The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-07-05
The Grent Earthaunke In Greece.

| given tn0 WOfIu OF JOURNALISM more tuau ono
interesting and exciting subject of remark,
has just distinguished and well nigh extin-
guished itself with a first class earthquake.
The scene of special disaster is tho island of
Santoria, one of the southernmost OF the Cycla-
des group, and the town Of identical name
recently standing thereon has been shaken
down in complete ruin, with the loss presum-
ably, of many lives. At the same time all
the mainland of Greece, including both Hellas
proper and the MORGAN peninsula, has felt
the shock, and at least one islet of the Archi-
pelago has disappeared beneath the pillows of
tic 2Eg ean Sea.
''Thesa be parlous times" in faith, for the
dwellers on that aimsy crust of earthly deposit,
which some oracles of geological science de-
clare to be no thicker in proportion to the en-
tire dimensions of our globe than the shell Is
| on the egg. For a period Of about four years
past this little planet of ours has had most
portentous ague, which has shaken the dead
from their graves in Peru, swallowed up part
of the coast and all of the treaty for
annexation of ST. Thomas, obliqued the per-
pendiculars of San Francisco and the
Sandwich Islands, and most recently if popular
rumor be true, menaced good deal Of rick
ETY. architecture in the lower wards Of New
York and Brooklyn. The sun, too, the great
infallible of our system, has been strangely
afflicted with sort of solar measles or
breaking out in spots of most portentous
size and fiery inflammation, and, taking all
symptoms together, the celestial and terres-
trial status has been of very questionable
character At this present writing the seismic
or earthquaky paroxysm that seemed to have
reached its height about two years ago, and
then gradually subsidized appears to be return
ing upon us with increasing force and fire.
quency of CONFUSION. The remarkable at
mospheric phenomena of the current year,
including the continuous prevalence of dense
fogs for hundreds Of miles over the North At
lantic. and the fearfully torrid heats and
drought in every part Of Europe had prepared
scientific observers for equally unusual cleo
trical manifestations. The latter began not
long since with violent earthquakes in Mexico
and South America, have been followed up by
tremendous tempests in both northern hemis-
commences his regular march around the
globe, taking again his old starting point in the
Greek Archipelago, but, evidently, on line of
narrowing concentric movement that brings
him into the middle ATTITUDES.
Within the space comprised by the thirty
sixth and forty first parallels of north latitude
and the thirteenth and twenty-seventh paral-
lels Of longitude each from Greenwich lies one
of the grandest volcanic regions of the world.
It's western outposts are illumined by the
fires of Vesuvius, Stromboli and Etna, and
in the southeast the heavings and rumblings of
the Cyclades remind the modern traveller that
the tremendous power which the Greeks typi-
fled as the Cyclopean God of Labor is still at
work with undated strength. There is not
league of all the land area thus designated
that does not offer evidence of past or present
CONFUSION. The Lipari Isles, Sicily; the
lower Roman territory, the entire vicinity of
Naples, Calabria, various parts Of the Greek
mainland and all the insular groups of the
Egean are strongly marked and scared by
volcanic action. The minor cluster of islets,
| of which Santoria or Santorino is the largest,
produces the best wines Of the Archipelago,
for the very reason that its grapes imbibe
their sparkling glow from the inner fires of the
| earth. The ancient writers mention the first
appearance of these islets long before the
Christian era as the direct result of volcanic
upheaval Other small islets sprang up within
their circuit in the years 1876 B. c. and in 1873,
l7O7 and 1712, when the commissions of the
surface were terrible. But 1866 was the chief
| wear Of wonders. The subterranean noises
and tremblngs began about the 3Oth Of
January in that year and continued almost in
cessantly until the close of March, during
| which time portions Of the old shores disap-
peared and new islets were thrown up with
| tremendous detonations. The isle st. George
blazed with volcanic ires and hurled blocks Of
stone, measuring many yards in diameter, into
! the air. One of these struck trading vessel
passing near by and killed the captain and
fired the ship Another general conclusion in
the same region was felt in the middle of May,
1866, throughout all Greece, Italy and the
south of France. There have been repeated
shocks since then, but the severest one occur
ring previously to that of Friday last was on
the 25th OF April in the present year, when
the volcano of Santorino-the ancient Thera-
belched forth its flames so far over the ada
cent sea as to burn small coastng bark and
the crew that manned it.
From the imposing signal which has just
been given we may, scientifically speaking ,
confidently expect to hear further. Year by
year fresh volcanic forces seem to have been
accommodating in the region embraced by the
limits of latitude above described. The noun
tain promontory of Methana, on the eastern
| &c @ho fba o1o nd IF