—one-half fell into the stream on -the right, the other on the left. There was left a ridge so narrow at -the top one could not keep his balance on it. Santa Cristena was hurled -from the top of a sandy hill into the valley beneath. Out of three -hundred and seventy-five towns and villages, three hundred and twenty -were destroyed. Two hundred and fifteen lakes and morasses were created -by displacements of the ground and blocking of water-courses. The -pestilence bred by these vied with the direct power of the earthquake.</p> - -<p>Some slight disturbance was manifested on the day before the great -shock. Prince Scylla, an old man, warned his people to take to their -boats, and himself set the example. When the first shock came, many of -these people were sleeping in their boats near the shore, while the -others were on the shore at a little place elevated above<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_515" id="page_515"></a>{515}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_515_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_515_sml.jpg" width="450" height="275" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DISASTER OF SCYLLA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_516" id="page_516"></a>{516}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">the sea. With this convulsion the earth rocked, and suddenly there was -precipitated a great mass of rock from Mount Jaci on the plain where the -people had taken refuge; and immediately after the water arose to a -great height above its ordinary level and swept away the sleeping -multitude. The wave then instantly retreated, but soon after returned -again with increased violence, bringing back many of the people and -animals which it had carried away. At the same time every boat in the -vicinity was overwhelmed, or dashed against the beach, and thus -destroyed. The Prince, who was an aged man, with thirteen hundred of his -people was swept away and perished in the sea. The total loss of life -resulting from this earthquake is estimated at eighty thousand. A shock -which came on the 4th of March was as violent as the first one. Eleven -hundred shocks were felt in two years.</p> - -<p>Doubtless not a few of those who perished died merely from hunger or -confinement. Quite a number of those rescued after several days were -uninjured.</p> - -<p>If it be true that prosperity shows men in their true colors, the -reverse is equally marked. It is hard to believe the tales of barbarous -inhumanity of the occasion. Says Dolomieu: “As egotism and the instinct -of self-preservation crushed all other feeling, no help was brought to -the unhappy victims buried beneath the ruins; yet many of them might -have been rescued. When calm was restored, the lower orders, succumbing -to the vilest passions of nature, thought of nothing but pillage.”</p> - -<p>Like a certain class of ghouls who follow in the wake of armies to -enrich themselves by plundering the slain, “men might have been seen -scouring the fallen ruins, braving imminent danger, and treading under -foot dying persons who appealed piteously for help, in order to go and -plunder the houses of the wealthy. They robbed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_517" id="page_517"></a>{517}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_517_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_517_sml.jpg" width="450" height="279" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LISBON BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">the very injured, who would have paid them handsomely for rescuing them. -At Polistena a person of quality had been buried head downwards beneath -the ruins of his house, and when his servant saw what had happened he -actually stole the silver buckles off his shoes, while his legs were in -the air, and made off with them. The unfortunate gentleman managed, -however, to rescue himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_518" id="page_518"></a>{518}</span> from his perilous position. For several days -cries of anguish were heard coming from underground.” For days afterward -the fearful stench of putrefying corpses filled the atmosphere. Such -were the horrors of this memorable occasion. So sudden was the calamity -that many of those buried supposed only their own houses were overthrown -and wondered why their neighbors were so slow to aid them. Many suffered -greatly from thirst, and in consequence hardly felt the pinch of hunger, -though entombed several days.</p> - -<p>One of the most notable of the earthquakes of the last century is the -one which overturned Lisbon, November 1, 1755. In extent of territory -affected, it is the greatest of any known; but because it bears the name -of the place where it was most violent, it is supposed by many to have -been confined to a single district.</p> - -<p>The morning was magnificent. At 9:35 <small>A.M.</small> there was a loud underground -roar, like distant thunder, followed at once by a tremendous shock, -which overthrew churches, convents, and many others of the finest -buildings of the city. This shock lasted five seconds. There was two -minutes pause, during which thousands of shrieking people rushed about -the streets to escape the falling ruins. Then came a second shock, and -two minutes later a third. In five minutes the Portuguese capital had -become a ruin, filled with fifty thousand corpses.</p> - -<p>The churches were filled with people, it being All Saints’ Day, and the -hour of high mass. The great cathedrals were but death-traps. All -apparatus that could be of use in the work of rescue was buried in the -wreck. The streets were crowded with sobbing multitudes, calling in vain -for friends and kin.</p> - -<p>At the sea-shore was the magnificent quay, Cays de<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_519" id="page_519"></a>{519}</span> Prada. It was built -entirely of marble, and just finished at an immense expense; and on it, -after the first shock, a vast concourse of people had collected as a -place of safety, having left the city to escape the fall of the houses. -But it proved the most fatal spot in the vicinity; for at the next shock -the earth opened and instantly swallowed up the whole quay, with the -multitude which had there assembled; and so completely were the whole -retained by the closing of the earth, that not a single dead body ever -rose again to the surface. A great number of small boats and other -vessels near the quay, and filled with people as a place of safety, were -also precipitated into the yawning vortex; and it is stated that not a -single fragment of any of these boats was ever seen afterwards. When the -disaster was over, soundings were taken. Six hundred feet of water -rolled above the marble quay and its countless victims. St. Ubes was -swallowed up by sea-waves, while rocks fell from its promontory into the -sea.</p> - -<p>Then the sea suddenly retired, leaving the bed of the harbor exposed. A -moment later a gigantic wave, fifty feet in height, rolled in upon the -doomed city.</p> - -<p>Two hours later fire broke out in the wreck, and driven by a high wind, -swept the ruins, and also the houses left standing. The furious flames -raged three days, burning hundreds imprisoned in the wreck. Every -element seemed in conspiracy against the city.</p> - -<p>In addition to threatened famine and pestilence among the survivors, the -rabble, as in Calabria, showed a disposition to indiscriminate plunder. -Upon this “the King gave orders immediately for gallows to be placed all -round the city, and after about one hundred executions, amongst which -were some English sailors, the evils stopped.” The King was very prompt -and energetic, initiating every practicable system of relief, and having -the really needy cared<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_520" id="page_520"></a>{520}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_520_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_520_sml.jpg" width="450" height="274" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_521" id="page_521"></a>{521}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">for at the expense of the State. Several lighter shocks were felt in the -succeeding two months. At the end of three months the Government began -to rebuild the town. In fifteen years it was well restored, and to-day -is one of the handsomest in Europe.</p> - -<p>The immense area over which this earthquake was felt is very remarkable; -for not only was every part of Spain and Portugal convulsed, but the -shocks were perceived, with greater or less intensity, in England, -Holland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Corsica, the West -Indies, at Morocco and Algiers in Africa, and in a part of South -America. At Algiers the shock was so violent as to throw down many -buildings; and an oasis, with all its population, not far from Morocco, -was swallowed up. Fez and Mesquinez were destroyed, with fifteen -thousand people. The town of Setubal, seventeen miles from the Tagus and -twenty-two miles southeast of Lisbon, was almost entirely swallowed up. -The shock was almost as severe at Oporto as at Lisbon. The premonitory -roar was compared to the rattling of many carriages over a rough road. -The loftiest mountains were shaken, and many cleft or shattered. Masses -of rock tumbled from the crags into the valleys. At Colares, seventeen -miles from Lisbon, flames and smoke were seen to burst from the Alviras, -and also out of the sea. These phenomena continued for some days. A -chasm fifteen miles long opened in the Pyrenees. Towns were seriously -damaged in Switzerland, France and Italy. Vesuvius, in a state of -eruption for a period, suddenly ceased. The shock was also felt by ships -far at sea, and, in several instances, the concussion was such as to -make the people suppose their vessels had struck on a rock. In one -instance, it is said that the people on board a vessel off the West -Indies were thrown up a foot and a half from the deck. This circumstance -may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_522" id="page_522"></a>{522}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_522_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_522_sml.jpg" width="450" height="297" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUINED CATHEDRAL, LISBON.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_523" id="page_523"></a>{523}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">accounted for by the inelasticity of water; so that a violent and sudden -movement of the bottom of the ocean would be communicated to the surface -and to the ship, through the medium of the fluid, with nearly the same -force as though the vessel had been on the ground itself.</p> - -<p>Quite as remarkable was the immense wave produced. At Cadiz its height -was sixty feet, and the damage in proportion. Rolling to the northward -it inflicted vast injury upon Cornwall, England. At the Canaries and -Azores the waves rose repeatedly to an immense height; and at Madeira -the injury was still greater. In less than an hour the wave had traveled -to Leyden. Norway and Sweden felt its presence, even to the recesses of -the Gulf of Finland. On the western border of the Atlantic, among the -lesser Antilles, where the tide scarcely exceeds twenty-nine inches, a -black wall of water twenty-two feet high rushed upon the coasts. The -steep and rocky islet of Stabia was dashed over by the waves. In -Martinique the water rose to the roofs of the houses, and then receded -from the shore for more than a mile. The unusual commotion stirred up -the bituminous sediment of the sea bottom, and at Barbadoes the waves -were in consequence black as ink.</p> - -<p>There have been numerous earthquakes since in Europe which must pass -without mention. One in 1817 completely destroyed Vostitza, a town in -Greece not far from the site of ancient Helice. Another well-remembered -one in 1855 desolated the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. This country -has had numerous shocks—sixteen hundred or more, in the past few -centuries, and once or twice Basle has been almost totally destroyed. -Valais itself is a beautiful vale accessible only by a cleft in a -mountain range eighty-five hundred feet deep. Numerous small towns and -hamlets are scattered about the vale,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_524" id="page_524"></a>{524}</span> and the precipitous slopes around -are dotted with shepherds’ and hunters’ huts.</p> - -<p>On July 25, 1855, after an extremely hot morning, the people were -astounded by a great earthquake—an abrupt and vertical shock. Then came -wave-like motions throwing every one prostrate. Houses tumbled in all -directions. People were rolled about like logs of wood. Nearly every -village in the canton was destroyed. Great landslips and avalanches -rushed down from the hills. So tremendous was the shock that the -mountain tops could be seen to sway to and fro. Crags and blocks of ice -fell into the vales, crushing and grinding. The terrible uproar sounded -as though the whole range of the Alps was about to collapse. The -terrible shocks were felt at Lyons, at Paris, at Heidelberg, at Milan, -at Genoa. Lisbon had no severer shock. And this great convulsion, that -dandled mountains as though mere puppets, and destroyed towns and -villages by the score—killed one person. It is one of the most -remarkable occurrences in European history.</p> - -<p>Among the more destructive recent shocks in Europe are those of 1881-84. -Chio, one of the most beautiful islands of the Grecian archipelago, and -the home of a thrifty and enterprising people, was visited by an -earthquake on April 3, 1881. The whole city, with its hospitals, -schools, libraries and works of art, was laid in ruins in a few seconds. -This convulsion forms a strange contrast to the more violent one just -described. Numerous adjacent villages were overthrown; and after the -shock was past it was found that more than five thousand persons were -killed and ten thousand others more or less injured. After making all -possible efforts at restoration, the authorities were compelled to pull -down many still tottering walls and scatter disinfectants over the wreck -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_525" id="page_525"></a>{525}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 298px;"> -<a href="images/i_525_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_525_sml.jpg" width="298" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SCENE AT CHIO.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_526" id="page_526"></a>{526}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">avoid an epidemic from the thousand corpses left beneath the ruin.</p> - -<p>The entire adjacent coast of Asia Minor was more or less shaken, and -several scores of people were killed in some seaport towns. The shocks -continued several days, each being accompanied by a peculiar -subterranean roaring. Two years later, ere the town was fairly rebuilt, -there was another earthquake, which, however, did more damage in Asia -Minor than in Chio.</p> - -<p>But the most striking example of great damage done by an earthquake in a -very small tract is the case of the island of Ischia. This tiny islet, -the Imarina of Horace and Virgil, was well known to the Greeks, who at -one time endeavored to establish themselves upon it, but were finally -driven away by repeated volcanic outbursts. Since the activity of -Vesuvius, Ischia has remained quiet, though a dozen extinct craters bear -witness to its former fury. Its highest point is two thousand, seven -hundred and seventy-two feet above the sea, while the entire island is -but six miles in diameter. It is evidently cast up by an ancient, -submarine volcano.</p> - -<p>Situated a few miles from Naples, Ischia has for years been a favorite -summer resort for the Italians of the neighboring coast. A score of -little towns and villages dot its shores and hills, and the view of the -Gulf of Naples, Baiae, and adjacent islands and coasts forms one of the -most beautiful landscapes in the world.</p> - -<p>After its abandonment by the Greek colonists the islet was quiet for -sixteen centuries. In 1302 an eruption and earthquake occasioned -considerable loss of life and property. After that, though the main -peak, Epomeo, has been occasionally muttering and fuming, no serious -disturbance occurred for nearly six centuries. The subterranean heat -occasions numerous hot springs, the water reaching<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_527" id="page_527"></a>{527}</span> a temperature of 178 -degrees. These baths, and the abundance of choice fruits afforded by the -island, afford additional attractions to visitors, and the twenty-five -thousand inhabitants would seem to have an earthly paradise.</p> - -<p>March 4, 1881, the people were suddenly roused from their slumbering -security by two sharp shocks half an hour apart, which overthrew seven -hundred houses in the little town of Casamicciola, killing one hundred -and twenty-six people and wounding one hundred and seventy-seven more. -The only premonition was that a few minutes before the hot springs -suddenly reached the boiling point.</p> - -<p>Yet this disaster was comparatively insignificant when we consider the -one of July 28, 1883.</p> - -<p>It was the height of the summer season. The little island was thronged -with pleasure-seeking visitors. The night was dark and cloudy; the sea -was unusually agitated. The small theatre at Casamicciola was filled -with an animated throng, who cared not for the boding storm. The play -opened with an earthquake scene. As the clock pointed to 9:32, the -<i>Punchinello</i> rushed on the stage, shouting, “Un terremoto! un -terremoto! alla mare! alla mare!” (An earthquake! an earthquake! to the -sea! to the sea!) The audience thought it was part of the play; but ere -they could applaud the vigorous acting, the lights were out, a -thundering sound was heard, and the crashing roof was upon them. The -appalling roar was followed by profound silence, as clouds of stifling -dust were whirled up by the wind. Then in the darkness were heard the -cries of terrified people, seeking one another in the gloom, and groping -for the shore as in the days of Pompeii.</p> - -<p>A visitor who was in the theater said, that at the first noise, which -resembled the discharge of a heavy battery of artillery, “not a cry was -uttered, though terror was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_528" id="page_528"></a>{528}</span> depicted in every countenance; but when the -first shock was followed by several others, a shriek of despair went up -from every lip. The lights went out, pieces of timber were falling all -about us, and cries of terror were succeeded by shrieks of pain from -those who had been injured. It was a trying moment. When the shocks -ceased, I crawled, like many others, out of the ruined building in order -to reach the shore. The dust was literally blinding. Several times I -stumbled over heaps of masonry and rubbish from which heart-rendering -groans and shrieks were proceeding. Upon the shore I encountered many -others as frightened as I was, and endeavoring to escape in fear of -there being more shocks. Seeing that all remained quiet, we retraced our -steps in order to relieve the injured. But it was not until the morning, -upon the arrival of the authorities and the troops sent from Naples, -that it was possible to take any effective steps for surmounting the -difficulties by which we were surrounded. The firemen, assisted by -volunteers, then set to work energetically to clear away the rubbish, -laying the dead bodies in a row, and handing the injured over to the -doctors. It was necessary to go to work very carefully, so as not to -injure those still unhurt; and so the work continued very slowly, during -which time we felt our heart-strings torn by the piteous appeals for -relief. Some people were covered by so much debris that it took hours to -reach them, and when we did so, some of them had succumbed to their -injuries, while others had gone out of their minds. The dense clouds of -dust had choked many of those who were not killed on the spot.”</p> - -<p>Some strange scenes occurred; and there were instances of remarkable -coolness. An Italian professor of surgery who had taken his child to the -theatre, coolly took out his watch at the first crash, and noting the -exact time, sat<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_529" id="page_529"></a>{529}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;"> -<a href="images/i_529_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_529_sml.jpg" width="297" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE PANIC AT CASAMICCIOLA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_530" id="page_530"></a>{530}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">perfectly still while the surging crowd endeavored to escape. There he -sat with his child till morning, when the light enabled him to find his -way out of the wreck.