106 



EARTHQUAKE. 



were so transparent that they did not conceal stars 

 even of the fourth magnitude, and the spots of the 

 moon were very clearly distinguished. They were 

 arranged in masses at equal distances, and seemed 

 to be at a prodigious height. From the 28th of Oc- 

 tober to the 3d of November the fog was thicker 

 than it had yet been. The heat at night was stifling, 

 although the thermometer indicated only 78*8° . 

 The evening breeze was no longer felt ; the sky ap- 

 peared as if on fire, and the ground was everywhere 

 cracked and dusty. On the 4th of November about 

 two in the afternoon, large clouds of extraordinary 

 blackness enveloped the mountains of the Brigantine 

 and Tataraqual, extending gradually to the zenith. 

 About four, thunder was heard overhead, but at an 

 immense height, and with a dull and often inter- 

 rupted sound. At the moment of the strongest 

 electric explosion, two shocks of an earthquake, 

 separated by an interval of fifteen seconds, were 

 felt. The people in the streets filled the air with 

 their cries. Bonpland, who was examining plants, 

 was nearly thrown on the floor, and Humboldt, who 

 was lying in his hammock, felt the concussion 

 strongly. Its direction was from north to south. 

 A few minutes before the first there was a violent 

 gust of wind followed by large drops of rain. The 

 sky remained cloudy, and the blast was succeeded by 

 a dead calm, which continued all night. The setting 

 of the sun presented a scene of great magnificence. 

 The dark atmospheric shroud was rent asunder close 

 to the horizon, and the sun appeared at 12° of alti- 

 tude on an indigo ground, its disk enormously en- 

 larged and distorted. The clouds were gilded on 

 the edges, and bundles of rays reflecting the most 

 brilliant prismatic colours extended over the heavens. 

 About nine in the evening there was a third shock, 

 which, although much slighter, was evidently at- 

 tended with a subterranean noise. The barometer 

 was a little lower than usual, but the progress of the 



