372 



EARTHQUAKE. 



whether the}' were afloat or aground. A large new 

 quay sunk to an unfathomable depth, with severa 

 hundreds of people who were upon it ; nor was one 

 of the dead bodies ever found. The bar was at first 

 seen dry from shore to shore ; but suddenly the sea 

 "came " rolling in like a mountain," and about Belem 

 Castle the water rose fifty feet almost in an instant 

 About noon there was another shock, when the walls 

 of several houses that yet remained were seen to 

 open from top to bottom more than a quarter of a 

 vard, and afterwards closed again so exactly that 

 scarce any mark of the injury was left. 



At Colares, about twenty miles from Lisbon, and 

 two miles from the sea, on the last day of October, 

 the weather was clear, and uncommonly warm for the 

 season. About four o'clock in the afternoon there 

 arose a fog, which came from the sea, and covered the 

 valleys, a circumstance very unusual at that season of 

 the year. Soon after, the wind changing to the east, 

 the fog returned to the sea, collecting itself, and becom- 

 ing exceeding thick. As the fog retired, the sea rose 

 " with a prodigious roaring." The first of November 

 opened with a serene sky, the wind continuing at 

 east ; but about nine o'clock the sun began to grow 

 dim, and about half an hour after was heard a 

 rumbling noise like that of chariots, which increased 

 to such a degree that it became equal to the explo- 

 sions of the largest cannon. Immediately a shock of 

 an earthquake was felt, which was quickly succeeded 

 by a second and third, and at the same time several 

 light flames of fire issued from the mountains, resem- 

 bling the kindling of charcoal. In these three shocks 

 the walls of the buildings moved from east to west. 

 In another situation, whence the sea-coast could 

 be discovered, there issued from one of the hills, 

 called the Fojo, a great quantity of smoke, very thick, 

 but not very black. This still increased with the 

 fourth shock, and afterwards continued to issue in a 

 greater or less degree. Just as the subterraneous 

 rumblings were heard, the smoke was observed to 

 burst forth at the Fojo, and the quantity of smoke 

 was always proportioned to the noise. On visiting 

 the place whence the smoke was seen to arise, no 

 signs of fire could be perceived near it. 



At Oporto (near the mouth of the river Douro) 

 the earthquake began about forty minutes past nine. 

 The sky was very serene, when a dreadful hollow 

 noise like thunder, or the rattling of coaches at a 

 distance, was heard, and almost at the same instant 

 the earth began to shake. In the space of a minute 

 or two the river rose and fell five or six feet, and 

 continued to do so for four hours. It ran up at first 

 with so much violence, that it broke a ship's hawser. 

 In some parts the river opened, and seemed to 

 discharge vast quantities of air ; and the agitation in 

 the sea was so great, about a league beyond the bar, 

 that air was supposed to have been discharged there 

 also. firus ,b 



St. Ube's, a sea-port town about twenty miles south 

 of Lisbon, was entirely swallowed up by the repeated 

 shocks and the vast surf of the sea. Huge pieces of 

 rock were detached at the same time from the pro- 

 montory at the west end of the town, which consists 

 of a chain of mountains containing fine jasper of 

 different colours. 



The same earthquake was felt all over Spain, ex- 

 cept in Catalonia, Aragon, and Valencia. At Aya- 

 monte (near where the Guadiana falls into the Bay 

 of Cadiz), a little before ten o'clock on the first of 



November, the earthquake was felt ; having been 

 immediately preceded by a hollow rushing noise. 

 Here the shocks continued for fourteen or fifteen 

 minutes, damaged almost all the buildings, throwing 

 down some, and leaving others irreparably shattered. 

 In little more than half an hour after, the sea and 

 river, with all the canals, overflowed their banks with 

 great violence, laying under water all the coasts of 

 the islands adjacent to the city and its neighbourhood, 

 and flowing into the very streets. The water came 

 on in " vast black mountains," white with foam at the 

 top, and demolished more than one-half of a tower at 

 the bar named De Canala. 



At Gibraltar, the earthquake was not felt till after 

 ten. It began with a tremulous motion of the earth, 

 which lasted about half a minute. Then followed a 

 violent shock ; after that, a trembling of the earth for 

 five or six seconds ; then another shock not so violent 

 as the first, which went off gradually as it began. 

 The whole lasted about two minutes. Some of the 

 guns on the battery were seen to rise, others to sink, 

 the earth having an undulating motion. Most people 

 were seized with giddiness and sickness, and some fell 

 down ; others were stupified ; and many that were 

 walking or riding felt no motion in the earth, but 

 were sick. The sea rose above six feet, and then fell 

 so low, that boats and all the small craft near the 

 shore were left aground, as were also numbers of 

 small fish. The flux and reflux lasted till next morn- 

 ing, having decreased gradually from two in the 

 afternoon. 



In Africa the earthquake was felt almost as severely 

 as it had been in Europe. Great part of the town of 

 Algiers was destroyed. At Arzilla (a town in the 

 kingdom of Fez), about ten in the morning, the sea 

 uddenly rose with such impetuosity, that it lifted up 

 a vessel in the bay, and threw it with such force on 

 the land, that it was broken to pieces. At Fez and 

 Mequinez, great numbers of houses fell down, and a 

 multitude of people were buried in the ruins. 



At Morocco, by the falling down of the houses, 

 many people lost their lives : and about eight leagues 

 from the city, the earth opened and swallowed up a 

 village with all the inhabitants, amounting to about 

 ten thousand persons, together with all their cattle, &c. 

 and soon after the earth closed again in the same 

 manner as before. At Salle, a great deal of damage 

 was done. Near a third part of the houses were 

 overthrown ; the waters rushed into the city with 

 great rapidity; and left behind them great quantities 

 of fish. 



In the city of Funchal, in the island of Madeira, a 

 shock of this earthquake was first perceived at thirty- 

 eight minutes past nine in the morning. It was pre- 

 ceded by a rumbling noise in the air, like that of 

 empty carriages passing hastily over a stone pave- 

 ment. The inhabitants felt their houses move 

 with a tremulous motion, vibrating very quickly. 

 The shock continued more than a minute ; during 

 which space, the vibrations, though continual, were 

 weakened and increased io force twice very sensibly. 

 The increase after the first remission of the shock was 

 the most intense. The noise in the air accompanied 

 the shock during the whole of its continuance, and 

 lasted some seconds after the motion of the earth had 

 ceased ; dying away like a peal of distant thunder 

 rolling through the air. At three quarters past eleven 

 the sea, which was quite calm, it being a fine day, anu 

 no wind stirring, retired suddenly some paces ; laen 