</p> - -<p>The sea shore was a weird spectacle. Lighted up by a pile of blazing -drift might be seen scores of naked children, and grown persons in their -night clothes, scurrying wildly about. An eye-witness tells of many -crazy with fear and grief. All night long the wreck resounded with -groans and cries. One woman, whom he heard continually moaning, and -crying “My children! my children!” was found at daybreak on the edge of -a shattered terrace, and clad only in a chemise. Wondering what he could -say by way of consolation, he chanced to observe two little ones playing -not far away amid a tottering wreck that threatened at every moment to -crush them. They were hers.</p> - -<p>Further down a woman’s jewelled arm and shoulder protruded from the -wreck, while her husband, buried nearly, kept crying “save her, never -mind about me.” As a helping hand was reached to her a sudden landslip -crushed out the remaining life.</p> - -<p>A young English lady sat playing a funeral march. An Italian count -sprang up, saying, “I cannot stand such music!” Just as he cleared the -door the hotel fell in ruins behind him. The young lady was found dead -at the piano.</p> - -<p>For days the work went on, pressed by the energy of the Italian -government. All the native police had been killed in the wreck. King -Humbert in person visited the scene and had the work pressed as rapidly -as possible.</p> - -<p>There was no more complete wreck of any town than of Lacco Ameno. Of -fifteen hundred and ninety-three people but five escaped. At -Casamicciola but one house was left intact. Not a few houses in the -former place were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_531" id="page_531"></a>{531}</span> swallowed up in fissures. Floria was totally -destroyed. Yet the largest town on the island, Ischia, with the adjacent -villages, was scarcely hurt; and at Naples, on the mainland, the news of -the catastrophe was a complete surprise. Yet on the half of the islet -that was most severely shaken the earthquake numbered four thousand -victims. A greater contrast to the great Valais earthquake could hardly -be imagined.</p> - -<p>Still more recent is the catastrophe of Southern Spain, one of the -loveliest regions in the world. This district has several times been -shaken; but notably at the time of the Lisbon earthquake, when so much -damage was done by shocks and sea-waves at Cadiz; again in 1833, when in -the single province of Murcia more than four thousand houses were -destroyed, with hundreds of the inhabitants. Again the ground was in a -state of constant tremor from November, 1855, to March, 1856.</p> - -<p>But more severe than these was the shock of 1884. About the end of -November slight vibrations were perceptible in Spain, Portugal, Italy, -and Southern France. The shocks did not manifest especial intensity at -any especial locality, and no attention was paid to them, as such -occurrences are so frequent that they cannot be regarded as indicative -of greater shocks to come. For example, there were forty-six hundred and -twenty shocks recorded in different portions of the earth during the -years 1850-57; yet none of these were followed by earthquakes of great -severity. So in the case of the November shocks of 1884, no one seemed -concerned to know where they originated, or if they boded evil.</p> - -<p>But on Christmas day, 1884, there came, a little past nine at night, an -intense subdued roar like that of a hurricane; and at once the plateaux -of Andalusia, the mountains of Murcia, and the sunny plains of Granada, -Jaen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_532" id="page_532"></a>{532}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 293px;"> -<a href="images/i_532_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_532_sml.jpg" width="293" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN ANDALUSIA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_533" id="page_533"></a>{533}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">and Cordova shook from one end to the other. At Seville the terrified -people rushed into the streets and camped there all night; but this city -did not suffer so much as in the shock of 1755. In Granada the motions -followed in rapid succession for several weeks; but though many other -buildings were overthrown, the far-famed Alhambra was not injured. -Twenty thousand people camped without the city gates.</p> - -<p>The shocks were much severest in the mountainous districts. Villages and -hamlets in ravines and along mountain slopes were speedily destroyed. -The town of Alhama lost thirteen hundred and twenty houses at the first -shock. Five hundred and seventy-six bodies were taken out of the ruins. -Two hundred and eighty houses were overthrown by subsequent shocks. -Abumelas lost five hundred and seventeen people, and four hundred and -sixty-three houses out of four hundred and seventy-seven. More than -three thousand houses were wrecked throughout Andalusia and Granada. -Fifty-six towns and hamlets were greatly damaged, twenty of them -entirely destroyed. Parts of mountain slopes slid slowly into the -valleys. Deep crevices, like those of the Calabrian earthquakes, were -opened in some localities. One of these is two miles long and of unknown -depth. Boiling water burst from fissures in the mountains. The course of -the river Gogollas was changed. Portions of the country were upheaved; -others depressed. Shocks were felt at sea near the Azores.</p> - -<p>Several thousands were killed and wounded, and the survivors suffered -much from cold and hunger. The young King Alfonso took active part in -the work of relief; but so numerous were the dead that many of them had -to be buried in heaps or covered with quick-lime. There was not time to -bury all properly.</p> - -<p>Such are details of the more prominent European earthquakes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_534" id="page_534"></a>{534}</span> There have -been others of almost equal importance; but three years ago a severe -earthquake killed two thousand or more in the Italian Riviera; but the -cases given well illustrate the destruction wrought in Europe, and other -regions claim attention.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_535" id="page_535"></a>{535}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.<br /><br /> -<small>EARTHQUAKES IN THE UNITED STATES AND ENGLAND.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i8">The fowls of every hue,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Crowding together, sailed on weary wing,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And hovering, oft they seemed about to light,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then soared as if they deemed the earth unsafe.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The cattle looked with meaning face on man,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Dogs howled, and seemed to see more than their masters,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And there were sights that none had seen before.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And hollow, strange, unprecedented sounds,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And earnest whisperings ran along the hills,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">At dead of night: and long, deep endless sighs<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Came from the dreary vale; and from the waste<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Came horrid shrieks, and fierce unearthly groans,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The wail of evil spirits that now felt<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The hour of utter vengeance near at hand.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The winds from every quarter blew at once,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And shapes, strange shapes, in winding sheets were seen,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And voices talked amid the clouds: and then<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Earth shook, and swam, and reeled, and oped her jaws,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">By earthquake tossed and tumbled to and fro.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_i.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="32" -height="60" -alt="I" /></span>T is a common assertion that when persons are drowning, all the events -of past life rush suddenly before them with startling distinctness: -sometimes in amusing combinations: generally the reverse.</p> - -<p>Something of the same effect is produced by the earthquake; but in a far -more terrifying way. Each one is witness to the panic of his neighbor; -and no fright is so terrible as that which is infectious. In moments of -great peril a single calm master-spirit may quiet a mob. But when the -eternal hills are shaken, when the groaning earth reels beneath the -feet, and the mountains are removed and cast into the midst of the sea, -who is there that retains his presence of mind? Man’s social -arrangements are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_536" id="page_536"></a>{536}</span> calculated upon a supposition of the earth’s -stability: and when he finds himself the victim of misplaced confidence, -there is neither courage nor spirit nor reason left in him. Numerous are -the cases where men have been rendered insane by such convulsions.</p> - -<p>To the ravage of the hurricane, the roar of the storm, the surge of the -sea, the rush of the flood, one becomes in a measure accustomed, and in -the moment of danger may take precautions for personal safety. But in -the case of earthquakes the reverse is the rule; none dread them more -than those who know them best. The stranger in tropical America may sit -at his ease on a summer evening, enjoying the beauties of the landscape; -or he may stand in a crowded hall, amongst a galaxy of wits and -beauties, observing the kaleidoscopic movements of the gorgeous costumes -before him. There comes a faint peculiar quiver of the earth, so -insignificant that the uninitiated foreigner may hardly observe it: but -there goes up a wild shout of “Tembla! Tembla!” and in an instant a -terror-stricken, breathless throng surges wildly into the streets, the -fields, the parks—anywhere: anywhere away from the heavy roofs and -massive walls that would defy a hurricane; all blindly seeking to be -under the open sky, only too often to be engulfed in gaping crevices.</p> - -<p>It is preternaturally terrible; this emblem of solidity quivering -beneath our feet, reminding us that the days of unbridled chaos, the -wild war of all the elements, the tremendous geological convulsions that -have exterminated so many races of animals in the days of the past, may -be as ready and powerful for destruction in the present! The sensation -of utter powerlessness is so overwhelming, that amid the crash of -falling houses, the cries of entombed victims, the shrieks of flying -multitudes, the rumblings in the earth beneath, and the trembling of the -soil like that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_537" id="page_537"></a>{537}</span> of a steed in the presence of a lion, the boldest and -bravest can but sit with bowed head, in silent, motionless despair, -awaiting whatever fate a grim capricious chance may determine. In the -strange mysterious phenomena, which strike and do their work in a few -seconds, one is disposed to see the disturbing dreams of fever, or the -touch of a horrible nightmare, rather than any possible reality.</p> - -<p>It is no wonder that insanity, hallucinations, or graver nervous -disorders, in such moments fasten themselves on people for life. When a -power, which despite its constant recurrence, remains almost unknown, -holds the lives of untold thousands in its grasp, the mind is affected -beyond the power of pen to describe. Long stress of poignant grief finds -its effects equalled in a few seconds. People dash convulsively on the -ground, as though seized with epilepsy. Some may become paralyzed: -paralytics may recover the use of their limbs: others lose the power of -speech: yet others are hopelessly idiotic. Not less marked are the -effects on the brute creation. The owl, with nervous twitching head, and -feathers all awry, flits to the trees near the house, as though -imploring the protection of man. The panther forgets his ancient enmity, -and creeps within the city gate. The screaming swallow leaves the eaves, -and wings her way to other lands. The long-silent crocodile scrambles -from his native lair and rushes moaning about the sand. The frightened -nightingale forgets her song. The doleful dog howls loudly in the -street. The trembling ox and horse together huddle, and groan as they -tremble. The air itself is chill, as though it were turned cold at the -manifestation of some awful being. All things are awed by the terrible -“Wrath of God.”</p> - -<p>The “Wrath of God!” Yes, such is the actual name of the earthquake among -the modern Greeks—Theomenia. No other title will they give it. They -have braved the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_538" id="page_538"></a>{538}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_538_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_538_sml.jpg" width="450" height="318" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WRECK OF THE CHARLESTON EARTHQUAKE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_539" id="page_539"></a>{539}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">storm and the flood, the famine and the pestilence for three thousand -years, and recognize in each the operation of law, and against each may -take precautions; but the earthquake, absolutely beyond control, is to -them inexplicable by natural causes, and any attempt to explain it is -resented. They know the quicksand in which the victim, erect, vigorous, -in full possession of his faculties, stares his fate in the face; stands -for hours with death grinning from the sand at his feet, as it slowly -drags him down; but this fearful opening of the soil, that in an instant -swallows young and old, rich and poor, the loved and hated, the city and -the castle—it can only be the “wrath of God!” So to the Jew was the -fall of Sodom.</p> - -<p>Not a single agent of nature can equal it in sudden destruction. It -comes and it goes in a few seconds; almost ere you are aware of its -presence it has claimed its thousands. There is no escape; no ruin so -absolute; no desolation so pitiful; no death so remorseless. You stand -chatting with a friend, the earth shakes, gapes, and the friend at your -side finds a grave in the foundations of the earth. “Two women shall be -grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left.”</p> - -<p>“Think ye that those twelve on whom the tower of Siloam fell were -sinners above all that are in Jerusalem? I tell you nay.”</p> - -<p>So, as we have already seen, the phenomena of earthquakes are as clearly -under the domination of law as any other forces of nature. We know the -forces that produce them, and though we can not tell with certainty what -combination of them existed at the location of any particular shock. We -can not hope to control the causes, but we can to a large extent avert -the seriousness of the results. With this in view, we can consider -seriously the extent of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_540" id="page_540"></a>{540}</span> ravages of this strange destroyer, without -considering them as direct visitations upon the sins of a people.</p> - -<p>Such views as those of the Greeks, however, have been common among all -Christian nations of non-Saxon origin, and still prevail to no small -extent. But the peculiar sense of personal responsibility and power that -belongs to the Teuton, Scandinavian and Saxon stock has given a -different impress to British and American ideas. Perhaps, too, the fact -that Britons and Americans have suffered less from earthquakes than many -others, has gone far to modify the trend of their thought. Be that as it -may, the dominant element of the race—reverence, awe, and with common -sense and a dash of contempt for those of more superstitious -disposition, may be found in the old hunter’s comment on the outburst of -Cosequina: “What was the meaning of those shakes in New Granada a month -agone? Natur’ don’t mostly toss about this big earth just for sport and -idleness; there’s a meaning and a reason and a secret in every movement -she makes. But eighty earthquakes in twenty-four hours aren’t sent just -to scare a pile of Nicaraguan Greasers. Guess earthquakes don’t take no -more regard of Greasers than of other big folks!”</p> - -<p>So long as superstitious ideas prevail among a multitude of people, it -is not surprising that they find portentous signs in earth and sky -betokening the near approach of the dread visitation. This is naturally -increased by the desire to have due warning. The ancient Greeks were -especially anxious in this regard. So we find one of their grave -geographers, Pausanias, declaring that earthquakes are preceded by -unusual rain or drought, eclipses, sudden disappearing of springs, great -hurricanes, fiery apparitions in the sky with long trains of light, and -the appearance of new stars in the sky. The people of Mendoza, South<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_541" id="page_541"></a>{541}</span> -America, when overtaken by a great earthquake, suddenly remembered that -but a short time before, a flaming meteor of a brilliant blue color and -awful appearance had hissed past their town. So before the Riobamba -earthquake, a brilliant shower of meteors took place; so, also, at the -Cumana earthquake. At other times the weather has been unusually rainy; -again, long drought has prevailed. Sometimes springs have become -suddenly muddy, and cleared as suddenly after the shock. Again, muddy -streams have become clear till the shock passed. Again, we are told that -all animals manifest great fear before the earthquake comes; that -lizards, snakes, mice and rats rush from their holes in terror. -Doubtless many smaller animals perceive tremors of the earth that pass -unnoticed by men; but as to the efficacy of such signs in general, it is -suggestive of Hotspur’s reply to Glendower. The fiery Welshman, -endeavoring to prove that he, too, is some great one, asserts that at -his nativity</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Of burning cressets: and at my birth,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The frame and huge foundations of the earth<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Shaked like a coward.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>To which Hotspur answers:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Why, so it would have done,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">At the same season if your mother’s cat<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Had kittened, and yourself had ne’er been born!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>So much for popular beliefs. Quite generally there are subterranean -rumblings, or slight tremors preceding the more violent shock; but even -these are not sure signs, as they may occur alone, or the earthquake may -come unannounced. A notable case of the former sort is the remarkable -subterranean roaring heard at Guanaxuato, in Mexico, in 1784. It lies in -a rich mining district, with no volcano in the vicinity. On January 9 -there broke out, after some preliminary muttering, a great uproar<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_542" id="page_542"></a>{542}</span> which -seemed as if a thunder storm were going on beneath the surface of the -earth. A short distance from the town it could not be heard; and not the -slightest tremor of the soil was perceptible, even in mines sixteen -hundred feet deep. But so great was the panic it created, that thousands -fled from the town, leaving it entirely to the mercy of thieves and -bandits. The alcaldes, with true Spanish grandiloquence, asserted that -the government would “be able in its wisdom to say when danger is -imminent, and to take measures for enabling the people to fly for -refuge;” and it determined to impose a penalty of one thousand piasters -on the rich, or of two months imprisonment on the poor who fled ere the -word was given. But though it was easy to make laws, it was not so easy -to feed the people; for the affrighted peasantry would not set foot in -the city; so the month of uproar became one of famine as well.