Identifier: ridpathshistoryo01ridp (find matches)
Title: Ridpath's history of the world; being an account of the ethnic origin, primitive estate, early migrations, social conditions and present promise of the principal families of men ..
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Ridpath, John Clark, 1840-1900
Subjects: World history Ethnology
Publisher: New York, Merrill & Baker
Contributing Library: Mugar Memorial Library, Boston University
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston University

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hisjust skepticism, to cite a few of the factsand principles by which such investiga- been observed in their processes for asufficient period to warrant scientific de-duction as to both the future and thepast. To this we must add the accepted lawof the uniformity of nature, uponwhich, indeed, all science Acceptance of .:™~,~,, the law of the rests as upon an immov- uniformity0fable foundation. We may nature,safely assume that the processes of thenatural world which we observe around 86 GREAT RACES OF MANKIND. us are the same processes which havebeen giving form and feature to thesurface of our planet through eons ofpast time. True, we may not assumethat the rate of change has been uni-form for successive geological ages. Onthe contrary, experience and observa-tion within the historical period haveshown that the rate of change is not byany means invariable. At some epochstransformation goes forward more rap-idly than at others; but on the whole,not only the process of change, but the
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LANDSCAPE OF THE CARBONIFEROUS PERI rate of change may be depended on asscientific factors in determining the pastconditions and periods of duration ingeological history. It may be well in this connection toillustrate with a few specific examplesSuggestion fur- the general laws of change receSonof6 to whicb we have jUSt re- Niagara Falls, ferred. We have in theUnited States an example of the actionof the elements which may well convincethe most skeptical of the value of geolog-ical physics in determining the lapse oftime. This example is furnished by the chasm and recession of the Niagarariver. It is easy to trace the course ofthe great falls backwards from lake On-tario, or at least from Lewiston, to thepresent position of the cataract; and itis easy to foresee the inevitable recessionof the chasm back from the present fallto lake Erie. We may already contem-plate (at a date how remote!) the wear-ing away of the channel until the Niag-ara river .shall lie in the bottom of thechasm al

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