Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1877-06-21
something About Earth
QuakeA.

y
present to our readers some informat,o
reia'ive 10 earthquakes and the cause
'oat produce them. In every part of th
"or'd the surface is subject to be shake
iat tunes by movements taking place j
the Interior, transmitted somewhat like
wave, to distant regions. No countr
escapes these visitations, and they hsy
Oeen known to pass beneath sea and LAND
Arom one hemisphere to another. uni
fully one.eight of The entire surface of tb
globe has been more or less disturbed b
the movement. Taking into account th
whole surface of the earth, there is not
day that passes without the occurr, nc
somewhere of sensible disturbance O
this kind, and hardly a month witbou
one or more worthy of note Among III,
I earliest accounts of earthquakes, of par
hcular interest, is that which resulted i,
the destruction of Herculaneum and Pom
.1peii in the year 63, which was 1G year,
previous to the time when these cite.
were buried in the ashes from Vesuyius
The ancient city of Antioch, in Syria
was visited for the third time by an
Earthquake in the year 526, the most dis
astrous one of which any record has been
preserved. Gibbon. the historian, states
that 250,OO0 persons are said to have Der.
ished at this time, the festival of the As.
cension swelling the multitudes belonging
10 the city. History" he remarks.
twill distinguish the periods in which the
calamltous events have been rare or fre
Iquent, and will observe that this fever of
the earth ragged with uncommon violence
during the reign of Jus,inian."
The approach Of earthquakes is herald
|cd by severa: premonitory symptoms of ali
unmlstakable character. The air appears
to be affected in some respect, perhaps in
its selcctriclcOndition. and the brute crea.
ton show sensitiveness to this by utter
ing cries of distress, ard running wildly
about. Men sometimes are affected with
diZZines, and a sensation like sea-slckness.
The atmosphere is often kazy for mont hs,
and the sun seen through it appears red
and fiery. The weather is subject to sud.
den changes, from fierce gusts OF wind
to dead calms, and rain pours down in
torrents at times, or in places in which
they are usually of rare occurrence. A
Sound then breaks upon the stiffness like
distant thunder. or it may break at once
with an awful explosion. Occurring, rs
ths y most frequently do, along the sea-
board, the water is observed commonly to
retire to some distance. leaving the har-
bors dry. and then to return in great
wave Of many feet in height. which
sweeps everything before it. OF all the
Icalamities to whicn man IS exposed, there
|are none Of so fearful character as
earthquakes; none involve such terrible
and devastating destruction to life and
property. The very mysteriousness of
tn. danger Expresses with terror. He Is
ignorant in what form it is most immi-
|nent, in which direction to seek a way of
escape.
Of modern earthquakes, that of Lisbon,
in 1855, and that of New Madrid, No., in
1911, present some of the most interesting
details, That of Chill, in 1922, is inter
esting for the permanent elevation of the
country between the Andes and the coast
which attended it. The area thus raised
has been estimated to equal fully 1O0, 900
square miles. and the height of the eleva.
ton to vary from 2 to Z feet. When Port
Royal was destroyed in tho islandeof ia.
maica in 1921, the capitol was carried
down with the greater part of the build
iogs III the city beneath the surface OF the
water. A thousand acres, or more, thus
sunk in less than one minute and driving
the vessels in tho harbor over the tops of
the houses. In the great earthquakes of
Lisbon, commencing Nov. l, 1866, $1,000
persons perlshed in the short space of six
minutes
The earthquake of New Madrid, below
st. Louis, on the Mississippi. is the most
important tina! has occurred in this coun-
try. of which we hsye any record. These
shocks continued until the destruction of
the city of Caracas, which took place on
March 26, 1919. In the destruction of
Caracas, the whole city, with its splendid
churches, was in an instant a heap of
ruins. under which about II. 900 of its in
habitants were buried. The city Of Quito
Was almost wholly destroyed by An earth
quake in 1859. and many thousands OF
lives were lost. The cause which pro-
duces the earthquake shock. and the man.
ner ia which it is communicated over vast
distances in so short time have been
v.riously explained. Various agents are
veil known to be at work in the interior
of the earth producing chemical changes
vb;ch are often attended with violent
movements. The vibrating movement
imnart. d to the solid strata is the chief
.oencv in the disastrous effects of earth
Quakes.
A Sioux Chiefs Prayer.
I have good gun, that is good; give me
many bullets; give me much powder
Give me many ponies; give mo . beau
tiful woman, l ask 1t; my heart will then
Make Crows come close; make them
sleep long: then will ki!l them.
White man shoot straight; that IS oad
make him shoot crooked; let me stt ei his
white horses-wlFile ne sleeps
Make many fst buffalo come close;
many deer too.
Make our Young men swift and strong