EARTHQUAKES ON THE PACIFIC COAST 9 



The information can be very conveniently given by answering the 

 following questions, which are copied from a circular prepared by 

 Captain C. E. Dutton, U. S. A., for the U. S. Geological Survey: 

 "1. Post Office address; town, county, and State. 



2. Place and date of observation. 



3. I^ame and address of the observer, if other than the writer. 



4. Position and occupation of observer at time of the shock, 

 and character of the ground. State whether observer was in the 

 house or out of doors; what kind of a house (wooden or stone); up 

 stairs or down; what doing at the time; whether the ground at sur- 

 face was rock, clay, sand, or loam; about how far down to solid 

 rock. 



Note. —If the shock was not felt in your neighborhood, although 

 noticed at places not very far distant, do not fail to answer these 

 first four questions, as negative reports are of great interest in 

 defining the limits of the disturbed area, etc. State also the near- 

 est point to your station where the shock was felt. 



5. State as exactly as possible the time of commencement and the 

 duration of each shock. 



The exact time of the beginning of a shock (to the nearest 

 second), one of the most important of all observations, is difficult 

 to get correctly, because of the great velocity with which the wave 

 travels (about three miles a second), and because the watch or 

 clock must be immediately compared with a clock known to be 

 keeping standard time. If several hours have elapsed before the 

 comparison is made, another comparison should be made an hour 

 later, in order to find whether your timepiece is gaining or losing, 

 and how much. Unless it is stated that this has been done, the 

 observation cannot be regarded as a good one till confirmed by other 

 reports. Telegraph operators, railroad officials, watchmakers, etc., 

 have especially good opportunities for answering this question cor- 

 rectly, and their cooperation is most earnestly solicited. 



6. Give any facts that you can as to sounds accompanying shocks 

 and as to the direction in which the earthquake wave seemed to 

 travel. 



If any sound, other than the mere creaking of woodwork, etc., 

 accompanied the shock, state as fully and accurately as possible 

 whether it preceded, accompanied, or followed the shock, and what 

 interval there was, if any; also what the sound was like. Describe 



