Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 September 1886 — Page 2

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of the disastsr whiijh h*s befallen our city consists in the narration of the experiences and observations it an individual, and the subject being: the same and the experience of all being nearly alike, the story told by one careful observer may well stand for a hundred othere, with slight variations. Frobably the best idea that can be had of the character of the disturbance, thereforo, tnay be obtained from a narra tion of the events and scenes of Wednesday night as they were presented to a single person. While engaged in his usual duties in the sec-ond-story room of the News and Courier office, at the time of the first shock, the writer’s attention was vaguely attracted by a sound which Seemed to come from the office below, and which, tvaa supposed, for a moment, to be caused by the rapid rolling of a heavy body, as an iron safe or a heavy-laden truck, over the floor. Accompanying the sound there was a perceptible tremor of the building, not more marked, however, than would be caused by the passage of a street-car or dray al.'.r g the street For perhaps two or three seconds the occurrence excited no surprise or comment. Then, by swift degrees, or perhaps all at once, it is difficult to say which, the sound deepened in volume, the tremor became more decided, the ear caught the rattle of window-sashes, gas fixtures and other loose objects. The men in the office, with perhaps a simultaneous flash of recollection of the disturbance of the Friday before, glanced hurriedly at each other and sprang to their feet With startled questions and answers. *‘What is that?—earthquake?” and then all was bewilderment and confusion. Then the long roll deepened and spread into an awful roar, that seemed to pervade at once the troubled earth and the still air above and around. The tremor was now a rude, rapid quiver that agitated the whole lofty, strong building m though it were being shaken by the hand o t an immeasurable power, with intent to tear its joints asunder and scatter Its stones and bricks abroad, as a tree casts its o’er-ripened fruit before the breath of the gale. There was no intermission in the vibrations of the mighty subterranean engine. From the first to the last it was a continuous jar, only adding force at every moment, and as it approached and reached the climax of its manifestations it seemed, for a few terrible seconds, that no work of human hands could possibly survive the phocks. The floors were heaving under foot, the surrounding walls and partitions visi-

bly swayed to and fro, the crash of falling masses of stone, and brick, and mortar was heard overhead, and without the terrible roar filled the ears, and seemed to fill the mind and heart, dazing perception, bewildering thought, and for a few panting breaths, or while you held your breath in dreadful anticipation of immediate and cruel death, you felt that life was already past, and waited for the end as the victim with his head on the block awaits the fall of the uplifted ax. It is not given to any man to look in the face of the destroyer and yet live, but it is little to say that the group of strong meu who shared the experience above faintly described will carry with them the recollection of that supreme moment to their dying day. None expected to escape. A sudden rush was simultaneously made to endeavor to attain the open air, and flee to a place of safety; but before the door was reached all reeled together to the tottering wall and stopped, feeling that hope was vain—that it was only a question of death within the building cr without, to be buried by the sinking roof or crushed by the toppling walls. The uproar softly died away in seeming distance. The earth was still, and oh! the blessed relief of that stillness, but how rudely the silence was broken! As we dashed down that stairway and out into the street, already on every side arose the shrieks, the cries of pain and fear, the prayers and wailings of terrified women and children commingled with hoarse shouts of excited men. Out in the street the air was filled to the height of the houses with a whitish cloud of dry, stifling dust from the lime, and mortar, and shattered masonry, which, falling upon the pavement and roadway, had been reduced to powder. Through this cloud, dense as fog, the gas-lights flickered dimly, shedding but little light, so that you stumble at every step over the piles of brick, or become entangled in the lines of telegraph wires that depended in every direction from their broken supports. On every side were hurrying forms of men and women, bareheaded, partially dressed, some almost nude, and many of whom were crazed with fear or excitement. Here a woman is supported, half fainting, in the arms of her husband, who vainly tries to soothe her while he carries her mto the open space at the street corner, where present safety seems assured; there a woman lies on the pavement with upturned face and outstretched limbs, and the crowds pass her by for the time, not pausing to see whether she be alive or dead. A sudden light flares through a window overlooking the street, it becomes momentarily brighter, and the cry of fire resounds from the multitude. A rush is made toward the spot. A man is seen doubled up and helpless against the wall; but at this moment, somewhere out at sea, overhead, deep in the ground, is heard again the low, ominous roll which is already too well known to be mistaken. It grows louder and nearer, like the growl of a wild beast swiftly approaching its prey, and is forgotten again in the frenzied rush for the open spaces where alone there is hope of security, faint though it be. The tall buildings on either hand blot out the skies and the stars, and seem to overhang every foot of ground between their shattered cornices and copings, and the tops of their frowning walls seem piled from both sides to the center of the t treet It seems that a touch would now send the shattered masses left standing down upon tho people below, who look upon them and shrink together as the tromor of the earthquake again passes under them, and tho mysterious reverberations swell and roll along like somo drum-beat summoning them to die. It passes away; and again is experienced the blessed feeling of deliverance from impending calamity, which it may well l* believed evokes a mute but earnest offering of mingled prayer and thankfulness fiom every heart in the throng. Again, far along the street and up from the alley ways that lead into it on either side, is heard that chorus of wailing and lamentation which, thongh it has not ceased, was scarcely noticed a moment before. It is a dreadful sound—the souhd of helpless sorrow, old and young, the strong and the feeble alike, where all are so feeble, calling for help from their fellow creatures and raising their voices in petition to heaven for mercy whore no human aid could avail. It Is not a scene to be described by any mortal ton cue or pen. It is not a scene to bo forgotten when once it lias been witnessed, and when the witness baa shared all its danger and feltjail its agony. The first shock occurred at seven minutes of 10, as was indicated this morning with the public clocks, the hands on all of which had stopped at that fateful hour, as though to mark tho end

