EARTHQUAKES IN CALIFORNIA

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 463, 1 January 1869, Page 3

EARTHQUAKES IN CALIFORNIA

(From the Panama Star and Herald.) From our New York exchanges we compile "the following particulars of the late earthquake in California : — San Francisco, Oct. 21. I By far the most terrible earthquake that I ever visited this coast occurred this niorn- ! ing at seven minutes before 8 o'clock. The shocks were tremendous, and the vibrations wero, so 'far as I am able to judge from the report of others, from norfch-west to south-east, and were prolonged. It is impossible to estimate the damage at this time, but it has been very great. That portion of the city east of Montgomery street is very much wrecked. Some buildings are down entirely, others are cracked and split from foundation to roof, and hardly one ha 3 escaped more or less damage. There has been some loss of life, but how much we are yet unable to determine. After the first heavy shock several others occurred, but of much less violence. Business is entirely suspended, and half the population is in the street. In several parts of the city, upon the made ground, the earth has opened and water has been thrown up from the cracks to the height of several feet. Oa some of the streets the buildings have sunk some inches, and been left in every conceivable shape. Scarcely a building in the eastern section of this city is now plumb. The principal hotels have suffered, but sustain no very serious damage. , Of course this, as well as every other house, were vacated as soon as possible by their inmates. We hear that at Oakland, San Leandro, San Jose, and other parts of the State, the damage has been very great. They appear to have had the shock as heavy as ourselves. All the telegraph wires were disarranged,, and not one was working for some time. All the clocks were stopped at the time given above. To say that the excitement is tremendous does not begin to describe the condition of affaira. I will send more as soon as further information is had. Oct. 21. Several buildings on Pine, Battery, and Sanson streets were thrown down, and a considerable number badly damaged. The ground settled which threw buildings out of line. Several severe shocks have followed at intervals since, creating a general alarm among the people. The shock was felt with great severity at San Jose, where a number of buildings are considerably injured. The principal damage in this city is confined to the lower portion below Mont-gomery-street, and among the old buildings on the made ground. Numerous houses in that portion of the city have been abandoned and pulled down. The Custom House, a brick building, built on pile ground, which was badly shattered by the earthquake of October, 1865, is considered unsafe and the officials have removed to the Revenue buildings. Business in the lower part of the city is suspended. The parapet walls arid chimneys of a number of buildings have been thrown down, causing loss of life. The damage will not exceed a million dollars. At Oakland the shock was very severe, throwing down chimneys and greatly damaging a number of buildings. The ground opened in several places and a strong sulphurous smell was noticed after the shock. •

The Court House at San Leandro was demolished and one life lost.

The streets are crowded this evening with an excited multitude discussing the particulars of the disastrous earthquake. Twelve shocks were felt during the day. The direction of the shock was from the north to the south, though some descriptions gave a rotary motion. The greatest damage extends in a belt several hundred feet wide, and running about northwest and southeast, commencing near the Custom House, and ending at Folsom-street wharf, injuring and demolishing about twelve buildings in its course. At the corner of Market and First streets the ground opened" Beveral inches wide and about forty or fifty feet in length. The City Hall may be considered a perfect wreck;, The Courts have all adjourned and the prisoners have been taken from the station houses to the County Jail. All the patients in the United, States Marine Hospital have been removed, the building having been declared unsafe. The chimney, of the United States Mint is so badly damaged that the establishment is closed, for repairs. Hager's type foundry suffered greatly.

The Lincoln school-house is badly damaged, and the large statues in front of the building completely buried. All business at the General Delivery Postoffice is temporarily suspended. The San Francisco Gas Works suffered severely, the tall chimney having been thrown over, fell through the roof. The Mission Woollen Mills is considerably damaged. The laxge, chimney of the sugar refinery on Eighth-street is badly cracked^ !The

gable end on the , girls' side of the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute foil in, crushing through the ceilings. Many chimneys in the southern part of tho city were thrown down, but no one was seriously injured by them. Only four lives have been reported lost, although numbers are seriously injured by the falling debris. The water in the bay was perfectly smooth at tho time of the shocks, and no perceptible disturbance took place. The shock was felt aboard the shipping in the harbor as if tho vessels had struck upon a rock.

