Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1922-12-07
AOan0Rs OF RAErH SHOCKS
Tidal Wares Also Force Of Nature
That Bring Disaster.

Ino united states has been Stngu-
larly free from recorded earth
Qrakes, perhaps the most disastrous
being In 1911, when q very severe
shock occurred in the Mississippi
valley south Of the Ohio. which was
felt In New York in one direction and
the West Indies in another" says q
bulletin OF the National Geographic
society. "This earthquake changed
the face Of the earth. A vast extent
OF land was sunk, lakes were formed,
and even the course Of the Mississ-
ippi river was changed for time.
Most Of the earthquakes occurr-
ing OF late years can hardly be class
ed with the great ones of history,
nearly all Of the destruction being
caused by uncomfortable fires. In
the more stable zones long periods
may elapse between shocks, as for
instance. in Kingston, Jamaica, 215
years intervened. ...
THE cause Of earthquakes and vol
canoes is an elusive problem, not yet
settled to the satisfaction Of the sci
enlist. Tremors of the earth may be
caused by many things. The explo-
sion Of mines, falling in of caves,
Slipping in OF rock strata, and many
other movements of the earth may
cause them; but for the great shocks
which have occurred almost since the
history of the world began we must
look further.
Though many times there seems
to be an intimate connection between
earthquakes and volcanoes, the law
regarding them has not been estab-
lished Some remarkable condolences
have been observed in late years. The
terrible cataclysm Of Mount Pelee,
which, on May s, 1902, almost in
stantly killed 10000 inhabitants, was
preceded by the earthquake which in
January and April of the same year
wrecked a number Of cities in Mex
leo anu Guatemala. The distance be-
tween these points Is at least 1000
miles, showing how deepseated must
have sbeen the disturbance, IL, as has
boen suggested. there was a commu-
nicatia between them. The great
San ncisco earthquake was pre-
cedn ly two days by one of the
mos Nsolent eruptions OF vesuvfQs
recorded in many years.
THE greatest of recent volcanic
disturbances which blew the top off
OF Mount Katmai In. Alaska and gave
birth Of the wonderful Valley Of Ten
Thousand Smokes was preceded and
accompanied by series Of severe
earthquakes" >...
Admiral Billings described the
great tidal wave which he saw at
africa, then in Peru, some years ago.
He was an officer on the U. s. 8 Wa
teree, which was anchored in the hcr-
Dor at africa at the time of the cata-
clysm. 49,
Some time after the initial tre-
NOR, he wrote, "the sea receded un-
til the shipping was left stranded,
while as far to seaward as our Wis
ion you'd reach we saw the rocky
bottom Of the sea, never before ex-
posed to human gaze, with struggling
fish and monsters of the deep left
high and dry. The round-bottomed
ships keeled over on their beam ends,
while the Wateree rested easily on
her fioor-like bottom; and when the
returning sea, not like a wave, but
rather like an enormous tide, came
sweeping back, rolling our unfortu-
nate companion ships over and over,
leaving some bottom up and others
masses OF wreckage. the Wateree
rose easily over the tossing waters
From this moment the sea seemed
to defy the laws Of nature. Currents
ran in contrary directions, and we
were borne here and there with q
speed we coud not have equaled had
we been steaming for our lives. At
irregular intervals the earthquake
shocks REQUIRED, but none of them
50 violent or long continued as the
first.
About $40 p. m. the lookout hail
ca the deck and reported breaker
approaching. Looking seaward, we
saw, first. q thin line Of phosphores-
cent light, which loomed higher and
higher until 1t seemed to touch the
sky; its crest crowned with the death
lipht Of phosphorescent glow, show
ing the sullen masses of water be.
low Heraided by the laundering
roar of q thousand breakers combin-
ed. the dreadful tidal wave was upon
us at last. OF all the horrors of this
dreadful time, this seemed the worst.