134 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA 



to this and other earthquakes, touching more particularly a series continuing 

 through a long period for such phenomena, but preceding the great event of 

 September of that year. 



So far as the archives of the old missions assist us, it is found that from the 

 foundation of the first mission in 1769, up to the year 1800, a period of thirty- 

 one years, not an entry was made of these phenomena. In the latter year an 

 earthquake is recorded as occurring at San Juan Bautista, on the eleventh of 

 October. On the eighteenth of the same month, at supper time another shock 

 was felt, and another still at about eleven o'clock on the same night. From the 

 records of the Presidio of San Francisco, we are able to glean the fact, that 

 between the twenty-first of June and seventeenth of July, 1808, there occurred 

 twenty-one shocks of earthquakes at this post. 



I will here correct the popular error relating to this earthquake or series of 

 earthquakes during that year. It is generally stated that this was contem- 

 poraneous with the earthquake which destroyed San Juan Capistrano and La 

 Purissima ; by reference to the dates it will be seen that the destruction of 

 those missions did not occur until four years later. 



The above are the only records of these phenomena that have as yet made 

 their appearance in the archives of the j>rovince during the existence of the 

 Mexican Government ; and, from the fact that these archives are all in our pos- 

 session, there is no hazard in stating that they constitute all, of which we have 

 any positive knowledge. As they stand, they are a sufficient rebuke to the men- 

 dacity of sensational itemizers of the public press ; they will find in those records, 

 no basis on which to indite column articles of such doleful prophecies as the 

 public of late have been surfeited with. 



During a period of thirty-nine years the records of the country exhibit the 

 fact, that there were but twenty-three days on which earthquakes occurred and 

 were deemed worthy of record. If we compare these figures with those recorded 

 from 1850 to the close of 1863, we shall find much more ground for prophecy 

 during the latter period than for the eighty-two years of which records were 

 kept on this coast previous to that time. 



From the above extracts from the archives we are left to infer one of two facts ; 

 either that earthquakes were entirely unknown during the intervals of the record 

 dates, or that they were of so trivial a character as not to merit the notice of 

 the early padres during this time ; the latter is the probability, for we can 

 scarcely conceive that nothing of this nature had taken place. If, however, 

 such be the fact, it cannot be looked upon in any other light than a manifest 

 anomaly in the history of this or any other country. 



It appears from all the testimony on the subject, that in May, 1812, the south 

 part of the State was frequently agitated with shocks of greater or less severity, 

 and their continuance was literally incessant for about four and one-half months. 

 Their frequency was not less than one each day or two ; four days seldom 

 elapsing without a shock. As many as thirty shocks occurred in a single day 

 on more than one occasion. So frequent were they, that the inhabitants aban- 

 doned their houses for the greater part of this period, and lived under trees, 

 etc., and slept out of doors at Santa Barbara. 



