Wichita eagle., 1886-09-12
CHARLESTON AND THE LOST ATLANTIS

CHARLESTON AND THE LOST ATLANTIS.
To the Editor Of the Eagle.
Until the recent volcanic outbreaks In
the Atlantic coast, very few people were
aware that Charleston and its harbors, and
sounds, were catacombed with assures,
cayes, and rock that proved clearly the
earth in that vicinity had been the scene OF
volcanic disturbance at some previous
period; that in fact the city and its sur
roundings slumbered as it were upon bed
of fire which was liable to break forth at
any time. The assurance of scientific men
that the Atlantic may at any time sweep
over the unfortunate city, brings wildly to
mind the story, long regarded by many as
a myth, of the lost Atlantis, but compare
tive philology lends its aid to substantlate
the fact that such an island really existed.
The inhabitants of Venezuela and OF
Guinea retained traditions of CONFUSION
which swallowed up vast country In the
region now covered by the Atlantic ocean
The Solties, the ancient inhabitants of Cen
trail America, have tradition of the ''cat-
aclysm of the Antilles" The Indians OF
North America have similar legend. The
tribes located first in southwark have cir
cumstantial narrative to the effect that the
waves were seen rolling in like mountains
from the east, and that of the millions OF
people who fled to the hills for ref
uge, but one man (seven In
other accounts were saved, from
whom descended the present Indian
races, a religious festival was instituted to
co mmenmorate the dread event, and to be-
seech the Almighty not to revisit the earth
with such terrors
Nine thousand years before Plato lived
and wrote, there existed, he tells us, in the
ocean that separates the Old World from
the New, an island larger than Asia Miner
and Northern Africa combined; he locates
it in what is now watery waste, midway
between the westward projection of the
desert coast of Africa, and the correspond
ing indentation by the Gulf of Mexico. On
its western shores were other and smaller
isl ands, by way of which access might be
had to vast continent beyond. Its civili-
cation was as advanced as that of ancient
Egypt Its people were descended from
Neptune and mortal women, and by force
of arms their warriors penetrated into
Africa as far eastward as Egypt, and into
Europe as far as the shores of the Tyra-
henian sea, thc western coast OF Italy,
Their condlests were checked by the
Greeks after the Albanian sea-kings had at
tempted to subjugate Europe, Africa and
Asia, and the deed was accounted one of
the glories of Athens. At length, however,
the people became so desperately wicked,
that the island with all its inhabitants was
swept away by deluge. In day and
night Atlantis disappeared beneath the
waves. Another account, slightly varied,
says that after the defeat of the islanders
terrific earthquake attended by foundations
of the sea caused the island to sink,
and for long time thereafter
the ocean was impossible by reason of the
muddy shoals Such is the substance of
legend first communicated to Scion by an
Egyptian priest, and, no doubt, founded on
facts that have existed from very early
date On the old Venetian maps Atlantis
was placed to the westward of Canaries
and the Azores
The Greeks, the Egyptians, the Gauls
and the Romans possessed traditions on
this subject, and all substantially agreed
with each other. At the date of the exist
ence of Atlantis, according to Humboldt,
what is now the Strait of Gibraltar, was
probably bridged by solid isthmus at
least as wide as that of Suez, thus closing
the Mediterranean and making of it an in
land sea- The same CONFUSION of nature
which engulfed the land established COM
munication between the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean Charles Frederic Martins,
the great French botanist. says that ny
drogaphy. geology and botany agree in
teaching us that the Azores, the Canaries,
the Maderas are the remains of great con-
tinent which formerly united Europe to
North America For many centuries the
Saragossa sea, that vast expanse of floating
weed, has occupied the locality given TO
this Island. The ancicnts attributed the
e xistence of this meadow sea to the sinking
of Atlantis For four hundred years, and
probably much longer period this great
sc a-meadow has not changed its posi-
ton Aristotle tells us that some Phoeni-
clan vessels were driven by easterly gales to
a part of the ocean that was covered with
| weeds and rushes. In 1892 the little fleet
of Columbus passed through the mass of
floating vegetation, much to the alarm of
the crew, who found their presence de-
noted rocks and shoals. 1t mas been found
however. from soundings in different parts
of the Saragoass sea, that the water is Of
great depth
Recent explorations have given facts to
the world that substantiate the ATLANTIS
theory to a remarkable degree. Twere
hard to leave this fascinating subject with
out dwelling upon the thought that the ex-
istence of this island of Atlantis once
admitted the presence of the aborigines in
this continent, the remains of higher civ
ilization in Central America. the remains Of
extensive relics that long sntedate the Aztec