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_542_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_542_sml.jpg" width="450" height="256" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HOUSES THROWN INTO A RAVINE BY AN EARTHQUAKE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>A similar rumbling occurred in Melada, an island off the coast of -Dalmatia, in 1822, and the frightened inhabitants besought the Austrian -government to transport them to a place of safety; but though the -explosions continued <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_543" id="page_543"></a>{543}</span>during two years, sometimes more than one hundred -in a single night, nothing ever resulted therefrom.</p> - -<p>So with regard to all popular beliefs on this topic—no dependence can -be placed on any of them. There is nothing to warn us of the approach of -the earthquakes, neither in the heavens above, nor the earth beneath, -nor the waters under the earth.</p> - -<p>Has the reader ever experienced one of these strange earthstorms? -Perhaps not. Is it believed they are rare? They are as common as storms -in the atmosphere. Within a period of seven years, four thousand six -hundred and twenty have been recorded. Many more, doubtless, occurred -completely beyond the pale of civilization. Hundreds have passed -unnoticed save by delicate instruments. Not a day passes without several -being recorded. They are as widely various in power as the storm and the -breeze. Not a region on earth is unvisited by them.</p> - -<p>Yet the reader will be disposed to think that the United States is -almost free from these visitants. To a certain extent it is; we have not -in all our history, had a shock of extreme violence, or one that can -compare in destructiveness with the strange convulsions of tropical -regions: but in the rarity of shocks we are not so favored as might be -supposed. A few moments consideration of the records will be -sufficiently convincing.</p> - -<p>In the memoirs of the “Academy of the Arts and Sciences” in Boston, is a -paper read in 1783 by Prof. Williams, recounting the story of some of -the earlier earthquakes in our history.</p> - -<p>The first one noticed after the landing of the Pilgrims occurred June 1, -1638. We are told it was preceded by a rumbling noise like remote -thunder, which gradually grew louder and nearer. Then the earth began to -quake till pewter and crockery tumbled from the shelves, stone walls<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_544" id="page_544"></a>{544}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_544_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_544_sml.jpg" width="450" height="294" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WRECK ON KING STREET, CHARLESTON, S. C.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_545" id="page_545"></a>{545}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">toppled over, and chimneys crumbled and fell. The shock passed from -northwest to southeast, and was followed by a second in half an hour. -People found it difficult to keep their feet. It occurred in the -afternoon but there is no means of knowing what area was affected. As -the country was then unsettled, the damage done was of course <i>nil</i>. -Nearly four years later occurred a light shock, barely noticeable, in -the same region. In 1653 an earthquake on the 29th of October stirred up -the Puritan divines to admonish their flocks of the wrath of God. Still -another occasion of the same sort was given in 1658. But of this latter, -though we are told it was a very great earthquake, we have neither day -nor month, nor any record of its violence, extent or duration.</p> - -<p>The first convulsion of which there is any detailed account, occurred in -1663, January 26-28, Old Style. An old narrative thus records it:</p> - -<p>“About half an hour after five in the evening a most terrible earthquake -began. The heavens being serene, there was suddenly heard a roar like -the noise of a great fire. Immediately the buildings were shaken with -amazing violence. Doors opened and shut of themselves with a fearful -clattering. The bells rang without their ropes being touched. Cracks -appeared in the walls of buildings, and floors separated and in some -cases fell down. Chasms appeared in the fields, and the hills seemed to -be in motion. The fright of the inhabitants was shared by the beasts and -birds, who sent forth fearful cries, howlings and bellowings. The -duration of this earthquake was very uncommon. The first shock continued -half an hour before it was over, but it began to abate about a quarter -of an hour after it began.” (Probably there were a considerable number -of shocks, gradually lessening in violence.)<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_546" id="page_546"></a>{546}</span></p> - -<p>“The same day about eight o’clock in the evening, there came a second -shock, equally violent as the first, and within the space of half an -hour, there were two others. The next day about three hours from the -morning, there was a violent shock, which lasted a long time, and the -next night counted some thirty-two shocks, of which many were violent. -Nor did the trembling of the earth cease until the July following. Many -trees were torn up, and the outlines of the mountains appeared to be -much changed. Many springs and small streams were dried up; in others -the waters became sulphurous, and the channels in which some had run -were so altered as to be unrecognizable. Half way between Tadousac and -Quebec two hills were thrown down and formed a point of land which -extended half a quarter of a league into the St. Lawrence River. The -island Aux Coudres became larger than it was before, and the channel of -the St. Lawrence was greatly changed.”</p> - -<p>This is, perhaps, as severe a shock as has been felt in this country; -but though the shock extended southward to Pennsylvania, its chief -energy was centered in a narrow strip on the St. Lawrence, giving our -Canadian neighbors the lion’s share of the fright. Other light shocks -were noticed in New England in 1665, 1668, 1669, 1670, 1705, and 1720.</p> - -<p>October 29, 1727, another severe earthquake was experienced about 10:40 -<small>P.M.</small> It seems to have had Southern New Hampshire as its focus, extending -thence to the Delaware and Kennebec rivers. Its approach was heralded by -a subdued roar from the northwest, which, as it drew nearer, “was -thought to be the roar of a blazing chimney near at hand, and at last -was likened to the rattling of carriages driven fiercely over pavements. -In about half a minute from the time the noise was first heard, the -earthquake<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_547" id="page_547"></a>{547}</span> was felt. It was observed by those who were abroad that, as -the shake passed under them, the surface of the earth rose and sank.” -Houses trembled and rocked, as though about to fall to pieces. Movables -were dashed about with a fearful clatter. Crockery was smashed; stone -walls and chimneys thrown down.</p> - -<p>At Newbury, ashes and sulphur were cast forth from the earth, and also -volumes of sand. Sulphuretted hydrogen seems to have been present in -large quantities: also chemicals readily decomposed by warmth and -moisture.</p> - -<p>A correspondent of the Royal Society wrote that a clergyman near Boston -assured him “that immediately after the earthquake there was such a -stink that the family could scarce bear to be in the house for a -considerable time that night.” Another clergyman writes that in the -following April the fine sand thrown up by the earthquake “had a very -offensive stench—nay, it was more nauseous than a putrefying corpse: -yet, in a very little while after, it had no smell at all. How long it -was before it began to have this stench, I am not certain; but I believe -it was covered with snow until a little while before.” Another minister -records that “about three days before the earthquake there was perceived -an ill-stinking smell, in the water of several wells. Some searched -their wells, but found nothing that might thus affect them. The scent -was so strong and offensive that for eight or ten days they entirely -omitted using it. In the deepest of these wells, which was about -thirty-six feet, the water was turned to a brimstone color, but had -nothing of the smell, and was thick like puddle water.” Some wells, dry -just before the shock, immediately filled up. Occasional shocks were -felt for some months after.</p> - -<p>From the phenomena present here, and in many similar cases, it will -appear that large volumes of pent-up<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_548" id="page_548"></a>{548}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_548_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_548_sml.jpg" width="450" height="291" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SCENE AT CHARLESTON.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_549" id="page_549"></a>{549}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">gases may be discharged in districts remote from any volcanic region. In -some instances, we are informed that immediately after severe shocks, -the streams and vegetation have proved poisonous to cattle. There were -light shocks felt in 1732, 1737 and 1744; but none of these are said to -have done any damage beyond throwing down a few stone walls. Thus we -find within a century fourteen earthquake periods in New England alone; -and in several cases the shocks were numerous, extending over a period -of several months. Comparing the small area with the whole region, and -remembering that shocks are more frequent in the central, southern and -western portions of the country, it is fair to conclude that the merest -tithe of those actually occurring could have come under the notice of -our ancestors.</p> - -<p>The most violent shock ever known in New England came eighteen days -after the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755, preceded by a peculiar, -rumbling roar. Then came a “rapid, jarring, vibrating motion,” with an -upward shock: then a “violent, prodigious shock, as suddenly, to all -appearances as a thunderclap breaking upon a house and attended by a -great noise.” Then followed a series of “quick and violent concussions, -jerks and wrenches, attended by an undulating, waving motion of the -whole surface of the ground, not unlike the shaking and quaking of a -large bog.”</p> - -<p>Several writers give a graphic account of the behavior of the good -people of Boston at this juncture. The shock came at a little past four -in the morning. Some sprang from their beds and ran into the street; -some lay shivering with fear, not daring to rise; others rushed to the -windows, and, seeing in the gloom their unclad neighbors rushing about -the streets, shrieked aloud that the judgment day was at hand. Others -thought that they heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_550" id="page_550"></a>{550}</span> Gabriel’s horn, and fell on their knees, crying -for mercy, or fainted away. The boldest feared the crash of tottering -houses; children ran about crying for their parents; dogs howled -dismally; birds flew aloft with frightened cries; cattle bellowed with -fear as they dashed about their pens. Screaming horses struggled in -their stalls. Numbers of fish were killed by the shock. Changes were -wrought in springs and streams, after the manner of 1727.</p> - -<p>The damage done was not so great as might have been expected from the -unusual alarm shown. A large number of chimneys in Boston were thrown -down; clocks were stopped; a new vane was broken from the market house, -the spindle being snapped at a place where it was five inches thick; but -we are not told of any serious loss of life or property. The shock -extended southward, and was plainly felt along the east side of the -Chesapeake, but not on the western shore. The sea wave set in motion -travelled southward, and it is supposed to have occasioned the unusual -commotion of the water in the West Indies. At St. Martin’s the sea -suddenly fell five feet below its level, and then rose six above.</p> - -<p>The time of the shock was determined exactly by an accident. Prof. -Winthrop, of Cambridge, had placed a long glass tube in his tall clock, -as a safe place. This tube, thrown against the pendulum, stopped the -clock, which the day before had been adjusted to meridianal noon; and as -Prof. Winthrop had compared his watch and clock the night before, he was -able to show that the shocks began at eleven minutes and thirty-five -seconds after four <small>A.M.</small>, November 18, and continued about four and a -half minutes.</p> - -<p>Eighteen periods of earthquakes are noted in the next fifty-five years; -and at one of these, in 1791, nearly one hundred and fifty shocks were -felt.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_551" id="page_551"></a>{551}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_551_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_551_sml.jpg" width="450" height="302" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>OLD STATE HOUSE, CHARLESTON.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_552" id="page_552"></a>{552}</span></p> - -<p>In 1810-11-12, a series of remarkable shocks were felt throughout a -large portion of the United States, but with especial force in the -central Mississippi valley. The first were noticed near St. Genevieve, -but the center of violence seemed to lie around New Madrid, Mo. The -shocks became so sharp and frequent that Dr. Robertson was sent out to -observe and record them carefully. He kept count up to five hundred, and -then abandoned that portion of the work.</p> - -<p>The phenomena were much like those of the milder type of earthquakes -everywhere. Around New Madrid huge fissures opening in the earth emitted -volumes of sand and gas, occasionally spouting water, or sending out -bursts of flame. Some of the fissures were six hundred feet long and -twenty feet wide. The sand and water was sometimes thrown as high as -forty or fifty feet. During the whole period there were unusual -disturbances in other regions. On the night of the most violent shocks -occurred the great earthquake at Caracas, Venezuela, which destroyed so -many thousands. Had the Mississippi region been a very thickly settled -one, the loss of life would have been fearful. Upon the upheaval of a -new island, Sabrina, in the Azores, to a height of three hundred and -twenty feet, and an eruption of the St. Vincent volcano, in the -Antilles, the disturbance ceased. It is not safe to assert positively -that there was no connection between these phenomena; but there is -little probability that there was. They serve rather to show how -universal are the subterranean forces with which man must deal. The year -1811 was also marked by a storm of unusual violence, and by the -appearance of a brilliant comet. But, as noticed before, efforts to -establish any especial connection between such phenomena have not met -with any marked success.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_553" id="page_553"></a>{553}</span></p> - -<p>These earthquakes were so violent in the river itself as to almost -shatter boats in mid-stream. Trees at some distance from the bank were -hurled into the water with tremendous force. Flashes of fire and molten -matter were thrown to great heights. The explosions seemed like a -battery of artillery. Sunken logs and snags were thrown from the deep -bottom of the river to a height of thirty feet above the surface. -Sulphurous streams dashed from a thousand rents, leaving unfathomable -fissures. Great forest trees lashed their heads together, or were -snapped off by the shocks. Small islands sank to the bottom of the -river. Quantities of coal and charred wood were thrown up; some lying a -considerable distance from the fissures that discharged them. Many boats -were lost; quite a number of people were buried under falling banks. It -was undoubtedly the most violent convulsion in the history of our -country. Reelfoot lake, now a noted fishing resort, we are told was -formed by this earthquake.</p> - -<p>Time would fail us to give an especial notice of the many shocks -received since the country has been more widely settled. With a notice -of the recent Charleston earthquake this list must be closed.</p> - -<p>This convulsion owes its importance rather to its location than to its -violence. It was felt over about one-fourth of the entire country, its -greatest force being felt along the Atlantic coast from New Haven to -Savannah. The area affected was elliptical, and the shock was but little -less severe at Atlanta, Georgia, in East Tennessee, and many North and -South Carolina regions, than in Charleston itself. It was felt at -Charleston at 9:51, August 31, 1886, and reached Toronto, Canada, in -four minutes. It did not travel so readily westward as northward.</p> - -<p>It is of course impossible to estimate exactly the damage done. A -considerable number of important cities<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_554" id="page_554"></a>{554}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_554_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_554_sml.jpg" width="450" height="365" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CHARLESTON, S. C.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">suffered more or less; but the majority were forgotten in the unusual -severity at Charleston. The city appeared as though it had been through -a siege, or as if a gigantic charge of dynamite had been exploded -beneath it. In all directions might be seen heaps of ruins, houses -tottering, cracked, twisted—in all stages of destruction. Ever and anon -a fresh shock brought down some crumbling edifice with a sullen roar, -and a cloud of stifling dust<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_555" id="page_555"></a>{555}</span> veiled it from view. The night resounded -with the screams of terrified fugitives, the tread of hurrying feet, and -the groans and cries of the wounded. The parks swarmed with those in -search of a place of safety. Hundreds were bruised or maimed by falling -stones and timbers; not a few were killed outright; others, crushed in -the wrecks, died a lingering death.</p> - -<p>Appeals for aid were promptly responded to by all portions of the -country. Even those localities which had themselves suffered severely, -came to the aid of the city that had been more sorely stricken.</p> - -<p>The greatest injury to life was indirect. Only forty-seven people, it is -said, were killed outright. But few houses were left safe; and for a -considerable time young and old, rich and poor, the feeble and the -strong, were out of doors in tents, booths, or such rude shelters as -they could hastily erect. The alarm was perpetuated by occasional -recurrence of the shocks during several days. The continued exposure and -lack of necessaries created a vast deal of sickness; and the deaths thus -indirectly occasioned far exceeded those killed outright.</p> - -<p>The damage to buildings in Charleston is estimated at $5,000,000. But in -comparison with the whole number injured, comparatively few of the -houses were shaken completely down. Hundreds were shaken and shattered -to the point of falling, and had to be pulled down as unsafe. The shock -was just short of a point where it would have made terrible havoc. If -violent enough to overthrow the many houses it merely shattered, its -victims would have been numbered by thousands, instead of tens. We may -be thankful, with Lord North, that things were no worse.</p> - -<p>The nature of the shocks varied. In some parts of South Carolina -chimneys and brick walls remained upright,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_556" id="page_556"></a>{556}</span> but crushed to atoms at the -base, as if shattered by a powerful upward concussion; in other -locations, evidences of a twisting motion were present; houses were -turned partially around, and left almost unharmed. Again, as in most -cases in Charleston, the chief movement appeared to be a horizontal -one—the upper portions of walls and buildings being thrown down, while -the lower suffered little harm. More of these singular effects will be -noticed in connection with other shocks. Crevices and fissures were -opened; railroad rails bent in a snake-like form; mud, sand, and small -stones were thrown out. There was no tidal wave, and artesian wells four -hundred feet deep were not disturbed. There was no barometric variation, -though the air is said to have suddenly become oppressively hot at the -moment of the shock. Some Pennsylvania gas wells diminished, and a -geyser in the Yellowstone Park, four years quiet, burst suddenly into -action. These we must deem mere coincidences.</p> - -<p>As a whole, this has been the most destructive single earthquake in our -history, while far inferior in real violence to the convulsions last -noticed. For frequency of shocks, and total damage in consequence, the -Pacific States far exceed all the rest of the country. Their position -with active volcanic regions in Oregon and Washington and Lower -California, renders them peculiarly liable to such disturbances. Within -the years 1872-1885, inclusive, there were registered seventy-five -earthquakes in New England, sixty-six in the Atlantic States, -seventy-five in the Mississippi Valley, and two hundred and thirty-seven -in the Pacific States.