The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-09-28
Nonsense and superstition.


ST. LOUIS, September PA dispatch
from Ottawa, Ontario, states that Pro-
lessor Virgins is now claiming that he
has been mlsrepresented by the Ameri-
can press. He denies that he ever re-
lated to a correspondent the chapter OF
horrors which has been given as Incl
dental TO the fulfillment of his prediC-
ton for the % instant. Il simply
stated, the Professor sad TO reporter
yesterday, chat the earthquake force
would be 10 the south OF he thirtieth
parallel of latitude. l never Yentured
andy predictions regarding the destTuct-
i've nature of the storm on that parallel
at all.
A dispatch from Atlanta says that
citizens there claim to have seen for the
past three nights bloody lines on the
tace of the moon, and that the matter
has become the subject of general com
ment. Negroes, the dispatch says. &C
cept it as the fulhllment of prophecy
that there shall be signs in the heavens
before the end of the world, which
event they now claim will take place on
the 29Jh instant.
The English astronomer, Richard A
1OCNOI, III al al llClC COuLIlDuLSu ID
the Globe DemOcrut, entitled MIR Wig
gins prophecy" says: 1t appears 10
ME shameful that any man, even though
he Is not Student OF science and there
fore fully aware Of the mischief he is
doing, should spread abroad predictions
Of coming disaster in such sort that fool
ish folks are likely 20 be disturbed and
terrified. Mr.. Virgins, half educated
and wholly unscientlilC employee of the
meteorological Office in Ottawa, has
long underworld to acquire 3 cheap
reputation by weather predictions of
| that kind, which of itself assures the
student Of science that the weather pro-
phet is rather ignorant or exceedingly
kuavish. After noting several instances
of the failure Of former predict. rs
made by Virgins, Mr.. Virgins, con-
tinues the writer. claims TO have ore.
dlcted the earthquake on August 31st,
but truly he has 50 continuously threat
ened storms AMI earthquakes that
no great disturbance of either sort
could steer clear of bis predic-
tons. He nov loudly proclaims
thdt on The 20th instant there will
b. another great earthquake, one of the
most terrific subterTanean upheayals
ever known on this continent. He
tract attention for . while to mis- name
that if no disturbances should take
place on the 29th, or near enough TO
[ lat date TO seem lise fulfillment of
his prediction, people Will soon forget
the failure OF his prophecy and be as
ready as ever to listen to him again
1t may, however, be, perhaps, asked
whether there is not some reason for
regarding the 29th of Septemb Der as q day
OF danger. Even q Virgins, it may be
suggested. must at least imagine rea-
sons his predictions, as the
Tees, the Venners. the Grimmers and
other of the miscellaneous tribe, have
imagined for years in the past. Mr..
Proctor then goes on to show that GER
tain Wel-knoTn astronomical facts
have probably indeed Mr.. Virgins to
make his late predictions, one being the
slight tendency of earthquakes to in
creas during the months of August and
september, and another that earth
thro- are more APPS TO occur when she
moon is at or is near the point of near
approach TO the earth, and in or
Mar the Iine connecting the earth ar d
sun, than at other times. The moon
will be In UGH position during the lat
ter part Of the present month, but such
conditions, Mr.. Proctor observes, recur
year after year and resulting earth
quAkss are no more liable to occur this
year than in any September of the com
ing century. On the contrary, he az
CUES, that there has already been one
grea, cart quake, and it IS exceedingly
p -obaOle that the imprisoned forces of
the earth beneath the American CONT
nent have for while found relief and |
that no great earthquake will occur in
The same region for many years posi-
bly, centuries.