of time for so many who had beard the preceding hour pealed forth by St Michael’s chimes without a thought but of long and happy life. The second shock. '’ v, ch was but a faint and crisp echo of the nrst, was felt eight minutes later. As it passed away the writer started homeward, to find the scenes enacted on Broad street, aiound the News and Courier office, repeated at every step of tho way. St. Michael’s steeple towered high above the gloom, seemingly uninjured. The station-house, a massive brick building across the street, had apparently lost its roof, which had fallen around it A little further on the roof of a portion of the Hibernian Hall, a handsome building in the Grecian style, had crashed to the ground, carrying down part of the massive granite pillars with it All the war up Meeting street, which, in respect of its general direction and importance, may be called ‘‘The Broadway of Charleston,” the roadway was piled with debris from the tops of the walla In passing the Charleston Hotel, which, to carry out the comparison above indicated, occupies the position of Stewart’s uptown store, in New York, the third shock was felt, about ten minutes after the second, and of course caused thl* greatest alarm in that neighborhood and elsewhere. At Mar'on Square, corresponding exactly with Union Square, New York, a great crowd had collected, as even the edges of the wide spaces embraced in it could not be reached by the nearest buildings in *be event of their fall. From this crowd, composed of men, women and children of both races, arose incessant calls, and ones, and lamentations, while over the motley, half dressed throng was shed the lurid light of the conflagration which had broken out just beyond the square, immediately after the first shock, and bad now wholly enveloped several buildingß in flames. In three other quarters of the town, at the same time, similar large fires were observed under full headway, and the awful significance of the earthquake may be most fully appreciated, perhaDs, when it is said that, with these tremendous fires blazing up all at once around them, and threatening the city with total destruction, the people whom you met on the streets, or saw gathered together in groups in the open places, evidently did not give them a thought. No one watched the ruddy flames or the glare of cloud rising high into the still night. All were too intent in listening with strained senses for the dreaded recurrence of that horrible growl or groan of the power under the seas and under the land to give a thought to the new terror, though it had threatened their own home and many homes in the doomed city. The crowds poured in from every direction to the square just described, as though it had been indeed a charmed circle, and life depended on passing within its grassy bounds. Streetcars, carriages and other vehicles were ranged in lines on the streets surrounding the square, while the horses stood as though sniffing the ground in anxious inquiry. The colored people everywhere were loud and increasing in their declamations of alarm, in singing of hymns, and in fervent appeals for God’s mercy, in which appeals, God knows, many a proud heart who heard them arising in the night and in the hour of His wonderous might, devoutly, and humbly, and sincerely joined. Danger brings all of us to the level of the lowliest.

