302 EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE, [chap. xiv. 



the marine productions adhering to them, must recently 

 have been lying in deep water, had been cast up high on 

 the beach ; one of these was six feet long, three broad, and 

 two thick. 



The island itself as plainly showed the overwhelming 

 power of the earthquake, as the beach did that of the 

 consequent great wave. The ground in many parts was 

 fissured in north and south lines, perhaps caused by the 

 yielding of the parallel and steep sides of this narrow island. 

 Some of the fissures near the cliffs were a yard wide. 

 Many enormous masses had already fallen on the beach ; 

 and the inhabitants thought that when the rains commenced 

 far greater slips would happen. The effect of the vibration 

 on the hard primary slate, which composes the foundation 

 of the island, was still more curious ; the superficial parts 

 of some narrow ridges were as completely shivered as if 

 they had been blasted by gunpowder. This effect, which 

 was rendered conspicuous by the fresh fractures and dis- 

 placed soil, must be confined to near the surface, for other- 

 wise there would not exist a block of solid rock throughout 

 Chile ; nor is this improbable, as it is known that the surface 

 of a vibrating body is affected differently from the central part. 

 It is, perhaps, owing to this same reason, that earthquakes 

 do not cause quite such terrific havoc within deep mines as 

 would be expected. I believe this convulsion has been more 

 effectual in lessening the size of the island of Quinquina, 

 than the ordinary wear-and-tear of the sea and weather 

 during the course of a whole century. 



The next day I landed at Talcahuano, and afterwards 

 rode to Concepcion. Both towns presented the most awful 

 yet interesting spectacle I ever beheld. To a person who 

 had formerly known them, it possibly might have been 

 still more impressive ; for the ruins were so mingled 

 together, and the whole scene possessed so little the air 

 of a habitable place, that it was scarcely possible to imagine 

 its former condition. The earthquake commenced at half- 

 past eleven o'clock in the forenoon. If it had happened 

 in the middle of the night, the greater number of the 

 inhabitants (which in this one province amount to many 

 thousands) must have perished, instead of less than a 

 hundred : as it was, the invariable practice of running out 

 of doors at the first trembling of the ground alone saved 

 them. In Concepcion each house, or row of houses, stood 

 by itself, a heap or line of ruins ; but in Talcahuano, owing 



