Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1875-11-18
THAT PREDICTION.

ScOlcQ SeeTt>s -AsS-
portion of Virginia City would be
DESTROYED by an earthquake on Nov.
Is. contained as little truth as there
was sense in any apprehensions as
IN ;,s fuIfilImenf. A few of the
sunersti,ious and timid, while I'M
willing to openly proclaim their be-
lief or fears, and be .swrit down as
asses secretly dreaded the dawning
of that day. This lady's prophecies
regarding the late disastrous con-
f,agraticn, added with them weight
TO this her last miscalculated guess,
but while one was founded upon
common sense. which told US that
owing to the number OF old frame
buildings, the narrowness of the
streets, . e re during the summer or
tall months accom- panied by the
strong winds. which so often prevail
dur1ng those periods OF the year,
would necessarily prove disastrous.
The other was based upon a belief in
. theory rs impossible of logical
Deductions, as is the singular facina-
ton with which ii sometimes envel-
opes minds in other respects bright
and able. If the prediction had ex-
tended to some localities in Califor-
MIA, her reputation would have been
permanent with those people. as
severe shocks were felt al Yuma,
San Diego, Los Angeles, Pleasanton
and several other places, which
should, according to her calculations
have happened in Virginia. There
is no calamity possible that does the
same injury to a community as an
earthquake. While a man will
stand unmoved and see all his earth
~ possessions waited away on the
red wings of the flames; his prop
erty swept from sight and forever
engulfed by angry and swollen
streams, or carried to destruction by
the fierce breath of the hurricane,
vet when the earth in its grand re-
pose, apparently immovable, mighty
and solid, begins to quake and moan
like an ague-stricken thing; when
great mountains totter at their base
and their snow-crowned heads yawn
and belch forth poisonous vapors,
fire and vast rivers of boiling, seeth-
ing lava; as his home falls crumb-
ling about his head, a fear then
seizes his soul, and chills his heart
that nothing can equal. He can only
pray to his God, and the trembling
prayer that falls from his whitened
lips is half in doubt, for it appears
as though even He has turned away
and for a moment forgotten the
world he created and lett its inhabi-
tants "a mark for blight and desola-
tion." Whether it is visitation of the
wrath Of an avenging God-the wild
carnival of a Santanic host, or the
mysterious and complicated actions
of uncomfortable elements, man
cannot fathom. Since over three
hundred years before the birth of
Christ, when Ellice and Bula where
swallowed up, to the quivering
which disturbed the serenity of few
California hamlets on the 18th, this
has been a problem the solution of
which has baffied the persistent ef-
forts of the greatest scientific minds
of the civilized world. Shall we
believe then. that one whose path
was never lighted by the lamp of
wisdom; whose mind has never been
regulated or enlightened by the pre-
cepts Of science, shall have whisper
ed to her in the Silly darkness of
the night this secret which is worth
the crowns of all Europe? Let US
rather think that if in crossing the
threshold Of death, the gross and
degrading matter is left behind and
the liberated spirit scars in realms
and gazes upon worlds beyond the
vision of human eyes, can at
glance comprehend the mysteries of
the deep and all the unrevealed
laws Of nature, which many a weary
lifetime of study has left still be-
yond our reach; that those of the
wise would return to their old stu
dies and laboratories, and give to the
living the secrets they so crave, the
of which would revolu-
tionize the mechanical and scientific
world. Why it is that those who in
life loved and watched over US, do
not in their superior wisdom guide
and direct our maynard footsteps,
that in drawing the last gasp, unseen
hands will fold back the curtain, and
the weary Spirit enters q sphere
of geutleness and peace, frightened
by the smiles of our lost idols
echo sadly asks, why!
BoNEs.-The bones of poor Gui-
bord, which have caused so much
trouble In Montreal, are now prob
ably at rest, as yesterday s kilograms