The free citizen. (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-08-07
The Sacrifice of Human Life.

The Sacrifice of Human Life.
The sacrifice of human life during
the past six months has been simply ap-
palling, as will be shown by the statis-
up this record we have made use only of
the great disasters which have been re-
ported by telegraph. The minor casu-
alties it is impossible to estimate. Epi-
denies have been the most severe de-
stroyers of life, although neither the
cholera nor the plague has ravaged any
part of the world. In the Fiji Islands
alone $4,000 people have perished by
measels and other diseases introduced
since the annexation of those islands to
Great Britain. This unusud fatality
from comparatively innocuCus disease
the London Times explains upon tn
ground that the European nations have
become hardened to it, and that it was
destructive to these islanders because
they were having it for the first time
and were not accustomed to this boon of
British civilization. Earthquakes come
second in the list of destroying elements,
having killed over 10000 people. We
have no record of the loss of life by tho
recent earthquakes and accompanying
volcanic disturbances in Iceland, but
there have been four other earthquakes
from which tho loss Of lifo has been
given approximately rs follows: In New
Granada, 10000; in Asia Minor, 1000 !;
in the Loyalty Islands where the earth
quake was accompanied by terrible
tidal-wave, 1000; and Mt San Cristobal,
Mexico, 70. A famine in Asia Minor dur
ing tue early part of the year swept off
10000 people before relief could reach
the afflicted region. Floods come next
IL the disastrous catalogue, their raw
ages having been almost exclusively con-
fined to Europe. Tho overflow of the
Garonne in the southern part of France
destroyed 5000 lives, and that of the
Danube in Pesth 600. While our own
country was severely ravaged by floods
during the spring, especially in the
southwest and in Pennsylvania, their
destruction was confined to property.
We can find no evidence that more than
six lives were lost by them, although
many of them were very sudden and
swept everything before them, being
accompanied, rs they were, with huge
masses Of ice. The marine disasters of
the past six months have been pecu-
liarly destructive Of life. Fifty.four
vessels, nearly all of them steamers,
have gone down, taking with them 1908
persons, the most prominent. Of which
are the following The Schiller, off
the Scilly Islands, $40; the Gotten
berg, off the Australian coast, 1855; the
Cadiz, 60; the Flu Sing, Chinese
steamer, so; the American ship Violetta,
70; the -Vieksburg, collision with ice
bergs, 40; the Thornabia, 90; the
Cortes, 2G; the George Batters, 81 /; the
Bride, Berar, Berlin (Japanese), and
the Alice, 20 each; and the Loch-
nager, 1G. There have been other
severe disasters on the South
American, Chinese, and English
coasts which involved serious
loss of life, but it is impossible to esti-
mate them, as the telegraph furnishes
no record. The season has been un-
usually characterized by tornadoes and
hurricanes, and of these there have been
eighteen which have been accompanied
by loss of life, as follows: /: In Hong
Kong, 500; Georgia, 317 Chill, GO;
Louisiana, 20; France, IL; Missouri,
6; Mississippi, IL Arkansas, 5; Mich
igan, 81; Wisconsin, 81; Illinois, 3;
South Carolina, 2, and Kansas, 1 total,
94i. Thirty-tive fires have been re.
ported, by which 304 lives have been
sacrificed. Only three of these have
been accompanied by heavy loss of
life, being the burning of match fac
tory at Gottenberg, Sweden (5O;)
steamers n. New Orleans l75); and the
rscent Holyoke (NIass.) church disaster
(92). Explosions, mainly in this coun-
try. have killed 207 people, as follows !:
Fire. damp, 1872; boilers, 4S; gunpow-
der, 81 fire works, 8; nitro glycerine,
4 chemicals, 3. The railroads, in this
country Mt least, have not been 80 pro.
life in the destruction of life as usual.
Although 47 disasters have been re.
ported, but 43 people have been killed,
the largest number in any single disas-
ter being but 7. The list of injured,
however, foots up 24S. Last in the list
come snOw-slides, which have buried sc.
Tho total list foots up as follows
Epidemics so, OoO
Earthquakes Observation-Disclosures. 20,070
Famine. ....... Observation-Disclosures. 20, ono
Floods. .............. .............. 3,G06
Marine disasters. .............. 1903
Tornadocs. Observation-Disclosures. Oh
Fires Observation-Disclosures. oil
Explosions. Observation-Disclosures. GOT
SlOW-alucS Sb
Railroad accidents Observation-Disclosures. 43
n,