There were no distinctions of place or power, pride or caste in the assemblages that were gathered together in Charleston on Tuesday night It was a curious spectacle to look back upon. It is a good one to remember, for white and black alike. There were instances of unselfish devotion, of kind and loving regard, between master and servant, mistress and maid, in the presence of a comipon ill and of threatened ruin, which showed, as nothing else could, how strong is the tie that binds our white people and our blacky people together; and this lesson of the dread visitor we may hope, too, will never be forgotten. Arrived at his home, tho writer found the same scenes of distraction and wreck which marked nearly every home in the city. All the houses in the neighborhood had suffered seriously, and streets, yards and gardens were filled with fallen chimneys and fragments of walls, while the walls that were left standing were rent asunder in many cases from top to bottom, and were badly shattered in every instance. Women and children, roused from sleep or interrupted in their evening pursuits by the sound of the ruin being effected about and around them, rushed out into the streets and huddled together, awaiting the end, whatever it might be. Invalids were brought out on mattresses and deposited on the roadway. No thought was given to the treasures left behind in the effort to save the treasure of life itself, suddenly become so precious in the eyes of all, invalid womed and robust men alike; Until long after midnight the streets were filled with fugitives in sight of their homes. Through tho long hours that followed, few were the eyes, even of childhood, that were closed in sleep. Charleston was full of those who watched for the morning, and never in any city in any land did the first grey shados that marked the approach of dawn appear so beautiful and so welcome to eyes as they appeared to the thousands of people who hailed them this morning from the midst of the countless wrecked homes in our thrice-scourged, but still patient, still brave, still hopeful, still beautiful city by the sea The first shock was by far the most severe. Its effect can be judged by the experiences of Captain Dawson, of the .News and Courier, who lives in a massive brick residence in Bull street, near Rutledge street. Captain Dawson was in his room, on the second story, when the first shock occurred. The house seemed literally to turn on its axis. The first shock was followed by a second and a third, less severe than the first. The air was filled with cries and shrieks of women and children. From every side of that quiet neighborhood came the cry: “God help us!” “God save us!’’ “Ob, ray God!” It was worse than the worst battle of the war. When the first agony was over, it was found that the ceiling of every room in the house was cracked, the big cistern was broken apart, the huge tank in the attic was pouring its flood of water into the bedrooms. In the parlors the statues had been wrenched from their bases and thrown to the floor. In the hall the massive lamp had actually been turned around. In front of the house wns a large porch with heavy pillars aud solid marble steps—all this was swept away as though it had been shaved off with a razor. And what was Captain Dawson’s experience was that of hundreds of others in Charleston There were, in all, five shocks, diminishing in violence from the first: What a scene was there! The sidewalks in the streets were dotted with mothers, wives and daughters, with their protectors, awaiting in anxious expectation and agony. T here were horrid rumors, and the lurid glare of fires only heightened the general ruin. OTBKK SOUTH CAROLINA TOWNS. Sixteen Terrifying Shooks Keep the Resldents of Columbia Awake. Columbia, 5.0., Sept. I. At 9: 4B last night thia city was visited by a terrible earthquake. The first two shocks were fearful. Buildings swayed from aide to side, and the earth rose and fell like

THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1886.

the waves of the ocean. People rushed madly from their houses into the streets. Some sprang from the windows, and were injured. The experience of those in buildings at the time of the first shock was that of being rocked as if on a ship at sea. Many of the most substantial buildings were shaken to their foundations, and the walls cracked and sprung. Five minutes after the first shock the second came, and ten minutes later the third. Other shocks followed, until 1:05 a. m., when the fifth shock was felt, and this one lasted for a minute and a half. At 4 o'clock this morning the ninth shock came, at 9:30 and at 10:20 the city was again made to tremble. Very little sleep was h and by any of the inhabitants of Columbia last night. The negroes thought the end of the world had come, and they held prayer-meetings on the street corners. There were sixteen distinct shocks from the earthquake here last night and up to 5 o’clock this morning. The first shock was fearful, and houses were shaken as though made of pasteboard. It seemed as though everything must topple. The rumbling in the earth was loud and horrifying in the extreme. Clocks stopped, bell3 were rung, and damage done to some buildings, principally by toppling chimneys. Two rooms in the Governor's mansion were wrecked. There were numbe: a of cases of nervous prostration, and doctors w >re in demand to compose the frightened people. One lady was prematurely delivered by the shock. Two shocks were felt this morning, one at 8:30 and another about one hour later. The tremor of the earth made one feel, while walking, like a man just off a sea voyage, imparting a staggering gait. Summerville Nearly Destroyed. Columbia, S. C., Sept. L—Summerville, twenty-two miles from Charleston, was nearly destroyed by the earthquake last night The passenger train from this place to Charleston was thrown from the track near Summerville and the engineer and fireman were killed. The passengers on the wrecked train and those on this morning’s train, including the telegraph company’s line men, have not reached Charleston. Ten shocks were felt at Summerville to-night, some of them being quite severe.

