The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-09-16
<agIE QUIVERlNG EARTH.
AN INTERESTING CHAPTER on EARTH
4UAKES.

A Scientific Paper from MINOR Harry Hmm
mond-somo Facts that VIII instruct the
Newspaper Reader Earthquakes Of Frequent
Occurrence In the United States.
BEECH ISLAND, S. G., Aug 3, 1886.
Hon. p. Walsh, Augusta, Ga. Dear
Sir: feel such conjunction at seeing
the space of your valuable journal occu-
pied with my random talk Of tho other
day, that L beg, rs communication, to en-
close some paragraphs Oh earthquakes to
you
have selected and very greatly con-
dcnsed them from such mention as ]
find in my scientific periodicals Of the
last fow years. / have not tried to ar
range them III any order, and you can
select and omit any as you may think
proper. Ordinarily, L suppose, no one
would read them, but just now perhaps
these scientific observations may be of
interest The importance of earthquakes
consist not i'll the property they destroy
OF tho persons they kill, but i'll the i'm
prcssions they produce on the mental
and moral character of large bodies OF
people. Comparing small things with
great, the fractures and dlSlocations they
produce among the loose clements Of
human souls exceeds the alterations they
work in the face of physical nature. I
have no doubt the decentralization con-
scqucnt on them has determined the fate
of nations and the course Of civilization.
A scientific consideration Of them might
allay or dispGl such evil influence, and |
hope these notes will be Of service to
you. Very truly,
HARRY HAMMOND.
NOTES ON EARTHQUAKES,
Professor Fruchs records l23 Garth
quake shocks for the year 1881, Of which
81 occurred i'll winter, II i'll spring, Il III
summer and II i'll autumn. There was
little volcanic activity throughout the
year.
Twentieth January, 1856. The Russian
bark Prcciosc, latitude, II OF n. longi-
tudc 60 degrees OF W., wind fresh n.
E., water smooth, speed 10 knots, cn-
countcrcd Il heavy shock, throwing the
vessel to one side and causing it to ship
heavy sea. 1t lasted only few sec
onds and tho wind shifted directly to
the S. E., and died away, leaving it calm
for the ncXt three days.
Of ~ shocks in China, IS occurred in
tho first and second quarters OF the
moon, "a i'll the third and fourth. The
9th day of tho moon shows the largest
number, II; none occurred on The %,
9th, 18th, l4th. 1t has been thought
that storms on the Atlantic slope were
most frequent on the young moon.
In Switzerland there were JIG shocks
IN -,
The schooner Rosano reports june %,
1885, in lat. 20 degrees IL n, long. l3}}
degrees 35 W., two heavy shock Of sub
marine earthquakes about one minute
apart, causing the vessel to trcmblc
violently The sky was overcast and the
sea smooth.
Fourteenth July, 1855, severe Garth
quake experienced III Bengal, lasting
ncarlSS-e1Aninuto and killing seventy per-
sons.
The centre of the Andaus;an Garth
quake of December 25, 1884, was de-
tcrmincd as lying between Granada and
Malaga, and earth trcmors extended as
fir as Rome and Brussels. Seventeen
thousand buildings were injured, Of
which 1000 were totally DESTROYED, 7l5
persons were killed and ! ,ISJ wounded.
The cause of this earthquake is thought
TO have been the pcrcOlation Of water
into the deep lying rocky strata in the
valley Of Nafarraya, where the heat con-
Yerted 1T into vapor of high tension and
generated the tremendous forces which
exploded along lines radiu!ing from
Hatarraya as focus. These radiations
arc very nearly in the same directions rs
the surface streams Of the region, whose
courses arc belloVcd to accord with sub
terrancan creVlces, through which the
wator reaches the interior beat.
1t has been suggested that the Coast
Survey should sink deep vertical shafts
at intervals to determine by observations
made on them from time to limo whoth-
tr there was any movement or shiftino
pf thp superficial or deeper strata, re
sulting IN changes Of latitude and lonpi-
tudo.
In an earthquake observed in Toxic,
Japan, 18th October, 1884, the most
violent motions were over in ten sec
Onds, but the oscillations continued with
much force Tor some minutes afterwards
The greatest velocity was G.S ccntimctrcs
per second and the greatest nccclcratiOn
Il. If the amplitude had occurred in
onjunction with the moro usual period
OF threo-fourths Of second, the de
structlOn would have been immense. 1t
was felt over an area Of twenty thousand
sd1Gro miles.
'Df 384 ear fhquakcs observed by Prof.
Milne in Japan, between October, 1881,
9nd October, 1883, 195 occurred from
January to March; 70 from April to
June; 80 from July to September; SO
frOip October 10 DcGcmhcr. THcy were
most violent along the line of the river
Tonegawa, in flat alluvial plain, only
small number being fell in the noun
talns or in the vicinity of recent or active
volcanoes, They were most frequent on
thlp siaEo which slopes down stcGply un-
ger ger q !qeep, ocean, Ind not on the oppo-
site SIDE where the slope is more gradual
end the ocean shallow: The same rcin-
tioAship holds in South America, EARTH.
qg9akes, are also most frequent in Japan,
&2g &hGEge Jffi theEq is q eIyid4enGo Of recent and
rapid elevation OF the land, and whore
numerous rivers are pouring out heoyy
quantities of sediment on the ocean bof.
tom, perhaps it is this increased wcioIt
depressing the strata seaward, w6icI,
tilto fbnO1 mn fbO -. '@''SA'