</p> - -<p>These facts ought to be conclusive evidence against the belief that, -because storms and earthquakes are sometimes simultaneous, the one is in -any way responsible for the other. These figures show the fewest shocks -in the region<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_557" id="page_557"></a>{557}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_557_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_557_sml.jpg" width="450" height="291" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WRECK OF FACTORY, CHARLESTON.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_558" id="page_558"></a>{558}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">most frequented by tornadoes; while the section never visited by the -latter shows more shocks than all the rest combined. Add to these the -previous shocks recorded in our history—231—and it is evident that we -have our full share of such convulsions.</p> - -<p>In respect to earthquakes, our British cousins have been even more -fortunate than ourselves. A cursory glance at British geology shows that -at a remote age in the past, volcanic action was frequent and violent; -but the whole region has long buried or healed the wounds inflicted upon -the face of nature by the petulant giants of fire. Now and then there is -a premonitory tremor; but the warning seems not to be for the -grandchildren of the Druids; and the latter have been lulled to a sense -of almost absolute security.</p> - -<p>Yet at some periods of the past they have been seriously disturbed, if -we may credit the old chroniclers; but their records are so brief, and -at times so conflicting, that it is not always easy to determine the -extent of the disaster. And it must be remembered that in the dark and -middle ages the mass of the people knew absolutely nothing of affairs -not in their own immediate neighborhood.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the most striking feature of British earthquakes is the fact -that, like the shocks in the Vesuvian neighborhood, the area they -disturb is very small; it may be, however, that incompleteness of -reports is responsible for this apparent peculiarity. Up to the last -century but one general shock is recorded; this being the first of which -there is definite mention, occurring in 974 A. D. Five others are -recorded in the next century, all local.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the most violent of the earlier earthquakes was the one which in -1110 shook the region between Shrewsbury and Nottingham, tumbling down -many houses and injuring many people. At Nottingham the bed of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_559" id="page_559"></a>{559}</span> -river Trent was laid dry and remained so some hours. Probably a large -fissure opened temporarily in the channel, allowing the water to escape -into subterranean cavities. Three other earthquakes occurred in the -Lincolnshire fens in the next thirty-two years, doing considerable -damage.</p> - -<p>In 1158 mention is made of a most extraordinary earthquake which shook -London and vicinity, destroying much property, injuring several people, -and causing the Thames to become so low as to be passed on foot. Seven -years later there was a general tremor observed throughout all England.</p> - -<p>John of Brompton relates a remarkable circumstance in connection with an -earthquake in 1179. The ground belonging to the bishop of Durham, at -Oxenhall near Darlington, was raised suddenly to a level with the -adjacent hills, remaining so from 9 <small>A.M.</small> till sunset, when it fell -again, leaving a deep cavity in place of a hill. Three other earthquakes -occurred ere the close of the century; the last one, in Somersetshire in -1199, being violent enough to throw men off their feet.</p> - -<p>Forty-seven years passed without any further experience of the sort, -when a series of severe shocks, especially violent in Kent, overthrew a -number of churches and other buildings of the more pretentious sort; and -the same thing happened next year, affecting especially London and the -Thames Valley. Again, in the year after, Bath and Wells suffered -considerably; and two years later St. Albans was shaken.</p> - -<p>Of other earthquakes in the next century no especial mention need be -made, save of one of unusual violence in 1385. A revolution in Scotland -followed, and the superstitious populace, looking backward, concluded -that the earthquake had been meant as a warning which they had not been -able to interpret. A second shock which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_560" id="page_560"></a>{560}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_560_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_560_sml.jpg" width="450" height="285" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUINED DWELLING, CHARLESTON.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_561" id="page_561"></a>{561}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">followed the revolution was supposed to express the Divine displeasure -at their short-sightedness.</p> - -<p>But one shock, though a very general one, is recorded during the next -one hundred and sixty-six years. Then in 1551 a slight tremor upset the -people’s furniture and dinner pots in a portion of Surrey. Twenty years -afterward a severe shock in Herefordshire was accompanied by a -landslide. A large portion of a hill slowly descended during two days, -turning a half circle as it came, as though on a pivot.</p> - -<p>In 1574 a sharp vibration shook northern and western England at the hour -for vespers. Suppliants in Norton Chapel were thrown prostrate and fled -in terror, believing the dead were rising through the floor. Part of -Ruthin Castle was thrown down.</p> - -<p>In 1580, April 6, nearly all England was alarmed by a violent shock. The -great bell at Westminster rang the alarm; others joined in. Students of -the Temple rushed into the streets; stones fell from St. Paul’s; showers -of chimneys in the streets maimed several persons; a panic ensued at -Christ Church, where two people were killed by falling stones, and -several were maimed in the wild rush to escape from the building. Parts -of the fortifications at Dover were overthrown; also several churches -and castles were damaged. May 1 of the same year the shocks were again -felt in Kent, during the night. This is one of the most notable of -British earthquakes; it passed eastward through Belgium to Cologne.</p> - -<p>But it is needless to pursue the record further. Only two unusual -features are presented among the many earthquakes following: one in 1731 -was confined to an area six miles by five; and one in 1734 exhibited a -peculiar rotary motion, shaking persons in bed around at right angles to -their former positions.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_562" id="page_562"></a>{562}</span></p> - -<p>Summing up the record, we find that in the 10th century one earthquake -is recorded in England; during the 11th, ten; during the 12th, twelve; -during the 13th, thirteen; during the 14th, four; during the 15th, one; -six in the 16th; twenty in the 17th, and eighty-four in the eighteenth. -The present has also had a fair quota. But if we consider the damage to -property, or the fatality, we must conclude that no country in the world -is so favored in this matter of earthquakes as Great Britain, unless it -may be Germany.</p> - -<p>Finally, all the disasters of this sort, in both England and the United -States, so far as all historic records go, do not equal a single one of -the many terrible convulsions recorded in the history of other nations. -From the earliest times to the present, we find a constant succession of -appalling disasters, many of which are almost beyond the power of -comprehension. The most cursory glance at these horrors of the past -should render every Anglo-Saxon peculiarly grateful that his lot is not -cast in a land so cursed with terrors, and more ready to sympathize with -the stranger in his woe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_563" id="page_563"></a>{563}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.<br /><br /> -<small>EARTHQUAKES IN TROPICAL AMERICA.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Hark! louder on the blast come hollow shrieks<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Of dissolution; in the fitful scowl<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Of night, near and more near, angels of death<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Incessant flap their deadly wings, and roar<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Through all the fevered air: the mountains rock<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And thousand meteors flame about their heads;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The thunder long and loud gives out his voice,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Responsive to the ocean’s troubled growl,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">While bellowing chasms rend th’ eternal hills.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Earth trembles at the mighty march of death.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>HE reader will be assured, from the facts given concerning volcanic -eruptions, and the earthquakes of Asia Minor mentioned in the former -chapter, that great earthquakes are as numerous in Asiatic districts as -elsewhere; but beyond the bare fact, little is known of most of these. -India has preserved no written history: and China and Japan have been -till recently almost inaccessible to Europeans. So while the -disturbances there are equal in importance to those of other lands, it -is but lately that any definite information has been accessible; and our -chief knowledge has come from personal narratives of white settlers and -visitors to the islands of the western Pacific. In Japan, there is, to -say nothing of numerous volcanoes, strong circumstantial evidence of the -frequency of earthquakes in days past. Almost all dwellings are -constructed of bamboo and lightest woods, one story high, with screens -of paper as partitions: houses of stone are feared, the people -preferring to take their chances on a great fire than on an earthquake. -The same fact is noticeable<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_564" id="page_564"></a>{564}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 293px;"> -<a href="images/i_564_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_564_sml.jpg" width="293" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>EARTHQUAKE IN CHINA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_565" id="page_565"></a>{565}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">in the Philippines, Moluccas, and adjacent groups. Almost the only stone -buildings are those of Spanish and Dutch settlers. China has apparently -suffered less; but we learn that in 1556 two entire provinces were laid -waste. The extent of the loss of life can not be estimated. The earth -vomited ashes and flames, and ten great sea waves occurred in -twenty-four hours.</p> - -<p>Since European occupation of the East Indies, the convulsions have been -frequent and alarming. The city of Manila was completely destroyed, with -thousands of people, in 1645. Not one stone remained on another. Severe -shocks occurred there again in 1699, 1796, 1825, 1852, and 1863. The -last named wrecked the cathedral while filled with worshipers. The loss -of property was from $8,000,000 to $10,000,000, or twice that of our -Charleston earthquake. Four hundred people were killed. The shock lasted -about half a minute, but opened many fissures, emitted volumes of gas -and spoilt the river water. Again, in 1880, after some vague or -irregular tremblings, there were several violent shocks. There was first -experienced a peculiar sense of nausea and faintness, with a feeling of -powerlessness or inability to flee. Horses stopped trembling in the -streets, “standing with ears erect, with staring eyes, and stiffly -extended legs, as though conscious of extraordinary peril.” The natives, -heedless of appeals for help, wildly sought their own safety, or knelt -devoutly invoking the saints. Clouds of dust filled the air, and heaps -of ruin blocked the streets. The terrible hush that prevailed was broken -only by an occasional cry for aid, or the crash of a ruined home. -Portions of ground between great crevices were raised five or six feet; -other parts fell as much. But the confusion rapidly subsided, and -occupations of all sorts were resumed. One newspaper, true to the -traditional enterprise of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_566" id="page_566"></a>{566}</span> fraternity, dragged its paraphernalia -from its ruined building, and went to work in the middle of the street. -An American publisher could hardly beat that.</p> - -<p>But a region whose earthquakes have attracted greater attention, and -have been more carefully noticed by scientific men than those of the -eastern archipelago, is to be found along the western slope of the -Andes, extending thence into Central America and Northern Venezuela and -the West Indies.</p> - -<p>Ever since the Spanish conquest, earthquakes have been numerous and -violent in this whole region; and judging from the character of the -native dwellings, the aborigines were for centuries accustomed to such -movements. But it remained for Humboldt, in the last century, to give us -a more careful description of some of the greater of these disasters.</p> - -<p>Of the preceding disturbances, one of the most notable occurred in 1698, -when the crater of the volcano Carguirazo fell in with a great crash -during a shock of earthquake, and an area of twenty square miles was -covered with mud containing numerous dead fish. A few years later, a -similar occurrence north of Quito produced an epidemic of pernicious -fevers.</p> - -<p>But of the many great convulsions, that of Riobamba, in 1794, must rank -as exceeding all within the range of authentic history, unless we except -the one which destroyed Antioch in the year 526. The area disturbed was -the great volcanic plain on which Quito stands.</p> - -<p>No subterranean noise announced or accompanied the shock. Adjacent -volcanoes were quiet; but the volcano of Pasto, sixty miles to the -northward, had for three months been violently smoking; and at the -moment the shock sixty miles away began, it suddenly stopped, nor did it -again begin. The volcano of Cayambe, near Quito,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_567" id="page_567"></a>{567}</span> seemed surrounded by -meteorites. The pious people, alarmed at this manifestation of the -divine wrath, formed a religious procession which walked through the -principal streets. The result justified their belief in the potency of -their prayers; for Quito remained unharmed. A great roar, since known as -<i>el gran ruido</i>, was heard under the town some twenty minutes after the -disaster; but at the scene of the latter it was not heard at all.</p> - -<p>In the immediate vicinity of Riobamba, the destruction was fearful. The -entire plain seemed rent into small independent fragments, which rose or -sank at will. Humboldt tells that an eye-witness might have seen -“fissures which alternately opened and closed, so that persons partially -engulfed were saved by extending their arms, that they might not be -swallowed up; portions of long trains of muleteers and laden mules -disappearing in suddenly opening cross fissures, whilst other portions, -by a hasty retreat, escaped the danger; vertical oscillations, by the -non-simultaneous rising and sinking of adjoining portions of ground, so -that persons standing in the choir of a church, sixteen feet above the -pavement of the street, found themselves lowered to the level of the -pavement without being thrown down; the sinking down of massive houses, -with such an absence of disruption or dislocation that the inhabitants -could open the doors of the interior, pass uninjured from room to room, -light candles and debate with each other their chance of escape, during -two days which elapsed before they were dug out; lastly, the entire -disappearance of great masses of stones and building materials. The old -town had possessed churches, convents, and houses of several stories; -but in the places where they stood, we found, on tracing out among the -ruins the former plan of the city, only stone heaps of from eight to -twelve feet in height.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_568" id="page_568"></a>{568}</span></p> - -<p>Of some of the villages in the adjacent plain not a trace was left. They -sunk bodily, and the earth closed over them. Of the others, only heaps -of ruins were left.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_568_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_568_sml.jpg" width="450" height="313" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>AFTER THE SHOCK.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Nor was this all. The great volcano of Tunguragua, at the southern -extremity of the plateau, was rent asunder by the shock, or, according -to others, had an eruption from the side. Immense torrents of thick, -dark, sandy mud, mingled with pebbles, poured out and flooded adjacent -portions of the plain, smothered scores still entangled in the ruins of -their dwellings, filling numerous ravines and valleys, one of which was -one thousand feet wide and seven hundred feet deep.</p> - -<p>The total loss of life was terrible. One authority places the -destruction at two hundred thousand. Forty thousand Indians were -suffocated by the torrent of mud alone. It is the most destructive -earthquake in modern history.</p> - -<p>The town of Cumana has been visited almost as frequently<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_569" id="page_569"></a>{569}</span> as the -far-famed Antioch. In 1530, we are told, the sea rose four fathoms, the -earth was rent, a fort laid in ruins, the town wrecked, and dark, -noisome liquids ejected from fissures. In 1766, a long drought, fifteen -months in duration, had turned the thoughts of the people once more upon -their manifold transgressions, and they were prepared for further -chastisement. This came upon them. October 21 an earthquake blotted the -town out of existence in less than a minute. The earth vomited -sulphurous waters. The shocks were continued during fourteen months. The -good people instituted an annual fast and procession in commemoration of -the event.</p> - -<p>Again, in 1794, Cumana was nearly prostrated. December 14, 1797, there -was a tremendous, upward shock, with a noise like a mine explosion. -Four-fifths of the town was laid in ruins. The atmosphere seemed -converted to water, so great were the torrents of rain. The Indians held -a religious festival and dance, believing the destruction and -regeneration of the world was at hand.</p> - -<p>The first days of November, 1799, were noted for the peculiar redness of -the sky and the oppressiveness of the atmosphere, though the weather was -not especially warm. At nightfall the sea breeze failed to begin, and -the dusty earth began to crack in all directions. The people were sure -some evil boded. November 4, as a heavy storm came up, there was a sharp -gust of wind, which the natives say always precedes an earthquake; and a -few minutes later came the shock; two others followed during the -evening; but though all the tokens of a great shock, according to native -ideas, were present in such force that the people abandoned their homes -and slept in the parks and fields, the great quake never came. The -redness of the sky continued, and a few nights later occurred a -brilliant shower of meteors. Despite these signs and wonders,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_570" id="page_570"></a>{570}</span> Mother -Earth refused to tremble. Humboldt concluded native prognostications -were unreliable.</p> - -<p>During the past eighty years destructive earthquakes have been more -frequent in South America than in any other region of the earth. First -on the list is the great disaster at Caracas.</p> - -<p>This town lies six miles from the seaport of La Guayra, in a valley -“where reigns eternal spring.” Shut in by lofty mountains, its aspect is -somewhat gloomy. The cold mountain air keeps the evening veiled with -clouds. But as a whole, the situation is so fine that the people would -hardly exchange it for a site less liable to earthquakes.