The Project Gutenberg eBook of Great Disasters and Horrors in the World's History

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Title: Great Disasters and Horrors in the World's History

Author: Allen Howard Godbey

Release date: February 18, 2016 [eBook #51246]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREAT DISASTERS AND HORRORS IN THE WORLD'S HISTORY ***

Table of Contents.
Some typographical errors have been corrected; a list follows the text.

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(etext transcriber's note)

GREAT DISASTERS

AND

Horrors in the World’s History.

A GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE NOTABLE CALAMITIES
WHICH HAVE BEFALLEN MANKIND

IN ALL AGES, BOTH UPON LAND AND SEA.

EMBRACING

THE LOUISVILLE TORNADO, FLOODS IN THE SOUTH, CHARLESTON EARTHQUAKE,
JOHNSTOWN FLOOD, STORM ON THE COAST OF SAMOA, NOTED SHIPWRECKS,
GREAT FLOODS IN CHINA, HOLLAND AND JAPAN, AND OTHER NOTABLE
DISASTERS CAUSED BY STORM, FLOOD AND VOLCANIC ACTION,

AND OF THE LAWS OF THE

NATURAL PHENOMENA THAT PRODUCE THEM.

COMPRISING

THRILLING TALES OF HEROISM, GREAT DESTRUCTION OF TOWNS, CITIES, HOMES
AND LIVES, HEART-RENDING SCENES OF AGONY, DREADFUL SUFFERINGS,
MIRACULOUS ESCAPES, DARING ADVENTURES, ETC., ETC.,

TOGETHER WITH

NOBLE RESPONSES OF AID.

TO WHICH IS ADDED

AN ACCOUNT OF METHODS OF PREDICTION.

By A. H. GODBEY, A.M.,

Author of “Stanley in Africa,” “Light in Darkness,” “Missions and Missionary Heroes,” etc.
———
SUPERBLY ILLUSTRATED WITH 150 ENGRAVINGS.
———
PUBLISHED BY
ROYAL PUBLISHING CO.,
ST. LOUIS, MO.

PREFACE.

Whatever be the ideas of the public upon a glance at the title page of this work, it is not intended to pander to the morbid desire for the sensational or horrible, characteristic of weak minds. This volume is not a literary morgue.

Mankind is constantly astonished by reports of mishaps and disasters of manifold character, when there is seldom room for astonishment. A large proportion of the calamities reported from day to day are directly due to the haste, greed, and heedlessness of man himself, and need no comment.

But there is a large class of disasters, due solely to meteorological or geological conditions, which surpass all others in magnitude and appalling destruction. In such cases men insist on prating about “mysterious visitations,” as though these occurrences were subject to the dominion of no law. To an examination of such is this book devoted.

When in school, the writer was often struck by the persistence with which even the most diligent students would call upon the teachers of physics and chemistry to suspend the recitation and devote the time to illustrative experiments. Physical Geography was constantly pronounced “very dry,” because of the scarcity of opportunities for illustration.

The writer has endeavored to present in a form acceptable to the popular palate the general principles of the storm and earthquake so far as they are understood: and numerous narratives of great disturbances have been inserted that a clearer conception of the magnitude of these agencies and their relative importance may be attained by the reader.

Much care has been spent in “steering between Scylla and Charybdis.” While it has been designed to avoid merely scientific data, there has been the equally delicate task of avoiding prolix narration and mere sensational tales. It is hoped that the result will be useful and interesting.

If the book shall lead the reader to higher views of the reign of inexorable law in nature, and to a profounder reverence for the Author of Law and his works, the labor of its compilation will not have been spent in vain.

