EARTHQUAKES. 



227 



of their contents. The next night a fire broke 

 out, and fifty-seven houses in the business por- 

 tion of the place were destroyed, entailing a 

 loss of a million and a half of dollars. No lives 

 were lost. The cities of lea and Pisco also 

 suffered heavily, forty houses being over- 

 thrown and twelve lives lost in the former 

 city. Nearly all the population of Oallao fled 

 to Lima. At Iquique the shock lasted over 

 four minutes, after which the wave came and 

 destroyed about three-fourths of the place, 

 with about six hundred lives, nearly all the 

 provisions, and the condensing machinery 

 which supplied the people with drinking- 

 water. Among those killed at Iquique was 

 the British consul, Mr. Billinghurst. One Ger- 

 man house at Iquique lost over $400,000 worth 

 of property. The steamer San Diego, bound 

 from Oallao to Valparaiso, put into the port of 

 Chala, where, on the 13th, she was seized by 

 the great wave, her chains snapped, and the 

 vessel carried to sea. In a few moments the 

 wave returned toward the shore, carrying the 

 steamer with it, taking her, with all her pas- 

 sengers, safely over a high cliff, and leaving her 

 safely inside the channel. The port of Ohala 

 was completely covered with water. Nearly 

 all the towns and villages in the mineral prov- 

 inces of Huyanca were destroyed or reduced to 

 shapeless masses. The cities of Puno and 

 Ouzco were not damaged. The port Molendo, 

 where were stored the materials for building 

 Mr. Meiggs's railway, was completely de- 

 stroyed, nearly all the tools, rails, and pro- 

 visions being ruined by the earthquake and 

 the succeeding tidal wave. Moquegua, Lo- 

 cumba, and Pequiaca were utterly destroyed. 

 Tacua lost sixty houses and a hundred and fifty 

 lives, mostly of children returning home from 

 school. The town of Mejia was swept away, 

 only twenty out of its five hundred inhabit- 

 ants escaping. All the habitations at Tilo were 

 destroyed and twenty lives lost. 



At Lima there was not much damage done 

 to life or property. The heavy shock lasted 

 about four minutes, creating the utmost con- 

 sternation the inhabitants fleeing to the open 

 plaza, where they besought protection from 

 the Almighty. 



At Ohincha (the Guano) Islands, off the coast 

 of Peru, a reddish vapor was seen rising out 

 of the sea during the forenoon of the 13th ; 

 and at 12.20 p. M. a strong wind sprang up from 

 the south, almost approaching a hurricane, 

 which lasted until 4.38 p. M., after which a 

 prolonged and distant noise was heard, resem- 

 bling thunder. A complete calm, says an eye- 

 witness, ensued immediately, after which the 

 first shock of earthquake took place. This 

 lasted for four minutes eighteen seconds; so 

 great was the movement that people were 

 thrown down. After this a mighty crash was 

 heard, as though a powerful wave had broken 

 on the rocks ; but the sea was calm. At 5.56 

 p. M. the earth again began to tremble, 

 and continued to for two and a half hours. 



The sea now became entirely calm, but the 

 birds were seen abandoning the sea and rocks, 

 and soaring to the elements above, screeching 

 most horribly, as though they were aware of 

 what was about to take place. The night be- 

 came pitchy dark ; nothing could be seen over 

 sea or land ; the breeze, felt during the day, 

 commenced to blow, causing further terror to 

 the people, who were momentarily expecting 

 the island to be swallowed up. At 9.45 p. M., 

 persons, living in the vicinity of the mole, no- 

 ticed that the water was leaving the land, and 

 the alarm was immediately given. Nothing 

 can describe the terror which prevailed on the 

 northern island. The population, consisting of 

 from five to six hundred souls, all forsook their 

 houses and sought refuge on the higher part of 

 the island some naked, others sick and infirm, 

 women and children, all thronged in one spot, 

 dumb with terror. At 10 P. M. the breeze 

 lulled, and the heavens cleared so that a view 

 could be obtained of the sea, which had retired 

 from the land about seventy yards. This cir- 

 cumstance is the more remarkable, from the 

 fact that the depth of water in the bay at low 

 tide is from fifteen to twenty fathoms, but soon 

 after the water was seen to rise in the shape 

 of a colossal wave, and, in less time than it 

 takes to describe it, had almost covered the 

 island, washing away the houses and every 

 thing it came in contact with. The losses 

 were heavy. Both moles were destroyed, 

 many launches broken to pieces, and the 

 houses in the vicinity washed away. In one 

 of these was a family of three, husband, wife, 

 and child. The husband and wife were saved, 

 but the child was drowned. The sea rose and 

 fell at the rate of ten feet in every three or 

 four minutes. The following were among 

 those vessels which suffered the most : English 

 ship Eesolute, partly destroyed ; English ship 

 Eastern Empire, greatly damaged ; English, 

 ship Royal Oak, in a very bad state ; Prussian 

 bark Leopold II., an entire wreck; English 

 ship Oceanica, nearly a wreck ; and English 

 ship Southern Ocean, greatly damaged, as also 

 the American ship Shatemuc. Many of them 

 were loaded and about to leave, and their car- 

 goes were considerably injured. 



Among other places in Peru destroyed or 

 greatly injured by the earthquakes were Tacna, 

 Oanate, Cafaria, Chaspa, Oerro-Azul, Quicacha, 

 Oabacera, Pullo, Ohumpe, Cobija, Antiquipa, 

 Sarna, and Ooracora. The cultivated and beau- 

 tiful estates near Acarf were all ruined. The 

 port of Las Lomas was united to the islands in 

 the bay ; the port ceasing to exist. The valley 

 of Lluta was completely ruined. The town of 

 Tambo was entirely washed away, and up- 

 ward of five hundred persons perished. From 

 Oallao to Iquique the whole coast of Peru was 

 left in a complete state of desolation and 

 ruin. 



The promptest and most liberal measures 

 were at once adopted at Lima to relieve suffer- 

 ers throughout the republic. The Peruvian 



