
EARTHQUAKES. 543 
_ of the Hawaiian Islands, or of Peru, it may be well to briefly 
recount the facts. 
_ At St. Thomas no less than five hundred shocks of earth- 
_ quake were felt, from the middle of November to the second 
-= of December, 1867. The inhabitants had abandoned their 
_ houses, and dwelt in tents on the hill-sides. November 18th 
= was a clear, beautiful day, the ocean was almost calm, and 
the sun was bright and warm. Not a sign foretold the ap- 
_ proaching catastrophe, when at a quarter before three in the 
_ afternoon, the usual underground rumbling was heard as of 
. distant thunder, and immediately the earth rose and fell in 
small waves for about a minute, while the subterranean noise 
a was dreadful. No one could stand. The sun seemed to 
= have lost his power. After the first shock, the ground kept 
= quivering for about ten minutes, when another strong shock 
T was felt. Before the first shock, the ocean had receded 
‘Several hundred feet from land, and it now returned as a 
RE oe Ln 









_ masonry, and eighteen to twenty-five feet high. It moved 
with considerable velocity, upsetting all small craft, and 
Taising large vessels to its top. The lower part of the shore 
larger wave succeeded this, at an interval of about ten 
Minutes, and as this passed away, the ocean remained calm 
as before the first shock. 
: At St. Croix, the U. S. steamer Monongahela was thrown 
high and dry upon the shore. The waves receded rapidly, 
~ at once rose in a wall nearly thirty feet high, white 
sai Show, and hissing with spray. This huge wave carried 
everything before it, and it was repeated several times with 
Nearly equal violence, when, as at St. Thomas, the sea be- 
“me quite still. 
Between 4 and 5 o'clock, P. M., on Thursday, April 2d, 
>S, an earthquake occurred on Hawaii, centreing on the 
uthern slope of Mauna Loa, far severer than before re- 
& 
