42 Account of the Earthquake in Chili. 
highest at the distance of from two to three miles from the shore, 
diminishing both ways. The rise on the coast is from two to four 
feet; at the distance of a mile inland, the rise must have been from 
five to six or seven feet; for in the cut for the tail water course of 
amill, at the distance of about a mile from the sea, a fall of four- 
teen inches has been gained in little more than a hundred yards. 
“ At Valparaiso, near the mouth of the Concon, and along the: 
coast northward to Quintero, rocks have appeared in many places, 
where none before were visible. The high-water mark along shore 
is about three feet above the place the tide now reaches, and. a 
vessel, which had been wrecked on this coast, and which could only, 
be approached at low water in a boat, is now accessible on dry land 
at half tide *. 
“¢ At Valparaiso, not a single house escaped being damaged; it 
is somewhat remarkable, however, that although the ground was 
raised bodily, and considerably, those houses whose foundations 
were on the rocks, were less damaged than those built on the allu- 
vial soil. All the houses at Valparaiso are built of adobes (sun- 
dried bricks), cemented with clay. These were thrown into heaps 
of rubbish, or torn and rent in all directions. The town had the 
appearance of having suffered a heavy and long continued bom- 
bardment. Upwards of three hundred persons were buried in the 
ruins. Had the earthquake happened two hours later, very few of 
the inhabitants would have escaped. 
‘* After the earthquake, the inhabitants encamped upon the hills 
above the scene of desolation, in the best way they could; this was 
thought less of a hardship than it would have been thought in most 
other countries, from the fine warm weather, the certainty as was 
concluded of dry weather, and the small quantity of dew which, at 
this season of the year, falls in Chili. To these hills goods of all 
sorts, furniture, and every thing else, were brought, and laid in the 
open air. The damage done to this thriving town will not be re- 
paired in many years. 
«« The church of La Merced presented a striking instance of the 
* There is very little variation of tides on this coast, the sea never rises anprG 
than four feet at the full of the moon, . 
