524 EARTHQUAKES IN CHILE. 



There have been many losses and some misfortunes of moment. In the Port, all the houses 

 have suffered more or less : walls have opened ; tiles have fallen from the roofs ; some old and 

 heavy roofs have fallen ; and it is said that a few small houses in the ravines (quebradas) have 

 been destroyed. 



In the Anayan two houses supported on piles of wood fell to the earth, one of them covering 

 a child five or six years old. Near to the Matriz, on the side of Cajilla, the roof of a room fell 

 through ; by accident its occupants were saved. In Meados street a wall fell in the interior of 

 an edifice. The cross fell from La Matriz, killing a passing dog. Almost every house has 

 suffered immensely in its tiles. The shops and corner stores have lost crockery, glass, bottles, 

 and wine, and oil and liquors have flowed in an extraordinary manner. In the apothecary store 

 of Senor Leighton, the acids and aquafortis took fire; and in others the alcoholic compositions 

 smoked. The earth has opened in many places. 



In the Almendral the injuries have been greater. It appears that earthquakes are felt 

 with greater violence there, and by the damages they cause merit the name of earthshakes. 

 All the houses and walls have been moved from their places ; many roofs have been destroyed 

 or the tiles thrown into the street. Families this morning found themselves in the street 

 without homes, and without knowing where to seek new lodgings. It is calculated that five 

 hundred persons are without habitations, or fear to return to their houses on account of the 

 condition of the walls and roofs. 



A commission of citizens have been instructed to examine the injury done, and to aid the most 

 necessitous families. This zeal is highly meritorious, and the good work should not cease until 

 every family is trahquilized. 



It is thought that this frightful shock was felt throughout .a large portion of the republic ; 

 and it is to be feared that the injuries will have been greater at Santiago because'df the thick- 

 ness of. the walls and the -antiquity of its houses. - The' new custom-house of this city is in 

 imminent danger; its roofs appear sunk, and the parapet and pilasters have fallen into the 

 street. 



This earthquake will be beneficial to the future : old and ruinous houses will disappear, and 

 in constructing others we shall see the necessity Of not using materials so heavy and of such 

 slight elasticity as are bricks and tiles. Experience has shown that the houses least liable to 

 fall during earthquakes are the lightly built ones of the Port, composed of adobes and wood, 

 with roofs of shingles. This earthquake, as did that of. 1822, came from the south. It is said 

 that on the near hills the earth has opened, and "that new crevices have shown themselves in 

 various places. 



. [From " El Comercio " of April 3.] 



EARTHQUAKE OF APRIL 2, 1851, 



The effects of the earthquake have been greater and more unfortunate than we at first believed. 

 Almost all the houses of the Almendral need repairs or entire rebuilding. The sorrowful aspect 

 of the ruins kept up the alarm all yesterday, to which the constant repetition of shocks until a 

 very advanced hour of the night contributed no little. Many families took shelter on the sur- 

 rounding hills. Others, it is said, went to the Playa ; and on Hospital Hill there were about three 

 hundred persons. In the plaza De la Victoria many tents were erected yesterday, and a small 

 wooden house was put up at the last hours. Persons have taken refuge there who fear returning 

 to their own houses, or who are without dwellings. 



We were assured yesterday that two women perished under the ruins of the Casa de Ejercicios. 

 During the evening there were many rumors circulating, originated by fear and superstition 

 no doubt. Some feared an invasion of the sea, because it had been prophesied by a priest ; and 



