Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1847-12-15

N'Hh'ibI'S liidSHi. al VI NlIlicllHG ltttfi Iii
lI.c visitation OF Gods wrath upon his
sinful creatures. Itself oncc fertile
vale, tccn.ing with population and res
dunhanl with tho products OF favored
cline, il not lies inert and sluggish, Il
mass Of dark and bitter waters, with 40
LIVING thing upon its airorr, or above, or
beneath lis surface. Receiving at onn
extreme, the mighty volume Of Il swil;
and uniai!in% river, and The numerous
torrents that plunge into i! through the
cIcllS in lis sides, il slnwIy rises and falls
in its own solitary bed, with no visible
outlet for its tributary watefs. lis l,iiy
land Irci;cd sides rivcn hv calrIlGnlkrs;
here hlanchcd by the rain, there blacks
rncd by the tempest, rise prrrcndirn-
iarly fifteen hundred feet on ono side.
and two thousand feet on the other;
while from the summit the wc-slruck
spectator hcholdS floating upon lis sur
face hlgc masses of bi'umcn, thrown up
from lis mysterious vortex. Noun,
Lebanon is 1000 feet above the NIcdi.
tcrrancan, and lo,30O feet above the
Dead Sra, which is little more than onc
hundred miles distant from it. The
"Co,ral" in iIIc Island Of Madeira is
wonderful, for il is Irr bed of IL crater
nearly level with the ocean; hnt hrrc is
Il sea, forty miles distant from another
sea, and upwards Of thirteen hundIci feet
below it. Tic unhappy Co<ti.an, the
only man who has undertaken to cir
cunlnaviga!c this sea-, and who persisted
in tho attempt, could in one place. find
no bottom. and it WIS indicated hv in
cessifni bubbles ans! an agitalrd suffice.
--NhcthGr OF not Ibis br The crairr OF il
submerged volcano, forming <nhcr-
rancous aqucduci with the OCEAN, who
can tell This unlalnomablc spot
whether or not lliorghan IN extinct volra-
no, in conncxion with The depression Of
surface and The hoight Of contiguous
mountain, forms the most extraordinary
fault, or lissure, in the known world.
One great objecl of investigation will
be to ascertain whether this sea and its
shores are of volcanic or non-volcanic
origin, and to refuse the position of inf
del philosophers with regard 10 its for,
...a4iaa. HE he el.+eidation Of this sub
iect is desideratum to science, and
would be most gratifying 10 the whole
Christian world.
1t is o mysSrry Which has remained !
impcnelral.lc since the awful moment
when the waters OF that wonhruus SCI
first rose above the smouldcrng ruins Of,
the vale OF! Siddim. The conliyrrration
Of one hall Of It's shores, ANA its very
extent, are unknown. lis watcls, Of Il
pr!.llng quality, and lmpid as a moun-
tain stream, doubtless hold within ll@il
bosom; ami holding, will reveal those
ruins, upon tho non existence Of which
the unbrlicycr States his inc:"duIiry.
Strabo, Diodoros, Play and JoScpluS
among the ancients--and Maundrcll,
pocock, Abbc NIar,in", Chalcaubrianh,
La MARITIME, Stephens and Robinson,
among the mo!crns, alI differ as TO the
extent, and many of the pccrIialilics OF
this sea. Considerable streams are said /
To empty INTO ii, the very names ol
which are unknown. Sumc have: heard
the @AmhuIings Of fish upon lis surincc,
while Others deny tint any animated
thin. whatever can cNi>: within lis dcHs'
and bitter waters. Fruits, usciDus 10
the eye, bat ot nau|ronS taste, and
crumhing in rI'" Grasp, are sand 10 he
found upon lis shores. Many travellers
deny the existence of ii! vrgclaloE, and
Chatcaubrnnd asserts that lie found
branches of the tamarind trees slrcwn
upon the beach. lis souIl'rn coast is
said to consist o. masses of solid sal;
while, as far the eye can reach from
its northern extreme, il bchOdS only Tie
washed and barren hills of Jln!ra on
one side, and those of Arabia Pcirca on
the o,hcr-All is vague, uncertain and
mysterious.
Arc the questions answered a.? Or,
shall Il small p"cuaiAry consideration
withhold country such as this, from
such an undertaking?
admtllIat it is not Il summers rv>
curSion, AMI THAT British officers are said
to have twice failed in like attempt.
Should that circumstance deter ven
turc to say, Mat within the broad pc.i>
phcly Of This land, which, cralrd b.
tween oceans, SllrlCilcS rom the lrirId
zone to the tropics, there is not one
native nOrn or true hearted adopted cili
zen who will answer in the affirmative.
We OWE something 10 the scientific and
the Christian world, anil whlc rxtrnhin"
the blessings Of ci;iI liberty in the south
and west, may we'll afford 10 foster Sci
cncc and strengthen the bulwar.s oi
Christianity in The cast.
w. +. LYNCH, T.. $. y.
We shall look forward TO liIr result uL'