Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1872-04-19
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Despite the pleasure the inhabitants of
Antioch drew from its beautiful situation
on the Orontes and from the jour desprits
OF its intellectual leaders, it has suffered
calamity after calamity. Twice in forty
years "a. d. 1l5-155) II was wholly DESTROY
ed, the first time by an earthquake and the
second by fire. From the effects of tbo
cnrthqunt<o ~ recoversd by the hoi u OF tho
Emperor Traian, and from those of the fire
| by that OF Antonius Plus. In the years
i5s 526, 5s7, and 1922 Antioch was visited
by earthquakes, aud from the terrible
shocks of the latter year ii has never re-
covered. The city has hardly now more
than historical interest. It's population
numbers but about 5000 or 1000. This fair
| city, that once had Christian church with
congregation of 100000, has not even a
Christian Westinghouse, and only five or
six miserable mosques. The land sur
rounding it, though very fertile, is uncul-
tivated except on the hills in the distance,
where grape-vines grow luxuriously. War,
earthquake, flood, fire, have desolated this
proud town, and the new earthquake in
stead of topping lordly palaces, stately
churches, and solid houses into shapeless
masses-a task worthy Of the Earth-shaker
-hnds only ignoblc mud huts, long desert
ed shrines, and the old foundations of dis
used buildings ON which to vent its cees-
tial ire.
Unfortunately the cable does not give us
the date Of the earthquake at Antioch. Fol-
lowing so Immediately after the series of
shocks along the Pacific coast, especially in
California, one is apt to connect them As
far as we know at present this hypothesis
is Improbable. An earthquake travels in
waves around the circumference of the
earth, loilowng mostly zizzag lines of adj
vance. The present earthquake must have
passed over the Pacific Ocean or along its
bed, and in order to have reached SYRIA
must have skipped India, from which we
would have been likely to have heard if the
earthquake had shook it, But whether |
both arc mercy parts of great wave, or |
whether, as sappcars more likely, they have
each started from different centres, tho fact
OF their coincidence remains very marked.
1t appears TO be scientifically settled that
sea-coasts are more liable to earthquakes
than places iar inland. And the reason is
plain. Strange rs it may appear TO non
scientific readers, earthquakes are the great
conserving agents i'll the structure of our
earth. Fatal as they are to man and his |
works, they actually prevent the coming Of |
the reign of water. But for them the waves |
beating, calm or convused, on our coasts |
would wear down the hardest rock into |
fine loan and spread it as carpet on the |
bed of the ocean, the tendency being TO |
have reign of geographical equality in
which neither hills nor valleys should ap-
pear, and which equality would be at the
mercy Of king water. But Then the pow
ertnl earthquake steps in and by sheer
force lifts whole chains of mountains ont
Of the bed of the sea-it literally makes
the dry land. Not only is this conception
applicable to the appearance of volcanic
Islands, hut TO those massive chains of
mountains the Andes in South America.
the Cordillerns in Mexico, and the Siorras |
on our Pacific slope, which have been lin- |
ed ON several occasions several feet Rela-
lively TO the persons near their centres.
are destructive, but absolutely
with regard to the earth and men they are
Further and more definite
news from Syria will he required to settle
the track point of departure and exqct time
of occurrence of the earthquake which has
again destroyed the poor remains of what
was once 1.-The Queen of the East."-N Y.
World