</p> - -<p>In December, 1811, when the disturbances were so great in the valleys of -the Mississippi, Ohio and Arkansas, there was a sharp shock, which did -no especial damage. At this time there was a severe drought, which -continued during the succeeding months; but no word of the disturbances -to the North, or in St. Vincent, reaching the people, they were not -especially alarmed. So the days passed till Holy Week came, and hundreds -were in the great churches.</p> - -<p>At a few minutes past four there was a sudden shock which set -church-bells to ringing. Then came a second, which made the ground seem -as though it were boiling. This ceased, and the people supposed the -danger was past, when there came the fearful subterranean roar but too -well known in tropical countries, followed by series of alternating -shocks at right angles to each other, and at once the beautiful city, -with its palaces and homes and works of art was a shapeless ruin, with -twelve thousand corpses lying amid the wreck. Four thousand people were -slain in the churches alone. The great church of Alta Gracia, one -hundred and fifty feet in height, whose nave was supported by pillars -fifteen feet in diameter, was turned into a heap of rubbish but five or -six feet high. Nearly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_571" id="page_571"></a>{571}</span> all had sunk in the earth. Scarce a vestige of -pillar or column could be found. A regiment of infantry, mustered in San -Carlos barracks, was engulfed, but few escaping. Nine-tenths of the town -was annihilated.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_571_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_571_sml.jpg" width="450" height="316" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SCENE AT CARACAS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Night came. The cloud of dust, that like a mist had risen from the -wreck, had settled to the ground. The full moon shone as calmly on the -scene as in the past; and by the spectral light were seen strange -figures hurrying to and fro. Here passed a mother with an infant’s -corpse; while there a father groped amid the wreck, and called by turns -the names of wife and child. No tools were left in reach in all the -town; bare-handed creatures grappled with the stony heaps, and groaned -in answer to the moans beneath. The aqueducts were shattered and the -springs were stopped; the Guayra River was the sole supply. Scarce -vessels could be found to fetch it in. Here hurrying feet bore wounded -creatures to the stream; but lint and bandages were all beneath the -wreck. Two<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_572" id="page_572"></a>{572}</span> thousand injured people lay upon the turf, with little of -the needed help; but all their friends could do was done. Not even food -enough could be procured at first.</p> - -<p>Then anguish-stricken souls repented of their sins, and marched in -procession that the wrath of God might be changed to mercy. Some driven -to the verge of madness loudly confessed their sins in the open streets. -Some promised to restore ill-gotten gains; often the peculation was -known only to themselves. Marriages were solemnized between many who had -hitherto not considered a ceremony necessary. Children were formally -recognized by parents who had before repudiated them; long standing -feuds and enmities were dropped.</p> - -<p>Caracas was not the only place injured. La Guayra, Mayquetia, Antimano, -Baruta, La Vega, San Felipe, and Merida were totally destroyed. Five -thousand deaths occurred at San Felipe and La Guayra alone. It was -impossible to give burial. Vast funeral pyres were made and corpse after -corpse consigned to the flames. The total number of deaths from the -earthquake, including those who perished from want and sickness induced -by the exposure, was probably forty thousand; some have estimated fifty -thousand. The shocks were felt as far westward as Bogota.</p> - -<p>It does not appear that any especial commotion was felt in Central -America, though shocks in the latter regions are nearly always felt in -Venezuela or Columbia. Every portion of Central America has been -repeatedly shaken. The town of Guatemala has been four times destroyed, -the people each time selecting a new site and adhering to the old name. -The people of San Salvador, on the other hand, have obstinately clung to -their site, though visited by violent earthquakes in 1575, 1593, 1625, -1656, 1798, and 1839; and minor shocks are of such constant<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_573" id="page_573"></a>{573}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 298px;"> -<a href="images/i_573_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_573_sml.jpg" width="298" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUINS OF SAN SALVADOR.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_574" id="page_574"></a>{574}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">recurrence that the locality is nicknamed “the hammock.” But the shock -of 1889 was so severe that they seriously meditated leaving; but they -finally settled in the old place, when four-fifths of their town had -just been destroyed.</p> - -<p>But in Holy Week, in 1854, as Mr. Squier tells us, unusual rumblings -were heard on the morning of Holy Thursday. The inhabitants, somewhat -alarmed, still went about their customary avocations. The remainder of -the week passed without further cause for fear. At half past nine -o’clock on Sunday night a severe shock so alarmed many people that they -prepared to camp out for the night. At ten minutes to eleven there came -without any warning a fearful quaking, which levelled the city to the -earth in ten seconds; clouds of dust filled the streets; wells and -fountains were choked; not a drop of water could be obtained. Not a -house was left inhabitable; scarce one preserved the semblance of being -erect; yet the town was composed chiefly of low, one-story structures. -The air was filled with fumes of sulphur; the neighboring volcano -threatened an eruption; and in addition to the usual horrors of an -earthquake, other features were added.</p> - -<p>The ex-president of the republic was so badly hurt as to be almost -incapacitated for duty. Indians roamed pillaging the wreck, dropping on -their knees and praying as fresh shocks terrified them; then returning -to the plunder; for they were good Christians. Justice, police, -clergy—all were gone. The venerable bishop, Soldana, when dragged from -the ruin, bade the people flee in all haste, for “God had given the city -over to the Evil One as a punishment for its sins; and in spite of the -name it bore ‘(Holy Savior)’ it would be cast into the bottomless pit.” -The good bishop promptly headed the retreat of the clergy from the -forces of Satan, evidently under the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_575" id="page_575"></a>{575}</span> impression that if the people -could only leave the accursed locality, the devil would not be so -scrupulously exact in tormenting them before the time. The people -flocked after the clergy in large numbers, believing they would be -safest in the neighborhood of the holy men. It is well known that even -the devil respects the cloth.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_575_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_575_sml.jpg" width="450" height="405" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>PEOPLE OF SAN SALVADOR FRIGHTENED.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The republic had been rent by civil war for years; and in this critical -juncture, it seemed that it was about to be renewed. But a man of strong -will and energy and coolness stepped forward—Duenas, ex-monk, lawyer, -deputy, and president—from his farm, like Cincinnatus. Collecting a few -friends and digging some arms from the wreck of the barracks, he -inspirited the new president, and martial law was proclaimed. The -shooting of a few Indian robbers imparted to the remainder a respect for -law equalled only by their practical Christianity, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_576" id="page_576"></a>{576}</span> work of -rescue began. Large numbers of the populace permanently forsook the -site.</p> - -<p>Two years later there was a great earthquake in Honduras; but the area -of disturbance was not so densely peopled, and the damage done was -proportionately less. Disasters of this sort cause most Central -Americans to emigrate. “Then women and children form themselves into -groups and travel through the country. They set the drama in which they -have taken part to music, and they go through the country singing the -rude verses which they have run together in the different villages, and -then send the hat around. After they have visited the whole of their own -country, they cross the frontier into the neighboring State, where they -are also assured of doing pretty well.”</p> - -<p>During three centuries of Spanish occupation of South America, while -scores of convulsions had visited the Pacific seaboard, none had shaken -the eastern slope of the Cordilleras, or the great plains beyond; and -there had resulted a settled belief that the entire region was, so to -speak, earthquake-proof. But the illusion was rudely dispelled.</p> - -<p>In the extreme west of the Argentine Republic, on the high road from -Valparaiso to Buenos Ayres, lies the town of Mendoza, in full view of -Tupungato and the mighty Aconcagua. Never having, in all their history, -experienced any harm from these mountains, the people anticipated none.</p> - -<p>“Mendoza had about 20,000 inhabitants and five hundred houses, nearly -all of them very handsome. It also contained two very large hospitals, -several schools, a splendid cathedral, and several churches. Its trade -was prosperous, and more than a hundred large shops testified to the -extent of its commerce. There was no such library<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_577" id="page_577"></a>{577}</span> in the whole of the -Argentine Republic. Its theatre was most sumptuous, and the Alameda, its -public promenade was regarded as the finest in South America.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a href="images/i_577_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_577_sml.jpg" width="450" height="319" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SHOCK AT LAKE IN HONDURAS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>“One evening, an immense red and blue meteor slowly traversed the sky -from East to West, and the volcano of Aconcagua broke into an eruption -upon the night following—20th March, 1861—without any premonitory -sound or sign: the earth quaked violently, and in less than a minute the -town of Mendoza had disappeared. It was transformed into a vast field of -ruins, the highest of which were not more than three feet from the -ground. Never within the memory of man has a town been so taken by -surprise; for in this case the earthquake was not preceded by the -underground mutterings which, even if only a few seconds in advance of -the shock, give some sort of warning. Upon that night, and in less than -four seconds, fifteen thousand people were buried in the ruins. Horrible -noises, cries of terror, the heartrending howls of men and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_578" id="page_578"></a>{578}</span> animals -filled the air, and a thick cloud of dust darkened the sky.”</p> - -<p>Mendoza was not the only place injured. At San Juan, one hundred miles -northward, three thousand people were killed. Three hundred and fifty -miles further away, Cordova lost a number of houses, and a slight shock -was felt at Buenos Ayres. The wreck presented the scenes common in such -cases; and, as in several similar disasters, bands of brigands pounced -upon the town to pillage the ruins.</p> - -<p>Of the many touching incidents, we must give place to two:</p> - -<p>That the town was absolutely unwarned is hardly correct. A French -geologist, M. Bravard, sent on a scientific mission by the Russian -government, had found the volcanoes near by violently roaring, yet -emitting no smoke or fire; and, nearing the valley of Mendoza, he found -the soil in a constant tremor. Alarmed at these manifestations, he -expressed his belief that if the pressure were not speedily relieved by -eruption, a severe earthquake might follow. His assertion caused serious -apprehension, for his high attainments gave his opinions great weight -with the people. For nearly a week the possibility of a catastrophe was -seriously discussed. One evening he stood at the door of M. Matussiere, -wishing his friends good-night. Again he alluded to the earthquake—the -shock came, and he was caught by the fall of the house.</p> - -<p>Matussiere himself was on his way home from Valparaiso. When fifteen -miles from Mendoza, in the mountains, a tremendous roaring was heard, -but he felt no shock. The moon shone as calmly and clearly as ever, and -no disturbance followed. Oppressed, however, by terrible fear, he -hastened to Mendoza. He could not even guess where was the wreck of his -own home. After a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_579" id="page_579"></a>{579}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 304px;"> -<a href="images/i_579_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_579_sml.jpg" width="304" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WRECK AT MENDOZA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_580" id="page_580"></a>{580}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">long, despairing search, he saw his great house dog come bounding toward -him. The dog led him to the wreck; and, after wearisome toil, the -merchant found his wife and one child alive. The rest of the family, and -the French geologist, were dead.</p> - -<p>Another episode is related by M. Charton: There was at Mendoza a rich, -French hotel keeper, M. Tesser. After the shock, “one of his intimate -friends wandered among the ruins. His eyes were dry: he could shed tears -no longer. He stopped on the site of the hotel, trying in vain to recall -the old arrangements. He was retiring—his heart filled with sighs, -thinking of the honest man and the family he had loved so well—when he -perceived, through the shapeless mass of girders and calcined stones, M. -Tesser’s dog, which moaned; he approached it. The poor animal, the two -hind legs and part of the body of which were crushed, forced itself, in -spite of his sufferings and weakness, to scratch with his front paws, -and uttered, from time to time, a plaintive howl. As it saw its master’s -friend come near, it exerted itself and howled louder. The friend -understood that Tesser must be beneath this rubbish, and hoped he was -not dead. He ran to fetch some persons, and, with their help, after much -labor, he indeed discovered the body of poor Tesser; his left arm and -leg, lying under the beams, were broken, his mouth and eyes full of -earth, but he still breathed. Before trying to disengage his limbs, they -washed his face, which seemed to relieve him; without saying a word, he -instinctively stretched his right arm toward his dog, who drew himself -to him, and died a few moments afterwards.</p> - -<p>“Tesser scarcely was in a state to pronounce any words, before he asked -where his family was. All had perished in the great disaster. Hearing -this answer, he closed his eyes with despair; then, making a fresh -effort,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_581" id="page_581"></a>{581}</span> he pronounced the name of his little girl, and showed with his -finger a separate place where he had put her to bed. Some of the people, -in compassion for his grief, although without hope, made further search; -others occupied themselves in dressing his broken limbs. A few minutes -later, those rendering him this service saw him suddenly raise himself -up—he gave a cry—they brought him his daughter, still living. A beam -had fallen across the bed of the child and had protected it; but she was -seriously wounded in the head; she had also her mouth and eyes filled -with dirt, and was exhausted with hunger.” For two months the pair lay -under a tent against a tree, more dead than alive. They only remained to -each other of the once rich and happy family. But in this respect, they -were no worse off than hundreds of others.</p> - -<p>The people abandoned the site, unable to remain in view of so many -monuments of former happiness. Strangers came in and a new Mendoza rose, -but not so lovely as the former one. This town was also severely shaken -in 1885.</p> - -<p>With a notice of one other earthquake, which demands attention because -of unusual results, this chapter must close.</p> - -<p>This shock occurred August 13, 1868, in Peru. The center of the -convulsion was at Arequipa, at the foot of the lofty volcanic mountain -of Misti, which has not shown signs of activity since the great outburst -of 1542. So far as their volcanic neighbor was concerned, the forty-four -thousand people of Arequipa had apparently no reason for apprehension.</p> - -<p>At five minutes past five, there came a light shock like the jar of a -distant explosion. Half a minute later began the subterranean rumbling, -with a rapidly increasing vibration, which made the people run for their -lives into<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_582" id="page_582"></a>{582}</span> the streets. Then “the swaying motion changed into fierce, -vertical upheaval. The subterranean roaring increased in a terrifying -manner; then were heard the heart-piercing shrieks of the wretched -people, the bursting of walls, the crashing fall of houses and churches, -while over all rolled thick clouds of a yellowish-black dust, which, had -they been poured forth many minutes longer, would have suffocated -thousands.”</p> - -<p>Tacna and Arica suffered little less. But the greatest damage in the -coast region was from the sea wave. A few minutes after the shock, the -sea rolled back, falling twenty-five feet; then a huge, black wall of -water leaped up, fifty feet in height, and rushed for the shore. The -American vice-consul at Arica, well versed in the phenomena of -earthquakes, left his house at the first shock, and ran with his family -to the hills to avoid any probable sea wave. The monster billow struck -the mole to pieces, and swept clean the lower part of the town. Six -vessels were lost in the bay, or tossed over rocks and houses; two, a -Peruvian corvette and a United States war-ship, were carried inland and -left high and dry, half a mile north of Arica, without a broken spar or -tarnished flag. Similar feats were recorded at Iquique. Twelve hundred -miles of sea-coast were more or less affected. Sixty million dollars -worth of property were destroyed, and twenty thousand people killed.</p> - -<p>The great sea wave was especially remarkable. Recoiling from the -Peruvian coast, in three hours its southern expansion was observed at -Coquimbo, eight hundred miles south. An hour later it was at -Constitucion, four hundred and fifty miles further. Northward, the wave -rushed, sixty feet high, into the harbor of San Pedro, California, five -thousand miles from the shock.</p> - -<p>To the westward, the Sandwich Islands were reached<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_583" id="page_583"></a>{583}</span> that night, and -irregular waves broke upon the coast for three days. Before midnight it -broke upon the Marquesas and the Paumotu archipelago. At half-past three -in the morning it was at New Zealand. By daylight it was surging along -the coasts of Australia, and by mid-day it was tossing even on the -southwest coast of Australia. The same day, it was heaving on the shores -of Japan.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 443px;"> -<a href="images/i_583_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_583_sml.jpg" width="443" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE GREAT SEA WAVE REACHES CHILI.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>This wave is doubtless surpassed only by the great wave<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_584" id="page_584"></a>{584}</span> set in motion -by the convulsion of Krakatoa, mentioned in the chapter on volcanoes. It -travelled to a distance of 10,500 miles from its starting point, at a -speed of from 400 to 500 miles an hour, according to the direction. Yet -it has had several strong rivals. Had the great wave of 1867, at the -time of the earthquake at St. Thomas, been raised in the open sea, -instead of in the comparatively shut in Caribbean, it might have -travelled to an equal distance. The sea wave which followed the -earthquake at Simoda, Japan, in 1854, completely wiped out that town, -leaving only fragments of a temple-wall, and some wrecked vessels, two -miles inland. Most of the people perished. Recoiling from the coast, the -wave rolled in upon the shores of California, travelling 5,000 miles in -twelve hours.</p> - -<p>The terrible earthquake that ravaged Jamaica in 1692, produced a wave -that swept thirty-three feet of water over the highest house in Port -Royal, destroying 3,000 persons. An English frigate, the <i>Swan</i>, was -deposited on the top of a large building, breaking in the roof. The -waves of the Lisbon and Calabrian earthquakes have been noticed -elsewhere.