A. H. Godbey.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
MYTHS OF THE WINDS.
	PAGE.
Old Greek fancies—Their modern traces—Man seeking mysteries—Personifications—The “air-mothers”	17
CHAPTER II.
CONSTANT WINDS.
Comparative climate—Expansive force of heat—Illustrations—The trade-winds—Effect of the earth’s rotation—Return currents and calms	26
CHAPTER III.
PERIODIC WINDS.
Modified trade winds—The monsoons—Local winds—Sea and land breezes—The simoom: its terrible effects—The khamsin, and similar winds—Moisture in the air: its effects—Rain and hail—Clouds: their varieties—Mountain winds	34
CHAPTER IV.
TORNADOES AND CYCLONES.
Unheeded law—Peculiarities of storms—Cyclonic storms—Theoretical Illustrations—A “cyclone hot-bed"—Traveling of a cyclone—Its curves in accordance with law—Features of the cyclone’s path—Great cyclone of August, 1888—The planetary equinox theory—Objections to it—Safe predictions—Sun-spots—Mysterious providences	48
CHAPTER V.
THE LOUISVILLE TORNADO.
Perspective of news—Amusing conceits—Distress at the door—The tornado—Warning of the Signal Service—The storm strikes Louisville—Its course—Wreck of Falls City Hall—Rescuing the victims—Fire breaks out—Personal narratives—At the Union Depot	65
CHAPTER VI.
INCIDENTS OF THE TORNADO.
The poor to be remembered—Peddlers, publicans and sinners—The freaks of “Providence"—Deaths in the storm remarkably few—Wonderful escapes—Explosive effects of confined air—Strange pranks of the wind—The storm at Parkland—At Jeffersonville—The mammon worshiper—Generosity and independence	87
CHAPTER VII.
OTHER TORNADOES.
The tornado in East Kansas—In Southeast Missouri—Great damage in Illinois—Water-spout at Metropolis—Many distinct whirlwinds—Effect of forest and prairie fires—Tornado of Charleston, 1761—Tornadoes at Natchez, 1840 and 1842—The Marshfield storm, 1880—Remarkably small loss of life in tornadoes—Tornadoes in foreign lands	114
CHAPTER VIII.
TROPICAL CYCLONES.
Cyclones on our eastern borders—The Nova Scotia cyclone—St. Thomas cyclone and earthquake, 1837—Cyclone of 1867—Barbadoes storm, 1831—Great storm of 1780—Terrible cyclones and storm waves of India—Typhoons in the China seas	141
CHAPTER IX.
PERILS OF THE SEA.
Songs of the sea—The ocean always admired—Its treasures and dangers—Man’s greed a source of disaster—Criminal disregard of life—Terrible fatalities in leaky ships—The Arctic seas—The ship Rufus	159
CHAPTER X.
LIFE-SAVING MEASURES.
Great storm of 1703—Humaneness and inhumanity—Diabolical wreckers—Hovellers—Desperate struggles without a life-boat illustrated by Dickens—The life-boat invented—Its usefulness—Lighthouses and fog-bells	179
CHAPTER XI.
GREAT SAMOAN HURRICANE.
Germany and Samoa—Naboth’s vineyard—War breaks out—The assembled navy—Situation of the harbor—The hurricane—Fears of the natives—Vessels dragging anchors—Sudden wreck of the Eber—Magnanimous natives—The Adler overturned—Struggle of the Nipsic—Fouled by the Olga, and run ashore—Crew rescued by the natives—The Vandalia helpless—Bold feat of the Calliope cheered—Vandalia stranded—Many Drowned—At the last gasp—The Trenton drifts upon them—Defiance of the storm—The flag triumphant	195
CHAPTER XII.
ELECTRIC STORMS.
Byron’s fire—Myths of the lightning—Causes of thunder storms—Strange freaks of the lightning—Numerous fatalities—Some curious cases—A lightning stroke a Divine favor—Thunder—Peculiar incidents—Lightning little to be feared—Foolish precautions—A “dysentery conductor” wanted—St. Elmo’s fire—Electric halos—Their part in history—The aurora—Popular myths—Aurora described	220
CHAPTER XIII.
RAIN, HAIL AND SNOW.
Clouds and cloud shapes—The storm changes national destinies—Cloud halos—Specter of the Brocken—The “beautiful rain"—Amount of rainfall—Snow—Its ravages—Remarkable showers of hail—Prodigies	246
CHAPTER XIV.
FLOODS IN THE SOUTH.
Rivers a universal problem—Character of the Mississippi—Failure of the levee system—The building of levees—Three great sections—Damage of overflows—Fighting for the levee—Storm on the river—Scene at a crevasse—The flood in the rural districts—In the city—Closing a crevasse—Refugees on the levee—Crooked streams	261
CHAPTER XV.
THE FLOOD OF 1890.
Floods of other years—Warning of the Signal Service—The water rising—At Greenville, Mississippi—The fight for the Morganza line—The waters win—Other crevasses—Extent of the damage—Objections to levees—Levees versus outlets—Terrible floods in China—A proposed outlet—Reflection on present policy	296
CHAPTER XVI.
THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD.
The dam system of India—American “cheap goods and haste"—The Little Conemaugh Valley—Heavy rains—Johnstown flooded—The artificial lake—A poor dam—No uneasiness—How the water would move—The dam breaks—Terrible rush of the flood—An engine chased—A warning whistle—Locomotives hurled about like toys—Flying for life—Escapes and losses	324