GEORGIA. How the Residents of Savnnnah anti Augusta Were Affected by the Shocks. Savannah, Ga., Sept. I.—The earthquake is the topic of the hour. Efforts to reach Charleston have been made from all points, and have failed. At Tybee the shock was more severely felt than in the city. The people on the island rusfced from their homes to the beach. The oscillation lasted for several minutes. The lantern lenses in the lighthouse were broken, and the machinery of the lamp was disarranged. The keeper burned up the tower, and as soon as possible arranged a temporary light, which will have to answer until the lighthouse supply reaches here. The people on the beach ran hither and thither, not knowing where to go, and fearing that every moment a tidal wave would rush over them. The water was agitated and the waves rose high on the beach. The houses on the beach swayed to and fro, and shook ns if they would fall to pieces. A telephone message from Tybee station, at 4 o’clock this morning, stated that the people were-still gathered on the beach. A relief train has been dispatched to Charleston from this city, to render assistance to the sufferers and. to repair the railroad. At Augusts, two distinct shocks of earthquake were felt this morning, at 7:59 and 9:20, city time. The excitement ha? somewhat subsided. A number of houses have been reported to the fire wardens as in danger, and from all parts of the city and surroundine neighborhood come reports of small damage by the shocks, such as the falling of chimneys, parting of walls, smashing of crockery, etc. In the railway accident at Langley Pond, ten miles from Augusta, the fireman was killed. Another South Carolina railroad train is in the ditch, at Horse Creek, four miles from the city, and the fireman killed. The latter is a stock train, and is now completely under water. The stock has escaped, with the ex ception of four horses. The shocks broke the dams at Langley and Bath, S. C., and the railroad tracks are washed away. Another shock was felt here at 5 o’clock this afternoon, causing people to rush into the streets. The damage last night was confined to jolting chimneys and breaking plaster in houses. Mrs. Samuel Bowers, an old lady, died of fright. Many ladies fainted, and thousands of men were completely unnerved. Citizens remained on the streets all night. Shocks were felt over Georgia and the South generally, but were most violent and destructive in Charleston. It is stated that nothso serious as this has ocenrred since 1811, when the shocks extended from Charleston to the Missouri river, and large tracts ot' land were sunk. At Atlanta this morning the absorbing topic was the shock of the previous night. After the severe shake up which occurred at 9 o’clock there were two others, lighter, hut distinct shocks. One occurred at 12 o'clock and the other at 4 in the morning. Neither was anything like so severe as the first shock, but both were distinctly felt, and many persons in Atlanta did not go to sleep at all last night. Early in the morning they were discussing the earthquake and many incidents attending upon it. The fact that no news could be had from Charleston aroused grave apprehensions concerning that city, and on all sides anxious inquiries were made for information as to its condition. People congregated on the streets in numbers and talked of nothing else. There has been general dread of another and severe shock, and the negroes are particularly uneasy. Specials to tho Constitution from points in North Georgia state that another shock was felt this evening at 5 o’clock. The newspapers have issued extras throughout the day, with tho latest news from Charleston, and this afternoon a party of prominent citizens left for that place to lend assistance. Houses were generally inspected all day. aud several were reported unsafe. No serious wrecks or loss of life occurred in Georgia.

INDIANA. Rumblings and Explosions in Lawrence County. Mooney (Jackson County) Special. Persons just arrived here from the northeast corner of Lawrence county tell interesting stories of rumblings in the earth and other volcanic indications in that vicinity. Their descriptions show a condition of things similar to that which created such a sensation at Bald Mountain, in western North Carolina, some ten years ago. Rumblings are heard in the earth, and occasionally sharp explosions occur. These explosions have been heard at various times of late, but are confined to the same locality. On the farm of Mr. Christian Linkerback, Sunday morning, about 7:30 o’clock, one of the most severe of these explosions occurred. The family were in the house at the time, and the immediate scene of the eruption was not more than 150 yards from the house. The noise was like the explosion of gunpowder or of a steam boiler, and the earth was completely torn up for yards around. Those who happened to be looking in that direction saw a cloud of dust and smoke go np some sixty feet high, and in it were pieces of minerals, stumps of trees, roots and rocks. A visit to the spot showed the earth well torn up and covered with the fragments which had been sent up in the explosion. Among these were fragments of ore, whieh seemed to be almost