</p> - -<p>This same district in Peru has suffered similarly several times. Callao, -with the ground on which it was built, was swept away in 1746. Only -fifteen of its people ever reached Lima, six miles inland. When the town -was rebuilt, a second disaster of this sort nearly destroyed it. Iquique -and Arequipa, in Peru, were again destroyed May 9, 1877; and a wave -seventy feet high swept the coast, and recoiling reached Japan next day, -travelling two hundred and eighteen yards per second.</p> - -<p>The cases given illustrate well the stupendous power and destructiveness -of vibrations in the earth’s surface. But few have been given, nor have -all the greatest been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_585" id="page_585"></a>{585}</span> detailed. Mention only must suffice for the one -which shook Naples and vicinity, December 5, 1456, destroying forty -thousand people. Another in Persia, June 7, 1755, destroyed Kaschan, -with forty thousand people; one at Cairo, Egypt, the preceding year, -killed twenty thousand. Another in the Abruzzi, Italy, November 3, 1706, -killed fifteen thousand persons; one at Palermo; Sicily, September 13, -1726, killed six thousand; one hundred thousand perished in the Pekin -earthquake of November 30, 1731; two thousand were destroyed by an -earthquake in the Kutch district, India, in 1819. Constantinople was -overturned in the year 1800; six thousand people perished in an -earthquake in Murcia, Spain, in 1829; fifteen hundred were killed by -Italian earthquakes in 1835-36; Southern Syria suffered greatly in 1836; -Hayti was shaken, and four thousand people perished, in 1842; one -hundred thousand houses and thirty thousand people destroyed by an -earthquake in Japan, 1854; Montenerro, Calabria, and ten thousand people -in 1857; five thousand people in Ecuador, 1859; Northwestern Khorassan, -Persia, with thirty thousand people, in 1871; Antioch again nearly -destroyed in 1872; three thousand people killed in Cashmere, 1885.</p> - -<p>Terrible as this list seems, the total but little exceeds the havoc -wrought by the single Bengal famine of 1866. There would be little -difficulty in proving that drought, with the consequent famine, has -proved the most terrible agent of destruction known to man; and yet it -is one that facilities for rapid transit should render least -destructive.</p> - -<p>Scientific men have within forty years made efforts to keep a sort of -catalogue of shocks; but the frequency of earthquakes has rendered this -a profitless task. Great ones are long remembered; but as for numbering -the minor shocks, one might as well count rainfalls; several<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_586" id="page_586"></a>{586}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 303px;"> -<a href="images/i_586_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_586_sml.jpg" width="303" height="450" alt="[Image not available]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>EARTHQUAKE IN SPAIN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_587" id="page_587"></a>{587}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">occur every day; and it is only when unusually destructive, like -extraordinary tempests, that they attract any attention; so that their -being recorded depends even more upon location than upon actual force.</p> - -<p>All the phenomena of volcanoes and earthquakes point us to one -conclusion: that the earth may in time become as dead and deserted as -the moon. The telescope shows the latter to be thickly dotted with -volcanic craters, whose immensity, in comparison with those of our own -globe, is astounding; yet all are extinct. It is not probable that the -interior of our earth is molten; and we have seen that fractures and -subsidence, caused by gradual cooling, seem to be the main cause of the -local phenomena of volcanoes and earthquakes. As the ages roll on, these -weak places may become still higher; and the belt of warm climate will -grow narrower and narrower. Cooling at the present rate, 2,500,000,000 -years will be necessary to render it as lifeless as the moon.</p> - -<p>“As the cooling progresses, a sheet of snow and ice, from north and -south, will descend from the mountains upon the table-lands and valleys, -driving before it life and civilization, and covering forever the cities -and nations that it meets on its passage. All life and human activity -will press insensibly toward the inter-tropical zone. The great cities -of the world will fall asleep in succession under their eternal shroud. -During very many ages, equatorial humanity will undertake arctic -expeditions to find again under the ice the place of Paris, Lyons, -Bordeaux, and Marseilles. The sea-coasts will have changed, and the -geographical map of the earth will have been transformed. No one will -live and breathe, except in the equatorial zone, up to the day when the -last family, nearly dead with cold and hunger, will sit on the shore of -the last sea, in the rays of the sun, which will thereafter shine<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_588" id="page_588"></a>{588}</span> here -on a dead, cold earth, revolving, like a satellite moon, about a sun -unseen by mortal eyes, and distributing to an extinguished planet a -useless heat.” So will end the history of our planet and its great -disasters.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“All worldly shapes shall melt in gloom,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The sun himself must die,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Before this mortal shall assume<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Its immortality!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I saw a vision in my sleep,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That gave my spirit strength to sweep<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Adown the gulf of time!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I saw the last of human mold<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That shall creation’s death behold,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As Adam saw her prime!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">The sun’s eye had a sickly glare,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The earth with age was wan;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The skeletons of nations were<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Around that lonely man!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Some had expired in fight—the brands<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Still rusted in their bony hands.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In plague and famine some!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Earth’s cities had no sound or tread,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And ships were drifting with the dead,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To shores where all was dumb!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Yet prophet-like that lone one stood<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With dauntless words and high,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That shook the sere leaves from the wood<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As if a storm passed by!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Saying, We are twins in death, proud Sun,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy face is cold, thy race is run,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">’Tis Mercy bids thee go:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For thou ten thousand years<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Hast seen the tide of human tears<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That shall no longer flow.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_589" id="page_589"></a>{589}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /><br /> -<small>PREDICTION AND PREVENTION.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Fain would th’ ephemeral pigmies then aspire<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To drive, like Phäethon, the sun’s coach of fire,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To grapple with the lightning in the sky,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Or with the restless winds abroad to fly.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Not all the bolts of Jove, nor Phœbus’ wrath,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">May fright them from their wild, self-chosen path.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Though poplars wave above ten thousand graves,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And myriad Icari lie beneath the waves,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The rest, as once the Titans, still press on,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And strive to thrust the great gods from their throne.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_e.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="37" -height="60" -alt="E" /></span>VER since man has dwelt upon the earth, there has been a constant -effort, not merely to foretell the future, but to control it. So strong -is man’s faith in his own capacity, that wizards, jugglers, fakirs and -tricksters, and necromancers have always found their vocation a -lucrative one. It is easy to make one’s living by imposing upon the -credulity of the public. Not merely the American people, but every other -people, like to be humbugged. So strong is the tendency to gullibility, -that the most extraordinary pretensions are the most readily credited. -The capability of the public to judge in such cases is well illustrated -by the Grecian story of the famous mimic, whose imitation of the grunt -of a pig was so perfect, that thousands came to witness his performance. -A countryman remarked that he could do still better, and, concealing a -pig under his coat, he stole upon the stage. Pinching the animal’s ear, -the pig squealed violently, but the audience hissed the squeak as a -miserable fiasco. Whereat the countryman produced the pig, and left the -audience pondering the situation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_590" id="page_590"></a>{590}</span></p> - -<p>The same tendency causes men to desire to attribute unusual appearances -to causes beyond the domain of natural law. The savage finds thunder and -lightning in the discharge of a gun; mysterious magic in a telescope; -downright sorcery in quinine; witchcraft and incantation in a written -prescription. If one, a little shrewder than his fellows, after long -study of an ant’s nest, conceive the idea that they have a regularly -constituted community, with a queen at the head, he needs only to -suggest such a thing to his neighbors, to be set down as having -communications with the Ant Queen; and he may readily aspire to the -chieftainship, thence to be known as the Ant Chief. Imagination is so -much easier than observation. Doubtless old Numa’s thoughtful air in his -daily retreat, gave rise to the tale that he was in consultation with -the nymph of a fountain. Any one who had devoted an hour each day to -gazing pensively into a stream, might have achieved a like reputation, -as the Hindoo fakir is held in high repute for sanctity, because he -preserves strict silence and gazes for years at the end of his nose.</p> - -<p>So when men achieve new results by natural means, it is preferred to -assume otherwise. Good Roger Bacon invented gunpowder by witchcraft. The -early chemists were in league with the Evil One. Faust and Gutenberg -sold their souls to the devil, in order to get Bibles printed. The -Magdeburg physicist, who made a water barometer in which a wooden figure -rose or fell as the atmosphere varied, was the devil’s own child. Cows -sickened and died at the will of shrivelled dames who rode through the -air on broomsticks.</p> - -<p>Foreknowledge is always confounded with foreordination. The weather -prophet is transformed into a weathermaker. The myth of Aeolus is thus -explained. Once a king of the Lipari Isles, by careful observation of -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_591" id="page_591"></a>{591}</span> vapor cloud over Stromboli he was enabled to announce changes of -weather a day or two in advance, as every observant man in that region -can do to-day. The simple subjects attributed his knowledge to -supernatural powers, and after his death perpetuated the story of -Aeolus, the king of the winds, who dwelt in a cave in one of the -islands.</p> - -<p>In the time of Elijah, the prophets of Baal were confident of procuring -rain by howling, cutting and slashing; while Ahab believed Elijah was -responsible for the drought. The negro and the red man to-day show the -same characteristics in this respect. The negro rain-maker makes fetich; -the red chief, “big medicine,” to bring rains. The reputed success of -each is proportioned to his shrewdness in recognizing tokens of change -in the weather.</p> - -<p>The great white man is often little better. While no longer trusting in -the power of any one to control the weather, he has set up a god of -false science, whom all must bow down to and worship. True knowledge is -often flouted and scouted; but every one who would attract attention -must assume at least the appearance of learning. College degrees are -bought and sold at reasonable prices. No questions asked. The -dancing-master is professor. The pugilist has become professor. The man -who fiddles for beer in the corner saloon is professor. Weep, O Minerva!</p> - -<p>So any one who wishes especial importance to be attached to his -utterances, needs but assume a title, or a few mystic letters. Every -great catastrophe produces a plentiful brood of them. As soon as the -Charleston earthquake alarmed the country, it was announced that a grave -“Prof.” had predicted it. He was the hero of the hour. Interviewers -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_592" id="page_592"></a>{592}</span>flocked from many quarters. For weeks the words of “Prof.” ——, were as -ointment poured out. The papers gave him great space—published sketches -of his career. So much adulation was too much for human nature; besides, -he owed a duty to the public. A man so gifted should continue to give -warning of impending dangers. He did so. They didn’t materialize. The -“Prof.” has had little attention for three years.</p> - -<p>The Louisville tornado afforded other cases. A woman in the west -predicted a combined deluge and earthquake, with other minor horrors on -the side, as prepared for the Pacific coast. Some of the gullible people -sold out at great sacrifice, that they might lose as little as possible -by the greatest cyclone and earthquake of the century. Others drew up a -formal petition to the Governor, calling upon him to proclaim a day of -supplication and fasting for the doomed cities of Oakland, San Francisco -and Alameda. The end of the world drew nigh, and these three cities, as -eminently wicked, would be first punished; after which Chicago and -Milwaukee would suffer.</p> - -<p>Bands of believers met and wrestled mightily in prayer that the -unparalleled horrors might be averted. They were eminently successful.</p> - -<p>Another came forward and announced that the entire Mississippi valley -was to be visited with a cataclysm, such as no man had ever conceived. -The floods were to break all the levees, wash away everything that was -within a hundred miles of the stream, tear up the delta built by the -deposits of ages, and leave the site of New Orleans at the bottom of the -sea. At this writing the Crescent City is in hourly expectation of its -doom.</p> - -<p>Yet another seer, warned of the Lord in a vision, perhaps, has just -declared the fate of the Atlantic coast. Before the end of the century -there will be an earthquake such as no man ever before has known. The -fountains<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_593" id="page_593"></a>{593}</span> of the great deep are to be broken up. All the cities of the -New England coast will be desolated by immense sea waves. Manhattan -Island, with the city of New York, and Long Island, are to be sunk to -the bottom of the sea. Our hearts fail us for fear for the things that -are coming upon the earth. Let us hope that peradventure there be yet -five righteous men in Sodom.</p> - -<p>Some years ago great sensation was occasioned by the discovery of Mother -Shipton’s prophecy among some old English manuscripts. It began:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Carriages shall without horses go,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And accidents fill the world with woe;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Around the world men’s thoughts shall fly,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In the twinkling of an eye.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>After a few statements of this sort, it closed by saying:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The world to an end shall come<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In eighteen hundred and eighty-one.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Great was the fright of not a few timid believers. Many arranged their -affairs for the end of the world. Some, as the Millerites have several -times done, prepared their ascension robes. Finally, the whole thing -proved to be a hoax. A wag had endeavored to amuse himself at the -expense of the public.</p> - -<p>Such are fair specimens of predictions that continually appear in the -newspapers. Certain men will always endeavor to astonish the ignorant by -their words and works. Seldom do sober-minded people pay the least -attention to them. As for minor changes in weather, they are so -constant, and so limited in area, that, as stated elsewhere, any one is -safe for announcing the character of the weather for any day in the -year. From a score of places, he could obtain testimonials of the -correctness of his prognostications; while nine score more, if they -spoke, might declare him altogether mistaken.</p> - -<p>But many will ask in all seriousness, if there is no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_594" id="page_594"></a>{594}</span> means of -prediction upon which all may depend. Is any more reliance to be placed -upon the prognostications of the Signal Service than upon those of the -self-constituted prophets?</p> - -<p>A brief statement of the principles relied upon will be satisfactory on -this point.</p> - -<p>Our weather bureau was established in 1870. Such organizations are -maintained, at the public expense, in Great Britain, France, Germany, -Italy, Australia, Russia, India, Algeria, and Japan. Several smaller -countries share in the expense and benefits. Men long trained in the -work grow more reliable. Each must first master the topography and the -prevailing movements of the atmosphere of any region, ere he can presume -to know anything of the probable changes.</p> - -<p>How extremely important a knowledge of the country is, will be -understood when it is remembered that mountain ranges may turn aside -great storms, and hills of any considerable size may modify small ones. -And in general, storm paths are so narrow, in comparison with the whole -country, that the slightest variation at the start may be very important -at the end of six hundred or seven hundred miles—or a day’s travel. So, -announcing twenty-four hours beforehand the exact locality a storm may -reach is really a very delicate piece of work. If a tyro should announce -rain for North Georgia, he might be astonished to find a difference of -twenty-one per cent. between Atlanta and Augusta. He would find in -Tennessee sixteen per cent. difference between Knoxville and Nashville; -or twelve and a half per cent. in Iowa between Dubuque and Davenport.</p> - -<p>The Signal Service does not endeavor to forecast entirely new conditions -so much as to give warning of storms already on the way. It can not -safely say where a storm<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_595" id="page_595"></a>{595}</span> will arise; but it can declare with tolerable -certainty the path a storm will pursue after having once started.</p> - -<p>Yet, there are certain signs of rain that can be of use to the public. -Americans, as a rule, pay less attention to the actions of the animal -kingdom at change of weather than other nations; and the lower animals -detect changes of weather more quickly than man. Slugs and snails often -leave their crannies, and endeavor to find some drier retreat at the -approach of rain. Swallows fly lower; chiefly because the insects they -pursue abandon the upper air. Crickets and grasshoppers become less -noisy, and seek snug retreats. Fish leap more frequently from the water. -The oft-praised tree-frog seems not to have deserved the confidence -placed in him as a barometer.