CHAPTER XVII.
INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN.
Suddenness of the flood—It divides—A chaotic scene—Fire breaks out—Faith of the perishing—Narratives: the Hulbert House; Rev. D. M. Miller’s story; Mr. Calliver’s escape; Dr. Beale and family—Morning: the stricken multitude; Mr. Rose’s narrative; Talmage’s letter; the grief of the survivors	343
CHAPTER XVIII.
RELIEF MEASURES.
The people in want—Johnstown after the flood—Human ghouls—Relic hunters—Temporary government—A dictatorship—Hospitals and morgues—Prompt response of the public—Aid from various cities—Losses by the flood	367
CHAPTER XIX.
FAMINE AND PESTILENCE.
Signs and omens—Natural causes—Bengal famine of 1866—Relief Measures—Results—Pestilence and contagion—Black death—Its frequent ravages—Fright—A romance of Florence	384
CHAPTER XX.
THE VOLCANO.
Erroneous views—Myths—Active principle in volcanoes—Atmospheric pressure—Rain at eruptions—Lava, pumice, ashes and tufa—Different phases of action—Stromboli, the “lighthouse"—Lava bubbles—Thrilling adventure—Lost!—Theory of a molten earth—Objections to it—The earth cools slowly—Subsidence and chemical action—Distribution of volcanoes—Their work and forms	394
CHAPTER XXI.
GREAT ERUPTIONS OF VESUVIUS.
Pompeii long buried—Excavations begun—A hermetically sealed city—Scenes in the town—Pliny’s story—Hundreds stifled—Finding the bodies—Subsequent eruptions—Notable convulsion of 1538—The eruption of 1531, 1737 and 1793—Recent observations	421
CHAPTER XXII.
OTHER GREAT ERUPTIONS.
Destruction of Sodom—Arguments—The pitch lake of Trinidad—Ætna: eruption of 1669—Thousands perish—Catania destroyed—Other outbreaks—Iceland: Mt. Hecla—Tremendous eruption of Skaptar Jokul—One-fifth of the people perish—Millions of cubic yards of lava—Disturbances in the sea—Jorullo: a mountain made in a night—Fearful outburst of Sumbawa—Twenty-six people out of twelve thousand escape—Explosions heard nine hundred miles—Other Malaysian volcanoes—Geysers—Terrible eruption of Cosequina—Heard one thousand miles—Eruptions in South America—Force required to send out lava—In the Sandwich Islands—Krakatoa: the greatest eruption in history—A chorus of volcanoes—Awful destruction—Perceived around the world—Unparalleled sea wave	440
CHAPTER XXIII.
EARTHQUAKES.
Myths of the earthquake—Ancient theories—Modern research—Earthquakes and volcanic agency—Speed of a shock—The atmospheric theory—Earthquakes at particular seasons—The “planetary influence” theory—Character of motions	481
CHAPTER XXIV.
EUROPEAN EARTHQUAKES.
Legends of the flood—Sparta Destroyed—Bura and Helice engulfed—Numerous convulsions in Asia Minor—Antioch repeatedly destroyed—North Africa suffers—Calabrian earthquake of 1693—A tremendous convulsion in 1783—Immense chasms—People swallowed up—Great landslides—Terrible catastrophe at Scylla—Ruffians amid the wreck—The great Lisbon earthquake—Its vast extent—Awful destruction—Earthquake at Chio—In Switzerland—In Ischia—Distressing scenes in the ruins—Disastrous shocks in Spain	496
CHAPTER XXV.
EARTHQUAKES IN THE UNITED STATES AND ENGLAND.
All nature uneasy—The terrifying character of an earthquake—Signs and wonders—“El Gran Ruido,” of Guanajuato—Frequency of earthquakes—Earthquake in New England, 1638—A second in 1663—Shock of 1727—Great convulsions of 1755—Damage and great alarm at Boston—“The end of the world!"—Great disturbance in the Mississippi Valley, 1811—Strange feats—The Charleston earthquake—Numerous English earthquakes—Comparatively small loss of life	535
CHAPTER XXVI.
EARTHQUAKES IN TROPICAL AMERICA.
Shocks in Asia: lack of reliable information—The Andes region—Great earthquake of Riobamba—Humboldt’s description—Numerous shocks in Venezuela—Catastrophe of Caracas—Effect on the survivors—Frequent convulsions at San Salvador—Total destruction in 1854—Ruffians on the scene—Sudden disaster of Mendoza—Touching incidents—Faithful dogs—Shocks in Peru and gigantic sea wave—Numerous great shocks—The end of all things—The last man	563
CHAPTER XXVII.
PREDICTION AND PREVENTION.
Futile efforts to control the future—Law neglected for superstition—Pretentious prophets—Humbugs—Laws of weather changes—Actions of animals—Methods for producing rain suggested—Earthquake indicators—A force beyond control—Possibilities	589
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE REIGN OF LAW.
Knowledge only from experience—Partial mastery by faith—Natural law the ruling force—Good and bad results of faith in the Supernatural—Sin punished—Ignorance punished—Examples—Man slow to learn—Eternal wisdom and goodness—Progress, past, present and future	600

