Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-11-14
rne yeRy BEGINNING.
semethirg About the Formation Of IN"
world m IL "whirled In Space"

sc,s,e tt,ipr About the Formation OF ~"
world M II "whirIed In Space"
In the burning mass that composed
MIR earth at first, there existed copper,
sulphur and all the other substances
that are on and in our earth now, only
ali were in a gaseous state. The colo
had not vet hardened them intosol
They tell us that this COLLECTION o.
burning material belonged originaiiy
to the sun, and was thrown on from y
In consequence of natural law, ana
sent "whirling in space. DO you un,
derstand what that word space
means2 This globe OF ours IS wrap
ned IN in a huge cloak, some forty
miles thick. called the atmosphere.
Beyond this thick envelope stretches
far away that unknown region called
.sspace.H What are its boundaries, no
one can tell us. Whether 1t holds
other worlds than ours we can only
guess. But one thing about 1t Is known
for certain, which is. that 1t Is very
cold. Its temperature is about wv
dees. below zero; SO we have need OF
our thick, warm atmosphere.
What effect did this intense cold
nave upon the mass of fiery gas, sent
! spinning out through its depthsl Just
the same effect that the cold mountain
peaks have upon the vapor or water
It cooled the gases upon the outside,
hardened them, and in the course OF
time formed a thin crust. This was
Gods first day of creation, and some
men think it was equal to thousands
and thousands of our years maybe
millions-because this forming OF the
crust must have been slow work.
First, little patches of gas became
solid. Then these foated together and
perhaps succeeded in making one crust
Joined all overland hot, rumpled
crust it was Then the boiling, seeth-
ing mass inside broke through, and
the work had to be done all over
again.
When the vapor of water was con
densed, rain began to fall.
Then came another struggle. lis
quickly as the rain fell on the h 81
crust, it was changed into vapor again,
and sent up into the air to repeat its
work. What boiling, steaming, hot
ball this world must have been
During all this time there were ter
rife peals of thunder and flashes Of
lightning. Whenever any liquid is
changing into a vapor, electricity Is
produced; and when SO vast a quan
tity OF water was changing into steam
the intensity and frequency of the
lightning must have been immeasura
bly, beyond anything we can imagine
If only we could have been at safe
distance above this steaming world ane
looked down on it, what a sight We
should have seen, and what deafenins
pealsof thunder we should have heard
Even though the rain was almos
Immediately changed into vapor, il
must have cooled the earth's crust {
little, coming directly from the icJ
realms Of space. And at last came {
day when the cold conquered the heat
and the crust became cool enough fol
the water to stay down. 1t filled vi
all the cracks and crannies, and there
was so much of it that only little bi
of the earth's crust could peep above
its surface. OF our own continent
only narrow strip of land, extend
ing from what is now Nova Scotia tt
where the great lakes were to be, anc
thence westward to the region now
called Alaska, remaining above thu
waters. In the place now occupied
by Europe, there were many little
patches, but no land so extensive a.
the strip III the western hemisphere.
| Thick, dark vapors brooded over tn,
earth and shut out the light of the sun
And these gloomy vapors, the it'll,
pieces of dry, hot crust and the surg
ing, boiling waters, were tue begin
nings out of which God was to make
our beautiful world, with its pure air
its blue sky and snowy clouds, its dens'
woods and fertile fields, it's hills ant
valleys, its lakes and rivers.
There could have been no life il
those days neither plant life nor ami
NAL life. In the first place the crus
was too hot; neither animal nor plan
could live on it, nor in the waters tina
touched it. In the second place. ami
mails and plants cannot live withou
sunlight; and no sunlight could
pierce those masses of heavy vapor.
Teresa Z. Crofton in st. Nicholas.
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