THE RECENT EARTHQUAKE IN SOUTH AMERICA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 226, 7 September 1875, Page 4

THE RECENT EARTHQUAKE IN SOUTH AMERICA.

(Loadon Correspondent of the Argus.) All these terrors are nothing by the side of the great calamity reported from South America. It is the proximity of thoae disasters which makes them more vivid to Europeans, and the details of the narrative come rapidly bat in literal piecemeal to us. Mr Butler Johnson indignantly expostulates io yesterday's Times that while subscriptions flow in unsolicited for the ' aid of a neighboring country, scarcely a sixpence can be extracted from the charitable British public for Asia Minor, where 160,000 lives have been lost, and a dire fearful famine and accumulated suffering incurred greater than a thousand Garonne inundations. Asia Minor also has since had its earthquake, in which 2,000 souls have perished, but the history of which, owing to the fact that there is really no Press in the country has been summed up in a few lines in our newspapers. So is it with this South American earthquake It is a stupendous calamity, evidencing the existence of forces before which the whole human race is powerless; but we have not realised it as we have these nearer events, and mainly because of the manner in which the news has reached us, like a half-told tale of which we can't be sure, breaking, with un- . certainty, the keener edge of our interest. I cannot do better than abridge from the New York Tribune, which gives the best account which has yet appeared, based on theprivats letters received in New York by merchants doing business in the country, where the calamity occurred. It now appears that the loss of life was due leßs to the direct than the indirect effects of the earthquake through supervening disease. According to the Tribune, the locality where the earthquake occurred is the great coffee district of South America. The region affected by the chock covers five degrees of latitude, and is 500 miies wide. The shock extended in a North-east direction along the Northern range of the Andes. It was felt first very perceptibly at Bcgata, the capital of New Granada. Thence it seemed to travel North, gathering intensity as it advanced, until it reached the South-east boundary line of Magdalene, where the work of destruction began, continuing as it advanced along the Eastern boundary of Magdalena, following the line of the mountain range, and destroying, in part or whole, the cities of Cucnta, San Anton ia, Elboaario, Salasar, San Cristobal, San Cazetano, and Santiago. The destruction was greatest in Gramalo, Arbeledas, Cucutillas, and Cucuta. Of the 14,000 persons who died from the effects of the earthquake only about 5,000 were killed outright. The remainder died in a short time from fever and lockjaw, which in that region nearly always supervene when severe injuries have been received. The first premonition of the terrible visitation occurred on the night of May 17, wbec a strange rumbling sound was heard beneath the ground, although no earthquake occurred. Next morning a terrible shock occurred, which brought consternation to all the inhabitants of Cucuta. It suddenly shook down the walls of houeee, tumbled down churches and the principal buildings, burying the citizens of the place in the ruins. Another shock completed the work of desolation by throwiog down the walls that still remained standing. Three more shocks followed of equal ia tensity. Shocks with lesser force seem to have been felt throughout the whole region for two days afterwards, extending to Cartageua and the western seacoast. The scenes that followed are described as being most fearful and terrible. In this hour of destruction, when men and women were praying for relief and mercy, others who had escaped began on indiscriminate search of the ruins for treasure — in many cases robbing the dying and dead. Jn some instances the robber murdered the persons who were caugbt ia the falling umbers, and who could not extricate tbetnselvea/ though only slightly injured. Th«» vaults of the bank houses were pent - trated, and large suras of money stole; . Then to add to the horror of the call - miry (be Loboiero volcano sudden! r began to shower out lava in large quac > tities, or as a correspondent writes^ "It sen£ a mass of molten lava, \n the form of iocandeecent balls of fire, into the city." Some of these balls fell upon tbe German drug stores, setting them on fire. Immediately the flames communicated with adjoining dwellings. A shower of lava set tbe ruins of tbeJ large city in flames, while the eartU was etill quaking. Affairs are in L terrible state. The bodies of the dead are becoming decomposed under ihe tropical heat, and tbe stench fills jthe atmosphere for miles around. The earthquake ia considered the most {disastrous of the last two centuries. {

A gentleman about to pass into one of our hoteis with two ladies the 0 her evening, found he bad a freshly lig ted cigar 10 dispose of. There was a plea-sant-looking young lad near tbe door. and be asked bim to hold tbe we\d until be returned. When tbe gentle\ man came out, be was set pleased with the boy 'a honesty that oe gjave him 5 cents, e»ying, "Don't 'you smoke?" "Yes," said the boy. '/ How is it you didn't make off with this cigar, then ? caaDy boys would have done it," said

the gratified gentleman. "I don't klaow about that," said the yoath ; " it BJust be a pretty hard-pushed boy Who'J ran away with such a cigar as that." The ladies tittered, bat the gentleman didn't, — Napa Reporter. The Bible is now printed in no less than 200 languages ; ta 1854 it was only printed in 50 langnages. '■ A correspondent of the Atheneeum, writing from Paris, states that all the copies of the first edition of the French translation of " Young Brown " (Le Jeune Brown), a novel published in Loadon some months ago, have been biaght up by order of Prince Bismarck, and despatched to Germany.