92 Charles Darwin. 



pall over the dreadful spectacle. Fires added to 

 the horrors of the scene, while thieves, ghoul-like, 

 stole among the ruins, beating their breasts, pretend- 

 ing to cry for mercy, while robbing the dead and 

 dying. The earthquake left not a single building 

 standing in the town. The wreck was complete. 

 The English consul informed Darwin that he was at 

 breakfast when the shock came ; he rushed out of 

 the house, reached the middle of the court-yard just 

 in time to escape the side of the house, which thun- 

 dered down behind him. He had sufficient presence 

 of mind to crawl upon this heap, and thus narrowly 

 escaped the other wall. It was some time before con- 

 fidence was restored and the people could realise the 

 completeness of the ruin which had come upon them. 

 At the town of Talcahuana, near by, the horrors 

 of a tidal wave were added to those of the earth- 

 quake. The people were slowly crawling out of the 

 ruins, gasping for breath and vainly peering through 

 the white dust, when some one uttered cries of fear 

 and pointed to the bay three or four miles away, 

 where a strange greenish wall was seen moving land- 

 ward. The terrified natives knew not which way to 

 turn. Some rushed for their boats and pulled out 

 to sea, hoping to ride over it ; others fell upon their 

 knees in fright, while many more fled to the hills. 

 That in some cases they succeeded in reaching a 

 place of safety shows the deliberation with which 

 the wave came in. It rose twenty feet above the 

 water line, sweeping inland, carrying away houses 

 and every thing in its path. At the head of the bay 

 it broke, the mightiest wave ever seen by mortal 



