EARTHQUAKES. 



233 



house, both ends of which fell in, leaving the 

 building a wreck. At Alameda, the Asylum 

 was badly damaged, the chimneys being thrown 

 down ; Edmonston's warehouse was moved 

 several feet, and the walls and roof fell in. 

 Hotels and brick buildings in the same place 

 were also injured. At Alvarado, a brick grain- 

 warehouse fell, and Homer's old mill was also 

 demolished. Near San Lorenzo, the chimneys 

 of many dwellings fell. The court - house at 

 San Leandro was thrown down, and the 

 Deputy Clerk, Joslyn, killed. None of the 

 prisoners escaped, or were injured. Several 

 adobe houses were prostrated at the same 

 place. Mare Island Navy Yard experienced 

 two severe shocks. Several chimneys were 

 thrown down, and some of the buildings con- 

 siderably shaken, but no serious damage was 

 done and no persons were injured. Captain 

 Mitchell, of the navy, said that the ground 

 shook so violently as almost to throw him off 

 his feet, the shock being accompanied by a 

 frightful rumbling sound. Several people 

 took to the water, considering the stream 

 much more safe than the land. The earth- 

 quake was quite severely felt at Vallejo, many 

 chimneys toppling down, but no serious injury 

 occurring. The shock was very severe at Red- 

 mond. The large brick court-house was little 

 better than a complete wreck. It was deemed 

 so unsafe, that the county officers had moved 

 out of it. The building was considerably 

 shattered by the earthquake three years before, 

 the walls having then spread several inches. 

 Chains were then put in and the gaps closed 

 up, so that it was deemed tolerably safe ; but 

 the ground is adobe, not more than two feet 

 above the tide-water of the creek, and the 

 foundations were not suitable for such a struc- 

 ture. On the other side of the creek about 

 half of -the front of Merrill's new block of brick 

 stores fell out. The chimneys of the public 

 schoolhouse and some other brick buildings 

 were more or less injured in the town. The 

 chimneys on Thomas Selby's house, about two 

 miles below, were prostrated, and some slight 

 damage was done to other houses in that vicin- 

 ity. The shock at Marysville was very light, 

 being noticed only by a few. Quite a severe 

 shock was felt at Grass Valley about eight 

 o'clock, causing lamps to vibrate and occu- 

 pants of second stories to vacate the buildings 

 briskly. About five minutes after eight there 

 was another very slight shock. A slight shock 

 was felt at Sonora four minutes past eight. 

 The shock visited San Mateo at eight oclock, 

 lasting fifteen seconds. The vibration was 

 from the north. The damage to property 

 there was estimated at not less than $5,000. 



The effects of these startling phenomena 

 on men and animals are described by a 

 writer in the Alta California. He says: 

 "Men run into the street laughing, as a rule, 

 while women sink down and cry hysterically. 

 This was generally the case yesterday. On 

 the lower animals the effect is varied. Horses 



generally snort with terror, and many run 

 away. Dogs take to barking violently, and 

 running about without any apparent object. 

 A lady, who was standing in a barn-yard feed- 

 ing her fowls, when the great shock came yes- 

 terday, tells us that the chickens all ran from 

 her and took to the hen-house as if a shower 

 had occurred, while a turkey ran to her and 

 lay flat down on the ground at her feet, look- 

 ing up in her face as if for protection." 



On the 23d of October another severe shock 

 was felt at San Francisco, occurring at 2.15 

 A. M. People in their night-clothes ran into 

 the streets, shrieking with terror. No damage 

 was reported to have been done. At 7.30 A. M. 

 on the same day, a slight shock, harmless in 

 its results, occurred. 



Other shocks visited California during the 

 year, but did no harm, as follows: one at 

 Yictoria, February 29th ; another at San Fran- 

 cisco, July 24th ; and another at Silver Moun- 

 tain, October 6th. 



In Mexico. A severe earthquake occurred 

 on the Pacific coast of Mexico, December 20th. 

 The most disastrous effects were experienced 

 at Colima and Manzanillo. For several days 

 previous to the calamity the volcano of Coli- 

 ma, about thirty miles from the city of that 

 name, emitted smoke and steam, and, at the 

 same time, the rumblings and shakings of the 

 earth were noticed. On the morning of the 

 20th the earth commenced to rock, and the vi- 

 brations steadily increased until walls cracked 

 and houses fell. The cathedral, a warehouse, 

 and several brick buildings, were greatly dam- 

 aged. The inhabitants, being roused from their 

 sleep, rushed frantically to the plaza. It was 

 reported that several persons were killed by 

 the falling of the walls of the National Hotel. 

 The vibrations were from the northeast to the 

 southwest, and lasted nearly forty seconds. 

 At Manzanillo the shock rent the cathedral- (a 

 building which had withstood earthquakes for 

 over a century) from top to bottom. Eighteen 

 or twenty persons were reported killed by the 

 falling walls of the American Hotel, and three 

 others were buried in the ruins of Wasserman 

 & Co.'s warehouse. The shock was felt to a 

 great distance from the coast. In several places 

 the ground opened, trees were uprooted, hills 

 levelled, water-courses changed, and a general 

 upheaving of the earth took place. 



In other Places. Slight shocks were ex- 

 perienced at Augusta, Me., February 29th (the 

 same day as at Victoria, Cal.) October 26th, 

 tremblings of the earth were noticed near Cork, 

 Ireland. December 17th, a heavy shock, which 

 did no damage, however, was felt at Gibraltar. 

 Portions of New England and the State of 

 New York were treated to the sensation of 

 slight vibrations at different times in the year. 



On February 22d, at 3.30 p. M., a shock was 

 felt at Tiflis, Asia, accompanied with a rum- 

 bling sound in the earth. It continued about 

 three seconds. There had been three very dis- 

 tinct shocks in the direction from the north- 



