July, 1887.] ELLIOTT SOCIETY. 149 



and somewhat resembling the hnrtUng sonnd made by a fuse shell. This iin- 

 dnlatory movement disarranged the furniture of the room and overturned the 

 lamp ^vhich \ras upon the table. I realized the truth inslantlj- and started to 

 run to the second floor to arouse my sleeping family, but upon reaching the 

 door and seeing the imminent danger of fire, occasioned by the fall of the lamp 

 among the papers and books "with which the table was strewn, returned, ex- 

 tinguished the light, and ran as rapidly as possible up stairs, across the hall, 

 through my wife's chamber, awakening her, and then into the chamber occu- 

 pied by my daughters, awaked and hurried them into the street, traversing in 

 all a distance of 185 feet, ascending a staii'way of 17 steps and decending an- 

 other of 19 steps, passing thi'ough the garden and reaching the roadway before 

 the cessation of the tremor. From this fact I infer that this first shock lasted 

 not less than 60, and probably as long as 75 seconds. I had no watch and there- 

 fore can make no definite assertion as to the length of its duration, but actual 

 trial has proven that the distance traversed cannot be made in less time, with 

 the delays incident upon my return to the room in which I had been writing, 

 the extinguishing of the blazing lamp, and the awakening of the five members 

 of my family in the rooms above. The evening, as I have said, was unnaturally 

 still, the streets in the neighborhood are unpaved, indeed the quiet was almost 

 perfect, and I am absolutely positive that there was no premonitoiy rumbling 

 or other noise whatever before the fijrst motion, which was distinctly vertical, an 

 upward and downward pounding movement, changing, as mentioned, to the 

 combined undulatory and vibratory motion which was accompanied by the 

 noises described and which contmued until after I had reached the street. 



We were soon joined b^ our neighbors and the remainder of the horrible 

 night was passed by all of us in the street, our party numbering about 25. In 

 an effort to relieve the mental strain, especially of the ladies present, I sugges- 

 ed that we should endeavor to determine the direction followed by the waves of 

 the various shocks after the second, and also to estimate then- duration, and the 

 unanimous decision of the adults was that they all came from the Xorthwest, 

 except the fifth which followed a line apparently at right angles to the others, 

 this change of direction being noticed by even the children of our group, and 

 being substantiated by the cries of the negToes, encamped several blocks East 

 of our position, reaching us before the shock was felt, and also by the motion 

 of the various rocking chairs occupied by members of our little colony, those 

 facing North or South remaining comparatively undisturbed, and those in the 

 transverse direction rocking violently. We failed utterly to reach any conclu- 

 sion as to either the dui'ation of these minor shocks, or the length or height of 

 the waves. 



From my observation of the ruins of the City I find that the region of gi-eatest 

 disturbance — if I may so term it — is in a line nearly parallel "ssith Broad Street 

 and extending from Tradd Street, Northwardly about 700 yards, to Market 

 and Beaufain Streets. In this district the destruction has been terrible, and, 

 though there are comparatively isolated points, notably East Battery, the Col- 

 lege of Charieston, and Grace Church, where great destruction has also been 



