The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-06-09
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Of Their
Occurrence.

E.rts,ouakcs.-Pi,cno Of. Their
Occurrence.
!, thc current number Of the North Anae-
v,cnu Reriesr. Mr.. j. ID. Whitney has long
and careful article upon earthquakes, IN
which he comments upon recent works on
tb;s suhiect. Prominent among them is a
trast;se by r. Mallct, who has made seismic
,,hono,nena the study Of years. 6 Selsmos,
+ ,,,ay he observed. is Greek for earthquake,
n,d Gance ..se;srlic." and n host OF other
incomprehensible words, instead OF Tor
ra,,Ia aasilv expressed in good fair English.
M Mallci has laid the earth out in seismic
curves. and. BIZ system OF colorcd maps,
indicnted the portions most liable to seismic
infuences and action; Z. e., earthquakes.
These are called seismographic maps. Mr.
Whitney, in reviewing this worS, ASKS %ne-
Their there Is any part OF the world wherc
earfhouakcs do not occur. lie says:
mTo this question il would probably be
sof, to reply that there is no region thickly
inhabited by civilized people, ana where
consequently there is Il pretty complete
record of whist has happened for console
r,bIe Deriod back, in which there are not
occasional slight manifestations OF seismic
energy. But it is pretty certain on 'he
other hand that regions 80 well known as
Brazil or as some portions OF the coast Oh
Africa COlllU HOl DS lit'h
EARTHQUAKES without some information nav
inc been gathered in regard to them by the
many travellers who have visited those
countries. The fact that any area is lett
uncolored in Mr.. Mallets map Is strong
reason for believing that 1t Is probably not
liable to severe shocks. Leaving Africa ana
Australia out of the question, as too ilttic
known to allow Of positive statements being
made concerning them. 1t may be sa,a .u1'
there Is hardly any portion OF the habtaDle
globe which is not occasionally shaken, but
that Eastern South America comes nearest
to a desirable state Of security III TINS re-
snect. Most of British North America Is
also very firm in it's position as an integral
part Of the crust, but i, not likely ever 10
be very thickly inhabited"
It is found that the area OF the great earth
ouakes is coIncidcnt with the area OF me
greatest displays Of volcanic forces. In inc
maps of Dir. Mallet these regions are tihted
with deep red. the color growing Lighter aS
the regions Of less volcanic action are
reached. We quote again:
.sTbe great circle Of fire about BorncO Us
n centre. extending from Manila around 10
Sumatra, exhibits broad belt OF the deep
est tint. The same is true of the region
connecting the Andes with the Lesser An
titles. Iceland. the Azores, the Canarles,
the Cape Nerdes, parts oil llaiy, the couh-
Dian-these are all regions of great earth
hrakes. and also, AS we well know, OF great
Volcanic oruptions, OF regions liable to
great earthuuakes, and not volcanic, the 1ol-
lowing may be cited as the principal: FOR
lions of the coast of China, the region about
the mouth of the Ganges, and that south OF
the mouth of the Indus, the Pyrcnees, and
the coast of Portugal, between Lisbon and
Operto." <<,. A..
IN, r,,,tp
REGIONS liable to great earthquakes are al
most entirely coIncident with areas OF active
volcanoes, and that they also lie near the
borders OF the ocean,
The catalogues of earthquakes are neces-
sarily imperfect. Where there are ncwSpa-
pers every shock is recorded; where there
are none, and where earthquakes are com
mon, the little shocks are not noted. lhuS,
il appears by the catalogues, that nearly ~
many earthquakes have taken place III ureat
Britain during the nineteenth century as III
Chili-while we know that in the first
named country no very destructive shock
has ever taken place, and that even minor
ones are very rare. In Chill, on the con-
trarv, several trightful earthquakes have
occurred during the present century; one
hundred and twenty-seven shocks were felt
ut Santiago in thirty-fye months, and prl-
dent people decline ever to sleep III Il room
with the door shut, lest it may become
damned by an earthquake, and egreSs be
rendered impossible. 1t lisa sufficient proof
that q region is comparatively safe from real
danger, to read as follows: Newport,
r.. l.. 1866, August %; violent shock no
damage done" A violent shock not pro-
'duciny any damage would be dcSideratum
on the South American coast, where, pro-
badly, the record would have stood A
very Slight vibration no damage DONE
The great ca rthquake of Lisbon occurred
in November 1855, and one of the shocks
was felt in New England. The shock WAS
violent enough to throw down a conSidera-
bic number Of chimncyS and the gable ends
of some brick buildings. Throughout Mas
sachusetts many stone fences were more or
less injured. Some cracks We're made in the
ground near Scituatc, from which water and
sand issued to the extent of ''many cart
loads" Previous to that, in 1858, 1908,
1862, and 1921, shocks had been felt i'll Bos-
ton, of which that Of 1862 was severe enough
to throw down some chimneys. 1t does not
appear, however, that any person has ever
been killed by any earthquake in New Eng
land so that it is pretty safe to conclude
that some, if not all, OF the chimneys thrown
down had been built with very poor NOR
tar. We are not aware that there is any re-
cord of any considerable shock having taken
place in New England since that of 1l55.
There are shocks annually on the Pacific
coast-l11 in California for the thirteen
wears ending December 1868. in lSl2
March 2G) there was a great shock ut New
Madrid, Just below the mouth Oh tue oilio.
Mr.. Whitney says:
AS result of this, Il large tract OF coun-
try west Of New Madrid, extending seventy
or eighty miles north and south, and thirty
east and west, was permanently sunk con-
siderably below its former level, and con-
verified into q marsh. This was truly an in-
teresting and peculiar occurrence, as II Is
almost the only instance on record OF 0reg.on
far from rolcanoes, from mountain CHAINS,
and from the ocean, being subjected TO Il
long and violent disturbance OF this KIND
il Is also remarkable that the heavy shocks
In this locality have been repeated only
once. as far as we are able to learn-namely
in 1865, August 1T-when considerable
part of the Mississippi Valley was shaken
with some violence, although no damage
was done at any point. The shock was most
distinctly felt at New Madrid. 1t IS said
that light vibrations have frequently occur.
red in the district of the Sunk Country,
as it Is called, since the great ones of ISL
10"
There seems some reason TO believe that
earthquakes are more likely to occur at GER
tain seasons of the year, and while the
earth is in certain positions with regard to
the moon. They often attend volcanic
action, though Mr.. Whitney thinks it "not
reasonable to suppose that-the internal
forces having once found vent for tnelr
energy in the eruptive actlon-the VlDratloh
OF the crust, which can hardly be looked on
as ANYTHING else than the result Of the
struggles between expansive force on the
one hand, and the pressure and tenacity OF
the superincumbent material on the other,
would be suspended. On examining the