GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN CHILI. (Valparaiso Mail.)

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 245, 4 December 1873, Page 2

GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN CHILI. (Valparaiso Mail.)

At twenty-one minutes past two o'clock on the morning of tlie 7th July this city was \isited with as severe a shook of earthquake us any tliat had occurred within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. Tl.etrue direction of the^shock cannot uell be ascertained, bi'cmisL the damage done to some buildings wouU appeal ti> indicate one direction and in others another, mul so of furniture nnd other article* thrown to the ground. Whatever the direction may have been; however, it is quite rerfiiin that Valparaiso was close to the foem of intensity of the shock. The movement l of thf> ground lasted fully scventyfive •eeon.ls, and during the whole of that time, which to many s cmeJ an hour, it is not advancing too much to!s»v that everybody wat subject to a greater or lesser amount of terror, llic shopk wa^recoded by a loud subterranean rumbling, which -sorted Oas" a kind of premonitorj warning to those persons'-who were awake at the time, but as the shock took p!«ee at tfaeTioar^hen sleep weighs heavieit, the warning in questioowasjost to the immense majority of the inhabitants. The effect xf being rudely awoke from a sound sleep by a ttudden up-and-down movement of floors, the oscillation of walls, the rattling of doors and windows, and tha ominous creaking and grinding of rools, it is impossible to describe, nor onn il be imagined, except by those,.wlio themselves have passed through thoiryiig ordeal. .One' thing, however, is certain, ami that is that safety in flight is instinctively uppermost in even body's mind. It if no wonder then that on the memorable morning of the 7th the streets and squares of the city were almost instantly, filled by crowds of men, women, and chißlren, the vast majority of « hotn were without any protection from the inclemeuco of the night, except such as their slender night dresses could altbrd. The scene at (he moment just referred to baffl>s description. Nothing was to be seen in nil dire -trans but terrorstricken people, and no hing was to he heurd but lamentations and pile >vi appeals lor mercy. The scene was rend red more dismal still from the fact that scarcely a street lamp was lig' ted in the whole city. As soon as the shock w-is orer. and the fir-t impre?s : on of terror had somewhat subsided, the people commenced to return, very cautiously at first, to their homes in search of clothing, while the more courageous started for different, parts of the cily, some to ascertain the fate of relai ires and friends, and others to ascertain the extent of the damage done. In less than a minute alter the shock limits were to br seen from every house and "shanty" on the hills, in some places fires were made in the open air. 8.-low, in the cily, nobody dreamed of retiring to rest, and whole families were to be seen huddled together in thud .ors of their lioases real v for a start in the event of a repetition of the shock, while the more timorous remained in the streets or the squares. In the interval of time between the shoe* and »hiwn, whi<-h to most people nppeureil nn nge reports of the injuries to life and property, too frequently exasperate.!, were carried Iro-n one purl of the city U> anut.ier, mid thesf, in connection will* several slight shocks, kept everybody in a state of alarm. The feeling of terror was still further increased when, shortly after 4 o'clock, a report was circulated that Liguaand several other towns haA been totally destroyed. As tho morning wore on tho greatest anxiety wa* manifested to ascertain something respecting the lute of Santiago, about which the iuo»t seriou* apprehension* were entertained. Tele graphic communicaiion was, however, stopped, all the lines having been damaged by tho «hock, and it was not until 9 30 a.m. that the grateful news was flashed along the wires of the Autiguo Americano Company that the capital had suffered com pa atively nothing. Tno usual hour for commencing the business lab >rs of the day arrived at length, but nobody seemed inclined to set the example. A vague presentiment that the wor«t was not over, t ! iat greater calamities were in ttore for us, pervaded all classes, a.id was more or less share.l in by everyb >«ly. Slowly, however, one by one, doors of nusiness houses w>re unlocked, slops were opened, and some of the more courageous of the proprietors ventured to take down tho r shutters, but no business of any kind was transacted, everybody being too much absorbed in the event of the day to think of buying or wiling. Matters remained pretty much in the state just described until 10 55 a.m., when another heavy shock drove everybody into the streets, and from that moment all attempts' to do busuess were abandoned, and the city, more especially as the day declined, wore an extremely sad and lifeless appearance, to which the cloned shops and peculiar he*riness of the atmosphere contributed not a little. During all the afternoon people were to be seen wending their way to the hills with bedding, and long before sunset many of the open spaces in the city and at the f.»ot of the hills were, filled with persons of all ranks, engaged, with an air of sadness, in making preparations for pacing the night in the open air. Tho*e persons who did not abandon their houses lay down in the doorways, or «at up in chairs ; nnd they were few in number indeedwho obtained anything but fitful snatches of sleep the whole night through. From the time of the first shock on the morning of the 7th until 6 22 a.m. on the Bth, when another rather strong sock occurred, upwards of twenty well-defined tremors of tho ground were felt. As may readily be imagined, the damage done to property is very considerable, and we regret to «ny that the occurrence has been attended with some loss of life also.