38 KINDLE 



disaster to a portion of the town which was eventually built upon 

 them. 



In company with Mr. P. V. Roundy the writer visited Staunton 

 about one week after the crater-shaped openings began to develop. 

 The following account of the development of the first three is based 

 upon information furnished by Mr. C. E. Ashburner, City Engineer, 

 and the account published by the Staunton Spectator. The facts 

 regarding the last of the series to develop were furnished by Mr. J. 

 Yost on whose property it occurred. 



The initial caving occurred on the morning of August 11. The 

 occupants of a building on the south side of Baldwin street "heard 

 a crash as if under their feet and suddenly the building shook and 

 the pavement sank about 4 feet." The photograph (PI. II, fig. 1), 

 shows this hole in this first stage of development. After its sudden 

 beginning this first break progressed gradually. "The sinking of the 

 ground continued constantly and in less than an hour it had sunk 

 10 feet and the radius of the cave-in was 30 feet. Every now and 

 then the dust would rise, showing that fresh caving was going on." 

 Near the center of the ground included in the first break stood a 

 tree 25 feet in height. "In less than two hours this tree had entirely 

 disappeared." A few hours later the lateral enlargement of this 

 first break carried down a two-story house about 25 by 35 feet in 

 dimensions. Like the tree, this house passed out of sight in the 

 cavernous opening. This building is shown in PI. II, fig. 1. About 

 two hours after the first break a second occurred on the opposite side 

 of Baldwin street and diagonally across from it (PI. I). It is de- 

 scribed as a sudden break which was accompanied by a loud report. 

 It was at first a hole about 4 feet square in the pavement directly 

 in front of the fire engine house. This increased by lateral caving 

 at irregular intervals until it reached nearly across the street in one 

 direction and under the fire engine house in the other, resulting in 

 the ultimate destruction of the building. This second hole is shown 

 in the foreground of PL II, fig. 2. 



A few hours after the first break appeared, the third and largest 

 of the holes began to develop about 75 feet to the southwest of the 

 first Baldwin street hole. Its dimensions at the top were about 

 60 by 90 feet. This third slip of the ground carried with it three 

 trees and a portion of a dwelling. The top of one of these trees 



