1835.] EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 303 
cottages, which had been transported almost whole. The store- 
houses at Talcahuano had been burst open, and great bags of 
cotton, yerba, and other valuable merchandise were scattered on 
the shore. During my walk round the island, I observed that 
numerous fragments of rock, which, from 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 displaced soil, 
must be confined to near the surface, for otherwise there would 
not exi$t a block of solid rock throughout Chile; nor is this im- 
probable, 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 Quiriquina, 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 interest- 
ing 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 pos- 
sessed so little the air of a habitable place, that it was scarcely 
possible to imagine its former condition. The earthquake com- 
menced at half-past eleven o’clock in the forenoon. If it had 
happened in the middle of the night, the greater number of the 
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