THE SOUTH AMERICAN EARTHQUAKE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 172, 23 July 1877, Page 4

THE SOUTH AMERICAN EARTHQUAKE.

A NUlffiß&'t^TOWS SESTEOTEB— 6O& Nsw'Tqbk, Jane 11. ; Th $«*; and. Heraldnoi PanamA received to-day >has details of the disasters and destruction caused on thi §£asT]^Qific ;eoas_e by the earthquake and tidal wav,a of May 9. ThetoVns ,0^ Aries, Jqique, Ppota, Delabos,' ' Fonia, , Delabo8 r Isabellon, Depica, 5 Cnanayaya, Huanillos, 1 Cdpilla, Cobijaj MijiHoueg, De Boliva, Antopagasta, and Chanarabel, are nearly destroyed.; About. 6oo lives were lost. The desbractioa at Pabaloa is estimated at £5,000,000. The destruction was confined mostly to the coast, although the; town of Tarapaca — 23 miles inland,; and '■ - villages of Pocomattalia, and Conejonas, far in the interior, were, more less ruined. The shipping of , gaano from the Southern deposits will L ,be indefinitely suspended, all facilities in the way of launches, chotes, wharves, ; wafcar ooodaogers, and buildings of all \ binds have been swept away. The ; destruction and damage to; shipping halve" Deen*very great, and attended by &ocy serious loaa oHife. At Molleado, the land was torn up by tba sea 800 feet, and at Ko the railway waa alao injqred. - A& Arioa the people ware preparing temporary /crtiAcafcions, 10 -repel ' fche tbreab^d assftoli oC^ha rebel ram Huasoar ac tne foomenfe whan" tb^'Voar of , an earthr quaka_, wat; heaed. T>^- shocks -were very aumepoue. and oanaadv immense flamaga. The eeia was suddenly perceivetr^to' retjede from the beach, and a w&ve^rdm-tetf tafiftesn feet high rolled apoa the shore carryksg all 1 befoVe it. Eight times was repeated this assault o|o tha. oqsaa, and . fobr ; miles df : the. embankment of the railway melted away like sand/locomotivee, oars', and fails were hulled about like so many playthings, and/ left in a tumbled maas of rubbish. The United States steamer Wataree, stranded in 1868, was lifted bodily, and' floated two miles north of her old posit ioQ. A cable buoy was moved a quarier ot a mile northward. Merchandise from the Custom house and stores was "carried away five miles distant. The damage -done was great?? than that of the calamity of 1868. It has levelled the custom-house, railway-station, ; submarine cable office, British Consulate, steamship agency, and many private dwellings.: The people passed the night on the ; hills. Thieves began to rob, whan the troops fired upon them, killing and wounding several. DESTBUGTION OF IQUI^tfE. Iquiqaa was built of wood, and tumbled down at the first onset* Lam pa were broken; and the ' burning oil . spreading over the debfis, '.started ; a geeeral conflagration . Three companieroffiremen were instantly at. their posts, although it was difficult to;maintaio aa upright position, ahock following shock with dreadful regularity. To procare water the two best engines were stationed at the beach. Just then, the cr£ •arose " The sea ! the^'aea I " and the waves rushed ip; the engines wera, carried away by the reflux, and the fire continued unsuppresaed. Three elements of destruction were busy at one* moment— fire, water, and the earthquake. The afiirigbted people left the city to its fate, flying to the neighboring emioehceß. The fire destroyed a large j portion of the town, the earthquake Jevelled nearly all the rest, and the water covers ruins which it took out in its reflux. The water condensers along ! theshbre are ruined. Nearly 400,000 , quintals of nitrate at Iquique and the adjacent ports of Molle and Pisaqua were destroyed. A small loss of life took: place, probably ten persons in all. Coasting crafta and small boats iv the harbor were broken to pieeen away up the Pampas, 11 miles from Iquique. The splendid nitrate establishment, La Neuva Carolina, was completely destroyed. The sufferings of the peo- 1 pie [of 'Iquique were intense. Abeenoe of y^ater and the destruction of the i principal slorea added to ihe hardship. It is estimated that the damage done in Iquque will amount' to nearly £fc<OO,OOD. OTHER TOWNS J DESTROYED — DAMAGE TO SHIPPING. Cbanivave, a little town at the Guano Landing Deposit, known as PabelW de Pica, with 450 houses has only two , standing. In one of the guano cuttings 30 laborers were buried by the falling earth. Among shipping the havoc is terrible. The town of Tarabaza, two or three leagues inland, and the village? of Pica,Matella, and Conehonee, were more or less ruined. The loas of life is reported small. The earthquake was especially severe hi Clmoonoogo. The earth opened 15 metres in depth, and the whole surface of the ground changed. At leust 200 were killed. The bodies were floating in the bay, and a pestilence is feared. AtHuaoillas, the guano loadiDg station, the damage inflicted was fearful. The wave~which succeeded the earthquake, and completed the work of destruction, was nearly 60 feet in height. Many vessels were lost here, together with those on board. At Mijillones the tidal wave was 65 feet in height. Twothirds of the town is completely obliterated; At Tecopilla little or nothing remains of the town. A mine called La Pena Bianca, four miles to iha southward, sunk, smothering 200 workmen* 40 of whom were Cornish miners. C&bija, the principal town on the Balactian cost, baa lost three fourths of its houses.

As sooq aaitbisolatnantable iotelliL otfi^f^^^^er, a relief ,ooin^is3ij«i» loaded, a .vessel wMi#i?ojviaiojjs, 4tethißg, u&ajpo^gefchfer with iifP^PP g4 ! P»a of ttftter.^diaap^iied jh.aj\ ftn, the* 16th lor^StoSothh ♦ ' lOOjdbf) :!BoiQß^tn i; ailvbr^'ooi^V^V^'^<^d4'pah ! of '•tiettiirgo, to-be unfortunates by_a commission of engi-i neers the/ expedition! It has been urged by the' Goyivnm&ii to ■ recommend the rebui Vd|i«ff of ' iihei rained iowns on ■ fiiifa whwh. Way offer greater security and mor> remote from! ahqrd, since this is;the second jinstance of a similar calamity, to tbe^'po.aitipns; occupied.' Subscriptions are; beiing! made .at Lima and QaJko for the relief! of the distressed. The' northerd ports of rPeru a? e damaged but little, though the sea was running retoaVkably high. THE SHOCK AT SEA. " ; The captain of the steamer John ' Elder reports thai when 23 miles west c «f Antapagbsta, going at full speed, the ' ship was completely stopped by the of 1 ' the earthquake, and she , remained almost stationary lor' Sve '• minutes. The passengers , belje,v;ing ibe.-bad atriibk on a reef; ' aou'ndiags were taken immediately, but tjo bA&fcoiu %®Jwas?; . -■•"',, .'.-