</p> - -<p>Quatremere Disjonval, when made a prisoner of war by the Dutch, made a -careful study of the habits of the house spider, while in confinement. -His observations played an important part in the war. “General Pichegru, -being prevented by the mild weather from carrying out his intention of -invading that country, was about to retire with his army from the Dutch -frontier, when Disjonval found means to inform him that, from the signs -he had observed in his spiders, a severe frost was sure to take place in -the next ten days. Pichegru trusted to the prognostic: the frost came in -time. Holland was conquered, and Disjonval released from his prison.”</p> - -<p>Voigt asserts that the spider is so reliable a barometer because of its -anatomy: the long, slender, unmailed legs being peculiarly sensitive to -atmospheric changes. That is, when Madam Spider finds herself with a -touch of rheumatism, she wraps herself in a thicker blanket and takes to -her den. In fine weather the garden spiders are much more plentiful; and -the tiny gossamer spiders also are numerous, and fly at greater -heights.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_596" id="page_596"></a>{596}</span></p> - -<p>These serve to illustrate the class of phenomena most relied upon by -those in every land who must spend much time in the open air. The -scientist may understand the laws of winds and rains: but the farmer, -the shepherd, the fisherman, and sailor, to whom every phase of weather -means much, can, relying upon the actions of the lower animals, detect -approaching changes as readily, in many cases, as the Signal Service; -and far more readily or correctly than the quasi learned theorist whose -stock in trade is a hobby and an unlimited quantity of assumption.</p> - -<p>It is one thing to understand law; it is quite another to be able to -make practical application of it. Franklin identified lightning with -electricity; a century passed before practical use of the electric light -resulted. We know now the general laws of air currents, but little -application of them has been made.</p> - -<p>As to the possibility of controlling the winds, no one has thus far had -the temerity to propose it. But that rainfall can be partially -controlled is well known. The heaviest rains occur in forest areas; and -in turn, the matted roots of the forest and jungle retard the descent of -the rain into the water courses, and hinder the washing away of the -soil. Floods have become more sudden and destructive in the lumber -regions since the timber has been cut away, while the actual rainfall is -not so great. So a number of our Western States require a “homesteader” -to plant a tree claim.</p> - -<p>A bold genius has recently asserted that we may produce rain at will, by -sending up balloons loaded with dynamite or other powerful explosives, -and then firing them. It has been observed that almost every great -modern battle has been followed by a heavy rainfall; and the idea is, -that the continued explosions have had much to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_597" id="page_597"></a>{597}</span> do with them. -Frequenters of Fourth of July picnics will readily vouch for the -correctness of the theory.</p> - -<p>Doubtless a more effective plan would be simply to apply the well known -first principle of air-currents and storms—heated air; but this would -be immensely expensive. Every year sees exemplifications of it, however, -in the heavy rains that follow the great forest fires or prairie fires -of our own land. Natives of tropical regions frequently burn the jungle -at the close of the dry season; and the unusual heating of large areas -in this way doubtless has much to do with hastening the advent of rain.</p> - -<p>The expedient of firing the sawgrass ponds is frequently resorted to in -Florida, and has been brought to the notice of the public in official -meteorological reports. It is directly in accordance with the principle -of restoration of the balance of forces, whereby a long heated term is -followed by unusually heavy rains.</p> - -<p>But, in contending with subterranean forces, man is hitherto balked. -Numbers of instruments exist for measuring the force and direction of -earthquake shocks, but these can be made of little practical use; for we -have seen that the vibrations travel from forty to one hundred and fifty -miles a minute, according to the nature of the soil. Hence, could we -know a certain shock would travel around the world, it would not be -possible, after it was first felt, to send warning ahead in time to be -of any especial value. But we have seen that unusual disturbances of -this sort are confined to certain regions, and are of constant -recurrence; while in other lands, they are almost unknown. So any one -understands pretty well what risks he runs in any particular district.</p> - -<p>The Chinese were the first to invent a seismometer, or instrument for -ascertaining the force and direction of any shock. Their apparatus -consists of an upright pillar<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_598" id="page_598"></a>{598}</span> bearing a number of dragons’ heads—each -one holding a ball in its mouth. So any slight tilting or vibration of -the pillar would cause a ball to drop on the side toward which the shock -travelled. The distance to which the ball was thrown served as a rude -measure of the force.</p> - -<p>Equally simple is Mallet’s contrivance—a number of cylinders of equal -heights and different bases, placed upon a sanded surface. The more -violent the shock, the larger the cylinder thrown down.</p> - -<p>But observations of these vibrations, to be of use, must take note of -the myriad tremors that will escape ordinary perceptions, or the powers -of such rude instruments as the above. There are several sorts now used. -Prof. Palmieri, of the Vesuvius Observatory, uses a delicate instrument, -which records the slightest tremor on a dial-plate. The Italians have -also applied the microphone to this work. The delicacy of this -instrument may be imagined, when it is known that by its means a fly can -be heard walking on the floor. So the slightest subterranean noise may -be heard.</p> - -<p>These instruments have taught us that the minor tremors increase in -number and intensity as any unusual disturbance of Vesuvius approaches; -just as the Signal Service can detect the gathering of a storm ere it -actually bursts. Remembering also Bravard’s warning of Mendoza, in the -last chapter, it is clear that in certain regions such observations can -be made of practical value to the people at large.</p> - -<p>One of the most ingenious apparatus for observing the vibrations of the -soil is that constructed by M. d’Abbadie, at his observatory near the -Pyrenees. A conical cavity forty-six feet deep is excavated in the solid -rock. At the bottom is a basin of mercury. A long-focus lens over this -reflects upon the surface of the ground the image of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_599" id="page_599"></a>{599}</span> the metal below. -The slightest tremor is carefully examined by a microscope. In short, -this ingenious Frenchman has applied the reflecting telescope to the -observation of the interior of the earth.</p> - -<p>After all, the chief precautions must be of a different type. As already -noticed, long observation has taught the Japanese and others that their -safety depends mainly upon the construction of houses of the lightest -type; when the sea wave is more to be dreaded than the shock. This is -the general principle of building now adopted in countries where -earthquakes are frequent; and doubtless the earthquake is partially -responsible for the fact that many intelligent savage races have made no -progress in architecture.</p> - -<p>It should be noted, however, that the ancients believed that deep wells -were a safeguard against earthquakes; such is the expression of several -ancient writers. And in this connection we may mention the remarkable -case of Quito, in Ecuador. Here we have a city of magnificent -cathedrals, public edifices, and other lofty buildings, which have not -in three centuries been overthrown by an earthquake. Yet it lies on the -plateau on which stood Riobamba, where such terrible destruction was -wrought in 1794, and at the base of the great volcano of Pichincha. It -has been shaken time and again more severely than towns in the vicinity -that have been totally destroyed. Yet it remains intact, and the people -have an indifference to earthquakes that is astonishing. They attribute -their safety to the fact of having deep cellars under every house. When -we remember that tropical races are not, as a rule, a cellar building -people, it may be that the idea is worthy of serious consideration. But -many idle races of the tropics might, in lower grounds, merely exchange -the results of an occasional earthquake for malaria-breeding pools.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_600" id="page_600"></a>{600}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>THE REIGN OF LAW.</small></h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Man is born on a battle-field. Round him to rend<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Or resist, the dread Powers he displaces, attend<br /></span> -<span class="i1">By the cradle which Nature, amid the stern shocks<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That have shattered creation, and shapened it, rocks.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">He leaps with a wail into being; and lo!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">His own mother, fierce Nature herself, is his foe;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Her whirlwinds are roused into wrath o’er his head;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">’Neath his feet roll her earthquakes; her solitudes spread<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To daunt him; her forces dispute his command;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Her snows fall to freeze him; her suns burn to brand;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Her seas yawn to engulf him; her rocks rise to crush;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the lion and leopard, allied, lurk to rush<br /></span> -<span class="i2">On their startled invader. * * * * * * * *<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Not a truth has to art or to science been given,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But brows have ached for it, and souls toiled and striven;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And many have striven, and many have failed,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And many died, slain by the truth they assailed.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra"><img src="images/lettre_t.png" -class="drop-cap" -width="44" -height="60" -alt="T" /></span>HE original condition of the human race was not one of knowledge. When -the first man and the first monkey were created and finished, the monkey -knew as much as the man. Both found themselves in a world of forces, of -the nature of which, beyond what was revealed to their native instincts, -they knew nothing at all. The man’s superiority lay not in knowledge, -but in capacity to know.</p> - -<p>Man learned the forces and facts of Nature by experience. He learned -them at the cost to himself of fear and pain and toil and death. He -plucked one fruit and found it wholesome; another, and found it bitter; -another, and found it deadly. The surviving son learned to avoid the -mistakes of his father.</p> - -<p>Man was not long in gaining a knowledge of his environment,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_601" id="page_601"></a>{601}</span> enough at -least, if he would not be too venturesome, to conserve in some degree -his happiness and life. He learned that fire will burn, that water will -drown, that storms will blow, that floods will overwhelm, that winter -will come, and that his life is dependent on continual quest and -avoidance. But Nature held innumerable secrets which he did not know; -many, which, even to-day, he has not learned. In proportion as he should -become acquainted with these, he would be master of a situation, which, -at the first, so nearly mastered him. He might acquire a magnificent -fortune, if he would only work for it; accordingly, we are told that his -Maker admonished him to “subdue and have dominion.”</p> - -<p>Whether man has been six thousand years, or sixty thousand, in learning -the little that he now knows, no one can tell; but during these years of -his primary tuition he could not through knowledge have the mastery of -Nature, for knowledge was too meager. It was well, therefore, that he -should, in the meanwhile, have a partial mastery through faith. Ignorant -of natural forces, or without means of avoidance, is it any wonder that -he should fly for refuge to the Supernatural? Accordingly, God was his -“refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Believing himself -watched and defended by infinite power and love, he could “run through a -troop or leap over a wall;” he could fancy himself “immortal till his -work was done,” safe on the battle-field as in his chamber; he was not -afraid of the “pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the -destruction that wasteth at noonday;” of earthquake and storm and fire -he was not afraid, for these were the ministers of Heaven’s will—if not -to be avoided, then to be accepted with submission and trust.</p> - -<p>Such faith in the presence and interposition of the Supernatural was -instructive to the young world, and as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_602" id="page_602"></a>{602}</span> necessary as its mother’s milk -is to a babe. It gave comfort and repose and strength, for its subject -felt that “underneath and round about him were the everlasting arms.” It -made heroes of cowardly men on battle-fields; heroines of weak women in -humble homes. It produced the sublimest characters of history; it -vanquished death. Sustained by it, it is literally true that men -“subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions, -quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword; out of -weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the -armies of the aliens.”</p> - -<p>The sudden loss of this faith from earth would be a calamity. It would -be as though the sun and moon had been darkened, and the stars had gone -out in the sky. Till men know more of Nature, they must continue to lean -on the Supernatural. They may never do this less than they do it now; -but they will do it more intelligently.</p> - -<p>As the child, with growing strength, is weaned from the breast, so -increasing knowledge tends to the destruction of faith. It may be stated -as a law that, other things being equal, faith in the manifestation of -the Supernatural—in the miraculous—is most facile to him who knows the -least. Accordingly, the men of highest attainments have commonly the -least of this kind of faith. They still believe in something back of -Nature; some cause of Nature—in the Supernatural—but they expect -nothing from it outside the lines of natural law. They know nothing of -miracle or special providence. They see everywhere cause and effect; the -one not present without the other; the perpetual grinding of machinery -and the wretch mangled who is caught between the wheels; the wisest and -best of men, pillars of state or prophets of the Lord, crushed as surely -as the vilest and the meanest. All the prayers of God’s people will not -make rivers flow<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_603" id="page_603"></a>{603}</span> back to their fountains, nor turn the Sahara into a -sea; nor thaw the ice at the poles, nor relieve the famine, nor stop the -pestilence, nor level a single mole-hill, nor make one hair white or -black. The whole universe is held in the chain of cause and effect, with -link joined to link forever and ever. The Supernatural may be the -electric energy that thrills along the endless chain, but it never quits -the conductor to find out new paths. What it does to-day, it did a -thousand years ago, and will do a thousand years hence. So speaks and so -believes the student of Nature. We may be extremely reluctant to admit -his teaching, and yet the facts seem to be altogether with him. The -evidence is overwhelming that men everywhere, good and bad alike, are -dealing directly, not with the Supernatural, but, with Nature—with law; -<i>nothing but natural law</i>. If any hesitate to accept this saying, we do -not press them, for the time has not yet come when they could accept it -with safety. The babe will cling to the mother’s breast as long as he -needs it, and sometimes longer; but by and by he will abandon it of -himself.</p> - -<p>A world of iron law is not our ideal world, though the evidence grows -that it is the real one. We like law well enough when it defends us; we -are not pleased with it when it chastises us. At such a moment we would -flee to some friendlier power. We would go to God and tell Him that -Nature is not treating us well, and that we desire His interposition. It -is because we are afraid of Nature that we take so much interest in the -Supernatural. But what reason have we to think that the Supernatural is -better than Nature?</p> - -<p>The Supernatural has had more prophets than Nature, and will doubtless -continue to have them. Far be it from us to forbid them. Let them -prophecy in the name of the Lord. Let them “strengthen the weak hands -and confirm<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_604" id="page_604"></a>{604}</span> the feeble knees;” inspire courage in adversity, calmness -in the face of death.</p> - -<p>But we should like to remind them that if they have done much good, they -have also done some evil.</p> - -<p>They have greatly obstructed a lesson, the most important for men to -know; a lesson which they must learn at last, whether they like to learn -it or not; a lesson which they need to learn as soon as they can, -because certain knowledge is better to shape the life than is uncertain -faith; a lesson that will bring them face to face with the real -conditions of their present and eternal well-being,—we mean this -lesson, that <i>the Supernatural, the Primal Fountain of Force, goes forth -only in streams of natural law</i>. So far as can be shown, it manifests -itself in no other way. Contrary to this, the prophets of the -Supernatural have often encouraged man to believe that he shall not reap -as he has sown; that he may sow to the flesh, and yet reap to the -spirit; that outside and alongside the machinery of law is another and -more masterful machinery of Providence and Grace; that the latter is -ordained a sure corrective and deliverer from the evils of the former; -that so almighty is this invisible, ever-active and presiding energy, -that it can, by a momentary display, transform the most inveterate -sinner into a saint, and crown him with everlasting happiness, although, -meanwhile, it supinely leaves the innocent child the victim of Adam’s -fall, to sink into the flames of hell. Our sense of justice is shocked, -virtue is dismayed, vice is emboldened, and the so-called scheme of -grace, less pitiful and just than that of nature, is seen to differ from -it chiefly in this, that it offers greater encouragement to sin.</p> - -<p>Nature throughout all her regions proclaims the dominion of law. She has -incessantly denounced woe to its violator. A million times has she shown -us the delinquent<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_605" id="page_605"></a>{605}</span> writhing under the scourge. Never once has the -transgressor escaped. His transgression,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Like a staunch murderer steady to his purpose,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Follows him through every lane of life,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Nor misses once the track,”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">and soon or late he is overtaken. Privation or pain is the inexorable -penalty. Nature with trumpet voices shouts incessantly, “Whatsoever a -man soweth that shall he also reap.”