EARTHQUAKES. 



47 



Whether these different directions of dis- 

 tinct metallic veins arise from a different 

 species of volcanic action in the two countries, 

 nearly three thousand miles apart, would 

 require a cleverer head than mine to deter- 

 mine ; but I know that, to me, an earth- 

 quake in Chili always seemed to proceed 

 from the south-west towards the north-east 

 and the Cordilleras ; although generally the 

 noise, sometimes the roar, was heard as if 

 coming from the Andes before the shock was 

 felt. It may seem strange to speak of the 

 progress of such an instantaneous event, yet 

 in a hilly country the scattering of the stones 

 and dust, and the agitation of the trees and 

 shrubs does mark its passage. In Chili I 

 have felt very many, especially in the pro- 

 vince of Coquimbo ; and I once counted 

 upwards of thirty shocks in six hours, taking 

 all, as far as I could judge, the same direc- 

 tion. In Central America I could never 

 even guess from what point of the compass 

 an earthquake proceeded, or what course it 

 took, but they are far less frequent and 

 nothing like as severe as in Chili. 



In Chili the inhabitants divide the cha- 

 racter of their numerous earthquakes into 

 two kinds ; the commonest and less severe is 