solid iron. The country is very rough and broken, and well filled with minerals, which have never been disturbed. At Union City. Special to the Indianapolis Journal. Union City, Sept. L—The people of this community were this morning much divided in opinion regarding an earthquake shock last night. New* from other places has settled the question in favor of an earthquake, and now it appears that everybody noticed it. The first shock was at about 9:30 p. m.. city time, and was a waving of the earth from south to north, without much jarring or rumbling. The movement was sufficient to disturb furniture and movable things, and made several of our people think they were afflicted with heart disease. At about 11 o’clock there was another waving of the earth, which made window shutters click, and continued for near half a minute. The shock was slight, but quite distinct. At Frankfort. Special to the Indianapolis Journal. Frankfort, Sept. I.—The shock of an earthquake last night gave ns a passing call, and shook the town up, to the eeneral alarm of all people who had not retired to rest. Earl’s operatic troup were playing to a crowded audience at Coulter's Opera Hall, and when the chandeliers, electric lights and the house commenced shaking the people began making a hasty exit for the street. But for the coolness and calm efforts of Graham Earl and his trouDe, Mr. Thomas J. Smith and D. A. Coulter, the stampede would have been serious. As it whs the scare was very exciting, and several of the first citizens were on their knees. At Michigan City. Special to the Indianapolis Journal. Michigan City, Sept I.—Quite a severe earthquake shock was experienced here between 9 and 10 o’clock last night. The course of the vibrations seemed to be north and south, and principally on the west side of Franklin street Chandeliers in several stores were set swinging, tables and desks to rocking, and persons in the second and third stories of buildings forsook their rooms from fright and ran into the street

THE SHOCKS ELSEWHERE. Incidents in and About Cincinnati, and at Other Points in Ohio. t Cincinnati, Sept. I.—A singular effect of last night’s earthquake was a very general feeling of dizziness that it caused. Nine people out of ten imagined they were sick, and many did not know till this morning that the disturbance was in mother earth. An operator in the Western Union office, receiving from Washington, felt sick, and told the Washington operator to hold on, he was sick. “We’ve just had a shock of earthquake here,” said Washington, and then the Cincinnati operator knew what had happened. There was a decided difference in the severity of the shock in different buildings and in different parts of the city. Many people did not observe it at all. The largest building in the city, and one of the strongest, the government building, rocked violently with three distinct vibrations. The large clock wa3 stopped and mirrors were broken. In the large six and seven story flats in the city the vibrations were severe. Dishes were thrown from cupboards and articles fell from mantels, while chandeliers were agitated as if by a strong wind. Probably twenty or thirty meetings of lodges and societies were broken up without a motion to adjourn. At the old armory building, on Court street, the plastering on the ceiling was broken. The most decided shock was felt at Cumminsville, in the northern part of the city. Here lights were put out and bottles broken in drug stores. Throughout the State dispatches indicate that the shock was general, and that it occurred almost at the same instant. At Hamilton hoarders in hotels ran from their rooms in fright, and the walls were said to sway one and'a half inches. At Canton. 0., four shocks were observed, the motion berae from north to south. Half the populace was in ia the streets talking of the strange experience sos a long time after the event. Mount Vernon, 0., thought the undulations were from east to west. At Newcomerstown glassware rattled distinctly. At Denison a meeting broke up in a panic. Coshocton -felt two shocks. The same storv comes from yearly every town in Ohio. People were frightened, but no actual damage was done. At Catlettsburg and Ashland, Ky., and Huntington, W. Va., the shocks were more severe. People rushed out of their houses, with children screaming, the swaying motion seeming to indicate that the houses were falling. Si. Louis and Vicinity, St. Louis, Sept. L—Dispatches from interior towns adjacent to the city are coming in, giving brief accounts of the earthquake last night. At Murphysboro, 111., the shock was quite severe. Brick walls shook, glassware clinked, and hanging lamps were set swinging like pendulums. Doors vibrated as if shaken by unseen hands. The fire bell on the court house kept up a rapid fire alarm for more than a minute. The Forresters’ lodge, assembled in the second story, in the center of a brick block, felt so violent rocking that, in the confusion, the members, forgetting to remove their regalia, and without hats, rushed down into the street. A bar-keeper suddenly felt like he was drunk, and clung to his bar counter. Suspended lamos swung east and west. Some people were affected with great nausea. There were two distinct shocks, lasting about a minute. At Decatur, 111., the shock was felt quite sensibly. It rattied and shook articles in dwellings, and swayed business buildings slightly north to south. At one hotel the proprietor got his lantern ar sought the cellar to see if the foundations wore crumbling. Occupants of the rooms ran out into the street Thore waß no damage, but some fright. At Greenville, 111., there were shocks at intervals of about half a minute, and buildings were rocked under their action, hut no damage was done. At Jacksonville, 111., buildings vibrated from east to west, tables and other articles tipped and people were greatly frightened.

