50 



SANTIAGO. 



which it did in such a manner as to leave the 

 vessels almost aground. 



The commandant of the place had just time 

 to proclaim this event in the streets, and the 

 people had scarcely reached the hills, for safety, 

 before the sea returned in one great wave, 

 which broke against the projecting cliffs of the 

 bay, and rushed into the streets, to the depth of 

 twenty feet. This operation of the waters was 

 repeated three times, each time with increased 

 violence, till hardly one stone was left upon 

 another, to indicate that a flourishing town once 

 occupied the fated spot. 



The earth in some places rose and then burst, 

 pouring forth black liquid of a sulphureous 

 smell. In others it separated, leaving vast 

 fissures. At Concepcion, all the dogs, it was 

 said, left the town before the houses fell, as if 

 warned, by the vibrations of the earth, of the 



