Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1874-06-10
Letter from Prof. Frank n. bradley. of
the East Tennessee University.


EDITORS CHRONICLE According
to your request, / subjoin brief ac-
count of the results of the trip to Bald
Mountain, recently made by the grad
uating class of the East Tennessee
University. Since there is so many
Bald - mountains in Western North
Carolina, let ME say at the start that the
Bald mountain is in Rutherford coun-
ty, about "a miles east of Asheville.
So far as direct observation upon the
disturbances there in progress was con-
cerned, the trip was failure, for there
was not the least disturbance during
our visit. But from an examination
of the present condition of the noun
tain, on both sides and on top, we were
able to come to an understanding of the
phenomena reported to us by the resi-
dents of the region. And here l would
remark that the reports heretofore pub.
lished have grown rapidly in proper
ton to their distance from home, there
having been apparently no foundation
for the stories of yawning crevices and
smoking pits. The phenomena actually
| observed seem to have consisted simply
of noises within the mountains, more
or less loud, and shakings of the sur
face.
! The sounds are variously described as
resembling continuous musket-firing
or heavy cannonading, or 1.-THE rumble OF
/ a heavy iron. aXled wagon rolling rapid.
! ~ over rocky road. The shakings are
wave like vibrations of the surface
moving laterally from the center o
disturbance, and causing cracks in
walls and chlmneys, and occasionally
throwing down loose articles.
These are the common phenomeni
of earthquakes, bat are here much
more local and less violent than usual
There is nothing properly volcanic
about them and the region shows NJ
volcanic rock. Bald mountain form.
one of the southeastern spurs of thu
easternmost range of the Blue Ridg,
proper, and consists of micaceous ant
hOrnblendic schists and gneisscs, hav
ing the variable southeasterly dip char
acteristic of the whole range. "JOints, ,
or parallel cracks, are well developed
throughout the mass; and, on the
eastern slope of Bald mountain, the
intervening portions of rock have been
in many cases, isolated by the deer
disintegration common throughout tn,
southern part of the Appalachians
doubtless aided in this case by tn,
earthquake vibrations. 1.-THE Pima.
cles," commonly visited, offer goOt
examples of such isolation.
The upturned positions OF the rock
Of all this region give abundant evi
dence that ii has been region of dis
turbance through many ages past, anC
at the same time furnish the means
of understanding the new phenomena
Drying and cooling are both accom-
panied by contraction. AS an appl,
dries, its pulp contracts; and the Skin
remaining attached in part to the pulp
but not contracting, proportional,
: wrinkles as an orange dries, on tn
contrary, the stiff rind refuses to yiel,
and remains smooth, the pulp beinj
pulled apart. When the earth wa
hotter than now--and their is GOO
reason for believing that il was one
melted-lt was much larger and il
crust was originally smooth. As tn
globe cooled, its consequent contrac
ton caused great pressure in the still
fleming crust, and yielding TO the pres
sure, the crust aOrinkted. The sam
process of cooling and contraction
still going on, but the crust long sine
got too thick and stiff TO bend readily