52 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



shaft or wheel had gone, and then a violent trembling fore and 

 aft and sideways, reminding me of running fnll speed against a 

 wall of ice. ' ' 



At Rio Vista. 



1906. April 18; Rio Vista. 



The shake at this point was very severe. It commenced with a 

 number of quite long vibrations from northwest to southeast and 

 wound up with the figure of 8 motion which often accompanies 

 seismic disturbances. It was quite difficult for one to maintain 

 his footing, and, strange to say. nothing was thrown down or 

 overturned, which may be attributed to the g_yrating motion. The 

 duration was about 30 seconds, and I am convinced that had it 

 continued 30 seconds longer hardly a house would have been left 

 standing in town. Some lumber piles were thrown down in a 

 lumber yard situated upon a pile wharf, where the disturbance 

 seemed worse than anywhere else. Also the water-tower, 60 feet 

 in height, consisting of two large tanks containing 100,000 gallons, 

 was seen to sway violently. The time of occurrence was 5:13:15 

 :i. Ml., as determined by myself from stellar observation a few 

 nights before; my clock set to i1! was stopped upon the above 

 time. — J. C. Stanton, C. E. 



1906. April 18; l\irt Ross. 



At Fort Ross. 



Beginning at the coast three miles south of Fort Ross and running 

 nearly parallel to the coast, at the base of the high hills and 

 back of the table land, is a large crack or fissure. I have fol- 

 lowed it for two miles and have heard of it for twenty miles. 

 All fences and a water-pipe line crossing this fissure show pos- 

 itively that there has been a slip sidewise of about eight feet. 

 The width or spread of the fissure and the rise and fall of the 

 ground vary. — G. W. Call. 



Ferndale, California; 5:13 a. m. Most severe shock ever experienced 

 here. Nearly all business buildings damaged, some very badly. 

 The ground opened and in places sank as much as 3 feet. Bureaus, 

 clothes-presses, piano-players, thrown down, and two pianos re- 

 ported thrown over. A standing chimney top was a novelty after 

 the quake. The shock came from about 15 degrees south of 

 west and the severe portion of it lasted about 25 seconds. — J. A. 

 Shaw, C. E. 



1906. April 18; Napa. 



At Xapa State Hospital. 



At 5:14 a. m. on the morning of the 18th of April, 1906, a severe 

 earthquake commenced and lasted about 80 or 90 seconds. The 

 apparent motion at the beginning was from the west-south to 



