The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1906-03-02
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FROM THRIsT
Astronomers and biologists Find Evi
dences that All Water Is Rapidly
Disappearing from the Face of
the Earth, Which Means
Death to. All Life,
Death to. All Life.
-ISW# HN

Death to. All Life.
Is the earth drying up and shall We
(meaning by I'VE" the human race as
re. resented by our descsndants), dis
of thirstP
a warning that this fate Is not I'm.
possible, or even improbable, seems tc
DO conveyed by some Of the olde,
worlds around us. The moon has b.
come as dry as a bone, although THE
dark and empty beds of many seas and
oceans are plainly visible upon It's sur
face, showing that there was once q
time when the lunar world possessed
plenty of wnter.
The planet Mars is more than half
dried up, and now retains 80 little
water that In the Winter tine it az
pears to be Sll locked up in the polar
SHOWS and leo fields, which are so thin
that they quickly melt away when the
Summer sun shines hot upon them.
The planet Mercury apparently pos
gesses nc water at the present time,
although, in the nature of things,
since 1t Ia composed of The same gen
eral elements as the other planets, IL
must have had water upon its surface
at some past period In It's history.
Some think that even Venus is a
dry, hot world, with little or no water
available to support inhabitants. The
observations OF Professor Lowell at
any rate support this conclusion.
From these examples we see that
there Is nothing essentially improba,
BILE In the idea that the waters Of the
earth may eventually disappear, leav-
Ing 1t as dry and barren as It's near
companion, the moon.
But there Is dirCcJ and start.
ling evidence Of the drying up of the
earth than any afforded by their anal
ogles with other planets. This evil.
dence Is of a scientific nature, and we
find 1t In the known disappearance or
many great bodies of water winch tx
lsted on various parts OF the globe IN
former times, IN in the gradual, and
In some cases, rapid, d%eAsica0ion of
vast continental areas. Nothing more
Ominous conld we'll be found THAN the
proof afforded by recent scientific tx
ploration Of Central Asia that a large
part OF n greatest Of the continents,
the one which IL believed to nave Goa
tanned the Garden Of Eden and the
cradle OF mankind, has beeu turned
Into q WaterleSs desert within the his.
toric period!
East Of the Caspian Sea and north
u west Of the vast ranges of the
Himalayan mountains, within a few
years past the remains Of large cities
have been found, covered with drift
Ing sands and choking dust which the
ury Who's Wnirl up inimnense smOth-
erlng clouds. Some Of these vanished
I" or Central Asia give evidence
IN their ruins that they once lay on
The shores Of lakes and rivers ano
other b1oies OF water which have since
completely disappeared. Now they
are only the desslcated skeletons OF n
OWL zation whose founders either per.
1shed or thirst or we're driven forth
int more favored lands where the adj
VanciIg aridity has not yet attained
o fatal point.
Central Asia Is a lofty plateau, and
IL Is on these higher levels of the
earth that the disappearance of the
water has everywhere first been mani
rested. All the Arian deserts seen
TO be advancing their sandy frontiers
on every side, and invading the sur.
rounding lands which sin retain
though In diminished measure. thei,
supply or life giving water. The greer
borders are everywhere. receling be
fore the remorseless yellow wastes.
The continent OF Africa has lone
been undergoing a similar drying pro.
cess. There are In the midst Of the
Desert of Sahara plain evidences O.
the forler existence Of inhabited
GASES that were one green aud -four
1shing with trees and smaller vepeta
Gion, but which are now swept by sand
storms M destitute OF the least drop
OF water. One Of the things that
most powerfully impressed the minds
or n members OF the British A 20
citation for the Advancement Of Sci.
enca during their visit to Africa last
Summon, was the lack OF water over
a 8 areas OF that continent and the
universal necessity Of irrigatl } to
keep alive tho lands that are yet In a
habitable condition. The president
Of the Engir >ering Section of the AS
BCclation declared that it Is a general
condition OF African agriculture that
h needed water must be provided Oy
human intervention. Left TO nature,
many OF the now Inhabited parts of
Africa would quickly be turned into
lifelosB deserts. But the struggle can
only be mainta ned successfully as
long as the present supply OF water
capable or being turned into irrlgat-
Ing ditches remains uhdlminished, and
the example Of the fate that a part of
Central Asia has suffered Indicates
that the time is ure to come when
the supply will be insufficient.
Many African lakes have disappear.
cd In whole or In part within q few
g~eneratlons. Lake NRami, discovered
by Livingstone, is no longer In ,xist,
ence; Lake 1ohad, which occupied a
conspicuous place on maps Of A.:ica
when many II the older readers OF
this newspaper were school children,
has now half dried up. Smaller bodies
or water have completely vanished.
Inc same story comes from Aus.
tralia, from South America, and even
from parts OF u own Western coun
try. The great Salt Lake in Utah Is
rapidly %recedinR, like a puddle drying
In the sun, leaving an ever. broaden
Ing marRe OF white salt waste around
it's shrinking beaches. Some OF the
aid western lands which modern en-
GerpriSe has begun to cultivate with