The Republican. [volume] (Maryville, Tenn.) 187?-187?, 1874-08-01
THE COMET OF 1911.
"Reminiscences of the Earthquake I'm I
mississippl Valley.

ordinary Drllllancy. IL was attended
by some very remarkable convul-
sions of nature, and it was said
at the time that it reached a point
within 10000 miles of the surface of
the sun. 1t was visible for the first
time on the 7th Of September; 1911,
and its situation was calculated by
Professor Wood, of William and Mary
college, Virginia, to be in the same line
with the polar star. The diameter of
its body, exclusive of tail, appeared to
be one fourth of the moon. From this
time to the 21st of September, its dis
lance from the sun increased, as well
as its brightness and tail. The comet
was supposed to have passed its peri
helion between the 4th and 10Th of the
month with the amazing velocity of
400, 600 miles per honr. 1t could be
plainly seen in the evening during the
month of October. Prior to its APP
pearance there we've unusual commo-
tions in the earth and the atmosphere
in a variety of ways. A severe shock
OF earthquake was felt in Virginia.
Both the American and European sea-
coasts, as well as many parts of the -
terror of those continents, were uni
all harrassed by tremendous hurricaLes
and storms of rain and hail, and a
strange agitation of the atmosphere
was noticed. But the most remarkable
phenomenon attending the comet of
1911 was the earthquake of New Mad
rid, in the valley of the Mississippi,
which destroyed nearly 200 miles of
the navigation of that river. 1t pre-
sented one of the few examples of the
incessant trembling of the ground for
several successive months.
Far away from any volcano, over an
extent OF country stretching for 300
miles from the mouth of the Ohio river
the ground lose and sunk, and lakes
were formed and again drained. The
surface burst open in assures that were
sometimes over half mile long, and
from these assures mud and water were
thrown as high as the tops of trees.
Duiing the continuance of these convul.
sions the inhabitants distinguished two
classes of movements-the vertical and
horizontal. The latter were regarded
as far more desolating than the former.
The disturbance continued over what
has been since called the "sunk coun-
try" until March, 1912, when they
ceased. An eyewitness states that sub
sequently to some of the severest shocks
the waters CT the Mississippi we're SC
strongly impregnated with the efluvia
of matter, supposed to have undergone
combustion as to be unfit for use; that
the bed of the Mississippi was thrown
upward in a number of places formerly
deemed unbelievable so high as to i'm.
pede the navigation: that in a sandbar
that had lately made its appearance
there was discovered large quantity OF
coal, and that the forests adjacent were
broken down by the abruptness of the
undulatory movements OF the earth.
The post road between Natchez and
Nashville was covered with several little
hillocks Of fine white sand which had
ben protruded upward to the surface
OF the ground. A considerable tract OF
country was inundated with water waist
deep, through which the terrified inbab.
itants we're forced to walk to higher
lands for safety.
The water was so warm as to evidence
the previous action of subterranean
fire, an so stl ongly tinctured with com
bustible matter as 10 resemble fluids i'm
pregnated with pulverized gun powder,
and a mountain of considerable height
had arisen in one night from the Level
of what had been before plain. SINH.
lar commissions extended to q greater OF
less degree over the middle and western
tates. A dreadful tornado passed ovel
the city of Charleston, South Carolina,
which was marked in its course by de.
struction and death. Several hurri.
canes were experienced off the Ameri-
can coast, which dismasted and other
wise severely injured many vessels at
sea, and some were totally wrecked. A
violent shock of earthquake, felt at
Nashville, Tenn, in October, 1911,
caused great damage. But it was in
the West Indies and South America
that the heaviest calamities occurred.
The city of Caracas was almost entirely
des troyed by an earthquake and over
$4,000 of the inhabitants killed. A ter
rible volcano burst ont near the Island
of st. Michael's. From the immense
quantities of lava, ashes and rocks
thrown up from this volcano a new
island was formed several miles in cir
conference. The disturbances in the
Mississippi ceased coincident with the
earthquake at Caracas.
The opinion as to the causes of these
violent outbreaks that prevailed among
American scientific men over sixty
years since was that they we're produced
by terrestrial and celestial electricity !;
that from the powerful affinity of the
two fluids the violent efforts of cleo
tricity to escape from the earth pro-
duced earthquakes. The ravages of
tornadoes, hurricanes and storms that
occurred during the appearance of the
comet must have had some causes, and
that it was evident that they were phys
ically produced, either Immediately or
by an extra mundane agency,
for there was no matter, or physical
combination of matter, on the earth
possessing sufficient power to combine
so much phenomena in 80 short time.
50 the conclusion was that the comet
was the cause of all the trouble in 1911.
But the gaseous nature of the meteor
was we'll understood Possessing this
character, it might be as
we'll to attempt to ascertain how far a
cloud, driven against a mountain, will
tend to break off its top as speculate
upon any danger to the earth from. coll
lBion with comet. The effect of such
a meeting would be the mixture OF its
gaseous matter with the atmosphere
and probable rise in the barometer,
though there is no evidence to make it
probable that all the comets in ex.
stence> if put together, would have
mass sufficient to produce q sensible
effect 4 any kind. If, however, the
gaseous matter should condense suffi-
GENTLY to descend to the lower regions