196 EARTHQUAKES ON THE PACIFIC COAST 



lamps seem only to make the darkness visible, and it is slow 

 work at the best. There will be many who are too weary to set 

 up the tents, and scores of people are stretched on the ground 

 and even on the doorsteps, too tired to heed the danger of an- 

 other shock. 



" To-day's trouble began at 9.40 a. m. The buildings which had 

 been badly shaken by the Tuesday temblor collapsed at once, 

 and those which had stood the test so long began to yawn, to 

 creak, and to open out in a manner terrible to witness. The 

 north end of the Masonic Temple fell with a crash. Next, the 

 Cradwick building fell in, and the Morrison building followed. 

 All these structures are on the north side of Main Street. On 

 the opposite side the shock caused the Berthollet stone building 

 to collapse, and the Humphreys building shared the same fate. 

 The Devilbiss Hotel, already badly shaken, caved in completely, 

 the front of the bank building dropped, and the pier fell out. 



" Among the victims of this shock were a man named Darby, who 

 had his skull fractured, and Miss Clara Jessen, who was badly 

 hurt. 



" In the vicinity of town several fine dwellings are utterly wrecked. 

 Main Street is about 400 feet long, and most of the structures are 

 of brick or brick and stone. Not one of them is left in a hab- 

 itable condition, and it is needless to say that every article of 

 glass and crockery all along this street has been smashed to 

 pieces. The railroad track is all right, and telegraphic communi- 

 cation has been uninterrupted, but there are many nasty cracks 

 and fissures in the roadways, and driving is dangerous. 



" The previous estimate of the damages of about $75,000 or $80,000 

 will have to be increased about 50 per cent, as the result of to- 

 day's shock. The atmosphere is perfectly still, sultry, and oppres- 

 sive. It may be fancy only, but one feels in breathing it a sense 

 of impending calamity. 



" The chief danger is from fire, and this has been guarded against 

 as far as possible by a house-to-house inspection and a cry of 

 " Lights out " wherever an offending glimmer is seen. 



" The hotels have been shut up entirely; in fact, it is dangerous to 

 enter them. A bakery and restaurant on Mam Street contains 

 a supply of provisions, but it is as much as a man's life is worth 

 to enter it. The proprietor, Peter Graham, has been feeding the 

 people as well as he can during the day, but the street itself is 

 closed in. 



" It is quite unnecessary to add that nothing of an exaggerated or 

 alarmist character has been infused into this dispatch. Things 

 are so bad that exaggeration is well-nigh impossible. 



" There has been no shock since that at 7.30 p. m., but the suspense 

 is even worse than the shock. It is now 11 o'clock, and as I look 

 down Railroad Avenue I still see the wear.y ones struggling to 



