58 
Account of the Earthquake in Ch ili. 
feet, and that rocks have made their appearance above water, 
which before were never seen, even at the lowest tides. 
The motion and direction of the shock was from NW. to SE., 
and fissures running parallel to one another in a NW. and SE. 
direction, from a few inches to two or three feet wide, were dis- 
covered after the earthquake, throughout the whole district, 
wherever it was felt. At Vina de la Mar, which, you recollect, 
a few miles from Valparaiso, cones from two to six feet high 
were thrown up of sea sand, of which the little valley is com- 
posed. No smell, gaseous exhalations, nor steam, have been 
taken notice of ; we may therefore suppose that none existed 
at the time. The houses situated on the loose alluvial soil, and 
in the Almendral, a sort of suburb adjoining Valparaiso, were 
generally shaken down, while those built on the rock mostly 
weathered the shock. Mr George Goode’s new house on the 
beach, which he took so much pains to found upon the rock, is 
a good deal rent, but not so much as those on the opposite side 
of the street, and Mr Hoseason’s house is completely demolished. 
Every church in the place, also the Fort, and Government- 
house, are totally ruined. At Santiago, the capital, the damage 
is inconsiderable, a few houses having suffered in the roofs. 
Quillota is reported to be completely in ruins : it stands on al- 
luvial soil in the valley near the river of that name, and on a 
dead flat about seven leagues from the sea. 
It is to be observed, that water placed in a tumbler on the 
ground during the principal shocks, which were undulatory, 
was not tremulously agitated, but, as it were, thrown up on the 
side of the glass like a wave. On the contrary, during the in- 
ferior shocks v*^hich are described as vibrating perpendicular to 
the general direction of the great convulsion, the water in the 
tumbler was observed to have a bubbling motion. The average 
duration of the shocks was about 30 seconds. Mercury was 
also made use of, and the same phenomena noticed. 
As felt on board the ships in the bay, it is described as if the 
chain-cable had run out in an instant ; but we have very unsatis- 
factory accounts of the general effects on the ocean. Sounds 
like distant artillery w^ere heard some days after the commence- 
ment of the earthquake, but were not taken notice of at the time. 
Rio de Janeiro, ) 
August 4. 18S2. j 
