Von Buch evidently does not coincide in this opinion, for in his letter to Prof. R. he says, "if a mass of basalt could be discovered in the southern part, or towards the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, we might suppose that a basaltic dyke had made its appearance at the celebrated catastrophe, as occurred in 1820 near the island of Banda, and also at the foot of the volcano of Ternati, The movements attending the eruption of such a dyke, would be well calculated to produce all the phenomena which have changed the face of this interesting country, without exercising a very marked influence on the figure and conformation of the surrounding mountains." The hypothesis of this distinguished geologist appears to be, that the cities were overwhelmed by the ejection of a basaltic mass, and that the plain where they stood, is now occupied by the Dead Sea, formed by the Jordan, which previously flowed south to the Red Sea. And this further appears from his remark that "fossil salt is a product of volcanic, or plutonic action, along an opening (or "fissure") of this description," viz. such as exists from the Dead Sea, to the Gulf of Akabah. The saline properties of this body of water, are now ascertained to be owing to the hill of fossil salt, described by Prof. R., Mr. Stephens and others, which is found near its south-western border; accordingly, if this was thrown up according to M. Buch's hypothesis, by volcanic action, at the time of the "catastrophe," there could have been no salt sea there previously. 1 feel confident, therefore, that Prof. R. will find occasion, on further reflection, to abandon the opinion that "the Jordan could never have flowed into the Red Sea, or within the times to which history reaches back," and that "the Dead Sea existed before the destruction of Sodom." It is not said in the passage quoted by Prof. R. (Gen. 14: 3.) that "the vale of Siddim was near the Salt Sea, and contained Sodom and Gomorrah," but that the kings were collected or "joined in the vale of Siddim, which is the Salt Sea." It appears from various passages in Scripture, that four, if not five, populous cities were situated in this plain, for we read in Jeremiah, (29: 23,) "like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adınah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger," and (Jer. 49: 18,)" as in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighbor cities thereof;" and a similar expression occurs in the 40th verse of the 50th chapter of the same prophet. Ecclesiasticus also speaks of five cities which were destroyed; Strabo, of thirteen, and Stephen of Byzantium, of eight. In Genesis, (19: 25,) we are expressly told, that "the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and all the plain; consequently the cities on it. Now on Prof. R.'s hypothesis, as the Dead Sea already occupied the greater portion of the plain, it is difficult to conceive how sufficient space could have been left for the building of these cities, if "the southern portion of the Dead Sea only occupies their places," especially as we find that the mountains now come nearly, if not quite close to the lake, on every side.* Again, on this hypothesis, we have no way of explaining the existence of the bank of fossil salt, for the conflagration of asphaltum pits, by lightning, could have no tendency to produce such a result; and if the salt existed previous to the catastrophe, it is difficult to account for the extraordinary fertility of the plain, as represented in Scripture: "And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar:" Gen. 13: 10. It appears then highly probable, to say the least, that the Dead Sea was formed subsequent to the catastrophe, which swallowed up the cities of the plain, and that this was the result of causes which changed the face of the country to such a degree as to arrest the Jordan in its course to the Red Sea, and which, at the same time, produced those saline deposits, which have ever since rendered the neighborhood of this doomed region, the emblem of desolation and sterility. The only hypothesis, which, as it appears to me, can be reconciled with the known facts and appearances, is, that a volcanic eruption took place, an intimation, or forewarning of which, was given to Lot for the safety of himself and family, attended probably by an earthquake of great violence. The immediate theatre of the eruption was the plain of Siddim, on which the guilty cities were located, and over which were scattered petroleum ("slime") pits, and asphaltum beds, indicating the * Prof. R. states, we found the sea here occupying the whole breadth of the great valley." Bib. Rep. p. 27. SECOND SERIES, VOL. III. NO. 11. previous existence of subterranean fires, ready to be fanned into an out-bursting flame, by the avenging breath of the Almighty. In consequence of the internal combustion of the bituminous materials, the whole plain sunk, causing the Jordan, which previously rolled its sluggish waters into the Red Sea, with very slight declivity, to pour them into the volcanic crater, which had swallowed up the cities, and thus form a stagnant lake. Indeed, a very moderate subsidence in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea, must have arrested the Jordan, and produced, with the aid of the saline bed, the very appearances, which are actually presented.