The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-02-22

Since the commencement of the christian
era, the pcrihclon of the four great planets of
the solar systcm---Juritcr, Uranus, Saturn and
Ncptune--havc not been coincdent. But this
is abou, to occur, and in the language Of DIR,
Knapp, who has traced The history ofthe great
est cpidemcs that ever afflicted the human
race, to the pcrhelia ofthcSc planets, there will
soon be lively times for the doctors" The the
DRY is that when one or more of the large plan
els Is nearest to the sun, the temperature and
condition of our atmosphere are so disturbed
rs 10 cause injurious vicissiudcs, terrible rains,
prolonged droutls, etc. resulting in the des-
tructiOn Of crops, and pcstlences among human
beings and domestic animals.
DR.. Knapp has collected "A mass Of statistical
data all going to show that perhcllon data
have always been marked by unusual mortali-
ty, and that sickness and death have invariably
lcOrrcspondcf with the planets in perhclion at
the same time. The revolution of Jupiter
around the sun is accomplished in little less
than twelve years, of Saturn in n little less than
thirty years of Uranus in about eight-iour
years, and OF Neptune in about one hundred
and siXty.tour years. If 1t be true, therefore,
! that the perhclia OF these planes occasion at
mosphcrC conditions untavOrablc To life pes
! tilcntial periods should occur once in II dozen
years and aggravated and still more wide
spread cpidcmcs ut longer intervals, In trac
ing the history orcpidcmics for more than two
| thousand years, Dr. Knapp finds the facts in
all cases to validate the theory, Thus in the
sixth and again in the seventh centuries, three
Of these planets were coincidcnt III perlhcion,
and those We're the most pcstlential times Of
the Christian era.
But soon we are to have for the first time IN
two thousand years, all four Of these planets
against us. They viii be at their nearest ap-
lprOach TO the sun III or soon after 1880, so that
for ii few years, say from 1880 to 1850, the vi
tally Of every living thing will be put to II
severe and trying orlcal.--Some persons think
they see in the signs Of the times, evidences OF
great disasters in the immediate future.
| The excessive heat, the uneNamped cold, the
prevalence of flood and disasters at sea, the
general failure Of the potato crop, the wide
spread chill fever among human beings, and
the equal prevalence of epiZOotlc among ami
mails, are mentioned AS among the premonitons
of the rapidly approaching perihelOn. Well,
"to be forewarned is to he iorearmcd." Acct
dents excepted, we know very well that the per
sons Of more vigorous constitutions and more
Ihygieric habits will have the better chance to
survive whatever adverse influences the extra
ordinary pcrihclia will occasion 1t Is well
known to physicians that, in all pestilences,
lpague, typhus, small poX, cholera murrain,
etc, the Incorporate, tlc diSsIpated, and those
whose sanitary conditions were bad, furnished
the victims.
We do not write to alarm anyone, nor to
make "A sensation. We state the facts which all
history attests. Readers can judge for them
selves what importance to attach to the sub
Iicct That the conjont perhelion of all the
large planets of the solar system, Of which Ju-
pitcr Is u thousand times as large rs the earth,
must disturb our atmosphere and temperature
very considerably, is probable; that this dis
lturbancc must be injurious to health ard life
is certain; and that these periods have hereto
fore been Presidential, is "A matter of record
How much we shall suffer during the next d0z
en- or fifteen years, depends much upon how
nearly We live life in accordance with tho
laws of liie.-SrieHrc NJ WedlM.