IGO 



MOLUCCAS, 1693.— JAMAICA, 1692. 



[Ch. XXX 



100,000 people killed. The bottom of the sea, says Yicentmo 

 Bonajutus, sank down considerably, both in ports, inclosed 

 bays, and open parts of the coast, and water bubbled up along 

 the shores. ISTumerous long fissures of various breadths were 

 caused, which threw out sulphurous water; and one of them 

 in the plain of Catania (the delta of the Simeto), at the 

 distance of 4 miles from the sea, sent forth water as salt as 

 the sea. The stone buildings of a street in the city of Note, 

 for the length of half a mile, sank into the ground, and 

 remained hanging on one side. In another street, an opening 

 large enough to swallow a man and horse appeared.^ 



Moluccas^ 1693. — The small Isle of Sorea, which consists 

 of one great volcano, was in eruption in the year 1693. Dif- 

 ferent parts of the cone fell, one after the other, into a deep 

 crater, until almost half the space of the island was converted 

 into a fiery lake. Most of the inhabitants fled to Banda; but 

 great pieces of the mountain continued to fall down, so that 

 the lake of lava became wider ; and finally the whole popula- 

 tion was compelled to emigrate. It is stated that, in pro- 

 portion as the burning lake increased in size, the earthquakes 

 were less vehement. f 



Jamaica^ 1692. — Subsidence in the harbour. — In the year 

 1692, the island of Jamaica was visited by a violent earth- 

 quake; the ground swelled and heaved like a rolling sea, 

 and was traversed by numerous cracks, 200 or 300 of 

 which were often seen at a time, opening and then closing 

 rapidly again. Many 



were swallowed 



in 



these 



rents ; some the earth caught by the middle, and squeezed to 

 death ; the heads of others only appeared above ground ; and 

 some were first engulfed, and then cast up again with great 

 quantities of water. Such was the devastation, that even in 



moi 



to have been left standing than in the whole island beside, 

 three-quarters of the buildings, together with the ground they 

 stood on, sank down with their inhabitants entirely under 

 water. 



The large store-houses on the harbour side subsided, so as 



^ Phil. Trans. 1693-4. 



t Do la Beclie, Manual of GeoL, p. 133, 2nd edition 



! t> 



s 



I 



■i 



to 





3Fl 



tliel' 



OD^ 



II 



If 



tleea 

 in 



fecril 



allude 



■ 



Wnti 

 SirCIu 



krlio 



Ql 



^oi 



1 



^^ , 







+ 



lis 



■s 



