Field.— O;?- Earthquakes at Wanganui. 573 



There was no loss of life or limb, but several narrow escapes. 

 In one case an old bed-ridden woman had just been carried 

 into the next room while her bed was made, and ail the brick- 

 nogging beside it was shaken down on to the bed from which 

 she had been removed. In another case a nurse and several 

 children had to huddle together at one end of a room while 

 the chimney fell between them and the door, and then 

 scramble over the fallen brickwork to make their escape. 

 The Rev. E. Taylor, too, and his faixiily had rushed out of 

 doors on feeling the shock, and had only just passed the brick 

 wall when it fell and covered the path which they had 

 traversed. A certain amount of good was done by the shock 

 in draining swamps. These had been formed by layers of 

 ironsand becoming rusted together and forming a pan, which 

 prevented the surface-water from soaking downwards. The 

 shock cracked these pans, and enabled the water to escape. 



Shocks occurred at frequent intervals for some time after- 

 wards — in fact, for several months it could never be said that 

 the earth was still. Even when it was dead calm there was 

 always a long, low swell running up the Wanganui Eiver, and 

 as we lay in bed at night we could feel that we were being 

 gently rolled from side to side. It seemed as if every wave 

 which broke on the beach continued its course through the 

 land. This continued till the equinoctial gales of March and 

 April rendered it no longer noticeable. Wanganui was up- 

 heaved by the shock to the extent of from 1ft. to 15in. ; but 

 all but about Gin. was gradually lost afterwards. 



It was asserted that a fire, supposed to be volcanic, was 

 observed in the vicinity of the Inland Kaikouras ; and vessels 

 sailing south of Wellington reported the sea covered with 

 dead fish. The people on board a vessel, which reached Wel- 

 lington a few days after the earthquake, reported having felt 

 the shock fully 150 miles west of New Zealand. They had 

 been much alarmed, as they thought the vessel was dragging 

 over a shoal or reef not marked on the charts. 



A friend, who had camped by the mouth of the Rangitikei 

 River, with a herd of cattle, on the night of the earthquake, 

 lately told me that the ground there was extensively and very 

 deeply fissured, and that a sulphurous smell was distinctly 

 pei-ceptible. A similar smell was said to have been perceived 

 at Wanganui, but I did not observe it at Waitotara. 



