The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-21

seems to me that the bursting forth Of
this awful subterranean fire was the
last act of the Creator in completing
the vast South Wales and Monmouth
shire coal fields, ready to be worked
by man. Those who have studied the
geological aspect Of the coal measures
of that great field are aware that the
country Is full of traces of immense
volcanic action. Those actions have
left their traces in the great fractures
in the layers called strata. In many
places at the functions of the break
ages are still seen the purple coloring
left on the shale and rocks by the
flames which sho: forth through the
cracks by the internal forces.
, Those were days when the mountains
of South Wales leaped like lambs. and
danced Quadrilles like fairies in the
moonlight. 1t was period before even
our friends. the Druids, had come to
the Ynis Wen. Then came countless
centuries, during which the weight Of
the mountains acted as vast cheese
wrings, to compress the vast coal meas
ures into solidity. How carefully the
layers of coal were laid before the
wrings were applied from above! The
compression confined below incalcul-
able quantity of fiery gases. Those
gases assembled In the valleys, and oc-
casiOnally ignited in small quantities
and gave occasion to our ancestors to
believe there We're, in the words of
Shakespeare, "GOblins damned" who,
In the words of Evangelina. of Owns
gwt, were allowed to visit terra firma.
At least, In accordance with Lyells
theory, the internal heat caused by the
confined gases caused an expansion of
the earth's crust. and it cracked at
the kpSf nnint n ynp1V the hot =
tom Of the sea. This admitted water
below. That water and the internal
| fires In conflict generated steam, and
the force of the latter shook the earth
till 1t rocked to and fro. In the case
Of the volcanic action of the Severn
Valley on Jan. 20, 1907, it seems the
| fire which rushed forth nearly over
whelmed the waters of the channel.
and would have done so had it not
been for the Atlantic waves rolling In,
like the reserve squadrOns of the AL
mighty to conquer! They seem to have
extinguished the internal fires under
South Wales and MOnmouthshire, and
made 1t possible to work the coal meas
ures. Every miner sees in the divisions
Of each coal seam the design of the
Maker in preparing it. so that the
seam can be taken to pieces, one sec
tion of 1t after another.
The first account given below re-
lates to Cardiff-"Upon Tuesday" the
report goes on to state, being the Goth
of January, 1907, there happened such
an overflow of water. such a violent
swelling Of the sea, and such forci-
| BILE breaches made of the firme land in
| the counties following. that is to say,
| in the counties Of Gloucester, Somer-
set, Monmouth, GlamOrgan. and Caer-
marthen, and divers and sundry places
| Of South Wales. the like never in the
memory of man hath ever bin seen or
heard of. For. about nine of the clock
| in the morning. the sun being most
| fayrely and brightly spred. many of
| the inhabitants of the countreys pre-
pared themselves to their affaryes:-
| Then they might see and perceive afar
| and mighty hills of water, tumbling
one ever another, in such sort as if the
greatest mOuntaynes i'm the world had
overwhelmed the lowe villages and
marshy grounds.
Sometimes it dazzled the eyes OF
many of the spectators that they i'm
| agined 1t had bin some foggeg or miste
| coming with great swiftness toward
| them, and with such a smoke as of
mountaynes on fire. And to the view
Of some it seemed as If myllions of
| thousands of arrows had bin shat
all at one time. So violent and
| swift were the outrageous waves that
in less than fire hours space most
| in less than five hours space most
places which lay low, were all over
| flown, and many hundreds of people
both men. women and children-were
then quite devoured by those outrage
| ous waters. Nay, more, the farmers.
and husbandmen, and shepherdes be-