Royal Society, ,57 



of lives has been very inconsiderable, being, in the city of Bogota, 

 limited to only five or six persons. 



It appears that the earthquake was not felt much to the north of 

 Bogota ; but to the south the devastation has been most extensive. 

 Throughout the whole of the plain of Bogota, as far as the towns of 

 Purificacion and Neiva, there remains no church or public edifice of 

 importance that has not been either overthrown or materially da- 

 maged. In the towns of Purificacion and Ibogue, the shock was so 

 powerful as to throw down many houses constructed of cane, with 

 thatched roofs. In Neiva, not only were all the public buildings de- 

 stroyed by the earthquake, but torrents of rain conspired to increase 

 the havoc. Even straw-huts were levelled with the ground j and the 

 roofs of some of them taking fire, added to the horror of the scene, 

 and to the extent of the calamity. Great part of the plain of Neiva 

 was inundated : this was productive of considerable loss of lives, par- 

 ticularly on the banks of the Magdalena, the current of which was at 

 first considerably lessened t but a great flood succeeded, and swept 

 down vast quantities of mud and other substances, emitting a strongly 

 sulphureous vapour, and attended with a general destruction of the 

 fish. 



These and other facts render it probable that some volcanic erup- 

 tion took place in Tolima, an old volcano of Tocaima, from the mouth 

 of which it is reported, that, of late, dense columns of smoke have 

 been seen to arise, and more remarkably so on the day of the earth- 

 quake j as also from the ridge of mountains of Santa Anna in Mara- 

 quita, and the Paramo of Ruiz, which is a part of the same Cordil- 

 lera, and contiguous to that of Tolima. 



Popayan, which is 200 geographical miles S.S.W. of Bogota, has 

 also suffered much from the same earthquake ; many houses having 

 fallen in consequence of the violent shocks that continued to succeed 

 each other every six hours down to the evening of the 1 8th, which 

 is the date of the latest intelligence from that place. The torrents 

 of rain with which they were accompanied, have proved a great ag- 

 gravation to the misery they have created. At Patea, still further to 

 the S.S.W. the devastation has been still greater ; some of the largest 

 trees having been thrown down by the concussions. It is hence in- 

 ferred, that eruptions have taken place at the same period in the vol- 

 cano of Pasto ; and the wide crevices which have appeared in the 

 road of Guanacas, leave no doubt that the whole of the Cordillera has 

 sustained a powerful shock. 



In the plains of Bogota considerable crevices have also opened, 

 and the river Tunza has already begun to flow through those which 

 have appeared near Costa. In other parts of the Cordillera, al- 

 though the earth has continued in motion for a quarter of an hour 

 without intermission, the movement has been nearly insensible, and 

 observable only by means of the compass or the pendulum. 



May 15. — A paper was read, entitled "A Comparison of the 

 Changes of Magnetic Intensity in the Dipping and Horizontal Nee- 

 dles throughout the day, at Truernberg Bay, in Spitzbergen." — By 

 Captain Henry Foster, R.N. F.R.S. 

 New Series. Vol. 4. No. 1 9. July 1 828. I The 



