1835.] EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 



303 



cottages, which had been transported almost whole. The store- 

 houses at Talcahuano had been burst open, and great ba^-s of 

 cotton, yerba, and other valuable merchandise were scattered on 

 the shore. Durir.g my walk round the island, I observed that 

 numerous fragments of rock, which, from the marine productions 

 adhering to them, must recently have been lying in deep water. 

 had been cast up high on the beach ; one of these was six feet 

 long, three broad, and two thick. 



The island itself as plainly showed the overwhelming power of 

 the earthquake, as the beach did that of the consequent great 

 wave. The ground in many parts was fissured in north and 

 south lines, perhaps caused by the yielding of the parallel and 

 steep sides of this narrow island. Some of the fissures near the 

 clifl's were a yard wide. Many enormous masses had already 

 fallen on the beach ; and the inhabitants thought tliat when the 

 rains commenced far greater slips would happen. The efl^ect of 

 the vibration on the hard primary slate, which composes tlie 

 foundation of the island, was still more curious : the superficial 

 parts of some narrow ridges were as completely shivered as if 

 they had been blasted by gunpowder. This eflTect, which was 

 rendered conspicuous by the fresh fractures and displaced soil, 

 nmst be confined to near the surface, for otherwise there would 

 not exist a block of solid rock throughout Chile; nor is this im- 

 probable, as it is known that the surface of a vibrating body is 

 affected difl^erently from the central part. It is, perhaps, owing 

 to this same reason, that earthquakes do not cause quite such 

 terrific havoc within deep mines as would be expected. I believe 

 this convulsion has been more eflfectual in lessening the size of the 

 island of Quiriquina, than the ordinary wear-and-tear of the sea 

 and weather during the course of a whole century. 



The next day I landed at Talcahuano, and afterwards rode to 

 Concepcion. Both towns presented the most awful yet interest- 

 ing spectacle I ever beheld. To a person who had formerly 

 known them, it possibly might have been still more impressive ; 

 for the ruins were so mingled together, and the whole scene pos- 

 sessed so little the air of a habitable place, that it was scarcely 

 possible to imagine its former condition. The earthquake com- 

 menced at half-past eleven o'clock in the forenoon. If it had 

 happened in the middlp of the night, the greater number (»f tlie 

 U 



