Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1895-09-05
UNCLE SANS NEW LAND.
Some That Has Been Gained In
an Extraordinary Manner.
An Earthquake Develops a New Island
In the Santa Barbara
t~iculars of Its Recent
Discovery.

Uncle Sam acquired some new terri
tory in the Pacific a few weeks ago ina
novel manner. It was not acquired by
conquest, annexation or purchase, but
was a gift from nature herself, who
pushed it up from the depths of h
Pacific ocean and gave it unasked.
New Jersey is gradually losing terri
tory along the coast, while in other re-
gions new land is being added to the
area of the United States. But the
usual process is slow.
Once in awhile a new island is lifted
suddenly out of the sea by volcanic
action, and this, practically, is what
| occurred off the coast of California,
when about thirty-fve thousand square
yards of rock was added to one of the
| Santa Barbara islands with a sudden
ness that surprised the people living On
the island.
/ The Santa Barbara group Of islands
lies about sixty miles off the coast OF
California, in about the latitude of Los
Angeles. The island of San Miguel, to
which the new island has been added,
is one Of the smaller islands, and is
owned by Capt. w. g. Waters, who has
a big sheep ranch on it. The only peo-
pie living on the island are Capt. Wat
ers and his sheep herders and 1aborers-
Capt. Waters was on the island When
the earthquake, eruption, or whatever
1t was, occurred. He took the infor-
nation to the mainland, and the San
Francisco Examiner sent a correspond
ent to San Miguel to get all the facts
and some pictures of the new territory
of the United States.
-s-JA -l~- 49, S4,.1~--0
occurred he was sitting in his house
reading. He felt the earth shiver, but,
as earthquakes are not uncommon
thereabouts, he tooA little notice of the
occurrence.
The mex morning he started out
round The beach toward his boat
house to look for his sloop, which was
due from the mainland. When he
neared the harbor and the place where
his boathouse should have been he had
to stop and rub his eyes because of the
remarkable appearance of the sur
r~oundinSs.
The beach had disappeared, and
where a bay of placid water had been,
rose a huge mass of broken cliffs. lie
climbed up on the high ground over
looking the bay, and there, on the
plateau, forty feet or more above the
waterlinc and three hundred feet in
land. were the boathouse and sheep
corral which the previous evening had
been right on the waters edge.
On reaching the boathouse he found
another surprise. The building stood
as firm Gs ever but whereas it had
originally faced seward it was now
turned almost completely around and
{ faced almost directly away from the
bay.
He walked out on the top OF the new
ly formed cliffs toward the water, and
found the great mass of rock still trem-
bling and swaying. There was a sound
of grinding and churning and every
now and hen a chunk of rock would
settle a little. The mass was evident
ly still adjusting itself in its new posi-
ton.
The buoy to which his sloop WIS
moored when in harbor was formerly
four hundred feet from the sandy
beach. Now It was about one hundred
feet from the abrupt face of the new
cliffs
The new land thrust up from the sea
Is a mass of roc one thousand feet
long by three hundred feet wide. Its
appearance and the deductions drawn
from soundings and other observations
seem to show that the mass wa
wrenched from the basis of the island
and pushed upward n shoreward.
While the LAND has been elevated the
sea bottom has been greatly de
pressed, and In some places where for
merly there was only six fathoms o
water no bottom could be found will
the lines available On the exploring
boat.
The new land presents a singular ap
pearance. Long streamers of seaweet
hang from the lace of the cliffs, an
shellfsh of all kinds are clustered
about it. The surface of the rocks /
covered with marine growths, includ
ing Holsters, mussels, crabs, large In
small fish of various species, weeds an
flowers. and all the odd things usual.
hidden from the sight of man on tn
sea bottom, or seen only in an aqua
rum.
While Capt Waters had gaineda con
siderable slice of real estate withou
cost, there is a feeling on the islam
hat the curious caper of nature
more comfortably interesting in scier
tifc folk living at a distance than t
residents on San Miguel.