The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1909-11-26
WILL BE A THRILLING SIGHT
HaIIey's Comet, Which frightened Ancient
Peoples 24O Years Before Christ,
About to Visit Us Again
Written for The Echo.l

Once in every century at least, since
more than 200 years before Christ, the
earth's peoples have been terrified by
what many thought was the flaming
sword of Gods wrath suspended across
the skies as a token OF a stern retribu-
ton about to be melted out.
For ages the amazing grandeur OF
the spectacle was taken to portend
wars, famine and death. People were
made frantic by the sight, the COM
merce of the world even halted, and
the Golfers of the various religious Sects
were fattened as never before by the
contributions of the teror-stricken
people who desired to make their
peace with their God. Church bells
were rung, special services were es-
tablished which have since continued,
and prayers were offered up in an
effort to placate, if possible, the frey
monster that seemed about to devour
the earth and all its inhabitants. 1t
has been only during very recent years
that the object, filing the heavens
with its blazing shape, has been scien-
tifcally dissected and calmly Invested
of its age-long terrors.
This coming year will again witness
the wonderful sight OF the return of
Halley's comet, and though the
greater part of the civilized world now
understands what it is and what little
danger there is Of possible collision
between it and the earth, there will
still be millions of people who will bow
in terror before it and offer up sacri-
fees and incense to appease some out
ragged god, even as did the barbarians
of 240 B. c. Even the most cold
blooded savant will be unable to look
upon the comet when nearest the earth
the coming summer without thrill Of
the heartstrings and an acknowledge
ment that human beings, after all, are
but infnitesimal specks in this great
universe of which we know so little.
Ancient history is full Of mention of
the panics caused among the people
by this big comet. Now, after jour
ney Of little more than "a years, in
which it has travelled to the furthest
confines OF our known solar system
to the limits of the orbit of Neptune,
some IS times 90 millions of miles-a
distance impossible for the little mind
of man to even grasp, it is fast swing
ing toward our sun.
1t is moving at tremendous speed
and about February LIST will cross the
orbit of Mars and be within so million
Of miles of the earth, having tray
eled over 400 millions of miles in IS
months. On April 10 and May 28th
next the comet will cross the path of
Venus, and that of the earth about
March 80 and June 10. AS the earth
does not reach the first point until
May l it will be seen that there is but
little danger. Even if the earth and
comet should reach the crossing at the
same time there would be little cause
for fear, as the two paths do not lie on
the same plane, though OF course the
scientific sharps do not know what
force may be exercised on the comet
at any time to defect its path or lessen
or increase its speed.
While the chance of collision with
the comet is less than one in million,
there are yet evidences that have led
more than one investigator to believe
that the earth in some distant past age
has been in collision with just such a
visitor as Halley's comet is. In fact,
one of the brightest men OF this coun-
try some years ago thoroughly investi-
gated the theory and claimed to have
found evidence, both written by man
and embalmed in the solid rock, Of
just such catastrophe. 1t is set forth
in Ignatius Donnelly' interesting book,
'Rag-na-Rock," that the so-called
glacial drifts" so numerous in the
North American continent, were caused
by an inter-space collision. Strong ar
guments are put forth to prove that the
flaming sword" of biblical story was
the self-same comet. Further, the
author of whom we speak drew logical
Al