The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1874-04-10
The North Carolina sensation.
respOndence New York Herald


| In conversation with General Cling
man this evening your correspondent
in calling his attention Ia the recon,
tain aud Stone Mountain, in Western
North Carolina, asked his opinion con.
corning these remarkable volcanic per-
turbations. "Yon are one Of the old.
est residents OF that picturesque Ap-
palachian section of North Carolina,
General: you have thoroughly explored
| IL: the highest peak of the Black Noun
tain is called Clingman's Dome; you
know all that is known of that mass OF
mountains of numerous ranges. and
therefore YOU are the expert desired 10
tell us the meaning of these s'e1iing
pcrturbations IN those mountaius-ihcse
premoui,ory symptoms OF an impeni-
ing earthquake on grand scale, includ.
/ ing the opening of seams in the noun.
tain sides aud escape therefrom of gas
and smoke"
General Clingman replied that 'the
volcanic disturbances in those noun
tains of Western North Carolina, which
are now making such great sensation,
are no new thing-thst they can be trac.
cd back to the rcmotest tradition Of the
| Cherokee Indians, and thence. by Sci
entific research, to the volcanic upheav-
ais from which these mountains were
! formed. In the northeastern corner of
Haywood county, near Fines Creek for
~ miles northwest of Stone Mountain,
there is mountain which has been sub.
iected to periodical shakings, after liz
tervas Of two or three years, ever since
the war of 1912, aud for bow long pc.
riod before cannot tell. The immediate
locality of these disturbances is about n
mile in length and n quarter of mile
| in width. The shocks under this noun.
tain have not been. within my recolleo.
ton, of longer duration than n few
minutes and vet with each recurrence,
after an interval OF rest of two or three
wears, the shocks have been sufficiently
powerful to break up the mountain. as
one may say, into new assures, tillocks
and upheavals and cavities so Mar as to
change its general appearance"
"And you have noticed these phc-
nomena, from time 10 time, through a
period Of many years"
"Oh, yes! think if Won will look
over the files of the old National Intel.
| ligence: Of about TWENTY-FIVE wears ago
YOU will find pretty full description
which | gave Of the volcanic distur-
Dances Mt that time. remember that
about twenty-five years ago In the edge
Of Macon county, southwest Of Hay.
wood. there was shock which opened
a seam in the ground for nearly mile
/ So, -,
in line between Haywood and Stone
Mountain, smoke issued from a assure
opened in the rocks. This was some
two miles from the French Broad River
and IN the neighborhood of the Warm
Springs, Madison county. have known
tho solid granite cliffs Of HAYWOOD
Mountain TO be fractured by volcanic
action for nearly mile in length, and
in one instance, have seen detached
granite rock Of perhaps 1000 ious in
weight which, lying above one Of these
earthquake assures, was broken into
three fragments. But one OF the most
remarkable freaks of these little earth.
quakes was that which splits large tree,
bringing one-haif of II TO the ground,
and leaving the other half standing.
have no doubt .hat the newspaper men
detailed to look into these mysteries
will gather many interesting rcminis.
cences from the old settlers of those
western mountain counties of the old
North State, touching the periodical re-
currcnce Of these remarkable little
earthquakes. ! have often wondered
that the attention Of men of science had
| Il 10 inf ;nn
volcanic disturbances in our North
Carolina mountains"
"But do You think they mean nothing
more on this return than tho usual PC
riodical spasms, gradually dying out
with the continued cooling and thick
cning Gf the ear;hs crust? ~
The General thought this matter of
doubtful speculation. After warnings in
premonitorv trembliUgs Of The ground,
there may be a disastrous earthquake
or volcanic eruption, as these things
occur in Mexico and Central America;
or these .spasms as heretofore, from time
to time, NAV pass off as nine days
wonder. But those mountains, the cui.
minatng mass ofthe Allegheny system,
were uplifted by forces which are still
throbbing under their foundations and
shaking them TO their submits. There
are thirty peaks on these mountains Of
Western North Carolina from the
Smoky Range TO the Blue Ridge which
are higher than Mount Washington and
from the primitive rocks thrown up in
these old ranges and from the great
variety OF minerals brought out from
the bowels of the earth into the sides
and chasms OF these mountains, we
know that the subterrancan forces from
which those mountains were formed
operated here more powerfully than Mt
any other point on the Atlantic side OF
our continent; and we may conclude,
from these frequent disturbances, that
these tremendous forces are not yet
under those mountains reduced below
the capacity for disastrous convulson.
Twas the Cats DOings.