The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1870-07-30
The Great Ill eats OF 1870.

The present year seems destined
to be crowded with both political
and physical phenomena The re
establishments of the second Ma
poleonic empire by popular vote
The proclamation OF infalhahility
in mortal man: he most sudden
and possibly most teIrificaily de-
structive war Of modern tin es
the burning OF Cor stantinopie; the
savage slaughter OF strueg ling pa
triots in Cuba have been and are
accompanied by an almost univer-
sal drought in Europe, the failure
OF crops, the most aw full tornadoes
and electric storms, ana the most
general range of carthq makes ex-
perienced within the memory Of
man. But not tie least rtmarka-
be of all these incidents TO a re-
markable epoch Iia4 been the sur
prlsing succession of hot spells
that have made both hemispheres
pant aud swelter beneath the RAYS
Of q sun that seems to be seven
times heated. For one month,
with only an odd interval to give
us breath, the denizens of New
York aud wide region OF terri
tory north and west ef it have
groaned III the torrid temperature
oil Calcutta. On successive DAYS
in June the mercury rose above
one hundred degrees Fahrenheit,
and on Thur sday last it was ten
degrees higher acre than at Haya-
IA and New Orleans.
In Europe, while the same in
tersity has not been attained, the
heat has been so phenomenal as
to bring continued drought and.
threaten actual famine. The sta
tislcians are recalling former
years Of similar infection. In
1914 the Thames river could be
crossed near London by wading
alter the excessive heat had lasted
for four months. France was once
terribly tried III this way for Sc
rleS OF six years. viz From 1923
to 1888, inclusive The crops
were nearly burned up, the rivers
dried away, and while the whole
land suffered from famine ep;dam
les broke out at Paris, Marseilles,
Lyons, Lille and other large cities.
In 1869 not q drop of rain fell in
some places Tor three and halt
months, and the sky glowed like a
coal. All the iivers were exhaust
ed, and such was the consequent
run upon the mills to get grain
ground to flour that people fought
for the first chance, and many
persons were killed. In sone dis
t{Icts the inhabitants had to make
circuit of several leagues IN
search OF driakin wator In 1851,
1903, ZIG ard 1919 similar heats
occurred with like results. The
cattle persisted wholesale and thou
sands OF human lives were stihed
out by the hot air. In 1888 ali
Europe was scourged with heat
and drought, which were renewed
IN 1903. Normandy is the great
rain region OF France, yes in the
year mentioned not shower de-
scended during the lapse of nine
ty-tive days. The river Seine al
most literally disappeared near
Paris, and the face of the country
presented, with the glowing firma-
ment overhead, a picture that real
lied the ''land of iron beneath
skies Of brass" in the awful Scrip
tural denunciation of Judea.
And now, while a heat worse
than the ordinary fury of the dog
star RACES, and half the civilized
world trent les in the presence of
d Judgment that all its skill and
science cannot stay, the madness
of political passion rushes to
quench its savage thirst and be-
spatter the parch i earth~ith gouts
of human blood.--N. Y. Herald.