Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-05-30
THE FABLE OF ATLANTIS.

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THE FABLE OF ATLANTIS.
So much has been " rittcn upou the
probability Of n recent land communi-
cation between Europe aud America,
and - much made IN this connection
IT Plato $ reference TO the island IT At
Iantis, that We can not iitly close our
discussion upon prehistoric America
without ourselves referring To- the sub
icct; and. indeed, our argument To- show
that America was colonized from the
West Is not complete until we have dem.
onstrated the improbability of its hav-
ing boon from the East.
The story IL Atlantis l. detailed nj
greatest length in the Timmus 81 Plato.
where one Of the characters narrates
that he had heard from very old man
that there was n tradition that in early
timcsthere was larye and populous
island in the Atlantic Ocean fronting
the Strait of Gibraltar, from which mill
tary expeditions were fitted out
against the Nations bordering the
Mediterranean; but that eventual
~. through violent earthquakes and
dcluges, the whole island was plunged
beneath the sea and entirely disap-
poarcd. And the writer averred that i'm
his day that sea was not navigable.
"boing blocked up by the great depth
of mud which the subsidinS island pro-
duCcd.'
So slight, however. is the historical
value of this narrative, when considered
In itself, that we should need To pay
little attention To u, but for the fact that
number Of reccnt writers (Of whom
one Of the latest and most attractive is
MIR. lgnatiuS DOnnelly) have connected
IT with certain supposed results of deep
sea soundiugs In the Atlantic. and have
imagined that the fable thereby re- elves
n considerable degree of scientific sup-
port. But IL reeds only little scrutiny
Of the facts To show how slight is the
confirmation, II any, given by science
To the theory OF lost Atlantis; while
close scrutiny shows that the teachings
ct science ar utterly avcrse to the cx q.
istcn"e of any such lost continent since
mans advent into the world.
10 is well known that the British Isles
arc surround II by shallow water. aud
that an elevation of about six hundred
feet would Join England to the CONT
ncnt, and adj western border To the
miles in width. beyond this rim. or
shoulder, however. the depth Of the
water increases with great rapidity. and
iti u short distance the sea IL twelve
thousand feet doep. which is about the
average depth OF all the open portions
of the Atlantic.
IL was observed. however. 10y the oil
GERS Of tho Dolphin. aud later Of the
Challenger, that there is what may I've
called. "a great submarine plateau or
mountains chain. which has been demon
mated the Dolphin Rise. dividing the
North Atlantic into two longitudinal
troughs running north and south. ''
This so-call,d submar ne ride extends
from the southern point Of Greenland.
In n direction nearly parallel with the
shores OF Europe. So as tO include the
Azores. or Western Islands. and stretches
southwest toward the comparatively
shallow sea opposite the mouth Of the
Amazon. so impressed were certain
members Of the Challenger staff
with the m9gnitude Of this sub
marine plateau that, upon re-
turning 10 London, in 1877. they con.
iidently affirmed that they had found
the remains of the lost Atlantis. The
Crcdibility-o OF their hypothesis, how.
over, Is somewhat shaken when wo Oh
serve that the plateau itself is now
submerged from dop,h oflsix thou
sand To ten thousand feet. and that.
werc the bottom of the Atlantic elc.
waited TO this cxteut, so as 10 cXpose n
continent In mld-occan. there would
still be, except in It's northern portion.
an cXpanse OF water sevcrnI hundred
miles wide, and several thousand feet
deep. separating il from Europe aud
Africa. -
Thv Bermuda Islands are situated
about the same distance from the United
States that The Azores are from Spaiu.
and are likewise surrounded ON every
side by great depths OF water. The
deepest water in the North Atlantic /,
about twcnty-three thousand feet. BEING
found about four hundred miles sontf
ot Bermuda Bcrmu IN is iitly described
10y CRptain Mares. of the C,yklef,1~r ex.
p'diton. rs 'bc'ng "a 50 itary peas ris
lng abruptly from n base on y one hun.
drrd "Hud twenty mites IN ciamctcr.~
Fifty miles on enrt siCio of bermuda tlS
depth Of tho water AT out fifteen thou
sand feet t~ ~ ,
A section of the Atlantic extending
from the Strait of Gibraltar to the coasr
OF North Carolina would be- about ~
follows, For sixty or seventy mics I
depth at about six hundred feet; fol
the next tiny, about three Thousand
feet; for the next hundred. six thousane
tcet; for the next two hundred, lively,
thousand feet; for the next hundreS
Tin the neighborhood of the Nader.
lslands), six thousand feet; for the mex
three hundred, about twelve thousan,
feet; for tho next six hundred mile
(past Azores). six thousand feet; fol
the next eight hundred miles 60 tn,
bermudas), from fifteen to twenty thou
sand feet. which depth continues from
the Bermuda westward for six hundred
or seven hundred miles, where shallow
or water Is reached along The COST O
tho United STATES. corresponding to tina
upon the European side.
Prom this IL appears that wero the
whole bed OF the Atlantic elevated al,
thousand feet, IL would not Increase the
Iand surface sufficiently to afford any
natural communication for barbaror,
tribes 70 pass from Europe 70 America
furthermore. Il Is altogether improb.
able that there has. In recent geological
unncs, been even 50 great an elevation
ot tho sea bottom. Whatever may have
been tho changes Of sea level In The
psriiest geological epochs, It Is pretty