STATEMENTS BY SCIENTISTS. Direction of the Shocks, as Noted by a Momber of the Geological Survey. Washington, Sept. I—Majorl—Major Powell, Director of the United States Geological Survey, was interviewed by a reporter of the Associated Press, to-day, and made the following statement: The earthquake was well observed by Mr. W. J. McGee, of the Geologica’ Survey, in the third and upper story of a brick house, No. 1124 Corcoran street. After the culmination of the first shock the phenomenon was timed. A rough substitute for a seismoscope was improvised out of a tumbler of water placed on a stand in the center of the room, and the high head-board of the bedstead served as a rude seismometer. The following is the record: Time of the culmination of the first shock, seventy-fifth meridian, 9:34| p. M.; duration of first shock, estimated, eighty seconds; time of termination of the same, 9.55; time of termination of slight tremors, 10:00. Several slight tremors followed, but were not timed. Time of recommencement of continuous tremors, 10:08; time of culmination of the second shock, duration of second sbock, about thirty seconds; time of termination of second series of tremors, 10:13. The horizontal direction was from north 80° east, to eaet —that is very little north of east; but there was an indeterminate vertical component in the undulation, very perceptible in the motions of liquids and of articles of furniture. Roughly, the upward impulse in each vibration appeared to be a third or a half of the lateral impulse. The rate of vibration was measured on the highswinging head-board of a bedstead during the second shock, and found to be 115 or 120 per minute. During the second shock the head-board, 8$ feet high, swung through an arc of from onehalf to three quarters of an inch. It was esti-

mated that the amplitude of oscillation during the earlier shock was twice or thrice as great. Durine 1885 there were recorded the following earthquakes in the United States and Canada: Canadian provinces, 8; New England, 5; Atlantic States, 9; Mississippi valley, 3; Pacific. slope. 34. Total, 59. During the twelve years. 1872-83, there hare been recorded in the United States and Canada 3G4 earthquakes, distributed as follows: Atlantic slope, 147; Mississippi valley. 60; Pacific slope, 151. From this list it .appears that in the entire area earthquakes occur on an average of once in twelve days, and once a month in the Atlantic slope. Many of these disturbances are, however, so slight as to be unperceived bv the majority of the people, and it should be observed that the list is more complete in the densely populated and more frequently shaken Atlantic slope than in either the seldomshaken Mississippi valley or the sparsely-popu-lated Pacific slope. Prof. Mendenhall, of the Signal Service, who has made a study of earthquakes for many years and has felt the shock of a number of severe ones in Japan, says that of last night, while not especially severe, was, nevertheless, the worst he ever experienced in this country. He expresses surprise at the wide extent of the phe notnenon, and thinks it likely that when the reports are all in it will be found that the area affected is larger than that of any previous earthqurke of which there is a record. Upon a globe ten inches in diameter, he says, one can usually cover the area of an earthquake, even a severe one, with the end of his little finger, but this one seems to have affected half a continent, and we don’t know how much more. New Yoke, Sept. I.—Those who have lived in countries subject to earthquakes state that the atmospheric conditions here have been such that in those countries the inhabitants would have known that an earthquake was impending. Mr. Thomas R. Taltavall, of the Associated Press, has spent a number of years in Spain and Portugal During the past few days he has frequently remarked to your correspondent that “an earthquake was coming.” He cave as his reasons for thinking thus, the peculiar steady appearance of the sky and the long-continued drought He states that in Spain -those dry spells and misty, leaden mornings always precede earthquakes. _ How the Facts Can Be Collected. Philadelphia, Sept. I.—Prof. William F. Davisk, of Harvard College, who is at present visiting friends in this city, this morning, ia talking with an Associated Press agent upon the subject of last night’s earthquake, said that in order to gather full and uniform records of the earthquake, observers in all parts of the country should write out answers to the questions given below, and thus furnish a basis for learning all that can now be learned about the shocks. The reports should be mailed promptly to the nearest Signal Service office, or to the United States Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. The Professor hoped that persons who have any defiuite reports to make, especially in regard to the time of the shocks and the damage they produced, will not neelect to send in a statement in the belief that there will be plenty of reports without theirs. Following are the questions: 1. Was an earthquake felt at your place on Tuesday evening. Aug. 31, about 10 o’clock? It is desirable that persons living within or near the region shaken, but did not feel the shock, although awake at the time, should report this negative observation, so that the boundary of the shock may be determined. In all cases it should be stated whether the observer was out of doors, in a house, on what floor, in what position, etc. 2. What was the time and duration of the several shocks? The answer to this question should state carefully how the time and duration were determined, whether estimated or observed by clock or watch, the error of the time niece should be determined by comparison with correct railroad time, and reported in detail; state whether railroad or local time is used, 3. Describe the character and intensity of the several shocks, in the order of their occurrence. 4. Describe the effects of the shocks in shaking or damaging buildings, disturbing furniture or pictures, ringing bells, stopping clocks, etc. Also, the effects produced on men and animals. 5. State how far your report ia from memory and bow far from record made at the time: how far from your own observation and how far from hearsay. Let the report be concise and definite. Give signature, occupation and postoffice address. Washington Monument Not Affected. Washington, Sept. I.—Mr. Green, Colonel Case’s assistant in charge of the Washington monument, has been making scientific observa tions of the structure, or, in technical phrase, “leveling’ it, to-day, with a view to noting any change of position. This procedure is undertaken on the first day of every month, but that of to day has attracted more than usual attention because of the desire to know whether the earthquake affected the structure. The observation proves that the shaking had not the slightest effect upon the monument. Prof. W. J. McGee, of the Geological Survey, leaves to-night for Charleston, 8. C.'-to make a scientific study of the effects of the earthquake at what now appears to have been the center of the disturbance.