</p> - -<p>The dominion of law is shown in the punishment of <i>intentional -disobedience</i>—what men call <i>sin</i>. Its natural consequences are -remorse, degradation, and spiritual death. A being of loftiest make is -reduced to the likeness of a vile and venomous thing, crawling on its -belly through the dust. Higher enjoyments are exchanged for such as are -brutish and vile,—so to speak, the life of a humming-bird, flitting -through all sunny climes and scenes and feeding on nectar, is exchanged -for the life of a swine, feeding on offal, and wallowing in the mire. -And never once is a wound made by the lash of law healed without a scar; -in other words, transgression leaves its permanent impress on the soul, -and the transgressor, despite the incantations of priest or prophet, -finds himself poorer forever. He has forfeited the peace of them that do -well. He has peopled the past with bitter memories; the future with -gloomy forebodings. Reason untrammeled, loyal to the truth and pursuing -it with success, has been substituted with reason fettered with chains -of prejudice and vile affection, loving and making a lie.</p> - -<p>Habit, with every successive stroke of action, has riveted these chains -more firmly, till the victim is fast bound hand and foot, and delivered -over to despair. The order of downward progress is, transgression, -spiritual pain, stupor, insensibility, permanent degradation, which is -spiritual<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_606" id="page_606"></a>{606}</span> death. In all this, there is no immediate or special judgment -of God; no working of the Supernatural apart from natural law. If there -were no God at all, while the constitution of man and the universe -should remain as they are, the consequences to the transgressor would, -in no wise, be altered. The sinner has nothing to fear but natural law, -and sooner or later he finds this terrible enough.</p> - -<p>But the punishment of sin is not the most impressive proof of the -dominion of law. We feel that the willful transgressor is entitled to -the punishment of his deed; hence, even when his punishment is severest, -he fails to command our fullest sympathy. That the organization of -Nature should be such as systematically to afflict the sinner, is not -more than our sense of justice would prompt us to expect.</p> - -<p>But the punishment of <i>ignorance</i> offers a more impressive spectacle—a -more striking exhibition of the dominion of law. It seems that -ignorance, especially when absolutely unavoidable, might be pleaded in -bar of punishment; but nature obviously does not accept the plea. Nor -does it avail us in this emergency to appeal from Nature to the -Supernatural. The Supernatural refuses to entertain the -appeal—positively declines to interfere—and natural law is left to -take its course. The ignorant must suffer as surely as the guilty, and -often his suffering is not less severe. For the slightest mistakes men -forfeit happiness or life,—mistakes not of themselves alone, but -mistakes of others. The sin or the error belongs to one man; the weight -of the suffering often falls to another. Even our benevolence seems to -be punished; for quite frequently the effort to help others brings -disaster to ourselves—to our fortunes, to our families, our lives. -Seeking to rescue another from fire or water, from the assassin or the -robber; from the domestic tyrant or the foreign invader, we lose<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_607" id="page_607"></a>{607}</span> life, -and, for lack of our help, our children are uneducated, exposed to moral -evil, neglected, turned out of doors. The very tramp whom, for pity, we -took in from the street, robs us, or murders us. Meanwhile the -Supernatural beholds and makes no sign—gives no indication that it is -at all concerned.</p> - -<p>The suffering which comes through unavoidable ignorance, or which is -visited upon the innocent through the deeds of the guilty, is, in its -sum total, appalling and unspeakable. It is a dark and fathomless ocean, -whose waves have been incessantly beating on the shores of this dreary -world since time began. Every drop of this mighty ocean has been wrung -out through the operation of natural law. An omniscient eye, every hour -of the day and night, through countless ages, has gazed into these -waters of anguish, and has declined to lessen their quantity by a single -atom. No order from the Supernatural has gone forth to countermand any -decree of Nature. Man has stood alone, grappling with his antagonist; -and though he has cried incessantly, heaven has left him to his fate. -Could there be a more awful demonstration of the supremacy of natural -law?</p> - -<p>Nature slays in babyhood one-third of all the children that are born -into the world, just because they have not strength to resist her; -meanwhile she carefully preserves such tyrants as Tiberius to finish -their three score years and ten, though every added year means the -murder of a thousand of the best men and women to be found in a wide -empire. Why does not the Supernatural rise up from his place and smite -the tyrant to the earth? Is it not plain that we are dealing with -natural forces alone?</p> - -<p>For six thousand years—God knows how long—Africa has been a hell, than -which perhaps no man need ever fear a worse. If the pulpit may convince -a sinner that as a result of his ways he shall be turned black, body -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_608" id="page_608"></a>{608}</span> soul, and sent to Africa, there perpetually to renew his life as -often as it is extinguished by the superstition and fiendishness of his -fellows, and the said sinner do not then begin to live more wisely, it -will be useless to talk to him of fire and brimstone. Upon this horrible -theater of action perhaps 600,000,000 of human beings have been -projected in every century, coming without their will to a heritage of -nakedness and superstition and barbarity absolutely prohibitive of -happiness here or hope for the hereafter; and yet there has been no -interposition of the Supernatural in their behalf. The laws of birth and -death preside, just as if there were no power above us that cares for -either.</p> - -<p>It is one of the ordinances of nature that life without nourishment -shall not be prolonged. There is reason to believe that God would see -the last man starved from off this planet, and the planet itself plunged -onward into the void, tenantless forever, before he would command that -stones should be made bread. Not twenty years ago, 18,000,000 in the -northern provinces of China starved to death in a single year. What -horrible anxiety of hollow-eyed mothers for gasping babes; what hideous -deaths day by day; what acres of unburied corpses; what throngs about -religious altars, wringing their hands, and screaming to the heavens, -till it would seem that the agony of their prayers would have shaken the -very stars from the sky; and yet there was none that heard, nor any that -regarded. Not a single stone was turned into bread; not a single life -was sustained without food; and if any survived, it was the heartless -brother who wrested the last morsel from his weak and dying sister. A -ghastly instance of the dominion of law, attested by 18,000,000 of dead -witnesses. Can we look upon such a scene and ever again expect a petty -interposition in behalf of an individual when it has been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_609" id="page_609"></a>{609}</span> denied to a -nation, and when the Continent of Africa has waited for it through -countless ages?</p> - -<p>Instances might be multiplied to infinity. Every horror recorded in this -book is a proclamation of the supremacy of law—a warning to men that if -they would shun the effect they must avoid the cause; that they must -foresee the laws and attributes of nature, and provide; or they must -perish. Strange that after ages of such awful teaching man is yet a -fool—too lazy, too stupid to open his eyes; vigorously fighting against -knowledge when every interest of his soul and body are at stake; saying -supinely, “it makes no difference whether you know much or little, or -what you believe, provided only you are sincere;” and in the same breath -dishonestly hearkening to his prejudices or his passions; becoming a -compound of ignorance, superstition and self-will, which first defies -and rouses the powers of Nature, and then flies howling to the -Supernatural for deliverance. When we think how little man has learned, -notwithstanding the severity of his schooling, we are less disposed to -accuse the harshness of Nature’s administration.</p> - -<p>Our reflections on the course of Nature have not proved that there is no -God, but rather that there is. The order, regularity and certainty of -natural forces indicates a changeless, exhaustless fountain from whence -those forces flow. Amid the ceaseless mutations of the universe, this -primal energy seems to be the one thing in which there is “no -variableness, neither shadow of turning.” It flows on resistless along -the same channels from age to age. It overwhelms whatever lies in its -path. It would sweep away all the millions of earth like a grain of -sand. It would sweep the very stars from the sky. Nothing can arrest it; -nothing change its course. It accommodates itself to nobody; all must be -accommodated to it, or suffer<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_610" id="page_610"></a>{610}</span> disaster. It is inexorable, like “that -rock, upon which if a man fall, he shall be broken, but if it fall upon -him, it will grind him to powder.” It is not man who is running this -puny world; it is a changeless, eternal Power. No fear that any human -combinations in capitols or temples will swerve this infinite energy, or -control it in the least. That which is according to its nature it will -do, and it will do nothing else. It is absolute monarch, and woe to him -who resists its sway. We are amazed, awed and subdued in the -contemplation. We begin to feel that there is but one thing for us to -do, and that is, to learn its ways and by increasing knowledge and -obedience, as rapidly as possible to put ourselves in accord with its -goings-forth.</p> - -<p>Should we enter some vast factory where there are acres of floor-space, -and wheels and cogs and pulleys and hands and machines of patterns -innumerable, all propelled by a giant engine hidden away in the cellar; -should we see all this wilderness of wheels moving in concert, and every -machine turning out the work for which it was intended, we should -neither doubt the existence of the power, nor the benevolence of the -whole design: nor if presently we saw a workman, reaching after some -fancied good, drawn between wheels and mangled, or a hundred ignorant or -careless persons caught up and whirled round and round and dashed to -death; would we find any occasion to reverse our judgment—to doubt -either the existence of a controlling force, or its essential goodness? -Rather we should be impressed with its terrible supremacy, and with the -importance of seeking out the lines of its manifestation and learning to -avoid a conflict.</p> - -<p>Law is not an entity, but only the mode of an entity; not a thing -existing, but the attribute of a thing; not in itself a power, but the -manner of the action of a power.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_611" id="page_611"></a>{611}</span> When a power through a given cause -produces a given effect, and the same effect from the same cause, this -regularity of manifestation fulfills our idea of law.</p> - -<p>The great original energy must act with this perfect regularity—that -is, it must govern by law, and that equally, whether this original -energy be a thing only, or a person. In either case, we must accept it -as uncreated, necessary, having a definite constitution or nature. In -this power or person, natural laws are rooted, and from it they proceed, -as rays of light from the sun. To arrest the rays, you must quench the -luminary; to arrest the current forces of nature, you must stay their -author. The goings-forth of power from this exhaustless fountain are -necessary, ceaseless, changeless, resistless. If this fountain is an -impersonal force, we can no more expect it, on any account, to relax its -energy, than we can expect the engine in the cellar to stop because some -wretch up stairs has been caught between the wheels.</p> - -<p>If it is personal, having the attributes of wisdom and goodness—which -is the popular idea of God—still, from the very attributes with which -it is invested, we must expect it to have all the uniformity, precision, -and inexorableness of a machine. Its mode of action must be the same in -all cases that are alike, though the series be infinite, else there will -be more or less than perfect wisdom or perfect goodness in some of the -series. More would be impossible: less would impeach the power; hence, -the action must be uniform and resistless. It must show the -characteristics of law—<i>nothing else but law</i>. God can not consent to -do something that is not perfectly wise and perfectly good because He -has been importuned so to do by fools, or because a creature is going to -be crushed. Therefore, neither with Him—an infinitely wise and good -being—nor with Nature’s laws, which are but the effluence of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_612" id="page_612"></a>{612}</span> His -nature, can there be any “variableness or shadow of turning.”</p> - -<p>The general acceptance of this truth will mark a step forward in the -progress of humanity. Such knowledge will largely displace the faith of -the past and the present, but there will be a net gain. We have been -looking for God outside of Nature; but while some profess to have seen -him, the majority have been weak in faith, or wholly unbelieving. When -we learn to see God in nature, we shall see him every day. We shall then -truly realize that “in him we live and move and have our being.” We -shall have substituted certainty in the governing power for something -very like caprice. We shall not expect the Supernatural to forbid the -Natural, any more than we shall expect the sun to quarrel with his -beams. Knowing definitely what not to expect of God, we shall understand -precisely what to expect from ourselves. We shall comprehend more fully -the Maker’s meaning when He said, “Subdue and have dominion.”</p> - -<p>Judaism alone, of all religions, took no cognizance of a future state. -If man thoroughly adjusted himself to this world’s laws, he needed not -fear for the hereafter. Therein is the strongest proof of its divine -origin. And along this line a thousand victories have been won—but much -yet remains. The results of human folly are lessening daily as man -progresses. The means of rational enjoyment have been already vastly -increased, and there will be further enlargement. But men, not angels, -must do the work. Moses and his people stood, the sea before, and -Pharaoh and his hosts behind them. In this extremity, he lifted his -hands and cried to heaven. The answer that came was hardly such as he -expected, but it may be very suggestive to us: “Wherefore criest thou -unto me? <i>Speak unto the children of Israel</i>, <small>THAT THEY GO FORWARD</small>.”</p> - -<p><a name="transcrib" id="transcrib"></a></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td align="center">No so Romantic as it Looks=> Not so Romantic as it Looks {pg xiii}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">harvest and and summer=> harvest and summer {pg 25}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">which bring a rainy season=> which brings a rainy season {pg 34}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">from 10° to to 15°=> from 10° to 15° {pg 38}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">electrical discharges takes place=> electrical discharges take place {pg 44}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">bricks to to the street=> bricks to the street {pg 81}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">their more oppulent neighbors=> their more opulent neighbors {pg 87}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">frivolty and idleness=> frivolity and idleness {pg 88}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">witnesssd the horrible cremation=> witnesssed the horrible cremation {pg 92}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">up to to the front door=> up to the front door {pg 98}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">in some myterious way=> in some mysterious way {pg 109}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">feared in this conntry=> feared in this country {pg 130}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">population atttacted by=> population attracted by {pg 153}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">basin of Hong Hong=> basin of Hong Kong {pg 157}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the shoal in in the winter=> the shoal in the winter {pg 168}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">from the beyond the ship=> from beyond the ship {pg 189}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">A portion of the tempest and of the!=> A portion of the tempest and of thee! {pg 220}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">tremenduous electrical displays=> tremendous electrical displays {pg 223}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">straw fused in in the same way=> straw fused in the same way {pg 224}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Quinitus Julius Eburnus became consul=> Quintus Julius Eburnus became consul {pg 229}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">of the Lyse Fjord=> of the Lyse Fiord {pg 234}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">observations of late years has shown=> observations of late years have shown {pg 254}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">being the the only one=> being the only one {pg 261}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">they liked the the work=> they liked the work {pg 299}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">These uprotected tracts=> These unprotected tracts {pg 268}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">where help not easily obtained=> where help is not easily obtained {pg 272}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the immediate vicinty of=> the immediate vicinity of {pg 294}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">at a large scale-map=> at a large-scale map {pg 310}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the governmental committes=> the governmental committees {pg 315}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">had even remotely conconceived=> had even remotely conceived {pg 332}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">ten feet behing them=> ten feet behind them {pg 338}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">succeeeed in escaping=> succeeded in escaping {pg 341}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">magnificiently solid structure=> magnificently solid structure {pg 346}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">droping shattered houses=> dropping shattered houses {pg 347}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">of overwhelmning sorrow=> of overwhelming sorrow {pg 374}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Monday, the 3d, liberal contritions=> Monday, the 3d, liberal contributions {pg 382}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">vast quanties of gas=> vast quantities of gas {pg 404}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">character of the cave=> character of the the cave {pg 408}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">twenty-four active volcanes=> twenty-four active volcanoes {pg 416}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">The next unusal activity=> The next unusual activity {pg 434}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the material threwn out may reach=> the material thrown out may reach {pg 438}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the Vatna distriet in 1875=> the Vatna district in 1875 {pg 449}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the barometic oscillations=> the barometric oscillations {pg 480}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">one hundrd and sixty-five=> one hundred and sixty-five {pg 491}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Portions of the country was upheaved=> Portions of the country were upheaved {pg 533}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the unitiated foreigner=> the uninitiated foreigner {pg 536}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">At was felt at Charleston=> It was felt at Charleston {pg 553}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">long standing fueds=> long standing feuds {pg 572}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">killed killed fifteen thousand persons=> killed fifteen thousand persons {pg 585}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the unparalled horrors=> the unparalleled horrors {pg 592}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">weaned from the the breast=> weaned from the breast {pg 602}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Great Disasters and Horrors in the -World's History, by A. 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