A, E. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands; Geology. 135 
some 60 feet deep, and from 35 to 40 feet in width, toppled over 
into the sea with a thundering reverberation, resembling very much 
the sound of a shock of earthquake. For years—in fact beyond the 
memory of the oldest heads in the vicinity—there has existed an 
irregular-edged crevasse at the place where the final break occurred, 
nearly semicircular in shape and some eighty feet in length, and 
from two to three feet wide at the top, locally known as ‘the crack,’ 
and although it could not but be evident to the most casual observer 
that the fracture of the rock was complete throughout, its collapse 
was regarded as a far remote possibility by the North-siders, not- 
withstanding its very perceptible inclination seaward, no one of 
whom feared to step across on to the leaning cliff, and walk, amid 
sage-brush and scrub-cedars, to its dizzy edge, even children fear- 
lessly invading it in their gambols.” 
The fallen masses of stone at other places indicate similar land- 
slides, but I was not able to learn the dates of any others of impor- 
tance. They often seem more recent than they really are, and most 
of them have apparently not occurred within the remembrance of 
the inhabitants. Among those that appear to be comparatively 
recent is the mass of angular blocks at the base of Abbot’s Head 
(fig. 21). 
Earthquake shocks, even if not very severe, might loosen many of 
these undercut masses. But, as stated in my former work,* very 
few earthquakes have occurred here in modern times, and those were 
of but little importance. Those recorded occurred in 1664, 1801 and 
1843. According to the local newspaperst a slight earthquake 
occurred on July 27, 1903, between 5 and 6 A. M., at Paget East. 
Siting of Harbors ; Ancient Maps. 
That some local changes in the depth of certain harbors have 
taken place since the early settlement of the islands is certain. In 
some cases this has been connected with the drifting of sands from 
the land into the sea, as at Tucker’s Town, where the sands from 
the dunes on the south shore drift across the narrow neck of land 
into Stokes’ Bay, on the Castle Harbor side. This small bay or 
harbor is now very shallow, with broad sand flats exposed at low 
tide. It is said that in the early days of Bermuda small vessels in 
the West Indian trade could anchor in this harbor. 
* These Trans., xi, p. 510; ‘‘ The Bermuda Is.,” p. 98. 
+ See Royal Gazette for July 28, 19038. 
