38 . EARTHQUAKE. 



" All the calamities experienced in the 

 great catastrophes of Lisbon, Messina, Lima, 

 and Riobamba, were renewed on the fatal 

 day of the 26th of March 1812. 



" The wounded, buried under the ruins, 

 implored by their cries the help of the 

 passers by, and nearly two thousand were 

 dug out. Never was pity displayed in a 

 more affecting manner; never had it been 

 seen more ingenuously active than in the 

 efforts employed to save the miserable vic- 

 tims, whose groans reached the ear. Im- 

 plements for digging and clearing away the 

 ruins were entirely wanting ; and the people 

 were obliged to use their bare hands to dis- 

 inter the living. The wounded, as well as 

 the sick who had escaped from the hospitals, 

 were laid on the banks of the small river 

 Guayra ; they found no shelter but the fo- 

 liage of trees. Beds, linen to dress the 

 wounds, instruments of surgery, medicines. 



