St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1896-11-07
DISCUSSIONS or DoomsDAY.
EpecuIatfons rs tothe Fate OF Humanity onl
the Last Great Day.

the Last Great Day.
= The probable fateof the last man has
often been discussed and dozens OF
theories. have been advanced by per-
cons whos honestly believe fhatsthey
have solved the problem. That there
will be time when this little world OF
ours will no longer exist there is not
the. least shadow Of d doubt. But eX-
actly how the human race will per-
ish and disappear from the face Of the
globe is the question that has interested
the philosophers Of all ages.
Some profess to believe that the oceans
are gradually encroaching on the land
surface, and that eventually the last
man will be drowned.
Opposite to this is the much talked-of
theory that the water or the earth's
surface is slowly drying up, the amount
being appreciably less now than it was
at the opening of the century. The
apostles Of this unique theory say that
| if the arying-up process con ntfnues for
few thousand years longer tks easFefis
will become as arid as the moon and
the last man will perish for want of I
water. m
Some believe that the earth viii fall
TO pieces others that,a monster planet
will plunge into the sun, causing that
great luninary to blaze up9and burn
to cinders the earth and the other PLAN
cts in its train, q
There have been dozens Of other
theories, some Of them equally curious,
advanced by men who have been making
the subject a study. But the most
remarkable solution of the question
is the opinion lately expressed by
leading German meteorologist and as I
tronomer. He says that the internal
fires of the earth are rapidly dying out
and that the sun is sure to burn out
and become cold and dark. This, he
says, is proven by the fact that ice is
rapidly accumulating at the poles OF
the earth and slowly creeping down
toward the temperate zones. Places
visited by Kotzebue, Franklin, Ross.
Parry, Lyon and Others during the
first quarter of the present century,
and pronounced by them as free from
ice during June, JUL and August, are Z
now covered with several feet Of the
crystal deposit which is capped with
snow throughout the years This GER
stainly proves that the earth's glacial
zones are rapidly and permanent lyf ell-
EIarging, and that the old German apos-
tiles of the freezc-otit theory haS q basis
for his calculations, to say the least.
That Europe is on the horder1and OF
another glacial epoch has been shown.
by Flammarion, the great French spec
8ulatise astronomer. During the last
I so. years every kingdom, empire, re-
public and principally in that coantry,
as well as those Of. Asia, has lost from
six to fourteen degrees in its mean an
nunI temperature. In France. Germany
and Italy the northern limit ct the,
growth OF the vine Is being steadily
forced southwark. In South AInerica
ard South Africa similar conditions are
noted: at Kio de JaneirO the annual
Temperature has. beer steadily going
down since the dafe when n1eteorologi-8
cal records were first kept in that city.
The German authority just cited de-
. elanes that this will SO steadily On,
with the effect OF narrowing down the
habitable area Of the globe ltt last
shiyering humanity will all collect
along tile equator. Finally that TOO viii
become q region Of ice and snow, Then
the time will come when the over
crowded human beings sWill all9starye
or be frozen in a heap. st. Louis Re-
public. N