The earthquake was severe in the interior. Shocks were felt at Sacramento and Stockton. The Central Coast and Alameda Company's building was thrown down and some lives lost. The Mare Island navy yard experienced two heavy shocks. Several buildings wore thrown down and others considerably shaken, but no serious injury occurred. At Wood City the large brick Court-house is little better than a wreck, and all the county officers have moved out.

Another shock was felt at seven p.m. The following despatch was received yesterday morning by William E. Dodge, of this city, from the President of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, in relation to the earthquake of Wednesday :—

San Francisco, Oct. 21.— 11.20 p.m:

President, Chamber of Commerce, New York:—

A severe sho«k of earthquake was experienced here at 7.50 a.m. There was considerable, alarm felt at the time of the occurrence. A good many buildings on made ground were injured. The Custom House and City Hall, both firmly constructed, were badly injured, and some buildings in ■ process of construction have fallen in. Some parapet walls fell down, causing a less of four live 3. There was no damage to well constructed buildings. The total loss to property will not exceed 300,000 dollars.

The following despatch was also received by Lees and Waller, No. 33, Pinestreet : —

San Francisco, Oct. 21, 1808. Lees and Waller, from Bank of California : —

A severe earthquake shock this morning at 7.54 o'clock. The balustrade and some of tho ornamental work on the roof of this bank were shaken down ; no other damage to the bank.

Several buildings on made land and not well constructed are much shattered, and many parapet walls and cornices were thrown into the streets, causing ' much alarm at the time, and killing four or five persons. The walls of a building in process of erection fell upon some of the workmen. The City Hall and Custom House are deemed insecure and vacated. One or two .slight shocks have been felt since, but not' since eleven, o'clock. The alarm has now subsided.

The general damage is estimated by experienced builders, and a committee of the Chamber of Commerce not to exceed 250,000 dols. to 300,000 dols.

The following particulars were received at New York by telegraph just' previous to the sailing of the steamer for Aspinwall.

San Francisco, Oct. 23. Some details of the destruction of property of the 21st instant have been received.

Almeda county suffered most. [Almeda county* lies on the east side of the bay of San Francisco.] The damage to property in Almeda extended in all directions. Back of tho town of San Leandro fin the northern part of Almeda county] there are numerous fissures in the earth from some of which issued clouds of dust, and from others volumes of water. San Leandro creek which has been dry for months (as is usual at this season of the year) is now a rapidly rmming stream. In some places hot water and steam gushed from the ground. The villages of San Leandro and Haywards are almost in ruins. [These villages are fifteen or twenty milea apart. ] The brick buildings were all thrown down and a hundred tenements have been rendered uninhabitable. Numerous wooden structures were much damaged. At Hayward's there is only one building remaining uninjured. The towns of Almeda, Brooklyn, and Oakden all suffered severely. The destruction of property in the towns of San Jo3e, and Redwood city was very great. [San Jose, the old -capital of the State, is in Santa Clara county, which joins Almeda on the south, and Redwood city is in San Mateo county, which adjoins San Francisco county on the south.] The brick and adobe buildings in the " old mission San Jose," which is some miles east of the town of San Jose, are a mass of ruins. At Sacramento city, Stockton and Marysville, the injuries to buildingß are slight and the losses small. In the towns of Petuluma, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa Valleys and Martinez the full force of the shock was felt ; chimneys and fort walls were thrown down and the damage is considerable.

Another Customs seizure, says the Aiistralasian, has been made, and in this instance, as in the last, the smuggled goods have come from Sydney. The senior landing-surveyor, Mr R. Down, "from information received," proceeded on board the s.s. Dandenong, which arrived here last week, from Sydney, aud on examining three casks of eggs, discovered that below the first two or three layers the contents were composed entirely of tobacco. The goods were, of course, immediately seized, and lodged in the Queen's warehouse, the quantity of the smuggled tobacco amounting to about 400 pounds. The entries for three casks of eggs were passed by Messrs Spence Bros, and Co. , of Flinders-lane, and in justice to that firm we are happy to state that no color of fraudulent intent has been discovered in their share of the transaction. A person who, ;within. the last few days, left this port in the Alhambra, for New Zealand, requested the firm to pass the necessary entries for three casks of eggs and fifteen bags of. onions, leaving at the same time the bill of lading and the payment for freight. Messrs Spence Bros, are, therefore, in no way oonnected with the attempted fraud.