PREVIOUS EARTHQDAKE3, Recollections of Some of tho Destructive Shocks Recorder! in History. The greatest earthquake that ever occurred in the United States was confined to Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee, and is known as “the earthquake of New Madrid.” It began in 1811, and shocks continued at varying intervals until March 26, 1812. By it the town of New Madrid, Mo., on the Mississippi opposite the Kentucky shore, was ruined. New Madrid had been founded some years before in the expectation of becoming a great city and the metropolis of the Mississippi valley. Now it is nothing but a lonely village. This great earthquake changed the whole face of the country on either side of the Mississippi over an area extending from the Ohio river three hundred miles south. The ground rose and sank in great undulations. L:\rge lakes were formed and were drained again. The surface of the earth burst open in fissures, always trembling from the northeast to the southwest. These chasms were sometimes a half mile wide, and from them mud and water were spurted as high as the tops of trees. The inhabitants, in terror, fled from their homes, and some of them perished in the fissures, while others were crushed by falling trees. The channel of the Mississippi was changed, and rivers flowed where there was dry land before. During the continuance of these convulsions tho inhabitants distinguished two kinds of movements, tho vertical and horizontal, the latter being regarded as far more desolating than the former. The section is still known a3 the “Stink Country,” and the traces of the great earthquake are still there. In the low grounds lies the rotting trunks of trees thrown down by the convulsions. Reelfoot Lake, the resort of almost entirely created by it, and half of the'other 1ak0.3 in that locality owe their origin to the'same cause. The great explorer and scientist, Alexander Humboldt, remarks that this presents one of the few examples of the incessant quaking of the ground for several successive months far from any volcano. This earthquake ceased coiucidently with that more destructive convulsion which overthrew the city of Cargccas, in Venezuela, and killed thousands of her inhabitants. The most severe earthquake that has beoo recorded in the Middle and Eastern States was that of Nov. 18, 1755. The shock was undoubtedly a wave promulgated either from the same center whence emanated tho tremendous disturbances that half destroyed Lisbon on the let of the month, or from a cente.r whose activity had been stimulated by the continued quaking that had prevailed from Iceland to the Mediterranean. This earthquake began in Massachusetts w ith a roaring noise like that of thunder, after a minute’s continuance of this there came the first severe shock, like that of a long rolling sea—a swell so great that men in the open fields ran in terror to seize something to hold to. After two or three lesser shocks came the most severe of all. It was a quick horizontal tremor, with sudden jerks and wrenches, continuing for two minutes. In Boston many buildings wero thrown down, and throughout the country stone fences were thrown down. New springs were opened, and fish were killed and floated to the surface of the- water. One of the groatest earthquakes ever known was that of Calabria in 1873, in which it is com-

