THE OCEAN UNEXPLORED AND UNEXPLORABLE 249 



cases just safety-valves, and this I think may be con- 

 sidered as proved by the presence in all volcanic 

 eruptions of vast quantities of boiling mud and steam, 

 as well as the more terrific floods of molten rock known 

 as lava. To digress for a moment, it may be said that 

 such a wonderful exhibition of volcanic action as is 

 shown in the Yellowstone Park cannot be due to the 

 sea, because of its remoteness. In that case, I think 

 the upheavals may be referred to the penetration into 

 subterranean fires of rivers flowing down from the 

 mountain chains, and so is to be considered as due 

 to the action of water after all. 



I am suddenly reminded that hitherto I have been 

 able to refer continually to the beneficent action of 

 our heritage the sea upon the earth, but that in this 

 case it is difficult indeed to see where the benefit 

 to mankind comes in, what good can be wrought 

 by these terribly devastating phenomena. But while 

 admitting the difficulty, I am not prepared to say that 

 earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are wholly evil in 

 their effect upon the life of the world at large, or that 

 the unascertained good may not largely overtop the 

 easily understood evil. It may be that only our 

 ignorance of the great cosmic scheme prevents us from 

 seeing the good that is being done, and for my part 

 I am content to believe that all these mighty forces 

 have their mission which makes for ultimate good. 

 Certainly the amount of destruction done which we 

 can assess is appalling, apart altogether from the wide- 

 spread cessation of life in the sea itself as a consequence 

 of these cataclysms. In some of them, at any rate, the 

 area of absolute death must be measured by many 

 thousands of square miles, yet, taking place as it does 



