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

auu leaVeS an 1RVallQ WIDOW 10 mourn
his untimely end.
Tho 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-
tics which we print below. In making
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 periished by
measels and other diseases introduced
since the annexation of those islands to
Great Britain. This unusual fatality
from comparatively innocuous disease
the London Times explains upon the
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 the loss of life has been
given approximately as follows: In New
Granada, 16, 600; in Asia Minor, 1900;
in the Loyalty Islands where the earth
quake was accompanied by q terrible
tidal-wave, 1000; and at San Cristobal,
Mexico, 70. Afamine in Asia Minor dur
al ~ <>f-
90, 900 people before relief could reach
the afflicted region. Floods come next
Ia the disastrous catalogue, their raw
ages having been almost exclusively con-
fined to Europe. The 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, as they were, with huge
| masses of ice. The marine disasters of
the past six months have been. peou-
liarly destructive of life. Fifty-four
vessels, nearly all of them steamers,
have gone down, taking with them, / 1903
persons, the most prominent OF which
are the following: The Schiller, off
the Scilly Islands, $40; the Gotten
berg, off the Australian coast, 166 the
steamer, so; the American ship Yioletta,
40; the Vielzsburg, collision with ice.
bergs, 40; the Thornabia, 90; the
Cortes, 26; the George Batters, 81 the
Bride. Berar, Berlin (Japanese), and
the Alice, 90 each; and the Loeb
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 tho 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, 60;
Louisiana, 20; France, IL; Missouri,
g.; Mississippi, IL Arkansas, 5 i; Mich
igan, g.; Wisconsin, s. Illinois, 3;
South Carolina, 2, and Kansas, total,
944. Thirty-fve fires have been re:
ported, by which 3O4 lives have been
| sacrlHceu. Only Gnree OF Gnese nave
been accompanied by heavy loss of
life, being the burning of match fac
tory ut Gottenberg, Sweden $50 J
steamers at New Orleans (75);I and the
recent Holyoke Mass church disaster
,(92). Explosions, mainly in this coun-
try, have killed 2O7 people, as follows {:
Fire damp, 1872 !; boilers. 4S; gunpow-
der, 81 fire works. 8; nitro glycerine,
4; chemicals. 8. The railroads, in this
country Mt least, have not been 90 pro-
life in the destruction of life rs usual.
Although AZ, disasters have been re.
ported, but 43 people have been killed,
the largest number in any single disas-'
ter being but z. The list Of Injured,
however, foots up 246. Last in the list
come snow.slides, which have buried sc.
Tho total list foots up US follows:
Epidemtcs. SO, 900
| Earthquakes. .!.g........ 20,O7O
| Famine. -, ,...,.................. 20, 600
Floods -. -. ..y............. 3,606
Marine disasters. Observation-Disclosures. 1903
Tornadoes. -. ...................... 944
| Fires ~. .......... ....... 94i
| Explosions. Observation-Disclosures. POT
| Snow -slides. 80. Sc
| Railroad accidents -..............w... 43
- Total ;. :. Observation-Disclosures. 07173
Large as these figures seem it must be
ram am hcrad th0t thew ranrasant hut a