Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1881-04-15
EARTHQUAKES.

Hic Dy IeCtHt earthquakes Ill thS iS-
land of Scio, one Of the Grecian Arch
ipelaso. are only repetition Of the
sad havoc which has from time to
time been the result of these terrible
convulslons Of nature.
As far back as authentic history ex-
tends, even more than sixteen hundred
years before Christ, accounts OF the
destruction of life and property by
earthquakes have been brought down,
and the most curious, fanciful and su-
pers,itlous notions have been held re-
garding teir origin, not only by the
common people, but by the wise men
of the different ages. And even now
there are many different theories held
but the most acceptable seems 10 be
that based upon the internal heat of
the earth, the heated nucleus being
surrounded by the cooler crust, and
Is from the radiation of heat the
crust becomes thicker and stronger,
the nucleus contracting more rap
idly than the exterior, shrinkS away
from it. thus the crust is forced down
upon the heated nucleus evolving suf-
ficient heat to melt the adjacent por-
tons into lava and convert the water
into steam, thus producing earth
quakes and volcanoes.
The loss OF life by earthquakes has
probably been equal 20 that from war.
Fhe earthquake which visited Judea
iii 81 B. c. caused the death of 1o.-
900 people The city of ancient An
tioch was visited in I15 and 45S with
the destruction of many thousand
lives. and in sac, Gibbon reports at
the same place, from the same cause,
a loss Of 100000 lives, and again in
5S7, $4,000 more. In A. d. IS Her
culaneum and Pompeii were partially
destroyed. and sixteen years later the
destruction was rendered complete by
an eruption from mount Nesuvius.
In modern times the loss of life from
ne same cause has been no less fear
full. On the morning of Nov. /, 1855
the city of Lisbon, in Portugal, was
visited by an earthquake which de-
s,royed 10000 people in the space OF
six minutes of time. In 1888 during
the great earthquake Of Calabria
more than 100000 people perished
In the West India Islands earthquakes
are as common as tornados in this lat
itude. and many thousands of lives
have been lost. In 1873 San Saliva
dor was completely destroyed, and
the Indians gave the surrounding re-
gions the name of Custatlan 1.-THE land
that swings like hammock" Cara
cas-, South America, was visited March
IL. 1912, and more than 10000 peo-
pie destroyed in less than a minute,
and Quito was almost destroyed in
1880. Lima has also suffered greatly,
the last destructive shock being only
little over two years ago. Numerous
shocks have been felt IN our own
country but no great loss of life. Nov.
Is, l775, quite severe shock was felt
in the Eastern States, and in 1871
there was succession of shocks in
the lower Mississippi reaching as far
as Cairo, and lasting at intervals for
as much as three months. The earth |
rose and sank in great undulations,
lakes were formed and dried up again,
the earth burst in fissures, sometimes
more than half mile in length, from
which mud and water were thrown as
high as the tree tops. The shock of
tie earthquake is usually acoompa.
MED or preceded by rumbling sound
something like thunder, and the move
ments of the ground are of two kinds,
vertical, or up and down, and from
side to side, the latter being much the
more destructive. In 1871 there was
some loss of life from an earthquake
on the Pacific slope, Lone Pine, and
other settlements in Nevada being de.
s,royed, and the city of Mexico was
visited by very disastrous earth
quake in 1858. The regions near act
i've volcanoes, islands, and along the
coast, are most subject to these dis.
astrous phenomena, while the more
inland regions are in many instances
leyond the earthquake wave, hence
the greater part of North America is
comparatively :ree from these disturb.
anceS. |;
Fypu Missouri