The herald., 1894-08-27
METEOROLOGICAL AND SEISMIC PROB
LENS.

Instead OF being frightened, people
look with positive greed to anything
out OF the ordinary line of nature. Not
content with the unusually hot weather
which has annoyed our people since
Monday last, q great many persons have
been expressing it as their fervent belief
that we are in what is called earthquake
weather. We do not believe q word OF
it. Where there is go much csloric es-
Gaping easily and naturally there is no
reason to look for any unusual mani
festations OF the occult powers OF nature.
Besides, it is curious and interesting
fact that all the scenes of unusual ssis-
mic agitation, as respects the North
American continent. have been on the
Atlantic seaboard for many years. The
earthquake at Charleston, South Caro-.
lima, some years ago, did fifty times as
much damage as has been recorded in
the whole Pacific coast during its Amer
ican occupation. The fact is that,
on this coast. We lave had very
few annoyances. and precious few dis
asters, from seismic disturbances. In
the whole history OF the state of Califor-
MIA there has been only one serious dis
aster. and that was in 1872, when on a
Sunday, the congregation was worship
ing in the church OF San Juan Capis-
trano. The shock threw the central
arch of the church down and about one
hundred people were killed. If it had
not been for the purely fortuitous cir
cumstsncs that the religious services
were being held at the time no one
would have been hurt. This might be
interpreted as a discount on piety, OF
the Roman Catholic type. But it is
singular fact that in Puritan New Eng
land. on almost equivalent dates, disas-
trous earthquakes, specially destructive
both OF life and property, were reported,
especially in the neigh borhood of New
buryport. Massachusetts,.
The mind is naturally excited with
matters that are beyond the ordinary
range of the Imagination. There is no
question Whatsoever but that. for some
years, immigration towards California
was largely arrested by apprehension of
earthquakes. Not only that, but emil
grafton from California was greatly slim.
ulated by these earthquake scsres. The
greatest scares since 1868 were in the
spring of 1872, in Inyo county. There
were some perturbations in San Fran
cisco, but the real center of seismic dis
turbancs was in Inyo county. to the
Of ha
temblors were active for several days.
Fortunately the loss of life, owing to the
paucity of population, was mere baga-
telle. They still tell some extraordinary
stories about those good old days. One
of them runs to the effect that
farmer was out chasing colt,
and that, all at once. there WAS rift
in the ground, the colt disap ppeared and
the farmer found himself standing on
the edge OF bottomlees chssm. We
are not doubling this incident, but it is
fact that these abysses quickly closed
up. The scars on the earth's surface
still chow where the chasms existed. If
there had been q populous city, like
London, in those portions OF Inyo county
where these riffs in the earth occurred,
we should no doubt have had some dis
asters of the magnitude of that of Lis
bon, which occurred over century and
quarter ago.
AS the case stands just now we seem
to be threatened with heat and not dis
aster Of any serious type. The way to
fight the perils that appear to environ
us lies in Apollinaria water with stick
in it or with some downright cold lager
beer.