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

	PAGE.
Cave of the Winds	18
The Simoom	40
Forms of Clouds	45
Path of Cyclones	54
Rotation of Storms	56
Water-spouts at Sea	60
Where the Storm entered Louisville	68
Baxter Park, Louisville	71
Falls City Hall	75
At Work in the Wreck	78
Main Street, between Eleventh and Twelfth, Louisville	82
Union Depot, Louisville	85
Eighth and Main, Louisville	90
Corner Main and Clinton, Louisville	94
Looking East from Tenth and Main, Louisville	96
Corner Jefferson and Twelfth, Louisville	99
On Ninth Street, Louisville	102
Ruined Tobacco Warehouses	104
View of Jeffersonville	108
Wall and Front Streets, Jeffersonville	109
Wreck at Jeffersonville	110
Tenth and Main, Louisville	112
Looking West from Tenth and Main, Louisville	115
View of the Residence District, Louisville	118
Ruined Dwellings	121
Path of Tornado, Olney, Ill.	124
Scene at Olney, Ill.	126
Whirlwind from Burnt Prairie	127
Tornado followed by Rain Storm	129
Instantaneous View of Tornado	130
Tornado at Monville	132
Water-spout at Sea	135
Minnesota Tornado	137
Sand-spouts in the Desert	139
Cyclone, Fire and Earthquake, St. Thomas	145
“Drowning with its Terrible Roar”	147
Hurricane in the Tropics	151
Coast of India Submerged by a Storm	156
“He Sinks into Thy Depths”	160
Cast Ashore	163
Wreck of the Minotaur	167
Wrecked on a Rock	171
Castaways on a Raft	173
Sinking of the London	177
Storm on the Shoals, 1703	180
On a Lee Shore	184
Hovellers Relieving a Vessel	187
The Life-boat	190
The Life-boat at Work	193
Bow of the Eber Cast Ashore	201
The Adler on the Reef	204
Samoans Rescuing American Sailors	207
The Calliope Putting to Sea	210
Bow of the Sunken Vandalia	214
After the Storm	218
The Lyse Fiord	221
Ideal Subterranean Storm	225
Harvesters Killed by Lightning	232
Land of the Aurora	243
Field of Waterloo	249
Specter of the Brocken	252
Tropical Flood	264
Making Mats for Levee Fronts	266
Struggle to Hold the Levee	269
A Mountain Torrent	271
“No Time for Prayin’!”	273
Funeral During the Flood	275
Breaking of the Levee	277
Surprised by the Water	279
Not so Romantic as it Looks	282
Telegraphing Under Difficulties	285
Rescuing People	288
Camps on the Levee	290
Waiting for a Steamer	292
The Search Light	293
Scene at High Water	297
Negroes Moving Out	301
Stock Raft	303
Picking Up Refugees	306
Deserted Farmhouse	308
Flood in China	312
Dykes of Holland	316
Relief of Leyden	318
Breaking of the Dykes, Holland	322
Map of Conemaugh Valley	325
The Broken Dam	334
Fleeing Engine	337
Wreck of the Trains	340
Mill Creek	345
At the Stone Bridge	349
Desperate Struggle	354
The Gorge at the Bridge	358
Battle with the Waters	362
Johnstown After the Flood	371
At the Morgue	376
Conemaugh Viaduct	381
At the Summit of Popocatepetl	397
View in Active Crater	401
Crater of Orizaba	405
Eruption of Vesuvius	411
Coral Reefs	418
Destruction of Pompeii	424
Vesuvius in 1737	435
Destruction of Sodom	441
Destruction of Catania	446
Mt. Hecla	450
Jorullo	455
Geyser	457
The Yellowstone Park	462
Cattle in Volcanic Mud	473
Convulsion on the Coast of Sumatra	478
Effect of Earthquake on Masonry	484
The Deluge	497
Ruined Roman Colonnade	500
Antioch	502
Massive Architecture Wrecked, Asia Minor	504
Ruins Near Cairo	506
Ruins Near Nineveh	507
Remains of Ancient Hebrew Masonry	509
Great Earthquake in Calabria	511
Destruction of Messina	513
Disaster of Scylla	515
Lisbon	517
Earthquake at Lisbon	520
Ruined Cathedral	522
Scene at Chio	524
Panic at Casamicciola	529
Earthquake in Andalusia	532
Wreck of the Charleston Earthquake	538
Houses Thrown into Ravine	542
Wreck on King Street, Charleston	544
Scene at Charleston	548
Old State House, Charleston	551
Charleston	554
Wreck of Factory	557
Ruined Dwelling	560
Earthquake in China	564
After the Shock	568
Scene at Caracas	571
Ruins of San Salvador	573
Fright at San Salvador	575
Shock at Lake in Honduras	577
Wreck at Mendoza	579
Great Sea Wave	583
Earthquake in Spain	586