FATAL EARTHQUAKE. DETAHS OF THE DISASTER IN YUNNAN. FOUR THOUSAND KILLED AND HUNDREDS OF HOUSES IN RUINS— GREAT SUFFERING AMONG THE VICTIMS.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 268, 30 May 1888, Page 4

FATAL EARTHQUAKE. DETAHS OF THE DISASTER IN YUNNAN. FOUR THOUSAND KILLED AND HUNDREDS OF HOUSES IN RUINS— GREAT SUFFERING AMONG THE VICTIMS.

The Poking correspondent of thu"Noith China Daily News," undrr d-ikj of Msuch 22m1, gi\e^ the lit si. authentic details ol the great, earthquake fit Yunnan, meagic particular of which ca-ne by e.u>te The killed and wounded, according Lo the memorial in the Peking " i.iiv/ol>lG," is officially given as 4,000, and t.lio (Jovcrnmenfc account; makes the f-uflerinp; and loss by the disaster greater than the private rcpoi t. The locality whevo the disaster occurred L> mountainous and dotted AviUi beau tit ul lakes. The fine kind oi tea called Too-er-cha comes from the pei^hboui hood, and aUo the eoppcr lor which Yunnan is Hmous. Kob far away are the silver mines of Burmah. It it, in this favoured spot a tew milch houtli ot tho Yunnan lako "known as Tien-ehih

tihal) Una disaster occurred. The centre of tho earthquake was at Shin - ping - chou. The whole ox Lent of country disturbed by the earthquake is about 170 miles in length horn cast to west and 60 miles from north to south. Shih-ping lios in a sort of control position. 01 tho three sorts ot earthquakes, the circular, tho linear and the veifcical, this was oi tho linear kind, and iho direction east-north-east, and west-ssouth-Avast. This wo may judgo to ho noailyat right angles to the prevailing direction of tho valleys, UilvOH and rivers in that part/. On hearing of earthquakes in western China we naturally think of the hot springs and oil wells ot thoso rogionfy as- also of the niotalhfeioufa deposits. Jt is known that tho metals have many ages ago boon poured up in a molten foim tlnough fissuics in the earth's crust. Tl\o crust, of tho earth is likely to 1)0 thinner in tho&c localities than elsewhere, and hence the trcqucnt volcanic d istui banccs wliieh we lieai of in those parts ot tho earth's bin lace whore the metals' arc lonnd. The medicines and chemical wato - that cine human maladies me there in abundance. Theabstiaet ot the " luiporinllJazottc" ot M/iy 7th says : Tho <io\ernor of Yunnan repoi t^ the occuireiK'e of a veiy serious earthquake m the I) ot the province. The disturbance commenced between 5 and 6 p.m. on tho 14Lh ot January last, anJ lasted till 'l a. in - on the follow inu day. Punng this peiiod there woie ten or moio serious shocks, which woie accompanied by a noise as ot ilmndo. Ln yhil\-pm^,Chienshui and other distii"t cities the town walls -moid cither thrown down or cracked, while the public olhoo-. and temples shaied the same fate. At .Sliili-pinu, m the south ot the cir;, , ei^ht of nine-tenths of the pi ivate houses tell, in the cast as man.) as a halt, in tho north and west lather less ; but still i:\en there, moic than a thousand Looms uuio left with ciackcd or slanting walks. Two hundicd poisons of all a^rs weie em-hod to death, and mmc than JOO pcnnaucni.ly ciipplrd. Theie was much loss ot lite and hmh in the sin rouTidmg \ i'-la-40s, ihiim 1} : In tlio-e to ilio e.i^t, 300 kiflcd and 700 or GOU wounded ; to tho M>u!h, 200 and 400: lo the «01, 300 and I hOO : to Ihe noilh, 100 and m.ikinn a j total iti-idc and out -ide the city to^H'iei in moir tiian 4,000 killed and wounded. !'ut i hi- dot's not lepie-eut t.lic whole of I hi« >uilciing c.uisvd, lor a lari^e majoiity oi tho people, lich .nut }HH>r .uikc, aio letL \rilhout homo, all thHi piovi-ion^ and othei }iiopi>t\ bcini; buiicd bcne.ith the i uii\- i.f tiuMi houses. in the to\\ti ot Chien-^hui it-elt '-o\cn or ei^ht people \uii' ciu^-ht-d to death and some sco io- ucic iiinucd. In the neighbounn^ Milage-' ?. Ll y people w cic killed anrl 150 oi 100 hm t. The -ulU'iinti tin le l- of a -inulai n.fhne to that in Sinh piny and iK m'iohl)ourhood In Mew oi the unpioec di'iiLcd manuitudc ot the di-asfei and the \a-t» amount of mi'-ciy it ha- civ-cd, the nicnioi ia!i-t. li.t- m-t i noted the Taotai and the i'lctcet ot the locality to lose not an ni-tantinpioudiujn hinds and m di -patching -pt-cial ollicci- to ,i— l-t tho icuulai authoiitica in di-ccncim 1 ; tho-e who aie in want and di-mbuting chanty to them. Then 1 -, lip! di clau - that the Kmj)oror i> much di-tio--cd >i} ilii- -ci ion- calamity, and oidu- t hat inea.-iii( ■> betaken rom-uic the uhot ol CNei t \ Mn^le one among the suilcrcrs