puted that at least 100,600 people perished, the city of Messina, in Sicily, being almost entirely destroyed. The most disastrous of all earthquakes on record was that of 526 A. D., in Ala Minor, in which Gibbon computes 250,000 persons to have perished. The city of Lisbon, in Portugal, on the morning of Nov. 1, 1755, was visited by one of the most memorable earthquakes in history. There was a rumbling sound, immediately followed by the great shock, which threw down the larger portion of the city. The sea retired, leaving the bar dry, and returned in a minute as a great wave fifty feet high. A part of the city was permanently engulfed to the depth of GOO feet Sixty thousand people perished in the space of six minutes. The shock was felt in the Alps, in Sweden, in Bohemia and in Scotland; the waters of Loch Lomond suddenly rose two feet, then feil below their usual level. There have been several slight earthquakes in this country. In California, in 1852, an earth' quake destroyed one of the Southern missions. That of March 26. 1872, was the most severe known in that country for many years, doing a great deal of damage in San Francisco by cracking the walls of large buildings. In Nevada mining region suffered in 1871 by the destruction of Lone Pine and other settlements. The West Indies are peculiarly subject to earthquakes. June 7. 1692, Port Royal, capital of Jamaica, was destroyed in three minutes. In South America, the city of Caraccas was entirely destroyed by three shocks within fifty seconds, on March 26, ISI2. The city of Quito, Ecuador, was almost destroyed March 22, 1859. The port of Arica was partially destroyed Aug. 13 and 14, 1808. About midnight, Feb. 30, 1835, the city of Concepcion. Paraguay, was, for th fourth time, destroyed, over 300 successive shocks being felt in two weeks. In the Argentine Republic, Mendoza was overturned in March, 1861, and 12,000 persons in the Argentine Confederation are computed to have perished.

EARTHQFAKE NOTES. Violent Magnetic Storm in the Vincinlty of Rochester, N. Y. Rochester, N. Y m Sept L—A magnetic storm has been raging all the morning. The sw-aying of heavy magnetic needles for the detection of earth currents was.wery great at 7A. M. At the beginning of the observations a heavy needle, nine inches long, swung an inch and a half to the west of the magnetic meridian at intervals. A needle 2$ feet long was deflected flve inches toward the west Proffers of Assistance. Hartford, Conn., Sept. L— At the time of thd Mississippi floods the people of Hartford raised several thousand dollars for the sufferers. Os this fond, $1,500 wa? not used, and was placed in the hands of Mayor Bulkey, to be used at a future time for a similar purpose. Tonight Mayoi Bulkey telegraphed to Mayor Courtney, ol Charleston, S. C., to draw on him for SI,OOO, to be used for the relief of the sufferers in that city. Raleigh, N. C., Sept. I.—Upon hearing of the disasters in Charleston and Columbia, S. C., Governor A. M. Scales, of this State, at once sent the following message to Governor Sbep pard, of South Carolina: We have news of the terrible calamity on yori State. How can we best aid your people? Our peopU will gladly como to their relief. Atlanta. Ga., Sept. I.—Mayor Hillyer has issued a call for a meeting of the citizens of Atlanta, to aid the suffering Till—meeting will be held to monow morning. Thi business and social connection between Atlanta and Charleston is very close, and universal sympathy is expressed here. Wilmington, N, C.. Sept. I.—A meeting of citizens was held here to-night, and a committee of relief appointed to go to Charleston with men and means to aid the earthquake sufferers. The Beginning of the Shocks. New York, Sept. I.—The earthquake of Tues day evening, which carried destruction and deatt to Charleston, was preceded by other shocks be ginning as early as last Friday, which werg,feli both ia South Carolina and Georgia. The Sunday issue of the Charleston News and Courier contained two columns describing the earthquake and its effects. Summerville, where, according to these accounts, the earthquake wa first and most severely felt, is a health resort ol Charleston. The coincidence is worthy of note that the earthquake in Greece probably occurred on Friday, as the first news of it was recefwU#Saturday. _ Volcano on the Island of Galita. ' Malta, Sept. L—The captain of a steamer just arrived here reportaifchat on Aug. 30, when his ship was fourteen miles to the north of th€ island of Galita, off Tunis, in the Mediterranean, he noticed that the highest peak on the eastern end of the island was in a state of eruption, ejecting smoke from a crater like Mount Etna. American Schooner Seized, Halifax, N. S., Sept L The crnisel Houlette, seized the American schooner Highland Light, for fishing within the three-mile limit off the east point of Prince Edward’s island. This is the first actual seizure made for fishing. Stop that couching. Red Star Cough Cure only costs twenty-five cents. No narootics. Yea and Amen. Cincinnati Enquirer. The generous and forbearing constituency of both the Enquirer and Commercial are heartily sick of personal journalism. They about individuals and their personal grievances. Halford Sauce makes your food more nutritious. A’ Name to Conjure With. Hnltimoro American. In building our new war ships would it not be well to name one of them Geronimo? The name is gather euphonious, and, besides, the enemy never captures Geronimo. Yarbrough House, Raleigh, N. C. I have used Dr. Bull’s Cough Syrup for my children, servants and myself, and think it the golden remedy.—Mrs. Dr. Blackwell.

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