* The projection of a basaltic dyke, as suggested by M. Von Buch, would not seem to be necessary to produce the result, and it seems more philosophical, in the absence of any proof of the existence of such a dyke in the region supposed, to adopt an hypothesis, like the above, which is sufficient to account for the facts, and consonant with phenomena of a like character in different ages and countries. The deadly fumes which, for many years, would probably issue from the pestiferous lake, would easily give rise to the tradition that no bird could fly over it without falling down dead; a tradition to which Lucretius elegantly alludes in the following passage: Principio quod Averna vocantur, nomen id ab re, Lib. vi. It may perhaps be objected that this hypothesis cannot be reconciled with the account in Genesis that "the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven." The word here translated brimstone may, according to Poole, mean pitch or bitumen; and according * Prof. Robinson states that the great valley as seen from Akabah, looking northwardly, appears to have only a slight declivity; the whole conformation of the valley presenting a much longer and greater descent towards the south, seems of itself to indicate that the Dead Sea must be considerably lower than the Gulf of Akabah." Bib. Rep. p. 27. to Dr. Adam Clarke, and other commentators, it is to be understood metaphorically, as expressing the utmost degrees of punishment executed on the most flagitious criminals. (Deut. 29: 23, Job 18: 15, Ps. 11: 6, Isa. 34: 9, Ezek. 38: 22.) The phrase "from heaven," Poole understands to be equivalent to "a seipso," ("pluit Dominus a Domino,") and is employed in other passages of the Old Testament, in a similar manner, to give force and energy to the expression. Says Poole, "sulphur peccati fætorem, ignis libidinis ardorem significat." But even were we compelled to take the passage in a literal sense, yet according to the principles of interpretation, which we have adopted, it would not militate in the least, with the hypothesis above advanced. The above considerations are offered in reply to the first inquiry of Prof. R. He next asks "whether it is allowable to suppose that, by a conflagration of the asphaltum in the pits, the soil of this plain, with the cities, might be destroyed and its level lowered; so that the waters of the lake would rush in, and thus form the southern bay?" Such a supposition can by no means be admitted, because it does not meet all the difficulties of the case. It takes for granted that the Dead Sea existed previously, which I have proved to have been very improbable, if not impossible, and a conflagration of the substratum of bitumen would not have sufficed for the destruction of the inhabitants. Indeed had Sodom and Gomorrah been built entirely of asphaltum, and the earth beneath been wholly composed of the same substance, and these been kindled by lightning, according to the opinion of Milman,* Russel, Clark, and other writers, there would have been ample time for the inhabitants to have escaped by fleeing to the mountains, as the combustion beneath the earth must have gone on very slowly. Fortunately we have a striking instance in point, to serve by way of illustration. The lake Palius, or Paliorum Lacus, in the valley of Noto, in Sicily, is often covered with petroleum, and the mud at the bottom and on the bank, which has a black color, is tenacious, and smells like pitch. The whole soil of the small plain around it, consists of black, tough, resinous, inflammable earth. A few years ago, some straw huts in the neighborhood having been set on fire, the fire was communicated to the earth, which * History of the Jews, by H. Milman, Vol. I. burnt with a whitish dull flame, during several months,* and was finally extinguished with the greatest difficulty. We may form a pretty correct idea of the rapidity with which a mass of bitumen would burn beneath the surface, by the progress which combustion makes in coal beds, thus situated. In New Castle, Eng., a coal mine was burning for several years, yet it advanced but a few feet. In the year 1765, a bituminous coal bed took fire near Pittsburgh, which has continued burning until within a few years, if it is not yet; and still it did not extend but a few rods.‡ Another coal hill on the Monongahela, Mr. Jefferson states, in his "Notes on Virginia," had then been burning ten years, and had burned away only about 20 yards. The most extensive combustion of coal, beneath the earth, which has perhaps ever occurred, took place some years ago at Benwell, about a quarter of a mile north of the river Tyne, Eng. This caught from a workman's candle, and continued burning about 20 years. After burning very slowly for several years, it at length acquired great strength, from the quantity of bitumen and sulphur which it met in its progress, and spreading in every direction, it, at last, extended more than a mile from the place of its first appearance, committing great ravages in its way, and was conspicuous only in the night by its columns of smoke and flame.§ Several years ago, a fen near the village of Ostrovizza, Dalmatia, was struck with lightning, and its bottom being turf, it burned a long time under ground, though the fire was visible only in the night; after it was extinguished, the whole fen remained black, and the upper soil became barren. Now if we suppose asphaltum to be ten times more combustible than bituminous coal, we shall see that but little danger could arise to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah from its combustion beneath the earth. We may therefore safely dismiss the opinion, that these cities were destroyed by the combustion of asphaltum beds ignited by lightning from heaven. We read that "Lot's wife looked back from behind him, * Organic Remains of a former world, by J. Parkinson, p. 41, † Campden. Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, p. 43. The Natural History of Northumberland, Vol. I. p. 132, |