57 
Account of the Earthquake in Chill. 
the atmosphere was perfectly clear, and it was a lovely moon- 
light ; no change was observed in the temperature. At 9^ 30”^ the 
first shock was felt, and the precise moment is curiously ascer- 
tained, by all RoskiPs chronometers having stopped precisely 
at the same time And by all accounts, which, of course, are 
vague, owing to the inaccuracy with which time is generally kept 
in that part of the world, the earthquake was felt at the same 
moment throughout Chili. During that night there were about 
seven principal shocks, and continual inferior ones ; so that Mrs 
Graham (the author,) it is said, held her watch in her hand 45 
minutes, with a glass of water on the ground near her, and the 
water was shaken as nearly as possible every 5 minutes. The 
earthquake was felt at Conception slightly, more severely at Co- 
piapo and Coquimbo, and some say at Lima, but this I think 
very doubtful. Valparaiso, Quillota, and Casa Blanca, seem to 
have been the centre (if I may express it so) ; and when my friend 
left it, which was three weeks after the first shock, it was still 
continuing at intervals, I suppose about three times a-day. At 
Valparaiso the ravages are inconceivable, and upwards of SOO 
bodies have already been dug out, mostly children and soldiers, 
which, I believe, taking the difference of population into account, 
exceeds any thing yet heard of, even at the great earthquake in 
Syria. I forgot to mention that it was felt at Mendosa, a town on 
the eastern side of the Andes, in the line of Buenos Ayres, and 
for some little way on each side of that town ; and every endea- 
vour was made to discover if it had taken place at Juan Fer- 
nandez, but this has proved quite unsuccessful, there being no 
inhabitants on that island. 
The water retired with great rapidity in the outset, so as to 
leave the launches dry opposite the Custom House ; but the re- 
turn was gradual, much to the satisfaction of the inhabitants, 
and against the prophecies of the priests, who expected to have 
been swallowed up by it. Mrs Graham, and all other authori- 
ties, ^eem to agree particularly on this head, that the whole line 
of coast has either risen, or the water has subsided nearly two 
* This I conceive to be a mistake, as 1 have seen a memorandum attached to 
a chronometer, in the handwriting of that watchmaker, in these words, “ Let down 
at the earthquake.” Besides which, I should at once say the cause was inade- 
quate to stop a number of watches at once. 
