EATHQUAKES AND THE PLAGUE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 117, 17 May 1879, Page 4

EATHQUAKES AND THE PLAGUE.

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An article appeared in b rpceut number of Nature in which the writer called nfto.iit.ion fo t'^c apparent connection between telluric disturbances nnsl ♦be prevalence of deadly epidemics. The question rawed is a very intc-reef-' ing one in a scientific point of view, and it ns?umee « painful interest nf. (lie present moment, when (he plague hne invaded Southern Hiisaia, and fa filliop tho blinds of European monarchs nnd statesmen witfi the gravest cnxiely Whefhfr, as some writers rnuinfoin, large qunntitfea of pestilential g».aag are disengaged from (he bowels of tiie earth, nud poison the ntnwsphere durine these convulsive movernpnta of the cruet of (ho globe, is a point concern._jn» which wo must wait for much fuller nnd moro conclusive evidence than thnt which has been hitherto produce:?. On this subject, as upon all oilier?, h«aJy generolisatinns nro greatly to he deprecnted. But (here is a considerable lioJy of evidence favoring the hypothpsia fhnt thore is some relation between earthquakes and eruptions on tho one hand, and fatal epidemics on the other. The Times Bpeaka of the year 1878 as having besn "an uncommon period of Btrange volcanic phenomena, end believes that the year we have entered upon " will, unles3 a sudden cessation of activity occurs, prove to be even more proliho of euoh eventa then any of its recent predecessor?." Tn South America, Japan, and the Pacific, all lying within tha "belt of fire" which encircles the globe, there have been Severn! violent explosions ; while in the open sea, volcanic eruptions have been more than usually numerous. In the archipelago lying to the north of this continent several islands have baen submerged, while new ones have beeu upheaved by the sanj9 tremendous forces which have led to the diaapoarance of the old ones. "In the month

of February, 1878," as we are reminded by an article in The Times, " a very remarkable eruption occurrrd in lha seas surrounding tbe Sandwich Islands, ten days after a violent outburst of the crater of Mauna Lsn, on the mainland of tbe group, nnd a few weeks before another most remarkable outflow of lava from the celebrated lava lake of Kifauea. Here vast jets of liquid* lava were ejected to a great height through the hard crust of the Bolidifying lava of the lake, which had lain undisturbed for many years. Much more serious was tbe eruption of Mount Cotopax in June, accompanied by terrible showera of ashes, daßt, and mud, which were carried by the wind far and wide over tbe country, devastating the lands and detroying hundreds "of lives. Thb inuuiar volcano of Ooshima, in JapaD, broke out in flames and burning lava on 4th January, and continued in violent action till the first week in February, causing, in combination with tbe earthquakes which accompanied it, a disastrous loss of life. Among the more noteworthy events of tbe year was the eruption of a new volcano in the district hitherto suppojf d to be free from volcanic disturbance — namely, on the lltb June, in a new crater near the Colorado River, California, About the same time an earthquake was felt in Canada." What renders these occurrences bo noteworthy in connection with tho outbreak of tbe dreaded plague in Russia and its possible march westward, is that some of the moet deadly epidemics of the middle a»es were preceded or accompanied by similar phenomena. Thus the appearance of the Black Death in Europe, Abi'h, and Afrioa, in the middle of the fourteenth century, was heralded by tremendous convulsions, of the globe.. Hecker, whose treatises on this and cogDato maladies have been almost classic, tells us that "From China to the Atlantic, tbe foundations of the earth were shaken throughout Asia and Europe the atmosphere was in commotion, and endangered by its baneful influence both vegetable and animal life." A drought aod famine in China were followed by torrents of rain and floods, which swept away 400,000 people in one province alone; a mountain fell in; Vast clefts were formed in ths earth; a lake was formed of more than a hundred leagues in circumference; there were earthquakes which continued for a week in succession; and when the plague arose, it swept away five millions of people, irrespective of four mtUions who bad perished of famine. In 2348 similar disturbances occorred in Europe. Earthquakes shook Greece, Italy, and the neighboring countries; and in the island of Cyprus, which the plague transformed from a garden into a deaert, " a pestiferous wind spread so poisonous aa odour that many being overpowered by it, fe!l x down suddenly and expired iv dreadful agonies." The surface of tbe island rocked like the sea, and the latter overleaped its boondarieg, and devastated the land. At Ihe same time, German writers report that " a thick, stinking mist advanced from the Eaet, and spread itself over Italy; «* and," Heoker adds, *f there could be no deception in so palpable a phenomenon." Just at this time, too, " earthquakes were more general than they Lad been within the range of history. In thousands of places chasms were formed, from whence arose noxious vapours " These convulsions occurred in January, 1348, ana in the same mouth tbe Black Death made its appalling appearance in the Boath of Fraoee, the north of Italy, and in Spain, spreading from tbe nee to England, Germany, Poland, and Scandinavia.

" The disease," writes Hecksr with more confidence, perhaps, than is altoaether justifiable, " was a consequence of violent commotions in the earth's organism— -if any disease of cneinicnl origin can' bo so considered." Its ravages were fearful, almost incredible, for it ia estimate J thnt Europe »lone lost Kot less than 25,000,000 of inhabitants, or nearly one in four, of ber then population In EngUtid, the malady, or socno modification of if, ex tended to the cattle, which peiiehed in thousands, and ii was observed that the wise birds and wild animals carefully refraiued from touching their carcases. Harvests rotted on the ground, and fields were left uutilled for the want of hands to cultivate them. Of the three or four millions of people who then formed the population of toe mother country, mere lhan half, according to Mr Green's "History of the English People," perished during !ha first or succeeding visitations of tho Black D.^ah. "In the burial ground which tho piety of Sir Walter Maunay purchased for the citizens of London, a spot whose site was sfterwarda marked by tho Chat tor House, more than 50,000 corpses ere said to have been interred Thousands of people perished at Norwich, while in Bristol the living were hardly able to bury the dead." J

Whether Europe ia destined to witnees a repetition of thes3 dark days remains to be seen. If it is, the morta'ity will be eDorraous, for, although sanitary science has made great strides, the dirty and drunken habits of the great mass of the people in the large cities, thair weak stamina, and their extraordinary liability io panic, would combine to cause them to fall an easy prey to the plague. Fear would probably kill as many as the malady itaelf; and our civilisation has assumed such a highly artificial and wonderfully complex form, that it becomes impossible to coDJecture what effect a repetition of the appalling scenes which were witnessed all over Europe during the second half of the fourteenth century might have upon the very structure of society, especially among the western nations, or what might be tbe magnitude and duration of the impulse which it would Undoubtedly contribute to the emigration of the well-to-do classes, flying in terror from the fell destroyer, and seeking health and safety for themselves and families on the continent of Australia.