EARTHQUAKE. 33 



The shock felt at Caraccas * in the 

 month of December 1811 was the only one 

 that preceded the horrible catastrophe of 

 the 26th of March 1812. The inhabitants 

 of Terra Firma were ignorant of the agi- 

 tations of the volcano in the island of St. 

 Vincent on one side, — and on the other, of 

 those that were felt in the basin of the 

 Mississippi, where, on the 7th and 8th of 

 February 1812, the earth was day and 

 night in perpetual oscillation. A great 

 drought prevailed at this period in the pro- 

 vince of Venezuela. Not a single drop of 

 rain had fallen at Caraccas, nor in the country 

 ninety leagues round, during five months 

 preceding the destruction of the capital. 

 The 26th of March was a remarkably hot 

 day. The air was calm, and the sky un- 

 clouded. It was Holy Thursday, and a 

 great part of the population was assembled 



* Baron de Humboldt. 

 VOL. 1. D 



