THE LAST MAN.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 53, 10 August 1877, Page 2

THE LAST MAN.

It, ; ia argued in. the Scientific African that if there is any profit whatever in speculating as to the origin of the human race, it may be equally advantag eous to discuss the probable fate of the last man, for. it i& pretty certain that the actualinformation possessed on the two points, is about equal. One theory respecting, the faridistant .future, is that the waters will gradually encroach upon the land, until 6ne b% one even the . highest peaks are submerged, and that thus the last taan musi infalibly be drowned or starved to death. Another theory depends upon the linown inequality of the seasons in the two hemispheres, and it is stated as an undoubted faufci that during a period of 10,500 years tlre^i'CQ accumulates at one of the poles, and" 1 melts aHh'e "other. Consequently there must be a time, the centre, of the earth's gravity will be disturbed, and an, immensp flood, a repetition, of the deluge, will be produced, and the last man will.as a matter of course be drowned. The third supposition is that the earth, by collision with a comet, will be plunged into an atmosphere of gas, which by admixture with our air

will produce a .state of things ia whieh\ no human being could exist, and so the\ last mau would be suffocated, or, failing this, the mixed gases would produce an , explosion, and he would bo blown topieces. But, again, it is possible, if the statements made by some" astronomers aro to be acccepted, that tkeiearth wilt : Rradually approach the .sunffThe heat on the surface of the globe will thus become more and more intense, and, as a ; matter of course, the last man will die of I sunstroke. At the same time, however, there is a theory to prove that by the action of certain rocks,, whiob^. _ afe constantly becoming hydrated, the seas will be dried up, the earth'a atmosphere, will, in conscquenee, disappear, and the last man will ' unfortunately be suffocated. This plausible argument must be accepted with a certain amount of caution, because Mr Proctor has shown that tho snnis simply a variable star* and that it may, therefore, suddenly blaze up. In. this case, the heat developed will be so 'ntenße that the last man will be burned Jo death. The intelligent reader will, at once see that, on the other hand, the sun • may gradually cool down, and that, if this should happen there will bean accumulation of ice at the poles;; that the chilling influence will gradually eitenci over the whole influence will .gradually extend over the whole earth, and that the ' last man will be frozen lo death. Once more, it is suggested that the earth, by gradually cooling, will develop immense fissures similar to those which are to be observed on the surface of tlie moon. The earth's crust being, thus rendered unsafe, the inhabitants will bo compelled to take refuge in caves, and so, probkblj the last man will be crushed in Sonla subterraneous cavern, Possibly, oopU might be enablrd to adapt tlie^msjjvjei.'to ' the cracked and broken . conditioi£*'of^tK&. earth, until it fell asunder, and. ihe. fragments flew off into space., Then* one of- two thing* must happen*: kTho last man would be killed by tlio crash of orbs, or he would become mas inhabitant of a new world, to develop* continuity of species, and so there would be no last man aftet all. >*• 5 c *■§?*'