CALIFORNIAN EARTHQUAKES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8109, 14 May 1906, Page 4

CALIFORNIAN EARTHQUAKES.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES OF SAX FRANCISCO.

The Pacific Coast of the United States h.\s suffered considerably l'roiu earthquakes during the past eentiirj', and tlio fact is sa:<l to have had a considerable influence in retarding settlement. At one time the erection of 'other than wooden buildings was prohibited in San Francisco, but this regulation has lapsed of late years, and many huge stone and steel-frame buildings have been erected. These have no doubt been the chief sufferers by the earthquake of Wednesday. The most severe earthquake since the occupation of the country by the Americana occurred in 1812. In May of that year the whole State of California was violently shaken, and the loss of life was serious. At that time, of course, the population was comparatively small, or else the disaster would have been of enormous magnitude. The disturbances continued through the summer of 1902, and the shakes were so iveiiient and so violent that the people "• ■««!.■'. their houses and slept in

mo often. During succeeding years there were many more earthquakes, often of u serious character, and then in 1860 and 1868 there were more disastrous shocks. The worst shock, in respect to tho amount of damage done, was that of Cotoher 21, 1868. At San Francisco the motion was east and west, and several buildings on Pine Battery and Sansonie streets were thrown down, and others seriously damaged. The ground settled down, putting some buildings out of line. The principal damage on this occasion was done in the lower portion of the city, below Montgomery sti vt and amongst the buildings on tho reclaimed land. The Customhouse, a brick building, that had been badly shattered by the earthquake of 1865, had to be abandoned in haste. Business in the lower part of the city was suspended, the streets were thronged with people, and the greatest excitement prevailed. The parapets, chimneys and walls of many houses fell, causing loss of life and a large number of accident*. At one place a crack forty or fifty feat long opened in the ground, and in other places the ground opened, and water forced itself above the suiiiice. The water in San Francisco Bay was perfectly smooth at the tune of the occurronce, and no perceptible disturbance took place; but the shock was felt aboard the ships as .though they had struck upon rocks. The morning wan moderately warm, and a dense fog coveied the city. The first indication of tho approach of the earthquake was a rumbling sound, coming apparently from the ocean. The shock commenced in the form of slow, horizontal movements, whereas the movements of the great earthquage of 1685 wore perpendicular. Tho effect on buildings, too, of tho earthquake of 1868 was widely different from that of 1865. In the latter glassi was broken into atom* in all parts of the city by the perpendicular oscillations, while comparatively few walls were shaken down or badly shattered. The earthquake of 1868 broke very little glass, but the damage by the falling cornices, awnings, and walls was immense. Mantel ornaments and shelved crockery w_rb everywhere thrown down and brc-ken: top-heavy articles of furniture tumbled over; tall structures, like steeples and towers, were seen to sway, and the motion of the earth underfoot was unpleasantly plain to pedestrians: and animals exhibited every sign of fe:ir The panic amongst women and ch Idren was for a time excessive.

In Oakland the shock was very m>vere, throwing down chimncvs' and greatly damaging buildings. In sevoral localities the ground opened; and it was stated that a stiong, sulphurous smell was noticeable after the shock. The courthouse at San Leandro was demolished and one life lost. At San Jose several buildings were injured. The large brick courthouse at Redwood C.ty was completely destroyed. The shock was light at MarysviHe and Sonora, and severe at Grass Vullev. It was also 'felt with a great deal of severity in Stockton. Sonoma, San Lorongo, Aloarado, San Slatea, lVtaltima, Vnllejo, and Sacramento. In the latter place flagstaff's and trees were said to have vibrated ton feet, and the water in the river rose and fell eighteen inches.