Day the Mountains
Trembled and Shook
Of comets and calamities . . . when
Tecumseh stamped liis foot.
By E. W. IV AIIS WORTH
Professor* Appalachian Slate University
Cornels have long been considered
by some people (o be a harbinger of
momentous events. Over the centuries,
comets have been regarded as a sign
from heaven of impending calamity —
the outbreak of plagues, war. the down¬
fall of a nation, or some other kind of
human disaster.
Plutarch recorded that a very bright
comet lighted the heavens above Rome
for seven nights before the assassina¬
tion of Julius Caesar. The wife of Cae¬
sar is supposed to have noted the oc¬
currence and to have associated it with
the death of her husband, a mighty
ruler.
Some biblical scholars believe that
the Star of Bethlehem which appeared
over Judea around 7 BC shortly before
the birth of Jesus was a comet, which
the Wisemen of the East saw and fol¬
lowed. believing it to be a message of
some kind for all men. But when King
Herod was told by soothsayers in his
court that this hairy star foretold the
birth of a king who would be mightier
than he. Herod went on a rampage
of infanticide. But Joseph, being
warned in a dream, took his wife,
Mary, and their son and fled into
Egypt.
When Attila the Hun overran Gaul
in 451 AD, a comet blazed overhead.
Also, when William the Conqueror in¬
vaded England in 1066, a comet ap¬
peared in the heavens on the eve of the
Battle of Hasting. On the following day
the Saxon King was killed by a Norman
arrow which struck him in the eye. This
comet is depicted in the Baycux tapes¬
try which tells of King Harold's death
and the defeat of the English troops
by the Normans.
Following the capture of Constanti¬
nople by the Turks in 1456. Pope Ca-
lixtus was so distraught by the appear¬
ance of a comet that he had it excom¬
municated to rid the world of its por¬
tended evil.
End of the World
And now in recent days, as Kohou-
lek appeared in the morning skies,
many people have speculated on the
comet's significance in a world already
divided. Some equated Kohoutck with
the second coming of Christ. Some felt
that this comet would issue in the mil¬
lennium. a period of great happiness,
peace, and good government. Others
saw all kinds of disaster about to strike,
earthquakes, tidal waves, war. famine,
disease, economic recession, and scan¬
dal in high places.
With the appearance of Kohoutek a
few weeks ago. various vibrations were
indeed felt in some areas of North
Carolina. But nothing to compare with
the awesome quakes which also were
accompanied by a comet some 162
years ago.
In December, 1811. the people of
western North Carolina and eastern
Tennessee experienced a disaster of
such proportion that some thought the
end of the world had come. On Decem¬
ber 16. 1811. the mountains of north¬
western Carolina and eastern Tennes¬
see were convulsed with shaking and
trembling and with sounds of such great
intensity that people living in the area
rushed from their cabins thinking the
Day of Judgment had arrived.
In addition to the trembling, shaking,
and groaning of the mountains, there
occurred such a display of electrical
effects accompanying the shock waves
that many fell into a dead faint. An
eerie silence preceded the first shock,
with domestic animals and animals in
the forest showing some agitation be¬
fore the tremors struck. They were evi¬
dently able to hear the precusors of the
quake which were below the range of
human detection.
Known as the New Madrid, Mis¬
souri, Earthquake because of the loca¬
tion of its epicenter in this then sparccly
In *c»tern North Corolino ond coitcrn
Теппеиее
people ruihed from their cobini thinking the Dor
of Judgement hod arrived.
THE STATE. February 1974
