Mr Tartt m tfie EartJiqimkes m South Carolina, S05 
From this time to the 11th of February, fourteen distinct 
shocks were felt, of which the most violent were the follow- 
ing : 
On the 16th Dec. 1811, at S.55 A. M. its duration 2 min. 
Same day, • 7.5T A. M. 30 sec. 
17th Dec. 0.50 P. M. SO sec. 
S3d Jan. 181S, 915 A. M. 1 J min. 
7th Feb. 3.53 A.M. 7 min. 
Same day, 10.57 P. M. S min. 
The motion was generally from east to west, but jt was not uni- 
form. In December it appeared to be undulating ; in January 
violent and irregular ; and in February it seemed similar to a 
sudden jerking to .and fro of the eartlfs surface. Between the 
concussions, a tremor of the earth was frequently perceptible, 
and light pendulous bodies were then in , a state of almost con- 
stant vibration. The motion, during the severer shocks, was 
sufficiently violent to break the glasses of pictures hanging 
against the wall, and the pavements in several of the streets 
were cracked. Many persons also found it difficnlt to preserve 
themselves trom falling. 
The sky was generally, though not uniformly, ,dark and 
hazy, sometimes tinged with red, and the shocks were preceded 
and accompanied bv severe cold, and frequent fogs, of a density 
unusual to the climate at the season and times when they oc- 
.curred. The shock of the 7th February was attended by a 
noise like distant thunder ; and during the night, the sea on the 
bar, about eight miles distant, was heard to roar unusually loud. 
The shock of the following evening was accompanied by a 
sound like the rushing of a violent wind, and with several 
flashed of very sharp lightning. 
The thermometer at 8 o’clock on the evening of the 15th of 
December was 52°, and the barometer 30° 45''. The morning 
of the first earthquake (the 16th), the barometer continued the 
same, but the mercury in the thermometer had sunk to 46°. 
The last of these awful visitations was a slight tremor, which 
was felt on the day following the destruction of Laguira and 
Caraccas ; and they passed away without ‘a single instance of 
personal injury or destruction of property : but, unaccustomed 
as the inhabitants had been to any thing of a similar nature, 
their consternation and alarm were very considerable. A proclp^ 
