California Disaster
by Arthur Shawcross

Poor mortals, who wait for a happy day,
Cheer up your hearts, and hear just what I have to say;
If it be lawful firmly to believe,
That if the lonely bodies can us give
The judge of things that are not yet;
Or if from such wisdom we may get,
As it may with confidence make us discourse
Or years to come, their destiny and course;
I to my hearers give to understand,
That this next winter, though it be at hand,
Yet and before, there shall appear a race
of men, who, loath to sit still in one place,
Shall boldly go before all peoples eyes,
Suborning men of divers qualities,
To draw unto them idea's and plans,
In such a manner, at what ever stands,
They'll move you, if you give them ear; No doubt,

with both your friends and family to fall out. They'll make a servant to the sword,
and children their own parents; in a word,
all reverece shall then be had.

They'll say that every man should have his turn;
both in his going fourth, and his return;
and here upon there shall arise such woes,
such as disagreement and confusion of to's and fro's
That never was there in history such coils,
set down as yet, such tumults and spoils.
Then shall you many gallant men see by
valor stirred up, and youthful fervencey,
Who, trusting too much in their hopeful time,
live but awhile, and perish in their prime,
Neither shall any, who this course shall run,
leave off the race which he had once begun,
Till they hear thunder and lightning by their contention
have filled and with their steps the earth's dimension
Then those shall have no less authority,
that have no more faith than those who lie;
For all shall be governed by the rude,
base, ignorant, and foolish multitude;
The villainous crook of all shall be their judge,
a horrible and dangerous deluge!
Deluge I call it, and that for good reason,
for this shall be omitted in no season;
Nor shall the earth of this foul stir shall free,
Till suddenly your in great store shall see
The waters issue out, with whose streams the
most moderate of all shall moistened be,
And justly too; because they did not spare
the flocks of beasts that innocent are,
But did their sinews, and their bowels take
Not to gods a sacrfice make,
But usually to serve themselves for sport.

In such commotions so continual,
what rest can take the globe terrestrial?
Most happy then are they, that can it hold,
and use it carefully as precious as gold,
By keeping it in a goal, whence it shall have
no help him, who being to it give.
And to increase his mournful accident,
the sun, before it set in the occident,
Shall cease to dart upon it any light,
so that at once its favor shall be gone
And liberty with it be left alone.
and yet, before it comes to ruin thus,
Its quaking shall be as impetuous
As aetna's was, in the fearful sound thunderous.

The west did not more quickly move,
when shivers did vast huge hills remove,
and for desite into the sea them threw.
Thus shall it then be lost by waves not few,
and changed suddenly, when those that have,
to other people that came after,
shall it then be high time to cease from this
so long, so great, so tedious exercise;
For the great waters told you now by me,
will make each think where his retreat shall be;
And yet, before that they be clean dispersed,
You may behold in the air, where nought was erred.
The burning heat of a great flame to rise,
Lick up the water, and all enterprise!