154 



NARRATIVE OF A 



But these orders were obeyed with so much reluctance, 

 that coercive measures had to be adopted for enforcing 

 them. The evil, however, was only partially remedied, 

 for the present capital has also experienced several shocks. 

 Indeed, almost the whole country is subject to earth- 

 quakes. A slight shock was felt at Sacapa while I was 

 there. In 1822 a remarkable earthquake occurred near 

 the volcano of Chirripo. The shocks commenced by an 

 undulating motion from east to west, and then the motion 

 was vertical and more violent. Many buildings in the 

 town of St. Jose were cracked, and the portico of the 

 church, and one of its towers, were thrown down. In 

 the adjacent country, crevices of various dimensions ap- 

 peared in the ground, from the bottom of which salt 

 water and sand were thrown up. The following year 

 the town of Cartago was also afflicted by an earthquake, 

 accompanied by a dreadful eruption of the volcano of 

 Trasu. For some miles round, and for the space of three 

 days, the country was covered by a dense cloud of smoke, 

 and great masses of fire were emitted, the appearance of 

 which in the darkness of the night was terrific and 

 appalling. 



But the latest and most noted eruption and earthquake 

 was that of the volcano of Cosiguina, which occurred in 

 1835. The following account of it is extracted from a 

 report rendered by the commandant of La Union, a sea- 

 port in the bay of Conchagua, on the Pacific, and the 

 nearest place of any consequence to the volcano : 



"On the 20th instant, (January, 1835,) at 8 o'clock 

 A. M., a dense cloud of a pyramidal figure was seen 

 rising in the south-east, and a hollow rumbling noise was 

 heard at the same time and in the same direction. This 

 cloud continued to ascend till it covered the sun, when it 

 separated to the North and South, accompanied with 

 thunder and lightning. Finally, it spread over the whole 

 firmament, and enveloped every thing in perfect dark- 



