Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1915-03-12

E@M would poll a unanimous
SSNNN vote in this or any coun-
aT~ try. An earthquake is the
one thing about which it
cannot be said that one can become
used to anything.
The Italians and the Japanese have
had personal experience with earth
quakes far beyond most peoples The
frequency of earthquakes, considering
those of all amplitudes, is not. how
ever generally realized.
The, globe, indeed, may be said hard
ly ever to be free from seismic dis
tur Dances of some kind somewhere,
according to Dr. Edmund Otis Hovey,
the well known authority of the Amer
lean Museum of Natural History.
The average of all recorded shocks
is more than fifteen a day.
There are between fifty and sixty
heavy shocks a year.
The bare enumeration by de Mon
tessus de Ballore of those occurring
In 1903 alone fills book of 600 tabu-
lated pages. This author has compiled
the data and plotted the position of
159,7S1 earthquakes that had been re-
corded up to the end of 1918.
Charleston, San Francisco, King
ston and Avezzano came to mind as
Doctor Hovey gave the above informa-
ton, but they left unaccounted for so
very many earthquakes that, even add
ing Messina and Pompeii, as was done
after another moments searching into
the past, the writer ventured to sug-
gesI it was fortunate thing for us
along the eastern coast of the North
American continent that we were COM
paratively so free from this sort of
attack.
We are in the habit of thinking of
eastern North America as a region
free from earthquake Shocks" agreed
Doctor Hovey, but that impression
is erroneous, since New England has
experienced about $50 recorded shocks
since the Pilgrims landed at Ply
mouth.
ALSO, there have been at least four
geat earthquakes in the eastern half
of the continent within the last two
and half centuries. One on the
9Th of February, 1868, affected the
st. Lawrence valley over an area
more than 900 miles long and 300
miles wide
4n 1811-12 heavy quakes occurred
in the central part of the Mississippi
valley. Strong shocks continued for
more than year, and evidence of
the sinking still persists in lakes and
submerged trees.
THE southwestern part of the
United States was the center of an
earthquake shock January 4, 1S43, the
waves of which were felt at points
at least 800 miles apart. In 1886
occurred the Charleston earthquake
an event still fresh in the minds of
most of our population"
Doctor Hovey was on the island OF
st. Vincent, 100 miles due south OF
Pelee, when the great eruption OF
June 6, 1902, occurred, and he men
toned it the other day in connection
with the former general belief that
volcanic earthquakes were by far the
most numerous and destructive of all
"On the other hand" he said, "some
of the most violent of historic erup
lions have been unattended by Sc
we're earthquakes or have given rise
to shocks of merely local significance
"Tha leland nf 10 ~ iy,i1 IN h.
French West Indies, lies within q
markedly seismic zone, but during thu
great eruptive activity of 1902'03 wal
free from earthquake shocks. This fac
is of particular interest, because the
eruptions were of the most highly ex
plosive character.
Although no vibrations were fel
upon the island of Martinique and M
subterranean noises were heard there
dull sounds like the booming of dis
tant cannon were heard the morning
of the great eruption of May 8, 1902
at Caracas, Venezuela, $50 miles dis
tant, southwest where people fearet
that a naval battle was in progress
off their coast. Similar booming wa
reported from St. Kits, 200 mile
northwest of Martinique, and from
other regions.
Il myself was on the island of 81
Vincent, and felt several dull thuds
as If some heavy object had fallen il
neighboring room.
1.-THE noises seemed to come iron
beneath the ground. and they wer
due, in all probability, to subterrar
can explosions or to the pushing g
lava into underground cavities, some
what on the principle of the waite
hammer"
On the island of St. Vincent som