﻿NARRATIVE 
  ACCOUNTS. 
  J 
  

  

  shaking 
  was 
  over, 
  I 
  looked 
  at 
  my 
  watch, 
  and 
  allowing 
  for 
  the 
  error 
  of 
  my 
  watch 
  

   by 
  that 
  day's 
  time, 
  found 
  the 
  time 
  was 
  5-16 
  p.m. 
  

  

  I 
  estimate 
  the 
  duration 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  earthquake 
  to 
  be 
  about 
  i| 
  minutes. 
  

   Duration 
  and 
  direction 
  The 
  first 
  shock 
  lasted 
  about 
  Io 
  to 
  15 
  seconds, 
  so 
  that 
  

   of 
  shock. 
  the 
  destructive 
  shock 
  lasted 
  from 
  75 
  to 
  80 
  seconds. 
  

  

  The 
  direction 
  is 
  more 
  difficult 
  to 
  determine. 
  Judging 
  from 
  the 
  rumbling 
  

   sounds, 
  they 
  appeared 
  to 
  come 
  from 
  the 
  south. 
  During 
  the 
  shock 
  there 
  were 
  

   no 
  undulating 
  waves 
  j 
  there 
  appeared 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  be 
  no 
  vertical 
  motion. 
  The 
  hill 
  

   I 
  was 
  on 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  simply 
  felt 
  as 
  if 
  it 
  was 
  being 
  rapidly 
  moved 
  in 
  a 
  horizontal 
  

   plane 
  backwards 
  and 
  forward. 
  This 
  motion 
  was 
  so 
  violent 
  that 
  I 
  was 
  unable 
  to 
  

   stand, 
  but 
  had 
  to 
  crawl 
  on 
  my 
  hands 
  and 
  knees 
  and 
  hold 
  on 
  to 
  a 
  tree 
  for 
  

   support. 
  

  

  I 
  examined 
  several 
  stone 
  strnctures, 
  the 
  Church, 
  Telegraph 
  Office, 
  

   Divisional 
  Superintendent's 
  and 
  Sub-Divisional 
  officer's 
  offices, 
  and 
  found 
  

   they 
  had 
  simply 
  collapsed, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  stones 
  being 
  shaken 
  out 
  of 
  their 
  position, 
  

   the 
  debris 
  remaining 
  all 
  round 
  the 
  site, 
  with 
  a 
  slightly 
  greater 
  accumulation 
  on 
  

   the 
  north 
  side. 
  The 
  roof 
  in 
  all 
  these 
  cases 
  has 
  simply 
  fallen 
  almost 
  exactly 
  over 
  

   the 
  place 
  where 
  the 
  supporting 
  walls 
  were. 
  The 
  Quinton 
  Memorial, 
  which 
  was 
  

   a 
  stone 
  spire, 
  has 
  collapsed, 
  and 
  the 
  stones 
  it 
  was 
  built 
  of 
  are 
  simply 
  lying 
  piled 
  

   round 
  the 
  base. 
  The 
  stoneware 
  column 
  which 
  was 
  at 
  the 
  top 
  was 
  lying 
  south- 
  

   south-west 
  and 
  north-north-east. 
  This 
  I 
  take 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  true 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  

   destructive 
  shock. 
  " 
  

  

  One 
  more 
  extract, 
  from 
  an 
  account 
  given 
  by 
  the 
  correspondent 
  

  

  of 
  the 
  Pioneer 
  newspaper 
  in 
  its 
  issue 
  of 
  3rd 
  July 
  1897 
  : 
  

  

  " 
  As 
  regards 
  the 
  movements 
  of 
  the 
  earth's 
  surface, 
  I 
  can 
  furnish 
  only 
  the 
  

   personal 
  impressions 
  of 
  one 
  who 
  has 
  had 
  little, 
  if 
  any, 
  scientific 
  training. 
  The 
  

   movements 
  seemed 
  tome 
  to 
  be 
  distinctly 
  horizontal 
  and 
  undulating, 
  the 
  surface 
  

   of 
  the 
  earth 
  presenting 
  the 
  aspect 
  of 
  a 
  storm.tossed 
  sea, 
  with 
  this 
  difference 
  that 
  

   the 
  undulations 
  were 
  infinitely 
  more 
  rapid 
  than 
  any 
  seen 
  at 
  sea. 
  The 
  depth 
  of 
  

   each 
  wave 
  seemed 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  vary 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  three 
  feet, 
  but 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  estimate 
  

   of 
  an 
  unscientific 
  individual 
  who 
  had 
  never 
  observed 
  any 
  similar 
  phenomenon, 
  

   and 
  your 
  readers 
  must 
  take 
  it 
  for 
  what 
  it 
  is 
  worth. 
  I 
  should 
  also 
  add 
  that 
  the 
  

   earth's 
  surface 
  seemed 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  gyratory 
  motion, 
  as 
  though 
  each 
  little 
  area 
  

   were 
  moving 
  in 
  a 
  whirl. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  that 
  the 
  horizontal 
  and 
  gyratory 
  movements 
  

   cannot 
  take 
  place 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  latter 
  was 
  apparent 
  only, 
  the 
  im- 
  

   pression 
  formed 
  in 
  my 
  mind 
  being 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  rapid 
  undulatory 
  movements." 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  also 
  received 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  accounts, 
  both 
  written 
  and 
  

  

  verbal, 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  agree 
  in 
  asserting 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  very 
  marked 
  

  

  undulation 
  of 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  ground. 
  Different 
  accounts 
  place 
  

  

  the 
  length 
  of 
  these 
  undulations 
  at 
  from 
  8 
  feet 
  to 
  10 
  yards 
  and 
  their 
  

  

  height 
  at 
  from 
  1 
  to 
  3 
  feet. 
  It 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  highest 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  ( 
  7 
  i 
  

  

  