Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 January 1892 — Earthquakes in Japan. [ARTICLE]

Earthquakes in Japan.

Earthquakes are of so frequent occurrence in Japan that they are looked upon ns a matter of course, and unless they uro accompanied with a serious loss of life and destruction of property, tho outside world hears little of them. Some of the earliest Japanese traditions are of extremely destructive earthquakes, and many fanciful tales are told of those which happened previous to the times of trustworthy historical records. But there are many authentic records of earthquakes which destroyed whole cities. The most serious of these disturbances in recont times was that of 1855, when, in Yedo, which was the centre of the quake, 14,241 dwelling-houses and 1G49 fire-proof storehouses were overturned. In the last days of tho past October there was a very serious earthquake about Gifu and Nagoya, and there was great loss of life and property. There were slight earthquakes on Sunday, October 25th, and these tsontinued with increasing severity until the morning of the following Friday. During the last two days of tho quake, 368 distinct shocks were felt and recorded. At Gifu the houses tumbled down and caught fire, and thoses people not caught in the ruins fled to tho country and tho hills; but in nearly every house it is reported that one or more unfortunate victim was caught. Enough is known to place tho loss of life at several thousands. When tho first shock was felt at Gifu the up and down trains on the Takaido Railway were just meeting. The shock was accompanied by a rumbling sound, and the people on tho train thought that there had boon a collision. On looking out of the windows, however, they saw tho station in ruins, and the water in a neighboring pond dashing violently from side to side. As the shocks continued, cracks in the earth were observed two or three feet wide, oponiug and closing. The shipping in tho various harbor! was very much injured, and one ship which recently arrived at San Francisco reported that when seventy miles at sea a violent shock was felt, the sea was lashed into a foam, the waves broko over the decks, and tho maintopinast and cross-trees wero lost. These disturbances at sea have been very common in previous earthquakes, and several times great ships in Japanese ports have had great difficulty in weathering such unaccustomed conditions.—[Harper's Weekly.