The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-08-05
The Sacrifice of Human Life.

IQ6 SacrluCS OF hu1uau AII6s
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 ravsged any
part of the world. In the Fiji Islands
alone so, 600 people have persisted by
measels and other diseases introduced
since the annexation of those islands to
Great Britain. This unusual fatality
from a 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 the
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, 10000; in Asia Minor, 1000;
in the Loyalty Islands where the earth
quake was accompanied by a terrible
tidal wave, 1000; and at San Cristobal,
Mexio ), 20. A famine in Asia Minor dur
ing he early part of the year swept off
10000 people before relief could reach
the afflicted region. Floods come next
IL
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 pecu
liarly destructive of life Fifty-four
vessels, nearly all of them steamers
have gone down, taking with them l, 1903
persons, the most prominent of which
are the following The Schiller, off
the Sicily Islands, $40; the Gotten
berg, off the Australian coast, 166 the
Cadiz, 81; the Flu Sing, a Chinese
steamer, so; the American ship Violetta,
AZ the Vicksburg, collision with ice
bergs, 40; the Thorpabia, %; the
Cortes, %; the George Bstters, 81 the
Bride. Berar, Berlin (Japanese), and
the Alice, 20 each; and the Loeb
nager, Is. There have been other
severe disasters on the South
American, Chinese, and English
coasts which involved a serious
loss of life, but it is impossible to esti-
mate them, as the telegraph furnishes
no record. The season has been I'M
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, BIZ; Chill, SO;
Louisiana, 20; France, II Missouri,
6 Mississippi, II Arkansas. 5 Mich,
igan, 3; Wisconsin, 3 !; Illinois, 3
South Carolina, 2, and Kansas, total,
GA. Thirty-ive fires have been re-
ported, by which 3O4 lives have been
sacrificed. Only three of these have
been accompanied by heavy loss of
life, being the burning of a match fac
tory at Gutenberg, Sweden go ,
steamers at New Orleans (75); and the
recent Holyoke Mass church disaster
C92). Explosions, mainly in this coun-
try. have killed 207 people, as follows
Fire damp, 100 boilers, As; gunpow-
der, 81 fire works, 8; nitro glycerine,
4 !; chemicals, 3. The railroads, in this
country at least, have not been so pro-
life in the destruction of life as usual.
Although At 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 248. Last in the list
come snow-slides, which have buried 56.
Thn total LIST fnnfr m % fnlInrrc