Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-11-22
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTS.
The Enects Produced by Earthquakes UpA
ON the Lower Animals.

The Effects Produced by Earthquakes Up
ON the Lower Anin,al..
In the last issue of the Transactions
OF the chronological Society of Japan, y
Prot. Milne. the weN-known SUDDEN: oil
acknowledgements, discusses the Of.
fects of earthquakes on animals. The
record OF most great earthquakes re-
fer to the CONSERVATION of dogs. horses.
cattle and other domestic animals.
Fish also are frequently affected. In
the London earthquake of 1749, roach
and other fish in a canal showed evi.
dent signs of confusion and fright; and
sometimes after an earthquake fish
rise to the surface dead and diving.
During the Toxic earthquake of 1880,
cats inside house ran about trying to
escape. foxes barked, and horses tried
to kick down the boards combining
them to their stables. There can, there
fore, be no doubt that animals know
something unusual and terrifying is
taking place. More interesting than
these are the observations showing
that animals are agitated just before
an earthquake. Ponies. have been
known to prance about their stalls,
pheasants to scream, and frogs to
cease crOaking suddenly little time
before shock. as if aware of its COM
ing. The Japanese say that moles
show their agitation by burrowing.
Geese. pigs and dogs appear more sem
sitive in this respect than any other
animals. After the great Calabrian
earthquake. it is said that the neigh
ing of horse, the braying of an ass or
the cackle of a goose was sufficient to
cause the inhabitants to fly from their
houses in expectation of a shock.
Many birds are said to show their
uneasiness before an earthquake
by hiding their heads under
their wings and behaving in an I'M
usual manner. At the time of the
Calabrian shock little fish like sand
eels. which are usually buried in the
sand, came to the top and were caught
in multitudes. In South America GER
tain quadrupeds, such as dogs, cats
and jerboas, are believed by the peo-
pie to give warning of coming danger
by their restlessness; sometimes i'm
mense f1Ocks of sea birds fly inland
before an earthquake, as if alarmed by
the commencement of some sub-Oceanic
Before the shock of 1885
in Chill all the dogs are said to have
escaped from the city of Talcahuano.
The explanation offered by Prof. Milne
of this apparent prescience is that
some animals are sensitive to the
small tremors which precede nearly all
earthquakes. He has himself felt them
some seconds before the actual earth
quake came. The alarm of intelligent
would, then, be the result of
their own experience, which has
taught them that small tremors are
of movements more
Signs of alarm days before
an earthquake are probably accidental;
but sometimes in volcanic districts.
gases have emanated from the ground
prior to earthquakes, and have poison
ed animals. In one case. large num-
bers of fish were killed in this way in
the Tiber; and at Follonica, on the
of April 6, 1874, 1.-The streets
and roads were covered with dead rats
and mice. In fact, it seemed as if it
had rained rats. The only explanation
of the phenomena was that these ami
mails had been destroyed by emana-
tons of carbon dioxide." - Chicago
Times.