The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1865-03-16

The CitlOo - she Plaza
The writer has (slsswhsre) attempted
70 prove that the belief which prompted
the statement that the Dead Sea was
formed BY the catastrophe which over.
threw the ssCitias Of the Plain, = u mere
assumption. It ID not only unsupported
BY Scripture, but II directly in the teeth
Of the evidence Of the ground itself. OF
the situation Of those cities, We only
know that being in the "Plain Of the Jor-
dam" they must have been to the corth
Of the lake. Of the catastrophe which
destroyed them, We only know that it is
described ns . shower of ignited sulphur
descending from the skies. Its date is
uncertain, but We shall be safe in placing
ii within the limit of two thousand years
before Christ. Now, how the chasm in
which the Jordan and its lakes were con.
tanned was produced out Of the limestone
block which forms the main body of Syris,
we are not at present sufficiently we'll in
formed to know. 1t may have been the
effect Of q sudden assure Of dislocation, or
of gradual erosion, or of combination of
both. But there can be no doubt that,
however the operation was performed, it
was of far older date than the time of
Abraham, or any other historic event.
And not only this, but the details of the
geology, SO far as we can at present dis.
Germ them, all point in direction oppo-
site to the popular hypothesis. That n.y.
potLesis is to the effect that the valley
was once dry, and at certain historic Pc
Rod was converted into a lake. The evil
dense of the spot goes to show that the
very reverse was the case; the plateaus
and terraces tracesble around its sides.
the aqueous deposits of the peninsula and
of the extreme western and southern
shores, saturated with the salts of their
ancient immersion, speak of q depth at
one time far greater than 1t is at present,
and Of gradual subsidence, until the
present level Ohe balance, as already ex-
planned, between supply and evaporation
was reached.
Beyond these and similar tokens Of the
actisn of water, there are no marks of the
action of any geological action nearly SO
recent as the days of Abraham. Inexpe-
rieuced and enthusiastic travellers have re-
ported craters, lava. pumice and scorie,
as marks OF modern volcanic action, at
every step. But these things are not so
easily recognized by inexperienced OBJ
servers, nor. if seen, is the deduction from
them SO obvious. The very few compe.
tent biologists who have visited the spot.
both those who have published their OBJ
servations Gas DR.. Anderson, geologist to
the American expedition) and those who
have not, concur in stating that no GER
tain Indications exist in or about the lake
of volcanic action within the historical or
human period, no volcanic craters, and
no cou.ees Of lava traceable to any vent.
The igneous rocks described as lava are
more probably basalt of great antiquity
the bitumen Of the lake has nothing ne.
cessarily to do with volcanic action.
TIE scorched, calciDed look of the rocks
in the immediate neighborhaod, of which
so many travellers have spoken as an evi.
den, token of confagration Of the cities
is due to natural causes, to the gradual &C.
ton of the atmosphere on the constitu
ents of the stone.
The destruction Of Sodom and Gomor.
rah may have been by volcanic action
but it may be safely asserted that no ira.
ces of it have yet been discovered, aad
that, wha!ever it was, it can have had ne
connection with that far vaster and ia,
more ancient event which opened the
great valley OF the Jordan and the Dsad
Sea. ard at some subsequent time cut il
oil from communication with the Red Ses
BY forcing up between them the tract O
the Wsdy Arabah. -ISmith's Dictionar,
of the Bible.