370 L. MARTIN ^ALASKAN EARTHQUAKES OF 1899 



At Skagway, 160 miles east of Yakutat, Eev. B. F. Shelton reports six 

 or seven shocks between 4 a. m. and 3 p. m. on September 10. The one 

 at 11.40 alarmed the people in church, the vibrations increasing until 

 every one felt the motions distinctly in their seats. 



The shock at 12.40 (the great earthquake) was so violent that persons 

 walking were thrown against the walls and it was necessary to cling to 

 supports to keep from falling. There were earth-waves, causing a nausea 

 like seasickness upon the ocean, especially among the women and chil- 

 dren. People had a strange, pallid, half-frightened look, locally known 

 as ''^the earthquake face." Lamps swayed violently, electric lights swung 

 nearly to the ceiling, pictures rebounded from the wall, glass windows 

 vibrated, crockery was knocked from shelves and some plaster fell, and 

 gaps were opened in walls. C. L. Andrews, the deputy collector of cus- 

 toms, observed that the shock lasted long enough for him to take two chil- 

 dren by the hand, run out of the office 25 feet down a hall, one story 

 downstairs, and out into the street. 



Skagway had a population of 3,117 in 1900, and presumably about the 

 same number in 1899. It was the most severely shaken large town in 

 the disturbed area, but had no loss of life or serious damage to property, 

 largely because the dwellings were chiefly low frame structures, log 

 cabins, and tents. An earthquake of this magnitude in New York or 

 Chicago or San Francisco, with their brick and stone structures and tall 

 office buildings, would have wrought tremendous damage to life and 

 property. 



In the Berners Bay district, on the east side of Lynn Canal and 180 

 miles southeast of Yakutat, Mr. H. W. Mellen, a mining engineer, ob- 

 served the September 10 earthquake at the Jualin mine. There were 

 two shocks, fifteen minutes apart, about 12.30 p. m. The first was a 

 little the more severe, lasting long enough for a man to go into his office, 

 pick up overturned lamps, come out, and walk 50 feet. The second lasted 

 long enough for him to run 75 feet into a mine tunnel, call the miners, 

 and run out again. The motion was severe enough to make a raincoat 

 swing outward a foot from the wall on which it was hanging, to upset 

 lamps, break dishes, slide a 24-inch book off a table, and make a man fall 

 off a chair. Hard shaking came first, followed by undulations. There 

 were distinct earth-waves, making people stagger in walking. Avalanches 

 were heard. The direction of staggering in walking and of sliding of 

 books and dishes indicated that the shock came from the northwest — 

 that is, from the direction of Yakutat. 



At Juneau, near the entrance of Lynn Canal and 220 miles southeast 





