Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-02
THAT EARrHnUA KE.

att FOSntS -AOO&e 3f-1hc SaOckc Esrst
Felt Sm Posey County, Indiana
Those who felt the earthquake shock on
the morning of September -. will proba-
bly, be interested to learn that Prof. Nipher
of Washington university, has, since that
time, been collecting facts concerning the
phenomenon from various parts of the
country, with the view of ascertaining
as closely as possible the exact point at
which the disturbance began. From facts
thus far obtained. through correspondence,
the professor yesterday informed Repaid
| lean reporter that he believed the disturb
ance was first noticed in Posey county Gin
Hoop-pole township. of course), Indiana,
on the morning of September 81. Prom
there it appears to have spread in the di-
rections of the north and northwest. a very
peculiar circumstance. as an earthquake
| usually sends it's shocks from a center, the
spot at which the disturbance originates, in
all directions. At 4:1O a. NJ, according 20
St. Louis time, the front of the disturbance
passed through Pinckneyville, Perry coun-
ty, Ill, short distance southeast of Belle
VILE, through Alton, and little east of
JerseyviNe, ILL.,, through White Hall, Jack
sonville, Springfield, ILL.,, Decatur and Terre
Haute, Ind. At AIS a. m. it reached st.
Louis, it taking five minutes to travel from
Belleville to this city; and at 4.13 the
shock was felt in ST. Charles, No. The
| wave front can be clearly shown on a map
by drawing line through the places indi-
Gated. The rate of epeed at which it trav-
eled did not exceed sixty miles an hour. Or
the travelling rate of fast express train.
It was felt more perceptibly on the tops of
hills and
LASTED ABOUT TWO HOURS.
When asked to assign a cause for the
disturbance the professor said that that
would be ha-d to do, as there were various
causes, for earthquakes. An earthquake
might be caused by the explosion of large
boiler, by the tide, or some other force of
either a natural or artificial character.
There were those that maintained they re-
suited from shocks produced by the falling
of immense masses of rocks in subterran
can caves, but large earthquakes could not
certainly be accounted for in that way. A
recent paper on the subject by
MR. GEORGE H. DARWIN,
son of the great naturalist, sought to es-
tablish the fact that the earth was solid
mass throughout, which was cooling and
contracting on the outside; that volcanoes,
which were frequently associated with
earthq uakes, were caused by release of
pressure at points where very high tenn
perature and pressure existed; that molten
masses thrown out in earthquakes were of
very small extent and that these phenom-
ena, together with the phenomena of earth
quakes. all occurred near the surface.
&c h. 4
Eeve, although there were many who
thought it we'll supported. He thought
that but few people were prepared to be-
lieve that the earth was molten mass with
a she'll around it. Mr.. Darwin had caIcu-
latedthe strains on the earth as shown
by Irregularities of its surface, and had de-
termined that the continents of Africa and
America would produce stress difference
of more than four tons to the square inch
at depth of 1000 miles below the sur
face.
In the opinion Of the professor this was
due to the fact that the continents were
upheaved above the level of the bottom of
the Atlantic ocean. Under such stress
marble would break, but very strong gran
tie would stand it. The upheaval of the
two continents mentioned, he thought, was
to be accounted for by the cooling off of
the eayth- It was hardly to be doubted
that had resulted in producing immense
variations In pressure; sufficient to dislo-
cate the strata that would produce a shock
when they passed each other.
Darwin had also calculated that if the
earth was solid throughout, at one thou
sard miles FROM the surface its material
must be
in order to remain rigid. If The crust
were one thousand miles thick, with fluid
mass below II, it was certainly stronger
than granite, the professor thought, other
wise the earth would sink, He believed il
was simply the pressure resulting from the
crushing or dislooation of strata that pro-
duced earthquakes. In former times all
sorts OF causes had been assigned for
earthquakes, such as electricity. Electri-
cal disturbances which occurred at the
time Of an earthquake we're caused BY the
earthquake itself, as it was fast too well
known to be disputed that AN electric cur
rent could be produced in a bar Of iron by
striking the bar with something. When
the agencies had been in action and an
earthquake was Just on the point Of occur
ring, falEin the atmosheric pressure or
lunar attractions, or even The explosion Of
. powder magazine ON the surface Of the
IA 4 H.