Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878-19??, 1886-09-11
Saturday, September Il, 1886.
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there Is &hy record
Thc other 1.-The great shake" which
occurred in 1911, destroyed New Mad
rid, in southern Missouri, and affected
the whole Mississippi valley. The
center of its violence was thought to
be near Little Prairie, twenty miles
below N5ew Madrid, tho vibrations
from which were felt over the valley
of the Ohio, as high as Pittsburgh,
New Madrid, having suffered more
thar any other town from its effects,
was considered as near the focus from
whence the undulation proceeded So
great was the destruction Of property
ia New Madrid county, that it became
necessary for Congress to enact laws
for the relief Of citizens who were beg
CARED by the calamity.
1t is estimated that twelve or thir-
teen earthquakes, moCe or less de-
structive OF life and property, oecur
every year, and It is we'll known that
tho surface Of the globe is never free
from sensible evidence of the contin
ued operation of earthquake agencies,
When these arc Of serious nature,
whole cities have been destroyed, fer.
tile districts laid waste and number
less persons killed, As many as 49,
100000 of the human family have thus
perished, During 1885 there were
fifty-nine slight earthquake shocks
noted ia the United States and Cana
da, aud the record for the twelve
years, 1872 1881, is three hundred and
sixty-four, distributed as follows: At
lantie slope, 147; Mississippi Valley,
Sc; Pacific slope, ISL. From this list
it appears that in the entire area
earthquakes occur on an average Of
once in twelve days, and once amonth
on the Atlantic slope. Many Of these
disturbances are, however, so slight as
to be uupereeiyed by the majority Of
the people
The earthquake at Antioch, in A.
d., 526, was the most destructive of
human lite in the worlds history
100000 persons lost their lives at that
tune. That at Lisbon, Portugal, in
f755, ranks next 60000 persisted
The progressive movement or wave,
ON that occasion, was shown to have
had very great velocity and TO have
lasted only for an Instant at any one
spot. The shock was felt from the
southern shores Of Finland to beyond
the st. Lawrence in Canada, and was
noticed in the West Indies an area
of no less than 7,5O0,50O, square miles
and, supposing the thickness Of the
earth's east to be 20 miles, the force
requiredto move this mass 10000
900 cubic miles--must have been tre-
mendous. The motion IS also trans
mitted to the sea, causing great waves
which often submerge large coast dis
tricts with their cities and villages,
When the port Of Callao, Peru, was
destroyed, in 1886, a sea wave ninety
feet high accompanied the shock. at
the Lisbon earthquake the sea rose to a
height of sixty feet, at Cadiz, carrying
drift matter far inland. After Lisbon,
perhaps, the next most destructive
earthquake was that of Calabria, the
southwest peninsula Of Italy, near the
end Of the lastcentury, in which 10000
people we're destroyed.
The telegraphic reports from the
East show that the earthquake on the
31st nit. was far more destructive Of
life and property than that Of New
Madrid, and in respect to the area
covered was the most remarkable on
record, the shock extending oyerhalfa
continent. However, the destruction
of life and property seems TO have
been confined to the southern Allan
tic States, arl the center Of the shock
to have been at Charleston, sc. The
scene there, on the night Of the earth.
quake, is described as truly appalling
The first and most severe shock was
followed by the tumbling Of houses
aud shrieks Of women and children
and to add to the terror OF the strick.
en- inhabitants flames shot up into the
skies from four or five burning build
ings, in as many sections Of the city
Nearly every building il the city wa.
more or less damaged and the loss Il
computed at 100000. The record
Of persons killed and wounded is mol
complete, but it is estimated that from
sixty to one hundred perished
No portion Of the earth's surface il
exempt from the influence Of earth
quakes, yet we find that some districts
are more liable than others to theii
Wsitations, They appear to occur il
well defined localities, or zones, ant
are most frequent around the presen
centers of volcanic action, which goe
to strengthen the theory that the tw,
phenomena are Of the same origin
namely, from the disturbance of mol
ten matter in the interior of the earth
The aElstenne of Lhia nlnlian nlatLer 4